Happy Mondays…

Welcome back to the work week.  Hope everyone had a good weekend.  First things first, let me kick things off with a musical gift to you.  Enjoy.

While you listen to that awesome song from “The Vampire Weekend” let me offer you up a few notes that I’ve been pondering this weekend. 

• Political Thoughts:  Gender vs. Race - A lot is being said about how concerned people are that women will be voting for The Republican ticket based solely on the fact that Sarah Palin is also a woman.   This is a very large worry for many of my friends who fear the wrath of the Soccer Mom.  (or Hockey Mom in this case.)   I find it funny that these same people will turn right around and say that they are thankful that most blacks should be voting for Obama because he is also black.  Anyone else think this an odd double standard?  
• Political Thoughts: Impressions of the VP Debate -  I watched the VP debates last week.  I was impressed by Joe Biden.   Disappointed by Palin.   I do think that she showed herself better then expected, and her performance certainly was not the crash and burn the people I was watching the debate with were hoping for.   That being said, I can’t say that after the debate was over I had any greater sense of who Sarah Palin is, or what she is about.   I didn’t expect that I would come away from the debate with a sudden desire to vote Republican, but I was hoping that I would see something in Mrs. Palin that would show me what sort of person she is.  I didn’t see it.  (However, as my comedian friend Joey V just pointed out Sarah Palin does have something Joe Biden does not have.   Nice tits.)
• Slightly Morbid Thought :  This weekend I got into a very long debate with Finch on the following topic.   “If Thom Yorke were to be killed (a’ la John Lennon) would he become a cultural icon on a similar level to  a John Lennon or a Kurt Cobain?”   I say no.   The room full of rabid Radiohead fans I was with felt he certainly would, going so far as to say he would be placed above Kurt Cobain in the public consciousness.  They site the fact that Radiohead is bigger then I was giving them credit for.  Apparently they are one of the most frequently listed favourite music artists on Myspace.  I contend that most of John Q Public upon hearing the news would say “Oh, the Creep guy died?”   What are your thoughts Blogo-verse?  (A corollary to this question, what current entertainers could you see achieving this level of status?   Bono is the only one I can think of.   However, Heath Ledger is probably well on his way.  Especially if he were to receive a post-humus Oscar for his brilliant turn as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”.)

**I want to state for the record that Finch and I realized that there was really only one way to resolve our debate regarding the effect death would have on a celebrity’s cultural standing.  That being said, I in no way endorse or advocate the testing of this theory.***