Author Archives: bicyclemark

AudioCommunqu? 13: Haarlem Soundseeing, Q&A Segment

I finally learned to just go to sleep and finish the show in the morning. This show starts with my new segment “Question the Answers” where I ask a podcaster/blogger/friend/random human 4 questions. Then we do some soundseeing as I navigate Amsterdam Centraal Station and the Dutch railway, with my bike of course. No photos this time, I’ve hit my space limit for the month of flickr… bastards.

AudioCommuniqu? #13 (mp3)

64kbps, 17min55sec, 8.4mb

Featuring:

Busted

Maybe in all my recent fame, I got sloppy. Maybe I’m just secretly a really awful person and I blog to look nicer then I really am. Maybe sometimes you roll the dice, and you lose. Whatever the reason, I wanted to come clean about this one, dear readers, I got my ass handed to me today. I got busted. Snuck. Outed. Shaq-ed. Ratted out and generally messed up by my own words.

Basically I chose to tell a story the other day and maybe it was too close to real and definitely hostile towards someone. And I somehow figured that person wouldn’t read it… you know? I rolled the dice. Figured the internets are so big, and life is so random, that it won’t reach the wrong person. And it did. As I was telling the Deconstructionist today, I started writing like an anonymous blogger, when I’m anything but anonymous. Anyone done a google search for bicyclemark? Dam I leave a paper trail like it’s TP stuck to the bottom of my shoe.

So in the midst of being stunned. I used that awful but classic line — I’m sorry you read it. Seems odd eh? But it’s the truth. This is NOT a public space. It’s a blog, and it is controlled by the blog owner… and YES the public can access it. In other words, a public park is just that.. public, but my living room, though I may leave the windows and doors open and invite anyone in, is still ultimately my living room. Then again if I start mooning the neighborhood and insulting everyone, I will have to deal with being socially shunned.

Then I started re-reading about blog ethics, which is a lofty and very journalistic ideas. I look at them and I think, oooh.. thats cute… now we bloggers should go forth and break every ethical rule we want to…. at our own peril, as I was reminded today. For my part, I just think to myself, what would Hunter S. do?

podcast out within the next 24hrs, depending when I fall asleep at the controls.

Today’s Sounds: My own raw audio from this evening.

Perfect Mat?

This blog isn’t about describing what I ate for breakfast, or every little thing I did today. HOWEVER, when I feel like it, I share with you, fellow readers. And not more than an hour ago, I concocted the most delicious brew of yerba mat? in my life. The cause of such splendor? The herbs and yummy things that I purchased during this afternoons visit to the market with crazy dr. M. Check these ingredients out:

  • Bunch of mint leaves
  • A spoonfull of dried banana tea
  • Bit of a cinnamon stick
  • Sugar
  • Almost boiling water
  • Yerba Mat? from Rosamonte (Argentina)

The result? It’s raining outside but I’ve achieved nirvana while the clash sing about standing at the gates of the west.

If only I had made this formula last night for island girl. Back from her island, where she swims with dolphins, island girl is one of my oldest and most favorite acquaintances in Amsterdam. Rare is the opportunity to cook her a mighty veggie lasagne, share a bottle of white, and drink mat? like we’re chillin in Buenos Aires.

Sometimes I forget that before the madness of computers and the internets, which is such an insanely huge part of my existence now, there’s a whole ecosystem out there from which we can learn so much. In only a few hours island girl was breaking down the behavior of men and women according to the same behavior of animals in nature. For example… the desire to be the alpha male, and impress the female.. even if you already have a partner, there is still this desire to be the “top dog” and impress the femeninas. Seemed to me her work and the dolphins have helped her understand relationships in her own life, which is awesome because I sit around unable to make sense of my own behavior or that of others. Fuck computers, I’m convinced the answers to life are in the ocean.

Oh yeah, and then two awesome things happened:

First was told I’m feedster’s feed of the day! With a very kind email from Mike and more kindness on his feedster blog.
And then the midnight mailman, that genius of storytelling, inducted xtx and I into his Hall of Favorite People We’ve Never Even Met and wrote a story for us.

ROCK.

Today’s Sounds: Clash – Clash on Broadway

ISDHF Featuring: Joe Strummer

It has been awhile since the last I See Dead Historical Figures installment, so today, I’m proud to present a posthumous interview with Clash frontman and music legend Joe Strummer.

BM: Joe, first off, welcome to the blog, and I have to say… I was so shocked and so sad when you died of a coronary in 2002.

JS: Well, I can say this is the first blog I’ve ever been interviewed on, even though I had heard the word back in 2002. I guess I won’t be appearing on too many, being dead and all. And well, as far as my death, I can only say, I didn’t really see it coming. I mean.. until then very end.. then I realized it.. but we’re talking about a matter of seconds. Still I never worried about the future, tried always to live in the present, and well.. shit happens.

BM: I gotta admit, at the time of your death I was very skeptical of your new projects with the Mescaleros, but since then I’ve grown to love each of the albums, especially that last one –Streetcore.

JS: It’s not very surprising.. after all the fame and recognition of the clash, it’s a tough act to follow yeah? But I really felt, and even dead I feel, that each of those albums was a great musical journey, especially Streetcore. Some people don’t want to hear it, they only want the clash, but what can I say, it ended.

BM: Speaking of the Clash, any final thoughts about the legacy and that time in your life?

JS: I didn’t need to die to realize it was a great ride. It made me an icon, I’ve got no illusions about that. But that fucking record label and their ridiculous contract made, and still make, artists into slaves. I’m sure you heard what I went through to get out of that contract yeah? — GENERAL STRIKE — for nine years.

BM: And you ran in the Paris Marathon… not bad.

JS: Yeah.. that was a hell of a time.

BM: Your music taught me alot about politics Joe, especially about the cold war and the secret objectives of the American and Soviet governments around the world. Anything to say about politics today?

JS: Well you should definitely not turn to me for all your history lessons. What went on wasn’t a big secret, except that it was buried or ignored by people and the press. Watching politics today is like watching a rerun. Terrorism isn’t new, and neither is this cold war part 2 they’ve started. Hell even most of the actors are the same. Its a crime how history repeats itself.

BM: Before I end this interview, I wanted to compliment you on that recording of redemption song with Jonny Cash.. its beautiful.

JS: I also felt pretty lucky to get to do that with him. And if you’re curious, being that we’re both dead, we’ve lots of time to jam together.

BM: Fantastic. If you release any zombie records, let me know. And hey.. thanks alot for doing this Joe… we miss you.. the world I mean.

JS: Not a problem. This blog and podcast world is very interesting, especially since the dead can finally get involved. We’ve been waiting for something like this for a long time.

——–
There you have it…. one of my most favorite people ever.

Today’s Sounds: Accident Hash Podcast

To Burma

I had a mobile phone pow-wow with crazy Dr. M today, and he and his houseboat are likely to be involved in my next podcast. Incidentally, my world famooose Albert Cuyp SoundseeingTour, has now been downloaded over 1100 times, thanks inkernet!

I normally don’t love stuff that comes from Slate magazine. It’s not complete crap, it’s just not.. well…my thing. I’m much more into reading, oh.. ALternet or my bible that I start every morning with: Courrier International.

However today I noticed a decent piece with a good point about Burma. Or maybe you like calling it Myanmar. Unless you only watch television news, or live in a cave (apparently its hot real estate for the wealthy), you will, by now, have heard about the military junta that rules with a particularly shiny iron first. The article points out, as any rational world citizen could, that if the white house was serious about their spreading freedom and fighting tyranny thing, their next stop would be Burma, where apparently people would *cough cough* welcome them as heros.

Neither the article, nor I, are saying its something that should be done. It’s just another example of how much shit their foreign policy is filled with. Not that we didn’t already know.

And you think that’s bad… Rocky IV and Rocky V are on television tonight! Is there any wonder I’m completely and happily out of touch with Amsterdam night life.

Tomorrow: I See Dead Historical Figures Returns with Punk Legend JOE STRUMMER.

Today’s Sounds: TV on the Radio – OK Calculator

AudioCommuniqu? #12: V-day review, Sweden plan

Come along as I get into the cool v-day podcasts from this week. Lots of namedropping in this one, I feel like such a kissass, but the truth is, I really love listening to the podcasts mentioned. (and more) There’s some comedy, clippage, and of course, TUNES.

AudioCommuniqu? #12 (mp3)

64kbps, 15min54sec, 7.4mb

Featuring:

No stinking licenses
Specials tune of the day
Art Blakey
Yeast Radio and other podcast shoutouts
Tokyo Calling clip/response
My Sweden Plan
Bill Hicks (from the album: Relentless)
Mates of State
Midtown