That Fixie Looks Good on You

Fixed gear bikes are seeing a bit of a surge in popularity as of late.  While they are the oldest form of cycle design, they have since become the preferred mode of transportation for the urban hipster set.  They’re killer cool and a treat to ride.

As with most trends however, there comes a distinct point in time when the activity becomes a product.  While companies have been cashing in on the quasi-bike courier look for years with clever shirts, hats, and oversize messenger bags, the activity has recently hit the mainstream with a new edition to the market.  Urban Outfitters, the overpriced hipster department store extraordinaire has recently started selling entry-level bicycles through their website.  With customizable colors and dimensions, they’re basically an accessory you sit on.

Now, I see nothing wrong with adorning one’s ride with as much gaudy and flamboyant articles as possible.  The best fixies are a little quirky and retarded-looking anyways.  But a big part of the fun is building one up for yourself, rescuing an old  frame and giving it a second life.  Buying a ready-made set from a national chain seems to cheapen the experience somewhat.  It’s a quick ticket into a group of riders without the effort and proper initiation.

Let it be clear though that my angle is not elitist.  I’m always eager to introduce people to fixed gear bikes.  But the intention is for them to go out and create a bicycle design for themselves along with enjoying the ride.  It’s not terribly difficult, and you’ll be instantly hooked.

But maybe this will get more people riding, even if only for the scene.  If that’s the case, then I don’t really care how people fall into bicycles, as long as they are doing it.

STAR WARS Prequel Gripes: Darth Vader

I’m an enormous STAR WARS fan and love to talk shop.  This is part one in a series outlining what I see as a number of flaws in the continuity, tone, and general existence of the prequel trilogy.

First, let’s discuss George Lucas’ decision to flesh out the back story of Darth Vader as it is the basis for the prequel trilogy itself.  Perhaps the most intimidating figure in the galaxy, he represents the coldness and ruthlessness of the Galactic Empire.  For much of the original trilogy he is essentially faceless, a sociopath, and revealed to be heavily bionic.  He represents the antithesis of life, light, and goodness.  As such, much of his mystique stems from the fact that his origin is cloudy.  Sure he was the father of Luke Skywalker, and a powerful Jedi before succumbing to the Dark Side, but how he came to be Darth Vader is ultimately irrelevant.  What he stands for is the physical embodiment of evil, an idea.  By humanizing him, as Lucas did in Episodes I through III, no longer is the Rebellion’s adversary the very opposite of good, but a petty victim of manipulation.

This adjusts the focus of the original trilogy away from Luke.  Though originally the main arc, his hero’s journey is turned into a vehicle to redeem Anakin of his missteps.  However, the perspective is radically changed.  Luke’s personal struggle is no longer seen through the limited scope of his understanding of the universe, but as a grand plan by remaining Jedi to ultimately vindicate a fallen comrade.

As a corollary to this, it important to note that the Star Wars saga is meant to be viewed backwards, as the narrative effectively ends in Episode III.  This is apparent as many events in don’t actually line up precisely in the hiatus between Episodes III and VI.

One of the most important examples of this and the antagonist’s shifted role is the lightsaber duel between Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader at the end of Episode IV.  Being presumably their first meeting since Obi-Wan badly disfigured Anakin and forced him into his suit, one would expect a more emotional, personal scene.  But if you watch closely, there is really no indication of their extensive, brotherly history.  In fact, it almost appears as if Obi-Wan is facing Darth Vader for the first time.  While one could argue that in his exile Obi-Wan developed a distinct apathy and failure complex with regard to his former relationship with Anakin, essentially disowning him, I would think the first reunion of estranged loved ones after 18 or so years might carry significantly more weight.

Imogen Heap and Sampled Music

I would not consider myself a music snob.  As with many things, I like what I like and won’t comment on other’s preferences.  It’s arrogant, and few people want to hear it.  Up until recently, I’ve also been fairly apathetic towards different musical genres.  The sentiment is universal, only the form varies.

However, I seem to have developed a certain allergy towards the practice of sampling former songs in popular music.  While popular music has very little merit to begin with and doesn’t do much for me at all, I am somewhat irked by the lack of inspiration and originality on display.  Often, the musician’s original intent or meaning is completely altered when inserted into a different context.

This issue came to a head with Imogen Heap and her song “Hide and Seek.”  Imogen Heap, a wonderfully talented musician from England, is one of my favorites.  Doing just about everything herself, the result is always inventive and more often than not beautiful.  “Hide and Seek” is one such example.  But it was sampled by some fellow named Jason Derulo, who has added R&B verses and the now obligatory Autotune assistance.

However, the idea of sampling is what I take most issue with.    A song owing much of its structure to the creative efforts of another in this manner to me is a rejection of their work.  By sampling, the pop artist seeks to patch over the original source material and create something profitable as well.  Like a sequel takes advantage of a built-in audience, a sampled song doesn’t need to generate any real buzz.  By coming from a similar place, it seeks to equalize itself with the source material.  In this way, a disposable, flavor-of-the-week single can become the definitive example of how a particular melody or chord progression goes.  It skips the imagination step to line up another stand-alone hit for the popular music machine to churn out.

Atheism as Moral Emptiness?

Recently, there seems to be a resurgence in animosity towards those considering themselves non-religious, corroborated by many in the media.  According to estimates, about 17% of Americans categorize themselves as such, atheists, agnostics, and non-believers making up a large portion of that slice.  This is a fairly significant chunk of the population.  Yet, those claiming no subscription to any sort of religious institution or belief are consistently seen as morally lacking by those that do.  Whether it be trustworthiness, compassion, or sense of right and wrong, American hegemony paints non-religious people  as deficient in many “important” traits.

While many religious doctrines espouse living a morally just life and provide guidelines for doing so, I would argue that one can strive for such characteristic improvement without the addition of religion.  Though perhaps helpful, it is not a requirement.  In fact, I would suggest that pursuing integrity with the shadow of God’s judgement hanging over every decision may actually skew one’s perception of what that may be.  In other words, the good is not acheived through a personal desire for improvement, but the fear of reprisal in the event of a wrong choice.  If there is such a thing, I would argue that God is not the good Himself, but an avenue by which one may choose to pursue the good.  As such, looking at life through the lens of what God is said to want may produce a slightly fuzzier perception of clarity since the reason includes satisfying Him, an external entity, as well.

In this way, I would argue that those who do not subscribe to religious beliefs may actually be in a more advantageous position to pursue personal improvement.  Without the shadow of religion, one may be more apt to create an ideal for themselves, whatever that may be.  What they choose may even align itself perfectly with an existing religion’s list of acceptable values, and that’s fine.  The difference is that they will have decided for themselves that that particular set of morals is just.  In this case, the origin is much more profound than the result.  It shows a level of maturity and self-awareness to be able to locate and evaluate what is important within, without the crutch of institutionalized moral-creation.

The Moon is Under Attack!

So apparently NASA bombed to Moon today. Yes!

Launched in June of this year, the administration’s LCROSS mission is designed to seek out water or water vapor on the Moon. The first of two craft, a “missle” essentially, will impact with the lunar surface first at twice the speed of a bullet to eject a huge plume of lunar dust.  The second craft, trailing the first, will gather information about the plume and relay the data back to Earth before crashing into the Moon itself.

This comes after British scientists identified regions of the lunar surface where water might be present. LCROSS stands for Lunar CRater Oberservation and Sensing Satellite, and was bundled in a dual mission with the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) which will orbit the Moon and search for potential human landing and colony sites.  Cool!

Firefly

Created by Joss Whedon of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly was a short-lived television series which aired in 2002 on Fox.  Though canceled after only 11 of 14 episodes were aired, the show has since become a mega cult hit, spurning a subsequent feature film and comic book line.

Firefly was a science fiction western wrapped in wry wit with tinges of noir and romance.  It centered around a crew of renegade travelers living job to job aboard a Firefly class spaceship named “Serenity.”  Led by stoic Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a war veteran on the losing side, who has since tried to keep life as simple as possible.  Whedon himself described the show as “nine people looking out into the blackness of space and seeing nine different things.”

The victim of unfortunate circumstances however, the show did not catch on upon airing.  Even in the planning stages, hurdles were thrown at it.  Fox brass found many aspects of the series unfavorable, tone and character-wise.  As a result, the original methodically-paced two hour pilot was scrapped for a truncated, more adventure-oriented episode.  The network wanted an arching, swashbuckling adventure show, while Whedon wanted a serialized, low-key affair with very personal, almost claustrophobic interactions and relationships.

Nevertheless, the show was aired out of order, and on Friday nights, typically not a prime-time spot.  As a result the few who did tune in were treated to a disjointed narrative they had not been properly introduced too and quickly moved on.

As luck would have it however, fans discovered the series through DVD sales and word of mouth and demand for a return grew to a deafening roar.  Fans fielded mass petitions, raised enourmous sums of money and organized screening parties and large events to drum up support.  Three years later Universal Studios agreed to fund a film, written and directed by Joss Whedon called Serenity.  The film was very well-recieved by fans and featured the original cast in a climax  for the show.

“WHIM” from Grilling Wilson

Yo! Check out this sweet group from Braintree, Massachusetts.  It’s Grilling Wilson and they’ve got a new record.  The five song E.P. features all new tracks of delicious pop-rock goodness guaranteed to make you happy in places you never even knew existed!

Grilling Wilson is Brendan Ryan on Bass, Ryan Harrington and James Jarzyniecki on Guitar, and Eric Donahoe on Drums.  These four boys know how to make your ears sing sweetly and your lips smile brightly.

WHIM

1. Ain’t Got Nothin’

2. Push to Fly

3. Mr. Science Fiction

4. The Wow

5. I Wanna Need You Forever

fun.

What I would consider probably a bottom of the barrel-caliber joke, the pun, to my excruciating displeasure found it’s way into the conversation more than a few times the other night.

My friends and I met up at Great Scott in Allston to see a band we all liked.  What joy  that this band is fittingly named “fun,” presumably to capture the mood and energetic atmosphere of the music.    However from the time the night started every other utterance contained some over-the-top reference to the band’s moniker:  “Isn’t this fun?,  Oh what a fun night., Why aren’t you having as much fun as I am?.”

My personal favorite though erupted in a spurt of unflappable comedic brilliance when the topic of the band’s last show came up.  My friend looks around slyly to announce what we all know is coming and explodes, ”This is the most fun I’ve seen since the last time!”

Ugh.  Seriously, nothing less than my faith in you as a reasonable human is being tested and I’m weighing the pros and cons of our friendship as we speak.  I don’t want to have to say it, but you’re not punny.

Nancy Pelosi Death Stare

This week president Obama gave what many have called a last ditch effort to push health care reform and win over detractors.  His speech was impassioned and earnest.  Some however, felt his remarks were less than truthful, as evidenced quite bluntly by Representative Joe Wilson of South Carolina.

I do not want to commentate on his outburst, however.  I would really just like to draw your attention to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, seated on the right.  Her reaction is nothing short of priceless.

91.5 WBIM: DiY-Fi

Got a band? Would you like some radio airtime? Email me at wdonahoe@bridgew.edu and I’ll make it happen.

I’d like to feature you in my unsigned acts/do-it-yourself music showcase on 91.5 WBIM Bridgewater State College radio.

If you like, I  can even devote an entire show to your band/act, complete with in-studio live performances and any news or upcoming show schedules. The format is very flexible; we can totally make it your show!

Tune your radio  to 91.5 WBIM in Bridgewater, MA. Wednesdays from 4-6 P.M. or Listen Live! online.

WBIM, where the “M” stands for D-I-Y.