Random thoughts on last night’s debate… I liked how the television broadcast had to have Bush’s podium a couple inches higher to get him at the same height as Kerry, and George did himself no favours with his hunching and squirming. NBC’s Tom Brokaw no longer has a neck. I swear he used to, but it’s gone now. Quite disturbing. John Kerry looks like a Muppet. And FoxNews, of all places, initially ran this photo here to accompany their story on the debate but have since replaced it with one that’s a little more flattering to the President. Ha. But overall, I found it more interesting than I’d expected even though there were segments that I could have written verbatim weeks ago. I thought Kerry definitely won, overall, simply by coming across very confidently and clearly. Bush started out fairly strongly but seemed to come unglued as the debate went on, and by the end was losing his words (or maybe they were fleeing) and was visibly frustrated and flustered. I believe that winning the foreign policy debate is a huge step for Kerry, as that’s where the focus of Bush’s campaign lies – in the ‘War on Terror’. When they get into domestic issues, Kerry has a much stronger hand to play.

But more interesting than the debate was the post-debate commentary. I didn’t bother listening to the opinions of those formally associated with each campaign as you know they were going to declare the debate an unqualified triumph for their guy. For example – I don’t know what debate Rudolph Giuliani was watching, but hearing him parrot the exact same line to NBC and The Daily Show I didn’t really get the impression that he believed what he was saying either. It sounded more like he had come up with his soundbite before the debate even happened based on his expectations of how it would go, and didn’t have any sort of fallback. I also found it interesting that NBC’s panel of undecided voters all declared Kerry the victor… and yet they’re probably still undecided this morning. Mind boggling, really. Anyway, I’m not really a political-commentating kinda guy, there’s folks far better than me at it, I was just really short on content today. Don’t worry, this weekend will be better. Honest.

But Ted Leo has some thoughts on the debate, if you want to get into it some more. He doesn’t think Kerry did all that well, and he’s angry about it. From The Big Ticket.

Largehearted Boy puts the evangelical cap back on and spreads the word from the book of Centro-Matic complete with an extensive audio gospel. Testify!

The Decemberists have been keeping a tour journal on their Fall tour. From Donewaiting.

I am making an educated guess on Luna’s farewell Toronto date (for the Fall tour, anyway) being on Novermber 8 or 9 at the Mod Club. Do NOT write that down – it’s simply based on them a) being in Ann Arbor, Michigan on the 10th and b) their usual haunt of Lee’s Palace being booked both those nights and the Mod Club being the next logical venue. See? When I can’t find news I JUST MAKE IT UP. Update: Holy shit – I just realized that Luna is playing the Abbey Pub in Chicago November 12… THAT IS THE DAY I AM GETTING THERE. SO BEST.

How odd is this? Director Chris Columbus is developing a new film called Slanted & Enchanted. No, it has nothing to do with Pavement. Nor does this paragraph, really. I just thought it was interesting.

np – M83 / Dead Cities, Red Seas & Lost Ghosts