Reporting on State Senator Kay Hagan's time interning on Capitol Hill in the 1970s while her uncle, Lawton Chiles, began his first term in the U.S. Senate. Now, Hagan fights out a nail-biting Senate race in North Carolina. This races changes week by week and Obama's weight at the ticket could just push her over the top, among other factors.
For the good of the order, a presidential election prediction...
Obama wins all the Kerry states plus Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico and becomes the next president of the United States.
I also project that mistakes in my prediction would favor Obama. He might also carry Ohio, Nevada, and Virginia--guaranteeing an electoral college landslide and a popular vote win, as well as building a strong case for the kind of enduring, demographics-fueled Democratic majority described in The Emerging Democratic Majority by John Judis and Ruy Teixeira.
The book has stalled for the moment because of some logistical hurdles that I will soon jump over. Once research and writing revs up again, expect more text than pictures as I analyze and complete the last of the interviews.
Thanks for your patience.
Jim Krog, all-star former chief of staff to Gov. Lawton Chiles, has died. I thoroughly enjoyed interviewing him and looking forward to rediscovering his intellectual riches as I analyze his thoughts on Hurricane Andrew, right-sizing government, and many other topics relevant to the book.
Rest in Peace, Mr. Krog.
I forgot a reference in The Departed which is actually quite important. Just as Colin sniffs out a whiff of paternal angst in Frank at the end, Queenan in my opinion becomes a sort of father figure for Billy Costigan. The 'do it for me' scene develops that bond, sure, but so does the more subtle scene in Queenan's kitchen. To me that's a key scene in the film as much as the chase sequences and Costello's one-liners.
Continuing in the vein of relating music with film and writing, a word about choruses in film scores. A hobby of mine is surfing filmtracks.com for the skinny on the latest soundtracks and whether they're really worth buying or just rehashed bits of oldie scores.
For some reason the review of the Batman Returns soundtrack jumped out at me. It talks about how using different types of vocal choruses--young male or adult male, young woman or adult woman, or some combination--changes the the feeling the listener gets from it.
The adult male chorus in Batman brings a depth and grandeur to Gotham that Batman Returns apparently lacks. To use another example, the Harlem Boys Choir in Glory lends a touching innocence to the film. Except for the closing credits, when the adult male bass singers and synthesized music bring a different flavor that's appropriate for the end I think.
I also recall reading a reviewer once distinguish between the youth of the chorus in the Spider-Man movie versus older singers in the first sequel. Or maybe I've reversed it. In any case, the older version made the hero seem more mature probably.
I guess it's just a nice example of how small choices made early on can change the entire style you arrive at in the finished product.
