LATEST BLOG POSTS

I wrote in August about a couple personal bests in my lifting practice, Two personal bests in a week: Freedom, and last month about the risk of injury in exploring your physical limits. Why form is important in lifting weights, especially Turkish Get-Ups. First, the personal best on the bench press, or more accurately floor press, since I don’t have a bench. My last personal best was to do three[…] Keep reading →

How often does something break that you know could be fixed, but you don’t know how and there are no places to fix it? I remember repair stores all over the place, but the field doesn’t exist any more. We all know about planned obsolescence and how products are designed to break. Now we feel we have to throw things away and replace them (after avoiding buying things when possible,[…] Keep reading →

This week I finished: Sophie Scholl: The Final Days, directed by Marc Rothemund, starring Julia Jentsch: This movie was nominated for an Oscar for best foreign language movie in 2005. I confess I only learned of the White Rose movement, and two of its key members, Hans and Sophie Scholl, this year. I recommend learning more about them, especially if you’re interested in learning what leads people to oppose a[…] Keep reading →

I found Dr. Trasande quoted in a Washington Post article The health risks from plastics almost nobody knows about: Phthalates, chemicals found in plastics, are linked to an array of problems, especially in pregnancy. He said, “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals are one of the biggest global health threats of our time … And 2 percent of us know about it—but 99 percent of us are affected by it.” The article said that he[…] Keep reading →

Our environmental problems are symptoms. I won’t fight people trying to protect and conserve nature, but the degradation of nature isn’t the problem. Restoring an old growth forest doesn’t change that billions of people are acting in ways to cut down whatever is restored. Many times I’ve described how the suffering and death we and our culture is causing is orders of magnitude times greater than slavery, so I won’t[…] Keep reading →

As always: I post about junkies not to criticize or condemn them as individuals, though I consider adults responsible for their actions. I post about them to illustrate our culture. Their addiction and its harms to others and communities is more acute than most of ours, but it is generally more benign than people with dependencies on flying, driving, doof, takeout, screens, and other things nearly everyone does that hurt[…] Keep reading →

Climate Week NYC was a month or so ago, but its sliminess lingers. I’m writing this post not to complain, but to call attention for the need for leadership, integrity, and credibility. I saw none there, but huge demand for it. I haven’t engaged yet with the event planners so attended passively, therefore include myself in showing no leadership there. It’s further motivation to finish my next book, which will[…] Keep reading →

I’d been meaning to write a post like this since what I’m about to describe happens every now and then. Part of the value of a sidcha is developing the skill of integrity. As with any performance-based activity, we learn to practice integrity through practicing the basics. There are probably many basic practices for integrity, but sidchas are a good one. I can think of few things more valuable to[…] Keep reading →

Today I posted about My fifth annual cooking workshop at Drew Gardens: pictures and video. I also made these two videos to show off Drew Gardens. I don’t think I posted a walk-through before. Anyone wondering how much they can change a neighborhood will love these videos. For context, here is what Drew Gardens looked like before, barren and strewn with garbage. After looking at it, watch the videos. The[…] Keep reading →