Categories
Culture

Pets and/or Meat: A Virus Complicates the Human-Rabbit Relationship

While Susan Orlean’s article The Rabbit Outbreak is about a deadly virus affecting rabbits, it also provides a glimpse into the unusual relationship between humans and hares.*

“Pets or meat. That’s the town. Either you’re working or you’re meat. That’s GM’s attitudes toward its serfs. The clubbing and skinning of the rabbit stands for the violence. Why aren’t people upset by the violence of a black man getting shot two minutes later in the film? Why are there walk­ outs during the rabbit section, but not during the shooting?” Michael Moore, 1990. Photo source: Roger and Me, 1989.

In the U.S., rabbits were commonly raised for their meat, but “After the Second World War, the demand for rabbit meat began to decline. The number of cattle being raised domestically nearly doubled, and beef, which had previously been something of a luxury, became affordable. … Soon, it became the white meat of choice, and rabbit was marginalized as an occasional dish.”

Continue reading “Pets and/or Meat: A Virus Complicates the Human-Rabbit Relationship”
Categories
Diversions Equipment

Finished: Huffy Santa Fe Cruiser Bike

Huffy cruiser bike

OK, now I’m done messing with this. I found this Huffy bicycle on the side of a road. Aside from trashed tires and one flat tube, it mostly needed just a cleaning to make it presentable. The final result is here. I shelled out for two new, slightly wider tires (no whitewalls), tubes, and handlebar grips, removed the decals, and added a bell and reflectors I already had. The front fork and chainguard were a very dull silver (a.k.a., gray) that detracted from the look of the chrome fenders, so I sprayed on two coats of Rustoleum gloss white. I believe it’s ready for a boardwalk.

  • Before
  • After
Cleaned up
As found
Categories
E-Bikes

The LHT through Carson Road Woods

An e-bike on a trail
Radmini on the Lawrence Hopewell Trail. Source: TCM
A field in Carson Road Woods
Carson Road Woods. Source: TCM

About one mile of the twenty-mile-or-so Lawrence Hopewell Trail passes through Carson Road Woods’ hedgerows, fields, and forests. The land was once farm fields and a peach orchard; in the early twenty-first century, it was preserved as a park, saving it from development. To the north, the LHT passes through the Educational Testing Services headquarters, home of the SAT, GRE, and other standardized tests, before looping back through Rosedale Park and Mercer Meadows, a.k.a the Pole Farm, which are about three miles west of Carson Road Woods.

Flowers along a trail
Source: TCM
Categories
Diversions

Cruiser Bike: New Grips

  • bicycle grip
    Original foam grip. Source: TCM
  • biclycle grip
    New faux-leather grip. Source: TCM

Finally received new grips for the handlebars of the Huffy Santa Fe Cruiser. The old foam grips were easy to remove (one was already ripped) and the new leather-look grips went on easily with the help of some rubbing alcohol. Pretty soon I’ll stop messing with this bike.

Categories
Diversions

Summer’s Here, Mask Up!

Categories
Culture

Go Get Yourself Some Cheap Sunglasses

Seriously, why spend money on expensive shades when you know you’re going to lose them or break them? An Ode to Gas-Station Sunglasses, Beloved by Dads Everywhere on Inside Hook.

No mention of the original ode to the thick black frames:

Categories
E-Bikes Exploration

E-Biking In and Around Black Run

The ups and downs of a typical sand road in New Jersey. Source: TCM
Trail to one of the log circles at Black Run. Source: TCM

The Black Run Preserve is 1,300 acre tract of pine barrens in Evesham Township, New Jersey. There is a an active friends group that has developed an extensive network of multi-use and hiking only trails; recently REI has also been involved.

Black Run Preserve. Source: TCM
Having such a good time I almost forgot to take a picture of the bike. Source: TCM

Categories
Diversions

Free Bike Find: Santa Fe Cruiser

Red cruiser bike
Cleaned up and debadged Santa Fe cruiser by Huffy. Source: TCM

This bike was put out with the trash and I picked it up before the scrappers grabbed it. After a thorough cleaning, removing a lot of surface rust (with some assistance), and replacing one tube, it looked pretty good. It will need new tires soon if I can find an inexpensive pair of whitewalls, and new handlebar grips are also on the way.

Red cruiser bike
Huffy Santa Fe. Source: TCM

All the decals were removed during the cleaning, but the bike is a Huffy Santa Fe single speed with coaster brake. Huffy used the Santa Fe model name at least as far back as the 1970s, but I’m guessing this one is maybe from the 1990s or 2000. Now it joins the fleet of old bikes and e-bikes. Will I ever rat rod it? Unlikely.

Huffy bicycle
Huffy nailed both the 70s and the Santa Fe vibes with the ten-speed model. Source: Laura B/oldtenspeedgallery.com
What a Huffy Santa Fe could become, but probably won’t. Source: Tom Wilson/ratrodbikes.com

Categories
Diversions

How to Draw

It’s a mug. From the New York Times: How to draw in six steps.

Source: The New York Times

Categories
Music

Duke Ellington: Seven Tones

The Seven Tones Project pairs new interpretations of the music of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with short movies. The project turns the coronavirus quarantine into an opportunity for creative collaboration.