Whahuh?!?!

http://news.com.com/2061-10789_3-6153487.html
Are... are... are you kidding?? Like... this must ... are you... I mean... WHAT?!
A substitute teacher's convicted because her laptop, while at the school, had a porn pop-up. Defense and experts determined the pop-up was a result of spyware that hopped onto the computer from a non-porn website. She was STILL CONVICTED BY A JURY! and now faces a sentence of 40 years.

I shook my head until it fell off... didn't help.

More random thoughts

MORE RANDOM THOUGHTS! =)

Ok, so the political race has heated up somewhat during the past week. Which is kind of weird because we're still in 2007!! Yes, we're still MORE THAN A FULL YEAR away from the actual damn election. So I'll clarify my Hillary Clinton point, which is ludicrous because it's still MORE THAN A FULL YEAR away from the election: I don't think Hillary's going to win this election right now. That's not to say that she can't win. With the right marketing, anybody can win the damn presidency (this is the time to make a crude "look at Bush" joke. So, pretend I did that). So, EVEN THOUGH she is ahead in the Democratic pool, I don't think these poll results are valid because we're still MORE THAN A FULL YEAR away from the actual election. Asking somebody if they'll vote for Hillary or Obama in January of 2007 is much like asking somebody if they'd rather buy a flying car built by Honda or Toyota. WE'RE NOWHERE NEAR THE ELECTION!! These poll numbers are meaningless. We still have ACTUAL CAMPAIGNS to look at! I'm still going to say that as of right now, January 2007, if nothing changes, then Hillary and Obama are not winning this next Presidential election. I'm still looking for something significant to happen to change this.

OK, what else? I saw a documentary on the Discovery Channel on the impact of the iPod in modern society. The iPod is truly a world-changing device. It wasn't exactly revolutionary in any specific way. There were portable MP3 players beforehand, there were portable information storage devices, there were other software programs to organize and playback MP3s but Apple was able to do these things better and prettier. And it changed aesthetics in modern technological design too. I think that the iPhone will do something similar... at least it has the potential to do just that in 2007 in the same way that the iPod did in 2001. Steve Jobs is going strong and postdating stock options isn't going to stop this freight train.

Currently reading Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl. It is an awesome book. The prose reads smoothly and cleverly while still maintaining a sense of excitement and intrigue. I may be overselling the book but I'm a huge fan of it so far (only 100 pages in...). I suggest you all go out and buy it or borrow it from the library and read it. BTW, the writing style is actually quite reminiscent of my own trains of thought and actually reminds me of tangentially things I've written in the past, blog entries included. As such, I've completely fallen in love with Marisha Pessl through her writing (um... and her author's photo/photos I've been able to find on Google of her.. she's very attractive... and 27). I'm totally looking forward to her writing more books and me reading them.

Many months ago (during my blog hiatus) I fell in love with a musical called The Last 5 Years. It's a one-act play that follows the 5-year relationship/marriage between the 2 characters. The music's wonderful and the gimmick is that the dude (Jamie) is moving forward through time so we see his meeting/falling in love/falling out of love journey while, at the same time, the girl (Cathy) is moving backward through time so we see her falling out of love/falling in love/meeting Jamie. Their songs switch off between POVs except for the love song in the middle which is their wedding and sung as a duet. It's the only time they meet and sing together. Throughout the rest, the two actors don't interact with each other as each song's presented as a monologue. Definitely check it out. The music alone's worth it but I found out that YouTube actually has all the songs bootlegged and slapped on from their off-Broadway run. The New York run (it started in Chicago) features Norbert Leo Butz (most famously from Wicked) and Sherie Rene Scott (most famously from Aida).

TANGENT ALERT -> I love Sherie Rene Scott and have ever since the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Coming Out Of Their Shells tour tape I had as a child. I kid you not, the Ninja Turtles had a short-lived live-action rock/action show that they would go around America performing... like a traveling stunt show/MTV concert that had Sherie Rene Scott as April O'Neal. (Check out Wikipedia) Of course, I was like... 8 at the time so I had no idea who the heck Sherie Rene Scott was. I was just absurdly impressed that the Turtles were dancing/playing instruments/fighting Foot soldiers. Sadly I never actually saw the show or a tape of the show but rather a Behind the Scenes tape. Thankfully for my 8-year-old mind, the tape was done, as wrestling parlance would put it, in kayfabe so the Turtles talked and acted like the Turtles. I even remember them "explaining" that the keys on Donatello's keyboard were wider than a regular electric keyboards to accommodate his larger fingers. It wasn't until years later that I realized that they WEREN'T ACTUALLY PLAYING THE INSTRUMENTS. <-TANGENT ALERT

Speaking of YouTube and bootlegged musicals, check out the Avenue Q/Fiddler on the Roof performance. I think they were pimping at a World AIDS day with this special performance but they changed the characters of Avenue Q into Jewish counterparts (like Kate Monstervitz) and had them meet Tevye and his family when they traveled to Avenue "Jew." They changed the song lyrics for both shows to accommodate a brief plot. I must admit, I'm not terribly familiar with Fiddler on the Roof's music but I found the thing really really amusing. It even has a cameo from the George W. Bush puppet (last seen during Avenue Q's special pre-presidential debate performance) as the Czar of Avenue Jew.

What else? Not much, I suppose. Health care's a big deal next election year so it's good to see both sides of the aisle trying to pimp some kind of major overhaul/reform. It's good to see the Democrats not automatically dismiss privatization of health care (I'm not actually for privatization of Health Care but I'm open to the idea that the best solution may be an amalgamation of privatization and Government help).

Just recently found out about Sarge/Reputation/Elizabeth Elmore. Just proves I'm very much behind in music knowledge. Big fan of Sarge's cover of Time After Time.

Wish I was cooler. Random thought.

Still very behind in comic books. I haven't bought new issues in the past week or two. I think I may have missed the big payout for Civil War. I think the Monitor Duty blog's onto something though with Tony Stark being the person who dies at the end of Civil War. If it hasn't already happened...

Marti Noxon's writing a Grey's Anatomy episode. (Oh, that reminds me. I've been meaning to check out Brothers and Sisters. Marti plus Calista should be a good match) VERY EXCITED. Love Grey's. Love Marti (although probably in a very unhealthy way. She is also a very attractive/creative person who happened to have graduated from UCSC [Kresge College. Not that we'll hold that against her] and co-exec-produced Buffy). Should be a match made in heaven. Um... Marti and Grey's. Not Marti and Me. She's married. That's quite an obstacle. [Oh, while on the topic, Isaiah Washington sickens me with his blatant refusal to stop using offensive language. It's not that I think language is inherently offensive but if his CO-WORKERS! are clearly offended by his language then he should STOP! It's that simple. Say what you want where you want EXCEPT WHEN OTHER PEOPLE TELL YOU TO STOP. Don't be a jackass, Isaiah. It's not cool.]

Trying to keep up with Grey's Anatomy, Rome, Smallville, How I Met Your Mother, The Class, Gilmore Girls, and Studio 60 will probably kill me. Stupid massive amounts of good TV. (Note the exclusion of The Office, Lost, Heroes, Desperate Housewives, etc. That's because I have too many shows I feel obligated with trying to follow. I'll catch up with everything else when they're released on DVD.)

Want to see Catch and Release. And Pan's Labyrinth. And, I suppose, Dreamgirls.

Alrighty... That's probably plenty of random thoughts for now. I'll write more when I have more thoughts. These are enough to occupy myself for now.

Wow. Long time.

Well... it's been like... forever... since I've blogged. I just felt like blogging tonight tho. After thinking about it for a bit, I've decided that it's because of 2 things:

1.) It snowed yesterday. Let me just say that I'm well-aware that it's not the first time it's snowed this season. I know for a fact that it snowed last month... December... 8th? or sometime thereabouts. I'm not going to count that day because a.) it consisted of very light flurries that only lasted... a couple of hours... and I didn't even get to enjoy those flurries because b.) that was the day we had our fire!! Any other days since then that snowed have been missed by me who was in San Jose for a month. So... yesterday was my first truly fun experience in the snow. It was pretty and white and kinda crunchy when you walked on it. I've always felt that there was something romantic and pure about snowfall. It's peaceful: like a clean slate, erasing past mistakes. Perhaps it was simply because I grew up in the Bay Area where there is no snow. There just always seemed to be a simplicity in snow. A sense of fun, and adventure, and romance; evoking a sense of comfort and exploration all in the same fell swoop. It conjures images of being wrapped in long coats and checkered scarves, playing with snowballs and snowmen juxtaposed with images of hot chocolates and crackling fireplaces, dressed in knit sweaters and sitting for hours staring at flames. And, of course, Christmas: my favorite holiday. I'm just a sucker for snow.

the other reason for posting is:
2.) Tonight was Bush's State of the Union Address. Because of work, I didn't get to see the actual address. I did watch an hour's worth of analysis afterward though and I must say that based on the reactions of both Democrats and Republicans, I'm impressed with what must have been a fervor of aggression from our President. First off, about Bush's decision to send more troops into Iraq (this was made awhile ago... but that was before I started blogging again =P): I don't think that's necessarily the solution. More troops equals more death equals (probably) more frustration. 20,000 troops isn't going to make the difference ultimately.

THAT being said, however, it's good to see Bush make steps toward trying to (finally) reach a resolution in Iraq. I think I remember some pundits stating that this is the first time during Bush's 2 terms that he's conceded that he may be wrong about something. Politically, I thought at the time that it was the smartest thing he could've done. If it works, they can claim a short-term victory. If it doesn't work, the next Republican candidate can come out in opposition of the policy. By taking a strong stance so far from the next election, they're poised to control the effect of the results. Because of the frequency of the word "Iraq" during the speech and the comments made by both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, Iraq's going to be a major platform during the next election. If Republicans can curb the debate in this area, they're going to be undercutting the Democratic party line, so to speak.

Speaking of, I think the next election's going to be interesting but ultimately not ground-breaking. I don't think America's ready to vote for either a woman or a Black man as President yet. That being said, I personally think that Barack Obama's too young to be President and Hillary's still too inexperienced in politics to be President. Those aren't the only two people in the race (John Edwards, for instance, has entered the race) but they are the current front-runners. However, it's still exceptionally early and anybody is poised to be a dark horse candidate. The Republican I'm really looking at is John McCain. I'm a big fan of his but I think he's got too many Republicans who disagree with him to get the actual nomination. That being said, he's going to be make a strong effort and may end up as the Howard Dean to the Republican party. Having McCain as the head of the RNC is something I would be very much in favor of.

Having candidates this early in the process may ultimately be self-detrimental but there's a phrase in Washington: you're always running for election. It's a sad truth and 2008's election may prove to be one of dire importance. Any number of things could happen between now and November 2008 and, in this era of news at the speed of the Internet, we're going to know about it. We're already changing the face of the election process.

In those terms, I'm glad that the Democrats are making bold, aggressive statements. I saw the Democratic response to the State of Union and I'm hoping, fingers crossed, that the Democrats have learned the lessons of 2000 and 2004: be aggressive. b-e aggressive. This is an opportunity. With a Democratically-controlled Congress, having a Democrat in the Oval Office would be an unbelievable turn-around from where we were 2 years ago. We could do some real good in the next 2 years. I just hope nobody f---s it up.

I had other post ideas during my hiatus from this blog. Hopefully I'll find the intestinal fortitude, so to speak, to put nose to grindstone and churn out some more posts. As for this one... I think this post's long enough. Whee~!