Posted at Destination: Earth Travel Journal:
There is a banshee in Kilmainham Gaol; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. It may be invisible to the eyes of the thousands of visitors to the historic site in the Irish capitol, but its wail, its unearthly and sorrow-filled wail, is inescapable and unforgettable.
I’ve had the Destination: Earth Travel name and idea for a while, shifting a few times what exactly I want to do with it, from a travel advice service to a travel referral site. None of those ideas worked, but I love the name and having that outlet for my travel interests. When it comes to those interests, one of the few applications I have not pursued, yet is one that appeals to me a lot, is travel writing. With that in mind, I have turned that website and brand into the Destination: Earth Travel Journal.
The site is now a place for me to practice my travel writing skills, an extension of the travel journal I always endeavor do keep whenever I go on the road. I have invited a couple of my travel companions to share if they do desire, but it is mainly my playground.
I won’t be syndicating that feed into my main website at DMPerez.com, but I will post a notice and a link whenever a new article goes up there, so that anyone who is interested can go check it out. I will also be looking for ways to tie together what I do with Destination: Earth Travel Journal and The Gamer Traveler (which, I swear, is not dead yet).
I invite you to drop by the travel journal site and check out the articles as they come up (maybe even subscribe to that feed) and to leave your feedback on the pieces, as it’s the only way I can improve my skills.
It’s been a week since the election, and it’s taken me all this time to fully digest the event and its significance. It seems like it happened just yesterday and yet so long ago, but the truth is that it hasn’t even begun, and I cannot wait to see how it goes from there.
My road to Obama was not an easy one. I am a registered independent in Florida, which means I had to sit out the entire primary season. During that time, however, I fully supported Hilary Clinton to be the Democratic nominee. I felt that her prior experience at the White House and the experience brought in by her husband put her above the newcomer from Illinois, Barack Obama. Obama, with his eloquence and florid language, rubbed me the wrong way. When he kept winning primary after primary, I grew annoyed at the way more and more people joined in the growing adoration of Obama. By the time Clinton dropped out and Obama became the de facto nominee, I was very much not a fan. I foresaw a very difficult road ahead, having to choose between two candidates that I did not believe in.
I had decided before the primaries began, and certainly realized how essential it would be for me after the nominations had been set, that I would be very diligent about researching the candidates’ stance on the various important issues before making my decision. Though I’m an independent that skews Democratic, I very much believe in voting for people, not for parties. As I remember telling my wife once Obama was the de facto nominee, he now has these months to convince me.
And he did. Even when McCain kept making blunder after blunder, outlining policies that I simply did not agree with, I continued to give him the proper consideration in regards to my decision. But the simple truth was that Obama just made much better arguments and outlined policies that matched my own views a lot closer. His oratory kept being an issue for me; because I was trained in the art of words and arguments, I always remained a bit skeptical of the speeches, knowing full well how those can be used to hide and sway. As much as I appreciated there being a candidate that was so eloquent, I was always mindful that it was just talk, specifically constructed meant to evoke certain feelings and reactions. Then came the Democratic National Convention.
I saw McCain’s speech at the RNC and thought it a good one, but Obama’s was just fantastic, moving and (dare I say it) inspirational. I got goosebumps at times, and when it was done I remember thinking, I want to believe in this man, I want to believe those aren’t just empty words but a true commitment. I wasn’t swayed completely, but my wall had been breached. Over the next few weeks, especially over the three debates, Obama came through with explanations of his policies, his stance on the issues, his ideas for the new government. McCain just floundered. He had a couple of good moments here and there, but overall he simply could not lay down arguments that seemed as solid as those of his opponent, and the arguments he did lay down did not sit well with me at all. And there was Sarah Palin.
I don’t have anything against her, but against what she represented. McCain’s original choice for VP was Joe Lieberman (and let me say a McCain-Lieberman ticket would have been something I would have considered a lot more seriously) but the hardcore Republican base vetoed that choice. The choice of Palin was an outright kow-towing to the same Republican power base that has held court for the last eight years, and if McCain folded to them so early in the process, I worried what would happen if he achieved the White House. More than anything, that was the point where I knew I could not vote for McCain. Yet, I did not want to cast a vote for Obama simply because he wasn’t McCain, so that meant I had to do my research.
By the week before the election I had already made my choice. I kept it quiet because being an Orthodox Jew in Miami surrounded by Cubans, my choice of Obama was not a popular one and I did not feel like getting into arguments. (In fact, I practice a very strict “No Politics” doctrine with friends and family, because even people who agree on the same candidate may have vastly different ideas of why they do and as a rule I am the type to avoid confrontation.) Of course, that meant silently enduring the accusations of Obama being a terrorist, a Muslim, a socialist, a communist, a new Castro, the Antichrist, etc. The worse ones were the socialist/communist accusations, because those came from Cubans (including my extended family) who lived through the Revolution and who could not help seeing a new Castro: a young elocuent liberal preaching change and the good of the common people. If you merely look at facts on a sheet of paper and know nothing of Castro and Obama, yeah, I can see how you could get to that conclusion, but the fact is all these people were (and are) reacting out of trauma, and I cannot blame them. I also cannot argue because I’m not going to win, so we simply wait for time to run its course.
When I cast my vote on Nov. 4 I did so fully confident that I had chosen the right man for the job. His skin color never was an issue for me either way: I was choosing our next president, not a color. That said, I was well aware of the historic moment looming in the near horizon, and it was with that in mind I sat down to watch the news that night.
As states started to be called for the candidates, I forced myself to be rational and grounded, even if, with every blue splotch on the map, my imagination wanted to fly. At ten-fifty-something NBC went to a commercial break with Obama pretty much in the lead, but when they came back at 11 pm, once the West Coast was done voting, Obama was declared the winner and the next President of the United States of America. It took my wife and I a few minutes to realize what was happening. The ghosts of the 2000 election lingered in the room: Had they called this too early? Would they be retracting? Was it really over? It was, it really was, especially once McCain conceded with a fantastic speech that returned to this world the good ole maverick that had been lost in time and space during the campaign.
I was stunned and unable to think. I was amazed and elated. I was incredulous. That is until Obama made his victory speech. That’s when it hit me: I was now living in a brand new world. It was these lines in particular that did it for me, that even now, a week later, I reread and still make me tear up:
“If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer.”
- Barack Obama
I was happy that the candidate I supported was elected. I was happy that the candidate I believed was the best man for the job was elected. But more than anything, I was happy that my nation had been colorblind and elected a man who happened to be black, not a black man. Above all, I was, and still am, immensely proud because I witnessed the moment my country proved once and for all, without the shadow of a doubt, that anyone, ANYONE, can make it.
As a member of two minority groups, Hispanics and Jews, I had never felt that I had a place in the greater machinery of this nation, that our representation was limited to the Senate at most, that my voice and vote was much sought after but ultimately inconsequential. That all changed on Nov. 4; that was the night I knew I mattered, I made a difference, and I could achieve anything. That was the night my apathy at the system and the government melted away.
I truly feel this is a new world; it looks like the old one, but there’s something different in the air. I don’t believe Obama is any sort of superman who will fix everything that is wrong in America. Heck, I think he will screw up royally at some point as every single president has before. But I do believe that his election has signaled a shift that is impossible to ignore. I also believe that he is fully aware of that fact, and that if nothing else, his administration will be one in which this new world (including everything from the ubiquitous use of the Internet to the multi-cultural/multi-ethnic new American) will be well represented. There’s a bit of faith and hope in that belief, I admit, but I am allowing myself to be idealistic once more, even if I also remain vigilant of the government, as any good citizen should be. We all need checks and balances, after all.
I cannot wait for January 20, 2009 to witness this awesome moment in history, and for this new world to finally bloom.
Well, it didn’t take long at all! Based on the attendance at the event, and the overwhelming response via emails, posts, blogs and a survey put up by the office of the mayor, Bike Miami was declared a success and will now be expanded into a monthly event!
The next Bike Miami happens on Sunday, Dec. 14, 2008, and we plan to be there for sure. With a declared monthly schedule, we can now look forward to additions to the formula to be tried out little by little. At the top of my list? An expansion of the streets closed for the event.
Awesome news indeed. Thanks to everyone that worked to make this happen.
I have posted pics of my cats before, but there are hardly that many pics of my rabbit, Fergus, so here are a couple:
Here he’s playing with a log treat I gave him. Fergus’ nickname here is Spykiller, because he is suspicious of everything that comes into his area. He always eyes his food, especially if it’s something he doesn’t recognize, and every toy or treat gets tossed about a few times before he gives it more than cursory attention. This log, for example, got tossed about like a caber at a Highlands Games for a good five minutes before he decided any spies hiding inside would be dealt with and he could go and eat the treats inside.
He’s a good bunny, actually very docile, if a bit of a recluse. His time with us, however, may be coming to an end soon, as we are starting to look for a new home for him. My wife is allergic to rabbits (something we discovered 10 years ago when we got our first, Pele) and it has gotten worse with time, not to mention we still plan on moving to Seattle, and we would not be taking him with us. We’ve also realized that our prime bunny parents time has now passed, and that’s not fair to Fergus. So we enjoy his company while he remains with us, and hope to find him a very good home that will give him all the love and attention he deserves.
Highmoon Media Productions and MonkeyGod Enterprises present The Mask of Marruk.
Human sacrifice, vengeful gods, hungry giants, haunted forests, and a besieged town whose history is written in blood. Just another day on the Blood Plateau.
It has been two hundred years since Marruk has last been summoned and now the Baron’s daughter has been kidnapped. In The Mask of Marruk our heroes are asked to rescue the missing girl and in the process save the town of Fanghorn View from a catastrophe of historic proportions. All that stands in their way is a secluded giant, a cult of dark druids, and an army of savage orcs from the Blood Plateau.
The Mask of Marruk a 3.5 fantasy adventure for 5th to 7th level characters.
Written by: David Kurd
Cover by: David Rourke
Artwork by: Carolyne Dear, Sean Duerden, Samir Wallace, Peter Wooley
Fully Bookmarked
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