Look at these.

Read this.

Both make me realize there’s something better out there for us.

Christopher Reeve could weigh in on the stem-cell issue. Michael J. Fox can weigh in on the stem-cell issue. Nancy Reagan and Ron Reagan Jr. can weigh in on the stem-cell issue. Mel Gibson should keep his idiot mouth shut.

By the way, there are an awful lot of people wondering the same thing that Mel asks — “Why do I, as a taxpayer, have to fund something I believe is unethical?” — but for a completely different reason. See “Bush; fake war; oil.”

from Yahoo.

I’ve been listening to these songs a lot lately:

• the hidden cameras . i believe in the good of life
• sons & daughters . johnny cash
• of montreal . disconnect the dots
• the gossip . got body if you want it
• stars . ageless beauty
• brian wilson . good vibrations
• pinback . afk
• tv on the radio . dreams
• white magic . one note

It’s a watershed moment.

I just now, right this moment, felt something. I felt, from somewhere deep in my gut, for the first time in over 3 years, that Bush might not be re-elected. I don’t know what it is; the predictions coming from various bloggers of a Kerry victory, the obvious lies and manipulation that the Bush camp has been caught at surrounding the missing explosives, the polling numbers that are too close for an interim president’s comfort, the outright aggression against Bush of leading papers like the Times, the Kerry debate wins…I don’t know what it is.

I’m far from certain. But for the first time since September of 2001 I feel like Bush could lose. Will lose. Has to lose.

We watched a movie the other night called Love That Boy (imdb | rotten tomatoes), a little movie that snuck into and out of theatres earlier this year. Just a cheap little quirky (but not maritime-quirky, thank god) character-driven sweet funny believable silly hoot of a movie. totally engaging, well worth the cost of a rental. There’s was an extra bonus for us, as it was shot in Halifax, most of which we recognized (a review in Eye said it took place at The Mount, but in fact it was set at Dalhousie. Well…King’s, really.

It’s a bit hard to find — Zip didn’t have it, but Rogers did…I guess because it was a tiny Canadian production. Anyway, it’s worth hunting for. Go find it.

The Halifax Pop Explosion looks pretty good this year. The Arcade Fire, The Hidden Cameras, Oh Susanna, Despistado, controller.controller, The Organ, The Wrens, etc.

From The Onion: Election Day Guide.

“If you live in Florida, for Christ’s sake, look at the ballot very, very carefully this time.”

OK…it’s one thing when the Democrats don’t like you. It’s one thing when MoveOn, or BoingBoing, or Salon, or Slate don’t like you. But when NASA starts calling you a bitch, you have to ask yourself some hard questions.

From the BBC: Legendary radio DJ John Peel dies.

Apparently the IOC is considering a number of “sports” for inclusion in future summer Olympics, including golf, bowling, billiards, ballroom dancing, chess and bridge. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. I can see them letting golf in, only because it’s very high profile and pro golf has a ton of money to throw around, but still…it’s not a sport! It’s a game! As far as I’m concerned I’d like to see only pure sports (the definition of which I’ll get to in a minute) included in the Olympics, as they’re supposed to be a purely athletic event.

Look, to be considered a pure sport, you have to meet two criteria: 1) physical prowess, and 2) clear, unbiased scoring. The first criteria eliminates most of the above events (golf included); physical prowess doesn’t mean you can hit a ball far, or throw a dart with exquisite precision. Golfers, while they may have wonderful ability to hit a ball with distance and accuracy, by and large look as if they’ve just stepped out of a bar after a few mint juleps looking for a ball to hit. The only event listed above that would meet this criteria would be (believe it or not) ballroom dancing. I’ve seen these people. It’s frigging nuts, and they must lose half a litre of sweat. However, they don’t pass the next criteria.

Unbiased scoring means that you don’t have judges. It means that any referees you have nearby are there only to enforce existing rules, not to decide the value of your performance. This obviously eliminates gymnastics, synchronized swimming, etc. Now…don’t get me wrong, gymnastics might be the hardest event in the Olympics, and gymnasts are some of the most physically impressive athletes in the world. But the fact that some shmoe sitting off to the side, who many have an agenda or bad eyesight or insomnia, assigns a number at the end of a performance just ruins the whole thing. Look at these past Olympics for examples (Paul Hamm winning gold and Kyle Shewfelt losing bronze, because of judging screwups).

So, to recap:
no physical prowess + clear scoring = game
physical prowess + unclear scoring = competition
physical prowess + clear scoring = sport

This formula would, of course, be very contentious. Baseball would likely be eliminated (too many tubby people who don’t have to run, an umpire calling a very wonky strike zone, etc.), and discus might be as well (currently a judge runs up and points to the spot where they think the discus landed). Diving, skeet shooting, boxing…all gone. But practically all track and field events remain, as do things like rowing, kayaking, soccer, hockey, downhill skiing (but nothing involving jump style points), bobsled, weightlifting, etc.

I could even accept competitions (you know, physical prowess + unclear scoring) because of the physical exertion, but I can’t stand the thought of billiards or bridge being Olympic sports. I do believe I would boycott.