Floating Ark

Politics of Coal

2011-06-02T14:23:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) gave a speech to the Kentucky Coal Association. In it the Senate Minority Leader assailed the EPA for it's "war on coal" claiming it cost America new jobs and access to cheaper energy.Actually, the EPA is doing exactly what it was created to do: protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by

Power of the Pedal

2009-11-19T11:19:00.000-08:00

You might not think that a person could haul over 800 lbs. of produce, pies or party supplies, on a bicycle but you'd be wrong.In an age dominated by "light trucks" and SUVs you'd be surprised by what we can haul around on a trike (thats bike slang for tricycle). The CS Monitor reports on a growing service in Boston that's taking the pollution out of delivery.In a city choked with diesel-spewing

Unemployment

2009-08-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

Recently, I joined the ranks of the unemployed. It's nice to know that I'm not alone. Its a first for me, and the experience has forced me to look beyond the fragile facade that screams to settle for any job anyplace to make sure the spending habits of my lifestyle go unchanged. Instead, I'm looking at my spending habits and forcing them to adapt in this new situation."Employment" as defined by

Rev. Lowery's Inaugural benediction

2009-01-20T21:49:00.001-08:00

One of the best benedictions I've ever heard.God of our weary years, God of our silent tears, thou who has brought us thus far along the way, thou who has by thy might led us into the light, keep us forever in the path, we pray, lest our feet stray from the places, our God, where we met thee, lest our hearts, drunk with the wine of the world, we forget thee. Shadowed beneath thy hand may we

Coal comes home to roost

2009-01-13T12:25:00.000-08:00

Just when we were all beginning to warm to the idea of "clean coal" and a modern energy future that even the Jetsons would marvel at, King Coal goes and ruins it.Within the last month two significant highly toxic waste spills have wrecked parts of the southern Appalachia and Tennessee Valley. The waste is what the coal industry calls "coal ash" and "slurry." Coal ash is a toxic sludge that

My Morey

2008-12-24T22:08:00.000-08:00

I wrote this yesterday evening. I decided to paste it here as well. I wanted to share it not just to tell the world about Morey, but also to allow others who have lost a much-loved pet to share their own thoughts. I hope you will.============================When I arrived home for Christmas yesterday, I knew my family's yellow lab was getting into her later years but I wasn't at all prepared for

Anchorage Daily News endorses Obama

2008-10-26T15:38:00.000-07:00

I'm sure Governor Palin isn't happy about this. But perhaps we should be taking the advice of those that know her the most -- her own capital newspaper. While they avoid Palin and frame the argument (correctly) around Senator McCain's weaknesses, the final paragraph reveals their real concerns about the McCain/Palin ticket.Yet despite her formidable gifts, few who have worked closely with the

America's Sexual Obsession: My reaction to Edwards

2008-08-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Over the last two days I've been asked by just about everyone I know (and those I don't) how I feel about the recent news surrounding John Edwards. Since I worked for over a year on his presidential campaign it's a valid question and one that I take quite seriously. I wanted to write down my response for those of you that may be interested in how this news has affected someone who sacrificed a

Pangea Day: What we all share

2008-05-11T13:12:00.000-07:00

Pangea Day went by without very much media attention (although it is possible that the rock I live under shielded me from actual coverage) yesterday and I stumbled upon the website and looked a little more closely at what it was all about.What I love about Pangea Day is that its about re-connecting us as world citizens and using the power of film and the internet, to show what we all have in

Obama's Penetration

2008-05-07T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was watching SportsCenter the other night (not all that uncommon but certainly not a habit) and during a piece highlighting the Ohio State football team I was fairly shocked to hear the players talk about Barack Obama's stump speech -- specifically his reference to Dr. Martin Luther King's phrase, "the fierce urgency of now." The football team, doggedly avoiding the label of "chokers" after

Cyclone in Myanmar

2008-05-06T10:29:00.000-07:00

Myanmar (Burma) was hit by a devastating cyclone (what we call a hurricane -- it just spins in the opposite direction) yesterday. Up to 23,000 are reported dead and more than 40,000 are missing. To get a sense of the scale of flooding and the power of the storm, the before and after shots of the Irawaddy River are shocking. If you'd like to donate to help support the relief going on there you can

Burma Can't Wait

2008-05-05T14:17:00.000-07:00

A host of Hollywood celebrities are banning together to raise awareness on the human rights disaster happening right now in Burma. Will Ferrell is lending his voice to the cause and put up a video about it below. What I found impressive was how Ferrell toed the line and was able to keep the message light-hearted and humorous even if the topic and main point were anything from funny. It shows his

Nader in 2008

2008-04-25T14:22:00.000-07:00

I just received an update from the Nader/Gonzalez webteam and I must say it was bold. In it, they link directly to the DNC asking people to "give them some more money," if you believe they are the solution to an ailing nation. That's pretty ballsy -- typical email fundraising strategy is pretty clear on NOT linking to your competitor's website. Nader's email pretty much just puts it all out there

A Real Grocery

2008-04-25T01:22:00.000-07:00

I lived in Berkeley for about year in 2005. I got to know parts of Oakland through friends that lived there and events and activities going on around the East Bay. The poverty of West Oakland is real and yet can seem distant and far off when you're being whisked through it on a BART train. The People's Grocery is in that part of West Oakland where dozens of liquor stores are always two blocks

A Texas-Sized Problem

2008-04-23T00:11:00.000-07:00

Some of you may have heard about the garbage patch of the Pacific ocean discovered recently by scientists examining water quality between California and Japan. Its an astounding story of the actual imprint we are leaving on our world and how its coming back to haunt us in more ways then one. Some folks over at VBS.tv, as part of their Toxic Series, took a 3-week trip with scientists studying the

EdWords

2008-04-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

This guy is amazing. I'm sad his outstanding platform is being buried by Obama and Hillary bickering about who's more bitter. At least this guy keeps his eyes on the prize when it comes to fighting for universal healthcare, solving poverty and the working and middle class of America.

China, the Olympics and Tibet

2008-04-10T09:55:00.000-07:00

I've heard some interesting arguments over the past two days on why we should allow China to host the Olympic Summer Games in a few months, effectively ignoring their human rights record. I thought I'd address some of them here: "We shouldn't make the Olympics political"It's easy not to make the Olympics political when the host country isn't guilty of human rights abuses. It's easy when the host

Parade of the Vanishing Torch

2008-04-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

Just got back from a long day chasing the "disappearing torch" across San Francisco. There were over 6,000 protesters that turned out and about as many ethnic Chinese countering. It was a victory for those of us involved in shedding more international attention and light on the human rights abuses China has committed, without any real consequence, over the past half-century in Tibet. The BBC

Bomb It

2008-04-07T21:56:00.001-07:00

"This is the biggest art movement in the history of human kind." I bet you don't know what the medium is. "Bomb It," the new documentary about the rise of the graffiti movement in urban regions throughout the world, shows the explosion of underground "tagging" as both an art, and a form of communication (some would argue that any art is a form of communication, which I would agree with). Be it

40th Anniversary of MLK Memphis Speech

2008-04-04T11:11:00.000-07:00

The last two minutes of Dr. Martin Luther King's are shockingly prescient. An incredibly powerful speech that is always good to go back to periodically. He was assassinated hours after this address.

Securing the torch

2008-03-31T00:54:00.000-07:00

The world's attention has been on the tiny mountain kingdom of Tibet over the past two weeks after protests in 6 different Chinese cities erupted over the course of several days beginning on March 14. However, China, in the midst of working to downplay and even blame the protests and violence on Tibetan "revolutionaries"", is pushing through to start the Olympic Games of 2008 in Beijing by

Body of War

2008-03-28T23:58:00.000-07:00

Early this week we passed the 4,000 death mark in the Iraq War. I've had the war on the brain recently, being more amazed at how out of touch most of America is when it comes to recognizing the fact that we're still over there in a big way. Last October I was lucky enough to catch an amazing documentary called Body of War. Perhaps the most compelling and heart-wrenching glimpse into the life of a

NCAA

2008-03-20T13:03:00.001-07:00

It's Day 1 of March Madness and I've got my eyes tracking all my picks online. It should be a ridiculously good tournament and I'm hoping for a couple upsets (come on Siena!). However, my favorite clip from the past decade of NCAA tournament upsets, because I'm from Vermont and will always root for the Catamounts if they are in it (not this year), is from 2005 when TJ Sorrentine "hit one from

Time is Money and Mo' Money = Mo' Problems

2008-03-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

I talked with my mother this evening about the lack of focus my generation seems to have when it comes to concentrating on one task for more than ten minutes. Multi-tasking is the new black, and for this generation, the first to have cell phones, email, instant messaging, Facebook, Myspace and text messaging all at once the opportunity to continue a conversation is omnipresent. And the temptation

Mowing Green

2008-03-07T18:51:00.000-08:00

This is just freakin' awesome. If I had a lawn, I'd get one in a heartbeat. A true zero-emissions mower! Albeit, a tad pricey.

Powerless

2008-03-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

Senior Foreign Policy adviser and long-time friend to Senator Barack Obama, Samantha Power, has resigned her position from the Obama campaign. The news comes after an interview she gave to the London newspaper The Scotsman, in which she referred to Senator Clinton as "a monster." This is the second misstep by the Obama campaign and while not significant enough to do much damage to the still

Damn Domenici

2008-02-28T14:10:00.000-08:00

New Mexico's Peter Domenici, the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, slammed any hope of ending corporate welfare to the world's largest oil and natural gas companies. Senate Democrats say they still hope to get it approved. But Senator Pete V. Domenici of New Mexico, the senior Republican on the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, has opposed any effort to end

Iowa's Dirty Secret

2007-11-19T21:15:00.001-08:00

Since moving to Iowa City three months ago, I've taken to jogging once in awhile along the Iowa River. There are some paths through what the city calls "parks" (I'd call it open lawn with baseball fields and a scattering of trees) briefly surrounding a dark and slow moving river. The Iowa River is a major tributary of the mighty Mississippi. Stretching over 300 miles the river flows southeast

Norman Mailer: 1923 - 2007

2007-11-10T22:13:00.000-08:00

We lost a great American character and truly unique individual today. If the cowboy persona of John Wayne could be a writer, it'd be wrapped up in Norman Mailer. Married six times while fathering eight children he was scrappy, outspoken and one of the few American writers who looked more at home at a union hall then a desk. The SF Chronicle has a great writeup of this uniquely brilliant

Hillary and the Lords of Dopetown?

2007-11-10T20:10:00.000-08:00

You gotta love former drug-lords coming out for Hillary Clinton. Former Harlem heroin drug lords Frank Lucas and Nicky Barnes both ruled the boroughs of NYC during the early 1970s, now are back in the spotlight thanks to a pair of biographical feature films. Frank scored big with a Hollywood hit, American Gangster (Denzel Washington is the lead as Frank) and Barnes' documentary Mr. Untouchable

Green Collar Gigs

2007-10-18T19:08:00.000-07:00

Hillary Clinton has been utilizing the term "Green Collar Jobs" over the past few months and, not surprising, she didn't come up with it. In fact, she wasn't even the first candidate to start endorsing the term and the revolutionary plan associated with it. Actually, John Edwards was the first to actually layout a full-fledged plan called "Green Collar Economy." But where did this Green Collar

Messenger Clips

2007-10-04T11:13:00.000-07:00

Below are two fantastically filmed videos of bike messenger races in NYC and London. I have come to have a great deal of respect for the messenger community after having lived in San Francisco for two years and starting to bike to work myself. There is something very freeing about bobbing and weaving through traffic and running red lights and stop signs. That being said, no one does it better

Christmas Tree threat?

2007-09-10T19:13:00.000-07:00

I'm originally from Vermont and outside of Ben and Jerry's ice cream (fave flavor is still Phish Food), maple syrup (on the decline) and skiing Mad River Glen (best community-owned ski mountain in the east) there are few things I feel make up the heart and soul of this fabulous little republic just south of Montreal. And pine trees are part of this lifeblood that make up a winter in Vermont.

Chinese Biking: Oh brother where art thou?

2007-09-06T22:07:00.000-07:00

China, the largest and most powerful consumer country in the world, is dying to clear up their air. The combination of leaded gas, millions of new vehicles, and lax air pollution limits has made urban China a veritable death trap - over 600,000 deaths a year are blamed on air pollution (another 400,000 die every year from polluted drinking water). And yes, the pollution does effect the U.S. How

Green skyscraper in S.F.

2007-08-11T21:44:00.000-07:00

They seem to be the rage now. San Francisco, being full of the smartest, most progressive folk I've ever encountered, is building the world's greenest skyscraper as the centerpiece of the massively huge Transbay Terminal project that will connect SF to LA via high-speed rail trains (like France's TGV but faster and quieter). Think Grand Central Station but 50 times more advanced - and sleek and

Seg-vehicle: running on steaming cow dung

2007-08-11T21:00:00.000-07:00

When your name is Dean Kamen, you probably eat really smart cereal in the morning. You probably wear really smart sweaters too. I bet you'd even have a really smart car. Well, maybe not smart, but how about one that doesn't have an internal combustion engine? Kamen, the inventor of the famously useless but "damn that is cool" Segway, has been focusing all his attention on developing a new kind of

I Can Has Cheezburger

2007-08-03T06:53:00.000-07:00

I've become addicted to this site over the past year after being introduced to it by one Stanley J back in SF. It continues to give me plenty of chuckle but I think only a few people will understand or appreciate its humor. Today's pic gave me a good belly laugh:

Waiting for that paper trail

2007-08-01T19:22:00.000-07:00

How this is still an issue in an state who's history with voting corruption as checkered as your dad's wedding tuxedo from 1975 is beyond me. Why has Diebold not been taken out? Their ATMs don't even work. How the hell do we expect their voting machines to, and why, in God's name would be put the outcome of our most democratic process in their hands? We can host cleaner and more honest elections

No End in Sight

2007-07-28T11:59:00.001-07:00

I'll be running to the theater to see this documentary. Unlike other films that are critical of the Bush administration's handling of just about anything this decade, "No End in Sight" was directed by a former political science professor -- probably one that knows a fair amount about the world in which we live. The trailer is pretty stunning:

Baseball and Politics

2007-07-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

I have to say that I wasn't surprised to see that the Yankee-Red Sox game tuned in almost twice as many viewers on Sunday night than the Democratic national debate on CNN. When it comes to things that are authentically American, it doesn't get much morepurely nationalistic than baseball and politics. And baseball, it seems, will always win. Thinking along these terms, imagine what would happen

Approaching Hurricane

2007-07-25T07:31:00.000-07:00

Beautiful San Francisco - 1971

2007-07-24T17:43:00.000-07:00

For those of us who have been in San Francisco and can appreciate the changes over the years...here is a great panorama circa 1971.

More money for crappy coffee

2007-07-24T07:18:00.000-07:00

Starbucks announced today that they'll be raising coffee prices again -- this time about 9 cents a cup. The reason is purportedly due to the price hikes in the dairy sector. Apparently milk and cream are no longer so cheap. But, the larger discussion here is about whether Starbucks is starting to tank: The widely anticipated move marks Starbucks' second price increase in less than a year and

How many jobs do you work?

2007-07-16T11:45:00.001-07:00

Still Sweating

2007-06-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

I'm down in Chapel Hill, North Carolina where apparently, the climate has moved toward tropical rainforest. It rains 5 out of 7 days at noon for about 15 minutes and then again around 10 o'clock at night for another 5 minutes. The humidity is through the roof (when you feel beads of sweat sliding down your legs after being outside long enough for a popsicle you have to know something ain't right)

Facebook gets useful

2007-06-30T12:44:00.000-07:00

One of the things i hate about all the socnet craze is lack of actual real-life utility these communities provide. Don't get me wrong, I love cruising through my friend's (and non-friend's) photos and gawking at whats-her-name who now has kids with whats-his-face, but beyond that the socnets out there are really being under utilized as organizing tools for the dirtworld. Facebook is aiming to

Largest Photovoltaic Panel in the World

2007-05-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

This is the future. I love when politicians say solar isn't viable. Is it really any less viable than putting a man on the moon? Then building a national system of highways that paved the way for the car industry? If we want to make truly clean energy a reality, we have to have leaders who can envision it with us and then have the ability to carry that desire out with a strong plan.

Jerry Falwell

2007-05-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

The Reverend Jerry Falwell passed away yesterday in his office at Liberty Univeristy of heart complications. While it's never a good day when we lose another human being on this earth, I have to say I was ok with losing this one. Falwell was perhaps one of the most outspoken bigots when it came to homosexuality, America's God culture and anyone left of center on the political spectrum. My good

All Hail Loyalty

2007-05-02T09:13:00.000-07:00

Are you loyal to your country? This seems to be the question our country's draft-dodging, cocaine-using, recovering alcoholic of a president is asking us. On Monday, Congress passed into law a new national holiday: National Loyalty Day. As if I need a day to remind me of my loyalty. Its like having a day to forgive my sins and cash in my good deeds. The move, surprisingly passing in both houses

Superfunds near you

2007-05-02T09:00:00.000-07:00

In case everyone forgot about how many biohazard sites we have in this country, the Center for Public Integrity gives us a stern visual reminder: they're in our backyard. CPI has also found that funding and follow through on clean up around Superfund sites has dropped precipitously since 2000 (go figure -- I guess thats what happens when you appoint former industry lobbyists and friends to the

The Money in Weed

2007-04-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

I don't smoke it but am an advocate of legalizing it. The benefits on society are big (and I don't mean everyone walking around stoned will result in a "calmer" and more "laid back" American culture) and the money (a tax) from it could be tremendous. Checkout this article from the Prometheus Institutes's blog. It lays out exactly what we could get and then what we could do with over $10 billion

Best Quickie on Military Industrial Complex

2007-04-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

Great little 2 minute animation on how we got to where we are and the effects of the military industrial complex. Maybe a bit of a reach in some ways (towards the end anyway) but interesting ideas on how to look at the strategy that the right-wing hawks use and how they view the world.

Dubya Gets Purple Heart

2007-04-24T16:00:00.000-07:00

Apparently, some members of this great nation feel that our fair President needs a little boost after all of the "attacks" he's withstood over the past few years. The boost, is a Purple Heart that was given to him by Bill and Georgia Thomas, one of three that Bill earned during his service in Vietnam. How in the world can a man who was injured three times in the most controversial American war of

Illegal Timber Harvesting

2007-04-12T19:44:00.001-07:00

...is more lucrative than smuggling heroin. It also clears forest areas equal to the state of New York worldwide annually.

Deforestation Diesel

2007-04-08T20:51:00.000-07:00

The next time you fill up your little VW Bug with biodiesel you'll be shocked to find out that you could be contributing to the continuing deforestation of the world's rainforests. How? Palm, a popular species of tree from which the cheapest and easiest forms of biofuels are sourced from, is the world's number one fruit crop, outpacing the once untouchable banana. Oil from these trees has become

Gov. of MO is Pro Breast Cancer

2007-03-26T08:51:00.000-07:00

The culture wars around abortion are continuing to rage. Planned Parenthood, the decided face of abortion for the conservative right, is about to be starved to death out of Missouri. Governor Matt Blunt announced this weekend that he will be cutting off all funding to the state program and redirect it all to specific health clinics. Here are a couple red flags: First, fewer than one in ten

No Impact Living...on 5th Avenue

2007-03-22T12:39:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought you were taking a stand for the health of our planet by recycling all your recyclable materials, composting all your compost-ables, and buying only organic foods at your local Whole Foods, you find out about Colin Beaven and Michelle Conlin. Living in a bourgeois 5th avenue apartment is a far cry from a strawbale house in Colorado. But the new face of urban environmentalism

Al Gore goes to Washington

2007-03-21T12:51:00.001-07:00

Al Gore is taking his fight to the U.S. Congress. He's testifying before two committees that he once served on, the House Science and Energy Committees. Here's part of his opening speech. Thanks to Nancy Pelosi's office for posting (I think...who really knows). What's your favorite quote?

Edwards Keeps Impressing

2007-03-20T09:44:00.000-07:00

This is amazing. Edwards is really becoming the "green" candidate for '08. Edwards committed to an 80% carbon reduction by 2050, by far the most dedicated and patriotic answer among any of our current politicians. No one has gotten this serious about global climate change.Nicely done, senator.

Another Coal Mine Accident

2007-03-20T09:35:00.000-07:00

This one wasn't in the U.S. but it was much more devastating than anything I've heard before when it comes to coal mine accidents. A methane explosion killed 106 people in a Siberian coal mine and they are currently trying to rescue 4 trapped miners who at 885 feet down.Do we really need to keep digging this crap out of the earth? I haven't heard of any windfarm engineers or solar panel

Edwards '08 Goes Carbon Neutral

2007-03-15T09:53:00.000-07:00

Along with Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack, who has since dropped out of the race, Edwards gets on board the Carbon-neutral train:Stumping in NC 3/13, Edwards pledged to run a "carbon neutral" campaign. Speaking to a crowd of college students at Bennett College" in Greensboro, NC, Edwards "urged all Americans to help reduce" their emissions. Edwards: "It's time for the president of the United States to

Dodging the Storm

2007-03-13T20:49:00.000-07:00

Here's a great clip of the Fedex radar around Memphis, TN during a thunderstorm. It's sped up but shows a ton of Fedex planes trying to land before it hits the city. It kind of resembles an ant colony searching for the entrance back home.FedEx Planes Dodging Storm - Click Here for more great videos and pictures!

Speaking Truth to Power

2007-03-12T21:15:00.000-07:00

Dan Rather addressed the SXSW crowd today in the Hilton Ballroom here in Austin. It was my first time seeing the man in the flesh and he's one of the few TV personalities I've seen who actually look larger in real life than on the tube.Rather, whose ultimate career at CBS was dealt a deathly blow by the hands of the more conservative wing of the blogging party, had a stern message for the

Starbux on Lockdown

2007-03-12T06:33:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you attend a conference full of computer geeks and Warcraft addicts...Obviously, during certain times of the morning and day these beauties are unlocked for our mass consumption but usually they're on lockdown.However, there a few people who are adamantly against the coffee mega-retailer but honestly, they're just not enough to make a dent in the amount being slammed

The Ultimate Outsource

2007-03-11T21:15:00.000-07:00

Halliburton, VP Dick Cheney's favorite private-sector employer and one he still receives paychecks from, has pulled the ultimate outsource: they're reportedly moving their C.E.O to Dubai, one of seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates. Dubai, receieves an economic benefit not from oil but from the Jebel Ali Free Zone which offers lucrative incentives and tax breaks to corporations.

World Domination by Collaboration

2007-03-10T13:57:00.000-08:00

The last two years of Web 2.0 discussions have been a good foundation for watching it actually unfold. For those of you unaware of Web 2.0 you can read a brief description here. Many of the panels here at SXSW have to do with organizing communities, managing communities, and dealing with a lot of the hassles that comes along with such an "job." First, a little background. These communities can

SXSW: Re-entry

2007-03-09T09:35:00.000-08:00

Our webteam headed off to South by Southwest in Austin, TX this morning...at 12:45 a.m. SXSW is a 3-part conference that stretches out for 10 days bringing all sorts of filmmakers, music lovers (this is Austin -- Live Music Captial of the World) and techies together for a clustergasm of creativity and shareware. Stan, Luke and myself are here for the Interactive portion of the conference along

Zillion Pillows....or Zillow

2007-03-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

Or, more importantly, how much is your friend's house worth? Your boss'? How about that musician you used to stalk? If you have an address Zillow will tell you the relative value of any home in the United States. Created by the two fellows who brought us Expedia.com, its purpose is to "help[ing] you get an edge in real estate by providing you with valuable tools and information." Yeah, like how

Voting Like its 1984

2007-03-06T13:43:00.000-08:00

Wow. This is a direct hit on Hillary and although its recycled content from an old Mac commercial, its compelling. A vote for Hillary is a vote for the "system." A vote for Barack, is a vote for the people. It also speaks to the "blather" that Hillary tends to speak but rarely really understands or means. The whole "Start a Conversation" campaign is about as real as any other token politician

Romney Back in the Hunt

2007-03-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

Its been a tough week for GOP candidates between McCain announcing that he was going to announce his candidacy and Romney stepping quietly away from Ann Coulter's incredibly ridiculous flamethrowing. But now Romney appears to have hit one one out. Via RealClearPolitics: Almost everything now being written about the 2008 race should be prefaced with "It's still early but..." With that in mind,

Racket Grade

2007-03-05T01:14:00.000-08:00

This is a tough point. If badminton is always this exciting I'm getting season tickets. Badminton gets serious

Mondegreen

2007-03-05T01:06:00.000-08:00

A fabulous little bracket (similar to the NCAA bracketology) showing classic "mondegreens" or misheard lyrics. Haven't we all sung a little lyric from our favorite pop song only to be flagged by friends with, "How do you think that song goes?!" I didn't feel so bad after reading some of these doozies.Apparently, the biggest and best mondegreen out there is "A piece of Momma Daddy never had."

Green Thumb Epic

2007-03-05T00:53:00.001-08:00

What is it with British and gardening? The BBC put up a 4-hour video on "How to be a Gardener." I watched the first few minutes and there really is something about a British fellow talking about gardens...but that "something" starts to wear out after about 8 minutes. What you decide to do with the other 3:52 is up to you."Before we go any further, I'm afraid we have to talk about sex. They may

Youtube and '08

2007-03-05T00:26:00.000-08:00

Youtube has gone political. By creating a hub of all the video content posted by various candidates and their campaigns, YouChoose has made it that much easier for all of us to see our possible future president in his/her finest/worst moments on the campaign trail. The content is put up by the campaign and you can subscribe to each candidate's channel in case you can't get enough of Obama making

The Effects on Rainforests: A History

2007-03-01T18:37:00.000-08:00

Apparently, clearing vast swaths of rainforest isn't a new idea. Salon's "How the World Works" is carrying an intriguing story covered on Rhett Butler's Mongabay that speaks to some of our more hidden assumptions when it comes to rainforest destruction. However, there are numerous responses that can spin off as a result of an article like this so I'll try and parse it without gravitating toward

Arthur Schlesinger Dies

2007-03-01T08:35:00.000-08:00

He died on Tuesday night. He was 89.

Language of the Future

2007-03-01T00:25:00.000-08:00

When I was in high school French or Spainish were the two languages we, as blossoming young linguists, were given to study. If you were really into learning the root of the English lanugage you could also take Latin. But that was for the geeks. Like me.You thought deciphering the accents of the French language or the rolling 'r's of Spainish were difficult, trying learning an alphabet with 10,000

Olbermann debunks attack on Al Gore's energy use

2007-02-28T22:24:00.000-08:00

Once again, conservative think tanks are out to pawn their slightly twisted, laundered, half-truths to the open public. This time the esteemed Tennessee Center for Public Policy got a hold of Al Gore's energy bills. This "non-partisan" group claims Gore is a hypocrite. Too bad they are a part of the American Enterprise Institute which continues to claim the skepticism around global warming (

Obama on 60 Minutes

2007-02-13T00:44:00.000-08:00

I was immensely impressed by both Barack and his wife Michelle in their interview with Steve Kroft. By far two of the strongest most eloquent people I've heard run for president in a long time.http://youtube.com/watch?v=nyUsDOeFo24Obama's campaign released a new social networking site alongside their campaign website called "My Obama.com." Its a good start and is definitely the closest to any Web

How much water does it take to make water?

2007-02-12T23:44:00.000-08:00

Bottled water is one of the largest beverage industries in the world. Global consumption in 2004 grew to a staggering 41.1 billion gallons, up 6.5% since the previous year. In the U.S. the average American was consuming 25 gallons of bottled water annually. The U.S. market for bottled water has exploded growing by 15% in 2002 and 7.5% in 2004. How much water is that? About 7.357 billion gallons

Open Season on Gray Wolves

2007-01-28T07:42:00.000-08:00

We really should question the way in which this country manages it's endangered species. I guess, once you have reached x number of individuals, there's no reason to protect them.Montana, Wyoming and Idaho will be declaring open season on the soon-not-to-be endangered Gray Wolf. Great Lakes states Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin are considering a similar option specifically for trophy hunting.

Private Solar Funding

2007-01-11T23:30:00.000-08:00

Billionaires and other uber-rich can have a huge impact on where our country, and world, is headed. Ted Turner is partnering with New Jersey solar company, Dome-Tech Solar, to bring solar energy to the California markets. Since Gov. Schwarzenegger committed the state to creating over 3,000 megawatts of new solar energy, this market could be substantial.The question is, how come the gov't can't

Bush, quietly lifts Alaska drilling ban

2007-01-11T22:40:00.000-08:00

Lots of little manuevers going on during this whole Iraq war ordeal. Bush single-handedly laid a below the belt blow to our environment and also helped to continue our dependence on oil as an energy resource.Nope, he didn't open up ANWR (but you know its on his hit-list) but he did open up the similarly-sized Bristol Bay in Alaska. The fish-rich waters off the coast of our northernmost state was

Forest Consciousness

2007-01-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

I sat in wonderment for over 2 hours on this website today. Granted its Saturday, so I had some time to waste, but it also speaks to the powerful images and music Forests Forever was able to pull together for an amazing experience into the consciousness of forests. You can visit over 10 different forest systems throughout the world. I highly recommend Waipoua, the Ural's Boreal Forest and the

Put the pie down and step back from the dessert table!

2007-01-06T10:49:00.000-08:00

Apparently our law enforcement staffs have run out of dangerous people to arrest and apprehend and have turned their focus on to the frightening pie terrorist groups. AMERICAblog caught this story this morning....VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) -- A Canadian lawyer has been awarded more than C$10,000 ($8,550) in damages by a British Columbia court after he was falsely arrested and

Top 10 Eco-Neighborhoods

2007-01-05T15:56:00.000-08:00

Just when you think you're community is the greenest of the green, some magazine has to come and ruin it for you by putting out "America's Best Eco-Neighborhoods" a list of towns and cities that have been chosen as having a particularly vibrant eco-neighborhod -- none of which include your humble, but eco-riffic, abode. I was distraught not to see my home city up on the list, but I guess there

ExxonMobil Fumbles Integrity

2007-01-03T23:47:00.000-08:00

In a not-so-shocking release today, the Union of Concerned Scientists stated that big-oil company ExxonMobil spent over $16 million in a coordinated effort to mislead the American public on the science behind global warming and climate change. UCS isn't the first group to make that claim. Back in September, Britain's Royal Society demanded that the oil company halt financial support of groups

Making Terrorists out of Mole Hills

2006-11-13T16:44:00.000-08:00

The U.S. House will soon vote on a bill that would define acts of peaceful protest as terrorism. Already passed by the Senate, the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, S. 1926 and H.R. 4239 (AETA) categorizes activists as terrorists if they engage in First Amendment-protected activities like demonstrations, leafleting, undercover investigations and boycotts targeted at any business or institution

Perle and Adelman: We Shouldn't Have Invaded Iraq

2006-11-04T11:42:00.000-08:00

Richard Perle, long known as the Prince of Darkness among politcal and anti-war circles, admitted to Vanity Fair yesterday that if he had to decide all over again he would not support a military invasion of Iraq and would instead urge the President and the Joint Chiefs to pursue "other means."Perle is also one of the architects of the current neo-con policy and a major player in advising the

How Much is Pollution Worth?

2006-11-02T20:16:00.000-08:00

As someone who has now spent two years in the environmental movement in one of the most liberal cities in America, I've been amazed at how much further "ahead" people are out here in terms of conceptualizing a different world that on the eco-front is far and away greener than anything you may read in the standard ink around the country.Then I'm reminded of how "out there" we may seem to be when I

Push-Polling in Ohio

2006-10-31T08:58:00.000-08:00

One complaint about our political leaders worldwide is that they can't be trusted. Joe Citizen feels like he can't really trust everything a politician is saying, promising, showing or asking for, especially if they're asking you for your vote. I imagine thats largely true. Politics, oftentimes, becomes the selling of an idea. Instead of a new product that takes the stain out of your teeth,

Our Greatest Self-Inflicted Wound

2006-10-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've posted to the Ark, but the actions of my government over the past 24 hours has brought me back to the keyboard.There are lots of things I take for granted as an American. One of them is my right to a trial and habeas corpus, or, my right to challenge the charges laid against me and my custody. It is perhaps one of the single most important, yet often forgotten,

Petrolius

2006-09-06T18:09:00.000-07:00

Dailymotion blogged videoPetroliusVideo sent by PhitnessWe decided to stop waiting around for a commerical attacking the issue of oil addiction in this country and made one ourselves. Petrolius, the purple pill that allows us to keep driving around in old technology that burns gas, has kept us

Around the Horn

2006-08-15T14:36:00.000-07:00

A Japanese oil tanker collided with a cargo ship and spilled 1.4 million gallons of crude into the Indian Ocean -- the Phillippines call it the region's worst spill. California could become the first state to create a large network of "no-fishing" zones in an effort to help species of fish, crab and shellfish recover from over-fishing (if you like Dungeness crab wait til you see them after a

Voting for Freedom From Oil

2006-08-13T18:02:00.000-07:00

RAN is having a vote to choose a new ad campaign around their Freedom From Oil work. You can cast your vote at Jumpstart Ford's website for the best photograph that depicts how we can break our addiction to oil and then checkout the results. The winning photo will be featured in RAN's ad campaign this fall.

Vacation

2006-06-21T11:38:00.000-07:00

I've made the jump and am on vacation for the next week. This will, hopefully, provide a chance for me to re-dedicate myself to writing. So...with that in mind here are few great quotations on vacations.I do not really like vacations. I much prefer an occasional day offwhen I do not feel like working. When I am confronted with a whole week inwhich I have nothing to do but enjoy myself I do not

Closing Down SXSW

2006-03-14T16:37:00.000-08:00

Sitting here in the Halcyon coffee shop in downtown Austin, TX with a bunch of other haggard (but happy) Southies, the initial reaction to this year's interactive conference is one of optimism and reassurance. Optimism in the sense that normal everyday folk are doing some amazing work in empowering everyday people on the internet. Reassurance in the sense that there IS so much creative lift

South By and On

2006-03-12T15:17:00.000-08:00

Two days into the conference and I can honestly say that many of the greatest minds here will play a role in changing the digital landscape of our future. And, since that digital landscape is becoming more and more linked to our physical landscape, these folks will indirectly play a role in how we all live our lives (and children's lives) down the road.SXSW Interactive is the geek extension to

Philippines Mudslides and Illegal Logging

2006-02-17T18:13:00.000-08:00

The recent mudslides in the Philippines has wreaked havoc on a the residents and natural regions around the south-east Asian archipelago, especially on the island of Leyte. It being monsoon season heavy rains have fallen for over three days in the region. Thousands are reported to be buried in one of the worst mudslides in the country's history. The Philippines have a rough history with natural