I love Sonic Youth. I know that is kind of a corny statement, but dude, I do. Some of  their songs are a little too “experimental” for my taste, but they have a deep enough bag o’ tracks that I don’t even notice. I’m sure that most people probably already know all about them and either hate them, or love them too. So, here is the song I’m sharing. It is “Stones” From the Sonic Nurse Album.

Growing up, skateboarding in the streets of SLC, being yelled at and chased by security guards and 5-0 was part of the sport. It was a part of the sport that was totally lame. Even worse than the perma-scabbed knees and elbows. It has been awesome to see how over the years, society’s perception of skateboarding has shifted so radically. The stigma placed on skateboarders has gone from street-thug-vandal, to talented athlete. Skating around in more youthful days, we assumed that every little plaza, set of stairs, hand-rail etc. was illegal to be skating, unless marked otherwise. The one exception to this was the University of Utah campus, which was a free-for-all. I would be lying if I said that this policy did not heavily influenced my decision to attend the institution for my undergraduate career. Ok, maybe not heavily influence. But it was something that I definitely took into consideration.

In current times, assumptions on whether or not it is safe to skate, have completely reversed. One can safely assume that it is ok to skate, unless marked otherwise. These signs in the plaza bordering the WFC yacht harbor are examples. Even if one errs in assumption, the worst that is likely to occur is a friendly notice by a rent-a-cop. It’s good to live in the 2000′s.

I guess that I’m using the term “weekend” loosely, here. These shots were all taken on my way from my office to the train on Friday evening. I suppose that being able to take some pics on the way out on Friday  is one of the perks of having daylight until almost 6:30 these days.

Reagan and I had a really great time at our race on Saturday morning. We were both fairly pleased with our times. The photo above is before the race, across the street from where we parked. The angle of the photo was not for artistic effect. It was because of the slope of our hood, on which the camera was sitting for this timer shot. If we don’t really look ready to run a race, in the photo, then it is a pretty accurate reflection of reality. It was a balmy 35 degrees when the race started. On a positive note, there was no wind. The course was one that Reagan and I run frequently in the summer, which I think was a mental advantage for us. What also made the race fun, was seeing several of our friends, after the race, who we didn’t even realize were also going to be running. The race definitely stepped up my spring fever another notch (if that’s possible), and made me excited for the upcoming races this year.

[after philly half marathon 2008]

Tomorrow, Reagan and I will be running an 8k in central park. It is our first race of 2009, and only our 2nd or third that we are ever running together (weird, I know). I’m pretty excited about it. Some of our friends are going to be running it with us. Races in the park are always so pretty, even in the ugly seasons. Depspite my eagerness to get this season of races underway, I’m am a little bit nervous for tomorrow. I can tell that Reagan is too. Last night I was talking to her on the phone and she asked, “Jake, what if I come in last, on Saturday.” Well, I can already say that Reagan won’t come in last, tomorrow. But I definitely am on the same page when it comes to the sentiments that she was expressing. We didn’t really run much at all, over the winter. So far, this year,  even the days that it has been warmer, our workouts have been less than stellar. In one episode, we became separated after going less than 1 mile out, and both ended up going home mad. Hahahaha. Either way, I’m glad to be getting out and getting back after it, tomorrow.

Normally I like to leave posts about Politics and Economic woe, for allupinyour.biz, but I saw this graphic today on Animal New York, and it got me thinking.

The amount of money represented in the graphic above, is one billion dollars. One trillion dollars is one thousand times what you see in the picture. That’s a lot of cash. Ok, now that you have the mental image of one trillion dollars, try to put it into a practical example. I hate Karl Rove and Rush Limbaugh as much as the next guy, but Rove has published a couple of articles recently that have really gotten under my skin (not because of the author). The reason they bothered me, is because the content of the articles, points to all of the discrepancies of the campaigning Obama, vs. Commander in Chief Obama. Today, a different Carl, sent me the link to an WSJ Op. Ed. piece authored by Rove. A lot of it was repeat content of an article published earlier this week, also authored by Rove, dealing with bait and switch. But the part of today’s article that blew my mind, was the following:

Not even Team Obama can forestall unpleasant reality. And among those America now faces is Mr. Obama adding $3.2 trillion to the national debt in his first 20 months and 11 days in office, eclipsing the $2.9 trillion added during the Bush presidency’s entire eight years.

Whoa! $2.9T is a lot any way you slice it. But to Bush’s credit, it was spread over 8 years, including all of the 911 and war crap. The Obama administration is a runaway train and the boiler fire is being stoked by pallets full of money. 20 months?!!! $3.2 trillion?!! Ok, so now take the money in the picture, multiply it by 1 thousand, then multiply that by 3.2. It may just be my limited imagination, but I’m having a hard time even picturing the image of 1 thousand times what is in the graphic. Was this really the kind of change that we were looking for?

I was invited for a small lunch event yesterday, put on by one of the buildings I’m advertising units in. I snapped a couple of shots while I was to and from.

I really like the way that the above shot of Trinity Church came out. The grass is even starting to turn green.

In the shot above, I liked the way that those pigeons were just chilling out on the Federal Building.

This door goes into the back of the firehouse one Liberty Street.

[photo by motogp.com]

I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t totally freaking excited for this year’s round of MotoGP action. The season hasn’t even started yet, and there has already been drama. Pedrosa, who took a nasty tumble during pre-season testing, underwent surgery last week, but is still shooting to open the season next month in Qatar.

American, and former world champion, Nicky Hayden, will be back in the mix, after leaving Honda/Repsol. He claims to be feeling confident on his new Ducati. Stoner, also former world champion, and Hayden’s new teammate, has been putting up some impressive numbers during testing. Stoner will be coming into 2009 with a chip on his shoulder, after blowing a huge lead in last year’s world championship, letting Rossi run away with it.

Speaking of drama and chips on shoulders, Sete Gibernau is back in action this year. It would be an understatement to say that there is some bad blood between Gibernau and the Yamaha Fiat team, principally Valentino Rossi. It stems from an incident that occured at the same track hosting the 2009 opener.

Finally, the Losail circuit in Qatar is the only race currently in the GP lineup, which is held at night, under the lights. 2009 will be the second season for the night race.

I am also excited for this season, because Reagan and I are tentatively planning on travelling to see the Indianapolis race this year, in August. That is only if I can’t talk her into going to Laguna for the July 4th weekend.

Who knows, in a month we may even have a new sofa. Either way, I will be taking reservations for those who would like to join me in watching the season opener on April 12, which also happens to be Easter. Hahahah.

It is that magical day that comes only once per year, 311 DAY! Woo hoo! Hahahaha. It seems like these guys have actually been busy lately too, since according to their website, they have an album coming out in late spring. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to video chat live with them today. Hahahahaha. Does/has anyone actually ever done this? Reagan and I were watching one of those tour documentary videos about Weezer recently. One of the funniest parts was them filming a bunch of “live” promo crap. You could tell that it was the favorite part about being rockstars (not). I guess that this kind of stuff would probably work great for those teeny bopper bands, whose fan base spends all night online video chatting anyway. Oh wait a minute… Hahahaha. Just kidding, I have never video chatted. Anyway, be sure to spin your favorite 311 album today.

I had to re-post this shot that was featured on Wooster today. The artist is l.e.t.. It is a paste up stencil. What is equally cool, is that when you make l.e.t. stencil paste on poster into an acronym, it= “letspop.” Which is hot.