TrickyBuddha Studios

(today’s post: 243 words)

There are no jobs to be had. And people who have them are losing them. The job market and economy suck.

Everyone knows this.

But on a tour of my online subscriptions I came across one conservative blogging about Obama’s intention to “waste money” and “generate debt” by his stated desire to create and/or protect two-and-a-half million jobs. He was further infuriated by “protect”, semantically, as “Obama creating an out for himself” in case he fails to generate new jobs (as if protecting our existing jobs is bad).

What has Bush done lately? Oh, right. Spend money to create and/or protect jobs.

For one, Bush is pushing Congress to give money ($25 billion) to the automakers that generate fuel-efficient cars. And he’s extended jobless benefits (7 additional weeks, 27 in states with the worst unemployment rates) at great cost. (Isn’t that, ya know, welfare? And isn’t welfare socialism? Or are we done with that tired argument?) Helping the automakers who create forward-thinking cars (and jobs) is good. As is extending benefits. (But I’d rather, for my money - well, shoot, isn’t this the debate of giving a man a fish or teaching a man how to fish?)

Bush understands our dire situation and is working to help. Obama is preparing to do the same once he takes office.

I don’t get the partisan double-standards. And I don’t see why the government should sit back and watch the citizens struggle - in order to save the country some dollars.

Tonight we went to Grand Rapids, Michigan to catch the Nine Inch Nails show. Here’s a write-up of the night.

Ken and Mychelle picked us up on their way to the show from Chicago. We got there a bit early so we hung out at a TGI Friday’s for a bit and munched some food. Maybe 20 minutes before the 8pm start time, we walked over to the Van Andel Arena - wandering past a few “you’re going to Hell” protesters along the way.

We found our seats and at 7:58pm, amazingly, the show started. I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a concert that started on-time.

The opening act was a Japanese band called Boris. They were pretty decent and I got more into them the longer they played. Or maybe they just played better songs near the end of their set? Either way, they weren’t too bad for an opener.

Right about 9:30pm, NIN started up their set. I don’t remember the specifics of their playlist but it was a decent blend of their full catalogue and lasted about two hours.

Aside from the almost-perfect renditions of their tunes (Candice said it was like listening to the CDs), the stage was the big treat and, in fact, the reason we road-tripped the two-plus hours to Grand Rapids instead of seeing them at Lollapalooza in Chicago.

NIN uses three high-tech, see-through net or curtains (except at Lollapalooza) that display images like a monitor. At the start of the show the one at the back of the stage showed ambient imagery. Then the curtain in front dropped down so that the band could interact with it. For example, Robin Finck came out and pressed large empty squares on the curtain. Each time he touched a square it filled in and created a drum beat for one of the songs. At another point, the screen displayed static and obscured the band, but each time Trent Reznor sang it created a small opening so that we could see through.

Here’s a YouTube video showing off each of the effects in a five-minute clip. You have to see it.

All in all a good night but I think we’re going to check in early so we can head back out to Chicago tomorrow to see Joey again before he leaves.

(today’s post: 240 words)

I’ve only followed politics (to any degree) for 10ish years. I don’t know many details about past Presidents. Maybe this is off-base but from what I understand, I can’t imagine any President since JFK capturing the attention of the world as much as Barack Obama has.

I almost wonder if Obama is embarrassed by the obsessive adulation. And I wonder if the US and the world have realistic expectations of the Obama administration.

I’m not saying Obama is a bad President waiting to happen. On the contrary, I think he’ll do very well. I expect he will aggressively improve: job conditions and the financial well being of the country - especially the lower- and middle-class; health care and, within one term, substantially increase the number of those who are covered; relations with foreign nations.

“Improve”, of course, is the key word in each of the prior statements. I’m expecting solid progress, not miracles.

Which brings me to the point. Obama is on top right now. And I think he’s a confident, hard-working, passionate “fighter” who will kick ass the way he best sees fit for this country. But is that enough to live up to the lofty expectations? Or do I have this backward? Maybe as “the first African-American President”, he just has to remind us every now-and-then that he isn’t George W. Bush.

I think I might enjoy remembering this thought process in four years.