cow power

Wind Turbine Farm / Quebrada Azul ,Costa Rica
Costa Rica is a country rich with renewable energy. In fact, it gets about 99% of all its electrical energy from clean sources and it’s aiming to be the first country to become carbon neutral. If you've ever stood behind a cow for any period of time you know what kind of wind power they are capable of.

park with a view

Letenske Sady / Prague, Czech Republic
Just underneath Prague Castle, there is a sloping hill that goes from one park-like garden to another. The biggest of these gardens is Letenske Sady. This is a view from the park looking out over Old Town Prague and the River Vltava. Under the Communists, the park was used mainly for May Day parades, and once housed the largest statue of Stalin in the world before it was blown up in 1962.

trippin' to the tropics

Centro Histórico, Palacio de la Inquisición / Cartagena, Colombia
Off again trippin' for the long Memorial Day weekend (plus a few more days) - this time to Costa Rica. We are going to the area around La Fortuna which is the Arenal Volcano district in the northern jungles. Forecast is very hot and very sticky - perfect volcano weather. Oh, and the Palacio de la Inquisición (photo was taken in the courtyard) was the site of over five hundred religious executions and was only closed late in the 18th century. It is now a museum and memorial to the victims of the Inquisición.

stoj!

Auschwitz I / Auschwitz, Poland
I recently finished reading The Boy in Striped Pyjamas which once again brought back to mind the atrocities carried out at the three concentration camps built by the Germans in Auschwitz (or "Out-With" as it is called by Bruno). Millions upon millions of people were systematically murdered here, primarily Jews but also non-Jewish Poles, Czechs, Yugoslavs, French, Austrians, Belgians, Dutch and many others.

the coke side of life

Santa Marta, Colombia
Coca Cola - we all know it's not great for your health - but your life? For some years, there has been an ongoing Campaign to Stop Killer Coke with one of the main impetuses for the international campaign against Coke allegedly being the assassination and intimidation of members of the SINALTRAINAL union that several years ago had organized workers at Coke-controlled FEMSA bottling plants in Colombia, including this one in Santa Marta. Apparently, managers wanted to rid the plant of the union in order to boost their power over workers and their bottom line. Bang bang.

on this day

Giants Causeway / County Antrim, Northern Ireland
I just finished watching the inauguration of our 44th President, Barak Hussein Obama, on BBC here in England. Once again, I feel the rock strength of being an American.

"On this day, we gather because we have chosen hope over fear, unity of purpose over conflict and discord. On this day, we come to proclaim an end to the petty grievances and false promises, the recriminations and worn-out dogmas, that for far too long have strangled our politics."

The inspired word of President Obama is only the first of many steps towards healing the scars inflicted over the past eight years, both domestically and around the world. And Aretha, loved the hat. (update: best line I've read regarding such.. "I'm proud that Aretha is supporting renewable energy by wearing a wind turbine on her head")

stalag 13

Auschwitz I / Auschwitz, Poland
This was not the set of Hogan's Heroes, the American television comedy from the mid/late 60's set in a German prisoner of war camp known as Stalag 13 during the Second World War. This is indeed the harsh reality of Auschwitz I, the original concentration camp which served as the administrative center for the whole Auschwitz complex - the site of the deaths of roughly 70,000 people, mostly Poles and Soviet prisoners of war. Opened in 1939 on the site of an old Polish army barracks, the camp was initially used for interning Polish intellectuals and resistance movement members, then also for Soviet Prisoners of War. Common German criminals, and other "anti-social elements" of society were also imprisoned there. In 1940, the German began sending Jews there, as well. At any time, the camp held between 13,000 and 16,000 inmates; by 1942 the number reached 20,000.

it's a new day - it's a new dawn

Riverside Park / New York, New York
It's all good. As President-Elect Obama so eloquently spoke last evening "This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were." There is a renewed energy - a new focus - that has been missing for far too long. It is indeed a new day. Culminating, for me, last night as I walked into our building at 1am from a celebratory evening in New York City to have my doorman spontaneously hug me.

your moment is now

72nd Electoral District / New York, New York
It's an historic day. Make sure you are a part of it. Vote. Now.

go ahead - you deserve it

Broome Street - SoHo / New York, New York
Headline CNN: Markets across the world made impressive gains Monday after European banks followed Britain's lead and announced huge bailouts for their banking sectors. European, Asian and U.S. markets closed higher with the New York Dow Jones scoring a record point gain for a single day of 936. Go ahead, feel good about yourself again. Maybe a toe wrap - a baby brazilian - or an alpha beta triple face peel. Come on - you deserve it - do it now cause you know it won't last. But promise me you'll save the oxygen nail therapy for January when we can all take a deep breath of fresh air knowing that our Mangler-in-Chief, Dubya, will continue to say stupid things but we will no longer have to care.

you spin me right round baby

Desperately Seeking ..
I've had my fill of the current political circle jerk ad nauseam. I want the button - and I want it now! Nonetheless, there is a pending sense of thrill to riding Sarah Palin through the current peak of inflated hype, then down the slippery slope of disenchantment and - into the bowl. It will be better than a ride on the Cyclone at Coney Island. Like the Cyclone, she too will soon get the royal flush. And thanks to Mrs. Palin we have one of the best McCracka images I've seen - posted on Joe.My.God.