la astra boucanier

Saturday, September 26, 2009

If I was young...

Elephant Gun by Beirut

They have such a great sound.

I think I have discovered the first track for my Autumn playlist.

1970 Schwinn Varsity Sport, 1980 Univega Gran Turismo, 2002 GMC

I got my first bike when I was 7.
My dad got it at Kmart and man was that thing a treat.
I remember taking the training wheels off by myself
and waking up the next day to find that my dad had put them back on.
"I don't want you to get hurt"
Come to think of it, I think that was the first time I ever used a tool.
I guess I was fated to become a grease monkey...

I don't know what happened to that bike,
but years passed before I got to ride another bike.
Now I have...5.
Pretty soon, I'm sure they are all going to be either single speed or fixie.
Not too many things in this world I find more beautiful than the simple mechanics and aesthetics of a single speed bike.
That could just be my obsessive affective self speaking.

Music for tonight is Die Bessere Halfte by Herbstrock
(yes, there is definitely a bicycle theme tonight)

Enjoy.

Beirut - Nantes

Great song.

Can you imagine walking down the street and coming across something like this?

Friday, September 25, 2009

Early Morning

Today, I am finally going to start a project that I have had on my to do list for the past year or so and that is to photograph Ontario.

On my list of what I want to photograph is:

1. De Anza Park

2. Landmarks and Restaurants (*yelp)

3. Euclid Ave

Other projects include:

1. Converting another road bike into a fixie or single speed

2. Photographing Julia

There is certainly a palatable excitement in the air

as Summer is ending (has ended) and work will soon commence.

Friday, September 18, 2009

ANR - Acacia Night Riders for the Uninitiated

"Midnight Ride"
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sultana Ave

"Midnight rush"
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Sultana Ave overlooking I-10

So I was reading John Irving's "Until I find you" at 12 a.m. when I get a text from Matthew asking me if I was interested in another bike ride.
"Absolutely I am", I replied
And so we left.
I was on my 1970 Schwinn Varsity Sport,
and together we rode North on Sultana Blvd.
The streets were dark, the cars were sparse, and the houses were old but very well maintained.
This is historic Ontario and Pleasantville is how I would describe it.
The manicured lawns, 1980s Buicks that looked like they were just driven off the lot,
American flags hanging off every porch and drive way.
And then we smelled marijuana.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

"Life is a Beautiful Struggle"
Friday, September 11, 2009
Home

I've known this guy since we were in Kindergarten.
He was my first friend.
He was my first best friend.
He had the meanest Wolverine drawing from k-6th grade.
It was the kind of Wolverine drawing that we traded our prized chicken patties for.

I just had my camera on my lap and I snapped this picture ranodmly while we were talking about some of our best and worst childhood memories -
Like the time so and so ripped his pants,
or fell off a tree, or set off the fire cracker, etc.
And only when I had uploaded onto my computer later that night,
did I remember what we had talked about and I thought,
"how true how true, it has been a beautiful struggle"