On Sunday (Aug. 24), I competed in the Alberta Challenge Triathlon, which took place at Miquelon Lake near Edmonton. This was my last triathlon of the 2008 season. My time was 2:44.45, which is very respectable considering that the run course was on gravel and grass. I placed 11th overall (the race previous I placed 17th overall). This race had a higher number of men age 20-29, so I placed 5th out of 8 in my age category. See full results here.

Although the softer earth slows run times down, the Miquelon Lake trail was by far the most beautiful run I’ve done in my triathlon career thus far because the course was set on a pathway through trees and near small lakes. I would love to do this race again next year.

My proudest achievement was that I came out second overall on the swim and was able to pass the leader with a fast transition from the swim to bike. I’m very pleased to say that I defended my first place position for the first 7km of the ride and only dropped to 5th place by the end of the bike portion. Running was my weakest area. I had a slower transition and simply didn’t have the energy to maintain my standing. Nevertheless, I am extremely happy with the race, considering my training schedule in August dropped significantly (due to social activites, concerts, trips, and activities).

I’m convinced that if I actually trained with a club, or stuck to a good personal training schedule, then I could be placing much higher in competition. A pair of aero bars and some race-weight wheels might be nice too . . .

I just saw Radiohead play Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, BC. I attempted to writre down the setlist as they played it.
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Confession: I had trouble spelling triathlon a few months back. Now, I’ve completed three triathlon events, improved my time, and internalized the proper spelling!

I just finished completeing an Olympic distance at the Coral Springs triathlon (1.5km swim, 40km bike, 10km run). I am pleased with my effort at this event. My time was 2:34:08! Plus, in the men’s 20-29 age group I came in third overall (age group resutls here). Furthermore, I hacked over 15 minutes from my previous Olympic time (2:49:20). Not too bad (my goal was to improve by 10 minutes).
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Dalmatians
“Hey, look, the truck’s stopping.”
“Did they take us to the park this time?”
“No—it’s a fire. Another horrible fire.”
“What the hell is wrong with these people?”

(copied from Simon Rich’s stories in the June 30, 2008 issue of The New Yorker. Free-Range Chickens is also quite funny).

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.
— T. S. Eliot, from “Little Gidding” in Four Quartets

Recently, a reader asked me whether I harbor feelings of inadequacy during the writing process, and, if so, how I manage to escape from writerly paralysis. He correlated the sense of inadequacy with desiring to produce great writing. Artistic ideals and expectations can become impenetrable fortresses.

I was humbled by my conversation with this reader, however, I’m not sure if I answered or avoided his questions. I understand that, since the 1980s, circumnavigating clear meaning has come to be in vogue, however I am not always stylish person. (more…)

francis cheer is a stellar band releasing their newest CD—typewriter—on Wednesday, April 30, 2008 at 9:00pm at the marquee room (612 8 ave SW, Calgary, AB) with guests government of canada. I’m not sure what cover is . . . probably $10 or $15.

If you are in Calgary, come out to hear some stunning music, meet great people, and pickup a memorable cd. You’ll be glad you did. Have a listen to a couple francis cheer songs here.

In an effort to have quality poetry inbreak on the daily consciousness of those who would welcome it, I have finally followed through on delivering poems to people via SMS, using twitter. If you want short poems delivered to your mobile phone, please subscribe here.

Twitter is a free service and most mobile phone companies do not charge you to receive text messages. I might not need to shout “FREE POEMS!” but I might as well. Also, if you start twittering poems, please let me know, so I can follow you.

Using SMS text messages to convey poetry, or poetic lines, has inherent constraints (140 characters, no line breaks, ect.). Particularly because I love the long poem, I am not suggesting that SMS poems will replace poetry. Instead, this form offers people a chance to have tiny pieces of art engage them unexpectedly in their day. Like all art, sometime my poems will be read, sometimes not; sometimes they will resonate, sometimes they won’t. Regardless, they exists as potential and possibility.

Since twitter is more than 5 minutes old, I know I am not the first person to imagine this application of the technology. However, I have yet to find any community formed around the idea of poets sharing lines of their work with one another. For myself, I would welcome having a few high quality writers inviting me to pause from the daily routine by sending beautiful words to my phone.

I respect some of the reservations that some people, like Robert Peake, have about technology and poetry. However, I am not looking to replace poetry with Poetry 2.0. Said again, this experiment is simply an augmentation of poetry and an invitation to pause. The power of SMS poems does not lie in the fact that they become instant or commodified, but rather that people encounter poems within their pattern of their day. This idea is not much different from putting poetry on buses or beautiful graffiti art on someone’s walk to work. The difference SMS poems offer is choice to read or not read.

So, here are my self-imposed guidelines for using twitter for poetry:

• Each SMS poem will be treated as a self contained unit. Preceding poems are not required for context.
• I will offer myself up in language. I will strive for beautiful words and for reflective utterances, not simply inconsistent ephemera
• I will offer an sms poem about once a day
• I may include lines from larger works in sms poems. I may also incorporate sms lines in larger works.

Look forward to my lines. I look forward to yours.
L

I found this political video, which supports Obama, to successfully show that political leadership can inspire and rally a tired and cynical generation. Moreover, I was impressed at how the sampling of Barack’s speech from New Hampshire turned into such inspiring a song. I found the creation compelling and, to a large degree, authentic and honest. Although a significant amount of professional insight went into crafting this video and song, I see genuine hope in most of the singers. This is simply a political marketing tool. This creation shows real people working to support their beliefs and hopes. The work is powerful.
My only reservation about this video is that Scarlett Johansson, who is working to embark on a singing career, is featured heavily because of her celebrity and not her vocal talent.

Also, for those of you who haven’t caught it, “Yes, we can” is a slogan that has been popular and potent since the 1960s. Have a careful listen to The Beatles All You Need is Love for the citation.

I’ve recently added a sidebar link to the The Potsy Clan , written by Mike Poettcker, about his family’s life in Montreal, where they moved a few years ago to plant a church (among other things). Generally, I see church planting and missionary work dubious, concerning, assuming, and often oppressive. But what Mike is doing in Montreal is different and I respect it. For what I know of him, he shares life with others and tells the good news by being real. He’s setting up a sort of house church, which you can read about. . . seems pretty cool.

Mike is one of the people who challenges the stereotypes of what it means to be Christian. As a former pastor of an Albertan church once I attended, Mike and I met on occasion to talk about spirituality, leadership, and other elements of being human. One of the first things he recommended to me when we started meeting was Douglas Coupland’s Life After God. He wasn’t critical of the book. He thought it would help challenge and direct some of my thoughts (which definitely needed some direction). That’s the sort of guy that he is.

Thanks to people like Mike, I know that many of the frustrating and horrific expressions of Christianity don’t comprehensively define the religion. Although I do not consider myself a Christian, I am not crippled by religious cynicism nor am I wary of Christian story (which continues to offer vitality and meaning to me). Instead, I am able pursue spirituality and living with god in my own integrity—through art, relationship, reflection/prayer, and personal expression. People like Mike remind me that the church (as an idea) and some churches have a place where I can share honestly about my story and myself and continue to find community.

I understand that many Christians attempt to be open and forward-thinking; some might object to my generalizations of the church. However, the church (particularly the evangelical church) continues to severely constitute people in inescapable dogmas and ideologies of judgment and self-assurance. I’ve met lots of Christians who try to escape the associated stereotypes but cannot. They try to be authentic people, but fail to be authentic; they try to love and accept others, but. They read and talk about being counter-cultural, but create and uphold cultures opposite to their values. All of this would be fine—I am not the paragon of love and virtue—if they could honestly present their failure and brokenness. I don’t often see that they do. I pray for them as they journey into being more full human beings. I hope they will pray for me. I think Mike does.

. . .simply because I can’t/shouldn’t post this on ChristmasFuture.

For me, this video acknowledges that people need both leadership and opportunity to give. Moreover, the issue of global poverty is something we can, and should, feel responsible to deal with. I can’t pretend that I don’t have some responsibility to help others, whether they are close to me or if they live across the globe. Globalization shows us that we aren’t simply connected, but that we can genuinely impact one another.