Free The WM3!

Since 1994 three young men (at the time) have been behind bars for murders that they may not have committed. The West Memphis Three are Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. I will sum up the story briefly and there are some great resources that will allow you to research in more depth.

A week after three eight-year-old boys were found dead in a creek in West Memphis, Arkansas, the police told the public that Damien, Jason and Jessie were the murderers. That they were defiantly responsible for these horrific crimes, with NO EVIDENCE!
Jessie Misskelley, who is mentally handicapped, was interviewed and questioned for a long period of time (12 it says on the web site) "without counsel or parental consent, audio-taping only two fragments totaling 46 minutes." The three of them were arrested on June 3, 1993 and convicted of murder in early 1994.
This is a quote from the website:
"Although there was no physical evidence, murder weapon, motive, or connection to the victims, the prosecution pathetically resorted to presenting black hair and clothing, heavy metal t-shirts, and Stephen King novels as proof that the boys were sacrificed in a satanic cult ritual. Unfathomably, Echols was sentenced to death, Baldwin received life without parole, and Misskelley got life plus 40."

It has now been 14 years and they are still in prison for these crimes that they did not commit. Damien waits in solitary confinement for lethal injection.

Within the past week, new evidence has come up linking NO DNA to these three men, however a hair has been found in a tangled in a knot used to tie up one of the murdered boys. This hair matches the DNA of the step father of one of the victims, I hope this is a step towards the WM3's new trial: Click here.

This is a tragic case and I take the stance that, since nobody knows for sure who committed this crime and the original trial was not a fair one, these three men deserve a new, fair trial.
Please view this website and look at the facts. Take a close look at what this means and what this is.

FREE THE WEST MEMPHIS THREE

Listening to Comes A Time - Neil Young.

New Toy...

For about seven years now I have worked with PC computers. I have used them mostly for word processing, music, pictures and simply surfing the internet. It was about four years ago that I got my first PC lap top. after three years of use, the motherboard fried due to unknown reasons. I looked into buying a Powerbook. After spending all of thirty minutes at the Apple store I decided that there was no way that I would be able to afford the computer that I wanted, I did not have the money.

The next weekend I took a trip to a few different computer stores to see what other deals I would be able to find. In the PC world, the deals are endless and cheap. I found a wonderful deal on an HP computer that I have had for the past 7 months.
But living in the capitalistic society that we live in, and since I have recently been hired to work as a third grade teacher, I decided to treat myself to a MacBook.
For the past four days now, I have been transferring all my files over to it and setting it up. I am not going to deny that it is a toy, but it is a solid machine. Plus, I got a fantastic deal on it,..an 80 gig iPod video for $150, 100$off educational discount and a free printer.
The computer world seems much simpler with a Mac? or is that how they want me to think?

Listening to Wilco - Summerteeth

In Lake Tahoe

Today was a vibrant day. I slept in for a bit and around nine I got up and went for a beautiful morning run up to the base of Heavenly Ski Resort. I thought about how much I love Tahoe and the mountains in California in the summertime, the way that the snow melt is still up on the high peak, the way that the air is just as crisp as in the ski season and as clean with the warmth of the sun,..I love looking up all around the lake and seeing the mountains that I have hiked and snowboarded and camped with family and friends.

It is easy to think about past winters spent in these mountains while here in the summertime, just as in the winter time it is easy to think about the summertime spent in the sun by the lake and in the lake to refresh from heat.

This afternoon we did just that; my parents, Jill and I went down to Tallac beach and camped out. Now my summer schedule of classes is not too intense, but it is still class and there is work and tasks to be completed. I needed to release some stress and a day like today was what I needed. I was contented on the beach in the sun. I read in the sand and swam in the clear water when sweat broke, I got a bit of shut eye and ultimatly it was the relaxing afternoon that has been a long time coming.

Thank you Lake Tahoe for 26 years of memories in my life.

Truly keep it blue.

Listining to Kate Wolf's Anthology.

Movin' Out

For the past 7 months Jill and I have been living in Pleasanton California. Come August 18th, we will excitedly move out of our one bedroom apartment. The city of Pleasanton is not the problem; the apartment complex management is the problem. We live in a complex of about 500 units (Stoneridge Apartments) and if our apartment burned to the ground, the L.A. based corporation, Lyon Management, would not care one bit. (based on multiple phone calls to L.A. to deal with them). Within the first week of moving in here, both my car and my girlfriend’s car were broken into; they stole her car and totaled it, and stole my car stereo. So we may be a bit biased.

After weeks of dealing with this ordeal, we contacted the head manager of Lyon Management down in L.A. and she would not give me the time of day. She did not even consider my suggestions to put up necessary security lights in the car park and possible surveillance. She basically told me this is my problem, they will not change and I need to deal with it; without ever apologizing for our distressing experience. We have also had a miserable experience with the on site management, maintenance not fixing the problems with the unit and other security issues. I understand that having 500 units in a complex is a lot, but come on people, give us at least a time frame to fix a air conditioner or leak in the sink (don't tell us you will show up if you are not going to).

We are now moving to a new complex in San Ramon, three miles away from the schools where we will be working, into a two bedroom/two bath unit on the corner that backs up to a grassy field at the edge of a golf course. The complex has only 190 units so the management is much more personable and we already have a great vibe about it.

It has been a frustrating experience, but I try to look at the positive side of it all now, we are safe, alive and movin' out! I have also learned many lessons from dealing with the bad side of this that I will certainly be able to apply to similar life experiences to come.

More good to do...

Xavier Rudd is an extremely talented musician from Australia. He has recorded many songs that address the current condition of the environment, songs of peace, songs for the land, songs for humanity and songs about connections made between people throughout the world. He has been a major influence in my life for the past two years. I first found out about him through a dear friend of mine from Colorado whom I spent the summer working with in the Adirondack, NY. Xavier has a new album out called "White Moth" and he is currently on a world tour. I had the chance to see him at a small venue in Santa Cruz, CA last month. He is a one man show, he plays the udu drums, bongos, Dobro guitar, acoustic guitar and steel guitar, harmonica, step drum, didgeridoos/yidaki and he uses his voice during jams to complete his sound. The show that he puts on is a work of art and the number of instruments that he uses while jamming is mind blowing to see live and if you have a chance to see his live show or even pick up his new album, I would highly recommend it.

He has a new single out called "Better People" and it is a song about the people in this world who make a difference and play their part in making this world a better place to live in. It is truly a great song.

Only One Life,..

My girlfriend, Jill, gave me a book for my birthday in May by Alfredo Jose Estrada called "Havana: Autobiography of a City". I picked it up a few times since she gave it to me but have only read the first two chapters. Now, I am setting a personal goal for the next two weeks; to spend time with it and enjoy the rest all the way through. It is summer time and I need to read a more books for me, instead of the courses I am taking.
In the two chapters that I have read there is a passage where Estrada describes the Malecon, the sea and other idiosyncratic details of Havana. This passage brought me right back to the streets (I traveled through Cuba a few years back). It is interesting because he continues after this passage with the idea that Havana is a city that one does not have to visit to have a picture or an image in their head, he says that people just do. This is true, no matter what the image is; an old 50's ford, a cigar, salsa dancing, the skyline, the Malecon or an old copy of The Old Man and The Sea, Cuba is in all of these and more. Anyhow, here is the passage that brought me back:

"Beyond the Malecon is an endless carpet of ocean, stretching to the horizon. Depending on the weather, its color ranges from gunmetal gray to pale turquoise. On a clear day, the dazzling light glints on the waves and the spray comes over the seawall like a handful of glittering coins. The sky is a peculiar shade of blue not found anywhere else, a brilliant, almost translucent cobalt that the early settlers tried to emulate in pottery... It is a city that assaults the senses...In the morning, the brine of the sea air is mixed with diesel fumes, roasting coffee, cigar smoke, and the sweetish stink of last night's rum."
(Estrada,6)

Havana is a unique city,..I have yet to come across one like it...I'm off to read a few chapters.

('Only One Life' is a quote we saw scribbled on the wall in La Bodeguita del Medio while drinking mojitos next to the ghost of Hemingway on our last night in the city.)

Listening to Josh Ritter: Live at Vicar Street, Ireland