bradbabo

Watched a lot of documentaries while gimpy from knee surgery. Some better than others.

Why can’t anyone make a film about surfing that isn’t…..I don’t know….awkward? Footage was great, the rest was just boring filler crap. On the other end of the spectrum – Manufactured Landscapes – incredible. Right on my imagery/issues sweet spot. Ratings in equivalent painkillers – 5 being highest. (I was prescribed Vicodin):

Manufactured Landscapes 5 Painkillers
Inside Deep Throat 4.5 Painkillers
Off The Grid: Life on the Mesa 4 Painkillers
Encounters at the End of the World 4 Painkillers
Grass 3 Painkillers
Helvetica 3 Painkillers
Food, Inc. 3.5 Painkillers
Billabong Odyssey 2 Painkillers
Beer Wars 3 Painkillers
Confessions of a Superhero 3 Painkillers
Bigger, Faster, Stronger 3 Painkillers

….and one non-doc:
The Hurt Locker 4 Painkillers

Songs that begin with Can, Can’t, Candy, Captain, Change, Check, Chicago (how did I get 6 versions of this Sufjan Stevens song), Chicken, Children, Chocolate, Christmas, Circle, City, Close,Cold, Color, Come, Coming, Cool, Cosmic, Crazy, Crush, Cry, Crystal, Curse, Cut, etc.

C was about a month long.

The weather can actually be good on Mt. Washington. Eleven of eleven of our group made the summit this year. Summit temps were in the mid-20’s, wind gusts in low 20mph range, sunny, deep blue skies, packed snow trail, above the clouds. I am still in disbelief. Here is the Mt. Washington Observatory weather blog that has some pix from our summit day (Sunday, January, 17th). The cloud ‘flows’ over Tuckerman Ravine……amazing. Also, after a nearly six year break, climbed some vertical ice. My old friend and climbing partner in Korea, Yang-il, drove 11 hours from Toronto to join us on this trip. Good times. Should have pictures of Mt. Washington summit day and ice climbing at Cathedral Ledge up soon.

BofC is my favorite electronic band of all time. Here are some VIDEOS

So, on a road trip last Spring, I started listening to all the songs on my 120gb iPod in order by song title. It was kind of accidental, just happened to start with the letter ‘S’. Since then, I listen to my iPod every day on my subway commute, when I drive, and occasionally at work. I am now about 7 months into this and I am just wrapping up songs that begin with the letter ‘B’. I have learned a few things:

1. 120gb is a ridiculous amount of music
2. My music pain threshold. I established a rule that I would not fast forward through any songs, no matter how painful. I had to add exceptions to all songs by 10,000 Maniacs, Sheryl Crow, OMD, and 12″ remixes of 80’s hits. Brutal.
3. I discovered very few new bands in 2009 because I was listening to my iPod….and that was okay because I rediscovered so many neglected treasures in my collection.
4. You could argue that Funkadelic (and all its offshoots) has influenced popular music more than any other band over the last 40 years – seriously.

Brett Simpson sent me a link to some of his pix from our climbing trip. Hope to get some of my own up soon, too.

Cz brought this very interesting article about my neighborhood to my attention. I live within the triangle. The no-man’s land kind of acts as a DMZ between neighborhoods (and makes for easy parking). Hopefully, everyone will get past the politics, the area will be developed in the right way, and serve as a unifying force. That might be worth the ease of parking sacrifice…maybe.

I want to drive these roads.

The James Bay Road & The Trans-Taiga.

Remote is kind of an understatement.

Not many are familiar with the Uyghurs and their struggle against the Chinese government. Unfortunately, it has taken the slaughter of, perhaps, hundreds to register in the world’s conscience. Their situation is similar to that of the Tibetans. Their traditional homelands seized by a resource (oil) hungry regime. Their culture is being suppressed, they are jailed for their beliefs, their lands seized, their ancient cities being destroyed, and they are labeled ‘terrorists’ by the Chinese government. It makes me burn.

UPDATE: Summitted Mt. Adams and Mt. Rainier. Impressive mountains. Tough summit day on Rainier – 13 hours on the mountain, summit was engulfed in clouds, 80mph gusts, huge crevasses, exhilarating. Going back next year.

Training very intensely for a trip (July 18 – 26) to climb Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, and Mt. Rainier.