Fascinating

I commented earlier today on Facebook that the Missouri Presidential Primary was rather uninteresting. Think about it, on the Democratic side, of course, there was no real race, despite a bunch of names on the ballot. On the Republican side, one of the four major candidates wasn't even on the ballot. And, there were no delegates at stake — the election was merely a “preference poll.”

All that said, the results of the Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado races did turn out different than I expected. It'll be interesting to see if Missouri's caucus next month goes the same way as today's vote or if those who go to caucuses are of a different mind.

Is it just me?

I seem to be having issues using OpenDNS tonight. Right now, all sites hosted by my server are unavailable via OpenDNS, as is Facebook. I switched temporarily to Google DNS and everything seems to be working. Weird.

If you are reading asisaid via a connection that utilizes OpenDNS at the moment, please let me know.

The Voice

Surprisingly, I have been looking forward to watching TV tonight for a very long time. Anyone who knows me knows that is rather odd. But, in this case, I've been looking forward to what was on tonight since last June. No, I didn't watch the Super Bowl — I tuned in afterwards to watch the Voice.

It is going to be incredibly hard for this season to replicate what made the first season so good, but it got off to a great start tonight. If you missed out the first time around, you should tune in for the second night of blind auditions tomorrow night. I suppose technically this show fits into the reality/talent show genre, but I love that it is centered around talented people actually performing (and being encouraged) as opposed to tearing apart folks.

Anecdotes

Stephen Greenblatt in Marvelous Possessions writes,

Anecdotes then are among the principal products of a culture's representational technology, mediators between the undifferentiated succession of local moments and a larger strategy toward which they can only gesture.

The definition is subtle, but here you can see a hint of Greenblatt's program of tying literary devices to the slippery thing known as “history.”

OneMan Plays OneRepublic

This video shows Bryson Andres performing an instrumental rendition of OneRepublic's hit single “Secrets.” I am tempted to say more, but, instead, you really should just check it out for yourself. (If you are not familiar with the song, here's the original track that he is adapting.)

Das Auto, Diesel Edition

And speaking of Volkswagen, the Diesel Beetle is set to return:

Volkswagen has released details on its upcoming 2013 Beetle TDI before the vehicle gets an official unveil at the 2012 Chicago Auto Show. The oil-burning Beetle will bow with the same turbocharged 2.0-liter diesel engine found in the Jetta TDI and Passat TDI, and Volkswagen projects the engine should help it net 39 miles per gallon highway and 29 mpg city.

Autoblog notes that the actual real world milage will likely be even better than the estimates.

Das ist sehr gut.

The Dog Strikes Back

And speaking of commercials, the new VW Super Bowl commercial is out. Not only does this commercial reference last year's commercial, it also had its own teaser a few weeks back.

Matthew Broderick's Day Off

Honda has brought a decidedly Buellerish Matthew Broderick in for its Super Bowl ad. It is very well done, down to the very close of the commercial, which those of us who bother to watch ending credits can appreciate.

My Heart is Broken

Evanescence's new single, “My Heart is Broken,” picks up their “alternative-symphonic-gothic-nü-metal-pop” trademark sound perfectly, sounding as if it could be an fourteenth track on the Open Door. That is not exactly news. But, if you haven't seen their new music video released last week, it is worth a viewing. It continues the band's tradition of enigmatic, well produced videos. I would not put it up to the level of “My Immortal,” but it compares well to “Lithium.”

Teaching World Religions in Church

Tim Townsend has an interesting little write up on a local Lutheran church that is offering a course on Islam:

Thomas, who was on staff at Concordia Seminary in Clayton for 18 years, said he believes the Bible studies at St. Paul's have stayed on the respectful side of the line. His goal with the classes, he said, is to explain the teachings of another religion and to ask why Lutherans don't believe the same thing.

Notably, one of Lindenwood's esteemed religion professors gets in on the fun towards the end of the piece.

HT: @stephenrobin