NEW (TEMPORARY) HASSLINGTON VICE PRESIDENTIAL POLL BLOG-SITE
From now until the Democratic National Convention later this month, I have established a temporary blog-site devoted solely to two poll questions: "Who should Senator Obama select as his running mate?" and "Who should Senator McCain select as his running mate?" I have listed about thirty or so options for each candidate, as well as a "Someone Else" option.
I would be honored if folks were to vote in either or both of those polls. They can be located at the following internet address: http://hasslingtonvicepresident.blogspot.com/
Once Senator Obama or Senator McCain selects his running mate, his poll will close, so if you wish to make your voice heard, it might be a good idea to do it sooner rather than later.
Of course, this original Hasslington blog-site (http://hasslington.blogspot.com/) will carry on during and hopefully long-after the duration of the new poll site....
AUGUST 9th MEET-AND-GREET / FUNDRAISER FOR DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSIONAL CANDIDATE ELWYN TINKLENBERG IN WHITE BEAR LAKE, MINNESOTA
On Saturday, August 9, Ali Giarushi and Nasir Mohammed are hosting a meet-and-greet / fundraiser for Elwyn Tinklenberg, who is running for U.S. Congress in Minnesota's Sixth District, and about whom I've written before. I hope to be there if it is possible (right now it's looking like it is), as I found the recent Minneapolis fundraising event for Mr. Tinklenberg to be both intriguing and energizing.
It should be pointed out that Mr. Tinklenberg is running against U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann, who has proven to be a polarizing figure in Washington, D.C., and who has not represented the rather independent voters of Minnesota's Sixth District well. Mr. Tinklenberg, by contrast, has not only secured the endorsement of the Democratic Party, but also the endorsement of the Independence Party; this is important because in endorsing Mr. Tinklenberg, the Independence Party decided not to run its own candidate this time around, which was not the case in 2006. Hence, Mr. Tinklenberg has an advantage that former Democratic candidates have not had in previous Sixth District congressional elections.
I endorsed Mr. Tinklenberg in an April post on this blog-site, so for now I will simply say that he has ample background experience (he was both Minnesota's Transportation Commissioner well before the current transportation problems occurred, a post he handled far better than the recent commissioners, as well as the successful mayor of Blaine, Minnesota, a growing Twin Cities suburb that, amongst other things, hosts one of the world's largest and most successful international soccer tournaments each year). He is also well versed in both national and international politics (in April, he and I discussed both the upcoming presidential race and the then-upcoming, now finished London mayoral race at length, and I found his comments regarding both situations to be insightful). It is my opinion that he will be a far less divisive, far more independent voice for Minnesota's Sixth District than Representative Bachman.
The details of the August 9th event are as follows:
Saturday, August 9th, 2008
10:00 AM to 12 Noon
Home of Ali Giarushi
6720 132nd Street
White Bear Lake, MN 55110
(White Bear Lake is located a few miles north-north-east of Saint Paul, Minnesota.)
Donations will be accepted.
Please RSVP by contacting Sam at 763-785-4676 OR by e-mailing him at sam@tinklenberg08.com
(Sam, who I've met on several occasions, is a nice guy, by the way, who is happy to take your call or receive your e-mail.)
The campaign also has an e-mail site: http://www.tinklenberg08.com/
THIS PAUL SIMON FAN COMES CLEAN ABOUT LOVING CHEESEBALL MUSIC (AT LEAST WHEN HE GOES FOR A JOG)
I was delighted to hear Paul Simon's "The Boxer" played on the radio during my jog a few days ago. (I can't remember the station; I switch stations a lot.) I consider that particular song one of the greatest tunes about being a bowed-but-not-beaten young man (well, okay, in my case, still slightly young-ish man) that the world of popular music has offered up over the last fifty years. (There are obviously other great songs about that topic, as well.) I found that my jogging pace picked up considerably when it began, and by the time it was over I felt as though I was flying down my running path; "flying" is a relative term, by the way, and in my case it is not meant to be taken anywhere near literally....
Our favorite songs seem to change the chemical balance of our brains; they seem to stimulate massive amounts of endorphins in very short periods of time, and elevate our sense of aesthetic bliss, almost to the point where this sensation takes us over completely for a while. Our favorite artists leave us in this elevated state for lengthy periods of time, as their songs linger in both the forefront and background of our minds for minutes and perhaps even hours after we hear them. This can be an annoying phenomenon when applied to songs we don't particularly like, but I've never been annoyed at finding myself humming the music that accompanies the words "...the fighter still remains...." When it's one of our favorite songs, we just don't seem to care that our lives have been disrupted for a certain amount of time.
Yet, from time to time, this phenomenon also occurs (at least to me) with songs that I know I should dislike yet I find myself enjoying. I am not speaking about songs I find utterly annoying that nonetheless worm their way into in my head, only to find the "repeat" button in there and press it incessantly (Ace of Base's "The Sign," a truly awful song, does this to me often); that scenario drives me around the bend for a while, as I'm sure it does for others. No, I'm talking about songs that are a million miles away from layered, thoughtful classics such as "The Boxer" in that they are incredibly "cheeseball" in nature and a bit overly simplistic (and they're certainly pre-packaged and generic), but are nonetheless not completely horrible.
I bring this up because during my jog yesterday evening, James Blunt's song "You're Beautiful" began playing over the airwaves. I consider this to be one of those generic, cheeseball powder-puff songs about which I just wrote, yet I found my pace, uh, well, picking up considerably (and not in order to get home before the song was over), and I found my previous thoughts dissipating as I dissolved into this junior-high level tune about a young man making eye contact with a young lady for a brief instant and...not much else, really.
In the past, I have made fun of this particular song while in mixed company, yet I must admit that I've always felt slightly guilty about mocking it because, well, I kind of like it, too, and I like it for many of the same reasons why I dislike it (if that makes any sort of sense); the cheesy nature of the lyrics both repel and attract me to it. Today's jogging experience was the most recent example of my conflicting viewpoints regarding "You're Beautiful," but, more than that, it was also evidence that we all need to be reminded, at least from time to time, of the way we processed information when we were in junior high, and how it felt when someone you might find "fanciable" (as Mrs. Hasslington puts it) walks by, making eye contact with you for a split-second. And then, just for a moment, we are forced to admit that, despite the fact that life becomes more complex and therefore more rewarding as we get older (as I see it), simple emotions retain their very important place for us adults, too.
This brings me to my ultimate point: as I see it, we should push to further explore the complexities and ambiguities of life as we get older, but we should also remind ourselves that a part of us all is still child-like in some ways, which, when in its rightful place, is no bad thing at all. So I'll keep embracing certain "cheeseball" tunes--if they're played alongside the more structurally and lyrically interesting ones, of course.
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