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Jonathan Coulton & Heather Gold: ‘Flagpole Sitta’

Part of the Heather Gold Show at Plutopia 2008 SXSWi party in Austin. “Opting Out” was the theme. After this riff on the Harvey Danger classic, Sean Nelson — who wrote the song — explained why he opted out of rock n’ roll: “Flagpole Sitta took off exactly 10 years ago at SXSW and it was the worst time of my already miserable life.” He added that the one opt-out he regretted was turning down Paul Shaffer’s offer to back Harvey Danger with his full band arrangement on their performance of the song on Letterman.

Check out my brief interview of JoCo here.

Also on the panel:
Ev Williams: “I opted out of football…. There were like 14 people in my graduating class. I basically had my own group. It was me…. and everyone else.”

Nick Douglas, opting out of Jesus: “goin to a baptist school… I didnt realize i was gonna have to retake 6th grade biology.”
Also Ben Brown, Jane McGonigal, and Cathy Brooks

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Clinton Concession Looming?

There were several points in tonight’s debate in which Hillary Clinton seemed — rhetorically, at least — to be getting near the end of her game campaign-wise. Undoubtedly running out of steam — her campaign initially figured on securing the nomination after February 5 — she had very little going her way tonight. For every time she slammed Bush policies, she used them to back up her own, not to mention her complicity in shaping many failed Bush policies (Obama joined the Senate in January 2005, well after Congress allowed BushCo to open up the trap doors to Quagmire-ville).

I thought she was gonna cry again toward the end as she waxed sentimental in a way reminiscent of her pre-New Hampshire speech. But it was a strong closing in that she sounded warm and almost likeable even as she shifts her speech from saying “I will” to “I would …. as president.”

But in my opinion Clinton shot herself in the foot with the poorly-timed and horribly-received “change you can Xerox” line. CNN and AP immediately seized on this line, with AP calling it an accusation of “political plagiarism.”

In a typical two-faced HRC maneuver, however, she followed the Xerox line by arguing “If you look at the YouTube of these videos, it does raise questions.” (No really, look at the YouTube below….) I actually admired the iconoclastic paradigm presented by Clinton’s careless phrasing and felt a bit of jealousy (of Obama’s gift for rally gab) in her tone.

It’s not officially over until after Texas and Ohio in a couple weeks at the very least. But is she subconsciously conceding the race? Is it, for all intents and purposes, over?

Many people on all sides think so.

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