With the election of Obama as the 44th president the transition process has begun. In continuing his use of new technology and grass root movements the new administration is looking for your ideas. Read about what Obama's plans are and contribute at Change.gov.
It's hard to believe that it has been almost a month since I finished Sarah Vowell's "The Partly Cloudy Patriot". I know I've had some free time but it is only now that I'm getting around to jotting down my thoughts. This was a lighter read than most and as such it didn't generate as many notes, which has always been my primary motivation for writing about the books I read. I've lost track of the number of times I've done a Google search for something only to end up on my blog having forgotten I'd written down some thought a couple of years ago. Now back to the book. Overall I enjoyed the book but frequently found her writing to come off as whiny.
The wide range of essays in the book do give a great feel for her wit, voice, general curiosity, obsessive nature, and intelligent writing. Of all the essays, I found Part Two: Nerds v. Jocks of the piece The Nerd Voice to be the most intriguing. One of the first pieces I'd read that resonated with me why Gore didn't win.
The tie between The Nerd Voice and an earlier piece in the book, Democracy and Things Like That, hinted at the expanding and opinionated role media is playing in the elections. While many find it easy to blast Fox News the fact that The New York Times (the opposite side of the spectrum) was one of the key players in misquoting Gore demonstrated to me what I've often seen in technology, that the best doesn't always win. I see similar issues with Obama and can only hope this election doesn't end with the same result.