spokesNspin

The miles for December:

Bike: 274 miles, 13 trips, year to date miles 5606

Car miles: 662 miles 5 trips less than or equal to 10

A new year is now here. It is time to make some new goals. I am working on both personal and bicycling goals.

One goal from last year that I gave up on and will try again this year is MOM.

I’ll post some more of my goals when I get them finalized.

Way back in September RBK had a post that included a U-Tube video showing a Bhangra performance.  In a comment I asked if it was possible to see such a performance in the D.C. area.

Earlier this month my question was answered and RBK invited me to the Bollywood Musical Journey by Washington Shruti.

I would just like to add a disclaimer that nothing I say here is meant to offend.  If it offends it is the result of a sheltered Idaho farm boy talking about an experience that was different than most he has experienced.  If I make incorrect comments I am sure that RBK will verbally slap me back.

What an event!  It was very entertaining.  It was a musical variety show but the casualness also made it feel at times like a big family reunion.

The event was supposed to start at 5:30 and go until 10:00.  It didn’t actually start until about 6:15.  Then there was a constant stream of people coming into the high school auditorium for about 45 minutes.  No concern or thought seemed to be given to the fact that they were in the way of the people who were seated and watching the show.

Is this cultural or just how this event was organized?  I theorized that given the dense population of India that maybe the concepts of personal space and worrying about being in another person’s way have less meaning to Indians.

The music was great and the dancing was good.  I of course loved seeing all the pretty ladies in their Saris.  That includes adorable little girls.  Many of the men were also wearing what I would call for lack of a better word traditional Indian tunics.

The band was not small. I didn’t count but there were probably 12-15 members.  The instruments ranged from traditional to the latest in electronic synthesizers.  And as the band leader introduced the members he mentioned on more than one occasion that the member played “excellently well”(Think here of Apu from the Simpsons).

Being an old percussionist I was particularly interested in the Indian drums.  Basically they were bongo type drums.

As stated, people were coming in for the first 45 minutes of the program.  Then 30 minutes later it was time for intermission.  Indian food was available in the lobby.  It was curried rice(I think), chick peas(I think) and some type of flat bread.    For those of you who have been in the west and had Navajo fry bread it seemed to be the same thing. 

The food was very good but also very crowded standing shoulder to shoulder trying to eat standing up.  I felt as if I stuck out like a sore thumb.  I think I was one of maybe four pale faces in the crowd.

Now here is one of the most entertaining things of the evening.  RBK was seated to my left.  Two other woman were on my right.  I will call one of them Usha.  Here is a conversation that took place during the intermission.

Usha to RBK:  I have a top just like that

RBK: Oh yes I really like it.

Usha: Did you get it in New Delhi?

RBK: Yes, I got it from… blah blah blah

Usha:  Oh I just love their stuff.  It is very nice but not so expensive as blah blah blah….

RBK: Oh that is true and their accessories blah blah blah….

Here I am in Oakton, VA listening to two women discuss clothing and boutiques in New Delhi as if the stores were just around the corner.  Yes women are the same the world over.

The second half of the program started and it was getting late.  So they decided to bring the children on stage for their number.  One cute little girl walked on to the stage rubbing her eyes like she was ready for bed.   But when the music started the children jumped right in and sang with enthusiasm.

By now it is after 9:00 PM.  Just as it was in beginning, people  started streaming out during the performances.  Nobody seemed to give it a second thought.   The show must go on and they pressed forward to get every number performed.

This was a fund raiser so from time to time door prizes were given away by a man that looked like an Indian version of Mr Burns from The Simpsons.   He could go on forever seemingly oblivious to the fact that it was getting late and people were leaving.   By the last performance there were probably only a dozen or so people left in the audience.

I didn’t want to leave for fear of missing something.   There were some amazing dances.  There was a Bhangra. 

There was also a dance by three teenaged girls that were dressed in what to me appeared to be more of a traditional peasant dress. They danced with veils.  RBK informed me that they were not veils but scarves. What would you call scarves draped over the head to cover the face?  They could really wiggle those hips.

I of course could not understand most of the lyrics but it was still entertaining.   RBK translated the general meaning of the songs.  Wow!  Some of those songs were rather…what’s the word?  If I recall I think the lyrics were something about giving in to passion and two bodies becoming one.

It was very fun.  I have since googled for Indian entertainment in the D.C. area there is actually quite of bit of it to be had.

It was a fun evening.  I think the bright colors of the traditional attire  represents  just the beginning of a culture that seems to do everything with gusto and fun.

Thanks to RBK for the invite.

This is a picture of a Kim Jacob’s print from a jig saw puzzle.  Do you notice something wrong with this picture?  Or is there a bicycle built like this that I am not aware of?

Update and answer:  The chainring and drive train are on the left side of the bike.  I have never seen that on a bike before.  Has it ever been done this way?

Warning: Another one of those posts that might make you question my sanity and sense of propriety.

I recently finished reading this:

As crazy as it may seem, this is a very interesting book about something that we  are all familiar with.  And George starts off by talking about the word “shit” and why it is the best word to use to describe it instead of all the euphemisms we have created through the years.

The book is both entertaining and informative.   Just don’t read it while eating lunch.

She covers the history of toilets and the cultural sociological aspects of defecation.  It’s more interesting than you realize.  For example, two hundred years ago relieving one’s self in the presence of others was common while blowing your nose in public was the epitome of bad form.  Look at how far we have come.

I was almost in tears as I read about the life of “night scavengers” in India.  These are the people of the lowest caste who clean dry latrines(Dry latrine sounds better than it is).   The night scavengers are all but slaves.  Some times they go months without getting paid and when they are paid it may be nothing more than bread that is rotten.  It is all illegal but happens anyway.

I read how some people have improved the lives of rural farmers in China by teaching them to build bio-gas latrines.  It made a big difference in the lives of women.   Now they have energy for a stove and light powered by bio-gas.  They no longer cook in smoky kitchens. They have more time to do other things that bring income to the family.

“The 1.8 million child deaths each year related to clean water and sanitation dwarf the casualties associated with violent conflict. No act of terrorism generates economic devastation on the scale of the crisis in water and sanitation. Yet the issue barely registers on the international agenda.”

The need for society to address the management of human waste is a constant in the book.  And it is not just under developed countries.  Cities in the United States are dumping sewage into oceans, lakes and rivers.  The same water you are drinking.

The book is also humorous.   There is a discussion of the Japanese and how much effort they put in to developing toilets.  Who would have thought there is something other than the common flush toilet we use each day? 

The Japanese have toilets with built in bidets that include heated seats, air drying and sound effects to mask other sounds.  The description of the research that goes into these  will have you either rolling on the floor in laughter or getting rather grossed out.

And something that I am sure wives and mothers would appreciate, the promotion of separation toilets that require men to sit.

Just don’t mention this post to my brother. I got this book for him for Christmas but had to read it first.  He is a civil engineer and works in this area.   He is the one who often laments the fact that in the United States we spend so much effort and energy to clean up our water just to turn around and shit in it.   It really doesn’t make sense when you think about it.  This book gives us some other ideas about what to do about that.  

He maintains that what he does is the most important job on the planet.  After reading the book I would have to agree.   The book gives one something to think about.  Maybe more than you want to think about.  But hey, it’s not like yours doesn’t stink.

There are some things in life that technology doesn’t improve on.  Some times we search and try many different so called improvements until we realize that somebody had the correct answer 100 years ago.

In my opinion one of those is the Brooks Saddle.

Over the last few years I have replaced the saddle on all my bikes with a Brooks B17.  You can read about the company here.

Some people think it is too heavy.   I think it is elegant and classic.  If somebody wants to quibble about the extra 8 ounces let them.  I can ride with this saddle with regular shorts and feel fine.

This is a saddle that gets more beautiful with age.  And with a little care will out last your bicycle.