This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on August 29, 2008). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.
Sometime between 12:12 and 17:19, I thought this stuff was interesting. You might think so too!
- Tweet Scan for ‘little known fact palin’: Using Tweet Scan to track Little Known Facts about Sarah Palin. Works better than the Twitter Search version linked to in the Chicago Tribune post.
- On Twitter, McCain veep choice Sarah Palin already a folk hero: "Little known fact: the Northern Lights are really just the reflection from Sarah Palin's eyes." "Little Known Fact: Sarah Palin doesn't need a gun to hunt. She has been known to throw a bullet through an adult bull elk." "Little Known Fact: The Russians sold Alaska to America because Sarah Palin would not submit to autocracy." The above one-liners are just a few of the gems from the instant Twitter meme developed around the storied toughness of John McCain's vice-presidential pick, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. Some are making fun of the tales of her essential Alaskan-ness, some are celebrating it, some are doing both.
- Alter: Why Sarah Palin Is Likely to Belly-Flop: Happy birthday, Johnny Mac! You're 72 now, a cancer survivor, and a presidential candidate who has said on many occasions that the most important criteria for picking a vice president is whether he or she could immediately step in if something happened to the president. Your campaign against Barack Obama is based on the simple idea that he is unready to be president. So you've picked a running mate who a year and a half ago was the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, a town of 8,500 people. You've selected a potential leader of the free world who knows little or nothing about the major issues of the day beyond energy. Oh, and she's being probed in her state for lying and abuse of power.
- Fall Down, Go Boom: Playgrounds have gotten safer, more streamlined, and progressively worse. Now innovators are taking them more seriously than ever. (This is something I've babbled about in the past.)
- Alaska governor Palin comes from small town to national stage: The selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as the Republican vice-presidential candidate marks an extraordinary political rise for a 44-year-old Alaskan whose previous highest elected office — just three years ago — was mayor of Wasilla, a town near Anchorage with a population of less than 10,000. (Interesting choice — it caught me off guard this morning, and it's strategically smart — but it really does make his "inexperienced" argument a lot harder to defend.)
- Mullets: Party in the back not over yet: Beautician Julea Penland is campaigning to beautify Kitsap County "one mullet at a time" by offering "Free Mullet Removal." No one has taken her up on the offer. Sadly, she says, the people who sport the once popular hairdo either love them or are in "mullet denial."