I got a bike. I've been riding every day since I got it...I think it's been around 2 weeks now, raining and wind almost every day. Is a new ice age upon us? Yesterday I decided to channel an abundance of martial steam into a long ride to St. John's, across the green bridge, up the green mountain, down Leif Erickson Road. Ouch. I need a day off. I ( Read more... )

The ancient Taoists had no need of the detailed anatomy of the western study of corpses, but they didn't have western style forests of muscles pretending to be bones to unwind. Since the culture that raised me is so visually obsessed, the trivialities of consumer society, showing the visual part of my bodymind scientific pictures of muscles helps ( Read more... )

My penultimate term at PSU was the most reading/grok intensive yet. One class that involved a 2 page journal per week and another that had 2 paperbacks, most of a textbook, plus 2-4 10-20 page PDF files to read and respond to all crammed into a 10 week term. That means so much time sitting in front of a computer that spending another however long ( Read more... )

The little voice in the back of my mind that's 100% correct in retrospect has been whispering to me for years that daily practice is the only way out of the armor I'd already had 10-25 years to get used to before I found the desire to unwind it. Taiji has become a daily practice since I finally memorized a form via youtube videos. YOu can't learn ( Read more... )

My old sacrum pain came back yesterday when I was paying more attention to computer art than my lower back muscles, but kung fu is undoing it in record time. It also helps that there's some holes in the overcast in the direction of the sun today.

Today Rob Brezsney sez:

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): It's a good time to take inventory of all
the stories you allow to pour into your beautiful head. Do you absorb a
relentless stream of fear-inducing news reports and violent movies and
gossipy tales of decline and degeneration? Well, then, guess what: It's the
equivalent, for your psyche, of ( Read more... )

Sol made a cameo appearance in Portland today and I found myself awake shortly after sunrise. Adam invoked me in chat and reminded me of kung fu by the pond in Laurelhurst. The park is exactly one short walk including Woodlawn Park on the way to the bus plus one bus ride whose terminus is a bus stop placed at an entrance to the park. No excuses are ( Read more... )

A pointer from Gerald:

http://vision.ucsd.edu/~kbranson/stopchocolateslavery/main.html#Table

I'm starting to grok why Republicans like to sling mud at anyone who bothers to educate themselves. Something I learned last term as part of my African Studies courses was that the way things are currently set up makes products like textiles, chocolate, coffee and minerals MORE expensive for us consumer class folk than if the market were actually ( Read more... )

http://planetwaves.net/pagetwo/2010/01/23/ma-kettles-revolutionary-proposal/comment-page-1/#comment-12382Read more... )