Amid continued reports that Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama is dominating the airwaves with TV ads -- not to mention Obama's highly-rated 30 minute infomercial recently run on several networks -- Republican Sen. John McCain has made a hard choice in his last ditch effort to pull off what by most accounts now would be an upset victory: he is choosing to put … [Read more...] about McCain’s Financial Resources Choice: TV Campaign Ads Over Ground Game
Some Halloween Footage for You
The following is a short film which our production company worked on for a Halloween film festival a couple of years ago. It's a "mockumentary" style comedy about the making of a rather dubious zombie film. (If you watch closely, yours truly actually crops up a couple of times here and there.) So, if you have a few minutes to kill on this All Hallows Eve, I invite you to put on … [Read more...] about Some Halloween Footage for You
A Monstrous Halloween Tale: 190 Years Later, Mary Shelley Finally Gets Her Due
THE EMOTIVE MARY AND PERCY BYSSHE SHELLEY (TOP) AND DR. ROBINSON AND MR. STEIN Halloween may be my favorite holiday and Frankenstein one of my favorite books. But there is a dirty little secret about the masterwork written by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley in her late teens and first published anonymously in 1818 as Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus, and a colleague, … [Read more...] about A Monstrous Halloween Tale: 190 Years Later, Mary Shelley Finally Gets Her Due
Dead Halloween
Pat Bagley, Salt Lake Tribune … [Read more...] about Dead Halloween
Poly-Sci (Fi) Girl: The Odd Silence of the Masses, Elections 2008
I can't say I understand the phenomena of a large and usually vehement voters' group going oddly silent during this election cycle, but then, human beings have often been a puzzlement to those who observe from outer space; it's their quixotic-ness, humans' extreme inventiveness, their cleverness, but sometimes an odd dullness, all in one, that are such seeming … [Read more...] about Poly-Sci (Fi) Girl: The Odd Silence of the Masses, Elections 2008
Kosovo: Lost To Serbia And To The West?
An interesting take via The Brussels Journal. … [Read more...] about Kosovo: Lost To Serbia And To The West?
Dancing With The Stars
Cam Cardow, The Ottawa Citizen … [Read more...] about Dancing With The Stars
Why Same-Sex Marriage Matters (To Me)
A few weeks ago, my partner Daniel woke me out of a deep sleep. He was complaining of chest pains, so we got dressed and went to a nearby hospital. I went into emergency with him as they tried to find out if this was his heart or something else. It turned out he was having a gallbladder attack and he was scheduled to have surgery the next day. The day of surgery, I met up … [Read more...] about Why Same-Sex Marriage Matters (To Me)
The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy
We haven't even voted yet and there are people thinking about 2010. One of the things that I have noticed over time is that the hard left in the Democratic Party is acting very eerily to the far right in the GOP: looking for those who don't fit their agenda and taking them out via elections. The Hill Newspaper is reporting that a new progressive group backed by two … [Read more...] about The Vast Left-Wing Conspiracy
Obama and Bill Clinton Share a Laugh
There was a moment last night when Barack Obama was saying the McCain campaign was calling him a Socialist because he had once shared a peanut butter sandwich with a classmate and Bill Clinton laughed--not that slit-eyed, calculated political chuckle but a genuine guffaw of recognition from someone who had suffered the smear treatment and survived. When the former President … [Read more...] about Obama and Bill Clinton Share a Laugh
RIP: A Remix Manifesto
About the film: In RiP: A remix manifesto, Web activist and filmmaker Brett Gaylor explores issues of copyright in the information age, mashing up the media landscape of the 20th century and shattering the wall between users and producers. The film’s central protagonist is Girl Talk, a mash-up musician topping the charts with his sample-based songs. But is Girl Talk a … [Read more...] about RIP: A Remix Manifesto
This is not 1948
Every losing political candidate, no matter the office, cites Harry Truman's dramatic comeback in the 1948 election as a reason for hope. If "Give-em Hell, Harry" could come back and salvage victory in the face of certain defeat, surely Candidate X could do the same! Alas, some McCain partisans are invoking the old "Dewey Defeats Truman" error as inspiration. But is there … [Read more...] about This is not 1948
Bill Clinton Gives McCain Campaign Great Anti-Obama Campaign Ad Quote
Former President Bill Clinton -- a politician who is no dummy and knows the impact his words will have -- is proving to be the gift that keeps on giving...for the McCain campaign. How much do you want to bet part of this quote will be used in video or quotation in a last minute-McCain campaign ad? Barack Obama cultivated the image of a cool and collected leader during … [Read more...] about Bill Clinton Gives McCain Campaign Great Anti-Obama Campaign Ad Quote
Poll: Palin Increasingly Hurting McCain’s Election Chances
It has been suggested that Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's campaign is trying to make GOP Veep candidate Gov. Sarah Palin a scapegoat, by blaming her on the campaign's polling woes and a possible defeat. A new poll suggests that if it's true, McCain aides making that argument have a lot company -- mainly, many voters who are polled: A growing number of … [Read more...] about Poll: Palin Increasingly Hurting McCain’s Election Chances
McCain Campaign Snubs Penn State University President In Battleground State
The 21st century trend towards mega-partisanship earlier this year seemed notably at odds with candidates pledging to reach across the aisle to increase national unity. But a bit of bad press now swirling around Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain's campaign will if anything underscore how some partisans lose sight of important long range goals because they've … [Read more...] about McCain Campaign Snubs Penn State University President In Battleground State
In Search of … Obama, the Radical Lefty
Nerd alert: Growing up in the mid- to late-70’s, I was a fan of the TV series “In Search Of,” hosted by the original Spock, Leonard Nimoy. If that series were still on TV today, and its producers were willing to consider political mysteries, they might be tempted to piece together an investigation into claimed sightings of “Obama, the Radical Lefty” – sightings that run the … [Read more...] about In Search of … Obama, the Radical Lefty
Is This The Obama McCain Electoral Vote Map For Election Day?
The University of Virginia's Larry Sabato, who had an excellent record of predicting the past several elections and issues solid predictions in general, has now released a map showing his electoral college prediction for campaign 2008. Is this the map we'll see after the early and election day votes are all counted? Given Sabato's track record, it is worth a close … [Read more...] about Is This The Obama McCain Electoral Vote Map For Election Day?
Obama Infomercial Seen By One In Five Households In Top Local Markets
In terms of political T.V. -- particularly the often-boring form of political infomercials -- Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama's 30 minute infomercial last night was a big hit: it got a rating of 21.7 percent in top markets. To use the entertainment newspaper Variety's decades-old famous term, Obama proved to be big B.O. (the letters stand for "Box … [Read more...] about Obama Infomercial Seen By One In Five Households In Top Local Markets
‘As a Human Being, I Support Obama’: El Caribe, Dominican Republic
As was revealed yesterday by the latest poll of Latin countries on the U.S. election, in all of 18 countries surveyed, Barack Obama is the overwhelming favorite. The results also showed that of all of the Latin America countries that were surveyed, the Dominican Republic is the most informed on the U.S. presidential race. So today we bring you this op-ed from the … [Read more...] about ‘As a Human Being, I Support Obama’: El Caribe, Dominican Republic
McCain and Obama: Old and New America
Election Day 2008 will be an epic reckoning between old and new America. For the first time, battle lines are drawn defining a divide not between left and right or Democrat and Republic but between those who see the US as a part, albeit overwhelmingly strong, of a global community and others who see it as a fortress besieged by the world. Donald Rumsfeld's derision of old … [Read more...] about McCain and Obama: Old and New America