Final Note on the Election

What fascinates my 5th and 6th graders most about the election is not the fact that Obama is black and McCain is old (though they find this interesting too), but that I could send my vote through the mail. During the 2004 Taiwanese presidential election, Taiwanese people living abroad flew back to the island in droves in order to vote. Can you imagine sitting on a plane for 24 hours (48 round-trip) just to cast a ballot?

Which is to say, I take back all my griping about the hassles of voting absentee from two days ago. I guess it's the little things that make me proud to be an American.

Well, that and the fact that Franklin County finally voted my way. Way to go, Ohio!

The Election From Abroad

Biggest roadblocks to voting from Taiwan:

1. Deciphering the first question on the Federal Voting Registration and Absentee Ballot Request: Asking yourself, "am I living abroad temporarily or indefinitely" inevitably leads to an existential crisis about the future.

2. Making 2 trips to the post office (once to mail off absentee ballot request, once to mail off the completed ballot).
***Correlated challenge: locating the nearest post office, hoping its office hours don't conflict with your work schedule.

3. Knowing your address

The moral of the story: please enjoy the relative ease of your voting experience tomorrow. The lines may be long, but at least you don't have to translate your contact information into English.

Please, please, please don't forget to vote (especially if it's for Barack Obama)

Dudes for Sarah

I was about to write an entry about my sweet weekend--watching the Taipei vs. Kaohsiung baseball game and going to Kending, a beach resort at the southernmost tip of Taiwan--when my friend Jing sent me this article from the New York Times:

Among Fans of Palin, Dudes Rule

By MARK LEIBOVICH

Published: October 18, 2008

Highlights:

1. The part where NYT has to explain what Carhartts are:

“I feel like I’m at home,” Ms. Palin said, looking out at a boisterous crowd of about 6,000. “I see the Carhartts and the steel-toed boots,” she said, the first reference being to a clothing brand favored by construction workers and the burly types who make up much of the “Sarah Dude” population.

2. The parts where the crowds objectify Palin:

Mr. McLain wore a “Proud to be voting for a hot chick” button and was joined by his wife, Shannan (“Read my lipstick” button on lapel), and his 6-week-old son, Jaxon (“Nobama” button on beanie).

The dudes tend to make themselves noticed. “You tell ’em baby,” a man yelled out at a rally Wednesday night on a high school football field in Salem, N.H.

“I came here to look at her,” [a man wearing a John Deere T-shirt in Weirs Beach] said, and his admiration for Ms. Palin’s appearance became more and more animated.

3. The part where the NYT calls someone a dude:

“Marry me, Sarah,” a man implored in Weirs Beach, N.H., while Ms. Palin held up a tow-headed toddler and patted his little chest. She ignored, or didn’t hear, the proposal, but signed the dude’s ratty baseball cap.

From far away, this election feels more like a comedy routine than a pivotal moment that will determine (at least) the next four years of global, well, everything. And as much as I enjoy watching these Tina Fey as Sarah Palin skits on SNL, for the love of god, please don't forget to vote.

Sarah and Hilary on SNL

You've probably all seen this, but I just can't help myself...

Daily Slate: Antimetabole (aka I am such a dork)

From Slate.com:

The Hottest Rhetorical Device of Campaign '08Ask not what antimetabole can do for you—ask what you can do for antimetabole.

By Juliet Lapidos
Posted Friday, Sept. 5, 2008, at 4:55 PM ET Sarah Palin

Politicians eager to keep up with the latest fad need more than a flag pin this election season; the hottest accessory of the 2008 campaign is the reversible raincoat. That's the nickname speechwriters have given to the rhetorical device in which words are repeated in transposed order, as with Churchill's famous line: "Let us preach what we practice—let us practice what we preach." The fancy Greek name for the trick is antimetabole, and it's been cropping up in speeches by Democrats and Republicans alike.

Check out this link to keep reading...

VPILF? For serious.

image from vpilf.com

Being a 12 timezones away from the US means that I find out about everything way after you all do (unless it's Chen Shuibian's money-laundering--then I'm first in line!) Like McCain's Vice Presidential Pick--I found out after getting home at 1am (1pm your time)...then promptly passed out on my tatami mat while the rest of you were Googling your fingers off. Then again, at least I didn't find out like this.

You've all read the Sarah Palin commentary on the NYTimes, Slate, WSJ, or whatever it is you read regularly. But have you read VPilf.com? If you're drinking anything, be sure to swallow before clicking that link.

Sometimes the internet is just too good to be true.