NO PANTS FOOTAGE!!!

I made it (albeit briefly)(get it? BRIEFly? ha-ha!) into some video footage of the SLC No Pants TRAX ride! You can see my stripping down at 1:02.

WARNING: Gross pasty white skinny legs

Pantsless in SLC

So as I previously mentioned, we threw an impromptu "Pants-less TRAX Ride" today. The idea was to provide a laugh for other people on TRAX who had no idea why there were a bunch of people on the train without pants. When asked why we don't have pants, we blow it off with a straight-faced answer ("Oops, I must have forgotten to put them on!") and continue on as normal.

Since I was going to the symphony after today's "event", I came dressed in a suit and tie. Shortly after 3 pm the group of us (probably 20-30 people) hopped on the next TRAX train. We randomly dropped our pants as we felt fit and stored them in a backpack or whatever we had handy.

At the first stop a guy from Klamath Falls, Oregon (currently attending Weber State) came on and sat across from me. He asked me why I wasn't wearing pants, and I told him that it was nice and sunny out and they weren't comfy, so I just decided not to wear them. He seemed satisfied with this answer (I guess he didn't see any of the other passengers sans pants), and we chatted about music festivals until I had to get off the train.

Luckily as I was getting off the train the next one I had to take was just arriving, so I only ended up being in the cold for a few seconds. I was seated across from an elderly couple who seemed very confused about what was going on.

When the second train reached the end of the line, myself and about 30 other pantsless people deboarded. Two guys asked me why I wasn't wearing pants and I told them the weather was nice and I felt like I didn't need them. When asked about the other people not wearing pants I acted surprised to find out about them and said I had no idea why they weren't wearing pants.

I repeated this several more times. One time I missed my return train and had to stand in the cold without pants for 15 minutes. Several other people missed the train too. Luckily we were able to amuse ourselves with the reactions of people in cars driving by, who were just as amused to see several pantsless people standing on the train platform.

After about two hours I was ready to call it a day. I boarded my last train and walked in front of three girls who busted up laughing uncontrollably. I finally dug out my pants and proceded to put them on right in front of them, all of whom were giggling and taking cameraphone pictures like crazy.

Out of all the people who attended I was the only person who was dressed somewhat formally, so I made an interesting subject. Three reporters from various local and indie newspapers interviewed me and I had my picture taken numerous times. Whether these will end up in any publications or not I don't know, although it appears I did not make the Salt Lake Tribune nor the Deseret News. Keep your eyes open.

Although I could not discreetly take pictures with an SLR several other people in the group brought smaller cameras they could document the event with. I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them and you can all see my pasty white legs.

For several years, the group Improv Everywhere has been performing a "Pants-less Subway Ride". For a brief period in the day people hop on a certain subway line completely clothed ... except for their pants. They just happened to "forget them" that day.

I'm proud to say that the idea caught on here, and for the first time, a "Pants-less TRAX Ride" is taking place! I've actually wanted to do this in NYC for years, but now that it's here, I can stay local!

Unfortunately the beans on the story were spilled before the actual event, so the spontaneous nature of it was kind of ruined. Hopefully there will still be some surprised riders tomorrow.

The news story

For anybody interested in participating:

Facebook event

Explorian new lands.

Yes, I typed "Explorian" on purpose. Why? Because I've suddenly become obsessed with Armenia culture.

While it was a combination of factors (including a fascination with old Soviet history), the tipping point was hearing the Violin Concerto of Aram Khachaturian. I've always liked his music, but this concerto was a sudden dose of inspiration, causing this tiny country to vault up into the A-list of places I need to visit.

Now to see if I can tag it on to a trip to Europe this year...

The Traditional "Year in Review" post

Let's see how we did this year:

Bacon consumed:
January: YES
February: YES
March: YES
April: YES
May: YES
June: YES
July: YES
August: YES
September: YES
October: YES
November: YES
December: YES

"Your Mom" jokes made:
January: YES
February: YES
March: YES
April: YES
May: YES
June: YES
July: YES
August: YES
September: YES
October: YES
November: YES
December: YES

I hereby declare 2007 a success.