Hoist the Black Flag

Never get blinded out

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."

-       H.L. Mencken

Reflecting

I’m currently reading Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign so have pirates on the mind.  In particular, I want to make sure that I never get blinded out in life (for non-poker players: where you play too few hands and simply lose your chips to the blinds/payment for each round).  You can be overly cautious to the point where you cautiously do nothing and thus guarantee failure. 

To that end, I’m scheming up an epic quest with a friend to summit Pico de Orizaba, Izztacihuatl and La Malinche despite the fact that I can’t currently walk.  We just scheduled an alpine style dash up Mt. Shasta to shake things out.  This is half-cocked, but there’s nothing wrong with going off half-cocked as long as it is pointed in the right direction.  I need to heal, but want something to look forward to and to struggle towards.   

Training

I just donated an assault bike, bench, and box to a Harlem weightlifting club that I’m excited for them to use; nothing makes me happier than offering a little nudge to people trying to make themselves better.  My favorite bike, bench, and box are all from Rogue. 

I am currently training for a push-up comp in less than a week.  I’m just over half way to my current fundraising goal.  If you have not yet chipped in, please give what you can here.  I need $5k in five days and am hoping someone can offer a miracle!  Not exactly sure how to do this one legged, but will get some sort of brace to keep my knee in place.  Here is a good coaching cue:

Our modern skull structures have deformed and atrophied from eating soft ultra processed foods.

But you can strengthen your jaw and jawline by chewing mastic gum.

Fueling

Rare lamb shank:

Supplementing

I halted all supplements as an experiment and feel… identical.

Measuring

Here’s where things stand on the push-up comp fundraising:

Recovering

I’m recovering from a serious knee injury.  If you live near NYC and need help, the best sports medicine doc is Dr. Jordan Metzl – he is an athlete oriented on getting you back into the game and has both excellent judgment and technical skill.  I just bought all of his books including The Athlete's Book of Home Remedies: 1,001 Doctor-Approved Health Fixes and Injury-Prevention Secrets for a Leaner, Fitter, More Athletic Body!.  The best physical therapist is Dr. Peter Philip.  He is both great at his job and is just a great dude. 

Closing

Need a party trick?  Try sabrage.  Do it sober, but for a bit of flair act a bit tipsy when you start.  The audience assumes that you hit the top off perpendicularly, but it is actually an easy skill to master and isn’t as it appears.  Simply slide the back of the blade deliberately along the bottle’s neck and pop off the end parallel to its curvature.  Champagne bottles are designed to be only marginally strong there so it takes little effort and cuts cleanly.  Hold the bottle firmly by the base with your other hand so you don’t drop it when the top pops off.

In terms of the bottle, practice with an inexpensive wine.  I would buy ten bottles of Corazza Prosecco.  They cost $15 each but first time buyers can get $50 off with this link.  In terms of the sword, there are a number of reasonable options (my long-suffering wife doesn’t share my views on party sword reasonableness, but this is my opinion).  I use a cutlass.  If you need/want a piratical cutlass, this is a sensible choice.  Here’s another adaptation in a longer or shorter version.  Either works fine.  While sabers are not intended to use with a companion blade, one could employ both in extenuating circumstances.