OK so it is 5:10 am, day 2 of my trip to San Fran, I am in the office. I am trying to keep East Coast hours to make it easier on myself. I walked in the doors here at Oracle HQ 401 Island Parkway at around 4:15 am, and the crazy thing is, it is easy to do...
So I arrived in San Fran Sunday night roughly 35 minutes late... Dave was right, Delta blows... but for $25 round trip (i used points for the flight) I can't really complain. I pick up my car... and I told them to give me something inexpensive , all it had to do was run since i was going to drive it a total of maybe 50 miles between the 20 miles each way to the airport and back, and the 4 mile round trip to work. What do they give me? The no thrills, no frills Aveo... this car blows... that's all I have to say about that.
Day one was cool, Merle was up around 4 and left at 4:30am for work. He keeps the East coast hours too. Still hadn't met his roommate yet, but he looks like a baseball fan. I left for work shortly after Merle. I got to Oracle HQ and I must tell you this campus is huge. I drove around it for a good 25 minutes before I could find a security guard who told me I was on the wrong campus. I found my building and tried to go in. Apparently my card for these buildings had not been activated yet, so I ended up sitting in my car working on my laptop from 5am until roughly 7am when the door was open and I managed to get in. Security helped me find where I was going but said I would need to activate my card at lunch.
I sat down at desk expecting someone to be in at 9am to show me where I could plug in since I couldn't pick up the wireless. No one showed so I asked around and finally logged in around 9 am. These offices are pretty cool... the building I am in is almost all tele-commuters... no one was here, it was weird.
So on Oracle Parkway each of the 6 behemoth buildings have their own cafeteria, each one different. The one I ate in was a good grilled food selection and good salads. Apparnently there is one that has good Mexican Food and Indian Food. That being said, I kind of felt like I was at Epcot center... All the different world food options, people speaking 100 differnet languanges around me, and all of the buildings surrounding a lake in the front with a rather large fountain in the middle shooting water probabley 35 feet in the air... really cool. Oh and the caf I ate in, had a concert pianist (do you really think I wished for a 12 inch pianist?) sorry joke popped into my head. He was good, but he made noticeable mistakes, and was playing a lot of scales for the left hand only which I thought was kind of weird.
So I got out of work 2:45 or so (5:45pm west coast) and got back to Melre's right after he did. So he asked me if I wanted to go do the tourist thing... I said sure, so we headed into San Fran... First stop along the way AT&T Park - Home of the Giants, I must say this ball park was cool, they were playing in LA so people were in the stadium watching the game on the screens... apparently during away games you can watch the game for free for three innings in the park. McCovery Cove was really cool too... well not ready but I can picture now what it might have looked like with all the kayaks. The Don Newcomb Bridge wa skind of cool... a little creepy looking like it was cooking to unfold itself and start attacking the city like some alien robot... but maybe I just have an over active imagination.
From there we went down to the wharf. This was really cool. We walked along the wharf and I could see Alcatraz from the walkway... I debated taking my picture with a punk... weirdest thing.. there was a kid with a sign that read "take a picture with a punk rocker"... hhhmmm. There were a bunch of cool break dancers there too strutitng there stuff, and the infamous silver people... so we walked down to the end of the wharf and I must say the view was unbelieveable.
Just a thought... it is kind of weird being in the office at least 4 hours before anyone else shows up... I mean the cleaning crews were making the rounds when i walked in....
Ok back to the Wharf, I think the coolest performers had to be the Sea Lions, I found this info about them:
Sea LionsOur favorite Fisherman’s Wharf performers are, unquestionably, the sea lions that abandoned Seal Rocks and began to frequent Pier 39 following the 1989 earthquake. Boisterous and noisy, they spend as many as 10 months of the year (September through June) sunning themselves on the docks or playing in the waters nearby, and then head south to the Channel Islands off the Coast of Santa Barbara in July and August to breed. Be sure to attend one of the Marine Mammal Center (MMC) talks to learn fun facts about the sea lions like:
California sea lions are known for their playfulness and intelligence
These traits make them popular performers in many zoos and aquariums (where they are often called trained "seals")
California sea lions are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which prohibits you from feeding, handling or harassing them
If that isn’t enough of a warning, you should know that sea lions will bite if provoked!
To learn more about the MMC talks, call (415) 289-7325 or visit their web site.
So we walked around a ton and saw a bunch of cool stuff... I got a feel for the steepness of the streets during the walk... I am impressed that cars can get up and down some of these there are so steep. We went to Ghiradelli square and I bought some chocolate, so anyone who wants are welcome to some. I will proabley put them out Fruday night at Jane's when everyone comes over on the way to dinner. The trollies were really cool too, infact the whole metro system is basically green, I thought that was soo cool... the trains were electric, and I guess the buses were pretty green too. I saw the curviest road in the city. Lombard Street, we walked up to the top of this one way street... Here is some info about it:
Not all of Lombard Street is as curvy as the famous part of this road. Actually it is only curvy for one block going down from Hyde Street. The descent of the hill at that location is about 27 percent, which was too much for a simple and straight road. That is why in 1922 archictects came up with the idea of building the road with eight hairpin curves. Today the road is one of the top tourist attractions of San Francisco and a visit of this city is almost incomplete without having done a car ride on this curvy road.
I also have to say, that being used to flat FFLD county, I must say the San Fran is a bit vast, I mean, everything is so scenic, even the more industrial areas have gorgeous mountains for a back drop... it is beautiful... and clean...
Then we went down to Haight and Ashbury which was the scene of the 60's peace love and happiness movement. This place was kind of cool... You still have that bohemian feel here, altough it felt a little more forced than it might have been, it was still pretty cool. Took a field trip up to 710 Ashbury... anyone know what that was? Anyone??? It was the home of the Grateful Dead for many years... it was really cool being out there...
After that we came back and watched a little "How I met your mother" classic episode... but you can find info on that anywhere... well anyway, I am going to get cracking on some work... I will write more tomorrow morning probabley while the rest of this state is still sleeping... Pics will go up when I get back since I did not bring any cables with me.
L8r - -z-
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
A Few Good Men meets the America's Cup racing team:
For the sailing enthusiast reading this blog... this was a funny note sent to me by my friend Tom Graves.
A Team Bad Dog conversation one day during beers after racing
Bowman: You want answers?
Crew Boss: I think I'm entitled to them.
Bowman: You want answers?
Crew Boss: I want the truth!
Bowman: You can't handle the truth! Son, we race on a boat that has head sails. And those head sails have to be set and doused by men with harnesses. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Trimmer? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for that spin halyard and you curse the foredeck. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that spin halyard’s death, while tragic, probably won the race. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins races...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at the beer tent, you want me on that bow. You need me on that bow.
We use words like “gybe-set”, “Mexican”, “floater”...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent achieving something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to an afterguard that race and win under the very mark roundings I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide them! I'd rather you just said "thank you" and got me a rum drink. Otherwise, I suggest you go down below and pack a ‘chute. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Crew Boss: Did you order the Samurai douse?
Bowman: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Crew Boss: Did you order the Samurai douse?
Bowman: YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!!!
A Team Bad Dog conversation one day during beers after racing
Bowman: You want answers?
Crew Boss: I think I'm entitled to them.
Bowman: You want answers?
Crew Boss: I want the truth!
Bowman: You can't handle the truth! Son, we race on a boat that has head sails. And those head sails have to be set and doused by men with harnesses. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Trimmer? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for that spin halyard and you curse the foredeck. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that spin halyard’s death, while tragic, probably won the race. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, wins races...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at the beer tent, you want me on that bow. You need me on that bow.
We use words like “gybe-set”, “Mexican”, “floater”...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent achieving something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to an afterguard that race and win under the very mark roundings I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide them! I'd rather you just said "thank you" and got me a rum drink. Otherwise, I suggest you go down below and pack a ‘chute. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Crew Boss: Did you order the Samurai douse?
Bowman: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Crew Boss: Did you order the Samurai douse?
Bowman: YOU’RE GODDAMN RIGHT I DID!!!
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Everything and Nothing all at the same time
Everything... and Nothing,
all at the same time
You tell me that you love me
You really know when to say
But when it comes to doing
You need help to find your way
Love is a journey
Whose path is not clear
But the walk could be great
With you my dear
You give me your heart
I know you do
But I need your soul
Besides your love too
You give me everything
And it feels fine
But you also give me nothing
All at the same time
Z'08
all at the same time
You tell me that you love me
You really know when to say
But when it comes to doing
You need help to find your way
Love is a journey
Whose path is not clear
But the walk could be great
With you my dear
You give me your heart
I know you do
But I need your soul
Besides your love too
You give me everything
And it feels fine
But you also give me nothing
All at the same time
Z'08
Friday, October 12, 2007
Rant - Excerpts from a news story about my posting yesterday from George
Pennsylvania boy planned 'Columbine' event at high school
Police find dozens of weapons in boy's Pennsylvania home
(CNN) -- Police have taken into custody a 14-year-old boy who is suspected of planning a "Columbine" type event at a Pennsylvania high school, a police spokesman said.
Police in Plymouth Township near Philadelphia took the boy into custody after a search of his home turned up a number of weapons, including a 9 mm rifle with a laser scope and dozens of air guns, said Deputy Chief Joe Lawrence.
Police also found an operational hand grenade, three other hand grenades in the process of construction, bomb-making equipment, manuals and 30 powered weapons that fire BBs.
The boy's mother bought the rifle for him several weeks ago at a gun show, police said. No ammunition was found for the rifle.
The grenades were made with plastic casings that authorities believe the boy bought on the Internet, Lawrence said. The operational hand grenades included black powder, BBs and a fuse believed used in fireworks.
"It is my judgment that this individual considered that something to be glorified and was doing so," he said.
Police find dozens of weapons in boy's Pennsylvania home
(CNN) -- Police have taken into custody a 14-year-old boy who is suspected of planning a "Columbine" type event at a Pennsylvania high school, a police spokesman said.
Police in Plymouth Township near Philadelphia took the boy into custody after a search of his home turned up a number of weapons, including a 9 mm rifle with a laser scope and dozens of air guns, said Deputy Chief Joe Lawrence.
Police also found an operational hand grenade, three other hand grenades in the process of construction, bomb-making equipment, manuals and 30 powered weapons that fire BBs.
The boy's mother bought the rifle for him several weeks ago at a gun show, police said. No ammunition was found for the rifle.
The grenades were made with plastic casings that authorities believe the boy bought on the Internet, Lawrence said. The operational hand grenades included black powder, BBs and a fuse believed used in fireworks.
"It is my judgment that this individual considered that something to be glorified and was doing so," he said.
full story can be read here:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/10/11/student.arsenal/index.html
My thoughts...
The reason I am posting this is because this just goes back to what I said yesterday. The kids a re doing this not wholly, but at least in part because they feel that it is a way to be remembered... Does anyone remember the movie Higher Learning directed by John Singleton?Michael Rapaport's character Remy because a Nazi skinhead who goes on a shooting rampage and is eventually brought down by the police, when they flash back to his Skin head friends they are remembering him over a beer and saying his death represents "White Power" the same mentality holds true here and with any extremist point of view.
Again let's not sensationalize, but use this as an example with the right moves, we can help people to come forward and expose the plots around them... This is not different than what ideally we would like on a larger scale around the world with other forms of terrorism.. and yes the school attacks are terrorism by definition.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Rant - School Violence - (take 2 with spelling corrections for those that complained)
OK, so there has been a ton of shit in the news lately that has aggravated me and I need to just vent about it... hopefully I don't offend anyone here... some of it is trivial some of it is pretty serious... but it is all super annoying.
For the sake of the two loyal readers I have (and that may be over stating) I will break it down into categories for you all.
National News (and the sensationalism of it):
Oh no, "Shootings at school seemed unreal", "we live in such a nice small town, how could it happen here".... Sound familiar? Hey let's rewatch the videos for columbine hundreds of times until we can recount every step of Harris and Klebold, let's make them heroes for every malcontent youth who feels their lives suck so bad that the only way to have some lasting eternity in this anonymous world we live in is to do something that is sooo shocking, that they will be remembered for it after they off themselves. They have become cult heroes to a group of future Unabombers, extremists, which are at a point in their lives when stealing from the local convenient store isn't thrilling enough and doesn't have the right adult influence to move them to a more "proper path". Now I know it isn't that simple, and I know that I have no idea what the proper path is, but I am also not being paid to shape the minds of young children either, and I am pretty sure we can all be thankful for that.
So today we hear in the news that another school has had children come into class and shoot two teachers and two students in Cleveland. I must say it is very sad, the children truly are our future, but has anyone ever stopped to think that the media is a big part of this problem as well? How many times will they play the 911 calls from these kids while the shooting occurred, and why were they even linked... did we need to hear them? Does this change the actually story at all? No, but what it does do is sensationalize the story. It makes it into a train wreck, you are so horrified by the sounds that you need to come back for more... the networks might as well be injecting Heroin in your veins... because folks you're addicted. Now don't get me wrong, I am horrified by these events... Actually locally here in Fairfield County, two kids were charged with breach of peace at Wooster Middle School in Stratford after discharging caps in a stairwell and forcing the school to be locked down for roughly an hour. My friend Mindy told me about the experience, it is scary, and you don't know how to act. You think you do, but you don't. Now forgive me if you think I shouldn't be talking about this because I don't know what it is like to go through something like this... and you are right that would be extremely insensitive of me to be that guy telling to quit you're crying, but I have been there....
When I grew up I attended Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth Massachusetts, a decent size high school in a nice quiet town, Friday nights we went to the football games (but never did very well) and then would hang out at the landing afterwards or at a friends house... pretty standard for small town high school, that is until three days before my birthday, my senior year. April, 12, 1993, now I remembered the time frame, I had to look up the date, but that being said... I was sitting in Journalism class I believe having heard a story from one of my friends about how a few kids we new who were a bit younger had gotten into a fight before school and really beat up this kid. I grabbed a hall pass from my teacher and went to the bathroom and as I was heading back into class I heard a scream. A friend of the two kids involved in the fight earlier that morning had been stabbed in between two classrooms. Three kids came back to the school, the kid who had been beaten up, his cousin and a friend came back to look for the kid from the fight. He was down in the principals office along with another boy who had been there being punished. Apparently the two of them warned the principal there would be trouble when they saw them come in. The principal went out to look for them, but it was too late. Dartmouth High School had received the rudest of wake up calls... Life isn't so innocent, and while Jason Robinson and I were not friends, I was friends with his friends.
The long and the short of this is journalists need to take some responsibility in the way they report. I know when they do this, they get better ratings, but they are also encouraging the crimes at the same time. There are a number of reason why we are so hated around the world... but when these stories as horrible as they are take front stage, right next to the other biggest story of the day (usually something like Lindsay Lohan emerges from rehab, or Pop star bottoms out losing her baby to K-Fed). Let us talk about things that are important, let's find solutions to the things that are troubling us and others, let's not sensationalize these stories for the sake of selling a paper....
For the sake of the two loyal readers I have (and that may be over stating) I will break it down into categories for you all.
National News (and the sensationalism of it):
Oh no, "Shootings at school seemed unreal", "we live in such a nice small town, how could it happen here".... Sound familiar? Hey let's rewatch the videos for columbine hundreds of times until we can recount every step of Harris and Klebold, let's make them heroes for every malcontent youth who feels their lives suck so bad that the only way to have some lasting eternity in this anonymous world we live in is to do something that is sooo shocking, that they will be remembered for it after they off themselves. They have become cult heroes to a group of future Unabombers, extremists, which are at a point in their lives when stealing from the local convenient store isn't thrilling enough and doesn't have the right adult influence to move them to a more "proper path". Now I know it isn't that simple, and I know that I have no idea what the proper path is, but I am also not being paid to shape the minds of young children either, and I am pretty sure we can all be thankful for that.
So today we hear in the news that another school has had children come into class and shoot two teachers and two students in Cleveland. I must say it is very sad, the children truly are our future, but has anyone ever stopped to think that the media is a big part of this problem as well? How many times will they play the 911 calls from these kids while the shooting occurred, and why were they even linked... did we need to hear them? Does this change the actually story at all? No, but what it does do is sensationalize the story. It makes it into a train wreck, you are so horrified by the sounds that you need to come back for more... the networks might as well be injecting Heroin in your veins... because folks you're addicted. Now don't get me wrong, I am horrified by these events... Actually locally here in Fairfield County, two kids were charged with breach of peace at Wooster Middle School in Stratford after discharging caps in a stairwell and forcing the school to be locked down for roughly an hour. My friend Mindy told me about the experience, it is scary, and you don't know how to act. You think you do, but you don't. Now forgive me if you think I shouldn't be talking about this because I don't know what it is like to go through something like this... and you are right that would be extremely insensitive of me to be that guy telling to quit you're crying, but I have been there....
When I grew up I attended Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth Massachusetts, a decent size high school in a nice quiet town, Friday nights we went to the football games (but never did very well) and then would hang out at the landing afterwards or at a friends house... pretty standard for small town high school, that is until three days before my birthday, my senior year. April, 12, 1993, now I remembered the time frame, I had to look up the date, but that being said... I was sitting in Journalism class I believe having heard a story from one of my friends about how a few kids we new who were a bit younger had gotten into a fight before school and really beat up this kid. I grabbed a hall pass from my teacher and went to the bathroom and as I was heading back into class I heard a scream. A friend of the two kids involved in the fight earlier that morning had been stabbed in between two classrooms. Three kids came back to the school, the kid who had been beaten up, his cousin and a friend came back to look for the kid from the fight. He was down in the principals office along with another boy who had been there being punished. Apparently the two of them warned the principal there would be trouble when they saw them come in. The principal went out to look for them, but it was too late. Dartmouth High School had received the rudest of wake up calls... Life isn't so innocent, and while Jason Robinson and I were not friends, I was friends with his friends.
The long and the short of this is journalists need to take some responsibility in the way they report. I know when they do this, they get better ratings, but they are also encouraging the crimes at the same time. There are a number of reason why we are so hated around the world... but when these stories as horrible as they are take front stage, right next to the other biggest story of the day (usually something like Lindsay Lohan emerges from rehab, or Pop star bottoms out losing her baby to K-Fed). Let us talk about things that are important, let's find solutions to the things that are troubling us and others, let's not sensationalize these stories for the sake of selling a paper....
Rant - School Violence
OK, so there has been a ton of shit in the news lately that has aggravated me and I need to just vent about it... hopefully I don't offend anyone here... some of it is trivial some of it is pretty serious... but it is all super annoying.
For the sake of the two loyal readers I have (and that may be over stating) I will break it down into categories for you all.
National News (and the sensationalism of it):
Oh no, "Shootings at school seemed unreal", "we live in such a nice small town, how could it happen here".... Sound familiar? Hey let's rewatch the videos for columbine hundreds of times until we can recount every step of Harris and Klebold, let's make them heroes for eveyr malcontent youth who feels their lives suck so bad that the only way to have some lasting eternity in this anonymous world we live in is to do something that is sooo shocking, that they will be remembered for it after they off themselves. They have become cult heroes to a group of future Unabombers, extremists, that are at a point in their lives when stealing from the local conveint store isn't thrilling enough and doesn't have the right adult influence to move them to a more "proper path". Now I know it isn't that simple, and I know that I have no idea what the proper path is, but I am also not being paid to shape the minds of young children either, and I am pretty sure we can all be thankful for that.
So today we hear in the news that another school has had children come into class and shoot two teachers and two students in Cleveland. I must say it is very sad, the children truly are our future, but has enyone ever stopped to think that the media is a big part of this problem as well? How many times will they play the 911 calls from these kids while the shooting occured, and why were they even linked... did we need to hear them? Does this change the actually story at all? No, but what it does do is sensationalize the story. It makes it into a train wreck, you are so horrified by the sounds that you need to come back for more... the networks might as well be injecting Heroin in your veins... because folks you're addicted. Now don't get me wrong, I am horrified by these events.. Actually locally here in Fairfield County, two kids weer charged with breach of peace at Wooster Middle School in Stratford after dischargiung caps in a stairwell and forcing the school to be locked down for orughly an hour. My friend Mindy told me about the experience, it is scary, you don't know how to act. You think you do, but you don't. Now forgive me if you think I shouldn't be talking about this because I don't know what it is like to go thorugh somehting like this... and you are right that would be extremely insensitive of me to be that guy telling to quit your crying, but I have been there....
When I grew up I attended Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth Massachusettes, a decent size high school in a nice quiet town, Friday nights we went to the football games (but never did very well) and then would hang out at the landing afterwards or at a friends house... pretty standrard for small town high school, that is until three days before my birthday, my senior year. April, 12, 1993, now I remembered the time frame, I had to look up the date, but that being said... I was sitting in Journalism class I believe having heard a story from one of my friends about how a few kids we new who were a bit younger had gotten into a fight before school and really beat up this kid. I grabbed a hall pass from my teacher and went to the bathroom and as I was heading back into class I heard a scream. A friend of the two kids involved in the fight earlier that morening had been stabbed in between two classrooms. Three kids came back to the schoo, the kid who had been beaten up, his cousin and a friend came back to look for the kid from the fight. He was down in the principal's office along with another boy who had bene there being punished. Apparently the two of htem warned the principal there would be tourble when they saw them come in. The princinpal went out to look for them, but it was too late. Dartmouth High School had received the rudest of wake up calls... Life isn't so innocent, and while Jason Robinson and I were not friends, I was friends with his friends.
The long and the short of this is, journalists need to take some responsibility in the way they report. I know when they do this, they get better ratings, but they are also encouraging the crimes at the same time. There are a number of reason why we are so hated around the world... but when these stories as horrible as they are take front stage, right next to the other biggest story of the day (usually something like Lindsay Lohan emerges from rehab, or Pop star bottoms out losing her baby to K-Fed). Let us talk aobut things that are importnat, let's find solutions to the things that are troubling us and others, let's not sensationlize these stories for the sake of selling a paper....
For the sake of the two loyal readers I have (and that may be over stating) I will break it down into categories for you all.
National News (and the sensationalism of it):
Oh no, "Shootings at school seemed unreal", "we live in such a nice small town, how could it happen here".... Sound familiar? Hey let's rewatch the videos for columbine hundreds of times until we can recount every step of Harris and Klebold, let's make them heroes for eveyr malcontent youth who feels their lives suck so bad that the only way to have some lasting eternity in this anonymous world we live in is to do something that is sooo shocking, that they will be remembered for it after they off themselves. They have become cult heroes to a group of future Unabombers, extremists, that are at a point in their lives when stealing from the local conveint store isn't thrilling enough and doesn't have the right adult influence to move them to a more "proper path". Now I know it isn't that simple, and I know that I have no idea what the proper path is, but I am also not being paid to shape the minds of young children either, and I am pretty sure we can all be thankful for that.
So today we hear in the news that another school has had children come into class and shoot two teachers and two students in Cleveland. I must say it is very sad, the children truly are our future, but has enyone ever stopped to think that the media is a big part of this problem as well? How many times will they play the 911 calls from these kids while the shooting occured, and why were they even linked... did we need to hear them? Does this change the actually story at all? No, but what it does do is sensationalize the story. It makes it into a train wreck, you are so horrified by the sounds that you need to come back for more... the networks might as well be injecting Heroin in your veins... because folks you're addicted. Now don't get me wrong, I am horrified by these events.. Actually locally here in Fairfield County, two kids weer charged with breach of peace at Wooster Middle School in Stratford after dischargiung caps in a stairwell and forcing the school to be locked down for orughly an hour. My friend Mindy told me about the experience, it is scary, you don't know how to act. You think you do, but you don't. Now forgive me if you think I shouldn't be talking about this because I don't know what it is like to go thorugh somehting like this... and you are right that would be extremely insensitive of me to be that guy telling to quit your crying, but I have been there....
When I grew up I attended Dartmouth High School in Dartmouth Massachusettes, a decent size high school in a nice quiet town, Friday nights we went to the football games (but never did very well) and then would hang out at the landing afterwards or at a friends house... pretty standrard for small town high school, that is until three days before my birthday, my senior year. April, 12, 1993, now I remembered the time frame, I had to look up the date, but that being said... I was sitting in Journalism class I believe having heard a story from one of my friends about how a few kids we new who were a bit younger had gotten into a fight before school and really beat up this kid. I grabbed a hall pass from my teacher and went to the bathroom and as I was heading back into class I heard a scream. A friend of the two kids involved in the fight earlier that morening had been stabbed in between two classrooms. Three kids came back to the schoo, the kid who had been beaten up, his cousin and a friend came back to look for the kid from the fight. He was down in the principal's office along with another boy who had bene there being punished. Apparently the two of htem warned the principal there would be tourble when they saw them come in. The princinpal went out to look for them, but it was too late. Dartmouth High School had received the rudest of wake up calls... Life isn't so innocent, and while Jason Robinson and I were not friends, I was friends with his friends.
The long and the short of this is, journalists need to take some responsibility in the way they report. I know when they do this, they get better ratings, but they are also encouraging the crimes at the same time. There are a number of reason why we are so hated around the world... but when these stories as horrible as they are take front stage, right next to the other biggest story of the day (usually something like Lindsay Lohan emerges from rehab, or Pop star bottoms out losing her baby to K-Fed). Let us talk aobut things that are importnat, let's find solutions to the things that are troubling us and others, let's not sensationlize these stories for the sake of selling a paper....
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
First, if you want to check out my Ellis Island pics and Liberty Island pics... click the photo above.
Ok, so Jane and I were joking around when I said I had never been to the Statue of Liberty, and a day was planned... This past Sunday, we spent the day in NYC being tourists... and for the first time, I saw the Status of Liberty, and I must say, Lady Liberty has a great ass... any one ever wonder what she's got on under that dress? Now that I have that out of my system... I must say, I was soooo in awe of what I was seeing, I mean she is huge, and presents a conflicting feeling. She seems very imposing, but yet welcoming which is best stated by Emma Lazarus at the foot of the monument:
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
Undeniably one of the most beautiful monuments I have seen, and I have seen my share. I think next time I go, and there will certainly be a next time, I need to make sure to plan ahead and get a timed tour of the monument's inners. I certainly boarded the Circle Line boat departing Liberty Island in awe of what I had seen only to make my way to an equally impressive island in Ellis Island.
I had to stop when I got to Ellis Island just to appreciate for a second the massive number of people who's dreams were realized by walking through the doors of this building, it wasn't until later i realized how many dreams were shattered when they entered, the forgotten many... apparently, they would split up families... and if they Father was well enough to stay he could stay with the kids, if the father was not, they would send the perfectly healthy mother home too because they did not share the rights of men, it was feared they would become prostitutes if they stayed. Kind of shady... but the place was still amazing... you felt humble walking thorugh the hallways... although Jane and I had gotten a bit tired by the end of Ellis Island...
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