And I'm supposed to do what now?

I've been putting off yard work because it's so hot out. Today I have time. Hmmph.



In other news,

That's a call to arms of the governing sort

"To Democrats: I would remind you that we still have the largest majority in decades, and the people expect us to solve problems, not run for the hills. And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town -- a supermajority -- then the responsibility to govern is now yours as well. Just saying "no" to everything may be good short term politics, but it's not leadership. We were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions." -Barack Obama, SOTU 2010.

Inaugural Blog

Wow. And it is done, and it is good.
11:51 AM CST
...

And, three minutes to go.
10:57 AM CST

Trying out the flurry of Facebook/CNN live status updates.
10:37 AM CST

E, regarding Lynne Cheney: What did she ever see in him?
E & Mom, in unison: Power.
10:25 AM CST

Transfer of power happens exactly at noon eastern time. What if the president hasn't taken the oath yet? "Give the f*ing oath on time. Let's not leave that up to chance." -Mom
10:20 AM CST

Mama Biden!
10:13 AM CST

Both Obama and Biden voted against the confirmation of Chief Justice John Roberts, who will be swearing them in. Mom says "Well, that's democracy!"
10:05 AM CST


Apparently, whilst moving boxes, Cheney pulled a muscle in his back. He'll be attending the inauguration in a wheelchair. Just one last bit of icing on the looking like Mr. Potter cake. Schadenfreude? Jawohl!
9:02 AM CST

ABC is showing the crowd on the Mall. People are now packed in all the way to the grounds of the Washington Monument. That's a mile and a half from the Capitol.
8:42 CST

A loss for the world of televisual manipulation

I've just learned that it is quite common among new flat-screen LCD or plasma HD type televisions not to have a video output. This means one cannot record the signal emanating from the TV (i.e. broadcast television) onto another medium such as a tape or into a computer editing program. First, I am bummed because I can't record the inaugural address tomorrow. However, this has far broader implications for those of us media manipulator types who enjoy bastardizing the drivel spit out at us. After all, it's better to mess with your television than to kill it.

More Cabinetting

So my former boss is being suggested as a candidate for Secretary of Education in the Obama Administration. I urge you to look into the matter, and write a few words in support, if you agree. Perhaps I'll bloviate on the subject a little more later....

NYTimes.com: Obama's 'Secretary of Food'?

Obama has name-dropped Michael Pollan....sign this petition!

OPINION | December 11, 2008
Op-Ed Columnist: Obama's 'Secretary of Food'?
By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

When Barack Obama chooses his agriculture secretary, we need a bold reformer in a position renamed “secretary of food.”

BREAKING: Obamaha

Obama clinches the electoral vote from Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District.

Yes, We Did

Wer sind wir?

Wer sind wir? Wo kommen wir her? Wohin gehen wir? Was erwarten wir? Was erwartet uns? Viele fühlen sich nur als verwirrt. Der Boden wankt, sie wissen nicht warum und von was. Dieser ihr Zustand ist Angst, wird er bestimmter, so ist er Furcht. Einmal zog einer aus, das Fürchten zu lernen. Das gelang in der eben vergangenen Zeit leichter und näher, diese Kunst ward entsetzlich beherrscht. Doch nun wird, die Urheber der Furcht abgerechnet, ein uns gemäßeres Gefühl fällig.

Es kommt darauf an, das Hoffen zu lernen. Seine Arbeit entsagt nicht, sie ist ins Gelingen verliebt statt ins Scheitern.

Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? What do we expect? What expects us? Many feel confused. The earth moves, and they do not know why and how. This their condition is anxiety, and as it comes into focus, fear. Once someone set out to learn about fear. And in the time which just past, this art was mastered, to our horror. And now, setting aside the progenitors of fear, we are due a more measured sensitivity.

Now it is of the essence that we learn to hope. The work of hope will not fail us, it is devoted to success, and not to failure.

–Ernst Bloch, Das Prinzip Hoffnung (taken from the preface) (1954) in Gesammelte Werke, vol. 5, p. 12 (1981)(S.H. transl.)

Reposted thanks to Harper's

Need a reminder of your slate?

O (Street) is for Obama

Great turnout on O Street tonight for an election eve rally.








O (Street) is for Obama from nocoastfilms on Vimeo.


As often, more on flickr.