Good Karma 5k

On Sunday I ran in the Good Karma 5k at Seward Park. It was my first organized race in a few years. This is a choose your charity event, and I picked the Seattle Humane Society. I'd gotten back into running a couple of months ago and Silvie bought me a pair of the just-released New Balance Minimus Zero shoes, which I love. I've been going to Seward Park twice a week after work and on Saturday mornings - lately running the 5K course in preparation for Sunday. They threw a bit of a curveball, as the course was run counter-clockwise, with the uphill loop being run clockwise (exactly the opposite as I was used to experiencing it). My best time in training was just under 30 minutes, but on Sunday I ran 31:52. Middle of the pack, and 5 out of 10 in my age/gender division. Not horrible, but I'd dearly love to improve. I'm on the lookout for other 5ks and I plan on doing the Pumpkin Push in October which I've done twice before. Here are the results (I'm far down the list at 170) and a pic of me looking rather winded at the finish:

Miles

Today is the 86th anniversary of the birth of Miles Davis, the badass king of jazz, and a musical hero of mine.  Admittedly, I only started to get into Miles, and jazz in general, a few years ago.  I started off with Coltrane, Monk, Tatum, Brubeck, Corea and Getz.  But when I got around to Miles, that was it.  I'm still learning much about the man and his music.  His career was a long and winding road, from the bebop of Charlie Parker, through hard bop, cool jazz, his great quintets, his work with Gil Evans and Teo Marceo, his amazing electric period, to the fusion and pop of the eighties.  Miles was restless, ever pushing his music out into new directions and leaving a stunning collection of recorded works.  The most immediate for me is the electric period, paricularly In a Silent Way, Bitches Brew and Tribute to Jack Johnson.  These albums offer a somewhat smooth transition to the jazz world for a jam band fan.  Davis in fact opened for the Grateful Dead in 1970 which, if I could time-travel, would probably make my head explode.  From there I worked backwards, not entirely in a straight line, to experience his 50s and 60s output.  As I become more a fan of this period of jazz in general I find my appreciation for Miles growing even greater.  The combination of his consistantly beautiful music, his knack for surrounding himself with talented collaborators, and his tone on the trumpet put him in the rarified company of Jerry Garcia in my personal musical pantheon.

My favorite Miles album?  Well, I mentioned a few choices earlier.  In a Silent Way has a real grip on my psyche, and Jack Johnson is hard to beat with it's driving rock and immediacy.  Lisa Simpson went way back to the Birth of the Cool compilation album for her pick.  But, I'm going to go to 1959 and one of the most celebrated jazz albums all time, Kind of Blue, which is just about perfect.

Happy Birthday, Miles.

 

Happy Birthday, Bob!

Today is Bob Dylan's 71st birthday.  One of my all-time musical heroes, maybe number one when all is said and done.  I first got into Bob in high school when my Deadhead friend Jason hooked me up with a copy of Biograph.  I used to play those tapes in our family car and my mom quickly got to like the tunes (we even share the same favorite Dylan song, "Abandoned Love").  I recall sitting at the typewriter in our dining room pecking out the lyrics to Hard Rain and Desolation Row.   My brother actually bought an album before I did, a cassette copy of Highway 61; but within a few years I would have a couple dozen Dylan CDs in my collection.  I saw him a few times in Pittsburgh; the first time at the great Syria Mosque during my freshman year at college. My dorm-mate, and later roommate, Ethan, was a Bobhead too, and we geeked out for countless hours (when the first triple-volume of the booleg series came out, we both walked downtown to buy copies and I remember lying on the floor of my dorm room giving those great discs a run through).  I still love Bob, and have about 15 of his LPs on my shelf (including a nice copy of Biograph).  Sil and I were lucky to catch Bob at Bumbershoot two years ago.  Here's to you Bob.  Happy Birthday, and many,many more....