I'm kinda mixed on the news of Alaska governor Sarah Palin, becoming John McCain's VP choice. On one hand, I see their logic: she has a history working in the timely oil-and-gas politics of her state (she was Ethics Commissioner of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission), she's young and attractive but also lives an outdoor lifestyle, and the prospect of having the first female Vice President in office will possibly make some moderate Republicans feel as though they can still be "progressive" without voting for Obama. However, she also has very little actual experience in politics. What, besides the "Bridge to Nowhere," has really challenged her career? Speaking of career, yes, she is a former beauty contestant and even finished second in the Miss Alaska beauty pageant of 1984.

I don't know what to make it of it. Will this unite the GOP, or leave them scratching their heads? Can the Republican voters take comfort in Palin's ability to lead if McCain's old age gets in the way? This obviously makes the whole election even more fascinating. And, consider the upcoming VP debate a must-see now.

"Okay, I make indie narrative features, so why should I care?" might be the reaction for some. But, you should. The domino effect these speedy engagements create, forces a gridlock at the local theaters. This makes it that much harder to book a smaller film, squeezing out titles that could potentially bank on summer counter-programming. Toronto International Film Festival documentary programmer Thom Powers has posted a reaction to this year's rules on the TIFF Doc Blog. Thom's got a good professional reason to be annoyed: the current Oscar deadline means that most nonfiction features premiering at TIFF (September 4-13) without distribution, will be required to wait until August 2009 to look for Oscar attention. Toronto programs many terrific new documentaries, and they should not be penalized for editing through the summer. I suggest you give his post a read, and think about whether or not the Oscar rules make sense, considering fiction films get four extra months (until December 31) to compete in a greater number of potential categories.

At about 3:30 this afternoon, inside the Denver Post's Pepsi Center HQ at the Democratic National Convention, with cameras in hand filmmakers AJ Schnack and Julia Reichert & Steven Bognar ("A Lion In the House") huddled around the paper's political team. The unit was buzzing because Barack Obama had just arrived in the city, while across town Rage Against The Machine was performing live and inside the hall the presidential candidate's name was placed into nomination with the roll call about to begin. Later, inside the convention hall, Schnack and filmmaker Paul Taylor ("We Are Together") worked the floor and followed other Post reporters.

Filmmakers Schnack, Bognar, Reichert, Taylor, Laura Poitras ("My Country, My Country"), and Daniel Junge ("They Killed Sister Dorothy") are among those trailing Post editor Curtis Hubbard and reporter Allison Sherry, Denver host committee president Elbra Wedgeworth, and Mayor Hickenlooper's staff to capture the stories behind the scenes at this year's event. The film is simply titled, "Convention."

2. One Day As a Lion, One Day As a Lion EP
(Rage Against the Machine's Zack de la Rocha and Mars Volta's Jon Theodore hint at a side project that could be explosive, on this collection of five new songs. De la Rocha brings the rhymes, Theodore brings the beats, and together they unleash a melodic and abrasive new sound.)

3. The Walkmen, You and Me
(New York hipsters scale back their noise for an organic and smart new album. It breathes like it has holes in it, but the holes come from comfort and experience.)

4. Ladytron, Velocifero
(Straight out of Liverpool, these electro-rockers keep it goth, dark, and pretty. "Ghosts" could be the rock single of the summer.)

5. Richard Swift, Ground Trouble Jaw EP
(Enigmatic singer/songwriter delivers a new EP for free. It's outfitted with retro soul and '60s pop. Mysterious, surprising, and very good.)

The project marks a departure from the bleak territory that Lee has traditionally stalked. “We’ve had some very intense movies,” said Schamus, who adapted the screenplay for Taking Woodstock from a book by Elliot Tiber and Tom Monte. “This is about play and fun and has hopeful spirit.” And with two noted comedians in the leads, it promises to be funny.

You can partially thank the producer’s young daughter for casting of Martin, the shaggy mop-topped comic whose few screen credits include guesting on Flight of the Conchords and The Daily Show. Schamus and his daughter had been casually scouting YouTube for talent and came across a clip of Martin’s mellowed-out act. “It was a chance for me to be a really hip dad, so I mentioned him,” Schamus said. “He’s great and really funny. What’s interesting is that he’s like a tsunami underneath calm water.”

So, here's how the deception went down: you line up by 5:30 p.m. and no later. You are security-checked to the nth degree. Some speculated this hardcore security lineup was due to Letterman's recent stalker arrest. Regardless, it rivals getting into The White House. You get your ticket, and then are told to come back in 45 minutes and line up for the taping. Once you do that, on the corner of 53rd and Broadway, a bunch of nice (yet overeager) staff members try to get you pumped up, but also give you information about the taping (e.g. don't shout, if you're not excited then Dave is not excited, etc.). You file in, and grab your seats inside the Ed Sullivan Theater, which looks pretty small once you see it in person.

You sit tight for a few minutes and then a warm-up comic comes up to get you in the comedy mood. He shows you a classic Letterman clip (in our case, it was the famous "Taco Bell drive-in segment") and then tells some so-so jokes. After that, he introduces the band, concluding with bandleader Paul Schaefer. The band plays some cover songs, and then out comes Letterman, to say "hello" to the crowd. The show begins promptly at 7 p.m. The monologue is primarily John McCain jokes, because the Republican National Convention is right around the corner (except, it's not!!). It's pretty funny, and Letterman appears to be in a good mood.

During the first, and each consecutive, commercial break the band plays a full song. During this time, show staffers descend upon Letterman's desk, and they go over what one can assume are the various details of the episode (which jokes are working, what a guest has to say, etc.). When we return, there's a funny bit involving a guy from Wisconsin dropping giant water balloons on a used car. Then, it was on to that night's guests. The guests were: actress/comedian Amy Sedaris, actress/reality-show star Kim Kardashian, and comic Brian Regan. Letterman is highly entertaining throughout, even when you can sense that he either: feels Sedaris is wearing thin, or really wants to flirt with Kardashian.

I grew up watching Letterman, and idolizing his showbiz spirit, so this was a great experience. He did not disappoint, and kept the audience engaged and the show on track. As soon as it was time to end the taping, we were asked to exit the theater. And, just like that, 60 minutes flew by and we had witnessed one of the last great TV hosts working today.

Matters become complicated with the introduction of the new Boeing jet plane, which means all of the girlfriends can now visit their man in half the time, making his juggling act a bigger challenge. The play is full of machine-gun dialogue, non-stop entrances/exits, and lots of shouting. All of which can sometimes mean disaster, but it's also very funny, and Mark Rylance is especially fantastic in his Tony-winning performance. And, of course Baranski is great as usual. Surprisingly strong, however, is McCormack who portrays a German stewardess with amazing gusto. I'd say catch Boeing Boeing before this original cast flies away.