Baseball Poem for John Lee Hooker
June 21st, 2010 § Leave a Comment
I hated you loving baseball
Not because I hated you
but because I hated baseball
And when I learned to hate baseball
I learned to love you loving baseball
I loved you loving baseball.
Yours, Slim
John Lee Hooker | August 22, 1917 – June 21, 2001
We’ll meet again
Blues and whips
August 9th, 2008 § 2 Comments
Last week or so, I took a friend to the Cottage Bistro, a live music restaurant on Main Street, Vancouver, for a birthday dinner. The website indicated a motorbike event, so I called ahead to confirm the time and type of music. I was two months late with this dinner invite, so we decided to go ahead with our plans.
At the Cottage Bistro, I ordered the buffalo burger and my companion chose fish and chips. I don’t know how the venue managed to blow preparing rather simple food, but the food was a disappointment. And instead of blues, there was a heavy rock band. In such a small venue, the sound blasted me and my companion out of our seats and into the street. We passed a long line of patrons buying beer, and outside, parked motorcycles lined the street for a block or two.
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Never leave home without your panniers
May 30th, 2008 § 1 Comment
You never know when you might win something—and I was glad I had
my panniers on my bike at the wrap-up party of the Bike to Work Week. I won a gift basket from Vancouver’s Yale Rhythm and Blues Club including a bottle of wine, VIP passes, CD and t-shirt. Thank you Yale Club.
Vancouver cyclists were really lucky this year. We had great weather every day during the 2008 Bike to Work Week. Over 1,700 new riders participated. The BBQ at Science World—okay, Telus World of Science—included music by the Bicycle Shed Ensemble and entertainment by the B:C: Clettes dance group. Two people propelled the sound system by pedalling stationary bicycles and M&M Meats provided food.
While flipping through the new issue of Momentum magazine, I noticed a great item for rainy days in Vancouver—an attachment to hold the umbrella (see photo above). I need to find a local retailer.
For more cycling information, visit Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition.
Coming Cycle Events
June is Bike Month—50 events
Tour de Blintz, June 8 & 15, 2008
Slow Food Cycle Tour of Agassiz, BC, August 9, 2008
If you rather not cycle, how about building your own online Kaleidoscope?
Don’t bogart that road, my friend
May 16th, 2008 § Leave a Comment
When presenting at SFU Business School on May 15, 2008, the cycling advocate from Rutgers University was so excited that several times he knocked off his clip-on mic. While John Pucher’s 1½ hour presentation was way too long, it contained a lot of good information for cycling commuter advocates to bring to city planners.
Most noteworthy lesson from Pucher’s study of cycling in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Germany is that when cycling increases, accidents decrease. It’s so safe to cycle in these countries that commuters do not wear helmets.
Also, cycling demographics show as people age, the more they commute by bicycle.
In Berlin, free Internet cycling trip planning is offered. Cyclists can indicate preferences for speed, type of pavement, type of street, and so on. Cyclists can also plan their trips by cellphone, viewing the map in the cellphone’s display.
SFU Business School on Granville apologized for the lack of bicycle racks claiming their racks were stolen.
Resources
- Corsets to sports bras. Read about the bicycle’s role in the emancipation of women.
- Here’s a PDF of John Pucher’s PowerPoint presentation.
- Information on Bike to Work Week in Vancouver.
- Katie Melua—On Nine Million Bicycles in Beijing
