Sitting at Moody Theater last week, it was hard to imagine that Buddy Guy is now 75 years young. Not much has changed over the years. He can still hit that one note that will make your head spin, he can still have you smiling with his control of an audience, and he can still have you amazed by his guitar prowess.
Let’s face it – Buddy Guy can tear it up now just like he did 30 or 40 years ago. If he’s lost anything, it would be a few hairs on his head. But other than that, he can still play with the same fire and brimstone that has been his trademark all these years.
It seems like just yesterday – make that circa-1991-yesterday or so – that I first saw Buddy Guy at Antones. As a blues guitar player myself, I knew the legend that was Buddy Guy. But I had no idea what I was in for that night.
In Episode 42, I mentioned the zombie apocalypse that took place in Miami recently. That was two weeks ago. A lot of crazy things have taken place in the sports world over that time period. Once again, Miami has been at the heart of the story. There is more rhubarb upon us yet again.
With that said, let’s explore Episode 43 of the Rhubarb Report, where the thrill of victory was a wild and wooly story unto its own on both coasts.
The Austin Convention Center was home to a virtual time machine this past weekend. No, “Back To The Future” wasn’t showing. It became the two-day home of Formula Expo, an exhibition of past and present Formula One cars and photos. Stepping into Formula Expo 2012 on Saturday was like stepping into my own personal time machine.
Formula One technology has fascinated me since the days of my youth. At a time when most of my friends were wanting to become doctors and firefighters and professional hockey players, I wanted to become an automotive engineer. I wanted to design Formula One cars. Part of the beauty of F1 has always been the highest level of technology and rapid rate of design implementation. It attracts the worlds top aerospace engineers for exactly that reason. I filled many a sketch book with F1 designs that I had conjured up in my imagination.
[Note: This is the follow-up post to “Sidewalk Surfing”]
That neon orange skateboard was like a launch pad, and Skateboarder Magazine became the rocket fuel. I would anxiously await its arrival every month. Stacey Peralta became one of my heroes. I was always bewildered by the antics and otherworldly photos of Tony Alva and Jay Adams. I read every article, and studied every photo. I knew this world inside-out, and backwards.
There was no question though: I was a long ways away from the skateboard epicenter in Dogtown. Total distance? About 2700 miles. And I lived in Brockville, Ontario, a place where prime skating weather of the non-ice variety lasted about 4 months, a place where hockey players far outnumbered skateboarders.
The days would start getting a little longer. It would get a little warmer outside. The streets would dry off. Summer time was upon us, and it was just a matter of time before the sidewalk surfing would resume.
My adventures in skateboarding started with a bright neon orange piece of plywood. My father had attached some clay wheels which were, unbeknownst to me at first, scavenged from my old-style roller skates. Add a few strips of white bathroom shower grip tape, and this old-school skateboard was ready for its maiden voyage along Water Street.
Welcome to the 1970s. I remember that first skating experience like it was yesterday. The sound of those wheels on the concrete was grating at best. But it offered a new-found freedom. And man, was it cool.
I no longer have any doubts whatsoever: as long as there are people on the planet living and creating news, there will always be plenty of rhubarb for countless episodes to come. Truth will always find a way to be stranger than even the best fiction.
Why? Take, for example, a news report from Miami last week. A man chewing off the face of another? Seriously? Is the zombie apocalypse upon us? Or is it yet another example of “there’s just no way you can make this stuff up”?
With news stories like that, there is certainly no shortage of rhubarb in the world.
On a (generally) brighter note, Episode 42 of the Rhubarb Report focuses on focus on royalty – the new King of Canadian cycling, King James, and Queen Elizabeth II.
I know that you are as surprised as I am. Today is officially National Doughnut Day!
Hey, everything in moderation, right? Is this just another Hallmark nightmare? A day conjured up by Homer Simpson?
I tell you – it is for real. Seriously. It actually serves a valuable purpose.
The story of National Doughnut Day goes all the way back to 1917. Salvation Army volunteers went to the front lines to serve home-cooked foods and to, yes, make doughnuts for the infantrymen – otherwise known as “doughboys”.
In 1938, National Doughnut Day was established by the Chicago Salvation Army. The goal was to raise money during the Great Depression, and to honor the work of World War I Salvation Army volunteers.
But how can National Doughnut Day not have me thinking about a Tim Horton’s famous doughnut? And a double-double coffee to go along with it?
Up to 60% of runners will sustain an injury within any given year. Poor running mechanics, in conjunction with poor, ineffective and outdated training methods, can pose a significant injury risk. "RunSmart" was written to address these issues in the running community.
"Running Injuries: Etiology And Recovery- Based Treatment" (co-author Bridget Clark, PT) appears in the third edition and fourth editions of "Clinical Orthopaedic Rehabilitation: A Team Approach" by Charles Giangarra, MD and Robert C. Manske, PT.
Allan Besselink, PT, DPT, Ph.D., Dip.MDT has a unique voice in the world of sports, education, and health care. Read more about Allan here.
Top 5 finalist in three categories: "Best Overall Blog", "Best PT Blog" and "Best Advocacy Blog".
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