The Bonnaroo Sarong

 

 

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2008:

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2007:

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June 2008

 

 

Friday June 27, 2008

 

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Second Amendment

 

Gun Control Ruling

 

Long Debated, the Second Amendment has now been declared an individual right, not a right of the Government. Being that the Other nine amendments of the Constitution were individual rights, I am not sure why there was any debate at all. The semantics of the wording has always been involved in the debate but I have a hard time grasping that in context of those other nine amendments that our four fathers would have thrown in one government right amongst all the other individual rights.

 

This Ruling is a victory for us all as citizen of the great United States because the Supreme Court has stood behind what is a basic human right: the right to defend our Life, Liberty and Pursuit of happiness. I am sure the debate is far from over, but it is rare that the Supreme Court re-writes its decisions.

 

U.S. Constitution

http://www.law.emory.edu/index.php?id=3080

 

KAT cuts Spelled

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=60080&catid=2

 

What’s Next for Gun Control

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1818325,00.html?cnn=yes

 

McCain/Obama on the Supreme Court Decision on the Gin Ban

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080626/D91I1FJ00.html

 

Nancy Pelosi on Gun Regulations

http://briefingroom.thehill.com/2008/06/26/pelosi-says-dc-should-continue-gun-regulation/

 

Thursday June 26, 2008

 

You cannot do yoga.  Yoga is your natural state.  What you can do are yoga exercises, which may reveal to you where you are resisting your natural state.

 

Sharon Gannon

 

Front Porch Yoga

 

Given how nice the weather has been, I decided to move my home yoga practice out of doors. The house I live in has a relatively decent porch on the front so this has become the location of practice. Given that this is the side of the house facing the road, I have noticed passer-bys slowing in their vehicles to look on at what I am doing. I think I will continue this and see if anyone inquires! Unfortunately I have not been able to see the expressions because it is later in the evening and too dark to see by I am sure I will be amused once the opportunity presents itself!

 

Here is a pose that I have been working on (on some modifications there of). I can only imagine what the passer-bys are thinking. One modification to this that I am working on is, being able to straighten my legs out and raise into a Hand Stand (can’t find pictures of this) and am getting very close. I will get it or kill my self trying!

 

 

 

 

Another Blog

 

This is a link to a friend of mines (and his brother’s) blog. They are both in the military and are currently in two separate middle-eastern countries:

http://2soldiers2countries.blogspot.com/

 

News

 

Kanye West responds to Bonnaroo

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/music.kanyewest.bonna.ap/index.html

 

Sesame Street designer Dies at 91

http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/06/25/obit.kermit.love.ap/index.html

 

Wednesday June 25, 2008

 

Fire, water and government know nothing of mercy

 

Less than Exciting

 

There just hasn’t been much to say in the past few days. The ride has been routine and there hasn’t been any unusual wildlife sightings to mention.

 

This morning as I passed under Kingston Pike heading by the UT’s Rugby field an there was something unusual going on. The Sprinklers that should have been watering the field were watering the Greenway pavement and anyone who needed to pass (that was me and I got fairly soaked). I don’t know if this was someone making a joke or what but it kind of sucked for me.

 

I am still riding and as things happen I will continue to write but don’t want to bore! Next week I am on vacation!

 

Drilling Down on Oil:

http://www.ajc.com/search/content/opinion/stories/2008/06/22/oiloped.html

 

KAT Proposing Service Reduction and Rate Changes

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59959&catid=2

 

Monday June 23, 2008

 

Behold the Turtle. He makes progress only when he sticks his neck out.

 

James Bryant Conant

 

Turtles

 

There are turtles galore in third creek near Neyland Drive. I would say hundreds of them! Good weather today at 61 degrees this morning.

 

I got out for a long ride yesterday: the first time in a while I have been able to do a weekend ride.

 

News:

 

George Carlin Dead at 71:

http://www.wbir.com/news/national/story.aspx?storyid=59865&catid=16

 

Miss TN packing heat

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=59868&catid=2

 

Skyrocketing Application for Carry

http://www.volunteertv.com/home/headlines/20652919.html

 

Friday June 20, 2008

 

As we do at such times I turned on my automatic pilot and went through the motions of normalcy on the outside, so that I could concentrate all my powers on surviving the near-mortal wound inside.

 

Sonia Johnson

 

Normalcy

 

Life is getting back to some normalcy now and the Bonnaflu I have had is starting to pass. I have some pictures now but most of the stage photos are blurry. I think the people I was with were the biggest factor in the experience anyway so I am only going to post those for now.

Unfortunately, the man holding the camera is never in the photos (sorry Wes. Maybe Becki has a picture or two of you):

 

  

Lauren, Becki and Kate                                               Lauren and Randy

 

  

Bonnaroo Traffic                                              Lauren and Jeff

 

  

John and I                                                                Me, Lauren and John

 

     

The Sky                                                                  Beans Anyone (Lauren thought this was hilarious)?

 

                      

John doing the Bush whacker                                                             Me

 

There will be more pictures as I receive them. Stay Tuned!

 

Wednesday June 18, 2008

 

Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those who could not hear the music.

 

Angela Monet

 

Return from Bonnaroo

 

 

If you haven’t experienced the joy of Bonnaroo you will be hard pressed to comprehend the emotions it brings. The variety offered would be hard matched anywhere. Exhausted, we left Sunday evening to head home around midnight. Though we all agreed it was time to go home and rest, the end came too quickly.

 

The Bands that I saw were as follows:

 

Thursday:

 

Back Door Slam*

Battles*

Dark Star Orchestra*

 

Friday:

 

Umphrey’s McGee*

Les Claypool

Chris Rock

Metallica

My Morning Jacket

 

Saturday

 

Ozomatli

BB King

Jack Johnson

Pearl Jam

Phil Lesh & Friends*

Chromeo*

Sigur Ros*

 

Sunday

 

Jacob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels*

An Acoustic Performance by Larry Campbell, Jackie Green, Phil Lesh and Teresa Williams*

Robert Plant and Alison Krauss Featuring T-Bone Burnett

Widespread Panic*

 

(*)-Indicates those that I heard for the first Time

 

Given that there are so many of them, I won’t waste time commentating them all. I will say that Metallica played all of their old stuff from the Black Album Back and really rocked. Plant and Krauss were fantastic as well. As for the rest, I got my moneys worth!

 

The Best newly discovered band for me was Back Door Slam (A great band to open the weekend with) and Umphrey’s McGee is in Second.

 

I am waiting on pictures to come in from the people who were with me and then I will post them.

 

Today is the first commute since the Debauchery and it was good to be back at it. It was actually kind of chilly this morning and I wish that I worn a jacket.

 

Wednesday June 11, 2008

 

A painter paints pictures on canvas.  But musicians paint their pictures on silence. 

 

Leopold Stokowski

 

Bonnarroo

 

This is the last commute of the week as I am heading to Bonarroo in the morning!

 

I couldn’t ask for better weather than this morning. Yesterday evening was nice as well. I hope that we have mild temperature all weekend.

 

I will post pictures from Bonnarroo when I return.

 

Monday June 9, 2008

 

Life's a garden, dig it.

 

Joe Dirt

 

 

More Like it

 

I really love the morning weather. Short and a T-shirt have been sufficient for the past couple of weeks. The ride home has been warmer than I like and I am still trying to acclimate. I have not been checking for temperature in the evening but I have heard murmurs of mid-90s. I am going to start checking before heading home now as heat may in fact be worse than the coldest of winter. I noted on the advertisement board at the convention center that is was 76 degrees riding in.

 

I filled my gas tank last night and paid 3.73/gallon ($43 to fill my kia). Knoxville’s average price today is 3.83/gal and there is still no sign of relief in the near future. Independence Day is right around the corner: I expect $4/gal by then (or worse).

 

The Gas Prices We Deserve

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/voters_get_oil_prices_they_des.html

 

Friday June 6, 2008

 

There is one great thing that you men will all be able to say after this war is over and you are home once again. You may be thankful that twenty years from now when you are sitting by the fireplace with your grandson on your knee and he asks you what you did in the great World War II, you WON'T have to cough, shift him to the other knee and say, Well, your Granddaddy shoveled shit in Louisiana.

No, Sir, you can look him straight in the eye and say, Son, your Granddaddy rode with the Great Third Army and a Son-of-a-Goddamned-Bitch named Georgie Patton!

 

General George S. Patton (This speech was delivered to Patton's troops on June 5, 1944)

 

64 Years Ago Today…

 

Was one of the largest (maybe the most significant) military operations in history! The invasion of Normandy Began and involved over 850,000 troops. It is estimated that The United States alone lost 29,000 troops and another 106,000 were wounded. The real casualties will never be known. This was the beginning of the end of the Nazi occupation of Europe.

 

The Invasion of Normandy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Normandy

 

FDR’s Prayer following the Invasion of Normandy

http://members.aol.com/forcountry/ww2/fdr3.htm

 

Nothing I can say or do can follow that piece of history but I will continue anyway. Today I was sitting at the red light at Clinch Ave and Henley St when I heard another bike roll up. This is not unusual as I see many people riding in to downtown that cross Henley at this intersection. However; I had never seen this guy before. He was an older gentleman and was obviously new to commuting. We exchanged greetings and I asked where he was coming from. He rode from Wes Moreland Drive. According to Microsoft Streets and Trips, this would be around 10 Miles. This is his fourth day at the commute and he seemed in very good spirits. I offered my usual encouragement and we went our separate ways. Congratulation to Him! I hope to see him on the road again I will get a picture and a name.

 

Related Topic: Gas Prices and other means of transportation. Around the building I work in, I have recently been hearing lots of talk of people modifying their behavior to save on Gas Costs. I know of a number of people who are now Carpooling and others who are trying out the public transportation systems. Kudos to them all!

 

If you have considered alternate means of transportation, here is a site that might help your out:

 

http://www.knoxsmarttrips.org/enroll.htm

 

There are tools on this site to help you find a carpool, find bus routes and even find better bicycle routes.

 

The Gas Prices

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2008/06/voters_get_oil_prices_they_des.html

 

Thursday June 5, 2008

 

 

 

Just News

 

D.C. Police State

http://www.examiner.com/a-1423820~Lanier_plans_to_seal_off_rough__hoods_in_latest_effort_to_stop_wave_of_violence.html

 

This is how Peter Nickels, Interim Attorney General Feels about it:

“I’m not worried about the constitutionality of it.”

 

I think maybe there is a link between D.C.’s Violent Crime and their Stringent Gun Laws. The DC gun ban case is scheduled for Supreme Court Ruling this month. Maybe if this case goes well, the citizen there will have right to own guns (the Second Amendment says they do) and the criminals will be less sure of the helpless victims.

 

DC Gun Ban

http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/national/2008/03/06/a-key-case-on-gun-control.html

 

 

More Predictions on the Lieberman-Warner Bill

 

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=3A942DBE-802A-23AD-4C5E-707506C71A0E

 

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=AA38AAE2-802A-23AD-434C-DA2BD3DCFAD2

 

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressRoom.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=9C37AA20-802A-23AD-44F6-A80AEAE48B62

 

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=1A09D597-802A-23AD-4D12-BCFAF59CD10A

 

http://epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Minority.Blogs&ContentRecord_id=361B2E4D-802A-23AD-4112-3FB9C640B9C4

 

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121184454327221281.html?mod=opinion_main_review_and_outlooks

 

Wednesday June 4, 2008

 

The grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never dried all at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.

 

John Muir

 

Magnificent!

 

I saw this on the way in today! It is hard for a photograph to do any justice to something so magnificent!

 

 

Riding around town you see some strange things. This morning I saw a dead chicken in a Kroger bag. That is, a whole chicken with feathers not like a breast ready to cook. I imagine it is the losing bird in a cock fight to give his discarded remains some glory!

 

ZZ Top formed in 1969 and still rocking in 2008! They put on a great show!

 

Fountains City Sidewalks!

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=58826&catid=2

 

Tuesday June 3, 2008

 

Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.

 

Still Riding

 

I usually roll out of bed the same time every day! I decided today I would sleep in a bit. It served me well. This didn’t keep me from riding; in fact, I had a pretty good ride. I used the short route and made record time.

 

ZZ Top is playing tonight and I will be there, this does however; leave me riding in the dark. I think the temperature will be pleasant but I really don’t like riding in the dark. It will be a long ride!

 

Being between books and having mostly finished the list of recommendations that has already been submitted, I have to plug for new ideas. I am going to look for The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter. If anyone has a copy that I can borrow let me know.

 

In the mean time, I am reading through The Buddhist Bible by Dwight Goddard which is a thorough study in Buddhist Texts. Having spent a good deal of time studying Eastern Religions I have not spent much time in the text themselves. I look forward to this overview.

 

 

Law professor wants to use courts to fight global warming

http://www.democratherald.com/articles/2008/06/01/news/local/1aaa01_law.txt

 

Climate Change Bill

http://www.forbes.com/home/2008/05/30/leiberman-warner-congress-biz-beltway-cx_bw_0602climate.html

 

Downtown Streets change Direction

http://www.wbir.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=58817&catid=2

 

Monday June 2, 2008

 

Population stability can only be achieved if we ignore mythology and pay attention to reality.

 

Daniel Quinn

 

Ishmael

 

Occasionally we come across a book worth reading and then reading again. Ishmael by Daniel Quinn is one of those. Kudos Oslo on the Recommendation!

 

A couple of Quotes:

 

"And in spite of all the mastery we’ve attained, we don’t have enough mastery to stop devastating the world – or to repair the devastation we’ve already wrought." - (p.82)

 

"The world of the Takers is one vast prison, and except for a handful of Leavers scattered across the world, the entire human race is now inside that prison." - (p.254)

 

This is a Truly remarkable story and I will encourage all to read this one as soon as they can get their hands on it!

 

And this news article couldn’t be more relevant:

 

Un-contacted Tribes in the Amazon

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/30/brazil.tribes/index.html

 

As for the commute today: Man it was foggy! I had to take my glasses off because of the condensation forming on them. The temperature was a comfortable 63 Degrees.

 

 

 

 

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2008:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

2007:

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-

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