we ate the easter bunny...

So monday was the official welcome dinner at the bosses house in Faenza. James and I rode into town so we could spin our legs a little after a long weekend, Igor picked up some brews although we had Margaritas thanks to Bartender Jonathan and Eliza. Michele (which is pronounced mee kay lay) and Monica, soon to be wed, hosted the shin dig and preped some amazing grub. Leek, potato, and olive creamed soup, rabbit with radiccio and red oinons. TASTY! Loads of wine, and lemon gelato mixed with vodka for dessert - try it, you cant go wrong!

This is a shot of the view outside their amazing flat, third story just a block off the main piaza, full moon in the background. A little blurry but that makes it more romantic right?




thats bunny.


In other news I have decided to take a ton of pictures of cool looking and or staged bikes and dedicate them to my hommies back in the US as I see fit. This one is for my Friend Boozy the Clown, aka Brian Bogan, aka Just Bogan...and if you know the man, you know how much he loves the song Wagonwheel. This one is for him...

here's a link to the song, and despite it bringing back difficult memories of bad cover bands playing at beer fests all over colorado, the video at least features some suicide girls dancing. wagonwheel.


The other photo mission I am on while here is for unique or different bathrooms, well just for the Freudian sake of it I suppose, and for Taint-Boy to have something to mumble commentary about when he reads the blog way earlier than any of you. Here are a couple that I had the pleasure of meeting last weekend. the cave in Fierenze and the black and white tiled number from Clan Destino, our favorite Italian hipster hot spot. Its considered a "turkish" toilet, and I have been warned to stand back if you have flush after making boom boom. The shower nozle in the upper right hand corner is for bad aim...



Dont forget to flush...
S.

L' Semana Sera - Last Weekend...

Faenza - Fierenze and back...

I had to take an hour long nap today just to have the energy to get this blog post in before the rest of the week overwhelms me. Looks like I will have to post more often or run the risk of letting these gems get away from me...and you!
First, Thanks to those who have commented and or sent an email to say hi, you know how you are. Cant tell you how nice it is to get some info from the motherland, in my own language, that is not an online news feed about militia and cia killings...blah! I just wana have a good timeAnd speaking of good times, here is a re-cap of last weekends shenanigans, a little exploring, a little drinking and experiencing L'cultura Italiano, and some working without enough sleep to sustain a modicum of self-respect through the day (and Im talking about James there...Kidding.)

Saturday James and I got up late and sat around in the sun before trekking to Santa Marina with Jonathan and Elisa, the other two housemates who work and live at La Fattoria. They were picking up bikes that turned out to be stolen - BUMMER! and I got my first chance behind the wheel. Quite fun in the little Panda. We then went to Faenza, the nearest town, for Aperativo (happy hour) where we sipped some amazing and cheap local wines and a drink called Spritz. Sounds gay I know, and it totally would not be a masculine beverage in the states, so Im having one every time I go out - Im on a mission for the best Spritz in Romangna (our region) while Im here.

This is Jonathan and Eliza settling a bet over how many centiliters is in a classic "media" the half-beer, cause beers come in three sizes! You can see on Jonathan's face that it was a tie...both 40 AND 50 centiliters - depending on where you are and who your bartender was. Ours for the night was a big bear with a long goatee and he pours 50's. We will be going there for halfs.

...outside the aperetivo bar... ...inside, and yes you can stand in the street with your drink and pay when you are done so try to remember what you had.

We then ventured to a place for dinner where the room is smokey sweet with the smell of grilled meats of all kinds cooked perfect on local hardwood coals. The menu is in the local dialect and portions are classicly Italian, you order meat, you get served meat - probably the best turkey Ive ever eaten, bonus that it was sliced off a sword!




We then went to a cool after-hours speak easy of an art and music space in the village called Lugo. After 10 years in SF I can attest to this being the coolest insider thing I have ever done anywhere. Unfortunately the camera quit so I have no pictures of the metal noise band playing pieces of plastic and cymbols with pick-ups taped to them over the extreme static feedback, or any pictures of the kid who made his own cello out of a cattle skull! Really cool shit! We hit the late night bakery that opens its doors in the middle of the night to make a killing selling treats, both sweet and savory, to drunk kids from miles around and headed home to get a tiny bit of sleep before our time change and the long trip to Fierenza (Florence) then next morning.

SUNDAY - Part of our job here is to deliver bikes by train or van to customers who have paid to rent bikes from us for extended periods of time. Last weekend we got to experience our first delivery, a tandem delivery to Fierenze by train. I elected to ride the tandem to town solo, which elicited strange stares from roadies along the way, and James took the Panda so we could get home after. No one mentioned that Tandems dont fit well on the regional trains and so we rode with it in a noisy compartment meant for luggage...or cattle. No matter we had the area to ourselves and could admire the view and open windows without rustling anyone's hair. BELISIMO!

these were taken from the train.

We made it fine, and waited for the brits to pick up their bike, got them styled out with a custom fit, pedals and seats swapped with the stuff they brought and set out to explore Fierenze on foot...with tourist backpacks...on about 4 hours of sleep...on palm sunday in a catholic nation. Needless to say we didnt get very far before we dove into some overpriced food and set out to find a place to nap in the afternoon sun and people watch. We did bump into some amazing monuments along the way though, kinda hard not to!

I heard someone call this La Domo, and James and I made Domo Arregato Mr Roboto jokes for the next 20 minutes in shitty Italian accents. That is a full size bus, still 2 big blocks away. The Domo is HUGE! We walked around slack-jawed at the ancient beauty...

Untill James had a close call with a giant marble penis shown in the background of this picture! Close one buddy!

Feel free to make this amazing work of photography your new screen saver, and you can thank me for cutting out the olive branch touting hordes of people. It was seriously a line around the block to get in the joint, and since James and I could not collectively think of a single thing between the two of us we should confess - we stayed on the outside.

James again with the quote of the day, exhausted from a 4 hour nap, a little hung over, and unwilling to admit that he was probably hungry AGAIN! - "We should Huck Fin this shit." Very matter-of-fact, and very very true, save for the 3 meter waterfall just down stream.

We made it back on a crowded train, I fell asleep with my head in my hands and awoke to a puddle of drool on the floor, we get back to the Panda just to find we somehow lost the keys during the day. L'CRAPA!! Our boss came and drove us to the Farm and we slept late the next morning!

All in all quite an adventure and some beautiful sights. Note to self...get some sleep, travel early, avoid the days when there are play-off football matches involving the region you are traveling in, and dont take a tandem unless you absolutely have to.
S.

INTRODUZIONI

...and now for some introductions....


This is "White Cat" or Gato Bianco and like all the good ones you have to earn her trust. Might I suggest wet food, or a piece of last nights left over fish fry. Note the untrusting stare.



This is Ubutu - she watches over the officina and keeps watch on Bea late at night when she is furiously crunching numbers without distraction.


Hailing from the south of France, this is Pierre L'Odeure Placer, he tends to all the suspicious gardening in the back of the Fattoria, and is one hell of a dancer. He is also a guest DJ at the local Discoteca spinning all the best 80's vinyl Italy has to offer, and is a guest professor at the school of spinning and hoola hooping at L'Università Cravatta Colorante di Gieralde.



And of course this is Becky - and if you dont know, now you know. She is the love of my life, my soul mate and although she has tried to kill me on several occasions she is quite low maintenance overall, and was the best travel partner a fella could ask for all summer, t'would have been a shame to not stuff her in a box and ship her fat ass to Italy for the summer.


FINE

FRIIIIIDAY!

It's Friday in the bike shop at The Farm, or La Fattoria as we call it here, and that means, APERTIVO! or happy hour as you call it...or Twakeries as Bee used to call it on the roof in SF, Either way, we finshed up a couple tune ups, I finished up making a door mat out of old tubes, just for fun, we swept and we cleaned up and we cracked some of those cheap Italian Birras we talked about yesterday. All in all a good night and James with the quote of the day - "WHOOOO is thristy for more beer!?" as he holds the Owl Glass up for another pour. Way to go James.




Ill have some more pictures up tomorrow, maybe of the traditional American Breakfast I intend to slay first thing...Maybe of our trip to the bars of town with the co-workers, maybe of the prep-work so James and I can take a trip to Floenza (Florence) by bike and train, with a tandem to deliver for a customer who is renting it for a week. Im sure the antics will be quite amusing...

For now the skies are changing, and the winds are picking up, there seems to be a storm on the horizon, evident by the wonderful skies of earlier today, when the smoke and the afternoon haze shown through the clouds as they moved their way towards the east, sort of a reverse "Santa Anna" as it were.



Italy does NOT suck.
S.

When in Italy.....

So James and I, in an attempt to locate the best beers for our hard earned Euros, have set out on a kind of taste-testing mission of local brews. Being the first night after work in the shop, last nite we were in much need of a run of tasty adult beverages. This is the photo of the night's selection....

You will notice the green bottle tradition that hales from Thé Holland. You might also notice the store brand akin to the days of old when you could shop at a Gemco and buy white label "beer", that would be the "birra" on the left in yellow. You might also notice, and that is only if you are more astute than James or myself, that the beer second from the right has a label that clearly states in large letters "birra analcolica" which is not a yellowing of the peri-anal area, but the demarcation of non-alcoholic beer. Yeah. We bought a 4 pack of that shit too cause it was cheap! Lesson learned - the hard way.

Tonight we had Italian escorts to the store, Signora Elisa and Signore Jon to the bigger mall-like shopping centre. Needless to say it was cheaper, it was friendlier, and it was less sweatty with escorts who could explain the subtle lingusitic differences. Tonights selection fit in a large box...

And not one of those shiny delicious bottles cost more that a Euro and a half.... tha'ts less than 2 bucks to you Yanks...and they are big...

We also had chips and guacamole - a food item I had consigned to the dead when I stepped on the plane, I figured I wouldnt see it till I got back to the states, and not consume it till I got back to So-Cal.

Tonight's taste test is between Konig Pilsner and a beer with little fan fare or description called M & N, which is best described as a Pilsner Urquel knock off. With a price descrepency of almost 25 Euro Cents (and they actually are called Euro Cents) I would go with the M&N although Jame's discerning tastebuds prefered the sale priced 75 Euro Cent Konig.

Either way, we win, cause we are drinking beers in Italy after a good day in the shop - a couple tune ups, a couple builds, and some organisation that has our boss Igor looking like he hired teen topless carwash models to work the summer - I think he loves us. After home-made pizzas which by the way... James can actually cook, I take all the desparaging things I ever said about him microwaving cans of Chef Boy-R-Dee Raviolis for dinner back, officially... we headed to the shop to chat and enjoy a little shot of the world famous apertivi Frenet. If you havent had any, try some. For those who have, Ethan, Danny, sorry to rub it in but they sell the stuff at the local grocer, and its CHEAP!


Bon Apertivo Bitches!

S.

WOAH!!!!

What did you expect me to say!? Two flights, a trip to IKEA, and a car ride to get to the Farm, a hot shower, quick tour, introductions (pictures to follow later...), drool nap, and the absolute best pizza I have ever put in my mouth or anywhere else! Seriously...

For those of you who know my propensity to "flowery descriptions" over traditional forms of documentation, like say PHOTOS, will appreciate this one as I am going to let the camera do most of the talking...

FLIGHT - sat in a tiny aisle seat next to an (do you say "an") Hungarian woman and her really cool cat. I ordered and enjoyed several of these...and a ton of scribbling, which I might share after a while...a single "sleep aide" and a tiny nap, as well as one very funny episode of 30 Rock. Didnt even touch the magazines or books or candy I bought but we had the wind to our backs so we made it to Frankfurt in 7 hours, then another hour to Bologna.

ITALY!! - I land and forget my jacket on the plane, language barriers ensue. I watch my bike get tossed out of the plane to the ground...no worse off than under my own supervision I suppose, proceed to baggage claim and wonder what the hell Im suposed to do next. I get my jacket and a guy in a dapper pink sweater askes me if Im Scott. Must have been the large roller-pig of a bag (thanks Nat) and the beat up bike box. I say "Yessiree" a coloquilism that has no significance here, and we load the crap I brought into the VW euro-van and head off to run an errand to IKEA! Yup, cheap furniture is the same everywhere. Tammy, this is the point where you make fun of me for coming to Italy and the first thing I do is go into a major worldwide corporate chain store known and loved for crappy Thai made goods. We pick up James an hour later at the same Aeroporto and head to the Farm.


THE FARM - Its a renovated pig farm that supposedly was so nasty they dug 3 meters (9 feet to you and me) out and added imported soil and sand and poured concrete just to make it buildable. And buildable it was. Several rooms, ample bathrooms, a huge kitchen, and more bike storage than all the other bike shops I have worked at combined! The above pic is the back door to the shop/storage area, the bottom photo is of the view from inside. Yeah FARM! There is evidense that this little bike tour company outfit actually does some impressive touring. There is a hallway full of maps and tour guides and magazines all dedicated to the places they go. Im super excited about the possibilities here!



In case anyone is wondering, my dormitorio is quite comfortable, and appears to be the room of choice for the day-napping cats. I caught the stripy faced one and the white cat in there on seperate occasions today. I opted for the room with no windows as I figured its the last one to be picked anyways. Yes, thats a twin bed...


Did I mention bikes? this IS a tour outfit afterall. here is a picture. this is the rolling rack system they have made for storage. This is one of about 10 such racks loaded with all kinds of bikes from old touring bikes, to tandems, to kids bikes and mountain bikes. To put it lightly, I AM IN HEAVEN!!! Scan back up and look out the open door in case you are skeptical...seriously this experience is going to forever change the landscape of acceptible jobs for a wanderer like me. The bar is being set high folks and Im really happy I didnt take a job at Performance in SD!!


There is a super neat drinking fountain in the bathroom so you dont get dehydrated while making Boom-Boom, and towels in case you get some on your fancy Italian shoes...


All of this and I think the highlight of the last couple days was that James and myself were lucky enough to experience the wonders of GPS navigation today as we attempted to drive to the local town (Forli) and drop off several packages at Mail Boxes Ect, which is just like MBE in the states, except for the language barrier, and attempt to make a good impression for American tourists everywhere at the local grocery, the CO-OP. The MBE guy was super cool cause our boss Igor let him know we were coming, but the grocery was another story entirely! Just weigh your produce and print the sticker, so you dont hold up the mid-day shoppers and get called "stupid americans" by the otherwise nice lady at the register. All of this on top of the fact that James and I have access to the world's most fun death trap of a mini-car knicknammed The Panda - complete with 4 upright bike racks on the roof (which I think would make it equally tall and reliable even if it were driving up-side-down)


This is the look of amusement (James) mixed with terror (Me) as we drive down twisty lanes, opposite big fast BMWs, on roads that are seriously barely wide enough for one car!

We decided to only drive when we have to, and take a language course or two before we return to the grocery that we went to today. I think I might have been more sweaty in there today than my pre-flight trip to Planned Parenthood for my annual birthday present dirty wiener tests. Negatives across the board thank-you-very-much.

In the next few weeks you can expect to see photos of the farm, the action here in the shop, where I have already posted the picture of the two naked hipster kids with rifles on the desktop, much to everyone's dismay, and the antics James and I will get up to this weekend when we are scheduled to deliver a tandem to an American tourist in Venezia - a trip that will sure be heralded Gay and Away for the two of us! AMESOME!!!

S.

It's not you...its ME...

For those of you who have heard me make disparaging comments in the last few months or weeks about Fort Collins and my life as it existed here a long time ago...well this is your formal apology and chance to drop a big fat "I told you so" in the mail addressed to my dumb loud mouth.

Today was a picture perfect day, sunny skies, good friends, and views forever. And its only partially over with! So impactful was today, IS today, that I'm stopping half way through to say so via this blog. Really. I have made some comments about the Fort since I have been back...but its not the town...DUH Its ME!

Its been tough to be back here, there are a lot of memories here. Its been tough to see the people who I thought I could always count on, and who just weren't there for me when I needed them. Its been tough to see the places I sat along the river when I needed some quiet time to process the shit storm of last spring. Its tough to see the place I wanted to plant a tree in my Mom's memory next to the river, along the bike trail, an idea that never came to fruition on the account of me running away. Its been tough to be around the friends that have been so available to me, so giving of their homes and time, and of their friendship, and for me to think about whether I will ever be able to repay the crucial favors that ultimately kept me alive on the road this summer. Its tough to be supported, and for people to be excited about this trip to Italy when I don't necessarily feel I deserve it. Its tough to be land-locked, and in the cold, and not with my bikes. Its tough to feel stuck - even if its just for a little while. For me anyhow - but then I think too much about all these things don't I?

But today was peaceful, and beautiful, and kind, and nice, and good - all the things one can get from this little hamlet in Northern Colorado. Today was the exemplar of all the reasons I liked this town when I came out for my interview so many months ago. Today was simply - NICE. And I can claim that BEFORE my land-locked sushi dinner, which is apparently the way I like to go out having had a killer sushi dinner in SD before departing there. And today, more importantly...I felt peaceful. Its been a tough set of circumstances that have led me to where I am today, its been a tough year for sure, with the death of my Mom last May, losing my job at a large corporate brewery here in Fort Collins, and the moto trip fleeing across the west, reconnecting with friends and family, and seeing some amazing places along the way. All of it healthy and in hind sight, positive but never with an eye for the adventure that lies ahead of me in Italy. I never thought the journey would bring me language barriers, new foods, ancient places steeped in history, or new cultures to explore in their natural settings. I thought at best I would get a job in sunny so-cal, or end up losing a knife fight in old Mexico over cervezas and "Mexican dancers". I'm excited for the next step, and I'm critical of my every move, and Im thankful for all I have seen, and for all of those who have been so good to me along the way, and for the places I have been able to enjoy. Tomorrow is a BIG next step and I cant wait to share it with you all as I go.

Thanks for all the love and support, the floors and futons, the food and drink, the hugs and kisses, the sushi and burritos, the sun and the snow, and again the love.

Until I land in Italy...
CIAO!
S

damnit shit damn fuck shit

Remember that opening scene from the movie I Heart Huckabees, when that young Jackson Brown looking kid is walking through a small patch of forest just ripping off swear words and questioning what it is he is doing and what its all for...THAT'S how I feel with less than a week to go!!! In a good way!

So far this week I have packed my bag like 3 times, and unpacked it again of course - just to make sure it all fits. I have tried to ride bikes every day so that I'm tired at night. If that didn't work, I had a beverage and watched Law and Order moron-a-thons. I have drank way too much coffee and the Professor made me quit cutting his stash with decaf, said he could feel the difference (total bullshit). I have gone to the library and just wandered around, looked at the pretty book spines and their artwork like any self respecting homeless illiterate. I have sat in the sun and grilled up some grub. and I'm still FREAKING OUT!!!!

In 5 days time I will be sitting in luxury on flight 0447 bound for Frankfurt Germany, changing planes there and hopping down to Bologna to get this summer started. (Wait a minute...my itinerary goes from Frankfurt to Bologna...anyone see the "tour de processed meat" irony there?) We got a few bikes to build, towns to explore, old Italian bikes to stare at, food to dive into, gardens to plant and wine to toast! The last email from Igor - my boss in the bike shop - says he will think of something creative so that I can find him in the aeroporto. I told him the story of Me and Boozy picking up Aimee Gilchrist and Jenn Stockman at the airport for work one winter where we made big cardboard signs to hold up...Jenn's was a pair of glasses, Aimee's was a unicorn, of course. Worked like a charm. I'm still trying to find a track suit in Italian flag colours so he can find me easily.

Nothin' much else to report here, me and Boozy got RAD last nite so today is moving slow, I'm drinking coffee and listening to Tom Waits at noon with a bucket of water I should be drinking but am not. Oh shit! Its Saint Pattie's Day! Happy green beer day everyone. Just saying it gives me the shivers, and reminds me of the time Taint Boy swallowed a green dye tablet while dying Easter eggs and promised a phone call from the shitter the next day, which of course he did.

Be safe out there tonite everyone!
S.

and now for the comic relief.....

can someone please try to help me understand this... I think the hipsters have really gone way too far. All thats missing is their fixies and mac laptops...oh yeah...and their clothes!!
S.

A Bohemian State of Mind...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bohemianism
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bohemianism

Is it Wednesday already! Jeesus...where did it go? Oh that's right, I spent it in the throes of relapse. A relapse into my old life here that left me wanting so much more.....

Snowboarding with Boozy was great, an absolute bluebird day at Loveland. We got 4 non-stop hours in, hit the cafeteria for some lunch and bolted out early before the traffic got as bad as it was on the way up. You south-Cali kids wont bat an eye but we here in Co DO NOT sit in traffic for 4 hours to shred! The extra hour of sleep was nice. And we got back to Denver in time to hop on bikes a cruise downtown for a pint and some grub. The idea was to stay at the Krause house but we were beat and it was early enough to get home so away we went again. I returned to Denver the next afternoon for a lovely birthday dinner with Court, drinks atop the Hyatt with a view of downtown, Court fishing around in a carafe of spicy Asian snacks to find just the right one while sharing her thesis on law school and grades, and how she would be damned if it was all going to get in the way of her relationships. Thankfully no less than 5 hott servers checked on us throughout the course of the Martini - which was fantastic! She had made secret dinner reservations at Bistro Vendome, my absolute favorite restaurant in Denver. Stellar food and a great wine list made for a gastronomically fantastic evening. Until the lovely Court sampled the steak tartar (one of the top 3 I have ever had!) and made almost the same face the night she bellied up to the stage lights at Denver's own premiere gentleman's club, LaBoheme after drinking all day at GABF'd. The face can only be described as pure repulsion. Vendome is a french restaurant on Larimer Square and if you have a chance, go there! And go there with your special lady or man friend person, and wear something you feel sexy in, and go nuts, and I promise you will get laid - its just that kind of place. And if that doesn't work LaBoheme is a short 4 block walk.

The next day I hopped on bike to enjoy a cup of coffee (or 3) at Pablo's - the absolute best cup of joe in Denver, and who do I run into but Joe himself, king of the SF hipsters working in D-Town. Joe was the genius behind bringing StumpTown coffee to SF from Portland and was one of the owners of Ritual Coffee House, a veritable sea of young professionals on mac-books all day every day! And a great place for the pervy stare. Bring your own fingerless gloves. I rode off the caffeine buzz around the familiar spots of Denver only to question why I liked the town so much in the first place.

This is where the weekend started to take a weird turn...I started to feel a little, well, over it. I mean Denver has always held a special place in my memory, spending so much time there wishing I could live there, and sneaking off to the city on weekend trysts and Hott Date Nites, exploring the bars and pubs, getting to know the streets via bicycle, and having a raunchy anonymous time. From sneaky birthday weekends to check out-time with friends, jazz in the park and meeting new people I have always had a good time, and fond memories of Denver. But something was different this time.

I abandoned the over-thinking bit for a euro-trash dinner and a good bottle of wine with my friend Katie. What I thought was going to be talk of adventure and travel turned out to be a much deeper conversation of satisfaction, and of place in the world, and of the mental battles we all wage when we find ourselves a bit out of sorts with our surrounding world. Katie is talking about going to Africa for a bit, a journey that will surely find her some peace with the question "What are we s'posed to be doin?" We talked a long time about the feeling of discontent with lives that seem perfectly acceptable on the outside, about feeling like you can't enjoy what you know to be a good thing, and wanting more. And the thoughts would not leave me alone.

I spent most of yesterday feeling a little cranky, a jumpy night sleep, and a lonesome drive back to the Fort with some Lucero blaring in the car were conspiring against a positive mood. My thoughts and feelings returned to those of last summer when I felt I should be stoked to be in Fort Collins, with all my friends, and the door of possibilities wide open in front of me, and the freedom to do all the things I never had the time to do working for that big corporate brewery. And all I wanted to do was run away from it. I mean despite trying to find reason and peace with my Mom's suicide, or the job I had committed so much to letting me go for no reason, and the woman I counted on for a modicum of stability betraying my trust, I was trying to find the good in staying put and making something work out for me across that diversity. But it got to be too much. Bike rides stopped clearing my head, drinks with friends stopped being fun or celebratory, drinks alone sure weren't helping, the pursuit of women was starting to feel disenchantingly familiar, I was smoking again trying to find calm in the stress of the pressures I felt inside - the pressure to run before I exploded.

I think we all get there too. The stresses Katie talked about seemed so universal to me, like I had been thinking much of the same thing, because it just might be the way we deal with the reality of our situations. Most of us (and by us I mean middle and upper-middle class white kids from the suburbs) struggle with the same things. Its what pushed Kerouac out on the road, its what pushes men to go west (or east if you are already west). Its also, and somewhat contradictory, what fuels us to get into routines that feel safe and static so we have a sense of place. I have always had a spot I felt was mine - a place to go and sit and think and write or draw, most of us do. At this point even the things I have always had and relied on leave me feeling dissatisfied. That's why I am so thankful for the opportunity to go abroad, and to share it with you. I'm hoping this trip abroad will help because it is not a vacation. I am feeling less overly romantic about sightseeing and spending vacation dollars on regular coke (cause who drinks diet on vacation!?) or fancy deserts. But I still have this conservative daydream about a return to a simpler life, about a relationship with the physical world that does not include laptops and iPods, cafes where conversation builds community, people who have a well defined sense of place because their forefathers are buried nearby and fought to keep their land through numerous invaders. I'm dreaming of a place where ancient dialects persist because people hold on tightly to tradition and identity, a place where there is a tradition of art and music that still retains some of its indigenous roots, using what the land provides with the influence of a simple technology by modern comparison. I'm not expecting to abandon technology or modernity - I'm just looking for balance. I mean America is only a couple hundred years old. Roaming around Balboa Park in SD I would see traces of the old in the architecture and the art - but how old was it? My roaming in Denver last week provided only a small peek of anything old in places that were constructed specifically to bring about nostalgia - a less than authentic expression of place and history.

I'm dreaming of my own Bohemia. Maybe it will turn out to be a state of mind. Have I been trying to create it all these years with booze, and drugs, or with food when I was married, or with women when I wasn't married anymore. It would seem that I have been looking for the right muse for a long time and although some of them have worked for a little while, most of them are doing nothing for me right now. Maybe it lies in the balance of history and modernity, of lives lived and lives being lived. Maybe I'm just antsy and full of shit. Who knows. But Ill let you know as I wander around a little bit more.

ShredFest 2010!

This lovely day shal be deemed Shred-Fest 2010 for all the shredders of the gnar-pow-wow-pow!! (Yes Aubrey, Colorado has snow.)

Alright so its not actually as impressive as it sounds - but Boozy and I are headed to Loveland today for a little snowboarding adventure. I will try to take some photos so those of you who live in the sunnier environs of the world can see why so many shred-heads come to and stay in Colorado. Like the Professor - that guy wont live anywhere else, and he is tougher than you! This am he was up before me, and had things stuffed into his pack that should not be needed for a winter sport day-venture... a shovel for instance, depth gauges? What the hell!? His back country adventure will consist of ascending a mountain under his own power, constantly aware of avalanche dangers, and then getting some turns in back to the car high atop Cameron Pass. Where as mine will include driving 3 times as long, waiting in line, sitting on a lift, and groomed runs, rounded off with a $7 bloody mary and a heinous amount of traffic on the 2 lane highway coming home.

Next week - a little slice of Denver. Museums, galleries, parks, amazing coffee, and a big-ass book store, maybe a show at the greazy Larimer Lounge, and a big breakfast with the Sisters Krause, these are the things I crave from D-Town.

Until then, have a fun and safe weekend...
S.

word(s) of the week...

Lucky you! This week we have two lovely hand-made creations to choose from.

The first comes from the Professor. When used correctly you can almost smell the burning sage. the word is:
philosiful - (fill-oz-ee-full), adj. a) the feeling of being full of philosophy, b) speech that in some way seems way more important at the time than it indeed is, c) sage like in wisdom as it is particularly exercised in speech, d) an expression used by future burn-outs to express the shock of their own cleverness. EX: "Maaan, I'm so full of good ideas this week, I'm feeling so philosiful." Thanks Professor! When I make the movie of my life your character will be represented by an animated sleepy turtle who speaks in smoke rings and brews his own swamp-water.

The second word comes from an exhausted and frustrated Mama Rice. A long day at work brings this gem to life via satellite phone late Monday evening. the word is:
integredary - (en-te-grhi-dary), n. i think a) the abstract space occupied by a shared integrity, b) an undivided or unbroken completeness or totality, c) a marriage of the word integrity meaning wholeness and solidarity meaning union or fellowship arising from common responsibilities. EX: "I felt that he was questioning [our] integredary." As much as that was a total slip of the verbiage no doubt the result of a long day and too many Monster Energy Drinks, the word is actually pretty good, a shared sense of integrity isn't a bad thing. Thanks Tammy!

I encourage you all to use them in a sentence this week. Then get online, stalk out your junior high English teacher and let him/her know that they were right all along, "You gotta know the rules of the game before you can break 'em." And while your at it call up Berkeley for me and tell them thanks for nuthin! Just don't tell them where I am, they really want those over-due book fines paid.

S

"The next person who says shenanigans..."

What a weekend!
It just so happened to be Boozy The Clown's surprise birthday shin dig this weekend and he had NO idea! The Professor and I managed to stall him until 6, with a couple beers, some jokes about Jerry and the Dead, and Prof and I BOTH taking fake shits, locking ourselves in the bathroom for another 10 minutes while texting his brother waiting back at the gathering point. NorCo's own Water Tower played an amazing set inside one of Fort Collin's better 9 dollar sandwich joints, The Pickle Barrel, and friends and family gathered to watch Boozy stagger his way to 30! And STAGGER he did! A few pints and several items of flair later, Boozy could be seen adrift at the TrailHead making copious kissy-face with a cute Blondie while friends told stories old and new. I'm sure what he remembers of it he will cherish for ever and ever.

Happy Birthday Brian Bogan!

With 3 weeks to go and snow on the ground I'm left feeling anxious for Italy without my usual coping mechanism of riding bikes for long, mind-clearing hill climbs. Maybe some shredding is in store...anyone out there with a free buddy lift ticket, it was MY birthday too you know... This week is filling up fast and between catching up with friends, and digging through my storage unit to find my track suits and Kangol hat (when in Italy right...) I'm hoping that the anxiety will fade. If not I intend to spend next week in D-Town, visiting more, and spending the afternoon eating string cheese with and talking like an idiot to none other than Black-ass himself, Loki the Dog-faced Krauss.