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Over the past few days, numerous large traditional and social media outlets have referred to Barack Obama's tour of the Middle East as "historic." I asked myself, what's historic about a Presidential candidate, a U.S. Senator or other wealthy, liberal individuals on a mission (e.g. Sean Penn) visiting the Middle East?
Unable to find an answer, I posed it to one of my co-workers, Noah -- a narcissistic punk of a flack. He says it's historic because Obama is the first viable African-American Presidential candidate. While you'd have to be intellectually arid not to recognize and agree with that, it's the campaign that's historic...not everything he simply does.
Is it historic if he visits a Burger King in Milwaukee since no other Presidential candidate has ever done so? Or if he plays GTA on PS3 with Michelle -- is that historic? And what about if he scratches his ass, is that historic too?
I'm so jealous that I'll never be the first viable African-American Presidential candidate to scratch my ass.
One of my favorite new blogs from my favorite boss is definitely worth a read: http://savvyflack.blogspot.com/
In poll of pet owners, McCain tops Obama
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID
WASHINGTON (AP) — If the presidential election were up to pet owners, John McCain could have a blue ribbon in his future.
From George Washington's foxhounds Drunkard and Tipsy to George W. Bush's terriers Barney and Miss Beazley, pets are a longtime presidential tradition for which the presumed Republican nominee seems well prepared, with more than a dozen.
Democratic candidate Barack Obama, on the other hand, doesn't have a pet, though he has promised his daughters a dog after the election, win or lose.
"From an image standpoint, nothing humanizes a candidate more than seeing him lovingly dote on his pet or toss a ball around on the White House lawn," says American Kennel Club spokeswoman Lisa Peterson.
Recall Him and Her, Lyndon Johnson's beagles who appeared on the cover of Life magazine. Or Fala, Franklin Roosevelt's Scottish terrier who received more mail than many presidents.
An AP-Yahoo News poll found that pet owners favor McCain over Obama 42 percent to 37 percent, with dog owners particularly in McCain's corner.
"I think a person who owns a pet is a more compassionate person — caring, giving, trustworthy. I like pet owners," said Janet Taylor of Plymouth, Mass.
Taylor, who described herself as a retired stay-at-home wife, owns two cats, Lady Jane Taylor and Mr. Tommy Katz.
Richard Powell, 79, of Spokane, Wash., whose dog passed away last fall, said if a person owns a pet, that "tells you that they're responsible at least for something, for the care of something."
He said pet ownership wouldn't make a difference in his vote, but if a president owns a pet, "I'm glad to know they like animals."
If voters identify with a guy who owns pets, then it's easy to see why they'd like the Arizona senator.
He has a veritable menagerie, including Sam the English springer spaniel, Coco the mutt, turtles Cuff and Link, Oreo the black and white cat, a ferret, three parakeets and a bunch of saltwater fish.
The poll found that among people who don't have pets, Obama leads McCain 48 percent to 34 percent.
But that still leaves McCain looking strong, since the majority of homes have a pet.
The American Pet Product Manufacturers Association estimates that 63 percent of American homes include a pet, including 88 million cats and 75 million dogs.
Dog owners lean toward McCain, 43 percent to 34 percent, while cat owners basically divide their loyalties with 41 percent for McCain and 38 percent for Obama.
The population breakdown of who has pets and who doesn't may be a factor.
For example, the poll found 47 percent of whites own dogs, compared with just 24 percent of blacks. Whites tend to favor McCain, while blacks overwhelmingly favor Obama.
Some 64 percent of dog owners are married, slightly higher than the overall population. The poll found 47 percent of married people own dogs, compared with 39 percent of non-married people. Married people tend to favor McCain.
The AP-Yahoo News poll is part of an ongoing study that tracks the attitudes and opinions of a group of more than 2,000 Americans to see how their political views evolve over the course of the election campaign.
The AP-Yahoo News survey of 1,759 adults was conducted from June 13-23 and had an overall margin of sampling error of plus or minus 2.3 percentage points. The margin of sampling error for population subgroups is larger.
The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it free.
Associated Press Director of Surveys Trevor Tompson and AP Writer Natasha Metzler in Washington contributed to this report.
http://nortontoday.symantec.com/media/v
I still have some rough five or six milers nowadays, but what's totally random is that yesterday I inexplicably ran 15 miles! I had woke up at 5:30am for some media briefings up in San Francisco, and then spent most of the day staffing and working and getting worn out. But I love the city and felt I had to go for a run. Figuring I'd run a quick five miles and then get some grub, I some how just kept going.
I ran past Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, Fort Mason and all the way up to and over the Golden Gate Bridge. And what's so weird is I had no water and barely even took walk breaks -- which is totally uncharacteristic of the habit I got into while training with APLA for marathons.
I was in a workout shirt and shorts and it was getting cold, but I kept going. Decided to cut back through the city rather than up the Embarcadero to save some time since it was late, but still wound up challenging myself with all the hills. In the end, I hit 15 miles and did it in 2 hours, 37 minutes. This matched the best paces I was on when in hardcore training.
Seriously weird but I was just driven. Almost thinking it might be time for a marathon comeback. Nah... Then again... Nah... Arghhh, it's addictive this running thing.
http://blog.carryonpr.com/2008/05/01/so
So I figured I'd start by sharing a photo from the awesome Camp Pendleton Mud Run this past Saturday. I was one of only 33 participants out of 4,000 to run military-style in combat boots and camouflage fatigues. It was intense.
Today, it's completely taken up by industrial plants that are interesting marvels of architecture in and of themselves. As the island made the transition from residential to industrial, the number of abandoned and derelict places were bound to increase. And without a map or anything, a quick wander turned up a number of fascinating places.
It was an interesting trip -- including one of the few times I've ever gotten spooked while checking out these types of places. I was checking out a completely screweed up building -- no chance it had been occupied in the better half of a decade -- and after ten minutes inside, I hear the phone ring. I don't recall seeing a phone once while in there. And while phone lines tend to receive power irrespective of power lines (which no doubt had been turned off to this property long ago), I found it a tad coincidental that a phone would ring at the exact moment I was there. Who was calling an abandoned building at that time on a Monday morning? It could have been a security guard trying to get me to leave, but you never know.
For more, check out http://pics.livejournal.com/bradchase/g
After a trip to Palm Springs, I did some exploring and found some great abandoned places, including a motel and yacht club. Although they were fascinating, it was even more interesting to see the North Shore community. Found by crossing a set of railroad tracks that follow the shoreline, it's hard to describe exactly why it's so spooky. Anyways, I'll be back there, but for now, take a look at some of my shots from the Salton Sea.
For more, check out http://pics.livejournal.com/bradcha
