First Things First.

I'm going to sidestep commentary on the President's State of the Union.  I've already blabbed too much about Scott Brown's victory in the recent Massachusetts senate election (please, PLEASE, don't let us down), and I'm just not comfortable talking about politics too much publicly.

 

So, with that in mind, a couple big items other than the Speech occurred recently that are worth noting:

• Doogie as a guest judge on American Idol last night.  For the first time ever, I think the show should have focused more time on the judges than on the contestants.  Seriously, NPH can do no wrong.  Honest, curious, tough, empathetic, and quick-witted.  Everything Simon aspires to, everything Kara will never be, and big words that Randy will never unnerstan.  Dauwgh.
• We all know that PETA is crazy, so just don't dignify what they do with a response.  In the latest, they want an animatronic groundhog to be used instead of Punxsutawney Phil.  In rebuttal, the official said: "Phil is being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania."  W.  O.  W.
• Regarding iPad-mania: I don't think people realize just how nice e-Ink technology is on things like the Kindle.  Once you've used it for reading and for effin' RIDICK BATTERY-LIFE (I'm not kidding -- I'm still on my original charge from Christmas on my Kindle), you just appreciate a dedicated e-reader that much more.  Sure, the Kindle isn't perfect, but it fills an actual purpose for book-lovers.  Booknerds like myself often read multiple books at once, may read the occasional thick tome, and read for extended periods of time under all sorts of light.  The Kindle addresses all of those things.  The most frequent rebuttal I see and hear as to whether e-readers will supplant physical books is that booknerds like the physicality of books - the feel of flipping the pages, the smell, the weight itself.  Nerdy, yes, but we're talking about bibliophiles here.  The Kindle actually attempts to replicate and improve on that experience.  I was skeptical, but now I'm a total, utter convert.  I just don't see the iPad doing the same thing on that front.  (And for everything else the iPad does, I'd just use a laptop -- which I need anyway for most other things.)  Meh.  My 2-cents (which I'll be spending on the John Edwards biography coming out this weekend).
• One caveat -- I love that Apple went all ePub on Amazon's ass.  That's right, Apple of the AAC prop music file decided to support the open-format book file, which directly undermines Amazon's attempt to establish its own prop book files as a viable standard.  That is just not going to last very long, my friends, and that's a very good thing.</Martha>