McCain/Palin 2008

From the beginning of the election this year, I've been a nominal supporter of McCain. Like many, I've mostly planned to vote against Obama, mostly due to policy differences and his impossible promises (like, you know, balancing the budget but yet having everyone under the Congressional-style health care plan). But holy hell, did McCain's VP pick change all of that. I know that he could completely cast her aside Kennedy-style if he gets to the White House, but I really, really like her from what I've seen so far. As a fiscal conservative, some of the stuff that she did to cut spending in Alaska really intrigues me. I also find it pretty comical that the Obama camp is already questioning her experience (one-term executive office vs. one-term sometimes-there legislator...hm?).

I recognize that I tend to be an emotional voter. I vote because I like somebody as a person. I like McCain as a person, but I do have some concerns about whether he can be a successful administrator...having someone there that has administrative experience really tempers my concerns. And as a conservative woman, it makes me proud to see such a strong, family-oriented, anti-corruption woman as McCain's running mate. It seems I won't be voting for Ron Paul after all.

Georgia?

So I consider myself at least somewhat well-informed when it comes to international news and stuff...even more so after spending most of my summer on Google News in one way or another. But I still do not get what happened in Georgia...mostly because I am damn sure that the media is over-simplifying everything like they always do. My gut reaction (just from what I know about Russia's leadership) is that Russia overstepped its bounds in getting involved, or were just following through on a plan to get heavily involved at the slightest provocation. That opinion was kinda solidified when Russia claimed to have "pulled out" of Georgia, yet they still maintain presence in some of the big areas of the country. I just don't really know what this means...is Russia trying to reclaim parts of its sphere of influence (I personally wouldn't put it past Putin to do something like that), does it want more power in certain regions, or is it trying to quiet some of the problem areas in Russia itself (Chechnya, for example)? In my mind (which is probably over-simplifying too), I think the U.S. would have been pretty pissed to see Britain coming in during our Civil War and offering the South the ability to rejoin their "Mother Country." So following that logic, I think Georgia, at the very least, has a right to be pissed off as hell at Russia. Just my two cents into a conflict that, seriously, I don't understand all that well.

New Puppy on the Block

Well, at least some of the time. Beard got a new puppy since Samantha would let him take the chubster (aka Destiny) with him to his new apartment. So they picked up this little baby...She is absolutely the cutest, sweetest little thing I've ever seen. She's a pit bull, but her tail's not docked (which I adore...its so skinny and cute), and she's as lazy as can be. I really think Miss Destiny is going to be a poor influence in the diet/exercise departments, but my goodness is she a little sweetie. The name they were thinking of (as of the last I've talked to Ryan, she was just "Dog" until they solidify her name) most recently is Kaya from the Bob Marley song. I dig it. It's pretty and if it does refer to pot in the song, it works for her; she's so chill, she may as well be high.

Is It Football Season Yet?

So, an odd little thing happened last year: the Giants won the mother effing Super Bowl, and because of it, the 2008 NFL season cannot come fast enough. Giants games are in my planner already so now I just need to count down the days. Crazy Big Blue fan coming through!

Crazy Harrisburg Happenings & Books Galore!

So, funny thing happened to me on Wednesday; funny, you know, in a scary-as-shit kind of a way. So I was walking into work, minding my own business with my hands full of yummy pepperjack tomato soup intended for Archives room B-21's tomato soup party (excuse us for doing anything possible to lighten the somber tones of the effing basement of the Irvis Office Building), and I came across this woman. We did the whole move back and forth thing to get out of each other's way...but I soon realized that she was moving to stay in my way. When I said excuse me (as nicely as possible, btw), she leaned over and tried to like head-butt me. Needless to say, I ran like a little girl, all the while trying not to make it too obvious that I was scared shitless. Yeah, so now I'm all nervous and stuff walking through the city alone. Hopefully it'll wear off by Monday...but it was just so weird. I mean seriously, gotta love the "city" of Harrisburg. "All-America City" my ass.

On a totally different note, as the summer's winding down (3 more weeks until school starts...INSANITY!!!), I've been looking back over my reading this summer. I started out trying to be a good little history student and read some history books, mostly focusing on York history, especially the race riots in 1968 and 1969, which have become peculiarly interesting to me lately. But I gave up as lovely literature started calling my name. I "do" history all day, research, reading, etc. Atonement was awesome. I read it before I saw the movie...adored the book, not so much for the movie. I completely changed gears away from "literature" and read The Other Boleyn Girl, again before watching the movie. I was pleasantly pleased with both...I read the book in like 3 days, soaking it up, and the movie was fantastic too, especially since it gave no pretense of trying to be exactly like the book. Natalie Portman is fantastic in it too. I got into a huge library kick, too; I got about 3 books on a Saturday and read them all by the time they were due 2 weeks later. The Devil and Miss Prym had to have been my favorite from those...just so simple. I really haven't found a Latin American novelist that I haven't adored (esp. Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Isabel Allende). But trying to get through Kerouac's On the Road completely ruined library books for me...I just absolutely hated it. Fiction for me is all about pretty language and a fantastic story and On the Road had neither. But I just finished Snow Falling On Cedars, which is a fantastic story about a trial in a small town off the Washington coast...it's absolutely breath-taking (yes, many books really do take my breath away, they're so good). And now I need to finish my current book House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton by Monday when Jessica is bringing the first of the insanely popular "Twilight Series" so we'll see how that goes. I've been trying to resist these (almost as much as my nearly failing resistance to reading the entire Harry Potter series...which will probably happen sometime this semester when I least have the time to do it), but I gotta see what they're all about. Plus, I need a break from "real" literature again so we'll see how it goes. I'm just really proud of myself for the amount and the quality of the books I've been reading this summer. And my bookshelf is starting to look more "read" which, to me, is a much better look anyways.