Chattanooga

This weekend we took a weekend getaway trip to Chattanooga with our friends John and Shannon and Sandra (and of course, Bodhi). We all piled in the Honda Pilot to go meet Kevin and Kathy and their family. K&K used to live in the A but moved to Indy around a year ago, much to our dismay.

Chattanooga is a pretty cool little city. Not too many people call it home but it has a multitude of amenities that attract people from the region to its waterfront. Where do you think Bernie Marcus got his idea. It's a great place for the kids to run around and also for adults to take a break from work and catch up (especially when the weather is as nice as it was for us). That could include anything from finding out what darndest things have recently been said to flying a giant, expensive kite alongside the river.

When you first roll into town you may think it looks dead, but make your way to the river and you'll start to see people (and their tricked out choppers). We were lucky enough to plan our visit during prom season and the prominees for king and queen were prominent. Prom. Shannon and Sandra started the trip doing their best Joan and Melissa Rivers impersonations as the Seniors piled out of limos along Broad Street. Apparently 'the highlighter colors' were in this year. We were hoping to view some wild prom parties at the hotel, but no such luck. All of us stayed at the Chattanooga Choo Choo hotel; an old rail station turned into modest accommodations. Kevin, Kathy, Ewan, Colin, and Sandra even took advantage of the novelty of the venue and stayed in a converted rail car.

For part of the trip I felt like I was in Savannah because it's small and a little weird, but Chattanooga lacks the neighborhoods that Savannah boasts. Chattanooga does not feel like an old city. The attractions and townhomes along the river are anything but. They have an old riverboat docked there but most of the boats cruising around are new pseudo-yachts: party boats. Aside from the Choo Choo, there doesn't seem to be too much of its history that the city is trying to embrace.

The slogan for the city (A Great City by Nature) plays on the natural features that surround the area. I am yet to see much of them up close. There is kayaking , hang gliding, hiking, climbing, and probably more. On Saturday I had the chance to ride out east along their river. Lauren, John and I all rode out to the Chickamunga Dam and back on The Tennessee Riverwalk, a paved path that takes you there from downtown. The path follows the south side of the Tennessee River through marsh and village, hill and dale, picnic area and parking lot on your way to the dam. The bike is a great way to get around the town, however the residents seemed surprised to see riders away from the dedicated paths and out on the main streets.

It's easy to compare Chattanooga to other cities (newer than Savannah, less crunchy than Asheville, more drunk than Macon) but a bit harder to characterize it altogether. My suggestion is to check it out for yourself.

Commitment to the Commute = Commutement

Last week this article on commuting, and featuring Atlanta, came out in the New Yorker. For me, commuting is a common topic of conversation. It's easy to discuss and nearly everyone can contribute something to the conversation while still talking about themselves. And if you really like to talk about commutes, find a room full of city planners.

This article describes some of the attention we pay to the smallest aspects of our commutes. I, for example am one of those people who thinks about which end of train will allow me fastest access to my next connection, and I'm an escalator walker. On a bike you come to know the segments of the commute in a much more visceral way. From light to light you come to know and expect the tinge of a certain amount of lactic acid. It's a good day when you make it from door to door without your feet touching the ground.

The article talks about the personal emotional economics of commuting, if that makes sense. It also points out some of the good and bad of commuting in how society is affected.

Give it a read, and if this link doesn't work, email me for a copy.

Messidona

Yesterday Lionel Messi scored an amazing goal for his team Barcelona. This young Argentine has been toted as the next Maradona and, as such, is a demigod in the country and famous the world over. The goal yesterday paralleled Maradona's amazing and still infamous goal against England in the World Cup. Messi's came in a league game but is indisputably sick... or sensational, whichever you prefer. The announcers in this clip immediately made the comparison. You see for yourself.

Maradona


Messi
Watch it over and over again. SICK!

Sister Visit

Over the weekend Lauren and I hosted our sisters as guests of Atlanta and our home. We had an event-filled couple of days over which the weather varied. My original intention in suggesting this weekend to them was to get them here for The Dogwood Festival and some lovely Spring weather. I thought it would be a welcome respite from the mid-April snow showers they'd been enduring and Spring in Atlanta is great. Plus the braves were in town.

On Thursday and Friday we had great weather and took a stroll around Atlanta's CBD - not what I considered to be a stop on most tourists lists, but looking back maybe it's the most touristy place of all with World of Coke, Underground, and Centennial Olympic Park. We also had the chance to catch Dr. David Kleinbaum on the jazz flute at the Old Scottish Rite. On Friday we visited the aquarium and that night went to the Braves' game. Braves got killed but we had a good time and saw some fireworks.

I told my sister to bring her soccer gear so we could go play on Saturday morning at Tech. The weather held up but we almost couldn't find parking because of Barack Obama. It was fun and she showed me up a few times. Then the weather got ugly but we had all indoor events planned. John and Shannon had a dinner party and then Priya was celebrating her 25th birthday and their place.

Finally on Sunday we tried to get over to Dogwood. It was remarkably cold and ugly outside and to see the festival so empty was pretty sad. We decided to go see Hurricane on the Bayou and later Lauren made some awesome lasagna for dinner. Then Jennie was shipped off to the airport and I turned to face homework.

The weekend had concluded but for a few days it was a assemblage of family, keeping the generation together.

Alternative Radio

Thanks to the diverse and quality-driven program directors at WREK I have been introduced to Alternative Radio. I was lucky enough to catch it two weeks in a row at it's scheduled time of 11AM on Sundays and now I am fairly interested in it. Interested enough to visit the website and begin to tell people about it in casual conversation and on this blog. Basically the show broadcasts public awareness talks given by political and social activists calling for cultural change, or at least awareness. If you don't catch the show on the radio you can always find a recording of the talk on their website, if only for a small fee.

The first week I heard the show it was a talk given by Bill Moyers on media reform. I agreed with a lot of what he was saying and thought his argument was very well formed and enthusiastic. Last week I happened to be in the car when it came on and caught Chris Hedges talking about the radical Christian right. This talk was not really something I knew too much about. His delivery was heated and the content scathing but definitely plausible. I found it pretty interesting to hear his perspective on things coming from seminary and having spent time inside some of the mega-churches and societies which he was describing.

All this is to say that you should give Alternative Radio a listen. If you're not in Atlanta check out the website and find out when it's on in your town. Or if you're ready to jump right in, I recommend buying the episode with Bill Moyers. His argument on media reform might make you a regular subscriber.

Twenty Eight

Viente y ocho, hai mui tam, er shu ba, however you say it, I have that many of them in years. To mark the occasion I thought I'd research the number. Google returns 28 million results.

Wikipedia is the first hit on the search and has some great info. For example, it is a Keith number, because it recurs in a Fibonacci-like sequence started from its base 10 digits: 2, 8, 10, 18, 28... Also, it's a happy number, which only 12% of all integers are (considering numbers up to 10^20). A happy number is any number that eventually reduces to 1 when the following process is used: take the sum of the squares of its digits, and continue iterating this process until it yields 1, or produces an infinite loop. AWESOME!! This is gonna be a great year.

Years normally follow a 28-year cycle, since there are seven days in a week and leap year occurs every four years; a calendar from 28 years ago is the same as this year's. This is the first time (of several, hopefully) that I'll get to relive a year exactly as it was the year I was born. Need to break out the almanac.

It's the atomic number of nickel, and the number of dominoes in a standard dominoes set. There's also a band called twenty eight out of Cape Cod. I wonder if they are good. One album that people apparently think is great is one that I picked up in college called The Great 28, by Chuck Berry. I never knew it was so well regarded, I thought is was like a greatest hits.

Other people also blog about turning 28, but this guy is not as excited as me. And some people receive bills from their fathers when they turn 28. Like this guy whose dad sent him an itemized invoice for his life to that point totaling $2 million. Thanks mom and dad for the millions you've put into me.

When I think about the years... the number, I guess actually last year was a happy number year and maybe I should be researching 29 now...

Merchan-DIE-sing

If you're familiar with the blog you have probably seen my remade (improved) helmet. After making it, I had the idea to partner with helmet makers and create a licensing agreement with schools and teams to make their helmets. Not sure who the market would be since messengers would be above them and the typical bike advocate fitted in complete Discovery Channel kit might also shun the pseudo-'patriotism'. Fitting it to the public health paradigm, I could argue that these helmets are much cooler and more likely to be worn by children, and everyone want to protect children, even if they are just riding to the end of the cul-de-sac and back. Plus their heads grow faster and alligences run less deeply than adults and they would be in the market for new helmets more often. I guess I should have gone in to business/marketing.

Yet, no matter how bad you think that idea is, it must become a little more feasible in your mind after you hear what Major League Baseball has given its teams' identities to. Urns. Now you have your worldly remains committed to the official human ashes receptacle of your team. This type of fanaticism says, "Family, Take me out to the ball game... forever." And I don't think stadiums will be charging admission for entry of the departed. You can only hope that your team doesn't get nixed. Just think of all the Expos fans in urns that would be getting laughed at.

Happy opening day everyone.