Watching More TV

Tonight's line up: the U.S. Open - Venus vs. Serena and Nadal vs. Fish; and the GOP Convention - Sarah Palin's speech.

So, I forced Sam to watch Palin's speech. There was much less substance than I expected. Sam says it is par for the course for Republicans. I really don't get them. She said she was going to talk about what a mayor of a small town/governor of Alaska does... but then she made some snide comments about it being like a community organizer except with real responsibilities. What does that mean? I think she is very rude. I didn't know what a community organizer was until I started reading Obama's first book. I definitely have an appreciation for the service he was trying to do and the leadership it took to help people in disadvantaged neighborhoods get services and representation that they deserved. I feel like Palin was belittling and out of line. She also said that "our opponents" look down on her... I think the press has portrayed that emotion, but not anyone from the Democratic Party and certainly not anyone from the Obama-Biden campaign.

I could keep going, but I don't think the speech needs a rebuttal point by point... plus it is giving me a headache. One thing that I did want to say is that I felt like Palin (and Guiliani, whose speech we saw a little bit of) were so selfish in their tone and presentation. She seems to come from a place of "me" and "my," like it is for the glory of her and McCain, and maybe the party, but not from a place of wanting to actually better our country. It is ironic that their slogan is "Country First" because they talk about so many external things like Iraq, Iran and wars abroad, but not about practical solutions or plans for the U.S.A.... well, they do want to destroy our environment by drilling on the North Slope - because "we got plenty" of oil and natural gas.

I just don't see how people can keep supporting McCain. His party seems to be all about double-talk and distracting people from the real issues by waving the machismo of "patriotism" around. It is weird. They keep saying he's the maverick we need in the White House, but to me that translates as "loose cannon." It is pretty scary.

In non-scary news there is the U.S. Open. The match between Venus and Serena was kind of a drag because of the commentators. They made the whole thing seem boring. Like, "la-la-la, great serve - blah, blah, blah powerful hit - yeah, yeah, great ball placement." The two of them are amazing players with such different physiques and different styles of play, but they don't say anything about that. There was no comparison of their games or litany of their wins and losses this year like they talk about with other players. What's up with that? Is it really boring to see two great women play each other? I didn't think so. Venus's serve is so fast! And she switches up her first serve - sometimes right up the middle and flat and sometimes wide. She and Serena both have a great down-the-line shot that I love. They both use such great ball placement that you don't always see. Serena is so strong! I was comparing her to a horse when Sam and I were talking - her muscles are so sleek and lean. I think Venus is more like a gazelle - much more slender... but she is super strong, too. I think either of them could take on a guy and win!

Well, now Nadal and Fish are playing. We got to see Fish beat James Blake. That was sure a sad match. Blake just seemed really out of it. I know that they are friends, but they both seemed kind of reluctant to celebrate good points. They also seemed almost sorry when they hit winners. I think Fish even challenged a call that was in his favor and Blake got that point. It was a weird match. But that could also be because of how the commentators were talking about it. I do think that Nadal looks better in the Nike shirt than Blake... weird that they both wear the same shirt at the same tournament. But, that's neither here nor there...

Can't believe that Fish is actually up a break and a serve! Wow. I guess he is having a really good tournament. We didn't see him play Monfils. Sam thinks that Blake let Fish win as a wedding present. Yeah, the commentators kept talking about how Blake is going to be a groomsman at Fish's wedding next month.

Anyway, time to actually watch the match instead of mouthing off here... hope my train of thought flows okay. Usually I have Sam proof my posts and I re-read them, but we have to watch Nadal.

TTFN.

Manish candles

So, there was buzz this week in business and watercooler news for man candles.

Here are some links for your enjoyment.

1. Watch commercial for fake product, view fake labels for man-friendly scented candles here.

2. See site for REAL candles made for men, by men (and their family), here. They are called Manly Man Candles. They just released some new scents. They say they are working on bacon and beer scents (they claim to have only achieved stale beer so far). His blog is hilarious!! The buzz that I saw was about the Manly Man Candles - saw a story on the local news here while I was working. Seems like after a slight delay, the buzz started in Montana, where Manly Man Candles is based, and then made its way to CNN and then on to Fox Business News and local news around the country. Fun! (Hope you like the links to his blog.)

That's all for now, but more posts coming soon...