Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Training 301-302.

301 - 2L water, 2 meals, 20m cardio/shadowboxing, 20m light stretching

302 - 2 meals 1.5L water, kind of a half-ass better-than-nothing lower body wkout

Observation - when you've been doing something wrong for so long, doing it right will feel really strange.

To wit, my posture and my breathing really suck. Hard. And obviously, the two are completely interrelated. The postural habits I've been falling into these last 4-5 years, to a large to degree from sitting a lot, and specifically sitting in front of a computer a lot has given me a wealth of problems. Tight hamstrings, sloped shoulders, contracted and shortened pectorals and a forward head posture that my wife [psuedo] lovingly says makes me look like a turtle. I freaking hate it. And of course, all those contribute to poor and less than full breathing. My chest and diaphragm doesn't expand the way it should, which just leads to a sense of a lack of general well being. Breathing is key.


Pic via.

And the thing is the last couple days, when I think of it, I've been really aware of trying to maintain an upright, shoulders back, chest open, head up posture. But it feels incredibly awkward. But checked in the mirror it almost appears normal even though I feel all twisted and wrong.

Developing bad habits while not being aware of it really sucks. Go figure, your face may not freeze "that way" the way they told you as a kid, but it turns out your body will, if you do it long enough.

More breathing, more awareness, more attention, more work.

Sweet, sweet blasphemy.


Via.

The models are changing. Pay attention.

How is it the best comedians - Pryor, Carlin, Hicks, Stanhope - and yes, Joe Rogan - are the most competent at explaining what's actually going on in the world?

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » Humanity gone haywire:
"...I think we as human beings are in a very strange stage in our evolution, especially in regards to how we’re altering our perceptions of reality through the use of technology. We’re connected together by the internet in a way that no humans have ever experienced in the history of the species, and it’s only been going on for the last 15 years or so.
It’s started slow, and snuck up on us, but now that it’s here to stay it’s moving at an incredible pace.

We’re more aware of each other and have more access to information than any generation by far, yet we still live under the same flawed and ill-conceived structures that were set up in our disconnected past. They just don’t make any sense anymore, and that’s why they’re falling apart. The economy never made any sense to me, but I always thought it’s probably best to not get obsessed by this shit, and to just leave it up to the experts. Turns out, the economy is so fucking wacky that even the experts don’t understand it. Now with the internet, we get the reports on this shit instantly, and the information is flowing much, much faster. More people know more than ever how fucking crazy the whole system is, and because of that knowledge people have completely lost faith in the system and accelerated it’s demise.

Corruption gets exposed much quicker, and much deeper now... With the internet, when some shit is happening it’s getting reported on RIGHT NOW. Instantly, and it’s easy to find.

...All these guys look horribly corrupt because they are, but they’ve always been this way. We’re just getting a closer look at the world we live in than ever before, and we can spot this shit much easier now. All these corrupt people are operating the same way people like them have always operated; it’s just a model that doesn’t really work anymore. We have more access to everything now – companies, people, news, ideas – if it keeps moving in this direction the next few years are going to be very strange indeed."

Oddly appropriate.

From an email/quote list I subscribe to...

[Hi Sandy!]

A Note from the Universe
:
"Sometimes when you're ready for a change... and you kind of know it but won't admit it, when it comes, not only are you surprised, but it hurts.

Yeah, I know that doesn't help much, unless you remember the 'ready' part. Because there is simply no change that might ever transpire in time and space that happens before you're fully able to use it for your own growth and glory."

"A Brief History of the Apocalypse."

This site is brilliant. Listing all sorts of foretold apocalypses [apocalypsi?] throughout history. As cool as the geek rapture/singularity or 2012 might be, it's all most likely nonsense.

Below are the first and last entries... Mind numbing [mostly religious] hilarity to be seen. Awesome.

A Brief History of the Apocalypse:
"ca. 2800 BC According to Isaac Asimov's Book of Facts (1979), an Assyrian clay tablet dating to approximately 2800 BC was unearthed bearing the words 'Our earth is degenerate in these latter days. There are signs that the world is speedily coming to an end. Bribery and corruption are common.' This is one of the earliest examples of the perception of moral decay in society being interpreted as a sign of the imminent end.

...

2040 * Pyramidologist Max Toth predicts the physical reincarnation of Jesus Christ occurring in 2040. Like other pyramidologists, he used the dimensions of the Great Pyramid's passageways to predict future events. (Weber p.195)
* John Smart of Singularity Watch estimates that a "technological singularity" will take place around the year 2040, when technological advancement reaches asymptotic levels. After this apocalyptic event, a new era of balance and compassion will begin.

ca. 4,500,000,000 AD The sun will swell into a red giant star, swallowing Mercury, Venus, Earth, and perhaps Mars. This will be the true end of the world!"

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Indeed, where ARE my nunchuks?

Overheard Everywhere | And Why Do I Continue to Have Unsatisfying Sex with the TA?:
"Professor: See, humans have what Aristotle calls 'rational souls,' meaning we use intellect. Humans ask questions that other living things can't, like 'what is god? What is the divine problem? Where are my Nunchuks? Where did I leave them?'

Philosophy Class, UC
Santa Barbara, California"

In short...

Overheard in New York | Why He Got Fired from That Tour-Guide Job at the Holocaust Museum:
"Girl: Well, I had to explain the plot of The Diary of Anne Frank to him.
Guy: What plot? It's a game of hide and seek, the Jews are really bad at it, the Nazis are really good. The end.

--Starbucks, Waverly & 6th Ave

Overheard by: Lotte"

"Ron Paul persuades D.L. Hughley that the Civil War shouldn't have been fought."

I love me some Ron Paul. The awesome mix of insane and brilliant.

Hit & Run > Reason Morning Links: Secret Money, Secret Tapes, Secret Sex - Reason Magazine:
"Ron Paul persuades D.L. Hughley that the Civil War shouldn't have been fought."

Best Watchmen review ever.

Award winning comic book letterer, designer writer Todd Klein writes a review of Watchmen is a Rorshach voice. Hilarious.

Todd’s Blog » Blog Archive » Watching WATCHMEN:
"Klein’s journal. March 7, 2009. Major film of greatest graphic story ever created just opened. Based on work of two good friends. One completely opposed. One supportive, enthusiastic. No gray area. Troubling. Needed to judge for self.

Drove to multiplex in usual disguise. Obeyed traffic laws. Arrived at theater without incident. Inside, needed nourishment. Cost of “small” popcorn and drink more than film ticket. Who are they fooling? Size of “small” drink threatens bladder. Knew task was dangerous..."
More at the link.

Just unbelievable.

They can do anything they want with you, even if you're not breaking the law.

The Agitator » Blog Archive » Lunch Links:
"Man wrongly arrested for taking photos in the New York City subway (it isn’t illegal). Glad they at least dropped the initial charges. But he’s still being charged with disorderly conduct for addressing the officers in “an unreasonable voice.” They were illegally arresting him, and refused to admit they were in error. I think just about any tone of voice under that scenario would be reasonable.

[From the comments]

It’s become the great catch all charge. Cops use it all the time now to give them a reason for a nuisance arrest. What recourse does a person have at that point? You can’t sue the cops. Your automatically out the time, money, and effort to fight it. It’s a disgusting, but effective tactic.

...

Someone needs to take a serious run at challenging these “disorderly conduct” statutes as void for vagueness. I know its probably been tried and failed, but it may be time to try again. Its just ridiculous that you can suffer criminal penalties for failing to maintain a sufficiently obsequious tone of voice and demeanor when interacting with the police. If you threaten the police, physically resist, or attempt to assault an office, that is one thing - But if you don’t do any of those things, then you shouldn’t be charged with a crime."

Monday, March 09, 2009

Training 300.

Checking the blog, my last training day was Feb 23rd, two weeks ago to the day. Pathetic. Sure, there's all sorts of reasonable excuses - packing, farewell parties, family stuff, work stuff - but the bottom line is I didn't want it bad enough and I could've gotten some workouts in. No excuses. I, literally, in the past two weeks could feel myself getting fatter again.

Yeah, that bullshit ends today.

Upper body wkout + shoulder dislocates, 3 meals, 2L water, diet sodas, coffees... back on track.

Hadn't been working out, but still reading health, fitness and training stuff online.

Assorted motivation, psychology and kick-assedness below.

There is no tomorrow. Very zen, very true.


Stallone, circa Rocky III and Rambo IV is the kind of physique I aspire to have. Speaking of Stallone... yeah, I know Stallone uses HGH, probably among other things as he gets older, but you know what? You get to be 62, and look like this, that = MASSIVE WIN. And The Expendables looks freaking awesome.

Sylvester Stallone Is Ripped for His New Movie The Expendables | Relative Strength Advantage:
"And If This Wasn’t Enough...

Here Are Some of The Other Action Stars Who Signed Up For The Expendables

...Mickey Rourke... Jason Statham... Arnold Schwarzenegger... Jet Li... Dolph Lundgren... Forest Whitaker... Eric Roberts... Randy Couture... Sandra Bullock

...This will be like the Ocean’s 11 of action movies."
Figure Athlete - Q and A From The Trenches:
"Q: Sometimes I'll have beer or a glass of wine along with a healthy meal. Does that mean I'm not following my diet plan?

A: I encourage my clients to stick to the plan 90% of the time and splurge (or miss a meal) 10% of the time. If you're eating five meals a day, this works out to about three meals each week where you can relax the rules.

Alcohol isn't part of the plan to achieve the physique results you're looking for, but you're welcome to enjoy a glass of wine or a beer as one of those three "relaxed" meals. Just remember that it doesn't count as a "healthy meal" getting you closer to your goals.

I realize that eating grilled fish, steamed vegetables, and a glass of chardonnay seems like it shouldn't be as bad as having a bacon cheeseburger and a Budweiser, but if you decide to splurge, you should have what you want for the entire meal. You may as well spike your metabolism and get some extra calories in during the meal.

If you're going to splurge, splurge big.

There's no such thing as "kinda" splurging or "sorta" cheating on a diet. You're either sticking to the plan for that meal or you're not. It is allowed and I encourage you to relax with 10% of your meals and enjoy yourself, so if you decide to make this one of "those" meals, go for it..."
» » Changes I would like to do to defatten America:
"Add warning labels on junk food snacks: “THIS MAKES YOU A FAT ASS, you still want it?” Would be a great addition to McDonald´s mmm I am loving it."
RossTraining.com - Blog - Bridging the Gap Between The Ordinary And Extraordinary:
"Here is a man who has lost over 200 pounds in the last year. During this time, he’s also gone back to school and competed as a collegiate wrestler. I like this story for many reasons. Haynes has shown that we all have the ability to reinvent our lives, rather than simply falling victim to past mistakes.

...many who’ve made mistakes are still lost in the past. They honestly believe that it is impossible to turn things around. They relate changing their life to a battle that cannot be won. Haynes can offer inspiration in this department. Making such a rapid and dramatic change at age 45 is truly incredible.
I’m sure there are others in his position who have already given up. Hopefully they can find inspiration from those such as Terence Haynes. They will realize that change isn’t exclusive to anyone. The only secret to change is diligence, perseverance, and consistency. If you want to change, get up and make it happen. There are no secrets or quick fixes. Get up, get busy, and stay busy. And if you don’t have time, make time. It’s there, you just need to look a little harder. We are all working with a 24 hour day. Busy people aren’t blessed with 36 hour days. From the standpoint of time, we all operate on a level playing field...

Being busy isn’t an excuse to let your life slip away. Being busy simply means that you are just like the rest of us."
Free the Animal: Why You Got Fat:
"Consider this: for the average person with normal blood glucose levels, you have about the equivalent of one single teaspoon of sugar circulating in your entire body. One. Single. Teaspoon. So, what that means is that when you drink a regular Coca Cola at 27 grams of carbohydrate (or a six-pack plus per day, for some), you are ingesting in a very brief period, over 5 times the amount of sugar as is contained in your entire body. How about an 8 oz. glass or orange juice? Same thing (26 grams). Now, consider that as you go throughout your day. Look at food labels, and divide the amount of carbohydrate by 5 to see how many times your total blood sugar you're ingesting all at once."
Free the Animal: Sugar Feeds Cancer:
"If I had to speculate, it would be that cancer is brought about by unnatural foods in our diets (grains & vegetable oils, primarily) that generate and promote chronic inflammation and this inflammation, in-turn, causes cancer. And, once that job is complete, sugar takes right over to feed that cancer.

...if all this is true, and we know what other bad things sugar does -- like making you fat & diabetic -- then why in the world would you want to touch it in any significant way?"

Gonna need another water bottle.

And just when I'd picked up a good one too.
From 2009-03-09

So I'm pedaling pretty hard out to school this morning when my gears on my bike slip, I lose my balance and I wipe out fairly hard. All the more embarrassing because one of the Yanki kids from my Jr High is coming the opposite way and sees the whole thing. Shouldn't give him a hard time though, he had the decency to stop and ask how I was.

So anyways, you know how when something like that happens you only kinda/sorta can remember what goes down? Flash and then it's over. So yeah, I can't remember exactly how it played out, but since I'm telling the story, as I fell to ground headfirst, I smoothly tucked and rolled like a ninja. Kinda, anyways. But apparently not as smooth as I thought, as when I got to school the metal water bottle I was wearing on my backpack got dinged up pretty good. Still, pretty smooth... nary a scrape or a scratch on my person, unlike the last time I crashed. And you know, managing to shoulder roll while wearing a pack while falling off a bike, I'm awesome. I couldn't do it if I actually tried to do it, but good to know I've got some reflex patterns in there somewhere.

So that makes 3 bike crashes in Japan in 3 and a half years. The first, alcohol/enkai related, the second the tires slipped out from under me in the rain, and the third today. Not bad.

Ricky Gervais and Seona Dancing - his band from the 80s.

This is brilliant.

Seona Dancing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
"In his final year in 1983 as a student at UCL, Ricky Gervais and his friend Bill Macrae formed a pop duo, Seona Dancing (named after a friend and fellow student Seona Myerscough).

They were signed to London Records after sending in a 16 track demo tape (12 of the tracks have never been released and are not planned to be anytime soon). In 1983, they released their single 'More to Lose,' and it reached number 70 on the UK charts. Their follow-up, 'Bitter Heart,' reached number 79 on the UK charts. The group then disbanded in 1984.

...Ricky Gervais went on to have a successful career as an award-winning comic writer and comedian. He is mostly known as the co-writer and star of the successful hit BBC comedy The Office, and more recently Extras."




And here's a bit I read about last year, but never watched. More's the pity, because this is freaking hilarious.

Ricky Gervais takes his Emmy back from Steve Carell during the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards

Random Japanese Foodstuffs.

Snapple invades Japan. [It really wasn't that good. Snapple, leave the milk teas to the professionals.]
From 2009-03-01

Japan has more varieties of Pringles, I swear...
From 2009-03-01

Picked this up because I never could find the special Sapporo chocolat beer... This was pretty good, actually.
From 2009-03-01

Best. Job. Ever.

Last week, random elementary schoolkids make me a "thank you" picture. How cute is that, I ask you?
From 2009-03-08

Today, the graduating 6th graders at one of my elementary schools made this for me:
From 2009-03-09

Yeah, clearly, a teacher mandated activity, but still, they wrote out messages to me in English. What an awesome group of kids.

Not to mention the group of 6th graders at my other school who gave me a farewell/thank you speech in English. Which may not sound that impressive, but you're talking about 12 year old kids practicing and learning sentence structures and language that is really way beyond the level they've learned.

You know, 5 years from now these kids may not even remember who I was [other than the crazy looking kind of bald gaijin] but I swear stuff like this feels awesome. Meaningful. My job rocks.

"...they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day."

I totally want to try this.

C'mon, what else do I have but time on my hands? Besides, I've got Polish blood in me, so sauerkraut should be a given. I've only had the processed kind on hot dogs, but I'd bet fresh kraut would be awesome. I should also probably give kimchee another try. Sandy digs it, but I don't think I've ever given it a fair shake. Anyways, this seems cool.

Sunday, March 08, 2009

"So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehen, goodbye..."

Sandy's departure roundup post. All in one, because I can't be dragging this out.

We sent quite a bit back.
From 2009-02-26

From 2009-02-26

Sandy makes one more southern meal.
From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

Bachan's shodo presentation.
From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

I wasn't kidding when I wrote she'd be back before Jiichan knew it. One more ohakamairi.
From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

Grandpa's got a heck of a view.
From 2009-03-01

Eating Baachan's bentos. Check out Daijiro. Clowning around...
From 2009-03-01

Dinner w/the Adachi clan.
From 2009-03-01

Something's not quite right with the Adachi women.
From 2009-03-01

My wife has issues.
From 2009-03-01

From 2009-03-01

One more dinner at Hanada-san's.
From 2009-03-01

Sandy's unusual love for her ride.
From 2009-03-08

Packed up, airport bound.
From 2009-03-08

Airport crew.
From 2009-03-08

One last tonkatsu ramen for the road.
From 2009-03-08

And there she goes...
From 2009-03-08

Sigh... gambaremasu. Now off to bed at 115 AM. Poor planning, indeed.

I did not, in fact, finish the internet this weekend.

Trying to play catchup on the last 2 weeks or so worth of obsessive bookmarking didn't happen. Despite spending an entirely inordinate amount of time this weekend online. Caught up on the reading bits, but I'm in for a massive YouTube spiral next weekend. Or sometime. And no, I can't just let it go. Shut up.

This weekend was also gonna be big cleaning/rearranging, now that the Mrs is back in the US and the last few weeks we were only able to do the most rudimentary of upkeep. And changing things up will kinda keep the place from constantly reminding me of the Mrs.

[Okay, not really.]

Finally got around to it about 3 or 4 Sunday afternoon, figured I'd knock it out in a couple, maybe a few hours... have the rest of the evening to relax...

...

...and then I finished washing my last dish at 2310.

You know your planning has gone horribly wrong when you're sure that it's a good idea to suck down a cup of coffee at 2320.

Sigh.

One more post and then I'm going to bed.

Watchmen opening weekend roundup.

25 million the first day. Very cool odds and ends from around the 'net.



Patton Oswalt speaks wise - MySpace.com Blogs - NO, I HAVEN'T SEEN THE WATCHMEN... - Patton Oswalt MySpace Blog:
"You're all going to go see it, you resentful nerd mafiosi. And you'll walk in rolling your eyes and you'll walk out whistling sadly through your teeth because the fuel of the Nerd Mafia is disappointment and exclusion.

Tell you what -- before you go and see THE WATCHMEN, plunk down and watch CATWOMAN, GHOST RIDER and DAREDEVIL. And use those seven hours (and don't pretend like you don't have seven free hours in your day) to get out all of your disgust and the-world-owes-me-my-daydreams-made-real attitude you strut around with.

Because Zack Snyder STEPPED UP, motherfuckers. THE WATCHMEN was going to get made, one way or another. And instead of bleating on his Facebook status updates or Tweeting about how shitty the upcoming adaptation's going to be, he TOOK THE BULLET and tried to do it right. Yes, THE WATCHMEN should be a limited series on HBO and blah blah blah IT WAS NEVER GOING TO HAPPEN THAT WAY. Zack delivered a 2 1/2 hour, honest attempt, and broke his ass cranking out tons of free extras. Hell, he even animated The Tales of The Black Freighter for you chumps. Plus, he gave you a kick-ass DAWN OF THE DEAD remake, plus 300, plus whatever else he's got coming down the pike. He's the best friend the Nerd Mafia's had since Joss Whedon and Brian Michael Bendis, so everyone please crack the tab on a frosty can of Go Fuck Yourself and go see the movie version of THE WATCHMEN."

Filming the Unfilmable: Behind the Scenes of the Watchmen Movie:
"John Hodgman
Author, More Information Than You Require

'The movie can be good as long as it appreciates that it has no reason to exist. And yet I think Watchmen deserves an homage, and I'm hopeful because Zack Snyder is making it.'"

Joss Whedon
Creator, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dollhouse

'It's a comic book about pop culture as viewed through a comic book, so I didn't see the point of making a movie. But I saw the trailer, and it looked phenomenal.'"

Comic Book Resources > Lying In The Gutters - 3-2-2009:
"...I was expecting something laborious, dull in places and a bit too worthy. And I was feeling rather down. I don't think I actually wanted to be there. But I got an intriguing, absorbing, multi-layered, political drama with a forgivable touch of cosplay. Something as enjoyable as “The Wire' or “State Of Play,' but, you know, with bones sticking through arms... I thought it was consistently wonderful throughout. It's not the comic, but it does a remarkable impression of certain aspects. It's a film to fall in love with. I was transported."
"An episode of late night UK current affairs review World In Focus aired in October 1985, in which photo-journalist Alain Guillon and author Hal Eisner discuss the emerging geopolitical crisis with presenter Jeremy Miller.

The recording purports to have originated from the Veidt Industries video archive. It details its source as 'KARNAK' the significance of which is unclear."
Classic cartoon intro ripped from an old VHS, enjoy!!

Watching Watchmen: Zack Snyder's morally complex—and faithful—adaptation of the graphic novel - Reason Magazine:
"It's 2002 at a Turkish restaurant in Manhattan, and I hear professional manga salesman Ali Kokmen celebrate the first birthday of his daughter by reciting from Watchmen—the moving passage in which Dr. Manhattan sees that there is value in every individual life, each an amazing and improbable happenstance. Yet Dr. Manhattan will end up complicit in murder—and audiences will be left genuinely perplexed about how to balance cold, utilitarian calculations with the kind of old-fashioned, pugnacious, even deranged adherence to basic right and wrong that keeps Rorschach fighting, enabling him to unravel the schemes of lowlifes and utopian planners alike.

This degree of moral complexity is rare enough in 'serious' films, let alone ones with men in owl costumes fighting crime and a man with blue skin living on Mars. We should be grateful for these layers and for this ornate, clockwork-like film."
Hitler finds out about new Watchmen ending.
BeaucoupKevin(dot)com | "By Veidt — Betrayed?!?":
"The mighty Stan Lee continues to make the world of Watchmen his own in this latest excerpt from the star-studded megaseries that allows the Mighty Maven of Marvel-Land to wreak writerly havoc on that most hallowed of graphic novels.
(postmodernbarney.com) » What The Informed Viewer Needs -
"Watchmen - a Beginners guide."

And finally, Alan Moore is brilliant, funny, and a cranky old man - Legendary Comics Writer Alan Moore on Superheroes, The League, and Making Magic

Don't know where this last, hilarious image comes from... found it on a msg board.

Boo. Yah.