My definition

Cue the music (for anyone old enough to remember that horrible Canadian game show, which was used as a cut in a Dream Warriors song). Come on in and sit down while I riff a bit on what I view as my own political ideals and why I define myself as egalitarian.

So here is the dictionary definition of egalitarianism: 1 : a belief in human equality especially with respect to social, political, and economic rights and privileges 2 : a social philosophy advocating the removal of inequalities among people. This is pretty bare bones when it comes to the overall philosophy I carry but it marks the beginning so here is where I will start. I believe that everyone deserves the same thing. I find the nature of greed we use to drive our current society to be grossly inadequate and damaging. I am offended on a daily basis when I watch individuals who fail to realize their actions have direct and indirect ramifications on everything around them.

Now the first thing that gets tossed out when you forward an egalitarian ideal is communism. I don't advocate communism. I advocate social change from the individual up, not from the government down. If each of us started to live by the ideals of equal rights and privileges for all people then maybe we'd start to get somewhere. And to understand how to achieve that requires that everyone understands that they are not an island unto themselves and must contribute and serve the society around them.

The interesting part of this is that my ideas on how a society and it's politics should work don't fall into the whole left/right/center spectrum we use. Because honestly egalitarianism can exist in every single mindset along that scale. You're a right wing nut job who demands less government and more fiscal responsibility? Well then, start understanding how interacting and serving the community around you virtually eliminates the need for government regulations on a great many things. Why do governments interfere with business? Because if they don't a limited number of individuals will amass more resources than they could ever need and will damage the overall society. You're a left wing tree hugger? Understand that without creating a bridge of communication and treating all issues as being 'manageable' on a large scale does not work and requires individuals within the society to actually desire the change needed. Work towards the knowledge and overall sensibilities of the individuals contribution and service to the community with the very real benefits of a far healthier living space and overall quality of life. You're a libertarian who demands that government does not interfere unduly in your life? Well then stand up and start making it so they don't have to, with the understanding that your personal liberties are GIFTS from the society around you and must be treated as such and earned.

So that was a little rant like but let me give an example of how this works in practice for me. By the way I am by no means a perfect member of society, I do however try my best to live by the ideals I've set for myself. I coach. Football, soccer, and I help with my kid's teams at her school when I can. I spend significant time and effort into this task because I see it not as me teaching a sport but as a means to impart good sportsmanship, competition, and citizenship skills to young people. I want them to strive for the best they can do, and always teach that while the physical skills I may teach are only applicable in the sport, the mental and emotional skills I teach are something they can take forward into their everyday lives. I step up and go to bat for these kids. I help them on and off the field. I have helped some with homework. I've listened to them as they've told me the problems they're having. I've bitched out parents of kids I felt were harming their kids. I put myself personally on the line when I coach and hold nothing back. Because I want every kid I coach to understand the basic ideas I hold of equality and personal responsibility. And that's the thing.

So you have that example and it's fairly vague not entirely on topic but here is where I expound. An egalitarian society must be focused on two basic principles. First, you as an individual are one part of a much greater thing. Secondly that you are personally responsible for your actions and must be held accountable by your society. As I mentioned, rights and freedoms are gifts that are given by a society to an individual. I don't buy into this 'inalienable human right' that the Americans jerk off about, nor do I buy into a human rights code that my own country will not include me or my children, or any other Status Indian in it. I know I must earn my rights just as I earn respect and trust from each person I meet and interact with. By the way this does not mean that I think there should be some council of individuals who gets to choose who gets what right and where, I just think we need to stop seeing human rights just something you get because you were born. You get them when you act like a human being who is a part of a society that defines those rights. (There's a very long and intense theoretical argument I could lay out behind this about how language defines thought, and as such society defines individuals but I am hoping everyone is following along.)

Example two. I have lost a job due to my race. Well actually, it was due to an argument with my boss about race. I've also lost a job due to my sex. I as a male am not allowed to place my children as my top priority over my career, and if I make that claim then it cannot be true and instead I am just ducking out of work. Both of these things are inequalities. As a society we MUST stand up and point at them and say 'This is wrong, you cannot treat an individual different because of their condition which is a trait of birth not learning.' As an individual? Do I blame my boss for being a racist which is why I lost my job? No. I made the mistake of arguing with him on a topic that had nothing to do with my job and had I left it alone he would not have spent the next three months cataloguing every single mistake I made so as to fire me. Do I blame the other boss for being sexist and that is why I lost my job? No I should have made ti more clear to my employer why things happened and when, and attempted to compromise with them rather than challenge them directly on their stance. I own my actions. I expect society to enforce unfortunate consequences on anyone who doesn't own their actions. I hope these two points are clear.

So let's go back to the coaching example. Why do I do it? There are a lot of reasons, some selfish, some altruistic, but in the end the biggest reason is my need as a human being to be a part of something bigger. We are in our very nature a social creature. We crave both the praise and challenge of being a part of a working group and we are all at our best when we interact and reinforce one another.

Some king at some time decided he wanted to find out what was the natural language of human beings. So he took a bunch of babies, and gave them everything but language. No one was allowed to talk to them. Every single baby died. Even when we don't know what is being said we require the knowledge that we are surrounded by others who are there for us. Without that, what is the point? As horrific as that experiment was, and while it never achieved its stated goal, it still shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that we require one another.

Yes there are some individuals who break out of this mold and become solitary figures. More often than not solitary figures become maligned and dangerous to the rest of us, others just isolate themselves. But these are not the norm, instead aberrations that reinforce the previous point.

So the point is this. You as an individual are not more important than your society. Without a healthy society that treats all its individuals as equals you as an individual will never reach your full potential or even have the life you deserve. Without those simple understandings most other endeavors will fail. And that is how I view the beginnings, the basis, of my goal of egalitarianism.

Writing

Come in, the fire is still going in case you want to roast a marshmellow or two. Beautiful weather we've had and the skins are pulled back to let the fresh smell of the rain in. Wow is it ever a beautiful night. So I made a goofy comment and someone said 'That could so be a quote for you.' And y'know what, it's true. So I thought I'd explain my writing process.

First the quote: "I see writing as my combat sport." And I do. Writing should provoke something. Thought, emotions, action, something. It should reach out and touch the reader somehow. So to that end I usually require the right mindset for writing.

First off I pick some music, something loud and with a steady driving rhthym. Living Color's 'Cult of Personality' gets a nod sometimes, lotsa songs by The Watchman. Then I grab a book that is completely different from what I'm working on, head outside and power down three cigarettes. When I get back in I down about a litre of some caffinated beverage (My fav right now is Diet Dr. Pepper) and then BAM!! It's GO TIME BITCHES!!!!

I keep the music blasting, I move, I dance, I write, I slam out words into strings of ideas and fight my way towards my goal. It tends to come out fairly well. I do it before essay style finals as well. WHOOT!!!

Forget this quiet place to study and think. I want the noise of the world to pour into me so I can see everything out there and encapsulate it into what I'm writing about. I lock down those ideas and punch'em out.

That's my writing process. *flex*

This is a poop story.

Come on in and bring the Toilet Paper! The fire is low, but I've still got the blankets to keep the rain and chill off. Sit down if you want to hear a funny poop story.

So I'm chatting with my boss at work and he says 'It looks like you've put on a little beef.' And I nod 'Yeah I think I got a bit fatter. I'm back up to 220.' One of my co-workers says 'Bah, I'm at 260.' The boss decries this and my CW (co-worker) says 'Well maybe 262 cuz I gotta take a shit.' So he goes out onto the scale we use for the recycled metal we receive and shor'nuff he's 262. We all laugh, and CW goes away.

About 20 minutes later, CW comes back and says 'Well let's see.' And my boss goes 'See what.' CW motions with his head towards the door to the scales. 'Let's see.' Ok so he goes out there, and mine and my boss' jaw hit the floor. The scale reads 260!

Who shits two pounds?!

Wow.

Much laughing ensued.

Continuing on a BJ Theme

So ... yeah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tY6dj97sV6U

The video speaks for itself. Watch. Laugh. Enjoy.

So good.

BJ Penn has gone insane.

Come in, enjoy the fire, it's low, and if you watch the smoke you can view some season one Buffy with me. But we will pause that as I have a minor issue to deal with that has been going on, and while I don't think it will end the discussion, I do want to make some points very very clear.

So I'm a big MMA fan and I love combative sports. It's still no football, which is my true love, and let anyone who gets between me and it suffer my fury. And I have a few favorite fighters. Unfortunately because of my limited exposure to the overall sport they are mainly fighting in the UFC. They include: Forrest Griffin, Joe Lauzon, Randy Couture, Jorge Rivera, Rich Franklin, Anderson Silva, Kenny Florian, and top of the list is Georges "Rush" St. Pierre.

Now yeah I'm one of those people that will judge not just their athletic prowess, for almost all of those above they all maintain a certain level of humility. A humour about themselves. Or maybe even just a 'nice' guy. They also all are very dedicated to their sport, and come to the ring with more than just 'I'm a fighter' attitudes and tend to come up with a game plan and have a cerebral component to their fighting. And that's my biggest draw.

I was never the biggest guy on the offensive line but I was the guy who knew everything I could about what my team was doing and what my opponents would do. I religiously watched game film, I practiced hard, I mastered the techniques of what I do, and while I know I would probably get my ass KICKED by a professional, I would never fear donning the gear again and stepping onto the gridiron for a one on one with one of them. Because I know what skill level I have, and how best to use it.

So this takes us back to UFC 94. The 'battle for the ages' was how the fight was touted. Two of the best pound for pound fighters, GSP and BJ Penn were going to fight for the Welterweight (170lbs) title. And man was I cheering for GSP to lay a complete ass kicking on BJ Penn, especially after his derogatory comments in the UFC Primetime specials they ran leading up to the fight.

Now BJ Penn has a lot of accolades to his record. First non-Brazilian to win the world BJJ title, second fighter to own titles in the UFC in two different weight classes (not together tho) and so on. But he has always lacked two very big parts of his game. First is his inability to properly prepare for a fight. He doesn't pay attention to the cerebral part of the game. He is referred to as the 'Prodigy' because of his impressive skills at a very young age. The second is his cardiovascular endurance. He always gasses in long fights. Particularly if someone pushes him to work hard, such as uses clinches and a lot of ground work and defense. It takes a lot of energy to prevent yourself from being manhandled by someone else.

So GSP and his trainers, particularly Greg Jackson, came up with a spectacularly detailed game plan that targeted BJ's weaknesses, and played to GSP's strengths, specifically that he is a much larger and stronger man than BJ. They detailed the game plan at the press conferences after the fight to demonstrate that GSP is not just an incredible athlete and fighter, but is a cerebral fighter. He did exactly what was required to take any advantage BJ had and then physically beat the fuck out of him. Fourth round stoppage due to corner and doctor. BJ got thumped on.

But here's where the problem comes in. Despite this masterful performance a hitch occurred. Between rounds one and two, Phil Nurse applied a breathing technique to GSP that allowed for a small amount of Vaseline to be rubbed on the middle of GSPs back. Luckily the Nevada State Athletic Commission saw this, entered the ring, forced GSP to be cleaned off, and the beating of BJ continued.

But because of this one little tiny detail suddenly all the work that GSP, his trainers, his coaches, and everyone else that helped to secure that victory did is nullified. There is a cloud hanging over that victory yet I am unsure how that cloud is even being allowed to continue. For a few specific points.

The very first thing is that they towelled GSP down as soon as they noticed it, and in every subsequent round. The same cannot be said for BJ Penn, and if you read the responses from GSPs camp you will notice that the migration of Vaseline is one of those things you just have to deal with in MMA. Think about it, you apply it to the face, but in any close combat sport, the face will most likely be rubbing against many different body parts. So honestly if anyone had an unfair advantage during the fight it would be Penn himself.

The part I find even funnier in this is that despite the complete lack of impact this 'cheating' had has to do with the actual rule itself, which isn't that clear. It states there may not be an inordinate amount of grease on a fighter's body. That's it. So they may change the rules and that's good.

But to get to the real point here. BJ has turned this into his own personal vendetta. He has screamed and yelled to anyone who will listen that he was unjustly beaten and he wants his fair fight. He refuses to accept that he got his ass handed to him by a fighter who put together a game plan to beat him that badly. No, what does he do? He goes to the NSAC WITH HIS MOM!!
So he's pissing and moaning and bitching to high heaven about this and the best part, the very bestest ever part to this sad little tirade from a rich kid who didn't get what he wanted is this. He launched his 'Live Like a Champion' Project the DAY AFTER. So the vast majority of people who have been watching this are calling BJ Penn a whiner and complainer, and find his antics disgraceful and very un-champion like, and now he's going to teach other people what they're supposed to do?! Wow, reality really isn't a part of this guy's vocabulary huh?

What little respect I had for BJ Penn's talents is gone. He's wasted them expecting to walk through whatever is there to get what he wants, and when he doesn't he expects others to hand it over. And now since he is so great, he plans to tell others how to be just as great. I think the cult suggestion from the article is far more plausible than this camp of his teaching anything useful.

So simply put. Penn, quit being such a fucktard. Take your lumps, live like a champion, defend your belt, and if you can manage it, crawl your sorry ass way back up the Welterweight rankings and try to get another shot. But guess what brah, since GSP has demonstrated to everyone just how to beat your ass, everyone else will be on the bandwagon to do it as well. Suck on that Baby Jay.

A funny story again.

So my mind is quite strange. I'm sure that when my friends hear me say 'Oh that reminds me...' they all internally cringe and wonder where my messed up gray matter will wander off to. So come in and sit by the fire because I just got reminded of a funny little happenstance.

So I take someone to the doctor's office. I can't remember who. I'm sitting in the waiting room, and next to me is this little pamphlet holder thingie, and in it is a black pamphlet with big white words on it saying 'Are you at Risk of ED?' This was a few years back mind you, so I think 'What the fuck is ED?!' So I start reading. ED is of course Erectile Dysfunction, and this was around the time that Viagra had first come out, so hey. I read on.

There are five things that greatly influence ED. So I read what they are

1) Smoking. Apparently the blood constriction can cause the Trouser Titan to be a bit ... lethargic. (I think to myself, hmm, ok, check.)

2) Overweight and/or out of shape. Having a poor cardiovascular system leads to ED. Goes to figure right, if you aren't working right, then neither is Mr. Happy. (I again, think to myself, damn yeah. I'm a tub. Ok, check.)

3) High cholesterol. Like smoking, it constricts blood flow, and can EVEN build up around where the blood flows into King Zambula, Master of the Pant Snakes. (Again, check for me I ponder, hmm, better make sure I always take my gemfibrozil, my high cholesterol medication.)

4) High blood pressure. Yep, having high blood pressure again messes with the way that blood flows towards extremities, such as your third leg. (Wow. Ok, I must make sure I keep taking my enalapril, the high blood pressure meds.)

5) Diabetes. If you are a diabetic, who may not be taking good control of their blood sugars, because it's a disease of the blood, it may affect penile performance. (Yeah ok so blood sugar medicines. Right.)

It then hits me. By all rights, I shouldn't even be able to PISS through my wang. It should be a lifeless husk, so depressed and misaligned that it spends it days writing bad poetry lamenting the twist of fate that has attached it to this pathetic body. Long epic poems about the heroic actions it must perform with little or no support from its parent body.

I was five for five. Yet, I can honestly say I have had no problems with my love muscle. If anything I'm somewhat oversexed. I'm horny ALL THE TIME!! I need to strap it down when I'm watching certain shows. While not as quick to react as when I was 18, the smaller but dominant head still makes his will known all on his own.

So the next time one of you starts harassing me about quitting smoking, or getting in better shape, or any of that shit, remember this: I get healthier, so does my libido. And The Trouser Titan might become the Dick Deity and demand tribute and worship!!! It gets any higher and I will be just humping random legs and orifices. And NO ONE will be safe. That's right, NO ONE... possible no thing either. But I don't want to risk that happening.

That's right. I'm unhealthy for the safety of all around me. Deal with it. :)

A nightmare

Come in, I stoked the fire since the weather has turned on us again, and I have Old Dutch Mexican Chili Chips! Dig in.

I don't normally have nightmares. When I was much younger I used to have nightmares continuously but since my teens and my own control of my lucid dreams I don't normally have them. Last one was about ... 6 or more years ago, involving an ex's head turning into a Shark, and running from them in a car. It was quite the event.

Well a few nights ago I had a nightmare. The worst. Nothing scares me personally. I know there is nothing out there that can get thrown at me that I can't handle or deal with on some level, especially with the fantastic family and friends I have.

In the dream I woke up for work and went to wake up the Little Bear, as she had asked me to, and instead of finding my beautiful daughter I found a severed hand and a note. I picked up the hand, tears gushed into my eyes, and I clutched it. I didn't even bother reading the note yet. Instead I went straight to the phone, dialed 911, and hysterically started ranting at them as I started to collect together all the sharp pointy things I have, large blunt things I have, and anything that I might be able to use for a ranged weapon, including the paintball gun and a big bag of marbles.

At this point my 'overmind' started to kick in. I knew this was a dream, tiny details were wrong, like Little Bear's bed, which is now a wonderful loft bed, was too low. So I started pulling myself awake, knowing that I was getting so worked up, my heart rate was probably in the stratosphere, and I knew that muscles were tensing. I finally wrenched myself out of sleep, and when I woke up, I was lying flat on my back, my limbs were hovering off the bed, and I was covered in a thin sheet of sweat and tears. And yeah I could feel my heart thundering in my chest, and had all the signs of a MASSIVE adrenaline dump. I slowly relaxed, stood up, and went to check on the Bear. Once I confirmed my baby was fine, I went back to bed. I laid there for probably about an hour and a half, vibrating, shaking, going thru the adrenal side effects, massive headache. Boom I was just about the closest I've been to a full on blank out as I've ever been sober.

I finally got back to sleep. Kinda. I never went deep for the rest of the night. I kept waking myself, and every sound or creak had me up again.

Was ... intense.