PMA

The life of an optimist will always sound good if he describes it

Health is wealth

In high school, my friend Billy Callis made me a CD with this song:

Dead Prez Be Healthy
It was inspirational to hear a cool hip-hop group rhyming about eating fresh, whole foods and exercising while rejecting alcohol, cigarettes, OTC medicines, and animal products. I first heard this at a time when I was decidedly abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and becoming very passionate about environmentalism, vegetarianism, and farming/gardening. I hope you enjoy the track as much as I do. [Warning: explicit lyrics at 2 minutes]

For a while now I have been hoping to write a list of the "essential ingredients of my Good Life"--foods and other things that I have made part of my routine. I think it might be useful to share lists like this, though I'm not sure why... Here goes... (in no particular order)

+ Avocado
+ Almonds, raw & unsalted
+ Mangoes, fresh
+ Broccoli & Carrots, raw (mixed with almonds!)
+ Basil
+ Avocado & Tuna (no mayo!)
+ Honey, honey, and more honey!!! (the all-curing panacea)
+ Peanut butter, crunchy
+ Pumpkin pie, chocolate, & cookies made by C
+ More avocado
+ Chipotle

One more night...

It turns out that I'm stuck in a hotel one more night--I wish I could be home with C and Alden. Tonight I will listen to this music until I fall asleep.

C, sorry I left you alone while you have so much to do. Maybe you could listen to this also.

I like this music because most of it, I believe, C would like too.

xo

Hotels are boring...

It's midnight and I'm zoning out on Sean Hannity on Fox News again. Newt Gingrich, former House Speaker and environmental savant, was invited to offer some commentary against Barack Obama via criticisms of Rev. Jeremy Wright. I enjoyed how Gingrich was trying to suggest Obama's judgment was impaired as evidenced by his ignorance of Wright's controversial views. However, my favorite part is when Gingrich objected to Wright's comparison of the morality of the bombing of Hiroshima [140,000 people dead] and the attack on New York on September 11, 2001 [3,000 people dead], as if to imply the atomic bombing of Hiroshima was justifiable and excusable. Will someone please explain to me the moral uprightness of a nuclear holocaust? [Not to mention the devastation of Nagasaki...80,000 dead.] Or maybe my favorite part was when Hannity was hanging on Gingrich's balls, which was the entire time. Not that this was at all of any importance--it was the most subtle faux-pas, but one I cared to jump on because I am holding a grudge against Newt.

Is anyone concerned that "American" is not a race? (That is to suggest, anti-American comments are not racist, right?)

So many far-fetched leaps to bring down Obama. Louis Farrakhan! Reverand Wright! Anti-Semitism! Hold on--isn't Obama a closet Muslim?! No no no--he's a racist black Christian--but not a real Christian: his pastor, who is friends with Farrakhan, teaches evil black liberation theology. White Americans are freaking out!

AmeriKKKa the Usual

I'm getting cracked up by people's concern about Obama's sentiment toward white people--that is to say, critics who are trying to sling mud against the Obama campaign. Is white America ignoring the fact that Obama's mother is WHITE?! I will admit I haven't been following all this ridiculous controversy, as much as I would like, but I haven't heard anyone say anything about Obama's mixed ethnicity. My theory is that AmeriKKKa is getting scared about his popularity and willing to muster up fear in the heart of the ignorant. What we're witnessing is racism against black Americans. People who oppose Obama are desperate to slander him. Ah, but that is the pungent stench of politics, c'est non?

...If I may interject, I would like to explain that I'm sitting in a hotel in the middle of nowhere-Ohio, watching Sean Hannity on Fox News, and Karl Rove is on looking like a racist douche bag...

While we're on the subject, I want to admit that there is a large part of me that is embarrassed to be a white man. I would say that this guilt throughout my young-adult life had influenced me to seek out membership in subcultures (esp. the "punk" community, and more recently the "hiphop" community) such that I might distance myself from mainstream America. I have tried to immerse myself in communities of people that follow egalitarian principles. I have at times resorted to piercing my nose and cutting my hair to outwardly distinguish myself from popular culture and embody that opposition. I have embraced alternative technologies that challenge conventional ones. At times like the height of this controversy, I want to shed all of my associations with a society that is so manipulated and willing to fall in line in a system founded on imperialism and racism, built by slavery, and designed to generate immense wealth for a few while grinding down an overwhelming majority.

Go pick up Dr. James Cone's Black Theology of Liberation. Good read. Not to drop names or anything, but I was fortunate enough to meet Dr. Cone and I care about his message. Jesus was a black man that was crucified under an oppressive regime.
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Meanwhile, Oklahoma Representative Sally Kern has recently (and unapologetically) said homosexuals are a bigger threat to the U.S. than terrorists. My friend Amanda has written a terrifically eloquent response in her blog, Only One Manda, which you will find linked on the left. I am currently writing Mrs. Kern an email to express my feelings. Please check out Amanda's article which unveils the incongruity of homophobia and modern Christianity.

"Who run it?!"

This is the route C and I ran today in 3.5 hours--just short of 19 miles if you don't include walking around Giant Eagle looking for chocolate samples and DVDs...haha! C hasn't run more than 90 minutes since last April, and then busted out with this 210 minute monster? She's crazy--crazy beautiful. Long runs are fun because, as C has convinced me, it is necessary to reward oneself. So, a great (big) lunch, some miscellaneous shopping, a terrific dinner including sweet Italian sausage, and Graeter's ice cream.

Also, we got some seeds started today! This included two varieties of tomatoes, two types of peppers, creeping thyme, and basil. I set up a 4' shop light with daylight spectrum bulbs in the basement. Hopefully the cool temperature down there doesn't stifle the germination of our lil' buddies. The shop light was already in the house. Some chain to hang the light, 2 bulbs, and the starting trays cost around $25. I'll post a picture of the set up when plants start pokin' out of the soil.

I'm getting pretty excited about life including warmer temperatures, bike riding and gardening with C, skateboarding, and playing with Aldocho.

Bike + Co-op !

Last night, I'm proud to say, I bought a bike from (and applied to become a member of) Third Hand Bike Co-op of Columbus. This is an amazing co-op that refurbishes donated bikes to sell while providing workshop space, tools, and programming for members and the public.

The bike I purchased is a single-speed Schwinn Probe mountain-bike-convert with road tires and drop handlebars. My favorite part might be the neon green brake cable housing or the bright green pedals that I'm sure came from a kid's bike. My only disappointment is that, due to the vertical dropouts, I need a chain tensioner to keep the chain taut...otherwise I'd dispense of its clunky ugliness. [Funny sidenote: I test-rode the bike down 5th Ave without back brakes.]


My membership in the co-op will afford me the chance to learn how to fix up bikes as I volunteer in the shop each month. Fortunately, Third Hand is located just a few blocks north of Jess & Mike's new apartment--which will offer good incentive to visit both my in-laws and the shop more often.

According to my payoff calculator, for a 1.4 mile commute, with gas at $3.45/gallon, and having only paid $50 for this tank, I will pay off my bike after 6.5 months of daily riding!

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Some other great Columbus bike resources:
ConsiderBiking.org
Cranksters radio - go to the archive to stream the radio show dedicated to biking around Columbus.

Plus:
Fixed-gear documentary, Getting Fixed: This video explores the fixed gear phenomenon.

Art of a bike messenger film: See bikes battle and outwit cars on the streets. Unfortunately, these cyclists end up on sidewalks, dodging pedestrians--a divisive move.

The Great Near-Blizzard of '08

Fun times during a Level 2 Snow Emergency.