A Year of HYPERLIVING

Closed and Relocated

2009-05-25T10:50:00.003-04:00

As you may have guessed from the extended silence for the past three weeks, I've finally decided that it's time to close up the Hyperliving shop completely and complete the relocation back to SlangEditorial.net.

I've been writing again almost every day on Slang for the past four months, and I am really just too busy now to maintain two blogs, let alone keeping up with all the specified activity required by Hyperliving. Basically, I have achieved every one of the goals I set for myself with Hyperliving back in January 2008, and now it is time to move on.

This is not, of course, to suggest that I think I finally have all of my shit figured out, because I absolutely do not; however, the primary task set forth in Hyperliving was to learn ways to re-equip myself with a better understanding of what I need to do to figure myself and my future out, and on that front I am absolutely on my way. In some ways, I feel more confused and uncertain than ever before, but now this is largely due to the burdens of promise rather than the terrifying blackness of empty unknowing silence.

I leave Hyperliving with one closing note: given that May in NYC is all about bicycling, this month was intended to be one dedicated to biking and physical activity, and while I've written nothing on the subject here (including even an opener), I'm proud to report some highly successful results.

One goal I set a few months ago was that when it finally got warm again, I would cease buying monthly Metro cards and make a full commitment to cycle transportation. Sure enough I have followed through and biked for transport almost every day since the last week of April, taking the subway only for a handful of 7 am work meetings and the occasional night out, outside of Williamsburg, where the imbibing of alcohol would make biking home unsafe. Other than that though, it's been nothing but bike, bike, bike in May. On May 17 I did the full Montauk Century, 118 miles of riding including biking to the Penn Station start and home again, and I am now up to 989 miles of biking since my first real 2009 ride on March 14. I am feeling about as good as this as I could imagine feeling, I think.

Beyond biking though, this May I finally also fulfilled a longtime goal by joining a basketball league through Greenpoint's Word Bookstore and, after a bit of a rough start, we finally won our first game yesterday after some thorough defeats in our first two games. Truly, I could care less about winning or losing, but the winning is only nice in seeing how the team is slowly beginning to learn how to play together and becoming a nice little family of friends.

And lastly on the physical activity front is rockclimbing, which I did last Tuesday for the first time since summer 1997. I climbed for a few years as a kid with my dad, an avid climber, until he broke his back that Summer '96 day. He went back to climbing again the next year (only to break his back climbing a second time two years later), but I never climbed again until Tuesday. Just climbing for two hours was enough to make me feel pretty dead, but it was so amazing and so absolutely worth it, and I very much look forward to folding this activity into my life over the coming months.

So, Hyperliving, I bid you adieu. I am a curiosity-filled, energetic, and excitable human, but also a very messy one, and I am sure I will need a re-focusing project again in the days ahead to help me figure my life out; however, when I am ready to zone in again I will need to look elsewhere. Hyperliving, you've been good to so very good to me, but now it's time for something else. Thanks for all the memories, thanks for helping to bring me back to what matters in life, and thanks for reminding me why I'm alive.

Love always,

Ben

May Is Here

2009-05-02T11:26:00.003-04:00

May is here and another month of activities must be established. I will be checking in with you soon about them, but I can tell you that I am feeling particularly inspired about the great possibilities of life right now (as also documented frequently here and here).

My biking plan is well underway and I have now done ~~twenty-three rides totalling 595 miles~~ twenty-five rides totalling 658 miles [Ed: did two rides at 63 miles today after posting this morning] since March 14, 2009, which I feel good about especially considering that I lost two weekends to rain (boo!) and Berlin (yay!). The Montauk Century is in just two weeks and this year I am ready and raring to do the full 100 miles. My training partner Mike and I have put in three 60+ rides but so far nothing longer than 71; however, I feel pretty good that on May 17 I'll have no trouble dialing it up for the full 100.

It's amazing how far I feel I've come in a year. It was almost exactly one year ago that I began biking at all for the first time in many years, and for the first time ever on the road, on a road bike. And in two weeks at Montauk will come the anniversary of my first "real" ride, the Montauk 65 miler. I feel so much stronger now, to an amazing degree, and it just makes me feel good about the great possibilities of will power and a strong mind--I feel these days like I can do anything if I really want to. Which, maybe, is how things should have always been, but truthfully, they haven't. So, you get what we have here today.

"Ja, Das ist so cool": Updates From Deutschland on Slang Editorial

2009-04-19T09:35:00.003-04:00

Father chasing after son in Julie Mehretu Studios

Berlin Photos and nonsense here: slangeditorial.net

And in a few days, much more here: flickr.com/jeffreybeaumont

Greetings from Deutschland!

2009-04-18T12:44:00.001-04:00

Easter Yum

2009-04-14T08:31:00.003-04:00

I celebrated my re-entry into meat world with a feast for the ages on Sunday, as Amy and I brought some of our friends together for a wonderful Easter dinner.

We at: bourbon-glazed ham, gruyere-asparagus tart, scalloped potatoes, candied carrots, string bean-bleu cheese-walnut-cranberry salad, and herbed potatoes, plus a dessert of carrot cake and cupcakes. It was absolutely wonderful. YUMMMMM.

Neither of us had ever baked a ham before, so we were surprised how well it came out. The ham was a fully-cooked butt end and t glaze Amy used was mixture of bourbon, dijon, orange juice, brown sugar, paprika, chili powder and honey. The ham took about two hours to cook and Amy had to take it and re-glaze every 30 min over the two hours. But, wow, was it worth it!

Here are some photographs (more available on Flick here):

Amy and Kathleen peel and slice potatos.

Amy readies the scallop scream as the carrots simmer.

I prepare the surprise hit gruyere-asparagus tart

Surveying the landscape

I attempt to carve a ham for the first time in my life (minor FAIL)

CARROT cake

Meatfree Week End... Meat On The Horizon

2009-04-12T23:29:00.004-04:00

So I finished up my last two days of vegetarianism with relatively little fanfare.

I brought my lunch to work on Friday: peanut butter and jelly, cucumber with sesame dressing, leftover cous cous. Healthy/cheap/meatless. Yum. For dinner I had two slices of pizza and that was that.

Saturday was kind of a sad day, at least in the beginning. Eating-wise it was fine--I had a banana, some oatmeal and pizza. A not very dramatic way to end a week without meat, but that's fine. Human-wise, however, Saturday began in shit as I went on the most pathetic ill-fated bike ride with my bro Mike. As late as Friday night, the weather report kept telling us that it was going to rain late Friday night and early Saturday, but be wrapped up by 10am, so Mike and I thought we'd be good to go for a decent day of great riding--we were even getting all hopeful we could do a full 70 and ride to Nyack.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be: when I got up at 8 it was raining lightly and the weather report was now saying to expect rain until 4pm or so. We went out anyway, with the thought of maybe just doing a few Prospect Park loops to see how we were feeling, but it just began to rain harder as we left and get colder and windier. After one loop we both gave up in disgust and headed home, sopping wet and freezing cold. It was a sad let-down, and I felt so miserable that I opted to do nothing for the rest of the day. The sun did finally come out around 5 and warmed things up, but by then it was too late. I could have gone out for a ride this morning to make up for it, but we ended up hosting an after-party at Casa 604 following the Pants Yell/Knight School show at Dead Herring and I got incredibly wasted and didn't go to sleep until 6am or so. And since it was Easter today and we planned to have people over for dinner in the afternoon my window was closed. Oh well. But. Meat. On. The. Horizon....

Thursday: Eggplant & Artichoke Extraordinaire

2009-04-10T00:00:00.002-04:00

Baked artichoke hearts and dill-mayo dip

Today I finally brought my lunch with me, happily both saving me dollars and bringing me food joy. I brought some leftover portobello-asparagus pasta and some arugula with a small amount of dressing stored in a tincture jar formerly containing stepdad's homemade Elderberry extract. A healthy and frugal 'yum'.

Far more exciting than that though was dinner tonight, which was prepared largely by Amy and shared with our colleague and joymaker Jayson Greene.

As you can see from the photo above, dinner consisted of: grilled eggplant, steamed chard with white beans and red pepper flakes, peppered cucumber slices, and grilled pitas (seasoned with olive oil and pepper).

I continually marvel at the creativity and general excellence of my sister as a cook. Mom, you did a pretty great job. A .500 average ain't the worst thing in the world, right?

It will be a curious way to wrap this week up by eating a secular Easter ham on Sunday.

Wednesday: Pesto Perfection

2009-04-09T10:13:00.003-04:00

Last night we followed up the great meals of Monday and Tuesday with another delicious one, this time prepared by Lil Beaumont with help from our two dads:

Stepdad Rick's pesto on spaghetti, with grilled asparagus, and salad featuring Real Dad's balsamic vinaigrette/dijon mustard/agave nectar** simple dressing.

As you can see on the left, a handful of the asparagus are wrapped and skewered in something pink--yep, that's some nice hot cappicola! Which I'm sure tasted great, though I wouldn't know it since I consumed only the "naked" asparagus below. Really.

And there we are. Sprinkle a little parmesan on top and add some fresh italian bread with butter and pepper and you've got a table of "yum".

Deep Thoughts With Jack Handey...
The constant satisfaction I've experienced in eating this week sans meat serves as a reminder of the great difference (to me) between being vegan and being vegetarian.

During last year's Hyperliving week of veganism (almost exactly one year ago, actually), I felt like every meal I consumed was some kind of grand compromise: a tactile exercise is maximizing potential flavor quotients while working on more or less "stone soup" principles... As if each meal were a mile marker on a journey toward the freedom of eventually being able to eat animal products again.

For me, vegetarianism is nothing like that--it's simply an absence of a group of products from an otherwise normal diet. Other than occasionally going, "Oh, guess I can't eat that cappy", I feel like life is only minimally impacted. I'm sure in any kind of long haul I would miss bacon and burgers, but no where nearthe sense of loss, sadness, and emptiness I would feel over eliminating pizza, cheese, yogurt/ice cream/shakes and so forth. Or at least, so I think.

Anyway, onward march.

NOTE:
** Normally you would use maple syrup rather than agave, which would make this dressing that much better, but I killed the last of the maple at the end of my fast.

Tuesday: Portobello-Asparagus Penne Salad

2009-04-09T02:13:00.002-04:00

Again, as I stated for Monday's entry, I forgot to make my lunch on Tuesday and so I ate greasy pizza for lunch. Oh well.

But for dinner it was another story--I invited Cabbie M over and made a lovely Portobello-Asparagus Penne Salad consisting only of the following items:

* 2 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed
* 1 bunch fresh asparagus, tough ends removed
* 2 tomatoes, quartered
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* 1 pound penne pasta, cooked
** Seasoning, recipe follows
** 1 teaspoon salt
** 2 teaspoons dried oregano
** 1 onion sliced
** 2 cloves garlic powder
** 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
** 1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

It was a great meal and we were all satisfied. I followed it up with some Espresso Chip ice cream for dessert.

Monday: Falafel

2009-04-09T01:56:00.003-04:00

I lead off by saying that unfortunately I have forgetten to make my lunch each day this week (like i said, really annoying week) so each day I have eaten two slices of pizza for lunch. Not all that healthy, but at least obeying the rules.

And as far as dinner goes, I've stayed relatively on track. After Sunday's uber-blah and unnecessarily eaten gluten-free pasta dinner, I knew I needed some real food satiation on Monday night, and thankfully Lil Beaumont was ready to bring it with some mediterranean food.

Homemade falafel and tzadziki, cous cous, salad, and pita... wow. Amy did a great job and it tasted so amazingly good. Her falafel was very impressive and the tzadziki reminded me of how much I love the cool mix of cucumbers and yogurt.

And how about cucumbers solo for that matter! For whatever reason I hated cucumbers as a kid--despite loving dill pickles--and it was only three or four years ago before I finally started enjoying them. But now, man, sliced cukes in a bowl with a little vinaigrette and some cracked black pepper--yum! I followed up dinner with a snack of this nature (to be repeated later in the week as well).

I then topped it all off with some freshly squeezed red grapefruit juice. When Amy moved in last year, she brought along her depression-style juicer. Lately I have been buying grapefruits and just squeezing them with the juicer and then drinking the freshness. One grapefruit usually yields one 8-10 oz. glass or so of some very thick and rich juice--you could surely cut it with some water too to stretch it out a bit. It's kind of an expensive way to drink juice, but it tastes GREAT, is natural and is also just kinda fun to put a little elbowgrease into working for food.

Not missing meat yet at all actually.

No Meat / Life Wedgie

2009-04-08T22:27:00.004-04:00

So, yes, I have continued upholding the "rules" and have gone meatless this week... and perhaps just coincidentally I'm also having a grumble-grumble week for the ages.

Right now it feels like just about everything sucks, and I feel like I'm sucking at just about everything. Beyond feeling out of sorts, there are a great many things on my plate that I need to accomplish and I feel like I'm unable to concentrate enough to make headway on any of them. If you happen to someone I'm leading down right now, sorry bro/dude/darling--I'm working on it.

In a strange way, I realize that what it all really amounts to is a silly kind of "life wedgie"--I'm struggling to focus on the tasks at hand because I feel uncomfortable and discontented with some aspect of my life and brain is choosing to focus on the distraction rather than step back, take a deep breath, and just keep on doing what needs to be done. My brain is unfortunately frustratingly well-trained in these arts, and this is a problematic state of mind that I've encountered before (though I do not believe I've considered the wedgie analogy before now). But I know that it is ultimately up to me to re-map a new course for better success, and I'm trying.

"Seek a recipe antidote poke g, ebony"

2009-04-06T03:14:00.004-04:00

Yes, Food month.

This week I am vegetarian. I will write more in reporting over the next few days when I have time, but I am looking forward to this week a lot and hope to cook a few nice new things. Yum.

Note: avoid rice spaghetti unless you have a gluten allergy.

Spring Is Here: First Real Sunburn of 2009

2009-04-05T22:32:00.003-04:00

The years may change, but one thing always stays the same: I am a fair-ass motherfucker with constant farmer's tan.

Oh yes. Just woke up from a three hour, exhaustion-and-excessive-sun induced nap. It was absolutely BEAUTIFUL today, mid 60s and sunny, and my bikebro Mike and I went out for a 62 mile ride to Piermont, NY; arriving there via 59 St bridge to Geo. Washington Bridge, plus one loop around the Edgewater state park, and then back home via the same route minus Edgewater loop.

It was great, the first "real" ride of the year. I'm happiest to report that, despite waking up this morning with sore thighs and feeling like I could hardly imagine riding more than 10 miles today, by forcing myself to get out there on the open road and let go, I ended up getting loose and feeling truly great. I felt like I could have gone another 10 miles before calling it quits even.

But of course, it was a lot of work and coupled with five hours of sun, I was pretty exhausted by the time I got home. And Oh, the sun! As you can see from the photo above, five hours of riding in the sun without sunblock lead to one gnarly-ass sunburn on my arms. In the vanity department, I at least tried to roll up the sleeves of my shirt but clearly that mostly did not accomplish much other than to make my soon-to-be-farmer's tan somewhat odd and patchy. But whatever! It was a great great day and I am feeling holla-tastic.

Also, on the "Goal to 1500" front: I have now ridden 340 miles in the threee weeks since March 14 (120/week), and at close to this pace I should hit 1500 before July I think. Looking forward to revising that goal to something more as the months approach.

SPRING!

LOVE
Jeffrey

Note: below you can see "HOME" and "Piermont, NY" as part of today's ride.

View Larger Map

Month Three: Food

2009-03-30T02:36:00.004-04:00

I will elaborate more on this in a few days, but next month my Hyperliving focus will be on FOOD. The Master Cleanse I did earlier this month really got me thinking a lot more about the importance of eating healthily (and economically sensibly), and I have tried hard since then to consider more carefully what I choose to eat, but in April I will go deeper into examining what I choose to eat and how to make better decisions that include eating healthier food, cooking more, and spending less money on it all.

At least two structured weeks for the month will include a week of being vegetarian, to consider the art of gourmet cuisine sans meat, and a week of only raw foods for a tough challenge (and since I already did the vegan thing). I am also going to keep a log all month of all the foods I consume and will evaluate them in a yet-to-be-determined fashion. I'm concerned about going too deeply as far as calorie counts go since my goal is NOT to lose weight or even start thinking about that kind of decision-making; however, I will do some research into plainly unhealthy food parts that I just want to work on cutting down or avoiding (high fructose corn syrup###), MSG and bad cholesterols. Also on the radar if I can possibly fit it in will be a week of trying new foods, possibly in new locations across New York, but it will be a bit of a challenge since I will be spending six days in Berlin for work in the middle of the month. But these days, I like challenges.

So yes yes, Here's to Food!

NOTES:
### - Please watch the video for the high fructose corn syrup link if you haven't seen it already. This is one of a series of commercials the corn industry is pumping now to attempt to re-dupe consumers who finally are beginning to figure out the dangers and general unhealthiness of HFCS. Some have drawn parallels to ads shown years ago made by the Tobacco Industry to downplay the harmful effects of cigarettes and nicotine, and truly, though HFCS doesn't approach that level of badness, there is more or less no difference in the greed-driven amorality of it.

An Overview of a Month of "Restoration"

2009-03-30T02:29:00.003-04:00

As I reach the end of a month of supposed "restoration", I can say that right now I am feeling pretty good. I have come out of this month feeling like I did a nice job taking a look again at various aspects of my life and ways to strengthen and improve the choices I make. I am glad that I quit smoking this year, but the rest of my health needs to come too, and over the course of this month I re-established an exercise routine (including not only biking but also joining a basketball league), re-evaluated my eating habits, and reconfiguring my spending decisions--all to not just strong but manageable degrees of success.

I also tried once again to work on my sleep schedule but that one is a work in progress that will take some time to fix. I am beginning to speculate though that regular, semi-heavy exercise will help make this happen. I know that eventually something will have to give, but I am generally impressed with the resolve to live crazyily that has allowed me to continue surviving (thriving? dunno) without semi-human sleep patterns.

Everything that happened to me and which I did in the past month is all a part of the larger plan to turn Ben Scheim into a more sensible and productive human being, and I have confidence that I am both moving in the right direction and strong enough to see it all through.

Biking / Health Continued

2009-03-30T02:03:00.003-04:00

Despite weather talk making me think I would spend most of the weekend indoors, the rain largely stayed away on Saturday and I'm happy to report that I again biked about 80 miles this weekend, on two nearly-identical 38 mile rides.

Also, I meant to have mentioned it earlier this week, but on Monday I decided to set the somewhat arbitrary goal that I would bike 1500 miles by the end of September. This number seems pretty big, but it's actually pretty modest, and after this weekend, I'm already up to 230 miles for the year since my first big ride on March 14. Considering that I plan to do at least two "centuries" (the Montauk in May and NYC in September) and that I theoretically plan to bike to work 4-5 days a week this summer, I should have no trouble hitting this goal and may even be able to strive for as many as 2500 or so.

Hilariously--given my general obsessive craziness with numbers and quantification--I still don't have a computer for my bike, but this has turned into good fortune as not having one spurred me to decide that it would be a good idea to start a log to track all of the rides I take this summer. That way I will know exactly how many I've taken and how far I've gone, the routes I've taken and who I may have ridden with. I'll be interested in check out my monthly/weekendly ride totals, as well as the percentages I ride to certain places and with certain people, so I'm very curious to see how things will turn out.

Sleepin and Whatnot

2009-03-27T01:33:00.003-04:00

This is not my home.

So last night I again went to bed **relatively** early, around 12:40. Small victories, people.

And then tonight I had another run-in with some beer and the booze won. Doorknobs, Jayson and I went to Mugs to have bar food and bro time and some wings, a burger and one higher proof stout later, we came home to get ready to go out at see Ladyhawke at Studio B. Except that within 30 minutes of being home I first passed out in an armchair and then on the nearby couch.

Of course, now it's 1:40 and I'm wide awake (after having just finished watching a wonderful albeit a little dated Sutherland-Fonda curio called Klute***), so obviously I'm not "in-need-of-rest, on-the-verge-of-collapse", but nonetheless I'm a little concerned over how quickly and absolutely sleep seemed to overtake me both tonight and on Tuesday. It's probably a testament to the general insanity in my life for this to be a concern, but I seem to be able rely on a certain type of regularity of my physical and mental functioning and any "disturbances in the force" tend to trouble me until I'm able to suss out what's going on. Still, i'm not ridiculous enough to suggest that feeling tired and a need to sleep at night time should be deemed strange enough to cause me alarm... but let's just say i'm "monitoring the situation". Or whatever.

NOTES:
***- I would strongly suggest checking out Klute if you haven't already (it's available through Netflix's Watch Instantly service, hint hint). It is yes, a little "dated", but there's also something fresh and almost anachronistic about the frankness of Jane Fonda's character and some of the feelings and attitudes she displays. Sutherland is also strange and good as he often is, and possibly of most significance is the score, which is both frightening and forward-looking. Check out for yourself.

Sleep

2009-03-25T08:10:00.002-04:00

Last night I fell asleep on the couch watching basketball at around 10pm. Probably the three beers I'd had helped pilot me toward dreamland but it was sleep nonetheless. It is nice to be up and showered at 7:40 am with time to lounge around write blog posts about how nice it is to be awake.

Cause Co-Motion! On the Road

2009-03-23T11:50:00.003-04:00

On a somewhat more successful non-sleep related front, I got my bike tires replaced on Monday*** and this weekend I rode 78 miles--42 on Saturday with a friend and 36 on Sunday by myself. I felt pretty good for just my second weekend out (after last weekend's 60 miler on Saturday). On Saturday I could have kept going for much longer, but on Sunday I definitely felt the burn. For sure though, I feel well on my way to doing the full 100 miles at the Montauk Century in May.

I basically took the same route each day: beginning at home, heading to Central Park via Greenpoint>Queens>59 St bridge, then cutting across town over 60 St into the park. I did two and half Central Park road loops before exiting during the third at 100 St & Central Park West and heading west across town to the Greenway to make my way downtown (Sunday's route varied by exiting the park at the end of my second loop at 59 St and heading across town there to the Greenway). From the Greenway, I traveled south to Warren St and cut across town to head over the Brooklyn Bridge for Prospect Park, where I did one loop before heading home through Fort Greene.

It was a very nice ride that was relatively stop free, minus crossing town in lower Manhattan and again in Brooklyn on the other side of the bridge. I've noticed recently that as I've begun traveling faster and faster during my exercise rides--work commutes and leisurely rides aside--I've become more and more aware of the general annoyance of stopping and sitting at lights, and particularly my disinterest in doing so. I take this as a relatively good sign about my commitment to pushing myself, but it's also frustrating as I become more aware of the fact that it is difficult to ride in New York, generally speaking, without spending a good amount of time sitting at lights. But then, I guess questing after "the best" routes is part of the fun of biking here anyway, so on with it then.

Here's the map of my trip on Sunday:

View Larger Map

NOTE:
***= To my amusement, the local bike shop dude broke one of his own tire levers getting my old tires off, making me feel like less of an asshole for my struggles last weekend.

Let's Try This Career Again

2009-03-23T08:42:00.005-04:00

Went to bed a little earlier last night, around 1:15 am. Admittedly this is not early for most people, but starting small is probably the only way I'm going to achieve any success on these fronts when my typical bed time is between 3 and 4 am.

It's hilarious to me how going to sleep earlier seems like the hardest thing I could try doing (harder, for example, than not smoking or even not eating), but it's just a testament to how much desire plays into will power. That is, I really really do NOT want to go to bed, generally. I am willing to spend my waking hours under a variety of compromised states so long as they are waking; but give me consciousness or give me death, I guess.

My theory is that the only way I am going to get around this mentality is by simply adjusting myself to wake up earlier and begin using the early morning as more of a tool for living than I do currently. However, I think that my goal is supposed to include generally sleeping "more" rather than just sleeping at different hours, so we'll have to see how I can make this work. But I think getting up on Saturdays at 8am to go biking is a good start.

Everything Is, Like, So Connected And Stuff!

2009-03-22T03:05:00.003-04:00

One short point: I feel inclined to also mention that despite the conclusion of February as a month of activity, Slang Editorial continues to run actively and updated on a (near) daily basis. If you haven't already made the connection that there's actually more of my writing and bullshit ideas to follow over there, here's a gentle reminder: there is actually more of my writing and bullshit ideas to follow over there.

Of course, I can at this point only attest to the existence of quantity rather than quality, but whatever. And hey, as one friend said, "Give it a month." But for the time being the brain cylinders are once again firing and I am running with it.

Yeah, Umm, Sleep Or Something

2009-03-22T02:37:00.002-04:00

So last week's attempt at going to bed early was pretty much a FAIL. I basically never adhered to the guidelines I'd attempted to follow, and worse, specially stayed up WAAY late half the nights.

The only positive developing so far has been, hilariously, the past two Friday nights, where I've gone to bed around 2--laughably early for a weekend night for me--so that I could wake up at 7:30 Saturday morning to go biking. Last Saturday I got up and biked 60 miles and today I biked about 45 and I'm feeling pretty good about both the exercise as well as the acknowledgment to myself that I really do need the rest if I'm gonna get up so early. This point may seem like an obvious one, but, for example, I did last year's 68 mile Montauk ride on about 90 minutes sleep... so really, no point is to obvious to make for me.

Maybe I just need to work backwards--start limiting myself and going to bed earlier on the weekends and THEN the week will follow.

SLEEPING IS SO HARD

2009-03-18T01:48:00.001-04:00

When you are an undisciplined fuck.

I can see this exercise is gonna take more than a week to complete.

This Week: Sleep

2009-03-16T01:27:00.003-04:00

This week, my goal for Monday-Thursday nights is to be in bed by 11:30 and asleep by midnight.

This is going to pose a hell of a challenge for me, but I know that I need to at least figure out how to improve my sleeping habits, if not change them entirely. I'm hoping to try and wake up early each morning and either go for a bike ride, but we'll just see how things progress. I'm more of a crazy idiot about sleep than anything else, and the only real achievement here will be figuring out some kind of balance here for the longterm--one workweek of better sleep hours isn't going to do much for me. But we'll just have to see.

NJ Rendezvous

2009-03-16T00:53:00.003-04:00

The bike action is happening again, in full force; I shall be fit or else.

I went out for my first legit ride of the year on Saturday, a 40 miler from Columbus Circle, which came out to about 60 miles of riding including the trips to and from Columbus Circle and the additional trip from home to the 59 St Apple Store and back. My right thigh gave out from a cramp while going home over the 59 St bridge the first time and for the first time I felt truly exhausted, but within an hour my legs seemed to have rebounded, as I felt more or less totally fine. It was overall a tremendously satisfying feeling of exhaustion.

I tried to go out again for a ride today but noticed that my rear wheel apparently has a flat. I attempted to change the tube but instead spent hours determining that I literally could not. I somehow got the tire off the wheel and patched the leak, but then popped the tube as I struggled to get the tire bead back in place, and then from there was completely unable to get the tire off again. So tough did it become that I broke three tire levels in the process, leading even extreme do-it-yourselfer Mark Jaffe to proclaim the tire unchangeable. And so instead I proceeded to watch SEVEN STRAIGHT HOURS of NBA basketball, of which I enjoyed nearly every minute.

Now I have to try and get the bike to a shop tomorrow, somehow, but it's considerably more difficult to do so during the week when I struggle to get home at reasonable hours. Any non-standard hour jobbed friends want to help a brother out?

My training ride cue card

Hyperliving in the Rest of March

2009-03-09T12:37:00.005-04:00

So I made it through a rather challenging week one and I feel absolutely great. I’m very much a man of slingshot euphoria but nonetheless my whole being feels in tune with the world right now.

I’m utilizing this good feeling to begin making some plans for the now and soon-down-the-road, including getting geared up for some rad bikes: Montauk Century most importantly--and its weekly pre-race training rides--the 5 Boro Ride and anything else I can do (though honestly, i am interested in doing group rides that don't cost money--the Montauk ride is fun and all, but $70 is a bummer just for the privilege of riding my bike).

But also though, I'm making plans this week to streamline and improve the efficiency and quality of my life, beginning with physical health. Making plans for biking is just part of an overall desire to get fitter, happier and more productive. I have decided that once it gets warm I am going to forgo the monthly MetroCard and bike to work all summer, as well as--much much bigger stretches--begin incorporating some other activity like more walking and maybe even some weight lifting or running. Additionally, next week's activity is going to focus specifically on trying to address my inhuman sleep patterns, which is to say that there are none other than "sleep as little as I can allow myself".

My last goal for the month, which will come into play again down the road, is an evaluation of my (often questionable) financial decision-making. At the recommendation of Ben D, I opened an account on Mint.com to help put my finances in perspective and already it's become crystal clear to me that I need to redress my old habit patterns with new and improved ones. Starting Monday I began making my lunch every day and have devised a number of other simple and immediate ways to slowly maximize my geld-possibilities and increase my opportunities for unexpected excitement or financial-lifeprotection at a future turn down the road.

So....it's on, as they say. The competition against myself to keep making my life better and not accept the status quo (even if it is a more favorable status quo than say, a year ago). Last year I stopped treading water and started swimming toward shore, and now that I've decided which land to swim toward it's time to make some real plans and put them in motion. There are many new possibilities swimming in my head but I feel like I finally am getting a sense now how I might be able to see them to fruition.

Day 7: Completed

2009-03-08T00:00:00.002-05:00

And fin. I made it through the week without consuming anything other
than
-water,
-maple syrup,
-lemon juice,
-cayenne pepper,
-Yogi brand "Fasting" and "Get Regular tea

Day 7: So close

2009-03-07T20:17:00.002-05:00

OK it's 8:15 now and I can think about little more than eating anything that might be around me.

There is a bag of popcorn on the table.

Day 7: Sunshine

2009-03-07T13:09:00.002-05:00

Last day. I can just taste the salty soup broth in my mouth tomorrow afternoon.

About to go out for a bike ride, loving life now.

Day 6 Concluding

2009-03-06T22:37:00.001-05:00

Day 6 is wrapping up and I'm at a Reigning Sound show in Park Slope.

Obvious observation: life out at night is a lot cheaper when you
aren't buying any booze.

It's so nice out tonight, looking very much forward to a nice bike
ride tomorrow and relaxing/resting/planning what kind of minimalistic
food I will allow myself to eat on Sunday.

Day 6: Fin de Semana, La Veo!

2009-03-06T15:10:00.002-05:00

It’s 3pm on day 6 and I am feeling better than I’ve felt all week. After a great test last night—my friend cooked “dinner” (steak!!) for Doorknobs and I; I drank tea—I am happy to report that life is good and I feel like a little more than a million bucks.

I got to work at 8:50 am (after crawling in at 10 every other day this week) and have had full concentration and motivation abilities all day long. I smell the end of this trial and am finally not lusting after food I cannot have. Maybe it’s the amazing weather--I am look forward to taking a bike ride tomorrow.

Looking forward to orange juice and ramen (broth) on Sunday.

Day 5: another "dinner"

2009-03-05T18:57:00.001-05:00

One more going down imminently. Two more days to go.

Day 5: Yeah...

2009-03-05T17:42:00.001-05:00

So I’m pretty thoroughly struggling to concentrate well right now, and I’m quite hungry. Delicious items of food are popping into my head and I am imagining what it will be like to eat them again. Yum. I am glad I have only one more day of work to make it through…

Day 5: Holla

2009-03-05T11:31:00.002-05:00

Day 5 and rolling deep.

I would love an egg and cheese sandwich, but other than that I am
feeling sparkly rad action. Coming down the hill and whatnot.

Day 4: Knicks

2009-03-04T20:01:00.001-05:00

Today has gone pretty ok but I've experienced a marked decline in
energy and attention span. Thankfully my boss is out til Tuesday.

Now I am at a Knicks game and surrounded by hot dogs, beer and
popcorn. Also it is "Latin Night".

Day 4: Begin

2009-03-04T10:38:00.001-05:00

Another morning of feeling good, though I do feel as if I have somewhat
markedly lower energy this morning. Still though, feel pretty much a-ok.

(Leftover Thoughts From) Day 2: Rescue Dawn

2009-03-03T23:20:00.003-05:00

[accidentally posted this to slang instead of hyperliving!]

The waning Day 2 is coming to a close and Day 3 will begin in a few hours. So far ok.

What's noteworthy right now though is that I just watched the recent Herzog film Rescue Dawn and it is truly great. The story of this character, Dieter Dengler, a Navy pilot who is shot down and captured in Vietnam in '65, is a totally insane one... but then on top of that, it was also a little crazy to spend two hours watching a story about starving soldiers. Those balls of rice. God.

Day 3: Nearly Concluded

2009-03-03T23:14:00.003-05:00

Still feeling fine.

I am a bit surprised to say that i don't hardly feel like i'm depleting myself or anything--but man, I just miss how lovely food is.

Looking forward to tomorrow.

Day 3: Keep on keepin' on

2009-03-03T11:25:00.002-05:00

Woke again feeling relatively normal (not so hungry).

Still have images of Rescue Dawn flashing through my mind.

Allegedly Day 3 is "the hardest" to get through but so far so good.

More Day 2 Thoughts

2009-03-02T14:53:00.002-05:00

I am reviewing some “literature” on the Master Cleanse and was given these words of warning:

Tips To Help You Finish The Master Cleanser Diet

1) "First you need to whip yourself into a white hot frenzy"

2) "[Don't] roll out of bed in the morning and decide that this would be a good day to start a 10 day detox. This is a recipe for failure."

3) "Get yourself a brand new notebook, and write down all the benefits you will receive by going on this diet. Do Not Censor Yourself."

4) "If you're into that stuff, you can watch slasher films or professional wresting if that's what it takes to keep your mind off food."

5) "Rid your house of all potential traps: you might think you have the will power to not eat that package of thin mint cookies now, but 7 days into the diet I guarantee them cookies will be calling out to you in your sleep, and having to look at them every time you go into the kitchen will be maddening."

Luckily for me, I:

1) got a fucking court summons on Saturday for mounting my bike on the sidewalk in front of my house

2) roll out of bed EVERY day thinking I could start a 10 day cleanse (or a 10 day binge, for that matter)

3) was given a curious but nifty Anna Sui notepad on Sunday from someone's left over Fashion Week swag

4) got a new Dario Argento film in the mail to watch from Netflix

5) haven't gone grocery shopping in a few weeks

So I'm ready, right?

Some Day 2 Thoughts on Master-Cleansing

2009-03-02T14:18:00.002-05:00

JeffreyBeaumont: "After finishing the Cleanse, avoid meats and milk for
a while. Milk can mess up your stomach during this process and meat is
very hard for the stomach to digest. Both of these should be avoided for
at least a couple weeks after coming off of the Lemonade Diet."
jaychampionvinyl: guh
jaychampionvinyl: I really can't believe you're doing this
jaychampionvinyl: Alex and I were bonding over how retardo this is today
jaychampionvinyl: hahahaha
jaychampionvinyl: "The Lemonade Diet"
jaychampionvinyl: THE LEMONADE....DIET
JeffreyBeaumont: i am just hoping there's some way in which doing this
will lead to me getting a court summons
jaychampionvinyl: HAHAH
jaychampionvinyl: failure to operate bike while nourished

Day 2: So Far, So Good

2009-03-02T13:16:00.002-05:00

I got a little hungry last night before going to sleep thanks to
wonderful smelling Chinese takeout in my living room-I can't fault dudes
for wanting to eat while they watch basketball games-but halfway through
Monday and still feeling pretty good.

I woke up this morning and neither felt hungry nor tired, which I think
is a good sign, so we'll see how things go from here.

Cheers
JB

February Down, March Up

2009-03-01T13:02:00.006-05:00

So it's been quiet on the Hyperliving front lately, but it hasn't been quiet at all on Slang Editorial, where I seem to have found a way to get back to pummeling the internets with useless bullshit on music, basketball and world movement.

In March for Hyperliving I am looking into ways to "restore" myself. I'm beginning with the master cleanse:

[below is taken directly from here]

The Master Cleanse Recipe

The Master Cleanse works just how it sounds; you consume primarily lemonade for the entire time you're on the diet. So the recipes for the diet itself are fairly simple. You should drink a minimum of 60 oz of lemonade a day, but can drink more if you like. You can also drink as much water as you want. I suggest you consume your body weight in ounces of water.

Below are two different recipes. The first is for a single serving of the master cleanse lemonade. The second will make 6 servings

#1 (single serving):

* 2 Tablespoons of organic lemon Juice (about 1/2 a Lemon)
* 2 Tablespoons of Organic grade B maple syrup (not the commercial maple flavored syrup you use on pancakes)
* 1/10 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper powder
* Ten ounces of filtered water

#2 (60 oz. daily serving):

* 60 ounces of filtered water
* 12 Tablespoons of organic grade B maple syrup
* 12 Tablespoons of organic lemon juice
* 1/2 Teaspoon cayenne pepper powder

Now I say straight out that I am not the sort of person who EVER does things like this for "restoration", or anything else. But i've had a few friends do it lately and I feel like, eh, why not give it a try. My plan is to go seven days and I've nearly finished the first.

So far, I am very very very hungry.

Hyperliving 2009

2009-02-02T01:31:00.008-05:00

Among the many places I'd like to visit in 2009 is Bannerman Island, seen here from a Metro North train

So here we are. February 1, 2009, the Super Bowl has just been played and the next steps are about to begin.

As teased, I am indeed restarting Hyperliving for 2009, albeit in a different format. This time around I am going to go a little easier on myself and rather than doing 52 weekly projects (or 23, for that matter), I'm instead going to do 11 monthly projects. These projects won't generally include daily activity, but will be focused around a general top theme and will include monthly goals as well as perhaps one or two "standard Hyperliving weeklong experiments". I'm sort of making it up as I go along, so we'll have to see where I go.

Among the topics I plan to cover this year include physical/spiritual detoxing, risk taking, urban ascetism, financial management, exercise, and, of course, some music/art projects.

One of the toughest parts of staying committed to Hyperliving last year was simply staying committed to keeping on top of my posting game. Continuing to write and post day-in and day-out when you have plenty of other things to do can wear you down and become a significant challenge, and overcoming that challenge is no easy task. Additionally, one of the most unexpected struggles I experienced in Hyperliving were with the writing-specific projects I undertook. I think that the fact that I had expectations for them--rather than many of the other projects, where I had no experience and therefore was willing to accept any outcome that involved allowing me to move on to the next step--is why I had a tough time. Well, in 2009, no more.

My project for February 2009 is going to be "Writing", which includes most specifically that I am going to begin posting blog entries daily to my old and now resuscitated blog Slang Editorial. I just figured out how to post entries by simply emailing them to a certain address (I know old news), and it's like doors in my life have been opened. This month expect a flurry of blog entries that will hopefully set the stage for some continued and sustainable activity on my behalf. And beyond the blogging, I have a few other writing projects in mind for the months, but I will announce those as they come.

It's a slow and simple start for the year, but it feels right, so here's to Hyperliving 2009 and the hopes that my pathways of life continue to grow and expand and that new doors continue to open.

Also..... one month down of no smoking. And oddly, I feel like I miss it more every day.

Love,

Jeffrey Beaumont

A Look Back On 2008 and Hyperliving

2009-01-20T03:30:00.005-05:00

Brighton Beach, December 2008, courtesy of Ben D

No year that has passed in my nascent adult life has seen more complete and total change than this past one. 2008 was a year of changes, challenges, newnesses, failures, firsts, and discovery, growth. For the first time in my life, I think I now know who I am, which is an odd sensation to say the least... and one which, strangely enough, seems to make me feel like I suddenly have more questions than I ever have for myself and where I need to go on the journey of my life.

The Hyperliving project was easily and unquestionably the main proponent behind at least the beginning "oomph" of my forward thrust. I ended 2007 on the verge of utter despair: directionless, alone and abandoned, in a job I that killed me with a boss I loathed, and above all, losing hope. I was a one-man ship whose engine had cut far out at sea and with all hope of rescue gone... and the only way I was to survive was to dig within, get create, and save myself.

It's typical Jeffrey Beaumont (or Ben Scheim) hyperbole to suggest that Hyperliving saved my life, because, frankly, I'm sure I could have floated out there a lot longer, but it's not crazy at all to see how much it helped me get my life on track.

Some life developments since January 1, 2008:

- I feel more confident about who I am and why I am here than ever.

I like me--I am happy to be here. The simplest and yet most complex change of all, and far and away the most important (and the one that makes all of the below count as enhancements rather than excuses). I am still scared, I am still confused, but I also love life and I love myself, and I believe in the promise of both the present and the future.

- I have become obsessed with photography.

The one thing I can say with comfort about the drop-off of Hyperliving is that I replaced the activity with some long-needed updating of my Flickr account, which has become an important outlet for my burgeoning interest in photography and general creativity.

- I have quit smoking.

After 13 years and a number of half-hearted breaks, I have finally decided to quit smoking. I'm a little concerned about the longevity of this one--it's been three weeks and I really miss smoking already. I've already accepted that at some point in a few months I'll allow myself to guiltlessly have "the occasional cigarette" when it's not involving pack-buying, repetition, or expectation... but being a "smoker"--never again.

- I bike to stay alive.

Thanks to a life-changing suggestion by Emily, I am now obsessed with biking and can't imagine living without it. Each time I sit on my bike I am reminded that I must work at improving my life and never let up, and that if I do I will be rewarded in the most enriching ways possible. Beyond cycling all the time, I did rides 70 mile and 90 miles, and look forward to doing even more of them this year.

- I had less life-destructive dead patches / drop-offs than I've had in 15 years.

... Meaning, some type of heretofore unknown "regularity". This may sound vague, but believe me, making it through an entire year without watching some portion of my life disintegrate into (self-started) flames is astonishing and wonderful.

- I value the amazing people in my life, magical and special, more now than ever before

2008 reminded me that my friends are the number one reason I still have a life to live. Time and time again, over and over, friends new and old, won and lost stood up for me, to me, and with me in helping me sort through the wreckage of my brain, so that I could find firm ground. The constant, unwavering support and LOVE from my returned-hetero life partner Alex; Ben D and his keen eye and strong encouragement; Amy, for putting up with a non-ending life of bullshit; my renaissance man Jayson, for stepping in as an expert on just about anything regarding taste; Cassie and the others for making every paired experience deeper and more enriching; and every one of the great many new people that came into my life in 2008, broadening and deepening every aspect of my existence. But, most of all, Emily, whose constant enthusiasm and curiosity for the world helped lift me higher when all I wanted to do was sink lower. Without her great and indomitable spirit, it is possible that the once-standard Ben Scheim swells of depression would have surely swallowed me and Hyperliving alive.

The months since Hyperliving ended in June have been emotionally intense and have seen a great number of changes as I have somewhat unexpectedly made peace with people who I thought I might not speak to again and ended friendships with those I imagined I might never let go of. I am glad for the positives, and I look forward to eventually sorting out the negatives when the time is right. But people, yes, and their energy are what matter.

- Crosswords plug any gap of deadspace I could possibly have

I never imagined I would spend any more than one week on them, but they now all fill the very small handful of "free moments" I get in my generally busy life. I am still mediocre at best, but I can do Mondays and Tuesdays all right, and mainly, they provide a surefire way for me to relax myself when the stress of "too much bullshit" gets me down.

- I cook a bit now.

Not enough as I'd like, but more than enough to count.

- I actually like my job again.

The shocker of 2009 and a secret candidate for "most crucial development." My former colleague Danielle challenged me to put up or shut up; take advantage of the job I have or else get the fuck out. After continuing to dream about being out, I tried standing up and living within and things have actually turned out quite well. A new boss, a new role, a better environment and new possibilities has made for a surprisingly awesome job. Who would have thought? And on top of that, I had tons of vacations and got two more great (paid) globetrotting voyages out of it, to London and India.

- I took seven weeks of vacation and traveled to India and London.

See "I actually like my job again," above.

- I am dreaming again.

Boom.

This rattle-off of wonderful developments belies the fact that I did undergo a number of struggles: beginning with the top point--as far as this website is concerned--that I only made it through 23 of the 52 weeks of Hyperliving I hoped to have. This "failure" troubled me throughout the second half of the year, but I eventually made my peace with the fact that there was a good reason why I wasn't "Hyperliving" anymore--the first 23 weeks got me so incredibly re-engaged with and re-excited about my life that I was overwhelmed with new ways to spend my time. It would have been awesome to have done the project for all 52 weeks, but feeling happier and more complete as a human being seems awesome enough.

2008 was a truly great year and one that I can say was easily the best of my life. And the best thing is that I've got a feeling that 2009 might be even better.

Hyperliving 2008, In Pictures/Videos/Links

70 Mile Bike Ride to Montauk

Bike to Work Week

Art Week (Day 7, Photography)

Cooking Week

Rock Band Week

Rock Band Week: The Heart Beats Do "Umm Don't Mean I Love You"

I miss cigarettes already.

------------------------

So what next? 2009 is going to be great, no matter what, and I have a list of goals for it (among them, writing again). But what else?

How about Hyperliving 2009? Yep, it's coming back.

Stay tuned...

???

2008-09-09T11:58:00.002-04:00

Lost at sea, i've been. Still not Hyperliving. I'd like to just say i've learned everything i need to and now i'm just done with this, but it isn't the case--i've been temporarily defeated, self-defeated, and somehow i need to overcome. It's all in my head, and somehow it must come up.

I am not succeeding yet but I have not given up either.

To be continued...

NEW BICYCLE

2008-08-31T12:03:00.001-04:00

I got myself a new-to-me 2003 Cannondale R600 and I am as gleeful as
ever.

Hyperliving Returns... No, Really

2008-08-29T13:02:00.005-04:00

Ok, 3 months vacation is a long time. Here we go again.

The upcoming schedule for Hyperliving, Pt. II:

Week 0², Aug 24-30: Mini-Hyperliving/ResAdv "Night Out" Week

Week A, Aug 31-Sept 6: Week of Yoga

Week B, Sept 7-13: Raw Foods Week

Week C, Sept 14-20: Travel only by Bus

Expect also:

- posts on my continued crossword and biking obsessions

- stories about my new bike

- more mixes

- more bullshit

love,

Jeffrey

BROKEN HOUSE:

SMALL REPLICANT:

ESTABLISHED TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIFELINK DEVICE:

Hyperliving Returns

2008-07-26T19:38:00.002-04:00

Today is my birthday. It is July 26, and I am 26 years old.

Hyperliving will be back, starting tomorrow.

Meeting Adjourned

2008-06-28T23:34:00.001-04:00

Sunrise over the London Bridge

English Malarkey

2008-06-25T09:34:00.002-04:00

The essential staples of British living:

Gents enjoying a night on the town:

You're never too far from home...

2008-06-24T12:58:00.001-04:00

Sometimes it's just right there in front of you.

Hyperliving, where art thou?

2008-06-20T03:30:00.003-04:00

A bit of time tending to the tomatoes, from last week's "Gardening Week"

Hyperliving is, obviously, on a bit of a hiatus. I am leaving for England tomorrow for work and will be gone until June 29. The recently exhaustive amounts of work i've been doing have been wearing me down and cutting into my ability to focus on anything resembling blogging. This is the first week in 2008 when I haven't even had the pretense of having a "Hyperliving activity"--but, as you might guess, that is mostly because this week's Hyperliving task has been "Do your job because it all comes down to next Monday, buddy!" However, I do hope to regroup when I come back and get Hyperliving back into gear.

But regardless of where Hyperliving heads, now or later, I think that most importantly I can say that I appear to have achieved a relatively stable level of happiness over the past few months that is almost unlike anything I've ever known. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have some perspective on what I'm doing and where I'm going, and what I might be trying to get out of life. It's sort of amazing. I am not suggesting that I feel constantly ecstatic, but simply that things seem all right and in order and that I feel generally confident that I am making decisions that I feel good about, which represent new directions in life that I've taken.

Though this year i've struggled my way through some of these Hyperliving activities (not to mention getting past my own personal demons and misfortunes), but there is just no question that they've done wonders for me, and that many of them have lead me to change small and large parts of the way I live each day of my life.

I'll check back in again in a few days but rest assured, there will be more Hyperliving.

-JB

Week 23, Gardening

2008-06-13T14:57:00.002-04:00

I've been gardening this week, but also working a lot... i will post on gardening soon. Lots of work distractions lately, which will culminate with a trip to England for a week next Friday.

More info to come.

Week 22, NY Times Crosswords Day 6/7: Saturday and Sunday

2008-06-12T00:34:00.003-04:00

Both the Saturday and Sunday NY Times crossword puzzles come to NYC residents in the Saturday paper, as the Sunday section is split up and half included in Saturday's paper. This means that, as usual, Sunday's puzzle can be in the NY Times Magazine, and the Saturday puzzle is.... where? I spent a long time flipping through the two Arts sections of the paper looking all over for the Saturday crossword, but it was just nowhere to be found, so I just started working on the Sunday puzzle first. I finally found the Saturday puzzle in the Metro section, but by then it was kind of late and I knew that my efforts at solving it were doomed.

Saturday: Pathetic (though seriously, Saturday is ridiculously difficult)

My work on Sunday's puzzle though was pretty solid and I got a solid 2/3 of the way through the puzzle before running out of time. Not so bad for a first week of puzzling.

Sunday: Coming along (still not finished)

Note: I have specifically NOT looked at the answer keys because some part of me hopes to return to these puzzles and completing them.

-------

Overall it was a great week and I am now ready for puzzling on a more longterm basis. For fun, I signed up for the a month subscription the NY Times website and did Monday's puzzle:

Week 22, NYTimes Crosswords Day 5: Friday

2008-06-12T00:31:00.002-04:00

I actually managed to get what I feel is was an almost astonishing amount done on Friday's puzzle, though admittedly with some choice help from EmJo here and there to help keep me moving.

Not bad at all, I feel--there were basically only a handful of clues left when I finished, which is awesome for the mega-toughness of Friday.

Week 22, NYTimes Crosswords Day 4 Thursday

2008-06-11T23:40:00.003-04:00

For the rest of the week, Thursday through Sunday, the puzzles became significantly more difficult. I made it through only aboout 1/3 of Thursday's puzzle, but I also did it entirely on my phone, which I feel good about.

Yeah, lame.

Week 22, Day 3 Wednesday: Things That Break

2008-06-05T07:54:00.005-04:00

For Wednesday's puzzle, for the first time I needed to rely a bit more on some additional clues from EmJo to get me unstuck. I could notice for sure how much more immediately difficult it was to get started, and, of course, how that difficulty continued throughout the puzzle.

Began: 10:11pm, 6/4

Began: 11:42pm, 6/4

As you may note, I actually began this puzzle before I finished Tuesday because I'd gotten held up and felt like starting anew. The theme to today was "things that break," and was represented by answers like "curveball," "daylight," "kids toys" and "oceanwaves." EmJo said I picked a boring week to get started on crosswording, as the themes for this week have all been pretty Zzzzz.

Mostly so far I'm feeling good about the way I'm forcing myself to stay relaxed and focused, as NYT crosswords usually stress me out completely and I give up after only a short while. I suspect, however, that today's and tomorrow's puzzles will test this newfound patience and calm as I struggle to get even an answer or two. We'll see.

Week 22, NYT Crosswords Day 2, Tuesday: "Where's Waldo?"

2008-06-05T00:28:00.003-04:00

This is EmJo's drawing for Tuesday

Tuesday was definitely trickier than Monday, for sure. I also didn't complete it until tonight, because unfortunately (or fortunately, from a certain perspective), I went out for a meet and greet with some good folks, coordinated by "Are we having fun yet?" Queen Dan. And we had lots of fun.

I did get through about half of it though on the subway to work, as this time I bought the paper on my way out the door. I wasn't quite in the proper state of mind to work on it any more on my subway ride home, so I got back to finishing up when I got home tonight.

Tuesday Puzzle, 3 June 2008

Began: 7:11am, 6/3

Finished: 12:14 am, 6/5

The theme for this puzzle was actually kind of awesome--"Where's Waldo?", as defined by clue number 35-Across: "Question posed by a 1987 children's best seller". Clue 43-Across then said "This puzzle's answer to 35-Across (spelled out four times)--and sure enough, as you can see, the word W-A-L-D-O can be seen descending diagonally inward from each of the four corners. I, as a crossword newbie, found this to be kind of amazing.

I got angry with question 59-Down: "Phila.-to-Miami dir.," the answer of which was "SSW". I kind of say, "Fuck you, Shortz" to that, because I feel like there should be a rule stating that you can't travel to Miami from anywhere within the continental United States and have your direction be "south-by-southwest". Grrr.

Also, E-bad, who assisted a bit on solving some of these, took issue with clue 26-Across, "Long March participants", as she insists that "The Long March took place before the development of the cult of personality and therefore the answer cannot be "Maoists" as listed. What do you say to that, Shortz?

As suggested by the Shrimp Cracker, I have decided to re-watch Wordplay this week in honor of my activities.

Week 22, NYT Crosswords

2008-06-04T12:07:00.003-04:00

I had a wonderful but very late night yesterday out with my friend Dan & Co., so I haven't had time to get yesterday's crossword up, but i'll post that and today's later tonight. I can already feel the puzzles getting harder and me feeling dumber.

-JB

Week 22, NYT Crosswords Day 1: Monday

2008-06-02T23:42:00.003-04:00

This is a week of wordsmithery and braincrunching. I've always sort of had an affinity for crosswords but yet I've also never been all that great at them. I am a wizard at Scrabble, perhaps because it's more math and puzzle-y, but I think the linguistic conventions, shorthands and secrets of crosswords have always befuddled me enough to put them down without finishing.

For sure at least I can say that, prior to tonight, I had never before finished an NYTimes crossword puzzle. Now of course anyone who knows about the NYT crosswords knows that they begin with an easy one on Monday and get progressively more difficult as the week goes on. As far as me never before completing on goes, a funny thought occurred to me tonight that the vast majority of NYT crosswords I've ever tried to do have been on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the three hardest days of the week (significantly more so than Monday), as the time when I'm most apt to pick one up is when beginning a trip somewhere.

Anyway, I set out today with the goal that I would do it and try not to get help if possible, to "get over the hump". Here was the puzzle:

Monday Puzzle, 2 June 2008

Begun: 9:28

Finished: 11:02

And voila, done! It took about 90 minutes, but sure enough, I did it, and all on my own except the last few clues in the upper-right hand corner:
10 Across - Evil Organization in "Get Smart" (Kaos, should have gotten that one)
12 Down - City near Provo (Orem... umm...)
13 Down - "Oh yeah? ___ who?" (Sez -- these are the kinds my brain has trouble with)

EmJo, The Texas Crossword Queen--if you can't tell, don't fuck with her

I got help from these last three clues from the amazing EmJo, queen of all words crossed. She did her puzzle today in about 10-15 minutes, the time it took her to get from the Lorimer stop on the L train to Union Square. EmJo does them everyday though, so getting through a Monday in no time at all is really no big thing for her.

I spent some time picking her brain tonight on pointers, strategies and thought processes facing both the maker and doer of crosswords. I am filing these away now and will prepare some thoughts to share on them tomorrow when I do not have to wake up at 6am the next day. She also recently gave a presentation on crosswords, including a slideshow, some of which I will share with you over the course of this week.

I am incredibly curious about the types of folks who become obsessed with crosswords and hope to learn some insights about them this week. For now, I'm happy at least that I can go to sleep having completed my simple goal.

cheers,
Jeffrey

Week 22 Crossword Challenge

2008-06-02T03:17:00.005-04:00

This week I'm going for something different.

As you know, I love incorporating the unique and interesting talents of my friends into my Hyperliving activities. I feel blessed that I know so many folks with great skills and knowledge, and that they've put time into me and my project to help me get going.

This week my "Hyperliving Challenge" is inspired by my new and great friend EmJo: to do the New York Times crossword puzzle every day, starting with Monday.

This activity is exciting to me because I love word games but I've always been bad at crossword puzzles, to the extent of feeling somewhat self-conscious about it. I'm pretty sure that I have never actually even finished one NYT crossword puzzle in my life, so obviously this week is going to be a hell of a challenge to actually complete. But as always, I am ready to try (and fail, if necessary).

Where does EmJo fit into the world of crosswords? Well, not only does she do the NYT crossword every day, but she adds an entirely addition level of choosing a few answers and then drawing a picture based on them, overlaid on top of the day's grid (the image in this post being an example). She then post them all on her website, emilyjocureton.com/follies.

I have asked EmJo to help me out and give me some tips, and so therefore, as a supplemental goal for this week is that I will also attempt to do one EmJo-inspired crossword drawing.

We'll see how it goes. I expect a lot of frustration... and as the week goes on, less and less answers. But note: because I recognize that it will be almost impossible for me to do these entirely on my own, I will be expecting to get a lot of help from EmJo and other folks as I struggle along the way.

Week 21 No. 73 Home Improvement: Painting

2008-06-02T01:33:00.003-04:00

Home Improvement week went well, though admittedly most of it was centered around my efforts to paint three rooms of the apartment: the kitchen, my bedroom and the living room. However, I did a great job going through the house and ridding myself of junk and detritus of past lives, including two full garbage bags of recyclable e-waste. I also cleaned the bathroom (twice), replaced some new furniture including bedside tables, and emptied off the stairwell in my apartment that goes into the upstairs of the building (I have two other separate entrances).

But certainly painting was the focus, and I'd have to say that the results were exciting, as you can see below. A general challenge for me is that the apartment is a half-basement with low light levels much of the time, and so I needed to choose light colors that would maximize what I get. I ended up going with a semi-gloss yellow for the kitchen, an eggshell light pastel blue ("Ionic Sky") for the living room and an eggshell light pastel green ("Cabbage Green"). I used Behr paints, and needed one liter for the kitchen, one for the living and two for the bedroom (my bedroom is pretty huge).

I'd never in my life done a home improvement project of this sort, so I just sort of learned as I went along. Thankfully, Miss Sweeetheart, E-Bad and Ben D all pitched in at various points to help me out. The total process took parts of four days, including buying paint and doing each of the three rooms, with me wrapping up finishing touches on Saturday about an hour before guests began arriving for a party we were having.

Below are photos from over these few days--thanks again to Ben D for taking many of them.

The nearly cleaned off stairway, once home to much junk (and suitcases)

Kitchen, getting ready to be painted

Blue tape in action

Bedroom, getting ready to be painted and wayyy messy.

The walls are closing in on me...

Stretching out a bit before getting started.

1, 2, 3... and they're off.

Getting those hard-to-reach spots near the kitchen ceiling.

The bedroom is almost done...

Post-painting, post-footwashing.

And then, the finished rooms:

The Living Room

The Bedroom

And lastly,

The Kitchen

The week was concluded with the ridiculous celebration of the "Barkmitzvah", which included the creation and destruction of a pinata in the shape of a dachsund.

I can't convey enough the awesomeness of this moment or this photo

It's summertime! Built to Spill mix!! (broken link fixed)

2008-05-30T15:36:00.008-04:00

Hi friends,

It's summer time so I thought you should all enjoy this Built to Spill mix that I made, which Jayson Greene will either love or disown. I encourage you to love it!

Built to Spill mp3 Mix, zipped - click to download!
[NOTE: an XML file is included but the tracks are not tagged with any order, so after adding tracks to library, go to iTunes and choose "File, Import" and add the XML file.]

Also, as a bonus, here's a two song single they released in 2007 (their most recent release):

Built to Spill - They Got Away / Re-Arrange 7" - click to download

I said earlier this month to friends:

So what of these two particular songs? Well, I actually sort of enjoy "They Got
Away" and do not think it is the same song as always. Yeah, it's repetitive, but
it's also a reggae song, which is the point. I am surprised at how well
Martsch's voice works within the musical structure of reggae. It seems to sort
of fit the sonics and ideas of "You In Reverse" but works more successfully and
inspired than anything there except "Going Against Your Mind" and "Liar". As far
as "singles" go, it's not gonna do rock the world because it isn't a pop song,
but I think it's the kind of drony midtempo track that I would actually
appreciate mid-album. For some reason the fact that reggae encourages simple
repetition makes this song more acceptable and even welcome to me than the dirgy
and boring repetition on most of "You In Reverse".

"Re-Arrange" is
interesting in that it's the first Built to Spill song that sort of looks back
to the "classic sound" since Ancient Melodies came out. For this reason, I was
at least immediately welcome to hearing it. Unfortunately, yeah, a) the lyrics
make me kind of nauseous, b) the vox sound and even sound are a little Death Cab
for Cutie, and c) the best parts of the song, the softly humming guitar sighs,
are basically a redux of a rather unknown "Carry the Zero" b-side called "Now
and Then"--which is a much better song and, in my mind, truly worth holding
onto.

And Jayson Greene said:

"They Got Away" does almost nothing for me. This would be the portion of the
Built to Spill live show during which I completely zone out, where I notice that
my feet hurt and that I want a drink of water. Doug Martsch seems perfectly
content to play with the same guitar tone for the rest of his life and to play
his smeared-tone, noodly solos forever. This is the most flat kind of artistic
stasis. This is miles away from the Built to Spill that lit me on fire in high
school, the band that demonstrated new ways of songwriting and showed me that
lyrics need not be autobiographical or even specific to be work completely.

And "Rearrange." Pretty tune, promising lead-in. Then the
lyrics quickly veer off course. What the fuck is he trying for with this kind of
shit? Has he gotten so lax that he really thinks he can sing whatever the fuck
he wants before he starts up the spacey slide guitar again?

Sorry Ben,
sorry folks -- there are no "teeth" in these tunes. This is as fresh as
month-old bong water.

He's probably right.

And FINALLY:

Built to Spill covering the L. Skynyrd classic "Freebird", live! - click to download

You can find "Freebird" and a few other live BtS covers here.

Enjoy!

Summer Summer!

Week 21 No. 3, Home Improvement: Painting

2008-05-30T01:16:00.002-04:00

Post-painting mess, Pt. 1: Garbage

Painting is almost entirely finished: kitchen, bedroom, living room. All that's left is a few finishing touches on the living room and VOILA! we have a new apartment.

Much much much thanks due to Miss Sweeetheart, Ben D and of course, the baddest of bad, E-BAD. I now feel like the walls of my kitchen want to envelope me whole.

Photos/recap to come, as soon as I can.

Post-painting mess, Pt. 2: Hair (note new yellow wall!)

Week 21 No. 2, Home Improvement: Cleaning and a Visit to Home Depot

2008-05-28T20:49:00.001-04:00

Monday was lots of cleaning, including cleaning the bathroom spotlessly--difficult when the tiles have permanent marks all over them and the bathtub caulk is old and stained--washing all the dishes and beginning the more exhausting overhaul of straightening up and rearranging things, including specifically cleaning off the mystery stairwell-to-nowhere that has served as a storage space since I moved in.

After cleaning for awhile, I took a break. I knew that there was no way I'd do all the cleaning necessary because there was still a lot of stuff that needed to be done before I'd reach the finishing stages.

Chief among these, and the main subproject of this Hyperliving week, is to paint my apartment. I had been wanting to paint my room for a long time, but this week of home improvement gave me the idea that I could actually paint my whole apartment. I cleaned until around 5 and then headed to Home Depot to buy paint.

I didn't choose any of these, actually.

Your first question might be: where is there a Home Depot near me in Williamsburg? Oddly enough, there's a huge Home Depot tucked away in Bed Stuy, not to far from my home (by bike).

After browsing through a number of paint chips, I settled on three colors for my bedroom, the kitchen, and the living room. I gave my order to the guy above to get everything ready for me and was surprised at how expensive paint in. Argh.

I loaded up the cart with necessary supplies, including rollers, bluetape, paint trays, and energy-efficient light bulbs.

Once we had everything we needed, we paid and went outside to head home. Our original plan called for biking over and then dragging our bags and bikes on to the G train subway to get home, but I decided that we could probably just attach the paint cans to our bikes and not bother with the subway. And it worked.

E-bad looks disapprovingly on the idea to carry paint cans on bikes

The paint cans, attached to bicycles (up close)

We made it home just fine and immediately began thinking about the fun process of painting the house (a task I haven't actually ever had to do before).

The mind is percolating...

More to come: cleanliness continues / furniture replaced and / painting is begun on the kitchen and bedroom.

cheers,
JB

Week 21 Home Improvement

2008-05-28T12:59:00.001-04:00

The Glory of New Jersey

The cleaning and home glorification process is progressing along nicely. Bathroom is totally cleaned, and the house is being cleaned, reorganized and reconfigured. I also bought paint to repaint my bedroom, the kitchen and the living room.

Photos to come.

Week 21, Home Improvement

2008-05-26T13:22:00.002-04:00

Hyperliving, again.

This week is home improvement. We had a fairly decent-sized party last night and so home improvement week will begin with cleaning everything up to get ready for a week of painting, re-organizing and cleaning.

Not the worst mess in the world but a good place to start to clean from scratch.

Week 20, Day 1 Meditation: A Very Long Bike Ride (MORE TO COME)

2008-05-22T23:53:00.001-04:00

i haven't posted in forever, so i'm putting this up before it's finished... will try to finish today...

Getting ready to ride

Hyperliving has been a little derailed lately by, well, a deraileur. But, while I can't deny that I've drifted away briefly from my quest(s), I feel like I've been getting on track in certain important ways that are good for me.

Chief among these, obviously, is my new obsession with biking, which began a month ago but already feels like three years ago. Obviously I'm excited about biking because I've felt like I've needed to be more active, but more specifically I've been disappointed in the way that I've struggled to connect with any of the number of exercise routines that I've attempted to adapt over the past few years. And now that I've found one that works, well, I guess my brain is pretty much running away with it.

The Montauk Bike Ride -- "65 mile" leg

This week is supposed to be a week of meditation. It hasn't quite been. But on Sunday I had what was easily and absolutely the most meditative experience of my life: my 69 mile bike ride across Long Island to Montauk.

View Larger Map

Full map including ride home

View Larger Map

As I said in my liveblog posts on Sunday, this "65 Mile Ride" turned out to be actually more like 69 miles. But either way, it was four hours and fourteen minutes of me losing consciousness of everything around me except the ceaseless movement of my legs, up and down.

This experience was profound in the way that it literally transported me to another place, a place of calm and stillness that I have rarely had acquaintance with.

But let me step back a few steps and mention two brief anecdotal notes from my past that have come to mind this week.

Anecdote #1
The first time I ever even thought about the idea of meditating came while I was a teen attending youth services at my Unitarian Church. My leader, the wise and magical Maia M, had us try some basic forms of meditation, and brought in a local Buddhist friend to give us an instructional talk. She also told a story, from either a book, or her head, or one that had been told to her when she spent time at a zen buddhist monastery in the Catskill mountains, one which has stuck with me for a long time.

The story was of a young monk who was struggling to find his place at his monastery, feeling like he was running through the motions and doing the right things, but neither satisfying his masters nor himself with his efforts--and most importantly, he didn't not feel like he was on the path toward understanding nirvana.

As life as a monk in a monastery is generally simple and contained, one of his responsibilities was to wash the dishes every day. There were a variety of other tasks that needed to be done, but he had been assigned to wash dishes--and try as he might, he couldn't get past the fact that he just hated washing dishes. The tireless monotony of it, the grossness of the plates, the fact that his only goal with them was to reset them to point zero--it all felt superfluous and unpleasant.

After a while, the monk finally asked his superior if there was anyway he could switch to another task, any other task, instead of washing the dishes. But his superior just looked at him and said slowly, "My friend, why is it that you wash the dishes each day?" The monk looked back and said, "Well, obviously they need to be clean so we can use them and eat off them. Also, if we don't wash them, the dirty dishes will pile up." His superior put his head down and paused, before speaking again. "My friend, I do not think you understand. There is only one reason that you should be washing the dishes, and that is: to wash the dishes." The superior let this comment hang in the air for a minute before continuing. "When you wash the dishes, you must only think about washing the dishes. Focus all that you have on washing the dishes, allowing each step to become one large fluid movement, all part of the goal of dish washing. Do not be tempted by thoughts of 'outcomes' or goals, do not dwell on thoughts of your life; think only of washing the dishes."

This story continues--the monk begrudgingly follows the instructions and then slowly begins edging toward low-level enlightenmight--but the basic point that has stuck with me is the idea that we as humans always think many steps ahead, causing our minds to race and making the idea of meditation basically impossible. Me "getting this" is a little amusing, of course, because anyone who knows me is aware of the fact that I have one of the most criminally-hyperactive brains out there, and that it's usually thinking four or eight steps ahead of just about everthing at every possible moment. But still, from time to time I am able to find situations where my brain is able to just engage with a specific pursuit in a singular enough of a way that all of world is reduced to a simple glide of life.

It is a constant problem for me, of course, that these moments are too fleeting, and I don't know how to find them when I really need some calm. But that is why I am continuing to search for the answers.

Anecdote #2
When I was in middle school, the father of a friend was talking about bicycles and mentioned how on an optimal ride, a rider will pedal at almost the same rate the entire time, even while going up or down hills or shifting gears. This method would produce the best aerobic exercise to the rider, and would also be best for the body.

As I've taken on the task of cycling, I've thought quite a bit about both of these memories, because I've found that through some combination of the two ideas, I have been able to achieve while biking a type of relaxed psychic calm that is completely meditative.

Sleepy volunteers help with check-in at Penn Station. I do not believe that they are bikers.

Ok then, so back to the Montauk Bike ride.

My motivations for doing the 65 mile leg of the Montauk bike ride (alone) therefore boiled down to two factors: a) it would be a great physical challenge and would be good for my body, and b) it would give me a chance to spend some time alone and do some bike meditation.

As mentioned here previously, the longest ride I'd ever done before was 28.5 miles, just done the week before, so 65 (or 69 or 78) miles would be more than twice as much as my previous high. Some of my friends were skeptical that I would be able to do such a ride, but for some reason I just had a feeling that I would be able to handle it just fine.

Of course, after a few weeks of getting ready, when they day finally came I began it somewhat ridiculously: I woke up around 4:55 am, after having fallen asleep the night before at about 3:20. I can't really explain why in god's name I insisted on giving myself as little sleep as possible prior to undertaking one a physically exhausting activity like this, but part of it was nerves and part of it was just typical Ben sleep stupidity.

After waking, I got dressed--in bike shorts and jersey--and began packing my belongings--which I should have done the night before. As you can see in the photo at the top of this post, I had a bag on my bike for carrying items that I'd bring with me while riding, and then also a backpack containing things I'd want after the ride (transported ahead on a truck to the finish line). In the backpack I packed some clean clothes and a book to read on the ride home, and in the bikebag I packed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, two Clif bars, my digital camera, my phone/wallet/keys, and a light windbreaker. Also contained in the bag was a bike pump, an extra tube, and a set of Allan keys for any emergency repairs I'd need to do.

Right before leaving the house, I remembered that I needed to reattach a toeclip that had come off to one of the pedals. I finally departed at about 5:40 and decided that I would ride to the Bedford L (stupid weekend construction) and ride it to Union Square before getting off and biking up to Penn Station where check-in was taking place.

5:50 am on the L train...

After waiting a while for a train to come, I finally got to Penn Station around 6:25, where there were already a few hundred people milling around antsily.

Bikers mull about at Penn Station waiting for the call to head to their train for Mastic Shirley

Check-in breakfast tables

After checking in, I loaded my bike on the truck heading out to Mastic Shirley and helped myself to a cup of coffee, a banana, a glass of orange juice, a blueberry muffin and some grapes and began poking around. At around 7:15 they finally signalled for us to head downstairs to the LIRR for our train to Mastic.

Bikers walk to the LIRR

LIRR map... Montauk at the very end on the right

The train had reserved the last few cars for Montauk riders only, so my traincar was entirely filled with them. I sat down next to a pair of women named Stacy and Amanda who were also doing their first lengthy bike ride, as part of Amanda's training for a triathalon in New York at the end of the summer.

Antsy bikers

The train ride took over an hour, maybe 90 minutes (?) before we finally got to Mastic Shirley. Everyone filed off the train and went off to find the respective truck carrying their bike.

I'm not sure what this guy is scoping out but the I'm very curious

Volunteers handing off bikes.

After grabbing my bike I went to wait in the ridiculous line for the bathroom. I had a sense in my head that I would want to ride without interruption, so I wanted to make sure that I got everything out of the way before I got going.

I had originally had the idea that I would travel with the "Escorted Ride Group" so that I wouldn't have to go alone, and so I could get some help with pacing and whatnot, so I waited until all the other bikers had departed to leave with them. As soon as they began though, I realized that the stated 12mph speed would be ridiculously slow and that I would neither have fun nor feel like I was pushing myself if I went that slow, so I just took off and went out looking for folks who might be more interested in traveling my speed.

The escorted ride group

The first two bikers in front of me.

The last time I paused for any length of time...

And then, I was off.

The first official rest stop, which I stopped at for thirty seconds to take one photo.

Scenery, snapped while riding

A bridge: it was beautiful. I cranked up it and went down it at 33mph

And then I thought my camera battery had died, so i stopped bothering to photo while riding.

I continued riding the entire way, with only three more stops.
- Slow down at 28 miles as my right leg became completely and totally cramped up... gliding and pedaling slowly using only my left leg.
- Stop at second rest stop at 40 miles for 30 seconds to do a brief live blog
- On last stretch of hill, without about seven miles left, I looked down to adjust my bike shorts and then veered to the right and hit a patch of sand on the side of the road, causing me and my bike to halt to a stop. Because I was going up a hill, getting started was going to be difficult, but it was even more so due to the fact that I was completely and totally exhausted. When I swung my leg back over my bike to get going again, it completely locked shut with a cramp and I had to stop and rest and massage it for a minute before I could get going again.

But once I did, it was straight home for the finish.

Tired, and exhausted.

Collecting delivered luggage

Eating some of the crappiest and most desired food in my life.

A woman who took this photo said she was a photographer and that she was turning the camera sideways to make the photo "artful". Erm, yes.

And now, onwards!

liveblog: Bike ride to Montauk -- FIN

2008-05-18T14:22:00.001-04:00

i'm done, finished about 10 min ago. I am TIRED TIRED.

Total: 69.08 miles, done in 4:14:14.

in the words of the immortal Clay Davis:

"SHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-IT!"

Libveblog: Bike to Montauk

2008-05-18T12:20:00.001-04:00

first stop. 40.46 miles down. Been riding for 2:22 so far. Leg cramped at one but feeling groovy. Love, JB

Liveblog: Bike ride to Montauk

2008-05-18T09:43:00.001-04:00

We're off the train and now in line for the ever important "last chance to pee while not pedaling". It is absolutely fucking beautiful out. Sun and sun and sun, and temperatures I believe around 65 or so. There appear to be folks of pretty varying skill levels, though at least gearwise a considerable percentage seem to care about how they ride (really nice bikes, bikeshorts/jerseys, clip pedals etc). I slept for a solid 10 minutes on the train so that pushes me up around 100 min of sleep. Woohoo. ok, now i'm up.

liveblog Bike Ride to Montauk

2008-05-18T07:27:00.001-04:00

Ok, on the train to Mastic now where me and a hundred or so other folks will begin our 65 mile journey to Montauk. Some crazy souls already began their journey this morning at 3:45 am--those more constituted folk (like E-bad's father) are traveling the full 145 miles from Penn St to Montauk by bike. I'm saying right now to myself "Maybe next year?" But of course, first things first.

Liveblog: Bike Ride

2008-05-18T06:52:00.000-04:00

today begins a culmination of sorts of the phase one impact of Hyperliving Bike Week: the 65 mile Montauk bike ride. I slept about 90 minutes last night and am now at Penn St waiting to board a train for Mastic to start the ride.

Umm..

2008-05-18T01:12:00.003-04:00

As Todd said to me today, Bike Week was the worst week of Hyperliving so far because it's totally killed what I've done since then. I have to wake up in three and a half hours for a 65 mile bike ride I'm taking tomorrow to Montauk. I think only of bikes.

I have scraps of paper with stuff i've written about friends on my desk and photos of them to post. Tomorrow begins meditation week. I feel like this ride is going to be the ultimate sort of meditative exercise for a man whose brain travels only at speeds of 70-120mph. We'll see. I'll try and photog as much as i can and rejoin you soon.

love,
JB

Black Tears (I Can See Them But I Can't Feel Them), or "I Know that I'm / The most enept / That ever stepped"

2008-05-15T18:30:00.006-04:00

This is neither an excuse nor an actual follow-through, but merely a reminder that I'm not dead and I'm still trying to make my way in a world that I admittedly am in constant struggle with to understand and make ok.

So I'm here and trying to sort shit out right now, and it's a bit of murk murk and a lot of glug glug. But Hyperliving is still here, and will be "back on track" in the more registered, formal sense, soon enough. But, as my man says, "These things take time."

Week 18: "Reading Week" Recap Pt. 1 (Bikes and Other Things and Not Books)

2008-05-12T09:20:00.001-04:00

I have been alternating between massively gleeful and horrifyingly depressed. Life has been up and down for me lately, despite staying largely the same. Meaning, it's all been in my idea-overflowing head.

First things first: this past week must certainly be redacted in the Hyperliving annals as "Vacation Week #2", subtitled Mental Recuperation and Reconstruction Week.

So what happened for "Reading Week"? I didn't read. Or hardly read.

I needed to finish my book club book before we meet next week and I hadn't even started reading it. I ordered two copies (accidentally) but the first didn't even come until Friday. In between then, I attempted to read Ulysses (beyond hilarious, laughable, the perfect metaphor for the ways in which I almost force failure by overreaching on simple aims)--resulting in, essentially, opening and closing the book and then nothing. I moved on from there to Don Delillo's Underworld, but I also was unprepared to get into that weighty tome, and so I finally hunkered down with JG Ballard's Empire of the Sun, of which I read about 35 pages in a hour of reading on Thursday night before finally relenting and deciding to accept the week as another week off.

I mark Week 18 as a failure week for sure, but at least it generated some good: a big reason that reading was such a struggle right now, beyond my generally non-longterm concentration lifestyle, is that lots of things have been going on in my life and I've been feeling pretty great about some new pursuits I've been engaging in.

Chief among these "new pursuits" is that I've become completely obsessed with bicycling. I am not one to generally talk such talk, but I'd say right now that it's approaching feelings of "This might be my 'salvation'". I've been struggling for years for find some way to get myself back on a track of exercise and healthiness and I think I've finally found it.

Compounding my new interest in biking is the fact that last Sunday I got a "new" bike on long-term loan from a friend who's father had just gotten a new bike and wanted to pass his old one along, an early 90s Japanese racing bike. This bike is just completely amazing and has taken the experience of biking for me from great to "I need to be sitting on this bike every minute of every day." I will write more on this bike and my history of bikes later, as there's something there, but suffice it to say that right now I have a hunger to be on the road.

In the past week I rode (according to the bike odometer) 96 miles. My rides this week included biking to work on Wednesday and Thursday and then three particular bike journeys on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Wednesday Ride, 17.62 miles
Wednesday was the day of The Great Hot Dog Ride Photo Recapturing with Ben D.

View Larger Map

Ben has been taking a statistics course on his way to beginning a path toward becoming a physician's assistant and for a final project he decided to canvas the city to evaluate the hot dog cart pricing. He did this as a part of a healthy 32 mile bike ride, but forgot to bring the memory card to his camera and was therefore unable to take any photos, so I agreed to meet up with him and recapture some action shots. I rode to work via the 59 St bridge and then met him downtown after work at Houston & Broadway. I snapped some poses and then we went for a ride to his house and continued our discussions on the finer points of Photoshop editing.

Here's a few photos I took (amazingly he didn't eat a single dog on his first journey, despite stopping at over 100 hot dog stands):

Saturday Ride, 13.81 miles
On Saturday, E-bad and I went on a sweet little bike tour of Astoria:

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We left from Williamsburg and headed over the Pulaski, the same way I ride to work, but then headed toward the East River and rode along that, seeing some of Astoria's lovely riverbank greens. We stopped along the way at Socrates Sculpture Park near the Noguchi Museum to relax and see some interesting outdoor artwork.

Photos:

We finished the ride by riding east across 20th Ave, the northernmost street in Queens, and then cruising down Steinway back toward the Burg. We'd hoped to find the Steinway piano factory somewhere along our route, but no such luck.

Sunday Ride, 28.19 miles
I am hoping to participate in a 65 mile bike ride on Long Island next week (more on that later), but I'd still never ridden more than 20 or so miles in a day, so yesterday I went on a long ride of 28 miles:

View Larger Map

I began in Williamsburg into Queens, over the 59 St bridge, north up 1st Ave eventually reaching 145 St, then back down and through Central Park on the bike/ride/walk loop, all the way down and then back up to the E90 St exit. I then rode down 5th Ave to Broadway, and then more or less (there was a street fair on part of Broadway) down Broadway to Canal and then over the Manhattan Bridge into Brooklyn and then home via standard Fort Greene route.

It was a great ride and probably the longest I've ever taken. Unlike the other two more leisurely rides, I attempted to ride fast and hard, and so my legs were basically exhausted by the end (including a few incidents of cramping, which probably could have been avoided had I stretched better and eaten a few more sugars before beginning). I will need to work on pacing myself if I'm going to ride 65 miles next Sunday. Laugh with me on that one, please.

--------

So we're getting back on track--regular updates going once again starting today.

cheers,
JB

Next Three Weeks of Hyperliving: May 11-31

2008-05-12T08:23:00.004-04:00

So finally, back on track with Hyperliving. The schedule to finish out May:

May 11-17: Write two-pages each day on an important friendship
May 18-24: Week of Meditation
May 25-31: Week of Home Improvement Tasks

Recap: Black Ghosts show at Glasslands, Saturday May 10

2008-05-12T01:41:00.007-04:00

More photos and tunes below...

Went to Glasslands Friday night to get into a free (RSVP-only) Vice Records sponsored show by British band The Black Ghosts. I'd never heard them before, but they were pretty great in the post-techno dubsteppy "very British" vein occupied by artists like Burial.

What wasn't great, however was the ridiculous ordeal involved in actually getting into the show. When we arrived at Glasslands, we were treated to a laughably by-the-books situation of forced (and unnecessary) line creation. That is, there were bouncers outside--does anyone else find it bizarre that Glasslands, a pretty non-legitimate venue, uses pro bouncers?--getting aggro about the venue being at capacity and a need for people to "form two lines" and be patient for people to leave before more people would be allowed inside.

The situation was frustrating enough that even the Vice people were exasperated with the bouncers and trying to get folks in. We had arrived late, around 12:15, assuming that we'd miss the queues by doing so, but we were wrong. We waited for, I dunno, 30 minutes before finally being admitted, but even this was only after an aborted attempt to go inside where our hands were stamped and ok'd to enter, but a hardcore bouncer yelled at us to get back in line. And of course, when we got inside, a) they didn't even bother to check our names for the RSVP list and b) it became obvious that the venue was nowhere near capacity whatsoever--I would estimate that there were about 1/3 the amount of people that attended the Blue Album Group show there. By the time we left, the venue had filled up, but it still felt like the whole experience had been an exercise in the ways in which New York can sometimes be a total shithouse.

Despite all that though, Black Ghosts were truly great. Looking like two very typical hip English dudes, I found myself shocked at the impressive pipes of the singer, Simian's Simon Lord (the DJ being The Wiseguys' Theo Keating) . What initially seemed like it might be a boring DJ set of blah tunes was in fact an engaging set of very danceable songs with a nice "band" performance.

If you're interested, here's a few mp3s:

- Black Ghosts 63 min mixtape (click here for link to tracklist)

- Black Ghosts - I Want Nothing (Frankmusik remix)

- Black Ghosts - Face (Switch mix)

Music Video of The Black Ghosts: 'I Want Nothing'

And these are some photos I took:

Not Dead / Not Done

2008-05-09T19:09:00.002-04:00

I'm still here. Distracted. Not accomplishing the week's goal of Hyperliving. But living, and certainly accomplishing some things related to my human life.

Updates to follow this weekend and over the next few days.

Week 18: Book Reading

2008-05-06T08:34:00.003-04:00

Due to factors both out of my hands and completely and totally within my hands, I have delayed the start of Week 18 until today. But now we are back on track, and my brief Hyperliving break concludes.

This week I will learn about the world by engaging in 3 hours of book reading every day. Though I read a tremendous amount of text each day, the vast majority of it comes to me via computers and most importantly, short term/short attention span digestion forms. Articles, columns, tables, blurbs, etc. I used to read books voraciously, until the Internet took over my life and turned me into a drone. I even joined a book club in February, which has begun to rekindle my love of paper, but I am still looking to have the kind of day-in-day-out experiences of reading books until my brain hurts or my dad comes in my bedroom and yells at me for still having the lights on.

I will fill you in on each of my book reading choices (hopefully a few). Note any brief reading I accomplish on my 25 minute subway ride to and from work will be in addition to the main 3 hour block of daily reading.

cheers,
JB

Some silence / Some sound (two mixes)

2008-05-04T18:05:00.004-04:00

Hyperliving has been a bit dormant the past week as I've enjoyed some needed rest. Coming soon is the next month's Hyperliving schedule tonight, but here's a few mixes for the nice weather.

[Note: there should be XML files in both of these zips that you can import into iTunes to automatically rebuild the playlists once you've added all the songs.]

Mix 6: Out of Time / Anglophilia

Click here to download the "Out of Time" mix zip file

This mix goes against one of my general mix-making precepts, which is to vary artists and sounds. Also, a number of these songs have appeared on other mixes I've made. But Out of Time, which I put together over the winter, isn't really about rules--it's about pop songs that I absolutely can't get out of my head. It's definitely a "pussy mix" and it's sort of subtitled "Anglophilia" because most of it has a sort of foppish heart-on-sleeve general sensibility--but basically this is a mix to put on in your car on a beautiful spring day like today and roll the windows down, smoke a cigarette and bask in the sunlight while you let yourself burn to the great feeling about being alive today.

A few specific points on this mix, which is filled with some of my favorite pop songs of all time (or at least in the last year or two):
- The 60s raver "Lazy Line Painter Jane" is the best song Belle & Sebastian ever wrote and is unlike everything else they ever did.
- "Teenage FBI" is Bob Pollard at his absolutel catchiest.
- "Out of Time" (appearing in two versions), "It's All Over Now," and Beck's never released "Untitled" are three songs that I have been beyond obsessed with in the past few months and have played each too many times to count. I can't really explain why I've loved each of these songs so much, except that they are obviously great and they seemed to speak to me and where I've been in the world recently. There are a number of versions of the first two songs, by these artists and others, but these are my favorites
- I normally don't care much for Bright Eyes, but this cover of Daniel Johnston's "Devil Town" is spectacular and has convinced me many times against the rest of my judgement that his last few records deserve a few more spins.
- "My Lighthouse" is a single from the very first Pulp album WAY back in 1983 (who knew they were that old?). It's nothing like the modern band you may know and love but I'm right with Jarvis here. Sidebar: I have a distinct memory of being 15 and listening to this album in my house after borrowing it from a Jarvis-obsessed friend and having my dad--who rarely commented to me about any music choices that hadn't once been his own--look at me plaintively and said, "Ben, why do you like this? The lyrics, I mean, well, they're just terrible. I don't get it." His eyes looked almost pained and I'll never forget it. A moment when I realized sometimes you have to agree to disagree. "Babies", on the other hand, is an undeniable testament to the fact that Jarvis knows exactly what the fuck he's doing and that it's worth all our time.
- "Beautiful" is, yes, a Christina Aguilera cover, and it's honestly exactly that (that's no. 2 unexpected goodness byproduct of Ms. Aguilera)
- "Activation" is an arresting track by Deerhunter side project Atlas Sound and is my latest obsession. I can't quite explain what about the song just does it for me so much, but I can't stop putting it on and I can't get that aching out of my head.
- I thought about putting the My Bloody Valentine cover of Wire's "Map Ref" on here but opted for the original instead. Hope you agree (though replace as necessary).

and

Mix 7: Rock Against Winter

Click here to download the "Rock Against Winter" mix zip file

I made this one, essentially another roll-down-the-car-windows singalong mix through a garage/punk filter, for a friend this winter to stave off the cabin fever blues. Again, many of these tracks number among my all-time favorites.

A few notes:
- "You Won't See Me Anymore" is the first single released by the Nice Boys, the band formed by surviving Exploding Hearts guitarist Terry Sixx after the rest of his band perished in a tragic van accident. Nothing can ever really approach the true power-pop glory of the Hearts (see: "Shattered") but this track is pretty fantastic and, incidentally, way better than anything included on the subsequent album the band released later.
- "The Classical" is easily my favorite of all Mark E. Smith snarl machines. The first couplet is really too much ( i daren't repeat it here). It is truly a track to shake hearts and minds
- Despite what I just said about "Teenage FBI", "Buzzard and Dreadful Crows" is and will always be my favorite Guided By Voices song--perhaps because it was the first one I connected with (off the canonical Bee Thousand) but I can play it a million times in a row and never get tired of it.
- Jay Reatard is THE FUCKING JAM (click link to see Jay and Co live at Cake Shop via P-fork TV--a great show attended by Doorknobs, Hendo and I)
- Since seeing them last fall, I've totally come around on the Black Lips. At first I didn't quite get what they were about but then something clicked and I now understand that they are some kind of brilliant extension of the way I'd like to see my own place in the world.
- "Drowning" has shown up on three mixes I've made in the last six months--I dare someone to not enjoy it. It seems to get at the heart of whatever it is that makes a great rock n' roll song.
- I hate "earliest is best, of course" arguments because I dig growth and extension, but seriously, "Box Elder" is just one of the best best things Pavement ever did, right at the beginning of their lengthy and almost always excellent career (though it says '93 above, the track was originally recorded and released on the Slay Tracks EP in 1989). I thought for the sake of being cute that I might include the reverent Holly Golightly cover instead but I knew that would just be crazy--so just listen and enjoy. Also, here's a vid of SM doing it solo too.
- My Teenage Stride is a Brooklyn band and "To Live and Die" is one of those songs that remind you of everything great about pop music.
- "Shocker in Gloomtown" is a Guided By Voices cover from a limited release 10" that was the last gasp of the first period Breeders--the EP, recorded by J Mascis, also ironically included a cover of Sebadoh's "The Freed Pig" (a post-DJ Lou Barlow song written about Mascis).
- Speaking of D Jr., their comeback record Beyond from 2007 may have been one of the best legitmate comeback records ever (real tunes, no schtick, all goodness) and "We're Not Alone" is just a perfect DJ moment that, when hearing, feels like the one you've waited your whole life for.
- "That's How I Reached My Uncertain Fate": if only Mission of Burma's entire output had sounded like this. Stands alone with "Academy Fight Song" and "That's When I Reach for My Revolver" as the shining moments in the limited discography.
- "Star Star" aka "Starfucker" is the best song on the so-so slept on Stones album Goats Head Soup and seems like a great way to say goodnight, goodbye, talk to you tomorrow.

thoughts and comments are greatly appreciated. more to music/words to come. Hyperliving will be back. love it. love it. love and love. it's almost summer.

love,
JB

Looking Kinda Anxious in My Cross-armed Stance

2008-05-01T02:26:00.006-04:00

Back in Upstate NY

Speaking of old weirdness, my mom handed me a pile of forgotten errata today, including photos of the past, random trinkets, and a postcard from an old girlfriend sent to me in the middle of a bout of insanity. Here's some photos of those items as well as some others I've taken:

Mom, in typical form

Dad

The Crayon Family

A little boy hammers nails to help build his new home.

A book of sister

Some things never change.

From a Rotterdam "park" off Rt 5S near Schenectady

This sign pinpoints precisely why this park seemed so strange.

This is the gross restroom Lil Beaumont insisted on using. Inviting, mmm.

And this is the toilet that she actually sat on.

And this is the mantra she stared at while she peed: "I want young dick in my mouth."

-----------------------------

It's been an odd, albeit wholly uneventful, few days up here. Even when nothing happens in Upstate NY I am reminded of everything that has come before and everything that didn't and might. There is a feeling here that always overcomes me, managing to present both sweeping stillness and also terrible uneasiness.

Blue Album Group Redux

2008-05-01T00:59:00.007-04:00

I spoke at length a few weeks ago about the greatness of the Blue Album Group's efforts at rechanneling lost glory of the 90s and the end of innocence. My posts offered some words and photos, but I am in upstate NY right now and having visions of a past I'd nearly forgotten... and so I thought I'd post two video clips from the two final Blue Album Group shows, the former from last Friday's show at Trash Bar and the latter from the Glasslands show I saw on April 4:

Blue Album Group - My Name is Jonas (Live at Trash 4/25/08) from Lawrence Scaduto on Vimeo.

Blue Album Group - Buddy Holly from Lawrence Scaduto on Vimeo.

Sometimes It Snows In April

2008-04-30T16:20:00.001-04:00

April snow in upstate NY

Home and relaxing, sorry for the lack of updates... still feeling weird over the lost computer data (aka life knowledge) and trying to meet the needs of family and friends trying to get their hands on some Beaumont time.

Of course, the falling white flakes make me and half of the rest of America born pre-85 think of Prince's masterschmaltz classic "Sometimes It Snows In April", the closing number of 1985's Parade (my somewhat less traditional choice of favorite Prince album).

Best/worst life moment related to this song: driving in a car on the way home from a fake date with an already-boyfriended crush, I put on Prince to demonstrate some musical diversity beyond my expected übercrackerdom tastes. I started with "Kiss", the sparse funk classic widely regarded as Prince's best, if not most well-known, single. Being the tenth track on Parade, we soon made it to the end of the album... at which point I busted out the falsetto and begin singing along to this arresting and way melodramatic song about love and loss and death. To this day I cannot imagine what overcame me to convince myself it would be a good idea to do that, and I would only be more shocked had it not been the second time I'd done such a thing for a girl who I hardly knew (diff songs). I didn't ask at the time, but I'm fairly sure that both women were at least mildly horrified; though, incidentally, both moments were the beginning of long relationships...

Anyway, here's a version of a French group (unknown to me) called Native performing it. Despite the fact that I would likely hate most of Native's output, this song, which already pushes Prince's cheesefactor to its absolute max, seems almost perfect in the hands of such schlockmeisters. My mom says: "Umm, it sounds kinda like religious music... I don't know why you're listening to it." I say: "I am strangely unable to stop listening."

French group NATIVE covering Prince's "Sometimes it Snows in April"

Here is the actual mp3 which, yes, is unquestionably superior:
Prince - "Sometimes It Snows In April"

And here's an 8 minute MTV Unplugged clip of Prince riffing around, making his way to a brief bit of the song at 6:34.

---------

Finally, on last weirdsoul music-related topic, here's a video of the lead single from Jamie Lidell's new album Jim, which dropped in stores and on the Bleep.com mp3 store yesterday. The song is called "Little Bit of Feel Good" and it continues in the nouveau vibe. I love this strange, beautiful man. Enjoy:

Hoping that when I get home tomorrow night it is sunny and 71 degrees in New York.

Week 17: Relaxation and Catch-up

2008-04-28T03:31:00.004-04:00

Sixteen weeks of Hyperliving have now concluded and I am finally on vacation. Not from Hyperliving, of course, but from my "real job"--my first vacation of any sort since Christmas.

I definitely need some rest from the breakneck pace of late, so I've decided that this week's Hyperliving is going to be to relax as much as I can and, more importantly, to complete the two Hyperliving weeks that I didn't quite complete: Week 8, Beck, and Week 9, Thank-you Letters. I will finally finish these two tasks this week and come back with the next month of activities at the end of the week.

Also, since I've just lost my computer, it means that I've lost my Hyperliving masterlist of ideas. Seriously. I have a lot of them in my head, but I will mention at this time that I'm again soliciting suggestions from anyone out there, so let me know via comments or email whatever's on your mind.

cheers,
JB

Computer Aliveness: Hard to complain right now...

2008-04-28T03:19:00.001-04:00

I have just acted more impulsively than is usual for even me--as the devasting reality that I may have just erased my entire life of the past few years in digital form begins to set in slowly, the thought that I was also without computer began to take hold of me and savage my emotional well-being. And so...

I bought this new fella tonight--a 2.4 Ghz MacBook Pro. I feel spoiled.

It is the fifth computer I've had as an adult but my first new one since I got a Dell Dimension 4100 Pentium III 800 mhz desktop (256mb RAM) in August 2000 to take with me to school--running Windows ME and looking for love. I don't know why I still have this tower, but here it is:

My next machine was a used laptop I received in December 2002 to take with me on my semester abroad in London. It was just weak Celeron processor running Windows 98 SE and had only a cd player, but it did me well for a while. I'm pretty sure this computer is floating around my apartment somewhere but I can't seem to find it anywhere.

After that I got my next computer in September 2005, for $100 from the university where Princess Icy worked. They were upgrading all of their units and throwing out the old ones, so they offered all staff the chance to purchase one for $100. Though this machine was probably from 2002 or 2003, it was a Pentium 4 1.7 ghz with 1 GB ram and two harddrives totaling 120 GB. And most importantly, it ran Windows 2000, meaning that, unlike the other two, it could run iTunes. Up until this point I'd been relying on other people's computers to maintain my ipod, but finally I could control it all on my own. Here it is now below; it ran perfectly until just a few months ago when it began shutting off spontaneously and now, as of last week, seems to have kicked the bucket for good:

There it is at the bottom; note that the monitor is the same 17" monitor I got with my Dell desktop in 2000.

Finally in October 2006 I received "the life-changer"--my very first Mac. For $500, I purchased from a coworker of Shrimp Cracker a nearly 3 year old G4 1 ghz 12" Apple Powerbook with 1.25 GB ram (max) and 120 GB hard drive space (max). Here it is below in darkness next to the bright magic light of my new friend.

This machine literally changed my life. Though already aged when I received it, this machine finally brought me forward in the world, and its previous owner had souped it up enough to extend its lifespan years past the store purchase life. I began carrying this computer everywhere, using it for everything. It brought me immense joy and helped me feel finally like I'd been able to "center" my digital existence in a way that felt natural and right. It also converted me into a full-on Mac man.

I knew that eventually my romance with my G4 would fall apart, but even as recently as Friday it was still going strong and I hoped to have more time with it.

But you can't control the wind--I know that clearly enough. And now I have a new machine, and it's amazing and I am a lucky (though impoverished) boy. The start of a new era.

Computer Deadness: Maximum Sadness

2008-04-27T19:21:00.003-04:00

(Note: This is not my computer, though mine is indeed smashed)

Expect a little upcoming interruption in Hyperliving service: my dearly beloved computer died last night--I left the cord in a precarious position in the middle of a walkpath and it was tripped and my computer was yanked to the ground, smashing to its seeming death. It immediately shut off and now when I turn it on, it makes the "Apple sound" but the screen just turns gray and nothing happens. Sadness.

Ironically enough, I just last week bought a 320 GB external harddrive to back everything up, but hadn't yet done so. I said to myself just on Friday when I was riding my bike home that, "I really need to do that on Sunday". The depressing result of my delay is that I may have lost 68 GB of music with hundreds of carefully crafted playlists. Equally important is the loss of all of my precious photos, which carefully document my life from September 2006 to the present. Some of these were taken by others and which I can get back in various ways, but most I can't get back and the rest, about 1500 or so, were photos I took this year for Hyperliving and otherwise. Finally, though there is less of this, lost is all of my non-Internet saved writing... including about 15 fresh pages on Beck I wrote this spring (as well as all of the 150 b-sides/etc making up my mighty Becklog).

I feel pretty devasted right now because I've finally stored my entire life--especially the last year and a half--on that little silver rectangle and it seems like I might have just lost it all.

The short of it all is that I now am temporarily without computer, as my aging P4 Windows 2000 desktop just died last week as well (though not nearly as tragically). I am a finger-trigger away from buying a new one with money I truly do not have (Apple credit cards?) so maybe i'll have something in the next few days... but for the time being I am alone in the world without binary comfort.

I'll check in soon with the rest of what's going on in Hyperliving coming up, though sadly won't be able to post the rest of the photos from the past few days.

Week 16, Day 6 Bike Exercise: Bridging New York

2008-04-26T11:41:00.004-04:00

I will update in greater detail when I get a chance, but here's the brief on yesterday:

- Left the house for work around 7:52, biking there via Queensboro/59 St Bridge
- Arrived at work at 8:26

- Left work at 6:49 to meet coworkers for a departing colleague's good-bye drinks at Trailer Park on 23 St
- Headed to Union Square North for Critical Mass bike event at 7:28
- Took photos and left Critical Mass at 8:03

- Biked home via trip over Brooklyn Bridge--last of four main bridges to travel by bike. Traveled at leisurely pace, stopping for photos/views along the way.
- Arrived home at 9:11

Total trip: 17.3 miles

Below is the tripmap and ridiculous in a not-very-interesting way video of half my trip biking over the Brooklyn Bridge. My legs are getting tired.

View Larger Map

An incredibly bumpy ride over the Brooklyn Bridge from Jeffrey Beaumont on Vimeo.

Week 16, Day 5 Bike Exercise: Slowly conquering

2008-04-25T01:23:00.002-04:00

On Thursday I biked to work via the Queensboro and then biked home down 5th Ave to the Williamsburg Bridge, stopping at Ave C btw 5th & 6th to check out Recycle-A-Bicycle to maybe buy a bike (no luck).

View Larger Map

Another great day of biking, in BEAUTIFUL weather.

Week 16, Day 4 Bike Exercise: A 3 Boro Tour

2008-04-23T21:09:00.005-04:00

View of Manhattan and Brooklyn Bridge from the Manhattan Bridge

I had to be at the office at 8 am for an event this morning--also meaning that I would need to be wearing a suit, so I decided that I would put off my bike-riding as a post-work activity.

I decided that the parameters for my evening ride should include a trip at least as long as the two 5.9 mile legs to my office and back. As I began thinking about possible routes, I was reminded by a friend that I still needed to sign up for the 5 Boro Bike Ride, which I've been saying for the past six weeks that I really want to do.

Unfortunately, when I went to go sign up I discovered that the Bike Ride in fact sold out on April 4. However, this immediate disappointment gave me inspiration for tonight's ride: a 3 boro tour, which included:
- beginning at my house in Williamsburg,
- running through Queens to the 59th St bridge,
- over that to 2nd Ave
- down 2nd Ave>Christie all way to the Manhattan Bridge
- over that and around lower Brooklyn and make my way home.

View Larger Map

On the Pulaski Bridge from Greenpoint to Queens

Overall the ride was about 13.9 miles and I had a great time. We left around 7:05 pm and got home around 8:35. The weather was absolutely gorgeous, we rode for long enough and at the right time to experience late hour sunlight, and then transitioning into dusk, sundown, and then night time. Everything about the ride was fun and only left me thirsting for more.

Me attempting to liveblog on Manhattan Bridge (didn't work)

A few thoughts I had durng the ride
- I really need to buy myself a decent used roadbike--the one I have works but it's really old and out of shape and I think a better one would make this experience even more fun that its already been
- Riding in Manhattan is WAYYY different than riding in Brooklyn--wayyyy more serious. I've had lots of experience driving cars all across New York, I think way more than most, and I can attest at how crazy and bad most drivers are here--but holy shit, cruising down 2nd Ave today was like a whole other level. No one uses turn signals, people swerve and weave in and out of lanes constantly and, of course, drivers seem to have no regard whatsoever for bicyclists on the road--basically it's a dangerous shitshow, and I'm very glad I was wearing my helmet.
- Next time there's a transit strike, I'll be ready (praying that it's not in Winter again, of course).
- I think a huge reason I like biking more than running is the simple fact that you get to alternate between work/coast as you're going along, which I think is crucial to someone who's still pretty much uncommitted to exercise (let alone the "total body punishment"of serious running).

The best part about the whole trip is that as we began to near home, I felt like I could have kept going for another hour. Maybe next time I will.

Week 16 Liveblog Biking: Dusk on Manhattan Bridge

2008-04-23T19:53:00.000-04:00

enjoying a beautiful evening going over the manhattan bridge.

Week 16, Day 2/3 Bike Exercise: Voyage to Manhattan

2008-04-23T00:52:00.005-04:00

MONDAY

Monday was sort of my off-day this week, as I had to be in Manhattan at 7 a.m., so I only biked briefly after work, but it wasn't very substantial. I will either go with six bike days this week or else make it up Sunday. However, I continued to enjoy my return to non-vegan foods by making tacos with the leftover ground beef from the burger making on Sunday. Yum. (Also, two nights of cooking dinner--duh whoa!).

TUESDAY

Today was the day that my bike exercising really began, by riding to work. Here's the map:

View Larger Map

Before today I'd neither ridden a bike over one of the NYC bridges nor ridden in Manhattan before, so it was some big steps for me. I also decided that since I work in Midtown, it would make the most sense to take the Queensboro/59th St Bridge rather than the Williamsburger. This was great except that my past trips to Queens had been limited and I knew I was somewhat uncertain about how to get to the entrance of the bridge--and you can see from looking at the map above that it took me a minute to figure out the best way to go.

The trip from my house to my office, according to Google Maps above, appears to be about 5.9 miles, which a good pre-work bike distance. I left the house around 8:38 and got to my desk at 9:13, which I thought was pretty solid considering that my chain went off the deraileur, I wasn't sure where to go, and I stopped to take some photos on the middle of the bridge over Roosevelt Island. When I got to the office, I was a little sweaty but not so bad and I had brought a full change of clothes so I was good and fresh as new as soon as I'd changed. Before going up the elevator, the security guard in my building (not the regular dude) asked, "Do they let you bring your bike insde?" I just shrugged and said, "Sure, of course".

The day went by slowly but I felt buoyed all day long by the energy of having accomplished my ride-to-work goal. I left work at 6:36 and stopped before beginning my journey home to take this photo of protesters picketing outside the horrible bar that Dan and C and I visited on Friday:

The trip home was slightly faster, though it felt considerably more so, if only because I was no longer scared about finding the right way or being late for anything. I got home around 7:10 and felt good to be alive.

Week 16, Day 1 Bike Exercise: Round about Brooklyn

2008-04-22T21:06:00.002-04:00

Sunday was a pretty good day.

I woke up in a bit of a funk, but the dark clouds subsided after I cooked my first non-vegan meal of blueberry pancakes, bacon, and dairy'd-coffee for me, Doorknobs and our houseguests. The luscious milky goodness of everything touched deeply in my heart; in some way, each bite of food felt like a revelation. The experience of eating "normal food" again after a week of self-imposed deprivation definitely felt of a piece with listening to music again after the torture of Hyperliving's Week 4 of Silence.

After breakfast I dawdled about the house before returning Bessie to her home. Unfortunately a lot of things were on my mind and I began to drift back into a melancholy doldrums. Though it was supposed to be the beginning of Meetings Week, getting my ass kicked in basketball the day before had made me feel self-conscious about being out-of-shape and so I decided to make a last-minute decision to restructure the week's Hyperliving to an exercise activity. Since I'd been on a few semi-decent bike rides recently to different parts of Brooklyn, I decided that biking would be the perfect way to do it.

Bike Week Begins

Knowing that E-bad is a biketrip lover, I asked her to begin the week with me on a nice Sunday afternoon excursion. She suggested that we ride down to Brooklyn Bridge park and watch the boats for a bit, which sounded perfect. Here's the map of our trip (click on the map to see public Google Map):

View Larger Map

As you can see, the total ride was just a hair shy of 9 miles. Which is pretty short ride in the scheme of rides, but a solid lengthy one for me (as someone who basically never bikes). I had a really great time and could tell that my idea for the week was a good one.

After we got back, we invited some friends over, including our respective new roommates, and had ourselves a nice barbeque of beer and burgers. E-bad and her new roommate Em-Jo got then got a fire started and I broke out the camera to begin practicing some more black and whites:

E-bad and Matt act out a scene from The Tempest

Even without the sleeves, he looks like he's ready to destroy

"Ok, so, a rabbi walks into a bar and orders a beer..."

liveblog: bike to work

2008-04-22T09:01:00.001-04:00

Week 15, Day 7 Veganism: Wrap-up

2008-04-21T23:18:00.004-04:00

Could hardly wait until Sunday rolled around and I'd be able to eat this bacon...

Saturday wrapped up my week of veganism, and it went by relatively painlessly. I woke up around 10 and leisurely floated around the house, drinking coffee (with soymilk) and reading the Wall Street Journal outside in the backyard. At noon, I took the upstairs dog with me to McCarren Park and fetched my old furry friend from her own home and walked the two of them around the park before decamping in their demarcated dogzone for some play time.

I stayed at the park for about 90 minutes before good friend M Jaffée came by to say hello and request my involvement in soliciting a pickup basketball game, at which pointed I headed home and wrote this brief blog post about sunshine and dogs and basketball. Basketball was great, and I brought the two dogs with my and chained them to the fence to watch the game, though Weegee spent most of the time booing my poor play.

This is pretty much all I ate on Saturday, coupled with a few beers:

DINNER

- Tao Hu Hor, from Cheer's Thai. Bean curd skin topped with mushroom bambooshoots, basil sauce and spinach. Basically, this was the single gross/terrible thing I ate all week.

- Amazing vegan cupcake from DPC

I wish I could say that I felt like all I wanted to eat is tofu... but I went to bed that night dreaming of the bacon I would eat the next day.

Week 16 Change: Meetings to Bikes

2008-04-21T15:30:00.001-04:00

Due to a variety of current circumstances, I've decided to make an executive decision to change this week's Hyperliving week from "Attend a Meeting Daily" to "Get Bike Exercise Daily". I decided yesterday that I'd been feeling incredibly slothful as my running has (surprise!) once again gone into remission. I've been generally biking a little lately, including a few longer rides, so i've decided that I'm going to try and shoot for a solid hour or longer of bike exercise each day... including riding my bike to work in Midtown each day.

I'll let you know how that goes of course. It should be interesting, as I've never even ridden my bike into Manhattan before.

Week 15, Day 6 Veganism: Booze and Zombies

2008-04-20T23:48:00.008-04:00

BREAKFAST / LUNCH

Friday was weird and kind of shitty, though it ultimately blossomed into something nice. It began well thanks to some good coffee w/ soymilk and then a gift of two amazingly tasty vegan cupcakes from my friend Dan as a get-through-veganweek gift she picked up for me from Snice. The work day to follow though was largely terrible for a variety reasons; I didn't eat any lunch because I was first upset and then busy, and then the day was capped off with a ridiculous and laughable multi-hour meeting that was destined to be replayed as an episode of The Office.

DINNER

C and an unnecessarily camera shy Dan

Thankfully the mood picked up as soon as I left work, as I proceeded immediately with Dan and her friend C to a ridiculous "bar" near my office on the second floor of an Indian restaurant. We drink colorful, noxious drinks with terrible names like "Aphrodesiak" until happy hour closed and then proceeded on in search of food in the great wasteland swathe of land that is Midtown.

At first we tried to go to this Japanese restaurant, tucked away in a basement on I think 49th St. It looked great but the wait was 45 minutes so we went off in search of a Mexican restaurant nearby called Toloache that had the added bonus of also having a great margaritas.

We had a few margaritas at the restaurant (the combination of post-work adrenaline and too many drinks make the details a little blurry, which is why the photos I took are also terrible) and then scoured the menu in search of something I could possibly eat. I ultimately settled on an "Ensalada de Jicama" (jicama-avocado ravioli, mixed greens, orange, meyer lemon avocado radish, marcona almonds, leaf-oil vinaigrette) and fried plaintains. I also ordered rice and beans but didn't eat them partially because I wasn't hungry and partially because the beans had cheese sprinkled on them.

LATE NIGHT

We had a great time and it was definitely an important and necessary way to unwind after a ridiculous day in the office. After a few more drinks, Dan turned in to get some rest before an early morning rise for a weekend trip and I went on to meet other friends for... an absurd movie called Zombie Strippers, featuring none other than former porn star Jenna Jameson and 80s horror star Rob Englund (aka Freddie Krueger).

This movie was as bad as you'd imagine that it should be, although made far more bizarre by its flabbergastingly heavy-handed insertions of pseudo-philosophy--including Jenna Jameson's character reading Nietzsche between strip sets (!!!), a town setting of Sartre, Nebraska (pron. "Sar-tree"), and direct references/quotes/paraphrases to Descartes, Hume, and a number of others.

Suffice it to say that the film was terrible, but it was admittedly more entertaining than many other terrible films I've seen. See the trailer below for some bits of it, though remarkably enough the actual movie was far less dramatic and far more terrible than what you see here (as well as far more poorly produced).

Check out what Jenna's reading if you can

We then went to a bar in Soho and hung out until finally coming home. I topped the night off with salt and vinegar chips and a sandwich from Hana down the street, of eggplant cutlet, sprouts, avocado and spinach.

All in all, the day turned out great and I had completed my sixth day of veganism--only one to go.

Week 15, Day 5 Veganism: Revisiting Old Favorites

2008-04-20T02:22:00.007-04:00

Thursday, in brief:

BREAKFAST

- Coffee, with soymilk (starting to get used to this stuff I think)

LUNCH

- Leftover Asparagus/Red Quinoa from previous night

DINNER

Dad and stepmom were in town for a night on their way home from a trip to D.C. and Gettyburg and we went to get Thai food at Cheer's, the Thai food restaurant next door.

In the 3.5 years that I have lived in Williamsburg, I have almost definitely eaten from Cheer's over 100 times, making my way through most all of the items on the menu. There are still a few though which I've never tried.

My stepmom tried to stay on my vegan train by ordering garlic tofu, and my dad got tom yum soup and a chicken dish. I ordered spring rolls and tofu pad thai, though I later realized halfway through the pad thai that it probably wasn't vegan at all--small pieces of egg in it. I tried to avoid eating all the eggs but I hope that there wasn't anything else "not ok" in this dish and that I didn't push the rules too badly. Feel free and call me out here if you think I fucked up really badly.

Cheer's backyard garden area

Stepmom and Dad

Fried spring rolls, yum.

Tom Yum soup, which I couldn't eat

Stepmom's Garlic Tofu

Dad's chicken dish (can't remember which it was)

My tofu pad thai

POST-DINNER / EVENING

After Dad and stepmom went to sleep, Doorknobs and I went out to catch the inaugural weekly party at Hangar Bar being thrown by friends Evan C and Cameron.

Campsleaze mans the decks

I brought the camera along in hopes of getting some further tips from Ben D, who would be there as well. Since the light inside was so low, he recommended that I use that evening as a chance to begin experimenting with black and white since I'd have to use my flash. He showed me how to set the camera to black and white and manually input some settings adjustments to tailor the results, and then walked me through techniques and methods of getting the best results while minimizing excessive flash glow.

I took many photos, and here's three of them, only two of which I like and are focused properly:

Ben D to Doorknobs: "I even pretty much did everything for him and look, he still isn't getting it right."

If I didn't know these three, I'd be certain something else was taking place than what actually was.

This is the look I get when it's time to go home.

Week 15, Day 4 Veganism: Friends Make It Better

2008-04-19T23:22:00.002-04:00

Genuine doghead draft

Here's the first of many overdue updates of the past few days of veganism.

WEDNESDAY: SALAD / BACON (NOT!) / TASTY ASPARAGUS AND QUINOA / FRIENDS

Ms. Sweeetheart Fever, Almond Queen

Wednesday was a great day. I came home after work looking forward to a lovely evening of deluxxx vegan stylings in the company of great friends. Among the many friends joining me for dinner was my favorite Californian, Ms. Sweeetheart Fever, who planned to not only eat but also cook our fantastic meal (check out her own foodblog here and linked to the left). But first, a great story about the day.

The day was in and of itself pretty solid, but it was brought to a level of beautiful ridiculousness around 1 pm, when I received in the mail a box of bacon I had special-ordered from a farm in Tennessee. The hilarity about me getting this bacon is probably obvious, working on a number of levels. It came from Benton's Smoky Mountain Country Hams in Tennessee, a family-owned business producing some amazing meats through a prep process of pork "slow cured using salt, brown sugar, and sodium nitrite and typically aged 9-10 months." I am without doubt a bacon epicure, and I found out about Benton bacon when at Ben D's house a few weeks ago studying photography. Of course, despite my love for cured pig, I have never in my life ordered or even considered mailordering for it, so the facts that I a) went ahead and ordered it, b) had it sent to my office, and then c) received it smack in the middle of a week celebrating non-animal product foods is really just too much. The meat-loving coworker with whom I share an office already thinks I'm crazy for doing this entire project, and she thought my vegan efforts this week were even more so; but nothing else so far has topped the look on her face as she watched me tear open the cardboard box on my desk and begin pulling out pack after pack of juicy, luscious bacon. I spent the rest of the day in half-anguish over the fact that I wouldn't be able to eat any of it.

LUNCH

Fuck Midtown. My day on Wednesday was pretty busy, with meetings all morning and afternoon, and for lunch I couldn't be bothered to be creative or exciting about my choice, so I went with a rather flavorless salad, again from Global Kitchen. Ingredients: spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, balsamic vinigrette. Boring.

Here:

DINNER

Sooooz came directly from work and brought along the "Worm Condo" she'd picked up during work to begin her summer composting.

Carrying the box of bacon on the train home was almost too much, and by the time I got there my brain was overrunning with craziness. Luckily, my friends began arriving soon after and I relaxed a little and got excited again about vegan pleasures.

When discussing food choices for the night with Ms. Sweeetheart, she stressed an important point which I'd largely ignored during my previous Hyperliving week of cooking in February: "We should just make some easy one-pot sort of stuff, because the more time we spending eating / talking / laughing about stuff the better. A twenty minute meal should be plenty." My therapist had me pegged when she told me that I should constantly remind myself that I should always expect that things will take about three times longer than what ever amount of time I think they should take, and Hyperliving Cooking Week was the best example of that, where, with the exception of one night, every meal began late and took ridiculous amounts of time to complete. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but when you're having friends over to share the evening, it's definitely better if you aren't tied up in the kitchen the entire time.

Here is the meal Ms. Sweeetheart chose, from the 101 Cookbooks blog (which she highly recommends that any foodies should check out).

"Tasty Asparagus with Red Quinoa"
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 or 2 14-ounce cans of chickpeas, drained
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 bunch asparagus, cut into 1-inch segments
~~3 cups pre-cooked brown rice~~ >> 3 cups red quinoa
1 cup almond slivers, toasted
fine grain sea salt

Ms. Sweeetheart decided to make a few substitutions to the recipe. One change, as you see above, was substituting the brown rice for red quinoa, which was a nice choice given that I'd never had quinoa before and it was a food staple recommended to me by many vegans in preparation for this week. The other change was more accidental: the recipe calls for seasoning the asparagus with a tahini sauce, which would have been great, but unfortunately, even after a city-wide search tahini sauce was nowhere to be found. Seriously! Sweetheart and Doorknobs canvassed grocerias in Manhattan and the 'Burg but no one seemed to be carrying our sauce backbone, so Sweeetheart and E-bad put their heads together to improvise an alternative based on the meager seasoning possibilities available in my apartment. Ultimately they settled on a mix of lemon juice, nutmeg, ginger, 3 cloves of garlic sauteed in soy "butter", and two tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and it turned out great.

Also joining us for dinner were Becca and my great friend Sooooz, who brought dessert and did much of the sous chef preparation.

Here's some photos of the process:

Red quinoa cooking on an open fire--went on first as it takes about 15 min to cook

Soooz at work on garlic

Asparagus, chopped by Soooooz

Onions, also chopped by Soooooz

A little lonely garlic clove

Pre-sliced almonds, preparing to be toasted

Almonds, post-toasting

Chickpeas, beginning to cook

Fully-cooked red quinoa (weird right? Looked to me like wooly-mammoth fur)

Nearly completion: asparagus and onions mixed in with the chickpeas

And finally, the dish (served best with canned Budweiser, of course)

Chatting post game on the question of meat or not meat

Doorknobs definitely prefers meat

DESSERT

Dessert, as I mentioned, was prepared by Sooooz, and it was fucking GREAT. She made vegan cupcakes and, honestly, they were incredible. I was shocked at how moist and delicious they were and all 12 of them disappeared almost immediately. Yay to Sooooz for giving the perfect ending to a special meal.

The last cupcake standing