Joe Biden's Inauguration

I started writing Sean's Ramblings only weeks before George W. Bush's second inauguration, so Wednesday's inauguration of President Joe Biden is my fifth opportunity to write about such an event. Considering that I've lived in Northern Virginia during this entire time, you would think that I would have a good story to share about attending an inaugural ball or standing on the national mall during a ceremony. Nope. In January 2005, just after I started this blog, instead of writing about Bush's inauguration, I shared that our heat wasn't working. In 2009, I listened to Obama's inauguration on the radio while driving from Buffalo to New York City at the conclusion of that year's hockey road trip. I mentioned this only briefly, but I then took a bus from New York to DC. Once I arrived in DC, I got the Metro at Union Station and saw people dressed in tuxedos and gowns going to or from a ball on the platform and the trains. Meanwhile, I was carrying a suitcase and looking completely disheveled. Someone who appeared to be homeless asked me if I had an extra pair of socks, and even though I said they were dirty, he graciously accepted a pair. So giving away a pair of socks at a Metro station is the closest I have to an inauguration story.

Wednesday's inauguration was nice. I mean, I'm sure that there are plenty of other words that you can use but nice just seems right. Joe Biden talked about unity and being the president for all Americans. He was empathetic in having a moment of silence for those who passed away during the pandemic. Overall, Biden came across as a good guy who wants to serve the American people which I think he really is and wants to do. I'll write more about Biden momentarily.

Kamala Harris formerly becoming the first female Vice President was truly a historic moment. Amanda Gorman gave an incredible address that really stole the show, which is amazing to think about considering that Lady Gaga (and her pendant), Jennifer Lopez, and Garth Brooks (and his belt buckle) all performed. And I could spend hours looking at Bernie Sanders memes. 

Look, I don't know how the Biden presidency is going to go. It's refreshing to know that Biden isn't going to insult people on Twitter. That he's going to be empathetic during tragedies. That he's not going to argue about crowd sizes or constantly bring up electoral college results. He's definitely not going to encourage his supporters to march to the Capitol. This is an incredibly low bar, but this is where we are in January 2021. Based on the current state of the country, I expect Biden to have early success. Over 400,000 Americans have now passed away due to COVID-19 and the job market is awful. He has nowhere else to go but up. I fully expect him to do everything in his power to distribute vaccines and try to end the coronavirus. Meanwhile, the stock market and retirement accounts are doing great, which shows the disconnect between those with wealth and those who don't. I really think Biden is going to try to help those unemployed and struggling.

Now passing legislation is going to be much tougher, especially with a 50-50 split in the Senate. Biden is not going to get a honeymoon period. For example, Senator Ted Cruz tweeted this on Wednesday:

By rejoining the Paris Climate Agreement, President Biden indicates he's more interested in the views of the citizens of Paris than in the jobs of the citizens of Pittsburgh. This agreement will do little to affect the climate and will harm the livelihoods of Americans.

I'll disregard the fact that just two weeks ago, Cruz tried to block the certification of Pennsylvania's election results (including by voters in Pittsburgh). It just shows that Biden is going to get opposition on pretty much anything he does. Oh, I will write that it was fun to see Pittsburgh Twitter unified in their disdain for Cruz. If you ever follow Twitter during a Steelers game, you know that there is never any unity or agreement among Pittsburgh people.

Anyway, my point to this whole post is that the inauguration was nice, and I'm hopeful that Biden has a successful presidency. I wish him and Kamala Harris good health and good luck. 

Biden photo by Brendan Smialowski AFP. Harris photo by Getty Images.

I Went Viral

You may have heard that there was a Super Bowl last week. You may also have heard that there was a halftime show featuring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. While there was no debate that the Kansas City Chiefs won the game, there was plenty of debate about the halftime show. My friend Christine put it best.

The topic is pretty polarizing right now. Even in my small little [Facebook] universe, the contrasting opinions have gotten heated at times. You have those saying it was inappropriate, those who hold it up as an example of strong women and Latin culture, those who see it as exploitation and objectification of women, others who say people are hypocrites while sharing cheerleader pics and last year's shirtless Adam Levine. I've seen men and women on both sides of arguments for or against - and that's just the clothing issue. I've also seen people disliking the dancing, the music choice, complaints about the Spanish songs...lots of complaints.

On the Monday after the Super Bowl, I posted this tweet:

I don't understand any criticism about Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's wardrobe last night. They've dressed the same way their entire careers! Even the character voiced by Shakira in Zootopia dressed like this. pic.twitter.com/y5nCCuInZp

— Sean's Ramblings (@seansramblings) February 3, 2020

(If the tweet doesn't embed well here, this is what I wrote.
"I don't understand any criticism about Shakira and Jennifer Lopez's wardrobe last night. They've dressed the same way their entire careers! Even the character voiced by Shakira in Zootopia dressed like this.")

Apparently, lots of people searched Shakira and Zootopia and found my tweet. And then they liked it and retweeted it. The end result was over 2,500 likes and 650,000 impressions. That’s just slightly more than I receive with one of my typical tweets.

Alas, the tweet has now faded and few people are noticing my tweets. For example, I thought this tweet on Monday night was brilliant.

I think this was the original premise of Marriage Story. https://t.co/DgrRneoQTH

— Sean's Ramblings (@seansramblings) February 11, 2020

Unfortunately, 650,000 people didn’t see this one!

Trivia Tuesday

I’m bringing back Trivia Tuesday earlier than expected since this week is a little different than usual. Your challenge is to answer the random questions below. Yes, there are still right and wrong answers.

1. Jennifer Lopez is one of the most famous people in the world. Name one of her songs.

2. Who would you draft #1, #2 & #3 in a fantasy football draft?

3. How many unwatched episodes of Breaking Bad do I have on my DVR?

4. How was Panic! at the Disco’s "I Write Sins Not Tragedies" a hit? (The song reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.)



5. Who is a better singer/performer/artist: Rick Astley or Richard Marx?

6. Prior to Paul Ryan, has there ever been a major party Presidential or Vice Presidential candidate with two first names? (To be more specific, Ryan is a much more common first name than a last name. I'm sure that there are plenty of people named Washington, for example, but my guess is that Washington is a more common last name than first name. Of course, I could be wrong.)

7. What does Bryan Adams do when the feeling’s right and he’s gonna stay all night?

As always please leave your answers in the comments section below, and do not use the internet for assistance. Good luck!