Desert winds a blowin'

As I said in my previous post, I was looking forward to some racing in Qatar and this is not what I was talking about:


I had in mind something more along the lines of this:


And once again Tornado Tom and the boy in blue er white take it to the rest of the peloton with some massive speed to put all who would challenge the golden child in a world of hurt.

Major props go out to Chris Sutton from Slipstream on staying with the leaders and getting fourth on the stage to put himself in a nice position to maybe grab a podium spot.

General classification after stage 2
1 Tom Boonen (Bel) Quick Step 2.34.59
2 Steven De Jongh (Ned) Quick Step 0.09
3 Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) Silence - Lotto 0.14
4 Christopher Sutton (Aus) Slipstream p/b Chipotle 0.15
5 Wilfried Cretskens (Bel) Quick Step 0.20
6 Jurgen Roelandts (Bel) Silence - Lotto
7 Danilo Napolitano (Ita) Lampre 0.21
8 Alexandre Pichot (Fra) Bouygues Telecom 0.26
9 Maarten Tjallingii (Ned) Silence - Lotto 0.27
10 Matteo Tosatto (Ita) Quick Step 0.32

They ride in a land down under

I have to admit that while I have been following the Tour Down Under, it just doesn't excite me very much.

YOu would think that after obsessing over cycling all summer and then scavenging for the smallest shred of news or "news" over the fall and winter that I would be ecstatic about the 2008 season getting under way.

Vvicious headbutts aside, I just kind of feel apathetic about it though.

I am looking forward to the Tour of Qatar however.

Overheard - Hennepin & 9th St

"So I was pretty much screwed out of my power.

I had the ability to add to my ice spells, but now I'm not in control of the ice domain anymore so it's pretty much useless."

and so it begins

Not that this should come as a surprise to anyone but I think it's pretty awesome that Slipstream will be racing in my personal favorite of the Grand Tours.

And since the same folks also bring you Milan-San Remo and Tirreno-Adriatico. There should be lots of opportunity for Phil LIggett to talk about the guys in Argyle on World Cycling DVDs next year.

And just in case you hadn't seen it, ESPN had a pretty good feature on the boys as well

maybe the library is the way to go

December was a good month for getting some reading done. January has been so far but somehow I don't think it will continue

Books finished/read in December:
Discipline - Paco Ahlgren
Fahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury
I am Legend - Richard Matheson
Siddhartha - Herman Hesse

Books Read in January:
The Man in the High Castle - Phillip K. Dick (from 4 Novels from the 1960s)

Books Currently Reading:
Tour de Life - Saul Raisin w/ Dave Shields
Fugitives and Refugees - Chuck Pahlaniuk
Essays - George Orwell

Books on Deck:
Phillip K. Dick - the Rest of 4 Novels of the 1960s
Rant - Chuck Pahlaniuk
High Fidelity - Nick Horby

Other Items Read/Reading:
Rouleur Issue Seven (Subscription was one of my fav xmas gifts)
Believer Issue 50 (just got my last issue in the mail-no good)

New Year's resolutions and such

well I am a little late with this but thought I would finally get around to looking ahead to the coming year and my goals for it.

Biking - I initially wanted to increase my yearly miles to 2000, but with all that I will have going on this year with full time school and my little internship/volunteer opp that I am involved in I think I will need to work to achieve my total from '07. So my goal this year is 1500 miles.

School - I am now enrolled in the UofM and hope t be admitted to Carlson for Fall semester to pursue my marketing degree. This will be a huge focus in the next couple of months as I acclimate to a new school and submit my application to transfer into the school that has been my focus for the past 2 years. It should be fairly intense as I am planning on going to summer school the next two years for practically non-stop school so that I can graduate by the end of '09

Nature Valley Grand Prix - The volunteer opp I mentioned above is helping with the marketing of the NVGP, so I hope to be successful and not make a fool of myself. Nothing is set in stone but I believe I know what I will be doing and it should be pretty fun and exciting so more to come.

Beyond those 3 things I just want to make sure I save some time to be with my family and hopefully travel a little (cross my fingers, I am hoping to be in DC for my birthday and the CSC invitational).

Top Tunes 2007

Well it is about that time when everyone starts to reflect on the past year. And so it is here at Buried Pleasure that I am giving you my picks of the top albums and songs of 2007.

Top Albums

Burial – Untrue
Just when you thought his first album was a fluke Burial drops a sophomore release that blows the first away. Not necessarily built for the dance floor, but amazing.

Radiohead – In Rainbows
It's strange to hear of their return to form since I loved Hail to the Thief, but yet another amazing album from a band that can do no wrong.

J Tillman – Cancer & Delirium
Heartbreaking and beautiful, this album is hard to find but well worth the effort

Arbouretum – Rites of Uncovering
Not as hard to find as J Tillman, but fairly overlooked and a real hidden nugget of gold. It just transports you to another place. Amazing

Okkervil River – Stage Names
Though not as strong as Black Sheep Boy, it is another strong outing that showcases the talent of Will Scheff

Apparat – Walls
Incredible electronic release that reminds me of so many people at the same time-most of them from the "traditional" music world-yet is completely it's own sound.

White Stripes - Icky Thump
An awesome return to form for the White Stripes. Apparently all Jack White needed was some space from this format to reinvigorate himself.

Great Northern - Trading Twilight for Daylight
There is a part of me that feels like I should have something against this album because it is so slick and polished sounding, but it blows me away every time so I just don't care.

Daft Punk - Alive 2007
Daft Punk live with the concert experience of the last 2 years. 'nuff said.

Feist - The Reminder
Yes, you may be sick of 1234 from all the commercials but this entire album is full of great songwriting and performances.


Top Songs

Radiohead – Reckoner
From the first moment, I was hooked. This has become one of my favorite Radiohead tracks of all time

Burial – Archangel
alienating, heartbreaking, and captivating. takes the sound he hinted at in Unite from the Box of Dub compilation to another level altogether

J Tillman - When I Light Your Darkened Door
I could say the same about this as with Archangel. Feels like the other side of the same coin. This is desert island music to me.

Arbouretum - Pale Rider Blues
Post-apocalyptic folk/blues. This song grabs me and transports me somewhere else until it's done

Great Northern – Home
slick production that works for one of my favorite songs of the year, that I returned to again and again

Justice - D.A.N.C.E.
I Know, I know, but it is a good song that sticks in your head and won't get out

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy - I Came to Hear the Music
The first song from this prolific songwriter that grabbed me and just wouldn't let go.

LCD Soundsystem - All My Friends
I may not buy into all the hype surrounding this album, though it is growing on me with each listen, but this song deserves all the praise it can get.

Charlotte Gainsbourg - Little Monsters
From an album that just missed my top picks. This song takes the Air production and adds something to it to make it her own. Not as catchy as The Operation, but this will keep popping up on mixes I make for a long time to come

Dizzee Rascal - Sirens
Easily the top pick from the criminally overlooked third release from this MC. Great production, Great spittin' and an awesome video to boot.