2 minutes per square foot and those damn American Spirits

Yesterday I cleaned my studio for 3 hours. Count em. 1-2-3 hours for 350 square feet. That comes out to 1.94 minutes per 1 square foot. I am neither anal nor particularly clean. I am, however, extraordinarily negligent about thorough cleaning so every three months this is what I render myself doing. 2 minutes for every square foot. In addition, I was extremely hungover from agreeing, against all my better judgment, to drink entirely too much Sanza Gold the night before. And I was full of griddle potatoes and burnt coffee from the Buff. But it felt so good when I was finished I thought I should have a cigarette, but then I remember the partial lung I hacked up running Skunk Canyon the other day and opted to not. Yeah, so I have been smoking cigarettes more than normal lately. I have justified this behavior by committing to smoke American Spirits exclusively. You know, its more natural. This is generally my approach with food as well. As long as I am not eating potato chips, m&ms, and macaroni upon every eating occasion I can justify eating constantly. This, however, is not the case with cigarettes. It is still a tobacco product, and, despite the lack of tar, hairspray and several other popular cleaning agents, they are still highly addictive. Although I had a friend, who formally smoked several cigarettes daily and now smokes only one or less a day, tell me that his doctor suggested he was actually not addicted, but that he was more habitual. Rather, he smokes at certain time throughout the day simply out of habit, not addiction. Reflecting upon this, I evaluated the times when I most often smoke:

-out drinking

-after a meal where I ate too much

-walking to and fro

Upon each occasion the cigarette fulfills a specific purpose: to be social, to digest, to pass the time. That is good, because it indicates that I am not addicted, however two events this week prompted me to become concerned about my relatively moderate consumption of cigarettes. First, I received a stern address from my mother, who made me feel guilty about the clear lifestyle dichotomy I display by purchasing exclusively organic food but then smoking cigarettes. Good point. I guess I always justified that one with the natural American Spirits (btw I also smoke AS exclusively because they happen to be the only cigarettes that taste even remotely decent). Second, I went on a run that nearly killed me. Granted, the uphill to Skunk Canyon is gnarly, but damn, as I hacked and coughed all the way up and stopped twice for a break I suddenly felt like a contestant on The Biggest Loser. Truly, that was the breaking point. No more cigarettes. I hate running enough already without subjecting myself to suffocation and weakness. 

So I stopped. While I was dying on my run I had visions of angrily flushing my pack down the toilet as soon as I got home, but that didn't happen. In fact, they are still sitting atop my bookshelf as I write, but temp me no further. I think I struggle to throw them away due to the waste factor. Even if I don't smoke them I am sure someone will appreciate smoking them. So I will keep them.

Wait, who I am kidding? I want to smoke them. But I am going to limit them to the first of three of the above listed smoking occasions....only while drinking/partying. 

One rule is clear: never smoke inside. Especially in my beautifully 2 minute per square foot clean studio. Ahhh.

Wind in Boulder

Another windy day in Boulder on, of course, the first day of christening my beautiful new hybrid bicycle. I can think of only a handful of things worse than Wind in Boulder:

-Locking yourself out of your studio, not once, but twice

-Listening to 3+ dudes competitively discuss their expert knowledge of (fill in the blank)

-Murder (sometimes)

-Small children, no, undisciplined or unsupervised small children, crying in public spaces

-Communicating with Dell Tech Support, Dell Financial Services, Dell Leasing Services, Dell Warranty Sales, and Dell Customer Care interchangeably for 7+ hours

-Indian food

and

-Wedding photos on the Facebook

Speaking of my lovely bicycle, I want to name it. I feel it should be feminine, not only because I appreciate the irony of naming a men's bike something female, but also because the best description of it I can offer is bitchin. It is a hybrid of two road bikes, with a grey frame, hot pink and turquoise straight handlebars, and unbelievable speed. 

Any ideas??

Colorado Music Scene??

On a recent, very fast drive up I-70 (the WRX was very very impressive Tyler) I was, in typical fashion, ranting about the frustratingly dull concert scene in Colorado. I was immediately and forcefully reprimanded by my fellow passengers, one of whom is really "into" music and loves live music and even occasionally (okay often) engages with music via the many drugs portal (which may or may not improve his credibility, when you consider it). I was told that I am crazy, that Colorado has a GREAT music scene, that a lot is happening in the Colorado music scene right now, with a lot of excellent bands popping up all over the place. In fact, later in the day we were sitting on a lift with a single rider from Connecticut (who was beyond impressed that we were all from Colorado and furthermore that we were from, omg, BOULDER, and whose multi-colored checkered designer board jacket and dream of one day moving to Colorado to ride and chill for a year clearly served to strengthen his credibility regarding the following) cited an article he read in High Times about the "sick" up-and-coming music scene in Colorado. 

Huh.

Am I missing something? I mean, I know I'm not the most educated rock/folk/indie/pop music head but I know a few things and I feel my understanding of music, though lacking in depth, certainly boasts breadth, yet I have not managed to draw the same conclusion that everyone else seems to so easily and uniformally agree upon. Sure, we can make claims to the popular annual shows from Yonder Mountain String Band and String Cheese Incident, and of course if you are in the mood for some Big Head Todd you are sure to find a show somewhere in Colorado within the month. A number of MC's have taken a liking to Colorado and particularly Boulder's The Fox, including Atmosphere and Common. On the Pop side we certainly get the bigger names. EveryAmerican Idol star has made an appearance, the old-school-but-still-rockin-like-new-school-blow-out-shows also swing through mile high, including (in the last year for example) Aerosmith and Tom Petty. Let us not forget that Red Rocks is not only gorgeous and nationally renowned, but also the most choice venue of Rock God Bono. And of course every mountain town will have a number of mountain-like bands emerge who will impress and instill a sense of pride among locals and make a stint of mini tours in the region.

But how is this up-and coming-music scene different from any state with its own unique venues, flavorful locals, and occasional medium to larger name shows. If a low-profile band with a strong fan-base is coming to Colorado, its because they are going to Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Boise as well, and Denver is, for once, a convenient pit stop. No one is leaving a tour along the coasts to make stop in the "up-and-coming" Colorado music scene. Colorado gets:

Big name, Pepsi-center worthy tours

Tours pushing a new album so hard they stop in Wichita on one side and Salt Lake City on the other

Yonder Mountain String Band

Trendy participants  of the newest Mile High Music Festival (and honestly, what the hell is the Mile High Music Festival..... they are a lot like the potlucks of music....you stuff your face with many dishes of music that are made with the intention of feeding the masses at the expense of delicate quality....not to mention they charge an arm and a leg for a ticket and an inernal organ for a beer)

Hip hop bands marketed to white kids (e.g. Blackalicious, The Roots, Rahzel, Jurasic 5)

Yonder Mountain String Band

Big Head Todd and the Monsters

Big Head Todd and the Monsters

The Fray

Yonder Mountain String Band

Maybe I'm just bitter because everyone I love won't come to see me. Where are you.....

Ra Ra Riot?

Bon Iver?

Santagold?

Fleet Foxes?

MIA?

Vampire Weekend?

Band of Horses?

Ach. I am unsatisfied. Feel free to challenge me. I am obviously unenlightened and really missing something here.