Sandy wraps up work and starts making her rounds.

From 2009-02-14

From 2009-02-14

From 2009-02-14

...with alcohol, of course. This is Japan, after all.

From 2009-02-14

From 2009-02-14

Joe Rogan continues to rock the blogging in prep for his next comedy special on Spike TV. And drops knowledge, political + metaphysical.

I'm telling you... Carlin, Hicks and now Joe Rogan. Smart, insightful, funny, funny dudes.

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » Day 5, February 8th:

"...My parents live in Florida, and if you don’t know anything about Tampa, it’s a wonderful place filled with fun loving young people and lots of old political conservatives.

There’s a lot of the type of people that watch the O’Reilly Factor on FOX news and nod in agreement with a down-turned sour puss. “This country is going to hell in a hand basket!” They got mad at the Dixie chicks for speaking out against Bush and the Iraq war, and they think that Sarah Palin has moxie.

Basically my parents are surrounded by a bunch of stubborn old retards that can’t seem to realize that we’ve been taken over by a fucking pirate ship dressed up as the Christian American Dream™.

My mom put an Obama poster up on the front lawn and someone stole it and replaced it with a McCain one.

...To me, this whole system seemed 100% irreversibly fucked.

We’ve got a system where a gigantic percent of the people are dullards, yet we have a democracy where supposedly everyone gets a say in what goes on. The whole voting thing in itself is a horrible way to run things.

There’s no fucking way everyone should have a say.

Now, I know what you’re saying, “That’s like something Hitler would say, asshole.”

Which, I’m sure he probably would have, but what better example to illustrate the point?

If THAT crazy motherfucker got into a position where people were listening to him,
There’s no fucking way the masses can be trusted.

They’re responsible for some horrible, horrible choices.

There are just WAY too many dumb people.

Just look at the numbers, they’re fucking STAGGERING. Over 50% of Americans recently polled believe that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. OVER 50%.

One of them was the chick running for the position of the Vice President of the United Fucking States of the World.

Now if everyone really gets to vote, that’s a wrap."

In other news, Joe Rogan and I listen to some of the same insane nonsense. To wit - The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » Day 6, February 9th:

"...I’ve been listening to this audio book on the Law of Attraction.

It’s some pretty out-there shit, because what they’re all about is there’s this woman named Esther Hicks, and she claims that she’s channeling “Abraham” a collective, universal intelligence that explains the laws of positive and negative thinking and their influence in your life.

On paper it sounds completely loony, but she says some really interesting, powerful shit on thinking, and how your focus and energy affects the course of your life.
Of course just the idea of a person channeling seems completely and utterly ridiculous, and there’s no credible evidence that anyone has ever actually done it, but I can’t deny that what she’s saying is very intelligent and interesting stuff.

Who the fuck knows where it’s really coming from, but the possibility that some collective universal intelligence speaking through some woman named Esther is not nearly as hard to swallow as some of the shit I’ve seen on mushrooms."

And just like that he sums up pretty much exactly how I think about the Esther Hicks/Abraham stuff I've listened to. Except for the mushrooms bit. The one time I had a bit of psilocybin, last time in Japan when it was still legal, all I did was stare at my hand for about 30m. It was fucking fascinating, btw. And the one time I took amanita muscaria, also legal in the US, thanks, all I got was a mild narcotic effect, which was pleasant, but not particularly earth shaking. Which means it probably wasn't the variation of Siberian muscaria known for it's psychedelic effect. You know, it occurs to me I may know way too much about this stuff.

The Unofficial Official Aaron McGruder Boondocks Bootleg Channel.

This is some funny shit.

Subscribe to the Boondocks Bootleg channel!


Tubesteak brings beef to Barack for being po-po.


Black Jesus asks for so little in return and still people don't get the message.


The fourth installment of The University of Negrology's introductory series on Negro Hair (Masculine).

Street Fighter IV seems wildly inappropriate.

Pic via GaijinSmash.net | A Picture's Worth Ver. 5.0

Gary Vaynerchuk - an amazingly engaging dude.

I've little interest wine or "building a personal brand" but the dude is so engaging and passionate, it's awesome to watch.

"Building Personal Brand Within the Social Media Landscape. Note: This presentation contains adult language."


From the presentation:

"There is no reason in 2008 to do shit you hate...

Look at yourself in the mirror and ask yourself 'What do I want to do everyday?" ...if you like Alf, do an Alf blog... if you love Smurfs, Smurf it up.

Stop crying and just keep hustling. Hustling is the most important word.

We are sitting where the gatekeepers are no longer in control.

If you don't believe in what you're doing, you need to get out now. We only get to play this game one time. One life...

The game is changing.

It's about building brand equity in yourself.

It's all gonna crash next year... It's gonna be awesome. Huge opportunities. Get ready.

Which tools should I use? All of them.

7 in the evening to 2 in the morning is plenty of time to do damage.

The only way to succeed now is to be completely transparent.

I got wristbands... that's the key.

Do what You're about. Please.

Everybody has time... stop watching fucking Lost."

Winning the War on Drugs.

No, wait. The opposite.

Just stop. In the name of all that is holy... just get your heads out of your asses. Please.

Balloon Juice » Blog Archive » Sounds Familiar:

"From a piece in the WSJ about a commission of former Latin American Heads of State stating the drug war has failed and that massive changes are necessary, the following quote:

“If the drug effort were failing there would be no violence,” a senior U.S. official said Wednesday. There is violence “because these guys are flailing. We’re taking these guys out. The worst thing you could do is stop now.”

Hrmm. Escalating violence is proof we are winning. Why does that sound so familiar?"

Latin America ex-leaders urge reform of US drug war | Reuters:

"The war against drugs is failing and the U.S. government should break with 'prohibition' policies that have achieved little more than cram its prisons and stoke violence, three former Latin American presidents said on Wednesday.

The respected former presidents urged the United States and Latin American governments to move away from jailing drug users to debate the legalization of marijuana and place more emphasis on the treatment of addicts.

Former Colombian President Cesar Gaviria said there was no meaningful debate over drugs policy in the United States, despite a broad consensus that current policies had failed."

Jason McElwain - Your feel good chaser to my bad attitude.

This is just awesome. Basketball team's autistic manager suits up for the last game... and then... just watch.

Religion is just fucking evil, and I give up on just not saying it - "BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq's 'female bomber recruiter'"

BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq's 'female bomber recruiter':

"Detained in January by Iraqi security forces, the mother of six is accused of converting dozens of vulnerable women into suicide attackers.

In an apparent video confession, the middle-aged woman described how she identified potential bombers, helped supply them with explosives and led them to their targets.

...In a separate interview with AP a week after her 21 January arrest, Jassim also described how insurgents used organised rape as a way of generating more bombers.

Her role was to persuade the traumatised victims that carrying out a suicide attack was their only way out.

That claim was impossible to verify, AP said, and during their interview with her police interrogators sat in an adjoining room.

But in a culture where rape is considered very shameful for the victim, it is not implausible, correspondents say."

Too easy - "Cop Charged With Stealing Donuts."

Writes itself, really.

Campus Cop Charged With Stealing Donuts | NBC New York:

"State police say an upstate New York college campus policeman was helping himself to free pastries at a local convenience store.

The Valero Nice N Easy offers free coffee to any police officer in uniform.

Sgt. Steve Brody of the Morrisville State College University Police stopped daily to buy a newspaper and pick up a free cup of coffee. He also routinely stuffed a pastry into his coat."

The Internet is Awesome - the "just because" lite edition.

What I've Read - The Warrior Diet and Under The Influence: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs.

Under The Influence: The Disinformation Guide to Drugs by Preston Peet [Editor] - Not sure what it says that I found this anthology probably the strongest of the ones from Disinformation Company I've read of late. Probably that just about every aspect of the myopic and hypocritical drug war pisses me the hell off these days. From issues of cognitive liberty and freedom to the inability of the USA to learn the lessons of Prohibition to the constant scare mongering lies and propaganda brought to bear by our own government against us, to the wars our country wages abroad [see Plan Colombia] that violate the basic human rights of people around the globe. Supporting the Taliban and the Contras on one hand will swearing up and down we're really "fighting" a war. It's all just so much anti-intelligence bullshit. And this anthology, if you read it with an open mind, confirms all of that. And more. Great book.

"In the latest in the oversize Disinformation Guide series of anthologies, editor Preston Peet assembles an all-star cast to lay to rest the specious misinformation peddled by prohibitionists who depend upon the "War on some drugs and users" for their livelihood and power.

Drug users and abusers describe their feelings and fears for freedom, not only for themselves but for all their fellow citizens in the United States and the rest of the world, detailing the Constitution-shredding War on some drugs and users.

Despite the antidrug hysteria promoted by prohibitionists, drugs have been an inseparable aspect of life for thousands of years-curing disease, calming stress, easing pain, enhancing intelligence, opening the doors of perception and altering consciousness. So why is the "War on some drugs and users" underway? The answers can be found in Under the Influence.

Decades of spending trillions of dollars while waging war on neighbors, friends and families have done nothing to eradicate drug use and abuse, but it has succeeded in overthrowing governments, tearing apart families and communities, and ensured the rise of international criminal cartels. Under the Influence explains how we came to this state of affairs and how we can bring about real reform.

Bestselling writers, professional researchers, degenerate drug users and just plain folk offer fact-based alternatives to the propaganda of prohibitionist anti-drug warriors. Contributors include Tom Robbins, Paul Krassner, Rick Doblin, Mike Gray, Lonny Shavelson, Daniel Forbes, Steve Wishnia, Cynthia Cotts, Russ Kick, Dr. Stanislav Grof, Daniel Pinchbeck, Paul Armentano, Jacob Sullum, Peter Dale Scott and Robert Anton Wilson.

Preston Peet is a writer, editor, photographer, musician, actor, DJ, activist and adventurer. A regular contributor to High Times magazine and website, the editor of the controversial website DrugWar.com, and a columnist for the New York Waste, he lives in Manhattan with his other half and 10 rescued cats."

The Warrior Diet: Switch on Your Biological Powerhouse For High Energy, Explosive Strength, and a Leaner, Harder Body by Ori Hofmekler - It mixes in a little new age pseudoscience with the science, nutrition, training and philosophy, but it's a really good book, dietary plan and perspective. Recommended.

"...In The Warrior Diet, Ori Hofmekler looks not forward but backward for a solution–to the primal habits of early cultures such as nomads and hunter-gatherers, the Greeks, and the Romans. Based on survival science, this book proposes not ordinary dietary changes but rather a radical yet surprisingly simple lifestyle overhaul.

Drawing on both scientific studies and historical data, Hofmekler argues that robust health and a lean, strong body can best be achieved by mimicking the classical warrior mode of cycling—working and eating sparingly (undereating) during the day and filling up at night. Specific elements from the Warrior Diet Nutritional Program (finding ideal fuel foods and food combinations to reduce body fat) to the Controlled Fatigue Training Program (promoting strength, speed, and resilience to fatigue through special drills), literally reshape body and mind. Individual chapters cover warrior meals and recipes; sex drive, potency, and animal magnetism; as well as personalizing the diet for women. Featuring forewords by Fit for Life author Harvey Diamond and Fat That Kills author Dr. Udo Erasmus, The Warrior Diet shows readers weary of fad diets how to attain enduring vigor, explosive strength, a better appearance, and increased vitality and health."

It's official - I've got a job for the next year and a half. Contract renewed.

"They were selling me boredom, and responsibility, and a tiresome, repetitive, unexceptional trip through this existence."

Joe Rogan, philosopher king, waxes on prepping for his next comedy special, and drops nuggets of wisdom...

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » I’m filming a SpikeTV comedy special Thursday, March 5th in Columbus, Ohio:

"...I really had no fucking idea who I was or what I was doing, and I was painfully insecure.

I was also slowly starting to be aware of how much of this world ran on completely illogical momentum - where miserable people living exhausting lives are training their children to take the next position in the wheel. I had no idea what I was going to do for a living, and I always felt like a loser.

One thing I did know though, is that whatever they were selling with this “get a job” life I wasn’t buying it. They were selling me boredom, and responsibility, and a tiresome, repetitive, unexceptional trip through this existence.

I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, but I knew that there was no fucking way I was going to be able to show up at a job I hate every day."

Obama - from kind of annoying fear-mongering to fucking inexcusable.

Obama's fear mongering-the sky is falling-let's make everybody scared and use this crisis to pass a bunch of unrelated crap we've wanted for years is almost as amazingly fucked up as what the Republicans did with the Patriot Act. I say almost since, imho, stripping people of civil liberties and enabling a police state is worse than screwed up economic spending and politicking.

But the second bit is just insufferably fucked up. Perpetuating the absolute worst of the Bush administration and subverting every bit of the concepts of "hope" and "change." Absolute Presidential Fail.

Fear Is His Friend: Obama takes a page from Bush's crisis management book. - Reason Magazine:

"Just as the PATRIOT Act was a grab bag of legal changes that law enforcement and intelligence agencies had been seeking for years, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a grab bag of expenditures that leftish Democrats have long wanted, repackaged for the crisis du jour. In both cases, instilling fear was the key to suspending skepticism and cutting off debate.

...In a Washington Post op-ed piece last week, President Obama warned that if Congress did not immediately pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, "our nation will sink deeper into a crisis that, at some point, we may not be able to reverse." While Bush gave us the concept of the never-ending War on Terror, Obama has introduced the idea of the never-ending recession, a phenomenon that has never been seen before but that can be averted only by uncritically approving his spending priorities.

...At his press conference that evening he said "a failure to act will only deepen this crisis" and "could turn a crisis into a catastrophe.""

The Agitator » Blog Archive » Obama Punts His First State Secrets Case:

"Surprising even a judge at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, a lawyer for the Obama administration embraced the Bush administration’s position in the first state secrets case since Obama took power. The case involves five accused terrorist detainees who are attempting to sue a subsidiary of Boeing for arranging flights to accommodate the Bush administration’s “extraordinary rendition” program, which flew them off to be tortured by other governments.

...Obama has promised to review Bush’s invocation of state secrets privilege, including voicing his support for a reform bill working its way through Congress. But the case this week was his first opportunity to do something about it. He didn’t.

...To their credit, many Obama supporters are livid. Glenn Grenwald writes that Obama has failed his first major civil liberties test “resoundingly and disgracefully.” Andrew Sullivan writes that, “with each decision to cover for their predecessors, the Obamaites become retroactively complicit in them.” Hilzoy implores Obama, “you screwed this one up in a major, major way. Stop it. Stop it now.”"

Obama's "Disgraceful Abandonment" of Civil Liberties in Extraordinary Rendition Case - Boing Boing:

"The Wall Street Journal may have said it best today: "On State Secrets and Rendition, Holder Holds the Bush Line." Or, NPR -- "Deja Bush." Yesterday, the Obama administration invoked the "state secrets" privilege when opposing the reinstatement of a lawsuit alleging that a Boeing unit flew detainees to countries where they were tortured as part of the CIA's extraordinary rendition program."

The Agitator » Blog Archive » More Change We Can Believe In Meet the New Boss, Same as the Old Boss:

"Harvard Law Dean Elena Kagan, President Obama’s choice to represent his administration before the Supreme Court, told a key Republican senator Tuesday that she believed the government could hold suspected terrorists without trial as war prisoners.

...Just to be clear, what they’re saying here is that the federal government can declare someone an “enemy combatant,” then detain them “indefintely,” or for the remainder of the “war on terror.” Which essentially means forever (you don’t honestly think a U.S. president is ever going to declare terrorism defeated, do you?). No charges. No trial. Just, “Trust us, these people are guilty.”

And of course we’re now learning that way too many of them aren’t.

Closing Guantanamo had some symbolic value, but it doesn’t mean a thing if we’re just going to do the same thing in another facility."

You know, the thing that pisses me off to no extent, is this concept from on high that we need to trust in our government. NO WE DO FUCKING NOT. That the WHOLE POINT of America. A system of laws and NOT MEN. With a series of CHECKS AND BALANCES. Because the people in charge are NOT TO BE TRUSTED.

If you're gonna be a rapist, make sure you're a cop.

This is just some evil fucking shit.

Federal judge allows rapist sheriff to remain free until sentencing in May - Boing Boing:

"Bill Keating, a former Texas Sheriff, pleaded guilty in federal court to sexually assaulting a woman, telling her she had to comply or face jail on a drug charge.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert K. Roach decided to allow Keating to remain free until sentencing in May. The honorable Judge Roach said Keating was neither a flight risk nor a danger to the community because he had a "stable marriage" and because "this crime and other alleged misdeeds happened when he was acting as the sheriff.""

Foxes jumping on a trampoline.

I kid thee not. Adorable.



Via The Agitator » Blog Archive » And Now…

Training Interruptus.

So today makes 4 missed wkouts. Let's review. Friday... Cindi's visit and going out to eat made me flip my sched and make Friday my rest/free day, with every intention to make it up on Saturday. Saturday arrives, the ladies are off to Grandma's and I'm home alone for the weekend. All alone. Weekends are clearly my kryptonite. No workout gets done. The evening devolves into a junk food marathon. Sunday... there's alcohol. And that's all she wrote for Sunday. Monday, Sandy's back from Grandma's. And there's pizza. Boom. Shot. And Tuesday and today? Well, the disease brought to our shores by Cindi migrated to Sandy, and now to me. I feel like crap. Throat, stomach, head... blah.

All of which make for very viable excuses. But doesn't change the fact that I'm clearly fucking up. So I should try to figure out why.

And I think the thing is that recently I'm not looking forward to my workouts. They're not jazzing me or getting me motivated. Make no mistake, the P90X wkout is a great workout, and hard as hell, and it is still kicking my ass... I'm just not really all that excited to do it. And it's starting to feel like a chore instead of something I want to do. And that's not gonna be a good thing if I end up looking at it like that. I think what it is, is that it is really structured. And lately that feels constricting rather than something I can "depend" on.

Lately I've been wanting to move more weights - and the P90X does have weight training - but they determine the exercises, the sets, the reps... I've been jazzing to do more compound movements, more explosive stuff, maybe a different bodypart split or a full body energy-systems routine... but I feel locked in to the 90 day program because I said I'd do it.

And so I think this respite of whatever germ-cold nonsense I've got going through my system will give me a chance to think... do I really want to grind out this last month of P90X just because I said that was the plan, even though it doesn't feel like what I want to be doing... or, do I fire myself up and just start putting together my own training again? I think, honestly that I'm leaning towards the latter.

Be back soon.

The Essence of Japan and children.

Adorably cute day-glo Japanese children, yes?

From 2009-02-09

Now look closely... Yes, that's right. En masse these children have been brought out to enjoy a pleasant day of CLEANING. And that's Japan.

From 2009-02-09

My wife brings me souvenirs. And Japan loves breasts.

If you can read Japanese, you know what's coming...

From 2009-02-09

Wait for it...

From 2009-02-09

BAM!

From 2009-02-09

And the awesome part is that this isn't purchased from a shady dive of a shop, or even a Spencer's gag-gift store... this is from the mainstream souvenir shop. Where all the kids and grandmas shop.

In hindsight, such things are probably far more indicative of a healthier relationship with the human body than the typical repressed Westerner has - [of course you could go on for pages of the other ways Japan is repressed] - but still, if you're not ready for it, Japan will trip you out.

Adachi clan weekend - Mojiko/Shimonoseki/Dazaifu.

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

The photography gene is strong in the Adachi line.

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

I defy you to explain what is happening here.

From 2009-02-09

...or here.

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

My wife is special.

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

From 2009-02-09

Cindi's visit and Friday Night Kaiten Sushi.

Sandy prepares for battle.

From 2009-02-07

Notice the crazed look in my eyes. That's what sushi does.

From 2009-02-07

Cindi doesn't particularly care for fish, disproving the idea that genetics counts for anything. So she brought her own orange. GHET-TO.

From 2009-02-07

The aftermath. A thing of beauty.

From 2009-02-07

"Sometimes the appropriate response to reality is to go insane." - Philip K. Dick

Just sayin'.

"Sony Releases New Stupid Piece Of Shit That Doesn't Fucking Work | The Onion News Network."

Instant Classic.

"I Hate Your Politics" by John Scalzi.

Older, but hilarious. And I do in fact want my guns, drugs and brothels. And think “Get Off My Property” is a swell political platform.

Much more at the link.

I Hate Your Politics « Whatever:

"...As it turns out about, about 46% of you are liberal, 46% of you are conservative, and the rest of you just want your guns, drugs and brothels (here in the US, we call them folks “libertarians”).

...In the spirit of fairness, and of completeness, let me go down the list and tell you what I hate about each major branch of political thinking.

Liberals: The stupidest and weakest members of the political triumvirate, they allowed conservatives to turn their name into a slur against them, exposing them as the political equivalent of the kid who lets the school bully pummel him with his own fists (Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself. Stop hitting yourself)...

Defensive and peevish even when they’re right. Under the impression that people in politics should play fair, which is probably why they get screwed as often as they do (nb: 2000 Presidential election). Feel guilty about the freedoms their political positions allow them, which is frankly idiotic...

...easily distracted from large, useful goals by pointless minutiae. Not only can’t see the forest for the trees, can’t see the trees for the pine needles. Deserve every bad thing that happens to them because they just can’t get their act together...

Conservatives: Self-hating moral relativists, unless you can convince me that an intellectual class that publicly praises family values but privately engages in sodomy, coke and trophy wives is more aptly described in some other way...

Conservatives believe in a government by the oligarchy, for the oligarchy, which is why the conservative idea of an excellent leader is Ronald Reagan, i.e., genial, brain-damaged and amenable to manipulation by his more mentally composed underlings. Under the impression they own the copyright on Jesus and get testy when other political factions point out that technically Christ is in the public domain...

Libertarians: ...Unusually smug for a political philosophy that’s never gotten anyone elected for anything above the local water board. All for legalized drugs and prostitution but probably wouldn’t want their kids blowing strangers for crack; all for slashing taxes for nearly every social service but don’t seem to understand why most people aren’t at all keen to trade in even the minimal safety net the US provides for 55-gallon barrels of beans and rice, a crossbow and a first-aid kit in the basement...

Libertarians blog with a frequency that makes one wonder if they’re actually employed somewhere or if they have loved ones that miss them...

...Libertarians secretly worried that ultimately someone will figure out the whole of their political philosophy boils down to “Get Off My Property.” News flash: This is not really a big secret to the rest of us..."

If anybody in Japan ever calls me their "ace boon coon" I'd kinda be delighted.

Too funny.

Japanese-to-English dictionary with too many slang terms | Japan Probe:

"An example of the English terms provided for a Japanese word meaning “good friends” [親友] from the ALC’s Eijiro Japanese-to-English dictionary [via JapanSoc]:"

Headline of the day - "Joss Whedon's Dolls will Resolve Your Bi-Curious Feelings."

Dollhouse: Joss Whedon's Dolls will Resolve Your Bi-Curious Feelings:

"The mind-wiped Dolls of Joss Whedon's new series Dollhouse will crack safes, attend high school reunions, and fulfill every sexual fantasy. And, as Whedon revealed today, they may also help clients experiment with their sexuality."

'Every time you hear that word ’security’ watch out, because somebody’s going to take some of your freedom away.' - Timothy Leary.

He kind of fucked up the chance of all of use getting to play with LSD, but the man was bright.

Via » Podcast 171 - “The Technology of Freedom” - Notes from the Psychedelic Salon