An idea for a charity forum thingy

So, I'm posting this on a rather defunct blog I used to write, not 'cos I'm planning to restart it (although I might, thinking about it) but because I couldn't think of where else to put this so people could access it easily.

Here's the idea I'm trying to get my head around and am hoping to have other people help me turn it into something useful. First a bit of context...

Last week was unexpectedly inspirational. First off, the MyCharityConnects conference (including a quite splendid presentation by @TopsAtWarChild, @RyanTaylor and @Withoutayard). That was followed by my first creative meeting with War Child ad agency, john st (more later if I decide to restart this) and then the john st dinner, with a talk by Richard Florida on the seismic shift in the economy that we're currently living through (creativity is the new black, apparently). So there I was on Friday trying to process all this and an idea came to me based on some revelations/reminders during the week.

It occurred to me that charities tend to live in a permanent state of competitiveness, furiously guarding their ideas and strategies from the prying eyees of their peers. What MCC made clear is that if charities started collaborating more and helping each other with problems, we could all benefit and make our sector significantly more creative, productive and efficient. I know I have seen other people's campaigns and thought, 'that's great but if only they had done x or y, it would have been awesome.' And I'm pretty sure others have looked at War Child campaigns or fundraisers and thought the same.

At the same time, it became clear that there is a great pool of creative talent in Toronto (particularly among the tweeps) that like to contribute ideas and some time to help out charities and social causes, but don't want to tie themselves to any one organization. They just want to help out on cool stuff but also have their own job to do for most of the week.

So, I'd like to create a forum where charity people and creative people can get together and improve ideas and make things happen. This could be a monthly, informal tweetup, or it could be an online forum where charities could post problems or ideas that need a new set of brains to make fantastic. It might need nothing more than a hashtag. It doesn't, and shouldn't be, time-consuming - it just needs to be fun for all concerned.

I guess what I'm suggesting is that we take the energy from MCC and make it something ongoing and real. A place where creative people can make good ideas great and help out good causes in the process. It will probably take a shift in attitude from those orgs who want to join, and it will have to be based on trust (ie we won't steal each others ideas). It may need to be a personal thing - Tops rather than Topsatwarchild.

Anyway, that's what I'm thinking. a little half-baked but hopefully worth a beer or to to discuss. You in?

Hmm, all a bit quiet round here...

I really have been negligent, haven't I? Two posts in June and nothing, NOTHING, in July. Shocking, frankly.

There is really no excuse. It's not like it's been an amazing summer or anything. In fact, it's been the wettest in decades. That should be put in some context however. What that really means is that it's been like an awesome summer in UK terms. Largely sunny, some cloud cover and some rainy days. Not many, but some. Still, really not bad at all.

All manner of things happening in north America. In Canada we've had the most amazing and horrific murder story. A guy getting randomly beheaded by a crazy on a Greyhound bus. Beheaded!! And then the guy started eating the corpse. What the f*ck?? I have no idea why this hasn't made international news.

The American election is interesting. It seems that Europe is pretty convinced that Obama is a slam dunk. America, who actually votes, is not so sure. There's something about 200,000 Europeans loving him that really doesn't work with middle America. That and the hubris that seems to seep out of his every pore. In America, like Europe, no-one likes a guy who can't laugh at himself. Just look at the Boris - Ken election. Despite McCain's laughable campaign, Obama's hogging of the coverage and the nation's repulsion with the Republicans, Obama is just five points ahead. Now all the talk is about why this is. It seems pretty obvious - America hates being told what to believe. They're a stubborn nation and the fact that the New York Times and Washington Post think it's inevitable means nothing in Ohio.

My friend Melissa is back at the moment from Oz. Bless her. I love that girl and am delighted and relieved that her boyfriend is a Northerner from Newcastle. Well done Mark! Oh, and my lovely friends Marty and Sarah (pictured) got married at the best wedding EVER. Drinking at the service - it is the future. Love you two! x

 

House Hippo

You want one, don't you? But did you really think it looked real? Did you, really? If you actually believed in the House Hippo, is there anything at all you wouldn't fall for?? Be afraid, world, this country is voting for a new President in a few months time...

Magnificent Seven

My good friend Paul over at The Look - great blog, amazing book - has set a challenge. It seems that this all came from UK music journo Simon Reynolds. Here's what he has to say...

"List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're good or not, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your spring. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven others and find out what they're listening to."

Well I like Simon's writing and Paul is one of my oldest friends, so here goes. Obviously a bit late on this - summer is most definitely here in Toronto - but whatever. Here is my seven song playlist.

1. David Bowie - Sweet Thing/Candidate/Sweet Thing (reprise)

OK, it's two or three songs, really, but this highlight from Diamond Dogs is perfect mid-70s Bowie. It's the point where Ziggy was morphing into the Thin White Duke - part glam, part coked-up Spaceman, part plastic soul boy. "Is it nice in your snowstorm, freezing your brain? Are you sure that your face looks the same?" What could he be talking about?

2. Sally Shapiro - He Keeps Me Alive (Skatebard Mix)

My friend Elliot introduced me to the Europop lovliness of Sally Shapiro. She's Scandinavian and the Scandinavians know a thing or two about pop music. Ms Shapiro has been a constant companion to and from work, pretty much all spring and summer. But this song starts almost every morning for me. To steal a term from Popjustice, Emotronics at its most sublime.

3. Saint Etienne - Hobart Paving

One from back in the day. I always loved this song and found it again the other week when I was making a playlist for the summer. "Rain falls like Elvis tears". We've all been there. This reminds me of rainy days in Kentish Town pubs. There were a lot of those. I think I should have been in work...

4. Talk Talk - Renee

Remember this one? It's all getting a bit 80s, isn't it? I was always a Spirit of Eden type back when I was a pretentious music student. These days though I'm all It's My Life. Not the cheeriest of songs this, I admit,  but come on -  it is awesome.

5. Semi Precious Weapons - Magnetic Baby

A recommendation from The Look. I love this band. I saw them just the other day when they ripped up NXNE (think SXSW but not as good). Bowie and The Ramones having a fist fight in a MAC store. A song to smear dirty glitter over your humdrum day.

6. PIL - Rise

There are days - bad work days, bad vibe days, just a little bit pissy days - when this song, and only this song, will do. Anger is an energy...

7. Dragonette - Take It Like Man

Dragonette momentarily restored my faith in Canadian pop music. Unfortunately, Canada pretty much rejected them. This is fairly typical. They tend to treat Nelly Furtado as a leper since she went disco slut. I don't care though. Dragonette cheer me up every time shuffle chances upon them. So here's to pop in Canadia. It's not all bad.

The people I'm tagging are...

Neil Mason and Ben Knowles

Oisin Lunny

Katie Bates

Sophie Baudrand

Cary Parker

You may know them, you may be them or you may have never heard of them. They have good taste though, all of 'em.

Oooh, it's been ages...

Sorry, got a little distracted by Spring. Sunshine, greenery, beer. Ahhh...nice.

Now, what has been going on. Frankly too much to cover in one entry and so I may just skip over it and move on. Ok, some highlights:

Two amazing concerts. The first was British Sea Power and Yo La Tengo in a tiny converted church with less than a hundred in the audience. The second was Feist at the Hummingbird Centre. If you get a chance to see any of those bands, just go. Particularly British Sea Power - simply amazing.

The double. Both against Chelsea. John Terry in tears. There is nothing more to say...

Watching Gordon lose it from across the pond. It's just hilarious. What a loser, really. How did people miss that he would never be up to it, that to be PM you really do need a personality. I do miss Newsnight at times like this.

Lowlight:

The Mars Volta live. Like going into a music shop with no soundproof rooms and everyone showing off at once. A truely, truely horrible experience.

Bed wetters

How bad is this? Seriously. Eno produced it - what happened? No wonder they're giving it away for free..

A great man

I just watched an interview with Sidney Poitier on Larry King. What an amazing man. It's rare to see someone of such intelligence, humility and righteous, yet controlled, anger. He lived through extraordinary times in America, from segregation to Obama, and produced an astonishing body of work. So many brave and important movies. It was a wonderful interview - Larry King is obviously a fan - but it covered everything from acting to family to the civil rights movement. I'm not sure if it's on the internet somewhere, but if it is, search it out. 

I went on the radio again today to flog a cymbal signed by The Cult. Now goth seems to go down well here in North America. Not sure why and they don't do the whole goth look so much - or at least they don't do it the same. Like a lot of fashion it's done in a far less camp way than the UK. Is camp the right word for UK goths? Maybe not but you know what I mean. Goth over here isn't as comfortable with its feminine side. Anyway, we'll see how it goes. I don't actually understand memorabilia - does it really make people feel closer to their heroes? And are rock stars (David Bowie aside, naturally) really heroes?

The weather has been horrid all week, hopefully it's going to get back to being at least spring next week. Typical Canada - they fool you thinking it's all over and then hit you with London in November.

Weirdness in the Us election - Rev Wright decided to go all 'I'm a star' on national TV. The guy is an asshole. Thankfully Obama finally denounced him and cut him off. Hilary continues to get more and more shrill. It's down to North Carolina and Indiana next week - if she loses both, surely to God this thing will be over...

Oh Dear..

Well, there goes the basketball season. The Raptors limped out of the post season, being nailed 1-4 by the Magic in Orlando. They just weren't ready for the play-offs and blew the first two games by going up to 20 points down in the 1st quarter of each. Then they won the first ACC game but fell apart in the 4th in the second game. And tonight, they collapsed in the second half. A sad way to go out.

And talking of which...

This really should do it for Obama. And you can't really say that this is all about this stupid, arrogant, egotistical preacher man. Clearly Rev. Wright has fallen in love with his own image as the 'righteous firebrand', but Obama has not dealt with it. He just won't disown this idiot. This presents two questions - does he, deep down, kind of agree with this nonsense, or is he just lacking the ruthlessness to lay into Wright. And, if it's the second then he's applying for the wrong job, frankly. Because if you can't dump a twit like this, what the hell are you going to do when the sh*t really hits the fan? And if it's the first answer, then, hey, that's not we what all signed up to when we first got excited by this guy.

So, I guess the issue now is Hillary or McCain. And how depressing is that as a choice. I guess you gotta go for Clinton, if only because of McCain's total blind spot on the economy (a bit of a major blind spot right now). But, jeez, the Clintons back - really, is that what anyone wants?

Oh, and after two weeks of glorious, 20+ sunshine, the winter coats are out again this week. Good times...

Politics and Religion

Anyone wanting to know just how different America is from the UK should be watching CNN right now. We have 'The Compassion Forum' - a debate of sorts where Obama and Clinton are questioned, separately, about their religious views and how those views would affect their policies and decision making. To UK viewers who haven't really been exposed to much US politics or media, this must seem an odd and slightly embarrassing concept. Can you imagine Brown and Cameron putting themselves through this? Or that snake-oil salesman, Blair? It would be cringe-worthy for them and horrific to see for the viewers. But this is actually one of the most insightful election programmes I've seen.

You see, Americans really do believe. And they really want their leaders to believe. And even a hard-nose like Hillary does take the God thing seriously. The questions are intelligent - on a range of subjects - abortion, obviously, Darfur, Iraq, relations between faiths, human rights in China, and the division between faith and government. And rather than hectoring and accusing, Hillary, at least - Obama hasn't been on yet - is giving apparently honest and thoughtful answers to some extremely difficult questions.

It's another example of how much more open and transparent US politics can be, despite the attack ads and the spinning. There is so much probing into what matters and what the candidates really think, that the American people can never truthfully say that they didn't know what it was they were voting for. And I don't think you can say that in the UK, certainly not in the age of New Labour.

That was all a bit serious, wasn't it. Sorry.

Mountie action!

Now, Canadian politics has always struck me as a little dull. There's the slightly terrifying Stephen Harper, of course, the last man to jump on the neo-con bandwagon just before it plowed into a ditch. And Stephane Dion, a man who makes Gordon Brown look like one of the world's most decisive politicians. Oh, and Dion's deputy, Michael Ignatieff, a weird cross between Daniel Day Lewis and Lloyd Grossman.

But today, Canadian politics came close to being exciting. Or at least funny. First up, Gen. Rick Hillier, head of the Canadian armed services, announced his retirement, claiming to have accomplished all the goals he set himself three years ago. You've got to think he set the bar a bit on the low side, given that Canada is up to its waist in the quagmire that is Afghanistan. Hillier, however, leaves a catalogue of exceptional quotes (see side panel). He got in terrible trouble for describing Bin Laden and is chums as 'detestable murderers and scumbags'. I'm not quite sure what the problem was, seems fairly accurate, but liberals thought it might cause problems in the Islamic community. Well, tough shit, frankly. However this description of the military is my personal favourite: 'We are the Canadian Forces and our job is to be able to kill people'. Which is just a little bit Borg, isn't it?

Anyway, after that - and I can assure you that was what passes for a major political story over here - we got this. Yes, the RCMP raided the ruling party's headquarters in an election fraud investigation. This was a proper political story. But let's not get distracted. The RCMP are The Mounties and The Mounties are, inherently, funny. And, by the look of the picture above, just a tiny bit gay?

So, a day of great excitement, then. And it was sunny. 

Avoiding the sweep

I know, I know, same picture again. Until I take another one (and given my record, that will be next season), this will be my baseball picture. Sorry.

So, it's 10.30 at night and, as usual on a cloudy cold evening, I'm watching the Jays again. 11th innings, one run each and the Jays trying to avoid being swept by Oakland. Now 1-1 after three and a half hours might seem dull but it just so isn't. Pitcher battles are sort of what it's all about. Baseball fans point out that baseball is the only game where the defense has the ball. Obviously, they've never heard of rounders or cricket or possibly croquet. Not sure about croquet - not sure if croquet has either defense or offense. Not sure anyone knows the answer to that one. Anyway, defense is what makes baseball so much better than rounders. Pitching is what makes baseball a bit like chess. I have a feeling no-one is buying this...

So, a quick update - the Jays have two on base - one at second, one at third - and two out. They had this last innings and blew it. All they need is a long fly ball. It's two balls, two strikes. Come on, just one hit...oh. Another terrible ground ball out. This game will run and run and I'm staying up until it's over. However, I don't think anyone needs my running commentary so, non-baseball fans, you'll just have to look up the score tomorrow.

For some reason the Jays have decided that they will randomly wear their old sky blue uniform at certain home games. They are using exactly the same design as the original. Imagine Man City in the eighties, onlt without the disturbingly tight shorts. Nice look...

And another thing...

..it's Lake Ontario! Note Toronto's wonderful waterfront developments. Oh.

Ladies and gentlemen...

...Toronto from the roof. Nice, isn't it?

Opening day and an amazing show

So, this is the view from the box at the Rogers Center on opening day. Blue Jays pitching to the Red Sox, packed house and the Jays winning. And win they did. An amazing atmosphere, almost like October baseball for game four. The Jays did well against the Yankees but lost the series 2-1 but went on to sweep the World Champions. Could we have a contender team this season? Maybe. The pitching staff is strong and the offense is hitting the ball out of the park. Oh, those heady dreams of spring...

After recovering from Ed Rogers' generosity (well it's not like he doesn't get enough of our money the rest of the year), we all woke up on Saturday to warm sunshine and a cloudless sky and...the rooftop has opened! This may not seem so big a deal but after the winter we've had this was like rebirthing. Finally, the snow has gone and we can change from red to white. At least for now. The snow may come back.

Last night i saw what was possibly the greatest show I've ever seen. British Sea Power and Yo Le Tengo. It was a free live TV shoot, so I was thinking, you know, six songs each? Oh no, two complete sets in front of a hundred or so people in a converted church. British Sea Power - one of my all time favourite bands - were astounding. Yo Le Tengo did a two hour acoustic(ish) set that included questions and requests from the audiences and covers of Shakin' All Over, Sonic Youth and Dylan. Amazing. It was a weird night - we kept expecting someone to tell us it was all a big joke, but no, it was real. Three and a half hours of stunning, stunning music. Sometimes something happens that restores your faith. Last night was it.

Wedded bliss?

Someone bought a print of this picture from work today. As a wedding present. Isn't that a weird message to give to a couple on their wedding day? Isn't that more the kind of thing you'd get from a guidance councillor? 

Anyway, moving on. Sorry for the silence. I'd assumed that no-one was reading, so was becoming a bit slack about the whole bloggery thing. But then I got a complaint from my reader - hello Soph - and felt slightly guilty. So, here we are,  New Entry.

It's now spring. Another reason for the lack of writing. You can go outside after dark without your toes falling off! It's sunny and quite warm! The parka has gone back in the cupboard. There's baseball on the telly every night.

Spring is officially good.

This is actually the one time of year where it would be possible to employ a sense of style. In winter you wear as much as possible and normal rules don't really apply. In a couple of months it will be 35 and humid, at which point you resort to shorts and t-shirts. But now and in fall the temperature is just right. Sadly, this potential for stylistic flamboyance is lost on your average Torontonian. Unless you count the punk 'look' of course - black tee for a band with 'F*ck' in the name, grotty jeans (boys) or ripped goth tights (girls) and tattoos. Always tattoos. They love a good tattoo or in Canada. All a bit grim. Not true of everyone - I have some very stylish friends - but really, New York seems a long way away.

It is also Juno weekend. Oh calm my fluttering heart. Yes, the most boring awards ceremony of the year and, this year, held in Calgary, the most boring city in the world. Celine Dion is nominated in nearly every category. Apparently she had two albums out last year - who knew? Celine is the Canadian equivalent of Annie Lennox. She could retire and still be up for best new album every year.

Changing the subject for the final paragraph, we've been having a little debate at work. Who would do a good Clash cover and what song should they do? There have been some totally ridiculous suggestions and a possible winner. But who do you think it should be? And yes, this is a blatant attempt to solicit a comment. Just one will do. It will reassure me that there really is someone out there...

It's above freezing, it must be spring!

It's warming up, very slowly. By warming up I mean it's generally above zero during the day. If you don't have to wear gloves to walk home, it must mean spring is round the corner. Hopefully. The weather forecasters are still talking about four weeks to go. At least the snow has pretty much gone for now...

One sure sign that this freezing hell is almost over is the start of the baseball season. It started yesterday. In Japan. The Japanese love baseball and have a thriving league, so this isn't about expansion, just making money. It's the American Dream on tour. 

The season properly starts next week. Toronto get to start with an away series at the Yankees, followed by the Red Sox - the World Champions - at home. This is not an easy way to begin the year. But hey, it's a long year. At least my tickets for opening day are in the bag - and it's the Rogers' box for me (that would be the owner's box, HA!). Weird way of watching a game though, surrounded by Toronto's rich elite supping cosmos and downing oysters. Baseball is all about the beer and hotdogs - but hey, you gotta do what you gotta do!

Now UK readers (and, to be fair, many Canadians) don't really get the appeal of baseball. It is, after all, rounders. But that's not fair - baseball is much more than that. It really is a great game - no, it is! It's also part of America's psyche, part of what makes it tick. That's why there was so much fuss about the steroid-taking report earlier in the year. It was as if America itself was in some way being violated by it. Only America could investigate a sport at Senate level - it would be like football being investigated by the House of Lords. Not that bad an idea, actually... 

So, take me down to the ball game and let's play ball!

A More Perfect Union

Everybody should listen to this. This is not just a politician but a Presidential candidate in an incredibly tight race. Amazing. I don't think Gordon Brown's got one of these in his back pocket...

It's forty minutes long, by the way, so you may need to make a cup of tea before you press play.

Wrote For Luck

So, Toronto is warming up. Well, it's over freezing and that's positively roasting. I had to go home and change jackets because the mental Canadian Goose duvet was too much. This is, officially, a good sign.

And I've discovered the wonder and horror of 6 Music this week. Great on some fronts - music you don't get on Canadian/American radio. Shocking on others - hello Lilly Allen, you have a lot to answer for. Kate Nash, OK, kinda your fault but, you know, a one off. NO! Russell Brand and now this tosser, George Lamb. I mean, really? Surely the only, THE ONLY, point of 6 music is people who love music. People who understand Word and the importance of buying the NME when you're growing up. People like I know in London. And we get this asshole. Jesus, how many reasons can there be to not go home?

Anyway, listened to Guy Garvey's show. I love Elbow, and his show was, well, right. Also, he had the best Sting joke for a long time. And Paul Morley's FAC 501 was amazing. My brother just sent me the two Hacienda comps - you've got to love nostalgia. It made me dance like it was 1991. A Guy Called Gerald - I had forgotten and I am sure I'm not the only one...

Back to FAC 501. Tony Wilson - what can you say? Manchester was his for a while. He made it. We lived in it. Now it's gone. I met Paul Morley a fair few times. He was the first person to introduce me to the wonder of melancholy. Thank you Paul - finally got it the other day. And that radio show confirmed it. 

This week (and, to an extent, last Saturday) made me miss old Manchester, when it was more raincoat than WAG. OK, so the unemployment figures were displayed on the town hall, it rained all day, every day, and you were as likely to get mugged as walk out of Affleck's Palace with a '061 - State Of The Nation' tee but, hey, it was real. And there was The Fall, Joy Division, the Smiths, The Buzzcocks, New Order, Happy Mondays, Stone Roses, 808 State, Inspiral Carpet and so many more before Oasis poisoned the well. But that city has gone. Long live Rio Ferdinand. Tony would hate it and love it at the same time.

Walk away, in silence...

Canadian Music Wake

Last week was Canadian Music Week - a grim few days where the great and the good of the conference merry-go-round converged on Toronto to discuss ways in which they could screw their constomers. The latest ruse is to remove file-sharers' internet access. The cunning plan is to make the ISPs responsible for policing online piracy with a three strikes and your out law. If you're caught trying to download an obscure northern soul track that is commercially unavailable three times, that's it, no more internet access for you sunshine. Overlooking the obvious marketing benefits of P2P, the fact that most P2P users buy far more music than your average Joe and the sheer insanity of persecuting people who still consider music to be a vital, exciting, life-affirming thing of wonder, who the f*ck do the music industry think they are? Is there any hope that this bunch of pen-pushers and money lenders will be able to drag their sorry faces out of the sand before the game is well and truly up? Unlikely. It seems that all the people who know why the Clash matter have been shoved aside and replaced by people who really don't see the problem with shoving another Jessica Simpson clone down the throats of the masses. Hopefully it won't be long now before the whole shambolic, delusional edifice collapses around their cloth ears.

Anyway on a brighter note, I did meet a friend of, it turned out, lots of friends who was in town to observe the whole sorry mess. It's always a worry when someone tells you that their friend is in town and you should meet them.  But my new best friend Nicola turned out to be fantastic. Like most of my friends in the UK, she's a journalist, and a music journalist to boot. You don't get music journalists in Canada. You have to save up the $14 for Word. We had a lovely afternoon hiding in a pub from the worst storm of the winter. I'm used to it now but she couldn't quite believe that anyone would voluntarily live through a Canadian winter. 

It was the nicest afternoon I've spent in a long time and reminded me of the things I genuinely miss about London. Pubs, for one. And talking about music in that way that only the British do. Oh, and the sense of humour - it's very different from north America. After she'd flown out to Austin I felt quite melancholy for a while. Then I listened to half of Question Time over the internet and realised exactly why someone would do what I've done. Still, cheers Nicola - come back soon, maybe not in early March...

Got home on Saturday evening and within an hour the power went out in the building - all very 70s Britain. It occurred to me that an afternoon down the pub followed by an evening surrounded by candles was slightly dangerous. They should make a public information film about it.

I did quite enjoy melancholy - it's a very misunderstood state.

Go Leafs Go!

So tonight I finally saw a live hockey game. I'm now just Curling away from becoming Canadian. It was, one has to say, awesome - I now get hockey. But boy, the Leafs suck. It was like watching Man City vs Milan. New Jersey barely broke sweat apart from the odd moment when they thought they really ought to score. And they did. Four times. The Leafs are ridiculously over-supported and ridiculously overpriced. As a result, the management can't quite see the point in investing in the team. They sell out EVERY GAME. Crazy, really. As my friend Elliot pointed out, this is a true Torontonian right of passage - Jays can't beat the Red Sox, Leafs can't beat anyone and the Raptors think that the playoffs count as success. As I said, Man City...

Looks like Hillary is becoming the comeback kid (again) tonight. Inevitable really, negative still works well. Obama's speech tonight was still amazing though - however much mud they throw at him, he still stays above the fray. It will probably do for him in the end.

Something astounding I saw today - the UK Tory party's new campaign. Look up 'Conservative UK' in facebook and you will find the most sophisticated political page I have ever seen. They have clearly been watching Obama but are doing it better. Really - the Tories! It is a vision of the future of political campaigning and I plan to steal from it for my online strategy. I am very, very impressed. Well done the boy David...

Anyway, CNN is going on throughout the night but I can't. CNN have given up pretending that this election is anything but the latest US sport. Their daily political show is called 'Election Bowl' and uses graphics from football play books. And they described their coverage tonight as 'flooding the zone'. You've got to love it, really...