Long Distance Calling

I remember, back in the day, when long distance calling within the US was expensive and when you moved, you needed to change your cell phone # to avoid those costs. I know this isn’t a huge epiphany, but I guess I just realized how much the communication industry has changed. You don’t get ranked on a speed dial anymore. You dial with area codes all the time now. It’s just amazing how much little things can change over time without you noticing and then snowball into change in your lifestyle. It’s also a sign of how small this world is getting. I can call my friend Kurt in Canada cheaply on my cell phone; I can travel to Australia with this same phone and not pay high roaming costs; at no time do I need to do anything different with my phone. Suddenly it’s easy to understand why cell phones are like appendages to some people because they’re your lifeline to the world. With products like Apple’s iPhone, that allow true web surfing and instant messaging, it’s understandable that some people are so attached to their cell phones. They may not be real people, but they’re like a friend who goes through all the highs & lows in life with you, connecting you to the rest of the world and to those you care about.

I guess this was all spurred by thinking about how much I’d be screwed if I lost my cell phone. It has so much contact info that I try to back up, but I can’t do much with the text messages I save nor do I want to have to re-enter all my contact info in a new phone. And yes, I know I can save it all to my sim card…which wouldn’t help me if I lost my phone!

Arune.Com’s Weekly YouTube Fix

Yeah, we’re back a bit early this week (but no wrestling this time!), but I expect at least one of these videos to be deleted quite quickly, so we’re back! Our first video is one you’ve likely seen on Seinfeld, featuring George’s infamous answering machine in all its glory. I wish I knew how to create a voicemail message like this with music and the works.

Now this is the clip you’ll probably not find for long– the last 10 minutes of The OC’s season finale. The final montage with Ryan is quite touching for those fans who’ve stuck with the show through its entirety. It was an excellent final season and while I’ll miss the show, it ended perfectly.

We’ll end with the video for “Forever Young,” a cover by the band Youth Group, who happen to be Australian and have a real great CD out right now entitled “Casino Twilight Dogs.” Great song.

Mind Over Matter

Time to take a break and kick back with some goold old fashioned storytelling from my past, this time from my high school years. Until my OAC (mandatory Grade 13 in Ontario) year of high school, I was never an active kid and didn’t much care about fitness. Frankly, I was the epitome of the stereotypical nerd who had a bit of a chip on his shoulder and didn’t work to improve himself in a balanced manner. So when I got into weightlifting near the end of Grade 12, I jumped into it hard and worked to improve quickly, in an effort to make up for lost time. I enrolled in my school’s weighlifting class and quickly rose to the top of the class– I finished the year with the highest grade and as one of the most powerful lifters. As many of you know, it’s a constant uphill battle to make gains in the weight room and it takes a lot of mental toughness to get far. I’m not saying that makes me some paragon of inner strength, as lots of people do what I do (and better), but it’s not something for the physically undisciplined. I couldn’t have done it all with my Grade 11 mindset– I needed to grow as I did in Grade 12 so that I was at the point where I really hungered for that physical & mental growth.

That all said, there’s one story that always stuck out in my mind as the epitome of what it takes to succeed and having recently talked to the person involved, I’m happy to be able to share the story with you all now.

There was a kid named Steve who was friends with Matt and Mike, two younger guys in the weightlifting class (it was a Grade 11 class, but had mostly OAC students in it) and pretty funny dudes. Matt was an especially good lifter and so many people sought advice from him, as he knew a lot about theory and was incredibly strong. So one day Steve gave money to Matt & Mike to get some protein powder, as he figured they’d know what to buy and could help him get started on drinking protein shakes. So, like good friends, Matt & Mike used Steve’s money to buy him protein powder and gave the powder filled container to Steve.

Steve noticed immediate results in energy and the amount he could lift, quickly lifting more and lifting with better form. It would seem that using the protein powder had been beneficial.

Except that it wasn’t protein powder.

Matt & Mike thought it would be funny to empty out the protein powder and replace it with hot chocolate mix (the powder was chocolate flavored), so the entire time (no more than a week I think, if even that) that Steve had been getting stronger, he’d been drinking hot chocolate powder mixed with milk (or water, I can’t remember which mixer he used). While the sugar would have given him energy, those strength gains came from Steve pushing himself harder and wanting to raise the bar with his own hard work (literally and figuratively). Mind over matter.

It’s a story I often tell people who ask me about supplements for their workouts. I use some whey protein powder each day, but much less than most and I also don’t use any other supplements (which isn’t to say they’re wrong, but just not for me). For the first few years I lifted, I didn’t use any supplements and made great gains without the added protein. Does it help? Sure. But do you need it? I’d argue no. A healthy, balanced diet plus some hard work will always trump whatever magic pill you swallow, because at the end of the day you’re not going to keep those dumbbells up if you don’t have the inner strength like Steve.

Fake Swearing

Now I’m supportive of speaking eloquently, coherently and in a respectful manner. I’m even not a fan of excess cursing, though at times I’m wont to curse like a sailor. But if you’re going to curse, why coddle the words in seemingly polite substitutes? I know that it’s often meant to be polite or somehow “better” than saying the real swear word, but if they mean the same thing and are being used in the same context, I’m not sure why someone wouldn’t just say the “real” word. If you want to say “fuck,” just say it, because if you say “frig” or “effin,” it means the same thing. You’re using slang to express something that could easily be couched in much more eloquent terms, so it confuses me as to why one would worry about how society views the word.

As my friend Dave Richards pointed out, why are we letting the social norms of others dictate which word constitutes the prettier package? Look, I’m not saying we ignore others and spew cuss words without a care for how others will feel, but if we’re talking in an informal setting or with friends, why does it matter if we say “frig” or “fuck?” The only standards we’re using are those others have forced on us, one that don’t seem to have a strong philosophical foundation for being blindly followed.

Now I’m sure someone could draw a comparison to using racial slurs, and I’d understand the urge to do so, but it’s not the same. Those words are representative of the basest human hatred, fear of the unknown and imply a certain opinion towards a group of people. Whereas saying “That’s fuckin great” instead of “that’s frickin great” isn’t truly offensive in either form and has nothing to do with hatred. We choose to say the latter because we’re not questioning horribly inane social norms.

So please, go cuss off for me!

And of course, if you feel differently, leave some comments as I’m always open to intelligent discussions. It’s entirely possible I have it all fuckin– I mean “friggin”– wrong!

Goodbye To The O.C (updated)

Considering the last blog entry, this may seem hypocritical, but I’d be dishonest if I denied that I really will miss The O.C, which airs it’s final episode tonight on FOX. While the second and third seasons were pretty inconsistent at best, but the first and fourth (the current one) seasons have been the epitome of great television. Interesting and vibrant characters; genuinely compelling situations; relateable and realistic conflict; and a great sense of heart permeating the show. Though The OC was a soap opera, that’s not a bad thing: there were a lot of resonant stories as a result of tackling the sociopolitical issues surrounding James Dean-esque Ryan Atwood moving in with the affluent Cohen family. Hell, it was just nice to see a show were parents not only appeared in the show, but were cool and had their own legitimately interesting stories– who wouldn’t want Sandy Cohen as part of their family? While I may not love Season 2 & 3 of the show, when watched with the near perfect Season 4, it’s hard not to appreciate all the little moments of greatness (such as “Atomic County”) that contribute to the mythos. This show never had a problem making fun of itself or acknowledging mistakes, which is why I have was happy to stick with the show– they always tried to do something different. Something fresh. I respect that.

As for my favorite moment in the show, it would have to be the pilot, probably the best television series pilot I’ve ever seen, barring The Shield. It was a breath of fresh air for the prime time soap, from Seth’s metatextual comments (such as stating that it’d be cliche for the school bully to punch him) and the great dialogue (”Welcome to The O.C…bitch”). I also loved the introduction of the “Atomic County” comic book and the entirety of the fourth season, which may be the show’s best.

The uneven aforementioned second and third seasons of the show will ultimately tarnish the legacy of The O.C, though it’d be folly to dismiss the show outright. Not only did it change how music was used and marketed through television shows (through the excellent soundtracks that helped launch a number of bands), but it wasn’t afraid to embrace the cliches of the soap opera story and turn them on their head. While it isn’t Lost or Star Trek in terms of how it’ll change television, The O.C proved that you can make an awesome soap opera that’s not only fun and true to its spirit, but also quite intelligent.

Update: Great article from the Toronto Star about The O.C went up today.

What…?

We’re back at you with another day of completely bizarre news of humanity’s weak and pathetic actions. This one isn’t as in depth and as well documented as the story we talked about yesterday, but it does represent that kind of senseless violence we all abhor. Check out this story on CNN (”Gunman kills 2 clowns in Colombian circus”):

Two clowns were shot and killed by an unidentified gunman during their performance at a traveling circus in the eastern Colombian town of Cucuta, police said Wednesday.

Moral of the story: some people are completely fucked up. There’s obviously a lot more to this story than is known right now, but it’s this kind of violence that tarnishes the reputations of these places and keeps the common man from enjoying entertainment acts that might be afraid to travel to the region.

Flashback to June 24th, 2005- The Home Of Napoleon Dynamite

Note: this story originally ran on the old blog

This has taken time to post due to one of my USB ports giving me trouble and the other being used for Internet access, so I apologize if this seems dated.

On June 24th, 2005, my friend Nate Smith and I ventured to Preston, Idaho for the Napoleon Dynamite festival. Now I hated Napoleon Dynamite and though parts of it were funny, I wasn’t big on the flick- but Nate loved the film and I figured it might be fun to see the town. There were scheduled tater tot contests, chances to meet some of the supporting cast, dances, etc, but I think we went on the bad day. The next da, Saturday, was apparently packed with people but honestly, I think the culprit is all poor planning.

The town was littered with signs and banners, but there was nothing really special going on- no one seemed to show up for the bowling match, the memorabillia was the kind of stuff you find at Hot Topic stores and considering this is the home of the film, it was disappointing.

Nate and I- driving in his Scion shortbus- found Napoleon Dynamite Ave and we did consider removing the sign. Now I know that isn’t the most ethical or responsible thing… but that sign is the kind of thing they should have sold.

Nate decided to hang off the sign and it should be noted that the entire area smelt like manure. It’s a farming town and so that’s to be expected, but it really smelt bad. It was funny to see the folks react to Nate & I blasting rap music out of his car and driving down the street. It was all country all day over there and the only other people we saw playing hip hop were sun burned 15 year old boys who went to meet their girlfriends behind the bleachers. Seriously. I think that once everyone turns 18, they leave the town because it is SO small. It consists of a few streets, no real restaurants or entertainment areas and there’s no room for growth. I can’t imagine what it would be like to live in such a small town. You have to drive for an hr to find the nearest real movie theater. Same time to find a real restaurant- the town had a Burger Kind, Taco Maker, a few gas stations and an Artic Circle, where bugs were crawling over the register.

The people were nice and helped direct us to Napoleon’s house, as seen in the film, though the guy at the gas station gave us the worst directions possible- which he admitted to. He said he’d charge us for better directions and I don’t think he was joking. His co-worker kept staring at me- I think was one of the only minorities that she’s ever seen in her life.

Above are Napoleon’s house and the mountains over which Uncle Rico said he could throw a football. Good times. Below is Rico’s pervert truck.

We ended the trip by FINALLY finding the Rex Kwon-Do studio and this represented another missed opportunity. Mock classes and demonstrations would have been great for the tourists. It would have really added to the atmosphere. I don’t know what the evening dance was like, as Nate intended to get with a farm girl in her barn, but considering we only saw females under 15 or over 40, I don’t think NateDawg missed too much.

Overall, great trip because I got to do it with a good friend and the ride allowed for a lot of talk time. It also made me appreciate my own life more, after seeing how people have to live in smaller town and the finite options available to them in every facet of their life.

No Excuses

I’m a big believer that there are a lot of gray areas when it comes to morality and the “right” decision. However, every so often there come situations that make me angry at the people involved and wonder how they make the decisions to act like the lowest kind of person. Just peruse this story on CNN (entitled “Teen ’sport killings’ of homeless on the rise”):

It was a mistake, he said, a sudden primal surge that made him and his friends Luis Oyola, 16, and 17-year-old Andrew Ihrcke begin punching and kicking Baum.

“Luis says ‘I’m gonna go hit him,’ We’re all laughing, thought he was joking around,’” but he wasn’t, Moore concedes. “We just all started hitting him.”

They hurled anything they could find — rocks, bricks, even Baum’s barbecue grill — and pounded the 49-year-old with a pipe and with the baseball bat he kept at his campsite for protection.

Ihrcke smeared his own feces on Baum’s face before cutting him with a knife “to see if he was alive,” Moore said.

After destroying Baum’s camp, the boys left the homeless man — head wedged in his own grill — under a piece of plastic where they hoped the “animals would eat” him.

Then, Moore says, they took off to grab a bite at McDonald’s.

Sure, these kids were drunk, but so what? They made a conscious decision to hurt someone else to a degree that requires some serious internal issues, mentally and/or emotionally. They decided not to just shove someone down, but to destroy someone so completely that they’re humiliated and on the verge of death. That’s not a “mistake.” That’s a “decision.” I know that this article wants me to be sympathetic to this kid who is in jail and feels really bad, but the fact is that he made a decision. Everyone who buys these “Bumfights” videos are a big part of the problem. Who wants to see someone actually beating and terrorizing innocent victims? The idea that this is a growth sector for crime, one in which people find ways to record and profit from these crimes, is absolutely disgusting. These aren’t often crimes of passion– they’re premeditated and carried out with a sick kind of pleasure. I’m not sure I want to understand why anyone does this because, frankly, there can’t be any good reason to hurt an innocent in this manner. Perhaps that’s seems arrogant but I do believe in certain absolutes and this is one of them.

So why do I bring it up if all I’m going to do is complain? This is news. This is real news. This is the front page stuff. Not Anna Nicole. Not Britney. Not Barbaro. Those have value, yes, but this disturbing and growing trend of senseless violence to innocents is the one we need to pay attention to and we need to address. It’s the kind of thing we need to acknowledge and publicly discuss so we can dissuade people from joining in this madness. Perhaps if we encouraged more debate about morality from a philosophical and intellectual standpoint– instead of from a partistan political standpoint– perhaps we’d all grow and become the people we all can be (myself included). But as long as we’re ignoring this in favor of the latest entertainment gossip, we’re all losing out on both an intellectual and spiritual chance for growth.

Dear TNA Wrestling…

…thank you for putting out an excellent wrestling program about wrestling. While the WWE destroys the ECW program with bad booking, RAW with an ignored midcard and tag division and risks boring Smackdown viewers with Batista, you’re improving your program and delivering excellent matches like the recent battle to be the number one contender for the championship. Hire Chris Jericho and you’re set to have the best wrestling program on television in years. It’s hard to guess who will win matches because there’s real tension and intrigue, which is a nice change from the WWE, not to mention all the styles of wrestling on display. From the pure wrestling style of Kurt Angle to the high flying style of AJ Styles, there’s so much for a real sports or wrestling fan to enjoy. Sure, the weekly shows aren’t always perfect, but they’re miles above anything the WWE puts out these days.

And for those who haven’t checked it out, visit the TNA Wrestling website and tune into TNA Impact on Thursdays (or Saturdays for the re-run) each week. The X-Division of high fliers is the best reason to watch, as evidenced by this video:

If that wasn’t enough, current champion Christian Cage is easily the best wrestler on the mic and this promo shows why he’s so loved. Unlike the WWE, TNA isn’t afraid to have a heel (IE: bad guy) as champion and let him look like a legitimate threat. The WWE hasn’t learned that you need a good villain in every feud and if you don’t let the bad guys get a few licks in, it makes the hero look silly for wasting their time with them.

Image Based Fitness

You’ll find a lot of discussion about fitness and “looking your best” on the internet, but you’ll probably have noticed that I don’t talk about it much on this blog, despite my passion for weightlifting & bodybuilding. I’ve touched upon this briefly a little while ago and it’s become apparent that often when the media– and disciples of the media– talk about health and fitness, they’re looking at them from a perspective of affecting appearance and one’s sense of vanity, not true health . We’re constantly inundated with “health” magazines extolling the virtues of ripped abs, bigger arms and more defined muscles. The amount you can bench press somehow relates to your worth as a human being. I’ve referred to this previously as The Modern Male Crisis and every time I peruse an Internet message board about fitness, I’m shocked how many people are ignorant of how the body works. I actually wasted time arguing with a kid who told me that protein had no caloric value! It’s absolutely disturbing how much misinformation is dispensed on the Internet and defended by the ignorant.

I applaud those aiming to improve their health and I’d be lying if I denied there was a vanity aspect to my exercise efforts, but it’s scary how many equate their looks with their level of health. A friend of mine is a police sergeant who you’d probably think has probably consumed a few too many donuts, at least from initial appearances, but the man not only runs marathons, he also bench presses twice his weight with ease!

Bottom line: real fitness and good health isn’t dependent on a six pack or nice biceps. It’s both a physical and spiritual state that is not borne out of eating way more protein than you need or obsessing over BMI (a horribly inaccurate scale). It’s not something you can evaluate based purely on appearances. Ignore the magazines and images portrayed by the media. At the end of the day, if you can find happiness in life and you’re able to avoid health problems through a balanced diet & level of exercise, you’re probably healthy.