The best response to Rick Perry's Captain Insano "Strong" ad.

"...you know there's something wrong with this country when politicians think it's okay to hate on gays and non-believers in ads, as if their magic spirit guide, or whatever, blessed them with special a-hole privileges.

...gay and atheist Presidents didn't get us into the war in Iraq, the financial crisis or turn your mortgage into toilet paper. It took some god-fearing vagina penetrators to pull that off.

...maybe we should let Christians do what they do best - praying - which clearly doesn't work, and leave the governing to sodomites and infidels.

I'm a godless heathen and I approve this message."

Samurai'ing is hard work. Necessitates smoke breaks.

Toshiro Mifune, of course.   Total Bad Ass.

That's... impressive... graffiti.

"Law enforcement agents seeking to interview you are not your friends... Demand to talk to a lawyer before talking to the cops. Every time."

Excellent, excellent point.

Reminder: Oh, Won’t You Please Shut Up? | Popehat:

"The reason lies at the heart of law enforcement methodology in general and federal law enforcement abuse of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001 in particular...

...you’ve fallen into a false statement trap, which I’ve talked about before.

...Here’s how it works. The feds identify some fact that they can prove. It need not be inherently incriminating; it might be whether you were at a particular meeting, or whether you talked to someone about the existence of the investigation. They determine that they have irrefutable proof of this fact. Then, when they interview you, they ask you a question about the fact, hoping that you will lie. Often they employ professional questioning tactics to make it more likely you will lie — for instance, by phrasing the question or employing a tone of voice to make the fact sound sinister. You — having already been foolhardy enough to talk to them without a lawyer — obligingly lie about this fact. Then, even though there was never any question about the fact, even though your lie did not deter the federal government for a microsecond, they have you nailed for a false statement to a government agent in violation of 18 USC 1001. To be a crime under Section 1001, a statement must be material — but the federal courts have generally supported the government’s position that the question is not whether a false statement actually did influence the government, but whether it was the sort of false statement that could have influenced the government.

Hence, the government’s chickenshit false statement trap works — even though the government agents set it up from the start. Now, however weak or strong their evidence is of the issue they are investigating, they’ve got you on a Section 1001 charge — a federal felony. In effect, they are manufacturing felonies in the course of investigations.

You think this is an improbable scenario? You think I’m talking about rare and extreme cases to color the entirety of federal law enforcement? To the contrary, as a federal defense attorney, I’m encountering this more and more often. Not to sound like an old fart, but we never indulged in such bullshit when I was a federal prosecutor (cue the scoffing from many defense attorneys). But in the last 12 years, I’ve seen it in a dozen cases, and heard about it from colleagues across the country. It’s now routine for federal agents to close out an investigation with a false-statement-trap interview of a target in an effort to add a Section 1001 cherry to the top of the cake.

The lesson — other than that criminal justice often has little to do with actual justice — is this: for God’s sake shut up. Law enforcement agents seeking to interview you are not your friends. You cannot count on “just clearing this one thing up.” Demand to talk to a lawyer before talking to the cops. Every time...."

Gili Trawangan sounds... well... magical.

"I want to go there." - Liz Lemon.  More at the link...

Magic Mushroom Milkshake Island | VICE:

"Gili Trawangan, a tiny, idyllic island where magic mushroom milkshakes are sold on the side of the road like it's no big deal...  At first glance the island has all the hallmarks of a postcard-perfect holiday destination: white sand, clear turquoise water, old German dudes in revealing swimwear, and an impossible amount of Scandinavian babes who look like they're on vacation from the free-range beautiful people farm. The only thing that sets it aside from those other picturesque beaches is the fact that every other shop sells magic mushroom milkshakes and the streets are littered with signs saying stuff like "Mega Maximum Radical Mushrooms - Your Return Trip To The Moon.""

"Now, the point of the story is that people who get offended by jokes..."

Training.

12/8 - pushups 100 10x10 [30s rest], wg pushups x20, deep breathing flex x20, cg pushups x20, dynamic tension pulldowns/pullaparts x20/20, band shoulder press/laterals [front, rear, side] 3sets, face pulls x20, twisting situps x30, grip/squeeze 2x30, band punch out drill x2

12/7 - 20/20 hindu pushups/squats x3 - 10/10 hindu pushups/squats x4

12/6 - 100 pushups total of  variations [wide grip, close grip, knuckle, standard, hindu, pike], band shoulder press/laterals 2 sets, band pulldowns/rows 2 sets, dynamic tension pulldowns x20, prone hyperextensions x50

Inspiringly ridiculous condition at age 44.  Interview here - Shredded At 44: Fitness Model Helmut Strebl Talks With Simplyshredded.com | SimplyShredded.com

True Story.

Training.

12/5 - pushups 38/1m, situps 55/3m, hindu squats 220/12m, situps 55/3m, pushups 30/1m, MILO bi/tri dynamic tension 20&15/4m

12/4 - pushups 10x10 [30s rest] - max reps x3 - resistance band presses, laterals

12/3 - off/missed PT

12/2 - 30 reps - wgpushups, deep breathing, dynamic tension pulldown/pullapart/neck, neck nods/rotations x2, resistance band dislocates, chest pulls, tornado, resistance band seated rows, presses, laterals, rear laterals, curls, overhead tri - x, squeeze work

[No] Cooking & Food Log.

No actual cooking this week, at least by me, as we're on the road and back in the States, where I'm indulging/overindulging in all those things unavailable or hard to get in Liberia.  Trying not to go to nuts - and the scale [while never the best indicator of all things, can be useful] - is holding steady for now.  So there's that.

Most indulgent, over the top bit was probably this...

Bonus points for unintentionally color coordinating my Fight Club tshirt with my beer.

Voodoo Doughnut out in Oregon is known for their maple bacon doughnut bar, so those crafty bastards at Rogue Ale came up with the Bacon Maple Ale.  I can't quite decide if it's things like this that make America great or, instead, will doom us all.  Either way, tasty beer, and yes, you could taste the bacon.  Awesome.

Rogue Ales:

"Rogue Ales has collided with Voodoo Doughnut to create Bacon Maple Ale! This unique artisan creation contains a baker’s dozen number of ingredients including bacon and maple syrup from one of Voodoo’s signature doughnuts.

13 Ingredients:  Briess Cherrywood Smoked Malt, Weyermann Beechwood Smoked Malt, House-smoked Hickory Malt, Great Western 2 Row, Munich, C15, C75 Malts; Applewood-Smoked Bacon, Pure Maple Flavoring, Rogue Micro Hopyard Revolution & Independent Hops, Free Range Coastal Water & Pacman Yeast."

The Maple Bacon doughnut bar that inspired...

...this tasty brew.

The Wisdom of Scooby-Doo - "The way that you win is by doing the most dangerous thing..."

This was damned smart commentary.  Who knew we learned so much from 'ol Scoobs?

Ask Chris #81: Scooby-Doo and Secular Humanism - ComicsAlliance | Comic book culture, news, humor, commentary, and reviews:

"The very first rule of Scooby-Doo, the single premise that sits at the heart of their adventures, is that the world is full of grown-ups who lie to kids, and that it's up to those kids to figure out what those lies are and call them on it, even if there are other adults who believe those lies with every fiber of their being. And the way that you win isn't through supernatural powers, or even through fighting.  The way that you win is by doing the most dangerous thing that any person being lied to by someone in power can do: You think."

Slowly, slowly we're gonna figure it out - "Quantum entanglement demonstrated in macroscopic objects."

Quantum entanglement demonstrated in macroscopic objects - Boing Boing: "A pair of diamond crystals, large enough to be seen by the naked eye, have been linked together by quantum entanglement..."
'via Blog this'

"I'm the one that has to die when it's time for me to die..." - Hendrix.