Happy Independence Day

Enjoy and have a safe holiday.

- taz

no roof rack needed

How do YOU carry your bike to the track?


cool song: Can't find my way home - Swans

cool song: This is the Day - The The

I don't care if it's in the M&M commercial, it's still cool. But if that spoils it for you, check out Uncertain Smile from the same album or Dogs of Lust from 'Dusk'.

I kinda dropped the ball on the Squeeze song - I don't really like 'Cool for Cats'. A Squeeze song that I actually think is worthy - Pulling Mussels (from the Shell).

- taz

a few random Cirque photos

Better late than never - here's a few random photos from this year's Cirque du Cyclisme that I found interesting. I never seem to have taken as many photos as I thought I had. Gotta get away from that film mindset and just snap away and cull later.


Masi Special track (60's?)

Peter Weigle points out the mistakes in Roman Stankus' new frame. (Just kidding, Roman!)

Mike Barry and Joe Bell - Joe demonstrating excellent musical and sartorial taste.



Old guard and the new. Dave Moulton and Sacha White of Vanilla Bicycles discuss the weather.

Bet you don't see one of these on your next group ride.

Be sure to take a look at Sacha's, Mike Barry's and Dave Moulton's websites for more examples of their superlative work.

www.vanillabicycles.com

www.bikespecialties.com

www.prodigalchild.net/Bicycle.htm

I have a few more photos (bikes and people) so drop me a line if you'd like to see more.

- taz

Loose Cats

over there on the right - yeah over there - I suggested that someone lose the cats. Tarik, although covered in pickled cat juice or something, graciously replied that he looses the cats every morning. (By graciously, I mean he didn't offer to drive to Atlanta and beat me with a 10lb bag of Meow Mix.) Heh, I thought... Loose the cats, loose cats... hmm that's a funny phrase. I should be able to find something humorous around here on the web to plagarize. I mean, c'mon... Loose cats, promiscuous felines - this is the internet, there's crap like that all over the place, right? ... That's what I thought too. At least a 'Far Side' comic or something.

Well there's a lot of 'loose cats' on the internet, but it's not funny. Seems people take loose cats very seriously. 30 pages of Googleness and barely a snicker to be found. For or against, loose cats is not something people find levity in...

See for yourself: http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=%22loose+cats%22&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

okay - so I'm just feeling prickly because Stacy was too tired to go see Lez Zeppelin with me at the Variety Playhouse. Bet there were some loose cats there.

- taz

cool song: Cool for Cats - Squeeze

smoky mountain view

Occasionally it's nice to get out of the city. Although I wasn't really feeling up to it, Stacy and I decided to stick to our plan to go camping this weekend. On the way up, we stopped at her parents' house where I took this picture.



That's the view from their front porch (looking north). The tallest point in the distance is the peak of Wayah Bald. My little Canon PowerShot doesn't quite pick it up but you can sometimes make out the tower. The Appalachian Trail climbs Wayah before heading northeast to Wesser Bald and then down to the Nantahala River.

Someone please remind me again why I stay in Atlanta...

- taz

cool song: Unsatisfied - The Replacements

pt. 2

until... I got home. That's when it hit me. Food poisoning or the quickest onset of the flu I've ever had. I'll spare you the disgusting details - and believe me, they're disgusting - and just say that my bathroom now qualifies as a Superfund site. Aside from the fever, forceful emissions (fore and aft), headache, and general unwellness, the thing that really bugs me is that I purposely skipped having a beer or drinks at the show so I wouldn't feel like crap at work the next day. Feeling like crap woud be exponentially better than how I feel currently - day 2 of laying in bed and making sure the toilet is no further than 10 feet away at any point in time.

Guess this is some cosmic/karmic payback for complaining about jury duty and a bad internet connection.

time for my next dose of Imodium...

later,
taz

Rainy Day Wilco

Wilco played Chastain Park ampitheater Tuesday. Wilco's latest album is titled 'Sky Blue Sky'. Georgia (and most of the southeast) has been under drought conditions for the past couple of months. I had concert tickets. Can you guess what happens next?

Yes - it rained. Irony? Not really - it was entirely predictable. But then again, I'm not much of an optimist. Or so Stacy says.

A slight drizzle started while the opening band (whose name escapes me) was playing. Turned to a heavier sprinkle during the intermission and by the time Wilco was into their second or third song, a steady rain which lasted throughout their set.



Turns out this wasn't a bad thing. Unlike most summer showers we have in Atlanta, this wasn't a thunder/electrical storm to send everybody running for the nearest building or cover. Just a really pleasant, warm summer rain. And with an unexpected benefit... my most recent experience with concerts or bands in clubs has been less than enjoyable. Seems the trend is to call everyone you know on your cell phone and tell them about the great show they're missing instead of watching the show. Or if your friends are with you, talk loudly over the music about your after show plans, etc. Maybe I'm just getting old and irritable, but I seem to remember going to shows to see the band. Or maybe I just used to go to shows that were so loud that you couldn't talk over them.



Anyway - the rain had the unexpected affect of subduing this annoying behavior and everyone got to enjoy a pretty damn good show. The band played mostly songs from their latest album and the previous one, 'A Ghost Is Born', the sound was almost perfect (could have turned up Nel's guitar a little in the mix) and as Jeff promised early in the show, they played until the rain stopped - which happened during the second encore. If Wilco is coming your way, definitely get out to see them, rain or shine.

Go here to see if there coming to your neighborhood - www.wilcoworld.net

All in all, a fun evening. Until.. (pt 2)

- taz

oh yeah... cool song of the day: I Am Trying to Break Your Heart - Wilco (of course)


update: the opening band was 'Low'

listen to the colour of your dreams

cool song: Tomorrow Never Knows - The Beatles

Chicken feed

Where else can you find a picture of Elmo and a giant chicken feeding baby chicks?

Disclaimer: I live with the giant chicken. Elmo lives elsewhere.

- taz