March 2008 Archives
Magda didn't start off all that happy on Sunday. She broke out in tears when presented with the black and white dress Jennifer had bought her (I wasn't quite sure why she's was supposed to be wearing a funeral dress on easter) and convinced her momma to let her wear the dress that matched Jennifer's colors.After Jfer dragged us to church we went to Elizabeth's for our ritual Easter Egg hunt. Everyone scored tons of candy and the kids stayed outside for quite some time - despite the chilly weather.
I didn't get to make a pomláska this year - but that's OK, since Jfer obviously doesn't need it right now. :-)
I had been following the primaries and had been leaning towards Barack Obama from early on, though Edwards and Clinton also held appeal for me. Now that it's down to two, I'll be happy with either one, but would very much prefer to see Obama in the White House - especially after his speech in Philadelphia.
While people rave about him being a great speeker, I was actually a bit underwhelmed when I first saw him speeking at some rally on TV. Part of it is that I find these stump speeches with their captive audiences full of supporters a bit of a turn off. With all the cheering it doesn't seem all that different from a high school pep rally and not much more relevant. Of course, this is true for all campaigns, as far as I am concerned. And during the Clinton-Obama debate in Austin, I didn't really feel like one stood out over the other.
But I do like his message and I took the time to read The Audacity of Hope and was deeply impressed, both by his prose as well as by his views and the introspection that he exhibits in his writing.
So when I heard that Obama was going to talk about race in an effort to address the Rev. Wright Jr. controversy, I was curious how he would tackle it. The expedient way would have been to completely reject his pastor and, frankly, pander to the majority white voters in the upcoming primary states. I was dreading that he would be selling out, but as it turned out I needn't have worried.
I read the speech rather than watching it (here's the transcript and here's a video) and it gave me goosebumps. This was a speech in the vein of Dr. King or John Kennedy - one of those things politicians aren't supposed to be doing anymore, right? In his More Perfect Union speech, beside addressing the issue of the Rev. Wright, Obama took the opportunity to grab the "third rail of American politics" with both hands to openly talk about the historical background and pervasive divisiveness that permeate the issue of race. He didn't really say anything that he hasn't covered in his book, but it was more succinct and highly relevant due to the frenzy surrounding the former pastor of his church.
Now I don't know how it will come across when chopped down into 30 second sound bites, and I would encourage everyone to listen or read the speech in its entirety. And despite the pundits' arguing over whether "it was enough" and "swayed the voters", try to not listen to it as a "campaign" speech focusing on things for or against your preferred candidate. Instead listen to it as an essay on where America is and where it should hope to be when it comes to race relations.
And don't take my biased word for it. Obama's speech was well perceived across the spectrum, from The New York Times, which has endorsed Hillary Clinton and called the speech Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage, to the conservative Washington Post which called it a Moment of Truth.
While people rave about him being a great speeker, I was actually a bit underwhelmed when I first saw him speeking at some rally on TV. Part of it is that I find these stump speeches with their captive audiences full of supporters a bit of a turn off. With all the cheering it doesn't seem all that different from a high school pep rally and not much more relevant. Of course, this is true for all campaigns, as far as I am concerned. And during the Clinton-Obama debate in Austin, I didn't really feel like one stood out over the other.
But I do like his message and I took the time to read The Audacity of Hope and was deeply impressed, both by his prose as well as by his views and the introspection that he exhibits in his writing.
So when I heard that Obama was going to talk about race in an effort to address the Rev. Wright Jr. controversy, I was curious how he would tackle it. The expedient way would have been to completely reject his pastor and, frankly, pander to the majority white voters in the upcoming primary states. I was dreading that he would be selling out, but as it turned out I needn't have worried.
I read the speech rather than watching it (here's the transcript and here's a video) and it gave me goosebumps. This was a speech in the vein of Dr. King or John Kennedy - one of those things politicians aren't supposed to be doing anymore, right? In his More Perfect Union speech, beside addressing the issue of the Rev. Wright, Obama took the opportunity to grab the "third rail of American politics" with both hands to openly talk about the historical background and pervasive divisiveness that permeate the issue of race. He didn't really say anything that he hasn't covered in his book, but it was more succinct and highly relevant due to the frenzy surrounding the former pastor of his church.
Now I don't know how it will come across when chopped down into 30 second sound bites, and I would encourage everyone to listen or read the speech in its entirety. And despite the pundits' arguing over whether "it was enough" and "swayed the voters", try to not listen to it as a "campaign" speech focusing on things for or against your preferred candidate. Instead listen to it as an essay on where America is and where it should hope to be when it comes to race relations.
And don't take my biased word for it. Obama's speech was well perceived across the spectrum, from The New York Times, which has endorsed Hillary Clinton and called the speech Mr. Obama's Profile in Courage, to the conservative Washington Post which called it a Moment of Truth.
Well it's happened again. Another St. Patric's day, another year older. And now I'm in the last of my 30s.
But I won't complain. Although I'm spending too much time at work, things are going well. I've managed to put up a stand against aging this last year but starting a healthier lifestyle. Move lovely wife is radiant and my daughter is a joy to behold -- well, most of the time, anyway.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing on the big one next year, but this birthday Jfer made sure we'd have company and that we would be watching Dancing with the Stars. I think she's trying to keep the bar low for next year. :-)
My favorite part of the day was the phone call I got at work. Here's Magda singing me Happy Birthday: magda_birthday.wav
But I won't complain. Although I'm spending too much time at work, things are going well. I've managed to put up a stand against aging this last year but starting a healthier lifestyle. Move lovely wife is radiant and my daughter is a joy to behold -- well, most of the time, anyway.
I'm not sure what I'll be doing on the big one next year, but this birthday Jfer made sure we'd have company and that we would be watching Dancing with the Stars. I think she's trying to keep the bar low for next year. :-)
My favorite part of the day was the phone call I got at work. Here's Magda singing me Happy Birthday: magda_birthday.wav
Since last year, I've been looking forward to running in the Capitol 10K again. I've been slowly but steadily improving on my running times. In December, I managed to run the Jingle Bell 5K in 23'26" (Jfer's #1302 and I'm #1303). The holidays saw me slacking off a little, but I've been getting back to form and last Saturday rand the ARC Daisy 5K in 23'16" (I'm #249 in a yellow shirt). The weather was perfect for both runs, but I liked the Jingle Bell course better since it had the second half of the course go downhill - exactly the opposite from the Daisy.
Last year I did the Cap 10K fun-run, and I think it took me around 1:26'. At that time I set my goal to run it next year in under an hour. I've since upped up my goal and am aiming to finish in under 50 minutes. We'll see how it goes - I'm terrible at pacing myself and tend to run too fast at the beginning and then petering out.
Jennifer is planing to do the fun run with Magda in a stroller, so I'll probably go back and finish with them, too.
Last year I did the Cap 10K fun-run, and I think it took me around 1:26'. At that time I set my goal to run it next year in under an hour. I've since upped up my goal and am aiming to finish in under 50 minutes. We'll see how it goes - I'm terrible at pacing myself and tend to run too fast at the beginning and then petering out.
Jennifer is planing to do the fun run with Magda in a stroller, so I'll probably go back and finish with them, too.
