Friday, October 10, 2014

Got "Gotham?"

I'm not really much of a comic book hero fan and the recent influx of Marvel movies hasn't made the genre any more appealing to me - in fact, it's kind of had the opposite effect (I will, however, be looking forward to this one).

I guess that's why "Gotham" has been such a pleasant surprise to watch this season. I've always enjoyed the Batman mythology (I've tried to wipe the Joel Shumacher movie versions from my memory) but by no means do I consider myself an expert (I've never read a comic in my life). To see this interesting twist on the Caped Crusader mythology has been refreshing. Rather than repeat the same origin story over and over again (like the Spider-Man movies seem to insist on doing every 5 years) or try to tackle FX-heavy plotlines on a television-scale budget (nothing takes me out of a story more than horrible CGI), Gotham has found a way to keep one foot planted in the mythos and the other in original storytelling.

The ratings seem to reflect that I'm not the only one enjoying the ride (as opposed to the ratings tailspin Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is struggling to pull out of) and I only hope the writers can keep up with the high bar they've set for themselves.

Tuesday, October 07, 2014

Be What?

Today as I was walking downtown I passed a mother and son in front of the library. The little boy was standing against the library wall and the mom held up a camera, moving around to get the perfect shot. I smiled at the picture and then heard her exclaim, "Don't purse! Just be Japanese!"

The reason for my confusion is neither the mother nor the child were of Asian descent. Is this some sort of new slightly racist photographer catchphrase that slipped past me?

Thursday, October 02, 2014

6 Day Shred: Not Bad!

So, in conjunction with starting P90, I've also been doing a 6-Day Shred that came along with the program. It came included with the program and is meant to go along with the first week of P90. They provided a shopping list for the entire week which was nice, as I went to the store and bought everything I needed for the week (or at least 6 days)

I spent Sunday cooking a bit (not much mostly just brown rice and lentils) and then put it all in the fridge to save for the rest of the week. Everything is pretty easy and simple to put together.

It's only designed to be done for a week as the caloric intake is deliberately low to get your body used to eating fewer calories (something I could definitely take advantage of)

I was a bit intimidated at first because the last time I tried something like this I was STARVING by the end of the first day. This time around, though, it's been really nice. I've pretty much stuck to the menu (except for my lattes) but I've also been walking a couple of miles each day in addition to my workouts. 

So far, so good, and on a few occasions found myself quite surprised by how MUCH I got to eat (5 cups of salad, a cup of vegetables, and a cup of rice is a generous amount!). It's Thursday and last night was the first time I felt myself "hungry." I don't know if I was actually hungry or just bored so I grabbed some extra almonds and that helped. It also helped that I've upped my water intake significantly, which helps your stomach stay full and help it to not think that it's empty and therefore needs filled with crap. 

So yeah, I gotta give props to this 6 Day Shred plan Beachbody put together. On one hand it'll be nice to eat a little more next week, but on the other it's nice to know I can eat as little as I did and still actually feel full. 

Amen and amen.