5:10 p.m.: Branford Marsalis, the second most famous of the Marsalis brothers, is playing the National Anthem on a soprano sax. Lovely articulation, warm timbre. After a moment, the C-SPAN sound people figure out how to give the singing crowd a little volume, so the sax rests upon a warm, soft bed of voices. Ghostly [...]
When Michelle Obama spoke at the DNC earlier this week, I got more than a little pissed off by her remarks. Sure, both Dems and GOPers are courting the much-coveted “mom” vote, but I felt alienated — and almost betrayed — by the seeming emphasis on traditional family roles from the U.S.’s more liberal political [...]
We’re back at the head-to-head matchups on day two, with a tied game following yesterday’s amazing 5-5 tie. In case you missed it, I’m looking at the final 10 speakers from each night of the convention, comparing their speeches, deciding who did better, and then adding up the scores and seeing who had the better [...]
5 p.m.: Convention opens with a blast of funk, and a huge scrim displaying a pastoral, and the words “Democratic National Convention: Americans Coming Together.” Debbie Wasserman Schultz looks gorgeous. Hair, white dress, makeup — this is the least tired she’s looked in a year or so. “Welcome to our deliberations,” she says. “We shall hold [...]
There’s not a lot I can say about day one of the Democratic National Convention that hasn’t been written about in a million places already. All the ups and downs, highlights and lowlights. But how did the RNC compare to the DNC on each of their first days? I’ve put together a head-to-head list of [...]
You already know this: while earning your college degree was informative and pleasant enough, plenty of us head in a different direction. Or maybe the experience wasn’t so awesome or helpful, but we’re sticking, steadfast and stubborn, to what we set out for in the first place. Joshua Miller, the executive director and founder of [...]
Venezuela has been in the media lately: following the death of Hugo Chávez, his chosen successor, Nicolas Maduro, beat challenger Henrique Capriles in the current election for presidency. It was a miniscule margin of a win—about 50.7%–and as of this write-up, a contested verdict. But if you’re the average United Statesian, you are less aware [...]
