Why TiVo is Made for the State of the Union (v2.0)

Timothy B. Hurst — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 11:46:14 +0000

I did not ‘live blog’ the State of the Union Address last night (and no, not because I was too drunk). In fact, I didn’t watch it live at all. In an effort to take back a piece of my life lost to commercial advertisements, I have recently become a TiVo person (not the brand mind you, but TiVo works nicely as a noun and a verb). I basically got the device because I was fed up with ads interrupting the quality fake news I get from the Stewart-Colbert NewsHour. And even though the annual address is one of the few things you can watch on commercial television without ads, I chose to TiVo it and watch it a few hours later, in unreal time.

The best thing about using the device for the Address was being able >>, to >>>, or even to >>>> through the long, drawn out walk into the House Chamber. I always find all of that gladhanding a little strange, really The long walk is then punctuated by the rounds of undeserved applause (though noticeably quieter and shorter than past years). The second best thing about the TiVo was being able to << when I had to re-listen to a couple of spots for a good laugh. And I am even such a nerd that I moved the parts of the video frame-by-frame to see where Bush was looking when he delivered certain parts of his message.

Regardless of how I watched it, I came away with a general impression that many of you may also have had; this was not the same President who once boasted about his political capital and how he intended to spend it. This is now a fairly unpopular, lame duck executive presiding over a country that is, a) frustrated with the long and expensive occupation of Iraq; b) nervous about a sagging economy and possible recession, and; c) annoyed by the inordinate amount of BS that has flowed freely from this administration for the last seven years. Essentially, the speech will not be remembered for its fire, vigor, bold policy announcements or anything else really.

2008 State of the Union Drinking Game

Timothy B. Hurst — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 01:59:28 +0000

Well, this is sort of a stretch for a Green Options blog, but I couldn’t resist. If you like to take your booze with a floater of politics, or vice versa, then you must read on. If you are a teetotaler, you could just as easily substitute kombucha, yerba mate, or even wheatgrass in place of the alcoholic beverages required for this game. What am I talking about? The official rules for Monday’s 2008 State of the Union Address Drinking Game have finally arrived. And if the prognosticators are as accurate as they have been in previous years, those who play along might want to call in “sick” for work on Tuesday in advance. I have attempted to play this game a couple of times before and had an absolut(e) blast. From the website:

The general rules of the game are no different from any other drinking game. A drink is either a shot or a good gulp from a beer (or cider). Different events call for different numbers of drinks and all you do is watch the speech and play along. If all goes well, you’ll be unconscious by the time they show the other party’s response.

An eco-example from the Official Rules:

Every time the President introduces an environmental/energy goal that will be met…

…by the end of his presidency…………………………………………………………..1 drink

…by the end of the next administration (assume 8 years)……………….2 drinks

…sometime after the end of the next administration……………………….3 drinks

Please do not drink alcohol in excess. Be sure to practice safe, responsible democratizing.

Photo: pressesc via flickr

Green Options » state of the union

Why TiVo is Made for the State of the Union (v2.0)

2008 State of the Union Drinking Game