I’ve had a few conversations in the last week or two about the latest Senator from Minnesota,  Al Franken.

People outside of Minnesota can’t really figure the whole thing out. We seem like these relatively stolid people, but we do occasionally elect some really odd ducks or perhaps I should say loons.

One of the best online explanations was the recent David Carr  NYT article, “Al Franken and the Odd Politics of Minnesota“. The only thing he missed was emphasizing how Franken has been re-casting himself as a pundit instead of a comedian for years. While the radio show might not have taken the nation by storm it cast him solidly in a different genre than Saturday Night Live cast member/comedian. The same thing is true for Jesse Ventura – who at least finished his term in office. We thought of him as a radio pundit – not a pro wrestler.

I’m a little disappointed to hear that Franken isn’t planning to be funny in the Senate. I think a little humor might be good for the place. Amy Klobuchar has done a surprisingly job being funny in the last eight months – I suppose she can keep pulling more than her fair share if required.

If you think life seems too hard think about someone like Roz Savage who is attempting a three stage row across the Pacific Ocean. No matter how big your TODO list is it can’t be that big. I had to laugh when I read her entry entitled “If it was easy, everyone would be doing it“.

Last Sunday I spent a chunk of my day in the oddest places. First I went to a gun show. In this case it was show for collectors of older guns. I was wanting to get a little more information on the guns my grandfather had and figure out how to best care for them. I was pretty amazed at the things I saw and did. For instance I have never walked around at the Minnesota State Fair grounds with a couple of rifles. It’s an odd experience. The oddest thing though was how friendly the people were at the gun show. It’s one of the few times in Minnesota where a lot of people have walked up to me to strike up a conversation.

After I left the gun show, I drove home and realized I was passing a store that sells comic books in addition to d&d supplies and other odds and ends. I decided I would stop in to get a few comic books for Matthew. I don’t frequent stores like this so I was totally unprepared for either the patrons or the diversity of worlds that were presented to me.

I wondered about the overlap between the people who attend gun shows and also attend comic book conventions. The people who might be packing heat, but the “heat” is highly collectible and should not fired.

I also thought a lot about writing a short story. The idea is this, a woman thinks she is gong to a speed dating event only she accidentally shows up at the gaming table. It’s called “Roll of the 20 sided dice”. After thinking about it more, I think I was actually writing a bad sitcom in my head.

Arthur C. Clarke departed this world at the age of 90.

I love his quote about “real globalization” at about 6:00 minutes into this interview. He speaks convincingly of our need to leave our tribal divisions behind. I couldn’t agree more.

The U.S. Congress would never consider a proposal to add a “[7 day love vacation](http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Finnish+Parliament+debates+proposal+for+love+vacations+/1135234799696)” where everyone is encouraged to “devote themselves to each other “both at an erotic and emotional level”". A member of the Finnish parliament, Tommy Tabermann, proposed this recently to the Eduskunta. The proposal was debated and sent to committee for study.
Being married to a Finn I can say I find this worthy of study as well.

If you don’t recognize this man you probably have not been watching enough TV lately. This is Nick Arrojo, who is famous due to his role as supporting cast on Jeannie’s favorite TV show "What Not to Wear". If you aren’t familiar with this show it is a one of those reality make over shows. Basically a victim participates in the show has all their clothes thrown out and they get to spend $5,000 on a new wardrobe. The show features everything you might expect including the stars, Stacy & Clinton, who mock the victim’s previous clothing choices and provide guidance for spending the $5,000.

Nick visited the Mall of America recently as part of a store opening event. Jeannie stood in line for an autograph as well as a mini hair consultation.

Congratulation to Josh and Aleisha on the birth of their baby.

So she said “God musta know what he was doing when he put him in my life”.

I never know quite what to say when people talk like this. Mostly I practice not asking snarky follow up questions.

When I think about my response I realize that I have a hard time imagining a world where God interferes in our choices and interactions at the level where everything and everyone is a coded message from God just for me. I just don’t have that much faith. It is a fun intellectual exercise to imagine that existence, but it’s hard to believe in.

Every once in a while I’ll give myself the liberty to imagine a world where things happens for a reason. It doesn’t take long before life begins to feels like a punch line; I’m laughing at the joke, but I didn’t get it or didn’t really hear the beginning of it — I’m just laughing to fit it, trying to puzzle out the humor.

I went to see the “Body Worlds” exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota last night. It’s one of those things I can’t fully explain, but it’s really worth seeing. I could give you a blow by blow description but I think it would take away from the experience for you.

The exhibit really confronts one with the reality that all our love & desire, reason & intellect, wit & humor springing up and out of these complicated little “machines” will turn into dust & wormfood (or plastic in this case).

For those of you who heard my questions before seeing the exhibit … yes, there are genitals. They weren’t jarring in the way I expected them to be.