Bad Mutha Booboisie

Nice To See You

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 19:11:59 +0000

Modern Capitalism and Education

Jon — Wed, 26 Nov 2014 08:28:00 +0000

"The corruption of the meaning of words is a necessary consequence of an economy as skewed towards the elites as our broken economy is. . . . What happens to the liberal notion of advancement through education when the economy is skewed around a low-wage, low-skill service sector for the ‘proles’ and for the professionals, financial services, real estate and advertising – jobs that all require a fair degree of institutionalised lying? What happens is that advancement through education becomes itself a lie – except for the elites who enter the top jobs through the nexus of private schools and Oxbridge and go onto dominate the state apparatus, business sector and the media." -Michael Wayne, Open Democracy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/michael-wayne/does-capitalism-need-mass-higher-education

The Booby Awards

Sun, 17 Aug 2014 17:39:32 +0000

will probably come back again...

Why I'm tired of hearing about "body image"

Zachhh — Sun, 13 Oct 2013 11:56:00 +0000

The internet is full of positive body image literature. I recently ran across this one and it got me to thinking.

Why is this a women's-only issue?

To be clear, it's not a women's-only issue. It's just spun that way. The most of the body-pride crowd and many feminists argue the issue in a way that you'd think it's only women that are victimized by over-sexualization and physical perfection.

This is nonsense. Watch any modern romantic comedy or TV show aimed at women (Grey's Anatomy, for example) and you can see proof that women aren't alone when it comes to being sexualized, objectified, and held up to a standard of physical perfection.

It is common to hear women fawning over their favorite movie stars and musicians. Men are expected to keep their own thoughts on movie stars and musicians to themselves. "Do as I say, not as I do" is no way to rectify a problem.

In fact, I would argue that body image issues in the modern day are in some ways worse for men. I know that sounds crazy, but hear me out: who would a man talk to if he has a body image issue?

The internet is full of positive body image resources for women, but they are few and far between for men.

Are you going to go talk to your buddies about it? Unlikely. For that matter, I don't think many women talk to their friends about it either. Too close for comfort, perhaps.

Would you talk to your girlfriend? Ah, here we go. Let me relay, from personal experience, how that conversation would go:

Boyfriend--I need to lose weight. I look and feel like garbage.
Girlfriend--Oh, babe, don't be crazy! I love your little gut and love handles! They're cute!

Now imagine how that conversation would go if the roles were reversed. I don't think I need to type all the profanity and verbal threats that would ensure for you to get the gist of what would happen.

Why is it okay for men to feel like crap, but for women to be treated delicately?

In short, it's not.

If the answer for a man is "Eat better and exercise more" then that's the same answer for women, too. We're doing a great disservice by allowing people on the margins an "out" by rationalizing poor health choices. "Love your body" is great unless you are one of the people who has an actual weight problem and need to lose weight to be healthy. Healthy doesn't mean "thin" but it also doesn't mean "fat".

If you're fat, like me, you need to take off the kiddie gloves and own it: I hate exercise and I love food and I'll die sooner than necessary but that's worth it to me. I can respect that. But when you're living an unhealthy lifestyle and using positive body image propaganda to rationalize your poor choices and be in denial about your health, I can't respect that. You are fooling yourself and hurting yourself in the process. You don't need to talk to a doctor to know that's not a good thing.

Eat healthy and exercise and feel better, or continue your ways and own it. Pick one. But don't keep pissing on yourself and telling yourself it's raining. And don't expect to be treated with kiddie gloves on the sensitive issue of body image if you're not going to do the same for the men in your life. Believe it or not, a lot of us suffer from the same insecurities as you. The difference is that it's okay for women to talk about it and lean on one another, but we men are all stranded on our own islands feeling less-than.

If your goal is to be treated equally, the way to accomplish that is not by imposing a double-standard or demanding special treatment. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, the Golden Rule, and so forth. We all know these principles from the age of preschool, but we tend to lose sight of them when we get older.

"Treat others the way you want to be treated." It really is that simple.

You mad, bro?

Zachhh — Wed, 02 Oct 2013 15:33:00 +0000

When did we slip into this vortex? If you listen to people talk in restaurants and bars or (gulp) read the comment sections on blogs, it seems like everyone is angry. Angry at the EPA for "destroying coal;" angry at the IRS for "committing unconstitutional acts of robbery;" angry at the media and it's "liberal bias" that hides the crimes of the Washington elite; and overlaying all that, people are mad at that "black Muslim socialist" that's the root of all this evil.

Ho-fucking-hum.

Everything is so extreme. People you don't like "surrender" if you win a point; someone with an alternative viewpoint "blasts" others; everything you don't like is "destroying" America and is "Anti-American;" disliked leaders are called "dictators" and "terrorists" just because their plan to get from A to B is different than your plan to get from A to B.

Why aren't people allowed to pick a middle road? The "extremification" of America is forcing moderate people to pick the left or right side, and it's pushing those already on the left or right way out onto the brink of insanity. You only need to watch C-SPAN or read Facebook comments on news stories to see that it's happened and it's happened in a big way.

America's new religion is anger. Angry all the time and at everything, persistently persistent in not listening to alternate viewpoints. "You're wrong and I hope you die at the hands of a wood chipper" is not a great attitude to have toward anyone or anything you deem to not be on your side of an issue.

I recently got into a Facebook battle with a guy I didn't know. I had commented on a mutual friend's post about the Affordable Care Act (which featured some very out of date and demonstrably inaccurate claims). Even though my post was even-handed and at its core was completely aligned with the viewpoint of this stranger, he took offense with one element of my analysis and implemented a scorched earth policy. He attacked my intelligence, age, experience, manhood, and national allegiance. The fact that we were on the same side of the issue was irrelevant to him. He was looking for a fight from the safety of his computer and he got one. I engaged him a little bit because, hey, I'm only human.

But after typing a long, point-by-point analysis of his attacks and why they are bogus and stupid, I realized there's no sense in this. Why spend time being angry and catty and rude? I took the high road and immediately felt better. No more aggravation, no more elevated heart rate, no more bad feelings. It was over more quickly than it had begun.

I'm sure it's too much to ask of people to remember that we are all human beings. Our views are different, but we should still be able to be civil and get along. Differences should be discussed politely and thoughtfully, not shouted out in a series of ad hominem bursts and strawmen. But with the ability to say anything you want at any time, what's to stop you from calling the president a "black Muslim faggot" or telling a stranger you hope he and his family are murdered in their home?

A little common decency would prevent it. Is that really too much to ask?

The Oatmeal on running and motivation

Jon — Mon, 15 Jul 2013 19:05:00 +0000

The terrible and wonderful reasons why I run long distances by the Oatmeal includes this gem that rightfully demonizes the human tanning industry:

On Zimmerman trial, Emily Bazelon nails it

Jon — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 13:06:00 +0000

Zimmerman's Not Guilty. But Florida Sure Is.

OQ Challenge - Don't Be A Menace (Trayvon tribute) by ~P-MassManPro on deviantART

Our (naked) bodies, our(naked)selves

Jon — Sun, 14 Jul 2013 08:29:00 +0000

From Thursday's IDS, Kelly Fritz learned to appreciate a part of herself that she hadn't before:

Three Months' Work

Drew Laurens — Fri, 21 Jun 2013 04:40:00 +0000

Yeah buddy.

My daily habits include reading as much about training as possible, and it wasn't until a few months ago that I took the advice that almost all training logs give at some point: COMPETE! February's NGSM was the first time I had competed in more than a year, and I should never have let my focus slip for so long.

The only reason I did the meet in the first place was because one of our trainers who sees me squat all the time walked up to me and said, "This thing goes off in two weeks. You should do it, you'll love it." I owe him a debt of thanks for opening my training world and giving me the chance to blast heavy weights in competition.

More recently, I have been prepping for Georgia's Strongest Man, which goes off on Saturday 22 June 2013. Notable feats from recent memory include 515#x5 DL, a 455#x4 at a 3" deficit DL, 2x5 @ 315# on the front squat, and 550# for a triple on the normal DL.

As a lightweight strongman I am probably never going to grace the screen at any WSM comp. But that really doesn't matter to me because I'm already light years ahead of where I was back in the beginning. There is a post forthcoming on the past I re-live every week, about the path I trudged for years searching for true strength. A GSM recap is also on the docket so stay tuned. Sorry for the layoff.

When Douchebags Get Together #fitchthehomeless

Jon — Sun, 19 May 2013 10:56:00 +0000

"Abercrombie & Fitch" By Taymaz Valley

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic License.

"Upset about Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries' recent explanation that his brand refuses to cater to plus-size people and would rather burn its returned clothes than donate them, an LA video producer named Greg Karber got a big idea: Give Abercrombie a “brand readjustment” by giving Abercrombie and Fitch clothes to people who are homeless.

. . .

But as New York homeless-advocacy group Picture The Homeless explained, 'If you give to the homeless only to punish douchebags, you’re probably a douchebag yourself.'"

http://bitchmagazine.org/post/forcing-your-old-abercrombie-and-fitch-clothes-on-people-is-a-bad-idea

Central Georgia's Strongest Man 2013 Recap

Drew Laurens — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:27:00 +0000

You may or may not have known I competed again last month, in a meet called Central Georgia's Strongest Man. Down in Macon a bunch of strong dudes got together to sling some steel and smash some stones.

We arrived in Macon just under the gun for the weigh-ins--I mean they had five minutes left before they closed shop. I'm pretty sure I was the last guy to weigh on the scale. I met Greg and Nicole Fields and they were warm and inviting and friendly, which is pretty much how everyone in the sport comports themselves. I thanked them profusely for holding the meet and promised Greg I'd be back next year. Nicole told me there were 40 competitors in this meet, which blew my mind, because we'd had like fifteen or twenty total at NGSM. KT and I ate at Cheddar's that night, and got back in time to gorge a little more and then crush some deep sleep in preparation for the next day's rapturous promises.

We had a quick rules meeting, and after that they introduced all the competitors by name: an honor that humbled me greatly, since I am the living embodiment of the love and dedication my wife, parents, and all my friends and relatives have poured into me. They should have been receiving the applause, not me; I thanked them as often as I could during the day.

First up was the log press. It was a larger diameter than the one we used in Woodstock, but it only had ten more pounds on it. I let my adrenaline get the better of me on this one and only completed three tough reps. If my friend Matt had been there, he would have told me right away to be more aggressive with my dip and drive instead of doing the gentle girly curtsey that I did. I let the minute expire because I wanted to save my back for the next events, most notably the frame deadlift for reps and the yoke walk for time/distance.

The frame deadlift took a long time to set up, because the heavies in each class were using a car instead of the frame we LW novices and teens were using. The handles were a bit wider and thicker than your standard hex frame, but the weight was a paltry 450# from a height approaching my knee. We needed a lift and a down command for a rep to count. I completed 16 reps, which gave me third, the two guys after me hit 19 and 21 reps. I was happy but tired after that one.

The yoke run was an absolute crapfest. The yoke was a little low and the venue was on grass, resulting in a high loss of control for me which ended with some of the biggest divots this side of a golf course frequented by giants. The weights even fell off one time and had to be reloaded. I finished 100' in something like forty seconds. Brutal and awful, the next two events for me were nothing but fun.

The tire flip was slated before the meet to be 500# for us novices, but when I flipped the tire I thought we'd be using, it felt hella easy. Then I was informed that the tire we'd be using was 650#, and tripped out a little, till I flipped it a couple of times--technique is king, here. Hands outside feet, shoulders aggressive against the rubber, driving up and through, kneeing like a Thai boxer--these are the things that define an awesome performance. I finished all ten required flips in forty-nine seconds and change, enough again for third place.

Last up was the stone-over-bar. We used a 225# stone and the bar was 48". Having never picked up a stone before in my life, I tried the 170# the teens were using. I had wrapped my arms in tape like veterans did, and before I got to the real deal I put tacky on my hands. During the actual minute I was given, I was told I lapped it like a pro and put my arms on top in textbook fashion for optimal opening of the hips and placement of the stone over the bar. I got seven reps, again good enough for third place. The plaque is quite a bit larger than the medal I got last time, and the company was only missing my friend and coach to be more than perfect. I made friends with several good guys who will be at the next meet in Carrollton in June--that's Georgia's Strongest Man. I can't wait.

Training

Drew Laurens — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 10:57:00 +0000

Last week a berserk surge hit me hard in the squats. I went to the gym on Thursday and did this:

Squat
worked up to 1x5 @ 420#
Push press
worked up to 1x4 @ 185#, 2x4 @ 205#
Weighted pull-ups
worked up to 5x4 @ 53#

Saturday I did shrugs x 15 reps, up to 365#, then flipped the tiny tire we have (only 360# as opposed to the 500# tire I'll be flipping in Macon). After that I got many several snatches in with my 2pd Rage kettlebell. Today was another volume day, with another volume PR in two lifts:

Squat
5x5 @ 365#
Press
1x5 @ 160#, 4x5 @ 165#
Deadlift
worked up to 1x5 @ 460#

The presses came after a dismal showing last Monday due to constraints on time and energy, but today they felt great and only the last rep of the last set was somewhat difficult. The deadlifts didn't really feel harder than the ones I did last week either, despite the 5# increase. I'll take that as a good sign too. The only thing I changed about my presses this week was the intensity with which I gripped the bar: I strangled the iron today, all but made it crumple beneath my fingers. This worked some whole-body voodoo, making everything feel tighter and my form better through each set.

Vagaries of Victory

Drew Laurens — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 01:34:00 +0000

My favorite guardian.

Since it became apparent that my talent for strength sports is more than a passing fad or gym-only proficiency (given my utter destruction of implement-only events), I have decided to enter the Central Georgia Strongest Man competition on March 16th.

Given that I treated the comp as an extended training day, I have been progressing my volume squats like normal. That means I squatted 355# and 360# for five sets of five on the past two Mondays. My only intensity day in the meantime yielded a 405#x5 at the top, which I will again increase this week. I'm feeling stale and need a break; I didn't take one after the comp like I had provisionally promised myself after the comp.

I've been prepping a little bit for the 180# log press event for the upcoming comp by doing three sets of max reps on the push press with 185# and KT calling the commands (I got 8, 6, and 4...fatigue's a blast). I also did a set of five deadlifts at 455# after my volume squats and presses on Monday. That was tough. I can't remember the last time a training session was anything but a routine crush session. A real Texas Method sesh laid me pretty low and I think I liked it.

Thinking about it now I want to smash more steel in the morning.

A note on the psychology of victory:
The first week since the peak experience of the strongman comp I was pretty happy. Tired, sore, aching, floating on a wave of pain and serotonin, I was happy. I have sometimes craved pain as an indicator of progress or even of work done and this was no different except that it included with it the sense of victory, a vague and indefinable sense of wellbeing and joy. The only way I can convey the way I feel is to give you a snapshot of some time after I put in my third attempt and before I made it: some distance from the pavilion, a rushing aspiration of cool air, black of closed eyes, open and the pine trees against the sky, a seeing, a visual prophecy of 605# suspended and a mouth open, roaring, conquering, zenith. Clouds spreading, sun blazing, wind tugging, feet planted and arms wide, breathing power, oozing euphoric and perfect knowledge of all requisite cues. Traceless. Unapproachable. Unstoppable. There is a lesson here, and the one I learned is that you can only know yourself through competition. This one turned into a Campbell-esque peak experience through the devout adherence and focus of my psyche on the goal which had been set before me, and I intend to attack the next comp in precisely the manner it requires to again emerge victorious. Again, for me this means full effort, as Gandhi exhorts: full effort, of course, being full victory.

North Georgia's Strongest Man 2013

Drew Laurens — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 18:07:00 +0000

We got Matt K., my meet coach, from his house and headed down to Dupree Park in Woodstock. We got there about ten after nine and I got weighed and checked in. My weight was 217#, a pound lighter than the previous day, even with shoes and clothes on. That was fine by me. I was in the lightweight (sub-231#) novice division with about seven other dudes.

The fire truck pull was first, followed by the log press, the deadlift, the farmer's walk, then the yoke run. This was a welcome change from the way I thought things would progress: the truck pull has been hanging over my head because of the fearful elbow pain I incur when I do rope climbs. I had no idea how to do it; all I could do was bring a lot of ibuprofen and prepare mentally for the worst. The teens went first and the first guy got a DNF about five feet short of the finish. I took a lot of mental notes and Matt was all over it, analyzing out loud the things I thought. This was the start of a great trend in his coaching for the whole day. When my turn came I was frothing at the mouth and didn't even hear the judge ask if I was ready. The second time my head was clear and I said yes a moment before I began pulling in earnest. It took me 43 seconds and change for dead last (except for the one guy who didn't show up). It is my belief the the heavy pull-ups and all the back work I do helped me tremendously. A lot of guys stopped where I did and couldn't get it going to finish; I did but I was slow overall because I've never done that before. Here's a vid from Facebook:

Next up was the log press. I wasn't really worried about this one because I had picked up a log that felt like 100# and pressed it a few times like it was nothing. When I asked, I found out it was loaded to 150#. I knew then that 170# wasn't going to be any trouble. The thing that got me was waiting for the "down" command. I got nine reps, but only 7 of them counted because I put two down without waiting for the command. I could feel my back getting tight on account of the midline displacement required by the large circumference of the log, so I ended it with 20 seconds to go because I wanted to hit a huge DL and didn't want one event to limit my day. After this event, in which three dudes didn't get more than two reps, I was in fifth place.

605# ascending

Now the deadlift. They put two inflated tires (which added about three inches to the height of the pull when my bar was fully loaded) on the bar and called that 135#. I pulled that so explosively that the bar felt empty. I wasn't present for the 225#s, but hit the 315# for three like it was nothing. 405# went for two sky-high reps. 495# was tough enough to make me want to be conservative; I gave my opener as 535#. I had pulled out the iPod and Matt had seen me lift enough to know my head was on another planet in another dimension. I crushed 535# and went for 565#. With that lift I had tied the only other guy who was any competition in that event, but I didn't find that out until later. I went to the desk and chose 605#. My Dad came over and said, "How much are you going for on your third one?" I told him, "I'm going yard, Pop. Six oh five." Those were the last words I spoke to anyone. Deep in the start-strewn darkness of my psyche I was achieving supernova. Cosmic plasma coruscated around my head, my hands, my hips, my shoulders, my feet, my body. My heart was full to bursting with love, with a berserker's joy, with a shaman's singularity of purpose and being, with a demon's destructive power. I stepped up to the bar...and my mind is blank, that moment is lost in a crush of divine grace and sidereal glory. I came to myself at the lockout, after the good lift command, and I slammed the bar down with a tribal roar. Matt met me and I grappled him into the air, yelling "WITNESS!" at the top of my lungs. Strapless, beltless, totally raw and totally in control, I annihilated everyone by at least 40# in this event.

Later I was told by a lot of guys at the meet that when they heard my third attempt, they knew it was a lock. That was encouraging, and I knew that no matter what happened in the last two events no one could take that 605# away from me. Turns out that 605# was the start of a change in the momentum.

Cruising on animal persistence.

The farmer's walk stands out to me first because it was 205# in each hand, and second, when I started my attempt, the back ends of both implements came unloaded! Plates flying, clamps tumbling, the whole nine. It was ugly but it meant I got a second attempt after the heavies went. I made it count. An added advantage was that I got to go last in my weight class because I had won the deadlift. I finished in 20.5 seconds, which was .12 of a second behind the first place dude. After this my grip was fragged, but it didn't matter because the last event didn't have a grip component.

Sliding into home.

The yoke run was 510# fully loaded for us lightweight novices. We all warmed up and I felt shaky but I got some good advice from the teen heavies that I used to great effect. I only remember dropping the yoke about fifteen feet short of the finish, standing back up, and sliding like a champ over the line for the win in this event too.

Up to this point I had been speaking with a guy named Mike who was my only real competition in the deadlift. He had waived his third attempt on that lift to save the strain on his back, and at this point he was ruing his decision not to try for 615#. According to my peeps he probably would have failed that attempt, but whatever, it was me, him, and the guy who got eleven reps on the log press in the running for placement. Back at the pavilion they called his name for third. I was unbelievably pumped, because I hadn't come to win, only to sling weight and crush iron. I got called for second and I am proud to hold that honor.

I pulled a 17.5 ton fire truck, got 605# on the deadlift, and ran 100' in 20.63 with 510# on my back, and all I got was this rinky-dink little medal.

I will now spit profusely on the awesomeness of my support crew. First comes my beautiful wife KT, without whose support I couldn't train or compete with any meaning or enjoyment. Second comes my awesome meet prep/coach/handler/friend, Matt, for being there with me and analyzing the profuse data that became available. He said the words I needed to hear when I needed to hear them, and he also knew when to step back and LET ME WORK, just as important as any cue or technique. My parents are next, bringing their love and support in addition to their cameras and some Gatorade which helped immeasurably after the farmer's walk. My wonderful friend and client Laura also showed up and got the vids I'll be uploading soon, including invaluable video footage of me crushing 605#. A few other peeps from CF Cherokee came, Adrien and Ronnie, and they had a good time watching me (at least, I hope they did).

A word on preparation: it is my belief that no one was as mentally prepared as I was. As the deadlift platform was prepared I took Matt's sharpie and drew sacred runes on the insides of my forearms. My right bore uruz, symbol of strength, and my left bore thurizas, a symbol of Thor. My hands both bore the Japanese kanji for 'mountain,' my spiritual and one-time physical home. I wrapped my wrists in dark red tape, symbolizing for me the dried blood of those enemies felled by my hand. I wore a shirt with the symbol of the Avengers, in spirit that shirt touched on all the books I read as a child and which inspired me to become as strong as I could. I treated the day as a battle, and left everything on the field. It worked, and I'll do it again in April.

Training

Drew Laurens — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 23:27:00 +0000

My near future.

Training leading up to my first strongman comp continues this week. The weighted cardio on my off days is a must, now; dopamine dosing is essential for a good day.

Tuesday 1/29
Squat
6x3 @ 280# speed squats, 3x5 @ 230# with a 5-second pause each rep
Press
worked up to 2x7 and 2x6 @ 155#
GHD sit-ups 5x15

Thursday 1/31
Deadlift
worked up to 1x3 @ 505#
Shrug
worked up to 1x20 and 1x15 @ 365#
Press
worked up to 2x5 @ 160#
about 50 pull-ups and 100 push-ups on a med ball.

Saturday 2/2
Squat
worked up to 1x8, 1x5, and 1x6 @ 370#
Push press
1x5 @ 185#
Speed deads
10x2 @ 320#

Honesty in Training

Drew Laurens — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 21:50:00 +0000

If the Son of Darkness, Lord of Moon's Spawn Anomander Rake's sword Dragnipur had anything to say, it would be this: "The blood of your fathers has turned to water in your veins. Not your lot is it to be strong as they were. Having tasted neither life’s sorrows nor its joy, like a sickling you look at life through a glass. Your skin will shrivel, your muscles grow weak, tedium will devour your flesh destroying desire. Thought will congeal in your skull and horror will stare at you from the mirror. Overcome yourself, overcome yourself. I tremble, I seethe, I clench, I seize the maul."

There is something significant about the sessions that have taken place in the last two weeks, and that is the barbaric demolition of personal records that have stood for some time. The squat PRs aren't that unusual, because the first time I hit 405# was back in almost-November, but 525# for a triple is significant, to me, for several reasons.

In two and a half years I have gained a lot of muscle and strength, as evidenced by this post from May of 2010 in which I smashed a PR from high school. At the time I had already proposed to KT, was working at Target, and was lifting in my parents' basement after coming home from my job. I remember being frustrated with myself and tired of making excuses for the program that apparently wasn't working. I knew the importance of focus and mental intensity only by word of mouth; in high school I worked myself into demonic berserker furies that saw the deadlift poundage fly at my weight class of 148#. I had picked up 405# at age 17 in the Colorado State High School Powerlifting Championship, which, when combined with my 275# squat and 215# bench gave me an 895 total for third place. I still have the trophy at my parents' house.

Back then a repped-out 275# squat was yet beyond me; I toyed with 250# but was afraid--literally--of anything more than that. My back hurt because I wasn't squatting right and couldn't figure out why. I wasn't going to stop, I wasn't that mad, but . . . by God, I thought about it. It seemed like the only way to preserve myself for further athletic achievement. I knew I should have been stronger but I could not understand why and it was killing me. I would tell my father how I felt about strength and how important to me it was to be strong and he would nod, either understanding or support, his only reply. My mother too was as encouraging as she knew she could be, but my soon-to-be wife KT was the closest, I believe, to true comprehension of what I wanted to become.

I got my squat mostly corrected later that year, but it was still another year before I started squatting honestly. Recently I was warming up with a few of our CrossFit seniors' class members, and they were in awe of my 2x365# prep-set. "How did you get to be that strong?" Pausing for only a moment, I said "Gentlemen, if you squat honestly, you will be rewarded."

The single biggest factor of my progress has been honesty: being honest with myself about what I am bad at, what scares me, and what it will take to make the progress I want to make. I was bad at squats. Now when my comrades see me in the gym, they ask "Heavy or light today?" and there is no mistake: they mean my squats. I was scared of 315#, then of 405#. So I took my time and ground their hold over me beneath the heel of my lifting shoes. Five plates is next, and it will know the meaning of fear before the end. I knew I needed to structure my training and gain consistency in order to make progress. So I put together a MWF Texas Method-ish split and applied the principles to the squat, dead, and press. Now their gilt glory adorns the armrests of my throne.

On 9 February I compete in my first strongman competition and I'm beyond excited. I will be competing as a LW (sub-231#) novice so I get a small break on the poundages for the movements tested. Strategy so far requires straps for the max deadlift comp, and my anticipated max right now is 550# with straps; this is to preserve my grip for the 200#-per-hand farmer's walk event. I am going to treat this as much as possible as an extended training day replete with protein shakes and long breaks. This is the schedule as I know it now:

First event: Log clean, then press for reps: 170#
Bro. Really bro? I can slam the shit out of a 170# log press for a minimum of 8-10 reps. I'm mega slam-pumped for this event.

Second event: Max deadlift, straps and chalk: 10# increments
I'm going to wait for the 520# mark for my first attempt. If 550# is slow, then I'll waive the last attempt because I get three. If 550# is light I'll summon a few more demons and slam 570# or more. All numbers are subject to change on the day of the competition.

Third event: Yoke walk: 100" total, one set-down per 50" at 530#
AAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! EAT MY SHORTS!

Fourth event: Farmer's walk: 200# per hand, 100" total
Yeah, I don't know. My grip isn't especially strong. I'm trying to rectify this but the short notice is playing hell with my psych maneuvers and I have a few more hurdles to jump before I'm in the clear.

Fifth event: 35,000# firetruck pull
My tendonitis seems to rear its Godawful head whenever I even think about this event, but I remain hopeful. Once I get this truck moving, I will not let it stop. Can I get a witness?

Redonkulous Training

Drew Laurens — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 17:49:00 +0000

Assume the mantle.

Recent training looks like this:

Thursday 1/17
Deadlift
Worked up to 1x3 @ 525#, 2x3 @ 405# from a 45# bumper plate deficit...3.5" perhaps?
Lots of planks, hollow rocks, and push-ups followed.

Saturday 1/19
Squat
Worked up to 1x5 @ 410#, 370#, 350#
Press
Worked up to 1x5 @ 185#, 170#, 155#
Pull-ups
Worked up to 3x5 @ 40#
GHD sit ups 5x15, adding 10#, 15#, 20#, and 25# on the 2-5 sets

Monday 1/21
Squat
1x4 @ 225#, 1x3 @ 315#, 1x2 @ 405#
1x3 @ 415#, 1x3 @ 315#

Wednesday 1/23
Deadlift
work up to 1x3 @ 500#
Deficit deadlift
2x3 @ 405#
Shrug
1x25 @ 315#, 335#, 1x20 @ 365#
Press
work up to 1x5 @ 170#, 165#

Saturday 1/26
Squat
work up to 1x5 @ 405#
Speed deadlifts
10x2 @ 315#
Press
worked up to 2x3 @ 185# 1x3 @ 190#
Barbell curls
worked up to 21-15-9 @ 80#

Training

Drew Laurens — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 23:13:00 +0000

This past week's training was satisfying. Wednesday I hit an all-time deadlift PR by 5# and for a triple, at that.

Wednesday 1/9
Deadlift
worked up to 1x3 @ 520#
Pull-up
1x10 @ bodyweight, 1x5 and 4x5 @ 25# and 35# respectively

Friday 1/11
Squat
worked up to 1x5 @ 405#, 365#, 340#
Godforsaken incline bench press
5x5 @ 185#
Pull-up
6x10 @ bodyweight

Tuesday 1/15
Squat
worked up to 1x3 @ 390#
Speed squats 6x4 @ 275#
7-second pause squats 3x5 @ 195#
Press
1x5 @ 135#, 140#, 145#, 150#, 155#
Pull-ups
7x10 @ bodyweight
Band-resisted push-ups
7x10 w/ red and blue bands

Cardio with a weighted vest has also been amazingly fun, which I never ever expected to say.

Updates and Recent Training

Drew Laurens — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:14:00 +0000

Let those with ears hear.

I have been fortunate enough in my life to have access to everything necessary to make progress. This means food, water, shelter, love, encouragement, hardships both self-imposed and unwelcome, a working knowledge of sacrifice and living examples of it, and doing the oft-cited hard work that few want to do. Recently I began to apply the full extent of the powers these principles confer. I don't worship at the altar of indolence and self-pity; no training partner has approached me because no one desires as hotly what I desire. A timorous few give their goals lip service and don't appear at appointed times. Fewer than that show up daily and use the same weights they did last month. It is obvious to me that what I have gained is not held by many to be of great import. Not many have what I have had; not many do what I have done.

My way is not the way of the many.

On this past Wednesday I shattered a concept of myself that I had been holding tightly for far too long. I knew that in order to make progress I had to change a factor of my training that had been moving too slowly; namely, the 3x3 deadlift slog. Not only will I be trying for a truer 3RM on those days, but I will be progressing deeper into territory previously held--in my mind--by ascending immortals. Those numbers are like mileposts up a misty mountain, and the fog is slowly clearing before me. Tengu jeer and revel just out of sight and their words are no longer incomprehensible. I approach the mountain fastnesses of barbarian clans and thick-armed, lank-haired, grey-eyed icons. My tread is light. My eyes are wide.

Wednesday, 1/2:

Deadlift

worked up to 1x5 @ 500#

Press

worked up to 3x3 @ 180#

Shrugs

worked up to 2x20 @ 335#

Friday, 1/4:

Squat

worked up to 1x5 @ 385#, 365#, 345#

Press

worked up to 1x5 @ 185#, 165#, 145#

Pull-ups

worked up to 6x6 with 30# extra

Monday, 1/7:

Squat

worked up to easy 1x3 @ 370#

Speed squats did 5x4 @ 275#

7-second pause squats 3x5 @ 185#

Prior to this I primed the nervous system by doing 20" box jumps with two 25# dumbbells.

First of the Year

Drew Laurens — Tue, 01 Jan 2013 10:27:00 +0000

Vince Urbank doing the same dance I intend to do when I crush all before me.

In the past few weeks I have laid utter waste to a majority of my avowed goals from this post more than a year ago. The training will continue this year until all have fallen.

Breakdown:
DL of 550# x 1
I haven't broken that one over my knee yet but according to all the max calculators I've been using I could at any time. Due to the relative frequency of injuries at the beginning of last year I will forgo the attempt of 1RMs for as long as possible; barring competition of course.

Squat of 400# x 3
Uh, yeah. It took until October because of the lengthy rehab sessions early on, but that one has fallen. I want 450# x 5 in the next six months, and 500#+ for multiple reps by the end of the year.

Pull-up of an additional 100# x 3
I crushed this relatively quickly. My arms are just under 17" and I fully intend for them to be 17"+ and anaconda-strangle strong in the next few months.

Press of 200# x 5
I really don't know what the hell happened in the last month and a half with my press training; the two things I started doing differently in my training overall were A) pressing more often, like 3x a week, and B) heavy, crushtastic shrugs for big ol' numbers. I can only correlate, but it is my belief that they helped cause the awesome pressage of the last few weeks. I sit at a PR of 185# x 3.

Bench of 300# x 3
Not really giving a flying fried rat's ass about the bench press. My tris and pecs get plenty of stimulation with presses and dips, and push-ups make a weekly appearance with multiple hundreds of reps, which is more than enough to make my chest awesome.

Body fat of <15 p="p">I don't put much stock in the conventional and easily purchased means of measuring body fat, which means I haven't checked those methods to see what they say. Perhaps this year I need to get that done. On the other hand, my diet has been going extremely well, and though my bodyweight just topped 220#, the veins on my biceps have reappeared. I take this as a sign to continue the ride till the train won't roll no more.

Sub-5 forty
Haven't tested; cannot comment. Perhaps this year.

This year is mine. </15>

Training and Updates

Drew Laurens — Sun, 30 Dec 2012 00:23:00 +0000

Tiger uppercut.

The past two weeks have involved a healthy amount of feastage, iron smashalation, and overall conquest of every little thing involving training. Recovery has been phenomenal, and even if I feel a little beat up at the end of the week the two days of solid rest are seeing me in good stead. I didn't do much for the week of Christmas to give myself a chance to dissipate some perceived staleness.

On Monday 12/17
Squat: work up to 3x6 @ 335#, 1x6 @ 340#

Wednesday 12/19
Deadlift: work up to 3x3 @ 475#
Shrug: 3x20 @ 315#
Press: work up to 4x4 @ 165#
Pull-ups and dips: 8x8 each

Friday 12/21
Squat: work up to 1x5 @ 380#, 365#, 350#
Press: work up to 1x5 @ 180#, 165# 150#

Assorted pull-ups, dips, and other conditioning followed the next week. Then on Thursday I could not resist the call of the barbell and ended my forced fast from iron.

Thursday 12/27
Press: work up to 2x3 @ 185#

Friday 12/28
Squat: worked up to 1x3 @ 385#, 405#
Then 5x2 @ 315# with hollow rocks between each set

Bite-sized Review: The Hobbit (or, An Unexpected Journey)

Drew Laurens — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 23:47:00 +0000

"Orcrist, Goblin-Cleaver!"

This past week I crushed a fair amount of iron and lay waste to a few crappy preconceived notions people had about themselves and others. It's been a productive and encouraging seven days.

Monday 12/10
Squat: work up to 1x6 @ 330#, 3x6 @ 335#
Press: work up to 1x6 @ 135#, 3x6 @ 140#

Wednesday 12/12
Deadlift: work up to 3x3 @ 470#
Shrug: 2x20 @ 355#
Press: 1x4 @ 155#, 2x4 @ 160#

Friday 12/14
Squat: work up to 1x5 @ 375#, 360#, 345#
Press: work up to 1x5 @ 175#, 160#, 145#

The butchery of metal and the clash of iron will continue until 405# is my 6-rep biatch. Then I will press on, and on and on. I am especially happy with the 5-pound, 2-rep PR on the press, which is no doubt the result of a mental hardiness that I could only have cultivated during this squat renaissance. For the first time since I began my little odyssey in 2009 I feel like a 200#/bodyweight press is actually a possibility for me.

This afternoon I had the great pleasure of watching another modern classic in its original format. My family and I went to the local IMAX theatre and enjoyed the first movie of Peter Jackson's newest trilogy. You may have heard about it. It's called The Hobbit: or, An Unexpected Journey. And it was exactly as thrilling as I expected.

Pulling as it did from the unincluded appendices regarding the loss of Erebor to Smaug, the ruination of Thror, Thrain, and Thorin's people afterward at the hands of Azog the Defiler in the shadow of fallen Moria, and alluding to the rise of the "human sorcerer calling himself the Necromancer" in sufficiently eerie and portentous fashion, this film was an absolute wonder. When a good picture of the aforementioned Azog becomes available, I will post it because he's a total badass. Be happy with the one of Thorin and Orcrist.

Training

Drew Laurens — Sun, 09 Dec 2012 20:09:00 +0000

Revel in your power.

In the past few weeks I have exhibited unusual crushation of all goals and training sessions. No undue pain, no missed lifts, no pain, complete schedule dominance, no pain, great rest and recovery, no pain, awesome implementation of paleo-ish diet goals, no pain, and best of all, no pain.

Monday 12/3
Squat
Work up to 8x3 @ 325#
Press
4x6 @ 135#

Wednesday 12/5
Deadlift
Work up to 3x3 @ 465#, then
Shrug: 1x20, 1x30 @ 335#
Pendlay row: 1x6 @ 225#, 2x6 @ 250#

Friday 12/7
Squat
Work up to 1x5 @ 365#, 350#, 335#
Press
1x8 @ 135#, 1x5 @ 155#, 145#, 135#

In fact, the sole glaring error of the past few weeks was my decision to armwrestle one of my clients. My elbows don't even like rope climbs; I succumbed to peer pressure and won handily. But my elbow didn't like it and is making its anger known. Oh well. I didn't incur the injury in training so it doesn't count.

Training

Drew Laurens — Sun, 02 Dec 2012 22:05:00 +0000

A wyking we shall go.

Some iron was crushed in the days since last I chronicled my exploits.

Wednesday 11/28 we were back from Indiana, and I decided to go for the next jump in weight on the deadlift:

Deadlift
worked up to 3x3 @ 460#

Friday 11/30
Squat
worked up to 1x5 @ 360# and 2x5 @ 340#

That is all.

Training

Drew Laurens — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 20:14:00 +0000

My squat face.

Since last I wrote a post, the following has been completed:

Friday 11/16
Squat: worked up to 1x5 @ 335#, 2x5 @ 340#

Monday 11/19
Squat: worked up to 3x3 @ 375#

Wednesday 11/21
Deadlift: worked up to 1x3 @ 435#, 1x3 @ 440#, 1x5 @ 455#
Shrugs: DOH grip 8 reps @ 315#, mixed grip 25 and 21 reps at 315#

Friday 11/23
Squat: worked up to 1x2 @ 385#, 1x2 @ 395#, 2x2 @ 405#

Crushing 405# again has me pretty excited, especially since I ground out that last rep for what felt like fifteen seconds and still stood up like a boss.

Training

Drew Laurens — Wed, 14 Nov 2012 21:26:00 +0000

Jason and his Argonauts were early exemplars of right behavior for me.

Sunday I went to the gym and slammed out some overhead presses and such. Then I went to the park and did 100 pull-ups for fun. Monday I got back into the gym and did some squat volume with an old nemesis.

Squat
worked up to 5x5 @ 315#
EZPZ.

Then I did a little conditioning:

6 RFT of
8 banded 1.5pd KB swings
8 ab wheel roftk
Elapsed time was about nine minutes.

Today I got back into the temple of iron and did some single-arm DB presses. It was kinda high volume stuff, a little strength because single-arm pressing is ridiculously hard. A bilateral movement requires a little less athleticism and grit.

Single-arm DB presses
15 @ 20#, 12 @ 40#, 8 @ 60#
4 @ 70#, 8 @ 60#, 3x10 @ 50#

Wednesday I took advantage of an unexpected day off and crushed some deadlifts.

Deadlift
worked up to 3x3 @ 430#

These weren't too hard; the difficulty I had was with soreness. I can't remember the last time my legs were this sore. The volume work has exceeded my expectations of pain, and though I know it will be better tomorrow, this morning and early afternoon it was a struggle to get into the gym. But what I accomplished, essentially picking up where I left off the week before last, is a testament to what a day started with willpower can do.

Training

Drew Laurens — Sat, 03 Nov 2012 22:08:00 +0000

Presented without comment.

Wednesday I pulled by myself. I wish I'd taken a picture of myself for you all to see. It was Halloween, you know, and I didn't really wear a costume so much as fly my true colors. I wore my singlet, some blue flannel, and a black EliteFTS hat that reads "CONQUER" across the front.

Deadlift
work up to 3x3 @ 425#

Push press/ab wheel 'metcon':
Ten RFT
3x 145# push press
6x ab wheel ROFTK

Then on Friday I decided to try a dynamic squat day at 60% of my projected 1RM. Since my projected 1RM is 431# the weight I used was 260#.

Squat
10x2 @ 260# every minute on the minute. This did not feel dynamic.

Later that day I did about forty dips, 150 push-ups, and 50 pull-ups. I also repped out about 75 or so KB presses on each arm with my 1.5 pood bell back at the house.

Today I crushed the following:

Pull-ups
3x5 @ 53#
Presses
10x5 each arm

KT and I are headed to Gatlinburg in the morning and this was my last chance for a good workout before we departed. It has been a good seven weeks since I had any prolonged deload, and I'm taking the KB with me to Tennessee, so it is my belief that this little layoff will do my body good. I always resolve to return stronger. This occasion is no different.

Today I Am a Man

Drew Laurens — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 18:39:00 +0000

The aspect of the demon.

A few months ago Justin of 70sbig.com fame wrote this post called "Every Man Can Squat 405." The title became something of a mantra for me, and for a while when I was doing my 3x5s I would check a 1RM calculator to see how close I was to slaying 405# with its own razor-edged madness-tainted blade. Nailing 380# to the wall put me at 431.

I woke up too early today. I was tired. My back felt kinda wonky, and I'm pretty sure my legs were still janked from last Friday's session in the rack. That's okay. I used the extra time to foam roll everything, did some couch stretches, got the hip flexors all straightened out. Mobbing, no biggie. I get into the gym and feel like doing heavy triples. My rep/weight max was 380# for five, so I was thinking like 3 reps at 370, 3 reps at 380, and then 3 reps at 385 or 390; these were the little plans that I made while I was warming up.

I felt too good. 135# was laughable. 225# didn't feel any kind of heavy. 275# made me want to punch it. 315# was a firm handshake. 355# for a triple was like being on the edge of a cliff, looking a bear in the face for a full minute. 375# for three was like walking up to the bear and spitting in its open eye. 405# was like opening the bear up from guts to gullet and tearing out its still-beating heart with my teeth, and savoring the thick metallic tang of blood on my tongue before challenging the wild with a stentorian roar.

Too well I know the facts of my mild squattage, too well I know how mundane my squat is. That doesn't mean for a second that I didn't bust my ass inside out to get my 405# for a triple. I'm proud of myself but I'm not about to let that pride rule my time in the gym from now on; it's time to crush the next goal.

Training

Drew Laurens — Thu, 25 Oct 2012 00:38:00 +0000

Words fail.

I did squat last Friday; the 3x5 @ 345# was difficult but well within capacity. I could have done an extra rep or two on each set.

The wonderful KT and I spent the weekend in St. Louis for her 6th marathon. She finished the first 13.1 miles in 2:13 and change, which is super duper mega fast for her. Then she hit the wall. It didn't help that the second half of the course was full of long hills, which took a toll on her legs and got in her head. She finished in 5:08:18, having had to walk to prevent injury.

She blamed her lack of strength for her mild case of suckage; she also made it very apparent that a great many bodyweight squats, accompanied by a great many heavy barbell squats, are to be her preferred method of shoring up that strength. Music to my ears.

Today as my first workout back I did the following:

Deadlift
work up to 3x3 @ 420#
Press
1x8 @ 135#, 2x6 @ 135#, 2x5 @ 135#

I have made a new resolution, and that is to hit the press for 3x5 @ 135# every time I set foot in the gym. I believe this will help with shoulder size as well as strength. I've been messing around with < 200 for way too long.

Training

Drew Laurens — Mon, 15 Oct 2012 18:16:00 +0000

A pivotal scene from an obscure novel by my pal, Bob Howard. Almuric is very memorable, even if only for its bristling savagery and exotic villains.

Last Friday I squatted pretty well. I also got some box jumps and hollow rocks done just for funsies.

Squat
worked up to 3x5 @ 340#

Single-leg box launches from 12"
Hollow rocks
5x20 of each. Elapsed time was not taken.

On Saturday and Sunday KT's childhood friend Em came down for a visit with us. Saturday we went to Fort Mountain State Park and took in the sights and sounds, then on Sunday we went exploring in our own back yard and found an amazing hiking path that took us over a huge bridge built by Boy Scouts in 1997, around a small creek and waterfall feeding into the Etowah, and took a return path that meandered around some huge hills and smaller creeks. It was incredible, and took only five minutes of driving on our part. That morning I did something like this:

Pull-ups
5x10
Barbell curls (not in a squat rack)
1x15 @ 50#, 4x15 @ 70#
Hollow rocks
5x20

Today I got to the gym early to learn how to use our new PT software. I lifted before my meeting and this is what I got done:

Squat
worked up to 3x5 @ 345#
KB snatch:
15x3, switching arms
Hollow rocks
50, 40, 30, 20, 10

I was pretty blitzed after the snatches. That 70# KB kinda manhandles you if you only have one hand on it. It's a pretty significant portion of my bodyweight and I had to use a lot of control in order to keep it from flying around too much.

Training

Drew Laurens — Wed, 10 Oct 2012 19:23:00 +0000

One of my favorite scenes from a Howard story ("The Tower of Ahmed Shah"), heavily reminiscent of Harold Lamb at his best. Swords of Shaharazar is worth a read, if you can find a copy.

Deadlift
1x8 @ 135#, 1x5 @ 225#, 1x3 @ 315#
1x2 @ 365#, 3x3 @ 410#

Press
1x15 @ 45#, 1x8 @ 95#, 1x5 @ 135#
3x5 @ 155#

Dips
3x8 @ 25#

Deadlifts were great. Strained my right triceps a little bit; it is my belief that the dips did it. When the nurse palpated she said it felt swollen, especially compared to my left. Took some ibuprofen. Probably shouldn't have. Ate plenty of fat at dinner, will ingest plenty more in the form of fish oil tonight before bed. Ah, training.

Training

Drew Laurens — Mon, 08 Oct 2012 19:35:00 +0000

Though this is a painting of Tarzan and the Golden Lion, it would also fit Howard's "Am-ra of the Ta-an" poem quite well.

Felt pretty good today. Got the squats with no undue stress; my iPod battery had been run down so I did the work sans frenzy-inducing 'tunes. That is a practice at which I am not as adept as is desirable.

Squat
1x10 @ 95#, 1x5 @ 135#, 1x5 @ 225#
1x3 @ 275#, 1x3 @ 315#, 3x5 @ 340#

Ten rounds for time of
Long jump covering 50 feet
10 push ups
Elapsed time: 10:12

Pull-ups
10x10 @ bodyweight

I have the day off tomorrow: no clients, no day job, just a long walk on the treadmill in the evening.

Training

Drew Laurens — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 11:16:00 +0000

There's your functional upper-body training right there, now.

Limited time allowed for limited lifting. I got the squats done and got out.

Squat
1x10 @ 95#, 1x8 @ 135#, 1x5 @ 225#
1x3 @ 275#, 1x2 @ 315#, 3x5 @ 335#

My hamstrings and glutes were so blitzed from the week's work that even this relatively low weight was tougher than it normally would have been. I did some light bodyweight work on Thursday, including push- and pull-ups, but no appreciable volume because of my avowed policy of ease-taking for the week. This will be continued today during periods of extended quiescence here at work.

On a side note, seriously, check out this blog. It is the friggin' bee's knees.

Training

Drew Laurens — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 23:32:00 +0000

Position: it's that important.

Focusing on 3-5 rep strength. I'm going to add 5# per week to each lift (squat and DL) and hit 3x5 for the squats and either 1x5 or 3x3 for the DLs. I might do a dynamic week every once in a while. Trying to condition after the big lifts. Giving the upper body a bit of a deload this week too because the elbow is acting a little janky and my left shoulder's click has turned into a grind, but only if I don't warm it up enough. Nothing to worry about.

From Wednesday 10/2:

Deadlift
Work up to 3x3 @ 405#

Rest 5:00

70# KB swings
10-8-6-6-8-10
Hollow rocks
20-20-15-15-10-10

Work completed in 6:30

"Why I Refuse to Vote for Barack Obama" (from the Atlantic)

Jon — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 07:46:00 +0000

by Conor Friedersdorf

1) President Obama terrorizes innocent Pakistanis on an almost daily basis. The drone war he is waging in North Waziristan isn't "precise" or "surgical" as he would have Americans believe. It kills hundreds of innocents, including children. And for thousands of more innocents who live in the targeted communities, the drone war makes their lives into a nightmare worthy of dystopian novels. People are always afraid. Women cower in their homes. Children are kept out of school. The stress they endure gives them psychiatric disorders. Men are driven crazy by an inability to sleep as drones buzz overhead 24 hours a day, a deadly strike possible at any moment. At worst, this policy creates more terrorists than it kills; at best, America is ruining the lives of thousands of innocent people and killing hundreds of innocents for a small increase in safety from terrorists. It is a cowardly, immoral, and illegal policy, deliberately cloaked in opportunistic secrecy. And Democrats who believe that it is the most moral of all responsible policy alternatives are as misinformed and blinded by partisanship as any conservative ideologue.

2) President Obama established one of the most reckless precedents imaginable: that any president can secretly order and oversee the extrajudicial killing of American citizens. Obama's kill list transgresses against the U.S. Constitution as egregiously as anything George W. Bush ever did. It is as radical an invocation of executive power as anything Dick Cheney championed. The fact that the Democrats rebelled against those men before enthusiastically supporting Obama is hackery every bit as blatant and shameful as anything any talk radio host has done.

3) Contrary to his own previously stated understanding of what the U.S. Constitution and the War Powers Resolution demand, President Obama committed U.S. forces to war without Congressional approval, despite the lack of anything like an imminent threat to U.S. national security.

. . .

How are you going to vilify Romney as a heartless plutocrat unfit for the presidency, and then enthusiastically recommend a guy who held Bradley Manning in solitary and killed a 16-year-old American kid? If you're a utilitarian who plans to vote for Obama, better to mournfully acknowledge that you regard him as the lesser of two evils, with all that phrase denotes.

But I don't see many Obama supporters feeling as reluctant as the circumstances warrant.

The whole liberal conceit that Obama is a good, enlightened man, while his opponent is a malign, hard-hearted cretin, depends on constructing a reality where the lives of non-Americans -- along with the lives of some American Muslims and whistleblowers - just aren't valued. Alternatively, the less savory parts of Obama's tenure can just be repeatedly disappeared from the narrative of his first term, as so many left-leaning journalists, uncomfortable confronting the depths of the man's transgressions, have done over and over again.

Read the whole thing at the Atlantic: http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/09/why-i-refuse-to-vote-for-barack-obama/262861/

Muppet Election 2012: Roosevelt Franklin & Statler

Jon — Fri, 07 Sep 2012 20:28:00 +0000

Rights: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Bad Mutha Booboisie This work by Bad Mutha Booboisie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Muppets created by Jim Henson, circa 1954. Roosevelt Franklin was first performed by Matt Robinson, 1971 May 10. Statler, created by Bonnie Erickson, was first portrayed by Jim Henson, 1975 March 19. Apologies to Roosevelt and Statler for associating them with Barack and Joe, respectively.

Muppet Election 2012: Don Music & Walter Blagojevich

Jon — Tue, 28 Aug 2012 19:19:00 +0000

Rights: CC-BY-SA 3.0 Bad Mutha Booboisie This work by Bad Mutha Booboisie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Muppets created by Jim Henson, circa 1954. Don Music, created by Jim Henson, was first performed by Richard Hunt, 1974 December 18. Walter Blagojevich, created by Muppet Studios, was first portrayed by Peter Linz, 2011 November 4. Apologies to Don and Walter for associating them with Mitt and Paul, respectively.

Thankless jobs

Zachhh — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 00:32:00 +0000

There are a lot of ill people in the world. Cancer, infections, HIV, accidents, and so on. Not only are the ill people affected by their illness: their friends and family are affected too.

Unsurprisingly, many of those friends and family are desperate to find hope. For many of them, religion is their outlet. "I thank God for healing little Sally;" "Praise to God for curing our grandma's cancer." And so on.

But I have a novel idea: how about you thank the doctors and nurses that are working long, hard hours to treat your loved ones?

To my way of thinking, giving your god all the thanks when there are professionals working 20-hour days to treat your loved ones is just...insensitive. I understand the need to rationalize, to find hope, to pray for help. I wouldn't begrudge anyone that.

But to take the tangible work of real people and give the credit to someone that may or may not be there is selfish. In any other line of work, you'd be mad if you did all the work and your boss gave your coworker all the credit, without acknowledging your work.

The healing of bodies should be no exception to that principle. Give credit where credit is (deservedly) due.

From Unicorn Booty: "Marriage According to the Bible (Infographic)"

Jon — Sat, 26 May 2012 23:00:00 +0000

Marriage According to the Bible (Infographic) | Gay Blog | Gay News

The Daily Dish: "Pressuring The President"

Jon — Thu, 17 May 2012 02:13:00 +0000

Andrew is a bit defensive here, but then again he knows Barack pays attention to him. In the most recent issue of Rolling Stone to feature the an interview with the president, Obama mentions Sullivan by name.

FWIW from someone largely likeminded, I'd like to see Andrew be a bit more critical of Barack.
I'm not saying that Sullivan lets everything slide, but perhaps he lets the president get away with a little bit too much

Pressuring The President:

Obama on his failure to investigate torture? Only a month ago I called him "craven". A few weeks earlier I wrote, "Not all countries are as cowardly, morally compromised and as authoritarian as the US when it comes to investigating claims of torture." And such criticism stretches back to the beginning of Obama's term. From April 2009:
. . .
I would simply ask: which other blog or commentator has the same balance of harsh criticism on specifics and serious praise for the long-term achievements of this president?

Read the whole thing at the Daily Dish: http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/05/pressuring-the-president.html

Indecision Forever: "Quote Unquote: Chomsky on Obama vs. Bush"

Jon — Wed, 16 May 2012 00:22:00 +0000

Quote Unquote: Chomsky on Obama vs. Bush:
Noam Chomsky compare our two most recent Commanders-in-Chief…
.

"If the Bush administration didn't like somebody, they'd kidnap them and send them to torture chambers. If the Obama administration decides they don't like somebody, they murder them."

.
On the down side, we're slowly turning into an unrecognizable dystopian mirror of everything we have long claimed to despise. On the plus side, though, we're getting more streamlined.

The whole thing is available at DemocracyNow, and Noam is pretty much on the money as usual: http://www.democracynow.org/2012/5/14/noam_chomsky_on_wikileaks_obamas_targeted#transcript.

Temporary outage

Jon — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:11:00 +0000

We're updating our DNS records, and several of our sites will be down∗, and up٭, and back down∗, and back up٭ again over the next few days. Please be patient. The sites should be noticeably faster when this is all done. ∗٭

Bare-assed pissing is featured in the cold open of New Girl S01E18

Jon — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:40:00 +0000

See it here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/344051/new-girl-fancyman-part-2

I can't believe these Cocoa Krispies think they can come into this country and take jobs from hard-working white Rice Krispies!

Jon — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:24:00 +0000

Tammi Scro...

Jon — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 12:38:00 +0000

I love that Google suggests "Tammi Scrotelbaum".

R. Kelly Will Again Trap Himself in a Closet for Our Amusement | SPIN

Jon — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:23:00 +0000

I'm way more excited about this than any reasonable person should be: R. Kelly Will Again Trap Himself in a Closet for Our Amusement | SPIN.

Ads & 'bots

Jon — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:03:00 +0000

We've had an anti-advertisement lean all along, but you'll see even fewer advertisements around here soon. Among other things, I've been inspired by the comically ridiculous levels of advertising in Catalog Living's syndicated feed (in the interest of load-time, I've truncated the feed to just the most recent item here):

I'll be doing some research on advertising in the next few months, and the goal, at least for now, is to move toward a The Consumerist model of full editorial control and no advertising revenue.

You'll also see some protection against spambots. Those creepy-crawlers really like Vasegurt's Review of Comic Culture, so we've added Pix-CAPTCHA to the un-registered commenting process on that site.

Santorum Ally Friess Praises Old-School 'Contraceptive': Aspirin Between Knees

Jon — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 08:24:00 +0000

Santorum Ally Friess Praises Old-School 'Contraceptive': Aspirin Between Knees:

MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell asked billionaire Santorum backer Foster Friess whether he thought the GOP presidential candidate's very conservative social views would be disadvantageous to Santorum in the general election. Friess not only didn't think so; he indicated he didn't see what all the fuss was about. And then he dispensed some advice about contraceptives.

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School's Out: Teaching Homosexuality? | Bitch Media

Jon — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:04:00 +0000

School's Out: Teaching Homosexuality? | Bitch Media

Barabra

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 04:36:50 +0000

This owl is named "Barabra", not Barbra or Barbara.