Rob's Rambling Blog

Went to see the new Iron Man movie this weekend. Suffice it to say that I had a great time, and the movie deserves the glowing reviews it's been getting. The two hours went by like a breeze, with a great mix of action, drama, and humor to keep things going, and I left the theater eager for a sequel.

[Updated 5:08pm] A few thoughts on the continuing bruhaha over Jeremiah Wright, Barack Obama's former pastor and ever-popular subject of the mainstream news media echo chamber:

Sure, you might have suspected it after he stood before the United Nations and told a bushel of bald-faced lies about Saddam Hussein's nonexistent mobile chemical laboratories (even when he knew beforehand that it was bullstuff), but Colin Powell has -- at long last -- admitted that he has no shame.

Okay, I've been holding my tongue on the escalating war-of-the-words between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, but I gotta break my vow of silence for this one.

Proving beyond any doubt that politics makes strange bedfellows, here's the matchup I never, never, ever would've expected to see...

Long-time readers -- and I mean really long-time readers -- of this web site might recall that I'm a fairly enthusiastic pinball affectionato. I don't get to blog about it very often, though, since real-world pinballs (and arcades, for that matter) are pretty much extinct in this day and age. And while video pinball games are a fun diversion, almost all of them suffer from shoddy physics and unrealistic "video game" elements that detract from the genuine experience.

The insensitive question of the day:

So the big political story this week is the revelation that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was caught soliticiting high-priced prostitutes (sorry, "escorts") for sex. This item is guaranteed to grab headlines for at least a week, as it features the irresistible combination of titilation with hypocrisy (Spitzer was a former Attorney General who busted prostitution rings).

So I lucked out tonight and got an early copy of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. I was all set to play a few rounds (after doing some mild gloating on the interwebs )...

Okay, I got Metroid Prime 3: Corruption for the Nintendo Wii the other day (via Amazon's $30 sale), and I have to ask -- what the frig is up with the game's save points?

I don't know about the rest of you, but right now I'm feeling rather sorry for John McCain.

Much to my surprise (not), there are some yaboos still obsessing over the "leaked" photo of Barack Obama wearing traditional Kenya garb from a trip to Africa a few weeks ago. One of the favorite tactics of the yaboos is to claim that the photo shows Senator Obama wearing his father's "tribal outfit," I presume because of some bizarre attempt to imply that Obama isn't really an American and/or to associate him to the negative aspects of Kenya.

To those folks I have to ask -- if you're going to go around trumpeting Obama dressing up from his father's side of the family, why not give equal time to his mother? Why aren't you waving around photos of Obama dressed up in his mother's culture?

Here, I'll help you out. Ladies and gentlemen, a photo of Senator Barack Obama wearing his mother's cultural costume:

While driving into work this morning, I was listening to my copy of Pac-Man Fever, rockin' my inner geek with some cheesy '80s pop music.

After a while, I realize that it's been 25 years (plus a few months) since the album was first released in 1982.

And then I wondered, "Wouldn't it be cool (in an unabashed geeky way) if someone were to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Pac-Man Fever with a follow-up album?"

[Updated 12:36pm, February 26] Another day, another bushel of election controversy...

Since I have kids and it's cold and flu season, inevitably today I had to hike down to the local pharmacy to pick up some cold and flu medicine.

And inevitably I end up wondering what's the difference in what I get.

[Updated February 21, 9:55am] So the latest Circle Of Outrage™ today apparently started on Monday, when Michelle Obama -- wife of presidential hopeful Barack Obama -- addressed a rally in Milwaukee and said:

Ethical dilemma for the day:

Do I complain to FedEx because they delivered my wife's Valentine's Day present a day early, or commend them for their efficiency?

Since I babbled a bit about John McCain last time, it seems only fair to give a bit of attention to the Democratic candidates. As if either of them cares what some geek on an obscure web site thinks...

I haven't said much so far regarding the 2008 Presidential election primaries. This is not out of neglect, but simple cynicism; come November, we'll walk into the voting booth and have to choose between a bottle of either Democra-Cola or Repubi, with nary a 7-Up or Dr. Pepper in sight. And as we make our choices, that little sniggering voice in the back of our heads wonders if we'll get stuck with another disasterous New Coke instead.

If you're anything like me, you've probably given up on the mainstream news nowadays. And who can blame you? Between the demands of a 24-hour news cycle, the blatant bias, the time-wasting celebutard updates, and the death of fact-checking, the only way to stay informed nowadays is to follow the blogs and the comedians for news, and relegate the mainstream media for sports scores and weather reports.

If you're a regular follower of the "Stuff You Should Read" blurbs on this site, you probably saw that link to a New Republic article the other day about Presidential hopeful Ron Paul's racist-filled newsletters.

Well, CNN contacted Paul about those newsletters today, and his response is a knee-slapper of a doozy: