Electronic Writer

She reminded me of Bjork. When I put money in her basket, she took fairy-dust (it was glitter, actually), and blew it into my face. For just a moment, I felt as if I were in the middle of Black Forest.

For just a moment . . . .

How many times have you heard the story about a person with a vision . . . who follows it through to the end? Well, here is your chance to be a part of history and see someone on their own personal quest.

The Earthrace boat is a new design of powerboat that has been engineered to pierce through and cleave waves, and it runs completely on Biodiesel.

The Captain of the boat and his crew are going to race around the world with the intention of breaking the world record AND raising awareness of Biodiesel.

The boat is on a promotional tour and is currently looking for sponsors. Earthrace will be at Pier 39 in San Francisco, CA this weekend. You can tour the boat, meet the crew, and make donations between 10am and 5pm, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (August 18 – 20).

For more information, videos, the Captain’s Blog, online donations, and other interactive features, visit the Earth Race Website at www.earthrace.net

Not sure how much press this is going to get, but here is an article about the Oil Spill in the Philippines from the Citizen Journalism website, Oh My News:

Oil Spill Threatens Philippines

Inclement weather last week was blamed for a maritime disaster involving an oil spill just off the island province of Guimaras, which belongs to the Western Visayas region of Central Philippines.

On Friday, an ill-fated oil tanker named Solar 1 was heavily battered by such giant waves and continuously buffeted by such strong winds that after hours of struggle, the crew was forced to abandon ship when it became uncontrollable and listed precariously to the right.

Read Entire Article

I know you are scared. There is another plot to kill more Americans announced yesterday. And, we have to be thankful for our government’s efforts to keep us safe. But, now that the fear meter has been heightened to its highest level since it was introduced, it is more important than ever that you keep your wits.

The last time something (or someone) threatened the United States on a national level, we–the American citizens–literally threw our freedoms out the door. Our legislators signed them away in the largely unread Patriot Act. And, we kept our mouths shut (and voted those people back into office)–hoping that those sweeping powers would not be abused.

Perhaps it made sense at the time. We did not know who or what we were fighting. We did not have any idea of how to go go about this task. We wanted to be safe–and someone to take care of us. But, we were wrong to do so. It is not acceptable to let our freedoms evaporate at the expense of that supposed safety.

Freedom of speech is important. The right to express your feelings and opinions and your dissent is the foundation for everything that is American. That fundamental belief is not so solid these days.

Freedom of religion is important, and the separation of Church and State is perhaps even more important. The first settlers came to this land to escape religious persecution, and now, almost 400 years later, we are doing the same thing that we ran to avoid. It is not acceptable to persecute or discriminate against someone who is not Christian. And, the handful of extremist Christians are lobbying for and passing legislation to cater to Fundamentalist Christianity (and certainly NOT to the majority of Christians).

Your privacy is important. It is not acceptable for our phone calls, mail, internet and other forms of communication to be intercepted without a court warrant. It is not acceptable for someone to search your home or you without a warrant. The court process was created to separate our free and civilized society from the dictatorships where the strongest and most powerful people make or break whatever rules they want.

Your freedom is important. It is NOT acceptable for any American Citizen to be imprisoned without being charged for a crime and without access to the legal system–UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES.

The United States of America used to say, “Give me your tired. Your poor. Your huddled masses yearning to be free.” Our message today is very different. Our message to other countries is: You NEED Democracy, and we are the ones to give it to you. You need Capitalism and American products. You need our protection and the good graces of the United States, or else you will suffer.

So–let’s get back to the place of balance. If your politicians misrepresent your views–tell them. They need to know. If you overhear someone espousing values that do not represent what YOU think America is about–start a discussion. Ask them about their assumptions. TALK about the difference.

Lastly, we need you to Vote for your beliefs. If we are ever to return from our current brink to the a place of balance, we need less people to vote for the good of their political party, and more people to vote for the good of America.

Normally, I wouldn’t find this funny, but this story is hilarious. The sad part of the story is that a 16-year old girl tried to poison her family. She poured cleaning products into the a dessert, and fed it to them.

The HILARIOUS part of the story is that the father was able to identify, by taste, the BRAND of the cleaning product, and continued to eat the pie anyways . . . .

The Palais Versaille is quite phenomenal. The grounds are enormous. There are literally miles and miles of gardens. The buildings are ostentations. Everything about it reeks with history.

You can walk through the antechambers and the King’s bedroom, the Hall of Mirrors (where the Treaty of Versaille was signed), and see the Dauphin’s personal study.

This is something that you simply need to see for yourself.

You have to see this. I would almost be honored to get a speeding ticket from this officer . . . .

Interesting little article about Pat Robertson being “converted” (his own term) on the Global Warming Issue.

Perhpas the Religious Right might get behind the “Save the Earth” movement and not TRY to make armageddon happen any sooner.

In an article today, “Club Gulag: tourists are offered prison camp experience,” published in The Independent Online Edition, there are details about a the Mayor of a small town in Russia who is actively seeking investors for an alternative project.

The Mayor wants to RE-OPEN the Russian Stalin-era prisons known as “gulags” for tourists who want to experience them first-hand. He thinks that the experience is worth $120 – $150 per day.

Before you sign the waver, and as part of the Terms and Conditions, “The Gulag Archipelago,” by Alexandr Solzhenitsyn should be required reading . . . .

I am acutely aware of how the American ideal always appears somewhat better from behind the wheel of your own car, but Public Transportation is going to save the world. It is faster than driving. You can save your attention for a good book, reading your mail, or talking on the phone. You can eat and drink. And, it is much more reliable that traffic. If the schedule says that it will be there at 6:15pm, it will most likely be there at 6:15pm.

Sure, there are a few trade-offs. You do not have the freedom to run errands on the way home. You have to stick to your own schedule–you forfeit the flexibility to change your mind. And, there are other people aboard.

The positive sides, however, dramatically outweigh the bad. It is MUCH less expensive for you to ride public transportation than to own, insure, operate and feed gas to a car. There are minimal or zero emissions from public transportation–in a long, convoluted chain of logical events, it will actually reduce green-house gases and help fight against global warming. It is much safer than driving your car or riding your bike (certainly NOT as much fun as riding the bike). And, you can do something productive with the time that would normally be spent driving–even if that means simply looking out the window to decompress from your day.

There is strength in numbers. If more of us ride and use public transportation more often, more resources will get devoted to public transportation. There will be more trains. They will run more often. And, so on and so on . . . .