Finally got the new Internet connection all hooked up. Definitely a lot nicer than the old satellite connection, but I’m kind of iffy about having Comcast as an ISP. Their strange stances on things like peer-to-peer and net neutrality make me worry. They may say on their website that they don’t throttle BitTorrent traffic (there are legitimate uses for it, you know), but I don’t really trust them.
Anyways, everything is going swimmingly with that, so I’m happy for now. So happy that I can’t get properly incensed about the topic I was planning to rant about, which makes this a bit of a useless post. Ah well.
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Unlike Bagel over at RationReality, my blog absence isn’t the result of sickness and depression, but of a rather sinister combination of finals, moving, and lack of an Internet connection. That last bit may cause some people to call me a liar and accuse me of avoiding my blog because I’m in a creative slump and couldn’t come up with a blog post if I was being held hostage in front of a computer and told that for every minute I stalled an innocent kitten would be denied fame on ICHC. Those people are wrong. In reality, I’m leeching wireless off of some poor schlob who couldn’t be bothered to change the default name of their wireless network, much less put a password on it. It’s a poor connection, and I’m busy with packing and moving, so I’m only connecting for long enough to post this and browse through Reddit for some laughs.
I suppose it’d be useful to explain why I don’t have an Internet connection. My family is in the process of moving into a house closer to town (okay, in town). Unfortunately, utilities like television, phone, and Internet service aren’t due to be hooked up until the 20th. Until then, I’ll be spending my time watching Farscape on my laptop and playing Mass Effect. Well, during the time that isn’t spent packing up my entire life and moving it to a smaller house. Fun.
And the month isn’t even half over. In about a week, I’ll be starting my summer job with the county (working for Parks and Rec). Exciting, huh? Yeah, not really. I’m going to be one busy guy, but I’ll be sure to make time for a rant every so often. After all, this isn’t the Mad Silence of a Raving Genius, is it?
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So it would appear that Barack Obama has all but clinched the Democratic presidential nomination. According to the Associated Press, Obama has the most delegates, putting him far enough in front of Hilary Clinton that she will probably concede the nomination sometime soon.
Now it’s Obama versus McCain for the presidency, assuming Ralph Nader doesn’t make a surprise comeback and ruin everything. Again. However, I’ve heard that a strong third party candidate would be more injurious to McCain than to Obama. I guess that remains to be seen.
As to who I’ll be voting for…I’ve decided that in November, I will be voting for Obama. Yes, I know how often I go on about third parties and how I’m not, in fact, throwing my vote away. But when I look at what’s available, I have to say that Obama is a better choice than any of the third party candidates I’ve looked at. The Libertarian Party candidate, Bob Barr, is anything but a libertarian (well, not the kind I am, at least; he even wanted to ban Wicca from the armed forces), Ron Paul is still crazy, and I have yet to hear about any good independents. My favorite candidates (like Mike Gravel) have vanished back into pre-presidential anonymity, so I’m left with a bunch of candidates I can only half-heartedly support.
Therefore, I’d rather put my vote in for Obama. I hate to buy into the “vote for the guy who’s most likely to win” mentality, but he’s the best choice I’ve got.
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I’ve seen some crazy commercials, but this one takes the cake.
First off, the name. Tiddy Bear? Seriously. And then there’s the placement of the bear in the first part of the commercial: face down in womens’ cleavage. That’s either bad design or the women are doing it wrong. Alternately, it could explain the name Tiddy…
The idea, of course, is a good one. I’ve seen soft pads for seatbelts, but they tend to be beige rectangles, not a fuzzy bear that looks more at home on the backpack of an 8 year old. ‘Nuff said.
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Imagine you’re watching TV and a commercial advertising donuts is one. A famous scarf-wearing woman is talking about the donuts. The commercial ends and life goes on. Most people would think “Mmm, donuts” in a very Homer Simpson kind of way. Not Michelle Malkin. Oh no. She sees a terrorism apologist in that commercial. Why? Because the scarf kind of looks like a Muslim headscarf. If you squint.
Believe it or not, I’m not making this up. The Boston Globe reported on a Dunkin’ Donuts ad featuring Rachael Ray wearing a scarf that bears passing resemblance to a keffiyeh, a traditional male headscarf in Islam. I don’t see the resemblance, but that could be because 1) Rachael Ray isn’t a Muslim guy, and 2) it’s not on her head. But that’s just me.
Michelle Malkin (and others) looked a little too far into the ad and immediately thought “terrorist!” Apparently, the keffiyeh has come to symbolize “murderous Palestinian jihad”, mostly due to Yasser Arafat. The mindless mouth-foaming of Malkin and her fellow conservative bloggers resulted in Dunkin’ Donuts pulling the ad.
Alas, I can’t find the video anywhere online. But the Globe article has a good picture of the scarf in question. To be fair, keffiyeh’s have indeed become a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, but I honestly don’t think this scarf looks anything like one. Similar pattern, perhaps, but that doesn’t mean anything. Two objects can look similar without actually being the same. It’s pretty simple, but I guess you can’t be an ultra-conservative blogger (or a Fox News commentator) without drawing false conclusions.
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