The 2008 presidential election is just around the corner and as the forward thinking independent voter I am, I will be voicing my support here and now for retired 4 star general Wesley Clark.

I believe that he is an exceptional leader with the knowledge, experience and international service to lead America in the right direction. During the current world environment I can’t imagine a better suited president than a successful NATO Supreme Allied Commander. I campaigned for him in the 04 primaries and I’ll do it again in a heartbeat; that is of course, if he runs.

Currently Clark is campaigning hard for his endorsed mid term elections candidates and while it seems to be of public opinion that he will indeed run in 08 I do not believe this has been made official.

To help correct this minor issue someone, somewhere, (actually it was Chris Morton reachable at chrismorton1@bellsouth.net) decided to start a petition to help encourage Clark to run for president in 08. I of course have already signed it and encourage you to do the same.

Click here to read & sign the petition

This is how it works folks, on the grassroots side of politics. Early shows of support can go a long way in motivating the right people and building a solid base of support for a successful candidacy. By taking a stand early and building support now, we can help ensure that right candidate wins in 2008.

If of course you would like more information about who this Clark guy is and what he stands for, check out his website at Securing America.com

Chain of dominos

If I had 3 hours, countless video tapes, a plethora of lighters and one too many pieces of toast, I too might make such an extravagant line of dominos. But alas, I do not.

Instead I will just watch this video and be like “oh man, that was totally cool!”

I’ve been watching Jericho since it aired 5 weeks ago, I haven’t missed an episode yet. If someone were to ask me what my favorite story line would be, Jericho’s would not be far from it.

There’s something about a group of people banning together to survive a catastrophic event that strikes a chord with me. There’s the struggle between the productive honest people and those who want to take the easy way out and choose the path of crime.

This latest episode left the town in the dark, literally, after an EMP was detonated. Everything electronic shut down. The emergence of the more sinister characters of town also started in this episode. Apparently they have old ties to Jake Green (the lead character). The townspeople are still unsure of who attacked them but I think if they are advanced enough to have EMPs its likely to be a large country - probably china, russia or North Korea. It will be interesting to see if the show reveals who attacked us before the season wraps.

Next week’s episode looks good, new information from one of the original guys to go out after the 1st blast sheds some light on the citys that did and did not make it. Also the escalation with the hoodlums of town will be a strong plot line as well.

There’s plenty to say about this video, but at the moment its 5:54 AM here in Saint Thomas and I haven’t found my way to bed yet (I got lost somewhere between the frig and the computer I think…).

My best attempt at insight on this video, at this hour, with this lack of sleep, is this.

For the most part we create blogs, vlogs, personal websites, youtube accounts, myspace pages, facebook profiles, forums and the such not only for the obvious self expression we all seek but for the chance to reach out to others and find individuals we can share some sense of connection with. The net is a series of electrical connections. On a much deeper level however, it’s really just a complex overlapping entanglement of human interactions.

I love love, seriously I do! But even I, a self confessed romantic, think this stunt might be a bit much. A friend recently pointed me to this site where a man is attempting to raise enough money to run an ad during the super bowl where he will propose to his girlfriend.

Pretty touching huh? Absolutely it is, but also pretty wasteful and over the top if you ask me.

Apparently it costs somewhere between 1.5 and 2 million dollars to buy a 30 second ad slot during this yearly TV watching Mecca. Yes, you read that right, somewhere between 1.5 & 2 MILLION dollars. While I will stand behind the idea that true love is priceless I do not necessarily stand behind the idea that one needs to spend such a large amount to express it. That type of cash could easily change the lives of so many people in this world; from the sad state of affairs in darfur to the hunger issue we have in our own backyard.

Now, while its probably true that those donating to raise this amount of cash probably will still have the same likelihood of donating (or not donating for that matter) to those other causes it is somewhat mind boggling to see so much money spent on a declaration of love.

Would such an out pouring lay to much pressure on this woman? Would she feel that the money could have been spent better to help others? I’m not sure how the average lady would process such an occurrence, let alone a woman who is already involved with a guy creative enough to come up with such an idea in the first place.

Anyway, I guess at the very least its something to think about. Hell, even if he doesn’t make it to his goal, he’s donating (so he says) what he does manage to raise to a children’s hospital in Tennessee.

I decided to switch things up over here; at least visually that is.

I loaded a new theme called Smooth Dirt by Robert Day and started my editing process. So far I’ve changed the function of the Page. Categories & Archive links and messed around a little bit with the post and comment formating. Overall there is alot less editing needed on this theme as compared to my last one (cordobo green park) to make it something I’ll be content with.

It wasn’t so much that I didn’t like the other theme, I just wanted something a bit more simple and straight forward, something that will last a bit longer that I won’t tire of in a few weeks.

So anyway, if your on my RSS feed come on down and check out my new layout and let me know what you think.

Its 3:53 am and I cannot pull myself away from this computer so that I may lay down and get some rest. Its not like there is anything specifically keeping me awake, I just can’t bring myself to actually climb into bed and close my eyes. I think there may be something wrong with me.

Nearly 13 years ago while I was the ripe old age of 11 this news report was one sign of a revolution in the making - man how things have developed. Its amazing to see how much things have changed since then and how some things have remained oddly the same. We still use the net for the freedom it gives us all to express ourselves and for the wealth of information it provides. However, now more than ever I think we also use the net in ways that are vastly more self indulgently personal.

The net for many of us is more then just communicating with friends and getting info, for at least a portion of our browsing, I believe we use the net to find out about ourselves. To discover what makes us tick and to find others out there with similar twitches. We don’t always realize we are doing this but I think it’s one of the strongest pulls the net has on us; the endless possibilities of finding other people that we can relate to.

Anyway, enough pseudo deepness. On a more lighter note I did find it interesting to hear the reporter refer to the net as just “internet” dropping the word “the”. In today’s world you’d probably think a person misspoke or was uneducated if you heard them say “go get on internet for the directions”. I am curious if the reporter spoke in this manner because he was unaware or if this was par for the course when the segment was taped?

Looking back 13 years ago I cant help but wonder where we will be when 2019 rolls around and if I’ll be posting some other form of blog more advanced than I can imagine on this same topic stating, wow have things changed!

Twenty minutes ago I found out that I have a job interview at 3 oclock today. Nineteen minutes ago I found out I nor my roommate has an iron. My dress shirt and slacks are currently hanging from the shower rod in my bathroom with the hot water draining from our tank… if that doesn’t work I guess I’ll try the dryer… I am not sure how I didn’t think to pack and iron. I guess I just assumed everyone has one. When I lived in a 15 foot by 15 foot box in NYC with a roommate I still had an iron - but somehow I failed to bring one with me to the island.

A trip to K-mart is scheduled for tomorrow.

If you ever get caught without an iron these resources might be helpful.

WikiHow: How to Remove Wrinkles from Clothing Without an Iron
eHow: How to Take Wrinkles Out of Clothing

Follow Up: The shower did not work well - however the dryer proved a bit more useful and I attended my interview with only a slightly wrinkled shirt. (oh and I start on friday)

I recently went to the movie theatre (the only one here on St. Thomas) to see Man of the Year, the comedy about a comedian who runs for president (starring Robin Williams). However, since I could not understand the crappy recording of show times that played when I called the theatres show time phone line and I was unable to find a website that carried the theatres listings I was unaware that Man of the Year had not quite made it to the island yet (it opened nation wide this weekend). After arriving at the theatre to discover this bit of unpleasant news and after a quick run down of movie posters, I along with my friend Reg, decided to see The Covenant. With only a short tag line on the poster we had little to go by for plot ideas but the pickings where slim and it seemed like it might be an O.K movie.

In the end I think it was just that, an O.K movie. The story centers around 4 male mid teen private high school students who are dissidents of the 5 founding families of a small town in New England. The families are bound together by a covenant of silence. This covenant was formed during the witch hunting era during colonial times and was formed to help protect the 5 families that were in fact, witches. The 5th family that was in the covenant was thought to have perished on the burning stakes during the hunt. Little do the remaining 4 families realize that the 5th bloodline did not actually end with the witch hunts and would soon be returning.

I felt that while the overall flow of the plot was relatively smooth a bit more background about this covenant and the families would have been helpful. More background info would have helped develop the characters and explained their love hate relationship with their witch powers that was a strong undertone of the film. The overall feel of the movie developed quickly into a routine teeny bobber flick aimed squarely at Jr High girls. The combination of an abundance of overly attractive male characters, shower and shirtless scenes with only two attractive female characters with considerably less screen time made me wonder if the writer of the film was a aged female writer who never quite got to be part of the in crowd while still in school.

The main characters, played by relatively unknown but up and coming actors, Steven Strait, Taylor Kitsch, Chace Crawford and Toby Hemingway meshed well together in most scenes. Chace had relatively few scenes but definitely met the standard of the films acting ability, though that could probably have been said for almost any actor with this few of lines. Toby’s performance however had several instances that left me feeling as if his delivery was not quite believable; however this could have come from the less than amazing script. Steven Strait however delivered a solid and thoughtful performance (for a teeny bobber supernatural flick) that complimented the excellent, if not a bit over developed performance of Sebastian Stan. Sebastian played the villain and 5th missing blood line descendant. In the female and somewhat forgotten supporting roles Laura Ramsey delivers a performance that matched her movie love counter parts’ (Steven Strait) and made her already cute character a bit more likable while Jessica Lucas served up solid scenes, even if there were only a handful of them.

The special effects of the movie were indeed up to most viewers’ standards however they lacked originality, deciding instead to borrow from the proven enjoyment of the slow motion, gravity defying fight style that was made popular by The Matrix, Kill Bill and other such movies.

With the exception of the final fight scene that held its own in terms of action and CGI effects the movie ended on a somewhat anticlimactic note that screamed sequel.

While I did find the movie enjoyable I would have to limit my recommendation of the film to Jr. High girls and possibly their mothers. For the guys out there – hold off until video if your into the witch magic thing, if not steer clear all together; this one is definitely more WB supernatural than a serious film thriller.

My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
Rotten Tomates.com Rating: 2%

So, Tower Records is closing… that’s right, the store known to have more CD’s than god is closing its doors.

I guess I am not sure how I feel about this. I can recall shopping there only a handful of times; their prices never seemed very competitive. I did however like their selection and listening stations.

In the end I guess this is probably the start, or at least the more visible effects of online & digital commerce. I wonder which store will be next, Borders? Barnes & Noble? The one thing saving them (at least so far) is that digital books haven’t picked up as quickly as mp3s have. I do predict however, that the major brick and mortar bookstores will have to pull something out of their hat if they want to stay in the game too; less they go the way of tower as well.

So this is my first post since my arrival here on there island. I got in Tuesday (the 26th) in the afternoon with my good friend Reg waiting to pick me up at the airport. Which by the way is tiny, it has two airstrips which apparently can handle a 757 - but easily handled our small Cessna.

So far I haven’t gotten alot done here yet (still no car or job) but I have been getting settled in and familiar with the island. I’ve set up my local cell phone with Cingular. They are a bit more expensive then sprint here on the island but the coverage is suppose to be substantially better, I have 30 days if I want to switch. Housing wise I have been staying with my friend - he has a extra guest suite with full bath, kitchen, living room and bedroom so that’s been really nice. I’ll probably be there for a few more months until things really get jumping with the restaurant, then I will start to look again.
So far things here don’t seem to much different from back in the states but in line with that a few posters have said over at www.vimovingcenter.com have said - I have noticed a few things.

• 1st
  - Many of the people at first glance do not all seem friendly, they seem to give me a look that is less then welcoming, but I have found that if I smile and seem friendly towards them they lighten up rather quickly. No one yet has actually been rude - they just seem a bit standoffish at first. I guess with all of the people coming and going and with the attitude I am sure some of the tourists bring it could jade the locals a bit. It seems what you put out there is what comes back and I guess if someone were to take the wrong direction things could become unfriendly rather easily.
• 2nd
  THE BUGS!!! The bugs are one thing that differently are not fun. They mostly come out at night and the main bug de pain is the classic mosquito. I have never been a big fan of bug spray but I’ve gotten very friendly with it very quickly. During the day things are pretty normal, so its a night time problem mostly.
• 3rd
  The internet is not easy to come by! The majority of providers on the island are “wireless”… that is they send the single like a cell phone signal. There is one local phone company - Innovative - and they offer but dial and hard line connections but there speeds are not what one would get back on the mainland. We are currently trying to set up service with Ackley Communications. They should hopefully coming out this week to see if we can get service. If we can it will be 199 set up costs and $99 a month for 256k speeds (not exactly lightening fast but better then nothing or dial up)
• 4th
  The cost of gas is crazy high! The cheapest on the island is $3.30 (this is on St. Thomas, STT). Coming from LA I was use to high prices but things had come down a bit before I had left, as low as $2.70 in some places so seeing $3.30 low and $3.70ish high I was kinda surprised. This of course is the course all consumer goods take, they cost more here - food, things at Kmart, even the stateside newspapers catch a higher price on the island (4 + bucks for a USA today). The only thing I did notice is a bit more in line if not cheaper is the alcohol. But in the end of course all of this is the cost of living on an island… things take longer to get here obviously and the cost to get them here in more.. I am actually somewhat surprised that some things don’t cost more… I got a pair of decent sandals for 15 bucks… so go figure.

There are other differences I am sure but right now at this point I haven’t come across them. As things come up I will be sure to mention them!

On the agenda for tomorrow I will be heading to the post office to mail out some postcards, running some errands and starting my search for an island car (aka a beat up piece of crap!)

Oh. - For those interested I shipped 3 packages priority mail last Friday - two of them arrived on Thursday and one of Friday, so that’s pretty good timing. They all had insurance and or tracking on them. I also sent one box parcel post with tracking so we will see how long that takes to get in.

If you know of a decent car for sale (circa a grand) leave me a comment or send me an email.

Cheers