Tag Archives: rest day read

April 9, 2010 · 9:30 AM

“Tell me, what do you do with witches?”

Rest Day Read (SR-19)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail: Scene 5

“Who are you who are so wise in the ways of science?”

Scene 5. Man alive this is so funny. Being a scientist by profession, this is so much more funny for me. Not because it is such an outrageous spoof of ancient, backward scientific logic and thought, but because it is such a mimic of scientific logic and thought and their relationship to the knowledge base of a historical place in time.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I absolutely love this movie. I have watched it at least 50 times. At least. Way back in 1981 or 82, I won a free video disk player from Doc’s Video, one of the first stores in the KCK dealing in the new technology of home video. Doc let me pick one disk from his rental collection as an addition to the prize. I went to the rack and there it was…The Holy Grail! I could sense Doc’s mortal fear at having to part with the disk, but I did not feel one bit of guilt or regret. Besides, Doc still had the Beta and VHS copies. I hauled that dinosaur of electronics back and forth to friends houses, college and beyond just to watch The Holy Grail. Eventually, early in the 21st century, the disk lost its magic and became non-operational soon followed by the failure of the video disk player’s motor. I now assume the soul of the device could no longer stand the separation from The Holy Grail disk and died of deep and utter despair. I now watch the DVD. My progeny, the faithful HaysKids, also love the movie. We often share the secret language of Holy Grail quotes within casual conversation or dinner time. Scene 5 is one of our favorites.

And by the way, does anyone know the air speed velocity of a laden swallow?

Scene 5 from YouTube

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March 30, 2010 · 7:37 PM

Rest Day Read 3-30-10

Rest Day Read (SR-18)
Choruses from The Rock by T.S. Elliot
“But it seems that something has happened that has never happened
before: though we know not just when, or why,or how, or where.
Men have left GOD not for other gods, they say, but for no God; and this has
never happened before
That men both deny gods and worship gods, professing Reason,
And then Money, and Power, and what they call Life, or Race, or Dialectic.
What have we to do but stand with empty hands and palms turned
upwards in an age which advances progressively backward?”
When I did a little rant about poetry a couple weeks ago, I received a copy of this gem of a poem by T.S. Elliot from Mr. A. Catlin. I thought it appropriate to use early in Holy Week to help us evaluate where we are, both personally and professionally, in our relationship with our fellow man and with God. After reading and digesting, decide if you currently work to advance “progressively backward” or are determined “to work and live to honor God”.

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March 25, 2010 · 6:04 PM

Rest Day Read 3-25-10

Rest Day Read (SR-17)
If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together…there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think, but the most important thing is, even if we’re apart…I’ll always be with you.
-from Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne

Today, I read this and heard it spoken at a very sad event I attended. In this particular time and place, it brought a tear to my eye, a lump to my throat and punched a hole in my heart. As modern life spins and whirls around us, we must remember to smile and to hug and to enjoy on a more frequent basis. We are fragile things.

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March 20, 2010 · 2:19 PM

Rest Day Read 3-20-10

Rest Day Read (SR-16)
Life Value and the Paradoxes of Risk a commencement address by Charles S. Sanford Jr., University of Georgia, 1989.
“In the end, you’ll find there is more happiness in creating value for others and enjoying the benefits, both material and psychological, that flow to you, than there is in only adding to your own net worth. It’s that simple. When we create value for others, we do not personally take in all the value we have created – and that, the people who have done so say again and again, is a source of incomparable satisfaction. Actually, the implications are encouraging, for they suggest (amidst all the headlines about greed and ego-centrism) that there is a nugget of altruism in our natures – buried deeply, perhaps, but still accessible.”
Oh boy…where do I start. This article was tagged off of a Crossfit.com post a couple weeks ago, so again, thank you Crossfit.com. I had an incredible amount of trouble finding one quote to use as an intro from this article, it is all golden. Looking back over my printed version, I have almost 75% of the article marked in orange highlighter. Inspirational and intellectual, informative and considerate, personal fulfillment intertwined with communal fulfillment, Sanford hits a home run with these ideas. It may take several readings to completely wrap your arms around this one (3 times for me), but give it a chance and let it sink into your person. Just think how much greater our society, our economy, our government, our country and even each of our own lives can be through this path of using risk properly and creating value with our deeds.

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March 10, 2010 · 12:39 PM

Rest Day Read 3-10-10

Rest Day Read (SR-14)

They by Rudyard Kipling

She felt her way lightly to the front of the car, and with one foot on the step she called ” Children, oh, children! Look and see what’s going to happen!”
The voice would have drawn lost souls from the Pit, for the yearning that underlay its sweetness, and I was not surprised to hear an answering shout behind the yew.
This is just a good old fashion ghost story told by a master. It was published as a short book with illustrations. I originally read it as part of an anthology call Dark Banquet:A Feast of Twelve Great Ghost Stories, edited by Lincoln Child. I highly recommend it! (The CC Library has both)

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March 5, 2010 · 2:45 PM

Rest Day Read 3-5-10

Rest Day Read (SR-13)
Epilogue to The Purposeful Primitive by Marty Gallagher
“By generating a methodical and sustained physical and psychological effort, the human body is forcibly morphed from what it is into what we want it to become: leaner and more muscular. The human body is not seduced, lured, cajoled, convinced or persuaded to alter itself-it is forced to alter itself.”
“Sub-maximal training yields sub-maximal results”
I can’t even remember where I ran into this promotional free download file to Marty Gallagher’s excellent book, The Purposeful Primitive, but it convinced me to buy the book. Once I read the book, it ignited a change in the way I approach life and fitness. I highly suggest the book and suggest adoption of its principals.

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February 28, 2010 · 3:22 PM

Rest Day Read 2-28-10

Rest Day Read (SR-12)
Aphorism #106 Do not parade your Position
-from “The Art of Worldly Wisdom” by Balthasar Gracian
“If you wish to be valued, be valued for your talents…”
Yesterday, I was reading “Chickamagua” by Ambrose Bierce (which was scheduled to be today’s story) on the web site which I use to link the short stories in these rest day reads. On of the ads at the bottom of the page was a box to sign up for the free daily email from “The Art of Worldly Wisdom”, which was written in the 1600s by Fr. Balthasar Gracian . Obscure to say the least, but being a lover of the obscure and forgotten, I jumped at the chance. This was the first one I received today and it is both a doozy AND timely. Earn respect and value, every day.

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February 23, 2010 · 10:52 AM

Rest Day Read 2-23-10

Rest Day Read (SR-11)
Exercise as Medicine?
SR-11a An ADHD Med Without Side Effects by ADDitude Magazine Editors
“Exercise turns on the attention system, the so-called executive functions-sequencing, working memory, prioritizing, inhibiting, and sustaining attention…On a practical level, it causes (ADHD) kids to be less impulsive, which makes them more primed to learn.”
SR-11b Riding is My Ritalin by Bruce Barcott
“For the past 30 years, athletes, coaches, sports psychologists and medical researchers have probed and debated one of the most complex mysteries of the human body: How does exercise affect the brain? Common sense and our own experience tell us it does something. Every parent knows the best way to settle down a hopped up kid is to take him out to the playground and run the bug juice out of him. A generation ago, teachers and coaches frequently use this approach as well.”

Folks, we need more “bug juice” run out of us. In a previous post, the evidence suggests a mutation in the “wandering” gene may play a role in ADHD. Let’s see, we can treat a genetic predisposition to want to move (and go, go, go) by exercising the body/brain or we can overload with medication. Which should we choose? Which would we choose? Which DO we choose?

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February 18, 2010 · 12:58 PM

Rest Day Read 2-18-10

Rest Day Read (SR-10)
Slow Tuesday Night by R.A. Lafferty
(direct link to Sci-Fi archives, or use this Neil Gaiman’s blog post , if can’t get to it from direct link)
“Freddy rented an office and had it furnished. This took one minute, negotiation, selection, and installation being almost instantaneous. Then he invented the manus module; that took another minute. He then had it manufactured and marketed; in three minutes it was in the hand of key buyers.
It caught on. It was an attractive module. The flow of orders began within thirty seconds. By ten minutes after eight every important person had one of the new manus modules, and the trend had been set. The module began to sell in the millions. It was one of the most interesting fads of the night, or at least the early part of the night.”
I found a link to this short story last week on Neil Gaiman’s blog. He linked it in reference to how fast communication can generate forces, both positive and negative in today’s technological environment. It is the first story I have read by R.A. Lafferty, so being curious, I googled him. Very interesting story about his life and work here. Grumpy, old, Catholic, sci-fi writer from the midwest, who did not start writing until his late 40’s. Now I am intrigued to read more of his work.
On a side note, if you are looking for something good for a quick read, try Neil Gaiman’s Newberry Award winning, The Graveyard Book. Good stuff.

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