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Nana

May 24, 2012 @ 11:24am

Nana is…
Hot pepper soup for my cold,
Liberian food every Sunday dinner,
And grits with lots of sugar.
She is perfect coffee while we wait for the bus,
And homemade cookies and cakes.
She is whatever I’m hungry for.

Nana is…
Light brown skin, like brown sugar.
She is food stains from dinner,
Boy-short, curly and black hair with silver areas.
Her size and shape that is perfect for hugs,
And the 7 of her teeth left.
(she would kill me if she knew I said that)
She is the cute blemishes on her cheeks.

Nana is…
My best friend,
And the meanest sweetheart.
She is always ready to spend money.
She is grumpy in the mornings, afternoons, evenings, and nights.
She is “turn the music down”
She is her adorable 5 second laugh
Nana is my love.

May 17, 2012 @ 10:34pm 3 notes

thelocalsarepainting:

Afflicted by permanent wanderlust, I’ve opted to spend the three weeks between the end of Speedweek and the US Professional Cycling Championships in Greenville, SC at the welcoming abode of one of our team’s gracious supporters just outside of Athens, GA (home of the University of Georgia, the infamous Athens Twilight Criterium, and launchpad for numerous American cyclists). 

Having never been to this part of the country before (read: The Deep & Dirty South), I’m still taking it all in and gulping it all down, like a UGA freshman frat pledge doing a manhood-validating kegstand.

First on my list of dispensable observations to expound to the outside world: The riding itself. I’ve never trained anywhere with population so spread out, and so my road choice has always been pretty limited. Here, though, there are roads FOREVER. I could easily create a 300 mile loop on twisty backroads that all look the same from the front door of my temporary domicile. Of course, this necessitates a cue sheet a mile long (yeah, that one was front AND back for a 4.5 hour jaunt) to keep from ending up bassackwards 200 miles away on the coast. While there’s no sustained climbing near Athens, the rollers of the Piedmont offer up spots for good, punchy accelerations on endless repetition of 500 meter-long Murs. Roads are fairly narrow and without the wide shoulders I’m used to, but they’re in really good condition (thanks to the lack of freezing temps in the winter, I’d guess) and typically devoid of traffic. The dirt roads are a blast! Well-packed, and not moondusty or gravel-strewn like the ones near my home in Utah.

The “store stops” here are nearly always entertaining - it seems the locals aren’t as used to seeing cyclists on long rides as they are in the West. I can always count on getting into an amiable conversation with store proprietors about expensive bikes, bike racing, the insanity of spending five hours perched on two wheels, and suspicious questions when informed of my Utah residence. 

Speaking of, the church marquees in front of Baptist houses of worship on the backroads are nothing short of comedic gold. I think I might start photographing all of them and making a nice leather-bound photo essay when I get back to the Wasatch. 

May 17, 2012 @ 10:12am 75 notes
theatlantic: The Next Great Technology Platform: The Bicycle Bikes have already changed our relationships to each other and the urban environment, but consider the potential for so much more. Imagine a future where cities go beyond bike lanes and build the urban environment around bikes. What would a bike highway look like? What would city life be like without cars? Imagine a healthier city — no more kids in the Bronx with asthma — and reduced automobile fatalities. The biggest opportunity here is that given what we know about how bikes change our social dynamics, how would this play out on a mass scale? Amplify that with sensing and tracking technologies on board the human battery-powered bike platform and the possibilities are endless. Handgrips that monitor your pulse and heart rate multiplied by millions will help us better understand the people who live in entire neighborhoods, and the pace of life from a global perspective. Such data will inspire exciting design solutions. Read more. [Image: Reuters] theatlantic: The Next Great Technology Platform: The Bicycle Bikes have already changed our relationships to each other and the urban environment, but consider the potential for so much more. Imagine a future where cities go beyond bike lanes and build the urban environment around bikes. What would a bike highway look like? What would city life be like without cars? Imagine a healthier city — no more kids in the Bronx with asthma — and reduced automobile fatalities. The biggest opportunity here is that given what we know about how bikes change our social dynamics, how would this play out on a mass scale? Amplify that with sensing and tracking technologies on board the human battery-powered bike platform and the possibilities are endless. Handgrips that monitor your pulse and heart rate multiplied by millions will help us better understand the people who live in entire neighborhoods, and the pace of life from a global perspective. Such data will inspire exciting design solutions. Read more. [Image: Reuters]

theatlantic:

The Next Great Technology Platform: The Bicycle

Bikes have already changed our relationships to each other and the urban environment, but consider the potential for so much more.

Imagine a future where cities go beyond bike lanes and build the urban environment around bikes. What would a bike highway look like? What would city life be like without cars? Imagine a healthier city — no more kids in the Bronx with asthma — and reduced automobile fatalities.

The biggest opportunity here is that given what we know about how bikes change our social dynamics, how would this play out on a mass scale? Amplify that with sensing and tracking technologies on board the human battery-powered bike platform and the possibilities are endless. Handgrips that monitor your pulse and heart rate multiplied by millions will help us better understand the people who live in entire neighborhoods, and the pace of life from a global perspective. Such data will inspire exciting design solutions.

Read more. [Image: Reuters]

May 14, 2012 @ 4:32pm 183 notes
theatlantic: New York City Police ‘Stop and Frisk’ More People Than Ever New York City police officers stopped and questioned more than 200,000 people in the just the first three months of 2012, setting up a record pace for much criticized tactic. The “Stop, Question, Frisk” policy has been a major initiative for the NYPD, which credits the tactic as a key contributor to a years-long drop in street crimes. However, numerous studies have shown that the stops overwhelmingly target black and Latino males. A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city.  Read more. [Image: AP] “A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city.” Are you kidding me? theatlantic: New York City Police ‘Stop and Frisk’ More People Than Ever New York City police officers stopped and questioned more than 200,000 people in the just the first three months of 2012, setting up a record pace for much criticized tactic. The “Stop, Question, Frisk” policy has been a major initiative for the NYPD, which credits the tactic as a key contributor to a years-long drop in street crimes. However, numerous studies have shown that the stops overwhelmingly target black and Latino males. A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city.  Read more. [Image: AP] “A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city.” Are you kidding me?

theatlantic:

New York City Police ‘Stop and Frisk’ More People Than Ever

New York City police officers stopped and questioned more than 200,000 people in the just the first three months of 2012, setting up a record pace for much criticized tactic. The “Stop, Question, Frisk” policy has been a major initiative for the NYPD, which credits the tactic as a key contributor to a years-long drop in street crimes. However, numerous studies have shown that the stops overwhelmingly target black and Latino males. A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city. 

Read more. [Image: AP]

“A recent study by the ALCU released last week showed that were 168,000 stops of young black men last year, which exceeds the actual population of young black men living in the city.”

Are you kidding me?

May 14, 2012 @ 4:00pm 112 notes
[Flash 9 is required to listen to audio.]

selfdefensefamily:

One half of our new Island Series. This one was recorded in Iceland. It was fun as shit to do and we like how the recording came out. 

Note for anyone who heard the post-rock song we put up last week: It was this song stretched to an hour. Enjoy it either way, or not at all. Whatevs, bro. 

May 11, 2012 @ 9:36am 941 notes
theatlantic: German Police Used Only 85 Bullets Against People in 2011 According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, German police shot only 85 bullets in all of 2011, a stark reminder that not every country is as gun-crazy as the U.S. of A. As Boing Boing translates, most of those shots weren’t even aimed anyone: “49 warning shots, 36 shots on suspects. 15 persons were injured, 6 were killed.” […] Meanwhile, in the U.S., where the population is little less than four times the size of Germany’s, well, we can get to 85 in just one sitting, thank you very much. 84 shots fired at one murder suspect in Harlem, another 90 shot at one fleeing unarmed man in Los Angeles. And that was just April. Read more. [Image: Reuters] theatlantic: German Police Used Only 85 Bullets Against People in 2011 According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, German police shot only 85 bullets in all of 2011, a stark reminder that not every country is as gun-crazy as the U.S. of A. As Boing Boing translates, most of those shots weren’t even aimed anyone: “49 warning shots, 36 shots on suspects. 15 persons were injured, 6 were killed.” […] Meanwhile, in the U.S., where the population is little less than four times the size of Germany’s, well, we can get to 85 in just one sitting, thank you very much. 84 shots fired at one murder suspect in Harlem, another 90 shot at one fleeing unarmed man in Los Angeles. And that was just April. Read more. [Image: Reuters]

theatlantic:

German Police Used Only 85 Bullets Against People in 2011

According to Germany’s Der Spiegel, German police shot only 85 bullets in all of 2011, a stark reminder that not every country is as gun-crazy as the U.S. of A. As Boing Boing translates, most of those shots weren’t even aimed anyone: “49 warning shots, 36 shots on suspects. 15 persons were injured, 6 were killed.” […]

Meanwhile, in the U.S., where the population is little less than four times the size of Germany’s, well, we can get to 85 in just one sitting, thank you very much. 84 shots fired at one murder suspect in Harlem, another 90 shot at one fleeing unarmed man in Los Angeles. And that was just April.

Read more. [Image: Reuters]

May 10, 2012 @ 11:21pm 105 notes
jamesnord: I FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE I have never been through any kind of real trial or tribulation, but I do know enough about suffering to know it follows a bell curve. Pain is handed out in increasing dosage, ensuring sure you are crazy enough to keep enduring it. That’s how I found myself weaving across an idillic country road in Western Mass on my birthday. The bonk had snuck up on me, and 60 miles of not enough food, mixed with climbing and 27mph pace lines put me in a dark place. Alone, on that road it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself, to see the tall grass and hear the slow breeze whispering “it’s over” and “i won’t tell”. And I swear I wanted to, I saw this vision of myself laying down, hidden by that same tall grass, cooled down by that comforting breeze.  Just then the whispering breeze was replaced by the unmistakable buzz of my brother’s Zipp 404’s next to me. He had fallen back out of the field to get me or at least ride next to me. I don’t know if he dropped back because it was my birthday and didn’t want me to be alone, or because he thought he could help, but I loved him wildly in that moment. In the depths of my bonk, I was being saved. He was kind enough to not speak to me, but quietly get in front of me, split the wind and provide the pace.  Extreme circumstances allow for extreme compassion and on my birthday, in the Berkshires I was happy  first for my brother’s wheel but mostly his love.  Yo, these Nord brothers are something else. I wanna meet ‘em, ride with them, but I feel like I’ll only embarrass myself. Georgia boys, cyclists and such loving, kind characters. Without knowing them, I kind of look up to them. jamesnord: I FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE I have never been through any kind of real trial or tribulation, but I do know enough about suffering to know it follows a bell curve. Pain is handed out in increasing dosage, ensuring sure you are crazy enough to keep enduring it. That’s how I found myself weaving across an idillic country road in Western Mass on my birthday. The bonk had snuck up on me, and 60 miles of not enough food, mixed with climbing and 27mph pace lines put me in a dark place. Alone, on that road it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself, to see the tall grass and hear the slow breeze whispering “it’s over” and “i won’t tell”. And I swear I wanted to, I saw this vision of myself laying down, hidden by that same tall grass, cooled down by that comforting breeze.  Just then the whispering breeze was replaced by the unmistakable buzz of my brother’s Zipp 404’s next to me. He had fallen back out of the field to get me or at least ride next to me. I don’t know if he dropped back because it was my birthday and didn’t want me to be alone, or because he thought he could help, but I loved him wildly in that moment. In the depths of my bonk, I was being saved. He was kind enough to not speak to me, but quietly get in front of me, split the wind and provide the pace.  Extreme circumstances allow for extreme compassion and on my birthday, in the Berkshires I was happy  first for my brother’s wheel but mostly his love.  Yo, these Nord brothers are something else. I wanna meet ‘em, ride with them, but I feel like I’ll only embarrass myself. Georgia boys, cyclists and such loving, kind characters. Without knowing them, I kind of look up to them.

jamesnord:

I FOUND LOVE IN A HOPELESS PLACE

I have never been through any kind of real trial or tribulation, but I do know enough about suffering to know it follows a bell curve. Pain is handed out in increasing dosage, ensuring sure you are crazy enough to keep enduring it.

That’s how I found myself weaving across an idillic country road in Western Mass on my birthday. The bonk had snuck up on me, and 60 miles of not enough food, mixed with climbing and 27mph pace lines put me in a dark place. Alone, on that road it’s easy to feel sorry for yourself, to see the tall grass and hear the slow breeze whispering “it’s over” and “i won’t tell”. And I swear I wanted to, I saw this vision of myself laying down, hidden by that same tall grass, cooled down by that comforting breeze. 

Just then the whispering breeze was replaced by the unmistakable buzz of my brother’s Zipp 404’s next to me. He had fallen back out of the field to get me or at least ride next to me. I don’t know if he dropped back because it was my birthday and didn’t want me to be alone, or because he thought he could help, but I loved him wildly in that moment. In the depths of my bonk, I was being saved. He was kind enough to not speak to me, but quietly get in front of me, split the wind and provide the pace. 

Extreme circumstances allow for extreme compassion and on my birthday, in the Berkshires I was happy  first for my brother’s wheel but mostly his love. 

Yo, these Nord brothers are something else. I wanna meet ‘em, ride with them, but I feel like I’ll only embarrass myself. Georgia boys, cyclists and such loving, kind characters. Without knowing them, I kind of look up to them.

May 10, 2012 @ 1:27pm 9 notes

fuckyeahjensvoigt:

May have posted this before, but it’s absolutely hilarious. 

I just love Jens’ attitude. Never scared to do the hard work, and always joking an laughing and animated. Role model material right there.

Bout to work 7 days straight this week. Haven’t had a day off since the 4th, won’t until the 17th, and I’m tired. Channelling some of the Jens today for sure. “I’m in the first line, I’m going to get goooooooiiiiiing!”

May 10, 2012 @ 1:22pm 66 notes
theatlantic: Abraham Lincoln Did Not Invent Facebook: How a Guy and His Blog Fooled the Whole Wide Internet The fun/chaos started, as it so often does, with a bad day on Monday. Come the evening of the 7th, St. Pierre says, “I was crabby; I was in a bad mood; I was tired of looking around at all the boring, lame stuff online — all the same people rehashing the same things.” He enjoys writing, so he took to his computer “to write something that would be exciting to read.” He started crafting a sensational story that would tell the tale of the epic day St. Pierre wished he’d just had — revisionist history meets personalized fanfic. “So I thought, ‘Okay, what would be just fun and crazy?’ What if Lincoln invented Facebook?” Starting with that fun and crazy and also totally false premise, St. Pierre spun the rest of the tale of his alt-universe adventure. He wrote the story in bed, from 9:30 in the evening to 2:30 in the morning, impelled by the catharsis and amused by the absurdity of it all. Lincoln inventing Facebook! So ridiculous! Really, he says, “I just wanted something that would make me smile.” Read more. [Image: Brian Fung] oh wow. He really had me with that one. KUDOS theatlantic: Abraham Lincoln Did Not Invent Facebook: How a Guy and His Blog Fooled the Whole Wide Internet The fun/chaos started, as it so often does, with a bad day on Monday. Come the evening of the 7th, St. Pierre says, “I was crabby; I was in a bad mood; I was tired of looking around at all the boring, lame stuff online — all the same people rehashing the same things.” He enjoys writing, so he took to his computer “to write something that would be exciting to read.” He started crafting a sensational story that would tell the tale of the epic day St. Pierre wished he’d just had — revisionist history meets personalized fanfic. “So I thought, ‘Okay, what would be just fun and crazy?’ What if Lincoln invented Facebook?” Starting with that fun and crazy and also totally false premise, St. Pierre spun the rest of the tale of his alt-universe adventure. He wrote the story in bed, from 9:30 in the evening to 2:30 in the morning, impelled by the catharsis and amused by the absurdity of it all. Lincoln inventing Facebook! So ridiculous! Really, he says, “I just wanted something that would make me smile.” Read more. [Image: Brian Fung] oh wow. He really had me with that one. KUDOS

theatlantic:

Abraham Lincoln Did Not Invent Facebook: How a Guy and His Blog Fooled the Whole Wide Internet

The fun/chaos started, as it so often does, with a bad day on Monday. Come the evening of the 7th, St. Pierre says, “I was crabby; I was in a bad mood; I was tired of looking around at all the boring, lame stuff online — all the same people rehashing the same things.” He enjoys writing, so he took to his computer “to write something that would be exciting to read.” He started crafting a sensational story that would tell the tale of the epic day St. Pierre wished he’d just had — revisionist history meets personalized fanfic. “So I thought, ‘Okay, what would be just fun and crazy?’ What if Lincoln invented Facebook?”

Starting with that fun and crazy and also totally false premise, St. Pierre spun the rest of the tale of his alt-universe adventure. He wrote the story in bed, from 9:30 in the evening to 2:30 in the morning, impelled by the catharsis and amused by the absurdity of it all. Lincoln inventing Facebook! So ridiculous!

Really, he says, “I just wanted something that would make me smile.”

Read more. [Image: Brian Fung]

oh wow. He really had me with that one. KUDOS

Abraham Lincoln Filed a Patent for Facebook in 1845 →

May 8, 2012 @ 5:33pm 611 notes

nslayton:

futurejournalismproject:

dbreunig:

Nate St. Pierre writes:

Lincoln was requesting a patent for “The Gazette,” a system to “keep People aware of Others in the Town.” He laid out a plan where every town would have its own Gazette, named after the town itself. He listed the Springfield Gazette as his Visual Appendix, an example of the system he was talking about. Lincoln was proposing that each town build a centrally located collection of documents where “every Man may have his own page, where he might discuss his Family, his Work, and his Various Endeavors.”

He went on to propose that “each Man may decide if he shall make his page Available to the entire Town, or only to those with whom he has established Family or Friendship.” Evidently there was to be someone overseeing this collection of documents, and he would somehow know which pages anyone could look at, and which ones only certain people could see (it wasn’t quite clear in the application). Lincoln stated that these documents could be updated “at any time deemed Fit or Necessary,” so that anyone in town could know what was going on in their friends’ lives “without being Present in Body.”

A patent request for Facebook, filed by Abraham Lincoln in 1845.

I’ve long argued Facebook is working towards natural or timeless (for lack of better words) human interaction. That their central idea is relevant in any age should not be surprising.

(Though it is astounding Lincoln was imagining a nearly identical privacy system.)

(Via The Next Web)

FJP: Color me fascinated — Michael.

This is amazing. Wow, I need to look into this.

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