Only thing missin' is chuck norris and a badass fight sequence

And now we know

i have always wondered what goes on behind those little black flaps. well, now we know:

Is it me or is it hollyweird?

when it comes to the movies that come out nowadays, i feel like an old curmudgeon forced to ponder whether my pissy attitude is based on nostalgia or whether or not they just don't make movies like they used to.

when i think of my favorite flicks, none of them have been made past 1994.

i try. i mean, i really do try to get excited about movies still but i've just been left disappointed so many times that i feel like the white flag is necessary.

nowadays i go to the movie theatre once or twice a year. that's it. and i make sure i'm going to see a movie that i'm already lined up to enjoy. i saw war horse recently. it was... okay. not great. but not "oh-here's-another-shitty-remake" bad.

i like to think that shitstorms come in cycles too. so maybe there's hope that the movie industry will escape from the one its been in the last decade.

No one tells it like carl...

goddamnitimissyoucarl!!!!

Nature first

surely we all know that nature ought to trump the t.v., but i'm guessing most people don't really adhere to such a philosophy. it's hard. especially in today's blazing fast singularity bound culture.

i was 30 years old before i realized mother nature has far more to offer me in regards to peace and joy and health and fulfillment than any technology.

like anything in life, moderation is paramount. i'm sure that's what this child had in mind when scribing the above note.

(image via ihmp)

Skrillex gittin' crazy with your brain

this skrillex fella is sorta takin' the electronic music world by the nut sack, ain't he?

whether you like this song or not, you gotta admit the video is pretty badass. it reminds me of my first matrix experience, which, at the time reminded me of my first recreational drug experience which reminded me of my first sexual experience.

so what i'm really tryin' to say is: this video is sex on your mind.

-ish.

A new and interesting way to kill five minutes while also learning something

*THIS* will be weird at first, but you will eventually get the hang of it and you'll be wanting to go on more odd adventures like *this one* or *this one*.

SERIOUSLY, WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT THE FUCKING INTERNETS, PEOPLE!?!?

Go ahead, i dare ya not to love this

but first, make sure you're relaxed. if you're not relaxed, then get relaxed.

chill the fuck out.

and just listen...

The gatti/ward inspiration train

pro boxing hasn't been good for a while. like, a long while.

sure, the pacquiao/marquez matchups have offered us a hint at what boxing could be, but in the end, they've been controversially disappointing. not since gatti/ward has a legitimate (and dramatic) storyline developed.

so, it's gatti/ward that i go back to. often. all three fights are on youtube in their entirety, and all three fights put tingles on the back of my neck.

but nothing does it like round 9 of their first matchup -- what ring magazine called "the round of the century".

as a long distance runner, i find great inspiration in people who soldier on through pain, in people who fight til the end and never give up. i like to think of myself as one of them -- that i'm a fighter, that even if you kick me when i'm down, i'll just keep getting back up and the only way you'll stop me is if you kill me.

To live life with no regrets

i seem to have this ongoing conversation with myself, each and every day, where i psyche myself out of just going through the motions (especially from a mental standpoint) that typically ends with the shawshank redemption morgan freeman character quote "get busy livin, or get busy dyin."

on the real.

while it sorta sucks that it took me almost 30 years to realize that i am in control of my own mental state -- that i have the power to discover contentment within myself for myself, no matter what circumstances may surround me -- at least i can be thankful i'm awake to the idea.

so many people in the world are clueless. they expect happiness to come to them, they expect things to line up properly, just because. i know, 'cuz i used to be one of those people.

i still have a long, long way to go. every day is a struggle, but it is a struggle that i know i can win -- I HAVE TO WIN -- and the reward of living life without regrets is the proverbial carrot that i won't stop chasing.

The XX -- "Intro" (Remix)

if you're super sly mcslicksalot, then you might know where i nabbed this sweet ass song. if not, it doesn't matter. just know that it works in just about any situation (i wanna punch something real hard, i wanna make love to something real hard, etc).

try it on for yourself.

Zoom in!

SLOW.

DOWN.

look around you. no, REALLY look around. SEE your surroundings. KNOW where you are. FEEL how your presence affects the environment.

only when we take the time to really see how things work can we appreciate the fucking brilliant world we live in.

such is the feeling i get when watching this slowed down video documentation of what just one human eye is actually doing as it operates.


FUCKING FASCINATING SHIT YO!

Com Truise's "Brokendate"

as if com truise's uniquely eighties-dubbed-electro-yorg sound wasn't enough to do sexy time on yer ears, now he comes with an equally orgasmic-punched video.

Com Truise - "Brokendate" from Ghostly International on Vimeo.

this is one of those rare cases where the video TOTALLY fits the song, even if neither one makes much practical sense. that's what the 80s were all about: doing shit just to do it 'cuz it looked and sounded cool, even if it was mindless.

nostalgic or not, i fucking love it.

Endorphin ecstasy

i completed my first 50K trail race on saturday. it was fucking badass.

i don't know how else to explain it.

in fact, it's hard for me to describe a 5 hour endorphin trip that includes listlessly romping through the forest on a 55 degree morning with plenty of sun. the whole time i kept saying to myself, "this is the life, this is the life, this is the life"...

and everyone i came upon seemed to agree.

what shocks me is that most people don't enjoy running. i know it's not for everybody, but i do feel like adults could use a little play in their lives. for a good part of the race i was clicking my heels and doing twisted leaps down the rocky trails, the smile on my face stretching from one end to the other.

i can't wait to do more. i even signed up for my next challenge: a 50 miler.

BOOM!

Ricky worden "promised land"

i enjoy listening to mlk speeches. they're always so sincere and inspiring.

take one of the more popular ones, throw a badass beat under it, and voila... THIS:

A fine musical discovery

one would think that after 30 some years a person wouldn't have too many surprises left regarding his musical tastes. but, that's just wrong because i found out i actually enjoy most country music just a few years ago.

and, recently, i discovered that i am a huge fan of the drum and bass subgenre of electronica. i don't know if this immersion song counts as DnB, but it was DnB that lead me to the album that this is on, and after one listen i knew it was a good muthafuckin thang.

An hour+ of funky DnB (or, "i need an excuse to get up and dance like a fuckin' mad man")

happy friday yo!

Losing time can be trippy (and fun)

i'm a runner.

i run.

that's what i do.

despite what my job title says, despite my undying devotion to baseball, despite my female form worship, i'm first and foremost: a runner.

and i often tell people that, for me, the worst part about running is that eventually, i have to stop.

but what happens between the time i start and the time i stop is a magic time. i never know what's going to happen. sometimes i figure shit out. sometimes i let my imagination flow. sometimes i get really emotional. and sometimes i just fucking play, like a kid, take off and boom. whatever happens happens.

on sunday, i ran 20 miles with a pace group. i wanted to stay with this fast group for the entire jaunt so i spent several days just thinking about it, prior to the run, preparing my mind (and body) for the heavy task i was going to ask of it. and as i crossed the finish line i looked down at my watch and saw that i had been running for 2 hours and 30 minutes.

and i couldn't remember a fucking thing.

was that... was that... what the fuck was that????

my mind totally blanked for two and a half hours! all i remember is following the guy in front of me, and breathing. often. other than those basics, i had not a single thought the entire time! what a fucking trip!

what a fucking awesome, confusing, badass trip!

huzah!!!

Being aware sucks sometimes

maybe that's why most people eschew complete awareness.

because when one really opens himself up to what is going on all around him, it's hard to be a whiny bitch and feel good about it.

still, i'm not perfect. and i struggle with it daily.

i don't want to be so reliant on things and materials and shit that doesn't matter, but i get sucked into it all the same.

my worries tend to revolve around money. i never have enough of it. i feel overworked, underpaid. my job is not enjoyable so i end up dwelling on that fact rather than making the best of it. i'm not proud of that fact, but it is the truth.

so, with being aware, one must also learn how to put in perspective what matters and what doesn't.

and right now, whether or not i have those new shoes or those new jeans or those new gaiters doesn't really fucking matter.

to my own credit though, i'm still watching all major league baseball games on a shitty ass 28 inch tube television. so i should get points for that.

Slow down, pay attention and take note of how little we know

i've mentioned before that i'm actively trying to pay more attention to my surroundings, to always be aware of where i am, what's going on in the space around me, how are or would my actions affect the environment, etc.

this has given me a greater appreciation for life, for all its intricacies and oddities.

it reminds me that, really, i know nothing. i know a miniscule amount about the world in which i live.

i went out the door the other day and just decided to walk around the park and look at stuff. i got on my hands and knees and watched a community of ants do some heavy duty lifting for about 30 minutes. it was better than any t.v. show i've seen. cuz it was real. it was in my face. i felt like they were doing a little show just for me.

and later i sat by the pond and watched four ducks interact in a strange and repetitive routine that involved stretching their necks high above the water then gliding across the water real fast before going into a dive.

i sat there, mesmerized by nature, and thought, how the fuck could those fucking christian delusionoids think they really know all there is to know about how the universe came to be, that they know some fucking bearded sky daddy snapped his fingers and boom. there it is.

if, in the grand scheme of the universe, i am ignorant, then the delusionoids have to be somewhere between single-celled organism and fucking bat-shit crazy.