Thanks alot Texas and Ohio (and to a lesser extent, Rhode Island)

(Before reading this you should know I don't really like Obama any more than I like Hillary- but I do have a strong dislike of McCain and its my concern over his being elected that prompts the following)
Well, the Democrats have managed to do it again. Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. All I could do was watch and shake my head in annoyance as 2 1/2 states managed to magically overrule a 12 state winning streak in the eyes of the media. If I didn't know better, I'd think they had a stake in the horse race continuing... oh, wait.
So, since the people in Texas and Ohio are apparantly too racist to vote for Obama or at the very least too stupid to know what letting Hillary win would mean (for the primary race- if the situation was reversed and Obama was behind I'd feel the same way), the race now drags out for another month or so with both candidates turning more and more negative- while McCain continues to get himself serviced by our hooker media.
This reeks of Mondale/Hart and it makes my head hurt. The Democratic establishment is clearly afraid of Obama and they're going to crucify him- even if it means ruining either candidates chances of winning in the process. I'm not really sure what they're so worried about- it certainly isn't his positions on the issues- which means it probably goes back to the one thing that seems to rule everything in our broken democracy- the MONEY! Obama, like Dean before him, is raising money from people, not from the rich- and there's nothing the establishment hates more than ordinary people or candidates who are actually appealing to us.
And clearly Hillary doesn't give a fuck- she wants to be president and she'll flame the whole party if that's what it takes. The past few weeks has made it pretty obvious there's no limit on how far she'll go- which you'd think would worry the establishment- but it doesn't seem to- which is weird.
Anyway, prepare for months of Obama is a Muslim innuendo and watch as our prestige in the rest of the world finds an even lower opinion of us. Good job Ohioian Texans- the rubes win again!

Hunter S. Thompson 2.0

If you like the way Hunter Thompson (RIP you nutty bastard) wrote about politics, and you aren't reading Matt Taibbi- you're really missing out. Mr. Taibbi writes for Rolling Stone- Thompson's old rag- and he does just as good a job of cutting through the bullshit and laying bare the decrepit bones of American Politics. In a rare bit of corporate largesse- you can read a lot of his stuff for free on the RS website.
A link to his latest piece here. It's about the Democrats and not ending the war- telling us the soldiers have to keep dying for no reason until 2009- when presumably the country will have elected more democrats.
The final 2 paragraphs are as follows:
"How much of this bullshit are we going to take? How long are we supposed to give the Reids and Pelosis and Hillarys of the world credit for wanting, deep down in their moldy hearts, to do the right thing?
Look, fuck your hearts, OK? Just get it done. Because if you don't, sooner or later this con is going to run dry. It may not be in '08, but it'll be soon. Even Americans can't be fooled forever. "
Amen brother.

WOW

John McCain was just on Meet the Press talking about his immigration policy. McCain said he would "round up" the 2 MILLION illegal aliens who have committed a crime- and deport them. He said it casually, offhandedly, like, ho-hum, I'm gonna raid 2 MILLION houses and "round up" people.
Yikes.

Keep in mind this is the same guy who said he wants to be in Iraq for 100 years. No matter who wins the democratic nomination- they should play that clip, along with the one about how McCain professes an ignorance about economics. Just play them, alternating, on a loop until November.

Oh, and to anyone who's all yippy skippy about the "tax refund" checks- you're dumb.

Hillary Wins

Oh well, that's the problem with prognostication- I was WRONG WRONG WRONG. I don't understand where Clinton's support is coming from- do people really not remember how NOT progressive the Clinton's were?
Do people really want 28 years of Clinton/Bush?
I guess everyone else was shocked too- but still- as of now- it's all wide open.
For what its worth my current guess:
Clinton vs. Guliani with Clinton winning in November. Big whoop.
We'll see.
Edwards isn't dropping out quite yet and I still very much have my fingers crossed.

Vote for Edwards!!

So here's what I see happening as of the early afternoon of January 8th, the day of the NH primary.
Barack will win- probably by as much as 10 points- which is going to hurt the Hilary campaign pretty badly- and may very well spin her out of contention- especially if she sticks to her current plan of running on the atrocious record of Bill Clinton as her "record of change."
There are certainly "centrist" democrats who look fondly back at the Clinton years, but most of look back and see a series of horrible mistakes- NAFTA, GATT, bombing aspirin factories, overseeing the creation of our "service" economy, the Telecommunications Act of 96, his "crime" bill, the total failure to make any headway on health insurance reform. Sure, none of it is as bad as what Bush has done, but it's NOT GOOD EITHER.
But Barack is really no different than Hillary. He's trying to make himself into a figure like JFK or Martin Luther King, in fact, he got a little flack on the news this morning for comparing himself to exactly those people- but what I think he doesn't understand, what I don’t think anyone understands, it that NO ONE will ever be JFK or MLK again. The reason is simple, the free ride the media used to give to people over their foibles is OVER- and has been for a couple of decades. Sure, while the whole thing is glamorous and everyone's caught up in the excitement of the horserace they'll be some overlooking- it certainly happened with Bush- but the truth is, not even JFK and MLK were JFK and MLK. Those figures were legends, like Wild Bill Hickok- they weren't people. Legends don't survive in 2008 because the media (rightly in my opinion) doesn't let them. So it's just a matter of time before the free ride ends and the media starts to point out Barack's rhetoric doesn't match his actual policies, as Clinton has been so desperately pointing out since Iowa.
I don't know if Barack really will implode, but if it happens, and I really do think it will, I really hope its sooner and not later. I don't want his eventual demolition to take place after the nomination- where the result could be something as depressing as President McCain- or god help us- President Huckafuckabee. I'd rather see the backlash start now.
Anyone who thinks the free ride will continue through November is naïve in the extreme. Believe me, there's going to be thinly veiled racism and Osama jokes galore. If Obama was a true progressive then I think he could weather the storm and keep the base- but he's not. He's a very smart, very lucky, very talented politician who can never live up to his rhetoric because the simple truth is- the Republicans will NEVER work with him. And it's not because their racist. It's because THEY DON'T WANT CHANGE!!! Why should they? They're rich, their buddies are rich. Why would they want to move the country forward when its current position is serving them so well? Every time Obama says he's going to work with both sides, he's really saying he will DO NOTHING.
There's only one candidate that understands this with a viable shot to win- John Edwards.
Edwards is telling it straight- if we want change, we need to elect someone who is fully aware going in that EVERY SINGLE PROGRESSIVE VICTORY IS GOING TO BE A BATTLE ROYALE IN A DIRTY FIGHT THAT IS GOING TO REQUIRE BITING, KICKING, AND PROBABLY A LITTLE CHEATING.
We need a fighter, not a uniter. Don't you remember? Bush was a uniter not a divider and look how that turned out. The problem is, I think Obama is being honest when he says it- which tells me he's not fit to serve. We need a guy who's going to take all of Bush's executive power and use it with the same intensity for good as Bush used it for evil. We need a guy who's willing to go straight at corporations, the media, and lobbyists. Someone who isn't afraid to force the hand of what will surely be a democratic congress. Edwards is talking like a man who knows exactly what he's up against and he's itching for a fight. Never mind pretty words, fighting words are what warms my heart and gives me the kind of hope no amount of rhetorical flourish from Obama can.

ANOTHER BOOK DONE!!!!

I just finished my 8th book today, the first day of 2008 after driving home from a New Years Party- there's a blizzard outside and I finished with a nice view of the snow covering the trees in my front yard. The book is called Bang and is another volume in the Incarnations of the Americas series.
This book is really exciting for me because it was while I wrote this book that I really started getting into comics- and seeing how certain aspects of comic universes could be adopted into the novels I'm writing (and written) in ways I've never come across anywhere in fiction. I'm now going to embark on a big project, recording all of my books as audiobooks and making some detail changes to incorporate my ideas.
If I can make good time, by June I hope to be able to offer paperbacks of all 6 books bundled together with my specially designed audiobooks which will finally take the text into consideration. My goal is to make switching from the text to the audio book on your Ipod extremely easy.
For those keeping score, the following 6 books comprise the Incarnations of the Americas series:

• Portal
• Ialtaboath
• The Clearing at the End of the Path
• The Music of Dreams
• Bang
• Exodus Enisode

Here's hoping everyone had a happy New Year and Thanks to those of you out there who've been supportive of me and my efforts thus far. Cheers.

The Best Movies of 2007

· Zodiac- Spooky, interesting, good acting, the scene in the basement scared the hell out of me. Of all the movies I saw this year, Zodiac was the most "complete" film I saw
· Black Snake Moan- The BLUES- on celluloid. Underrated movie because no one could get past Ricci's scantily clad performance- but since when wasn't the blues sexy?
· Hot Fuzz- From the kids that brought us Shaun of the Dead- this action movie send-up was better than any of the actual big budget movies that came out this year. And it has a priest with a machine gun- what else could you ask for?
· I'm Not Here- Reinvents the Biopic. For such an arty film, infinitely watchable, interesting take on the Bob Dylan Legend. Even Cate Blanchett works even though she's doing the most obvious "impression" of Dylan- which works because she's playing him during the "amphetamine daze" days- and isn't every junkie a parody of themselves?
· I Am Legend- Fraught with weaknesses on its face- The more time that passes the richer the allegory becomes in my mind. Cancer as Communism, Cure as Al Queda, Will Smith as the US and the dog as the innocent bystander.
· The Simpsons- Finally, on the big screen and as chock full of gags as the best of the TV episodes.
· The Bourne Ultimatum- Genius trilogy- action the way it should be done and seldom is.
· Superbad/Knocked Up- Both movies by Judd Apatow made me laugh until I nearly peed.
· Harry Potter- A franchise that manages to get better each movie. The horrible woman that play Umbridge deserves an Oscar- just looking at her makes you want to punch her in the nose. Hrmph indeed.
· Ratatouie- A great movie about a foodie rat- who woulda thought? Brad Bird is a genius with a visual style that just makes you shake your head with its richness.
· Dan in Real Life- FINALLY a love story where people I'm supposed to care about don't cheat on their spouses- I can't stand the "romantic comedies" where you're supposed to excuse the main characters infidelity just because their spouse is portrayed as a lout.
· The Last Mimzy- A kid's movie for smart kids- FINALLY!
· 2nd Half of DeathProof- First half is boring even though Kurt Russel is clearly having a great time- the stunt work in the second half is some of the best I've ever seen in any movie ever- I don't know how the stuntwoman stayed on that car!
· Ocean's 13- Makes the list just for the scenes in the Mexican Dice Factory and the unforgettable line, "The nose plays"
· Sicko- Michael Moore, as usual, picking them up and knocking them down. Maybe a bit of an easy target considering the need to bring attention to less known problems.
· Talk To Me- I really like the way they portrayed the riots after MLK's assassination- Don Cheadle was great.

Movies I have not seen- and would probably make the list:
· Darjeeling Limited
· Assasination of Jesse James
· Michael Clayton
· No Country For Old Men
· Southland Tales
· King of Kong- A Fistful of Quarters
· The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
· The Wind That Shakes the Barley

Biggest Disappointments

The big budget movies just really sucked this year!!!
Spiderman 3
Transformers
Live Free or Die Hard
Pirates 3


Movie Trend That Freaks Me Out the Most
Torture Porn- Hostel, etc. I like a good horror movie- but torture as entertainment is a scary trend for a country that practices torture for real.