spasticrobot

Fall Music News

Some more exciting music news:

Stereolab have three new EPs dropping in September. Very exciting!

Broadcast are releasing a new album called Tender Buttons in September. The first single, American Boy comes out on Monday. I just listened to a leak and I like it, but maybe not as much as the HaHa Sound stuff.

Also, M.I.A., M83, and The Doves are all coming to New Orleans in September/October.

I can't wait for this hot, stagnant air to clear out and be replaced with crisp air and cool sounds.

Some Consumer Products I need to Acquire

12" iBook G4 - My 2003 PowerBook is in the middle of some sad death throws. I do most of my computational heavy lifting at work these days and this little guy is the purely functional device I need for surfing, writing and organizational tasks.

Sony KV-30HS420 30" FD Trinitron WEGA HDTV - I need TV back in my life. I plan on purchasing this TV next month and getting Digital Cable again, this time with DVR.

Medium Environmentalist - I've been looking for the right work shoe replacement for a few months and I think this may be the one. The perfect work/casual balance.

Sony In-Dash CD Player - Our CD player was stolen a while back and we never replaced it. Shanna needs this in a major way. It's coming next week.

New Boards of Canada Album Announced!

YES!

Faith

The Saints are promising a lot with their new marketing campaign. You Gotta Have Faith the spots proclaim, as in “this year may be THE year”. I have to say that judging by their offseason acquisitions, their draft picks and for the first time in my memory their ability to sign all of the key players before training camp started the commercials could be right. I have long believed that most of the problems in the Saints organization were due to their management and business practices. It looks like they are trying hard to change that.

So if the organization is right, the coaching is right (which it also appears to be), and the players actually get along and show up to win this year I think this could be the best season since 2000. I will see them play for myself on Friday against the Seahawks. It’s only a preseason game but it will be nice to be in the dome and to see my beloved team on the field again.

Here are my regular season predictions for 2005:
9/11 at Carolina WIN
9/18 N.Y. Giants WIN
9/25 at Minnesota Lose
10/02 Buffalo WIN
10/09 at Green Bay WIN
10/16 Atlanta Lose
10/23 at St. Louis WIN
10/30 Miami WIN
11/06 at Chicago WIN
11/20 at New England Lose
11/27 at N.Y. Jets Lose
12/04 Tampa Bay WIN
12/12 at Atlanta WIN
12/18 Carolina WIN
12/24 Detroit WIN
01/01 at Tampa Bay WIN

That's right, 12-4! WHO DAT?

Collette Chan

This is my beautiful new Motobecane Le Champion racer! You can see more pictures here. I've been putting this bike together for over a week and have only ridden a few times. Tonight I put the finishing touches on, a pair of everyday wheels and a new seatbag to keep tubes, a multitool and a co2 inflator in.

I'm pretty proud of myself right now. For taking the financial risk and burden of buying a racing bike, for learning how to work on wheels, brakes, & derailleurs on my own, and most of all for getting this far into a fitness activity, which has really become an obsession. My next goals are to ride a century and to ride my first race in September and October, respectively.

Special thanks to my lovely wife for being so understanding during my feverish embrace of this excellent activity.

What I've been up to lately

I've been notably absent from this space recently, as has been my habit for the past 4 months or so. I really don't know why I don't update as much as I could or should. I'm just busy. Busy with life, which is a good thing. And because the list is such a perfect device for conveying lots of information with very little time or effort I will provide yet another in a nearly endless succession of them to narrate what activities have been lately occupying my time:

EATING healthy foods to help me be fit.
RIDING my beautiful Motobecane which I have christened Collette Chan due to her French/Taiwanese heritage.
READING Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, which is perhaps my favorite of the series so far. Also many William Gibson and Bruce Sterling novels as usual.
CANOODLING with my wife and partner in crime.
ATTENDING classes at the gym to further promote fitness and well-being.
WATCHING summertime movies including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the Harry Potter series, Constantine, A Very Long Engagement and many more.
WORKING ON a variety of projects both professional and personal.
LISTENING to the luscious sounds of Los Indios Tabajaras.
BASKING in the splendor of Louisiana thunderstorms both day and night versions.
ENJOYING the occasional cocktail and cigarette, while being careful not to overinduldge myself.
LEARNING the ins and outs of bicycle maintenance.

Thanks to Kumar for the verb list format.

Words of Advice for Young People

That Bill Burroughs sure was a wise old codger. This is my favorite part:

If, after having been exposed to someone's presence, you feel as though you've lost a quart of plasma avoid that presence. You need it like you need pernicious anemia.