3/18 - stretch
3/17 - squats, leg press, db sldl, leg raise
3/16 - yoga, stretch
Saturday, March 19, 2016
Thursday, March 17, 2016
Identity Politics: "...men will abandon Clinton every day from now until November unless Trump murders a baby on live television."
Clinton Versus Trump | Scott Adams Blog: "My gut feeling is that men will abandon Clinton every day from now until November unless Trump murders a baby on live television. Otherwise, I think Trump wins easily with men...
...identity is always the strongest level of persuasion. The only way to beat it is with dirty tricks or a stronger identity play. Trump is well on his way to owning the identities of American, Alpha Males, and Women Who Like Alpha Males. Clinton is well on her way to owning the identities of angry women, beta males, immigrants, and disenfranchised minorities. If this were poker, which hand looks stronger to you for a national election?"
Real Donald Trump Quotes about Women | Scott Adams Blog: "Have you seen the anti-Trump video that features women quoting Donald Trump’s most offensive statements about women? I just showed it to a woman. She thought it was funny. Apparently nothing that Trump says comes off as offensive to her. The reason I checked with a woman is because I didn’t trust my own reaction. To me, the video looked like the most tone-deaf ad of all time. I would rank it as among the worst I have ever seen in terms of persuasion. I’m guessing it worked in Trump’s favor.
On the 2D level of reality – where we pretend people are rational – the video makes perfect sense. The makers of the video figured women voters would not like a candidate that says bad things about women. That seems totally logical. I can see why they made the video. But on the 3D level of persuasion, what the viewer sees is several average-looking women in bad moods complaining about a guy being, well… a guy. I assume men won’t be offended by the video because Trump is no more of a jerk than most men. And men probably don’t get a warm feeling from the judgmental, angry messengers in the video. That video looks like a huge fail to me. "
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
Inflatable Sumo Suits are "an example of "white supremacist anti-Asian structural racism."
The stupidity burns. UC-Davis Students: Sumo Wrestling Fat Suit Amounts to Anti-Asian Racism, White Supremacy - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "The student government of the University of California-Davis apologized to members of campus who were offended by a sumo wrestling activity that was available during a recent outdoor social event. But a mere apology isn't good enough for students who say the sumo suit appropriated Japanese culture.
One of the offended is now insisting on mandatory cultural competency training...
At least one student complained to ASUCD about the activity, which prompted a formal apology:
We’d like to apologize for any harm the “Sumo Suit" may have caused you all. This lapse in judgment is completely ASUCD's fault and responsibility alone. We are thankful to the student who courageously brought this issue to our attention. We appreciated their honesty and that they took the time to include the history of the Japanese sumo wrestlers (rikishi) and that this activity could be seen as a racially insensitive to Japanese culture. This was an egregious oversight and it will hopefully not happen in the future.
Yes, the student-government believes it was "courageous" to report the sumo suit as a microaggression. The California Aggie's story sheds additional light on what was so disturbing about the sumo suit. Cultural studies PhD student Scott Tsuchitani told a reporter that the incident was an example of "white supremacist anti-Asian structural racism."
He continued: "It is pitiful that the ASUCD would pathologize the so-called victims as in need of treatment instead of reflecting more deeply on what is needed to address ASUCD’s own failure in this situation. From my limited perspective, I would suggest that the foremost need for treatment might well be for cultural competency training for ASUCD itself. That is much more relevant here than any Orientalist history of sumo wrestling."
In other words, a cultural studies student and instructor thinks the answer is mandatory instruction in cultural sensitivity. How novel. Tsuchitani thinks these things—inflatable fat suits—represent anti-Asian white supremacy in action. "
Tuesday, March 15, 2016
Training.
3/15 - shadowbox, stretch
3/14 - press, chins, dips, curls, speedbag
3/13 - shadowbox, stretch, grip work
3/12 - stretch
3/11 - mobility, foam roll, stretch
How Ben Stark Lost Over 200 Lbs Playing Life On Hard | Nerd Fitness: "Meet Ben Stark – a dude with one of the coolest names in the history of nerds, and our next member of the Nerd Fitness Hall of Heroes. He’s a 40-year-old social worker and mental health program coordinator for the VA. Ben’s story is one of my favorites for a very specific reason: it’s real. Ben is not much different than Deadpool – finding inspiration and a path forward when you get dealt a bad hand. Although it’s often not our fault for where we are, it’s our responsibility to dig ourselves out of it. And that’s exactly what Ben did. Where we are RIGHT NOW is a combination of things that are within our control and things that aren’t. And often it feels overwhelming, which leads us to inaction, anxiety, and “I’ll start when I’m ready” mentality. We give an excuse. We read articles and never take action. We collect underpants. There’s always another reason, or problem, or setback we tell ourselves is the reason we haven’t cracked the code yet to a healthier, happier life. Not Ben the Rebel. When he started his journey, he was about 420 pounds. Perhaps more importantly, he was very sick, had a great deal of pain from herniated discs, and also had facet joint arthritis his back. As if this wasn’t enough, in true Deadpool fashion, in the summer of 2013, he learned he was pre-diabetic, had high cholesterol and triglycerides, gout, and sleep apnea that would soon require bi-pap therapy. This is when most of us give up. But Ben didn’t. In fact, he found a way to keep looking forward...
Ben didn’t let his obstacles become excuses: If Ben wanted to find an excuse, he had a laundry list to choose from. He was overweight, facing spinal and back issues, a threat of diabetes, sleep apnea, and other troubling indicators. Instead of using these hurdles as an excuse to do nothing, he saw them as a challenge demanding action. He used them as inspiration to get started, the very thing justifying all the hard work he spent into building those habits. So often we want to curl up in a ball and tell ourselves that we can’t change. “This is just the way I am.” Or, “It’s not my fault, I have ___ condition.” Or “Other people don’t have these responsibilities/challenges, must be EASY for them!” Ben shows us that amidst difficulty, heroes rise. Harry, Katniss, and Luke didn’t suddenly become heroes or just fall into an easy path of saving the world. It’s this difficulty that makes the job worth doing. We all have different challenges before us – and yes, absolutely – some of us are playing a more difficult game than others. But establishing this mindset of personal responsibility is so essential. Only YOU can change you. Will you heed the call?"
“You’re gonna get hit. It’s gonna hurt. Accept it.”
Lessons from Krav Maga: "Culturally, we don’t lionize women’s pain. Quite the opposite: women’s pain is seen as far more important, and far more worthy of ameliorating actions than men’s pain. A woman in physical pain can elicit a protective, reactive response from strangers almost anywhere. A man in physical pain is equally likely to be met with mocking and scorn as sympathy and care. Researchers call this ‘the empathy gap’, but it’s not as simple as women matter and men don’t. To be certain, there is a significant element of just not giving a shit about men who are hurting, which is how we get epidemic suicide rates and discriminatory laws and social practices that regard men as less emotionally worthy than women. Courts will tear a man’s children away from him without a moment’s thought, because his pain means nothing to the court. Men are sent to die in horrifying, terrifying wars, because men are expected to just deal with their fear and face death.
Feminists diagnose these things as ‘toxic masculinity’, essentially blaming men for their own suffering. If men weren’t so hell-bent on being men, they would understand, like women do, that pain is to be avoided and never to be enjoyed.
I have been training, for the past two months, in a martial art called Krav Maga. It’s not really accurate to call it a martial art. It’s a down and dirty, no holds barred, no rules street fighting style with a single goal: live. It’s combat. Biting, scratching, eye-gouging, ripping off ears, breaking limbs, dislocating joints and crotch shots are all game.
And I fucking love it!"
...Finally, last week, my instructor watched me struggling, then gave me some advice: “When you’re in the scrum, getting shoved and hit, keep your hands up, block the hits, and breathe. Breathe deeply. You’re going to get hit. It’s going to hurt. Just accept it.” It’s hard to do. Like most women, I have no training of any kind to prepare for being hit. And obviously, I am excluding childhood tussles with siblings. That is not preparation. It’s childhood. We live in a culture that is practically hysterical in its insistence that women live in constant, unrelenting fear of violence, and yet, when it comes to actual violence, I have no context for it, as an adult. Because I’m a woman. And in particular, I’m a woman who doesn’t hit men. In actual fact, men are the ones who live with the reality of violence. Whether a man is hanging out with his friends at a bar, or walking home after a softball game, or riding the subway or basically doing anything in public, he must be prepared for violence. A man has to not only accept that he may be the victim of violence, but also called upon to carry out violence. Violence from other men, he can meet with violence of his own. Violence from a woman, he is not supposed (or even legally permitted) to respond to. If another man or woman gets attacked by other men or women, he is expected to step in, even at risk to himself. Failing to offer violent resistance is called the bystander effect. Men are supposed to intervene to protect others. I don’t understand how you can be a man in today’s society and not understand the lesson I learned just last week: You’re gonna get hit. It’s gonna hurt. Just accept it. ""Got a hot new plan to stop Trump. What if we compared him to Hitler?"
Donald Trump - Con Man | Scott Adams Blog: "He’s also a fraud, a liar, a snake-oil salesman, and a carnival barker. Clearly he is running a scam on the country. Trump calls himself a “deal-maker.” I call Trump a Master Persuader. It’s all the same thing. Trump says and does whatever he needs to do in order to get the results he wants. And apparently he does it well. Given the facts, you can either see Trump as highly skilled or morally flawed. Maybe both. I suppose it depends which side you are on...
I told you he would change more than politics. I said Trump would change how you see the human condition. I couldn’t say more about that until it played out. You needed some more evidence before I could make that case. Now you have it. The evidence is that Trump completely ignores reality and rational thinking in favor of emotional appeal. Sure, much of what Trump says makes sense to his supporters, but I assure you that is coincidence. Trump says whatever gets him the result he wants. He understands humans as 90% irrational and acts accordingly. Rand Paul, on the other hand, treated voters as if they were intelligent creatures who make decisions based on the facts. His campaign didn’t last long with that message. Rand Paul knows about a lot of stuff. He’s a smart guy. But apparently psychology is not on the list of things he knows. And psychology is the only necessary skill for running for president. Trump knows psychology. He knows facts don’t matter. He knows people are irrational. So while his opponents are losing sleep trying to memorize the names of foreign leaders – in case someone asks – Trump knows that is a waste of time. No one ever voted for a president based on his or her ability to name heads of state. People vote based on emotion. Period.
You used to think Trump ignored facts because he doesn’t know them. That’s partly true. There are plenty of important facts Trump does not know. But the reason he doesn’t know those facts is – in part – because he knows facts don’t matter. They never have and they never will. So he ignores them. Right in front of you. And he doesn’t apologize or correct himself. If you are not trained in persuasion, Trump looks stupid, evil, and maybe crazy. If you understand persuasion, Trump is pitch-perfect most of the time. He ignores unnecessary rational thought and objective data and incessantly hammers on what matters (emotions)...
The truth is that humans are irrational 90% of the time. Hypnosis students learn on the first day of classes that humans are irrational. If you believe people are rational it interferes with the technique. Likewise, if you see voters as rational you’ll be a terrible politician. People are not wired to be rational. Our brains simply evolved to keep us alive. Brains did not evolve to give us truth. Brains merely give us movies in our minds that keeps us sane and motivated. But none of it is rational or true, except maybe sometimes by coincidence. You can validate my low opinion of human rationality by asking yourself why Trump supporters don’t care that nothing he says is true. Trump literally makes up facts on the fly. Do you think his supporters have not noticed this awkward situation? They noticed. They don’t care. And at this point they understand he’s just saying what he needs to say to get elected. Democrats will call that evil. Republicans will call it effective. We all understand that a president has to be the leader of dumb people as well as smart people – and there are far more dumb people."
"Which means we are all suspects. Even preschoolers."
4-Year-Old Boy Recommended for Counter-Terrorism Program After Saying 'Cooker Bomb' Instead of 'Cucumber' - Hit & Run : Reason.com: "A 4-year-old boy who mispronounced the word "cucumber" as "cooker bomb" so freaked out his pre-school teachers that they recommended him for a de-radicalization program.
This happened in Britain, where nursery staff clearly couldn't keep a stiff upper lip when faced with all the horror that is a pre-schooler with pronunciation problems.
In their defense, it wasn't just the way the boy garbled the name of the salad staple. He had also drawn a stick figure of a man cutting that vegetable with a giant knife.
No wonder they wanted to ship him off to the counter-terrorism brigade! That's two counts against the radical little rugrat...
So there you have it: If you look and act like a terrorist, naturally you become a suspect. But if you don't look or act like a terrorist—if, in fact, you look like a kid who's not about to win any awards for art or articulation—naturally you become a suspect, too.
Which means we are all suspects. Even preschoolers."
