RIP Paul Newman

On friday we lost one of the finest actors (and salad dressing makers) ever to grace the silver screen. Some of my favorites were Cool Hand Luke (the deviled eggs make me want to puke though), Slap Shot, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and The Hudsucker Proxy. It is refreshing to see someone who can take Hollywood by storm.......for so so long.....and yet never succumbed to the pressure of the paparazzi, never ended up in people magazine with his c$%k hanging out, and never drove around with his child on the roof of his car. He was a fine thespian, a entrepreneur, and a charitable soul.  RIP Paul Newman. 

Get Fit 2008 - Update #3

8/22/08: 190 lbs

8/29/08: 187 lbs

9/6/08: 182.5 lbs

9/16/08: 180.5 lbs

_____________

Total so far: - 10 lbs    (well just about)

Total to go: 15 more pounds

I am getting in the rhythm of things I think. I have not be as great about cooking myself healthy meals, but the meals I have eaten out have been (for the most part) pretty decent. I am working out like a mad man though.

In case you are all asking yourselves......RYAN......what are you going to do once you reach your goal weight????? (AND I KNOW YOU ARE!!!)

The answer is that I am going to buy myself a GIANT cookie cake that says "congrats on getting skinny." ------- SWEET SWEET IRONY

102 Minutes that Changed the World

Yes it has been 7 years since the 9/11 attacks, but in my opinion it will always be a fresh wound. The History Channel put on a documentary recently, with the same name as above, that showed that historic morning in a very different light than what we are used to. There were no celebrities to voice over the action, no catchy music to make you feel emotion that is or is not there.......just raw footage (video, voicemails, phone calls, announcements, etc) of pedestrians, policemen, firefighters, and everyone else who woke up that morning to find themselves at the footsteps of so much evil and yet so much human triumph.

Here are just a few of interesting things I saw.......both good and bad.......the stories you never really saw:

1) At one point you can hear in the background of one video clip, the audio of a man who was SUPPOSED to be in the building that morning, but he was late for work. I am sure there are many examples like him, but you can hear him calling his relieved mother to let her know that he was safe......BECAUSE he was late getting to work due to staying up the previous evening to watch Monday Night Football.  He actually says, "Monday Night Football saved my life."

2) I know that I am being hypocritical in saying this since the footage of this event is what I am commenting on, BUT at some point the journalism has got to stop! A police officer, who could have been one of the hundreds or thousands of civil servants recalled from retirement/day off/whatever to help protect the citizens of Manhattan from further damage, is trying to keep some journalists back from ground zero. How is he repaid???  The stupid journalist spends every last breath saying, "What is your badge number, give me your badge number." Its almost comical that in a time like that, he believed the officer was going be afraid of being told on for keeping him away from the towers.  And this is before the collapse, so imagine if the cop just gave in. 

3)  The documentary was made to show the countdown (102 minutes) from the time the first plane hit to shortly after the second tower fell.  Now if you google it, you can find out the exact times each tower fell. I was sort of curious as I was watching the film so I went ahead and did just that. It made the viewing experience even that much more intense! I was able to sit there , watch the time roll on the TV screen, watch the fireman prepare to enter the building, AND hear the communication between those who were currently on the 72nd floor of tower 1 rescuing people. I saw the time dated on the film, knew the time of the collapse, and realized that I was probably watching the last video and hearing the last audio that the many of those brave souls would ever produce. Watching them, they had no idea it would collapse. They might have thought it could be a possibility, but if so you could never tell in their faces!! I felt like that person at the movies we all hate....."No dont go through that door, the killer is on the other side."  But in this instance, they were going through the door anyways and GOD BLESS THEM!!

4) I could go on forever, but I will leave you with one last quip.  I think another area people never think about is the 911 operators that were working that morning. I am sure at some point ALL of Manhattan called to report what was going down. The history channel actually lets us listen to the calls from people trapped inside the building to those operators and it is INSANE!  There were all types of interactions. Some of the operators remained calm, went by the book, and did there best to relay positions, injuries, etc to the rescue team. You could hear others who tried their best to follow protocol, but overwhelmed by sorrow, grief, were pretty helpless (which unfortunately is understandable). BUT here is the other side of the spectrum and it makes me sick!!!! There was one recording of a 911 operator who was trying to help at first, but took a completely different direction. He was talking to someone on the 100th floor of tower 1, telling them to stay put, and stay low. Good advice, yes! The person he was talking to, obviously in a state of panic, kept saying they were going to try to find a way out. When the operator heard this, he got very defensive and angry as if this poor trapped soul was challenging his authority, and the operator actually says, "No sir, don't do that, you know what, I AM HANGING UP!!"  Are you kidding me???

That is all for now. 

Get Fit 2008 - Update #2

8/22/08: 190 lbs

8/29/08: 187 lbs

9/6/08: 182.5 lbs

The weight is starting to come off, but there is no way it can stay such a constant decrease. I expect to start dropping maybe 1-2 pounds per week MAX.    The only faults this week were a few chicken tenders and some beer, but a guy has got to live, right?  The cardio is getting easier, but the strained muscle/tendonitis is getting worse, so I guess we will see how this goes.  See you next week.

Forget the Presidency.....There's a More Important Debate!!

Man-Vs.-Wild    OR    Survivorman

For me, it's not really a debate at all. Survivorman is by far the better of the two survival technicians. But follow me here....let's take a different direction with this one. I am actually going to tell you some cool stuff about Bear Grylls. 

First,  he has an awesome name.  I love Bears. And I love grilling things.  

Next....let's look at some of the cool things he has accomplished (thanks to IMDB):  

1) Served in British Special Air Services (I know nothing about them, but they sound badass)

2)He has climbed Mount Everest

Now I have done a lot of research about this intrepid mountain and I know this is no little feat!!! For this I tip my hat.

3)In June 2005, He broke a world record by hosting a dinner party at a table suspended below a hot air balloon at 24,500 feet.

-I mean it was about time. We all flirted with this record...thinking we would be the ones to break bread amongst the clouds....but Bear.....He is a DO-ER!!!

4)He led the first unassisted crossing of the frozen North Atlantic Ocean, in an open, rigid, inflatable boat! 

-Carnival Cruise Lines, I believe, has now expanded their vacation options to include this very same voyage. Who comes up with these challenges??

5) Finally, he owns his own island on the Welsh coast, which he keeps as a nature reserve, and lives on a converted barge wife his wife and kids, Jesse and Marmaduke.

-His name is Marmaduke. You don't mess with Marmaduke. 

Now I do have to say there are quite a few things about Man vs. Wild that bother me and keep me from becoming a true fan. Most importantly, it always seems like Bear just got back from the local Motel 6 to start filming.  Secondly, he takes the most ridiculously complex approach to EVERYTHING.   You could walk down the snowy mountain, slide on your rear end, figure something out. Nope, not Bear. He finds an animal to kill so he can skin the hide and prepare it as a sled.  And the eating!! Oh, the eating!!! Now why is it so important that he eat raw sheep heart? He just got the thing of a nasty Irish Bog and he decides the best coarse of action is to eat raw sheep heart. Myself, I would cook up a little meat.

I am too tired right now to discuss the pros for Survivorman, but basically.......It's just a dude with a camera and a smile.  He says drop me here and I will see you in 5 days. 

Procrastination Nation!

Before I get to studying for the day/night....here are two things I feel must be brought to public attention:

1) This is one of the funniest informercial products I have ever seen. It is called the Aqua Globe. The concept itself is very logical and functional, it even fills a niche. Its purpose is to water your plants for you using about a 2 weeks supply of H2O. The soil supposedly absorbs the water only as fast as the plant needs it.  This is all fine and dandy, but has anyone looked at the big picture??  The Aqua Globe is at least half the size of the majority of household plants. Unless its solely to take care of things while you are away, its basically like decorating your house with Aqua Globes and using the plants as support.  Nope, not for me. I am going to stick with my electric meat thermometer, and 8 note harmonica set.  

2)  Duffy, No Ummmm Dorky, I mean P. Diddles, Sean John, No wait.....The Vote or Die guy... Whats his name???  Sean "Diddy" Combs is now finally campaigning to lower the cost of oil and thus fuel.  This is great thing!! So why am I making fun this "Bad Boy for Life?" Well it's because he is tired of having to ride in first class on commercial flights with the common folk!  He is outraged that his  private jet excursions are getting too costly, sometimes up to $200,000 (Don't worry, its roundtrip).