orange sky - alexi murdoch

sunday 5k!

25:23

who would have thought it'd be the best one yet two days after the filthy 50 and several hours after a bloody mary and mac n. cheese at white star?

i didnt feel too fast while i was running it. but ill take it.

wod

filthy fifty...

50 box jumps
50 jumping pull ups
50 kb swings (20#)
50 lunge steps
50 knees to chest
50 push press (20#)
50 back extensions
50 wall ball shots (12#)
50 burpees
50 double unders

28:15 yeesh

boy dancing at inappropriate time

this would have been little Rusty ...

something special

Well, this is my 500th post on this blog, and I wanted it to be about something special. But instead of something, I think I'm going to write about someone. A couple of very special people, actually.

Yesterday, a great friend of mine's boyfriend passed away after battling Leukemia. When I heard the news, it really shook me to the core. These are some of the sweetest, nicest people I have ever met in my life. I could not even imagine what the past few years have been like for them.

Through it all, every treatment and hospital stay, every piece of news, both bad and good, this amazing couple kept us updated on their struggles, and kept us inspired by their fight and their faith.

To watch the person you love battling a force that you have no control over must be heart-wrenching. But my friend carried herself with strength, remained devoted and caring through everything that came their way, and did it all with the most positive attitude I've ever seen.

This couple is truly an inspiration to us all, and if the memorials on their Facebook group's wall are any indication, they have touched the lives of countless people, many who never even knew them personally.

It's amazing the way the world works, and how seriously awful things can happen to the best people. But as I know my friend would agree, there is a plan for us all. And I'm glad that these two wonderful people were able to spend as much time together as they could.

If everyone had even the smallest fraction of the hope and spirit that these two have inside them, the world would be a much, much better place.

I'm sure the love shared between them could change the world. I know it's changed me.

RIP. My thoughts and prayers are with you both.


let it be - Carol Woods & Timothy T. Mitchum

wod

three rounds of:
run 400 M
15 pull ups
50 squats
15 pull ups

16:15

legendary - lou barlow

Qatar Stadiums

Everyone was wondering how tiny Qatar, chilling right in the midst of the Middle East, beat out big bad America for the 2022 World Cup. Then everyone realized money doesn't grow on trees. It grows in Qatar. Plus they are promising stadiums like these:




If I wasn't going to be 36 at the time of this World Cup (SHEESH), I would try to go check it out. But hopefully by that time I'll be chasing my children around during most of the games and sedating them during the USA games so I can get my watch on.

morning wod

run 1 mile
row 2k
run 1 mile

7:37, 9:30, 8:51

total with transitions: 28:15

din

asparagus and crab cakes from the farmers market with shrimp and scallops in them.

yummy

wod

21-18-15-12-9 rep rounds of:

Power snatch (30# -- first timer)
Wallball shots, 12# ball
Knees to chest

14 min

funny looking animals of the week!

my cousin's boyfriend posted this on her facebook page. too good to pass up!



thanks Tom!

weekend rewinddd

This weekend was jam packed with super-sized fun. Things started off at a weird BYOB Indian Restaurant on Friday night, where
Becca and I enjoyed a bottle of Lucas Winery's Semi-Dry Riesling while feeling like the Christmas tree light-filled walls were going to cave in on us at any moment. Then it was onto the main event of the evening- Joe Purdy at City Winery!


special thanks to my flip phone for such an amazing quality photo.

Amazing show. He played his newest album, This American, in its entirety. Then took a little break and came back on to play some old favorites...until 2 am! Well played, Joe Purdy. Check out his latest album at joepurdy.com (you can download it FOR FREE).

Then Saturday it was off to Atlantic City to celebrate the life and times of one Samantha Margulies. AC is a pretty funny place, and the afternoon and night were filled with many antics. I may or may not have been down $250 in craps only to stage a miraculous comeback this morning with a table full of older gentlemen who called me "Lady Luck." Becca may or may not have spent the morning frantically searching the hotel for me when I was really just asleep on the floor between the two beds in our room. Kim and Sam may or may not have been at the pool party until 7am. Beverly's may or may not have been 1 million times better than the Reflections Cafe. We may or may not have been followed around by a 12-year old looking gentlemen who was in "Pharmaceuticals" (aka community college). We may or may not have had a few Four Lokos, and we may or may not have been ID'ed about 75 million times throughout the course of the night. Oh, and Hoover was there too.

This picture might sum up our night:


....so I'd say it was a great success.

That about wraps it up. Can't wait for another week of work... I wish I was a professional craps player.

jolene - ray lamontagne

image via trunkbunker.com

good night of sports

Home tonight for the first time this week, and it's a good time for it -- Lebron-bron is currently making his return to Cleveland. And boy do they hate him. So many booooos.

And when that goes commercial, there's a pretty good football game on the NFL network, which we get now thanks to FIOS! Thanks, FIOS. Eagles/Texans. Arian Nation against the Dog Killah. We'll see who comes out on top.

Good thing I can just lay around and watch this stuff...finding it hard to lift my arms after today's wod.

five rounds for time of:
row 500m
5 thrusters (50#)
15:40

first time i've used such a heavy bar. yeesh

SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK

Last night I went to experience the biggest, most expensive show on Broadway EVER — Spiderman: TURN OFF THE DARK. Even after watching the play, I still don’t really understand what the title is supposed to mean. And unfortunately for the blockbuster Broadway production that will cost $1 million a WEEK just to keep afloat, the title wasn’t the only thing I found disappointing…

Granted, it was only the second preview performance of the show, which features many “high-flying” stunts, and so we were warned by one of the producers before the show began that they might have to stop the show for a little while if a stunt went wrong. Luckily for us, only ONE stunt in the first act went awry, leaving one of the nine stunt doubles for Spidey swaying through the air, trying helplessly to make it back to his launching platform until the stunt director’s voice came over the speakers and said they were going to stop it there. Then we waited about 5 minutes for them to reset. This allowed me ample time to send a text message to my brother with an update of the proceedings, so I guess it worked out well. Besides this one stop, there weren’t too many blatant technical glitches.

But technical glitches weren’t the only thing I found disappointing with the production…here’s my report card of the highs and lows of SPIDERMAN:

STORY -- D
The thing that needs the most work in this production is the plot. Who would have thought? I guess you can’t just take crazy special effects and $10 million sets and automatically have a winner. You actually need a clear, coherent story that people care about. Otherwise it’s just a guy in a funny suit flying around a theater.

I had several main problems with the storyline. First of all, the entire story is “told” through a group of four teenage kids. I’m not sure if this is necessary, since their presence mostly seems to get in the way of the story. But even if it is necessary for development of plot, the kids should not be interacting with the characters in the story (which they begin to do in the 2nd Act).

My other main qualm with the plot was a secondary backstory about “Arachne,” the original “Spiderwoman.” This is introduced right in the beginning of the show, and kind of comes out of nowhere. Then as the play progresses, Arachne scenes pop up here and there and they all seem out of place and kind of drag. If they lost the whole Arachne storyline, or at least didn’t devote so many random scenes to it, we might have more time to care about characters like Peter Parker’s Uncle Ben. If I directed this play, my goal would be to have the entire house sobbing at this pivotal plot point. As it stands now, Uncle Ben’s death is a mere formality that needs to be covered, whereas it could be a real emotional plot point where we see why Spiderman is motivated to do what he does.

And that seems to be the main problem with the story in general. They are trying to do too many things, tell too many stories, that a lot of opportunities to make a richer story get pushed aside, and the audience is often left confused as to what is happening and why.

Hoover Side Note:
Hoov did not appreciate various attempts at humor in the script. Many cheesy jokes were attempted throughout the course of the show, and most of them fell pretty flat. We demand funnier cheesy jokes!

MUSIC -- C+
All the music in this show was written by Bono. Probably to give it a “hard rock” edge, but in reality a lot of the songs just didn’t work that well on the stage. All of the music in the “Arachne” scenes was kind of trippy and honestly a bit weird.

The other music was… kind of forgettable. Nothing really stood out to me as a big show stopping number, and nothing got stuck in my head except one big guitar riff that was played a lot. So while the music wasn’t really bad, it wasn’t something that stood out to me as a strength of the production.

ACTING -- B-
The acting in this was alright, no one really stood out as AMAZING, but I guess it’s hard to act too much when there’s so much other stuff going on around you. The sets and special effects seem to take a front seat to most of the acting in this one.

There were, however, a few places where the actors looked bad, but I might blame the script. When Uncle Ben died, his last line was kind of weird… “I was just trying to help” didn’t really pack much of an emotional PUNCH. Also when the mad scientist’s wifey bit the dust, he holds her and lets out a scream of grief that sounded entirely too much like Tarzan for my liking.

But other than a few weird occasions, the acting was sufficient and kept moving the confusing plot along at a quick pace.

VISUAL EFFECTS -- A+
If you are going to see this play, this should be the reason why. The sets, costumes and choreography in this show are amazing. It’s hard to explain just how this innovative sets work so well, mostly because they seem to use so many tactics that have not been done before.

From HUGE sectional video screens, to moving sets that change to indicate a change of scenery as characters walk onstage, to moving pieces that help replicate falling from a skyscraper, every piece of the set worked perfectly to wow the crowd.

The costumes were equally amazing, with a wide array of amazing comic book villains represented with tricked out suits. Even a trio of bumbling bank robbers were given a bit of comical character by large headed costumes.

Even with technical difficulties and a plot that needs some work, the visuals in this play are very pleasing.

STUNTS -- B+
I am keeping this category separate from Visual Effects. In theory, the stunts in this show should be absolutely breathtaking and innovative. But since we just saw the second preview of the show, there were some snafus here and there that seemed distracting.

The “flying” is quite cool, and there is a scene where an entire fight between Spidey and a certain green hued foe takes place in the air above the audience. Being in the balcony, it was kind of cool to have a lot of action take place in the air, closer to me. But I think if I was in the orchestra I would have been terrified of one of them falling onto me.

There is also one point where a giant spiderwoman launches from the balcony and flies to the stage. While this was kind of cool, it was a bit distracting for everyone in the balcony as they set up for her to be launched, in the middle of another scene.

And I don’t mean to be a curmudgeon, but let’s face it, I am. After awhile, although cool, the flying just got a bit…old. Like, oh…there he goes again. And this is probably just my opinion; I think there could have been a few less flying moments.

There was some other really cool stunt work that did not involve flying though, and that was all executed wonderfully.

So to wrap it up…
SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK is a play that definitely needs a bit more work, but it has promise in the form of amazing visuals and some memorable stunts.

All in all…
Go for the spectacle if you wish, but unless they tweak the story, I highly suggest turning off your high expectations.

old yeller

i got these glasses for free when i bought my friend a present at a little boutique. so of course ive been wearing them at work. its funny to see people's reactions.

funny looking animal of the week!

morning wod

run 1600M
rest 3 minutes
run 1200M
rest 2 minutes
run 800M
rest 1 minute
run 400M

7:57
6:14
4:02
2:00

total: 26:13

sweeeet

another heartbreaker

The Buffalo Bills lost another heartbreaker yesterday, in the worst possible way. My boy Stevie Johnson drops a pass in the endzone in OT for the win...

I'm not even mad at him. I'm sad for him. Check out the beginning of this article:

"Tears still were welled in Steve Johnson's bloodshot eyes when he stepped down from the podium, walked out of the postgame interview room and exited Ralph Wilson Stadium up the tunnel ramp.

Based on how he was dressed, he should have headed back to the locker room. But Johnson clearly was in another world as he dejectedly trudged toward the parking lot in a sleeveless shirt, basketball shorts, his red Buffalo Bills leggings and untied sneakers."

I mean, is that not the perfect analogy for the entire Buffalo Bills organization and fan base over the last 20 years?

Tough loss and a tough drop, Stevie. But I'm sticking by you. Partly because you shaved "Why So Serious" into your head. But mostly because you're a hard worker and a player who doesn't give up no matter what team you're up against or how "bad" your team is supposed to be. I'm predicting a huge game out of you on Sunday.

And a Superbowl next year!

I'VEEEEE GOT A FEEEELING!

this mornings workout

"jackie"

row 1000M
50 thrusters (20#)
30 pull ups

row-4:15. Total- around 10 min... had to walk downstairs to get to different equipment.

brightest - copeland

photo via seabirdblog.com

dad's magazine

hehehehehe

wod

today's workout:
Helen, subbing OH squats for pull ups since someone was on the pull up machine.

400M run
21 kb swings (20#)
12 OH squats (15#)
3 rounds, around 11 min.

then the pull up machine opened up so i did 3 sets of 12 for good measure.

then my mom picked me up from the gym. not having a car makes me feel like a little kid!

so thankful.

today is the day of turkey. and the turkey trot. and potatoes. and cranberry sauce. and football. and stuffing. and stuffing ourselves...

oh yeah, and thanks. so it only seems fit to take a few minutes and let you all know what I'm thankful for this year.

First and foremost, I'm thankful for the movie "A League of Their Own," which is actually on the tv in the other room as I type. Betty Spaghetti just found out her husband died. Tears are welling up in my eyes. Greatest movie of all time? Quite possibly.

But let's get down to business, with the help of a few photos.

I'm thankful to have parents like this:


a brother with which I can have facebook convos like this:


a family that knows how to party like this:


friends like this:


and this:


and this:


and this:


and so thankful that i got to do some really cool things this year, like this:


and this:



and this:


and this:


...i could go on and on. hope everyone has a great thanksgiving.

stevie johnson!

whoever wrote Steve Johnson's yahoo fantasy update really had a fun time with it this week:

Wed, Nov 24
Johnson has been fined $5,000 for the league for sporting a "Why So Serious" display underneath his jersey after scoring a touchdown against the Bengals, BuffaloBills.com reports.
Recommendation: Even the Bengals receivers appreciated the Joker response toward Cincinnati's Batman and Robin duo, so we suppose it's all in good fun, even though coach Chan Gailey wasn't busting a gut. Perhaps Johnson owners should wear a "Why So Fortunate" T-Shirt underneath their uniform of choice at next year's draft day, as he's gone from a bottom-of-the list/undrafted guy to a top-20 fantasy receiver. The Bills will probably be throwing his way regularly again this week should Pittsburgh get out to a lead or have its usual success in stuffing the opponent's run game. If you're an owner, when it gets to your turn at the table Thursday, remember to give a word of thanks to Johnson's low-cost, eye-popping production this year.
(Rotowire.com)

i will be giving thanks for him today at the turkey table... !

via ffffound.

wod

As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
run 400M.
5 deadlifts (20#)

5 rounds +.03 miles.
used a treadmill...

funny looking animal of the week!

Thanksgiving Edition

morning yearning - ben harper

mad men - behind the scenes

real cool set of photos from Rolling Stone from behind the scenes with Mad Men.

reeeese

got a new camera. reese photoshoot ensued.

an image of home

no fly drank.

whats that jet blue? you don't serve drinks on short flights, so no free dranks? and you lost my luggage?

in the words of snooki - wah.

fly drank.

What's that Jet Blue? We get a free cocktail on the plane if we flash our JetBlue Amex card in the flight attendant's face? Rusty and I will take you up on this tonight.

teach me how to dougie.

after watching, I still don't know how to dougie. but the song gets in my head every time I see the standings of my fantasy basketball league - teachmehow2dougie currently in 4th place.

wild is the wind - cat power ft. nina simone

funny looking animal(?) of the week!

todays work out

"blake" scaled down:

100 foot walking lunge with 10# held overhead
30 box jumps
20 wall ball shots (8#)
10 push ups

4 rounds. 19 minutes.

top dogs.

although I really love dogs a lot it doesn't make sense for me to get one right now. i need to find someone like a boyfriend/husband that can take care of said dog while i irresponsibly lay around and watch television. or at least someone to take care of it during the wintertime when it's cold out. or when it's a puppy and not housebroken. or when i want to sleep in and the dog's sick. or when i get an autographed derek jeter ball and the dog gets a hold of it and eats it (sorry bec...)

anyways, can't hurt to dream. here are my top dog candidates if i was getting a puppy RIGHT NOW:

5. ENGLISH BULLDOG

So adorable. But there are a few drawbacks to these wrinkly critters that make me second guess the choice. Problem 1 - sometimes when they get too fat, we go from cute to...eh...slob-like. And speaking of slob, I think these guys drool a lot too. But I guess at the point the pup gets fat or slobbery, i'd already be loving it for the long haul. So there's that.

4. RESCUE PUPPY
There are lots of rescue shelters with dogs that need homes. And a lot of the pups I've seen on these sites have a little pit bull in them, which can scare some people. But they are still adorable. And I'm sure if I showered them in a cocoon of love they would become just as sensitive and emotionally unstable as I am. Which means instead of biting children and entering dog fights, my pit bull mix will be laying on me while we watch reruns of Friday Night Lights and both cry hysterically. Always good to have a good crying partner who won't judge. To see how adorable these puppies are, check out the doggies available for adoption right now at Animal Haven in NYC.

3. BOSTON TERRIER
These guys went from not being on my radar to BAM being pretty high up on this here list. And I give a lot of credit for LE PETIT PUPPY for this quick turn around. LE PETIT PUPPY is a dog store with a pretty explanatory name. If you speak the slightest bit of French you can figure it out. Anyways, whilst visiting said small puppy shoppe, I saw the smallest Boston Terrier puppy that melted my heart. Honestly, I had to really think of something terrible to get my heart to freeze over again before I left that store. These little guys are cute as hellz.

2. FRENCH BULLDOG
Come on!!!! Look at their ears!!! ...I don't even think I have to say anything else. Except Tim Lincecum has one that he bought after winning the Cy Young award and named Cy. Pretty bad ass. I guess the only problem here is I'd have to wait to win some sort of notable award before naming my big eared bundle of joy.

1. LAB - aka best dog in the world.
Okay, I'm the first to admit that everyone who has a childhood dog is biased for the rest of eternity to liking that breed best of all. Unless said childhood dog turned out to be a monster that bit your friends or ruined your clothing or something else unthinkable. But my childhood dog never did that to me! She was THE BEST. Labs have every quality that I want for myself as a person -- they're smart, funny, fast, loyal as hell, happy, and really good at hunting. Sure, their hips might not work so well when they get up there in age, and maybe they'll grow weird lumpy non-cancerous tumors as well when they get old enough to have a grey beard around their happy muzzles. But dammit, labs are everything dogs should be and more. If anything, I want my children (insert prayer that someday I have children) to grow up knowing the joy of having a great childhood dog. I also want them to get to watch Saved By The Bell. I hope it's still in syndication when they come along. But back to labs... just read or watch Marley and Me and I'm sure you'll agree. They may be a handful, the love they give you in return is well worth it.

Sunday 5k!

25:36...not sure how, but I chopped over a minute off my last time! Maybe it was the new route to Liberty State Park. It's always more fun to run with Lady Liberty watching.

curtis(c) got slapped by a white teacher

please read. all 40 pages. and also please note how cutis' mother has copyrighted his name. why?

i don't know. but it's glorious

thanks to our troops

this is a day late, but to all who have served our country, past and present, thank you.

i wish you love - rachael yamagata

breaking legal news - you can sue 4 year olds

Imagine this:

2 kids ride bikes with training wheels down the street of Manhattan, with their parents supervising. One of the kids, 4 year old Juliet, hits an elderly woman causing her to fall and break her hip and require surgery. The woman later died 3 months later of unrelated causes.

Her estate SUES the children and their parents for negligence. And yes, apparently the children can be held accountable, says Justice Wooten:

Mr. Tyrie “correctly notes that infants under the age of 4 are conclusively presumed incapable of negligence,” Justice Wooten wrote in his decision, referring to the 1928 case. “Juliet Breitman, however, was over the age of 4 at the time of the subject incident. For infants above the age of 4, there is no bright-line rule.”

Now those little rascals will be held ACCOUNTABLE for their actions!

(cue thousands of neighborhood grumps walking onto their front lawns and raising their flabby arms in victory)
(also cue Clint Eastwood pointing a shotgun at you and growling "Get off my lawn.")

lumberjack 20 scaled wayyy down

This morning's work out got me good. Thought I was okay until I left the gym and was seeing spots and felt like I was gonna pass out. Good thing I scaled down...


20 Box Jumps
Run 400m
20 Pullups
Run 400m
20 Overhead Squats (20#)
Run 400m
20 Deadlifts (30#)
Run 400m
20 Burpees
Run 400m
20 KB Swings (20#)
Run 400m

Had to go up/down the stairs a few times to get to equipment. 26 minutes.

Le'Ron McClain has one of the best player pictures I've ever seen. I also like his reference to himself in the 3rd person in his quote below.

funny looking animal of the week!

This might be my favorite in a while.

via Christine Edwards Photography.

ahhhhhhhh!

As a member of Derek Jeter's 24 Hour Fitness, I received an email a few weeks ago with the opportunity to enter for a chance meet Derek Jeter. I decided to enter even though I knew the odds of winning were low. Then I totally forgot about it.

...until this morning when I received a phone call where I told I was a WINNER of the previously mentioned contest.

In other words - I GET TO MEET DEREK JETER!


What a great way to start the day.

dan mills.

so good

wod

today i did the "barbara" workout for the first time.

20 pull ups
30 push ups
40 sit ups
50 squats

5 rounds, 3 minute rest between rounds.

I only rested 2 min. between rounds.

36:40.

yeesh. tough one

in marv we trust

Today marks the anniversary of the day in 1986 that the Buffalo Bills announced Marv Levy would take over as head coach.

At the ripe age of 10 months, I remember reading the article about Marv's hiring in the Buffalo News. I probably showed my approval with a dirty diaper, or some words of gibberish, but I knew that great things were coming for the Bills.

Boy was I right. Marv led the Bills to a record of 112-70 during his tenure as head coach, along with 4 Super Bowl appearances.

112 wins. Wow. That's 112 more than we have on the season.

All of us here (me) would like to thank Marv for his leadership, fine coaching abilities, and overall great manliness as head coach of the Buffalo Bills football organization.

GO BILLS.

The Heart of Life - John Mayer

i am famous

check me out in this pic steve submitted to Straight Cash Homey! such a famous profile. watching the bills with worried glances.

funny looking animal of the week!

rock the boat. rock the vote.

i actually didn't vote today.... whoops

via ffffound.

after a while

This poem was recited at a rehearsal dinner I was at once. It seemed an unlikely choice for the occasion, but stuck with me nonetheless.

AFTER A WHILE (Veronica Shoftshall, 1971)

After a while you learn the subtle difference
between holding a hand and chaining a soul
and you learn that love doesn't mean leaning
and company doesn't always mean security.

And you begin to learn that kisses aren't contracts
and presents aren't promises
and you begin to accept
your defeats
with your head up
and your eyes ahead
with the grace of woman,
not the grief of a child.

And you learn to build
all your roads on today
because tomorrow's ground
is too uncertain for plans
and futures have a way
of falling down in mid-flight.

After a while you learn
that even sunshine burns
if you get too much
so you plant your own garden
and decorate your own soul
instead of waiting for someone
to bring you flowers.

And you learn
that you really can endure
you really are strong
you really do have worth
and you learn
and you learn
with every goodbye, you learn...



ilu.