Tuesday 21 October 2008

BBC: "A six-pack of Joes"

An interesting article from the BBC:

A six-pack of Joes

"The next president of the United States will not be called Joe, but Joes of various kinds have been all over the news from the campaign trail.

Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Biden has been joined by Joe the plumber, Joe Six-Pack and others.

So here is a guide to six Joes in the news:

JOE THE PLUMBER
Joe the plumber confronted Barack Obama on a walkabout in Toledo, Ohio, asking awkward questions about his plan to increase income tax on high earners. "I'm getting ready to buy a company that makes $250,000 to $280,000 a year," he said. "Your new tax plan is going to tax me more, isn't it?" John McCain seized on this - and on Mr Obama's reply, that "when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody". He mentioned Joe Wurzelbacher the plumber more than 20 times in the final presidential debate.

It later turned out that Joe's real name was Samuel, he was not a licensed plumber, he was unlikely to be buying a company any time soon, and would probably benefit from Mr Obama's tax plans. He also refused to confirm that he would be voting for Mr McCain.

The original Joe, or Samuel, has spawned a number of others. Mr Obama's running mate, Joe Biden, said on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Thursday that in his neighbourhood they didn't know many plumbers making $250,000 a year, and that people were "kind of worried about Joe the fireman, Joe the policeman, Joe the real plumber with a licence". This weekend the Democratic Party went a step further, running a pro-Obama telephone ("robocall") advertisement recorded by "Joe Martinez... a plumber from Denver, Colorado, calling for Barack Obama's campaign for change".

JOE SIX-PACK
Joe Six-Pack is a close relative of Regular Joe, Average Joe, Ordinary Joe, Joe Schmo, Joe Blow and others. The name "Six-Pack" refers to his favourite drink rather than a well-sculpted washboard stomach.

The phrase "six-pack" in Joe's name does not refer to a muscular stomach
Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin sees something of Joe Six-Pack in herself. As she told one interviewer: "It's time that normal Joe Six-Pack American is finally represented in the position of vice-presidency… it's motivation for John McCain and I to work that much harder to make sure that our ticket is victorious, and we put government back on the side of the people, of Joe Six-Pack like me."

So Joe Six-Pack is definitely not a Washington insider. Nor is he responsible for the problems on Wall Street. He is a male version of the hockey mom. This is how Mrs Palin put it in the vice-presidential debate on 2 October, answering a question about the financial crisis: "One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let's commit ourselves, just everyday American people, Joe Six-Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say, 'Never again, never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those who are managing our money and loaning us these dollars.'"

The Palins may be a bit wealthier than some Joe Six-Packs and hockey moms. The Anchorage Daily News writes: "Add up the couple's 2007 income and the estimated value of their property and investments and they appear to be worth at least $1.2 million."

JOE "LUNCH-PAIL" BIDEN
Joe Biden, Barack Obama's vice-presidential candidate, is the most prominent Joe on the Democratic side of the race. John McCain, a four-term senator, has referred to him as "Joe the six-term senator", but conservative columnists and bloggers prefer the derisive "Lunch-pail Joe Biden" - a reference to his habit of talking up his working class roots in the coal-mining town of Scranton, Pennsylvania (where most working men would have taken their lunch to work in a lunch box, or lunch pail).

Joe Biden in Scranton: He's been called "Pennsylvania's third senator"
One of the main reasons Barack Obama chose Joe Biden as his running mate - apart from his experience in foreign policy - was his potential appeal to working class white male voters. "The pick works if it is positioned as Obama picking a lunch-pail Dunkin' Donuts Democrat to complement his Starbucks Democrat brand," Democratic strategist Chris Lehane told the New York Times. But Mr Biden's grandfather was a mining engineer rather than a miner, and Joe left Scranton at the age of 10, when his father got a job at a car-dealership in Delaware.

It was this lunch-pail tendency that led him during his bid for the 1988 Democratic nomination to recycle parts of a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, asking why it was that he was the first Biden (Kinnock) in a thousand generations to go to college.

One of the least wealthy members of the Senate, Joe Biden nonetheless lives in a colonial-style lake-front house worth in the region of $3m.

JOE LIEBERMAN
Joe Lieberman, an Independent (formerly Democratic) senator from Connecticut, has been tipped as a possible Secretary of Defense or Secretary of State if John McCain wins the White House. Both are foreign policy hawks. Mr Lieberman endorsed Mr McCain in a speech at the Republican convention, and has appeared at countless McCain rallies around the US - he knows the routine, having been Al Gore's running mate on the Democratic presidential ticket in 2000.

On the stump last week in Florida, he could not help joining in the fun surrounding another Joe: "Which of the two candidates is the fighter we need for Joe the Plumber?" he said. "I think you know what I'm saying, John McCain will fight for Jose el Plomero!"

If Mr McCain does not win the White House, Mr Lieberman's role in the Senate could be an interesting one. Since the 2006 mid-term elections, he has continued to caucus with the Democrats in the Senate, giving them a majority of one. After the election, if the Democrats end up with 59 Senate seats, it will be in his power to grant them a filibuster-proof "super-majority" of 60.

SHOELESS JOE JACKSON
Shoeless Joe has only played a bit-part in this election - alluded to by Sarah Palin, knowingly or not, in the vice-presidential debate with Joe Biden.

This is how it happened. Joe Biden launched into lunch-pail mode for one of his attempts to draw parallels between the McCain/Palin ticket and George Bush: "Look, all you have to do is go down Union Street with me in Wilmington or go to Katie's Restaurant or walk into Home Depot with me where I spend a lot of time and you ask anybody in there whether or not the economic and foreign policy of this administration has made them better off in the last eight years."

Sarah Palin replied: "I'll say it ain't so, Joe, there you go again, pointing backwards again. You prefaced your whole comment with 'the Bush administration'. Now doggone it, let's look ahead and tell Americans what we have to plan to do for them in the future."

The words "Say it ain't so, Joe" date back to 1920. They were allegedly spoken to Chicago White Sox baseball star Shoeless Joe Jackson by a broken-hearted young supporter, as Joe was leaving a grand jury hearing where he had admitted taking part in a match-fixing scandal.

(Chat show host David Letterman has suggested Mrs Palin set-up her use of the "Say it ain't so" quotation by asking Mr Biden before the debate if she could call him Joe. Mr Biden's critics, meanwhile, have cast doubt on the suggestion that he spends a lot of time in Home Depot - and point out that Katie's Restaurant closed down a decade ago or more.)

GI JOE

You can buy GI Joe-style action figures of Barack Obama, John McCain and Sarah Palin. But the real GI Joes are the sons of the candidates who are, or have been, serving in Iraq.

Captain Beau Biden (real name Joseph Robinette Biden III, in other words, a genuine GI Joe) introduced his father at the Democratic Convention in Denver, with an oblique reference to his forthcoming deployment: "But because of other duties, it won't be possible for me to be here this fall to stand by him the way he stood by me. So I have something to ask of you. Be there for my dad like he was for me." His father responded: "Beau, I love you. I am so proud of you." Two days later, Mr McCain picked Mrs Palin as his running mate. She gave the Republican Convention the news that her son, Private First Class Track Palin, would, on 11 September, "deploy to Iraq with the Army Infantry in the service of his country".

Both VP candidates made speeches at their sons' deployment ceremonies. John McCain, by contrast, has maintained an almost total silence about his own son Jimmy's role in Iraq - a marine who returned from a tour of duty in February. Another of Mr McCain's sons, Jack, aged 21, is to graduate from the Naval Academy in 2009. This gives rise to the possibility of Mr McCain becoming the first occupant of the White House since Eisenhower to have a son at war. "

Interesting, But Not Entirely Accurate

According to the Telegraph, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University did a study of the different types of Harry Potter readers from a marketing perspective. He argues that each of the four types or readers ties in with the characteristics of the four houses of Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw & Slytherin.

Here is the original article:




Harry Potter readers 'can be split into four types'
By Stephen Adams, Arts Correspondent
Last Updated: 12:01am BST 21/10/2008


Harry Potter readers can be split into four distinct types, according to a marketing expert.

Each type conforms closely with one of the four houses found in Harry's school Hogwarts, Professor Stephen Brown of Ulster University said.

His research found 'Hufflepuff' readers take the tales at a slow, steady and systematic pace and enjoy re-reading the books over and over.

'Gryffindor' readers are eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting, but quickly move on to new things.

'Ravenclaws' are subversive and take the stories with a pinch of salt, while 'Slytherin' readers are not fussed about the books.

They prefer the films but pretend to have read the books when it suits them.

Prof Brown said: "What we noticed was that the different types of readers were incredibly close to the characteristics of the four houses in the books. It was surprising but it made sense.

"Only the Hufflepuffs are totally loyal to Harry, the Gryffindors are already moving on to other things, the Slytherins never really liked him anyway and the Ravenclaws are too busy writing their own fan fiction or posting spoof videos on YouTube."

The less committed types will now begin deserting Harry Potter, jeopardising sales, he said. "It is an interesting time in the development of the Potter brand because a lot of people have moved on. It will only be people who revel in his world who will continue with their admiration of the brand," he forecast.

"It is at an interesting juncture because the main story has finished and the tension has gone.

One of the things that was driving people to read the books was to find out what happened next."

He doubted JK Rowling's books had the staying power of an author like Roald Dahl, and predicted: "It could come back into fashion but I think it could be like many fads and just fade away and people will look back and say 'Why did we ever read this stuff?'"

Prof Brown interviewed readers aged seven and over. He will present his findings to the Association of Consumer Research later this month.


I think this is pretty interesting, but not necessarily all that accurate. I, for example, am something of a "GryffinPuff". I am "eager and energetic and will devour the latest Potter book in one sitting," but I also "enjoy re-reading the books over and over." So the classification system doesn't really work for me.

Friday 17 October 2008

Comedian Candidates

Comedy from the candidates at the Al Smith Memorial Fund Charity Dinner. McCain went first, then Obama:





I personally think Obama was funnier, and seemed more genuine in laughing at McCain's jokes then McCain did laughing at his. Good stuff.

Wednesday 15 October 2008

Monday 6 October 2008

VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINES!

***CURRENT AS OF 10.07.08***

Voter Registration Deadlines in many states are fast approaching! If you're not registered to vote yet DO IT NOW!! The deadline for some of these states is TODAY, so there is no time to waste. Even if you are already registered, please repost this so that others can get informed and register in time.

Go to www.voteforchange.com for more information.
______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are TODAY, OCTOBER 7TH:

Illinois
New Mexico

______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are TOMORROW, OCTOBER 8TH:

Missouri
______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are FRIDAY, OCTOBER 10TH:

New York
North Carolina
Oklahoma
______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are SATURDAY, OCTOBER 11TH:

Delaware
______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are NEXT WEEK (OCTOBER 13TH to OCTOBER 18TH):

Tuesday, October 14th:

Maryland
New Jersey
Oregon

Wednesday, October 15th:

Massachusetts
West Virginia
Wisconsin (or on Election Day at polling place)
______________________________________________

States Whose Deadlines are in TWO WEEKS (OCTOBER 19TH to OCTOBER 25):

Monday, October 20:

California
Kansas
South Dakota

Tuesday, October 21:

Connecticut
Maine (or on Election Day at polling place)

Friday, October 24:

Alabama
Iowa (or on Election Day at polling place)
Nebraska (mail by Fri, Oct. 17)
______________________________________________

States whose deadlines are MORE THAN 2 WEEKS AWAY:

Wednesday, October 29:

Vermont

______________________________________________

States with SAME DAY REGISTRATION AT POLLING PLACE:

Idaho
Minnesota
New Hampshire
Wyoming

______________________________________________

THERE IS NO VOTER REGISTRATION NECESSARY IN NORTH DAKOTA
_______________________________________________
The following states' voter registration deadlines have already passed:

Alaska: Sun, Oct. 5 (postmark by Sat, Oct. 4)
Nevada Tue, Oct. 4 (or in person until Oct. 14)
Rhode Island Sat, Oct. 4
South Carolina Sat, Oct. 4
Washington Sat, Oct. 4 (or until Mon, Oct. 20 in person)

OCTOBER 6:

Arizona
Arkansas
Colorado
Washington, DC
Florida
Georgia
Hawaii
Indiana
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana (or same day at elections office)
Ohio
Pennsylvania
Tennessee
Texas
Utah (or in person Tue, Oct. 28)
Virginia
________________________________________________

Even if you are already registered to vote or have missed your chance to register, please repost this so that as many people as possible can get registered. For more information, or to check your registration status, please visit www.voteforchange.com

DC/VA VOTER REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS TODAY!!! MD's IS OCTOBER 14TH!! REGISTER NOW!!!!



For DC and Virginia residents, the last day to get registered to vote is TODAY!!! (October 6) For Marylanders, the deadline is coming up on Tuesday, October 14. DON'T PROCRASTINATE!!!

It is vital for the future of this country that every American voice be heard, so we need all eligible voters to be registered!!!

Voters in Virginia need to have their registration forms postmarked by 5 p.m. today. Voters in D.C. need to have their registration forms postmarked by midnight. DON'T RELY ON MAILBOXES at this point! Registration forms MUST be hand postmarked today to ensure eligibility for the October 6th deadline

There will be non-partisan voter registration at metro stops in Northern Virginia, as well as at countless other locations.

You can also register to vote online/download registration forms using the following sites:

www.voteforchange.com

DC Board of Elections

MD Board of Elections

VA Voter Registration Form

If you think you are already registered, but want to double check your registration status, please visit www.voteforchange.com

Thursday 2 October 2008

IAMX = Beautiful Music

Case in point:

President (Live)



This Will Make You Love Again (Live)



The Alternative (Acoustic) --> CLICK HERE

Wednesday 1 October 2008