Walkin' with my baby ...

Malcolm has been larupping his way down the West Coast these last few days, Seattle to Portland by Amtrak, then driving from Portland to San Francisco. As a result, he has been having difficulty making time (and a good web-portal contact) for his bloggery.

Doubtless, his thoughts derived from this experience will be conveyed to an expectant planet in due course.

In brief, though, these are his passing observations:

1. The profound difference between town and country about the forthcoming Mid-Term elections. All the froth and frazzle in the Big City newspapers do not seem to have percolated through to the boondocks. Hence, Malcolm feels, the discrepancy between some of the expectations at national level.
2. The sheer size of the task imposed on individual voters. Malcolm took the opportunity to look over a lady's shoulder as she was completing her voting book -- yes, book. The range and sophistication of the options open to her were astounding. Out in California, it is not just the candidates at national, state, and county level to be chosen. There is a plethora of "propositions" to be considered, including some with major environmental impact. The pressures on voters are heavy, and the various lobbies (investing heavily in TV advertising) do not make them any easier.
3. Candidates seem to be keen to disguise their party allegiances. Many simply use a red/blue code on their posters.
4. It does not feel like a red-hot (or true-blue) election yet.
5. It was disconcerting to read (in the San Francisco Daily yesterday) the mock- horoscope column (can there be a real thing?) that:

Aries: Right now someone is re-writing your wikipedia entry.

Malcolm was surprised to discover that, yes, he has a wikipedia entry. And it's partly accurate. He wonders which of his little elves has had too much spare time on his little hands.

On the other hand, Malcolm had a heart-warming half-hour. After forty years of trying, he finally made it to the City Lights Bookstore in San Francisco. Poetry upstairs, and dissident politiics in the basement. Lovely, just lovely.

Next weekend to Pasadena, then back to the East Coast, and perhaps more opportunity for hard-core blogging. Sphere: Related Content