How the hell did I get myself in this position. Whummp! Another shot blasting outside the hull. That one was damn close. If he’s got us bracketed, that’s it. We’re going to die in this fucking turd of a ship. Whummp! Damn it! As the shot exploded I felt my helmeted head whip backward, crashing hard against the back of the pilot seat. Despite the padding I could feel the knot rising. Groggy, everything came rushing back in a blur……

It had all started when Centaurus, Earth’s first interstellar probe, had confirmed that Earth-type planets orbited both Alpha and Beta Centauri. Even though it had taken forty-four years for the journey and the information to reach back home, it caused a stir as great as Armstrong’s first footsteps on the moon must have caused in 1969.

But the great problems were time and distance. Einstein had proven remarkably durable and it wasn’t until the development of relativistic drive and artificial hibernation that a manned mission could seriously be contemplated. The ships carrying settlers came next. The New Worlds beckoned. At last mankind had found something almost as exciting as war.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hold Steady, Art Brut and the 1990s - 11.20.07, The 9:30 Club, Washington DC and 11.21.07, Terminal Five, NYC

The 1990s have just completed their set and thrown their set list (written on a paper plate) into the crowd of Washington DC’s The 9:30 Club. A group of three girls directly in front of me have caught the plate and are currently giggling over their newly acquired treasure.

I’m given cause to wonder if the girls are even there to see the 1990s but rather to see the better known acts Art Brut and/or The Hold Steady instead. It is certain that for most of the audience the latter is the case.

It is no matter because the 1990s are rock solid. Singer/guitarist Jackie McKeown even manages to recover from having his fly down for the entire first song. Where many of the 1990s songs on their debut album, Cookies, sounded poppy, in their live incarnations, the songs take on a grittier, garage-rock sound. Even weaker songs like “Weed” prove to be compelling when played live. McKeown’s solo style, the centerpiece in the live rendition of “Weed”, is organic and dirty, perfectly suited to the band’s music. Drummer Michael McGaughrin’s strained backing vocals add additional richness to the songs. Frequently running out of breath, McGaughrin jokes with the audience after most every song. At one point McKeown remarks that the band must truly be a mesmerizing live act to a man directly in front of him who is talking on his cell phone. McKeown asks the man who he is talking to, and he replies “Taylor”. McKeown is sure not to forget Taylor, and when the band plays “You’re Supposed To Be My Friend”, he cleverly makes allusion to the cell-phone conversation in the lyrics. The standout song of the night, though, is “Situation”, which the band introduces as their last number. Before starting the song, they modify the statement by adding that the crowd needn’t worry because the song is a long one. Played live, “Situation” evokes an underlying darkness only hinted at on the album.

Read the rest of this entry »

When the world of disability meets the great outdoors only one thing can result…Disabled vs Wild.

Now watch the movie.

 Disabled vs Wild: Play in Popup | Download

Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band - The Magic Tour: 10.5.07 & 10.6.07 Philadelphia, PA, Wachovia Center; 10.9.07 & 10.10.07 East Rutherford, NJ, Continental Airlines Arena

Tim has always been good with his money. When I got in a tight spot two years ago on my rent, Tim spotted me. The long and the short is that although I am his older brother, I cannot ever recall lending the man cash.

Ever.

Even as kids, when the legal tender was candy, Tim had a savings plan. Only once, when Tim was age five or so, did he invest unwisely. Somehow I managed to convince him that nickels were worth more than dimes because nickels were larger. It was a devious scheme, and a trade ensued as did Tim’s eventual knowledge that he’d been had. Though I can’t prove it, I’ve always suspected that this event led to Tim’s decision that he’d never let anyone outsmart him again, let alone his brother. And so Tim went to Princeton, while I opted for a life of irresponsibility, quitting jobs working for oil tanker certification companies to take other more career-tracked vocations like selling Sierra Club subscriptions door to door. Three days into the Sierra Club wildnerness I quit yet again, this time to stay gainfully unemployed for months on end. When I went to Tim for money I wondered, was I borrowing because my boss at Sierra Club had ended all his statements with the word “sweet” and had a penchant for kick-starting the morning with DJ Shadow, or was Tim finally collecting interest on the nickels and dimes debacle?

So you cannot imagine the shock I felt when Tim ran out of cash and asked me to buy tickets for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band’s October 9th show at Continental Airlines Arena in East Rutherford, NJ.

Actually. I embellish. I wasn’t shocked in the slightest.

There will only ever be one time in Tim’s life when he runs out of money. These rips in the time-space-continuum will somehow always involve Bruce Springsteen. When I saw the show with Tim on October 9th, Tim had, of course, already seen Bruce on his two previous stops at Philadelphia’s Wachovia Center on October 5th and October 6th.

Like any sort of fandom, being a disciple of the Church of Bruce is impossible to explain. To significant others, friends, co-workers and taxmen, you are a freak no matter how you cut it. In fact only one type of person understands. The nut in the bandana beside you who has also seen the Boss every date of the tour so far and at the rehearsal show in Asbury Park.

Of the two shows at the Continental Airlines Arena, the October 10th show was better, perhaps because we had general admission tickets that night. The standout song from the set(s) was Nebraska’s full band and bullet-mike rave-up of “Reason To Believe.” Par for the course, the show was “magic”. And if the Boss adds more dates after the European leg of the tour, I’ve got good “Reason To Believe” that Tim may be running out of money in the New Year, too.

Click here to see photos from the show.

I’m into bodyweight strength exercises.

While this probably stems from my martial arts background, it isn’t because I believe there is some magical difference between using free or machine weights versus bodyweight. In fact, I’m going to guess that using a complete set of free weights is “better” than using bodyweight, in terms of workout input and gain output. The problem is, those aren’t the only factors.

My interest in bodyweight strength exercises solidified when I read The Naked Warrior, by Pavel Tsatsouline, a former Soviet Special Forces instructor. While the guy is may be a little nuts, he brings up some good points; gym weights, are great but, as he notes, unless you live a life with the predictability of a house plant, they won’t always be available.

What it all boils down to is a regimen of doing 2 exercises: the pistol squat and the one-armed push-up.

The results have been good, and, while one-armed push-ups can work out your abs quite a lot, I’m ready for the next level: the dragon flag

Click here for a youtube video demonstrating the dragon flag

So, here is what I’ve constructed for myself, a dragon flag board.

I’ve been meaning to make it for a while, but I just got a little store credit for returning a lid-less trash can to Home Depot, after using the lid to make a shield, completing a costume of King Leonidas from 300.

Return policy abuse, you might suggest, but maybe someone at Home Depot should have thought of this before refusing to sell me just the lid.

Anyway, the board works by laying yourself on your back, with the bulk of the board under your torso and your head between the handles. You can then grasp the handles and it will support leg lifts and dips. And, it slides nicely under Gus Gus and Buster’s table when I’m not using it.

I figured, with plenty of athletic experience between us, some sort of weight training post was going to come up. I’d like to hear sometime what anyone else does. Maybe Tim could give us a rundown on his hulkening sessions.