Nice.

When we last spoke, we were on our way back to the room to settle in for the election results. We stopped by a button vendor on the way and I bought a button each for Cookie, Miss Black and myself. See Cookie’s button pictured above? That’s not the button I bought. As soon as she saw that one being offered by another vendor, she snapped it up. I think she tossed the one I bought in the street. I have approximately twelve photos of her button because she asked me that many times throughout the night to take a picture of her button.

At one point on our journey, Cookie spotted a cranky toddler in a stroller. She said “Boy, he sure is cranky for somebody that doesn’t have to walk anywhere.” I couldn’t have agreed more. At that point, I hailed a cab.

Once we got back to the hotel, everything becomes a series of mental Polaroids. So much happened in the next few hours that I can scarcely weave the rest of the evening into a cohesive narrative. Between the thousands of people on the street, the rally right across the street, the results coming fast and furious on the television, the multiple trips down to the street then back up to the room, my cell phone ringing with calls and texts, talking to the people I was actually with and, finally, a few visits to the Internets, I suffered from extreme sensory overload. It felt very much like I was hammered.

I tried to reach as many of my Chicago people as I could to invite them up to the room. (Sorry Neil and Kevin!) What had started out as a lucky booking for a computer class had become one of the most sought-after tickets in the city, if not the country. Miss Black and her husband arrived at some point with foods and drinks. This is where everything goes kaflooey.

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This time tomorrow, I hope to be pajama-clad and full of tasty eats after the first night of five in Chicago. I’m heading west again to complete the second half of a two-part computering course. (Thank you, work!)  I plan on eating, seeing a few sights, and enjoying the fact that it’s not “totally blizzarding.” Rumor has it, some guy from Chicago might win some big contest and throw a party in Grant Park. As luck would have it, I’ll be staying across the street.

Pics and stories to follow.

All peters hang!

I bought one of these last night.

Designed by John Hoefler of Hoefler & Frere-Jones, it combines my love of fonts and my support for Barack Obama.

To font and design nerds, this won’t be news, but Obama’s iconic “CHANGE” font is Hoefler’s “Gotham” font.

I’m looking forward to hanging the poster in my new office. It’ll look tough.

I woke up this morning to find some neo-Nazi wingnut had posted a bunch of neo-Nazi wingnut garbage in the comment section of the “History in the Making” post below. (Truthfully, someone had to alert me to me. I hadn’t seen the blog yet.) It was all “half-breed” this and “white guilt” that, then he linked to a white supremacy site. (I’m not just calling this guy a neo-Nazi. He actually is a neo-Nazi.) Sadly, you won’t be able to read his comments because I squashed his first amendment rights.

A hundred people read this blog–maybe. How this guy found it, I haven’t the faintest idea. If he’s simply Googling blogs which mention Obama then commenting with neo-Nazi spam, he must be a pretty busy guy. I found it particularly amusing that he employed the old “white guilt” trope in the first sentence.

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We were hammered with every type of frozen precipitation overnight, so I took my sweet time getting into work, what with the sweeping, scraping, defrosting, etc. I needed to get some cigarettes on the way in, so I stopped in at the local Gas & Smoke. Due to my latent homosexuality, I grabbed a Starbuck’s Mocha Frappuccino on my way to the counter. Also due to my gayness, I am a Barack Obama supporter. I’ve got a bumper-sticker on my car and a button on my coat.

The previously very chatty clerk glanced at my button, then looked at me. No “What can I getcha?” or anything. Having been through this portion of the transaction several times before, I took the lead.

“Yeah, I need a carton of Winston Ultra Lights, soft pack.”

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“Why should I vote for Barack Obama?” you may be asking yourself. Why not let the man himself answer that question:

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After watching the Democratic candidates for president closely for the last year, I am now prepared to award the coveted RiF endorsement to Barack Obama.

I tossed the guy $25.00 over the weekend and will be attending an Obama meeting here in Pigspittle on Tuesday (organized by my great friend, Spike.) (more…)

At a recent farewell dinner for my beloved managing editor, I spoke with our chief copyeditor. She is a retired school teacher who has lived in this small town most of her life. We joked that she knew everyone in town. I said “Hey, if you know any single ladies…” and everyone had a big chuckle. (Fuckers.) She answered “You know, I was going to mention Sarah to you! You know she’s single and I thought of you two when we hired her!” I laughed it off.

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