EIGHT Things This Week: week 24

Outside
I saw the headline, and absently started to read the subhead: “A four-year battle over a tiny patch of river beach in Northern California…” No, they couldn’t be talking about Vacation beach… YES! Yes, Chris Colin’s fantastic article is talking about a property across the street from where I lived for 12 years! I know these people! I’ve heard the arguments first hand! Colin pulls back from the Russian River to the larger river access argument across the country and even the cultural ideals around access. It’s a remarkably well-balanced article in what is an extremely divisive subject. If you read one thing this week, I can’t recommend this highly enough!
Mashable
If you don’t know who David Sedaris is stop reading, click on the link and come back after you’ve wiped away the tears (laugh/cry) and come back to thank me. If you know David Sedaris, he’s always worth revisiting. I picked up his latest book, Calypso, but I’m waiting to savor it. This was a great way to dip my toe in the Sedaris pool before jumping in again.
War on the Rocks
Maybe you’ve never heard of Numbers Stations that were used for decades to exchange coded messages for intelligence services. You can check out a bunch of recordings here – that link actually takes you to one of the most famous recordings of a Numbers Station broadcast, one that was used (without permission) by the band Wilco for their classic album “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot“. This is a nice primer on the Numbers Stations and how and why they work.
YouTube
I’ve loved the Roots for a very long time – long before they became Jimmy Fallon’s house band. Black Thought has always been in my pantheon of greatest rappers ever. If you’d like proof, here’s TEN STRAIGHT MINUTES of him freestyling. There maybe some folks reading this who immediately go, “oh, what’s so hard about rapping” (I’ve had this argument with people!). To those, I’d say just try talking for ten minutes straight, no pausing for more than a second or two. Go ahead. I’m not even asking you to keep on a beat or make sense. Just try talking.
This is back from December and it is just amazing. I bring it up because Black Thought just released his first solo album, “Streams of Thought Vol. 1″. I haven’t had a chance to give it a good listen, but this is worth listening to just to know the talent you’re about to listen to.
Neko Case
While we’re on the subject of music, Neko Case just released her new album, “Hell-on“. I have loved her music for many, many years, and this album does not disappoint. It’s exuberant, melancholy, lilting, mysterious, and a general feast for the ears. She has more collaborators on this album than on any of her previous albums, but that never takes the focus completely off of her always-gorgeous voice. Check it out! Above link is Amazon, here’s iTunes, Spotify, and a YouTube video.
OED
I love the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). I still would love to have a dead-tree version of the unabridged OED. I have no where to put it, its ridiculously heavy and almost immediately out of date. I don’t care. In my dream house it will be pretentiously displayed in my office.
But I digress, as the English language is a living language it must grow to accommodate the ever-growing lexicon we use to communicate daily. This addition has such words as “Bechdel test” and, my favorite, “Impostor syndrome”. 
Atlas Obscura
And finally, a train link! Mind you, I’m not a huge train guy, but this is just cool. One of the “Big Boys” is being rebuilt part by individual part in an effort to run from the yard in Wyoming to Promontory, UT by March 19th 2019 for the 150th anniversary of the opening of the transcontinental railroad. We’re talking about one of the largest steam engines ever built and the reconstruction process means they have to evaluate Every. Single. Piece. Again, I’m not that big a train guy, but I would so love to see this thing run!
99% Invisible
Read this any of the following apply: 1) You have no idea what this whole “MPR Raccoon” thing is all about; 2) You’re all about the MPR Raccoon and are looking for a hot take on it; 3) You like stories about architecture and the way living things interact with it. Love. It.

Selfie week 24 – Hammocks, Hair, Horses, and Saint Anthony

It’s been a roller coaster week. On one hand, the Warriors swept the Cavs in an a brutally efficient manner (especially game 4!). The good news is that means I can shave my Playoff Hair (but I’m keeping the beard long – I’ve kinda grown fond of the length). On the flip side, that means no more basketball until October… but the Giants are picking things up on the baseball side, so, you know, there’s that. Still on the subject of sports, I found surprisingly scant coverage of Justify winning the Preakness and, with it, taking the Triple Crown — joining American Pharoah as only the second horse to achieve that feat since Affirmed in 1978. Before American Pharoah in 2015, many people believed modern race horses were too specialized to take the three disparate races. And now two in three years.
The high of the Warriors sweeping came the same day as the tragic news of Anthony Bourdain’s suicide, itself just days after news of Kate Spade taking her own life left me shaken. There have been some amazing tributes over the weekend, and that in of itself is heartening. It doesn’t bring anyone back, but to see how deeply so many people were affected by their lives helps ease their passing a bit.
Bourdain’s loss really hurt. I had to drop off some paperwork at a restaurant in town. I had a beer while I waited and the bartender pointed to a reserved sign in front of a seat at the bar meticulously set with silverware, plates, folded napkin and a perfectly garnished Manhattan. “That,” she said with a mix of anguish and mourning, “That’s for Tony.” I for one move to have him referred heretofore as Saint Anthony, patron saint of restaurant and bar workers, as well as the culturally and gastronomically curious. I know a lot of religious folks would rush to decry his suicide as immediate theological disqualification, and to them I say fuck off: he was gruff, profane, fallible, but he had a big heart, was quick to the defense of those picked on, and genuinely honest – that’s my kind of saint. Yes, he succumbed to depression, and if you somehow think that’s a weakness, then, brother, you’ve never been there yourself – or, in my case, sat with someone in the emergency room as they’re forced to drink charcoal to counteract an overdose. Until you stare into that abyss yourself, or hold the hand of someone on that edge, you reserve your judgement. I’m all about respecting both sides of an argument, but not here, not with this. You either show compassion and help, or you shut the hell up.
A couple months ago Fern and I took a weekday off and went to San Francisco to hike around the Presidio and visit the library downtown. On the way in Fern noticed a commotion on the northbound side of the Golden Gate. “Must be an accident,” she said. I stole a glance from the road and knew immediately that wasn’t the case. “Someone jumped,” I said, and my brain flew back to the day I nearly lost someone I loved to the bridge… The day in the Presidio was gorgeous and I swear I almost found the manzanita I was looking for. Later, we were walking downtown towards the library and the sun bore down making it a stunning early spring day in San Francisco in the low 70s. And suddenly I got really sad again. Whoever it was that morning on the bridge, stared out over a beautiful morning and leapt. He or she didn’t get a chance to experience that epic day in San Francisco, nor will they ever. And yet, that leap was preferable to the utter torment going on in their own mind…
Many of the tributes this weekend have shared the number for the suicide hotline (and I will too: 1-800-273-8255), but that’s not enough. If you know someone who has depression, reach out. Don’t wait. Do it now. Tell them you’re thinking of them. Send them a hug. Or, hell, go on over and give them a hug. Be there for them. Let them know you care for them and that you want them to be around for another perfect day in San Francisco.
Or, for a lovely summer day in a hammock under the redwood trees wondering whether Durant should have gotten the finals MVP or we’ll have to wait another generation for a triple crown horse.
Love each other, please, for Saint Anthony.

Five Things This Week: week 21

Medium
I have issues with this article, but I think it’s a valuable read, as it makes some good points and cites relevant source material. The tone and take-away messages are, to me, annoying – but I don’t think I’m coming at this as the target audience (the author strikes me as the type of person who owns multiple suits and matching shoes, and wields the word “cashmere” with wanton abandon). In fitting Gibson’s narrative to his Message, he left out a few important reasons for Gibson’s decline, such as Gibson’s entanglement with the US Fish and Wildlife Service over their importing of hardwoods. While that case settled for a relatively small penalty, the confiscation of materials, the investigation itself, and the onerous changes Gibson had to make in order to get right by the government took a significant toll on the company that was already staggering from the financial miscues described in the article above. In general, though, I do agree with his comparison between Fender’s interpretation of innovation versus Gibson’s.
Citylab
The Tokyo subway was in the news last week because a conductor was chastised and had to make a public apology for leaving the station 25 seconds early. This article discusses that, plus discusses implementation of “nudge theory” and mood lighting to reduce suicide attempts. Fascinating stuff!
Campendium
I’ve got a bad case of wanderlust lately and I’m trying to see how cheap I can plan a motorcycle road trip. This involves determining where the cheapest campgrounds are and what exactly the state they’re in. Campendium has a great collection of user-reviews of various spots both on and off the beaten path. Their newsletter is great, too, as it profiles recent reviews from all over the country and provides a little glimpse of places to put on my “to visit” list.
Saw the new Star Wars movie on Thursday. Loved it! The link above goes to the trailer if you haven’t seen it already. Unlike every other movie in the Star Wars universe, the stakes are much lower here  – there’s no Death Star or Death Star-like base to be destroyed, no Skywalker heir in site  – so it really just feels like an adventure story. And after some of the more explosive blockbusters this year (I’m looking at you, Avengers: Infinity War!) it’s nice just to have a good popcorn movie. And the connection to the Star Wars universe? All the better!
Mojang (part of Microsoft Studios)
Minecraft is nothing new. I bought a copy when it was still a tiny little thing back in 2010 and I’ve noodled with it ever since. And what a phenomenon it has become! They’re seriously making a Minecraft movie, there are “realms” and skins you can buy… I don’t understand half of it. Hell, I don’t even understand the whole potion thing. I’ve barely tamed a horse! A year back or so I bought Minecraft for the Xbox One because my PC’s video card had fried itself. The controls aren’t nearly as intuitive as on the PC (WASD + mouse 4EVAH!!) but chilling on the couch playing on a bigger screen… it’s pretty awesome. These days I crank up Minecraft on the Xbox when I want to zone out because I can spend hours doing nothing but exploring or building a step-mine to bedrock, or building a shelter out of glass…. or doing whatever! The possibilities are endless and because of the insane popularity they’re constantly adding new things – the other day I was in a boat and there were DOLPHINS! It’s become a sort of meditation for me these days. Need to reset? Clear the evening, it’s a Minecraft night. And it works. Give it a try – it’s not just for kids.