blogging

Hello lovely people! I just upgraded my wordpress install. In the past I have managed to hork my entire blog doing this. This time, it appears the upgrade has come off without a hitch - which has me worried. If you see any wonk, please let me know and I will endeavor to figure it out or at least make pleas to some helpful software deities.

So I just got back from my first Democratic Caucus. What a fascinating process. When you think of the word “grass-roots”, it’s really happening. You and your neighbors getting together to discuss the candidates and attempting to woo undecided voters to your camp. The turnout at the Thornton Creek School Caucus was insane. People were standing in the hallways until we broke out to into our individual precinct sessions.

Check the photos. The first one is the main gathering area and the second one is in my precinct caucus:

Our particular caucus was civil, but I could easily see how these things could turn heated. Did any of you have crazy experiences out caucusing? If so, please leave them in the comments.

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The original “Yes We Can” speech…

I’m looking forward to a president than can speak and inspire unity with something other than fear. Aren’t you?

This new expose on Iraq looks scathing and excellent. I definitely want to see it:

The first film of its kind to chronicle the reasons behind Iraq’s descent into guerilla war, warlord rule, criminality and anarchy, NO END IN SIGHT is a jaw-dropping, insider’s tale of wholesale incompetence, recklessness and venality. Based on over 200 hours of footage, the film provides a candid retelling of the events following the fall of Baghdad in 2003 by high ranking officials such as former Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, Ambassador Barbara Bodine (in charge of Baghdad during the Spring of 2003), Lawrence Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, and General Jay Garner (in charge of the occupation of Iraq through May 2003) as well as Iraqi civilians, American soldiers, and prominent analysts. NO END IN SIGHT examines the manner in which the principal errors of U.S. policy – the use of insufficient troop levels, allowing the looting of Baghdad, the purging of professionals from the Iraqi government, and the disbanding of the Iraqi military – largely created the insurgency and chaos that engulf Iraq today.

The blog network I look to for material continues to grow. Today I discovered The Litblog Co-op. They have a great mission statement (see below) and a lovely site with lots of original content, hence they are now added to my blog-roll:

Uniting the leading literary weblogs for the purpose of drawing attention to the best of contemporary fiction, authors and presses that are struggling to be noticed in a flooded marketplace.

Of particular interest today, it appears that they have a quarterly “Read This!” selection and that they have selected Sacco And Vanzetti Must Die! (American Literature Series).

Their review is great and makes the book sound like a ton of fun:

This book is fun to talk about for its sophisticated themes: art & its sacrifices, racial stereotypes and comedy, the line between being a victim of capitalism and deciding to blow things up. But it’s fun to read for its details: pie fights, knife juggling acts, the funeral of Laurence Olivier with the great comedians of the ’20s as pallbearers.

Might be a good future reading selection for The Puget News Reading Group!