Birthday cake

I spent my birthday at my family's place in rural Wisconsin. Having fun requires a bit more imagination...

Lasers!

Most people would say that mainstream hip hop glamorizes over-consumption, violence, and oppression. It's refreshing to see artists countering that trend, and I find it encouraging that this is becoming more mainstream.

Lupe is dropping a a new album soon - here's a great clip that summarizes Lupe's mission and highlights what has been missing from this sub-culture.

http://www.wearenotlosers.com/

Read it and weep!

My chances for bowel cancer may be the same as yours, but you have a higher probability of getting stomach cancer!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8127215.stm

Freedom

I usually don't like the jargon of the US government during the Bush era, but I am thankful for our freedom. The Chinese haven't been so fortunate, even to this day. The New York Times put together a great audio slide show on the Tiananmen protests.

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/06/04/opinion/20090604_TIANANMEN_FEATURE.html

An open administration?

I have been talking to Jason & Syd about a cycling holiday this year. We started with some ideas...Maine, Guatemala, Greenland and eventually Cuba popped into my brain. I have sent an email to the White House, inquiring about the possibility of obtaining a visa to visit Cuba. I'm waiting patiently to see if I hear back!

Greetings,

In the spirit of opening relations with Cuba, I would like to blog while cycling across the country. The goals of my proposal are to educate American blog readers about Cuban life and show Cuba that Americans are interested in its culture and people.

The impediment to my trip is our travel ban on Cuba. How do I request a special visa to visit the country for a few weeks?

Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Jeremy Irwin

A memorial weekend

Jason, Syd, Pete, and I had our 2nd annual Popple cabin excursion on May 23. The cabin is on the Popple River in northern Wisconsin. The cabin is a rustic one bedroom, no bath, no electricity type of place. It's a perfect escape from our world of mobile phones & computers. As much as I enjoy the conveniences that all of us take for granted, my soul sometimes requires something a bit more natural.

The majority of US citizens have inherent ideas of the elements that make a home. These same elements exist in other homes all over the world, but the context is different. It's interesting to see the context change between Milwaukee & northern Wisconsin, while some parts do not change at all.

Breakfast for dinner

As a child, my mom always let my brother & me have breakfast for dinner once per week. We thought it was the coolest thing ever, since breakfast usually consisted of sweet foods. It was also a benefit for my mom, because she didn't have to put much energy (into making dinner) after working all day.

Wednesday night's dinner party was centered around banana macadamia nut pancakes with orange butter. Delectable!

Reviewer Extraordinaire

I've decided it's time for a bit of new music...I was checking out Common's new album when I noticed that one person had rated the album to be 1/5 stars:

http://www.amazon.com/review/R36RZ0QNDBVOP/ref=cm_cr_rdp_perm

I was considering this reviewer to be a complete ignoramus, but then I read his profile:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A3U6WGSBAECZAF/ref=cm_cr_rdp_pdp

If there is ever an Amazon-reviewer of the century, this dude(tte) gets my vote.

Treasure along my cycling route

I was out for a bike ride and cycled past a cache of burger king crowns along the side of the road. I came back later in my car to take a few photos. The owner of the property drives his truck across the grass and stops at my side.

He asks "what's going on?"

"I'm taking photos."

"How did these get here?"

"No clue - maybe they blew off of a truck?"

"Hmm..."

Without saying another word, he drove back to his house.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

The Burmese junta has created more accusations to keep Aung San Suu Kyi detained. The original stipulations of her house arrest (which were fabricated to keep her from gaining power) expire this May.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/8050545.stm

This is a great example of the lack of UN willingness to correct the situation. Meanwhile the people of Myanmar will suffer while the junta continues to make money from its dealings with China.