Couple of thoughts...

I went home for a couple of days. Always good to catch up with the family and some friends. While I was in town I went to the beautiful Orpheum Theater to see the musical, Wicked. In general I liked it. I read the book first but the book was wildly different than the musical. The book was dark and mature. The musical was clearly written for nine year old girls. This is not to say that the musical numbers are not catchy, the music isn't good, or I didn't have a good time. It is just basically a fluff play. Bottom line, if you have the chance, it is worth the money, but I don't need to see it again.

1. In the theater, my Mom, sister, and I saw the movie Easy A. I came away disappointed. After some outstanding reviews, Easy A is a clear homage to 1980's high school comedies - a la Breakfast Club, 16 Candles, et cetera. Starring Emma Stone, Thomas Haden Church, and Lisa Kudrow, Easy A is an obvious play on the Scarlet Letter (a novel which is frequently referenced). It's not that the movie is bad, it's just that the jokes were geared toward its audience of high school girls. If you liked Mean Girls, you will like Easy A. I give it a C+.

2. I did rent the movie Date Night. This is that movie that stars Tina Fey and Steve Carrell. I liked it and it was certainly worth the $1 I paid for it at Redbox. I give it a B.

3. The lead singer of Gnarles Barkley, Cee-lo, has a new single. It is called "Fuck You". It is so unbelievably catchy!! I have been singing it all day.

4. Awesome. Vikings are 0-2, Gophers 1-2, Cyclones, 1-2. Cool.

Concern in two months

I find myself once again concerned politically for the way the country is going. I know the mid-term elections are still two months away. However, right now the polling suggests a complete blood bath for the Democrats in the senate in the house. If we look at the senate, if the election were today, the Democrats would have 50 and the Republicans would have 50 senators. The reason for this is prominent Democrats like Barbara Boxer in California, Blance Lincoln in Arkansas, Harry Reid in Nevada, Russ Feingold in Wisconsin are losing to their opponents. In Obama's seat in Illinois, Roland Burris will not seek re-election and his replacement, Alex Gianalous is losing to Mark Kirk. Plus, there are retiring senators in states like Pennsylvania, Indiana, and Colorado. In other open races, like Florida, the Democrat Kendrick Meeks is only getting 19% support. A lot of the "experts" compare this year to the mid-term elections two years after Clinton got elected in 1994. I respectfully disagree. That year the Republicans were led by strong leadership (Newt Gingrich among others) and had a clear plan on how they were going to "correct" America through their Contract for America. To give the GOP credit, they have been brilliant as usual in their campaigning. Instead of doing anything, they have done everything in their power to ensure that no bill or legislation gets passed. They have blocked, literally, eight out of every nine judges Obama has tried to appoint to various courts. They have become the party of no and it is working. With the economy in the toilet still, the Republicans have offered no plans to fix the economy. Instead they simply are telling America, "What we are doing now is not working, let's try something else." Unfortunately, Americans forget that going back to Bush style economics is what got us in this mess in the first place! It is quite clear that unless the economy makes a drastic turn-around, the Dems are in big trouble. The economy + the Afghanistan war death tolls rising + an unpopular stimulus + an unpopular health care plan = success for the Republicans.

Jim and Sarah's wedding

It is a little sad to get back to reality. This weekend was one of the best of my life. Friday night, I woke up early and Allie and I drove to Minneapolis for Jim and Sarah's wedding. Friday was the bachelor party. After meeting up at a hotel room, we headed to dinner and then to watch the Twins beat the Texas Rangers at the new Twins ballpark, Target Field. Despite the weather being a little chilly, fun was had by all. What a gorgeous baseball stadium. After the game, we all went to this bar called The Refuge before ending the night at Brit's Pub - my Minneapolis favorite. I was up bright and early on Saturday to pick up Josh from the bus station. After chilling at Andrew's house with Josh, Anay's Allie, Anay, and Humanzee, I went home for some family time. Saturday afternoon was the rehearsal. The rehearsal went off without a hitch and I was ready for the wedding. Saturday night was the rehearsal dinner at Harry's. After an outstanding dinner and an open bar, I was exhausted and was asleep by about 11:00. Sunday was the day of the wedding. I woke up, had breakfast with Mike, had a brief church appearance, had lunch with my parents, and spent the rest of the afternoon preparing. For those who did not know, I was the officiant at Jim and Sarah's wedding. Meaning I served as the justice of the peace/judge/minister/et cetera. It was a huge honor and I am so glad I accepted. However, it also required a lot of preparation. Fortunately, when the time came for the wedding, I was nervous but I was ready. The whole ceremony was just perfect. The music was lovely, the outdoor wedding had beautiful weather, and Jim and Sarah were so happy. After the wedding we went to the reception at the restaurant Spill The Wine. I had so much fun!! The meal was great, the DJ was outstanding, and it was so much fun to dance and socialize with so many of my closet friends. I stayed the whole night and danced with everyone. I was sad to have to drive back yesterday and leave such a great weekend.

1. I have a recommendation for anyone who needs a hotel in Minneapolis. The wedding party stayed at Hotel Minneapolis. What an awesome, awesome hotel!

2. As much fun as the night was on Sunday, as the night concluded I was actually really sad. Jim and Sarah were two of the main reasons I wanted to move to Chicago. When I hugged them good-bye, it just kind of hit me that it would be the last time in months I would see them. I took for granted how nice it was to just take a forty minute train ride to their apartment. I wish them a lifetime of happiness in San Francisco but I am really sad to see them go. I hope this Spring I can scrape enough money to buy a plane ticket to go out and see them.