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Green bikes are unlucky

Last time I rode my motorcycle, which seems like an entirnety because of the weather, I stopped for gas and met a guy on a ‘76 KH 500.

Riders with bikes from this era, let alone from the same manufacturer and similar sizes, are automatically friends. They’re on much friendlier terms than my other subgroups - punk, BMX, journalism, photography, drinking  …

Anyways, this guy was generous with unsolicited information. He said his 1976 model was a favorite among hellraisers. His hair and clothes didn’t look like he cared much for how he looked, but his appearance was far from your typical hellraiser. He wore a hand-me-down black helmet, a well-worn off-white sweater, thrifty store-khakis one size too short, white socks, and indistinguishable tennis shoes. 

Yep, he was a  weirdo (in the endearing kind of way), but at least he wasn’t a hipster douche that bought a bad bike because it was cool.

This bike was known to make ”women widows and children orphans,” he said. I was skeptical. In the motorcycle world tall tales only come in the grande size, but come on, that’s what they say about a 500? I bit my tongue.

He goes on to say how this model was the bike that started the rumor that green bikes are unlucky. It was hard to believe especially because his was in primer gray glory. “I’ve been planning on restoring it, but the economy is just too bad right now, you know, man?”

To be honest I’ve never heard the rumor and normally would have thought it was bullshit, but there was something about this guy – I could see it in his eyes even though he never took off his full-face. That includes when he went inside to pay for his fuel.

He leaves the gas station before me and I don’t pay much attention to where he goes. Another acquaintance I’ll never see again. Cars clogged Hudson Street to get to the highway a half mile away and when I stopped in the turning lane to get on to 71 I see Mr. KH 500 only a few cars in front of me.

The light changes and we turn on to the highway which is just as crowded - each lane was moving, but only at 50 mph. I try to catch up, but I have no chance. He blows by everyone, zipping in and out of traffic as skillfully as I’ve ever seen anyone, but only to the next exit a mile away.

At this point he’s nearly out of sight when I see him cut across three lanes at a 45 degree angle slamming on the brakes just to stay on the exit ramp.

Pretty … photos

Sorry for all the links lately in my quest to post most days. I’d much rather have original material, but I’ve been too busy doing not much of anything.

 Photos of Columbus’ most elusive BMXer

It’s been a few years since a major trip and I’m getting travel lusty

The most traveled man in the world

As many straight forward celebrity portraits as you want to click on

Real pirates

Vile Gash looks as much fun on video as in person

The power of good lighting

Saw this on the WordPress homepage and decided to link to it since this is a photo site … and I’m now without a camera.

http://picdit.wordpress.com/2008/11/20/a-20-year-old-model-photographed-as-if-she-were-10-20-30-40-50-and-60-years-old/

The worst day to be a football fan.

(photo by Neal C. Lauron, Dispatch)

Even though it’s not cool for a punk to claim, I’ll come clean: I’m a football fan. Well, let me clarify: I’m a fan of the game, but not the culture which is worst than any other sport except maybe soccer … outside the United States.

I was bored and walked down to Mirror Lake on Thursday for the annual jump in. Only Buckeye fans could sour a cool tradition. Sure there were tons of dudes showing their hidden homoerotic desires by wearing speedos or that man-kini thing Borat wears, two girls wailing on one dude because he pulled down one of their tops, and more cops on horses than I’ve seen in town since the 2002 riots, but what I hated most was all the hatred.

By far the most common chant I heard was “Fuck Michigan.” Some of the brilliant signs I saw were “Don’t hate us cuz you anus” and (sigh) the still popular “Ann Arbor is a whore.” I’m more of a grumpy, pessimistic Debbie Downer than just about anyone, but how can invest so much hatred into something you enjoy?

An interesting suggestion I heard on the radio was instead of booing and heckling Michigan just give them the silent treatment. I guess that would work better for the 105,000 fans at the game instead of your neighborhood frat party.

I’m sure many Buckeye fans couldn’t have asked for a better game today, but I disagree. An ass wopping that savage is no fun to watch. I would prefer for Michigan to be undefeated going into the big game. Remember a few years ago when the teams were number one and two in the country? Now that’s what makes the rivalry the greatest in all of college sports.

 Random links about the game:

Go ahead and try to tear down these goal posts

Michigan also has their fair share of football idiots, story and photo

If you haven’t seen it, be sure to watch the HBO documentary The Rivalry

UPDATE: Kinder, gentler and colder

The Dead End of Western Civilization

New Adbuster issue out and the cover story is about the dreaded h-word. No, not herpes you freak.

WIthout my camera (it was packed to be mailed today), I won’t have any photos to post for a while, but I have been busy with cut-and-paste collages. Does anyone have a high-quality scanner for paper up to 11″ x 17″ that I can use?

News Roundup

Below is a sampling of news articles either about Columbus or I find interesting. Do you like these posts? Does anyone actually read them? Let me know.

Either way, they’ll likely be more common in the near future. The camera drop I posted about recently did more damage than I thought. It looks like I’ll be without my baby for a few weeks.

COLUMBUS

1 – Bourgeoisie Dumpster divers can rejoice not only once but twice

2 – So that means no streetcars for Columbus?

3 - You call it gentrofication, I call it gentrification.

4 – Gay Street’s not the only one about to go both ways 

NATIONAL/WORLD

1 – Should you really be afraid of the French? Maybe if you only have one nut.

2 – Laws about legally abandoning your children should be more thought out.

3 – After electing our first black president we need a racist one for 2012 (read 1982 campaign)

4 – There’s worse ways to die, but not more ironic

5 – I only married you to get laid … a lot

6 – Bernstein takes on the 100-proof equivalent of Miley Cyrus

7 - Why did I have to read about this study after finding out about my plans for the entire winter?

BLURBS FROM EMAILS

1 – The Grove City Police Department and the FBI are looking for Karl E. Smith, white male, age 52, 6’0”, 170 pounds, for the robbery of the Fifth Third Bank, 4128 Hoover Road, Grove City, Ohio, on November 13, 2008.  Smith, dubbed the “Summer Tooth Bandit” because he has several teeth missing (summer there, summer missin’), has a warrant on file for the robbery.  Anyone with any information on Smith’s whereabouts should contact the Grove City Police Department at 614-277-1710 or the FBI at 614-744-2168.  There is a reward for information leading to Smith’s arrest.   

2- The Other Paper is running a “Worst Tattoo” contest and we need entries!  The prize is a free tattoo cover-up.  Please submit a photo of your tattoo … (even if you don’t want the prize) on the TOP website!

Bexley Rock + ICP

So Rock ‘n’ Roll is pretty lame nowadays, but it would have been fun to photograph in the 60s just like punk must have been in the late 70s/early 80s.

Forgot to post this a week or so ago, but The Other Paper had an interesting article about Baron Wolman, a Bexley native that was the first chief photographer from Rolling Stone.

Wolman talks about how rock photos are substandard today because photographers have limited access to the musicians unlike when he was shooting the likes of Hendrix and Joplin.

Other helpful tips were anticipating how musicians acted during certain parts of a song and good old fashion luck: Wolman moved to Haight-Ashbury just as the wave was breaking.

(While looking for the Wolman link, I noticed this little gem. Not sure how I could have missed John Petric’s review of ICP – I should have been the first to get it straight off the press. In other Petric news, met a girl this weekend who said he was the owner of House of Music on High Street. Not sure if that’s news to anyone, but at 4 a.m. it was strangely satisfying to learn one more Columbus music connection.)

zine review: Mixed Reviews by Aaron Cometbus

 

 

In preparation of this post I assembled a cross for my crucifixion. Alright, ready zinesters? I’ve never been a fan of Aaron Cometbus’ writing.

 

I love his music and appreciate his influence in the zine community, but as far as his writings go …  yeah, not a fan.

 

Like its namesake, Mixed Review is hit or miss. Cometbus’ strength is when he writes about adventure, when his insight on the world comes naturally. His weakness is when his writing is forced or he chooses to dwell on the mundane. 

 

One story that stood was XXX which is about a 30^th-birthday hike that stretched hundreds of miles. Cometbus bonds with small-town residents in Iowa during a tornado as well as resumes a platonic relationship with an old friend that quickly turned into a fiery romance.

 

Another is a late-night romp through the United Nations neighborhoods in New York City titled “Around the World in New York.” Cometbus learns about the histories and connections between the world’s nations all with little human contact.

 

His life is exciting and it’s easy to enjoy reading about his adventures, but concepts like insight, purpose, and philosophy are lacking.

 

Take “Coffee Reviews” and you’ll see what I mean. I’m sure something meaningful could be gained by a piece about testing four Florida coffee shop owners on New York City coffee, but this one is about as dull and pointless as a short story gets. Other reviews are just as bad. Cometbus just cannot create something out of nothing.

 

Not a bad buy for $3, but like all things Cometbus, be picky on which stories you read. The Cometbus catalog is endless and there’s enough out there to be thoroughly entertained … or dulled. Sorry zinesters, just telling it like it is. With that, do you have a step ladder I can borrow. I have a cross that’s calling my name.

 

Good news/bad news

THE GOOD

Not sure if any BMXers read this blog, but there’s some good news regarding my favorite rider Mike Aitken: he’s headed home from the hospital after suffering brain damage. When I first heard about his injury it sounded like he would never ride again, or even live a normal life, but now he’s talking about riding by spring.

After dealing with my fair share of bike-related injuries – nine broken bones (four in my face, three in my good wrist, two in my good thumb), multiple concussions, countless sprains, thousands of bruises and cuts, ect. – I’ve thought about quiting. After being inspired by not only Aitken’s riding, but ability to recovery, I doubt I will any time soon.

Here’s a local news story about the incident.

Here’s one of his many incredible video parts

My favorite random trivia about Aitken is a while back some magazine, probably Ride, did a study where they came up with a formula involving number of pictures and their size to find out which rider received the most coverage over the last year. Not sure if Aitken was number one, but I remember he was the only non-contest rider near the top proving you can’t beat his style.

THE BAD

Just a few weeks ago I posted how the only band I’ve been listening to is Bent Outta Shape. Learned last night that their lead singer Jamie Ewing died. Not much info on the Web, here’s one link, but the rumor I heard was that he choked on his own vomit.