This is the moment

[Liveblogging throughout the day, because I want to remember as much of this as possible…]

11:45pm: Wow. President-Elect Barack Hussein Obama. Drop the “elect” and it rolls off the tongue. I’m kind of speechless, actually. It’s all over but the big speech; a speech that, after a string of amazing speeches, will be the biggest speech of Obama’s life. And, perhaps, ours. So far…

11:30pm: Graceless idiots in the audience aside, McCain’s concession speech was a welcome return of the principled statesman I imagined I might be able to cast a reluctant vote for back in the Spring. Palin looked crushed, though, while Almost-First Dude looked ambivalent. In a just world, they’ll slink off to Alaska and not be heard from again, unless, of course, she decides to hold an actual press conference.

10:46pm: Switched from MSNBC to FNC to see what they’re saying and they’ve called Virginia for Obama and the mood of the pundits is rather somber as they’re discussing Obama policies as if he’s already won. Which he has, I guess, but I’m still waiting for it to be called officially.

9:52pm: Obama won New Mexico and is handily winning the Latin vote in Florida by double-digits. Remember, way back during the primaries, that meme about Latinos not voting for a black man and Clinton was the only one who could deliver Florida and Ohio? Hope trumps fear.

9:30pm: OHIO!!!!! This just might really happen…

7:30pm: I can’t stand it anymore! I’m turning on the news.

7:00pm: It hit me earlier this afternoon that, because Salomé and I had registered so recently here in New Jersey, we might not appear on the registered voter list and have to vote via provisional ballot, and that’s exactly what happened. It was more than a little anti-climactic and disappointing, but even as I’m typing these words, it’s settling in…

I JUST VOTED FOR BARACK OBAMA
TO BECOME THE NEXT PRESIDENT
OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!

That’s the kind of huge my mind just can’t fully grasp at the moment.

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When politics gets personal for Latinos

In reality, politics are without question a very personal matter but, partly due to the media’s focus on the horserace aspect of elections and partly due to the candidates often allowing themselves to be defined by labels (or at the least, trying to marginalize their opponents with them), most political debate occurs from a safe, impersonal distance. It’s what I think made John Edwards such an intriguing but ultimately flawed candidate this time around as he was undeniably the most passionate of the bunch but was significantly hampered by the combination of his problematic track record as a Senator and the inherent discordance of a filthy rich trial lawyer attempting to present himself as a champion of the downtrodden, no matter how sincere he seemed to be about his chosen cause.

As Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama continue to battle it out for the Democratic nomination that was not-too-long ago assumed to be going to be handed to her on February 5th, the admittedly minimal daylight between them on the actual issues are (hopefully) going to get a bit more scrutiny from voters and the media alike, and it’s going to be the most personal issues that will sway voters one way or the other.

Two issues of particular interest to Latinos are immigration reform and U.S. relations with Cuba and Latin America, the latter of which is greatly affected by a combination of the first two. Like Health Care, there’s not a huge disparity between them on the surface, but there are distinct differences in both their approach and tone that stand out for me.

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International Delete Your Myspace Account Day

[via Bloggasm, with a hat tip to Nick Mamatas]  If you’re reading this and you’ve experienced any of the things on the list below, your account may be in need of deletion: 1. You rarely log in to Myspace except to delete spam friend requests from nude webcam girls. 2. You spend five minutes writing a wall post only to hit an error message when you try to post it because of all the website glitches. 3. You’re a girl who constantly gets marriage proposals from random men in the middle east. 4. You visit someone’s Myspace profile only to…

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High School Musical

Taking a break from politics for some mindless memeing… 

Go to this convenient compilation site right here http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php and find the five years you were in high school. For each year, admit to the song that was your favorite at the time, then decide which one you now generally consider to be the best song on the list. Lastly, pick the year’s worst song, snarking optional.

1983

Favorite: It’s hard not to pick one of Prince or David Bowie’s songs, all of which I still love, and I didn’t really discover “Faithfully” until several years later, so I’ll have to go with Spandau Ballet’s “True”.

Best: Without question, it’s Prince’s “1999”

Worst: Toto’s “Africa”

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Top 5 Rob Thomas/Matchbox Twenty Songs

[youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GebPvlqgxy4] 5. Bright Lights (More Than You Think You Are, Matchbox Twenty) And maybe, maybe, maybe You'll find something thats enough to keep you But if the bright lights don't receive you You should turn yourself around and come on home 4. Something To Be (Something To Be, Rob Thomas) Play another one of those heartbreak songs Tell another story how things go wrong And they never get back My pain is a platinum stack Take that shit back You don't wanna be me when it all goes wrong You don't wanna see me with the houselights on 3. Hand Me Down (More…

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Hello, 2008!

Whether it’s the new job after 4+ years at my previous one; or my creative writing getting a much-needed kickstart thanks largely to a focused return to the slam scene; or my ending a $100+/month, love/hate relationship with comic books and along with it abandoning the one outlet that had kept me writing since 2005; or finally tackling my dream of publishing with the soft launch of Spindle — to say 2007 was a year of personal transition would be a bit of an understatement. Plus, I quit smoking, lost 15 lbs. and started going back to the gym on a regular basis, getting back into shape and pushing the inevitable mid-life crisis back a few more years!

All in all, hindsight being 20/20, while it wasn’t a perfect year by any means, the pros outweigh the cons and I feel like I’m in a pretty good position to continue to move forward in 2008.

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, generally speaking, but I think having a To Do list is always a good idea and January 1st is as good a time as any to revise and/or update it.

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