Big Shoes to Fill Note this section of a NY Times story about Barack Obama's photo-op at a bowling alley.
Roxanne Hart, a 43-year-old gal from Altoona, asked if he wanted to bowl with her. Mr. Obama and Mr. Casey shed dress shoes for bowling shoes—a blue and white Velcro number for Obama, size 13 ½ — and entered their names into the overhead monitor. It was BAR and BOB against ROX.
Lucky Hat I caught up with Austinite Mark McKinnon today, the Democrat-turned-Bush-advertising-guru-turned- McCain-strategist, who was wearing one of his lucky hats.
Me: Are you going back to being a Democrat? Him: I'm not a Democrat, I'm a moderate Republican. Me: Would you work for Obama? Him: No, I won't do that. But I have said I won't work AGAINST him if he's the nominee, and he will be.
Snippet from Stiles: Chicks Him: She's hot. Except she doesn't put out. Me: Doesn't that kinda make her hotter? Him: No, what use is a hot chick if you can't bang her? [Silence] Him: Seriously. [Silence] Him: No, seriously. I don't mean any disrespect, but I mean, if you're a dude...
Election Day... in the Far East My mom is all nervous because it's election day in Taiwan, they are choosing a new president after eight years under a really unpopular, pro-independence dude. Here's the At a Glance.
VOTING: More than 17 million Taiwanese citizens aged 20 or over are eligible to vote. Voting at more than 14,000 polling stations begins at 0000 GMT and ends at 0800 GMT, and a complete tally is expected within 4-5 hours. Turnout in the last presidential election in 2004 was 80 percent. ___ WHO'S RUNNING: Voters will choose between Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party and the Nationalist Party's Ma Ying-jeou. Outgoing President Chen Shui-bian of the DPP is widely unpopular after eight years in office, largely because of widespread allegations of corruption against his inner circle and a lackluster economy. Following a huge Nationalist victory in January legislative elections, Ma is the favorite to win, although Hsieh has been closing the gap in recent days. ___ WHAT'S AT STAKE: The main issue is Taiwan's relationship with Communist China, from which it split amid civil war in 1949.
Stuff I guess I'm just getting around to this, but there's a hilarious site called Stuff White People Like that's gotten coverage in the NYT and about 13 million views from people who are more hip than me. Slate discussed this in a recent podcast and the journo's there argued that this list is more like "Stuff Latte-Drinking Yuppie White People Like", which is about right. But it's still really funny, since the list pretty much accounts for everything Austinites like.
My favorite entry, of course, is #85, The Wire. For the past three years, whenever you say “The Wire” white people are required to respond by saying “it’s the best show on television.” Try it the next time you see a white person! Though now they might say “it WAS the best show on television.”
My Favorite Dancing-White-House-Correspondent-Man So, apparently NBC's David Gregory is IN HIS THIRTIES. Wha???
I guess it's the prematurely graying hair. I should have figured it out when I saw him do the twirly dance move thing. That's not something a man in his forties would do. Well, it's not something most men hosting the Today show would do, but it ROCKED! ILMSDG!
When The Upstate Attacks This happened in Union, SC, my former stomping grounds. It's also the same place Susan Smith drowned her little boys more than a decade ago. And I think Snoop Dog's relatives live there.
Meanwhile, In My Neck of the Woods... The hipsters have overtaken Austin, for the annual mega music/film/interactive festival known as South by Southwest, SXSW. Every bar and club and restaurant has live music blaring, free food and free booze parties take up entire blocks, and you can't escape the music. 1,750 showcasing acts, eighty venues in five days. I literally ran into Lyle Lovett yesterday. The biggest and smallest names are all playing somewhere. Kimya Dawson was seen playing a street corner. R.E.M. rocked the backyard of a barbecue.
Shining Shimmering Splendor This is gonna be a random brain dump, because I need to update y'all and I am too tired (and frankly, a little hungover) to find a clever way to do this.
Primary Election Day 2008 came and went. On election night I spent the evening under the stars in San Antonio, where Barack Obama would come out and make his victory/concession speech. (He won the Texas caucuses, lost the primary, we have a jacked up system.)
I saw Rev. Jesse Jacks0n out in the crowd and decided to take a shot at getting a live interview. Went up to him and shared our Greenville connection. Then we got him live at the top of the 10. Then, there was the weirder moment of the night -- he asked me to meet him at his hotel after the party was over.
"Where you stayin' tonight?... I'm at the Marriott. We should meet up later."
And then there was other gibberish that I can't really remember before he finished things off with, "You gonna call me?" I ran into him again while walking up the risers and he grazed my boob before grabbing my arm to remind me to call him.
Hrmmm. Perhaps he wanted to show me his "rainbow push", photog Todd joked.
***
The Barack Obama Texas folks, who used to be the Obama Iowa folks, have enjoyed their time in ATX but haven't seen much more than the ride from their hotel to the office. So last night, some of us reporters took them to Donn's Depot, an old train caboose turned into a bar. Played some good tunes on the jukebox.
Turned things up a notch at midnight and found ourselves at Asian-style karaoke, where you get your own private room to go crazy.
File under "unforgettable memories": The Obama for America Texas Communications Director rocking out to Nelly's "Hot in Herrrre".
Meanwhile, another staffer and I did a killer duet to "A Whole New World" from Aladdin, if I must say so myself.
Super Tuesday, Redux Here we go... it's election day in Texas, a state that wound up being in a place to decide the Democratic nomination as a result of a crazy confluence of events. I'll be photoblogging my day in San Antonio (where Obama will be making his victory? speech tonight). Stay tuned via my political blog...
Snippet from Stiles Returns "You know what I do love? Long John Silver's. Remember those commercials where they had midgets dressed up as fish and chicken planks?"
Men of the Week, This Time, With Meaning B-rock Obama (How many people can say they spent time in a bathroom with B@rack Obama?) The boys who made the exclusive happen Nigel Robertson, also for the assist D@vid Ianelli, the man running a tracking poll for us
The Second Best Thing To Happen To Me This Week So, it's been crazy down here, as expected. I found myself sitting outside on a patio eating dinner with Lisa Ling last night, she ended up buying dinner for the whole table. She's in town because she wants to help give Obama a final push in Texas, but can't do it really publicly since she's on National Geographic, and sometimes, Oprah.
Thursday morning I was whisked into a bathroom and waited a few minutes before this tall dude walks in and answered my questions for seven minutes. Not a bad guy, this Barack Obama character.
But that was just the second best thing to happen to me all week. The real perk was realizing I was sitting in the risers at an event behind Pulitzer-winning, bitingly funny New York Time columnist MAUREEN DOWD! I stalked her until she agreed to a photo. As you can see she was wearing no makeup.
