Companion Records is a record label with a mission: reissue the most crazy thrift store record finds on CD. The site has quite a few audio samples, including the featured (butchering of a) song featured here:
Archive: June, 2005
workout log: 28 june 2005
randomduck | 
28/06/2005 | 
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Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle to Great Falls, MD
Distance: 31.3 miles
Duration: 2:00
Weather: HHH (hazy, hot and humid), 92 degrees
Avg HR: 163 (est.)
Type: aerobic
A very hot ride with Potomac Pedalers on the Tuesday ride. This is the last one that Nick was scheduled to lead, and it was a lot of fun, with great turnout. The weather was oppressive, with a heat index of 101 degrees at ride start. One of our ranks had a pinch flat about 19 miles in, and Nick and I waited for him to swap the tube. One our way home, the rain hit us a bit, which was quite refreshing.
why, nancy, why?
randomduck | 28/06/2005 | 3 Comments
Why must Nancy Pelosi be hitting the talking head circuit? Call me a bit of a party-pooper, but she’s so damn stiff, can’t improvise around an outline of talking points, and looks like a deer in the headlights. Why not get a Democrat who’s more natural on camera?
Nancy, take it from me: relax your eyelids a bit, and you’ll look so much better on camera. And the eyebrows are huge arcs, not natural looking at all. If this condition was created by cosmetic surgery, you should sue your plastic surgeon for malpractice.
But she’s getting goo face time with Brian Williams right now, so that’s something.
Note that I missed Bush’s speech, as I was out riding my bike in a pouring summer rain.
cool mac thing: bbc radio widget
randomduck | 28/06/2005 | 1 Comment
I love listening to the BBC, but I’ve always found their website a drag to navigate just to find a stream of my favorite (or “favourite”) station.
Now there’s a Dashboard widget for Mac OS X 10.4 “Tiger” that makes the BBC a simple click-and-go action.
monday music: pink martini @ 9:30
randomduck | 27/06/2005 | Comments Off
Saw Pink Martini at the 9:30 Club earlier this evening, and it was an outstanding show!
I was turned on to Pink Martini by Lunesse, who marveled in the joy that the band brought forth in their shows. Now that I’ve seen them in person, I wholeheartedly concur. The whole band works as a single organism. They constantly communicate with each other in a completely musical language. The notes dance an elaborate step in 3/4, 4/4, 5/8 and 6/4 time, marking their progress with an occasional staccato blast, a swelling crescendo, or a wistful vibrato.
Everybody in the band was genuinely happy to be where they were, doing what they did, soaking in the crowd’s energy and returning it in kind. It was really stunning.
It was also my first visit to the 9:30, and I came away most impressed. My immediate comparison is to Toad’s Place in New Haven, CT, the Webster in Hartford, CT, the Iron Horse in Northampton, MA, and The Birchmere in Alexandria, VA. The club has a vibe, even though this is not its original location. However, you can tell the building’s roots as a theatre in the past, and the current owners have sought to create a top-notch musical venue.
They certainly have, as the place is as comfortable and natural a music venue as is possible. The surrounding neighborhood is in transition, with “Little Ethopia” to the south and Howard University to the north. And the venue usually hosts the latest in alternative, punk and rock bands, so having an absolutely packed and electric house for a retro-hip-salsa-cubano-euro-swing band is just plain impressive. The Politics & Prose set mingled seamlessly with the alt set and the young hipsters. As lead singer Chna Forbes noted, “we must be hip if we’re playing the 9:30!” It’s so true, and I’m so pleased to see a non-traditional band from the Pacific Northwest get such a warm reception.
front tire woes
randomduck | 27/06/2005 | Comments Off
While riding to the DC for Democracy picnic yesterday, my front tire blew out on a steep, downhill section of road in Adams Morgan. I managed to stop myself without wiping out or causing any damage to the wheel or tire, but it was discouraging.
I suffered a similar blowout on New Year’s day while riding laps at Hains Point. I’ve essentially narrowed down the culprit to one of three things (from most likely to least likely):
- the brake post is flexing, and the pads aren’t aligned quite right, so the brake pad wore a hole in the sidewall of the tire
- there’s something sharp in my rim
- sharp road debris (e.g. glass shards, tacks, thorns, etc. – typical for Adams Morgan roads)
- excessive heat from braking and the air temperature combining with possibly a tad too much air pressue in the tire (it was 91 degrees outside)
So tonight I get to do a little sleuthing while I change out my tire and tube. It’s too bad: the tire is a Michelin Pro Race, which has many accolades from the cycling bulletin boards and from fellow cycling friends. Hopefully, it wasn’t a sidewall blowout – I really like the ride quality of the Pro Race.
I ended up getting a Specialized Mondo Pro to replace it, having heard quite a few good things about its performance. I’ve long used Specialized tires on my mountain bike (from the original Ground Control back in the mid-1980s), and this tire has a good blend of performance and puncture resistance. We’ll see how it goes.
cinema observation: rtfm for mothers
randomduck | 26/06/2005 | Comments Off
Went to see Land Of The Dead with Elitist John tonight – nothing like a zombie horror flick on a hot, sticky summer day. The film was classic George A. Romero – formulaic, yes, but well-crafted and entertaining. While I’m no afficionado of the horror genre, it was pretty good.
The one thing that alarmed me wasn’t the movie, but the mothers who brought their 2, 3 and 4 year-old kids to this movie. The language was very course, the violence everywhere, and yet these women saw nothing wrong in bringing their kids to a movie that carries a strong R rating. Granted, the kids fell asleep fairly quickly, but it’s still not what I consider good parenting.
The first movie I saw in a theatre was Star Wars. I was 4, and my dad pre-screened the film to make sure it wasn’t too much for me to handle. My parents made sure I knew the difference between acceptable language and drove home the fact that movies were not reality. Yet I doubt that these parents do the same with their children. Maybe they couldn’t get – or afford – a babysitter, but there are many other movies currently playing that will entertain the kids and their parents without resorting to tons of f-bombs, graphic dismemberment, and some jump-out-of-your-seat ambush scenes.
Some parents need to RTFM.
trying times in the usa
randomduck | 26/06/2005 | Comments Off
Short thoughts:
- Rumsfeld is on Meet The Press, continuing his lies and distortions about Iraq and the “war on terra.”
- At the same time, Gen. Abazaid is on Face The Nation, giving a much more “straight dope” and sobering assessment of the real situation on the ground in Iraq.
- There is a lot of chatter these days about the impending retirement of Chief Justice Rehnquist, something that troubles me, too. Bush will probably nominate a conservative activist judge who has no respect for the Bill of Rights, the Senate will likely enact the nuclear option, and the country will be screwed.
Maybe if I look at the entertainment news, there will be something better…
Nope. There’s Tom Cruise, whose complete devotion to Scientology (which is simply a big ‘ol scam, nothing more) has finally driven him over the edge. If he’s an expert in psychology, then I’m a superstar cyclist who will beat Lance Armstrong in the Tour de France.
workout log: 26 june 2005
randomduck | 26/06/2005 | Comments Off
Activity: road cycling
Location: Dupont Circle to Glen Echo, MD
Distance: 15.6 miles
Duration: 0:49
Weather: far too humid, 73 degrees
Avg HR: 160 (est.)
Type: aerobic
An early morning ride to try and beat the heat and humidity. The weather in DC right now is ugly – one of few things that I dislike about the area. I loathe the summer mixture of heat and humidity, as my body was not designed for such conditions.
But the ride was nice, though I didn’t feel 100 percent at the beginning of the ride. By the end, I felt good, and went to the Dupont farm market to get some refreshing fruit.
softball cancelled – again
randomduck | 25/06/2005 | Comments Off
The parks & rec league softball team I’ve joined has yet to play a game this year. Our first problem was people complaining of a pre-Memorial Day start date. Then the fields we were assigned (in West Potomac Park) were flooded out.
Now our opponent had to forfeit this week’s game (which was to be our first) because over half of his team dropped out due to the late start date.
So more cycling, less softball this weekend.
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