RIVER RAMBLING

The day started at 5:30am, as I had to get to a friend’s house, then up to the Delaware Water Gap for the 10th running of the River Ramble.

The weather report said there was a 7% chance of rain by 9am, but there was a light rain pretty much the entire time. And it was also like 65F, with 90% humidty.

Like, train all summer with the dreadful humidity then reap the rewards during races in the Fall when the humidity is supposed to be gone, but the air was thick and heavy. I was supposed to run the 10K route, but I knew at mile one I’d only be doing the 5K.

My pace went up at each mile (11:26 > 11:07 > 10:14), and averaged a 140bpm rate, so I was happy with all that.

Finished in 32:13, which is a 10:23/mile pace, which I’ll take since I haven’t ran that pace consistently in any of my running this year! I guess my slow mileage has paid off.

ROAD TO NOWHERE

Since 2006 I’ve been logging onto Twitter. That’s 16 years of checking in on a website or app. I was 30 when I signed up, living in NYC at the time. I made some friends, lost some friends, traveled around, and now I’m 46 years old and there’s lots of wondering of what’s next.

I’m no fan of the new ownership, but I haven’t been a fan of the service for a few years now, or social media in general, given the algorithmic bent towards gossip, horror, extreme viewpoints, and other nonsense.

Gone are the days of logging in and seeing art and joy from my friends, and instead being served ads for shit I don’t need, and people I don’t follow. Great.

I don’t think there’s any new place I’ll go. I’m pretty okay with the small group of people I chat with on the phone, swap texts with, and private DM here and there. I think that can be enough.

Because last thing I need is a 3rd party company run by a bunch of morons coming between me and the personal communications with friends.

Messages (via the iPhone, Mac), phone calls (iPhone), and some Instagram messaging, which I need to break away from.

I think that’s good enough.

NOT KNOWING

Remember running into an old friend and catching up? Learning what’s new in their life? Maybe hearing bad news, horrible news, or the best news in the world?

Then social media came alone and I know what some people have for dinner every night. Job promotions or layoffs announced far and wide. New kids, bad luck, and everything in between.

I think about my younger days, when we ran with smaller crews. Yes, we were on IRC and made friends and met up at shows in cities an hour (or more) away. Now we’re taking in a steady flow of everything from everyone, not just our friends, but also a toxic mix of the worst shitbags we wouldn’t hang around for one minute, yet we let them seep into our life on a minute by minute basis.

It used to be Trump, then Kayne… at this moment in time it’s Kyrie Irving.

Like, why do I know all this shit? How are there 10 articles per hour coming out about each detail, old interview, and random quote?

I’m not saying ignorance is bliss. I’m not saying I want to live under a rock.

I’m just saying that maybe we don’t all need to go to another social media network to keep up with what everyone is doing all the time.

Like the lights came up after a show, and we all went home.

Call, text, send an email. I don’t know.

I’m just pretty sure I’m not jumping to a new social media network.

SOCIAL MEDIA POSTS ARE BLOG POSTS

We’d all leave social media if there was just somewhere else to go, right?

Somewhere else, though, is “a service run by tech-bros that wish to create value for shareholders.” Like, we just want reverse chronological order, photos, and the ability to message or leave replies.

You know that’s a blog, right?

Come on – you’re smart. You can set up a smart phone, navigate your state’s DMV website to renew your car registration, figure out Calendly, pay for tickets and use your phone as entry into a show – you’re fucking smart, you can set up a blog.

THE FALL IS ALL I NEED

Had a nice chill 15 mile bike ride on Saturday. This trail is a rail to trail, so uphill for the first half, than downhill for the second half, but it’s easy and chill. I wanted something I could ride without much thought, and just enjoy scenery.

Then on Sunday I had my first run in three weeks, probably the longest time I’ve taken off since I started running in 2016. I tweaked my foot a few weeks back when running a little too fast downhill, and paid for it by needed to take some time off.

I ran a full mile, 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. Felt good, felt like I could have ran more of it, but figured I’d take it easy, and will continue to do so for this week and next, probably.

Thought of how neither of these efforts was hard. Neither worked up much of a sweat, but neither were a waste of time. They probably didn’t help me achieve peak physical prowess, but it’s all foundational, one brick at a time.

GOODNIGHT, METAL FRIEND #27

It’s been a minute, but I finally got out another mix.

Made this image for the Goodnight, Metal Friend Substack newsletter. Somehow I fell in love with the overheard electrical wires thing.

I guess I’m still trying to figure out the “design language” and branding for Goodnight, Metal Friend, too. It’s a fun experiment in something that’s not super personal and ME, with my face all over it. Instead, just trying to convey a vibe, I guess.

To listen to more, you can find all the mixes on Mixcloud, or read all the Goodnight, Metal Friend posts here on my blog.

NO RUSH

Via @chronically_cheerful on Instagram

I’ve lately been leaning towards the higher-value work lately, and believing the lower value work will get done eventually. It’s hard, because I want everything done all the time, in a perfect schedule. I used to plan to have certain tasks done on certain days, but I’ve scrapped all that, and just started working on things as my energy allowed.

And while I love being wrapped up and done by 3 or 4pm, sometimes I need that workout in the morning, or that bike ride after lunch, which then pushes “closing time” back, and that’s okay.

THERE’S JUST TOO MUCH

This from Music Business Worldwide:

It was inevitable, but it’s no less eye-popping: approximately 100,000 fresh tracks are now being uploaded to music streaming platforms every day.

That’s according to two of the most influential figures in the modern music business: Universal Music Group CEO and Chairman, Sir Lucian Grainge, plus the outgoing CEO of Warner Music Group, Steve Cooper.

Addressing the Music Matters conference in Singapore on September 27, Grainge said that 100,000 tracks were now being “added to music platforms every day”.

In my line of work I have clients who sometimes release 5+ albums on a Friday, and that to me blows my mind. Five albums isn’t even a tiny blip when you consider 100,000 tracks being uploaded in a single day. Every day.

LOST MY GLASSES AT A TURNSTILE SHOW

I haven’t been to a show since 2019, but my friend Meem suggested we go see Turnstile in October, so we did just that.

Not even 30 seconds into their first song I was pushed from behind so hard that my glasses flew off my head. I was on the ground (it was pavement), scuffed my knee, looked for my glasses for a quick second, and then got the fuck out of there. My friend was punched in the face. Another woman near us ended up on the ground, too.

I mean, in our combined 50 or so years of show-going experience we thought things would be chill, but that wasn’t the case.

I couldn’t drive us home, as I’m blind as a bat without my glasses. My buddy had to drive me to center city Philadelphia to get me new glasses so I could drive back home that day. It was about $380 and I got my new glasses in a few hours. The photo above is from the nearby mall while waiting for the glasses.

Oh, and my friend got a parking ticket while we my glasses.

When it rains it pours, but at least we have another story to last us another 25 years.