kraftwerk- tour de france

The Best Football Skills

Friday's Foaming Rant: Rockin' out

Friday's Foaming Rant: Rockin' out: "ot afraid it's going to end badly. I'm just afraid it's going to end too"

Revolution 2 track cycling Crash fence

The Saturday Strangeness

24. Haunted Roads For Halloween!

Despite London’s congested roads and the daily chorus of thousands of beeping horns, ghosts of the cities roads are in fact sporadic. Look through any catalogue of phantom hitchhikers or ghostly vehicles (for example http://www.roadghosts.com/) and you’ll notice a distinct lack of activity within the capital pertaining to tarmac terrors. Why this is we’ll never know – maybe it’s simply down to the fact that elsewhere in the country, where such spooks are in abundance, there is always the quiet dark lane, the wood enshrouded B-road and other perfect settings for such hauntings.

On Gloucester Drive in Finsbury Park, ghostly children have often been heard running up and down the street. Highgate’s very own ‘vampire’ has company, as in the village there have also been reports of a phantom cyclist. Meanwhile at East Heath Road, in northwest London, a grinning old gent has been seen.

However, the eeriest of London’s road-associated ghosts haunt Enfield, Stanmore and the Blackwall Tunnel.

At Enfield, a witch, rumoured to have been executed in 1622, is said to prowl Hadley Road on misty nights. Also as sinister is the Bell Lane black coach, last seen in November 1961 as it drifted off the ground!

In Stanmore, a ghostly wind is said to swirl along Honeypot Lane, whilst on the A41 during October 1985, a motorist claimed to have hit a man walking his dog. Both bodies hit the bonnet but were nowhere to be seen upon investigation.

The Blackwall Tunnel is haunted by a phantom accident as well as a hitchhiker who may well have been a motorcylist who died during an accident in the ‘70s.

US Navy covering up swastika barracks

Seen here is a Google Earth image of US Navy barracks in Coronado, California. The US Navy has now budgeted $600,000 to cover up the swastika shape through the installation of solar panels and various landscape modifications. They were encouraged to do the modifications by several parties, including US Rep Susan Davis, Anti-Defamation League regional director Morris Casuto, and radio talk show host Dave vonKleist.

Navy officials say the shape of the buildings, designed by local architect John Mock, was not noted until after the groundbreaking in 1967 -- and since it was not visible from the ground, a decision was made not to make any changes...

"I don't ascribe any intentionally evil motives to this," Casuto said, referring to the design. "It just happened. The Navy has been very good about recognizing the problem. The issue is over."

Link (Thanks, Paul Saffo!)

CyleSport on the Death of Disco

Unbeknownst to many, I don't actually get to read everything written in the English language on the sport of Cycling, so if I missed this in other outlets, just ignore this post (yet again) and move along...

But I want to give some props to Lionel Birnie & co. at Cycle Sport for a rather thorough and cogent analysis in this month's mag of why the Discovery Channel/Tailwind folks really decided to pull up the stakes and get on with B-school or starting blogs or whatever "pursuing other interests" is supposed to mean. As I understood it, the official position was that they could have continued but for unexplained reasons decided not to. Obviously nobody believed that, and the real reasons were assumed to be lack of sponsors or something about doping.

The real truth now seems like a complexity of all of the above, and goes something like this:

Cycling is a mess right now, so sponsors are already a tad nervous about investing in the sport.

Discovery/USPS have been the subject of rampant suspicion but no real black eyes. Still, they were very successful at a time when everyone else was doping, so you can draw your own conclusions.

ASO were not fond of the Disco juggernaut and have gone out of their way in the last couple years to paint Lance in an unfavorable light. They were also fully prepared to block the team from trotting out Ivan Basso this July.

The Basso signing is roundly considered the team's downfall, or the single biggest impetus for it. From that moment on, Discovery were on bad terms with the entire rest of the peloton and branded themselves as old-style, win-at-all-costs pariahs.

Given all of this, plus ASO's new-found freedom from the Pro Tour structure, they were by no means guaranteed an invite to the 2008 Tour de France. The idea of excluding Contador's team is outrageous, but not beyond ASO.

All of this taken together -- bad image, murky prospects, huge expenses -- means that they couldn't find a sponsor.

There's an interview with Sean Yates where he admits as much, as well as a clip of Bruyneel saying the same thing to a Belgian paper, despite the official position that sponsors were waiting in the wings. But even still, there's room for elaboration: they couldn't find a sponsor before the date in August where the Tailwind guys got fed up with/exhausted from all the bullshit (in their eyes), so they gave up.

Part of the disconnect seems to be that Discovery feel unfairly singled out... and in Cycling, singling out anyone from the last decade is kind of silly. That said, one cannot understate the fallout from the Basso affair: Bruyneel supposedly spoke loudly for Basso's exclusion from the 2006 Tour based on the Operacion Puerto link... but then, at the earliest opportunity, signed him on as their grand tour captain. Discovery argue that there's no sin in trying to win, but such rank opportunism turned out to be really bad for business in the end. More than the hypocrisy, Discovery broke ranks with teams trying to send a very different message at that time... this may actually be what hurt their fellow teams and riders most of all.

Anyway, it's all a good read and I tip my cap to them for good, canny journalism.

Cancellara...Look familiar?

Your winner and still world time trial champion, Tony Montana! I mean, Fabian Cancellara! I haven't watched the coverage yet, but he was apparently comfortably in front from the get-go, a true patron performance to cap a glorious year. His 52-second win represented the largest gap between any two consecutive finishers on the entire leaderboard, and a crushing end to the race. As late as the final 31km time check his lead was a narrow 22 seconds.

Time trials aren't always made-for-TV excitement, but Cancellara's prologue in London was pulsating, and his win on the road two days later, in the maillot jaune, will be one of 2007's truly lasting images. He also held serve at home in the Swiss Championships and Tour de Suiss ITTs, while otherwise focusing on the cobbled classics. Cancellara certainly still has mountains to climb in his career, most notably the Tour of Flanders, where he showed solid form this year but somewhat impatient tactics. But when he dons the rainbow jersey he rides with true class, and another year of such displays is something to look for

Fellow local cyclist designs Slipstream Cycling team jersey

September 27, 2007 - SLIPSTREAM SPORTS LLC ANNOUNCES "GET IN THE SLIPSTREAM" WINNER

Joe Yule of Redondo Beach, California, Named Official Designer of the Slipstream/Chipotle 2008 Team Jersey

Las Vegas, NV - September 27, 2007 - The fans have spoken and Joe Yule, a graphic designer and avid cyclist from Redondo Beach, California, has been selected as the winner of the "Get in the Slipstream" contest, sponsored by Slipstream Sports LLC and its chief venture, the Slipstream/ Chipotle Professional Cycling Team. The first-of-its-kind contest invited fans to submit design ideas for the official 2008 Team Slipstream/Chipotle jersey.

Full press release link and Jersey after the jump...

Full Release

UK police using hovering camera for surveillance

Police in Britain are conducting trials on a small battery-powered, radio-controlled helicopter called the Microdrone that comes with a camera and a loudspeaker. The manufacturer's demonstration video points out that the copter works as a peeping tom device. (Not that the police would ever misuse it.)

It's battery powered, so it's quieter -- apparently at 350 feet it is rarely noticed from the ground -- but more limited in terms of performance. Although it might seem flimsy, the video shows how stable it is in flight. It is said to be quite rugged and can return to base even if it loses two of its four rotor blades. One unusual feature is a speaker so that police can give instructions to those on the ground.

The video ... contains some footage shot from a Microdrone, which gives an impressive display of its powers. Zooming in on a sunbather in a bikini as a demonstration is not likely to allay fears about how intrusive this technology might be. And the ability to hover outside a window and peer in is one which is equally open to use and abuse.

Link

All Other Countries Have Inferior Potassium

Remember how Kazakhstan invited Sascha Cochen to visit, to show the actor how the country actually was? Or how they blocked access to his website because they felt the Borat character was so unrealistic? Well, someone apparently forgot to pass the “Kazakhstan is not backward” memo along to the sports ministry, as now the Kazakh cycling federation is claiming that Kashechkin has tested negative. In what test this result came about was not mentioned explicitly.

While Team Astana’s spokesperson shrugged cluelessly, Nikolai Proskurin, Kazakh cycling federation president, claimed, while never specifying how, that the tests of Kashechkin were “erroneous”, that Kashechkin is currently preparing his defense, and that Andreas Kloden has no intention of quitting the Astana Team. In fact, the German will be co-leading Astana at next month’s Vuelta a Espana, which, as luck would have it, the team has been re-invited to. High five! Proskurin concluded the interview by noting that all other countries have inferior potassium.

Returning to reality for a moment, the people who actually carry out dope tests have admitted that maybe there’s a little room for tweaking how the ProTour works after all. It’s a good plan, as some prefabbed ProTour races (such as the currently running ENECO Tour) are struggling to draw fans and competitors alike, though Tyler Ferrar’s 4th place in today’s prologue won’t hurt American audiences. As he’s only 3 seconds out of the lead, let’s not forget, the American is a solid sprinter.

As the roads should be...

I can only dream

Getting back

Ok, so it's been a few weeks since I have updated this. Since my last blog post we have had the Tour de France, which went a big sideways with the UCI not showing any leadership. I feel bad for T-Mobile; Sinkewitz you tosser! All kinds of alternative podium finishes were possible if you try to imagine what would have unfolded if Rasmussen was banned before the start, Michael Rogers had not dislocated his shoulder and Evans, Contador and Leipheimer did not have to expend so much energy trying to escape from Rasumussen on the climbs. In any case, well done to the Discovery boys though; not sure yet who will be sponsoring them next year though. Looking forward to seeing Slipstream racing on the continent. Hopefully they will get a wild card into next years Tour.

Also went to see David Beckham's debut with the LA Galaxy against Chelsea. David ~ I'm an Eastender living in LA too, give me a call :))












Of course the footy season (English Premier League) starts next weekend too. Come on you Spurs (Tottenham Hotspur for the non-Brits). Spent 40 million quid this summer so we are expecting a finish above 5th this year.

The Police @ The Staples Center - 6/20/07

After a twenty four year hiatus, the gentlemen of The Police brought forth their inimitably singular sound, serenading a record-breaking crowd at the Staples Center last night with over 20,000 people in attendance.

Sting, looking like a buff and affable Malcolm Mcdowell, was not the egomaniac many expected to see on stage. Rather, he was vital and focused and seemed at ease. Andy, transfixed and charmingly intent, didn't smile at all, but Stewie, with his gloves and jingly chimes, beamed from ear to shining ear.

Their performance was nothing like the comedy of errors Copeland described on his blog. Minus a few minor timing issues, the boys sounded like...boys. Not like old men. Not like a cruise ship flashback act. They sounded like The Police. There were a few moments that bordered on jammy, but largely they played true to form. A brilliant concert....well done......

...this is a picture of Jennifer Aniston taking a picture. I know, major excitement.

SETLIST / The Police @ The Staples Center - 6/20/07
Message In A Bottle
Synchronicity II
Walking on the Moon
Voices Inside My Head
Don't Stand So Close
Driven to Tears
The Bed Is Too Big
Truth Hits Everybody
Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Wrapped Around Your Finger
De Do Do Do De Da Da Da
Invisible Sun
Walking In Your Footsteps
Can't Stand Losing You
Roxanne
King of Pain
So Lonely
Every Breath You Take
Next To You

Photos by Lisa Brenner

free espresso for life

Congratulations, dude!

Seriously, could there have been a better person to win the first Grand Tour of the year? And without a radio, either! I'll bet you a biscotti that all the people at Bianchi are absolutely kicking themselves right now. He also nabbed the ProTour lead and has a nice fifty point buffer between him and Rebellin.

What a badass.

Soho Square, London - Timewarp

And so over to Soho Square, home of New Media, the Football Association and a strange garden shed. 1927 and 2007.

From this angle, looking eastward, alterations to the square appear minimal. Only the buildings to the extreme left and right have changed. The two plane trees in the foreground have grown, but retain their mutually repulsed angles. The clearest mark of 'progress', aside from the vehicles, is the presence of Centrepoint, almost obscured by trees.

Soho Square was built in the 1680s on land owned by the Earl of St Albans. Most of the surrounding buildings have changed several times, but the gardens are little altered since Victorian times. The famous tool shed at the centre appeared in the 1870s, replacing a statue of Charles II.

Images taken from the Wonderful London Flickr group.

Sacha Baron Cohen moments on MTV awards

5:41 - Sacha Baron Cohen (looking handsome as ever) berates Will Ferrelll for not calling him after their tender on-set moment in Talladega Nights. He pulls Will Ferrell in for a long, shameless lip-lock that leaves them both rolling on the floor like fictional teenagers in a fictional meadow.

6:07 - Sacha Baron Cohen announces that unfortunately Borat couldn't be here because the pressures of being a celebrity have taken a toll on him and he's entered rehab. "He crashed his car into Jewtown," SBC explains. "He was caught driving drunk on fermented horse urine. Also, he had more than the legal limit of roofies in his car. And he actually went on a chat show and made pro-Jewish remarks." SBC thanks the crowd and finishes his speech with, "I can still taste Will on my lips!"

Bloomberg On JFK Plot: "Stop Worrying, Get A Life"

Ethan Korngold says: "Finally, a politician with a reasonable view of the true risk of terrorism relative to all of the other risks in the world. Refreshing, indeed."

"On Monday, Bloomberg finally weighed in, but his response was not what some would have expected.

"There are lots of threats to you in the world. There's the threat of a heart attack for genetic reasons. You can't sit there and worry about everything. Get a life," he said.

That "What, me worry?" attitude pretty much sums up Bloomberg's advice to New Yorkers on the terror plot. As far as he was concerned, the professionals were on it, so New Yorkers shouldn't let it tax their brains.

"You have a much greater danger of being hit by lightning than being struck by a terrorist," he added."

Link

The Best Current Music Artists

My tastes in music are varied. Tastes vary from Dance/Techno to Rock to Classical. The genre of particular interest these days contains artists usually dropped in the "alternative" category (whatever that means). Strangely, these artists are currently all receiving a lot of air-time and chart success.

Here are my favourite 'alternative' artists (alphabetical):
The All-American Rejects
Black Eyed Peas
Blink-182
Bowling for Soup
Coldplay
The Dandy Warhols
Death Cab for Cutie
Duncan Sheik
Fall Out Boy
Foo Fighters
Goo Goo Dolls
Green Day
I-94
Jesse McCartney
Keane
The Killers
Lilly Allen
My Chemical Romance
Relient k
Rihanna
Robbie Williams
Ryan Cabrera
Sean Paul
Semisonic
Snow Patrol
Sugarcult
The Vines
Yellowcard
The Idan Raichel Project

Bests and Worsts of the Giro d'Italia

As Ghisallo notes below, this year's Giro was a smash hit in Italy. I'm guessing a few of us here would agree as well. So while it may take some work to figure out what didn't go over well, the only challenge to listing the good parts is not forgetting anything.

Let's start small:

Five Things to Love About the 90th Giro d'Italia

1. The sprints. There was just about everything you could ask for in the sprinter's program. We were treated to Alessandro Petacchi's emotional comeback, and yet rarely were the sprints as dull as that previous sentence might have implied. Petacchi won five stages, but between his wins were some crazy finales, including the spectacular curves of stage 5 (won by Förster), the crashes on stages 2 and 11, and so forth. Other stages featured great straight-up competition, including Danilo Napolitano's two-day burst of speed which saw him win in Petacchi's hometown. And artful touches, like stage 7's finish on the F-1 track at Mugello, and stage 8's conclusion at the legendary Ferrari test track.

2. The Scenery. The early and transitional stages are usually a chance to tune out the long race for a day or so, but there were few such chances this year. The start in Sardinia was upstaged only slightly by the turn around the Amalfi Coast, a site beautiful enough to make the UNESCO list. Warm-up climbs to Montevergine and Santuario Nostra Signora Della Guardia were beautiful as well. And of course, the Alps and Dolomite stages were postcard-ready too, as usual.

3. An impeccably balanced parcours. From day 1 possession of the maglia rosa was contested. OK, there were a few days off around stage 6-9, but the opening team time trial got things started, and the absolutely brilliant Montevergine stage succeeded in drawing out the competition on day 4. And while everyone knew where the biggest challenges lay, the Tre Cime and Zoncolan stages did NOT overshadow the latter half of the race: stages 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 and 20 all mattered.

4. The maglia blanca. Often a grand tour will showcase an up-and-coming young talent, but rarely are we treated to talents as young and impressive as Andy Schleck and Riccardo Riccò. Schleck was nearly impervious to the pressure and the demands of either the attention, the competition, and the course. He showed great form on the climbs and time trials alike. Riccò, for his part, could use some ITT practice, but his transition from Classics ace to grand tour climbing stud thrilled the home crowd. Schleck may be bound for France in future years, but Riccò looks like a future maglia rosa for sure.

5. The Winner. Much will be written about Danilo DiLuca's brilliant Giro, but for me, nothing is more significant than this:

Di Luca, from the region of Abruzzo, became the first of the Giro's 64 Italian winners come from south of Tuscany.

The first rider south of Tuscany? There are a lot of Italians south of Tuscany, not to mention some 70% of the land mass, and it took 90 years for one of them to win. This is big.

Thanks Podium Cafe