I spent the past four days at my mother’s house, with nothing to do but read. So I read “World war Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War” by Max Brooks. Wow. It’s been quite a long time since I read a book that had this kind of an impact on me.

Not a novel in the traditional sense, Brooks writes “World War Z” as if he was Stephen Ambrose documenting World War II. The story unfolds through interviews with survivors of the zombie war, which in this alternate history, was a George Romero-esque plague that wiped out most of humanity. Each chapter is almost like a monologue or short story, giving readers one more glimpse of the bigger picture. Interviewees include mercenaries, soldiers, naval officers, doctors, Japense otaku, a blind gardener and even former Democratic presidential candidate and current DNC chair Howard Dean, each one adding to the global perspective of the story. Unlike typical zombie films, most notably George Romero’s “Living Dead” series, or “28 Days Later,” we are aware of the big picture, rather than the desperate last days of a handful of human survivors.

The resulting work is nothing short of brilliant. Unlike other zombie stories, which typically describe how even under the most horrific of circustances, human beings are willing to turn on each other, “World War Z” shows human beings at their best. In effect, Brooks takes the zombie genre and subverts it. Within this book are acts of horror, yes, but also acts of great heroism and bravery.

I wish I could put into words just how surprised I was by this book. By its characters, by its politics, by its big ideas and action set pieces a thousand times more interesting than anything Hollywood could produce. Twelve hours after finishing it, I can’t help but be haunted by what I read. The images linger, which is something I can’t say for the last few books I’ve read.

Highly recommended.

I first saw the Evens two years ago at Fort Reno, guitarist/singer Ian MacKaye surrounded by a phalanx of toddler admirers who first learned of the band via their performance of “Vowel Movement” on D.C. indie kids’ show Pancake Mountain. He looked like Ghandi. Ironic, it seemed, that a guy who became a voice for an entire generation of punks and indie rockers was now so beloved by children. My girls are still a bit too young for Pancake Mountain, but I suspect “Vowel Movement” and the Evens will be a big hit with them. When Ian took the stage with drummer Amy Farina (The Warmers), it was clear that the pair were having a lot more fun as The Evens than in their past bands. It was nice to see Ian seem to enjoy himself.

The Evens self-title debut disappointed after the excitement and energy of the Fort Reno show. I found the songs — spare guitar/drum compositions with a pop bent, sort of Fugazi meets the Spinnanes — to be okay, but not great. It received a few listens, and then I forgot about it.

Not so with the follow-up. The songs are more energetic, solid and demand multiple listens. Perhaps this stems from their similarity to Ian’s work with Fugazi. I keep finding myself listening to the first song, “Cut from the Cloth,” over and over again. This is always a good sign for a record’s longevity.

Fugazi may be in limbo forever, but Ian is putting out some of his best work in years with the Evens. His extraordinary chemistry with Amy Farina and the overwhelming enthusiasm they have for their music only helps to make this his best record since Fugazi’s “Red Medicine.”

Highly Recommended.

Wow, how long did it take for the Democratic leadership to start fighting? Nancy Pelosi and Jack Murtha’s battle with Steny Hoyer over the majority leader position is beginning to get ugly. Lots of allegations regarding Murtha’s integrity are surfacing, fouling the waters and basically taking the edge off of the Dem’s long-fought victory.

Even under new management, I guess it’s business as usual in the congress. But now the sides have flipped. I’m beginning to despair that we will never actually enjoy real change in our government. Though the actors are different, the story is always the same.

This is very disheartening.

I remember waking up one day back in 1994 to discover that a group of rightwing revolutionaries had taken control of the government under the auspices of a document called “The Contract with America.” It was the first time I actually paid attention to politics in a serious way, and their rhetoric — full of contempt and hate for the Democrats — and promises to at last achieve the Republican dream of undoing the New Deal frightened me. If you look back at history, the American middle class only exists today because of the New Deal and the famous GI Bill policies of the post-World War II period. And I think we’ve seen after 12 years of Republican rule that the American middle class has been on the decline because of the revolutionaries’ policies. For many people, including many people in my family, the country has been sliding into the third world these past few years. Now we have a chance to reverse that slide and become the great country we were prior to the day that Newt Gingrich and his corrupt cronies took office.

Right now, Jim Webb’s victory speech is on television, and I still can’t believe it. We have Virginia, Montana and Missouri — all red states. The tide really has turned, America has had enough of the Republicans and their failed war of choice, their ridiculous economic policies, and their false piety. I feel like I’ve been asleep, stuck in a nightmare since 1994. Finally, at long last, that nightmare is over.

In the words of Johnny Drama as Torvald the Viking on HBO’s Entourage:

VICTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

On the eve of the election, I am reminded of Lyn Minmei’s song “We Will Win” from the classic anime series Superdimensional Fortress Macross, released in the United States as part of Robotech. For some reason, Minmei’s battle anthem seems appropriate when describing the Democratic struggle to take back control of congress from the Republicans.

See, in Macross, the humans are besieged by giant aliens who turn out to be terrified of sex. The Republicans are much the same — political giants undone by sexual scandals (re: Mark Foley, Ted Haggard, et al).

Now it’s time for the Democrats to pull out the giant robots and fight back the Republicans. And yes, we will win. In the parlance of Halo, someone is about to get p0wned.

Political strategist Lee Atwater once famously told Richard Nixon that the path to victory was dividing the country in half — and that Republicans would have the biggest half. Whereas Reagan and Bush I went through the motions of building consensus, George W. Bush has spent his entire time in office following the Atwater model. And now we’re split, and I wonder if there’s any way to reconcile the two halves.

Listening to Bush campaign this week for embattled Republican incumbants, I can’t help but think that this is a man who knows that he’s only President to the Republican voters — that he doesn’t even pretend to be President to the whole country. He and his supporters don’t believe that Democrats and non-conservative independents are their countrymen — they see us as an enemy as irredemable as al Qaeda. It’s like we’ve been split into two nations — one of right wing extremes, and a disenfranchised one that contains everyone else. Even Tina, who is notoriously indifferent to political theatre, is fed up.

The thing is, I am a moderate. I’m not part of the far left, in fact I disagree with the far left on any number of issues. But I have been radicalized in my opposition to the Republican party. And this is by and large the result of having been demonized — of all Democrats having been painted as traitors — by the President and his supporters.

The latest attacks on John Kerry over his comments are playing out in a predictable fashion. But it’s nice to see Kerry fighting back. Too bad he didn’t do it during the election, but better late than never. I’m just relieved to finally see a Democrat stand up and tell the truth about the right-wing hypocrites:

“I’m not going to be lectured by a stuffed suit White House mouthpiece standing behind a podium, or doughy Rush Limbaugh, who no doubt today will take a break from belittling Michael J. Fox’s Parkinson’s disease to start lying about me just as they have lied about Iraq . It disgusts me that these Republican hacks, who have never worn the uniform of our country lie and distort so blatantly and carelessly about those who have.”

Now if only other Democrats would stand up and speak so truthfully, maybe we can push the Republican majority from power for another generation.

Only a week until the election. I’m not sure even the Republican furor over Kerry’s comments can turn the Democratic tide. We will take back the house, and we will finally have accountability. The days of the rubber stamp, free-spending, corrupt congress are almost over. Thank god.