2 funny videos & a link

This is a great spoof on the commercials for the NBA playoffs which accurately summarizes the Dem nomination up to this point. Below is a funny japanese spoof of the office, and since I know that all you really want are pics of Olivia, here is a link to our blog.

Funny Political Ad

In the Dem. primary for US Senate yesterday, Oregon House Speaker Merkley was given a run for his money by Steve Novack. This race wasn't supposed to be so competitive, but it ended up being particularly interesting as Novak displayed a sense of humor, capitalizing on his "uniqueness." Apparently he's only 4'9" and was born without a left arm. "People are looking for something a little different; well, I'm little and I'm different!" Even still, he lost, and it'll be Merkley vs. Gordon Smith in the fall. This is one seat I kinda hope stays Republican, as Gordon Smith is an impressive moderate Senator who, along with Orrin Hatch and Harry Reid, is blazing the trail as a successful Mormon. If you've been following the blog long enough, you'll recall that I met Sen. Smith in 2006 as he as in NYC to discuss the book he had written about dealing with his son's suicide. It was a touching and impressive book to say the least. Check out my April 2006 posts to read what I wrote then.

75,000 People at Obama Rally

55 million seconds of marriage

According to the counter on the right side of this page, Sarah and I will soon have been married for 55 million seconds (we're at 631 days right now). I have felt like the luckiest guy on earth for most of that time. I was particularly blown away during the 9,000 or so seconds we were in the hospital before Olivia was born (2.5 hours) and during most of the 1.8 million seconds since (3 weeks). Yesterday I had two profound moments of gratitude and joy as I thought about how things have changed during the last three weeks (constituting 3.3% of our marriage thus far). The first was during church as I sat with Olivia sleeping cuddled up in my left arm, and Sarah tired, with her head on my shoulder as I held her in my right arm. I am a dad, this is my family! The other moment was when the three of us laid down for our afternoon nap. Sarah and I spent some time looking at Olivia in the middle and I had the same thought, "I am a daddy and this is my family!" Life is pretty good and I can't wait to see what the next 55 million seconds bring.

Sen. McCain on SNL

I have a ton of respect for John McCain and as the Republican Primary was heating up, he was the candidate I would have most preferred to end up as President. For a similar reason, he's one of the toughest for Democrats to beat in 08. There's a lot more I like about Sens Obama or Clinotn (ie Health Reform), but I could live comfortably with a McCain presidency. Even still, the fact that his first term would end with him in his 80s is a bit troubling.

Pics of Olivia

I love being a dad and can't believe how amazing Olivia is. Sarah and I spend most of our time just staring at her, and she's not even doing new stuff yet like smiling or laughing. It's obviously hard to put into words what it's like to have your first child, but it's amazing. We've posted a lot more pics at our blog, enjoy!

Jefferson-Jackson Dinner

On Friday night Dad and I went to the Raleigh Fairgrounds to attend the NC Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, the annual fundraiser for the Dem. Party. I've been to a few of these types of events before, but this was special as both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton were scheduled to speak. But before we saw them we got to hear two candidates running to replace Elizabeth Dole in the Senate (Kay Hagan and Jim Neal), as well as two candidates for Governor (Bev Purdue and Richard Moore). All were very good, though I found Hagan to be particularly impressive and I look forward to seeing if she can compete with Dole. Neal was very good too and was the only candidate to come up to our section to shake hands, etc (I can't believe more didn't, we were a trapped, captive audience obviously interested in politics). The second photo is of Jim Neal and a native of our section. The bottom photo is of Hagan during her speech.


Finally the secret service came out and Hillary was announced.


I thought she did a great job and feel very confident that if she ends up being the nominee I would support her. I was pleased to hear her say that if Obama wins "you better believe I'll work my heart out for him." She also mentioned how great John Edwards is, and then in the next sentence said she'd create a cabinet level position devoted solely to ending poverty. It's obviously pandering, but why not?


Around 9:45 it was Sen. Obama's turn. The atmosphere was pretty electric as the Obama fans were pumped, really making it feel like a high school pep rally. For the record, I voted for Obama this morning, but when I say fan, I mean the people who were jumping up and down, yelling, chanting "yes we can," etc. Somehow that's just not my style.

I'm a dad!!

At 6:37 am on Monday April 28th, my daughter Olivia Kerrie Jones was born. It was an unbelievable experience and I can't believe how much I love this 6lb 14oz girl. This is my very favorite video as it shows her responding to my voice just minutes after being born. I talked to her quite a bit while she was in the womb, telling her all about school, the Yankees' off season, the campaign, my running, etc. It was a pretty amazing experience to have her recognize my voice so quickly. I love the other photos as well. You can see more at our other blog: www.sacutojones.blogspot.com