MyTunes Monday: Thriller

When I saw this as a kid, it scared the Hell out of me like you would not believe, and not just because MJ was in it. Seriously though, nightmares. Even watching the beginning of it now makes me feel unsettled.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

The...Glory Hole

"The Soup" is one of the funniest shows on television...and here is why:

Run Ragged

This is pretty much what I managed to do to myself this week: run myself ragged. From Monday through Wednesday I ended up running 12 miles, which is kind of a lot for me. I even managed to do all of that with a relatively small amount of pain. Today, however, the miles are starting to catch  up with me. My left foot hurts a fair amount, I feel like I have strained something in my left leg, and some muscle just south of my right hip is giving me problems. I was hoping to get a bit more running in today, but between that and the weather (possibility of rain), it may not happen, or at least the 3 miles I'm used to doing in one go. After having been out of work for an hour right now, I'm feeling a little better and the weather hasn't gotten to bad yet, so maybe. We'll see. I guess I'm going so hard now because when it gets cold out for good (or at least until Spring), running will be incredibly rare for me. Trying to burn as many calories as I can before the cold really settles in. As the Starks of Winterfell say, "Winter is coming!"

Anti-Aging Superfoods

Every once-in-a-while, I go onto a fitness website to learn some new stuff. I was just on Men's Fitness where I found an article about 5 anti-aging superfoods. Here is what it had to say:

Broccoli
Or other cruciferous veggies like cabbage, cauliflower, bok choy, kale, and Brussels sprouts. They’re great because they have chemicals in them that help detoxify the body and prevent cancer.

Eggs

A powerful source of protein, they cost just pennies each. Many people think eating eggs increases blood cholesterol. Not true. Eggs contain choline, a B vitamin shown to reduce inflammation in the brain, which may lesson the chance of developing Alzheimer’s. And these protein powerhouses protect your bones and fight frailty, too. Antioxidants and other nutrients in egg yolks help prevent macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness, and protect the retina from UV sun damage.

Beets
You know to eat your greens, but you have to eat your reds, too. Beets help dilate blood vessels, which improves blood flow throughout the body. They’re also packed with iron, which helps deliver oxygen throughout the body and ward off anemia.

Blueberries
A recent study out of the City of Hope Hospital found that blueberries might have the power to combat tumor growth. Its antioxidants can help fight the free radicals that cause cancer. Other purple-colored foods—such as purple potatoes, blood oranges, and eggplant—provide a similar anthocyanin benefit.

Tomatoes
They’re packed with lycopene, a redcarotene that’s extremely protective against colon, lung, skin, and prostate cancers. It’s also been shown to lower the risk of heart disease, cataracts, and macular degeneration.

Add these five superfoods to your grocery list to reverse aging.

I'm particularly happy to see eggs on this list because A) I eat about 18 eggs a week (I LOVE eggs) and B) my grandmother had Alzheimer's so it may run in my family. However, that's the only of these 5 that are regularly in my diet. I guess I'll start putting some blueberries in my oatmeal and shoving some tomatoes down my throat. Beets and broccoli probably just aren't going to happen.

The Plot Thickens

I'm still reading "A Clash of Kings." I'm going a lot more slowly than I did with "A Game of Thrones," but that's mainly because life (read: work) is getting in the way. It's such a great book. The one thing is that so far through these two books, when I get to liking a given character, their chances of dying seem to go up to about 50%. Another character for whom I was starting to cheer just bit the dust. I think I need to start liking different characters so that maybe they'll die sooner instead. I was trying to finish this book in a month like I did the last...except it's 160 pages longer so that, plus work, means that probably won't happen (even though this month has an  extra day). I've had the past two days off and covered over 100 pages, but I'm still about six days off-pace.

I love how these books have so much going on. Whenever I do pick the book up, it's pretty hard to put down. Just like I recommended "A Game of Thrones," I recommend "A Clash of Kings." Especially given that the second season of the show will be coming up in a few months. I generally recommend reading a book before seeing the film (or in this case the show). The books are usually better and have more epth, though I have heard that the show based on these books are very close (and from what I have seen thus far, I would have to agree).

WOOF Wednesday: David Pocock

DAVID "BAM-BAM" POCOCK

Not only is this rugger from Australia (by way of Zimbabwe) incredibly good looking, he also recently stated his support for marriage equality (an article from Outsports.com can be read HERE). He also has quite a back-story (which you can read HERE).

I apparently have a thing for ruggers by the way.

MyTunes Monday: Royal Blue

MyTunes Monday: More Than A Feelin'

Seriously, one of my favourite songs of all time.

How do you anger every nerd in the world?

Stupid Holiday

I seriously don't get Columbus Day. It may be the stupidest holiday America celebrates.

So we're supposed to be celebrating Christopher Columbus finding the new world. Here is my problem: HE DIDN'T. We know that the Vikings beat Columbus by at least a few centuries. I believe they were here before the Little Ice Age struck which was in the 1300's. And before the Vikings, the people that gave rise to the various native American tribes found this place during the last ice age, and that was THOUSANDS of years ago. Research indicates that other groups may have come here before Columbus besides just those two.

Then, there's the whole spreading small pox thing too. Not really something to celebrate.

I'm not saying his trip was worthless, I'm just saying it isn't nearly as ground-breaking as it has been made to be. There are other far more holiday worthy, like Galileo (the Earth revolves around the Sun) or Einstein, or Aaron Rodgers (okay, so maybe not that last one...so far).

Weekend Update: October 10, 2011

It was another marathon weekend at work. This time, almost thirty hours. Friday night, I didn't get home until 1:30am (I left work only 30 minutes before). Luckily I have today and tomorrow off to not even have to think about work.

Meanwhile, I came away from this weekend with a valuable lesson: always have beer/wine in stock at home. Friday and Saturday night, I wanted to have a night-cap, but there was nothing in my fridge (alcohol-wise) except a couple of 40's which I wasn't touching with a ten-foot pole. Here in Virginia you can get beer and wine at a grocery store (it works differently elsewhere is my understanding...maybe), but not after midnight. I didn't leave work in time to make it to a store and pick something up much to my chagrin.

On my way home Sunday afternoon, I did stop at a grocery store to pick up a 6-pack of Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat (haven't had that in a while) as well as some actual food). I had 1 of those beers during the half-time of the Packers-Falcons game when we were down 14-3. It knocked me the hell out. I felt incredibly drunk. Before you call me a lightweight, keep in mind I was at work for 14hours Saturday, slept less than 5 hours, then got up at 7am, walked 2 miles and worked another 7.5 hours. I was prime for a rash and lasting as long as I did was nothing short of a miracle.

Also, after a 14-point deficit, Green Bay scored 25 unanswered points to win the Sunday night game on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. Virginia Tech also played a hard game against the Miami Hurricanes and squeaked by with a 38-35 win that went down to the wire. GOBBLE GOBBLE BITCHES!!!

MyTunes Monday: Where Did All the Love Go?

Davey Wavey: Big Gay Vs. Little Gay!

Davey is awesome and hilarious. Such a positive guy. I wish I was like that.

The Good Times Are Killing Me

Last night I found myself looking through live performances of classical music on YouTube. There is just something about live classical music that is pretty awesome to me. Anyway, from there, I somehow ended up also finding marching band performances. During this search I ended up finding my favourite Drum Corps show of all time. It was by Santa Clara Vanguard from their 2000 season. Even though there are a lot of other shows by them and other bands that were really great, this one felt different to me in a good way. There was a passion that you could see in these guys that I didn't see in many other performances before or since (although I haven't seen that many since). I remember the first time I saw this and how I was. I haven't seen it in a few years before last night.

I'm not sure how long this clip will actually stay up because of copyright stuff, so if you're reading it after it's been taking down, you can trust that it was awesome (and I thought underrated that year).

Back to the story. So I was watching this and, as expected, it hit the same chord in me that it always has. I also started thinking about my own time in marching band while in high school (although we were nowhere near this good). Marching band was pretty much the best thing during those four years. It was something I looked forward to, and I didn't look forward to much else. Marching band, besides a lot of people of course, is what I miss most about grade school. The trips (especially the over-nighters), the practices, the football games, my band-mates (most of them), even the bad times were good. I ended up tearing up while watching this performance (right around the ballad, Adagio for Strings by Samuel Barber).

This was pretty late too and I was about to go to sleep. I had to watch something funny after this because sad is no way to go to sleep. Despite the bittersweet nostalgia, I'm glad I went on that random search.

The good old days of the Big Orange Marching Machine (from grade 11).

I feel like I should have realized this ages ago.

A Change of Mind...Maybe

I was downtown at a bar watching the Green Bay Packers play (and defeat) the Chicago Bears two weeks ago with one of my managers and two other guys. I forget exactly what we were talking about, but one of the other guys said something to the effect of using the word "gay" in a derogatory manner. Yeah, I know this happens all the time. I paused for a split second thinking of how to react. Before I got the chance my manger said something like "Why does it have to be gay?" This is pretty much what I was about to say. He said it with something of a smile on his face.

I guess I should put his reaction into better context. Some months ago, HE used the word "gay" in a derogatory manner in my presence. The general manager and I both got on his case about it (even though the GM was involved, it wasn't a situation where his job was in jeopardy, we were using it more as a teaching moment). Without going into too much detail, I gave the arguments for not using that word in that context that you usually hear: it's offensive, it implies that being gay is bad even if that isn't how you meant it, etc. Since then, he hasn't used that word (at least not around me).

So back to the present. The way he said it, without me saying anything, yet with something of a smile on his face, I'm not sure if he was standing up for me (even though I was not directly being addressed) or if he was making a joke (which isn't really how I want to phrase that, but I can't think of a better way). I'm not really sure how to read the situation, although I know this guy isn't a homophobe. Maybe I have actually had a positive influence on someone's views of what gay people go through. Or maybe I'm doing my usual thing and reading into this too much.

MyTunes Monday: I Don't Feel Like Dancin'

I've said it before: I love how trippy their videos are. It's like a drug trip without going through the hassle of committing a felony.

Weekend Update: October 3, 2011

I slept in today for the first time in several months. That should let you know how tired I was.

From Friday through Sunday, I was at work for over 26 hours (half of that was Saturday alone) and slept less than 10. I only got four hours of sleep Saturday night before getting up at 7 and not leaving until 3:30. That's a work load I am very unaccustomed to. To top that off, Virginia Tech suffered it's first defeat of the season, and it was a crushing defeat (23-3) to Clemson. Not even a single damn touchdown. Also, it was a home game. What. A. Shit-show. This was the first game this season that I didn't see any part of, and thank God I didn't.

Linebacker Desmond Bishop & Head Coach Mike McCarthy

On the bright side, Green Bay improved to 4-0 after beating the Broncos. A close(ish) first half was followed by a route in the second with a final score of 49-23. It was such a beat down that we ended up taking Aaron Rodgers out of the game and putting in backup quarterback Matt Flynn. Rodgers did throw his second pick of the season, but nobody's perfect I guess.

It was also a pretty cold weekend. Autumn is definitely making it's presence known. There has been an almost constant breeze, the leaves are starting to change and I actually had to turn on the heat.

I forgot to mention a while back that I finished "A Game of Thrones" and did so two days ahead of schedule (after having fallen behind almost a week behind schedule). It is an awesome book and as I have said before, I highly recommend it. Last Monday I went to Barnes & Noble and picked up the second book in the series "A Clash of Kings." It's looking to also be a great read. Given how busy I've been over the past few days I haven't really had the time or energy to just sit and read, but the next few days should be far more lax. Books like this are why literacy is such a great thing.

That's pretty much everything worth mentioning.