Puerto Rico American Idol Auditions

Despite my disdain for the show and it's evil twin Objetivo Fama, there is no denying that I'm in the minority, because both dominate the ratings. And so it is, that for the first time, American Idol will conduct auditions for the 8th season of the show here in our little corner of the ocean.

On August 2nd, in the Coliseo Jose Miguel Agrelot, the production team from American Idol will conduct auditions. While the trio of judges, that I think everyone universally hates, but is strangely attracted to, will not be present at the auditions, it is rumored that they will be present when they begin to whittle the list of local contestants down. Or whatever it is they do during the course of the the show, because, I truthfully have never seen an episode of the program. Of course, since I've been doing the whole starving entrepreneur thing for a while now, cable is a distant memory. Anything I want to watch now has to come via BitTorrent, and believe me, my bandwidth is too precious to be spent downloading episodes of American Idol. In fact you can probably count on one hand the number of shows I do consider BitTorrent worthy.

While Puerto Rico has been excluded from the first seven seasons of the program, due to the popularity of Objetivo Fama (OF), I guess they want to jump on the bandwagon and see if they can duplicate the following of OF. I'm skeptical, because there are many factors that work together to make OF so successful here in PR. I guess we'll soon find out. If you start to hear people talking about American Idol everywhere you go, then they will have succeeded.

To participate in the auditions, participants must be between 16 and 28, and be willing to travel to the United States. Two days before the auditions, the production team of the program will be giving out bracelets to aspiring singers, which will determine the time of their audition. They are hoping that will limit the usual insane behavior that that usually accompanies an event of this magnitude. I wish them luck with that, LOL.

Firefox 3 Released, So Let's Party

This week marked the release of the next version of Mozilla's insanely popular Firefox browser. To commemorate the historic event, Mozilla organized a Guinness World Record attempt. The goal was to have 8 million people download the new release within a 24 hour period.

While the servers they were using to host the downloads burned white hot, and the downloads sputtered, they were able to reach their goal. I should know I was there when it happened. Your's truly, was one of the lucky 8 million to download Firefox 3 first, and here's my certificate to prove it.

If you're not using Firefox, you should. It's really the only way to browse the Internet. If you're still using Firefox 2.x, then I'd definitely recommend upgrading as soon as possible. The touted memory management and speed improvements seem to be working. Ever since installing Firefox 3, I'd say my browsing is a little more snappy.

Nobox Firefox 3 Victory Party

And as if just having Firefox 3 installed and improving my browsing already wasn't enough, I just learned that NoBox Marketing Group is hosting a Firefox 3 Victory Party tomorrow, Saturday 21st. The party has an open invitation, so if you love Firefox as much as dear old Don Dees does, then I guess I'll be seeing you there. The Mozilla Party website has more details on the NoBox gig, so head over there to get the time and location of the party.

I'd recommend also checking out NoBox's news section on their website to get some inside information about the party. It's pretty cool that little old NoBox from Puerto Rico provides such fantastic work to one of the icons in Open Source Software and the Internet. We wish them continued success, especially their recent expansion to Miami.

Flower Show at the UPR Botanical Garden

I love nature. I love the smell of it, with its seemingly infinite details and variations; colors, textures, shapes, and patterns. I think this affinity comes from spending a lot of time outdoors as a kid. Today with our "advanced" society, where we are surrounded by concrete; incarcerated inside our air conditioned living rooms playing video games. We are hypnotized by the television, numbing ourselves against the vicious strain of life; we have become disconnected from our past.

We have forgotten that not too long ago we were all directly connected to nature, for our ancestors depended upon their knowledge and appreciation of nature for their very survival; an ability to work the land and produce enough food to live on was critical, even to the point of life or death. By forgetting our shared past we have come to take for granted our fragile dependence upon nature for our continued survival; and like anything that is taken for granted we abuse, misuse, and disrespect. In short, we don't appreciate the value of nature, we litter, we don't conserve, we don't recycle, we exploit, and we destroy.

Perhaps the way to promote conservation of the planet is by re-introducing ourselves to nature. If we can once again treasure the immense beauty of nature, then we wouldn't be as careless and we would reduce our overwhelming impact on the planet. Just a think about it, that's all I'm saying.

Enjoying Nature

"One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon--instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today." Dale Carnegie

If you'd like to begin your "rehabilitation," then next Saturday, June 21, 2008, make it a point to visit the Zingiberales Society of Puerto Rico Fifth Annual Flower Festival. The Festival will be held at the University of Puerto Rico (UPR) Botanical Garden (Jardin Botanico), and, best of all, admission is free to the both the Botanical Garden and the Festival.

The festival, which will be open from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, will include discussions and educational sessions about heliconias, gingers, bananas, tropical trees, garden design, bromileads and much more. The sessions are scheduled throughout the day on the hour and half-hour. The more popular sessions will be held more than once. In addition, there will be many types of potted plants on display and for sale.

Many thanks to the folks at Puerto Rico Day Trips for the news of this interesting festival.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributors: Randy Read & tanakawho

SoFo Culinary Fest 2008

For those of you heading down to the SoFo Culinary Festival 2008, we've got a new interactive map to help you plan your culinary route before you get there.

We've started working with CODEVISA, and should be making some pretty exciting announcements with them soon. As a start, we've created this new interactive map. It contains the relative location of all of the restaurants participating in the festival.

What's so special at the SoFo Culinary Fest 2008?

Well, Sofo is a super 'fest' held since 2004 in summer and in late November. It is estimated that nearly 120 thousand people attend each edition of the culinary festival, says Marisol Dieppa, director of CODEVISA, a non-profit organization that promotes economic development in Old San Juan where they operate nearly 80 restaurants, from small cafes to 'fine dining'.

What's to eat?

Well, to start there will be five thousand fresh oysters which have been brought in from Japan, as well as hundreds of crocodile chicharrones. In addition there will be German sausages, zarzuelas, ceviches, risotto, roasted Turks, paellas, lo mein, arañitas, hummus, and snails.

And that's just a sample, which is exactly what most of the chefs will be preparing. Almost all of the participating restaurants will be giving away mini portions of their star dishes and new cocktails on the street in front of their premises.

And to drink?

You'll be able to choose from a Blue Cheese Martini (Tantra), Sake Martini (J Taste), Mojito enamorao (Raíces), Peach Mojito (The Parrot Club), Pineapple Mojito (Fratelli)... Blue Cheese Martini (Tantra), Sake Martini (J Taste), Mojito enamorao (Estate), Peach Mojito (The Parrot Club), or a Pineapple Mojito (Fratelli). The 'mojito' is definitely the new 'in' cocktail, and SoFo will be the place where bartenders will be launching new drinks created just for SoFo.

What else?

Well you should know that the Teatro Tapia will serve as you central source for information when you arrive. If you have any questions, that's where to head. There will be nine stages spread out along the "Culinary Route". Two will be in Plaza Colon, three along Forteleza street, three along Recinto Sur, and one in Plaza Arturo Somohano. Finally, parking will be available in Estacionamiento Covadonga, Estacionamiento de la Puntilla, Estacionamiento Doña Fela, and Estacionamiento Paseo Portuario.

Burn it up at Crash Boat Beach

Primera Hora and Coor's Light are teaming up to bring "burn it up 2008" to Aguadilla. On Sunday, July 20th, Crash Boat Beach will be bumping to one of the most exciting events I've heard of yet for this newly started summer. The party starts at 11:00 a.m. and is scheduled to conclude at 6:00 p.m., but I'm sure the partying goes on well past that.

Featuring a full line-up of top artists, "burn it up" will also feature kiosks, games, gifts, and, wait for it, many surprises. In an environment of maximum security, the event offers something for everyone.

burn it up 2008

The line-up of artists for "burn it up 2008" includes:

• Cultura Profética
• Melina Leon
• Limite 21
• Cheka
• Zorro Viejo
• Los Jetzons
• Baby Rasta & Gringo.

Coolers are not permitted inside the event and neither are glass bottles. Hmm, if you can;t take a cooler, how are you going to take anything that you would want to drink cold. I don;t know too many Puerto Ricans who are into the whole room temperature beer thing the Germans love so much. Anyway, for more information call (787) 255-1489. The event is produced by SparkOf Entertainment Group.

2008 Elite Model Search

Hola Mamcita. Are you hot? Are you a babe? Does everyone stop and stare at you when you walk by them in the mall? Do you have thousands of friends on your MySpace page that you've never actually met? Are you a 10 on your Sexy o No Page? Well maybe you should become a model. Well, that is, if you aren't already one, but if you're not, then you should know that there is a casting call for Elite 2008 Model Look de Puerto Rico models happening later this month.

If you're interested you need to call (787) 723-8866, to register. I'm sure they will fill you in on what you'll need to bring beside your beautiful self. The casting call is happening at Plaza Las Americas on the 13th and 14th of June, and then again on the 18th and 19th of June. Each day the casting starts at 12:00 Noon.

In addition for looking for the next Elite Look supermodel from Puerto Rico, the casting could also turn out to be an opportunity to become a Cover Girl model. Good Luck. And if you see us staring, know that we just can't help but look at perfection.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: karlfrankowski

Shopaholic: Special Summer Edition

These days, you have to be on the look out for specials and savings anywhere you can. So if you're looking to pick-up some new outfits for summer and you're hoping to save a few bucks, then this Sunday, June 8th, head over to the Caribe Hilton Expo Center where they'll hosting Shopaholic, the Special Summer Edition.

Over 50 different boutiques and stores will participating in the ultimate summer fashion bazaar. Some of the participating stores include: Nous, D'Elle Moda, Aquarella, and many more. Organizers of the event are promising that everything on sale during Shopaholic will be $50 or less.

Tickets for the event are $5.00, which includes IVU, but are free to Master Key Members, who ever they are. Door will open at 11:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. For more informaiton call (787) 602-8222.

Many Thanks To Our Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: _staticnomore

Dia Internacional de los Perros

This Sunday, June 1st, Purina and the National Parks Company will sponsor the International Day of The Dog. You've heard every dog has his day, will this Sunday is that day. The activity, which will be free of charge, will be held in the Peace Pavillion (Pabellón de la Paz) located in the Luis Munoz Rivera Park in San Juan. Scheduled to start at 11:00 a.m., the activity is supposed to last until 5:00 p.m.

The "Dia Internacional de los Perros" aims to provide the public with tools to improve the care of dogs and the master-pet relationship, as well as the successful coexistence within the family unit. During the activity there will be lectures, massages and yoga for dogs and masters, 'pawcures', music, gifts, refreshments and entertainment for the masters and their pets to enjoy.

Dog yoga, now I've definitely heard it all. I can just imagine the scene, a bunch of doting owners pulling on their dogs and calling out instructions. Which reminds me of one of my favorite "The Far Side" cartoons from Gary Larson. In the cartoon, the owner of a dog is standing over the dog, pointing and yelling "Blah, blah, blah Rex. Rex, blah, blah, blah." The caption of the cartoon is "This is what dogs really hear." Word.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: KM Photography

Sal! pa' SoFo

Starting Thursday, June 5th CODEVISA and Old San Juan will celebrate its 11th Old San Juan Culinary Fest. This year, they will be presenting the largest gastronomic festival in Puerto Rico. With the participation of 40 restaurants, the festival will include not only the south part of Calle Forteleza but also a zone of 6 streets where the 40 restaurants are located.

In addition, the festival will offer eight different stages where there will be a variety of musical presentations. No matter whether you prefer Cuban, Brazilan, Puerto Rican, or just plain Jazz, there will always be some music to your liking somewhere. The highlight of the musical performers will be a presentation by the Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra. They will perform at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday June 6th in Plaza Colón.

During the festival, the "código de orden público" or Public Order Code will be lifted. That means that you'll be able to carry open containers of alcohol, while walking down the streets of Old San Juan. "Woo Whoo," he says in his best Homer Simpson impersonation.

A partial schedule for some of the key activities for Sal! pa' SoFo follows:

Thursday, June 5th:

• 6:00 p.m. - Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Honorable Jorge Santini, Mayor of San Juan
  Fortaleza Esq. O'Donnell
• 7:30 p.m. - Flair Show, Sr. Manuel Picón, National Bartending Champion
  Plaza Arturo Somohano

Saturday, June 7th:

• 6:00 p.m. - Puerto Rico Philharmonic Orchestra
  Plaza Colón

Sunday, June 8th:

• 4:00 p.m. - Waiter Races (Carrera de los Mozos)
  Plazas Colón and Arturo Somohano
• 6:00 p.m. - Benny's Balloon
  Demonstration of the confection of balloon figures
  
• 6:30 p.m. - Mini Chef
  Demonstration of plates prepared by children
  From Chef Rita Rosado de Sweet Cow and Rita's Cuisine
  

Repeat Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: Oquendo

Boston Concert at the Puerto Rico Coliseum?

Well I guess it's kind of official, I've heard it a couple of times now on Alfa Rock that the legendary classic rock band Boston, will be giving a concert in Puerto Rico. According to the advertisement, Boston will appear in concert at the Puerto Rico Coliseum on August 31st. Snooping around I've confirmed that the band's web site lists Puerto Rico as the last show on the summer tour.

The Good O'le Days

Man, those first two albums from Boston are classics. The self titled debut album and the follow-up Don't Look Back were extremely well written, performed and engineered and back in the day, they were usually on somebodies turntable when we were partying (I mean who hasn't partied to Party):

" Just meet some friends and have a toke or two
In a place where they can never play the music too loud".

Yeah baby, rock and roll! That pretty much describes my mis-spent youth. But I have to confess, I've never seen them in concert. After those first two albums most of the music they produced didn't move me like those first two, so I never really paid much attention after that.

Part of the reason for that was they pretty much lost their mojo after the second album and then between inner fighting and band member changes, never really were the same again. I can remember having opportunities to see them, but I was disinterested because it wasn't the original band line-up. I'm always afraid to go see a group I really like when one of the key members has been replaced. I'm always afraid that they'll be too different and I'll be dis-satisfied.

Is Nostalgia Enough?

I'm going to assume that this concert is being promoted by the same duo of Larry Stein and Jose Dueño, that has brought Iron Maiden, Rush, and Billy Joel to Puerto Rico this year. From what I've heard and seen (Rush), I think these were all very successful concerts. However, I think they've missed their mark this time. While there is some renewed interest in Boston since the ex-lead singer Brad Delp's suicide last year, I really don't think there is going to be that much demand for Boston. With Tom Scholz as the only original member, except for nostalgia, I don't really see what's the point. It's almost like paying top dollar to see a Boston tribute band play in the Choliseo. I guess it will all depend on the pricing of the tickets, if they are dirt cheap, then maybe folks will say what the hey why not, but if they go with average ticket prices, I believe they will cancel the show due to lack of demand.

Sex and the City in Puerto Rico

One of the most anticipated movies this year, besides the new Indiana Jones release (which is this coming Thursday May 22nd), is the big screen version of the popular series Sex and the City.

While I'm vaguely familiar with the series, I can't say that I ever saw any of the episodes. If you're not sure what the fuss is all about either, here is a short description of the show (courtesy of Wikipedia):

Sex and the City is a multiple Emmy Award and Golden Globe award–winning popular American cable television program. The original run of the show was broadcast on HBO from 1998 until 2004, for a total of six seasons. Noted as one of, if not the most, important television shows for fashion and its industry due in large part to celebrated stylist Patricia Field[citation needed], it tackled socially relevant issues, often specifically dealing with women in society in the late 1990s, and how changing roles and definitions for women affected the characters.

The excitement begins this Thursday when the radio station Magic 97.3 hosts "The Official Sex & The City Party" at the Normandie Hotel. The party, which is sponsored by Dove chocolate, will feature music, ambiance, and style. Sounds pretty cool right, well you can't go! Well, that is, unless you have an invitation. In what can be called true Puerto Rican style, this party was advertised using a full page of El Nuevo Dia, carrying the small print "by invitation only". Why on earth would you spend the money to buy a full page advertisement to an event that was closed to the public? Further, why would you advertise an event that requires no participation, action, or interest by the public? Really, you got me. Unless, it is merely aimed at creating envy in the public that will not attend this exclusive event.

Gala Premiere

El Nuevo Dia and the Puerto Rico Art Museum are teaming up to present the gala premiere of the Sex & The City movie on Tuesday, May 27th. The premiere, which will take place in the museum, will feature a red carpet entrance, a Cosmopolitan Happy Hour, sponsored by Skyy Vodka, a fashion show, and a live performance by Black Guayaba.

I can't seem to find any information about ticket prices, or where tickets can be purchased, so I have a funny feeling that the premiere is invitation only as well. But at least for this event you have an opportunity to win tickets. El Nuevo Dia is sponsoring a contest for subscribers, where 25 people will win two tickets to the premiere. Head over to their website and fill out a contest enrollment form, and you'll be entered to win a set of the tickets. Be forewarned though, the form requires you to enter some pretty sensitive demographic information such as level of education and annual income. Oh yeah, you'll also need to answer a few Sex and the City trivia questions, but nothing a little Googling can't answer, wink, wink. You have until 10:00 a.m. on May 21st to enter the contest.

The movie will open to the public on May 29th.

Inflalandia X-treme Jungle Park

The folks at Producciones Walleska Serra are hoping to provide a little distraction for children of all ages when they host Inflalandia X-treme Jungle Park again this year. From June 20th until June 21st, the Puerto Rico Convention Center will transform itself into the largest park of inflatable attractions in Puerto Rico (maybe in the Caribbean?).

With more than 100 different attractions, Inflalandia offers a wide variety of activities, all available under one roof, and in the air conditioning of the PRCC. Tickets are a little steep though. A one day pass is $19.25, plus IVU, and a two day pass is $26.25, plus IVU. Of course maybe if the kids get there right at opening time, 9:00 a.m., and then shut down the park at 9:00 p.m., you can maybe say that is a good deal. However, if the park is as successful as the promoters hope it will be, I wonder how much of that time might be spent waiting in line.

Frankly, I've never heard anything about how successful this event has been in the past, so it's hard to predict how well it will do this year. My guess is that they'll do just fine. There are enough families that have yet to be impacted by the severe economic downturn here in Puerto Rico, and will be happy to dump their snot-nosed brats off at the park for two days. So if you plan on taking the kids, I would expect more people to be in attendance than you think, which by the way is always sound advice for any event here in Puerto Rico.

Here are just a few of the extra attractions (besides the inflatable variety):

• Canopy (Tiros por aire en Soga)
• Campo de Gotach (Paint ball competitions)
• Skateboard ramps courtesy Moisty
• Mini golf by Funscapes
• PR Storm Cheerleaders
  
• Mini circus
• Mini girls SPA by Amazing Parties
• Super hero parade
  

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: I Love Trees

Harmony and Peace Festival

Starting today, there will be a harmony and peace festival happening in the Jardín Botánico of Caguas. The festival, which celebrates the year of the planet. will take place through Sunday. It will open daily from 9:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. and tickets will be $12.00 for adults and $6.00 for children ages 6 to 12 years old.

However, according to Danny Rivera, who is not only performing during the festival, but is also the producer and spokesperson for the event, commented: We're aware of the tight economic situation facing the country, people who can not afford the $12 daily admission, can gain access to the facilities of the botanical garden with a donation. Which I think is a pretty cool policy to have for a peach and harmony festival.

In many ways this event is just like the many others you've been to on the island. There will be a special invited guest, for this event it is the The Monks of Tibet. In addition, Danny Rivera, The Flutist Enrique Cárdenas, The Harpist Elisa Torres, and Edwin Gerena will be performing through out the festival. There will also be lectures for adults and children, kiosks with natural products and health food, aroma therapy, organic drinks, and arts and crafts. Well, Ok, it's already a little different than most events here, but you know the typical offerings.

For me, what makes this event interesting is that the festival hopes to become a wave of tolerance and understanding and sow universal brotherhood, from Puerto Rico to the world. Amen brother! Rivera commented further, in a very Buddhist way of thinking, "It is not utopian to think that Puerto Ricans can live in harmony and brotherhood." For me, it's the hope of that harmony and brotherhood that should make us all strive for it, starting first, of course, with the man in the mirror (as Michael Jackson once said). So today, let's all start by committing random acts of peace, harmony, and brotherhood!

To achieve the festival's mission, the Buddhists monks will be leading meditations and providing lectures on violence and suicide, but they will also be doing one other thing which is literally amazing. They will be constructing a sand peace mandala. Taking all three days of the event to complete, the monks will build a mandala out of sand and on the final day, in a dissolution ceremony, destroy the mandala. The creation and destruction of the mandala is a reminder of the profound Buddhist concept of impermanence.

Did you know?

For Tibetans, this art is called dul-tson-kyil-khor, which literally means "mandala of colored powders." Formed of a traditional prescribed iconography that includes geometric shapes and a multitude of ancient spiritual symbols, the sand-painted mandala is used as a tool for consecrating the earth and its inhabitants.

According to Buddhist history, the purpose, meanings, and techniques involved in the spiritual art of sand mandala painting were taught by Sakyamuni Buddha in the 6th-century B.C. in India. This tradition has been preserved over the past 2500 years in an unbroken transmission from master to disciple.

The Tibetan word for mandala is kilkhor, which means “center of the circle with exterior walls and surrounding environment.” Millions of grains of brightly colored sand, placed with great skill and patience using a metal funnel called a chak phur, form the intricate and beautiful geometric designs of the sand mandala sacred art form.

Tibetans believe that all who participate and watch the mandala process accumulate merit. The sand is traditionally made from ground precious stones. Since each grain of sand is charged with the blessings of the ritual process, the entire sand mandala embodies a vast store of spiritual energy.

To give you a little idea of how exquisite this art form is, I've included a couple of nice videos showing first the creation of a mandala and then the ceremony to destroy the mandala. It is truly fascinating and almost worth the price of admission just to witness this unique art form.

Monks Create Mandala



Dissolution Ceremony



Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: shutter.chick

Mike Portnoy to Make In-Store Appearance

On June 4th, progressive metal band Dream Theater is scheduled to play the José Miguel Agrelot Coliseo de Puerto Rico. This is the second time the band will play in Puerto Rico, the first time was back in 2006. The band will stop in Puerto Rico after kicking off the tour in Milan, Italy on June 3rd. The band will support their new greatest hits production, "Greatest Hit (…& 21 Other Pretty Songs)", which was released in April of this year.

While in Puerto Rico, Mike Portnoy, one of the original founding members of Dream Theather will stop by the The Music Store, which is located on Calaf Street in the Montemar Plaza, for an in-store appearance. Portnoy will be there at 2:00 p.m. and then head down the street to take the stage later that evening at the Cholieso.

Courtesy of the heavy metal news web site, Blabbermouth.net.

7ma SME - Puerto Rico Internet Forum

Man, I've been staring hard at monitor this morning, trying to solve the mysteries of margins, paddings, divs, and classes, so before I get a pounding headache let me tell you about the 7th annual Puerto Rico Internet Forum being held next week at the Puerto Rico Convention Center.

With an expanded Web Awards program, the forum will also feature important speakers and more important than anything sponsorship from your favorite blog and local search web site, DóndeEs.com. We're looking forward to participate in the forum where we will have an exciting announcement. For sure, check back next Wednesday May 14th for that special announcement, but until then, thanks for your attention.

The forum will kick-off at 8:30 a.m., The speakers for the forum are Ing. Alfonso Luna, Marketing Director, Latin America, Google Inc. who will speak on "The New Paradigms of Marketing" and Prof. Rafael Matos from Universidad del Sagrado Corazón will speak on how we can make "Puerto Rico can use technology as a corporate tool". Following the speakers, the SME will present an update to the SME Internet Study and then present the 2008 Web Ad Awards. The forum is schedule to conclude at 12:00 noon. Admission is $65.00+IVU for SME members, $100.00+IVU for non-members, and $34.77 for students. The forum will be in Ballroom "A".

2nd Best Buy Set to Open

Best Buy continues their expansion and their plans to become the dominant supplier of electronics on the island. On May 23rd, Best Buy will open their second location in Caguas. The new store is located on the Home Depot side of the Las Catalinas Mall. At this time, I haven't heard of any grand opening ceremonies, and maybe after the recent Krispy Kreme opening, maybe Caguas isn't ready for another blow-out grand opening, but I'll certainly pass on any special announcements.

It's a pity that they missed the window just slightly for Mother's Day, but they will open just in time for Father's Day. So honey, when you get this post through your trusty RSS-reader, you know where to shop. I'd leave it up to you what to get me, but technology isn't your strongest suit. Just always remember this: you can never have enough off-line hard disk space (you know those Bit Torrent season downloads start to add up...). I'd say that sounds pretty good. Just a suggestion.

And speaking of the electronics super center battle royale, I haven't seen anything released by either Best Buy or Circuit City claiming any advantage. Although I'm sure both were none too happy when CompUSA in San Patricio opened under new owners. In an eye-ball measurement of advertising, I'd say all three companies are being rather conservative, and maybe if anyone has the lead in advertising, maybe it is Best Buy, who seems to run a weekly shopper with more frequency than Circuit City. The City advertised pretty frequently when they initiallyopened, but quickly tapered off to trickle.

Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive

This Saturday, the United States Post Office will be collecting food for its National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) food drive. This is the 14th year the NALC and the Campbell Soup Company are partnering together to sponsor "Stamp Out Hunger," the single-day food drive. Last year alone, the collaboration was able to collect, process, and deliver over 70 million pounds of food.

What to donate? Well they are looking for items like canned meat or fish. Or canned soup (hehe, preferably from Campbells, ehh?), juice, or pasta. Or canned vegetables, cereal, or rice. They ask to not include anything expired or in glass containers.

How to donate? Collect items suitable for donation from you cabinets (or go out and make a new purchase). Place them in boxes or bags near your mail box. And then on Saturday May 10th, like magic, the donations will disappear when your letter carrier passes through your neighborhood.

Then what happens? Then the post office will process the donations and deliver them to local, that means within Puerto Rico, food banks. The not-for-profit company, America's Second Harvest works with the postal service to manage the donations. America's Second Harvest operates the Nation's Food Bank Network, which is the nation's largest charitable hunger-relief organization with a network of more than 200 member food banks and food-rescue organizations, which serve all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.

Locally, America's Second Harvest works with Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico, which operates a food bank, numerous shelters, numerous residences, and a day care center. If you can't see yourself donating any food, they also accept donations of time and money. Call (787) 740-3663 to find out how you can help.

Did you know that 35 million Americans are hungry or living on the brink of hunger? And how about this? Did you know that the Banco de Alimentos de Puerto Rico distributes 4,511,228 pounds of food annually?

Grand Opening = Grand Success

Well I'm about down from the sugar high I got this morning after over-indulging on Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Yes, I was one of the crazy people who lined up this morning to be one of the first people to taste their delicious sweetness here in Puerto Rico. Before I go on, and before I share what the scene was like I just have one thing to say. Somebody owes me some doughnuts.

Believe it or not. The line to buy doughnuts started forming Monday afternoon around 1:00 p.m. and continued growing through the night. So even though the Krispy Kreme management extended the free doughnuts for a year give-away to the first 100 customers instead of the first 50. I was still way too late to get one of the precious free-doughnut cards. Ahh my precious.

I pulled out of the house a little later than I hoped for around 4:49, and was waiting in line by 5:00 a.m. Then after waiting for three hours and as I was nearing the front door they ran out of t-shirts too. So, I got bumkiss. Ahh, that's the breaks when you live in the big city, right. They did give everyone who came in the door a free doughnut, so I guess that's something.

All in all I'd have to say that it was a very successful grand opening for Krispy Kreme, and I bet the results exceeded their expectations. The whole thing went down, I'd say, without any problems. The crowd was well controlled and everything was very organized. They had a portable large screen television, which was showing Alvin and the Chipmunks as I showed up, and then was used to broadcast the event to everyone throughout the rest of the morning. They also had Reggaeton 94.7 broadcast live from the event. The Despelote crew, Rocky The Kid, Tony Banana and Billy Fourquet entertained the crowd throughout the morning and was even able to successful give-away $1,000 to a lucky member of the crowd. Plenealo was also in the house and kept the crowd bumping.

I'd say, in total about 1,000 people showed up for the grand opening. From the looks the majority were around 20, but there were some older folks, and some families with young babies. With each customer buying about 2 dozen donuts each, I'd say they sold a shitload of doughnuts. It was a really good time, despite having to be standing for a few hours. The weather was comfortable, and the crowd seemed to be in a really good mood. I think only here in Puerto Rico has the Krispy Kreme organization seen anything like what they witnessed this morning. I mean where else in the world would you get so many people lined up at 5:00 in morning, ready to spend their money, moving and shaking to loud music, and generally having a blast?

I hope that Rosana Vázquez Medina doesn't mind, but I snagged the photo above from the "LLega Krispy Kreme a Puerto Rico" Facebook group. And speaking of Facebook, apparently it continues to grow in strength and popularity here in Puerto Rico. That people who were at the event have already posted photographs from the event shows how, that the behavior that Facebook receives is drastically different, and more like the rest of the world, than the any other Web 2.0 application used by Puerto Ricans.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: aerodesign.pl

MAP@PLAZA events supporting the new "El Pop Art" exhibition

This month, the Museo de Arte de Ponce extension in Plaza Las Americas has a full program of activities to compliment the new Pop Art exhibition. The activities include educational activities aimed at children, students, adults, teachers, and families, as well as documentary screenings and lectures. Most of these activities are covered in the standard museum admission price of $5.00 + IVU for adults and $2.50 + IVU for children.

In addition, they are offering two free lectures. The first is this Wednesday. They are offering a free lecture in commemoration of Education Week. The lecture will explore the significance of comics and caricature and their relation to pop art. The second lecture will celebrate International Museum Day. The talk will explore the question "What is a museum and what is its impact on society?"In addition to the talk, this free activity will include art workshops feature a viewing of the documentary "Artists of the 20th Century: Andy Warhol."

Here, extracted from DóndeEs.com, is a complete list of the program of activities:

Dia del estudiante y al maestro Entrada: Libre de costo para estudiantes y maestros cuando: 5/7/2008

Programa escolar: ¡Me Encanto el arte! Entrada: Grupos (maximo 25 estudiantes) $75.00 + IVU cuando: 5/8/2008

Taller de apreciación de arte Entrada: Admisión al museo cuando: 5/9/2008

Programa escolar: La historia a través del arte Entrada: Grupos (maximo 50 estudiantes) $150.00 + IVU cuando: 5/13/2008

Taller de apreciación de arte: Colores Pop Entrada: Admisión al museo cuando: 5/17/2008

Dia Internacional de los Museos: Los Museos como agentes de cambio y desarrollo social Entrada: Libre de costo cuando: 5/18/2008

Artista del Dia: Andy Warhol Entrada: Admisión general al museo cuando: 5/21/2008

Soy de los 60 Entrada: $7.00 + IVU; socios del museo: $4.00 + IVU cuando: 5/23/2008

Pop art para la familia Entrada: $30.00 + IVU cuando: 5/21/2008 - 5/25/2008

Introducción al Pop art Entrada: $8.00 + IVU; socios del museo: $4.00 + IVU cuando: 5/28/2008

Artists of the 20th century Entrada: Admisión general al museo cuando: 5/29/2008

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: oddsock

Cumbre Social 2008

On Tuesday and continuing on through Wednesday, Cumbre Social, Inc, a not for profit organization dedicated to promote socially responsible behavior, will host the 4th Cumbre Social. The summit aims to stimulate a conversation amongst a multi-sectoral audience consisting of representatives of 125 organizations, all focused on generating proposals for the benefit of Puerto Rico.

While there's no official program available at this time, some of the themes on the agenda include:

• Security and development of the agricultural industry
• Availability of potable water
• The coasts: actual usage and their future in the face of global warming
• The Land Use Plan, in the context of socio-economic development
• Alternative energy: Puerto Rico's role
• Amongst others...

The event will take place on May 6th and 7th and will be held at the Puerto Rico Convention Center. For more information, call (787) 273-6784 or e-mail at cumbresocial@prw.net.

Flickr Creative Commons Contributor Today: azrainman