Manton Reece
User experience, Mac programming, feature animation, and other personal views.

Unite the Party

After Hillary won Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island last month, I decided it was time to think less about actively supporting my own candidate, who clearly wasn't going away, and more about the future of the Democratic Party and what... Read More
April 21, 2008 11:06 PM

Animation podcasts for a Super Tuesday

Need something to listen to on your iPod while waiting in line to vote today? Try out these fantastic recent episodes of two of my favorite podcasts for animators and animation fans. Spline Cast with Ed Catmull. I'll be honest,... Read More
February 5, 2008 08:51 AM

Why I support Hillary

Obama is passionate, thoughtful, centrist enough for broad appeal, and a brilliant speaker. If he's the nominee I'll support him fully with every bit of strength I have. There is something special about him, and it comes around rarely in... Read More
January 9, 2008 09:08 AM

Bush veto

Yes, it's a politically-themed post. Probably the only one before 2008, so don't run away just yet. The Bush veto of the bipartisan children's health care plan a few weeks ago really made me angry, but it wasn't until Justin... Read More
November 1, 2007 09:48 AM

The 50-state strategy

I started writing this post yesterday afternoon. Worried that I would jinx a victory, I wrote two versions: one for a narrow loss and one for what really happened. Two years ago, after Kerry lost, I wrote: "We almost won,... Read More
November 8, 2006 03:41 PM

Midterm elections matter

I voted today. Here's the scene for my precinct today. Not too crowded, but a steady flow of people. Yesterday Traci and I called voters as part of MoveOn.org's Call for Change. I'm always nervous about calling complete strangers. I... Read More
November 7, 2006 03:06 PM

Five years later

I couldn't let the 5th anniversary of September 11th pass without saying something. On Friday the Senate intelligence committee released a report showing that there was no link between Saddam Hussein and 9/11. That isn't news. What is news is... Read More
September 11, 2006 10:49 PM

Back to politics

Thursday is the presidential inauguration, as well as Not One Damn Dime Day. Every year or so you hear about one of these attempts to effect the economy, and of course they usually have no noticeable effect. But you never... Read More
January 18, 2005 12:00 PM

After almost winning

See that little blue county in the expanse of red in the image on the right? That’s where I live. Back in January, I said: “It’s about bringing more people into the process. But to do that right, we... Read More
November 5, 2004 02:49 PM

What just happened?

Based on the exit poll numbers and the supposedly record turnout, I fully expected that we'd know within a couple hours after polls closed that Kerry was the decisive winner. I was bewildered when Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin still... Read More
November 3, 2004 05:51 AM

Election day

The daylight savings time switch has helped me get up earlier, so I easily made it to my voting location by 7am this morning. There was already a line of people (perhaps 50) stretching outside. It was cold, from... Read More
November 2, 2004 09:10 AM

Polls, Dean, and how Kerry will win

In the 2000 presidential election, Gore was behind in all the national polls before election day. I remember that night, listening to the radio in a fast food drive-in lane when NPR called Pennsylvania for Gore. I cheered to no... Read More
October 27, 2004 05:09 AM

Superman

The death of Christopher Reeve will hit a lot of people pretty hard. He worked with so much determination to regain movement and he stayed optimistic. It’s an inspirational story, and it’s a shock that the story is now over.... Read More
October 11, 2004 12:58 PM

SXSW Day 2: Ideas, Joe Trippi

One of the things I like about SXSW is that it's a time to just think about new ideas without necessarily trying to relate them directly to a particular work project. When I take notes, I write down interesting quotes... Read More
March 14, 2004 11:56 PM

Two years blogging

Today marks the two year anniversary of this weblog. It’s been a good experience, and even if the content is not always fresh it’s still a worthwhile endeavor and will continue. Expect the posts to ramp up to at least... Read More
March 9, 2004 06:11 AM

Fight for it

I've written a few posts about technology, and about the upcoming Oscars, but I can't bring myself to post them. They seem so insignificant compared to the political process in front of us. The Democratic Party has lost its way.... Read More
January 29, 2004 10:47 AM

Dean's comeback

I have no idea what will happen in New Hampshire tomorrow. The media slammed Dean all last week, but it's clear if you pay attention to the polls and the turnout for Dean's events that the winds are shifting again.... Read More
January 26, 2004 12:13 PM

Iowa Caucus

I was watching C-Span.org's live broadcast from the Iowa caucus in Dubuque County. Watching online because my cable went out today ("a fiber line was cut"). It's laughing at me because we're keeping cable primarily to watch the campaign! This... Read More
January 19, 2004 08:33 PM

New York City and Al

After visiting family in Louisiana last week (wait, 2 weeks ago), we took a trip to New York City for a few days vacation. It was great New York City weather: cold, and a little rain one night. We did... Read More
November 14, 2003 09:39 AM

Election Day

Today is the big day, and you should vote. Even though you can't stand all the negative ads. Even though it's hard to tell who's the Democrat and who's the Republican because they all move to the center for their... Read More
November 5, 2002 02:03 PM

Nobel Prize to Carter

The first thing I saw when I woke up this morning, from the BBC News: Former US President Jimmy Carter wins the Nobel Peace Prize for "decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy... Read More
October 11, 2002 08:19 AM

Mr. Swartz Goes to Washington

Aaron Swartz has an excellent write-up of his trip to Washington for the Eldred case. Also covered is Brewster Kahle and the Bookmobile: "Brewster talks about how he sat down with book industry executives. He points out that they have... Read More
October 10, 2002 04:23 PM

More Lessig v. Ashcroft

Every week or so the tech weblog world (or at least the portion that I view) aligns on one issue. This week it's the Lessig arguments in the Eldred case before the Supreme court. Matthew Haughey, "Copyright and the Commons":... Read More
October 10, 2002 08:06 AM

Electronic Voting

Slashdot reports on Brazil's electronic ballots. Early voting here in Austin this month will use the eSlate system, which has already been tested in some surrounding counties. It will be used by everyone in Travis County for the general election... Read More
October 6, 2002 10:19 AM