I'm Proud of Barack Obama

I've been neglecting this blog. Running and Facebook are to blame. But I had a thought I wanted to put here.

I sometimes feel the need to remind my progressive friends that Barack Obama was elected President of the United States. They know this, of course, but they don't fully understand the two noun phrases in that central truth.

1. President. A president is, by design, not a king. He or she cannot, by virtue of office, impose his or her will on others. We have this check and balance thing going on, and the President has to work with all kinds of interests--including evil corporate ones--to get things done in this country. One of the things that made this guy perfect for the job is his ability to work with lots of different kinds of people he disagrees with. Tune out the nut jobs who say he isn't doing this, because he is.
   
2. United States. Despite having lived here their entire lives, some progressives have not caught on to the fact that our country is basically a giant corporation. The huge holding company of a series of giant corporations, actually. Or perhaps they do realize this, but they think that this is somehow easily changed by being elected President (see #1 above). Just like Coca-Cola or McDonalds (or General Dynamics or Boeing, etc.), the US of A is in all kinds of business sectors including economic, military, and world domination. To put it bluntly, this is the United States. Deal with it.
   

I could write more about this and revise the points above to make them make sense, but I don't care so much about it.

I'm going out for a run...

Purple iPod

Okay, so this Facebook exchange was too funny not to capture here on the blog for posterity. Kath posted the following on her wall today.

Anyone who knows my husband, knows that he is way into music. In fact, he has 3 ipods. Yes, 3 ipods! He has a "car" ipod, a "work" ipod, and a "running" ipod which is a shuffle. Well, on Sunday, I could not find my ipod,... only the earbuds. I became concerned that, perhaps, I had misplaced or lost it. Guess who had it!?! Looks like Steve now needs a 4th ipod (my only ipod) for his "home" ipod. Pretty funny stuff!

So, this was my reply:

Ah, now I know why Kathy joined FB: she wanted a larger audience for poking fun at me. My response:

I have taken
the iPod
that was in
the kitchen

and which
you were probably
planning
to take to the gym

Forgive me
it was so shiny
so melodious
and so purple

With apologies to WCW.
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535

It's Alive!!!!!!

A small miracle is taking place in the next room.

A few months back, our backup hard drive crashed. It's funny--it was the newer of two large external HDs we have here. I've been dumping hundreds of digital photos there for a couple of years. I purchased it when I got our digital video camera thinking that I'd be making all kinds of movies. So anyway, this thing dies and will not come back to life. All the tricks were tried. All the computer friends were consulted. It even spent an entire week in a ziplock bag in my freezer. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. Zero.

Happily, I had backed up the photos on an internal HD. No lost photos (lots of lost music, but it could be re-ripped or re-purchased). Today it hit us (and by us, I mean Kathy) that we only had one copy of the family photos. It also hit her that we lost on HD in a sudden, gone-forever moment. Backing up those photos suddenly became very important.

So, I purchased a cool Network 1T drive. It works. I backed up the photos while we were out for the afternoon. This evening before heading to bed I decided to give the old dead HD one last try--who knows, it might spin up--before tossing it in the trash. This is not the first time I have done this. It's been plugged into every computer I have access to several times over a period of several weeks. Still in the Ziplock bag, it got plugged into our PC for one last try.

And, click, click, spin.... the thing started working!

So, I quickly started backing it up onto the new drive. Who knows how long it will stay working, but I am not going to TOUCH the thing until I get everything off, or until it stops working, whichever comes first.

Amazing!

Morning Has Broken

Okay, overnight the entire formerly-dead hard drive got copied to the new Stora. That is soooo coool! I was able to recover 80G of previously lost music. I am a happy camper.

Luna's Last Record

Snatched Kathy's iPod for a late-night run/walk, and was reminded that Luna's last album was really, really tasty. They did most of these tracks when I saw their 2nd to last show in Detroit with Jon and Greg in 2005. That was a great show.

OMG, I'm On Facebook!

Imagine the shock of some of my friends, and especially my sister, when I up and joined Facebook. I had many reasons for not joining. Primarily, I was worried about all the time I'd spend Facebooking. I mean, I've got a couple of blogs, my online mixes, and plenty of surfing to attend to, right?

Facebook is like blogging, but with a larger audience that has a shorter attention span. I suppose the math works out in the end.

True to the topic of this blog, I've started a Wednesday Record feature, where I post about my favorite pop records once per week. I thought my first choice, Kraftwerk's Computer World (1981), was clever. So far, my "freinds" don't care for the choice.

I can still be transported by that disc. I have a list of about 10 records to start with.

Blogging About Nothing

I started this blog because I was taking too many turns in a group blog about music. It's been really helpful for me: a diary-like place I can think out loud and write about nothing. My 60 new Facebook Friends don't do this, but it's clear that people share pretty inane stuff over there. It's funny--that is the WHOLE POINT of this blog.

A Mix for Clark

No shindig is half complete
Without that famous polka beat
That's why they invite me, I suppose.

1. A Night On Earth / Brave Combo
2. Innocent When You Dream (78) / Tom Waits
3. Nantes / Beirut
4. Don't Sit On My Jimmy Shands / Richard Thompson
5. Fortress / Pinback
6. Wheels / The Shaggs
7. Just Like A Drummer / The Wave Pictures
8. When Harpo Played His Harp / Jonathan Richman
9. Gypsy Queens / Balkan Beat Box
10. Strange Overtones / Brian Eno & David Byrne
11. Purple / Ken Nordine
12. Start Wearing Purple / Gogol Bordello

Clark came by today wearing purple and talking gypsy punk. How can you have a bad day when that happens? So this is an occasion mix, loosely based on a short music conversation about polka, gypsy punk, and purple dress shirts. I love it that Ken Nordine makes an appearance here.

It's also fun when I can put The Shaggs on a mix. Oh, I love The Shaggs!

My buddy Bill didn't have a good day today, so this mix goes out to him, too. And he's the one who hipped me to Gogol Bordello in the first place! Oh, and he also introduced The Wave Pictures.

I didn't know what a purple nurple was when I titled this mix. But it's a drink, too, so mix yourself one of these and spin my new mix! (And keep your hands to yourself!)

Purple Nurple Recipe

• 1 oz Malibu® coconut rum
• 1 oz triple sec
• 1/2 oz Blue Curacao liqueur
• 2 oz cranberry juice

Off to Yellowstone

Tomorrow's the day. We get on a plane and head to Park City. On Sunday, we head north--two Harleys and a Cayenne, 2 kids, 4 adults. Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Lava Hot Springs. Should be fun.

The Death of Cracker Nation

Maureen Dowd hit the nail on the head this morning. There have been signs these past few months that the downtrodden souls of Cracker Nation (Bill Maher coined the term recently) have gone from "wanting their country back," to really laying it on the line: we don't and won't accept your Black president.

Hopefully it only takes a few years to watch this ugliness die a painful death under the glare of the camera lights.

When it gets depressing, realize this: the more headlines that Limbaugh, Beck, and Wilsons of the world get, the faster this fire burns itself out.

09/11/09

Eight years after the 9/11 terrorist attack, I reflect back on that day. I was sitting in a political fundraising meeting at a local restaurant with my 2-month old sleeping in a baby carrier under the table when the attacks happened. I drove home oblivious to what had happened until my mother-in-law called me and told me to turn on the television. I immediately called my parents, who were living in the Netherlands while my dad served as a visiting professor at the law school of the University of Utrecht.

We should all pause and reflect on that day. I read something interesting today by someone who refuses to call 9/11 a tragedy. It was not a tragedy, he argued... it was an atrocity.

Below is a re-post of something I wrote this year.

My Dad's Freaky Terrorism Bag

Now, there's an attention-grabbing title for you!

Gotta work my way into this one. A while back, I wrote about how conferences make me really depressed. I often read the entire enterprise as a text when I go to these things--right down to the nylon name badge holders, bags, rubber chicken meals and freebies from vendors. My reading of the way these items weave themselves into a narrative centered on the theme of the professional gathering is really depressing: none of us is interesting, nothing we are doing here matters, and we are all going to die. Every piece of conference ephemera--note pads, conference programs, little pens, lapel mics, plastic pitchers of water--the whole depressing thing reminds me of our insignificance and mortality. The worst part is listening to people sharing ideas after sessions, getting excited about what it all means. (I'm a teacher for heaven's sake--that kind of talk is supposed to be uplifting for me; instead, I think back to Winston Smith chatting with Julia about the updates to Newspeak after a Party meeting). I've stopped sharing this observation with my fellow conference-goers, as they invariably find it off putting, annoying, or just depressing.

So... my Dad's bag. You see, my Dad was an Assistant Attorney General in a previous administration--he ran the largest department of the DOJ (Criminal Division--now you can narrow it down and figure out who he is if you're good at Googling, and you'll nail it if you are good at timelines based on historical events). So, I am sure my Dad wasn't depressed or philosophical at the "Strengthening the Public Safety Response to Terrorism" conference in 1998 while he was AAG. But check out the graphic on the bag! I mean, whoa!

Three years before 9/11, but five years after the 1993 World Trade Center Bombing, some graphic designer plopped this hastily-constructed design on a nylon bag. Not only is the bullseye on the right building--it's eerily in the right spot. Part of me wonders if that guy or gal remembered making that design on the morning of September 11, 2001. It's just freaky.

Well, my Dad still uses this bag. He did agree that the image on the bag is a little ominous. But so far I am the only one who is really weirded out by it.

[My guess is that the phrase "freaky terrorism bag" might get picked up by some Homeland Security web worm--if you're reading this, please read the whole thing and realize there isn't anything dangerous here!]

Good Points

From this good article.

• Regardless of your running pace, run with a fast cadence of 180 to 190 steps per minute or higher.
• Run with an upright posture and a slight forward lean.
• Strike the ground below your hips and not in front of them to reduce braking. (Wearing lightweight, low-to-the-ground shoes with minimal midsole cushioning helps reinforce this stride.)
• Strike the ground at the midfoot, not the heel or the toes -- the actual impact area will vary based on body type -- and allow your heel to naturally settle to the ground.
• When starting a new stride, develop the habit of picking up your leg instead of pushing off the ground.
• Use a compact and fluid arm swing, keeping your elbows bent at an acute angle and your hands close to your chest.
• Keep your head upright and steady and your eyes looking forward.
• Be "present in the moment" to allow yourself to concentrate on your stride but stay relaxed and don't overanalyze. The more you adhere to good form, the quicker it will become second nature.
• Consider getting custom insoles to further your gait enhancement.
• Land at the midfoot and allow the heel to settle to the ground.
• Instead of rolling through a stride and pushing off, lift your leg to begin a stride.
• A key to natural running form is high cadence with short strides, regardless of pace.

Singles Going Steady

One of my vinyl treasures, this is a great post-punk collection from The Buzzcocks. I can still remember spinning this for the first time on my JVC LE-600 turntable! Last night we were watching Entourage, and "Why Can't I Touch It?" was the outro in a very appropriate and excellent way. Bravo! Or, HBO, I should say.

Okay, so this is on LOUD right now, and Owen rode his scooter up to the window to say "I love this song... it's from Shrek, remember?" Yes, there was a cover of "Ever Fallen In Love?" in that movie. I guess I never realized that lots of Buzzcocks songs are questions.

Fat Bob!

Made my choice for the Yellowstone trip. Goin' with a red Fat Bob:





After two months of doing two jobs, this will be a great release. And this time my Dad and I will have the whole family along! Awesome!

Heya Todd!

My buddy Todd left two comments here and I've just now seen them. I am also downloading the Radiohead song he told me about. Now I am listening to it. It is good.

My Baby Got Stole... By A Bear Holding A Shark!!


Should have bought that t-shirt before they discontinued it.

I am tired. I brought alcohol back from Canada. Kokanee Glacier beer from BC, and Alexander Keith's IPA from Nova Scotia!

A Chris Isaac song came on after Radiohead, and that is just wrong.

Joshua's New MIxes

Playlist

1. Just For Today / The Brian Joenstown Massacre
2. Photograph Taken / Pinback
3. Lazybones / Soul Coughing
4. Me and My 24 / John Vanderslice
5. Crazy Mama / J.J. Cale
6. The Weather / Built To Spill
7. I'm Still Your Fag / Broken Social Scene
8. 4 Minute Warning / Radiohead
9. Melpomene / Kashmir

Playlist

1. Two-Headed Boy Pt. 2 / Neutral Milk Hotel
2. Surfing the Warm Industry / Kashmir
3. I / Andrew Bird
4. Amsterdam / Peter Bjorn and John
5. Stars / The Brian Jonestown Massacre
6. Asleep at the Wheel / Arcade Fire
7. Along The Road / Radical Face
8. pretty mary K / Elliott Smith
9. The First Day Of My Life / Bright Eyes
10. Lover's Spit / Feist

Ontario Chair Academy Mixtape

Okay, when I get home I want to make an 8tracks mixtape for my new Canadian pals. As I write my IPDP, I am listening to my Radio Songs mix, which is really great if I do say so myself.

It's got to relate to the theme of the Chair Academy, and there need to be Canadian artists. Themes: leadership, conflict resolution, work styles, effective teams, personality styles, and emotional intelligence. Ideas so far:

• Looking for a Leader, Neil Young (canadian)
• Nice Work if You Can Get It, Sarah Vaughn
• Communication Breakdown, Led Zeppelin (Jason mentioned this one)
  

Canadian Conference

So, I am up in Canada for a conference, eh?

Ten years ago, I spent a week in Hamilton, ON at hockey camp with Frog. I was recently divorced, and it was a fun thing to do. Frog's daughter watched Murphy. I remember Frog hurt his back and we needed to go to a Canadian chiropractor. It was mildly depressing, for obvious reasons. I'm a bit down up here now; I miss my family, and I really don't like traveling for work. I am looking forward to getting home. I need to mow the lawn. I miss my kids and my wife. I'm worried about my Dad. I miss my Mom a lot--had a really odd dream about her. I should write that down before I forget it.

In my dream, I am riding a train of some kind to Grand Rapids. I stop at a train station, but it isn't a train station. There are little stores in there like the subway stations in Sweden. I go into a store and a young woman recognizes me. Then she says it was my Mom that she remembered. This is the odd thing about this dream. I have never recalled a memory inside a dream. In this dream, I recall a memory about my mother working in this place to get away from her ex-husband. This memory isn't real, mind you, but in the dream it is. The memory comes back to me as I speak with this y0ung woman, who is a cashier. I remember that my mother took this job far away from her home in Metamora, that she drove all the way to Grand Rapids to work in this store, just to get away from Rob. Again, this memory comes back to me in the dream--it felt just the way it feels when you remember something. The only difference is that it happened in a dream and the memory wasn't true. The young woman shows me a deformed piece of candy attached to the register. My mother put it there, she says--my Mom collected things like that. This isn't true either, but in the dream it feels real.

Canada is a cool country.

I am in Innisfil, ON near the city of Barrie. We are right on Lake Simcoe in Simcoe County. A huge battle here is raging over Area 41, a proposed landfill site.

I thought Canadians sent all their trash to Michigan!

Random Observations

• Canadians say "PRO-cess" instead of PRAH-cess. I never noticed how often I say the word "process" until I was in a room full of people who pronounce the word differently.
• Canada is just like Michigan, except for the following: Canadians drive cars with better gas mileage, they recycle more, their cities are cleaner, and they don't act like they are better than everyone else.
  
• There are more Tim Horton's stores in Canada than there are Starbuck's stores in the US, which is saying something.

I bought a pair of Reebok running shorts at the outlet mall today. My left lower leg still hurts quite a bit, so I am giving it a rest--I only ran once (3mi) and I am waiting until it feels better.

James Brown Is Dead

Time ain't gonna cure you honey
Time don't give a shit.
Time ain't gonna cure you honey
Time's just gonna hit on you.
--The Kills

You should probably take it easy on me
'Cause I don't know how to take it.
--The Dead Weather

We got Kathy some new iPod headphones today, and that seemed like a good enough reason to make her a mix. I think I went overboard and put in a few tracks she won't like so much. Well, that's why there's a skip button on those things, eh? I've been listening to a lot of Luna lately, but none of that stuff fit here. Too bad--Kathy likes them. Anyway, check it out:



James Brown Is Dead
Playlist

1. I Love Techno / Soulwax
   
2. Ready for the Floor / Hot Chip
   
3. Beep It / Cornelius
   
4. Superheroes / Daft Punk
   
5. Out of My Addiction to Love / Towa Tei
   
6. One Two Three Four Five Six Seven Eight Nine Ten Barbie Dolls / Pizzicato Five
   
7. Hey Ya! / Outkast
   
8. Gamma Ray / Beck
   
9. I Cut Like A Buffalo / The Dead Weather*
   
10. Tape Song / The Kills*
    
11. Hot Mess / Sam Sparro
    
12. Paper Planes / M.I.A

The title comes from something said in the Soulwax track.

*Todd took me to see both of these acts live in Detroit.

Running Vlog: Interval Timer

It seemed like time to do another vlog. There must be a better term on the horizon for a video-web-log. I thought the nature of this topic--how to use an interval timer--was pretty visual, so I decided to do it. I also think that it might actually help someone. I got the idea when I was showing Bill how to use the darn thing. It took me a few weeks to figure it out, and I am confident that I can get what I know across in about 4 minutes.

Route Planning for Yellowstone

The Scenic Route
4:44 (239 mi)

• I-84 to 167 N
• 167 to 39 W
• 39 to 16 N
• 16 to 30 W
• 30 to Lava Hot Springs, ID
  

The Direct Route
2:54 (186 mi)

• I-84 N to I-15
• I-15 to ID 30
• ID 30 E to Lava Hot Springs, ID

I love planning the routes for these motorcycle trips. It's close to as much fun as taking them. I love maps, I love planning, and this is fun.

Here are some preliminary thoughts on the first day. I think this will be the only day that we have separate motorcycle and car routes.

Picasa 3 Backup

Are your digital photos backed up? If not, get thee to thy hard drive and back them up!

I was relieved to learn that I had backed up my 11 years of digital photos on another drive (I had them on 3 of them in various states of backing up). It was really just a matter of chance that I have them all--hundreds of them could have easily been lost when the WD external drive crashed last week. Yikes!

So currently the computer is backing up 16,290 images to another external HD. Some of these are duplicates--it's going to be hard to sort these out because of the different cameras I've had over the years. But the best place to start is a freshly-backed up set that I can move to a different computer.

HD Proclaimed Dead

Well, I think it's official. The WD MyBook, which was affectionately known as the K drive here at home, has died. For a long time, it was the primary digital photo backup. When it died, I still thought it was. Good news: I switched to another HD inside the PC and have most if not all of the family images. They are a tangled box of X-Mas lights, though. Still, they are there to sort through. Better get at it. Gonna really need to go to town on it!

The WD spent a week in the freezer after it failed to respond to more conventional fixes. There's lots of music on there--I sure would like to have it back.

I need to get more methodical about saving and archiving family photos. I am also going through all of mom's photos, and that's difficult, too.

Picasa 3

Okay, downloaded Picasa 3 in an attempt to get these things in order. I've been taking digital snaps since 1998 when Todd encouraged me to lay down $500 on a Kodak digital camera. I've been through a few units since then--a nice Minolta DiMage A1 which I use at work occasionally and this little Sony CyberShot that I am currently using. I have literally thousands of images to sort through. Ugh! Probably need an external HD just for the sorting, and I really need to back up to other media given the WD crash.

Blog on Vacation

The view from the canoe at The Hochkammer's place near Montague, MI

Not that there are many readers who check in here, but it should be evident that I've been on vacation--and away from Internet access--for the past week and some change. Here are some cool photos. More later. The western shore of my home state is, I believe, the most beautiful place on the planet. We have stayed at 4 different places along the coast.

A classic Lake Michigan sand castle at my grandmother's place near Mears, MI

My Aunt Barb's AMF Sunfish at her place in Grand Haven, MI

Damaged Goods

Please send me evenings and weekends!

Okay, I really miss my family. The only thing about being here alone is playing music really, really loud. The house is quaking with Gang of Four, the post-punk geniuses.

Dr. and Mrs. Owen A. Rice

So, this temporary bachelor is going through his mother's boxes in the garage. Here's a photo of my grandparents, Owen and Betty Rice, on graduation day from medical school. Despite the fact that my grandmother finished (and, according to my grandfather, got him through) medical school, she only practiced for a short while and didn't go by the title "Dr." I love this photo of them in their doctoral gowns in Kirksville, MO when they both became Osteopathic physicians in the 1930s.

In the 30s, my Mom's dad went to Michigan State College. My other grandfather didn't go to college (he did, however, get an honorary degree from Grand Valley State College and served on their governing board; there's even a dorm there named after him!). I remember arguing with my grandfather about the campus. He claimed to have lived in Wells Hall. I knew Wells hall was built in the 50s or 60s. Turns out we were both right. My grandfather lived in the 2nd Wells Hall. The first one was built in 1877 and burned down in 1905; the one my grandfather lived in was built in 1907 and destroyed in 1966.

Pronto Pups, Sunfish, and Sand, Sand, Sand

When I was a small kid, my grandparents bought a place on Lake Michigan in Grand Haven. As I write this, I am next door to that lot--my Aunt has the cottage that was next door. My grandfather died in a fire when the cottage burned down. He and my grandmother would take us into Grand Haven for Pronto Pups--fantastic little corn dogs.

So we've been out here for the weekend, sailing a little Sunfish, cooking pork tenderloin on the grill, and watching the kids play in the sand.

After Barb, Dean and I puzzled over the rigging of the little Sunfish, we had a great time. The shot below is not their boat, but similar. We had a blast.

Kathy also used the remainder of the tenderloin to make some gorgeous pulled pork sandwiches. She pulled the tenderloin apart with a fork, marinated it in vinegar and barbecue sauce, and served it on whole wheat buns with her famous cole slaw. Oh man, were those good sandwiches!

The Sunfish sailing has me thinking about the family vacation with my Dad, Marti and The Swedes on Lake Michigan. I know Marti's going to want to sail the Clark's Hobie Cat quite a bit. That should be super fun.

How To Like It

True story. My 9th grade English teacher was pretty cool. I was a terrible 9th grader who wrote on my desk all the time and talked in class too much. She responded not by yelling, but by covering my desk in paper and putting it out in the hall (sometimes both). She was also my debate coach. She also let us do this cool assignment where we could put any message we wanted in a balloon and send it up in the air (I think that would be considered littering today). I sent the lyrics to XTC's "Melt the Guns" up with my balloon.

At any rate, fast forward to the end of my Ph.D. program, and who is my fellow classmate in my very last doctoral English class? You guessed it--my 9th grade teacher. It was her last class in the program, too... and we finished our degrees at basically the same time. It was kind of cool, and kind of strange. One of the things that made it strange was this poem. She gave me a perfectly respectable book of poetry by Stephen Dobyns. She flagged this poem--which is actually quite beautiful--and told the whole class it reminded her of me. I puzzle over this sometimes. Every once in a while, I think about this poem. My new running interest got me thinking about it yesterday. Here it is:

How To Like It
by Stephen Dobyns

These are the first days of fall. The wind
at evening smells of roads still to be traveled,
while the sound of leaves blowing across the lawns
is like an unsettled feeling in the blood,
the desire to get in a car and just keep driving.
A man and a dog descend their front steps.
The dog says, Let’s go downtown and get crazy drunk.
Let’s tip over all the trash cans we can find.
This is how dogs deal with the prospect of change.
But in his sense of the season, the man is struck
by the oppressiveness of his past, how his memories
which were shifting and fluid have grown more solid
until it seems he can see remembered faces
caught up among the dark places in the trees.
The dog says, Let’s pick up some girls and just
rip off their clothes. Let’s dig holes everywhere.
Above his house, the man notices wisps of cloud
crossing the face of the moon. Like in a movie,
he says to himself, a movie about a person
leaving on a journey. He looks down the street
to the hills outside of town and finds the cut
where the road heads north. He thinks of driving
on that road and the dusty smell of the car
heater, which hasn’t been used since last winter.
The dog says, Let’s go down to the diner and sniff
people’s legs. Let’s stuff ourselves on burgers.
In the man’s mind, the road is empty and dark.
Pine trees press down to the edge of the shoulder,
where the eyes of animals, fixed in his headlights,
shine like small cautions against the night.
Sometimes a passing truck makes his whole car shake.
The dog says, Let’s go to sleep. Let’s lie down
by the fire and put our tails over our noses.
But the man wants to drive all night, crossing
one state line after another, and never stop
until the sun creeps into his rearview mirror.
Then he’ll pull over and rest awhile before
starting again, and at dusk he’ll crest a hill
and there, filling a valley, will be the lights
of a city entirely new to him.
But the dog says, Let’s just go back inside.
Let’s not do anything tonight. So they
walk back up the sidewalk to the front steps.
How is it possible to want so many things
and still want nothing. The man wants to sleep
and wants to hit his head again and again
against a wall. Why is it all so difficult?
But the dog says, Let’s go make a sandwich.
Let’s make the tallest sandwich anyone’s ever seen.
And that’s what they do and that’s where the man’s
wife finds him, staring into the refrigerator
as if into the place where the answers are kept-
the ones telling why you get up in the morning
and how it is possible to sleep at night,
answers to what comes next and how to like it.

If you like this poem, by all means rush out and buy the book Velocities: New and Selected Poems: 1966-1992. It's a good book of poetry.

Cancer BikeWeek III

Mountains outside Jackson Hole, WY.

On the eve of his 4-week checkup for tumor growth under Sutent, Dad pitched the idea of a 3rd motorcycle trip this Fall. He's got a meeting/conference in Jackson Hole, WY in early October and asked me to think about taking a ride to get there. He also asked me to think route thoughts (I've been the planner on the past 2 trips) and consider bringing Kath and the kids along for the ride.

Partly as a way of avoiding my anxiety over tomorrow's visit to Dana Farber, I am thinking about the following route:

JACKSON HOLE CYCLE TRIP [DRAFT]
UT/ID/MT/WY/UT

• SAT 9/26 Park City - Twin Falls, ID (Hot Springs)
• SUN 9/27 Twin Falls - Craters of the Moon NP
• MON 9/28 Craters - Bozeman, MT
• TUE 9/29 Bozeman - Yellowstone NP (Zen Route)
• WED 9/30 Yellowstone - Grand Tetons NP
• THU 10/1 arrive Jackson Hole
• FRI 10/2 ** Jackson Hole Meeting **
• SAT 10/3 ** Jackson Hole Meeting ** (back to Park City?)
• SUN 10/4 Return home

Of course I'd have to get the time off. We'll see. This route takes us through 3 very cool national parks--ones I have never visited (and one I'd never heard of). Plenty of time for exploring during the meeting.

Marti's Music Challenge

This is too cool:

So, guys, I think it might be fun if each of us is responsible for bringing some music with us to the lake that each of us discovered in the last year. That is my request. And, in exchange, I will furnish a great deal of wine.

So, I've got to start thinking... Brainstorm.

• Keith Jarrett Shostakovich preludes/fuges
• The Schele Manuscript lute recordings
• The Wave Pictures (maybe not)
• Thao Nguyen & The Get Down Stay Down (We Brave Bee Stings and All)
• A few of my 8tracks mixes: Radio Songs, Mr. Monkey Suit, Stockholm Syndrome, etc.
• Sam Sparro
• 
  

Great Video

This is the opener to my Stockholm Syndrome mix, embedded below.

Non Sequitur

Not that anyone really cares, but all this talk of Michael Jackson's death reminded me of how much I like Terence Trent D'Arby's version of "Who's Loving You" on his debut album. I remember how arrogant he was when this record came out--he made some comment that it was better than Sgt. Pepper--but I had no idea that he really is quite a freak. He changed his name to Sananda Francesco Maitreya based on some dreams he had and declared D'Arby "dead." Um.... okay.

In running news, Bill and I did our 2 miler on lunch today with the interval timer at 9:1 run/walk. We finished in the same time we usually do running without walk breaks. Felt good.

Tomorrow, I head out to do the 3-miler with Steve, but we won't do the walk break thing. We are going to start to attempt trimming the time. We usually do it in 32 minutes. I'd like to shave 3 minutes off and complete in 29 or less. I think we can do it. The watch will make this easier.

Follow Your Bliss

If you follow your bliss, you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Wherever you are -- if you are following your bliss, you are enjoying that refreshment, that life within you, all the time.

Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers, edited by Betty Sue Flowers. Doubleday and Co, 1988, p. 120.

Dad & Marti are anchored in the mouth of the Potomac River near St. Marys City, MD. There is a raging thunderstorm. They are celebrating 29 years of being together--today! Back on July 1, 1980 they met at the Caucus Club in Detroit.

The name of their boat is Bliss--a 49 foot Jeanneau deck salon. Gorgeous boat. Needs a better stereo. In the photo above, you can see my Dad, Marty, and Kathy near the stern. Owen is in the middle with a very visible life vest on, and you can just see my head poking out from down below--I was checking on Julia, who is below deck coloring.

Bike Lust

I happen to be very attracted to two wheeled vehicles. I like looking at motorcycles more than I enjoy riding them (though that is fun, too). Check out this Scattante Roma Classico Road Bike for just about $450. Dorky is back in, and this one is just gorgeous dorky. It's a coaster brake with a 7-speed internal rear hub. Perfect neighborhood bike.

My Commuter Ride


But I already have a bike. Here is a snap of my perfectly awesome commuter bicycle, a 1990 Schwinn Sidewinder, which I wrote about here one year ago. It has a DIY milk crate pannier rack (two crates ripped on the table saw and sewn together with zip ties--'tis a thing of beauty).

Here's a list of why this bike is perfect.

• It's paid for, and has been since 1990.
• Buying a new one would land this one in a landfill. Bad for the environment. Before you get to "Reduce/Reuse/Recycle" you should first "Use."
• Nobody wants to steal a scuffed up, 20-year-old, purple Schwinn with milk crates and zip ties hanging all over it.
• It has cool hardware store reflectors on the back.
• It can get scraped, scratched, dinged, dropped, and otherwise mauled and molested with no tears from me.
• No quick release parts--nobody's going to take a wheel or seat, not even just to be a jerk. You need tools to chop this ride (and the componentry is all bottom-feeder garbage that nobody wants but works just fine thank you very much).
• I added Performance City tires, which are nice and smooth smooth.
• I added dorky Zefal fenders that work great. I took a ride after the rain last night and got not a drop on me.
  
• I added a BMX-style seat to correct the frame geometry, which isn't perfect for me.

More about bike frame geometry. Hardcore bike people get totally tweeked about geometry, but it comes down to this: different styles of riding require different types of "fit" between rider and bike. If you're a bike racer, you need to get all mathematical/engineerical about this. If you are just having fun, paying a bit of attention to frame geometry will increase your fun (or decrease your discomfort). Your body shape and size, along with the type of riding and bike you have, determine the kind of frame geometry you want.

For bike commuting, an "upright" fit is preferred; you're stopping at intersections, getting on and off, and basically acting like a traffic vehicle. This Schwinn was a bit small for me, so I cheated a bit and used a BMX seat tube to alter my torso's relationship to the crankset and handlebars. In most cases, this would not work, but it's perfect on this bike. I have a nice, relaxed fit on this rig--I sit a little further back over the rear rack, which gives me even more stability.

The most important thing is seat height. You need to extend your leg fully to the bottom-most rotation of the pedal without locking your knee.

Ethical (well, maybe not ethical) Dilemma



Would doing this to your bike make it less cool? Or less of a fitness thing? Or would the fact that you could consistently top 20mph* (you're still pedaling) mean you'd ride to work more? Save the planet? Would you ride more often and therefore get more exercise for the pedaling you are doing?

*While pedaling, you could easily do much more than 20mph with one of these babies, but you need to stay below 20 to be considered an electric bike and therefore subject to the laws of bicycles. Any greater speed and you're a different animal, such as a moped or something, and that ain't gonna work out as well. Still, I wonder; I have a CY permit in my state, I wear a helmet. What could happen? Well, see the questions below for answers regarding the opinions of authorities other than the police.

Or, would it basically be like riding a motorcycle? Would your wife be wise to this and think you were basically riding a motorcycle to work? Would it be less safe? Would you die and leave your wife a widow and your kids with no Dad?

Would people at work think you're a bigger dork than they already do?

Could you rationalize spending the $450 on this kit (that's what one of them costs--a nicer battery if you go up to $850)? That's that price of the sexy Scattante at the top of this post. But let's say you electrified the Schwinn. You could get to work in 25 minutes instead of 40. You could arrive less sweaty (or go for it and get there early enough to take a shower).

Back in May of 2008 when I first got this bike commuting thing going again (and by commuting thing, I don't mean actually doing it, I mean thinking about it, writing about it, planning it) gas was $4.07 per gal. Now it's $2.58. Based on that current price, my daily round-trip commute powered by the trusty-'ol made-in-Flint 3800 is $3.30. That means I'd have to go 136 car-free days to pay for the eBike kit in gas savings alone. If we assume that it's only bike-to-work weather 6 months out of the year, that leaves only 140 work days (M-F) to ride. Of those, statistically about 30 or so of those will be rainy. So if you did it 100 days or so, then the eBike thing only cost you about $120.

I love bikes

This is me in August of 2000. I am standing on the shore of Lake Michigan in Muskegon after pedaling about 300 miles in 5 days with my Step Mom during her campaign for the Michigan Supreme Court. We had rallies in Port Huron, Flint, Lansing, Grand Rapids, and Muskegon. To celebrate completion of the ride, we dipped our bikes in Lake Michigan. I'm glad Bobby got a snap of me with my Cannondale T600. I did a short tour of Finland on this little guy.

At any rate, I only live 8.6 miles from work, and I should really ride. The problem is that I have a new job with a little less freedom about when I come and go. Also, I would miss the kids in the morning if I had to leave even 30 minutes sooner. I also want to be able to get home right away after work.

Still trying to figure this one out. I should just do it while the weather is nice. I could probably make it work on a semi-regular basis through October.

1930s Blues & Jug

Can't write now (gotta work), but I thought I'd leave a slightly cheerier post out here. Aaron wrote with news of his new baby and made a passing reference to John The Revelator, which reminded me of the Blind Willie Johnson song of the same name; this got me thinking of 1930s blues and jug music. So I am spinning one of my old faves--Gus Cannon. I signed up for Rhapsody again. They have almost all of the Document Records collection, which covers the 20s and 30s really well.

So I am gonna work hard, listen to jug band music, and try not to let other people wear my pants or take my money.

Switching to Sutent

Bad news from Boston today. Gleevec is no longer working to control the growth of my Dad's cancer. We actually knew this time would come; it was never clear how long Gleevec would work, and he's had to have several tumors ablated recently. There are new tumors in the house according to today's MRI. One of them is too close to my Dad's heart for a safe ablation. So we are giving up on Gleevec and switching to Sutent.

Let's pause a moment in honor of Gleevec, the compound that kept my Dad alive for 2 years with a basically normal life. Here's to you, Gleevec. I had a glass of wine in your honor; uncharacteristically, I didn't feel like a second one. No disrespect, Gleevec. You rock. Go extend the lives of some more people. You've done your bit.

Truth be told, Gleevec, your side effects were beginning to really suck. Nothing compared to chemo or radiation, bruising like ripe fruit, losing appetite, and having skin peel off must not have been pleasant for Pops. Onward and upward: diarrhea and fatigue will have to do from here on.

Apparently, GIST learns to work around the mechanism of Gleevec, which is manufactured by Novartis. The second line of treatment is Sutent, which is manufacutred by Pfizer.

Cracking the Code

TTP = Time To Progression (this has been part of our lexicon since diagnosis in 2007)
OS = Overall Survival.

Advanced GIST after Gleevec failure has a TTP of 41 weeks and an OS of 75 weeks. 20% survive beyond 5 years.

Why Theory?

We've all got opinions.
Where do they come from?

Man, Gang of Four was a great band. I need to throw a bunch of this stuff on an iPod and use it in my attempts to run. This outfit had it all: funky, belligerent bass; angular, crunchy guitar; shake-the-junk-in-your-trunk drums; and Marxism. What more could a suburban teen ask for?

I'm going to listen to one more track (lyrics below) and call it a night. Usually I write when I have something to say, but I don't have any coherent thoughts to share with anyone right now. I use this as a place to dump stuff that I would pester real people with. Thinking of that Talking Heads lyric about burning all your notebooks. I burned a bunch of them this week in the fire pit out back. Nothing important in there. Seriously. Mostly embarrassing.

Don't help me! I can save myself! I bought this record shortly after it came out; I liked Entertainment! more, but this one has some real staying power.

Muscle for Brains
Songs of the Free (1982)

Don't help me I can save myself
If I'm incomplete don't fill the gaps
Save me from the people who would save me from myself
They got muscle for brains

For reasons that are not mysterious
The weak are sent to the wall
They have reservations in heaven
Down here they're not so fashionable

Don't help me I can save myself
If I'm incomplete don't fill the gaps
Save me from the people who would save me from my sin
They got muscle for brains

For reasons that are not mysterious
Morality's used as a tool
The poor are told to be contented
But in this life they've no choice at all

Don't help me I can save myself
If I'm incomplete don't fill the gaps
Save me from the people who would save me from myself
They got muscle for brains

For reasons that are not mysterious
The weak are sent to the wall
They have reservations in heaven
Down here they're not so fashionable

Don't help me I can save myself
If I'm incomplete don't fill the gaps
Save me from the people who would save me from myelf
They got muscle for brains

Save me from the people who would save me from my sin
They got muscle for brains

A Joshua Challenge!

What's with all the changes
Since the time I was aware?
It's like the apple eating people
That we once were aren't there
Did they empty out their pockets
And debase their younger faces?
And you must make sure you're happy
When you leave your summer places.*

So, Joshua issued a mix challenge to Eljay and me. Seems simple enough: make a mix you think both the other two people in the trio will like. That means no Velvet Underground or Modest Mouse (probably no Daft Punk or banjo either). He used the following rules:

It's pretty simple really. See if you can make a mix, 8-tracks rules, that both of the others would like. We have some similar tastes, but not completely. 12 tracks.

I added a twist for myself: only use stuff you can find on 8tracks. Cool--I've been wanting to make a mix of other people's stuff on 8tracks for a while. There is more saxophone here than I would have expected. This is actually my 24th 8tracks mix! Here's what came out:

Joshua/Larry

1. Funtime / Iggy Pop
   
2. Subterranean / David Bowie
   
3. I Found Out / John Lennon
   
4. Wake Up / Arcade Fire (live w/ David Bowie)
5. Grass / Animal Collective
6. Losing My Edge / James Murphy
7. U.R.A. Fever / The Kills
8. I Know What Boys Like / The Waitresses**
9. Everybody Knows / Leonard Cohen
10. Glisoli / Sigur Ros
11. I Love You Like A Madman / The Wave Pictures
12. Wolf Like Me (Rob Da Bank Session) / TV On The Radio

* Lyrics from Track #5. This song thrills and beguiles me every time I hear it.

** I could not get this song out of my head as I searched for songs that these two boys would like; against my better judgment, I decided to put it on the mix. Might cost me some points.

Oh, and the photo is a famous one by my favoritest photographer, Diane Arbus. I've loved her since before I had a driver license. In fact, this photo of a boy with a toy hand grenade was on my dorm room door freshman year. Next to it was a notepad that said "Press hard--you are making three copies."

Below is Joshua's Mix:

1. In One Ear / Cage The Elephant
2. The Seeker / The Who
3. Mr. Brownstone / Guns N' Roses
4. Gold for Bread / Blitzen Trapper
5. In Step / Girl Talk
6. Papa's Got A Brand New Bag / James Brown
7. Cinnamon Girl / Neil Young & Crazy Horse
8. Ashes to Ashes / David Bowie
9. Here On My Own / U.N.P.O.C.
10. Kiss Me, Son of God / They Might Be Giants
11. Sober / Tool
12. Bird on a the Wire / Leonard Cohen

NOTES: I did not consciously copy him with the Leonard Cohen and Bowie. Honest. Also, Cinnamon Girl is my most favoritest Niel Young song. I also very much like Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy, which is the source of that Who track (last song on side 1). This mix gets 10 points from me (The Guns N' Roses and Tool just didn't do it for me).

Old Notebooks ca. 1986

In my basement filing cabinet I had several spiral notebooks from college. Most of them have 10-12 pages of class notes and then more than 100 blank pages. A few have odd, embarrassing, and terrible personal scrawlings about feelings, plans, girls, and other stuff. I wisely threw these away just now.

I ripped out a few amusing pages for the purposes of recording contents here just for giggles.

A list

• Repair cassette deck
• Read Levittowners
• Write English Paper

Hi Doug!
Went to EL-EZ
See you soon!
--Steve

72 Kawasaki
500cc 3 cylander [sic] 2 stroke

• transfer title
• get insurance
• register, get plates
• find parking
• can Kevin keep it around till the 20th?
• airport parking
• 530 price
• 50 insurance
• 20 sales tax
• 100 new tire
• 520 total

Karen;
Here's that This Mortal Coil album I was telling you about.
You can't do this this way.

List of bassists in my handwriting:

• Scott LaFaro
• Charlie Haden
• Gary Peacock
• Oscar Pettiford
• Nils Henning Orsted Pedderson
• Richard Davis
• David Izenson
• Eddie Gomez
• Paul Chambers
• Jimmy Blanton
• Ron Carter
• Charles Mingus
• Seymour Butts (HA!)*

*someone else's handwriting

Just so your [sic] not conused, this is from Steve R. the bus boy. Return it whenever your [sic] done with it. The Steely Dan is great. I'll have that back to you soon. Thanks! --SJR

Dear Mr. Phillips--
As you recall, Sept. 12 was my last day at Hershel's for the summer. I am now neatly tucked away at college and have no way to pick up what may be left of my pay. If you would please tuck my check into the S.A.S.E. enclosed I would be greatly helped. You have my permission (if indeed you need it) to sign the little yellow pad for me.
Have a great year--thanks again for all your help over the summer. Please convey my appretiation to Kim, Karen and Mr. Carey as well.
Sincerely Thank you,
Steve R.

Things We Need

• Ladder
  
• Light bulbs
• Extention cords
• Milk crates
• Coat hooks
• Cork Board

• 2 parachute pants
• 2 blue jeans
• 1 OD pleated pants
• 3 Eddie Bauer

Sept 3 Tips

30.00+12.00+4.00+10.00+1.75+7.25+3.70=68.70

• 3.70 loose dimes
• 7.25 loose quarters
• 1.75 loose nickels
• 2 nickle rolls
• 2 dime rolls
• 3 quarter rolls
• 12 singles

What Made My Hamburger Disappear?

...that's one of my favorite lyrics from Have Moicy!, a fantastic country rock record like no other. In the car just now (I'm not driving--home now, so don't worry) my mind started racing back in time with a rush of food memories. Not sure why that happened. There were so many. More than a few were hamburgers, so I thought I'd dump them out here.

• Mr. Fables in Grand Rapids, MI. Now closed, this burger joint was a favorite of my grandparents. I can still see the little stainless steel tray with catsup, mustard, and relish. I love sweet relish on hamburgers.
• Burger King. My first real job (apart from being a summer messenger in my Dad's law firm) was working at Burger King. I worked at one far from my town because I didn't want to see anyone from school. As a teenager, my favorite meal was two double cheeseburgers, onion rings, a Coke and a strawberry shake.
• Clyde's Drive-In, Sault St. Marie. I made several solo trips to The Soo while I was on the MEA Board of Directors. I loved to head over to Clyde's for a burger--some of the best ever.
• Five Guys. I have written about this wonderful DC-area burger joint here before; Brian Williams and President Obama got in on the action last week.
  

Chaskinakuy

I love music from the Andes, but this out-of-print cassette is my favorite. I am digitizing it right now so I can gift it to bill. Looks like a CD is in the works. It's 21 years old!!!

I have listened to this tape soooooo many times, but it's been a while since I've had a tape deck hooked up for general listening. I also gifted this to many people over the years. It's going to be cool to have a CD/iPod version of it.

Track Listing

1. Sumapuni
2. Negra del Alma
3. Chriris Aymara
4. Kamayu Salasaco
5. Juan Careno
6. Recuerdos de Calahuayo
7. Sara
8. Chaska Lucero
9. Panchita/Amorosa Palomita
10. Lamento/Urpichallay
11. Akuchimay
12. Mam Victoria

If I were being a purist about the digital conversion, I should have gone to WAV format before I did any noise filters, etc. This is good enough.

So it was Chris Reitz, then called The Regent of Records, who introduced me to this tape. He knew Edmond Badoux, one of the co-founders of Sukay. He left to form this outfit and made this lovely tape that hat been a friend of mine for over two decades.

Below is a shot of Chris playing a Gibson harp guitar in 1987, just a couple of years before I worked there. The other guy is Brian Hefferan--both former co-workers of mine. They both still work there!