I haven't seen one Oscar-nominated film from 2009, not one. I might be wrong, but I don't recall watching even one flick that had a chance of winning anything on Sunday night. Plenty of mainstream movies get nominated for the sound categories and costuming, but I've missed every one of them. It's not that I boycott those flicks, I just don't get out to the movies much.
But being a sucker for an event, I entered to win tickets to an Oscar party at Theatres at Mall of America. Yep, the movie theater at that bastion of retail gluttony was hosting an Oscar party. I e-mailed an entry, thinking it would be a nice evening out for my girlfriend. I'm not sure how many people were intrigued by the idea of watching the Oscars on a movie screen, but I won two tickets.
I went to an Oscar party several years ago, the big party in Minneapolis. I won tickets to that party, too, and took the girlfriend of the time. That party is an annual fundraising event that draws a good crowd. We had a good time at that party.
Flash forward to 2010, I'm going to a party at a movie theater. I didn't expect it to measure up to the big gala, but I figured it would be fun. I was wrong.
The MOA theaters opened, with the mall, more than 17 years ago. At the time it was impressive: 14 screens in an over-sized mall. Within a few years we had 16- and 20-screen theaters opening around the Twin Cities, many with stadium seating. The mall theaters looked lame in comparison, yet mall ticket prices were among the highest in the Twin Cities.
The theaters had been part of a chain, but a few years ago they went independent. Under the new, independent ownership the theaters have been revamped a bit. There's now a VIP theater. It has nice, wide seats, cocktail tables and a waitstaff. You have to be 21 to view a movie in the VIP theater, as they serve beer and wine. It has been years since I went to a movie at that theater, and the idea of paying a premium for VIP tickets, just for the privilege of buying a beer during a movie, has little appeal to me.
But Sunday night I sat in that precious theater, watching free TV. I'm not sure if they've held an Oscar party in the theater previously, but the idea makes sense. People go to the movies during Oscar night, but given it's a Sunday, chances are attendance in the VIP theater would be less than capacity. On Oscar night, why not open it up and cater to those who love Hollywood?
Since it was a free party, I wasn't expecting free cocktails. But I would have thought they'd offer complimentary hors d'œuvres. I was wrong.
There are some nice restaurants in the mall, and others that are a step above the food court. You'd think they would have lined up one of those restaurants to provide complimentary munchies for the party. On a Sunday night, during the Oscars, how busy could one mall restaurant be? Why not give away some product and promote your restaurant? It might not have done the restaurant much good, but it would have benefited the theater to do so.
Without complimentary hors d'œuvres, we ordered a couple of munchies off the theater menu. It may be a VIP theater, but the food is definitely coach class. Choices included hot dogs, pizza, chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, popcorn, jumbo pretzels and French fries. We ordered overpriced French fries and mozzarella sticks. The French fries were adequate, at best, and the sticks were subpar. I thought all mozzarella sticks were created equal, but the MOA theater proved that you can sell crappy sticks.
We also ordered drinks, although not the champagne or champagne coolie drink they were selling. They had some sort of bar set up at the front of the theater, although I didn't see anyone buying a drink up there. It looked like there were a lot of bottles of champagne chilling up there, and plenty of them left at the end of the night. As you'd expect, being served alcohol in a movie theater is a privilege you pay for. We spent about $40 on food/drink, and I didn't exactly over-tip.
The party was sponsored by Metromix, a website that has all sorts of restaurant and entertainment information for numerous cities around the country. The site is owned by the parent company of our local NBC affiliate. We arrived shortly before the ceremony started, although the theater opened its doors to Oscar VIPs at 6 p.m.
The weathercaster of all trades at NBC-11 was the host of the party early on. During commercials he would get up and ask Oscar trivia for prizes. I'm not very good at Oscar trivia, so I had little chance of winning a prize. We also received a raffle ticket, as there were prizes given away randomly.
At some point after the ceremony started the weathercaster slipped out, leaving some Metromix woman to conduct the prize giveaways during the commercials, which inexplicably featured Michael Jackson as the background music all night long. The weathercaster was less than charismatic as the emcee, but Ms. Metromix nearly sucked the life out of the party. She wasn't terrible, but she was far from a natural, and she insisted on plugging her damn website throughout the night.
Everybody in attendance received a gift bag, which contained a few product samples, a soundtrack CD from one of the flicks, two tickets to the mall's comedy club and a couple of other random items. Nothing special, but not terrible, either. My girlfriend and I both won a raffle prize. We received a DVD of a recent 2-star movie, a promotional T-shirt too small for just about any adult male in the United States and a Metromix notebook. It was nice to win something, but we didn't win much.
At the end of the night they drew tickets for VIP theater tickets, as well as gift cards for the mall, but I assume we were out of the running since we had already won a prize. Thanks Metromix, we were able to leave 60 seconds before everyone still in the running. Way to buzzkill the big prize drawing at the end.
What should have been a showcase for the mall and the theater was a rather dull Oscar party that has given me no incentive to return to the mall for a VIP experience any time soon. When it comes to hosting an Oscar party, Theatres at Mall of America earned a Razzie.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Breaking up is hard to do (unedited)
It wasn't that many years ago I attended Holly's wedding. It was barely four years ago, and I remember it fondly. It was that rare occasion where I enjoyed a wedding reception.
Holly use to sell advertising at the newspaper. Yes, THE newspaper, the one I've now been working at for 12 years. For a year or two she sold ads in the same area I covered. We chatted about the coverage area now and again, which is how we got to be friends.
It was during those years that she had a long-time relationship with Frank. I don't know a lot about Frank's background, but he's one of those colorful characters who had many exotic tales to tell. He was also some sort of real estate mogul. Perhaps that's overstating it, but Frank developed lavish lake homes for the wealthy, it seemed. His life, not surprisingly, mirrored that lavish lifestyle.
I have no idea how Holly met Frank, or what exactly they had in common, but they were a couple. Holly didn't come from a wealthy family, as far as I know, and I couldn't help but wonder if some of the attraction to Frank was the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed.
I'm not sure what happened, but eventually their ongoing relationship came to an end, and Holly had a hard time dealing with it, this I know firsthand. She made peace with the end of their relationship and moved on. So did Frank. He married some woman, younger than Holly it sounds like, relatively quickly.
Holly, meanwhile, moved on, too. I don't know where or when she met Phil, but she did. I only met him once, at their wedding, but from what I knew of him, he was far more blue collar than Frank. He struck me as the type of guy who remained friends with those he grew up with, never fell into the trap that bigger is better and enjoyed a decent living, but believed in working hard for it. He wasn't the type of guy who was going to fall into a boatload of cash by dumb luck, nor was he looking to. Maybe I have him pegged all wrong, but that's the impression I had.
I went to Holly and Phil's wedding in 2005 and assumed it was happily ever after from there. I think both were in their 40s at this point. I assume when you reach that age you know what you want out of life, what you can compromise on and what you will not accept in a relationship or marriage.
Whatever the reason, Holly and Phil got divorced last fall.
This was news to me, as Holly and I had lunch last August and she gave no indication that she was headed down that road. I'm not one of her closest friends, so I didn't expect her to tip me off. I found out last month when I e-mailed her, asking if she wanted to meet for lunch. She replied with the divorce bombshell and noting she now lives in Los Angeles.
Since she was no longer married, she decided it was time to move somewhere fresh, new and exciting. She was selling advertising for a direct-mail publication and was able to transfer to the L.A. area and continue working for her company. So on Christmas day she arrived in Los Angeles, intent on starting her life anew.
Given her family is in Minnesota, I found the move to L.A. to be a bit odd. But she does have friends and/or acquaintances there, evidently, so she's not a complete stranger in that town.
In barely four years she went from married to divorced and living in California. All the money that was spent on the wedding and reception, from photos to dinners, and all those gifts that were given to the newlyweds seems all for naught.
People wait far less than four years to decide they made a mistake and throw in the towel on their marriage. But four years still seems like they pulled a rather quick trigger. Had you told me that their marriage was only going to last four years, perhaps I wouldn't have bothered to go to the wedding. Why go through the motions. Sure, I enjoyed a nice dinner and party, but why go through the motions of buying picture frames for the newlyweds in exchange for dinner? It all seems rather wasteful.
I've been to a few weddings where the happily wed husband and wife have thrown in the towel. Ironically it has been weddings of the last 5-7 years that have been negated. Most any friend whose wedding I attended 10 or more years ago remains married today. I was quite the lucky charm for many years, it seemed.
So now Holly is out in L.A., perhaps never to return again. (With her family in Minnesota, I know she'll be back once or twice a year, including a trip she already has booked this summer.) We'll always have e-mail, telephones and social networking, we will never lose touch. Yet somehow I'm a bit irritated by the recent turn of events. I can't quite put my finger on it or explain it, but I'm more ticked off about it than I should be.
Holly use to sell advertising at the newspaper. Yes, THE newspaper, the one I've now been working at for 12 years. For a year or two she sold ads in the same area I covered. We chatted about the coverage area now and again, which is how we got to be friends.
It was during those years that she had a long-time relationship with Frank. I don't know a lot about Frank's background, but he's one of those colorful characters who had many exotic tales to tell. He was also some sort of real estate mogul. Perhaps that's overstating it, but Frank developed lavish lake homes for the wealthy, it seemed. His life, not surprisingly, mirrored that lavish lifestyle.
I have no idea how Holly met Frank, or what exactly they had in common, but they were a couple. Holly didn't come from a wealthy family, as far as I know, and I couldn't help but wonder if some of the attraction to Frank was the lavish lifestyle he enjoyed.
I'm not sure what happened, but eventually their ongoing relationship came to an end, and Holly had a hard time dealing with it, this I know firsthand. She made peace with the end of their relationship and moved on. So did Frank. He married some woman, younger than Holly it sounds like, relatively quickly.
Holly, meanwhile, moved on, too. I don't know where or when she met Phil, but she did. I only met him once, at their wedding, but from what I knew of him, he was far more blue collar than Frank. He struck me as the type of guy who remained friends with those he grew up with, never fell into the trap that bigger is better and enjoyed a decent living, but believed in working hard for it. He wasn't the type of guy who was going to fall into a boatload of cash by dumb luck, nor was he looking to. Maybe I have him pegged all wrong, but that's the impression I had.
I went to Holly and Phil's wedding in 2005 and assumed it was happily ever after from there. I think both were in their 40s at this point. I assume when you reach that age you know what you want out of life, what you can compromise on and what you will not accept in a relationship or marriage.
Whatever the reason, Holly and Phil got divorced last fall.
This was news to me, as Holly and I had lunch last August and she gave no indication that she was headed down that road. I'm not one of her closest friends, so I didn't expect her to tip me off. I found out last month when I e-mailed her, asking if she wanted to meet for lunch. She replied with the divorce bombshell and noting she now lives in Los Angeles.
Since she was no longer married, she decided it was time to move somewhere fresh, new and exciting. She was selling advertising for a direct-mail publication and was able to transfer to the L.A. area and continue working for her company. So on Christmas day she arrived in Los Angeles, intent on starting her life anew.
Given her family is in Minnesota, I found the move to L.A. to be a bit odd. But she does have friends and/or acquaintances there, evidently, so she's not a complete stranger in that town.
In barely four years she went from married to divorced and living in California. All the money that was spent on the wedding and reception, from photos to dinners, and all those gifts that were given to the newlyweds seems all for naught.
People wait far less than four years to decide they made a mistake and throw in the towel on their marriage. But four years still seems like they pulled a rather quick trigger. Had you told me that their marriage was only going to last four years, perhaps I wouldn't have bothered to go to the wedding. Why go through the motions. Sure, I enjoyed a nice dinner and party, but why go through the motions of buying picture frames for the newlyweds in exchange for dinner? It all seems rather wasteful.
I've been to a few weddings where the happily wed husband and wife have thrown in the towel. Ironically it has been weddings of the last 5-7 years that have been negated. Most any friend whose wedding I attended 10 or more years ago remains married today. I was quite the lucky charm for many years, it seemed.
So now Holly is out in L.A., perhaps never to return again. (With her family in Minnesota, I know she'll be back once or twice a year, including a trip she already has booked this summer.) We'll always have e-mail, telephones and social networking, we will never lose touch. Yet somehow I'm a bit irritated by the recent turn of events. I can't quite put my finger on it or explain it, but I'm more ticked off about it than I should be.
Monday, February 8, 2010
What the? (unedited)
Every once in a while you see something that just stops you in your tracks.
The Superbowl provided one of those moments.
When I saw David Letterman's Superbowl commercial, I knew Oprah Winfrey would be making an appearance. I remember their 2007 commercial well, when they appeared together rooting for their favorite cities in the Superbowl. It was short, and brilliant.
Oprah, I saw that coming a mile away, but nobody in the free world expected to see Jay Leno.
I have long enjoyed Letterman's style and sense of humor. I first discovered him in the summer of 1985. Holy crap am I old.
Although I don't watch Letterman religiously every night, I've never taken to Leno or Conan O'Brien. I don't hate them, but I've never found them to be as sharp or as witty. Each host has his strengths, and I can understand why Leno beat Letterman for most of the 16 years they competed against each other, but for me it's always been Dave, despite his many flaws, as a host and as a person.
I'm no authority on the hosts, but I've read enough to have a pretty good idea that Letterman isn't particularly fond of Leno. I've come to believe they had a professional friendship. Letterman got his own show following The Tonight Show, Leno came along and joined the ranks of Tonight Show guest hosts. NBC wanted Leno to become a network talent, a la Bob Hope, so they did everything they could to keep him under contract with NBC. When it came time to push Carson out the door, NBC had to make a choice. It chose Leno. Letterman walked. (Did NBC doubt Letterman was going to walk when he lost out on the job?)
Letterman has always come off as bitter about the snub. Leno allegedly tried to maintain a professional friendship with Letterman, even after they became competitors on opposite networks. Leno, who has been accused of being rather self-serving -- if not downright devious -- at least said the right things about the rivalry when questioned about it. I remember seeing an interview he did, noting how the two shouldn't be enemies, as they both were doing nightly talk shows and making millions of dollars. (Easy to say when you win The Tonight Show, but still, he had a point.)
I've never known Letterman to be very gracious when the topic of Leno or The Tonight Show comes up. Maybe he doesn't dislike or disrespect Leno as much as it seems.
But it floored me to see Leno in the commercial. I assumed it was filmed in two parts. Imagine my surprise when I read how both Leno and Oprah went to Letterman's studio to film the promo. Amazing, absolutely amazing.
Leno could use the positive publicity, he's taken a beating, unfairly, for accepting the reigns of The Tonight Show, again. Had he been unwilling to participate in the commercial, would you blame him? (Of course you'd most likely never know Letterman had hatched the idea if Leno declined.) Bottom line: Leno easily could have said no, and he didn't.
What I'm more struck by is the fact Letterman proposed the idea. He looks brilliant for coming up with it, but I doubt it's going to gain as much good will for him as it does for Leno. Yet it marks an amazing turn in his professional relationship with Leno, even if he got to mock Leno in the commercial.
Longtime rivals, about to go back to battle after a short hiatus, and now Letterman offers an olive branch? What the hell has this world come to?
The Superbowl provided one of those moments.
When I saw David Letterman's Superbowl commercial, I knew Oprah Winfrey would be making an appearance. I remember their 2007 commercial well, when they appeared together rooting for their favorite cities in the Superbowl. It was short, and brilliant.
Oprah, I saw that coming a mile away, but nobody in the free world expected to see Jay Leno.
I have long enjoyed Letterman's style and sense of humor. I first discovered him in the summer of 1985. Holy crap am I old.
Although I don't watch Letterman religiously every night, I've never taken to Leno or Conan O'Brien. I don't hate them, but I've never found them to be as sharp or as witty. Each host has his strengths, and I can understand why Leno beat Letterman for most of the 16 years they competed against each other, but for me it's always been Dave, despite his many flaws, as a host and as a person.
I'm no authority on the hosts, but I've read enough to have a pretty good idea that Letterman isn't particularly fond of Leno. I've come to believe they had a professional friendship. Letterman got his own show following The Tonight Show, Leno came along and joined the ranks of Tonight Show guest hosts. NBC wanted Leno to become a network talent, a la Bob Hope, so they did everything they could to keep him under contract with NBC. When it came time to push Carson out the door, NBC had to make a choice. It chose Leno. Letterman walked. (Did NBC doubt Letterman was going to walk when he lost out on the job?)
Letterman has always come off as bitter about the snub. Leno allegedly tried to maintain a professional friendship with Letterman, even after they became competitors on opposite networks. Leno, who has been accused of being rather self-serving -- if not downright devious -- at least said the right things about the rivalry when questioned about it. I remember seeing an interview he did, noting how the two shouldn't be enemies, as they both were doing nightly talk shows and making millions of dollars. (Easy to say when you win The Tonight Show, but still, he had a point.)
I've never known Letterman to be very gracious when the topic of Leno or The Tonight Show comes up. Maybe he doesn't dislike or disrespect Leno as much as it seems.
But it floored me to see Leno in the commercial. I assumed it was filmed in two parts. Imagine my surprise when I read how both Leno and Oprah went to Letterman's studio to film the promo. Amazing, absolutely amazing.
Leno could use the positive publicity, he's taken a beating, unfairly, for accepting the reigns of The Tonight Show, again. Had he been unwilling to participate in the commercial, would you blame him? (Of course you'd most likely never know Letterman had hatched the idea if Leno declined.) Bottom line: Leno easily could have said no, and he didn't.
What I'm more struck by is the fact Letterman proposed the idea. He looks brilliant for coming up with it, but I doubt it's going to gain as much good will for him as it does for Leno. Yet it marks an amazing turn in his professional relationship with Leno, even if he got to mock Leno in the commercial.
Longtime rivals, about to go back to battle after a short hiatus, and now Letterman offers an olive branch? What the hell has this world come to?
Monday, January 25, 2010
Put up or shut up (unedited)
I have wanted to blog for a while, but haven't, for various reasons.
As I type, I'm typing from the office, not my home computer. In early December my computer fried. I had it repaired, and perhaps upgraded, for $125. I'm not sure because I haven't done much more than plug it in and fire it up. I canceled my Internet service when my computer fried, as I knew it would be a while before I got it fixed. Now it's fixed and I need to get it connected to the outside world. That will come soon enough.
I was very busy from August through early November. Super busy, and it wasn't all bad. I wish I didn't feel that I need to work extra jobs to maintain my meager lifestyle, but I do. That's life. I also took time to bike in southern Indiana and spend a glorious week in Las Vegas, chasing my game show dreams yet again. I really need to blog about that experience.
Since November, life has slowed down, but not completely, and it never will. I also have a new girlfriend. We started dating in August. She's a former co-worker, and our relationship wasn't my doing. Life is funny that way. She's not the reason I'm not blogging, but she does take up more of my time, and that's a good thing.
I enjoy the periodic challenges blogging presents, the risks I take, the ideas I express in words. I don't regret that I have kept it a secret from all but four people (two of which I have never met.) Sometimes I want feedback, and inspiration, but more often than not I don't. I'm not ashamed of anything I have written, but like most things, some are diamonds, some are rough.
I've wondered what I should or shouldn't do in the future. Do I open up this collection of content to those who know me? If I do so, will it influence what I do in the future? Will anyone care enough to read my sporadic posts more than a few times?
I can always start a new blog, and make it a public blog. Or turn this into a public blog, and start a new super-secret blog. I'm not sure what to do, but I need to find a greater purpose to what I'm doing, not just when it comes to writing and blogging, but life in general.
As I type, I'm typing from the office, not my home computer. In early December my computer fried. I had it repaired, and perhaps upgraded, for $125. I'm not sure because I haven't done much more than plug it in and fire it up. I canceled my Internet service when my computer fried, as I knew it would be a while before I got it fixed. Now it's fixed and I need to get it connected to the outside world. That will come soon enough.
I was very busy from August through early November. Super busy, and it wasn't all bad. I wish I didn't feel that I need to work extra jobs to maintain my meager lifestyle, but I do. That's life. I also took time to bike in southern Indiana and spend a glorious week in Las Vegas, chasing my game show dreams yet again. I really need to blog about that experience.
Since November, life has slowed down, but not completely, and it never will. I also have a new girlfriend. We started dating in August. She's a former co-worker, and our relationship wasn't my doing. Life is funny that way. She's not the reason I'm not blogging, but she does take up more of my time, and that's a good thing.
I enjoy the periodic challenges blogging presents, the risks I take, the ideas I express in words. I don't regret that I have kept it a secret from all but four people (two of which I have never met.) Sometimes I want feedback, and inspiration, but more often than not I don't. I'm not ashamed of anything I have written, but like most things, some are diamonds, some are rough.
I've wondered what I should or shouldn't do in the future. Do I open up this collection of content to those who know me? If I do so, will it influence what I do in the future? Will anyone care enough to read my sporadic posts more than a few times?
I can always start a new blog, and make it a public blog. Or turn this into a public blog, and start a new super-secret blog. I'm not sure what to do, but I need to find a greater purpose to what I'm doing, not just when it comes to writing and blogging, but life in general.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
No. 9 (unedited)
Make it two in a row.
For the second consecutive year and my third time overall, I have completed the Headwaters 100.
The annual ride in the Park Rapids, Minn., area offers routes of approximately 45, 75 and 100 miles. I was prepared to bike 100 miles on Saturday, but like always, my ride is contingent upon the weather.
The drive up north on Friday afternoon was dogged by showers. Just when I started to think the clouds were breaking up or we were driving far enough north to escape the rain, down came another shower.
But things did clear up by the time we arrived in Park Rapids, and the forecast promised sunny skies and 70 degrees on Saturday, a gem of a late September day in northern Minnesota.
It's rare that a day of bicycling is perfect, and Saturday was no exception. First and foremost, it wasn't raining. Rain makes a day miserable, but not impossible. Should it rain in northern Minnesota in late September, however, there's little chance I'm biking 100 miles.
Rain is my biggest fear, followed closely by wind. Wind is nearly impossible to avoid most days, so you expect it. But if you have a breezy day -- a day with winds exceeding 10 mph -- you can be in for a challenge, depending upon how far you're going and how long you're riding against the wind.
Saturday turned out to be a bit breezy, unfortunately, but the route regularly changes directions, so it was never crippling.
The Headwaters 100 seems to stick to its time-tested routes. Some rides vary the route year to year, to keep riders from becoming bored with the route, I guess. I figure if you're doing an organized ride one day per year, having a familiar route isn't a bad thing, as long as the route is a good one.
I set out around 8 a.m., as usual. It was about 55 degrees, warmer than I'd ever expect in Park Rapids. While it was mild, it was overcast, and a bit humid. The air felt damp, and despite the actual temperature, it wasn't the most pleasant 55-degree morning, but I have no complaints. Within minutes of departing from the starting line, I was plenty warm thanks to my interior furnace.
For 100 miles riders, the route heads out of Park Rapids and heads north to Itasca State Park, home of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park is about 20 miles north of Park Rapids, but for 100-mile riders, the route weaves off the main highway and past a couple of lakes on its way northward. By the time you reach the park, and the first rest stop, you've biked about 31 miles.
It's not a tough 31 miles, just your basic rolling hills now and then. It's a good start to a 100-mile day, and I did rather well.
The rest stop precedes a 13-mile loop through the park. It's a nice ride, albeit a bit challenging. There are no major hills to climb, but lots of rolling hills. If the entire 100 miles were as challenging as those 13, I might not make it to the finish.
I stopped at the rest stop on my way out to refill my water bottles. At that point I had biked about 46 miles, and was nearly four hours into the ride.
From there the route departs from the park and heads east. Every year it seems that the 7-8 miles east are the easiest of the ride. It's relatively flat and the wind never seems to be an issue. Turning south, however, provided more of a challenge than I anticipated.
The wind had picked up as the morning progressed, and it seemed to be coming out of the south. It wasn't crippling, but the route goes south for about 12 miles, with periodic hills. It was during this stretch that the clouds finally started to burn off. The weather report said it would clear by afternoon, and it was right. It was rather sunny by early afternoon.
When the route finally turned east, there was barely a mile to go to the next rest stop, where they serve lunch. Lunch is soup, but it's better than more peanut butter and bananas, which is a staple of every bike ride in the free world. No, you're not required to consume the two together. At this point I was two-thirds done with the ride.
After lunch it was another 22 miles until the final rest stop of the day. I figured it would take me about 90 minutes to complete the next leg, and considered it to be the final challenge of the day. The route winds every direction on its way to Nevis, an insignificant little town on a big lake, about 11 miles east of Park Rapids.
It probably took me a little more than 90 minutes, but I continued to do well. I tried to forget about the previous 67 miles and treat the next 33 as if it was just another average Saturday afternoon ride. Easier said than done. For the most part, however, I managed to avoid dwelling upon the ominous task ahead of me, from start to finish. I do find myself thinking about how proud I'll be to claim success in biking 100 miles. I don't make a habit of bragging to everyone I know, but occasionally I bring it up.
The last significant leg of the ride provided a rare occurrence for organized bike rides. Rather than riding the same direction as 75-mile riders on a stretch of road, I was riding the opposite direction. The 75-mile riders don't go to Nevis, and as I wound my way back and forth to Nevis, I ended up biking the opposite direction of those riders for a few miles.
I was both envious of them and slightly inspired by them. Part of me wished I was only doing 75 miles, as my day would be about done at that point. But part of me was inspired by the fact that when these riders saw me, they saw somebody who for whatever reason was biking more than they were. That doesn't make me superior or a better rider, for that matter. But it did make me proud, and that provided a bit of an energy boost. I don't remember crossing paths like that with 75-mile riders last year.
Nevis provided the final resting place. There were several riders there when I arrived, and several who came in behind me. I am not an elite rider, so most of them had come and gone. But I was happy with my performance to that point.
The final 11-12 miles of the ride are on relatively flat bike trail, as it's an old railroad bed. I was a bit tired, and didn't complete them as fast as I wanted to, but I maintained a decent pace. I won't blame my performance on the wind, as the trail was primarily westward, but I did notice that the wind was more of a factor traveling west than east. Thanks to trees the wind was a non-factor at times along the trail. I was tired, plain and simple.
I returned to the start/finish line a bit later than I anticipated, in part because I took photos and video during the ride, something I don't normally do. I didn't spend a ton of extra time working the camera, but it did delay the completion of my ride. Regardless, my average riding speed was 15.2 mph. I think that's typically of my past efforts, but I don't normally take note of my average at the end of the day.
There were no amazing tales from this year's Headwaters 100. I didn't set the course on fire, and I didn't suffer any gargantuan hardships.
If my calculations are correct, this is the sixth consecutive year I have biked 100 miles in a day, something I never would have imagined in 2003.
For the second consecutive year and my third time overall, I have completed the Headwaters 100.
The annual ride in the Park Rapids, Minn., area offers routes of approximately 45, 75 and 100 miles. I was prepared to bike 100 miles on Saturday, but like always, my ride is contingent upon the weather.
The drive up north on Friday afternoon was dogged by showers. Just when I started to think the clouds were breaking up or we were driving far enough north to escape the rain, down came another shower.
But things did clear up by the time we arrived in Park Rapids, and the forecast promised sunny skies and 70 degrees on Saturday, a gem of a late September day in northern Minnesota.
It's rare that a day of bicycling is perfect, and Saturday was no exception. First and foremost, it wasn't raining. Rain makes a day miserable, but not impossible. Should it rain in northern Minnesota in late September, however, there's little chance I'm biking 100 miles.
Rain is my biggest fear, followed closely by wind. Wind is nearly impossible to avoid most days, so you expect it. But if you have a breezy day -- a day with winds exceeding 10 mph -- you can be in for a challenge, depending upon how far you're going and how long you're riding against the wind.
Saturday turned out to be a bit breezy, unfortunately, but the route regularly changes directions, so it was never crippling.
The Headwaters 100 seems to stick to its time-tested routes. Some rides vary the route year to year, to keep riders from becoming bored with the route, I guess. I figure if you're doing an organized ride one day per year, having a familiar route isn't a bad thing, as long as the route is a good one.
I set out around 8 a.m., as usual. It was about 55 degrees, warmer than I'd ever expect in Park Rapids. While it was mild, it was overcast, and a bit humid. The air felt damp, and despite the actual temperature, it wasn't the most pleasant 55-degree morning, but I have no complaints. Within minutes of departing from the starting line, I was plenty warm thanks to my interior furnace.
For 100 miles riders, the route heads out of Park Rapids and heads north to Itasca State Park, home of the headwaters of the Mississippi River. The park is about 20 miles north of Park Rapids, but for 100-mile riders, the route weaves off the main highway and past a couple of lakes on its way northward. By the time you reach the park, and the first rest stop, you've biked about 31 miles.
It's not a tough 31 miles, just your basic rolling hills now and then. It's a good start to a 100-mile day, and I did rather well.
The rest stop precedes a 13-mile loop through the park. It's a nice ride, albeit a bit challenging. There are no major hills to climb, but lots of rolling hills. If the entire 100 miles were as challenging as those 13, I might not make it to the finish.
I stopped at the rest stop on my way out to refill my water bottles. At that point I had biked about 46 miles, and was nearly four hours into the ride.
From there the route departs from the park and heads east. Every year it seems that the 7-8 miles east are the easiest of the ride. It's relatively flat and the wind never seems to be an issue. Turning south, however, provided more of a challenge than I anticipated.
The wind had picked up as the morning progressed, and it seemed to be coming out of the south. It wasn't crippling, but the route goes south for about 12 miles, with periodic hills. It was during this stretch that the clouds finally started to burn off. The weather report said it would clear by afternoon, and it was right. It was rather sunny by early afternoon.
When the route finally turned east, there was barely a mile to go to the next rest stop, where they serve lunch. Lunch is soup, but it's better than more peanut butter and bananas, which is a staple of every bike ride in the free world. No, you're not required to consume the two together. At this point I was two-thirds done with the ride.
After lunch it was another 22 miles until the final rest stop of the day. I figured it would take me about 90 minutes to complete the next leg, and considered it to be the final challenge of the day. The route winds every direction on its way to Nevis, an insignificant little town on a big lake, about 11 miles east of Park Rapids.
It probably took me a little more than 90 minutes, but I continued to do well. I tried to forget about the previous 67 miles and treat the next 33 as if it was just another average Saturday afternoon ride. Easier said than done. For the most part, however, I managed to avoid dwelling upon the ominous task ahead of me, from start to finish. I do find myself thinking about how proud I'll be to claim success in biking 100 miles. I don't make a habit of bragging to everyone I know, but occasionally I bring it up.
The last significant leg of the ride provided a rare occurrence for organized bike rides. Rather than riding the same direction as 75-mile riders on a stretch of road, I was riding the opposite direction. The 75-mile riders don't go to Nevis, and as I wound my way back and forth to Nevis, I ended up biking the opposite direction of those riders for a few miles.
I was both envious of them and slightly inspired by them. Part of me wished I was only doing 75 miles, as my day would be about done at that point. But part of me was inspired by the fact that when these riders saw me, they saw somebody who for whatever reason was biking more than they were. That doesn't make me superior or a better rider, for that matter. But it did make me proud, and that provided a bit of an energy boost. I don't remember crossing paths like that with 75-mile riders last year.
Nevis provided the final resting place. There were several riders there when I arrived, and several who came in behind me. I am not an elite rider, so most of them had come and gone. But I was happy with my performance to that point.
The final 11-12 miles of the ride are on relatively flat bike trail, as it's an old railroad bed. I was a bit tired, and didn't complete them as fast as I wanted to, but I maintained a decent pace. I won't blame my performance on the wind, as the trail was primarily westward, but I did notice that the wind was more of a factor traveling west than east. Thanks to trees the wind was a non-factor at times along the trail. I was tired, plain and simple.
I returned to the start/finish line a bit later than I anticipated, in part because I took photos and video during the ride, something I don't normally do. I didn't spend a ton of extra time working the camera, but it did delay the completion of my ride. Regardless, my average riding speed was 15.2 mph. I think that's typically of my past efforts, but I don't normally take note of my average at the end of the day.
There were no amazing tales from this year's Headwaters 100. I didn't set the course on fire, and I didn't suffer any gargantuan hardships.
If my calculations are correct, this is the sixth consecutive year I have biked 100 miles in a day, something I never would have imagined in 2003.
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Where did the summer go? (unedited)
I don't regret that I didn't blog this summer. I regret that I didn't do other things, but the missed blog opportunities during our too-short Minnesota summer is far from my biggest regret.
I could blog about a bunch of stuff tonight, such as the meathead at the L.A. Guns concert not so far back, the Bert Farve jersey phenomena, how the White Sox failed to win the lousiest division, by a landslide, in the American League or the near-death experience of Swamp's 4-year-old son. That story still amazes me.
No, none of that tonight. Instead I will remind myself, again, that life is short, and toiling at a morally bankrupt newspaper conglomerate, one that filed financial bankruptcy this spring, is sucking the life out of me.
In our new world order, (post bankruptcy,) we have even fewer people than we had following the late February layoffs. We're producing crappy videos for our website, devoting less than 1 FTE to papers covering cities with populations exceeding 50,000 and pretending we'll find a way to make money selling our product and remain a viable business in five years. (I highly doubt it.)
I get it, newspapers are suffering everywhere, and it's a lousy economy on top of the fact the Internet has raped us of our profitability, which is the reason they exist. Oh sure, it sounds nice, we're in the business of serving our communities with news and information. But that's not why we exist. We're nothing more than another vehicle for generating income. The problem is that the industry has lost advertising revenue to the Internet, and it's classic toothpaste out of the tube, we're never getting that revenue back. We're not.
We're not the only industry that's going to be rendered irrelevant by the Internet? The old folks may look forward to that big, cumbersome telephone directory, but I can't tell you the last time I used one to look up anything. That's ridiculous.
The need for news, like the need for phone numbers, won't go away. The commodity will move from dead trees to pixels on a computer screen, or mobile phone. But the vehicles that have delivered them are rapidly becoming outdated, just like the Ford Pinto.
With all the new wealth created by the Internet, all the new businesses and jobs that nobody could have imagined 15 year ago, something has to fall by the wayside. And there, ladies and gentleman, is your newspaper industry. Some people got fat and happy off the profits of the printed page. Those holding the bag today are likely to end up another casualty of progress. It's the American way.
Will papers cease to exist? I doubt it, but perhaps it's time for a new funding formula. Perhaps one day our newspapers will be nonprofit entities, commodities supported by the users, with no stockholders to be beholden to. That sounds like a lot of work by a lot of people with nobody getting fat off the backs of those toiling at meager salaries to deliver the product.
And after the past several years of hell I've endured at my newspaper conglomerate, I welcome such a day.
It's too bad I won't be around to see it.
I could blog about a bunch of stuff tonight, such as the meathead at the L.A. Guns concert not so far back, the Bert Farve jersey phenomena, how the White Sox failed to win the lousiest division, by a landslide, in the American League or the near-death experience of Swamp's 4-year-old son. That story still amazes me.
No, none of that tonight. Instead I will remind myself, again, that life is short, and toiling at a morally bankrupt newspaper conglomerate, one that filed financial bankruptcy this spring, is sucking the life out of me.
In our new world order, (post bankruptcy,) we have even fewer people than we had following the late February layoffs. We're producing crappy videos for our website, devoting less than 1 FTE to papers covering cities with populations exceeding 50,000 and pretending we'll find a way to make money selling our product and remain a viable business in five years. (I highly doubt it.)
I get it, newspapers are suffering everywhere, and it's a lousy economy on top of the fact the Internet has raped us of our profitability, which is the reason they exist. Oh sure, it sounds nice, we're in the business of serving our communities with news and information. But that's not why we exist. We're nothing more than another vehicle for generating income. The problem is that the industry has lost advertising revenue to the Internet, and it's classic toothpaste out of the tube, we're never getting that revenue back. We're not.
We're not the only industry that's going to be rendered irrelevant by the Internet? The old folks may look forward to that big, cumbersome telephone directory, but I can't tell you the last time I used one to look up anything. That's ridiculous.
The need for news, like the need for phone numbers, won't go away. The commodity will move from dead trees to pixels on a computer screen, or mobile phone. But the vehicles that have delivered them are rapidly becoming outdated, just like the Ford Pinto.
With all the new wealth created by the Internet, all the new businesses and jobs that nobody could have imagined 15 year ago, something has to fall by the wayside. And there, ladies and gentleman, is your newspaper industry. Some people got fat and happy off the profits of the printed page. Those holding the bag today are likely to end up another casualty of progress. It's the American way.
Will papers cease to exist? I doubt it, but perhaps it's time for a new funding formula. Perhaps one day our newspapers will be nonprofit entities, commodities supported by the users, with no stockholders to be beholden to. That sounds like a lot of work by a lot of people with nobody getting fat off the backs of those toiling at meager salaries to deliver the product.
And after the past several years of hell I've endured at my newspaper conglomerate, I welcome such a day.
It's too bad I won't be around to see it.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
BulletBoys write! (unedited)
Ah, the Internet.
Allegedly I had none other than BulletBoys bassist Rob Lane reply to my review of his show from February at Pickle Park. Specifically, it was this post: Bulletboys Sing!
And he did so this past weekend, more than three months after I wrote it.
I have no idea how easily it would be to find my review of the show via a Google search, and I don't care. I write for my benefit. If somebody stumbles across a blog entry, that's great. If they respond...all the better. But that's not the purpose of my writing, as I have said many times.
Rob is the current bassist of the band. Of course I don't know who he is, I can't even remember the original BulletBoys, despite being a fan of the band back in the day. Somehow Rob stumbled across my review and read it. (Again, we're assuming it was Rob who wrote it.)
Rob appears to be rather busy in the music industry, so when he's not playing bass for Marq Torien, he's playing in other bands. Probably a good idea, as I can't imagine a dude can make a living performing with the BulletBoys in 2009.
Rob didn't say much. He thought it was a good set, even though I pointed out it was missing one significant song in the BulletBoys catalog.
I admire him for reading it and not judging my opinion. I was critical of the set, disappointed by the lead singer's effort, underwhelmed by the band as a whole and questioned why the band is still in existence. Despite that, he didn't suggest I was an idiot or a moron for my opinions. It's hard to be criticized for your work, even if you're just one piece of the puzzle, and not be defensive. That's rather cool, and I admire the guy for it.
While I'm not interested in paying to see the BulletBoys again, perhaps I'd go if the ticket is free. And last I read, the BulletBoys are touring with what passes for Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango these days. (Faster Pussycat is much like BulletBoys...lead singer and nobody else from the glory days. Can't say for sure if more than the Bang Tango lead singer is still around.) So perhaps I'll see the BulletBoys yet again, if this tour comes to town.
If it does, I'll go out of my way to introduce myself to Rob, and then hope it was really him who commented on my blog.
I have to think it's legitimate. I know a lot of people like to screw around on the Internet, but nobody can be so bored that he'd impersonate a replacement BulletBoy. Not even me.
Allegedly I had none other than BulletBoys bassist Rob Lane reply to my review of his show from February at Pickle Park. Specifically, it was this post: Bulletboys Sing!
And he did so this past weekend, more than three months after I wrote it.
I have no idea how easily it would be to find my review of the show via a Google search, and I don't care. I write for my benefit. If somebody stumbles across a blog entry, that's great. If they respond...all the better. But that's not the purpose of my writing, as I have said many times.
Rob is the current bassist of the band. Of course I don't know who he is, I can't even remember the original BulletBoys, despite being a fan of the band back in the day. Somehow Rob stumbled across my review and read it. (Again, we're assuming it was Rob who wrote it.)
Rob appears to be rather busy in the music industry, so when he's not playing bass for Marq Torien, he's playing in other bands. Probably a good idea, as I can't imagine a dude can make a living performing with the BulletBoys in 2009.
Rob didn't say much. He thought it was a good set, even though I pointed out it was missing one significant song in the BulletBoys catalog.
I admire him for reading it and not judging my opinion. I was critical of the set, disappointed by the lead singer's effort, underwhelmed by the band as a whole and questioned why the band is still in existence. Despite that, he didn't suggest I was an idiot or a moron for my opinions. It's hard to be criticized for your work, even if you're just one piece of the puzzle, and not be defensive. That's rather cool, and I admire the guy for it.
While I'm not interested in paying to see the BulletBoys again, perhaps I'd go if the ticket is free. And last I read, the BulletBoys are touring with what passes for Faster Pussycat and Bang Tango these days. (Faster Pussycat is much like BulletBoys...lead singer and nobody else from the glory days. Can't say for sure if more than the Bang Tango lead singer is still around.) So perhaps I'll see the BulletBoys yet again, if this tour comes to town.
If it does, I'll go out of my way to introduce myself to Rob, and then hope it was really him who commented on my blog.
I have to think it's legitimate. I know a lot of people like to screw around on the Internet, but nobody can be so bored that he'd impersonate a replacement BulletBoy. Not even me.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
