Suit Up!

Today is my last night baby-sitting the animals. I feel bitter sweet. I will miss the dog but I will greatly enjoy getting full nights sleep once again, sleeping in my own bed, and not picking up poo off of neighbors’ lawns with nothing more then your hand and a Ziploc bag. The past two weekends I have been a bar fiend! I really liked The View a lot. That’s a bar/restaurant right next to Lake Calhoun in Lifetime. The View had cool bartenders, great location, and terrific happy hour. The only problem was the happy hour didn’t start until 11:00. I also checked out The Ugly Mug and Dive. The Ugly Mug was a really cool bar in downtown Minneapolis. It had great live music, reasonably priced drinks, and lots of beautiful people. Upstairs, is a dance club called Dive. Visually, I thought Dive was really cool. They had lots of cool colored fountains. They had plenty of space if dancing is your thing. Unfortunately, my dancing skills have been compared to an elephant getting stung in the ass by a giant hornet. After that it was off to Bellanotte and the land of eight dollar rum and cokes. Normally, I mock the inside for its ridiculous pretentiousness but I was pleasantly surprised at how fun it was outside, near their bonfire, looking at Hennepin Avenue.

1. Did anybody else watch the Barack Obama/John McCain presidential forum at Saddleback Church. The event was hosted by Evangelical Pastor, Rick Warren. He is the author of the book, The Purpose Driven Life (which has casually sold over 25 millions copies.) I thought Obama did the best he could under the circumstances. The audience was all Evangelicals and all of the questions were basically red meat to fuel up the conservative base. He was asked his views on gay marriage, abortion, stem cell research, et cetera. Keep in mind the whole audience were hardcore evangelicals. By all accounts, McCain dominated this type of conversation. I actually thought Rick Warren was fair, and impartial in his questions and I was frankly a bit disappointed by Obama’s answers. Did he think that Pastor Warren would not ask him his views on abortion? Obama basically danced around the topic for two minutes before giving a non-answer answer. McCain meanwhile got standing ovations with basically everything he said. No surprises there. Oh well. I’m just frustrated because all of the polls show all the momentum is with McCain. According to a Saturday Star Tribune poll, even Minnesota is now a statistical tie. And for the first time in months, I can say that if the vote were today, John McCain would most likely win the election. It pains me to write that.

2. It is pretty amazing to watch Michael Phelps win eight gold medals. What I thought was interesting is how freakish his body is. He is 6’4. But he has the torso of a man who is 6’8 and the legs of a man who is 6’0. He also has abnormally large hands and feet. Plus, he has double jointed ankles and knees. His ankles can bend to almost a perfect 90 degree angle so there is less resistance then his competitors. In addition, his arms are much longer then most men who are 6’4. Basically, he is a genetic freak programmed to swim. It reminds me of Lance Armstrong who was born with a heart and lungs 50% larger then the size of most men.

3. I read that Craig Robinson who plays Darrel in The Office was arrested this past weekend for possession of Cocaine. What an idiot! He’s got a great job, on a hit sitcom and he blows it by getting caught with coke. Amazing.

4. Okay, so… The Democratic Convention begins a week from today. That means that Obama will name his running mate probably in the next 48 hours. My guess is that it will be either Indiana Senator Evan Bayh or Virginia Governor Tim Kaine. I am fine with either.