Oh Hey Guys!

Ladies and Gentlemen, after a brief hiatus from the blogging game I am proud to announce that I am back, like an employee opening the door to his office after a long vacation only to find an avalanche of papers and assignments.

In the time that I took off, I missed the Kagan confirmation, the Shirley Sherrod story, the progression of Financial Reform, the erection of a billboard in northern Iowa comparing Obama to Stalin and Hitler, and a gaffe by Jim Cornyn and Jeff Sessions revealing the RNC's intentions to maintain Bush era policies if Republicans find themselves in power within the next four to five years.

Like I said, stack of papers.

But my "vacation" wasn't without cause. To be quite honest, after several weeks of burying my face in political coverage and philosophy, I found myself disenchanted with the political game. My outlook was bleak, my expectations were low, and personally I had become quite depressed. Blogging, discussing, and reading about politics no longer summoned the enthusiasm it once had and I thought it was time to step back and gain some persepective.

So, I dedicated myself to more creative work, starting with music and film, eventually discovering a passion for photography and graphic design, and culminating in a willing return to politics. The fruits of my labor you ask?

1. The discovery of probably a dozen incredible albums (listed here)
2. The addition of several new sites (under "Just for Funsies" on the homepage)
3. The aforementioned discovery of photography (Flickr)
4. The viewing of several Rifftrax (makers of Mystery Science Theater 3000)
5. The viewing of Wim Wenders "Alice in den Städten" (I do not get film noir...)
6. The realization that without a computer, I am an absolutely hopeless mess

 All in all it was an extremely productive break and I'm chomping at the bit to get some work done here. As always, keep the comments coming and let me know if you'd like to write a piece yourself! I'd love to have some guest writing done and it's a really easy way for you to get published in a public forum.

Hope everyone is having a great summer and I look forward to seeing most of you very soon.