1. The Beach Boys – Lets go away for a while
2. The Mountain Goats – See America Right
3. CFTPA – Tonight was a disaster
4. The Mendoza Line – It’ll be the same without you
5. R.E.M. – New Orleans Instrumental No. 1

And here’s the second cut of the video, done by Mat:

You can get more information on the Obama Bacon Man song — credits, the story behind it, etc. on sizzology.com here. If you’d like to help spread the Bacon Word, here’s a list I typed up of stuff you can do to help.

Read the article about this voter intimidation scam at philly.com here. It’s not the first time this tactic has been used — snopes.com has this to say about this scam:

Every presidential election prompts the circulation of misinformation regarding voting procedures. Sometimes the misinformation is merely an expression of political humor,
sometime it’s inaccurate information passed along in good faith by misinformed voters, and sometimes it’s part of deliberate campaigns to keep selected groups of voters away from the polls by misleading or intimidating them. The message quoted above, which began circulating in the form of printed fliers in late September 2008, appears to be an example of the last category.

Then there’s what’s going on with the ACORN voter-registration fraud in several states (Washington, Nevada, Ohio, Missouri, probably others), which all center around stuff like this: “Claims from area residents that they have been hounded by the community activist group ACORN to register to vote multiple times have sparked an investigation by election officials into ACORN, whose political wing has supported Barack Obama.”

So, the question: Which is worse?

Obama, on the other hand, sports ads from John McCain’s campaign:

McCain has been loading up google ads on his opponent’s search terms for some time now …

So I saw this documentary in Portland back in November, and it was great. It was all about corn farmers in the United States and the last thirty or forty years of the corn industry — sounds like a real snoozer, right? It’s not. It explains obesity, diabetes, the current state of vending machines, 7-11s, McDonalds, the Iraq War, and Canada. Not those last two, and maybe not the first one, but most everything else.

Anyway, it’s playing in Denver this Thursday, January 24th. Starz Film Center. $8.75. If you’re around, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Buy tickets here. King Corn website here. Not in Denver? Buy the DVD here. Yeah.

No, not Denver. In Denver “cars” takes first. Yeah, we like cars more than getting our erotic stuff serviced. I think that makes me proud to be here.

» Via Scott Karp’s Publishing 2.0

Awesome Summer

The first question is: What makes for an awesome summer? Here’s what I’ve got so far, feel free to contribute your ingredients.

• A good porch. What makes a good porch?
  • People,
  • comfy chairs,
  • an interesting view,
  • maybe a water balloon slingshot.
• Road trips. Denver’s kind of in the middle of nowhere, so the destinations are fuzzy. That’s okay, heck, “south” could be a destination. But a car, or motorcycle…or, hey, lots of motorcycles are definitely necessary. If it’s a car, one with a sunroof would be good. And maybe a water balloon slingshot mounted on the passenger-side door.
• Afternoon Drinking. Sarah says it’s legal to drink in Denver’s parks. That just seems like the parks department is asking for trouble, but hey, cool.
• Frisbee, Miniature Golf. Could be paired with “Afternoon Drinking” for more fun. Adding “Water Fights” to Frisbee or Miniature Golf is also acceptable. (Via Sarah)
• Water Fights. Last year this went hand-in-hand with Chicago. It could also be paired with afternoon drinking. I hope I don’t have to wait that long this time around. (Thank Tammy for the tip)
• Fireworks. I don’t know what Colorado’s attitude toward fireworks is, but considering this state is a bunch of desert (and some mountains on the side), you’d figure Colorado wouldn’t care what you blow up. I might be optimistic. (Thanks for the tip, Laura)
• Go-Carts.
• Chicago. I’m going out there mid-July, so that’s in the works. Chicago’s the best in the summer, and it’s pretty darn good on vacation.
• Vacation. Time to start working up those comp hours / saving up those vacation days now.
• Getting stuff done. If you know me you’ve probably heard of that to-do list I’ve got running. To-do lists of non-awesomesummer related activities have no place in summer. So, while “getting stuff done” doesn’t have to do with summer, it’s a necessary ingredient for awesome summer.
• People. Summer alone may be peaceful, but it probably won’t be awesome. So if you’re in Denver and interested in coming along with Awesome Summer, hey, drop a line.

That said, I’m sure there will be more ingredients added to Awesome Summer as it gets near. Also, in light of this Lame Winter, I may be writing this season off while I conjure up some preparations … and if you have an awesome porch, let me know.

If you’re in the crowd that think this song’s a patriotic anthem, here are the lyrics:

Born down in a dead man’s town
The first kick I took was when I hit the ground
You end up like a dog that’s been beat too much
‘Til you spend half your life just covering up

Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

I got in a little hometown jam
And so they put a rifle in my hands
Sent me off to Vietnam
To go and kill the yellow man

Come back home to the refinery
Hiring man says “Son if it was up to me”
I go down to see the V.A. man
He said “Son don’t you understand”

I had a buddy at Khe Sahn
Fighting off the Viet Cong
They’re still there, he’s all gone
He had a little girl in Saigon
I got a picture of him in her arms

Down in the shadow of the penitentiary
Out by the gas fires of the refinery
I’m ten years down the road
Nowhere to run, ain’t got nowhere to go

I’m a long gone Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.
I’m a cool rocking Daddy in the U.S.A.
Born in the U.S.A.

In the past 16 days I travelled 6880 miles (more than half done in my hardy Honda Civic hatchback). This incuded a wedding, a visit with my dad’s side of the family (four separate visits), two stops in New York City to visit friends, and one long drive across more than half of the country (it’s a good story, I’m going to tell it in its own entry soon).

The view from my new cubicle’s pretty sweet — we’ve got these panoramic windows in the newsroom, and I’m watching the sun go down on the Rocky Mountains right now. It’s my second day of work.

-Joe