Yesterday I finally completed my Yoga instructor certification, which is nice I am finally considered a trainer of Yoga. Like my college degree or anything else in life I don’t feel anymore qualified then I did before getting it, but it is just now I have a piece of paper that says I did this. But it may be something I want to do when I get to Brazil , but Yoga is something I enjoy very much and to teach it would be so much. Doing it is a way of meditation and it calms my mind and brings me to peace. One thing I was never able to finish before leaving the USA was my personal training license but that is something that should bring me no trouble getting in Brazil, or at least I hope.
(Scorpion pose, I can finally do this pose, took some time to get my balance right on it, but accomplishing it made me so happy.)
This morning it was storming very hard and my dog IO was so scared in his cage he was whining and unlike most days when I open his cage he was up and ready, usually he is asleep. But the thunder and lighting scare him badly, right now he is hiding under a table and still whining. IO is a bit of a little kid and scared of storm, but that’s OK, I love him the way he is. Hopefully it does not rain all day, I have somethings I would like to do, the rain always makes getting tasks accomplished a little bit harder cause of the added element to overcome, and while I don’t mind being wet, I mind my clothe being so.
I had a great weekend, with a lot going on. I have a very busy next few days. I also have one hundred 9mm bullets for my gun, and so when the indoor range opens today I am going to go down there and do some shooting. I really enjoy it is, very fun.
I was thinking about some truism that I believe. The thing I have found about life is how often belief changes from day to day. Well only if you are a smart critically thinking person, we have all spoken to those people who are willing to budge on something no matter how much proof given. But for the rest of us their are some things that we learn going through our days. Some of mine are.
Every passing face on the street represents a story every bit as compelling and complicated as yours.
Anger reveals weakness of character, violence even moreso.
When people are uncomfortable with the present moment, they fidget with their hands or their minds. Watch and see.
You never have to deal with more than one moment at a time.
Those who complain the most, accomplish the least
Putting something off makes it instantly harder and scarier.
The most common addiction in the world is the draw of comfort. It wrecks dreams and breaks people.
Always tell people what you think of them, and never expect the answer what you want to hear from them back.
If what you’re doing feels perfectly safe, there is probably a better course of action.
Blame is the favorite pastime of those who dislike responsibility.
Everyone you meet is better than you at something.
Proof is nothing but a collection of opinions that match one’s own.
Whoever you are, you will die. To know and understand that means you are alive. To many have a problem with this
The ability to be happy is nothing other than the ability to come to terms with how things change.
You must love yourself before you can love another, and to allow anyone else love you.
A true friend is someone who cares that you are happy, not what you have or what you can do for them.
You cant wait for something to happen, you must make it happen.
The first step is to start.
Stepping away from a problem to get a fresh perspective sometimes does great wonders.
To get a solution at times you may have solve things that don’t deal with the problem directly.
Ah the days, I like most of the week. It started with me with my ex- girlfriend Bethany during high school, she lived close to me and in the mornings I would get up and walk over to her house and we would hang out do a whole lot of nothing while listening to Jazz on the radio and smoking weed all day. But as I got older, the love Sundays kept strong and to this day I still pretty much keep the same schedule. It seems the best day to chill out cause while I have never had a office job so this does not pertain to me but after a weekend of activity taking some time to get your mind right is always good. Speaking of cooperate or office jobs I have been rereading a few of the books I really like and have to leave due to not having enough space, one of them is The Alphabet Of Manliness by Maddox. If you don’t know Maddox he runs and is the creator of a great and funny website called The Best Page In The Universe. The book and site is a super male chovanist oriented type of work, I have to say he not only is a good author but super funny, and not to be taken seriously, so if you read his site don’t get angry, I mean what is the point really. But in the book in the Z section is for Zombies, and not the mutant sort, but the lifeless corporate drones type.
Maddox writes:
The Office Zombie
The North American Office zombie’s life begins at the early age of five. At five years old, the zombie still a child is sent to an entry -level brainwashing institution called “kindergarten.” It is in kindergarten that the child is first told that everything he does-every stroke of crayon outside the line, every malformed finger painting, and every piece of construction paper glued to a Popsicle stick-would directly determine his or her social status and financial success. This is done at an early age to create the notion of an absolute authority that wields the power to deny the child his future happiness and to sustain a constant state of failure.
The child is then “graduated” through different grades, each with a minor distinction, to give the child the illusion of progress. It is during this period that the child first esperiences isolation and hostility from other zombie children. An artificial social hierarchy will be created based on a child’s perceived popularity and economic standing, which will be strictly enforced by the more popular zombies, and even the authority figures, throughout the subject’s entire childhood.
At the age of twelve, the child is ripped from the womb of this institution and thrown into another called “junior high.” The child feels rejected and out of place as hid body experiences growth in this foreign environment. All the people around him are uncaring and unsympathetic, which makes him feel vulnerable and desperate, causing him to rebel against authority. This rebellion is short lived though, as authority figures swiftly quash the insurgency with prejudice to prevent the other zombies from having their own thoughts of independence.
The frustration of the junior high experience culminates with yet another institution called “high school.” where the social hierarchies created in the child’s youth are reinforced and the divides are deepened. Any child not yet belonging to a social group is ridiculed until he succumbs to the pressure to conform and joins a group that will accept him, only to be further mocked for joining an unpopular group. After high school, the child having spent the first part of his life completing menial tasks for the meager approval of arbitrary figureheads, will finally be prepared to enter the workplace to spend the rest of his life completing menial tasks for the meager approval of arbitrary figureheads. But on the bright side, there are casual Fridays.
While most of the students will be ready for their new homes in the office after high school, some of the zombies are coaxed into taking four more years of indoctrination in a place called “college” with promises of getting even more money in the workplace, and by extension, the highest level of happiness.
This is such a well written piece to me, I think Maddox does a great job with his writings I guess that is why I keep re-reading his book and reading his site.
Doubt, Uncertainty and Religion (a few words from Richard Feynman):
Now I have a have a video of Richard Feynman. I first heard of Richard Feynman through a book that was recommend to me by a Physics professor called Feynman’s Rainbow by Leonard Mlodinow. It is an amazing work about the author starting out in the Physics game and he looks for advice from his mentor Richard Feynman, who gives him sage like practical advice that can relate to anyone really, but what really intrigued me about the book was that the whole time Mlodinow was searching for a problem. That is as a young physicist he wanted to find a problem he could make his name. But I think that is so cool, cause you know no one looks for a problem we all want solutions. But to get to work Mlodinow need a problem that he wanted to solve, that is neat to me. But is it is an amazing heart felt and passionate work. After finish this book I wanted to know more about Richard Feynman so I read Surely You’re Joking Mr. Feynman! (Adventures of a Curious Character), by Richard Feynman. This book is a chronicle of his life and if such a well written quick fun book, I recommend both book very much so.
Finally here is the video:
I wanna talk about some music!
This is a cool video from Bobby McFerrin (His wiki: Bobby McFerrin) during The World Science Festival 2009. If you don’t know much about this great musician besides his hit from the 90’s “Don’t Worry be Happy” you should really check out his work he is an amazmin musician I enjoy his music quite a bit, he is an awesome Jazz musician.
The experiment that he does using Pentatonic scale, and the power of music reminds me of another study on the power of music as tool to relate around the study. A group of people found very remote tribes who have never heard western structured music and played for the classical pieces that are considered shocking, playful, happy, and sad. This was done to see if the music could insight the same emotion even if the programming of hearing is not structured in the western form. This is if certain notes don’t translate the same emotion to western ears as the tribesman. In every case the tribesman picked right or actually as the study pointed out their is technically no right but what we associate as emotional response. I think this is just a fancy proof to the old saying music is universal the universal language of the heart. But watch the Bobby McFerrin video it is so cool.
After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music. – Aldous Huxley
Play some mind games with yourself.
This is an article about mind tricks and how what intake from the world around comes together in our brains to make what we experience: Mind Tricks: Six Ways to Explore Your Mind.
The idea is wonderful, inspiring and new. The idea is to record musicians from around the world playing the a different part in the same song and then putting it together, this is the simple explanation from me, check out their website Playing For Change for more information on the whole project. I have been lazy about sharing about this and I am sorry for that, but their is no time like the present. I highly recommend their CD and it is a charity so you will be helping out. But if you want to hear before you get it, check out this rendition of Stand By Me, it is very good. Peace Through Music.
Last night I was at a bar with some friends, and it was getting sort of late around 2:45 I think. But a man walks in starts drinking and is just sitting at the bar from what I saw, I was not paying attention to him really so I cant speak as to his actions until later. But everyone in the bar starts to hear some woman yelling and she is very drunk screaming at this man “What you don’t find me attractive? Fuck You.” Getting really mean and calling him ugly and saying she was drunk and doing him a favor, I felt really bad for him cause it did not look like something that he wanted or needed at the moment, the scene was getting out of hand so much so that even some friends of the lady that was yelling tried to get her to stop, obviously they where embarrassed by the whole scene as well as for her. But needless to say the whole bar is watching at the commotion at this point, so everyone saw, but the woman cocks her arm back and punches the man in the face and starts flailing her arms at him trying to rain blows upon him. This guy was well built took the punch and the blows until someone had restrained the woman, he looked furious and like he could kills this woman, but the guy sat back down and the bartender came over and said the police where called and on their way.
The police arriving to my amazement within 15 minutes, came in and got the story, after seeing everything was fine, figured that was it and was rapping up until the man said he wanted to press charges and see her in jail. The cop, and everyone in the bar where equally surprised. He did not seem hurt and by that point not even that mad. The cop taken a bit a back was asking are you sure this was just a drunk mistake, she would have to go to jail and official charges placed. The man was like it is assault, (He then said something that made to much sense to me, and I have to admit elevated him to level of hero in my book.) he calmly said “listen officer if this lady had not been a woman this scene most likely would not have happened at all but I did not provoke her just hurt her feelings by rejecting her, and she felt she was in the right to hit me, now I wanted to beat the shit out her, not because she is a woman but because a person hit me, but I did not cause she was a woman. I don’t hit women. But I also am mad enough to want to see her punished so if I cant do it I will let the law do its job and get me one.” The cop stunned and speechless came around and said “OK”. So he and his partner arrest the lady who is crying and yelling “I am sorry” over and over, take some statements, and take her to jail.
After it had died down I was talking to the people I was with two girls and another guy. I came to the conclusion that is was the best possible end in the mans case and that often times woman feel they are able to do things like that to men and if a man reacts in the same fashion, he is the one that is the bad guy even if the woman started it. So the jail thing will make her think next time, I cant say it will make her pause just as much as a punch would but a crime record follows you forever. The girls both told me that they think cause of that fact they would rather have been hit cause that would heal, dealing with police is expensive and the report would stay on their record. I can see that reasoning but had he hit her then she would have the card to play on him with the police, and a woman hurt looks much worse then a man punched. I am going to add this I have personally known some woman who feel entitled enough to act in such a manner, bathed in the knowledge that in the time we live in most men would not hit a woman back and use this as power. The only problem is what if you come upon the man who does not care. But thankfully most woman are smart they know that social contract not to assault a man, cause then it would force him to play his card, and most woman most of the time respect that. This goes really for any person, but I am not saying that this makes the woman weak and submissive, what I am saying is pick your battles and be justified in them, this is true for men and women alike. No one needs to wind in up jail cause a man does not want to have sex with you.
The way to behave among others is a greatly talked about thing, not just these days but for what I can only assume all throughout history. General ideas of what one has to act like is very prominent in cultural, not just for men but for women also. I think that interaction with others the best one can do is be themselves while not insulting the company they are with.
Their is this site that I really like The Art of Manliness, I think it is amazing and I read an article that I think is very good it is called “Command a Room Like a Man”. The article is about things one can do to command a room, and not get intimidated by the surroundings, this is a problem I had when I was younger but I feel I am good at now, but this article gave some great tips. Also if your a woman I still say check it out, their is no reason that what applies to men can apply to women as well.
Realistic.
I had a conversation when I was in middle school, with my stepbrother about how real can computer graphics become. We both enjoy working with graphics and creating it. After some discussion we decided that computer generated images would be to the point of being more real then real. But also first what would come is objects looking real, and then people. What I mean by real is that to the eye a difference cannot be seen. Objects are a bit easier, then people but I don’t want to give any impression that creation a CGI is easy it takes many hours, by good artists, working with lots of precision. I mention this cause I saw an image that today impressed me very much.
This is a very well done picture, the artist Dimitri Dilmann lighting was great even to the point of the reflection of the background on the car, and through the window.
Now I am waiting for the time when I see people looking real, and I know we are not that far off, it is just the face and body on a person has so much light differences and subtle tone shifts and wrinkles that it is hard to reproduce.
A good looking body is something that everyone wants, is working for, or trying to maintain. There are many people out in the world who claim that obtaining those six pack abs, great chest, arms, legs, butt are just a few simple steps and dollars away. All you have have to do is eat this, do this work out, buy this substance, or this piece of equipment. The problem is no ever talks about the something that very important and that is the genes you are given, cause not all workouts work the same for everyone.
(Arnold got great genes and is a mesomorph)
When we are born we get specific genes that unfortunately have a lot to do with what we are able to look like, and how the exercise we do and the nutrition we implement will effect our bodies. Some people can eat what they want whatever they want and never gain weight, others put on muscle with very little trying, some can’t seem to loose weight by doing tons of exercise. It may be that what plays a major role as to what you look like is your body type.
The three body types are ectomorph, mesomorph and endomorph. Learning and understanding the type you are can help you plan the type of nutrition and exercise will help you most over time. This is the idiots guide, their is a lot of information out their how to tailor your workout routine and nutrition guidelines to your specific body type on the Internet to help you.
The Ectomorph:
This type is the tall and thin body style, the person who has trouble putting on muscle no matter how working out they do. This body type also seems to have a fast metabolism and can eat pretty much anything they want without gaining weight. With a lot of exercise a look a tone look can be achieved but gaining muscle is hard. From the ectomorphs I have talked too, a crazy amount of food has to be eaten to gain the smallest amount of weight. A easy way to identify is a rectangular shape where if you fallow your chest to hips is fairly the same width.
The Endomorph:
The endomorph has the slowest metabolism of the three different body types and can therefore gain weight the quickest and easiest. This is great for gaining muscle and strength, but terrible for losing and keeping off fat. It’s basically the complete opposite of the ectomorph.It is the natural fat body type. It tends to be a wider at the stomach then the chest. So a triangle with the tip at the chest.
The Mesomprh:
The hybrid, the best of both. They gain muscle almost as well as an endomorph, yet can lose fat almost as well as an ectomorph. The chest is wider the the hips, a triangle with the tip at the stomach. All of the models that sell the magazines or workout equipment, tapes, drugs are mainly this type of body style.
First of all while the genes you get can play an important role in your life, I refuse to believe that you don’t have the power to control it and even change it. A good example would be if you are an endomorph you can reduce the calories and increase cardio and weight training to get a low body fat muscular look, and the exact opposite for ectomorph. But also with a bad diet and no physical activity anyone can get fat, and flabby. This is just more of a way to figure out what you need to do to customize your routine to get the most out of it. But I stress this the most with good habit such as diet, perseverance, dedication, patience and knowledge (which I think is probably the most underrated yet most important aspects of a healthy life style.) you can do anything, and that goes for any part of life.
I want to share a site: http://fitnessblackbook.com/. Fitnessblackbook.com is a website which has taught me so much and like I said knowledge is power, Rusty Moore runs the site and he gives great advice on every aspect of living a healthy lifestyle, I really recommend you check it out.
Last Note: Classifying people is impossible and this is just a model that over time seems to hold true but their is also evidence out their that their are overlaps and mixes people are unique and don’t fit into molds.
Hello, I have to say the week has been going well, getting a lot of things done. I am trying to get my personal trainer certification, the classes are quite easy. I have been reading a lot about training and learning about the body so that has made it a whole lot easier, I hope that everything goes good, and I should have it all finished by the time i leave for Brazil.
I got some links to share.
The first is an article about priming, it is an amazing human quality, that seems like something that can be taken advantage off to use people. Well that is if you don’t know what to look for.
These are a few more interesting articles from the same website that I really like, the site is changingminds.org. I really love the studies that have been done on human nature and how to influence minds and trying to control people. That is one of the reason I read up on things like advertising and the techniques used to try to sell stuff, but also I have to admit if you can understand these principles you are able to try them out, and block them from being used on yourself. But I do have to admit it may discourage you at how it can work, it makes me feel dirty and very manipulative to see it working, but I try it just for experiment, but be sure to explain it to those you try it on if they are your friends so you can teach them something. I have had people feel bad and and some get angry, and I can really understand it, but the way I explain it we all do some form of manipulation by the way we act or phrase our statements, at all times we try to manipulate other to get what we want. It is really interesting to see how many techniques are really out there. One of the biggest fields and the grossest to me is the male dating game. Their are all kinds of programs to try to teach men how to mind fuck a women into fucking them, that’s sick. But you know I have never done any research to see if their are such programs for women, that’s is something I will look into see if women try to manipulate men the same way. I have to say women seem to do it more visually as in appearance rather then mentally as men like to go about it. It makes sense, I mean most women do think that men are stupid just visual creatures, which I don’t think they are wrong, I don’t even exclude myself in this, cause at bars conversations and time to get to know someone is not presented their. So if you wanna know a little bit more about psychology mind studies read these articles, they are pretty intriguing.
Last Sunday Katie and I spent most of the day in bed watching videos on the Internet, just some stuff she and I had collected and had not watched yet, so we spent a good day just laying and watching. It is a great way to spend the day.
Today I got up , I had to take IO to the vet, and get a BORD shot so that he can participate in his obedience classes, which is later to today, but here is the catch the snow had fallen and fallen heavily so I got a call saying that his class for tonight had been canceled. So I went to the vet got his shot and came home, now starts the man stuff, I am not saying only men do this but I just feel manly shoveling the driveway. I am kinda of chicken when it comes to the cold I don’t know the cold feelings towards me but in my case it is surely something I don’t enjoy having it around. We have a long driveway and a small shovel so it took about an hour and half and afterwords I was sweating pretty good. But anyways that has been my morning, and today with the snow out I plan on just chilling at home, I mean why not work on somethings that I have putting off, that is the only thing about being trapped inside you do things you need to do.
Thank you very much for you time… This has been BrotherShine coming to you from the limitless void in the back of your mind. Peace.
Here in the Louisville deep in the Ohio Valley we get our snow after New Years mostly and today we got a good snowing. It has been snowing most of the day and enough to get the slightest ground cover but not to much. It is always to see a little be of snow I have to say even taking to account how much of a Grinch I am for the winter. But hey if it is gonna cold might as well let it snow.
As we around here prepare to bunker down to battle the hardest last bit of winter I hope that everyone out there is enjoying themselves in 2009 and always remember not to take anything to seriously.
My hope is to every one’s good health, good piece of mind, good friends, and good love.
Now just sit back get comfortable and watch the snow fall.
Thank you very much for you time… This has been BrotherShine coming to you from the limitless void in the back of your mind. Peace.
Today is another glorious Sunday, it is sunny outside but still cold. The sun came up again today, well actually a better way to say that I was enlightened to recently is the sun made it around again today, cause it does never set. I have some good thoughts today for you guys and some good images. So sorry for not giving you the people who said them (I hate not giving credit where it is due but, i will say the first few are from Einstein, but not all of them are so I hope that helps ha ha.)
“The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility.”
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.”
“Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts”
“A human being is a part of a whole, called by us _universe_, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest… a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
“Now he has departed from this strange world a little ahead of me. That means nothing. People like us, who believe in physics, know that the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”
“Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.”
“It takes half your life to learn who your friends are and the other half to keep them. ”
“Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.”
“Love is to think about someone else more times in a day than you think about yourself.”
“Philosophy is asking questions that come neutrally to children and using methods that are neutral to lawyers.”
“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people”
Thank you very much for you time… This has been BrotherShine coming to you from the limitless void in the back of your mind.
(Scorpion pose, I can finally do this pose, took some time to get my balance right on it, but accomplishing it made me so happy.)
This is a very well done picture, the artist Dimitri Dilmann lighting was great even to the point of the reflection of the background on the car, and through the window.
(Arnold got great genes and is a mesomorph)
