randoseru: the perfect cute backpack for bicycle commuting.

I'm here today to tell you about my Mom.

She's pretty special. She lives in Japan and knows just what I like.

Such as very early birthday presents.

She saw the little kids in Japan wearing these backpacks- randoseru- and knew that it would be just the thing for bike commuting.

She scoured and scoured ebay until she found the perfect one.

It's made out of a horse.

Horse leather, that is.

It's red because the girls in Japan get the red ones. I like the red- it's very high vis.

As you can see, it's very finely crafted. The randoseru are made for the children to wear as a part of their uniforms through six  primary school years.  

The clasp closes magnetically and can also be locked with that little swivel.  The straps swivel as well.  I love the metal construction- it is industrial.

The back is cushy, as are the straps.  They are also adjustable.

The randoseru has a see-through pocket for your homework, forms for your parents to sign, or if you're a history grad student, your "haircuts of the U.S. presidents" print-out.

I have the hardest time remembering who the Gilded Age presidents were.

The front pocket zips closed and is perfect for pens and wallets and lipgloss and such.  The front has a see-through space your ID. But not your id. 

This randoseru has really adorable white piping. 

It has a deep storage compartment that would fit three or four history monographs and some composition books.

It sits up really high on your back for proper ergonomics.

My mom would probably suggest that I move that towel before taking pictures to post on the internet. At least she taught me how to apply mascara.

Water rolls right off the back when it's raining- I made it through a storm yesterday and all my stuff stayed perfectly dry.

Isn't my mom the coolest?

(these pictures brought to you by photo booth, since my camera was never recovered)

philly tweed ride.

I was really there! 

Photo via veronikavsyou- check out her photostream.

Ok, so I might have been excited about the Philly Tweed Ride since the second I found out about it. But how could I not be? A bunch of finely dressed people riding bikes together? This is what I do. We were blessed with great weather for parading through the city. The part of me that's been reading about fundamentalists all week would like to think that hearts were changed and that many Center City onlookers saw the "style over speed" bicycle light this November afternoon. If anything, a lot of people saw the Old Dutch Treat and had plenty of nice things to say about my beloved beast.

At the Waterworks behind the Art Museum before the ride.

Parade through Rittenhouse Square.

Chilling at the Schuykill River Park.

It was an amazing time. I was the 49th person to sign in, and there were easily at least 20 more people who came after me. We rode through Center City (past tons of shocked Saturday shoppers on Walnut!), walked through Rittenhouse Square, played games at Schuykill River Park, rode past Independence Hall, enjoyed a pleasant regrouping at Elfreth's Alley (Philadelphia's Oldest Street!), and then terminated the ride at the choice bar / eatery The Institute (that extra bowl of chili accidentally sent up to the second floor that I got to eat? AMAZING.). I was fortunate to meet a ton of kind folks that I am proud to share the road with.  It was nice to get together with a bunch of other everyday cyclists for a little fun and to remember why doing what we do is so dang cool.

you know, for kids.

Esteemed COTGB Readers:

I love my brother.

I love Fat Tire beer.

I love bikes.

I love hats.

I even love kids.

Big Brother has ingeniously found away to fuse all those things together in a raffle for the ages. Please get thee to the Tacoma Bike Ranch ASAP to get your name in the hat- literally- to win a handmade piece of American folkart of the highest degree of craftsmanship.

If you aren't interested in checking out the hat, but would still like to give, you can donate to the Mary Bridge Children's Foundation and Big Brother's Courage Classic bike ride to help stop the cycle of child abuse and neglect directly through this link. Thanks for your support!

the ultimate fun song for a friday.

Bonus: Galleries here and here from Ascot, the opening day of British horse racing, featuring loads of fancy, over-the-top hats. Preppy men's fashion is making a comeback, as evidenced in a slideshow so beautiful I think I cried a little.

Also: Humorous missives on Labradoodle owners and Poseidon teaching a water-aerobics class.

consumerist spring.

Because part 1 of my cross-country mega move is coming up quick, I've become focused on throwing stuff out of the wagon instead of adding stuff to it. However, Spring took its sweet-ass time coming to Utah, and I can't deny that I got a little excited about my liberation from socks. Fortunately there are easy ways to buy without taking up much space AND spice up my uniform of old Gap Jeans and crew neck American Apparel t-shirts without actually having to wear something else (I have plenty of shirts, but when I run out of the solid AA ones getting dressed becomes so much harder. I really love being boring.).

Anyways, here was my simple solution:

Sandals by Dolce Vita. So what if they are flat- they took about a day to break in and are a fun way to bring in metallics without being too ostentatious. Mine are this pinky bronze color that I can't find a picture of. I had to size down to an 8, which has never happened to me before with sandals.
Fuchsia Power nail polish by Sally Hansen. Only 2 dollars at Wal-Mart and it wears very well- a necessity when biking in sandals.

it's not easy being green.

Unbelievable.

a pretty fruitful day on the interwebs.

I found this image on the design blog Oh Joy!. It comes via a brand of clothing called Makool. I love the picture-- it just says Spring riding to me. Of course, it snowed here again today but with all the teasing sunny days we've had lately, I'm glad it's getting close.

Also, let's talk about the shirt from that image. Wow.

Just looking at its beautiful structure and amazing details makes me appreciate fashion so much more than I did five minutes ago. Its $176.00 price tag, however, reminds me that I have limits. Limits are free.

Also bike-y: the blog "What I Saw Riding My Bike Around Today." Very cool concept.

Here's an article from Smithsonian magazine featuring cool Special Collections, featuring my own beloved University Library.

I enjoyed this sneak peak of a ranch home from Design Sponge today. I love the "wood everywhere" look complimented by oodles of cacti and lots of daylight. I am tormented by my lust for a mid-century house done up right. In five years?

Let's not talk about how many images I've set aside for design inspiration lately. The prospect of a new apartment this summer is too exciting.

A neat public art project. Aw, it's fun to be human.

I love that Barack spends his days doing stuff like this and this even if it is kind of sad that he has to put so much effort into undoing Bush-era oversteps.

And to completely overwhelm you, as a public service I have to post this song. I downloaded Sun Kil Moon's album April yesterday (as well as Mark Kozelek's What's Next to the Moon) (indulgent I know, but the cost per listen in the long term is really low...and what can I say? it's always Mark Kozelek week around here) and the first track is one of the best songs I've heard in a long time. I love how it just goes on forever. Absolutely sublime and a little heartbreaking. I haven't really listened to the rest of the album because I am so stuck on this song. It definitely makes my Top 4 long songs of all time, right next to Stairway to Heaven, Only in Dreams, and Layla-- particularly when I heard the latter two songs live, respectively. This one is best when you can comprehend the lyrics-- a beautiful song about being a ghost.

opening ceremonies.

I forgot how much I lose my shit over the Olympics. I think it's almost more potent this time, living with women from the host country. This evening we all got up from our late afternoon naps (they do it everyday, I do it because I am sick) and gathered round the TV. It was probably a good thing that they were watching the theatrical bits with me because I otherwise would have cried all over the Olympics. First off, it was beautiful. Spectacular. Amazing. Magnificent. Stunning. Huge. Extraordinary. It was a big night for vocabulary building around here. Second, the humanity of it all-- all of the hope and unity in the forefront and politics set asides (though I think the NBC commentary was too political-- damned if we don't get the Canadian channel in Utah!). I loved the part with the pictures of all the global children! The boats part was my absolute favorite though. I cannot seem to find any good pictures this on the web! Argh.

I found the fashions during the parade of nations to be pretty entertaining. I think Ukraine and Hungary should get mad props for even getting dressed. The Polish women and the French men looked extra classy-- and hate me, but I really loved the waspy look for the US team and thought that Kobe looked smokin' hot. I thought Russia had the best hats, and loved that a Utah Jazz player was their flagbearer. But what I loved, loved, loved the most was the piping on the Netherlands suits. I really did almost loose my mind over it.

Pictures: here and here and here.