"Sometimes if I want to put on a smile, I just slam my head into my first."





"Read my fist not my lies"








Some people like to make latex fists.


I have seen this billboard in Canada. It always is scary to drive past it, like some guy in a pick up truck is going to come and hack me to pieces after i cross that point along the road.


Angry Iraqi fists

I met the Bishop who owns the house I live in. He is going to sell ASAP, therefore, I need to get out. This sort of sucks, but what can I do? Where to go? The bishop is in his 80's, he doesn't live here anymore. He really seemed distressed about selling. I suggested he get a property manager (me?) to fill vacant apartments and run the house. This place could be making him money, but he doesn't have the right person running it. I wish I had more communication with him, but he is always in India and I don't have his phone number in Maine. I do respect his decision to sell though.

It seems I will need a roommate. Since I would like to have joint custody of my rabbit, it needs to be someone who likes animals, but doesn't have any predator animals themselves. Leetee has mentioned that she had a cat and a rabbit peacefully coexist before, but my ex would never allow that. Whoever it happens to be, I hope that we can come to some basic agreements before hand regarding how we want our home to run.

If anybody knows anyone let me know. I think I am fairly easy to get along with, but I also realize that I am someone that needs space.

I'm going to miss this place. I really was looking forward to having it to myself.

I just witnessed the price of gas being changed at the Landes and Blackwell across the street. $3.04 to $3.07 per gallon. Can anyone guess what it will be a month from now?

update: This is a contest. Please have your guess in by Friday 7/28/06!

It is almost 1am. I'm sitting on my front stoop and notice Hummer owner from Envyus circling around the gas station across the street two times (In her hummer). I'm thinking, look, there is no more gas for you, the station is closed. Then she pulls up in front of me and asks do you live here. Yes, I do live here. There is a man sleeping on the back porch of your house. OK. What do you want me to do about it?. Hummer owner rolls up her tinted window to make cell phone call. Three minutes later three cop cars come to remove man passed out on back porch steps. He has a false leg which made him look like he was completely bent out of shape. All the while Hummer sits idling until she is safe to go into her apartment. Man completely passed out on neighbors step is a threat to Hummer woman.

We have had more communication with the land lady (for lack of a better word) . The house will not be demolished. Things are going good and I should have at least until November maybe even until next spring to stay. If I could stay until then my life would be so much easier. I'm excited still to see what History i can find on the house. If all goes well I'll be living on my own starting in September. That is such an exciting feeling.

Aquí esta un poquito del sabor de Cuba. Disfruta.


El rio yumurí

Missing Image ;(

Las calles de la Habana

El pueblo de trinidad

El mirador

Un pajarito

La guagua se va

una Bucanero para tus espíritus

La costa

Un secreto

¡Que rica la sonrisa!

Una habitación por alquilar

Missing Image ;(

Los quapos

Las montañas

Missing Image ;(

Los marineros

Un buen amigo. Está en las puertas del Convento de Santa Clara

The other night I talked to a woman that (e:paul) has recorded ranting on Elmwood. See his post
Many of you may have seen this woman around the strip within the last year. Interestingly enough, she was on one of her rants directed at what you or I couldn't see. She was sitting on our curb front on Elmwood as often people do. I said hello, but there wasn't a response. Then I said "How are you?" The next part took me by surprise. We ended up having a very interesting dialogue. It seems she has another side to her and aparently you can pull her out of a rant just by saying hello. She shared with me some of her struggles, we exchanged names and I said goodbye. The conversation probably lasted 30 minutes or so. She didn't really stop talking after telling her I had to go in, so as she talked I gently and steadily shut the door.

On another note, this morning we got a call letting us know the Bishop who owns our house is ready to sell. A realtor will be here on Tuesday and they will decide whether to sell ASAP or next Spring. Of course this complicates my situation as Steve was planning on moving out in September and I was to continue living here. The price is right and I like living here. I'm probably not going to be able to afford living on my own and the other thing is who could I possibly live with?

The other thing I'm concerned about is that they will sell to some creep who just wants to tear the house down. Maybe on Monday I could get to the Historical Society to do some research on the house. It's possible I could convince the Bishop to screen potential buyers for their intentions. We don't need another house on Elmwood destroyed for greed's sake.

I have decided to share with anyone interested my part in tomorrow's district meeting. The Soka Gakkai divides areas into smaller groups for meetings that gather monthly. Tomorrow at 7pm the Central Park District, which is my district, will meet. Anyone is welcome, you don't have to participate and you don't have to become a Buddhist. I just want to put it out there in case somebody did want to go. Hope you all don't think I'm on some mission to convert everyone. Really, this is what my life is about and that is what a journal is, our lives, our thoughts and our beliefs. My part of the meeting is below.

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Why is it important to have a fighting spirit?

A life without obstacles or hardships may seem inviting. We all from time to time ask ourselves "Why does my life have to be so difficult?" Doesn't society teach us that a life without difficulties is a life of happiness? We all have seen the ads for Sandals Beach Resorts, or the various cruise lines selling package deals. Their message is simple. Happiness comes with a price. For X amount of dollars we will provide you X amount of days free of all worries. You will sit on a perfect beach and enjoy the crystal clear waters, pure white sand and unlimited Margaritas. It won't rain, there won't be a Tsunami and you will never see anyone without enough to eat. In fact, the people that are serving you are happy natives, they enjoy serving you and they don't mind that the best part of their island is reserved just for you. That's it a life free from worries, a life of happiness.

True and unshakeable happiness does not come from a life that is stagnant. Being happy isn't about waiting until our difficulties magically disappear, it comes about from the victory that we create for ourselves and others by overcoming the obstacles which are bound to appear in our lives. Not facing our difficulties leaves them only to fester and grow larger causing more and more unhappiness. Chanting Nam-myoho-renge-kyo is the tool we use to give us the courage, strength and wisdom to overcome anything we wish. Faith only comes about after we see results. We must have a fighting spirit! President Ikeda says "If we give in to fear, obstacles and hindrances will only increase. If we are cowardly, the workings of negative and destructive forces will eat away at our lives. It is vital that our fighting spirit is fueled by strong faith-or confidence-in our practice of the Mystic Law so that we can break through ignorance and illusion and defeat obstacles and devilish functions.

If you are not a practicing Buddhist, you can still see the law of cause and effect that govern the planet, just as if you are not a scientist you can still understand the law of gravity. The stronger our efforts to change that which makes us unhappy, the more good fortune we are going to receive in our lives and the lives of those around us. A fighting spirit does not take the attitude that what we do now isn't important, that we can just sit back and leave our problems for future generations to solve. A fighting spirit does not stop fighting ever! It is easy to think that our lives are insignificant, that the world's problems are not within our control, but the fighting spirit realizes that the responsibility is ours. A fighting spirit works to encourage others, who will in turn encourage others and so forth. This is the goal of the SGI, we call it Kosen-rufu. This is the goal. A time of peace brought about by enough people understanding the mystic law of cause and effect. When enough people have the understanding that the affect of violence is more violence, only then will we have peace. Many people consider peace naïve romanticism, but when we strive to have a fighting spirit, we strive to change that which seems impossible.

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For those of you who may have noticed my lack of a fighting spirit these days all I can say is....I know. I'm working on it!

Send me a post it with your number if you want to attend.

Hummer Ad

Anti Hummer Ad


I wanted to find the commercial I saw on TV today for Hummers, but I couldn't find it. Here is a bloggers recollection of the ad.

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

Hummer: Restore Your Manhood

Marketing gurus tell us that people buy for emotional reasons, then find facts to support their decision.

I saw a great commercial on TV last night which can clearly show you how to market to people's emotions. The scene opens with two men at a checkout counter in a supermarket. The first man is buying "good for you" food, like tofu. He looks uncomfortable and embarassed as the clerk continually tries to price-scan the tofu and it won't pick up the price. He glances to the second man, then down at what the second man is buying: He-Man food, like pork ribs for his barbeque.

Obviously, the first man has had enough of being a wimp! He leaves the supermarket, goes directly to a Hummer dealership, and buys one of the huge trucks.

As the ad closes, the tagline reads, "Restore Your Manhood."

Can a truck really, really make you feel more like a man??? I guess so, according to Hummer.

Hummer is in a difficult position right now, with gasoline prices rising. It will be fascinating to watch how they play on people's emotions to "spin" the story of Hummer, desperately trying to sell more of the gas-guzzling vehicles.

For all you small business owners out there, take some time to watch TV commercials, and for each one, ask yourself, "What emotion, what promise, are they really selling?" It gives you something to do while you watching all those annoying ads. After all, advertisers spend millions of dollars to produce those ads; you might as well learn marketing theory from them, eh?

posted by Karyn Greenstreet @ 8:25 AM

So looks like I'm a little short on manhood. I have no Hummer and I don't eat animals any more. OK, fine! I accidently ate some bacon the other day, but i didn't know it was in the broccoli salad.

I don't know what you "chicks" think, but this Burger King Ad is really offensive to me.

Much of nation sizzling in heat wave

Britain endures hottest-ever July day

U.S. swelters under deadly heat wave

Just Short Of All-Time Record Heat

Beryl Heading Toward Unsuspecting New England



Severe Drought in Northern Plains to Have Nationwide Economic Impact

Flood Threat Looms!

On the Subcontinent; Tropical Storm Kaemi

Cities devise ways to beat the heat

Heat Wave Misery Continues

Heat wave fries Central Canada

Californians Suffer Under Statewide Heat Wave

Phoenix Heat Wave Claims 13 Lives
Most Victims Homeless; City Officials Ask For Ice, Water Donations

Heat wave scorches East for one more day
Some relief for Midwest, West, but Southeast still broiling

Europe's Heat Wave Breaks Records

A Hot Year So Far for the USA and for the Globe

Temperature Set to Hit 100 Degrees - and Global Warming is to Blame