A vision of the future…

Thoughts?  Too much?  Not enough?  Probable?  Improbable?

Killer design, either way (produced by Oh, Hello….and, yes, Microsoft).

Daily_Blog: 12/23

You Gave a Good Fight, Panthers…

I would like to raise my glass (of Orange Juice?) to the Carolina Panthers and their effort against the New York Giants in Sunday night’s epic matchup.  With both teams coming in at 11-3, the winner of the game took home the #1 seed and homefield advantage in the playoffs.  Despite being the hottest team in the NFL, few gave Carolina a chance (the media tends to lean toward all things New York, after all).  On a windy, frozen night, both teams illustrated that they are far and away the best teams in the NFC.  However, when John Kasay’s 50 yard field goal with 10 seconds remaining went wide left by just inches, I had a feeling that the game was done.  When the team captains met at midfield for the overtime coin flip, you could see immense mutual respect among the players…kind of a “it stinks that someone has to lose this game” thing.  But the Panthers ultimately would, as their frigid defensive line just got completely worn down by the Giants’ beastly rushing attack.  Here’s to a great playoff run, Panthers.  And New York…I’m sure we’ll see you again in a few weeks.

Mannheim Stevens-Roller…

Sufjan Stevens makes a private Christmas EP every year for family and friends, and volumes 1-5 eventually were compiled into the very-popular Songs For Christmas.  Well, apparently he didn’t stop with those, as Volume 8 is now circulating on the internet, which raises a couple of questions: Where in the world are Volumes 6 and 7, and can we expect another compilation anytime soon?  Anyways, Volume 8 sees Sufjan mostly returning to the old days of his special brand of electronica.  I’m never big on electronica, and Sufjan’s electronic music is admittedly no exception.  However, there are a couple of songs of this fashion that actually work.  The standout, without a doubt, though, is “Christmas in the Room,” a simple, piano-driven song lyrically reminiscent of Jars of Clay’s “Hibernation Day.”  The EP is worth it just for that one track, but the collection as a whole isn’t in the same league as any of Volumes 1-5.  It also begs the question, with this mostly electronic fare, his recent jazzy covers of Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell songs, and the grunge-rock slack-talking single “In the Words of the Governor”…what in the world is the next Stevens State-Album going to sound like?

CS4!…

Concoxions has taken the plunge into Adobe CS4, and I’m downright giddy about it.  We were mainly interested in InDesign CS4’s ability to make interactive Flash/PDF magazines, but the suite as a whole should really be of great benefit to our online presence.  Having enough time to make that happen, though, will be a challenge.

U2/3/3/09…

At long last, U2 is going to let us hear what they’ve been working on for the last few years, releasing No Line on the Horizon on March 3rd.  Bono claims that the oft-delayed album will be a step up creatively from their last two efforts, which he claims plateaued creatively.  That’s a pretty good plateau, if you ask me.

Foiled Again!…

I don’t want Frank Wren’s job.  I’ve said in the past that I would enjoy being a Major League General Manager, but forget it.  Wren, in his first year as senior GM for the Braves, has seen the worst-luck off-season ever.  First, we thought we had a deal to trade for Cy Young-winner Jake Peavy.  Nevermind, the Padres are non-commital.  Then, a long term deal for ace AJ Burnett.  Nevermind, the Yankees want him, so he’s gone.  Then, we had a verbal agreement to sign old Brave favorite SS Rafael Furcal.  Nevermind, his agent is a….bad word.  However, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I am very happy that Wren has not sold the farm in order to get one of these desperation deals done.  He realizes that the Braves’ greatest strength is the minor league talent, and while it may not excite the impatient, letting these young guys develop into great ballplayers is the way to go, rather than overspending for players and agents who feel entitled to countless millions.  So, this season may not be a pretty one, but 2010 or 2011 could see the return of the Braves.  And I’ll stick with them until they get there.

Merry Christmas Eve Eve, and a happy Christmas Eve.

Switching things up

What would my blog be without too-frequent design changes?

I was reading  through some posts last night and noticed that the yellow-white serif text on a black background was becoming a strain on the eyes.

So….fixed?

Best of Failblog, Vol. I

Wow.  Thank you Tiffany.  I’ve been laughing my head off all morning.

Bike Hero

I’m not feeling so hot today, but this made me smile (and simultaneously blew my mind).  A) How do you come up with this, and B) Say to yourself, “yeah, we could pull that off”?

Some Thoughts, Vol. 1

This is the more awake edition of “Sleep-blogging.”  We’ll see if it’s any more coherent.

-It looks like next year’s Atlanta Braves will likely include Jake Peavy (awesome) and not include Yunel Escobar (what?).  Why can’t the Braves be made of money?  Either way, I’m already anxious for the 2009 season to start, even if we won’t yet be contenders.  But I’ll feel decent about our chances as long as no one predicts us to win the World Series.  

-Many people attribute the Republican’s discouraging defeat on Tuesday to their inability to win over moderates (or, in many cases, their ability to chase them away).  Tony Perkins, a leading conservative leader, however, has a different strategy: blame the whole mess on the moderates.  Perkins accused moderates in the ranks of leading the party astray, and feels it wrong to cater to their concerns.  Apparently, it’s never too early to start losing in 2012…

But seriously, I hope no one listens to this guy.  

-I really hope that the studios come to their senses and start slashing the prices of Blu-Ray movies.  The Blu-Ray player manufacturers are coming to their senses (good players can easily be found for south of $200 now), but I really don’t want to pay $30 for a WALL-E Blu-Ray disc this month.  I would, but I don’t want to.  Upscale DVD players do an admirable job, but there really is no comparison.  It’s a tough climate for visually-driven movie buffs. 

-Also, a word to Activision, or however makes Guitar Hero: sell drum kits separately.  There’s no reason I should have to pay $190 in order to get a $40 peripheral.  I want to live out my Drum Hero dreams.  

-The Furman Fighting Football Paladins are two wins away from a playoff berth, yet no one outside of Greenville seems to be aware of that; the media and messageboards have already given the spots away to App State, Elon, and Wofford.  It’s probably best that way.  And it’s definitely also best that we have an off-week this week.  I anticipate that both the Georgia Southern and Wofford contests will be barn-burners.  

-Still no Adobe CS4 Trial.  Adobe is giving me little reason to believe that the suite actually exists.  You know, other than floods of reviews and hands-on-impressions.  But those can be faked. 

-Apparently Pixar is working on two live-action films: John Carter of Mars and 1906.  That’s right, Pixar.  The films are being directed by Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird, respectively.  I give those guys (and all of Pixar) a mandate to try whatever they want, so more power to them.

Post-Election Thoughts

Whew…I’m going to let that word “post” sink in.  This has been a long, exhausting election.  It’s held my attention from the earliest craziness of the primary season, and it’s hard to believe that it’s finally over.  We’ve weathered the storm, through the Hilary-Obama catfights, through Jeremiah Wright, through Mitt Romney, and through an unrelenting stream of mostly-unnecessary pundits.  It’s been a low point for the American political machine, and I hope that we remember these scars when we do it all over again.

Living in a Republican stronghold, I’ve been very interested (and a little saddened) to see the endless line of angry-to-hysterical Facebook statuses.  I understand that not everyone agrees on politics and may be justifiably disappointed in the election results, but some of this is just loco.  I would like to reiterate that we’ve just elected a Christian president who is in no way a Socialist.  If you truly think he is a Socialist, please take another political science class.  It’s going to be okay.  

John McCain is a good man.  He should have been elected president in 2000.  It’s possible we may not be in such a mess if he was.  Unfortunately, in 2000, McCain was undone by Bush’s campaign attack dogs.  I mean, these people played dirtier than the Oakland Raiders.  I think McCain’s undoing may have been hiring these same attack dogs to run his own campaign this time around.  He’s better than that, but it just didn’t look that way.  Tonight’s concession speech reminded me of the moderate, level-headed Republican he used to be, and it was quite refreshing (even if his listeners weren’t quite on the same plane…).  I sincerely hope that Obama considers him for a Cabinet position.

A certain previous post may have given away that I’m happy about the results so far tonight.  I’m still holding out hope that the Dems don’t get the magic 60 in the Senate, as I’m a firm believer that no party should have that sort of power.  The best scenario would be for, no matter the Senate ratio, the two parties to work together.  Initiation of that attitude falls on Obama’s shoulders (finally a Democrat head other than Nancy Pelosi…).  It looks like they’ll fall just short of the 60, and I hope that it’s Al Franken that takes the fall.  

Obama’s election is truly historical moment for this country.  I have allowed myself to not get caught up in all of the hoopla up to this point, but it hit me tonight.  Tonight I saw a weight lifted off the African-American community’s collective shoulders.  Children dancing in the streets of Kenya…Churches singing hymns of thanks…to see Rolland Martin (a black-moderate-Christian correspondent on CNN whose views I’ve come to respect) completely break down into tears while trying to do his job was personally stirring.  To see the incredible diversity of people who showed up for Obama’s Chicago rally-black, white, old, young, rich, poor…it was the kind of solidarity that’s lacking in American today.  I’m all about solidarity.  So those of you who are ticked off at this point, I implore you to, for a moment, put aside your feelings that America is doomed, and take note of the countless millions who have been waiting for a moment like this.  That joy and hope is worth something.  

Again, I don’t want to discount any disappointment over John McCain’s defeat tonight.  He had many qualities to believe in, and I do not believe for a second that voting for him was somehow “wrong.”  But to those of you out there who can’t contain your anger, I ask you try your best to be supportive and do what you personally can to make this country a better place.  If you think that life may now be worse for your neighbor, try to make it better– regardless of what the politicians do.  Partisan anger (or Partisan gloating, on the other side) will help no one and is the defining flaw of this nation.  

I’m cautiously optimistic that there could be some good days ahead (whether related to policy change or not).  I’m encouraged by the enthusiasm of the voter turnout today.  I’m encouraged by the youth movement in Democrat, Republican and Independent (hooray!) circles to make a difference.  We’re not going to suddenly find ourselves in the land of milk and honey (which would be outrageously sticky), and President-elect Obama’s going to make some mistakes.  

But maybe this experience will teach all of us to work together and work for each other.  That’s change I can believe in.

I have to get this in: Major props to CNN’s motion graphics department.  Watching CNN-HD tonight was like watching candy.  I don’t know what that even means, but they did some really, really cool stuff.

Let’s all give three cheers for the end of Taylor’s political blogging days.

Why I am voting for Barack Obama tomorrow

This may be the dumbest blog-related decision I’ve ever made.  But in a time of shouting, anger, finger-pointing, lying, polarization, and misunderstanding, it would be a crime if we couldn’t come out and talk about these things in a respectful fashion.  However, I’m a bit better with written words, as opposed to spoken words, so this will be the avenue for “talking.”  I don’t claim to be an expert, will admit that I’m probably wrong on some things, and would probably need pages and pages to adequately explain my positions.  But here’s a sampling.  

Let’s make a few things clear.  I don’t think that Obama is the “savior of this country.”  He’s attained a rock star status to a degree that we’ve never seen in the world of politics– and why not?  He’s young, charismatic, intelligent, and was able to capture the attention of the country in 2004 as a lowly Illinois State Senator with one single speech.  Everyone says this country is at a crossroads, and the youth of America in particular were looking for a leader to be enthusiastic about.  So a lot of Obama’s popularity is admittedly situational (and the expectations dangerously high), and I don’t buy that as a reason to become president.  So, obviously, that’s not why I’m voting for him.

I’m not voting for him because I’m a Democrat.  Because I’m not a Democrat.  I’m definitely not a Republican, either.  Why anyone would base their values and ideologies on a group of people– especially these groups of people– is beyond me.  I promise you that if you look deep, deep down, you are not going to agree or disagree with everything these two parties bring to the table.  That is, unless you’ve had too much of the kool-aid.  I’ve met a few.  They didn’t like me.  

So why am I voting for Obama?  

It’s primarily about financial responsibility.  Most people think about cutting back on wasteful spending when they hear that; in my case, it’s a matter of what we need to be investing in, and having tangible funds with which to do it.  I passionately believe that we need to improve this nation’s infrastructure across the board– I’m talking energy, transportation, communications, the works.  The majority of these spheres are on the verge of crumbling or depletion.  And as much as we may want it to, the invisible, “all-knowing” hand of the market is not going to fix our problems.  The government is going to have to *gasp* actually do something about it.  And if we’re cutting taxes left and right, like we have been doing for the last eight years, our hands are going to be a little tied, like they have been for the last eight years.  John McCain has talked a lot about energy in particular, but has yet to tell me where he’s going to get the funds to make it happen, with his tax cuts and spending freezes.  This is a massive, massive investment we’re talking about here.  That’s my primary beef with John, that and his unfortunate identity crisis.  But I like the real John McCain, and look forward to his return.  

Obviously, I have no moral qualms with putting a tad more burden on the wealthy.  If someone making 2.7 million a year has to pay a little over 500,000 in taxes so that we can establish clean, renewable energy without amassing massive debt, so that we can restore Social Security, so that we can fix the internet when it blows up and destroys e-commerce, I’m not going to lose sleep at night.  Trickle-down economics has been proven to be a farce, and I think it’s time we move on.  

That was me being blunt.  Sorry, it happens.

We need to also be a little more responsible in making sure that everyone has healthcare.  I understand the optimism behind giving a tax credit and leaving it to a completely capitalistic healthcare system.  It would be great if it could work out that way.  But when you give lower-class families (many who are lower-class because they’ve already been burnt by the healthcare system) a tax credit, they’re honestly going to need that money more for things like food, shelter, and most of all, debt reduction.  Even with some extra income, healthcare could still be an unaffordable luxury.  I believe that healthcare should be an undeniable right, and we should do more to ensure it.  A hybrid universal/private system could be the answer.  If it’s not, we keep trying.  What we have now isn’t working.  

It’s a social justice thing, really.  It’s not a popular notion, but I think we all should be willing to sacrifice a little bit more.  In fact, I don’t feel like Obama’s plans call for enough sacrifice; but after all, the guy’s trying to get elected.  

Power flows from the top-down, but the world lives and dies from the bottom-up.  

I laugh at the collective freaking out over “spreading the wealth.”  First off, his tax plan isn’t spreading the wealth, and isn’t Socialism (in fact, the US Socialist party is pretty offended at that notion).  But that’s not the point.  I understand that we all work hard for our money and feel entitled to it.  But maybe we shouldn’t be so addicted to entitlement.  Maybe we should give just a little for the good of all.  Isn’t that one of the greatest Christian ideals?  (Hint: Read Acts.  They were Communists, without all of the oppression and military aggression.  That would come later.)  

I guess this has less to do with how I’m voting and more about how I wish we could change our attitudes on some things.  Look, I’m not saying that Barack Obama is going to bring some Early Christian utopia.  He won’t.  He’s just suggesting, via policy and rhetoric, some changes that I support.  And I’m tired of being told I’m naive or un-Christian or un-patriotic for feeling so.  

That’s about all I have ‘ta say ’bout that.

Sleep-Blogging: Vol. 3

Yet another night of waiting for my medication time to come, yet another night of blogging.

Regarding my lack of tonsils, I finally started making some real progress today.  I started wondering yesterday if I was ever going to turn the corner, and I woke up this morning in some pretty intense pain.  Thankfully, after lunchtime, I started moving in the right direction.  The pain downgraded to merely a constant nuisance, I suddenly had more energy, and I was even able to focus enough to get some work done.  We’ll have to see how tonight and tomorrow morning goes, but I’m optimistic.  Here’s hoping…

Hats off to the Tampa Bay Rays.  You finally hit a slump against the Phillies, and I kind of anticipated that that would happen, but that doesn’t take away from your incredible season.  World Series are hard to win.  Ask a Braves fan.  

I have long considered the NBA to be a pitiful excuse for a major sport in comparison to its NCAA counterpart, but things may be changing.  I kept up with last season’s playoffs with a moderate amount of interest, and there were some exciting games here and there.  However, Boston’s dismantling of the Lakers in what should have been an evenly-matched old school rivalry was a little disappointing.  Anyways, I’ve been watching some of this season’s openers, and you know, it’s actually not half-bad basketball.  To see good defense and good ball movement in a league previously dominated by showboating is refreshing.  Why the change?  I think it mostly has to do with a shift/improvement in coaching, but I also think the emergence of versatile big men like Duncan and Yao (and I really like this Bynum guy the Lakers have) have forced teams to actually think of how to defend.  Offensively, I think the international presence is being felt (international basketball is smart basketball), especially with assist machines like Steve Nash.  But both the games and the season are just too long.  60 minutes?  No wonder there isn’t any urgency until there are only 5 minutes left.  Change that and I think you’ll win over some college b-ball purists.  

Political seasons are negative seasons, and I don’t wish to dwell on that, but I really think this should be exposed.  We really just can’t stand for this.  Let me explain:

Elizabeth Dole, wife of former presidential candidate Bob Dole and a current sitting North Carolina Senator, is in a very tight race against her Democrat opponent, Kay Hagan.  Since our ABC affiliate is out of Asheville, we always get a taste of NC political ads, and the Dole/Hagan races have been pretty ugly (and interestingly, a little cartoony).  However, even this negativity could not prepare me for an ad that Dole started airing recently.  The gist of this ad is this: Hagan is godless and is in cahoots with an organization that somehow promotes godlessness.  The ad goes on to explain that this organization hosted a secret fundraising event for Hagan.  The ad finishes with Hagan’s face and a female voice saying “there is no God.” 

The facts are these (I suddenly have slipped into an episode of Pushing Daisies): Kay Hagan is a Christian, Presbyterian, specifically.  She is a Sunday School teacher.  The fundraiser mentioned was hosted by John Kerry (sorry, folks, he’s a Christian, too).  The event had forty other contributors, and one of these forty just happened to be a member of said “godless organization.”  And the “There is no God” voiceover from the ad has been found to be, unsurprisingly, not from Hagan.  

Obviously, I’m upset, for very many reasons.  The Christian faith has become hopelessly wrapped up in politics for many, many years; we all know this.  Politicians of all shapes, sizes, and parties have tried to appeal to the Christian faith in order to win.  Some of them assuredly were good Christian men and women.  Some of them assuredly were not.  But this is a new low.  To take advantage of the paranoia of many (particularly in this region) about the Democratic party and fabricate completely baseless lies about a person’s personal faith is disgusting.  I sincerely hope that Dole is not re-elected, because we all know that campaign managers pay attention to the successes and failures of these antics.

That was a three paragraph tirade.  I normally try to keep those down to one…sorry.

For a more thoughtful response to this crime, please watch this editorial by Campbell Brown.  She’s normally a pretty smart cookie.

Sleep-Blogging: Tonsillectomy Edition

Trust me…I really want to be asleep right now.  Unfortunately, I still have another hour before I’m allowed to take my next dose of whatever medicine that has been keeping me sane for the last few days.  So, I’m just passing the time, watching a surprisingly intriguing late-night matchup between Boise State and San Jose State, and stepping back into the blogosphere for a bit.  

Thanks a ton for all of the facebook encouragement and emails.  It’s nice to feel like you’re being remembered and prayed for during such junk.  The surgery went well (or at least they didn’t have the guts to tell me otherwise), and I’ve dodged most of the nightmare that I was preparing for: no rampant, uncontrollable fevers and no consistent upchucking.  For that, I’m enormously thankful.  However, the pain is still pretty consistent and often intense.  I’m thinking/hoping that I hit the bottom yesterday, as I have a bit more spring in my step (throat?) today.  Unfortunately, it looks like I’m still a few days away from real food.  I need to switch that up quickly; I’m pretty sure that I am 1/3 Jello and 1/3 pudding right now.  

So, tomorrow is the day.  A day that, every year, I fear and anticipate equally.  The Furman Fighting Football Paladins will travel to the pit of despair itself, Kidd Brewer Stadium in Boone, NC, to battle a force of darkness known as the Appalachian State Mountaineers.  No predictions here; I’m just ready to hold on and hopefully enjoy the ride.  I have some comfort hot chocolate on standby just in case.  

My tummy is making some weird noises.  I wonder if maybe it’s craving some non-pudding?

Wag of the Finger: I’m no comedic genius and therefore can’t claim to be any authority on the matter, but it is now painfully apparent that Saturday Night Live has no business trying to fill up one hour of television, much less two nights of TV a week.  A good cold open every week– or rather, a strong Tina Fey-Palin opening performance every week– does not excuse the complete lack of humor that characterizes 95% of what SNL puts on the air.  Last night’s Thursday Weekend Update, which included a recycled skit (a fact they barely even tried to hide) was laughable for the wrong reasons.  At this point, the producers have to be crossing their fingers for a 2000-style two-month long election debacle.  

Tip of the Hat: This week, the Tampa Bay Rays became the second team to go from last place in one season to the World Series in the next, joining the 1991 Atlanta Braves.  Not only do I appreciate reason to bring up the Braves in the postseason, I also enjoy watching the Rays play.  For example, in last night’s Game 2 victory, 3 of their 4 runs came without the aid of a hit, driving in runs with two groundouts and a squeeze play.  Now that’s how you play baseball.  

Until next time…