OK, I didn’t actually get to watch it, because thanks to all the Southern Californians in Arizona, we were subjected to the Rams/Steelers game.
I’m glad the Rams lost. So there!
Anyway, we have some great stuff coming up this week, but I’m too busy to list it all. I will say we have a very special Veteran’s Day post in the midday tomorrow from Swiss.
Enjoy your Sunday Evening Open Post!
I’ll see all y’all tomorrow night.
For anyone who has done any type of regular exercise for any length of time, you have almost certainly been told how important form is. Poor form either deprives you of the intended benefit or can lead to injuries. Proper form maximizes the exercises benefits and avoids injury.
Two exercises I have had the most trouble with are squats and deadlifts. For men (and I assume women but correct me if I’m wrong Glibbroads), these are foundational exercises. I could never get out of the starting gate, in part, because I royally screwed these up.
I started “squatting” in my twenties. I’m using quotes around squatting because my form was so bad I repeatedly injured myself. I read books that had diagrams and descriptions on how to squat. Some had pictures of bodybuilders squatting. And I still got it wrong.
That was nearly thirty years ago so I don’t clearly remember how I was led astray but I seem to recall being told to keep my legs about shoulder width apart, keep my back straight, and have my knees travel straight out over my toes. I scrupulously followed these instructions resulting in constantly pitching forward when I would squat. No question I was using my back during the lift. One suggestion was to put a 2X4 under my heels. That was stupid advice that I took it didn’t help.
Squatting like that gave me back trouble and, I think, knee trouble too. I didn’t do any deadlifting in my 20s. I don’t think it was in vogue at the time and nothing I read explained its importance. So, with an aching back and right knee that liked to remind me it was there, I skipped deadlifting altogether.
When I returned to lifting in my 50s, the idea of squatting was very unappealing. In fact, it was a bit scary. However, squatting and deadlifting are part of the AthleanX program so I either had to ditch the program or do both. I trust the creator of the program so I readily accepted both exercises could be done without injuring myself.
As much as I’ve gotten from the videos and explanations Jeff Cavaliere provides for the exercises, I still couldn’t get my squat right. It was better but still a bit off. So, I searched YouTube and found a modern-day Viking Alan Thrall. This is his video that finally made clear to me how to property squat.
After watching it a couple of times I wanted to reach back through time to choke out every f***ing author of the books I read in my twenties. Did they really not know to tell me the bar should be moving vertically the entire time? That I should be pushing with my midfoot? That my knees should be travelling out at roughly a 45-degree angle? I might have been spared a bunch of injuries and a thirty-year gap in squatting.
I’m truly grateful to Thrall. I’m finally able to squat with good form. I’m feeling it all in my legs, not my back. The day after leg day, I’m free of back pain and feeling it in my legs and ass.
Thrall has his own YouTube channel. I find some of his videos more helpful than others but overall, I recommend it. He has a heavy emphasis on good form and proper technique. Given my history that’s very important to me. He has couple more helpful videos on squatting. You can find them here and here.
Getting my squat right gave me the confidence to try deadlifts. This is the AthleanX video on how to properly deadlift. Between that one and his Deadlift Checklist, I got enough to do these right. I have to stay super focused when I deadlift to maintain proper form. I have gotten distracted and every time that’s happened, I felt in my back for days afterward.
I hope these helped you Glibfitters. Tell us what exercises you screwed up in the past and how you found a way to do them right.
MERCURY RETROGRADE continues sticking its winged foot into all sorts of stuff. This week sees an almost perfect set up for an outbreak of insanity, with MERCURY RETROGRADE lining up with us, with the moon providing backup and the sun providing power. In fact, depending on where you live, you can watch the transit of Mercury tomorrow. I did say almost perfect, since an absolute world-wide break with reality would require adding Saturn to the lineup and putting Jupiter in opposition, and we’d need to get Aquarius and either Capricorn, Cancer or Scorpio involved. Hmmm. The sun and MERCURY RETROGRADE are in Scorpio during all of this…
MERCURY RETROGRADE upsets the ordinarily optimally benevolent conjunction of Venus and Jupiter, so expect missteps, infidelity, and/or incorrect toilet seat positioning to cause major strife, so major in fact that a relationship is going to outright end (sun-Venus-Saturn). I wouldn’t get too bent out of shape over this one, since it’s so prominent that the stars will be talking about someone important, not you. Perhaps Meghan will “accidentally” stick the riding crop into Harry’s butt and this will precipitate her getting locked in the Tower. I dunno, but that’s the more likely scenario.
Scorpio continues to spread bad luck across the rest of the signs, though to be fair, it’s all MERCURY RETROGRADE’s fault. Sagittarius is being straight-up Aesop, with success in all things guaranteed (Venus-Mars-Jupiter) as long as you a) take the right advice and b) do the right thing. The last celestial bit of note is the moon in Aries. Moonstruck goats. Make of that what you will.
This week’s cards skew heavily towards the “fighting” side of the fighting-fucking axis. But its very much indicating that problems will be mild, potentially dealing with yoots.
Scorpio: The Star reversed – Arrogance, haughtiness, impotence
Sagittarius: 3 of Swords reversed – Mental alienation, error, loss, distraction, disorder, confusion
Capricorn: 4 of Coins reversed – Suspense, delay, opposition
Aquarius: Page of Cups – Fair young man, one impelled to render service and with whom you will be connected; a studious youth; news, message; application, reflection, meditation; also these things directed to business.
Pisces: 6 of Cups – past, memories, looking back, happiness, enjoyment, things that have vanished
Aries: 3 of Coins reversed – Mediocrity, pettiness, weakness
Taurus: Queen of Swords – Female sadness and embarrassment, absence, sterility, mourning, privation, separation
Gemini: 5 of Swords reversed – Degradation, destruction, revocation, infamy, dishonor, loss
Cancer: Page of Swords – Authority, overseeing, secret service, vigilance, spying, examination
Leo: 2 of Cups – Love, passion, friendship, affinity, union, concord, sympathy
Virgo: 4 of Wands reversed – prosperity, increase, felicity, beauty, embellishment
Libra: 10 of Wands reversed – Contrarieties, difficulties, intrigues
I’m driving back home from Vegas, hitting the road just as this posts, so this intro will be brief. But still, the links are ripe for commentary. Much like my underwear. But here’s a non-news link that absolutely delighted me, so I’ll leave it at that.
Birthdays abound, including a famous constipated Jew hater; the eternal partner of Butthead; an actor who was for the most part invisible; the spirit animal of all of us; and the greatest British politician ever.
News next.
The presidential campaign is serious business.
Et tu, Beauregard? Amazing the amount of hype over the past couple of years for this stupid thing.
OK, this might be the dumbest thing I’ve seen today. But it’s early.
Two of our commenters make the news.
Old Guy Music today is classical, just to raise the tone around here. It’s the third movement of what I think is a pretty cool concerto. And it seems appropriate somehow.
Baby, it’s cold outside! It’s also Standard Daylight time, now, but, fat lot of good that does us on the night shift. The year is winding down, and, that means food, fun, and family. Or, it could mean liquor, loneliness, and…lemurs? Leather fiends? Laser-brains? Alright; so much for Diggy’s alliteration attempts. The point is, we gotta start prepping for the season (hint: I wear a 2X Tall in condoms shirts/jackets, and I prefer Samsung products). On with the stuff I do:
For everyone who identifies with the F’s. Strangely, not a euphemism.
In crappy bar food news… I have no idea if this is bullshit, or, not. It could go either way, in my book. Of course, the most important part of the story is the lone customer who gets what I like to call the “Crusty Juggler” treatment.
Anyone have any “before the end of the year” issues to deal with? I think I’ll have a visit to the optometrist’s office, as well as some full-scale blood testing, because 50 is quickly approaching. My query, though, isn’t only about healthcare; major purchases? Travel? Any of the assorted pieces of crap life has in store for you.
I guess CVS stands for “Can’t Verify Status”? Again, I have no idea if this is bullshit, or, not. Seems like something happened. Of course, the mom sounds like a real treat; maybe Winston’s Mom could give her some pointers.
When a bakery kicks you university’s ass, and the school kinda doubles down, maybe it’s time to find another school. Hey, Oberlin: try not being such shit-heels, and maybe kick the thieves out.
I believe someone here was saying earlier that Chick-Fil-A > Popeye’s…. I guess the Fight for 15 is really about collecting hazard pay. It’s just fried chicken, you dumb shits—there’s plenty to be found all over the place!
This is totally believable—everyone knows those Pacific Islanders are all a bunch of slimy, no good, double-crossin’ swindlers.
An ode to Pie, my fellow nighttime travelers, and fans of the band. Bite me– it still fits the theme.
I suppose we’ve got enough weird sh..stuff to keep us chatting through the night. If you have topics of your own you want to air out, be my guest. As the night theme for music is probably vast, but, my knowledge is limited, I will probably ditch that angle once we hit the new year. I don’t want to neglect good music just to try to fit a limited narrative. You have all been warned…
*Dips toe into derp*
“Ewww, this is worse than stepping in cold dog shit.”
This is how you shitlord.
Time to start hoarding candles.
This whole gene editing thing is getting out of control.
Which one of you did this?
Alfred Hitchcock chuckles from the grave.
Tonight, a little Blues Traveler for your face. Time to get your snark on.
I honestly try not to flip out at the news. It more or less has become a part of life and others might argue one should be aware of current events in order to be a good citizen.
Then something like this comes up, and breaks my chill.
This is my review of La Cumbre Piña Quercus
So what part of this aggravated me? Was it the part where a US District Judge overruled a lower court’s ruling the Covington Catholic school boy’s lawsuit for libel in the wake of a 16 year old kid having the temerity to smirk at a guy banging a drum and shouting in his face, and to eventually be called racist by social media, the legacy media, and some politicians? No, of course not—it was this part:
The students sued the Massachusetts congresswoman and 11 other public figures who criticized the students, including New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, actress Kathy Griffin, activist Shaun King and U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland.
U.S. District Court Judge William Bertelsman ruled Tuesday that Warren acted within the scope of her employment when she tweeted and is therefore protected by sovereign immunity.
“The Court concludes that the challenged statements by defendants Warren and Haaland — whether one agrees with them or finds them objectionable — are communications intended to convey the politicians’ views on matters of public interest to their constituents,” Bertelsman wrote.
The judge also dismissed Haaland, of New Mexico, from the suit. Haaland had tweeted that Phillips was “harassed and mocked by a group of MAGA hat-wearing teens.”
Attorneys for the students claimed the boys became the target of “a social media lynch mob” that spread misinformation and led to the boys receiving death threats and hate mail.
Sovereign Immunity. What is that you ask? Let me preface that I am not an attorney, nor do I intend to convey the idea that I am one. That said my graduate degree is in Public Administration and I not only wrote a paper on the matter, I did particularly well on the assignment. Should one of the law dogs here wish to weigh in, please do so.
Sovereign Immunity is a legal concept Americans borrowed from the British. The idea is to avoid the circular logic in filing a lawsuit against the Crown. The British Crown set up the courts in part to settle civil disputes between subjects, the rulings which hold the force of law because the court is acting directly on behalf of the British Crown. Quite frankly, the queen and the rest of her family is either (supposedly) drinking beyond her own government’s recommendation, flying in private jets while whining about climate change, or (allegedly) hitting up jailbait with Epstein…they simply do not have that kind of time. A subject therefore can file a lawsuit against an individual, or a company that violated that individual’s rights under common law. What happens if you are wronged by somebody working on behalf of the government? The Crown enabled the official that wronged you, and you are now asking a court who’s power is derived from the discretion of Crown…
You see where I am going with this, you cannot sue the Crown. Even if you could, do you think they will rule honestly?
But this is America, and we fought a war to get away from this, right? We did indeed fight the war but didn’t get away from from it. From the pocket Constitution on my desk, Article III, Section 2 says:
Unfortunately, if you have a problem with a particular person in the US Government acting under the Constitution, you are stuck going through the courts set up under that same Constitution. This concept is further reinforced under the 11th Amendment.
Page break…
Unfortunately, there will be no lawsuits affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Counsels, and those in which a State shall be Party. Can you sue a government agency or the state itself for violation of rights? Of course, but the asshole that did it is immune because he was just doing his job.
The problem I have with this is the lawsuit is for libel, which is knowingly spreading false information that disparages the subject in print or other forms of media. Unlike slander, which is spoken, libel has a record of happening making it easier to prove. Even after an unedited version of the video suggested the story the media told about the incident was wrong, they continued telling the same story saying the MAGA hat wearing Covington kids started an altercation and the dude banging the drum was trying to keep the peace, and it was racist to smirk at the guy. Only a racist would wear a MAGA hat.
Well, Lizzy got busy spreading this misinformation on Twitter. Per this clown’s ruling, a senator is immune from spreading what any reasonable person can determine is a lie, because a senator giving her opinion on current events falls under a senator’s daily duties. I for one say this is bullshit, and she should be held personally responsible for spreading this lie. Being a senator and now a candidate for president means the lie will spread faster from the press coverage she will recieve, harming the subjects further than had she done the sensible thing and said nothing at all.
…but her inability to simply not lie is another matter.
So what in the hell kind of beer is this? This is a pineapple sour ale aged in tequila barrels. I thought this was going to suck. Arizona has a rather popular pineapple wheat beer that I go for from time to time that I find a bit sweet, but chuggable on a hot day. This is not like that. I thought it was going to to be too sour for me to enjoy. This is not like that either. Finally, I thought this was going to be a blast of tequila; no, this is not like that at all. It is interesting, rather expensive ($16), but otherwise well done. La Cumbre Piña Quercus 3.5/5.
As you read this, I am likely on my way up to Las Vegas. Not to gamble- see, I was in math class the day they taught probability- and not to see a show- SP and I will do that in January, reliving our honeymoon by seeing Penn & Teller. It’s my son’s birthday, I haven’t spent his birthday with him in 10 years, and dammit, I need to, especially because it’s a reasonable drive from here. So you may be commenting without adult supervision. Behave!
Birthdays today, besides my son, include one of my favorite mathematicians; a famous flasher; someone who keeps us hopping; a nattering nabob; a guy who smoked millions and millions of bowls; and one third of perhaps the most famous folk trio ever.
News!
Guess I’ll have to get a hotel.
If ever there was a need for a spray-can graffiti Hitler mustache… Jesus, this is the stuff of nightmares.
“Sometimes innocent people are convicted of crimes. We don’t have an infallible legal system.” But the poor guy still had to spend a year and a half in jail, as well as facing a lifetime of poverty to pay his legal bills.
For my money, it doesn’t get any better than when he sings “When a Man Loves a Woman.”
It’s a dog eat dog world out there and someone was wearing Milk Bone underwear.
This has Heroic Mulatto written all over it.
Old Guy Music is a delightful cover- no flash, just perfectly rendered. And it wasn’t Glen Campbell’s song, though his cover is certainly the most famous. Ah well.
ZARDOZ SPEAKS TO YOU, HIS CHOSEN ONES. AS THE YEAR END DRAWS NEAR, WE IN THE VORTEX REVIEW OUR PLANS FROM THE PAST YEAR. THE RESULTS ARE…MIXED. SOME FAILURES, AND ONE PROMISING FUTURE STRATEGY. GO FORTH AND ANALYZE!
NOT GOOD ENOUGH (LEADING TO THE AGING OF THE ETERNAL WHO PROPOSED IT):
ZARDOZ THINKS THAT DISRUPTING MEDICAL CARE FOR BRUTALS MAY BE A BETTER APPROACH (THIS EARNED EXTRA GREEN BREAD FOR THE ETERNALS WHO BACKED THIS)
ZARDOZ MUST GO AND SEND A GRAIN DONATION TO THE WIZENED CRONE, AND THE DISHEVELED COMMUNARD STANDING FOR SUPREME LEADER OF THE LARGE NORTH AMERICAN BRUTAL STATE. THEY WILL ADVANCE THE GREAT CLEANSING!
ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.
AND NOW ZARDOZ CONTINUES TO GIVE ADVICE ON BEHAVIORS.
Q: Upon being asked by my daughter’s future mother-in-law for my thoughts on a bridal shower, I texted my daughter before answering. The maid of honor is my 20-year-old, so I offered to pay for the bridal party to host a shower at a local, trendy brunch spot, inviting future MIL, daughter’s stepmother, and all grandmothers.
My daughter then let me know that she and her fiance preferred to ask her stepmother and father to host it at their house instead. I let her know that I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. When it wasn’t dropped, I was impolite and stated, “I love you, but I don’t love anyone enough to sit in Daddy’s house with his parents and family.”
I have always been a good co-parent. I made sure we all sat together at every school program and graduation since elementary school. We did college move-in days together. I made sure my girls’ sister from their stepmother’s first marriage was in every picture with my girls at these occasions.
However, this seemed a boundary I needed to draw, especially since the shower was not yet planned.
She asked her stepmother, and perhaps shared my response. Her stepmother then offered to host at a restaurant instead. I explained to my daughter that there was never any issue with coming together as a family, and an alternate location in the middle would have been fine from the start.
But she and her fiance are deeply hurt and feel as though I was not willing to “suck it up” to celebrate them, and that my issues “should not fall back on them because it’s not their fault.”
I certainly wasn’t refusing to see anybody, and had not expressed a negative opinion about having to see them at the wedding.
Besides the reactive, impolite way I set my boundary, have I demonstrated poor etiquette by preferring a more neutral location? I am struck by my daughter’s reaction and reminded her that she might need to take a step back and consider how I have always carried myself, and loved and supported her. On every other matter, I have told her that it’s her wedding and to do it her way. Please advise me on my missteps and what apologies I may owe.
A: WEAKLING! NEVER APOLOGIZE. ZARDOZ HAS SEEN FAR WORSE FOR WEDDING PROBLEMS…
THE ONLY WAY TO SALVAGE THIS IS TO APPEAR TO HAVE CRAVENLY BEGGED FORGIVENESS, GO TO THE PARTY….AND POISON ALL FOOD AND DRINK.
ZARDOZ WILL SEND THE BRUTAL EXTERMINATORS TO FINISH OFF ANYONE STILL MOVING. THINK OF THE SAVINGS ON WEDDING GIFTS TOO!
Q: Is there an ungendered term for “hostess gift”?
A: “TRIBUTE”. YOUR INABILITY TO COME UP WITH SIMPLE WORDS INDICATES TO ZARDOZ THAT YOU ARE SUITED FOR ONLY ONE ACTIVITY. ENJOY YOUR NEW FOUND LIFE AS A GRAIN SLAVE, IN SERVICE TO THE VORTEX.
ZARDOZ HAS SPOKEN.
Well, as I write this (a couple of hours before it posts), I am opening Friday beer one. Also, finishing the last of my obligations to people who aren’t family for the weekend (but you guys are really close. Really). And then I have to hang curtains in the guest room my wife painted about six weeks ago and has sat un-finished until I offered to help today.
UPDATE: Scene from a curtain hanging
Her: Those curtains don’t touch the floor, we’ll have to rehang everything.
Me: But your sheet right here said 90″, and the curtains are supposed to be 95″. What are they? Dick inches?
Her: What?
Me: Never mind. What does the box say for curtain length?
Her: (looks at full box of curtains) These say 95″
Me: What does the box these curtains came out of say?
Her: Oh, 84″.
Me: I think I have a faster solution than rehanging the curtain rod…
I’m going to add Mojeaux to people who I love/hate doing links afterwards. I don’t think it’s Bowie’s cod that left me feeling inadequate.
CNN launches pre-emptive strike on Michael Bloomberg.
I should really get into this genre. I can make shit up, too! Oh wait, SF owns the space.
Silicon Valley discovers asceticism, thinks they invented it.
Weather (not climate) imminent.
Here’s a fun live song.