Merry Fuc$ing Christmas
I love Christmas. I like being with family on Christmas. This year we are staying in Texas, so it will be just our little family. When I was a kid we would always go to my grandparent's place on Christmas Eve and have the traditional Italian fish dinner. The past 5 or so years I have become disillusioned with some aspects of Christmas. The commercial overtones during the Season have become almost ridiculous. If I see another commercial for diamonds, I am going to lose it. If I see another news cast of people plowing each other over as a store's doors open to save $10 on a computer I am going to lose it. If I have one more grumpy person try to run me over with their cart at the store, I am going to lose it. The world needs to refocus.
Reading has been a bit slow lately but here is a review of the last 3 books I have read.
Weight Training for Cyclists
This is a great instructional book that talks about the importance of weight training in cycling racing and how to do it properly. Most of the weight programs that I have done in my life for sports such as football, rugby and wrestling focused on heavy weights and low repetitions for building strength along with bulk. This program focuses on moderate weight with high repetitions. The book also talks about what exercises are most important, why you should do them, and in which order you should do them. Toward the end of the book is a program that you can choose to follow or modify that will take you through the off-season. Overall, a great reference guide. Grade - B+
I am Legend
The story is of the last man on earth. The human population has either died or was turned into a vampire by a plague. There is a sense of despair as he basically goes about life during the day and bunkers down in his house at night when the vamps come out. The person in the book is a white guy in Los Angeles. The movie is of a black guy in NYC. Go figure. The book kept my attention for sure. The 1st half of the book is the story. The second half of the book is comprised of a few separate short stories that have nothing to do with I am Legend. I was a bit confused as to what I was reading until I figured it out. No happy endings here. Grade - B
Ash & Bone
The basic premise is that a retired detective comes out of retirement to work the case of a murdered police woman whom he hooked up with years earlier. There are also tangential stories about corrupt cops and family problems. While it kept my attention most of the time, I found it sort of like every other detective novel I have ever read. There are so many unclosed loops in the tangential stories I have to wonder why they even bothered to tell them. If someone gives this book to you read it. If you have to pay for it, you can probably spend your money in better ways. Grade - C
As I write this I am sitting beside the Bug watching Frosty the Snowman and sipping on a nice Clos du Val Cab. Life could be much worse. :)
Reading has been a bit slow lately but here is a review of the last 3 books I have read.
Weight Training for Cyclists
This is a great instructional book that talks about the importance of weight training in cycling racing and how to do it properly. Most of the weight programs that I have done in my life for sports such as football, rugby and wrestling focused on heavy weights and low repetitions for building strength along with bulk. This program focuses on moderate weight with high repetitions. The book also talks about what exercises are most important, why you should do them, and in which order you should do them. Toward the end of the book is a program that you can choose to follow or modify that will take you through the off-season. Overall, a great reference guide. Grade - B+
I am Legend
The story is of the last man on earth. The human population has either died or was turned into a vampire by a plague. There is a sense of despair as he basically goes about life during the day and bunkers down in his house at night when the vamps come out. The person in the book is a white guy in Los Angeles. The movie is of a black guy in NYC. Go figure. The book kept my attention for sure. The 1st half of the book is the story. The second half of the book is comprised of a few separate short stories that have nothing to do with I am Legend. I was a bit confused as to what I was reading until I figured it out. No happy endings here. Grade - B
Ash & Bone
The basic premise is that a retired detective comes out of retirement to work the case of a murdered police woman whom he hooked up with years earlier. There are also tangential stories about corrupt cops and family problems. While it kept my attention most of the time, I found it sort of like every other detective novel I have ever read. There are so many unclosed loops in the tangential stories I have to wonder why they even bothered to tell them. If someone gives this book to you read it. If you have to pay for it, you can probably spend your money in better ways. Grade - C
As I write this I am sitting beside the Bug watching Frosty the Snowman and sipping on a nice Clos du Val Cab. Life could be much worse. :)
posted by Chris at 4:24 PM
14 Comments:
You know -- I love Christmas too. Which, given that it seems so faddish to hate Christmas, to kvetch about all the trouble, the lines, the commercialism, the this, the that, seems anathema at this point. I love giving gifts as much as getting them; I love making cookies; I love decorating the tree; I love Christmas carols -- I love the fun of the holiday -- just the whole vibe. What is wrong with people? Just because something is advertised on t.v. and has non-stop local t.v. news coverage, doesn't mean you have to make it a part of your life!
Whew -- thanks for the chance to rant. I really enjoy your blog. Thanks for the book review too.
Happy Christmas, dammit!
Me too, I know what you're saying about Christmas. I am so sick of the commercialism of it. I just try to make the best of it all. I made some of the presents I am giving away this year.
i was at sears a few years back with judy at christmas time. i was looking at a nice wooden ornament, holding it in my hand... some woman came up and just took it out of my hand and walked off with it. i was shocked. i had just come home from 3 years in germany and i had never experienced anything like that. i just turned and walked out the door. i should have whipped her ass. oh yeah, christmas! :)
Kelly - I know there are many others out there like us who like the Christmas Holiday. They just need to put the credit cards away and enjoy it.
Thanks for reading my blog. Do you have one?
Cyndy - what did you make me and when is it arriving?
Blue - you definitely should have whooped her ass. Were you on Candid Camera??
I soooo agree.
Christmas has become a fabricated marketing scheme to sell products that didn't sell earlier in the year to make room for new stuff.
Not much you can do about that but enjoy family and friends and stay out of the mall.
Hope you and yours have a wonderful holiday season despite the jewelery commercials! :^)
P.S. So, what did you get me?
I'm glad the snow didn't come plowing your way.
Commercial overtones are fine with me, except when they start a month or two ahead of actual Christmas...Its almost as if they are inventing a second season for money.
And I would never lose it if they had the bike shop doors open 24/7, with something like a Macy's card for bikes my life would be set.
They should really have a 6 floor bike store. Right in the center of Colorado or something. Lol.:)
I love Christmas because I go to Texas. Bringing the mtn. bike (building a dirt course on my sis's land for the kids' dirt bikes). But, I will rent a road bike to ride with you, great host!
I'll be out there from the 20th - Jan. 7th.
I understand Chris... I'm tired of the Lexus commercial. But I can't complain too much because those loads of commercials pay my bills.(supports my cycling budget)
Yes, I'm the guy on the other side of the news desk reading the scripts when the video rolls of all those crazy shoppers busting down the doors. I get TIRED of it too... but then I come home to my beautiful pregant wife and my awesome son... and I soon return to feeling the true meaning of Christmas! Enjoy your time with your family & Merry Christmas!
We, too, are fed up with the spend, spend, spend American Christmas. So, this year, the hubby and I figured out how much we would have spent on gifts for family, and donated that sum it to LAF in memory of my Dad.
Talk about a gift freely given from the heart . . . that was definitely IT. :-)
bah, humbug! Oh wait, that's me. I have to tune out a lot from, hmmm, say Sep-Jan or I would lose it. And I have to stay away from any retail establishment. And, from mid-November through mid-December I have to give up riding on some of the local hills because the $#@*& drivers going to and returning from the local tree farms seem to get distracted more easily than Clark W. Griswold. Yep; bah, humbug.
Enjoy spending the time with the Bug and his little brother (does he have a nickname yet?). And think about VG's offer on the Foster City crit ;-)
Ron - we can only hope for 6 story bike shops one day.
Sweetcheeks - let me know when you get to TX and hopefully we can catch a ride.
Donald - in order to make a good story you could manipulated the news. Tie a new iPhone to a pole and put a sign on it for $40 and stand back and record the claws coming out. :)
Eclectchick - good girl. That is a great thing to do.
Rick - maybe if you made a suit out of blinking Christmas lights you would be safer on those roads out there.
Chris
I tend to agree but if Christmas was relatively uncommercial how would justify an upgrade to my iPod ;o)
You have a very readable blog - Happy New Year - keep it up in 2008.
Best wishes to you and your young family.
Al
We've pretty much downplayed xmas at our house. Consumerism has destroyed the holidays. I'd rather just sit down and visit with family. Have some drinks by the fire and tell stories. We're making sure the boy has a nice xmas, but we've stayed away from the malls and all the decorations. Seems like people have enough stuff already. We're going with food basket gifts for family. Everyone could use some food.
But like I said...the boy is being taken care of. He's getting a Ninteno Wii from Santa. He's going to go nuts...
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