I didn't find anything particularly of note in the Democratic National Convention that took place over the last week. I wasn't surprised by the pick of Joe Biden as Obama's VP nomination (and in fact originally believed Biden would be the nominee when the VP discussions first came up months ago, although I forgot about him when the media started focusing on other choices). I didn't watch any of the speeches, although I hear they were good.
On the other hand, I *was* surprised by McCain's VP announcement today. He chose Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to compliment his ticket, a move that has puzzled pretty much everyone (regardless of party or position). Alaska always votes Republican (their economy is based on oil production) and has only 3 electoral votes, so there is no advantage there for McCain. One of the McCain campaign's leading criticisms of Obama is his lack of experience (both in government in general and in Washington); Palin has been governor for less than two years and has no Washington experience at all, which severely undercuts McCain's criticism. She appears to bring very little to the ticket.
What I think McCain thinks she brings is a chance to snag some of the disenfranchised Hillary supporters (from what I've read, the campaign *really* wanted a woman candidate, with names like Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman being tossed around). I don't think that will work (and if it does I'll be even more disappointed in the Hillary holdouts than I am now). Palin is pro-life and even belongs to an anti-abortion group. She supports teaching Creationism in public schools. She is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She strongly supports opening up Alaskan wilderness preserves to oil drilling. She supports constitutional bans on gay marriage. These are all things that are essentially "anti-Hillary" (okay, maybe Hillary isn't pro-gay marriage, but she did vote against the federal bill to ban it), and I'm hoping the Hillary supporters realize this.
In the "positive" check box (not in the "reasons I think she's great" way, but in the "reasons she might help McCain" way), she's very telegenic. I've watched a couple of video interviews with her and her speaking style is much closer to Obama's than McCain's (more familiar and cross-generational; she even uses "it's cool!"). She might appeal to moderate "soccer moms" because she fits into that category, as well as undecided blue-collar males (not only because she's more attractive than the other three main figures but because she rides snowmobiles, likes to hunt and is married to a blue-collar fisherman). I'm guessing my father and brother will think she's fantastic. Her pro-life, pro-Creationism and anti-gay marriage stances will also win over at least some of the evangelical right that has so far kept its distance from McCain.
But in the long run I think McCain screwed up. If I'm right, the Hillary contingent won't fall for the ploy (they're adamant about not supporting Obama, but will they really vote for a candidate who opposes most of their core values just because she's a woman?). McCain's "experience" criticism has been severely weakened. And there is a whole range of criticism open to the Obama campaign regarding her lack of experience should McCain die in office and hand the presidency to her (a very real possibility, given McCain's age). She's also under investigation by the Alaska Legislature for a firing controversy during her watch (which, to her credit, she has voluntarily complied with, although it's still going to come up repeatedly during the campaign). It's too early to call the race, but I'm not sure McCain's wild card is going to gain him that much.
I received 8 single-ring calls from Linde today in the space of 3 minutes. Turns out she *thought* she was calling her voicemail and it was, somehow, dialing my number instead. When I finally answered, she seemed surprised and then said she wasn't calling to talk to me. I feel loved. ;)
The twins, while finishing the coconut-pineapple smoothies they helped me make, were watching one of their DVDs, one I had not seen before from a television series entitled "Charlie and Lola." The protagonists of said series are English, which made for some interesting observations. Kylie and I had a humorous exchange involving one of the characters, a hamster named "Burt."
Kylie: "Oh no! Butt's in trouble!" Me: "Who?" Kylie: "Butt." Me: "Oh, right. Burt." Kylie: "No, Butt." Me (laughing): "I'm pretty sure it's Burt." Kylie (shaking head): "No. It's Butt." Me (looking directly at her): "Burt!" Kylie (staring back defiantly): "Butt!" Me (still laughing): "Okay. You win."
A few minutes later I was quoting along with the show in a mock accent when Kylie, mimicking me mimicking the show, started saying "perfect" in a scarily accurate accent ("puh-fect"), to the point that Lisa thought it was the show and not Kylie (although I tried to get her to do it later and she reverted to her standard accent).
It was an interesting observation on how our brains compensate for anomalies; my brain automatically translated the English-accented context while to Kylie at least some of them appeared as entirely new words. In a similar vein, while listening to the BBC web cast today as I usually do, I sailed along with their accents until I tripped over "alu-MIN-i-um" and had to pause for a fraction of a second to figure out what they were talking about.
The wild card in my immediate family (referring, of course, to the youngest of my siblings, who was the grand age of 6 when I went to college and thus has always known me as this sort of absent, mysterious figure while I remember only the flashcard-like highlights of her life: Christmases and graduations, for the most part) spent four days with me this week on a frenzied back-to-school shopping spree. Highlights:
- We finally did the climbing wall at Westroads Mall. There is some small degree of contention here about who actually "won." Haley maintains she was higher on the wall and thus won by default, while I point out that I pushed the "finish" button (which plays this little fanfare for the entire store) first (by about half a second) even while climbing a more-difficult course. In any case, I've discovered this is an activity that requires preparation (in the form of an ongoing stretching and cardiovascular regimen); my arms were so sore that I wasn't sure I'd be able to drive afterward. We also watched a little blonde 8-year-old waif kick the wall's ass (holy cow); judging by the way she was discussing the gear with the staff I'm guessing she does it as a hobby.
- We had lunch one afternoon at the not-cheap-even-though-it's-just-melted-cheese-and-bread Melting Pot fondue restaurant at Village Point (Haley's pick). It was good, although neither one of us felt particularly well afterward (perhaps coincidentally, perhaps not).
- Haley officially adopted her new MacBook. I put money toward a shiny green wireless mouse we found at Best Buy as an early birthday present.
- Haley, Meghan and I watched "21" on Sunday evening. Kevin Spacey can be creepy when he wants to be.
- Haley's car wouldn't start on Tuesday as she was preparing to leave. Two phone calls and three Internet searches (plus some fiddling with the battery and assorted other arcane rituals) finally convinced the car it wasn't being stolen and it deactivated its anti-theft system (for now, anyway).
- After Haley's departure, Meghan and I celebrated her birthday with an outdoor concert at Lauritzen Gardens and a heavy dinner at The Olive Garden.
And finally . . .
- The utilities company *finally* finished their repairs and patched up my street (the day after Haley left, of course), so I have full access to my garage again.
