Contributors

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Ah...too much happening...head hurts...

Wow. Holy crap. Talk about a crazy last 48 hours. Alright, let's see if we have this straight.

1. Edwards: Gone. So much for "going all the way." He is now in a very strong position to be kingmaker. I predict he goes for Obama and then Hillary will be in big trouble this Tuesday.

2. Giulianni: Gone. Really sad. Our Mayor had to bow out and, with it, the only chance I would have of voting Republican.

3. Hillary: Shucks, isn't it too bad that JFK's daughter endorsed Obama? As I have said before, the torch is passed...

4. McCain: Part of me is happy for him..the comeback kid..er...well maybe not kid. The other part of me knows that if he wins the presidency, we will have a nation that has decided to remain an immovable object.

5. Paul: Still in...and with plenty of money and pissed off "real" conservatives behind him.

6. Huckabee: Looking for a miracle...or the VP spot with McCain.

7. Romney: Ward Cleaver is going to have some problems on Tuesday.

8: Obama: I think he might surprise some people on Tuesday....people with last name Clinton. I don't think anyone has any idea how many "non-voting" voters he is going to bring to the polls. I predict it is going to be staggering. If he gets the Democratic nod, you are going to see many of the "other hundred million" vote. The people of this country can sense that something wonderful could happen and they could help be a part of it. He's close....I'm nervous....too nervous..

Some interesting quotes from comments from Monday's post that I thought I would bring out front and comment on:

"very few people (Mark included) ever talk about Obama's voting record"

Quite a bit has been made about Obama voting "present" when he was in the state legislature. There are people talking about it. I don't talk about it much because I'm not sure how that will translate on a national stage.

"'Equality in all areas of our country would have been the order of the day.' I'm sorry but mankind will never be remade like that and I get leery of politicians taking steps to enforce their definition of fairness."

Spoken like a true conservative. While I am not advocating a collectivist culture, cultures that favor the individualist have higher rates of loneliness, more divorce, more homicide, and more stress related diseases. Remember, too, Obama is not saying that HE will do anything. It will be OUR responsibility. All he is doing is opening the door...which, for the last eight years, has been eight foot thick of metal with seven thousand locks on it.

"Hillary is enough of a polarizing figure that I think McCain wins that one."

Agreed. Democrats, please don't fucking nominate her.

"I foresee a rejuvenation of “Where’s the beef?” analogies. However, Obama is still trouble because too many people live for that sunny rhetoric and a return to Camelot."

Also agreed. Do you know that they changed Obama's web site about a month ago? It used to have very detailed ideas and plans. Now it seems too light and airy. I want to hear more specifics as well. They really need to put back the old site.

"we still have super Tuesday coming up and neither political party has anyone set in stone yet."

It's going to be really cool, I agree. I do like how exciting the race is on both sides.

Oh, and how totally mega is the debate tomorrow night between Hillary and Barack now? I will be glued to my wide screen...

Monday, January 28, 2008

American Monarchy

A while back I was a at get together for Keith Ellison, esteemed congressmen for Minneapolis. Keith wasn't there but plenty of his supporters were and we all started talking about who we liked for president. There were some Edwards' supporters and some Obama.....one or two Richardson folks but the overwhelming majority loved Hillary Clinton. In fact, one of my friends there said something that struck me.

"Well, I suppose I'm for Hillary...so we can continue the whole Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton thing."

To this day, I don't know if she was serious or kidding. Either way, we have a serious fucking problem on our hands, folks, and the Democrats who support Hillary don't seem to care. Ask yourselves this question: do you want to allow the same two families to run our country for at least 24 years? That's an entire generation!! Good God, people!!! Can any of you see what is happening to our country? Do we want to live in a monarchy!?

Much like the Bushie, the Hillites are passionate, driven, and centrally focused. I mean this as a negative, not a positive. To make matters worse, they want payback. Payback for the last 8 years. Some Hillary supporters I have talked to over the last few months are the biggest cunts I have ever met...and they ain't all women folks! They want to force their agenda down the throats of the American people just like Bush did and they aren't in the mood for compromise. They want to continue the childish, bickering partisan bullshit of the last ten years.

And, just as with President Bush, if this happens, nothing will be accomplished and I suspect we will be worse off than we are now. It will be four years of the conservative pundits being on the offense again and folks like Moveon.org will have renewed life on defense. These people are still going to be around and we can't be having this shit anymore. We have serious work to do, people, and our country depends on it. We don't have time for this crap anymore.

Remember my column two weeks back? Republicans want Hillary to win so they can have their perfect opponent. Unless that opponent is Rudy Giuliani, we are going to have more of the same bullshit we have had for the last eight years. Can you imagine a Romney vs. Clinton election? Or a McCain vs. Clinton election? Pee-Yew!! As Senator Obama said last Saturday, after winning the South Carolina primary, this is an election about the past versus the future.

I am speaking directly to Hillary supporters here. The Clintons are the past. They had their time in the White House. Barack Obama is the future. Bottom line: Super Tuesday is one week away and I urge all of you who are Democrats to NOT caucus for Hillary. If she wins, it forces people like myself to lose faith in the political process and not vote. Or vote for a third party candidate. I did that in 2000 and look what happened. I'm not the only one who is suffering from chronic regret.

We are on the cusp of something great here. We have a chance to really move forward. Why on earth would any of you want to move back?

Saturday, January 26, 2008

France!

A little something to roil conservatives over the weekend.

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Great Quote

"Giving political power to the neo-conservative is the same thing as empowering the mentally and emotionally ill"

-Todd Rundgren, Minneapolis, MN. January 22, 2007.

Monday, January 21, 2008

Remember....

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Uh Oh! Now he's really done it....

Our first (potentially) post partisan president has really gone and screwed up this time. In a recent interview with the editorial board of the Reno Gazette Journal, Barack Obama said that the Republican Party has been the party of ideas for the last 10 or 15 years. In addition, he had seeming praise recently for Ronald Reagan and the way he changed our country.

Gosh, he is so divisive. You can't just hear the hatred in his words for the folks on the right side of the aisle.

Yep, sure is gonna be the same shit if he is elected.


NOT!

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Absolutely Fucking False

Check this out

Obama emails are false.

If you have received any emails about Barack Obama, more than likely they are untrue. This includes the Pledge of Allegiance crap that circulated about two months ago as well as the baloney about him being raised a radical Muslim. Snopes also backs it up here.

Disagree with him all you want in the issues but don't believe much of what you hear in these claims.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

They Need Her On That Wall

On Tuesday evening, January 8th 2008 around 10:30pm EST, all of the conservative douche bag ass wipe pundits in our country breathed a collective sigh of relief. Hillary Clinton won the New Hampshire primary.

They would survive.

More vehement than any ardent liberal, the Republican Party and their imbecilic propaganda machine want Hillary Clinton to win the 2008 election. How would they define themselves if she didn't win? Who would they have to go after? How would they be able to sell their advertising time to justify remaining on the air?

Sure, they could throw a few things at Obama..call him the "Magic Negro"...get some people like Al Sharpton all riled up...but it wouldn't be the same. Obama makes too many people feel empowered. He is too well liked, even by some conservatives, and he is into that whole post partisan thing. Where's the fun in that?

I watched with glee after Obama won Iowa and heard Rush Limbaugh, at one moment elated about Hillary coming in third and the next, obviously despondent over the fact that should Obama win the nomination for the Democrats, the campaign will be about the issues. His words said he wanted it but the tone in his voice sounded afraid. Scared, actually. If the campaign becomes about the issues, as opposed to the childish bullshit we hear on a daily basis from conservative pundits, they will be exposed for the frauds they are-completely lacking any substance and devoid of any real intelligence.

If you take away Hillary Clinton, how in the world are you going to get people to be pissed off and frightened? So afraid that they will vote for whomever the Republicans put up there. I submit that the game plan for the Republican Party in 2008 is this: Hillary Clinton. That's all they have left in the tank. They are going to have their asses handed to them in Congress this fall. They hate all their candidates and can't agree on any of them. They need Hillary to win the nomination in such a bad way you are starting to hear the hopefulness each time a new poll comes out with her ahead in a certain state.

Now, some have asked me: what will you do if Obama wins? What will you blog about? Well, I imagine that this blog will change. I'm sure I will crank out a rant or two on video games and the butt zombies that play them. Or a nice literary dicking of Minnesota drivers. But I suspect, for the most part, this will be a blog that focuses more on the work that needs to be done to get us back to a better place. It will be a hub for the New Camelot, if you will, that I pray is coming soon to theaters in January of 2009.

But conservative pundits like Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, and Dennis Praeger? What will they do? In the beginning they might try to throw a fly in the ointment or a monkey in the wrench but after a few months they will just look like the children they are...foolish and silly. More importantly, they will look as though the world has passed them by--moving on to more worthwhile endeavors with a high degree of emotional intelligence.

They need Hillary. They need her on that wall. They have to have someone to crucify. It is their rasion d'etre and they won't survive without her.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

A Response

This is response to a post by Kevin over on Smallest Minority. The quotes are from his post or from the comments after the post.

Thanks for bringing this debate out front. I'd like to start my response with a fundamental error in judgement of myself that I think all of you have made. I guess it's understandable considering that any slight wavering away from canon here means socialism-failure-death-destruction.

Fundamentally, I have no problem with capitalism. I have no problem with CEOs making more money than their employees. Back in the day of say...George Romney (father of Mitt)...CEO salaries were just fine. Mr. Romney drew a salary of 250K at American Motors. Adjusted for inflation today, that is a couple of million. Still OK in my mind. Now, we have CEOs making much more than that and, in many cases, getting fired and leaving with hundreds of millions of dollars. Quite simply, this is sadly unfair.

What I would like to see in our culture is more companies like this one:

http://www.hermanmiller.com/

This would be an example of participative management. All of the employees feel invested in the company, regardless of their salaries, and thus, are intrinsically motivated. Their company is a huge success because of, not in spite of, collectivism. And that's the real problem here. We don't have enough people in this country that are intrinsically motivated. They are extrinsically motivated and, as a result, our culture produces people lacking in inspiration and motivation.

Your example from comments, Kevin, is appropriate here. If you divided up the pot amongst rich people and poor people, you say the poor would still be poor and the rich would still be rich. This shows a fundamental, almost Galton-esque attitude towards hereditary genius. I disagree. I think there are some rich people who haven't a clue how to run a business and some poor people who would shine at it. I do agree, though, that for able bodied individuals there should never be any sort of entitlement.

"for taking the time to explain things to the clueless among us. I just rack the shotgun."

And you wonder why gun rights folks get a bad name. Mainly this quote is important because it implies that I am clueless or lacking in intelligence. I'm not. Intelligence is the capacity for goal-directed and adaptive behavior. It involves the abilities to profit from experience, solve problems, and reason effectively. I would also add that serious individual reflection plays a large role in intelligence. With the possible exception of Bilgemen, for everyone on this blog, it seems (correct me, please, if I am wrong), that the experience is this:

1. Everyone is afforded equal chance in this country. (I could barely write this sentence without laughing btw)

2. Those that don't make it are all lazy and want to thieve from my wallet.

3. All rich people made their money honestly and through hard work and should be given the worship and adoration they deserve. (Also having trouble not laughing)

4. Anyone critical of rich people are leftists filled with envy who would all seize control and throw our country into a boiling pit of sewage.

My experience has been, with the parents of school children that I see every day, that our society is built for division. The bottom line is the poor people don't have any ladders to climb out. They don't have a choice, Kevin. They really don't. I see it. You don't. Until you move beyond the limited, albeit valid, experience you have had until now (i.e. the lazy beer drinkers with the 52 inch plasma TV), you will never understand this inequality and how bad it has become.

To be clear, BOTH political parties are to blame for this. The "rich fucking republicans" maintain control of their money with their armies of accountants and lawyers. So much for individual effort and responsibilities, eh? Many liberals and Dems want people to stay on the government tit, ensuring continued support for their machine. In the end, everyone gets what they want: no ladders out. That's why I support someone like Barack Obama. This is what he wants to do: destroy the current system and build ladders. I agree, though, he needs to get to the specifics.

There are always going to be people that think that the distribution of wealth is unfair. I agree with you to a certain extent on this point. But my example of Joe Smith is still valid. Joe gets a right to free legal defense, not as good as rich person might get, but he still gets one. So why not a financial defense? A defense from all of the companies who everyday are trying to increase their profits and doing so by fucking over Joe.

"That freedom, that immense human idea, is what has made America what it is. It is responsible for the vast wealth we have made here. It has drawn the best minds from every culture around the world, fired their imaginations, and it has made people rich."

That may have been true at one time. That America is gone. It has been replaced by Blackwater and Haliburton. I wonder what Orwell would think of these companies. What do you think he would think, hmm? Anyway, I wish that America would come back because I miss it. Our society is becoming more oligarchic every day. We are not good capitalists anymore. We are bad ones. Don't take that to mean that I want to be good socialists or communists. We have let the corporations of our country whir out of control and have allowed the people that run them to manage our lives by essentially having company reps installed in our government. These are the people that control the media, Kevin, not the fantasy of the "liberal elite."

"An inalienable right to "pursue happiness" means freedom."

More and more each day, this right is being taken away. The fundamental difference between you and I, Kevin, is who each of us thinks is responsible.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Ah, The Onion...

Will someone please explain to me how The Onion is never ripped by the conservative douche bag pundit machine? True, they are equal in their satire but let's face it, when they get it right, as with this hilarious column forwarded to me by Crabmaster, they really get it right!

Money quote:

You want compassion? Somebody who's looking out for the little guy? Why don't you take a look at Jimmy Carter, 'cause unlike, oh, every motherfucking candidate out there, he spent the last fucking quarter-century building houses for the homeless. And what does he get for it? A fucking hernia. Some fucking gratitude, you selfish twats.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

New Hampshire Predictions

Quick post today because I am busy. Here are my predictions for the primary in New Hampshire.

Barack Obama will win by a large margin, with Hillary in second and Edwards in third. I think Gravel and Kuecinich will drop out...why they haven't up until now is bizarre. Richardson might hang around for awhile to see if he can pick up his home state but we are really at a three horse race right now.

If things keep going the way they are, it might actually be a one horse race. The American people are responding to Obama's message. They feel empowered and actually give a shit. It's cool! Some people (mostly conservative) either aren't listening or they don't get it. Or both. Very sad. The cynic in me says that it's about time for him to be killed. Too many people would be happy with an Obama presidency and we all know that happy Americans mean less power for....well, you know who.

For the Republicans, I predict a McCain victory with Romney a close second and Giuliani a surprising third place. The soul of the Republican party is on the line this year, folks, and I'm not sure we will know who the nominee is until the convention here in my home state of St. Paul. How about all of you? Any predictions?

Saturday, January 05, 2008

Hope

Hope is not blind optimism.

Hope is not sitting on the sidelines or shirking from a fight.

Hope is that thing inside all of us that insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, that there is something greater inside all of us.


-Senator Barack Obama, Jan 4, 2007.

Friday, January 04, 2008

Hillary = Dick

I just heard in the Ed Schultz show that Hillary gave speech today in New Hampshire that sounded an awful lot like Dick Cheney. Apparently she told a crowd right after she got off the plane that we are probably going to get hit again, like 9-11, and she is the one that can stop it...or something like that. She also spoke of her experience and reading of daily intelligence briefs.

I haven't been able to find any video or audio yet so if anyone knows of a link, let me know.

WOW

Boy was I wrong. And you know what? I think it's time for me to stop being such cynic. I made a promise to my in laws that I am happily going to keep: I will never make fun of Iowa again.

Folks, the message from last night's caucus was about change. The people of the United States of America are tired of the same old bullshit. They turned out in record numbers to send a message to Washington. In my father in laws town alone they had ten times the amount of caucus goers. Memo to the Bush regime: people don't like you. In fact, they hate you and what you have done to this great nation. Iowa has spoken.

They want to be able to make a difference again. Words cannot describe how happy I am being wrong.

I thought that money would outweigh faith and I was wrong. But Mike Huckabee, outspent by Romney 15 to 1, won the Republican Iowa caucus. True, Huckabee and I disagree on many things but he is a good man with his heart in the right place. In some ways, as I watched him give his victory speech last night, he reminded me of a sort of JFK for the religious right. He is saying all the right things, mainly because he actually believes them. I think he is going to do much better in New Hampshire than anyone suspects.

Romney needs to win New Hampshire. If he doesn't, he is through. He put everything into these first two states. If I were Thompson, I would be embarrassed. John McCain, a man who ran a lazier campaign in Iowa than ol' Fred, is tied for third with him. Hee Hee!!

And then there is the Senator from Illinois...wow. I listened to him speak last night and I heard Jack, Bobby, and Dr. King. I cried. The torch has been passed. His trouncing of Hillary did my heart proud and it shows that people want a candidate who is going to change things. They want someone new, someone young, someone warm, and someone honest....four things Hillary is not and never will be. Now we are onto the real test. If Obama can place even a close second in New Hampshire, it will be a great race to Super Tuesday on February 5th. Edwards has to do something in New Hampshire or he is done. I suspect his defeat in Iowa is ringing more deep than we know at present. If Hillary somehow manages to lose New Hampshire, she is done.

And the conservative slime ball machine will begin shitting themselves on a daily basis. Who will they have to crucify? I heard Rush Limbaugh say it best last night on Fox: the campaign will be about the issues. That's right, bitch. If my guy gets the nomination for the Dems, bring it on!

Are you scared yet? You should be....

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Let The Games Begin!!!

The Election of 2008 officially begins today with the Iowa caucus. I wonder how many times the word "Iowa" has been said in the last week. Probably the same amount of times a man has drank a beer in a bar to the song "Ramblin' Man" by the Allman Brothers.

Personally, I am very excited as it marks the beginning of the end of worst presidency in US history. It also, I hope, is the end of the "conservatives making up a bunch of idiotic and maniacal bullshit, stating it as fact, and then accusing the media/schools/universities/old ladies/puppies of being traitors when they don't buy into it" phase of our country's history.

Regardless of who wins, a page will be turned. And, unless it's Fred Thompson or Hillary Clinton, our nation will be moving forward. Thank the Lord!

OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENTS
It will come as a shock to no one that Notes From the Front officially endorses Rudy Giulianni and Barack Obama for the office of President. I think that each of these men have what it takes, in abundance, to be the leader of the free world.

Each man is different and, in many cases, opposite views on many of the issues. Several of you have asked me how I can support both of them. The easiest answer is that I have opposing views inside of myself. Unlike many conservatives, I don't set my mind in stone and become an immovable object. There are a myriad of problems in the world and it is not my belief that there is only solution.


In fact, there could be several and each of these men have the integrity, intelligence, and intellectual curiosity to explore. When I say explore, I mean EXPLORE!! Our Mayor and the Man Who Could Change The World will push themselves to the mental, emotional, spiritual, and physical limit to serve their country, much more so than any other candidate.

So, as we move forward in this primary and caucus season, bear in mind these words above. Whatever party you belong to, these are the best people suited for the job. Vote for them. Make me proud!

OFFICIAL PREDICTIONS

I am going to be running a series of predictions for each caucus and primary. On the day of each one, I (or a guest poster) will be putting up who will rank first, second, and third in each party. Today we have Iowa.

This one is a huge one. Whoever wins, on either side, will have the wind of the media frenzy of 2008 at their back. On the Republican side, Romney and Huckabee seemed locked in a dead heat. Romney has spent a ton of money in Iowa and New Hampshire and if he loses either, he might be done. Thompson is still out there uninspiring people. McCain has been surging recently as well. Sadly, Guilianni doesn't seem to have a prayer here.

In the end, I think it will play out like this: ROMNEY (first) HUCKABEE (second) MCCAIN (third). Too many people in Iowa like Mitt Romney. He has also spent enough money to make people like him. This will be the highest Huckabee will every rank for the rest of the primary season. McCain is like the old grandpa that everyone loves so he will be buoyed by a third place finish. Thompson will come on fourth (yawn) and Giulianni last. Duncan Hunter and Alan Keyes will be finished. And then there is Ron Paul....

I have to say that I have no idea where he will finish but he could be a wild card that will surprise people-even me!!

Turning to the Democrats, we are in a virtual three way tie. I don't think Richardson, Biden, Dodd, Kuecinich, and Gravel will be around much longer because the Dems seem to focusing on the trifecta of Clinton, Edwards, and Obama.

Hillary is in trouble. Big trouble. If she comes in third, which is very possible based on the polls, it's going to be real hard to get anywhere in New Hampshire. If she does somehow manage to win Iowa, she will get the nomination. No one expects here to win Iowa and if she does, it's over. Edwards needs Iowa bad. He has spent a lot of time there-travelling to every county in the state. If he wins, he has a chance at New Hampshire and much of the south. If he doesn't, he is probably done as well. If Obama wins Iowa, with Edward in second, he will have a ton of mo' behind him and will quite possibly take New Hampshire as well. Even if he comes in second, he could still do alright in the later states.

In the end, I think it will play out like this: EDWARDS (first), OBAMA (barely second), CLINTON (third). Folks, I hate to be the one to say this but I know, from first hand experience, that much of Iowa are bigots. They don't like black people. The four hundred dollar haircut aside, Edwards is a man and he is white. I wish I was wrong but I don't think I am. The youth of Iowa will catapult Obama into second place and Hillary will be wondering what the heck is going on.

So those are my picks, what are yours?

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

BEST OF 2007

Well, it's that time of the year again: my picks of the best television, film, and music of the year. So many good offerings to choose from but, alas, only one pick for each category.



BEST TV SHOW

Recovered yet from the last episode of The Sopranos? Many haven't. As the show abruptly ended to the strains of "Don't Stop Believin'" by Journey, my heart sank as I thought, at the time, that an era had come to an end. Sure there are plenty of other great shows but there was nothing like The Sopranos.

And there never would be. I have to say that I really feel it is the best show of all time. The word "stunning" doesn't even come close to describing the final episodes of this wondrous show. So when it ended on June 10th, a strong sense of melancholy enveloped me. There would never be another show like this one. That lasted all of five weeks. Because on July 19, the heir apparent to The Sopranos debuted on AMC.

Mad Men is as good as The Sopranos. And, in many ways, it's cooler. So fucking cool! The show takes place in New York City, at a Madison Avenue Ad firm, in the year 1960. Can anyone say Kennedy Era Cool? Men were men and women were...well...they were sex objects. Many a hair has been pulled from my wife's head by her own hands due to the fact that the show is VERY historically accurate in regards to men's attitudes about women in that time period. Ah..the good ol' days......:)

Martinis, office romances, chicks, and groovy cats are combined with the same pathos and ethos that we saw on the Sopranos. That makes sense because Matthew Wiener, former producer on the Sopranos, is the creator of the show. Several Mad Men episodes have been written by Sopranos alum so it's no wonder that this show, just like the one in New Jersey, delves deeply into the human psyche and the nature of the beast. And that beast, folks, is lust. Yum! And it's against the backdrop of one of the coolest cities in one of the most mega times in our history.

Oh, and let's not forget Christina Hendricks (left). Words cannot describe the ass on this woman. Spectacular? Perfect? Direct from the Lord, our God? All of these do not do it justice. The episode "Babylon" (number 6 in a 13 episode first season) does a much better job of illustrating the glory and the power of Hendricks' booty more than any words of mine. This episode is also an excellent place to test the waters, if you will, to see if you like the show. Pause for a moment and check her out in the red dress above....holy friholies!!!! I love the cigarette...the look on her face....yeah, she knows that she is it....I-T....IT!!

AMC is currently re-running the first season on Mondays at 11pm. You can also download the show here on itunes. Do yourself a favor: fix a martini, work a little skirt (sorry, gals, I am in the moment and time period of the show) and check it out!

BEST FILM
Over the past three years I have always chosen serious films as my Best Film of the Year. This year, I thought it was high time to choose something a little lighter.

Knocked Up is the Best Picture of 2007. And it's not because it is fluff. Yes, it's funny, goofy, silly, and kinda light. But this film is truly an honest look at what it's like when you first learn that you are going to be a parent and what it's like when you are a parent. Ben (Seth Rogen) and Alison
(Katherine Heigl) (left) hook up, accidentally get pregnant, and have a baby. The story centers around the evolution in their relationship as these events progress.

Some people I have talked to about this film don't get the point. In fact, I recall a conversation with a female friend of mine at a volleyball open gym in which she told me, "If this is the best film of the year, then this year is sad." Clearly, she didn't get it.

As I watched the story unfold, I was catapulted back to the days of when I first became a parent. Even the supporting cast, Alison's sister and family, perfectly illustrate what it's like to be in a long term relationship and attempting to be intimate with a six year old and four year old running around. In other words, to have a family. While the film uses 12 year old boy-sex-and-bathroom-humor as a shtick throughout most of the film (throw up on the seat next to you-hilarious btw), it juxtaposes this with the honest emotions of romantic and family relationships. Quite simply, it is wonderful, hilarious, and dirtily honest...or honestly dirty.

And that's just the way good art should be.

BEST CD

This was a tough one for me. It was down to two CDs. The first was The Coral, Roots and Echoes, a gorgeous record, filled with beautiful music. Every track is great and, I have to say, really was my choice for CD of the Year until about a week ago.

I have always thought that music is a passion of youth. When we listen to it, we feel young again. We remember that first time we kissed someone and really meant it...and felt it. We think back to that time when something really cool happened. We connect with that part of ourselves that is non-linear and we, like Billy Pilgrim, become unstuck in time. For a moment we are there. Really there...and it is wonderful.

So, I turned to my youth...my children...and, while they love Roots and Echoes, they are insane about Costello Music by The Fratellis (above). I debated long and hard about this one because the CD came out in the UK in Nov 2006 and the US in March of 2007. Since I go buy the UK release date, was it an official 2007 release?

Well, I decided to relax my rules a bit because every track on this disc is great and the B-sides on all the singles are equally as mega. Plus, I think I played this CD every day in 2007. Wow! They sound like mixture of David Bowie, The Pogues, The Jam, and the Sex Pistols. Making them even cooler is the fact that this was the first band I took my kids to see. On July 29th of 2007, my son and daughter got to see their first show, an in-store at the Electric Fetus, the coolest CD store on the planet. Later that night my wife and I watched them perform at the Varsity Theater and it was fucking great.

Aside from the music, these three guys just have a lot of fun. They really enjoy what they do and pour all of their energy into their music. It really shows. I highly recommend picking up this disc and downloading all their B-Sides to their singles. Being a band from the UK (natch), they have songs on their singles that aren't on the album.

So those are my picks for 2007. What are yours? As always, comments are open.