2020

So I predicted 2016 would by Hillary vs. Rubio. I knew Clinton would almost definitely be the nominee, but like most pundits, I didn't predict Trump being a serious contender in the field. In a group where the only serious contenders were Cruz, Jeb Bush, and Rubio I still think Rubio probably would've pulled through just to avoid a Clinton/Bush showdown.

Anyway, for 2020 I've learned from my mistakes and I've decided to not predict who I think will get the nod, but merely who my dream team combo is, which is:

Newsom - Duckworth

Gavin Newsom is probably going to become California's governor in a few months, when Jerry Brown retires. That'll bring him to national prominence. Former experience: Lt. Governor / Mayor of San Francisco who legalized gay marriage, and GQ cover model...

No, but seriously...

If. as it seems, all people care about is appearances Newsom looks like a President. A young, handsome man who will look good on a stage next to Trump. And who will wipe the floor with him during debates. He's a brawler and has liberal bona fides for the Bernie-ish part of base. For those who miss the young energy of Obama, for those who wanted a progressive, for those who want more West Coast representation, and for those who for whatever reason need a man to be in charge, he's the guy. For the old guard moneyed Dems, he's one of them. 

Tammy Duckworth is the current junior Senator from Illinois, and soon-to-be first Senator to give birth during her term. She was first elected in 2016 after serving in the House (elected in 2012) and is very popular with her constituents. She also served as the Assistant Secretary of the VA Department, due to her service in Iraq:

...And this is what inspiration looks like.

Now, I know the Trump base is the definition of 'shameless', for whom any sort of mockery is 'in-bounds', but I suspect a combat veteran who lost her legs in war may just be a bridge too far, especially for some of the military-background conservatives. She's more centrist than Newsom, and more mid-western. She can help with Michigan and Wisconsin, Ohio and Pennsylvania. She's the perfect person to have on the ticket for recapturing Obama democrats who went Trump, talking to the dispossessed in town halls, and showing the DNC's commitment to women. Oh, and she's an Asian-American. Which some people may, you know, notice.

In election hierarchies popular sitting Presidents defeat all comers, but then there's more of a toss-up with unpopular Presidents and popular Governors (Consider George HW Bush v. Clinton, or Carter v. Ford). Governors also tend to be likelier Presidents, generally. In the 42 years since 1976 we've only had 14 years under Senators, as opposed to those under Governors (Carter, Reagan, Clinton, and George W. Bush). And this holds up historically: From Grover Cleveland (1885) to FDR (1945) Former governors-turned-Presidents included Cleveland, McKinley, Teddy Roosevelt, Wilson, Coolidge, and Franklin Roosevelt. You want a governor at the top of the ticket.

To balance the knowing, Executive power, at the top of the ticket, you want a Senator VP who can corral the Senate, be the tie vote, and knows D.C. Granted, Duckworth is a bit young for this role, but after Hillary lost I think it's essential we have a (preferably Midwestern) female Senator, and she has the most nationally-visible profile. (Not that there's a lot of competition in that field...) I would love to see her go up against Pence on a debate on values.

Both are youthful, which is critical. We don't want grandparents after 2016. I love Warren, and Bernie, but the Dems are seen as too old. Schumer, Pelosi, Feinstein - they're all so old. Duckworth is 49, Newsom is 50. Both will be the right age to take on Trump and Pence in 2020.

Spoilers / Other Good Candidates:

Corey Booker, Senator from New Jersey

Tammy Baldwin, Senator from Wisconsin

Kamala Harris, Senator from California

Kate Brown, Governor of Oregon

Muriel Bowser, Mayor of D.C.

Joe Kennedy III, Congressman from Massachusetts

'Cause we Democrats just can't help ourselves...

Albums by Year

A few months ago there was something going around of favorite movies by year since you were born. Here, then, is the musical equivalent. The album's overall rank (according to me) follows in parenthesis.

1986 - Graceland, Paul Simon (76)
1987 - Appetite for Destruction, Guns n Roses (13)
1988 - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back, Public Enemy (201)
1989 - The Stone Roses, The Stone Roses (66)
1990 - I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, Sinead O'Connor (253)
1991 - The Low End Theory, A Tribe Called Quest (47)
1992 - The Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack, Trevor Jones and Randy Edelman (122)
1993 - A Meeting by the River, Ry Cooder and VM Bhatt (28)
1994 - Illmatic, Nas (20)
1995 - Jagged Little Pill, Alanis Morissette (50)
1996 - Endtroducing....., DJ Shadow (49)
1997 - Dig Your Own Hole, The Chemical Brothers (90)
1998 - Ronroco, Gustavo Santaolalla (60)
1999 - Global Underground 013: Ibiza, Sasha (27)
2000 - Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea, PJ Harvey (12)
2001 - Discovery, Daft Punk (13)
2002 - Sea Change, Beck (55)
2003 - Elephant, The White Stripes (24)
2004 - The College Dropout, Kanye West (130)
2005 - Come On, Feel the Illinoise!, Sufjan Stevens (271)*
2006 - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood, Neko Case (54)
2007 - Neon Bible, Arcade Fire (91)
2008 - No Albums
2009 - No Albums
2010 - Hadestown, Anais Mitchell (34)
2011 - Bastion Original Soundtrack, Darren Korb (283)
2012 - Radio Music Society, Esperanza Spalding (319)*
2013 - The Electric Lady, Janelle Monae (339)
2014 - No Albums
2015 - Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda (35)*
2016 - No Albums
2017 - No Albums

* Only album I own from that year

For the past ten years I've acquired mighty few albums. :( Get on my level, music industry!

Superlatives: Highest rank - 2000, PJ Harvey, at number 12. None of my top ten are from my own lifetime. Indeed the most recent albums to make my top ten are Talking Book and Ziggy Stardust, both from 1972.

2013 - Not a great year, with Monae's concept album the lowest ranked, at 339. Remarkably, though, there is a 2013 album lower on my list: The Unfortunates, by Casey Hurt, ekes out the 443 spot.

There is an album I liked in 2017, but I don't yet own, which is Ism by Steelism. It's good! I enjoyed it. Also for 2014 I may need to check out St. Vincent's self-titled release again. I liked it, but at the time was a bit underwhelmed.

I own at least one album for every year between 2008 all the way back to 1953. Besides those listed above in recent years, I also own no albums from 1952, 1950, 1949, 1948, 1947, 1946, 1944, 1942, 1939. My oldest recording is 1938. The ones I do own between 1953 and 1938, ranked, are:

1951 - A Streetcar Named Desire, Alex North (450)*
1945 - Zodiac Suite, Mary Lou Williams (500)*
1943 - Stormy Weather Soundtrack, Various (157)*
1941 - Songs for John Doe, Almanac Singers (134)
1940 - Dust Bowl Ballads, Woody Guthrie (31)*
1938 - The Famous 1938 Carnegie Hall Jazz Concert, Benny Goodman (352)*

So there you go.

Questionable Content

Questionable Content (QC) is a web comic by Jeph Jacques. It started in 2003, and has been updating M-F for many years now.

The original cast of Western Mass-dwelling 20-somethings were: Martin, indie-rock aficionado, Faye, his curvaceous and geeky roommate and love interest, Steve, his friend, Dora, the girl he eventually ended up with, and Hanners, the girl next door but not in that way. Martin also owned a small robot companion, Pintsize.

As time went on the cast grew, with relatives, relationships, and friends. But a pattern began to emerge which I have come to find very annoying.

Early on the three female leads, Faye, Dora, and Hanners shared equal time. The first two because of a Martin-based love triangle, the third because Hanners was initially mysterious and sort of kooky. But once a steady relationship formed, Jeph started introducing more and more female characters.

There was Marigold, an amime-watching curvy geeky girl. She was accompanied by

Momi, her anthro-PC companion who looks like a Japanese schoolgirl.

Then Tai, bisexual leader of a small crew of library grad students which included characters such as Emily and

Claire, the geeky trans girlfriend Martin ended up with after Dora (who paired with Tai).

Then we had Brun, a geeky curvaceous girl with an interest in clocks and a possible love triangle between two supporting male characters.

Then Bubbles, another, far more curvaceous female android and former combat vet who may be romantically interested in Faye.

And now Tilly, who uses them/they pronouns…

And I’m done.

 I don’t care anymore. No more wacky or woke female characters. Please. Each one gets a story arc that can last a very long time, but then they’re dropped when Jeph gets bored, and we never hear from them again. And I left out some of the secondary female characters who didn’t get big story arcs, like Martin’s dominatrix mom, the curvaceous geeky (see a pattern?) savant Raven, or Penelope, who is secretly Pizza Girl. Nor do I know whatever happened to the leftovers of the original cast, like Steve and his girlfriend whose name I’ve long since forgotten because it has been literally years since we’ve checked up on them.

Examples of what I’m talking about: Marigold’s arc began around strip 1600. (She also had a boy crush, name lost to the ether.) By 2650 she was wrapped and done, hardly seen since. Claire had showed up as a supporting side-character somewhere around 2250, got together with Martin around 2900, and shortly thereafter she (and Martin largely, by extension) started to disappear. Around 3300 Brun showed up, by 3400 Bubbles was the star of the strip, and by 3600 we’re now on to Tilly.

There’s something unsettling in discarding these women. Each has a different woke aspect. Hanners had OCD, Brun is autistic, Bubbles had PTSD from combat, Claire is trans, and now Tilly is some form of gender queer. The original cast successfully carried the strip with minor supports until around the Marigold arc. More worrying still, Jeph made a point that he loved the new focus on Marigold, calling her his favorite character. Then he said the exact same thing about Claire. And then turned to Bubbles…

And I’m done. It was a fun run, but instead of working with what he has it’s clear he’s just going to keep introducing characters and neglecting the women he’s already created.