Long story short, here is my comment I sent to Monty when I signed his petition just now:

allowing Oracle to control MySQL is akin to allowing Oracle to take over the English Alphabet’s 26 letters … the alphabet is free and no society can grow unless there are communal commons of communications that nobody owns but all of us are free to use and build upon … SHAME on ORACLE … pray the EU sees and endorses societal wisdom in keeping MySQL the free, open source, rich LAMP cornerstone it is today … THINK “eminent domain” … to that level, forward thinking EU Leaders should exercise eminent domain on WinXP SP2 … Oracle and M.Soft are companies that are out-dated akin to out-dated principles like Human Slavery … Long Live the Best of Open Source … Viva MySQL … cordially, chuck scott, ridgefield connecticut, www.chuckingit.com …

Accordingly, please follow the links in Monty’s email to learn about the evil doings where the Sun does not shine (literally).

Happy New Year and here is hoping 2010 brings about more love, joy, success and positive growth for all and our planet.

Email from Monty - Creator of MySQL

Hi!

I am contacting you because you have in the past shown interest in
MySQL and from that I assume you are interested in the future
well-being of MySQL.

Now you have a unique opportunity to make a difference. By signing
the petition at http://www.helpmysql.org you can help affect the
future of MySQL as an Open Source database.

You can find more information of this on my latest blog post at:
http://monty-says.blogspot.com/2009/12/help-keep-internet-free.html

Help us spread the world about this petition!
http://www.helpmysql.org is available in 18 languages and every vote
is important, independent of from where in the world it comes!
If you know people that are using MySQL, please contact them and
ensure they also sign the petition!

Regards,
Monty
Creator of MySQL

PS: If you already have signed the petition or know about it, sorry for
reminding you about this! Because of the importance of this issue,
I am trying to contact every person that I have ever communicated
with regarding MySQL.

- fin -

The Van Speaketh of Evil Winds

Much of life can be distilled to binomial elements that somehow seem opposite yet also somehow seem necessary to hold them together.

We speak of these common binomial elements in everyday life like: good and evil; right and wrong; love and hate; black and white; north and south; east and west; up and down; etc.

Yet many people misunderstand the true nature of these binomial opposites - e.g., the true opposite of love is not hate - it is not caring - after all, when one loves somebody or hates somebody, they spend a lot of time thinking about what they want to do to that other person, how they want to make that person feel, consumed with planning their next moves, etc. - so hate is not the opposite of love; not caring at all about that other person is the true opposite of loving that person.

In following up to my previous post about loving guide dogs vs killer Nazi concentration camp attack dogs, I was pondering the concept of evil while reflecting on some email threads with various circles of friends about the current health care debate in Washington.

I suspect many people tend to think of evil as big, bad, scary, demonic, savage, ruthless people, critters and spirits. But this understanding of evil is a mistake and akin to thinking the opposite of love is hate.

At it’s simplest, I propose that evil can be defined as an absence - in particular, an absence of God, an absence of Divine, an absence of Love, an absence of respect for Universal connectedness to all things. Perhaps even defined further as a fullness of ego, a fullness of self-centeredness “I’ll get mine and the world be damned” kind of mentality.

Thus when somebody does something or says something that does not contain a basis of love, then it is fair to say that person is evil. Not that they have to appear as big, bad, scary ogres with flames, just to say that their basis for doing and speaking is void of Love, void of Divine, void of Universal Truth.

Below are two videos that confirm there is a great evil brewing in Congress and the satanic poster boy for this evil health care wind is Obama.

The proof of this evil comes in the most basic form - e.g., why is Obama, Congress, Senators, and their families exempt from the very health care reform they are trying to push on us?

Accordingly, here is another binomial pair of opposites but in this case it is very real - them (our elected representatives) vs us (everyday people who pay their salaries and benefits).

Below are two videos that were part of the email circles with friends. They are both short, circa 4 minutes each, and feature Congressman Mike Rogers (Michigan) as he spotlights the evil of Obama’s intent in the second video while squaring off with the Democratic Chair in the first video.

The Van Speaketh of Evil Winds Continues

If you watch both of these videos, you can see that Representative Rogers is coming from a basis of Love, while Obama is absolutely coming from an evil basis. Now don’t get me wrong, as I’ve never met Obama and have every reason to believe he thinks he is a good person, but as the saying goes, “The Road to Hell is Paved with Good intentions”.

But Obama is not, nor never has been, a business man and as Mike Rogers recounts in the 2nd video with Fox News about conversations with Michigan employers per the incentives and facts in the proposed health care bill, well you can see Obama is coming from a basis of evil. Okay sure, they might have good intentions, yet the international statistics and first hand experience presented by Rogers are truly coming from a basis of love and one cannot say the same for the other camp.

In the end, name calling or saying one is good or evil doesn’t move the ball for reform in either direction. Certainly, I’m all for some kind of reform that helps bring health care to affordable quality levels but I’m also not a fan of most consumer-related things government generated (e.g., consider declining public school student satisfaction and customer service at the DMV).

I’m also reminded of a recent conversation I had with a newly minted nurse.

This nurse, a retired self-made businessman and multimillionaire going on his third or fourth career, went back to school to study nursing because of the passion for caring in his heart and soul. As he was finishing his second year in nursing school, he told me the story about how an illegal alien (no green card, no passport, no insurance) suffered from a collapse lung and received over $70,000 worth of surgery and medical care from a Fairfield County Connecticut hospital. This patient paid no deductible and would have been left for dead in his own country.

My nursing friend stated it clearly when he said “Paying for the uninsured? Shoot, we’re paying for them already. That $70,000 uncollected fee shows up in everybody else’s insurance premiums.”

So, if there is going to be any health care reform whatsoever, I propose the first thing is that there is no binomial division between our representatives and us.

In other words, they have to eat the same dog food and go with the same plans as the rest of us, otherwise they are just plane evil and not coming from a basis of love, let alone true Universal respect for et al.

First Video:

Second Video:

Thus it is always interesting for me to be at dinner table on the nights she comes home from those monthly presentations.

“Who is in this class ..??.. what kind of backgrounds ..??.. any interesting reactions to Kasha (our released dog and GEB ambassador dog) ..??.. any funny jokes or comments ..??..”

And even though I’ve raised six pups, attended and filmed numerous graduations, sometimes Katie tells stories that blow me away, like this one of Mr. Max Edelman who’s tale was featured in this GEB newsletter (pdf file) and I’ve included the text here:

Max Edelman’s story was featured in the July 29, 2009 issue of USA Today.

“I was blinded in a Nazi concentration camp at the age of 21, and arrived in America with my late wife in 1951. We worked and raised two sons, and now, at 86, I have five grandchildren. For most of those years, I depended on a white cane. My problem, although I was reluctant to admit it, was that I had a fear of getting too close to dogs.

But the day I retired, I decided to apply for a guide dog at Guiding Eyes for the Blind. I so much wanted the freedom a dog could give me; I had to make the attempt.

Charlie, our class supervisor, had a few cheerful welcoming words for the twelve of us that arrived in Yorktown Heights in May 1990. But afterwards, I took Charlie aside and said, ‘I would like to have a guide dog. But because of my negative experiences with dogs, I am not sure I could ever bond with one.’ Charlie asked to hear my story.

‘I am a Holocaust survivor,’ I said. ‘In one of the Nazi concentration camps I was in, the commandant had a big, vicious German Shepherd. Sometimes, when he entertained guests and wanted to show how cruel he could be, or how vicious his dog was (or both), he told a guard to bring a group of inmates into his courtyard. Once, before I was blinded, I was in that group. I watched as he chose one of us to stand apart. Then he gave the dog the command, ‘Fass!’ meaning ‘Fetch!’ With one leap, the dog grabbed the victim by the throat. The man died in just a few minutes, and the dog returned to his master for his reward. More than four decades later, nightmares about this still torment me,’ I confided to Charlie.

After a moment of reflection, Charlie said, ‘No human being is born evil; some become evil. No dog is born vicious; some are trained to be vicious. Give us a chance to prove to you that our dogs will guide you safely, love you, and protect you.’

His words strengthened my resolve. I was determined, I told Charlie, to give myself a chance. Should I fail - it wouldn’t be for lack of trying. Charlie decided Calvin, an 80-pound chocolate Lab, would be the right match for me. When I returned home with him after our four-week training period, I found myself struggling to fully relax and forge a bond.

Often, I recalled Charlie’s words, ‘No human being is born evil, and no dog is born vicious …’

Slowly, Calvin and I began to break down the invisible barrier between us. Finally, after about six months I began to trust Calvin. Any lingering doubts I had about Calvin were dispelled one day as we stood at a busy intersection, waiting to cross the street. When we stepped off the curb, a motorist unexpectedly made a sharp right turn, directly in front of us. Calvin stopped on a dime. Realizing that he had saved us both from serious injury, I stepped back onto the sidewalk, gave Calvin a hug around the neck, and praised him for a job well done.

It was the turning point in our life together. After that, the love between us flowed freely and Calvin Blossomed.

Calvin retired in 1999, after more than nine years of giving the best he had and then some. He was succeeded by Silas, a 78-pound yellow Lab, that was his mirror image.

And today, nineteen years after I began my Guiding Eyes journey, I have been blessed with Tobin, my third guide dog.

Yes, Charlie. You were right. ‘Give us a chance,’ you said, ‘Your dog will guide you, love you, and protect you.’ ”

Be sure to checkout this GEB Sept Newsletter for more stories and the picture on page four of Max and Tobin - Woof On!

Since I’ve bought and sold many domains over the years, I thought I’d post this Yahoo thread here as it ends with my response which may be of value to those who are thinking of buying and/or selling domains.

The Yahoo thread started simply when one member reached out to the group and said:

I was contacted last week by an attorney who wanted to know if I was interested in selling a domain that I own funpoints.com

I have never used the name and have held onto it thinking that the right project would come along. Anyway, he later offered $1000.00 for the domain. Before I just blow him off, I thought I would ask the group if I am over valuing the domain name. By the way, he specializes in the Entertainment Industry and Trademarks.

I always thought it would be a great name for a rewards points program for one of the airlines or card issuing banks.

The first reply to his question was this:

I feel you have legitimate reason to hold out for more. That’s actually a really good domain name. Just come up with a counter offer of $7,500 and then he’ll meet you at 5,000.

And the second reply was this:

you might want to start the negotiations by letting him think you are not that interested in selling (instead of throwing a number out there right away). you will then find out how interested he is in buying. That is usually the best starting point.

And the third reply was from me - enjoy!

i happen to have some decent experience buying and selling domains for self and clients and your situation reminds me of one of my early 5 figure sales … so here are a couple rambles for whatever it’s worth dept …

a) values … there are a number of sites out there that will give you a valuation … some are bogus, some are legit … in the end, domain values are a lot like antiques - sure your Picasso might be worth $10 million but the bigger question is not the value but finding a buyer who is willing to pony up the $10 million at a time when you are looking to cash in … thus there is an opportunity cost vs a valuation … ultimately, it is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it …

b) domain values are also a lot like diamond valuations in that there are several characters that determine value (e.g., cut, clarity, carrots, etc.) … ditto for domains (e.g., shorter = better, dot com = better, phonetic one-way spelling = better) … consider one of my domains, cooltea.com … this is short, a dot com, but if you say it aloud or heard it on a radio station, one could spell it as KoolTee, CoolT, etc … vs a longer domain like DiscoverNewEngland.com but can only be spelled the way it sounds … thus on some level the second domain could be argued to be more valuable than the shorter one ..

now this concept of values does not take into account any revenue generation from ppc (pay per click) or ecommerce you might be doing (all of which would add to the domain value)

c) selling yourself short … i got similar out of the blue offer for a real estate domain i had in my portfolio (without naming names, lets call this domain “SomeStateRealestate.com” … the guy offered $2k in his initial email thus i knew he wasn’t a tire kicker … so we picked up phone and spoke … ultimately i settled for $12k by financing the domain … e.g., i modified the name servers to point to his network so he could use domain while he then paid monthly payments … when paid in full, i transferred domain and was done … the legal contract i had to produce was a bit of a head scratcher as i didn’t want to be liable for anything while he was using the domain during the finance period but i digress … later, i learned of a related domain, NewYorkRealEstate.com, which sold for $100k … thus i knew i undersold but that is part of the learning and at the time i was happy to get the money and break into the five figure sales …

d) another scenario … a couple years back i had been contacted by large travel web site that hired former Microsoft brand strategists to negotiate for one of my domains, LuxuryForLess.com … the company had a brand issue in that they were known as “CheapTravel” or something like that and their suppliers (e.g., the Marriots, Hyatts, Hiltons, etc.) did not want to be associated with “cheap” anything … the MS guys went and got a domain evaluation from independent group that came back with valuation under $5k … i laughed at him because around the same time i found high end domain brokers in Boston who had a minimum $20k commission (yes, twenty thousand) and confirmed that my domain was a minimal 6 figure, possibly 7 figure valuation …

morale of the story = domains are the brand in today’s global wired economy … who cares if you have a trademark for McDonalds - as long as you own mcdonalds.com … besides, there are common law trademarks and the legal eagles will tell us that when it comes to law, possession is 9/10ths of the game … ditto for domain brands …

thus my feeling is your domain, funpoints.com, is a minimum $20k domain … and possibly $50-60k for the right buyer … e.g., i know of a company locally that purchased patio.com for $100k and built their analog stores around said domain name … thus funpoints.com for a Mastercard or Discovercard kind of player (or even Las Vegas types) would have no problem ponying up fair market value … and besides, they aren’t making any more dot coms so the price will only increase with time …

accordingly, here is hoping you get what you are entitled to :>) cordially, chuck scott

And fyi, here is a PS that was not part of Yahoo thread …

Earlier this year we were approached by a group in the UK with a phone offer to buy DiscoverNewEngland.com for $5k … I didn’t inquire if that was in Euros or Greenbacks but promptly declined that offer and wouldn’t even consider unless it had another zero attached … thus beware of those low ballers out there … this is also another reason I don’t advocate domain auction sites like Sedo … the only real buyers and prospects at domain auction sites tend to be bottom feeders looking for basement bargain prices knowing they can flip the domain at a future point to a real brand at a hefty profit … i also have real concerns about ethics of firms like Sedo as they have stolen PPC money from us and their featured domain service produced not one inquiry but I’ll post that account separately …

I have had several domains stolen from me in the early years (circa 1995-1996) but the lack of federal laws forced me to make a business decision and thus not pursue the courts for remedies.

The first time it happened it was an inside job and a break in fiduciary duty per the then president of The Avanti Group, Inc. This man was registering domains for Avanti and Avanti customers through Network Solutions. I paid the domain invoices and signed the checks. I’ll skip the story about questionable ethics and cut to the chase.

Ultimately I bought-out this turkey and took over full control of The Avanti Group, Inc. Even renewed some of the domains and paid for those with Avanti checks as well. But when I went to transfer some of those domains from Network Solutions* to a new domain registrar, I was horrified to learn that the legal owner of the domains (per Network Solutions and ICANN terms) was the person listed as the domain’s admin contact.

Even though I had signed legal papers where the former president relinquished any and all claims to Avanti Intellectual Properties (including domain names), Network Solutions refused to honor Avanti as the legal owner - despite the notarized facsimiles sent from our legal team and copies of the canceled checks.

The next domain name theft happened around the same time when one of Avanti’s early Internet Service Provider (ISP) tanked and held hostage a couple domains as this ISP also registered our domains and listed themselves as the Admin Contact.

Fortunately, the domains stolen were minor in that they were project domains on deck and not client or active domains in use, so I decided not to pay the $20,000 in legal advances and dropped the issue. I also immediately audited all our domains to make sure the admin contacts were correct and then invested in our own DNS and Name Servers. Even today, all our domains are locked down by our registrar but I digress.

Now for the inspiration part of the eBay theft.

A month ago we parted ways with Sedo.com as their domain parking and PPC (pay per click) service is highly questionable but I’ll save that story for another post. So here I was moving 100-plus parked domains to Google’s awesome ad sense domain parking program when I read about the p2p.com theft and eBay sale for $100,000.

I’ve bought and sold five-figure domains for many clients and for Avanti’s portfolio but have never used eBay. So I dusted off our three-letter dot com, Pj2.com, and last night put it on eBay.

I’ll let you know how it goes with eBay as I certainly would never recommend most of the domain name auction sites, like Sedo.com, which I’ll explain later!

To be continued …

PS - here is a link to the original article in the LA Times about Donald Gonclave who was arrested for selling the stolen P2p.com domain to L.A. Clippers forward Mark Madsen on eBay for $110,000

*Network Solutions was no angel either and played dirty pool too on a separate occasion - in that when we put in the transfer request to move our domains, they promptly changed the name servers to point to a foreign network thus effectively shut down our web sites (and email) so we were out of business for almost a week before the transfer to the new register took place. Sure, we heard many stories like this from others about Network Solutions’ tactics and stooping to being unethical. After all, they were charging $100 per domain for years until we found a new domain registrar in Canada who only charged us $15/domain, so one could understand Network Solutions’ anger and being checkmated by more agile competitors.

Even years later when this new registrar was purchased by Network Solutions, I promptly instructed our team to find a new registrar and immediately transfer all our domains. After all, the expression goes something like - “First time shame on you, second time shame on me.” So when it comes to Network Solutions, it will forever be “shame on them.”

Apparently Joseph Stalin (the infamous dictator) was purported to have said, “There are people and there are problems. When you get rid of the people, you get rid of the problems.” which would explain why he had no problem in killing 20 million plus people but as history has shown, he didn’t solve the problems.

As a creative consultant I love problems because I know that problems are merely the flip side of solutions. Thus every problem is really an opportunity in disguise - kind of like creative tension in that without minor chords music would be dull and flat.

And we humans are very creative in so many ways - e.g., some are gifted with numbers, others are gifted with their hands, others are gifted with their sense of compassion and of course there are those who are gifted in the arts and sciences.*

So while individual creative gifts might be awesome, such as the individual works of masters like Pablo Picasso, it is team creativity that really makes our human race awesome. The lone inventor is cool but the organization that can send people safely to the moon and back, well - this is a feat beyond the power of one.

The video clip below is a great example of the power of many when operating to the beat of harmonic cooperation for a goal that is greater than that of each of the individual contributions.

It is a video of Perpetuum Jazzile - an a cappella jazz choir from Slovenia. I’m not certain how many people are on stage but it is all voice, no instruments and they do an amazing rendition of “Africa” - the song originally made famous in the 1980s by the rock band Toto.

The musicianship of how creatively this Slovenian group start out the piece by mimicking the sounds of rain and thunder is very creative (i.e., they simulate an African thunderstorm with their hands and feet). The beat box voicing is awesome as is all the other voices - truly inspiring!

I’ve never been to Slovenia but the harmonic beauty and creativity expressed in this video reminds me of the inner beauty, common love for music, art, creativity and science that we humans share universally.

It also reminds of the power in numbers and the magic we can accomplish together when harmonically aligned - enjoy!

*Setting up all those mics and getting balanced levels is more electrical science than artistic musical creativity but ask any audio engineer or producer and they will tell you that their mic’ing science is also an art!

Here is approximately 20 minutes of a live blue grass band I recorded at the Ancient Mariner in Ridgfield Connecticut on Saturday March 21st 2009 (Note: file is mp3 stereo 192kbit and weighs in at 44.6 megs)

This recording was a happy accident as Katie and I had just sat down and ordered dinner when unexecptantly this band appeared and started to setup.

I say unexpectantly because the Ancient Mariner is perhaps better known for their awesome burgers and local vibe but not necessarily for a live music scene.

I happened to have had my portable audio disk recorder so I put it on the table and let it capture the band’s warmup and most of first set before we had to call it a night and get back home.

The audio you hear is pretty much what we heard sitting in a back table along the wall towards the corner adjascent to the kitchen.

The voices you hear are mostly Katie and I chatting a bit about birthday plans, our dog, as well as the happy clinking and clanking of dishes and joyful crowd banter mixed in the background.

I did take some liberties to spice up this recording a tad with some compression, EQ, and maximazation in order to bring up the music while keeping spikes from thunderus applause within pleasant listening range but I digress on audio tech.

I should also mention that earlier that day I had attended a Tea Party Rally at Ballard Park and was thinking - how cool is this, one can protest during the day without negative incident in Ridgefield Connecticut and dine out that same night with love of my life - not everybody can do that - e.g., in other parts of the world like Tiananmen Square in China.

Accordingly, Thank You Neighborly Americas - Thank You Ancient Mariner - Thank You Awesome Musicians who add positive grooves and volume to our collective mix - viva et al. - enjoy!

PS - there are nine sections to this recording - titles and times as follows:

1 - Intro - ChuckingIt.com and ChuckScott.com
2 - Warmup Set (starts 17:26 seconds in)
3 - After Moon Light After Mid Night (starts 4:45 minutes in)
4 - Yes I Keep Falling (starts 9:23 minutes in)
5 - Hey Good Looking (starts 12:18 minutes in)
6 - Tribute to Vintage Fleetwood Mac (starts 15:26 minutes in)
7 - Amy What You Gonna Do - Transition (starts 19:19 minutes in)
8 - Amy What You Gonna Do (starts 21:36 minutes in)
9 - Friend of Mine (starts 26:16 minutes in)

We had just reached the end of the trail and turned right onto the roadway as we continued our walk into the neighborhoods circa Poplar Road in Ridgefield.

Kasha was walking briskly as if she was a full guide dog - walking confidently in the lead position on my left and if I had closed my eyes one could have easily imagined her with a harness on her. It was a pleasure to have her gently pull us both along that quiet street with such confidence and briskness.

Normally I have to keep my head down and watch every step when we walk as Kasha can be a bit unpredictable but not this time. Thus with her brimming confidence in the lead, I was a bit freer to look around and tilt my head back a hair looking up into the canopy of forest trees lining both sides of the street.

As I was looking up at the 40-60 foot high pines, I saw what appeared at first as a leaf to be drifting down from forest tree tops and thought it odd that trees would be shedding leaves during this late Spring, May 27th afternoon. As I watched this leaf float down from the canopy towards the street pavement, it spiraled a bit as it circled on its descent so then I thought, “Hmm. Maybe it is not a leaf but one of those helicopter seeds?” And so I enjoyed watching the gentle dance as it ever so softly spiraled and fell closer and closer to us.

But then as it was about six feet from the ground, I could see it clearer and realized it was not a leaf or a seedling but was the wing of a Monarch butterfly. Not even a full wing at that but a wing that appeared to be three-quarters of its original beautiful self - light yellow with soft dollops of brown and black circles arranged in the beauty of God’s fingerprints that characteristically mark the Monarch butterflies with their distinctive marks.

As I watched it take its final swirls before landing, I looked back up into the trees and tried to study the scene for evidence of that which preyed upon the butterfly. I saw none. No hawks, no owls, no birds of any kind were visible but off to the left was a vigorous choir of happy bird chirps. Thus it occurred to me that the death of this butterfly, while sad to the butterfly families, was also a food source for some bird now satisfied with its meal and tweeting away in all the glory God infused in the sounds of their bird songs.

Kasha and I kept walking, then turned around and headed back home. We passed the lone butterfly wing on the return but she did not notice nor give it a sniff. I on the other hand was a bit saddened and reminded that life is a delicate gift. I said a little prayer of thanks for all the beauty in life and the opportunity to be a part of it. Then I pondered my own mortality as we walked back home.

Adele Annesi, a local editor who presented a workshop last Fall that I attended, hosted a blog writing contest in April with her friend Jamie Cat Callan, author of "French Women Don’t Sleep Alone" and "The Writers Toolbox."

The contest was seemingly simple in that Adele and Jamie provided the opening line, "We were drinking champagne and losing our shirts." and contestants were to add 500 words to this line and tell a short story.

So one morning while staring into my coffee cup, I decided it would be a good challenge to push my creativity into the fictional unknown and see what I could come up with.

I hit pen to paper, well actually wireless keyboard and mouse to wordprocessor, and voila - came up with the following entry that actually won!

This was a surprise for me on a couple levels - a) most of my writing for past couple years as been business centric - writing for business web sites, multimedia scripts, and other left brain commercial activities that serve clients and pay bills; b) fictional writing is also something I’m not well versed in as documentary style writing is more my default when writing for myself; c) winning gave me an emotional boost to reconsider my talents and has inspired me to commit to more writing exercises that are just for fun and help me to expand my story telling capabilities.

Okay, I’ve rambled so here is my winning entry as submitted.

Champagne and Strawberries

We were drinking champagne and losing our shirts. Well, technically we were loosening our shirts button by button, but it was obvious to all around us that ultimately the shirts were on their way to becoming untethered to our bodies as we sat pool side in Puerto Vallarta drinking Veuve Clicquot champagne flavored with fresh strawberries.

Once upon a time, Veuve Clicquot was a premium champagne but then they sold out to a big conglomerate. Thus that once famous orange bottle, previously known as the best buy for carefully cultivated bubbly, is now known in the beverage trade as "agent orange" given how said conglomerate buys any-old grapes from any-old vineyard. Regardless, our bubblies were mildly chilled and a delight to sip on that hot afternoon.

Sharon actually liked the idea of losing her shirt as she was sporting a bright orange bikini under her gorgeously simple, white flowing shirt - one with a full column of ten handmade wooden buttons in the front. I had only three buttons on my lime green polo shirt. Obviously my torso could not compete with her perfectly sculpted curves endowed by mother nature and years of working out. But yes, one could say I too liked the idea of shirt losing provided it was mutual.

It was Sharon’s idea to start a game of spin the empty Perrier water bottle while waiting for lunch. The premise started simply enough in that with each successful spin the opposing partner would loosen a button and when all buttons were open, off came the shirt. And yet each button held a mystical power that once loosened, started to reveal the increasing desires of flesh. Powerful desires that began to bubble to the surface akin to the bubbles in our fluted glasses - slowly, gently, freely, twinkling on their rise to the surface.

Luck was on my side that afternoon as Sharon had lost eight of her ten buttons while I still had two of mine. This luck might have had something to do with my right knee propped under the table in such a way that I was able to tilt the table a hair, thereby influencing the bottle spins ever so gently. So even though Sharon had started with a button head start, there we sat even with two buttons each to go when lunch arrived.

We ate our food, laughed with the oceans breezes, toasted our new record deal, then ordered another bottle of agent orange to go. We paid our bill, grabbed the new bottle and headed back to our private bungalow. Once there, we kept our focus for the next 20 minutes and penned our new song, then we lost our shirts and gave into desire.

Okay, the song title is still a work in progress but you get the idea, "We lost our shirts to set our minds free so our bodies could surf souls intoxicated with agent orange."

Essentially it’s a remix of, "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Bikini."

This video starts off very simple with a lone street musician jamming on his version of, “Stand by Me.”

Then through the magic of multi-track recording on-location, the recording engineer starts to take us on a journey with musicians from around the world who all chime in on said song and jam in a virtual concert.

The spectrum of musicians is awesome and very much akin to the IMAX STOMP Oddyssey film of global performers - and features a similar global gamut including: African tribes, Native American drummers, New Orleans blues musicians, Brazilian guitarists, and many many others - enjoy!