Sunday, December 14, 2003

Documents of Our Democracy Meetup Tops 157,000!. More than 157,000 Americans are now signed up to Meetup for Dean on Wednesday, January 7th at 7 pm. Our campaign is a commitment to restoring a government of the people, by the people and for the people. We have reached a turning point in American history. As we articulate our own vision for change, we would do well to consider those moments when Americans have faced fundamental choices about the future. We have compiled a library of important documents from our shared American past. You can peruse the library at: http://www.deanforamerica.com/democracy Each document speaks to our challenges of today. Please take the time to read the documents. Then, download and hand out copies of Howard Dean's Common Sense for a New Century. Ask others to join our cause. Whether responding to attack ads that perpetuate the politics of the past or leading the way to a new politics of participation, ours is the greatest grassroots campaign of the modern era-- and together we are taking our country back. [Blog for America] 11:15:45 PM

From Scientific American Oak Barrels May Sweeten Red Wine's Anti-Cancer Potential [Scientific American] 11:12:59 PM

A Tremendous Vital Force: Dean For America Steps Into the Ring In seeing this photo, I'm reminded of the technical development in the cinema known as the Steadicam (TM). "The Steadicam has been in use since the mid-70's, with most of us being introduced to it in what was supposed to be a little film: a sleeper about a boxer in Philadelphia. The film was Rocky, and the memorable Steadicam sequence followed Sylvester Stallone as he charged in triumph up the Philadelphia Art Museum steps. Since then, the Steadicam has been used in everything from music videos to amusement park rides. However, the most readily available Steadicam footage can be found in feature films. Two films that demonstrate well the Steadicam's abilities in skilled hands are: The Shining, Steadicam by Garret Brown, and The Fugitive, Steadicam by Steve St. John (Chicago) and Bob Ulland (North Carolina)." The Steadicam prototype was developed in Philadelphia and the early demonstration film showed the inventor's wife running up the steps of the art museum. That technical example eventually surfaced in the story of Rocky. - G.S. Final Day of the Drive for Democracy: A Tremendous Vital Force. It was something between sleet and rain and freezing rain at 3 PM in Philly today, and piles of deceptively deep slush, but I think more than 20 people braved the run down the steps of the Philly Art Museum today to turn around and run right back up, singing the theme song to Rocky off-key, off-kilter and laughing. Later we sat in the 30th street station and yelled at the ceiling so our voices would bounce back and others could hear the echoes, sharing stories that I've now heard thousands of times, but never in the same voice, stories about the why and the how of getting involved in the your hard-fought and hopeful American political revolution. [Blog for America] 10:50:02 PM

Book Review Art & Fear. Best advice on how to do art [Cool Tools] 9:20:28 PM

Bull Moose Republicans An interesting political weblog and organization inspired by Teddy Roosevelt, Bull Moose Republicans and their four pillars. The site has an orange and white XML icon, but the newsfeed is not active yet. 5:36:02 PM

Heartstart FR2 Automated External Defibrillator Low cost, emergency defibrillators could save lives. Via Kevin Kelly. Automated External Defibrillator. Life-saving community tool [Cool Tools] 2:50:32 PM

Tolkien Essay by Ed Cone The N&R almost never requests that I submit columns on specific topics, but the imminent release of The Return of the King movie was important enough that my editor, Elma Sabo, asked me to write about the enduring appeal of the books. So I did, and my answer is that realism -- especially true-to-life characters and relationships -- is responsible for the success of Tolkien's fantasy. "Very few of us are called upon to save the world, real or imaginary, but all of us face crises, or at least the moral choices of everyday existence. We have to take responsibility and be stronger than we know we are, or care to be." [EdCone.com] 2:39:13 PM

Radio Userland Kick Start Reviews of Radio Userland Kick Start by Rogers Cadenhead. I think I'll be receiving this book as a Christmas gift from the family. Looking forward to it. 2:35:46 PM

Philly.com - AG Eliot Spitzer Building a career as scourge of Wall St.. In a recent New York Observer cartoon, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer wears a trench coat and sunglasses. He holds a plate containing two pills and temptingly says, "... Or take the red pill and see the mutual fund industry as it really is." [The Philadelphia Inquirer Online - Front Page] 2:29:35 PM

The Saddam Capture Saddam Hussein Captured. Today is a fantastic day for everyone in the United States military who participated in the war effort, and for the Iraqi people. Congratulations to all on meeting this difficult challenge head on. Governor Dean made a statement this morning... [Dean Independents] 2:11:20 PM