i just finished watching by the people: the election of barack obama, hbo's new documentary on obama's campaign. it was a good documentary, but i am struck by how similar it is to the war room, the documentary about bill clinton's first presidential campaign in 1992.

both documentaries focus mostly on the early primaries and on some of the campaign staffers. i feel there was more behind-the-scenes access in the clinton documentary, but perhaps that only feels that way because the obama campaign let us look behind the curtain a lot anyway.

if you have no idea about the 92 clinton campaign, i recommend the war room to you. it's really quite amazing to see just how similar that campaign and the overall sentiment in the u.s. was compared to obama's campaign.

and now i'm watching the daily show, just like last year, when it was actually jon stewart who told me that barack obama had been elected president :D

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i have a new layout! which you don't notice if you comment on this entry because i currently have comments set to default, but do check it out if you please :D. i love that it's clean and simple, yet has these splashes of color here and there. i made the header, and i'm so pleased with it. with the colors especially. it also represents all my current fandom loves ♥

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the academy awards are tonight, and i plan to enjoy them from the first moment on the red carpet to the after-party coverage. i've been watching the oscars every year since 1990 and i love everything about them. in the time before the interwebs, i used to type up a list of who won what every year so i could remember. it seems so odd now that you wouldn't just have access to that kind of information, but short of buying a magazine or maybe a book, you wouldn't.

it makes me sad that i haven't seen any of the movies that are nominated for best picture, but i really haven't been to the movies very much lately. i definitely want to see milk, though.

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i tried another new recipe last night! i made bbq chicken in the crockpot and it came out all kinds of yummy. it could have been spicier, though, and i wonder if that is due to bbq sauce i used. do you have any favorites where bbq sauces are concerned?

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cathexys linked to this video, which features a fake!german!obama during one of the big televised carneval shows. it's so weird. i think german carneval in general is weird even if you've grown up with it.

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it's gray and rainy outside, which makes me think of my latest fic, and especially of bradley jogging through bankside early in the morning, kanye west on his ipod, and wondering why he had that spectacular row with colin last night...

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this is a great article about how obama is changing little things around the white house, including the dress code. all in all, he's far more casual and laid back than his predecessor:

White House Unbuttons Formal Dress Code

apparently, bush was instistent on super formal attire at all times zomg, even the weekends. says one former staffer, “I had on khakis and a buttoned-down shirt, and I had to stand by the door and get chewed out for about 15 minutes. He wouldn’t even let me cross the threshold.”

wtf :)). yet, i wouldn't have expected anything else. gw always had that air of disgruntled high school principal about him...

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hee. somehow i think that barack and michelle enjoyed the youth ball just a tiny bit more than the other ones :D. i would, too. it's so weird to think of the president and the first lady as young and dynamic and not to mention hot couple!

i love that cnn had a livestream of kanye west's performance.

*still glued to the tv*

ETA:

annnnd the daily show just expressed exactly my feelings about dick cheney in a wheelchair. what goes around comes around, dick. 's all i'm saying :P

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it's so nice to see all the squeeful posts on my flist!!! keep them coming :D

my day started at about 9:15, and i woke up to the sun breaking through the clouds on what is now a perfect winter day.

( of course there is a pictureCollapse )

having cnn's coverage on in the background, i made myself a nice brunch consisting of french vanilla coffee, sweet and spicy french toast with blueberries and a splash of maple syrup, cajun style sausages and orange juice. it was yummy :)

( then i watched the inaugurationCollapse )


( some more thoughts on the inaugurationCollapse )

ETA:

courtesy of the nytimes, a cute pic of sasha obama giving her father thumbs-up right after taking the oath, and a pic of the obamas during the parade.

ETA II: so cool that barack and michelle got out of the car for a while and walked. the hand-holding was most adorable ♥. i bet they would have liked more than just a few blocks, but the secret service was probably freaking out about just this little stretch of road already.

ETA III: cnn continues to crack me up with its worship of digital technology. i see john king has a new toy to play with :))

dear flist,

how will you spend next tuesday? do you have plans to watch the inauguration?

i really wish i could go to d.c. and be there, but alas, i have zero money right now. so i shall turn to my trusty tv and rely on it to bring the events to me. i'll have a better view anyway ;). i know my mom will be watching as well as german tv will do live coverage of the inauguration.

i almost watched bush's last speech yesterday evening, but then forgot. which is probably for the best because i can't wait for the worst president in the history of ever to be gone, gone, gone.

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obviously i could never become the u.s. president [the whole being born abroad thing], but this would make me seriously doubt wanting to run:

Lose the BlackBerry? Yes He Can, Maybe

basically, barack obama will not only have to give up his beloved blackberry, but emailing altogether. WAH. can you imagine?? i can't.

ETA:

so thinking more about this, i can understand the security risk of having the president's email hacked etc. but isn't it a little behind the times to disallow emailing? what about phone calls? will he not have a cell phone, either? i feel there is a distinct bias going on here, like "new media are frivolous and ultimately not necessary" whereas old media, such as phone and print, are considered necessary. can you imagine telling the president he can never write down anything anymore? or call someone? but that's sort of what is happening here.

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THANK YOU AMERICA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

YAY!!

*dances*





eta: oh look, i think about 500 people actually came to see what john mccain has to say. heh. his speech was very gracious, i thought. now, if he had been that gracious throughout his entire campaign--well. too late now, huh?

ETA II:

now to finally open that bottle of cider i brought home from terminus. cheers, dear flist!

also, LANDSLIDE!!! oh, america, you are so good at making my wishes come true tonight ♥

you know what really encapsulates everything about this election?

where each candidate plans to appear tonight.

john mccain has planned his election night appearance in a fancy hotel ballroom in scottsdale, az [where currently a boys' choir is singing]--or in other words, a private, elite, and exclusive environment--whereas barack obama will hold his appearance in a public park in downtown chicago [where people are currently streaming in to get a spot].

ETA:

( election coverage from two continents live on my screenCollapse )

ETA II:

OHIO YESSSSS :D :D

ETA III, 8:50pm:

http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/ just called the entire race for obama. ohgodohgod. *frets*

ETA IV, 10:55pm:

VIRGINIA, THANK YOU FOR LISTENING TO ME!!!!!!!

also, FLORIDA!!!! HA! oh, this is sweet sweet retribution for 2000.

oh, cnn. i guess the magic wall wasn't enough! no, now you are also beaming your correspondents into the studio via holographic projection :))

wolf blitzer seemed ready to pee in his pants with excitement when he announced this "television first" :P