Let's be honest

Photo by Associated Press

While I am finding this election season to be particularly entertaining, I have to admit that the lying, stretching, distorting, and omitting is really getting to me. John McCain appears to be the worse of the two major candidates on the integrity front, but Obama aint no saint either.

This chart put out by TIME magazine paints a detailed picture of the legions of lies put out so far by both campaigns.

For those who really want to get down to the bottom of things, I recommend factcheck.org for detailed analysis of each and every claim made. While "change" is the mantra of both campaigns this year, so far all I can see is "more of the same."

Attack of the sugar people

Check out my nephew Samuel in this newscast about Utah children creating books for the less-privileged in Peru. The person you don't see in this video is my sister Sasha, who is spearheading the project. Way to go, Sasha!

9/11/08

Today was one of those days that made me want my camera so badly I almost decided to shell out the $150 it would cost to fix it.

Almost.

I woke up early to get a good spot outside the metal barricade protecting the September 11th Commemoration Ceremony downtown. After being moved several times by cops while getting serenaded by a Mennonite choir, the event finally began. I could see it pretty well from my spot, but I was only able to make it halfway through the letter "B" in the reading of the victims before I started to get restless. I wandered over to Trinity Church to sit in quiet for a moment before making my way to a more secluded vantage point where family members were entering the ceremony. I wanted to stay longer but work was calling me. Fortunately Hillary Clinton walked by before my time was up.

After work I made it back downtown just in time to sign one of the steel beams that will be used for the foundation of the new WTC memorial building. It will be a time capsule of sorts. I also got to write a note to be catalogued for access once the memorial opens.

From there I made it to the Staten Island Ferry to see Tribute in Light from the harbor. (This year could be the last for the lights.) Back in Manhattan I couldn't resist finding the source of the giant beams. It turns out they are projected from the rooftop of a parking garage south of the actual WTC site. Who knew? Once back in Harlem, I got on my rooftop to see how well I could see the tribute from afar. It felt much closer than I thought it would.

Today I was able to better process the events of 9/11. I was also able to better imagine what life would be like having the towers back as landmarks. They may be seven years gone now, but for me they've never felt closer.

Summer Streets

Julieta Venegas @ Central Park Summerstage

My favorite thing about going to Mexican concerts is that I can always see over the crowd. (And what a view it was.)

Obama in the Office

There is a generally-accepted rule in American corporate culture that says not to bring politics into the workplace. Certainly political posters fit into this category of "off limits" material for the office.

But for some reason with Barack Obama things are different. It seems the rule is now politics = bad, Obama = good. A few months ago I was surprised to see the Shepard Fairey-designed Obama "Hope" poster up in an office down the hall from me. And now the cubicle a few spots over is sporting the Obama Rolling Stone magazine cover shot.

This brings our grand total up to two--a number I can only assume will grow as November nears. It's got me curious to know what things are like in other parts of the country. So, how many Obamas in your office?