Anyone want to go in on a wingsuit? I was thinking about either the Blade in orange or the SkyFlyer S.6 Gibraltar in camo, but I’m open to alternatives. According to the size chart on the Bird-Man Flight Gear store, I wear a large which fits the “Bird-Man” of height, 5′ 11″ - 6′ 0.5″ and weight, 154 - 187 lbs.
”BEHOLD this swarthy face–these gray eyes,
This beard–the white [redish brown] wool, unclipt upon my neck,”
-Walt Whitman, “Behold This Swarthy Face”
Every November the students of the university I work for hold a month-long event called “No Shave November.” There are many schools that do something of the sort whether it is “No Shave November” or “Janu-hairy” or whatever clever name can be thought of to allow students, and some faculty and staff, the excuse to not shave for a month. This year I decided to participate. I have never done “No Shave November” mainly because my wife does not like it and refuses to get close to me when I have a beard. But seeing as how my wife is pregnant, and when she is pregnant she has a head cold for nine months, and doesn’t get close to me anyway I decided to give it a whirl.
I have realized something this month. I like having a beard, at least for the winter months. I don’t think there is ever going to be any way that I could wear a beard in the summer; if you didn’t read my last post I weigh 332lbs. I produce enough heat as it is. But in the winter it is awesome, some would say manly. I would like to keep my beard but I am a reasonable man. I will let the people decide. Should I go full beard or should I return to the goatee?
Graaarrrrr!!!!! I am Eric the Red
Kind of wussy but it will do I guess
I thought since we are a man blog I would throw out this little ditty in an attempt to establish ourselves as, quite possibly, the most manly blog on the internet.
Hello hello!
(cue music) Welcome to Epic Fail Friday!
I thought that I would introduce something not-so-random to our essentially stream-of-consciousness blog here. Is there a better way to end the week? I think not.
One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am -a reluctant enthusiast….a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.
- Edward Abbey
Some men in society seem to be lacking in understanding and proper usage of the nickname "Buddy" or its often used shorter counterpart "Bud." I always sensed there were some rules to guide the use of "Buddy," just as there are guidelines to how and when nicknames can be applied. Today someone younger than me referred to me as "bud" multiple times. I caught myself, before I opened my mouth to correct him of his error. Now, like four-square, I know I don’t have all of the guidelines associated with using "Buddy" or "Bud" in reference to someone else, but I would at least like to start the list.
You can’t refer to someone older than you as bud or buddy. It’s disrespectful. Buddy or Bud is most often associated with young boys, and should continue to be used in this manner. There is a certain age when Buddy transitions into Dude, Man, Homey, etc. To continue using Buddy in reference to someone your own age, older, or even slightly younger is demeaning to that person, and is a poor choice of words on your part. Some may use the word Bud to indicate that they think they are some how superior to the person that Bud is bestowed upon. The person buying the hot dog, may refer to the person selling the hot dog as Bud, and in doing so is making the statement that I am better than you because I buy hot dogs and don’t have to sell them. In truth, the person selling the hot dog, doesn’t himself eat the hot dog, nor does he work for the guy buying him the hot dog, and could in fact use the word bud to refer to the person buying the hot dog.
There must be an age bubble in using the word buddy. A ten year old could call a five-year-old Buddy. However, a ten year old could not call a nine-year-old Buddy. Is a five-year gap enough? I think it depends on the represented age. A 70 year old could not refer to a 65 year old as Buddy, but could easily refer to someone in his 20’s as Buddy. Maybe after age 10 and again after age 20 the rules change. No one over the age of 30 should ever be referred to as Buddy, unless their father or grandfather started calling them that when they were born. Otherwise, think of something else to say.
I’m not sure I have given any clarity on the matter. However, I think we need to come together on the proper usage, and spread the news before I try to correct someone, or worse yet, forget my peaceful ways and punch someone in the face while the word "Buddy" still hangs in the air.
This morning I had a conversation with my female assistant, we’ll call her Hannah, that went something like this:
Hannah: “Do you know what show I like?”
Me: ”No.”
Hannah: ”Dancing with the Stars.”
Me: ”Ha ha ha ha ha ha. That’s funny. Why do you like that show?”
Hannah: ”I like to watch people dance and Christi Yamaguchi is one of the dancers.”
Me: “…and…”
Hannah: ”You remember who Christi Yamaguchi is don’t you.”
Me: ”Of course I remember who she is I was older than six when the Olympics were played.”
The conversation went on for another five minutes or so but you get the picture. I just finished a doctorate class on Biblical perspectives on gender where we spent most of the time debating whether or not there are actually any differences between men and women. Case and point.
