A Virtual Toast

I'll be succinct; another speech would just do the ones preceding me injustice.

To President Barack Obama. May he find safe harbor and steer us in the right direction.

Time to Show My Colors

I had said I'd avoid politics, but this year it's impossible. I have something I absolutely have to say.

Thank you to groups like MoveOn and TrueMajority, for fighting ceaselessly and thanklessly for change.

Thank you to the ACLU and its allies, who are as we speak appealing Prop 8.

Thank you to John McCain, for one of the most gracious concession speeches I have ever had the privilege to see; for showing us that you still are the affable, kindly, patriotic man that we had seen in previous years; and for all the years of service you have given to this great country.

And thank you, America. Thank you for coming out and showing us your true colors. For participating in the system instead of just criticizing. For voting from the heart, and proving that we truly have made strides since the days of Rosa Parks. Thank you for the light at the end of the tunnel; thank you for showing that we have the strength to win this. Thank you for making me, once more, proud to be an American.

And thank you to our newly-elected 44th President, for one of the most stirring speeches I have yet seen; for being the statesman we have waited for; for being, as you say, change we can believe in. People accuse you of being too right, and people accuse you of being disingenuous; but I see the strong left in you and I see the truth in your words, do believe that you are what we need right now--not just us, but the world. From what I've seen in the news, the world agrees.

I think the man himself said it best--it will be a hard battle, but this election is proof that we can win it. And to those who want to tear down the world: we will defeat you.

And let me say it, one last time, before these words are hammered into a meaningless void by the media: Yes we did. And yes we can.

Last night, when I arrived home from an election night celebration, from witnessing one of the most awesome, inspiring speeches I have seen in recent memory, I had the privilege of reading the words I have wanted to see now for over a year; and though I can't be in all of your offices and living rooms, I can pretend.

So please, right now, hoist a glass.

To President Barack Obama.

"I'm Okay!"

Apologies for missing a week, my hypothetical fan base. And apologies for thus having to address this subject.

It is, to those of us in the United States, September 11th; and that's a day we aren't really allowed to forget about. I've sleepwalked through the majority of that day once or twice, realized what day it was only near the end; I've counted myself lucky that I didn't lose anyone; I've watched clips from media suddenly gone serious and I've remembered my "Where Were You on 9/11?" story, which mostly consists of IMs from my girlfriend and one of my closest to let me know they had survived. And I will say, somehow, be it miracle or just classy company, today is the first day I encountered a September 11th joke. It was topically good, but funny only for its horror; it was the sort of thing that cuts a laugh out of you instead of tickling it out.

I have my opinions about September 11th; they're not particularly frothing on any one political point except that I feel things like that shouldn't be turned to the kind of politics they have been. It's been used to divide where it should have been used to unite and that to my mind is unforgivable on all fronts. And on that subject, I have nothing more to say.

There will be a post tomorrow, about perception and celebrity. Possibly also some complaints about the instant-gratification, constant-stimulation culture of comments and me-toos that blogs spawn, and the less obvious and immediate reasons it sucks to blog without fame. But for today, I want to leave you with a prelude, because I just can't write anything about September 11th and then say "Anyway, here's what I really wanted to say". It's our involuntary national holiday; today we take a break from talking about other things.

The joke, by the way, was about World of Warcraft. And it's probably more tasteful (for molecular measurements of that concept) than admitting that makes it sound.