Georgia Pok Guy

Super duper special points for anyone who knows which anime this comes from…

Strange how I can start the day sleep deprived, age it by feeling entirely worthless, and then finish it in a spell of childishness, trying to touch my nose with my tongue.

Also, five days at the villa familia eating home cooked meals and goofing around with my brothers makes coming back to Maryland suck that much more…

This is rather old news, but I just wanted to get a word in edgewise. Stephen Colbert is no longer jocking for a spot in either the Republican or Democratic party for the presidential nomination. Granted, he was only planning to run in the South Carolina primary, but that’s an important primary! In standard Colbert style, his withdrawal statement takes a gab at the political process:

I am shocked and saddened by the South Carolina Democratic Executive Council’s 13-to-3 vote to keep me off their presidential primary ballot. Although I lost by the slimmest margin in presidential election history — only 10 votes — I have chosen not to put the country through another agonizing Supreme Court battle. It is time for this nation to heal.

What disturbs me most about this episode is that it appears pressure was placed on South Carolina to dissuade Colbert from contesting the Democratic nomination. People, please. If you can’t beat a joke candidate, maybe you shouldn’t be running in the first place. According to the article, it appears that Obama supporters were the ones turning the screws. If I’m not mistaken, Obama is popular amongst the younger demographics, which would mean that a Colbert run would have cut into his base. Understandable, then, the desire to keep Colbert out of the race. However, a move such as this can only be seen as a concerted effort to exclude an American citizen from running for president, regardless of his intentions. If anything, that should alienate voters even more.

Another quote from the article I found telling was this one from state Representative Bakari Sellers:

I placed the calls as a concerned Democrat, realizing that we are a country in despair. It is not a time for games or to make a mockery of the process.

In my opinion, excluding any potential candidates from the political process is making a mockery of the system. Letting Colbert run and defeating him on the issues would be the only way I could think of to show that the system still works.

Sigh. I wonder if Lobsterman is running again?

I don’t know why, but, gooooooooooo sea slugs!

Now, some of you may have wondered, “How does Rie fu sing in English so well?”  You’ve listened to “I wanna go to a place…” and marveled at her articulation.  And then you’ve contrasted it to, well, the vast majority of J-Pop songs that feature Engrish, in place of English.  Turns out, Rie fu lived in Maryland as a young lass (Japanese | not so good English).  Ironically, she was living here when I was living in Japan.  That is ironic, right?  She also studied in London, I’m sure that helped too.

Now, some of you may not have wondered, “How does Rie fu sing in English so well?”  That’s alright.  But for those of you who have wondered how I sing in Japanese so well, marveling at my articulation, then you might be interested to know that I lived in Japan as a young lad.  Ironically, Rie fu was living in Maryland at the time.  That is ironic, right?  I also studied Japanese in college, I’m sure that helped too…

OK, I know what I want for Christmas. A limo with a Waffle House in the back…

Aside from the informative articles, there is the writing style as well:

“What on earth is mechanism design?” was the typical reaction to this year’s Nobel prize in economics, announced on October 15th. In this era of “Freakonomics”, in which everyone is discovering their inner economist, economics has become unexpectedly sexy. So what possessed the Nobel committee to honour a subject that sounds so thoroughly dismal? Why didn’t they follow the lead of the peace-prize judges, who know not to let technicalities about being true to the meaning of the award get in the way of good headlines?

Italics added by moi…

Those of you who have traveled to, or lived in, Canada or several states in the North-East may know the deliciousness that is Tim Hortons.  Those of you who do not, I recommend a sojourn up north.  Or, if you prefer, Kandahar, Afghanistan.  That’s right.  Everyone’s favorite Canadian donut chain has a branch in Afghanistan.  Granted, it is on a NATO base, but I find it interesting that Tim Hortons first store outside of North America happens to be in Central Asia.  All the more reason, in my opinion, to join the Canadian military.

I know that a number of American brands globalized their operations by following the troops in WWII.  Coca-Cola comes to mind; it was confined mostly to the South beforehand.  So, will the same happen with Tim Hortons?  Only time will tell.  Of course, there is a huge difference between post-war Japan and Germany and post-Taliban Afghanistan, so the magic eight ball that is my mind says, “Outlook not so good.”  It would be pretty nifty, though, to be munching on Timbits in Kandahar or Kabul…

As an aside, I am disappointed that there are no Tim Hortons in Maryland.  I mean, they have them in West Virginia, for the love of mick!  And Kentucky, interestingly…

In honor of it being Guy Fawkes Day (for 2 hours and 8 minutes more), I direct your attention to this article (found with the help of elms-fu).  It is a rather excellent read, reflecting on important lessons to take away from the Gunpowder Plot and how they are still very relevant today.

Can anyone spot below the potential error in the wikipedia article on Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty?