The Zipper

The scene of the inconspicuous handjob.

Labels: lethbridge, photography

Bicycle Buddhism

Only a few days back on my new bike, and I must say that I am smitten. The weather here has been great bicycle riding weather. I was riding tonight, with a cool breeze in my hair and warm pavement under my wheels. Call me a romantic, but I was seriously in love with my life. There is clarity in the craft of bicycle riding, and I must say I am rather sorry I hadn't been in so long.

Like I mentioned before, my bike was stolen and that discouraged me a bit from riding. However this newish addition to my life has pepped me up with a love for a nice bike. I think I have developed a new style of thinking due to this fact, and I'm very excited. My summer has exponentially improved.I'm sure these ideas have a lot in common with many other thinkers, I do not consider myself a philosopher or a profit of any sort.

When I was a child, I felt chained down when I did not have my bike. Locked down in my basement, doing banal little things because I been grounded or popped a tire I could not afford to fix. A terrible atrocity to a 14 year old boy. Did anyone else feel this way? I usually only had one desire, adventure and explore.

Riding these past few days, I felt the same way, I felt like I was exploring. I think I saw most of Nicolas Sheran park in the past few, and it feels great. I am also finding some fine time to meditate. When I am riding, I am focusing forward, on my bike, on pedaling, and maintaining balance. Clearing my mind of everything else, moving forward without dying is an interesting goal to set. I also find that I do not want as much when I am riding my bike. My desire for worldly possessions falls limp, and my mind goes almost blank. Bicycle meditation? Bicycle Buddhism?

Not saying that this type of feeling is exclusive to cycling, as I am aware of the thrills and fun of many other modes of transportation. I guess whatever works for you will hopefully guide you to a place you want to go. Just as Sal Paradise and Dean Moriarty found America and themselves kicking up dust up and down California. Jack Kerouac knew the score, and I feel closer to his stories now that I can relate. I may have found the strange hybrid of Buddhism that I have been looking for.

I'm not preaching to destroy your cars and join my cult, but I would not shy away from a leisurely ride around the west side of Lethbridge with anyone willing for a ride.

Labels: adventure, lethbridge, philosophy, summer

Zen and Bicycle Repair

So I finally got my bicycle back from a friend who had it due to a series of strange events, but I must say that I am thrilled. My original bike was stolen and almost completely trashed due to being ridden in some sub-zero temperatures, and much harder than any Sport-Chek bike should be. I used to race BMX, so I'm pretty good at riding in a reckless manner, and I am sure that lead to the death of the bike. However the thief now has a broken bike.

I however decided to try and balance some karma by stealing a bike from the university that had been tagged as "In violation of bicycle parking", and was long abandoned. I later found out the bicycle belonged to a friend of mine, and she gladly allowed me to steal it. Here is a picture of the bicycle in all it's glory.

Ok, I know it's a girl's bike, but I don't care, it was free!

I took off the front and rear fenders, as well as the back brake. The back brake was broken, and the fenders were rubbing. As well, it looks much cleaner now. So I am going to do some upgrades to make this the coolest thing ever:
-Get a new seat; The current one is horrendous.
-New pedals; The current ones are probably older than me.
Remove the chain guard; It's ugly and I never wear baggy pants anymore.
-Make it a Fixie?

The reason for the question mark is the fact that riding a fixed gear bicycle can be extremely dangerous if not taken seriously. However, it is apparently very rewarding once you can get the hang of it. It will also let me remove the extremely antique gear shifter, and horrendously rusted gears. Think I can do it? I'm not too sure either. I have however found this resource online, and it seems I may just need to go wheel shopping. "How To Build A Fixed Gear Bicycle"

Let's hope I don't die.

Labels: adventure, holidays, lethbridge, life, summer

Paint, Painter, Painterly

I'm loving the Depth of Field.

Keep up the good work yall

Labels: adventure, art, drunk, lethbridge, photography

Endless Summer

Wow, what a summer we've got shaping up here. A lot of sun, blue skies and cool people all around this fair city of Lethbridge. Saturday was an excellent day for swimming, and swim we did. Some friends who were in town for convocation convinced me to don some swim trunks, slap on some sunscreen and rock out on the water. It was probably the most fun I've had yet this summer, although I am almost completely beat because of it. I really liked how tanned I got near the end of last summer, so I intend on doing that a little earlier this time around. I took what I consider to be some pretty cool pictures:

There are more if you are a facebook friend, as well, some pictures from the night before which I like equally as much.

Have a good summer, and check back for some more updates!

Labels: drunk, friendship, lethbridge, summer

Purple Knights

Because I could never take pictures of everything I really wanted to.

Oh Lethbridge, you make me smile sometimes.

Labels: drunk, lethbridge, photography

I finally did it

I finally got my shit together, drank a bunch of coffee, and rearranged the entire living room. I think it looks pretty good.

Labels: adventure, lethbridge, photography

Horses are still a reasonable mode of transportation

I was driving home from work, and I saw three people on horses casually strolling down the street. It's no big deal, they paid no harm to myself or my vehicle. All is well, if I can skateboard where I please, then they can horse it all they like. I don't mind it, as long as the horses behave in a civil manner, horses should be allowed where they please. Someone mentioned to me that there is a current law in Calgary Alberta which forbids a bar from denying your horse a place to sleep. Actually, according to this (scroll down to Calgary) website, it's just rails for tying up your horse. I guess it's difficult to say, anecdotes are the internet of the past. I'm thinking that should be on a t-shirt.

I went for a nice skateboard down to the local convenience store for a slupree and I am extremely refreshed now. It's getting rather sticky and muggy in my house, and some physical activity is great. I walk around a lot at work, but it's just not the same since it's usually just in mundane circles. Hurrah for participaction! The best part about the skate has to be listening to "Donuts" by JDilla, very cool instrumental hip-hop production. It's too bad we don't have him around anymore, I just fully realized what he had to offer us. I can see this being a very hip-hop oriented summer.

Best Regards folks, Jaronw

Labels: lethbridge, life, music

On My Way Back Home

I just finished packing all my crap together for the journey home. I'll be back on Albertan soil around 2 pm on Tuesday, pretty excited. It's not that I do not like this place, it's mostly that this place is a bit too different. There is something about the beer and the coffee that isn't quite right. The beer tastes a little flat, and all the coffee is either a) crap that comes from either Starbucks or Blenz or b) pretty good stuff from a place with really bad service. I could live here, I am sure, but I think it would take some getting used to.

I sadly did not take as many pictures as I wanted to, although the mass amount I took at the aquarium sort of made up for it. If you haven't checked them out, see the post below. Anyways, I am waiting on a call for more adventure. Catch you all later.

Labels: adventure, lethbridge, road trip, vancouver

Becoming A Photoblog

Taking pictures is fun, so is centre justifying things.

Thanks to Rod for lending me his lens.

Labels: lethbridge, photography

Successful

I think the show went well, a markable achievement compared to the first show. I'll also be playing the Slice on Thursday. I'm not sure what time, but it will be free. Don't mind the text, I am attempting to add dramatic effect by typing "Center Justified".

How about that Square Waves eh?

Labels: gluttony, lethbridge, music

Square Waves w/ Bonnaventure James LIVE!!!!

Tomorrow, April 20th 2007 is the triumphant (hopefully) return of Bonnaventure James and the Deluxe Belgium to the live stage. I've been working on crap for the past month and have something to show everyone. Let's hope I don't make a complete ass out of myself like I did last time.

Square Waves has a bunch of new songs as well, so we should all be very excited for that as well. The show is at the Tongue n Groove and is 5 bones. Starting around 9, be there and be Square (waves).

Labels: lethbridge, music

New Music

I wanted to point everyone HERE to check out the first ever GleetchLab compilation. The creator of the software I use for a portion of my music put this together and it sounds really good. Very noisy and experimental, you should check it out if those two words get you interested. It's free, and it's rather hard to beat that price. I also put up a new song on my MySpace that I should be performing on April 20th at the TnG. http://www.myspace.com/thedeluxebelgium

Labels: funk, internet, lethbridge, music, news

Leth gets Beat

And boy did we love it. The Grim Beat (some young blokes from Calgary) came down and killed the TnG, and we had a great time. Check them out if they are near you, and check out the pictures by clicking the link.

Labels: funk, lethbridge, music, photography, review

Sunrise, Sunset

Days are shooting by like crazy, I am having troubles realizing how fast the weeks are really going by. Thus is the start of a semester I guess, fast and furious.

What I am really get excited for in the next weeks is "These Proportions are Epic" featuring Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. He is travelling from Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton, so if you are in one of those cities, you should check it out.

Labels: funk, lethbridge, music, news

True Alternative

Class starts on the 4th, and it feels like time has just flown by. Classes are hopefully going to be really fun, rather than inane like last semester. More freedom to express, rather than to churn out work like mad. My top two classes will hopefully be "Sociology of Mass Communication" and "History of American Cinema". Awesomely enough, Paul is teaching the sociology class. He's pretty good at blogging, so the class should be a success. Bob Cousins, who is by far the coolest prof ever, is teaching the American Cinema class. If it goes nearly as well as the Film Studies class I took, I should be having some great times whilst learning.

Enjoy!

Labels: lethbridge, school

Disco Breakin'

So we all got drunk and sang songs of all genres. Here is a photographic story book for you.
Here you go, made with iWeb, which I got for christmas in the iLife '06 suite.

Labels: drunk, funk, lethbridge

Enjoy the Silence

Last night the Slice in Lethbridge was bumping with some sick kareoke action. I must say that Tuesday nights at that establishment, are among the best in the city. We all like to so much in fact that we are throwing a Valentine's Day dance there. The date and bands are tentative, but I assure you it will be a very good time. Stay tuned for more details!

Is it wierd to anyone else that TIME is calling "You" the person of the year? I think it's weird, but it is about damn time. You really make the internet what it is. Way to go! I love you.

Labels: funk, internet, kareoke, lethbridge, music