The Epicarrion

Now McCain may have that sexy older man thing happening but there's something about Bush that's IRRESISTIBLE. If I could bottle it up and huff it every night I would. And Sarah knows a good thing when she smells it. In fact she might recognize that pungent odor because it seems that the Commander and Chief wears the same perfume as everyone's favorite gun toting governor.

1. Young Popular Governor of An Oil Loving State- Palin and Bush both have a taste for petroleum. The Bush family ties to Saudi Arabia are well known. Not one to be outdone by our current president she even has a husband gainfully employed by the industry. Perhaps Bush can bring the croissants to their next TEXAS TEA PARTY.

2. School of Hard Knocks- The academic troubles of George W. Bush are well documented. While a "gentleman's C" was not in the cards for Palin there was a whirlwind tour of academic institutions before she got a DEGREE. She made stops at Hawaii Pacific University, North Idaho College, University of Idaho and Matanuska-Susitna College and it only took her six years to finally cross the podium. 

3. The Born Again Gang- Nothing whips the religious right into a fervor like someone willing to invoke hellfire (MISSILES) and brimstone (MISSILES). Our friends SP and GW have the proper credentials to do just that. Palin adds extra points here with her church bringing to bear the old speaking in tongues ROUTINE.

4. The Big Cheese- George and Sarah share an iron fist approach to the executive role. Statistics? Who needs them! Advisers? Forget about it! Why deal with reality when you can invent your own? Whether it's fictitious weapons of mass destruction or opposing CRONYISM while participating in it, these cowpokes go their own way and don't give a damn about what the rest of the world has to say about it.

5. Doublethink- Whenever I try to keep two diametrically opposed ideas in my head it starts to ache. I can't believe both, right? Well, some are born a breed apart. How can you both support and oppose a Bridge To Nowhere? How can one claim to care about everyday Americans while giving tax cuts to the wealthy? Orwell would have found fertile ground HERE.

6. The Cowboy Mystique- She's the FRONTIERSWOMAN struggling in a frigid land and he's the sole rider heading off into the sunset. These stereotypes appeal strongly to American voters. We're free and damn proud of it! What does this have to do with leadership though? Will it help to effectively corral Congress? Do terrorists care about your rifle skills? I think not but it sure won't hurt come November.

Rejoice book nerds! Here's a chance to commune with other dorks who cruise libraries, used bookstores and coffee shops. Just hook yourself up an account at GOODREADS.COM.

This is a social networking site that fills a major niche. It's a place to get recommendations, write reviews, rate books and see what your more literate friends are into. You'd think that a site like this would be unneeded given the success of other catch-all destinations like MySpace and Facebook. For the hardcore book lover Goodreads offers a chance to access your inner ROB GORDON and agonize over the details.

There are options to create "virtual shelves." These are essentially categories where you can group genres, years or authors. This has a lot of potential. Here's a few ideas:

-Top Ten Books For A Young Man Considering Suicide

-The Books That Made Me Who I Am Today

-Science Fiction For Creationists

You can write exhaustive reviews and share them with your friends. It allows a fun feature of ranking the book from 1-5 stars. This feature needs to be expanded either to 10 stars or to have the ability to give 1/2 stars. It's just too hard to pigeonhole some books into that scheme. There's a clever embed feature so you can post your thoughts on the site of your choosing as well.

I imagine that many people are running virtual book clubs via Goodreads now. Adding a video/live chat option would further enhance this theme. Livening up the interaction features would make the site a little less two dimensional. The Twitter-esque live updates are nice but more could be done to make the friendships you create more satisfying.

The most creative idea for the site encourages folks in the community to write virtual novels. It adds a whole other level of intimacy to read serialized version of works in progress. Got a question for the author? Just message her! The curtain is lifted and we see exactly what our favorite authors are reading and see it influencing their work in nearly real time. This has potential but unfortunately the best thing about reading for me is that it doesn't involve being on the computer. It's a reprieve but as devices like KINDLE make progress there might be a chance to benefit off this unique feature.

I haven't decided whether Dr. Dog holds a doctorate in medical science or some PhD in literature but I like their style. After all my dog barely passed the first class of obedience school. Fate is a record that appeals to my classic rock beer soaked memories of high school years past but with enough IQ to get that degree from community college. A true overachiever.

Dr. Dog is a nice breath of fresh air in a musical world choking on its own pretentiousness and ironic wardrobe robbed from The Fly Girls on In Living Color. The band dips straight into their parent's vinyl collection with zeal. With a surprising lack of cheeseball nostalgia they channel Creedence Clearwater Revival, Blue Oyster Cult and The Eagles. The vocals are in the vein of the nerdy nasal of Modest Mouse. The lyrics are appropriately whimsical or soulful based on the demands the song imposes. Nothing groundbreaking but once in a while they grab you with a nugget that sticks to your maw or your craw (Your pick on that one.). It could grow boring but the hooks are rich and memorable on songs like 100 Years and Hang On. I often find myself singing these choruses out loud while listening or while doing a little vacuuming. 

Each song takes its time and is patient yet not indulgent. The excellent use of Beach Boys style vocal harmonies and piano accents stole my heart right away. When I first heard The Beach by Dr. Dog on the radio I assumed it was an unreleased Against Me! song. It's stripped down blues rock that is exorcising a demon. And I for one say preach on preacher.

My enthusiasm for this record remains after having it on my iPod for a few months now. Do yourself a favor and pick it up for your next party. It has something that will please most rock fans from old to young with ballads, pop joints, doo-wop tendencies and folk candor. I've got a fever and the only cure is more Dr. Dog.

There was no fanfare or trumpets playing Taps but somehow the moment seemed pivotal. The companion who had baby-sat me as a child watching Thundercats and GI Joe then into my teen years obsessively watching The Simpsons and The X-Files and through countless hours of yelling at The Miami Dolphins and NY Mets and provided me with my favorite movies like Wet Hot American Summer and Lord of The Rings was on life support. How could this have happened?

It all started a few years back in Brooklyn. My wife and I were dreaming up ways to save money. Life in our little slice of NY was not cheap and we never got out to experience all the culture our borough had to offer. We decided to pin some blame on our TV and made the choice to cancel our cable during the summer. It felt like a daring move and at first we felt a little lost. We came to realize that most the programming stunk and that we were reading more instead or surfing the web. We'd pop in a DVD when we were seized by the need to "veg out." Once the winter hit we were back watching Lost and football but Pandora's Box had been opened.

So the tradition carried on where we pulled the plug on cable during the summer. Our DVD player did a little extra work and I played a few more games on my Xbox 360. It became no big deal. Our big move to Raleigh, NC raised a more significant question last year. Did we need cable at all? The answer was a clear no. With my wife's laptop we could watch Lost online and probably purchase anything else we wanted on iTunes. I can say without a doubt this was a great choice in retrospect.

This transition was made particularly smooth by my new best friend Hulu. With a nice selection of my favorite programs like The Simpsons and The Colbert Report it provides the dinner time TV viewing my wife and I enjoy. It has even broadened my horizons by introducing me to It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (best sitcom still on air) and Friday Night Lights (guilty pleasure disguised in football trappings). When my attention span is more ambitious you've got some classic movies including Lost In Translation, Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, 28 Days Later and Moonstruck. There are cheeseball B movies, black and white gems and a few nostalgic fluff pieces from the 1980s (The Karate Kid). The guru in charge of content and partnerships at Hulu deservers a big high-five for making these deals happen. What makes Hulu better than normal cable television?

I enjoy the option of checking my email or Googling an actor while watching a movie. You know I'm down with multi-tasking and this gives me that opportunity. I can extract my favorite moment from a show/movie and post it on my blog. This feature is amazing. Truly a visionary Web 2.0 approach that needs to be replicated by other services. The interface is EXCELLENT and even smart enough to allow you to pick up exactly where you left off in a program if you close your browser. That's a major failing of ABC's player which I have used to watch Lost for a few years now. The search function on the site is also intuitive and useful. A lot of thought went into making this site savvy yet functional. One nice feature that creates a seamless experience is the "Add To Queue" function that makes it possible to subscribe to your favorite programs or make a setlist of shows/movies you intend to watch. Hulu is truly the gold standard in video viewing at the moment.

If they make a move to branch into user generated content I will be very interested. The question is do they want all those IP lawsuits and bandwidth issues. Right now they do a great job with their current offerings. That's why when my HD TV kicked the bucket recently I didn't mourn it too hard. I'll throw my DVDs into my laptop and delve deeper into Hulu. Good night old friend but your time has come.

Here's a brief bio of a fire and brimstone evangelist who started out young during the 1940s and 1950s. Real young. At four years old the poor kid was pushed into the spotlight by his parents. Sad.