Uninhabited Spaces

The Democrats are wrong to write-off Alaska's governor, Sarah Palin. I am likely a voice in the wilderness and just might be the only liberal who thinks that John McCain may have made a smart decision in choosing his running mate. Everything being equal the overarching priority is on winning the election, and a general election is about winning the votes that count in the so-called swing states. Indeed, general elections are not about what the Beltway pundits and east-coast intelligentsia want or expect. Of course they predicted Romney or even Lieberman but the electorate doesn't need or want either one of those names on the McCain ticket. Palin is the perfect choice of gender, politic, age, and profile to put in front of those who are still smarting over Hilary's defeat and those who like their politicians on the right-hand side of the issues. The United States has an enormous and well-mobilized evangelical movement and Governor Palin might just be the ticket for their asp...

Here is my list of the top-10 U2 songs you've likely never heard. Here are 10 essential U2 songs that you would have never heard unless I pointed them out. In no particular order they are: Mercy (2004) Bono referred to this as "a six-and-a-half-minute outpouring of U2 at its most uninhibitedly U2-ish" in an interview with Blender magazine. A beauty, with some of Bono's finest lyrics. The Ground Beneath Her Feet (2000) A wicked collaboration. Lyrics by Salman Rushdie and music by U2. This song haunts me. My, oh my... Electrical Storm (2002) A song for a hot summer night. Love and hate collide in an electrical storm. A little gem. Lady with the Spinning Head (1991) From the "Achtung Baby" outtakes, no one can quite fugure how this didn't make final cut. From 4:36 onward I just want to fly forever. Scarlet (1981) This song reaches deep inside your heart and makes you want to believe again. Original of the Species (2004) A song for their daught...

Finally, U2's iconic 1983 performance at Red Rocks, Colorado is being released on DVD in September. This is a must-have for fans, and is a nostalgic look back to the era of political preening and one of the best mullets to grace the stage...You can enjoy a preview of this classic concert here .

I stumbled across a hilarious video of a bunch of geeks....er...folks that re-enact a pivotal scene from "Star Wars: A New Hope" at their office. I just love this video because, dear readers, I spent most of my childhood acting out various "Star Wars" scenes, sometimes alone and other time with friends. Now I haven't pretended to be Han Solo since I was about 14 (no, really) so watching this video made me think that perhaps I've been missing out on alot of fun...Check out these wonderful geeks here .

[from the Queen's University NewsWire] New research by a Queen's University musicologist examines why Canadians are so attached to their music video station, MuchMusic, and why Canada is the only country in the world that has withstood the American MTV invasion. In a new book, Coming to You Wherever you are: MuchMusic, MTV, and Youth Identities , music expert Kip Pegley compares content on MuchMusic and MTV, where she looks at the national, gendered, and racial constructs of the two stations. “When scholars – especially American scholars – talk about music television, the assumption is that they mean MTV,” says Dr. Pegley. “But after watching endless hours of MTV and MuchMusic, I realized that they were quite different and wanted to explore why MuchMusic was unique.” Dr. Pegley documents evidence to support why the MuchMusic audience feels more connected to their station than their MTV-watching counterparts: MuchMusic viewers feel like they’re taken in as a collective, rather t...

This is an actual store sign in Salem, MA. We drove by and did a double-take and we just had to go back and take a picture. We laughed for a good half hour. The average age inside car dropped to 11. I nearly crashed the car. Ah, good times...