Or vice-versa. So says Marcus Berkmann at “The Spectator”. Apparently both are absurd acts of defiance.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/archive/arts/44375/people-power.thtml
Who knew?
Somehow the old-fashioned act of buying a CD doesn’t quite compare to the post-modern hipness of unicycling to work.
Next time I’ll just download my ride to work from Limewire.
I had a non-unicyclist comment to me once about me riding my N36 longer distances and up steep grades, “that’s like one big eff-you to everyone!” His explanation was along the lines of most people can’t/won’t do on a bike what I do on my unicycle.
Yes, and yes! When we ride unicycles we are defying gravity! When we ride where “regular” people can see us we’re defying convention! We’re telling them (whether intentionally or not) we won’t conform, we won’t do things the easy way, and especially WE WON’T BE TOLD WHAT’S IMPOSSIBLE AND WHAT ISN’T!
I love that quote from Phlegm. That’s awesome. Maybe even better than the “Eff THAT!” quote we once got in NYC from a guy coming up out of the subway. We weren’t even riding, just pushing them along. He took one look, a whole scenario clearly played itself out in his mind, and he came out with those two words. He was saying “No I won’t subject myself to the indignities of trying such an obviously-difficult thing.” While we, as unicyclists, say “Eff conventional thinking! We choose to do it our way!”
And I think that’s part of the reason that people shout stuff at us. They don’t like being defied.
Well, maybe we should say “Eff-em if they take it personally.” Why does it always have to be about the random stranger on the street? 
the other way around
I DON’T buy new CDs as an act of defiance. Some would say that is absurd. I ride a unicycle to work because I can and it’s fun (not in the current heat, though). I must admit there is a bit of defiance in there.
–tom
I can just see it now: the minor public school, the poor Second at a red brick university, the failed ambition to be a novelist, the dead end job in a provincial newspaper followed by the gradual climb to being a nearly man in journalism, the midlife crisis, the dead-on-its feet marriage, the drink problem, and the long liquid lunch that led to him thinking of the absurdly clichéed stereotype of the unicyclist.
I don’t primarily buy CDs as an act of defiance, but because I consider it to be a superior way of getting music (for my uses, anyhow) and because I think it’s fair for record companies to ask for me to pay for music - once. I just see it as the best product on the market. Oh, and they’re easier to come by second hand 
I buy CDs because it’s easier. I unicycle because it’s more difficult. Totally different.
I do both because for me they’re [i]better[i] (or to vaguely and probably misleadingly refer to Robert Persig’s Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, I find they both have higher inherent Quality).
In exercise I like an interesting challenge, some fun, and to work up a bit of a sweat in the process. In music purchases I value a combination of convenience, longevity, and lack of technical restrictions on what I can do with my music. So, for me bother unicycling and CD purchasing are actually better and defiance doesn’t have much to do with it.
Of course for people to whom defiance is an important goal, both buying CDs and riding unicycles could be just as preferable but for different reasons - it has the same high Quality but their pros / cons explanation of why would differ substantially from me.
I’ve noticed that when I unicycle on the sidewalks of L.A. there are certain common reactions from certain groups of people. The “common-man” we encounter who’s taking the dogs for a walk, the parent w/ a child, the jogger, the pedestrians,school-kids, couriers, bicyclists & park-regulars > they look w/ enthusiasm & though we don’t really like it, the barrier is gone thanks to the circus idea…
Then there are “serious” ones like the business-people, bus-riders, car-drivers who’s surprised to see you & then pretend not to look & when you pass-by even take a 3rd look…My son as well as I have had occasions when a gang member would run or drive close to us, take us by surprise…just to ask where we got the unicycle or comment that it must be awfully hard to learn “that”…So far the funniest groups I encounter are those young ones w/ their girlfriends in the park who want to show off that they could do it–…ofcourse I let them try it (more attempts on my coker)& you know what happens…lol…
We are a special group who likes the uniqueness & challenge of the sport. With it comes a very clear statement to onlookers & because we can be easily singled out & because we are always trying to balance > we are very vulnerable…We cannot change society’s reaction…we chose to be different, it would be much easier to not be at the wrong place at the right time…
oh, i want to download that too!
where can it be found?
what do i search for?
do i need limewire?
what is a unicycle?
how do you walk?
what the heck is a computer?
am i cracking at all the STUPID questions people ask on these forums…yes
… at johnfoss, no.
Downloading music is harder than the hour or so you have to work in order to make the money to buy the CD?
Yes. Considering the time you have to invest to learn the various networks or torrent sites, weed out the junk, find a good version that is actually encoded properly, beg and wait for access to a private site that isn’t full of junk, and fuss with maintaining ratios. Yes, it is easier to just buy the CD online. You can also buy used CDs online. If you’re working full time and have a family your free time isn’t “free”.
But maybe I’m just the type who would unicycle as a commuting option.
how could you?
their just mad cuz they cant unicycle:D