Long time, no see. This was my year.



Where it says to click on 'watch in high quality'... that's a YouTube page setting. If you want to see the video in crisper detail, click here to see the video on the YouTube page.

I mention the new job in the video: I start training on the 15th. I won't say where, exactly, because I hardly mention work in my blog at the best of times. Life's too much fun to waste time blogging and vlogging about employment.

Listen: Aerodynamik - Kraftwerk ... Buildings & Mountains - The Republic Tigers ... Valerie Plame - The Decembrists.

I've been really getting into the election cycle now...



...well, maybe not THAT much! But I have been helping out at our local Barack Obama office when I have the time to spare. He picked a local to be his running mate, Joe Biden. He grew up less than two miles from where I'm typing this. We're in the middle of convention sleep deprivation now, after coming off of a few weeks of Olympic sleep deprivation (well done to both the US and GB teams for mopping up so many medals).



And as for John McCain not being able to remember how many houses he has? Cover your ears kids...



...fuck you. And you called Obama, a man raised by a single mother and his grandparents, an elitist and out of touch? You freaking snob.

What else has happened? Oh yeah, went to a Yankees game. Always a nice day out. Especially on days when we beat the Kansas City Royals 15-6!



There's me, in the middle, arms crossed, talking to Shocker.



The new Yankee Stadium can be seen in the background. Final year for The House That Ruth Built.



Derek Jeter, shortstop for the Yankees, lets one fly early in the game. You can see the ball in the top right of the pic.

Well, I wish I had some other groundbreaking news. I'll just leave you with my two songs for today...

Great DJ by The Ting Tings. She reminds me of Debbie Harry from Blondie.



Love Is Noise by The Verve. Good to see the band back together with a slightly different sound.

I can see at least seven firework displays outside. And someone within 200 yards of the house is playing the beginning chords of "All The Young Dudes" on an electric guitar. Over and over and over and LEARN SOME FRIGGING RADIOHEAD TUNES FER CHRISSAKES!

Happy Fourth of July from America everyone. As promised, the video from Seneca Falls (including wine tours, and a trip to Watkins Glen for the waterfalls and the racing car history).



Listen: Wonderful Life - Black ... Waterfall - The Stone Roses.

Just got back from three days at Niagara Falls (the Canadian side, Ontario province) and three days in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The US video will come tomorrow, but for today here's what three days in Canada looks like.



The footage was shot in the Clifton Hills section (the tourist area), near the Horseshoe Falls, at the base of the Falls, and up the Skylon Tower. Oh, and Marineland too. Where you can feed a baby beluga whale for $8 over the admission price.

Everything was more expensive on the Canadian side because of the weak US economy (and we all know who's to blame for that over the last seven years). An American dollar used to exchange at a rate of $1.30 - $1.40 Canadian, so anything that cost $5 in the States cost seven Canadian dollars (but both were worth the same amount). Now, with parity (one-to-one exchange rate), those prices are still the same on both sides of the border but you now get less Canadian cash for your American cash.

That explains why so many Canadians that live near the US border are doing lots of their shopping South Of the Border. Canada is using the States for pro-poor tourism, mostly thanks to them not having George W Bush as their country's chief...

Local designer Jimmy Lee swept his hand across a rack of simple, satin gowns.

“These dresses are classic and elegant — much more calm and subtle,” said the owner of dress boutique and tailor TT New York. “They’re not the big, beaded ball gowns we’re used to.”

Like any smart retailer, Lee has been studying and responding to his customers’ preferences. And like many of those along the U. S. border, Lee has noticed Canadian traffic influencing his decisions more than ever.

“Stores have to change to meet [Canadian] needs,” said Lee.

The influx of Canadian shoppers led Lee to places like Toronto, Hamilton and Mississauga to study demand in the Canadian market. He looked for popular styles (simple), sizes (small) and colors (purple, dark blue and red). Then he put what he saw into action with a line of Jimmy Lee dresses, designed specifically for Canadian shoppers.

“Business has gone crazy because of it. We can’t keep them in the store,” Lee said.

Thanks largely to the near parity of the Canadian and American dollars, TT New York’s sales are up 18 percent over last year. And while malls across the country scramble to fill holes left by closing stores, those in Buffalo Niagara, like the Fashion Outlets of Niagara Falls [US side of the Falls] and the Walden Galleria, are actually expanding.

Moral of the story? Never trust a Conservative government with your money. They'll just give it all to their rich business friends and screw your economy.

Listen: O Canada - Terrance & Phillip ... Under Blue Canadian Skies - Glenn Miller Band ... Bridge To Canada - The Noisettes (those are the tunes on the video).

Diary...



...and a song.

I haven't posted in a while. But I have been busy, politically. I even got to shake hands with Barack Obama and made him smile as he thanked me.



(sorry for the terrible audio, I didn't load the latest firmware into the camera)

So I am officially announcing my support for Barack Obama, and how.

I know I get people outside of America reading my blog (I have family and friends in Britain, for example). I just wanted to show you that America isn't all "hoo-rah, we're number one, kill everyone." There are a few people on the news making George W. Bush and all his gang answer for their crimes and blunders.

Here's MSNBC news anchor Keith Olbermann, with a special comment addressed directly to Bush Junior. It lasts for twelve minutes, and (not to be too quaint) it tears Bush a new orifice.



What we're up against is a Right-Wing Conservative group that know nothing but keeps on saying crap. As Keith said in the video above, "it is the utter always-failing inability to know when to quit".

Want to see what happens when one of these Bush supporters actually goes on TV and gets called out, yet still keeps digging the hole they're in? Want to know what happens when someone has nothing but insults and buzzwords? This happens! Courtesy of Hardball with Chris Matthews (the Bush supporter is the shouting young guy in the yellow tie)... the real fun starts two minutes in.



Don't worry, world. A change is coming.

And that's my song too. Sweet Harmony, by The Beloved.



You all have a good one. And Dad: it's been nearly two years, and we miss you. xxx