I’ll start by apologizing for not making more Patreon-centric articles. It is incredibly hard for me to put my name on shit that is rough-hewn, though I realize that extra content is extra content. And in these odd circumstances, the more distractions we have, the better. As such, I thought I would pass along the following tidbits.
In re home workouts: Thus far I’ve been doing nothing but bands and TRX shit, though Tara and I will be constructing a squat rack this weekend after heading to NYC to grab some plates and a bar from Frenchie’s, a cool old school gym in Brooklyn that just closed its doors because the owner died. I’ve got a strongman meet planned for June, so I have need of some weights, though I’ll admit the ulterior motive is for an upcoming paper-only book I’ll be shopping to publishers when it starts nearing completion. I won’t give you all of the details, but it grew out of the Training for the Apocalypse series. That said, I’ve not stopped being sore for three weeks doing naught but bands and TRX, so it’s possible to weather this storm with the basics.
In re upcoming shit: I have a ton of articles in the hopper, as I have been writing around the fucking clock. As you can see, a lot of them are Fustigation Fury, as that’s what has piqued my interest of late. I’ve also got an article for possibly Cracked in the works on why the PC movement has been marketed incorrectly to the world at large, and an article about the necessity of context when looking at athletic achievements of the past. Additionally, Tara interviewed Eddie Hall, and we’ll have that up tomorrow.
In re keeping yourselves busy: If you are into cosmic horror at all, here’s an article that popped up in my feed today with some extra recommendations beyond what I gave in the Joe Begos and cosmic horror articles. Additionally, there is a phenomenally hilarious horror comedy called Dead Ant on Tubi that is a must-see. It stars Gary Busey’s kid, that weepy bitch Rudy/Samwise, KD Lang’s ex girlfriend (who starred in a lesbian show on Showtime, the name of which escapes me), and Tom Arnold in all of his glory. Tom Arnold is one of the greatest low-key comedic geniuses of our time, and he is on fire in that flick.
With that, I’m putting my nose back to the grindstone to work on the context article. If you have any preferences out of page one of of my drafts, hit me with them in the comments.
The disagreement article will be super interesting. It’s been interesting seeing how you’ve evolved and it’s always nice when people can own up to changes in opinion and articulate why.
Looking forward to the Fall on my sword article
As the pandemic deathtoll rises, and who knows how many people are seriously impaired, perhaps peramanently, and every indicator is that we face an economic tsunami which will make the 1930s look like the good times, I seem to have one foot in each camp. right foot – Keep training, struggle through.
left foot – Let the good times rip, eat, drink, (or whatever your substances of choice for the special days may be), because there seems to be a good chance that a lot of us haven’t got much to look forward to in the brave new world in the making.
Otr think of it like this – fill your blender with green leaves and berries, all the stuff the nutritional people love, but instead of water to blend it all up- crack open a bottle.
Like, yeah, life has to be lived, there is always hope, but just in case, get in the pleasure you can before the catastrophe hits home.
The coronavirus pandemic is battering the whole world. It has upset a social and economic order that appeared immutable. It has dramatically laid bare the reality of human relations in this society based on the exploitation of one human being by another in the name of profit.
After years of cuts, thousands, if not millions, of workers have to cope with a broken and dysfunctional health system. A health system incapable of curing everyone that chooses not to save the elderly and the ill. They are the sacrificial victims for a system which, at the same time, has no problem making everyone work into their late 60s and beyond.
Millions of people, wage workers, are forced to work every day in extremely harmful environments under worsening conditions. In these factories and workplaces any discussion regarding the dangers of the pandemic comes up against the bosses’ interests and the only thing they consider legitimate: their profits.
The strikes of the working class throughout Italy and the world are posing the fundamental question:
Our Lives Against Their Profits
This system, both in the present situation and in the longer term, pretends that we are all equal as citizens as far as our health needs are concerned. The current reality shows that this is not the case.
All Will not be Well
Even if the pandemic dies down quickly, workers will be facing even harder times. The Covid-19 outbreak has exacerbated the current crisis which has been going on, without a solution, since 2008, at both national and international levels. Capitalism is waiting for this crisis to pass, to return to business as usual. But the costs of the crisis will be paid by the working class. As soon as the pandemic is over a new period of cuts, sacrifices and austerity will open. This is why every state is preparing the patriotic rhetoric of common interest in fighting the pandemic today in order to demand sacrifices in the interests of the nation tomorrow.
Revolution is the Only Cure
Workers’ actions over the past weeks have shown us how to transform feeble rank and file resistance into a fight for our own needs through a refusal to make more sacrifices for their profits. But it is not enough. From now on, we need to link the defence of the health of every worker to the perspective of a different society. We need a new social model which does not put production in conflict with human health. Never before has the contradiction between the collective health and well-being of humanity been in such stark contrast to the logic of profit. The virus that kills from within is capitalism. The only way we can combat this disease is by building the communist alternative to this system of exploitation and death. This means working to create a political instrument of working class struggle: the internationalist and revolutionary party.
We have always been committed to this task but today it is more important than ever, given that the situation is changing rapidly and time is of the essence. An alternative to this system exists. The task of bringing it into being falls to all of us who are tired of being used and exploited. Let’s get ready for our appointment with history!
Workers of the Internationalist Communist Tendency
April 2020
Something tells me Titanic Steve won’t get a warm response…
I’m really looking forward to the Jan and Terry Todd article. They, and a lot of the seminal figures of PL (Jim Williams, Bill West, Judy Gedney, and many others) were incredibly fascinating. Plus, the Todds were good friends with Jim Cash and Doug Young, two of the most badass powerlifters of the 70s and 80s.
I didn’t realize that. I’ll reach out to Jan and see if she’s down to do a quick interview, then!
It’s been interesting to see the ways in which your perspective appears to have changed over the years, so I’m definitely looking forward to the Falling on My Sword one
Word. I’ll make sure that gets done sooner rather than later.