2011 Chevron Aramco Houston 1/2 Marathon

So yesterday was race day for the 2011 Chevron Houston 1/2 Marathon and Full Marathon. I had the pleasure of running the 1/2 Marathon with some old friends and made some new ones in the process. One in particular, a Mr. Steve Harvel, ran a 1:27 for the 1/2, we told him how disappointed we were with him and his listless effort. By the time we all made it in he had showered and eaten breakfast. I didn't have as much luck. At the 10k mark I was running 48:30, a pace I was very happy with and maintained it for a while. At the 9 mile marker I was at 1:10:32, so with a 8:30 pace I was scheduled to finish around a 1:45:00-1:50:00. I was elated, enthralled as this was to be a person record for me, potentially 18 minutes faster than my time in San Antonio. It was at this point I started to feel a very sharp pain in my left foot at the second toe. I ignored it and pressed on. The pain became greater and the conversation between mind and body went as follows:
Body: Stop!
Mind: No we have to keep going!
Body: Stop running!!
Mind: 4 miles, we can do this!
Body: Seriously, this is agonizing!!!!
Mind: HOLY CRAP THIS DOES HURT, STOP RUNNING!!!!!

My mind convinced my body that walking was also a bad idea, so I stumbled forward, luckily not obstructing anyone in my spill. I was able to hobble over to the side of the road where an EMS agent was standing. I removed my shoe and sock, with much reluctance and revealed a seemingly unscathed foot although the pain was excruciating. The Medic played around the all my toes and deduced that I have a hairline fracture in my second toe. The injury was sustained due to supination, or underpronation. I have a natural tendency to slightly overpronate, it's not threatening to injury but I run in a high stability shoe to assist it. With the negative camber of the roads and the wet streets due to rain the Medic seems to think that I began to supinate to offer a better strike in my stride, all efforts to the contrary of goodness, I am down for 2 weeks. He explained to me that this injury is much like a broken rib, just rest and don't apply pressure unnecessarily. 

Conversation

Scene: Driving to my Parent's house to pick up my mom at 7:15 a.m. yesterday morning. At this point Eden and I are stuck behind a school bus.

Eden: God?...Gooooooood? Where are you God? Oh there you are!!!
Me: Eden, where do you see God baby?
Eden: He's on that school bus going to school!
Me: Is that so?!?! (perplexed by her imagination, though impressed)
Eden: Daddy, God said that all those kids on the bus are going learn, and and and and and if they learn they don't go to jail!
Me: (trying not to laugh) Oh, really, well - yeah, kids who learn and stay in school don't go to jail...
Eden: I wanna go to school Daddy, so the cops don't come get me!


I don't know where she learned this, or how she correlated learning and jail. She is growing up so fast and getting so big and very smart. I know everyone thinks their baby is smart and they all are in their own right, I think every generation these kids get smarter and smarter, not just my little Angel Face.

Contador Suspended From Cycling for One Year & Stripped of Title

2010 Tour de France Champion Alberto Contador, long time rival and arch nemesis of Lance Armstrong, was busted a few months back after testing positive for having the controlled substance Clenbuterol in his system.This allegation proved true and Contador has sustained a one year suspension from cycling and the 2010 Tour de France Trophy will go to the much deserved Andy Schleck, whom Contador beat by only :38 seconds. Read the full article here. The only other cyclist ever to be stripped of a title win in the Tour de France was American Floyd Landis back in 2006 for blood doping and EPO.

John Cleese in the News Today

Funny man John Cleese, made famous by his assisted findings of the Monty Python, was in the news today. It's always nice to keep up with his goings on as things have not been good for him since is ending of his Python career in the glorious year of 1983. It seems Mr. Cleese has been battling with severe case of depression after the divorce of his 3rd wife whom he paid a whopping £12.3 million to after 18 years of marriage. He has a new show coming up, "The John Cleese Alimony Tour." He has had to sell most of his estates to help fund this divorce settlement. He now claims he is happy than he has ever been dating reknowned jewelry designer Jennifer Wade, whom I might add is 31 years his junior, and things are never better. Apparently he and old friend and colleague Micheal Palin still remain in good communications, as Palin will be the punch line to many anecdotes on the night. I hope the show is a good one, I wouldn't mind seeing the 71 year old Minister of silly walks in live speech myself.

Balance & The Traveling Sounds Daft Punk Cover "Something About Us"

Just sit back and enjoy!

Thinking about A New Staircase....

So my good friends over at thechive.com (NSFW) has given me a great thread this morning. Amazing staircases...view their awesomeness here.

Is It Really the iPhone

Jon Stewart had a great rant on the greatest almost phone in the world, outlining the wonders of the iPhone's software capabilities and slamming its actual phone properties such as talking, and rightfully so, but perhaps Mr. Stewart failed to see the potential criticisms that will be found with the iPhone over at Verizon. Here they are. Please note that all statements made henceforth are certifiably true, they were received from a member of the iPhone Specialist Support Managerial Team within the Apple Company. He is personal friend of mine and for these statements he will remain nameless.

"Verizon has been advertising a 4G network, and although they have this network, they do not have any phone's that can actually support this network, not even the new iPhone. AT&T's 4G will be up and running with phones long before Verizon has theirs. Also, the 3G network that AT&T offers is substantially more sophisticated than Verizon's. I.E. with AT&T's network you can talk, text and surf the web or use Google Maps all at the same time, with Verizon you will need 3 or 4 iPhone's to accomplish this. (On to reception). I would not under any circumstance try to defend the lackluster reception that AT&T offers us and yes, the dropped calls are insufferable but let's look at this subjectively. AT&T covers 97% of American's (supposedly), that would equal 291m people if there are 300m people in America. Within that coverage, AT&T's network is absorbed by iPhone's at a staggering 92% rate. So that means of 291m AT&T customers, 267.72m have iPhone's, and that's 3G phones of better. So, with these numbers it is no wonder the iPhone can have such reproachable reception and call qualities. So before we all jump ship in lieu of the new green grass, remember, when Cingular was small, with it's 51m customers in 2007-2008, our call qualities were great. So regardless of what you hear about the new iPhone this and the new iPhone that with Verizon, remember, it is not the same iPhone as AT&T's. "

Saturday With Eden

 Saturday started pretty great for Eden as Ashley and my mom wanted to go exercise in the park we took the opportunity to enjoy the finer side of the life and partake in the jungle jim that is appropriated for the park patrons children. Eden had a blast, she would intentionally fall in the sand so she could clean her hands off. The conversation in the pictures to the left went, "daddy, push me higher please, use two hands!" She could not get enough fun and it's these moments. It was very exciting to watch her in such a happy state.

Only In Louisiana

I was leaving my Grandmothers house in Carencro and I saw this Goat on
the side of the road grazing.

Vadrum Meets the Barber of Seville

I enjoy a great Classical Masterpiece, and I enjoy percussionary genius. Mix the two and you have an epic win, and as most denouemont's the final 30 seconds of this piece is brilliant. This is Andrea Vadrucci. 

The 5v2 USMNT

All credit to Pele1410 for this video. I am really big fan of the 5v2. This was our warm up when I was playing at the Chengdu Sports University, we would put GK's in the middle sometimes too, really cool variations. It's nice to see the importance of such a rudimentary drills. 

I'm Turning Japanese I Think I'm Turning Japanese I Really Think So...

I find Japanese game shows to be some of the most creative and most hilarious shows on tele today. Enjoy, because everyone needs a laugh.

Lights, Camera, Action

So I have recently reacquainted myself with the workings of Oscar Wilde. Last week I sat to read "The Picture of Dorian Gray" and yesterday I thought I was good for a laugh so I read, "The Importance of Being Earnest." I have the sudden desire to direct a play although I don't know the first steps to go about this. Here is one of the most classic scenes in Act 2. The denouement is most brilliant, but it is also the climax so I cannot give it up. Read it, you will laugh. It's about a 1 hour read, an absolute rout.


Jack. I have lost both my parents.
Lady Bracknell. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he rise from the ranks of the aristocracy?
Jack. I am afraid I really don’t know. The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me… I don’t actually know who I am by birth. I was… well, I was found.
Lady Bracknell. Found!
Jack. The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort.
Lady Bracknell. Where did the charitable gentleman who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you?
Jack. [Gravely.] In a hand-bag.
Lady Bracknell. A hand-bag?
Jack. [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a hand-bag—a somewhat large, black leather hand-bag, with handles to it—an ordinary hand-bag in fact.
Lady Bracknell. In what locality did this Mr. James, or Thomas, Cardew come across this ordinary hand-bag?
Jack. In the cloak-room at Victoria Station. It was given to him in mistake for his own.
Lady Bracknell. The cloak-room at Victoria Station?
Jack. Yes. The Brighton line.
Lady Bracknell. The line is immaterial. Mr. Worthing, I confess I feel somewhat bewildered by what you have just told me. To be born, or at any rate bred, in a hand-bag, whether it had handles or not, seems to me to display a contempt for the ordinary decencies of family life that reminds one of the worst excesses of the French Revolution. And I presume you know what that unfortunate movement led to? As for the particular locality in which the hand-bag was found, a cloak-room at a railway station might serve to conceal a social indiscretion—has probably, indeed, been used for that purpose before now-but it could hardly be regarded as an assured basis for a recognised position in good society.
Jack. May I ask you then what you would advise me to do? I need hardly say I would do anything in the world to ensure Gwendolen’s happiness.
Lady Bracknell. I would strongly advise you, Mr. Worthing, to try and acquire some relations as soon as possible, and to make a definite effort to produce at any rate one parent, of either sex, before the season is quite over.

This playact literally had me laughing out loud. I had seemingly forgotten the comic wit and brilliance of Oscar Wilde.

What's In Your Wardrobe... Part 1

Purple Label R. Lauren 

  "In matters of grave importance, style, not sincerity, is the vital thing," Oscar Wilde. Such is the phrase of our armariums to the engenders of our day. It is no small matter to appropriate our habiliments to the accordance of our lifestyle's. As the wardrobe of a Gentlemen goes, there are however, some aphorisms or a perennial dictum at hand. Be that as it may, it is not the agglomeration of a mans wardrobe but the assemblage that is the staple of his profligacy. It is better to have one expensive suit than five cheap suits.  When donning ones wardrobe with its first suit, I think it wise to avoid black. Undertakers, Hitmen, and the dead wear black. Consistency is the refuge of the unimaginable and black is insufferably consistent, and limiting in the same fashion. One can do very little with a black suit. Therefore, I beseech you in your purchase, again, if this is your first suit, to procure a Heather Grey Suit or a Grey suit of some type. Grey is incomparably versatile as it can be worn with either black or brown accentuation. There are two outer wear garments one should obtain, a trench coat of brown or gray aesthetic in a wool, or wool/cashmere blend, and a traditional Pea-Coat, preferably in a Navy Blue as if one is wearing a Pea-Coat it will most certainly not be a convivial event and will require a more subtle touch to his kismet. His shoes should be as complimentary to his wardrobe as his shirts, these are one in the same. One's shoes should be selected carefully, and spare no expensive on the pier nadir of your stature as it is the foundation for our posture, and a Gentlemen's playact speaks volumes to his character as he is the main protagonist in the dramatic persona that is his life. Upon the anthology of shoes there should be 1 pair of black dress shoes of considerable refinery and shoes trees - as well as box and shoes bags kept appropriately; 2 pair of brown dress shoes, I recommend a lace up oxford and a monk strap or slip on. (Not to be confused with a loafer, loafers are old and fashionably ugly, especially the one with tassels on the top, those bloody tassels are most insufferable. Loafers have their place, another topic for another day I'm sure.) The hue of browns should not be same, one should be of a mahogany or walnut and the other of a tan or camel color (it's safe to suggest the shoe that is to be most worn should be the mahogany or walnut depending on your pleasentaries). There should also be a pair of each black and brown casual tennis shoes, and by tennis shoes I am not referring to a proper athletic shoe, rather a more informal driving shoe or wonderfully athletic inspired shoe that can be worn with jeans or khakis. On a very quick note, your dress socks are an extension of your pants, I cannot stress that enough, and they should never be bunched around your ankles. The dress shirt is the pinnacle of style, the collar of your dress shirt should be complimentary of your physique (see your local upper echelon clothier for fittings in this matter i.e. F. Camalo in the Oil Center) and should be as crisp as the crease in your pants. The foremost worn dress shirt is the traditional, yet always classy white Oxford. Again, no expense should be spared in this purchase, you should expect to pay $150-$225 for this calico. The white dress shirt is of most importance in the wardrobe of any man, not just one of supreme declamatory fortitude. As a final point of wardrobe reference is the sweater/sweater vest of which I think both should be an obligation, although many opinions are not of mine. If this is the case then it is becoming to keep in part with a Cashmere, Wool, or Cashmere/Wool blend in a sweater. Here, unlike many other areas of the trousseau conglomeration there is some margin of expense that can be spared. Sweaters of the aforementioned materials range from $49-$349, purchase to your liking in congruence with your chiffonier of course.

A Gentlemen knows that dressing up may require going to great pains, but it does not require that he feel any pain at all.

PS - The shoes pictured are by Romano Martegani, one of my personal favorite designers. I can orate for days about shoes...

Can You Pass the American Citizen's Test

Think you can past he 96 question history exam to become a US Citizen. Test that theory here. I scored an 80%. Not my proudest grade, but apparently enough to pass. It's amazing, not being pressured to answer certain questions I would've answered them no worries, but with all these other choices you realize how little you pay attention to our daily knowledge.

Man Purse; Fashion Forward, or Fashion Faux Pas?

Man Clutch by Gucci

Duffle Purse by Louis Vuitton

It's come up recently, this question of the "Man Purse", what is its place in society? The metabolic process of fashion in America has had many staples in society. From the baggy habiliments of break dancers in the 80's, to the lavish palatable colors of the artists of the 90's. But the one thing that has carried on is the procurement of items, and how one should carry them. Let's take the fanny pack for instance, a miserable little bag that straps carelessly to your waist in the most awkward of fashions and holds your personal effects. Once a staple of fashion in America, Canada & South Africa, now they're more associated with nerds or tourists, and if you are a tourist with a fanny pack then you are most likely a nerd as well. Is the fanny pack the ear mark for the infamous Man Purse? There are many different faces of the Man Purse, there is the Man Clutch (a Cristiano Ronaldo fave), the Man Purse Duffle (which Snoop Dogg has been seen wearing), and the self titled Man Purse, or European Shoulder Bag.

European Shoulder Bag by Etro

     There is a question that beckons, where does the brief case fit in to all of this? The brief case has it's place as I am sure we all know. Although no longer as popular as it once was, no one questioned a man with a brief case. In theory no one would question a man with an over-sized duffle bag on his shoulder...if he were walking through an airport or delivering your mail. But I find the perpetration and perpetuation of the "Man Purse" unmerited. Woman have a need for a purse, men do not, at least not the ones I know. I consider myself a stylish person, I feel as though I possess a clever form of style and fashion, and I have never, under any circumstances, been walking about thinking, "man, I really need an additional Bucephalas to tote my personal effects!" No, that statement has never arose. Other designers, namely Louis Vuitton, have gone a step further to bridge the metro-sexual gap and designed a sort of book sack or nap sack as means of a garment carriage. I actually owned one of these, although I only used it for travel, for my daily commutes with soccer and marathon training I use a standard black JanSport book sack I have had since the 7th grade.

Louis Vuitton Bosphore Backpack

I purchased this item about 3 years ago whilst on holiday in New York. Upon returning from one my trips it was "lost" by the airline and never recovered, as was a Louis Vuitton duffle bag I received as a gift in 2002. The additional reticule's that may be required for a man certainly can find their place. The clutch makes for a great shaving/grooming kit bursa, the duffle makes for a wonderful habiliments tote, or book carrier, and the European shoulder bag is great for school goers or messengers. I cannot say that I agree with any of these items as a mandate for style or fashion. I emailed esquire the following question, "Is there an acceptable man purse on the market right now?" Their response, "No, we've looked." So without further ado, the Man Purse is indeed a Fashion Forward Faux Pas. I do not recommend one for use while gallivanting around the town. There is so much more to this topic than what is depicted here. But I am afraid anything further would be quite boring. I'll say it again though, there is a metabolic process that takes place within the fashion world every couple of years or so, but that is why it is called fashion, because they fade away, the style in dress will always be here. Fashion is not a bad word, but it is not how our wardrobes should be orchestrated.

P.S. Next topic will be on entitled, "What's in your wardrobe?" (in my mind I envisioned one of those capital one guys saying it, like the what's in your wallet guys, so reread it with that voice in mind.)

Good Luck in the New Year...2011

Well, 2010 is behind us. I for one would love to give 2010 a nice warm middle finger. 2010 was the worst year of my life thus far. I am looking forward to a new 2011 and so far, it's started off pretty nicely. I recently received a very nice promotion at my job with a contract to move in to outside sales by 2012. Well I wish everyone the best. Drinks up!