Biden.

I have known that Biden is Obama's running mate for all of an hour and have already gone from tremendously excited to exceedingly frustrated. Because this is a fresh wound, this undercutting of my enthusiasm by the hacks hacking away at government by making it all political, and because Biden's my guy- I was mostly between him and Obama in the primaries, I think I have settled in with a proper thesis about one of the quintessential problems with this whole darn system.

Everyone is focused on this being a show of a "lack of confidence" on Obama's part, a panic pick to balance the ticket and all that nonsense. The reason I've been on board with Barack for the last few months is the very idea that he is the type of guy who would pick a guy like Biden to work with. One of the oft-ignored realities of Obama is that he's a nuanced thinker who, for all his talk of Washington revolution, understands and respects divergent viewpoints, especially those that are time tested. Biden is the perfect balance with Obama, the guy who can get in Obama's ear and have his respect and argue him down from his pedestal with measured intelligence. Enough with the nonsense that is campaigning, especially the idea of choosing a vice president for the purposes of winning states or constituencies. This choice was made with an eye towards governance, and that is what actually matters in all this. We seem to forget about that. I will vote for this ticket because these are the two people I want in charge of my country. And that makes this my dream ticket. That makes this the change I've been waiting for.

Chip 'n Dale

I loved this cartoon when I was young (can you believe YouTube? I mean c'mon...), but now as a wizened old man, I find the possibilities of its ending to be endlessly fascinating...

Have you seen this? Have you heard this?

http://snagfilms.com/

This site hosts a number of documentaries for free. And not just little ones. Big ones! Ones you have heard of and want to see because the things you hear are mostly good! They even have Super Size Me! But seriously, what a great resource. I had been desperately waiting for Summer Camp! to come out on DVD, and here it is, for free on the internet! Sometimes the internet is perfect.

Old Man

"Old man... old man... old man... You are an old man. A foolish old man. I am young; my hair and skin are proof. In the past, you have displayed a fear of my hair and skin and subsequently the rest of me. Yet you brush it off and let me stand close. Because you are not so blind as to not fear me. But you had no choice but to brush it off. Wrong move old man. You will select me as your vice president because I am the only way you will win. This country knows you are old, old man. They will not bat an eyelash when you die so soon after your election (a winner only because of me). And then the man they really want, the one who was on his way and foiled by the system, the one who was born for it, to avenge his father's loss, the one who was born with the hair and the skin to be president, will be in charge. And then he will marry all the women he wants. And devote resources to drilling for a fountain of youth. And fund the production of more robot versions of himself. Go ahead old man. Good. Good. Tire yourself out with this... Barack character. It is only a matter of time now old man... old man... old man..."