Obama accepts Democratic nomination, says 'Enough'

Click here for the full text of Obama's speech.





Here's a great multi-camera look at the speech from Obama's Web site.

Joe Biden speaks about mother's advice

Joe Biden accepted the Vice President nomination yesterday at the Democratic National Convention. And he, perhaps, delievered the most profound line of the convention, so far.

“My mother’s creed is the American creed: No one is better than you. You are everyone’s equal, and everyone is equal to you.”

Take heed, fellow Americans.

Another night, another good Clinton performance

Bill Clinton, arguably, did better to get across the idea that Barack Obama will be a great president last night at the Democratic National Convention.

His best line, which I think shows that the Democrats have been way more classy than the Republicans during this campaign:

“The Republicans will nominate a good man who served our country heroically and suffered terribly in Vietnam,” he said. “He loves our country every bit as much as we all do. As a senator, he has shown his independence on several issues. But on the two great questions of this election, how to rebuild the American Dream and how to restore America’s leadership in the world, he still embraces the extreme philosophy which has defined his party for more than 25 years. They actually want us to reward them for the last eight years by giving them four more. Let’s send them a message that will echo from the Rockies all across America: Thanks, but no thanks.”

Calculate Your Obama Tax Cut

Here is a neat Web site that calculates (approximately) what your tax cut would be if Barack Obama was elected president. If you know of anyone who questions Barack's economic policy, show them this tool.

McCain insults American workers

Tracking 2008 election

Are you interested in keeping up with the polling for the 2008 election. If so, try this Web site. It has a desktop application in addition to a tracker you can put on your Web site. See below.

Well done, Hillary

I thought Hillary Clinton delivered an excellent speech last night at the Democratic National convention. Her top line of the evening, which I pray Clinton supporters will hear loud and clear:

“I want you to ask yourselves: Were you in this campaign just for me?” Mrs. Clinton said. “Or were you in it for that young marine and others like him? Were you in it for that mom struggling with cancer while raising her kids? Were you in it for that boy and his mom surviving on the minimum wage?”

New McCain Ad Attacks Obama Kids

In what might be his most controversial attack ad in a campaign dominated by them, presumptive G.O.P. presidential nominee John McCain today launched a new TV spot attacking Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill)'s two children. According to political insiders, a negative ad targeting a rival's offspring is highly unorthodox, especially when the children in question are under the age of ten. (I bet you wouldn't be suprised if this is real. Click here to find out.)

DMB on Charlie Rose

In tribute to Leroi Moore, here is a 2001 Charlie Rose interview with the members of the Dave Matthews Band.

Too many footnotes

I keep hearing great things about this book on traffic that I talked about a couple of weeks ago. Slate has an article today about it. I am going to read it at some point, but I think I'm going to wait for paperback. After all, I went to the bookstore and saw that the actual copy is only about 300 pages and there is more than 100 pages of footnotes. Seems ridculous to pay hardcover price for that many footnotes. At least we can be assured it was well researched.

The good, the bad, the ugly from Bejing

This year's Olympics provided some outstanding, ostentatious, funny and sickening moments. Click here to see examples of all the above.

I love British humor

Things to think about on the toilet

According to Popgive.com, there is a right way to hang the toilet paper, and a wrong way. Click here to see examples of the helpful and fruitful over-hung method on the left and the annoying and detrimental under-hung method on the right.

"New York, I Love You" trailer

Michael Phelps taunts loser

Barack announces Joe Biden as running mate

Biden for VP?

This David Brooks column in the New York Times suggests Joe Biden is the best VP for Obama. After reading it, I tend to agree.

We've screwed our kids...and their kids...and their kids...

Wake up, America! We’re on the brink of a financial meltdown.

I.O.U.S.A. boldly examines the rapidly growing national debt and its consequences for the United States and its citizens. As the Baby Boomer generation prepares to retire, will there even be any Social Security benefits left to collect? Burdened with an ever-expanding government and military, increased international competition, overextended entitlement programs, and debts to foreign countries that are becoming impossible to honor, America must mend its spendthrift ways or face an economic disaster of epic proportions.

Go see a movie this weekend

See Broadway's 'Rent' on the big screen

Rent ends its 12-year Broadway run on Sept. 7. If you can't make it to the Big Apple, you can still see the show, though: The performance will be filmed and shown digitally in more than 500 movie theaters Sept. 24-28.

Yes, McCain is that stupid

As part of an increasingly aggressive effort to redefine his opponent, Sen. Barack Obama on Thursday morning seized on a new remark by Sen. John McCain that he does not know how many houses he owns.

"Somebody asked John McCain, 'How many houses do you have?' And he said, 'I'm not sure, I'll have to check with my staff,'" Obama said with a tone of incredulousness at an outdoor event here.

"If you don't know how many houses you have, then it's not surprising that you might think the economy is fundamentally strong," he said. "But if you're like me, and you got one house, or you are like the millions of people who are struggling right now to keep up with their mortgage so they don't lose their home, then you might have a different perspective."

The audience laughed and clapped, and then Obama added: "And, by the way, the answer is, John McCain has seven homes." That, it turns out, is true.

The damning McCain quote, which came in an interview with Politico, played neatly into Obama's argument -- his current focus heading into the convention -- that he understand the economy better and that the Republican candidate "doesn't get it" when it comes to voters' lives.

No-fly zone? Should be.

I don't want to ever fly into this airport.



Here's a view from the cockpit going into the same airport. Any guesses on what airport this is?

Live a little

Subnormality

I'm not that into comics, really, but this online comic called "Subnormality!" has gotten my attention. Take a look at this strip which satirizes America's cluelessness.

What a shocker, bummer

I've not been the biggest Dave Matthew Band fan over the last several years. But the news of founding member and saxophonist Leroi Moore's passing is terribly sad. I've seen the Dave Matthews Band six times, and even though Leroi was always the quiet one in the band, he playing, jamming was fabulous.

RIP

Thank goodness I'm from VA, and not West VA

Radiohead's new, best song

The best of the Wes Anderson canon

Terrific news...for a movie geek like me. The Criterion Collection has announced the upcoming release of Bottle Rocket on DVD. This is the film that launched the careers of Wes Anderson, and Owen and Luke Wilson. Thanks to Andrew and Eddie for introducing the film back to me during my Blockbuster Video days. Keep an eye on Amazon.com for the DVD listing, as it will probably be the cheapest place to purchase this gem.

"Kacah! Kacah! (Say it out loud.)

Feel like the taxpayer?

The real Olympic spirit

http://view.break.com/157415 - Watch more free videos

On a less serious note...

I'm a big fan of the audio commentaries that come on many DVDs nowadays. And I've found some new commentators to whet my appetite for the format. Some of the people from Mystery Science Theater 3000 have created RiffTrax, downloadable commentaries to go along some of the best and worst movies Hollywood has brought out in the last 10 years.

I'm currently listening to their commentary of the dreadful "Batman and Robin." Review: A must listen.

Ponder this...

Mark 7:21-23
“For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, fornication, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a man."

- Jesus

“It’s in our hearts that the evil lives, and it’s from our hearts that it must be plucked out.”

- Bertrand Russell, Agnostic, British philosopher

"Senator Obama spoke to the heart and mind where Senator McCain spoke from the heart and mind."

- Charles Huettner, of Alexandria, VA, independent Christian voter who watched the Saddleback Church forum Saturday night.

This must be McCain's pastor

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

We don't need another arrogant schmuck

John McCain is unbelievable. Except, to many people in the U.S., he is believable. In this weekend's Saddleback Church forum, McCain channeled President Bush with arrogant and meandering responses to Pastor Rick Warren's responses. Worst of all, it appears McCain broke the forum rules and cheated by getting the questions prior to the debate.

Have some dignity, Sen. McCain.

UPDATE: McCain spokesman concedes that McCain was not following his promisted "code of silence."

White women can't (shouldn't) rap!

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

A writing contest worth having

A grotesque comparison of a steamy love affair to a New York City street has won a Washington man this year's grand prize in an annual contest of bad writing. Garrison Spik, a 41-year-old communications director and writer, took top honors in San Jose State University's 26th annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest with this opening sentence to a nonexistent novel:

"Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped 'Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.'"

Other noteworthy submissions:
"'Toads of glory, slugs of joy,' sang Groin the dwarf as he trotted jovially down the path before a great dragon ate him because the author knew that this story was a train wreck after he typed the first few words."

- Alex Hall, Greeley, Colo.

"Like a mechanic who forgets to wipe his hands on a shop rag and then goes home, hugs his wife, and gets a grease stain on her favorite sweater - love touches you, and marks you forever."

- Beth Fand Incollingo, Haddon Heights, N.J.

China's version of artistry

Ever wonder how China created the Bejing Olympics logo? (Only works if you open the link in Firefox)

The new Coen Brothers, David Fincher flicks

"Burn After Reading"



"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"

Are you a delusional James Bond...on a computer?

My dad sent me a great Newsweek article about those people that go to work each day, only to come home straight to their computer so that they can play and live in a virtual world. The piece talks about an upcoming documentary called "Second Skin," which follows seven hard-core gamers in an attempt to explain this phenomenon.

As a former "World of Warcraft" addict, I completely understand the dangers of a virtual existence.

Any questions?

The definition of crazy

These people are just nuts. In Zimbabwe, Africa, you will find the magnificent Victoria Falls at a height of 128 meters. The location is known as "The Devil's Swimming Pool". During the months of September and December, people can swim as close as possible to the edge of the falls without falling over!

Would you do it? Click here for more pics.

That's the wrong cake

I love this site that tells the tales of cake disasters. This picture is what occurred when someone asked for a cake with the Olympic Rings on them. For more nonsense, go here.

Don't hold it in

I know so many passive agressive people that love to explode. Thankfully none of them live in my house. Check out this site for some wonderful passive agressive notes. I'm sure we have all seen these around the workplace.

Cheers, mate.

Emotional Outlet

Courtesy of.

Traffic forever

I read this book review in the Sunday New York Times about a book called "Why We Drive the Way We Do (And What It Says About Us)." Though it's not so much a review as the Cliff's Notes version of the book. I feel like after reading this review that the book is awesome, but I also feel like the book can't give me anymore than the review just gave me.

The book just proves that human beings are idiots. As if we needed a book review to tell us this.

An alternate title for the book might be “Idiots.” Vanderbilt, who writes regularly about design and technology, cites a finding that 12.7 percent of the traffic slowdown after a crash has nothing to do with wreckage blocking lanes; it’s caused by gawkers. Rubberneckers attend to the spectacle so avidly that they themselves then get into accidents, slamming into the car in front of them when it brakes to get a better look or dig out a cellphone to take a picture. (This happens often enough for traffic types to have coined a word for it: “digi-necking.”) Exasperated highway professionals have actually tried erecting anti-rubbernecking screens around the scenes of accidents, but the vehicle toting the screen typically gets caught in the traffic jam it’s meant to prevent.

Moreover, Vanderbilt adds, “there is the interest in the screen itself.” Drivers will slow down to look at anything: “Something as simple as a couch dumped in a roadside ditch can send minor shudders of curiosity through the traffic flow.”

The LEGO Dark Knight trailer

The Best Roger Clemens picture ever

Roger Clemens is certainly a guy on the outs with MLB. But he did a number on them before he left...particularly this teammate of his.

This is obviously a picture redone by Photoshop, but it's still pretty darn funny.

"Grand Theft" of my time

I thought, now that I own a Nintendo Wii, that I was a social gamer content on playing just a few minutes a day. But now after the announcement that Grand Theft Auto 4 is coming to the PC on Nov. 18, I think I might have to revaluate my plans for gaming.

One more trailer

As twisted as it was, I am a big fan of the movie "The Rules of Attraction," based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis. The film "The Informers," based on another one of his books, is scheduled to hit theaters later this year.

Help with watching Olympics on TV

I am excited about the upcoming Olympics, thanks much in part to the enthusiasm of my wife and her desire to watch every day of the TV coverage. I just hope the cameras can see through the smog to pick up the action. The New York Times has published a helpful Olympic Event Planner so people can know what event is when.

Trailers galore

Yes, I love movie trailers. I keep them on my iPod and also burn them to DVD for safe keeping. In some cases, they are better than the movie themselves. Southland Tales is a great example of an outstanding movie trailer, crappy movie.

Here's a few more good ones.

"Role Models"



"Rachel Getting Married" (proving, once again, that all families are screwed up)



"In Search of a Midnight Kiss"

Radiohead Bliss

I was mesmerized watching Radiohead Sunday night in Indianapolis. Check out a review of the show and a blog from the opening act about the gig. I've even been so lucky enough to find a torrent that contains an excellent audience recording of the show.

I'm in heaven.

UPDATE: Check out this video of one fan's account of the Indy concert. Look particularly for clips of the light show. It was phenomenal.

Great Headlines of the Day

Bus Beheader Begs For Death

If you beheaded a bus, then you are a tough mother so don't be begging for death.

Lawyer Says Mary-Kate Knows Nothing

I didn't need a headline to tell me that.

"Pineapple Express" opens

I was originally eyeing the 5:50 p.m. showing of "Pineapple Express" at Tinseltown. I would love to see this movie on opening day, particularly after some stellar reviews. But it looks like I have to take the wife to a chiropractic appoitnment and then go swimming. So tomorrow is looking better.

Paris Hilton scores

Not in that way you sick-minded perverts.

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Blog again?

My mind is telling me to continue the blog. Confusion ensues. Will I succumb?

The mind has spoken

My mind says I need to do more work. Thus, this blog is suspended.

Walmart meddling with employees, again

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, denied a report Friday that it had pressured employees to vote against Democrats in November because of worries that a bill the party supports would make it easier for workers to unionize. The measure, called the Employee Free Choice Act, would allow labor organizations to unionize workplaces without secret ballot elections. It was co-sponsored by Barack Obama, the presumed Democratic presidential candidate, and opposed by John McCain, the presumed Republican nominee. Wal-Mart spokesman Dave Tovar told The Associated Press that the company did discuss the bill with its employees, including what it sees as the negative impact, and noted that the company's stand on the legislation is no secret. "We believe the Employee Free Choice Act is a bad bill and we have been on the record as opposed to it," he said. But he said the company wasn't advocating that its employees vote against backers of the legislation.

"If anyone representing Wal-Mart gave the impression... they are wrong and acting without approval," said Tovar. In fact, he said that Wal-Mart has been working with both Republicans and Democrats.

Call me crazy, but I don't believe a word Wal-Mart says.

Movie Trailer Day

Here is a host of movies that I can't wait to see.

"Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist"

Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist


"What Just Happened"


"Che"



"Ghost Town"