Beach in front of the “new” side of Monterosso 
Vernazza in the sun 
The coastline of Cinqa Terra 
Picturesque Cinqa Terra 
The sea shall embrace them 
Sunset in Manarola Italy 
Piazza de Ferrari in Genoa Italy 
Piazza Navona 
Are you not entertained? 
These stairs were made for sitting? 
Mosaics of St. Peter’s Basilica dome 
Dome of St. Peter’s Basilica 
Victor Emanuel II monument 
Florentine hitching post 
En route to Piazzale Michelangelo 
Stern statuary at Santa Croce 
Reflections of Florence 
Tuscan countryside with a view of San Gimignano 
Invitation to a Tuscan view 
Towering medieval tower 
Perched on a hill in the heart of Tuscany 
Exemplary medieval tower 
Even the spectacular (copy of) the Statue of David is enthralled 
Library of the Medicea designed by Leonardo da Vinci
Photography from Italy →
I miss that age →
I miss being the age I was when I thought I would have my shit together by the time I was the age I am now.
~ unknown
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Trained to hate women? →
Well, you have to keep in mind that what we learn as kids is really hard to deprogram as an adult. And what we learned as kids is that we males are each owed, and will eventually be awarded, a beautiful woman.
We were told this by every movie, TV show, novel, comic book, video game and song we encountered.
~ David Wong from, 5 Ways Modern Men Are Trained to Hate Women: Update
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Dietary protein increases lean mass →
I know that many female readers will not want to gain extra muscle. They shouldn’t worry, however, because in the absence of exogenous anabolic steroids women won’t become ‘muscle bound’ or non-feminine appearing. What generally happens is that the muscle replaces fat within the muscle. We’ve all seen marbling in beef, which is fat within the muscle tissue. With the extra protein, new muscle replaces this fat, and the muscle may even become a little smaller in females while at the same time becoming more dense and stronger.
~ Michael Eades from, «http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/weight-loss/dietary-protein-increases-lean-mass/»
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What causes allergies and autoimmune disease? →
The agent of our immunological misery is the disappearance of something we co-evolved with in a mutually beneficial relationships: microbes and parasites that have lived inside our bodies for millennia.
This new hypothesis is brilliantly summarized in a recent book by Moises Velasquez-Manoff: An Epidemic of Absence: A New Way of Understanding Allergies and Autoimmune Disease.
~ Todd Becker from, What causes allergies and autoimmune disease?
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Photography from Atlantic cruise →
Port Side Observation deck 
Sunset with a glimpse of Africa from Quantum of the Seas 
Ponta Delgada 
Mallorca 
A rare point of view 
North Africa 
The Rock at sunset 
Picturesque mediteranean island
The paradox of barefoot running →
So the explanation here is clear: Our skeletons, musculature and nervous systems are highly refined and well-coordinated adapative systems which adjust both instanteously and by means of longer term adjustments to in order handle the terrain. These “proprioceptive” adjustments take place virtually beneath the level of consciousness, through the exquisite feedback systems of our body and brain. Try to circumvent these systems, and the protective mechanisms will weaken, exposing us to injury.
~ Todd Becker from, The paradox of barefoot running
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Sorry, no actually I’m not →
So this happened in Cartegena.
This is funny, but that’s not why I posted this. See the bottom.
Imagine if you will, a bus load of 45 tourists — a perfect stereotype bus tour from a cruise ship. We all walk up a hill/road to see the Castillo overlooking Cartegena. (Very nice by the way! Photos coming soon.) Then we walk all the way back down. We reach an intersection, near our bus in the home stretch, and across the street is a small park with one of those long railings meant to keep people from J-walking.
The cross-walk says “go”, so there’s no traffic. Without thinking, I J-walked straight across and vaulted the rail.
…and I hear 44 people do a group groan. They had all followed me across the intersection and everyone had to walk all the way around the railing. (My mom shouted out, “Brat!”)
SO? Well, I did it without thinking, but FORGET ME.
Imagine what YOUR LIFE would be like if you vaulted a little railing after a long walk AND THOUGHT IT WAS FUN. What, really, is your excuse?
(…and if you’re in shape, or under 20, or can already vault a rail. Kudos to you! …but I’m not talking to you.)
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Secret society of … adults →
Postman argues that our modern concepts of childhood and adulthood (and the gulf between them) were birthed by the printing press. Literacy became the dividing line between these stages of life; adults were competent readers, children were not, and they thus had to become adults by mastering written language.
~ Brett Mckay from, The Printing Press, Literacy, and the Rise and Fall of the Secret Society of Adults
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Inspiration →
Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.
~ Pablo Picasso
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