Karen Walker for VP?

Is it just me...

...or does McCain's pick for vice president, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (left), look a little like Karen Walker?

SMS-Induced Smile

This morning I got the following text message from my friend Joey:

To: [Friend], jawnny, [Friend], and [Friend]: I had a dream last night that we all went to Montreal on a misdirected Atlantic City and sang thief of hearts at an impromptu karaoke we started in an abandoned church. [Ex of Friend] and [Ex of Friend] were there too, but we ignored them.

Abandoned church karaoke bar? Sounds amazing. Creating one on a misdirected casino bus on the way to Montreal? Sounds like an American sequel to Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

Good Morning: Basement Jaxx, "Red Alert"

This song blew my mind the first time ever heard it, which was during the first week or two of college back in 1999. It's a huge part of the reason I am and always will be a house-head.

Mariah Carey Is Magic

This video from fourfour is, in a word, afuckingmazing.

John Kerry's Speech at the DNC

The networks all decided this speech by John Kerry was not really worth covering. Except it's the best speech I've ever heard him give. It's 13 minutes long, but it's absolutely worth setting aside some time for.

Good Morning: Junior Jack, "My Feeling"

I Love Being Right, or Why Gays Need the Right

Previously, in response to the absurd "scandal" about one of the founders of the gay sex site Manhunt being a McCain donor, I posted a screed about how we gays need to get over our kneejerk liberalism. The Los Angeles Times just ran a smart, even-handed piece by James Kirchick of The New Republic on just this issue.

This line really stuck out for me: "labeling everyone with whom [gay activists] don't agree a 'bigot' does not help the worthy cause of gay equality." I was reminded of the night I went on a bar crawl with fellow Obama supporters in the Gayborhood just before the April 22 primary here in Pennsylvania. We handed out literature and stickers and buttons, talked with people who were curious or had questions, and generally just put a gay face on the Obama campaign, as it were. On the whole, it was a great experience, but the things that some gays and lesbians we talked to that night believed about Obama were frightening. Many people were convinced he was anti-gay. The Donnie McClurkin incident seemed to have done a lot of damage - never mind that under Bill Clinton, husband of the woman most people we talked to that night supported and supposedly a hero of gays, we got Don't Ask Don't Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act. Most had no idea that Obama's stance on LGBT issues was actually slightly more progressive than Hillary Clinton's. One (rather drunk) Hillary supporter got into a screaming fight with one of us, accusing all of us who were out supporting Obama of being homophobic. And she wasn't the only one.

So I think that experience (and keep in mind, we were out there in support of another Democrat - can you imagine what would have happened if we were McCain supporters?) gave me a greater awareness of our community's tendency to excommunicate anyone with whom we don't agree. We do this to our inestimable detriment. As Kirchick points out, Democrats alone have not been able to move this country forward on gay issues. Like it or not, we need Republicans.

Vigilante Proofreaders Banned From National Parks

I think these guys might be my heroes. Benjamin Herson (left) and Jeff Deck are banned from all National Parks after they damaged an antique, handpainted sign in Grand Canyon National Park - by correcting some sort of spelling and/or punctuation error on the sign. Deck is the man behind the Typo Eradication Advancement League (TEAL), an Internet-based group that encourages people to correct signage with typographical or grammatical errors. Unfortunately, the TEAL website tipped off the feds to Herson and Deck's crime. The moral of the story seems to be: don't document your vigilante proofreading prowess!

Good Morning: Artful Dodger feat. Craig David, "Re-Rewind"

I think for the next week (or so), my Good Morning jams will be some of my favorite dance songs of the late 1990s and early 2000s - that is, my club kid days. Up first, a chill little 2-step jawn featuring Craig David of "Fill Me In" fame. Whatever happened to him?

Zoning Board Grows A Pair, Rejects Tacky Unisys Sign

I am thrilled to see this. It would have set a terrible precedent, damaging one of the city's most important buildings, if Unisys - which wouldn't even be Two Liberty's biggest tenant - had been allowed to slap its logo on a building never meant to bear one. Go Zoning Board!