Archives for April 2012

Well, I’ve done a decent number of videos around here but never accounted for the fact that it’s harder—way harder—to do a 1:30 video than something that goes for far longer. Just not much room for much error.

So I flailed around doing this, this afternoon, in-betwixt bewilderment over the crazy comment thread on my last that probably won’t die any time soon. Luke, in pointing out that so many think I’m a total dick (I’d have preferred a certain adjective right in front), put it this way:

Somewhat off topic, but germane to your last tweet, I want to thank you profligately for running such an open forum on your blog. *Every* other paleo blog out there that I’m aware of is over-moderated to the point where it’s nothing more than a back-slapping echo chamber for bloggers to be congradulated on their prowess, or, at best, to receive some mild and contributory links related to the post. Very few if any other bloggers tolerate any sort of open exchange of ideas. This space is needed and valuable especially as this movement expands and grows, and I dare say this is one of the most influential paleo/primal blogs. You broke open the CT discussion into a wider sphere, as an example. You talk politics and religion, and maybe even relish it, two areas other bloggers pale with dread to discuss.

People think you’re a dick, but you encourage free expression. If that’s what being a dick means, count me in. At the same time, if being ‘nice’ is stifling expression and conversation, I want no part of this ‘niceness.’ At some point, I’ll begin blogging again (I had a blog a long time ago, deleted it because I grew out of it), and I hope to take a similar tack that you’ve taken here.

We need to tackle these issues head-on, and not skirt them because it makes some people ‘uncomfortable.’ If people want to be comfortable and unchallenged in their lifestyle or their assumptions, they best sit back on the couch, grab a corporate beer and eat some processed express-meal.

Carry on. Viva La Raza.

Yep. We’re all about that, here. No fear. I’m in the process of gathering the best, sharpest, most fuck-you minds in the Paleosphere and all you others can have those looking for the next 10 Ways To Do X.

So here’s the video. It’s only a minute and a half.

So soon, there will be another book promotion. The last one was buy one copy, give away five for free, which is running indefinitely. The next one is being queued up for release soon.

I had not intended for my last post about food quality and a certain sacredness about this thing we call Paleo to go totally off the rails into politics and social structures in comments, but it pretty much did anyway. Thank Shaun.

…Which prompted me, since I’d been saving up ideas to use in a Human Animal Political Post (TM), to forego it…maybe in favor of some food pics…how it’s going in the backyard with the cold plunge and kettlebells, and so on. But to hell with that, just for now. I don’t exactly have any idea how this post is going to come out in the end, but I have quite a bit of stuff saved up. So here goes.

My overall theme, always, is not which thing to vote for. It’s to not vote at all; to withhold your sanction from convention; from just getting along. That’s right. Be an “irresponsible citizen.” Shirk your “duty.” Get uninvolved. Unparticipate in the process. Above all, get middle finger exercise. Hey, new paleo product: Middle Finger Kettlebells.

Flip it high & often.

New idea: live for yourself, your family, your friends, the best food you can make…and your Facebook Friends and Twitter followers.

Here, let me show you why. And no, you will never, ever vote your way out of this mess and no,  Ron Paul is not your Messiah. He’s just as worthless as any politician, just less overtly destructive than most.

~ The American Experiment In Liberty Has Failed. I know you don’t believe me, but, it’s actually pretty short, under 10 minutes to read and I lead off with that because it’s perhaps the most important of all the links, which I do select carefully.

It is, perhaps, a fact provocative of sour mirth that the Bill of Rights was designed trustfully to prohibit forever two of the favorite crimes of all known governments: the seizure of private property without adequate compensation and the invasion of the citizen’s liberty without justifiable cause…It is a fact provocative of mirth yet more sour that the execution of these prohibitions was put into the hands of courts, which is to say, into the hands of lawyers, which is to say, into the hands of men specifically educated to discover legal excuses for dishonest, dishonorable and anti-social acts. — H. L. Mencken, Prejudices: A Selection, pp. 180-82

That was written a long time ago and this, just the other day.

…The greatest fear of America’s Founding Fathers has been realized: The U.S. Constitution has been unable to thwart the corrosive dynamics of majority-rule democracy, which in turn has mangled the Constitution beyond recognition. The real conclusion of the American Experiment is that democracy ultimately undermines liberty and leads to tyranny and oppression by elected leaders and judges, their cronies and unelected bureaucrats. All of this is done in the name of “the people” and the “general welfare,” of course. But in fact, democracy oppresses the very demos in whose name it operates, benefiting string-pullers within the Establishment and rewarding the political constituencies they manage by paying off special interests with everyone else’s money forcibly extracted through taxation.

The Founding Fathers (especially Washington, Jefferson, Franklin, Adams, Madison, and James Monroe), as well as outside observers of the American Experiment such as Alexis de Tocqueville all feared democracy and dreaded this outcome. But, they let hope and faith in their ingenious constitutional engineering overcome their fear of the democratic state, only to discover they had replaced one tyranny with another. As one contemporary libertarian has put it :

“It is hard to think of other examples in history where so many checks and balances were placed upon centralized political power – and it is also impossible to think of a more dangerous and powerful government than the modern American leviathan. The abysmal failure of such a noble experiment should give all moralists pause. If the smallest possible government has grown into the largest conceivable government – within a few hundred years – it is hard to imagine what kind of theoretical system could conceivably control state growth in the future.” […]

Some of us observed other frailties of the U.S. Constitution years later, but deluded ourselves into believing it was all just a consequence of inadequate constitutional design, which could be overcome and rectified with appropriate constitutional changes. Alas, it is impossible any longer to labor under the delusion that democracy can be fixed by tinkering with constitutions, appointing the right judges to the bench or electing the right politicians to office. As Frank Karsten and Karen Beckman have written in Beyond Democracy, democracy cannot be fixed because it is inherently broken:

“The problems of democracy are inherent. It’s like having dinner with a million people and deciding up front the bill will be split evenly. Everyone has a strong incentive to order more than he would individually, resulting in a huge bill that everyone deplores but no individual could do anything about. Democracy therefore has a very limited self-cleansing capability. Our politicians have a natural short-term outlook since they are only temporarily in office. They will overspend, overtax and over borrow knowing their successors will have to deal with the negative consequences. Besides that, they spend other people’s money anyhow.”

But now we come to the hard part: What is to be done? If not democracy, what? If the ballot box won’t work to reverse the arrow of democratic politics, if better constitutional design can’t overcome democratic entropy, are we left with rebellion and revolution? History demonstrates that violence begets violence and the violent overthrow of tyrants begets new tyrannies, frequently worse than those they replace. Is peaceful rebellion feasible? Will non-violent, civil disobedience work to reorder our dysfunctional politics, and if so, what kind of “new order” is to replace the old order?

The fact is, we don’t know how to structure society, and any effort trying to do so by constitutional/political/social engineering—no matter how well intentioned, no matter how smart the designers—inevitably leads to disastrous outcomes. The key, therefore, is not to think about replacing what we have with something else but rather to replace it with nothing, i.e., freedom from government, not enslavement to a new form of government.

The only way human societies can possibly develop successfully to satisfy the needs and desires of the individuals that make them up is through a process of gradual evolution, not juridical, legislative and bureaucratic incrementalism, but rather a social, political and economic evolution that occurs free of all three; a trial-and-error, evolutionary process where millions of free individuals work it out on a case-by-case, day-to-day basis at the individual level of bilateral trade, voluntary contract and discourse with each other. Coercive collective action in the name of the greater good not only is immoral—who decides who has the gun?—it also is destructive of human happiness and ruinous of human potential. [emphasis added]

Yea, unusually long “excerpt,” but that’s how it rolls, sometimes. Go read the other 5 minute’s worth. Then sit back and long for your next chance to vote. You’ll Get ‘er Done in no time, Larry.

But I hope you see a distinction between that and a lot of the other stuff you see about how to “fix the system.” Fuck the system. There really is no other way, and you begin by simply ignoring it in terms of activism, encouraging others to do likewise. All you can do as an individual.

What if they held an election and nobody showed up?

Stop wasting your life on such unmitigated bullshit. Look, hasn’t The Messiah proved it, even to you lefties? More on that, later.

~ In the meantime, let’s take the cases of a doper and a faggot. No sympathy for you! You don’t get your human rights!

First up, filmmaker Rick Ray on Charlie Lynch.

In 2006, Charlie Lynch opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Morro Bay, California. He was such a stickler about following California state law that he called all the legal authorities he could. The ribbon-cutting for his shop was attended by local pols and chamber of commerce types and his shop flourished due to his outgoing personality, dedication to customer service, and strict enforcement of all laws related to medical marijuana.

In 2007, his dispensary was raided by the Drug Enforcement Administration and local sheriffs. Thus began a legal nightmare from which Lynch – and the country – has yet to awake. Placed under house arrest, threatened with an effective life sentence, and stripped of his income, Lynch became one more casuality in the war against medical marijuana.

Eventually, Lynch was tried in federal court, where the Kafkaesque proceedings meant his defense was not allowed to tell jurors that medical marijuana was legal under California law. Eventually, Lynch was sentenced to a year and a day, and was allowed to be free pending an appeal that seems unlikely to ever be fully resolved.

Lynch’s ordeal – and the country’s – is the subject of Lynching Charlie Lynch, a new documentary made by Rick Ray, who helped produce Reason.tv’s original coverage of the Lynch case as it unfolded.

Where’s your Fucking Obama-Messiah, commies? Everyone expected Republican fucks to do this sort of thing. But in matters such as this, you should be held to a far higher standard and when you don’t live up, should suffer ridicule—not for being stupid fuckheads like Republicans—but for being far worse: having zero recognizable integrity. At least republicans engage in the tyranny they promise and defend stupid behavior they uphold, like praying in school, withholding science, and teaching kids to fear sky fairies.

~ Who cares about a faggot in jail, eh? Shouldn’t they be locked up anyway? Alright, so here you go, Messiah Jesus-Obama, nowhere in sight.

Duncan Roy: Director Trapped in Men’s Central Jail

Director Duncan Roy casts a courtly image of a baronial figure as he sits in his home atop Las Flores Canyon, a modernist, Bohemian hideaway with a jaw-dropping view of the Pacific. His surroundings project an image of California’s creative lifestyle at its most alluring. But in February, Roy found himself standing alone outside Los Angeles County Men’s Central Jail, released after three months of harrowing and wrongful incarceration.

During his ordeal, he learned to dodge angry Los Angeles County Sheriff’s jailers and to trade with fellow prisoners for dried ramen toppings. He was helplessly trapped in a Kafka-esque corner of America’s immigration war, where he disappeared into the bowels of the system without explanation or apparent legal recourse.

In 2006, Roy was an up-and-coming star of the British independent-film community. His first picture, AKA, had received notice and awards around the world, and he followed the well-worn path to Hollywood in search of a bigger canvas — in particular, a film adaptation of The Picture of Dorian Gray, to which he was attached to direct. He purchased the Las Flores house with the help of his then-boyfriend, a Malibu real estate agent who later would be featured on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing.

Well, when the geologist who did the survey in advance of purchase later admitted to falsifying it, implicating said ex-boyfriend, and Roy called ex-boyfriend on it, he soon found himself in jail under charges of “extortion,” then an INS hold, even though he was here legally…

And now Duncan Roy understands what almost every other productive member of society who never hurts anyone does not. Please read his story. He spent 3 months locked up for absolutely no good reason. Read his story.

~ If I Wanted America to Fail.

I dunno, but as I hear the endless psychodouche from the likes of “occupiers” and other do-nothings, all I hear is STOP PRODUCING! Didn’t they try that before, like in the 1950s and 60s in China and other places? But, y’know, 15 million dead of starvation here, 20 million there? I’m sure it was for a good cause.

~ Alright, Sky God worshipers of all sorts. The gig is up. You can no longer dishonestly use that Steven Hawking “mind of God” bit from A Brief History of Time as your second favorite appeal to authority.

Stephen Hawking: ‘There is no heaven; it’s a fairy story’

Now, does anyone have an old Einstein interview we can perhaps haul out and call it a rational day?

~ Social Suicide?

OK, this is where I give back, because I really don’t care for this video. What’s next, a new victims class: atheists? I think a video like this seriously compromises what ought to be the root theme of atheism: you’re nobody’s bitch; not some fantasy in the sky or fiery pits, and fuck anyone who doesn’t like it. You’re superior (and you are).

Interesting this came out as “Bully” hit theaters. New movie idea: Bully 2 The Atheists.

Alright. That should do it. I had one more but upon closer inspection, it wasn’t what it pretended to be. I hope that was enough to offend just about everyone though. I don’t like to disappoint.

Comments are open. Everyone feel free to be on their worst behavior.

Count me surprised.

At 140 comments so far on my last post about being a blogger first, expanding my topical area beyond just Paleo diet and exercise mostly, the support is pretty damn remarkable. Even some commenters like Nakhil Hogan who disagree with me on my approach to politics (stop voting, fer crissakes!), have their hearts solidly in the right place. For most of them, their minds will eventually follow. I’ve been at this aspect of my online presence for 20 years, now, and when the heart is right, the mind follows, eventually.

I’ll cover more of the political angles in a subsequent post. For now, in one comment to that post, I wrote:

I view the paleo movement as a movement to liberate the mind toward independence, individuality and freedom in a human evolutionary context.

It’s not about fucking paleo brownies and cookies.

At a point, one commenter added:

What would be the bestest possible paleo product? Imo a line of paleo frozen dinners from a subsidiary of Lean Cuisine. Takes all the stress and wasted time out of preparing a healthy paleo dinner for your family.

Commenter Brent replied, in A++ fashion, in my view:

I can’t tell if this statement is meant to be ironic or serious, but I am seeing that attitude expressed more frequently as paleo goes more mainstream. And it indicates that the paleo movement is close to jumping the shark.

I am reminded of some investment advice I got a while back, which is basically: when the mainstream jumps on an investment idea, sell. Now, a paleo lifestyle is not something I’m going to leave, but – like others – I may have to leave the label behind as it starts to become a marketing term instead of a lifestyle concept.

I saw the same thing happen with low carb when it became a “fad.” One thing I will always be grateful for, from my low carb days, is heightening my awareness of what I was eating, as opposed to just how much of it. In addition to cutting down on carbs, Atkins admonished his readers to also cut out hydrogenated oils and some artificial sweeteners, like aspartame. Suddenly I was checking food labels for ingredient lists instead of just macronutrient content. It made me laugh at ludicrous products like Better’n Peanut Butter, with its inch-long ingredient list of processed additives that made it “healthier” than a product that was made of “roasted peanuts and salt.” That kind of thinking led me to paleo/primal living.

paleo is (was?) a concept, not a brand, not an ingredient list, and not shorthand for gluten and/or dairy free. The latter is what the food industry wants it to be, because they can make their crap without gluten, and simply use a whole bunch of other potentially toxic crap to make the same foods palatable. They did the same thing with maltitol, which made products sugar free and “low carb,” but also caused diarrhea.

You may or may not have seen the report on the gorillas in the zoo whose health improved when they were taken off their diet of standard-issue gorilla food pellets. The which were high in sugar and other processed crap, but met all the “nutritional requirements” for gorillas, but was giving them heart disease and making them lethargic. Their health and energy improved when they were given whole foods more like what they would eat in the wild: fresh leafy vegetables and fruit. Sound familiar?

A “healthy paleo frozen dinner by Lean Cuisine” is contradictory. Frozen dinners are the equivalent to food pellets for zoo humans. I’m looking at my copy of paleo Magazine and I see an ad for “Paleo Coffee Creamer” – which is an oxymoron. paleo creamer is called “cream” – preferably raw from 100% grass-fed cows. The act of sourcing fresh, quality ingredients, “wasting time” by preparing them properly, and enjoying them with good company is what makes the meal paleo, not just its gluten/dairy content. paleo is about changing our attitudes about our food – its quality and preparation – and our lifestyles. I think Richard’s point is that it is also about changing our mindsets towards life in general. That is, breaking away from the mindset of civilization – aka, the zoo. In other words, free the animal.

Again, paleo is a concept. When we start looking for paleo in convenient, processed, pre-packaged containers — so that we can continue being zoo humans eating their food pellets — the concept is dead.

OK, so a few years back when the first packaged snacks you could order like paleo Kits came on the market, I was glad for it. Have ordered them a few times and they seem pretty wholesome to me. Same with Jerky Chews. I’m sure there are others. But where does it stop? It probably doesn’t, and I find it a tad sad.

As everyone knows, I’m not religious and I’m not at all in favor of The Church of paleo either. At the same time, the notion of sanctity transcends religion. In the narrative of Jesus tossing the money changers out of the temple, It’s not about Jesus, sky fairies, or anything supernatural. It’s about the idea that some things are sacred, and we should hold ourselves to high standards and low compromise. To put it in purely secular terms, it would be like having vendor booths set up for the photographer, caterer, planner, decorators, et al, at your daughter’s wedding.

It’s about there being an appropriate time and place. And paleo, if it means anything at all, is about a little more effort, a little more care, a little more involvement, a little more time and attention. It’s about the sanctity of something fundamental about not only our physical health, but our mental and social health. Think families going out and sourcing their food with care, collaboratively coming up with menu plans, all hands on deck for the preparation, and enjoyment mutually…sitting around the table talking to one another.

Saying grace, optional. Or, just take a moment of silence to contemplate “Mother Nature,” or something.

How far removed is that idea from getting stuff in a bag or box with “paleo” stamped on it, that takes no more effort than point and click, and which the family members grab to take on the road before heading out the door?

How about a new paleo book being published almost weekly, now?

How about print and blog publications that are little more than vehicles for advertising all of the foregoing, and very light on substance?

…And all the while, a guy like Jimmy Moore gets criticized relentlessly for some of the sponsorships he has, even in the face of his clear move to cleaning things up with higher quality, including embracing paleo in general and promoting grassfed and pastured animal products. At the same time, the paleo world seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

So as a free market capitalist kinda guy, all this might surprise you. And honestly, I’m torn. I have no problem with making money…on the contrary, it’s a virtue.

But I also believe in freedom and policing one’s self and ourselves. So proceed with caution. Ask yourself when you opt to buy that next whatever in a bad or box, whether you’re advancing your values or taking a step back.

I begin with a comment on one of the posts from some days ago.

…I am getting the feeling that these lastest comments and walls being raised by many friends of yours is taking its toll. Funny how you like to tear down walls, and unexpectedly (at least for me) many walls seem to be being built. Maybe I am wrong though, it just feels like that. I remember once you wrote sometime or other about Art Devany is going to be left behind if he does not …keep up? (Something like that you wrote) I think many of the pillar bloggers may be feeling the same. I don’t know shit about Jack Kruse. I like his free thinking. I just started looking at his blog since your post. It is exciting. I am reading his comment section with much interest. It reminds me of this “Paleo/Primal” thing back in 2009. It was exciting as hell then. Now….not as much. My only point in sending you this is to say hang in there. You are one of the good ones.

My reply, in comments:

My advantage is that I already blogged almost every day a full 4 years before I uttered a word about paleo. So I guess I’m a blogger who’s paleo, not a paleo blogger. Laf. Thanks for making me come up with that.

They will all go the wayside before me, though I might take my retreats now and then.

And that’s the goddamn truth. I’m a blogger first, paleo second, and I guess I finally came up with probably the one single thing that sets me apart from…pretty much everyone else in the paleosphere in terms of those who blog Paleo predominately or exclusively. At least, I’m not aware of anyone else but me who’s been pumping out an average of a post per weekday since 2003.

paleo hasn’t jumped the shark or anything, in my view. But perhaps blogging about it has, to a degree. I mean, how many times can one come up with different ways of writing that the cholesterol con is a con, the saturated fat con is a con, the vegetarian and vegan con is a con, et al and et al?

But, dammit, I love blogging and I love blogging more than I love paleo. I guess…it’s possible that I could be a fat blogger or an average body comp blogger, but I’d still be a blogger.

So? What? Well, I guess it means that rather than blog about only paleo stuff most of the time, with wider spaces between posts, I’m just going to have to go to some hybrid of Depesche Mode, with fashion being paleo…and do it faster than once or twice per week.

The truth is, I really don’t like limitations and it’s been a long while that I’ve been growing a resentment about being a “paleo blogger,” such that when I do indulge myself in writing of other things that interest me, and that might happen to rub a few the wrong way who otherwise like the blog, I get the pushback in various ways. …As though I have some duty or obligation to blog for the audience rather than just blog, getting whatever audience I deserve for it.

So fuck that. I’m ignoring it from here out. I’ve blogged long enough, and 3,000 posts and I can blog about what the hell I want to blog about; and if you ask me, widening the topical matter will only be to the good. And since the blog is highly visited, it might actually bring smart people into the fray…because we want all the morons to Go vegan!

Ha, and we’re in an erection year. That’s when even women get hard-ons for who’s going to be their next ruler. I always loved erection years. I mean, back in 2007, it was easy to write a post entitled Fuck Obama and His Stupid Bitch. Now, not so much. And what a target rich environment to have Newt Gingrich in the race, that loathsome fucktard who, when Bill “that lying bastard” Clinton sent him to the back of Air Force Bus One and he wined about being dissed, should have just retired and spared us from any further shenanigans and outbursts forever. I’m sure he’d make a fine middle school history teacher. Peter Principle got pwned, there. And holy shit. I’ve missed the whole opportunity to make fun of Rick “smegma-santorum” Santorum. He’s outta there, before I even got the chance. Romney? Oh, I did deal with him last time in a few posts, but my favorite was entitled Moronism (get it?). I also dealt with Democrats as liars, and Republicans as frauds in pretty long posts, but my archive does not seem to be super well indexed by Goolge back in 2004 and I don’t want to go page by page. Instead, I’ll just say that to all you hand clappers, Ron Paul and his son should go seek honest work, like they used to do.

So there, I think that covers all sides of all isles and “independents” and “libertarians” too. I have no use for anyone who seeks rulership. Ever. Good intentions mean fuck-all to me. So fuck Ron Paul, too. I’d absolutely hire him as my personal physician, though.

…So to sum it up fuck all of that shit: wall to wall, floor to ceiling….voluminously.

I’m going to be a better paleo blogger by being a plain old better blogger, from here out. paleo has become way, way too limiting for me.

So there you have it.

I’m soundly and reflexively opposed to the notion of “super foods”—particularly since when such moronic stupidity is uttered and then published far & wide—in every health section of any outlet you can name—it’s always…no, fucking always, about some silly plant.

There are only a few “super foods,” and liver tops the list. Bread—or any grain product—is far from any such list.

Media outlets have begrudgingly come out in support of eggs for their nutrition, but I’m still waiting for organ meats. I’ll probably be waiting a while.

…A couple of weeks ago, I noticed we had on hand a lot of baby carrots in the bags they come in. And so, I proceeded to snack on them at night, whilst watching TV, blogging…so forth. I dunno. Not measured, but at least several ounces per night. And I noticed something interesting. Two things, really.

1. Now and then when I have my whiskey in the evening, then have dinner, I’ll get a touch of mild heartburn or if not, just a bit of stomach discomfort. I noted that on these evenings I ate raw carrots, none of that. Rather, a nice settled feeling. I’ve previously noted the same thing with raw celery.
2. The morning ritual (no TMI) was pretty perfect.

I didn’t really think all that much of it—certainly not enough to blog about, and have all the Ray Peat fans come crawling around.

Then just a few days later, so coincidentally, a commenter dropped this link in a comment.

The effect of raw carrot on serum lipids and colon function

J Robertson, WG Brydon, K Tadesse, P Wenham, A Walls and MA Eastwood

Two hundred grams of raw carrot eaten at breakfast each day for 3 weeks significantly reduced serum cholesterol by 11%, increased fecal bile acid and fat excretion by 50%, and modestly increased stool weight by 25%. This suggests an associated change in bacterial flora or metabolism. The changes in serum cholesterol, fecal bile acids, and fat persisted 3 weeks after stopping treatment.

I took notice because I realized in an instant that confirmation bias had been eliminated in my case, as I’d already noticed and begun to think there might be something to munching on raw carrots, of all things.

The study is from way back in 1979, probably when science was better. The full text is free (PDF).

It’s not huge—only 5 subjects—but results seem pretty uniform amongst all subjects and markedly different from their baseline state.

What’s interesting about reading the full text, which I read hastily, is that it appears that the 50% increase in fat in the stool is most likely the result of the fermentation of fiber in the gut. From the full text:

The total breath hydrogen increased by the 3rd week from 17 to 39 ppm. […]

A possible explanation of the effects is given by the breath hydrogen. The expired breath hydrogen in normals is derived from bacterial activity in the colon, therefore, the increase in breath hydrogen is probably due to fiber fermentation in the colon. This implies that that the pH, redox potential, and bacterial activity, e.g., on bile acids, alters as a result of fiber hydrolysis to short-chained fatty acids.

[emphasis added]

Yep, see it’s nearly impossible to escape fat in the diet. If you don’t eat it dietarily, instead preferring fibrous foods, your body will just make (ferment) the fat in the gut.

Remember butyric acid?
 

The problem—if there is one—with very intelligent people is that it’s only relative, and they often don’t recognize it. The very most intelligent and knowledgeable person in the world a few thousand years ago could not hold a candle to your average 8-yr-old gamer, today. There have been millions of amazingly intelligent people throughout history that spurred on humanity. We know of less than 1% of them. We owe our survival to all of them but it’s anyone’s guess which were more valuable: the heralded 1%, or the never known and long forgotten 99%.

The virtue of knowledge acquisition way back when and then, was that it was wholly honest. Nobody financed it, nor did anyone have a personal financial stake in it to the extent they could expect to sell it by holding it back for themselves. To the contrary. Power structures like the ancient church at the time actively suppressed knowledge of nature, so as to keep people ignorant, to remain in control. This went on for a very long time.

Things haven’t changed a whole lot principally. Only the actors, the subtlety. It went from church control to government control—a brief pause for an Enlightenment—back to various levels of control and then, the Industrial Revolution, to add a player. And it was the most important player because, it actually really created lots of values people voluntarily trade for, thus generating a lot of tradable value (money), and the church and state became whores explicitly. It’s reached such a level of sophistication now, that whoring for tax dollars is a sub-contracting network, and everyone’s hand is vying for the pot of gold. And given public unions and pension plans, a 30-year job with the state is a very low risk, high reward proposition that’s going to break the financial back of the newest player, industry, eventually (indirectly) unless something gives first. Such is the work of the parasite.

The biggest scam in history is that the principal producers must be under the reins of the principal parasites.

One way to view history and modern geopolitics is as the means of keeping people as ignorant as possible. And it was marvelously effective, up to the age of the printing press, US Constitution (freedom of speech), newspapers, radio, TV, and now, the Internet, blogs, Facebook, Twitter—each, a step along the way, not only to the decentralization of knowledge and information, but most importantly, the absolutely unpredictable consequences. It has gotten to the point where even church and state kinda realize that to suppress it now–cat outta bag— would be worse for them than to face the inevitable consequences—which, in the most exuberant sense, would be for them to get their resumes out there, seeking honest work.

I’m not a hand wringer at all. In fact, if the real truth about everything we can have the truth for means that, oh shit, I’m a goner…then that’s the way it is.

I’ll take my chances. No guarantees. Everyone is on their own.

At the same time, there are and will remain for a long time, vestiges of authority. Handed down knowledge. You can’t be trusted to have the raw, messy, incomplete data and decide for yourself for better or worse, risking harm or death if you should fall victim to exuberant stupidity.

Take, for example, this little post with a comment thread that nears 1,000 by this point. It was about a “crazy guy.” He happens to be a practicing surgeon. In the run up to that, I spoke to several people, waxed & waned, initially brushing it off, then embracing the idea that the guy is nuts. Then, something about it was unsettling and I decided to do what I always do: blow it wide open with a blog post.

Why not?

Well, I guess because we’re really not beyond the idea of authority, yet. I got resistance on many fronts from respected authorities.

…My attitude about some authorities is pretty specific. They’re essential for survival. It’s a balance, push-pull, yin-yang sort of thing. When the shit hits the fan for you individually and you’re in trama surgery, they’ll save your life if it can be saved. Succumb to some weirdo disease? Likewise.

That’s why I love them first, hate them only second.

And my hate is only idealistic. I’d love to not need them at all—equally idealistic. On a practical level, It’s a bit sad that what happened in that comment thread, happened…pitting “us against them,” as it were. From the outside looking in, to me, it reads like the authorities vs. the ignorant. The missing realization is that everyone is ignorant about something all the time and ignorance can be cured in a mater of seconds and it can be cured profoundly. Thing is, the cure for ignorance is not always to go with the authorities. In the case of that comment thread, it might be to take in far more information than available from the authorities represented, and synthesize it into a personal plan of action or retreat.

I trust people enormously. Saves me a lot of time and worry, and I think it’s natural unless you have reason. Some think Jack Kruse is “dangerous,” and because I can rally a lot of eyeballs on this blog, I somehow have some comic responsibility to protect straying eyeballs.

I’m a Darwinian. You’re on your own and you read at your own risk.

It’s not as though I—in any way—wish to set people up for a downfall, But I don’t feel any particular duty to guard against that, either. I simply don’t believe there is any danger to Jack Kruse’s prescriptions that I can tell. I’ve done cold myself for years. And in the last 4 days I’ve spent two of them in 50 deg water for 25-30 minutes, and the last 2 days, swimming in an unheated pool at about 60 deg for over 30 minutes. Yes, Ray Cronise has some very conservative guidelines. That’s cool. In my experience, I consider them hyper conservative. But it’s cool.

I trust people enormously and I’m quite confident that anyone who wants to take matters into their own hands can skim that comment thread, make up their own mind, and be sensible about whatever they choose to do—and even that’s a bit conceited. Most paleo people would have been OK embarking on such experimentation anyway. When I built up to 15 minutes in 40 deg water I had read nothing at all, ever. I just did it, over time. It was a natural adaptation.

Alright, so what about Melissa McEwen who figured in that comment thread? Here’s the quote from her recent post.

But lately I’ve thought of sweat lodges because of the whole “cold adaptation” thing that’s caught on a bit. Richard Nikoley posted a pro-Dr. Kruse anti-intellectual screed. The gist of it seemed to be: well, I benefited from cold water, so Dr. Kruse must be onto something and I like him anyway. Ok. Dr. kurt harris and Dr. Emily Deans tried to talk some sense into him. Thankfully Ray Cronise, who happens to be an expert on the subject, showed up and finally Nikoley listened to a voice of reason. If you are interested in doing some thermal hacking with cold, I strongly recommend that you follow Ray’s sane science-based recommendations.

Yea, my grandmothers were always trying to “talk sense into me,” too. What a condescending little bitch, eh? I would never, ever characterize her like that. Ever.

We had an exchange in comments under that post over several rounds. She eventually retired. She “resented” arguing with me because I haven’t dug into the books on staph infection, which in my view is impertinent to the argument (I explain why in comments). As of this draft, they’re all still there (no shouting either way). Oh, well. I’m not going to quote it here, but you can read for yourself in that thread what I think about the hand wringing, veiled authoritarianism and really, protectionism she seems to promote.

Subsequently, in an effort to constructively move to common ground, I posted a comment to her later post on food carts about my past experience in Thailand and their colorful, amazing food cart culture, by which you can tell time. It was summarily deleted soon after.

…But anyway, Melissa is a liar of convenience. Yep. It’s all right here in my own comments, damn transparent and amazingly stupid. She had already posted to comments, Don Wiss showed up, and she posted as Anon to diss and insult him, but it was right after a comment she’d posted as herself. Don called her on it, and she flatly denied it. Don then asked me to look at the IP address, and since he’d been anonymously dissed, reasonable request. Yep, exact same IP. Melissa didn’t even have the guts to own up. She just disappeared. So I guess we all ave our little issues with truth and reality, eh?

Yea, Melissa is whip smart—smarter than me I’m sure—and does really good blogs, is meticulous about science, and on and on. Everything kurt harris says about her is true.

And I fucking hate this. But, fuck me…and I’ll fuck you if I can. And I didn’t ask for a fight, goddammit. You insist that I condemn Kruse. I will not. You insist that I have celebrated Kruse. I have not. I raised the question. I blogged in an open way, let everyone have their say.

You fucking asked for it, Melissa.

So, how do you know what you think you know?

Update: Melissa and I are exchanging emails. I never materially edit a post. That said, here’s the deal. Because it’s my post and if you think I’ve done Melissa wrong, feel free to go after me in comments. On the other hand, please, enough said on the negative side here, don’t pile on if you have an urge. Understand that I hate this. Hell, I’ve hugged Melissa and given her a ride in my car. I hate this. Let it rest. I said what I said, She said what she said.

I don’t do a lot of guest posts. In fact, when I do, it’s almost always where I see something or someone and seek it out myself. I summarily delete a half dozen guest post proposal spam per day. This one wasn’t spam. It struck me as a reasonable, great entry point for almost anyone, and very inexpensive.

Before I move onto the post, I got an email yesterday worthy of sharing. It’s from Timothy:

Almost a year ago I read your Leangains article with the video of you deadlifting 305. It made a profound impression and I started lifting barbells for the very first time that week. Deadlifting 305 seemed incredible, almost superhuman, and I wondered if it would ever be possible for me.

Today, after 45 weeks of trial and error, I finally deadlifted 305 with proper form. Just two reps, and three on the 275 drop. But oh my god, it feels so good! I’ve never experienced anything more soul-satisfying.

Videos here and here.

My only regret is that I couldn’t cut loose with a good primal scream as you did, because this gym is at my office and there are pencil pushers just outside the doors.

As my strength continues to grow on all my lifts, ancestors willing, I will always remember that you inspired me to grasp the iron. Thank you, Richard.

See there? A lot is really possible. But that’s just one aspect of where I ultimately want to find myself. That is to say, I always want to lift heavy because I understand my own soul, as Timothy rightly picks the metaphor. But I also want things to work in my daily scheme of things. Truth is, I’ve found myself slightly lost over the last year and a half, owing to moving, having a house and a backyard instead of an urban loft with a gym a 5-minute walk away. So let’s check out the guest post and then I’ll complete my thoughts.

~~~

by Curt Pedersen

I love working out with kettlebells. After spending years working out in gyms, once I started using kettlebells I cancelled my membership and started working out with them regularly. It’s been one of my best years fitness wise, too. By doing the exercises I write about in this article and following a Primal diet I’ve lost over 70 lbs. of fat and kept it off. I’ve gained muscle and am in the best shape of my life. After reading this article you’ll be a kettlebell convert as well.

What Are Kettlebells

Kettlebells are made from solid steel and look like a cannonball with a handle attached. This unique shape changes the center of gravity of the weight making them more challenging to use. Their smooth, rounded handle and overall shape also makes it possible to more easily perform swings and throws with them than dumbbells. It’s these exercises that make kettlebells so effective and fun to use.

Buying A Kettlebell

You can buy kettlebells individually or in pairs in over a dozen different weights, ranging from 8 to almost 100 lbs. When shopping for a kettlebell make sure the the one you buy is made of solid steel and that it has a smooth handle that’s welded onto the cannonball part of the weight. Kettlebells made this way will last a lifetime. Two brands I like are Dragon Door and First Place. You can buy both online at Amazon.com and other retailers. They’re pretty inexpensive too. A pair only costs about $100.

The best way to determine which weight kettlebell you should buy is try one out first. I recommend buying a weight that you can perform 5 reps of squats and kettlebell swings with using good form. If you can’t try one out before you buy, I recommend woman start with a 15-25 lb., and men a 30-45 lb. kettlebell. Buy one at first and then add more as you become more experienced.

A Kettlebell Workout That Melts Fat And Builds Muscle

Below is a workout you can do that’s great for building muscle, losing weight, and getting itno great shape. It’s a total body workout too. This means that you train every major muscle group at each workout. There are several benefits to this style of workout. First, it’s efficient. You’ll get more done in less time than if you break your workouts up into individual body parts (chest, arms, back, etc.). The second is that the workouts are demanding. You’ll get a big boost of growth hormone and testosterone, two key muscle building and fat burning hormones from this workout. The third benefit is that you’ll burn more calories and lose fat faster than you will on a single body part per workout schedule.

You only need a single kettlebell to perform the workout below. If you own more than one you can use them to perform variations of the exercises listed. I recommend starting using one and progressing to exercises that use two kettlebells as your ability with them improves.

You’ll do this 3 times a week. It’s meant to be done as a complex. This means you perform each exercise for the prescribed number of reps and then immediately move onto the next. Don’t put the kettlebell down or rest until each exercise is completed. Rest between 1-5 minutes between each complex. The fitter you are the less rest you should take.

You should rest 1 day between each workout to help your muscles recover and grow. The schedule I like best is to train every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Start with 5 reps of each exercise. Perform 3 complexes per workout the first week and add 1 a week until you reach 6 complexes. Once you do this you can stay at 6 complexes and perform more reps at every workout or start over with another, more challenging kettlebell workout.

Workout 1 (Monday)

Kettlebell Swings
Kettlebell Front Squats
Kettlebell Push Ups
1 Arm Kettlebell Rows

Workout 2 (Wednesday)

Kettlebell Front Squats
Kettlebell Push Ups
Kettlebell Swings
1 Arm Kettlebell Row

Workout 3 (Friday)

1 Arm Kettlebell Row
Kettlebell Swings
1 Arm Kettlebell Row
Kettlebell Push Ups

Reversing the order of the exercises at each workout ensures that you train every muscle completely each week. It also adds variety and keeps every training session fresh. You can finish off the workout with a couple of sets of Farmer’s Walks or Kettlebell Swings.

Final Words

Now you know what kettlebells are, how to choose the right type and weight, and also have a challenging workout that will help you get into great shape fast. Be forewarned, once you start training with kettlebells youíll be hooked and will soon own several pair.

About The Author

Curt is the founder of Stayfitcentral.com, a website that features reviews, guides, and other information to help people buy the right nutritional supplements and fitness products for their specific needs. Curt has published in several leading online publications including: eDiets.com, iVillage.com, and Askmen.com.

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Curt also provided me a short video demo of some of the described workouts. For the rest, simply Google or go on YouTube, plug in the workout in search and you’ll find everything you need.

…Alright, here’s where I’m at. First, I think kettlebells are great for entry level folks who have never worked out, and especially great for older folks.

For me? I want to be able to work out in my backyard. Now that I’m all set up with my own cold plunge & soak, I want to get some kettlebells for either before, after, or both. So what I’m envisioning is one day per week heavy lifting at the gym and then another day in my backyard doing this kettlebell shit.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, we moved a year and a half ago where my gym has a spa sized-cold plunge they keep chilled to around 40-45F for the guys. I experimented with it for years, but after a few months with the drive & downtown parking, I gave it up in favor of a local swim & racket club. The pools are about 80.

But now I have a cold plunge, again, as of this morning.

Big Tub

It’s a livestock watering trough made by Rubbermade. It’s 150 gallons, a bit shorter but wider than another 150 gal trough I’d been looking at for $150. Got this at a local feed & supply place and considering shipping cost, came out about a wash at $200.

Then I went and got a pool thermometer, and two 5-gallon buckets from Home Depot, now sitting in my box freezer 4/5ths filled with water.

The tap water came out at 50 degrees exactly and when full, it was 51, which I attribute to the temp of the plastic raising the water temp a bit.

50 degrees, as it’s filling

And then I couldn’t wait any longer, and I got right in.

Burrrrrrr!

It was funny because, in just stepping in I was filled with horror. This isn’t going to be fun! But I just sunk right down, the trough overflowed to the point where I could sit, feet exactly touching the other side, and the water comes up to my chin. It’s like this was designed to my own bodily specs.

Within 30 seconds I was totally fine and by 1 minute, actually warm and didn’t feel cold until well after 10 minutes. Slight quivers began at the 20-minute mark.

Let’s Call It 26 Even

I got out when I went to check my time, took my hands out of the water to go for my iPhone and noticed diminished motor control.

But all in all, a cinch, very uplifting. A few observations. This was far easier than the cold plunge at my gym. Two reasons, other than that it was colder, I think. First, it was always my practice to completely submerge initially, getting my head wet & cold. Didn’t do that here. Head stayed dry. Second, the gym had a couple of circulating jets, so water is moving across your body. I found that to the extent I remained motionless in this tub, I was remarkably unperturbed. You’re still losing lots of heat, it’s just at a slightly lower rate because you have a “boundary layer” near your skin. You can verify this by moving around and the water feels very cold, suddenly.

Alright, so how many calories did I burn in 26 minutes, you thermodynamicists? When I got out, I stirred up the water and the thermometer read about 52.3 degrees, so perhaps I raised the temp of the water 1.3 degrees. Now, I weigh 180, the human head is about 8% of mass, so let’s say I was displacing 166 pounds of water, or 20 gallons. So, 150 gallon tank filled to the brim, I raised 130 gallons by 1.3 degrees F.

Next time I’ll use a digital thermometer to get a more exact idea of the temperature increase.