69 days to Stonehenge.

70 days to my 27th birthday.

71 days to Paris.

73 days to not wanting to get on the plane.

Now that Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) has become Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA), all the Democrats need for a supermajority in the Senate is Al Franken swearing on a bible to uphold the Constitution. No more filibusters. More floor votes. Filled judicial seats. Affirmed executive branch appointments. Budget enactments with diminished wrangling.

But be wary, Mr. Obama. The last President to get a supermajority in the Senate in his party was Jimmy Carter, and look how that worked out…

The drama of the above sentence aside, I am remiss for not pointing out that FDR had a supermajority in the Senate for nearly all of his 12 years in the White House, and it can’t be ignored as a factor in his administration’s effectiveness as it is judged by history. Kennedy/Johnson too experienced a Democratic supermajority in the Senate (though the party itself was so split on social issues that it didn’t really help at all in securing a legacy of unusually high efficacy).

My point? Americans like when stuff gets done in Washington. Carter had a chance but fumbled a lot and never seemed to possess a grip on the public’s expectations of him. Obama is no Carter.

I am made uneasy by the thought of a supermajority for any party. I am cautiously optimistic, however, that this President will use this opportunity wisely and for the good of the nation and the world.

Please don’t prove me wrong, sir.

MSNBC says she died of cancer at home in peace. Thank you for being a friend…

Warning: Very NSFW language.

Yeah, so back in 1995, I became a Michael Jackson fan when his greatest hits/new music collection, HIStory: Past, Present & Future – Book I, was released and he saturated all media for a good month or so. I bought that album on cassette at Kmart (thanks to Mom who lent me the $20 until we got home).

That Christmas, Santa brought me my first CD player, a copy of Thriller and a copy of Bad. I was more than hooked. A year later, I wore through one of the HIStory tapes and had to repurchase on CD. A couple years later, I had to replace the CD because I ruined the old one. And so on…

Today, my fifth copy of the album in 14 years came from Amazon. When I get in the car tomorrow, I will pop in Disc 2 and revel in the uncompressed audio magnum opus that it is. Disc 2 is the reason I majored in recording in college and will probably pursue intellectual property law. Sure I have had it on mp3 for years, but the real genius is experienced when you can hear the full 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz range.

Go buy your copy, pop it into your car stereo, and hear what I mean!

I’ve been on 8 flights in five months. Before that, I think I had been on 8 flights in twenty-six years. I have two more in July, possibly two more in June. With all this travel, I’ve decided that I would love to have a job that puts me on a plane every week. I really really enjoy the experience–you get to cab all over new cities, try new foods, meet new people with whom you won’t be obligated to communicate more than on a cursory level, and there are all sorts of little systems you have to follow (I love conquering new structures and rules). I can get through security with no hiccups now. I’ve totally got it down to an art!

Another bonus for the travel lifestyle lately is that every now and then you score some accidental luxury. When I went to hop a cab from my hotel to the wedding yesterday, they didn’t have any. So the hotel put me in a black SUV limo with tinted windows ($20). Then this afternoon, they didn’t have any cabs coming again, so I rode to the airport in a black luxury sedan with tinted windows ($40). Not too shabby to look like you’re a celebrity getting driven to the airport. I looked around the curbside area when I glided out of the car to make sure people were looking at me and wondering “who’s that?” It was awesome! Yay ego! If only I had big, dark sunglasses and a hat on…

An inauguration speech promise looks to be manifesting into reality. The President says that on Monday he will ask his cabinet to propose which programs of theirs are operating inefficiently and should be trimmed. Smart government after all? I guess we’ll see what gets cut.

Given that Pentagon spending is supposed to increase by 4% this year, and there’s tons of money allocated for health insurance, education, high-speed rail and economic recovery, it looks like Obama will sweep out the old and sweep in the new on a grand scale. Frankly, any President that didn’t try to do this squandered their potential. I’m curious how his attempt will play out, but I’m a little more optimistic now…

I ran the longest I’ve ever run without stopping in my life tonight just to learn my limit. The sad thing is I didn’t stop at my breaking point, I just stopped because I got bored. 3.71 miles. Go me!

As far as any media outlets are concerned, the last sentence in the paragraph above from Phil Spector’s Wikipedia entry is not true at all. But jeez, people…

Rather than get us bogged down in an endless, pointless, politically-motivated, terrorist standoff, DoD officials ordered the takedown of pirates in the Indian Ocean holding an American sailor captive. And the Navy SEALs ordered to take on this mission succeeded wildly.

Three targets, three bullets. “Mission Accomplished.”

Rather decisive action, I must say. You can do things so much more quickly and cleanly with highly trained experts than with shock and awe.

Zac Efron with musical guest Yeah Yeah Yeahs. This should be good…

Why isn’t Tom Hanks hosting this season? He has a movie coming out next month. Oh well, it looks like Justin Timberlake and Will Ferrell will round out the end of the season as hosts. That’s pretty sweet.

“Your mother makes a very loud point, Bart” – Homerism of the day

Eminem’s new video is standard fare, but yay for there actually being a new Eminem song.

“American Idol”stunk it up this week. No standouts, and my DVR cut off before Adam Lambert’s number (there is a God).

The Jonas Brothers are coming to DC. Hide your daughters and your mincing, boy-hungry, middle-aged colleagues.

Hmm, I’ll regret this segue, but…

93 days until I’m in London watching Michael Jackson launch his own “Elvis Aloha from Hawaii” effort. Or maybe it’s “The ‘68 Comeback Special” I’m thinking of?