purple jam haze
May 29, 2011
til Tuesday
May 28, 2011
Traditionally when payday falls on a Friday before a three-day weekend things are good and it’s a good thing to dust off those white shoes worn only after Memorial Day unless you always wear white shoes that match your white bib shorts white saddle and white bar tape and your things all stay really white because you never ride in the rain or never really ride at all and maybe you like sandals with socks so you’re prepared to pay more at the pump because you drive your car everywhere or maybe because you’re a paid professional with a team mechanic and a truckload full of fresh whiter white replacement things or maybe you bought two pair of white SPD shoes at closeout prices from Recycled Cycles at the bike expo a set for you and a set for your fiancé for matching mountain bike rides through the hills alive with the sound of that line won’t work on me with a BA in Anthropology from the finest liberal arts school in the country why don’t you want to hire me? that’s not my rusty chain but it could have been while it could yet to be but if it was and I took a photo it wouldn’t look so clean.
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plastic stacking adirondack chairs
May 25, 2011
three times around in the revolving door then
out into a great green Astroturf rumpus room
a gold rotary phone rings hardwired string
holds down a shiny red balloon unmistakably
the one from the movie kid voices speak French
while German subtitles appear on the wall below
a picture of a painting of a cow jumping over the moon
bolted down securely against gravity in the lobby of Denny’s
Grand Slam breakfast dish runs away with the spoon
to one corner where three little Jerry bears rest
breaking briefly between songs and dancing around
correspondingly colorful musical plastic stacking chairs
on the turf two little kittens recently removed
from mother suckling the thumbs of two little mittens
grandmother knit strung together forever dangling
the little toy house hinged-roof opens to reveal
a young mouse anthropomorphically typecast
as if Stuart Little sounds like Michael J Fox
atop the coffee table a Hair Club for Men member’s
clogged comb and brush triangulate with a
not too hot not too cold just right bowl of mush
everywhere stars fill the air with good night noises
no need to say goodnight socks walk away
and it’s OK if nobody’s there at 7:00 except
that intimidating librarian looking old lady
saying in a near whispering hush
this is NPR’s Morning Edition I’m Bob Edwards
goodnight moon dream redux this time it's for real
and still with all due respect to Margaret Wise Brown
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if it's Wednesday the keg must be empty
May 25, 2011
they don't have ranch dressing
but they do have excellent beer
lather rinse repeat
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time to stop and smell the buses
May 24, 2011
there’s a squiggly line in purple chalk on the sidewalk
dividing the confidence that comes with predictability
from the complacency that comes with predictability
coloring outside the lines that separate
the comfort of routine from mind numbing boredom
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130mm bolt circle diameter
May 23, 2011
peace of piece of pie
May 22, 2011
Moving right along sixty degrees on the compass north by northwest fifteen sixteenths of the way well almost all the way to the fourth corner as they say. Throw the wheel in the truing stand and rotate one spoke past the valve hole on the non-drive side keeping your eye on the OD 700c you know 622 bsd. That would be two hours on an analog clock when the big hand goes around twice and the little hand lands on the 3 you’ll see are you hungry? how about a healthy slice of sausage & mushroom & olive pizza pie served on a paper plate fold it over and take a bigger big big bite or an isosceles triangular sharp cheddar cheese wedge of a three and a half story building nestled between Olive Way and Olive Place with its cutest acute angle always pointing up hill.
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noodling a 53 X 13
May 21, 2011
This is what bike to work day looked like from my perspective at 6:33am. On your left. Right? That light was red, you’re making us all look bad. Whatever and the bartender says, “Why the long shadow?” All the bike commuters seemed to be going the other way in a fair weather weekday equivalent of weekend warrior show of force and or free Clif bars and stickers. Don’t get me wrong. As year-round every-single-day bike commuters tend to be independent by nature and rather odd. Perhaps not team players. Black sheep. Ugly ducklings. Boot strap puller uppers. Inscrutable with a tough outer shell. Thick skin some may say crust. Crusty. Crusty like me.
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FINE FOODS - FRESH MEATS
May 19, 2011
Kim Klein photo
it's Bike-to-Work Day get your ass out there
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looking back over a double short americano
May 18, 2011
slept past my stop
forgot to get a transfer
front and center at the foot of the altar
cathedral stained glass sunbeam
illuminating our lady of what might have been
pinching rosary beads for what will never be
praying patron saint of potential unfulfilled
racking up credits
on a pinball machine in a dream
feeding the feedback loop
shouldacoulda monster under the bed
waiting hibernating
another late night visit from the regret fairy
pillow sprinkled with magic indecision dust
hocus pocus
can’t say no
afraid to say yes
the fence makes the grass look greener
hard deadlines all in my mind
arbitrary expiration date
best if used by September 1997
commitment contract concession
giving up unlimited nights and weekends
offering anytime minutes anytime
replay the relationship conversation
you
me
us
we
never said
it goes without saying
4/13/09
still feeding the feedback loop sometimes two years later
with inflation a Busch in hand now really is worth two birds
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cheek check
May 17, 2011
got a couple of couches, sleep on the loveseat
May 15, 2011
taken out of context like a trapper keeper
May 14, 2011
IRO cross frame & fork...sold
May 12, 2011
IRO Rob Roy single speed steel frame & fork
57 centimeterish with a short top tube
giant pilderwasser sticker on downtube
It has many miles on it and miles to go before it sleeps
Cantilever Boss!
the longest chainstays in the world
not even close to toe-overlap
geometry so relaxed it could fall asleep
fender eyelets
room for giant tires as well as full fenders
the ultimate commuter or slow boat legal messenger
only $49.99 with proof of a stable household
includes bottom bracket and headset
other bike parts and memorabilia available as well
***SOLD!***
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Bike To Work Day (weather permitting)
May 11, 2011
What a difference a day makes. It rained today, only because I took the front fender off my Raleigh Port Townsend like an anxious kid on Christmas Eve tearing into presents a bit too soon, like an anxious batter swinging away way out in front of a change up, like an anxiously optimistic bike commuter on a warm sunny afternoon in Seattle trusting the weather as if today is any indication of what’s in store for tomorrow. But yesterday was great and I got a little test ride in on Peter’s bike, that’s that there bike in the photo.
Pretend your commute to work is a 7 mile time trial. Now imagine that you could shave 6 minutes off your average travel time. Six minutes over the course of seven miles. That’s huge. That’s another cup of coffee. That’s three peanut butter cookies for the price of one. That’s another snooze alarm. That’s the toast hitting the floor jelly-side-up, consistently. That’s the difference between an elite cyclist and a time trial world champion. That’s what I’m talking about.
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the recollection of quality remains, long after the price is forgotten
May 10, 2011
grist for the mill
May 8, 2011
Where some see a cheesy little zebra print fuzzy girls coat, others see the raw materials with which to make a few new coozies-of-the-month
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200% half ass
May 8, 2011
yes no maybe
no need to reread the recipe
the ratio remains the same
unit : unit :: unit : unit
just add water like pancake batter
as runny as you wanna be
three and one half years later
still selling salad shooters
back where we started
anticipating 50% cutbacks
applying twice as much
pancake makeup
spackled on with a trowel
structurally cosmetic
cosmetically structural
purposefully playfully opaque
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the seventh day of May
May 7, 2011
Skunk is 15 years old today
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a perfect circle of acquaintances and friends
May 5, 2011
look out
May 4, 2011
if you don't know it's coming
you won't care if it doesn't show up
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mess with the bull
May 3, 2011
a real bear traffic is
May 2, 2011
outside in your face in real time
a moment of pause to ponder
intermittent inclement weather
stinking traffic can be a real bear down there
but not up here where we’re
drinking big beer from pastel plastic cups
cold from a keg with an Oury grip on the tap
shoes green with fresh cut grass smelling
thinking of timeless issues and current events
the profit margin on plastic stacking Adirondack chairs
sleeves of Saltines exposed prematurely to the humidity
wormdrive over cuts in the tailgate of an old Ford pickup
or something like that
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