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We Love Saipan
2007-12-04 13:58:00
One year ago, two bloggers put their heads together and came up with what would eventually become the cornerstone of the blogging community in the Marianas.That blogging cornerstone is called the We Love Saipan Network.Take a look at one year's worth of blogger statistics, taken from We Love Saipan's eXTReMe Tracking web counter:The top right corner shows that we have been tracking the website's stats for exactly 365 days. In that time, exactly 14,388 Unique Visitors were recorded. That is 14,388 different unique visitors being introduced to real life in paradise, straight from the bloggers' fingertips.Another telling statistic of our success is our percentage of overseas readers. While about one quarter of our readers came from the Marianas, just over half came from the United States and about one quarter hailed from the rest of the globe. Those are impressive statistics. One would expect that a website about Saipan would have mostly Saipan readers. This proves that we ar...

Did I read that right?
2007-12-04 09:03:00
I meant to post this on my blog earlier this morning, but kind of forgot about it until now. Did anybody else happen to catch this paragraph in Emmanuel T. Erediano's article about Boni Sagana and Dekada collecting fees:The event coordinator, Conrad Ocampo, said supporters in the local community will provide boom trucks, scooters and golf carts, a sound system, flyers, cans of paint and bottled water for the march that will start at 4:30 p.m. at Kilili Beach across from Ada Gym and end at American Memorial Park [emphasis added].I learned a while ago not to take everything I read in the Marianas Variety literally, so I'm not going to assume that this is accurate or evidence that Dekada is planning "to start a graffiti campaign like American soil has never seen."But what if it is?
More About: Read

Indigenous Rights
2007-12-04 00:01:00
David Khorram left me a comment on my last post asking me what I meant by indigenous rights. I think that is a question worth asking, but I'm going to have to think about that one for a while before I put my thoughts to print.In the meantime, a local poet sent me a collection of their poems a few months ago for some feedback. They are a series of poems depicting life on Saipan from the point of view of the different people that call this place home.This one struck me as especially powerful:You can remember your father telling you how important this is:[His voice, murmuring mutter, like slip-slop standing in the surf.]Waves tugging the net strings from your fingers, reach up, throw, staggering with weight of wet and twisted rope.This is what you need, he says, and this is who we are, fishermen, and this is who we will be.How little he knows and how little you know,because he does not stand at the shore--he sits at the pala-pala, crushed cans and coconut winemaking a sloppy buzzy cir...
More About: Rights , Indigenous

Upcoming Unity March
2007-12-03 09:02:00
Can we all agree on a few things?Can we all agree that nonresident workers are an important and integral part of our community, economy, and in many cases, families?Can we all agree that it was wrong of Boni Sagana to tell Dekada members that a $100 membership would buy them a greencard long before there was any serious hope of getting them one*?Can we all agree that it was wrong of Taotao Tano to tell Dekada to Go Home?Can we all agree that anyone living on this island has the right to participate in our democracy by invoking their First Amendment rights?Can we all agree that there were lots of Labor abuses in the past and that they still exist today, however that there are fewer now than in the past?Can we all agree that not all nonresident workers have been faced with Labor abuses?Can we all agree that some nonresident workers knowingly came here illegally and are abusing the system?Can we all agree that there are racists on both sides?Can we all agree that Mainland liberals call...
More About: March , Unity , Upcoming , Unit

USS Germantown Kicks Ass!
2007-12-03 00:52:00
Saipan was recently visited by about 300 Sailors and 400 Marines aboard the USS Germantown. The ship arrived on Wednesday and left our island on Sunday morning.They dumped a whole lot of money into our economy. Thanks, boys!I had a chance to meet some of them at a Beautify CNMI cleanup of the Garapan Tourist District on Friday and during a tour of the ship on Saturday morning.I was approached by Christine Parke, the Executive Director of the Saipan Chamber of Commerce, to see if I would be interested in helping to coordinate a Beautify CNMI cleanup with some of the guys from the ship.We bounced a couple of ideas of each other and finally decided that a cleanup in Garapan would be our best bet. It was close to the ship and we could invite some students from Garapan Elementary to participate, too.We ended up recruiting about 80 Marines and Sailors and about 60 or so students and teachers. We also had help from several other organizations and individuals. MVA, PDM Promoters, Isa CNMI, ...
More About: Kicks

Caption Contest V
2007-12-02 08:35:00
The winner of Caption Contest IV is Jeff.Here is the picture for Caption Contest V:Leave your caption in the comments. The winner gets...nothing.

Growing Up Liberal
2007-12-02 07:35:00
You will either find this Youtube video hilarious or extremely distasteful.The little kid is my niece and this footage is at least 3 1/2 years old. I found it when I was backing up some of my files.The girl looking on was my friend Lucy's girlfriend. Hot.We all got pissed off at her after a Kerry rally in 2004. We were trying to make environmental issues an important issue during the campaign and when that girl, sorry can't remember her name, had the chance to talk to an AP reporter, she said that her most important issue was Gay Rights.We were all in support of Gay Rights, but we really would have preferred if she had said something like, I don't know, ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES!I wish I could remember her name. Steve? Amy? Any help?******Speaking of politics, there are 8 days left to vote for the Marianas 2007 Person of the Year. Check out the poll to the left.Unless several people suddenly start voting for Ambrose Bennett, it looks like this one is going to be won by either ...
More About: Liberal , Growing , Growing Up

Thai Go Go Girls
2007-12-01 20:27:00
November was my slowest month of blogging in over a year. I managed to write only 24 posts during the month. I wrote more posts while I was on vacation. How did that happen?It just goes to show how busy I was last month, catching up with all that time off and then moving everything else I do forward.Anyways, the blog has suffered. My number of posts are down. My traffic is down. My Yahoo ad revenue is down.I need to do something to boost traffic and interest in my blog.With that said, here are 15 pictures of Thai Go Go Girls , taken while I was in Bangkok and Phuket:These girls weren't strippers. They were just dancers....but I had the feeling that they'd go home with you for the right price.So what should I do next? Girls in bikinis?

Mr. Wonderful is not Gay
2007-11-29 22:44:00
Last night I ran into some girls who work at a bar in As Lito called Mr. Wonderful . They told me I should come visit them at work. I asked them if they worked at a gay bar and they assured me that they didn't.Hmmm...I remember reading somewhere that this was a gay bar. I guess I was wrong. So, EJ, want to go visit Mr. Wonderful?******I keep getting visits from people looking for information on Ping Pong Shows. What is this world coming to? There are no Ping Pong Shows on Saipan....yet.******My blog has been boring lately. I'm going to spice it up.Come back over the weekend for pictures of Thai Go Go Girls.******Finally:A huge HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my little sister, Catherine Mary McGarry Ford! She turns 8 today!Shoot on over to my Mom's blog and wish Cate a happy birthday!

March Next Friday
2007-11-28 22:32:00
It is difficult being part of the ruling party's opposition.Take America, for example. People in the Mainland tend to vote Republican not because they agree with the tenets of the Mainland Republican Party (War and Debt is good for the economy, No Dudes Kissing, Screw the Little Guy), but because the opposition party, my party, the Democrats, have not offered up their own plan in recent memory.In 2004, John Kerry's platform was basically, "Vote for me because I'm not Bush."Bush's platform was, "I'm a leader, I'll kill the terrorists, and I'll make sure no more dudes kiss each other."Who would you vote for? Most people would pick the latter, not because he's right, but because he is seen as strong and moving forward. Kerry ended up looking like a latte-sipping, waffling French guy.Then the only reason the Democrats were able to win both Houses back in 2006 was not because they were doing a particularly good job or offering up a better vision for America, but because the rulin...
More About: Friday , March

No Laughing Matter
2007-11-27 08:52:00
David Khorram has a great idea. We're going to be standup comedians!Check out his blog for more details.******In the meantime, here's another Hilary Clinton joke:Al Gore, Bill and Hillary Clinton go to Heaven.God addresses Al first. "Al, what do you believe in?"Al replies, "Well, I believe I won that election, but that it was your will that I did not serve and I've come to understand that now."God thinks for a second and says, "Okay, very good. Come and sit at my left."God then addresses Bill. "Bill, what do you believe in?"Bill replies, "I believe in forgiveness. I've sinned, but I've never held a grudge against my fellow man, and I hope no grudges are held against me."God thinks for a second and says, "You are forgiven, my son. Come and sit at my right."God then addresses Hillary. "Hillary, what do you believe in?""I believe you're in my chair."
More About: Matter , Laughing

Angelo Villagomez, Correspondent
2007-11-26 17:08:00
Well, you can officially add freelance newspaper reporter to the list.My first articles in the Saipan Tribune were published today. I reported on the Aqua Resort Club donation to Beautify CNMI and the Beautify CNMI donation to Marianas Dive.Not too bad for a first try, I guess. Hopefully I'll improve. In the meantime, please bear with me; the last time I took an English class was my Senior year at Winter Park High School.******The other reporters thought it was hilarious that I quoted myself.Just sayin'.******Now that I'm a published journalist (***eyes roll across the world as they read this***), maybe I should learn how to be one?Somebody want to buy me the Associated Press Stylebook for Christmas?My mailing address at work is:PO BOX 506645Saipan, MP 96950USA******The Board and the Membership of the Saipan Rotary Club approved my membership. I'm being inducted next Tuesday.I'm excited to join the club. I'm already planning on manning the crappes table at the Las Vegas Nigh...
More About: Angelo , Gomez , Responde , Gelo

Get out into the community this week
2007-11-25 10:50:00
The We Love Saipan Network will host their 11th Blogger Meetup this Wednesday at Java Joes at 7 PM. Bloggers, Blog Readers, Blogger Wannabes, and people who just like chicken nuggets and coffee are welcome to attend!The We Love Saipan Network hosts a Blogger meetup on the last Wednesday of every month.******Paseo de Marianas Promoters will be holding their second annual Green Christmas for the Children of the Marianas celebration this week. The main event is the christmas tree decorating contest where 14 different elementary schools decorate a tree with ornaments made from recycled materials.The decorating starts Wednesday after school and the students will have a chance to continue decorating up until about 5 PM Thursday. The trees will then be judged Thursday at 6 PM. Come down on Wednesday to watch the trees get decorated and come down on Thursday for the tree lighting.I really enjoyed this event last year. It reminded me of what the Paseo should look like every day, not just...
More About: Community , Week , Unit

Waterfalls, Haoles, and Leeches...Oh My!
2007-10-09 13:17:00
Today was another great day. We started off the day at a cultural museum called the Traditional Arts & Ethnology Center. It showcases the diversity of Laos' people. There are four distinct linguistic groups and within those four groups there are dozens of unique ethnicities. This small museum highlighted the dress and other handicrafts of seven of these ethnicities.Our guide was a Malaysian girl who went to school at Vassar. It's a small world after all.After our museum visit we went to the Kuang Sii Waterfalls , which are inside a protected area.There are several things to do at the falls. There is an Asiatic Bear and Indochina Tiger rehabilitation center, several hiking trails, swimming pools, places to eat and shop, and, of course, the falls.Since we arrived in this part of the world, we've been told over and over that we should be modest in our dress. When we go swimming, we should cover up. Women should not wear bikinis; they should wear shorts and a t-shirt.So what d...
More About: Falls

Mekong River
2007-10-08 15:38:00
The last two days have been amazing. We just spent two days traveling down the Mekong River , from Thailand to Laos. We travelled for 7 hours yesterday and 7 hours today. Last night we spent the night in a village of only 1000 people called Pakbang.The village was very muddy and there wasn't much going on, but Ian and I were able to find a place selling 1 hour massages for the equivalent of $6. How could we say no?I am now in a city called Luang Prabang in Laos. It is so beautiful. How have I never heard of this city?One of the first things I saw when I arrived was two young boys fishing with a talaya. They hold and throw it exactly the same way we do in Saipan. Unbelievable! How cool is that?We are in Luang Prabang for the next three days. We've only been here for about 5 hours, but I'm already planning a return trip. It is just that beautiful.

Chiang Khong
2007-10-07 03:25:00
The local people we have run into on this trip have been great. Last night was no exception.We were walking down the street (the only street) of Chia ng Khong last night when a group of locals called us over to the outdoor bar where they were drinking. They shared their food with us and told us all about life in Chiang Khong.One girl was like, "I live with my Dad, my sister, my daughter, and my 15 dogs."They were a lot of fun. They gave me their mailing address, but I lost it. I gave them my email though, so I hope they send me a message. I'd love to keep in touch with Sun, Phon, and married to Japanese-guy lady.******We're going down the Mekong River in a few hours. We're crossing into Laos first, then we are boarding a boat. The trip is two days long. We'll spend tonight in a small village along the river that only has electricity only 5 hours per day...kind of like Koblerville, huh?Just kidding.
More About: Hong

Chiang Mai runs out of beer: Ian Catlett drank it all
2007-10-06 02:07:00
...or at least he tried to.The alternate title to this post was "364 Days Until my Definition of Old Changes."We had a very low key birthday celebration last night. We had dinner at a restaurant inside a 150 year old building called "Ancient House." The service staff was a little confused, but the food was outstanding. I had some spicy chicken soup, which was served in a green coconut, and a beef salad, which is healthy because it is, after all, a salad.Ian, Terry, and I found an Irish pub after dinner. They had actual Guinness on draft. I haven't had a Guinness in two years. What a birthday treat!Terry dropped out after the second beer, so Ian and I went out in search of more bars. We stumbled on to one place with a bunch of white people, drank two more, then decided to go back to the hotel....but we ran across a karaoke club on the way back. We just had to. What can I say?I don't remember what time we got back, but I think it was pretty late. Even so, I managed to get ...
More About: Beer , Chiang Mai , Runs , Chia

Chiang Mai
2007-10-05 09:52:00
We left Bangkok on a sleeper train last night at around 6 PM and arrived in Chia ng Mai this morning around 7 AM. I fell asleep on the top bunk of the sleeper around 9 PM and got up at around 5 AM. I kept waking up in the middle of the night, thinking that it was morning already. The lights stayed on in the train all night and it was difficult to keep track of the real time. When it finally started getting light out, we found ourselves surrounded by tree covered hillsides.Cool.After we got off the train we went for a quick breakfast at a restaurant facing the ancient city wall. Then it was off to our hotel, where we had about an hour to get ready for our bicycle tour of Chiang Mai.Our four hour long bicycle tour of Chiang Mai.We started off by our hotel and, taking our lives in our hands, cycled through the busy streets until we got out to the countryside, which didn't take too long. We stopped at a small local Buddhist temple, a traditional crematorium, and a leper village be...

My pants are broken
2007-10-04 09:57:00
After our boat tour of a canal and Wat Pho, Ian, David, Cloe, and I had lunch at a small restaurant across from the Grand Palace. Having seen enough of shiny gold temples, David and Cloe decided to take a boat taxi back to the hotel, while Ian and I opted to tour the Grand Palace.We knew before coming that we would have to wear shirts with sleeves and pants below the knee. I only brought one pair of jeans. They are the only jeans I own, so if you've seen me wearing jeans in the last year and a half, you know which ones they are. They have exactly three holes in them.Can you guess where this is leading?As we entered the Grand Palace grounds I noticed a group of Europeans wearing what looked like long traditional Thai skirts and some Thai pants. I told Ian that if I ever bought pants like that he needed to shoot me. What? Do these people think they look Thai?About 10 steps later a uniformed security guard came up to me and announced that my pants were broken. He pointed at the fashio...
More About: Pants , Broken

Which way to the ping pong show?
2007-10-04 00:36:00
To say that I have sensory overload might be to say that the Yankees are a bunch of overpaid crybabies. What I've seen and done in the last two days could fill a novel...and the tour doesn't officially start for another three hours.On Tuesday night, after walking around the older area of Bangkok and shopping (and eating!) in a big department store called Central for several hours, the four of us met up with one of David's old college buddies, Pooh, for dinner at the Oriental Hotel. The Oriental Hotel is where Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness.I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it was next to the spa, which is across the river. That's right. After having a round of drinks in the hotel, we took a ferry across the river.Dinner was accompanied by a Thai dinner show. The food was great.We ran out before the show ended to meet up with my friend Raj from my University of Richmond days. Raj grew up in Bangkok and moved back here after college.We met up with him and hi...
More About: Pong , Show , Ping Pong , Ping

The Insanity of Japan
2007-10-03 22:22:00
Allow we to take a short respite from Bangkok blogging to return to Japan . With all apologies to my Japanese friends, Japan as a country is insane. That's why Americans love it.Where else but Japan can you go to the bathroom and have a little golf flag tell you where to aim?Where else but Japan do they have Hello Kitty airplanes?Where else but Japan do they use cartoons to help adults not get warts and other sexually transmitted diseases while on vacation?...but where else but Bangkok can you swim in your hotel pool while overlooking the city? Ok, you can probably do that in a lot of places.
More About: Insanity

Bumps in the Road
2007-10-02 06:54:00
We got to Bangkok no problem. I managed to throw back four beers before boarding the plane and was asleep before the plane took off. I only woke up 30 minutes before we landed.We picked up our baggage and got a taxi to our hotel for about 800 Baht, which was about half the price of the taxis they were trying to push on us as soon as we walked out of Customs. So if you ever come to Bangkok, ignore the people trying to get you to rent a taxi inside the terminal. Just go outside and find a public taxi.When we got to the hotel I plugged in my battery charger...and destroyed it. A minute after I plugged it in we heard a pop, like someone had opened a bottle of champagne, and turned to the outlet to see it smoking. Damn it!Then I looked through my bag for my journal. I couldn't find it. I don't know what happened to it, but if I had to guess, I probably left it next to the public computer in the Narita airport. Oh well. I only lost a few phone numbers and everybody's mailing ...
More About: Road , The Road

Narita Blogging
2007-10-01 08:29:00
Ian and I got to Nagoya safe and sound. I slept most of the way. From Nagoya we caught a connecting flight to Narita , where we have a five hour layover. I've got a few pictures to post, but this computer doesn't have an USB outlet.The computers in Nagoya did. I should have posted from Nagoya. Dang it!Our flight to Bangkok leaves in about three hours. We found a nice little corner of the airport and we're throwing back a few Asahis. We're on #2. Three hours. We could be in trouble.We haven't found Ian's Mom or stepdad yet, but they are probably around here somewhere. I'll post pictures from Bangkok. We're staying in a pretty swanky hotel, I'm sure they'll have computers.I'm probably going to see my college buddy, Raj, tomorrow afternoon. I haven't seen him since 2000. How cool is that?
More About: Blogging

Goodbye, Saipan
2007-09-30 23:00:00
Let the adventure begin!I am about to spend the next 38 days traveling to places that I have never heard of and that I can barely pronounce. That's 5 1/2 weeks. What have I gotten myself into?I'll try to do a few updates while I'm on the road, but most of my writing will be going into a travel journal. I picked up a cool little notebook at the bookstore yesterday just for that purpose.If I come across a computer, I'll try to get something up. EJ told me last night that reading my blog while I'm away will be like taking her on the trip with me. I don't want to disappoint her, so even though I'm not making any promises, I will make an effort to post.
More About: Saipan , Goodbye

Hafa Adai, Welcome to the Saipan Blog!
2007-09-30 22:49:00
I feel like starting over.No, I don't mean that I want to delete this blog and begin again. I mean that I want to change the direction of this blog.A few months ago, all of the Saipan blogs turned into what I can only describe as a virtual Junior High School lunch room. Somebody would mention me in a post and then suddenly an anonymous commenter would pop up and start calling me spineless, two-faced, and an assortment of other names. Then they went after Boni. Then Jeff. And Cinta. Even EJ wasn't immune. There was also Harry vs Bree and Jane vs Brad, Jane vs Jeff, and then Jane vs Nahal, who isn't even a blogger.With the exception of a few certain individuals (like Jane), most of these commenters would say that they post anonymously because they want people to focus on the arguments, not the person making the arguments.To paraphrase about two months' worth of comments, "Angelo Villagomez is an idiot, but please don't ask me who I am because you would only attack me and not my o...
More About: Blog

Earthquake!
2007-09-29 17:13:00
Did you just feel that? At 12:09 PM, my bed and my apartment started shaking. It went on for about two minutes. I wonder if there is going to be a Killer Saipan Tsunami?The Guam Earthquake made the front page of the MSNBC webpage. Turns out it was a 7.1 and occured 215 miles South of Guam.

Decompression
2007-09-25 13:26:00
The first year I was out here, every once in a while I would stop right where I was standing and think back to the last time I stood in that exact place.I hadn't eaten good chicken kelaguin in 5 years. It had been 11 years since I'd hiked down to Forbidden Island. It had been 19 years since I'd hiked the Banadero Trail.Some of that novelty is beginning to fade.Just the fact that I can think that thought tells me that I need a vacation.On Thursday I will have been here for exactly 18 months. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think that I've accomplished a lot in that short amount of time.I was the starting forward in our EAFF qualifier against Guam. I was also the center referee for the first high school soccer game to ever be played in the Marianas.I painted the Navy Hill Lighthouse. I planted a lot of trees. I picked up a lot of trash. I even organized a cleanup with over 3000 participants in a single day. I was on TV. I was in the newspaper. I was on the radio.I helped create ...
More About: Compress

Educational Roundtable on Wednesday
2007-09-25 01:51:00
The Association of Commonwealth Teachers is calling interested community members to participate in a pre-election educational roundtable discussion with the candidates.The purpose is to ensure that teachers, parents, and the community are able to meet the candidates and ask questions regarding their plans for education.The discussion is tomorrow night, Wednesday , September 25 at 7:00 PM in the cafeteria of San Vicente Elementary.The 15 Candidates from Precinct 1 have been invited to attend. For more information, please email ACT at cnmiactnow@gmail.com.Please repost this message on blogs and other media.******You may have noticed the polls listed in the left hand column. Please vote for Senate, Precincts 1-5, the Saipan Casino Act, and the Runoff Initiative. You can select up to 6 candidates for Precincts 1 and 3 and up to 2 candidates for Precincts 2, 4, and 5.These results are in no way scientific, but it will be fun to see if these polls accurately predict the winners on Novem...
More About: Educational , Duca

The Saipan Blogger Endorses Blog Rush
2007-09-24 13:33:00
Harry Blalock sent me an invitation to join Blog Rush . It is another one of those programs designed to drive traffic to your website.Harry previously sent me an invitation to Link Referral, which I now think sucks. I tried it out and it hardly sent any traffic my way. The only way to get good traffic from it is to spend about an hour a day playing with it. I'm not down with that. I junked it.Blog Rush seems to work better. You can put it on your blog and forget about it. The traffic comes automatically.The way it works is you put a widget on your website that displays the links of five other websites. Every time you display the widget (i.e. every time your page loads), you earn 1 credit that is good for 1 link to your website. The link will appear in the widget on someone else's website.Users pick a category for their websites. Websites in the same category will show links to other websites in the same category. The idea is that people looking at websites in one category will b...
More About: Blogger , Saipan

2007 Candidate Websites
2007-09-24 03:25:00
I searched. I googled. I tried my best.Out of the 60-70 candidates or so this year, I could only find seven candidate websites. If there are more, please add them to the comments section of this post and I will add them.In this world, if you are not on the Internet, you do not exist. When people want information on anything, the first thing they do is look it up on the Internet. Most people "google" it.In politics, the winner is the candidate who is able to best connect with the voters. In Saipan that connection is molested by our familial relationships, but with three Sablans running in Precinct 1 this year, how does the Sablan family decide who to vote for?A candidate is crazy not to have a website these days, especially considering the number of young voters and off island voters. In contests where people lose by 6 seats, having a website could give you those few extra votes to push you over the edge.I'm by no means an expert on anything, but these are my takes on the pol...
More About: Websites , Candidate