Tuesday, July 11, 2006

This does not compute

Posted by Mickey Z on 07/11 at 04:11 AM
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  1. Great article! I have tried not eating meat and when I was doing that I felt great and I lost a few pounds. The problem is that the rest of my family wasn’t real keen on not eating meat. I’m not a great cook so usually I just ate what my wife was cooking. My point is that unless your single or your partner is agreeable to the idea not eating meat is difficult.

    I think I’ll try to at least choose veg when I have the choice. Thanks for sharing the article.

    Posted by David from Louisville KY  on  07/11  at  05:27 AM

  2. Morning expendables.
    If we’re still going on about the world cup - here’s what a lip-reader reckons Materazzi said to provoke Zidane (first video link in the article).

    Another thing about computers that Mr Jensen pointed out is their toxic and resource intensive manufacture, something I’d stupidly never even thought about. A real blind-spot to be sure.

    I’m cycling (indoors, far too dangerous cycling in London) and feeling better for it, and laying off the Indian food (HA! I kept that up for all of a week), but I reckon those tips’ll come in handy.
    All the gyms I’ve tried have been crap, as far as the staff giving advice goes. Its very disheartening, investing time and money without any clue if you’re doing things right.

    Posted by Mew from horriby humid London  on  07/11  at  05:37 AM

  3. there is mayhem going on in india at the moment

    get the news on, 4 bombs, 5 bombs

    now 6

    Posted by michael from exile  on  07/11  at  09:00 AM

  4. Thanks, Michael. I just turned on CNN: Nothing. I found this: http://www.news4jax.com/news/9496836/detail.html

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/11  at  09:04 AM

  5. On a much lighter note: Hello Expendables. Mew and David: If you have questions, again, please don’t hesitate to ask me. I’ll try to help.

    P.S. CNN just started covering the Indian bombings.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/11  at  09:05 AM

  6. cnn international is covering it… try bbc radio as well…

    i don’t know if you heard (i just checked the news) but there were bombs in kashmir too.

    on another note (which suddenly seems frivolous) i never went to a gym in my life. as long as i am fit enough to walk up a mountain i really don’t care.

    and with regard to the nature piece i recommend taking two minutes and watching this if you want to be amazed at something else whilst the human race is busy blowing itself to pieces

    http://tinyurl.com/efo7t

    Posted by michael from exile  on  07/11  at  09:14 AM

  7. Michael: That video was astonishing. I’ll post it here in a few days. Thanks.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/11  at  09:26 AM

  8. Great article Mickey! Lots of great advice for the novice. I’m probably the most unhealthy person I know and I would like to change that.

    Thanks for the post.

    Peace,
    Luna

    Posted by Luna_C from The Delta  on  07/11  at  09:50 AM

  9. Good morning Expendable Nation!

    This news of Indian bombings is tragic.  I’ve yet to hear anything of Kashmir, as mentioned above, however a peculiarity of colonialism is that India’s train system is VERY heavily relied upon.  Not only by commuters, but so many poor use the train station as their place to wash themselves, their laundry, get water from the train supply pumps, and generally to live.  I can only imagine how many people’s entire existance has been erased by these acts of violence.

    On a lighter note - Zidane looked like someone flipped a switch and his Manchurian grooming kicked in (pun intended) at the head butt moment!  Why else would he do such a completely idiotic thing?! (can’t watch the video link right now, but really....he’s retiring...what could’ve been said that’s not been heard before??)

    Sorry I missed making it back later yesterday...I lurked early on and missed all the interesting discussion on act - don’t act ... self defense, etc.  I’ve often lamented (but sadly have yet to do something about it) that I am a small woman who has little idea how I might defend myself from a large male attacker - good swift groin kick being my only sensible notion before running.  Riko’s last comment was very true though...yoga will most certainly give one more confidence with it’s strength and balance training.  The mental excercise is likely just as useful in avoiding any sheer panic (again, assuming that pugilism is a non-option)

    I’ll “try” to be back later & hope not to hear news in the meantime of escalating Hindustani violence…

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  10:52 AM

  10. the link for kashmir stuff earlier today is..

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/5167640.stm

    Posted by michael from exile  on  07/11  at  10:55 AM

  11. >what could’ve been said that’s not been heard before?

    Empress, I doubt Zizou’s been wished “an ugly death for you and your family” the same day he’d found out his mother was gravely ill before. May not excuse, but does explain.

    Posted by Mew from horriby humid London  on  07/11  at  11:05 AM

  12. Thanks for the link, Michael, such provocative violence in the region is extremely disturbing, to say the least. I unfortunately expect violence to errupt as soon as order is restored.

    Mew - thanks for the expansion on the missing details - I still don’t see how that should’ve snapped his twig, although it must’ve been the proverbial straw on the camel’s back. 
    My Manchurian candidate theory of him suddenly being struck with the thought of “Forza Italia!” is much more mysterious and intriguing, don’t you think?

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  11:38 AM

  13. Hey Y’all,

    oh,oh, I feel an incoherent ramble bubbling up and…

    As per your post Mick, it is startling to think of the impact of technology on nature (and how Tech often removes us from nature).
    It seems that by the time you plonk down the cash wad to make a major purchase like a computer system the damn thing is already “out of date”.
    I think that responsibility from purchase to whatever fate electronics might meet is something all should adapt.
    Computer recycling does exist in some communities and donation for refurbishment and redistribution to those who otherwise cannot afford is a good idea.
    Much like vehicles a HUGE problem with tech is its place on the never-ending cycle of consumer status grubbing.

    Love those people who buy laptops so they can sit in cafes pretending to be doing something important while they are playing solitaire, txt msging ppl or shopping online at a store that could be reached by walking two blocks.
    Then there are the people who can barely manage email that have sexy designer Macs prominently displayed in home or office. It is just another toxic bobble for keeping up with (or slaughtering the Joneses).
    The whole ipod revolution has done so much for status display and it helps to keep people tuned out of their surroundings or squinting at some tiny screen while the world burns and melts around them.

    Our old beige wheezer still runs on an antique OS with patches and supplemental software updates to keep its capabilities modern.
    I am loath to replace things until I absolutely must.

    I have found that writing on a WP has damaged my ability to pick up paper and pen and manually write things.
    Computer programs allow people to make “music” without ever learning to play an instrument and that is just a shame.

    I’m sure somebody could calculate the correlation between the rise of in home/office computer terminals and skyrocketing obesity,(using a computer, of course).

    When the power grid fails (or the Pentagon/Globalist corporatist psychopaths neuter the Internet into an online department store), we will all be stuck with crunchy, toxic doorstops.

    p.s. RMJ in answer to your query yesterday, (cue Johnny Cash), “Oh, I’ve been everywhere, man, I’ve been everywhere…” and I miss you too.

    p.s. Regarding the idea of “self defense” I think staying fit and keeping your cool with a healthy mind and body goes a long way.
    I would walk a mile to avoid violence but let’s face it many people these days are operational psychopaths who would, out of self-pity or just degenerate social loathing, turn to violence as a first resort in even the most ridiculously unlikely situations.

    Hell, I’ve had burly hurting units turn to me and say, “Hey faggot, I don’t like your face!”
    I will never start a fight over somebody’s vitriolic mouth excretions but some people just want to put a hurt on you, usually to compensate for having the same done to them in the past or as an ego supplement.
    Know your limits i.e. Power and speed of your punches or your pain threshold but better yet keep yourself in good enough shape to do a healthy 100 yard dash, (or walk that avoidance mile).
    For the petite, a purse sized can of bear spray and a swift kicking foot are never bad things to have.

    Violence always seems to encompass the gentle art of escalation.
    Bill punches Bob, Bob roundhouse kicks Bill, Bill stabs Bob, Bob shoots Bill in the face and so on usually until an innocent bystander gets hurt, death abounds for all or some, or a large dental bill ensues.
    I wish I could be with my Empress at all times but I know that if anybody ever tried to hurt her I would be in jail for murder or on a slab in the morgue, thereby proving the futility of violence.

    Despite all of the monotheistic control cult revivalism (mistaken for spiritualism) these days it seems that these intellectually stunted religious types are the most willing to murder or be murdered because their hateful, racist “gawds” have promised that they can all retire to some gated community in the sky suburbs where all of their shallow perversions and petty wants will be catered to by a hateful, racist Yahweh, Allah or Blue-Eyed War Jesus all of whom apparently have nothing better to do than punish us for not grovelling to them like hungry dogs or reward us for doing so. Fucking religion…

    oops, gotta go…ramble end, (for now)

    Posted by Youngfox from Canaduh  on  07/11  at  01:18 PM

  14. I just woke up and there’s bombs going off in India and the Manchurian Candidate going on with soccer players and everyone is kung fu fighting and it’s all so overwhelming and Where’s Mudge! I can’t stand it anymore!!!

    About all this about violence and self-defense and muggings and whatnot… my area’s name really has become ironic. For those who don’t know, it’s so gentrified as to be embarrassingly safe. But it’s so much better than calling it ‘Clinton’, after former Governor DeWitt Clinton. And the area just south of me is Chelsea, so yes, there exists a paper called the Chelsea Clinton Gazette.

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  07/11  at  01:38 PM

  15. I especially like the nutrition section in that article Mickey. Don’t like hearing about violence in India. Am leaving to have a look further on the internet, and then watch the plankton in the North Sea reflect wondrous things tonight---full moon and some sort of special occassion I have not been fully briefed on…

    Posted by Keir from The Hague  on  07/11  at  01:49 PM

  16. Now my computer’s telling me that Syd Barrett is dead. 

    (perhaps it’s just a permanent sebatical with Emily)

    I have a special fondness for that strange “mother“‘s musical talent. 

    Mickey I realise I’ve not much mentioned your post.  I know it’s hardly suprising for Expendable chit chat to go OT, (with me being a most reliable offender) however on the topic of computers and their contributions to societal development:
    I think they share some attributes with cellphones in that they are seldom recycled properly, they are often discarded much before they are actually obsolete, those who might benefit most seldom get their hands on one, let alone have the opportunity to own one.  Not least, they’re seldom used to their potential.

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  01:56 PM

  17. (Oh Keir...if you’re internetting you’ll soon see news of Syd’s demise...)

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  01:57 PM

  18. Ah - North Sea Plankton...something akin to the reason that many jellyfish appear luminous to our humanoid eyes, I think? (some small and buried portion of my gray matter seems to recall some vague facts about this phenomenon)
    Take a mental picture for me please, Keir...wish I were there.

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  02:00 PM

  19. Mother do you think they’ll drop the bomb indeed, even if Syd didn’t write that one. What a day.

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  07/11  at  02:19 PM

  20. Great post - and great article, Mickey!  I could not agree more re the usefulness of computers btw - although there is something to be said about the usefulness of blogspots like yours and access to alternative sources of information.

    ‘Hi’ to David, Michael, Mew, Luna_C, Amelopsis, Youngfox, James and Keir - all the familiar expendables are back on board. 

    And thanks for those photos of Astoria, Mickey.

    Bye ...

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  07/11  at  02:24 PM

  21. And Youngfox # 13:  that is a great rant!  I would like to underline every word - thanks so much.

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  07/11  at  02:32 PM

  22. Oh, and I woke up to news that BushCo. have ‘rediscovered’ the Geneva Conventions.  How quaint.

    Time update:  it is 5:34 am on a Wednesday morning in Daylesford, Australia and will be 50F ‘warm’.

    Posted by Helga Fremlin from Daylesford, Australia  on  07/11  at  02:34 PM

  23. Hi Helga,
    Schade dass Deutschland nur drittes platz gewonnen hat, nah? (any excuse to blather in German!!)

    Apparently bushco also don’t see their stance as hypocrytical...does this mean they’ll change nothing, as I suspect, or that they’ll try to convince their public that they’ve been treating their prisoners according to the Conventions all along?

    CatLady...wherefor art thine DogMan? Busy writing, or not yet completed computer arrangements?

    Posted by Amelopsis from Canada  on  07/11  at  03:00 PM

  24. Muuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuudge!!!

    Thus screams my soul. I agree with Mickey’s post-- computers are useless. Unless Mudge starts posting again, that is.

    Posted by James from Hell's Kitchen  on  07/11  at  04:32 PM

  25. Hi folks

    I agree - wherefore Mudge?  Get back on here fella, if you don’t mind.

    Technology is a tool that is abused a great deal, no doubt about that; on the other hand, it’s just an open window for us to do whatever we do with it. My niece would be dead without technology, a story that could be repeated many times.  Naturally the powers that be maul with it; after all, a gun is a tool also and see what they do.

    Syd Barrett RIP.

    My fitness tips:

    avoid too much caffeine
    try to do some exercise
    keep the brain ticking over

    Spots on my fitness seminars aren’t exactly fought over, but never mind. 

    Violence is an evil thing.  I think we’ve all seen things that scared us.  One violence avoidance tip I used many times but never seen written anywhere is very simple: try to look gormless.  I used to live on a street with many young aggressive gangs on.  They would pick on people for kicks, glory etc.  Walking past looking confused and distracted (advanced practitioners of this form of self defence can achieve a Mr Bean like level of stupidity) means you aren’t picked on as you look too damn vacant.  Hope this is of use. 

    Now that the glory of no more world cup discussions at work has sunk in, may I congratulate all those of Italian extract of their victory?  I’d particularly like to thank Portugal for knocking England out.  Well done.  Every time England do well in any sport our press trots out some of the cigar sucking, monocle wearing old school Rule Britannia bollocks.  Any country that beats us and sours these crappy notes gets my thanks.  Especially galling is the way we haven’t forgiven Argentina for the “hand of god” incident.  After the Belgrano business, I’d have thought we can apply plenty of slack.

    Youngfox re 13 - always a pleasure to see someone lose their cool & do so with words.  Good work fella!

    Posted by Chris Wood from Manchester, odd wet lovely Manchester  on  07/11  at  04:44 PM

  26. Hello again, Expendables. What an excellent collection of comments above...not to mention, so many Expendables in one place. I love it.

    I can’t possibly reply to everyone so I’ll start with one simple comment to Youngfox: I once had amazing handwriting. People would comment on it. Now, thanks to all this keyboarding, it’s been reduced to chicken scratch.

    Posted by Mickey Z. from Astoria  on  07/11  at  05:42 PM

  27. Hello Chris from Manchester

    Your Mr. Bean persona sounds like it might work as an avoidance method.  Only hope the gang isn’t into violence against those who are intellectually challenged.

    Trust you all had a wonderful day.  It was beautiful here in Montreal.

    Posted by Canadian Observer from   on  07/11  at  06:00 PM

  28. I wouldn’t have my Wife, or career without computers. We met online and I do computer art for games.  It was actually by getting into 3d graphics that allowed me to have what little artistic outlet I enjoy.  It wasn’t until I actually got into doing 3d that I found some sort of purpose and direction in my life.

    On the flip side. There’s nothing more magical and rewarding in life then having a relationship with the great spirit aka nature aka God, Goddess what have you. 

    What a terrible world to live in where your cut off from the natural spirit, imprisoned in a destructive society and the things that bring you great joy in your life are also the same things that destroy it. 

    captcha = people

    Posted by Luna_C from at workies  on  07/11  at  07:15 PM

  29. Great post, Mickey, you cover all the basics of serious nutrition and health.

    I just wanted to add one thing for David, the first commentor who can’t be a vegeterian because the rest of his family eats meat.

    If you can’t (or don’t want to) be a vegeterian, there are great ways to incorporate meat into your diet in a healthy way. The main problem with most meat consumption is that people consume unhealthy cuts in large quantities. These cuts, like bacon, strip steaks, or pork ribs, are high in calories, especially for their size, and packed with saturated fat. In most consumers, they promote weight gain, high cholesterol counts, and sluggishness.

    In high school I was a very serious macrobiotic vegeterian, and felt great. I ran track at a high level in college and needed to weight train more seriously, so I had to add meat into my diet in a limited way. By eating sensible portions and types of meat, I ended up feeling even better than I had when I was a vegeterian. Specifically, lean cuts of chicken and red meat--skinless chicken breast and flank or strip steak, for instance--delivers protein with an efficiency unmatched by other common protein sources like nuts or soy products. (It’s critical you use this protein by exercising, though--scientists have strongly linked high protein consumption combined with sedentary diets to a host of health problems.) Lean cuts of chicken and beef allow you to get all the health benefits of those meats, like iron, vitamin B, zinc, and other minerals without the high saturated fat and calorie counts of some meat products.

    More important for me was seafood. Virtually all fish are good for you, especially raw, delivering protein, minerals and vitamins, and healthy fats in low-calorie, low-saturated-fat packages. (This is changing, sadly, as industrial pollutants fill our waters with mercury and other nasty shit, so try to find out where your fish comes from.) Some seafood that Americans usually ignore is among the healthiest food available, period--like squid, which is an absolute superfood, delivering in large quantities all matter of good things, from protein to phosphorous to selenium, and has virtually no calories or fat. There is a reason why cultures that eat primarily seafood, vegetables, and whole grains, like the Japanese and certain Mediterranean cultures, are the healthiest in the world.

    Anyway, just wanted to help out David or others by supplementing Mickey’s good advice.

    Posted by Barry W. from New York, NY  on  07/12  at  10:37 AM

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