From time to time, I go back through the annals of The Bummer life, and I find gems that I have long since forgotten, like this ad I did for Hunter Cycles, as the kids say, 'back in the day'. As I had mentioned when I'd originally posted this,

"Right.. I havent seen everyone of your mouths. There might be one out there that really is prettier than a Hunter. But I kinda doubt it."

And then there was another interesting thing that I'd found when perusing this post. It was then that I had been notified that Pentabike draftsman 685 had gotten a copyright to his design, for which I was fervently lambasted by a grumpy-pants named Logan Foster in which he writes;

"It's a good thing that after posting a free stencil kit on his website and encouraging people to use it for free that 685 is cracking down. That will stop all those evil corporate people from making millions off his hard work. Do you have any examples of that? Haven't seen any yet.

Maybe he read Commodify Your Dissent by Thomas Frank and realized that Swobo is the best in the business when it comes to co-opting the urban cycling lifestyle and then selling it back to 'hardcore urban riders' in the form of overpriced soft goods and bikes that are lovingly crafted in sweatshops overseas. Buying a lifestyle off the rack: that's as hardcore as it comes. What would all the kids who bought fixed gears to ride drunk for three months before they quit riding forever do without companies like Swobo to make them look cool for those three months when they try on the hardcore urban cycling lifestyle like a costume bought off the rack for Halloween?

This will really keep the kids in line. Maybe he can stop the people in Portland using his stencil from spraypainting it all over the city and infuriating the local government (http://tinyurl.com/2f5bq7) and become an Urban Outfitters instamillionaire. That would be super hardcore.

Any word whether he is tyring (sic) to copyright just the pentagram symbol so he can go after Motley Crue and Slayer for using pentagrams, too? He may have some trouble with prior art.

In conclusion, let's take a look at the words of President Theodore Roosevelt from his 'man in the arena' pep talk he gave in Paris in 1910.
"It is not the critic that counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles. Or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement. And at worst, If he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat."

Where would we be without such learned guidance in commodofying the hardcore urban lifestyle? Thank you, Stevel (sic) Kinevil (hey, does Evil Knevil know that you've stolen his last name? He's a pretty litigious guy and we all know that stealing someone else's work is bad--stealing an identity is even worse. Stop biting!).

Logan "keeping it positive for Jah" Foster®"

I'll first mention that I added liberties to Logan's name, and follow that up with a profound thanks to the man in question for, after all of this time, continuing to bring an ear to ear smile to my face.