Sunday Ride

There's a new loop around Stack Rock, out at the end of the main trail. It's awesome, but it ain't no walk in the park. Even though plenty of people were walking it. Great ride today.

A Little Redemption

Sure, it's a friendly, and Spain wasn't at full strength, but this has to feel good for Messi & co.

Hate, &c.

Found this on the Dish.

Hope for Labor (and Democrats, too)

Our Man The President gave a great speech in Milwaukee over the Labor Day weekend. It's worth watching the whole thing.

And Andrew Sullivan looks at Democratic prospects in November and in 2 years. Things are serious, but the real honest truth is that things are getting better, the right things are getting done, they just haven't produced a miracle. And the right is still intellectually and morally bankrupt.

I don't believe they are in any way serious about spending restraint and are only serious about their bewilderment at the real America where racial, religious and cultural diversity is a fact, where illegal immigration has been plummeting, where gay marriage is winning, where legal abortion will never go away, and where the new empire the last administration embarked upon has bankrupted us for a generation at least.

Obama continues to do real things that matter. The right just screams and stomps their feet and offers dishonest criticism and no ideas of their own.

Obama's persistent refusal to take the red-blue bait still pushed by Fox News like a cheap bump of ideological meth is to his credit. It is emphatically not about his failure to "take them on". He is taking them on - but on his terms, not theirs'. Take it away, Mr president:

When it comes to just about everything we’ve done to strengthen our middle class, to rebuild our economy, almost every Republican in Congress says no. Even on things we usually agree on, they say no. If I said the sky was blue, they say no. If I said fish live in the sea, they’d say no. They just think it’s better to score political points before an election than to solve problems. So they said no to help for small businesses, even when the small businesses said we desperately need this. This used to be their key constituency, they said. They said no. No to middle-class tax cuts. They say they’re for tax cuts; I say, okay, let’s give tax cuts to the middle class. No. No to clean energy jobs. No to making college more affordable. No to reforming Wall Street. They’re saying right now, no to cutting more taxes for small business owners and helping them get financing.

You know, I heard -- somebody out here was yelling “Yes we can.” Remember that was our slogan? Their slogan is “No we can’t.”

Labor Day

Spent the morning lazing around the house. Took a lovely walk this afternoon, stopping for a beer and a snack at the Falcon Tavern.


Great way to spend a holiday.

Look Who's Back!

Having a lovely morning with the boy. Good to have him and Cathy back home.

Um

Stuff vs Stuff 'Can vs Sprouts' from Sumo Science on Vimeo.

Bath Time Revisited

Bathroom sink bathtime from cathy fischer on Vimeo.

Someday I'll catch hell for posting this, but I can't help it. I miss this.

Thursday Run

5 Mile Gulch > Watchman Trail > 3 Bears > Rocky Canyon Road. Maybe my favorite running loop in the foothills.


I ran it with Henry today. He did well, though this loop might be pushing it for him.

Wednesday Ride

I rode the Fat Tire Traverse today for the first time. Very cool trail, along the lines of the Watchman Trail--a twitchy trail across some steep hillsides connecting two previously unconnected areas.

The sky darkened and got windy and even rained on me a tiny bit, which was nice.

Fun trail. I started up the MR Connector and Sidewinder. Think I'll try it the other way next time.

Hindsight

A simple, cool new video from our favorite band of bearded brothers.

Tuesday Ride

I rode Orchard Gulch today for the first time in a while. Apparently, abundant Watchman Trail traffic = pristine untraveled Orchard Gulch? Those are my tracks. The only ones.

On a related note, I'm not sure what you out there have done to bring down upon us this plague of grasshoppers, but whatever it is, knock it off. There's always an upside, though, right? I've seen more lizards on and around the trails this year than in all other years here combined, it seems. Abundant grasshoppers = tons of lizards?


And though it might have looked like red rock desert up there, it ain't. That's flame retardant. It doesn't show so well in this picture, but there's a big swath of it across 3 Bears and Rocky Canyon Road. And signs of the burn that brought it on.

Theo Goes to Sun Valley

Had a great weekend in and around Ketchum with Cathy and Theo.


We went for walks with Henry, ate some great food, and relaxed a lot.



I even managed to sneak off and catch a few rainbows. Looking forward to the day when I spend as much time untangling the boy's lines as I do casting for trout. But that's a few years out yet.

Cathy's staying up there the rest of the week with her mom.

And the adventures continue.

Mavis and Tweedy

Mavis Staples is coming to Boise, touring on her brand new album, You Are Not Alone, which was produced by Jeff Tweedy, who also wrote a couple songs for it.

Staples' place in the gospel and soul canons cannot be overstated, and the fact that Idaho Live is bringing her here, touring on this record, is a pretty amazing thing. Get your tickets this Friday and do not miss this show on November 2.

Sunday Ride

With temperatures in the 70s--even more like 60 when we started, up off Bogus Basin Road--and the trails from East Side to Stack Rock pretty much to ourselves, it was tough to look at today as anything but a gift. An autumn day in mid-August.

And we took advantage. Me, Will, and Derek hitched a ride with Will's sister Thea up Bogus. We dropped into East Side (I won't say where, but it was cool!), then rode over and dropped Sinker Creek. Back up Mr. Big and out to the new loop around Stack Rock. Then back to the saddle and down Sweet Connie to town.

It was a great, great ride. Following on a night where Theo slept a lot and, thanks to Jan's sticking around and sitting with him, so did I, it's been a pretty good day.


Even though last night a huge limb sheared from our neighbor's tree and landed on our fence. Doesn't look like it damaged the fence or house. Just a mess.

Tour de Fat

For the first year in many years, we didn't ride in the parade. But we did go over to Camel's Back park and watch it go by. It was pretty cool to see--usually, riding in it, you don't get to see the whole thing. HUGE. Theo and Cathy enjoyed themselves.

Happy Friday

What a great thing for a Friday morning. Out of nowhere, Sufjan Stevens drops a new EP in our laps. It's available at his website for $5. I'm listening now.

Blonde Redhead

Check out this new track from Blonde Redhead, Oslo, from their upcoming record Penny Sparkle.

Blonde Redhead - "Oslo" by Some Kind of Awesome

Nap Time

Theo and Henry, future BFFs.

Hallowed Ground?

Interesting and illustrative blog post on the faux-debate over building a mosque near the WTC site. Perspective, folks. Plus, keep your noses out of other people's neighborhoods. This isn't a holy site, it's Manhattan. Gimme a friggin break.