ChristopherChandler.net

Straight from a the fivethirtyeight.com site I reviewed earlier, here are in order the most likely situations that McCain could come out with a possible win. Take a look:

So as you can see, McCain would have to win both Ohio, and Florida, two states that he is currently trailing in.  Also he is currently trailing in Colorado, another state that would be a McCain necessity. There are some other McCain-Win models over at fivethirtyeight.com -C

Just a quick shout out to the 2008 Philadelphia Phillies, who I did see play this year, only once, but still a great time. Let me say this may be just what this city needed. In a time of economic downturn, and crime and murder rates soaring to an all time high, hopefully this historical win can help bring the city closer together, and restore the name of Philadelphia, “The City of Brotherly Love.” -C

This is hilarious.  I haven’t seen Bill Cosby be this funny since the Cosby show.  I hope everyone agrees that he still has it, and that he truly is a comedic genius for all time. -C

I have been completely sick for about a week, but I am feeling much better this week.  I have some great stuff for you, so don’t go anywhere! -C

FiveThirtyEight.com Prediction of the Current Presidential Election

         If you don’t know what the magic number of 538 means, you are about to find out. 538 is the total number of electoral votes in the electoral college. Each Presidential candidate needs 270 votes to win the presidential race. There is a website called FiveThirtyEight.com that has some great charts, graphs, and polls to inform voters of the current standing of the race to the White House. The best thing about the site is it is non-partisan meaning that it is not bias against one candidate. All polls are received and analyzed, and checked for bias. If a poll is by a new group or is bias, that particular poll does not go into account for the mathematical calculation of the graphs, charts, and predictions.
         From the chart you see here it is the current prediction of the Presidential race. The lighter the color, the more likely the state is split. So if you see a light blue state such as Indiana, it means that Obama is leading, but not by very much, as well as with McCain and a light red state such as North Dakota. In addition it gives many odds on different results of this year’s election, as well as numerous other stats for Senate and other important races. I encourage everyone to check it out, and read their FAQ if you have any questions. -C

Okay so apparently this excellent skit on NBC from last Saturday night, parodying the benefactors of the bailout plan was edited from the original version aired. On SNL’s site, the skit is still up, but has been significantly altered, and censored. Bloggers have posted the uncensored version on their blogs in numerous places on the internet. One of the funniest things about the skit is the captions that C-SPAN gave at the bottom. Also a comment about congress dismissing any accountability to those who made the economy what it is today has been removed as well. I am kind of upset by this censorship for a couple of reasons:

1. Comedy – This was a joke. People get very uptight when they are made fun of, and in this financial crisis that we are currently in, we as the American people NEED to laugh once in awhile. Especially about things that happen to us everyday, some more than others.

2. Free Speech – Really, there was nothing that offensive in the skit to the general American public. Did NBC think that we would just not notice the fact that it had been edited? I mean, it’s been on the internet in uncensored form already, and it hasn’t even been a week since it aired. It’s still fresh in our minds.

I am sure some very large wallets had something to do with this censorship, and I do not agree with it. I’d understand if a skit was blatantly offensive, but this is nothing compared to what else is on television these days. This makes me worry to for these so called “Complete Seasons” of Saturday Night Live on DVD. At the rate they are going to produce these seasons, some people may have missed a glaring omission like this in 10+ years. I am glad that people have an archived version of this skit so it will always remain in the hands of those who enjoy it. -C

Little Mac is back in one of my favorite original Nintendo games which is getting an overhaul and returning to the Nintendo Wii. Punch-out!! is an arcade style boxing game that is easy to pickup, but is hard to master. The last series of fights ends up being down right frustrating, no matter if you are playing the Arcade, Nintendo, or Super Nintendo versions of the series. So far I see Glass Joe, Von Kaiser, and King Hippo all are back for more! Let’s hope they throw in more of the older classics like Bear Hugger, the Bruiser brothers, and Super Macho Man. Don’t give your hopes up for Mike Tyson though, it’s just not gonna happen. -C

Is there anything that Scrooge McDuck and Huey, Duey, and Louie CAN’T teach us? So smart. I know why this is now one of my favorite cartoons of all time. -C

I usually think Gamestop’s commericals for television are ridculous and stupid.  Especially after last years Guild Wars parody. Horrible.  However, their marketing team really hit the head of the nail with this one.  Obviously a throw back to 2-D platformers like Super Mario Bros. and Sonic the Hedgehog, this little bunny speaks exactly what we thought when we found a secret passageway back in the 80’s and 90’s.  Take a look and let me know what you think. -C

Scott Pilgrim gets an Extra Life

So let me introduce this properly.  Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel that is written by Canadian cartoonist Brian Lee O’Malley.  It features Scott Pilgrim living his like like any 23-year old would, as a video game.  Part of his band Sex Bob-Omb, Scott Pilgrim meets the lovely Ramona Flowers who works for Amazon.ca.  He instantly falls in love, and she agrees to date him if he defeats her 7 evil ex-boyfriends.  Chock full of videogame humor, you can instantly see why I would like this already.  My good friend David Weigel brought this to my attention about a year ago, and I have been hooked ever since.  The author states there will be only six books in the series, but I am hoping for more.  They so far have put out four, approximately one book per year.

The reason I am writing this is not to pimp out the comic itself so much, as to how I just found out more details about the movie that is being made.  Scott Pilgrim vs. the World has been optioned by Universal Pictures, and should start pre-production in late 2008 directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz).  The real excitement is that it will be live action, starring someone who was born to play the role of Scott Pilgrim, Michael Cera (Juno, Superbad).  Working with him will be Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Live Free or Die Hard, Grindhounse: Deathproof) as Ramona Flowers.  These are both great choices, but I want to focus for now on Michael Cera.

Ramona Flowers

Michael Cera is that character you always will root for.  There is no way he can ever do any wrong, and it always seems like he has the short end of the stick.  Similar to Scott Pilgrim, Michael Cera plays an excellent awkward young adult role, which gets many laughs on screen,  I believe that Cera is the best choice for this role, and I am looking forward to the movie release hopefully in 2009. -C