Saturday, December 13, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Worth Watching
Credit to Pitchfork for making a list of the 40 best videos of 2008. The vast majority really are amazing videos and you should check the list out, but I thought three were worth the most attention, being both my favorite music and wild videos.
The first one that really stunned me was Gnarls Barkley
Hot Chip is great, and this video is mind-bottling
And of course, Lykke always steals my heart
The first one that really stunned me was Gnarls Barkley
Hot Chip is great, and this video is mind-bottling
And of course, Lykke always steals my heart
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Strange Overtones
If you haven't heard the album "Everything That Happens Will Happen Today" by David Byrne and Brian Eno yet, you need to go listen to it. Right now. It's been on repeat in my room/house/car/head for the past several weeks and it's still so fucking good. I do have to credit Alicia for posting the video first, from which I got obsessed with the album. Impeccable.
Drew's Coming to Play
Drew's gonna come play on the magic that is ralph, and by ralph I mean blog. I think "ralph" is a better term for it, and in addition to having a partner in crime, calling it "ralphing" or referring to my "ralph" makes me feel much better/less self-conscious about doing this. Anyways, Drew is now a contributor.
3 Volkswagens and a Toyota
Just a little backlog of awesome cars I've seen around the city:
Raaaaad little Transporter in Woodside. Synchro. Lots of "vw tech" stickers, pretty sure the guy is a mechanic.
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And it's father on the street in the upper mission. Seats only had springs, no covering. Cumfterbull.
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This little hot toddy was right across from Dolores Park. Just about exactly what I want when I become a ski bum. The truck is great and will always be, but it'd be fun to be able to throw a couple people/dogs in the back and roll around in this beast.
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Branching out into the new stuff, I think this is about as good as a Volkswagen can look/be. New R32 on Audi RS4 wheels, lowered just right. Smoking.
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Raaaaad little Transporter in Woodside. Synchro. Lots of "vw tech" stickers, pretty sure the guy is a mechanic.
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And it's father on the street in the upper mission. Seats only had springs, no covering. Cumfterbull.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This little hot toddy was right across from Dolores Park. Just about exactly what I want when I become a ski bum. The truck is great and will always be, but it'd be fun to be able to throw a couple people/dogs in the back and roll around in this beast.
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Branching out into the new stuff, I think this is about as good as a Volkswagen can look/be. New R32 on Audi RS4 wheels, lowered just right. Smoking.
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When you wish upon a star
Last thing I had meant to catch up on. I've been a "volunteer" crew coach since I got laid off, and I love it. I love being around the team, I love coaching, I love being around rowing. Just sucked because I was going to have to get a real job and eventually give up my chillingspree during the days because unemployment checks don't quite get it done.
Then, life conspired with me. I got a job as an assistant coach for the women's team now as brother Donny only did the job for the fall. It will pay the bills, I can still coach the men a few days a week, and it will be really good experience as far as coaching goes. Very much looking forward to starting in January and, while I'll be getting up early a lot more often, I think it will be great. I'll be doing what I love and I'll have most of my days free to nap, tutor, have fun, and be productive. So that's that.
Then, life conspired with me. I got a job as an assistant coach for the women's team now as brother Donny only did the job for the fall. It will pay the bills, I can still coach the men a few days a week, and it will be really good experience as far as coaching goes. Very much looking forward to starting in January and, while I'll be getting up early a lot more often, I think it will be great. I'll be doing what I love and I'll have most of my days free to nap, tutor, have fun, and be productive. So that's that.
Sebastien Tellier
I don't have too much to say about this one right now, other than his beats are addicting and he was really fun.
Bike routes and Ferraris
A few weeks ago I had the idea that I should get out of bed and go for a bike ride. This was right before I left for Thanksgiving, when it was 80 degrees in the middle of November. I figured it'd be fun to bike out to the ocean as I'd only been to Ocean Beach once, when I first moved to the city and met Kate, Geoff, and Stevelin there. That may have actually been the first time I met Geoff and Caitlin. The ocean is still a very foreign thing to me, and as it has always seemed so far away, it blows my mind that I can get to it so easily and that SF is actually right on it. I understand other bodies of water very well; the Puget Sound, the Bay, etc. These contained bodies, or at least bordered sections, are easy to comprehend as being close by. Meanwhile, the ocean has always been associated with Southern California vacations for me, or long trips across Washington to the ocean there. Either way, it was always something far away. That doesn't diminish how awesome it is, I'm just not used to it being right there.
So the bike ride. I looked on gmaps and just randomly chose what looked like a decent way out. It takes me all the way down Market St, up and over the big hill, which is a fun way to start out. Near the top there are some amazing views of the bay and the city, then it crests and I get to fly down the hills to the beach. On warm days there's a marked change in temperature as the beach nears. Then it's down to the long highway which is decent for biking, certainly beautiful, but the pavement kind of sucks. Then I get to go through Golden Gate Park, which is awesome because I'd never really spent much time there either. Now I have a better idea of the layout, the scenery, and I now know for a fact that there are actually bison in the park. What the fuck. Up Stanyan past Haight for a couple big hills, then back down fast again into the Castro. Fun little ride, a good way to get in some miles without being too daunting and only taking about 50 mins.
Which leads to my next point of interest, being the Ferrari that parks on the street on a hill at the end of my bike ride. I was cranking up the last hill and, even though I knew it would mean a painful start back up the hill, I had to stop. A silver Ferrari 400 was just chilling, parked like any other car, on a steep incline no less. Can't imagine doing that much damage to that clutch all the time, knowing the pain that will come when it has to be replaced... ouch. Anyways, I took some pictures and submitted them to Jalopnik, so maybe someday it'll be on their Down on the Street.
No big deal.
So the bike ride. I looked on gmaps and just randomly chose what looked like a decent way out. It takes me all the way down Market St, up and over the big hill, which is a fun way to start out. Near the top there are some amazing views of the bay and the city, then it crests and I get to fly down the hills to the beach. On warm days there's a marked change in temperature as the beach nears. Then it's down to the long highway which is decent for biking, certainly beautiful, but the pavement kind of sucks. Then I get to go through Golden Gate Park, which is awesome because I'd never really spent much time there either. Now I have a better idea of the layout, the scenery, and I now know for a fact that there are actually bison in the park. What the fuck. Up Stanyan past Haight for a couple big hills, then back down fast again into the Castro. Fun little ride, a good way to get in some miles without being too daunting and only taking about 50 mins.
Which leads to my next point of interest, being the Ferrari that parks on the street on a hill at the end of my bike ride. I was cranking up the last hill and, even though I knew it would mean a painful start back up the hill, I had to stop. A silver Ferrari 400 was just chilling, parked like any other car, on a steep incline no less. Can't imagine doing that much damage to that clutch all the time, knowing the pain that will come when it has to be replaced... ouch. Anyways, I took some pictures and submitted them to Jalopnik, so maybe someday it'll be on their Down on the Street.
No big deal.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Get Inspired
It's been running through my mind that now that I'm going to have a job that gets me through the bills and also leaves me with full days, I should do something positive with my days. Unemployment has been sweet, what with entirely full days to... lie in bed. And while that is living the dream for a while, living the Dream is doing awesome things, not sitting on my ass all the time. I've started doing things... biking is a great fallback plan. But I think that long term, there are some sweet things I could learn, do, explore. Where to start, what to do... that is now the question.
The main things that have been in my mind are creative. I've done woodworking and metal and design, and I want to do more of that. Not sure where to start, but I went to the De Young museum today for the first time and it was awesome. I guess writing on this shit is part of my trying to be creative. There was an Yves Saint Laurent exhibit and one by Maya Lin. They were very different, but both really, really stunning and really inspiring. Beyond that, just some of the rooms, architecture, and furniture at the museum made me want to do things. The benches were these gorgeous, modular triangles, either concave or convex. That really triggered my woodworking bug.
Moving away from those selfish endeavors, another thought is doing productive things. I may talk to 826 Valencia and try to tutor there during the day. Just had that idea now, but I think it's a good one. Lots of positive things from that. Wanted to when I went to the conference there, but at the time I had that hindrance called a "day job" and could only do it on Sundays. Now I can do it during the week. Exciting.
So that's something. Going to a concert tonight, Little Joy. We'll see. Not sure it can live up to Sebastian Tellier, but we'll see.
The main things that have been in my mind are creative. I've done woodworking and metal and design, and I want to do more of that. Not sure where to start, but I went to the De Young museum today for the first time and it was awesome. I guess writing on this shit is part of my trying to be creative. There was an Yves Saint Laurent exhibit and one by Maya Lin. They were very different, but both really, really stunning and really inspiring. Beyond that, just some of the rooms, architecture, and furniture at the museum made me want to do things. The benches were these gorgeous, modular triangles, either concave or convex. That really triggered my woodworking bug.
Moving away from those selfish endeavors, another thought is doing productive things. I may talk to 826 Valencia and try to tutor there during the day. Just had that idea now, but I think it's a good one. Lots of positive things from that. Wanted to when I went to the conference there, but at the time I had that hindrance called a "day job" and could only do it on Sundays. Now I can do it during the week. Exciting.
So that's something. Going to a concert tonight, Little Joy. We'll see. Not sure it can live up to Sebastian Tellier, but we'll see.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Rerererefound my blog
7 months after the last post, I found my blog again. I'm glad I wrote down all that shit when my truck got stolen, because that was crazy.
Now I have lots of time during the day, so maybe this would be a fun thing to motivate me to do things. And stuff. Might as well start with the truck. Wall-E, as he is called by some, is doing well, though he needs an oil change. Well, he has mostly new oil but I need to change the filter. Can I do that without draining the oil? Don't know. Anyways, he has a parking permit so I don't have to walk 5 blocks up hill both ways. He also has a Playmobil sticker these days, and will probably have another, larger one soon.
Soo, yeah. This is a start. Things worth writing about in upcoming posts: my bike ride route, the Ferrari that parks on the street on said route, rowing and coaching, Sebastien Tellier and other great music, and maybe the rest of the lifewave.
Now I have lots of time during the day, so maybe this would be a fun thing to motivate me to do things. And stuff. Might as well start with the truck. Wall-E, as he is called by some, is doing well, though he needs an oil change. Well, he has mostly new oil but I need to change the filter. Can I do that without draining the oil? Don't know. Anyways, he has a parking permit so I don't have to walk 5 blocks up hill both ways. He also has a Playmobil sticker these days, and will probably have another, larger one soon.
Soo, yeah. This is a start. Things worth writing about in upcoming posts: my bike ride route, the Ferrari that parks on the street on said route, rowing and coaching, Sebastien Tellier and other great music, and maybe the rest of the lifewave.
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