We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
As I mentioned previously, my fitness goal is not body-building per se, just overall fitness for life. No real weight-loss goals. Strength-building is necessarily part of it, but balance, posture, and endurance for stressful activity is more important to me for things like steep hill hiking, 2 hrs of singles tennis, hunting in deep snow with weighty boots, rock-hopping in trout streams, lugging heavy stuff, kayaking, chain-saw juggling, and churning out morning links on Maggie's.
I am now into my 5th month. In middle-age, it takes a while to adapt to intense new demands, to ramp up - and I was in worse shape than I realized. I am developing muscles where I had never had them in my life (eg triceps, lats). I do barbell squats, bench presses, dead lifts, barbell work, and all of it. I have aches and pains where I never had them, too, so my guy has to find ways to accommodate that (damn Piriformis Syndrome, damn old shoulder injuries). My grey Brooks suit is getting tight in the shoulders. As I have reported, it's still 3 days/wk with sadistic trainer, and 3/days/wk doing whatever cardio etc he asks me to do. Since I pay him, I try to do whatever he says.
Mrs. BD is doing a similar program with the same fine fellow, but I head out at quarter to 5 am and she goes at 7. She is supplementing her program with some sort of impossible yoga which she loves (I term Yogurt) 3/wk, in the evening. It's isometric and I could never do it. Holding a headstand for 3 minutes? Two minutes of Down Dogs (is that s sexual pose)? Holding a squat for minutes?
Trainer has advised me to up my carbs a bit due to my workouts, no more wt. loss, but I'd like to eliminate another 4-5# of disgusting mid-body Daddy-lard if possible. Vanity. I am about 12# down in pudge and maybe 4# up in muscle.
My favorite day is Fridays, my day for Total Body Break-down for one hour, combo cardio and resistance, no rest except a few seconds for water. Crossfit-style. Destroy Bird Dog to the point that he can not walk or lift a Dunkin coffee cup without shaking. When you catch your breath 2 or 4 hours later, you feel pretty mellow but are ready for a nap in the sunshine.
Bonus fitness tips:
Core strength and fitness. Do it right with tight butt-cheeks and tight belly, pulling belly-button into your spine. 47 fun plank variations:
Planks are the MacGyver of bodyweight movements: They're super tough and great for almost any situation. The versatile move is best known for working your core, but planks also engage more than 20 muscles, including your shoulders, back, arms, legs, and glutes. Even better, planks allow you to work your core without the risks of back injury and overstressed hip flexors that come with traditional sit-ups.
True, sit-ups, crunches, and crunch machines can hurt your back and hip flexors. Planks can't. Take it from one who knows - me. I will never do those again. Just plank varieties.
To you exercise-doubters: I am with you, sort-of. Fitness does not extend life, is sort-of narcissistic, and all that. All that I can say is that it's a cool and highly-demanding adventure for somebody like me who is trapped in his head and lacks enough outlets or time for productive, difficult physical labor. First World issues. You feel stronger and good to be in fighting shape.
Citizen government was the original idea, not professional careerists looking for an easy unskilled government job for life. Thank God she's not a lefty. Quick as a whip, compelling and highly likable. I do not agree with her on everything, but so what?
She is an effective spokesperson, which is what she is running for.
A good, personal description of one form of what we put under the umbrella label of "depression":
Having anxiety & depression is like being scared and tired at the same time. It's the fear of failure, but no urge to be productive. It's wanting friends, but hate socializing. It's wanting to be alone, but not wanting to be lonely. It's caring about everything, then caring about nothing. It's feeling everything at once, then feeling paralyzingly numb.
Yesterday's NLRB ruling came as a surprise to nobody but the groups seeking to unionize, and it's not a decision so much as kicking the can. The NLRB decided it has no jurisdiction in the Northwestern case, but this non-decision has some interesting implications. While Northwestern, and other state-run universities, won't see players unionize any time soon, the case for unionization can be taken to private universities and did not outright rule against unionization. The union pushing for this has vowed to try again.
It's widely known that college football and basketball are de facto minor leagues for the NBA and NFL. But they are not true minor leagues, and while the athletes are not paid in the same fashion as professionals (they are 'amateurs', after all), they are actually paid quite a bit of money. Most of these payments are utilized at their own discretion, such as getting an education and not just taking Underwater Pottery 101.
At any major school, the education itself carries a cost of $18,000-50,000 a year. At some elite schools, it could be substantially more. Very few people in the 18-24 age range earn this much money, let alone are given the opportunity to supplement that 'payment' through the use of educational facilities.
There are other payments as well. 'Free' food (the players eat substantial portions at the school cafeterias), 'free' living facilities (not always 5-star quality, but I liked my college digs), 'free' health care and fitness facilities, travel to and from games, and the likelihood of a free meal at a host of local bars and restaurants (if you're the big star).
My neighbor's son is currently playing Wide Receiver at a major northeastern university. I've spoken with him many times since he's been up there, and he works hard. His freshman year was a bust, due to pulled hamstring (he tells me the workouts for injured players are harder than for those who are healthy, but you work on other muscle groups that usually go ignored). To hear his stories, however, you come to realize these young people have a very good lifestyle, even if they are not the rock-star QB.
The NCAA needs reform, no doubt. College athletics (and education - but that's a completely different matter), in general, needs reform. I don't think unionization will solve any of these issues, nor will any kind of governmental interference. It's fair to say these are well-compensated student/athletes (emphasis on athlete) for the level of play they are engaged in. If the players want to unionize, I really don't have a problem with that. I suppose if they did and pushed for more 'stuff', they'd find out just how important or unimportant they are (I'm thinking unimportant, at many schools, though not the big-sports ones).
It's also fair to say that, if some people have their way, and these athletes get paid, the Title IX athletics will disappear. The wide-ranging effects of unionization and paid student-athletes has never truly been investigated. My guess is the only logical end to this will be to turn major college sports into a true minor league. For now, however, the NCAA continues to hold sway.
New book: Thoughts on ‘The Devil’s Pleasure Palace’ - Subversion is Michael Walsh’s primary focus and the battle he describes is nothing less than a battle between good and evil
From
the UNEXPECTEDLY!!! Files: In the Wake of Proposition 47, California
Sees a Crime Wave - See more at:
http://proteinwisdom.com/?p=57497#sthash.XI1BP41p.dpuf
The gals of UA's Alpha Phi strike back. Yes, they are in college, but they want friends, fun, dates, and a good husband at the end. But do not be fooled: some of them are math majors. I met one from this tribe, every bit as smart as the grouchy, unfeminine, poorly-dressed northern girls but full of charm, optimism, good cheer, and humor.
Used Uber twice today in NYC. One time, driver took 3 minutes to show up. Second time, one minute. It's like having your own black car. Cars spotless, new, a/c blasting. Drivers polite. Cheap too.
And speaking of cultural interests and highbrow, lowbrow, and all that, I should mention how packed the Metropolitan Museum of Art was today. You even had to stand in a line to leave.
Rambling here, but, speaking of the Met, last time we went was to see the Sargent show. Went to look at something else today. However, our NYC friend has a link up about Carmencita who Sargent did a stunning portrait of. A Spanish dancer captivates 1890s New York.
Watch her dance. Good grief. I can't dance a lick, but I can dance better than she could.
I photo-reported on our 5 days of hiking in the Dolomites, really the southern Alps, 2 years ago. Here's a good piece on the topic: In Italy, Hiking and Haute Cuisine in the Dolomites - "In summer, when room rates are lower and tables accessible, hiking trails through forests and flower-filled meadows beckon, and enticing meals are never far away."
In winter, the region is a big, fashionable skiing area. In summer, just hikers and bikers. The food is more Austrian than Italian, and the languages are mixed - German, Italian, and Ladin.
Pop culture tends low-brow because that is where most peoples' tastes run, whether in food, music, pictures, reading, architecture, style, etc. The big money is in lowbrow mass market. That's fine.
It's not really an economic class thing although it might correlate in some ways. I consider myself solidly middle-brow, but have tried to educate my appreciation and enjoyment of the finer things all of my life. I may be partly limited by my IQ and by my imagination. I suppose we all have tastes that sometimes run the gamut. I love the Beatles and I love Bach.
Hillary Clinton had herself photographed lunching at Chipotle to indicate that she can relate to lowbrow tastes. That was just once. Where does she usually lunch without the press? Not Chipotle or McDonalds, I am sure. She looks well-fed.
In his 1948 essay, Notes Towards the Definition of Culture, T.S. Eliot argued that the highest levels of culture are only attainable by relatively small groups of people, and that in order for a civilization to sustain high culture a class system of some kind is necessary. Because culture is transmitted primarily through the family and religion—not schools—and because it relies to a large extent on these particular loyalties for its perpetuation, when these institutions fail, “we must expect our culture to deteriorate.”
I am not alarmed. High culture is alive and well. Silent snobbery is good, but spoken snobbery is snotty and you have to be careful because some people with proletarian tastes are darn smart and just unilluminated. Well, sometimes snobbery is appropriate. During the Renaissance, 99% of Western people were illiterate peasants who never heard of Michelangelo. Admittedly, they had some exposure to fine things if they went to a cathedral, but they never did - or maybe one pilgrimage in their life. I try to remember that Verdi was the rock star of his time, far from "high culture". How many Greeks studied Plato?
There are cultural elites just as their are elites in every other arena of life. We ordinary people rely on our elites for many good things.
Two highbrows talking on TV. Right-wing neanderthal dude on the left played Bach on the harpsichord to relax at his seaside home in Stamford, CT. and had a pianny on his sailboat. If you are too young to know, Bill Buckley and Gore Vidal:
It's a big joke. But - The Countless Crimes of Hillary Clinton: Special Prosecutor Needed Now. Hillary finally hands over her server—after it's been professionally wiped clean.
Hillary! and Bill are schemers, sociopaths, bad people with a 40-year record. I know that politics often attracts low-skill sociopaths, but Dems can do better. True that this is all far worse than Watergate which had nothing to do with anything important. That was pure scalp-hunting as was going after Bill for his female-abuse.
The Countless Crimes of Hillary Clinton: Special Prosecutor Needed Now
Hillary finally hands over her server—after it's been professionally wiped clean
Read more at http://observer.com/2015/08/the-countless-crimes-of-hillary-clinton-special-prosecutor-needed-now/#ixzz3itlnH8ER
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Read more at: http://tr.im/BDeFv
Obama drives down coal company stocks, 
6 Things You Should Know About
Used Uber twice today in NYC. One time, driver took 3 minutes to show up. Second time, one minute. It's like having your own black car. Cars spotless, new, a/c blasting. Drivers polite. Cheap too.
Pop culture tends low-brow because that is where most peoples' tastes run, whether in food, music, pictures, reading, architecture, style, etc. The big money is in lowbrow mass market. That's fine.