Humanum Agere

I love it when people I like say things I like. It’s that delicious mix of vindication and camaraderie, even if I’ve never gotten within 10 feet of said person. One such dude I like is Mark Sisson, aka the Primal Blueprint guy.

Sisson is almost 60. Silver fox does not cut it.

As I mentioned, he has a gig going on at his site/blog, Marks Daily Apple. It’s a Primal Challenge with tons of prizes. I don’t agree with everything in the book but it’s a solid work.

This month his blog posts center on lifestyle adjustments. I’ve always liked this about Primal Blueprint — it’s a lifestyle, not just a dietary philosophy. Basically, eating your steak and broccoli means nothing if you’re not sleeping well, exercising smartly, taking time to play and relax, and not doing stupid shit.

His particular post today really hit me: Are You Living an Active or Passive Life?

Sisson’s first point was that, in the old days, when people wanted to have fun they went out and did stuff. They did not sit idly by and watch hours of the Kardashians. Even going to the theatre or listening to stories takes some measure of activity on the part of the audience. We weren’t injected with entertainment, we found it.

I find this often true for me. On the weekends I tend to veg out and be a lazy bum. Not that it’s bad to relax, but sometimes when I’m jonesing for entertainment I wind up boob-tubing it. It just makes me think I could be spending my time in more productive ways. For example, I used to like drawing a lot way back in the stone age. I won some awards (and scored free rodeo and dog show tickets) but lost a lot of inspiration early in high school. As such my skills withered away and now a pencil feels strange in my hands. It makes me regret I gave it up and never pursued more education in it. I was never really taught theory or basic artistic concepts though; I just drew. It was fun and entertained my sister. Mayhaps I shall unearth my pencils and play around.

Mark Sission had a lot of neat points about being active rather than passive with our play.

“So here’s my challenge for the day: be engaged with the world and those who populate it. Get off the computer and off the couch. Find/do/explore/feel the real thing. How you do so is up to you, but I have a few suggestions.

• Watch TV, sure, but watch it selectively. Set the shows you truly care about to tape and keep the TV off otherwise. And try to stick to shows that make you think. More Dexter, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, and Ken Burns docs; less reality TV and Two and a Half Men. Don’t just have the TV on because you’re home.”

Sisson watches Game of Thrones!? Be still my heart! Not to knock Dexter and Breaking Bad though.

Arya stays active by slaying douchebags and chasing cats. What did you do today?

• “Use Facebook, but use it to facilitate real world, face-to-face interaction. Make an event and invite people to it. Catch up with an old friend and meet up at a coffee shop.
• When you read blogs, participate in the comment section. Don’t just consume; produce, interact, discuss!”

I like the idea for Facebook. I use it like that sometimes. As far as blogs, heh, I must admit I cycle my blog reading fervor.

• “Watch a movie at the cinema, or better yet, go to a comedy show or watch a show at the theater. Afterward, talk about what you just watched over coffee or drinks.”

WORD. Love this. Only thing that makes it better is MJ. For some good movies that have come out recently and will come out soon, check out my interview with film critic Emanuel Levy.

• “Join an adult sports league, or organize something with your social circle. You could even just head down to the local park for a pickup game.”

Uh…I do Crossfit! If there was a sport I wish I could get back into, it would be equestrian. After that it would be a toss-up between fencing and archery. I’ve dabbled in both but never enough to really hone a skill.

• “Instead of playing video games, have friends over for a board game night, or maybe poker night. And if you’re going to play video games, try multiplayer games.”

Heh, we fail where we do. Elder Scrolls: Skyrim is coming out Nov. 11. I shall not be seen on that day. True story: when Elder Scrolls: Oblivion came out years ago it was my first Xbox 360 game. I got it in the late afternoon and started playing. Took a dinner break and came back. I looked up and thought “wow, it’s light for this time of night.” ‘Twas 5:30am. I suck.

Compromise: sit on a stability ball and practice bracing. Get up at specific intervals so as to not be a total social reject.

Fuck yeah, dragons!

• “Read fiction. It’s passive, but you have to actively process the words and imagine the world the author creates.”

Need to do this more. I have some lovely books that need reading. After I catch up on my bajillion pages of school reading though.

• “Look for a paleo Meetup group near you, join it, and start attending functions. If your new Meetup group is staid, start suggesting meetups yourself! Don’t wait for others to do it.”

Girlies who know me in real life, drop me a text when something’s happening. I’m still slightly scarred from when I attended a raw vegan meetup in Houston though. Heh, it was for research for an article I was writing. Very nice people, but virtually the only ones who looked healthy were vegetarian or omnivorous and most people assumed I must be an uber raw vegan because I was trim and fit. I got the fuck out of Dodge.

• “Instead of buying all your meat all the time, try hunting. Instead of buying all your produce, try gardening. If you don’t have the option for either, go to farmer’s markets, where you can look the person who grew your food directly in the eye as you exchange money for goods and actually get to know them.”

I loves me some farmers markets. I have no problem with hunting as long as one intends to eat the kill. But I’m not patient enough and would totally scare the deer off with my iPod.

Nov.11 I shall be hunting mammoths!

• “Get a dog (and feed it an ancestral diet). It’ll get you outside and teach you to be more present and aware of the moment.”

*bawls* I miss my dogs so much. As Sandor Clegane from Game of Thrones says, “A hound will die for you but it’ll never lie to you.” Wise words.

• “Make a point to say “hello” to passers-by. Even a smile and nod will usually work, and it’s not a big commitment. It’s just a quick connection, a mutual acknowledgement of another human being. No “stop-and-chat” required.”

Buahaha…I do this a lot. Heck, I do the full stop-and-chat thing too.

• “Stop using porn. Have real sex instead.”

Very wise words.

 

“If you’re complaining that this is all too hard, that everyone else you know lives on Facebook and only text messages, change that. Invite them out. Think about how much you wish you could have more real experiences and realize that everyone else probably feels the same way. Like you, they’re just waiting for someone to take charge. Be that person who takes charge.”

So I throw the question out to you guys! Ever feel like people don’t connect as much anymore? Are our TV shows and Facebooks our tethers to humanity?

Film Bites [July/August/September]

So, there was not an exclusive July or August Film Bites, because I did not see that many kickass films. Now that September has come about, let me smoosh them together.

Fright Night

True Blood fans: drink deep. A good vampire story makes my heart flutter. Yet they are so hard to come by.  It is a remake of the ridiculously cheesy 80s flick by the same name. This time, the vampire is played by an inhumanly smooth and sexy Colin Farrell. Dr. Who’s David Tennant also makes an appearance. Basically, it’s a fun romp through the vampire genre. Good cast, good story, good action. It won’t earn Oscars but I had more fun with this flick than I have in a very long time. From the girl who hates 90% of vampire films: SEE THIS! It featured in my Daily Trojan column too. And as for Colin Farrell as the badass vampire…

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

WTF?! Everyone thought this movie would suck. Until it suckerpunched them all with a totally badass summer flick that has brought to light the inherent terror and creepy factor of apes. Andy Serkis, who played Gollum in Lord of the Rings, performs as Caesar, a hyperintelligent ape raised by his scientist-cum-father, James Franco. It’s still summer fun but it’s very very entertaining. A gorilla tearing apart a helicopter? Badass.

Elfen Lied

I watched this on Netflix after hearing so many mixed opinions. Some hate it, some love it. Count me in the latter. The characters are good but not groundbreaking. The action is nice and the art is decent but I don’t value those over plot. I believe it’s one of those series where I just fell in love with the idea. Basically, another humanoid race has some into existence  that has has enhanced telekinetic abilities but is considered to be psychotic and mass-murdering (which they often are). As such, the government captures and experiments on them. Until one breaks free. She’s shot in the head during her escape which gives her a split-personality — a childlike sweet persona, and her vicious and sociopathic true one. She comes under the care of a young man and his female friend, and things go crazy from there. Anyhow, it’s worth a look. Some of the characters are fascinating and it’s an interesting, scary look at the nature vs. nurture debate.

Mad Men

I watched all four seasons in two weeks. That tell you something? The show follows the rambunctious antics of advertising men in 1960s’ New York. It’s sumpteous visually but it also sports a fantastic cast, from Christina Hendrix as a sangfroid and alluring office manager, John Hamm as a ruthless but conflicted creative director, and Elisabeth Moss as a talented chick who wants to achieve a respectable profession in a male-dominated industry.

Drive

Do NOT see the trailer for this! It gives away everything and recasts the film as a high-speed car flick. Which it’s not. Instead, it’s a noir thriller that happens to have a badass yet frustratingly taciturn getaway driver. The car chases are impressive, but it’s the visceral mood of the story that really elevates the film. Watch this especially if you liked A History of Violence or Eastern Promises.

Dracula (1931)

This movie is older than you. It’s older than your car. It might be older than your house. And it’s still awesome. The music and atmosphere are delciously sinister, and the melodramatic script is giggle-worthy. But all of that pales to the smoldering sex pot that is Bela Lugosi as Dracula. Most people are only familar with his image, or his classic line “What music they make!” In the context of his performance, however, he creates an charismatic and very alluring Count. Things aren’t bad just because they are old. Except my cell phone.

Death Note

Death Note proposes a simple idea: what if you had the power to kill anyone? Criminals who have escaped justice? Those who give nothing to society but always take? Here, a highschool boy named Light finds a Death Note — a book owned by death gods wherein they write the names of all destined to die. Light decides he wants to purge the world of all criminals and create a perfect society. ut he’s also a megalomaniac, viciously intelligent bastard who soon causes a wave of death upon the world In his path stands an eccentric but brilliant detective, as well as a police team headed by Light’s unknowing father. The series is amazing in that the main character in incredibly unlikable. Moreover, most of the series is spent with him outthinking almost everyone who tries to stop him.

Red Dead Redemption

Psyche! Red Dead is actually a video game. But it’s told in such a cinematic manner that it feels like the player is injected into some algamation of every Clint Eastwood Western ever made. An ex-convict is shoved back into the world of gangs and savagery when the government blackmails him into tracking down his former gang members. From wrangling a stmapeding herd of cattle in a thunderstorm to playing both sides of a government overthrow in Mexico, it’s a wild, wild west.

Butter Me Up!

 

Just pass the damn jar.

Maybe I’m going out on a limb here, but nut butter seems pretty popular on the ol’ internet.

For those who would like some brand recommendations, or are curious about the 50-trillion kinds of nut butters out there, check out my Gingersnaps article!

The Secret World of Nut Butters: It’s More Than Peanuts

Gingersnaps

In my quest for world domination, I now have a weekly food column in my university’s newspaper, the Daily Trojan.

Meet Gingersnaps!

Any of you who know my hair color and…er…snarky disposition, may see the point of this simple little title.

For my first column I did a feature on Holey Donuts.


Doughnut company tosses out the fryer

Ignore the godawful picture; it is temporary. When our photographer’s camera died, my editor broke out the iPhone…in a fluorescent-lit hallway with white walls.

If anyone has any neat food ideas, (really, it can be anything) feel free to drop me a note!