Because this week I’m still in dire need of something good.

Like for instance, the saga of Zip.
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Yeah, that oughta do the trick.

Between the chaos of the world recently, the absolute idiocy of the public at large, and my confused despair inspired by all of it, a story of a man finding a baby squirrel in a bag of mulch and then nursing it back to health is pretty much my only thing that can get me back on track;
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I’m not totally sure what mulch is, but I’m thinking I want to go buy a truck load of it.

In other feel-good offerings, I got a heads up from Katie of Jortz Material regarding the first of their Bombshell events;

Stevil-

Thanks again for the donation. We really super appreciate it! Here’s a photo of Vajda, who won the warmers!
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The race was a super success and fun was had by all.

We only gave away one pair at the race and will give away the rest at coming races. We’ll shoot pictures your way as we get em in!

Thanks again,
Cheers!
-K

They are an outstanding bunch of ladies and I am proud to have a hand in the fun.

And though you might not be in prime enough physical form, or in close enough geographic proximity to win a pair of those arm warmers for yourself, fortunately I still have a run of all sizes available in the Black Market Market with smalls, mediums, larges, and for the big gunned among us, extra large. Don’t sleep on this, because when this second run is done, there will be no more.

Dipping a little further into the mail bag, last week Mark Adam got in touch regarding a new project on which he has been burning the candle made from midnight oil at both ends. The initial email he sent was just kind of a ‘hey, how ya doing, my new company just launched‘ kind of a deal, but knowing that what he’s doing warranted a far more detailed introduction, I asked him for such and he responded in kind;

Dear Master of the Netherworld who hath a Heart of Gold

It’s been sometime since we last saw each other. If I remember correctly, I was videoing our mutual friend Paul of Paul Nice Component Parts Company and you not so gracefully surprised me with a caress of my rear-nether-regions while making wiener jokes in the background;
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Since that time, I’ve been busy working on the official debut of my company KindHuman and our first product offering, the Kampionne frameset;
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In a world full of matte black carbon bicycles, we think ours stands out not just because of the technology, materials and design that went into producing this piece of ride-able fun – but because of what our company represents. Oh, it’s also available in white.

KindHuman was built on a commitment to create opportunity though cycling; in everything we do and every product we make.

Our products are created with this in mind and that’s why we created the Take The Lead Scholarship Plan that directly supports underprivileged youth cycling as well as our Leadership Initiative which provides special access to our products for community leaders like teachers, nurses, fire fighters, our men and women at arms and service people across the globe. In short, we’re going to make bike products that people want to ride, that they can afford to ride and we are going to use our proceeds to get more people riding them.
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You can learn more about us at our new website where we will be taking pre-orders for the framesets that are arriving this week. You can see what we’re doing with our online store, our network of dealers, our first KindHuman Pro Shop retail location in Toronto, ON and find the latest news and updates on our line of apparel and accessories.

I know you’re not a much of a carbon connoisseur so I wanted to assure you that we have some real steel bikes in the works. Hand made in Eugene, OR. They will come in a variety of flavors such as road, cyclocross and mountain…in our house geometry and custom options. I plan to race my steel bike at the No.1 Hellhole Gravel Grind 2-day Stage Race in September;
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Maybe I can give you a few bucks to hop in the old pickup, drive to Eugene and oversee the whole thing. On second thought, please stay as far away from our facility as possible. In fact, leave Oakland now. Head south and don’t stop until the bikes are in our hands.

I love you,

-Adam

KindHuman is exactly the sort of company I want to see more of in the bicycle world. One with a positive directive, run by people who not only care about what it is they are doing, but who put their money where their mouths are, and spend their lives being just what the name states.

I’ve seen drips and drabs of this over the last year and am both excited for, and proud of them for getting it off the ground.

Moving on in an entirely different direction, and relating to the photo I posted on Monday which proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that while dog walkers are generally lazy, the world’s worst happens to reside in Sacramento;
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– my friend and co-dispiser of the crap bag trend, Captain Sportif of Soulcraft Bicycles sent an email with some thoughts;

You know how when someone goes to a friend’s house and sees a couple ceramic pigs on the shelf and assumes (rightly or wrongly) that the friend must be into collecting ceramic pigs? And the more pigs there are, the more pigs they get? I think I’ve become the guy who people think collects bags of dog shit.

It’s funny, because it’s true.

Now as I begin to draw the curtain on today’s effort, I will offer you a bit of fine art, and the unlikely connection that the bicycle world has to it.

Many of you might be familiar with the works of renowned portraitist Chuck Close;
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And secondarily, some long time readers might remember this, the only April Fools prank I’ve ever pulled within the confines of this site.

Well, the foundation of this prank was mainly true. I did work for an art installation company, and we did install the entirety of the Fisher’s collection at the company’s San Francisco corporate offices. Obviously a bulk of the rest of the story was fabricated, but I have maintained a connection with some of the folks who work there, the most relevant to this story being with a woman named Laura, who among her many other duties, and for lack of a better title, is the steward of their expansive collection of art.

It was just yesterday when I stopped in to pay a visit with the hopes that I could sneak into the galleries and rub elbows with these pieces that I at one time had such an intimate relationship with. Among the works on display is this once piece in particular that was made by the aforementioned Mr. Close;
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It’s a little known fact that when the previous product manager at Bianchi Bicycles, my former compatriot at Swobo, and current juggernaut at Shinola, Sky Yaeger was in grad school, she was actually an assistant for Close, and helped to not only construct the pulp that went into complete the above piece, but many in that series.

So that, as they say, and no pun intended, is a full circle coming to a close.

Though it’s not quite as awesome as a baby squirrel being rescued from a bag of mulch, (unless you’re an art nerd), if I don’t miss my guess it will leave you feeling good, and if that is indeed the case, then my job here is done.
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13 Responses to “Because this week I’m still in dire need of something good.”

  1. Brian April 24, 2013 at 5:18 am #

    Now that’s a positive jam.

  2. Crank April 24, 2013 at 5:29 am #

    Avoid the bummer life.

  3. Dennis April 24, 2013 at 7:01 am #

    “Compost-able” poo bags
    http://www.glad.com/trash/recycling-bags/compostable-small-kitchen-bags/

  4. Eric April 24, 2013 at 9:07 am #

    That little squirrel just made my day. Thanks Stevil.

  5. Velograph April 24, 2013 at 9:50 am #

    Fuck, I feel great now!

  6. Dave April 25, 2013 at 3:21 am #

    That squirrel is my hero.

  7. trama April 25, 2013 at 9:04 am #

    Tennis balls are shipped at a standardized 12 psi

  8. Loudass, Esq. April 25, 2013 at 9:59 am #

    “… our Leadership Initiative which provides special access to our products for community leaders like teachers, nurses, fire fighters, our men and women at arms and service people across the globe.” But no cops, eh?

  9. Adam April 25, 2013 at 10:15 am #

    Hey Loudass, Esq-

    Absolutely cops! If you happen to be a police officer who wants to partake in the Initiative, just shoot me an email. I’d be happy to help.

    Adam, KindHuman, markadam@kindhuman.cc

    • Stevil April 25, 2013 at 10:18 am #

      He’s not a police officer, but he plays one when he’s wandering around the Tenderloin at three in the morning confiscating people’s drugs.

      • Neck April 28, 2013 at 2:31 pm #

        Cops don’t shoot emails unless the emails are black or brown.

      • Adam April 29, 2013 at 7:00 am #

        Well, if he has a solid resume we will consider it. 😉

  10. Amanda Sundvor April 26, 2013 at 1:30 pm #

    My mother found me in a bag of mulch….. Once.