Beltmann

The media keeps talking about how Palin exceeded the low expectations everyone had for her performance. I guess I don't see it that way, mostly because I don't think anybody besides the media expected her to fall off the stage. I never thought Palin was an idiot, and tonight I expected her to be reasonably skillful in her style and delivery. However, that very fair expectation is what made her performance so damn underwhelming. I'm still not convinced that she's an idiot--clearly, she knows some stuff--but I'm more convinced than ever that she is not qualified to be vice-president. I was

My wife just said, "I don't want folksy in my vice-president. I want folksy in my children's librarian."

Is it reasonable to suggest that Palin had her clock cleaned? After a very shaky start, Biden was in command of the facts, generally answered the questions, and spoke in paragraphs. Palin was folksy (which grew increasingly empty), set her own questions, and eschewed coherent paragraphs for lists of familiar talking points, often piled up one after another in a rambling, rapid, free-associative way devoid of any connecting thread. Sometimes I had to strain to follow her line of logic, and had to strain even harder to locate any substance underneath all those feel-good generalities and Ameri

I was thinking of you during the game. Glad that you were able to be there!

It's not what I'd pick to protect my indie cred, but if I'm being totally honest, I have to go with James' Hey Ma. Love it.

After my careful explanation of why I was jumping up and down, my daughter shrugged and said, "So, did the Packers win today?" She lost her ticket right there.

I tried to explain the magnitude of this to my 4-year-old daughter, but you have to endure 26 years of futility to fully appreciate it. We have 4 tickets to Saturday's game, which is game 3 of the series. I'm still in shock--playoff games in Milwaukee!!!--and a little hoarse.

Got mine today! (I've been waiting 26 years to say that. Still have my fingers crossed for it to be real.)

"Hate It Here" might work.

I just tried tonight, and my link was emailed within five minutes. Try again, perhaps?

Yeah, I read Newt's post at The National Review yesterday and thought to myself, "Dude is making sense."

That's how I approached my thesis defense, and it ended up being a very pleasant experience. Good luck, Cortez!

I thought so, too. Then again, I was at the movies today and when I returned, my wife told me that Kael had been singing a song about "coming home in pieces." When asked where she heard that song, she replied, "Oh, that's just one of Dad's songs."

I have hazy recollections of really diggin' Jimmy Cliff's "I Can See Clearly Now" while zoning in and out in a recovery room.

I believe the enduring power of art, and the human need to create and connect with art, is evidence that there is more to life and truth than empirical reality.

I love the part where the kids use makeup to convince a substitute that they slaughtered a bunch of Muslims.

The local record shop had one copy. My initial reaction to the album was one of relief: James still sounds like James. I'm diggin' it. Also, yesterday I bought tickets to catch them in Milwaukee next Friday. Side story: Earlier in the week I was playing some older James records, and later that afternoon I overheard my four-year-old daughter singing quietly to herself, "What I need... what I need.... what I need... what I need... is you."

I agree, but I don't understand why there is distrust in the first place. If God does indeed exist, then science is not His enemy; all science will ever do is help illuminate God's creation and workings. Perhaps a distrust of science is a manifestation of insecurity about their faith?

After 9/11, our state passed legislation requiring students to regularly recite the pledge. (At our high school, that means every morning.) A few teachers came down hard on those students who chose to remain silent; those teachers had to be reminded that one of the great things about America is that we have the right to not pledge allegiance upon command.

FYI: Kings of Leon will appear on SNL this Saturday, September 20.

I thought about going to this game with my brother-in-law, who is a Cubs fanatic, but chose instead to be lazy. Perhaps my one chance at seeing one in person... I'll be kicking myself for a long time.

The Counterfeiters / Stefan Ruzowitzky / Germany / 2007 Based on a true story, this Holocaust drama tells of a Jewish counterfeiter sent to the camps and given special treatment in exchange for designing world-class forgeries of the British pound and American dollar. It's a unique and sophisticated story, concerned less with atrocity than with the peculiar, ambiguous morality of this man's circumstances and decisions.

I loved the last album but I'm uncertain about this new one, mostly because I prefer their old CA pop over their new '80s vibe. Still, I can't get "Got It Bad" out of my head... it's been spinning in my brain all week.