::(un)ziiiiiiip::

Stranger than Fiction, with Will Farrell, Emma Thompson and Maggie Gyllenhaal. As much as I went into this movie somewhat determined to dislike it for various relatively shallow reasons, I ended up unwillingly liking it, in the end. Which was something of an interesting sticking point, to give extra meaning to that meaningless phrase (in the end). Gyllenhaal and Thompson were in their usual fine form (and I have to wonder whether a hospital scene was darkly humorously referencing the film Wit, in regards to Thompson), and Farrell and Queen Latifah surprised the hell out of me. The cinematography and pacing were wonderful, on top of all that, accenting the fantasy-but-mundane-but-not film-world. And, it's kind of fun to narrate one's own life, for an exercise in stepping back from one's own perspective. Though, it occurs to me, hell, what if someone was reviewing my life?

I guess I better add some more nudity.

-from Jack Kornfield's A Path with Heart, an interesting tangent-explanation of idea of karma:
'At the level of physical life, if one looks at an oak tree, one can see “oak tree” manifesting in several stages of life’s patterns. In one stage of the oak tree pattern, an oak tree exists as an acorn; at a subsequent stage it exists as a sapling; in another stage, as a large tree; and in yet another, as the green acorn growing on that large tree. Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as a definitive “oak tree.” There is only the oak tree pattern through which certain elements follow the cyclical law of karma: a particular arrangement of water, minerals, and the energy of sunlight that changes if from acorn to sapling to large tree over and over again.'

-this might be for Penguin, but damn if these didn't make me smile nostalgically; I remember them from some of my favorite scifi-romance novels (just I did just use that phrase, and yes, I know no one has any idea what I'm talking about)

Things of Note - A Running Around omgBusy Weekend

-East Coast Super Subs: thanks, Westin, for the yummies!
-Wyatt's rockets: bloody louder than ever (hence, in each of the several videos of the same test, me yelling "OW!" in the afterward-silence)
-Natalie's all supah-clean and happy, though she does not smell like 'rain' as the scent purported....I knew they wouldn't pull that off (this is me wincing from getting smacked at saying that)
-the house met with family-approval....except with that whole biggest-compost-heap-ever part. And, the fence having 'splodified.
-I seem to have a talent for finding the exact spot a nail just will not go into a wall (Kevin witnessed the mad cursing)
-Ms Kim wins for best April 1 prank evah (she also witnessed some mad cursing)
-in other news, we have no airport skillz: the only person watching the stairs for the company coming in had no idea who she was looking for, everyone else was probably watching the Mexicana with spherical breasts
-
from Ms Connie, an impressive conferral between Farscape and tarot (as she pointed out, one wonders how much of it was intentional, with hints given...)

awww, Emp, so cute

Empowered, by Adam Warren. As much is was completely not what I was expecting at all, I was very pleasantly surprised. I've always loved Warren's art and clever writing, ever since I read that first bit of Gen13, and while this was in a kind of black and white digest form, I wasn't disappointed. Told in many small episodes, interspersed with often-times metatextual (but not cloyingly so) title pages, Empowered is ironically (for it being as silly and satirical as it is) one of the most 'real' feeling comics I've ever read. Sure, it's tongue-in-cheek throughout, and just plain eye-rolling-inducing at times, regardless it's still utterly adorable for every moment in it.

Mmm, pesto!

this is for you, Penguin

Heh, I don't even know why I write out these comic reviews, as I know exactly one person who gets as big a kick out of comics as I do, and who would have any idea what I'm talking about....and who doesn't read this. So for you, awesome random possible person in, say, uh, Antarctica who gives a crap, even if you're a penguin (or maybe especially), this is for you, buddy! High five!
X-Men 197 continues to impress with Bachalo's art and an intriguing combination of characters and story (though I seem to be in the [vocal] minority given reviews I've read); this issue seemed to be a character-building interlude at first, but quickly became make-you-look-over-your-shoulder-creepy. I can't get enough of the kind-of-painted art of X-23 4, and this is a solidly fast-paced issue on top of that, establishing Laura as a total badass and Kimura as a horrible bully (which makes Frost's eventual horrible punishment of her that much more palatable). Worldstorm 2 helped cement the new Wildstorm universe as awesome for me, with two stories introducing the rebooted - and very different - Voodoo and Backlash. Like The Boys, Barracuda 2 is not for children to read, but damn, if it isn't funny; even this issue that's purely set-up for the next is hilarious. But Cable & Deadpool 39 topped even that for me, I was actually laughing out loud at a few points - re: "You just never get tired of the panicked screams of expendable minions. 'Minions' truly is a great word. On par with 'chimichanga.'" And Pirates of Coney Island 5 I just didn't even know what to make of, but it was certainly original and fun - like cotton candy and cheeks being slashed open all at once - good times!

trivia.....ball! waBAM

An interesting interview about cinematography in Lost


Sheesh, even the announcers began to get irritated at the referees in the Air Force vs Clemson game, there were just several blatantly not-called fouls

From the amazing Denis Kang, a nice entrance to a cervical lock

Random quote! An interesting, idealistic tangent on William Gibson's interesting posits on the nature of celebrity:
"Heroes are known for their achievements; The Celebrities for their well-knowness. The Hero reveals the possibilities of human nature; the Celebrity reveals the possibilities of the Press and the Media. Celebrities are people who make the News but Heroes are people who make history. Time makes Heroes but dissolves Celebrities. Heroes symbolize the receptive and open and prepared mind. They considered that mankind is capable of things that have not been revealed in the past". - Daniel Boorstein

aw, people crying

Big Fish, with Billy Crudup and Ewan McGregor. A lovely movie. And, yes, it's about storytelling, so of course I liked it. And there were definitely at the very least misty eyes for I'm guessing nigh everyone in the room. I didn't cry, of course, I wouldn't want to worry Mathilda. Anyway, it's the kind of movie that's just all around good, and I'm sure I could put further thought into it, or read much closer, but....I don't really feel any need or desire to; it's just nice.

-From Ms Connie, The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr: I've never even seen it, but it's the best tv show ever! Just look at the description of it! And Bruce Campbell!

-does anyone else find honeypot ants horribly creepy? To me, they're kind of tangent on the axlotl tanks of the Dune novels, but as I don't know a single person who would get that reference, imagine humans in a worse position, times ten.

-odd trivia, after the fun virus vs gums experience I had (still need to gain some weight back after the involuntary fasting), apparently calcium is a huge help in avoiding odd conditions like that - damn you, forbidden cheese!

Things of Note - A No Day But Today Weekend

-first of all, many thanks to Ms Kim for the idea of going to get the rush tickets for Rent - that was amazing
-three hours sitting in line, plus an hour or two for downtown strolling and dinner at the Grill = $20, second row, center seats (in the orchestra pit!)...which is a not even a few feet from the actors, which is right in front of the $80 "front row" regular-bought tickets
-we did meet some interesting people of sometimes ambiguous sexuality, and placed bets on skateboarders falling in the pools (it came down to, does only the skateboard itself falling count?)
-and also, braved very belligerently angry homeless people screaming at everyone with dubious logic
-the frontyard has been cleared of piles....and the middleyard now has the biggest potential compost heap ever...mmm, delicious soil...in other news, Mattie has white fur again after being cleaned, industrial-style
-the triumphant, periodic return of Hot Potato - though, our performance was kind of dismal, we only got up to 35 or so (even with Wyatt's "high pants for high performance" enhanced waistband)
-the debate is still up as to what exactly 'women's work' is, and whether vaginas should be put away or taken out

go ninja go ninja go!

TMNT, with several famous voices (including Buffy and Silent Bob). Just go into it kind of half-expecting a kid's movie, and you're fine. That is, it's certainly not exactly for adults, but it's still quite entertaining at the same time. It's nicely put together, and the animation is great; one scene between Raphael and Leonardo is wonderfully tense with emotion, just in their animated body language, for example. It was fun. Though I was saddened there were no Vanilla Ice references, it was fun. And it was okay in this movie that everyone was ninjas. It balances out movies where everyone becomes a pirate. In other news, there were large groups of emo kids abounding, on opening night. Let the jokes ensue.

I always thought systema was interesting in the seeming originality of the concepts it pushes, though I've not really had occasion to try many of them

Some classic but interesting judo principles

lots of wow's

The Void Captain's Tale, by Norman Spinrad. Now, this is what science fiction should be. A wonderful creation of an expanded world, intriguing and very original ideas explored, layers and layers of dualities and symbols and semantic webs, it's got all of it. I'll admit - I bought the book for two reasons: one, that it can only be bought used, but for about a dollar or less. And two, for the base reason that I was led to believe it would basically be science fiction with a veneer of erotica. Instead, I'd rather say that if I were to go back to the idea of teaching English, and were to be so lucky as to teach a rare science fiction class, this book would certainly be in the curriculum for everything from general semiotics to gender studies to cultural sexuality. Like the interesting film Code 46, there's also an interesting note of the multiplicity of languages used, in this case various smatterings of German, French, Spanish, and Sanskrit, and mirroring that last language, it would help (but not be necessary) to have a solid understanding of classical Indian conceptions of consciousness. Of course, on the other hand, this story would be a great, if disguised, introduction to the same. Seriously, great stuff, for less than a dollar, people!

Agustina de Aragón - wow, an interesting historical figure

and Aleksandr Suvorov, a guy who did some amazing things, in my opinion

if this meteor video is real, just...wow

triviaball

I have to say, I was already interested in the new Nova series, but now that I know it's being written by Dan Abnett, I have to get it

Random interesting phrases of the day:
"paradox noir"
and
"chilled to the coeur"

Wow....I have to say, kind of tempted to go visit at least one of these trees

Besides having an interesting name, Eurosia is the patron saint of those who are possessed by demons - fun times!

even I'm hard pressed to find connection with these

-"HBO just acquired the rights to make a series out of George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones novels." I'll note the sic that that should be Song of Fire and Ice novels, but who cares! HBO is really the only one who could pull that off, anyway, and there's no way it would ever fit into a movie. Wooooo!

-from Wyatt, tiny planes with big pricetags

Caveman, with Ringo Starr and Dennis Quaid (aka Sean William Scott). Um. I'm not sure if this is one of the stupidest things I've ever seen, or whether it was awesome. It walks a razor path. Was it slapstick? Was it a comedy? Was it....dumb? But it was funny. I'm honestly surpised I'm able to put as much thought into it as I can. It would have been crazy if cavewomen really were that attractive. I still don't believe this was made in the 80s. I'm shaking my head, but I'm not sure in which direction.
(I'll note the plot keywords on IMDB are "Hit In Groin/Giant Insect/Anachronistic/Fart Scene/Nudity")

Mighty Avengers 1 pretty much fell flat for me; I was holding out there, for Ares and Ms Marvel, but man, Mr Writer Sir, please lay off the bloody thought bubbles. Just...no. Gen13 6 has great art and fun writing, it's quality. But, alas, it's just not the original. Still, I'm glad they're included in the general Wildstorm reboot. New Avengers 28: I keep coming back to this title, if unwillingly. It's really the writing, it's sasstacular. The Initiative 1 was a "d'oh!" for me, I thought I was getting the first of the new miniseries...this is just a collection of previews, two of which comics I had just bought anyway. Nice cover, though. New X-Men 36 - wham! Bam! Fun action-packed conclusion to 'Mercury Rising.' And the White Queen providing a lovely-tragic ending. Stormwatch PHD 5 isn't exactly necessary to get, though I'd recommend every other issue of this great comic; this one's just some reboot-explanation filler (though it is written and laid out nicely, nonetheless).

Things of Note - A Happy Leprechaun Weekend

-if you're going to charge me $100 to prescribe freaking Eegee's, I damn well expect to be given a pina colada directly in the hospital!
-all that effort of fever'ed movement and driving in the heat, and I forgot to look for the Buffy comic...le sigh
-ways to get out of blatantly checking out a hot chick #46: it turns out you know her!
-apparently hippies hate St Patrick...and like to spin around in 3D geometric star-thingies while decrying him
-I didn't know a quadriplegic person could move so agilely
-that's it...we're getting a dart board (though I'm not sure it'll include a cute lesbian)
-three dollars for a burnt hot dog?!
-whoa...Tiffany's has burly security guys...and horribly surprising clerks (in a good way)
-Beatle art: uh...I don't really have anything pithy to say about it, I guess...ummm...I thought it was dippy at first, but was somewhat won over...yes, that's my 'profound statement' for the day
-
Moshé on Moshé on the Martial Arts - a quite interesting interview, though it's long-ish

some random things

Guide to Investing, by Robert Kiyosaki. Despite its somewhat trite appearance, like Kiyosaki's other texts that I'm familiar with, Guide to Investing is quite valuable in terms of information that can be gleaned from it. I'll readily admit that I agree with some that the writing itself can be repetitive and rambling at times, but there is a certain value in having that repitition in an educational book. It's not about knowing which stocks or bonds or even real estate to pick, as I'd initially expected, but rather (and much to my satisfaction) speaks to more general principles about really understanding what an asset is, and how to structure one's finances towards building and using assets, and on top of that some interesting points about general financial philosophy. The latter half or so of the book is probably not immediately useful to the majority of readers, including me, I would guess, but is the sort of thing that will probably be a useful reference in the future for many, as it is about starting businesses, large and small. Interesting, and useful, overall, and it even randomly coincided with the more yogic financial book I'm concurrently reading in interesting places.

Aw, poor Cap...(not 'poor Cap' enough for me to actually go get that comic, though, I'll note)

A bit of clicking will find you an interesting video of the little-known (dot)Indian martial arts

From a Wyatt - a newly discovered cat!

Things we've learned, of late

Never, ever take various doses of zinc, ashwagandha, fish oil, triphala, and echinacea, which would normally be fine all at once.....if one had actually eaten or drank any water all day. The results can be...ah, messy. And painful.

Paper airplanes can appear as unto a ball to a dog. Who might rebound off of your chest to follow a loop-de-loop airplane. Regardless, it's pretty awesome to see the little paper construct snatched out of a hard bank, only to be viciously torn in half, its dismembered pieces tossed in the air. Kind of like the UFC combined with that History Channel show, Dogfights, combined with a National Geographic documentary on predators.

An unexpectedly disturbing thing to lose while having chemotherapy done is apparently one's eyelashes. Though, I think losing fingernails would mess with me a lot, which seems it was backed up by another male opinion in that direction, so that's two female opinions balancing that towards eyelashes being the worst. Though only one of those opinions is based on actual experience.

Wow, an upgraded armbar, from GrappleArts (I think it's potentially awesome, personally)

1/8th Mighty Choctaw.

For Your Consideration (a Christopher Guest movie). I think my favorite part about Guest's movies is seeing actors in such unusual roles - for example, Kim and I noted one of our favorite actresses from The L Word (though not in as fun a role as the other actress in Art School Confidential), and another who had also guest starred on the show, and who everyone else recognized from the completely different role in Silent Hill. The movie was pretty funny, and is an interesting collection of character sketches in an unusual context for a movie; it's not laugh-out-loud funny, interestingly, but more casually funny. Like...hm...Bill Murray's The Life Aquatic was like that, I think.

It's interesting to consider this when talking with people, and even more interestingly, when looking at one's self, I think - a posit of stages of moral development

Things of Note - an Artfully Violent Weekend

-seeing 300 twice in so many days helped in appreciating it more fully, I think, like the best martial arts movies, some parts you just want to rewind and watch again - of course, I've also been annoying my girlfriend with questions beginning with "I wonder if the Spartans...."
-I got medieval on the bush...shrub...tree thingies by the west fence; there was a unique little biome going on in there, odd leaveless vines, old growth and composted topsoil, plants expressing three different ways of getting to the light in one individual
-but, now most of them are in piles in the front yard: damn you, once-per-week trash pickup!
-we now have more shelve-age, thanks to my dad's construction skillz; and Kim got interior-decorator-al on the living room, rearranging and setting up for the Great Wall Hanging of '07
-now, I have to rearrange my spatial memory and stop running into things in the middle of the night
-oof...ate exactly one and a half meals on Sunday: a thickass burger, coleslaw, ribs, potato salad, popcorn chicken, rolls, baked beans, then barbecue chicken and corn
-then, basically went to bed at 8pm, which led to feeling rested, but also seemingly an epic's worth of really, really odd, vivid dreams (felt like I was in this pervasive setting which included an Arizonan beach)
-
-a fun painting (heh...phoenix...)

"Rated R for "RAAAAAR!"*

300, with Gerard Butler and Lena Headey. Ok, got to get this out of the way...I just noticed, Headey has a tattoo of a lotus on her back. Whoa. Ok, I won't speak to people trying to force some political symbolism upon the plot, nor whether the violence and sexuality of the movie detracts from its value as a historical (-ly referential?) text, nor even to the quality of the choreography and stylization being better than the majority of martial arts movies. I'm going to throw this out there, that 300 might be a very yogic movie. That is, Leonidas became, over time in my mind as I watched the movie, more and more like what Arjuna becomes by the end of the Bhagavad Gita. He (and his wife, Gorgo) decide their actions based on what basically amounts to dharma, what is right in a very deep sense, he (and the Spartans) are selfless on a basic level and subsume themselves to what they consider their dharmic path as soldiers, and they take a simple joy in doing their absolute best without being attached to the outcome. I could go on with closer examples and details, but I'm sure I've already bored someone out there, so I'll leave it at that.
(also: laconic wit)

Idiocracy, with Luke Wilson and Maya Rudolph. Oh man, was this stupid or was this stupid (it was stupid.). It tried pretty hard to be funny, and somehow the special effects were surprisingly good in a cartoony way, but mostly it just fell flat. The concept is vaguely interesting, and Kevin has already spoken to that, so I'll just leave this with a vague, if apathetic, admonition not to watch it.

Over the Hedge, with a bevy of famous voices and whatnot. Kind of a ditto on this one, though I also vaguely wonder whether I've become jaded to kiddie movies. But...no, I think this one just pretty much also fell flat, as it really didn't make any effort to rise up out of a stereotypical moral-of-the-story plot and characters. The ending did make me laugh a little, though, I mean, when is a van crashing into a house aerobatically not funny?
-
"Secretary star Maggie Gyllenhaal is in final talks to replace Katie Holmes in the Batman Begins sequel. "
-Ok, tell if I'm crazy, but I'm sure there's at least three other people who would immediately imagine Gyllenhaal getting spanked by Batman after reading that quote. And like it.

*see Phil Villarreal's fun review ("The Spartans are a super-human elite squad of lumberjack pirates who were trained by the the great-great-grandpa of Chuck Norris' paternal ancestor" - it's so true!).

quantum physics connects somehow, I'm sure

This one I'm putting because it reflects upon the conversation about existance-of-good-and-bad and whether-those-are-inherent conversation we were having last night, and also because maybe magically one of the other few people who've made it all the way through Herbert's novels to Chapterhouse: Dune might read this and will be similarly thunderstruck, as I was, upon gaining a whole new understanding to Duncan's visions and the end of the novel:
“The real world is beyond our thoughts and ideas; we see it through the net of our desires, divided into pleasure and pain, right and wrong, inner and outer. To see the universe as it is, you must step beyond the net. It is not so hard to do so, for the net is full of holes." - Sri Nisargadatta

This one I found interesting because it seems a commentary on a concept that seems to crisscross across several cultures and philosophies in various fashions (re: Jesus' mustard seed parable, or my favorite remark of Kabir's, "The drop merges in the ocean, where do you search for the drop? The ocean merges in the drop, where do you search for the ocean? The end of the search is the realization that each is in the other"):

“The emperor of China asked a renowned Buddhist master if it would be possible to illustrate the nature of self in a visible way. In response, the master had a sixteen-sided room appointed with floor-to-ceiling mirrors that faced each other exactly. In the center he hung a candle aflame. When the emperor entered he could see the individual candle flame in thousands of forms, each of the mirrors extending it far into the distance. Then the master replaced the candle with a small crystal. The emperor could see the small crystal reflected again in every direction. When the master pointed closely at the crystal, the emperor could see the whole room of thousands of crystals reflected in each tiny facet of the crystal in the center. The master showed how the smallest particle contains the whole universe.”

ding!

“When a bell rings, is it the bell we hear, the air, the sound at our ears, or is it the brain that rings? It is all of these things. As the Taoists say, ‘The between is ringing.’”

I think a natural reaction to this statement might be to throw some science at it, to contain and quantify and define by saying that the physical waves of the sound vibration are translated into sensory information, etc etc. But I think it's important to take into account the context and purpose of the thought; that is, as a paradox (how can one thing be all of those things at once?) it points beyond itself. And so, a purpose of it is to give us an opportunity to go beyond the boundaries of our normal understanding, beyond where we comfortably (complacently) and reflexively (unthinkingly and unfeelingly) act.

Tangentially connected, a quote from the same text, at Trinity

interesting image-
"Preferring death over surrender, every man, woman and child leapt from the castle walls to the raging river below. The torches they carried traced their paths in the sky, resembling a night of falling stars."

I want one in my backyard, so I can say, hey, let's go check out my pingo (ker-wink)

Adventure: Tucson

Waaay down Nogales Highway, there's a towing yard. The first question I have is, if they have so many cars in there, does that mean that that many people just never got to pick up their cars? I mean, I get the difficulty of having to get all the way down there, and the exorbitant price, so I could understand that, but damn that sucks. Second question: why the hell did they have ostriches? That's so random.

And in the hour it took me to get back into Tucson and then across the city - first of all, why were there little cholos slouching in a car with US Government Use Only plates? And how the hell did a car hit a telephone pole and streetlight pole hard enough to shatter one and knock down the other so it would somehow amazingly balance precariously on the cables? I suppose the woman in the nice blue convertible did get catcalled by those kids in a relatively pleasant, flattering way while we were stuck interminably behind the emergency crews. Oh, and were those people really sending a poor beagle out into traffic to fetch something from the street? That's just sick, unless they were strangers trying to call it back out of the road, I really couldn't tell which it might be.

And why the ostriches?

politics, sort of, and quickquicks

Man of the Year, with several generally comedic people in generally serious roles. But it also generally works. This is the second time I've seen Laura Linney in a movie where her character just...disappointed me, though. I mean, her acting is fine, it's just the coincidence of the kind of character. Back to the movie, I'm still pretty torn, overall. There were a few points which we found just implausible, but all the same something about the main character was horribly plausible in that it was more 'real' somehow than the ending I would have wanted. I say horribly plausible because I think some idealist aspect of me was rebelling against the reality of the situation and the truth of the character, but ah well. I didn't think it was an amazing movie, but it had some interesting things going for it.

Wisdom 3: "You're going to be pushing your bollocks around on a trolley." Also, on the cover, it appears he's just beaten down a dragon with a cricket bat.
Pirates vs Ninjas 2 is funny, but I was really hoping for some extravagant art; ah well, I'll settle for lines like, "Taste Squickie's SEA-MIDGETY WRATH!!!"
Interestingly, GI Joe: Special Missions: Antarctica (which I'd gotten for Wyatt) had its own humorous moments, most image-based, but also: "It's summer! A balmy -30 centigrade. What do you want to do first? See some whales? Pet a penguin?"
The fourth issue of the new Gen13 actually caught me quite off-guard, there's a quite determined subtext going on about modern voyeuristic and youth culture, and even one moment that was sad enough to actually give me pause. It did also have this, though: "Leviticus 1:6 says, 'And she shall lay with the beasts of the field, and then throw them off the tree, then hit them with a big stick and some rocks, too, maybe.'"
The Lost Books of Eve 1:1 is a fun concept, with a quirky style of art, I'm intrigued; like a kid's book, but with a lightly sardonic style of humor -
cherubim: "For starters, you can't go around like that."
Eve: "Like what?" [she's nekky]
cherubim: "You know..."
Eve: [perfectly innocent] "No, I don't know."
X-Men 196 is what I really went to the store for in particular, though. And I completely disagree with a review I read, as much as I normally like clean, clear art, I thought the art in this was perfectly suited to the frenetic, page-turning action going on, and to the dark, dark characters. Damn cliffhangers, though! Badassery-oriented as it was, however, there was still a bit of humor:
Cannonball: "You're not looking so hot, Creed."
Sabretooth: "You shot me out of a damn torpedo tube."
And I relented and bought The Boys 6 before it just becomes impossible to find, but I won't explain the moment that precipitates this moment unless you ask me, because I'd want to see your face:
the Frenchman: "Q'est ce que c'est?"
Wee Hughie: "Oh...EEEEWWWW!"
Mother's Milk: "That's some truly appalling shit."

-wow, there's some interesting symbolism in gravestones, the list is a little ways down

-the coat of arms of Warsaw is awesome

:P

Get it? It's a tongue, and this is about language? Ahh, so maybe that's a bit of a stretch. Anyway. This is one of those topics that I could write an essay on, but just want to touch on here, and that's the idea of learning the language of something being the most important part of learning it. For example, there's the overt technical terms in everyday yoga and jujitsu class, like the Sanskrit (anjali mudra, savasana) or Japanese (tai sabaki, ki, kote gaeshi), but there's also more subtle jargon that goes almost unnoticed - the inside and outside of one's body, different meanings of the words open, close, forward, and back. In beginning to teach yoga, that's the area I've ironically noted the confusion appearing in - where a martial artist coming to a yoga class is already keyed into the alternative meanings of those words, a completely non-athletic person is suddenly thrown off by trying to apply a more common definition to something it never applies to, in general life.

The reason I thought of this at all was in learning the immense vocabulary of 'financial literacy' as the books I've been reading have advised me to, I've noticed a good few points where just knowing that different 'language' have almost made me shiver, because in driving past businesses I hardly took note of in the past, or looking at my own finances, everything suddenly looks different...not unfamiliar, but different with better understanding. The funny thing is, none of it's really concepts I was unaware of, I already understood most of it. It's the having it within a framework and system of language that's really starting to give me access to this new perspective and world, that's the real key.

From Wyatt, MAKE:blog, a collection of unique and interesting things that were...uh...made

I bet Phryne was totally hott (or, hawt, if you will)

Watch out, might be spoilerific, but would also be good for those trying to catch up...the Battlestar Galactica story so far

Things of Note - A Weekned

-contrary to popular belief, Garduno's is not actually a factory that produces margaritas, though they really do pull off the Southwest-art-times-steampunk-equals-whoa effect pretty well
-but...why was the mariachi band playing "It's a Small World" over and over?
-I'm sorry, pugs just look like someone was trying to play golf with a sledgehammer and mistook a small dog for a ball
-and what is up with vizslas' lips and/or psychotic personalities? Seriously, people!
-I went an entire day not realizing someone was stone-deaf, it was amazing...she got skillz
-Frank/Mathilda 'sploring-log, Great Gale of...uh...March: we braved billowing clouds of dust, exploding Mexican families, precariously tipped bins, and precariously tipping trees to find (dun dun dun) a secret stash of kumquats!
-I feel like I should somehow save all that desert wasabi I 'harvested' (aka weeded); and all that tombstone rose covering the house? It was all one plant! wtf.
-Mattie gets ten points for being the most well-behaved dog ever this weekend, bringing the ball back each time (and dropping it on the ground!) and guarding my back from the neighbor's dog (and not barking!)

Kind of morbid, but interesting, especially if you're hungry - last meals

story(commentary)time!

I just noticed in one of the yoga textbooks I've been reading that there've been a few stories that aren't the common traditional or apocryphal tales-of-yore, but involve more modern 'characters' and contexts. That's not to say it's referring to some specific person I could google or something, but I was surprised to note, for example a character who was referred to simply as 'an American,' with some attending connotations but thankfully no reliance on over the top stereotyping. Long story short, as it were, it was interesting to see that a useful story didn't have to be something out of antiquity, but could just as easily occur in contemporary times; it seems reassuring in some small sense.

Sidenotewise to that, I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again, I think stories and anecdotes are a wonderful way to learn. Hell, look at Jesus and his parables...and yes, I am aware of the 'balance' in that syntax, thank you. But anyway, not only do they make the information more interesting to hear, but perhaps also easier to retain as it's not just a cold, dead fact or sterile idea, but a story that can become alive with characters and meaning that actually matters to them. Once I was accused of turning conversations around to talk about my self and my friends and family and my work, etc, basically of being egotistical, and oof, did it hurt at first, and I clammed up about any of those things for while. But after a lot of self-checking, I think a lot of it was telling stories and anecdotes out of my experience (what else am I going to base my stories on - purely other people's stories, or just synopsizing movies?), because I love storytelling and hearing stories and learning from people in that regard. But I get so excited I think I would sometimes end up seemingly just talking about myself or my relations a lot, because I want to share in the goodness of...well, sharing. So from that point I resolved to better make sure I was getting stories out of the people I'm having palaver with. So, in the end, I think I just gained another long-term benefit out of the issue in that insurance that I get to learn. Woo!

And just because we've been tossing around JC lately (heh, not ass-backwards but Jesus-backwards, don't make an ass out of Jesus...), a shout-out to the wonderful Sinfest

Stormwatch PHD - certified

randoms

"There is a traditional story about a Zen student who complained to his master that following the breath was boring. The Zen master grabbed this student and held his head underwater for quite a long time while the student struggled to come up. When he finally let the student up, the Zen master asked him whether he had found breath boring in those moments underwater." - man, imagine if this was done to a modern, ready-to-sue American

Rumble!

One of Sensei Tony's standard lessons in an article

In honor of the upcoming additions to Tucson, the secret menu

Huh, an interesting difference in the yamas I've been talking over on the other blog, between the yogic kind and the Jainist kind, is anekantvada

triviaball of oddity

-Xenu - ok, seriously that's just trippy

-actually, this series of very closeup photos of a snowflake is also pretty trippy

-to whoever I was telling about this, I wasn't kidding! Chess boxing.

-who knew that Wingdings could generate controversy?

a striking image

"In spite of active fighting in the area [Vietnam], I was drawn to visit a temple built by a famous master known as the Coconut Monk on an island in the Mekong Delta. When our boat arrived, the monks greeted us and showed us around. They explained to us their teaching of peace and nonviolence. Then they took us to one end of the island where on top of a hill was an enormous sixty-foot tall statue of a standing Buddha. Just next to Buddha stood an equally tall statue of Jesus. They had their arms around each other, smiling."

mmm...Miami....

Reno 911!: Miami, with the Reno police. I wonder what the actual Reno police think of that show. And the Rock, in a very short cameo. And what looked like a vaguely familiar stand-up comedian, on roller skates. And that guy from Blade Trinity, as Abby and Chris noticed. And my personal favorite, the standard women-walking-around-in-bikinis that signify the city of Miami in any sort of cinematic-text. Has anyone else ever noticed that? Any movie with Miami in it, there are just women constantly walking around in bikinis. Not that I'm complaining in any way whatsoever, mind. So. Anyway. I thought it was kind of stupid, in general, but in that stupidity it pulled off some hilarious moments. I'm sure I would have appreciated it a lot more had I ever seen the television show, say, with all the different attractions between the main characters, but I got the jist of it I think, and that was funny enough.

Well, I'm excited....
“World War Hulk is the story of the Hulk returning to Earth, where those puny humans live, and much smashing will ensue.”
-
“The Hulk’s like Santa Claus,” said Gage. “Santa has his naughty and nice list, and the Hulk’s got his ‘smash’ and ‘smash really hard list.’”

Also: the new status quo

The...topography....geography, hm, whatever of the Judaic version is kind of interesting, makes me want to go back and read some Dante Alighieri again

Wow, I didn't know an entire nation could be tried in court

Things of Note - A Weekendy Weekend

-congrats to Ms Kim and Rooney - theeeey arrrre the chaaaampions, THEEEYY AAARRRRE THE...::cough:: anyway...
-thanks to Kevin, we now know we've inadvertantly been growing London rockets, aka, desert wasabi, all over both yards...it's deceptively burny
-Mission Impossible: Reverse Dumpster Diving (be sneakylike!)
-a bobcat tried to break into an apartment (at least, that's what it looked like); a chihuahua may or may not have been pleasuring itself in said apartment (gah! teeth!)
-even if you win Speed when the other person is blatantly cheating, don't yell "ha!" and fall over backwards - you'll fall into a puddle and crack your head on a rock bench
-New Balance stores are horribly expensive...but the service, magnifique!
-I finally got a picture frame! Woo! Now, to get several more...
-we're one step closer to a Zen garden! And we can see the porch at night again! Yay housework!

mindfulness, mindlessness

Vinyasa Flow Yoga, with Seane Corn. Yay Valentines gift! I enjoyed this dvd a good deal, especially as in regular class we concentrate on a kind of mellow, slow vinyasa style, and this is more of an amp'ed up, sun salution based sequence. Or rather, it's interesting because it's directed towards instructing one on finer points of those basic sun salutions. All that said, there was something that bothered me just a little about Corn herself, I'm not sure what, but I was wary of it, not insincerity, but...ah, who knows.

Wow, so, things I discovered while being completely mindless and exploring Second Life this evening. I've never had so much fun with clothes. I found a mall, which was eerily empty, but had no money (alas, I couldn't buy recordings some stranger had made of....naughty things). I also had no money to tip the random person who jumped up on a stripper pole in an impromptu fashion, so I left. I found a trailer park. That people lived in gleefully. With a working waterpark. And a little cabin, with a bed all set up for bondage and D/s stuff. In a different house I found, well, more of a mansion with an indoor pool and a spiral staircase and interesting art, I found showers and beds one could click on, and get menus for everything from foursomes to any position one could think of; the ironic thing is, I was just wandering around, it just took me a while to realize the region I'd randomly clicked on was called "Sleazywood."

Anyway, the conclusion I came to in that region is that it was eventually kind of boring to just wander around by myself in, but I think Second Life would be a wonderful tool for people in, say, a long distance relationship. Hell, they could go so far as to 'buy' a house and a private island and 'live' together if they were so inclined, or just hang out in a trailer park in Sleazywood and chill at the waterpark, whatevah.

more l'il bits

Conception, Girls Vol 1 - Wow, what an intriguing beginning. There's something viscerally disturbing going on in this, it's too subtle to name right off the bat, though. Something about small town creepiness, maybe, or there's got to be something going with how normal conceptions of sexuality are being turned on their head, then there's an element of Silent Hill-esque way-beyond-isolation. Basically, it's good.

Gen13 5 - I think I might actually have to go back and get a couple of the prior comics to this, I actually think I like this reboot; it's not as wacky or irreverent as in the past, but it's got some interesting points

Star Wars Legacy 4 - ah, here we are, no Skywalkers here, just a very interesting one-shot from the point of view of StormTroopers, and it's pretty much the last thing one would expect

The Boys 2, 3, 4 - Wow, it's apparently very hard to find a website or even a listing for buying these puppies. They're just that filled with gratuitous violence and sex, hilariously unique characters, and are completely subversive to nigh every mainstream comic book in the worst possible ways. I'll say it again, it's great!

Also, in a second viewing of Music and Lyrics, I noticed a few things. As much as all of Cora's songs were like to make my head explode, you really couldn't have that fun or irreverence with, say, Judaism, Islam or Christianity. There was a funny little thing going on with introductions - maybe I'm just not used to people introducing themselves with both first and last name around here, or being put off if they just get the first name, did anyone else notice that? And I think it made sense for Sophie to go for an older guy, she'd already established a pattern of sorts with the jerk author, which could kind of be an argument for consistent characterization.

-from Wyatt, keep an eye on the candidates for '08

-bwa! (apparently, we weren't the only ones who had that idea)

passage from book

“The first thing that happens after you make a mistake is that you become upset. Everyone I know gets upset. That is the first indication of a mistake. At this point of upset, you find out who you really are.”

-the Liar- the liar will say such things as: 'I didn’t do that.' Or, 'No, no, no. It wasn’t me.' Or, 'I don’t know how that happened.' Or, 'Prove it.'
-the Blamer – the blamer will say such things as: 'It’s your fault, not mine.' Or, 'If my wife didn’t spend so much money, I would be better off financially.' Or, 'I would be rich if I didn’t have you kids.' Or, 'It’s my boss’s fault.'
-the Justifier – the justifier will say things such as: 'Well, I don’t have a good education so that is why I don’t get ahead.' Or, 'Oh, I really didn’t want to get it anyway.' Or, 'Well, everyone else was doing it.'
-the Quitter – the quitter says things such as: 'I told you it would never work.' Or, 'This is too hard and it’s not worth it. I’m going to do something easier.' Or, 'Why am I doing this? I don’t need this hassle.'
-the Denier – the ‘cat in the litter box,’ which means this person likes to bury their mistakes: 'No, there's nothing wrong. Things are fine.' Or, 'Mistake? What mistake?' Or, 'Don’t worry. Things will work out.'

When people are upset due to a mistake or accident, one or more of these characters will take over their mind and body. If you want to learn and gain wisdom from this priceless mistake, you have to let The Responsible You eventually take control of your thinking. The Responsible You will eventually say, ‘What priceless lesson can I learn from this mistake?’
If I blame, I give power to the other person. If I take responsibility for what happened, I will learn a precious lesson that I obviously needed to learn. If I lie, blame, justify, or deny, I learn nothing.

Unsuccessful people blame the other person. They often want the other person to change, and that is why they stay upset for so long. They are upset because they fail to learn their personal lesson. Instead of being upset, such people should be grateful for the other person being there to teach them something they needed to learn.

To be upset or hold a grudge against another person is like being upset with your bicycle because you fell off once or twice while trying to learn something new.” - by Robert Kiyosaki

-and a complementing article, Polishing the Mirror

li"l bit reviews

New Avengers 27 - the underground side of the Avengers, post-Civil War, it has an unexpected, rough style of art, sassy dialogue, the biggest all-out-all-ninja brawl ever, and Elektra getting kicked in the...wow
Wisdom 2 - nonsensical in a Mulholland Drive dream-sense, times British English = an interesting, semi-coherent ending, at least
Stormwatch PHD 3,4 - the current incarnation of the everchanging Stormwatch, Post Human Division is chock-full of creepy-disturbing villains, clever action, and character development with unexpected layers; in these two issues we've got some expanding of the setting with a trip to Vegas, and a girls' night out gone violent
New X-Men 35 - ugh, can't stand the cover, but the comic itself is an engaging setup for what looks to be some mad action involving the young'ns, regular X-Men, and the O*N*E.
Cable & Deadpool 36 - I was chortling, and then just plain laughing out loud...imagine a comic chock full of 'Frank-jokes' and this is probably it (mmm so bad, and yet so good...)
X-23: Target X 3 - gorgeous art, and nothing that can't be guessed at, knowing the character, but still a good yarn nonetheless
Astonishing X-Men 20 - Whedon's writing can always be counted for what he's known and loved for, but beyond that I think I'm just personally not that interested in this comic (which isn't to say it isn't top-notch, however)
The Boys 1 - whoa....do not let anyone under the age of 17 near this comic (that said, it's great!)
Drain 1 - lovely style, but I think I'm realizing for the umpteenth time that that kind of manga-art just doesn't do it for me
X-Men Annual 1 - quality art, kinetic and exciting action, this one shot is a great development of setting and tying up of loose ends
Barracuda 1 - "an' the night is but muthafuckin' young".....ah, more violence and humor, lovingly mixed
Civil War 6 - another one that's just a big setup, but beautiful splash pages like whoa
X-Men 195 - again, I use the phrase kinetic action, and on top of that I think this is the most interesting of the X-comics
Star Wars Legacy 1 - the expanded setting is very interesting, but I was sorely disappointed to realize it was going to be another Skywalker-centered tale (I enjoy the Star Wars stories best that don't deal with that central story)
Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born 1 - an amazing comic, and the writing stays true to the novels, but I think I'm kind of suffering from a, "Well that's not how I imagined it," thought, but that seems unavoidable

-this is completely random, but I thought it odd/interesting - he's sneaky
-a whole collection of interesting articles on some old-school MA

storytime

"There is an old story about a famous Rabbi living in Europe who was visited one day by a man who had traveled by ship from New York to see him. The man came to the great rabbi's dwelling, a large house on a street in European city, and was directed to the rabbi's room, which was in the attic. He entered to find the master living in a room with a bed, a chair, and a few books. The man had expected much more. After greetings, he asked, 'Rabbi, where are your things?' The rabbi asked in return, 'Well, where are yours?' His visitor replied, 'But, Rabbi, I'm only passing through," and the master answered, 'So am I, so am I.'"

-and completely irreverently: for Kevin, I have to post the continuation of that comic, there's no bones about it

triviaball

I like how framework interpretation does a kind of close-reading on Genesis

I created another bloggie - Trinity

A tutorial on bookkeeping

Shawarma - the best sammich ever...oh little Arabic restaurant on University, I still tear up at the thought of you....

money, curves, and violent but somewhat cute things

I'm reading two related books at the same time, as I...well, often do, I guess - both are about financial planning and investing, but one is from a decidely yogic persepective, but the other is more of standard archetype, about making more money. They both have stasis points at various places, which I haven't finished cataloguing yet, but one interesting thing I did notice is how they unexpectedly (though I was secretly hoping they would) complement each other. The latter book emphasizes first off that the most important thing in investing is attitude, attitude, attitude (or perspective, if one wants to assign it a different word)...but just directs the reader to figure out whether they want to and whether they can change their attitude. Which means were I just reading that book I'd probably think about it for a few seconds ineffectually, and move on, not really gaining anything. But, luckily, the former book (so far, at least) is practically about nothing but changing one's attitude towards money and financial matters in a healthy manner, and various methods and exercises for doing so, which have turned out be very practical and helpful. So, I feel more like, as they say, I'm in business now.

A great interview on the Mighty Avengers, one of the two new Avengers comics, along with the new New Avengers, which for the first time I'm actually quite interested in, as opposed to prior-ly where I thought it was kind of dumb, at best. Now it's got all the conflict and character development and history of Civil War to infuse it with literary goodness, Bendis writing his standard controversy in, and crazy line-ups. [might want to skip to the second page what with the opinions/previews of various characters, if not horribly interested]

Hm...curves...I'll go with it

tankettes - so cute!

And to continue that theme (very sort of), I think in some sense this is kind of a tangent on Kevin and me (though I'm still an ass-man) [see the license plate in this one]

triviaball

Happy Fat Tuesday!

Aaaand this is why I live in the desert (from the recent storms)

Living on the Edge - nice story about equanimity on the first page, though the rest is also interesting

Sidemount Posture - (I like the second posture best, if I can get to it, but with my hands clasped behind their back)

Dreamtime - I'm surprised this hasn't been picked up by a New Age movement or something

Things of Note - A Spring Cleaning Weekend

-practicing finger-spelling when Grand Funk comes on the radio makes for interesting gestures
-cleaning out really old stuff seems like one of those things that's painful and/or interesting, and probably ultimately cathartic either way
-Speedway is not for speeding
-cute little Mexican kid in that Jeep: you are awesome
-Sunday was fun family storytime (I love storytime)
-yay Kristin for getting the washer fixed...I empathize, on the initial problem
-as horrifyingly tempting as it is, never eat Nico's right before going to bed
-I want to read the comics I bought so hard
-I just remembered another reference, something about the almost-casual violence in Pan's Labyrinth reminded me of George Martin's Fire and Ice novels (a difference being that there might have been a sexual element, as well, in the latter)

a movie trifecta? well, not really, but sort of

Music and Lyrics, with Drew Barrymore, Hugh Grant, and that woman from Third Rock from the Sun. Well, as we found out, it's Barrymore playing the same girl she always does, and Grant playing the same guy he always does. But who cares, they're doing it together, and it's cute! And there was something strangely alien about the popstar-analogue girly, it was a bit unnerving. Yep, it's fluff, and it's a rom-com, but that's exactly what it's going for, and it pulls it off well. Mmm, cheese. And songs I still can't get out of my head. And the most hilarious opening credits ever. Shanti shanti!

Hannibal Rising, with Gaspard Ulliel and Li Gong. Given as I haven't seen the the other stories of Hannibal, only read about them, I hesitate to say much about this one. So! Fragmented comments. I thought the Japan-trope was a bit contrived and/or gimmicky, but it had its positive points, like the bits with the mask and heads. And Li, even though she's Chinese, but hey. I think Lecter is a very interesting character in being an anti-hero of sorts, even though he's not really, but is he? Hence the interesting. I'll note how we seem to be watching movies with continuing themes of late (here, cannibalism). And the portrayal of the soldiers who are Hannibal's main adversaries was especially interesting in how they changed (or didn't) over time, in the sense of one might wonder at that having happened in a similar manner in real life, in that context.

El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth), with Ivana Baquero, Sergi López, and Maribel Verdú. Not exactly what we expected (a lot more time in fantasy-land), we still thought it was a solidly good movie. Just...yeah, all-around good. For anyone who might get the reference, it was kind of a period-piece de Lint story plus gratuitous violence - I'd love to take kids to it, but wow, yeah that's some hardcore shit that goes down. But, in that sense, it stays true to a fairytale having that hyperviolent core, so I can't complain that it's not appropriate. I adore the idea of a child viewing an insect as fae, as soon as I saw that I'm sure my eyes lit up - it just makes so much sense to me, with an insect being such an alien little being (not like a mammal or a pretty songbird, or even a lizard with four legs, though I could easily see a tiny gecko filling a similar role). Oh, also, the faun (never trust 'em!) and the baby-eater were great. An overall sad movie, but done right.
(heard walking out of the theatre)
"Yeaah, that was a good movie and all, but....*whack!* You didn't tell me it was in Spanish!"

I kind of half want this alarm clock, and half dread the thought of it (not to mention the dogsplosion that would occur)

I'm glad somebody reviewed Paul Vunak's dumog instructional, I was actually thinking about getting it myself

triviaball

Snowtown Murders - a real life Hostel, in a sense, interesting to imagine the context and psychology of the people involved, though the details are disturbing

It's interesting how closely the original Day of the Triffids novel parallels the much later 28 Days Later in a few specific ways (or I guess that would be the converse, rather)....oh...ha, I just noticed somebody else already noticed that in the trivia. Hm. Well, screw you, anonymous person! The story itself is still very interesting.

The three main actors in this surprised me, intially, though then I thought of this movie (and no one noticed any connection there! ha!)

Mmm...pom-line outfits...

The whole time I was sitting at the UA basketball game last night, I was trying to think of something wonderfully profound to expound upon, in a round and resonating manner. Yay alliteration!

But yeah, I got nothing. It was a lot of fun, besides us kind of dippily losing. It was interesting sitting in an area where there seemed to be several people who knew each other through having season tickets, it kind of reminded me of the movie Fever Pitch, though to a much lesser degree. There was a quite vociferous gentleman, who the elderly Japanese man next to us referred to as "our cheerleader," though in my head I was mostly hoping we wouldn't have to give him a CPR due to apoplexy. I greatly enjoyed hearing Ms Kim's flashing back to her experience with the UA band, and her enthusiastic cheering, which was adorable. I could also see her leading a whole section of cheering people very well. Hardcore. The pom-line outfits in their various incarnations were also adorable, in my head, on Ms Kim. If anyone can provide me one of those in her size (or, hey, smaller, that would be cool in a sense, too), I will...uh...think you are very awesome. And provide you with some service. Yes.

from Phil: encourage your kidlings

Gog and Magog - one of those things where I desperately wish I could go back and time and see exactly what historical person or situation generated such a proliferation of stories across cultures (or, maybe it was just Bill and Ted)

Action packed, yet old school

jaw was dropped.

Last night I got to watch an Australian shepherd puppy and a pit bull-mix puppy take each other on. Ozzie and Duke, respectively, have apparently been puppy-friends for a good long while, and have a long-standing rough-housing relationship. And, they are badasses. I think I can confidentally say it's at least as, if not more fun, to watch two dogs play out martial arts principles in a solidly balanced, not-trying-to-hurt-each-other-way, than it is to watch two people sparring. I saw everything from side-mounts to over-and-under clinches, and, I shit you not, a body-side-drop. Ozzie got some sort of hold on Duke's collar, flipped over onto his back, and we all started to say something to the effect of, "aww, he slipped," only to see a very suprised look appear on Duke's horribly cute pit bull face as he was flipped over in turn by the sacrifice throw. Acrobatic Ozzie's got some skillz.

another interesting bird, possibly linked to the etymology of "jinx"

Completely Random Quote of the Day:
"I drank, I pursued the gentler sex, and so forth." - Naguib Mahfouz (I just like that, "and so forth")

Glory, I tell you.

So, the sourcing for this little thoughtball comes from a running conversation that's been bouncing around and being refined, between me, my roommates, my family, and even across the country. Finally it got to the outlet that is this forum, which is where ideas such as it is are generally revealed in all their awesome and terrible Glory.

Or, you know, just me spouting off. But I like to imagine the fanfare and dancers, so we're calling it Glory.

Back to the topic of interest. Just as I'm all about principles in yoga and martial arts, I'm also all about principles in general life (which one might argue yoga and martial arts are all about, but that's besides the point). And one of those principles is that one just does not deride, or knock down, or be negative about someone else's dream or passion. Zip. Zero. Nil. It's inviolate. Now, to clarify, we're not talking about, say, the naivetée of the person - if they're a communication major thinking it'll be easy as a DeltaDeltaDelta girl to be famous and make six figures right off the bat, that's just naive. But smacking them upside the head for that is just a different issue. It's one thing to tell a fat person that their dream of being a supermodel inside a month is a tad unrealistic, but it's another to laugh at them for wanting to feel good about their body-image.

And we're talking about that latter part - scoffing at or being condescending about the dream itself. That is just unconscionable, and not something I'll put up with, if I'm involved. If someone loves and cherishes something, say, they're passionate about quilting, or they've always had a dream to be the best tap-dancer in three counties, I don't care how silly it is for someone else, it is not to be touched. That is their hope, a truly positive thing in its nature, and to lay any shadow on it is a dark, dark thing in my mind.

Not to lighten the weight of the point, I'd still like to end with a (slightly paraphrased) point of wit from Mr Kevin:
"Oh, you're an English major, huh? Guess you won't be making any money, heh!"
"Oh, you're a jackass. Guess you won't be making any friends."

body language

I half-realized, half-remembered something while doing my portion of the yoga class last night. That is, when I first started jujitsu way back when, I think we began with a Brazilian armbar from the guard. And my mind was completely boggled. I didn't know what the hell they were trying to get me to do, much less where my own body parts where. I literally couldn't tell where my own thighs or hips were. But, over time, as I gained more control over and awareness of my body, I completely forgot about that. Till I started doing yoga anyway, and realized I was completely blind in reaching over a shoulder to find a foot, and I learned the interesting feeling of my sense of sight actually being de-prioritized for a moment. But then I forgot about that too, as it became unconscious. So yesterday two new gals were in the yoga class, both appearing quite physically fit...but I realized within the first couple movements that they were at exactly where I'd been when I'd started jujitsu. They hardly knew one side of her body from the other, much less how to rotate or connect two different body parts. While the teacher was almost one step ahead of my instruction, I had to quickly think of several ways to re-phrase things for the two girls in question.

I don't say all that to be arrogant and say "look how coordinated I am," of course. Rather, in one sense I think it's a point in favor of one reason yoga and martial arts are so beneficial, in how effectively they put can put one in touch with their body, which helps with all manner of mental and emotional issues, and dealing with illness and injury. And in another sense, it's a reason I want to teach yoga, to spread that learning, especially because I know from where I started that painful confusion of feeling disconnected from my own body.

Desolation Jones seems intriguing

Monaco has an interesting coat of arms

Woo! Go English Springers!

-for the holiday, from Yoga Journal
A More Perfect Union - on relationship issues
Intimacy and Ecstasy - on combining spirituality and sex

triviaball

Evensong - a thought-provoking allegory

Dogfights - I caught a portion of this show on the History Channel, and was riveted immediately - what I saw took veteran's accounts of their own experiences, and translated them to CGI dogfights that are intense, like Top Gun, say, but with that quality that makes you want to jump up and crow and duck and tense like Operation: Red Flag and Abnett's Double Eagle. I think I may actually get the dvd's of this at some point, it's exciting, and real. The last image I saw before I had to run out the door was of a Crusader gunning through a turn back from the A-4's it was escorting to pull a rear-guard against a sky-darkening wing of MiGs, with flak and missile contrails and falling fireballs and arcing tracers flaring past the screen. Hell, my lips are pulled back from gritted teeth just thinking about it, I love things that make me want to cheer the main 'character' on.

Biggest diamond ever.

Just because I'll probably be following this path to some degree in the future, the founder of Viniyoga

shpledoinkle!

Cannibal! The Musical, with Trey Parker and Matt Stone. I think this movie worked perfectly in the sense that, yeah, it was made while the in college (so one might expect it to be crappy or stupid), but instead it's surprisingly high quality and in that is the kind of movie one might wish they'd made while in college. Stupidly funny, but the key word is funny. I have to say, in any case, I liked the Japanese 'Indians' best, and Polly Pry was pretty hot for some unknown reason. Incidentally, the wiki on the real Alferd Packer (what's with his first name?) has a funny quote or two on it.

-yoga article which is kind of about kegel exercises on several levels, if one is seeking an upgrade on that, and at the same time could be made into an oblique reference to the idea of hyper-fine muscle control in Frank Herbert's novels

-the new New Avengers; interesting lineup, I like Echo best

-Eros Day seems like an interesting holiday (in honor of the Hallmark day tomorrow); I like how the modern originator would celebrate it, "though only with a girlfriend or two"

-Carcinoma Angels, a quick short...story (?) with a hallucinogenic but interesting ending

interesting passage:
"God arrives for the apocalypse, but humanity is a no-show. All that's left is the phrase 'We were here. Where were You?'"

Things of Note - an Anaheim Weekend

-props to Ms Kim for never losing her poise or classiness, even while dealing with a stomach flu (hell, almost no one could hardly tell how miserably sick she was)...50 points
-thanks to Abby for driving like a hellionette, though always in a calm and relaxed manner: we made some good time (and had a good time...wink, wink)
-after Kim and I had a two hour+ adventure wandering the back alleys of Corona, we had to wash grime off our faces, just from the atmosphere itself...like, ew
-we saw the most horribly despicable handler ever, I kind of want to make a website just detailing how disgusting a person she is
-some people just have no class.
-rain is kind of fun at a dog show, it adds that whole 'mud' element
-carpeted mall = just...odd
-an RV park with a ginormous guard-tower = awesome
-Rocky as a folk hero, I think it's a nice idea

-another article on using the principles of aikido in an interpersonal setting, because I'm very much a fan of it (as much as I'd love to use the principles of jujitsu instead, but that just doesn't turn out well at all)

like...ow.

I'm reading this book which is basically about financial planning, but is kind of a yoga-book in disguise at the same time. Each chapter has a set of evolving questions, modified by the subject of the current chapter. I've only gotten through two chapters so far; the first is about getting to know how you first came to conceptualize money, and to get a better understanding of how that has influenced how you think about it now. Fine, all well and good, I copied down the questions and answered them.

The next chapter is about 'suffering' (in the Buddhic sense, like one of the Noble Truths suffering), and getting to know how whatever suffering you might feel might stem from the experiences and thoughts explored in the last chapter. So I get to the questions of this chapter, type them the modifications to the previous chapter's (in blue this time), and go about answering them.

And then, by whatever intuitive manner the blob in my skull works, I realized something, and it hurt like heartbreak for a moment. It's hard to explain without, well, I'm not sure I could if I tried, but nonetheless I realized something that's been causing me fear and suffering for years. Going through experiences and memories of mine, I realized several of them were of people striking out to make their lives better, or happier somehow, and that only leading to miserable amounts of hard work, seemingly pointless sacrifice, and never quite achieving the goal they set out for, if they even got close. And so I'd unconsciously been laboring under this fucked up assumption that that's the only way things could be for me, as well. I mean, I can say I realized that, and might've even guessed at that before, but it's another to have the structure of an essay with evidence staring at me, just from those questions I was so blythely answering like a myspace survey.

This whole thing isn't a question of blame, or excuses, of course, but of releasing unconscious chains and weights that I've weighed myself down with - of actually removing blame and excuses, and taking responsibility for my self. The question is, how to move forward, once I get over the pain a realization like that brings.

integrating life, dreaming life

The Heart of Yoga, by T. K. V. Desikachar. I suppose it's another book that would only be of interest to someone interested in yoga, but hey, I'm basically reading textbooks for class, so there it is. Anyway, this text provides a pretty comprehensive, and yet very easy to read rundown of a general view of yoga by acting as an oblique commentary on Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. That is, it explains what most people would generally think of as hatha yoga, and not any of the more modern (Kripalu, Iyengar, etc) variants, and moreover emphasizes that the poses and physical component that most people think of as "yoga" is only a small portion of the whole. So, in the end, I'd recommend this to anyone who's taken an interest in yoga, and wants to further their interest beyond just the baseline physical aspect of it.

Last night, I was playing Second Life, or rather, basically wasting my little time at home. But I don't think it's entirely wasting; sure, I haven't even gotten off Help Island yet, not being done exploring it and snagging free stuff. But I was having fun 'people' watching, just seeing what people can create when they can create anything they'd like. Then environment seems designed to be pleasant, and relaxing, and that's really the word I'm looking for - I was relaxing. It's like an enormous, shared lucid dream, that has rules that keep it pleasant. Of course, I also realized that in attempting making my female avatar prettier (as one can change even the minutae of facial features, such as the cleft beneath the nose), I was unconsciously making it look more like my girlfriend, but I guess that's a compliment on her. Now, if only we could get an internet provider that actually was worth the money....

Seriously, how fun would pillow fight flash mobbing be?

triviaball

Interesting point about pranayama (breath training) - that in one sense it's not so much to have perfect control over one's breathing, but to be able to be aware of one's breathing without taking control of it. Which is actually quite the trick, if one tries it - being aware of your breathing, but without straining to control it in some way, subtle or overt. Of course, to get to that point, one has to become very good at controlling it, to transcend that.

This morning I saw hawk almost take a dove in a midair, right above the midline of Glenn. It's so interesting how wildlife adapts to suburban areas, like the other night when we heard a coyote pack near the house.

Huh, the wiki for Tucson is pretty nice, and the 'place names' section has some interesting trivia

Francis of Assisi is one of my favorite historical figures, for several reasons (for example, look at the part where he was involved with a Crusade), and I also wonder what it would be like to really figure out experiences and choices led him to take the course of life that he did

On that most blessed of condiments: guacamole

"So...if you're nice to them...they give you things?"

PCU, with Jeremy Piven (who we seem to have seen a lot of, lately) and some ubiquitous but anomynous actors. I didn't expect to be, honestly, but there were several points where I was really guffawing, watching this. Yeah, it's about as deep as a puddle, but I've a growing appreciation for Piven, and the "pre-frosh" character really is the pimp, as he was described last night. I suppose if one really wanted to, the movie could be read as a sort of social commentary in microcosm, or from a different angle, a commentary on the bubble-environment of academia and school-life.

Coming soon (anyone up for attending a midnight sale?), The Dark Tower in comic book form - interview and review

An interesting opinion on natural movement - its notes on the nature of some Chinese internal martial arts' forms could tangent off to yoga and parts of the novel Cell, I think

Nasrudin - ah, gotta love Sufi mystics (scroll down to "Examples") [and a whole lot more]

Things of Note - a Varied Weekend

-I'm going to go out on a limb, and guess that a sheltie specialty is probably one of the quietest dogs shows that could be
-goofiest looking bounty hunter ever.
-confused: wearing a gi...that says Shaolin on the back...swinging nunchuks...and wearng a cowboy hat (if that's nonsensical, ask me why that seems the definition of confused, to me)
-there was a turtle, I swear it!
-I'd never really noticed it, but yeah restaurants to do get all sorts of crowded during the gem show
-speaking of which, seems to have gotten annoyingly harder to get into, unless I'm missing something
-it did result in the finding of a more 'down-to-earth' show (literally, it was in the dust)
-and also hotel rooms - it's odd to buy some cavansite standing next to someone's hotel sink and bathroom
-purple rain (again, literally), a few cool plays, an early touchdown, a loss of money, and Monopoly marked this year's Superbowl
-Grosse Point Blank is still a great movie, with several scenes that could be talked about for their import and layers, and of course the John Cusack everyman character that is subtly way more than an everyman

The Divine Song

The Bhagavad Gita, tranlated by and with commentary for by Eknath Easwaran. One of the books I borrowed from my yoga teacher, this is a famous and very significant text, dating back a good few thousand years. Essentially, it's a dialogue between a soldier and his chariot-driver, who just so happens to be an avatar of sorts; the soldier is having a crisis of whether or not to fight, as he can see across the battlefield (which has incidentally been discovered as a battle that actually occurred in real life) his friends and relatives on the opposing side. So, the avatar lays out in a kind of Matrix-moment of suspended time his entire plan for living a happy life, and how to decide what the right thing to do is, in that or any situation. I wasn't actually so interested in the text itself (if for no other reason than I'm often frustrated with anything translated) as the commentaries that go to lengths to explain each chapter, and difficulties in translation. In any case, I certainly think it's an interesting and moreover refreshing text to read (I think I might get a copy to just to have to cool me down when I'm angry or upset), but unless one's really interested in yoga, it's probably not for them.

phone crazies! are scary

Cell, by Stephen King. I'm torn. It's King's writing...so it's pretty damn good writing, in pacing, style, characterization, etc, as per usual. Trivially, I had fun picking out some scattered references that seem to be there just to let the astute reader know that yes, this is within the same...uh, metaverse that The Dark Tower includes (who wants to listen to my theory about a Beam breaking being involved in Cell?). I loved the first half of the book, with all the mystery and carnage and horror and quickquick pacing, but ultimately didn't really like where it ended up, narrowing in focus and slowing with exposition, and straying just a bit too much into unbelievable in one minor way that bothered me. All the same, I can't really think of any other way King could have gone with it, including the ending, which I'm sure a lot of people won't like. Hell, I don't really like it, as much as I think it was a good ending, all the same. As good an ending as could have come out of that story, anyway. It's like I think the author of the long-running Walking Dead once said, he doesn't really have any plan to end it, he's just going to keep it going as long as he can, as there really isn't any way to satisfactorily end a story of this genre.

-an interesting historical connection between Rome and Norse culture

-an old favorite article of mine about arm stretches that involve lolling around

Lisa's screaming hurts my ears

Ruthless People, with Bill Pullman, Danny Devito, and Helen Slater. I enjoyed it, though not as much as the other older movies we've watched lately. I think part of it may be that this one just didn't seem as smart/clever in its humor, and was also dated in ways the others weren't (helloooo, eighties soundtrack). Though that makes me think of a Sonny Chiba movie set in China and Japan that's entire soundtrack was crazyfunky seventies acid jazz. But it wasn't as if the movie was bad, just not as good as the others. And Bill Pullman should have had more screentime, because he's awesome, though it took people giving me references to remember who he was.

Also, Kevin's comment from earlier got me thinking about how much our ingrained, habitual perception can affect us. I mean, for those people encountering the Spaniards for the first time, horses and people riding an animal were so far beyond their ken that they couldn't even see it as someone riding an animal that would somewhat similar to other four-legged animals in their native environment, just bigger. It makes me wonder what we might encounter that would seem so far beyond the pale that we wouldn't recognize it for what it actually is, but would have to give it some mythic value (UFOs, maybe?). Also, interestingly, one of the myriad aims of meditation is to release habits of perception, to not reflexively assign meaning to one's vision, but rather to see things as they are, for what they are, so I wonder how a well-trained person might fare in a similar situation.

because the brussel sprouts quote was just odd, to the general reader...
"The first dietary intervention was when God said, 'Don't eat that apple.' And that clearly didn't work."

oh, that's reassuring, as I mail off my check...
"The term mortgage (from Law French, lit. death vow)..."

triviaball

I think this would make an interesting movie:
"Perhaps more significantly, a change in climate in the North Atlantic led to an increase in sea-ice, making communication with Europe difficult, and favoring migrations of the Inuit from northern Greenland to the south and to regular contact with the Norse, leading to violence between the races."

And this would also make an interesting movie, but in an entirely different sense - spiders in space (and from a different angle, a campy horror movie)

The slungshot: historical combat yo yo. Oh hell yes.

bang! boom! sex!

Smokin' Aces, with a lot of fun actors, like Ray Liotta, Ryan Reynolds, Jeremy Piven, and Common (who was pretty cool, suprisingly). To me, this movie is good and bad, not neither, but both. It has a lot of great moments, though they're oddly paced and placed. Sometimes there is too much context, sometimes not enough, and somehow the plot is squeezed in between the action like little pudges between a too-tight shirt and low-rise jeans. As Ms Kim pointed out, the first portion of the movie is kind of like a long movie trailer...which isn't necessarily horrible, I'll note, movie trailers can be interesting to watch in and of itself. But....? Hm. The characters are interesting generally, though the story goes a little bit too far towards "too unpredictable" in regards to them, and it's thus hard to care for the characters because of it. I would have liked to see more of Ryan Reynolds being a badass, and less of Andy Garcia and that strange accent he was afflicted with. Smokin' Aces would have made a great comic book, it was decided, especially looking at the interesting manner of doing the end-credits, but is an odd sort of good-bad movie.

-the first several paragraphs of this are great, I think, though it then delves into somewhat technical stuff for yoga teachers - Strength of Mind

-fun with ESL!

-interesting ponderball quote: "One should lift oneself up by one's Self."

Random Word of the Day: sapidity

Things of Note: A Leisurely Busy weekend

-from Bryce: January's Phoenix comic con had more vendors and whatnot, but the signing of things was disappointing for various reasons...there was, however, some dude in a Wolverine costume with functional claws
-thank you DM F-16 pilots for gunning it low enough over the parking lot that all the ghetto fab cholo-mobiles had their alarms set off this morning; that was hilarious
-Tucson as a Big-Little Town, Instance #236: Corinne figuring out that our massage instructor had also been our capoeira instructor previously, despite going by an entirely different name
-Catalina State Park is great for short hikes, but has remarkably little to take pictures of, at least in the winter
-1, 2, 3: everyone roll their eyes at the trainers in Petsmart
-MillerLite and lime juice - not bad, not that bad at all
-not only did we catch a funny night at the comedy club, we even caught a comedian who's entire routine was based on puns
-bowling on the weekend is not so tenable, we found out, also inadvertantly possibly offending some people in line
-a horse is funny to imagine from a dog's point of view, it seeing a horse for the first time, especially with a human on top as well - "ohmigod a huge four-legged thing with a growth on its back!?" - makes me think of how a deer won't recognize a human if they're on horseback

triviaball!

Days Unfold (we know the drummer!) is awesome. To be completely honest, I don't even know that I was expecting anything in particular at all, but regardless I was pretty surpised by what I heard - I'm actually really glad we finally got to hear them. Yay local music!

I love living fossils, though this one is a bit...unpretty; hm, not that a coelacanth would win any beauty pagaents, I suppose...

from Mr Phil, an awesome idea

a random interesting battle I'd hardly heard even the context of, much less the players involved

a book!

llGuilty Pleasures, by Laurell Hamilton. Yay dark fantasy chick lit! Yes, some people might look at it and think "silly" (re: it being derided on the way home from Buckeye the other weekend), but it certainly doesn't take itself too seriously and is easy to read. Hamilton's Anita Blake is a fine character in the Stephanie Plum tradition, but with much more of an edge to her, and yet with that same quirkiness and uncertainty that makes for the charm. And I love what she's doing with her expanded setting, it's able to do stuff using the entirety of its setting that, say, my other favorite (White Wolf Publishing) is only able to do with an apocalypse - for example, stuff like making the monsters 'public,' and making the supernatural mainstream without resorting to extremes.

crash

I decided to go running with Mattie the ofanim (for the exactly two people who might get that reference) yesterday, and thinking it would be a short run, decided to try letting her set the pace for as long as I could. Hoo boy. I think I was sprinting, sliding, and sprinting for a lot longer than I meant to; another mistake I made included grabbing the wrong Underarmor (for extreme heat, not winter cold) and so I was oddly even more cold than I would have been shirtless. Then Mattie decided to make an agile little dodge around a telephone pole, and I let go of the leash, thinking I'd be able to pick it up again quickly, and then a lot of stuff seemed to happen. I slid on sand, heard a car, saw Mattie pick up speed, put my head below my center of mass reaching for the leash, and had a burst of panic thinking Mattie was going to bolt beyond my reach.

And my body...crashed? It was like it was operating independently of me, and all the while I was willing myself to just step on or grab the damn leash and please please don't face plant on the thorns and asphalt, and there was lots of pain. Which I later realized was the headache I felt a moment later. Now, it's kind of a chicken/egg as to whether headache preceded or followed my body-mind going wonky on me, but either way luckily Mattie turned to see what was up with the stupid human instead of sprinting off, and I managed to stumble us home. And sit in a chair on the porch and keep from throwing up from the headache. Oof, wierd, painful experience.

I can logic out the heliotropism of leaves, but why would flowers track the sun?

Wow, old school staff - but where are the thrusts? It's interesting how there's an entirely different priority from the Okinawan style I'm more familiar with

nouveau?

Some of my favorite kinds of moments are when everything in my perception is suddenly unfamiliar. The most general example of this I can think of is when I've been out of town and am driving back into Tucson, and my mind is somewhere else, and I don't recognize the roads and shops and views I commonly see. It's like it's new all over again to me; I guess I'm often that way with food, though I didn't consciously realize that till it was pointed out to me, but in a sense somehow yeah I guess food does seem kind of new to me each time I try it, even if it's something I eat practically every day. So I suppose in the end I'd take that observation as a really nice compliment, because I think it's good to do more than just go through the motions, and I'm happy to be more aware that I might have been acting that way even unconsciously. Or perhaps especially?

After I meditate, if I'm especially centered, I'm left with that unfamiliar feeling for a period of time. Unfamiliar isn't really the right word, though, I think that might have some negative connotation; more like everything's newer, and in being new again, and me consequently paying more attention, everything seems bright and fresh and interesting, even if it's just the subtle movements of the blinds across the window, or the red of the drapes in my room, or (and for some reason I love this in particular) the green of leaves swaying in a sunny breeze. Or this morning, I somehow woke up in a kind of new-state, and the first thing I saw was my girlfriend's lovely butt clad only in underwear, and that was something I was very happy to see all over again for the first time.