400 KM and a Plan

Hit the 400 KM mark last night as I approached the Bow River. Nice to get a pic that isn't generic suburbia.

The KM Plan for the rest of 2008
1000 KM by the end of May
1800 KM by the end of June
2600 KM by the end of July
3200 KM by the end of August
3900 KM by the end of September
4200 KM by the end of October

Of course this is based on the assumption that the new bike and wheel sets hold out.

- Peace

Milk in the Fine Print

From the fine print of a rewards program

points are not redeemable toward the purchase of lottery tickets, alcohol, prescription medications, milk in Quebec, or any products or services prohibited by law,

Makes you wonder what they do to the cows in Quebec that milk ends up on the list with lottery tickets, alcohol and any products or services prohibited by law.

- Peace

300 KM on Elbow Drive

Hit the 300 KM mark yesterday on Elbow Drive. Did a 41 KM loop from home, west to 37th Street, north to Glenmore Reservoir, around the reservoir 1.2 times east on Heritage to Elbow drive and then home. All that to say I passed the 300 KM point on the boring part of the ride.

- Peace

Andy Whitman : Twenty Great Christian Rock Albums

Andy Whitman lists 20 Great Christian Rock Albums in reaction to 10 great Christian rock songs. Really.

The particular confluence of the words "great," "Christian," and "rock songs" is a problematic one. "Christian" music, almost by definition, tends to be driven by an agenda. That's not only true of Christian music, of course. It's true of Michael Moore films, and Steve Earle albums, and George W. Bush photo ops on aircraft carriers...

It just happens to make for lousy art. Good art is full of tension, complexity, and ambiguity. It recognizes that the world is not black and white, that it is in fact very messy, and that even when one is addressing issues of objective truth, the message is muddled and compromised by the messengers.

Nevertheless, I have encountered not only songs, but entire albums made by Christians that I would consider great, at least partly because the messengers display something that is almost always in short supply: humility. Well, except for Bono...

Here's Andy's list with my comments.
1. Adam Again – Dig: Love Adam Again, and Dig is a good album, but Homeboys or 10 Songs by Adam Again would come ahead of Dig on my list.
2. Aradhna – Amrit Vani: no idea, someone else to check out.
3. T-Bone Burnett – Proof Through the Night: Love T-Bone but haven't heard this album, his Talking Animals is a classic.
4. Peter Case – The Man with the Blue, Postmodern, Fragmented, Neo-Traditionalist Guitar: Would have picked the self titled Peter Case to this album, tMwtBPFN-TG just doesn't have a song with as much joy as Old Blue Car.
5. Bruce Cockburn – Humans: not in my collection of BC albums, but hey.
6. Delirious – Mezzamorphosis: the most traditional Christian Album on the list, so I've never heard it. I guess I'll have to check it out.
7. Bob Dylan – Slow Train Coming: Amen!
8. Aretha Franklin – Amazing Grace: haven't heard it in years should give it another listen, but I doubt it would make my top 20
9. Mark Heard – Dry Bones Dance, real toss up with me between this on his Ideola: Tibal Opera project.
10. The Louvin Brothers – Satan is Real: no idea.
11. Julie Miller – Broken Things: what little Julie Miller I've heard I've quite enjoyed
12. Ed Raetzloff – It Took a Long Time to Get to You: new to me.
13. Resurrection Band – Awaiting Your Reply: A bit before my time, I'd pick innocent blood and Rez's greatest album.
14. Son Lux – At War With Walls and Mazes: OK so Andy has hear way more obscure Christian music than I have.
15. Mavis Staples Have a Little Faith
16. Sufjan Stevens – Come On, Feel the Illinoise: Again Amen!
17. Tonio K. – Life in the Foodchain: Good but the previous Album Romeo Unchained was better.
18. U2 – War: My personal U2 fave is Rattle and Hum
19. Vigilantes of Love – Killing Floor: I don't have that VoL album but yeah they're good.
20. Victoria Williams – Loose, someone I've been meaning to check out for years.

- Peace

Paste CD Fan

My latest blog mashup is up. Paste CD Fan. I've been looking for a home project to learn Groovy with and the idea of blogging YouTube videos by searching for artists from Paste's monthly CD sampler seemed about right.

- Peace

10 great Christian rock songs. Really.

From the New York Times Living With Music Blog, Daniel Radosh writes

This is a list of 10 great Christian rock songs. Really. I know what you’re thinking. I’m a secular Jew who always took it for granted that Christian rock stinks. Indeed, until a couple of years ago I knew virtually nothing about Christian rock except that it stinks. But after spending time inside the “evangelical bubble” I had to admit I was mistaken. It turns out there’s Christian music that never gets played on those radio stations you accidentally stumble across on road trips — and that doesn’t reduce all expressions of faith to crass evangelism, anodyne praise, or crypto-romance.

Skeptics can listen to the songs for themselves here.

Here's the list whit my comments

1) Why Don’t You Look Into Jesus?, Larry Norman. Norman - I really should add some Norman to my collection, just for completeness sake.

2) Kiss Me, Sixpence None The Richer - Love the band, though this is one of their weaker songs.

3) Born, Over the Rhine - one of the best songs from a great Band.

4) Every Grain of Sand, Bob Dylan - Really should have more Dylan in my collection.

5) The Lust, The Flesh, The Eyes and The Pride of Life, the 77s - as blogged here!

6) Rapture, Pedro the Lion - I don't think you can pick out one PtL (how ironic) song - the Albums need to be taken as a whole - though I would have gone with Big Trucks if I had to pick one song.

7) Nice and Blue (Part 2), mewithoutYou - the one band on the list I've never heard of, will have to check them out.

8) My Apology, Jonathan Rundman I got this song as a download form Paste back in the day, of the songs I have it's the weakest in the list.

9) You Know That (Is Nothing New), Vigilantes of Love - Not sure if I have this tune but VoL tune I have is good.

10) Come On, Andy Hunter one of the few places where Kim's music taste and mine meet. I was playing SSX 3 and Kim walks in the room and says that's Andy Hunter music. She was right, she'd googled for Christian techno and found his site. Sarah and I got to groove to his set at CStone 2005 - tons of fun.

- Peace

200 KM

Hit this point on Sunday, the biking has been good but the blogging has been slow.

- Peace

The First 100 KM of 2008

Can't help but notice that Darcy Norman has a 800 km lead on me. The chase is on...

Three things that should let me catch Darcy:

New Brodie Energy hybrid bike and I found clipless bike shoes that fit me, all so I can tackle the 25 KM ride to work in the NE, so once I'm up to speed I should be at 50 KM a day. Right now I'm doing half on the bike and half on the ctrain.

With the new bike and shoes I'm as fast as I would be mid summer with only three rides. Though I need to find some stronger rims I think I'm killing the stock rims already. Holdup seems to be finding a 40 spoke hub for less than $550. Oh the joys of saving on gas.

BTW Friday April 11th is Calgary's Bike to Work Day.

- Peace

Jack's Dad, my Theory

Been getting caught up with and in Lost. If you don't watch the show then this won't make any sense; but for fellow Losties I've been thinking about Jack's Dad. Here's my bet: Jack's dad faked his own death, to get Jack on Oceanic flight 815. This explains the flash forward from end of Season 3 where Jack talks about his Dad as if he's still alive, the empty coffin that Jack finds in Season 1. Jack's dad faked his death with the spider venom from the island, explains the whole introduce two characters just to bury them alive episode. He also set up Clair with the fake psychic. He's on the Island and was visiting Jacob when Hurley walked in.

OK so it's not they only theory I'm sure, but it's my best guess.

- Peace