Best. Thing. Ever.

With just 9 days left before the election, it's important we get down to the real issue...

Picture This Face

"Before you vote, when you're in the voting booth, picture this face."

Hard Times.

Last week came the solemn announcement by Sen. Obama that he would be suspending his campaigning for a couple of days this weekend to visit his ill grandmother back on Oahu. According to The Honolulu Advertiser, Obama visited his grandmother at the Punahou Circle Apartments on South Beretania Street just a couple of blocks from Young Street, which I've realized is on the same block as my late grandmother's apartment. He mentioned yesterday that she may not be well enough to make it through to see her grandson get elected president, but that he was glad to be able to speak with her while she still has all her faculties. My heart goes out to Sen. Obama and his family...We all know how hard it is to lose a loved one. It's a shame that they are being forced to go through all of this in the public eye during a time of such stress on the campaign trail.

...Going...And Going...And Going...

Just about two weeks ago, I mentioned how happy I was to see that the pound-dollar exchange rate had fallen to $1.73 per pound. Today, the exchange rate is at an unbelievable $1.53/£, the lowest it's been since 2002. Analysts in London are saying we might see it dip into the $1.40 range in the near future.

On top of that, the pound lost 9.8% of its value this week relative to the surprisingly strong dollar...that's the largest drop we've seen since 1971. While it doesn't bode well for the British economy, Prime Minister Gordon Brown is hoping that the low rates will encourage foreign investment and drive the UK economy out of its first recession in over a decade (the longest streak of economic growth in the past century).

Suffice it to say, I will be visiting the local Barclay's ATM in a big way in the next few days.

Luda!

Got an email from ASPC [Associated Students of Pomona College] today which was sort of depressing seeing as I'm 5,000 miles away from where this is going down. It read:

Ludacris tickets go on sale TOMORROW (10/23) at Bridges Auditorium at 9:00am for a Saturday, November 22^nd show.

Tickets are $35.00 w/ 5-C ID

Just when I thought I would finally get to see "Saturday (Oooh Oooh!)" live...

Chopped N Skrewed

I'll be the first to admit that T-Pain is pretty ridiculous (and not in a "Can I Get It" kind of way). His affinity for Audio-Tune pixelated vocals can get tired...fast. But that's not the case with "Chopped N Skrewed," plus the video is ridiculous (I meant it that way this time).

Enjoy. (If you're streaming from the UK or anywhere outside the US, you won't be able to view it...yeah...)

• T-Pain
• New Music

A Palace, A Wheel, A Wall

As I mentioned in the Falkirk Wheel post, I went along on our final Pomona-led excursion yesterday that took about 15 of us to the towns of Linlithgow, Falkirk and Stirling. All are smaller towns between Edinburgh and Glasgow and are about an hour away from the city center.

In Linlithgow, we visited Linlithgow palace, a large Renaissance complex where Mary, Queen of Scots and Scotland King James V were born. The palace was in surprisingly good condition and the vibe inside, I felt, was much more personal than at most of the castles that I've been to. It sits on the shore of a small loch (read: lake) that was teeming that day, despite the rainy conditions, with fishermen and sailors.

Second on our agenda was Falkirk. A former center of the Scottish Industrial Revolution, home to the relatively new Falkirk Wheel and an ancient border town of the Roman Empire, Falkirk definitely had a lot of interesting history. In addition to the Wheel, we visited the Antonine Wall, proving that Romans really weren't ones for proper word usage. The "wall," built 2,000 years ago to mark the Northwestern boundary of the Roman Empire, is actually a 60 km long ditch with mounds of earth on either side about 10 feet high. Yeah, I don't know how that would've stopped anyone either.Finally, Stirling and the Stirling Castle. Most of the castle dates back only to the 15th century (so young, I know). Scottish monarchs, including Mary, Queen of Scots, were crowned here and it came under siege by the Jacobite Bonnie Prince Charlie in his 1746 campaign to retake the British throne. I was far more impressed with Stirling Castle than I was with Edinburgh Castle. More scenic, more buildings, though it did lack the royal bling.

Falkirk Whee!

Yesterday, I went along on yet another Pomona-sponsored excursion where, under the guidance of our Study Abroad Liaison and fearless leader Tom Barron, we travel around this great nation looking at things that we should be looking at. This week: Lilithgow, Stirling and Falkirk. (Pictures and details of the trip to come in subsequent posts.) But first, this.

Above are two pictures of the Falkirk Wheel. I generally do not have any invested interest in architecture and engineering, but I was very impressed by this giant thing-a-ma-jigger. Built in 2001 and christened by the Queen during her Golden Jubilee in 2002, the structure transports ferry boats between the Lowlands two great canals: the Forth and Clyde Canal and the Union Canal. The canals were used in the 1800s by the growing industrial companies around Edinburgh and Glasgow and had fallen into disuse by the mid 1900s. In the late '90s, the Scottish Executive decided to refurbish the canals and construct this massive structure to help connect them. Today, it's mainly for use by tourists and casual boaters on holiday. (Apparently, inland boating holidays are kind of a big thing here.)

Tiger!

Possibly the creepiest/best thing I've seen on YouTube in a while.

Sorry for the Bloviation

I recently wrote an editorial for the "Comment" section of The Journal, a student publication here in Edinburgh, addressing the prevalence of US presidential election coverage on this side of the pond. Just thought I'd share, a snippet:

The presidential election brings promise of change in the international political system amidst a crumbling economy and ongoing military strife throughout the globe. For Scots and Americans alike, the election presents the chance for a sea change in international politics as usual, and a 180-degree move away from the policies of the Bush Administration. It’s an opportunity to stop and rectify the damage done to the world economy, to relations between the United Kingdom and the United States, and to Iraq. In an increasingly globalized world, America’s success is the world’s success.

You can read the full text of the article here.

Toledo Represent

During last night's presidential debate, "Joe the Plumber" was mentioned some 25 times (that's 21 by Sen. McCain and 4 by Sen. Obama). I'd just like to point out that Joe is from TOLEDO, OHIO. Represent!

Seriously though, Joe's a small business owner (note that all plumbing businesses making less than $14 million a year are considered "small") whose firm makes about $280,000 a year and is thinking about expanding his plumbing enterprise. Joe asked Obama last week whether he would see higher taxes under an Obama plan.

Obama's answer: You would only see a 3% tax increase on revenue over $250,000 because your firm is part of the 5 percent of businesses nationally that are seeing those kinds of figures.

Joe's response on Fox News and later reappropriated by the McCain campaign: Redistribution of wealth is "kind of socialist."

California Fires

If it's fall, you can bet there's another series of fires smoldering in Southern California. After living through my first major SoCal fire just around this time last year, I was not very surprised to hear on yesterday's AC360 podcast (you can subscribe to it on iTunes) about the conditions in the San Fernando Valley and, most recently, in San Diego and San Bernardino. As of this morning, the fire had torn through about 18,000 acres in the Valley alone. My sister just emailed me today saying that the Metrolink has been shut down...which once again makes me very thankful that I am still not relying on the Ventura Line to commute anywhere anymore.

Here's hoping that my family and friends that live in the area around Simi and Moorpark come out of this one unscathed.

100 Years...100 Movies

On a lighter note, I've recently realized that I haven't seen any of the films that I really should be watching. As great as Superbad is, I don't think it'll be making any Top 10 lists in the near future. The world just wasn't ready for it. In any case, I have started watching some of the movies off AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies list, starting at the top with "Citizen Kane." I don't know if I'll be able to make it to all of them this semester and make it to all of my lectures, but over time I think I can do it.

I will be providing reviews from time to time. In the meantime, if you'd like to join me, you can get most of the movies from this awesome movie blog that I tracked down the other day.

CITIZEN KANE anyone?

http://rapidshare.com/files/71664692/1941CK-kp.part01.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71666931/1941CK-kp.part02.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71669637/1941CK-kp.part03.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71671876/1941CK-kp.part04.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71674473/1941CK-kp.part05.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71676746/1941CK-kp.part06.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71679452/1941CK-kp.part07.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71682073/1941CK-kp.part08.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71684536/1941CK-kp.part09.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/71685680/1941CK-kp.part10.rar
Password: klepal

You Get What You Wish For...

As the video above shows, however, perhaps McCain's campaign has been too effective among the base. Speaking at a rally in Minnesota last week, McCain (who I believe is a decent man who despises racism) was forced to take the microphone away from one of his own supporters in front of a crowd numbering in the hundreds. John McCain, once a decent man more interested in speaking for the people of this country instead of at them, is slowly realizing the effect that his hate-mongering campaigning has had in America. It's frankly disgusting that these sorts of attitudes still exist in America, and John McCain knows it. I commend him for returning to his straight talk roots, but I think that for McCain, it may be too little, too late.

"Highlands"

Another weekend, another Pomona-sponsored excursion. This time: the Highlands. Sort of. Under the direction of our trusty advisor and ever-reliable source for all things Scottish, Tom Barron, the Pomona contingent took a day-trip to the southern highlands this past Saturday. We started with a 2 hour bus ride (possibly the most nauseous I've been since I've gotten here) to the small village of Comrie. From there, we hiked for about 3 hours to the "Devil's Cauldron" which sort of reminded me of an O'opu-less 'Iao Valley, and a monument atop a hill dedicated to some lord. Even with the mist that seems to hover everywhere in this country, the view from the top was pretty great. Following the hike and a Pomona-sponsored lunch, we drove a bit further north to Loch Earn, a relatively small lake (Loch = Lake) cradled between a series of nearby peaks. And finally, a trip to a bridge over rapids in a river so brown it looked like coke. A great trip, though I was later informed by my Scottish flatmates that I had been nowhere near the Highlands. Go figure.

The Wait is Over

Following label disputes, a brief touring stint with a musically-reformed Mandy Moore and five years of blogged promises of a Sophomore release, Rachael Yamagata - the songstress out of Virginia Beach - released the two-part "Elephants...Teeth Sinking Into" this week riding a sigh of relief to the sixth position on the iTunes bestseller list.

"Elephants," the first in the two-part series, harkens back to the misty intrigue of 2004's "Happenstance." Replacing chick rock crescendos with subtle whispers over intricate soundscapes that sound more Sigur Ros than Sarah McLachlan, Yamagata has not lost herself. "Elephants" is hands down the best of the lot, at once recalling the simplicity of songwriting that has made Yamagata the darling of folksy artists like Bright Eyes, (the post-Candy) Mandy Moore and Ryan Adams, and showing a complex interplay of music and lyric.

Admittedly, the second four-song set, "Teeth Sinking Into..." is a bit of a stretch. Taking the precarious angstiness of songs like "Letter Read" a bit over the edge, the second in the two part collection seems an unecessary addition to a release that otherwise would've shown an elegant progression for Yamagata. Rock-tendencies aside, a satisfying release that almost makes the four year wait worth it...Almost.

Like A Brick.

In a week of looming economic darkness, a hint of light for Americans abroad. The falling exchange rate hit an all time low this week, dipping today to $1.73 per pound. (That's almost 25 cents lower than when I left California in August.) The figure above shows the downward trend since early July.

With the £500 billion British bailout and interest rate cut announced today, however, that may change in the very near future. That the value of the GBP is falling like a brick against the USD in a time when the US economic infrastructure faces ruin shows just how central the American economy is to the rest of the world. For now, I'm withdrawing while the rate lasts.

Responsibility

Say What??

In a match made in iTunes shuffle heaven, Okkervil River's latest music video for "Lost Coastlines" off their "The Stand Ins" LP was featured on Kanye West's personal blog this week. 'Ye-mazing.