Oh, Come On... Thirty More Years of This, You Get a Tiny Pension and a Cheap Gold Watch.

I'm feeling rebellious tonight; a very counter-culture, counter-intuitive, counter-tradition vibe. I have to do things differently tonight. I have to do something unorthodox, something surprising, something so unexpected, it will shock every one of you. And I know exactly what that something will be...

I will make a short post.

Yes, Dave the Long-Winded shall endeavor to exercise extreme self-control - not for lack of content on the tip of my fingers, but just to see if it can be done. Can I pack enough concentrated, interesting content into one post to make it a quick read that is still worth reading? We shall see...

As you know, I've been reading about Alexander the Great lately, from Steven Pressfield's book, The Virtues of War. I'm about 130 pages from completion... I could tear through it, but I'm savoring the ride. The book is awesome. Anyway, from that book, I take today's...

Military Strategy Tip of the Day: Great multitudes are not necessary. The optimal size of a fighting corps is that number that can march from one camp to another and arrive in one day. Any more are superfluous and only slow you down.

There you have it, straight from Alexander himself. Now if you ever need to lead an army against the Persian multitudes, you'll be that much wiser in your preparations. Provided your army uses bladed weapons, arrows and cavalry. No gunpowder allowed...

My Sister read a book recently (which she has passed on to wifey) called Born to Run, by Christopher McDougall, about a tribe of Indians called the Tarahumara (in Mexico's Copper Canyon region) that have apparently perfected the art of running ultra-long distances (100+ miles) without rest, practically barefoot, over any terrain, well into their 50's and beyond, without injury and enjoying every mile. Here, check out this little video... it can explain it better than I...



I'm no runner... my endurance is so bad, I get winded just watching someone run. But wifey is a runner, and she's diggin the book. I may give it a read after her, just to check it out. Anyway, my Sister, after reading this book, bought these crazy-funky shoes to run in, which are basically like padded socks with individual slots for each toe. Check this out...


Apparently, part of the secret to remaining injury-free as a runner is running as close to barefoot as you can. Something about the body's natural ability to support itself while running, and how shoes, even well-designed running shoes, hinder that, and actually contribute to injury. I suppose I'll know more after I read the book. But for now, I just wanted to post a pic of those crazy shoes... they're thin, like ballet slippers, with a bit of extra padding along the bottom in strategic places.

On an unrelated note, I pulled a shirt out of my drawer this morning that wifey had apparently got from The Gap... it was a plain white t-shirt with the phrase "Vote for _____." on the front. Since I always just wear whatever I grab first, I snatched the shirt, and decided I'd better write in something on the blank. After two long minutes of pondering, I made a decision...


Yep, Rodney Mullen. What's he running for? Nothing, that I'm aware of. But if there's anyone that needs to be elected to some sort of office, it's Rodney Mullen. Such an awesome skateboarder should definitely be in a position of power in a government somewhere. I used a Sharpee pen to write the name. We'll see if it survives the wash. If it does, I may take the sharpee to it again and draw a bit of line art on the shirt, an action shot of Rodney Skating. Here's a link to one of many, many clips of Rodney doing his thing...

One more item: I watched a clip of Quinten Tarrantino today, where he was talking about what he feels are the 20 best films released in the past 2 decades. Mostly foreign films, a couple surprises, such as The Matrix, Unbreakable and Jackie Chan's Supercop, but one of the last on the list just floored me, and I laughed. You'll never guess, so I'll just tell you... Speed, with Keanu and Sandra Buttock. I have long despised that film, and wifey has long loved that film. It has been a point of good-natured ribbing for years and years in this house, as Joseph can attest to. So to hear Tarrantino honestly laud the film made me guffaw. His reasons? He said discounting the last 20 minutes of the film, it was the first film he remembers seeing in a theater that carried such a strong, constant air of tension as it swept the audience along. He said that was a sign of great, effective film-making.

Sorry, Quinten. I respect you, but I cannot agree... the stench of the "bus bunnyhop" scene overpowers anything of value in that film. I will forever ridicule that film.

That's it for tonight. Not quite as tight as I'd hoped. Perhaps I should hire an editor. Still, don't forget the Director's Cut of today's post over at Wagnervana. Until tomorrow, remember, I'm in charge here! I drop this stick, and they pick your friend here up with a sponge! You ready to die, friend?