in between all you wish for and all you've seen

Having a bike in Chicago? BEST THING EVER.

I had the awesomest bike ride this afternoon along the lake front. I'm terrible about stretching, so I know I'm going to be sore tomorrow, but it was worth it. I have a bit of a competitive streak, and being on a bike path with a bunch of other people (rather than just tooling around my suburban development back home) brings that out in me, so that I keep pushing myself to pass and stay ahead of other people. And DAMN, was it windy on the way back, so much so that I think I should've saved some of my energy on the way out... eh. I survived. And maybe I'll be more ready for the wind the next time I go out. I do worry that I've shot my brief dalliance with running in the foot, now that I can bike ride instead... I think once the novelty wears off a little I'll be ready to go back to jogging again.

In completely unrelated news, I have a haircut I like for the first time in a year and a half. It's not that big a deal if it gets screwed up, but there's a way that stylists can cut my hair that makes the ends do a little curl all by themselves when I blow it dry, and there's a way that they just... don't. And I can't be any more specific than that, since I'm not a stylist myself, so I just keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best. Anyway, it looks healthier and more finished, rather than just long and unkempt, so YAY. All those amongst my readership who were losing sleep over whether or not I prevailed in the battle against my split ends can now rest easy.

I mentioned the Twilight Singers concert, but have I mentioned the new Twilight Singers album, Powder Burns? It's FANTASTIC. Seriously. I was lukewarm about She Loves You--it didn't have the swirling production of Blackberry Belle and didn't speak to me in the same way, which could simply be because it was an album of covers. Powder Burns is completely a return to form, though, picking up where Blackberry Belle left off and moving forward. Early favorites are "I'm Ready" and "Forty Dollars," but I don't think there's a bad song on the whole album. I feel shameful for not yet owning any Afghan Whigs albums, but I have a hard time with artists' back catalogs (see also: Elvis Costello). If the Whigs' stuff is anything like the interesting, layered rock music of the Twilight Singers, though, I'm sure I wouldn't be disappointed.

Finally, the Boy and I rented Match Point yesterday--wow. It got mixed reviews, I seem to recall, but I really liked it, though it's kind of disturbing. I had absolutely no sympathy for the Jonathan Rhys-Meyers's lead character, but he played the part exceedingly well, and the plot wraps itself up with a surprising finesse that left me startled and pensive. I'm not sure Scarlett Johansson is worth all the hype she gets--the Boy commented that she seems to play the same character all the time, and I'd tend to agree--but she was well-cast here. Tonight we're embarking on the haute cinema masterpiece Fun with Dick and Jane; will keep you posted on the subtlety of the acting and nuanced dialogue, certainly.