Voting for gondolas?

I always stay as neutral as I can with politics, but I just had to put this up, because of my recent cat gallery. Plus, if your candidate didn't win, I'm sure the image can be reused sometime in the future. Well, the elections have come and gone, and no matter what your political stripe, if you voted, you did your duty. I've even read that some in the GOP think a divided government is good, since some opposition keeps the crazy at bay on both sides. But speaking of crazy, Kansas City voted in an amendment for "light rail." Now, I'm not against mass transit, not in the least. I think a train from the airport to downtown would make us a really appealing convention destination (WizWorld Kansas City?). We used to have an actual trolley system that ran near my house long, long ago (it's now a jogging path), and it's a shame it closed down. However, the sponsor of our light rail amendment has been trying to pass this thing for 7 years, and the reason it kept failing until now was... mostly the gondolas. If this plan goes through, they're going to build a gondola-tram thing between our Union Station and the WWI-era Liberty Memorial, which is right across the street. I'm not sure how they think a WWI memorial, a turn of the century train station, and a descendant of Disneyland's "Skyway" are going to mesh together, but they managed to make dolphins sing the Batman theme, so anything is possible. :)

But enough politics! Let's turn to something even more controversial: Television. Fans of "Lost" saw their last episode until February tonight. It ended on a cliffhanger, as all good TV does, with someone on the operating table, the doctor wielding a gun, and hostages being told to run. I know "Lost" is a really bizarre show, and I've come to watch it for the character flashback stories first, the "whacko god-island" stories second. I do this because I fear the whacko side might not be as well planned as it appears. I want to be proven oh-so-wrong on that count, but only time (and the series finale) will tell. Just don't let it end like "Saint Elsewhere," and I'll be more contented than not.

But "Heroes" and "Battlestar Galactica" are what vie for my geek soul these days. We're finally seeing regular superpower stuff in every episode, and we even have a catchphrase: "Save the cheerleader, save the world." Which, when I think about it, is probably the fantasy of every high-school comic geek... Ahem. But anyway, it's getting better and better. BSG is also cranking things up, with our first look at the inside of a Base Star, the introduction of "hybrid" Cylons, and Apollo losing them love handles (for the ladies, of course). I was wondering when Baltar was going to wind up on a Base Star, and I hope to see him in a command chair at some point, like in the old show... if it fits the story, of course. And then there's that mystery virus. Did the 13th tribe have some prophetic mojo of their own, like the seer we saw on New Caprica? I can't wait for sci-fi Fridays every week. Now I just need Stargate: Atlantis to start up again...

As for "Jericho"... it's kind of lurching along and not giving me that sense of "everything's over" that I would expect from an apocalypse show. Our main character, Jake, became "exposition man" in this latest episode, spewing a ton of convenient details about some mercs holed up in an abandoned town. Coupled with a lack of "dead cars" on the roads or anywhere else (I mean, they'd be bumper-to-bumper on the interstates if nukes went off everywhere, just from accidents) and no real sense of doom, the show isn't grabbing me as much as it should. I came from a small town, and I can tell you: everyone there should be at each other's throats by now. The apocalypse would have two effects, depending on where you lived: If you were in a city, you'd kill and eat each other because you didn't know or care about your victim. In a small town, you'd kill and eat each other precisely because you know each other and are sick of their nonsense and you've finally got an excuse to make your thoughts known. :)

Oh, and "Torchwood" is still keeping me a fan o' the Beeb. I'm hoping they start up some ongoing storylines soon, but I understand the need to have a few stand-alone episodes before they get into more complicated events.

Addendum: I almost forgot. I'll be hanging out in the dealer room at Contraception 18 this weekend, brainstorming some t-shirt ideas with the folks from Offworld Designs, just in time for your holiday shopping needs. :)

Abraham Link-on:

- Let's start off with some Weird Al goodnes: A 10-meg flash film for his song Albuquerque! I hope you're not on dial-up...
- Wireman is back! This time, there's more of an obstacle course. And when the original Wireman was posted, someone noted that Spider-Man didn't swing around like he was drunk. Well... he's had a few, or so it seems... :)
- More Al: Bob, a parody of Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues," except every line in this song is a palindrome.
- Another bit o' music video fun: Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton. The animated elements come from World of Warcraft, and if you dig the song, it can be downloaded here.
- Here's one person's opinion of how the original Superman movie should have ended.
- I think this will make this link dump have more videos than MTV plays in a day. Here's a remix of Tony Blair singing "Should I Stay or Should I Go." I can't imagine the patience it must take to make one of these things.
- Having trouble with your WiFi network bogging down? this product might be for you.
- Another game, more on the cute side: Guru-Guru Neko. Click to make your cat jump over obstacles or through the ring levels. Collect all the gems. Tell your boss you're working. :)