Toasted Toad

John Edwards impressed me tonight.

I wasn't really expecting it, but lo and behold, there he was! Hillary was tight too, but Edwards, in my mind, stood out from the pack.

Of course, my senator, Biden, looked like an asshole, cutting people off, not really responding to questions, and generally being backwards. Oh well, never liked him anyway.

For me, I think while I certainly have many opinions about many things, it's going to come down to universal health care. My family has had so much difficulty later and I get so torn up over people who can't afford medicine or treatment, and it's TIME for something to change on that front. Even before things hit hard, I remember the stupid Medicare reform. Idiots. Not easy, not understandable, and bad for people who needed it.

The question about health care coverage was right on track, and the answer was very solid.

I do get annoyed, however, at the candidates that answer questions other than the ones they were asked. I think it's important that they get their views out about everything, but if they can't address a particular individual, how are we supposed to accept that they can address specific needs of the American people? It's not only politically unconvincing, but rude, no matter who it comes from. I want my president to be able to talk to a single person as easily as to a large crowd, marketing aside.

Ugh. Marketing and politics. Started reading Al Gore's An Assault on Reason. More on that later; I have so much to say about that after only reading the introduction that it's going to take more consideration than I'm willing to devote to this particular post at this moment.

To conclude: Olbermann was AWESOME.

Bill Richardson does get props for "My vice president would NOT be Dick Cheney."

I ventured to the multiplex today with ami with the intention of seeing The Simpsons Movie. I'm not sure what got me in the mood for that; I've always liked the Simpsons, but I've never been a huge fan or anything. Although I do love the episode with the lemon tree...

I think part of it had to do with my friend who had found the official site online where you can "simpsonize" yourself. Here's me, post-simpsonized:

Not too shabby, considering that I'm not that color and  have no idea what shape my eyes are. Seriously, there were SO many options! If only I could be wearing my silver converse-esque sneakers, then I'd be set!

Anyway, we ventured to the cinema, but alas, The Simpsons were sold out until much later, so we saw Hairspray instead! I had seen the Broadway musical a few months before with my dad when he was in town, and have been a long-time fan of the John Water original. I had wanted to see the movie, but was waiting to see it with father when I go home. Oh well, sorry sir, caved in and saw it sooner. (Might just have to go again!)

I loved it. Very different than the musical in many ways, but a lot of the same spunk, and even a few (gasp!) improvements. I really liked Christopher Walken as the dad; not sure I felt the new storyline with the parents and the suspected cheating was necessary, but the father-Tracy chat was really cute.

A few of the other things they changed around were weird. During "Without Love", instead of breaking Tracy out of jail, Link (our very own High School Musical star!) sang to her photograph as Tracy escaped from the basement of Mrs. Pingleton's house. No police.

Of course, the best thing about the movie was that Allison Janney was in it. I'm rather in love with her and always have been. Such a good role for her; she needs to be in more movies and shows for me to watch!

In any event, we left the movie dancing and skipping and in a thoroughly jovial manner. Still deciding about Travolta... We'll see...

Have we reached the point now? Is it now safe to talk about ... The Deathly Hallows? I've been rather impressed at all of the restraint (for the most part) shown on the internet in respect for those who have (gasp!) not finished the book yet. Clearly the huge event deserves its fair and huge share of fanfiction, fanart, and general discussion, but people have been pretty considerate in holding back posting blatant spoilers without adequate warning.

This is a good thing. Clearly. But who decides when it's okay to talk about (shh...) Harry Potter? It's starting to appear now, and I think it's just about time. I'm still holding back on posting some of the great fanart now popping up over at deviantart and all over the web, but I will say that this was one of my favorite quotes from the final book of the series.

"Of course it's happening inside your head, Harry. But why on earth should that mean it is not real?" -Unnamed Character (see, no spoiling!)

Now what I think would have been a kick in the pants was if this quote was actually in reference to the whole Harry Potter universe. Imagine if Hogwarts and the wizarding world had been nothing more than the invention of a 11 year old boy, forced to live in a cupboard-under-the-stairs by his horrible aunt and uncle? Of course, J.K. would never do that to us (and clearly didn't) but it would be interesting to think about all of the meaning that would be behind an ending like that.

Remember the Buffy episode when she woke up in a world where she had been living in a delusional universe of vampires, demons, and the Hellmouth? ("Normal Again", season 6) Her "doctor" and "mother" tried to convince her to leave the world of fantasy. Of course, she chooses the Buffyverse and her friends, but the final shot of the episode is Buffy lying still in the bed at the clinic as her doctor and mother look on.

I continue to win on this point.

How many times have you had your heart broken? 
Submitted by BullDogg.

What a dangerous question indeed. I can certainly count many times when I've had a "cracked-heart" per se, but I can only number my heart breaks up to two.

Number one was a lower-school/middle-school crush, but it went on so long, it felt just as bad as the real deal when I hit the breaking point. I now consider this particular scruffy young fellow my "tester" crush, preparing me for what was to come, but I was head over heels for years without anything in return. Totally unrequited and unfulfilled for Fellow #1. But then again, I was at the age when I thought it would work if I pushed the guy on the playground or even just played tag well enough. I usually lost the races, but the one day that I beat everyone else, I was sure that I had captured the chap's heart. Alas. Woe. Despair.  'Twas not to be!

The last one was something that never should have happened; no way. I fell hard and didn't want to admit to myself how far I was gone. As a result, I didn't really consider it too carefully ("I'm not really into him, so it doesn't really matter") and missed that I was macking on a jackass. Despite the consoling fact that I'm so over it and truly glad that it didn't go any further, I was still really broken up after his ultimate jackass moment. I still won't admit to a lot of friends exactly how much I liked him. But it's nice to know that he was lying about certain skills he believes he possesses. ;)

Today it was raining quite hard pretty much all day long. I woke up with a groan when I recognized the sign of hard rain on the roof and lamented that I couldn't stay in bed and continue to read The Deathly Hallows very, very slowly (as I am doing to savor the very last HP experience! *sob*) Alas, my Monday demanded that I get dressed, leave the comfort of the bed behind, and tromp off to work. A more perfect day to stay in bed and do nothing could not have been more wasted.

To be fair, work was okay today; despite the general drudgery of the day I enjoy being in the office with people I actually like (shocker!) and I was doing some research that basically consisted of searching the internet and finding cool things. A few items I discovered online:

1)

A sing-along version of the "Sister Suffragette" song from Mary Poppins; someone had kindly put karaoke-style lyrics at the bottom. I had forgotten the song itself existed; the fact that it was a sing-a-long version was the icing on the cupcake!

2) Some reviews about the Nintendo Wii; I guess everyone else already knows a lot about these. I remember the hub-bub that came out when they were first released, and I thought they were generally cool. I think now I've decided I want one! Did some research on the Wii after I came across a posting that mentioned them.

3) Can't forget to mention Vox! Which is why I now have my very own account and am making my very first post! (Aren't you proud?) I've always stayed away from blogging for the most part; blogspot seems too sterile, and for me livejournal's too much of a fad, but something about the Vox blogs I discovered struck me in just the right way.

Anyway, after what was clearly an extremely productive day at work, I was walking home when I realized I looked rather dreadful. Besides being sopping wet, I had rolled my jean legs up to keep them from getting soiled. Not rolled up to a trendy length, but an awkward, "too high yet also too low" length. Brown tennis shoes with black socks. My hair was also of course in complete disarray, piled up into a messy ponytail - the real kind, not the carefully arranged messy ponytail where sprouts stick out in specific places and have obviously been straightened and sprayed. I sported a bright pink athletic t-shirt (yay Vassar College rugby!) underneath a bright blue jacket. I'm sure I looked like some sort of trampled, soggy Easter bunny.

Oddly enough, once I realized that I must look ridiculous, it gave me a strange feeling of release. Instead of being embarrassed at my sloppy condition, I came to the conclusion that it actually made me less conscious of my appearance. I knew every chance I had of looking "good" by general standards was out the window. A perplexing thought indeed as I walked back to my apartment, freshly acquired spinach pie in hand.

On my way back, I encountered a group of teenage girls; about four of them. They looked to be around fifteen, and as I passed, I noticed one of them slyly bend down and move her left pant leg to the inside of her sneaker tongue, to match the arrangement on the other leg. It struck me then! All the little things that I generally tend to when I look relatively decent - the things that are usually very unimportant (such as loose hairs, clothing and accessory arrangement) - could be completely neglected when I looked sloppy in the first place.

I think there's definitely a time and place for looking "nice". As long as you're happy with your outward appearance anyway, there's no harm in putting on some snazzy shoes and playing dress up. But it's nice to be liberated from it too.

Very well. That said, I'm off to enjoy some chocolate cannoli and a bit more Harry Potter love.