Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Back From Vacation

(Sorry for the long absence. I hope somebody still reads this.)

A week out of town and away from the tv can really reset one's perspective. For one thing, coming back and listening to the news, it seems like one long episode of News of the Weird.
First, I noticed some good news occurring.

Check this out:
Oil prices are down! Yay! We knew those oil execs would force prices lower before the fall election to help out John McCain! (No windfall profits tax for them.) I'm guessing $80/bbl by November 1st!
U.S. Military Has Fewest Iraq Deaths Since Invasion

Click Here for details.

12 American soldiers died in July in Iraq. Feels odd to be happy about that, but we all know the context. That's 12 out of 147,000. Sounds safer than commuting.

More good news . . .

Mad Men is the best show on tv, and the new season has just started. It's produced by AMC, of all things. So good luck finding it. At my house it's on Sunday night at 10:00, but we tivo everything now. We rented the first season on dvd, and actually went out late to get the rest of the disks because we were so hooked. Did I mention that everyone in the show smokes like a chimney? It is tremendous!

A Mad man and his crazy wife
Our declining civilization . . .
I can't believe what a stooopid campaign John McCain is running, and he's in a virtual tie with Barry O! Of course, we elected W twice, so I guess that's just who we really are.
Financial rumor - The price of gas has caused consumers to run up their credit card balances, causing liquidity problems for card issuers. This will result in a 2nd wave credit crisis as card banks fail, people's cards get cancelled through no fault of theirs, and they can't buy groceries. Bummerpalooza.

No brainy chick for July. I considered Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing, but a communist muslim is just too radical for me. Plus, McCain is souring me on old people.