January 17, 2010

Bicyclinks

» Autechre – Bike (7:58) – 9.2MB mp3 @ 160kbps

Mark Jenkins via Arrested Motion

The mild weather in New York this weekend has been highly conducive to activities known as “getting out of the house,” especially with regard to my favored mode of transportation, biking. Since I returned to the NYC three weeks ago, I’ve taken to doing laps around Prospect Park for brief cardiovascular excursions, while my single-speed has taken me to various destinations around the boroughs—most recently to dim sum in Bay Ridge.

In retrospect, I regret not biking at all when I was in China. While the feasibility, practicality and efficiency of biking in Beijing were debatable—rentals were clunkers and I didn’t want to buy a bike for a two month stay—I grossly underestimated the ecstasy of cycling. At the most visceral level, I find it liberating: not only from the limits of bipedal locomotion, but also from traffic laws, which also become very fast and loose—to spite every other form of transportation—at cyclists’ own risk.

Apparently, free association also becomes very fast and loose at bloggers’ own risk:

–Fate (and/or Continental Airlines) decided that I would end up watching Beijing Bicycle on the flight back from China (as well as Annie Hall, Kung Fu Chefs and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince). The film romanticizes biking in the overlapping contexts of adolescence and livelihood, such that a bicycle serves as an unambiguous symbol for independence (read the wikipedia article for a full plot synopsis). As such, the film appealed more to me as a Chinese-American than an urban bicycle enthusiast: I regarded the film as a portrayal of the fabled Other Half in contemporary China, a largely anonymous urban underclass in a specific time and place (of personal cultural significance).

After following up with a bit of investigation (i.e. looking it up on Wikipedia), I was surprised to learn that the movie was originally released back in 2001. When people ask about my recent experience in China, I invariably respond that Beijing has grown by leaps and bounds since my last visit, five years ago. Yet the city portrayed in Beijing Bicycle—the ancient capital of nine years prior—doesn’t strike me as particularly different from the city that I left four weeks ago. Certainly, the lives of the teenage protagonists are a world away from the American middle class, but the plot and issues still feel remarkably timely, short of timeless, reflecting the magnitude of (post-)industrialization that has gripped the country for over a generation.

–Streetsblog has the latest on MTA/DOT’s plans for bike lanes on the East Side, and it’s not looking good.

–The Onion New York Times has an article on the emerging phenomenon of cellphone-related mishaps: people walking into things. It seems that inattentive pedestrians are meeting distracted drivers (and telephone poles, parking meters, etc.) halfway, as mobile multitasking and augmented reality come face to face (or wall) with the task of mobility and regular reality.

The era of the mobile gadget is making mobility that much more perilous, particularly on crowded streets and in downtown areas where multiple multitaskers veer and swerve and walk to the beat of their own devices.

Most times, the mishaps for a distracted walker are minor, like the lightly dinged head and broken fingernail that Ms. Briggs suffered, a jammed digit or a sprained ankle, and, the befallen say, a nasty case of hurt pride. Of course, the injuries can sometimes be serious — and they are on the rise.

In other words, as a stranger (half-jokingly) put it when I nearly walked into him: “Watch it, texter.”

–Which brings me to this classic video, which was linked on a related “Clown on a Unicycle” article (I swear it’s all related, read it if you are so inclined… or so bored that you have nothing better to do.):

Apologies for the low quality of the video. And for the terrible title of this post. Honestly, this post was just an excuse to post that Mark Jenkins picture, one of my favorite Autechre tracks, and maybe the YouTube video. And, of course, to induce dim sum jealousy.