Uh, what's happening CC?
They still call it the White House
But that's a temporary condition, too.
Can you dig it, CC?

...

There's a lot of chocolate cities, around
We've got Newark, we've got Gary
Somebody told me we got L.A.
And we're working on Atlanta
But you're the capital, CC

...

Hey, CC!
They say your jivin' game, it can't be changed
But on the positive side,
You're my piece of the rock
And I love you, CC.
Can you dig it?

Hey, uh, we didn't get our forty acres and a mule
But we did get you, CC, heh, yeah
Gainin' on ya
Movin' in and around ya
God bless CC and its vanilla suburbs

...

You don't need the bullet when you got the ballot
Are you up for the downstroke, CC?

...

And don't be surprised if Ali is in the White House
Reverend Ike, Secretary of the Treasure
Richard Pryor, Minister of Education
Stevie Wonder, Secretary of FINE arts
And Miss Aretha Franklin, the First Lady
Are you out there, CC?
A chocolate city is no dream
It's my piece of the rock and I dig you, CC
God bless Chocolate City and its (gainin' on ya!) vanilla suburbs

[ Chocolate City - Parliment ]

Seriously, though, let's start talking Obama's cabinet...

Some said it would never happen, I say it's about time:

2008 Election: Winners and Losers - The Fix:

All the talk that Obama's poll numbers were inflated as a result of the fact that voters did not feel comfortable telling pollsters they would not vote for him due to the color of his skin proved to be bunk.

In Harlem convenience store, an immigrant enclave - On the Scene: Witnessing History - msnbc.com:

“People will love the United States more than ever,” Barrie said. “Do you know why? Because we showed the world already that this is United States. … We are human beings, everybody is equal.”

Obama's victory caps struggles of previous generations - CNN.com:

Moses says he is amazed that Obama has helped lead the country through a racially transformative moment without anyone getting killed. Pivotal events in America's racial history -- the debate over slavery, the assault on segregation -- sparked widespread violence, Moses says. "I don't think people appreciate how delicate it is to move the society around these questions without descent into chaos or into pockets of chaos," he says.

Nation Finally [Crappy] Enough To Make Social Progress | The Onion - America's Finest News Source:

Although polls going into the final weeks of October showed Sen. Obama in the lead, it remained unclear whether the failing economy, dilapidated housing market, crumbling national infrastructure, health care crisis, energy crisis, and five-year-long disastrous war in Iraq had made the nation crappy enough to rise above 300 years of racial prejudice and make lasting change. (courtesy Grossberg)

NAACP:

Yesterday, we ushered in a new era. Yesterday, we destroyed the remnants of Jim Crow, abolished a one-color-fits-all definition of leadership, and declared that our nation would rise above the politics of the past. Yesterday, we witnessed the most inclusive election enjoyed by the largest best- informed, motivated electorate in our nation’s history. Yesterday, we elected an African-American man to President of the United States of America.

I pray that Obama does such a tremendous job that this is never an issue again, and we look forward to future presidents of all genders, races, religions, and socio-economic backgrounds!

French Revolution: The Wheel of Fortune:

Wagon Wheels with Sauce Roquefort

1 pound of wagon wheel pasta (recommended: Barilla Mini Wheels)
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons of flour
2 cloves of garlic, smashed and left whole
Zest of half a lemon
1/3 pound of Roquefort, crumbled
2 cups of whole milk
2/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
1/3 cup parmesan, grated
1 ½ tablespoons of parsley

1. Cook the pasta to “al dente” in a large pot full of salted boiling water. Drain.
2. While the pasta is cooking, begin with a standard béchamel with garlic and lemon. Melt the butter at the bottom of a sauce pan over medium heat, and add in the whole smashed garlic cloves and the lemon zest, along with salt and pepper. Season well—milk sauces have a tendency to be bland.
3. Add in the flour, and cook for a minute. Whisk in the milk, raise the heat, and bring to a simmer.
4. Allow the sauce to cook until it thickens. The test is to dip a wooden spoon in the sauce, run your finger down the back, and if the sauce stays divided, the béchamel is done.
5. Add in the Roquefort, and stir until it is combined.
6. Toss the drained pasta with the Roquefort sauce, and pour into a large serving bowl.
7. Mix together the parmesan, walnuts, and parsley. Scatter over the top of the pasta.

Apparently everyone wants some first-hand impressions of the new T-Mobile G1 Android phone. I've only had it for just over a day, and can't quite give it the full review that it deserves, but here are a few highlights:

• Smaller than I thought. Apparently some people think it is big, but perhaps they aren't used to carrying around a smart phone.
• Battery life sucks. Seriously. If you have ever complained about battery life, you will certainly complain about the G1. Seriously.
• App store is empty. Well, it is growing, but it's nothing like the Apple D App store at it's launch. I do expect great things, however.
• Keyboard. Nice to have one, but as I've seen elsewhere it isn't really raised and doesn't provide the tactile feedback that a sidekick keyboard does.
• Integration with Google. Wish I could do 2 Google Apps for my Domain accounts, but the integration that it does have is great.
• WiFi. Haven't tried that yet.
• GPS. Tried once, but it couldn't get a bead.
• Case. There really isn't one, just a soft pouch. Had to buy something else.
• Screen. Bright. Very bright. I have the screen turned down in brightness, and still the color pops nicely.
• However. Screen is also a magnet for finger prints. I have some screen protectors on order, but we'll see...
• Mini track ball. Just like the new Sidekick and Blackberries. And it's nice.
• The notification bar? Just incredible. Reason enough to leave my Windows Mobile device in the dust.
• SMS is threaded. Nice.
• Camera is a bit weak, but nice enough to power some UPC lookup software.
• The "Locations" app. You can save locations (based on GPS or WiFi Mac address location) and then trigger events like new ringer, new wallpaper, volume settings, sending a twitter... Nice.
• Shazam app lets you sample a song near you and it tells you what the song is. I think iPhone has that, plus 1/2 a dozen other phones, this is the first phone I have that can do it.
• Phone. Such a low priority for me, but I did receive one call already, and I could actually hear them. That's a plus. Haven't tried my Bluetooth headset though.
• Voice dialer doesn't work well when you are trying to call "Sriwiyaty", apparently not a "normal" name...

So far, so good. I can live with the meager battery, and to be honest I have been playing with the phone non-stop, so it's pretty heavy battery use, but even if I was doing very little it would suck. They should have replacement better batteries at some point, so waiting might help with that one. I'm still waiting for some cool apps too, but they should be along soon enough...

The Food Issue - An Open Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief - Michael Pollan - NYTimes.com:

It may surprise you to learn that among the issues that will occupy much of your time in the coming years is one you barely mentioned during the campaign: food. Food policy is not something American presidents have had to give much thought to, at least since the Nixon administration — the last time high food prices presented a serious political peril. Since then, federal policies to promote maximum production of the commodity crops (corn, soybeans, wheat and rice) from which most of our supermarket foods are derived have succeeded impressively in keeping prices low and food more or less off the national political agenda. But with a suddenness that has taken us all by surprise, the era of cheap and abundant food appears to be drawing to a close. What this means is that you, like so many other leaders through history, will find yourself confronting the fact — so easy to overlook these past few years — that the health of a nation’s food system is a critical issue of national security. Food is about to demand your attention.

And so on, and so on for like 9 pages. I believe I agree with every word of it. Someone should put Michael Pollan in charge of the whole lot and get the US to start thinking about food again. Oh, and Victory Gardens! He wants to bring them back. Sounds good to me.

As you can see, my bro-in-law, Kole, says the new sate (satay to you gringos) grill is A-OK...

TGS08: Castlevania: Order of Awesome Trailer - DS Fanboy:

The first minute and thirteen seconds consists of Order of Ecclesia character/location art, so if it's gameplay you're after, you'll want to skip to around one-third of the way through

Just finished a most outstanding book, and I believe a must read for all Muslims, and any non-Muslims concerned about the world. Professor El Fadl lays down a very convincing argument for the reality of the split in world Muslim population between what he terms "purists" and "moderates". As a moderate Muslim who thought he, at best, didn't agree with the purists, I think I am now convinced that the "purists" are truly a cancer in the body of Islam and must be removed in any way possible. The first step? Clearly identify this cancerous growth, which is exactly what the esteemed professor has done. Next up? Fight the cancer with the best weapons we have, which apparently is intellect, scholarly pursuits, and the dissemination of proper Islamic teachings to expose these twisted "puritan" beliefs for what they are, and steal back our faith.

From: I introduce the KazooKeylele! This is what the internet was invented for!!!!!

Props to fitzgerlad.

Imam Zaid Shakir of the Zaytuna Institute, and proud American and Air Force Veteran, would prefer you know a few facts that clearly refute and denounce the recent plague of propaganda you may have found in your local newspaper:

Carrying the Word:

Recently, 28 million copies of the anti-Islamic propaganda documentary, Obsession, were distributed free of charge in what are being considered the “swing” states in the current election campaign. This effort is clearly designed to leverage the idea in the minds of many Americans that Senator Barack Obama is a Muslim (he is not), and therefore, he is to be identified with the images and statements of some Muslims, which give the impression that Islam is a fanatical, bloodthirsty religion, whose adherents are hell-bent on destroying America. In essence, it is a diabolical attempt by dark forces to sway an American election.

Still no answer on why the DVD is named after a Calvin Klein fragrance...

Colbert — And His Wife — Rock The New Yorker Fest:

How he met Jon Stewart: Actually, he was hired but had yet to meet Jon, who had just been hired as host. There was a press conference with the head of Comedy Central to announce it, and Colbert, newly-minted correspondent, said, "Shouldn't we be covering this?" So off he went, and asked a question, announcing himself as "Stephen Colbert, Daily Show" and asked something like, "It was my understanding that I was in the running to host the Daily Show, how does your appointment affect my chances?" Jon looked over at the head of Comedy Central and said, "I thought you said he wasn't funny." Pretty auspicious beginning, I'd say.