Vegas

I'm here, sitting in a restaurant in the Venetian Hotel, casino-side.

This'll be quick, as I've got to get out of here and back to my room.

The purpose for the visit is the National Health, Wellness, and Prevention Conference. I'm doing research for a new Healthwise product I'll be developing come summer time.

I have to say: I hate this place. It's my worst nightmare come true and inescapable. I see why so many people come here again and again, definitely, but I also sincerely hope I never have to come back.

More later.

Boise Experimental Music Festival

Seems those responsible for the second annual Boise Experimental Music Festival should be pleased. I was there for the Saturday night portion, doing the live webcast, and it definitely looked to me like they'd improved on last year's inaugural fest.

The crowd was good-sized and engaged, and the music on offering was outstanding.

Here's to year 3 being even better.

Burial

This is some sinister electronic music from a South London producer named, far as I can tell, Burial. With elements of garage and jungle gliding around in the airy murk, these compositions suggest urban decay and the thoughts that cling to the darker corners of our minds as we wander the modern landscape.

This is cool stuff. I'm new to Burial's work with this self-titled record, and the more I listen to it, the more I find. Strange-tongued narrative clips, atmospheric tones enhancing sharp beats, hints of melody floating in and out of the haze.

One of the joys of emusic is I get stuff I wouldn't otherwise have access to or impetus to buy. This is one of those things.

Whither the Bees?

This seems serious. More than a quarter of the bees in the US are missing.

MISSING.

They've vanished. They leave the hives to work, and they don't come back.

Much like the foretold doomsday scenario of the vanishing of the frogs, it seems this startling problem needs some immediate and serious attention.

Check out this NY Times article for more.

Scary stuff.

(And by the way, it seems the Einstein quote floating around is bunk. No one's yet been able to trace it to Mr. Relativity. Still, I suppose if tacking Einstein's name to it gets a brighter light shone on this problem, then fine.)

More Surprises in Houffalize

In the first World Cup MTB race of the year, there were some big surprises on the podium.



In the women's race, the top spot was not occupied by the sport's giant, Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesja, as it usually is. Rather Chengyuan Ren, from China, has completed her initial arc of ascendancy, well-known to any who have been watching international mountain biking for the past couple years, to finish in the top spot here in the most prestigious of World Cups.



She's been coming on strong for a while now, and it appears she has arrived this year. The rest of the women's field has to be pretty worried about the trio of Chinese riders making their way toward the top rungs of the sport's ladder.



Americans take heart: Our own Georgia Gould, who has been getting great results so far this year at home, started 40th here and finished 8th. On a tight course with tough passing lanes, this is no mean feat, and suggests that Gould will be a force to be reckoned with.

In the men's race, another surprise. Juan Antonio Hermida took the win, even after fixing a jammed chain and crashing into a wiped-out lead moto.

Absalon finished second, unable to capitalize on the Spaniard's double bad luck.

North Americans fared not as well here, with Geoff Kabush coming in 12th, and Todd Wells getting 36th.

Mountain Bike season is on!

(photos from VeloNews)

Brajkovic Wins in Georgia

The Tour de Georgia has come to an end, and the craziness of mid-week stages resulted in an exciting and unexpected overall win for the 23-year-old Slovenian, Janez Brajkovic.

Along the way, Levi took the Brasstown Bald summit stage along with the ITT, and Fast Freddie broke a dry spell with a fine sprint over JJ Haedo and George Hincapie.

An exciting and memorable race.

Check out VeloNews for all the action.

(photo from VeloNews)

TdG Turned on Its Head

In the third stage of the Tour de Georgia, a group of 16 riders, none of them thought to be GC threats, blew the race apart.

The winner on the day was Gianni Meersman, a young guy in his first year riding for Discovery. It was his first pro win.

The 16 got away early in the race, and though chased and held to within a minute at first, the peloton soon lost interest and let them go. By the end of the day, the gap would grow to almost a half hour.

Now, the standings are a who's who of who's that? The top ten have been entirely displaced by those in the break, and the names Danielson, Hamilton, Leipheimer, and the rest are pretty much squashed from contention.

A strange result, but I think it'll make this race even more fun to watch.

(photo from VeloNews)

This Great Society Is Going Smash

We've lost it.

I don't know what else to say.

So It Goes

Kurt Vonnegut, one of the most influential and socially significant novelists of this century, died last night in Manhattan.

Here's the NY Times piece.

As I'm sure is the case with many an aspiring writer, I was deeply affected by Vonnegut's work. Slaughterhouse Five changed my life and my thoughts on what writing is. Breakfast of Champions taught me that humor can be the quickest route to sadness and tragedy, and the quickest way back as well.

As an undergrad and then grad student in literature, I had the opportunity to study Vonnegut's work with one of the best professors of my career. Those long evening sessions during the Illinois winter are burned into my memory as some of the most heady times of my education. The avenues opened up by close examination of Vonnegut's writing defined, or so I thought at the time, the path my life would take.

Of course, I'm no novelist, but every time I re-read something of Vonnegut's, or come across something I've yet to read, the inspiration and pull to write something brilliant inevitably takes hold of my mind.

If you've not read anything of Vonnegut's, read Slaughterhouse Five. Start today. As it was for Vietnam, it is remarkably appropriate for our time. In examining the insanity of violence during World War II, the human beings involved in the body counts, it should speak to us today about what we feel is a good use of human life. Who doesn't wish to become "unstuck in time," as Billy Pilgrim was?

Though he swore off writing novels with the publication of Timequake a few years ago, he continued to contribute to the national conversation through essays and shorter pieces and compilations of previous work.

We can all learn something from the exhortation of the title character of his novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. From the Times:

To Mr. Vonnegut, the only possible redemption for the madness and apparent meaninglessness of existence was human kindness. The title character in his 1965 novel, “God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater,” summed up his philosophy:

“Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It’s hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It’s round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you’ve got about a hundred years here. There’s only one rule that I know of, babies — ‘God damn it, you’ve got to be kind.’ ”

His is a voice that will be missed. God Bless You, Mr. Vonnegut.

Sound of Silver

I admit it took me a little while to come around to what James Murphy was doing with his first release as LCD Soundsystem. That self-titled record, as it turns out, is still perhaps the most full-realized and well done blend of dance music and indie rock, or disco-punk, or whatever you want to call it.

The droll humor and self-mocking of Losing My Edge plays nicely against the hushed late-night skulkery of Too Much Love and the outrageous fun of Daft Punk is Playing at My House. But the more you listen, the more you realize there isn't a weak moment on the whole thing. It's actually a great record.

I think the same will be true of Sound of Silver, the new one by LCD Soundsystem. I just got it this week, and so far I'm having a hard time listening to anything else. The persistent beat of opener Get Innocuous! builds steam over time but never explodes, serving as foyer to the rest of the album. Us v. Them is a fantastic tune, and North American Scum works well with or without the humor. But the humor's always there, just below the surface or popping its head through, informing the music without turning it into a joke.

The closer, a tuneful ballad about NYC, changes the mood a bit but seems as if it will stand on its own, separate from the rest, as a capturing of a moment in time, where we see that what's touted as good isn't always for the best.

If you haven't let LCD in yet, give it a shot. There are many rewards under the killer beats.

Change on the Range

Attention music fans: This is the last week of double-duty for the Range Life show on RadioBoise. There's some new stuff happening on the schedule, and we've finally hit a point where I can step back and do my thing once a week like everyone else.

I'm hanging on to the Friday 1 to 3pm slot, which is a good thing. And my hope is that I can shift and juggle my work schedule around so that I can get down to the studio on Friday afternoons and do the show live. I can't make that a regular thing just yet, but I'm working on it.

This week, there's loads of new stuff on the shows. New music by The Ponys, Palaxy Tracks, Cloud Cult, Hail Social, Young Galaxy, Page France, Palomar, The Black Dog, and Cloud Cult debuts this week.

I'll also be laying down more relatively new stuff from The Arcade Fire, The Shins, American Analog Set, Panda Bear, Lusine, and 31 Knots, as well as a cool Calexico cover.

And I've dug up some great old tunes by Yo La Tengo, Townes VanZandt, Pavement, and Lali Puna, among others.

To come: LCD soundsystem, !!!, and a new track from the upcoming Fridge release.

Tune in.

Holy Crap: Eric's 40!!!

That's right. Brother Eric, the perennial player and Peter Pan, turns 40 today.

Sumbuck's still in better shape than 99% of people half his age.

He may not be able to pilot a set of skis worth a damn, but he sure can ride a bike.

Happy Birthday, dude. May you stay 21 forever.