But rather than just bitch or brood about it, I’ve submitted a letter to Mr. Obama via change.gov, which I’ve included here. If you feel strongly one way or the other, I encourage you to do the same. I highly doubt this will ever pass in front of Mr. Obama’s eyes, but I highly appreciate the venue all the same.

Dear President-elect Obama,

I wish to add my voice to those expressing profound disappointment in having Rick Warren lead the invocation at your historic inauguration. Although many of his church’s outreaches seek to end poverty and truly care for many people, that good will is apparently not extended to the civil rights of non-heterosexuals. I understand that the evangelical movement and those at its forefront are a valuable and legitimate part of our nation and that the freedom of religious expression is fundamental to our nation’s founding impulse. However, I must urge caution at their involvement in matters of state — even something small like this. Theirs is a fundamentally intolerant subculture, which as a Christian myself, is a sad thing to say. I am not alone in my feeling that the influence of the evangelical christian right helped shape many of the most negative aspects of the Bush Administration and the last eight years. If reform is truly your task at hand, I must again strongly urge caution. We certainly cannot exclude, or attempt to sideline, this valuable constituency. However, these places and moments of honor, such as a President’s Inauguration, should exclude bigotry, intolerance, hate, and those who would by action and word deny that all men are indeed created equal. Invite them to the table with open arms, but let’s not have them say grace.

With so many neutral or even gay-friendly christian pastors and ministers available, I just can’t help but feel like we went with name recognition and best-selling author popularity over more inclusive choices. Frankly I’m surprised that there wouldn’t be representatives of all our major faiths. Perhaps there is. Regardless, I’m surprised and highly disappointed and can’t help but feel that had <em>The Purpose Driven Life</em> sold only 12 copies, this well-intended man and his intolerance wouldn’t be anywhere near this inauguration.

Thank you so much for your leadership and I look forward to where our nation can go in these next 4-8 years. Above all thank you for caring what we the people think.

Sincerely,

Nathaniel Salzman

p.s. Please stop sending me fundraising emails. The election is over and we’ve got other work to do. The next campaign and the DNC coffers will have to fend for themselves for a while. 

I admit that the irony of this response isn’t lost on me. I’m expressing a preference of exclusion against Pastor Warren. Ultimately, I’m not <em>offended</em> by his involvement in the Inauguration, and in the grand scheme of things it’s not going to steer our nation one way or another. As I say in my letter, I’m simply disappointed. It’s a poor choice, in my opinion. I have a desire to see not a christian, a muslim, an agnostic or atheist public space, but a pluralist one — a public and political environment where a diversity of ideas about faith, morality, and justice converge on their common points. A place where my beliefs do not take precedence over yours or vice versa. I understand that this is simply my point of view, but a pluralistic public space is perhaps the only way we can all truly coexist in this diverse nation. When one religious or moralistic way of thinking outweighs all others, you eventually get the Taliban. You get the Inquisition. You get the Holocaust. You get the Crusades. You get Proposition 8. Sadly, we cannot rely only on the church for our national direction. For much to our shame, we Christians have found “Biblical” grounds for slavery, anti-semitism, segregation, genocide, imperialism, and hate throughout the ages. Which is why our nation’s public space, and our public policy, must look beyond even just my own point of view. 

Computer generated 3D animation has become so commonplace that it’s easy to forget just how difficult it is to work in this medium. But beyond the challenges of producing content in this digital medium, you’ve got to have some nugget of a good story. In this case, it’s a robot battle royale. Hat’s off to its creator and thanks for sharing!

Want some perspective? Spend 5 minutes playing with Google SketchUP and realize just how much work goes into creating these amazing 3D films.

Beyond the sheer hilarity of it, I wanted to post this because some news outlets are refusing to replay it. As protest gestures go, I think it’s fantastic. The President was in no actual danger, which is for the best, and I’m hoping that this guy will get set loose sooner rather than later. The gesture of it, in my opinion, is just such a perfect encapsulation of what so many people around the world would love to do: huck something at George W. Bush. I can just imagine the catharsis. I really feel for that guy though, as he’s probably had a very rough couple of days since then. His fate aside, little would amuse me more than for this to become some kind of pattern — if everywhere Mr. Bush went from now on, someone flung a shoe at him.

Sol Sender, from VSA Partners, takes us on a tour of the thinking, the process, and the runners up in designing the logo for what is easily the biggest brand of 2008. Part two of the video is after the jump.

wingsuit base jumping from doubleA on Vimeo.

The Discovery Tech section of the Discovery Channel’s website named the MINI Cooper #8 on its list of ten favorite fuel-efficient cars sold in the US. 

The MINI is to this list’s collection of vehicles what the iPod is to MP3 players. It comes in a sharp palate of colors, including “British racing green,” “oxygen blue,” and, of course “mellow yellow.” A stylish product of the 1960s, the vehicle has evolved since its Austin Powers beginnings. At a combined 32 MPG for the 2008 six-speed manual transmission model, this little number might get some Yanks to say, “Yeah baby!” 

Real BRG and ignorant Austin Powers references aside, it’s a nice mention. In my R53 Cooper S, the in-town mileage has hovered in the low-to-mid 20s, but that’s more the fault of how I drive it than the car itself. With my wife’s Scion xB getting as much as 26 mpg in town, I imagine it’s unimpressive 28 mpg highway rating probably kept it off of this particular list. That and its looks. Also strangely missing is the Honda Fit, which gets fantastic mileage in a pretty stylish package.

You can check out the whole list at Discovery.com

Thanks Prindle!

The small car segment in America is in quite a state of flux right now. Used to be that compact cars were as unequipped as they were unsafe. The concept of a premium or even a luxury small car in America was completely foreign. More accurately, it was european. But in the last few years, the segment has really expanded. The BMW-bred MINI reboot in 1999 and the introduction of the Cooper to the US in 2001 marked a turning point in the segment. Here was the smallest production car available in the market, and not only was it efficient and safe, it was sporty and nice.

The MINI Cooper S and the Clubman followed, but more interestingly, the small car offerings in the US market at large got much better. The premium small car market since then has only really seen the introduction of the Volvo C30 and later the 1-series BMW. Premium small cars aside, the regular small cars available in the US simply got nicer by default. A great example of this is Scion’s redesigned 2008 xB. My wife just recently leased one to replace her petrol-chugging pickup truck, and we both really like it. 

I didn’t particularly want to like this car. I was more interested in the Toyota Matrix. I liked the look of it better. I liked how the seats folded down flat and the nifty orange color it came in. I also liked the Honda Fit for similar reasons. But once we both drove the xB, we were sold. It is quieter than the Matrix, it’s significantly bigger than the Fit. Though the Fit gets better fuel economy, availability can be an issue and the xB is significantly larger and more comfortable. It’s got more pep and I dare say more personality. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it character, like my MINI has, but personality for sure. I think the previous generation of the xB was a better looking, more interesting car, but this new incarnation is neither ugly nor boring.

The 2.4L VVT-i engine, at 156 bhp, produces hardly ten fewer horsepower than my MINI Cooper S and the same torques at 162 ft/lbs. This makes the xB pretty quick for what is by all accounts an economy car. At 3020 lbs, it’s not portly, but not trim either. The 5-speed shifts smoothly, although the engagement point on the clutch is pretty narrow and I’d like more weight in the feel of the gear selector. It’s surprisingly easy to drive the xB aggressively. The engine is quick-revving and has a nice growl to it that rewards a well-matched downshift with a pleasant snarl.

The xB rides comfortably, and feels very sure footed for a car that simultaneously feels so tall. It soaks up road bumps much more comfortably than my MINI, but still turns in well and stays composed without a lot of drama or exorbitant body roll. The ABS brakes are more than adequate, although hardly sports car caliber. Traction and stability control systems are standard on the xB, as are a plethora of airbags. Cruise control and iPod integration are also standard on the new xB.

The interior is clever, but without trying too hard. Visibility is great, with no real blind spots. You’d think those wide C-pillars would get in the way, but they really don’t. The seats are standard economy Toyota fare — not uncomfortable, but hardly premium or plush. Were the ride less comfortable, I think the seats would wear on my body on longer trips. The four center-mounted gauges offer ample information to driver and passenger alike, and the xB even includes an onboard computer showing average fuel economy, real-time fuel economy, average speed, outside temperature, current time, and time spent on your current drive — features I had to pay extra for in 2006 on my MINI. Your speed is displayed in huge LCD numbers like an alarm clock. Can’t say I’m crazy about this. A dial is quicker to interpret at a glance. The driver’s seat has a goofy little inside arm rest that’s pretty much useless and could do with much more lumbar support. Also, the accessory power plug-ins are down at the base of the dash, meaning that you’ll need pretty long chords if you want to mount a GPS or a radar detector even to the base of your windshield.

The Pioneer stereo is another nice touch in the interior. The sound is great, as are the steering-wheel controls. My one complaint is that you’ve got to spin the volume wheel about 4,000 revs to dent the volume up or down. This eliminates that annoying spot between too loud and not loud enough, but at the expense of being able to simply reach over and turn the damn radio up or down with one flick of your thumb and finger. The iPod integration is standard, but hardly stellar. The standard AUX port will likely see more iPhone/iPod use in the long term.

Overall, our first and continued impressions of the Scion xB have been very favorable. In-town mileage, at 24-26 mpg, has been a revelation over the mrs’ former Tacoma. Every time I hop in the xB, I like driving it. It’s comfortable and feels very solid and reliable. It could be nicer. Some alloy rims would be a nice touch, as would the rear spoiler. But overall, the xB is an economy car that is much nicer than I ever expected it to be. At the end of our three year lease, I imagine we’ll probably be pretty tempted to go ahead and purchase it.

Hits

• Fuel Economy (22/28)
• Room
• Personality
• Standard creature comforts like Pioneer sterio, iPod integration and cruise control
• Standard safety features like traction and stability control
• Surprisingly powerful and better-than-average handling
• On-board computer telemetry

Misses

• Seats could be more supportive
• Volume control on the stereo is maddening
• Speed shown in giant numbers instead of a dial
• You should really opt for the rims and the spoiler
• I contend that the previous generation xB was better looking