Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Minneapolis Via Bike

Yes, indeed. I took today's pleasant weather as a notice to go biking and explore Minneapolis some more. I grabbed my helmet, granola bar, long-sleeve t-shirt, banana, water bottle, reflector, helmet, backpack and headed out. I listened to the ridiculously-amazing Set Sail The Prairie by Kaddisfly. Their music and lyrics matched perfectly to the mood I wanted to set for the ride. I raced against the wind mostly but kept in high gear. The sun went down slowly as I rode the Hiawatha Greenway to Lake of the Isles. I never really went north of there before, so I decided to explore. I biked along Kenwood Parkway, briefly observing the huge houses, quiet but horribly-paved road and large amounts of green space. Kenwood took me all the way around to the Walker and Sculpture Garden.

After crossing the busy road, I biked to Loring Park, where I stopped at a bench for a banana, granola bar and plenty of water. I sat for about 10 minutes, just observing life coming alive in the park: teenagers doing sweet bike tricks on the skate ramp; elderly folk walking along the path; a lady watching the birds and wild squirrels; kids shooting hoops; students from MCTC getting out of class, chatting on cell phones. I thought about writing a poem or journaling since I did bring them with, but decided not to due to the impending sunset and subsequent lack of light. I put on my long-sleeve t-shirt, reflector and helmet, and rode home via Blaisdell to the Greenway and back. From www.mapmyride.com, I calculated that I biked about 12 miles. Not too bad for an hour's ride. I plan on doing more for sure. There's just way too much beautiful scenery and sights not to.

LIke lightning bolts struck in the eye, so too time's weary hand goes by...

That really should be a poem.

I saw The Red Sparowes at the Triple Rock 3/21/07 and they were fantastic live. On 3/29/07 at First Ave I saw Explosions In The Sky, who completely altered my perception of my body and music. The entire show was life-changing, seriously. When they played "First Breath After Coma" followed by "Greet Death," it was the most phenomenal and body-blowing combo I've ever seen from any band!!!

My body became the music, floating outward and surrounding space and time. It was as if the notes were pieces of life and I got to experience them closer than I ever had before in music. This is really hard to describe, since it was almost 3 weeks ago and it's something I just felt, experienced; I cannot duplicate the moment in words. Tears streaked my eyes and face; chills and bumps covered my body; sweat poured out intensely; my mouth stood agape for a very long time; facial expression frozen in a state of wow-ness; eyes lit up like lightning sparked them, energizing everything within. No other show will top those 10 minutes. It was, to put it bluntly, a musical orgasm. An electric shock. An out-of-body and mind experience. Whatever else you want to say.