official call-out

mike, chris: get on your damn asses and make some contributions.

(i've given up on kartik, but don't think i will on you!)

it seems i'm no longer in school...

ah, providence, the home of $2 tall-boys of 'gansett, shows at as220, and cap'n seaweeds (where you can take a piss while looking at my hometown).

except the prov looks a bit different from the 10th floor of a damn swank hotel like the biltmore and the business end of a career fair table.

this may be the mid-section of my larger work and leisure related east coast tour, but i'll leave the first leg up for a certain mr. smallberg to recount. the finale leg sees me returning to high-school regions and back to the post-college haven that is brooklyn.

i tried to tell a flapjackin' someone (happy birthday, by the way) that he and many others will find themselves living in my home borough in a matter of months, but he was in denial, just as i was a year ago tonight.

it's good to be back, but it's also good to be back and not paying for transportation, accommodations, and food.

Superish Tuesday

Other than perhaps the Lieberman/Lamont Connecticut Senate primary, yesterday the most important pre-November 7 Election Day. Here are the results and my snarky commentary:

PROVIDENCE WARD 1 CITY COUNCIL PRIMARY - DEMOCRAT
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Seth YURDIN	641	58%
Ethan RIS	458	42%

David Segal's endorsed candidate beats Ethan Ris.  Segal also won his own primary for the State House.

From the BDH:
"I'm very proud of the work we did. I want to commend Seth Yurdin on running a very hard-fought, honest campaign," Ris said.

"I can't say the same for David Segal - his negativity really set the tone for this campaign from the outset," he added.

Ouch.

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS DISTRICT 2 - DEMOCRAT
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
James R. LANGEVIN	24659	62%
Jennifer L. LAWLESS	15211	38%

To be fair, Professor Lawless put up a pretty decent fight. But she's still a bitch.

SENATOR IN CONGRESS - DEMOCRAT
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Sheldon WHITEHOUSE	67851	82%
Christopher F. YOUNG	8679	10%
Carl L. SHEELER	6624	8%

Apparently Carl's campaign stop at the Infamous Grouse was not quite enough...

SENATOR IN CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Lincoln D. CHAFEE	34407	54%
Stephen P. LAFFEY	29052	46%

The worst result for Democrats of the night.  Chafee (everyone's favorite moderate) makes this seat a toss-up.

REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS - REPUBLICAN - ARIZONA 8
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Randy Graf	23949	43%
Steve Huffman	20595	37%

The best result for Democrats of the night.  Graf (a crazy conservative who once sponsored a bill to let patrons carry guns into bars) makes this a big chance for a Democratic pickup.

BIG BROTHER 7 -- ALL-STARS
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Mike "Boogie"	6	83%
Erika	1	16%

Best season since Season 2.  By "show-mancing" Erika and convincing her that they were in love and then calling her a "ho" in the diary room, Boogie won the $500,000 and a special spot in hell.  Staaaaaaaaaaaa!

LAST SUNDAY - ME AND ANGELA
CANDIDATE	VOTES	PERCENT
Kiefer	1/8	100%
Frozen Pizzas (with kielbasa on top)	2	CPK%
Instant General Tso's	Delicious	Mmm%
Flavor of Love 2	Trifling	?%
Turbins	Godly	!%

One of the best days of my life.

In other news, Smallberg's back and Nathan and Chris are supposed to come down this weekend.  I don't exactly know who I'm announcing this to since they might be the only people who still read this thing. If we still have any readers, please comment and tell Chris and Smallberg to get their act together and post something.

My First Time in the Situation Room

As you all know, The Situation Room w/ Wolf Blitzer has always had a special place in my heart so it is with joy and modesty that I report to you, the Infamous Grouse community:

I WAS ON THE SITUATION ROOM!

OK, to be fair, I was never physically in the situation room and they never mentioned my name or anything but they did feature my sites in their "The Situation Online" section. They showed TruthAboutTaylor.com and RadicalRick.org but unfortunately neglected to show my newest (and favorite) site, RubberStampReichert.com.

60 days til Election Day.

the prospect heights era begins

i moved into the new apartment yesterday and have spent most of today making it more organized and less empty. this is a very nice place, a veritable shining palace compared to 17 thayer. its abundance of class, however, is balanced by a shortage of windows and thus natural light. i think that's why we can afford it.

not only is today labor day, but it's also west indies pride day - and in prospect heights, west indies pride day is no small affair. think of the fourth of july with a different color set and way more curried goat. i took a few strolls down eastern parkway (one block south of me) which seemed to be the main drag for the festivities, parade, etc. there are basically a lot of stands selling the aforementioned goat, fried fish, chicken, shrimp, and plantain.

as i walked around, no doubt looking more out of place than the small group of men dressed as indian chiefs, i tried to decide at which fried food stand i would eat. unfortunately every single one had a very large line. most of the people reading this blog probably know that one of the few things that can turn me away from a fine meal of deep-fried delicacies is a sizable line.

i eventually managed to find a food stand off the beaten track, but they only had rice and beans, and kabobs. so i ate them. but, like most things you eat when your innards have prepared themselves for a frystravaganza, they were unsatisfying.

so here i am, blogging in my new, underfurnished yet swanky apartment, drinking canned soup out of a beer glass because silverware doesn't show up until saturday.

So I guess its down to just me and Monco

• One of the perks of my job is that I get to see basically every political commercial that goes on the air through "Ad Alert" e-mails. Most are uninspring and cookie-cutter but every once in a while you hit gold. This is by far my favorite ad thus far.
  
  
• John and me's political podcast (tenatively titled, "You're Wrong, But Continue") is coming soon.
  
  
• My second site, radicalrick.org, launched last week. Its nothing too exciting but my next site is something else. I'll make sure that the IG gets in on the special blog pre-release.
  
  
• I really love my job but I can't wait til they fire me. Let me rephrase: I can't wait to go home for some Thanksgiving cooking and then to Brown to recapture the days of my youth. I also certainly plan to do an east coast swing to see everybody there and, depending on how adventurous I'm feeling, I might do a California trip to see Baja Fresh, CPK, Red Vines, and all my other long lost west coast friends. Plan your couches accordingly.