The Adventures of Jose Cabrera in the Republican Convention

Last Thursday I had the privilege of seeing Sen. John McCain accept the Republican nomination for President of the United States. All in all, it has been a memorable week in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area of Minnesota. It was a true honor to represent the pro-statehood youth of Puerto Rico and the members of the Puerto Rico Statehood Students Association.

 

First, I helped as an honorary “delegate” of the Puerto Rican Republican delegation. I got to hang out with Congressman Luis Fortuño, Sen. Roberto Arango, Rep. Jenniffer Gonzalez and Mayor Carlos Mendez of Aguadilla, among other friends. The whole team did a great job of representing Puerto Rico and making sure that our cause on behalf of statehood was known to all.

 

On Wednesday and Thursday nights I also invaded the lens of CNN with my “Puerto Rico con McCain” sign. It appeared behind Wolf Blitzer and Anderson Cooper throughout the evening. It was hilarious to see myself on TV and then start getting tons of messages and calls from people back home. The 51st State owned CNN.

 

 

 

 

Likewise, on Wednesday night I had the distinguished honor of talking with Triumph, the cigar-smoking dog from Conan O’Brien, just as the Puerto Rican delegation nominated John McCain. The guy behind the puppet was apparently in favor of Puerto Rican statehood and he stood with us until our time came to nominate McCain.

 

Thursday in particular was eventful. Former Speaker of the House Newt Gringrich gave my group a private speech and I was lucky to take a picture with him. Later Mike Huckabee signed my “Puerto Rico con McCain” button and also took a picture with me. I did miss Romney and Giuliani, however.

 

The undisputed highlight of my week was that I snuck close enough to the podium and stood in front of John McCain after he finished his speech. As they say, Puerto Ricans are everywhere. The funny thing is that John saw my Puerto Rican sign and he instantly remarked that he enjoyed watching Miguel Cotto box.  Priceless.  I then had the treat of greeting Governor Sarah Palin and Cindy McCain. They’re as lovely in person as they are on camera.

In closing, I’m proud of being a Republican and having represented Puerto Rico during this convention. Win or lose, I’ll remember this always. Cheers.

 

Bill Clinton will not attend Obama’s Invesco speech

DENVER (CNN) – Hillary Clinton will be on hand for Barack Obama’s acceptance speech, but according to a source close to former President Bill Clinton, he will not: the source tells CNN that Clinton will not join his wife at Invesco Field Thursday night.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/08/26/source-bill-clinton-will-not-attend-obamas-invesco-speech/

Oy vey!

New Buckcherry Album Coming!

Hell yes.

New Dokken Album

The new Dokken record, “Lightning Strikes Again”, is a good melodic hard rock album with a production akin to the 1980s. The highlight of the album is Jon Levin, who on his second album with the band finally gets the classic George Lynch sound. His playing is very very similar to Lynch’s playing in the 1987 classic “Back for the Attack”. It’s got the Lynch coolness factor, good riffs, melodicism and that 80s flair. It’s also got the guitar delays on which Lynch built his career. The rhythm section is very good and Wild Mick is playing like a beast on the drums. Sadly, the only weak spot in the album itself is Don Dokken’s voice. It sounds to thin and forced at times. Don’s gotta stop smoking. Other than that, it’s Dokken’s best record since 1999’s “Erase the Slate” and the first true melodic album the band has put out in 21 years.

Supreme Court finds individual right to own guns

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Thursday, for the first time in the nation’s history, that individual Americans have the right to own guns for personal use, and struck down a strict gun control law in the nation’s capital.

 

The landmark 5-4 ruling marked the first time in nearly 70 years that the high court has addressed whether the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects an individual right to keep and bear arms, rather than a right tied to service in a state militia.

 

(Reporting by James Vicini, Editing by Deborah Charles)

Gallup Daily: Obama, McCain Tied at 45%

PRINCETON, NJ — The latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update on the presidential election finds John McCain and Barack Obama exactly tied at 45% among registered voters nationwide.

Voter preferences had been fairly evenly divided for the past week, with Obama generally holding a slight advantage of two or three percentage points. This is the first time since Gallup’s May 31-June 4 rolling average that Obama does not have at least a slim advantage over McCain. Obama’s largest lead to date has been seven points. (To view the complete trend since March 7, 2008, click here.)

Since the changes from Tuesday’s results are well within the margin of sampling error, it is unclear at this point if today’s results represent a further tightening of the race. The last two individual nights of polling have, however, been more favorable to McCain that what Gallup has shown for most of June. — Jeff Jones

“Lost” Amazon Tribe a Hoax

Bummer. 

Facebook heads MySpace in unique visitors

By Kevin Allison in San Francisco

Published: June 22 2008 23:32 | Last updated: June 22 2008 23:32

Facebook, the fast-growing social network, has taken a significant lead over MySpace in visitor numbers for the first time, according to one popular measure of internet traffic.

Facebook attracted more than 123m unique visitors in May, an increase of 162 per cent over the same period last year according to ComScore, a company that monitors websites. That compared with 114.6m unique visitors at MySpace, Facebook’s leading rival, whose traffic grew just 5 per cent during the same period, ComScore said.

The findings mark the first time that Facebook, launched in 2004, has taken a significant lead in unique visitors, after ComScore’s April traffic figures showed the rivals in a virtual tie. They come at a time of change inside Facebook, as the one-time upstart attempts to transform itself into a leading media company. Several members of the original executive team have left the company in recent weeks.

The departures include Adam D’Angelo, chief technology officer and personal confidant of Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s 23-year-old founder and chief executive; and Matt Cohler, Facebook’s first official hire, who was in charge of product development.

Mr Zuckerberg has appointed Sheryl Sandberg as his second-in-command. Ms Sandberg, who helped develop Google’s lucrative advertising business, is expected to play a crucial role in the development of Facebook’s revenue model.

The management changes come as the company is under pressure to justify the $15bn valuation it drew last year in an investment round with Microsoft.

Facebook is a private company and does not disclose official sales or profit figures. But people close to the company have claimed that it made $150m in sales last year. That figure is expected to grow to $300m-$350m this year as it attempts to broaden its revenue stream.

Counting unique visitors is just one way to measure the website popularity. Many sites, including Facebook, measure audience engagement by tracking the number of repeat, or “active” users of their sites, leaving out those who visit a site once and never return. MySpace claims to have about 110m active users, Facebook about 80m.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008

What type of personality do you have?

You Have A Type A- Personality

You are one of the most balanced people around Motivated and focused, you are good at getting what you want You rule at success, but success doesn’t rule you.When it’s playtime, you really know how to kick back Whether it’s hanging out with friends or doing something you love! You live life to the fullest – incorporating the best of both worlds outcome.php

New Hulk Movie is Excellent

Saw “The Incredible Hulk” last night at the movies and I was pleasantly surprised.  Forget about 2003’s “Hulk”.  This second movie is certifiably superior.  The script is smarter with true gravitas emanating from the main characters.  The action is powerful and rewarding and the acting is top-notch with Ed Norton in the lead.  The final confrontation is badass.  I got hints of Peter Jackson’s “King Kong” here and there too.  Also, you’re going to love the ending, which clearly hints at future films that Marvel will release.  Bravo. 

See the CNN Review