Joe Rogan on the UFC 'Fight for the Troops' in Fayetteville, NC.

You can donate to the Fallen Heroes Fund here.

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » UFC fight for the troops:

"The UFC had a special night this past week where we put on a fight card for the soldiers of Ft. Bragg. The entire night was to highlight traumatic brain injuries and to raise money for the intrepid fallen heroes fund. They’re trying to raise enough money to build a state of the art treatment center for all of these soldiers that are coming back with the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Apparently, because technology has improved and they’ve created better armor, more soldiers are surviving, but they’re coming home alive but with severe brain injuries. How many? Well that’s where it just gets fucking crazy, according to a recent Rand Corporation report 19% of returning service members report that they experienced a possible traumatic brain injury while 20% of them report having major depression or post traumatic stress disorder.

Those are some fucking incredible numbers. 20% is something like 300,000 people, and that’s on top of the thousands that have died. The size of the tragedy is almost unimaginable.

The UFC put on the fights so that the only tickets available were given out only to military personal, and they had over 10,000 people wearing camouflage UFC shirts packed into the arena for the event.

...During the Spike TV broadcast they showed profiles of victims of traumatic brain injuries. They were these heart wrenching pieces on these soldiers that came back injured and will never be the same ever again. They showed guys that had giant hunks blown out of their heads.

They showed their families, they showed them struggle to talk and think - it was incredibly heart breaking. Someone’s son, someone’s baby boy - and they’ll never be the same again. I cried during two of them. I just couldn’t help it.

Seeing the pain and the anguish in the faces of the families was just unimaginably sad. I just couldn’t even conceive of what they’re going through.

When you stop and think how fucked up it is that they have to put up a website and do a show to get public donations to set up a center to treat people like this while the government is bailing out financial institutions left and right it just boggles the mind. I mean, shouldn’t that be one of the first things we as a society are taking care of?

I mean, if we’re really operating under the premise that these young soldiers are over there protecting us, shouldn’t we be taking the best care of them possible?

Every day in the news we’re talking about the economy, which is certainly a huge fucking problem in this country, but goddamn, isn’t 300,000 fucked up young people just as big, if not a bigger issue?

And it’s an issue doesn’t get nearly the same amount of attention.

It’s really hard to believe how fucked up our priorities are when it comes to how we take care of the wounded soldiers.

This war wasn’t my idea, and it wasn’t yours, and right now I’m not even focusing on whether it’s justified or not, just the fact that someone thought it was the thing to do. That choice was made, and if that choice was made whoever made it should be responsible for the consequences, and a huge part of that is taking care of the wounded.

They’re trying to raise 60 million for this center, meanwhile the war costs 200 million every fucking day of the week. All they would have to do is pretend the war wasn’t going on for one day it would all get paid for, but I guess that’s just too convenient and logical.

These are gigantic tragedies. These are our brothers and our sisters, and there are thousands of them, and they’ll never be the same again.

We shouldn’t be in a situation where we have to take donations from the public to support a center for these people; it should be something that’s a top priority.

...I try to pay attention as much as possible and read as much as possible about our government and our politics, but the system we operate under just seems like an impossible tangle of bullshit and corruption.

Almost every day there’s something new - a governor goes down for corruption, or a Senator gets caught taking bribes, or a new story comes out about missing billions in the funding of the war - and it just rolls on, and on, and on with no end in sight. One fucked up story piling on top of the next to the point where you just can’t keep track of them all. Did you forget about Gary Condit?

Yeah, I did too. I just thought of him now while I was writing this.

How about Jeff Gannon, the guy that was the ultra right wing white house reporter who was running a gay male escort service on the side? Forgot about him, didn’t you?

Me too.

Remember the Jessica Lynch propaganda clusterfuck?

Mark Foley? I forgot about him too. I wonder how many kids he’s fucked since he got fired?

There’s just too many to remember them all. And they keep coming. New evidence to erode your trust and confidence being delivered to your awareness every single day, all you have to do is pay attention.

We’re being lead by people that are nothing like us.

They’re not cool, they don’t seem particularly nice, and I firmly believe - no tinfoil hat necessary - that they’re at the beck and call of gigantic corporations first, and then the will of the people second.

And it’s probably a pretty distant second..."

Ah, relationships.

Overheard in New York | Woody Allen's Genius Is Partly Remembering Conversations Like This:

"(dad playing with little kids on slide, son screams)
Mom: Just a minute, honey, daddy is too busy playing with other people's children.
Dad (coming over to son): And mommy is too busy being passive aggressive.

--Central Park Playground

Overheard by: Amused Babysitter"

Oh, come on! - "Man who set up alternate email for White House dies in plane crash."

"In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happened, you can bet it was planned that way." - Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Man who set up alternate email for White House dies in plane crash - Boing Boing:

"“Mike Connell set-up the alternate email and communications system for the White House. He was responsible for creating the system that hosted the infamous GWB43.com accounts that Karl Rove and others used. When asked by Congress to provide these emails, the White House said that they were destroyed. But in reality, what Connell is alleged to have done is move these files to other servers after having allegedly scrubbed the files from all “known” Karl Rove accounts.

In addition, I have reason to believe that the alternate accounts were used to communicate with US Attorneys involved in political prosecutions, like that of Don Siegelman. This is what I have been working on to prove for over a year. In fact, it was through following the Siegelman-Rove trail that I found evidence leading to Connell. That is how I became aware of him. Mike was getting ready to talk. He was frightened.”

Graham writes: "Unfortunately, he won’t get to talk. He died in a plane crash yesterday."

UPDATE: A curious press release: "Bush Insider Who Planned To Tell All Killed In Plane Crash: Non-Profit Demands Full Federal Investigation"

"The solution is to keep trying..."

Overheard Everywhere | Let's See If She'll Be Trying with You After This:

"Cute chick in line: Oh! I want Haribo gummi bears! I need a snack to study effectively. There are lots of things I don't do effectively without snacking.
Boyfriend: Maybe you should try snacking next time we have sex. You know, maybe a little popcorn...a candy bar...
Cute chick: Are you saying my sex isn't effective? Well, maybe there won't be a next time.
Boyfriend: You know, you're not responding very well to constructive criticism. The solution is to keep trying, not to give up.

CVS
University City, Philadelphia

Overheard by: justtryingtowaitinline"

Honestly, WTF? - "Police beat up 12-year-old honor student girl then arrest her 3 weeks later."

The more stuff like this happens, the fact that people just don't revolt out of hand continues to surprise me.

Plainclothes allegedly police beat up 12-year-old honor student girl then arrest her 3 weeks later - Boing Boing:

"Who can blame Galveston plainclothes police who thought a 12-year-old girl standing outside her house (flipping the switch on the circuit breaker as her mother has asked her to do) was a prostitute? After all, she was wearing "tight shorts" according to the vigilant officers, and she happened to live only two blocks away from a location where someone had complained that prostitution was taking place.

So the three brave officers did the natural thing: they allegedly jumped the girl and beat her up, according to Courthouse News and the Houston Press.

..After the incident, Dymond was hospitalized and suffered black eyes as well as throat and ear drum injuries.

...Three weeks later, according to the lawsuit, police went to Dymond’s school, where she was an honor student, and arrested her for assaulting a public servant. Griffin says the allegations stem from when Dymond fought back against the three men who were trying to take her from her home."

Training 251/P90X 19.

Legs & Back/Ab Ripper X, 3 meals, 2.5L water.

What I've Read - Japan's hedge funds and WWII alternate history.

Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Millions by Ben Mezrich. Quick, engaging read. The author has a bit of a rep for playing fast and loose with the facts, but this was entertaining.

"From Publishers Weekly
Though the names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent, this is a true story, containing all the ingredients of a great narrative—a main character the reader can relate to... wanna-be financial star "John Malcolm," who accepts a nebulous job offer in Japan in the mid-1990s and leaves his middle-class New Jersey postcollege aimless existence for an adventure he might have dreamed of had he any idea of what the big boys' world of finance was really like. After hitting the ground at top speed from day one, John and his cohorts—all male, mostly Ivy League graduates—learn their way around the lucrative, fast-paced and legal-but-barely-palatable world of cowboy-style Asian market finance. In the process, they make millions (sometimes per trade) and pride themselves on knowing when to get in and how to spot their exit point...
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc."

MacArthur's War: A Novel of the Invasion of Japan by Douglas Niles and Michael Dobson. Interesting alt history... jumps off with the US losing/drawing the battle of Midway. Fun/diverting.

"...Niles and Dobson reimagine the Pacific Theater in their latest historical novel. With the American navy still smarting from Pearl Harbor and (here's the twist) a crushing defeat at Midway, Gen. Douglas MacArthur secures control of the Pacific theater. After clearing the Solomon Islands—where the authors put MacArthur at the Battle of Bloody Ridge—the campaign moves on to the Philippines, Okinawa and Japan. Following his triumphant return to the Philippines, MacArthur's march to Tokyo turns treacherous. The Japanese launch "mass suicide attacks" on Okinawa—an ominous prelude to an invasion of Honshu. Trouble, meanwhile, besets the Manhattan Project, and perhaps most ominous of all for the egomaniacal MacArthur, President Truman dispatches Gen. George Patton to the Pacific to command MacArthur's armored corps. With one eye on the Japanese and the other on Patton, MacArthur launches the long-anticipated invasion of Japan. Fans of alternative history will enjoy this imaginative but plausible what-if account of World War II in the Pacific.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Training 250/P90X 18.

Yoga X [vinyasas are ridiculously exhausting], 2L water, 5 meals.

Since planning to fail is failing to plan... next week is gonna be different. Next week is week 4 on P90X, which makes it a "recovery" week. Only in P90X world can recovery mean having to workout 6 days a week, including the ass-kicker of the Yoga X wkout twice. On Monday I've got 6 elementary school classes and a Jr High bonenkai - which means little free time and an evening of copious food and drink... and since the Monday wkout is supposed to be the 90m Yoga X wkout, I'm not gonna have time for that and gonna have to tweak the schedule a bit. Plus Tuesday is a national holiday in Japan, and Sandy and I are celebrating our Xmas a couple days early. So that means there's some traditional [Japanese] KFC and Christmas Cake going on as well. Then, on Thurs and Friday we're going up to Hiroshima for an overnight touristy thingamabob.

So, while next week was supposed to be:

Week 4:
Day 1 - Yoga X
Day 2 - Core Synergistics
Day 3 - Kenpo X
Day 4 - X Stretch
Day 5 - Core Synergistics
Day 6 - Yoga X
Day 7 - Rest or X Stretch

Let's make that:

Day 1 - Core Synergistics/first thing in the AM, or the previous night after Week 3's Kenpo X
Day 2 - Yoga X, 1st thing in the AM, prior to Xmas celebrations/food/libations
Day 3 - Kenpo X
Day 4 - X Stretch, either done on Day 3 after Kenpo X or first thing in the AM on Day 4 before we take off to catch the Shinkansen
Day 5 - Core Synergistics, at night, after we get back from Hiroshima
Day 6 - Yoga X
Day 7 - Rest or X Stretch

And as for the bonenkai and the Xmas food and drink, I'm gonna try and not go too crazy.

How the USA became a prison nation.

Charles Platt on life in prison - Boing Boing:

"It’s important to understand just how extreme the situation is. We now incarcerate a larger proportion of our citizens, and a larger absolute number of them, than any other nation in the world. The United States has less than 5 percent of the global population yet has almost one-quarter of all the world’s prisoners. (Source: New York Times, April 23, 2008.) The Land of the Free has become the land of the confined.

Now here’s the interesting part. From 1925 through 1975, the American incarceration rate remained around 110 prisoners per 100,000 population, not far from the current world median of approximately 125. (Source: New York Times, as above.) What happened since then? How could the rate increase by a factor of 7 during just three decades?

I can suggest an answer in three words: Money, fear, and politics.

Money is an issue because the United States is one of the few nations that can afford to build enough prisons and keep millions of people locked up. Most other nations are unwilling or unable to spend so much money unproductively.

As for fear and politics:

Back when Ronald Reagan was the Governor of California, growing discontent among conservatives encouraged the state to lead a movement toward tougher sentencing. When Reagan reached the White House in 1981, with his wife promoting the “war on drugs” and chanting “Just say no!” with her vapid grin, conservatives gained the power to encourage changes on a national level.

This trend reached its culmination in 1988, as Reagan’s reign was ending and Republican presidential candidate George H. W. Bush was looking for an edge over Michael Dukakis, his Democratic opponent. Bush’s campaign manager, Lee Atwater, and his media consultant, Roger Ailes, found their opportunity in the story of a convicted murderer in Dukakis’s home state of Massachusetts who had served 12 years in jail before being released on a weekend furlough, at which point he proceeded to commit a particularly unpleasant rape and other associated crimes.

Atwater and Ailes believed that one disturbing incident of this type, involving a heavy-set black rapist, would matter far more to voters than any reasoned debate about policy issues. It would capture the imagination, regardless of statistics showing that the event was a rarity or even a singularity. They didn’t seem to care whether the furlough policy had been a good thing or a bad thing. They simply knew that Dukakis had been in favor of it while he was governor, and it could smear him as damagingly as possible.

...Many other politicians were quick to notice Bush’s successful exploitation of public anxiety, and followed a similar strategy, calling for harsher penalties while denouncing their opponents for being less punitive than they were. In other words, they followed the ancient practice of whipping up fear while simultaneously promising to alleviate it.

This is a simplification of a complicated national trend, but I believe it does help to explain how the general U. S. prison population increased by a factor of 7. Many conservatives see no problem in this, since long sentences have been accompanied by a reduction in violent crime. On the other hand, in Canada, violent crime went into a similar decline without a massive increase in the prison population; and in some states (notably, New York) the crime rate didn’t go back up even after authorities relaxed their previous punitive policies."

William Kristol is really, really dumb.

Foreign Policy: The 10 Worst Predictions for 2008:

“If [Hillary Clinton] gets a race against John Edwards and Barack Obama, she’s going to be the nominee. Gore is the only threat to her, then. … Barack Obama is not going to beat Hillary Clinton in a single Democratic primary. I’ll predict that right now.” —William Kristol, Fox News Sunday, Dec. 17, 2006

Weekly Standard editor and New York Times columnist William Kristol was hardly alone in thinking that the Democratic primary was Clinton’s to lose, but it takes a special kind of self-confidence to make a declaration this sweeping more than a year before the first Iowa caucus was held. After Iowa, Kristol lurched to the other extreme, declaring that Clinton would lose New Hampshire and that “There will be no Clinton Restoration.” It’s also worth pointing out that this second wildly premature prediction was made in a Times column titled, “President Mike Huckabee?” The Times is currently rumored to be looking for his replacement."

Truth.

More at the link.

The Art of Nonconformity » The Art of Radical Exclusion:

"...I sometimes practice the fine art of radical exclusion. This is where I deliberately ignore or decline any number of inputs, messages, or requests for my attention in order to focus on what I decide is more important.

Some people think this is rude, but I see it as directly related to fulfilling my primary commitments...

The application is that, from time to time, I close up. I don’t take any more inputs for a while. I learn to say these things, repeatedly:

Sorry, I can’t commit to that.

I regret I will not be able to meet your expectations.

I am working on other commitments that will not allow me to take on any additional tasks at this time.

Antisocial? Perhaps. Rigorous? Certainly.

But in the end, we make time for what’s important to us. To fulfill some commitments, others must be excluded. You can do this bit by bit, but sorting out each request requires the use of time and energy you’re trying to gain. If you make the time (there’s no such thing as “finding” the time), you might be surprised at how beneficial this is."

Less of the change you can't really believe in.

Update: Marijuana legalization No. 1 at Obama's Change.gov @ www.dosenation.com:

"...Here's the official Change.gov response to the question re marijuana legalization, which rocketed to the top of the list of submissions:

Q: "Will you consider legalizing marijuana so that the government can regulate it, tax it, put age limits on it, and create millions of new jobs and create a billion dollar industry right here in the U.S.?" S. Man, Denton

A: President-elect Obama is not in favor of the legalization of marijuana.

There you have it! As reader Emu noted:

It's very interesting to note how lengthy his responses were for all the other questions he answered but put up a 'I don't want to touch it' wall with marijuana. I'll leave you with a quote from his book,

"And if the high didn't solve whatever it was that was getting you down, it could at least help you laugh at the world's ongoing folly and see through all the hypocrisy and bullshit and cheap moralism."

Too bad we didn't elect the guy who wrote that. That's a dude who had an understanding of the situation.

Or this guy, even.

[Yes, that's really him.]

Photo via: Photo of young Obama - Boing Boing

Training 249/P90X 17.

2.5L water, 5 meals, Shoulder & Arms/Ab Ripper X

Inspiration/Motivation - Yes, the all-caps is annoying, but it was taken from an online chat... regardless, it's spot-on, NO BS, truth. Tough love to kick you in the ass, and exactly what I need to hear.

Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Chat Room Throw Down:

"ALRIGHT, SIT BACK, AND RELAX.
LET'S GO OVER A COUPLE OF THINGS.
THERE SEEMS TO BE A GENERAL LACK OF WILLPOWER,
AND THERE ALSO SEEMS TO BE, LIKE CANI SAID, POOR PLANNING.
SHOWING UP TO A PARTY HUNGRY, NEVER A GOOD IDEA, YOU'RE SCREWED.
NOW I COULD SIT HERE AND I COULD TELL YOU LITTLE TIPS ABOUT HOW TO HELP YOU CONTROL YOUR EATING HABITS,
IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR FOOD, AND I DO IT WEEK AFTER WEEK, MONTH AFTER MONTH,YEAR AFTER YEAR
AND IT SEEMS LIKE THE SAME PEOPLE (I KNOW WHO YOU ARE - YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) CONTINUE TO JUST LET FOOD WIN.
AM I CORRECT?
...YOU LOSE SOME WEIGHT, AND GAIN IT BACK
THEN YOU LOSE SOME MORE, AND GAIN BACK MORE, AND IT'S JUST A CYCLE THAT CONTINUES.
SOMETIMES YOU TAKE IT SERIOUSLY, SOMETIMES YOU DON'T.
BLAH, BLAH, BLAH!
SAD, BORING AND PATHETIC, REALLY...
YOU BLAME IT ON YOUR PARENTS AND YOU BLAME IT ON WORK
AND YOU BLAME IT ON STRESS
AND YOU BLAME IT ON POOR PLANNING,
OR ON THE WEATHER OR LACK OF SLEEP
AND YOU SORT OF TAKE THE BLAME, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO MAKE ANY CHANGES.
I MEAN, IF IT DOESN'T MATTER
CUZ APPARENTLY IT DOESN'T
CUZ IF IT DID
THIS WOULD NO LONGER BE A PROBLEM FOR MOST OF YOU.
BUT THE SAD FACT OF THE MATTER IS, YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO!
...YOU HAVE TEMPTATIONS AND YOU SUCCUMB TO THEM. PERIOD.
NOW MY JOB TONIGHT IS NOT TO SIT HERE AND POINT FINGERS AND CALL YOU NAMES, AND SAY THAT YOU ARE LOSERS.
BUT IT'S TIME FOR A LITTLE TOUGH LOVE PEOPLE.
AS SOME OF YOU KNOW, I'M 50 AND LIFE IS EXTRAORDINARILY SHORT.
I FEEL LIKE I'VE LIVED 10 LIVES ALREADY AND AS WE ALL GET OLDER, IT DOESN'T GET ANY EASIER, UNLESS WE DO THE RIGHT THING.
SUCCUMBING TO TEMPTATION BASED ON OUTSIDE INFLUENCES AND INFLUENCES INSIDE OUR HEADS
JUST MAKES LIFE SUCH A DULL BORING FRUSTRATING DRAG.
ICK!
IS THIS WHAT WE WANT?
IS THIS GOOD ENOUGH?
IS IT?
BUT WHAT THE HELL YOU GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
BECAUSE CHANGE IS A BITCH MAN.
BUT IF YOU WANT THE LIFE THAT I THINK YOU THINK YOU DESERVE, THEN YOU HAVE TO DO THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU'RE DOING...
AND I KNOW THE ECONOMY IS ROUGH AND THINGS HAPPEN IN LIFE THAT ARE BRUTAL, BUT SINCE WHEN DOES FOOD SOLVE ANY OF OUR PROBLEMS?
IT MAKES THINGS WORSE!
WE NEED SOMETHING TO MAKE US FEEL GOOD FOR 10 SECONDS, BUT ALL IT'S DOING IS MAKING OUR SITUATION WORSE!

...THE ALTERNATIVE SUCKS!
...IT'S TOO IMPORTANT.
IT MAKES LIFE SO MUCH BETTER. NOT TO DO IT MAKES FOR A LESSER LIFE.
SO IF YOU DON'T MIND YOUR LESSER LIFE KEEP ON EATING CRAP BASED ON ALL YOUR LAME EXCUSES.
I GOT INTO FITNESS BECAUSE I WANTED TO LOOK BETTER, I STAYED IN FITNESS BECAUSE I LIKE FEELING BETTER.
I LIKE THE QUALITY OF MY LIFE TO IMPROVE, BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THAT EXERCISE AND EATING RIGHT DOES THAT.
I LIKE BEING FIT AND I LIKE BEING HEALTHY.
I UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF THOSE THINGS
I ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT TO ACHIEVE THEM, I HAVE TO EAT RIGHT AND EXERCISE AT LEAST 6 DAYS A WEEK
MY POOR EATING HAS DIMINISHED LESS AND LESS OVER THE LAST FEW MONTHS.
I'VE ALMOST CUT CHOCOLATE OUT. WHICH IS HARD FOR ME.
I NOTICE THAT WHEN I GET TO THAT ROUGH PATCH OF 2 OR 3 WEEKS WHEN I'M TRYING TO GET OFF OF ANY KIND OF A PARTICULAR BAD FOOD HABIT THE CRAVINGS GO AWAY AND I FEEL BETTER MORE OFTEN.
I SLEEP BETTER.
MY DIGESTION IS BETTER.
MY ENERGY IS UP.
MY MOODS ARE UPBEAT AND POSITIVE MORE OFTEN.
BTW, FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DIET (WHICH I KNOW IS PROBABLY MORE THAN 11 OF YOU)
IF YOU NOTICE YOU'RE STRUGGLING IN LIFE, GUESS WHAT?
THAT STRUGGLE COMES WITH WHAT YOU PUT IN YOUR MOUTH FIRST, NOT VISA VERSA
ONE CAUSES THE OTHER.
IT'S NOT COINCIDENCE THAT YOUR WACK DIET IS PART OF YOUR WACK LIFE.
EVERYBODY READ ME?
HEARING ME?
FEELING ME?
ANYBODY THINK I'M TALKING TO THEM DIRECTLY?
HOW DOES THAT FEEL?
KINDA CRAPPY, RIGHT?
AS DR. PHIL WOULD SAY
HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT FOR YOU?
WHEN THIS CHAT IS OVER TONIGHT I WANT YOU TO WALK AWAY WITH SOME THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD THAT MIGHT NOT EXIST AFTER A NORMAL CHAT.
ONE THOUGHT OR QUESTION I SHOULD SAY IS... WHAT AM I GONNA DO ABOUT IT?
BECAUSE RIGHT NOW YOU'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING.
YOU'RE JUST LETTING LIFE PUSH YOU AROUND.
SUPER LEAN, SUPER RIPPED, SUPER HEALTHY, SUPER STRONG PEOPLE DO EVERYTHING RIGHT.
PEOPLE THAT ARE PRETTY RIPPED, PRETTY HEALTHY, PRETTY STRONG, DO MOST THINGS RIGHT
PEOPLE THAT ARE NOT OVERWEIGHT, NOT UNHEALTHY, BUT LOOK OK DO ABOUT HALF OF THE IMPORTANT THINGS RIGHT.
I COULD KEEP GOING BUT YOU UNDERSTAND WHERE I'M HEADED.
3 MONTHS AGO, I WAS DOING MY 90/10 % PLAN AND THAT WAS PRETTY GOOD, YOU KNOW, 6 PACK, ETC.
BUT WHEN I CLEANED IT UP MORE, I'M JUST LEANER AND I FEEL BETTER.
IT WORKED FOR ME...

"OH, BUT TONY, THAT'S SO HARD, IT TAKES TIME, WHAT IF I FORGET A PEN? WHAT IF I'VE LOST MY PAD OF PAPER TO WRITE DOWN WHAT I'VE EATEN? DOES THAT MEAN I HAVE TO WRITE DOWN EVERYTHING IN MY SALAD? WHAT IF THERE'S AVOCADO, PEPPERS, MUSHROOMS, NUTS, IN DIFFERENT KINDS OF SALAD, DO I HAVE TO WRITE IT ALL DOWN?"
SHUT UP YOU WHINY LITTLE BI*****!
IF YOU WANT TO LIVE LARGE AND YOU WANT THIS MICROSCOPICALLY SHORT LIFE OF YOURS TO BE WORTH SHOWING UP FOR
THEN YOU'LL MAKE A PLAN.
YOU'LL DO WHAT I SAY AND THINGS WILL BE GOOD!
OR YOU'LL KEEP DOING WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING AND THEN YOU'LL JUST BE WHAT YOU ARE RIGHT NOW, OR WORSE.
OKAY?
THIS COUNTRY HAS TURNED INTO PRE-ROME, AND THE EMPIRE'S ABOUT TO COLLAPSE.
THE ONLY WAY WE CAN BEGIN TO TURN IT AROUND IS TO START TAKING CARE OF OURSELVES FIRST, SO THAT WE HAVE THE ENERGY AND ENTHUSIASM TO TAKE CARE OF THE REST OF THE CRAP THAT IS GOING SOUTH IN OUR LIVES.
POOR EATING HABITS AND LACK OF PHYSICAL MOVEMENT HAS TURNED THE VAST MAJORITY OF US INTO WHINY LITTLE CRY BABY LOSERS.
FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN THIS STATE OF QUIET DESPERATION.

...WE HAVE TO STOP PRETENDING THAT LIFE IS SOMETHING OTHER THAN WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING TO US.
THE POINT I'M TRYING TO MAKE FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT ARE STILL A LITTLE CONFUSED IS THAT WE HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR LIVES. THE ONE THAT IS HAPPENING, NOT THE PRETEND ONE.
WE HAVE TO TAKE CONTROL OF OUR EATING.
WE HAVE TO STOP THE FANTASY VERSION AND START BELIEVING IN THE REAL ONE.
WE HAVE TO STOP PRETENDING THAT THINGS ARE GOING TO GET BETTER BECAUSE WE JUST BOUGHT A NEW CRYSTAL, OR OUR PALM READING WENT WELL, OR SOMEBODY ELSE'LL DO IT FOR US, OR IF WE JUST HOPE OR PRAY IT'LL GET BETTER ON ITS OWN.
GOOD GRIEF!
IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY, IT'S BECAUSE OF YOU!
IT'S JUST YOU.
YOU AND NO ONE ELSE.
NOT YOUR HUSBAND, NOT YOUR WIFE.
NOT GOD.
NOT YOUR PARENTS.
NOT YOUR WORK.
NOT THE WEATHER.
NONE OF IT.
IT'S YOU AND THE INFORMATION OR LACK THEREOF, INSIDE YOUR BRAIN.
THE MORE YOU KNOW, THE MORE YOU CAN DO
...ARE YOU WITH ME PEOPLE?
CAN YOU DIG IT?
...I ALSO WANT TO SAY THAT THERE'S A LIST IN LIFE.
THE GOOD LIFE LIST
THINGS LIKE;
GETTING 7 1/2 TO 8 HOURS OF SLEEP. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE TO PASS AN EXAM TO KNOW HOW TO DO THAT
EXERCISE 5_6 DAYS A WEEK. IT'S NOT LIKE YOU HAVE TO ASK FOR PERMISSION FROM SOMEONE ELSE.
YOU JUST DO IT!
EATING FRUITS, VEGETABLES, WHOLE GRAINS, AND LEAN PROTEIN AND NOT ALL THE OTHER GARBAGE IS HOW YOU STAY HEALTHY.
THAT’S NOT ROCKET SCIENCE.
YOU KNOW, STUFF LIKE BRUSH YOUR DAMN TEETH TWICE A DAY.
FLOSS ONCE IN A WHILE.
DON'T BLOW OUT YOUR CREDIT CARD SO YOU CAN'T PAY IT OFF.
CHOOSE PATIENCE OVER RAGE.
BE IN THE MOMENT.
ENJOY THE JOURNEY.
DON'T BE ATTACHED TO THE OUTCOME.
DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF, BECAUSE IT'S ALL SMALL STUFF.
OPEN THE DOOR.
TRY NEW THINGS.
CHANGE IS GOOD.
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIKE_MINDED, UPBEAT, GOOD HUMORED PEOPLE.
...THE AMAZING THING ABOUT EXERCISE AND EATING WELL...THE OUTCOME. IF YOU'RE CONSISTENT.
IT'S THE SAME FOR EVERYONE.
I KNOW I GOT ON MY BOX NICE AND TALL HERE TODAY BUT I JUST HATE SEEING SMART PEOPLE MAKE THE SAME MISTAKES
OVER AND OVER AGAIN.
IT'S GOT TO BE FRUSTRATING.
WHEN IT COME TO HEALTH AND FITNESS (IN GENERAL) THERE’S 3 GROUPS OF PEOPLE.
THE FIRST GROUP IS, PEOPLE WHO DON'T KNOW BETTER.
THEY HAVEN'T COME ACROSS THIS INFORMATION YET. THEY'RE STILL BUYING INTO WEIGHT WATCHERS, NUTRISYSTEM, HERBAL LIFE AND OTHER PROGRAMS THAT WORK AS LONG AS YOU USE THEM.
BUT I DON'T KNOW ANYBODY WHO'S BEEN DOING WEIGHT WATCHERS FOR 15 YEARS.
THEY’RE "WEIGHT LOSS ONLY" PRODUCTS THAT ARE TEMPORARY FIXES.
THESE SAME FOLKS ARE BUYING STUPID AB CHAIRS, AB LOUNGES AND SOME ROTATING PUSHUP STANDS. THIS STUFF IS SUPPOSED TO CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE BODY?
GIVE ME A BREAK!
THEY DON'T KNOW BETTER SO THEY GET TO BE STUCK.
THEN THERE'S CATEGORY 2
PEOPLE THAT COME HERE AND UNDERSTAND THAT EXERCISE HAS TO HAPPEN 5_6 DAYS A WEEK. VARIETY WORKS!
THERE HAS TO BE INTENSITY AND CONSISTENCY.
THESE PEOPLE ALSO UNDERSTAND THAT HEALTHY FOOD IS PART OF THE EQUATION. WHEN FOLKS IN CATEGORY 2 DISCOVER THIS INFORMATION THEY UNDERSTAND IT'S IMPORTANCE LIKE AIR AND WATER AND LIVE IT.
FAR TOO MANY PEOPLE (THERE ARE SOME OF YOU THAT ARE IN THIS CHAT ROOM) ARE IN CATEGORY 3
PEOPLE WHO KNOW BETTER BUT AREN'T WILLING TO APPLY THE INFORMATION.
IT'S LIKE KNOWING HOW TO BREATHE BUT DECIDING TO CONSTANTLY HOLD YOUR BREATH TO BE MISERABLE.
IT'S SUCH A BUMMER."

Hmmm... why did no one think of this before?

I kid.

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » The Mystical Secret To Economic Growth:

"...It’s a matter of facing reality. If we want a strong economy, we can only get it over the long term if we figure out a way for the benefits of economic growth to flow to everyone, not just the rich..."

"In other words, the secret to sustainable economic growth is to make sure that a ton of people have a modest amount of disposable income. Having a few of people with a shitload of income, while the rest worry about medical bankruptcy, worked out less well."

Joss Whedon, without bias and with true insight, reviews the "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog" DVD.

The man is wittily and comedically genius-y, he is.

Armchair Commentary: Celebrity Blog: Joss Whedon on Amazon.com Exclusive "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog":

"When Amazon asked me to review this movie, I was hesitant, as I'm not too familiar with the genre, and also I made it... But what's in it for you? A few surprises, I won't lie. THE SECRET OF ETERNAL YOUTH. The Dark Knight doesn't have that, does it? A CONTROLLING INTEREST IN EUROPE. Not available with Mama Mia! BEES. Deadly, hideous bees are contained in certain shipments, sorry. We're trying to control that. But already, a pretty extraordinary disc.

The film itself I didn't really get...

The extras (Eternal life, Europe, Bees) were mostly exciting. There is a whole second musical, called "Commentary!", which harkens back to the days of Radio and of writing things really poorly... Seriousfully, it's not so much a commentary as chance for the cast and writers to make fun of each other in every musical style possible. I give it forty eight billion stars.

...That is my review. I think you should buy the DVD every day forever, and I am totally unbiased. Happy Holidays! --Joss Whedon"

Training 248/P90X 16.

5 meals, Plyometrics, 2.2L water

Inspiration/Motivation: Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Law # 10 ~ Flexibility:

"Flexibility is the fountain of youth! Flexible people are much less prone to injury. Yoga and stretching allow you to bring more intensity to your workouts. Flexibility is the key component to becoming less vulnerable and more durable. Aging has a funny way of making everything we do harder. Staying limber and flexible is the way to prevent that from happening.

...Flexibility increases mental relaxation, greatly reduces the risks of various injuries (like back problems, muscle strains, and joint sprains), and slows the aging process in muscles and joints. Who wouldn’t want all that?

The only reason why people don’t become more flexible is because they’re not willing to put in the time. The axiom for other aspects of fitness also applies to flexibility: You get better at the things you do often. Stretching and/or yoga are equally as important as strength conditioning and cardiovascular fitness. Stretching and yoga can replenish the natural flexibility and durability of our youth. If you decide and commit to becoming less vulnerable through flexibility, you will also discover a calmness (much like meditation) that comes with stretching and yoga."

Coming soon, to a theater near you, to vie for the 'Coolest Comic Book Movie' - X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE.

Looks damn good.

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

This is hilarious - "If you put up publicly available porn of yourself on the internet, what happens next is your own damn fault."

Via Mightygodking.com » Post Topic » LOL @ NSFW:

"About as non-worksafe as a website gets, but Way To Suck That Dick! entertains the shit out of me.

(Seriously: NSFW. Cannot stress that enough.)"

Their comments policy, just to give you a taste...

Our Comments Policy (READ THIS.) « Way To Suck That Dick!:

"We think making fun of people for looking weird or silly or awkward during sex is fun. (Like it says in the title: nobody made these people put up their fuck-pics on the internet for everybody to see them.)

But we do have rules.

No calling anybody a slut, or anything along those lines. Sex is healthy and fun and the people in these pictures are just doing exactly that - having healthy fun. Making fun of people for getting off - not cool.

Rape jokes: no. We will ban your ass from commenting with absolutely no warning if we see this happening. We are not even slightly kidding.

Ethnic/racial/whatever slurs: no. We shouldn’t have to say this, but we just know somebody’s going to go there. Yes, homophobic slurs are bad too.

As a general rule: Imagine what you would say if you were hanging out with your buddy at their place, and suddenly you saw, just under the dresser, a picture of your buddy and their partner gettin’ it on. Now, would you rag on them? Very likely. (You are, after all, at this website.) But you wouldn’t say “man, what a slut she is for sucking your cock,” or “your boyfriend looks like a fag,” because you would get punched in the face.

We are heartless. But we are not assholes."

'We are heartless, but we are not assholes' may actually be the next great life motto.

Training 247/P90X 15.

Chest & Back/Ab Ripper X, 5 meals, 2.7L water

Inspiration/Motivation - Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Law # 8 ~ Stress & Sleep:

"...I like the parable about 10 people standing in line at a bank. Three robbers come storming in screaming, yelling, and waving guns around. They terrorize the place and steal everyone’s jewelry and money. What’s the moral of the story? Ten people experiencing the same event will have very different reactions to it. Some will never recover, while others will have a crazy story to tell at cocktail parties. How do you respond to the events in your life?

I like Byron Katie’s 3 Kinds of Business Theory.

1. God’s Business: The things that happen in this world that are out of my control.

2. Their Business: The choices other people make based on their life experiences so far.

3. My Business: The choices I make that shape my life.

Don’t waist your time on gossip, ridicule, envy, self-pity, anger, guilt, arrogance, impatience, regret, manipulation, jealousy, fear, worry, and anxiety. It’s too stressful, and it destroys the energy you need to stay healthy and fit. If you choose understanding, truth, clarity, patience, devotion, gratitude, acceptance, wisdom, and forgiveness you will have peace of mind and all the energy in the world to do what ever you want.

...What makes life so puzzling, is knowing what the right choices are, and not choosing them. I know that eight hours of sleep is necessary for me to have enough energy to handle the next day, but instead I stay up watching Napoleon Dynamite for the fifth time. I know that eating chocolate at 11:30 at night while watching Napoleon Dynamite for the fifth time is not in my best interests, but I do it anyway. How do I leave myself alone when my behavior is less than perfect? And why am I controlled by my interpretation of perfection? For me it's a desire to not appear weak in front of people who are used to seeing me strong. One of my biggest fears during one of these less than perfect periods, is not knowing how long it will it last? When I'm happy I can't conceive feeling low. When I'm sad I can't imagine ever feeling good again.

...Does the inability to make smart choices come from childhood stuff, biorhythms, brain chemistry, fatigue, daily conflict, stress or a bad fish enchilada? Who the hell knows. The more time I spend trying to figure it all out, the longer it will take to turn it around. If I could just beat myself up less and let life be life then the quicker I'll find a place of balance. My hope is to embrace these ups and downs. See the process less like "fighting demons" and more like gifts that can better my life. I often hold on too tightly to my rules. As a result, I don't notice when the rules are changing. Sometimes five card stud becomes Texas Hold em in a matter of minutes. If the game changes, will I notice, and when I win and lose a few hands, will it still be okay. I hope so."

Mochitsuki '08.

This year's mochitsuki was on Saturday, out at Katsuura Elementary...

From 2008-12-13

Mochi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:

"Mochitsuki is the traditional mochi-pounding ceremony in Japan.

1. Polished glutinous rice is soaked overnight and cooked.
2. The cooked rice is pounded with wooden mallets (kine) in a traditional mortar (usu). Two people will alternate the work, one pounding and the other turning and wetting the mochi. They must keep a steady rhythm or they may accidentally injure one another with the heavy kine.
3. The sticky mass is then formed into various shapes (usually a sphere or cube)."

Always fun to watch the munchkins pounding away on the rice. Giving children large wooden mallets to hit things with always equals win.

From 2008-12-13

They also utilize the mochi-pounding-machine-of-death [not its real name, of course. I think.]

From 2008-12-13

From 2008-12-13

Sometimes I steal children.

From 2008-12-13

From 2008-12-13

I usually give them back, tho'.

Child labor at it's finest. Never let it be said that nothing can be accomplished from such measures.

From 2008-12-13

From 2008-12-13

From 2008-12-13

The Hanes Corporation ensures I never forget I was born and raised in NC.

From 2008-12-13

I defy you to find anything much cuter than this.

From 2008-12-13

This young man was making an Xmas tree out of his flour. God bless American cultural hegemony.

From 2008-12-13

In Japan, training of citizens in use of the camera begins early.

From 2008-12-13

This munchkin was hanging around. Too adorable, yes?

From 2008-12-13

...and I, of course, had to get in on the act.

From 2008-12-13

From 2008-12-13

Good times...

Training 245-6/P90X 13-14.

Flipped my Saturday and Sunday, as per usual... Saturday was free/rest, Sunday was PT and no junk food.

245/13 - Free/Rest. Still didn't do the P90X X Stretch like I wanted, but lethargy and a full day of mochitsuki and errands took what I had. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

246/14 - Kenpo X, 2 meals and 2L water. [Well, one meal and 1L of water as I write this, but I'll hit that last bit before bedtime.]

More words of wisdom/inspiration/motivation from uber-trainer Tony Horton...

Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Is it fun being you?:

"Before I discovered fitness as a solution to my situation I had fun all the time. The whole time I was having all this fun I was very unhappy with me. The fun I was having was a means to try to give my life value, but it wasn't working. The highs were short lived and the lows were deep and often. It wasn't fun being me! The day I started lifting weights and got off of Dr. Pepper and cheeseburgers I began to combine having fun with liking who I was. This changed everything. I was beginning to have the life I always wanted. No one gave it to me. I earned it. And it allowed me to combine having fun and liking who I was. All by simply deciding to shift my lifestyle to a healthy one. So, if you'd like to have fun being you then decide and commit to the healthy lifestyle that can make that happen."

Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Pain & Suffering:

"At the age of 47... It's freaky and somewhat sad to see a lot of my friends fall apart. I've been watching many of the people in my life slowly age in the traditional way. It's that ache in the back, knees & shoulder talk I hear all of the time. Fit and active kids, teens and young adults are turning into old men and women right before my eyes. Thin friends from high school and collage are now obese. Most of them are resolved to the idea that this is a normal pattern in life. They say it's genetic or bad luck or some other environmental phenomenon. I have heard them say that it's too late to turn nature's events around. It was this way with their parents, so it's inevitable that it will happen to them. They talk like 40 and beyond is the beginning of the end.

I can not tell you how crazy all this is. I've seen hundreds of stories of people in their 30's, 40's, 50s, 60s, 70's and beyond turn nature on it's ass. What happens to our hope and optimism as we get older? Are we letting life beat us down to the point where we think all the fun stops at 30? Is youth left for the young? The answer is NO! Can you turn it around after 40? Hell YES! The first step is believing it can happen. The "This is what happens when you get older." talk has got to stop. It has to be replaced with something, anything that gets you to make better choices every day...

You're only good at the things you do often. If you're telling yourself often enough that life after 40 is full of aches, pains and suffering from one aliment or another then it will be true. If you wake up every day committed to do something that demolishes those incorrect negative thoughts then you will create a happy, healthy, youthful life, no matter what age you are."

Tony Horton's Blog Spot: Bright or Bleak:

"When the glass is half empty you're not trying anything. If you are trying and it's not working then try something else. Quitting is death. Quitting is like saying the glass is empty. If you can't find the time to make the time to take care of yourself then your world will only get teeny tiny. Don't pick a bleak existence. This world is too incredible to miss out on it. Figure out what you're doing and when, then do it. Put a plan in place and follow your own directions. Create the path and the journey. Follow up and see it through. Get organized so that your cart stays behind the horse. Organization gives you the freedom to live your designed life. Know what you're doing ahead of time to avoid any guess work. The journey will be long and winding and unpredictable, so be prepared before you go. You'll have a lot more fun if you do, because you'll be ready for anything. You'll also need partners in all of this. Surround yourself with people who are willing to peek around a few corners. Start your own bandwagon or jump into someone else's. But whatever you do, do it with fun, passionate people that like what you like. This will make the journey worth waking up for every day. Tell the naysayers, want-to-bees and side-liners to get out of your way because your world is waiting to be explored."