John in Thailand

http://joguva.blogspot.com/index.html


It's pretty dang good.

I have a new Blog

Check it out at

http://newmania.allmypeople.com

This blog is screwy

I can't login to this blog anymore

Head over to my NEW BLOG

http://newmania.allmypeople.com

It's My Birthday!

I so happy to make it here.

I've always loved my Birthday - not for the attention and presents (Those things just embarassed me) - But for the cool stuff that happened. It was the date in 1856 that the first English Colony in North America gave up and went home - thus creating "The Lost Colony" and possibly the strange blue eyes and light color hair in the Lumbee Indian tribe in my Mother's hometown of Lumberton, NC.

It was also the date that American Slaves were freed and it's celebrated each year with a big festival called "Juneteenth".

The past two years I've gone down to the beach for my birthday - Last year, I went with the incredible, beautiful Sasa Bear. She and I spent the weekend touring the north east coast of Taiwan and had a long hike along a historic trail through the forest, along a stream and up a mountain - did I say it was long :)

Sasa also sent the best Birthday card I've ever recieved in all my 34 years - Thanks Sarah!

My Mom called to wake me up with birthday greetings, yesterday. I guess she is using last year's calendar. Sally chimed in with a nice Birthday email.

Tonight - it's a BBQ and a Game 7 Stanley Cup final. Should be a good and memorable day.

much love,
nsl

World Naked Bike Ride day - June 10th, 2006

MADRID (Reuters) - Hundreds of nude cyclists pedaled around Spanish cities on Saturday to protest against car-clogged streets and demand greater respect for pollution-free transport.


With slogans like "one car less" and "bio methanol" painted on their backs, the naked cyclists staged Spain's third annual Ciclonudista or "Nudecycle" in Madrid, Barcelona and Pamplona.

The protest was part of world-wide naked bike riding events on Saturday across Europe, North America and South America.

for more... no pictures

but wait... Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tags/worldnakedbikeride/

Waiting for Ray ...

Chilling out inside on a stormy day here in North Carolina.

radio david bryne is helping tremendously.

Avant Pop

Glitchy squiggly pop is more like it. Spanning 30+ years here are 3 hours of music that sounds like it all branched from the same tree trunk. A tree with roots that strangely matches that imagined by the creators of 60s Sci Fi movies and TV shows, but fully realized only now, in the 21st century, their future. This music's forerunner was heard in the movie scene where the weirdly beautiful woman sings and plays an instrument that looks like a 3D spider web. Or something similar. Odd how the future turned out to be almost exactly as it was imagined. As if those TV shows and movies were prescriptive not just imaginative. As if the fictional possibilities as writers imagined them and presented to us defined the scope of our imaginations — we will build the future but only as we can imagine it. You can't make it happen unless you visualize it first. How could we do otherwise?

So movie scenes and the soundtracks are like words — we think in concepts as defined and restricted by our language, and we imagine, create and hear only that which is within our grammar of sounds.

There are alternate futures, alternate music, but we will never experience them as our present as they were never imagined, or were imagined and then forgotten. There is music out there that we cannot hear, because it does not fit our definition of what music is. Someday that music will be imagined, and then inevitably, created.

The grooves here tend to be skittery, the percussion like the sounds of distant cutlery rattling, but the structures are often surprisingly (and comfortably) traditional — clear-cut verses and choruses. Voices lean towards the intimate, breathy, slightly mournful. Whispering strange and very personal messages in our ears. These are folk songs. Folk songs from a culture made of ones and zeros.

— DB

Check out the avant pop this month on Radio David Byrne.com perfect for a rainy beach day.

Gabba Gabba Hey,,, yo?

trailerHD_320.mov (video/quicktime Object)

The cookies were good. And they helped.

So, I'm sad and depressed.

But then I click on this link and I was changed. I inspired me to write this. Get ready to be totally freaked out, in a good way.

Yogabbagabba!

PS: oh, that popping sound you will hear is 21st century children's programing in high Def.

Shine on you crazy ... Frogger

Neave Games :: Frogger

You will be amazed. It's not that I am a gamer, but I believe in the power of games. This game, Frogger, brings back memories for sure. As I recall, it was hot-ly contested in the Lanier / Stephenson family and Garden Hills Neighborhood dens of the early 80's. It's a strangely addictive game. This new flash version by Neave games is really good - the graphics and the sounds match my memory.

Okay I'm back to playing...

So, if you have never played frogger, you owe it to yourself to try.

Pink Floyd - "Shine on you crazy diamond"
"Remember when you were young,
"Now there's a look in your eyes,
"you reached for the secret too soon,

Everything is going to be fine...

Cookies are in the oven and the CAVS are on the TV.

6 mins on the cookies...

Eddie meet advertising. advertising, Eddie Spaghetti.

3quarksdaily: "On Saturday, the town of Skarsterlan began fining Hotels.nl 1,000 euros a day for putting branded blankets on sheep. Advertising on livestock violates the town's ban on advertising along the highways."

My Friend, Eddie, is selling advertising in Orlando, FL. When I saw this article on selling ads on sheep that graze near the highway in Holland, well I thought about all the creative, innovative thinking that goes into advertising. I think marketing and Eddie are a good match, because he is a innovative and creative thinker.

Eddie meet advertising. Advertising, Eddie Spaghetti.

Flickr: Photos from newmania

Flickr: Photos from newmania

Just posted my Havasu Falls and Grand canyon trip photos over on Flickr. Some are really good.

Angie and I spent a full week in the area. After flying into Vegas and getting a rental car, we drove out to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon and stayed in the Mather Campground. It was super freakin cold - good thing there is a Supermarket there with camping supplies. I bought a fleece liner for my sleeping bag and I was COZY the second night.

It was Angie's first time seeing the Canyon and she summed it up in one word "unbelieveable". You just have to see it. The weather was cold - maybe 40s and occasional snow showers. We were happy to drive into the lowlands for some heat.

The parking lot for the Havasu Falls / Havasupai village is 60 miles down a BIA (bureau of indian affairs) road. We parked there and hiked the 10 miles to the campground and the Falls.

The waterfalls were breathtaking and such a treat after the long, dusty hike. It's a shock to be dry and hot, and then turn a corner and feel the moisture from the falls. A very viseral experience. Your BODY rejoices!

We spent three days hanging out and swimming in the pools and eating - we brought a ton of food. And we met a bunch of very cool folks.

There were the English couple - Richard and ?, the park ranger and his girlfriend - Wayne and Teressa, the folks who horseback'ed in with massive provisions, the Colorado ski resort workers, and of course, the Sisters - Alexis and Rachel. We met the sisters at Mooney Falls - the one you have to clmb down a canyon wall to get to. Alexis convinced us to jump from the rope swing. We all hiked out together and had a blast.

So get on over to Flickr and check out the pix! and it's okay to post a comment or two :)

The Alaskan Forum hits 100 members!

I happy to report that the forum I started alittle over a year ago has 100 members. The forum has information about visiting Alaska and living in Alaska. And it provides a places for Alaskans to share tips and highlights.

Visiting and living in Alaska poses special problems. It's unlike any other place in the USA and probably the world. It's hard to come here and be successful. To have a good experience you need a community and guide to help you get along. Where do you buy xtratuffs? How do you find a good Mexican restaurant in Fairbanks? All sorts of questions arise when living on the last frontier. I created the Alaskan Forum to highlight the web sites that can help and provide a place for Alaskans to discuss these topics.

It's an open place and it's free to join the discussion. Please visit, join the board, and post a topic.

If you are a business or have an Alaskan website / blog, it's okay to post a link to your site (as long as it is relative to Alaska)

http://forum.alaskagold.com

Saddened to report the death of a Valdez Heli Ski Legend

Doug Coombs Dies in French ski accident

To me Doug Coombs was a legend. A story that may or not be true, but gives inspiration and hope. He pioneered the Heli Ski community and guiding business lifestyle. The life he created for himself was the stuff of legend. He rode in a helicopter to work. In a remote part of Alaska he helped define a sport, a business and a lifestyle. The sport was big mountain, heli access free-skiing. He was twice a World Extreme Skiing Champion. The business was guiding mere mortals to the hallowed heights he and a few others had pioneered. He was a success in founding two guiding outfitts and working on at least three continents. And the lifestyle was a global trekking heli ski bum business mogul with a big smile and a pure heart. He was a champion for everyone who looked up at a snow loaded coulair or down at a map where the mountains are shaded white.

In this way, he lives on as legends do. I'm glad to know him. He will be missed.

Raggae blasts out of the RV at the top of the hill next to the trailhead in the sunbleached parking lot in the middle of the Indian Reservation. A handwritten sign says Cold Drinks and underneath "have an Irie Day". It turns out the Havasupai Indian tribe are Rastafarian. Look at some of the pictures and you can imagine why -

Angie and I have only a few hours here in Tacoma and tomorrow we head to Sitka... more later

Goin' Dark... Vacation 'til May Day

Loyal readers!

In my attempt to travel myself into the poor house, I'm going on another vacation. This time to the Grand Canyon. I really AM excited, but I'm a bit weary.

Since I stopped working last year, I've been all over Taiwan, NC, Georgia, Hilton Head, SC, Florida, Wisconsin, Costa Rica, and Cleveland and Tacoma and Seatle and Portland.

It's been a great run, but I'm out of money. This will be my last trip... I mean starting now, I'm not going to book anymore airline tickets. Of course, I'm still going to Sitka in May and a bike tour in Oregon in June - But after that, I'm going to get a JOB.

yep, I'm not sure just what yet. But I will work again.

Being Jobless has been an experience - this is certainly the longest I've been unemployed. But being a world traveler is a job, right? And I've helped people. And spent time with Family and friends. I like that part of it. It's the not showering and lounging around all day on the couch watching DVD's of arrested development that is killing me.

So, I'm hoping for a brief spell of work to make some cash and / or experience and then of to school. Could be an education Masters... Could be an MBA or something totally different.

My confidence shook a bit when I saw my bank account. But it's given me some motivation. So, keep me in your thoughts and I'll see you here again in a week or two.

Academic Studies Starbucks Cultural Impact - Yahoo! News

Academic Studies Starbucks Cultural Impact - Yahoo! News: "Simon, who teaches at Philadelphia's Temple University, thinks that by spending time at Starbucks — observing the teenage couples and solitary laptop-users, the hurried office workers and busy baristas — he can learn what it means to live and consume in the age of globalization."

What it means to live and consume in the age of globalization... I like that. live and consume ... in the age of globalization.

That's my age!

...

Happy Easter everybody!

search"sasha cohen" VideoSift

search"sasha cohen" VideoSift

Borat "Ali G" disgraces the national anthem in Savannah, Georgia. It's funny

My great aunt , Eloise

OKAY okay - one more story about death: The crux of my family, I've always said, is that two brothers married two sisters. Lenny and EvaMae and Raeford and Eloise. They celebrated their anniversary on the Fourth of July. Raeford and Eloise were favorites of mine and when the only thing you know about them is there names, you can understand why. They deserved those cool names because they were off the chart in cool. Raeford was gruff and hard and Eloise was smart, sassy and with the looks to back it up. They loved each other tremendously and raised 5 kids. After a fight with cancer, Raeford died first. Eloise lived on. She traveled to my graduation with my Grandmother, EvaMae. They were best friends. After years with Cancer, EvaMae died. Eloise lived by herself. And on the Fourth of July, her family gathered at a neighbors for the traditional party. She felt tired and wanted to rest. She would be along to join the party after awhile. She lay down on the couch and read a book. When her son came to bring her to the party, the book was peacefully resting on her chest and she was gone.

Perhaps she drifted off like our poet describes. I know she was a simple country lady. And I hope she wasn't afraid and felt the connection with her family and simply got up from the couch and joined them at the party.

I'll try to find a good picture of her and post it soon.

enough of the Death Stuff

... well just one more post. Tonight, while celebrating my return from Portland, I watched the PBS show "Nature". The subject was an African Fig tree. The female narrator's soothing voice explained the web of life surrounding this one tree on the bank of a crystal clear river. The point of the story was the relationship between the fig fruit and the lone pollenating fig wasp. But what surprized me was the life struggle and death of these creatures all in perfect harmony. Nothing is F$#K'ed here. Every lifecycle fit into a whole and served some sort of purpose. As if by pre-arranged contract, each species fulfills an obligation and contributes in some way.

Beautiful. It made me happy for the tree, and the bugs, and PBS.

pictures from Portland, soon.

Thanatopsis

Thanatopsis

Death - This poem was written by a 16 year old in the late 19th century. He seems to get it. "All that breathe share thy destiny." This was and is one of my favorite poems. I first read it in class and have always gone back to it.

My grandfather got word that he has a cancerous tumor and must have an operation to remove his kidney. It's a big deal, in my mind. He is 81 years old. And he has seen alot of death. His wife, brothers, friends have all joined the "innumerable caravan".

It's tough to speak to your grandparents about dying. But why in the world is it? Death is all around us. Yet it's a taboo. Maybe it's like sex - we don't talk about it to build up the mystery and heighten the thrill.

So, okay, I'll play along. I won't try to bust the taboo. But I won't be ruled by it either. A little mystery is good - too much is a dysfunction.

I'm going to die. The fear is that I will die doing something stupid and that I'll cower and creep toward it like a quarry-slave at night.

My grave is waiting, but my obituary is not written. I plan to walk toward my death day with unfaltering trust. So can you.

"The oxen are slow, but the earth is patient."

01:02:03 04/05/06

For another example of why Annie is supercool. She told me she wants to finalize her marriage (long story) today. Wednesday, April 5, 2006 - 04/05/06. Pretty cool, huh? My friend Nat in Portland just sent me this: This afternoon it will be 01:02:03 pm 04/05/06.

Can I just say that my friends freakin' rule!

Near death experience brings people together

I've truly been on a wild ride and I want to share more about it. I'm not the best writer even at my best. Regardless of that fact, every once in a while, I get over myself enough to type a blog post. This one is about death and life.

When the plane I was on caught fire (US Airways Flight 59 from Charlotte to Seatac), I had a bit of an "Come to Jesus Party". It wasn't frantic. I didn't panic - No one did. My reaction was not passionate. I felt alittle sick to my stomach, as I thought "Today is the day I die." I can't say I wasn't scared - I was. But, erierly I was pretty calm as I sort of observed the situation. The flashes of light and the plane sliding around fighting the turbulence on one engine was "off putting".

After we landed and the tension dropped. (The pilot said "I think everything is under control") We laughed and the people in the cabin talked with one another. I wonder what they thought. We had been in a tense situation and we felt a bond stronger than the normal barrier against speaking to a stranger.

I don't know if it's Star Trek's Klingon or Japanese Shinto ninja comic book philosophy, but somewhere way back when I watched Star Trek with my Dad or chucked "throwing stars" at the back of my friend's skateboard halfpipe, I accepted that I was going to die. I really couldn't choose when, but I could choose how. I want to die doing something great.

And in the last couple of months - Since I moved to Tacoma to be with my Girlfriend or Since I quit my job in Taiwan and moved back to be near Family - I feel like I'm doing something great. Like I'm living by the right values or guidebook.

"I'm still alive / do I deserve to be? / And if so, who answers?" That's a Pearl Jam lyric that has been floating around my head lately (before the flaming engine).

I an hour before I got on the plane to leave Wilmington, I met with a friend, Annie. I've known her for less than a year and we have a fantastic relationship. It's intellectual,as well as intimate and physical - She is my massage therapist. After the massage yesterday and while we were saying goodbye, she said something that I truly needed to hear. She said that she was happy to know me, that I was special to her. She said that I was like a wonderful cameo in the movie of her life. It made me feel so good. I felt like busting at the seams. When someone who you think is great, thinks you are great - well, that's just great. (!)

She also said I deserved to be happy and have a great life. That word deserved struck me and I remembered the Pearl Jam song.

So maybe it's our friends who answer the question, "Do I deserve to be alive?" Of course, I've been told by my parents and family and friends that I am special to them, but they are sort of obligated to make comments like that. Coming from a new friend and unsolicited - It's Special. And she is special. And I wish for her the same thing.

komo news | US Airways Plane Lands Safely After Bird Strike

komo news | US Airways Plane Lands Safely After Bird Strike

This was me.

Coming into Sea-Tac, the engine starts to make a funny noise. I didn't think too much about it because planes make funny noises ... sometimes. But when a guy on the other side of the plane starts saying "Hey, the engine is on fire." and there are flashes of light inside the cabin - my "HOly CRAP" meter was pegged.

The pilot had to fight turbulence and with one engine it was pretty frightening. Imagine the engine is on fire and the plane is weaving around. Sucked!

I thought, "Well, I could die in this plane. Today."

hmmm

"I'd rather be lucky than good"

well, the excitment continues....

If you go down to Hammond...

Travel is something for the strong. My brother and I just got off the road from our Southern swing. 1 week and 2 thousand miles later we can sit back and relax for a few hours here at home before we head off again - this time in seperate directions. He is going to Hawaii and I am back to Tacoma.

Florida is a travel paradise. Fecund describes it well. It's dripping with wildlife. And not only in Downtown Orlando. Which is best seen from the back of a speeding pedicab.

Well, my mind is fried. People visited: Mark, Catherine, Paddy, Lilly, The Nestor clan, the lean Mel and Eddie, Charles. Everyone is fine. I'm fine and ready to get back "home".

I hope to write about some trip highlights - like the natural springs, the kayak trip with my brother and sister in Tarpon bay, and the easy life at the Casa del Nestor on Sanibel.

as always, more later,

And who knows which is which and who is who

Things I like: getting comments from friends on the blog (Thanks Doug!) Waking up with the Sun, having a bunch of energy, posting a small article on the Alaskan Forum with fishing info, my brother screwing with telemarketers (Oh no they aren't here, but you sound like a go getter - do you want to represent me with AM-Way. It's a great program, despite what you heard. What's your telephone number?...), cruise control, iwayhigh reagge internet radio stream on my Axim, reagge Pink Floyd covers, B vitamins, turning worms

Things I DONT like: My teams getting wiped out of the tournament (C'mon BC! 23 turnovers!!!!), car traffic on my walk / ride to the store, non-creative and violent solutions to conflict and feeling like there is nothing I can do about it, hopelessness (Hope is the last to die.)

So I want to thank the people who read this blog and are thinking about me.

Party on. I'm going to be dark for a bit while I travel down to FLA. Here is a link to the route.

Sisters of the Sun are gonna rock me on the water

Mile stones - I've posted 200 blog entries here. All this talkin' and not much saying. I've been "between jobs" for over a year. Yep, f@#k work. and more.... I'm working on my site www.alaskagold.com and it seems to be paying off - numbers are up and I'm enjoying learning all the new stuff.

It's a rainy day here in Wilmington, NC. And cold. I thought I had planned to be here in the 'nice' part of the year. And I got it part right - The azelela's are beginning to bloom. Soom trees are budding and pushing out color. But it's cold.

Anyhow, Next week "I'll get down to the beach somehow." Tomorrow is my uncle's 60 birthday and we are planning a surprise party (I hope he doesn't read this blog in the next 24 hours!) . The party will be a Carolina Pig Pickin' - Have you ever been to one? It's the kind where the pig is BBQ'ed with the head and tail and stuff. It's a sight and DAMN it taste good. Good Carolina BBQ makes it ALL worth it.

I've been strugglin' a bit lately. But the rain is coming down and KNBA is on the radio and the cookies are smellin' good in the oven (almost done) - so I'm not complaining at all.

Jackson Brown helps:

Oh people, look around you
The signs are everywhere
You’ve left it for somebody other than you
To be the one to care
You’re lost inside your houses
There’s no time to find you now
Your walls are burning and your towers are turning
I’m going to leave you here and try to get down to the sea somehow
...

We all must do the best we can
And then hang on to that gospel plow
When my life is over, I’m going to stand before the father
But the sisters of the sun are going to rock me on the water now

cookies are done

Yep, that was the sound of my voice...

Wow, um, that was, um, ... good. Um, ... um...

I have to say, not by way of excuse, but I HAD been driving for 8 hours and in the car for 4 days, and it was super late. Anyway, I hope you liked, um, the Audio post.

So, I'm back in Wilmington, NC. And, because the truck isn't "doing right", I took my bike over to cousin Brett's house to watch UNC fall to the Mighty Murray State squad. When Roy Williams almost threw that chair onto the court and grabbed a player, I knew we were in trouble. Hurt feelings and sadness aside, that's the freakin reason we watch March Madness. Little Davids battling with giant goliath. Murray State came to play and win, and, well, we didn't. So see ya next year Tar Heels. Thank you for a great season and for beating Dook on Reddick's Senior night.

So, now in the tournament, I'm rooting for BC and Gonzaga.

Oh, and my Country is waging a war that can't be won and for questionable reasons going on four years now... more later

Before I go

Hello Dear reader!

I forgot to mention that there are no pictures of the Costa Rica trip. Angie wanted me to take the camera but I said " No. I figure I'll find more things worth remembering if I don't take a camera. Sort of like taking a hike and seeing hundreds of squirrels, but if you take your .22 along you don't see one." So, I have a bunch of great memories but no pics. Actually, a guy took a picture of me swimming in the waterfall, but hasn't sent them yet.

AND, next adventure.

Brother Ray and I are going on a 1500 mile roadtrip to pick up a great big inflatable gorrilla, no... big gyroscope thing, like the ones at fairs and NASA training. He bought it off eBay Only catch, It's in MN (don't ask me to spell Minnesota). So we are loading up the truck and heading North. Should be there in a couple of days and return in a couple of days.

Funny thing is ... we are turning around directly and going on another road trip... to Florida. good times

"going where my toes are pointed",
Newman

Link: A map of the trip

Alright, so... when can I leave America?

I'm reflecting on life and the whole of it lately, since I've been back from Costa Rica. And well, I want to know when can I leave here. Costa Rica is smokin' cool. And this place is pretty crappy, in comparsion.

I went to Playa del Coco (Ocotal) with Angie's Family. Big Angie, my girlfriend's Aunt, put all ten of us up in a swanky, private Villa on a hill over looking the coast. Incredible. A house staff for every need, a pool, hot tub, an incredible view, everything new and good food.

We spent the days driving down to the Beach or the little town or reading by the pool and napping. Highlights were the snorkle trip into the high seas in a homemade boat, a trip to a small farm and the cloud forest.

After dinner we relaxed around the table and I listened in on the Webb Family stories. Once everyone went to bed, Angie and I turned off all the lights and watched the shooting stars out over the water. We saw one that was like a flaming truck and it's light reflected off the water.

Other things about the Villa - Big Angie was so gracious to host us. The wind howled! There was no hot water for the first couple of days. God bless the "professor" behind the blender and Douglas her pupil - Douglas kept the pina coldas coming. Imperial beer! The "warm tub". Who wants to drive the van up to the impossible drive way? The rebar in the pool and the nails on the patio. We were the first ones to rent the Villa and the kinks were not worked out. My bag got lost by the airlines.

So, the first 7 days I spent in the lap of luxury with the Family Webb. The next three days I spent in the traditional cheap skate, shoestring, cosmic traveler style.

Beacause the flights were cheaper on the weekdays and I had the time, I booked my flight home 4 days later than everyone else. I said goodbye to them on Saturday morning at the Liberia Airport and hailed a cab to the town of Liberia.

The cab is good and cheap ($10), but he won't take me to the hotel. I had found the hotel Liberia in the Lonely Planet Costa Rica Guide. So I got out and walked across the PanAm highway (How cool is that!?) and hiked towards the city center. The sun is shining and all is groovy. And then, A bomb goes off. I'm about to dive down the pavement when I notice no one is alarmed so I pretend it doesn't bother me that mortar fire is dropping down on Liberia.

"This must be part of the festival" I think to myself. The Fiesta Civicas started the day before. Fireworks were announcing the beginning of a horse parade or Tope through the town. Danielle, the farmer we visited, had shown us his show horse he rides in parades like this. It was great to see all the horses and cowboys - authentic. I felt like I was transported back in time. So my adventure began... and it was great.

The first night, I travelled down the Nicoya peni. to see a "massive arrival" of sea turtles. The next night I watched the rodeo with my buddy, Byron. The next day, a jungle boat tour in the Paolo Verde National Park. And the last day, hiking trails around the volcano Rincon as well as skinny dipping the waterfall.

After all that I still had time to get two fillings in my teeth from an english speaking dentist on the same block as the hotel.

Each night there was fireworks and live bands on the square (100 yards from the Hotel) and a Diana or Revelie at 6 am.

I love costa rica. I got so lucky to be there for the festival and to meet up with the people I did. It seemed like a paradise of luxury and adventure. It would have been the same if not for Big Angie or Bryon or our guide Manfred and the Hotel Liberia.

stay tuned for photos.

check this space for updates soon!

I'm just back from Costa Rica... has it been a week since I came back? I'm going to talk about the trip and post some photos soon.

And just like that I'm off to North Carolina and Florida for the month of March.

more later,
nsl

Moo gua Neo Nai and the world wide Charles

Moo gua Neo Nai
Originally uploaded by newmania.

check out the other photos at Flickr.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nsl555/

Charles Cummings!

My friend, Charles, is having a birthday. He could be 21 or 15 or ageless. He is one for the ages and as genuine of a guy as you likely ever to meet. He does have a firm view of Heaven and can guarantee that there is an unlimited supply of chocolate milk. In Charles we Trust!


Charles, I miss our Napoli Tuesday nights (the best place in all of Taiwan) and our 3rd Floor office at San Ming (Do you have the grade 2 lesson plans ready?) and I miss you. Hope that this Birthday is bright and hopeful.
Ni xie huan Moo Gua Neo Nai ma?

:::...Lebowski Fest...:::"The dude abides"

:::...Lebowski Fest...:::: "What exactly is Lebowski Fest?

Lebowski Fest is a bowling event celebrating all things relating to the Coen Brothers 1998 film, The Big Lebowski. It can be likened to a Star Trek convention in a very loose sense. The event takes place at a bowling alley and includes unlimited bowling, costume , trivia, farthest traveled, and bowling contests, prizes, and what-have-you. The friend of the Coen Brothers who inspired the main character played by Jeff Bridges, Jeff 'The Dude' Dowd has been known to make an appearance and drink some White Russians. The 1st annual occurred in Fall of 2002 in Louisville, Kentucky and the 2nd annual took place in July 2003. We then headed way out west to Las Vegas for Lebowski Fest West in Feb., 2004. The 3rd Annual Lebowski Fest in June of 2004 brought over 4000 Achievers and included an outdoor concert with My Morning Jacket. Lebowski Fest New York was held in Aug. 2004. Lebowski Fest hit a milestone in LA when Jeff Bridges came out! "

Bicycles and Icicles: Piss off, thank you

Bicycles and Icicles: Piss off, thank you: "Bicycles and Icicles

The rants, ravings and random wanderings of a bicyclist in the frigid north."

Tim is a cyclist in Anchorage and has a few points of view that I'm happy he shares with us.

This post has alot of stuff I like in a blog post - a fedEx driver, a list of stuff that's wrong (the F*&K Yous) and what's right (the Thank Yous), and a pretty girl with a nice smile. Reprinted without permission here.

AlterNet: The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers

AlterNet: The 14 Worst Corporate Evildoers: "Monsanto is the world's leading producer of the herbicide glyphosate, marketed as Roundup. Roundup is sold to small farmers as a pesticide, yet harms crops in the long run as the toxins accumulate in the soil. Plants eventually become infertile, forcing farmers to purchase genetically modified Roundup Ready Seed, a seed that resists the herbicide. This creates a cycle of dependency on Monsanto for both the weed killer and the only seed that can resist it. Both products are patented, and sold at inflated prices."

That's the capital system working for us. So clever! now the trick is to multiply by negetive one and find out how to make a cycle of good and not evil.

check out the link to find more evil corporations. Hmmm are all corporations bad. Aren't the evil do'ers, um I mean board of directors, regular Joes and Janes? I can't say for sure, but I know I wouldn't sleep so well at night if I was directing this sort of injustice.
Thanks to Dave Pollard

Make Poverty History - What We Want - Aid

Make Poverty History - What We Want - Aid: "It should no longer be conditional on recipients promising economic change like privatising or deregulating their services, cutting health and education spending, or opening up their markets. Aid should support poor countries' and communities' own plans and paths out of poverty."

check out the movie "click" if you need a reason why fair trade is important. Oh and my favorite for the Grammy set - from Sarah Mclachlan - http://www.worldonfire.ca/

No Arms Sales to Africa.

CNN.com - U.N. adviser: West killing Africa with gun sales - Feb 2, 2006

Here is a brillant observation. Stop selling guns to Africa. Why not? It's seems that the arms trade is as corrupt as it gets. Stop it. Don't make a value judgement. Don't stop selling to just the "Bad" guys. Just stop it all.

While you are at it - why not just stop selling them. period. to anyone, anywhere. Stop making them.

Oetzi could have been infertile!

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Infertility link in iceman's DNA:
I love Oetzi Man! turns out he was shooting blanks... poor Oetzi. Maybe that's why people chased him down and put an arrow in the back of his skull. poor guy

Urban Ranger: build the habit of purposeful walking

Urban Ranger: build the habit of purposeful walking: "Remember Strider, in Lord of the Rings? They didn't call him Sneaker or Sprinter or Sworder, though he possessed these skills in abundance. His distinctive quality, the important, even lethal skill, for which he was named, was that of walking rapidly and mindfully over great distances. Not only could he thus outpace his enemies, but he came to outknow them."

This is a pretty funny rant type post. It starts with a poem and that really caught my eye. He makes a couple of good points and it's worth a skim.

I'm going for a walk.

Basic Web Design

Basic Web Design: "Create your own web site incorporating text and pictures. This technology is the cutting edge to make an impact on the world wide audience of the Internet. A benefit for small business, students, families, and individuals."

A blast from the past - My "Basic Web Design" class website from Prince William Sound Community College - October 1999. Yikes! It's very scary... but not bad for '99 I think.

jerome bruner - "professed and otherwise"

jerome bruner and the process of education: "It is surely the case that schooling is only one small part of how a culture inducts the young into its canonical ways. Indeed, schooling may even be at odds with a culture's other ways of inducting the young into the requirements of communal living.... What has become increasingly clear... is that education is not just about conventional school matters like curriculum or standards or testing. What we resolve to do in school only makes sense when considered in the broader context of what the society intends to accomplish through its educational investment in the young. How one conceives of education, we have finally come to recognize, is a function of how one conceives of culture and its aims, professed and otherwise. "

Professed and otherwise - that's chilling. What is the aim of our culture? What is the professed aim and what is the "otherwise" / unstated aim? That's what makes being a disruptive educator such a problem - you are caught up in the system (you are the system!) I imagine that it is incredibly hard to balance your personal "aims" with those of the system.

I wonder if there is a big happy place where the goals of the culture completely match up with everyone within the culture... The goals of the principle and the school board match up with our disruptive educators. It sounds like Nazi Germany - maybe our democracy can't be divorced from the struggling oppostites and that we are doomed to inch along in herky jerky movements of the pendulum swing.

I see a big fight in education ahead of us. It truely is the frontline of culture. Will the students see it as a completely out of touch internment camp whose main purpose is to stupify and pacify? and whose main outcome is a distrust of leadership on one hand and blind acceptance on the other?

oh Geez, do I really want to be an educator?

I have to blame this mad ramble of a post on someone - I blame these guys - jerome bruner and Mark Wagner.

May be going to hell in a bucket... but at least I'm enjoying the ride

So more about this John Perkins guy - the economic hit man. I really have to recommend the hour long recording of the Democracy Now show. Really good.

and from my last quote - the stat about Americans as 5% of the world's population using 25% of the worlds resources. That alone doesn't bother me. "The USA is the greatest country in the world". We have all heard this quote and, if we believe it, then we don't mind using those resources.

But what if what John Perkins says is true? What if we are assassinating democratically elected officials for the reasons of maintain our hegemony? What if we are stealing from the poor to give to the rich? It's shocking. and It's grotesque. Is it right to use all the oil and cheap (slave?) labor while destroying the environment and keeping the rest of the world away from our ideals?

We are tricking the developing world into playing our game and kill them if they wise up to it. Even when they believe in our system and our ideals. It's sick to think about.

I think it's clear - the leaders of America don't believe in Democracy, unless it agrees with them, unless it plays their game, unless it continues to keep them in power.

We use the very techniques we despise. Terroism, torture, corruption. to keep us in power. And for what purpose? to sit around and watch our bank accounts grow while the rest of the world withers. And they wither without a free press, without trial by jury, without fair elections.

This isn't a idle chat. People are dying. Everyday.

Now what if we used that power to help the developing world? What if we bet on the constitution and risk losing some power? What if we listen to and respect the developing world? Let them make mistakes. Let them grow up. Let them lead themselves. The democratic, free market will find a way.

Our involvement with developing nations is deplorable and it's time to fix it. The John Perkins book gives an insight into that issue.

Democracy Now! | Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions

Democracy Now! | Confessions of an Economic Hit Man: How the U.S. Uses Globalization to Cheat Poor Countries Out of Trillions

Listen in to Democracy Now... or search for the book on Amazon - Search John Perkins

I found a link to book review in The Guardian from 3quarksdaily blog. The book is called "Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins. He details his experience (fictionalized experience) as a member of the "international banking community" or as a spook / 007 / spy / CIA, NSA, Main, the company.../ whatever. He was the guy that pressured governments to turn there back on democracy (for the people, by the people) and face the international corporate marketplace - the American interests.

When I read the review I was floored. How can this be true? I'm hoping someone will buy the book and send it to me....

"Confessions of an Economic Hit Man" by John Perkins

Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Gary Younge: A hit man repents

Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Gary Younge: A hit man repents: "'The overall scheme is not a conspiracy,' he says. 'The corporatocracy is ourselves - we make it happen - which, of course, is why most of us find it difficult to stand up and oppose it"

Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Gary Younge: A hit man repents

Guardian Unlimited Books | By genre | Gary Younge: A hit man repents: "Perkins certainly has the zeal of a convert. 'America has to change,' he says. 'The people of South America have sent a very strong message to America and to the world. Latin Americans have sent us a message. Middle Easterners have sent us a message. The voters of the US have to take the next step. It's up to us now. We must take this seriously. We're a nation of people that represents 5% of the world's population and consumes 25% of the world's resources. Simple mathematics will tell you that you can't sell that model to China or Africa or India. But we don't want to hear that. Because if you're one of the 5%, then you're leading a damned good life. Even the poorest among us are leading a much better life than the much less poor in the rest of the world.'"

Don’t drive angry - Groundhog day movie

Open Source � Blog Archive � Groundhog Day: "Don’t drive angry: pay attention to whatever it is you’re doing"

Happy Groundhog Day, People!

"Well, I'm not THE God, I'm A God." People are talking about the Movie, "Groundhog Day" - It's a classic. It's the gospel of our modern, media staturated, confederacy of spiritual ideas. It's a Bill Murray tour de force.

Netflix it now!

Take Action: Tell New ExxonMobil CEO To Change Course

Take Action: Tell New ExxonMobil CEO To Change Course

Our country remains overly dependent on oil, which has serious consequences ranging from rising gasoline prices that burden every American to global warming that threatens current and future generations.

This addiction to oil represents a failed energy strategy, one that your company not only supports but has helped to develop. I am most disturbed by:

* ExxonMobil's active support of drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge;

* ExxonMobil's efforts to block meaningful action to cut global warming pollution and its funding of junk science to hide the real facts about global warming;

* ExxonMobil's conscious decision to forgo investment in clean energy solutions - despite your record profits at a time of rising gasoline prices;

* ExxonMobil's failure to pay all of the punitive damages awarded to fishermen and others injured by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.

ExxonMobil represents yesterday's energy policy; I would rather spend my money and time moving forward, not backward.

That's why I will NOT purchase ExxonMobil's gas or products, invest in ExxonMobil stock, or work for the company.

Click here to send this email to the new CEO at ExxonMobil, Rex Tillerson (photos). He is a new guy and in the spirit of Christmas, it's never too late.

BP is getting the jump on these guys with the whole "We are an energy company, not nessecarily an oil company" ads. At least they acknowledge that global warming is happening and that things must change. Therefore, BP and Citgo is where I fill up and I avoid Exxon at all costs. (Except if it's late and I'm running out of gas). But don't take my advice on where to fill up the tank - Others are asking the questions and getting the answers .

Link - 2005 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RANKINGS FOR GAS STATIONS

Stop the war - the war on drugs

LEAP: Mission Statement: "Founded on March 16, 2002, LEAP is made up of current and former members of law enforcement who believe the existing drug policies have failed in their intended goals of addressing the problems of crime, drug abuse, addiction, juvenile drug use, stopping the flow of illegal drugs into this country and the internal sale and use of illegal drugs. By fighting a war on drugs the government has increased the problems of society and made them far worse. A system of regulation rather than prohibition is a less harmful, more ethical and a more effective public policy.

The mission of LEAP is to reduce the multitude of unintended harmful consequences resulting from fighting the war on drugs and to lessen the incidence of death, disease, crime, and addiction by ultimately ending drug prohibition."

Prohibition doesn't work.

Idiotarod January 28, 2006

Idiotarod January 28, 2006: "The Iditarod is the famous long-distance race in which yelping dogs tow a sled across Alaska. Our Idiotarod is pretty much the same thing, except that instead of dogs, it's people, instead of sleds, it's shopping carts, and instead of Alaska it's New York City."

Dave’s Wordpress Blog � Yahoo game-changers for 2006

Dave’s Wordpress Blog � Yahoo game-changers for 2006: "3. P2P webcasting. I wrote about this vaguely the other day, and no one apparently understood what I meant by Skype for webcasting. Come on guys, it’s pretty simple. Suppose we’re having a conversation, and I decide “Wow, this would be great for Scripting News, let’s do a webcast of this right now.” So I whip out my laptop, get onto the net (there’s wifi everywhere of course, heh) and launch my Yahoo Webcaster desktop app for the Mac. I choose New Webcast from the File menu. A window opens. There’s a button that says “Copy URL to clipboard.” I click it. Go over to my outliner, paste it into a post on Scripting News. “Tune into this webcast I’m about to do with Bull Mancuso about intellectual property and organized crime.” I highlight the word webcast and click on Add Link. Save. Then I go back to the Yahoo app and click Start. We talk for ten minutes, all the while people tune into the stream, which is managed via a realtime BitTorrent-like P2P connection. And of course when it’s all done it’s automatically archived to an MP3 and included in my RSS 2.0 feed for people who subscribe. If you’ve ever done a webcast, you know how much better this would be. And it’s ready to go, we know how to do all the bits."

Now this is the kinda of thinking I'm "talkin' about". Here is the Dave Winer of old - breakin it down for the everyman. In this selection he shows that he understands how we, the average joe (and jane) use these technologies. When he writes a post like this, it's like a guidepost that helps me clue in to what is happening.

Then they start talking over my head, but thats okay. I keep digging and I get alittle closer all the time.

Leapfrog - "causing trouble today for a better tomorrow"

What's going on here?!

WorldChanging: Another World Is Here: Hands-On Leapfrogging: "Wireless Networking for the Developing World is a how-to guide for building, deploying and maintaining wireless information networks in rural parts of the developing world. Written by Tomas Krag, O'Reilly editor Rob Flickenger and a wide assortment of wireless hackers brought together by the Wireless Roadshow last October, the book is now available as a download under a generous Creative Commons 'share alike' license (which means you can do whatever you’d like with the text, so long as you share the output -- allowing people to translate the text into local languages, for instance.) In the near future, the book will also be available in a print-on-demand format."

Leapfrog technology - The gist is this. The western world has developed along a path (ie - wheelbarrow -> horse cart -> horseless carriage -> tractor trailer -> ? -> flying cars (next year)... What if we could help the developing world (Africa, Southeast asia, South Carolina, etc) skip the tractor trailer and go right to the flying car. We all see that if everyone with a horse cart gets a Ford expedition, we are screwed - unless you sell Expeditions, and / or oil, and / or don't care about living on the freeway, in traffic, with smog, with a broken, soft body ....

This post is getting to be depressing. It's not and neither is leapfrog technology for the developing world. Wikipedia to the rescue!

Leapfrogging is a theory of development in which developing countries skip inferior, less efficient, more expensive or more polluting technologies and industries and move directly to more advanced ones.

A frequent example is countries which move directly from having no telephones to having cellular phones, skipping the stage of landline telephones altogether.

Speaking of cell phones (and this really is the depressing part of the post) Both my and Angies cell phones were STOLEN! (plus her bookbag and palmpilot!) So I've spent the week without phone and trying replace stuff. Angie got a new Palm, the LifeDrive (4Gs with a big ole' screen) and we are negogiating with Cingular about replacing the phone (I'll have to ask my manager if we can allow you to use a different phone).

Sorry for the rambling post! Remember to leapfrog whenever possible. Don't leave your cell phone in the car.

The BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2005

The BEAST 50 Most Loathsome People in America, 2005: "44. George Lucas

Charges: It needs to be said: George Lucas is an awful writer and a shitty, shitty director. His second Star Wars trilogy absolutely sucked from beginning to end, and was in fact the least brave creative endeavor he could possibly have chosen, a guaranteed grand slam. Lucas has grown so accustomed to massive commercial success that he has no idea he’s putting out the worst work of his career, and no one dares to tell him. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, because an army of sexless, sedentary thirty-something dweebs with an unhealthy fixation on Princess Leia will insist that his schlock is brilliant as if their lives depend on it, and an absurdly disproportionate media blitz always brings the kids in. But everything that was great about the first trilogy—reasonably decent acting, an engaging storyline and cool model-based special effects—is gone, replaced by detestably unsympathetic characters reciting torturously bad dialogue in a manner so wooden that coaching from Keanu Reeves would have helped, and CGI effects that, while painstakingly crafted down to the nanopixel, somehow looked less real than plastic spaceships and Muppets.

Exhibit A: Already revising the new trilogy for DVD releases.

Sentence: Cast into the gaping maw of Tatooine’s all-powerful Sarlacc and digested alive for a thousand years, along with a talkative Jar Jar Binks."

and there are 49 others, people!

Marcus Fuller - Powder Magazine Local Hero

Our ol' Valdez friend, Marcus, was nominated for a local hero award. The readers of powder magazine submitted nominations of their friends based on "skills, attitudes and willingness to sacrifice anything for time on the snow." Marcus made it to the round of four and recieved a very nice write up by Travis Andersen. Our man got over 1000 votes - That's 1000 people he inspired AND read powder AND have the internet. That's impressive! And I know my mom didn't vote and I'm sure she would have.

Our collective hats are off to this unsung (now sung?) hero. I hope this recognition inspires him to keep up his middle way to whatever's next. I hope to see him on down the line.

You can read Travis Andersen's write up here : http://www.powdermag.com/marcus_fuller/

And look at some original watercolors and photography here:The work of Marcus Fuller - Skiing snowboarding photographer and wilderness watercolor painter

Greenpeace dumps dead whale at Japanese embassy in Berlin - Yahoo! News

Greenpeace activists dump a great big whale on the steps of the Japanese embassy. hmmm... That's really freakin cool. It's a non violent protest. Doesn't hurt anybody. Forces the issue. It is a public spectacle and generates headlines and photos. I like it. It's different. I mean I was getting pretty bored of the greenpeace ship getting in the way of the whaling ships. Those dudes on the boats can REALLY stop - It's up to the law makers and the fat cats sitting in the embassy.

And now they smell the whale.

Greenpeace dumps dead whale at Japanese embassy in Berlin - Yahoo! News:

"BERLIN (AFP) - Greenpeace activists called a protest in which they dumped a dead whale in front of the Japanese embassy in Berlin a big success as they removed it to a museum.
ADVERTISEMENT

'We think it is a pity that we have to take it away because the Berliners' response has been brilliant,' said Bjoern Jettka, a spokesman for the environmental group.

He said large crowds had gathered to look at the 17-meter (55-feet) -long mammal that was laid on a trailer in the snow in front of the embassy from Wednesday night to Thursday afternoon in a protest at Japanese whale hunting.

The whale, which was between 10 and 20 years old, was brought to Berlin by the environmental group after it was found beached near Wismar on Germany's Baltic coast on Saturday.

They had hung a banner over it stating: 'Science does not need harpoons.'"

link

Other creative protests: The parking place park , The truth anti tobacco ads, cycle naked day, anything with naked....

Flickr Photos of the whale - Greenpeace whale and Berlin Whale

Nanny and John

...

A few months later, I came across a newspaper story on the guy. Turns out, his retirement hobby was pedaling his bike 50 miles every weekday. It was like a 9-to-5 job, but fun. He’d get up, eat breakfast, say goodbye to his wife and then start riding. He wouldn’t stop until he had knocked off 50 big ones. Every time an odometer maxed out at 9,999 miles, he’d disconnect it and hook up a new one. The old ones stayed on the handlebar showing all those beautiful nines lined up in a row.

...
Read the whole story on Bicycles and Icicles

It sort of reminds me of my 92 year old Grandfather, John Townsend. He rides his stationary bike 2 miles at the gym three days a week as a warm up for a weight lifting session. While my grandmother, Nanny, hangs out with her friends doing their "workouts", John is pumping iron with people half his age. When I lift the weight he lifts, my jaw drops and then I try hard not to strain and breathe as normally as I can.

He just smiles - "Just happy to be here"

Doc Searls and Dr. King and History now

The Doc Searls Weblog : Monday, January 16, 2006:

"Listen to the Dream speech, and hear the hope it brought to people of all races. That hope was real. That hope lifted a nation. That hope moved civilization forward.
The Dream speech was dawn. It was light. It promised freedom. After that speech, many more people fought for that freedom, most effectively without violence, as Dr. King had taught them. I was one of those people.
The cause of freedom, of nonviolence, of peace, of opportunity, of so many good things people can bring to each other, was shot along with Dr. King on April 4, 1968. The setback was enormous, incalculable."

Read the whole post here

Doc Searls recognizes the MLK holiday. Something I didn't know about Doc is that he was in North Carolina during the civil rights movement. He tells about a time of curfews and the National Guard peace keeping.

What an incredible time in US history! I hope that when Doc's generation gets to the 'I wanna write my memoirs' phase of life - I hope that they don't just skim over the 60s and the civil rights movement and the Vietnam war (like they do on the news and in text books)

I think the problem with history as a subject or a theme is that it's so easy to seperate the past from the present - the story of the past seems so unconnected to the present. It's a story. It's a myth. Those people. That time.

When someone, like Doc, relates a personal history, I realize it's not history. It's life. And it didn't just happen in the past. It's happening now.

hmmm, so Thanks Doc for making the holiday and the history real

Martin Luther King and American innovation

Good Morning, yall.

It's a wet morning here in Tacoma. The rainy day streak ended yesterday windy sunny day at 28 days. The radio announcer said the new streak begins today at 1.

Doing what I do for MLK day - A humble list of links

muchfun,esl

A couple of links here for the esl set

Flickr: The MLK BLVD Pool

Flickr is almost certainly the best online photo management and sharing application in the world. Show off your favorite photos to the world, securely and privately show photos to your friends and family, or blog the photos you take with a cameraphone.

1956 Martin Luther King "Montgomery Story" Comic Book

A very cool comic about the bus boycott. And a great example of communicating with comics

American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - "I Have a Dream"

Full text and audio of Martin Luther King speech -- I Have A Dream

: : We Will Not Be Silenced : :

We Will Not Be Silenced - You've got to watch this flash animation of a MLK day speech. It's freakin' awesome and makes me want to run out in the streets to start the revolution.

Martin Luther King, Jr. - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Get the facts.... wiki style! BTW, who shot MLK?

Martin Luther King Jr. Day Lesson Plans

Lesson Plans for teachers to use on Martin Luther King Jr. Day!

TrueMajorityACTION Oreos

Ben and Jerry's breaks down the budget crisis cookie style.

American Experience | Citizen King | Non-Violence | PBS

KEXP 90.3 FM - where the music matters

Civil rights movement music show

TrueMajority

I good primer on King in his own voice - another Flash animation

Sorry for the many many links... but WTF it's a holiday and if you aren't starting a non-violent protest in the name of Jesus, Ghandi, or King - sit down and read alittle.

Also,

I'm reading "The United States in 1800" by Henry Adams and it's getting good.

I wanted to put this quote in ....
"Truths would you teach, or save a sinking land,
All fear, none aid you, and few understand."

3quarksdaily: About us

A recommendation from Steven Pinker means I read the blog. 3 Quarks daily is also recommended by OpenSourceRadio which I love by don't seem to get around to reading. I need a new work flow....

Anyway, I like what I saw on Quarks particularly the header graphic. It's more like a sig and a blog header.

"'I couldn't tear myself away from 3 Quarks Daily, to the point of neglecting my work. Congratulations on this superb site.'—Steven Pinker, Johnstone Professor of Psychology, Harvard University, and author of The Blank Slate, How the Mind Works, Words and Rules, and The Language Instinct."3quarksdaily:

Technorati Tags: pinker, lydon, blog

Eduardo Gucci

Things looked alittle weird in 1998 and so did Eddie. Thanks so much for the visit to Vancouver, BC this weekend. I made a list of some of the discussion topics and events:

graffiti

you and me and everyone we know ))<<>>((

life

cities

travel

religion

Cory Doctorow and Boing Boing

ESL websites

blogs and the new Web

starbucks meme

cars being super evil killers

taiwan and our friends there

the noon horn

crazy Vancouver bum / addict aquariums

my haircut

Mels cousins

the goodness of swarma / gyros / donair

missing the bus - Even Taiwanese bus stations announce departures

Stanley Park

Netflix

Eating all the time - No hotdogs after midnight!

the rain

John's discovery of the funky tree illusion

"Do you have an extra quarter... spare change.... 25 cents!"

Dai Chi's bike

Mel's pancakes! says Eddie "I'm not a pancake man"

... so much more. Thank you Eddie and Mel for a great trip to Vancouver BC!

The 80 / 20 rule

Is it true? Have you heard? No, not about the 911 coverup or the definition of "meme".

I'm talking about 20 percent of the effort produces 80 percent of the result.






A big thank you to Cathy SieCreating Passionate Users for the link and graphic

Jack Handy - Life, like lawndarts, can kill you.

I'm just back from Vancouver, BC and an excellent visit with Eddie and Melanie. They are enjoying the wild and free life, supported by hard work, true love, and craigslist rss feeds. They truly have taken to the "Bloody your hands" lifestyle. They are taking the initiative and moving ahead. Soon they will leave BC and head South.

Eddie tells a analogy of their way of "traveling". He says, when he was a younger guy he would move around like a paper airplane. It travels a long distance and then lands on the surface, he says. It also is easily effected by the wind and is often unpredictable. The paper airplane is like the tourist that never gets away from the tourist traps. This type of traveler never gets to see the real place- never meets the real "people" - only other tourists. (It sort of begs the question if these people are just tourist on EARTH, tourist with their WHOLE LIFE, but I digress...)

But now he wants to live life like a lawndart. A lawndart travels with purpose and when it lands it penetrates and finds firm footing. Melanie points out that if it lands on your foot or head, you can sue, because lawndarts are illegal - good point, Mel! The lawndart style is going to find the goods. It cuts through the crap of superficial surface living. It breaks through... down to the soil, where life grows. It's not always 'pretty' down there with the slugs and worms and dirt, but it's the real life. And you can't have the flower, without the fertilizer.

So whether you are a paper airplane or a lawndart, 'adventures in living' is hard... and it's not a game. To illustrate the point I asked Jack Handy (of Deep Thoughts Saturday night live fame) to write a piece to really describe it. Thanks to Betsy Devine for the link.

"This is not playtime or make-believe. This is real. It'’s as real as a beggar squatting by the side of the road, begging, and then you realize, Uh-oh, he's not begging."

...

"You go skipping and prancing through life, skipping through a field of dandelions. But what you don't see is that on each dandelion is a bee, and on each bee is an ant, and the ant is biting the bee and the bee is biting the flower, and if that shocks you then I'’m sorry."

read more from The New Yorker: Shouts and Murmurs

Technorati Tags: jack, handy, life

JH STAR GAZER HOME PAGE

JH STAR GAZER HOME PAGE: "'Star Gazer' is the world's only weekly television series on naked eye astronomy. Each weekly episode features selected objects for naked eye viewing for the following week."


Jack Horkheimer, (his name is my name, too) is a freakin' pimp! If you wanted a reason why Miami is cool, look no further than Mr. Horkheimer. He has an Asteriod named after him. I love - no... LOVE - his show on PBS. It comes on at funny times, like most PBS shows, but when I stumble across it, I sit mezmorized.

Anyway, you can now get podcasts of the show and watch anytime you like. But you still have to get up an hour before sunrise to see most of the cool stuff.

KEEP LOOKING UP!

Block and Bird got NOTHINGS on Horkheimer!

Southern Kitchen

Southern Kitchen
Originally uploaded by newmania.

Fried Okra: Not from Uncle Fred's garden but pretty good.

Hush Puppies: My favorite

Greens: Show me the money

Black Eyed Peas: Not the hip hop group

It's going to be a good year...

Good Morning 2006!

Greetings Race Fans! I'm going to give a break down right quick. I want to tell you about the book I'm reading, my new years day meal, and ... I don't know, maybe New Years resolutions.

First the book - It's by Po Bronson and called "Why do I love these people?" My friend, Angie, picked it up at the airport after a trip back home, read it, and recommended it to me. I've read 87 pages and now I'm recommending it to you.

If you have a family, you might find the book interesting. It's basically a collection of short biographical essays of people who had to deal with some sort of family issue - a guy who fights to keep a relationship with his son, or a single mother who struggles to keep her hyperactive boy from being put into "special" classes. It's kinda heartfelt and touching, but the author, Po, presents the stories in a style that brings out the insights and not the sappy, girly crap. (sorry girls) Of course some people think it's new touch feely dad stuff, but I don't.

Topic 2! New Years day you eat black eyed peas and collard greens. Black eyed peas are really beans and are an excellent source of vitamins. Sometimes called collards, or simply greens ( you could get turnip or mustard greens), they are really the green leafy parts of a cabage plant. Why is it a tradition? It brings good luck, of course. The greens bring cash money and the peas bring coins or copper. Some people say that they are healthy foods you should eat all the time and others call it "soul food". I like the taste and ... well I must admit - Black eyed peas are my favorite and I might skip the collards (which might explain the large amount of coins I have on the dresser and the low number next the $ sign on my bank statements)

I found a great restuarantand treated myself to good luck meal and I think it's working. Also on the menu was fried okra, hush puppies and Sweet tea. So, along with my deep fried goodness I got some traditional southern luck.

That brings us to New Year's resolutions - I might follow up on being a talk show host, which the people around me as we watched the fireworks thought might be a good idea. Speaking of jobs, I might want to get one this year. I ate my collards,so I'm expecting some returns. hmmm... Resolutions... It sounds sort of hard and fast and I'm not that kinda guy, so here is a New Year's Motto.

"Bloody your hands"

The purpose of life nobody knows. (If you think you know, keep it to yourself or people will try to kill you.) I can bet we aren't here to keep a perfect record. Teams lose. People fail. Stuff breaks. Bloody your hands means to get involved without fear of failure or injury. If anyone is reading this from TOBC class 6 (transportation officer basic course) you will remember the instructor who gave used this motto.

So Bloody your hands (dirty your hands, if you prefer - same concept), and get involved in 2006. I'm not the only one who is happy to wave goodbye to 2005, nor the only one with a hopeful look for 2006.