The podcast's back with part 3 of my conversation with Ric Dube about pop culture guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").
The show notes...
Topics:
- Ric's new pitch: Guilty Pleasure, the movie
- Inspired by Pineapple Express
- Starring Shia Laboeuf (again), McLovin and Jonah Hill
- Murder mystery centered around an old sitcom star's murder
- The plot thickens
- The dramaturgical triad...or something like that
- Mila Kunis plays a stripper/comics fan who befriends our heroes
- Murdered played by Peter Stormare, of course
- Ric recommends Fanboys
- Gratuitous plug for Ric's movie review site, MoreLostTime.com
- Reviewed the first Benji movie
- Back in the pre-PETA '70s, horrible things happened to animals
- Benji was baby's first exploitation film
- If the hero is wanted for a crime he didn't commit, you know it'll be good
- Bonehead of the Week
Music:
- Sloan - Take It Upon Yourself
- No Age - You're a Target
- The Almighty Defenders - Cone of Silence
- 7 Worlds Collide - Bodisattva Blues
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Sloan song is on the band's forthcoming self-released EP. Find out more and download the track here.
The No Age song is on the album Losing Feeling on Sub Pop Records, where you can find out more and download the song.
The Almighty Defenders song is on the band's self-titled album on Vice Records, where you can find out more and download the song.
The 7 Worlds Collide song is on the album The Sun Came Out on EMI. The song is courtesy of RCRD LBL, where you can download it.
The show is sponsored by Budget. Go to Budget.com/CompCon to save 10% off any car reservation or $30 off a weekly rental. Help out the show by patronizing my sponsors!
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Got Some
Just catching my breath a little from a busy day of soccer-related activities. I actually need to hit the hay around 10 tonight because I'm getting up at 5 a.m. tomorrow. Every year I volunteer to help out at the Nahant 30K. Last year, I got totally soaked because it poured the whole time and it looks like it'll be that way again tomorrow. Lovely.
So as much I felt pretty good running Reach the Beach last weekend, I was pretty sore for a few days afterward. Ended running Tuesday, skipping hockey Wednesday because my legs were really tight, and running Thursday, Friday and today. I'm still toying with the idea of running a half marathon this fall. One possibility is the Manchester Half on November 1. We'll see.
I finally finished Infinite Jest this week, only two days after the Infinite Summer deadline. Not bad: 1079 pages in three months. Given everything I had going on and the usual glacial pace of my reading, it was more than I could have hoped for. Even better, I really enjoyed the book. David Foster Wallace wrote it in 1996 and foresaw a lot of stuff, including the corporatization of America, our increased dependence on pharmaceuticals and the use of entertainment to calm and distract the masses. An amazing read. The group has already planned its next group read: Bram Stoker's Dracula for the month of October. I'm going to skip that because I have a stack of books on my nightstand I need to get to, but I expect to join them to read the next book, Roberto Bolano's 2666, in January. Having the deadline and reading the discussion really helps push me to keep reading when normally I would just blow it off.
Since Apple rolled out iTunes 9 recently, I've been enjoying the Genius function, which creates mixes from your iTunes collection based on individual songs you select. Today, I used David Bowie's "DJ" as a jumping off point and Genius created a great mix that included this classic:
So as much I felt pretty good running Reach the Beach last weekend, I was pretty sore for a few days afterward. Ended running Tuesday, skipping hockey Wednesday because my legs were really tight, and running Thursday, Friday and today. I'm still toying with the idea of running a half marathon this fall. One possibility is the Manchester Half on November 1. We'll see.
I finally finished Infinite Jest this week, only two days after the Infinite Summer deadline. Not bad: 1079 pages in three months. Given everything I had going on and the usual glacial pace of my reading, it was more than I could have hoped for. Even better, I really enjoyed the book. David Foster Wallace wrote it in 1996 and foresaw a lot of stuff, including the corporatization of America, our increased dependence on pharmaceuticals and the use of entertainment to calm and distract the masses. An amazing read. The group has already planned its next group read: Bram Stoker's Dracula for the month of October. I'm going to skip that because I have a stack of books on my nightstand I need to get to, but I expect to join them to read the next book, Roberto Bolano's 2666, in January. Having the deadline and reading the discussion really helps push me to keep reading when normally I would just blow it off.
Since Apple rolled out iTunes 9 recently, I've been enjoying the Genius function, which creates mixes from your iTunes collection based on individual songs you select. Today, I used David Bowie's "DJ" as a jumping off point and Genius created a great mix that included this classic:
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
When the World is Running Down, You Make the Best of What's Still Around
Okay, a few days after the fact, here's my full recap of my Reach the Beach adventure. An abridged version of this ran as my Salem News running column Thursday:
Sleep deprivation. Pain. Exhaustion. Limited food intake. Confusion. All of these were key elements in last weekend’s Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire. And I almost forgot the most important element: Fun.
This was the 11th year of Reach the Beach, in which 400 teams ran the approximately 207 miles from Franconia Notch to Hampton Beach. The event kicked off last Friday morning and wrapped up Saturday evening. Most of the teams had 12 runners and two 15-person vans, with the vans alternating every six legs for the event’s 36 total legs. We’d each be running three legs; my total was 18.25 miles.
I had done several relays before, but never one as long as RTB. I joined a team called The Van Down by the River after getting invited by a co-worker; she was the only person I knew on the team. We stayed in Attitash Thursday night at a cabin owned by one of our teammates after a great team-bonding meal at a local restaurant.
Our start time was 12:20 p.m. Friday, so we were able to relax in the morning before we drove the 45 minutes to Cannon Mountain and the start. Teams were staggered to begin from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the fastest runners going last.
Right after we got to the start, the wind started picking up and the drizzle began. There were teams of runners dressed as superheroes, cavemen, and cows. We decorated our van with funny catchphrases from the Chris Farley “Van Down by the River” sketches on Saturday Night Live, but that was the extent of our getting in character.
The race organizers checked to make sure we had the proper reflective vests with flashing lights and two headlamps or flashlights for the overnight legs. We received an orientation; the big rules were we couldn’t wear iPods or headphones while running, we had to run on the marked side of the road (which was often with traffic, not against it), we had to keep the noise to a minimum during legs 19 through 31, which were designated as “quiet zones” because most of the runners would be going through during overnight hours, and we had to use the Porta-Potties provided. Public urination was a major no-no. We then had our team photo taken and prepared for our first runner to start. I was the first runner in the second van, so I still had several hours to go before my run. We drove to a nearby diner to get some lunch (I opted for some vegetable soup) and then returned to the cabin in Attitash to hang out until we received word from the Van 1 team about its progress. Most of my teammates opted for naps, but I stayed up and read a book; I was too nervous to sleep, I guess. Our team captain, Melissa, had plugged in our estimated race paces into a spreadsheet and predicted that my first leg would begin around 5:30.
As it turned out, Van 1’s runners were ahead of schedule and I would be running around 5. We got out to the transition area and even though it was now sunny out, I had to wear a headlamp and vest because the rules stipulated that you had to wear that stuff from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. It was nice to finally be running, 25 hours after I had left Beverly. My first leg was 7.2 miles. It was pretty hilly for the first few miles, but there were a lot of downhills for the last half. I developed a side stitch about halfway through the run and walked a few times to see if it would go away. Finally, it did and I finished strong in 54 minutes, a 7:28 pace. I handed off the magnetic wristband/baton to the next runner and headed back with my teammates to the van. From there we provided support (e.g., water) for the runner and then drove to the next transfer area so the next runner would be ready for the next leg. By the time our third runner started, it was pretty dark, so the lit-up vests and headlamps were important. In addition to all the RTB vans driving from point to point, there was still plenty of traffic on the roads.
We had estimated that I’d be running again sometime between 2 and 3 a.m., so once we parked at the next vehicle transition area in Belmont a little after 10 p.m. Friday night, we tried to get some sleep. One team member, Beth, was particularly comfortable sleeping outdoors, so she found a nearby spot to set up her tent and was out within minutes. The rest of us slept in the van; I got about two hours of fitful sleep because I kept waking up, worried I would sleep through my leg. Finally, we got the call around 1:15 a.m. that the last runner from the other van was about 45 minutes away. A half hour later, I started getting ready and was out by the transition area at 2. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and shorts; the temperature was in the low 40s, so it wasn’t long before my teeth were chattering. The second leg was 4.3 miles and about a half-mile into it, you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. Thankfully, I had the headlamp. Every so often, an RTB van would pass by and light things up a little. I overtook a few runners who had left before me and was passed by a few speedy guys. I kept a close watch out for critters but didn’t see any, although I did smell a skunk and ran a little faster. The last 1.3 miles were on a side road that was even darker than the highway I had been running on. I finished in 32:12 and was glad to be done for a while. My right leg was pretty tight, but more than anything, I needed some sleep. But there was too much going on.
Although a couple of my teammates were able to sleep on the van when they weren’t running, I wanted to stay awake to cheer on the runners. Only three of us were allowed to drive the rental van and I wasn’t one of them, so I hung out in the back row with all my stuff and took photos at the transition points. By the time our last runner started her leg at 7 a.m., the sun was up. We headed to the vehicle transition area at Bear Brook State Park and Van 1 took over for their final legs. By this point it was around 9 a.m., so we had a few hours to kill before we had to be ready to run again.
We decided to get some breakfast at the Airport Diner in Manchester, which was a little out of our way. It was 10 by the time we ate and I was concerned that whatever I ordered would be a potential problem when I ran my final 6.7 mile leg, so I kept things simple and ordered an egg and toast. We finally got to Kingston around 11 and everyone just collapsed either in the van or on the grass outside for a while. I got about a half hour of sleep, but it was so hot and smelly in the van that I went outside. Coincidentally, the transition area was right in front of my old high school, Sanborn Regional. Hadn’t been there in about 24 years. I took some time to stretch my extremely sore legs and just enjoyed the sun.
Finally, we got the word that the last runner in Van 1, Melissa, was on her way. She arrived around 1 p.m. and off I went on Route 111 toward Exeter. I had a really bad attitude going into the run because my stomach was bothering me, I was exhausted and my right leg was really tight. Almost immediately, the side stitch flared up again and I told myself to take it easy. As a team, we were more than an hour ahead of schedule, so I didn’t have to run too hard. And sure enough, the stitch soon went away and I felt a lot better. The route had some rolling hills, including a big one at mile three, but I took advantage of some serious downhills and finished strong in 50:21, a 7:32 pace. It was nice to be finished running, but we had five more runners to go. Fortunately, the rest of the legs were fairly short: 2.2, 1.9, 4, 3.4 and 4 miles, respectively.
Sleep deprivation. Pain. Exhaustion. Limited food intake. Confusion. All of these were key elements in last weekend’s Reach the Beach Relay in New Hampshire. And I almost forgot the most important element: Fun.
This was the 11th year of Reach the Beach, in which 400 teams ran the approximately 207 miles from Franconia Notch to Hampton Beach. The event kicked off last Friday morning and wrapped up Saturday evening. Most of the teams had 12 runners and two 15-person vans, with the vans alternating every six legs for the event’s 36 total legs. We’d each be running three legs; my total was 18.25 miles.
I had done several relays before, but never one as long as RTB. I joined a team called The Van Down by the River after getting invited by a co-worker; she was the only person I knew on the team. We stayed in Attitash Thursday night at a cabin owned by one of our teammates after a great team-bonding meal at a local restaurant.
Our start time was 12:20 p.m. Friday, so we were able to relax in the morning before we drove the 45 minutes to Cannon Mountain and the start. Teams were staggered to begin from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., the fastest runners going last.
Right after we got to the start, the wind started picking up and the drizzle began. There were teams of runners dressed as superheroes, cavemen, and cows. We decorated our van with funny catchphrases from the Chris Farley “Van Down by the River” sketches on Saturday Night Live, but that was the extent of our getting in character.
The race organizers checked to make sure we had the proper reflective vests with flashing lights and two headlamps or flashlights for the overnight legs. We received an orientation; the big rules were we couldn’t wear iPods or headphones while running, we had to run on the marked side of the road (which was often with traffic, not against it), we had to keep the noise to a minimum during legs 19 through 31, which were designated as “quiet zones” because most of the runners would be going through during overnight hours, and we had to use the Porta-Potties provided. Public urination was a major no-no. We then had our team photo taken and prepared for our first runner to start. I was the first runner in the second van, so I still had several hours to go before my run. We drove to a nearby diner to get some lunch (I opted for some vegetable soup) and then returned to the cabin in Attitash to hang out until we received word from the Van 1 team about its progress. Most of my teammates opted for naps, but I stayed up and read a book; I was too nervous to sleep, I guess. Our team captain, Melissa, had plugged in our estimated race paces into a spreadsheet and predicted that my first leg would begin around 5:30.
As it turned out, Van 1’s runners were ahead of schedule and I would be running around 5. We got out to the transition area and even though it was now sunny out, I had to wear a headlamp and vest because the rules stipulated that you had to wear that stuff from 5:30 p.m. to 7 a.m. It was nice to finally be running, 25 hours after I had left Beverly. My first leg was 7.2 miles. It was pretty hilly for the first few miles, but there were a lot of downhills for the last half. I developed a side stitch about halfway through the run and walked a few times to see if it would go away. Finally, it did and I finished strong in 54 minutes, a 7:28 pace. I handed off the magnetic wristband/baton to the next runner and headed back with my teammates to the van. From there we provided support (e.g., water) for the runner and then drove to the next transfer area so the next runner would be ready for the next leg. By the time our third runner started, it was pretty dark, so the lit-up vests and headlamps were important. In addition to all the RTB vans driving from point to point, there was still plenty of traffic on the roads.
We had estimated that I’d be running again sometime between 2 and 3 a.m., so once we parked at the next vehicle transition area in Belmont a little after 10 p.m. Friday night, we tried to get some sleep. One team member, Beth, was particularly comfortable sleeping outdoors, so she found a nearby spot to set up her tent and was out within minutes. The rest of us slept in the van; I got about two hours of fitful sleep because I kept waking up, worried I would sleep through my leg. Finally, we got the call around 1:15 a.m. that the last runner from the other van was about 45 minutes away. A half hour later, I started getting ready and was out by the transition area at 2. I was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and shorts; the temperature was in the low 40s, so it wasn’t long before my teeth were chattering. The second leg was 4.3 miles and about a half-mile into it, you couldn’t see two feet in front of you. Thankfully, I had the headlamp. Every so often, an RTB van would pass by and light things up a little. I overtook a few runners who had left before me and was passed by a few speedy guys. I kept a close watch out for critters but didn’t see any, although I did smell a skunk and ran a little faster. The last 1.3 miles were on a side road that was even darker than the highway I had been running on. I finished in 32:12 and was glad to be done for a while. My right leg was pretty tight, but more than anything, I needed some sleep. But there was too much going on.
Although a couple of my teammates were able to sleep on the van when they weren’t running, I wanted to stay awake to cheer on the runners. Only three of us were allowed to drive the rental van and I wasn’t one of them, so I hung out in the back row with all my stuff and took photos at the transition points. By the time our last runner started her leg at 7 a.m., the sun was up. We headed to the vehicle transition area at Bear Brook State Park and Van 1 took over for their final legs. By this point it was around 9 a.m., so we had a few hours to kill before we had to be ready to run again.
We decided to get some breakfast at the Airport Diner in Manchester, which was a little out of our way. It was 10 by the time we ate and I was concerned that whatever I ordered would be a potential problem when I ran my final 6.7 mile leg, so I kept things simple and ordered an egg and toast. We finally got to Kingston around 11 and everyone just collapsed either in the van or on the grass outside for a while. I got about a half hour of sleep, but it was so hot and smelly in the van that I went outside. Coincidentally, the transition area was right in front of my old high school, Sanborn Regional. Hadn’t been there in about 24 years. I took some time to stretch my extremely sore legs and just enjoyed the sun.
Finally, we got the word that the last runner in Van 1, Melissa, was on her way. She arrived around 1 p.m. and off I went on Route 111 toward Exeter. I had a really bad attitude going into the run because my stomach was bothering me, I was exhausted and my right leg was really tight. Almost immediately, the side stitch flared up again and I told myself to take it easy. As a team, we were more than an hour ahead of schedule, so I didn’t have to run too hard. And sure enough, the stitch soon went away and I felt a lot better. The route had some rolling hills, including a big one at mile three, but I took advantage of some serious downhills and finished strong in 50:21, a 7:32 pace. It was nice to be finished running, but we had five more runners to go. Fortunately, the rest of the legs were fairly short: 2.2, 1.9, 4, 3.4 and 4 miles, respectively.
It was challenging for us to get to our next transfer areas in time because the traffic grew increasingly busy the closer we got to Hampton Beach. All our runners found extra energy for those last legs and we finished just before 4 p.m. in 27 hours, 29 minutes, with a team pace of 7:57. As our last runner, Heather, ran in on the sand toward the finish line, the entire team joined her. It was pretty incredible. As it turned out, we were 109th out of 400 teams, which is not too shabby indeed.
As we enjoyed the post-race meal and had visions of hot showers, indoor plumbing and sleeping in our own beds, somebody asked me if I’d do it again. Without hesitation, I replied yes. The great thing about relays, especially RTB, is how you’re essentially forced to work together with 11 other people to accomplish a common goal. It’s not just the running the relay legs, but also providing navigation, support, and morale. It’s not easy; in fact, it’s damn hard. But it’s a terrific adventure. There isn’t a lot of time to waver on whether to do the event: Registration for Reach the Beach 2010 opens on Dec. 1 and it sold out by March this year.
As we enjoyed the post-race meal and had visions of hot showers, indoor plumbing and sleeping in our own beds, somebody asked me if I’d do it again. Without hesitation, I replied yes. The great thing about relays, especially RTB, is how you’re essentially forced to work together with 11 other people to accomplish a common goal. It’s not just the running the relay legs, but also providing navigation, support, and morale. It’s not easy; in fact, it’s damn hard. But it’s a terrific adventure. There isn’t a lot of time to waver on whether to do the event: Registration for Reach the Beach 2010 opens on Dec. 1 and it sold out by March this year.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Completely Conspicuous 94: It's a Little Pitchy, Dawg
The podcast's back with part 2 of my conversation with special guest Ric Dube about pop culture guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").
The show notes...
Topics:
- Will Howard Stern retire after Sirius-XM folds?
- Stern was a game-changer
- Songs are more censored now on radio
- Dark '70s pop songs were complex
- The pioneer card
- The power of language
- The secret of the guilty pleasure
- Rediscovering songs through TV commercials
- Questioning Randy Jackson's credentials
- Spoof movies
- Dube pitches a guilty pleasure movie: Trophy Dad
- Another Shia Labeouf vehicle
- Green Card meets Mr. Mom
- The return of Jonathan Lipnicki
- From Russian to French
- Bonehead of the Week
Music:
- Sunny Day Real Estate - Seven
- Dear Leader - Barbarians
- Patterson Hood - Pride of the Yankees
- The Apples in Stereo - The Bird That You Can't See
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Sunny Day Real Estate song is on the reissue of the album Diary on Sub Pop Records, where you can find out more and download the track.
The Dear Leader song is on the album Stay Epic on Lunch Records; find out more and download the song here.
The Patterson Hood song is on the album Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) on Ruth St. Records. Find out more and download the song here.
The Apples in Stereo song is on the band's self-released album #1 Hits Explosion. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:
The Apples in stereo
"The Bird That You Can't See" (mp3)
from "#1 Hits Explosion"
(The Apples in stereo)
Buy at iTunes Music Store
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
The show notes...
Topics:
- Will Howard Stern retire after Sirius-XM folds?
- Stern was a game-changer
- Songs are more censored now on radio
- Dark '70s pop songs were complex
- The pioneer card
- The power of language
- The secret of the guilty pleasure
- Rediscovering songs through TV commercials
- Questioning Randy Jackson's credentials
- Spoof movies
- Dube pitches a guilty pleasure movie: Trophy Dad
- Another Shia Labeouf vehicle
- Green Card meets Mr. Mom
- The return of Jonathan Lipnicki
- From Russian to French
- Bonehead of the Week
Music:
- Sunny Day Real Estate - Seven
- Dear Leader - Barbarians
- Patterson Hood - Pride of the Yankees
- The Apples in Stereo - The Bird That You Can't See
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Sunny Day Real Estate song is on the reissue of the album Diary on Sub Pop Records, where you can find out more and download the track.
The Dear Leader song is on the album Stay Epic on Lunch Records; find out more and download the song here.
The Patterson Hood song is on the album Murdering Oscar (and other love songs) on Ruth St. Records. Find out more and download the song here.
The Apples in Stereo song is on the band's self-released album #1 Hits Explosion. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:
The Apples in stereo "The Bird That You Can't See" (mp3)from "#1 Hits Explosion"
(The Apples in stereo)
Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody More On This AlbumThe opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Wasted Years
Another year, another birthday. This is my Jackie Robinson b-day (42). Nothing really spectacular to report, other than my continued amazement at how fast this whole ride is going by. I'm thankful for continued health and a great family, and will let Maiden do the rest of the talking:
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Take the Maps and Run
Whew! Well, it's over. My Reach the Beach team--The Van Down by the River--finished our trek through New Hampshire in 27 hours, 29 minutes, good for 102nd out of 400 teams. We were told at our orientation on Friday that there were 451 teams entered, so I'm not sure what happened to the other 51. Didn't finish or disqualified, perhaps. Whatever the case, it was an amazing experience. I'm not going to go into great detail here right now because I'm working up a column for the Salem News about it this week, but once I finish that, I'll post something else here. I also plan to post a bunch of the photos I took during the two-day event. [UPDATE: And here they are.] Got home last night at 6 p.m. and after dinner, a shower and laundry, I had nothing left. I only got about 3.5 hours of sleep the whole time, so I was in bed by 9 and probably was out before my head hit the pillow.
Today was actually kinda busy. After churchin' it, I took the girls up to NH to see my mom. She took us out to lunch at the Ashworth hotel on Hampton Beach (where RTB wound up on Saturday) and we hung out for a while before we came home at 5. I'm pretty sore, but not as bad as I've been after a marathon. I plan on running again on Tuesday and playing hockey Wednesday. Still debating whether to do a half marathon in the coming weeks. And of course, it's back to work tomorrow, too. More to come.
Today was actually kinda busy. After churchin' it, I took the girls up to NH to see my mom. She took us out to lunch at the Ashworth hotel on Hampton Beach (where RTB wound up on Saturday) and we hung out for a while before we came home at 5. I'm pretty sore, but not as bad as I've been after a marathon. I plan on running again on Tuesday and playing hockey Wednesday. Still debating whether to do a half marathon in the coming weeks. And of course, it's back to work tomorrow, too. More to come.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Not Tomorrow
Checking in on the night before I head up to NH for Reach the Beach. I feel ready to run. I did back-to-back 5-milers yesterday and today and skipped hockey tonight so I wouldn't injure myself before the big event. I'm actually planning to go outside in a little while to try running with my headlamp just to see what it's like. I picked up some munchies and beverages after work today: some salty stuff like pretzel rods and Wheat Thins, chocolate chip Clif Bars, and two bottles each of Gatorade, Snapple Iced Tea and Coke. There will be plenty of water available, and Deb made a batch of chocolate chip brownies for each van; again, she's a good woman. Have to pack before I hit the hay: three different sets of running clothes for my three runs, a reflective vest, clothes to change into between runs, etc. My legs are in Conway (7.23 miles), Gilmanton (4.3), and Kingston (6.7). The second run is expected to be at around 3:30 a.m., hence the headlamp and reflective vest. Kinda fitting that my final run will take place in the town from which I graduated high school. Heading up to Newburyport by 5 p.m. tomorrow, where we'll get picked up by our van and then go to NH. Our team, the Van Down by the River, doesn't actually start running until 12:20 p.m. Friday. I'll be posting Twitter updates when I can.
Bring it on home...
Bring it on home...
- Big brawl last night in the Jays-Yanks game. After the Jays teed off on Yankees pitching, two Jays were hit by pitches and Jays reliever Jesse Carlson threw a pitch behind Jorge Posada, which triggered a series of events leading to a benches-clearing donnybrook. Nice to finally see a response from the Jays, who were hit by several pitches during the last series with NY without retaliating. Hey, when your team is 30 games back, you need something to cheer for.
- The Leafs played their first exhibition game of the season tonight against Boston, a 3-2 loss. NHL Network carried the game, so I watched parts of it and was impressed with some of the rookies including Nasem Kadri, Victor Stalberg and Tyler Bozak. Hope to see them all as top 6 forwards someday. Hope springs eternal, right?
- Infinite Summer comes to a close next Monday and I'm currently on p. 885 of Infinite Jest, which means I have less than 100 pages to go. I expect I'll get a fair amount of reading done in the next two days while I'm killing time between runs in RTB, so hopefully I'll have the book finished on time. I'm impressed at my progress. The next book the group is tackling is Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I'm not sure if I'll join in. I've got plenty of other books already gathering dust on my nightstand that I need to dig into.
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Completely Conspicuous 93: We're All Guilty
I'm joined by special guest Ric Dube on the podcast in part 1 of our wide-ranging discussion of guilty pleasures. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").
The show notes...
Topics:
- What is a guilty pleasure?
- American Idol as a presumed guilty pleasure
- No stigma attached to liking old unfashionable music
- Now mainstream pop culture can be guilty pleasures
- Time makes formerly unhip bands cool
- Guilty pleasures are completely subjective
- Rush fans have a serious inferiority complex
- The denial phase
- We don't listen to music closely anymore
- Guilty displeasures
- It's hip to like bad movies
- Going to see Loverboy for the opening act
- Small doses
- Transitioning from the Bee Gees to Zeppelin
- Disco Demolition Night was the turning point
- Nevermind demolished hair metal
- Dube was at ground zero of the Seattle scene
- Identifying artists as "that song"
- Indie rock snobs
- Satellite radio fizzles out
- Bonehead of the Week
Music:
- The Raveonettes - Last Dance
- Joel Plaskett - Down, Down, Down
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Raveonettes song is on the band's forthcoming album In and Out of Control on Vice Records. You can download the track here.
The Joel Plaskett song is on the album Three on Maple Music. You can download the song here.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart song is on the band's self-titled album on Slumberland Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart
"Come Saturday" (mp3)
from "Come Saturday"
(Slumberland)
Buy at Rhapsody
Stream from Rhapsody
More On This Album
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
The show notes...
Topics:
- What is a guilty pleasure?
- American Idol as a presumed guilty pleasure
- No stigma attached to liking old unfashionable music
- Now mainstream pop culture can be guilty pleasures
- Time makes formerly unhip bands cool
- Guilty pleasures are completely subjective
- Rush fans have a serious inferiority complex
- The denial phase
- We don't listen to music closely anymore
- Guilty displeasures
- It's hip to like bad movies
- Going to see Loverboy for the opening act
- Small doses
- Transitioning from the Bee Gees to Zeppelin
- Disco Demolition Night was the turning point
- Nevermind demolished hair metal
- Dube was at ground zero of the Seattle scene
- Identifying artists as "that song"
- Indie rock snobs
- Satellite radio fizzles out
- Bonehead of the Week
Music:
- The Raveonettes - Last Dance
- Joel Plaskett - Down, Down, Down
- The Pains of Being Pure at Heart - Come Saturday
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Raveonettes song is on the band's forthcoming album In and Out of Control on Vice Records. You can download the track here.
The Joel Plaskett song is on the album Three on Maple Music. You can download the song here.
The Pains of Being Pure at Heart song is on the band's self-titled album on Slumberland Records. The song is courtesy of IODA Promonet:
The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart "Come Saturday" (mp3)from "Come Saturday"
(Slumberland)
Buy at Rhapsody Stream from Rhapsody More On This AlbumThe opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Here Comes a Regular
With the school year's start comes the return to a more regimented morning for me. Gone are the days when I can sleep in until 7:15. Now I'm up at 6:10 and I transform into a sleepy drill sergeant; Deb's out the door around 4:30 a.m. so it's on me to get the girls up and ready for school. I roust the girls from a deep sleep and cajole them to get downstairs and eat breakfast. There's some whining and initial refusals, but I can't dawdle. Then they eat breakfast, brush their teeth, get changed and do their hair. Once they're basically ready to go, I turn the TV on and let them watch a show while I jump in the shower. By the time I get changed and put their lunchboxes in their backpacks, it's time to head out to the bus stop at the end of the street. The bus arrives around 7:18 every day. After they head off, I have a little downtime to eat breakfast, load up my iPod, and make my lunch before I leave for work.
As I documented earlier in the week, Lily started kindergarten on Tuesday. She was excited to go and I drove her in for her first day. It wasn't until we got into the cafeteria where all the kindergarten classes had gathered that she got really quiet and shy. I talked to her teacher and left her there as the classes moved to different parts of the room. I watched her hesitate and it was tough to let her go; I wanted to hug her again, but I knew it was time to let her go. Finally, I left. Sure enough, she had a blast and by the end of the week was loving everything about school. She rides the bus with her sister, who's already sick of having to sit with her, but I can relate.
This time next week, I'll be up in New Hampshire with a van of fellow relay runners participating in Reach the Beach. According to our estimated times, I should be heading out for my three legs at 5:20 p.m. Friday, 3:25 a.m. Saturday and 2:40 p.m. Saturday. I think the hardest part will probably be getting enough rest in the van. But whatever the case, it should be fun. Speaking of running at night, my running column this week covers that very topic.
There was a lot of 9/11 rehashing today, eight years after the terrorist attacks. I didn't participate. Not really sure why, I just was too busy to think about it too much. At any rate, here's a pretty thorough recollection I wrote back in 2003 about the events of that day.
My Wednesday night skate started up again this week. I felt pretty good, given that I'd skated several times over the summer. I ended up popping in a goal while I got used to the new stick I bought the other night.
As I documented earlier in the week, Lily started kindergarten on Tuesday. She was excited to go and I drove her in for her first day. It wasn't until we got into the cafeteria where all the kindergarten classes had gathered that she got really quiet and shy. I talked to her teacher and left her there as the classes moved to different parts of the room. I watched her hesitate and it was tough to let her go; I wanted to hug her again, but I knew it was time to let her go. Finally, I left. Sure enough, she had a blast and by the end of the week was loving everything about school. She rides the bus with her sister, who's already sick of having to sit with her, but I can relate.
This time next week, I'll be up in New Hampshire with a van of fellow relay runners participating in Reach the Beach. According to our estimated times, I should be heading out for my three legs at 5:20 p.m. Friday, 3:25 a.m. Saturday and 2:40 p.m. Saturday. I think the hardest part will probably be getting enough rest in the van. But whatever the case, it should be fun. Speaking of running at night, my running column this week covers that very topic.
There was a lot of 9/11 rehashing today, eight years after the terrorist attacks. I didn't participate. Not really sure why, I just was too busy to think about it too much. At any rate, here's a pretty thorough recollection I wrote back in 2003 about the events of that day.
My Wednesday night skate started up again this week. I felt pretty good, given that I'd skated several times over the summer. I ended up popping in a goal while I got used to the new stick I bought the other night.
Wednesday, September 09, 2009
Monday, September 07, 2009
The Beginning After the End
Another Labor Day weekend is over, which means the unofficial end of summer. Even though school began last week for Deb and Hannah, Lily has her momentous first official day of kindergarten tomorrow. I'm going to drop her off at school in the morning, but she'll ride home on the bus with her sister. She's pretty excited.
We had a great weekend in NJ. Lots of outdoor activities. On Saturday, the girls went water tubing while Matt and I got runs in. I did a quick 5-miler just to test out the sore leg and felt okay. Matt did a beast of a trail run: 23 miles in 6 hours. And he saw a friggin' rattlesnake out there. We went down to the lake again and hung out until dark. Yesterday, I ran 10 miles and felt pretty strong for the most part. The kids then took part in an impromptu triathlon: swimming at the lake, a quick bike ride and then a .6 mile run to Matt's house and back to the lake. Tricia got Hannah, who to this point had been unwilling/unable to ride her new bike (which doesn't have training wheels), to ride her bike around the parking lot. It basically involved running with her and then letting go; Hannah wiped out a few times but got the hang of it. She's still pretty scared of injuring herself, but she can do it. Matt and Tricia then hosted a little get-together that was full of beverages, good food and backyard games. I played beer pong for the first time since the early '90s when my old college roommate Smitty and I visited his brother at Harvard. This time was different in that we were tossing the balls into cups of water and then just drinking from our beers, as opposed to throwing balls into cups of beer and then downing those. At any rate, I did pretty well, even as I got progressively inebriated. Luckily for me, I had the good sense to stop drinking around 9, which meant I wasn't hurting as we drove home today.
We got home in mid-afternoon and took the girls out to ride their bikes, but Hannah wanted no part of it. It was kind of discouraging; even when she was pedaling without help, she was freaking out a bit. She just needs to get used to it, I guess.
Wednesday night hockey in Lynn starts up again this week, so that will be fun, although I'll miss the earlier hour at Pingree. And I found out today that my Reach the Beach team starts at 12:20 p.m. on the 18th, which is about in the middle of the pack. The slowest groups start at 7:30 a.m., while the fastest groups are heading out at 4 p.m.
We had a great weekend in NJ. Lots of outdoor activities. On Saturday, the girls went water tubing while Matt and I got runs in. I did a quick 5-miler just to test out the sore leg and felt okay. Matt did a beast of a trail run: 23 miles in 6 hours. And he saw a friggin' rattlesnake out there. We went down to the lake again and hung out until dark. Yesterday, I ran 10 miles and felt pretty strong for the most part. The kids then took part in an impromptu triathlon: swimming at the lake, a quick bike ride and then a .6 mile run to Matt's house and back to the lake. Tricia got Hannah, who to this point had been unwilling/unable to ride her new bike (which doesn't have training wheels), to ride her bike around the parking lot. It basically involved running with her and then letting go; Hannah wiped out a few times but got the hang of it. She's still pretty scared of injuring herself, but she can do it. Matt and Tricia then hosted a little get-together that was full of beverages, good food and backyard games. I played beer pong for the first time since the early '90s when my old college roommate Smitty and I visited his brother at Harvard. This time was different in that we were tossing the balls into cups of water and then just drinking from our beers, as opposed to throwing balls into cups of beer and then downing those. At any rate, I did pretty well, even as I got progressively inebriated. Luckily for me, I had the good sense to stop drinking around 9, which meant I wasn't hurting as we drove home today.
We got home in mid-afternoon and took the girls out to ride their bikes, but Hannah wanted no part of it. It was kind of discouraging; even when she was pedaling without help, she was freaking out a bit. She just needs to get used to it, I guess.
Wednesday night hockey in Lynn starts up again this week, so that will be fun, although I'll miss the earlier hour at Pingree. And I found out today that my Reach the Beach team starts at 12:20 p.m. on the 18th, which is about in the middle of the pack. The slowest groups start at 7:30 a.m., while the fastest groups are heading out at 4 p.m.
Friday, September 04, 2009
Take Me Out
Another long weekend is here. We're down in NJ until Monday. It was kind of a whirlwind of a week. Deb and Hannah started school this week, while Lily had her kindergarten screening and orientation but doesn't start officially until next Tuesday.
I was only able to run once this week. After getting a run in Monday after work, I suddenly developed a super-tight right hamstring on Wednesday and was really hobbling around yesterday. Felt a little better today but chose to lift instead of run, so I'll do 5 tomorrow and 10+ on Sunday down here. Reach the Beach is only a few weeks away. It was tough not to run much this week because it was truly beautiful out.
It was a fantasy football-dominated week. My draft Tuesday took place after work in a conference room. We had 14 guys in the league. I took Adrian Peterson, Phil Rivers and Pierre Thomas as my first three picks; I think I have a decent team. Last night was my second draft, but it was complicated a bit by the fact that an hour before we were to start, my nephew Timmy broke his arm and Matt and Tricia had to take him to the ER. Since they're both in the league, things were up in the air, but we ended up doing the draft an hour later because another day wouldn't work for everyone. This is a 10-team league and I took Maurice Jones-Drew with my first pick, Peyton Manning as my QB and Darren McFadden as my second RB.
I'll check in later in the weekend.
I was only able to run once this week. After getting a run in Monday after work, I suddenly developed a super-tight right hamstring on Wednesday and was really hobbling around yesterday. Felt a little better today but chose to lift instead of run, so I'll do 5 tomorrow and 10+ on Sunday down here. Reach the Beach is only a few weeks away. It was tough not to run much this week because it was truly beautiful out.
It was a fantasy football-dominated week. My draft Tuesday took place after work in a conference room. We had 14 guys in the league. I took Adrian Peterson, Phil Rivers and Pierre Thomas as my first three picks; I think I have a decent team. Last night was my second draft, but it was complicated a bit by the fact that an hour before we were to start, my nephew Timmy broke his arm and Matt and Tricia had to take him to the ER. Since they're both in the league, things were up in the air, but we ended up doing the draft an hour later because another day wouldn't work for everyone. This is a 10-team league and I took Maurice Jones-Drew with my first pick, Peyton Manning as my QB and Darren McFadden as my second RB.
I'll check in later in the weekend.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Completely Conspicuous 92: A World of Fantasy
The latest episode of the podcast features another installment of Driving with Kumar, as I discuss my fantasy football draft. Click here to listen to the show in streaming audio or download it directly here (right click and "save as").
The show notes...
Topics:
- Fantasy football draft preparation
- In fantasy sports leagues since '91
- No longer just for nerds
- Haven't gone overboard on research
- Listening to fantasy football podcasts
- Draft strategy
- Football picks pools
- First baseball league was pre-Internet
- Stats were faxed to us
- Now you get real-time stats online
- It's a crap shoot
- Draft post-mortem
- Pinhead of the Week
Music:
- Black Francis - All in My Mind
- The King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl
- Dear Leader - The Blue Print
- Julian Plenti - Games for Days
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Black Francis song is on New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets on Justice Records. Download the track at Insound.
The King Khan and BBQ Show song is on the forthcoming album Invisible Girl on In the Red Records. You can download the song at Pitchfork.
The Dear Leader song is on the forthcoming album The Blue Print on Lunch Records. Find out more and download the song at Dear Leader's site.
The Julian Plenti song is on the album Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper on Matador Records, where you can download the song.
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
The show notes...
Topics:
- Fantasy football draft preparation
- In fantasy sports leagues since '91
- No longer just for nerds
- Haven't gone overboard on research
- Listening to fantasy football podcasts
- Draft strategy
- Football picks pools
- First baseball league was pre-Internet
- Stats were faxed to us
- Now you get real-time stats online
- It's a crap shoot
- Draft post-mortem
- Pinhead of the Week
Music:
- Black Francis - All in My Mind
- The King Khan and BBQ Show - Invisible Girl
- Dear Leader - The Blue Print
- Julian Plenti - Games for Days
Completely Conspicuous is available through the iTunes podcast directory. Subscribe and write a review!
The Black Francis song is on New Tales to Tell: A Tribute to Love and Rockets on Justice Records. Download the track at Insound.
The King Khan and BBQ Show song is on the forthcoming album Invisible Girl on In the Red Records. You can download the song at Pitchfork.
The Dear Leader song is on the forthcoming album The Blue Print on Lunch Records. Find out more and download the song at Dear Leader's site.
The Julian Plenti song is on the album Julian Plenti is...Skyscraper on Matador Records, where you can download the song.
The opening and closing theme of Completely Conspicuous is "Theme to Big F'in Pants" by Jay Breitling. Find out more about Senor Breitling at his fine music blogs Clicky Clicky and Keeping Some Dark Secrets. Additional music used in the show is by Me and Boris the Bull, which is the brainchild of the mighty Mark Campbell. Thanks to Bob Durling for the album art; find out more about his photography here.
Completely Conspicuous is sponsored by Eastbay/Footlocker.com. Use the following promo codes to save money on top-name athletic gear and footwear: AFCOMP15 will get you 15% off any order at Eastbay; AFCOMP20 will get you 20% off any order of $75 or more at Eastbay; and AFCOMPFL will get you 15% off any order at Footlocker.com.
Completely Conspicuous is a Tan God Production. Word.
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