Clinton/Gore ‘08

Not that it would likely ever happen, but I was just thinking it would be hilarious if Hilary got the Democratic nomination and chose for her running mate Al Gore, with his recent Nobel prize-winning celebrity status. Then everyone could save a few trees and reuse their twelve-year-old Clinton/Gore campaign signs.

For what it’s worth, I’m rooting for an Obama/Edwards ticket.

“When I grow up, I want to be a web designer”

In the eternal words of Homer Simpson, “it’s funny because it’s true!”

And while we’re on the subject of designer stereotypes…

Speaking of work, my company has started an “Employee of the Month” program. One hard-working employee gets the privilege of a VIP parking spot, including first-class valet treatment, parking on P1, and a car wash.

Seeing as I ride my bike, I’m not feeling much motivation here. Maybe if I were selected, I could bring a bike rack to set up in the VIP parking spot and lock my bike to that. It would beat the rusty and recently-crowded one we have sitting outside the building, especially for the rainier months. I’d be happy if I could just bring my bike into the office to keep it from getting stolen but that is sadly against building policy.

One of my coworkers walks to work. He joked that maybe he could setup a shoe rack in the VIP spot.

Eye Candy: Street Fighter IV Trailer

Bronwyn and I were at a friends’ house a few weeks back where we downloaded the original Street Fighter II on to their Wii. It was good nostalgic fun, but who knew that Capcom was still at work on the Street Fighter franchise beyond the usual Marvel vs. Capcom vs. the invading Persian Hordes: Ultra Hyper Party Edition II? Check out this hotness for Street Fighter IV. Supposedly, one of the creators is Atsushi Inaba, the guy behind the visually stunning PS2 game, Okami.

C.R.A.N.K. MOB

I am so looking forward to this Saturday night, especially since I missed Midnight Ridazz last weekend because I was busy in Vegas getting in a car accident and losing all of my money.

They said it could not be done. When confronted with the very concept of it, they would just scoff or snicker and pompously state, “Why that’s prepostourous! By George, that would never work!” But in a world ridden with stuffy naysayers, a mob of rag tag rapscallion fanatics set forth to prove them wrong. This mob will send a message –nay, a philosophy — out to the world which is so innovative and so boundlessly thought-provoking that it will, without a doubt, be heard on a larger-than-life scale. Soon enough, everyone will know:

YOU CAN HAVE FUN ON A BICYCLE!

This month, C.R.A.N.K. MOB will convene at Sawtelle Blvd & La Grange Ave in West LA. Look for the big red brick building on Sawtelle, two blocks North of Olympic Blvd. We’ll meet at 9:30pm and ride at 10:00pm.

You can expect more bikes, more costumes, more rambunctious tomfoolery and more fun! Bring party favors, noisemakers and your crank joose! Of course this is Halloween month so dress to distress!

This is a theme ride… this month’s theme: ANY THEME.
Make it what you want.

And, as always, in true C.R.A.N.K. MOB fashion…

…be prepared to party.

More info on the Midngiht Ridazz site

Slice of Random: Star Wars Trumpet lady

Sparkle motion!

Slice of Random: Ikea Commercial

At least I think it’s a commercial. Been a while since I posted a random YouTube video, so here you go.

Daaaamn Raleigh

Wow, somebody at Raleigh is doing something right. These two models, the Sojourn and the single-speed One Way, are some of the most impressive off-the-shelf rides I’ve seen from a major bike company.

Seriously, who makes bikes like these nowadays? I don’t really follow the industry at all, but pretty much all major bike companies only care about putting out either mountain bikes or racing road bikes. Comfortable, solid, all-around steel touring and utility bikes haven’t been en vogue since the ’70s and early ’80s. Even just a year ago, it was pretty difficult to find something like the Sojourn. I know; I was looking and ended up getting a 1993 Bridgestone RB-2 off of craigslist and even that needed some work to get it just the way I like it. The Sojourn is pretty much exactly what I wanted… and in cream! (Or khaki, I guess is what they’re calling it.) The One Way is also a pretty beautiful machine. Swap out the drops for some mustache bars and I’d almost be willing to trade my fixed townie for it, if only to get that sweet British Racing green. Sure they’re not lugged and they’ve got sloping top tubes, but I can live with that.

At a reported MSRP of $999, the Sojourn is a hell of a deal. The Surly Long Haul Trucker complete bike is about the nearest competition, with a similar price and slightly better components, but the LHT doesn’t come already equipped with fenders, rack, disc brakes, and Brooks saddle and bar tape (and I love me some Brooks). I don’t know how much the One Way is going to go for, but I imagine less than the Sojourn.

Music Buzz

This is what the internet sounds like today.

Mountain Biking!

I finally took Rosie out for a spin in the dirt for the first time since I got her in July. Not only was it her first time, but it was also the first time I’ve ever ridden a bike on very technical single track. I’ve only ever ridden on very straightforward fire roads, and even that hardly ever and not in many many years.

I rode with the Mountaineerzz, which may have been a little over my head for just starting out, but I think I did alright considering. At the end of the ride, I admitted to the ride leader that it was the first time I had done anything like that, to which he responded, “Wow, not bad. You definitely went from green star t black star. Those were some pretty difficult trails and you did pretty well.” So that’s encouraging.

It was at the same time some of the most fun I’ve had and the most terrified I’ve been on a bike in a while. I also had a fair amount of minor spills and am pretty sore today as a result. I think I may actually like climbing up hills more than charging down them. My fully rigid bike is certainly more suited for that and going up, unlike going down, doesn’t make me want to crap my pants.

I’m not exactly sure about the route, but I think it went something like this, starting at Sunset and Fairfax and heading up Nichols Canyon to enter a fire road. From here we were able to see all the way to Long Beach and Catalina Island. The air was unbelievably clear. The fire road eventually took us up to Mulholland. From Mulholland, we headed to Fryman Canyon and down some trails (this was the terrifying part) to another road that took us to Wilacre Park. From there we went up and down some more single track before crossing over to Franklin Canyon zooming down a fire road (this I could handle and was an absolute blast) until we hit Beverly and eventually Sunset, riding Sunset Strip back to the starting point.

Being of the urban cycling persuasion, I’ve never really like the idea of driving out somewhere to ride a bike. I had thought that, with that mindset, opportunities for mountain biking would be slim. Discovering that there are a lot of fun trails an easy riding distance away was pretty surprising and has me now researching other places to ride within city limits. Closer to my neighborhood than yesterday’s ride are Griffith Park, Elysian Park, and Ernest E. Debs Regional Park. I’ll have to see if there’s anything fun in any of those areas. Whee!

My Next Staple Site: Bands in Town

I enjoy going to shows, but I have trouble keeping up with who’s playing where and when. I hardly ever pick up an L.A. Weekly to find out who’s playing, and even when I do it usually only gives a heads up to shows only a week or two in advance. I keep abreast of the schedules of pretty much only three venues - Spaceland, The Echo, and The Echoplex. That’s because Spaceland is my favorite venue in the entire city and I’m on their mailing list. But other than that, there’s just way too many clubs in this city and way too many bands that I like to keep tabs on every event.

Bands in Town to the rescue! The site searches show listings from all over and aggregates that info into one convenient locale. When you sign up, you list your favorite bands. You also have the option to connect to your last.fm account (which, if you don’t know, tracks what music you listen to and forms music recommendations based on listeners with similar tastes).

Once the site knows what bands you are in to and what KIND of bands you are in to, it puts together a tag cloud on your homepage composed of a bunch of band names. The size of a tag increases depending on how much you like the band AND how soon they are having a show, so the results are doubly relevant and easy to recognize at a glance. Through the mighty powers of AJAX, there is also on the fly adjustment of search parameters based on date, distance, and ticket price.

As you find shows that interest you, you can bookmark them by adding them to your calendar. You can even export that information to iCal or set up an RSS feed. And of course, you can take your concert list and turn it into a little widget, because everybody loves little widgets.

Bands in Town is definitely going on my list of web sites I can’t live with out.