The one about the terrorist...

"Don't forget Yosuf, you will be rewarded in the afterlife, have no fear, have faith, you control your own destiny," said emphatically his superior officer.
"Thank you grand-master, I will not let you down, I am blessed to carry out this mission in the name of Muhammad."
It was blistering hot outside, when they exited the house it him like a punch in the face, but these Muslim men have grown accustomed to it. Yosuf was the first one to leave, as his mission was undergone and he wanted to begin preparation immediately, he felt he shouldn't waste time. Others left after him but the grand-master and some of his assistants and those right behind him in rank stayed with him. Leaving amongst the crowd Yosuf believed, naturally, that they followed but because he wasn't thinking about it at the time, he didn't notice they were not.
Back in the house, Taimour approached the grand-master bearing a nasty looking grin and a snooty attitude (but those who desire the ___ ear must be in control of their emotions.)
"Sir, I have concerns"
"Of course you do, that is because you a dedicated and holy man"
"Well," continued Taimour, "I have been noticing lately that Yosuf is losing his sense of purpose, losing sight of his objectives and I worry he is not as completely dedicated as the others, I don't want to make any quick judgments or stir trouble but this mission is too important to have a skeptic among them."
"I agree Taimour about the importance of this mission, including the reliability of the men who have been chosen to carry it through but I'm afraid I have not noticed that about Yosuf, he is a good man and I believe he will carry out his deed."
"Yes, sir, I understand your ability to judge the character of men and women, something I would not be able to do with my youth but I'm just saying, worst-case scenario that we should keep a close eye on him."
"We keep close of all those who have been chose."
"But maybe we should pay extra attention to Yosuf, as he is one of the keys, one of the pilots."
"I will take your suggestions under consideration and for the time I will order a closer watch but we should not hold these beliefs among our own, we must be united."
"Yes, grand-master, I will abide," concluded Taimour.

UAV's

The military is all hyped about UAV's right now and one of my favorite potential ideas to reach full-speed in the future, I am looking forward to it. I will love to see UAV's flying with manned aircraft and one of my ideas is to store UAV's in the manned jets and the pilot has the ability to release and tell them where to ago. We need to require them to be automatic for this type of shit but if that happened around now either the pilot or a operator back at base. I would want the aircraft to have perhaps a cannon and quality firing system. Of course GPS, infrared and multiple camera angle to get a good look. Already it is understood that UAV's can travel at much higher supersonics that men can handle. So I guess it could be possible for UAV's to be launched in one corner of the world, any corner of the world and can attack or perform round the clock surveillance to support troops on the ground. This also gives the possibility in the future of a UAV's spaceship to travel to new worlds. The potential excites my imagination and gives something, at least one, to look forward to in the future. I should make some designs for a few side-views of a jet with these features attached. First off I need to do research about the shape of and basic design of UAV's, maybe the F-35 Raptor or an Apache Longbow but I don't think a helicopter would be able to store them on the vehicle, perhaps small ones but how do you design a weapon to be installed on such a small UAV. Perhaps you can put a cannon that can be put out underneath the "cockpit" which can be operated for the doors to be opened and closed. All this naturally will be automated or controlled by the pilot or someone back at base. The wings will be collapsable for better installing. Unlike Leonardo I don't really have an ethical problem with building weapons so I can be as destructive and evil as my imagination allows me. Especially in the modern warfare world where all sorts of destructive technologies exist to be taken advantage of by the destructive potential of imagination. I live to feel modern power in all forms. Watching the Military Channel after I watched all that was available On Demand I pity myself.
It would be ideal to stock a number of various types of UAV's onto a fighter jet, like a few for reconnaissance and a few for attacking. I should get a job designing military and industrial aircraft for Boeing or Lockheed Martin. But of course a problem occurs about the amount of space available on the aircraft when the factor of a vast array of JDAM's and other missiles comes into play. Thats what they say, you can't have everything you want.

Why Am I Here?

First off, my european ancestors were looking for a better life, which happened to be the case at the time (15/16th century), my others (paternal) came from Czechoslovakia in the early 20th century. Since then, things have changed. My maternal is what I will be discussing since it goes back further and in particular my male blood line. My great-grandfather shot himself in the head with a shotgun, my grandfather came home from work and drank and watched Baseball in the dark in the living room or in his bedroom, my uncle has mild ______, and I, I have stopped caring.

The revolution failed Abby
It has bitten the dust
Another one Bites the Dust
Another one...Another one
Another one Bites the Dust
Whatever happened to JFK and MILK?
Or you Abby, and Timothy Leary?
Can you not still accomplish things
behind bars?

Mental Health

I just read an article in the Christian Science Monitor () about the rising mental health problems that are currently attacking China. A reason for this is the fast progress being experienced by China for the last 20 years or so. This reminds of people directly after WWII believing they have seen UFOs. Though when these reports were read they were strikingly similar to the futuristic aircraft of WWII. So in the deeper parts of the US people very unfamiliar to the planes thought they were UFOs.

So with the quick advancement of China, mental health knocked, claiming primarily women with a ratio of 8:2. The reason for the problems with women in China is stress because men are grown up to repress their emotions and not show weakness. The biggest rate of suicide in the world is China, especially women between the ages of 15 and 34, with the visual above being a woman attempting to jump of a bridge with her best friend talking her out of it.

Source: >http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/1113/p06s01-woap.html.

HELL ON WHEELS

Hell on wheels
Hell on earth
Breath the fire
of that wood on earth
let that wood burn
from the wildfires I started
Its no time to feel pity
or sympathies
Its rather time, however
for ducking
and dodging
And spliting the spines
Of the pines

Ah,
My black one
Though art not luminous
Yet an altar of jewels
An altar of shimmering jewels,
Would pale in the light
Of thy darkness
Pale in the light
Of they nightness

-Langston Hughes

Misc

Its time for me to depart
to the countryside
and reclaim the calm
cool & collected
perspectives

try not to worry dear
your Judgments
cannot affect me ----
for that relationship
is Decaying
with everything else

my background in theatre
comprising of nothing
from my Black Hole in the Sun
don't let English dominate you
speak, speak...Speak!
in those romance languages
in those strange dialects
of the Global Village

where is the white men section
in bookstores?
I see women's studies
African-American studies
Hispanic, Asian, Pacific
but where is the section
that concerns me?

The Battle of Timers?

Hitting is like life
usually you lose
and only get it right
thirty three percent of the time
if your lucky
some go all for it
and tally up the K's
others more conservative
preferring contact over power
but when your timing is on
nothing is sweeter

what have I done in past lives
to deserve this?
was I Napoleon
or Stalin?
Nixon and the Bush's or
Hitler and Mussolini?
WHAT!!!?

Death

Suicide note draft

I have departed
hopefully to nothing
if possible I want to be cremated
and spread across the Atlantic Ocean
from whence my ancestors crossed
to reach here
I've been given the burden of life
something I didn't ask for
I've been given the burden of ending my life
something I didn't want to be given
however my burden will end
leaving only yours
I don want to sound inconsiderate
but that will end all the burdens that I have
these problems are no longer mine
they are yours
this is what I wanted, a cease
seeing faces in the ceiling
it put a smile on my face
thinking how wonderful it would be
not to see them anymore
to put an end to whatever horrors
are over the horizon
to languish in others frowns
to not know how anyone would react
for these is the rub
darkness will end
hopefully it will all end and I never come back
in any fucking form
the soul will decay
having passed on nothing of its horror
it will all decompose
from whence it came
leaving no traces
but simpler life emerging
doing it best to reach the sun
on second thought,
just throw my body into the woods
I plan on burning everything of mine
little by little so no one will notice
leaving no traces of my existence
only memories that will fade
and eventually those would end
like generations before
that were forgotten
only completing the cycle of life
you may call it cheating
but what the fuck do I care
I'm dead
-June 2007

Untitled

God I hate my life
I took a Zydone but
don't have enough
for all day
what will I do?
don't have booze
don't have pot
don't have caffeine
don't have anymore pills

If only I died
it could be so nice
it would be so great
to die and never see
another sunset or
another dawn
death begets blankness
nothingness, zero
the history of 0
speaks to history
no reincarnation
no soul exists
no where to go
no where to be seen
but down here on
the dead, cold earth
I hope to see black
I want to cringe my hair out
pull it out
hit my fists against concrete
and my head
against wood
I don't want to be buried
or cremated
but left to rot in the ground
never to come back
Heaven wouldn't do
Limbo wouldn't do
Hell wouldn't help
none of these will help
if my existence continues
like my brother
I have an eccentricity
tapping my foot on the floor
maybe its nervousness
or depression
or both
fall has greeted me coldly
like a slap on the face
its not giving me a fair chance
to keep things balanced
the median is non-existent
my ultimate goal
my current goal
my soon to be real goal
my hopefully eventual goal
-October 2007

I'm gonna join the military, see you in hell
-Will Kudner

Turn the pages of the season, bright and true

You say this is the coldest its been yet
or, this is the warmest
or the chilliest
for the wettest or the hottest
but when you are unaccustomed
to the varying degrees
to the changing seasons
because your body is unfamiiar
to the changing temperature
you become sure
this is the worst, or the best
its been so far

Poetry

Encapsulating Fog
Out my window, the view
a big evergreen tree shrouded in fog
alerts me to the weather status
drifting in and out
waking up now and then
foggy, clear, blue skies, foggy again
vapor accompanies the cigarette smoke
at night, walking around in the darkness
moving cars, looking mysterious
waiting for the veil of fog, un-coveted
to be lifted come noon

I can imagine
the fog and his shroud of cronies
hovering, traveling around
in the morning hours
encapsulating playgrounds
busy with playing children
and supermarket parking lots
and busy intersections
waiting for low eleven
disguising evergreens
from tree watchers
and selfish birds

A Comforting Dream
I had a dream
that we were to wake up
early in the morning
and walk miles and miles
back to the parking lot
but, when I awoke
from the Seroquel-inspired dream
I realized that all was well
that, not to worry
this happened months ago
and that I'm safe and warm
right now
in my bed

Some thoughts on Baseball

A Baseball game is similar in overall structure to that of a war, one comparison is its being made up of battles. The sport is made up of numerous competitions between batter and pitcher, which ultimately determines the outcome of the game. In other team sports, players must cooperate in order to score, in Baseball one can take it upon himself to score. It is mano e mano, slugger vs. flamethrower, the battles that decide the war. Of course partial exceptions can be made for people like Michael Vick in Football or Kobe Bryant in Basketball, but they still require defense to block and protect them, to feed them the ball at the appropriate time and so on. These battles in Baseball also test the limits of humankind's capabilities and skills, one cannot throw harder than around 101 or 102 mph. In the evolution of baseball, since its inception in the late 19th century, and although we didn't have hand held speedometers, pitchers velocity hasn't likely increased. It also tests the batter, as one has to swing as soon as the pitchers releases the ball. Scientifically and technically speaking, hitting a small ball going tops of 100 mph with a cylindrical bat is the most difficult feat to accomplish in all of sports.
In other sports, methods of scoring are not nearly as difficult. Catching a Football-running and shooting a Basketball in a hoop isn't as complex and technically challenging as hitting a Baseball in the majors. A Japanese man once remarked on how perfect a sport Baseball is for Japan, that its ideally suited for the Japanese mentality and what the country desires out of a team sport. Japan is also a big fan of Golf, because as the legend goes, it is cheaper and faster for rich Japanese businessmen to fly to the US and play there than it is in their own Japan. They seem to be fond of mathematical and precise ball striking games, such as Baseball and Golf. At the time of writing this article, A Japanese player is trying to become the first person of his country to make it to the NFL. The reason I'm mentioning Japan is because of its mathematical attractiveness. I once had an enlightening moment where I see every single play, out, swing, throw as making numbers which you can crunch, this is the field of saber metrics, by analyzing these numbers for areas like specialization. Another moment made me look at the game as a gladiator arena, where people are challenged to the very peak and potential of their skills. Essentially a survival of the fittest contest for peoples entertainment.

My intended initaitive

I ntend to start publishing on this blog at least a bi-weekly article where I remark on two stories+ from BBC's World Edition feed, whose five most recent articles can be seen on the right. I will do at least two of them but more if I find other ones interesting. I will probably publish the first sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Diary Entry - World War 3?

The theory Michael Mendelbaum puts forth (or at least one of them) in his book The Case for Goliath suggests The United States of America has been serving a necessary and important role as the World's government post-WWII and during the Cold War, and although the world might not need all of those services anymore, the absence of a large, established, and declared state (as of yet, and not including al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations) to effectively oppose the US military-wise is proof we can't be seen as that bad around the world and many nations don't object to our presence but rather welcome it. Sure one can argue that America's mere presence is enough of a deterrent to people to oppose it militarily but that argument can go on forever, it is just like going around is circles. Have we risen as that powerful of a force after World War II that no country after it (other than the USSR) actively oppose it on an equal base, could a nation become that powerful in such a small amount of time? Just like during the Cold War, America was preferred by the majority of sovereign states because we were the lesser of two evils. America can still provide useful services around the world despite the end of the Cold War.
-----America is trying to become a better superpower, as we have noticed we are currently the only one. No force is policing us, therefore it is up to us to conduct matters in our hands properly, and not abuse the power. Just like people, countries make mistakes. The backbone of all nations is the government and every branch relies on people. The potential for corruption is present at all times, as a complete democracy is not yet possible. Any group, even large ones, have the possibility of corruption lingering at all times. It can be argued America is currently in that position, but things pass and hopefully Bush's administrations mistakes don't pop up in the future. All we can do is learn from the mistakes we have made and do better in the future, hopefully preventing further mistakes in the future. We may have failed at times in the past and are encountering rough patches in the present. You can't make progress if you're too afraid to fail. A willingness to potentially fail is the only way to truly make progress. Without deviation, progress is not possible. Perhaps if all people were too scared to make the world a better place, like the US has been attempting, maybe we would currently be embroiled in yet another World War.
-----Perhaps WWIII is currently being waged, out of the attempt to spread peace, the principles of democracy and free market, which is currently the most effective economic system currently available around the world. The US is leading the way in this global campaign which can be misconstrued and mistakenly seen as an attempt at global domination. I understand how it may seem that way to some people, because of the misunderstood and misguided conflicts we have gotten involved in lately. At times we might be pushing the limits trying to spread our "ideals" around the world but those are ones that have reasonably worked for us now and in the past all around the world. Though some nations may not think this will work for them, you might as well cooperate to avoid unnecessary deaths and later on peacefully create a different type of government and economy. Our method may not be perfect but it is a work-in-progress and can anyone provide a better method other than dictatorial, totalitarian, and religiously oppressive governments?

The Middle East, Part 1

POTENTIAL TARGETS AND FUTURE AMERICAN ADMINISTRATIONS
AND WHAT THAT MEANS TO OUR DESIRE FOR GLOBAL DOMINATION

So, playing the devil's advocate and humoring nay-sayers, if America intends to conquer the world, what would be the best and therefore the most logical next step towards accomplishing that goal? We are currently in the process of securing the majority of the known oil in the world. It just so happens that in order for a military the size of America's to operate and get things done, a vast amount of oil is required, and to kill two birds with one stone, we are keeping it out of the hands of potential threats by getting it first. The first on the list is rogue governments operating in the Middle East and the most visible one those at the time, was Iraq and apparently after that ---- Iran.
-----Though Iran could cause even more trouble than Iraq is right now, and god knows how long our forces will be tied up there until we can confidently move on, that is out of the question, for now. If we ever do get around to invading, our next target would likely be North Korea but at the writing of the article, NK's government appears to be more willing in dealing with Nuclear protection people. That is a brief list and discussion of primary military targets being waged right now and possibly in the future. Now I would like to move on to what the post-Bush administration might look like and how these people are going to approach the preceding military intervention plans.
-----It seems very likely that the Democrats are going to take power after Dubya and his cronies but that doesn't necessarily mean the war is going to end anytime soon. A hasty retreat and another war against Iraq that remains unfinished business would surely prove to be a problem and threat to America's future. What would Hillary or Barack's approaches likely be? They might finish the Iraq war but I cannot imagine their administration nor the American people allowing another hairy war anytime soon. To finalize the opinion in what wars with North Korea or Iran would look like, if we fight the traditional "Tank on tank" style of warfare we would rule militarily as always but if the people refuse to cooperate with us another unconventional war will ensue. So hopefully we can squash their ability to fight us in any way but directly and post-invasion/nation-building operates smoothly after major military activity ceases.

Suggested Watching and Listening Material

Visual Entertainment:
Television Shows:
Duckman
League of gentlemen
Upright citizens brigade
Stella
I'm with busey
Music:
Rock:
neil young - like a hurricane
blue oyster cult - don't fear the reaper
wishbone ash/ pheonix
jethro tull/ nothing to say
Matthew's southern comfort - wood-stock
five man electric band - signs
merry-weather /we can make it
grateful dead - china cat, i know you rider, looks like rain/ eternity

Other:
Heitor villa-lobos choros no. 1
michael starke - trio sonata-two recorders and Bc_____
dune - forever
cala - beethoven piano sonata no. 8 the pathetique mvt. 1
johann sebastian bach - double violin concerto in d minor
vivaldi
status qou/ somethings going on in my head
in the land of a few
dozhd - sluzhebniy roman (soundtrack)
clamenco guitarist john erbentraut
handel - water music suite. No. 1

Some more Artwork

(Horse...and Mountain)

Some Artwork

These are a few pieces of art work (Dresser..., and Swiss Army Knives)

Journal Pages

These are (in order) a few unedited and scanned pages from my journal about American technological expertise and our place in history. (Sorry about the horizontal blotch down through the middle, scanner malfunction)

Silent Running

"Silent Running" is a 1972 science fiction film that takes place sometime in the future, probably within one hundred years. In outer space there is roaming giant American Airline spaceships containing numerous forests from Earth, the last in the solar system. A man (Freemen Lowell) has been involved with the program for 8 years is the only one among a group of 4 that passionately wants to preserve and save the forests, "all that beauty" as he puts it. When I read the blurb on On-Demand I thought it might turn into a sort of action science film movie but it turned out to be more philosophical and about ideals.
In describing Earth and the Universe he says "on Earth it is always 75 degrees and temperate, there are no new frontiers to be explored, it is dull." He exists in a place where he loves nature but is also very technologically satisfied and grows an attachment to two robot drones who take care of the ship, to perform repairs and maintenance tasks. He changes their programming so they respond directly to him, and creates programs that allow them to perform surgery, play poker, and take care of the forest. His names for them are Hughie and Dughie and they sort of act as placements for the other three people he had to kill to save the forest. It is interesting to me how he operates so smoothly in two worlds, nature (the forest) and the technologically advanced spaceship.
Though one of the crew said in the beginning that Earth has "eliminated poverty and everyone has a job" this future can be considered a dystopia as Lowell considers it. When he is leading on a superior officer in the beginning he calls Lowell "one hell of an American" and after the transmission he says to himself, "I think I am." A boring, controlled future would be bad with no more nature and lack of diversity.

Li'l Bush

Li'l Bush is a Comedy Central show which acts as a satirical, animated view of the Bush administration. It is not only funny, interpreting the absurd actions of cronyism advocates but also other members of society not connected to politics get made fun of, such as Al Gore. In the most recent episode Li'l Rummy took the fall for Li'l Bush's actions as the hall monitor, mirroring and particularly criticizing Rumsfield's resignation, “Somebody's gotta take the fall, right?”. I am not sure whether Li'l Rummy has been banished from the show for all time or whether it is yet another show rampant with incontinuity. I am not saying that is annoying, except to the perfectionist, but rather obvious and, at times, distracting. I recommend it on the basis of what Comedy Central has done before with the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, events have gotten so ridiculous, the only opportunity to criticize it and expose obvious flaws and mistakes is through a comedic Television show.

Review (?) of Gilligans Island and Hogans Heroes

This is the first of my articles in a series about Old Television shows

Gillians Island and Hogans Heroes have been pathways to escapism at some point in my life of the past few years. They have provided a unique form of it, one that resides in complete escapism. They donut take place in conventional places and don't revolve around large casts and many areas. They are isolated, the former on a deserted island and the latter in a German POW camp during World War II. Both are comedies, which I have been especially keen on for awhile now, and both frequently explore far-fetched plots and outlandish scenarios, the essence of golden-age television you could say. More recently, my passion for Gilligan's Island has tapered off and I haven been able to finish the most recent season I purchased, but my love of Hogans Heroes has never dissipated and is alive as ever.

On the whole HH is the more quality show whereas Gilligan's Island, most of the time, leaves much to be desired. It has a lot of silly lines and cliché reactions and situations. It may have an imaginative plot, being stranded on a deserted island, but it still manages to fit neatly into a genre. Hogans Heroes on the other hand exploded and broke into genres never before explored. For one, it prominently featured an African American as Hogans second-in-charge, something never before seen. Though it took place in a German POW camp, it was not run by Nazis but by the Luftwaffe, and never mentioned the slaughter of six-plus million Jews and more. Concentration camps were the never the target of sabotage by Hogan and his commandos. Wilhelm, a Jewish actor who portrayed Kommandant Klink, reportedly accepted the role on the terms that Hogan always win their escapades. The actors who played Schultz and Le Beau respectively, were also Jewish. Ironically, Hogans Heroes re-runs have proved to be extremely popular in Germany and included a maid that was mentioned but never seen.

It could be argued that both series's have a fairly equal role in popular culture consciousness, perhaps Gilligan's Island has a slight edge because of the romantic setting and catchy theme song. Also Hogans Heroes is probably more infamous because of Bob Crane's (Hogan) pornographic film endeavors and mysterious murder, a renown Hollywood murder. As I said earlier HH is my favorite of the two. I have always had an interest in World War II, especially Germany.

The idea of Hogans Heroes that has molded itself into popular culture is the use of a secret tunnel. In Family Guy, a popular Fox animated comedy, an episode with Chris, Peters son, involves him having a job at a golfing range and while picking up balls the owner appears out of a secret tunnel from under the ground. He says to Chris, "Yeahs, it a secret tunnel, like in Hogans Heroes, wanna fight about it?" And in The Simpsons Homer envisions in his mind Klink as a gaurdian angel, Wikipedia mentions these as testaments to HH's popularity. I use these shows as examples because they are very popular in American and abroad culture. 

Hogans Heroes (Wikipedia)

Imdb

Our love/hate relationship

Americans have a love and hate relationship with cannabis, it seems, sometimes, in equal measurements. Of course it can be considered to be involving Americans of various types. All people are different, even within their own countries, towns, and villages. This is especially true with the United States of America, whose Civil War took a heavier toll on its people than any other war they have engaged in since. In recent wars the causality rate has gone down, due to advanced technology, body armor, etc. To put it succinctly, Americans differ on numerous topics within. In the case of marijuana, it goes as far back as to its colonial days, in a way even to its first president, George Washington. In his journals he refers to growing hemp, the product of cannabis that has very low THC content. He even encouraged other farmers to grow it, as the rope product is very strong and hemp is easy to grow in many environments. It was not used for psychoactive or medicinal purposes however, as far as we know.

After that, word about cannabis seemed to taper off until it resurfaced in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. It started to appear as an ingredient in various medicinal concoctions going around. It was prohibited by Harry J. Anslinger, at a time prohibited mind-altering substances was in fashion. After World War I America was enjoying considerable prosperity, like it never had before. Perhaps people in power decided what is good and what is not good for the masses, taking it upon themselves to make the decision. It is now understood as a method to keep Mexicans and other immigrants from South America out of our country.

It appeared on the Beat scene, in the early 50's by iconic figures Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg, among others. Since the days of slavery, forms of cannabis have been used to help creativity flow. With slaves toiling in the fields, they would smoke cannabis to reduce anxiety, thus the roots of blues music. It is believed one of the first instances that cannabis appeared in the New World, was slaves brining it over from Africa in the slave trade. Along with heroin, the most popular illegal drug being used by musicians was marijuana. Especially in the genres of Blues and Jazz. Later, via the Beats and Hippies, it was used by Rock musicians, strongly influenced by blues music. Allen Ginsberg can be used as a guide to the cultivation and usage of marijuana, and nearly every important anti-war movement, hippie sit-in, and rebellious groups during the 50's and the 60's. Some of his articles are some of the best pro-marijuana documents ever written. Here is an article by Lester Grinnspoon which talks about Ginsberg's relationship with cannabis. And here is the most famous article about marijuana written by Ginsberg.

Key figures like Ginsberg and John Lennon are prime examples of Americans perspectives of marijuana. Despite Lennon being an Englishmen, he was essentially kicked out of America for smoking weed. Ginsberg was kicked out of almost every country he visited in the mid to late 60's, including the former Czechoslovakia and Cuba. Another big figure of the time was Timothy Leary, who was able to convince congress to revoke an old law about marijuana and stamps. It implied that if you want marijuana, you must declare it but in the act of declaration, you can be arrested for possession, Leary said that was unconstitutional and he won. The government has always had a very anti-pot viewpoint, therefore it has been exceptionally popular with counterculture.

Certain Americans passion for cannabis has resulted in the perfection of the mind-altering capabilities of the magical plant. This is evident in its best in Amsterdam, where marijuana has been decriminalized and you can purchase it at places called coffee shops. You can choose from numerous strains, all of which are based on the original strains of sensimilla cannabis developed by Americans, primarily in the Pacific Northwest and Northern California in the late 80's. Once again Amsterdam is the place to be if you have a passion for a particular plant, before it was the Tulip, now it is Cannabis. A marvelous article written by Michael Pollan, a regular contributor to the New York Times, in his book Botany of Desire. America is both responsible for the marvelous sensimilla and its being prohibited in most of the world.

1. Michael Pollan, Botany of Desire (book, specifically sections titled "€œTulips"€ and "€œCannabis")

2. Lester Grinnspoon, Allen Ginsberg and Mary Jane (article, Marijuana Uses)

3. Allen Ginsberg, The Great Marijuana Hoax (article, Marijuana Uses)

4. Carl Sagan, Mr. X (article, Marijuana Uses)

5. Erowid Cannabis Vault (good overall web resource)

Lo's business

Victoria crater, credit NASA

Mars, former alien civilization?

Scooter Libby

This whole scooter libby thing is not very good. Everyone is covering it. I hope this marks a drastic way in coverage by the media and action by the powers that be in order to protect the freedom of future generations. I admit I am not the most informed but I desire to be. I have everyones good will at my heart. I am thinking about the us and not the me. Their is no I in teamwork. I implore everyone to spread democracy in its purest form, whatever way possible. Lets restore the checks and balances of the system and re-establish true democracy, the one that has worked so often in the American past. Now we must progress to "connecting the citizenry" using the Internet. Create a true democracy, not a "representative" democracy or actually republic, but one where everyone participates, not just those who were voted in to reperesent but all people, to have their so. Only recently has this ability been realized, achieved technologically, and we should embrace it and prevent wrongdoing in the future. 

"The future is what you make it"     - Doc, Back to the Future III

Plumes of smoke from the WTC on 9/11

From the slideshow photos that changed the world at Slate.com

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

I visited the MFA (Museum of Fine Arts) in Boston today, got a nice print of Cape Cod Evening(>) by Edward Hopper from his exhibit, which lasts until August 16. The description under it observed the unhappy couple and the dog hearing something off in the background. Something about the seemingly stillness of the dog brings out emotion in me. 

Cyber-war

Here is an interesting article (requires registration) about potential cyber-war with China. That is the situation right now, our enemy over the horizon is China and our current opponent is terrorism, also a War on Drugs is being waged. In airports and the Boston subway system, announcements come on warning travelers and commuters to not take packages from strangers and to not let luggage and out of your sight. I was in the mall connecting with the Prudential center building in Boston earlier and it reminded me of Total Recall, from scenes of the shopping center on Mars.

Griffey's return

I didnt watch the game as I'm currently in Boston but I did see clips of the pregame ceremonies honoring Griffey Jr. They were showing posters and signs from the crowd, among them saying things like "we want Griffey back" and "welcome to the house that Griffey built." Now thats interesting, Griffey is on the trading block and the Mariners are in relative contention, its possible that Griffey might return to Seattle, though unlikely in my opinion because our [Mariners] outfield is pretty solid right now, especially in center (Ichiro) where Griffey would likely occupy. A snippet that sums up the game "The 46,340 came early to honor Griffey and stayed to watch his team demolish the hometown squad." Many of my fellow Seattlites attented the battle, the sixth-largest crowd in Mariners history. 

Freedom

People who dont fullfill freedom despite ones goodwill or intentions should stop using that word in disgrace, for it will become what Communism has entered into, inability to use because it now means, pretty much, a dictatorship. If it is not legal for someone to smoke a marijuana cigarette, then you cannot justifiably use the word "freedom." That is what America has done to that word, it now requires qoutes to refer to it, american-style. 

Oriole Tejada

Miguel Tejada is suffering from a purported broken wrist, which is expected to end his 5th longest consecutive games played record. He has already passed a few hall-of-famers this but it is now expected to end. It has always been said that no one will pass Cal Ripkens record, one that is a couple hundred games higher than baseball's former "Iron Man", Lou Gehrig. I think this occurence is unfortunate, I have been aware of Tejada for a long time because of what his A's have done to my M's. He was awarded as the MVP when he was flourishing with the Athletics, therefore I am very aware of out of respect and thereafter extreme envy and jealousy, of both him and his former franchise. The Orioles started well this year but have since tapered off, resulting in not only Sam Perlazzos, the managers, job but also the refusal of  great unemployed manager, Joe Giardi, to accept the vacant job. Tejada is expected to be out for a few months if this injury is for real. Too bad, it was a challenging of the most unbreakable baseball record, Ripkens Jr's. I'll be pleased to see his return to begin a new journey to break Cal's. 

No-spin Zone...my ass

I was traveling through Maine via automobile and I was listening to the Bill O'Reilly show talking about the situation in Iraq. He says that he has been honest with this viewers, that he has been aware of the problems we are facing in Iraq since day 1, but does not advocate troop withdrawl. He sees it that as long as we are there we might as well try to win it. This is a direct qoute from his show, talking to the Iraqi people "we will install freedom and democracy, if you cooperate." If you cooperate? Thats not what freedom is, they should have the choice to install whatever form of government that they choose, whether that be theocratic or a dictatorship, we dont have the right to tell them how to run their own country. Though we may think that our form of representative democracy is the best, we dont have the right to force that onto another people. We need to stop acting as the world police. I dont believe in isolationism but we shouldnt constantly interfere in other countries affairs. 

Resume'

The Mariners have resumed their winning ways. After a long overdue break spending time with their famalies, they have thankfully appeared to relax and have started to play solid ball in all aspects. The last two wins over the Pittsburgh Pirates have exhibited the offensive and defensive skills that the Mariners have this year so often showed to their opposition. Felix threw 8 shutout innings and Ichiro has been electric during the Pirates series. Tonight Ken Griffey Jr. makes his return to Seattle and to the park that wouldnt exist without the revenue he created for the team. Its possible that Seattle might not even still have the Mariners at all without him. He pretty much saved this franchise. He is on the trading block this year due to his mighty return and his Reds stinking up the NL Central. However he doesnt seem to want to go to a contending team like the Yankees or anything. The Mariners have begun another winning streak which I'm sure is to continue tonight. We have pitched back-to-back shutouts for the first time since 2004 (courtesy ESPN).

Oh My Poor Mariners, Home Sick they are!

Heres a qoute from Mariners first basemen "We have been on the road a lot, and maybe guys are [tired] at this point. "We've had two tough road trips this month," he said, referring to the current four-city trek that ends Sunday afternoon and an earlier 10-game journey through four cities and three time zones. "We have been on the road a lot, and maybe guys are [tired] at this point." Damn right my man. THEY WANT TO SEE THEIR FUCKING FAMILIES! Baseball is a peculiar sport as these players sometimes have no time to get back into reality, what truly matters. When these unfortunate incedents happen, a much needed break needs to be scheluded somewhere. I realize they are being paid a fortune but on the backs of many a poor Seattle person they are riding on, and they matter too, perhaps most.

It was unfair what happened with all those delays in Cleveland and Boston, etc. However I have noticed both teams [Indians and Mariners] excel since that "breaking" point. Struggle makes an impressive group of guys more powerful. I hope that someone reads this "article" because I want them to know that I have faith, I really do. I will have faith until the day I die. Like my out-of-state friend said that I have "Seattle vibe" and damn fucking right I do. I want these hard fighting boys to know that I BELIEVE IN THEM no matter what. Keep on battlin' my friends, I'll be watching.

Superstition and losing streaks

So the Seattle Mariners are on a losing streak, again. I say again because last year when I went on holiday to the East, they embarked upon a losing that effectively ended their season. Before I left they were still in reasonable contention and whenever I had access to wireless internet I would check their progress. However, for nearly two weeks after my debarkation all I would see as I gained access to the Information superhighway were losses. Checking the box scores I would nod my head in disappointment. 

I am not a very superstitious person by nature but due to these latest developments, I am beginning to have my doubts. My mother is very superstitious, probably due to her South Carolinian upbringing so growing up around her I would notice her idiosyncrasies, from not wanting to drive across a stretch of road if she saw a black cat cross it to knocking on wood whenever someone said something they didn't actually want to happen. Now with these losing streaks coinciding with my departure from Seattle I am rethinking all of this. Not that I'm going to become a neurotic about black cats or anything but I'm starting to think there might be something to it after all. When something you care about a lot is all of a sudden not being as successful as they were, anyone can begin to have doubts.

The night I left the Mariners won against the Cubs in extra innings in Chicago and they then lost the next two games. I thought it might just be a fluke since the Cubs are hot right now, ever since Lou's choreographed outburst, and won against the Padres which are one of the top teams in baseball currently. So I thought things would turn around when the Mariners faced the Astros tonight, unfortunately they did not, losing to a bad team and our so-called ace King Felix blew another game. He has a 6.00 ERA since coming of the DL, are those ace numbers?