Like what we do? Donation bucket!
Saturday, March 29, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
People come to town and find out that bikes are not toys.
They find the bike reality is...we go fast. When everyone makes a move, the newbies are left in the dust. What are some tricks for keeping them safe and up to speed cycling in Puddle-town?
I'm writing a bike survival class. I'm a lil afraid of creating monsters though given my background. Here is an excerpt: "Identify and stay out of all auto's blind spots, that's a killer. If a car forces you into a compromising position, use your U lock on the panels of the car banging loudly until they back off.." See? that won't fly in a class. Bikes need to be a bit obnoxious to survive out on the grill, it's nothing compared to how the cars insult bikes. Car culture is gross, bloated, poison, it's bringing climate change and is a cash cow for some of the world's worst people...and they crush cyclists like walnuts on a regular basis. There are many reasons to flip cars off, just road rage is not one of them.
From the vantage point of my bike I notice that most non commercial vehicles in Ptown are only 1-2 humans and little cargo. That means they are poisoning us all out of convenience. The irony is that they would have more money, look/ feel better and live longer without the car trap. The other irony is that the folks who decide to be car free, still have to breathe the cocktail of chemicals every day and splash around in the chemical streams draining to the river.
I'm writing a bike survival class. I'm a lil afraid of creating monsters though given my background. Here is an excerpt: "Identify and stay out of all auto's blind spots, that's a killer. If a car forces you into a compromising position, use your U lock on the panels of the car banging loudly until they back off.." See? that won't fly in a class. Bikes need to be a bit obnoxious to survive out on the grill, it's nothing compared to how the cars insult bikes. Car culture is gross, bloated, poison, it's bringing climate change and is a cash cow for some of the world's worst people...and they crush cyclists like walnuts on a regular basis. There are many reasons to flip cars off, just road rage is not one of them.
From the vantage point of my bike I notice that most non commercial vehicles in Ptown are only 1-2 humans and little cargo. That means they are poisoning us all out of convenience. The irony is that they would have more money, look/ feel better and live longer without the car trap. The other irony is that the folks who decide to be car free, still have to breathe the cocktail of chemicals every day and splash around in the chemical streams draining to the river.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
I stopped wearing cammo pants in 08
I was about to host an open mic.
I had my usual home-punk cowboy clown look going on. At this time in my life I was a clown in transition. Years of activist clown who was totally underground was suddenly very popular with everyone. I still had the look of the kind of clown who dumpster dives, rebels against authority and brawls a lot. I was in all intents an altruistic, good guy but I still had no clue how to be palatable to normal folks.My kid's Mom and most of my friends had left me after our Clown House had closed down. I was wide open to reinvent myself.
My friend gave me a ride to my gig that day. He was late so he ran out quick.
I discovered that I accidentally left my phone in his car. He was gone to work so I lightly touched the door handle to see if by chance it could still be open.
That's all the neighborhood eyes needed to see to immediately call the Police on me. I think it was the martial arts place across the street.
The rollers rolled up and apprehended me after a long no chase.
He searched me and asked what the story was.
I was suspicious after many years in the streets so I didn't give away too much info about anything.
It was looking like i was going to the hoosegow until Da Man, asked "Where do you work?"
I looked across the street and smiled for the first time.
"Across the street".
"Can you prove it?" he asked as we both turned to see my face plastered on the glass of the cafe across the street.
Same hat, same make up. The cop chuckled, put his book away "Carry on.". And I did carry on.
Nowadays I break into cars all the time and never get bothered because I'm sharply dressed and also I'm always leaving things rather than taking stuff.
I had my usual home-punk cowboy clown look going on. At this time in my life I was a clown in transition. Years of activist clown who was totally underground was suddenly very popular with everyone. I still had the look of the kind of clown who dumpster dives, rebels against authority and brawls a lot. I was in all intents an altruistic, good guy but I still had no clue how to be palatable to normal folks.My kid's Mom and most of my friends had left me after our Clown House had closed down. I was wide open to reinvent myself.
My friend gave me a ride to my gig that day. He was late so he ran out quick.
I discovered that I accidentally left my phone in his car. He was gone to work so I lightly touched the door handle to see if by chance it could still be open.
That's all the neighborhood eyes needed to see to immediately call the Police on me. I think it was the martial arts place across the street.
The rollers rolled up and apprehended me after a long no chase.
He searched me and asked what the story was.
I was suspicious after many years in the streets so I didn't give away too much info about anything.
It was looking like i was going to the hoosegow until Da Man, asked "Where do you work?"
I looked across the street and smiled for the first time.
"Across the street".
"Can you prove it?" he asked as we both turned to see my face plastered on the glass of the cafe across the street.
Same hat, same make up. The cop chuckled, put his book away "Carry on.". And I did carry on.
Nowadays I break into cars all the time and never get bothered because I'm sharply dressed and also I'm always leaving things rather than taking stuff.
I stopped wearing cammo and black. It was a different chapter, different era and it was not good tactics to fly that kind of flag. True Clown Ops require stealth and smart tactics. All that cammo made me look more homeless than freedom fighter.
Within a year I had transformed into the current situation.
Play to win.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Yay! do it again kill monkey!
Crazy, my son has a leggo toy monkey that not only shoots a bazooka one handed but comes with weapons for all hands and feet. It has no genitals and doesn't throw poo (the only actual projectile weapon perfected by our Simian cousins). I'm so sick of disinformation, I wish there was a Disney movie set in Syria/Iraq/Detroit so they can get an idea what those weapons actually do.
I was kind of never into guns for a different reason. A reason big as the hubris of Texas. Guns weren't around too much in my hood mostly because plenty of Dads were quick to point out that (outside of the professional security forces) guns are how pussies and little old ladies fight . Drunken Dad fights during the 70's 4th of July was my childhood, awesome show of force.
Jim Lowder When I was a youngster we lived off-base in military housing. My dad was career along with most of the other families in our neighborhood. It was a mix of Navy and Marine folk. My friends and I were heavily into G.I. Joe, He-Man, Star Wars, etc., a lot of gun/sword and battle play. I remember going to a squadron bbq one year on base, being corralled with a bunch of my pals and taken out to the range by a few Marines and Navy officers (our parents). Our folks were grinning and having a great time anticipating our reactions to what they had in store for us. I remember thinking whatever we were about to see was going to be AWESOME. They took us out there to show us first hand what small-arms, rifles, and ordinance are meant for. Most of us were horrified by the noise alone, but the destruction and the shock of being close enough to feel the shock waves of small explosives and the energy of real military gunfire left a bunch of kids in tears. It was a brilliant move on their part. It's something that had a deep impact on me, obviously. So, I own guns. I hunt, I target shoot, all that stuff, but I stopped playing guns when I was very young thanks to some folks who had used these weapons to destroy and kill people taking notice and exacting a very effective reality check.
I still fling a poo now and again, however. Depends on how fast the line is
Like what we do? Donation bucket!
Jim Lowder When I was a youngster we lived off-base in military housing. My dad was career along with most of the other families in our neighborhood. It was a mix of Navy and Marine folk. My friends and I were heavily into G.I. Joe, He-Man, Star Wars, etc., a lot of gun/sword and battle play. I remember going to a squadron bbq one year on base, being corralled with a bunch of my pals and taken out to the range by a few Marines and Navy officers (our parents). Our folks were grinning and having a great time anticipating our reactions to what they had in store for us. I remember thinking whatever we were about to see was going to be AWESOME. They took us out there to show us first hand what small-arms, rifles, and ordinance are meant for. Most of us were horrified by the noise alone, but the destruction and the shock of being close enough to feel the shock waves of small explosives and the energy of real military gunfire left a bunch of kids in tears. It was a brilliant move on their part. It's something that had a deep impact on me, obviously. So, I own guns. I hunt, I target shoot, all that stuff, but I stopped playing guns when I was very young thanks to some folks who had used these weapons to destroy and kill people taking notice and exacting a very effective reality check.
I still fling a poo now and again, however. Depends on how fast the line is
Like what we do? Donation bucket!
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
I love Portland free boxes. So much of the coolest stuff I ever brought home came from random boxes of stuff people put out. Today I found t...
-
OK the City of Portland has a problem with our huge collection of bike frames and parts, the only way to store them is side by side, in a li...
-
Tough day at the office, just kidding it was totally rad. Spent the day doing a private gig in Damascus. It was nice to be invited back. The... -
Dingo, IT"S HERE!! In case I haven't talked your ear off about it in the last 4 months, it stands for Breaking Assumptions and ...
