Pawns and Pretension

Last week I mentioned Coheed and Cambria's new album, Year of the Black Rainbow, but failed to actually talk about the music. Instead I devoted a portion of the post giving a weak overview of the book that accompanies the music. So, to back track, I will now give a weak overview of the music on the new album. It is clear that Coheed has evolved over the years, but I think the biggest difference on the Black Rainbow album is the influence of Chris Pennie. I know that he has been with the band since 2007, but he was unable to record with Coheed on No World For Tomorrow due to contractual issues. He may have been involved in writing for that album, but I think Black Rainbow has more of a 'mathcore' (DEP) feel to it on certain tracks. While there may be some mellower songs than there are on other Coheed albums, in the end Black Rainbow is impressive.

Last Wednesday I also took part in a 10-mile time trial with the local shop ride. By sheer placement I performed better than Vino did at the TdF, so I'm going to focus on that positive aspect:

When I first got back to the US I missed riding my bike in Germany because of the amazing bike paths. Now I understand that I miss riding in Germany for other reasons as well. The more and more I do group rides, I realize I like 'riding fast' when it is fast to me, not actually fast. I'm sure riding with a group will help me become a better rider, but I really do enjoy just getting on the bike with no particular goal in mind and exploring. Hopefully once it cools down here in Kansas (around October) I'll be able to do that again. Plus by that time I'll have already taken the LSAT and I won't have to study hours a day for it.

A while back I gave a spot on the DB Podium to LTC Terry Lakin. The reason is because he is a 'birther'who is refusing to deploy because he believes his deployment orders constitute an illegal order from the president. He is of this mindset because he believes President Obama hasn't produced a valid birth certificate or any other legal proof that he is a natural born citizen of the US. LTC Lakin has deployed before, including once to Afghanistan. He is facing a court-martial over his refusal to deploy. Perhaps I'm missing the boat here, but I would assume that any issue with Obama's citizenship would have been sorted out during his election campaign:

Although claims about Obama's citizenship were evaluated in 2008 by the McCain Campaign and ultimately rejected,...

Hey, look at that! Obama's citizenship was looked into during his election campaign, by his opponent.

What worries me is that 'birthers' are using LTC Lakin as a pawn. What better way to get patriotic Americans to support your cause than by having a decorated military doctor stand up to what he says (or probably more accurately they - The American Patriot Foundation - say) are illegal orders. I'm pretty sure his court-martial will end badly for him and The American Patriot Foundation will drop him and look for the next face of their cause.

Let's close up shop today with a movie that loosely mimics my real life experiences around bikes: