Race - Below the Hard Deck

Every year the town next to us hosts an annual Thanksgiving Day Road Race. It's fun as hell, people get dressed up in all sorts of ridiculous costumes, the non-runners go to the bars that line the course at 9am and get a good buzz going to cheer us on, and New England weather remains its unpredictable self - some years it's 60 degrees and sunny, some years it's six inches of snow and still falling. It's been a fun tradition for my family, and it now includes my east-coast-converted cousins. But, it's especially important between Sean and I, as were the most competitive of the entire group.

Every year, a few months before the race, we start shit-talking on facebook, placing bets, demeaning each other's athletic abilities, calling each other bitches, etc. And unfortunately, while am I much better at smack-talk, I ALWAYS lose the race. Like, always. And it's usually not even close. I always claim that I didn't try, or that I didn't actually care and wanted to hang back and run with a friend or something, some bullshit to make his win seem less important. But in reality, I always do that "acquiesce to defeat" shit before it even starts. I know I can't beat him, so I don't actually try to run fast. Here's the excuses I hide behind:

While we are both good athletes, Sean is more of a natural runner; tall, lean. Sean has actually run for his athletic career: cross-country, basketball, soccer, etc. Contrast all that to me, I'm shorter, stronger, more of the mesomorph-type body. My sports were always along the lines of football and wrestling. Short explosive bursts, rather than prolonged running. Certainly not ideal to win in a five-mile race. (In the subsequent family pick-up football game and wrestling matches during the day I kick his ass, but those are like exhibition events.)

So, this year, it's different. I'm actually going to train to run. I've done some running in the past, never a lot, and never stuck with it seriously enough for any real gains, though. This time will be different. I will post everything in this semi-public forum, so that way I have a lot more accountability to stick to this. I will post my training and times and whatever else, all throughout from now until Nov. 27th. Sean can do the same, or just comment occasionally, it's up to him. And, of course, we will talk a lot of shit along the way. Should be fun, feel free to offer any encouraging, destructive, or helpful tips along the way.

Since this isn't really what this blog is about, it will be on a seperate side blog, the title of which is the ultimate comeback to anyone who's said they won. Below the hard deck does not count.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

B. Pike - youngest of the pike brothers, movie buff, and the one and only reader of this blog has a guest post with his review of the The Dark Knight, and it's awesome - my response to come at the end. [Spoilers like woah, but if you haven't seen this movie yet, stop reading and go buy a ticket.]

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Christians regained faith in god after watching The Passion; I regained faith in god after watching The Dark Knight. To describe the experience I had on July 18, at 12:05 AM, is nearly impossible, but I will make a feeble attempt at doing it justice. Roughly 1 year ago, I began reading the buzz on a sequel to what was the greatest Batman movie of all time, Batman Begins. Christian Bale was returning to don the cape and cowl, Michael Cane the cummerbund, Gary Oldman the badge, and Morgan Freeman the bowtie. We then learn that the role of Harvey Dent will be played by Aaron Eckhart, to which the “internet” responds rather kindly, but now the question jaunting movie-buffs’ and fanboys’ minds is who will be staggering into the purple suit of the clown prince of crime. Throughout the web, you could read the suggestions of those who believe they know so much more than the professional casting directors, Crispin Glover, Paul Bettany, and you could even read “If Jack Nicholson doesn’t reprise his role, I’m boycotting the film.” Everyone was so set on who they wanted as the Joker and despite all the blabber; Christopher Nolan made the decision that slapped all those jackasses right in their pimply faces, Heath Ledger.

The moment his name was mentioned, the internet was in flames: “Brokeback Batman, 10 Things I Hate About Gotham" and many more unoriginal fooling statements. I read the decision and mulled it over in my mind for some time, before finally IMing (remember when AIM was cool?) my eldest brother “R. Pike” and we were in agreement that Heath's portrayal had the potential to be awesome, but also the chance to be disastrous. How wrong we were, we should be lashed for having even a shadow of a doubt, but there is some light within my shame, that all those naysayers castrated themselves after downloading the pirated version (I both love and despise the internet).

Ledger’s performance was something I had never seen before on screen, the 'mis en scene' that was created was remarkable, because every time he walked into a room there was an uncomfortable feeling in your stomach, whether it was a new tale about his scars or the eerie and unsettling score by Hans Zimmer. Unfortunately for his fellow thespians his astounding presence left them in shadows of greatness so vast no one could shine. I've even heard ludicrous accounts that Bale was overrated, and that he was nothing compared to Ledger.

You simply cannot compare Ledger and Bale, because he's playing Bruce Wayne with everything the character has to offer, while The Joker has innumerable layers and facets of his psychosis to delve into; which is something no popular cinematic character has ever had. If Bale was playing The Joker it would have been fantastic as well, he's a phenomenal actor, and he simply had exhausted all of the resources of his character. Aaron Eckhart was great at playing the political idealist, and when he is presented to us, you can't help but believe in him, he's a political Batman, and he's not hiding in shadows. He's also very aware of the risks of his job, yet still performs his duties to the fullest, he is truly The White Knight, but white is easily stained.

Dent's catalyst SPOILER ALERT is the death of his one true love, Rachel Dawes. After this moment everything Dent had was lost, she was the thread that held his life together, and when it was plucked he fell into madness, which proves he was weaker than Bruce Wayne, who managed to keep himself together after the death of his parents. The Joker explains to Dent that his plan to defeat crime and injustice was impossible, because chaos is a basic and necessary part of nature. The question now left buzzing around my head is did the Joker win, ultimately Dent's reputation was saved due to the sacrifice of Batman's, yet Batman still broke his one rule he, intentionally or unintenionally, caused the death of Harvey Dent, who had to die to remain pure, but nevertheless Dent’s blood is on his hands.

Needless to say there were some errors in the means of telling the story, the main one being the confusion between Batman going to save Rachel and winding up saving Dent, which I have surmised to be The Joker playing with his mind and switching up the addresses. There are also some mistakes with how they convey how many people Dent killed, Gordon claims it was five, I count four maybe three, Detective Wuertz, one of Maroni's bodyguard, which you can quickly see Dent dispatching of before Maroni gets in the car, Maroni's driver, and I'm assuming Maroni. Like most movies - and always with comic book movies you have to suspend disbelief to enjoy it. This comic book movie just happens to have the most real fantastical premises we have ever seen. Simply because a movie has flaws, does not mean it can't be the best of all time. Perfection in art is impossible. But its progress, (the pursuit of perfection) can be marked and measured easily. Clearly, The Dark Knight has gotten us one step closer to that unreachable goal. Hopefully all of the flash will be trimmed when this bitch gets released on DVD, I can't wait, seeing as I've already seen it 5 times and counting.

What Do You Celebrate?

St. Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, has one of most interesting stories of all the saints. His "Spiritual Exercises" is a brilliant and profound process that the Jesuits still practice today. As a young man he served as a courtier and soldier for a Duke in 16th century Spain. The definitive account of his lifestyle during this time remains under some debate, but scholars and historians widely agree that he wasn't exactly a man of God. Womanizing, boozing, fighting, and adventure-seeking with the military held the most of his interest. Often described as feral, he would even grow out his hair and fingernails to maintain a more fearsome presence on the battlefield. A self-proclaimed sinner, he obsessed with the notions of glory and military victories, and his leadership and diplomatic skills far exceeded those of the men around him. Despite his ferocity, he managed to avoid all manner of injury yet still participating in many battles. All in all, he was a badass. Until one battle, a French [mother-effers] cannonball rocketed through his legs, taking a calf from one and shattering the knee of the other.

True to his nature, as he lay bed-ridden and bored, he elected to undergo some very painful surgeries, but infection set in and the doctors deemed his death imminent. Somehow, miraculously if you like, he recovered within days. Now faced with months of rehabilitation and a goal to regain his ambulatory ability, he called for his books of romanticism and tales of chivalry, but none were found. Instead he'd been given religious texts on Jesus and the all the saints of the time. He began to see these men through the prism of his own competitive spirit and emulous nature, and he competed against the men in the pages from his own bed with thoughts of "I could fast longer than he..." or "I could live more frugally than this pilgrim in his desert." This motif, the idea of overcoming one's former self in service to something greater, resonates through his "Spiritual Exercises" and exists as his concept long before Nietschze and his notion of the "Superman" and the "Will to Power" ever came along.

The Examen process serves as the most renown and purposeful of the Jesuit exercises, and can be performed in minutes, even multiple times in a day. The abridged version holds these three steps: "What brings me closer to God? What drives me further away? Where am I now in relation to Him?" As you continue the process, in days, weeks, months and years, your answers grow more plentiful to the first question, and fewer to the second, all serving to bring you closer to God.

For the sake of the other like-minded atheists or moderate agnostics we proffer this secular version:

What do I celebrate?
What do I disdain?
What must I do to rid my world of the former and move toward the latter?

What do you celebrate?

Stringer Bell, Chicago School of Economics

Adam Smith called smugglers heroes - men who sought to offer the price of their goods without any added expenses for whatever regulating body tried to get involved. Less costly from the supplier, less expensive for the buyer, and therefore more goods to be bought and sold at a fair price for all parties included. With no middlemen (who don't add any value) creating useless additional costs, the smuggler offers the truest and fairest price of a good or service.

All throughout the hit show the Wire, Stringer remains the most business smart, calculating man in the series. A’s on his microeconomic courses, likens himself to a CEO, discusses markets and strategy with his professors, has to explain shit all the time to his subordinates. Even after his death, McNulty finds a copy of A Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. But the coolest part, is his true adherence to principles of the Chicago school. Straight up, no bullshit, neoclassical, conservative, Chicago school econ. (The conventional definition of conservative, not Milton's. Friedman, accurately, always called himself a liberal.) While he’s had no remorse in eliminating business threats through violent means (hostile takeovers,) after his empirical analysis, he does generally shift toward a total Laissez–Faire, market-forces-only operation during the co-op period with Proposition Joe. He tries to use those increased profits to look into some legitimate business deals under the direction of the senator Clay Davis, but sheeeeeeeeeeeeeit, he becomes frustrated with the highly regulated, bureaucratic process of these legit ventures. Lo and behold, he gets hoodwinked by a corrupt politician. (Every conservative economist's nightmare.)

On the streets, interestingly enough, the blood-thirsty, bellicose, power-hungry Avon Barksdale is actually the liberal, in favor of larger government, increased regulations (by his own weapons and ferocity) that fuck up natural market forces. Avon's interference with the market equilibrium destroys value, when there’d actually be larger real societal gains (more drugs and money for all) if he left it alone.

But still, ya know, drugs are bad.

Guy Ritchie Called, He Wants His Soul Back

Guy Ritchie: "Hey Ryan, it's Guy."

Ryan: "Fuck you. What do you want, guy?"

Guy Ritchie: "Did you just call me 'guy?' Like, lowercase?"

Ryan: "Yeah I did, buddy."

Guy Ritchie: "I'm not your buddy, friend."

Ryan: "I'm not your friend, jackass, and I'm hanging up now."

Guy Ritchie: "Wait. I'm sorry."

Ryan: "For what? Marrying Madonna? Revolver? Swept Away? All the ways in which you've squandered your artistic gifts since 2001?"

Guy Ritchie: "Right. All of those."

Ryan: "Cause you know she's fucking A-Rod right now, right?"

Guy Ritchie: "Right. Yeah I know. But, I wanted to say..."

Ryan: "Like she had talent when she sang 'Crazy for You' in Vision Quest. But that four minutes shit with Justin Timberlake? Seriously dude, are you just like on a huge bender and have permanent beer goggles..."

[audible stifled beer tears]

Guy Ritchie: "Yes. Look man, I'm sorry, but I'm here to make amends."

Ryan: "Go on."

Guy Ritchie: "Well I wrote and directed a movie and it's pretty great. I realized I need to get some real pussy again, so I decided to create some real art."

Ryan: "Word. Good to hear. Statham? Some women?"

Guy Ritchie: "Nope. Fuck Statham, he's old news. And yeah, the women are gorgeous - the chick from MI-2 and Crash, and the latest Bond girl. But the main characters are pretty badass."
[finally excited]

Ryan: "Who motherfucker?!"

Guy Ritchie: "Ludacris, Carmine Falcone from Batman, and that skinny dude who looks like a chick in Sweeney Todd."

Ryan: "Fuck y.."

Guy Ritchie: "Oh yeah, also ARI GOLD, KING LEONIDAS, and STRINGER MOTHERFUCKIN' BELL."


FUCK MOTHERFUCKING ROCKNROLLA FUCK AWESOME MOTHERFUCKER- FINALLY-GOT-HIS-SHIT-TOGETHER!

"I don't want to be a product of my environment. I want my environment to be a product of me." Jack Nicholson, The Departed

One of the best opening movie quotes to one of my favorite movies. This quote stirs up reminders of people who were not products of their environment, but rose well above society's feeble expectations to achieve great things. There are countless examples in history, between Mark Twain, Andrew Carnegie, Ted Turner, and though his leadership as President was questionable; Jimmy Carter. Here we have four people whose ambition and determination superceded any obstacle that stood to hold them back. Samuel Clemens was born into a very poor family in Missippi and had very little formal education. How is it that he was able to become one of the most respected writers of all time and as Hemingway called him "the father of American literature"? How is it that his witticisms and observations were so profound, unique, and intelligent that there is a perennial humor award in his honor?

Twain, while obviously very intelligent, knew that in order to achieve his goals he had to work dilligently, specialize and focus. When he wanted to be a river boat captain (a profession that led him to his penname) he studied chart after chart on the Mississippi River so that he would know every shallow point, every threatening rock. This effort and focus ensured his success as a river boat pilot. It is unsettling to hear about people being unable to rise above their means or that society inherently holds people down. It is said that when Twain was young, all he wanted to do was be a river boat pilot. Unlike most, this dream never wavered and was ultimately achieved. As for Twain becoming a literary giant, his formula was simple, "Write what you know about." Funny, he never seemed to discuss croutons, probably for the best. In any case, Twain is the archetype of the self made man. Rather than look at the world as cruel and unsupportive of individual success, he used the tools that were available to learn and read and soak up as much as he possibly could. Twain spent countless hours pouring over volumes of every literary topic imaginable in the New York Public Library.

"You wasted one hundred and fifty grand on an education you could have got for a dollar fifty in late charges at the public library"

This Good Will Hunting quote embodies the path Twain took. He didn't have the means to go to a place like Oxford, Harvard, or Yale, and while he was eventually awarded honorary degrees from these institutions, he took advantage of the best asset available to him; public libraries. Public libraries are such powerful tools that it is alarming how few people actually take the time to go there and make use of it. Twain summed it perfectly, a sort of motto for autodidacts, "I've never let my schooling interfere with my education."

Many consider Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead to be one of the best, most profound books in the past century, and I would concur. However, while many see redeeming qualities in the tragic hero that is Roark, I think the most important paragraph is when Gail Wynand concludes that the main difference between succesful and unsuccessful people is "books". Successful people are well read. Unsuccessful people are not. While this formula does not apply to every situation or circumstance, there is much more to be gained from turning the the TV off, picking up a book than from watching re-runs of Scrubs. Something incredibly simple, but still an elusive process for most. As I said earlier, Jimmy Carter isn't exactly my favorite President. But Carter grew up on a farm in Georgia, and clearly had ambition to burn. His appetite for reading was unprecedented and he claims to have read every book in the public library in his hometown. He went from being the son of a farmer to a President, albeit a poor one, to a Nobel Peace Prize Winner. Not bad at all.

"It is another of the miraculous things about mankind that there is no pain or passion that does not radiate to the ends of the Earth. Let a man in a garret but burn enough intensity and he will set fire to the world."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery, Wind, Sand, and Stars


In other words, I have no sympathy for people who resign to their circumstances without giving an honest, hard-nosed try to break out. When you hear children speak about wanting to be movie stars, doctors, or astronauts, it's inspiring to see that much hope, though it is so often dismissed for naievete. But what happens that makes people suddenly drop those dreams or slowly learn to settle for something that is nowhere near what they had hoped to become? You can pour over Coelho's The Alchemist and get that inspiring chip back, but without serious effort, and an intense focus on exactly what you want, it just isn't going to happen. The inevitable argument is that most people do not have enough time to pursue what they really want because they are so busy working two jobs to support themselves. Perseverance and focus will not bend to the hurdles and obstructions such as work schedule. I've been told stories of people who took jobs in garages and still found time to study and graduate with a degree in electrical engineering, who lived in fear of oil drips that would ruin their books.

The bottom line is, no autonomous person will be a victim of the world until they choose to be swallowed by mediocrity. Whether you have to tackle a few shelves at the local library, audit some night courses, or simply shut off the blackberry for a while, it is easy to see that most limits and setbacks are self-imposed and can be surpassed.

Further Reading:

4 hour work week

War of Art

The Fountainhead

Suicide Bombers and Pussy

Generation Kill is an incredibly awesome mini-series - not that you'd expect anything less from David Simon, Ed Burns and co. The writing, acting, and most importantly, story are nearly perfect. And by the end of it, the Godfather will either place or show in my ultimate badass heirarchy: Stringer Bell, Batman, Forrest Griffin.

Besides badassery, another of my favored values is of course, unapologetic sarcasm. This rant is fucking brilliant. The dialog is between Cpl. Josh Ray Person (Ziggy Sabotka on the Wire) and the reporter from the Rolling Stone.

"Oh, there's layers of retardation that most people don't even know about. You should quote me on that. Look at this shit. How come we can't ever invade a cool country...like chicks in bikinis, you know? How come countries like that don't ever need Marines? I'll tell you why. It's lack of pussy that fucks countries up. Lack of pussy is the root fucking cause of all global instability. If more hajjis were getting quality pussy, there'd be no reason for us to come over here and fuck them up like this. 'Cause a nut-busted hajji is a happy hajji."

"It's an interesting theory though."

"Yeah, you should quote me on it. Matter of fact, you should definitely quote me on it. This whole fucking thing, it comes down to pussy. Look, if you took the Republican guard, comped their asses in Vegas for a weekend, no more fucking war."

"So this war isn't about oil or WMDs?"

"No. In the opinion of this Marine, it's about pussy."

"And it's not about Saddam?"

"Saddam's just part of the problem. Look if Saddam invested more in the pussy infrastructure of Iraq than he did on his fucking gay-ass army, than this country would be no more fucked up than say, Mexico."

Awesome. And as we well know, stuff is funny cause it's true. Check out #4 in this article written by the evolutionary psychologists Alan S. Miller Ph.D. & Satoshi Kanazawa Ph.D.

Ten Politically Incorrect Truths About Human Nature

"So polygyny increases competitive pressure on men, especially young men of low status. It therefore increases the likelihood that young men resort to violent means to gain access to mates. By doing so, they have little to lose and much to gain compared with men who already have wives. Across all societies, polygyny makes men violent, increasing crimes such as murder and rape, even after controlling for such obvious factors as economic development, economic inequality, population density, the level of democracy, and political factors in the region."

Christ, even a FRENCH writer pointed this out way back when in like 1930. From Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Wind, Sand and Stars (great book, Outside magazines #1 adventure, Nat'l Geographic's # 3.)

"In Paris," [the Moors] said, "you walk through a crowd of a thousand people. You stare at them. And nobody carries a rifle!"

"You take one Moor from each tribe," they went on. "You take him to the circus. And nevermore will tribes of Er-Reguibat make war on the French."

Pre-sexual revolution, but the point remains the same. Deny people that which is natural, healthy and good (and the freedom and opportunity to pursue these things) and you get violent and destructive backlash.

Further reading:
Why Beautiful People Have More Daughters
Generation Kill
Tons of shit I haven't read yet and admittedly don't know enough about this topic, but it's worth learning.