First Dude: Courting the snowmobile vote

Alaska's First Dude is no first dud when it comes to politics. Todd Palin, husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, is out there hitting the campaign trail where it counts -- with the critical snowmobiler bloc.

Of course those of you hip to the snowmobile scene already know what I'm talking about. Yes, Todd Palin manned the booth for Arctic Cat snowmobiles at the Hay Days Grass Drags snowmobile event in Forest Lake, Minn.!

This is not only good exposure for Todds, and of course, Arctic Cat snowmobiles, but it is shoring up an often looked group of voters. And just in case you thought he was just going about business as usual for the four-time winner of the grueling Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race, check this out from the Wall Street Journal's MarketWatch.

"Todd has wanted to come to Hay Days for 15 years, and we were proud to have him at our booth," said Christopher Twomey, Arctic Cat's chairman and chief executive officer.

Today's Todd headlines

A review of the new Todd Rundgren album. It's written by a Stuart, so take it with a grain of salt. Even if it is over-the-top admiration, to the point of slobbering. [Blogcritics.org]

Ohio State quarterback Todd Boeckman might lose his starting job to some guy named Tyrelle. Not. [L.A. Times]

Todd Bentley claimed to raise the dead. He assaulted people with faith healings. This was okay with the global televangelists' flock. Then he cheated on his wife and it all came crashing down. [The Gazette, canada.com]

First Dude: Todd important to campaign

Okay, we've all heard the buzz about Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and how much she has energized the Republican presidential ticket now that she's the vice-presidential pick. Savvy pick? Maybe.

But the real genius of the pick may turn out to be Todd. Obvious to readers of the Famous Todds blog. But I'm glad the mainstream media finally picked up on the real importance of John McCain's choice for VP.

Bruce Reed of Slate.com suggests you do this: Forget Sarah Palin.

Reed writes: "Over the last two decades, the swing voters most prone to moving away from Republicans in elections Democrats won and toward Republicans in elections Republicans won have been white men with a degree from high school but not college. In other words, forget Sarah Palin: In recent elections, the biggest swingers looked more like her husband, Todd."

A dozen NFL Todds start the season

This promises to be one of the best NFL seasons ever, as a dozen Todds made pro football rosters for the first games of the season this weekend.

And one, Todd Collins, pictured to the left, is a veteran quarterback making an unlikely return to the game for the Washington Redskins. One of the offensive linemen protecting him during preseason games? Todd Wade. And a tight end he could throw it to? Todd Yoder.

The call goes something like this: Todd, protected by Todd, throws to Todd! And.... Todddown. I mean, touchdown.

Those aren't the only Todd teammates. Baltimore Ravens quarterback Todd Bouman could throw to tight end Todd Heap; Atlanta Falcons center Todd McClure could run block next to offensive tackle Todd Weiner; and St. Louis Rams safety Todd Johnson could give a high five to offensive tackle Todd Steussie, given that one of them makes a good play.

The other Todds in the 2008 NFL season: Todd Herremans, G, Philadelphia Eagles; Todd Lowber, WR, Dallas Cowboys; and Todd Watkins, WR, Oakland Raiders.

Sick of pop rock? Try Sickafoose.

Todd Sickafoose has played his bass and other instruments with some of the top musicians in the country, and now he has a new solo album.

The San Diego Union-Tribune describes "Tiny Resistors" as genre-leaping vision; Sickafoose himself describes it as "Experimental/Jazz/Rock."

Sickafoose has played bass for Ani DiFranco, who makes a guest appearance on the album along with indie-rock celbrity Andrew Bird, also known for jazz influenced arrangements that don't quite fit on mainstream radio.

Today's Todd headlines

Ah, the old Todd rhymes with odd trick, this time in a headline! Thanks, Quincy, Mass. [Patriot Ledger]

Running a huge county isn't easy without the help of your politically connected friends, as one Todd discovers. [Chicago Tribune]

Hey hey hey / nobody can believe / The Famous Todds blog / has a bobsled team. [ESPN]

Todd on TV: A mentor on Top Design

Well-known fashion designer Todd Oldham returns to Bravo tonight for the second season of Top Design, a reality show centered on real-life fashion designers.

Oldham, 46, hosted the program last year, and this year he returns as a mentor to the 13 contestants who will face a series of design challenges. He started as a New York fashion designer and was the host of "Todd Time" on MTV's House of Style.

"The mentoring is my favorite part," Oldham told reporters, according to mediabistro.com. "This was the no homework job. I wasn't learning lines this season, just responding to contestants."

The show airs at 10 p.m. In October 2007, Oldham became the Design Creative Director for Old Navy. Now he is working with Durkan Hospitality to produce a series floor coverings. These will be named T.O.D.D (Todd Oldham Designs Durkan).

New BHTM Album

The most famous rock band with the name Todd in their title is offering fans a free download of their new album at their Web site. Many of you may believe Big Head Todd and the Monsters are crazy to give away such a Todd-based product.

But the Colorad0-based band, named after guitarist and vocalist Todd Park Mohr, says the music business is changing. As a touring-based band, they want to have as many people as possible hear the new album, "All the Love You Need." More listens, more people at the show, more incentive to keep making music. And the ability to pay for food.

So if you download, try to catch them live. They might even have T-shirts for you to share your Todd pride with the world.

Big Head Todd and the Monsters first became famous with the 1993 release Sister Sweetly, which went platinum and had three songs on the Billboard rock charts: Broken Hearted Savior (#9), Bittersweet (#14) and Circle (#21).

First Dude: A good judge of ... evening gowns?

Among the wave of information about Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, is this gem about the snowmobiler's ability to look at women in bathing suits and pick a scholarship winner.

He was a judge in the 2008 Miss Alaska Pageant. In 1984, his wife was chosen as Miss Wasilla and went on to become the 1st runner-up in the Miss Alaska Pageant and received the Miss Congeniality award that year, that state's scholarship program said.

Todd Palin helped crown Stephany Jeffers, from Chugiak, as Miss Alaska 2008 on July 19.

First Dude: Todd as an Independent?

The media spotlight continues on Todd Palin, the husband of Republican vice-presidential candidate and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, this time because he twice registered with the state's Independent political party.

From the Associated Press:

Gail Fenumiai, director of the Alaska Division of Elections, said Todd Palin twice registered under the Alaskan Independence Party — in 1995 and 2000. Some members of the party have advocated secession from the United States, though that is not a goal listed in the party's platform.

Todd Palin, who prefers the moniker "First Dude" of Alaska, is believed to be the first Todd on a presidential ticket. He is a champion snowmobiler and a four-time winner of the Iron Dog competition, a 2,000-mile race across Alaska.

Todd Olympic glory

Todd is now a golden name in Beijing.

Current world champion Todd J. Rogers of California won the gold medal in men's Olympic beach volleyball, along with partner Phil Dalhausser. The duo defeated Brazil in the final match. Congratulations, Todd!

Around 100 people waited at the Santa Barbara airport to greet Rogers, 34, one of the most dominating sand volleyball players ever who was named Rookie of the Year in 1997 and "God of the Beach" in 2006.

Rogers has a blog, where commenters on his victory suggest following up with a gig on "Dancing With The Stars." I second this idea, what the hell.

Rogers was born in 1973, when Todd was the 35th most popular boy's name for babies.

This is where it all begins

No more toiling in obscurity. No more being overlooked. Todds have made their mark in business, science, professional sports and politics, and then received a collective shrug.

As we all know, Everybody Loves Raymond. Frasier. And then there's Maude.

But there is no show about Todd.

So now there is a blog about Todds, what they have done to make the world a better place and how we, as a society, can help them achieve greatness. Or even greater greatness, whatever the case may be.

This is not a blog about last names like Chuck Todd, NBC political analyst, or Mary Todd Lincoln, the wife of 16th U.S. president Abraham Lincoln. This is about Todd Lincoln, a native Oklahoman who went to Los Angeles and became an award-winning film director.

What, you've never heard of him? Neither had I, until I searched Google for Mary Todd Lincoln and saw his name underneath hers. Yet Todd Lincoln has been profiled in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Wired and other news outlets. His music videos have played on MTV and Fuse.

He is co-founder and director of Tulsa Underground, an annual film festival showcasing the world's most innovative short films and videos. He is directing a feature film adaptation of the cult comic book series Hack/Slash to hit theaters in 2009.

There are people who want you to think Todds like Todd Lincoln don't exist. I'm here to prove they do, one blog post at a time.