So, let's talk about duplicity in the spiritual sense.  I'm gonna open the laundry basket so if you get offended, be like Jesus and just forgive.  OK?

I go to church to study the Bible.  I have a great relationship with the Almighty and he lets me know if I am screwing things up.  I pray every day, every moment, thankful to be alive.  Right, we all do.  It kinda looks like I am talking to myself.  You know what I mean.

So I go to church to study the Bible, The Word.  I don't know enough about these guys that lived with him and knew him best.  I don't know enough about the life of Jesus Christ (my personal savior) and I know even less about the others that were close to God.  And I need that.  You get me? 

I worship like tomorrow is the Rapture.  I sing, I shake, I feel God.  I see him in everything I observe.  At church, at work, at play.  Walking around town, driving.  In my new bearded dragon, Yoshi (thanks, Kei).  If you look, you will see the hand of the Father in progress, too.  The Power Of God is absolute and omnipotent.  It encompasses all things in all ways.  This Power is irresistable and no matter what, who or where, we all must succumb to His Unconditional Love.

I'm getting to the duplicity here in a moment.  I want to be sure you know my religion.  I am a Christian, no doubt.  But I am not closed off to the fact that others worship the same force in the universe under a different name/perspective/facet.  Allah, Jehovah, Yahweh, The Enlightenment of Nirvana, Mannah, Zeus, Odin.  All of these came from the great power of God.  They are shards (thanks Manny).  They all exist in Him and He in them.

But I am not here for philosophy in the raw sense.  We can discuss this over a beer.  The important part is that you understand my relationship to the Almighty and His Son, Jesus Christ.

So, a while back when I lived in Orlando, I used to go to poetry jams.  And we had a blast.  It was in a bar and once we had to talk down a raging alcoholic that was sure he could rhyme.  Fun stuff.  But I believe that there was God.  Amidst the smoke and booze, we shared serious talks about the finer points of our lives.  He was not mentioned often but he was there.

Two of those that I attended featured some music.  And in drum circle fashion, we celebrated life (and sometimes sadness) to the music of several members of a band called Umoja (if I recall correctly, Umoja means "unity").

That was a while back (maybe 10 years).  And man, did we have fun.  Recently, I had the privilege of attending another drum circle.  Therein, I found that same unconditional love.  They had food and they shared with whoever came looking for a plate.  There was music (I happily contributed some rhythm and vocals).  Some people had their own songs.  It was a pleasant celebration of the full moon; kind of like waking up and celebrating the rising of the sun; celebrating the waking up part even.  Unfortunately, I didn't see any werewolves or naked people.  But neither did I see any nuns or friars.

Sarcasm; if you know me, that's how I introduce any serious question.  Do you think I am a bad Christian for enjoying that event? 

I had fun.  I maybe had my share of fun and someone else's share too.  I danced and sang and had fun!  Then, the next day, I went to church and had just as much fun there!  And the whole time, I was thinking about the truly Awesome Power of the Almighty God.  The Light of the Universe.

I intend on doing it again.  I am a man of deep faith and I am happy to know many people who do good deeds.  People whose deeds celebrate the Power of God.  Useful Servants.

Why do I feel like I'm a hypocrite?

I hope to "see it come to its fruition".

Yeah, I am studying CIW so I can take the test next week.  I won the competition in case anyone was wondering and the prize is some training material and a free voucher for a CIW exam (I will try to redeem it for the level 3 exam).  But I took a break to blog and find a pic of the Scooty Puff Sr. design from Futurama.  Because "Scooty Puff Jr. SUUUUUUUUUCKS!!"

TTYL,
me :)

A week ago, I had a dream that my knee was all healed up and it was like a superfoot.  I was leaping about like Nightcrawler, jumping over friends and cars and such.  Made my way to school by leaping the river and landing on cars/trucks/ the MCAT bus.  I get to school, look down at my leg and it has the keen brace that Mr. P gave me (Mr P. at the Martial arts school).  It was steaming and glowing like some high-tech exoskeleton device. I loosen the brace and flop down in my chair like a sack of rocks.  That's when I woke up.  Refreshed, fun dream, nothing shocking though.

In two weeks (and 3 days) time, I am healing pretty quick (I have always been a decent healer) but today the knee starts popping and clicking.  Making noise like a drumstick being ripped out of the bird.  I am sure its nothing and I will just keep the brace and ace bandage routine up.

Well that's the status.  Talk to you all soon.


me :)


PS: Check out my pics, Accidental DZ, for a good laugh.  :)

Hey Pezzino!

This one's for you, Animal.






Enjoy, bro.

300 seconds of "300"

Add to My Profile |   More Videos


The greatest movie of this millennium is, in my opinion, 300!  It's a Tootsie Pop, chocolate chewy Greek goodness with a sweet, candy-coated fight scenes.

OK, a little back-story.  Thermopylae (which means "Hot Gates") is a pass between Mount Oeta and the Aegean Sea, roughly 20 miles north of Delphi.  The place is said to have been the place where Heracles (Hercules to most) died wearing the coat his wife sent him, the coat which was stained with the poisonous blood of his friend, Nessus, a centaur.  Heracles's blood began to boil and he jumped in a stream as a result of the pain.  And the stream began to boil as well.  The area contains a significant amount of hot springs in actuality and thus earned the name Hot Gate, Thermopylae.  Anyway....

In the year 480 BC, Persian King Xerxes landed his army of about a million slaves and troops.  He planned to kick some ass to avenge his defeat at Marathon 10 years earlier as well as add Greece to the Persian Empire.  Leonidas was the King of Sparta but Greece was in a democratic state.  The other City-States decided to follow the Oracle of Delphi's cryptic advice and NOT engage the  Persians.  But Leo wouldn't just wait for Greece to get rolled.

In the movie, he takes a few minutes to weigh the important things in life, family, friends, country, freedom.  This scene pleased me because it showed me that the creators of the movie were true to Greek writing.  Often, in Greek writings, major decisions which carried major consequences were depicted as untimely processes and they were carefully conveyed.  Movies today often depict characters making these decisions with little or no regard, no pensive reflection.  The creators of 300 showed a nice montage illustrating Leo's heavy responsibility.  He instructs his captain to find volunteers to hike north and intercept the Persian army.  The Spartan King disobeys the Greek Senate's orders and goes to defend his homeland.

According to Wikipedia, the City-State of Sparta and the Spartans were considered the protectors of Greece.  Historically, Sparta was a Dorian (one of the original tribes of Greece) Military State and a super-power of the Mediterranean.  They were born and bred to kill and die.  Spartans were Greece's version of a German Shepherd or Doberman Pinscher.  With spears, shields and swords.  Spartan kids learned to fight as soon as they could stand.  They learned to wield a weapon as soon as they developed a grip.  They trained and practiced everyday until they died on the field of battle. 

Up to that day, they dealt out death to MANY of their opponents.  The Spartans  (as the Dorian Tribe) conquered all of Laconia (the southern isthmus of Greece's mainland), defending it against the Athenians and eventually the Persians.  They were some B.A.M.F.'s

The movie 300 is about the 3 day battle at Thermopylae as depicted in the graphic novel ( AKA 'comic book' for you noobs) by Frank Miller (of "Sin City" fame).  It starts a few weeks before when the God-King Xerxes sends an emissary bearing the crowned skulls of the Turkish royalty.  The emissary insults Queen Gorgo, threatens Sparta and Greece, pisses off King Leonidas and dies.  Leonidas the King then goes to Delphi to consult the Oracle (a young, doped-up Spartan virgin) to divine the outcome of a war against the Persian Empire.  Secretly, the Persians pay off the Seers of Delphi (the priests who decipher what the Oracle is saying) and Leonidas is advised NOT to go war with Persia.

Without the aid of all of the rest of Greece, and against the orders of the Senate, Leo marches 300 volunteers to Thermopylae.  The Spartans meet up with 7000 Arcadians (and other Greek loyalists) who rally to Leo to defend Greece.  They funnel the Persians into the pass and proceed to slaughter them.  The Greeks are betrayed by a deformed Spartan called Ephialtes.  In Herodotus's tale (which is considered to be the original story), Ephialtes is a simple shepherd and shows Xerxes a goat trail that leads around the other side of Mount Oeta.  Xerxes flanks Leonidas but not before Leo sends the Arcadians away leaving only the Spartan volunteers (the King's elite forces) in the final showdown.

Director and writer Zack Snyder and screenwriter Kurt Johnstad are true to the original Greek writers (and to the graphic novel).  This story is a 'tragedy'.  The Spartans "go to meet Glory".  He is considered the quintessence of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds in Greece to this day.  The Battle of Thermopylae is mentioned in the movie The Last Samurai by Captain Algren, the main character.

The movie effects are amazing and the fights are mostly realistic.  The entire movie was shot in a studio and all the cinematics (which are pretty amazing) are digital work.  But it's the story that drives this masterpiece of the screen.  It's the acting and the development of the characters that enrapture the audience.  And there's plenty of nudity for you deviants. Not to mention 300 half-naked Greeks (yes, Brian, I said half-naked).

The movie has some incredible one-liners and other delicious hooks like the Queen's speech to the Senate and Senator Theron's reward.  It is classic Greek writing so some might consider it predictable.  But that is the beauty of this movie IMHO.  It is True Classic Writing done with a new style while preserving the integrity of the tale.  My favorite stories are dearer to me when told by someone with style and flair. 

Enjoy the clip.  Thanks to my sources, Wikipedia, Victor Hanson, Plato Dialogues, IMDB and the creators of the movie "300".

You MUST see this movie. Nuff said!

harry the hamster

Add to My Profile | More Videos

Wheeeeeee!!! This is fun!!!!!

This is marvelous.  Yoda speaks only truth.


(Thanks, Jaime)

So I am back in a karate class.  Taking a hybrid of Tae Kwon Do/Hap Ki Do/Karate class taught by Master Boon Brown  at Ancient Ways in Bradenton.  I am totally digging it.  For me and martial arts, it is all about the quality of the teacher.  I think that in a few years and some more experience in different arts, Master Boon is who I will nearly become.

He is a kindred spirit (as Joe keeps telling me).  He loves teaching and loves the martial arts.  He is a computer wiz and plays video games too.  He has been to the other side of the world and he is one of the most MELLOW people I know.

I get to class early today and I have some time to burn off calories.  So I grab a jump rope and start skipping.  I slapped my feet a few times before I got it right.  I had to forget the damn rope and just skip.  A small piece of advice: Forget the rope.  Whatever you are doing, it's like skipping rope, so just forget the rope.  You have done this a million times already, so trust yourself and forget the rope.  Nuff said!

So the old class leaves and the next class begins.  We are doing break-falls.  We hit the ground on our backs and slap our hands to the side so as to Break our Fall.  I have done this all too many times in my Aikido class many years ago.  So I 'forget the rope' and just fall down.  I challenge myself and start rolling backward and popping up in an attack stance.

Master Boon stops the class and I look at him with a guilty face, because I thought I might have done something wrong.  He asks the class,"you guys see what Shane is doing?"

"I always learn something new from Shane.  He teaches and learns without an ego.  I can't wait to get him in a leadership class."  I bowed low and thanked him.  And I was elated! 

To get a compliment from such an accomplished person as Master Brown is probably the highest courtesy I have ever been paid.  I like to fly below the radar most times, especially physical activities.  I am a little chubby and the less attention the better. 

I pushed my buddies, Mark and Tom to do a quiz after class.  Tom was feeling a little underconfident but I coached him a bit and he got it!  Way to go, Tom! :)  Mark got his too.  Mark's form was tip-top.  A real good night for all of us.

I am moving along nicely in class due to the efforts of a man named Todd.  He has helped me ALOT.  He has watched my form and corrected me on a number of points.  He gave me pointers tonight and helped me knock out my grab defense quiz.  He is always in class with his daughter, supporting his kin.  Pretty much my regular sparring partner. 

Thanks again, Todd.  You rock!

and I am a bit depressed. So I am going to tell a spooky story to make me happier thinking about all of you getting chills.


So, I was 18 or 19 years old and my grandfather had passed away about a month or so before. It was another depressed moment in my life because we were helping my grandmother move out. She had gotten a place upstate NY near where I lived in Wappingers. We were packing up all her things and we had to start packing the things in the basement.

None of wanted to be down there alone. In full daylight, we all got the same chill.

So we worked in pairs and packed the old clothes for the Salvation Army and such. Packed away extra dishes. I got real tired because I worked that day and had a double shift the day before. So I went upstairs to get some rest. My grandparents had a nice house with 3 floors and an attic in Westchester County, Yonkers (for those who know where Crestwood is, I could walk to the train and take that to Scarsdale or White Plains or down to NYC.

Anyway, I went upstairs and locked the door to keep my young cousins from disturbing me. I was across the hall from where my grandfather died. I fell asleep uneasily and tossed around for a while before I fell into an dead snore. At least I think I was snoring but that's not really anything.

I started to wake up when I started having some twisted dream or vision. I started to feel my body wake up but I couldn't open my eyes. In this trapped dream state I was able to move my spirit and sat up on the bed. Looking around this etheral world, I relaxed a bit because it looked just like the room in which I slept.

But that's where the similarity ended. On the desk on the far side of the room stood a bust of my grandfather and this bust began to shimmer. (Stay with me, its about to get spooky.) The face on the bust started to sneer at me just when I thought I was getting some kind of ghostly message from my grandfather. The sneer became a scowl and I (my spirit) started to drift back toward my body. I got bad vibes and felt I needed to try waking up.

Suddenly, the dream started becoming a nightmare as my body was invaded by some dark soul. This other soul looked like a sillouhette of some jagged man. A shadow with saw-toothed edges. It cut into my body and I physically started to feel pain. My stomach knotted up with a cramp. My soul had reached my body by this time and I felt that I had to race this dark enemy into my body. I struggled to get to my body before he enveloped it.

I could feel my legs cramping up and my left eye started hurting like a headache. But I beat him and started up out of bed, fully in control of my body. My muscles ached and my eye was bloodshot.

Get ready for the mind-blower.

I didn't speak to anyone about that. My younger cousins were outside the room pounding on the door. I heard my cousin screaming downstairs to my grandmother that I "was yelling but I wouldn't open the door". A few years later, my mom and I were talking about that time. We laughed about no one wanting to pack up the basement without company.

I suddenly became somber and told her about the nightmare. She listened with wide eyes and after I was done, she told me to go tell my brother, Dennis, that same story. So I did.

He had a nightmare that same night in the room downstairs next to the kitchen. In his nightmare, he was trapped by the same jagged-edged shadow. The Shadow had him trapped by chains. Shackled to another chain held by the Shadow was the spirit of my grandfather.

It was just two nightmares. Nightmares. But to this day, it chills me to the bone.


Happy Halloween! Sleep tight!

--> -->

floating around my page.  And not just the questionably efeminite males.  The Renaissance Festival is on in Bradenton, FL.  First link is info, second link is directly to Google map for directions.  $17 to get in.

They got these amazing Japanese Taiko performers.  It is really cool music.  But my favorite site to see besides the combat, the birds of prey demonstration and the people making armor and weapons... 

The Real Show is The REN FAIRIES!!  YAY!!