kartoshka - the Chocolate Potato

I grew up eating things outta cans, cardboard boxes and frozen plastic bags.  I am american.   What was modern, quick fixes.   and gotta away from eating simple, fresh foods.

When I was a kid, I'd get sent to my Grandparents house in W.Va, to spend a week or two.  It was funny eating garden fresh food, I felt a bit sorry for my grandma, and grandpa. Having to eat things coming outta the ground, dirty and all.  



Yesterday a friend, took me to a Russian supermarket, and I enjoyed it, a lot.  cause... fricken,  a bunch,.. it was full of new interesting things to eat.       Bought some pickles, breads, and some sweets for my wife.  I try to find different things, and this place was full of them.

I got something call the Chocolate Potato,  it did not look too much like a potato,  it was dense and thick, a bit sweet.   a cool name.

 

Our furnace broke last night, a bit cold in bed this morning, I pulled the covers from my wife... I thought she'ed pulled 'um from me.  today  I wasted a lot of  time.    Looking out the window,... thinking about riding, and not being able to get out.   Stuck waiting for the heater to get fixed.

The house is warm again.

and on to  making  sandwiches with the black, dense Russian bread, I bought.   A snack,  for the rest break, in tomorrows Phils. spring classic. 

cheers, be simple, be good, taste good, d.

daft

its been a while,... since I sat down with a pile of magazines, fanzines, xeroxed pages, a J-card.  something printed.    Sorta wish I was into the comic book thing.

its nice to hold a book, a magazine.  it has a texture, a smell.   I dontknow why, guess I got that impulse, and I ordered a pile of Boneshaker's.  Mailed from the UK.  I  liked the name, and am tired of reading stuff on the internet.  I sat in a chair, listen to music, sipping a beer, thumbing the pages.  

they are spot on. good buy

Yesterday I got out and did all I wanted to do on my cross bike, I put together all the trails I ride around my house, and did it all.  45 miles.

My daft book:

for ideas catching, nice size, good feel.  Pro-ish, and cheap.

cheers, d.

lift

OK,   images from the last day.  sorta better with fewer words.  

I like the duchamp explanation of things: "Readymade" to any object purchased "as a sculpture already made." When he modified these objects, for example by mounting a bicycle wheel on a kitchen stool, he called them "Assisted Readymades." Duchamp later recalled that the original Bicycle Wheel was created as a "distraction": "I enjoyed looking at it, just as I enjoy looking at the flames dancing in a fireplace."

cheers, d. 

Stones - Cate Le Bon

tonight, a good magical night.  Just a small bar, a phila. old bar redone, moderned a bit.  With music and a few dirty taps of good beer.  

small crowd, to see the show.  Cate Le Bon.  
a great show, I walked up to the stage front and stood and watched her play, sing, and took what I could as far as pictures go.

Cate Le Bon  "The Man I Wanted"

I was quite happy with the night.  for the most part.

being a small bar, I did, or could, if I pleased, had a chat with Cate.

let alone in regular circumstance I'm quite a bit unfocused in conversations,

now, trying to be a bit off the cuff, and a bit haggered from a few beers and earlier trainer ride

the words and thoughts came out, um, not making much sense.

and the logic of my words,... as if someone ripped a few pages here and there outta the book.

who knows what I said, but no harm, I did not scare her, and she was gracious enough to step out into a snowy philly night

and give me a second or two

so as I could take a picture of two.

Its late, I hear the wind, and think of tomorrow, and maybe I should not of cracked that black IPA I am a sipping.

Its been a nice few days...

spot on.

cheers

d.  

teams

I went out to a small club in phila, to see a women that is on the rise.  Sharon Van Etten.   I've been working on honing my photoskills and tried my best to capture something.   I found that I did a poor job of bringing home a good shot, from her show, but I did come back with something to add, to help me in the future.

I learned that during the set-up, the lights are up bright, that the performance guard is down, and the stage is full of energy as the band, sets up and readies itself to play.

the first band, tired from a 14hr drive, had lines drawn, a bit of stink eye between the bass player and the Keyboard/guitarist, in fact the whole of the band was giving the dude the eye.

Shearwater played a tight good show,  but watching the sub-show inter dynamics was, More interesting.

I was surprised to see the whole of the Sharon Van Etten band out setting themselves up,  I thought a roadie would be doing the work.

 at one point Sharon had to get pass her bandmate, she gently slid behind her, and gave a calm touch and moved pass.

I guess why I do all this blogging and photo taking and bike racing and working, is to pull something different from each of the aspects in my life,... to overlap the motivation to hit the gym, with tying to take a picture that is in focus and has some kind of emotion or meaning to it, with sitting down for a nice dinner out with my wife. 

Cheers, david.

a lot of people need to check their phones right before the show starts

oh and the dude next to me, was cool, and shot this video of the show, told me of his YT link and here ya go, check her out

bits - more bits

I've always got multiple projects going on, some in real the sense and more in the idea sense,
up in the old noggin, rumbling about.  The follow through, that's the challenge, ... to do.

I got a gopro awhile ago, not shot much with it.  I guess, well I find, that most of the time I just want to jump on the bike and ride, not worry or think about mounting a camera, and remembering to record stuff.   A draw back for the gopro, to me, is the plastic mounts.   I found a couple of nice, but a bit more $$, Machined 6061 T6 Aluminum  parts, made by K-edge.    They are sexy looking, and do a great job of mounting up the camera on to the bike.

 Last Sunday I got out for a ride with Arthur Gorka.  I ride out my front door, to the trails,

Got a good ride in...

 and grabbed an double espresso, a stout, and truffled eggs and toast on the way back to home.

I grabbed some beers, and just sat down and used Sony Vegas 11 to edit the footage.   Never used it before, worked great for this simple edit.



I keep peeking at the weather and trying to plan my riding.  A bit of snow tonight?  I pulled out the cross bike and getten' it going, might be the stead for tomorrow.   get the camera all clamped on today, less to do tomorrow.  

cheers, d.

water

I got out for a big ride today,  My legs, have felt good, rested.  I've stayed away from the droning on flats that I find myself often pedaling.   I've been toiling my way up and down the short hills.  My rides, they are really not that interesting, much of the same, and I like that enough. 

I've not figured out how to carry enough water, I don't like to stop and buy water.  Most of the ride, water is in view, rivers, streams, creaks.   but Not drinkable.  So If I finish my bottles, I have to find a fountain, or a Stop and Sop.  I'm not a fan of buying a plastic bottle of water at the stop and shop.    maybe I'll pull into a development, ride up a driveway, lean my bike on the side of the house, and find a spicket.    steal a bit.  and be on my way.

cheers, d.