The Kerry K's and the Bush Broncos, Let's go ...?

It's funny to think that the presidential candidates have become the equivalent of sports teams. For example, today I'm supporting my "team" by sporting a Kerry Edwards pin on my hip. As I walked to the subway, I passed an elderly man raising a Kerry sign over his head and giving out flyers urging people to go out and vote today. When he went to hand me one, I pointed to my hip, which caused a huge smile from the guy. To think the campaign has caused the ability to fraternize with strangers here in NYC.
Then as I got on the subway to work, a scary looking woman, at least I think it was a woman, wearing a t-shirt with an X over Bush's head gave me a head nod. I haven't felt such comraderie since I took the 4 train to Yankee stadium during the playoffs and as we got closer and closer to 161st Street the train gradually filled with fans in Yankee uniforms. I think lately wearing election paraphernalia or a sports cap are the same thing. They both unite and alienate and show who you are rooting for. Who's your daddy? Unfortunately if Kerry was a sports team, being from Mass he would be the Red Sox...I shutter to think!

Also like sports signs, I feel awkward wearing my "team" in certain areas, just like it takes a lot of guts to wear a Yankee hat in Boston and vice versa. It's also a sensitive topic to discuss who you are voting for, because tensions are high. I remember when you didn't wear your candidate on your sleeve, but that seems to have changed in this election. I'm actually removing my pin now, because although I'm proud to wear it, I don't want to be rude to anyone with different views. It's one thing when I'm walking on the street among strangers and another when I'm at work.

What time is it? Time to get a new watch (drum roll please)
Mood:  silly
I just realized that I never wear a watch anymore, and I blame my cell phone for that. Usually whenever I need to know what time it is, I fish in my bag or pocket for my mobile. It's digital and I am always carrying it around anyway. So why bother with a watch? I used to use both but then my battery in my watch died and I found I could go on just fine without one. Plus now I no longer have to worry about removing it before jumping in the shower, which I would always forget to do.

I admit I did have pangs of wrist-watch-loss earlier this week when I was on the subway platform worrying that I was running late. I dreaded the thought of searching for my cell at the bottom of my jam-packed purse. Being lazy, I asked the woman next to me if she had the time and what did she do? She pulled her phone out of her coat pocket and read me the time. I laughed and explained to her that I no longer wear a watch anymore either and that I just use my cell phone to tell time. We both briefly marveled over the fact until the downtown 2 train arrived.

People with car alarms in the city should be shot!
You just snuggled under the covers and are looking forward to some sleep when--BEEP BEEP BLAH BLAH, ERR ERR WOO WOO--a car alarm goes off. Although curses are said, we still for some reason accept that this is a way of life in the city and silently hope that whoever owns the car is nearby and will turn the noise pollution off.

I never think, oh no someone's car is being stolen. No, I don't even look out the window, I just think of my own annoyance due to the intrusion. So do car alarms even work? In a city where people don't even make eye contact, do we really expect someone to run out and save a strangers vehicle just because they hear a car alarm blaring in the distance? I think not, especially not in the city.

Plus I've seen alarms go off for stupid reasons, like when people walk too close to a Bentley and not because they were trying to steal it or even touch it. I've also seen people mistakenly hit car doors with their huge purses, causing bells to ring for no real purpose. My Honda came with an alarm system but we turned it off. My family bought the car in `91 and it has not been stolen.

It really is a 'Wonderful Town'
Now Playing: The Conga!


I just saw "Wonderful Town" on Broadway last night and it was really great! It's about two girls from Ohio who move to Greenwich Village in 1935. The music and dancing was a lot of fun and Shields was great in the goofy roll of the older sister Ruth.

Although the show is set in the 1930s, it reminded me of a Doris Day musical from the '50s, which makes sense since it's a revival from 1953 and featuring music by Leonard Bernstein. Overall, it was a good NYC tribute to old Broadway shows.

For more information check out the NY Times article raving about Shields' performance THEATER REVIEW; Brooke Shields as a Naif Who Can't Get a Date

From Baghdad
In my Media Ethics class we read an e-mail that Farnaz Fassihi of The Wall Street Journal sent to friends about her experience in Baghdad. It was really interesting seeing the things that aren't being reported on.
She's in a lot of hot water for expressing her opinions though perhaps unwittingly. But as Jay Rosen writes, "Fassihi's mistake, if you could call it that, was not doing a better job of getting those observations, intended only for friends and family, onto the pages of the Wall Street Journal."

Take a look at her e-mail at: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0930-15.htm