4th of July pic from Wikipedia

4th of July / Independence day… a day where 234 years ago we told the Brits to suck it. It doesn’t seem to mean that much as a holiday these days.  Most holidays don’t seem to mean that much. This one is an excuse to play with fireworks – or break the law in certain areas to get the fireworks – over eat BBQ food, get drunk, and occasionally catch an orchestra.

This year I’m in the middle of a health kick, so I don’t care about the BBQ food.  In La Jolla, it was cold today, so I didn’t feel like taking people up on their beach BBQ offers.  For some reason I was really tired, so slept a lot during the day (my neck still hurts, and my head’s a bit foggy.  Glad it’s my day off P90x).  I did walk outside to watch the fireworks for a few minutes, then yawned and walked back in.

Why? Because in 2007 I ate shrooms at Burning Man, and watched a (literally) 1,000 foot fireball come out of an oil derrik, followed by probably about 40 minutes of the most amazing fireworks I’ve ever seen!  Since then, nothing compares.  These were not the skimpy one firework at a time stream that you see in most fireworks show… these were hundreds of them at a time…. the sky was filled with them!  Like most things at Burning Man, these were done by artists who put everything into it… and probably didn’t have nearly as many fire-safety ordinances as most cities.

This year’s fireworks sounded about the same to me as a bag of popcorn getting ready in the microwave.  I went inside to hang with Webber, whom I was informed ahead of time hates fireworks.

I just don’t feel this holiday anymore. This year, to celeebrate independence, the United States has decided to pass a new law that suspends the 1st ammendment Read the rest of this entry »

I’m  warning you in advance, this is not your mother’s book review (takes me a tiny bit to get warmed up)! It has a lot of really personal stuff from my life as I reflect on the book, and is discussed in my fun (and language filled) manner.

Siddhartha, by Hermann Hesse is a book that does not fit in my normal reading list. As with all things in my life, this too has a fascinating story and reflection.

It all started with Jaime. Read the rest of this entry »

This is a really information packed post about the processes, tools, and philosophies that I’ve learned about writing over the last few weeks.  I’m sure they’ll help you whether you’re writing a play, a novel, or a blog post. Please share this post, as it will help a lot of people overcome writer’s block, focus, be productive, and much more.

I admit that I often don’t know what day of the week it is. Couchsurfing takes me around to different people in many places, and I keep growing because of it.  Day of the week… not important most of the time.  But now that I’m actually working with a goal (remember:  Goals are dreams with a deadline) of writing my book, I am racing the clock.

The first lesson is probably the most important, and that is

Read the rest of this entry »

Dear friend – yes you!

I have something really important to tell you. It’s very exciting, and very difficult for me all at once.

I’ve arrived here in La Jolla, CA where the weather is truly amazing, and I am house-sitting for the next 5-6 weeks.

On my drive here from Austin, TX I had a lot of time to think, and if I’ve learned anything, it’s that the best answers come from asking the right questions. My question that I chose was “How do I make the best use of house-sitting near the beach for 6 weeks?”

I came up with many ideas, but the ones that made the most sense are also the most difficult, and I’d like to share them with you.

I have completed 3.5 years of couchsurfing around the USA.  I’ve met the most incredible people that I could ever imagine.  I have had amazing adventures, where Read the rest of this entry »

Sponge Bob Square Pants died in BP oil spill!

Here’s a fun one to share with your friends!

British Petroleum has a gag order on their staff.  During this cleanup, no one can tell you what’s really going on.  So… all those dead animals, all that failure on stopping the flow of oil…. yeah, they can’t

Click this to see BP's "Oil Spill" ad

talk about it.  Additionally, BP is paying for sponsored ads, so whenever you search for a term like “Oil Spill” their ad shows up at the top, like so (see image on left).

Their BP ad (the one with the yellow background) costs them money for each click.  It takes you to their page, where they get to present the information however they want to… i.e. “BP cares, loves you, are the good guys, and are really making the world a better place…. and a little oil in your sea food is good for you!”

Now, I may be paraphrasing a little bit, but you get the idea.

The sad part is that millions of people do not know that it is an ad.  They search for “Oil Spill” (or any other term relating to the worst ecological catastrophe in history), they see “BP”, click on it, and think they are seeing the real news, and thus believe it.

So, to show BP that this campaign is just a waste of their money, and that people are smarter than that, just keep searching for Oil Spill, and clicking on BP’s ads!  Then just hit the back button on your browser, you’re back in the Google page, and you can click again… rinse and repeat!

Send your friends to this page! With enough people doing this, maybe BP can invest their resources into cleaning the environment, rather than just trying to bully us into thinking that everything’s peachy.

Here! I’ll save you the effort– Just click here, and it will take you to a Google page where you can click on oil ads.

Have fun!

The Couchsurfing Radio Host- Couch Surfing Ori

What did I do in Dallas?

Billboard climbing

Art fair

warehouse party

consulting

met new people

got a speaking and mc gigs for next month

played poker (learned to play poker actually)

There was more… and that’s why you need to listen to Episode 7.  You can hear what the listeners who got their consulting thought, and check out a funny conversation with Jason Moffatt.  That reminds me– this is the first episode to have the word “shit” in it.  I was wondering how long the G rating would last

Check out the Couchcast

Download the episode for home/car/plane/etc.. listening.

Just when I think “Gosh.. I gotta really work my brain to come up with something to blog about today,” scammer Dominic Holland from Viralee sends me a legal threat. I shall share it, and of course provide feedback… in RED! ’cause that’s what they do in the American school system to ruin kids’ dreams and hopes, and I want to crush Dominic Holland’s hopes of scamming people. And now… the letter: Read the rest of this entry »

Check out the Couchcast

It seems the show just keeps getting better. The topics are pretty diverse- bankrupcy, falling for scams, fighting back, photography, facial expressions, PR, Peter Shankman, various jokes, and more!

Have a listen, leave a comment!  You can download this, and take it with you.

Movie Poster for Avatar by James Cameron

I wanted to see it opening night. I wanted to be there at the Imax 3d, and to tell you the truth… I thought I’d also eat some shrooms before going. I have not been excited about a movie in years. Not like I was about this one. One thing that made me so excited (other than the obvious- seeing the trailer) was this article about James Cameron, and how long he’s been thinking of this movie. That article not only made me want to see the movie more (and be able to get other people more excited about it), but it also added James Cameron to that extremely small group of heroes I have…. currently it’s just him and Sir Richard Branson. Why? ’cause he knows how to pursue his dreams, and he goes scuba diving above undetonated watermines from World War II.

You know how I said I wanted to see it opening night? Yeah.. well.. that didn’t happen. They were sold out. My parents got to see it on Christmas on Imax 3d… I argued with them for a while that it would be worth the 40 minute drive, and line-waiting to see something so epic on Imax. They thanked me for arguing, and winning. I mention them, ’cause they saw it on Christmas — right after I posted that awesome Chinese Food On Christmas post. But as for me.. I didn’t get to go, ’cause I’m not in Florida. The same friends I invited to go on opening night had made it out another night… and from the time they got their tickets to the time I tried to get mine.. sold out again.

I wasn’t worried! I mean, it’s playing in Imax 3d until February, and I work whenever… so I can really catch the 3pm showing every weekday between now and February, and probably not have anyone interrupt my viewing experience, as I memorize the different scripts. While I had thought of that, I really just wanted to see the movie. Tonight was that glorious night. I’m couchsurfing with Craig & Suzanne, and they leave on a New Year’s snowboarding trip tomorrow morning… leaving me with their St. Bernard & Golden Retriever (who like Craig & Sue eat raw). Craig said “We leave in 30 minutes” – I didn’t bother asking where. I love random trips. In the car, Sue had brought up showtimes, so I instantly knew. We saw it at the Alamo Draft House — which is an Austin tradition. You watch a movie, and they bring you dinner and booze.

The only remaining seats were in the very front. This took away from the movie a little bit, but here is my review, and where I see things going (keep reading, ’cause I tell you how to make your own Pandora-like worlds and creatures). Read the rest of this entry »

dolphins getting slaughtered in japan

Do you like Dolphins? Some say they are more intelligent than we are.  Thousands of them get caught for your entertainment- they sell to theme parks for $150,000 (well up to that) per dolphin, while the other 23,000 get sold off as whale meat… despite being highly highly toxic.

Where do I know this information?  I just saw a most disturbing documentary — a must see most disturbing documentary – called “The Cove”.  It is beautifully done, an adventure, suspenseful, and moving.  The footage is epic, the soundtrack is haunting.  The story they uncover is really disturbing.

The only way to change the world is to take action, get the word out, and do what you can.  With thousands of subscribers and visitors, I’m hoping that this blog post gets people to watch the movie, and become aware… then take what action they can to make a difference.

http://www.takepart.com/thecove is where you can go to find out some things that you can do.  I suppose you can buy the DVD and support the cause.  But I highly recommend you go to your local video store (or web-based video shipping service), and watch this movie ASAP.  Please comment if you’ve seen it, and let me know what you thought of it.

CouchSurfingOri surrounded by STUFF at Cathedral of Junk in Austin, TX

Stuff!  We all have it! The thing is that it means different things to different people.  Some people think that we are nothing more than what stuff we’ve accumulated.

Have you ever been to soeone’s house that looks like a museum? Shelves upon shelves of little crystal figurines, and nice china, and walls of DVDs, and shelves full of books, and tons of walk-in closets, etc… ?

I wonder if they actually enjoy their stuff.  I wonder if they eat on that fine china… I wonder if they watch every movie.. I wonder if they read all their books.

You see, I have a lot of stuff too.  We all do!  But, do we actually use it after the first few weeks?  It’s a shiny object, and my marketer friends probably made the ad that made you want it…. but after you spent your money, or were gifted it, you probably got bored with it.  Clearly, there’s exceptions– computers, cell phones, televisions, but even those gather dust after we find a shiny new model.  The Ipod got replaced by the Ipod Nano, which got replaced by the Iphone / Touch – which got replaced by the Iphone 3G, which got replaced by the Iphone 3GS.

What’s my point?  I just realized that a lot of my stuff I have because people think I should have it.  What do I mean? I guess I should tell you my big plans first.

(If you’re in a hurry, just scroll to the video at the bottom) Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, that's me, and I"m blonde

This is not a scientific study.  Just my observations on happiness.

I’ve been feeling sad, tired, and lazy lately.  Not that there’s a shortage of things to do!  I’ve been doing tasks, and there’s plenty more to do.  But.. I’ve been low on energy, and haven’t been social, exercising, or having a regular schedule. I thought it was because I haven’t been going out and seeing any friends, etc… Maybe because I’m at home (yeah.. I’m at my place right now, packing it up, and getting it rented out, so I can be on the road full time.  I thought I wanted my stuff to be in its place, and not have to be in storage…. but in truth, I haven’t missed my stuff, and even when I got back here after 10 months, I still didn’t touch any of it), and not on the road.  But I think I was mistaken.

I noticed a massive spike in energy and joy as soon as Read the rest of this entry »

The NOOK e-book reader

Mashable, and the rest of the world started tweeting/blogging/posting about The Nook- Barnes and Nobles’  Kindle Killer, a faster, sleeker, fancier e-book reader.  They matched the new price drop of the Kindle (at $260).  Just in case you haven’t heard of E-book readers, let me tell you about them:

They are portable devices (much of this functionality is finding its way into phones too) – many with screens at 6″.  The screens use something called E-Ink.  This lets you view the black and white (Some day in color– Nook claims color, but that’s not actually for the book reading area– just the menus) book/photos like you would see a regular (paper) book.  There is no glare, and you can read it without a problem in the sun, in bed, etc… You flip the pages by pressing a button.  Amazon started the trend of using the 3G network, so you can always purchase books right into your E-Book reader without needing  a  computer.  Now that you know what they are, let me tell you why I need one (my theory anyways) Read the rest of this entry »

Oiled up the machine

I find that I’m a lot more productive when I work through the night.  Last night, not only did I write an awesome article on Falcon, the not-so-adventurous Balloon Boy (I wonder how many years that name will stick), but I also tinkered around under the hood.  Some of the changes I  made to my site:

• Made it interact with Facebook.  You can now share your posts on Facebook, become a facebook fan, etc….
• Added Tweeting functionality.  You can now push that green button in the top right of every single post, and instantly tweet that post.
• Added Disqus & Tweetmeme — Now it’ll be easy to track not only comments, but the replies they’ve gotten around the web.
• Swapped out analytics code.. it turns out my last structure was slowing the site down.
• Added site-caching to try and speed up the site.
• Added mobile-phone support, so that Iphones/Blackberries/Androids can all enjoy the site in a more convenient manner.
• Fixed a few things on the SEO front, so the site will be easier to find.
• Backed up site database & files (WAY past due on that).
• Added some idea-organization tools.
• Improved my mailing tools, so I can actually keep in touch with you better. Read the rest of this entry »

It's Falcon! The balloon boy!

This 6 year old kid, Falcon (I think that’s even more ridiculous– the kid goes flying, and his name is Falcon? Hmmm) climbs in his Dad’s helium baloon that looks like Jiffy Pop.  The baloon takes off.  The whole nation is talking about it.  Everyone’s tweeting and facebooking about it… I even know of a certain stay at home mom that got her drink on ’cause she was so worried about this kid.  I was already making jokes (If “He tried to go visit Michael Jackson one last time!” gets popular, just remember, I made it up! Funny enough– I just looked up the newsline, and there WAS a Michael Jackson single that just debuted online just the other day), and people were giving me grief, “Oh… you gotta at least wait till he lands safely!” People were telling me how they’re praying.  Wow.  What concerned people we have, it’s nice.  It’s also not nice, because they were bamboozled into being concerned.  What a waste of positive emotion.  Oh yeah… I forgot to mention, for those who haven’t heard, turns out that the kid was never in the baloon… he was hiding at home in the attic, in a box or something.  So… let’s take a look at what happened. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t really believe in God, or at least in organized religions’ version… but I do know that I (and usually science) can’t explain everything. One of the things that I saw in “The Secret” was to have a vision.  Now, I talk shit about “The Secret” ’cause I’m a workaholic, and they leave off the entire chapter about taking any action, or actually doing anything (I guarantee you that if you jump out of a plane without a parachute, the law of gravity will trump the law of attraction), but… crazy things keep happening!  I really have the life of my dreams– I’ve met the most amazing people, which I’m now proud to call my friends.  I’ve had enough adventure to where I wouldn’t really care if I died tomorrow.  I’m happy.

One of the ways I achieve happiness is also by accomplishing stuff.  One way to accomplish more, is to get a coach (they’re not just for athletes).  I recently hired a coach, and I’ll be blogging about my progress… but in 2006 I had one.  I fired her, because she couldn’t keep up with me, and that was frustrating.  My new coach is a badass… she knows how to deal with people like me!

Now that I started up with a new coach, I contacted my older bro, Barak, and asked if he had my old vision.  This is freaky/neat!  Check this out: The one good thing that came out of my previous coach was that I had made a vision statement.  Here’s what it said: Read the rest of this entry »

I helped save Sam The Poodle’s life earlier in the year… now I’m being asked if I can save a human life… “It’s only $2,000,000.00″. My trip is departing in late January, and I’m in the middle of hectic non-stop getting ready. I barely have time to handle my own projects when I get this text: Read the rest of this entry »

I was on Twitter (If you’re not on twitter, your company is already looking to become outdated, and possibly die out), and @ROIRoy  asked what we thought of the future of PR.  Let’s define PR first… Read the rest of this entry »

I said my piece on Prop 8 before it passed.  I donated money to help “No on 8″, but I don’t think I did enough to promote.  I never said anything about it on my blog after it passed.  I think Keith Olbermann said it best in this video: Read the rest of this entry »

While the radio was talking about 2-3 hour wait, my voting time was 15 minutes (including the drive)… ok.. 20 minutes.  It was painless, and I didn’t have to cheat off the person next to me.  I also got a free tall coffee from Starbucks.  I am pissed off though that we get no recipt of how we voted.  Just makes it that much more obvious about how little your vote really counts, and how manipulatable the system is. Read the rest of this entry »

Wow! It’s almost 2009. We’ve come so far! We’ve invented the wheel, harnessed fire, created language, learned to spread information (1st tablets, then papyrus, then the printing press, then telegraph, then radio, then tv, then internet), invented the car, and various flying machines… and with this progression, we were basically able to do anything. It wasn’t only technology and medicine that progressed with the spread of information, it was also human and civil rights.

So, here we are… living in a day and age where women can join the army, or have corporate jobs. A day and age where the black man is free to own his own land… oh yeah, we’re a little past that, now he can run for president! So… if everyone has all these rights, and we live in the land of opportunity, why can gay people not get married? Face it folk, the gays aren’t going away! Read the rest of this entry »

St. Peter’s standing at the pearly gates when Barack Obama shows up.

“Hello Sir, welcome to Heaven.  I’d like to remind you that entry is only granted to those on the list. What is your name?”

“Barack Hussein Obama.”

“Hmmmm… I don’t see you on here… did you maybe do something you’d be known for?”

“Well… i was the 1st black man to successfully win the election for United States President”

“well.. that sounds impressive enough… I’m still not showing it… when were you elected president?”

“About 15 minutes ago!”

——- I laughed when I heard it.  I suppose it was funnier coming from a drunken redneck.  I laugh at all sorts of improper jokes, and often tell them.  But, this joke does bring up a sad reality… Obama has had the most death threats of any presidential candidate ever.   Over 500 so far.  Just 2 days after I heard the joke, here’s what’s showing in the news:

Feds disrupt skinhead plot to assassinate Obama

My republican neighbor had said from the start, “He’ll get killed before he even gets sworn in!”

I have a lot more respect for Barack and Michelle for doing this, knowing that grim possibility that there are a lot of ignorant folk that would go to extremes to harm them. That, and I truly believe that they’ll make a positive difference.

It’s ridiculous that so many people think Obama is bad for Israel because his middle name is Hussein (Maybe that’s why my folks never gave us kids middle names… so they don’t give us a crappy one that people can smut-peddle us about)!

So… when I was couch surfing in Florida, I had some friends of my folks invite me to dinner.  It was a home cooked meal, and quite good.  The dog’s name was Barack, so I thought that if politics came up, this would be a friendly home…. however… you have to keep in mind that Barak is a pretty common Israeli name (in fack, that’s my older brother’s name).  So, after dinner, we’re all chatting, and Yehuda is talking about how brilliant Mccain is for bringing Palin on as VP, and how great she is.  Riki is wholeheartedly agreeing, and ranting about how great Sarah Pailin is.  I’m being quiet.  For those who know me, that’s a mostly rare thing… so… I guess Riki noticed.  “What? You don’t like Sarah Palin?”  I said that I do not.  It was funny, but brings up a very real point– it was my information versus their information.  We all thought each other was crazy. Everyone has their own set of whacky friends sending them articles and links that are pro their candidate and anti the opposition.  Most people do not take the time to go to snopes.com to check if this stuff is true.  When I started speaking of Sarah Pailin’s incompettence with fiscal matters, I was attacked that I’m reading propaganda, and am clearly uneducated about the matter.  So Riki says “So.. who are you voting for?” When I said I’m voting for Obama, she took her shoe off, and threw it at me (for an old lady, she has good aim).  I stood up and said that I believe it’s time to go, but thanks for the lovely meal, and pleasant company.  I was even polite to Riki, saying it’s always a pleasure to see her, even when she’s throwing shoes at me.  I was so polite and nice, as these were all close friends of my parents.  When my folks got back in town, they heard about the incident, and told me they heard I acted in an exemplary manner. I thought about it, and figured I had done everything correctly. However, I then realized in hindsight that there was one more thing I should’ve done… I should have taken the shoe she threw at me when I left! Oh well.. maybe next time.

http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/455 Here’s just one of many articles that show what I’m referring to by the way.

p.s. those same people were a lot quieter when at a Rosh Ha Shana (Jewish New Year) dinner, politics came up… Yehuda was talking about how great Mccain is… and then my dad  interrupts their gloat-fest, and mentions that Obama is actually great for Israel, and that he’s voting Obama.   Dad voted for Bush last time (And look where that got the world).

I mention Independent Lady Magazine a little too frequently lately. Last night, (I still haven’t slept… though not just because of this) in the middle of the night, I decided that I’d set up a MySpace page for Independent Lady Magazine and then I went and designed a few mock covers… no false article text or anything.. just the words. I suppose since I made a MySpace page, I had to keep going, to make it look good. And, while initially it was supposed to be a spoof, the more I wrote, the more I realized that I can actually turn this into a real magazine! The reasons are plenty: Read the rest of this entry »