Jane Fonda on the Move

Jane Fonda is reportedly beginning a tour in a car that runs on oil. She plans on going around the country protesting the War in Iraq. I honestly thought this was a joke when I read it.

Does anyone really care about this?

Link is here: http://apnews.myway.com/article/20050725/D8BIE6HO0.html

Progress

Well folks, I jumped on the scale this morning and I am at 195. I started at 201 and I am very excited to see the weight coming off. It’s a humble start and I hope the trend continues. I see so many books and so many diets out there; it’s pretty scary. The Jim Droste diet is the following: (1) Exercise 45-60 minutes a day, (2) Limit soda, (3) Limit booze and (4) Don’t eat a lot of fried foods. It’s simple…and it’s worked so far.

Bucks and Packers - Early Predictions

The summer is sort of a low point for me when it comes to sports. To fill the void to some degree I would like to talk about what, to me, is the most exciting part of the sports year. I cannot wait until November and December of 2005 when NFL football is in the midst of the playoff race and NBA basketball is just beginning. To celebrate the anticipation of the time, I thought I would give you, the reader, my thoughts on the upcoming Packers and Bucks season.

Bucks

I must say, I am pretty excited for the Bucks season this year. In terms of player personnel, they have made some great moves. It all started with re-signing Michael Redd; that was a must. They then draft Andrew Bogut to hopefully sure up the center position. They then go out and sign Bobby Simmons, a swing man that can play the SG/SF position. They get Jiri Welsch in a traded to have plenty of dedpth in the guard position. Signing Danny Gadzuric secures one big man and you have Joe Smith returning. My only concern is getting a few more big men signed to add some depth there. Zaza would help. I think this team is young and exciting and I think they could compete for a 7^th or 8^th seed in the East.

The only thing that perplexes me in the firing of Terry Porter and the hiring of Terry Stotts. Porter had one year left on his contract, and was told by Bucks general manager Tom Harris that he was “the coach” for the Bucks. A few months later, he is given the axe and they go in a different direction. They then hire a coach in Stotts who has less head coaching experience. I think they should have stuck with Porter and honored his contract.

Packers

*sigh* I am really looking forward to NFL football. I with I could say I was excited for the prospects of the Green Bay Packers this year. I think the Packers have a solid offense (although the offensive line is a little suspect), unfortunately the defense has suffered as a result. There are no leaders on that defense and I think they will give up a lot of points, especially via the pass. I don’t see them doing much better then 9-7. If they make the playoffs, they would squeak in as a 6^th seed.

Into the West

If you watch TNT you know how they advertise the heck out of any new programming that they introduce for their channel. Through this route, they completely turned me off to their new series Wanted. However, a show that they have advertised that I was excited to see was the 6-part mini-series called Into the West.

I have always been intrigued by the "wild west" and the learning about the expansion of the United States beyond the Mississippi River. Although skeptical of the drama component of the series (after all, TNT is the place for drama), I was intrigued to watch a show that would talk about the West. I loved the 1970's series Kung Fu, also about the west. Check out this show if you haven't already: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068093/. Anyway, I digress...

I must say that despite some hesitation about how "cheesy" the series would be, I was actually very impressed with the series. Despite some continuity issues, I thought the acting was superb and the social issues of the time that they hit upon were very poignant. In fact, I find myself slightly troubled after seeing this series as I look back at our Manifest Destiny.

In our quest to reach the Pacific Ocean, we essentially took a native people and forced them onto reservations so that we would take their land. Granted, I did learn about this history classes and it has been touched upon in other films that I have watched, but some reason Into the West really struck me. I couldn't help but feel a deep sense of guilt for what happened over 100 years ago. As I reflect on these episodes, it makes we wonder what I can do now.

What is an appropriate response? Do you simply feel bad for what happened and let it go with that? Do you do your best to research and understand what happened to native americans so that you know the whole story? Do you apologize to native americans as a group? Are reparations in order? I honestly don't know the answer...and I'm not sure what I can do, but Into the West definitely got me thinking again about how the United States treated native americans in the 1800s.

Exercise!

A few weeks ago, I finally got fed up with my lifestyle. I was not exercising. I was drinking a lot of carbonated and caffeinated beverages. I was drinking quite a bit of alcohol. I was eating a lot of fatty foods. All of this was really taking a toll on my body. When the sacle got over 200 pounds and was resting at 202, I realized that I needed a change.

So, I bought a mountain bike, the smartest exercising move I have made in a long time. I have tried to get back into running (I ran all four years of high school), but I found that it hurt my knees and it was difficult to get myself motivated to do it. I find biking to be so much easier and more enjoyable. So, now I bike six times a week. I have strated simple and plan over time to vary my workouts and get more complex.

Along with the exercise, I have made other changes. I am now consistently taking a vitamin every day. This sounds so simple, doesn't it? But I could never get myself to consistently take a vitamin each day. I have been eating more fruits and vegetables, and I have been eating out a lot less. I have greatly decreased my consumption of alcohol. All of these changes have resulted in my loss of 4 pounds over the last two weeks. It is a great feeling to not see the scale reach the 200 mark for a week.

I suppose the summer is the right time to try to make this change. Without work, things are much more relaxed and I have the time to start taking care of my body. I am hopeful that with these habits established this summer, it shouldn't be difficult to keep them during a hectic academic year.

Political Musings...

*** DANGER: Conservative Viewpoints Found Below ***

I was reading The Drudge Report this morning and I found an interesting link:

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chait22jul22,0,3359930.
column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

In this Op-Ed piece, the author talks about whether or not President Bush exercises too much. This question comes about as Bush talked to his recent Supreme Court nominee about his exercise habits. The author talks about how Bush has been out exercising when important events have occurred. Huh?

If anything, I am excited by the fact that our president wants to keep in good shape. I wish I could bench press 185 pounds once, no less five times. It actually makes me proud to know our president is in good health. I find this to be in stark contrast to our previous president who "ran" but really wasn't in very good shape. Do we really think the president wouldn't be informed of something important while he was exercising? There always has to be something...

...speaking of that, Bush recently named US Circuit Court Judge John Roberts, Jr. as his nominee for the recent vacancy of Sandra Day O'Conner. I do not envy Bush having to put up this nominee. Even though Bush campaigned for his second term stating that he would nominate conservative justices (and he won this election with the most popular votes ever), he is expected by Democrats to appoint a "moderate" who can "bring the country together". What a crock!

When Ruth Ginsburg was nominated, she was considered by many to be one of the most liberal appointments to the court. She was passed by the Senate with only four votes against. Clinton was a Democrat and he selected a liberal appointee; no surprise there. However, Senators should realize that as long as a candidate has no glaring issues, they will probably be fine. I am amused that with Roberts's nomination, the pick is considered devisive and partisan. Some Democrats think that there will be a filibuster put in the way. I give up...he'll be a fine justice. Let's just approve the nomination and move on. Until Renquist eventually retires, then the fun begins again.

A New Frontier...

After various failed attempts, with remnants of previous "blogs" sitting somewhere in cyberspace, I have decided to try again. The first time I attempted on-line journaling, I tried to keep a personal journal and that didn't work out too well. The second time I tried an on-line journal, I tried to comment about some of the strange happenings of the world we live in. This time, I will try to do both. Perhaps by leaving all my options open I might have more success.

I am currently in the middle of reading Hugh Hewitt's book entitiled Blog: Understanding the Information Reformation That's Changing Your World. In the process of reading his words, I realize the power that is available in blogging. Hopefully his words will serve as an inspiration to actually continue writing.

What will you find in this journal? You will find a daily entry that covers a variety of topics. I will post about improtant events in my life. I will post my thoughts on politics and current events. I will post about some random thought that occurred to me. There may even be more. Stay tuned. We'll see what comes next...