More bad news on the Perfect Fifths front

Okay, so I know I'm harping, but this is only because I loved this series in high school.

Megan McCafferty has changed the loved format of her books from journal entry. Behold:

Fans were shocked when McCafferty read the third-person opening of "Perfect Fifths," since the other novels in the series are written as journal entries. According to McCafferty, two sections of the novel are written in third-person, one in verse and one completely in dialogue.

Shocked and saddened? Maybe I should let fate decide this one. After all, despite all the press it is getting, it isn't due out until April 2009.

Dear Marion, Illinois: You lose either way

This, I imagine, is posted on Route 13 either to or from Carbondale. Marion, Illinois, is typically conservative. I know, I grew up near it. So imagine my surprise when the Wonkette both name checks the town and knows that it is several hundred miles from Chicago (and from Bill Ayers).

The funny thing is that Marion loses either way. If he isn't elected president, he's still one of their senators. So suck on that, Marion!

In other news in Illinois politics, everyone hates Rod Blagojevich. Everyone. The man has a worse approval rating than President Bush. No one dared to give him the slightest positive rating. For serious. Judy Barr Topinka must feel really bad about herself, because she lost to the most hated current governor in the United States.

Today's Nostalgia: Baking goods without the big oven

I have written about cupcakes before, the tiny baked goods filled with nostalgia. I wrote about cupcake shops in particular, that are capitalizing on that nostalgia while not breaking your waistline.

Now apparently there is a toy cupcake machine that makes one at a time. It was reviewed at one of the budgeting blogs I read, Common Sense With Money, who is now starting to do reviews. This seems like a good item for Christmas, depending on the budget.

I wonder how similar this is to the Easy Bake Oven. And why does it have to be a toy? Now that I am sort of an adult, I don't have a use for 24 cupcakes. It would actually be better to have one at a time, but depending on how much is costs to make each one, it might be cheaper to buy individually from the shop.

Banks are not the enemy

I am almost sad to close my account at the University of Illinois Employees Credit Union. Their location on campus had made it easy to withdraw and make deposits. I never really had any strange fees from them, and the one time I became overdrawn they forgave the charge. They forgave the $5 charge for the debit card when I explained I was going to close the account and hadn't used my debit in more than a month.

When do you get that kind of understanding from a bank?

I am also happy with the HSBC savings account. With better interest rates than you can get from a brick and mortar institution, they also rebate ATM fees. That was a pleasant surprise after being hit every time I go to an enemy ATM.

Just a shout out to banks who haven't wrung me out for all the money I am worth.

Oh snaps, Saturday Night Live

"I built me a bridge and it ain't goin' nowhere."

Colin Powell Endorses Obama!

I think that Colin Powell's vote is worth like 270 electoral ones, right?

Media Matters for America is super peeved

I wrote earlier about John McCain's visit to Letterman, saying, "At least he mentioned Gordon Libby on par with William Ayers."

This is something the non-profit research center Media Matters for America has been frothing about for a while. They monitor media, listening for misinformation that forwards the conservative agenda. They are excited that someone in the mainstream media finally mentioned Gordan Libby. They are only a bit weepy that it was a late night talk show host.

They write, "For years, political professionals, academics, and media watchdogs have lamented the fact that some Americans get their news from late-night comedians and other entertainment. As it turns out, that might be a good thing."

They are basically writing against the Neil Postman argument that news should not be entertaining. And while sensationalist news about the latest missing white woman. However, also from Media Matters, people who watch The Daily Show are pretty informed when it comes to current events. The idea is that in order to understand a joke about a current event, you have to have a pretty thorough understanding of it.

So basically, yay for fun media! We don't have to sit through the evening news after all!