Yes.

I'd be disappointed if I wasn't becoming increasingly cynical.

Hit & Run > Insert Annoying Lyric from The Who Here - Reason Magazine:

"More continuity between the Bush and Obama administrations, writes Charlie Savage in the New York Times. Obama will close Guantanamo sometime in the next year (after they figure out what to do with the remaining detainees), but what happens to those imprisoned at the Bagram base in Afghanistan? Same as before, it seems:

The Obama administration has told a federal judge that military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing a key argument of former President Bush's legal team."

We gather together to wish you luck and good fortune, pt II - where we give you the gift of song.

Karaoke, GO!

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

The power of Abba's "Dancing Queen" will never be defeated.

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

Fear our intensity.

From 2009-02-22

FEAR IT!

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

PEACE OUT!

We gather together to wish you luck and good fortune, pt I.

And lo did we gather together, with less than 2 weeks to go, for folks to wish my better half good luck, so long, farewell and all the best...

Speechifying.

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

Wine drinking buddies.

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

Two thumbs way up.

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

Beachside, nighttime.

From 2009-02-22

Cars in Japan...

...kinda awesome.

From 2009-02-22

From 2009-02-22

One more ohakamairi.

No worries Jiichan, she'll be back before you know it.

From 2009-02-22

True love is sharing.

That's when you eat only half the chocolate in case your s/o might like the other half. Shut up. I'm sweet.

From 2009-02-22

Training 295-299.

Abbreviated notes as I've been failing to log these online...

295 - upper body wkout+isometric circuit+shoulder mobility/dislocates/facepulls

296 - lower body wkout+ab circuit+shoulder mobility/dislocates/facepulls

297/298 - rest/free

299 - upper body wkout+shoulder mobility/dislocates/facepulls

Assorted motivation/inspiration/words of wisdom...

Free the Animal: Paleo for Everyone, All the Time, for Universal Health Improvement:

"...It is all about Real Food all the time. Just dump the shit. Eliminate all grains, all legumes, all sugar, all processed vegetable oils, and all products derived therefrom. Eat as much as you want of the following: natural fats (animal, olive, avocado, coconut), meat / fowl / seafood, vegetables (starchy ones within reason), fruits (focus on berries), and nuts (peanuts aren't nuts).

It is so simple, so enjoyable, you'll feel better than you can remember in your entire life, and it works 100% of the time for 100% of the people.

Shit: Don't. Eat. It."

Movnat:

"MovNat is an education system that empowers zoo humans to experience their true nature.

Our true nature is to be strong, healthy, happy and free.

This video is designed to display the wildest expression of MovNat and to be inspirational.

The practice of MovNat is fully scalable and suits any individual regardless of experience, condition, or gender.

In addition to natural movement, the MovNat education system also addresses the rehabilitation of other natural patterns such as eating, sleeping, breathing etc...and ultimately involves education in survival and wild food foraging skills.

To learn more, visit http://www.movnat.com/"

2x Body Weight Deadlift


Jeannies Beach CrossFit - Behind Walls


Handstands, Snatch, Overhead Squats


Don't Let the Perfect Be the Enemy of the Good | Mark's Daily Apple:

"You may have noticed that we’ve been stressing the “perfect” Primal life: eating organic, wild, free-range foods, butchering or hunting our own meat, buying food directly from local farmers, growing our own produce

...As much as I stress following a near perfect Primal lifestyle, I don’t want the perfect to become the enemy of the good.

Why? Because you can do a whole lot of good for your body by strictly shopping at a regular grocery store and buying conventionally produced food. Just stick to the tried and true ways – stay on the perimeter of the store, avoid the inner aisles, always purchase whole foods – and the rest will fall into place. Eating organic is, of course, ideal, but not totally necessary; I’d say that in most cases what you don’t eat is more important than what you do eat. Cutting out grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, and refined sugars is the most important aspect of the Primal diet – and their absence will make the biggest difference in your health and body composition. Whether you eat grain fed meat and conventionally grown veggies or grass fed and organic, as long as you cut out the agrarian staples, you will lose weight and feel better..."

Bodybuilding.com - Over 40 Transformation Of The Week - Over 40 Transformation Of The Week - Melissa LaLone!:

"Name: Melissa LaLone

Before:
Age: 38
Height: 5'10'
Weight: 250 lbs

After:
Age: 41
Height: 5'10'
Weight: 137 lbs

Ya gotta let it go.

Work in progress.

Wisdom - The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » Liam Neeson is a handsome man:

"You ever think back to some shit you did years ago, and you still feel pathetic from it? There are a few memories of dumb shit I’ve done in my life that just continue to haunt me, no matter how many years go by.

I know objectively that as a human being there are certain mistakes that you have to make in life to grow from them, but there’s just part of me that doesn’t want to admit that I was ever that fucking retarded.

I think that’s why some people fuck up a bunch when they’re young, and they never really get on track in life. It’s like the memory of their fuck ups are just too powerful for them to respect that who they are now is a different, more evolved person. They just think of the shame of what they’ve done in the past and get stuck with that self-definition. I think that’s one of the reasons why a discipline, especially for a man, is very important for self definition.

Whatever it is; be it martial arts, or playing the guitar, or whatever - having something that’s very difficult that you focus all your energy on can redefine your view of yourself and make you forgive yourself..."

Me in two months.

via Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal

"Kurt Vonnegut Motivational Posters" - Brilliant.

Via, and more at - Kurt Vonnegut Motivational Posters | Sloshspot Blog

1, 2, 3, 4 - Let's inflame a gen war.

5 Emerging trends from the recession | Penelope Trunk's Brazen Careerist:

"Newsflash: The baby boomers got us into this mess. They borrowed against future generations. They mishandled SEC regulations. They ignored the environment. They set up a social security system that is going to break as soon as they’re done taking from it. And they took the best education this country had to offer, and then depleted the education system for the next generation.

Obama is the first Gen-X president. And, to the surprise of all the baby boomers who have been trashing Gen-X forever, it’s Gen-X that will bail this country out of the mess the baby boomers got us into.

In the meantime, Generation X is the first generation in the US ever that will earn less than their parents. And Generation Y has an incredible amount of debt due to baby boomers pushing up college costs and housing costs while real wages went down.

The under-45's are stunned by the selfishness of the baby boomer era."

I honestly can't express just how much I dislike the Catholic church.

To wit.

The Agitator » Blog Archive » Lunch Links:

"Catholic church may forcibly remove an Australian priest for providing communion to homosexuals and the divorced. Odd that the same church can’t seem to bring itself to oust priests convicted of sexually assaulting minors."

I don't care, I totally ordered one - ""Watchmen" coffee tie-in/contest announced."

Immersive fiction, people. Embrace your geekhood.

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: "Watchmen" coffee tie-in/contest announced:

"“Watchmen” photographer Clay Enos has enlisted his Organic Coffee Cartel (OCC®) www.organiccoffee.com to produce a first-of-its-kind movie tie-in coffee for “Watchmen,” the upcoming film adaption of the celebrated graphic novel. On Tuesday, February 17, OCC will introduce Veidt Enterprise’s “Nite Owl Dark Roast,” a limited-edition confection and collectible designed for fans and organic coffee gourmands alike. A portion of the proceeds from the special roast will be donated to charity.

One side of the uniquely crafted steel can resembles artwork straight out of the “Watchmen” universe; the other side features Enos’ striking black & white portrait of Nite Owl, played in the film by Patrick Wilson. And with just ONE run of cans produced, this is sure to be a distinctive and rare collectible."

You, too, can purchase here - WATCHMEN Nite Owl Dark Roast Coffee:

"It's a small moment in the film WATCHMEN - Dan and Laurie save a group from a tenament fire. Once inside the Owl Ship, the survivors are offered what else? Coffee. Among all that hardware, there's an airplane-style coffee maker. And Veidt Enterprise's Nite Owl Dark Roast is the imaginary brand of coffee they brew. What better name for the quinessential caffinated beverage when served in the context of nocturnal crime-fighting? In truth, this is 100% organic specialty coffee from WATCHMEN unit photographer Clay Enos and his Organic Coffee Cartel.

Designed on one side to resemble something straight out of the WATCHMEN universe, the other side features a striking black & white portrait of Nite Owl as captured by Enos. With just one run of 10,000 cans produced, this is sure to be a distinctive and unusal collectible."

Sold.

Comic Book Resources > CBR News: J.M. DeMatteis Finds His Inner Magnus on "Doom Patrol":

"What type of reader picks up “Doom Patrol” #1, featuring the Metal Men backup?

Someone who doesn’t require big events and over-the-top angst in their comics. We’re just having some fun here. Strong characters involved in solid adventure stories with lots and lots of snarky dialogue."

Cops - “The blue wall of silence is the most successful stop snitchin’ campaign in history.”

Via The Agitator » Blog Archive » Morning Links

Man, I hope Joe Rogan keeps up with the blogging after his show. These have been great.

His best isolation tank trip ever...

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » Altered States:

"...The whole experience was a reinforcement of one of the main principles I try to live my life by, and that is the importance of being positive. Being friendly to people and spreading positive energy is what I believe to be the most important ingredients in having a happy life.

And it’s one of the least understood as well. Being nice to people is not just as simple as extending a courtesy, I think there’s something else going on with it. It energizes you. It removes stress for both people. We can make each other feel better.
It doesn’t just make them feel better; it makes you feel better too for doing it.

I think we are connected in ways we don’t really understand.

...The more I’m in the isolation tank the more that point is hammered home to me.

That’s the key to happiness. It’s not financial success - it’s having good friends and spreading positive energy. As long as the basics are taken care of; food, shelter, employment, sex, etc – as long as that shit is all in order, all you really need in life to be happy is positive energy and positive people around you.

That’s the key to having fun and enjoying life. You can be rich and successful as all get out, but if you don’t have good friends in your life I can guarantee you’re a miserable fuck.

...It’s very hard to describe what I experienced in the tank tonight, but to try to put it into words it was as if in this meditative, sensory deprived state I had tuned into a way of thinking that was “alive.” It was a stream of consciousness, a path of positive thinking that I reached in my own mind, but when I tuned into it I felt like it was a living thing. It felt like it had independent thought, and that it was separate from whatever “me” is and that the right thing to do was to just surrender my consciousness and tune into it. Become a part of it.

...I know this sounds completely fucking bonkers and at least 45% gay, but it’s just what happened, and there’s no other way for me to describe it honestly..."

Joe Rogan speaks wise on Michael Phelps and marijuana.

The Joe Rogan Blog » Conduit to the Gaian Mind » An open letter to Kellogg’s re: Michael Phelps:

"First of all, although it is true that Mr. Phelps broke the law, I think any reasonably intelligent person would admit that it’s one of the most fucked up and corrupt laws that we have today in this country. Marijuana is relatively harmless and certainly far less dangerous than a host of other things that are not only legal but also readily available, like alcohol and prescription drugs. The only reason it remains illegal to this day is because it’s a plant and you can’t patent it and control it’s sale, and because if it were legal it would greatly affect the demand for a host of prescription drugs that rake in billions of dollars each year for pharmaceutical companies.

That’s it.

Marijuana has never killed anyone EVER in over 10,000 years of use. We’re not protecting people from themselves, we’re not saving the children - it’s just a horribly illogical law that is in place because of corruption and propaganda.

The fact that it’s against the law is just a disgusting reminder of how retarded our system is, not a reasonable reaction to a proven threat to society.

I have to say, this whole thing saddens me, because I personally would like to think that as Americans we’re better than this. These television news anchors will shake their heads at the thoughtless mistake Mr. Phelps had made by “smoking dope,” and then without even the tiniest sense of irony they will cut to a beer commercial.

This is supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave, right? We’re not supposed to be a nation of little bitches giving in to the whims of corrupt politicians and the pharmaceutical companies who’s interests they’re representing.

It’s 2009, and in this day and age with the incredible access to information that we have available there’s no fucking way that we should be allowing human beings to tell other human beings that they can’t do something that they enjoy that hurts no one including themselves.

THAT is madness. THAT is ignorant, and THAT is completely fucking un-American.

I don’t want to hear any of that, “he’s setting a bad example with the children” nonsense either, because we all know if he had a gin and tonic in his hand instead of a bong this would never have been an issue, even though every single study ever done has shown that marijuana is FAR less dangerous than alcohol.

Marijuana laws are a horrible waste of resources and law enforcement, and especially in this day and age with our economy in such horrible shape I believe the last thing we need to be doing is wasting tax payers’ money on any of this victimless bullshit.

...Do you guys even know your consumer statistics? Well, let me fill you in on some of my own personal scientific research on the subject, because I have been closely studying my own purchases for over 20 years, and I can tell you that I’ve been high 100% of the time I’ve bought your shit.

...Just to be perfectly clear on my position, I would like you to know that I enjoy your products. I think many of them are quite tasty, but lets be honest; you guys sell sugar-drenched shit that’s horrible for your body - in fact, it’s actually way worse for your body than pot - and you market this shit specifically to children.

You assholes go as far as putting lovable cartoon characters on the boxes just so that kids will beg their parents for it."

More, in both essays, at the links... funny, funny stuff. Bibles of truth.

I can't wait till I hear this again.

Of course, the last time I heard this was about 7 years ago...

This is too funny, and I kinda recall thinking something similar at the time...

Son of Grok » Blog Archive » Quickie for today: Don’t call me skinny:

"I cannot count the number of times that I have heard the following:

“You are too skinny”
“You need to put some meat on you”
“You need to come over so that we can feed you”

To be perfectly honest, I am absolutely SICK of hearing this. Sick sick sick. This usually comes from someone overweight too.

Lets get something straight, I am NOT too skinny…

Speaking of unacceptable… when did it become socially acceptable to make a comment to someone like that? Would it be acceptable to respond to someone who tells me “You are too skinny. You need to come over so I can feed you” by telling them “You are too fat. You need to come over so I can put you through a workout and feed you some real food.” No, this would be considered completely out of line."

Out of line, perhaps, but hilarious and totally worth it.

Training 294.

2 meals, 2.5L water, 30m Rutten Thai Boxing 2m rounds. 2 sets bungee dislocates/facepulls. Sore as hell from yesterday's PT.

TRUTH: RossTraining.com - Blog - Bridging the Gap Between The Ordinary And Extraordinary:

"The fitness community as a whole needs to stop making bullsh*t promises. Nothing worth having comes easy. A ten minute workout is better than nothing, but let’s not pretend that it will create the next Spartan warrior. Training is like most things in life. You get what you put into it. There is no easy way. Hard and consistent work is the only legitimate training secret. Unfortunately, most people don’t want anything to do with it."

The Marvin Wilburn day off.

That's right, dude. Now your name is on the internets.

Overheard in the Office | But I'll Be Wearing a Hawaiian Shirt the Whole Time!:

"Pod dweller #1: So, I might take tomorrow off.
Pod dweller #2: Nice, what're you gonna do?
Pod dweller #1: Nothin, going to the gym and stuff...I'll probably come in to work.
Pod dweller #2: That's the shittiest day off I ever heard.

Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

Overheard by: sex > work"