Newscoma

Memphis’ own Theo Geo, who is one of my favorite bloggers, is traveling the state of Tennessee. Her travels are here and you can see her photos, which are always wonderful and filled with such subtle context here.

Beauty beneath the surface and in the details.

If I were you, I’d get over there quickly.

I’m fixing (Southernism) to watch Hillary Clinton but I found this and I wanted to share it because … well … it’s important.

In a very short time, social networking has been redefined beyond its initial scope of just being a way to keep in touch with family and friends. For one thing, legitimate news organizations are now keeping an eye on online social networks as they’ve become an alternative source for news. Some social networks are even consistently “outscooping” traditional media outlets when it comes to the latest news. The viral success of social networks speaks to the fact that social networking has become mainstream and that it’s no longer the domain of the geeks and the teenagers. It’s Ironic really, since a few years ago social networking was considered just another online fad.

Read the whole thing if you are newsie.

Or just read it all because I asked nicely.

This is coool!

LIMA (Reuters) – Archeologists working at Peru’s Huaca Pucllana ruins pulled a mummy from a tomb on Tuesday, thought to be from the ancient Wari culture that flourished before the Incas.

Besides the female mummy, the tomb contained the remains of two other adults and a child. It is the first intact Wari burial site discovered at Huaca Pucllana in the capital Lima, and researchers believe it dates from about 700 AD.

I love stuff like this.

Go see the pictures here.

The Public Opinion apologizes for the error.

I don’t know why chickens amuse me, but they do.

All-righty then.

Italian priest Antonio Rungi announced Sunday that he is organizing an online beauty pageant for nuns. Apparently Tony is doing this to fight the stereotype that nuns are all “old and dour.”

What does one say about an online beauty pageant for nuns?

Seriously, what does one say?

And the oldsters say that the Intertubes is for porn and hippies.

Well not anymore.

R. Neal reports about the first day out in Denver at KnoxViews. This caught my eye.

Delegate Jack Cunningham of Milan is looking forward to hearing Obama talk about the economy and getting us out of the war. When asked how rural voters feel about Obama, Cunningham said “they don’t know him yet.”

If their enthusiasm is any indication, we’re sure that after the convention the Tennessee delegates will be “fired up and ready to go” talk to voters in their communities, rural and otherwise, about Sen. Obama.

I’m going to take a moment to talk about last night’s speeches in Denver. I’m going to take a personal look at it as I have no doubt that the blogosphere will be filled with some admiration, some snark and some downright hostility about what happened last night.

I thought Ted Kennedy fired everyone up. My mother had a malignant brain tumor. She had trouble functioning at times so my fascination with the Lion had as much to do with the personal connection I have of having a family member ill and seeing that he looked strong and sounded fantastic. I know this is going to given a “‘Coma’s drinking the Kool-Aid again” from some of my online buddies, but I thought he did well, as did Michelle Obama, who also opened a bit of the door into her husband’s life.

I’ve often said that there are intimate things that catch people’s attention. Small, intricate details that have great meaning for one person may mean nothing to another. Every opinion, although it may disagree with mine, is of value.

I said last night on Twitter that I miss optimism although I must admit that I’m not very optimistic about politics as a whole. I want my own Camelot. I am also a realist and realize that is just a nostalgic pipe dream. I used to sit at my mother’s feet as a child listening to the stories of how smitten she was with a young president who she admired in a time of Elvis, The Beatles and putting a man on the moon.

That time is over and I am not naive.

I have decided, as I do on occasion, to avoid blogs that use words like Dimmocrats and Rethuglicans because it adds nothing to the political landscape, nor does McSame or Obamabot. It’s just my preference. I work at a job where I hear these things for a living. Every day.

When I’m home, I need a break.

I’m also taking a siesta from the ongoing political punditry on cable news channels. The spin is out of control. It’s like beating a dead horse after awhile.

So, I’m going to watch the convention. I’ll probably write about it.

I realize this is a rambling post, but I’m tired of a nation guided by a regime of fear over the past few years. I’m going with hope.

In a quote from a Jackson Sun in a story about Tennessee delegates in Denver for what could prove to be one of the most historic democratic conventions of my lifetime, I found this quote which I thought was right on topic.

James Buckley, a delegate from Antioch, hopes Obama and Clinton supporters can show unity at the convention.

“Verbal dissent should be placed in the appropriate place: in the baggage before we leave,” said Buckley, 59, a union representative in the Nashville office for the United Steelworkers.

But Buckley is realistic about the potential for public dissent.

“Of course we will, we’re Democrats,” Buckley said. “First we have to b—- about it,” then move on.”

Heh.

As we were talking about Bigfoot T-shirts earlier this week, the Lovable Liberal has some ideas for T-shirts slogans for John McCain. I laughed.

Here is a sample:

Pick your favorite gibe and put it on a T shirt:

• McCain doesn’t count his condos.
• The White House would make an even dozen.
• Ask me how many houses I have.
• Can you pay? I left my wallet in my other … house.
• I’m out of touch with my real estate empire.
• Ain’t never been there, they tell me it’s nice

I’m going to take a moment and pontificate about Barack Obama choosing Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.

In any political race, there are those buzzwords that become meaningless because the reality is that there is always maneuvering and trying to stay a couple of steps ahead. Obama tapping Biden on the shoulder as his running mate is actually somewhat surprising to me, which may shock you. Three weeks ago, I hadn’t really thought Biden up on this.

But in some ways, it makes sense. Biden has experience, he’s bawdy in some ways, he’s good entertainment. I honestly thought Clinton might be on the ticket after she conceded earlier this summer. But her husband continued to be loud and annoying (I always dug Bill Clinton but he’s been one cranky old man this past year.)

Every state has different needs. Would Clinton or Bayr or Kaine or Richardson been as powerful as Biden overall?

Maybe. Maybe not.

I’ve really been thinking that with the Biden announcement at 3:00 a.m. was brilliant from a media perspective. Was there “change” involved with this? Yes. No other political announcement has been done this way. We had a media frenzy all week over who Obama would choose and then by sending the text out (although John King of CNN was pretty insistent last night with his reporting) at the same time that a Clinton ad made that time such an issue seems to me to be pretty much intended to make a point.

Sure, the Obama camp will deny that but what is done is done.

Biden only brings three electoral votes with him from Delaware. He’s Roman Catholic which is a huge swing vote in this country. It’s one not spoken about as much as votes on gender and race but it’s still important.

Biden brings 30+ years of experience to the ticket, something that Obama has been criticized for. He is a beltway player. His foreign relations efforts are well-documented.

He spouts off a lot and suffers huge foot-in-mouth disease, which is risky and the plagiarism issues of 1987 are still in some of our minds.

And, as I do sometimes try to let you know what I hear from the locals, he’s well liked by many of the people here in the rural area I live in.

Do I like Biden? Well, I’m not in love with him but I have seen him stand up on some issues I care about. He buried his first wife and a child when he was first elected to the Senate after a terrible car accident in Delaware. I have empathy for that.

So, let’s just throw it out there. Obama picked a guy who’s either liked or disliked equally. He’s added a bit of gray hair to the ticket and there is the issue of experience but not a ton of electoral votes.

It wasn’t what I expected but I have, as you can tell by the amount of Bigfoot posts I’ve had up recently, I haven’t exactly been pouring over the tubes trying to find a clue either.

But to say there wasn’t any “change” I think is buying into the buzzwords of the campaign, a word that got Obama the nation’s attention and also has created some nightmares for him as well. Well, there was some change to a degree.

This election cycle, due to a large part to the growing online community who educates themselves, is a change. For every blogger that passionately follows Washington, there are four or five people that watch ten minutes of news a day and could give two hoots about details.

So, I think Obama made a good choice in that regard. Biden is a brand. People know who Biden is.

And that’s for everyone out there who is watching NASCAR or The Food Network or any other niche station that aren’t news junkies, because you see, they know who Biden is.

It might help. It might hurt.

We will see.

Wow. This is embarrassing.

Chicago – Barack Obama has chosen Gov. Tim Kaine of Virginia as his vice presidential running mate, bringing to the ticket a politician who could reinforce Obama’s message of change but who also shares the drawback of inexperience.

Obama’s decision – kept secret amid intense speculation as next week’s Democratic convention draws near – was announced via text messages and e-mails to supporters.

Kaine, who took office in January 2006 and who previously was lieutenant governor and mayor of Richmond, grew up in the Kansas City area. Fluent in Spanish, he worked as a missionary in Honduras before graduating from Harvard Law School, where Obama also earned a degree.

Together with the 47-year-old Obama, Kaine, 50, would give the Democrats the youngest presidential ticket since 1992, when 46-year-old Bill Clinton selected 44-year-old Al Gore as his running mate.

Umm, this obviously didn’t happen.

Your Dewey Beats Truman moment of Zen.