The Sonoma-Marin Fair puts on the World’s Ugliest Dog Competition annually in Petaluma, California and man, there are some hideous pooches. I was lucky enough to have viewed this event on television and there was a fine crop of hairless, toothless, crazy eyed dogs running around. The lucky 2008 winner was Gus, a Chinese-Crested, from Florida.

He captivated the judges and won the crowds hearts. A dog named Sam has won for the past three years but sadly died giving Gus the opportunity for the gold. Gus was a rescue dog from a bad home. He suffers from skin cancer - poor pup He won based on his unique looks. Gus is completely hairless, has only three legs and is missing one eye. His fourth leg was removed due to a skin tumor and his eye was lost in a cat fight. He now lives in a loving home with a mother and daughter who still think Gus is perrrty despite his complications.

From the BBC:

“The Scotsman newspaper quoted Ms Power as saying: “She is a monster, too - that is off the record - she is stooping to anything.”

Obama Adviser Samantha Power Resigns, but it’s too early in the morning to process politics. Before my first cup of coffee, I thought in terms of spin:

Sam Power is a Pulitzer Prize winner - certainly she knows nothing is off the record — especially juicy quotes — and this episode of her resigning is a highly calculated move. It shows Obama taking the moral high ground and forcing anyone in his camp who slings mud to resign, showing him as the moral candidate and better choice as leader.
And me pointing this out as a strategic move not done for morals, but politics, would mean that I’m for Clinton. But since I’m actually for Obama, and that this whole post seems to actually vilify Obama for his duplicity, it’s real purpose is making more Obama fans rush to his aid and defend him. But really, I hope Obama is a little duplicitous because it’s a cut throat world and we need our leader to have some cunning.

See isn’t politics fun?

Now that I’m having my coffee and have had a moment to discuss this with one of the Synthesis office’s sages, I of course realize that I’m too dumb for politics, or maybe not dumb enough for politics, and that I should just drink my coffee and find out what cool bands from Norway will be playing SXSW in Austin next week.