joining the dots in style

Yet another killer compilation album by my favorite selector GP. That ‘happiness is around the bent’ is one my all-time party favorites.

NBA finance 101

With an average salary of $5.36 million, NBA players get paid a pretty penny to shoot hoops. Nevertheless, according to one estimate ’60 per cent of retired NBA players go broke five years after their NBA paycheques stop arriving’. This statistic should come as no surprise, really. Just take a look at Shaquille O’Neal‘s monthly expenditure (including a $24,300 gas bill). Reminds me of what PR genius and Gold Club patron Patrick Ewing said during the 1998 lockout: ‘We might make a lot money but we spend a lot of money, too. ‘

Via Truehoop and B-boy.

2006 Feudi San Gregorio Falanghina

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears. If you like creamy risotto, buy this wine. If you don’t like creamy risotto, but dig banana skin aromas – and who doesn’t? – buy this wine. The 2006 Feudi Falanghina boasts a rich heritage, complex texture and a savory finale. Best of all, at 11.95 euro a pop, it’s a steal. Buy now, drink before 2009.

poetry day

Dochter – Herman De Coninck

Wakker door kinderen, meedogenloos blij
op mijn buik. Zijn die allemaal van mij?
Weer zo’n dag waar niks anders mee te doen
valt dan hem te beginnen,

grommend, en met een dochter waar niks
anders mee te doen valt dan beminnen.
Kusje, vraag ik, en het plezier dat ze erin heeft
om dicht tegen mijn wang aan en heel snel terug
trekkend p te zeggen, verrukt kijkend naar
het ontploffingetje wat dat geeft,
verzoent me met niet-langer-dromen:

vijf vingertjes rond mijn wijs-
vinger, om tot mezelf, of toch
tot bij haar po te komen.

name that album cover

Erykah Badu – Honey

intertextual play. gotta love it.

dope shit

found on slap my blog up

it is the shoes

Sneakerheads, rejoice. The Air Jordan XX3 is (almost) available. For those of you who are not familiar with the cultural significance of the Air Jordan brand, I suggest you read Todd Boyd’s excellent article. The end of an era may be upon us.

Soul Sunday pretends

…I didn’t slash my thumb last night at a Mediterranean cooking workshop and focus on a ‘simply sublime’ track as Soul-Sides so rightly observed. Released in 1974 by former aircraft mechanic Bill ‘Ain’t no sunshine’ Withers, Can we pretend is one of those hard to find and forgotten soul classics that just makes sense. Lyrically and musically.

I discovered this tune on ?uestlove’s otherworldly babies makin’ babies compilation, the brilliance of which cannot be overstated. The good people at BBE have sold out their entire stock (guess who bought the last copy?) but have released (and apparently sold out too, damn it) volume II.

Preview this week’s Soul Sunday track at BBE or download at zshare.

can I flip it?

Memo to self: master the flip turn. Stop imitating flailing bird using hands and arms to get around.

Must educate self and practice, practice, practice.

the secret to a fast bike split is…

a teardrop helmet and body position. Here are some lab notes from the boys at the MIT wind tunnel:

80% of all the power a cyclist outputs goes into overcoming air resistance (the other 20% goes into rolling resistance, accelerating the rider and bike, etc.).
Roughly 75-80% of aerodynamic drag is due to the rider and only 20-25% is due to the equipment (bike, wheels, helmet, etc.).

And also:

A common misconception about equipment is that of the order of aerodynamic importance for aero-gear. Most think that the frame matters the most, wheels next, and helmet last. Some even think that the components come before the helmet. In reality, a well designed aero-helmet will save you more time (power) than anything else. The drag difference between a vented road helmet and an aero-helmet is 2-4 times larger than the difference between a good aero-wheelset and a 32-spoked wheelset.

In other words, if you want to go faster on the bike without investing in a TT bike, buy an aerohelmet (and learn to live with the ridicule of wearing one) and refine your body position.

Found on PezCyclingNews via 3coach.be.