Must Romaine

“Well, my wife still respects me, I really misuse her. I am having an affair with a random computer. Don’t you know I'm a 2000 man, and my kids they just don't understand me at all. ‘Oh daddy, proud of your planet... Oh daddy, your brain's still flashing like it did when you were young. Or do you come down crashing seeing all the things you'd done?’ All was a big put on.” - The Rolling Stones , 2000 Man, Their Satanic Majesties Request, London Recordings, 1967

Conditioned to think as cycling foodstuff dark leafy greens were ultra healthy, then confused to learn all vegetables could contain pathogens and require careful prep to be ingested safely, public was easily convinced by psychotic conspiracists that horticulture and science failed them completely. No, science succeeds wildly at saving humanity as long as its advice is applied conditionally. There are no panaceas; too much medicine can be worse than none at all. Vaccines have evaded over a billion deaths, and millions of cases of crippling ailments such as polio, over last century or two. Refrigeration reduces diarrhea, rot and spoilage. Only “experts” who want you to develop arthritis, cancers, colon polyps, heart disease, osteoporosis, and type-2 diabetes tell you not to eat chard, collards, kale, mesclun, mustard, romaine, spinach, sprouts, and watercress. Kill all competition is their murderous mantra. Still best to consume each home grown, in season, local, loose, uncut, and washed twice with filtered water, rather than commercially grown, late season, pre-trimmed, unwashed, and vacuum bagged later.

Like bicyclists who widely roam, veggie consumers must choose wisely and decide times from home, but should never rule out altogether, because produce satisfies hunger and sheds bicycling weight, while worse perils remain. Critics instill e-coli fear over unseen bacteria versus visible evidence in health statistics. Animal flesh alive or dead is 100 times more dangerous: pathogens plus animal vaccines, carcinogens, fungi, hormones, parasites, poisons, prions, and toxins. Blame genes or delude special self it won’t happen to you.

Out of desperation to dominate, gaslighters, lawyers and salesmen will demonically argue definitions of words. So, many words now have multiple connotations and meanings, i. e., cool (distant, nifty, or temps below norm), some even contradictory. Constitution and jurisprudence rely upon vocabulary consensus from Age of Enlightenment, not gutter slang from this offensive, postmodern, skeptical, transactional, vulgar era that argues “86 47” is an assassination threat and proof of intent, as was Posobiec’s prior goad “86 46”. “Love is as strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave,” according to Bible. Deep six all for love, and expect scorn. Sown wind reaps whirlwinds, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

If America was a meritocracy, 46 would be revered as best performer in modernity, rather than renounced for not making way sooner for nation’s next most qualified candidate in history, who would then have been elected versus an abominable sociopath facing sentencing. Measure of success today compares number of crimes committed and indictments canceled through perp’s cunning denials and excuses. Star status and street cred now go to those with most convictions dismissed. Unless you discriminate between evil and good, heroes are whoever rewrites history after massacres. Relentless incredulity attacks undermine confidence in facts. If trust dissolves, democracy dies, faith rusts, and fascists rise.

No matter how much this semaphore of structured sentences stalks facts by relaying stuff personally witnessed or stated responsibly in expert testimony, those who live in echo chambers and mirrored halls interpret essay stacks to amuse and suit selves. There are ample provocations but little truth in social maelstrom. Cautionary communication seems sprinkled as if metaphor seasoning readers scarcely taste. Journalistic liberty is under FCC bombardment while press secretary parrots lie of president championing 1st Amendment. “Don’t wait to be told. Heed no tainted hints. Experience your own enlightenment, pain, pleasure, and relationships. Collect facts that matter to you, let others do the same, listen carefully, question explanations, and take for granted things that make no difference. Tolerate diversity, since it's a species survival mechanism. Once you’ve analyzed for yourself, stick with what challenges you. Those who do will know marginally more than the multitude of defeated; that's all it takes to get an edge, move ahead, restore momentum, serve others, and succeed. Forget about seeking truths, eternal tease; let them find you should ever they please.” Labann Says, 2015

Many, but not all, people would prefer negative situations to resolve positively. They seldom do without exertion and intervention. There’s no exit ramp that lets you lazily and safely pull over and watch society crash. Individuals must assume responsibility or mankind collectively suffers consequences. Mundane repetition in all things seem like ruts in road that motorists cause by following each other trapped in lanes as if locomotives on rails. Bicyclists avoid cracks, potholes, and ruts for safer and smoother rolling. As a large but mistreated minority, bicyclists dodge hazards and weave edges rather than confront planner neglect and demand better treatment. Driving USA into wartime status would evade some constitutional issues fascists face. Without digging in heels through dissent, you’ll be one forced to do all fighting when sent to war zones or worse. Bicyclists could unite against radical right bent on excluding them from roads against their consent. Liberals don’t care how you choose to go, so it’s clear who your enemies are.

NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch now has police issuing criminal summons to bicyclists for minor infractions, which could lead to deportations and definitely discriminates unconstitutionally by targeting neither motorists or pedestrians, only bicyclists. You might wonder why she suddenly changed this long established policy. Sinner-in-Chief extorted Mayor Eric Adams, to whom Tisch reports, and tried to negate Congestion Tolls to Lower Manhattan, as if they were a matter of national importance rather than patronage of Big Shell Oil washed up on beaches. New York is entitled to make its own local policies as long as they are legal without undue federal encroachment. Their Attorney General Tish James has filed over a dozen lawsuits against a range of lawless and unconstitutional acts framed as executive orders, none of which bind states to comply since they violate existing laws enacted by Congress.

Civil rights, safety nets, women’s suffrage were all hard fought contracts between citizens and democratic rule, a public consensus forged from civil disobedience, groundswell protests, and nonviolent countermeasures. But vigilant neutralization can be difficult to sustain when executive branch is,“Doing things every day... obviously corrupt, unpopular, un-smart, and zero constituency,” as Rachel Maddow reports. Determined to destroy democracy and establish rule by oligarchy, they must see how many articles of constitution they can negate to wage war against public. Collapsing system seems stupidly shortsighted. If US dollar crashes and loses global reserve currency, crypto will become worthless and other state currencies plummet in value. Fathead fascists should do what makes them richer and thiner, which means fasting and sacrificing to maximize value and spread wealth. They’d rather make everyone poorer.

Former NFL and UFL lineman Kristjan Sokoli stars as Messenger 666 (Dwayne Buckle, dir., 2025), a low budget sci-fi debacle where maniacal truckers seem intent to mow down bicycle messengers. Then the 300 lb, 6’-5” hero unleashes his super power to tackle pharma company behind this mayhem.

The Big Bike Film Night 2025 events presented scores of short documentaries intended to inspire participation across Australia and New Zealand, just winding up in Manitoba, Canada. More encouragements are scattered around internet and Youtube of which a small sampling are described below.

Gushing documentary We Ride Why (Greg Roth and Jason Tang, dirs., 2025) covers affluent but guilty cycling for charity and Specialized in Seattle.

Study Says Biking to Work Prevents Early Death (Berm Peak, dir., 2025) is just one of several videos advocating bike commuting, because its accountability, consistency, and lifestyle integration make it a unique way to improve mental and physical health. The testimonies in countless appended comments are even more inspiring.

Happy and harmless Thai immigrant May Lilaonitkul is caught Switching Lanes (Guy Wilkinson, dir., 2023) after she restores a bicycle to explore with gratitude her new home, San Francisco, California. Canned sardines better describes motorists, who choose their transportation specifically to avoid all contact with environment and human involvement, versus curious and vulnerable bicyclist who are glad to be alive and interactive.

Ride (Dean Johnson, dir., 2021) profiles wrench tech Ian Downing enjoying and reviving bicycles in Tumut, NSW, Australia in conjunction with Chris and Gemma Russell of Tom’s Outdoors. Dean has also made other outdoors short documentaries including one on bikepacking, which highlights laden bikes and lovely terrains.

Some songs definitely reference while others just remind you of bicycling. Below are two of each, respectively. Note: Official List has just been updated.

Caitie (Caitlin Claessens), I Like to Ride My Bicycle [juvenile], single video, self, 2019 “I ride it everywhere. Anywhere you need to go, a bike can take you there... It’s easy as can be... and you can ride with me!”

Crepes, Bicycle Man, single video, Spunk Records, 2018

“I would really like to watch you ride, and always feel you by my side... You have a way of walking ‘round; Your feet, they never touch the ground. And you are shining... For me, oh, our shadow in the morning sun becomes my fun.” - Jefferson Airplane, Watch Her Ride, After Bathing At Baxters, RCA Records, 1967

“I remembered the days when I wasn't afraid of the sunshine, but now it beats down on the asphalt land... We can run but we can't hide from it. Of all possible worlds we only got one; we gotta ride on it. Whatever we've done, we’ll never get far from what we leave behind. Baby, we can run, run, run, but we can't hide.” Brent Mydland, Grateful Dead, We Can Run, Built to Last, Arista, 1989

Lion Shlain

“Hunger stopped him... death has gagged his accusations. We are free now... now we can end the world. We’re not guilty, he was crazy, and it's been going on for ten thousand years. Take your place on The Great Mandella as it moves through your brief moment of time. Win or lose now, you must choose now, and if you lose you've only wasted your life.” Mary Allin Travers and Peter Yarrow, The Great Mandella (The Wheel of Life), Album 1770, Warner Records, 1967

Snowballs are soft weapons of aggression. Nigh on 60 years ago before limited access highways confined traffic and prohibited pedestrians, bullies on main streets would pelt weaker, younger boys and taunt peers to target trailers whose tractor drivers didn’t care or notice. Drew a line at private passenger vehicles, because that might blind drivers and cause accidents. Scolded them to cease and desist, but they did it anyway, drew motorist reprisals, and induced scary chases by one obese schmuck in an obscenely big obtusely empty truck after another on route to a brewery six-pack that could instead tuck into a bike basket or rack. Could‘ve died in a road rage incident before altogether ducking local pack. Abet a felony attack, go to prison along with actual perp. What the frack!

Advice given out of empathy gets embraced less often than ignored. For similar reasons, nobody twice reads this blog so repeatedly abhorred. Instantly loses half of Americans, who only comprehend on a 5th grade level, texts scored 90+ on Flesch–Kincaid test. Never wanted to repeat self, stand out from a crepuscular profile, stick to a single topic, or surpass an inscrutable 10 F-K’s. With propaganda, persistence pays, so one must mundanely double down with every deceit whenever common sense or disbelief disputes. It’s exhausting, mirthless, and overcome simply by stating facts and telling truths from start. Your appeals to better selves does not presume your own blameless perfection in social criticism pursuits.

What causes aggression? Carryover from primitive hunters? Natural tendency in human DNA? Unfulfilled immature needs? A century of psychology offered burgeoning insights into how situations evolved from swarm predators into what they now are, lone wolves enabled by interconnected society. Can savage instincts be sublimated into sports skills? Recognize outrageous responses not only from spoken testimony or written transcripts, but study of body movements and facial expressions, a holistic right brained approach that had been culturally deselected, as late neurophysician Dr. Leonard Shlain argued, through left brained conditioning, linear storytelling, and mathematical reasoning.

All tribes were once organized around goddesses and matriarchs; feminism was a clue matriarchy was staging a comeback. Lionesses lead hunts to this day. Map reading is right brained; it fuses absorption of a complex image with memories of ground based landmarks. Through intuitive reckoning you leapfrog left brained grid searches to find your destination. Christianity was likewise founded upon immaculate birth and nurturing femininity, though later appropriated by impotent patriarchs who produced somber tomes sans graven images. Protestants banned worship of Mary, Mother of Jesus, while pursuing their witch hunts against herbal healers and wise women, who made these misogynists feel guilty and inferior, which they were. Swine persecute saints who personify their reneged pacts, such as community, decency, equality, legality, marriage, and stewardship.

In his 2015 Address to Joint Congress, the late Pope Francis urged Americans to, “Defend and preserve the dignity of your fellow citizens in the tireless and demanding pursuit of the common good, for this is the chief aim of all politics. A political society endures when it seeks, as a vocation, to satisfy common needs by stimulating the growth of all its members, especially those in situations of greater vulnerability or risk... [and] to avert the most serious effects of the environmental deterioration caused by human activity. I am convinced that we can make a difference, and I have no doubt that the United States – and this Congress – have an important role to play. Now is the time for courageous actions and strategies, aimed at implementing a ‘culture of care’ and an integrated approach to combating poverty, restoring dignity to the excluded, and at the same time protecting nature.” Previous administration heeded this call. New regime calls it socialism, denies his divinity, and does exactly the opposite. Let’s see what new American Pope Leo XIV has to say about it. As Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost he opined, “We need to hear more from leaders in the Church, to reject racism and seek justice,” and weighed in on X already severely critical of entire leadership, their migrant contempt, religious heresies, and vaccination eschewal. Gates Foundation cut childhood deaths and diseases worldwide in half by distributing free vaccines. Catholic adults number about 53 million, 30% of potential voters, not that they always align with papacy or cast ballots on conscience.

Mandela Effect has masses of people believing a false narrative, such as civil rights activist and hunger striker Nelson Mandela died in prison, when he actually survived bigoted apartheid, cruel Musks, and decades of undeserved detention to serve as The First President of South Africa. Conversely, a shamanistic mandella is a decorative dreamcatcher derived by first nation people from a ceremonial shield. Similarly named mandala is a circular Buddhist artifact meant to focus upon the Universal Wheel of Life: emergence, existence, purpose, recurrence. You could easily get confused among these homologous hypotheses. Or double your fun or pleasure by living your life on a real wheeled wonder. According to O’Brien’s Third Policeman, riders’ molecules merge with bicycles; therefore this delight by design can also fight to be seen in full light.

Hypocritical Republicans hypnotized a third of American voters into affirming hype of a purloined election, The Big Lie, while updating their McCarthy/Nixon enemy list with those they always accuse: Authors, dissidents, educators, journalists, judges, lawyers, leftists, news media, political scientists, protestors, students, visa holders, vulnerable innocents, and whoever might debunk boldface lies, refute insane delusions, and unmask fascist propaganda. Toilet Paper USA wants to wipe campuses and schools squeaky clean from whatever doesn’t support patriarchal white supremacy. Bears mention, but totally had it hearing of such deplorable, harmful, and serial behaviors.

Do-nothings of both parties did head every government agency and ran up huge public debt before revenge term of Felon 47, but their firings were intended to curtail public services and destroy each agency, not to punish them personally. With no mandate after a rigged election and recording lowest poll numbers ever 100 days into office, he now boasts of quixotic victories, dares to proclaim he “rules the world”, and expects to banish everyone who fails to further his megalomaniacal ambitions. Huh! He’s supposed to serve American people not self having amassed billions in personal enterprises that monetize presidency, like selling US visas to drug lords for $5 million and White House stays to foreign adversaries. He hasn’t paid the half billion he owes in court judgments. Absolute power corrupts absolutely; constitution limits executive power far more than he’s willing to stomach. Poison to everything he touches, even McDonald’s sales have plunged since he “worked” there.

Relentlessly ridiculing this lying Gemini social butterfly just promotes his schtick and solidifies sympathies among his idolators. Every crass antic or juvenile tantrum is another test of what he can get away with; for example, when he violated rights of Venezuelan gangsters, few minded... good riddance. Tempts you to get used to concept, normalize cruelty, and overlook a crossroads in critical thinking. But deporting doesn’t entitle incarcerating illegals, only warranted if actually convicted of crimes and sentenced to finite terms, not de facto life imprisonment under Nazi death camp conditions. But next steps were to expel a foreigner with a clean record and legal status, then four innocent children who are actual citizens, having been born here, because, according to Magastan logic, you’re not a citizen if your parents aren’t, even though Constitution expressly says otherwise. Isn’t First Lady an immigrant? Then he defies Federal Appellate and Supreme Court rulings to return them all, instigating a constitutional crisis, because Constitution doesn’t grant unilateral power to him, a convicted sociopath and suspected space alien who expects laws to exempt him alone. Historians characterize such tyrants who’ve tried these tactics as exemplary failures who’ve foreited millions of lives including their own. How many must die before 25th Amendment, Section 4, gets evoked for first time?

When usurpers defy justices, destroy rule by law, and thumb noses at coequal branches of government, America appears lawless and unattractive to asylum seekers. It’s intentional, just another deterrent to immigrants they dread, along with economic recession, homelessness, joblessness, lack of entitlements, and no safety net. Racist radical oligarchs want entire continent as their caucasian, English speaking, private country club. Arabs, Blacks, Chinese, Latinos, and members of groups other than what they consider themselves join in critical processes including farming, manufacturing, mining, sanitation, transportation, water purification, and whatever populace needs and wants. But oppressors gamble that starving workers with skills will submit to slavery for food scraps and roofs to sleep under. No, the most heavily armed population on earth will simply revolt and surely depose these despots in short order.

Ai Weiwei’s Forever Bicycles [shown] is a metal sculpture made from between 1,200 to 3,100 interconnected units meant as a homage to Shanghai’s luxury brand Forever that once cost 4 times an average worker’s monthly salary, so a fetish his family couldn’t afford to buy him as a deprived youth. Inspired by Marcel Duchamp, this perplexingly iterative “found art” concept debuted in Austin, Texas (2009), was subsequently disassembled then reassembled multiple times in varying forms, and now resides in Manitoba, Canada. Forever Bicycles contrasts notions of machines liberating riders and shackles of living within a repressed society, a metaphor for freedom versus responsibility, much like Bike&Chain. China’s most famous modern artist, with scores of large scale works and solid reputation as a human rights activist, he has an eye way way open to governmental atrocities and lies; protests against have gotten him detained or held in prison without charges, and his passport revoked.

Weiwei’s similar but smaller Forever bicycle sculpture was installed at Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia (2016, then 2022), as well as Artz Pedregal in SW Mexico City (2018). His tons of Sunflower Seeds (approximately 100 million handmade individual porcelain units from a town that used to make imperial chinaware) at the Tate in London (2010) was allegedly radioactive and extremely controversial for criticizing blind loyalty to an undeserving leader and consumer culture enabled by exploiting mind-numbing labor. His Alcatraz installation, including a huge colorful but confined dragon kite ready to take flight symbolizing freedom in a cage that once interred conscientious objectors, dovetails with new regime talking about resurrecting this crumbling island fortress as a prison for dissidents, another human rights violation by a fascist authoritarian bound to backfire.

If you go by bicycle, you never have to endure thaasophobia, fear of boredom, because life immediately becomes more thrilling, mostly reiterating, “You are here now,” never whining, “Are we there yet?” Pedaling through space/time makes you grateful for simple pleasures of reading, resting, and writing about your adventures. At some point in late 19th Century when god died, literary tourism by bike supplanted religious pilgrimages on foot, though both sought destinations referred to in books. On the other hand, cherophobia involves an irrational aversion to joy, often a result of letdowns and losses after having once been happy, which deters sufferers and voters from participating in fun or necessary activities. Triggers might include an equipment breakdown, lion encounter, rigged election, road accident, or stolen bike, which can be remedied once funk and rage pass.

Has criminality been rampant? Not according to crime statistics, if you discount new administration’s hundreds of egregious and unlawful acts. Has law enforcement been inefficient? Too few judges do slow due process. GOP added Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to cover stuff formerly handled by DOD and FBI. DHS runs an unhinged ICE, which kidnaps citizens, then sends to foreign prisons without constitutional rights to arrest warrant, arraignment, indictment, motions, trial, sentence, then incarceration solely in the jurisdiction where offense was committed. Deportees should be released to countries from which they came, not shanghaied to gulags elsewhere, which should be reserved for convicted drug smugglers, Latino gangsters, Russian mobsters, sex slavers, and such scumbags from those respective countries already serving time in own prisons. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) and FEMA have been jokes since rolled into DHS. USPS’s renowned reliability went down drain right after they appointed the Joyless 75th Postmaster, highest paid at $341,000/year and least successful, recently forced out, and to be replaced by another lame lackey until service is illegally privatized. Back when Congress established mail service as a constitutional right, Ben Franklin’s annual salary was $1,000, $33,500 in today’s currency, less than 10%.

Monster Summer (David Henrie, dir., 2024) leads little leaguers Devers, Reed, and Wexler (Abby James Witherspoon, Mason Thames, and Julian Lerner, respectively) to investigate numinous occurrences in their Martha’s Vineyard neighborhood. Hauntings in fact, not just fiction, are well documented there. To further case, Reed enlists retired detective Carruthers (Mel Gibson). Didn’t see but seems a low budget ripoff of Ghostbusters, Goonies, Sandlot, Stranger Things, and The Black Phone, all of which also feature bicycling teens. Might have been interested for its pro-cycling scenes if girlfriend beater gun toter Gibson weren’t involved. Besides, will already be protesting a live monster in high office come summer through No King events.

A monster challenge faces Vijay 69 (Akshay Roy, dir., 2025), who on the cusp of his 8th decade on earth decides to tackle a triathlon race: swim, bike, run. At actually 69 years old, star Anupam Kher performed his own stunts. Hindi language feel-good film won 4 awards, but will now be subjected to tariffs as a foreign produced movie, yet another attempt at intimidating jedi heroes who might defy sith control of galaxy and relay a message of hope to rebel resistance.