"Shamanic ecstasy is the real 'Old Time Religion,' of which modern churches are but pallid evocations. Shamanic, visionary ecstasy, the mysterium tremendum, the unio mystica, the eternally delightful experience of the universe as energy, is a sine qua non of religion, it is what religion is for! There is no need for faith, it is the ecstatic experience itself that gives one faith in the intrinsic unity and integrity of the universe, in ourselves as integral parts of the whole; that reveals to us the sublime majesty of our universe, and the fluctuant, scintillant, alchemical miracle that is quotidian consciousness ('Shamanism')."

White tires on a road bike- thoughts? My frame is green and my grip tape is white. Just bought one white tire to try it out for the winter and see if I liked the colour, but even though it's totally dirty already I'm quite attached to the white and am thinking I might just go all out and have them both white all year.

I did not realized white tires were such a contentious issue in the bike community until I started looking up where to buy them. So, regardless of your thoughts on hipsters (of which I am not), what do you think of white tires? If you've got them and recommend them, which brands make 'em white and puncture resistant? If you cringe at the thought, what's your deal?

copied from phillys
blog.bicyclecoalition.org

Cruz legislation would strengthen traffic laws for cyclists

HARRISBURG, Nov. 18 – State Rep. Angel Cruz, D-Phila., today introduced legislation (H.B. 2096) that would strengthen traffic laws for bicyclists in Philadelphia.
The bill would require all bicycles to be registered in the city and contain the same safety features that are required on motorcycles, such as lights and turn signals.
Cyclists would also be subject to traffic regulations currently imposed on motorcycles drivers, and would face penalties for not obeying those laws.
"The number of people using bicycles as a primary mode of transportation is on the rise," Cruz said. "For the safety of cyclists and all motorists in Philadelphia, bicycles must be subject to safety and traffic regulations. My legislation would accomplish that."
Cruz said he introduced H.B. 2096 after hearing reports of several accidents involving bicycles in the city, including two pedestrian deaths in recent weeks. The victims in those accidents were struck by bicycles.

previously:

Two Bills Introduced By Councilman Kenney lists some pretty stiff penalties ($300) for riding on the sidewalk or wearing headphones. If you are caught operating a bicycle "without brakes" the bicycle would be subject to confiscation.

Peter I Island usually considered as difficult of access. This is mainly due to the difficulties of landing on the island as approaches to it barred by the sludge ice. In addition, the lack of convenient bays and precipitous banks almost throughout the coastline do not allow a large ship to drop anchor directly by the island. That is why it was thought until now that the best opportunity to land on the island was using helicopter from the main deck of the ship.

But we have another variant. For the landing on the island we can use a small hovercraft. Internal combustion engine sets the hovercraft's screw in motion. The screw pushes air under the bottom of the vessel and thus forms the so-called air cushion. Hovercraft can run on the water and on land, on marshes, on sand, on the ice and ice sludge and on the snow. Christy Hovercraft 6132L produced by Christy Hovercraft (Russia) has the following technical characteristics:

Payload - 6 persons, 600 kg
Speed - 60-100 km /h on ice, -50-85 km /h packed snow
Limiting conditions - wind 10-15 m /s, temperature from -30 ° C to +40 ° C,

Hovercraft PIONEER MK3 produced by Airlift Hovercraft (Australia) has even more powerful parameters. But Christy Hovercraft would be quite suitable for our purposes. It costs only $ 62 500 while PIONEER MK3 price is about $ 965 000. Christy Hovercraft occupies one 20-foot container and can be easily transported on a ship.

Thus, we have to transport to Antarctica at least two 20-foot containers (one hovercraft and equipment of the expedition camp). According to preliminary calculations, the number of participants must be at least 10 people.

The expedition’s terms. Given the weather conditions the expedition should be organized in the summer in the Southern Hemisphere (i.e. December-March). Of course, we will do our best but it seems problematic to organize such a complex expedition in two to three months. Therefore, a more realistic launch date of the expedition is December 2010.

The main question is not how to land on the island. It is not even the issue of possible opposition from the Norwegian authorities. The main issue is financial one. According to preliminary calculations, the expedition takes minimal budget which amounts to $ 100 000. Exchequer of the Republic is currently empty. It is difficult to estimate at the moment, how much money the scheduled revenues will bring to the budget of The Republic of Sunland. But we have now at least four variants for funding the expedition. This work has already begun. All who really wants to participate in the preparations to the expedition (even if he/she does not want for some reasons to take a direct part in the expedition itself) may receive relevant information from us. There is a great and responsible cause in front of us and we gladly invite all true men and women to participate in this cause to the extent of their forces and abilities.

The Headquarters of the Sunland Antarctic expedition.
http://new-libertalia.co.cc/

I was crouched down collecting little rose quartz stones from rock beds that were full of polished and unpolished gemstones, all mixed together but divided into sections by stained wooden boards. I was slowly working my way uphill. You saw what I was doing and went up ahead of me a few feet and I could see that you were gathering the rose quartz, too. This made me furious. You had collected a good handful and then found a great big chunk of it; at the same time, I found a great big chunk of it. I got angry and confronted you, asked you what you were doing. You hid your bag of stones behind your back clumsily, as if joking, half-wanting me to see that you were doing the same thing. I reached behind you and grabbed it, looked at you with rage- you were indignant. I took your stones and ran to the dock of the lake below, you followed. I told you that you can't collect beauty, that you were wasting your time trying to hold on to it. You tried to take the stones from me and I threw them into the water, we watched them sink. You said you'd throw mine in, then. I didn't care; I threw them in myself, a little sorry to see them go, but it was more important to prove my point: that they were only a passing curiosity for me, that I couldn't keep beauty, either, and knew it whereas you still clung to it and pined for it. You thought about jumping in after your stones. It's too late, I told you. We saw a pale female body drifting toward us from the depths. I said that it was my body, and that it was too late for you to save me, too.

Things you need to know (not really):

• Thanksgiving is today!! Woot!
  
• The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is coming on! (I will definitely be up for that).
  
• While watching, you bet your ass I'll have my cup of joe (hot chocolate) in my new, one-of-a-kind, hand-spun mug that I got from the Brookhaven Arts Festival, and a bowl of Honey Bunches of Oat. Mmmhmm.
  
• Cat and I put up our second podcast.
  
• iTunes likes us!!
  
• Every hour of my Thanksgiving is planned. This excites me because it is going to be awesome!
  
• Now that the holidays are here, it's time to break out my holiday-themed icons. Sweet! I'm a dork.
  
• I'm thankful for breathing, my health, happiness, nail polish, friends, family, and love in the purest form. It's breathtaking.

Happy Thanksgiving, lovelies!
Remember to love.

I can't remember the last time I had a proper conversation with someone not in my head. I keep waiting for my life to start, for that someone to come and turn my world upside down. It ain't happening, I have to start my own life and turn my own world upside down. God knows I'm good at that. I'm sick of waiting - nothing ever happens.
My days are filled with paint and paper and general confusion. Deadline is friday and I'm shitting it; there's too many options and too many little boxes! What keeps me smiling is this time next year all I'll be doing is artartart. A new chapter of paint and paper and weird vegetables.

Attempted murderer gets a slap on the wrist.


http://www.treehugger.com/files/2009/11/man-gets-120-days-shooting-cyclist-head.php

Artist: Menhirs of Er Grah
Title: Live in London
#ca334
Date: 2009-11-24
Keywords: folk; rock; acoustic
(320 kbps)

A short set from Menhirs of Er Grah live at London’s Bull and Gate venue. Includes 3 new unreleased songs as well as tracks from his studio albums.

Recorded live at the Bull and Gate, London, 3rd October 2009. Design and Photography by Karolina Urbaniak. All songs written by Thom Carter. Distributed by Clinical Archives. Copyright Verlaine Records 2009.

Contact:
http://www.myspace.com/ergrah
http://thomcarter.tumblr.com

DL:
http://www.archive.org/details/ca334_meg
http://www.clinicalarchives.spyw.com

"Like the labyrinthine chains of DNA coiled in the nucleus of life, (Pynchon's work) is often dense and convoluted in structure, but the encoded message is shimmering, elusive and profound."

I've finally gotten around to taking some decent photos of my bike room. I got back to the U.S. about three months ago, and in looking for a new apartment, one of the requirements my wife and I had was there needed to be a place for the bikes (we have 8 between us). She was sick of having the living room overwhelmed with bicycles, and if that meant I could have some space to organize my tools and parts bins I was not going to complain. Well, in addition to finding a pretty sweet house in general, we found a place with a garage that had been converted into an art studio/office. Perfect!

Without further ado, here's a tour of my ULTIMATE BIKE ROOM!

( Read more... )

is anyone aware of a place where you could buy a heavy wool cloak, a la yehuda moon? they seem really useful for upright-cycling.

also, is there a good place for rainproof cycling capes? treated canvas is preferable, although i know there are a lot of plastic products out there already.

thanks!

"Personal density . . . is directly proportional to temporal bandwidth. 'Temporal bandwidth,' is the width of your present, your now. It is the familiar '[delta-] t' considered as a dependent variable. The more you dwell in the past and in the future, the thicker your bandwidth, the more solid your persona. But the narrower your sense of Now, the more tenuous you are."

To Writers and Artists,

We are accepting works (poetry, short stories, and artwork, including photography) to launch our inaugural issue of our magazine, The Fine Line. The deadline for submissions is March 31, 2010.

For guidelines on how to submit please visit our website: http://thefineline00.wordpress.com/


Looking forward to reading your work,
Co-Editors of The Fine Line