Random Thoughts (again)

Political Thoughts: I love seeing the "record turnout" of voters for the primaries first in Iowa, now in New Hampshire. It's embarrassing to see the continued low voter turnout for our presidential elections every 4 years in the US which brags about the "power of democracy". Other countries around the world have 90%+ voter turnout which I think shows the true power of the voters. As for the Hillary "win" yesterday.... remember that primaries are not like the election with regards to delegates. No states do 100% of their delegates for one candidate as is done in the election. So even yesterday, both Obama and Hillary won 9 delegates. So with 2,209 delegates needed to win the Democratic Nomination, Obama is at 25, Clinton at 24..... so no need to get excited yet!

Yesterday was Elvis's Birthday - he would have been 73 years old! And while I celebrated yesterday by listening to some music from the King, I thought we should have all had a National Day Off (as if the Post Office needs yet another day not to deliver mail) in honor of Mr. Presley.

Yes, I saw the latest Elvis DVDs that include his concert of gospel performances. I was pretty pumped and as usual when I see TV infomercials or "only on TV", I threw out a price of $25. Unfortunately it was like $70 so the phone stayed off. I do that a lot with stuff on TV, if it seems cool, I throw out a price that I'd pay for it and unless it comes in under that price, I don't bother calling. But the Elvis Gospel era is some great music!

Minnesota Timberwolves WIN!!!! That would be their 5th win and their largest winning streak of the season... at 1 game....

And speaking of "has beens".... Taylor Hicks (remember him? He's the grey haired winner of American Idol 2 seasons ago...) after ONE record, was dropped from his record deal by Sony-BMG. Probably because he hasn't sold crap for records on his first album and pales in comparison to his Season 5 comrads (Daughtry, Elliott Yamin, and Katharine McPhee). He still is more popular than Bucky McHillbilly though.

And some of us "nerds" are following the CES (Consumer Electronics Show.... basically a gadget overload festival) - there's some cool stuff on display this year. I've been fond of the 1.5 inch thick LCD HDTV Televisions..... as well as the 150 inch Television screen that won't fit in my house at the moment....

And finally - catch up on some books that I read over the Holidays. The Glass Castle is a fascinating "memoir" of Jeannette Walls (who used to write the Daily Scoop on MSNBC with Hollywood Gossip). It's written in 1st person but from her perspective as she was growing up. She had a very abnormal upbringing, but it wasn't necessarily one you would call an abusive home. Her parents chose not to conform to society and money as most of us do, but this presented a LOT of problems for the 4 kids. It shows the power of her and her siblings watching out for each other. The book is a touching story of the power of the human spirit to always excel in life as long as you have the determination to do so. It's also a humbling story (that is extremely fun to read) that will make you laugh and be sad all in the same chapter. I recommend it to anyone needing a good read (about a 2-3 day read tops). BTW, Mom - I put my order in for the new Stephen King book coming out on the 22nd! Duma Key: A Novel

Haiku of the Day
The Thaw is still here
But makes for icy patches
Careful where you walk

Entertainment of the Day - um.... watched even more movies (a common theme in January for me). Rush Hour 3 was just what you'd expect from Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. Just when you think it can't get any more repetitive and old humor.... it does! Worth watching? Maybe on free Showtime or free HBO weekend. And yes, you still get to hear Jackie sing "War... huh... good God..."

Weblink of the Day - After spending a LOT of time yesterday/last night to find the full episode of Wife Swap that was referenced yesterday... the internet let me down:( I'll keep looking though! But today's link of the 10 Drunken moments in Music History are pretty good too! The James Brown one is my favorite.