Tunes From Tox

Mateo was blogging about his first recording session. They're just getting started with the whole recording thing. I've been doing it for a while, but I still am very much a novice. I get by with minimal gear and techniques. I'll share a couple tracks that King Jessup and I recorded under the moniker of Freestyle Armada.

This one is called Slush. It's just a drum machine and guitars. KJ played the more prominent lead guitar, and I played the fainter, more distorted rhythm guitar.
Slush (mp3 - 4.0mb - 3:22)

This one is called Goof. Dueling synths here - free form - experimental - or "freestyle". KJ is doin' the "bells", and I'm on the "buzzsaw".
Goof (mp3 - 3.6mb - 2:58)

...and don't forget...you can hear tox radio anytime...

Aereo Vola Basso

Next time I am in Italy, I think I will choose a different beach. This thing is low.

Nordic Skiing Clip

A few weeks ago I announced that the winter season could begin in earnest with my blessing. One little goodie of the cold months is cross-country skiing. Here is a little clip that I shot last season - at Vail. I tried skate-skiing last time - and it is so much faster than classic-skiing - no comparison. Classic is like walking, while skating is like running.

This clip is also an experiment in posting a video. I plan to do a fair amount of video-blogging soon, so this is just a test. I hope you all are ready for the multimedia tox 'cos he's comin' atcha.

Chinese Boys Do Backstreet Boys

Here it comes: the next internet video sensation. Much like All Your Base (see post below) and Star Wars Kid, this little ditty seems poised for the internet hall of fame. The facial expressions are beautiful.

Free Music Videos

I don't watch MTV much anymore, mainly because they don't play music. Bands are making vids all the time, but where can we see them? Here is a place. It is by no means a complete list, and not all of the links work, but you'll find some gems - like PJ Harvey's The Letter, Radiohead's Knives Out, and Beck's Beercan. And, don't forget about Hey Ya, and Epic.

All Your Base Are Belong to Us

All Your Base Are Belong To Us. Yup - All Your Base Are Belong To Us. I'll say it again - All Your Base Are Belong To Us. Please explain.

Boulder: Home of the Trail-Running Whackos

Trail Runner Magazine has a nice article on trail-running in Boulder. Runners' Republic Quirks and all, Boulder is a trail runner's paradise quotes a few of Boulder's elite runners, gives a bit of its trail-running history, and briefly discusses City Council's regulatory weirdness. This time of year is bittersweet - We are losing the warm weather and will soon be dealing with occasional ice and mud, but the yahoos are clearing out and the trails are wide open to the year-rounders.

Fruita Mountain Biking

Everyone talks about Moab, Utah - and Moab is great - but better singletrack exists just across the border near Fruita, Colorado. Some of the best and most beautiful rides I have ever done were outside Fruita. Pete Fagerlin does these rides too, but he mounts a video camera to his helmet, edits the footage, and posts it on the internet for us to see. Experience The Fruita Experience.

Cool Video Technique

Balancing Point is a cool little video using a neat video technique. You'll figure it out - just watch. What is neat is that this can be (was?) done with just one person and a camera.

Vintage Running Videos

These videos are awesome. Talk about being tough when it counts. Click the links below to give your legs and soul some instant inspiration. "Look at Mills! Look at Mills!"

The 1964 Olympic 10,000 Meter Final - Billy Mills Shocks the World

After thousands of miles of training, Billy Mills, an Oglala Lakota (Sioux), became the first and only American to win a gold medal in the 10,000m. Setting an Olympic record of 28 minutes 24.4 seconds, Billy's accomplishment remains a great source of pride to Native American people. This video shows him getting shoved with 300m to go, navigating his way around the lapped runners, and surging to win the gold medal.
video

The 1964 Olympic 5,000 Meter Final - Americans Schul and Dellinger Hang Tough

History was made with the running of the 5000m Final at the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. The field was packed with gold medalists and world record holders including Ron Clarke of Australia, Kip Keino of Kenya and Michel Jazy of France. The US was represented by Bill Dellinger and Bob Schul. On this video clip you will see the final two laps of the race, perhaps the most exciting finish in American distance running history.
video

The 1952 Olympic 5,000 Meter Final - Emil Zátopek Runs His Greatest Race

The legendary Czech locomotive demonstrates his incredible will to overcome any obstacle in this classic footage from the 1952 Helsinki Olympic games. This footage shows the bell lap of the race. To set the scene, Zátopek has just surged into the lead in an attempt to break away from Herbert Schade (GER), Chris Chataway (GBR) and Alain Mimoun (FRA). The final 400 meters contain all the drama that an Olympic race can offer.
video

Geb Going for the Marathon World Record?

Ethiopian track superstar Haile Gebrselassie will be running his second marathon this weekend in Amsterdam, and he is not ruling out the possibility of a world record. After an astounding career on the track, he is now a road racer. If you remember his first marathon, three years ago in London, he broke the world record, but so did the other two men that beat him. Current marathon world record holder, Paul Tergat, says he heard that Geb wants to go 2:02! That would be insanity!
High school cross-country runners may be interested to know that his fastest 5k is 12:39 (former world record). The new WR for 5000 meters is 12:37 by his countryman, Kenenisa Bekele.
UPDATE: Gebrselassie won the Amsterdam Marathon in 2:06:20, improving his PR by 15 seconds, and knocking 3 seconds of the course record. He did not, however, succeed in his attempt to break Paul Tergat's world record of 2:04:55 over the 26.2 mile course. It was an awesome performance nonetheless.....fastest marathon anyone has run this year.

Classic 80's Video Games

I feel like I'm 15 again. Back in the 1980's, when video games were a brand-new, cool thing, we were so easily entertained. The thing is.....these games are still entertaining.....at least for a few minutes. Donkey Kong was one of my favorites, and it was the first game in which Mario was a character. Mario has traveled a long road, and he keeps-a-chuggin' along. Don't forget about Tetris, Asteroids, Frogger, Pacman, Space Invaders, and another favorite of mine, Moon Patrol. Pong doesn't belong on the list though. That's so 70's!

World's Tallest House of Cards

Wow. Bryan Berg has got the technique down. No glue, no tape, no folding, no bending, just cards.....umm, a lot of cards. This photo shows what used to be the tallest house of cards. (We went higher.) The tower uses 1500 decks of cards and weighs about 250 pounds. It took him two weeks working 4 to 12 hours per day. He's so good that he actually gets paid to do this stuff. Check out the gallery. He doesn't just build tall, he also builds some incredibly cool structures.

Links in a New Window or Not? Please Vote.

From this blog, would you like the links to open up in a new window (as they do now), or would you prefer that they open in the same window? It just depends on if you want to, in order to get back to the blog, close a window or hit the "back" button. I'm taking an informal survey here, and will possibly alter the links, depending on the reponses.

Rare Air Goes to Nationals

Rare Air is off to the UPA National Club Ultimate Championships. They earned their spot in the Sarasota, FL event by winning the Southwest Regional Championships. They not only won, but, in unprecedented fashion, they shutout their opponents in both the semi-finals and the finals (as well as their final pool game). I think they are peaking at just the right time. This could be the year for Rare Air. I have my eye on one blond-haired player in particular, not just because she is an excellent player and tough as nails, but also because she is so cute and nice and cool.

The Colbert Report

Stephen Colbert, TV's second funniest person, gets his own show, and it debuts next Monday (Oct. 17). Some will argue that this fake reporter is more of a journalist than real journalists. Now he will anchor the Colbert Report, and will likely show the actual anchors how to do their jobs while simultaneously skewering them. The Washington Post has a nice story, as does The New Yorker. The New York Times has an interview, and NPR aired a little piece. (NPR also aired another piece on Colbert in January '05.) Get ready to laugh, and don't be pronouncing those "t"'s.

Bear Peak Run

Bear Peak is the mountain that I see when I look out the front window of my house, so, if there's any mountain about which I daydream, or any mountain about which I think, "I've got to get up there", it's that mountain. I usually "get up there" at least once a summer. I have run many peaks this summer, but I had not made it up the bear until this morning. With a weather forecast calling for a nice snowstorm tonight and tomorrow, I figured that today was the day - now or never (or now or April, or now or icy). I did the Bear Canyon to Bear Peak West Ridge route, then back the same way. This trail map shows the trails in the area. It is not the most direct route - kind of the "long way" - but, until the final five hundred feet or so, it's all run-able. That final pitch is steep and very rocky, so it's more like power hiking. I had an amazing run. I only saw about a dozen people on the trail, and no one once on the west ridge and the peak. Low clouds and mist were spilling over the saddle between Bear and South Boulder Peaks - a very impressive sight. I did it just in time, as the rocks were wet and a bit treacherous on the way down. It probably was not the smartest thing to do (solo bagging a 8,461 foot peak only hours - minutes? - before a winter storm, in running shoes, shorts, and a thin long-sleeved top, with no water or food, and without telling anyone where I was going), but I never claimed to be smart - just somewhat tough. I was up-and-down in 1:55, including a few short breaks to stretch a bit, a couple of "urination stations", and five minutes of panoramic bliss on top. I'm glad I got it in, and I now proclaim that winter can officially commence.

9th Grade Project Week

I went with the 9th grade on their project week to Cresset Community Farm, near Loveland, CO. It was a great time for many reasons. The farm is a biodynamic farm, which means that it functions as an entire ecosystem, or organism, in addition to being organic. Farmer Larry runs the place with his wife, and I respect them and what they are doing immensely. Our planet needs more people like them.

That's him on the bike doin' a little Tour de Farm action. A lot of us did some Tour de Farm action. The farm had some old three-wheeled bikes, like tricycles for big kids, that they used to haul stuff around. We rode those things far too hard. I could not resist riding those machines often. The best bicycles were the older ones. They were heavier, but built super solidly.

I made some friends on the trip, but one of the coolest friends that I made was the old blue Schwinn Tornado. This bike treated me well. Other friends that I made were Farmer Larry, some of the parents that helped out, and, of course, the kids. It's a great group of students. They worked pretty hard cooking meals, doing farm repairs, chopping wood, and harvesting produce.

I don't know how many of the kids had ever worked before, and we didn't work them nearly as hard as a real job would, but they were pretty positive and respectful. All said, it was a great week. The farm provided us with great weather, beautiful star-filled nights, and spectacular sunsets.

Fun with HTML

I showed my students how to use the "a" tag to make links. That is probably the most useful HTML tag, but there are so many more. I will use the "a" tag right here to send you to this cool place where all kinds of tags are explained. Since we're talking about 9th graders here, I bet the tags that they dig the most are "a" (of course), "b" (for bold lettering), "i" (for italicized lettering), "marquee" (to create a newscrawl-type-thingie like on the top this blog), and maybe "embed" (if they get adventerous with audio or video). The "img" tag is also very useful, but blogger can do simple "img" stuff for them. But, they'd need to do the "img" work themselves in special cases, like when they want to put an "img" tag inside of a "marquee" tag (see my tox radio post). It will be neat to see them give it a go.

tox radio

Do you want to hear some cool music? Listen to tox radio. It will move you. You will be moved.

Who is tox?

I am tox