Odds and Ends

— The Globe and Mail explains McCain's strategy for dividing America into rural (red states) and urban (blue states) areas under Karl Rove's playbook. The concept was written about as the urban archipelago during the last election (or was it the one before?) and the idea was that it wasn't a contest between red or blue; it was a contest between cities and rural areas.

If I remember correctly, blue states are blue because their large cities (where more minorities and more well-educated people call home) dominate their rural areas. Red states are red because the number of rural residents outnumber the urbanites.

— Speaking of red and blue states, Strange Maps has a map of the U.S. broken down into whether people there use the term "coke," "pop," or "soda," for those non-medicinal, non-alcoholic, fizzy concoctions (that, for the record, I call coke. But then I grew up in Atlanta). One note — no one calls a coke a pepsi, but people call a pepsi a soda, a pop, or a coke.

— If anyone knows any comely or handsome young Rhodes students who might be interested in a non-paying modeling gig, would you please have them email me at cashiola@memphisflyer.com? Actually, students who attend any of the city's other fine institutions of higher education are welcome to email me, as well.

Yes, I know this is skeezy, but it would be way more skeezy if I was walking around telling people I think they should be a model.

— USAToday has a story about how to get things for free, and not just with Freecycle, either. They do mention couch surfing, which Flyer writer Shara Clark did a story on a few weeks ago.

— And, yeah, I'm on Facebook now. If anyone cares.