Learning The Hard Way

When I first started mountain biking I always took off without a spare or a pump. I got a flat soon enough but it was right near my house so I did not change my ways. I figured it was freak thing. Just look at those beefy tires on a mountain bike - so much more imposing than a skinny road bike tire. I had ridden road bikes for years without getting a flat - what were the chances of that happening again? In my case it was 1:1 each time I went riding after that. It seemed if I rode over a pebble I would get a flat. Beefy tires indeed. Under that tough knobby exterior was a thin penetrable skin that couldn't stand up to much of anything. Still though, it was only after getting a flat about 9 miles away from home with no wallet and no phone and doing the push the bike thing all the way back home - in the winter - that I figured that maybe, just maybe, I should invest in some equipment. So one weekend I went to the local bike shop and dropped some coin on a Camelback, clips, bike shoes, shorts, shirt and some spares and a compact pump and a most importantly a pair of Tuff-Ez to line my tires and prevent blowouts. Sure enough after I bought the gear riding became a lot more fun. I guess if you are prepared, you can relax and concentrate on the task at hand. So that's what I did.

Nowadays I bike less and the latest interest is photography. If you keep up with this blog (bless all two or three of you) you know I'm in a black and white class at SVA in Manhattan. It's an entry level class with weekly assignments and lab work where we develop and enlarge our own negatives - the basics. So far so good except that I fogged my initial two rolls of film. For some reason after the developer and stopper I decided the best way to add the fixer would be to open the main part of the tank instead of the light safe top. As soon as I had done it I figured out that this was not a Good Thing and slapped the lid back on and hoped that I had not wrecked the film.

It's exactly this type of loss of train of thought and brain fart maneuver that convinced me to withdraw from flight school. Lapses in concentration don't bode well in a flying machine that basically beats the air into submission more than flies.

Ok - back to the negatives.

At first glance the negatives looked good, but the roll from the top of the tank will not produce a negative worth printing. The bottom roll in the tank got fogged as well, but not as badly and I can print off of that one. So far I have one print of the power lines that traverse the rail trail that runs by my house. It's not Ansel Adams but then again why would I really expect it to be? What can be said for it is that it's a good print off of a negative with some issues and that it's my first print. I'll frame it just for that reason.

Like I said before I'm not sure what I want from all this. I'm trying to keep my expectations low and the goal is to learn and progress but not obsess as I am wont to do - I'd burn out my interest in no time otherwise. The thing with photography is that it's a gadget maven's delight - there's so much shit you can buy. And lets face it, gadgets can sure as hell keep you interested. Still, I have yet to go hog wild with the gear. I've got my Dad's camera, a venerable Pentax ME Super SE 35mm SLR and the 50mm and the 80mm telephoto lens he had. My contribution is some film, a wide angle lens and a light meter along with some developing and enlarging stuff.

I haven't burnt through too much film yet - there's been either no time to shoot or when there has been it's monsoon conditions outside.

This morning seemed full of promise - a nice fall morning with pale golden light and scattered clouds. I figured I'd head over to Lyndhurst and reshoot some of the shots I had fogged but by the time I got over there it was gray skies again. Argh. Then on top of that the batteries in the Pentax died. Then on top of that the batteries in my Poweshot A20 crapped out. Double Argh.

Well, it should not come as a surprise that this stuff uses electricity. I should have checked. I should have had some spares or another back up camera but I thought that everything would be fine. No such luck. Just like with the mountain biking I had to learn the hard way. On Monday during lunch I'll trek over to B&H and get a bunch of batteries. I'll get lens cases and some more film and a flash attachment. I'll probably pick up a camera gear backpack too. Sure I don't need it, but it will make my life easier and allow me to concentrate on the task at hand instead of wondering if I have the right equipment or if something is going to crap out on me. Like I said, preparation lets you enjoy things more. It's a lesson worth learning and one I seem to like to re-learn.

The saving grace of the sojourn out to Lyndhurst today was that Clarisa came along to be my assistant and model. Hey - I get to sleep with my assistant! So even though the equipment failed we still had each other and enjoyed the grounds. It felt like a date and after 11 years of marriage I think it's damn cool we can feel that way.

Before the battery died on the digital:

Trailer Park Logic

In his article, "Greetings From Idiot America" in this month's Esquire magazine, Charles P. Pierce writes, CREATIONISM. INTELLIGENT DESIGN. FAITH-BASED THIS. TRUST-YOUR-GUT THAT. THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO ESPOUSE, PROFIT FROM, AND BELIEVE IN UTTER, UNADULTERATED CRAP. AND THE CRAP IS RISING SO HIGH, IT'S GETTING DANGEROUS.

He goes onto state that Idiot America (one would think that the title of his article owes a little to Green Day for what that's worth) is essentially a war on expertise and the "...breakdown of a consensus that the pursuit of knowledge is good." and that "In the place of expertise, we have elevated the Gut. And the Gut is a moron."

It's a comprehensive, humorous and well thought out lambastication of, well, Idiot America.
Of course, Pierce is preaching to the choir with me, but it's a fun read nonetheless and isn't there always some pleasure in seeing your own incomplete thoughts coaleseced on the page? Sure there is.

The thing is, while I was reading his piece, I kept on thinking that I'd heard or thought these thoughts before. Not his exact thoughts, but his overall sentiment and this third premise of Idiot America - 3) Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it.

I knew I heard or thought of that before. Then it came to me.

Trailer Park Logic!

Well before Green Day or Pierce used the term Idiot America, I'd witnessed more than my share of what I call Trailer Park Logic. You cannot defeat it. That woman in the stained blue ribbed tank top with the jelly roll spilling over the exhausted elastic stretchband of her lycra leopard skin capris might as well be Daniel Webster. Present facts to her. Offer arguments. Bring a flip chart and Power Point presentations. It's moot. It doesn't matter if the topic is the death penalty or Elvis vs Johnny Cash. Whatever the point of view is - you cannot change it. And forget nuance. You are defeated and she will subjugate you to her superior will.

Fact is that which enough people believe. Truth is determined by how fervently they believe it (Pierce, Esquire, 10/05).

It seems the logic has left the trailer park and made it to the White House.

Like Mr. Pierce I am perplexed and concerned and disconcerted. How is it that we seem to have moved from a rational secular culture to one where intelligent design is being put side by side with science?

I don't have an answer - but as a person who is a fan of Thoreau, Emerson and Mills I hope we shift back.

Welcome Babies

I've been terribly remiss.

Back on September 7th my cousin Christine ushered into the world the newest member of our family - Christopher Blaze Carberry.

What a name. Christopher Blaze. I love it. I certainly love my cousin and I certainly love the little guy and even love the fact that the first time I held him he pooped for all he was worth. For the life of me I can't figure out why I have not thought to mention his arrival here. So - a belated welcome to Christopher and a public Congrats to you, Christine. It was great to see you in September and I got some good pictures of Clarisa holding Christopher. Sure I had my SVA photography class in the back of my mind, but more than that I was thinking that someday he'll be 37 years old and looking back and see this black and white photo of himself before he even knew who he was. Moreover - how great was it for so many of us to get together in Brooklyn on a non-holiday and just indulge in the simple pleasure of an extended walk around the block with a stop for ice-cream. That was really great. On top of that I got to see my cousin Kerry and two of her little ones - Devon and Dylan and even my cousin Will made a rare appearance. And yes, Will, the picture I took of you on your long board came out and you'll get a copy to post on your blog. I just need to do that whole printing thing first. Then the scanning thing. Seeing as how I have no scanner and even no computer - this might take longer than otherwise expected. If you would like the process speeded up - please feel free to meditate on the speedy arrival of the insurance check from Travelers. All of you.

Speaking of babies - Sfumato had his triplets, Dominic, Xavier and Luisa. Just like that he went from zero to three after nine years of marriage. Three over nine. One is a prime, one a square root of the other and there are three periods in hockey and 9 innings in baseball. Does that mean anything? Well, he loves baseball and he loves hockey. Plus Babe Ruth was number 3 and Gordie Howe was number 9. Nine times three gives us a 27 for Kovalev and 2+7 brings us back to 9. Nine plus three yields us a Broadway Joe as well. Fortuitous indeed. And CLUTCH.

Poof! You are a Dad! Congrats!

A Mini Catch-Up

There's been no posts lately for two reasons.

1. My PC died a horrible death. From the looks of things it was electrocuted - zapped right through my surge protector one night a few weeks ago during the 8 Days Of Rain. Maybe the hard drive is fried maybe not. Hopefully I can recover some of the data I didn't have backed up, but I've been too busy lately - which brings me to number two.
2. Work has been a royal pain in the ass. Since there is no glory in being Dooced if you are not Doooce herself, I'll just say I've been there a bit more than I would like to be and leave it at that.

Disconcerting

Scientists decide to set up scenario for real life re-enactment of Stephen King's The Stand

Lovely!

(For those of you who did not click on the link, it points to an article about scientists recontstructing the Spanish Flu virus Actually I think it's pretty cool that they can reconstruct it and hopefully learn enough about it to stop it from recurring. Not releasing it would be a Good Thing as well. Hence The Stand reference. All caught up? Good. You may proceed.)

Meanwhile, the great grandson of the Spanish Flu that killed my biological great grandmother, Mary Petrulyak, along with 49,999,999 other people is romping around enough to draw worldwide attention.

And given the reaction to Katrina - what do you think the results were for the study on how prepared we are to deal with a pandemic were?

That's right. You got it.

(For those of you not clicking the link - "That's right. You got it." means that I am assuming that you will assume that the study shows, as I have assumed, that we are shit out of luck so far in this regards.)

So what's the point? Will I start to wear a surgical mask like Whacko Jacko or some SARS dodging Japanese commuter? Should we all freak out?

Hell no.

It's just disconcerting to read about. And lets face it, there is the much more immediate reality of vague bomb threats to NYC's transit system to not worry about. Avian flu schmavian flu. Bombs? Feh. We have stuff to do!

But then I just read Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, so I perhaps that's responsible for my apocalyptic yet satirical and post-modernist mood. Yeah, yeah, I was a Fordham Lit major and never read it till now - what do you want from my life? Every class I signed up for all I ever got was Edith Wharton & Guest. House of Mirth every damn time. Not my fault.

Speaking of Edith Wharton - if you live in CT or southeast NY - her mansion, The Mount is a nice place to go visit in Lenox, MA - which is about 3 hours outside of NYC and 2 hrs away from Boston. And - if you are going to go to Lenox, you might as well stop in or stay in Stockbridge and check out the Norman Rockwell Museum and or Naumkeag. It's a great weekend get away, especially in Autumn. See? Some good came out of reading Wharton.

The next book on my "to read" list is Kevin Canty's Into the Great Wide Open. Nothing disconcerting about that but not everything can be. Dos Passos will just have to wait. Yeah - didn't read him either. Shameful.

Some BJJ Talk

There's been no mention of BJJ here for a while because I've stopped training while my biceps and shoulder and ankle and neck heal up. I was just getting too beat up to keep it up. I figure my weight and my lack of flexibility had a lot to do with it, so I'm on a diet and doing yoga to lighten up and limber up physically and mentally. I just trying to prepare myself to go back to it where I can work out and not walk out feeling like I just pitched a complete game with each arm. I do miss it though. I miss it especially when I manage to catch Spike TV's Ultimate Knockouts like I did last night. What great marketing by the UFC. Play an hour long show where someone gets their ass handed to them every 5 minutes and use it as a lead in to a live event. Beautiful.

More beautiful than the UFC's marketing was watching Matt Hughes in the knockout reel. Hughes gets arm barred or triangled and then stands up to escape it and carries his opponent, Newton, across the mat to the cage and posts him against it. Newton grabs the cage for a second and then is made to let go. Hughes pauses. Then he steps back and SLAMS Newton to the canvas. Lights out. Hughes wins. The guy is a monster competitor and very very savvy in the octagon.

The other great highlight was Forrest Griffin's rear naked choke victory followed by spooning his opponent. I had to laugh my ass off when he through a leg over the guy like it was a cool Saturday November morning in bed. To Forrest's credit, he joked about it later. You need to be able to laugh at yourself.

Ah - I just remembered one other knock out. I think it was Gary Goodrich in a UFC fight from long ago (he was in a gi) where, just 45 seconds into the fight he basically got this guy in a crucifix and then started lambasting the living shit out him with elbow strikes. It was ugly though too because the ref jumped in a little late.

As for the Ultimate Fighter II - I've caught it here and there. With the exception of the last show, the fights have been dull and the team strategy stupid. Why would you want to fight the other teams best guy? There is really nothing to gain from it in the context of the show. You risk elimination and you risk injury. Even Dana White had to jump in and tell them they were being stupid but they did not listen. It is a contest after all - with the idea being to win your weight class and a contract in the UFC. And, let not forget Dana wants some good fights at the end, not some lopsided contest or two guys that really don't deserve the UFC because the best guys have already eliminated themselves.

One last thing - I have not seen Andrei Arlovski fight yet - but did I see what I think I saw in the promos? He's got fangs a la Dee Snider and the creepy goth vampire folks? Luvit.

Kitchen's Done!

Well, all our rennovations are through and we can finally bid adieu, for now, to our Polish contractors. Here's our kitchen in chronological order:

When we first moved in:

The leak discovered and the kitchen torn to hell to locate it / fix it and clean up the yucky mold:


The new kitchen:

Man, what a relief. We've been dealing with this crap since May but in the end it's worth it because we found and stopped that leak and rennovated our place and we like it better than when we started.