//eaten by tigers » Asides

a green beret on simplicity

Mark Eckenrode — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:05:52 +0000

“If there’s a question about if it’s necessary, remove it,” McCarthy says. “Less is more and more is lazy.”

GORUCK: The Most Passionate Brand Following in the World.

You are an Artist

Mark Eckenrode — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 18:32:16 +0000

Every single thing you do is art.

You cannot escape it. Whether you choose to believe it or not is irrelevant. The very fact that you’re human makes you an artist. You have the gift of conscious awareness, the gift of choice, the gift of creativity.

Raam Dev: You are an Artist.

desert trail run in Vibram Five Finger shoes

Mark Eckenrode — Sat, 05 Jun 2010 16:59:06 +0000

Click here to view the embedded video.

Barefoot running resources

Barefoot Ken Bob – the grandfather of barefoot running (78 marathons and counting)
Chris McDougall – author of Born to Run
Vibram Five Fingers – “barefoot shoes”

the unexpected caught on film

Mark Eckenrode — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 14:52:26 +0000

if you’re at all like me you sometimes play out a scene in your head and in it you usually come out unscathed and looking good. yeah, well, things don’t always go as expected, do they?

being in a foreign land has a tendency to increase the odds of the unexpected. so, here are a few of those moments i caught on camera along with other outtakes…

Click here to view the embedded video.

the trouble with your education

Mark Eckenrode — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:16:26 +0000

We don’t need no education
We don’t need no thought control
No dark sarcasm in the class room
Teachers leave those kids alone
Hey, teachers! Leave those kids alone!

i love me some Pink Floyd and, apparently, so do a whole bunch of other folks. as the education system gets revamped and discontent grows, folks are looking at alternatives to traditional education.

johnny, memorize these facts (selected by our education committee) then, when your name is called and only then, repeat them back to me verbatim.

we should all ask the question: what kind of society is being created when academic excellence is measured by how well one can fill in an oval rather than the ideas one puts forth?

and i think we all know more than a few folks with college degrees that are are not doing anything even related to their area of study. now they’re filling in ovals, pushing buttons, and filing papers like (no offense) well-trained monkeys.

so, i want to point you over to John Bardos’s excellent post. in it he shares some great videos from some very smart folks regarding the history and current state of our educational system. he then points to several alternative avenues for those hungry for real knowledge. please, check it out.

“Suspicious” and “Anti-Social” Photographer Films His Own Arrest

Mark Eckenrode — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:51:00 +0000

London is the most heavily surveyed city on the world. 4.2 million security cameras (that’s one camera for every 14 people). Yet, the police arrest a photographer taking Christmas photos because they think he’s just a bit “suspicious” and “anti-social”. WTF? As if millions of security cameras zooming in to document everyone’s activities is a “friendly” and “heart warming” thing to do. Here’s his video of the arrest and a full write-up.

Oh, and London also uses blimps and unmanned aerial drones to keep an eye on their subjects.

Cheerio!

FBI fakes terror threats, now they want your browser history

Mark Eckenrode — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 01:39:21 +0000

The same government agency that has publicly admitted that they fabricated terror threats in order to increase their surveillance powers is now urging ISPs to keep logs of every website their customers visit.

It’s for your own safety, of course. The FBI says this’ll help them catch child pornography and other serious crimes. Never mind the ability to keep tabs on folks who add “questionable” items to their Amazon wishlist.

Your “Loan Worthiness” Is Now Measured By Your Social Network

Mark Eckenrode — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:28:01 +0000

Your social network can and will be used against you. Now, the people you hang out with and what’s said between you determine if you are “loan worthy”.

We are watching you.

Curious George Runs Amok With His Monkey Mafia

Mark Eckenrode — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 21:30:59 +0000

“One monkey by himself isn’t so bad,” he told me. “But when a number of them get together they turn into a gang.”

I listened, nodded, gave a “huh” and though to myself “but how bad could monkeys be?”

They’re cute. Like little people who do funny things. When I was little I loved reading about Curious George and all the funny adventures he had. Awww…

Yeah, fuck that. Monkeys are thugs. Plain and simple.

I sat with another man who told me of his trek into the jungle. He went in with a wristwatch, came out without it. Turns out a gang of thug monkeys, no doubt led by ~~Curious~~ Cutthroat George, thought his watch was pretty, shiny, and wanted it for themselves. They surrounded him and wouldn’t let him pass until he handed it over.

Backpacking through Thailand I witnessed monkeys stealing stuff every chance they got. Stoopid humans. All your things are belong to us.

Below is some video I captured… be sure to watch till the end where Cutthroat George jumps me for my empty bottle.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here’s more video evidence to the sheer shitheadedness of primates…

Click here to view the embedded video.

update: and how baboons are causing problems at the 2010 World Cup. Soccer hooligans?

Child Terrorists Out To Destroy Our Nation

Mark Eckenrode — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 21:46:04 +0000

If you listened to the authorities you might profile every kid on the school bus as threats to national security. Lock ‘em up! And for god’s sake make sure they get ~~rehabilitation~~ counseling.

Nothing like a lil’ fear-mongering to keep folks in line, I say. In fact, it’s a best way to justify stripping away freedoms from others. In these two cases, those under the heel of a fearful authority are an 8 and 11 years old boy.

8 year old Cub Scout on terrorist watch list

With the assurance of the T.S.A.’s mythbuster site that their No-Fly list does not include an 8-year old boy you’d think Cub Scout Mikey Hicks would be able to board a plane without any hassles. Except, this kid’s been on the No-Fly list since he was two years old… despite the fact that his mother was cleared to fly with Vice-President Al Gore.

11-year old’s school science project confused with bomb

Any reasonable minded individual might confuse a Gatorade bottle and some electronics as a bomb. Especially when it’s science project day at school, right? The local police bomb squad came to the scene and determined that Junior’s science project was indeed not an explosive device. It was a homemade motion detector.

However, for being of sound and intelligent mind, authorities have recommended that he and his family “get counseling”.

You gotta break ‘em when they’re young, see. Keep folks on their toes so they know we’re watching.

There will always be those who attempt to use fear to restrict your freedoms. Don’t let them.