Tour of Ireland- Game Over??

In a one week stage race winning margins are usually small and often can be determined by time bonuses. So how does a break get 13 minutes on the first day of racing and effectively end the race for anyone not in the break? CSC,T-Mobile,Slipsream,LPR, and Navigators all had men in the break and they are arguably the strongest teams in the race. Everyone else will be hunting for stages.
Will the Schelck brothers be grabbing bottles for Marcus Ljungqvist? I guess there will still be a battle for stage wins and some shuffling among the 10 from the break, but this does not make for an exciting race
People must have been asleep at the wheel to let that go. There were 8 other teams including Rabo continental(with Sven Nys as a ringer) that could have at least tried to pull it back. Ouch

It is rad to see Unibet always going full out when they get a race start. It is fucking ridiculous how bad the governing bodies fucked these riders with there bullshit politics.


Leiphemer transfer rumours incude Lotto(why?) and T-Mobile(makes more sense except for the T-Mobile transfer curse). On paper it seems like any of the French pro-tour teams should jump at him. Same thing for Slipstream or Saunier Duval. There aren't that many other Pro-Tour teams built around a GC guy. Moving to Quickstep almost guarantees, he would be one his own maybe hunting for stages or a polka dot jersey.

SUNN Oracle LP

This record pushes the "how much art can you take" point of view way past its logical conclusion, past the ridiculous and right to the sublime. A soundtrack to a sculpture exhibition??? An entire massive back line of amps cast in salt and resin? OK. Over my head, but who cares.
Graphics are cool and I thought the shirt looked look like a cool post modern black flag photo negative tribute. But this is a band and they make records not shirts or sculptures-so how is the music? Fans of Grave-Temple and Burial Trio will enjoy this. Attila is in effect and of course recorded from a sealed coffin. But does the music even matter at this point? With each release they push the limit of commerce, art , and spectacle with music usually being discussed last or least. (Such as right here for example).
Southernlord of course is the home for this release.

cycling update late august

With transfer season approaching and teams disappearing, the dwindling number of races become very important for riders who will be looking for rides next year. Tour of Ireland and Eneco tour should have a more than a few riders desperate to impress-especially if they aren't doing the Vuelta. Rabobank are sending a strong team and a lot of sprinters will be present-including some JJ Haedo vs McEwen show downs. Schumacher will not be there to defend, nor Hincapie to avenge last years results.
Tour of Ireland has some heavy hitters-CSC is sending both the Schelck brothers. As usual Irish stage races have a heavy American presence and Navigators,Colavita, and Team Slipstream will all be there. Hard not to view this as a race between T-Mobile and CSC, but anything can happen on the road.
Slipstream is making moves and the domestic core of this team has got to be nervous about their job security. Millar,Backstedt,Vandevelde, and Zabriskie? Is the team really getting built around Millar for stage races? V and Z might be solid for the super domestique category and at least they have UCI points, but can Vaughters get them to a level that CSC hasn't??
In other transfer news, Hincapie to T-Mobile is up first. Probably a good move for him if he is getting a big paycheck, but as far as results??? Transfer to T-Mobile has equalled career over or wasted year for many before him...... And what does T-Mobile get? A savvy tactically astute veteran? NO. A no-excuses winner? NO. A handful of 3rds and 4ths and a lot of complaining? YES!
Ballan getting courted by AG2R???? Please don't do it. Ballan has had the breakout season of his career and deserves a good contract on a good team. Will there be anyone from AG2R with him at critical points in the one day classics when it counts?
Risky move if it happens. Lampre should pay up and keep him. The core of Ballan, Bennati, and Napolitano have gotten them most of their wins. Maybe the will try and build the team more around Cunego, but that seems risky based on what they accomplished this year.
With at least 2 teams departing and 2 other teams more or less dead in the water, that is going to leave a lot or riders looking for work. Maybe a very easy way to ease out some questionable riders? I hope so.
Outside of a handful of one day races in Italy that is about it until the Vuelta and the Worlds.
In non-cycling doping news SI.com is breaking some Baseball steroids news that could be major. I wonder how people will react if "scores" of names are published and will MLB take the kind of aggressive action cycling has?

Salted Radishes.

This is summer food at its simplest and most enjoyable. Go heavy on the salt and you can close your eyes and think potato chip with out the penalty.
Take a couple bundles of radishes and wash them and cut off the stalks.
Cut them into 1/8" slices. Maybe a little thinner if you like. Throw them in a bowl and toss them with a couple pinches of salt-aka season to taste. Put in a bowl and serve. Then sit back and watch the pounds melt away as you replace your junk food intake with spicy radishes. Damn you are you smooth. Goes well with beer, so get it going before summer is gone.

News you can Use #2 Gillie Suit

Perhaps you don't know what a Gillie suit is or perhaps you don't think you'll ever have the need for one. Well knowledge is power so consider yourself armed and ready when you do.
How to a make a Gillie Suit

Thanks to the "How to of the Day" website for this crucial piece of info.

Go Jen!!

Jens is the man, and if he ever test positive, I am taking up curling. Game over. Otherwise I hope he races until he is 80 years old.

White Lace and Strange US Heavy Psych and Power Fuzz 68-72 CD

"Heavy Psych and Power Fuzz"??? 20 tracks of bands that feel through the cracks. Think Hendrix, Zep, Cream, Blue Cheer, Sabbath, etc. Comps like this-obscuro old school odd ball types are always risky, but the occasional rewards are worth wading through the rivers of wanna bes.
This comp harkens back to the days when beer came in cans with pull tops and got drunk in large quantities in parking lots before classic rock dinosaurs kicked out the jams. Jeans were mandatory and shirts were optional. After who knows how many dozens of early to mid 60s garage comps, this dose of under the radar hard rock is total frenzied blast of fun.

The first 3 tracks are all killer, but my jaw hit the floor with track 4 Detroit's own Power of Zeus's(one album on Rare Earth) anthem "It Couldn't Be Me" which came to my attention last year as a Sabbathy sample on Obie Trice's 2nd LP. This nugget alone is worth the price of admission, but you get a lot more.
Boston gets 3appearances with Banchee, Eden's Children and Brother Fox and the Tar Baby who's "Steel Dog Man" has an awesome funky Hendrix groove. Walpole Mass gets on the map thanks to The Fort Mudge Memorial Dump! Who would have guessed MA was such a hot bed of hard rock! Don't forget my not so recent find of that Looking Glass 45! Genesis are up next with "Angeline" and push fuzz into the hard rock stratosphere on this midpaced stomper. Other stand outs are Mount Rushmore's "someone else's games". The bass playing on the Road's track "Spaceship Earth" might be familiar as it is Noel Redding at the helm. They also have a Rare Earth connection. T.I.M.E drop a jam that could easily be mashed up with any version of "Get Ready"- a more trippy take on that classic riff. Yellow Payges almost make you think Billy Childish snuck on here, but it just some standard bluesy garage stomp. You are so much better off grabbing this than dropping huge money on some Blue Cheer live boot.

Psychic Circle Records are dropping some serious comps that are worth your time, but this is good place to start. Hats off to Nick S for putting this together. There is not surprisingly a connection to grunge godfathers Nirvana.... Liner notes are minimal but informative and readable for a change!