Monday ~ 6/30/2009
Weight: 177.0! What the fuck!?

Chest:
Bench Press -- 3 sets of 8 @ 135.
Incline Press -- 3 sets of 8 @ 95.
Decline Press -- 3 sets of 8 @ 115.
Cable Crossovers -- 3 sets of 12 @ 80.
Raised Cable Crossovers -- 2 sets of 12 @ 80 and 1 Drop Set @ 60.

Triceps:
Rope Extensions -- 3 sets of 10 @ 70.
Rope Pulldowns -- 3 sets of 10 @ 70.
Skullcrushers -- 3 sets of 8, 12, 10 @ 45.

Abs:
Crunches -- 3 sets of 50.
Twisting Crunches w/ 4kg Medicine Ball -- 3 sets of 30.
Reverse Crunches -- 3 sets of 30.

Well, I gained a lot of beer/stinger wings/jalapeño popper weight this weekend. Oops. Well, I'll be going to spend 4th of July in Georgia with my family [wank]. They are Mormon which means there is definitely no beer in their house; shit, there isn't even any caffeinated beverages! Now, they have no idea that I am atheist as fuck and should they know it would probably lead to an extreme case of "ostracize the heretic." I'd rather keep them in the dark until I graduate and make some money so I can fall back on their wealth if I run into a sticky situation.

I know what you are thinking. Something along the lines of, "Why can't you be yourself in front of your family? If not them, then who?" The stigma attached to atheism is similar to what homosexuals had to deal with for the past few decades. "Coming out" as atheist seems to be the next big step for Americans as the rest of the world sees as high as 85% in Sweeden, 65% in Japan, 54% in France, and 44% in Britain. In America the number is around 12%. Its still a bit taboo in this country. I hope within a few years there will be a greater understanding of non-believers; perhaps the people who don't believe will rise up and drop that mo'fuckin knowledge that the notion of sky kings is just plain silly.

Newsflash. One girl is shady, the other one is flaky. Wank. Both girls need to be single. They are young and just came out of long relationships. Its time to be single for these gals and have fun. Your boy is fun. When you are single I think you are able to be a little selfish and develop yourself more simply by nature of a lack of attention to focus on a significant other. Its important to have this at this crucial and formative junction in our lives.

Oh, Shiina Ringo has a new album out - Superficial Gossip. It's her first solo album in a long time and it is also fantastic. Her solo stuff is absolutely ridiculous. The sheer amount of music she has put out over such a short amount of time is stunning mostly because the quality has been so high. Over the past 36 hours or so I have emersed myself in her music. Here is what I've found out.

First off, Shiina Ringo is simply unheard of in the Japanese pop music scene - she’s a female who scribes her own lyrics, plays multiple instruments, and has a somewhat uncommercial sound (a cover of an older Shiina Ringo song by Tokyo Jihen). She she also doesn’t shill products or have back-up dancers. Hers is a fame that no one (least of all her) would have ever foreseen.

Unlike many of her contemporaries, Utada Hikaru comes to mind (the two are friends and have even worked together), the sound of a Marshall turns her on. Her sound is natural and the melodies entrancing. Losing yourself in her songs is almost a certainty as you might find yourself simply bobbing along while the bass and drums lead you along. Never to overshadow her arrangements, Shiina Ringo allows us to be privvy to her talented band (of which some joined her in Tokyo Jihen). She may be the main attraction but it is her boys that do most of the grunt work.

I think I've probably gone too long with this mother fucker. Hey, listen to Shiina Ringo. Do it. I suggest reading her lyrics while you do so you get a better understanding of her mastery. She is the female Gackt. Both are true artists masquerading as Jpop stars.

~Santos~
||Tokyo Jihen - Shuraba||