30 September 2006
Self -congratulatory post on the great show I just did
I did my weekly Saturday morning show today (08:30 Central) and had as my guest Michael Mauro, who is the Democratic candidate for Iowa Secretary of State. (Mary Hanusa is the other party’s candidate, but she is near-impossible to get a hold of as she has no website or reliable telephone number).
Mr Mauro is the current auditor of Polk County and is what everyone should want in an SOS candidate—concerned with transparency, accountability and accessibility in elections and administration. I asked him about Election Day registration (EDR) of which, as an election judge in Minnesota, I am a huge promoter. He said the idea needs to be sold to the General Assembly and the governor as well as the electorate so that any concerns that they have are addressed. (Of course personally I think that EDR is a better way of assuring that someone actually resides in the precinct that simply having a pre-registered list, because with EDR you must show that you currently live there.)
I have to say, sorry to so blatantly congratulate myself, that it was a great show. It was exactly the type of show I just love doing.
28 September 2006
Poor time management
I have been sitting at this screen for four hours and have written not a page.
By the way, I hate politics these days.
16 September 2006
Brief post
Just did my second show of the semester on KWLC and it went ok. Next week I'll have a guest. Saturdays at 08:30 Central!
11 September 2006
Countdown to beginning of Decision 2006!
06 September 2006
MyNetworkTV is frighteningly addictive
I think I am channeling someone's beloved Latina grandmother because I am becoming addicted to "Fashion House" on the new MyNetworkTV. "FH" is an American version of the telenovela — Latin America's contribution to the soap opera genre. Like other telenovelas the show is for a limited time (13 weeks) and will have a conclusion at the end. Very different than our own soap operas some of which began airing in the 1950s and are still on the air.
The show has two of the very best (I am being serious here) in B-list female actors, Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild. On a side note, I adored Ms Fairchild in the hilarious "Zany Adventures of Robin Hood", a '80s television movie I used to watch a lot of as a child. George Segal (of "Just Shoot Me!") played Robin Hood in that movie and it is silly and a lot of fun.
Anyway I saw a promo for "FH" at the State Fair and I started watching this week. It is over the top, dramatic and addictive. So call me «abuelita» and be done with it. I have to go—I feel an urge to make some hot chocolate and pray un rosario, I mean a rosary.
05 September 2006
I have trouble thinking of clever titles for my blog posts - 1
The Minnesota Statewide Primary Election is next Tuesday, September 12th. It is a very exciting time. In Minnesota there is no partisan voter registration because we believe that a voter's political preference should be private (what a novel concept). The primary is therefore open; all three major parties (Republican, Democratic-Farmer-Labor, and Independence Party) appear on the same ballot. You can only select candidates from one party however—the optical scan counting machine will beep at you if you try to "cross-over vote."
Anyway, I mailed in my absentee ballot (since I am an election judge in Ward 3-Precinct 2 and live in Ward 2-Pricinct 1). I voted for Becky Lourey for governor and Mike Erlandson for 5th District U.S. House. Those were the only notable contested races (although gee, maybe I should've voted for "Dick" Franson for secretary of state!).
04 September 2006
Lutherans, Journalists and Politicians
We started class last Wednesday. I have a pretty good schedule with interesting courses and instructors. Aaron Murphy came up on Thursday and stayed with me and that was pretty fun. He gave me the motivation I needed to clean my damn room so that was a huge plus.
On Friday, for the twentieth-odd year Dr Jim Wand came to entertain Luther students the first Friday evening of school. He is a former clinician that now practices "hypnotic entertainment" (an unintentional pun I assure you). This is an event I attended in 2001, 2002, 2005 and this past Friday. In other words, every fall that I've been here I've gone. It really is a Luther tradition and is pretty entertaining.
You can probably guess where I am going with this—yes I got brought up to the stage under hypnosis (along with say 15 other LC students) and regaled the crowd with my impression of The Pussycat Dolls dancing to their hit single "Don't Cha" and my statement that a certain KWLC music director and Res Life employee was having an affair with a senior Luther administrator. Well luckily for me, my co-worker from KWLC took it in stride and thought it was funny.
Being in hypnosis is a weird feeling and hard to describe—it's something like the twilight feeling one gets right before falling into sleep. I was generally aware of the large CFL crowd but felt no inhibition or distress at making a fool of myself. All in all it was a good time and I can look forward to this year of notoriety as the "PCD dancing man."
Saturday morning I made excellent time returning to beautiful Minneapolis (about two hours, 30 minutes) where I then went to the Minnesota State Fair for a second time for the year. It makes up for missing last year (well somewhat). As I write this the 2006 State Fair is coming to a close. Saturday evening I went to the 90s with Murph and had a pretty good time.
Last night I returned to Decorah. On my drive I played a little game to keep myself occupied. The weather was rainy and dark and it wasn't yet sunset. I have always claimed that Minnesotans are better drivers that Iowegians in inclement weather and more sensible too. So I put my theory to the test. There is no reason anyone should've been driving without headlights on. Of the 31 oncoming cars that I passed without headlights on—28 had legible license plates. 2 were from Wisconsin, 3 were from Minnesota and the balance—23—were from Iowa. It was pretty funny actually how accurate the headlight test became to prove they were Iowans. Why won't they just turn the damn lights on?
I presented in Luther and Lutheranism today and presented a oral summarization of the chapter we read for today along with a written outline of the chapter. It went over pretty well and now it is over for the semester. Good for me.