It’s been awhile. I’ve been washing a lot of dishes and thus been absent. The festival is up and running and we just finished the poster for it today so I figured I’d post it so you could all preview(if I even have any readers left). You can read all about the festival at the website provided on the flyer. Adios for now mis amigos.

….for the record I have no idea why it isn’t showing up. It should be…I’ll try and fix it later.

Well it’s about that time, time for a new tattoo. I’m going to get a spiral design on my left inside forearm that matches the placement and basic design of the sun cross I have on my right forearm. You can research the meaning behind the spiral for yourself, it’s old and it’s meaning varies, I’ve got my reasons and meanings. The picture isn’t of the new tattoo, but just what it will most likely look like.

It has been a strange last week or so. It started last week with my car and computer both shitting the bed on nearly the same day. I was so mad, frustrated and exasperated. I became pretty bummed out because I have a lot of money invested in those and I use them both a lot. I went home after nearly fixing my car and turned on the news and saw some young Iraqi boy who had only one leg and part of an arm from a bomb. For some reason or another that hit me square in the face. It led me to thinking about the Mexicans I work with who left everything they ever knew to come to America to make a better life. Most of them are my age and I tried to imagine myself being them. The closest thing I can even relate to was switching schools which at that age would have scared me immensely. I realized I was being a spoiled little brat about the whole situation. I was lucky enough to have a car and a $2500 laptop and I was being pissy because some things went wrong. Since then I’ve made it a point of trying to make the best of each day no matter how bad I perceive it to have gone. I was sitting in my room wondering that if I didn’t wake up in the morning, would I be happy with the last day I spent on Earth? It’s really cliche, but so true. The only moment we have is now, and we should be thankful for every breath we are given. I don’t know why it took a car and computer to make me realize that…but I guess the vehicle through which the message was delivered is really unimportant in the scheme of things. I went for a run tonight and went into my daily meditation mode like I usually do when I run. I was really happy, and there are plenty of things to be unhappy about right now. The way I see it though, is if the good outweighs the bad, you can’t really complain, because someone somewhere has it worse than you. So I’ll leave you with this: Let us all rise up and be thankful, For if we didn’t learn a lot at least we learned a little. And If we didn’t learn a little, at least we didn’t get sick. And if we got sick at least we didn’t die.

I know it’s hard to take yourself out of the moment, but if people could do that and step back and look at the larger picture, life would seem much more a gift than a day in and day out grind.

Sometimes you gotta cherish the simple things in life. Like today, I worked my typical workday pullin’ double duty(cook/dishwasher) at the restaurant for 8 bucks an hour – splendid. Those aren’t the things I’m talking about though. I was going to go to the gym and lift after work today, but I decided against it seeing the hoards of people there when I went by. I ran instead. I used to run all the time, and be pretty good at it, my best is a 12 minute two mile, keep in mind I weigh 225lbs. That was at least a year ago and since I was in Alaska for two weeks my running has been near non-existent. I lift at least three times a week though – after all it’s about looking cool, not being healthy(sarc). Tonight I went out for my first run in almost 4 months, just an easy two miler to get me back into the swing of things. I borrowed my roomy’s I-pod and hit the road. The weather was perfect, a crisp 40 degrees and road was free of college kids zipping in and out of their parking spaces since they are all still on Thanksgiving break. I love the feeling of cold air stinging the throat. I started cramping up in places I didn’t know a crap could form – it was much needed pain, a cleansing one. Maybe that’s what I like about running, after you’re done and come off runners high, you feel brand new – clean. Lifting is much the same, but lacks a little something. Maybe it’s that with running you have to push yourself through the pain, and lifting doesn’t involve so much. Either way I need both, that constant day in, day out test of physicality and mental fortitude. If not for being able to run or lift, than knowing that I can pull myself out of bed at 5 or 6am to do it. That in itself is satisfying. Like all things though, get caught up in it and if I don’t get my 3 miler in, my day is ruined. I need to take a lesson from that and apply it to all areas of life. It’s all or nothing - I hate comprising. Sometimes though, I guess you gotta just settle for a quick 1 mile jog and get on with the day. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to doing that, I know I’ll never like it.

Seriously, it’s a joke. I was going to write an elaborate post about how we get wrapped up in all these “sales” and material things. Let’s face it…when you look forward to wait in line for hours at hours a nocturnal animal would shake its head at, you have yourself a problem. OOOOHHHH….9000inch LCD tv for 8 billion dollars…half off denim jeans…$600 laptops…I never have nor never will participate in that awful phenomena. I love how Thanksgiving(which no one really things much about anyway besides NFL, drinking and food) quickly turns into spending a shit-ton of money on the next great consumer holiday…X-Mas.

well it’s almost midnight and I’m half a bottle into the whiskey…so here it goes. My friend who moved to a town north of Wilmington called me to check the local newspaper of that town. Apparently the huge development they’re planning on putting in there which includes a 200 boat slip marina and two 15 story condo buildings is going to get a big fat no for the Florida located developer. Huge victory. Shiiiiitt….maybe the Bills will go on to make the playoffs and the movie I’m waiting on will be shot afterall. If nothing else, this is one for the good guys…Will Stout(the developer) can go somewhere else, because in the end he doesn’t care about the city, he cares about the profit.

…Rip Ali-gator. 1998-2007

She suffered an injury as a puppy, and had the ball of her hip removed. However, she went on to live a full, and happy life. She is survived by her brothers Moose and Cordell, and her sisters, Shadow and Sadie. She loved playing with the puppies, and sitting watching the leaves change, as she did this year. She also loved playing in the woods, hunting varmits, climbing the hill behind her house, even as her legs were giving out she’d still struggle to the top. I know she is up in doggy heaven with all the kitchens and couches she can possibly have to dirty up. It might be cold and wet outside, but in doggy heaven she can lay her big ass wherever the hell she wants. We’ll miss you Ali. Shadow might have just lost a happy pouch today…

Well, I’ve been considering this for awhile, but I think now is a good a time as ever. My eating habits are pretty poor considering I eat only about once a day and usually it’s not very healthy. So I’ve decided to eat locally…sort of. Being inspired by a local blog I’m going to try to eat as much local food as possible. Living at the ocean it should be pretty easy. I’ve got an abundant food source full of fish to the east of me, and to the west and north I’ve got plenty of farms(south is Myrtle Beach). Of course it might be impossible to only eat local food because it’s the end of the growing season and I haven’t canned any food for the winter months around here. Trace from the blog mentioned that he goes “dumpster diving” and finds some really good stuff. So I think between eating fish, dumpster diving for discarded but still good food and buying meat out of the expiring bin at the store I should be able to make a good little change. This is much better than eating beef and chicken slaughtered hundreds or thousands of miles away and shipped to Wilmington to fatten the fat. I’d rather eat things that will be thrown out and wasted or eat something I either kill or grow myself. My pumpkins this year were and utter failure. It seemed every time a little pumpkin would start to grow on the vine something would eat it. I never did catch the culprit but I think it was the birds I attract with the bird feeder. I doubt the cockroaches have enough ambition to take on a fresh pumpkin. So it begins, my quest for independence and the salvation of unwanted food.

I was going to write a big long blog about how Jesus is no different than Zarathustra, Muhammed, Buddha..etc. By that I mean virgin births that go way back to many different belief systems, including some “pagan” ones that Christianity has stolen dates from (ie. Christmas/Easter). I’ll sum it up and get my point out of the way. I don’t think some dead Jew was the son of God. We are all sons and daughters of god, whatever “God” may be. The whole gist of the post was going to be how I’ve never been able to comprehend the worship of one man from a patriarchal Jewish society who’s been dead for 2000 years. In that I can’t fathom worshipping any other man, especially when the historical facts don’t point in their favor. If Jesus is the son of God, I am too. He might have been a much better person than me, but that was his journey, and this is mine. However, I think if you took the New Testament by itself you’d have an entirely different and better religion, if there is such a thing. Be that as it may, I will now focus on fact that not having the change of four seasons really throws my internal clock off.

In Wilmington, NC which happens to be located on the eastern coast, the leaves don’t turn any shades of aspen yellow, or brilliant orange before they fall to the ground. This area seems to just fade from summer to winter without any acknowledgement between the two. Mostly longleaf pine, the eastern seaboard doesn’t lend itself very well to a beautiful autumn from the get go. It just amazes me how attached I am to the changing of seasons. It doesn’t seem natural for me to go from summer to winter without the autumn, full of changing leaves, the crisp air and morning frost along with a slew of fresh cider and donuts from the mill down the road. Instead I’m dealing with a drought and 80 degree weather at the end of October. I hate it. If I could be anywhere for two weeks out of the year it’d be home in the Allegany mountains when the leaves are changing. Maybe not for sheer beauty, although I do rank it up there with what I’ve seen in my short life, but because I’m so attached to the memories and the vibe of the place. Fall brings back memories of playing football, putting away the shorts for the jeans, walking in the woods and most importantly the reminder that we are part of something greater than ourselves. Nature’s wonder and beauty are playing out right in front of our eyes while the earth starts tilting away from the sun and the trees prepare for the long winter. There’s something magical about that time of year. Maybe it has something to do with Halloween and the spiritual activity of the place awakening. Or maybe, the area has a spirit of its own which I’ve grown so fond of. It’s not something you can appreciate until you leave. The part of North Carolina I live in now is devoid of any type of “magic,” instead its full of condos and traffic. Maybe it’s all the negativity from the people that’s in the air. Or maybe this place doesn’t embrace the people like the land does back home because of what they’re doing to it. I know I speak of the land like a living being, and that’s because it is. This time of year it’s exhaling, and preparing for a long sleep until it’s time to awake and push life back to the surface toward the returning sun. I walk outside on a Thursday evening and I hear kids who drive Volvo’s and BMW’s screaming about how drunk they are. I should be in a small village or in a cabin where instead of pushing nature aside you can embrace it. That’s what fall is for me, a time to embrace the waning moments warm weather and a myriad of colors before the onset of a usually harsh and unforgiving winter. Wilmington, North Carolina doesn’t know the first thing about that. Instead they’ll have Halloween costume parties at bars and see who can dress the sluttiest and win the $100 prize. I doubt anyone even thinks about the origins of Halloween, actually I know they don’t. There is no reverence for the natural world here. If it doesn’t pertain to the sandy shores of the beach then you might as well forget about it. Give me a gallon of fresh pressed apple cider, an Edward Abbey book and a day in forest behind my Grandmother’s old farm any day over the “luxurious lifestyle” of the beach. Anyway – to compensate I’ve made 4 loaves of pumpkin bread which I would post pictures of if I had my camera’s usb cord. The cider in the fridge is hard even though it was pasteurized and I have three store bough pumpkins with two growing on the vine on the backporch. So, all in all I guess it’s not that bad, I just picked one shithole of a city to call home.

9-5 day in and day out. Washing dishes, making food, all for the fattened customers strolling in from their gated communities. They are “well off,” according to their own versions of terrestrial wealth. I watch them scamper in and out all day like a party of ants scouring the sand for their next meal. This is no way to spend your days. If I was to die tomorrow would I want to know that my last day on earth, our home, was spent making food and washing the dishes of this arrogant, ignorant colony of people that moved here for “the good life.” I needed to get out. Away from the constant buzz of the highway and beeping horns of angry commuters trying to get to their destination faster than the next driver. It’s a race down the highways and roads. Who’s got the faster car, the bigger car, the more expensive car. I’d had it with the city. I threw my camera in my backpack and drove off. Not to some distant wilderness location, teeming with the sounds and silence of birds, crickets and water - no, rather to the quiet back roads. A place where the wind can blow without trying to overpower the constant hum of civilization and there is a stillness in the air contrary to the breeze. Out here on this backcountry road, I quiet my mind. I notice the egrets standing in the shallow brackish water, lilies floating on the wind blown surface, which ripples and bobs like a sheet hanging to dry in the summer breeze. Six feet away from me in the shallow, murky water is a large 8 foot alligator. I’m not afraid, but curious, of this beast which I’ve never been so close to. It has no fear of me, although it keeps a very watchful eye. The alligator must think I’m strange to sit there and stare at him trying to warm his body in the sun. And I think of how easily this animal, millions of years old, perfected by time, could take me to my grave in the time it would take my heart to jump in fear of it’s closing jaws. But no, this is not that scene. Instead, it’s just me and the alligator - staring, listening, learning. I’m no farther than a 20 minute drive from the place I see destroyed everyday. Plastic houses, stamped out in the most economical fashion. Nails pounded, rivets punched, screw drivers working as fast as the hands of the illegal immigrant can make it go. This, all in the name of progress. As I sit there I think that “progress” should mean the moving forward of something, the gradual improvement. Though, everyday I see the opposite, I see the plundering of resources for material wealth, with no thought put towards future generations, or the trees and animals displaced to provide a “home” for someone looking to retire or start a new life in the coast. This alligator, as simple as it may be, reminds me of our own imperfections and frailty. If it wanted it could make me its delicious dinner. I am no challenge to this animal, and maybe he senses that. There is something to be said for simplicity. This animal doesn’t want excess or to destroy the environment it lives in. As simple as it is, driven by million year old instincts, it understands that it’s home, it’s life is dependant on a healthy ecosystem. No clean water = no fish. No fish = no food. No food = death. As humans I wonder why we can’t understand that philosophy better. Because something is expensive or large does not make it better, especially if it comes at the cost of the ecosystem. Driving back “home” I am passed by at least 7 drivers. Apparently, 55mph just isn’t fast enough on a two lane road. No matter though, my mind was as still as the alligator, saving his energy to catch his next meal.

Today at work I tried telling my boss about peak oil. I was confronted with an arrogant amount of ignorance and stubbornness. I told her about peak oil and that down the road it’s going to be major trouble. To that she replied that these so called “experts” can’t be trusted. Look at Greenland, it’s called “green”land because it used to be a very fertile and livable place. So obviously these global warming “experts” must not have a clue. She also said it was “arrogant” to think that we as people can have that much effect on the world. Excuse me? It’s arrogant to believe we can change the environment? She then told me that we’ll just drill somewhere else. It was very obvious at this point that I was not getting my point through. The conversation progressed from the science to the economic difficulties we’ll encounter. To that she replied that we need to worry about China. Ok, fine, China is becoming a powerhouse, but who is helping them? I told her that if she didn’t like the idea of China becoming powerful, then we only have ourselves to blame. She of course disagreed that we had that much of an effect on their economy. All you need to do is go to the U.S. Census Bureau’s website on foreign trade statistics and you can see that trade with China has gone up every year for the last 7 years. But after all it you can’t rely on these experts. I mean why trust someone who has devoted their entire life to the study of a particular field, obviously a lady who drives an Lincoln Navigator and runs a restaurant must know more. On the pollution front she said that we don’t have do try and curb out pollution because compared to China we can’t do anything. That is one of the most arrogant and retarded arguments I’ve heard in a long time. If someone else is stealing, it doesn’t make it right to keep doing it because they are. So, I tried explaining it to her in terms of population growth. It’s simple if you have a shrinking supply of resources and a growing demand there will be tension and the resource will become more valuable, thus causing it to be more expensive. I said we need to conserve and think ahead. All I got out of her was that “The U.S. will only keep getting bigger and better.” I was dumbfounded, mad, frustrated and disappointed all at the same time. How can we as a people go on with such ignorance. Oh, and I think she threw in a comment about the Democrats too somewhere in there. I can understand if you look at the information objectively and come up with your own ideas and opinions, but to discount something as significant as this because you can’t trust “experts” is just asinine and dangerous. Sirbikes might be right, we’re heading over the cliff and no one’s willing to check and see if the brakes work.

I just got out of a film put on by the school as part of their “sustainability” series. it was called The End of Suburbia. I gotta say this was a really cool film. It brought up many good points which include, peak oil, unsustainable housing, over consumption and the downfall of the American dream. Essentially the jist was this. Peak oil is the idea that oil production will peak somewhere around NOW or the near future. With production from then on decreasing and the demand only increasing we will be in serious trouble. Natural gas has the same problem. The Northeast almost ran out of it last winter. Some would say “why don’t we just convert everything over to electric so we won’t have to rely on oil.” Well, how do you get electric? Coal and Natural gas along with some other ways such as Hydro.

The film covered the history of the suburbs from when it was for the affluent who wanted to get out of the city, to when it because a way for more middle class to live away from their jobs and the grime of the city. Back then they had rail cars much like buses that would stop and pick the workers up. Company’s like Standard Oil and GM bought those railways and tore them up to pave roads for their automobiles. Thus started the American dream. Living far from your job and taking a highway to get their in your new car which you were encouraged to by along with other cheap shiny stuff for your new house which eventually have become the McMansions. There was a wide array of speakers in the movie, one even included a former Cheney energy adviser, Matthew Simmons and he adamantly said that peak oil is real and we aren’t doing anything about it except running full speed ahead off the cliff. However, 20-50 years from now oil will become so expensive it won’t be economical to buy it. What do you do when you can’t afford to buy gas to drive your car to work? Or how about heating your home, or even transporting food from southern California to New York so you can have your salads in December. It will all go out the window. Such little things that we all take for granted because of cheap oil. Suburbs will become the new slums because there won’t be a way to support that type of living. Instead multiple use housing will have to start. However, if we don’t start that now it might be too late to begin it when everyone wakes up and realizes this is a problem. What energy will we use to build these homes so it’s affordable. It just won’t be possible to go on living like we live now. Everything as we know it from air condition to driving over to grandma’s house will either have to change or become non-existent. Yet we insist on oil as a cure all. Dare I say we might even be trying to secure all of the untapped oil in Iraq? There are a lot more oil wells in Texas than there are in Iraq…strange. Of course all this doom and gloom doesn’t have to happen. We can start conserving. The UNCW teacher panel tonight insisted that even by little things like turning off lights or turning the ac down or washing with colder water, all are small steps. If we all did that we could make a sizeable impact. They did quite a good job at not only educating but entertaining. We will need to start making an impact or this doom and gloom will come true. We can’t just wait around for some technology to be handed down by Jesus to free us of oil. It’s going to be a hard road full of sacrifices made by everyone. In the end it’s everyone who will suffer so we have a responsibility to start living smarter. Here’s a link to the film’s website. I encourage people to check it out if at all possible. It really gets you thinking.

This is off topic but just as important as all the environmental and political stuff. The Buffalo Sabres and the Pittsburg Penguins will play an outside game in the Ralph. In other words we’re having a hockey game in the snow, in the stadium where the bills play on January 1st. Every game should be played this way. GO SABRES.

Stories like this made me wish I didn’t read the news.

…Well it’s September 11th, 2007. Six years ago I was in high school and remember the day well. I don’t want to dwell on what happened though. It was horrible and one hopes nothing like that ever happens, especially in their own country. After 9/11 I remember this huge outpouring of national pride and the attitude that we would overcome and move on. Move on we have. From 9/11 came the Iraq war and from the Iraq war came the divisive nature of the present politics. We are no more unified today than we were before or immediately after 9/11. Instead I drive around and see little magnetic stickers on cars that say “support our troops” or “God Bless America.” Why not God Bless the world? Take some of your Jesus loving crap and love thy enemy. Or at least try to understand where they come from. It isn’t until we understand the root of radical Islam that we can come to understand how to defeat it. When it only takes one man to blow up fifty, you know you’re in trouble. No army can stop a movement. We could put a million troops in Iraq, and yes we would control it for awhile. But we’re not fighting a country, we’re fighting a movement, and that is something completely different. Even if we defeat it militarily in Iraq, it will pop up somewhere else. This isn’t going to be a military fight in the end, it’s going to be a cultural movement. The only way to defeat it is to change the hearts of the people. To make them love America and the freedom that one can have if they let go of superstitious bullcrap from a thousand years ago. I don’t want to get onto the religion tangent but I’ll let it be known that I think it causes a lot of harm and ignorance. I live in the bible belt so I feel I am at liberty to make that judgment, and I’m sure my minor in religion doesn’t hurt either. The only educated belief is to be agnostic. Anyway, like I was saying I still see these huge SUV’s flying around on the roads and the ignorance that seems to come standard with most southern kids people I’ve met around here. That in no way is a blanket statement, because I’ve met a lot of good people here, but the bad seem to outweigh the good in my book. Even today I wonder how many people took a moment of silence or just thought about what happened in the few minutes of downtime they’ve had. Does America not care anymore? It seems to me that the only reason people care is if someone takes their house away or their cheap, shiny stuff. But, liberty, freedom, the American way? It’s no more. We’ve outsourced it so we can buy our stuff cheap at the cost of future generations. A 90 year old man called into the local radio show this morning. He talked about the racism he used to encounter when he was a young man growing up in Wilmington. However, through all the adversity he persevered and got a job at the port alongside his father. He grew up and all of his 7 kids went to college. All of this background was in relation to the fact that the NAACP is coming here because of a race riot we had over a hundred years ago. This old man rememberd hearing about it from his parents and grandparents. His point was one I thoroughly respected though. Instead of jumping on the NAACP bandwagon he said in effect that people need to stop causing trouble over what happened a long time ago and put that energy into improving the current state of things. The example he gave was that one of his grandchildren said he admired a man in prison because “he was hard.” The older man said he was a hooligan and there was nothing hard about that. Hard was growing up in the south when it was much more racist that today. That was hard. He noted that today’s youth doesn’t need any more opportunity either, there’s plenty of it. They just don’t take the initiative to go out and get it. Today’s generation knows nothing about overcoming adversity like that. I may not know if it first hand but at least I’m aware. The whole tangent about this old man is to prove that long ago people pushed on and made the best out of a bad situation. They didn’t sit around and complain and feel bad for themselves. They made the best out of a bad situation. Instead today, I think most Americans are too complacent, and I honestly believe most won’t do anything to help their fellow countrymen or the world unless it affects them personally. It’s sad, just like today. 9/11 isn’t about Iraq, it’s about America forgetting what makes this country great. I look around campus and see kids in BMW’s and Mercedes, I can only shake my head. It seems anymore we judge a person by their material possessions rather than what they’ve accomplished or learned. It’s a plastic society we’re slowly converting over to. I wish a thought like that was far back in my head on a day like today but I can’t help but think they are somehow interconnected. God(whichever one you think is real) Bless…America…and everyone else. I guess it would be kind of hard to fit that all onto a sticker.

…and another link.

Quick post - Yesterday I rode my first century with my buddy Justin for an MS fundraiser. I’m not burnt to a full crisp anywhere outside of where my bike shorts or shirt was covering. Somehow I managed not to be sore, probably used up all the lactic acid in my legs just riding. I’m glad I did it, at least I feel some sort of sense of accomplishment. It wasn’t that it was ever really hard at one point, it’s that you sit on the bike all day and after awhile boredom and just plain being uncomfortable sets in, as you realize that you have 40 more miles to go. Anyway it’s done, over - good. I’d like to link a post by sirbikesalot here because I’m too tired/lazy to post. He makes a lot of good points, about the waning oil supply, alternative transportation, and the attitude it’s going to take if people want to change anything so here it is, give it a read and see how you can apply it to your own life. CLICK FOR LINK

As some of you know I’m spearheading the first annual “Cape Fear International Environmental Film Festival.” It’s a long name I know. The point of the film festival is to bring awareness to global and local environmental issues through different media outlets such as photography, poetry, and mainly film. This will be happening next spring through UNCW’s facilities, if all goes as planned. Well, today I met with UNCW’s film dept. chair, Dr. Buttino. He finally gave me the go ahead even though nothing is final until it gets approved through the school. Now I’ve got to meet with a group of academic advisers to lay out the blue print for the festival. This way, Dr. Buttino can take the semi-concrete plan over to his friends in the Environmental Science departments and see if they want to get on board. In the end I’m hoping the school will sponsor it, and with help from the students and faculty it could become something really big for the area. More importantly I hope it just gets the message out there. Anyway I’m open to taking suggestions or ideas for the festival. So if you live in the area or just have an idea, feel free to leave a comment of email me at seancarr54@yahoo.com. Thanks.

My grandpa once asked me why I don’t like southern girls. Well, gramps, here’s your answer. I hope this explains it all. How long can America go on producing shit for brains like her? I’d say she’s hot, but the mere fact that shes that dumb takes all hotness away.

Just returned from a short two days out in Uwharrie National Forest which is in the piedmont region of North Carolina. As is customary I leave this (shite) hole of a town as often as possible. If I had a faster car I’d go farther west. I left right after work Friday night. Unfortunately it took me over an hour to get across the bridge and onto the highway which is a total of maybe 5 miles. Gotta love Wilmington traffic, which I’m happy to contribute to as long as I’m leaving town. Anyway, I left later that I wanted because of that and therefore when I arrived at the Birkhead Mountain Wilderness Area it was dark. I planned on pitching a tent somewhere near the parking area. After I pulled in I got out and walked around. There was an old farmhouse there which is part of the wilderness area. It was spooky to say the least because the moon was giving everything a creepy glow. Finally after some drunks pulled into the parking area and left seeing my car, I decided it was safe to pitch the tent. Let’s just say it was way too hot to get a good nights rest and I got somewhere around 2 spotty hours of sleep.

I was up with the sun as is normal when sleeping outside. I brushed my teeth and washed my face with the water I had and made the plans for the day. Instead of hiking the 7 miles in the wilderness area trails, I decided to drive over to Morrow Mountain State Park which is fairly close. I drove to the top of Morrow Mountain and watched the sun burn off the valley fog. I was surprised how cool it felt in the morning. Somewhere around 3am and 5 am the temperature must have dropped a good 10-15 degrees. Maybe the fog has something to do with it, but it was cool enough to almost pass for an autumn morning in my delusional mind.

It didn’t last for long though. By 11 it was getting closer to the 99 degree high for the day…and no I didn’t type that wrong. Morrow mountain was full of cyclists and runners who tackle the hills in the park because they’re short and easy which makes it nice if you want a break. So after spitting my breakfast out(a big heaping mouthful of redman chew) I drove down to the waterfront and started hiking. I took a nice easy trail along the water out to the dam.

It was a very pretty walk. Full of skinks(NC lizards), birds I’d never seen and plenty of spiderwebs…oh and girls running cross country, the important thing is that there were girls running. I passed a water moccasin and a few squirrels along the way. There were also a few outcroppings of large boulders you could climb along the shore. By the time I got to the dam, which isn’t far, I had soaked through my t-shirt with sweat. The view from the top of the rocks near the dam was a really nice finish to the first trail.


You could see the water is definitely down from it’s usually height. They’ve had a burn advisory throughout the state because it’s been so hot and dry. That’s half the reason I didn’t go camping because I wouldn’t have been allowed to start a fire. The last thing I needed was Ranger Joe sneaking up on me and giving me a big old fine for having a campfire in the woods. Anyway It was a good trip.

Figuring out all my programs that came with Final Cut Pro. I’m too impatient to read the manual so I’m figuring it out as I go. This is my LiveType intro for all my stuff that I just figured out last night. yay for me.

Tomorrow morning, well in about 5 hours I’m waking up to drive 2-3 hours south along the coast the the Santee Coastal Reserve and Francis Marion National Forest. I’ve been in Wilmington for over a week, and that’s just too long. Time to get out and do some hiking, biking and photography. Apparently there’s plenty of alligators down that way, which is what I’m aiming to get a bunch of photos and footage of. I’m taking the mountain bike too, because they’re hiking/biking trails and I can cover a lot more ground with the bike. Still haven’t decided if I’m going to stay down there overnight. If I do I can illegally camp in the reserve because I have no reservation, or I could spend money on a hotel. Most likely I’ll just spend all day and drive back and crash. Adios.

Man, there is a lot to say, but I don’t feel like writing a lot tonight so I’ll keep it short and semi-sweet. Today after I got out of my job of washing dishes at an Asian restaurant. Yes, a glamorous job for a post-graduate. That’s what you get for studying film and religion. Though I’d rather wash dishes the rest of my life than work in an office somewhere. Anyway, today as I was driving home there were a few things I noticed. I’m not sure if I was just being extra perceptional or if I’m usually just fried at the end of the day of washing dishes and prepping food for wasteful rich folks in the Mayfair shopping complex. Either way, the first thing I noticed where the Canadian geese that have been hanging out in the man made retention ponds in the Mayfair Shopping center that was only a short three years ago mostly long leaf pine forest. I often think about man’s impact on the land because I live in a city that is growing faster than anyone I’ve ever seen. Every month a new parcel of land is chopped up or auctioned off to a developer to “improve” as Edward Abbey once said about his stay out west. Across from the ponds that the Geese feed in are an apartment complex that costs more just because it’s in a shopping center, and the other one is adjacent to a roundabout and an area that’s going to be developed, the roads are there but no foundation or buildings put in yet. I always enjoy driving by the geese before and after work and trying to get which pond they’ll be in. Lately It’s been pretty easy guess which pond, because the one they usually hang out in is being worked on to fix some soil problem I guess. Either way it improves my day.

After work I had to deposit two checks into my bank account because I’m insanely broke. After I deposited my money that will fund my trip to the Santee Coastal Reserve in South Carolina this weekend, I walked back to my car. There was big ol’ truck with the windows down and the truck running. Now I can understand if they left in on with the windows up and the AC running. Although I don’t agree with it I can at least rationalize it. I myself never us AC. Not because I don’t like being cool, but because the AC is so hard on my engine that I just roll the windows down and sweat it out like a man. I can’t understand why a person who didn’t seem to need a big truck was letting it run. Apparently he’d rich because gas hasn’t been exactly cheap lately. Oh well, he can fund Saudi Arabia while claiming to be a patriot. The third thing I saw on the way home was a “homeless” man standing on the median with a sign that said, “veteran, hungry, thank you.” I have no problem giving my money to people who NEED it. Much like taxes, as long as they’re going to things I think are good causes and programs, please take as much as you need. However, where did this guy get the cardboard and marker to write on. If Chris McCandless could work at McDonalds and still live like a homeless person I have no doubt this guy could find work if he WANTED to. I understand a lot of homeless people have mental illness, but if you have the where with all to make the sign and beg for money, you can certainly get a job. Hell all the illegal mexicans I work with can do it, and they do a damn fine job. Certainly better than any American…, but that’s a whole other topic. My point being that I don’t have a point, I just wanted to share some of the thoughts that went through my head on the way home today. Hopefully after this weekend I’ll have some cool video clips from the Santee Coastal Reserve of some alligators and whatnot. I’ll post them when I get some time.

Today as I was driving to my friends house to go scouting for some fruits and vegetables to can, I came upon a sign for a future development that I often see while driving of riding my bike on this very road. However, this morning it was different. Instead of advertising apts and condos, it was spraypainted with words that said “save trees” with a very fine illustration of what a tree looks like. There were a few of these around. This “monkeywrenching” by what I presume to be some college kids makes me proud. In fact I’m disappointed I didn’t think of it myself. It looks fantastic too. Every asshole in this town that hates those “hippies on bikes” has to drive by it in their ten ton SUV and see that work of “vandalism.” I say the vandalism is what they’re doing to the ecology around here. It’s absolutely disgusting, and I’m glad some people are finally taking a stand, even if it is at the level of a highschooler. So for whoever did the graffiti, damn fine work, damn fine. Keep up the good work brothers and sisters, there may yet be a few battles to win. On another note someone wrote in complaining of all the bikers using a road around here that is known to be one of the main biking roads because of the openness and sparser traffic. Apparently a man who moved down here was disturbed by all these bikers using this road they’ve been using for a long time and felt compelled to write the editor of the local paper about it. The link is it sirbikesalot.com he explained the whole situation very well, and on his lead I and a few others have written the editor in response to this arsehole.

Well I’ve been working everyday for the last two weeks so I haven’t had a lot of time off. I’m either at the gym, work, or editing my Alaska video. However, I didn’t have to work until noon today, so last night I drove up to New Bern to hang out with Justin and his parents who had come down from NY. New Bern is a great little town. One of the oldest in North Carolina, it’s fought to preserve the historical beauty and keep downtown full of small shops, art galleries and in general really cool places. I must note that it is the birthplace of Pepsi, which is my main source of life giving caffeine. It’s also the home to Nicholas Sparks, the author. Apparently he’s around town quite a bit. There is some new development going on there, but it’s away from the riverfront for the most part which keeps the city really beautiful. It’s also quiet. Justin and I went out to get a beer last night around 11 and couldn’t find any place that was open. We drove away from downtown a little bit and found this dive called “The Ice Cooler” which was about as redneck and awesome as you could get, but thanks to stupid alcohol laws down here you have to be a member to drink. We finally gave up and bought a six pack of “Mackeson XXX” at the Hairy Peter(Harris Teeter). This is one of the best beers I’ve had in a long long time. It’s like a Guinness, but has a different taste. It’s hard to describe, but definitely my go to “relaxing” beer now. Of course I’ll still buy the Schlitz for getting drunk. Back to my point though. I always thought I hated the coast because, well it’s flat, sandy and hot. I don’t think that’s true anymore. I’m always going to be a lover of the mountains, but the thing with the coast is that it’s not the geography, its what people have done to the geography. New Bern is only a little more than an hour north of Wilmington. They’ve preserved the waterfront and made it into a park instead of throwing up condos and businesses everywhere. It’s almost as if they take a little pride in they’re antiquated architecture and natural environment. Wilmington is just trashy, not as trashy as Jacksonville, NC, but trashy enough. It’s a plastic town, mostly full of plastic people all in a race to see who can get rich the fastest. They lose sight of important things, and instead focus on material goals which drain all meaning from life. Don’t get me wrong, money’s great, just not when it’s the motivating factor in your life. Basically I just want to let it be known, that I think there was a chance I could have liked Wilmington, but the fact that they don’t take advantage of preserving the natural environment around here and instead try to profit from it by stripping the land and building on every square inch really puts me off. What’s next? throwing all your trash into the ocean because the landfill land is too valuable to have trash on? I’m sure the turtles won’t mind, I hear they love plastic bags…which is a whole other blog entirely.

Every hour of every day, someone is diagnosed with MS. That’s why I registered for the MS Bike Tour, and why I’m asking you to support my fundraising efforts with a tax-deductible donation.

The National Multiple Sclerosis Society is dedicated to ending the devastating effects of MS but they can’t do it without our help. It’s faster and easier than ever to support this cause that’s so important to me. Simply click on the link at the bottom of this message. If you prefer, you can send your contribution to the address listed below.

Any amount, great or small, helps to make a difference in the lives of people with MS. I appreciate your support and look forward to letting you know how I do.

Here’s the deal folks, my friend Justin and me are doing this ride in September. It’s a two day ride, of variable lengths. We chose to do a 100 miles both days. My ass is going to hurt by the end of that second day, so the least you can do is go to the link below and donate. I need to raise at least 200, but 500 is the current goal seeing as how I only have about a month. Hopefully this won’t turn out like the Tour of Hope in which we got rained out and all participants were sent packing.

http://www.nationalmssociety.org/goto/seancarr54

P.S. If you would like more information about the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, how proceeds from the MS Bike Tour are used, or the other ways you can get involved in the fight against MS, please visit http://www.nationalmssociety.org.

quick story. Tonight I was at walmart returning an item. On the way out I noticed a nice Volvo with he vanity plate which said “blessd.” I had to take a photo of it with my cell phone and sent it to my friend via text message.. I then went unloaded my groceries I purchased after returning my item. As usual, I put all the stray carts into the cart area because people are too lazy to take the 2 extra seconds it takes to do it themselves. A lady came up to me and said, “you must be Christian!” I replied, “no, just a decent guy.” We then parted ways. I saw her walk back to her car and she got into the Volvo with the vanity plate. I’ll still never understand the whole Christian thing. Even after growing up with a minister stepfather and studying religion as my minor, I feel like it’s something you have to have you’re blinders on to believe. This is not to say I’m an atheist, on the contrary I believe there is life after death, I just don’t presume to know what it is and exactly how to get there. If the only way to “heaven” is through Jesus, heaven’s going to be an empty place. But hey, after Wilmington, that might be a welcome change. My AC has also quit on me tonight so I’m drinking beers to get to sleep, meanwhile pouring alcohol out my sweatglands. Just fyi.

Today I took the bike out for nice cruise. I left at 7am, rode to my friend Justin’s apt, and off we went. We did about 50 miles total. Only 30 of them were together towards the end we went different routes because I had to ride into work and he was going home. About ten miles from work I got a phone call that they needed me in. Today was supposed to be my day off, and last night they told me I had to come in at noon. I got a phone call at 10. So after riding 50 miles my friend picked me and the bike up on his way to work and I went and worked 7 hours after a 50 miles ride. Nothing like washing dishes after a nice long ride…So, after I got out I was eager to enjoy what was supposed to be my day off. Justin and I drove down to Southport to get some seafood and get out of town for a few hours. It was a nice trip, but I’m extremely tired and feel like shit from riding and working. There was nice sunset photo op on the way back, so I forced Justin to turn around and let me grab it. It turned out alright but would have been much better about 2 minutes before I took it when we initially passed. That’s all I really gotta say. I’m tired and on my day off I’m probably just going to bed early.

Just found a cool new site tonight while surfing the web. WWW.LOWBAGGER.ORG ….That’s it for now. Other than that I’m getting this whole film festival underway. Talking to the head of the film dept. at school and probably then the dean and other faculty in the environmental science depts. Started a myspace page too for the fest. It’s taking for slowly but surely.

I just wanted to point out to everyone that I added a Richard Dean Anderson fan page to my sidebar links. Why?, you ask. Well, because RDA, also known as Macgyver, is the man. Yes, there’s Lance Armstrong, and Walker Texas Ranger, but at the top of the pyramid is RDA. Not only was he possibly the best tv character ever. I mean THE BEST tv character ever. He also protests the slaughter of seals in Canada. Which is why I have an autographed photo of him with a baby seal as the centerpiece of my wall. If I’m ever a director, I mean when, he will be in one of my films. I don’t care if he’s a homeless looking extra. The mere fact that RDA is in a movie makes it watchable. Ok, thanks enough RDA banter for one night. I bid thee farewell.

Click To Play

Just started messing with the Alaska footage some more and put some small clips together to some music. Hopefully I can get start on the whole thing this week sometime…meanwhile check the video out.