The problem with being blogfriends with Fatty is that it's fucking wrenching. There's no two ways about it. We've talked a lot on the side because we have a similar outlook on a lot of things, are the same age, and, well, that's enough. These side discussions have been pretty frank, and I have to tell you Elden is a remarkably good guy, who has been through a hell of a lot and come out the other side stronger and a bit of a reluctant hero. He draws to himself a lot of people who are fighting cancer, often through bicycle charity activities, and occasionally you get hit with a painful story about a cancer-destroyed life that leaves you sitting there in front of a computer screen trying not to sob in the office lest you lose your reputation as a git 'er done hardass. Here's an example of what I mean. You all know about my ambivalence about Lance Armstrong as a bike racer / alleged doper, but you should also know that the more I learn about cancer through the web community Fatty has built, and the more I learn about Lance's personal efforts, the more I'm in awe of Lance as a cancer-fighting-guy. I know he personally reaches out to many people suffering with cancer and they share their burden with him. What reserves of strength must he have? I cannot fathom it. Cancer is a nasty disease, it's akin to a WWI battle, where when you get hit with many forms of it, you would have reason to give up such are the fatality rates and 5 year survival rates. As if that's not enough of a downer, we hear all this crap about how there's cancer clusters, cancer epidemic, cancer is getting worse...
Well guess what. That's all an enormous pile of bullshit foisted on us by a sensationalistic media and the usual coalition of greedheads and power-thirsty narcissists posing as non-profit leaders and politicians. The truth is that we're starting to kick cancer's ass, hard. The rate of occurrence of cancer is dropping, and the number of people cured is rising. You don't have to believe me; take it from the National Cancer Society.
You hear that? We're starting to kick cancer's fucking ass. This invidious disease is reeling, and part of the reason for that is knuckleheads like us pay to ride charity rides and sometimes do a bit of extra fundraising. It's not just us - some tax dollars go to it, and many millions of people raise money to kick cancer's ass, and many talented people dedicate their lives to the cause.
This is no time to let up folks. Encourage your kids to go into science and medicine. Knock out a charitable bike ride for cancer research. Give some money. Grieve your friends who have died. But know this: we can win. Don't give up the fight.
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Okay, that was heavy. But it ended on a good note, and things get better from here.
I didn't think it was possible to make the bidness end of an M1 tank look scarier, but it seems the U.S. military has gone totally steampunk in its efforts to remove IEDs and landmines from battlefields and in the process created a kampfwagen that will dwell in the nightmares of all who gaze upon its horrific visage.
I approve.
I didn't think it was possible to make the bidness end of an M1 tank look scarier, but it seems the U.S. military has gone totally steampunk in its efforts to remove IEDs and landmines from battlefields and in the process created a kampfwagen that will dwell in the nightmares of all who gaze upon its horrific visage.
I approve.
New MBT Probably Powered by 1500 Horsepower Difference Engines
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Son of Rouleur, Age 6, accompanied me to Staples Liquors to stock up on beer for our long vacation. He carefully explained to me that "it wouldn't be good to drink a lot of beer and drive. They'd put an orange suit on you for sure if you did that."
He's smarter than I was at that age. Or at 24.
I really don't know what to say about Lance and his apparent snub of Contador today. He said really nice things about Contador at some point - maybe today? - and says the rivalry is overblown. Well, yeah - you can't have a rivalry where one side administers all the beatdowns, and the other side accepts the ass-whuppin's. That's not a rivalry, it's bullying.
What I think is going on with Lance is that, like a lot of aging athletes, he's trying to gracefully negotiate his way off the stage, some days without a lot of luck. He knows that if it's not over now, it's definitely over in two weeks, and he doesn't want to go out like an ass. Say what you will about the guy as an athlete, he gets public relations, and it will hurt him going forward if he doesn't prove to be gracious in defeat. There's nothing wrong with hating losing but at the same time we all hate a sore loser.
Consider - Lance has never had to deal with this problem before. He never before had to accept having his ass kicked. There was always another day to train harder, another year to do the race again, another year to try a comeback.
Now, there's no more year long training cycles. There's no TdF next year. There's no tomorrow. It's all over, and he may for once in his life have to accept a loss, or at least learn to live with it. Truly elite athletes are different from you and I, and that's a very tough hump for them to get over. Lance is at least trying to achieve it gracefully, I think. It will be interesting to see what he's like in Paris this year.
Son of Rouleur, Age 6, accompanied me to Staples Liquors to stock up on beer for our long vacation. He carefully explained to me that "it wouldn't be good to drink a lot of beer and drive. They'd put an orange suit on you for sure if you did that."
He's smarter than I was at that age. Or at 24.
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I really don't know what to say about Lance and his apparent snub of Contador today. He said really nice things about Contador at some point - maybe today? - and says the rivalry is overblown. Well, yeah - you can't have a rivalry where one side administers all the beatdowns, and the other side accepts the ass-whuppin's. That's not a rivalry, it's bullying.
What I think is going on with Lance is that, like a lot of aging athletes, he's trying to gracefully negotiate his way off the stage, some days without a lot of luck. He knows that if it's not over now, it's definitely over in two weeks, and he doesn't want to go out like an ass. Say what you will about the guy as an athlete, he gets public relations, and it will hurt him going forward if he doesn't prove to be gracious in defeat. There's nothing wrong with hating losing but at the same time we all hate a sore loser.
Consider - Lance has never had to deal with this problem before. He never before had to accept having his ass kicked. There was always another day to train harder, another year to do the race again, another year to try a comeback.
Now, there's no more year long training cycles. There's no TdF next year. There's no tomorrow. It's all over, and he may for once in his life have to accept a loss, or at least learn to live with it. Truly elite athletes are different from you and I, and that's a very tough hump for them to get over. Lance is at least trying to achieve it gracefully, I think. It will be interesting to see what he's like in Paris this year.
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You're just here for the music. Let's kick it off with a leftover or two from the 80's.
How 'bout this bad boy from Depeche Mode?
Pretty good song, right? It's got some depth to it, speaks to human suffering, our willingness to believe any deception that fits our needs right now. I don't think it's questioning legit religious faith here, I think it's questioning the people who exploit believers for personal gain. How good of a song is it though? I mean they're just a pop band, right?
They were a pretty good pop band at that. Depeche Mode had a lot of hits, even pioneering electronica in their early days.
And tackling heavy subjects.
But when things got rough with a lot of alcohol and drug abuse, keyboardist Alan Wilder left the band. What happened then?
Well... this.
Yeah, that's a shotglass of straight badness right there. The way Cash sings it, it seems like he's speaking directly to the listener and making an earnest plea, inviting him to become a believer. It's amazing how the tone, how lyrics are sung, can change the meaning we assign to it or see in it. How did Wilder help write a song like that, which so easily transitioned into a bluesy country vibe?
Well, he was a big fan of Booker T. "Bukka" Washington White. Who's Bukka White, you ask? Easy. He's the guy, a seminal bluesman, who gave his cousin, a little boy named Riley B. King, his first guitar. You probably know Riley by his stage name, B.B.
That's a steel guitar, played slide style, and I think it's open tuned. I guess the normal way wasn't easy enough for old Bukka. A badass was old Booker T.
Bukka could be downright mind blowing when he wanted to be.
But what happens when Bukka's music meets Alan Wilder? The band Recoil, and Electro Blues for Bukka White is what happens. I don't know where the kayak downhill footage comes from but the mashup is pretty intoxicating.
So that's pop keyboardist Wilder doing a mashup with Bukka. But what happens to Wilder when you take out the vintage blues voiceover?
Well... you get this song, which kind of answers how Johnny Cash could get a hymn out of a Depeche Mode song. The thing is, that fluffy pop electronica had solid bones, bones that were put there by classically trained musician Alan Wilder, who is fluent in many forms of music.
I'm going on vacation for a week or so. Blogging may be sparse. Y'all have fun watching the Tour.
How 'bout this bad boy from Depeche Mode?
Pretty good song, right? It's got some depth to it, speaks to human suffering, our willingness to believe any deception that fits our needs right now. I don't think it's questioning legit religious faith here, I think it's questioning the people who exploit believers for personal gain. How good of a song is it though? I mean they're just a pop band, right?
They were a pretty good pop band at that. Depeche Mode had a lot of hits, even pioneering electronica in their early days.
And tackling heavy subjects.
But when things got rough with a lot of alcohol and drug abuse, keyboardist Alan Wilder left the band. What happened then?
Well... this.
Yeah, that's a shotglass of straight badness right there. The way Cash sings it, it seems like he's speaking directly to the listener and making an earnest plea, inviting him to become a believer. It's amazing how the tone, how lyrics are sung, can change the meaning we assign to it or see in it. How did Wilder help write a song like that, which so easily transitioned into a bluesy country vibe?
Well, he was a big fan of Booker T. "Bukka" Washington White. Who's Bukka White, you ask? Easy. He's the guy, a seminal bluesman, who gave his cousin, a little boy named Riley B. King, his first guitar. You probably know Riley by his stage name, B.B.
That's a steel guitar, played slide style, and I think it's open tuned. I guess the normal way wasn't easy enough for old Bukka. A badass was old Booker T.
Bukka could be downright mind blowing when he wanted to be.
But what happens when Bukka's music meets Alan Wilder? The band Recoil, and Electro Blues for Bukka White is what happens. I don't know where the kayak downhill footage comes from but the mashup is pretty intoxicating.
So that's pop keyboardist Wilder doing a mashup with Bukka. But what happens to Wilder when you take out the vintage blues voiceover?
Well... you get this song, which kind of answers how Johnny Cash could get a hymn out of a Depeche Mode song. The thing is, that fluffy pop electronica had solid bones, bones that were put there by classically trained musician Alan Wilder, who is fluent in many forms of music.
I'm going on vacation for a week or so. Blogging may be sparse. Y'all have fun watching the Tour.
4 comments:
"You say you tore a newish pair of bib shorts, there, RTW? Suck it up, son! Here's a dose of Teh Serious to help you gain some perspective."
/Clears throat, counts blessings, shows self out.
For those who aren't Lance fans, or just in general - the big (and little) cancer organizations often have different foci - Livestrong has a ton of support for cancer patients. American Cancer Society spends a lot of money on education (great website) and basic research - the latter leads to treatments 20 years from now. Susan G. Komen support ideas that could lead to clinical improvements in breast cancer treatment or prognosis. Remember to support the efforts you believe in, not just those with convenient events or kool prizes. Killing cancer is the best prize.
-Becky
disclosure: my current research is supported by an American Cancer Society fellowship
assault breacher = thor SMASH?
i want to be like thor.
When you play slide, you usually go with an open tuning. As soon as you put a slide down on the strings, you have a straight line you have to deal with. You'd have to move the slide around a lot, if you wanted to, say, arpeggiate through a lot of notes in the same chord. Slide is about the smooth movements between the notes, the vibratos, the little articulations, and being really, really in tune, anyway. Anchoring yourself on a set of notes that sound "good" together frees you up to go wild with the expression.
You don't have to play slide in an open tuning, but it helps.
This is one reason pedal steels have two necks sometimes. It's an oversimplification to say this, but one is usually tuned to an open major set of notes, and the other is tuned to an open minor set of notes. If the pedal steel guy plans his night right, he can jump back and forth between the necks for different songs, and his head won't explode trying to make one tuning work for everything.
That is one bad-ass looking tank. You'd be the nose-heavy, slow one drawing all the fire, throwing tracks, and blowing up transmissions, though. You'd also be the guy getting all the perforated eardrums and nosebleeds from the shock waves. Much respect for the guys who crew that vehicle, but I'd rather be in the regular old M1A2, providing overwatch for that beast.
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