Swimming and Gymming

Just got back from the pool (shameful that I can't swim even after growing up in the island) and I have to tell you all, I feel good!!! Especially because I finally got my tired ass back into the gym after almost a year off and I'm slowly, but steadily, making progress once again. Finished teaching yesterday and got my student's grade submitted, so we're good to go.

You ever have these embarrasing moments in the gym when you're exercising your heart out and you feel that you're using the world's heaviest weight for an exercise, but some dude comes and uses the same weight (or more) for some basic exercise? Like, I figure that I'm a strong mofo, being able to squat 135lbs (which really isn't that much when you think about it, as far as legs go) but then some dude comes to you and says "can I work in with you?" and you're like, "sure, not a problem". Then he comes and takes the same weight you're using for a shoulder exercise like military presses. Makes you feel tiny, huh? But then, how big do you really feel when the guy looks at you and tells you "oh yeah, I'm the weakest one among my friends!"

No, it didn't happen to me, but I saw it happen to a guy this morning and I'm glad it did! He was strutting his stuff, throwing the weights around, yelling, being a pompous testosterone-driven bitch all for 135lbs!!! Another dude was in the gym and proceeded to lift the same weight for the military press and I was amused as hell to see the expression on this guy's face when he realized he's not as strong as he thought. Life is beautiful :D

Captions and Reading

G'morning blogland!!! The other day I was sitting around watching television and I began to think to myself "Dog, you know that you really need to get more involved in reading you know!" So, I turned the captions on and began reading them. My question to you is this:

does reading movie captions count as reading a book?

Can you stop the pain?

The pain I'm referring to this morning is the aching sensation in my calves. Yep, I'm back in the gym again, trying to recapture the lost muscles of my youth and let me tell you it was much easier to stay in shape when I was 17 or 18! My calves have always been a weak point with me...i.e. they burn with more intensity than any other set of muscles in my body to the extent that I can't even walk right for two days after training them. Anyhow, I suppose that by the time I shower and head out to work they'll be sufficiently loose.

So, how was your weekend? Mine was fair to fine, thank you for asking! Pebbles and I did go to see Batman Begins and we both strongly recommend it! It was much more than just an "I'm Batman, so I'm obliged to kick your ass" type of movie. The characters were complex, dark, and you found it really easy to identify with the Bruce Wayne character so brilliantly portrayed by Christian Bale (Quinn of Reign of Fire fame for those of you who know the movie). Rutger Haur, Ken Watanabe, both had decent roles and did the best they could with their characters. Morgan Freeman was heavily underutilized in the film, but he did play an integral part of the story nonetheless. Michael Caine as Alfred the Butler was simply brilliant! Katie Holmes as Rachel was tough, beautiful, and extremely believable. Liam Neeson was the perfect blend of evil genius/twisted humanitarian fighting for a morbid cause that only he and his followers understand. Definately a movie that I will purchase once it hits DVD.

Now, Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants was a different matter. I liked it more than Pebbles (which is odd) though we both agreed that the plot was really weak and read like a Sweet Valley High novel. The dialouge was really lacking and we both asked ourselves the question: "in what world would a hot-blooded Puerto Rican chica, an introverted Goth chick with blue hair, an uptight artist-type, and a tall blond-haired, blue-eyed football (soccer) bombshell be best of friends let alone fit into the same pair of jeans???" I guess the movie was targetted towards teenage girls, as opposed to an old crusty man such as myself.

Anyhow, that is my contribution for today, I am off to shower and massage the old calves so I can get the hell out of the house and end up at work! Have a great day y'all and I will be checking your blogs tonight!

TGIF

Alright, I doan have to much fi seh dis mawning except TGIF to Rahtid! Gonna go home in a while, have some ribs, then go watch Batman, 'cause I hear that it wicked wicked wicked and I really don't want to watch no Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants I mean c'mon even an ol' dog like me have to have limits! Right guys? (NB: Ladies, especially Pebbles, if you're reading this, know full well that I am going to end up going to see the movie and write about it on this same blog!).

In response to the MJ post:

@Abeni, I glad you like the advice...hope he'll use it!

@Dr. D., you dun know that you are the bomb-diggidiest skin doctor in JA, but I still believe that Michael need to hol' a tan AND pump two iron.

@7, glad to know that you got a laugh out of it...btw, which part be you and Midas? was there a few weeks ago and plan to go back again soon!

@Sunshine, don't fret it, I'll mek sure he gets all the counselling he needs (for a hefty sum)...yeah, yeah, yeah, the media says he's bankrupt, but he's Michael Jackson and he definately can find at least a million or two tucked away under the mattress in Neverland.

@JDid, sometimes a man just have to do what a man have to do when the chips are down!

@Scratchie, the reason for me suggessting that he come to Jamaica is because I believe that he could be the much needed impetus our tourism industry needs!

@CoolDestiny, Twin of Twins is CD # 6 in my car's CD changer...have they come out with a new one yet?

Anyhow, as you can well and see, I have nothing of significance to post EXCEPT:
I was reading Yahoo! News earlier and came across a story about Mahatma Ghandi's family involved in some legal battle with an Australian fast-food firm called Handi Ghandi "Great Curries...No Worries..." It turns out that they (Handi Ghandi) are using Ghandi's name and likeness to sell various vegetarian and meat curries, including beef which is considered to be sacred!

I mean come on now people, the man was a symbol of peace and a vegetarian for crying out loud! Why would you want to take someone as extraordinary as Ghandi and use him to sell curry to RASS!!! Imagine what it would be like to go to somewhere like Island Grille and see them selling a Black Star Liner Burger or a Marcus Garvey Meal Deal? Then again, these names don't actually sound too bad at all, hmmm... So you see my point? It just isn't right to defile people who'se lives have meant so much IMHO.

It's like in that movie EuroTrip, where they made fun of the pope and the different symbols associated with his dying and even going as far as having a sex scene in the confessional...I'm not Catholic, but I still find it tasteless and insensitive. Or what about the movie Scary Movie 3? where they had a scene with Ja Rule shooting a picture of Mother Teresa (this was after she died by the way). Where is the respect?

Anyhow, my intention is really not to rant on such a lovely Friday afternoon, so mek I stop here now. Have a great weekend y'all and don't forget to feed the comment box!

Leave Dem Kids Alone!

Have I been out of the media loop or what? I guess that's what happens when you spend 5 days immersing yourself in the murky waters of academia and end up being at a conference dorm with no television or radio. No, the picture on the left isn't me [I'm much better looking, thank you very much!]. It happens to be an age-progressed picture of Michael Jackson at age 45 (his current age I believe) done by some forensic artist with mucho time on his/her hands. If you're interested in seeing the original picture as well as how he would look at age 70, click here.

Speaking of Michael, here's an excerpt from a letter I wrote to him the other day while I was locked away in my little conference cell:

Dear Michael,
so you're a free man once more, huh? congratulations to you sir! I'm not completely disappointed by the results still, because the mother and son who accused you did seem to be quite shady IMHO! Anyhow, while you enjoy your newfound freedom, might I implore you to consider a few things:

1. Sell Neverland Ranch and get the hell out of California rude bwoy. It ain't good for you! I'd suggest moving to Florida or New York or even consider going to the Caribbean (possibly Jamaica?).

2. In the words of Pink Floyd: Leave Dem Kids Alone Rude Bwoy! It doesn't matter if you're trying to be benevolent or a philantrophist, you'll still get burned by some parent wanting to take advantage of your good nature, just leave dem kids alone!

3. Hook up with artistes like Elephant Man, Fras Krew, TOK, or Junior Gong and re-invent your music man!! (Gwen Stefani did and look @ her now). As a matter of fact, forget about the name Michael Jackson altogether, might I suggest something like "D.J. Mikey J aka di gyal dem Craven-A" or something more roots like "Ras Jacky".

4. Stop wearing dem rass 80's "Prince and the Revolution" gears and go buy yourself a pair of wash-out jeans and a Sean John t-shirt.

5. Get a tan, pump two weights, and start meeting girls again rude bwoy! Trust me, it will help you get you mind off the kids and even if the tools not working so well, you might try a few Jamaican recipes like "front end lifter" or "tantaria" (and even if stuff still unviagra-able rude bwoy, you still have a mouth and a perfectly good tongue!). Oh btw, if you indeed have skin problems and is not really plastic surgery mash you up, I can recommend a good dermatologist in the form of Dr. D.

6. Bogle dead so we need a new dance king and since you is the king of pop and you used to have some tight moves still viz Thriller, Bad, etc. you might be just what dancehall need!

...

Anyhow Michael, I don't know if this letter is going to reach you and I surely don't know if you'll even give a rass about all the things I've said, but I hope you will at least heed one piece of advice from this foolish old dog: Leave Dem Kids Alone!!!

Sincerely,

Angry Dog

Maryville, Tennessee [Final Day]

I'm feeling really bad about myself this week...imagine, I go to a conference/workshop series to feel enlightened and inspired and I end up realizing three things about myself instead:

1. I have extremely good intrapersonal skills. Read: "I get along really well with myself and, as a result, am capable of thinking about myself thinking about some topic or the other." I guess you could say that I'm a "meta-thinker" of sorts.

2. With respect to my temperament I'm pretty even keel...i.e. not special.

3. I am a collaboration whore. I spent my entire time thinking of ways to collaborate with other CS and MIS programs in other colleges...hooray for me!

After 5 days of cafeteria food, lengthy philosophical discussions, and more cafeteria food, I'm just about ready to throw in the towel on this little escapade. I'm tired, my brain is saturated with all sorts of cool facts, I have a few ideas I want to implement in my own teaching. But above all, my stomach really really hurts! Oh well, time to say my farewells, pack up the Honda, and get the f*ck out of town!

Maryville, Tennessee [Day 1]

So I'm at a conference in Maryville, Tennessee for the next few days. A bunch of educators from the Appalachian region have gathered here at historic Maryville College for the next five days to discuss the latest, greatest strategies in learner-centered education. Much fun. The introductory speaker tonight was pretty good and I'm looking forward to hearing about some of these new teaching principles and seeing if I can employ them in my own courses.



So far, folks here have been pretty nice and I expect that things will be quite interesting. The only thing that I'm not overly fond of is that the bed are about four feet off the ground and I really have to concentrate to get on or off them. In addition, I have to share the bathroom with another guy :(. I'm so glad I never lived on dorm during my undergrad days...dorm life sux!!

Anyhow, am off to bed...long day tomorrow! Sleep tight y'all

Caribbean BlogFest 2005

OK, I've been blogging since 2004 and during this time I'm happy to have met quite a few people from the Caribbean and North America (a special big up to all my Canadian readers!). Anyhow, here's my idea: What if we had a so-called "BlogFest" in December? It's just an opportunity for folks to meet, greet, and network outside of the blogsphere, sort of as a way of putting faces to writing, you zimi? Probably have some music, food, and such....I'm seeing the beach.

What does the blogsphere think about such an idea? Good? Bad? Would you attend? Anyhow, not too much to post today still, but just thought I'd get some feedback.

Dogus Maximus

OK, the weather here has finally warmed up, hooray!!! Unfortunately, it wasn't a gradual sort of warm up, it was more like "Boom, here's some hot weather on yo ass!" So, my body is revolting violently from the rapid 20 degree change in temperature and I feel yucky and sluggish.

I'm headed off to Tennessee on Wednesday for a 5-day conference, which promises to be a lot more interesting than it sounds. Oh well, it'll be a good opportunity to network with faculty from other colleges and spend some time seeing the sights to be seen around Knoxville. I'll try to remember to take pictures :D.

Where in the world did CoolDestiny's blog disappear to? I logged on this morning to check her out and whoops, no blog! Hey CD, if you're reading this, I hope all is well with your blog and you're not planning to retire now!!! You have a fan in me for life yow!

OK, now you might be wondering about the title of this post, right? Well, yesterday afternoon, Pebbles and I went outside to toss a frisbee around on the grass. 15 minutes later, two of our friends drove by and invited us to go for a walk at a nearby state forest. Admittedly, I'm not a nature person, but sometimes you have to take time out to enjoy the natural things in life (like two chipmunks humping on a big old rock). Anyhow, we got home and I was quite tired, plus the damn migraines were acting up again. So, I went to take a little lie down, and fell asleep.

Anyhow, I dreamt that I was a gladiator (fancy helmet, short skirt, and sword) fighting in the Roman arenas of days of old. There were lions and tigers and other gladiators too, like Mad Bull, Scratchie, and Owen. Owen, Mad Bull, and Scratchie as gladiators??? what the hell! Then to make matters worse, guess who was Ceaser nuh? Nuh the one Dr D.! So of course, we fighting the hell out of the lion with the head that look like Tupac (ewww, scary) and each other. There was music in the background too...Elephant Man was singing, along with Fras Krew and TOK. Eventually, we killed the Tupac lion and took a break for tea shortly after...don't know what was happening there, but thank God I woke up! No telling where the dream would've taken me!

Any of you dream interpreters there want to put a meaning to this one?