It’s Not Happening

I had heard of this before, but never expected it to move this much closer to reality. The short story: Thanks to the Electoral College, voters in large states like California and New York have much less say in presidential elections than voters in small states like Alaska and Wyoming. Thanks to the rules for amending the Constitution, the EC will never be amended away – too many states would have to vote against their self-interest. A couple of California smarties found an interesting way around the EC, exploiting the power of each state to determine how to apportion its EC ballots. They are trying to get legislation introduced in each state legislature that will get each state to give its EC ballots to the candidate who wins the popular vote. This plan only requires a small number of large states to buy in (13 or a few more, depending on who says yes and who says no) – so Alaska and Wyoming, etc., can’t derail the process. I foresee legal challenges down the road, but there’s no real reason this couldn’t be in place for the ’08 election.

This may be a long shot, but if one of you lovely people out there is registered for Demonoid.com, would you mind terribly sending me an invitation? Thankew.

Who wants to read a graphic novel about a bunch of twentysomethings growing up? Now that I’ve cleared the Internet, let’s talk about Box Office Poison by Alex Robinson. His grasp of characterization is strong, and he’s got the visual and verbal chops to keep readers enthralled for just over 600 pages of funny, ouchy stuff. It was written in the late 90s and is pretty firmly anchored therein, especially as several plotlines revolve around the comics industry, which was shaking itself up yet again back then. Still, who cares? Cats and roommates and crappy jobs will be funny until robots rule the earth.

I can’t put my finger on it, but there’s something about BOP that reminds me of Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics, which came out a few years before Robinson started the series. Maybe it’s the lead character’s glasses-but-no-eyes look that McCloud uses for his self-representation? Some of the panels do feel as if they could be used for educational purposes, I suppose.

In any case, do yourself a favor and pick it up or ask for my copy. I loan books!

I love Paul Bowles’ style, even when his colonialism gets in the way. I find that his fiction transcends categories like race and nationality, but his non-fiction just plows right into it. Their Heads Are Green and Their Hands Are Blue is the perfect example of this – it is a collection of his travel writings from the 40s and 50s as he explored Morocco and Sri Lanka, mostly looking for indigenous music to record. His descriptions of places and environments are peerless; he seems to see things from god’s point of view. When it comes to people, though, he is a grumpy and often fussy American, if a bit more patient than others (like me) would be when thrust into uncomfortable situations.

Well worth reading for Bowles completists and thse who want a sense of the Middle East before it became possessed by fundamentalism.

You ought to read this.