the Story of Stuff!

Here is my stuff for May’s The Noise. I’m applying for jobs like a crazy person (more on that later), so that’s where all my energy is going.

The combination of budding trees, flourishing grasses, ferocious winds, fantastic music shows, fresh sun burns, and crowded bike lanes can only mean one thing in Flagstaff. Spring is upon us. It also means that Flagstaff Biking Organization’s (FBO) famed Bike to Work Week is right around the corner. This year’s events will take place in various locations from Sunday, May 11 to Friday, May 16.

Anthony Quintile, general manager of Absolute Bikes and go-to-guy for Bike to Work Week, is especially excited about this years events. “The City will be more heavily involved this year,” which is great because with the Mayor involved, including many city council members, Mr. Quintile says cycling is also publicly recognized as a “legitimate form of transportation.” This kind of promotion and support can result in many positive developments for our booming cyclist community.

This year is also special because New Belgium Brewing Company, who decided not to continue it’s annual Tour de Fat in Flagstaff—which provided FBO with it’s annual budget—will be supporting Flagstaff’s premier biking organization by sponsoring the entire week.

In the same way that Earth Day should be regarded everyday, the point of Bike to Work Week is to promote cycling beyond just a fun weeks worth of events. Gas prices are expected to reach $4 a gallon this summer. “Cycling,” as Mr. Quintile explains, “is a great way not to pay those rising gas prices.” Flagstaffers are fortunate enough to live in a climate that allows us to bike much of the year. The point of Bike to Work Week is to get more bikes on the road.

I asked Mr. Quintile about those people, like this writer, who already commute on their bikes much of the time. How can veteran cyclists make a meaningful impact during Bike to Work Week? He responded immediately, “instead of being that wacky person that rides to work every day, this is an opportunity to become a leader in the workplace, to motivate and give tips to fellow co-workers.”

This year’s Worksite Challenge will run for four days – Sunday at midnight to Thursday at noon—instead of just one day. Those interested in facilitating a work-site challenge at their day job should refer to FBO’s website for further information: www.flagstaffbiking.org

Sunday, May 11, 9am to 3pm at Heritage Square

The Human Powered Parade starts at 11am, downtown at Cherry and Leroux. Awards will be given out to the two best-decorated bikes. Cyclists are encouraged to stay downtown and attend the Bike Bazaar. Whether a new rider, a commuter, a weekend warrior, or a racer, young and old, there will be something for everyone at the Square —everyone on two wheels that is. Among live music, events, and prizes, there are cheap options for those looking for gear, parts, or refurbished bikes.

Bike Swap – Everything from the necessary to the beloved will be available for wheeling and dealing. This will be a great opportunity to trade, sell, or cheaply purchase bike gear with members of the Flagstaff community and beyond. Tables are available for a $20 donation to set up your wares for sale (and yes, friends can share!).

Bike Recycling – There are a lot of Flagstaff residents who have bikes and bike parts that are either rusting away in yards, or collecting cobwebs in garages. You know who you are. This is your chance to get that immobilized bike off your conscious and donate it to FBO where it will be refurbished and passed along to someone who will ride it. Newly refurbished bikes will be available for purchase as well.

Monday, May 12

7:30 AM: Kick-off Commuter Ride from City Hall

Hundreds of cyclists sharing the road make for quite a powerful statement. Celebrate the efforts of those individuals and organizations that have worked so hard to improve biking and walking in our community. Come join local elected leaders, officials, and hundreds of your closest friends for a short “commuter” ride through downtown, finishing at Heritage Square for a free breakfast. That’s right, free breakfast.

Tuesday, May 13

6 PM: “Jack and Martin’s Excellent FUTS Adventure” Cruiser Ride

Starting at the Pay-n-Take on Aspen, cruiser bikes of all varieties—from townies, tandems, custom cruisers, to old school balloon-tired relics—will block traffic for a half an hour downtown. All riders welcome.

Wednesday, May 11

Bike to Breakfast Day!

Breakfast station locations:

• City Hall, sponsored by the City of Flagstaff
• Fort Valley Road @ Late for the Train
• Beaver St near Biff’s Bagels, sponsored by Biff’s and Jack Welch
• North Humphreys @ Coffee Pedaler, sponsored by Coffee Pedaler
• Beaver St & the FMC ped bridge, sponsored by FMC
• Rt 66 & San Francisco St, sponsored by Absolute Bikes
• Cedar-Lockett & Fourth St, sponsored by Friends of Flagstaff’s Future

6 PM: Town Hall Meeting: City Hall

Join local officials at City Hall for a discussion of cycling issues in Flagstaff and to find out what’s being done to make Flagstaff more bicycle-friendly.

Thursday, May 15

Bike to School Day!

Many kids ride their bikes to school already. Today, parents are encouraged to ride with them. High school kids are encouraged to rediscover their bikes. Many outreach programs will take place throughout the day including a “Cycle Train,” where adult “conductors” will escort kids to Thomas Elementary School. Pine Forest Elementary will host a FBO sponsored Safe Kids bike rodeo, and a “Golden Sprocket” award will be given to a local high school and middle school that has the greatest percentage of students commuting to school on their own steam.

6 PM: The Orpheum is hosting the state-wide premier of Seasons, a widely acclaimed film that showcases the world’s best and most interesting mountain bikers, told through the course of the four seasons. Worksite Challenge winners will be awarded dazzling prizes during intermission. Tickets are $5 at the door.

Friday, May 16

6 PM: Bike to Potluck Cyclo-Bration!

As Bike to Work Week comes to a close, FBO is hosting a potluck at Thorpe Park’s Ramada. Bring table supplies, beverages, and/or a dish to share. It will be interesting to see how folks tote their food across town on two wheels.

Tacos Locos, a new Mexican joint south of the tracks, opened on Friday for the art walk. I tried it out; it wasn’t bad. Plus they’re open late, which brings much needed competition for 2 AM cravings.

I didn’t stay out late and I didn’t have a drop to drink, yet I’ve been puking my guts out for two days now.

Did anyone else get sick?

Stimulus payments are “in the mail.” The first time I heard the phrase “stimulus package,” I thought it sounded like an email I don’t want to open. When I learned what Bush’s plan to boast the economy actually entailed, I still couldn’t believe what I was reading.

The aim is to boost consumer spending and help mitigate problems caused by the slowing economy.

The program calls for rebates of up to $600 for single filers making less than $75,000. Couples making less than $150,000 would receive rebates of up to $1,200. In addition, parents would receive $300 rebates per child. Filers who do not owe income taxes but have at least $3,000 in income would get a $300 payment.

Let me get this straight. The U.S. is 9 trillion dollars in debt and we’re borrowing another 187 billion (from China of course), which will be portioned out to privileged first world Americans so they can buy buy buy as the only solution to save the economy.

It reminds me of the scene, “Cousins,” from Coffee and Cigarettes. A rich and famous cousin gets a visit from her sassy less-well-off cousin. After catching up over a cup of coffee and a cigarette, the rich and famous cousin gives her sassy less-well-off cousin a present (some makeup I think). After she learns it is “swag” (a British term, I guess, for the free gifts given to rich and famous people for free in the hopes that they will make more money when people see her using it), she says something that is right in line with our stimulus package.

“Its funny, don’t you think, that when you can’t afford something it’s like really expensive. Then when you can afford it, it’s like, free. It’s kinda backwards don’t you think?”

Rich and famous cousin responds: “The world is a bit like that sometimes.”
(view scene below)

Also, now more clearly than ever before, our economic system is truly exposing itself for what it is, a system that requires perpetual growth or it will quickly collapse. Capitalism, as an economic model, requires that we buy and consume—not as a privilege, but as a necessity. I can’t be the only one that has a huge problem with this.

This is part of my response, on the topic of victim blaming, to an essay question for a job application.

Within the context of sexual assault, the abuser rationalizes his violent behavior by blaming the victim for “causing” him to behave that way, though triggers for violent behavior are defined, quite arbitrarily, by the abuser. The inequitable power dynamic at work in such a situation speaks not only to the way men are taught to enact their masculinity, but it also clearly exposes the way women are taught to behave toward men.

Because of the way gender roles are constructed in our society, many women are made to believe–either implicitly or explicitly throughout their lives—that it is their duty to make men happy. This is reflected in and reinforced by the media, pop culture, politics, religion, and other details relating to the familial and societal structures of the dominant culture. Therefore, when an abuser is violent, the victim is made to feel guilty; she is made to feel that she is not adequately fulfilling her role some how.

In this way, victim blaming takes the emphasis off the source of violence and places it upon the victim of that violence. Therefore, the emphasis is on the victim to change her behavior within an inherently and fundamentally violent context. As long as the victim is fixated on her behavior, violent masculinity and the institutional patriarchal power structure that informs violent masculinity goes unexamined. In this way, victim blaming serves as a way to detract any meaningful thought that attempts to get at the root problems of violence in our communities and within the dominant culture.

The following was written by a friend, Mike Hobbs, president of the Denver Chapter for Trout Unlimited. As someone who works closely on these issues, he brings a unique and much needed perspective to the issue of land use/ownership. He touches on a lot of important and, often overlooked, issues that are tied to the institutionalized theft of public lands.

Our unique national treasures are in peril. The US government spends more money than it takes in each day and has been doing so for the past 7 years. The shortfall is covered by printing bonds and selling them with the promise of risk free interest. The average savings rate of US citizens is hovering around zero, yet consumers are exhorted each day to spend and save the economy. Social Security is approximately 40% under funded in the coming 40 years. Medicare shortfalls are estimated at 3-4 trillion dollars ($3,500,000,000,000). These entitlement program deficits never appear in budget calculations. Congress has cut Forest Service funding relentlessly, and new user fees do not cover the gap. The baby boomer retirement wave has just begun and will not crest for another 10 years. Life expectancies continue to rise. Many members of younger generations have never been out of range of WIFI access and have no interest in the outdoors. This is evidenced by declining hunting and fishing license fees across the west.

Politicians studiously decline to acknowledge these issues and will not do so unless the public or the media demand it. This short term mentality spells the end for our public lands. The Pombo initiatives of 2005 were just the beginning. Assuming that congress will not stand by while the aged go without basic needs, there will soon be a critical demand to raise cash. Having exhausted the demand for US Treasuries by saturation and lowering interest rates, the US will be facing bankruptcy sometime in the next 20 years. There is only one painless way to solve this problem and that is to liquidate America’s greatest asset. Billionaires and sovereign wealth funds flush with free trade cash and calls on US Treasuries will line up to bid on property along the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Yosemite Valley will make a great location for an exclusive community featuring golf, fishing and sporting clays with incredible views. In short, the most beautiful places in our country will be owned by economic royalty and the public will be locked out. I think I hear Teddy Roosevelt groaning in his grave. As O’Reilly is so fond of saying, “Where am I going wrong here?”

Earth day is tuesday……but remember…..

And this doesn’t mean I’m a communist or anti-American or any other sound bite. As I see it, this is just how it is. A way of life based on continuous growth cannot last on a finite planet. We’ve known this all along…

To get at the root problems, we have to question more than our consumer choices.

my grandmother sent this. I think it’s beautiful.

Flagstaff: As you probably know, our local independent bookstore, Aradia Books, is closing.

Aradia, Flagstaff’s oldest bookstore, has served the local
community for 28 years. As Flagstaff’s last full-service
independent bookstore, we carry books by local authors and are
committed to representing Flagstaff’s racial, ethnic, sexual, and
political minorities. We promote cooperation rather than
competition.

Well, corporate competition has moved in and, again, has helped to destroy the local flavor. I’m so tired of this.

Did you know that just thirty years ago, the busy Milton area (fast food, target, chase, barnes and nobles, starbucks….etc.) used to be horse corals? Every year, as corporate chains move in and local businesses move out, our unique little town looks more and more like any other city in the country. Does anyone know what ever happened to the “Unchain Flagstaff” hoopla of a few years ago?

Last year, we lost our only independent record store and the only independently run movie theater. Now, Rambo 4 runs on multiple screens at Harkins and the Darfur documentary isn’t even coming here. Anyway….

For the next couple weeks, Aradia is in need of volunteers to pack up books and help with general cleaning/clearing out. If you can help, just show up Monday-Saturday 10:30am-5:00pm through the end of April.