The Flaming Lips have been together as a band for a long time. 23 years to be exact. They are like a fine wine or a bottle of Scotch that gets better with age. I can say this about very few musicians and artists. One of the only other contemporary bands that comes to mind that have achieved this fate is Radiohead. However, I am a bit of a late-comer to the Lips. My introduction was their recent Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots. Now, this album still blows me away and is in my top ten fo... read more

5.07.2006
Six hours of sleep and nothing for breakfast except a power bar and some iced green tea…

The night before the century I visited downtown Santa Rosa where it was recommended I go and visit a fine italian restaurant, a place called “Checkers.” Though I am not accustomed to eating alone I must say that my affordable meal of spinach and cheese ravioli was bursting with well-balanced flavor. Really, all I needed was to stock-up on carbs but this delicious meal was quite a surprise.... read more

4.30.2006
Well, for all those out there who give a crap, I've finally made my transition to the Bay Area. Currently I'm crashing at my aunt's superfantastic place in Los Altos Hills and things have been going splendidly for once. I've been riding around on my bicicleta trying to get a feel for the place and am totally stunned at how bike friendly it is despite the population density and the infamous traffic issues. Just yesterday I accidentally discovered the Rancho San Antonio Open Spac... read more

04.18.2006
Hell yeah! I just registered to ride a double metric century held in beautiful Santa Rosa California, wine country. This is my first double metric (200 kilometers) and will take me from the Napa valley to the coast and back. Oh, this is going to be so much fun. There is going to be somewhere around 2500 riders, I think, which includes the shorter rides (the century, 100 miles, and a 30 mile ride). All I know is that the whole thing is catered and supported and that all I have ... read more

04.17.2006
Tonight I went to my first Kirtan session, in Boulder, where I sang the praises of Hanuman, the monkey god, on his birthday. For those of you poor souls who don't know what Kirtan is (I didn't either), it is devotional chanting in the Vedic tradition. It is a form of Bhakti Yoga, the path of devotion and, I must say, I loved it.

“How would you like to go to Kirtan tonight?”

“What's Kirtan?”

“I'll wait 'till you see for yourself.”

“Umm, okay? I'm down, but I'm a lit... read more