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Txzen

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Posts posted by Txzen

  1. I liked seeing Jonas take some pulls at the front today to split the group in the crosswinds. Good stuff. 
     

    Primoz may be a nice guy, but he totally lacks any killer instinct. Frankly, a dumb racer. Losing time on stage 1? Not great Bob. 

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  2. In Kyoto now. Amazing city which seemingly is being crushed by tourism. And yet every person we come in contact with - from hotel staff to taxi drivers to our sushi chef - is warm, welcoming, curious about where we are from, and eager to speak what English they know. Amazing country, amazing city. 
     

    My highlight of the day - the Adashino Nenbutsuji Temple a good 20 min hike north of the (congested) Arashiyama bamboo forest. Created in 811 by a monk to honor those who were buried there long ago, so long that those would remember them are also long gone. The muen-botoke or ‘forgotten souls’. Now more than 8000 statues of the Buddha commissioned by that monk, standing for hundreds of years. Profoundly moving. 
     

    Also a bamboo forest all to ourselves. Splendid. 

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  3. Same. Halfway through and dreading the return. In Kanazawa now and loving the vibe of this town. 
     

    Edit- sorry, suck at trying to put pics in a spoiler on mobile  

     

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  4. 3 hours ago, choripan said:

    Okay, first, and far more important, LET'S FUCKING GO! 40+ bombers knocked out is huge!!

    For those that are interested, here's my post on my impressions of Ukrainians:

      Reveal hidden contents

    Culturally, there seems to be a pretty big difference between younger Ukranians and older Ukranians, especially those that spent their formative years under Soviet rule. The younger folks almost all speak some English, are vibrant, cosmopolitan, and knowledgeable of the broader world, and are more western-facing – for example, during one workday, about half the songs that the twentysomething girl DJing via a Bluetooth speaker put on were in English, or were reggaeton – while the older folks are more Russian-speaking and more distant or socially cautious. For example, there was this packed club a couple blocks from my apartment where they played Turn Down for What and No Lie by 2 Chainz/Drake when I was walking by.

     

    And this is a cocktail bar that was 2/3 full on a Wednesday. It had all the classics and some creative twists. If you’re wondering, that was a Last Word – they actually had Green Chartreuse on hand!

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    Also, the younger folks are generally larger and “healthier” seeming, being meatier with better skin and teeth. I’ve heard this about Chinese folk, and it may be the same thing here tied to nutrition and that kind of stuff. Sample size of only like a couple thousand people, probably, but those are my observations. I’ll be honest, a lot of the older people look kind of rough and I feel bad for them. Here’s the “line” of folks waiting to get food, clothing, and other essentials on the day I volunteered with a group distributing that kind of stuff.

     

    Also, as a personal observation, the people looked like me and I looked like them! 3 of my 4 grandparents are either from Ukraine or Eastern Poland, and I fit right in. As a lighter-skinned black woman (her, not me), my ex always talked about how comfortable she felt in the Bronx, or New Orleans, or other places where she just blended in. I intellectually understood, but never “felt” it. This was the first time I felt it in my core, and let me tell you, it felt kind of good. (Side note/background, I grew up as an ethnic, Catholic white in a northern city, and like many families, my grandparents had portraits on the wall of John Paul II and JFK. And they never let you forget that the only time “they” [Protestant folk of British, Dutch, German, etc. heritage] gave “us” [Catholics/ethnics] a chance was with JFK, they shot him, and then it was right back to people named Carter, Bush, and Clinton.) So it was nice to be surrounded by it and, for example, be asked by old babushkas to help get something down from a high shelf at the grocery store. First, that told me that I look like I belong, in contrast to where I usually travel in Latin America, and, second, it implies that the general underlying culture is one in which it’s okay for an old lady to ask for help and it’s expected that the “youngster” will help out. For example, I was taking a selfie in front of St. Andrews and someone was quick to offer to take this picture for me.

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    Regardless of whether more cautious or warm, everyone was welcoming and open to help with questions. When they learned that I was in town to volunteer, they would light up and go above and beyond to help like, for example, often INSISTING they walk you to the place you asked about. The Google Translate conversation feature was spectacular, by the way. How amazing is it that we live in a world with something that approximates Star Trek’s universal translator? Speaking of directions, I imagine you may be thinking “just use your Maps app, dummy,” but electronic warfare and GPS jamming stuff is so common around that your GPS location on your phone is often unreliable, so it’s back to looking at your map, street signs, and occasionally asking a passerby for help. For example, here is from when a new friend was giving me the rundown on what the other side of the Dnipro is like, how people commute, etc.

     

     Another interesting thing is that she (and I’d guess an actual majority of younger people) smoke these hybrid e-cigarettes. It’s like an e-cig in that you have to charge it, but it uses tiny (maybe like 2-3 inches) “real” cigarettes that go into it. Seemed like the worst of both worlds to me, but they are incredibly popular there.

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    And since I ain’t no yellow-bellied nancy, I had to at least try it, and she was happy to share.

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    Not gonna lie, it hit like a freight train compared to a cigarette or a vape, and it took everything I had to keep my fragile masculinity intact and not cough in front of her.

    And there’s something to be said for the resolve of the typical Ukrainian. People are fed up with the war, but they realize it’s a war for survival and that there’s no choice but to fight. They are resilient and live a “normal life” during the day and up to around 10-11pm, by which many folks are sure to get home to beat the midnight curfew, because consequences are serious if you’re out after midnight without papers. Here’s a video of what would otherwise seem like normal life in Shevchenko park.

     

    And, I’m not going to lie, the saddest and most angry I got was about 5 minutes after that video, when I walked by a kids’ playground and saw dozens of kids playing on structures, swings, etc. I just stood there for 3-4 minutes and watched the kids play (no R Kelly) and thought, “Fuck. This is normal life for them, but normal life also includes hiding in a basement or a shelter almost every night. They are totally innocent and their normal includes being scared and bombed because of a madman thousands of kilometers away.” I did speak with a few parents while in Kyiv and, inasmuch as I mentioned how a lot of people are numb to it and don’t seek shelter anymore, every single parent with younger (12U) kids said they go to shelter every time, and they and their kids are tired. For example, this new friend of mine has an 8yo daughter and lives out by the airport, which has a fuel depot nearby, and says her building shakes every night from the attacks, and that she’s with her daughter in the building’s basement pretty much every night that it’s her custody night.

     

    As for outward-looking, the general consensus about foreign governments seems to be a mix of thankful, dismayed/disappointed, and confused about herky-jerky, unreliable support. In contrast, the folks I talked to are deeply appreciative of individual foreigners that are coming; first, for the direct impacts of their volunteering and, second and one I didn’t think about, it brings in a substantial amount of additional money to an economy which is deeply affected by the war. For example, I ate at restaurants, drank at bars, paid for a place to stay, bought stuff, and so on, and all that is probably about $1000-1500 that wouldn’t have been there. Multiply it by tens of thousands of volunteers and visitors and it makes an impact on a country that was not that wealthy even before the Russian aggression.

    Finally, a bit of a fun one. Guys are macho everywhere, but probably a little more in Slavlandia. Some dude brought out one of those punching games you see at bars, set it up on the sidewalk, and was charging people to hit it. He was PRINTING money. There was always a small, ever-changing crowd of spectators around the machine, judging and signaling approval or disapproval after a punch, and men would come up and take their swing. I doubt the machine got a break for more than 30 seconds. Just a total public dick-measuring contest and, I mean, let he who has not put tens of dollars into the punching machine at the Beach on Bourbon Street cast the first stone.

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     Future installments will be food and drink, the volunteering experience, and a special Krakow side quest post.

    Before this gets lost in the news today - what a great post, and thanks for sharing (and volunteering). Would love to hear more and get your report on Krakow. Been there many times, but it’s been about 20 years at this point. 

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  5. Maybe the greatest stage I’ve seen. Flipped the script indeed. 
     

    Del Toro looked a bit gassed all day but I think there was more to it. I think he was frustrated to have to ride with no help, and it got in his head. The freewheeling in the valley was odd to see, but perhaps knowing Yates hooked up from Wout took the wind out of his sails. 
     

    Hell of a day. 

    • Fuck Around and Find Out 1
  6. It's been a pretty interesting Spring for sure.

    Epic weather conditions in Paris-Nice, and poor Jonas. A thrilling Milan San Remo for sure. Love watching that Tadej - we've come a long way since the Chris Froome 'stare at your powermeter' winner. That kid likes to race.

    A wacky Volta Catalunya - several mountain stages ended with sprint finishes, with Primoz outside the top spot by a second. He was counting on a mountain stage which was neutralized due to wind (and won by Durango's Quinn Simmons, sporting the best mullet and Fu seen in the peloton for some time). What looked to be a ho-hum circuit around Barcelona ended up being a slug fest as Primoz and Ayuso went for spring bonus seconds. I didn't think Primoz, or Bora, had it in them, but his flyer at 20k to win it all was impressive.

    Paris Roubaix should be a hoot with Tadej in it. Hoping for a good race and no injuries to late-season favorites...

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  7. 10 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    Not like the ones I remember. Obviously the city has changed a lot but 20 years ago Oakland Arena wasn’t a polite corporate monoculture, and the local fans who could only afford to go sometimes were even less so. Warriors fans in nowadays seem like frontrunners from anywhereville. These kind of people who say they live “in the Bay Area.”

     

    I mean, that’s fair and there was much pride in having them here - I very much miss ‘The Town’ jerseys. As they became more successful the O got more corporate, and more expensive. I’ve yet to go to a game in the new place, hear it’s great but it is a different vibe. But none of that I think had a huge impact on the fan base (at least not the crazies I know!). 

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  8. 8 hours ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

    The Mavericks are a large local market team with no national fan base, and not for nothing, are the distantly third most important franchise in their own market. 
     I would argue that until Sunday the Mavericks had the most passionate and loyal fan base in the league. They inherited that spot when the Sonics moved out of Seattle and the Warriors left Oakland. 

    Yeah. One of those things is not like the other. There’s been no appreciable dip in the Warriors fan base. Sure, the ‘move’ stung but mostly because the ticket prices went up so damn much. You can practically see the old arena from the new one across the Bay. It’s like relocating the Mavericks arena to Irving. 
     

    But the A’s are dead to everybody I think. Way too much bad blood there. I think there will always be die hard Oakland Raider fans, but not the A’s. 

  9. 2 hours ago, Gourmand said:

    FUCK YESSSSS

     

    Unfortunate mic issues at the beginning, but I love her (also with them).

    Obligatory:

     

  10. 11 hours ago, ztejas said:

    I like you. You should post more. 

    My take is that Moon at his best (on "Who's Next" i.e.) sets the highest level between them and frankly I think it's pretty clear - BUT that Bonham had the better career. 

    Again.

    YMMV.

    Not really a wrong answer they were both animals. 

    It was this interview years ago which helped me understand what he was really doing back there. Daltry geeking out about how he played the melody, and then the 'break' plain and straight. Start @1:27.

     

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  11. 5 minutes ago, ztejas said:

    Wait. We had a huge debate going on the other night. 

    Moon or Bonham?

    Man that’s tough. You can chart so many of their influences into modern drummers. 
     

    I don’t know what Moon was doing half the time (live). Maybe he didn’t either. I think he’s was trying to play the melody. 
     

    I’ll admit early on not appreciating Bonham as much as I do now. Amazing combo of dexterity, flow and swing when he wanted to. Probably Bonbam. 

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