Monarch back

I was up a little too late last night, and I didn't sleep well, so I got up a little late and I was feeling down as I took my morning walk. But Nature provided me a pick-me-up.

I saw the first Monarch butterfly of the season.

*does happy dance*

Book Review: Dragon and Soldier

Today's book review is Dragon and Soldier by Timothy Zahn.

( This is a YA book. Too much so. )

In the grand scheme of things, Dragon and Soldier is a weak book, but if you liked Dragon and Thief, you'll probably still enjoy this one. (If you haven't read Dragon and Thief, do read it first.) I was entertained, but I expect better of Zahn. I give it a 6 out of 10.

Political thoughts: Kerry chooses Edwards

I am greatly relieved that John Kerry chose John Edwards as his running mate. Although Edwards was clearly the only sensible choice from the get-go, Kerry stretched it out for so long, and the pundits talked about other choices so much, that I was really worried that he'd blow it. Getting McCain as his running mate would have been quite a political coup, but it was pretty clear that McCain had already said no before the press even started running with the story.

Edwards is important to the current campaign because he's a flamboyant and highly effective campaigner, and Kerry is already getting dumped on for being boring. This campaign will be a hard one to win, and Kerry needs to choose a running mate who will attract votes, not one who only appeals to a few party insiders whose votes are already in the bag.

The real reason that choosing Edwards is vital is that if Kerry does win, and is reelected in 2008, whoever his VP is will be the Democratic candidate in 2012. If he didn't pick Edwards, he was almost sure to pick Gephardt, which would have been ceding the 2012 election to the Republicans without a fight even if it didn't cost him the current election. 4 years of Bush have done so much damage to this country that it will take more than 8 years with a Democrat in the White House to fix it. (I figure 8 years of apologizing to the rest of the world might be long enough for them to talk to us again, and the Democrat after Kerry might actually be able to do something in the international arena.) We must have a VP this year who can win in 2012, or else it's time to get serious about moving to New Zealand.

Lords of the Rainbow meme

( Again, I took the test, so I'll post the results. )

If anyone who knows me would care to comment or quibble, fire away.