Monday, January 07, 2008

Back in the Saddle

God, that took long enough. The annoying bug that hopped into my throat the day after Christmas ended up inviting several friends and relatives along for an extended tour of my entire respiratory system. This morning they seem to be in the process of packing up the last of their bags and waiting at the desk for the hotel shuttle. All I can say is that motherfucker better be on time. Two weeks away from the office database and the maps and tables strategically piled on my desk or taped to the walls has not advanced the chapter I am trying to write.

Today, however, science will be going on.

Quick roundup of things to think about while sussing out the details of how folks living in A.D. 950 in Arizona organized themselves to crank out arrowheads and distribute them across the state without the aid of internet ordering, trucks, or NAFTA:

Our traditional primary system and Americans' predisposition to be bandwagon jumpers will combine to be Hillary's downfall. Obama came out of the blocks fast and she's into negative mode before New Hampshire has even happened. Of course, that model probably doesn't apply to the Republican side, unless they really are going to go for a Pastor President Huckabee across the board. Weird.

Too. Many. Bowl. Games. And way too much time now elapsing between the old payoff of New Year's Day (cultural memory is very hard to overcome, after all) and tonight's national championship game. It might not have been so bad without the baffling entre'act of the International and GMAC bowls and their forgettable matchups. What are Ball State and Bowling Green doing in January bowls, other than serving as cannon fodder for barely-top-tier teams to set records against? I don't know either. Put the feckin' championship game back on January 1 as the last bowl of the day, and then let us get on with conference basketball.

Stewart and Colbert are back tonight, but as WGA members are banned from writing their own material. I don't know whether to watch or Tivo and wait for the reviews. Either way I'm mildly hopeful but still cringing.

No comments: