Tonight we roll

Its Halloween, this is all I have to say...

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Today it's YouTube. Where we consistently find awesome videos like this

Gnarls Barkley does Radiohead.

Oh, Bama!

The Obama machine chugged into The 'Burgh on Monday and this dude was there. I went at 1:30 for the 5:00 speech to volunteer. I was special; only one of hundreds of volunteers, and over 15,000 people. It was a Penguins game, without the ice and only Georges Laraque playing.  I ended up right in front, not more than 15 feet away. To be honest, I'm a junky and had heard most of the speech beforehand, but it was powerful the energy and enthusiasm in the room was sick. The organization of it was amazing- the security, the stage, the press set-up (I got googly-eyed when I saw Richard Wolff from Countdown... I'm a dork). As I was telling Maze, it was not like seeing Jesus, since I feel like Obama is a very normal guy. I would be more fascinated seeing McCain or his little bitch because they are just so cartoony and un-real. Enjoy the pics. Oh, also notice the CLASSIC Pittsburgh gray hair waterfall of the dude in front of me... ultimate mullet.

Justice coming to DVD

Pic of the day 10.26.08

Moon jellies at the CA Academy of Sciences.

Global Warming

350 is the number in parts per million that we need to bring our carbon dioxide down to in order to not die a catastrophic death. Its currently been hovering in the 380s and growing at 1-3 ppm per year. Not good, considering that prior to the industrial revolution and coal burning/car driving growth, it was at 270. An observation lab in Hawaii has been tracking it since the 60s. More at 350.org.

I Walked Into a Nation-Wide Hoopla About The B Girl

Perhaps you have heard of the famous, now infamous B-Girl? 

Well, as of yesterday afternoon, I hadn't. I had just finished canvassing in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood and was making a twilight trek back to the office when I saw Ralph Iannatti on the street. You know how some local newscaster that you grow up watching sort of become fixtures in your life? Ralph was one of them. I'm not exactly sure if you can be a star-fucker for a local talking head, but so be it. The guys was nice as hell.

   "Hey, Ralph! Ryan Kushner. I'm a volunteer for the Obama campaign. You guys should do a story about all the hard-working Obama supporters here." After a second he said, "Do you know why I'm here? Across the street? The ATM?"

    Now, it is true that Pittsburgh is somewhat behind the times, but certainly not even in Steel Town is an ATM a news item. "Huh?" "Yes, there was a McCain supporter attacked and mugged and had a B carved in her cheek." This immediately struck me as strange. "Ralph, that sounds like bullshit to me. First of all, I've been in Pittsburgh for 6 weeks. There is no such thing as a McCain supporter!" 

   And, indeed, it has come to pass. Buuuulllllshhhiiiiit. I am, if you didn't notice, loving this.

Yes We Carve

Can you say commitment? I'm hardcore in my BamaLove, but even I am not going here. There are few things more sacred than Hallows Eve. 

Full site here. 

Robert Johnson

In 1938 Robert Johnson was murdered at the age of 27. For years there were only two known photos of Johnson, one of the best known blues musicians in history, also rumored to have sold his soul to the devil to play guitar. That may have recently changed, thanks to an unexpected source - eBay. There's an amazing story at Vanity Fair that talks about Robert Johnson, his legend and how the below photo came to be found. The rumored Johnson is on the left.
You may also remember a bit of Robert Johnson's story from "O' Brother Where Art Thou?" one of my all time favorites. You can see the original two photos on SuperTouch but let the intro by writer Frank DiGiacomo reel you in to the Vanity Fair piece...

In the seven decades since his mysterious death, bluesman Robert Johnson’s legend has grown—the tragically short life, the “crossroads” tale of supernatural talent, the genuine gift that inspired Dylan, Clapton, and other greats—but his image remains elusive: only two photos of Johnson have ever been seen by the public. In 2005, on eBay, guitar maven Zeke Schein thought he’d found a third. Schein’s quest to authenticate the picture only led to more questions, both about Johnson himself and about who controls his valuable legacy.

Huffpo on Palin on SNL

Excellent excerpt from Robert Kubey's story on huffpo about Palin's appearance on SNL.

After all, this is Saturday Night Live who've skewered her week after week. Were they going to be nice? And now, by appearing on the program, it certainly drew its biggest audience of the season. Maybe the biggest audience in years, but I fail to see how the GOP was helped.

Often these cameos on SNL humanize a candidate in some helpful way. A candidate will often seem like a good sport by going on. Al Gore was wonderful after the debacle of 2000, but he appeared after finally conceding and when it was all too late. He was funny and very human. But we already know Sarah Palin can sometimes display humor and be human. But tonight, SNL gave us another piece of evidence that Gov. Palin's judgment, and that of her running mate, may not be what we want guiding the nation and the world for the next four years.

See SNL's opening and more of the videos, including Amy Pohler's rap.

UPDATE: The NYT is a little more forgiving.