I don’t want to review this book…

Posted on April 6, 2010 by Josh

But I will anyway.

Yesterday, I “read” Marshall Sahlins‘ book “The Western Illusion of Human Nature.”

It’s a thin tome, only 4″x6″ and only 112 pages.

But they’re 112 of the most densely-written pages you’ll never want to read.

From the back cover, a synopsis:
“Now is the whimper of our self-contempt. Indeed, time and again for more than two millennia we in the West have been haunted by the specter of our own inner being: an apparition of human nature so avaricious and contentious that, unless it is somehow governed, it will reduce society to anarchy. I claim this is a specifically Western hangup, for it supposes an opposition of nature and culture that is distinctive of our own folklore…and contrastive to the many peoples who consider beasts are basically human rather than human basically beasts…The idea that we are involuntary servants of our animal dispositions is an illusion – also originating in the culture.”

For those who don’t know, Sahlins is the Charles F. Grey Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Chicago.

The book traces the idea of humans as beasts who need a controlling government back to Thucydides (Ancient Greek historian) via Hesiod (Ancient Greek poet who wrote the Theogony and Works and Days), through Thomas Hobbes (English philosopher), all the way to John Adams.

But it’s the way he does it that hurts so much.

Tell me a story Marshall! I want a story. Instead, he traces the history of the idea of human beings as deep savages needing to be governed through a circuitous series of connections.

I wasn’t able to stomach it after a while. It made me mentally dyspeptic (that’s Greek too). I skimmed from about page 60 on, then started skipping wide chunks, and then just went straight to the last page.

In all, I think he could’ve summarized the entire thing in the paragraph I put above (and edited…for brevity’s sake). Or in a few pages. Without all of the tangents.

I think it’s good, and important information. I think he does a good job of tracing the history of this idea. But I’d rather have seen a timeline with references under it, on one piece of paper, than struggle through 60 pages of turgid writing.

For a fan of Nietzsche, he writes really badly! He should read more Spinoza, or the Italian troubadours’ songs!

The Hummingbird’s Daughter – Book Review

Posted on April 3, 2010 by Josh

I just read a fantastic book, titled, yes, you guessed it – The Hummingbird’s Daughter.

What a wonderful book!

It’s the story of “Saint” Teresa (Teresita) Urrea (who was a real person, by the way). Her youth, upbringing, and something of her training in the arts of a Mexican curandera (or, healer).

The author, Luis Urrea, is the main character’s great-nephew, and spent 20 years researching the book – digging up old newspaper clippings and correspondences, and visiting the places described in its pages. He writes in a vivid, sensual style, that makes the characters come alive, and the pace move along like life – sometimes fast, sometimes slow, but always unavoidable…I found it hard to put the book down!

Not just because of the writing, however.

Teresita’s teacher is a curandera named Huila, who bears a strong resemblance to many of the teachers I’ve had in my life, and whose language is strikingly similar to the language of some of my teachers. One passage in particular is so similar to the way that Mick Dodge, The Barefoot Sensei, speaks about connecting with the earth, that Urrea could be quoting him directly! Here it is in part:

“In the earth,” Huila said. “Say it. I am in the earth.”
“I am in the earth.”
“And the earth is in me.”
“And the earth is in me.”
They breathed. They felt their lungs fill with sky, and they let the dark clouds inside them flow out. Then they connected to the earth.
“Lift the toes, and press with the balls of your feet.”
“I feel silly.”
“Part of being a medicine woman is feeling silly.”
Teresita stood before her, digging into the ground with her feet.
“Now, push into the ground with the inside of your foot, all the way to the heel. You’ve got prongs in your heels, like a pitchfork. Two on the inside, two on the outside. Plug in the two on the inside of your heel. Push into the earth. Then you have roots, child. Do you see that?”
“Roots. In my heels.”
“Yes. Plant them. Deep in the soil. Your roots.”

The book is full of little nuggets of wisdom like this. That, and the inspiring characters within, left me feeling a little more hope for humanity when I had finished.

I highly recommend this book!

Percy Cerutty – Be Fit or Be Damned!

Posted on March 9, 2010 by Josh

Seems like I’ve only been posting book reviews lately…other things ahve been happening, honest!

I just read Percy Cerutty’s book “Be Fit or Be Damned.”

Unfortunately for all of us, this classic is out of print. Why, I have no idea!

According to the All Knowing Wikipedia, Percy was born in 1895 and died in 1975. He was an Australian athletic coach, and coached Herb Elliott, who won a gold medal in the 1960 Olympic games.

Now before you go saying “He only lived to be 80, I’m not taking his advice!” realize that 80 is a pretty ripe old age for someone born in 1895 who once battled with cancer – and who actually died of Motor Neurone Disease (called ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease in the US).

His book is about how to live. I think it sums up Cerutty’s “Stotan” (a combination of Stoic and Spartan philosophies) life-philosophy well.

percy picking up a man almost twice his weight, when he was 70!!

Through the “manliness” protocol that was very popular in his era, Percy explains that people (men) should exercise regularly. He gives the why and the how in about as simple and down-to-earth a manner as you would ever want.

Check this book out from your local library (or local university library), or buy it on Amazon used for $25. It’s worth the read!

Mind Programming – Book Review

Posted on March 6, 2010 by Josh

I’ve been meaning to put this review up for a while, and haven’t had the time. Now’s the time!

Mind Programming, by Eldon Taylor, is a book about persuasion techniques, marketing methods, and self-change.

I SEE YOU!!!

While Eldon is a little redundant at times, and pulls from many other sources in the first half of his book, his summary of mental manipulation techniques is a good one, and worth reading.

The second half of the book is devoted to Eldon’s discussion of the subliminal self-help programs he has created, along with other methods for creating self-responsibility and feelings of self-affirmation.

They say that “knowing is half the battle” (thank you, G.I. Joe), and I agree completely. The other half is taking action on that knowledge. To that end, I really like Eldon’s book, and his presentation of the knowledge, and the know-how to make change.

On the “critique” side, I do think the book is a little redundant and stream-of-consciousness in places. It also begins to promote Eldon’s own views/methods more and more as the book continues.

While there are many facets to recognize in order to achieve true autonomy in our society (if that’s even possible), Eldon’s book does a great job of pointing out the main, media-driven, detractors from autonomy, and for that reason, I highly recommend this book.

Twilight of the Machines, by John Zerzan – Book Review

Posted on March 5, 2010 by Josh

I read John Zerzan’s book “Twilight of the Machines” recently. A good friend recommended it after my blog post on the book “The Coming Insurrection.”

After twilight...we gon' let it all hang down!

I enjoyed the book. It was very enlightening. Zerzan says that the “problem” with/of civilization stems from the development of symbolic thought via language. That is, that language itself creates a separation between things. This separation leads to the creation of other separations.

Specifically, the next separation to come was an original division of labor, which resulted in domestication. Some people stayed at home, some ventured out. They became very different.

If you couldn’t tell, this was also the beginning of the separation of the sexes, according to Zerzan. The separation or distinction between what is considered exclusively male from what is considered exclusively female led next to the separation of classes.

But Zerzan doesn’t stop there. Which is good, and bad.

Technology, he says, is the hallmark of the current separation. He discusses the ways in which technology has further separated man from himself and the rest of Creation (not in a “Biblical” sense, there – just, the Totality of What-Is).

He talks about postmodernism, and its apathetic relativism, as an outgrowth of this technology.

Like I said, I liked the book, but I had a couple of issues with it.

First, it’s a book. There’s no call to action within, except for a complete abandonment of civilization as we know it now. Which strikes me as odd. Zerzan wrote his book, presumably, on some piece of technology, and technology was used to reproduce and distribute it.

Apparently, he also does extensive speaking tours around the world. Doesn’t he know that airplanes are technology? And that air travel is considered to be one of the most damaging (in terms of carbon footprint)?

My second issue is more serious. It has to do with his critique of technology, and his critique of civilization.

Something happened before language turned us into slaves. What was that? Maybe boredom. Zerzan talks about the fact that there is evidence for the creation of seagoing vessels as long ago as 800,000 years, and that scientists now say that members of the genus homo were roughly just as “intelligent” as it is today, 1m years ago.

So why, if we were just as intelligent, would we suddenly create this new mode? Did it come exclusively from the creation of agriculture? Couldn’t agriculture be much older – as the cultivation of certain crops over others – given that homo has had the same level of intelligence for so long?

Was it boredom?

Or is it a combination of forces? The sudden presence of agricultural “technology,” combined with population density and the accompanying pressures and stresses. It’s interesting to note the development of similar practices in very diverse places in the world at roughly similar times (e.g., the development of culture and technologies in Central and South America, similar to those in other parts of the world, and sometimes even preceding those developments in those places).

Which leads to my final critique of Zerzan’s argument. “Technology” is not an “evil.” There are multiple “technologies” that have been used by various peoples at various times. In fact, the handmade axes of 130,000 years ago mentioned in the article above are “technology.”

Computers, “machines,” as Zerzan calls them, are modern versions of technology. But my computer has not stopped me from being physically active, or from connecting back to the earth. In fact, it has enabled me to get closer than I thought I ever would. Yes, I have to leave this technology for another when I go, but that doesn’t make one “better” than the other.

At base, Zerzan’s argument appeals to me – I do believe in the need for people to return to their own physiologies, and through that, to a deeper connection to and understanding of the earth. But the method he recommends is suspect to me.

Your Deepest Gift, and Your True Purpose

Posted on February 9, 2010 by Josh

I’ve been listening, over the past week or so, to David Deida’s book “The Way of the Superior Man.”

Read it, and Ravish it.

It was a good book, though pretty far out there, even for me. I really appreciated his take on the nature of attraction – as being based on a polar division between two things. His ideas and practices were good too. If you decide to listen to or read the book, hang in there past the first few chapters. It gets good.

Your True Purpose

Yes, I know I said “Your Deepest Gift” first in the heading, but so what?! Your true purpose actually comes first, believe it or not.

Deida says that we each need to discover what our true purpose is. An easy way to do this is to imagine that we might die within the day, or within the next three days. “What,” he asks, “would you need to do to feel like you had expressed and lived your true purpose?”

It’s a good question, that’s been stated before in many places and in many ways.

What would make your life complete before you died? And if you don’t have it now, or haven’t had it yet, or aren’t doing it now – what are you waiting for? Death?

You reap what you sow

Your Deepest Gift

Now let’s talk about your deepest gift. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, and if you don’t either, read no further. It shocked me when it came to me, while listening to the very very end of the audiobook.

Your deepest gift is love – unfettered love. Unrestricted love. Love that is not afraid of harm. That lies below your true purpose. It fuels your true purpose. It is the soil from which your true purpose grows. Expressing love fearlessly is the Final Art.

Maybe this book will help you to do that!

The Wisdom of the Body

Posted on December 26, 2009 by Josh

This is a review of the book “The Wisdom of the Body,” written in 1932 by Walter B. Cannon, M.D.

Cannon was a physiologist, and was the first person to promote the idea of homeostasis in American medicine/physiology. Homeostasis is the concept that the human body is a dynamic system composed of smaller subsystems that serve to maintain an ideal steady state (stasis) for the function of the body.

This book is absolutely fantastic.

First, from a historical perspective, it’s a wonderful look into the methodology of early twentieth century experimental science in the field of physiology. This book is not for the faint of heart. Descriptions of experiments on cats and dogs in which the animals were denervated, etc., abound.

The book also provides a wonderful introduction to the science of homeostasis, which has become a field unto itself. My next read, “Rethinking Homeostasis,” by Jay Schulkin, will be an interesting follow-up, summarizing some of the research that led to the development of the concept of allostasis – the attainment of stability through challenge or change, rather than through a subtle balance of systems. But that’s another review…

Finally, Cannon provides tons of wonderful nuggets of wisdom throughout the book. On page 199 he mentions the practice of cold baths/showers and profuse sweating in exercise or saunas as methods of training the temperature-regulation system of the body. I’ve often heard of cold showers as being tonic, but never for that reason…mostly just in reference to “folk wisdom.” Interesting to see a “scientific” explanation for that practice!

On pages 240-241 Cannon discusses the role of the physician in maintaining health. The physician isn’t there to provide health. That’s provided by vis medicatrix naturae – the healing power of nature. Rather, the physician is there to facilitate that natural process of healing, by being familiar with the functions of the body, the balance of forces/activities that are present in optimal health (homeostasis), and the ways of helping the body to achieve that ideal balance.

I loved this book, and highly recommend it to anyone who wants a clearer understanding of how their body works. You will probably need/want a dictionary at places, and an anatomy/physiology reference book in other places, but the journey will be well worth it!

Good Calories, Bad Calories – Review

Posted on November 16, 2009 by Josh

Bread and butter?! Yummy!!! Ohhh....

On page 169 of his book, Gary Taubes quotes Albert Einstein, who once said that “Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler.”

Why didn’t Gary take Albert’s words to heart?!!!

This book is awesome, in every sense of the word. It is a comprehensive look at the research surrounding diet and obesity, since research in that area began.

It is also incredibly dense and difficult to read, and, I think, poorly structured. Themes, dates, studies, characters, are repeated throughout the book. I wish Gary had hired an editor!!!

That being said, the book is still incredible. It’s an amazing look into the vagaries of science – that there is essentially only conflicting evidence around the diet-heart, or cholesterol-heart hypotheses, and that those ideas have been driven mostly by fame-hungry researchers, or by the impetus of the thrust of research itself (once the general tenor is set, research tends to continue in the same direction). It is a fascinating look at human dietary physiology.

Earlier today, I was speaking with a client about this book, and saying that I had reached the point (at page 384…roughly 80 still to go, after two months of plodding) where I wished Gary had produced a Cliff Notes version of his book.

Then, lo and behold, on page 453-4 of the book, he does. I’ll quote the entire “summation” here, because I think the message is important. It goes against everything we’ve been told for the past 30-50 years. But that stuff wasn’t really backed up by anything at all. Read the following passage, and if you’re still interested, read the book!

“As I emerge from this research, though, certain conclusions seem inescapable to me, based on the existing knowledge:
1. Dietary fat, whether saturated or not, is not the cause of obesity, heart disease, or any other chronic disease of civilization.
2. The problem is the carbohydrates in the diet, their effect on insulin secretion, and thus the hormonal regulation of homeostasis – the entire harmonic ensemble of the human body. The more easily digestible and refined the carbohydrates, the greater the effect on our health, weight, and well-being.
3. Sugars – sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup specifically – are particularly harmful, probably because the combination of fructose and glucose simultaneously elevates insulin levels while overloading the liver with carbohydrates.
4. Through their direct effect on insulin and blood sugar, refined carbohydrates, starches, and sugars are the dietary cause of coronary heart disease and diabetes. They are the most likely dietary causes of cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, and the other chronic diseases of civilization.
5. Obesity is a disorder of excess fat accumulation, not overeating, and not sedentary behavior.
6. Consuming excess calories does not cause us to grow fatter, any more than it causes a child to grow taller. Expending more energy than we consume does not lead to long-term weight loss; it leads to hunger.
7. Fattening and obesity are caused by an imbalance – a disequilibrium – in the hormonal regulation of adipose tissue and fat metabolism. Fat synthesis and storage exceed the mobilization of fat from the adipose tissue and its subsequent oxidation. We become leaner when the hormonal regulation of the fat tissue reverses this balance.
8. Insulin is the primary regulator of fat storage. When insulin levels are elevated – either chronically or after a meal – we accumulate fat in our fat tissue. When insulin levels fall, we release fat from our fat tissue and use it for fuel.
9. By stimulating insulin secretion, carbohydrates make us fat and ultimately cause obesity. The fewer carbohydrates we consume, the leaner we will be.
10. By driving fat accumulation, carbohydrates also increase hunger and decrease the amount of energy we expend in metabolism and physical activity.”

I’m going to go have a donut and some ice cream!!!

UPDATE – 2011
God-bless the ability to change our minds!

I read this book while in grad school, and understood some of the science, but had little time to really dig deep into Taubes’ arguments.

Needless to say, I also never stopped eating any sort of carbohydrate or modified my diet in any way (see my last statement…I literally did that that day…).

Since that day, I’ve read more deeply, and seen the ridiculous extent to which “paleo” and other low-carb advocates have gone in deriding carbohydrates of all sorts, and trying to push their bizarre dietary agenda on the world.

For instance – read this post.

So now, read this post, for the most comprehensive and thoughtful look I’ve ever seen at the carbohydrate/fat/obesity debate.

DeFranco’s Built Like a Badass Program

Posted on November 13, 2009 by Josh

I’ve been a fan of Joe DeFranco’s for a long time now. For those who don’t know, Joe is a trainer in New Jersey, who runs DeFranco’s (his) Gym.

I bought his new “Built Like a Badass” program, and I think it’s really really good.

One of the things I like most about Joe’s approach is that he keeps strength training and skill pretty well separated. And, he says this in the FAQ section of the program:

“Go out and use your new-found strength/athleticism and experience new things such as hiking, playing catch with your kids, playing pick-up basketball or whatever you want to do.”

It’s an intense, intensive, 12-week, 3-day-per-week, weightlifting program, that uses the major traditional lifts (bench, dead, squat) as its anchors.

Can’t argue with that.

Further still, Joe has provided active links in the workout descriptions to videos of either him or his athletes performing the exercises.

Anyone out there will benefit from this program. I highly recommend it – and I’m not “affiliated” with Joe in any way, other than that he’s a strength coach who uses his brain.

Manthropology – Book Review

Posted on November 11, 2009 by Josh

Just finished reading the book “Manthropology,” written by Peter McAllister.

According to the introduction, Peter had originally set out to write a book about the wonders of the modern male homo sapiens – or, as he calls us – homo masculinus modernus.

What he found, upon beginning his investigatory work, however, was that the modern man is far from “wonderful” – in any way – when compared with his forebears.

He then goes on to write a chapter each on the broad qualities of Brawn, Bravado, Battle, Balls, Bards, Beauty, Bairns, and Babes – citing crushing evidence of modern man’s insufficiency in each area.

This book is awesome! I highly recommend it, though you may need to wait till it’s more widely available. Right now, you can only buy it from the publisher (linked to above) in Australia – so the shipping is as much as the book itself! However, I think it’s worth it!

You’ll be motivated to improve yourself when you learn that:

Any Neandertal woman could have beaten Arnold Schwarzenegger in an armwrestle
Injury rates in modern Ultimate Fighting are a fraction of those in ancient Greek pankration
Metrosexual icon David Beckham wouldn’t even get an audition for the gerewol, the male beauty parade of the Nigerian Wodaabe
Even modern ‘New Age’ dads are put to shame by Aka Pygmy fathers of the Congo rainforest, who sometimes grew breasts to suckle their infants!

Get it!