Some people say that your sense of smell is the sense closest connected to your memory.  Some scientists would agree.  To me, one of the strongest memory triggers is the flash of a few notes of a great song.  Music, for me, does more than just heal my sometimes broken soul when it needs soothing the most.  It’s a time machine that transports me back to places that I had long forgotten I ever visited. It’s unexpected reminders of good times and not-so-good times.  Good music is some pretty powerful stuff.

In the spirit of reminiscing about life through my iTunes, may I present a loose musical timeline of my life:

4th Grade = Bought my first CD, “Bleach” by Nirvana. Also first concert, Alanis Morissette. I remember ice-skating parties with lots of Green Day’s “Dookie” blasting.

5th Grade = Weird Al, The Presidents of the United States of America, TLC.

6th Grade = Whichever rap was cool at that moment.  Middle school was rough.

7th Grade = Barenaked Ladies “Stunt” album.  Only the die-hards could sing all the words to “One Week.”

8th Grade = First exposure to Outkast (who I’ve grown to adore), Beck, Fatboy Slim.  Eminem’s “My Name Is” was brand new hotness.  I remember yelling out the bleeped dirty words at the 8th-grade dance.

9th Grade = Punk rock madness. Fenix TX, NOFX, A New Found Glory, etc.  It went along with my “skater” persona. I used to skateboard?? Damn right.

10th Grade = Incubus (saw them live that year), old Nelly Furtado (Not the stuff you hear in the clubs. She used to make some really beautiful music) and first dose of Radiohead. And lots of Bjork too.  My artsy friends hooked it up with the unknown tunes.

11th Grade = One word. Coldplay.

12th Grade = Classic Rock 100%. Getting my Led out all day, every day.

Freshman year of college = My love for non-Top-40 hits takes off.  Listening to The Postal Service will forever bring me back to the days of sitting at my desk in my dorm on the third floor of Rawlings Hall, windows open, listening to the RTS city buses pull in and out of the service drive.  First time I heard Jack Johnson, Gavin DeGraw, Death Cab for Cutie, The Shins. I was all about the Garden State Soundtrack.

Sophomore year of college = Dave Matthews Band.  I guess that fits into the “cliche” category. Saw him live at the O’Dome. Crappy seats, awesome tunes.

Junior year of college = Roommates played a big role that year in what I listened to.  Got my first taste of country that I actually liked in Rascal Flatts. Mary reminded me how awesome Third Eye Blind was during a road trip. Saw Jimmy Buffett and Steve Miller Band live, among others.

Senior year of college = Anything and everything that is awesome.  Fall in Gainesville of senior year was Radiohead’s “In Rainbows” on repeat when I walked to and from the bus stop. Kanye West’s “Graduation” when I worked out. Lots of indie stuff on nights with bottles of wine. Band Marino, The Avett Brothers, Band of Horses, The Format, etc.

I don’t know what my brain would contain in the absense of exposure to all the songs and artists that are now engrained in who I am.  I wonder if that’s what musicians hope to achieve within their fans.  To have their melodies and lyrics weaved permanently into the intricacies of life.  If so, mission accomplished.

While visiting my friendly neighborhood optometrist today for my yearly eye exam, we struck up the water cooler conversation that I’m sure was taking place in every other office this morning; an analysis of last night’s presidential debate.

Immediately Dr. Heiden brought up a point that I hadn’t thought much about but that made complete sense to me.  Why the heck are there still so many undecided voters? These two candidates are so starkly different in policy plans, demeanor, personality and management style that you either like one and not the other.  There isn’t a thin line to walk here. You’re either for abortion rights or you’re against them.  You’re either for nationalized healthcare or you’re for a free-market privatized system.  You want the war to end or you think it would be, as Governor Palin says, a “white flag of surrender.”  There is a not a thin line to be drawn between the candidates differences in this year’s election.  Historically, during times of a more steady economy, no wars being fought and a general sense of overall stability, candidates from either party could more easily be mirrors of each other, aside from certain social issues that have become standard labels of each party.  It was harder to find policy differences because there had been no reason to make major policy changes.

Well if you haven’t figured it out by now, this is clearly not one of those years. It’s obvious that the country is standing at one of those pesky forks in the road that make voting so much more important (this is all stuff you’ve heard before).  The thing is, there are signs on both paths that clearly indicate where our potential leaders would like to take us.  So suck it up, educate yourself on the issues that are keeping you from choosing a candidate, and make a decision that you can live with two, three, ten years from now.

And please, PLEASE, don’t hitchhike away from the fork with a wandering lonely traveler by choosing a third-party candidate that, sadly so, will not be leading the country in January.

It’s always a nice challenge to tie music into all aspects of life.  With 40 minutes left until McCain and Obama take the stage in the first presidential debate, I give you my debate-watching playlist:

1. “I Won’t Back Down” – Tom Petty

2. “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Tears for Fears

3. “Dangerous Age” – Raul Midon

4. “Bring the Boys Back Home” – Pink Floyd

5. “In Our Darkest Hour” – Phantom Planet

6. “America” – Simon & Garfunkle

7. “American Patriot” – Band Marino

8. “Black President” – Nas

9. “High Hopes” – Pink Floyd

10. “American Terrorist” – Lupe Fiasco ft. Matthew Santos

Enjoy!

Obama ‘08!

Lots of kind folks have been inquiring about the status of my grown-up life that I’m still working on getting established.  It’s always warming to know that there are people who are genuinely concerned and curious and rooting for me to do well.

I’ve been recently reminded that life is about making some pretty big decisions, where the outcome is usually unknown.

I was honored to be granted an internship with the multimedia team at the Las Vegas Sun, an opportunity that freaked me out with excitement and nervousness.  I’d have to pack a bunch of stuff and be moved from South Florida to Vegas ASAP, with my car, so that means a very long road trip.   At the same time, a little birdie (my sister-in-law) passed word along about an opening with her boss, Democratic State Senator Nan Rich, as a Legislative Aide.  With her offices based close to home in South Florida and the prospect of actually having a career salary and benefits with the chance at some sweet political experience, I was in a pickle.

After an unsuccessful search for short-term housing in Vegas and adding up the costs, moving there for three months was just not feasible for my current situation.  Now, I understand that some people will want to slap me up-side my head and shake me for that but c’est la vie. I have to thank the Sun for being so understanding about the whole situation and doing their best to help me get setup, even if it didn’t work out.

So now I wait. Resume has been sent, suit has been purchased, and I’m eager to talk politics with the Senator, but she is a busy, busy lady.

And while I wait, I start part-time at Banana Republic tonight which means at the very least, I’ll accumlate a pretty sleek wardrobe and some spending money in the meantime.

Apologies for the lack of real postings that have nothing to do with my personal life.  Those will be back soon.

I got this e-mail from my aunt.  I will copy-and-paste it verbatim:

A note to all by Anne Kilkenny

Dear friends,

So many people have asked me about what I know about Sarah Palin in the
last 2 days that I decided to write something up . . .

Basically, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have only 2 things in
common: their gender and their good looks.

You have my permission to forward this to your friends/email contacts
with my name and email address attached, but
please do not post it on
any websites, as there are too many kooks out there . . .

[ This was already posted on Washington Independent comments area,
with a controllable hotmail account, and was obviously meant by the
author to be read. ]

Thanks,
Anne

ABOUT SARAH PALIN

I am a resident of Wasilla , Alaska . I have known Sarah since 1992.
Everyone here knows Sarah, so it is nothing special to say we are on a
first-name basis. Our children have attended the same schools. Her
father was my child’s favorite substitute teacher. I also am on a
first name basis with her parents and mother-in-law. I attended more
City Council meetings during her administration
than about 99% of the
residents of the city.

She is enormously popular; in every way she’s like the most popular
girl in middle school. Even men who think she is a poor choice and
won’t vote for her can’t quit smiling when talking about her because
she is a “babe”.

It is astonishing and almost scary how well she can keep a secret. She
kept her most recent pregnancy a secret from her children and parents
for seven months.

She is “pro-life”. She recently gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby.
There is no cover-up involved, here; Trig is her baby.

She is energetic and hardworking. She regularly worked out at the gym.

She is savvy. She doesn’t take positions; she just “puts things out
there” and if they prove to be popular, then she takes credit.

Her husband works a union job on the North Slope for BP and is a
champion snowmobile racer. Todd Palin’s kind of job is highly
sought-after because of the schedule and high pay. He arranges his
work schedule so he can fish for salmon in Bristol Bay for a month or
so in summer, but by no stretch of the imagination is fishing their
major source of income. Nor has her life-style ever been anything
like that of native Alaskans.

Sarah and her whole family are avid hunters.

She’s smart.

Her experience is as mayor of a city with a population of about 5,000
(at the time), and less than 2 years as governor of a state with about
670,000 residents.

During her mayoral administration most of the actual work of running
this small city was turned over to an administrator. She had been
pushed to hire this administrator by party power-brokers after she had
gotten herself into some trouble over precipitous firings which had
given rise to a recall campaign.

Sarah campaigned in Wasilla as a “fiscal conservative”. During her 6
years as Mayor, she increased general government expenditures by over
33%. During those same 6 years the amount of taxes collected by the
City increased by 38%. This was during a period of low inflation
(1996-2002). She reduced progressive property taxes and increased a
regressive sales tax which taxed even food. The tax cuts that she
promoted benefited large corporate property owners way more than they
benefited residents.

The huge increases in tax revenues during her mayoral administration
weren’t enough to fund everything on her wish list though, borrowed
money was needed, too. She inherited a city with zero debt, but left it
with indebtedness of over $22 million. What did Mayor Palin encourage
the voters to borrow money for? Was it the infrastructure that she said
she supported? The sewage treatment plant that the city lacked? or a
new library? No. $1m for a park. $15m-plus for construction of a
multi-use sports complex which she rushed through to build on a piece
of property that the City didn’t even have clear title to, that was
still in litigation 7 yrs later–to the delight of the lawyers
involved! The sports complex itself is a nice addition to the
community but a huge money pit, not the profit-generator she claimed it
would be. She also supported bonds for $5.5m for road projects that
could have been done in 5-7 yrs without any borrowing.

While Mayor, City Hall was extensively remodeled and her office
redecorated more than once.

These are small numbers, but Wasilla is a very small city.

As an oil producer, the high price of oil has created a budget surplus
in Alaska . Rather than invest this surplus in technology that
will make us energy independent and increase efficiency, as Governor she
proposed distribution of this surplus to every individual in the state.

In this time of record state revenues and budget surpluses, she
recommended that the state borrow/bond for road projects, even while
she proposed distribution of surplus state revenues: spend today’s
surplus, borrow for needs.

She’s not very tolerant of divergent opinions or open to outside ideas
or compromise. As Mayor, she fought ideas that weren’t generated by
her or her staff. Ideas weren’t evaluated on their merits, but on the
basis of who proposed them.

While Sarah was Mayor of Wasilla she tried to fire our highly respected
City Librarian because the Librarian refused to consider removing from
the library some books that Sarah wanted removed. City residents
rallied to the defense of the City Librarian and against Palin’s
attempt at out-and-out censorship, so Palin backed down and withdrew
her termination letter. People who fought her attempt to oust the
Librarian are on her enemies list to this day.

Sarah complained about the “old boy’s club” when she first ran for
Mayor, so what did she bring Wasilla? A new set of “old boys”. Palin
fired most of the experienced staff she inherited. At the City and as
Governor she hired or elevated new, inexperienced, obscure people,
creating a staff totally dependent on her for their jobs and eternally
grateful and fiercely loyal–loyal to the point of abusing their power
to further her personal agenda, as she has acknowledged happened in the
case of pressuring the State’s top cop (see below).

As Mayor, Sarah fired Wasilla’s Police Chief because he “intimidated”
her, she told the press. As Governor, her recent firing of Alaska ’s top
cop has the ring of familiarity about it. He served at her pleasure
and she had every legal right to fire him, but it’s pretty clear that
an important factor in her decision to fire him was because he wouldn’t
fire her sister’s ex-husband, a State Trooper. Under investigation
for abuse of power, she has had to admit that more than 2 dozen
contacts were made between her staff and family to the person that she

later fired, pressuring him to fire her ex-brother-in-law. She tried to replace the man she fired with a man who she knew had been reprimanded for sexual harassment; when this caused a public furor, she withdrew
her support.

She has bitten the hand of every person who extended theirs to her in
help. The City Council person who personally escorted her around town
introducing her to voters when she first ran for Wasilla

City Council became one of her first targets when she was later elected Mayor. She
abruptly fired her loyal City Administrator; even people who didn’t
like the guy were stunned by this ruthlessness.

Fear of retribution has kept all of these people from saying anything
publicly about her.

When then-Governor Murkowski was handing out political plums, Sarah got
the best, Chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission: one
of the few jobs not in Juneau and one of the best paid. She had no
background in oil & gas issues. Within months of scoring this great
job which paid $122,400/yr, she was complaining in the press about the
high salary. I was told that she hated that job: the commute, the
structured hours, the work. Sarah became aware that a member of this
Commission (who was also the State Chair of the Republican Party)
engaged in unethical behavior on the job. In a gutsy move which some
undoubtedly cautioned her could be political suicide, Sarah solved
all her problems in one fell swoop: got out of the job she hated and
garnered gobs of media attention as the patron saint of ethics and as a
gutsy fighter against the “old boys’ club” when she dramatically quit,
exposing this man’s ethics violations (for which he was fined).

As Mayor, she had her hand stuck out as far as anyone for pork from
Senator Ted Stevens. Lately, she has castigated his pork-barrel
politics and publicly humiliated him. She only opposed the “bridge to
nowhere” after it became clear that it would be unwise not to.

As Governor, she gave the Legislature no direction and budget
guidelines, then made a big grandstand display of line-item vetoing
projects, calling them pork. Public outcry and further legislative
action restored most of these projects–which had been vetoed simply
because she was not aware of their importance–but with the unobservant
she had gained a reputation as “anti-pork”.

She is solidly Republican: no political maverick. The State party
leaders hate her because she has bit them in the back and humiliated
them. Other members of the party object to her self-description as a
fiscal conservative.

Around Wasilla there are people who went to high school with Sarah.
They call her “Sarah Barracuda” because of her unbridled ambition and
predatory ruthlessness. Before she became so powerful, very ugly
stories circulated around town about shenanigans she pulled to be made
point guard on the high school basketball team. When Sarah’s
mother-in-law, a highly respected member of the community and
experienced manager, ran for Mayor, Sarah refused to endorse her.

As Governor, she stepped outside of the box and put together of package
of legislation known as “AGIA” that forced the oil companies to march
to the beat of her drum.

Like most Alaskans, she favors drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife
Refuge. She has questioned if the loss of sea ice is linked to
global warming. She campaigned “as a private citizen” against a state
initiaitive that would have either a) protected salmon streams from
pollution from mines, or b) tied up in the courts all mining in the
state (depending on who you listen to). She has pushed the State’s
lawsuit against the Dept. of the Interior’s decision to list polar
bears as threatened species.

McCain is the oldest person to ever run for President; Sarah will be a
heartbeat away from being President.

There has to be literally millions of Americans who are more
knowledgeable and experienced than she.

However, there’s a lot of people who have underestimated her and are
regretting it.

CLAIM VS
FACT
.”Hockey mom”: true for a few years
.”PTA mom”: true years ago when her first-born was in elementary
school, not since
.”NRA supporter”: absolutely true
.social conservative: mixed. Opposes gay marriage, BUT vetoed a bill
that would have denied benefits to employees in same-sex
relationships
(said she did this because it was unconsitutional).
.pro-creationism: mixed. Supports it, BUT did nothing as Governor to
promote it.
.”Pro-life”: mixed. Knowingly gave birth to a Down’s syndrome baby
BUT declined to call a special legislative session on some pro-life
legislation
.”Experienced”: Some high schools have more students than Wasilla has
residents. Many cities have more residents than the state of Alaska .
No legislative experience other than City Council. Little hands-on
supervisory or managerial experience; needed help of a city
administrator to run town of about 5,000.
.political maverick: not at all
.gutsy: absolutely!
.open & transparent: ??? Good at keeping secrets. Not good at
explaining actions.
.has a developed philosophy of public policy: no
.”a Greenie”: no. Turned Wasilla into a wasteland of big box stores
and
disconnected parking lots. Is pro-drilling off-shore and in ANWR.
.fiscal conservative: not by my definition!
.pro-infrastructure: No. Promoted a sports complex and park in a city
without a sewage treatment plant or storm drainage system. Built
streets to early 20th century standards.
.pro-tax relief: Lowered taxes for businesses, increased tax burden on
residents
.pro-small government: No. Oversaw greatest expansion of city
government in Wasilla’s history.
.pro-labor/pro-union. No. Just because her husband works union
doesn’t make her pro-labor. I have seen nothing to support any claim
that she is pro-labor/pro-union.

WHY AM I WRITING THIS?

First, I have long believed in the importance of being an informed
voter. I am a voter registrar. For 10 years I put on student voting
programs in the schools. If you google my name (Anne Kilkenny +
Alaska), you will find references to my participation in local
government, education, and PTA/parent organizations.

Secondly, I’ve always operated in the belief that “Bad things happen
when good people stay silent”. Few people know as much as I do because
few have gone to as many City Council meetings.

Third, I am just a housewife. I don’t have a job she can bump me out
of. I don’t belong to any organization that she can hurt. But, I am no
fool; she is immensely popular here, and it is likely that this will
cost me somehow in the future: that’s life.

Fourth, she has hated me since back in 1996, when I was one of the 100
or so people who rallied to support the City Librarian against Sarah’s
attempt at censorship.

Fifth, I looked around and realized that everybody else was afraid to
say anything because they were somehow vulnerable.

CAVEATS
I am not a statistician. I developed the numbers for the increase in
spending & taxation 2 years ago (when Palin was running for Governor)
from information supplied to me by the Finance Director of the City of
Wasilla, and I can’t recall exactly what I adjusted for: did I adjust
for inflation? for population increases? Right now, it is impossible
for a private person to get any info out of City Hall–they are
swamped. So I can’t verify my numbers.

You may have noticed that there are various numbers circulating for the
population of Wasilla, ranging from my “about 5,000″, up to 9,000. The
day Palin’s selection was announced a city official told me that the
current population is about 7,000. The official 2000 census count was
5,460. I have used about 5,000 because Palin was Mayor from 1996 to
2002, and the city was growing rapidly in the mid-90’s.