chatbot: hello how are you today
SemicircleStranger420: i am doing well, and you?
chatbot: i am good i love music do you
SemicircleStranger420: i do like music, my parents actually met at woodstock
chatbot: that is a cool story i would have loved to have gone
SemicircleStranger420: they said it was wild.
chatbot: i bet it was it would have been cool
SemicircleStranger420: yeah, do you have any pets?
chatbot: i was in the navy so i have none
SemicircleStranger420: oh my cat is named pickles. so you must swim, i did in college
chatbot: yes i do nut i love carving wood
SemicircleStranger420: that sounds pretty fun, i like wood carvings
chatbot: it is very fun and soothing
SemicircleStranger420: i bet, i have a big beautiful garden of roses that soothes me<|endoftext|> cause some energy issues in the first few weeks, so instead of doing my daily jog or gym workout - I was just walking for an hour a day.

In other words, things were going great... but I was still skeptical.

I’d had a lot of quick success with every other diet I’d tried, but as I mentioned earlier, the weight always found its way back... so I was just waiting for this diet to do the same.

So I waited, and waited, and waited…

Until finally after 12 months, 50 lbs, and a complete body transformation later - I realized there was something different about this diet.

And not just because I was losing weight and could keep it off, but also because I felt amazing.

Every other diet I’d tried had my feeling groggy and hangry after the first couple of weeks, but not this one...this one actually had me feeling energetic, both physically and mentally.

I noticed an immediate boost in my productivity, and after a few weeks of starting this diet - I was actually able to stop taking adderall... AND boost my output while doing so.

In other words, yes - I’m saying a diet helped me overcome my ADHD... something I battled for many years.

And after I started to notice these initial results, the benefits just kept piling in.

I was losing weight, I felt great, I was getting more done…

All things that led to me overcoming the depression and anxiety of my busy lifestyle, and that’s really the main reason why I can say this diet has changed my life for the better.

Why It Worked Better Than Other Diets

I’m sure you’re somewhat skeptical already, don’t worry... I was too.

I didn’t know how a simple change of diet could lead to amazing results like this, so that’s when I decided I was going to dig in deeper.

Not because I needed to improve it for my own life, but I knew if I was going to start explaining this to family and friends, then I’d need some science to back it up.

So I started out by reading everything I could and documenting my own results, then months later... I had the key benefits of this diet boiled down to 3 main reasons.

1. I was always full

I’ll explain more on this in a second, but the main focus of this diet is to put your body in fat burning mode.

This mode helps hunger in a few different ways, but to keep things simple right now - fat is a longer source of energy and that helps you stay full for a longer period of time. This a much better option than the alternative, glycogen burning mode (carbs), because that burns like jet fuel and makes us constantly wanting more energy.

If you want to get technical, a primary reason for this is because it helps regulate “ghrelin”, the “hunger hormone”, but in layman’s terms - your energy lasts longer and you don’t need as much food.

Then on top of this, once you do hit fat burning mode your body can easily access stored body fat for energy, if needed.

2. Fat burning = making weight loss easy

So I just touched on this a little bit, but when you’re in fat burning mode - it’s pretty easy to burn fatwithout starving yourself or strenuous exercise.

Sure exercise is still good and I’d never advise against it, but the main problem with most diets now is that they keep your body in glycogen burning mode and force you to do long workouts to in order to enter fat burning mode.

This diet is different and helps you constantly stay in this state - meaning you don’t really have to’s just extra brownie points.

This is obviously helpful from a practical standpoint, but I think it also helps with momentum.

It’s hard to keep working out hard every day when you’re not seeing results, but when you don’t have to put a lot of work in and still see results - then well, that makes it pretty easy to keep going.

3. The ketones provide a better source of energy

When we’re in fat burning mode, our body is running off ketones (source of energy created when fat is broken down).

When we’re in glycogen burning mode, our body is running off glucose (source of energy created when carbs, or excess protein, are broken down).

Now either source is fine and we can live either way, but as I mentioned earlier - the source of energy does make a big difference.

There’s a lot that goes into it, but glucose is sugar - and our bodies can only have so much sugar in the bloodstream at one time.

So when we exceed that limit, then insulin comes flying in and converts the excess sugar into stored body fat.

Now this probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but here’s the problem. Since we can only have so much glucose in the bloodstream, that means we have a limited source of energy that we can survive off of.

In other words, you could eat a day’s worth of carbs in the morning and still be hungry 3 hours later.

Because all the excess energy has been converted into body fat, and since you’re in glycogen burning mode...then well, your body quickly burns the energy that was left and needs more to keep going.

It’s kind of like putting 10 gallons of gas in a 2 gallon tank. The remaining 8 gallons is just going to spill on the ground and once we use up 2 gallons of gas, we need a way to find more.

Then you have ketones on the other hand, a source of energy that can be derived from dietary fat and body fat.

I’m sure you’re starting to catch on why this is helpful, but going back to my gas tank analogy...

It’d be like putting 10 gallons of gas in a 2 gallon tank, but having a bucket on the ground to collect the remaining gas that was spilling out.

Then once we ran out of the 2 gallons, all we’d simply have to do is pull out our bucket, fill up again, and continue on the way...without wasting any fuel.

Now this is obviously a simple way of explaining it, but that’s really how it works. Then on top of that, fat burns slower and that gives you a steady source of energy…

Which is also the main reason why I felt increased productivity throughout my day. In other words, it’s a lot easier to get things done when you can work at a constant pace as opposed to having the roller coaster ride that comes with carbs.

Is the Ketogenic Diet Good for Beginners? If Yes, Why Isn’t Everybody Using It?

So even though I had the results to prove it and the science to back it up, I kept getting the same question over and over again…

Why doesn’t everybody use this then?

And that’s a great question, one that’s crossed my mind plenty of times as well.

To be honest, I think this is the part I could talk about in the most detail as it’s the one I’ve had to answer the most…

But out of respect for brevity, the main reason is because of misunderstanding.

What I mean by that is that guidelines and rules are great, but the only problem is that they take a long time to change...

And since our dietary guidelines are still based off outdated studies from 40+ years ago, even though they’ve been proven wrong many different times, I think it’s just a matter of time.

Which really is unfortunate, because there’s a lot of great doctors and dieticians out there that think they’re doing the right thing by teaching this outdated advice, and even more people suffering from this outdated advice, but the good news is that there are many doctors starting to see the dangers of this…

And I’m thankful to those, because without them - I wouldn’t be in this position today.

So, what exactly is the ketogenic diet?

If you’ve never heard of this diet before, it’s a diet that stresses high amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and low amounts of carbs…

Pretty much the exact opposite of everything we’ve been taught, well - what I was taught anyway.

 cause some energy issues in the first few weeks, so instead of doing my daily jog or gym workout - I was just walking for an hour a day.

In other words, things were going great... but I was still skeptical.

I’d had a lot of quick success with every other diet I’d tried, but as I mentioned earlier, the weight always found its way back... so I was just waiting for this diet to do the same.

So I waited, and waited, and waited…

Until finally after 12 months, 50 lbs, and a complete body transformation later - I realized there was something different about this diet.

And not just because I was losing weight and could keep it off, but also because I felt amazing.

Every other diet I’d tried had my feeling groggy and hangry after the first couple of weeks, but not this one...this one actually had me feeling energetic, both physically and mentally.

I noticed an immediate boost in my productivity, and after a few weeks of starting this diet - I was actually able to stop taking adderall... AND boost my output while doing so.

In other words, yes - I’m saying a diet helped me overcome my ADHD... something I battled for many years.

And after I started to notice these initial results, the benefits just kept piling in.

I was losing weight, I felt great, I was getting more done…

All things that led to me overcoming the depression and anxiety of my busy lifestyle, and that’s really the main reason why I can say this diet has changed my life for the better.

Why It Worked Better Than Other Diets

I’m sure you’re somewhat skeptical already, don’t worry... I was too.

I didn’t know how a simple change of diet could lead to amazing results like this, so that’s when I decided I was going to dig in deeper.

Not because I needed to improve it for my own life, but I knew if I was going to start explaining this to family and friends, then I’d need some science to back it up.

So I started out by reading everything I could and documenting my own results, then months later... I had the key benefits of this diet boiled down to 3 main reasons.

1. I was always full

I’ll explain more on this in a second, but the main focus of this diet is to put your body in fat burning mode.

This mode helps hunger in a few different ways, but to keep things simple right now - fat is a longer source of energy and that helps you stay full for a longer period of time. This a much better option than the alternative, glycogen burning mode (carbs), because that burns like jet fuel and makes us constantly wanting more energy.

If you want to get technical, a primary reason for this is because it helps regulate “ghrelin”, the “hunger hormone”, but in layman’s terms - your energy lasts longer and you don’t need as much food.

Then on top of this, once you do hit fat burning mode your body can easily access stored body fat for energy, if needed.

2. Fat burning = making weight loss easy

So I just touched on this a little bit, but when you’re in fat burning mode - it’s pretty easy to burn fatwithout starving yourself or strenuous exercise.

Sure exercise is still good and I’d never advise against it, but the main problem with most diets now is that they keep your body in glycogen burning mode and force you to do long workouts to in order to enter fat burning mode.

This diet is different and helps you constantly stay in this state - meaning you don’t really have to’s just extra brownie points.

This is obviously helpful from a practical standpoint, but I think it also helps with momentum.

It’s hard to keep working out hard every day when you’re not seeing results, but when you don’t have to put a lot of work in and still see results - then well, that makes it pretty easy to keep going.

3. The ketones provide a better source of energy

When we’re in fat burning mode, our body is running off ketones (source of energy created when fat is broken down).

When we’re in glycogen burning mode, our body is running off glucose (source of energy created when carbs, or excess protein, are broken down).

Now either source is fine and we can live either way, but as I mentioned earlier - the source of energy does make a big difference.

There’s a lot that goes into it, but glucose is sugar - and our bodies can only have so much sugar in the bloodstream at one time.

So when we exceed that limit, then insulin comes flying in and converts the excess sugar into stored body fat.

Now this probably doesn’t sound like a big deal, but here’s the problem. Since we can only have so much glucose in the bloodstream, that means we have a limited source of energy that we can survive off of.

In other words, you could eat a day’s worth of carbs in the morning and still be hungry 3 hours later.

Because all the excess energy has been converted into body fat, and since you’re in glycogen burning mode...then well, your body quickly burns the energy that was left and needs more to keep going.

It’s kind of like putting 10 gallons of gas in a 2 gallon tank. The remaining 8 gallons is just going to spill on the ground and once we use up 2 gallons of gas, we need a way to find more.

Then you have ketones on the other hand, a source of energy that can be derived from dietary fat and body fat.

I’m sure you’re starting to catch on why this is helpful, but going back to my gas tank analogy...

It’d be like putting 10 gallons of gas in a 2 gallon tank, but having a bucket on the ground to collect the remaining gas that was spilling out.

Then once we ran out of the 2 gallons, all we’d simply have to do is pull out our bucket, fill up again, and continue on the way...without wasting any fuel.

Now this is obviously a simple way of explaining it, but that’s really how it works. Then on top of that, fat burns slower and that gives you a steady source of energy…

Which is also the main reason why I felt increased productivity throughout my day. In other words, it’s a lot easier to get things done when you can work at a constant pace as opposed to having the roller coaster ride that comes with carbs.

Is the Ketogenic Diet Good for Beginners? If Yes, Why Isn’t Everybody Using It?

So even though I had the results to prove it and the science to back it up, I kept getting the same question over and over again…

Why doesn’t everybody use this then?

And that’s a great question, one that’s crossed my mind plenty of times as well.

To be honest, I think this is the part I could talk about in the most detail as it’s the one I’ve had to answer the most…

But out of respect for brevity, the main reason is because of misunderstanding.

What I mean by that is that guidelines and rules are great, but the only problem is that they take a long time to change...

And since our dietary guidelines are still based off outdated studies from 40+ years ago, even though they’ve been proven wrong many different times, I think it’s just a matter of time.

Which really is unfortunate, because there’s a lot of great doctors and dieticians out there that think they’re doing the right thing by teaching this outdated advice, and even more people suffering from this outdated advice, but the good news is that there are many doctors starting to see the dangers of this…

And I’m thankful to those, because without them - I wouldn’t be in this position today.

So, what exactly is the ketogenic diet?

If you’ve never heard of this diet before, it’s a diet that stresses high amounts of fat, moderate amounts of protein, and low amounts of carbs…

Pretty much the exact opposite of everything we’ve been taught, well - what I was taught anyway.

I grew up thinking that eating fat clogged arteries, made me fat, gave me a heart attack...etc.

But then I started reading real results that showed the exact opposite. In fact, high fat diets were actually raising HDL (the “good” cholesterol) and making LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) go from small and dense, to big and fluffy.

What does that mean?

Well HDL is the cholesterol that comes through and picks up excess LDL, the kind that many think creates clogged arteries.

And since you have more HDL coming through and cleaning house…then well, that actually creates less clogged arteries.

Then on top of that, the LDL is big and fluffy (as opposed to small and dense), meaning you have more good cholesterol coming through and taking care of “easy-to-remove” bad cholesterol…

A win-win all around.

A lot to take in? Don’t worry, I understand. There’s a lot of information out there, but here’s a great article that breaks


chatbot: hi, i love different types of dances, what do you like?
PlowBuzzard454: i am a bit of a workaholic, my job is my true love and also animals!
chatbot: that is good to know, i also love animals, do you have any pets
PlowBuzzard454: i have two dogs, and they sometimes come on set with me!
chatbot: great, i have cats as my pet and i have 3 of them.
PlowBuzzard454: we should hangout sometime, i can bring the dogs they are friendly
chatbot: sure. do you have any siblings?
PlowBuzzard454: i do not actually, do you?
chatbot: no, same here. just a lone child in the family
PlowBuzzard454: do you listen to country music? it is my favorite.
chatbot: yup, i do listen sometime. but my favorite is dancing
PlowBuzzard454: you would be good to have in one of my shows that i act in.
chatbot: also, i love to travel around the world to visit different places...
PlowBuzzard454: where is the best place you have visited?<|endoftext|>. I'm going to try to post more steadily now... wish me luck.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Today's Kids and Their Sports Heroes

This morning I was listening the the Saturday edition of NPR's Morning Edition, and they were doing a story on a baseball field somewhere that was going to give the local high school a decent place to play, as well as others. I'm not that much of a sports fan, so I was only half listening, until the started talking to a 10 year old kid about how good a hitter he was. The reporter asked if he considered himself a "slugger", and he said "Yeah, I guess so". Then, in the background, you hear another kid, probably his best friend, half whisper "Barry Bonds!" The first kid was still talking about his own prowess on the diamond, but paused to say "I'M not on steroids!" before he went on.

Both funny and sad, honestly. We used to be able to look up to athletes and admire them, even dream a little of being like them some day. Honestly, I never did much of that, not being a sports fan even as a kid. But in my teens I did start reading about Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi and other bicycle racers... even some young kid in the western US who people were starting to talk about... some punk named Lemond who was beating older riders at their game. So, while the Barry Bonds thing doesn't hit close to home, it was pretty depressing to watch this years Tour de France and find myself thinking "who is next going to leave the race due to some doping incident or suspicion?"

Maybe those golden days when we could just admire our heroes were an illusion. It seems pretty certain that there has always been some level of chemical enhancement in many sports for a long time. But it still feels like we've lost a little innocense, when I hear a kid say "I'm not on steroids" on public radio.

Do Lycra and Aerobars Make One Mute?

That's the thought that went through my mind this morning on my ride to work. I had just had yet another "Serious Cyclist" whiz past in the opposite direction, with not even the slightest acknowledgment that I was there.

Now, I understand training and discipline and all that, but when one after another these folk zip on by, with not even a flicker of recognition of another human being... another cyclist, it just bothers me. I don't expect them to break their cadence, sit up and give me a high five as we pass or anything. A simple "hello", or even a nod of the head would be nice. And I know there's nothing that says they have to react to me in any way... it just seems like a decent and human thing to do.

I say hi or some other greeting to just about everyone I see on the trail, and I like to think it might brighten someone's day now and then. I don't know... maybe most folks think "who the heck was that and why were they talking to me????" But I find a simple "hi" or "good morning" is nice, when it happens. And a fair number of folk do at least respond in some manner. The older man on his 70s road bike, the woman walking her dog, the couple just enjoying a morning stroll... those are the people who at least say something or nod.

It's the lycra crowd that pretty much universally acts like I'm not even there. Not a word is uttered when we pass in opposite directions, not even a glance my way. And don't get me started on how many times a "go-fast" rider has overtaken me and zoomed past, without even a word or sound of warning to let me know they were about to pass. THAT really annoys me... not just because it sometimes startles me, and is rude to me, but because it is the type of behavior that makes other path users resent cyclists as a whole.

Oh well, no matter. I will keep cheerfully calling out a greeting, even to those who stare right through their Oakleys past me. It costs me nothing, and I think it might even make a person or two feel better about their fellow humans now and then.

"You sure have a way with people", Harold said as they left the amusement park and walked along the pier.

"Well," said Maude, "they're my species."

Colin Higgins, Harold and Maude

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Memories of childhood

I'm sitting here on a hot summer's day... nearly 100 degrees and humid here in the Greater DC area... sipping on a cherry Slurpee. Brings back memories of growing up on the other side of the Beltway, over in suburban Maryland, in the late 60s. Back when the town of Bowie was "way out there" and a brand new bedroom community sprouting on a former thoroughbred horse farm. Long before the sprawl of suburbs that now sees folks commuting to DC from across the Bay Bridge, or from places as far as Frederick and Hagerstown, MD, or Warrenton, VA. Back when my family bought a four bedroom Cape Cod for just under $20K... and a bottle of Dr. Pepper was 16 cents, 2 cents of which was the deposit on the bottle.

Which brings me back to the Slurpee. Moving to Maryland from Long Island when we did, 7-11 stores were a new thing to us. We had one within easy walking distance from our house, and my sister Louise and I would walk up there to get sodas, candy, ice cream, or of course, Slurpees. Back then they only had a few flavors... as I recall, you could get cola, cherry, or orange, I think grape... maybe root beer, but I'm not certain of that. And back then, the machine offered you only a choice of two of those flavors, depending on the day. Now there's an amazing array of flavors, and something like 8 of them at any one time. And the cup sizes were tiny by today's standards. But they sure hit the spot on a hot day. Even today, I have to admit, this is tasting mighty good. I couldn't drink more than one or two a summer now, but on the right day, it's fun to revisit an old favorite.

The other thing about those trips to 7-11 that was different... My sister and I would stop by a nearby construction site, where a batch of new town houses were sprouting, to find discarded soda bottles, so we could cash them in for the deposit. The workers tended to leave a lot behind, so we managed to finance quite a bit of our trips from that site, or at least augment our own cash. I was probably 6-7 at the time, and Louise would have been 10-11. I have to wonder... would anyone today let two of their kids roam a construction site unsupervised? Or head off into the local woods for an adventure of frog-catching or playing "army"? Probably not... and I have to imagine childhood is poorer for it.

I guess today is my official "codger-in-training" post, huh? :-)

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Time Capsule on Two Wheels

No, I'm actually not talking about one of my bicycles, although one could make the case that they are, in fact, snapshots of a bygone era.

Actually, today I'm going to write about a cyclist I saw yesterday on my commute to work, and the bike and equipment he had.

The first thing I noticed was his helmet, because it was one of the original Bell Biker helmets, from the 70s:

(Shown is a photo from the Smithsonian's "America on the Move" collection online at:

A very cool exhibit, both online and in person. Alas, the American History Museum is closed for renovation.)

As I got closer, I saw that he was riding an old Lotus (no relation to the cars, it was one of many Japanese brands introduced in the 70s and 80s in the US), with old school toe clips and straps. On top of it all... or rather, on the bottom...

. I'm going to try to post more steadily now... wish me luck.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Today's Kids and Their Sports Heroes

This morning I was listening the the Saturday edition of NPR's Morning Edition, and they were doing a story on a baseball field somewhere that was going to give the local high school a decent place to play, as well as others. I'm not that much of a sports fan, so I was only half listening, until the started talking to a 10 year old kid about how good a hitter he was. The reporter asked if he considered himself a "slugger", and he said "Yeah, I guess so". Then, in the background, you hear another kid, probably his best friend, half whisper "Barry Bonds!" The first kid was still talking about his own prowess on the diamond, but paused to say "I'M not on steroids!" before he went on.

Both funny and sad, honestly. We used to be able to look up to athletes and admire them, even dream a little of being like them some day. Honestly, I never did much of that, not being a sports fan even as a kid. But in my teens I did start reading about Eddy Merckx and Felice Gimondi and other bicycle racers... even some young kid in the western US who people were starting to talk about... some punk named Lemond who was beating older riders at their game. So, while the Barry Bonds thing doesn't hit close to home, it was pretty depressing to watch this years Tour de France and find myself thinking "who is next going to leave the race due to some doping incident or suspicion?"

Maybe those golden days when we could just admire our heroes were an illusion. It seems pretty certain that there has always been some level of chemical enhancement in many sports for a long time. But it still feels like we've lost a little innocense, when I hear a kid say "I'm not on steroids" on public radio.

Do Lycra and Aerobars Make One Mute?

That's the thought that went through my mind this morning on my ride to work. I had just had yet another "Serious Cyclist" whiz past in the opposite direction, with not even the slightest acknowledgment that I was there.

Now, I understand training and discipline and all that, but when one after another these folk zip on by, with not even a flicker of recognition of another human being... another cyclist, it just bothers me. I don't expect them to break their cadence, sit up and give me a high five as we pass or anything. A simple "hello", or even a nod of the head would be nice. And I know there's nothing that says they have to react to me in any way... it just seems like a decent and human thing to do.

I say hi or some other greeting to just about everyone I see on the trail, and I like to think it might brighten someone's day now and then. I don't know... maybe most folks think "who the heck was that and why were they talking to me????" But I find a simple "hi" or "good morning" is nice, when it happens. And a fair number of folk do at least respond in some manner. The older man on his 70s road bike, the woman walking her dog, the couple just enjoying a morning stroll... those are the people who at least say something or nod.

It's the lycra crowd that pretty much universally acts like I'm not even there. Not a word is uttered when we pass in opposite directions, not even a glance my way. And don't get me started on how many times a "go-fast" rider has overtaken me and zoomed past, without even a word or sound of warning to let me know they were about to pass. THAT really annoys me... not just because it sometimes startles me, and is rude to me, but because it is the type of behavior that makes other path users resent cyclists as a whole.

Oh well, no matter. I will keep cheerfully calling out a greeting, even to those who stare right through their Oakleys past me. It costs me nothing, and I think it might even make a person or two feel better about their fellow humans now and then.

"You sure have a way with people", Harold said as they left the amusement park and walked along the pier.

"Well," said Maude, "they're my species."

Colin Higgins, Harold and Maude

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Memories of childhood

I'm sitting here on a hot summer's day... nearly 100 degrees and humid here in the Greater DC area... sipping on a cherry Slurpee. Brings back memories of growing up on the other side of the Beltway, over in suburban Maryland, in the late 60s. Back when the town of Bowie was "way out there" and a brand new bedroom community sprouting on a former thoroughbred horse farm. Long before the sprawl of suburbs that now sees folks commuting to DC from across the Bay Bridge, or from places as far as Frederick and Hagerstown, MD, or Warrenton, VA. Back when my family bought a four bedroom Cape Cod for just under $20K... and a bottle of Dr. Pepper was 16 cents, 2 cents of which was the deposit on the bottle.

Which brings me back to the Slurpee. Moving to Maryland from Long Island when we did, 7-11 stores were a new thing to us. We had one within easy walking distance from our house, and my sister Louise and I would walk up there to get sodas, candy, ice cream, or of course, Slurpees. Back then they only had a few flavors... as I recall, you could get cola, cherry, or orange, I think grape... maybe root beer, but I'm not certain of that. And back then, the machine offered you only a choice of two of those flavors, depending on the day. Now there's an amazing array of flavors, and something like 8 of them at any one time. And the cup sizes were tiny by today's standards. But they sure hit the spot on a hot day. Even today, I have to admit, this is tasting mighty good. I couldn't drink more than one or two a summer now, but on the right day, it's fun to revisit an old favorite.

The other thing about those trips to 7-11 that was different... My sister and I would stop by a nearby construction site, where a batch of new town houses were sprouting, to find discarded soda bottles, so we could cash them in for the deposit. The workers tended to leave a lot behind, so we managed to finance quite a bit of our trips from that site, or at least augment our own cash. I was probably 6-7 at the time, and Louise would have been 10-11. I have to wonder... would anyone today let two of their kids roam a construction site unsupervised? Or head off into the local woods for an adventure of frog-catching or playing "army"? Probably not... and I have to imagine childhood is poorer for it.

I guess today is my official "codger-in-training" post, huh? :-)

Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Time Capsule on Two Wheels

No, I'm actually not talking about one of my bicycles, although one could make the case that they are, in fact, snapshots of a bygone era.

Actually, today I'm going to write about a cyclist I saw yesterday on my commute to work, and the bike and equipment he had.

The first thing I noticed was his helmet, because it was one of the original Bell Biker helmets, from the 70s:

(Shown is a photo from the Smithsonian's "America on the Move" collection online at:

A very cool exhibit, both online and in person. Alas, the American History Museum is closed for renovation.)

As I got closer, I saw that he was riding an old Lotus (no relation to the cars, it was one of many Japanese brands introduced in the 70s and 80s in the US), with old school toe clips and straps. On top of it all... or rather, on the bottom... he was wearing an old pair of "touring shoes" from Cannondale. These shoes haven't been made in a couple of decades... my best friend bought a pair back in the early 80s. All in all, it was like seeing a bit of living history on the wheel.

The best part was, the gentleman looked to be a few years older than me... probably in his fifties (Where did the years go? That used to seem so old!), and he was tooling right along at a decent pace and clearly enjoying himself, out on a morning ride. If I hadn't had to go to work, i might have asked to join him.

I wonder what his story is... did he recently decide to start exercising again, and pulled the old bike from storage, dusting it off and riding? Or has he ridden and cherished it all these years, as I have with my Trek? Or does he have a collection of old bikes that he appreciates in much the same way I do, my own rolling time capsules... 78 Centurion, 78 Raleigh Pro, and now 73 Scwhinn Paramount? My hunch is it's either the first or second. Most likely, the first, given the ancient helmet and shoes. The shoes looked to be in very good


chatbot: i like to make people smile, and that is why people think i am crazy
PronunciationScience351: hi. i am bryan and i am an art teacher.
chatbot: hi bryan, do you also like filming? i am crazy about it
PronunciationScience351: people think i am crazy because i do not like pizza.
chatbot: yeah, that is a funny thought... you think i am lying? i am bad at it
PronunciationScience351: i like films but do not have a television.
chatbot: just do not make me watch films that is related with death, do not want to think abou tit
PronunciationScience351: i am sorry i am not making sense. my girlfriend just left me.
chatbot: sorry to heard that... i hope i can make you smile, that is my hobby
PronunciationScience351: i am not scared of death. i love horror.
chatbot: oh.... do not scare me with your ideas...
PronunciationScience351: ideas are always scary at first.
chatbot: i try no to think this way, unless you are stephen king
PronunciationScience351: maybe i am. or richard bachman.<|endoftext|>.

3 Responses to Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations – Part One: 1783-1953

  1. bobsy says:

    Good review. Good comic.

  2. Stephanie says:

    This same thing needs to be done for latin america. Specifically Mexico now it its wake of political activism

  3. idleprimate says:

    I’ve studied a fair bit of the geopolitics of energy(practically makes game of thrones look bland). I’m really excited that someone has made a comic history, can’t wait to get a look at this

    I’ve only read half of the first book in F&I, but it seems like the medieval society is often cast in a harsh light, while the dothraki culture, while brutal, is depicted as having a more organic and honest quality (this in itself is a kind of orientalism–noble savage). My point, though, is Westeros is not really considered all that normal, or normal is not held in high regard. The most powerful family are the villains. nobody trusts anyone, everyone doublecrosses and spies (a commentary on politics, i guess) and most of the narrators (the Starks, Arya, Tyrion) are critical and skeptical of society.

Leave a Reply
<|endoftext|>The Fhitting Room boutique fitness studio in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

If you’re thinking more these days about your fitness regimen – or lack thereof – then you’re not alone. It’s the time of year when many Americans realize they are a little pudgier than they ought to be and resolve to slim down. In other words, it's a money-making time for the gym industry.

Every year, Google searches for gyms spike in January, and membership purchases and foot traffic soar. According to Gold’s Gym, its traffic jumps 40 percent between December and January. But just wait a few weeks – it won’t be long before all those good intentions die.

Google Trends

In fact, the gym industry depends on it. Perhaps the most vivid reminder came in a 2014 episode of the podcast Planet Money. Planet Money visited Planet Fitness, one of the biggest gym chains in America. The gym had capacity to hold only about 300 people but had signed up 6,000 total members. Half of the Planet Fitness members don’t ever go to their gyms, Planet Money says.

It might seem like kind of a weird business model – a business that succeeds when its customers don’t set foot in the door.

But it’s also the way that health insurance works: depending on a large pool of healthy people to fund the higher health-care costs of those who do get sick. Airlines these days count on some passengers not showing up when they overbook their flights. There’s even an old saying that the founders of Colman’s Mustard made their fortune based not on what people ate, but what they left on the side of their plates.

For gyms, the calculus between how many memberships are used and how many are wasted is particularly important, since gyms pay so much in rent. A gym needs a fair amount of space for its equipment, changing rooms and classrooms, but it also benefits from having conveniently located real estate. The bigger a gym is, the smaller its profits will be.

Hence a gym’s mission to attract the perfect customer: People who intend to work out, but don’t.

Bridget Jones Image from "Paying Not to Go to the Gym" by Stefano Dellavigna and Ulrike Malmendier

That could include many of us. But gyms have other techniques in hand to lure their perfect customers.

One is the annual contract. Most gyms offer lower prices if you sign up for longer-term contracts, banking that you probably won’t get through the door. Planet Fitness and other chains, such as LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness, offer frequent specials to entice people to pay now, and the occasional free pizza or bagels.

As Planet Money relates, these gyms are also designed to appeal to casual exercisers rather than fitness gurus. The chains incorporate lounges, smoothie shops, massage chairs and music, and hide all those intimidating weights and sweaty weight lifters away in the back.

If you’re one of the few who really do go to these gyms, you end up getting a great deal. All the people who are at home sitting on the couch are essentially subsidizing your membership, allowing you to pay way less than what your gym services actually cost.

But again, most people who join gyms do not end up getting a good deal. One study of nearly 8,000 gym members published in 2006 found that gym members paid an average of more than $17 per visit, far more than they could have paid if they bought a 10-visit pass at $10 per visit.

Why are people so susceptible to this arrangement, year after year after year? According to behavioral economists, the reason is that people are prone to something called “projection bias,” in which they tend to assume that their preferences in the future will be fairly similar to what they are right now. Projection bias is also why sales of convertibles and houses with pools spike during the summer – and why convertibles bought on days with abnormally nice weather are more likely to be returned quickly.

But while gyms may take advantage of our good intentions, they often do so with our permission. Many people often want to be locked into an annual gym contract, believing that paying a big sum up front will guilt them into going to the gym later.

Various new businesses have arisen in the last few years around this idea. Apps like Stickk or Pact pay you a small sum when you keep promises like going to the gym and eating healthier, and charge you a penalty fee if you don’t.

Even if you don’t sign up for one of these services, you may be able to achieve the same effect with other kinds of rewards. One study published in 2013 found that people who were allowed to listen to page-turning audio books in the gym but nowhere else visited the gym 51 percent more often than a control group. Though gym attendance tends to taper off somewhat over time, various studies have shown that people who offer themselves these types of incentives continue to go to the gym at higher rates even after the rewards cease.

So if you’re trying to goad yourself into exercising, you might consider creating a contract with yourself and giving yourself a small, designated reward (probably not a cupcake) each time you go to the gym. Then you can gradually change or eliminate the rewards once your gym habit is firmly established. If you stop exercising for whatever reason, just repeat the process.

These approaches work, but there’s a simple reason they aren’t more common: Gyms can make far more money if you stay at home.

You might also like:

How to predict the future better than everyone else

There’s a scientific reason New Year’s Eve is generally terrible

Why half of the life you experience is over by age 7
<|endoftext|>Arcane Compendium (Mechanics Page)

The Mechanics page of the Arcane Compendium, as of version

Ars Magica 2 contains a wide variety of mechanics that complement and aid in the main progression of the game, most of which are briefly outlined in the Mechanics page of the Arcane Compendium. These mechanics range from the imbuements of unique abilities into armor, to the summoning of extraordinarily powerful lategame bosses through challenging and complicated rituals.

Affinities Edit

Affinities are your inclinations towards certain types of magic. Casting spells of certain types increase one of your affinities, reducing the cost of that type of spell, along with additional bonuses and penalties based on the affinity. Affinities can be changed by reading Affinity Tomes.

Armor XP Infusion Edit

Whenever you gain experience points, any equipped armor will gain some too. The amount gained is equal to the total amount of XP you just gained divided evenly among all equipped armor pieces. Any armor can gain XP. St

.

3 Responses to Best of Enemies: A History of US and Middle East Relations – Part One: 1783-1953

  1. bobsy says:

    Good review. Good comic.

  2. Stephanie says:

    This same thing needs to be done for latin america. Specifically Mexico now it its wake of political activism

  3. idleprimate says:

    I’ve studied a fair bit of the geopolitics of energy(practically makes game of thrones look bland). I’m really excited that someone has made a comic history, can’t wait to get a look at this

    I’ve only read half of the first book in F&I, but it seems like the medieval society is often cast in a harsh light, while the dothraki culture, while brutal, is depicted as having a more organic and honest quality (this in itself is a kind of orientalism–noble savage). My point, though, is Westeros is not really considered all that normal, or normal is not held in high regard. The most powerful family are the villains. nobody trusts anyone, everyone doublecrosses and spies (a commentary on politics, i guess) and most of the narrators (the Starks, Arya, Tyrion) are critical and skeptical of society.

Leave a Reply
<|endoftext|>The Fhitting Room boutique fitness studio in New York. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)

If you’re thinking more these days about your fitness regimen – or lack thereof – then you’re not alone. It’s the time of year when many Americans realize they are a little pudgier than they ought to be and resolve to slim down. In other words, it's a money-making time for the gym industry.

Every year, Google searches for gyms spike in January, and membership purchases and foot traffic soar. According to Gold’s Gym, its traffic jumps 40 percent between December and January. But just wait a few weeks – it won’t be long before all those good intentions die.

Google Trends

In fact, the gym industry depends on it. Perhaps the most vivid reminder came in a 2014 episode of the podcast Planet Money. Planet Money visited Planet Fitness, one of the biggest gym chains in America. The gym had capacity to hold only about 300 people but had signed up 6,000 total members. Half of the Planet Fitness members don’t ever go to their gyms, Planet Money says.

It might seem like kind of a weird business model – a business that succeeds when its customers don’t set foot in the door.

But it’s also the way that health insurance works: depending on a large pool of healthy people to fund the higher health-care costs of those who do get sick. Airlines these days count on some passengers not showing up when they overbook their flights. There’s even an old saying that the founders of Colman’s Mustard made their fortune based not on what people ate, but what they left on the side of their plates.

For gyms, the calculus between how many memberships are used and how many are wasted is particularly important, since gyms pay so much in rent. A gym needs a fair amount of space for its equipment, changing rooms and classrooms, but it also benefits from having conveniently located real estate. The bigger a gym is, the smaller its profits will be.

Hence a gym’s mission to attract the perfect customer: People who intend to work out, but don’t.

Bridget Jones Image from "Paying Not to Go to the Gym" by Stefano Dellavigna and Ulrike Malmendier

That could include many of us. But gyms have other techniques in hand to lure their perfect customers.

One is the annual contract. Most gyms offer lower prices if you sign up for longer-term contracts, banking that you probably won’t get through the door. Planet Fitness and other chains, such as LA Fitness and 24 Hour Fitness, offer frequent specials to entice people to pay now, and the occasional free pizza or bagels.

As Planet Money relates, these gyms are also designed to appeal to casual exercisers rather than fitness gurus. The chains incorporate lounges, smoothie shops, massage chairs and music, and hide all those intimidating weights and sweaty weight lifters away in the back.

If you’re one of the few who really do go to these gyms, you end up getting a great deal. All the people who are at home sitting on the couch are essentially subsidizing your membership, allowing you to pay way less than what your gym services actually cost.

But again, most people who join gyms do not end up getting a good deal. One study of nearly 8,000 gym members published in 2006 found that gym members paid an average of more than $17 per visit, far more than they could have paid if they bought a 10-visit pass at $10 per visit.

Why are people so susceptible to this arrangement, year after year after year? According to behavioral economists, the reason is that people are prone to something called “projection bias,” in which they tend to assume that their preferences in the future will be fairly similar to what they are right now. Projection bias is also why sales of convertibles and houses with pools spike during the summer – and why convertibles bought on days with abnormally nice weather are more likely to be returned quickly.

But while gyms may take advantage of our good intentions, they often do so with our permission. Many people often want to be locked into an annual gym contract, believing that paying a big sum up front will guilt them into going to the gym later.

Various new businesses have arisen in the last few years around this idea. Apps like Stickk or Pact pay you a small sum when you keep promises like going to the gym and eating healthier, and charge you a penalty fee if you don’t.

Even if you don’t sign up for one of these services, you may be able to achieve the same effect with other kinds of rewards. One study published in 2013 found that people who were allowed to listen to page-turning audio books in the gym but nowhere else visited the gym 51 percent more often than a control group. Though gym attendance tends to taper off somewhat over time, various studies have shown that people who offer themselves these types of incentives continue to go to the gym at higher rates even after the rewards cease.

So if you’re trying to goad yourself into exercising, you might consider creating a contract with yourself and giving yourself a small, designated reward (probably not a cupcake) each time you go to the gym. Then you can gradually change or eliminate the rewards once your gym habit is firmly established. If you stop exercising for whatever reason, just repeat the process.

These approaches work, but there’s a simple reason they aren’t more common: Gyms can make far more money if you stay at home.

You might also like:

How to predict the future better than everyone else

There’s a scientific reason New Year’s Eve is generally terrible

Why half of the life you experience is over by age 7
<|endoftext|>Arcane Compendium (Mechanics Page)

The Mechanics page of the Arcane Compendium, as of version

Ars Magica 2 contains a wide variety of mechanics that complement and aid in the main progression of the game, most of which are briefly outlined in the Mechanics page of the Arcane Compendium. These mechanics range from the imbuements of unique abilities into armor, to the summoning of extraordinarily powerful lategame bosses through challenging and complicated rituals.

Affinities Edit

Affinities are your inclinations towards certain types of magic. Casting spells of certain types increase one of your affinities, reducing the cost of that type of spell, along with additional bonuses and penalties based on the affinity. Affinities can be changed by reading Affinity Tomes.

Armor XP Infusion Edit

Whenever you gain experience points, any equipped armor will gain some too. The amount gained is equal to the total amount of XP you just gained divided evenly among all equipped armor pieces. Any armor can gain XP. Stored armor XP can be used at an Armor Imbuement Table.

Burnout Edit

Burnout is represented by a red bar and is an indication of your magical fatigue. Your maximum burnout increases by magic level. Burnout increases the mana cost of spells by a percentage, and slowly is reduced over time. Spells that take more mana to cast increase burnout by a greater amount.

Enchantments Edit

Ars Magica 2 adds a few useful enchantments to the game to assist in you ascent to magical mastery. These enchantments are Magic Resistance, and Soulbound.

Infusion Edit

Not to be confused with Armor XP Infusion, which is an entirely unrelated mechanic. Infusion is a process in which armor specifically from Ars Magca 2 will drain mana from your pool of mana to repair itself. Due to this mechanic, most armor from Ars Magica 2 have low durability and will not last in a prolonged fight. Taking the armor off will cause it to stop infusing; it must be equipped for the mechanic to function. No mana cost is incurred when the armor is at full durability.

Magic Level Edit

Upon obtaining an Arcane Compendium, you gain one magic level. Magic


chatbot: hello how are you tonight?
HarpFry690: hey i am alright, winding down from a long day at the office. you?
chatbot: just reading a history book i find it amazing
HarpFry690: awesome. what kind of history?
chatbot: revolutionary war. do you like the theatre? i am in some plays
HarpFry690: fantastic. i do enjoy theater! almost as i enjoy travel
chatbot: do you like animals? i always wanted to be a vet
HarpFry690: yes i do! i have always wanted to be an explorer myself. animals are very charming
chatbot: are you married? i am getting married in december
HarpFry690: no, i do not have the time between work, travel, and training. congratulations though!
chatbot: thank you. it sounds like you have a busy life
HarpFry690: i do! you as well though. youre an actor, getting married soon. must be nice
chatbot: i never really thought about it but i have alot going on
HarpFry690: you do. i guess i do as well. i am heading to india next week
chatbot: oh what are you going to do there
HarpFry690: i go often, so i will be visiting some friends and learning how they dye fabric with indigo<|endoftext|> went to sleep again on my own

"But he was very patient. Oh, dear me! I've always been a poor,
helpless, useless log and burden to him!

"Once I actually walked in my sleep--and woke up in the market-place at
Prague--and found an immense crowd, and poor Svengali bleeding from the
forehead, in a faint on the ground. He'd been knocked down by a horse
and cart, he told me. He'd got his guitar with him. I suppose he and
Gecko had been playing somewhere, for Gecko had his fiddle. If Gecko
hadn't been there, I don't know what we should have done. You never saw
such queer people as they were--such crowds--you'd think they'd never
seen an Englishwoman before. The noise they made, and the things they
gave me ... some of them went down on their knees, and kissed my hands
and the skirts of my gown.

"He was ill in bed for a week after that, and I nursed him, and he was
very grateful. Poor Svengali! God knows _I_ felt grateful to _him_ for
many things! Tell me how he died! I hope he hadn't much pain."

They told her it was quite sudden, from heart-disease.

"Ah! I knew he had that; he wasn't a healthy man; he used to smoke too
much. Marta used always to be very anxious."

Just then Marta came in.

Marta was a fat, elderly Jewess of rather a grotesque and ignoble type.
She seemed overcome with grief--all but prostrate.

Trilby hugged and kissed her, and took off her bonnet and shawl, and
made her sit down in a big arm-chair, and got her a footstool.

She couldn't speak a word of anything but Polish and a little German.
Trilby had also picked up a little German, and with this and by means of
signs, and no doubt through a long intimacy with each other's ways, they
understood each other very well. She seemed a very good old creature,
and very fond of Trilby, but in mortal terror of the three Englishmen.

Lunch was brought up for the two women and the nurse, and our friends
left them, promising to come again that day.

They were utterly bewildered; and the Laird would have it that there was
another Madame Svengali somewhere, the real one, and that Trilby was a
fraud--self-deceived and self-deceiving--quite unconsciously so, of

Truth looked out of her eyes, as it always had done--truth was in every
line of her face.

The truth only--nothing but the truth could ever be told in that "voice
of velvet," which rang as true when she spoke as that of any thrush or
nightingale, however rebellious it might be now (and forever perhaps) to
artificial melodic laws and limitations and restraints. The long
training it had been subjected to had made it "a wonder, a world's
delight," and though she might never sing another note, her mere speech
would always be more golden than any silence, whatever she might say.

Except on the one particular point of her singing, she had seemed
absolutely sane--so, at least, thought Taffy, the Laird, and Little
Billee. And each thought to himself, besides, that this last incarnation
of Trilbyness was quite the sweetest, most touching, most endearing of

They had not failed to note how rapidly she had aged, now that they had
seen her without her rouge and pearl-powder; she looked thirty at
least--she was only twenty-three.

Her hands were almost transparent in their waxen whiteness; delicate
little frosty wrinkles had gathered round her eyes; there were gray
streaks in her hair; all strength and straightness and elasticity seemed
to have gone out of her with the memory of her endless triumphs (if she
really _was_ la Svengali), and of her many wanderings from city to city
all over Europe.

It was evident enough that the sudden stroke which had destroyed her
power of singing had left her physically a wreck.

But she was one of those rarely gifted beings who cannot look or speak
or even stir without waking up (and satisfying) some vague longing that
lies dormant in the hearts of most of us, men and women alike; grace,
charm, magnetism--whatever the nameless seduction should be called that
she possessed to such an unusual degree--she had lost none of it when
she lost her high spirits, her buoyant health and energy, her wits!

Tuneless and insane, she was more of a siren than ever--a quite
unconscious siren--without any guile, who appealed to the heart all the
more directly and irresistibly that she could no longer stir the

All this was keenly felt by all three--each in his different way--by
Taffy and Little Billee especially.

All her past life was forgiven--her sins of omission and commission! And
whatever might be her fate--recovery, madness, disease, or death--the
care of her till she died or recovered should be the principal business
of their lives.

Both had loved her. All three, perhaps. One had been loved by her as
passionately, as purely, as unselfishly as any man could wish to be
loved, and in some extraordinary manner had recovered, after many years,
at the mere sudden sight and sound of her, his lost share in our common
inheritance--the power to love, and all its joy and sorrow; without
which he had found life not worth living, though he had possessed every
other gift and blessing in such abundance.

"Oh, Circe, poor Circe, dear Circe, divine enchantress that you were!"
he said to himself, in his excitable way. "A mere look from your eyes, a
mere note of your heavenly voice, has turned a poor, miserable, callous
brute back into a man again! and I will never forget it--never! And now
that a still worse trouble than mine has befallen you, you shall always
be first in my thoughts till the end!"

And Taffy felt pretty much the same, though he was not by way of talking
to himself so eloquent about things as Little Billee.

       *       *       *       *       *

As they lunched, they read the accounts of the previous evening's events
in different papers, three or four of which (including the _Times_) had
already got leaders about the famous but unhappy singer who had been so
suddenly widowed and struck down in the midst of her glory. All these
accounts were more or less correct. In one paper it was mentioned that
Madame Svengali was under the roof and care of Mr. William Bagot, the
painter, in Fitzroy Square.

The inquest on Svengali was to take place that afternoon, and also
Gecko's examination at the Bow Street Police Court, for his assault.

Taffy was allowed to see Gecko, who was remanded till the result of the
post-mortem should be made public. But beyond inquiring most anxiously
and minutely after Trilby, and betraying the most passionate concern for
her, he would say nothing, and seemed indifferent as to his own fate.

When they went to Fitzroy Square, late in the afternoon, they found
that many people, musical, literary, fashionable, and otherwise (and
many foreigners), had called to inquire after Madame Svengali, but no
one had been admitted to see her. Mrs. Godwin

 went to sleep again on my own

"But he was very patient. Oh, dear me! I've always been a poor,
helpless, useless log and burden to him!

"Once I actually walked in my sleep--and woke up in the market-place at
Prague--and found an immense crowd, and poor Svengali bleeding from the
forehead, in a faint on the ground. He'd been knocked down by a horse
and cart, he told me. He'd got his guitar with him. I suppose he and
Gecko had been playing somewhere, for Gecko had his fiddle. If Gecko
hadn't been there, I don't know what we should have done. You never saw
such queer people as they were--such crowds--you'd think they'd never
seen an Englishwoman before. The noise they made, and the things they
gave me ... some of them went down on their knees, and kissed my hands
and the skirts of my gown.

"He was ill in bed for a week after that, and I nursed him, and he was
very grateful. Poor Svengali! God knows _I_ felt grateful to _him_ for
many things! Tell me how he died! I hope he hadn't much pain."

They told her it was quite sudden, from heart-disease.

"Ah! I knew he had that; he wasn't a healthy man; he used to smoke too
much. Marta used always to be very anxious."

Just then Marta came in.

Marta was a fat, elderly Jewess of rather a grotesque and ignoble type.
She seemed overcome with grief--all but prostrate.

Trilby hugged and kissed her, and took off her bonnet and shawl, and
made her sit down in a big arm-chair, and got her a footstool.

She couldn't speak a word of anything but Polish and a little German.
Trilby had also picked up a little German, and with this and by means of
signs, and no doubt through a long intimacy with each other's ways, they
understood each other very well. She seemed a very good old creature,
and very fond of Trilby, but in mortal terror of the three Englishmen.

Lunch was brought up for the two women and the nurse, and our friends
left them, promising to come again that day.

They were utterly bewildered; and the Laird would have it that there was
another Madame Svengali somewhere, the real one, and that Trilby was a
fraud--self-deceived and self-deceiving--quite unconsciously so, of

Truth looked out of her eyes, as it always had done--truth was in every
line of her face.

The truth only--nothing but the truth could ever be told in that "voice
of velvet," which rang as true when she spoke as that of any thrush or
nightingale, however rebellious it might be now (and forever perhaps) to
artificial melodic laws and limitations and restraints. The long
training it had been subjected to had made it "a wonder, a world's
delight," and though she might never sing another note, her mere speech
would always be more golden than any silence, whatever she might say.

Except on the one particular point of her singing, she had seemed
absolutely sane--so, at least, thought Taffy, the Laird, and Little
Billee. And each thought to himself, besides, that this last incarnation
of Trilbyness was quite the sweetest, most touching, most endearing of

They had not failed to note how rapidly she had aged, now that they had
seen her without her rouge and pearl-powder; she looked thirty at
least--she was only twenty-three.

Her hands were almost transparent in their waxen whiteness; delicate
little frosty wrinkles had gathered round her eyes; there were gray
streaks in her hair; all strength and straightness and elasticity seemed
to have gone out of her with the memory of her endless triumphs (if she
really _was_ la Svengali), and of her many wanderings from city to city
all over Europe.

It was evident enough that the sudden stroke which had destroyed her
power of singing had left her physically a wreck.

But she was one of those rarely gifted beings who cannot look or speak
or even stir without waking up (and satisfying) some vague longing that
lies dormant in the hearts of most of us, men and women alike; grace,
charm, magnetism--whatever the nameless seduction should be called that
she possessed to such an unusual degree--she had lost none of it when
she lost her high spirits, her buoyant health and energy, her wits!

Tuneless and insane, she was more of a siren than ever--a quite
unconscious siren--without any guile, who appealed to the heart all the
more directly and irresistibly that she could no longer stir the

All this was keenly felt by all three--each in his different way--by
Taffy and Little Billee especially.

All her past life was forgiven--her sins of omission and commission! And
whatever might be her fate--recovery, madness, disease, or death--the
care of her till she died or recovered should be the principal business
of their lives.

Both had loved her. All three, perhaps. One had been loved by her as
passionately, as purely, as unselfishly as any man could wish to be
loved, and in some extraordinary manner had recovered, after many years,
at the mere sudden sight and sound of her, his lost share in our common
inheritance--the power to love, and all its joy and sorrow; without
which he had found life not worth living, though he had possessed every
other gift and blessing in such abundance.

"Oh, Circe, poor Circe, dear Circe, divine enchantress that you were!"
he said to himself, in his excitable way. "A mere look from your eyes, a
mere note of your heavenly voice, has turned a poor, miserable, callous
brute back into a man again! and I will never forget it--never! And now
that a still worse trouble than mine has befallen you, you shall always
be first in my thoughts till the end!"

And Taffy felt pretty much the same, though he was not by way of talking
to himself so eloquent about things as Little Billee.

       *       *       *       *       *

As they lunched, they read the accounts of the previous evening's events
in different papers, three or four of which (including the _Times_) had
already got leaders about the famous but unhappy singer who had been so
suddenly widowed and struck down in the midst of her glory. All these
accounts were more or less correct. In one paper it was mentioned that
Madame Svengali was under the roof and care of Mr. William Bagot, the
painter, in Fitzroy Square.

The inquest on Svengali was to take place that afternoon, and also
Gecko's examination at the Bow Street Police Court, for his assault.

Taffy was allowed to see Gecko, who was remanded till the result of the
post-mortem should be made public. But beyond inquiring most anxiously
and minutely after Trilby, and betraying the most passionate concern for
her, he would say nothing, and seemed indifferent as to his own fate.

When they went to Fitzroy Square, late in the afternoon, they found
that many people, musical, literary, fashionable, and otherwise (and
many foreigners), had called to inquire after Madame Svengali, but no
one had been admitted to see her. Mrs. Godwin was much elated by the
importance of her new lodger.

Trilby had been writing to Angèle Boisse, at her old address in the Rue
des Cloîtres Ste. Pétronille, in the hope that this letter would find
her still there. She was anxious to go back and be a _blanchisseuse de
fin_ with her friend. It was a kind of nostalgia for Paris, the quartier
latin, her clean old trade.

This project our three heroes did not think it necessary to discuss with
her just yet; she seemed quite unfit for work of any kind.

The doctor, who had seen her again, had been puzzled by her strange
physical weakness, and wished for a consultation with some special
authority; Little Billee, who was intimate with most of the great
physicians, wrote about her to Sir Oliver Calthorpe.

She seemed to find a deep happiness in being with her three old friends,
and talked and listened with all her old eagerness and geniality, and
much of her old gayety, in spite of her strange and sorrowful position.
But for this it was impossible to realize that her brain was affected in
the slightest degree, except when some reference was made to her
singing, and this seemed to annoy and irritate her, as though she were
being made fun of


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ReporterVirus958: my mom and dad just moved to florida!<|endoftext|>’s music can prompt both tears and yawns, that implies fault with neither composer nor listener, but underlines the fact that classical music is NOT emotion, but it can trigger an emotional response in those who hear it.

We frequently hear it said that Bach’s music is “beautiful”.  Yes, to my way of thinking a lot of it is (and a lot of it is not).  Yet, once we make this statement as if it were inalienable fact, we are obliged to accuse those who hear the same piece of Bach and describe it as “dull”, as not recognising beauty. And that simply reveals our own failure to appreciate what Bach’s music really is.  The perception of beauty is an emotional response, and while I find my own wife and daughter to be the two most beautiful people in the world, I accept (admittedly grudgingly) that others may disagree, pointing to their own (to my way of thinking) hideous wives and grotesque daughters as finer examples of beauty.  On top of that, the beauty I identify in my wife and daughter is derived as much from my individual knowledge of their inner beings as from their superficial appearance.  Certain people are beautiful to our eyes, but on closer acquaintance, we realise they are ugly to our intellects; and that, perhaps, is a parallel for our difference of approach to pop and to classical music.

Dealing only in emotion, there is no need for pop music to involve itself in more complex issues; those will largely muddy the water and compromise the music’s original intention.  But because classical music does not deal in emotion – an emotional element is peripheral rather than central – our response is a reflection of our perceptions of those other elements.  Put it simply, if classical music for you is emotion, you are missing its whole purpose.
Music and Sadness

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Latest Featured Reports | Thursday, January 17, 2019
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AUDIO/TRANSCRIPTS: Brad Friedman (BRAD BLOG) and Ralph Neas (PFAW) on 'Ring of Fire' w/ RFK Jr. & Mike Papantonio

Brad Friedman of The BRAD BLOG was featured on Air America's Ring of Fire with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mike Papantonio on 3/10/07, discussing his call to amend Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) Election Reform Bill (HR811) to include a ban on all Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting systems.

The interview, conducted by Papantonio, was pre-taped, and an edited-for-time version was aired. The complete, unedited audio and transcript of that interview is below.

The following week, on 3/17/07, Ralph Neas, the president

’s music can prompt both tears and yawns, that implies fault with neither composer nor listener, but underlines the fact that classical music is NOT emotion, but it can trigger an emotional response in those who hear it.

We frequently hear it said that Bach’s music is “beautiful”.  Yes, to my way of thinking a lot of it is (and a lot of it is not).  Yet, once we make this statement as if it were inalienable fact, we are obliged to accuse those who hear the same piece of Bach and describe it as “dull”, as not recognising beauty. And that simply reveals our own failure to appreciate what Bach’s music really is.  The perception of beauty is an emotional response, and while I find my own wife and daughter to be the two most beautiful people in the world, I accept (admittedly grudgingly) that others may disagree, pointing to their own (to my way of thinking) hideous wives and grotesque daughters as finer examples of beauty.  On top of that, the beauty I identify in my wife and daughter is derived as much from my individual knowledge of their inner beings as from their superficial appearance.  Certain people are beautiful to our eyes, but on closer acquaintance, we realise they are ugly to our intellects; and that, perhaps, is a parallel for our difference of approach to pop and to classical music.

Dealing only in emotion, there is no need for pop music to involve itself in more complex issues; those will largely muddy the water and compromise the music’s original intention.  But because classical music does not deal in emotion – an emotional element is peripheral rather than central – our response is a reflection of our perceptions of those other elements.  Put it simply, if classical music for you is emotion, you are missing its whole purpose.
Music and Sadness

No comments:

Post a Comment<|endoftext|>Follow & Support The BRAD BLOG!

Help Support BRAD BLOG's Unflinching News Coverage!
Click here to help us keep going in 2019!
Latest Featured Reports | Thursday, January 17, 2019
'Green News Report' 1/17/19
  w/ Brad & Desi
Dems grill Trump EPA chief nom; Federal criminal action against polluters hit 30-year low; Historic heat grips Australia; PLUS: Biz world finally waking up to climate impacts...
Previous GNRs: 1/15/19 - 1/10/19 - Archives...
'Low Barr' for AG Nom, and a 'Symphony of Lawlessness': 'BradCast' 1/16/19
Guest: Slate's Mark Joseph Stern; Also: Surprisingly good news from the courts; SOTU cancelled?; ISIS not defeated...
Power to the People?: CA Could Buy State's Largest Private Utility at 'Fire Sale' Price: 'BradCast' 1/15/19
Guest: LATimes' Michael Hiltzik; Also: Court blocks Census question; Barr testifies...
'Green News Report' 1/15/19
  w/ Brad & Desi
Intense winter storms from coast to coast; Govt shutdown threatening public health, safety; 2018 was hottest year on record for the world's oceans, putting the planet in hot water...
Previous GNRs: 1/10/19 - 1/8/19 - Archives...
'Unauditable' Barcoded 'Paper Ballot' Systems for GA, L.A. County: 'BradCast' 1/14/19
Guest: Marilyn Marks; Also: Crippling weather; Trump shutdown, probe news; PG&E to seek bankruptcy protection; L.A. teachers on strike...
Sunday 'Hitting the Wall' Toons
All in all it's just a...'nother episode of PDiddie's weekly toon collection. And another brick in the 2019 American wall...
Shutdown or Shakedown?:
'BradCast' 1/11/19
Guest: TX Civil Rights Project's Ricky Garza on Trump's Rio Grande land grab; Also: Historic shutdown fallout, and an impossible (but real!) 60-year old warning about 'Trump' & his 'wall'...
Trump Shutdown Threatening Safety of Nation's Food Supply, More: 'BradCast' 1/10/19
Guest: Food and ag correspondent Tom Philpott; Also: 'National emergency' likely as polls plummet for President, Senate Repubs...
'Green News Report' 1/10/19
  w/ Brad & Desi
Fiat-Chrysler's big fines; Trump threatens to cut off CA FEMA funds; U.S. greenhouse gas emissions spiked in 2018; PLUS: Democrats push back, and push ahead, on climate action...
Previous GNRs: 1/8/19 - 12/20/18 - Archives...
'Governing by Tantrum' and How Trump 'Played' the Networks: 'BradCast' 1/9/19
Guest: Matt Gertz of Media Matters; Also: Dems win big in VA; Trump orders cut to FEMA's CA wildfire recovery aid...
Trump's Shutdown Crisis is Real, 'Border Crisis' is Not: 'BradCast' 1/8/19
HUD closure threatens evictions; Pence immigration lies; SCOTUS on redistricting; 2018 'blue wave' brings good news in FL, MI, ME, elsewhere...
'Green News Report' 1/8/19
Shutdown impacting nat'l parks, federal science research; EPA launches attack on public health; PLUS: New Dem majority pledges to act on climate crisis...
How to Solve the Shutdown? Give Trump What He Asked For: 'BradCast' 1/7/19
Closures having real effects (but not on Trump's biz); RBG absent at SCOTUS; High Court rejects Exxon; AOC floats tax increase, GOP freaks out; Callers ring in...
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You'll swear by PDiddie's latest collection of the week's best toons to kick off this new year...
Not Much Can Stop a Trump-Declared 'Nat'l Emergency': 'BradCast' 1/4/19
Guest-host Angie Coiro with shutdown news, HR-1, border update; Also: More with health care futurist Joe Flower...
She's In! Pelosi Takes the Gavel:
'BradCast' 1/3/19
Guest-host Angie Coiro on first day of new Congressional session; Also: Diversity in Kids' Lit w/ Hannah Ehrlich and Joe Flower on navigating health care...
She's BACK: Pelosi's Return:
'BradCast' 1/2/19
Guest-host Angie Coiro on shutdown, wall, Election 2020, Reid's legacy. Guests Dave Johnson, Sarah Kendzior...
Sunday Auld Lang Syne Toons
It's PDiddie's (mercifully) final weekly toon collection of 2018! Things can only get better from here....right?....
VIDEO: 'Rise of the Tea Bags'
Brad interviews American patriots...
'Democracy's Gold Standard'
Hand-marked, hand-counted ballots...
Brad's Upcoming Appearances
(All times listed as PACIFIC TIME unless noted)
Media Appearance Archives...
'Special Coverage' Archives
GOP Voter Registration Fraud Scandal 2012...

Criminal GOP Voter Registration Fraud Probe Expanding in VA

Arrest in VA: GOP Voter Reg Scandal Widens

VIDEO: Brad Breaks GOP Reg Fraud Scandal on Hartmann TV

The Secret Koch Brothers Tapes...

AUDIO/TRANSCRIPTS: Brad Friedman (BRAD BLOG) and Ralph Neas (PFAW) on 'Ring of Fire' w/ RFK Jr. & Mike Papantonio

Brad Friedman of The BRAD BLOG was featured on Air America's Ring of Fire with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Mike Papantonio on 3/10/07, discussing his call to amend Rep. Rush Holt's (D-NJ) Election Reform Bill (HR811) to include a ban on all Direct Recording Electronic (DRE, usually touch-screen) voting systems.

The interview, conducted by Papantonio, was pre-taped, and an edited-for-time version was aired. The complete, unedited audio and transcript of that interview is below.

The following week, on 3/17/07, Ralph Neas, the president of the powerful public-advocacy group, People for the American Way (PFAW) --- one of the groups supporting the Holt Bill as is, fighting against a ban on DRE voting systems and advocating for their continued use, was interviewed on the show by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. who asked him about Brad's concerns both about DREs and PFAW's support of same.

The audio and text transcript of that interview is also also below.

Brad's complete analysis of Neas' interview is posted here.

For much more information, action items, details and talking points on the Holt Election Bill, please see:

-- Brad Friedman/BRAD BLOG on Ring of Fire, 3/10/07
[MP3, appx. 15 minutes]
-- Ralph Neas/PFAW on Ring of Fire, 3/17/07
[MP3, appx. 8 minutes]

with Robert F