I took some pictures at the Women’s March on Saturday.
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Women’s March Los Angeles 2020
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Typecasting
This is from Marvel Team-Up #74, where Spider-Man teamed up with the 1978 cast of Saturday Night Live.
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A tale of two driver licenses
Or one license twice, depending on how you look at it.
I always try to put my actual weight on my driver license. The top one is what I weighed five years ago – 235 pounds. After that, my weight gradually crept up to the second license, and then beyond. I peaked at just under 270. I thought 235 was bad, but 270 was a whole new world of doughiness.
My weight stayed in the 265-270 range until about nine weeks ago, when I finally decided to really do something about it. The method doesn’t matter, but the progress does:
Losing the weight has been great, but I’m more happy about the invisible benefits than my appearance. I can do things like ride my bike up hills without stopping. My resting heart rate has dropped by 15bpm. My apnea dropped to “really loud snoring” – not great for Katherine’s sleep, but good for mine.
I’m not done yet – you wouldn’t believe how far I’d need to go to officially move out of the “overweight” range – but it’s pleasant for my wight on my license to be too high instead of too low.
…and yes, it’s “driver license,” not “driver’s license.” At least it is in California.
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Being a grandparent can be difficult
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End of the year stuff
There are about nine hours left in my 2019.
It’s ending on a good note. Katherine is as awesome as ever. I still have the best damn job I could imagine, and a group of co-workers I actually like to hang out with. And I’m about 25 pounds lighter than I was last year. All good.
The world decided to give me a gift today: perfect bike weather. Sunny and warm, but not hot. And a second gift: almost no traffic. I had my highest ever average speed for a longer ride. Another good note.
I don’t care for the whole New Year’s resolutions thing. It’s a high pressure recipe for discouragement. Instead, I’m going to try and keep doing what I try doing all year: adjust and improve as I go. I don’t expect to get it all right, and that’s fine. Whether you’re making a resolution tomorrow or not, I hope you give yourself permission to fail and learn.
2020 is here. I hope it’s great for you.
Now: 50 recent songs, mostly picked by my phone, including the best song of the ride.
I guess my phone wanted to get into the spirit of things
This would normally be a contender for Best Song of the Ride, but alas! It played before I left.
Feral Cat Tribe – Tenement
My Three Sons – Elvis Costello And The Imposters
Tu m’as encore crevé un cheval – Arlt
This was in the last 50 songs as well. Why? Because Apple uses a crappy music randomizer. Thousands of songs on my phone, and this one comes up again right away.
Part III – Crumb
I Wish You Would – The Yardbirds
Vaporize – Broken Bells
Who Cares? (take 4) – Cannonball Adderley With Bill Evans
Longer Boats – Cat Stevens
Coney Island Baby – Tom Waits
Schn in rosa und rot (Pretty in Pink – Psychedelic Furs) – Le anin
Dio – Tenacious D
Easy Read – Trashcan Sinatras
Baby Plays Around – Elvis Costello
Jump Boys – The Undertones
Cross-Eyed Tammy – The Dickies
When a bicycle song plays on your bike ride, you have to point it out. Also: In this song Freddie Mercury sings “…and I don’t like Star Wars.” If he didn’t like the original, imagine how much he would have hated The Rise of Skywalker.
Fool – Cat Power
Crazy People – Luna
Until Death – Scout Niblett
A New Wave – Sleater-Kinney
Take It Easy, Greasy – Snooky Pryor
Porno Music – Freaks and Geeks
Straight Edge – Minor Threat
Most Precarious – Blues Traveler
She Wolf – Shakira
Get In On It – Antoine Diligent
Think It Over – Buddy Holly
Best song of the ride!
Hot – The Regrettes
Haunted – Broken Down Golf Cart
Tu Mirada y Mi Voz – Susana Baca
Motherless Children – Eric Clapton
Big House – Young Fresh Fellows
Sky Phenomenon – Jens Lekman
I Feel Speed – Love And Rockets
Muddy Waters – LP
White Babies – Liz Phair
I Guess That’s Why They Call It The Blues – Elton John
I’m a Wicked One – The Hives
Neighborhood #1 Tunnels – Arcade Fire
Dereclict – Beck
Key Largo – Arbes
Loosy Lucy – The Steeples
Everyone Can See – yungatita
The Girl I Knew Somewhere – The Monkees
Daylight Til Dawn – All Night Radio
Stars on Your Nose – Indoorsy
If this had been the studio version it totally would have won best song of the ride.
Tal Uno – Barrie
And here’s today’s ride.
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Yankee Candles, Part 2
No way! Even more candles!
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New Yankee Candles
I hadn’t been to a Yankee Candle for a while. These are some new scents I saw. Or maybe they’re old. I’m no candle historian. Still, some bold and exciting choices here. Why not start the new year right with a couple of these smellmakers?
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50 Recent Songs
Skate It Out – Eddie Bo
Boulders – Sonagur
T’ain’t No Sin – William S. Burroughs
The Way Young Lovers Do – Van Morrison
He Woke Me Up Again – Sufjan Stevens
Ana Ng – They Might Be Giants
Feral Cat Tribe – Tenement
This is the version most people are familiar with.
Wollow – Strüds Munroe
Life Goes On – Damned
Baby I’m A Star – Prince And The Revolution
Pouring Rain – Fishbone
Turn Every Stone – Lalo Schifrin
Save it For Later – Harvey Danger
Gone Again – Otis Redding
Same Thing Twice – John Wesley Harding
Just About Glad – Elvis Costello
Born Under a Bad Sign – Cream
Celebration – They Might Be Giants
Spanish Eyes – U2
Tortaruga – The Meligrove Band
Here I Am (Come And Take Me) – Al Green
Cosmic Love – Florence And The Machine
This is from a record called Mashed In Plastic. It’s a mashup record with a David Lynch theme. Some of it is pretty darn good.
Ton o’ Love – Devo
With a Little Help From My Friends (Remix) – The Beatles
Secret Agent Man – Agent Orange
Mr. Pitiful – Otis Redding
I’m Available – Margie Rayburn
Sad Airplane – Tyler Burkhart
The Jean Genie – David Bowie
Angels Heap – Finn Brothers
Only You – Slut
I don’t know what this song is about (the title translates to “you punctured me,” which doesn’t sound positive), but it sure was a fun bit to listen to while riding by the river.
Friday I’m in Love – The Cure
In The Way – Max Kuehn
Don’t Make Me A Target – Spoon
No Complaints – Beck
Rattlesnakes – Lloyd Cole And The Commotions
Brand New Cadillac – The Clash
100% (feat. Yumi Zouma) – Boycrush
The Song Is You – Stan Getz
Cartrouble [Single] – Adam and The Ants
No One But Yourself – Bo Pepper
You might know this better as “generic clown music,” and this version certainly leans into that, but it was originally a military march.
Singapore – Tom Waits
Where Have All The Good Times Gone – The Kinks
Love Without Anger – Aquabats
Junkie Song – The Be Good Tanyas
You Are the Light – Jens Lekman
50ish recent songs, mostly picked by my phone.
Just Like Heaven – The Cure
This will always make me think of Renee, who introduced it to me.
Changes – No Vacation
Falling – Howard
Big Rock Candy Mountain – The Beat Farmers
Nowhere Man – Low
The Haunted Mansion: Grim Grinning Ghosts – Disney
It’s Alright, Follow – Tarek Musa
Good Day (Extended Edit) – The Kinks
Paper Planes – I’m From Barcelona
Paper Thin Walls – Modest Mouse
These folks have multiple full albums of Beatles/Beastie Boys mashups. Some of them (like this one) work pretty well.
She’s Leaving Home – The Beatles
Over the Rainbow (live) – Rufus Wainwright
Tumbledown – The Jesus and Mary Chain
Empty puppet – Mary Bell
Hold Your Head Up – Argent
Specifically, this live version from a 20 year old VH-1 special. I like it a lot more than the album version, but it’s really hard to find a decent recording of it.
Sympathy for the Soul of the Beast – Celebrity Murder Party
Happy Together – Mel Torme
Summer Wind – Frank Sinatra
Red Right Hand – Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds
Worse Things Happen At Sea – Toy Dolls
Critic Intro – They Might Be Giants
Pop All The Stars – Emmett Kai
King Kong – Tom Waits
Blow Me Down – Harry Nilsson
Strawberry Fields Forever (Take 26) – The Beatles
The second-best song of today’s ride.
Prince Charming – Adam Ant
The best song of today’s ride.
Gypsy – hana vu
1 2 3 4 – Feist
Maiwaige – The Princess Bride
This Time Tomorrow – The Kinks
Gypsy Town – Wet Illustrated
Don’t Stop Now – Crowded House
Birth of the Cool – Miles Davis
Infatuation – The Rapture
Fatal Attraction (And It’s So Strange) – The Ultraviolets
Wrong About Bobby – Eels
Money – Pink Floyd
One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) – Billie Holiday
Paul’s Pal – Sonny Rollins Quartet
Fade – Goth Dad
LNT – Stevan
My Funny Valentine – The Miles Davis Quintet
Highness – Envy And Other Sins
Telegram Sam – Bauhaus
Song For Dan Treacy – MGMT
Schoolhouse Rocky – Bob Dorough & Others
This wasn’t on the ride. If it had been it probably would have won best song of the ride.
Also: Really good ride today. 30 miles and a better-than-normal average pace. All it needed to be perfect was for me to remember my water bottle.
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Move Over, Weight Watchers!
Our old bathroom scale does that thing where it gives a different weight every time you step on it. So I did some research and bought a scale listed as most consistently accurate. I weighed myself this morning and it claimed I lost a couple of pounds overnight. I thought “You bought this because the old one wasn’t working right- of course they don’t match.” To prove it I weighed myself on the old scale.
It also said I lost a couple of pounds overnight.
I have learned the secret of rapid weight loss: MAKE YOUR OLD SCALE JEALOUS.