#everything i dedicate my life to is about this piece of my history btw

[butts-bouncing-on-the-beltway]

Hi. American. Not gonna do the country's reputation wrt bread any good here so if you were hoping for that, my b yall.

Anyway.

I grew up poor. I grew up "beg flats of unsold/expiring food from the local coop staff after restock day" poor. Food was. Complicated. All the time.

But, and this is very true. The local market would always give us honey, fruit preserves, and those 4 for $1 loaves of white bread, all for free once or twice a month just to help make sure we didn't starve. And what I would do, because I was a child with a dozen food allergies and an undiagnosed restriction eating disorder called "food instable literally since birth", is spread a slice of bread with some honey or fruit preserves, smash it into a breadball, and let it crystalize from the sugars so that I could only tolerate teeny tiny bites without throwing up from how sugary it was, and then would nibble on that throughout the day so that my 1 sandwich could "last"

I. I did not have to put on much honey [aka I was not allowed to, I got 2tbs and my mom CHECKED)

Cannot emphasize enough that when I traveled to europe for with a local poli-sci academic program, I tried this trick several times because they were feeding us basically all "vegetarian" meals [aka meat free, not necessarily vegetarian] and I spent the whole month hypoglycemic because I couldn't get enough protein. I was hoping my disgusting little sandwich balls would help me stay awake and cognitively functional throughout the day.

I simply could not apply enough honey and preserves to make the bread over there do what that 4/$1 loaves always did (and still do although celiac means i don't have to care anymore!!). Like. The amount of sugar in affordable bread (aka the bread that most working class families are buying) in the USA is. It's UNFATHOMABLE.

I need people to realize. The bread there isn't like that. The CHEAP bread in europe would cost $12/loaf here, I know, I've checked based on matching product ingredients across international brands. And like. That hasn't really changed. A LOT of the food in the USA is "nutritionally hollow" in that you can successfully get enough FUEL to survive, but not enough of all the NUTRITION that you need. You would think woth how obsessed with dieting eveyone here is, that would mean something, but instead the constant USA focus on calories in/calories out worsens this, because it teaches people to fear the amount of food they would need to truly nourish themselves, which leaves them feeling increasingly fatigued and "poorly" and which prevents them from being able to maintain their body because they literally are not well enough to like. Maintain muscle mass, range of motion, balance, etc. And then because their bodies are in constant and chronic starvation, their weight is constantly yoyoing responsive to the body being more or less nourished, with weight gain often being the first (although not always final) outcome of adequate nutritional need-meeting for the first time in literal years. So people diet even more!!! Like that isn't what did all this in the first place!!!

I'm sure the biology of all that is way less simple than I made it sound, but like. I have spent so long trying to recover from this, and I *know* I am not the only kid in the states who grew up like that, who still carries that relationship with food.

Lord knows, that in being diagnosed with celiac's, my grocery budget is 3-5× larger these days. And I actually almost never buy gluten-ingredient substitutes. But to try and feed two adults when you CAN buy wheat cost something like $50-$75/wk plus $100/month on meat when I was first living on my own, nothing too fancy, but always ENOUGH. I'm not totally sure my math is right here, but I think with inflation** that same grocery shop [$300-$400/month to feed two adults in the 19-50age bracket] would probably cost about $562

**all inflation numbers used for this math were pulled from here:

But without wheat products, it absolutely does not cost $550-$600/month to feed two adults. There ahas not been a single month in YEARS that I have been able to spend less than $200/week on groceries, and often it looks more like $300-$450, especially if I need any bulk pantry goods like sugar or rice or whatever.

The fact of the matter is, most USA families have historically and still do rely heavily on enriched wheat products to be adequately nourished, and despite this, the vast majority of affordable enriched wheat products do not, in fact, meet nutritional standards for just about anyone. We are a country that is starving to death no matter how much food we actually manage to get into us, and I sometimes think ablut how fundamentally fucked that is given the outcomes (medical, psychological, etc) of pervasive and chronic malnourishment.

Anyway, if you think that because the fancy grocery stores will sell you a $9 loaf of artisan bread made with quality ingredients with exactly 7 slices [1cm-2cm thick] in the whole goddamn bag, that is the same thing as what europeans mean when they say they want to be able to buy bread....uh. well. I hate to say it but this is one of those moments where you were not immune to the propoganda, and that's okay, but I highly recommend learning more about the political landscape of big agro lobbyists and how much of the fuckery killing people ties back to big ag crop subsidies allowing corporations to profit off the starvation of the populus.

Remember that kid too poor for food [me] I described up top? Guess where it lived? In the central california valley where 30% of the food in the country is grown. The coop market we begged groceries from was one of only a handful of independent ag retailers in the valley, because all the family farms got bought up by various national monocrop interests, usually cereals and citrus and stone fruit, but a fair amount of beef/dairy, and chicken/eggs too. You could drive down the highway for literal miles and still be travelling along one giant conglomerate farm.

And yet we were far from the only family who couldn't afford the food grown just down the street from us. Hell, I went to school with and played with a number of kids who spent summers and school breaks and afternoons working the fields with their families, yet those families still couldn't buy the food they tended, grew, and picked with their own hands. It has always been incredible to me that I spent my childhood starving down the street from a dairy farm that owned 3500acres, a citrus grove that supplied Tropicana's entire manufacturing network, and a vineyard that produced 5000bottle yearly batches, all because no one sold at prices that wages could actually buy.

I wanna know who the balls started the rumor that there's no good bread in America. Like I've seen a surprising number of Europeans leave comments on TikTok where they claim that there's nowhere to buy fresh baked bread in the US or that the bread that's available here has so much sugar that it would be considered cake everywhere else in the world. Like I get that people think the food in America is dogshit for a variety of well know reasons (also not true but that's a separate convo) but how did the bread thing in particular start like it's way too specific

[fandomsoda]

personally, i feel like it's not a bad thing since the fandom tries to separate that ideology from everything else and stuff then again, i also have no idea what it's about or what's going on since i never looked at it past some random references i hear

(^ about Homestuck btw)

[also long post incoming I accidentally wrote an essay but I feel like a short response doesn’t do the topic justice]

Yes, exactly, that’s how I usually rationalize it, because if I’m entirely honest a lot of the disgusting stuff Hussie put in there can be manually carved out of the story without damaging the whole, at least I think it can. There’s literally a fan project dedicated to removing as much of the upsetting and harmful language used in it as possible and they do it super flawlessly and it doesn’t harm the overall story.

Of course, there are many things wrong with Homestuck’s canon story and plot that cannot be so easily reclaimed or censored, and we are all so painfully aware of that and call it out and stand violently against it, doing everything in our power to hack and slash at canon to remove the rotten parts like cutting the bruises out of an apple.

The large majority of Homestuck fans are disabled and from many, many different cultural backgrounds and religious affiliations. And when they saw the fucked up shit Hussie had baked into a story that they otherwise loved, the first thing they started doing was hacking and slashing at canon to salvage the good. And the fandom has STAYED that way for the most part. Being a Homestuck fan has always felt like being part of a massive reclamation project.

We all know Hussie doesn’t respect us and they never did and very, very few of us ever respected them. Yes there are bad-faith and gross people but that is a given with literally every fandom under the sun. Though obviously Homestuck is more prone to it due to the reasons above.

Whenever someone says “canon Homestuck is problematic so Homestuck fans are all bad people who excuse and associate with that stuff!” I have to look at them sideways, because not only does it make it clear that this person has never actually known the Homestuck community, but it’s also just a really sobering experience for me.

Because the Homestuck fandom has really never been about Homestuck in and of itself, it’s always been about what Homestuck could have been and what specific things WERE good about it. We hate Hussie, Hussie hates us. The creator has willingly removed themselves from the project and has established that they don’t view enjoyment of Homestuck as support for them, in fact being very aware that most Homestuck fans hate the bigotry baked into it and Hussie by proxy.

But at the same time I do have to hear what these people are saying and I of course am left wondering if that’s even enough. Even after all our efforts and passion and attempts as a fandom to reclaim this webcomic as something that brought us deep joy and seeking representation and celebration in something that would otherwise have harmed us… does it even matter? Is it… enough?

Yes, every piece of media is going to be a little problematic and freaking out over every little thing and being hyper-sanitized is bad, but are Homestuck’s crimes too egregious to be ignored? Is this joy and connection and community really worth what it comes from?…

The condemnation of Homestuck fans both feels like a slap in the face due to all our efforts and history and like a sobering, bitter truth. One that brings tears to my eyes, quite frankly. And I think the biggest issue is, I can only speak on certain problems with Homestuck. I can’t speak on the most gross parts of it, and I have no one who’s part of these groups and is aware/informed of what Homestuck is in my life to talk to about it with. No one to ask for an opinion.

I know Homestuck fans of these identities exist, I see them everywhere using Homestuck as a medium to celebrate their cultures and faiths in spite of the comic’s undertones but I’ve not really seen enough to get an idea on what the majority opinion about Homestuck is overall. I wish I could sit down with people who have experiences with these things who would also like to discuss and just listen and talk about their perspectives and experiences so that I could get a proper view of everything and form an educated opinion for myself.

So I just have to sit here wondering. Yes, the Homestuck community is violently anti-bigotry and hates every gross thing in the comic and puts tons of effort into reclaiming it, that feels like it should be justification enough, but is it really?… Are we all just wearing rose tinted glasses? Are we no better than those who disregard the issues? I don’t know. And I wish I did. Even though my gut tells me that I’m being gross, my mind tells me that I’m fine, and I don’t know what to trust.

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 310 Spoiler Thoughts: “The First and Second Holders”

Some fan translations are out and it’s time to flex some thoughts out again!  I couldn’t do them last night because I didn’t have all the scan images with me and I didn’t want to jump the gun with only text descriptions.  Anyway, this was mainly an exposition chapter that properly introduces us to the second and third OFA Holders, especially the 2nd and what his relationship to the 1st is.  This might not be as long as others “Spoiler Thoughts” I’ve written, but let’s see:

First off, we have a colored cover page by Horikoshi-sensei himself!  It’s a solo page featuring Vigilante Deku and he looks badass!  Deku looks ready to kick ass and take names.  And, his Mid-Gauntlet is colored red like a lot of us thought and it adds to the theory that Melissa Shield did create it like she did with Deku’s Full-Gauntlet back in Two Heroes.

The chapter starts in a dark and rainy night.  A large woman (she’s like maybe 10ft tall; she’s taller than All Might who I think is 7ft) with a mutant-type quirk who’s getting attacked by some civilians because they think she’s a villain.  Deku jumps in to stop the attacks and the woman explains that she was just trying to go to one of the evacuation centers at a hero school.  Deku is kind enough to give her her umbrella back and reassure her that things will be ok.  

I gotta say that this whole situation is scarily close to real life right now.  I don’t like getting too political, but we live in a scary world where discrimination is, unfortunately, alive and well...  If you are a POC, you can be attacked from anywhere with the only reason being that “you’re a danger because of the skin you were born with”. It’s horrific, it’s disgusting, and it’s been around for a long time.  Even in the BNHA universe, there used to be cults solely dedicated to discriminating against mutant-type people (we learned this back in the My Villain Academia Arc).  So, like in the real world, this problem has risen again.  Thankfully, there are people like Deku and All Might who are more than willing to help someone in need regardless of who they are.  BNHA hits too close to home sometimes.  

Anyway, going back to the BNHA story.  Before All Might leaves to help the woman in his Batmobile, he hands Deku some Pork Katsu in a cute bento box wrapped in a bunny cloth!  Deku is visibly happy and thanks All Might for the meal.  This is so cute!  I’m so glad to see that All Might is making sure that Deku is being properly taken care of.  Boy needs to eat if he’s going to save the world.  I’m also glad that Deku can still show signs of happiness despite, well, everything.  I swear, if All Might doesn’t legally adopt Deku as his son by the time this series is over, I’m going to jump into this manga and force him to sign those documents myself. 

The next panel shows Deku standing on what looks like Tokyo’s famous Sky Tree (or Sky Egg if we’re going off what Vigilantes showed us).  He’s back to talking to the OFA Holders like they’re angels on his shoulders.  Banjo talks about how it’s like the world’s reverted back in time when things were worse and Deku responds that if he doesn’t use all of OFA’s power, he’ll never be able to defeat Shigaraki and AFO.  I know we’re in the final act, so Deku’s gotta get to 100% fast if he wants to win this war.  Last we checked, he was at 45%, but he might be at a higher percentage now since he’s unlocked En’s Smokescreen.  Also, Deku’s looking more and more like Batman each chapter and I gotta say that it really suits him.

Back to the Vestige Dream back when Deku was still in a coma after the war.  The 1st Holder begs the 2nd and 3rd to corporate with him so that they can provide their power to Deku.  The 1st calls the 2nd and 3rd “My Heroes” which causes some awkward silence lol.  Neither one is responding, so Banjo breaks the silence by suggesting that Deku learn everyone’s Quirks so that he’ll get used to them once he starts using them.  We learn why the 2nd and 3rd are the 1st’s heroes soon, but it’s actually a good idea for Deku to learn about all these different Quirks while he’s sleeping so that he’ll get a good idea on how to execute them when he wakes up.  It’s kind of a way of training for Deku just without actually using the Quirks themselves.  

The 3rd Holder (the one with the spiky ponytail and headband) starts to talk.  He says that the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd came from the “Harshest era of history”.  It was a time where AFO ruled all and peaked in power and control.  He was going to take over the whole world if the first 3 Holders didn’t step in to stop him.  My guess is that after AFO was defeated for the first time, society started to calm down and become more or less the world we knew before the War Arc.  So, things weren’t as bad during the 4th Holder’s era and so forth.  This would explain why Shinomori was able to hide in the forest for so long without being detected.  

And now the big part of the chapter: the 2nd Holder.  Who does in fact look A LOT like Bakugo.  Big difference is that he has a massive scar across his face.  I am aware of the whole “time travel” theory that people have going on with Bakugo and this dude, but I’m not on that train.  Instead, I think that the 2nd Holder is one of Bakugo’s ancestors.  Like, a really, really-great-grandfather.  Horikoshi doesn’t just design his characters for no reason.  The fact that the 2nd user looks so much like Bakugo, has a costume similar to Bakugo’s, and that future panels in this chapter straight up parallel that iconic scene with young Bakugo and Deku in the river only add fuel to this fire.  Unless Horikoshi says otherwise, this is the theory I’m sticking to: this “Ancestor” theory.

And we know of the 1st user’s real name now too, which is Yoichi!  If Horikoshi is keeping up with the “numbers in names” theme, then I’m positive that Yochi has the kanji for “One” somewhere in it.  And, if we’re going to believe AFO at all, then that means that the 1st user’s full name is Yoichi Shigaraki.  We don’t know AFO’s full name yet.  But, again, AFO could be lying with his last name, so I’m taking this one with a grain of salt.

Back to the 2nd Holder, he tells Yoichi that a lot of lives were sacrificed in order to stop AFO back then.  He believes that there is only victory or defeat in battle; that there’s no hope of saving their archenemy.  He has doubt about putting his faith in Deku because of this.  Given how the 3rd Holder still has his back turned too, I’m lead to believe that he also thinks Deku is crazy for wanting to save Shigaraki.  I don’t exactly blame them.  Really, none of us know if Deku will be successful in saving Shigaraki.  He might have to kill him in the end.  I think they should offer Deku help, but I don’t blame them for being at least a little skeptical.  

But, Yoichi reminds the 2nd and 3rd users that they saved Yoichi back when AFO locked him up to die.  They found Yoichi with the intention to kill him it seems, but the 2nd Holder showed sympathy for Yoichi and lent him a helping hand despite Yoichi being AFO’s little brother.  This is the parallel panel I was talking about.  Yoichi is kneeling down on the floor and the 2nd user is standing up extending his hand to help Yoichi.  I don’t even need to look back in the manga to know what inspired this.  Hell, I don’t even need to tell you!  We all know what Horikoshi was doing when he drew and wrote this.

Yoichi convinces him that he should believe in Deku as Yoichi does think Deku will save the day.  If the 2nd user didn’t extend his hand to help Yoichi, OFA wouldn’t have begun.  I think that the trust between these two is ultimately the reason why the 2nd user finally agreed to help Deku; the same with the 3rd user too.  And, kind of a tangent, but I really like how Horikoshi draws Yoichi and the 2nd user’s hands as they’re reaching for each other.  Horikoshi has always been really good with drawing hands like they’re facial expressions (something my ass could never do 😭) and this one shows kindness and empathy.  It’s almost like what would’ve happened if Bakugo accepted Deku’s hand for help when they were young instead of letting his pride and ego get in the way.  Oh, the parallels! 

Finally, the 2nd user speaks in present day telling Deku that they’re going full speed ahead now.  My guess is that Deku’s going to have to improve on OFA and the rest of his Quirks quickly in order to find and beat the LoV.  We are in the Final Act after all.  The chapter ends at a good place if we want to switch to the UA kids, which is honestly what I’m hoping for.  Again, I love Deku and his Vigilante adventures, but I miss the rest of the kids.  The new BNHA Exhibition in Japan apparently has a giant drawing of the main class, All Might, Aizawa, and Shinso in his new hero costume!  Which tells me that 1. Shinso probably took Deku’s place in the class for the time being, and 2. We’re definitely going to see the other kids again.  I’m hoping soon.  But, I wouldn’t be surprised if Horikoshi decided to continue focusing on Deku’s Vigilanteism and have him practice with he 2nd and 3rd Holder’s Quirks now that they’re working with him.  We’ll just have to see.

So, that’s it!  Solid chapter overall.  I’m glad we finally got to see the 3rd and 2nd Holder’s faces.  I think the “Kirishima is the 3rd Holder” theroy has been debunked at this point, but I’m still on the “2nd Holder is Bakugo’s ancestor” train.  The similarities and parallels are too strong for me to deny it.  Horikoshi-sensei, please confirm or deny soon 🙏.  We are getting break next week for Golden Week BTW!  All of Shonen Jump is actually, so no One Piece or JJK either (I’m not sure about Jump+, so we might still be getting some Spy X Family for example).  So, basically all our favorite mangakas are getting a well-deserved break as they should!  I hope they enjoy their vacation!  Waiting’s going to suck tho, I’m ngl about that...  Oh well, I’m willing to take the sacrifice if it means having healthy mangka.  Thankfully, we still have the anime and the new exhibition to tide us over until then.

Edit: OR NOT SINCE THE EXHIBITION IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED BECAUSE OF A CERTAIN PANDEMIC GOING NUTS IN JAPAN AFTER ONLY BEING OPEN FOR 2 DAYS 😭 

Edit: I went back to re-read the chapter and I completely missed the date for the next chapter (chapter 311) which is set to release on May 9th!  So, we’re actually getting a 2 week break instead.  Damn...  Sucks for us, but it’s good for mangaka to get breaks when they can especially considering their absolutely insane schedule.

Me reading this chapter:

[supergirlthoughts]

We will have our endgame.

I didn’t fall for Supercorp at first. And because Lena Luthor (aka KMcG) is incredibly sexy, I just thought that Kara was, like any other woman would be, amazed by the sweet creature she had just met. 

I knew Supercorp long before watching Supergirl. In fact, I met the pair through the work of my fellows Supercorp shippers’ art — drawings, fanfictions, edits, videos… (shout out to you all btw I love you!!). Longing for more representation on screen, I jumped in what I thought would be a journey at the end of which Lena and Kara would be together. 

I have lost hope before, an endless amount of times, but it never came to the point that I was mad at the show for not putting them together. I prevailed Kara’s happiness before all, and if she didn’t see Lena this way, I respected that. Because I knew they were the evidence, I knew, particularly after season 2 (and 3), that no one new could be introduced and become Kara’s love interest without having her character belittled. 

So it was between Mon-El — who was now married and gone — and Lena. 

And I was (SO) good with the latter. Because she was the one who always supported Kara Danvers, the one who always admired Supergirl and tried everything she could to make a friend out of the girl of Steel, Lena was the evidence. 

She did what every partner supporting its endgame superhero ever did. Felicity Smoak, Iris West, Lois Lane… they all met their respective partners through their secret/human identity. They are all the link to the superheroes’ humanity; they keep them down-to-Earth and remind them who they are behind the mask/costume. 

So it didn’t matter who Kara would date, because I was convinced, in the deepest part of my soul, that Lena was her endgame. 

And, you know, I didn’t feel bad at the time, because no matter how much hope I had, no matter how convinced I was; as an LGBTQ+ member, I was used not to see my — what they like to call it — ���fantasies” come to life on a TV show. So I was kind of detached from it, which is paradoxical. I was so convinced it would happen while being sure it would never. I decided to enjoy my endless list of fanfictions. Those would bring me joy and comfort in the hardest days, but also break my heart with angst and tears. However, I felt validated in every AU.

But this detachment had changed. It changed when the show sent signals that Supercorp could really happen. It was not just a ‘fantasy’ anymore. 

Supercorp always felt like a slow burn. We would all hold on to parallels made between Supercorp and Olicity, Supercorp and WestAllen, Supercorp and Clois. 

But now we don’t hold on crumbles anymore. It’s not just things that could be interpreted. Not just longing looks, unexplainable lip bitings, court signals, sighs, loving smiles… 

Now there are songs, love songs; there are words and scenes that leave no space for misunderstanding. 

And that’s why I am mad now; because it can’t be called a fantasy anymore. Producers, showrunners, actors all promised us a Supercorp-centered season; they all promised us a fight for Lena’s soul. 

And this is why it hurts. And this is why now more than ever, I feel invalidated. Because for the first time, they acknowledged our rights to a Supercorp love story. And since they acknowledged it, it blatantly means we are being queerbaited.

And yes, we know it. 

And yes, they know it.

And yes, it hurts, and a lot of us lost hope and left the ship, but we can’t afford to lose hope right now. Not after all that we’ve been through. Not after fighting tooth and nail with other fandoms who would drag us down for being delusional; not after having our hearts break by a cast mocking us; not after being established as one of the most powerful fandoms out there thanks to our commitment and our conviction towards our belief; because we are finally seen.

We have a place within the most influential fandoms, we are mentioned by papers who write about us, actors who share our arts and support us. It’s not about ‘just some fans’ anymore. It’s beyond us, beyond the producers, beyond the show. And that’s why we can’t lose hope. 

Simply because they cannot sit on Supercorp’s potential; 

Simply because they cannot ignore their chemistry.

And yes, they don’t deserve our hopes, our time, our trust and our mental health that is more fragile in these times. But I ask you to trust, not them, but ourselves. 

We’ve come from being laughed at to being seen, we’ve achieved so much already. 

Artists have provided us with the most amazing pieces of art, and we’ve achieved so much as a fandom — the Supercorp zine is an example. 

It’s beyond the show, and the showrunners don’t have much power right now, because we have the ability to change things. 

So I’m asking you, one more time, to trust our powers. 

As a hero once said: 

“They want us to be invisible because of their own fears. They want to erase us, so we need to shine even brighter.”

Yes, it hurts to see the showrunners introduce William with a romantic tone. But come on, let’s be honest for a second, they could never be a thing given their inexistent chemistry (no offense Willara shippers). Plus, haven’t we been there with Mon-El? Yes, we have, and we never lost hope, always in respect of Kara’s character, because the Mon-El back then wasn’t respectful enough, just like William hasn’t been, no matter his reasons. 

The show can’t go backward. Now that they took a step forward, now that they acknowledged and paved the way for a possible romance between Supercorp, they can’t take it back from us. It may take some time for them to take the leap, but they will. 

Remember Clois in Smallville being the slowest burn in history? It didn’t count when they would be together because we all knew they belonged to each other, we all knew that no matter how many people would get between the two, they were each other’s endgame. That’s what Supercorp represents. They are each other’s home, and they will find each other; because now we are the ones who make the rules. 

We are the most active fans regarding the show, and we all perfectly know that Supergirl wouldn’t be here without us. We already changed the trajectory of the show when Katie became a regular. For that matter, Emily (Felicity Smoak), who was supposed to only guest star one episode, became a regular after fans expressed their love for her character (and she married the guy!). It was not a miracle, and we will do it again. 

We don’t need the show; the show needs us. And they may not seem to understand it for now, but they will eventually. And very soon. Because we finally realized, at a high cost, that we, as a fandom, have infinite worth, and we, as people, are worth more than being treated like this. 

But Supergirl is about hope, help, and compassion for all. And if the writers, the producers, the showrunners don’t remember this, we will remind them. 

We will hope tirelessly so that our magic never dies, and more people can join the fight for us to become invincible.

We will help them remember what the show stands for, what it means to us, and what makes Lena Kara’s endgame by being loud.

We will have compassion for the ones that are blinded by hatred and try to invalidate us. The same ones who refuse to see the evidence because they cannot move on a ship they had the luck to see happen on screen, the same ones who call us delusional but cannot find the light and understand they are the ones stuck in their fantasy. 

If the people who run the show cannot remember this, we will. Because we are the core of the show, and we are dedicated to it, and we don’t forget anything that happens in it (hi plot holes), and we know the characters like the back of our hands. And because we are powerful.

I will never lose hope, and I ask you to believe, as well. 

Because this is not about the show anymore, this is about us and everything we are yet to achieve. 

I love you with all my heart Supercorp fam.

[mothman-clarice-2]

The oc asks: 5, 12 & 18? Btw hope you’re doing well!!

First of all, oh my effing God THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS AHHHH! I always love talking about my OCs but I never get the chance to bUT NOW YOU GAVE ME THAT CHANCE AND I’M OVER THE MOON RN!!!! I have about 16 OCs but because I don’t wanna spam my followers, I tried to narrow it down to some of my favorites to talk about. I’ll include some doodles of them so you have faces to assign their names to. 

What are their favorite songs?

Spectra- Your Soul by Forrest. It's just so funky and catchy and he can't help but dance when it plays :)

Autumn- La Vie en Rose by Edith Piaf. Given Autumn is French but lives in America, she likes indulging in a bit of her own culture. This song was her favorite as a child and it's become a comforting and nostalgic song for her.

Lucas- The Only Thing They Fear is You by Mick Gordon (from the Doom Eternal soundtrack). Lucas is a heavy metal musician so obviously, his favorite song is gonna be metal. He loves listening to this especially when exercising because of the immense feeling of power it gives him.

Iris- Resonance by Home. Iris's favorite genre (second only to heavy metal considering she is bandmates with Lucas) is vaporwave so naturally, her favorite song would be the one that started it all.

Icarus- STFU by Pink Guy. Icarus is a comedian whose style was heavily influenced by the style of Pink Guy. He loves making fun of the overly edgy and obnoxiously offensive “humor” used by most teenagers trying to be cool and edgy. He loves the aggressiveness of this song and often listens to it to vent his frustration at people who really get on his nerves. 

Doré- Derniere Danse by Indila. Doré being born and raised in France loves indulging in her culture through French music. This song just has this enchanting beauty that makes her want to get up and dance.

Lorenzo- Nocturnes Op. 9 by Chopin. Lorenzo has a taste for the finer things in life and loves classical music with culture and history behind them. He also quite enjoys Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie as it was one of the first songs he learned to play on the piano.

What is something they carry with them always or never leave the house without?

Spectra- Spectra is a mega softie especially for his girlfriend Autumn and his brother Neon who disappeared years ago. (There's a whole plot behind Neon’s disappearance. I’ll summarize it at the bottom*) Spectra likes to keep the cork from the wine bottle he and Autumn opened on their first date. He also likes to keep a bandana that Neon had before he disappeared. Spectra found it while he was searching for Neon and kept it as a motivator to keep up the search.

Autumn- Autumn has had some seriously traumatic stuff happen to her. I won’t say it here because it could be triggering to someone so I’ll put it in the hashtags if you wanna know. She has gained a strong passion for protecting children as a result of her trauma to the point where it’s become her life’s mission. She keeps a picture of herself as a child before the traumatic event happened to her as a reminder to never let what happened to her happen to anyone else. 

Lucas- Despite Lucas’s intimidating appearance, he is a massive softie off-stage and is very sentimental. To make a long story short, he had a freak accident when he was young that left him severely disfigured and scarred. He felt really self-conscious about this until he discovered the heavy metal community. He quickly gained fame because his appearance fit the heavy metal aesthetic really well and he made good music. He used his fame to promote body positivity and has helped a lot of people with scars and disfigurements accept them and learn to love themselves. Lucas likes visiting children’s hospitals and has kept a few mementos from some of the kids he’s met. Most of these include drawings and cards kids made for him. 

Iris- Iris loves living the aesthetic lifestyle and tries to make everything she owns fit her aesthetics. Lucas being her boyfriend knows this and gave her a gift of a keychain with a bunch of vaporwave and retro futurism-themed pendants. She cherishes it and keeps it with her everywhere she goes. 

Icarus- Icarus is not really one for being sentimental but he secretly keeps a bottle cap his dad gave him. He has a strong bond with his family (though he never shows it to other people) so he treasures that bottle cap as a piece of his family. 

Doré- Doré is a transgender woman and likes keeping pride memorabilia on her as she goes about her daily life. Her husband Lorenzo (although he is cis and straight) is incredibly supportive of her and likes giving her pride related gifts, one of which is a little heart-shaped crystal pendant of the trans flag with a pure gold rim. She keeps it as a bit of trans pride and a symbol of her and Lorenzo’s love. 

Lorenzo- Lorenzo is incredibly romantic and deeply in love with Doré so naturally, he would like to keep a (kinda literal) piece of her with him. Doré is a golden orb weaver spider that gets its name from its golden-colored silk. She is a luxury fashion designer and she uses her silk in many of her products (which is why they’re considered luxury). She made a little handkerchief for Lorenzo made purely out of her own silk that he cherishes as if it were his firstborn child. 

Do they love getting hugs or giving hugs?

Spectra- Spectra is a giver of cuddles through and through

Autumn- Autumn doesn’t like touching people but she likes getting hugs from Spectra

Lucas- He likes to give and receive.

Iris- She likes giving

Icarus- He’s not a hugger

Doré- She likes getting hugs, primarily from Lorenzo

Lorenzo- He’s a giver

*About Neon’s disappearance: To make a long story short, Neon and Spectra are the sons of the two main Gods in this universe and Neon was fascinated by Earth so he traveled to it and became mortal. He stayed too long, forgot he was a divine being, joined a gang, betrayed that gang, and is now constantly on the run from the authorities and the gang he betrayed. Spectra has dedicated himself to find Neon and bring him back home.

[doomedandstoned]

Nicolas Perrault from Rage of Samedi Taps Deep Emotion in New Solo Effort

~Doomed & Stoned Debuts~

By MelLie

NICOLAS "SCRIOS" PERRAULT -- some of you may have heard this name in the course of the German monster sludgers RAGE OF SAMEDI. German multi-instrumentalist, producer, live audio engineer, creative head in general, and bad-ass bassist of the aforementioned band. Often these artists are mostly referred to us in connection with the bands in which they play and we often know too little about their individual personalities and the solo projects they have to offer. Ashes on our heads!

After six years of walking the path of self-discovery and working on his authenticity as a solo artist, Nicolas has now announced the release of his first full-length album 'Shadows Cast At Dawn' (2020) on May 20th. That's why we should jump at this perfect opportunity to get a foretaste of the new album and take a closer look at Nick Perrault as "singer/songwriter" (a term that somehow doesn't entirely fit him).

With the song "Fires Within," Nick not only offers us a gloomy soul plough, but also a glance into his own soul. It is a gritty absolution punch, with abysmal soundscapes that deal with depression and anxiety. Emotional, melancholic, but in no way melodramatic -- a puristic and minimalistic-looking audio-active encounter with the emotionally frozen world and the breakout of those soul-damaging shackles. Like the Last Judgement runs Nick‘s throaty, heavy, powerful voice through the song and manifests itself like a memorial at the edge of the abyss into which the listener seems to look. This musical work is further underpinned by the impressive video-artwork, which was also created by Nick's own artistic hand.

I hope I have made you a little curious about the excursion into a border area of this heavy genre, which generally receives less attention here, and about the artistic work of Nicolas Perrault. Enjoy the ride through the abyss.

'Fires Within' music video

An Interview with Nicolas Perrault

By MelLie (Doomed & Stoned & Sunday's Heavy Tunes)

First of all, a warm "welcome", on behalf of Doomed & Stoned and our audience, Nick. It's only been a few months since you answered my questions as part of the gang of Rage Of Samedi! But this time, you are in the spotlight with your solo project! It‘s nice to have you here again!

It's an absolute honor to get to do this twice in a single year, so thanks for having me!

Nick, of course I have created my own impression of you in the process of preparing for this interview - at the latest now you still have the chance to escape! (laughs) How would you describe yourself? Who is this guy Nicolas Perrault?

I'm a multi-instrumentalist, tattooer, live audio engineer and producer and slightly sociophobic. So pretty much your average vegan straightedge dude who refuses to get a real job.

What made you decide to sell your soul to the "Devil Of Music"? In other words, how and when did you realize that you were burning with heart and soul to dedicate your life to music?

I've always played instruments, starting with the recorder, then organ and piano, bass, drums, guitar, bagpipes, and everything else. Way back when I joined my first band (a grunge/punk three-piece) and first picked up a bass, I realized I had a lot to say and music quickly became my outlet of choice. So about 18 years ago, but I didn't think of it in terms of a career yet, that only happened roughly six years ago, so I dropped out of university and started to work on my solo project.

You have left some very manifold and genre crossing footsteps on the pilgrimage through your personal music history: PTAH (doom), MOONSAIL (depressive pop-blues), and THRENODIA (black-metal) in former times are on my mind, current side projects are WILLE ZUR MACHT (avangarde) and you are the bass-riffer of Germany's blackened sludge doom monster RAGE OF SAMEDI! To what extent were these different musical influences and band experiences important for your progress as solo-artist?

I've spent a decade and a half working in bands, which would usually split up after a while, when the band became more serious and the others decided they'd rather pursue "real" jobs. So after a couple of those, I grew tired of waiting on the right people and just started working on my own. But every now and then I'd want to experiment with different genres, so I'd start a new project. The reason I'm now releasing under my actual name is that I didn't want to be stuck in one genre. I don't regret any of it, as they shaped who I am and the music I play now.

At the mention of your solo project, I could see the glint in your eyes. May 20th is the day! Let's light a sparkler for a minute! After three released EPs and six years of working as a solo artist, 'Shadows Cast At Dawn' will sail into the world as your first full-length album, which you even produced under the name of your own label Yew & Holly, right? What thoughts shoot spontaneously through your head right now?

Yup. I'm just incredibly excited to finally release this thing! It's been nearly six years and about eight different entire recordings, several changes to the track listing, heck- there are two tracks on the album that I only wrote this year! It's been a long, tedious journey and I'm glad for everything that happened along the way, because it made the final version of the album so much better!

Nick, let's turn the spotlight on the background information for your new album now. How would you describe your it to someone who has never heard your music before and which instruments play a major role?

A genre defying journey through post-modern life in a capitalist reality, focussing on depression and anxiety. Almost all of the songs are two sets of drums, a minute string section of violin and cello plus baritone guitar and vocals, that together create soundscapes so vast you might mistake them for an assassin's creed map.

Listening a little deeper into your work, one does not miss your natural fondness for philosophical thinking -- correct me if I am wrong with my assumption. Where do you get your inspirations from? And is there a message you want to convey to the listeners?

Well, I did study philosophy way back when. I tend to use naval imagery to paint a lyrical picture of depression and bipolar disorder, as a means of sharing the way I experience the world. It's likely not the most accessible thing you will ever hear, but it's a sincere expression of myself and that's really all I can offer.

"Fires Within," btw. Also one of my personal favorites of your album - is the amuse-gueule for our listeners What is the meaning behind this song and what moved you, writing the lyrics for this song?

"Fires" is all about setting boundaries and tearing down unhealthy relationships. If you have people in your life that hold you back instead of supporting you, ditch their ass! They're not worth the time and will poison any creative endeavor. Everyone knows at least a handful of these negative feckers and so did I. I spent years trying to help them get through their shit, but whenever I needed them they'd be more interested in getting drunk.

It's an unburdening from dead weight we carry, a cleansing, if you will. The chorus says "look not towards time, it brings only decay and destruction " and I think this is key to ridding yourself from negativity. Focus on your ultimate goal, that transcends trends and mood swings, that lives beyond time, and let it guide you. Don't stray too much from the path, or these negative influences will be right there waiting to cut you down.

"Fires Within"

Call upon the wind To wipe the surface clean He brings the rain and with it Absolution To carry with it the dust And bittersweet memories lost

Look not towards time To save your soul from fires It brings only decay and with it Destruction The fires burn from within Feast on the sand and it's running thin

Turn away from everything you hold dear To keep yourself safe from despair Cause all they bring is but loss All that remains is darkness when they are all gone Darkness that stretches like shadows cast from a new dawn

I would like to make a short swerve to the album cover. It is the wonderful artwork of Maryland based illustrator Luke Martin (Suburban Avenger Studios) who counts some famous musicians among his clients (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age, Arctic Monkeys, Red Hot Chili Pepper and others). How does the artwork relate to "Shadows Cast To Dawn"?

I've been a huge fan of Luke's work for years and a while ago he posted this picture to his Instagram. I was looking for something very specific to use as an album cover at the time. I needed it to evoke claustrophobia and a feeling of being safe inside whilst at the same time showing an outside, detached from the rest, just out of reach.

So imagine my jaw dropping as I saw this picture for the first time. It just struck me. So I wrote Luke, if he'd sell it. He had never sold a photograph before (plenty of awesome illustrations, though) so needless to say, I was very happy he did. He basically captured exactly what I had conceptualized -- that it's an actual photograph just makes it even better, as the concept is very much abstract but now has an actual physical representation.

The title "Shadows Cast At Dawn" was something that I had floating around in my head for ever. So when I began to work on the album that became the working title. Since I've worked on it for so long, that title has- in a way- effected everything I wrote, so it seemed to fit perfectly by the end.

Is there a special favourite place where you prefer to let your ideas mature? - a kind of soul-flyer place? I know you live in a small, rather idyllic place and not in a vibrant artists' metropolis! Whereby this way of living has advantages as well as disadvantages for an artist, right?

I love forests, oceans and mountains, so I'm pretty much alright with any surroundings, as long as I can escape civilization from time to time. Living out in the countryside allows me to focus, as you pretty much know where to find people, if you're looking for company but at the same time, you know where you are less likely to be found.

Sure, I need to travel a lot more to get anywhere and there aren't as many connections to be made face to face, but digitalization has granted us loners access to that aspect of life from the comfort of our homes, so I'd say it really depends on what you need to stay sane.

With the release of this album, you could now realize one of your dreams. Do we have another sparkler to light? What else do you have in the works? Are there any future plans that float in space? Or do you still carry around another big dream in your head?

I've already started recording for the next album, so fingers crossed that this time it won't take as long. Apart from that, I really want to tour the world, but circumstances aren't exactly ideal for that, at the moment. Apart from the music, I also tattoo and paint and hope to be doing more of that alongside music in the future. So if y'all wanna get some ink, hit me up!

Thanks a lot Nick, for giving us a deeper insight into your solo project and the things that move you! It's been very entertaining having this conversation with you here. We all will keep our eyes upon Nicolas "Scrios" Perrault in anticipation of your success!

Thank you very much, Mel, it's been my pleasure!

Leave Me To The Waves by Nicolas Perrault

Follow The Artist

Get His Music

[bowldeepfannish]

Someone; *watches Yuri on ice exactly once* WOW I LOVE FIGURE SKATING!! DAMN THEY NAILED THAT *squinting at wikipedia article* TRIPLE TOE COMBO(?) WOW HE KILLED THAT *squinting at another wiki article* SHORT PROGRAM xD MAn IM SUCH AN EXPERT ON THIS SHIT. WONDER IF I COULD GO TO THE OLYMPICS???? Me, a figure skater; i want death.

Don’t die Anon! And no need to get randomly so doom and gloom over random strangers over the internet whether you happen to be on the giving or the receiving end.

Just keep enjoying your sport on your terms, other people will enjoy it on theirs. Also figure skating is a bit of a marvelously odd beast blending both athleticism and artistry/performance, ‘acting’ even. It’s perfectly fine to enjoy either or both according to one’s own individual sensibilities and analysis skills. I don’t go into technical because expression and emotion are more my jam and I lack skating experience (temp rinks and rented hockey skates. ‘nough said) to gauge the minute points of a move/jump and I struggle even when I try replaying frame by frame. At least axels are easy to spot at a glance XDD. But generally over a more ‘muscular’ program I’d be more impressed with a technically easier program that has overall better flow  and ‘acting’ the program’s story and that moves me ad entertains me. I tend to prefer former competitive skaters programs actually. Then we get stuff like Yuzuru’s Seimei hence the best of both worlds so yay.

On top of that genuine interest and even pro careers can be sparked in different ways and by different means. Anime included. Among today’s YOI fans there are tomorrow’s  champions (and past, and present too. Incidentally have you followed some of them top figure skaters’ social media posts about YOI since more than 1 year ago now? )

CASE IN POINT AND QUICK HISTORY LESSON FOLLOWS. There are many roads leading to Rome  as we say or more than one-way street journey to reach your destination.

1) OUAT in my country  (we’re talking nearly 40 years ago dear readers and I was there walking the Earth ) they used to broadcast a lot of sport anime series.  We are a soccer kind of country and basicaly everything else gets very little coverage by comparison, or none at all. I can vouch for at least two generations of soccer players, tennis players, volleyball players  gymnasts and golf players getting their spark and/or gained support thanks to those series. Back then those anime were a mass phenomenon and a childhood staple /bonding experience. Everyone watched them and many wished to try the sports of their fav heroes :D. Fun times. Winning times too.

2) Even if I hadn’t watched YOI about 8 times and in three languages already and it hadn’t brought me much joy and lovely acquaintances in a hard phase of my life I’m very grateful to YOI because it led me to find out official reliable channels at last! to keep updated on figure skating and skaters as I had always wished to do (and did to an extent on other platforms since circa 2004. Regular-ish internet access yay) As I mentioned above in point 1) coverage for many sports has always been sporadic where I live and spotty at best outside of soccer, cycling and Formula1 because we are the land of Ferrari cars and Coppi and Bartali/Giro D’Italia among others yadda yadda .

For years I  and many others unless we happened to live near an ice rink (hint: rare) or belong in a skating fans’ circle could only glimpse something about figure skating ( I admit I prefer singles’ skating over the couples or synchro also my free time and internet is limited alas) through news articles, the occasional piece about Carolina Kostner exploits (and failures)  or whethever we were blessed with some mainstream TV  broadcast - often recaps or quick puff pieces -  about again Kostner, or Deborah Compagnoni and Alberto Tomba & Co. for skiing, or the temporary bonanza of Turin Winter Olympics 2006 .

Thank heavens for fervent Youtube uploaders of  real life figure skating from ancient to basically real time video shares. And Rocker Skating. And dedicated non-anime figure skating tumblr accounts. And the both national and international figura skating fans group  on facebook  - whose main/core base may overlap with YOI watchers but for the most past it doesn’t. They are  by average VERY gracious with all newbie fans whatever their walk of life or fandom btw. Just a tip. Because really those who love and/or practiced  the sport all started somewhere. Even you Anon - for constantly keeping people updated about old  present and new ice talents worldwide  and available streams for us poor fans who cannot subscribe to paid channels or won’t get any news at all on telly until the next Euros/Worlds/Olympics (because we are not in 4cc as a nation hence it’s not relevant #logic) - as long as Cappellini/LaNotte and/or Kostner skate there mind you. Otherwise who knows here TV-wise. 

Thanks YOI specifically for being a love letter to the sport and being such an uplifting humanistic watch about growth and understanding and meeting people halfway. With their quirks their flaws their own cultural background and all.

Thank you Anon for reminding me that YOI’s  above message is really one that is sorely needed ;P.

[spotlightsaga]

Kevin Cage of @spotlightsaga reviews… GLOW (S01E07) Live Studio Audience Airdate: June 23, 2017 Ratings: @netflix original/Privatized Ratings Score: 9.5/10 TVTime/FB/Twitter/Tumblr/Path: @SpotlightSaga

**********SPOILERS BELOW**********

The greatest thing about pro-wrestling is that it’s literally a live show, anything can go wrong (or horribly right). Even shows like NXT, Lucha Underground, ROH, PWG specials, shows that are filmed, then edited, then sent out as a television series or a digital copy (since DVD’s & even BluRays are becoming obsolete) can go way off script. When improvisation is introduced into the wrestling show, that’s when the magic begins. Recently a troll on FB attacked one of our articles on A&E’s ‘60 Days In’. After a well pieced together article that covered what we thought were 'producer pushed situations’ vs what was occurring naturally in the series (it’s kinda hard to fake an entire REAL jail, considering they need the space), he simply skipped over everything I had written from the heart and wrote one little line, “You know this is fake, right?” He clearly didn’t read it. After my retort, he brought up pro-wrestling… Ah, he done did it now! Any tried & true fan of professional wrestling will defend their sport or 'Sports Entertainment’ (whatever you want to call it) to the death. Of course everything is planned in advance; the moves, the winners, the storylines… But it’s the pageantry, the training, the real risk of physical injury, the freedom that some wrestlers have in their promos, and an array of other variables, that make pro-wrestling so damn great and have seen it survive for well over a century.

'Live Studio Audience’ captures all of that AND MORE. As a matter of fact, we want to go ahead and nominate this very episode as one of the best of the year for a 30 Minute Comedy or Drama. We get it all… The thrill and excitement of the very first GLOW Live Show ever, the anxiety & stage fright that comes with it as we see Machu Picchu (Britney Young) run for the hills without even getting inside the 20x20, a overworked and panicked Bash (Chris Lowell) abandoning the possible financial future of the show to console Carmen in her 'emotional distress’, two women taking a chance - Cherry Bang (Sydelle Noel) & Tammé the Welfare Queen (Kia Stevens) instinctively changing the direction & storyline of their match without anyone else aware of their scheme besides the newly 'white sheet wearing’, transformed 'Beatdown Biddies’, Stacey (Kimmy Gatewood) & Dawn (Rebekka Johnson) - who’s main concern is if Bill Cosby will be mad at them… Literally changing the match from the uber-cliché, women of color beating up on the elderly to two bad ass, strong Black Queens taking on two racist KKK members, signifying the ongoing battle of racism in the United States! The latter had to be one of the best, most outrageous scenes of GLOW to date. And like Sam said, 'I guess you’re never too young to know about this country’s racial history’.

Sam (Marc Maron) was apprehensive of Cherry & Tammé’s surprise changes at first… But by the end of the match he had gained confidence in the women after hearing the crowd of 30 or so erupt into roars the likes of a full house in the broken down gym would sound like. He even hilariously referred to them as 'The Black Panthers’ in what was ironically riveting commentary. All of it accompanied by the same solemn keyboard tune for the entire show thanks to Sheila the She-Wolf (Gayle Rankin), as it was the only song she knew. Suddenly a show that was hitting every pitfall and taking every wrong turn was lighting up all the faces of the rather 'eclectic’ crowd that had turned up for GLOW’s free show. Suddenly everyone from Sam to all the women in the locker room knew that this crazy idea, one that felt like it would never work, could and WOULD come together. They could actually succeed at what they had set out to do!

By 'Main Event’ time, the crowd was literally eating out of the amateurish palm of GLOW’s outstretched hand. The electricity and excitement running through the building that connected the women with their audience was not only palpable, it can literally be seen worn on the faces and demeanor of everyone in the building. Even all of us at home could feel the tv radiating with the GLOW! Truly!!! It all came down to Liberty Belle, the 100% 'sweet as American Apple Pie’, confident and poised symbol of the 'American Way’, Miss Debbie Eagan (Betty Gilpin) vs 'Zoya The Destroya’, the 'Dirty Russian’, who wants to drain your swimming pools and fill them with Borscht, 'Accidental Homewrecker’, Ruth Wilder (Alison Brie). And yes, if any of you are wondering, I totally said that last line out loud as I wrote it in my best Russian 'Zoya The Destroya’ voice. I can’t help but ponder if Alison Brie was inspired by not only the real GLOW Girl she is portraying, Colonel Ninotchka (Lori Palmer), but also WWE’s own modern version, Lana (CJ Perry)… And that just maybe, Lana is inspired by Palmer herself! It fits, that’s for sure… Even on the heels of Rusev, The Bulgarian Brute.

The match is going well, unexpectedly well. Unbeknownst to the other women, Carmen had taken Ruth & Debbie to visit her brothers… Big Kurt (Carlos Colon Jr aka WWE’s Carlito) & Mighty Tom Jackson (George Murdoch aka WWE’s Brodus Clay, TNA’s Tyrus, and even a part-time, humorous, FOX News anchor). The two headlining women had gone to the brothers for help. They wanted to dazzle the crowd and give them more than just basic moves and the great wrestling tradition of Heel vs Babyface, Good vs Evil… They wanted a match that would elevate both GLOW as a show and themselves as performers. After some hilarious misfires, they were ready… And they ran that ring just like they had intended to, just like they had practiced so hard for. Unfortunately, just as 'the unexpected’ can elevate a wrestling program, it can also add unwanted chaos and ruin. Suddenly, Debbie’s soon to be ex-husband and Ruth’s casual, shameful partner in a secret affair, Mark (Rich Sommer) peaked his head out of the crowd and into Debbie’s field of vision. Debbie freezes and runs off into the back to allow Mark to browbeat her while she misses one of the biggest and best opportunities of her career. Obviously, there’s going to be more for Debbie, but this is going to hurt. Dump the douche already, Debbie!

In an attempt to save the main event, or at least stall until Debbie possibly made her triumphant return (which she never did), Ruth continued on in character yelling out hilarious, typical Russian stereotypes at the audience, who actually ate it up for awhile. As it was bound to happen, the audience started to turn on Ruth. They rightfully wanted a big finish to the show that had unexpectedly turned them from bored passerby’s that were sucked into the building in promise of a free show, to GLOW’s first diverse group of fans. Rhonda (Kate Nash) saw her moment to shine. She had been practicing a 'GLOW Rap’ with Sam’s stolen camera that a jealous, vindictive (yet somehow still relatable and sympathetic), Justine (Britt Baron) had stuffed in her locker in an attempt to set her up and get her fired, all for sleeping with the boss. Rhonda climbed in the ring and started to do GLOW’s now infamous pre-show rap that they were notorious for on their real life tv show. First Ruth followed suit, then the rest of the women stormed the ring and joined in… And GLOW was officially born!

I know I’ve taken a lot of your time and should probably end there, but it’s important for me to give credit where credit is due. Not only did Director Jesse Peretz (thank you so much for HBO’s 'Divorce’, Jesse, and btw 'Our Idiot Brother’ is criminally underrated), but 'new-to-the-game’ writer Rachel Shukert was flawless in her writing, dialogue, and scene transitions… You too, Emma Rathbone! Also, this episode was dedicated to the memory of Chavo Guerrero Sr, the father of Armando Guerrero, the man who trained the wrestlers of the original GLOW as well as the world famous Chavo Guerrero Jr, who trained all the actresses of the series… Except for Kia Stevens, y'all. You think WWE’s Kharma or Independent Scene & TNA Knockout Wrestler 'Awesome Kong’ needed training by the great Chavo Guerrero Jr?! Psssh, that woman is talent personified! Thank you, Liz Flahive & Carly Mensch, on behalf of Spotlight Saga and the French-born, now worldwide, burgeoning community of TVTime.com, we LOVE GLOW!

[milenasanchezmk]

10 Ideas to Make Workouts More Fun (and a Contest)

Workouts are work. There’s no way around that. Whenever you move matter through space and time, whether you’re displacing your own body weight or a barbell or a kettle bell, you’re doing work. It’s just physics. But there’s another meaning of “work”: an unpleasant but necessary activity that helps you achieve a desired outcome. Far too many of our workouts end up embodying this second definition. They’re chores, strains. That’s why so many people—all of whom know they should be exercising on a regular basis—remain sedentary, unfit, weak individuals. Physical activity is no longer required to survive. We don’t “have” to do it anymore. If it feels like a miserable experience, why would we?

There are ways to escape this mindset, though. There are ways to make your workouts feel more likely play and less like work. Let’s look at a few today, and I hope you’ll share what works for you in the comment section. Btw, I’ve included a video of me doing one of my favorites below—and a contest to share the fun.

Find an Activity That’s Intrinsically Rewarding

When training, extrinsic rewards are always going to be present. You’re always trying to look better naked, lose weight, hit a PR, get better health markers. But if your training is also intrinsically rewarding—if you derive satisfaction, pleasure, and meaning from the act of training itself— you’ll have no problems sticking with it. Only the hardest of hard core will maintain a training regimen they hate. Everyone will keep a training regimen they love. Find something you enjoy doing, that you’d do even if it provided no health or aesthetic benefits, and make that at least part of your training regimen.

If You Hate Something, Try Something Else

This is the most fundamental mindset shift. Don’t do things that you hate.

A workout doesn’t have to be a walk in the park. Not everything is going to leave you bursting with joy. But if your training regimen is leaving you miserable, if you dread it and find every excuse to skip it, that’s worth heeding.

Maybe you hate back squats, but front squats are downright enjoyable. Maybe you hate spin class, but hill sprints are fun. Maybe you hate dedicated cardio or HIIT sessions, but pickup basketball twice a week does the trick. Find an alternative that accomplishes the same thing.

Try Competing Against Other Entities

I enjoy competing against myself. I like beating my own records, surpassing my own achievements, improving on my former self. I also like competition against other humans. That’s why I ran marathons and competed in triathlon for so long—I liked beating the other guys. It’s also why I love Ultimate Frisbee. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of competition to make you forget about how hard you’re working and how great of a workout you’re getting.

You can compete in CrossFit, in pickup games at the park, in adult rec leagues. Anything at all will work.

Get Better Goals

Me? My goal is to play better:

I want to be able to play Ultimate every weekend with guys 3o years younger (and keep up).

I want to go out for a paddling session whenever I want and not have it feel like work.

I want to hit the slopes all weekend and be able to drive home without my quads cramping up every time I hit the brake.

And I want to do all that while staying injury-free.

My training focus, then, is to maintain: my fitness, my muscle mass, the viability of my connective tissue, my bone mineral density. I’m not going for PRs anymore because it’s too risky at this stage while bringing me no closer to my goals. But that’s fine. I’ve found what works for me and my goals. And it makes the more “boring” training that much more enjoyable, because I’m working toward something that I love and frankly need to be healthy and happy.

Half my training is play. The other half is training that supports the other half, the play, and gets me closer to it. I know what and I’m doing and why. Do you?

Integrate Training Into Your Work Day

When you’re plugging away behind the computer, take ten minutes to go for a walk, run some sprints in the stairwell, do a few sets of pushups and squats, or swing the kettlebell you keep in your office when you feel like a break. You’re still working, but it’s different. You’ve switched from the mental to the physical, and that change is everything. Suddenly you want to train, because it’s not filling out a report or writing another email.

The added benefit is that taking fitness breaks will make you more eager to get back to work and, thanks to better blood flow to the brain, more productive when you do.

A ten-minute break to move or train every hour is the sweet spot, I find.

Take Up a Martial Art

Humans have a predilection for violence. Human history is in many respects a history of violence. We all need to acknowledge that and integrate it. That doesn’t mean we should be violent. It means there’s nothing wrong—and perhaps a lot right—with developing our capacity for physical conflict in a controlled, safe environment. Sparring, not street fighting. Staying calm in tense situations, not freaking out and escalating. Roughhousing, not brawling.

One of my big regrets is not learning a martial art. I have been learning a bit with an experienced friend, who’s shown me a few things and runs drills with me, and that’s only made me realize how much I’ve missed out on. Don’t make that mistake.

Set a Few Rules

Making rules that “force” you to exercise can be liberating.

One rule I’ve been following lately is “exercise when Shanti (our dog) exercises.” I’ll take the ball or frisbee out to the park, and every time I throw it I’ll exercise until she brings it back. I’ll do as many pushups or bodyweight squats as I can. I’ll hold a plank. Maybe I’ll even bring a kettlebell along and do swings or overhead presses or cleans or goblet squats. Depending on how far you throw the ball and how fast your dog is, you can end up doing short or long sets. This has ended up being one or two of my workouts each week.

Another example is people who hang pullup bars in a doorway and have the rule that they must do five (or however many) pullups each time they pass through. Without fail. If it’s a heavily trafficked part of the house, you might accumulate 30 or 40 pullups on an average day. Those add up.

Maybe you do squats while brushing your teeth. Or “sprint every hill you see.” Or “walk after every meal.” The point is to repeat these rules and stick to them until they’re part of you, and you find yourself training without making the decision to do it. What begins as an arbitrary rule (what rule doesn’t?) will eventually become sacrosanct.

Dance

If you have kids, this is a great way to spend some awesome family time. Have everyone hang out in the kitchen as you prep dinner. Throw on some music. Dance. Get silly. Try something new, don’t be afraid to really move. A Spotify (or similar service) account works well here, because you can create playlists and just throw them on when needed.

I’m partial to the “A to Z of African Dance” YouTube video. Great beat, great dancing, and it’ll give you some good ideas to try that provide a good workout.

Go Creek Walking

Don’t have a creek at hand? Apologies. If you do, however, I want you to visit it at least once a week for the next month—and spend at least an hour during each visit traveling up and down it, jumping from rock to rock, balancing on logs, wading through the water, squatting down to look for crawdads (or crayfish) and frogs and salamanders (but definitely not newts), sprinting up banks, crawling, lifting heavy rocks and logs. It’s a great opportunity to get a variety of movement patterns, expose yourself to nature, and get some barefoot time.

Make the World Your Playground

No matter where you live, the environment offers a wide variety of options for movement, play, and exercise.

Trees: Climb them, do pull-ups on the branches, do handstand pushups against the trunk.

Stairs: Run them, jump them, bear crawl up and down them.

Park Benches: Jump over them, crawl on the back, balance on the back.

Hills: Roll down them then sprint back up.

Traffic Lights: pull-ups, sprint across intersections (when green).

Curbs: Treat like balance beams, do calf raises (or stretches) off the edge, single leg hops up and down.

Target (Store): Hurdle and climb those big red balls they have at the entrance (beware of dirty looks from parents whose kids try to emulate you).

Everything is an opportunity for movement and exercise. You just have to be willing to stand out.

I’d say make the local playground your playground, but certain cities have strict laws against adults using playgrounds without children. Too bad.

Still, know you can always add workout “toys” to your own the backyard (or a willing friend’s if you don’t have one yourself). The slackline has been one such piece of play equipment for me. Check it out—and then see how you could WIN one yourself. 

Now For the Contest…

I want to hear your favorite ways to turn exercise into play—and your questions around enjoying more play in your (and your family’s) life. Simply leave a relevant comment here by the deadline, and you’ll be entered to win.

The Prize: 

Your very own Slackline + The full line of PRIMAL KITCHEN® Collagen products (Collagen Fuel, Collagen Peptides, and Collagen Bars)—the ultimate ways to support the health of your joints, tendons and muscles (not to mention skin, hair and nails).

The Deadline: Midnight PDT, June 21th, 2018

Thanks for stopping in, everyone. Good luck!

[cristinajourdanqp]

10 Ideas to Make Workouts More Fun (and a Contest)

Workouts are work. There’s no way around that. Whenever you move matter through space and time, whether you’re displacing your own body weight or a barbell or a kettle bell, you’re doing work. It’s just physics. But there’s another meaning of “work”: an unpleasant but necessary activity that helps you achieve a desired outcome. Far too many of our workouts end up embodying this second definition. They’re chores, strains. That’s why so many people—all of whom know they should be exercising on a regular basis—remain sedentary, unfit, weak individuals. Physical activity is no longer required to survive. We don’t “have” to do it anymore. If it feels like a miserable experience, why would we?

There are ways to escape this mindset, though. There are ways to make your workouts feel more likely play and less like work. Let’s look at a few today, and I hope you’ll share what works for you in the comment section. Btw, I’ve included a video of me doing one of my favorites below—and a contest to share the fun.

Find an Activity That’s Intrinsically Rewarding

When training, extrinsic rewards are always going to be present. You’re always trying to look better naked, lose weight, hit a PR, get better health markers. But if your training is also intrinsically rewarding—if you derive satisfaction, pleasure, and meaning from the act of training itself— you’ll have no problems sticking with it. Only the hardest of hard core will maintain a training regimen they hate. Everyone will keep a training regimen they love. Find something you enjoy doing, that you’d do even if it provided no health or aesthetic benefits, and make that at least part of your training regimen.

If You Hate Something, Try Something Else

This is the most fundamental mindset shift. Don’t do things that you hate.

A workout doesn’t have to be a walk in the park. Not everything is going to leave you bursting with joy. But if your training regimen is leaving you miserable, if you dread it and find every excuse to skip it, that’s worth heeding.

Maybe you hate back squats, but front squats are downright enjoyable. Maybe you hate spin class, but hill sprints are fun. Maybe you hate dedicated cardio or HIIT sessions, but pickup basketball twice a week does the trick. Find an alternative that accomplishes the same thing.

Try Competing Against Other Entities

I enjoy competing against myself. I like beating my own records, surpassing my own achievements, improving on my former self. I also like competition against other humans. That’s why I ran marathons and competed in triathlon for so long—I liked beating the other guys. It’s also why I love Ultimate Frisbee. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of competition to make you forget about how hard you’re working and how great of a workout you’re getting.

You can compete in CrossFit, in pickup games at the park, in adult rec leagues. Anything at all will work.

Get Better Goals

Me? My goal is to play better:

I want to be able to play Ultimate every weekend with guys 3o years younger (and keep up).

I want to go out for a paddling session whenever I want and not have it feel like work.

I want to hit the slopes all weekend and be able to drive home without my quads cramping up every time I hit the brake.

And I want to do all that while staying injury-free.

My training focus, then, is to maintain: my fitness, my muscle mass, the viability of my connective tissue, my bone mineral density. I’m not going for PRs anymore because it’s too risky at this stage while bringing me no closer to my goals. But that’s fine. I’ve found what works for me and my goals. And it makes the more “boring” training that much more enjoyable, because I’m working toward something that I love and frankly need to be healthy and happy.

Half my training is play. The other half is training that supports the other half, the play, and gets me closer to it. I know what and I’m doing and why. Do you?

Integrate Training Into Your Work Day

When you’re plugging away behind the computer, take ten minutes to go for a walk, run some sprints in the stairwell, do a few sets of pushups and squats, or swing the kettlebell you keep in your office when you feel like a break. You’re still working, but it’s different. You’ve switched from the mental to the physical, and that change is everything. Suddenly you want to train, because it’s not filling out a report or writing another email.

The added benefit is that taking fitness breaks will make you more eager to get back to work and, thanks to better blood flow to the brain, more productive when you do.

A ten-minute break to move or train every hour is the sweet spot, I find.

Take Up a Martial Art

Humans have a predilection for violence. Human history is in many respects a history of violence. We all need to acknowledge that and integrate it. That doesn’t mean we should be violent. It means there’s nothing wrong—and perhaps a lot right—with developing our capacity for physical conflict in a controlled, safe environment. Sparring, not street fighting. Staying calm in tense situations, not freaking out and escalating. Roughhousing, not brawling.

One of my big regrets is not learning a martial art. I have been learning a bit with an experienced friend, who’s shown me a few things and runs drills with me, and that’s only made me realize how much I’ve missed out on. Don’t make that mistake.

Set a Few Rules

Making rules that “force” you to exercise can be liberating.

One rule I’ve been following lately is “exercise when Shanti (our dog) exercises.” I’ll take the ball or frisbee out to the park, and every time I throw it I’ll exercise until she brings it back. I’ll do as many pushups or bodyweight squats as I can. I’ll hold a plank. Maybe I’ll even bring a kettlebell along and do swings or overhead presses or cleans or goblet squats. Depending on how far you throw the ball and how fast your dog is, you can end up doing short or long sets. This has ended up being one or two of my workouts each week.

Another example is people who hang pullup bars in a doorway and have the rule that they must do five (or however many) pullups each time they pass through. Without fail. If it’s a heavily trafficked part of the house, you might accumulate 30 or 40 pullups on an average day. Those add up.

Maybe you do squats while brushing your teeth. Or “sprint every hill you see.” Or “walk after every meal.” The point is to repeat these rules and stick to them until they’re part of you, and you find yourself training without making the decision to do it. What begins as an arbitrary rule (what rule doesn’t?) will eventually become sacrosanct.

Dance

If you have kids, this is a great way to spend some awesome family time. Have everyone hang out in the kitchen as you prep dinner. Throw on some music. Dance. Get silly. Try something new, don’t be afraid to really move. A Spotify (or similar service) account works well here, because you can create playlists and just throw them on when needed.

I’m partial to the “A to Z of African Dance” YouTube video. Great beat, great dancing, and it’ll give you some good ideas to try that provide a good workout.

Go Creek Walking

Don’t have a creek at hand? Apologies. If you do, however, I want you to visit it at least once a week for the next month—and spend at least an hour during each visit traveling up and down it, jumping from rock to rock, balancing on logs, wading through the water, squatting down to look for crawdads (or crayfish) and frogs and salamanders (but definitely not newts), sprinting up banks, crawling, lifting heavy rocks and logs. It’s a great opportunity to get a variety of movement patterns, expose yourself to nature, and get some barefoot time.

Make the World Your Playground

No matter where you live, the environment offers a wide variety of options for movement, play, and exercise.

Trees: Climb them, do pull-ups on the branches, do handstand pushups against the trunk.

Stairs: Run them, jump them, bear crawl up and down them.

Park Benches: Jump over them, crawl on the back, balance on the back.

Hills: Roll down them then sprint back up.

Traffic Lights: pull-ups, sprint across intersections (when green).

Curbs: Treat like balance beams, do calf raises (or stretches) off the edge, single leg hops up and down.

Target (Store): Hurdle and climb those big red balls they have at the entrance (beware of dirty looks from parents whose kids try to emulate you).

Everything is an opportunity for movement and exercise. You just have to be willing to stand out.

I’d say make the local playground your playground, but certain cities have strict laws against adults using playgrounds without children. Too bad.

Still, know you can always add workout “toys” to your own the backyard (or a willing friend’s if you don’t have one yourself). The slackline has been one such piece of play equipment for me. Check it out—and then see how you could WIN one yourself. 

Now For the Contest…

I want to hear your favorite ways to turn exercise into play—and your questions around enjoying more play in your (and your family’s) life. Simply leave a relevant comment here by the deadline, and you’ll be entered to win.

The Prize: 

Your very own Slackline + The full line of PRIMAL KITCHEN® Collagen products (Collagen Fuel, Collagen Peptides, and Collagen Bars)—the ultimate ways to support the health of your joints, tendons and muscles (not to mention skin, hair and nails).

The Deadline: Midnight PDT, June 21th, 2018

Thanks for stopping in, everyone. Good luck!

[watsonrodriquezie]

10 Ideas to Make Workouts More Fun (and a Contest)

Workouts are work. There’s no way around that. Whenever you move matter through space and time, whether you’re displacing your own body weight or a barbell or a kettle bell, you’re doing work. It’s just physics. But there’s another meaning of “work”: an unpleasant but necessary activity that helps you achieve a desired outcome. Far too many of our workouts end up embodying this second definition. They’re chores, strains. That’s why so many people—all of whom know they should be exercising on a regular basis—remain sedentary, unfit, weak individuals. Physical activity is no longer required to survive. We don’t “have” to do it anymore. If it feels like a miserable experience, why would we?

There are ways to escape this mindset, though. There are ways to make your workouts feel more likely play and less like work. Let’s look at a few today, and I hope you’ll share what works for you in the comment section. Btw, I’ve included a video of me doing one of my favorites below—and a contest to share the fun.

Find an Activity That’s Intrinsically Rewarding

When training, extrinsic rewards are always going to be present. You’re always trying to look better naked, lose weight, hit a PR, get better health markers. But if your training is also intrinsically rewarding—if you derive satisfaction, pleasure, and meaning from the act of training itself— you’ll have no problems sticking with it. Only the hardest of hard core will maintain a training regimen they hate. Everyone will keep a training regimen they love. Find something you enjoy doing, that you’d do even if it provided no health or aesthetic benefits, and make that at least part of your training regimen.

If You Hate Something, Try Something Else

This is the most fundamental mindset shift. Don’t do things that you hate.

A workout doesn’t have to be a walk in the park. Not everything is going to leave you bursting with joy. But if your training regimen is leaving you miserable, if you dread it and find every excuse to skip it, that’s worth heeding.

Maybe you hate back squats, but front squats are downright enjoyable. Maybe you hate spin class, but hill sprints are fun. Maybe you hate dedicated cardio or HIIT sessions, but pickup basketball twice a week does the trick. Find an alternative that accomplishes the same thing.

Try Competing Against Other Entities

I enjoy competing against myself. I like beating my own records, surpassing my own achievements, improving on my former self. I also like competition against other humans. That’s why I ran marathons and competed in triathlon for so long—I liked beating the other guys. It’s also why I love Ultimate Frisbee. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of competition to make you forget about how hard you’re working and how great of a workout you’re getting.

You can compete in CrossFit, in pickup games at the park, in adult rec leagues. Anything at all will work.

Get Better Goals

Me? My goal is to play better:

I want to be able to play Ultimate every weekend with guys 3o years younger (and keep up).

I want to go out for a paddling session whenever I want and not have it feel like work.

I want to hit the slopes all weekend and be able to drive home without my quads cramping up every time I hit the brake.

And I want to do all that while staying injury-free.

My training focus, then, is to maintain: my fitness, my muscle mass, the viability of my connective tissue, my bone mineral density. I’m not going for PRs anymore because it’s too risky at this stage while bringing me no closer to my goals. But that’s fine. I’ve found what works for me and my goals. And it makes the more “boring” training that much more enjoyable, because I’m working toward something that I love and frankly need to be healthy and happy.

Half my training is play. The other half is training that supports the other half, the play, and gets me closer to it. I know what and I’m doing and why. Do you?

Integrate Training Into Your Work Day

When you’re plugging away behind the computer, take ten minutes to go for a walk, run some sprints in the stairwell, do a few sets of pushups and squats, or swing the kettlebell you keep in your office when you feel like a break. You’re still working, but it’s different. You’ve switched from the mental to the physical, and that change is everything. Suddenly you want to train, because it’s not filling out a report or writing another email.

The added benefit is that taking fitness breaks will make you more eager to get back to work and, thanks to better blood flow to the brain, more productive when you do.

A ten-minute break to move or train every hour is the sweet spot, I find.

Take Up a Martial Art

Humans have a predilection for violence. Human history is in many respects a history of violence. We all need to acknowledge that and integrate it. That doesn’t mean we should be violent. It means there’s nothing wrong—and perhaps a lot right—with developing our capacity for physical conflict in a controlled, safe environment. Sparring, not street fighting. Staying calm in tense situations, not freaking out and escalating. Roughhousing, not brawling.

One of my big regrets is not learning a martial art. I have been learning a bit with an experienced friend, who’s shown me a few things and runs drills with me, and that’s only made me realize how much I’ve missed out on. Don’t make that mistake.

Set a Few Rules

Making rules that “force” you to exercise can be liberating.

One rule I’ve been following lately is “exercise when Shanti (our dog) exercises.” I’ll take the ball or frisbee out to the park, and every time I throw it I’ll exercise until she brings it back. I’ll do as many pushups or bodyweight squats as I can. I’ll hold a plank. Maybe I’ll even bring a kettlebell along and do swings or overhead presses or cleans or goblet squats. Depending on how far you throw the ball and how fast your dog is, you can end up doing short or long sets. This has ended up being one or two of my workouts each week.

Another example is people who hang pullup bars in a doorway and have the rule that they must do five (or however many) pullups each time they pass through. Without fail. If it’s a heavily trafficked part of the house, you might accumulate 30 or 40 pullups on an average day. Those add up.

Maybe you do squats while brushing your teeth. Or “sprint every hill you see.” Or “walk after every meal.” The point is to repeat these rules and stick to them until they’re part of you, and you find yourself training without making the decision to do it. What begins as an arbitrary rule (what rule doesn’t?) will eventually become sacrosanct.

Dance

If you have kids, this is a great way to spend some awesome family time. Have everyone hang out in the kitchen as you prep dinner. Throw on some music. Dance. Get silly. Try something new, don’t be afraid to really move. A Spotify (or similar service) account works well here, because you can create playlists and just throw them on when needed.

I’m partial to the “A to Z of African Dance” YouTube video. Great beat, great dancing, and it’ll give you some good ideas to try that provide a good workout.

Go Creek Walking

Don’t have a creek at hand? Apologies. If you do, however, I want you to visit it at least once a week for the next month—and spend at least an hour during each visit traveling up and down it, jumping from rock to rock, balancing on logs, wading through the water, squatting down to look for crawdads (or crayfish) and frogs and salamanders (but definitely not newts), sprinting up banks, crawling, lifting heavy rocks and logs. It’s a great opportunity to get a variety of movement patterns, expose yourself to nature, and get some barefoot time.

Make the World Your Playground

No matter where you live, the environment offers a wide variety of options for movement, play, and exercise.

Trees: Climb them, do pull-ups on the branches, do handstand pushups against the trunk.

Stairs: Run them, jump them, bear crawl up and down them.

Park Benches: Jump over them, crawl on the back, balance on the back.

Hills: Roll down them then sprint back up.

Traffic Lights: pull-ups, sprint across intersections (when green).

Curbs: Treat like balance beams, do calf raises (or stretches) off the edge, single leg hops up and down.

Target (Store): Hurdle and climb those big red balls they have at the entrance (beware of dirty looks from parents whose kids try to emulate you).

Everything is an opportunity for movement and exercise. You just have to be willing to stand out.

I’d say make the local playground your playground, but certain cities have strict laws against adults using playgrounds without children. Too bad.

Still, know you can always add workout “toys” to your own the backyard (or a willing friend’s if you don’t have one yourself). The slackline has been one such piece of play equipment for me. Check it out—and then see how you could WIN one yourself. 

Now For the Contest…

I want to hear your favorite ways to turn exercise into play—and your questions around enjoying more play in your (and your family’s) life. Simply leave a relevant comment here by the deadline, and you’ll be entered to win.

The Prize: 

Your very own Slackline + The full line of PRIMAL KITCHEN® Collagen products (Collagen Fuel, Collagen Peptides, and Collagen Bars)—the ultimate ways to support the health of your joints, tendons and muscles (not to mention skin, hair and nails).

The Deadline: Midnight PDT, June 21th, 2018

Thanks for stopping in, everyone. Good luck!

[cynthiamwashington]

10 Ideas to Make Workouts More Fun (and a Contest)

Workouts are work. There’s no way around that. Whenever you move matter through space and time, whether you’re displacing your own body weight or a barbell or a kettle bell, you’re doing work. It’s just physics. But there’s another meaning of “work”: an unpleasant but necessary activity that helps you achieve a desired outcome. Far too many of our workouts end up embodying this second definition. They’re chores, strains. That’s why so many people—all of whom know they should be exercising on a regular basis—remain sedentary, unfit, weak individuals. Physical activity is no longer required to survive. We don’t “have” to do it anymore. If it feels like a miserable experience, why would we?

There are ways to escape this mindset, though. There are ways to make your workouts feel more likely play and less like work. Let’s look at a few today, and I hope you’ll share what works for you in the comment section. Btw, I’ve included a video of me doing one of my favorites below—and a contest to share the fun.

Find an Activity That’s Intrinsically Rewarding

When training, extrinsic rewards are always going to be present. You’re always trying to look better naked, lose weight, hit a PR, get better health markers. But if your training is also intrinsically rewarding—if you derive satisfaction, pleasure, and meaning from the act of training itself— you’ll have no problems sticking with it. Only the hardest of hard core will maintain a training regimen they hate. Everyone will keep a training regimen they love. Find something you enjoy doing, that you’d do even if it provided no health or aesthetic benefits, and make that at least part of your training regimen.

If You Hate Something, Try Something Else

This is the most fundamental mindset shift. Don’t do things that you hate.

A workout doesn’t have to be a walk in the park. Not everything is going to leave you bursting with joy. But if your training regimen is leaving you miserable, if you dread it and find every excuse to skip it, that’s worth heeding.

Maybe you hate back squats, but front squats are downright enjoyable. Maybe you hate spin class, but hill sprints are fun. Maybe you hate dedicated cardio or HIIT sessions, but pickup basketball twice a week does the trick. Find an alternative that accomplishes the same thing.

Try Competing Against Other Entities

I enjoy competing against myself. I like beating my own records, surpassing my own achievements, improving on my former self. I also like competition against other humans. That’s why I ran marathons and competed in triathlon for so long—I liked beating the other guys. It’s also why I love Ultimate Frisbee. There’s nothing quite like the thrill of competition to make you forget about how hard you’re working and how great of a workout you’re getting.

You can compete in CrossFit, in pickup games at the park, in adult rec leagues. Anything at all will work.

Get Better Goals

Me? My goal is to play better:

I want to be able to play Ultimate every weekend with guys 3o years younger (and keep up).

I want to go out for a paddling session whenever I want and not have it feel like work.

I want to hit the slopes all weekend and be able to drive home without my quads cramping up every time I hit the brake.

And I want to do all that while staying injury-free.

My training focus, then, is to maintain: my fitness, my muscle mass, the viability of my connective tissue, my bone mineral density. I’m not going for PRs anymore because it’s too risky at this stage while bringing me no closer to my goals. But that’s fine. I’ve found what works for me and my goals. And it makes the more “boring” training that much more enjoyable, because I’m working toward something that I love and frankly need to be healthy and happy.

Half my training is play. The other half is training that supports the other half, the play, and gets me closer to it. I know what and I’m doing and why. Do you?

Integrate Training Into Your Work Day

When you’re plugging away behind the computer, take ten minutes to go for a walk, run some sprints in the stairwell, do a few sets of pushups and squats, or swing the kettlebell you keep in your office when you feel like a break. You’re still working, but it’s different. You’ve switched from the mental to the physical, and that change is everything. Suddenly you want to train, because it’s not filling out a report or writing another email.

The added benefit is that taking fitness breaks will make you more eager to get back to work and, thanks to better blood flow to the brain, more productive when you do.

A ten-minute break to move or train every hour is the sweet spot, I find.

Take Up a Martial Art

Humans have a predilection for violence. Human history is in many respects a history of violence. We all need to acknowledge that and integrate it. That doesn’t mean we should be violent. It means there’s nothing wrong—and perhaps a lot right—with developing our capacity for physical conflict in a controlled, safe environment. Sparring, not street fighting. Staying calm in tense situations, not freaking out and escalating. Roughhousing, not brawling.

One of my big regrets is not learning a martial art. I have been learning a bit with an experienced friend, who’s shown me a few things and runs drills with me, and that’s only made me realize how much I’ve missed out on. Don’t make that mistake.

Set a Few Rules

Making rules that “force” you to exercise can be liberating.

One rule I’ve been following lately is “exercise when Shanti (our dog) exercises.” I’ll take the ball or frisbee out to the park, and every time I throw it I’ll exercise until she brings it back. I’ll do as many pushups or bodyweight squats as I can. I’ll hold a plank. Maybe I’ll even bring a kettlebell along and do swings or overhead presses or cleans or goblet squats. Depending on how far you throw the ball and how fast your dog is, you can end up doing short or long sets. This has ended up being one or two of my workouts each week.

Another example is people who hang pullup bars in a doorway and have the rule that they must do five (or however many) pullups each time they pass through. Without fail. If it’s a heavily trafficked part of the house, you might accumulate 30 or 40 pullups on an average day. Those add up.

Maybe you do squats while brushing your teeth. Or “sprint every hill you see.” Or “walk after every meal.” The point is to repeat these rules and stick to them until they’re part of you, and you find yourself training without making the decision to do it. What begins as an arbitrary rule (what rule doesn’t?) will eventually become sacrosanct.

Dance

If you have kids, this is a great way to spend some awesome family time. Have everyone hang out in the kitchen as you prep dinner. Throw on some music. Dance. Get silly. Try something new, don’t be afraid to really move. A Spotify (or similar service) account works well here, because you can create playlists and just throw them on when needed.

I’m partial to the “A to Z of African Dance” YouTube video. Great beat, great dancing, and it’ll give you some good ideas to try that provide a good workout.

Go Creek Walking

Don’t have a creek at hand? Apologies. If you do, however, I want you to visit it at least once a week for the next month—and spend at least an hour during each visit traveling up and down it, jumping from rock to rock, balancing on logs, wading through the water, squatting down to look for crawdads (or crayfish) and frogs and salamanders (but definitely not newts), sprinting up banks, crawling, lifting heavy rocks and logs. It’s a great opportunity to get a variety of movement patterns, expose yourself to nature, and get some barefoot time.

Make the World Your Playground

No matter where you live, the environment offers a wide variety of options for movement, play, and exercise.

Trees: Climb them, do pull-ups on the branches, do handstand pushups against the trunk.

Stairs: Run them, jump them, bear crawl up and down them.

Park Benches: Jump over them, crawl on the back, balance on the back.

Hills: Roll down them then sprint back up.

Traffic Lights: pull-ups, sprint across intersections (when green).

Curbs: Treat like balance beams, do calf raises (or stretches) off the edge, single leg hops up and down.

Target (Store): Hurdle and climb those big red balls they have at the entrance (beware of dirty looks from parents whose kids try to emulate you).

Everything is an opportunity for movement and exercise. You just have to be willing to stand out.

I’d say make the local playground your playground, but certain cities have strict laws against adults using playgrounds without children. Too bad.

Still, know you can always add workout “toys” to your own the backyard (or a willing friend’s if you don’t have one yourself). The slackline has been one such piece of play equipment for me. Check it out—and then see how you could WIN one yourself. 

Now For the Contest…

I want to hear your favorite ways to turn exercise into play—and your questions around enjoying more play in your (and your family’s) life. Simply leave a relevant comment here by the deadline, and you’ll be entered to win.

The Prize: 

Your very own Slackline + The full line of PRIMAL KITCHEN® Collagen products (Collagen Fuel, Collagen Peptides, and Collagen Bars)—the ultimate ways to support the health of your joints, tendons and muscles (not to mention skin, hair and nails).

The Deadline: Midnight PDT, June 21th, 2018

Thanks for stopping in, everyone. Good luck!

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