In awe of ueli

to say i have a soft spot for ordinary people doing extraordinary things is quite the understatement. so it's no surprise that ueli steck, multi-record-holding speed alpinist, gets me excited about living.

here. see for yourself.

Now let seth mcfarlane say it...

Star wars yoga

for so long, yoga seemed just... so... intangible to me.

but NOW...

now, i get it. totally get it.

What is beauty?

the definition of "beauty" is, obviously, one of personal taste. it's a relative idea. my understanding of it is unique. on a bigger scale, societies create their own versions of what constitutes as "beauty".

some think long-ass necks are sexy.

others find robust hips to be a must.

i'm not sure what my own idea of it is exactly, as my tastes vary from day to day, moment to moment really; but i do know that i can appreciate different discourses on the subject of beauty.

do yourself a favor and travel back to the 50s/60s to discover what "beauty" looked like to the masses. i reckon today's kids would look at this and find it completely boring, yet back then, these were considered suggestive/sexy.

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.

This Will Destroy You's "Quiet"

music is powerful.

i doubt anyone would deny that.

what is up for debate is what kind of music causes that power to stir within you.

for me, this will destroy you's "quiet" is really hitting it on all levels right now. when i listen to it i am reminded of how far i have come in my journey to be the best me i can be. i see my mistakes. i see my triumphs. i see me soldiering on, whatever it takes.

that's something i need today. maybe you'll find it too.

USB jeebus

for your infected computer... when it needs to slow its roll and reflect on all that is good... let jeebus go to the cross for it and hope no evangelical viruses find their way into your machine.

ew. sounds dirty.

All hail bobby mcbadass

bobby mcferrin is one of those artists who could hold my attention forever. i've scoured the youtubes and internetz for all the bobby vids i can find and i'm still not satisfied. the man is just so talented and he has never been afraid of doing something new.

that's something i can take to the proverbial bank.

here are a couple of my favs...

Would you make out with your mannequin doppelganger?

hmm. if megan fox can do it, surely i can do it.

but i'd rather just make out with megan fox.

her mannequin doppelganger will work just fine, thank you.

Prayer/misdirection

ahh yes, that age old propensity to give credit to the miracles of an invisible sky daddy who can hear all thoughts (and convict you of THOUGHT CRIME!!!) rather than see things for what they are, with fact.

it's just too easy to say so-and-so beat cancer because cindy christian "prayed" about it. nevermind the chemo, the medicine and myriad other treatment options.

in fact, for cindy christian to think she's so important that she has the FUCKING EAR OF GAWD to request with it whatever she likes kinda proves just how pompous and egocentric xtrian folks tend to be.

and why doesn't cindy christian's invisible sky daddy answer her prayers to stop those children from getting raped, or those wives from getting beaten, or those tsunamis from wrecking entire villages!?!?

pray harder, cindy christian. pray HARDER.

(image via smbc)