Fast Twitch Mind

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Why is it(continued?), Movie Review(ugh!!)

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 13:26:00 +0000

Why is it (continued)? _When two dogs, one small and one large, chase me while I am riding the bicycle, why is it the little dog bites me and the large dog just barks? Is this where the saying, “his bark is much bigger than his bite” came from? _Why is it when I ride the bicycle the wind is always in my face? Could this be why they call it a “head wind?” _Why is it when I turn my left signal light on while driving and then I turn right, people look at me strange? Could it be they just don’t get creative people and it confuses them? _ Why is it that when I was driving on the highway today and the Texas state trooper was on the other side of the four lane Interstate I felt secure, even though I was speeding. Could it be he couldn’t make a U turn or did he have his radar turned off or maybe he was taking a nap or maybe he just didn’t care at that point or possibly his radar was out of order or maybe he wears glasses and didn’t have them on?_ Why is it that it seems as though everyone is dying, every time I open the arbitrary page of the newspaper it has nothing but death notices in it?_Why is it everyone wants to go to heaven but no one wants to die to get there? Could it be they might be afraid of going straight to hell, not passing go and not collecting $200.00?_Why is it we don’t have to lick stamps anymore? Could it be that the glue was actually toxic and all the people in the arbitrary pages use to lick more than their share of stamps, and just died?_Why is it when I go to a restaurant and order water to drink they still ask me what I want to drink? Seems clear to me, I am drinking water for my drink. Then I find that to get a refill of water, when water is my drink, it is much harder than if say I was drinking a margarita. The way they pounce on you to order another one you would think the world is running out of tequila._Why is it when I am riding my big black Hog with all kinds of noise and poise, men stare at me? Is it possibly a gay thing and I don’t realize it, or is it just outright unadulterated jealousy? It really doesn’t matter to me but I hate for them to waste time looking at me when they could be scoping the good looking women!

Movie Review: “Repo Men”, 0 no star here, This is one of the most gross movies I have even seen. Such a waste of good acting talent in Jude Law and Forest Whitaker. It is way into the future, year not given, and people can buy artificial hearts, pancreas, and livers; however, the cost is over $600,000.00 and they can finance them. The big kicker is that if they get 90 days behind in their payments the repo men will come cut the parts out of the body and leave them to die. It is the bloodiest movie I have seen in some time, maybe even the bloodiest of all. It is a very depressing stupid movie and the producers tried to redeem themselves with a reasonably happy ending, I think. Go at your own risk and do not pay full fare. Rated PG-13 for strong bloody violence, grisly images, language and some sexuality/nudity.
greerman

Why Is It? Book Review, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 15:19:00 +0000

Why is it: 1. when I walk up to a place of business and they have two entrance doors, one is always locked and I pick that one to enter the store? Why not just leave both unlocked? 2. When I walk up to these two doors and there is a sign pointing to the unlocked door and I always pull or push on the locked door? 3. When I walk up to the same set of doors and it says, “pull” I always “push?” or When I walk up to the same set of doors and it says, “push” I always, “pull?” 4. When I have to pee real badly I hit all of the red lights in town? 5. When I have to pee real badly and I go to a public rest room there is someone in the rest room taking what seems like 30 minutes to get out of there? 5. When I am in a hurry to get somewhere I pick the roads that are being worked on? 6. When I am on these same roads the traffic is worse than ever and the turn lanes are to the left and I need to go right. 7. When I fill up the Explorer with gasoline and sit in inside to get in out of the cold the automatic release doesn’t work and gasoline fills the streets? 8. When I order jalapeno peppers at Col Sanders they are out? 9. When I go into the post office to send a package there is a big line in addition there are people sending at least 100 packages each. 10. When I go into the post office to get my passport done they are out of forms? 11. When I go into to have buy license plates for my automobiles I forget the insurance form? 12. When I go to the grocery store I can’t find what I am looking for and then the person I ask can’t find it either? 13. When I get caught speeding I never have an emergency excuse when the officer asks me, “do you have an emergency?” 14. When I get ready to mow the yard, someone has stolen my lawn mower? 15. When I get ready to edge the grass after buying a new lawnmower someone has stolen my edger? 16. When I work a trade show people always ask if I am having fun? 17. When I work a trade show my feet always hurt so badly I feel like I have been standing on concrete all day, which I have? 18. When Christmas approaches everyone ask, “Are you going to have a big Christmas?” 19. When Christmas is over everyone asks, “Did you have a big Christmas?” 20. When it rains the cattle feed lots smell worse than other times plus the odor blows in my direction no matter which way I am going? Enough for today, now back to my George Carlin book. He is my hero of sarcasm, too bad he decided to die.

Book Review: “Getting Naked”, ****, No this is not a porno book and is really a straight forward business fable. Written by Patrick Lencioni, it is a true story about shedding the three fears that sabotage client loyalty in the consulting business world. Has great application in any business atmosphere and really has to do with, “being yourself!” Nothing wrong with that and it is a great story about being honest with yourself and other people. One noted person, the author of The One Minute Manager said: “Put your feet up, check your ego at the door, and read Getting Naked. It’s such an enjoyable read, you may finish the book in one sitting, but you will remember its message forever.”

Movie Reviews: “Alice In Wonderland,” ***, Johnny Depp plays the part of the mad hatter while Mia Wasikowski portrays the 19-year-old Alice, who returns to the whimsical world she first encountered as a young girl. Well done movie with great color and imagination in the supporting characters. One for the kids for sure. Rated PG for fantasy action/violence involving scary images and situations, and for a smoking caterpillar (WOW, I don’t remember all that violence, but do remember the smoking caterpillar).

“The Bounty Hunter,” ** overall rating, but ***** for having to watch Jennifer Aniston in nearly every scene. This is basically a very boring movie and really wastes some good actors. Gerald Butler, current gruffly looking heart throb, plays a disgraced policeman turned bounty hunter. His next bail-jumping client is his ex-wife, Aniston, and the story goes from there to the bitter end, which is very predictable. Don’t spend prime time fare on this one. Rated PG for sexual content including suggestive comments, language and some violence (you mean when he locks poor Jennifer up in the trunk of the car?)

“She’s Out of My League,” *** overall rating, but ***** for having to watch Alice Eve as Molly, (WOW, you talk about easy to look at, even brings out some lust thoughts!!). Jay Baruchel stars as an average, everyday guy who cannot believe his good luck. While stuck in a seemingly dead end job as an airport security agent (TSA), he meets Molly, a successful and outrageously gorgeous woman—and she falls for him. He is stunned. So are his friends (funny conversations between his group in weird airport scenes make the movie worthwhile), his family (very dysfunctional bunch, but puts some good rough edge comedy in the movie), and even his ex-girlfriend. Rated R for language and sexual contact.

greerman

Vultures, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 13:35:00 +0000

Someone once said, possibly God, that everything has its reason and place for being on or in this world. But for the life of me I don’t know why the gross looking vulture /buzzard has a place or right to be anywhere. While traveling to the first triathlon of the season some 300 miles from home I noticed some vultures in the middle of the road feasting on recent road kill. While it looked like an innocent deer I am not too sure what it was. But what I did notice, and I have watched them closer while on the bicycle, as I sped by at 70 mph these so-called birds were extremely ugly and worthless looking. But what should I expect from a bird that is called “vulture” to look any different. After all they live off of the dead and would have to be considered the extremely homeless of the animal world. They wait till some innocent animal is struck dead by something and then they come into to feast off of them. As you look at them real close you will find they are really butt ugly, are sparsely covered with feathers, usually look like dirt/mud warmed over and have a shiftless look on their face. One thing they can do is fly fast enough to get out of the way of the moving vehicle and very seldom fly into your windshield so you got to give them credit for that. Then I know if we did a breath check on them they would have real bad breath. Can you imagine, they eat at least day old real dead stuff all day long and never brush, that I know of. As I continue to search for their usefulness and worthiness I conclude that there should be a national monument built for them simply because I know of no one else who would remove the road kill like they do. The theme could be, “thank God for the vultures/buzzards of this world, because without them our roadways would be covered with road kill.”

Movie Review: “The Green Zone”, could be **** for presentation, but also ** for boring, but also * for reminding us of the lies the Bush administration used to enter Iraq in the first place, or no rating because the Weapons of Mass Destruction never existed. This movie is presented like a documentary but actually is not one. It is reality-based chaos, and stars matt Damon as a credible chief warrant officer who, during the USA invasion of Baghdad in 2003 is ordered to round up Saddam Hussein’s hidden weapons of mass destruction—yes, the same WMDs that an American president hung over the heads of the Congress and the American people. When none can be found, Damon questions “bad Intel?” It only gets worse and then he questions those in authority, a non reality thing since Warrant Officers just don’t do that, but in Hollywood they do. Brendan Gleeson plays a CIA person, and Greg Kinnear plays a typical all too-powerful, arrogant U.S. intelligence people listening to the wrong advice. Rated R for violence and language.

greerman

Travel, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 14:11:00 +0000

To some people traveling is a glamorous thing, to others it is just part of their professional life and then to others it is just habit forming and becomes a combination of both. To some it just plain sucks!! Since my traveling life really started back in my high school and college days as a member of the collegiate football and track team that would total over 56 years and still going. The early travel was of course by automobile, train, and buses. Airplanes were invented at the time but air travel was for the very rich and just didn't make any sense for my kind of travel. My parents were not into doing much travel so I didn't catch my bad case of having to travel from them, it just came naturally. After graduating from college and then entering the US Army I found my travel became even greater and I knew then that packing and unpacking a bag would become part of my lifestyle. Since that time I have traveled to most of the USA states(48 to be exact) and 20 countries. Most of this was done while competing in some kind of athletics or in my profession, but very little for just outright vacation fun. It seems as though I try to make my business travel into some kind of fun travel and just forget about vacations. This past weekend I traveled to Florida for no business purpose and my sole reason for going was to see two of my old time friends and even see one of them re-marry, so I guess that was a pleasure weekend. When I started by sales career way back in 1966 I was given a new automobile to travel in and since cell phones didn't exist and long distance calls were very expensive we were expected to drive anywhere in our territory to see customers rather than call them on the phone. Gasoline ranged from 15-25 cents so it was pound the pavement and no worry on fuel cost. Now after all these years everyone has a cell phone stuck in one ear or the other, gasoline is $2.65 per gallon, computers keep us informed and business travel has a whole new angle. Back in the days of travel when my kids were young I traveled every week and when arriving home one week from a sales trip my youngest daughter, about 5 at the time, looked at her mother and ask, "is he going to stay here tonight?" Traveling can also make you a little disoriented, one week when I had stayed in 3 different hotels and finally got home at the end of the week I found myself getting up in the middle of the night to go take a leak I went to the approximate same area where the rest room had been the night before. Turns out in our house this was the same area that our laundry room was in, so I reached down to pull the camode seat up and it turned out to big the clothes dryer. Luckily I woke up enough to realize I was fixing to go to take a leak in the dryer, and then worked my way back to the real rest room. Most of the time when people age they kind of taper things off and especially do not travel as much; however, my travel has increased and just during the month of February and March I will be gone 6 of the possible 8 weekends. For March I am making a 3 weekend run, and then possibly in the last weekend will remain in Ransom Canyon. Now I am in Dallas for the Rock N Roll half marathon, actually running in it and monitoring the Athletes Honey Milk booth. Then next weekend I will be competing in the first triathlon of the season in Alpine, Texas, the gateway to the Big Bend Country of Texas. My point for all this useless gibberish is that I have been behind in my blogging because of all the travel and not being able to use my lap top computer to post on. Now I have that fixed and will be blogging like crazy again. There are all kinds of new news(that is why it is called news) coming to past, i.e. Tiger will go back to playing golf and limit his playing around to his wife, there is no football on TV, former Texas Tech coach Mike Leech(sp on purpose) will get his settlement from Tech and probably receive much more than he deserves, Athletes Honey Milk will become the most popular drink on the planet, and I will be traveling to many more points of interest in the next 9 months of 2010.

Movie Reviews: "Cop Out", **, Bruce Willis should be ashamed of himself for this boring, stupid movie. He is just passing the time of day and collecting his big bucks in the poorly done movie. He and Tracy Morgan play veteran New York(always New York cops, never do they do a show about cops from Lubbock) cops on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint condition baseball card, and wind up facing a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Actually Willis owns the card and is going to use it to pay for his daughters wedding($48,000.00), so this story is so stupid it stinks to high heaven. Rated R for pervasive language including sexual references, violence and brief sexuality.

"Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief", **, The gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters walk off the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology textbook and into his life. And they are not happy campers. Zeus' lightning bolt has been stolen and Percy is the prime suspect. Percy adapts to demi-God status: his father is Poseidon. Lots of action to find the lightning thief and I can't believe I watched the whole thing. Rated PG for action violence and peril, some scary images and suggestive material, and mild language.

Academy Awards: Last week while in Florida I actually watched the Academy Awards ceremony that seems to last for hours and hours, well actually it does do that. This year there were no real surprises and I was real pleased with the results and thought they were right on. Crazy Heart was a big favorite of mine and Jeff Bridges won the best actor for his performance. Avatar won the best picture and that was probably a good pick. Even though I didn't mention them on this blog site I agreed with most of them, even though there was a couple of movies I didn't get to see since they didn't come to Lubbock. The Hurt Locker was a big winner and if it came to Lubbock, it came and went while I was traveling, so I must find it some where since it was a big winner.

greerman

Christians???? Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 22:06:00 +0000

Christian congregations always amaze me in the way they profess to love one another, love God and Jesus even, but then go contrary to what the good book teaches in their relations with each other. To illustrate my point there are a couple of things that come to mind. In the 6,000 population town that I was raised in the Church of Christ congregations got mad at each other every few years and then split and formed a new church. The last count I had they had created 7 Church of Christ congregations in this small town. Seemed strange to me since I was raised in the Presbyterian Church and we never split, guess we must have taken the teaching in the Bible a little more serious. But I always wondered what the deal was here and why they just can’t get along. But from a business stand point I also noted that this created jobs for 6 more ministers, choir directors, business managers, and required building another building, furnishing it, and buying all the hymnals for the choir and congregation Guess that is not all bad!! Yesterday I came in from my bicycle ride and as I entered the main entrance to Ransom Canyon I noticed that the new chapel was being completed for another Christian congregation for Ransom Canyon (population 1,000), Now I know the full story on why it was created so I know it is not because of growth in the original chapel but simply because they got mad at each other and it basically divided in half and they had to have a place to meet, so they built a new chapel. It is also built on a location that it is the first or second thing you notice when turning in to the main road. That had to be done to spite the original chapel since it is located within the population of the town. I also noticed where the building is built like a gasoline service station and I wondered if they were going to sell Chevron or Shell gasoline in the drive up over hang. Then I noticed that they had added a cross to the front of the build so this must sanctify the building into some kind of official worship service. It really seems so stupid to me since they are Christians, and the Bible is the bible and it doesn’t call for anything like this. I am sure that God sits up there somewhere and really enjoys watching all of this ridiculous hypocrisy. When they first divided I went to one of their meetings and walked away shaking my heads wondering how grown adults could call themselves Christians with all of the name calling and negative conversation that was going on. Instead of joining either of the dividing factions I chose to stay home on Sunday morning and enjoy a good run, or even do a blog article on the subject. While I realize we must have things to disagree over and even fight over it seems to me that this is not what God intended. But who really knows until we meet the maker in a more formal atmosphere, i.e. we all hope in that place called heaven.

Movie Review: “Shutter Island”, *, this movie had great acting in it but it was probably one of the most mind twisting, depressing movies I have even seen. I gave it a one star for the acting and Leonardo DiCaprio will probably be nominated for his acting. The setting for the story was in an institute for the extremely hard core criminally insane, the worst of the worst type of criminal. The story was hard to follow and was as gruesome as you can imagine. It all revolved around the search and investigation of one of the inmates who had brutally killed her three children, but as the story unfolds you will find that this is not really the story at all. It twists around like a pretzel and finally has a conclusion nearly 2 hours later. Supporting roles by Ben Kingsley, and Mark Ruffalo are excellent but still not worth the mental misery we are subjected to. We also had to sit on the 3rd row and I think it hit harder that close in. Bottom line, if you go after reading all of this you are one sick puppy! Rated R for disturbing violent content (understatement), language and some nudity (I missed that)!!

greerman

To Ramble, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:18:00 +0000

Since it has been nearly a month without posting on this site I am going to blame it on just being real busy; however, I could just say that I didn’t have anything to say or maybe had some writer block. Nothing could be further from the truth since I always have something to say. But the kicker is I want to say something that is close to being worthwhile so maybe I was just hanging in there for that light bulb of worthy subjects to happen. The fact is I have been traveling a lot and the computer I took with me just didn’t do the job for me. Now I am back from a very successful business trip to Colorado and now I am ready to write. My meetings in Colorado Springs included the USA Triathlon annual race director’s conference and it was very good. I was voted the oldest race director at the conference and probably the world since people my age have a different life than what I do. They spend time with their grand kids, work in the garden, play checkers or go to the senior clubs to compare the latest surgeries, etc. While I am not criticizing this activity at all it is just not what I want to do in life. So it is fun to go into a meeting at least 20 years older than most, but the cool thing is that there is always something to talk about, yep, my age. Since I have no intention of “retiring” or “quitting” I guess my unique topic of discuss will continue to be my age. From what I have gathered most people will retire and these people that are now 20 years younger than me will be retiring right before my eyes and then I will be dealing with people who are 40 years younger than me. Now I am having to work my way through this technological society who sit around and twitter their face book till their fingers are numb then they consult their e-mails and do that irritating texting and then lo and behold they might actually carry on a conversation at some point. In another 40 years I suppose we will just walk in a room to talk and we will have some kind of computer on our chest that you just touch for communication, so then we will not have to make any effort. Since I just completed my annual physical and my doctor declared me a freak of nature (the only surgery I have ever had was my tonsils out at age 8) and he would gladly trade the blood tests results for his. Excuse me doc but I am not in the trading mood, especially for my blood test results. He declared me very fit and said my ekg showed that my heart was doing the same thing it did last year during the test; it was beating at a reasonable rate and was healthy. Glad to hear that since I swim, bike, run, ride my motorcycle, and bowl. Please take your annual physical as soon as possible. The good news if you have nothing wrong, you will know it and feel good about it, but if you have something wrong you can catch it early and then do something about it. My simple solutions for staying healthy are not just exercising, since you must also exercise the brain and eat the right kind of food, no matter what. One of the things that I did a lot of during this nearly one month of not writing is go to the most current movies, so now I must get to the movie reviews. A record number, of seven will be reviewed.

Movie Reviews: “Tooth Fairy”, ***, actually a cute movie but really for those aged kids that still believe in the tooth fairy. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has the title role, introduced as a minor league hockey player who discourages a youngster and is sentenced to one week’s hard labor as the real Tooth Fairy. Kind of stupid really but again the kids will really enjoy it. It is still playing in Lubbock so that means people are going to see it. Rated PG for mild language, some rude humor and sports action.

“Crazy Heart”, *****, This is a real good one starring Jeff Bridges as richly comic, semi-tragic, romantic anti-hero country and western singer Bad Blake. He has had way too many marriages, far too many years on the road and one too many drinks too many times. He finally reaches for salvation after a near disaster with the help from Jean played by Maggie Gyllenhall, a journalist who discovers the man behind the musician. Bridges has been nominated for best actor; he deserves to win in my opinion. Rated R for language and brief sexuality.

“The Lovely Bones”, **, For once I agree with the local critic on this one. Kind of a weird story where a teen age girl is murdered and then looks down on her family from heaven. Some of the scenes are repetitive, long and boring. Not even good acting makes this worth the high priced ticket. Good popcorn didn’t save it either. Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material involving disturbing violent content and images, and some language.

“The Edge of Darkness”, ****, This is a very good movie with lots of brutality and stars Mel Gibson as a veteran Boston police detective, whose adult daughter dies from a shotgun blast on his front porch. Convinced that he was not the target, Gibson delivers a character fueled by his own grief to find out the real story and why this happened. He is perfect for the part and does a great job of acting. The ending is worth waiting for since it is a 2 hours long. Rated R for strong bloody violence, language (to say the least).

“From Paris With Love”, ***, This movie is okay but I wouldn’t spend prime time bucks on it. It is a story of a low-ranking intelligence officer, working in the office of the U.S. ambassador in France. To spice the movie up he is assigned with a partner that is a wisecracking, rule breaking, fast-shooting, high-ranking American agent played by John Travolta. Sometimes the movie script is overwhelmed by the Travolta dominance of the scenes. Go see on bargain ticket. Rated R for strong bloody violence throughout, drug content, pervasive language and brief sexuality.

“When In Rome”, ***, Kristen Bell stars as an ambitious New Yorker who, disillusioned with romance, takes a whirlwind trip to Rome, where she defiantly plucks magic coins from a foolish fountain of love. She inexplicably ignites the passion of an odd group of suitors: a sausage magnate, a street magician, an adoring painter, and a self-admiring model. Makes for a cute story and Kristen is very easy on the eyes. Go see during prime time just to see her!! Rated PG-13 for some suggestive content.

“The Wolfman”, ***, Funny how there are movies galore about vampires, then it goes to werewolves. The acting is beyond reproach with Benicio Del Toro, Gwen Conlifffe, and Anthony Hopkins. Of course the story is about the monster that is killing everyone in grand bloody style, and then passing on the bad blood that makes this killing a requirement to wear the hairy armor of a werewolf. A remake of the original classic and very well done. Rated R for bloody horror, violence and gore.

greerman

Leecher, Butts & Guts II, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 18:54:00 +0000

Rumor has it that ex Texas Tech Red Raider football coach Mike Leach has changed the spelling of his last name to Leech. Well after looking up the definition of leech and finding that it is defined as a worm that feeds on blood; a parasite. I wonder how that computes with the definition of a pirate who robs and steals and happens to be idolized by Ex Coach Leech. Another rumor is that Coach Leech has moved to Key West, Florida the land of warm weather, lots of sun, a beautiful ocean and lots of real happy people (you know like fun loving, gay, happy, and stuff like that). We wish him well and regret the fact that he didn’t get to be in Lubbock during our last 40 mph dust storm, he deserved that. The courts also did not shine down on him this past week in that they denied his request to get preferential treatment to have his case moved to the head of the line. Seems as though he did stuff like that all the time in Lubbock whenever he approached a line he just told them to get the hell out of the way since he was the Head Football Coach at Texas Tech. Thank God the court system was not impressed with his former stature. Their claim is that by being tied up in court he is having trouble getting a job coaching football. Well Coach, sorry to hear about that since you had a very good job making $2.7 million per year until you exercised your practice of being insubordinate (this practice actually started in year one of your employment) to those people you were employed by and then you locked some poor entitled football player up in a carpeted, air conditioned shed on campus so he could recover from his apparent head concussion. Good luck in Southern Florida but you also missed the job opening at Southern Florida, who also dismissed their coach for choking and hitting one of his players. Now fans out there in college football land don’t think for a minute that this practice just started. The real facts are it is just now coming out of the closet; they were beating up on us in the 1950’s and ‘60’s. But rather than complain and go bawling to our parents we just played a little harder and took out our frustrations on the opposing team. Good luck leecher, you will probably need it.

As an epilogue to the Butts and Guts story I failed to mention that the positive functions of the butt and gut. Well the butt was really put there by the creator for a few reasons, with the most important purpose is to sit on it. The other thing is the butt is made to fill out jeans and other apparel. If you look good in this type of apparel then it is a blessing. If you don’t then good luck! On the other hand is the big gut really good for anything? Since what most people do that have them is not good for them anyway. Okay so you can kill a six pack of beer very quickly and have lots of room for it, is that really a good thing? I think not, but who am I to really know? The other thing the big gut is for is to eat more than your fellow man. But again, is this a good thing? No I really don’t think it is but again I am just writing not judging. I have a friend that has a real big beer gut and I noticed he rubs it all the time, especially when he starts talking about drinking some beer or eating some BBQ. So, I guess there is some soothing stuff that goes on by rubbing the gut and getting it ready for consumption. Sometimes I am tempted to reach over and start rubbing that big gut myself, but the temptation leaves very quickly when I wonder why I would even think that. Good luck to all of the population out there with big butts and big guts, God loves you!!

Movie Review: “Legion”, **, really a well done movie, but in the same breath really useless and you wonder why you spent good money to see it. When God loses faith in mankind, he sends a legion of angels to bring about the Apocalypse. Now the action begins and it is really just about a bunch of blood and guts and you forget who the good guy is and who the bad guy is. The way they slaughtered each other they forgot also. We even have a re-birth of the savior by an out in the sticks diner waitress. This movie is a weird one. So many unanswered questions for the movie goer, i.e. what happened to the rest of the world as this was going on? What was the purpose of the insect attack? Go at your own risk. Rated R for strong bloody violence, and language.

“The Book of Eli”, ***, this is a good movie worth seeing but did not earn a fourth star from me. Denzel Washington plays a roaming (prophet, evangelist, preacher) good/bad guy heading West to deliver “The Book” so as to save the scorched earth and degenerate population. His methods of delivery and his own defense for his safety are very impressive and very deadly. He is a good guy defending himself in troubled times just for the purpose of heading West and delivering the “Book.” Go see, you will be intrigued. Rated R for some brutal violence and language.

greerman

Cross Dressing, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 14:54:00 +0000

Recently someone ask me what motivated me to ride a motorcycle, bowl, and do triathlons which of course requires swimming, biking and running. My immediate reply is that I must be a cross dresser and like the atmosphere of the three disciplines of life. Actually motorcycle riders are a lot like triathletes in that they do three things very well, they drink beer, eat BBQ, and ride the Hogs or whatever brand of two wheel terror they can muster up. When you ride a motorcycle you have a chance to put on the black leather (sometimes brown, but 95% black), let the beard and hair grow a little longer, and look real tough. Maybe even getting a little dirt under the finger nails and a slight odor of sweat and exhaust fumes. When you bowl you wear clothing that makes it easy to throw the ball down the lane and knock over those stupid looking pins, so you are again doing three things. You attempt to knock the pins down, drink a beer, and eat Mexican food afterwards. Then there is the dress of the triathlon world. Since you swim you must have a tight fitting Speedo type swim suit, a form fitting tights tri-suit for the bike ride and then wear the same on the run. Now a days the Speedo is used for work outs and the tri-suit is used for all three disciplines during competition. Then of course there is the customary carbo loading meals and low calorie beer. So, as anyone can see I am in high heaven with cross dressing. Not long ago I was being interviewed by my life coach and since she didn’t really know me very well she ask some personal questions. After these questions were answered she as if I had anything else to tell her. So, I took the opportunity to advise her that along with all of my little eccentrics I was a cross dresser. Yep, you got it, extreme silence on the other end of the phone. After what seemed like 30 minutes (really only a few long seconds) I explained my position on this subject and where I really fit. After giving her the full story she seemed to sigh with relief, but on the other hand she was from California and it is full of fruits and nuts, so what is so bad about a cross dressing West Texan? Now to wrap this all up and to explain what motivated me to write about this awesome subject I just got an ad on my e-mail from Victoria Secrets, Viagra, and Boy Toys. Of course I looked through the offerings in VC, enjoyed the many joys I was told I can get as a result of using the Boy Toys, after gulping down a Viagra pill and my day was complete. Please excuse me while I venture into the 900 number world to further enjoy my new purchases.

Movie Review: “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus”, ***, the last movie that Heath Ledger made before his death. Actually he died during the making of the film and was replaced by Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Farrell (interesting combination but effective). This is really a far out movie about a character named Dr. Parnassus played by Christopher Plummer who possesses the extraordinary gift of being able to guide the imaginations of others. The movie has a magic mirror, and a quaint devil played by Tom Waits. One final bet with the devil finds friends and foes passing through the imaginarium. Well done movie but I think you have to enjoy these mystery things before you will really enjoy it. Rated PG-13 for violent images, some sensuality, language and smoking.

“Youth In Revolt”, ***, Michael Cera stars in a romantic comedy expected to defy traditional January cinematic doldrums. It is an irreverent story about the wild adventures of teen-aged(extremely horny, and a virgin) Nick Twisp, who meets the girl of his dreams while on a family(not a typical family) vacation, and must turn everyone’s lives upside down just to be near her. He also has an imaginary alter ego that pushes him into doing the things he has really wanted to do but was too shy to do. Rated R for some mild rude humor (also some sensual sex scenes).

greerman

Butts & Guts, New Coach

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 20:02:00 +0000

The longer I live life the more I like it and the more I am amazed about what evolves, IF we keep our awareness buds flowing. Yesterday I competed in a five mile road race at the Buddy Holly Park in Lubbock. This race is called “Loop the Lake”, which is a series of small manmade lakes created from the flow of natural springs, and rain water. The main inhabitants of these lakes are the Canadian geese that fly south every year so they can have three square meals a day during the winter, and poop all over the sidewalks and wherever they please. What made this a special run of awareness was not the 15 degree weather or the competition from the other runners but simply the fact that I run so slow now I have time to really think and create new ideas for my blog. In years past when I was zooming around the lake and being competitive, I never came up with any solid thoughts simply because I was breathing too hard and experiencing the good pain of running like hell and not having to think. But yesterday I became so bored with my speed that I started becoming aware of those that were passing me and the idea came to my mind about the physiology make up of the male/ female species and bingo I had a subject for the week. To me it is ironic that the human body was created with two obvious flaws and it takes miracles to do anything about them. These obvious flaws concern the female butt and the male gut. Over the years the female butt portion of the body has gained prominent recognition and has been described in many ways, i.e. nice butt, fat butt, big butt, tight butt, cute butt, broad butt while the male butt is usually referred to as “ass.”(Could that be where the term “he is an ass hole” came from?) Actually my nick name in college was “apple ass or apples for short.” Sometimes female athletes have what is called a “nice ass” or “tight ass” (for some reason butt is not used for female athletes) and I recall two professional triathletes that had REAL nice asses/butts, or whatever term you want to use, and then some suffered from “no ass at all,” not a real common problem amongst the general population nowadays. So as I ran around around the lake and these butts were passing me I took inventory of the nice butts, the big butts, apple butts and the tight butts. It amazed me that all categories were present and they were all passing me. Well all I have to say is no shame towards me since I was gathering pertinent information for this writing. Now to give equal time to the male gut I must admit I didn’t have any big gut guys pass me because they were either ahead of me to start with or there weren’t any in the race with big guts, so they never had to make that move. But in reality I didn’t see many big gut guys there so I would have to rely on my bowling friends for the big guts to enhance this story. Most long distance runners do not have big guts, but bowlers seem to carry that distinction with pride. So we have the beer gut, big gut, fat gut, gross gut, flat gut or maybe six pack gut, but regardless of what you call it the gut of the male sometimes becomes very obnoxious. What I have found is that with aging the gut tends to move around a little and reposition itself. Since I have always had love handles they have been part of my love/hate for that part of my body for a long time. Now I find that these two dudes have moved a little bit to the front of my gut and I really do not like that. Fact is I have never been in love with my love handles and I have never figured out how to rid myself of them. Someone once told me that they are actually muscles so I should be proud of them. While I am not convinced that they are muscles I will continue to keep working them and see what happens. In conclusion to these two deep subjects I find that the female butt can be very attractive, and aside from the upper assets, called the boobs, it is one of the most noticeable features of the female anatomy. On the same token the male gut if properly maintained and groomed can also be attractive; however, if it becomes the large, round, over the belt fat gut then it is not attractive at all. Professional triathletes very seldom have large guts; however, I have notice that the professional football players who play in the line do have guts. So let’s give credit where credit is due and say that there is room in the world for all size butts and guts, and everyone has their preferences so we can all be happy. Enjoy the view the next time you are out somewhere where these two features of the human anatomy are in blossom.

Thank God Texas Tech has hired their new coach and the rest of us can go on with our lives. After the untimely firing of the city’s favorite pirate (disguised as a $2.7 million a year football coach Mike Leach) the administration hired Coach Tommy Tuberville from Auburn, AL. This probably didn’t get him the job but his initials are TT, duh, the same as Texas Tech. His mother was probably thinking of this 55 years ago when she named him I am sure. Regardless he has great credentials and should be very good for Lubbock and Texas Tech. The other favorite on the existing staff was Coach Ruffin McNeill and an un-official poll of the players indicated that 90% wanted him as their next head coach. The final decision tells you that the administration did not make their decision based on the player’s vote which also illustrates that the inmates can’t be in charge of the prison. While no firing is pleasant the firing of Leach turned into a blood bath, and will finally be settled in court at great expenses. Everything that I have read on the subject, and information I have received from insiders, indicate Leach deserved the firing. Of course he has been guilty of insubordination since he arrived 10 years ago so I wouldn’t call this firing that sudden. The problem should have been solved when he arrived as opposed to 10 years after he had been here. Of course the diehard Leach fans have organized a Team Leach group now numbering 60,000 on Twitter and other electronic magic, etc. They wanted him re-hired (wasn’t going to happen in a heartbeat). Funny thing is there were quotes of fans from around town in various bars & grills and the interviewer said that as the day wore on the responses were less violent and mellower. Duh, you interview people who are sitting at a bar drinking and you think that their responses will not mellow a little bit. That is why they are drinking, to drown the sordid details of the day and forget about who gets the next millions to coach a football team. Hear me Raider Nation/Team Leach, everything that has been made public indicates that the mighty pirate deserved to be stripped of his sword, had his good eye poked out, sent to the end of the plank, had all of his stolen treasures taken away, then fired. Besides he was only a mediocre coach and the highest paid 8 wins a year coach that I know of. He never won a Conference division title, he never won a Conference title, he never won a National Championship, and even in his best year he didn’t win either of the above, lost the last game of the regular season and also lost the Cotton Bowl game. So let it rest and get behind the new coach. Of course fans are so fickle all the new dude has to do is put a few wins on the board and they will be saying, “Leach who?”

greerman

Ironic Bowl, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:26:00 +0000

Drama, drama and more drama. Okay so the football team of the mighty Texas Tech Red Raiders, of the Big 12, and the once double mighty Michigan State Spartans of the Big 10 meet in the annual Alamo Bowl in San Antonio tonight! What is the big deal and why the drama? Well to start with the football team of the Spartans decided a few weeks ago to have a gang fight with one of the fraternities on the Michigan State campus. For some reason the administration of MSU decided this was not in the best interest of the football program and so they dismissed 14 of their players. So, that created a lot of drama for MSU and most of the pre-press was about these appalling acts and how it was going to affect the game. Needless to say the Red Raiders were licking their chops and looking forward to blowing them past River Walk, on past the Alamo and out of this historic city that prides themselves in reminding us of “remember the Alamo and we kick butt if you don’t.” Then the impossible happened and the Texas Tech Red Raiders showed the mighty Spartans that they could “one up” them on the drama scene and placed their head coach, Mike Leach, on suspension from coaching the game and then a few days later adding more salt to this oozing sore, fired him with cause. The cause being he mistreated one of their high profile prima dona players who just happened to have a prima dona father who just happens to be on ESPN as a color commentator for college football. Since all of this has been presented in the news for the past week I will not go into all of the details and I would encourage my readers to consult LubbockOnline.com for all of the gory details. What I will do is offer some of my opinions on the subject, then move on to the movie reviews. My first point will be directed to those Red Raider fans who think Mike Leach is an offensive genius and the Tech program will never go on without him. Coach Leach is very much a smart, strong minded, hard headed, eccentric that did put together a productive offensive team, but never produced a conference championship, only finished in the top 10 one year, and never won a conference Championship or National Championship. While his offense was productive, to say the least, his overall team efforts(called defense, running attack, blocking, punting, kicking, reduced penalties, being disciplined or summed up with one word “balanced” just wasn’t there) which enables a team to win it “all” never materialized in his 10 years. My opinion is also motivated by the fact that he was being paid $2.7 million per year plus some nice bonus money. For that kind of money I feel we can ask for a lot or even demand it. My second point is that even though Mike Leach is the winningest coach in school history his overall record is only mediocre with an average of 8 wins per season. His best year was in 2008 and it did not produce a Championship of any kind and they even put the icing on the cake by losing in the Cotton Bowl. Their last game of the regular season, they still had the chance of winning the Big 12 but showed up in presence only and looked like a Pop Warner team that was just issued their uniforms the day before the game. They played so bad they created another definition of “stink.” My other point on this “mediocrity” thing is that the diehard fans have accepted this and make excuses for why their record is not better, i.e. if they had only scored more points again Houston they would have won 9 games, and these kind of stupid statements. Of course if they had scored more points than all of their opponents in 2009 they would be undefeated right now. Of course they wouldn’t have their coach because his firing had nothing to do with on the field performance or results. My third point is that Leach was a guy that demanded that his players have unquestioned discipline but he was not a good example of this attribute himself. Now, here are some things the fans are going to miss about him. He did put a very exciting productive offensive football team on the field of play. He was a very eccentric coach (he did not play in college, one in only a handful of coaches that didn’t; he was actually a rugby player). His program did have a very high graduation rate and that is a very good thing. He guaranteed the fans that he could produce 8 wins per year season, and a bowl bid out of 35 bowl games(wow wee what a feat!) While his heroes are pirates that will now become a dead issue in Lubbock and the retail stores will probably get stuck with some flags, boots, and pirate attire we normally didn’t have around until Leach brought his pirate ship to town via Buffalo Springs Lake. We will also miss his dull, dry interviews and his ability to say something that really didn’t make much sense, i.e. “the players feel like they are heroes because their fat little girlfriends tell them they are.” While this got a lot of press I really didn’t get it. First of all the football players don’t generally have fat little girl friends, and second of all this was a very offensive statement to “the fat little girlfriends of the basketball team, or maybe the track team, but not the almighty football players.” Now that I have vented my opinions I will say that Coach Leach was invited to ride his new Cannondale bike out in the canyons with a few of our triathlete friends; however, he never made it. Guess he couldn’t read the map!! His loss!!! Regardless, Texas Tech football will continue to play the game, and coach Leach will continue to coach football somewhere in the universe. He will sue the university big time; get a larger settlement than his salary since it appears that the administration made some bad legal moves in their suspension and firing play calling. Imagine Tech has a law school, a Chancellor that was a very successful practicing lawyer and a full team of lawyers employed by Tech, and they make what appears to be some major blunders!!! Oh well it is not the end of the world folks, it is just “As the Football Turns” in the Hub City of the South Plains of Texas.

Movie Reviews: “Nine,” ****, this is probably a five star movie but I don’t really know how to rate musicals, but this is good one. It got my attention because of Daniel Day Lewis, plus I went to the Michael Jackson thing and had a better appreciation for music. The movie centers on film director Guido Contini (played by Daniel Day-Lewis-one of the great film actors of the day in my opinion) as he reaches a personal crisis of epic proportions. He must balance his numerous women in his life, including his wife(Marion Cotillard), his mistress(Penelope Cruz), his film star muse (Nicole Kidman), his confidant and costume designer(Judi Dench), an American fashion journalist(Kate Hudson) the whore from his youth(Fergie) and of course his mother (Sophia Loren). What a mouthful that can only equal a lot of tension, no wonder the guy was having trouble balancing his life. This film will be nominated for an Oscar for sure. Rated R for sexual content and smoking.

“It’s Complicated,” ****, an entertaining movie about love and divorce, co-starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. Jane (played by Streep) is the mother of three grown children, and finds herself drifting into a sexual affair with her ex-husband, remarried Jake (Baldwin) after a decade of divorce. Caught in the middle is a likeable divorced architect played by Martin, who has fallen for Jane, but discovers he’s become a part of a love triangle. Some very humorous scenes and fun to watch. Rated R for some drug content and sexuality.

“Avatar,” *****, this is a five star rated movie with lots of special effects. Obviously it is a sci-fi movie set on a moon called Pandora. This moon has a mineral that is essential for the survival of earth, so the military earthlings and some insensitive scientists are there to harvest this stuff regardless of the local 10 foot tall, blue humanoids call the Navi. Of course the battle begins between the intruders and the locals who are the nice good guys and gals. While we have the overbearing earth intruder military types (throw in a marine or two), the one military hero who is trying to earn his legs back (literally) and the scientists. Of course there is a love story, and a real villain. Go see, but be prepared for a long one, 2 hrs and 40 minutes. Also, it is offered in 2D and 3D (I would recommend this even though it is $3.00 higher). The only real recognizable actress is Sigourney Weaver, not a stranger to sci-fi and tough battles with the villains. Rated PG-13 for intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language and some smoking.

greerman

Space Challenges, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:04:00 +0000

Traveling during the holidays is always a hassle, whether it is for business or pleasure. If you are traveling for business it is more frustrating since most are traveling for pleasure. The business traveler wants to get from point A to point B as fast as possible and not have to stand in too many lines, while the pleasure traveler is busy fighting the kids and baggage. What I have really noticed in airline travel is the reduced space now available in seats because some passengers are bringing two people on board all stuffed into one body. So as to be politically correct I am not going to say the f... word during this little tirade on reduced seating capacity in airplanes. However, I am going to casually mention that the last two times I have flown it has been a challenge to sit completely in my seat because the person beside me was taking up more than their share of room simply because it was like two people in one body (to be referred to in the future as the 2 for 1 or 2/1 body package) sitting in a one person seat. Please understand I don’t have any prejudice here; however, I just don’t think it is fair to buy a ticket and not be able to sit through a flight without feeling like I am being smothered, rolled, pinched, sweated on, flattened and filleted by my next door seating partner On my first trip I was sitting next to a guy that was the classic 2/1 and since we couldn’t put the arm rest down between us there was flesh against flesh, there was reduced seating capacity because I had to lean against the outer arm rest, which actually caused me to hang out in the aisle. Then on the no arm rest side our bodies did this getting to know you thing of rolling over on me, then I was blessed with the sleeping tilting head on my shoulder. But, one thing I will say is that this dude did wake up in time for the landing and even offered me one of his free drink coupons. Of course he was drinking diet coke and encouraged me to use his coupon to drink a Heineken. Not a bad deal since you always get two bags of peanuts on Southwest and with a 120 calorie beer you almost have a complete meal. My next flight was about a week after this one and I really got stuck in a 2/1 situation with a business type lady in a very tight fitting black dress suit. She was so big that she took up her seat, a portion of the seat to the left of her and a portion of the seat to the right of her (mine). It was also at the back end of the plane, which always seems more crowded than the front of the plane, and when she sat down I know the plane tilted to my right. She then proceeded to put her seat belt on and after some real grunting and groaning she got it snapped. Of course I could have volunteered to help her but I don’t know where I would have started and I am sure I would not have been welcomed to search around her giant size mid section for proper installation of the seat belt. In addition she did give me a cutting eye glance during this procedure that basically said, “Don’t mention it hotshot, and mind your own business!” After we were all buckled in the pilot was able to get the plane off of the ground and fly us to our destination. Then a third airline trip to Alabama was fairly normal and we were able to get the cheap first class tickets on Southwest. Actually they don’t have first class tickets but if you are lucky enough to get the emergency exit rows that is like first class. On one row there are only two seats and there is plenty of room between the rows. So, we always grab those seats if we can get them. They are excellent for the long, 8-10 hours across the big water type trips. The only drawback to these seats is if you do have an emergency and you are in such a bad situation that you have to knock out the door, inflate the vest, and help people out, you are in deep stuff. So, when they ask you if you will perform these duties if need be, you just shake your head yes, look very grim, buckle up and then take a nap. I figure if it gets that bad no one is going to be doing a checklist report card on you, everyone will be trying like the devil to get out of that big dude. This also brings to mind the 2/1 passengers in time of emergency, guess they just call in the heavy duty material handling equipment, chain them up and move them out.

Movie Reviews (5): “Old Dogs”, Bad, no rating simply because it had two good actors in it and they were wasted on poor script, poor directing and just a goofy bad movie. Shame on you Robin Williams and John Travolta, you are so much better than this. Rated PG for some mild rude humor (didn’t catch the humor in any of it).

“Sherlock Holmes”, ****, This is an updated version of Sherlock Holmes as played by Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes and co-starring Jude Law as Dr. John Watson, his roommate and partner in crime solving. The movie begins with the conclusion of their current case, and then illustrates the slide of depression that Holmes falls into after a big case. He is never in the good eyes of the local inspector but it is very obvious no case in Scotland Yard will get solved without Holmes and assistance from Watson. Very well done movie with great dialogue, Downey does a great job, could be nominated for acting in this one. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some startling images and a scene of suggestive material.

“Invictus”, *****, This movie was rated five stars simple because it is a true story, with a great cast, and is directed by Clint Eastwood. It tells the inspiring story of how Nelson Mandela(played by Morgan Freeman) is elected to be president of South Africa, then convinces the white captain of South Africa’s rugby team(played by Matt Damon) to help him unite the country. Newly elected Mandela, recognizing how divided the country has been because of apartheid, believes that it can be brought together through the universal language of sport. He rallies the South Africa’s underdog rugby team to pursue the 1995 World Cup championship (they won it). Rated PG-13 for brief strong language (after all football/rugby players will be boys with tempers, at times).

“Did You Hear About the Morgan’s?”, ***, The is an entertaining movie about a married couple played by Sarah Jessica Parker and Hugh Grant, while being close to filing for a divorce, witness a mob murder. They of course become the next hit, so they are put under a witness protection program and secretly sent to a new residence in a tiny Wyoming town. The town officers are played by Sam Elliott and Mary Steenburgen and they teach this New York City couple how to live and appreciate life, no matter your location in life. Rated PG-13 for some sexual references and momentary violence.

“Up In The Air”, *****, George Clooney stars as a corporate hatchet man paid by companies to come in a fire their employees, rather than do it themselves. Clooney loves his life on the road and is on the edge of his lifetime goal of reaching 5 million frequent flier miles and all the perks that go with it. Since he is a devout bachelor never planning on getting married, or even seeing any reason to do so, he meets a woman that could change this attitude. He also has some interesting family situations that change his way of thinking. Very well done movie and gets that extra star because I think Clooney might get nominated for an Oscar over his acting job. Rated R for language and some sexual content.

greerman

Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 23:48:00 +0000

Very seldom do I post a movie review by itself; however, after seeing "Blind Side" I just had to put this on the site. After going from one bad movie after another this holiday season it was about time for a good one to come along. Well, this movie is beyond good and gets a big five ***** stars from me. Now I know you will say, but you are an ex-football guy so you will give it a high rating no matter what. Of course I disagree with that since I try to call a spade a spade and let the chips fall where they may. No doubt this is a great movie, just so happens it is about a football player, but goes way beyond that. The film expresses the true story of Michael Oher(played by Quinton Aaron), a homeless African-American youngster taken in by the Touhys of Memphis, Tennessee(Sandra Bullock and Tim McGraw), a well-to-do white couple who helps him reach his potential(they also give him his first real bed to sleep in and adopt him). The teen discovers new challenges to overcome, as well. With the help of his adopted family and coaches, he grows to be an All-American offensive lineman at the University of Mississippi. He is drafted out of college by the Baltimore Ravens and as of this past week earned the starting job as an offensive lineman. The story is great and Bullock does an excellent job as his agressive, sometimes pushy step mother and McGraw plays the easy going husband and father to this new blended family. A must see!!

greerman

Two Questions, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 20:44:00 +0000

It seems like I get the same two questions about our current President of the United States on a very frequent basis. The first question is what are we going to do about what the president is doing to our nation, and the second is, why are people following him when they have always been the direct opposite of him in political, business, and religious philosophy? My answer to the first question is a real simple one, go to the polls in the next election and vote him out of office. That is what we do in a democracy and why our form of government has lived on for so many years. Now to vote him out of office the voters must do the same thing he did, organize the campaign to raise huge sums of money (he raised $745M) and then make sure to go to the polls and vote. President O also did the other smart thing in that he was recognized as a Black- American, not a Half White American, so then he could appeal to the Black-American population of around 60 million people which he did and they voted for him and sealed his victory. Since coming to this realization I have also studied how this might be accomplished in the next election by whoever his opponent might be and I have come up with the solution. There needs to be a drive to combat the above mentioned 60 M voter base and that can be done by going directly to the senior citizens(meaning all over 65) which numbers around 51 million now. If you go ahead and take in the over 60 population you would probably gather the remaining votes. So what will happen is the opponent will have to gather these folks up into a hard charging group and then they will offset his power base of voters. For the opponent to really make his case he/she will make it a campaign theme that for the first time in 35 years social security payments will not be given a cost of living increase in 2010, so that will be blamed on President O (even though it is not his fault, but who will believe that if you really do the proper presentation, meaning you have to lie a little which is fair in all elections). Now that will insure that the voter base will be enough to win the election and we have our new president. Otherwise let’s get ready for another four years after this and then who knows what will happen. It is possible that President O will have the legislation passed that will have unlimited terms, so he could be in for 20 years or till he dies. Hopefully the congress would not let that get by the American public. On the second question my answer is also quite simple. After living through 8 years of a really bad presidency of the W. man much of our population was mesmerized by the smooth talking new president and believed everything he said. They were ready for a change after the 8 years and believed he could change everything he said he could. Also, they listened to his first 90 days of speeches where he spent more time talking about how bad off the country was and how he was going to fix it that they really believed it. Now we are deeper in debt, unemployment is the highest in history and instead of getting out of Iraq as promised; we are now building up in Afghanistan. It reminds me of when I use to try to quit smoking (yes I did that nasty habit over 45 years ago). I would buy me some cigars, and a pipe hoping to cut out cigarettes. But what I would do is smoke all three of them. My own question on the Afghan thing is, what do we have after we win? Hope this clears up the many inquiries on the subject.

Movie Reviews: “This Is It”-This review will be handled in a little different way than most. While I will have 1-5 stars in the rating it will be based on you choosing your star determined by where you fit in the rating as presented. This movie is really not a movie but is filming of the rehearsals of the Michael Jackson movie, by the same name. It was not finished because of his death; however, they decided to organize the rehearsals and show it to the public. Again, making money off of him after his death but on the other hand showing some sides to him that may have been a surprise to some. Here goes: * it would be rated one star if you totally hated Michael Jackson, have no tolerance for him or his music and believed he was the biggest pervert that ever lived, ** it would be rated with two stars if the first star assumptions were how you use to feel but you might watch the rehearsal movie if it was free with fresh popcorn. ***, the three star rating is for the people who didn’t like Michael Jackson, didn’t care for his music, got a discount to see the movie, and bought your own popcorn, but came out of the movie with a greater appreciation of his music and what he did for Pop Music and how he appreciated, mentored and taught the younger people in this movie. ****, the four star rating is for those that loved his music, thought he was kind of weird but not a molester, or cared if he dyed himself white, loved to watch him dance, and believed he was the King of pop music. *****, the five star is for the fan that loved everything thing and every moment that Michael Jackson spent on this earth. This fan holds nothing back on how they feel and knows for sure that he was not weird, not a pervert, not a molester, and was without a doubt the King of Pop Music. NOTE: Please place me in the three star *** category.

“Men Who Stare At Goats”, *, A really bad movie and the one star comes only because of the good actors and fresh popcorn at discount prices. It is supposed to be a black comedy, I think, but comes off as boring, stupid, and a waste of time. Set in Iraq the movie centers on a reporter who thinks he’s stumbled on a huge story when he meets Lyn Cassady (George Clooney). The latter claims to be a former US psychic soldier who has been reactivated. Jeff Bridges co-stars as the founder of the psychic soldier program. This movie never makes sense. Rated R for language, some drug content and brief nudity.

“The Twilight Saga: New Moon”, ***, While I am not a vampire type movie fan I went out of curiosity. Well now I know, but I don’t really know why people like this. It has been stated that the biting of the vampire is somewhat sexual, so be it. This is a sequel and is a love story between a human teenager in high school with a vampire, also a high school student. These vampires are different since the whole town knows that they are blood suckers but they only suck animal blood, not human. So this makes it alright in the community. It is very good acting and lots of drama. The human girl is madly in love with the vampire but he wants to protect her so moves away. She goes through strange moods and wants him back. She also makes friends with a very well stacked guy who turns out to be a werewolf. The closing scene calls for a sequel, for sure. Rated PG-13 for some violence and action.

“2012”, **, this movie is another attempt of the end of the world theme. The two stars come from the visual effects, since it is way too long (2 hrs 50 minutes), very monotonous, the love story was very corny, and it just drug on and on. Rated PG-13 for intense disaster sequences and some language.

Rats!!! I need a good movie, so will go see “Blind Side” sometime this weekend.

greerman

Birds and the Bees, On? or Off?, President O, Movie Reviews-not

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 19:00:00 +0000

The birds and bees expression has been around since the beginning of time, as far as I know. I am guessing that it really became a point of conversation after Adam, in all his naked glory, took that infamous bite of the forbidden fruit. While he was crunching on the juicy delicious shiny red apple he looked down South and discovered the tools of the trade that would soon get him in deep trouble. Along these same lines I suppose he came up with that quaint little expression, while conversing with Eve about reproduction and other sexual topics, “the birds and the bees.” While I have only been on this earth a relatively short time compared to the overall big picture of the creation, etc., I have always heard this express when it comes to discussing sex and other related subjects. For the life of me I do understand the bee’s role in this drama, but I am not sure what the birds have to do with it. I would think the expression “rabbits and bees” would better describe reproduction than “birds and bees.” The male rabbit is well known for his abundance of testosterone and the female rabbit is equally proud of her ability to conceive and produce many off spring. But before I go on the crusade to change this expression I want to convey my recent experience with a bee and how he showed me how it got the reputation of a re-producer. I was laying out in the backyard gathering up some unusual November sun and was drinking a coke out of a can. As I sat up and put the can between my legs, this bee approached me. I sat there very calm and watched it do its little bee thing of going around in rapid circles, moving its’ wings at a 100 rpm’s, and sighting on the best possible place he could land to start gathering this sweet sugar, then taking it home to the hive to reproduce and make a little honey. It was interesting to watch the bee make the circle, then make the approach and then the landing. As he started nuzzling the coke at the top of the can he decided to go inside the can. When he went down inside he must have gotten a real strong taste of sugar and caffeine, since he was a tad bit wobbly and had a little trouble initiating the flight off of the can. Again I just sat there with patience and no fear that he would sting me. He then started flying again, made a couple of passes and then made another landing. He looked at me like, hey dude this is good stuff and I want a little more. He then went back inside the can, guzzled some more coke, came back out and then flew off to the mother land. Now I understand the “birds and the bees” expression a little better, but I still believe the rabbit has a place in this story.

In this modern world of electronics I sometimes get very frustrated and wonder what happened to some of the really simple words that were used to help you operate these gadgets. To best illustrate my point I think that the most important thing you need to know is where the “off” and “on” buttons are on things that are powered by whatever means. But I have noticed that these two words are used less and less each time something is manufactured. When I go to turn the television on I want to just look for the on button and simply turn it on. But now we have three different hand held control gadgets that do not have on or off on either of them. They have words like, power(probably on, but a guess), select(that is if you get it turned on), recall(recall what if you can’t turn it on), play, stop(stop what, if I can’t get the damn thing on), mute, search, pause, and browse.(Again all of this is moot if you can’t turn it on). Then there is the computer, no off and on anywhere, but you do have enter, shift, backspace, num lock, control, tab, home, caps lock, end, page up, page down, etc., but no off and on. I have discovered a black button on the main face of the computer box that does allow me to shut this thing off if I get really frustrated. The other day it just froze, so I defrosted it by hitting this button that didn’t say “off.” Fact is, it doesn’t say anything. Then there are cell phones that have talk, end, back, text, next, space, but no “off and on.” We have a couple of those little electric heaters for the exercise room and they do not have “off and on” buttons. But they do have, mode, osc, timer so I just start hitting buttons until something happens that I like and be done with it. After searching all over the house for something with “off and on” on it I finally found it with my alarm clock. Believe it or not it was off, on, buzzer, alarm, dream bar, snooze and sleep. So, there is hope that maybe these two words will return to power objects and mankind will not have to be left guessing.

This morning someone sent me a very disturbing You Tube presentation of President Obama proclaiming that he is a Muslim and that the United States is not a Christian nation. He proclaimed the goodness of Islam and covered in detail all the great things the Muslims have done for the United States. He even did something that no American president has ever done (including the oil loving W.man); he bowed to a Muslim hierarchy. Now I don’t know where all of these things come from but I do know I have never seen as much stuff written about a president as there has been about his one. I even got one e-mail that had he and Mrs. Big O going to a costume party with him in a Joker costume and she in a very revealing (at least D cups) costume with the belly button showing. When I am ask, what are we going to do about this president? My only response is—get your butt off of the couch at election time and vote him out of office. That is how we do things in this democracy and he became a master at raising money for the election (a record $745 million) and THEN getting the people to vote for him on Election Day. They jus t didn’t raise money for him; they also went out and voted for him. My thinking is that if all of the Seniors(over 65) in the country(approximately 51 million from what I can gather) went out and voted in the next election for the opposition candidate against President O, then there would be a chance for him to be defeated. Since 95% of the black voters in the country voted for him the senior population, with the same turn out, could get the job. Come on Seniors, let’s get out there and get it done.

Movie Reviews-not: No time for movies lately, but on the radar for future viewing, “Men Who Stare at Goats”, “Amelia”, “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” (not a fan of his, but our local guy gave it 5 stars, got to check it out), “Zombieland”, “The Fourth Kind”, There are some real weird movies on and from what I can gather the most weird and disturbing is “Paranormal Activity.” Big warning signs are up on this one as being very disturbing.

greerman

Service, Bueaucrats-Payoff time, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 01:26:00 +0000

Who said service is dead in this country? This week I traveled to San Antonio to do some marketing work for Athletes Honey Milk (try it, you will like it) and experienced some great service. I will admit I had gotten tired of the usual rental car stuff where they throw the keys at you and move on to the next customer, then the hotel makes you feel like you are an alien and you are lucky if the plastic key works. Well I was shocked when I got off of the plane picked up my bag and strolled up to the rental car company to a smiling face and a big welcome. Then the shuttle driver was very nice and helpful with putting my bag on the bus. When arriving at the area to pick up my car there was a person waiting for me to get off the bus and she walked me to my car and made sure it was what I wanted and that it was in good order. Usually you have to find the space that is on your rental agreement and then you have to wander around the parking lot to find it, especially if they want to get tricky with their numbering since it never just goes, 1, 2, 3, etc., and always has some kind of lettering to go with the numbering and they never make sense. In other words, no common sense logic. But with my rental the young lady just walked me to my space and I had no worries, and she gave me a fresh bottle of water to boot. Needless to say my impression was good and I looked forward to the day (this has to be what it feels like to be president I think to myself). Later I checked into the hotel and the service, bright smile and what can I do for you just got better. They gave me a much discounted rate in a first class room with major discounts on everything. It just can’t get any better than this I am thinking to myself, and then it does. We go out to eat to a very first class restaurant and the service is beyond reproach and the food matches it. The next day I scoot around the city and take care of business and decide to return to Ransom Canyon a day early. Now if I am flying American Airlines I know that to do this is like changing the original Ten Commandments, or bluntly speaking it takes an act of God to change a ticket and more money than the original ticket cost. But I was flying Southwest and compared to American it is like eating juicy rib eye steak to raw crawdads, it just doesn’t compare. As I suspected the exchange was done very easily, with no extra charge and I was on my way home a day early. When I entered the Enterprise parking lot I was greeted by two gentlemen who were very attentive and very inquisitive to how my day was going. I assured them that it was going great guns and their service was beyond reproach. Since tourist cities have a tendency to really not be too service oriented I am really impressed with San Antonio. I have traveled there many times and I don’t think it was ever this good. So, go to the Alamo city and see what you think, just don’t go swimming in the river walk.

When traveling I always read the USA Today newspaper and I noticed a glaring article on page one about our president, yes that President of the United States, the Big . It is titled, “Top Obama Fundraisers get Posts.” Turns out that 40%(20 of 47) of President Obama’s top-level fundraisers have secured posts in his administration, from key executive branch jobs to diplomatic postings in countries such as France, Spain and the Bahamas. That doesn’t surprise me, why would they want to go to Iraq, Afghanistan, or say maybe a little outing in Pakistan to picnic with Bin Laden? So, they get the top spots based on the money they raised for him to get elected. Thought this was a volunteer thing? Now you wonder, well are they getting paid anything to do this or would they donate their time to our great country. Guess you thought I had been eating rotten chocolates to even suggest such a thing since their salaries will range from $152,000-162,000. Normally these salaries are determined by seniority on the job, so I wonder, how are these salaries determined? Forgot to mention that to get this kind of plush assignment you will have had to raise at least $500,000 for his campaign. He also has appointed 54 volunteers to his campaign staff to other government positions. Who says bureaucrats don’t have it made? While I realize the Big O has never been in business, has never had to make or meet a payroll and has always lived off of the government(local, state, and national) cash register he really doesn’t care how much debt is rung up since he just knows that the government will take care of it. I hope that all of these people enjoy their gift, while the country goes to hell in a hand basket the bueaucrats just keep on taking and the free enterprise system keeps providing. And that is all I am going to say about that.

Movie Review: “Couples Retreat”, **, this movie is based on an idea by co-star Vince Vaughn, a good actor and sometimes funny. It revolved around four couples who all have been married at least 10 years or more, with one couple deciding they are going to get divorced. But before they do this they want to try one last remedy for what ails their marriage. They talk the other 3 into going with the understanding that they do not have to do any of the marriage repair stuff. When they get there they find that they all must go through the therapy. That is when the movie gets nearly good. Vince Vaughn is the only actor I recognized. Go see at discount or wait for DVD. Rated PG-13 for sexual content and language.

greerman

Moving On, Football-Wildcats-Yes, Raiders-Not, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 17:23:00 +0000

Okay so the triathlon season is over and with 17 finishes under my belt for the year I should be kicking back and taking life real easy. Well that is what I am doing and it just doesn’t seem to fit after the 7 month drive to do all the races I could in the challenge series. So what happens is that the mind and body get regimented towards the fatigue of training, the monotony of packing the bags, loading them up then un-loading and putting things up when you return. Then as the week progresses and you know you leave again for the same thing you are conditioned for it, but when it isn’t there anymore there is this sense of emptiness that says, damn when will the spring get here? Even a long motorcycle ride or going to the football games just doesn’t provide the same feeling of competing and feeling that great fatigue you get from swimming, biking and running against the competition and clock. One of my favorite things about exercising is the feeling during, and after, especially the long hot shower. This current feeling is not to be confused with depression since I have only had that once in my lifetime and it was overcome not through any kind of drugs but simply saying, “hey dude move on it could be worse,” then when it got worse I just met it head on again and overcame it. No different than starting a 26.2 mile marathon after swimming 2.4 miles, riding the bike for 112 miles and getting off the bike with huge blisters on the ball of both feet. Now how does this happen, beats me but it did and has never happened again. So, it makes a good story and also illustrates how we can overcome adversity to reach favorable results. Recently I finished the new book “In A Single Bound”, by Sarah Reinertsen and found new inspiration for just about everything in life. This young lady is probably one of the toughest people I have met in a long time. Since I know her personally it made reading the book even more enjoyable. I suggest that everyone in this world read this book and gain the same inspiration I have. It will make you fully appreciate all of the good things in life and how to overcome the adversities in life. While it is not really a “hey I did it this way, so you should do it this way”, it is just simply her story of how she overcame the amputation of her left leg when she was 7 due to a birth defect. She has become a world champion in running and triathlon, so get this book and enjoy it. Her web site is, AlwaysTri.com and the book is available on Amazon or contact her through her web site.

This weekend has been full of football, at least that what it is for the Littlefield Wildcats. I watched them play on Friday night and they won again and lead their district. They play solid, winning football and are a pleasure to watch. It will be fun to follow them through the playoffs again this year. Their winning legacy started in 1936(yes, I know 72 years ago or better said, two year before I was born), and it was fun to be part of it during my high school years. Then the other side to the weekend watching of football was the Texas Tech Red Raiders last night, in a defeat while they watched Texas A & M smother them or better stated, “eat them alive.” Texas Tech has always had this magic of winners playing like losers and sometimes looking so bad that you wonder why they have uniforms on. I have been watching this school play since the early 50’s and I swear they never change. They get you on this big high when they beat someone who they are not supposed to beat, and then they lull you to sleep with the dream that they really are good, and then the nightmare becomes reality. They just don’t know how to put it all together for building a truly winning legacy. While they have had good winning records for some years, like last year they gained a lot a national attention with their 9-3 record and win over the Texas Longhorns, but then fell hard in the their bowl game. Now people around here think they should win every game, but it is just not in the cards for Tech to win every game. They are what I call winning/losers, a term I just came up since it seems to apply to them. In addition to watching them get run out of the newly enlarged stadium I also had to put up with the crowd, the parking, the walking and then have two jokers in front of me stand up through the complete game. Guess I am just not a fan in that I like to sit and watch the game and then if a good things happens, or when the nation anthem plays I will stand up, but not the whole damn game. In addition when some people directly behind him (he was 4 seats down from me but since he stood on the top of the actual seat he stilled blocked my view) ask him to sit he told them he was there to root for the Raiders and be damned with them. Funny thing is when the tide turned for the Aggies he was gone like a bullet, and then returned when it looked like they might come back. While he was gone another guy directly in front of me starting standing up, wow, now I know why I only go to one game a year. One of my past times at the games is to adjust the focus on my binoculars by looking at the cheerleaders (females), poms, and majorettes, so these clowns sure made it a challenge to get my binocs focused. But, I did get it done and had a clear view around their neck bones. Go Wildcats, suck it up Raiders!!

Movie Review: “Law Abiding Citizen”, ****, Gerald Butler stars as a family man whose wife and daughter are brutally murdered during a home invasion. The killers are caught but, against his objections, a Philadelphia prosecutor (Jamie Foxx) offers one suspect (the actual killer) a light sentence in exchange for rolling over on his accomplice. Ten years later, from his jail cell, Butler’s character begins to orchestrate a series of assassinations as revenge. This a well done, uniquely presented movie with all kinds of suspense. For example, why was a special deal offered to the actual killer and not the accomplice, or why was Butler in jail while taking out his revenge or who was his accomplice in doing this since he was in jail? It has the puzzles of a serial killer setting and keeps you to thinking, after you recover from some of the graphic violence. Well inquiring minds will want to know and you must go see this movie. Rated R for strong bloody violence and torture (understatement), a scene of rape and pervasive language.

Friday Night Lights, The Hog, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 02:05:00 +0000

Over the years I have witnessed the art of watching the game of football evolve in many different directions, i.e. the grass/dirt field, hard wood stands, no cover from the elements or protection of any kind. Now we have the billion dollar stadiums that do not allow the elements to get close to you and God forbid that they play on natural turf and get their uniforms dirty. In the case of the team owner, better known as the master egotist in the mid-cities, you can even watch the game on a giant television screen held high in the air and never have to look at the field. Now that really doesn’t make sense to me since you have just paid $70.00 or more to come into the stadium and watch the game on the big screen. Why not just stay home and watch it for nothing? While you can ponder that for a while I would like to share with you the art of really watching football old fashion style in West Texas. There use to be a television show called “Friday Night Lights” and people would ask me if I ever watched the show since it was based on high school football in Odessa, Texas. Since I do not watch regular TV I actually never saw one episode of the show; however, in real life I lived “Friday Night Lights” so I was not interested in watching some fiction about football in West Texas. My first introduction to West Texas football was when I entered the 7th grade in Littlefield, Texas and it was love at first sight. I had a gift of speed in the running department so the coaches put me in the backfield and I got to carry the ball a lot. I also noticed that the cheerleaders seem to like the guys that scored the touchdowns so I made it a point to score every chance I got. This speed carried me all the way through Jr. High, High School and College, so I was always thankful for that gift. One of the things I learned in Littlefield was that football was king and don’t argue with it. At noon on Friday the town was basically closed down, just the necessary services stuck around, and it was off to the Friday night game. I also noticed at the games that there was an element that watched the game but never went into the stands to have a seat; they just followed the game up and down the field to whatever down line the ball was on. At that time I thought that was kind of weird that we had those nice stands to sit in and these guys (never any women in this group) never sat down. While the guys that carry the down marker chains and down markers themselves are called the “chain gang” I also thought to myself that these guys following the ball up and down the field were also “chain gangs.” Now to bring us to modern times I find that most of the new stadiums, even in high school do not allow the chain gangs and you must go into the stands to watch the game. Well last night I went to see the Littlefield Wildcats play the Idalou Wildcats(since Littlefield has always had a winning football team, and started setting the standards in winning way back in the latter ‘30’s, I really do not think Idalou should be able to use the Wildcat mascot. My reason for this is based on their past winning history which is somewhat shabby compared to the Maroon and White Wildcats of Littlefield, so I plan a blog protest in the coming months) in a very import district game. Littlefield came in the game with a 4-1 record and Idalou was 4-2, so this could be a good game. As I got there I noticed that all of the seats were taken and that led me to exploring the possibility of doing the modern day chain gang and watching the game standing up moving up and down the fence line as the ball moved. While there was a chain link fence to keep us off of the area needed for the bench, players, coaches, etc., the fence was low enough that not only could we see over it, we could also lean on it. Forgot to mention that I paid $3.00 to get in and stand up, but even if I had found a seat it was still $3.00 so I considered this a great bargain on Friday night. As I took my position for the kick off I quickly noted that I could really see how big these high school guys had grown to and realized how much bigger they are now than when I played. I also had the opportunity to smell the grass field, and after the game started I noticed the hitting of the pads, and the grunting, spitting and groaning that goes on during play. My position also gave me an insight as to things the coaches were yelling out to the players. Wow, playing was never like this and it really made the game interesting. Then to my delight I noticed a former classmate that was in my graduating class some 52 years ago, that was following the game on the fence. Fact is this guy is a real authority on chain gang watching football. I have never seen him sit in the stands and he would run, duck under things, move within the crowd and do whatever it took to see what was going on. I didn’t make a move myself to go up and down the field since he was doing it and when he came back to my end I would just get a re-cap. On one play I said, “well it looked like they had moved the ball to the 10 or 15 yard line, but I really couldn’t tell,” he immediately said, “13 yard line.” So, I knew I was in good hands with this fellow chain ganger. As the game progressed I noticed where the hitting sounds seemed to get louder and the coaches were even louder. While Littlefield was winning the game there were times when the “other” Wildcats were making some dent into actually winning this game. So, we all got real serious in watching and felt that we were going to pull it out. The game was not without some drama and at times I was concerned that the Green/Yellow Wildcats were going to get the idea that they should win this game. At half time I did watch the bands play and felt that the performances were very good and as close as the game had been. But what do I know, I don’t know anything about marching bands, except for what Balls has taught me, and I just think they both looked good. The biggest disappoint now in the high school bands that I have seen is that they don’t have the good looking girls twirling the batons like they use to. Possibly another subject for future blogs. Now we are starting the fourth quarter and the Littlefield Wildcats have just scored and made the score 35-16 and they were able to hold on for the victory, moving them into a solid first place. Congrats to the Maroon and White Wildcats and possibly I will see them play again next week.

This past weekend was a great weekend to ride the Hog and I did for two days for a total of 800 miles. Some guy came up to me during one of my rest stops and ask where I was going and how long was I going to ride. I explained that I was not going anywhere in particular, just getting miles in and burning gasoline. Seems kind of stupid I guess, but it is nice to ride new roads and see different settings. One road got me off into the oil patches and the big trucks that carry the platforms for oil derricks became a real pain. This prompted me to find a better road and after getting started on it I was afraid it was going to lead to a sign that would say, “End of pavement.” Since Hogs are not really good for off road I was hoping the asphalt would last, which it did. One thing I noticed is that all of the riders I saw on the road were also riding solo, with no large groups of riders going or coming, must be a trend this time of year. Now with triathlon season in a slumber I will get some more riding in tomorrow and make that Hog a happy camper.

Movie Review: “Marley and Me”, ***, This movie has moved on to cable and I watched it a couple of nights ago. A very good dog story with some very good acting. Sad ending but done very well. I suggest this movie, but if you have an older dog in the house(Buffman is 9 so that is not old) you should be sensitive to the subject matter and ending. Rated PG—nothing bad going on here.

greerman

Red Bull/Adrenal Glands, Failure Alternative, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 17:51:00 +0000

For most of my life I have heard the word “adrenaline” used many times and have used it myself while not really knowing what it is or where it comes from. From all I know it could be a can of Red Bull inserted somewhere in between my brain cells or butt cells, but I do know it exists and has been credited with many physical feats. It appears that it is never applied to mental feats but only to the physical side. So, I consulted Mr. Webster and found that there are two small adrenal glands just above the kidney, and they are the dudes that enable us to do super things with our body and mind. I have heard stories of people doing super strength things that were attributed to the adrenal gland. You see long distance athletes who run for 26.2 miles and then pass out at the finish line or other athletes who are able to do their thing until the bell rings and then it is over and they have nothing left. This is the adrenal gland working on over time and then when it is over, poof, you’re done. I know of Ironman triathletes who train for 12 months to prepare for their next Ironman distance race and then when they have completed it, pooooffff, they are done for a while. So what happens here? The adrenaline junkies will tell you that there is just so much allocated for each feat and then it needs to be built up again, both mentally and physically. My thinking is the mental buildup is more the reason, since if you have the mentality to start training again then the two little cute glands just above your kidney is ready to rock and roll also. Finally to the point of my story (sorry the adrenal glands are really working this morning, since I haven’t posted in a week), and it concerns my goal to win my age group in the Southwest Challenge Series, for triathlon and duathon. It all started early in the year when I was able to chalk up some first place points and put myself in control of my destiny. With great advice from my friend Balls and my desire to do everything I could to win it, I became somewhat obsessed with getting it done. But I also conditioned myself to believe that if I didn’t get it done I had at least done everything possible to achieve it. So, I was leaving nothing out there for the imagination and focused my mind and body towards this goal, no matter what my competition did. While I knew Mr. John LeRoy was much faster than me I also knew I could position myself at races and get some good points. On the other hand I also knew that at some races I would be faster than usual because of the adrenaline gland factor and the, “just having a good day factor.” Fact is I had this happen at one of the races, knowing past history of the competition I would probably get a second and with the help of the almighty glands I took a first. So this taught me never to over look the opportunities that come up and always be prepared to exceed my expectations. The month of September was an extremely trying and tiring time, with 5 races in the month and two on one weekend I was ready to take a break. But going into the last race of the month I was slightly ahead in the points and needed only the finish the Elephant Man Triathlon (by far the most difficult Olympic course in the series) and I had the Championship. By this time I had driven over 6,000 miles, had completed 16 triathlons and still had a 760 round trip to drive for the Elephant Man. I planned out the week with light workouts, rest (even though I did bowl on Wednesday night, and had two beers). Since I was traveling by myself I would not be able to sleep while Marti was driving, so I planned on some naps along the way at road side parks. After arriving in Elephant Butte, NM I found that the lake was in good order (wetsuit temperature water), and the high ground temperature would be around 90. Bottom line here is that the race went well, I finished 2nd and beat my time of last year by over 4 minutes and took the overall SWCS hardware for the 70-74 age group. After it was over so was the adrenaline in this old body, if there was a measuring gauge on my left butt I would say it would register a bit EMPTY. This week I have done 1,000 yards in the pool, bowled, napped, worked some, gone to two movies, been irritable and really wondered where my next adrenaline rush will be coming from. I considered riding the Hog but the weather got a little rainy, so now I am juicing up on Red Bull and hitting the key boards so hard I have shattered my nails and knuckles. Oh well, now we know more about this “adrenaline” rush thing, so let’s get ready to rumble at Kona, and Clearwater. No racing but we are in charge of the motorcycles, so we have a job to do. Now I wonder, what am I going to do about the SWCS in 2010??? I wonder??? Thanks again Balls!!!

My of my favorite books that I keep handy is “Life’s Greatest Lessons”—20 things that matter, written by Hal Urban. It is a great book and I really recommend it; however, it has got one chapter that really rocks me on and one that I do not totally agree with. But I am trying to see his point of view and warm up to it, since he has sold over 250,000 of these books and must know what he is talking about. While I have never liked to use the word failure he likes to really expound on it. So much so that he makes failure seem like a stroll through the park and not a bad thing. As I read it more I am seeing his point. While my definition of failure has always been, “learning experiences”, I see how my thoughts and his thoughts do have strong similarities. After all Thomas Edison claims he didn’t fail 10,000 times in developing the electrical light bulb he just discovered 10,000 ways that it would not work. What brought this entire “failure” question up was when we decided not to put on the Giant Side Motorcycle Rally in 2010, after laboring over it for the past two non-profit, break even, years. So, to determine if this is a failure or another great lesson let’s apply the Mr. Urban smell test for failure—1. He says, failure teaches us humility, and shows us we are not invincible. MG- Well we learned that well and have taken our licks from the Hog riders of America and are now humble. 2. Failure teaches us to correct our course of action, and forces us to try a new direction. MG-glory be, we have seen our shortcoming and will try a new direction, no more motorcycle rallies in our lifetime. 3. Failure teaches us that we can’t always have what we want, even when we do what we thought was right and what the motorcycle riders wanted. MG-it took two years but we did get it after this year. 4. Failure teaches you to move on and search out those things that best fits your life style, attitude and what makes you feel good. MG-Urban really didn’t add that last one, so I did. We have consented to bring the Centurion Cycling racing to Texas and will be working with Graham Fraser. Now that is within our comfort zone!!!

Movie Reviews: “The Informant”, **, this is a true story, presented in comedy format, about the highest-ranking whistleblower in American history. Matt Damon stars as Mark Whitacre, who blows the whistle on his company’s price-fixing conspiracy to the FBI. However, when the feds require more evidence, Whitacre plays at being a secret agent, envisioning himself being hailed as a hero. Of course he gathered over $9 million of this stolen money, and used bi-polar disorder as his excuse. Rated R for language.

“Surrogates”, *, my feeling is that if you want a good nap go see some of this sci-fi stuff. So I did, and I got a good nap. Not even Bruce Willis can bring this boring piece of film out of the ditch. It is sometime in the future way over 2400 a.d. when there are surrogates who do the work for the actual humans, who lay on some kind of plugged in modified dentist chair while the robot does everything for them. Then for some reason there is a weapon designed to kill all of this robots. Kind of like I feel about cell phones, twitter, texting, you tube, my tube, your space, my space, and all of that garbage. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence, disturbing images, language, sexuality and a drug-related scene. (This rating was obviously written to get your interest, I don’t remember any of this, of course I was asleep through most of it, and fact is I was told that I even snored, good for me!)

greerman

Fabric Shortage, Southwest Challenge Series, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 18:05:00 +0000

For the past 20 years I have been swimming at the Aquatic Center at Texas Tech University and it has been a really great place to swim. Just before the university entered into the Southwest Conference athletic conference they built this great aquatic center that featured a 50 meter pool for serious competition, then it also had lanes in it for 25 yards and a couple of 30 yard lanes. So, it really just didn’t get any better than that. Funny thing is after entering the conference they discontinued swimming so the pool was then open to the general student population and general public. However, as it is now a days with billion dollar football stadiums and basketball facilities the Red Raiders just had to do something different and create a multi-million dollar outdoor swimming facility that features a lazy river as part of its’ fun in the sun stuff. They do have two 25 yard lap pools, but one of them has volleyball and a basket ball net in it, so that just about eliminates it as a true lap pool. In years past it was a relaxing place to go get some serious lap swimming in and then take a little snooze or just relax. Now that it not the case since you have to battle for a lane and most of the time you have to share a lane. That is fine with the people who can swim without slinging their arms around, but in my case I go to battle with the water in slinging Mike Tyson punches as I swim my work out. So, beware if you have to share a lane with me or you will end up with black eyes and a bloody nose. Now that you have the setting of what we have to go through now to swim I have saved the best or worst for last in this story. After building the lazy river and putting it to use by the co-eds of this great university, I have discovered that there is an apparent fabric shortage in the apparel industry or maybe the lazy river has just brought out in the worst/best in them. They just don’t want to cover their slender, well endowed, brown bodies. I do know that the bikini outfits they are wearing now have less fabric in them than I have ever seen, and I have been watching bikini’s for a long time. It almost seems as though they ran an ad in the Tech Torridor asking for the best looking co-eds of the campus to go buy the most revealing bikini in Lubbock, come to the Tech lazy river pool and float down it with next to nothing on it and see what the men of the pool would be doing. I even went up to one of the life guards and said, “hey you guys should be paying the pool to work here, with having to watch these bodies all day, how good can it get?” He just grinned and gave me the thumbs up sign. It has finally gotten so bad that I have had to check and make sure my sun glasses are dark enough to hide the many movements my eyes have to make to catch all the sites that are out there. That way I can just point my head in one direction and look the other direction where the better sights are. Just to make sure I had this down I practiced it in front of a mirror to make sure I wasn’t that obvious, and did extreme eye movement training to really master this art. Now I am able to walk to the changing room, it just happens to be across the way from the lap pool so I don’t have a choice, right through this maze of bikini clad co-eds and never move my head. It enables me to scope in everything that is going on. I have noticed the other guys doing the same thing, no matter the age. The to put the icing on the cake they put a hot tub right beside the lap pool, so now the bikini’s have to go to the hot tub and submerge themselves in it, then slowly move themselves out of it. Looks just like some kind sleaze warm up scenes to a porn movie. Oh well, I must get my swim work outs in since I am a serious triathlete so I will continue to endure this torture while I train at the lazy river swim bash!! Before you ask, yes you can go with me on a guest pass and/or you can join for the annual rate, but go with an open mind!!

Well the race for the coveted 70-74 age group championship of the Southwest Series has taken on a new meaning for me and has proven that persistence pays off. After doing 13 events and driving 5,990 miles I can still control my own destiny to win the division. The Cotton Country victory this past weekend put me in that position and I am very relieved. The Cotton Country is a cute little race in Levelland, Texas and is just enough challenge to really get the heart rate up there. Since it is as flat as a pancake and the weather was perfect for racing it was really fun to go all out. It was also great to see Balls, Marianna, and Christa. So, we had a perfect day!!! Now I will do the grand finale this coming weekend at the Elephant Man triathlon in Elephant Butte, NM. This will add another 780 miles of driving to my odometer and all I have to do is finish to win the division. While I will not approach it with the idea of backing off or not going hard, I will make sure that I cross that finish line. Last year I came in third at this race and found it to be a very difficult race. So, I will go into it with a little different attitude and respect the course probably a little more than last year. After all we spent some time on the dance floor the night before the event and that is not going to be on the agenda for this year.

Movie Reviews: “The Time Travelers Wife”, **, While Kerns gave this three stars I just couldn’t agree with him. I do think it is an interesting movie and Eric Bana as Henry, the time traveler, and Rachel McAdams as Claire who fell in love with him when she was 8-9 years old. Even though it is a neat love story there are many gaps in it. Some of the happenings were kind of amusing, especially when he would travel back in time and have to do it in the nude. When he arrived he would have to search out clothing, always having to steal it. To me the big gap was, what did he really do when he went to another time period. It never made that a point of importance and never explained what the purpose of his time travel was. It was revealed that it was some kind of irregular function of his brain, etc., but never explained why he had no control over it. He could be kissing his love, Claire, and then just start to vanish. Probably more entertaining to others than me, but I recommend not spending the full fare on this one and rent the DVD or watch it on cable. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, brief disturbing images, nudity and sexuality (not really a big deal).

“All About Steve”, **, This is another Sandra Bullock movie that she will probably wish she hadn’t made. It is really weird in some aspects and you wonder at times why you are there. She is a grown woman living with her parents with little hope of finding Mr. Right. While she is very attractive her personality is like plugged into some kind of 500 watt electrical plug at all times. To add more eccentrics to her personality she also writes cross-road puzzles for the local newspaper. She then thinks that she has met Mr. Right, her soul mate played by Thomas Haden Church(a current heart throb showing up in a lot of movies now) who is a roving news reporter . The story gets a little better when she chases him all around the country, and it does have a happy ending. Rated PG-13 for sexual content, including innuendoes (you mean when she attacks him in his SUV and throws him in the back while trying to take his clothes off to have some great sex, even though they just met about 10 minutes prior to this?)

greerman

Where the Sun Don't Shine, Honey Milk, SW Challenge Series, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 02:33:00 +0000

My current obsession with winning my age division in the Southwest Challenge Series is interfering with my blog postings, just seems like there is never enough time in the day. Since I like to offer some kind of original thought processes to this site I find it hard to just jump on the keys and type out something that doesn’t make sense. Remember the scent post concerning the cow, horse and pig manure and how you could tell the difference between them. Now that was an original post and I know probably changed the world in some way. Guess my original stuff was just not coming to me but now it has and my writer block has been defeated and now I can enlighten the world with some interesting stuff. Last week I went to a little coastal town called Seaside, Oregon to work a trade show for my newest healthy product, Athletes Honey Milk. But before I get to that let me tell you about my interesting airplane ride to Portland (where the sun doesn’t shine). Prior to boarding the plane I looked around at the folks that would become my flying mates for the next 3 plus hours and came away with the thought process that you can almost figure out where you are going, if you didn’t know this, by just looking at the people who are traveling with you. In this case you could tell you were heading to a spot where the sun just doesn’t shine very often so no one had a tan, plus they wore plaid shirts that didn’t match the pants they had on or the fit right. Since I was in the first group to board I took my seat and watched the rest of the passenger’s board. While watching all of these folks board that looked like they had just been resurrected from a long sleep with no sun this puffy botoxed lipped, artificially endowed, blonde woman takes the seat beside me in the middle seat. Since the window seat was not taken yet it was obvious we would have to do the same thing in a matter of minutes. Sure enough this dude comes in and we move out into the aisle and to let him in I notice the blonde was somewhat frustrated with the whole deal. Well sorry about this inconvenience but you could have let him climb over you and then maybe you would have both been happy. Regardless we finally got settled and I noticed that she had a big wad of gum in her mouth and was smacking it with a lot of enthusiasm. At least she wasn’t popping it like some people can do, even though with the sugarless gum it is harder to pop than it used to be. The dude who took the aisle seat was basically a computer nerd and wasn’t going to be a problem but I could sense that this blonde was going to be trouble. Aside from the popping gum she seemed to think she owned not only the middle seat (I’ll give her that since she paid for it) but both arm rests and any other spare space close to her seat. Somewhere along the way she and I just didn’t have the chemistry and at one point she felt like I was leaning to close to her so she started pushing on my shoulder telling me to move over. Move over hell, I just barely had enough room to sit and using the arm rest on her side was out so I was totally scrunched up on a ball and was very uncomfortable. In addition to her implication that I had somehow molested her with my right elbow she now took out her lunch and began to smack the turkey and ham sandwich. For the life of my I wish I could fly first class so I wouldn’t have to mess with this sort of thing, but it is just too much money. Now I was too the point that I couldn’t even take a nap for the worry that some of my body heat would somehow venture over into her forbidden zone and she would push that button that summons the flight attendant and I would be in cuffs the rest of the way. Much to my delight I was able to lean forward enough to not bother her and we completed the flight with a successful landing and now we were ready to exit the plane. After we stopped and everyone jumps up (worse on long flights, since everyone is ready to get off this submarine of the sky and get some fresh air) there was a guy in the aisle with a rather large butt and he was leaning towards me not knowing it was landing in my face. As this happened I pulled away and God forbid I landed in the forbidden zone of the Botox queen. She immediately grabbed my shoulder and pushed me away, wow two times in one day that I have been rejected, what will my ego do? I just looked at her and said, “Sorry about that, I guess having that big butt in my face caused me to over react.” She didn’t think that was funny at all and gave me one dirty look with the comment, “well I didn’t mean to make you mad.” What a trip and this was just the beginning since I had to make the flight back after my work was over. On the return trip I couldn’t be this unlucky again, but yes I was. I had the middle seat this time in the poor man’s first class commonly called the “emergency exit rows.” These seats have plenty of leg room and all you have to do is agree to help people out of the plane in case it crashes. Crashes??? Most crashes I have seen photos of no one walks away but the guys with the body bags, so I figure I just enjoy the extra leg room and not worry about helping others get out of a crashed airplane. Of course we could crash into one of the many lakes on the way to Dallas and then I could save the day by being a good life guard or something. At any rate the guy to the right of me in the window seat gets on and immediately starts sniffing, and kind of grunting. So, this is not my trip for good flying partners. First the Botox queen and now I have a guy sniffling and apparently he has a head cold. Then I think well maybe he just has an allergy and if he doesn’t sneeze I am alright, so then he sneezes. Next I think well if he doesn’t go to sleep with his head turned to me that will prevent him from breathing on me, but no not my day, he does go to sleep with his head tilted towards me and now I am sunk. So, I lower the tray in front of me and bury my face in my hands while holding my nose and hoping that I don’t get his germs. He is still doing this grunting thing, sneezing, and sleeping so I figure I am doomed for a cold or something. It reminded me of the George Carlin remedy for having the elevator ride all to yourself. He says, “just ask someone for a Kleenex, blow your nose in it, open it up staring at the stuff and then say, WOW! Look at this; it is all green and yellow.” Then show it to the other riders and you will have the elevator ride all to yourself in a short time. Next time I might try that!! To date I am healthy and breathing well, so maybe my preventive measures worked. Now on the other side of me was a Meg Ryan look alike, you know perky, short wild looking blonde hair, nice athletic body and real stuck on herself. Well since I never like to make best friends on an airplane it really didn’t bother me until I had to go to the bathroom and wondered how I was going to get to the aisle with this cold fish beside me. Lo and behold I got lucky (not in the since you are thinking) and she had to go to. So we went back to the back of the plane and since she was there first she got finished and went back to her seat. After I took care of my business I went back to the seat and of all things she had these black binders on so she could sleep and when I said “excuse me” she didn’t hear me. So, when this didn’t work I just decided to take my chances and step over her. Of course if I failed I could see the hand cuffs clicked on my wrists and house arrest would be in order. Due to the big space between the seats I was able to step over her legs and make it to my seat without any kind of incident. My lucky day! Needless to say it was nice to complete this flight and then wait for the flight to Lubbock, which turned out to be very boring since I had no challenges from my seat mates.

After all of this, working the trade show was a breeze and we handed out 7,800 cartons of Athletes Honey Milk, www.athletesmilk.com (to be covered in full on maturefitness.blogspot.com) to the 17,400 finishers of the Hood to Coast 197 mile marathon event, in Seaside, OR. The product was well received and the twelve hours spent handing this out was well worth it. This is a tremendous recovery drink and is going to be very successful in the future.

The challenge to win my age group in the Southwest Challenge series has become quite a chore and is becoming like hard work. For the month of September there will be an event every weekend to compete in and I must go to all of them to maintain my slim lead. This past weekend we did two events, one on Saturday in White Sands (I got a first) and then on Sunday in El Paso (give me a second with awfully tired legs). My lead is still very slim, but now I have another event this weekend in Rio Rancho and then Levelland the following weekend. If it is needed I will go to Elephant Butte on the last week end to wind up the year with 17 triathlon events completed. Hopefully I can manage to have the most points but my competition is very fast and can over take me if I am not out there doing my best. Will report back!!

Movie Review: “Inglourious Basterds”, ****, This is one weird movie, a true black comedy concerning the goal to kill all of the Nazi’s during WW II. While Brad Pitt is the name star and the leader of a pack of mean killers (think Dirty Dozen here), Christoph Waltz, playing a Nazi Colonel dubbed a Jew Hunter, really does a great acting job. While the writer of the movie, Quentin Tarantino (known for “Pulp Fiction” and “Kill Bill” fame) wanted Basterds to equal these two I am not quite sure it got there. But it is interesting to see how he put this all together and the ending has his trademarks on it for sure. Rated R for strong graphic violence (under statement), language and brief sexuality.

greerman

Change, Tall City, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:34:00 +0000

Change is a good thing but then again change just for the sake of change is not always a good thing. Case in point, the new Oreo bag that is now on the super market shelves. For years Oreo had a see through clear plastic bag that you entered from the top and it had not reseal features. So, in the end the cookies got a little stale and musty tasting. Now I know some who eat the whole bag at one time so the staleness is no problem, but I happen to eat my Oreo’s 3-5 at a time depending on my mood and Oreo hunger pains(on a future blog I will explain my 5 way plan for eating an Oreo, but not enough time today for it). Now my concern: A while back the Oreo guru’s changed the packaging with a non-see through package that also had a tab that you grabbed on the side and then it opened up where you could take the cookie off of a neat little tray, then you could reseal it to assure your taste buds that they would remain fresh throughout their shelf life. So what happens? I go to the Oreo shelf last night to have 4(in my next post on the subject I will also articulate how I determine how many I will eat at any given setting) Oreo’s while doing some work in my office and lo and behold they have changed the package again. Now it is back to the rip it open at the top if you can find a place to rip it and no reseal feature. Again I am not a person who is against change at all; fact is there have been many products that needed changing, for example the Ford Edsel automobile. That auto was ugly, bulky, stupid looking, didn’t run good, had poor color options and was named after one of the Henry Ford idiot sons. So, it was a pleasure to see that product off of the show rooms and into the junk yards. But, the case of eliminating the resalable Oreo bag is completely unforgiverable. Now, do I protest or just keep eating those lovely little black and white bites of absolute ecstasy? Okay I’ll answer that; I’ll just keep buying those dudes even if they come in a toe sack and enjoy every minute of them. So, throw them at me Nabisco, I am game for change!!

Well we just returned from another weekend of chasing the Southwest Challenge series points in our attempt to win our age group championship for 2009. The competition among all of the age groups are fast and furious, but the 70-74 age group is really getting tight. The best of this group is John Leroy since he is obviously from some planet far off in the solar system. He swims, bikes and runs like some kind of 30 year old with an IV of Red Bull going through his veins at all times. While I go as hard as I can against this dude I can’t even stay in his time zone. He has been named to the All-American list of USAT more than once and just makes it impossible to gather 10 points when we are at the same race. So, over the course of the season I have entered my slower triathlon body in the events I have a better chance to gather some points and then tack against him in the events he is present. So, the real name of the game is picking the right races, getting as many 10’s as possible, doing as many races as possible (quantity against quality) and hoping that it all adds up at the end of the year. Right now there is a fraction of a point between us, so for now my tactics are working. It will not work if he wakes up some morning and says, “Greer I own this age group and you are not even eligible to rent it from me this year or forever, so move over, I want the gold!!” Since the other folks in the age group have not shown as much interest it is basically a two man show now, unless some beast from the East shows up from Eastern New Mexico. So, the Midland Tall City tri was one of my tactical races and John Leroy was taking the day off. This gave me another 10 and a fractional small lead. This coming weekend we will be in Los Alamos at another tactical race, hoping for another 10. Of course this could be changed if some baboon comes romping out of the New Mexico forest and does us in. Marti picked up a third but has had way more competition than I have so she is really scrambling to move to the top. She has a chance to advance this weekend, so wish us all some good ole luck. Regardless we will go into the race with the attitude of going as fast as we possibly can with the DNA that we have to work with.

Movie Review: “Funny People”, ***, sometimes funny, sometimes boring, sometimes gross, sometimes way too long, sometimes very good, sometimes worth seeing, sometimes telling a great lesson on life or death, sometimes just stupid, but a legitimate three star movie. This movie combines black humor (not to be confused with black-American humor) and deep drama that introduces Adam Sandler as a famous stand-up comedian who has only a short time left to live. He hires Seth Rogen to help with his jokes, but Rogen finds himself caring more than his employer wants. This movie is the length of epic proportion so really needed some editing somewhere but regardless is a good movie. Since it is about stand-up comedy it has an excuse for the totally bad language that is just their gig. Rated R for language and crude sexual humor throughout (they are obsessed with the F word and penis word), and some sexuality (you mean when Sandler has rear entry sex with one of his bimbos). Go see at your own risk and it is not a children’s movie.

greerman

Over the Hill(not), New Tri in the Snake Country, Do You Even Wonder? Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:48:00 +0000

The good news about the sport of triathlon is that you are never "over the hill", to the contrary you are actually always climbing the hill. Unlike football that definitely has a hill ascent and hill descent and can be real cruel to your mind set, triathlon lasts forever and keeps you very fit along the way. Now you say, well sorry about that ole greer but as we age we slow down so that means you are "over the hill." Then I challenge back that as we progress in age we just simply age up and still compete with those that are our age. So, while I scoot along at a 10:00-12:00 minute per mile pace and ride the bicycle 19-21 miles per hour and swim like a friggin turtle or maybe catfish or maybe a piece of every loving lead I am competing with this speed with others my own age. So, when that 6:00 minute miler, 28 mile per hour biker and friggin dolphin races by me or through me it is really no big deal. He or she would simple be racing against their own and I am racing against my own. So as I progress in age I have the opportunity to continue to compete, have some fun and even take home some bacon. Sometimes I have people actually say something like, man I bet you always win your age group and I just grin. The simple fact here is that if someone beat you like a drum when you were in the 45-49 age group bracket and has been able to stay healthy and still have the mind set to race this same bird is probably still going to beat you when you are 60 or 70 or whatever. My main point I want to make here is that there is no "over the hill" for triathletes and you can look forward to competing forever. As I look back into my past sporting life I recall how much I enjoyed football and track. I can still hear the sound of getting hit in football and the sound of the crowd when I scored a touchdown(yea I was one of those running backs that had speed to burn and just out ran people when they were trying to tackle me, plus we are the guys who always got our choice of cheerleaders). In track I can still remember the sound of the gun when it went off for the start of the 100 yard dash. Funny how you spend all week working out and nearly an hour to warm for an event that lasts under 10 seconds. Then after college I embarked on a very active and aggressive sport called handball. This sport takes speed, hand to eye coordination and endurance for long matches, and was an original trash talk sport. I can now shut my eyes and feel the delivery of a back wall shot that if hit properly, will hit the front wall very fast and about an inch above the floor. It is called a kill shot for a good reason in that the ball is killed dead and all your opponent can do is stand back and say nice shot, along with some &*%+# words. I still have fantasies about these three sports(yea I know I should be having sexual fantasies, but it just seems such a waste since that is still going on and the other three are not). But, as you age you just have to understand that 50-70 year old people do not play football, or run the 100 yard dash in under 10 seconds(actually 9.7) and the kill shot is much harder to master with lack of flexibility in the arms and hands. So rather than be over the hill you just progress to something that better fits the body and lifestyle, and triathlon comes along and it is ageless. All you have to do is think of moving forward and upward and always moving up the hill, never descending. Those would be my thoughts on that subject tonight.

This past weekend I was able to compete in a new triathlon in Sweetwater, Texas. Now anyone who really is in the know will tell you that Sweetwater sits very comfortably on I-20 on the way to Dallas but still very much in West Texas and is famous for its' annual rattlesnake roundups. Why anyone would want to round up a rattle snake is beyond me, but this little town of 9,000 people has made themselves famous for it at least in Texas. Now to add to their list of things to do they have added a new triathlon and it was held last weekend. Since we had already planned on doing the Odessa Tri on Sunday we just decided to take on the rattlesnake headquarters of the state and compete in the new sprint triathlon in lake Sweetwater. Now the funny thing here is that we didn't realize they even had a lake and after some questions found that this lake had been dry for a number of years and some time a few years ago when one of the hurricanes that hit the Gulf Coast took a little trip to Lake Sweetwater and filled it up in a little over 36 hours. Now it is a very neat small lake with fishing, boating and now triathloning. The race is put on by the Bobo's soon to be of Amarillo and they did a first class job. All of the finer details of a more seasoned race were very evident and it was such a treat to compete in this event. Every detail, from the course layout to the safety of the participants, was taken care of and well planned. The course, while a sprint course, was very challenging and fun to do. With rolling hills on both the bike and the run I think most of us were really surprised at just how hard it was. Marti took a first place medal and so did this old football player. We left with a great taste in our mouth, including pizza, and drove to the West for the Odessa Tumbleweed sprint triathlon. This is a older mature race and while not very challenging was very safe with lots of intersection support from the local police. Hogie sandwiches were provided and for once the awards were presented in a timely manner, way to go Joe, we knew you could do it!! We also walked away with some first place medals, ate some Mexican food and made the 2 hour trip back to Ransom Canyon for some rest and relaxation. Thanks to these race directors for providing us a place to continue to compete and not go over the hill, with the chant, "never descent, always ascent!!" Our battle cry!!

Do you ever ask yourself the question of why something is like it is and it doesn't make sense, for example: You walk up to two doors going into a place of business and only one of these doors is unlocked, and of course you pick the door that is locked. Why don't they unlock both doors? You walk up to a door and it says, "push" but you "pull" on it. I see people do this all the time and so do I. You walk into a retail store that has 20 cash registers all lined up, but only one is manned with at least 10 people waiting in line. Why not just buy two registers, use one and keep the other for a back up? You walk into a convenience store and the person in front of you is buying a $100 money order, 5 lotto tickets, 10 super lucky tickets, and a pack of Camel's with a can of Skoal just for good kicks. Of course you are buying a pack of gum or a coke and have the correct change but you must wait until the above person is taken care of. Have you ever wondered why you hit all of the signal lights red when you have to go to the bathroom and you know you will never make it to the rest room, and then when you get to the service station with the rest room the door is locked or it is out of order. Today I bought groceries at my favorite market and they have done a real training jobs on the local high school kids that work for them. They send them through some kind of training school to teach them how to carry on a conversation with their customers as they push your cart out of the store. Some times the subjects they bring up are real weird, one day one ask me if I had been saved. I said, "saved from what?" While he didn't think that was very funny he started preaching to me about redemption, salvation and all that Baptist stuff. He also ask me if I went to church on Sunday. My guy today ask me if I was going to do any more today? I said, "no!" even though it was only about 6 p.m. when I was there. I thought that was a strange question and really none of his business. What did he expect, something like, "yea, I have a lot to do today like write on my blog site, eat some sushi, possibly give the dogs a bath, or maybe just read my book from George Carlin called "Napalm and Silly Putty" or maybe just have some good ole raw sex!! Who knows but what a question to ask. I think they need to re-think these little schools they are having for these kids. One day the checker was having some kind of interaction with the sacker and I thought I was going to experience some kind of action more than interaction. All the while she said to me, "how is your day going?" Well actually I thought, "it was going great until I had to watch this stupid interaction between you two and all I came in here to do was buy some groceries, not make new best friends!!" See you next time you little cutie and your best dude friend!

Movie Reviews: "Harry Potter & The Half-Blood Prince", *(only because the popcorn was good), These Harry Potter things are so boring I wait until I have insomnia before I go to the newest one. Sure enough it only took about 15 minutes to put me to sleep. And to think that J.K. Rowling has become a billionaire writing this stuff is beyond me. Now I know if you are a big fan of this rubbish you are very disgusted with my review, but the good news is that you know the whole story and will go back for more. If you are like me and you don't know the whole story or don't want to, then you will appreciate my review. I am saving my money and J.K. won't even get the bargain basement ticket purchase from me. Rated PG for scary images, some violence, language and mild sensuality(must have been while I was asleep).

"The Ugly Truth", ***, This is a good entertaining movie. Abby Richter, played by Katherine Heigl, is a romantically challenged, TV morning show producer whose search for Mr. Perfect has left her hopelessly single. She is in for a rude awakening when her boss teams her with Mike Chadway, played by Gerard Butler. Chadway is a hardcore television personality who promises to spill the ugly truth about what makes men and women tick. Some of the dialogue is both surprising and somewhat shocking. This is not a family movie or for the faint of heart. Rated R for sexual content and language(at times an understatement).

greerman

Book Reviews, Movie Review

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:26:00 +0000

In the future I will be giving short book reviews on some of the books that I have discovered recently and also some that I have on my shelf that I use as references, i.e. Where Have All the Leaders Gone, by Lee Iacocca, and Healthy Living, by Dr. Andrew Weil. While I also have, Why We Suck, by Dr. Denis Leary and When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? by George Carlin I probably will save those for a real rainy day when dark, deep, sick humor is needed. At any rate I have been reading the following two books and find them a real "must" to be on the shelves of anyone who likes positive subjects and some road maps to a better and happier life. First, "Life's Greatest Lessons" by Hal Urban. This is a great book that discusses, in a real common sense tone the 20 things that matter. Mr. Urban's approach to these 20 items will keep you reading and almost spell bound to the honesty and truth that they reveal. Examples, item 4, We Live by Choice, Not by Chance, item 6, Habits Are the Key to All Success, item 12, Goals Are Dreams with Deadlines, item 16, No One Else Can Raise Your Self-Esteem, etc. Second, the other book is John C. Maxwell's, "How Successful People Think." This is a great book that can change your thinking and your life for the better. While both of these books are best sellers I think the real story is that they have so much truth in them and real application for anyone that they are must for an shelf or bed time night stand(the best time to read for me).

Movie Review: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen", ***, While I said in my last review on these mechanical things walking all over the earth kicking humans around would be my last, I broke down and went to see this thing(also about mechanical things kicking the humans around). But the weird thing about this is these guys turn into cars, trucks and then revert back to a walking monster. Since I am not a transformer guy I really didn't know what was happening here, but I did learn that there are villain transformers and good guy transformers. I also learned that they have emotions and some even cry. Now to the story, the humans team up with the good transformers to save the earth from the bad transformers. Though out the movie there is loud action and one sexy human girl. Humor of an offensive sort is provided by the undersized robots Mudflap and Skids, with trash mouths. Go see if you like these type of movies, to me they get real old. It has a three star just because it was well done and made some sense, again if you like mechanical things walking around and riding around fighting the humans. Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action violence, language, crude and sexual material, and brief drug material.

greerman

Cross Dresser-Appearance Discrimination, EI Certified, Movie Reviews

noreply@blogger.com (Fast Twitch Mind) — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 01:59:00 +0000

The past two weeks were very interesting and allowed me to broaden my diversified interests and also experience a very comical incident where I was definitely "judged" by the clothes that I was wearing. Since I have often been called the ultimate cross dresser, meaning I wear Hog riding clothing to include black leather, sleeveless shirts on very hot days, a black hat and have a real mean smug look my shave less face(not to be confused with wearing a bra and panties for under wear). Then when I am in the triathlon setting I have on the red, white and blue of USA Triathlon fame or the navy blue M-Dot of World Triathlon's Ironman. I understand that it can get confusing to some but you know it is the same ole dude wearing this clothing. This past week we had a meeting with the new general manager of the Holiday Inn Plaza to discuss the contract for use of their hotel in 2010. Since things had not really been a real happy deal for 09 Marti wanted me to attend this meeting. So, I also decide to ride the Hog this particular day and went into the meeting with the sleeveless Sturgis shirt, two day old beard, black Harley cap, Hog stomping, zippered laced black boots and jeans with a large black belt. While we did introduce ourselves to the new GM he apparently did not get my name so after we sat down to talk he looked over at Marti and ask what my role was in the Buffalo Springs scheme of things. She then educated him to the fact that I had started the race 20 years ago and had been associated with it ever since. He kind of looked surprised since I wasn't dressed like he thought I should be I guess, even though most race directors are sure not trend setters in the dressing game. They generally wear stuff that has been given to them from sponsors or Goodwill. Regardless I then handed him my card that said CEO/Executive Director of the parent corporation that owns the race. He then settled down a little bit, adjusted his shorts and tie, coughed a little bit, and then proceeded to tell me chicken fried steak was he favorite meal. While I don't know what this West Texas gourmet dish had anything to do with our meeting, I informed him of where the Blue Ribbon chicken fried steak was being served in Lubbock and we moved on to the matters at hand. When we left the meeting we had a good understanding of our needs for 2010 and would be around the Plaza if they met our needs. When we got out to the parking lot I made the comment to Marti that this guy didn't seem to like how I was dressed and must have thought she picked me up at the nearest titty bar and was there to intimidate him with my M-Dot tattoo. Her reply was typical female all the way when she said that sometimes I just dress that way to throw some kind of male chauvinistic persona out there so that I can intimidates the suits. Wow, what a blow from the devoted spouse but I also understand her assessment and she may be right. But, I confess it was really an accident that day and I had no plans to intimidate, I just like riding the Hog and since when would you wear a suit on a Hog? It must have worked since the contract came to us with exactly everything we ask for. Guess you could say we are in Hog heaven now. This also reiterated to me what I have always known and that is many people really judge you by your appearance. So, when I am in shorts showing off my shaved legs I am a triathlete which is judged with a more understanding attitude, on the other hand the leather and loud noises of the Hog don't get the same results. Get over it folks we now live in a diversified society.

Last week I completed the Emotional Intelligence certification and I am now ready to start analyzing ones emotional intelligence, which is considered much more important than the ole traditional intelligence quotient(IQ). IQ is basically something you are born with while EI is the ability to handle emotions within yourself and in relationship to those around you. You can be a 180 IQ person who can't come in out of the rain, or relate to anyone. That is a person with very little effective EI, and those dudes are my targets. My Life Coaching will be in full swing within 90 days.

This weekend we will be competing in back to back sprint triathlons, one on Saturday in Sweetwater, Texas and then one on Sunday in Odessa, Texas. This will be the first double we have done in a few years, but is always fun to do. The driving is the worst part of it and by the time we leave Ransom Canyon and returned we will have covered nearly 400 miles. But, as we say in West Texas, it is a trip unless it is over 200 miles. There will be a report on this weekend some time next week.

Movie Reviews: While there has been some slim pickings on good movies I was able to pick up a few good ones the past two weeks.

"The Hangover", ****, While I very seldom ever agree with my local critic he and I hit it on the same button for this one. This was surprisingly a very well done movie, with some weird humor, and a twisting, entertaining story. The comedy takes the common plight of visitors over their heads in Las Vegas, then twists the expected story like a pretzel. The result is an ofter hilarious, and surprisingly original movie that initially gives four friends more than they can handle for a bachelor party, then forces them to slowly look backward for clues in "Memento" style. The action opens on the morning after, with three trashed groomsmen sharing a trashed hotel suite(costing $4200.00 per night) with a chicken, a tiger(belonging to Mike Tyson) in the bathroom and a baby in the closet. The groom, like their memories, is nowhere to be found. Indeed, they came to Las Vegas for the bachelor party they'd never forget. Then they forgot it. Be sure and stay for the complete ending, then you can see what happened when they lost their memories(actually they were drugged). Rated R for pervasive language, sexual content including nudity, and some drug material.

"I Love You, Beth Cooper," **+, High school valedictorian Denis Cooverman(played by Paul Rust) had a great academic year--on paper. An impressive student, conscientious gentleman and obvious dork, he never experienced such traditional high school memories as breaking curfew, consuming alcohol, fist fights, late nights, fast cars and making out. Making matters worse the absentmindedly proclaims his love for the school's hottest cheerleader during his graduation speech. To his surprise, Beth(played by Hayden Panettiere) shows up that night, determined to show Denis the best night of his life. It has some good humor but I really liked his best friend and some of the stuff he came up with. This movie is a light weight and should only be viewed with that attitude and during the discount hours, and hope for great popcorn. Rated PG-13 for crude and sexual content, language, some teen drinking and drug references, and brief violence.

"Public Enemies," ****, This is a very good movie about public enemy number 1 during the Great Depression. Johnny Depp plays the part of bank robber John Dillinger as he is being pursued by the newly formed FBI, headed up by J. Edger Hoover. It is a true story of the open bank robberies of the time and how Dillinger seemed to live a charmed life, both in and out of prison. He actually learned his trade while in prison the first time. He was eventually gunned down and died at the age of 31. There is nothing boring about this movie and I recommend it during any time of the day or night. You will enjoy Christian Bales who plays Melvin Purvis, who is given the task of capturing public enemy number 1. Prime time viewing is worth it for this one. Rated R for gangster violence and some language.

"Up", *****, Yes this animated film is really a five star and so much different than Public Enemies. We go from a violent bank robber to a very nice man by the name of Carl Fredricksen(voice of Ed Asner) who as a boy, met and eventually created a shared lifetime with a tomboy name Ellie. The real adventure takes off when Ellie passes away(they are now in their 70's I would guess) and Carl designs a method where helium balloons will lift his house and take it away to South America. He does have an unexpected friend on board with him, so he is part of the adventure. Rated PG for some peril and action(this is harmless).

greerman