Everything Must Go!

This blog will soon be closed to the public. If you would like an invite so that you can still have access please speak with the proper authorities.

Thanks,

The Management

Don't look Scottie Ferguson, that hair can kill you!

This awesome concert poster was designed by Matt Thomas for an upcoming Wilco concert in Montreal.  There is a lot of content here, at first glance I saw echoes of Hitchcock's Vertigo and José Guadalupe Posada's Calavera Catrina. "Wicked smaht."

Adventures in Cycling: Baby Steps

Getting into cycling while living in Orange County is funny because most bike shops assume I have money to spare.  I've seen folks walk into stores and buy $2500 starter bikes...but there are also gals and guys like me that are starting off with lower end equipment and bikes.  Luckily, not all the shops around here look down on frugality and poverty, otherwise I'd be hosed.

The best thing about riding my bike so far is that it's not school.  It also feels great to be exercising outside and going somewhere/seeing things other than the dumb TV. The get going has been a bit slow because I wanted to make sure that I picked up good equipment while staying within the budget.  Since the last post I picked up a good road helmet, some padded gloves, a new (more comfortable) saddle, an LED headlight and tail light, and the dreaded spandex shorts (They really are quite comfortable and my nalgas are much happier).

My friend and former neighbor Ed (who incidentally shares The Best Neighbor Ever Award with his wife) recommended apparel from Blockbottoms and luckily they had some shorts on sale dirt cheap.  I know, everyone I've talked to says to avoid the shorts and go right on to the bibs, but they were cheap and I wanted to make sure the padded garb was sufficient to ease my pain.  I still plan to get some bibs but after a quick 15 minute test ride, I am pleased to announce that I didn't traumatize any automobile drivers, that is, my shorts didn't slip down (thanks to my larger than normal trasero).

I'm making sure to take baby steps and not jump into this gung-ho.  When I got my bike built the guys at Bike Religion said that I would probably need to tighten the cables after after a bit of riding...so I tried to do it myself and screwed things up.  I went back to the bike shop and they very nicely explained how to make small adjustments while showing me how to do it.  The coolest thing about those guys is that they were not at all condescending or rude.  I need to make sure and give them a good review.

There's a LOT to learn (about maintenance), my bike's ins and outs, and riding in general, but I'm happy with what I've learned so far and this is all part of the process.  A huge thanks to Ed and Jason who are giving me great advice from far off Utah (why didn't I start this when you guys were closer?).  I can already tell how much a difference a lighter road bike (mine is made for cyclo-cross) would make and how important it is to make sure everything fits well.  I think when my tires wear down I'll throw some slicks on my bike and if I'm still enjoying this and doing well next year, maybe I'll pick up a real road bike.

I still need to get some flat repair equipment, maybe some shoes and socks, bibs and a jersey and maybe some tights for the chilly California evenings.  The other night I went on a short four mile ride (my shorts hadn't arrived yet).  Eventually I'm going to work up to what is bound to be one of my favorite rides, a loop from point A, to B and down to the freeway, back around through the parks and back to point A.  It's a 10 mile ride and I expect I'll be making that trek in about a month, if not sooner.  Thankfully my asthma hasn't been much of a factor at all and now that I won't be participating in an exercise study here on campus, I need to get back to the gym and strengthen some muskulls.  Happy trails!

Faded Paper Figures - Metropolis

Faded Paper FIgures - METROPOLIS from Kael Alden on Vimeo.

This group came out of UCI. One of the guys is now teaching English at Yale; from what my friends told me, he was once having more success with his music than with his career as an English professor. I sort of wish I had that problem.

The Fantom is Here

I asked Evelyn to take a picture of my bike and I and this is the only picture she managed to get before the batteries in the camera died.  I figured it was the perfect picture anyway since most of you know what I look like (and there's no reason to look at me any more then necessary).

Shaunie dropped me off at the bike shop this afternoon and they put it together for me while I did some reading int he library (if I had tried to put it together myself it would probably be unride-able and I would be behind on my reading).  When the library closed at 5pm (budget crisis) I went to the bike shop (which, incidentally is called 'Bike Shop') and picked up the Fantom.  I had to get the seat raised to accommodate my long figure :) and then I rode home.  I figured out how to shift the gears for flats but then I came to an incline and couldn't figure out how to down shift, so at one point I got off and walked the bike up a short hill/bridge.

After I got home I figured out how to shift the other way, so after dinner I went for a quick ride.  I went about 3 miles round trip, it felt good.  My left knee was initially a bit sore from coming home uphill in high gear but the more I pedaled the looser it got.  The bike is light and a bit more difficult to steer than a mountain bike.  It will take some getting used to but I'm excited.  I'll need to continue going to the gym to strengthen my muscles (especially the upper body) and I'll probably still try to get some swimming in from time to time but the bicycle will be more enticing because of the feeling of freedom that comes from riding a trail with the wind on my face.

Before I can go on any long rides I will need to pick up the following in order to be more comfortable and prepared for the road:

Bib-shorts (the chamois is a must with these road bike saddles).
Jersey (because the only thing sillier than a guy with bib-shorts and a jersey is a guy with bib-shorts and a t-shirt).
Spare tires, tools, and pump (Or I can just carry the cellphone with me initially).
A water bottle.
Cycling shoes.

The Bearded Sipper Reads Again!!!!!

Today I got complimented on my beard.  Someone told me that their husband said that I was the only person they knew that looks good with a beard.  Then she asked him who I was and he said, "You'll know him when you see him, he's the only guy at church with a good beard."  Then, in narrating this whole thing to my wife and I she says, "And then I saw you and I thought, 'He does have a good beard,' and I asked Jemaine* if it was you and it was totally you!"

*Name has been changed to protect the privacy of the persons involved in this dandy little tale.


That was a compliment for me, "You're beard is good."  I half expected them to then tell me that I'm good at finding short-cuts around this part of town.

Beyond the Anthology: Why You Should Consider Reading Neruda's Obras completas

I recall being somewhat surprised when my professor/mentor once said that he felt there was no need to read all of Pablo Neruda’s poetry.  I suppose there are many reasons to agree with him.  If I’m not mistaken, Neruda’s Obras completas comprises three (roughly) 1000 page tomes.  Also, poetry, by nature, requires time and meditation.  It is not very practical to dedicate so much time to one poet unless you happen to be (or want to be) an expert in their work, especially for an academic.

Still, that same professor frequently interrogated my classmates and I with the following question: “What makes a work good (or great)?”  To this day I struggle with that question.  Though I tend to enjoy most works I read in anthologies, it is not an infrequent occurrence for me to read a celebrated work by a famous author and think that it wasn’t “good.”  I can’t explain to someone else exactly what it is that makes a work “good.”  Reading, for me, is a personal engagement and my tendency is to enjoy works that resonate with me for some reason or another.  Those works, especially in the case of poetry and short stories, regularly fall outside the reach of anthologies, reading lists, or even the canon itself.

I recently received an e-mail from that (now, former) professor.  In fact, the e-mail came the same day I started composing this post and the content of the e-mail forced me to change the direction I was heading with my comments.  My friend (former prof.) is reading Neruda’s Obras completas, in his own words, “for fun, for personal enjoyment.  I no longer have to think about publishing something from it.   And I like it that way.”

I too like it that way.  I don’t want to publish a great deal, I don’t aspire to wide recognition, nor do I have much to say within the academic discourse.  I started down this road because I wanted to do something I loved, something that would bring me personal enjoyment and make it fun to go to work.

I was glad to hear that my old professor is reading all of Neruda’s works and enjoying it.  Had I taken his initial advice to heart, I may never have read this poem, from Neruda’s non-canonical book, La rosa separada, written within a year or two of the poet’s death.  (My apologies to the gringos, I couldn’t find a translation).

"Los Hombres"

Somos torpes los transeúntes, nos atropellamos de codos,

de pies, de pantalones, de maletas,

bajamos del tren, del jet, de la nave, bajamos

con arrugados trajes y sombreros funestos.
Somos culpables, somos pecadores,

llegamos de hoteles estancados o de la paz industrial,

ésta es tal vez la última camisa limpia,

perdimos la corbata,

pero aun así, desquiciados, solemnes,

hijos de puta considerados en los mejores ambientes,
o simples taciturnos que no debemos nada a nadie,

somos los mismos y los mismos frente al tiempo,

frente a la soledad: los pobres hombres

que se ganaron la vida y la muerte trabajando
de manera normal o burotrágica,

sentados o hacinados en las estaciones del metro,

en los barcos, las minas, los centros de estudios, las cárceles,

las universidades, las fábricas de cerveza,
(debajo de la ropa la misma piel sedienta)
(el pelo, el mismo pelo, repartido en colores).

- Pablo Neruda.  La rosa separada, 1971-72.

æfen-tid

I Dream the Body Magnetic

I saw this gallery on a British news web site.  As you can see, Nick Gentry is using obsolete physical media formats in his art, which makes the picture below even cooler.

(If you're wondering why this picture is so cool, go here and here and see if you can figure it out.)

Non sequitur saxophonist