A little more time has elapsed since we came back from Guanahuato and the city still leaves a deep impression on us.

Guanjuato gave us that feeling.  It's a unique city, and though we are no experts at Mexican cities, this is our our second taste of the country after the much touristy Puerto Vallarte.  It feels real, a bridge between traditional old Mexico and the modern one.  How long will Guanajuato remain this unique artisan town?  Hard to say, ten years?  Hopefully the UNESCO weight will keep the city humming.  The colorfully built next to each other mushroom homes are impressive.  Clinging to any patch of hill where a house can dig its foundation into the undulating slopes of the city, you will find pink, blue, yellow, ocre, purple, any shade of colors imaginable to the human eye covering these homes.

The people are simply wonderful, nice, smiling despite what we would call a hard life.  The city hasn't been over run by tourists yet, so maybe that explains their friendliness.  I am partial to dark skins and hair, and the younger people have such beautiful faces, despite wanting to look like the international beauty criteria, pale white skin models with impossible body curves.  And that brings the other subject of food.  I always crave Mexican food but after 4 days of beans, tortilla and cheese, I am ready for salads which we promptly found in the shape of a southern French restaurant.  Ha, healthy food again!  The bean and corn based food probably explains the Mexican body physique, which sort of loses its natural curving shapes after years of eating such a diet.  I see Mexicans chowing down all sort of pasty and beany things, all day long.  These people love life.  It is something we could learn from back here with our over abundance of material possessions.

Taxis, no matter how long they have been driving, honking is therapeutic to release the stress they store up with daily drives.  They just can't help doing it.  They either still believe it helps them get there faster or are just relieving stress.

The Village doesn't change, it's the Village.  Nothing changes there.  the same can be said about the East Village.  I've always liked the East Village more than the Village.  It's more real, more grundgy less pretentious.  It has more stores, more boutiques, more artisanal thing.  It doesn't feel like a gigantic tourist trap.  It's real to me.  My favorite Japanese restaurant is still there, Yakitori Taisho. The perfect Japanese get together for Japanese people, it's an Izukaya.  I love going there and mixing with an Asian fauna of a younger generation.  It reminds me of when we lived in Kyoto.  However, the Village has Mary's Crisis and anyone who wants to experience NY late nights has to experience it.  It's a bar that collects, after hours a bunch of Broadway theater workers getting together in this cramped place singing Broadway hit shows while getting drunk.  Only in NY.

There is something fascinating about New Yorkers, they are not the friendliest in stores and once in a while you will get absolutely shocked if one is nice to  you.  But to be fair who has time for pleasantries when you are rushing somewhere?  And to be even more fair, most New Yorkers are not real New Yorkers.  Real New Yorkers are the ones raised and born there.  They have a feel and a constant finger on the pulse of the city.  Real New Yorkers are wonderful people. It's the wannabes, the ones who come to New York with a head full of attitude and lofty dreams and goals, most of the time, never really reached.  It's those people that once faced with the harsh reality that New York is, become sour, or resentful, or just put on on an act.  You can see through them.  It's painful… but they are not the real New York.  They are wannabes.  And once in a while, you'll open a door for someone who stay long enough to leave a door open, they are taken aback, in a nice way.  Funny.

OK, what's traveling without Nick writing about ranting on watching TV?  It just cannot happen any other ways.  I always get psyched up about watching TV again and zap through a million shows, like Discovery, History and other learning channels but modern TV never fail to get disappointed.  In fact, it seems I get more disappointed each time I watch it.  Don't believe me it's getting worse?  I should know, we haven't had a TV i over 5 years.  TV is getting worse.  My friend has over a 1000 channels but there was nothing worth watching.  And if by chance you do find a show that interests you, you can be sure it will be interrupted with some mindless commercial to tear you away from your wonder.   And the quality of those commercials are so low, not fun, not aesthetic and always downplaying the competitor.  Nothing turns me off more.  What really puzzles me is why can't we have good commercials?  Is it that hard?  How difficult is it to make fun or aesthetic commercial?  Isn't the reality of life in the news bleak enough?  People want to have fun and watch TV for divertissement, not crude low vibration enticements.  How about funny ones that don't pray on inferiority feelings?  How about commercials that valorize essential good qualities in people instead of coaxing jalousie, voyeurism, etc?  How fun it would be to not have boring, repetitive car commercials ever single break, claiming amazing miles per gallon when Europe and the Asian markets have had better fuel efficient cars for decades?  It's just puzzling how advertisers and TV programmers think we must not be very intelligent.  Trust us, we can make up our minds.  I know do.  And that was all for Nick's usual TV quality rant!

Central Park has changed a lot and I am happy to see it cleaned up its act a little.  It used to be that one would have to be careful walking around in the Rambles, else they should chance on people engaging in dubious activities behind the bushes.

With renovations here and there the rambles is a much more pleasant place to stroll and watch birds. What used to be the constant flow of lonely guys looking for other type of activities has changed, albeit, I wouldn't let my children lose.  Strange thing to have to share the rambles with them.  I've always loved coming here at different seasons of the year and talk to bird watchers.  It is a peaceful place and one where you can get away from the maddening pace of life the city imposes on you.  And I still looking for those illusive Red Cardinal feathers.  I have pretty much everything except for those birds.  Stingy little things they are. 

I am looking for a friend of mine who had two dogs and last time I heard of him, only is gone.  find out his big beautiful red Golden Retriever named Fiona has also passed on.  He now has Shane, another full fledged yellow Golden Retriever. 

And as I am writing this I can't believe I am seeing a wild Turkey running lose in the park.  Go figure!

As I sit in a new cafe in downtown Long Beach, at least new to me, I realize why we never come here.  It's different, it's not what we expect and it's in between a big and small city feel.  I can't put my finger on it.  Walking around I realized how many businesses had closed their doors and how this must effect our unprepared city.  Shops looked old, tired and worn out.   Where book stores once stood, emptiness and rental signs now lay bare on the windows.  And never mind coming down here on a Saturday night.  Too busy, too crowded and too many bars.  I guess I want to find other things, shows, museums, etc all located downtown.  Anyway, our city is in transition, as it has been for the last decade.

And this brings me to another topic.  Our two friends and neighbors got married yesterday before election day in order to take advantage of the fact that a law was passed allowing same sex marriage.  It made me realize how happy they were and how happy we are to see them enjoy the warmth and reassurance Virginia and I have had over the last decade, that of being together.  It's a promise that keeps you warm.  A few hours before, we were driving on 2nd Street where a lone person with a Vote Yes sign stood next to what seemed to be hundreds of Vote No signs.  It made me realize how puny we are ion the grand scheme of things.  Who am I, or you to tell anyone else anything short of not to hurt anyone.  Or more to the point, who am I to tell two people in love they can't marry, have the warmth of that legalized bond carry them into their life path?  Yes, who am I who is so different than I was a decade ago, and even a month ago.  Who am I now who probably is so different than who I will be tomorrow?  How could I tell two people they can't marry?

One thing that made me feel very uncomfortable about the whole situation was that a law was already passed and approved by the people.  However, this new proposition 8 is believed to be well funded by some mormon groups in Utah.  People in Utah want to show the 7th biggest economy in the world how to think and what is right?  And since we are on that subject, what is considered right anyway?  What some religious book written by the hand of man thinks what God wants?  How demeaning to lower God to have to be explained through a few man.  That is not the God I feel. 

The world will be a better place when everyone takes care of themselves inside first, then the rest of the world will have enough place to make up their minds and see the clear examples in others.  Until then, influencing others to your own point of view is needless, dangerous and keeps humanity chained in a past that has not been very conclusive.

Will anyone do anything about spammers?  With current systems available to curb it down, the lost of productivity should have prompted law makers a long time ago.

So thank you spammers for closing down my 10 year old email.  Thank you;

jimfaulknor_ezsitelaunch@easy-webtemplates-gd.com
Real Estate News, who asked you for anything?
fritz esfandia
Wachovia connection Tech Support, no accounts here.
Realtor Health Plans, an oxymoron in itself
Octavio Terrell, interesting name
Realtor Services
Shasta Concha

Low Price Home Insurance
apostolos ernest
support@amailer1.com who has been a long time spammer, and at the rate of about 3 times a day.
Avis Coon, wants me to enlarge my private parts.  No thank you
Home Solution Complete
kareem norbert
Recession Resistant Business who wants me to meet Last Chance to Meet Roni Deutch
William Lyon Homes
VIAGRA ® Official Site
MyNewHomeFinder.com
the unavoidable "123greetings.com"

Thank you all for spamming me so much I had to change address.  Yes filters work but the drain on the infrastrucure of the Internet is really taxed at over 66% spam mail traffic.  Remember, we pay for traffic and mailboxes.  It's not for these low energy level people to dump their irrelevant news and product pitches. 

Now all is well.  I have a new email and they won't know.

As always: Never unsubscribe from spam as it marks your email as active and it will be sold to other lists.  Don't read it, don't think about it.  If we all do this, there won't be any spam anymore.

Yes, I'm still alive… I've just been very, very busy.

I guess it's a good thing, all in all but I have never stopped writing for so long on this blog, ever.  In fact, the most I never posted was a day or two, but a whole month?

So what can I say.  What happened in the meantime?  Plenty.  Lots.  Mucho much!  My classes at CoachU are still in full swing.  Today we are celebrating Tap The Source's first anniversary and that is a great feeling.

And many more things are happening including soon to join a BNI group, new clients, new ideas and more books to read with greater insights into my favorite of all subject the "Why, Oh Why! Are We Here?"

In the meantime, I was in New York City for about a week and a half after a 5 year hiatus.  It was great and I reconnected with my high school best friend again, picking where we left off with just more experience in between.  We went to our 25th year High School reunion and it was a blast for many, many reasons.  All of which I will post in a series starting tomorrow.  You see, I have been working on writing, just not getting around to posting.

Is there a shift really happening?  According to the Shift movie and its trailer, there seems to be.

We've talked about the Shift before and it seems to be a movie that came about after a string of fascinating ones, such as What the Bleep Do We Know?, Who Killed The Electric Car?, the over-hyped The Secret, etc…

The Shift bills itself as more than a movie, more of a socio-cultural change happening or if you wish the under toe current of a society fed up with the way things are and wanting that ever-elusive change.  The Shift is, in many ways the difference in today's society.  It is about how many of us want more, think differently and live with a greater awareness of our surrounding.  What we think directly influences out environment whether you look at it scientifically or esoterically.

The Shift is a perfect example of this new way of living and doing business, a la web 2.0, it's a  grass-roots movement with the
help of people who not only feel the change but are a conscious part of the shift in awareness and that means you can also be part of it.  Go and check it out. Tell me what you think.

As I watch the news lately I can't help but wonder if we are seeing the end of an era, the end of a system pushed too far, too long, sustained by over the board greed.

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Merill Lynch, Lehman Bros, AIG, going under.  GM, Ford, Chrysler along the rest of the economy coming to a crawl.  What next?  Capitalism turns social corporate in ways of private company government loans? That's not what I was taught at school and why do we make fun of Europe and Asia when they do that?  Could it be our turn to have a humility lesson?  To watch these so called leaders responsible for acts that defy any business sense, watch them see how far they can push the envelop to only get a slap on the wrist, fired with a severance check that could keep a middle class family alive for decades, it's hard to not wonder what is going on watching this.  What is a CEO of a big company's motivation to do good if they know they will get, at worse a huge severance check?  It almost feels as if the ceiling is falling down.

As I listen to my European friends tell me they are experiencing the same sort of thing there, one thing doesn't change, how hopeless politicians are.  I don't think they are all hopeless on their own, but once together on their team, the results are mediocre at best.  As I watch one candidate hail changes and another trying to look like your everyday Joe, I can't help but ask, is this what we want?  What do we want?  Do we need yet another high school popularity contest?  What I want to know is who will be secretary of defense, interior, economy, not the main figure.  Who are the people who will take care of the day-to-day leadership for this country?  All I see are two people with their running mates.  Hardly a credible team for my questions.

We are certainly living one of the most important time of history.  We are on brink of witnessing an old school system collapsing while another has taken roots already.  As I watch mainstream Detroit auto makers waddle through a mess they not only created but that has spilled onto the economy, to a certain extent, I am dumbfounded how they can ask the government for more money in order to be more competitive in order to sell people more cars and make a profit on the same people who paid taxes in the beginning that helped those companies.  Who feeding who?  Pfew, you have to have gull to ask for this with a straight face and talk about letting other countries outsell you.  Well, if those they hadn't ducked their heads in the sand and watch other countries take over their market shares over decades, maybe we wouldn't be here.

It's fascinating to see how the old school boys are fretting.  What is completely fascinating is seeing new school people emerging left and right, strategically partnering, forming alliances across borders while the big, heavy, bloated and clumsy old boys club scrambles for assistance.  There is no easy way out for them, short of innovation, modern thinking and a vision… but not just their vision, a vision that fits what is happening right now.

For the last decade or so, we have seen two business model.  Let's call them the Microsofts and the Googles of this world.  One is market share based, domineering, little vision about the future outside of its market share wishes.  The other is on the prowl, always looking, thinking outside the box.  One is working hand in hand with web 2.0.  Web 2.0, a world of interconnecting different services over the Internet.  The other is still trying to think its way through owning the entire market, while the slimmer one finds way to partner and capitalizing on it.  Which one do you think will survive?

While I watch these old companies causing a ruckus, I see the new ones jumping ahead along with a slew of start ups in their wake.  There is a revolution and it is happening under the nose of the bloated old corporation who are not swift anymore.  What is happening now is fascinating beyond words.  It is an old system of greed and power, which inevitable leads to despondency, costly mistakes, tribal wars and out of control ego fed by even more out of control greed versus a less centralized system that is more agile and above all, has their finger on the current pulse.  The big companies got too rich and alienated themselves from people want, choice and quality of life without having to lose paychecks and for the first time, their homes.

Do the research yourself and look up something like Project Better Place which is now called Better Place.  Watch out for good old new Google snapping up deals, consistently bringing out free, easy to use tools that make Microsoft's bloated and expensive software look out of place.  Check out Tesla who proved you can come up with super performance electric car with lithium batteries and thumbing its nose at mainstream auto makers.  Check out alternative investing and how it has fueled an industry where already the first returns are fueling more development.  Check out an even more interesting story of how Google is partnering with an unlikely allie in the form and shape of GE in order to revitalize an aging ultility grid and promote electric cars.

So many things are happening right here, right now, heralding a new day and age, one build on strategic partnership working for big goals but each having dominion in their field of expertise.  What does this remind you of?  For me, it's what I have been dreaming of since I was a child.  A Star Trek sort of fantasy of how society should evolve going forward to once again be there for people to develop and not the other way around.

It is a fantastic time to keep your head cool, ground yourself solidly into the present, stay focused, be open to what is happening, keep in mind what history has to teach us and look deep into the future.  What is it you want? How can you make this situation an even better one?  What good can you make out of all this?  I can myriads of possibilities…

I don't know if we'll ever know the truth about 9/11, nor do I care at this moment.  If at the very least we can force politicians to act civilly, then we are back on track.

Considering the current presidential debates, it seems we are far from that, but getting closer to having more mature candidates.  I am still appalled at these candidates who feel they represent me when what they do is belittle each other, attack one another.  Sorry, but I don't do that in life and I expect the same from you.  Apparently you don't represent me.  You're not matured enough.  It's also puzzling middle class America feels represented by these two people when they get paid hefty salaries and own too may homes to even remember.  Obviously, they are out of touch with reality.

It's confusing to have to vote for the best of the worse.  We vote against candidates now, not for one.  I hear so many people say they will leave the country if one particular candidate wins.  While the republicans look as if they are out to get votes by representing themselves as "normal guys", it feels like lip service, or worse yet, high school popularity contest.  I don't care about hockey moms, give me someone who addresses real issues with proven records and stop lying about it.

The democrats are no better either.  They seem completely incapable of portraying themselves as regular people.  Though it is formidable of them to tackle the "real" issues, again these people do not live in middle class' shoes. None of these politicians have to scrap to pay for gas, being comfortably driven around Washington D.C. in gas guzzling Lincoln limousines.  Ah, yes, ask me to make a sacrifice.  Do as I say, not as I do.  Sorry but those are no leaders for me.

Time will change, it has to change.

As for 9/11, Virginia and I were there, living in Manhattan.  And I can safely say, what we experienced in the city was different from the constant verbiage journalists were tearly spitting out.  The truth of the matter is that the city had been closed down, effectively keeping us captured, at the mercy of whatever else would happen.  I felt as if the government and officials had let us down, trapped us in an insane nightmare instead of rescuing us.  Tunnels were close, trains blocked.  And then there was the eerie sound of F16 zooming above for days on end without the familiar sound of regular airplanes.  Where were they when they practiced at the same time the tragedy happened?  Yes, what happened?  The city was dead quiet.  For once everyone stopped and there was a sense of fraternity, caring and being together.

Eventually things went back to normal.  And that was the strangest part but a month later people were getting drunk again from alcohol, money, power, sex.  It was back to normal as if nothing had happened, no one had learned a thing.  Though I don't think we need to dwell on disasters, if they don't change you deeply, you haven't learned a thing.  And I don't mean we need to arm ourselves.  We need to make sure our intelligence works.