Happy Halloween!!

These are pics from Halloween 2004, when Nilda and I started dating. Really, how could she resist?

Obama's Obamercial

Man , that was the best kool aid I've ever had! Delicious! I liked how, you know, it had the people? And the stories? Yeah, it was, just, you know, awesome. Seriously. It presented a concise vision of America and presented a candidate thinking on a larger scale, even if it was a little too targeted to working class whites. Obama is running as JFK trying to be FDR. Expect to hear a lot about Obama not following through on his campaign financing promise.

Stella's Back!!

Stella FINALLY came back from Florida! Stella likes to go to Miami in July, stay for the hottest part of the summer, and then come back to NY just as it's getting cold. I don't get it either. She made a pernil tonight, a roast pork shoulder that no self-respecting Jewish boy can resist. The plan was to post a picture of the delicious tref, but I couldn't wait, and the pictures of the decimated pernil just didn't do it justice. Welcome back!!

Stella also made a coconut flan, which was incredible. Nilda, would you please model the flan?






Good to see you, too, Kristen.

Vote, Forrest, Vote!

My brother-in-law Forrest lives in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, a key battleground in the national election. He lives in one of the few places in the country where his vote actually counts. But, he doesn't want to vote. Why? Because he thinks he'll be called for jury duty. He voted in 2004 and was called soon after, so he's convinced. Let's all help guilt Forrest into voting on November 4.

The Other Humans

There's a great article in this month's National Geographic about Neanderthals. And I don't want to see any comments from "anonymous" talking about how this is a boring post, ok, Matt?

• They dominated Europe for 200,000 years, far longer than modern man has been around.
• 45,000 - 30,000 years ago, the Neanderthals shared Europe with modern man, coming out of Africa around 60,000 years ago. No no one knows why the Neanderthals went extinct, or whether the transition to modern man was peaceful.
• Neanderthals needed about 5,000 calories a day, around the same required by a participant in the Tour de France, as opposed to the normal 2,200 calories that we require.
• They do not believe that modern man descended from Neanderthals, but that they both descended from a common ancestor 700,000 years ago. There may have been some interbreeding, but too minimal to tell.
• Humans share 98.7% of the same genetic material as chimpanzees. The connection between modern man and Neanderthals was much closer.
• Neanderthals did not have the pointy chins that we have.
• All of the Neanderthal remains that have been found show signs of cannibalism, such as marks from stones, most likely from scraping.
• The total number of Neanderthals probably never exceeded more than 15,000 at a time.
• They were short, about 5 feet tall, to conserve heat, and had big rib cages to support large lungs, great for vigorous exercise. Their large muscles were leveraged for maximum strength.
• Neanderthals may have had the same vocal hardware as modern man, but know one knows for sure.
• Neanderthals may have reached maturity several years before we do, which probably significantly affected their social organization.
• They ate mostly meat. Modern man's ability to distribute the labor to survive on both hunting and agriculture may explain their success.
• They've found a gene in certain fossils that shows red hair and pale skin, leading to this recreation. The pale skin let in more sunlight to manufacture vitamin D. To see how they came up with the recreation, check this out:

Politics Should Be Boring

Here's a NYTimes video of a number of interviews that Obama did on a Chicago public-access tv show while he was state senator in Illinois. The show's host, a known conservative, actually liked Obama, noting how Obama enjoyed talking about the details of the issues, like the law professor he is. Andrew keeps saying that politics should boring, and I'm starting to think he's right.

Judith Miller Joins Fox News

Judith Miller was a NYTimes reporter for 28 years and had won the Pulitzer for a book on terrorism in 2002. That is, of course, until she became a tool of the Bush administration and published numerous articles before March 2003 reporting the dubious evidence of WMD as Iraq as if it was real. The Times, and Miller, later apologized for these articles. She garnered a lot of sympathy when she was put in jail in 2005 for refusing to reveal her source on the Valerie Plame outing, until it was revealed that she was more of a political hack supporting the Bush agenda than an independent news reporter.

Now, Miller joins the Fox News team in its never-ending quest for fair and balanced reporting, free of the bias and slime of the liberal media elite, who put politics first and the country second. Way to go, Fox News!

Just for fun, here's some quotes I cut and pasted from Slate, while I was reading Doonesbury this morning:

• "WMD -- I got it totally wrong."--New York Times reporter Judith Miller, October 16, 2005.
• "I'm deeply sorry that the stories were wrong."-- Judith Miller, Nov. 30, 2005
• "We've all had stories that didn't come out exactly as we had hoped... She has explained herself and she has nothing to apologize for."-- Fox News Senior Vice President John Moody, explaining Fox's recent hiring of Miller, Oct. 19, 2008

Live Blogging Grey's Anatomy

• Cindy McCain is not who she says she is. She's not a beer heiress, but rather the former wife of a small town reverend:

• For all the talk about Bill Ayers being a terrorist, he was named Chicago's 1997 "Citizen of the Year" for his work on school reform and is, by all accounts, a respected educator. Obama can't say any of this, of course. Defending Ayers would put Obama into bed with him.
• Ayers recently confirmed that when he said "we didn't do enough" during Vietnam, he did not mean that he wished he had done more bombing. He said that it was political propaganda, and that warnings were called in so no one was hurt. What he really meant was that we, the country, did not do enough to stop what he felt was an immoral war in Vietnam. This cartoon explains it better.
• We don't need to worry about Palin and witchcraft, since she's been sprayed for life:


• Speaking of Palin, check out http://www.palinaspresident.us, it's hilarious.
• Oh, no! There's a crisis at Seattle Grace! What a surprise! Romantic hijinks will surely ensue. And there we go.
• When I first heard that Oliver Stone was making a movie about W, I thought it would be irrelevant. Turns out, I misunderestimated the strategerific impact that The Decider has had on the country. We're seeing it tomorrow night.
• Oliver Stone originally intended Christian Bale to play W, but after spending thousands on prosthetics, Bale finally said it wouldn't work. Stone then turned to Josh Brolin, who had just been acclaimed for his role in "No Country For Old Men," who is clearly the better choice.
• This episode was directed by Eric Stoltz, the guy from "Mask"?
• It's official. My bedroom has officially become a girl's bedroom. This is what happens when I let my mom take Nilda shopping while I watch the Eagles game with Dad and Forrest:

• Nilda and I may never see eye to eye on Grey's Anatomy, but we can both agree that Haagen-Dazs Caramel Cone is the best ice cream, EVER!

Live Blogging The Final Debate

• Thank God this is the last one. Is it wrong that I'd rather watch Keith Oelberman than the debate?
• McCain's not wearing a flag pin!!!! Doesn't he love America????? Shame on him!
• If you love Joe The Plumber so much, Senator McCain, then you should marry him. Oh wait, you're against that. Yours is a love that can never be.
• In each and every debate, the candidates were asked what programs they would have to cut in response to the economic crisis. In all three times, they didn't answer the question. The country wants to be brought together by a plan that we all have to contribute to. What we really need is a tax making all gasoline $4/gallon, with all the revenue going to fund new energy sources.
• This debate is turning out to be the most interesting of the three. The format's working and they seem to really be getting into it. Cat fight!
• Obama prepared for this one. This is the best McCain has ever been (says Nilda), but I haven't seen Obama as sharp as he is tonight.
• Nilda says she should be a political analyst. "So it's Barack Obama's fault that you're running a negative campaign!" Yeah, but you have to give the illusion of objectivity, Nilda.
• Man, McCain's angry. He can barely contain himself, snarling, fidgeting, sighing loudly and interrupting both Obama and the moderator. Watch the red meat intake, Senator.
• Why is it that when McCain tries to turn positive and talk about a "brighter day for America," I suddenly get cold?
• Oh no! The question is about the running mates. Don't attack Palin! Don't attack Palin! Just talk about how great Biden is. Phew!
• Everyone's saying that no matter how the election turns out, Palin will be a star in the Republican party. I say that if McCain loses, Palin's star will fall with the campaign. She'll be the Dan Quayle of this election, a thesis paper, at best.
• An article by Mark Jacobson in this week's NY Magazine says that Palin's statement that she "didn't blink" when accepting the VP position was her Macbeth moment. That was the moment where her ambition took over since this was a bad idea.
• The article also points out that many Alaskans, although they love her, couldn't believe that Palin didn't note the Exxon Valdez decision - where the Court reduced the punitive damage award from $2.5 billion to $500 million - as one of the Supreme Court decisions she didn't agree with. This from "the energy governor."
• The debate is running behind? Shocker.
• Obama really seems like he gets the big picture. He's smart and understands both sides and can make a decision about what the best course is. Or maybe it's just the Obama t-shirt I'm wearing.
• Maybe comparing Obama to Hoover in the election of 1932 isn't a great idea, McCain. Hoover was a Republican unable to deal with a financial crisis, who then lost by a landslide to FDR, a Democrat who brought us the New Deal. Which one do you think you are in this scenario?
• Don't believe the polls. This election is far from over and there is no guarantee that Obama would win if the election was today. The real danger is that people will think Obama's got it in the bag and won't turn out to vote. My job is to get Forrest to vote. After convincing me to pick Miami over Houston in last week's football pool, its the least he can do.
• Upholding Roe v. Wade is a proper litmus test for any judicial nominee.
• Thanks for bringing up Ledbetter, Obama, the Supreme Court decision prohibiting a woman paid less than her male co-workers for 20 years from going to court. I think you all know how I feel about that decision.
• Nilda is horrified - horrified! - that I would check the score of the Phillies game. "But you don't like baseball!" I know, but if the Phillies win, they're in the World Series. Horrified that she'd have to suffer through another sport, in addition to football! Let's hope, for her sake, that the Flyers don't have a good season.
• This is the first debate where I thought Obama was the clear winner. He was calm and was well prepared on all the issues, so much so that McCain was clearly pissed off at all the zingers. McCain was good, but Obama was better. Of course, the tv pundits haven't come on yet, so I don't know what to think yet.

Because It's Worth Repeating

Thanks, Jen Simon (of "Never Follow A Hippie To A Second Location" fame), for finally bearing the truth.

Once In A Lifetime

This song has been in the trailer for the "W" movie and I haven't been able to get it out of my head. It was written by David Byrne and Brian Eno based on a preacher that they heard on the radio while driving through New York. The video was choreographed by Toni Basil, of the song "Mickey" fame, and has Byrne acting like a marionette. Basil had Byrne watch footage of epileptic seizures to prepare. The song was named one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century by NPR.



This is my second Talking Heads blog post in a week. The irony is that I can't listen to too much of them in one sitting. They get boring. Not as boring as Pink Floyd, but that's another story.

P.S. - Nilda asked, "Why is the post called 'Once In A Lifetime'? Is that the name of the song?" Good job, Nilda. Good job.

Happy Yom Kippur!

Best Song Ever

There will be no live blogging the debate tonight. Rough day in court, so I'm getting drunk and making cornflake chicken.

Saturday At The Movies

I Read two interesting things in the NYTimes this weekend waiting for Vicky Christina Barcelona to start:

• The term "maverick" comes from Samuel Augustus Maverick, a Texas rancher in the 1800s who refused to brand his cattle. A "maverick" then became a term for anyone who did not bear another’s brand. Terrellita Maverick, now 82-years-old, is "enraged" that McCain calls himself a maverick. She said, "It’s just incredible — the nerve! — to suggest that he’s not part of that Republican herd. Every time we hear it, all my children and I and all my family shrink a little and say, ‘Oh, my God, he said it again.’ ”

• Maureen Dowd wrote, "Navy Seals are elite, and they get lots of training so they can swim underwater and invade a foreign country, but if you’re governing the country that dispatches the Seals, it’s not O.K. to be elite?"

So here I am, sitting in an independent movie theater, on the Upper West Side, at a Woody Allen movie (which was great), reading the NYTimes, on my iphone, wearing an Obama t-shirt, thinking, when did I become a liberal stereotype?

A Conversation With Matt

Palin's Debate Cheat Sheet

Live Blogging The VP Debate

• Nilda and I didn't get to watch the first debate until two days later, now we're watching it live. How am I supposed to know what's going on if I don't have a pundit to tell me?
• Biden coming out connecting the need for the bailout to the failures of the Bush administration was brilliant and is exactly what Obama should have done to McCain.
• Palin looks terrified. Nilda has paused the debate to explain to me how she can't stand to look at her. Nilda's now mumbling something about soccer moms. May I please listen to the program, now? Thanks!
• Is it wrong for me to comment on Sarah Palin's tush? Probably...
• Nilda just told me to calm down in talking about how great Biden is doing, and how well he's focusing the debate on the economy. This coming from the woman who hasn't shut up since the debate started.
• Nilda wants a co-producer credit for this blog.
• Here's a great video of a senior AFL-CIO leader stating why racism should play no role in the decision to vote for Obama.
• Nilda just asked if my post was funny, or long and rambling. So's your face, Nilda. So's your face.
• Nilda has just ordered me to pay attention to Palin's face and her run on sentences and how "there isn't a period anywhere in what she's saying!"
• They released the opening scene to the Watchmen movie coming out in March. Check it out.
• If John McCain wins, then it's truly God's plan. Like the flood.
• There is a rumor that Palin's son enlisted in Iraq to avoid jail time for vandalizing the brakes on school buses. I could not find any support whatsoever for this, other than this article in the Juneau Empire about vandalized school buses in Anchorage, with no mention of who was accused. If a story this juicy was true, I'd have to believe the press would have already run it.
• Hey, Sarah, thanks for reminding everyone that Biden has a "passion" for education and that his wife has been a teacher for 30 years! Breathe, Nilda.
• How are you doing at Palin Bingo?
• Run! Run! Reform is coming!
• After Biden made a compelling call for action in Darfur, Palin ducked the question by going back to the vote for the war in Iraq. After Biden clearly set forth how he differed from McCain and the administration on the war and how it was run, you could totally tell she was thinking, "I'm gonna vote for this guy."
• Biden was definitely a better choice than Hillary. A guy I met at a party said that Biden guaranteed Pennsylvania for Obama. I'm starting to think he was right.
• You can see Biden having a real role in an Obama administration. Palin will have as much responsibility as the winner of The Apprentice.
• If I ever smile as much as Sarah Palin has tonight, give me some more of whatever drugs I just took.
• I don't get the people who say they'll leave the country if McCain is elected. No matter what happens, we'll still be better off then under Bush. Unless, of course, Palin becomes President. Then we're fucked.
• The pundits seem to think it was a tie. I never realized how far they go to make it appear close, just so there's a story.
• I'm psyched to see the W movie now, after seeing the trailer for the first time.
• This was fun! Goodnight, everybody!

The Big Crunch

New theory of the evolution of the cosmos! The Big Crunch predicts that space is ... are you feeling all right? ... made up of "spacetime atoms." When in open space, they're undetectable, but when ... hey, wake up ... there is a lot of energy in a small area, they repel each other, like a sponge that has too much water repels more water. No, stay awake, you need to hear this! This means that when gravity causes the universe to contract, nearing a big bang, and there is a high amount of energy in a small area, this repulsion limits hwo far space can contract. This means that the big bang would not be a singularity - no space between matter, like inside a black hole. Wake up! Space contracts, but only so much as to create a "bounce" into a new big bang. Do you need coffee? Everything just gets "crunched" together, in an endless cycle of expansion and contraction. Ok, you can press play now.