Update: RBM's submission, "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale; or, Into the Wild," is now available via Google Docs.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale; or, Into the Wild
On Saturday, April 4, Colorado State University's English Department will host its annual Graduate Literary Criticism Symposium. Below you'll find the full schedule of on-campus panels, which are free and open to the public.
Update: RBM's submission, "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale; or, Into the Wild," is now available via Google Docs.
Update: RBM's submission, "Moby-Dick; or, The Whale; or, Into the Wild," is now available via Google Docs.
Wednesday, October 01, 2008
Royal Gorge Games 2008
One weekend each year, in late summer, dozens of men and women whose first passion is to drop from cliffs and skyscrapers gather quietly in southern Colorado. Their "exit point," with a bungee cord or without, is the world's highest suspension bridge.
Update -- along with the photos below, an essay by RBM on the gathering can now be found at Suss.
Postscript (Feb. 8, 2010) -- There's news today that Emmar Properties, builder of a tower envied by BASE jumpers worldwide, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, has indefinitely closed mankind's tallest structure just a month after its opening. The BBC reports the shutdown comes after "an unexpectedly high number of visitors and problems with the power supply."
In January, days after the opening, two men from the United Arab Emirates, Nasr Al Niyadi and Omar Al Hegelan, set a new record for the highest building BASE jump by leaping from a crane at the Burj Khalifa's 160th floor (2,205 feet). Below, a montage of their jumps, which were sanctioned by Emmar Properties:
Update -- along with the photos below, an essay by RBM on the gathering can now be found at Suss.
 |
| Slideshow: Royal Gorge Games 2008 |
Postscript (Feb. 8, 2010) -- There's news today that Emmar Properties, builder of a tower envied by BASE jumpers worldwide, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, has indefinitely closed mankind's tallest structure just a month after its opening. The BBC reports the shutdown comes after "an unexpectedly high number of visitors and problems with the power supply."
In January, days after the opening, two men from the United Arab Emirates, Nasr Al Niyadi and Omar Al Hegelan, set a new record for the highest building BASE jump by leaping from a crane at the Burj Khalifa's 160th floor (2,205 feet). Below, a montage of their jumps, which were sanctioned by Emmar Properties:
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Pickathon X Indie Roots Music Festival
Lead singer Ritchie Young of Loch Lomond
Melophobe has posted RBM's second review of performances at Pickathon, a roots music festival that drew hundreds of bluegrass, folk rock, and honky-tonk fans to a grassy hillside in Happy Valley, Ore. this month. Look for more top-flight photography from Melophobe first officer Joshua Bean, and an interview with Portland chamber-pop ensemble Loch Lomond. We hear about confusion over how to pronounce the band's name and news of a fall tour with The Decemberists.
Crooked Still rocking Pickathon's Mountain View Stage
Here's a sample of Melophobe's earlier team coverage:
It's past noon on Saturday, and hundreds of roots music fans have spent a mosquito-riddled, sleepless night in Oregon farm country for the Pickathon Music Festival. They have traveled here along rivers and across state lines, past the Franz bread outlet ("80 percent off!") and a yellow, squarish building labeled Tommy's Too ("Dancers!"). They have wolfed down plates of fried zucchini and hummus, and they have convinced their toddlers that something called Toddler Camp, down by the barns, is super cool. These fans are now stepping past hula hoops and piles of horse shit, and they look ready for a small reward.Read more reviews of live music at Melophobe.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Curiosities at the Pump
By R.B. Moreno
Over the past several days I have been driving a 2008 Kia Sedona halfway across the continent, from Washington, D.C. to Fort Collins, Colo. After losing public radio, somewhere in Ohio, I began pulling out my camera during stops for gas. The pictures aren't pretty.
Unleaded gas now averages $4.07 per gallon in the U.S.
My rented van has dual-sliding doors, foldaway seats, and a V6 engine: perfect for hauling furnishings, but at 16 to 18 miles per gallon, hardly the most economical vehicle for a 1,700-mile road trip. It is, however, the kind of vehicle routinely drawing $60.00 or more from middle-income American families needing a fresh tank of gas.
Nationally, fewer consumers are buying premium gas than they have in nearly a quarter century
Petroleum prices are so high, warns USA Today, that volunteers are finding rural, elderly residents who have avoided driving into town for months. Nationally, Americans bought about two percent less gas in the last month than they did in the same period last year, NPR reported on Sunday. And The Associated Press points out that demand for premium gas has reached its lowest level in almost 25 years.
TravelCenters of America in Burns, Wyo. offered the trip's cheapest gas
This brings us to a couple of observations about American gas prices. First, the delineations between regular, mid-grade, and premium gas have strayed from what was formerly a hallowed $0.10 margin, advertised on glowing signposts around the country. It was a margin that made for easy mental computations in figuring how much more it would cost to treat one's vehicle to premium-grade fuel. But my father could never fathom why the margin held steady for years at $0.10, despite surges in oil prices. With the cost of a barrel of oil rising ever higher as the margin remained fixed, he reasoned, the difference in the retail value of regular and premium gas would practically disappear.
Ten cent price margins no longer divide regular and premium fuels
Economic forces have apparently won out against marketing departments at major oil companies, because one now sees the margins between fuel grades widening to a curious $0.11 in Burns, Wyo., for example, or as much as $0.14 in Coralville, Iowa.
Gas stations in Iowa and neighboring corn-producing giants like Nebraska pose an additional curiosity, one that found me shaking my head the other day as I realized I was buying regular unleaded from Gasby's BP station in Coralville for more than the price of mid-grade fuel -- a standard $0.10 more, to be exact. Bewildered, I killed the pump, stared hard at the prices, and then switched to BP's cheaper "silver" blend, which carried an octane rating of 89, two points better than regular.
In corn country, an abundance of ethanol seems to make premium fuels like Shell's "Plus" cheaper than regular
"It's because Iowa produces a lot of ethanol," explained a freckled gas attendant behind the counter at Gasby's. "Or at least we did until all these floods came along." (She was referring to the Cedar River and other waterways that have topped historic levels in recent weeks, swamping hundreds of cities in six states and threatening the region's crop yields.)
Americans bought slightly less gas in the last month than they did in the same period last year
I couldn't argue with the attendant's reasoning, and it seemed to be confirmed by a notice posted above the "Plus" pump farther down Interstate 80, at a Shell station in York, Neb.: "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS TEN PERCENT ETHANOL." At $3.98, well below the national average, one could almost call it cheap gas. At least it was $0.15 cheaper than regular.
Over the past several days I have been driving a 2008 Kia Sedona halfway across the continent, from Washington, D.C. to Fort Collins, Colo. After losing public radio, somewhere in Ohio, I began pulling out my camera during stops for gas. The pictures aren't pretty.
Unleaded gas now averages $4.07 per gallon in the U.S.
My rented van has dual-sliding doors, foldaway seats, and a V6 engine: perfect for hauling furnishings, but at 16 to 18 miles per gallon, hardly the most economical vehicle for a 1,700-mile road trip. It is, however, the kind of vehicle routinely drawing $60.00 or more from middle-income American families needing a fresh tank of gas.
Nationally, fewer consumers are buying premium gas than they have in nearly a quarter century
Petroleum prices are so high, warns USA Today, that volunteers are finding rural, elderly residents who have avoided driving into town for months. Nationally, Americans bought about two percent less gas in the last month than they did in the same period last year, NPR reported on Sunday. And The Associated Press points out that demand for premium gas has reached its lowest level in almost 25 years.
TravelCenters of America in Burns, Wyo. offered the trip's cheapest gas
This brings us to a couple of observations about American gas prices. First, the delineations between regular, mid-grade, and premium gas have strayed from what was formerly a hallowed $0.10 margin, advertised on glowing signposts around the country. It was a margin that made for easy mental computations in figuring how much more it would cost to treat one's vehicle to premium-grade fuel. But my father could never fathom why the margin held steady for years at $0.10, despite surges in oil prices. With the cost of a barrel of oil rising ever higher as the margin remained fixed, he reasoned, the difference in the retail value of regular and premium gas would practically disappear.
Ten cent price margins no longer divide regular and premium fuels
Economic forces have apparently won out against marketing departments at major oil companies, because one now sees the margins between fuel grades widening to a curious $0.11 in Burns, Wyo., for example, or as much as $0.14 in Coralville, Iowa.
Gas stations in Iowa and neighboring corn-producing giants like Nebraska pose an additional curiosity, one that found me shaking my head the other day as I realized I was buying regular unleaded from Gasby's BP station in Coralville for more than the price of mid-grade fuel -- a standard $0.10 more, to be exact. Bewildered, I killed the pump, stared hard at the prices, and then switched to BP's cheaper "silver" blend, which carried an octane rating of 89, two points better than regular.
In corn country, an abundance of ethanol seems to make premium fuels like Shell's "Plus" cheaper than regular
"It's because Iowa produces a lot of ethanol," explained a freckled gas attendant behind the counter at Gasby's. "Or at least we did until all these floods came along." (She was referring to the Cedar River and other waterways that have topped historic levels in recent weeks, swamping hundreds of cities in six states and threatening the region's crop yields.)
Americans bought slightly less gas in the last month than they did in the same period last year
I couldn't argue with the attendant's reasoning, and it seemed to be confirmed by a notice posted above the "Plus" pump farther down Interstate 80, at a Shell station in York, Neb.: "THIS PRODUCT CONTAINS TEN PERCENT ETHANOL." At $3.98, well below the national average, one could almost call it cheap gas. At least it was $0.15 cheaper than regular.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Cartagena + Bocagrande + Islas del Rosario
By R.B. Moreno
Brother and sister's month-long trek along South America's northwestern coastline has wound to a close. Below you'll find a slideshow from our last stop: Cartagena, Colombia, founded in 1533 as "one of the storage points for merchandise sent out from Spain and for treasure collected from the Americas to be sent back to Spain," notes Footprint South American Handbook 2006. Colonizers spent over 200 years fortifying the city with thick walls, which remain Cartagena's signature landmark. Today the area's treasure has become tourism; Colombians from Bogotá and Medellín flock to Cartagena for vacation.
Look for more photos and essays about the trip in the coming months.
Brother and sister's month-long trek along South America's northwestern coastline has wound to a close. Below you'll find a slideshow from our last stop: Cartagena, Colombia, founded in 1533 as "one of the storage points for merchandise sent out from Spain and for treasure collected from the Americas to be sent back to Spain," notes Footprint South American Handbook 2006. Colonizers spent over 200 years fortifying the city with thick walls, which remain Cartagena's signature landmark. Today the area's treasure has become tourism; Colombians from Bogotá and Medellín flock to Cartagena for vacation.
 |
| A Week in the Sun |
Look for more photos and essays about the trip in the coming months.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Quito + Otavalo + Riobamba + Cuenca
By R.B. Moreno
After bussing through Peru and Ecuador, my sister and I recently found ourselves booking airfare to Cartagena, our final stop, due to fuel strikes that crippled ground service to the Colombian border. Asked when service might be restored, an agent with the bus line Panamerica in Quito shrugged and held up notes from a conversation with his Colombian contact: '2-3 dias,' read the scrap of paper.
Above you'll find photos from stops along Ecuador's portion of the Pan-American highway, which narrows to a single dirt track in the highlands. There's also a tour of Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador's monument to the equator that doesn't actually sit on the equator.
After bussing through Peru and Ecuador, my sister and I recently found ourselves booking airfare to Cartagena, our final stop, due to fuel strikes that crippled ground service to the Colombian border. Asked when service might be restored, an agent with the bus line Panamerica in Quito shrugged and held up notes from a conversation with his Colombian contact: '2-3 dias,' read the scrap of paper.
 |
| (Almost) the Middle of the World |
Above you'll find photos from stops along Ecuador's portion of the Pan-American highway, which narrows to a single dirt track in the highlands. There's also a tour of Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador's monument to the equator that doesn't actually sit on the equator.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Loja + Piura + Trujillo + More Lima
By R.B. Moreno
From Lima my sister and I have traveled north through Trujillo and Piura, Peruvian towns that see few tourists even during North America's vacation season. Outside Trujillo, named after Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro's hometown, we visited an ancient burial ground whimsically dubbed the Temple of the Moon by explorers. Farther on lies Chan Chan, the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America and one constructed entirely of adobe.
Peruvian Hairless Dogs, such as the beauties seen above, roam all over Chan Chan and nearby archaelogical sites. Known locally as the viringo, the dog originated with pre-Incan coastal cultures such as the Chimú and Moche. The viringo's official population has been dwindling in recent years due to crossbreeding, which produces a less-than-hairless viringo.
After an eight-hour, breakneck bus ride that traverses a river separating Peru and Ecuadors' highlands, our trip has taken us to Loja, Ecuador, at 6,890 feet. The provincial capital boasts some of the cleanest parks and markets in all of Ecuador, although a morning jog along one of the city's canals makes clear that air and water pollution remain a problem.
More photos from this leg of our journey can be found above.
From Lima my sister and I have traveled north through Trujillo and Piura, Peruvian towns that see few tourists even during North America's vacation season. Outside Trujillo, named after Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro's hometown, we visited an ancient burial ground whimsically dubbed the Temple of the Moon by explorers. Farther on lies Chan Chan, the largest Pre-Columbian city in South America and one constructed entirely of adobe.
Peruvian Hairless Dogs, such as the beauties seen above, roam all over Chan Chan and nearby archaelogical sites. Known locally as the viringo, the dog originated with pre-Incan coastal cultures such as the Chimú and Moche. The viringo's official population has been dwindling in recent years due to crossbreeding, which produces a less-than-hairless viringo.
After an eight-hour, breakneck bus ride that traverses a river separating Peru and Ecuadors' highlands, our trip has taken us to Loja, Ecuador, at 6,890 feet. The provincial capital boasts some of the cleanest parks and markets in all of Ecuador, although a morning jog along one of the city's canals makes clear that air and water pollution remain a problem.
 |
| To the Border |
More photos from this leg of our journey can be found above.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
