The Friday Hot Sheet

It wasn't a short week, but it was one of those that seemed to blast by in a hurry. Or perhaps better said I'm sitting here on a Friday afternoon realizing that I can't believe so many crazy yet vitally important things happened and I sorta feel like it's still only Tuesday.

Of course I suppose it could be worse and I could be John McCain, who probably is somewhere wishing it was still 2003. I mean yeah -- the stock market is in shambles, the country is horribly divided over politics, and a movie about a Talking Chihuahua that no one has seen has made more in two weeks than AIG paid for their little weekend junket after they got the bailout money from the man; but to say that any of us had a week where we got trounced in our best debate performance and then had to go on national TV to brownnose Letterman just a few days later like Grandpa Maverick had to do would be a bold-faced lie.

Then again, there's no way someone told him to make all those faces on National TV, right?

So before the old man sticks out his tongue again -- here are this weeks risers and fallers, and the buzz as it looks from here.

	The Final Presidential Debate	Was the first one of the three that actually felt like a debate. McCain needed to land punches, and for a while it looked like he was; but then somewhere in the middle Obama's cool got under his skin and McCain just sorta lost control of the wheel or something and then a crazy man came out. It was like a scene from one of those old Leprechaun horror films, where this strange little dude hopped from place to place demanding you give him back his gold or he would kill you. I mean, I'm voting for the other guy, so when it appeared that Obama had opened flat and McCain was rolling I was curious to see what was going to happen next, but then the whole thing just got kinda weird. I honestly think that McCain sometimes thinks everyone in the crowd knows the joke he's thinking about, so all he sorta has to do is wink his eyebrows and we'll all chuckle along -- except that we don't and all we can sorta do is hold on in the hopes that he might reference it at some point later in the proceedings. I know it had something to do with a plumber, and there were apparently some adopted kids there, but then the punchline was something about Herbert Hoover. The best part about it was Obama treating McCain's histrionic facial expressions the same way the rest of us would if we were sitting next to the crazy person on the bus. Just sort of smile and laugh, and no matter what else --don't make too much eye contact.
	John Mccain	Do yourself a favor if you have the time and go check out the Monster's post on HRTOTM recapping the Alfred E. Smith Memorial dinner, which is the annual fundraising campaign stop where the candidates loosen up and sorta "roast" each other. What you're going to get a peek at is the John McCain that we should have seen in this campaign. The one Joe Biden calls a friend. His reputation in congress is the likable vetran. The cagey funny one who can make things happen when they get stuck. That's the shame of campaigning -- is that in a lot of ways you can't be yourself. You have to appeal to people, because you need their votes. Sometimes it's easier, because you're offering change from the incumbent party, or you're focusing on the issues that people are care about -- and sometimes when it's not so certain you have to start calling names and stirring up the fear. Sometimes you have to say the kinds of things that scare the hell out of white people in Ohio, because you desperatley need them to vote for you. But then you see these Youtube clips where those same people McCain is whipping into a frenzy suddenly boil over and shout out things like "Terrorist" and "Kill Him" and you could just see a clearly uncomfortable McCain realizing that he doesn't like being at the top of this particular anthill. Make no mistake, McCain hates that a young slickster like Obama is whipping him in every possible poll -- but he doesn't want to kill the guy. I honestly think McCain doesn't understand why the rest of us don't get it, and he's getting a little sick of trying to explain it to us. The problem is that a lot of us do get it, and we simply don't agree.
	Project Runway	If this had been the only season of Bravo's acclaimed reality series you'd ever seen, you would have everything that makes that show worth watching laid out on a table in front of you. Creative people facing high semand challenges in their chosen field. Judges with legitimate knowledge and influence in the fashion community. A bitchy villian who continues to endure in the competition despite a foul attitude and questionable skills. A final victory that literally came to the last second to decide. But when you hold this 5th season up in comparison to the ones that came before it, you start to realize even the good contestants on the show weren't that great, and that the villian from this season wouldn't have lasted 2 weeks under the attacks of the Santinos, Kevins, or Wendy Peppers of the world. About to change networks and possibly lose some of it's star cast in the transition -- there was something about the show this year that felt stale compared to other years. No reunion show before the finale. Less travel locales, or extravagent challenges. It felt like Bravo was out of love with the show, and despite the contestants and cast's best efforts, it hurt the overall result. That being said, it's still a great contest, and a lot of fun to watch. I can't say I feel like Lianne was that much better than Korto, so it's hard to feel vindicated by the win -- but the fact that this year's evil character, the self-entitled spoiled brat Kenley had her ass handed to her was reward enough for me. With legal battles raging, it could be years before we see this show again. But I do think I'll still watch. Because when it's good, it's still the best reality competition on television.
	Choke is already out of theaters.	Loved the book and wanted to see the film, only to find last weekend that it was long gone before it even had a chance to get started. I hate when movies dissapear so quickly.
	Hot Sauce Eating Contests	It's a Thursday night at Endo, listening to local rappers and watching the baseball game on the tube. The gang's all there, laughing it up and having a good time, when at one point the story is retold of the bottle of hot sauce Matty and Ralph bought from a local place called Moe's. I didnt' catch the exact name of the sauce, but the story apparently was that they wanted to use a little, and the owner/manager wouldn't let them. Forbid it. He told them something along the lines that it wasn't really a sauce, it was more of an additive -- and that it was really too hot for people. They persisted, and eventually he made them both sign a waiver before selling them the whole bottle for $35 dollars. So what did they do with their prize? They brought it to Endo, and at some point when we all got liquored up it was decided we should have a contest to see who could stand it the longest before drinking something. It was a horrible, juvenile, potentially dangerous idea -- which is why we all immediately agreed. Probably not anywhere near as hot as the billion degree burger from Australia that Satorical wrote abotu recently -- but the second this hit my tongue I got the hiccups. My eyes were watering, and my throat started to burn. It was insane. Of course it was also hilarious watching the others squirm next to me, and then see us all dive for our drinks (they didn't really help) once one of the other guys broke down -- but it's not like that made us the winner. Because in a contest like that, you all lose the next day in the bathroom.
	Sevendust and Taproot live at Freebirds	I've seen Sevendust live many times (they rock like crazy), but this will be my first shot at catching Taproot -- whom I adore and who's live show I've heard all sorts of great things about. I'd love to tell you all about it, but I'm running a little late -- so just listen to this to get a little taste of what you're missing (although to be honest, Youtube doesn't really have anything that comes close to the intensity that happens when you see these guys live, because they flat-out bring it).

       

[Listening to:  The Mistakes – "Career Politicians" ]