Biking

Last weekend, we joined Charles and Dawn and Leif, and Mark and Donna Marie and Gwennan and Will, on a crazy adventure, biking to Anniston, Alabama. The first day, Bevin and Dawn rode 27 miles, while Charles pulled Leif in a bike trailer. We joined up with Donna Marie (in the minivan) for lunch in Rockmart, and then the girls and Leif joined the minivan crew while the guys rode the remaining 56 miles to Anniston. Foolishly, I decided to join them. I think I only slowed them down by an hour or two, and only cramped up badly enough to have to walk once! The next day, Bevin and I biked 44 miles back to Cedartown, keeping just ahead of a rain storm that unfortunately caught everyone else while they were waiting for babies to finish bottles, etc. The picture shows Bevin and I just inside Georgia, looking back towards the border where the Silver Comet Trail becomes the Chief Ladiga trail. The stretch of trail from Anniston to Cedartown is beautiful, and although it passes through some decently large hills, it follows an old rail line as is almost perfectly flat. Between Piedmont, AL and the border, the trail criss-crosses Terrapin Creek repeatedly over beautiful bridges. So, 71 miles for Bevin and 127 miles for me in two days! A new record, for sure. Weather permitting, Bevin and I are planning on biking from the border to the beginning of the Silver Comet trail on Monday… we'll let you know how it goes!

Martinis on the Titanic

I started working for the city paper in Atlanta in October, almost a year and a half ago. As we brace for layoffs, Clay Shirky has reminded me why these are such interesting times to be in, and especially to work for a newspaper.

We are watching the complete destruction of the print-based publishing world we all grew up in. The internet is doing to the printing press what the printing press did to hand-copying illuminated texts, and things are getting fascinating.

Working at a paper gives me a ringside seat. I sometimes morbidly joke that we're sipping martinis on the deck of the Titanic, watching the water and the great ship as she slides under the waves. But it's important to remember that this is not the death of Journalism. It's just the ruthless removal of all the artificial frictions of publishing. In the post-post-Gutenberg world, this is publishing. Already, almost a quarter of the earth's population has internet access, and could theoretically read this blog post. That's almost as crazy as the fact that about 60% of the earth's population has cell phone access, and could hit 10 or 15 buttons to call me and talk right now!

Crazy times… and exciting. Let's see where we go next!

Being famous takes work

I haven't posted a fake beauty post in a while, so here's something in a similar vein: Celebrity beauty is a full-time job.

It's depressing how “attractiveness attributes” (low weight/high weight, no tan/suntan) match with whatever you'd need disposable income and leisure time to accomplish.

Who is Barack Obama?

The next president of the United States of America!

What to say? We watched the coverage at Ben and Jen's house, then drove down Peachtree and part of Auburn at about 1am to enjoy sporadic revelry.

I am excited and honored to have taken part in this historic election. I will proudly tell my children that I voted for Barack Obama.

Wicked

Last night, we went to see Wicked at the Fox. It was awesome. We got the last two seats available, so we couldn't see the whole stage, and we couldn't hear a lot of the words because, well, it was the Fox, but it was still awesome. I am a total sucker for musicals, though: I even liked High School Musical, which we watched the other evening.

Today is perfect weather, part of which I spent dozing in the sun on the lawn at my parents-in-law's house, which makes a very nice end to a rather horrible week. I have been calling insurance people all week, and finding out that my poor Malibu is “totalled” — the repairs will cost more than 70% of the book value. RIP Malibu: 1999-2008.

I should edit this more, but I have vague intentions of following the one-post-per-day thing for November, so I want to be able to see improvement over time!

Amen

“Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he's a Christian. He's always been a Christian. But the really right answer is, what if he is? Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer's no, that's not America. Is there something wrong with some 7-year-old Muslim American kid believing that he or she could be president?” — Colin Powell

Politics

Oh damn it! I am excited about Obama becoming president. I am not impartial. I am not detached, disinterested, jaded, cynical, skeptical, disbelieving, or apathetic. I will be disappointed if Obama is not elected. And I will be disappointed if he does not live up to the promise he has shown.

In 1994, I voted in my first election, in the first free South African elections, driving down to Atlanta with my Dad. To my shame and everlasting regret, I didn't vote for the ANC, thinking in some teenage-logical way that since the result was certain, keeping things slightly more balanced was important. I voted against Nelson Mandela.

I learned that my vote may not count mathematically, tactically, or practically, but voting is not just numeric: mysteriously, you vote also with your heart. The slips of paper, the tallies, glow with something borrowed from the human spirit.

….…

Of course, I see flaws, inconsistencies, dangers, reversals, politicking, unknowns. I don't think things are simple, and I don't pretend to understand enough to know how things like economics and foreign policy really work. I know that to some extent, all we see are polished, manufactured images. I want to avoid the mindless adulation/hate and/or hate/adulation craziness, and the endless batting back and forth of pre-rolled talking points. But I also want to avoid the cynical disengagement, the simplifying decision to assume that all candidates are equally fake.

For better or for worse, I like both candidates. I believe they are both gloriously and ingloriously human, they both care deeply, they both struggle to do right and best, they are both motivated by the fair, the noble, the admirable, as well as the other crap. Are we not all? I like McCain, and think he would make a fine president. But right now, Obama has my heart!