Spontaneous Derivation

But this is surreal.

Of course, fictional characters sometimes turn up with their own Twitter accounts and start following people. Such is the beauty of Twitter. Here’s President Josiah Bartlet’s Twitter profile:

Yes, he will sometimes interact with you. I don’t know if this is Aaron Sorkin behind the wheel or just a rabid West Wing fan who still has the election twitch (I know I still do), but I think this is cute. Next thing you know, Toby Ziegler and Joshua Lyman are going to show up and start following people.

I did buy the complete series on DVD:

I’m on Disc 3 of Season 2 by the way. And the complete collection is beautifully cased. And sturdy, too. The first season isn’t widescreen—I assume because it’s ancient—but the rest of them are. The episode guide is pretty with summaries, although it doesn’t go into detail. Tons of extras.

Here are my West Wing bookmarks on StumbleUpon. I especially like The West Wing Episode Guide, even if the site is a bit unsubtle in some of its design. (Past the front page, it’s pretty readable and normal.)

Photography: NCinDC

Eulogy for a Veteran

Do not stand at my grave and weep.
I am not there, I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.

I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning’s hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
   of quiet birds in circled flight,
I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not stand at my grave and cry,
I am not there, I did not die.

                – Anonymous

Over at Making Light: The Great War, ninety years on

Warning: language.

The first and national item is that voting for the President was obviously important. Obama won. And in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Virginia, and New Hampshire, voting really mattered; it was OH, PA, and FL that finished off McCain. In Missouri, Montana, Arizona, and other traditional red states, where red had a hard time fighting blue, voting still sent a clear message—if you want to impress us, said the American people, please fucking address this fucked-up economy. Oh, and get around to Iraq. Soon. And this torture shit needs to stop.

The second item, local to California but of grave interest to the nation, was Proposition 8, which outlawed gay marriage. It passed—and unfortunately while the margin was thin, it was still a margin that passed the amendment to the state’s constitution. Voting again really mattered.

The third and last item, local to Washington and of a little bit of interest to the nation, was Initiative 1000—the right to assisted medical suicide. Like many controversial laws and amendments, this also passed with a thin margin, though not as thin as that of Proposition 8.

My personal tally: (1) Obama for varoius reasons people are tired of hearing, (2) n/a though I wished I could vote NO for various reasons people are likewise tired of hearing, and (3) I voted YES, because death by bleach is not a pretty thing, and people who really, really, really want to commit suicide due to medical reasons tend not to be stopped by laws that ban suicide. What interests me is that some people would say it’s not proper to vote YES, not so much because it’s OMG suicide, but because this is submitting a moral issue through humiliating medical and legal processes unnecessary if medical prescription laws did not require doctor’s approvals. Which I do agree with to some extent, but still: better than fucking bleach.

Addendum: Looking back at 10 years of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act.

Some thoughts:

1. Sometimes when I read SF stories, I can tell the story’s set in the future because the President of the United States¹ is a minority. It means a lot to me, as an American who happens to be Asian, that I’ve seen this event occur in my lifetime.

2. Just because Obama is the President-Elect doesn’t mean that racism is now a myth or not a factor in the lives of minorities. The coasts are, usually, good places; down south I understand they’re still hanging effigies of black men.²

3. This is the first time I’ve felt I can fly an American flag on my blog and not be a hypocrite. I never expected that anybody could ever make me feel patriotic about my country ever again.

4. Just a few of the terms and phrases whose associations I hope are eliminated: The Bush Doctrine. Guantanamo Bay. Weapons of mass destruction. PATRIOT Act. Legalized torture.

5. The Rovian machine is broken.

6. I’m going to have to get used to a president who can write books and speak in coherent sentences. By the way, here are his books available on the Kindle:

7. Generation We.

8. I’m so tired. Hopefully I can start winding my head around some F&SF soon.

1. Or the Prime Minister of the United Planet, whatever [↩]
2. It’s been pointed out to me that I shouldn’t be judging regions of the country. This comment was not motivated by ignorance, but by personal experience, friends’ experiences, and news items. Although I guess all that means is that I’m only slightly less ignorant. [↩]

Turned around and on YouTube within minutes of its ending:

Life imitates art?

No; apparently in this case, art imitates life. From SlateV:

For a much more direct West Wing - Real Life mashup, see this YouTube video by grapesofwraith1066: