All I can see is the end of the week.

Been reading Andrew Ridgeley's memoir.

George Michael Playlist

Too Funky (Extended Mix)

Everything She Wants (Extended Remix)

Fastlove Pt. 1

Fantasy

As ft. Mary J. Blige

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:25
Pace: 9:10

Last night went on forever, and I went to bed too late. It was supposed to be relaxing. but unfortunately it also meant consuming too much. Just couldn't stop snacking.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: clear & humid
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 161 lbs.

Bit headachy this am, slept in a little, but not well. Thought I might put off the run, but why? Better to hit it.

Fifteen runs in thirty days. Well done.

Everywhere I run, I'm always running to you.

My right calf has been a bit stiff, and that ankle. Also, I either pulled a muscle or pinched a nerve in my right arm last week, and the irritation has not abated. I have been wearing a wrist brace, not sure if it helps or does nothing. I really do not want to see a physical therapist about this. 

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 34:29
Pace: 11:02

The elder child suggested we run to Lorde's latest album, and I suggested we run to the park, not drive to it and they agreed. Muggy, overcast, a couple of walks, entirely successful.  

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: ope

Weight: 160 lbs.

Virgin - Lorde (2025)

Hammer

What Was That

Shapeshifter

Man of the Year

Favourite Daughter

Current Affairs

Clearblue

GRWM

Broken Glass

If She Could See Me Now

David

There are some running keepers here.

There's no finish at the finish line.

That bed in the place we stayed in this past weekend in Cincinnati did something to my back. The bed was comfortable, I felt great lying in it, but Jesus it did something not good to me. Still running, though, and trying to do all the good things to alleviate the pain.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:41
Pace: 9:34

Evening at the ballpark, and today is our wedding anniversary. The world is terrible. Home is good.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 75
Climate: sunny & bright
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Liked Songs

Every Morning - Sugar Ray

How You Like Me Now - The Heavy

Drifter - Hippie Sabotage

Stop - B.W.H.

Killing Time (from "American Psycho") - Matt Smith & Jonathan Bailey

tv off - Kendrick Lamar ft. lefty gunplay

Only Wanna Be With You - Hootie & the Blowfish

Under My Thumb - Phoenix City All-Stars

Hear my heart beats in the hallway.

It was not until I started training for my first marathon that I began having one pair of shoes that I used only for running. In the past, I would run in whatever sneakers I currently owned. Run in whatever.

In short time, it became anathema to do so, to use my running shoes for walking around. They were for running, full stop. When they were retired, and I got a new pair of running shoes, then they became my walking shoes.

When we visited Cincinnati, I brought a pair of shorts, which is unusual for me. I know a lot of folks wear shorts. But when I travel, I prefer not to. I want to be seen as an adult. But when it's hot, in America, men wear shorts. And I knew it was going to be very hot. 

So I brought the shorts. But not the sneaks. I had my knock-off chukka boots. And I wasn't going to wear them with shorts, I'd look like a grampa.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:50
Pace: 9:18

Forty years ago this summer, I discovered The Cure. Their 1985 release, Head On the Door is possibly their most accessible record, we caught the video for "In Between Days" on Night Flight.

Their first album was released as Boys Don't Cry in the United States and included the title track and also [The Canceled Song] but today I run to the original LP, Three Imaginary Boys. It includes the very first Cure song I was aware of, "Grinding Halt" which was on the Times Square soundtrack.

Three Imaginary Boys - The Cure (1979)
10:15 Saturday Night

Accuracy

Grinding Halt

Object (154 BPM)

Foxy Lady (164 BPM)

Meathook

So What

Fire in Cairo

It's Not You (167 BPM)

Three Imaginary Boys (169 BPM)

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 77°
Climate: sunny & hot
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Yesterday I was grazing, but in moderation. Over the weekend dining was at odd hours, anyway. Today I begin public transit summer, taking the bus to work. I may make this a regular thing. When all I am doing is going downtown, parking, then coming home, what is the point of driving myself?

Also, I can read.

UPDATE: In my original draft of this post, I said that 1985 was thirty years ago. It was, in fact, forty years ago. My wife was the first to correct me, and I will never forgive her.

Do you really want to live forever?

War is peace, am I right?

We are in Cincinnati, not to see a young man but to celebrate an old man. Staying in that AirBnB we used to use when our kid first started attending Uni, the one I called a "bougie hipster flop" but it's lost some of it's shine. First of all, there's no snacks.

My dreams were vivid and I even remember some though they did not have to do with nuclear annihilation. More to do with high-achieving colleagues and a very unwell pet fish. 

Anyway, I have to run. We need to keep in shape for what's coming.

Distance: 3 miles

Duration: 27:49
Pace: 9:16

Route: Over the Rhine
Temperature: 73°
Climate: sunrise & muggy
Mood: all right
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Post Cold War Politics Playlist

Dissidents - Thomas Dolby

Party at Ground Zero - Fishbone

I Melt With You - Modern English

Forever Young - Alphaville

Wind of Change - Scorpions

Planet Earth (Night Version) - Duran Duran

I'm better than ever.

Missed a day, could not be helped. Between camp and the almost constant rain, running was not possible yesterday. Today, however, is optimal. Because now, it is about to scorch.

You complained about the rain? Welcome to a week's worth of ninety degree temperatures. Hot runs, all the way down.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:53
Pace: 9:37

Fuck these earbuds. The right one often fails to charge, I ran with one in. It was fine, but not preferable.

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 64°
Climate: sunny & damp
Mood: all right 
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Sore knees. All day on my feet yesterday. Or rather, the last two weeks. Party tonight, a travel weekend, all I want is to stay home.

Feel Good Workout Mix

Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris

Better Than Ever - Flight Facilities ft. Aloe Blacc

Feel It - Jazzy

Pumper - Mai Lan

Up 2 U - Walk the Moon

Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim

Praise You - Rita Ora ft. Fatboy Slim

She Wants You to Move - N.E.R.D.

All Fired Up - Pat Benetar

Do Your Thing - Basement Jaxx

Forest Hill Park Run/Walk

Consistency. We maintain. Dedication. Repetition.

Distance: 2.4 miles

Duration: 25:56
Pace: 10:46

In spite of everything, we run.

Route: Forest Hill Park
Temperature: 66°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: bit headachy
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Thank you for blessing me with a mind to rhyme and two hype feet.

Yesterday was the No Kings march, which was pretty well attended. Last night I hooked up with old college friends which was also a good time. Big days. Also, damp.

Happy Papa Day, to all who celebrate.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:52
Pace: 3:58

Early 90s Workout Mix

Move This (Shake That Body) - Technotronic  

Jump - Kris Kross

Horny - Hot 'N' Juicy ft. Mousse T.

Please Don't Go  - K.W.S.

This Is Your Night - Amber

U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer

Finally - CeCe Peniston

Tonight Is the Night- Le Click ft. Kayo

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 71°
Climate: sunny & hot & beautiful
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: no (shit)

Weigh: 160 lbs.

Perfect day in the park. Lots of families. Lots of dads. Lots of white dads I've never seen before.

Here we are now, going to the East Side.

Last night the elder child and I attended a production of Twelfth Night at our neighborhood library, after we got sushi on Coventry. That was a good time.

Distance: 6.25 miles

Duration: 56:01
Pace: 8:57

Route: Forest Hill to Cain Park Loop
Temperature: 75°
Climate: overcast & humid
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Dance/Electronic Mix

Over and Over - Hot Chip

I Love You - Yello

South Side - Moby ft. Moby

Born Slippy (Nuxx) - Underworld

Dance Wiv Me - Dizzee Rascal ft. Calvin Harris

Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Daft Punk

Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim

Trans-Europe Express - Kraftwerk

Daft Punk Is Playing at My House - LCD Soundsystem

You Don't Get Me High Anymore - Phantogram

Buttons - Pussycat Dolls

The Glamourous Life - Sheila E.

All my favorite songs! It's like the Matrix knows me.

Rats that run round and round in the maze.

Originally a transphobic meme
promoting corporal punishment,
but I fixed it.
If you feel unsafe in your home, please call 911.
You are not alone.

When it's a camp week, and you have things going on that keep you up late, and you have to wake early to get to Brook Park, why wake up even earlier to take a run?

Because it feels good to do the running, that's why. 

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 26:30
Pace: 8:32

160-169 BPM Playlist

Someday - Bridgit Mendler

Surf Wax America - Weezer

All Wrong - Kaada

Lies - Rolling Stones

I Love You, Suzanne - Lou Reed

Take on Me - Weezer

Straight to My Heart - Sting

Skyway - The Replacements

Goodbye to You - Scandal

Route:
Temperature:
Climate:
Mood:
Stretches:
Water:

Weight: 160 lbs.

Still.

Oh! Run away.

Waiting for the sun to rise to take my run. It's the first day of camp. We had the first read-through of the script yesterday, and that went very well.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 26:51
Pace: 8:39

Brisk!

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 64°
Climate: after the rain
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 159 lbs.

Drank my dinner last night. The Tonys!

160-169 BPM Playlist

A Bar Song (Tipsy) - Shaboozey

I Saw Him Standing There - Tiffany 

Secret Agent Man - Johnny Rivers

The Adults Are Talking - The Strokes

Runaways - XTC

The Night Before - The Beatles

Dilemma - Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland

I'm going to live forever.

Happy Pride!

Recently, I got Fame (1980) on DVD. I used to have it on VHS, maybe I still do? I haven't watched the disc yet, I just wanted to own it. It's important.

Of course, I called it Fame (1980) to make sure it was clear I was referring to the original film, directed by Alan Parker, and not anything that came after.  It is crazy to think the TV series premiered only two years later. Crazier that the TV show lasted for six seasons.

Like the movie M*A*S*H, the series takes a film with dark overtones and brightens it up for the television audience. I watched one episode and stopped. Maybe two episodes. It was just wrong, taking this movie and making it a "dramedy."

I hate the word dramedy.

Fame (1980) inspired me, and many others, to be an actor. Many others including my wife. Unlike her, however, the movie made me terrified of New York City. It made her want to live there.

There were several movie soundtracks that were on repeat in our house during the winter of 1981, including The Stunt Man, The Blues Brothers, and this. In each case I was deeply familiar with the music before seeing those movies on cable later that year.

I watched Fame (1980) first with my new girlfriend. My first girlfriend. I was thirteen, she fifteen. I may have missed some of the movie. 

Distance: 3.5 miles

Duration: 31:15
Pace: 8:55

Fame (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - 1980)

Fame - Irene Cara
Out Here on My Own - Irene Cara
Hot Lunch Jam - Irene Cara
Dogs in the Yard - Paul McCrane
Red Light - Linda Clifford
Never Alone - Contemporary Gospel Chorus of the High School of Music and Art
I Sing the Body Electric - Laura Dean, Irene Cara, Paul McCrane, Traci Parnell, Eric Brockington

Fame (Instrumental) - Michael Gore & Dean Pitchford

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 69°
Climate: sunny & bright 
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Forest Hill Park Run/Walk

We reach the summer. Time out of doors, time on the porch. I patched an old screen. I love it when I am a good housekeeper. We're planning camp. The first read-through is on Sunday. The roster of actor-teachers for the next year is (nearly) complete.

Time just doesn't stop. Some day I might stop. But not today.

Distance: 2.8 miles

Duration: 30:58
Pace: 11:03

Partner run with the elder child. We discussed the possibility of a half-marathon. Who knows?

Route: Forest Hill Park
Temperature: 69°
Climate: nice
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Maintenance.

The only one that makes you come ... running.

My awareness of popular music began, like most of my ideas of the larger world, in 1977. I began listening to the radio, every day, all night. Like, literally, all night. I had the radio on all night.

By the time I started middle school, music had taken its rightful place in shaping my sense of identity. I was a little surprised by what I found there, a bit excited, and also scared.

Three years is a brief period of time, but OH! Them changes.

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 29:31
Pace: 9:31

I used to have an elementary school running playlist, but it doesn't do anything for me. It doesn't take me to that place, because I really only became aware of most of those songs later, and now when I was a child. They are part of my later life.  

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 59
Climate: clear & beautiful 
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.

Middle School Run (1979-1981)

Dogs In the Yard - Paul McCrane

Workin' Day & Night - Michael Jackson

Clampdown - The Clash

I Wanna Be Your Love - Prince

I Zimbra - Talking Heads

Money - Flying Lizards

Love Will Tear Us Apart - Joy Division

One Step Ahead - Split Enz

Ten Feet Tall - XTC

I mean, come on. Look at this list!

They cut off my legs.

Running into Pride month like

This month, the Hit Parade podcast has been dedicated to the 1990s and how "alt-rock went mainstream." The decade was neatly divided — for me — by Guerrilla and Night Kitchen. But as Chris Molanphy reminded me, the decade (in music) can also be neatly divided by Woodstock '94 and Woodstock '99.

The first, best represented by iconic performances from Green Day and Nine Inch Nails, the second by hideous performances from Limp Bizkit and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. 

Distance: 3.1 miles

Duration: 28:42
Pace: 9:15

Night Kitchen Playlist (1995-1998)  
Andy Warhol (Live at the Starplex Amphitheater) - David Bowie
Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
That Thing You Do! - The Wonders
You and Me Song - The Wannadies
Flagpole Sitta - Harvey Danger
Consider This - Filter
Good - Better Than Ezra
Melochord Seventy-Five - Stereolab

Route: Forest Hill Loop
Temperature: 54°
Climate: beautiful!
Mood: good
Stretches: yes
Water: yes

Weight: 160 lbs.