Nina steals Dylan’s blog

Well, I’m down in Alabama for work. It looks nice out the window, and I’m sure that when I walk across the parking lot to a full day of meetings I will notice a change in temperature. So you aren’t going to get much activity here for a few days unless Hicksy gets inspired. Check out his Neko Case review in this week’s City Pages (links to the right).

Info on his filing system on an earlier comment post

After all my joking, now we’re moving up in Google for starter bikes, so I figured I better actually impart some wisdom. Since I don’t know anything, I’m passing on wisdom imparted to me from Scott, Sari’s estimable husband, on the best starter bikes.

Used Starter Bikes

1. Early to mid 80s Yamaha XS650 or 850 they are almost a carbon copy of a Triumph but they work and they are almost impossible to kill. I know a guy that lives near us that buys and sells them he has at least four right now and is probably willing to sell two he also is a retired auto body guy so you might be able to get it any color you’d like. 1000.00 ought to be enough.

2. Mid 80s Honda CB550, 650 or 750 they have classic looks, are frighteningly dependable and accelerate, stop and turn fairly well. Parts are cheap and plentiful because they made a bunch. 2000.00 should get you a dang near perfect one.

3. Suzuki Bandit 600. The motorcycle magazines loved them. They are new enough they shouldn’t have any issues and they are bulletproof and you won’t outgrow it in two month like a Honda Dream.

New Starter Bikes

1. Suzuki SV650 the perfect beginner’s bike. Cheap good power and handling. Everyone that I know that owns one raves about it. Easily upgradeable if you need more go fast, they are a really, really, really popular bike for entry level race classes so parts are easy to find and you can get really sticky rubber for them. (Side note follows: I believe strongly in having more traction than you need rather than less so I buy really expensive soft tires, that way I know I can count on them in an emergency to do what I ask. I willingly trade dollars for security.) An alternate choice would be the new Kawasaki 650 Ninja, a little softer but is supposed to be a very nice entry level bike. 7000.00

2. Ducati Monster or SS in 620 or 800cc’s. How can you not love an Italian motorcycle or car; they look sexy, they sound sexy, they feel sexy. Sari’s bike is absolutely amazing in corners, it tells you exactly how much change is left from that dime you just ran over. If I didn’t own a Buell I’d buy a Duc. Ducatis are more expensive to maintain than your average Japanese bike. For some (especially my honey) the trade off is worth every penny of the 6000 mile service bill. 7500.00/ 8500.00

3. Buell XB9SX Comfy, will tell you the change to the 100th of a cent, has more than enough power for a street legal motorcycle, and American (probably only matters to me). A Buell is kind of like a Camaro or Mustang it’s a really visceral, aggressive almost alive thing that says “Hey I’m bored man, let’s go find somethin’ to do.” The next thing you know you’re in a jail cell in a small town for going 70 mph over the posted speed limit. 8800.00 So there is my list. None of these bikes has a particularly peaky powerband, so as long as you are smooth with the throttle and remember your right wrist controls the speed they should be fine. They also have good to insanely good brakes and good to incredible suspensions. 
*****
Thanks Scott!!

So we finally got around to seeing Walk the Line last night, and thought it was pretty good. I got my first JC album in 1985. I was working at the college radio station and they were clearing out the record library (never ever a good idea…) so I got a bunch of albums, most notably Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison and KR&G Blues, Rags, & Hollers. Dylan and I both have copies of these albums, so whichever version of doubles is in the worst condition is in a box in the closet. Dylan (eating from the newly designed Corn Pops) says this was also his first Cash album, acquired at about the same time (though he was younger). The photo also includes his San Quentin live album.

My favorite Cash song is “One Piece at a Time.” I was surprised when people at my last corporate job didn’t know this song. Do I smell a team-building exercise?

Dear loved ones, I don’t know if you’ll ever find this. Our hopes for survival dim daily. It has been three days running now with temperatures below 60 degrees in our office. Just remember that underneath the top coats, we are proud of our outfits. Typing becomes increasingly more difficult as our hands stiffen from the cold.

Well they just tore down the shell of the pumping stations at the Stop-N-Shop on Lake and Aldrich. It took about 5 minutes to get it on the ground and was super fun to watch. Dylan and I are of mixed feelings about all the construction in our fair neighborhood. On one hand we’re all for urban renewal, increasing density and reducing urban sprawl. At the same time we sometimes grieve over the loss of the urban character when mixed neighborhoods like Uptown slowly march into upper-middle class uniformity. Not to mention that I still get cranky at myself for not buying one of the three empty lots at $30K a pop that now are habitated by the big apartment complex that I stare out of our office at. Then I could have been part of the problem, AND made a big profit at the same time.

“Someone came into my room and poured water on my bed”

1. Are you playing? Dylan hasn’t played out in about 3 years. I think his last show was at The Walker or the Art Institute.
2. Are you planning to play again? Currently he doesn’t have any plans to play out, although there have been internal rumblings about wanting to do some sort of music again.
3. Is Dylan Hicks your real name? Someone did actually ask him this once, and he answered “No, Johnny Rocket was my real name, but I changed it to Dylan Hicks because it wasn’t rock and roll enough.”
4. Did you make any money as a musician? Dylan likes to describe it as a moderately popular non-profit rock band. 
5. Where can I find your albums? There were three CD’s, Won, Poughkeepsie, and Alive with Pleasure. They are currently out of print, but you can usually find them used on Amazon. I keep thinking about posting the files online, but he prefers the idea of solid objects. The same reason we have a really big record library.
6. Why all these questions about music, I thought you were a writer? That too, plus he paints pictures, although they are often mistaken for ones by our kid. Actually Dylan wanted to be a music critic when he was a kid, and was sidelined into performing for awhile.

She is a motorcycle mama, is an accomplished author and has the pink razr phone I want. She even has a bigger lens on her camera. Plus she has cool hair. Seriously though, Sari and I met about 14 (?) years ago when she was writing for the Reader. She had a very cool column that was way ahead of its time called “She Said” that published comments from an online community of (mainly cranky bitter) women. Ok maybe I was the only one who was cranky and bitter (before I married Dylan). She is finishing up a memoir which hopefully will be fantastically successful. Go to her blog, k?