Go Free Yourself

Check out the official video for Weezer’s “Pork and Beans,” off their new “Red Album,” which will be released June 3.

Enjoy:

Now you don’t have to choose just one candidate. I mean, seriously, what a hassle that has been. Simply vote the McCain/Clinton/Obama ticket this November and watch all your nightmares come true.

“This nightmare ticket presents the American people with an unprecedented lack of opportunity in 2008,” Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen wrote Tuesday. “For just one vote, citizens will get four years of McCain’s brilliant temper, the incredible inexperience of Barack Obama, and the powerful two-headed monster of Hillary and Bill Clinton.”

“It will be very exciting to see what they’re capable of destroying, ” Cohen added.

Read more here.

Dear Readers (are there any of you left?), I apologize for my scarce postings of late. Things at work got crazy, yadda-yadda-yadda, you know the drill. Anyway, I’m back now and hope you’ll join me for more fun, political discussion, and—of course—a large helping of YouTube clips (including ones from The Office).

Now, moving on. The Tribune ran a great piece yesterday about two “typo personalities” who, “armed with Sharpies, erasers, and righteous indignation…make it their crusade to rid the world of bad signs.”

Jeff Deck and Benjamin Herson have not wasted their lives.

They fight a losing battle, an unyielding tide of misplaced apostrophes and poor spelling. But still, they fight. Why, you ask. Because, they say. Because, they must.

For the last three months, they have circled the nation in search of awkward grammar construction. They have ferreted out bad subject-verb agreements, and they have faced stone-faced opposition everywhere. They have shone a light on typos in public places, and they have traveled by a GPS-guided ‘97 Nissan Sentra, sleeping on the couches of college friends and sticking around just long enough to do right by the English language. Then it’s on the road again, off to a new town with new typos.

I particularly enjoyed this piece because of my own hatred for improper use of the English language—I am, after all, part of the best Facebook group of all time: “I judge you when you use poor grammar.” (Join us!)

Anyway, it’s a fun read. Check it out here, and visit the Typo Eradication Advancement League’s website to read more about their typo-correcting cross-country tour.

And seriously, watch the grammar and punctuation. It’s not hard.

Last night, John McCain appeared on the Daily Show and joked that he would like Dwight Schrute of The Office to be his running mate.

This is good news, mostly because it gives me an excuse to post another Office clip here.

Behold, America, your Republican Vice Presidential candidate:

(H/T: Richard Lorenc)

The weekend’s here! And over at Nicky Cheese (a fellow blogivist), that means it’s time for a dance party.

Nicky Cheese has started a project in which he will collect songs that speak to liberty and compile them in a mix that’s perfect for a libertarian dance party. Check out the original post—and listen to the first tune!—here.

It’s Tuesday. The sun’s out. Spring’s almost here. And the Sam Adams Alliance (my place of employment) is ordering pizza for our lunch meeting today. In other words, it’s a good day. There’s a lot to sing about.

Even napkins. In the food court.

Enjoy this bit of workday fun, courtesy of Improv Everywhere. (Check out their website for more great “scenes of chaos and great joy in public places.”)

This presidential race is intense. Hillary’s dodging sniper fire. Obama’s trying to shush his crazy pastor. McCain is…well, what is McCain doing?

Anyway, maybe it’s time for a fresh new candidate to shake things up. Someone like General Zod, perhaps.

When I first came to your planet and demanded your homes, property and very lives, I didn’t know you were already doing so, willingly, with your own government. I can win no tribute from a bankrupted nation populated by feeble flag-waving plebians. In 2008 I shall restore your dignity and make you servants worthy of my rule. This new government shall become a tool of my oppression. Instead of hidden agendas and waffling policies, I offer you direct candor and brutal certainty. I only ask for your tribute, your lives, and your vote.

—General Zod
Your Future President and Eternal Ruler

Enjoy.

I graduated from public school, so I’m generally not a loud voice in the “public schools are entirely worthless” chants. I had some really great teachers, and I had some really lousy ones. I’m all for school choice, and I’m not exactly a spokesperson for government monopolies on anything. But I also get really tired of the self-righteousness from some sects of homeschoolers or private schoolers. In short, there isn’t one magical solution—families should have the freedom to decide for themselves how their kids are educated.

Anyway, whatever education route a family decides to take, it would probably be wise to make sure the kids are actually learning the truth about history, as opposed to some of the fables that have made their way into textbooks just to spice things up.

Check out Cracked.com’s “5 Most Ridiculous Lies You Were Taught In History Class” here. It’s a fun read—enjoy!

That’s what Obama told a crowd in Pennsylvania yesterday after bowling a 37. I certainly hope he’s right.

Well, at least there’s dancing!

Oh, and the important presidential stuff that actually matters, of course.

According to a report from the AP, researchers at the New England Historic Genealogical Society have discovered some intriguing family ties among this year’s presidential candidates:

Barack Obama is a distant cousin of Brad Pitt, and Hillary Rodham Clinton is related to Pitt’s girlfriend, Angelina Jolie.

Also on Clinton’s family tree? Madonna, Alanis Morissette, and Celine Dion.

Obama has a much more politically-charged lineage, including distant cousins like George W. Bush, George H.W. Bush, Gerald Ford, Lyndon Johnson, Harry Truman, James Madison, Dick Cheney, Winston Churchill, and Robert E. Lee.

Oh, and lest we forget McCain, he’s distantly related to Laura Bush.

Pass the potato salad; family reunions at the White House just got a lot more interesting.

(Hat Tip: Fark.com. You may have noticed I go there a lot. That’s because it’s awesome.)