8th November 2004
Hi all,
Well first and foremost another American Presidential election has been and gone, and George W. Bush is apparently the most powerful man in the world for the next four years.
Of course I could spout on about how his approval rating and mid-term elections can effectively make him a lame-duck towards the end of that four years, but the intricacies of American politics have an even smaller audience than my usual ramblings, so I won't go into depth on the subject. Instead we'll take a look at some other strange things from the election.
I saw this quote on the BBC website, given by Charlotte Greensit, a British invitee to the American Election night at the U.S. Embassy in London.
"If Europeans or anybody in the world could vote they would do so... I think it would be a great idea because it would certainly change things."
Yes, it would certainly change things. What a stupid suggestion! What would it be like if that happened here? I'm sure Robert Mugabe would love a say in who ruled Britain. What if it happened elsewhere? Don't you think Saddam Hussein would have loved a say in Iran in the mid-1980s? Honestly, words fail me here. Hey Charlotte, how do you like the idea of people in Columbia having a say in our laws?
Just because no-one else in the world likes George W. Bush doesn't mean that Americans aren't allowed to like him, and just because no-one else likes him it doesn't mean that all logic should fly out of the window as a means of getting him out of office. If I met this lady in person I suspect I'd be tempted to say, "Matthew want to play football?" (? Matthew Howard, 1991.)
Best joke I've heard after the election:
Q) What was the first thing George W. Bush said to John Kerry after the election?
A) "Hey John, why the long face?"
Of course there were other pressing matters this week, including me overhearing a girl at work talking about her boyfriend. "He's on a golfing holiday this week. He asked if he should call me and I said no. However men should know that isn't what we mean." What? In the words of Lee Corso, "Here's a special note for you, sweetheart, listen to this!" TRY BEING HONEST WITH EACH OTHER. It's not that difficult.
(Completely irrelevant point: ESPN's College Gameday show was based in a studio on Saturday. It wasn't out on the road, which meant that there wasn't the traditional ending of Lee Corso putting on the local team's mascot's uniform while the crowd goes nuts. I was highly disappointed.)
On the topic of women my better half again gets top marks for what she did last Sunday. I was flicking between channels and found my way to NASN. Live NASCAR from Atlanta Motor Speedway was showing as Lorraine came downstairs. "Look," I said. "Atlanta Motor Speedway. It looks scorching there." Expecting something along the lines of, "Hmm," or "Can I watch the Corrie repeat?" instead Lorraine came out with, "Whereabouts in Atlanta is the Speedway?" I was shocked, especially as there wasn't a hint of sarcasm in her voice.
In saying that I should point out the other side of the coin, namely Lorraine spending the average annual GDP of a small Pacific island to keep Cassie in The X-Factor. At least that worked, unlike just about everything Louis Walsh is currently doing with his artists. With his three groups on Saturday night he made the following atrocious moves:
1) Made G4 sing "Hit Me Baby One More Time" which sounded ridiculous. Somehow this "gamble" worked - listen to them sing something like "Ballroom Blitz" next week.
2) Made Voices With Soul change their song less than 24 hours before the show, despite working on a different song for the rest of the week.
3) Made 2 To Go's Peter play two instruments as well as sing. For those of you who don't watch The X-Factor you need to know that Peter is blind. It is probably a good job that they were eliminated this week, as otherwise next week Louis probably would have had Peter playing three instruments as well as carrying out step aerobics. Louis was really asking for trouble in my opinion.
And don't get me started on Mr Walsh's ridiculous "This is really tough," performance that he put on for nearly two minutes at the end of the show. Once he knew that he had two acts in the bottom two he knew he was going to be in a difficult position, and yet he made out that he was really struggling to make the decision. He's a music executive, he probably has to make decisions like that all the time. You can't tell me otherwise.
Two final X-Factor points to leave you with.
1) On the Xtra Factor show on Friday night (see what happens when you own a dog around the 5th of November) there was no special performance of "Bonfire Night" by X-Factor reject/comedy act Jurasso. An opportunity missed if you ask me. ("You've got wicked b.o.! I think I'm going to be sick!")
2) When it came to the end of the Xtra Factor on Saturday night they let the family of 2 To Go's Peter and Emma into the studio to commiserate with them. Cue Emma's boyfriend hopping around the studio on crutches, circling around the small group on one leg. I know, I'm probably the only person who finds this stuff funny, but on the off-chance that I'm not...
Have a good week!
Tony
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