He Had to Be Startin Somethin

I've never considered myself a huge Michael Jackson fan (although it should speak volumes of the singer's influence that despite that last statement, I still had 10 or so of his songs on my iPod). I am and always have been, however, a huge, huge fan of hip-hop. It would take a much more knowledgeable music writer than myself to detail all the ways Michael Jackson influenced rap music.

But what has struck me the most in the past few days is how many DIRECT references there are to Michael Jackson in the songs I listen to the most - namely by Jay-Z and Kanye West. I'm not talking about the millions of ways Jackson's style subtly impacted these artists. I'm talking about them literally saying the words "Michael" or Michael Jackson" in their lyrics.

A sampling:

"I'm feelin like Mike at his baddest" - Kanye, while rapping on the Estelle track "American Boy"

"She got a light-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson/Got a dark-skinned friend look like Michael Jackson" - Kanye, "Slow Jamz"

"They thought I was burnt up like Pepsi did Michael" - Kanye, "Through the Wire"

"She went to the doctor to get lipo with your money, she walk around looking like Michael with your money" - Kanye, "Gold Digger"

"And you would give me anything in this world, Michael Jackson leather and a glove, but didn't give me a curl" - Kanye, "Hey Mama"

"I'm Off the Wall, I'm like a young Michael Jackson, these other niggas is Tito" - Jay-Z, "Party Life"

"That's just the natural cycle, nobody wanna be like Michael" - Jay-Z, "Coming of Age"

As If I Needed More Proof That Ezra Klein Is My Soulmate

... Now he has a post about salt.

Obviously, I'm obsessed with salt. Several people have given me gourmet salts as gifts, as well as the book "Salt: A World History."

So, just in the off chance that Ezra Klein has a Google news alert with his name on it and somehow finds this post (although who am I kidding - I know Brian and Heidi are the only ones who read this blog): Call me. I like food and politics. And food politics.

Right Back Atcha

Just read this headline on Washingtonpost.com: "Bush, Cheney Strongly Disagreed on Libby" - now this is obviously referring to the mess involving Scooter Libby, who is of no relation to me. But, just to be clear regarding my own feelings, I'd like to add:

Libby Strongly Disagrees With Bush, Cheney

Quote of the Day

"progressive blogger girl wonkette dreamboat porn hour" -- Noah, in response to my comment that Ezra Klein appearing on Keith Olbermann's show to talk about Dr. Sanjay Gupta was too much attractive/liberal/talking head goodness for me to handle.

Tallying the Score

Well, back in January, I outlined my Wish List for 2008. The year being almost over, I figured I should take stock of what, if anything, actually came true. Turns out, I didn't do too badly. Let's review:

1. For Barack Obama to win the Democratic nomination, and the presidency
Obviously, this is not only a win, but the most important win. Everything else on this list pales in comparison to us electing an intelligent, reasonable and progressive man to the presidency.

2. For Kanye West to finally win album of the year
So, Kanye lost out again. He did win Best Rap Album -- again -- but lost out to Herbie Hancock. Perhaps his latest, "808s and Heartbreak" will score in 2009.

3. For a fair resolution to the writer's strike so that I can get back to watching "Grey's Anatomy," "Ugly Betty" and "Friday Night Lights."
The writer's strike did finally end, but now a SAG strike is apparently looming.

4. On a similar note, for "Friday Night Lights" to get renewed for another season.

This one is a partial victory. The show's third season is being broadcast first on DirecTV, and will be aired on NBC in 2009. I'm hoping it's worth the wait.

5. For my building, and every other apartment building in Los Angeles, to start fucking recycling.

Obviously, not every building in L.A. is doing its part, but thankfully (thanks to aggressive Sara campaigning, thank you very much), Archstone Los Feliz is a little greener. I do have to haul the recycling down several stories and into the scary trash room, but the ends certainly justify the means.

6. For the Trojans to go 12-0, while playing in the Coliseum.
The Trojans did hold on to the Coliseum as their home stadium, and were undefeated there this year. They came close to going 12-0, and a one-loss season is definitely nothing to complain about, even if that one loss did come in Corvallis.

7. For the signmakers of the world to learn how to correctly use an apostrophe.
The grammar fairies were not kind to me, or consumers, in 2008, sadly.

8. For the op-ed pages of the country's major newspapers to get over themselves and start hiring young people, beginning with me.
Ha, I think we can all guess how that one turned out. Newspapers aren't really doing any hiring at all.

9. For plane tickets to suddenly become affordable.
I think this one will soon come true, although I did recently drop $500 for a two-hour plane ride home to Oregon -- easily the most I've ever paid to go home.

10. For Don Imus, Tom Tancredo, Bill O'Reilly, and all the other racist assholes with a platform they don't deserve to shut the fuck up.

No luck yet, although that Tancredo guy has been mostly quiet. O'Reilly did recently announce that he's ending his syndicated radio show, but he will continue to spout hatred and ridiculousness from Fox News.

Am I a Bad Citizen?

So this morning, I packed up my running clothes so that after work, I could head straight to Elysian Park for a workout. Only a little while later did I realize that by doing this, I'd be missing the second presidential debate. And you know what? I don't really care.

Now, I consider myself pretty damn politically engaged. I read about five newspapers every day (aside from the one where I'm an editor), and unlike another Sara[h], I could actually name them all if asked. And, probably to the detriment of my professional reputation, this year I made my first-ever political donation, a whopping $25. I've also watched the previous presidential debate, the vice presidential debate, and several of the debates during the primaries.

But the fact is, I made up my mind about this election eons ago. And sitting through a contrived session where both candidates come off looking like unlikeable assholes doesn't make me feel more informed, only more angry.

To me, the pressure to watch these debates is one I think is probably pretty similar to the feeling of obligation parents have when their kids are on a sports team. I don't care who "wins" -- and I'll go right on loving my candidate whether he performs well or not.

Palin-Drone of the Day

"But just because I'm human, just because I can feel, just because I did say this weekend that I "almost feel sorry for her" doesn't mean, when I consider the situation rationally, that I do. Yes, as a feminist, it sucks -- hard -- to watch a woman, no matter how much I hate her politics, unable to answer questions about her running mate during a television interview. And perhaps it's because this experience pains me so much that I feel not sympathy but biting anger. At her, at John McCain, at the misogynistic political mash that has been made of what was otherwise a groundbreaking year for women in presidential politics ...

Sarah Palin is no wilting flower. She is a politician who took the national stage and sneered at the work of community activists. She boldly tries to pass off incuriosity and lassitude as regular-people qualities, thereby doing a disservice to all those Americans who also work two jobs and do not come from families that hand out passports and backpacking trips, yet still manage to pick up a paper and read about their government and seek out experience and knowledge.
When you stage a train wreck of this magnitude -- trying to pass one underqualified chick off as another highly qualified chick with the lame hope that no one will notice -- well, then, I don't feel bad for you. "
-- Rebecca Traister on The Sarah Palin Pity Party