An Animal in Your Care

I dreamt a few days ago that I was swimming. Out in the open sea.
Free of my fears. Free of my worries. Free of my doubts.
For the first time in my life, I felt at peace with myself and with everything around me.
I only have you to thank.

This Charming Man

So the past week has been nothing but muggy, humid and rainy. I keep going to these cool places and always manage to forget my camera. Whatever, point-and-shoots suck anyway. I think one of the funniest things here is that cigarette packs have this label of warning on them: "Smoking Kills," and "Smoking Seriously Harms You and Others Around You" in big bold black letters. It's so big it even covers up some of the logo. You don't get that over in the states. I also finally succumbed to digital and ordered a Canon Rebel XTi with a wide angle lens. I can't wait to get back and use it. My good friend Frankie's also opening up shop soon in NYC so I'm pretty psyched about shooting photos for him and chilling at the shop. Keep an eye out for it this winter! I also found a brand new wheelset for my bike. Deep V mothafuckas!!!

Reporting Live from Shanghai

Nothing really exciting to say except seeing family is really nice. There are so many places to shop and meander. Nightlife (psh clubs are full of lame shitheads), art galleries, bookstores, restaurants and not to mention there are bikes EVERYWHERE. I love it. The bike lanes are blocked off my a steel divider from the cars. I wish I brought my bike, but then again, I wish I was back in New York again. I'll update with pictures if I can manage to remember my camera. I have also developed a love for karaoke. Til next time, folks.

You know that I'm the rebel, throwin' out the wicked like god did the devil

So today was Rock the Bells. It was outstanding. On top of the already stellar lineup, which included hosts Supernatural, B-Real and DJs Scratch and Green Lantern, Kidz in the Hall, Dead Prez, De La Soul, THE PHARCYDE, Mos Def, Ghostface & Raekwon, Method Man & Redman, Immortal Technique, Murs, Afrika Bambaataa, Nas and A Tribe Called Quest, guest stars cme in by the boatload. Literally. There was Black Sheep, Slick Rick, Cappadonna, Inspectah Deck, Talib Kweli came out for Mos Def, so technically it turned into a Blackstar performance, EPMD, Jay-Z came out for Nas, and Busta Rhymes came out for Tribe. Amazing. Now I have to get ready for China which I don't even want to go to. Fuck!

Stinging Velvet

The past few days have been really life changing. I haven't been home since Thursday night. I finally started riding again. I'll tell ya, it's the greatest feeling in the world to be weaving in and out of traffic, dodging cars and pedestrians. Oh riding's pretty neat too.

Yesterday I finally got around to picking up a decent bike. It was the best deal I've ever gotten on Craigslist. $250 for a vintage converted fixed/ss flip-flop hub with Cinelli bars and toe clips. That thing rides like a dream. Of course I took it for a ride around the city as soon as I picked it up, and went over to Williamsburg and rode around McCarren, Lorimer and Grand..all that jazz. It was a blast and as I was coming back over the bridge to meet up with some old skate buddies, going 40mph, only to lose my hat on the tracks, this white (unmarked) van comes turning out of the intersection and slams right into me. I was fine, but the driver was a plainclothes cop. He was really calm and nice about it though, asking me if I was ok and helping me pick up my bike. I rode off with a few scrapes and bruises, but the bike was fine.The funniest thing was when I got back into the LES, I was sitting in front of a deli pouring hydrogen peroxide and water all over my arms and legs and hipsters and tourists would look at me like I was out of my mind. My bars are kinda loose now and I need to adjust my front brake, but it's nothing big. After I got back on the island, we hung out at Joe's house because I didn't feel like going to Soho and have myself swarmed by pretentious hipster assholes. We went over to Rob's house, drank some beers and rode back to Joe's.

Today, we rode down to the ferry, and then up the LES, crossed over to the west side highway and up into Central Park. We rode around a lot, and I raced a lot of yuppie assholes one their $2k bikes, and checked out the show at Summerstage. I don't know who was playing but it was nice. After that, we ride some more and Joe decides to keep going. Of course, it starts to rain hot dog water and we get caught right in the middle. We then decide it would be a good idea to start heading into Queens to Mike's party. We get there and had a good time. Drank a bunch and had sing-a-longs to the Clash and Ella Fitzgerald. It was fun.

We rode back and on the train ride to Joe's house on SI, there was this drunk asshole shooting his mouth off about how much he hates "niggers" and will "rip one's head off if they get on the train." Of course, a sweet elderly couple board the train and he immediately gets in the husband's face. They start to argue and yell, but luckily, they weren't as ignorant as he was and his friend was sober enough to pull him away. This is the reason why I want to leave Staten Island. Bigotry is allowed to run rampant through the streets, and I really can't take much more. I really need to move anywhere but here. I hear Brooklyn's nice. Maybe Portland or Boston too.

Now, here I am, eating yogurt at 5am. We rode at least 20 miles and my whole body is achy. Getting hit by that van didn't help much. My neck's kinda stiff, my knees are weak and my right hand hurts. Whatever, you just keep on going. Today's Rock the Bells and Joe managed to get vip tickets through his job. He better take pictures of me with Q-Tip and Pharcyde. Yay.

I also realized how much I love Neko Case and the Aquabats and don't want to go to China because I'd rather be here with my favorite. I'm sorry if I was a jerk for the past several days. <3