Cold Day Rambling

I am amazed with the people riding their bikes in 10F weather. How can they do it?! I have trouble breathing this cold air while standing, I can’t imagine breathing this air while biking. Actually, I don’t know, maybe I should give it a try. And then die and prove my point that I am not designed for this kind of weather. That would be brilliant.

Last night I saw the movie “Revolutionary Road”. Wow, yeah, it was very interesting watching Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio acting… Or trying to act. I didn’t sympathize with any of the characters, I didn’t care about them. That was a bad case of a movie with severe passion-deficiency syndrome. Why do they even bother making crappy movies like this?

The “Wrestler” is coming to the Somerville Theater, thank God, so I don’t have to endure the depressing ambiance of the only other theater in the area that’s been showing it. I’m looking forward to watching Marisa Tomei, and the rest of the movie, of course.

I am taking more drawing classes. I’m psyched.

Gail Collins is becoming my favourite Op-Ed columnist of the NYTimes. Now, whenever I declare my infatuation with something or someone, that particular something or someone magically turns into a major disappointment. I don’t know why this happens, I can’t explain it. So, Collins, please stay cool. These are excerpts from today’s column, “He’s Leaving. Really”, which is about Bush really leaving, and is hilarious:

The man has been saying goodbye for so long, he’s come to resemble one of those reconstituted rock bands that have been on a farewell tour since 1982.

So far, the Bush farewell appearances have not drawn a lot of rave reviews. (Most striking, perhaps, was a critique of that final press conference from Ted Anthony of The Associated Press: “It all felt strangely intimate and, occasionally, uncomfortable, in the manner of seeing a plumber wearing jeans that ride too low.”) A Gallup poll did find that his approval rating had risen slightly since they began, but this was probably due to enthusiasm for the part about his going away.

“Sometimes you misunderestimated me,” Bush told the Washington press corps.

2008 Boston Bike Film Festival

Last Saturday was a bicycle-centered day for me: in the morning I did the 3-hour long Tour de Somerville bike ride, then rode my bike to work and later I went to the Brattle Theater for the 2008 Boston Bike Film Festival. When I first heard about it, I got a little confused cause there had already been a bike film festival in Boston in August, right? Yes, but it looks like these are two different festivals: Back in August there was the Bicycle Film Festival 2008 , which takes place in different cities all over the world and in August it visited Boston. This one was the 2008 Boston Bike Film Festival, which was going on Friday and Saturday. I didn’t make it to Friday’s screening. The Saturday night event was surprisingly sparsely attended. In my discussions with other people, we felt that the event could have used better promotion and advertising. I also heard that even the films line up wasn’t finalized until very recently. Maybe the Red Sox were playing that night was a factor too. Oh, well…

 

There were six short films shown. One was really bad, the majority mediocre and two of them were very good. Now, I have a soft spot for short films and filmmakers, and I don’t want to be harsh or anything, but some of the films needed some serious editing. One of the films I liked best was Danny Madden’s “Another New Bike”, which was well shot and edited, with a clear plot and very well acted by the young actors. The Emerson College student’s short was funny, cute and sharp.

 

 The best of all, and I think quality-wise at a whole different level was “Full Cycle” a short documentary about the Flying Scotsman Graeme Obree that showed what it takes both physically and mentally to compete at the highest level of World Cycling. Obree built his own medal-winning bike from parts of washing machines, and while he was breaking records at the race, he battled manic depression and was suicidal. This BBC Archive Documentary by director Russell Walker was sharp and honest. The cinematography was exceptional, the editing tight. The documentary stroke a balance in showing both sides of Obree: the outside, that of the winner biker (hard work and training, breaking records and winning medals), and the inside, that of the struggling man trying to understand why he’s unhappy after winning, recognize the problem and find a solution. A very good short documentary!

 

In all I think the event should have been more advertised: I am sure there are a lot more people in the Boston area interested in both bicycles and short films. Hopefully next year they’ll do better.

 

Tour de Somerville 2008

Tour de Somerville is an annual bike ride organized by Somerville’s Bicycle Committee. The 2008 Tour de Somerville was held on Saturday October 18, 2008. It was a 15-mile long ride mainly along the outer edges of the City of Somerville. You can view a map of the ride and cue sheet at http://somervillebikes.org/.

I initially thought it was going to be kinda chilly, but it turned out to be sunny and pretty comfortable. The ride started at 10am at the Seven Hills Park and ended at 1pm at Kenney Park. The pace was rather slow, but it was accomodating to the diverse crowd of bikers, meaning all ages and various fitness levels.  It was really nice having Somerville Police officers riding with us, which meant that the roads belonged to us (yay!!!) and generally made the ride safer.

At some point we rode along the Mystic River Parkway (Route 16):

At some point later we stopped at Broadway and Bristol Pearson Road

waiting for Mayor Curtatone to address the crowd. He showed up with one of his super cute sons

She had the coolest helmet on:

Later on we stopped at the Somerville Boys and Girls Club’s Blessing of the Bay boathouse by the Mystic River for refreshments 

where I snapped this picture of the youngest (I think) participant of the Tour, with Mom, Dad and one of the police officers

I guess around 100 people joined for the ride, and I am sure they enjoyed it. I met some new people and even had the chance to say hi to bassist Pete Sutton of the Ray Corvair Trio. A pleasant Saturday morning indeed!