Obama Paul 2008

There has been a lot of talk recently about a "Unity Ticket" in the upcoming presidential race, unity meaning a joint Republican/Democrat ticket. I love the idea, as my views are quite across the spectrum between the two parties, lodged firmly in Socialism for some things while aimed at Libertarian non-intervention for others. I have the feeling that most people share this cachophany of mind that is not satisfied by the current political division.

Then I read Barack Obama's latest speech (youTube). Normally I am extremely wary of mainstream candidates, primarily due to the pandering that they tend to display like an ugly sweater on Christmas. Obama's speech, however, has a much different focus; one that addresses the sentiments above. Obama repeatedly refers to the recent American penchant for divisive and partisan politics, and appeals for a more unified approach. At one point he calls Washington's partisanship a "food fight". I like this guy.

I've been simmering on Barack ever since he started campaigning, and after this most recent speech, I am almost certain that I would vote for him next year, perhaps even over Ron Paul. I know for a fact that if he were to gain the Democratic nomination and choose a republican running mate, I would vote for him in a second. If he chose Ron Paul as his running mate, I would be as close to political heaven as I am likely to get.

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I LOL'd

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Jaguar live-birth

At least, that is what I'm hoping for.

Ford wants to sell Jaguar and Land Rover. This is great news. Don't get me wrong, I like Ford's design team, they have produced some of the most - amazing - new - models that I have ever seen.

Jaguar, however, has languished under their management. The S-Type is a mess, the new sedans are trimmed with cheap plastic, and the sports cars look nice, but they feel more like a Mustang than any type of real luxury British power-boat.

At one time, Jaguar was at the top of the pile of British automakers. The last truly British Jaguar is (oddly enough) my favorite one, the Jaguar XJS. This 12 cylinder, 6 liter beauty is almost indestructible, and is considered to be one of the finest grand tourers out there.



So I guess this long winded dissertation is my way of saying that Ford's divesting of the Jaguar brand could re-invigorate it, and thus bring back some of it's former prestige. The stress could also run it into the ground. I guess I'm optimistic, since Jaguar seems to have done well despite it's overlord's insistence on mediocrity.

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Skittle Earth

A buddy of mine at work found a masterpiece in his bag of Sour Skittles today:



Skittle Earth. Yes, that is an actual picture of it, not just a badly photoshopped globe. As you can see, Africa and Europe are plainly visible, as well as the Asian landmass to the East. The technical specs are as follows: It is a blue Sour Skittle that seems to have been hyper-blasted with sourness, thus forming the continents. This could change the world as we know it.

He's selling it on EBay, if you're interested.

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Ain't No Thang

I am trying my damndest to stay relaxed.

It occurs to me that this is probably a very in-efficient way to go about relaxing oneself.

Driving is bad, and my newest theory is that driving a car (or truck or whatever) is somewhat similar to being on the internet. I say this in reference to John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory; which simply states that most normal people, when given anonymity and an audience, will turn into a monster of obscenity and immaturity.

I expand this to automobiles because while inside one you are mostly anonymous, being completely encased in a steel shell and traveling at very high speeds, thus virtually eliminating the danger of actual human contact. This seems to open up the doors for people to make use of the road as if the other travelers inhabiting it are obstacles to be overcome, rather than logical, sentient beings that might actually be physically harmed by unreasonable actions.


The point that I am getting at is that it is never as hard for me to remain blissfully Buddhist as when I am on the road. I find myself slowing down purposefully when someone tailgates me, instead of eliminating the threat by simply moving over. I invariably box hyper-speeders in when they try to pass on the right, instead of letting them go so that they don't endanger the people around me. I often have to pause and try to remind myself that the only thing that I am accomplishing by doing this is raising everyone's blood pressure.

I think that it's about time that I start taking the bus, but I'm far too sleepy to get up on time, which I suppose is a good thing, since sleeping is good for your blood pressure in moderate doses. I suppose that this is also the reason that I find freeways so distasteful, given that humans are by no means mature enough to be given the responsibility of piloting a vehicle at such high speeds with so little training. Perhaps this is also the a primary impetus of my unwavering support for all types of mass transit, as it places people face to face, where they are much less likely to crowd someone out of the way, and much more likely to simply say "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

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Yes. YES.

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I only with I was this witty.

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Absentee

As my small readership might be aware, I have been absent for the past two weeks from the blog-o-sphere-o-scape-net.

Suffice to say, Thanksgiving + Foreign Visitor + New XBOX 360 = Adam's priorities have shifted a bit.

Hopefully things will get back to normal shortly, once the Guitar Hero luster wears off a little bit. Probably not, but we'll see.

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