Monthly Archives: December 2010

Happy New Decade!

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A year ago today I explained how the media was jumping the gun with the various Best of the Decade features they were trotting out — two examples: Rolling Stone, Salon — and I compared these premature reflections to the Y2K Bug hype in 1999, when the media would have had us believe that the end of the second millennium would occur on January 1, 2000.

Let’s review:

There is no Year 0, so the first decade of the first millennium ended on January 1, 11, after the first ten years B.C.E. had been completed. Therefore, the first millennium ended on January 1, 1001; the second millennium ended on January 1, 2001; and the first decade of the second millennium ends tomorrow, January 1, 2011.

Whew!

And yet, sure enough, if you browse the headlines in the media outlets via Google News, there are no reflection pieces this year on the true end of the first decade of the 21st century…

…um…wait…I stand corrected.

The Hindustan Times and Tom’sHardware.com are on it!

Ok. Enough. (Please understand, as I mentioned last year, I’m Left Brain Challenged. And so, on the rare occasion when I seem to be in the minority of people who understand some kind of mathematical concept, I can’t help but shout about it.)

I’d like to wish everyone out there a very Happy New Year, and even though I just did so a week ago, I’d like to thank you all for stopping by Fish & Bicycles, whenever you can manage. I look forward to keeping the blog entries coming as often as possible through 2011 and beyond.

Cheers!

Plinky: Desert Island Album?

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(Plinky.com sends me an email everyday with a question or other instruction meant to inspire a blog post. Occasionally I take the bait.)

This morning’s Plinky asks that maddening, old chestnut: If you had to listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

And, rather than fall into the obvious trap, trying to answer a question that can often paralyze a person with indecision, a question that so fills a music lover with anxiety that he forgets that, if he was on a sinking ship or crashing landing in an airplane in the vicinity of a desert island, he would of course have his iPod, containing hundreds of albums, along with a solar-powered charger and earbuds in a waterproof container, on his person, hence rendering the sadistic question moot.

Seriously, I’ve fallen for this before, I’ve blown hours and hours trying to think of the “one album”, and if not the one album the Top 5 or Top 10, and fortunately I learn from my mistakes and won’t go there anymore.

Still, just the other day, my 13-year old son, Julian, reminded me that I promised him over a year ago that I’d buy a turntable so that he could explore the 200 or so vinyl records that I’ve had stored in our basement, untouched, since before he was born. As I wrote about at the time, we had just visited a Bellingham institution, the wonderful hole-in-the-wall, late night eatery Pel Meni, and Julian, for the first time, got to see vinyl records in action, on the turntable they offer up for use there to any customer who wishes to make a selection from their extensive collection.

Embarrassingly, I never kept my promise, but Julian was recently given a vintage copy of The Who’s Quadrophenia as a gift, and although he already has the album on his iPod, ripped from my CD, he wants to play his record and try out the other records in my collection with a renewed sense of urgency.

And so, we’ll soon be off to Goodwill and checking Craigslist for a used turntable, and then, just maybe, one of those glorious old records of mine might take me so thoroughly back down memory lane, reminding me of just how sweet that old scratchy analog sound is, that I’ll decide that there is one album amongst them that could keep me happy for the 40-50 more years I plan to have left on this planet. (After that, of course, I’ll for sure have my iPod in heaven, so I’m covered.)

The Slinky still inspires

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While Inhabitat doesn’t mention the Slinky in it’s piece on a Russian architectural firm‘s new “Ark” hotel concept, featured in the slideshow here, there really is no doubt about the resemblance.

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Now, the Slinky was never one of my favorite toys. Call me ADD, but I could only stay entertained for so long by making the Slinky walk down the stairs or from hand to hand. And, when you tried to make the Slinky do more than it was intended to do, it inevitably became irreparably tangled and headed for the landfill. (Note: Wikipedia insists that a tangled Slinky can be untangled, but let’s face it, by then it doesn’t really matter, does it?)

As for this “Ark” hotel, while I admire the sustainability elements, the fact that it was designed to be an autonomous biosphere and to float in anticipation of rising sea levels due to global climate change really rubs me the wrong way. Inhabitat‘s tagline is Design will save the world, and I’d prefer designs that attempt to prevent a climate catastrophe rather than those preparing for one as if it was an inevitability.

Out of Office: Holidays Edition

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Not that I have a Fish & Bicycles office per se, as I tend to blog from wherever I happen to perch with my netbook on any given day, but it’s fair to say that I will not be blogging much, if at all, over the next few days, as I head to Seattle today to celebrate Christmas with the in-laws.

I would like to wish happy holidays to my family and friends and anyone else whom I consider myself fortunate enough to call a reader. I deeply appreciate it whenever you take the time to stop by this little creative outlet of mine.

Cheers!