Archive for July, 2007
July 31, 2007 · Filed under Entertainment
Generally speaking, I don’t let other people’s opinions bother me - or at least I don’t let them influence my 
decision making. For example, I carry a purse. I don’t cover it up by calling it a murse, or man bag, or European carry-all. It’s a purse. It’s convenient, and I hate having crap in my pockets. Carrying a purse is practical, and I don’t care that it makes me look like a confused cross-dresser on stilts.
I applaud anyone who does something they feel is practical despite what others might think of it. That said, I think people at State Fairs and other local festivals should maybe care a little bit more about what others think. What is it about people that make them wear less clothing the bigger they expect the crowd to be? Really, as if being in a crowd isn’t bad enough, do we need some fat, sweaty, shirtless dude rubbing up against us while we’re there?
Honestly, just because you’re a dude doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put a damn shirt on. Unless by accident, I almost never leave the house without a shirt. Not only does it keep me from getting melanoma, it also keeps people from realizing that I am a skinny, pale Dutch guy. Personally, I like to keep people guessing.
My point is that while technically it’s legal and potentially it’s comfortable, is it really so bad to consider what other people might be experiencing as a direct result of your actions?
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank tourist season at the Seattle Center (where the Space Needle is) for providing the motivation for this post.
July 26, 2007 · Filed under Entertainment
Whenever I do something stupid, I don’t dwell on it. I usually come up with a reason why that stupid thing was actually a really clever 
thing, and then I move on. It’s a process I call “Maintaining Good Self Esteem”.
Sometimes, though, I get myself into a sufficiently humiliating situation that it becomes tricky to come up with the goods. Just last week, Michelle and I went to see the Nightwatchman play at the Crocodile Cafe. For those of you who don’t know, the Nightwatchman is Tom Morello’s alter-ego as a politically motivated folk singer. After the show, Tom was signing autographs, so we waited in line to have him sign his CD. I’m not really sure what the protocol is for waiting while some famous guy signs a piece of plastic. In fact, I felt awkward standing there quietly and figured I would feel better if I said something. Going with the first thing that came to mind, I said, “We’ll see you down in San Francisco when Rage plays Rock the Bells. We’ll be the white people in the corner getting our asses kicked.” Tom guffawed and muttered something about us “probably being alright”.
Feeling pretty good that I made Tom Morello laugh, I thought it might be worth writing about. Michelle suggested a “proudest moments” post might be the way to go, and this would be one of many items covered. Sitting in the car, we brainstormed some ideas. We came up with two. We have since forgotten what the second one was.
When you stop and think about it, a post about “proudest moments” that only contains one “moment” is not really something to brag about. Therefore, I decided it’s rude to write about your own proudest moments. Self esteem intact.
July 25, 2007 · Filed under Cycling, Doping
Yesterday, the very sad news broke that Alexandre Vinokourov tested positive for a homologous blood transfusion Saturday after 
winning the first long time trial at the Tour de France.
Vino was one of the last riders who were at the top of the sport during the Armstrong era who had managed to avoid doping suspision. Armstrong never failed a drug test but spent his entire career fighting doping allegations. Tyler Hamilton has the dubious honor of being the first rider to test positive for homologous blood transfusions. Ivan Basso, Jan Ullrich, and Joseba Beloki all seem to have been clients in the blood doping ring of Eufemiano Fuentes. Finally, Floyd Landis is fighting test results that indicated he doped to win the 2006 Tour de France.
Cycling has been suffering blow after blow as it tries to clean up its image and fight doping. With that fight, all the big stars seem to be falling one by one, and the fans are left without their heros to cheer for. But if the sport cleans up, then maybe it’s worth it. One thing is certain, the riders are victims of pressure from their teams and sponsors. In many cases the teams appear to not only turn a blind eye to doping within their ranks, but organize it. Some teams appear to even have made arrangements with the labs (bottom) that conduct the tests to help avoid or suppress negative test results. As long as this kind of thing is going on, it will be impossible to clean up the sport. And how long can we continue to blame and punish the riders for their teams’ actions?
Updated: The Astana cycling team announced Wednesday, August 8, that Vinokourov’s teammate, Andrey Kashechkin, tested positive for homologous blood doping following an out-of-competition test in Belek, Turkey on August 1. Read more.
Read more on Doping in Cycling.
July 24, 2007 · Filed under Entertainment
I’ve said it before: the Internets can be a dangerous place. I always search with Google SafeSearch turned off because I hate it 
when engineers decide for me what I do and don’t want to see. I’m not as worried about coming across sites that aren’t suitable for work (NSFW); I can judge that pretty easily from the search results. What I’m really worried about is coming across sites that aren’t suitable for lunch (NSFL). Or will scar me for life. I found such a site yesterday.
I need to find one of those hats that holds beer cans. Obviously.
My quest at local stores didn’t turn up much, so I turned to Al Gore’s Greatest Invention for help. Unfortunately, a carelessly phrased Google search resulted in my stumbing upon a result on which I had a car accident-like you-don’t-want-to-look-but-you-have-to need to click.
More after the jump (NSFL).
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July 20, 2007 · Filed under Seattle
Seattle is a Hippie town. It’s Liberal, it’s health-conscious, it’s environmentally-friendly, and Hummers 
are about as common as facts in a Bush Administration War update. It is also a town which fiercely supports independent establishments and shuns corporate chains. It’s hardly acceptable if a local coffee house or burger joint opens another location in Seattle. If they open one in Redmond or Bellevue, it’s over. And Starbucks is evil.
A few weeks ago, the seasonal farmer’s market opened in our neighborhood, Phinney Ridge. It was typical Phinney: simple, but everything you need. Just being there made us feel healthy and wholesome. Inspired by the fresh garlic and piles of basil, we decided to make fresh potato gnocchi with a basil pesto sauce and lemon-crusted chicken. We got what we could at the market, and then headed off to the grocery store for the rest. Did we go to Fred Meyer or QFC? Hell no. We did it up hippie-style, and went to Whole Foods. We almost always shop at Whole Foods and we feel good about that. They have organic foods, work hard to provide fair trade prices, and provide locally grown produce and humanely raised meats. It makes us feel like we’re helping the animals lead better lives before they’re ruthlessly slaughtered for our meals.
When we came home, we came upon our neighbor lighting his grill on his front porch. Now, I have to say, this guy can make a grill smell so incredibly good that I have on more than one occasion considered stealing the meat off his grill when he’s not looking. Thinking I’d lend an amusing anecdote to the conversation, I told him this. He wasn’t surprised. In fact, he revealed that it has happened before. Breaking the awkward silence after the revelation, Michelle asked him what they were planning on having that evening. “Ribs,” he said.
It appears he had been planning to grill ribs for a few days, and he had run into some difficulty obtaining them at the co-op he and his wife belong to.
They haven’t had the ribs for a while now, and I said to the butcher, ‘What are you doing to me, here? You’re going to make me go to the Dark Side.’ And I did! I had to go to Whole Foods!
He shuddered when he said “Whole Foods” like he had just swallowed stale motor oil. And that, my friends, is what Seattle is all about.
Note: I think my spell checker needs to be trained. The suggested spelling for “gnocchi” is “genocide”.
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