Be it resolved

Chris Coleman’s wife called yesterday evening. She wanted to make sure that I (David) received a response to my inquiry about Coleman’s stance on instant runoff voting. She definitely gets an ‘A’ for effort. Even though I was in the middle of my chicken salad lunch, and NASCAR was on (Martin 7th, Kenseth 26th, and Sadler’s failure to crash put him all the way up in 8th), it was nice to learn that someone cared about my issue. Unfortunately, the Coleman family gets an ‘F’ for content. They went to all the trouble to call me just to say that they haven’t taken a position on the issue. Tell me you’re against it and you at least get a ‘D’. Thanks for interupting my meal and entertainment for nothing, schmucks!

Pissing and moaning aside, here is the resolution language, as promised. Copy, paste, and bring it with you when you go to your caucus tomorrow.

Whereas only 40% to 50% of eligible voters have voted in most elections since the 1980s, and,
Whereas roughly only half of those voters vote for a winning candidate on a national level, and,
Whereas the Electoral College is not effective in representing all of the peoples’ choices, and,
Whereas many voters are often faced with voting strategically for the lesser of two evils rather than a candidate they truly would want in office.
Be it resolved that, we charge the legislature of the State of Minnesota to pass a law that would mandate instant runoff voting in all elections conducted in the state.

Desperate thugs

It would appear that last Saturday was campaign day. I (David) received at least 3 calls that day (possibly more, but no one left a message) from various DFL conspirators. The calls were all esencially the same:

DFLer: Good morning/afternoon sir, may I speak with Mr. Skelton please?

Me: You already are.

DFLer: Great! And how are you today?

Me: Tired.

DFLer: Well I’ll try to make this quick then. My name is Joe Shmoe, and I’m calling on behalf of the DFL party, just checking to see if you have plans to attend your precinct caucus on Tuesday March 1st.

Me: I have made such plans.

DFLer: Wonderful! And have you given any thought as to who you would like to endorse for mayor?

Me: Yes. I have given it some thought, but I haven’t arrived at any conclusions yet.

DFLer: You’re not thinking about Kelly are you? Because we know where you live, and it’d be a shame if something bad were to happen to you or your home.

Obviously the diehards are taking this one seriously. I suspect that there is a good chance that they’ll get their way though. I don’t foresee the precinct caucuses drawing the same numbers as they did last year. Call me pessimistic, but I’m guessing that frustration with the local level of government isn’t as great of a motivator for people to interrupt their Law & Order(s) and Scrubs. But fear not Saint Paulites, for you can entrust your vote with me, the same man who confidently voted for Al Sharpton last year. Though I can’t guarantee I’ll have any more success with my mayoral pick than I did with my presidential pick, I can at least assure you that I won’t be voting for Kelly.

For those who don’t watch Law & Order(s) or Scrubs and plan to attend your caucus (regardless of which party’s caucus it may be), keep your eyes peeled here. As soon as I can remember where I put it, I will post some language for a resolution that calls for instant runoff voting.

RIP HST

Denver Post

Haulin’ Oats

Your author (David) had a very unbalanced weekend. Thursday evening, I woke up at my usual time, did my usual evening routine, and then headed off to work. After work on Friday morning, I had a filling pizza and beer dinner. I knew that this could be disastrous because I had agreed to help my cousin Mary move out that morning. But I had timed the meal just right, and before the post-meal lethargy had a chance to set in, I was already off to Mary’s apartment. A second wind was easy to obtain.

The moving (or more accurately: truck loading) went fairly well. I sustain a couple of routine moving injuries, but nothing bothersome at the time. I was there from 10:00 to 3:30. For most of that time Mary had a professional mover friend that organized the floor plan of the truck as it was loaded. He left when my brother showed up, around 2:00. So for the last hour and a half that I was there, the Skelton Movers Incorporated utilized our soon-to-be-famous stuff sac approach to filling the truck. I suppose it was strategic planning on the part of Mary’s friend to leave right after the last of the “big and square” items had been given homes. My brother and I managed though. And by the time I left there seemed to still be room for most everything else.

I got home from Mary’s around the 24 hour mark. I knew I still had a couple hours before the Toasters’ concert at the Triple Rock, but I didn’t want to risk a nap for fear that Heather wouldn’t be able to wake me up. So I decided to finish sequencing a tune that I’ve been working on. Just as I finished, Heather came home and we got ready for the show.

Despite being too tired to enjoy the show on all levels, it was a great show. Heather enjoyed it too. We arrived after Umbrella Bed had played and went straight to the bar to wait for Westbound Train to take the stage. We ran into my old band mate John Huttner in the bar. He said that this was the first “ska” show he’s been to since the Jinkies disbanded. We chatted with him for a while and then took in Westbound Train and the Toasters (with another drink break in between). The Toasters have gone through a lot of changes since the first time I saw them. Unfortunately, most of them have been for the worse. But one thing I really enjoyed was their new bassist. On just about every tune he was playing either 8th notes or 16th notes. It made for an interesting sound that helped fill the empty space of their lack of keyboardist. And of course, like every other time I’ve seen the Toasters since that night in Chicago a decade ago, it was nice not to be stabbed this time.

The remainder of the weekend was spent either sleeping or just taking it easy. Sunday afternoon gave us the only other highlight which was having Andy over for the Daytona 500. Andy’s man Kenseth broke his rod, as usual. And our man Martin finished 6th after running in second for a while. Martin didn’t do as well as we had hoped, but it was nice to see him beat out Tony Stewart by a few hairs as they crossed the finish.

Out late on a school night

The next Second Hand Ska Kings gig has finally been announced. We will be playing on Thursday, March 3rd, at the “Urban Wildlife Bar” (331 2nd Ave South, Minneapolis, MN). We are expected to take the stage somewhere between 11:00 and 11:30 PM. For those of you who have been making inquiries as to when you will be able to see us play, well now you know. "And knowing is half the battle."

Surprising occasions

Wednesday afternoon around 12:30 I (Heather) stopped in at Mai Village to pick up lunch for myself and my coworkers. I have never been there during the lunch hour before and was noticeably surprised by the full house when I arrived. There was a waiting list to be seated. Many people were traditionally dressed and I certainly took notice to it, but they didn’t seem displaced. As my order came up, the woman behind the bar politely asked me to wait to leave until the show was over. Show? What show? Then suddenly I heard drumming resonating from the entryway. Then two dragons came in followed by drummers and they made their way over the bridge and through the restaurant. I thought that perhaps this was a daily lunchtime ritual which is why the lunch hour drew such a large crowd. The next day while reading the paper, I learned that all along University Avenue that the dragons and drummers were visiting Asian restaurants in St. Paul in celebration of Tet (the Chinese/Vietnamese New Year). What a surprising and entertaining way to start the new year.

------------------------------------------------------

Speaking of surprises, I (David) spent yesterday evening celebrating cousin Mary’s 50th birthday at her surprise party. First surprise party I’ve ever attended that actually worked. I got to see many of the same faces from the recent Christmas party, as well as get the preliminary report from Mom (Nan) and Peter’s trip to San Diego. The party was held at Boca Chica. It is very easy to order too much food there. I knew this ahead of time so I decided to order from the “ala carte” menu. Unfortunately, the 3 enchiladas, 2+ beers, multiple baskets of chips with guacamole, beans, and salsa were still too much. It made me glad that I had changed my mind about biking there once I had seen it start to rain. Despite leaving a bit early, I have to say that seeing the family, enjoying good food, and not having an extremely loud mariachi band playing right behind us made for a good time. If anyone is planning a surprise for my 30th, I suggest you contact Mary’s daughter, Susie, the organizer of this event. A job well done.

Post game synopsis

The players:
There were too many people there to keep track of. I (David) don’t know how the organizers Tim & Christian were able to do it. For me, the event allowed me to commit more names to memory. I only picked up two more names, but now I won’t be faced with embarrassing situations like running into Sue at Mississippi Market and not remembering her name. Memorizing such things is a skill I need to work on. I still don’t know the names of these two acquaintances, both of whom were racing. Also participating in the event as racers or volunteers were Jeremy, Gwen, Kelly (minus Simon), Chuck, Alec, PW, Fritz, Mark, (Dave and Ray not pictured) and a Bajillion other people (as well as Andrew Keobrick as a spectator). Heather even showed up at post-race party to give me a ride home, among other reasons. After over a year of pleading for an introduction, Chuck somehow managed to disappear at the time Heather was introduced to friends and acquaintances she hadn’t already met.

The strategy:
After the volunteer meeting and the registration event, in which Tim gave me a free tee shirt, I rode with Gwen to the starting point of the race. I left a bit early from there so as to allow myself enough time to grab a bite to eat before I had to be at the Sportsman’s Pub. It wasn’t long after the start of the race that people began pouring in. The majority of the manifests that I stamped were for racers that were not drinking, for the most part. However, for the large minority that did have a few drink stamps, it seemed like my post was the place to kick back for a while.

Andrew Keobrick had stopped in, having decided to take me up on my offer to talk shop while I was officiating. Apart form going over educational curriculums and providing internship opportunities, we discussed the open executive director position at the BPA. Still not wanting to commit to such a position as a career, I bounced my idea off him in which I could possibly take up some of these responsibilities at a reduced pay while simultaneously working my other job. He seemed to like the idea. So that may be a plan I consider pursuing at the end of the month.

The game:
There wasn’t much to it for me. A bit of commuting, a bit of stamping, a bit of drinking… and it couldn’t have been a better day for it. Not everyone stopped at my post, so I wasn’t too impressed by large numbers of people until I got to the post-race party at Grumpy’s. Just the sight of the bike piles alone was exceptionally impressive. The occupancy code violations inside the bar were even more impressive. Yet as a volunteer/spectator, I can’t do the race much justice. To see it through the eyes of a racer, check out fellow bloggers Jeremy and Gwen. Gwen’s account of the event is “fuckin’” hilarious. And don't miss Jeremy's photos.

Updates

The givers of the National Geographic subscription have been identified. Thanks Mom and Peter!

As for the Stupor Bowl VIII, I (David) will be at Sportsman's Pub (2124 Como Avenue SE) from 2 pm until 5(ish) pm on Saturday. Tim said I could use my own rubber stamp(s) for the racers’ manifests. I managed to forget to ask Tim what to do if I need to use the restroom. So not only are people welcome to join me for a beer, but I’m encouraging it. That way someone can keep an eye on the races when I need to be elsewhere. I heard Tim say something about drink tickets, but I won’t know what all that involves until the race registration.

Mystery mag

After receiving my second National Geographic magazine, along with a societal membership certificate that is more elaborate than my diploma (though I suspect the signatures on my diploma are genuine), I (David) decided to call the publication to ensure that they weren’t charging my credit cards without my permission. The kind woman answering the phone informed me that a subscription had been given to me as a Christmas gift, and that there is no need for concern. She also scolded me for allowing my first issue to be given to inquiring adolescents rather than shelving it next to the Lenore comic books. Despite my pleas, this woman refused to give me the name of the gift giver. She was confident that the individual (or family?) would reveal themselves soon enough.

Upon learning of this gift, I scoured through the Christmas cards, trying to find evidence of someone that I may have forgotten to thank. But I was unable to locate any mention of a gift subscription. So hopefully whoever has given me this subscription knows me well enough to know where this blog is, and that they will read this entry and let me know it was him/her/them.

Stupor bowl VIII

This Saturday afternoon, I (David) will be an official manifest stamper for the Stupor Bowl. Though I haven’t officially been assigned a post yet, I have narrowed down the choices for my assignment to: The Dubliner Pub, The Poodle Club, Palmer’s Bar, and Psycho Suzi’s (Tim promised he wouldn’t stick me at one of the topless bars). I’ll let everyone know later which bar I actually get. So if anyone wants to join me for a couple of beers and watch crazy people come running into the bar and throw papers in my face, feel free to join me once I’ve figured out where I’ll be. For those who don’t want to join me, don’t fret, for I’ve replaced my broken camera and I’ll try to take a couple of photos for you.