Romney is a scary guy

A great video makes that argument here -- not so much that he's shown a list of scary tendencies (although I think that could be argued as well), but that he appears to be clay in the hands of his handlers, and he appears to be surrounding himself with men in the mold of Dick Cheney. Nobody wants another round of Bush/Cheney years . . .

Ze Frank says

This manic style of video may or may not be for you, but I love Ze's notion of a finishing stamp, which somehow combines the notions of self-actualization with the idea that You Have to Ship (which could itself be put better if I were less tired). Lots of good bits in that 3-minute package!

Update: man, if you're feeling a little bleak, watch this Chase the Happy video! I loves me some silly!!

Through the door at last

Great GQ profile of Joss Whedon, one of TV's greatest (and most overlooked) writers of the last couple of decades. Manages to capture the whiff of martyrdom that his fans surround him with, while also noting the tragedy that his innovation and creativity have run into so many walls. Worth a read for diehard followers and the mildly curious alike, and a little poignant for fans, knowing, as the writer didn't, that The Avengers was about to meet with such explosive success. [Bonus: he's a redhead! who knew!!]

When the personal is political

Am touched by this piece about the President's announcement yesterday. It's true that there are political arguments, and then there's the immensely personal moment of recognition, of participation in civic rituals as old as time.

There's something very deep about having your government declare you a stranger to its laws, defining your love as outside all respectable recognition. For my president to stand up and say that I should belong fully to my nation, that my wife and I should be considered as fully married as my brother and his wife—well, it reopens and washes out some very deeply incised sense of exclusion, a scar inflicted when, at age 15, I first panicked at the realization that I might be queer.

I still remember a friend's adapting the Jewish custom of spilling some wine at a wedding to the statement that their joy could never be complete as long as so many of their friends could never share the same moments in their own lives. Not soon in Pennsyltucky, maybe, but the stir is clearly rising...