Day at the beach

Dani, Lexi and me enjoying the sun and the ocean at Marina Park in
Ventura.

Day of rest

Yesterday Michael, Norman and I spent a very relaxing day just hanging out at the house. That is what Sundays are for, right? Relax, rest and recuperate from a busy week and stressful life. Most of us do not do that very often anymore. Our weekends are usually as full as our weeks and we get back to work on Monday even more tired.
Yesterday was a very nice exception. Not planning anything, not having anything to do, not going anywhere, is seldomly an option as we think that we are not being productive and are wasting time. Well it surely feels nice to waste time once in a while, enjoy your friends' company and just be.

In the news

Michael Jackson passed away yesterday June 25 2009. The King of Pop is dead, long live the..... I do not think there is any one out there to take over the throne. In the news they were trying to make people say who was the greatest entertainer between Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson. It's not fair because they were all great in their own way. However MJ did what no one had done before which is crossing colors, classes, religions,... He is known in every corner of the world. Even if you did not like his music, you knew who he was because of his accomplishments and of course the controversies that surrounded him in the last few years.
I do not know if kids in Mumbai or Rio could tell you who Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra are but I bet they could sing a Michael Jackson song.
I know that it is not good to have regrets but just like the Concorde was retired before I took a flight, MJ passed away before I could see him perform live.
**************
Governor Sanford of South Carolina has spent the past few days apologizing to anyone who would listen.
One more politician caught doing something wrong and going on a "recovery mission" trying to salvage his career. It is always hard to tell if they are sorry they lied/cheated/or whatever or if they are sorry they got caught.
Every time that happens, I am surprised at people's reaction: shock and then anger. If we would stop holding government figures and entertainment celebrities to higher standards, we would not need to kick them off the pedestal on which we place them. I do not care who they sleep with; that's between them and their spouse. Just do the best job for which you are paid.
I will not judge anyone, I am far from being perfect, but do not preach to me about values and tell me how I should live my life. Obviously you do not listen to your own speech. Now let's see who will be the next politician getting caught. A bathroom in Brazil maybe?
**************
I got a glimpse this afternoon of a story about a bill that was given to the senators today at 3:09am so they could vote on it during the morning session. The bill is several hundreds pages thick making it impossible for the senators to review. Was that done on purpose by the Democrats? If yes they are scooping as low as the Republicans. I am sure that is not the first time senators vote on bills they have not read. I find this outrageous. Noone should vote on anything unless they are familiar with the texts and understand them. Both Democrats and Republicans are guilty of trying to pass bills that the majority has not read nor understood. Should the Speaker of the House act as a teacher and ask for a "bill report" before every vote?
And how are they allowed to add articles to a bill, that has nothing to do with the bill's primary text? Why does everything seem to have a loophole that is never used for the greater good but for self-promotion and self-serving agendas?

Welcome to planet Water

As I am laying on my "chaise longue" looking at the waves and out to the horizon I cannot help but wondering if all that the ability to think gave humans is the sense of entitlement and superiority over everything else.
We named our planet Earth when 71% of its surface is water. Granted at the dawn of civilization that fact was unknown. We also named the other planets before we knew they were deprived of life, not thinking for one second that maybe people lived there and already had a name for their home. We did that here countless times as well, renaming places regardless of what the native peolpes had already named them.
We sectioned the ocean and gave each part a separate name as we ventured farther away in the unknown. Clearly there is only one ocean on Earth. The Seas, even the closed ones, are also (or were at some point in time) part of this same ocean.
Would it be too confusing to rename things after we uncover some fact that changes our perception? Too much work changing all the books? Or is it just not in our nature to admit that we were wrong?
I guess if we had evolved into ocean creatures we would have named our planet Water or Ocean. Still everyday astronomers discover new spatial objects in the universe and name them. I know that recognition is only possible because of names allowing us to list, archive, and sort discoveries. The definitive and unquestionable aspect of it, is what annoys me.
Imagine people from the "red planet" landing on Earth tomorrow. The welcome committee's speech would probably start with: "People from Mars, welcome to Earth". The "Martians" surprised would say: "The name of our planet is not Mars". The delegate from Earth would answer: "Oh yes it is. WE named it".

Lihue-Hawaii 06/26/09

Relaxing and reading my book by the beach.