NWEAMO no ‘mo
88’s got a baby on the way so HGP’s upcoming NWEAMO shows in Portland and at the Apple Store in SoHo are cancelled (sniff, sniff).
Sounds Like Now
A blog by saxophonist Brian SacawaArchive for Blog: Summer 06
S21.2
No internet access at home (yet—it’s coming on 9/28) has left me a little behind the times w/r/t the latest happenings within the online community. But here’s a belated kudos to Jerry Bowles and the folks at Sequenza21 for their new svelt look.
The Wire S4
HBO’s The Wire is back for its fourth season. And right on the heels of S4’s debut comes the announcement that the show has been picked up for a concluding fifth season. There were two good articles in the recent Baltimore press worth checking out—one in the Sun and a wonderful feature in the CityPaper.
A close shave
Here’s a common question: why do cyclists shave their legs? Many people think that cyclists shave their legs to reduce drag, much like a swimmer. However, cutting through the wind and slicing through the water are somewhat different and as a result, shaved legs have almost no effect on aerodynamics. I always answer this question with a story. Here goes.
So. Do you drive a car? [A: Yes.] Do you have insurance for your car? [A: Yes.] When you drive your car, do you expect to crash it? [A: No.] But you still have insurance, right? Just in case? [A: Yes.]
For a cyclist, shaving your legs is like having insurance for your car. You don’t expect or plan on crashing, but it might happen. There are several benefits to shearing yourself. First, if you hit the pavement, you will likely slide on it, creating a wonderful abrasion known as “road rash.” Sliding on the road with hairy legs will actually create a worse wound as the hair will rip more skin off. Second, shaved legs make cleaning the wound much easier. Third, as the wound heals, you do not have to worry about an infection caused by hair healing in the wound.
Enough gore. Here are a few other benefits: 1) massage is easier and less painful, 2) perspiration will evaporate faster, which has a cooling effect, and 3) it just looks nice.
Tanabata
Tonight is Tanabata, the Japanese star festival, celebrating the once-a-year meeting of Orihime and Hikoboshi.
Long long ago, on the west bank of the Milky Way, there lived a beautiful girl Orihime. She was a skilled weaver and worked very hard every day. Tentei, the Emperor of the sky was very happy with her diligence and married her to a very hard working cowboy Hikoboshi from across the Milky Way. Hikoboshi and Orihime fell in love and started to live happily on the east bank. However, they spent all day long having fun together and forgot about their work. This made her father very angry, and he separated the two to opposite sides of the river, so that they could not meet. Orihime was so sad that she cried for days and nights. However, once a year on the seventh day of the seventh month, a flock of magpies forms a bridge across the Milky Way, and the two lovers are able to be with each other on this one night.
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ãŠã»ã—ã•ã¾ãらãら
ãã‚“ãŽã‚“ã™ãªã”
Double take
Was I the only one to have to read today’s headline, “Crack Found In Shuttle’s Foam Insulation,” more than once? Maybe it’s because I’m moving back to Baltimore soon . . .
Men (in tights)
Well, it’s Tour de France time again and readers who usually stop by for music will know that the frequency of cycling posts for the next 2 1/2 weeks will probably outnumber posts about music. In addition to checking the usual daily cycling sources, cycling fans might want to take a trip over to a relatively new cycling blog called Men (in tights). As you might expect from their name, there is a good deal of tongue-in-cheek fun, and a great deal of editorializing. They got their first real boost after getting plugged on PEZ. Although their writing had a bit more depth when it was more intermitent, their TdF coverage has been a little scrappy (much like the sprints these last two days)—daily posting is hard work sometimes. However, I’m confident they’ll grow into their roles as daily peloton pundits.
Out. Of. Control.
On the eve of the start of the 2006 Tour de France in Strasbourg—the first TdF in seven years sans one dominating American rider, the first TdF since Pantani in 1998 that could complete the “double,” a tour that was simply oozing excitement before it even started—bombs were dropped in the wake of the now infamous Operación Puerto affair. Under immense pressure from the UCI, the tour organizers, sponsors, and non-affected teams, teams have suspended their riders implicated in the biggest doping scandal since Festina at the 1998 Tour. The initial list totaled 31 riders, with more being tacked on as we write. And we’re talking big name boys on the list. Jan shall not be redeemed. Basso can kiss his double hopes goodbye. It’s really incredibly disappointing that the first Tour in the post-Armstrong era has to be run under this cloud of scandal, whose outcome, no matter how special for one rider, will always contain asterisks and “what if’s.”
The biggest loser: Alexandre Vinokourov (currently kicking himself for choosing the doomed Astaná-Würth (formerly known as Liberty Seguros) over Ag2R). The biggest winner(s): Discovery Channel (currently licking its lips), Floyd, and Levi.
