DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> DC Viking: July 2007

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

I hate it when I'm right

posted by DC Viking at 3:00 PM 0 people of discerning taste are saying

Monday, July 23, 2007

YouTube debate to change Presidential Politics...or not

Tonight the contenders for the Democratic Presidential nomination will participate in a nationally televised debate co-sponsored by CNN and YouTube. The questions to be answered by the candidates will be submitted via YouTube video clips. This new wrinkle has been generating some publicity on mainstream news sites, but I’m not convinced that this new approach is more than a gimmick that has been latched onto by a press corps already bored with a marathon primary campaign.

On the surface, generating questions from the YouTube community seems like a great idea. The American electoral process could certainly benefit from additional public interest, however it’s generated, and this format might motivate individuals that would not normally pay attention to an early primary debate to tune in. But are people interested enough in the YouTube brand to turn on a debate? I clicked over to the YouTube homepage and was surprised by how little promotion for the event I saw. I expected a banner ad to be plastered across the page, highlighting the key role YouTube was playing in the American electoral process. Instead I found a small sidebar ad, halfway down the page. It was below an ad 4 times its own size, asking users to create a ketchup ad for Heinz. The lack of advertising on the YouTube sight may not matter, as on-site advertising is probably unimportant to the live viewership numbers. I have a suspicion that the type of person that is likely to be attracted to an event by YouTube sponsorship is just as likely to avoid the televised debate and watch short outtakes on the site.

Aside from what effect the YouTube tie-in may or may not have on public interest, another issue with this format is the inability to ask follow-up questions. Any candidate that has ascended to this level of politics, with the possible exception of Chris Dodd, will be prepared for any of the canned questions offered in a debate. The only time most candidates show anything approaching candor is when answering a follow-up question after they’ve already expended their talking points. Removing the circumstances that force candidates to express actual opinions reduces the debate to little mare than kabuki, which is what some people already see them as.

The implied benefit of publicly produced video questions is that the questions may be more likely to address what are seen as valid issues instead of lobbing softball questions that candidates can easily dance around without ever answering. Whether or not candidates have a say in which questions are finally aired, these videos will be just as carefully selected as any other debate questions. Whether generated by e-mail or the League of Women Voters, these questions aren’t going to suddenly reflect the national tone. Real spontaneity and candor is not going to be achieved in these debates, and video taped questions are not going to change that.

Creative questions from the YouTube community might make for more watchable television, which won’t hurt the effectiveness of the debates in the long run, and the use of video may provide some added emotion or context that could elicit a more honest response. Both of these consequences of YouTube generated questions would be positive, but the likelihood of their occurrence is doubtful at best.

There are, however, two cases in which the YouTube debate could make an impact on this race. If some image from one of the videos goes viral it could draw attention to a particular issue, or to the race as a whole. In one previewed video a woman suffering through cancer treatment is asking a question pertaining to the health care system and removes her wig to reveal a completely bald head. If an image like this gets stuck in the collective consciousness then people will remember the YouTube debate as having an effect on the 2008 elections. This seems like a real possibility to me. I can foresee someone that submitted a particularly clever or eye catching video getting 15 minutes of internet fame and parlaying that into some real focus on their issue during the campaign.

There is another, more entertaining, possibility. Amateur video can be a tricky medium to analyze. I wouldn’t want to be the censor scouring these images for something truly subversive. The possibility that some enterprising auteur sneaks in the web address for Nader 08’, or a site devoted to sheep porn is pretty real. Something offensive could sneak through based solely on how sheltered some of the censors might be. I for one would love to see Hilary Clinton try to answer a question about immigration reform that was asked by someone standing in a room full of obscure bondage paraphernalia.

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posted by DC Viking at 3:54 PM 0 people of discerning taste are saying

Friday, July 20, 2007

I Ran From Cheney (a play in one act)

The setting: The Iranian presidential palace after the publication of this article. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sits behind his desk, working on a crossword puzzle. The Iranian Minister of Defense enters. He is obviously agitated, as evidenced by his disheveled appearance. His tie is loosened and his his beard looks as if it has been the victim of a very recent nervous tugging.

Minister of Defense: Your magnificent excellency, I must speak to you.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: What is a 4 letter word for 'erogenous zone'?

MD: Nose?

Mahmoud: Hmmm. Writes in his crossword.

MD: Sir, I'm sorry to interrupt your daily crossword, but I have some important news.

Mahmoud: Really? Do you have an advance copy of the new Harry Potter? I really can't wait to find out who dies.

MD: No sir, this isn't good news. I have some information about President Bush. He's going to be undergoing a medical procedure on Saturday. A doctor is going to insert a camera into his anus.

Mahmoud: I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere about WMD, but I fail to see how this is bad news.

MD: Bush is going to exercise the 25th amendment.

Mahmoud: Is that the one that repeals prohibition?

MD: No. It's....

Mahmoud: Oh! Oh! Is that the one that limits marriage to one man and one woman?!? I've been studying the U.S. Constitution, I think I know this one.

MD: No sir.

Mahmoud: Alright. I give up. What does this one do?

MD: This is the one that modified the details of Presidential succession.

Mahmoud: I'm not sure I follow. Every idiot knows that Bush is not a very successful president.

MD: Your wonderful awesomeness of presidency, this is the one that says Bush can temporarily abdicate his authority as the Chief Executive.

Mahmoud: I'm sorry. You're not making any sense. What does that mean exactly?

MD: Bush is giving his Vice President temporary power over the Office of the President. Dick Cheney will be President of the United States for 2 hours tomorrow.

Mahmoud: Shit.





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posted by DC Viking at 2:01 PM 1 people of discerning taste are saying

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Making Spoons

I've been digging on the new Spoon album, "Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga". Sure, the title could probably use some help, but the songs are nice. The album is good on first listen, bordering on great if you give it some time sink in.

"The Underdog" is the first single, and primary songwriter/lead singer Britt Daniels described it in an Onion AV Club interview as a Van Morrison song. I like it because I don't hear many good pop/rock songs that use horns without giving me the impression that band put the horn line into the song just so they could have a song with horns.

You should watch the video too, if for no other reason than I need someone to explain to me how the song relates to the video.

Bonus Material:

This story is probably familiar to any DC readers, but I had to throw it in for my friends back home in Minneapolis. People like this exist where I live.

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posted by DC Viking at 12:04 PM 2 people of discerning taste are saying

Friday, July 13, 2007

What I did on summer vacation

I’ve been on the East Coast for three years now, and until last week I had never made the trip to New York City. This was not a deliberate choice, and I always meant to make the trip, but something always seemed to prevent it. Last week an event I couldn’t pass up was taking place in New York on July 4th. The Minnesota Twins were playing in Yankee stadium, and Johan Santana was pitching. I had to go.

Day 1

Because of a lack of vacation days, Miss Viking and I only had time for a two day trip. We took the train up early on the 4th. Rail is the only way to travel. I’ll admit that the lack of security on ‘The Vermonter’ made me a little nervous, but the train was more spacious, cheaper, and far more relaxing than a plane. If you factor in the amount of time you spend on tertiary tasks when you fly (getting through security, getting a cab at the airport, etc…) the train is almost as fast door-to-destination if you’re going to Manhattan. Also, the airplane doesn’t give you picturesque views of lovely Wilmington and the backside of Baltimore, so you’re missing that piece of Americana when you fly. What better way to celebrate the birth of the nation than riding a train past images of stereotypical urban decay? To be honest, there was some nice scenery in parts of Delaware, but there’s more than one reason people don’t want to live near train tracks.

We made it into town with just enough time to check into our hotel and hop on the train to Yankee Stadium. First impressions of New York - not nearly as overwhelming as I’d been expecting and the people were more polite and approachable than I’d anticipated. Granted, I was only in town for two days, but my sense is that most New Yorkers are less prickly than your average Washingtonian. As long as I wasn’t doing something really stupid like asking which street I was on while standing in front of a sign, everyone I approached was helpful without making me feel like an idiotic tourist. This worked out nicely for me, because on several occasions I had trouble determining if an approaching train was uptown or downtown bound.

The trip to Yankee Stadium is one that every baseball fan should make if they have the chance. While the park didn’t inspire the type of awe that it obviously does in some Yankee fellaters like Billy Crystal or Bob Costas, I was constantly aware of how much baseball history was inextricably linked to the field below me. I kept imagining Joe DiMaggio or Mickey Mantle running down fly balls in center field, and when Lou Gerhig’s ‘Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth’ speech played on the jumbotron during the 7th inning stretch it gave me a neck tingle.

For most of the game it looked like rain, but we didn’t get wet. The Twins managed a win, and Santana pitched solidly, if un-spectacularly. Miss Viking and I had a few beers in one of the Bronx pubs while waiting for the crowds to disperse enough to get aboard a train without having to trip children and shove the elderly. Miss Viking looks down on these activities as a legitimate past time.

After stopping in the hotel to wash up after the game, we enjoyed a fantastic dinner at a little Italian place in TriBeCa that was recommended by a friend. Like much of the rest of the city, the restaurant was sparsely populated because of the holiday, and for most of our meal we had the upstairs dining room to ourselves. The entrees were only very good, but the pasta course we shared and the cheesecake I had for dessert were ridiculously delicious. As you might expect, a multi-course meal with the amount of wine Miss Viking and I can drink during an extended meal was quite expensive in New York, but it was well worth it. After our long day, a giant meal, and the usual amount of wine for a Wednesday, we cabbed it back to the hotel and proceeded to crash hard. The only fireworks we saw was a brief flash between skyscrapers as the cab took us home.

Day 2

What very easily could have turned into an exercise in killing time turned out to be the better of the two days we spent in New York. Our train didn’t leave until 3:30 that day, and without a good place to leave our bags (Penn Station no longer lets you leave bags in lockers…stupid terrorists) our options for the day were limited. Since most of the museums won’t let you in with a giant duffle bag and a huge pink backpack, we decided to walk from our hotel in Mid-town East down to Penn Station.

It was a gorgeous day to trek across Manhattan. We stopped at Grand Central Station so that we could say we had seen it and then had a great breakfast at Pershing Square. It goes without saying that the people watching in New York is exceptional, and that was how we spent the morning. After finishing breakfast we walked to the New York public library. I wanted to go inside and re-create the opening scene of Ghostbusters, but we didn’t feel like hassling with our bags, so I took a picture in front of the Lions instead.

After Miss Viking resisted the urge to spend a month’s rent on all manner of smelly powders and lotions in one of the fancy boutiques on 5th Avenue we killed the afternoon along with whatever cash was left in my wallet at an outdoor bar in Bryant Park. It was around noon when we sat down, and we had a large time sitting in the perfect summer breeze, drinking $9 beers, and watching Manhattan walk past us on its way to and from lunch.

We made a brief stop in Times Square after lunch. It was the only place in New York that gave me that sense of New York as you see it in a movie or on TV. The sheer size and color of the place is dazzling. Everything about it is over-the-top. When I first saw it, I couldn’t help but crane my neck back to see all of it like some kid from Nebraska that just fell off the turnip truck. People are swirling around you, and the noise is constant. After 5 minutes of standing there like an idiot I realized that Time Square might as well be part of Disney World. Most of the people there were tourists, gawking just like I was, and all of the eateries are hyper expensive chains that no local would ever spend money in. After realizing that I was standing in a Potemkin village for tourists, some of the shine was off Times Square, so we walked down to Penn Station and split the most expensive pastrami sandwich ever before leaving New York.

Miss Viking snored on me for most of the train ride home.

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posted by DC Viking at 12:42 PM 0 people of discerning taste are saying