Graduation! Inauguration! The East Coast of this great nation!

So, you may have heard that this Illinois senator guy is like, going to be like, W's successor, or something.

And that he totally took this giant paintbrush and painted a whole lot of red parts of the US map blue.


Yes, Barack Obama is going to be our nation's 44th President. I couldn't be more excited about giving the ol' Dems a shot at changing things and hopefully turning back the demolition the Bush administration has wreaked on our country. Yes the man may have preached Hope and Change ad nauseum, but is there a better solution to our status quo? Doubtful. I'm just relieved not to have to go through another four more years of the Dub (or someone whose vote aligns with him 90% of the time). Hey, and listening to a phenomenal orator never hurt anyone.

And I'm so proud of traditionally red Virginia for going blue. You'd never guess from the map below, but I'm OK with that! So maybe my hometown still went McCain (64% to 35%, no surprise there), but I'm so happy for my state on the whole. And it looks like they finally counted all the ballots in North Carolina, which was split 50% to 50%... but Obama took the state by a slim margin of 14,000 votes.

from msnbc.com

Anyway, this is all besides the point. I graduate in December! Yeyyyy. I'm moving back to the East Coast (back to ACC Country, thank God!). I'll be able to watch teams I care about to my heart's content. I'll be driving distance (err, less than a day) from Boston, New York, Philly, Baltimore, DC, Richmond, Raleigh, Charlotte, Charleston, Savannah, Atlanta, wherever. I miss that. Immensely. And the beaches, oh the beaches.

I mean no disrespect Texas or Austin; I've enjoyed my stay. And I'm reaaally going to miss this place. There's just really no place like home.

So I just realized that since I'll be back in the Commonwealth (Virginia for those not quite as obsessed with the state as me) starting in mid-December, that means I'll be back in time for the Presidential Inauguration in January! Sweet. No idea if I'll actually go or be able to, but the possibility is making me excitedly squirm in my seat.

Also, I can't wait to put my advertising education into practice. Art direction? Copywriting? Account planning? Other advertising? Sports marketing? Journalism? PR? Graphic design? I may not know 100% what I want to do, or where I'll end up, but I'm ready to be put to work, get paid to do what I love, and not have homework. Oh yeah, and being able to afford rent would be a welcome change.

Fun times await and I'm anxious to get started. Err, well after a nice relaxing Christmas that is. Ol' Barack and I have big goals for 2009, and I think we're ready to take 'em on!

*Apologies for my inclusion of more percentages here than on any post to this point.

Virginia is for free speech haters

Why are we having issues with free speech again? And in Charlottesville again no less!

A friend of mine sent me this. Basically, the Daily Progress, a newspaper in Charlottesville, Va., reported that "Voters at polling places who refuse to remove buttons, T-shirts or other apparel with political messages will face possible misdemeanor charges," per the Virginia Code.

What sort of charges? Try up to a year in prison or a $2,500 fine! But hey, that's OK, because at least you still get to vote before they haul you away!

Virginia § 24.2-604 states:

A. During the times the polls are open and ballots are being counted, it shall be unlawful for any person (i) to loiter or congregate within 40 feet of any entrance of any polling place; (ii) within such distance to give, tender, or exhibit any ballot, ticket, or other campaign material to any person or to solicit or in any manner attempt to influence any person in casting his vote; or (iii) to hinder or delay a qualified voter in entering or leaving a polling place.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

D. It shall be unlawful for any authorized representative, voter, or any other person in the room to (i) hinder or delay a qualified voter; (ii) give, tender, or exhibit any ballot, ticket, or other campaign material to any person; (iii) solicit or in any manner attempt to influence any person in casting his vote; (iv) hinder or delay any officer of election; or (v) otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the election.

E. The officers of election may require any person who is found by a majority of the officers present to be in violation of this section to remain outside of the prohibited area. Any person violating subsection A or D of this section shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

from http://cvillain.com/2008/10/30/if-you-wear-political-paraphernalia-to-election-day-in-virginia-you-face-misdemeanor-charges/

Needless to say (and rightfully so), the Virginia ACLU and a couple of Charlottesville-area groups are stepping in and voicing their disgust for this blatant infringement of free speech.

Didn't we just (finally) turn over the sign ban at UVA sporting events? Why is this issue resurfacing again?

And aren't those eligible to vote (18+) mature enough to not be swayed by someone else's innocuous campaign button or t-shirt while in line? C'mon now, we aren't that stupid, are we?

I'm curious to see how many people press the issue at the polls this Tuesday...

7-Election

Yesterday I walked into class with a cup of hot tea from 7-11 where my friend Tiffany greeted me, "You didn't vote!"

Bewildered, and confused, I had no idea what she was talking about. It was true, my Virginia absentee ballot was in fact sitting on my nightstand, but how did she know?

She sensed my follow-up question. "The cup. You didn't vote in the 7-11 election."

What is she talking about?, I thought.

She quickly explained the election, but to be completely honest with you I didn't get it. All I knew was there was some sort of voting action having to do with the cups.

Well, to the luck of my local 7-11, I awoke with a nagging sore throat for the third day in a row, which meant I sipped hot tea all day long. And since it's slightly lame and strange to carry around a Thermos around campus all day (not that I have one) and 7-11 is one block from the building housing all my classes, I made visit number two to the store in as many days.

Walking in the store I knew I had to do two things: secure a voting cup and make it back to class with I Love Lemon tea in hand in six minutes.

Thankfully I was a little less oblivious this time and was able to complete both tasks without a hitch.

At the "hot beverage bar" there's a seemingly endless parade of coffees (who knew? And Tiffany swears by the pumpkin spice flavor, by the way), but greeting the section is a bright red and blue promotional sign explaining how it works. Pretty simple if you aren't as spacey as me.

Pick red cup that says "McCain" on it to vote McCain. Pick blue cup that says "Obama" on it to vote Obama. Fill with hot beverage of your choice. Bring to counter. Purchase beverage. When beverage's bar code is scanned it adds your McCain or Obama vote to the tally, which can be followed at 7-election.com.


If you were wondering which color I picked, I'll give you two hints: it's my favorite color and is opposite of orange on the color wheel.

I commend your ability to solve that enigmatic riddle.

Not only are 7-11 hot beverages way cheaper than their Starbucks counterparts, but for the time being they are also infinitely more exciting. Not to mention, the packaging is really eye-catching and fun.

So get out there, save $2 on your next cup of coffee and get excited about the election!

Also, if you think the promotion is stupid, maybe you should read this info, which I found on the 7-11 site's "Fun Facts" section:

• In the 2000 7-Election, [the] George W. Bush cup outsold Al Gore's cup by just 1 percentage point.
  
  
• The 2004 7-Election results tracked exactly with published national election results: 51% for George W. Bush and 49% for John Kerry (within a few percentage points of actual poll results in many states!).
  

While I can't with certainty say that there is any truth to these facts (if a fact is "fun," must it also be fabricated?) it is at least interesting. With all the negative political ads going back and forth, I find the informal red vs. blue competition to be a lot more light-hearted.

So get off your lazy butts and drink and vote!

Beauty, art, and... politics?

Politics can be a beautiful thing.

Though much of the time it is anything but beautiful. Politics often showcases frustrating partisan debate, rampant blame thrust on opposing candidates, and everyone's favorite, accusatory TV commercials.

But this year it is different.

Yes, John McCain has vigorously critiqued Barack Obama and has said that his opponent would do little other than raise taxes if he were President. And Obama has made McCain's 90% voting with W during the latter's presidency no secret. So what's different about this time?

The art.

Artists from all over the country recognize the importance of this election and have used Obama's candidacy as a springboard for their artistic expression. Their work has induced what could possibly be the most artistic election ever.

Here are just a few of the many Obama-inspired works:




This leads me to wonder, why can't more candidates find a way to speak to such gifted artists? The world could be so much more picturesque.

More information and examples, especially on the color palettes and design, can be found here.

All artwork is from COLOURlovers, the "Color + Design Community for Creative Inspiration" at http://www.colourlovers.com/.