Garfield without Garfield

Garfield without Garfield.

Under Odysseus

'Under Odysseus,' which is a retelling of the The Iliad through the eyes of Eurylochus, a soldier in the Greek army. I picked this up from NYMag, and it's something that I intend on sifting through once I get over the hump that my thesis work has set in my way. The best part about the 'UO' blog is that it is apparently written by a nuclear scientist on his lunch break. That should give hope to us all, I guess.

Chicago Time Trialing

Other than cyclocross, no other cycling discipline gets me all fired-up than time-trialing. I can't exactly answer why, other than the fact that I love aero equipment, hard efforts, and the lack of a sprint finish elbow-to-elbow with a bunch of other dudes. I used to TT back home in Cincinnati on a fixed-gear LeMond Zurich, and set some really good times on the beautiful rolling course out by Shawnee Lookout. I'd ride the course once to warm-up, race it, then ride it once or twice more to get some miles in.

And since 'cross is seven months away, I can take consolation in the fact that outdoor time trial races are only weeks away – and now there's a fancy-pants website, MidwestTimeTrial.com, devoted to time-trialing here in Chicagoland.

Now I just need to get a TT bike, instead of rolling Merckx-style on my road bike.

Journalismism

I've been keeping an eye on the big to-do up at the Medill School of Journalism up at Northwestern University in beautiful Evanston. John Lavine, the dean of the school, wrote a boastful piece for the alumni magazine, describing some of the new programs in the school, and using some anonymous quotes from students attesting to the quality of said programs. But questions about the anonymous quotes arose, and after a rather convulated path, by way of Romanesko and the Chicago Tribune, things have blown out of control.

Today, Gawker posted this little rundown which goes over the mess better (and snarkier) than I could ever hope to.

But this is the big takeaway from the Gawker piece:

Here's another sacred rule of journalism: Know when to shut the fuck up. This is a situation that probably could have been handled in a 15-minute faculty meeting. But those in academia, as a rule, are constantly starved for attention, and when anyone starts paying attention to them, their instinct is to do anything possible to keep that spotlight shining as long as possible. Journalists, in particular—whether in training, or retired—love nothing better than a scandal that involves them as the good guys.

Awesome.

(Don't tell Helge this)

As Helge has detailed in a recent post, he has qualified to go to the USAC National MTB Championship in Mt. Snow, VT. Knowing that, I'm determined to get Helge up on the podium, no matter the cost.

Let's just say it'll involve a midnight raid on the Pedersen compound in the middle of the night and forced trainer sessions on a machine ala that from the Triplets of Belleville:



With luck, this sequestering of Helge (don't call it kidnapping) will result in a National Champion on the Half Acre Cycling squad.

Eastern Promises

Because Allison wasn't feeling that well, and because she had a whole bunch of schoolwork to do, including shooting the diorama that's taken up residence in our living room, we decided to skip-out on traditional Valentine's Day events and do our own thing at home. I did some reading for school, ate dinner by myself, read a bit more of Upton Sinclair's "The Jungle" (which I've never read. Shame, I know) and watched David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises."

I'm not going to go into movie-reviewer mode, because, well, I'm not in the mood for that right now. Something about my attention span at the moment. However, I do want to express how much I enjoyed this movie starring Viggo Mortenson as a member of the Russian mob, which examines his interactions with his employers, a restaurant owner and his son, as he tries to work his way into a bona-fide position with the mob. Tied into this, is a story of an underage Russian girl who collapses upon the floor of a pharmacy, is taken into a hospital, has her baby girl removed by caesarean, and then dies.

The story of this baby, her origins (both matrilineal and patrilineal), and her fate conspire to throw a wrench into the workings of the mob as it tries to protect its own and secure for itself power in modern-day England. There's a lot going on in this movie, including a pretty unbelievable fight scene (NSFW, of course).

But yeah, I'm just a fan of this as I am of Cronenberg's other movies.

Jobs

Every morning, mid-afternoon, and evening:


Journalism Jobs
Craigslist
Careerbuilder
MediaBistro

And about a dozen others, including Dow-Jones, AP, Reuters, Crains, and NPO. A resume packet, with clips, writing samples, references, blood samples, cheek swab, sent out to every viable and even non-viable opportunity. Once in a while, a call, but usually an automatic response e-mail saying something to the effect of "Thanks for your interest in X position. We will contact you if your qualifications match our candidate needs."

But I mostly get nothing back. I send my personal employment and educational history out into the ether and I get a big empty echo in return.

I do need to do something soon. Living off of loan and grant money has long ago lost its allure.

If anyone (read: the 10 friends of mine who read this blog) have something for me to do, from stacking boxes, ditchdigging, to standing on a street corner with a clipboard and chasing down office-workers on their lunchbreak in order to have them sign a petition, please let me know. I beg of you.

Men of the Internet

Came across Ian Haig's photo project, 'Men of the Internet,' from I Heart Photograph, and I just had to share. This collection of found photography is quite possibly one of the more beautiful things I've ever laid my eyes upon.

From Ian Haig's website:

A web project which consists of a compilation of found images of the cornerstone of any good teen movie: computer nerds. 'Men of the internet' presents the idea of the computer nerd as a species of human that have had their bodies literally transformed and modified as a result of prolonged computer use. A collection of real life altered physiognomy and biological/technological modification: bigger brains, protruding craniums and enhanced eyesight with enormous glasses.

Thanks Mike

So, Mike Hemme of Killjoy hooked-up me, Helge, and Jason with free passes to Crunch Gym at North & Sheffield for a rousing spin session. Normally, I'm out on the road on Sundays, but with a high temperature of only 5 degrees and a brutal wind from the NW, my time outside today was measured in only seconds. The idea of riding my bike out in such cold wasn't really all that appealing, so when Mike arranged for a workout in a warm gym, I couldn't say no.

It's been a long time since I've done a spin workout and I've totally forgotten how hard they can be. The instructor expected more out of the four of us than most of the other classmates – more than once, she walked over to our machines and cranked the resistance knob a few more turns, saying something akin to "You guys can do better than this. PUMP THOSE LEGS! C'MON PUMP IT UP!" I was scared that I'd pump my legs so hard that I'd burst something.

But pump I did – I was covered in sweat and pretty proud of it. After the class, us four watched the 2005 Paris-Roubaix DVD, and spun out the legs. After showering, we were given the pitch from the Crunch membership squad, and then made plans to go for post-ride grub at Pho 777 on Argyle. Lunch was great – I had a spring roll, some tofu vegetable medley, and an iced coffee with condensed milk. Helge then persuaded us to walk down the block to a Vietnamese bakery where we gawked at strange baked goods including foamy cakes, little pastries covered in goo, and pork cookies. Yes, pork cookies. Mike bought one – I fully expect him to give his full report somewhere on his blog. I ended up with a walnut cookie (good), bean curd cake (even better), and a coconut 'long' cake (ehhh), and a pulled-pork bun for Allison, 'cause she was home doing laundry and grumpily at that. Total spent for the pastries was $3.95. That's value.

Winter Training & My Pathetic Life

The worst part about making the early spring races a priority, is that one has to dedicate the worst months of the year, December, January and February, to serious training. And living in Chicago, with its unpredictable weather (often snowy, cold and nasty), that means the lion's share of my training is done indoors. With the exception of the team ride on Sunday, I've spent every single day of February on the bike...indoors. Coupled with my circumstances as a graduate student with a thesis to do, I feel like a gerbil inside a cage. I wake-up, read the paper, etc., work for a bit, get on the bike or go for a run, and maybe walk to the store if I'm low on any staples. I work some more in the afternoon, have dinner, watch some TV, read and go to bed. Every day is nearly the same.

Sometimes there will be a day or two where I won't even go outside – which I find extremely depressing. However, if I have nowhere to go, then what's the point. I do find that I work better if I go for coffee at Metropolis, but lately I've been too lazy to walk the 1/2 mile there. Tomorrow, though, I'm turning over a new leaf – I'll get out of the house, take some work with me, and see the neighborhood, get some fresh (cold) air.

It's a promise.

Gordon Matta-Clark (Again)

Just got home from the just-opened Gordon Matta-Clark show at the MoCA. As I mentioned before in an earlier post, I am interested in the processes of deconstruction and GM-C's work is a strikingly salient example of these processes.

The show is so well-worth going – I cannot recommend it enough. The show focused on all aspects of Gordon's career, but it paid special attention to his work he did for the MoCP, titled "Circus or The Caribbean Orange," which was his attempt to tear apart a building annexed by the MoCP, by recreating circular themes through the ripping-apart of woodwork, drywall, and roofing. The show includes some of the ancillary documents to this artwork, including purchase orders, letters, and other ephemera. Of course, the MoCP has an interest in promoting this particular work, but they do the rest of Gordon's repertoire full service as well.

I also enjoyed a film he made in which he drove his beloved vintage truck to the Fresh Kills landfill in NY, crashed it into a bulldozer, and then tore it apart with said 'dozer. I think it was some kind of statement about extending the themes of deconstruction to other subject matters, but I think maybe that truck needed just a bit too much repair work to keep it roadworthy, and what better way to take a dying vehicle off the road than to destroy it in a flamboyant manner.

Goals (Academic and Otherwise)

So, this week's been a bit crazy for me, as I've been cranking a bunch of stuff out for my thesis. I'm determined to get the lion's share of my work done by mid-April, so that I can graduate in June. This is a bit later than what I originally intended (I was shooting to have my thesis done by December. Ha!), but it's not such a big deal in the grand scheme of things. I'll just have a little bit longer to look for a job and to save up money to start the repayment of my student loans.


I was going through a few of my files from the past year of school and I came across a paper I did on the media's coverage of the Unabomber manifesto. I'd received a good grade on the report, some criticism, and a few suggestions, one of which was that with a bit of editing, I could submit it to the AEJMC for inclusion in a conference. That work will have to wait, as I have my priorities and the last thing I need is one more distraction.

Because the bike racing thing is distracting enough.

I've not planned too far ahead past April, as I might turn my focus to Wisconsin. I do need to find a race or two between the Mid-Ohio Tour and Hocking Hills. The only reason I'd do Hocking Hills, is because I need to go down to Athens (OU) for some school stuff around then and it'd be nice to get a good ride or race in while down there.

This is my tentative calendar:

2/16-2/17 Mentor/Schabobele Road Race, Cincinnati/NKY
3/1 Mid-Ohio Tour — Oxford, OH
3/22 Tour of Hocking Hills — Logan, OH
3/29 Hillsboro Roubaix – Hillsboro, IL
4/5 Mississinewa Reservoir Road Race, Peru, IL (from CBR calendar)
4/6 ABD John Fraser Memorial TT — Maple Park, IL
4/13 Lynchburg Road Race – Cincinnati, OH
4/19 Tour of Hermann Day 1 Time Trial — Hermann, MO
4/20 Tour of Hermann Day 2 Road Race + KOM — Hermann, MO
OR
4/20 Gettysburg Road Race, Gettysburg, OH (near Cincinnati)

All I know is that Ben Popper says that I could be a Cat. 2 in 'cross if I bust my ass hard enough this summer and fall. I just can't get into the trap of putting on junk miles in over the summer, as I am so wont to do. But with Ben and a steady training regimen, I think I could pull off a pretty good 'cross season. But as long as it goes better than 2007, I'm happy.