When I first saw Sarah Palin giving her speech at the Republican National Convention, I had my Sarah moment. But I'll admit that my first impressions of her were driven more by the little head than the big head. I got over it pretty quick, though. It's not difficult. Lots of jounalists, apparently, aren't able to get over it as easily, though. Dianne Williamson's head is still spinning. AndJeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

The video clip above is only a minute long, and it tells us something very important about Sarah Palin: that she was able to learn how to correctly pronounce the word "nuclear" in a matter of days. This is something that George W. Bush has been incapable of learning throughout his Presidency. And you really have to wonder why it's been impossible for Dubya to learn anything new, even Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

I just checked over at the UkeStock website, and it has a recently added message: The Show is Still on ! Rain or Shine ! UkeStock does not need a faux canal or sunny skies in order to take place. Even the remnants of a hurricane on our doorstep cannot kill the greatest gathering of ukelele playing in one night, under one roof, that ever takes place in the known universe. Here's a link to a Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

Tonight in the Ship Room at the Vernon Hotel, the area's only (to my knowledge) over 50 garage band will start playing around 8:30 pm. I'll be there with my trusty little camcorder, recording the antics of the band and anything else that might be fun to watch later. If you want to be in a Wormtowntaxi video clip, tonight's your chance. Just walk up and ask! We had a lot of fun the last time Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

Over two weeks before Sarah Palin was announced as John McCain's running mate, Alaska was already wrapped up in the story of their governor lying about her long pitch for vengeance against the man who divorced her sister. When Palin's ex-brother-in-law's boss, Walter Monegan, refused to fire trooper Wooten, she fired Monegan. Then, to make matters worse, she claimed over and over again that Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

When you can see the air, it's either very hot and humid, or else you're in Los Angeles. This is not Los Angeles. When I noticed that a long shot of the center of the city would probably show how humid it is today, I went straight over to the end of Wall Street, where the El Morroco used to sport one of the best views around. (That parking lot is blocked off now, and the view is completely Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. Punta Gorda... isn't that the place where Mohamed Atta went to flight school? Isn't Punta Gorda the place where all the smugglers switched to after Crockett and Tubbs came to Miami? Come to think of it, Punta Gorda is the closest airport to Fort Myers Beach, where my sister lives! .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. The first notice appeared this morning, in a tangential way, but now there's a second source for the postponement of the festival until Novemer first. And, of course, the best source for reliable Canal Zone announcements is here. .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. Today's podcast includes Mark Lund, Host Mike Benedetti, Kevin Ksen, Brendan Melican, Cha-Cha Connor, and me... in a roughly approximated order of verbiage. .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

I don't make these decisions... the boss does. The parade of gallon jugs over the past few years had transformed into a parade of those 2-1/2 gallon spigot jugs more recently. But Kathy decided to get this instead. "One thing you'll never have to worry about in New England is having enough water," ...something my grandfather once commented upon. How did this happen?Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

When I see this kind of thing, and I already know that the spin has been more than adequately refuted and dealt with months before, I tend to wonder why anyone would still bother watching Chris Matthews, or consider him to be anything more than a drooling idiot.Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

An article in today's T&G starts off by saying that tomorrow's Canal Fest has been rescheduled, due to the impending bad weather expected to arrive from a tropical storm. The Canal Fest web page hasn't been updated with this info yet, though... at least as of 7:25 this morning.Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. Here's the local pro-Sarah post and the local anti-Sarah post from Worcester bloggers who live within a mile of each other. .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. One on One with Allen Fletcher. .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

Each day, some of the content that will be going into the next day's issue of the T&G will show up as breaking news items. I really like this feature, because it means whoever decided to do it has some net savvy. This one looks like it probably makes sense for however they might be planning to lay it out in tomorrow's paper, most likely (I would assume) with pictures. Online, however, it's Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

This construction site is next to Sclamo's on Southbridge Street where, if I'm not mistaken, a Price Rite grocery store will be coming along to fill in yet another non-west side niche in the city's long term scheme for grocery marketing strategy. Hopefully, the city isn't going to put in a new set of traffic lights here, the way they did on Grafton Street for the Shaw's (that came and went likeJeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

Here's the anchor position for the Canal Zone. Harding Street starts at Franklin, right behind where I snapped this picture from. The Blackstone River flows underneath it, and out towards Kelley Square. There's been a huge amount of investment in this area, and the opening of the parking garage has been a milestone in that long round of investing, planning, strategy, and push to make it Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

I have to admit that Sarah Palin's speech last night was absolutely great! What a powerful image she projects, what a strong and upright persona she projects, and what a dramatic entrance into national politics she has made! It's something that I've been willing to do during this campaign season, to watch both sides make their convention speeches, because this is the venue that gives them theirJeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

. Taste buds will never be the same on Shrewsbury Street. .Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net

I can't tell if they're vacuuming stuff out, or pumping stuff in. It's been going on for so long, now, it's almost as if this is the way the David Burwick building always looked. I seem to recall that there was a point where McDonald's might have wanted to put a golden arches right there on the corner, but there were objections over increased traffic or maybe somebody hysterically decided it Jeff Barnardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13048085339848723604wormtowntaxi@charter.net