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September 29, 2007

Kicking ass ~ Critical Mass!

Whoa, it was quite a ride last night!
Its unclear how many riders there actually were- partially because El Oso and I arrived late and caught the mass where it had already been split in half- it seemed deliberately, by police, who were out in droves. Its so good to know they are on the job- you know, keeping car traffic flowing. A bit of sarcasm?? Perhaps!
Anyway!
Here are a few visuals, although I didn't manage to capture the scope very well- its hard to steer and shoot! And who wants to stop, especially when one is filled with adrenalin, and carried along in the joy of the moment, and the joy of seeing the streets filled with bicycles (does the heart so much good!), and happy people representing a broad spectrum, on a broad spectrum of 2 (and more!There were several with several more! Including one built for 4 to pedal, pulling a trailer carrying an accordion player perched atop a somewhat ornate chair and wearing a funny crown on his head, as he played and played- such beautiful music for biking! What but what can be more delightful, on a coolish night? That's the thing.) wheeled contraptions- and one's bliss only intensified by the sounds of pedaling, shifting, (the lovely clicky- clicky sound of humans moving on wheels under their own power- oh, and sometimes squeaky brakes) friends greeting one another, happy music from the sound trailers, big bikey party noise!
That's what I'm saying! Pre-ride estimates were expecting in the neighborhood of 5000 riders, I'd say we were pretty close. It is in no way reflected in my photos, as I chose to edit out my attmepts at big crowd shots since they were unfortunately blurred and didn't capture even a fraction of the massive, thundering herds.
Without further ado, and in no particular order-

There were two girls with some excellent helmet embellishments!

And plus I have a soft spot in my heart for the wearer of this helmet, as he is a bikey friend-

which just happens to have all manner of interesting stickers.

And besides-
You just know-

Its a fact!!!
A young woman pulling a trailer decorated with some kind of tall and very lush foliage (couldn't get a photo- my camera was in my bag and then she took off) gave me several of these stickers- which I love.
So I got extras, if you need one. I'm just sayin'.
I had done my own pre-ride helmet decorating too, with white reflecty-tape, in a polka-dot formation on the front, too, just fyi.
Plus the handlebar mojo was updated to include-

Luscious lavender streamers, which streamed quite nicely and did not disappoint!

I was really fascinated by this guy's front-mounted drum arrangement, too.

And who but who is this handsome devil-

to the right of the pretty dress lady! And what can he have in that giant cooler? Can it be Ho3ard, aboard the sound trailer??
Oh yes!

Here is a general crowd shot I managed to get early on- when we were stalled on Michigan Ave.- the rest are blurred, but no! That boy does not have his handlebar up his nose! And if you look closely I believe its the Hancock building in the background.

Oh! So much more happened! Including dramatic encounters with enraged motorists (for my own puny non-threatening self- I tried to persuade the angry driver of a very shiny German luxury vehicle that sitting on his horn would prove futile. He couldn't be convinced to roll down his window- I guess you can't blame him, being as he was surrounded by smiling bike-riders who probably couldn't afford to drive and had the audacity to block traffic- lord knows we were probably so crazy we might just attack- but I yelled into his open sunroof "you need to calm down! You need to stop honking!"- not only did he not roll down his window, he never did take his fist off of his car horn! Apparently my actions also didn't sit well with a Lincoln Park Trixie, who was compelled from her car in order to walk over and inform me I needed to step away from this man's vehicle immediately! She got an earful from an adrenalin overdosed Pippy- oh! It wasn't pretty! There may have been some unladylike expletives uttered- I'm afraid. Don't be too disappointed in me, dear readers!! There's more I'm not proud of- I told more than one SUV driver with an open window that their Station Wagon was killing polar bears.)

We rode until we were quite stupid and I can only speak for myself but somewhat saddle-sore, believe it! And thus, the ride fizzled by the lake but not without some action from our friends-
yes, the police chasing us off and menacing us with their paddy wagons. (I blew them kisses).

But that's how you know its a good party, right?
And it was!

Posted by pippypippy at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)

September 28, 2007

this has nothing to do with anything

But Rob (and Joey) Helpy-Chalk
have been posting a lot of their You Tube fave music videos lately and thus, I give you a new/old fave~

(Can that be a spinning wheel in there?!)

Thanks to internet radio and El Oso for that blast from the past.

Posted by pippypippy at 02:06 PM | Comments (3)

What the water gave me- part 2- plus, bikey update

Lately I've found a new obsession- which has to do with the obvious obsession- knitting- which is bubble baths. Because! I've been making jillions of washcloths lately- its almost completely mindless, you can use pretty colors and try new patterns, you don't have to sew anything when you are done, and plus you can use them to scrub yourself in the tub. Which is rawther relaxing, especially with just the right scent and just to right amount of bubbles- which, you can't have too many, really, can you??
That's the thing about bubbles.

Anyway, so here are two more-

The blue one is made of Louisa Harding Nautical Cotton- not so much fun to knit with, a little too soft for good scrubbing, but nice and shiny and comes in really pretty colors.
The yellow one was a rescue. I had given up on sewing on the other scalloped edge. Horizontal scallops are weird because you end up with 5 million ends to weave in. But worth it eventually, cause its kind of pretty, no?

If a little odd.

Plus, if you happen to have a rather spectacular fall from your bike (I'm ok- just embarrassed) in front of at least 5 people- who all kindly rushed to help me out- in the parking lot of the stupid CVS because of the your foot getting caught because you really in truth ought to be riding a bike with a step-though frame- a soak in warm water is great for whatever injured muscles you may have. Omg. Details of accident available upon request- in a nutshell- I landed hard on my butt on the concrete- but I am ok! Really!

My two pretties together-

And speaking of bike riding, tonight may or may not be the last Chicago Critical Mass ride ever, depending on who you listen to.
It should be quite something, as planning has been going on for some months now (and a fair amount of bickering! Which I for one will be glad to see the end of!) and the build-up has been huge!
Oh, and Mucca Pazza- "Astounding Circus Punk Marching Band"-are scheduled to appear, pulled on rickshaws,
along with at least two other live bands, on trailers I imagine- so it should be quite something!
Look for a full report later!

Posted by pippypippy at 08:09 AM | Comments (0)

This morning I was sweeping my kitchen floor

And thinking about John the Big Dawg, and missing him, as I have been, but also meditating about loss. Its been on my mind a lot since the anniversaries of both his birth and death are coming up, November is the first anniversary of his passing. Sometimes I am ok with it. Other times it rushes back to me in a flood- the cab ride over here (his landlady- now my landlady- called me because she was worried) where I knew something was terribly wrong. The early evening darkness in November, when I scanned the streets for people walking, searching for anyone who looked like John, and a sinking feeling in my chest knowing he had been missing for 3 days. Coming up the stairs to the apartment where it was quiet, so absolutely quiet, and finding Marcel, confused, happy to see anybody but also quiet because he new something was wrong.
The movie plays in my head a lot still, of saying to Marcel, "where is the Big Dawg?" and seeing him glance across the room to the crumpled figure on the floor, then glance silently back at me. At that point my heart stopped, and I whispered John's name, twice, hoping for a miracle when I could see his hands, which looked small like a child's, and I could see his shoulders and I could tell that there was no sound and no motion. He was so still.

One year later I still can't write a memorial issue of my magazine for him, because I sit down to do it and dissolve into a pool of tears.
Sorry if this brings people down, it is Fall and leaves are starting to turn and I am remembering the dead, (as is traditional in many ways) and feeling the loss in a renewed way. It has changed, of course.
This morning as I was sweeping the kitchen floor (this is the beauty part of sweeping- the meditation part- like knitting) I was thinking of the ghost bike sign I need to be making, it is for an installation of a bike for a young woman who was killed a couple of weeks ago. Maybe it is not my place to mourn for a woman I didn't know, but I feel this need to do what I can. I didn't even know her family, and never would have. This is what is kind of beautiful about mourning, and this is the potential of public mourning to heal the world, I think. We need to explore it. It exposes our vulnerabilities and our humanity. It binds us together as human beings and as a community.
It is a human experience which is persistent, beautiful in many ways,
and can make us see a lot of things more clearly.
One thing I've noticed, too, about grief, and about mourning, is that things slip away and things come back. When you least expect it some little thing will come to you, even as you try to trap everything you knew and loved, knowing that you can't.

Posted by pippypippy at 06:15 AM | Comments (2)

September 23, 2007

strange day

Today I was seized by the strangest most irresistible urge. I'm not even sure how it happened. Here is what I know for sure-
there was this very bad painting sitting around my house for the longest time being a nuisance. I was thinking of a linocut-

Which was intended for entertainment purposes only, and plus I was hoping it might kick my ass into gear to work on Duchamp! the zine, because I still haven't done the Big Dog Memorial Issue- which has been on my mind a lot lately (the Big Dog, because a.) his birthday was Oct. 8th and b.) the anniversary of his passing is in November and I am really scared I am going to become overwhelmed by it, as fall always makes me sad anyway. Honestly, I am afraid I am going to become paralyzed from sadness. Maybe it has to happen. Still.) and then I liked the drawing so much I picked up the ugly painting and drew it on there-

And then I liked that too. (And then I had this sudden desire to paint! So weird! Where did it come from??) Kind of blue like Krishna, maybe, of the bears (that look like Marcel and also like someone else) kind of in a blissful state of levitation. Somehow a title popped into my head and it was For John- Flying Under Radar- (don't know where that came from but it seemed fitting) We'll Be Fearless Then.
Ok, well, I'm an artist for gosh sakes, I'll make up cryptic titles when I feel like it.

Anyway, a bunch of my painting stuff is still living elsewhere- but I dug around in my closet and came up with some very old acrylics- they belonged to my father who passed away over 15 years ago and remarkably are still good (can it be a sign? Paints from the beyond. Thanks Dad.) a box with a few gouches and some watercolors, and this thing-

a tiny watercolor box I used to use when I was in school. It was portable, for taking to the zoo to paint pictures of the animals. (Who, btw, just fyi, never hold still, or else they hide. Especially the birds, especially the spoonbills but also the penguins! Painting at the zoo is not for the meek. Luckily I'm not meek. Its true!!!) It came with this James Bond stealth watercolor brush which somehow I never managed to destroy- and I am the destroyer of brushes-

That's it open, along with the painting, which is still in progress and looks different already, as I have to paint things, then ruin them, then paint them again several times over. That is the process. Its crucial.
Don't be scared, I'm a professional, I have a BFA.

In any event, from the looks of the watercolor box it would seem that I have done a lot of watercolors but the truth is I haven't.
I am a bad artist.

Don't listen to me as I am feeling rather discouraged about art at the moment, (and anyway isn't this is supposed to be about knitting?) but I will get over it.

Go see Michael's blog, as he is doing something happy, even though I probbly shouldn't say it because he hates me.

Oh, and plus, sincerest condolences go out to John P., whose cat, Maisie Kukoc, passed away in August. She appeared often in his work, and was a beloved companion who will be dearly missed.

Posted by pippypippy at 06:49 PM | Comments (2)

September 15, 2007

Marcel is bored. Plus, objects in mirror are larger than they appear.

Oh, its true.

Marcel is bored. He's the chairman of the bored. (But such a handsome super-model, no? Yes!!)
Because when I haven't been knitting and/or feverishly sewing in ends- how is it there are so many ends?! They have this way of multiplying- I am taking pictures of knitting, and not him. Not that he wants pictures taken of him either. In fact, he is afraid of the camera. Its true!
But here is the Avast cardigan, still in progress-

I am almost done with the second sleeve. Then there is some kind of yoke type of arrangement that is the reason why all the parts are left on the needles, rather than cast off, in order that they might be put together later. The instructions are daunting. But as the Yarn Harlot has advised- somewhere, I can't remember where, but I know I read it- there are things to be scared of in the world. Wild boars being one. But with knitting one must be brave!

In any event, remember how I started the Ballet Wrap cardigan from Interweave Knits Summer 2005 issue? (can it be that long ago!?) Well, its almost finished, the only thing is a.) I have to sew the ties onto the sides and b.) its too small. So I am trying to decide if I should even bother with the ties at all since I can't fold the sides over the way they are supposed to go.

See? It looks really good on the chair.

But I kind of have to pull it closed.
I'm thinking it is going to be an odd little jacket, still functional, but not quite what I had in mind.
So I'm small but not that small. Notes to self- measuring tape. Gauge swatch. Medium!!!

Besides all that, Marcel will have you know he has eviscerated the evil Octoman but good.

No longer will the Octo-menace stalk freely in our apartment, threatening our way of life!

Mission accomplished.

Posted by pippypippy at 09:15 AM | Comments (1)

September 05, 2007

End of summer sort of and Marcel's new friend!

Alas and alack, we hate to see it go- it is the end of summer although you can't tell so much by looking at the garden!

Me and Marcel try to memorize these things for a cold day in February, when we have a salty-paw and the cold stretches out behind us and ahead of us. Thus, photographic evidence of abundant green things!-

Ok, pink things! And pink and green things!

And no photographic evidence at all but a squirrel took food out of my hand yesterday when I held it out, a piece of dried fruit which he then nibbled before placing it gently on the ground and patting it twice with both forepaws, in order that it might stay put for later.
Because even the squirrels know that after Labor Day comes Fall and they have got to get busy!

Plus, Marcel has got a new canine pal! Sal!!!

Sal being short for LaSalle, the street where he was born. Not only is he slightly goofy looking

But he has a mohawk! I tried but couldn't get a good picture of it, but trust me, its stylish!!!

Oh, he is cute, cute, cute!!!

And he has the softest whiskers.

Posted by pippypippy at 02:45 PM | Comments (3)

Super secret baby project complete- welcome Leah!!!

Actually, the knitting project was complete some time ago! But now the Super Secret baby herself has arrived- so please join me in welcoming little Leah Kimberly, born August 28th, weighing in at 6 pounds 12 ounces! We are so happy she is here, and she and mom Kathrine are both doing fine! Big congratulations to all involved!

Posted by pippypippy at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)