January 3rd, 2007
I have remarked to several people over the past month about the sheer number of unicyclists around Santa Cruz. Many cycle their way amongst traffic, a rather remarkable feat given the hills right around campus, others along the boardwalk, and even, in a remarkable sight, some have even taken to shredding through the UCSC bike trails.
Where did this interest come from? I don’t know, but I at least know now why they’re all so good.
The above picture comes from Indymedia reports about Santa Cruz’s own self-organized New Year’s Eve party, complete with wiki. Click on the photos for more images of the Pacific Garden Mall (which I mentioned featured in Gillian Welch’s "Wrecking Ball"; did I mention she’s a UCSC alumna?).
Sadly, N and I bowed out of this anarchic festiveness, and I really am quite sad, given a certain esprit de pays mentality, but we did visit some friends up in the North Bay and went to a great show with Les Claypool’s Fancy Band. Gabby La La in particular was amazing (her theremin playing was extraordinary), though I must confess that her CD, which I was so excited about afterwards, is not as exciting. The show was in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, where they apparently still have actual 4-H style fairs, and the concert itself was in this medium-sized bunker-style conference hall, with lots of people milling about, live sculpting and painting, a hydroponics setup, an Apocalypto-themed New Year’s float, and scores of greco-mythologized woodland creatures on Powerizers (I was watching in envy, though apparently they are harder to use than one might think.).
All told, a wonderful New Year’s Eve, though we did have an ugly two hour commute back at 6.30 after not sleeping and a tense game of Cranium (really, a bit too shiny for me). But even that (the drive, not the Cranium game) had its pluses: I’ve never seen the ocean at sunrise (ahh, the coloration of the Pacific, a subject for another post), and traversing the Golden Gate pre-dawn, with the fog retreating as though parted by its bulk, was a moving experience. Perhaps even more so than watching a man in a chimp mask doing the rock-god strut.
January 3rd, 2007
I have remarked to several people over the past month about the sheer number of unicyclists around Santa Cruz. Many cycle their way amongst traffic, a rather remarkable feat given the hills right around campus, others along the boardwalk, and even, in a behold-to-believe sight, some have even taken to shredding through the UCSC bike trails.
Where did this interest come from? I don’t know, but I at least know now why they’re all so good.
The above picture comes from Indymedia reports about Santa Cruz’s own self-organized New Year’s Eve party, complete with wiki. Click on the photos for more images of the Pacific Garden Mall (which I mentioned featured in Gillian Welch’s "Wrecking Ball"; did I mention she’s a UCSC alumna?).
Sadly, N and I bowed out of this anarchic festiveness, and I really am quite sad, given a certain esprit de pays mentality, but we did visit some friends up in the North Bay and went to a great show with Les Claypool’s Fancy Band. Gabby La La in particular was amazing (her theremin playing was extraordinary), though I must confess that her CD, which I was so excited about afterwards, is not as fantastic. The show was in the Sonoma County Fairgrounds, where they apparently still have actual 4-H style fairs, and the concert itself was in this medium-sized bunker-style conference hall, with lots of people milling about, live sculpting and painting, a hydroponics setup, an Apocalypto-themed New Year’s float, and scores of greco-mythologized woodland creatures on Powerizers (I was watching in envy, though apparently they are harder to use than one might think.).
All told, a wonderful New Year’s Eve, though we did have an ugly two hour commute back at 6.30 after not sleeping and a tense game of Cranium (really, a bit too shiny for me). But even that (the drive, not the Cranium game) had its pluses: I’ve never seen the ocean at sunrise (ahh, the coloration of the Pacific, a subject for another post), and traversing the Golden Gate pre-dawn, with the fog retreating as though parted by its bulk, was a moving experience. Perhaps even more so than watching a man in a chimp mask doing the rock-god strut.
January 3rd, 2007
I happened upon this Pravda article today thanks to a Salon piece. Both are worth a read, though the Pravda article, which discusses Condi Rice’s recent strongarm tactics regarding the Ukranian Gazprom shenanigans, is by far the more hilarious. Highlights:
Condoleezza Rice released a coarse anti-Russian statement. This is because she is a single woman who has no children. She loses her reason because of her late single status. Nature takes it all.
Such women are very rough [try this link! Completely wacky! -P]. They are all workaholics, public workaholics. They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere: “Oh, Condoleezza, what a remarkable woman, what a charming Afro-American lady! How well she can play the piano and speak Russian! What a courageous, tough and strong female she is!
The conclusion:
Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied. On the other hand, she can hardly be satisfied because of her age. This is a complex. She needs to return to her university and teach students there. She could also deal with psychological analysis.
I should mention in the interest of fairness that the article is reporting the opinion of Liberal and Democratic Party of Russia leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky, not, say, that of the Kremlin. Well, at least on record. One need only think of the whole Pope Benedict-Emperor Paleologus kerfuffle to realize that quotational distancing doesn’t fool anyone.
