Town Hall Debate

Live-blogging the VP debate was a first for me. It is something the pros do quite often and I thought I would try to emulate them and possibly disguise myself as a pro blogger. Anyway, as you can see below, there was no live-blogging for the presidential debate the other night. I was busy that night, but I did record the debate on my sleek VCR and finished watching it last night.

I quickly get bored when the debaters dive into Washingtonian and their round about way of speaking far beyond the time limit, but not really answering the questions. There was a lot of that Tuesday night from both candidates. This seemed to be the pattern of the debate. The question is asked. McCain speaks first, offering one to three sentences throughout his speech that sort of answer the question. Obama gets a chance to respond, also offering one to three sentences, and then getting interrupted by Brokaw because he is talking too long. Might I add, Brokaw's persistent mentioning of the answer time limits did get a little annoying. I say, let the candidates answer the question and hack it out for a healthy amount of time. What is two minutes?

Anyway, in a debate like this, where questions aren't really being answered, the candidates use the question as a catalyst to launch them into some aspect of their platform. There is a lot to judge, but I am not necessarily judging a candidate's answer, but what they spend their time talking about. With that said, I thought Obama spoke eloquently about where he wants to lead America and how he will lead America. McCain did this as well, but since McCain maintains that he and his running mate are the ticket for the average American, then he needs to be able to relate to them in a debate like this and he didn't. This is somewhat ironic because all afternoon the news networks touted his skills in town-hall style debates, but McCain seemed uneasy in this format with Obama. He was nervously wandering around the stage, barely making eye contact with Obama and referring to Obama as "that one" during one point in the debate (I don't believe McCain's use of "that one" was at all a racially charged comment, as some have suggested, but it was definitely a poor choice of words).

One thing that I love about the way the Obama campaign operates is their relatively clean campaign strategy. I was disappointed earlier this week when the campaign rolled out a criticism against McCain for his role in the Keating Five. Although that is an important part of McCain's political career, discussion of that old scandal is not going to move the country forward. Anyway, since McCain has been going with spectacularly dirty attacks for about a week now I think those attacks reserved Obama the right to bring up McCain's "Bomb, bomb, Iran" and "Next up, Baghdad" quotes in the middle of the debate. Admittedly, I was laughing out loud when Obama did this because that is a funny attack, but also because it is entertaining to hear attacks like that from Obama because truly, it seems to go against his character.

Many questions posed to the candidates dealt with the country's biggest struggles: the economic crisis, the war in Iraq, successfully capturing/killing Osama Bin Laden, Social Security and health care reform. And throughout the whole debate, McCain was saying he had the solutions to all these crises. He wouldn't necessarily explain how he would solve them, but would just offer something up like this on finding Bin Laden:

"I'll get Osama bin Laden, my friends. I'll get him. I know how to get him. I'll get him no matter what and I know how to do it."

I know McCain cares about solving these issues, but since he has all these magical solutions to the country's biggest problems he should share them with the current president. What the hell are you waiting for McCain?

The Daily Show also picked up on this last night in their debate analysis. I post the whole video because it is all great, but they touch upon the all-knowing McCain at the very end.

Cracks in the Glass Ceiling

I started to use StatCounter to track visitors to this blog on April 15, 2005, three days after I started this blog. So, I can safely say, that the number StatCounter is giving me today for total unique visitors is nearly exact for the life of this blog so far. That number: 15,833. Page loads are at 19,900, but unique visitors is the key number because this number trims a lot of page loads that are being done by the same visitor. That's it, I'm afraid. The most popular blogs on the net get that many hits in a matter of minutes and upwards of 1 million hits a day.

Of those 15,833 unique visitors, only 1,074 of them visited between April 15, 2005 and December 31, 2005. 2006 had 1,431 visitors and for four months I wasn't blogging here because I was in London. For 2007, the blog took quite a leap to 5,700 visitors, but this is expected because I was blogging much more frequently. And for 2008, this blog has had 7,628 visitors so far, already putting to shame 2007.

The busiest month was April of this year with 1,245 unique visitors. The slowest month of this year was July with 402 unique visitors. I was in the middle of the Obama fellowship then and not doing much blogging. But the lowest number of visitors in a single month was in March of 2006. There were 27 visitors that month I was in London, barely edging out August 2005 with 28 visitors.

I would say one of the most unexpected pleasures of having a blog is seeing where readers are coming from to read my blog. StatCounter gives me plenty of information about my visitors. I can see your IP address, your network name, the location you are connecting from (or at least the location of your ISP), the number of returning visits and what time of the day you visit the blog. I guess, in a way, looking up stats on StatCounter is a way of stalking my readers...if I have any.

For example, I know Jarrod has already visited this blog today. The location of his ISP is in Denver and the network name is Mesa. He went to the blog about three times yesterday.

Just because someone works in Colorado doesn't mean their network is in Colorado. I know I have a reader in Colorado, but their network/ISP is in Chicago somewhere.

Some of you have this page bookmarked, but others don't because every time you go to this blog you Google "Bryce Perica" or "six hours on sunday" in order to find it. This seems like a lot of work. If you are in Firefox, just press Ctrl + D and you'll have the page bookmarked.

Every once in a while I'll have someone get here via the link on my Facebook profile page.

I show up at the top of the list, or near the top of the list, for quite a few Google searches. Try "airplane exit row rules". I'll be in the top 5 results because of this blog. One of my favorites, "starbucks italian soda". I'm third on the list because of this blog. Or, "mcdonalds soda size". That search will take you here.

My readers are few and far between, but I'm glad you visit this blog for whatever reason. That is to say, this would be a much quieter place if I didn't know you would be checking it tomorrow hoping for an update.

"Terrorist"

Here is the clip of someone in McCain's audience yelling "Terrorist" after McCain asks, "Who is Barack Obama?"



As you can see, McCain doesn't wink and nod, at least not that I can see. However, he does clearly hear the response which comes somewhere from the audience off to McCain's left. He sort of pouts for a second. McCain isn't responsible for the crazy, whacked-out ideas that some of his supporters have, but he knows the fear is out there and I think it is pretty obvious he is playing to it here and in other quotations from Palin.

A wink and a nod

Here is a post from Talking Points Memo. Marshall gets pretty pissed here, but seriously, how can you blame him? Because what he writes about probably did happen. I say 'probably' because I am sure TPM, like many other major news blogs, gets tons of tips from readers. TPM uses great discretion in posting and if they ever manage to post something that proves false they often do an update post to let their readers know that they have acquired further information that disproves or conflicts with the initial post.

To make a long story short, TPM is very reliable and that is why this post is so disturbing:

So we have McCain today getting his crowd riled up asking who Barack Obama is and then apparently giving a wink and a nod when one member of the crowd screams out "terrorist."

And later we have Sarah Palin with the same mob racket, getting members of the crowd to yell out "kill him", though it's not clear whether the call for murder was for Bill Ayers or Barack Obama. It didn't seem to matter.

These are dangerous and sick people, McCain and Palin. Whatever it takes. Stop at nothing.

True Story

My parents are going through security at DIA when my dad recognizes a face. The face turns out to be that of Anne Lamott.

My mom walks over and starts a brief conversation with, "Excuse me, Anne." My mom then goes on to quickly tell Anne how much her writing has encouraged and helped my mom over the years.

After talking for a few seconds it was time to move about one's business and my mom said bye.

Later, on one of the DIA trains, my parents arrived at their concourse before one of the other passengers. My parents had to walk by this passenger in order to step off the train and when my mom did so, this passenger, Anne Lamott, put her hand on my mom's shoulder and said, "Traveling mercies."

You Betcha

Door County Visit

Looking out into Green Bay from Ephraim, Wisconsin.

A walk in the woods.

Goats on the roof of a restaurant. Really. They stay up there all season long.

PDA

The VP Debate - Live Blogging

Holy Crap! This is good television.

9pm

Palin just winked at me.

I love how Palin injects slang into her answers. "Darn right." What the? She just said Joe Sixpack. I've heard that one before, maybe even from Obama, but it just sounds so dorky.

TPM already mentioned this, but Biden does look scared to look at anybody but Ifill.

Biden's response to the tax accusation was level-headed.

Again, Palin emphasizes her "straight talk" so she can speak to the American people.

Palin just referred to herself as middle class. I read a report today that estimated the Palin family assets. Wait for it...wait for it...$1.2 million. Damn, I want to be in that middle class.

Characterized, Joe. Characterized. Get it out.

Err, McCain does say one thing to one group and say another thing to another group. Palin should know this. She reads all newspapers and magazines.

That bankruptcy bill that was passed seems like a bad idea. Watch Maxed Out.

Oh, yes. Palin is going to talk about energy. Go on. I mean, after all, McCain says you are the foremost energy expert in the country! Is she really lecturing us about energy independence? Unbelievable.

Palin acknowledges the global warming trend, but she still refuses to say it was caused by man and refers to cyclical global temperature change.

Hah, Palin just corrected Biden on the Republicans chant "Drill, Baby, Drill." Biden said, "Drill. Drill. Drill."

So, to the support granting benefits to same-sex couples question, her answer was "No." Right?

We have a plan for withdrawal, Palin says. Do tell. I don't know of this. "Your plan is a white flag of surrender." - Palin to Biden. Hm, it didn't sound like a white flag of surrender to me.

Palin talking about Iran is scary. Very, very scary.

Sullivan thinks Biden is throwing this debate away. He thinks Palin's chirpy, stylistic approach is beating Biden. He may be true.

Her smiles are outrageously distracting. It is so comical. "Maverick." Blah, blah, blah. "Ruffling feathers."

Palin is lecturing on truth. Funny.

I agree with Palin. It is very obvious she is a Washington outsider.

10:06pm...The longest pause from Palin. She made it over an hour without an overly awkward silence.

A Palin Administration? I saw that last night on The Daily Show. She would put it on eBay. I'll post the video later.

Can we please stop using "Maverick"? That reminds me, at the RNC I saw someone holding a sign that read "Mavrick". That was amazing.

"Say it ain't so, Joe." And "doggone it." Classy.

Check the video. I don't think Palin's comment about not knowing what the VP does was a lame attempt at a joke.

Sullivan seems to be changing his opinion on the debate. This great bit from the Dish:

"Doggone it." "Say it ain't so, Joe." "God bless her." A shout out to her home town school. A total ramble of nothing on education. Total ramble.

Biden's criticism of Cheney was sweet.

10:19pm - I was hoping Palin would wink at me again. She just did.

Damn, Biden's getting choked up about his son was powerful. Staged? Doubt it. But either way, it worked. But then he goes a little long with his "Maverick he is not" speech. That was a little painful at the end.

10:30pm - Palin's closing statement...Ah, here comes the attack on the media. Palin loves answering questions, but she doesn't like interviews and press conferences. That was classic.

Biden's closing statement...Hitting the economy. That's smart. That's the weak spot right now and Biden seems to be doing a good job by hitting the reestablishment of the American dream as a core tenet to an Obama-Biden Administration.

Joe wins! But hey, I'm in the tank.

The Veeps

The VP debate starts in ten minutes and here are three scenarios.

Scenario #1

Palin carries over her performance from interviews into the debate. This is going to include many awkward silences, slaughtered English and perhaps muffled laughs from the audience.

Scenario #2

Palin's performance is the same as the first scenario, but this time Biden does something that is interpreted as sexist. This could be any sort of normal facial expression. This is also where Biden would get a little windy and bore everyone to death with his expansive knowledge of government and foreign policy.

Scenario #3

Palin's performance isn't awful, it is just sort of bad. No matter how Biden performs, if Palin makes it through without providing the media a handful of gaffes, then she has won. Sad, but true.

The Supreme Court Question

Much is being made of Palin's awesomely bad interview performance with Katie Couric. Specifically, Palin is receiving a lot of criticism for not being able to name one other Supreme Court decision besides Roe v. Wade. One other! Now, to be clear, I don't think the general public should be criticized for not knowing another Supreme Court decision. However, I do believe a candidate for VP should be able to name more than one Supreme Court decision whether they disagree with it or not.

Here is the clip which also includes Biden's defense of Roe v. Wade. Here goes:



It is difficult for me to disagree with her sometimes because she isn't even knowledgable enough to have an opinion. She is shockingly stupid and I think McCain is paying for it now.

Stuff

We had a great weekend with my parents and I'll be putting up pictures of the visit tomorrow.

I feel like I need to give updates in a lot of areas of my life so I might try tackling that this week.

I'm still blown away after finding out that Mike from one of those Real Worlds (I can't remember which season) is really a wrestler in the WWE. He goes by the name The Miz. This is all news to me because I don't follow the WWE, but I was channel changing last night and stopped on a commercial, left the room and heard "The Miz" coming from the TV.

And Jon Stewart just did a great commentary on the politicians blaming the Jewish holidays for not getting the votes necessary to pass the bailout plan. If I can get the video, I'll post it tomorrow.

Oh so convenient...

Stop the madness.

TPM reports McCain is slithering his way out of the first presidential debate and wants to reschedule it for October 2nd, which just so happens to be the date for the one and only vice presidential debate.

This financial meltdown is freaking scary. It is a national crisis, but the economy is not going to be saved by putting to a hault this presidential debate. And the media is not going to show the McCain/Palin ticket any more "deference" if the one VP debate is canceled.

In my view, there isn't a more pertinent time for a presidential debate. Voters need to hear as much from these candidates as possible. We need to hear how they are going to fix this mess because it will be one of theirs in less than four months.

Honestly, I think the McCain camp will do all they can to keep Palin from facing Biden.

America needs to see these debates. All of them.

Finally

I start coaching today.

And the parents arrive on Thursday.

Light blogging over the next week.

Saber Rattling

Get ready for it if McCain/Palin win. From a Palin speech via the Dish:

"We gather here today to highlight the Iranian dictator's intentions and to call for action to thwart him. He must be stopped. The world must awake to the threat this man poses to all of us."

Another call for action. Is this what America really needs? Is this what the world needs?

The hockey mom, the moose-shooter Sarah Palin, could possibly have the nuke codes.

The Candidates on 60 Minutes

McCain and Obama were on 60 Minutes over the weekend and if you missed it you can watch the clips here. The questions from Steve Kroft and Scott Pelley are more issue based than questions coming from different interviewers in the past. Check them out.

Read about Flack Gobbler Palin

Should you find yourself looking for something to read this weekend be sure to read Anne Lamott's new column at Salon.com.

Money quote:

When I got home from church, I drank a bunch of water to metabolize the Dove bar and called my Jesuit friend, who I know hates these people, too. I asked, "Don't you think God finds these smug egomaniacs morally repellent? Recoils from their smugness as from hot flame?"

And he said, "Absolutely. They are everything He or She hates in a Christian."

I have been in a better mood ever since, and have decided not to even say this woman's name anymore, because she fills me with such existential doubt, such a sense of impending doom and disbelief, that only the Germans could possibly have words for it. Nor am I going to say the word "lipstick" again until after the election, as it would only be used against me. Or "polar bear," because that one image makes me sadder than even horrible old I can stand.

I hate to criticize. And I love to kill wolves as much as the next person does. But this woman takes such pride in her ignorance, doesn't have a doubt in the world about her messianic calling, that it makes anyone of decency feel nauseated -- spiritually, emotionally and physically ill.

Amen, Anne.

I also highly recommend Anna Quindlen at Newsweek.

Money quote:

But expediency is an astonishing thing, and conservative Republicans have suddenly embraced the assertion that women can do it all, even those conservative Republicans who have made careers out of trashing that notion. James Dobson of Focus on the Family once had staffers on his hot line saying, "Dr. Dobson recommends that mothers of young children stay at home as much as possible." He now applauds a woman who was back at work three days after her son, who has Down syndrome, was born.

Even to state that simple fact resulted in outrage among those at the convention, who screamed double standard. But the double standard was mainly theirs. The governor was aggressively marketed in terms of her maternity, yet questions about how she managed to mother five and lead the state were dismissed as sexist. The governor's two years leading Alaska, which in terms of citizens served is the equivalent of being mayor of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., was said to be the linchpin of her appointment, but questions about her breadth of experience were dismissed as sexist. Her surrogates wanted the press to write about mooseburgers and ignore how the governor had once pursued the kind of earmarked federal funds she now insists are anathema to her. Conservatives have probably used the word "sexist" more in the past week than they have in the past 50 years.

...

John McCain has been no advocate for women; when asked during the primaries, on the subject of Senator Clinton, "How do we beat the bitch?" he responded, "Excellent question." (Note to the GOP: that IS sexist.) He has been either hostile or clueless on issues like contraceptive funding, workplace protections and aid to poor mothers. And his running mate will likely walk in lock step with him on all those things. But she could certainly help move the inevitable tide of women's rights, the tide that has floated her own boat, by demanding that she be honored with the same tough scrutiny the guys in this race get. Which was, in case these improbable born-again friends of feminism missed it, the entire point of the exercise in the first place.

Enough said.

The Laramie Project

Most people have never heard of the University of Wyoming or, for that matter, the State of Wyoming. If they have any supposed familiarity with the town of Laramie, Wyoming, it is because of the murder of Matthew Shepard nearly 10 years ago. But I say 'supposed' because to know the story of Matthew Shepard is not to know the story of Laramie.

I think this NY Times piece misrepresents the Laramie I know. Although I know nothing about being gay in Laramie, I do know that while I was there for four and a half years I didn't hear or see any discrimination against gays that I have not seen elsewhere in more "progressive" parts of the country.

And while a part of me thinks it is strange that there is no formal memorial to Matthew Shepard in Laramie, another part completely understands why there isn't one. Laramie was inundated by the media for weeks after the killing and later the story was immortalized by the play "The Laramie Project." And, even later, by a movie of the same name. While the rest of the world has become "familiar" with Laramie and Wyoming, the town itself has fought back and has tried for years to eradicate the stigma that can come with such a story.

This approach, by Laramie residents, is perceived to be disrespectful. I don't see it that way. There is a lot more to Laramie than a story about a gay college student being beaten to death. Wisely enough, Laramie has moved on, highlighting Wyoming's real selling points, because it knew the media never would.

Congrats...

...Are due to Jarrod and Tess. They have a son, Boston, born this morning. I was told that he would be putting some pictures on his blog soon.

Congrats, man.

Poem for an empty church

I've seen seven pastors
And my fair share of weddings
Funerals too

Packed houses on Christmas Eve
The hardened, creaky pews overflowing
On Easter too

There were strangers
Among the lions of the congregation
New members too

Laughter echoed through the halls
Mingled with sobs
And whispers too

Somewhere the Message has been lost
Muddled with humanity
And lies too

The pews are glad to have a rest this morning
But the halls mourn the thinning of the crowd
Me too

Thanks, but no thanks.

Via: The Daily Dish

Guyland, ha

This Newsweek article is from a couple weeks ago now, but I've been thinking about it for days because it is so accurate. Please, read the article before you continue on because the rest of this blog won't make sense if you don't follow the link.

This is my graduating class, at least for a lot of my class. I see this pattern in people both older and younger than me. I see some of these traits in myself and I'm doing my best to eradicate them. Being married and completely independent certainly helps, but those shouldn't be necessary in order for some guys to just grow up.

...

My wife prevented me from venting anymore about this in public. I am glad she is here.

Thinking about iced coffee and Tolstoy

I hate the sound of other people kissing. By other people, I mean this teenage couple next to me at Starbucks. They are part of the after high school rush that invades this Starbucks at 3pm every weekday. The young gent is wearing way too much cologne and by the distinctly immature, fruity smell of the cologne I am guessing it is from Abercrombie and Fitch.

A while back I read a collection of Leo Tolstoy's short stories. It was the first Tolstoy book/collection that I have ever read. I felt like I was reading the Bible. The man really likes parables. I enjoyed it for the most part. The stories aren't page turners, but they make you think, like this passage from "The Raid". This is shortly after the death of a young soldier who valiantly charged into a forest and came out severely wounded. The narrator, a young, once-eager soldier himself, starts the conversation:

"Oh, what a pity," I could not help saying as I turned away from that sad sight.

"Of course it's a pity," said an old soldier who was standing near me, mournfully leaning on his rifle. "He's not afraid of anything--how can anyone go on like that?" He added, staring at the wounded officer. "He's stupid too--and now he's paid for it."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"What do you think?"

There will always be something that is comforting about a Starbucks iced coffee. Its taste doesn't make me miss the job, but it reminds me of a good year, with a good friend in Longmont. It is security in a cup. That's a lot to say about a drink, but that's the best way to describe it. It is the beginning of a friendship. It is comfort, a little money and insurance. It is a home away from home. The smooth, caramel-like, satin finish is is nice, but it is much more than that. Starbucks, as much as I didn't want it to be my job, was good for me and to me. I won't romanticize it anymore than that.

Here's one

My quote of the day is from The Daily Dish:

"I have had a strong and a long relationship on national security, I've been involved in every national crisis that this nation has faced since Beirut, I understand the issues, I understand and appreciate the enormity of the challenge we face from radical Islamic extremism. I am prepared. I am prepared. I need no on-the-job training. I wasn't a mayor for a short period of time. I wasn't a governor for a short period of time," - Senator John McCain, October, 2007.

This isn't funny anymore...

Sarah Palin is going toe to toe with Putin. Incredible.

Brand of Humor

It seems a lot of people watching the VMAs on MTV didn't like Russell Brand's humor. Specifically, his teasing of the Jonas Brothers for wearing promise rings. Okay, so be offended, but I think that one comment is the scapegoat for labeling Brand's job as host as being awful and crude. In reality, his jokes, including the swipe at Bush, were no different than similar jokes from hosts in the past.

You want to know what I think? His punchlines were delivered too quickly. His humor was probably too smart for the crowd. He is not American, therefore automatically suspect for being a horrible host. Yeah, I think it was a combination of these things because I thought he was quite funny from beginning to end.

As we know it...

The Large Hadron Collider went online today and the world didn't end. However, no actual collisions took place today and from my understanding the scientists won't be colliding protons into each other until a couple of weeks from now. So, enjoy the last days.

Anyway, I've read a lot of articles here and there, trying to grasp what it is this collider does and what sort of information scientests hope to glean from such an outlandish experiment. I've retained little. No surprise there, but I did find this video fascinating. If you can get beyond the narrator's accent, you'll learn quite a bit about the experiment.

Here are the numbers that are most fascinating to me:

The collider has a circumference of 27 kilometers or 17 miles-ish.

When the protons reach the maximum speed in the collider they will be traveling at 99.9999997% of the speed of light (or something like that). That means they will be making over 11,000 revolutions in that collider in one second. That is truly mind boggling.

The video:

To be made fast

During this political season, I am very thankful for Talking Points Memo and The Daily Dish, Andrew Sullivan's blog at The Atlantic. I have these sites to moor me to some truth that, unfortunately, is not available in the mainstream news digest.

I am glad I can read this:

Yes, McCain made a decision [to choose Sarah Palin as his VP] that revealed many appalling things about him. In the end, his final concern is not national security. No one who cares about national security would pick as vice-president someone who knows nothing about it as his replacement. No one who cares about this country's safety would gamble the security of the world on a total unknown because she polled well with the Christianist base. No person who truly believed that the surge was integral to this country's national security would pick as his veep candidate a woman who, so far as we can tell anything, opposed it at the time.

McCain has demonstrated in the last two months that he does not have the character to be president of the United States. And that is why it is more important than ever to ensure that Barack Obama is the next president. The alternative is now unthinkable. And McCain - no one else - has proved it.

...when it's a completely legitimate thing to say, but you won't hear it anywhere else. Brackets are mine.

I love. I love that some journalist has the balls to say this:

Let's face it. Lipstick on a pig is a classic American phrase. And there's just no better way to describe the McCain-Palin ticket. The 'Reformer' whose whole campaign and senate office is run by a crew of high-rolling DC lobbyists? The earmark slayer whose state this year got ten times more earmarks than any other state in the country? Whose city when she was mayor got twenty times as many? The whole operation is just one big bamboozling lie. And lipstick on a pig is just using good American English to explain it. If McCain and Palin don't like it they should have thought of that before they decided to run as frauds.

Click the link to see TPM's great illustration. In the weeks to come, the linking to either one of these sites and some more is going to get heavy, if you haven't noticed already. So, expect a lot of linking and copying and pasting by me.

At least someone is doing their job

Oh, TPM. I love you.

It looks like NBC has finally caught on. I just saw a preview for Nightly News and it looks like they are going to report on the facts behind such statements from Palin that lead us to believe (if we take her word for it) that she sold the old governor's plane on eBay. TPM has been reporting for a few days now that this is not the case. She did sell the plane, but not on eBay and for a $700,000 loss. Oops.

By the way, this report is from a station in Alaska.

Cover Time

When I walk into a bookstore I tend to move toward the magazines for a quick browse. Today, when I arrived at the news magazines, I counted Sarah Palin on six covers. Time, Newsweek, The Weekly Standard, People, OK and US Weekly. My initial reaction: Dread that John McCain's pick could help him win the White House or even worse, that she could be the next POTUS.

My second reaction: That's a lot of magazine covers to make for not granting any interviews that matter to the press. I include "that matter" because I think she got an interview with People about the recent birth of Trig. Besides that interview she is off limits because she is undergoing intense training over the next couple of weeks for the position of POTUS.

Laughing. Out. Loud.

Sparks speaks her mind

Update: I was wrong, she didn't present the award with Chris Brown. It was John Legend.

I tuned into some of the VMAs last night, hoping I would see enough ridiculousness to write a cynical, hopefully witty, blog about how much the VMAs and MTV suck. I'm not going to write that blog, although I definitely saw a lot of lameness. Perhaps later I'll do some sort of recap, but for me the performance of the night came from American Idol winner, Jordin Sparks.

Shortly following the British comedian, Russell Brand's quip that mocked promise rings, Sparks was scheduled to present an award with John Legend. Speaking off the script, she said, "I just have one more thing to say about promise rings. It's not bad to wear a promise ring, because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut."

Legend looked slightly uncomfortable for a second and then the two slipped into the scripts. It was a very quick moment, but one of honesty and genuine reaction, feelings the VMAs are completely devoid of.

Traffic in Milwaukee

I snapped this shot while leaving downtown after the Harley 105th parade last weekend. There were very few cars on the road.

Jobing

I got a job helping to coach swimming here. It's sort of a big deal for me. I thought I'd share it here because I'm really excited.

I've wanted to be back near swimming for quite some time now and I couldn't think of a better way to usher the sport back into my life.

I should start next week.

Olbermann and the 9/11 tribute at the RNC

Found it. Olbermann rips 9/11 tribute at the RNC:

RNC's 9/11 Tribute

There are classy tributes to 9/11, and then there are the types of tributes like the one shown at the RNC tonight. Showing no caution, the RNC video featured clips of the attacks in progress...people dying. Planes flying into towers. Towers falling.

My jaw dropped. Are they really stooping this low? I think their choice to show these clips is a direct exploitation of those who died that day. Also, this is an attempt at evoking emotions from that day that are better left forgotten because they lead to kneejerk reactions. We don't need those emotions in order to move the country forward. And we don't need to see the planes flying into the buildings and the buildings falling in order to honor the fallen.

I saw this clip when I was watching MSNBC. After it ended some talking heads went off for a while, but before they cut to commercial Keith Olbermann went off the record and called that video a disgrace. It was a great commentary on a very low point of the RNC's platform. I'll keep my eye out for the YouTube of the moment and put it up here soon.

Thank You, Daily Show

The Daily Show really does do journalism. This is unbelievable. Please, watch the whole clip. Papa Bear gets toasted.

Giuliani was right, only in America

There were some big names on the docket last night at the RNC. I decided to tune in and somehow managed to not karate chop the coffee table in half, snap the remote over my knee, or step in front of the Amtrak. It was lie after bad joke after lie after mockery after lie. I just couldn't help thinking during all of the Obama and left-wing-bashing speeches, that they are doing what they have always criticized Obama for doing, not talking about the issues. Oh, wait. They did talk about drilling and how McCain is not going to raise taxes. I've got news for you concerning the latter, but I'll hold off for now.

Trying to be objective as possible, last night's smorgasbord of speeches was decidedly more negative and less "a new kind of politics" than any night at the DNC. Aside from a portion of Biden's speech and all of Kucinich's speech, the DNC was a relatively friendly gathering.

A couple links for you...

The McCain campaign has recently taken to citing Palin's experience as commander of the Alaska National Guard. This just in...Official: Palin's never issued an order to Alaska Guard.

On that mystical McCain/Palin reform. This isn't research, just a good comment.

Oh yeah, Mitt Romney criticizing east-coast elitism. Laughable.

And Giuliani's only in America.

Sullivan's live-blogging of Palin's speech. Priceless.

11.05 pm. Every time the camera pans to McCain's mother, she seems mortified. I don't really blame her. Can you imagine what she was thinking as a tiny special needs baby is passed from person to person for the cable news.

Sullivan says the low point for him was Giuliani's mockery of the first African-American presidential nominee. That was definitely low, but the low for me was Giuliani and Palin mocking Obama's time as a community organizer. I won't deny it, community organizer is a vague term, but people who don't know the duties of a community organizer should not throw the term around so easily. I can now say from firsthand experience, being a community organizer is not easy. It is more than a full-time job. It is dirty work. It is hard work. And several times throughout the day the community organizer gets discouraged and asks himself, "What the hell am I doing here?" Almost every day I was out there this summer I thought I don't think I'd be doing this if I just graduated in the top of my class from Harvard Law. But that's what Obama did. He he has honor on his side too.

The Church Search, part deux

I am 25 and never in my life, until this last year, have I gone to church so infrequently. I never expected the church search to be so hard, especially in Milwaukee, a city pretty much equal to the size of Denver.

I think we've tried close to ten churches. Most of them were quite scary because of their massive, cult-like feel. A lot were way too conservative for us, with websites that went out of their way to lambast homosexuality and the idea of women in leadership roles to preachers that claimed from the pulpit that global warming is one of the greatest hoaxes of all time. We weren't looking for any of this.

I thought our checklist was pretty simple...

Talented musicians/singers behind the mics and guitars and drums.

Younger, 20-something congregation.

Down to earth message that is first loving and accepting to anyone that comes through the doors. And a message we can relate to.

And a church with some humility. A church that right from the start presents itself as incomplete, lacking, imperfect, and focuses on the radical Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Okay, so the last qualifier isn't that simple. Regardless, I can say with some certainty that we have finally found such a place in Milwaukee. This past Sunday was our third time worshiping there. The church is Epikos. If you are inclined, their website can be found by clicking here.

And another bonus...there is no Personnel and Administration Committee.

The Power of Love

A great video of Brian McLaren on Justice, Power and The Kingdom via the BWC Writers' Blog.

Quote for the Day

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends." - Martin Luther King Jr.

I am sorry, but...

Reason #7.

She "heard" about the surge in Iraq!

Reason #6

Ezra Klein:

This was, for McCain, a major decision. And we can learn from it. And here's what even his supporters must admit: Country did not come first. Polls did. The calculations are fully transparent. Understanding that he needed to broaden his electoral coalition, he picked a woman. Understanding he needed youth, he picked a young politician. Understanding he needed to emphasize his reformist credentials, he picked a onetime whistleblower. What he didn't pick was anyone able to help him govern, or capable of stepping forward in a moment of crisis. Palin is not an experienced foreign policy hand like Lieberman or a successful and experienced governor like Tommy Thompson. Today, McCain chose his campaign over his presidency. Over our presidency. Palin seems like a promising young politician, but McCain increasingly seems like a desperate one.

Hilarious

What?!?!?!?

McCain picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

I am not alone in being convinced that a huge reason he did this is to cater to bitter Hillary supporters. Oh, your candidate didn't pick a woman. Well, look at me. I picked a woman. She will do, won't she?

In my view, it's a dumb pick.

Reason #1.

Reason #2.

Next, John McCain's central and best argument in this campaign is that Barack Obama simply lacks the experience to be President of the United States. And now John McCain, who is a cancer survivor who turns 72 years old today, is picking a vice presidential nominee who has been governor of a small state for less than two years and prior to that was mayor of a town with roughly one-twenty-seventh of the citizens that Barack Obama represented when he was a state senator in Illinois.

Whatever you think of Barack Obama's qualifications to be President, Palin is manifestly less qualified. And that undermines the central premise of McCain's campaign.

Reason #3. She doesn't like polar bears.

Reason #4.

Reason #5. Oh, snap. Sullivan unleashes...

The first criterion for a veep - and I'm simply repeating a truism here - is that they are ready to take over at a moment's notice. That's especially true when you have a candidate as old as McCain. That's more than especially true when we are at war, in an era of astonishingly difficult challenges, when the next president could be grappling with war in the Middle East or a catastrophic terror attack at home. Under those circumstances, we could have a former Miss Alaska with two terms years under her belt as governor. Now compare McCain's pick with Obama's: a man with solid foreign policy experience, six terms in Washington and real relationships with leaders across the globe.

One pick is by a man of judgment; the other is by a man of vanity.

She may be a fine person, but she's my age, she has zero Washington experience, and no foreign policy expertise whatsoever.

Sullivan rethinks his initial reaction a little bit.

This woman is one heartbeat away from the presidency. And that is a major issue if McCain becomes the 44th POTUS. I don't think it would be wise for the Obama campaign to criticize Palin's experience because she is technically the only one with executive experience, but now, surely, the McCain camp's argument that Obama is lacking in experience cannot hold any water. How could it?

The AP's Recap

Here is the completely objective summary of Obama's speech by the one national press association. This is the recap most Americans are getting this morning. Sad.

Read it here.

Rock Out With Your Barack Out

Now, that was a speech. Obama did what he needed to do. After the formal pleasantries, Obama addressed exactly what he wants to do with his presidency and exactly how he is going to do it. He threw in some very good lines about the closeness of Bush and McCain. I especially liked this one, which accurately addresses the way McCain is campaigning now. "If you don't have fresh ideas you use stale tactics to scare up voters."

And the music at the end...I thought it fitting that it was from the movie National Treasure.

I close with my idea for a team name of volunteers I worked with this summer:

Rock Out With Your Barack Out

Invasion

If you don't know, Milwaukee is home to Harley Davidson Motorcycles, which is celebrating its 105th anniversary this week. The city is host to over 100,000 die-hard Harley fans.

Aside from not being a huge motorcycle fan, I've noticed a lot of similarities between these Harley fans and Star Wars geeks. When they congregate in mass they are uncontrollable. Pride for their obsession spills over and runs a muck during formal celebrations like Harley's 105th, leading people to stand on overpass bridges and wave at each and every group of Harley riders roaring into town on the interstate.

Businesses that support these fanatics love to throw their support into the mix. For Star Wars fans, this might come in the form of a local book store having a Star Wars book party prior to a major film release. But for Harley fans, book stores won't do. No, these people need strip clubs, like the Silk Exotic in Milwaukee advertising itself as "Milwaukee's Hot Spot For The 105th!" VIP Pass-holders get to see Kid Rock, Jesse James, Jenna Jameson (porn star), Ron Jeremy (porn star), Jade Simone St. Clair (from the advertisement she looks like a porn star, but I'm not too sure), Micro Wrestling (what the hell is this?), Midwest Largest (sounds very scary), Wet T-Shirt Contest, Private Bathrooms (I just threw up a little) and, of course, Womens Wrestling (without the apostrophe, this was an accident of course, wink, wink).

No VIP pass? No worries. For free you can see the Miss Milwaukee Contest, the Bikini Bike Wash, Milwaukee's Largest Bloody Mary Bar, Chest Painting (!) and Worlds Record Beer Pong (again, another error with the unnecessary (s) on "Worlds").

Typos do seem to be a common theme for the weekend. This is not surprising, considering Micro Wrestling and Chest Painting are big draws for the crowd. All the local businesses are welcoming riders with messages on their marques. I saw one of these messages on a hotel sign yesterday. The author was clearly confused by the apostrophe. "Welcome Harley Rider's!!!"

Update: I misspelled apostrophe twice on here and just realized. Doh.

The Phelps Finish

I read an absolutely outrageous column on Slate yesterday. The journalist, who clearly is not familiar with swimming, was legitimately arguing that Phelps may not have touched the wall first in the hotly contested 100m butterfly. He argued that there was a gray area because it takes a certain amount of pressure to activate the touch pad and no one knows exactly what that amount of pressure is. Perhaps, Milorad Cavic was really at the wall first, but it took a longer time for him to apply the necessary amount of pressure because he was traveling much slower than Phelps.

This argument is of course rubbish. Swimmers win by .01 seconds all the time and no one throws a fit. Torres lost the 50m freestyle by .01 and there was almost no attention paid to that margin of loss. Phelps' case is different though. Since, to the naked eye, it looked like Cavic just got him. However, people refuse to believe in miracles. They love to feel like they have uncovered a conspiracy. They love going against the grain and something like Phelps winning 8 gold medals in one Olympics is something too easy to fall in love with, so they pull at straws, looking for any reason to back up their pathetically weak argument.

For those of you that don't know, there is a certain amount of pressure necessary to stop the touchpad. Otherwise, the pressure from water and waves in the pool would stop the time. After experiencing many a long finish myself, I know that the rate at which Cavic was traveling was more than enough to stop the clock. After all, it is not easy to duplicate a Cavic finish, one of the worst finishes one can have in butterfly and breaststroke. Here is the proof.

Some argue that the upturn of Cavic's fingers is proof that he is at the wall. Nope. Fingers do this when the hand is outstretched to touch a wall first. And the pull of the water on the fingers is enough to slightly bend them upward. From the photos, you can see Cavic's fingers are well into this position long before he touches the wall. He is stretching and the speed at which he is traveling is certainly fast enough to force his fingers upward even more than a stretch can. Hell, he wasn't going slow. He was swimming 100m of butterfly in 50.59 seconds.

Cavic lost this race. And the journalist has posted an update to his previous column, admitting, somewhat, that Phelps could have possibly beaten Cavic.

McCain and the Press

Thanks to TPM for this gem. The following is a video, produced by the McCain campaign, of a press barbecue held at the McCain estate in Sedona. Accompanying it, these words from Josh Marshall, copied to this blog in its entirety from TalkingPointsMemo.com :

Over the next week I think we're going to hear a lot of whining from the McCain campaign about how the press is so enamored of Barack Obama, all evidence to the contrary. So if and when you're at risk of actually buying that nonsense I commend to you again, this McCain campaign produced video of the press barbecue at the Sedona estate ...

Happy Birthday, Travis

Dear Travis,

As I have told you before, our friendship was a surprise to me. At first, we had mutual friends and there never seemed to be a legitimate connection. And then, something happened, I think it was the summer of 2006, but it was also growing up, maturing, and some of us growing apart that most definitely brought us closer.

In friendship terms, there are a handful of people in my life that are as loyal as you are. Whenever we talk I feel like we pick right back up at where we left off. Days, weeks, months...it doesn't matter. Your honesty is always refreshing. I love when you say things I might not have the balls to say. It inspires me to be more open and bare with people about my feelings.

I have learned a lot from you about being blunt and that helped me to be frank with you this last year when you needed to talk and were going through a tough time.

I raise the nearest glass of beverage for a toast to you. In this case, it is milk, but I know if I were with you it would be beer. God bless it.

Happy Birthday!

Bryce

You know your shirt is old...

When, after working up a sweat changing a flat tire in a humid garage, you try taking the shirt off and it rips into pieces.

Morning verse

"God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.'" - Acts 17 : 27-28

The Guardian wins...

...for the best headline regarding McCain's house debacle.

No place like home(s)

This story is just insane.

Standard-Bearer

"Less like Beijing, and more like Southern California." - A local TV reporter during pre-Olympic coverage last week.

"Great!" I sarcastically yelled back at the TV.

I love how within the U.S. we (well, a lot of us) start feeling great about a country when it starts looking a lot like ours. Whether it's a country's form of government, its rites of passage, its values, or its shopping malls, it doesn't matter. When any or all of those things become more western the excitement becomes too much to contain for many. Some people suddenly feel like they can now safely travel to this country. Others might merely make a mental note that this country is now "acceptable" or "safe."

I don't really think many Americans would admit to doing this, but we are definitely prone to it. I am prone to it. I'm not saying that becoming more western is a terrible thing. There are western traditions and practices that I would love some regions of the world to adopt. But this post isn't about that.

This post is about how after I heard that TV reporter say that about Beijing, I hung my head in sorrow, sad for the country that is becoming more like Southern California. I'm sad for the country that is well on its way to establishing materialism as their national religion, just like America. I'm sad that when a country builds a strip mall or a Wal-Mart they are coming out to the world.

Most of all, it bums me out that America, America has become the standard-bearer. The standard-bearer of the shopping mall.

Stuck to the Tube

You can't pull me away from the Olympics. I must admit, when I'm home when Kate is at work, they are a bit distracting and at times keep me from accomplishing everything in the day that I set out to do. I am glad they aren't on for a whole month. Two weeks is more than enough because it takes so much time to watch almost all of the Olympics.

On Monday I had to get out of the house in order to write those restaurant reviews, but I've watched less Olympic coverage in the last few days. I've recorded more on the good old VCR and my disinterest in them is growing. Everything else pales in comparison to Phelps.

I've really enjoyed watching gymnastics. This is weird. I guess I watch because I have the opposite body build of all the competitors. They do incredible things, like sit on couches and let their legs dangle. It's really quite impressive.

Another highlight for me has been Usain Bolt. I didn't like his attitude in the 100m, but to see him actually try the whole length of the 200m race last night and beat Michael Johnson's 12-year-old record, was a treat.

As I write this I am being distracted by the final of the women's 200m. There's the gun. Goodbye.

Really, Atlanta?

I was sitting at home last night watching the Olympics (like I've been doing for the last 11 days) and I thought, just how did Atlanta get the 1996 Summer Olympic Games?

I'd be hard-pressed to think of a more disappointing world city to travel to as an Olympian. I guess another reason Atlanta is such a shocker is because I don't think of it as a world city. Even within the U.S., Atlanta would be last, or close to it, on a list of cities I would like to visit.

What do you do there? Visit CNN? Track down residences of famous rappers? There's the World of Coca-Cola museum. I'm sure that's a big draw, but on the international scene? Please.

I've recently decided to apply for a spot on the 2012 Olympic team. I'm glad Atlanta has been checked off the list.

Watching Swimming at the Pericas

Just to be sure, when I say "you suck" in the video, it is directed at the girl that out touched Torres.

Common Bond

Michael Phelps is at a pinnacle. The whole sporting world has slowed to watch this giant of sport do something that has never been done before. I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to witness his greatness over the last week and to share a love with him for the sport of swimming. I feel like a bit of an insider, having suffered through similar pain as Phelps has because of swimming workouts, weight sessions, and mental battles.

Of course, Phelps has faced more yardage and intimidating workouts than I have. His mental battles have been on a different scale than my mental battles, but they are essentially the same. You want to kill your alarm clock when it starts beeping at 5:45am five days a week. With your toes curled around the edge of the pool at 5:59am, the last thing you want to do is to jump into a cold pool. You want to be in a warm bed. You show up to a workout hoping it won’t be that bad, but you see your least favorite set, the one that makes you have spotty vision, makes you throw up in the gutter, makes your lungs burn and doesn’t allow you to get that long cooling breath that you need to dose the flames.

You face these challenges almost everyday for years on end so you can dive in for a few minutes, one minute, or even less. I once calculated the ratio between the time it took me to swim my best event, the 50 freestyle, and the time I would spend that season training for that event. The ratio was 1: 80,000. That’s a staggering number. Not really something too many swimmers face, but I know Phelps has lived that reality two times over probably, and that’s why I get goose bumps before his races. That’s why I scream during the last 50 meters. That’s why I am literally shaking from adrenaline after every race.

That’s why I jumped up off the couch and felt like I just won a gold medal eight times during the last week. Forget the fact that I get told by strangers that I look like Michael Phelps. Forget that I really am one person away from knowing Phelps. My college roommate, Scott Usher, swam with Phelps in the Athens Olympic Games in 2004. He has traveled to many meets with him and he has his cell number and is a legitimate friend with him, not just on Facebook, but in real life. Forget that I joke with my wife that since we are one person removed from Phelps “we are almost famous.”

No. It’s not any of those things.

It’s the stinging pain, the struggle, the pursuit of perfection in an element that we weren’t built for that binds me to this Olympian—the greatest ever.

.01

Phelps wins. He's going to get eight. This is destiny. I've got nothing else. I feel like I just ran a marathon by watching that race.

It'll Be Close

Just take a look at the 2004 race in Athens.



It's on...like Donkey Kong.

My Notepad

I’ve done it many times in the past. I read a book on writing. The author provides his or her secret strategy to becoming a better writer. Not surprisingly, this isn’t that much of a secret strategy at all. It boils down to reading and writing. You get the idea. Read more. Write more. So, I read more and I write more.

But every now and then they reveal a little more about where they gather their ideas from and these are the ones that most often are great strategies for improving one’s writing, but I ignore them again and again or put them off, saying I’m not willing to make that sort of commitment yet. Or, that’s the kind of thing you do when you are a successful writer. Bullocks. That’s the kind of thing you do if you want to write.

I remember in Bird by Bird, Anne Lamott spent a chapter writing about the index cards she carries around to write down those random, but often hilarious and priceless gems, that come to her throughout the day. These moments often strike when we are least prepared, meaning we aren’t sitting at a computer nor do we have a pen and paper out. And when these moments come to us and we have only our brain power to try to pin them down to the ground they often squirm away from us. To combat this problem Lamott carries a card with her wherever she goes. She also leaves stacks of them lying around the house. She quickly jots down a word or a phrase or writes the moment verbatim on the index card.

Lamott isn’t the only writer that I’ve heard of doing this, but she is the only one I can name right now. Bill Bryson comes to mind, but I’m not sure. Regardless, it’s a great idea and one I ignored for far too long. Not anymore. Instead of going with index cards I’ve opted for a memo book that is 3x5 inches. It’s a spiral bound book so I can easily write on both sides of the paper. There are 60 sheets. It cost me $.80.

I started writing in it on August 7.

I won’t stop.

Fake Fireworks in Beijing

True story. A lot of the fireworks you saw last Friday during the opening ceremonies weren't really there. From NPR:

... during at least one sequence, viewers who thought they were seeing real fireworks burst across the nighttime sky Friday were watching computer generated graphics.

NBC didn't create them — the footage was provided and controlled by Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, a Chinese company. A Chinese Olympics official told The Daily Telegraph of London that it would have been too expensive and too dangerous to tape the actual fireworks — though there were actual fireworks set off that night.

…

So, the vivid fireworks on the broadcast were really computer graphics created by a team of hundreds of Chinese visual effects specialists who worked for nearly a year to pull it off.

The local Beijing Times, which first revealed it, said there was even slight camera shake introduced to make it seem as though the footage came from a real helicopter flying above.

Read the whole story here.

The 100 Fly

If you want to see Phelps’ closest race, tune in to the 100 butterfly semifinals tonight and the finals of the event tomorrow evening. Phelps qualified 2^nd for tonight’s semifinals, but it is going to remain a very close event.

Also, Phelps has the finals of the 200 IM tonight and that should be fairly close, but I don’t expect it to be as scary as watching the 100 butterfly tomorrow night.

Great Days

Tasting beer at New Belgium.

Flex down in tank tops. Or manfection. Or bromance.

Getting some air on the Flaming Gorge Reservoir. Kate was having fun even though she looks scared.

One of the Bradley's dogs, Max, having a beer with us.

Kate freshening up for the drive. The end was near. Taken at dusk about one hour from home after driving 2,916 miles on our vacation.

Dining Out

Kate and I are dining out on someone else’s tab. I picked up a freelance assignment to do two short reviews of local restaurants and we are visiting the first one, a new pizzeria, tonight.

We were encouraged by the magazine to get drinks as well. Get a feel for the full spectrum of the menu.

If they insist.

There is no proper adjective for this.

It was dark in the room except one promising point of light—the TV. Kate was asleep. I was awake, watching the Olympics into the middle of the night and one event had kept me up all night long. The 400 Free Relay. One of the weak links in Phelps’ quest for eight golds.

I tried to stay quiet, but once Lezak (who is 32 by the way!) started closing I sat up in bed and started clapping and yelling. I woke Kate up and probably scared her a lot. There was no containing my excitement. I pointed and laughed at the French. They said they were going to trash the Americans. Well…they didn’t.

That relay was the most amazing swimming event I have ever seen on TV or in person. Phelps’ victory yell was exactly like his celebration following the 800 Free Relay in Athens in 2004.

Lezak’s comeback was pure magic. The man is ancient in swimming years. He trains by himself. 46.06! That’s not an easy time to match when you are swimming in a pool 25 yards long.

I could not get enough of the speechless French team and Bernard, still in the water, shell shocked that an old man ran him down.

It took me a long time to fall asleep after that relay. I felt like I had just run a sprint. Eventually, I fell asleep whispering amazing out loud over and over again.

Amazing.

Quote of the Day. No, the week.

"So who is this Michael Phillips?" - A nurse this morning at the hospital Kate works at.

The No Spin Zone

For 275 meters of the relay last night I could barely keep my eyes open. Don't get me wrong. It wasn't like I was so excited to watch I couldn't keep my eyes open. I was getting so angry I couldn't keep my eyes open. I was breathing heavily and like most of us, I saw the writing on the wall. We weren't going to win this one and the media was going to explode. "Phelps' Gold Medal Quest Falls Short." Or, "Eight is not so Great to Phelps."

I was worried for the man (Phelps) because if the relay team finished second last night it would be a national day of mourning today for most of the sports world and definitely for NBC. You can't watch one hour of their coverage without hearing about Phelps' quest to best Spitz's record of 7 golds. Although it is one of Phelps' goals to do that, the media has made it into a do or die story. I just wish that Phelps' quest could have been kept on the down low so it didn't get blown out of proportion by every single media outlet across the world.

Anyway, I'm not saying he's not going to do it, but if for some reason he finished second in a relay or gets touched out in the 200 free or 100 fly, Phelps' Beijing journey will somehow be spun into a disappointment. I really want Phelps to get eight, but just as much as I want him to get eight, I don't want the media to have that chance.

Do Yourself A Favor

And go to http://www.nbcolympics.com/video/index.html

In the left sidebar click NBC Encore.

Watch the Swimming: Day 3 Finals video.

Fast forward the video until 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

And watch the 400 Free Relay.

Dat's what I'm talking about.

"That was one of the most unbelievable team efforts we've seen in relay Olympic history. And on the other end of things you got Bernard, who did the talking and he's not saying much right...now." - the least annoying of the two NBC swimming commentators coming through with a little zing for the French team.