Bobby Fischer Goes to War by Edmonds & Eidinow

Read my review of Bobby Fischer Goes to War over on my chess blog (link here).

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks

I was scanning my bookshelf looking for the next book to read, when I saw Year of Wonders laying loosely on top of the other books. Jill's sister gave her this book. Judging from the cover, it seemed to me the book was directed at the female audience. But I read the back cover and it intrigued me, so I decided to place it on my list.

It took 50 pages for me to get into it. After that, I could not put it down. Although towards the end, I was considering not finishing it.

Summary

Anna Frith tells the story of how her village succumbs to the Plague and how, under the direction of their young minister, the people decide to isolate themselves to keep the Plague from spreading to other villages.

The Gowdie women are healers and try to understand how herbs and roots strengthen and heal people. But many of the villagers believe them to be witches. They die at the hand of a few true believers to the shock of Anna. Later Anna and Elinor Mompellion take up the Gowdie womens' mission and endeavor to bring relief to those who bear the Plague. Their acts of kindness, along with Michael Mompellion's (the minister) unwavering will to keep the village together, help the people endure and survive the Plague.

Once the Plague has passed, the village is shocked again by the murder of Elinor, at the hand of Anna's stepmother. From there, the plot unravels into scandalous secrets and affairs. Anna escapes the village fleeing the dark-side of Michael as well as the Bradfords.

Opinion

Like I said, it took me 50 pages of reading before I got into the book. From then on until the Plague passed, I could not put the book down. But from the point of Elinor's death on, I contemplated not finishing it. But of course it would gnaw at me if I did not finish it.

The body of the story was really enjoyable. I liked reading about the heroics of Anna and Elinor and the determination of Michael. I was really cheering for them. I could also read into the foreshadowing of Elinor's death. I thought she would die of the Plague, but as soon as I began reading the part where the village gathers to celebrate the passing of the Plague, I knew something more sinister would happen.

From the murder of Elinor to the end of the book, I felt like I was reading a lusty, dark novel. The last few chapters just didn't jive with the rest of the book. Michael turned out to be a very dark and corrupt person. Instead of the faithful, pious minister who would be an inspiration, he was the corrupt and evil priest we've seen in movie after movie on our TV and theater screens. I just found it hard to believe.

Brooks' descriptions of events were fabulous. But at times they were too gory. I was very squeamish during the two deliveries Anna attended to ... too much blood and fluid. I guess women probably wouldn't squirm at those descriptions, but it was too much for me. Aphra's treatment of her three-year-old's dead body was a little to much too. After reading that, I considered putting the book down for good. Some parts of the book are definitely R-rated.

Overall, it was a good book, but I know for sure I won't be reading this book again. If it ever is made into a movie, I think I'll have to pass on watching it.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer

I'm not sure how this book ended up in my library. Jill may have received it from Linda while we were visiting them for Thanksgiving. I had heard of the movie, but I was never interested in it and have never seen it.

I just picked the book up several days ago, started reading it, got hooked and could hardly put it down.

Summary

Chris McCandless was a very smart kid. He did well in school. He was a young man of morals. Once he got a moral code or rule in his head, he would never break it. He did not get along with his father. After finishing college, he quietly made plans to travel the West and not return to his family.

He drove out West, lost his car to a flash flood in Arizona. He hitch-hiked all across the west. He bought a used canoe and floated the Colorado River out to the Gulf of Mexico. He eventually made his way to South Dakoda where he lived with a man who worked as a harvester. He finally decided to test his will by living in the backcountry of Alaska.

Chris survived 112 days in the Denali area. But after eating some moldy wild potato seeds, he became sick and died of stavation. Krakauer surmises that McCandless died from the mold (Rhizoctonia leguminicola) which "produces a potent alkaloid called swainsonine" which also is known to kill livestock who eat damp forage.

The book also digresses a few times and devotes chapters to other adventures. One chapter discusses other men who have tried face the land of Alaska alone. Some failed while others succeded. He also devotes a chapter to Everett Ruess, who similiar to McCandless, lived off the land (in Utah and Arizona), but who disappeared and nothing is known of his death (if indeed he died). The author also sets aside one chapter to explain his fight with the Devil's Thumb ... a legendary mountain in Alaska.

Opinion

It was a very fascinating book. At my age (33 in 2009), I don't understand the recklessness of living such a life. I tried to think back to when I was in my early 20's and the closest thing I could think of was my love of climbing mountains ... not with ropes and such, but just wanting to hike up mountains. I remember wanting to climb Y-Mount in Provo. I managed to get up past the Y to the first crop of rocks. But after seeing a snake slither a foot away from my hand and nearly dieing from a heart attack, I decided to turn around and thank my lucky stars something worse didn't happen to me.

The one thing that bothered me about the book was how the author took his sweet time in telling the story. He digressed quite a few times to explain the lives of other adventurers like McCandless. He also injected quite a bit of personal history into the book too. But once I realized he was going to do this, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.

What amazes me is that there are a lot of people who wander. There seems to be a whole culture around hitch hiking, living off the land and having little or no possessions. If ever there is a nuclear holocaust and these people are the only ones who survive, our new civilization will be quite different from the one we live in today.

After reading the book, I found a few actual pictures of McCandless on-line. He had a camera with him and took many pictures of his life on the road and in Alaska. Here are a few.

The True Believer by Eric Hoffer

I'm not sure where I heard about The True Believer first. I think I heard it referenced on a talk show once or twice and decided that it'd be a good read. I got it for Christmas four or five years ago and ever since, it's been collecting dust.

I started it once before, but lost interest pretty quickly. This time I was able to get into it. What a fascinating book! I marked it up page after page after page. We are seeing examples of mass movements in all stages in our country and around the world today.

I'm not going to summarize it as a whole book, but I will say that Eric Hoffer makes the same point over and over again in the book ... the unfulfilled individual is a fanatic who joins mass movements.

You can find a good summary of the book at Wikipedia.

For my own personal use, I'd like to quote several parts I underlined and found interesting. Many of the sections I marked were modern-day examples of a true believer or mass movement.

Some of the Quotes I Marked (my comments in italics)

"Fear of the future causes us to lean against and cling to the present, while faith in the future renders us receptive to change" (9)

"To the frustrated a mass movement offers substitutes either for the whole self or for the elements which make life bearable and which they cannot evoke out of their individual resources" (13)

"The word 'frustrated' is not used in this book as a clinical term. It denotes here people who, for one reason or another, feel that their lives are spoiled or wasted." (Preface, note 1)

"A man is likely to mind his own business when it is worth minding. When it is not, he takes his mind off his own meaningless affairs by minding other people's business." (14)

"Mass movements are usually accused of doping their followers with hope of the future while cheating them of the enjoyment of the present." (15)

"Discontent is likely to be highest when misery is bearable; when conditions have so improved that an ideal state seems almost within reach." (28)

"It is not actual suffering but the taste of better things which excites people to revolt. A popular upheaval in Soviet Russia is hardly likely before the people get a real taste of the good life." (29)

The previous two quotes remind me of the fall of the Iron Curtain. Westernization brought an end to Russian communism.

"Freedom aggravates at least as much as it alleviates frustration. Freedom of choice places the whole blame of failure on the shoulders of the individual. And as freedom encourages a multiplicity of attempts, it unavoidably multiplies failure and frustration. Freedom alleviates frustration by making available the palliatives of action, movement, change and protest." (31)

"Unless a man has the talents to make something of himself, freedom is an irksome burden." (31)

"We join a mass movement to escape individual responsibility, or, in the words of the ardent young Nazi, 'to be free from freedom.'" (31)

"Almost all our contemporary movement showed in their early stages a hostile attitude for the family, and did all they could to discredit and disrupt it. They did it by undermining the authority of the parents; by facilitating divorce; by taking over the responsibility for feeding, educating and entertaining the children; and by encouraging illegitimacy." (36) The gay movement, Liberal/Socialists, Abortion movements, "family planning"

"The permanent misfits can find salvation only in a complete separation from the self; and they usually find it by losing themselves in the compact collectivity of a mass movement. By renouncing individual will, judgement and ambition, and dedicating all their powers to the service of an eternal cause, they are at last lifted off the endless treadmill which can never lead them to fulfillment." (47) The same could almost be said of Christian discipleship.

"The technique of a mass movement aims to infect people with a malady and then offer the movement as a cure." (54)

"The purpose of the Iron Curtain is perhaps more to prevent the Russian people from reaching out - even in thought - toward an outside world, than to prevent the infiltration of spies and saboteurs." (66) The Information Age makes Iron Curtains difficult to establish.

"Not only does a mass movement depict the present as mean and miserable - it deliberately makes it so. It fashions a pattern of individual existence that is dour, hard, repressive and dull. It decries pleasures and comforts and extols the rigorous life. It views ordinary enjoyment as trivial or even discreditable, and represents the pursuit of personal happiness as immoral". (69)

"The well-adjusted make poor prophets." (72)

"Those who fail in everyday affairs show a tendency to reach out for the impossible ... It is thus that failure in everyday affairs often breeds an extravagant audacity." (76)

"The facts on which the true believer bases his conclusions must not be derived from his experience or observation but from holy writ. 'So tenaciously should we cling to the world revealed by the Gospel, that were I to see all the Angels of Heaven coming down to me to tell me something different, not only would I not be tempted to doubt a single syllable, but I would shut my eyes and stop my ears, for they would not deserve to be either seen or heard.'" (79) I said something similar about the Book of Mormon. Equally, Evangelicals feel the same way about the Bible ... they will not hear anything of further revelation.

"When a movement begins to rationalize its doctrine and make it intelligible, it is a sign that its dynamic span is over; that it is primarily interested in stability." (81)

[Mass movements depict] "man on his own [as ] a helpless, miserable and sinful creature. His only salvation is in rejecting his self and in finding a new life in the bosom of a holy corporate body - be it a church, a nation or a party. In its turn, this vilification of the self keeps passion at a white heat." (85) Discipleship

"Mass movements can rise and spread without belief in a God, but never without belief in a devil." (91)

"Every difficulty and failure within the movement is the work of the devil, and every success is a triumph over his evil plotting." (93) Liberals are quick to point to Bush for all the failures of the past decade ... Iraq, Hurricane Katrina, Global Warming, the Economy ... all of it is Bush's fault.

"Self-righteousness is a loud din raised to drown the voice of guilt within us." (95)

"The Americans are poor haters in international affairs because of their innate feeling of superiority over all foreigners. An American's hatred for a fellow American (for Hoover or Roosevelt) is far more virulent than any antipathy he can work up against foreigners. ... Should Americans begin to hate foreigners wholeheartedly, it will be an indication that they have lost confidence in their own way of life." (96) How much do Liberals hate Bush and Conservatives hate Obama.

"The torture chamber is a corporate institution." (101) War on terror.

"It is also plausible that those movements with the greatest inner contradiction between profession and practice - that is to say with a strong feeling of guilt - are likely to be the most fervent in imposing their faith on others." (111) The Global Warming movement

Page 118 has two paragraphs that pretty much summarize what a True Believer is:

"People whose lives are barren and insecure seem to show a greater willingness to obey than people who are self-sufficient and self-confident. To the frustrated, freedom from responsibility is more attractive than freedom from restraint. They are eager to barter their independence for relief from burdens of willing, deciding and being responsible for inevitable failure. They willingly abdicate the directing of their lives to those who want to plan, command and shoulder all responsibility. Moreover, submission by all to a supreme leader is an approach to their ideal of equality.

"In time of crisis, during floods, earthquakes, epidemics, depressions and wars, separate individual effort is of no avail, and people of every condition are ready to obey and follow a leader. To obey is then the only firm point in a chaotic day-by-day existence."

"All the true believers of our time - whether Communist, Nazi, Fascist, Japanese or Catholic - declaimed volubly (and the Communists still do) on the decadence of the Western democracies." (163) The environmentalists

Other Reviews

After reading a few other book reviews on-line, I find it interesting that conservatives point the finger at liberals saying they are true believers while liberals do the same to conservatives. But I guess this is what Hoffer was trying to say toward the beginning of the book ... that just because there are mass movements doesn't make them evil or good per se. There are mass movements and true believers all around us.

"The Legacy of Eric Hoffer" by Thomas Sowell

Book Review by Anne Zook

Book Review by Joe Palmer

"The True Believer 2001" by Alan Caruba

The Road by Cormac McCarthy

I watched No Country for Old Men. Then I read the book No Country for Old Men. I found out about his other books including The Road. In my researching about The Road, I found that Oprah had this book on her book list. Naturally my first reaction was, "great, this is some chick book." But knowing the premise of the book, I was a little confused as to how this could be a chick book.

Finally the day came when my copy came in the mail ... an eBay purchase while wondering what I was going to do for a good read over the holidays. I dipped in it the first couple of nights getting to page 50. It was as morbid as it had sounded. Depressing, dreary and hopeless. How could I read such a book around Christmas time?

Last night, after taking a late-afternoon nap, I knew I would be up awhile. I continued from page 50. I told myself I would stop on page 187 ... one hundred pages before the end. It was getting late and Jill had already fallen asleep. I kept reading. Page 200. I'll stop at 220. Page 234. I'll stop at page 250. Page 261 ... OK I'll finish it. I closed the book and couldn't fall asleep. I was too horrified of our own world's future and what I would do with my wife and four kids. I didn't fall asleep quickly.

The Summary

Spoiler Alert ... if you want to read the book and don't want to know what happens, skip this section.

The story is about a man and his son who are trying to survive in a bleak and barren landscape in some unknown post-apocalyptic time. They are in the southwest of the United States and are trying to get to the Pacific Coast. They travel through mountains, abandoned towns, ranches and roads. They push a shopping cart that has all their possessions. They stop at stores, homes and anyplace that might have food and scavenge as best as they can. They are always fighting starvation.

Where is the mother? She killed herself. Shortly after the destruction of the world, she gave birth to their son. The father and mother argued for weeks about suicide. She reasoned that if they got caught, they would rape them all, kill them and eat them. The father wants to go on, but the mother opts out.

The father tries as best as he can to keep hope alive in his son. He tries to protect his youthful eyes from the atrocities of their world, but he doesn't fully succeed. The father tells the boy to kill himself with the gun they have, if he is ever caught by the cannibals. At one point, the boy is caught, but the father manages to fire off one of his two remaining bullets and kills the intruder. At another point in their journey, they come across a ranch. They find it is being lived in. They find a locked door. They haven't eaten in days. The father breaks open the door, holds the light up. To their horror they find naked people crying "help us." One person is laying down ... his leg missing.

Thankfully, the two escape from that nightmare and find celestial bliss. The father finds a sealed bomb shelter stocked full of canned foods and meat and water. It is Christmas for them. They eat well, sleep in peace and bathe with hot water. They find new clothes and are able to restock their shopping cart.

Shortly after, they find an old man on the road. The boy begs the father to help him. They give him food and let the old man dine with them that night. It is a wonder this old relic is alive. He says he's 90, but know one knows, including the old man. This brings up another, key aspect of the book. The boy is always wanting to help anyone they find. He is shocked beyond belief when he finds out there are people who would want to eat him or anyone else. The father tries to reason with the boy by telling him they cannot help other people or they will die. It is a struggle to keep alive, but at the same time, it is a struggle to keep human.

They finally make it to the ocean. It is not blue and this disheartens the boy. They find a boat and are able to restock again. The boy gets sick, but gets better. They find a seaport. Someone tries to kill them with a bow and arrow. But they are manned with a flare gun from the boat.

Later the father becomes deathly ill and dies. But he tells his son that they can always talk. The boy just has to talk to him in his head and the father will respond. Another man, fully armed, takes the boy in. The man has a wife and two kids.

I could hardly get through those last pages of the book. It took all I had to hold back the tears as they both knew the father was going to die. That feeling of being abandoned in such a dark world would be permanent after the father died. It was something the boy faced the entire book. Often the father would go out to scavenge while the boy slept. This was the most stressing part for me. I couldn't help but put myself in the dad's shoes and think of one of my kids in the boy's shoes. It really tugged at my heart.

Opinion

The book was indeed great. I am amazed at how McCarthy can paint such a vivid story with his style of writing. As I said, once I got into it, I could not put it down. Today on our walk, my wife and I were talking about this book and 2012. Many think the world will end in 2012. Thus the apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic movies and books will be abundant these next four years. This book kept me awake long after I had finished it. It still haunts me. If you are LDS, you will feel this strong urgency to get your food storage ready after you read this book. I swear that family with the stocked bomb shelter must have been LDS ... well, on second thought maybe not ... it had lots of coffee!


Like I was telling Jill, the book isn't about the end of the world. It is about a father and son and keeping hope and the fire alive within yourself and your posterity. As depressing as the book was, the message was as hopeful as you can get. In the face of all despair, this little boy proved to be a brilliant light in utter darkness.

This book will also be made into a movie. Viggo Mortenson will play the father. It comes out sometime in 2009.

A Midnight Carol by Patricia K. Davis

This book has been sitting on our shelf for quite some time. I have no idea who gave it to us. But I'm sure it is a Christmas present from someone in our family. The problem with Christmas books is that there are so many of them. A few years ago we must have had a half dozen Christmas books littering the shelf. I think I took the lot of them to Half-Priced books. Most of them were short story books. Somehow this one escaped the selling and I'm glad it did.

I went looking for a book to read having just finished Where Eagles Dare. I spotted the word 'carol' and the green bookcover and I was hooked.

The Summary

Charles Dickens is a little down on his luck. After experiencing great success, he struggles to write his next great story. Haunted by his own past and his future, while on a walk in the London fog, Charles Dickens became determined to not become like his father. In a great rush of enthusiasm, Charles writes A Christmas Carol and almost single-handedly sees to printing of his story. With the help of a local urchin boy and his close friend, Charles is able to overcome the greediness of his publishers and successfully sell his story to the entire public ... both rich and poor. As a result, he rekindles the spirit of Christmas that had been quashed 200 years earlier by Cromwell.

Opinion

The author uses a lot of flowery words. I struggled the first several pages getting through her descriptions of things. Obviously she was trying to make it colorful, but sometimes I found myself re-reading a paragraph a few times to be sure I wasn't missing anything only to find out she was simply saying "the fog moved in." Although short, it is not a quick read. I think it is meant to be sipped and not slogged.

The book is fiction. The inside cover states it is fact-based, but I still wondered what was fact and what was reality. So I tried to do some googling, but I didn't really find anything. Mental Floss had a little blurb about Dickens saving Christmas, but that post didn't give too many details. I wish the author would have written an appendix stating what was fact and what was fiction in her novel.

The real question about this book is, "does it bring in the Spirit of Christmas?" and the answer is, "sure." The book gives you warm fuzzies and would give you even more warm fuzzies if it were snowing outside and you cuddled up with this book next to the fireplace. It has the same effect as watching one of those hundreds of Hallmark movies that fill the channels this time of year. It leaves you with a good feeling.

So if you're looking for a quick holiday read this week, and you find this book laying around, pick it up and give it a read.

No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy

Like Where Eagles Dare, I ended up reading No Country for Old Men after watching the movie. I enjoy the Coen brothers' movies and as such decided to watch the movie. After watching and enjoying (if that is the right word) the movie, I found the Cormac McCarthy section at the local library and checked out the book.

The Summary

A hunter named Moss finds a stash of cash from a drug sale out in the middle of nowhere Texas. The drug sale apparently went bad as there are dead bodies all around. Moss finds one survivor who begs for agua. Moss goes home, hides the money and as unbelievable as it sounds, decides to go back to the place to give the dying Mexican his last wish. Moss becomes the hunted when a bounty hitman named Chigurh spots him. The rest of the book is how the Chigurh hunts down Moss.

The local sheriff Ed Tom Bell investigates the failed drug sale and subsequently the stolen cash. He tries to hunt down Chigurh and to help Moss, but as the title of the book suggests, this line of work is not suitable for old men. The old sheriff decides to call it quits before he too becomes a casuality.

Opinion

The movie remains pretty faithful to the book. The plot and the storytelling in the book and movie are deep. Ed Tom Bell's monologues really make you think about good and evil in the world. I couldn't help but put myself in the sheriff's shoes and ask myself what I would do.

Moss is an interesting character. I was really pulling for him in both the book and the movie. But the reality of evil has a firm grip in the story.

Chigurh is pure evil. I've never seen a more villinous character in all my readings of books and watchings of movies. He is cold, calculating and wholly evil.

McCarthy's writing is very different. He doesn't use quotations or punctuation. I liked his style. That is why I can't wait to read The Road.

This is one of those books that I may go back and read again at some point.

Where Eagles Dare by Alistair MacLean

What a great way to kick off this blog with a heart-pounding read!

The history behind me reading this book goes back to my high school days. In the dead of winter, Dad and I got home from playing basketball at the old church gym one evening. After showering and eating a delicious corned beef and hash with hashed browned potatoes dinner, I settled into our big brown couch to watch some TV. After some flipping of the channels, I landed on TBS. The movie started off with a the rumbling of WWII airplane above the Alps. The music was determined and bombastic. I was hooked.

The movie "Where Eagles Dare" with Tim Burton and Clint Eastwood is one of my all-time favorite. I enjoy watching it in the winter. Last year, after doing some googling, I found the soundtrack to the movie. Then a few months ago while visting Half-Priced books, I came across the book. I grabbed it and started reading. I got half way through the book and then life got a little busy. But I finally picked it back and up and finished it in a couple of days.

The Summary

A team of British Special Forces along with an American Ranger infiltrate the HQ of Nazi intelligence high above in the Alps. The purpose of their mission is to extract an American general. But we soon find out that the real reason for the mission is to reveal double-agents who have penetrated MI6.

Opinion

The book and movie stay pretty close to each other in the plot. The biggest thing I noticed was the lack of killing in the book. In fact, Major Smith goes out of his way several times to not kill a German. At one point he puts his own life in peril to rescue an unconcious German. In the movie, Smith and Schaffer mow down Germans left and right. They are killing machines.

In the book, Schaffer is much more light-hearted. He is a rancher from Montana and he has a cowboy quality about himself. Clint Eastwood plays a morbid and tough-guy in the movie. Schaffer and Heidi also develop a love interest in the book while the two don't even look at each on other in the movie.

Overall, I think I enjoy reading how MacLean describes things in the book. The action begs for more in the book, but the unraveling of the true plot is better spelled out in the book than in the movie. It took me a few times watching the movie to figure out what was really going on. But the book made it much clearer what Smith's intentions were.

If you like war books, this would be a good read. It was easy and light reading for the most part.

Oregon truckers don't want to waste time to properly dispose of their waste ... so they are bottling it and chucking it out the window. I don't know which is funnier, though, the fact that Oregon truckers are doing this or that the State of Oregon has a law that prohibits throwing human waste from a moving vehicle, which leads me to think this is not the first time this problem has occured. I doubt the link will remain active, so here is the story in full.

Interstate messes draw ire State police report bottles of urine littering highway
By JESSICA KELLER ARGUS OBSERVER Friday, August 8, 2008 10:32 AM PDT ONTARIO—
High gas prices may be influencing the Oregon State Police in an unanticipated way locally, as the department reports an increase in the number of bottles filled with urine scattered along Interstate 84.

OSP Sgt. Jason Reese said in the past month the department has received notice of a large quantity of urine-filled bottles sitting along the shoulder of the interstate between Ontario and Farewell Bend. Reese said the Oregon Department of Transportation litter crew has picked up between 200 and 300 urine-filled bottles in a 16-mile stretch.

“And just going up Three-Mile Hill, they collected 100 bottles,” he said.

The suspected culprits: truckdrivers who are driving slower because of rising gas prices and bypassing stops at rest areas or truck stops, thus drawing out a trip, by storing their urine in containers and then dumping them. 

Reese said he has spoken with truckdrivers over the CB radio and learned some drivers will collect their urine in a bottle while driving and then toss the capped containers out the window while driving on an upgrade because they are driving at slower speeds and the truckdrivers can maintain control of their semis.

“Which is pretty disgusting,” Reese said. It is against the law in Oregon to throw human waste from a moving vehicle, Reese said, and OSP is trying to find a way to inform truckdrivers who may do such things they could face a misdemeanor charge and a fine of $250 if caught.

Day 4

I'm encouraged by my weigh-in last night. I should be able to make a late-night run to the gym tonight.

5:00am - 3 capsules flaxseed oil with a glass of water

On my way in to work this morning, I had to fill up. I decided to buy some donuts for my team (Krispy Kreme). I need to drink a few cups of water before I indulge in a donut or two.

7:16am - 12oz water with walnut oil

8:25am - the donuts are calling me.

9:05am - two, deliciously chocolate glazed donuts ... so delightful!

11:44am - cup of lowfat vanilla yogurt, an apple, cup of walnuts

3:45pm - one more little donut.

Day 3

5:00am - 3 capsules of flaxseed oil, glass of water

8:40am - 1 serving of hot chocolate (100 cals)

11:30am - a bowl of fettuccini pasta, 1 can diet Coke lime

6:10pm - 3 homemade corndogs, 3 pickles, 2 bites of chocolate-banana bread, a cup of OJ

8:30pm - 15 minutes jogging/running on treadmill, 15 minutes on stairclimber

weigh-in: 203.1 (this is unofficial. I really only count official weigh-ins when I work out first thing in the morning and then weigh myself. With that said, this weigh-in was still very pleasing.)

Day 2

I didn't work out this morning ... kids were up because of thunderstorm and I didn't get much sleep. Not sure if I'll work out tonight.

8:55am - ~1 tbls walnut oil mixed with water

11:10am - Company-provided lunch at Red Hot n Blue. I had the Memphis BBQ sandwich with potato salad and a lemonade. I might be done eating for the day ... I'm stuffed.

6:15pm - 3 chocolate cupcakes, breaded chicken patty with salsa and a pickle.

7:15pm - 2 cups of mint cookie ice cream (it's finished ... no more ice cream)

10:00pm - 1 cup of yougut, totilla with peanut butter and jam and a swig of milk.

Didn't work out tonight ... needed to stay home with kids.

Tight Belt

Up at 3:30am; to the gym by 4am. The reason so early is because I work the early shift this week.

10 minute of jogging, 15 minutes on the stair-climber, 15 minutes on the stationary bike.

Weigh-in: 204.0 lbs.

7:50am - ~2 tablespoons of walnut oil with water

8:30am - 1 serving of hot chocolate (100 calories)

11:15am - 1 cup of lowfat yougurt, 1 apple, 1 cup of walnuts, 1 can diet lime Coke

6:15pm - 4 taquitos, sugar free soda, 1/2 cup low-fat ice cream (Dreyers mint cookie)

Goal: 180 lbs.

I'll provide updates each day. Each post will note what workouts I've done, what I've eaten and when I've taken walnut oil and/or sugar water.

Week 2, Day 2

5:50am: basketball (70 mins)

7:20am: weigh-in ... 195.3 lbs.

8:30am: sugar water, 4 cups of water

12:00pm: 1 gala apple, 1 Yoplait yogurt, 1 Nature Valley granola bar, a can of Pepsi.

2:30pm: leftover carrot/cream-cheese frosting birthday cake ... more water

6:00pm: 2 cups cabbage salad, a few mini hot-dogs

11:00pm: chips and salsa, cake

My wife hosted a baby shower last night. After it was over, I ate the leftover refreshments. The salsa wasn't that great, but the cake was pretty good.

Week 2, Day 1

WEEKEND REPORT
Friday Aug 3: No workout. Sugar water in the morning. Pretzels, mini-oreo cookies, apple, yogurt. No walnut oil in afternoon. Fajitas at Taco Cabana, ice cream cone at DQ.

Saturday Aug 4: Cereal (Life), basketball (90 mins). Swimming with kids (90 mins). Mowed lawn (2 hours) ... lots of water and Gatorade. Snacking all morning and afternoon. Leftover spinich pizza, tater tots, chicken nuggets. Started fast.

Sunday Aug 5: fasted (no breakfast or lunch). BBQ chicken, sweet potato, cake.

WEEK 2 - DAY 1

5:30am: 30 minutes treadmill, 30 minutes spin

6:45am: weigh-in ... 196.7 lbs.

8:30am: sugar water

11:30am: 1 gala apple, 1 cup Yoplait yogurt

4:00pm: 2 tbsp walnut oil mixed with water

5:10pm: two beef tacos (sour cream, tomatos, cheese), honey and butter on tortilla

8:00pm: cake and milk

Day 4

No basketball this morning ... had to get into work early (job transition, end of month stuff)

7:20am: 3 capsules flax seed oil

9:00am: sugar water ... sipping for 30 minutes

11:30am: BBQ (beef, sausage), cole slaw, cheesy potatoes, corn

No walnut oil again ... had to leave work in a hurry.

5:30pm: pretzels, pizza, broccoli, carrots, cherry tomatos, banana-peanutbutter-chocolate-chip bread, lots of water

Life continues to be busy and I missed taking walnut oil for the 2nd day in a row. The big lunch and dinner didn't help. I was really disappointed that I had to miss basketball this morning. This busy schedule will get better next week and the week after. Tomorrow ... I'll be more disciplined.

Day 3

No workout in the morning. Slept in.

9:50am: 3 capsules flaxseed oil, sugar water

12:00pm: 1 gala apple, 1 cup of Yoplait yogurt

1:15pm: 1 granola bar (still drinking plenty of water)

Did not take walnut oil ... busy day and didn't have time before leaving work.

6:00pm: tuna-grape-onion salad, breadsticks (4)

8:00pm: daddy-daughter date ice cream (Dairy Queen)

Not a bad day, but I could have done better. The afternoon just slipped away from me and I didn't take the time to ingest the walnut oil. I wasn't hungry throughout the afternoon. The evening ice cream is not going to be a habit. These last two days were just one-offs.

Day 2

5:30am: 3.36 miles (30 mins), water

8:00am: 3000 mg flaxseed (capsules)

10:30am: 1 tbsp sugar mixed with warm water, I've already drunken two glasses of water.

11:45am: 1 gala apple, 1 cup of Yoplait yogurt, glass of water

1:11pm: been chewing gum for an hour, really hungry ... ate 1 granola bar (180 cals)

3:40pm: hungry again, 2 tbsp walnut oil mixed with water

3:45pm: hunger seems to have immediately dissapated

6:00pm: turkey sandwich with mustard and ranch dressing, pickle, handful of Fritos, 2 slices of toast with peanut butter and honey, lemonade

9:00pm: McDonald's ice cream sundae with straberry topping

Overall, a pretty good day. I wanted to get some carbs in me for dinner because I would be running the next day. The ice cream ... my son and I went to play some softball and then ate ice cream afterwards.

Day 1

5:25 - 5:55am : treadmill, 3 miles

6:00 - 6:30am : stationary bike (spin)

6:40am: weigh-in; 200.0 lbs

8:00am: 3000 mg flaxseed oil (3 capsules)

9:00 - 9:30am: 1 tbsp sugar with hot water

11:30am: 1 gala apple, 1 Yoplait yogurt, LifeSaver candy (3)

2:00pm: been chewing gum for an hour or so, really hungry, weekly Monday headache setting in.

2:40pm: major headache, 2 Excedrin, 1 granola bar

4:00pm: headache subsides, 2 tbsp walnut oil with water

6:00pm: large salad (cucumbers, eggs, peppers, black beans, ranch, chicken), slice of bread

The Inches Have Crept Back

So we went on vacation the first couple of weeks of June. Before that, I went through some funky depression. The point is that I didn't exercise regularly for quite some time. I would exercise here and there, but nothing consistent. Add to that the fact that I also have not been taking any oil or sugar water which lead to more eating. Mix all that together and what do you have?

Fat, fat, fat!

I noticed it when I got back from vacation ... my pants were a bit tight. It was a sad reality.

Well ... no more I say! The line in the sand has been drawn and in the nick of time too. I had made a vow to myself when I crossed the 200 lbs. line last year that I would never go back accross. This morning, after a solid 30 minute run and 20 minute cycle, I weighed in and was a bit shocked to see the number read 198.5!

It was embarassing.

But I am committed to getting back on track with the help of the Shangri-la diet.

I'm back to taking 3 flax oil capsules in the morning.

I'm back to eating a light lunch ... apple, yogurt and some crackers.

I'm back to taking two tablespoons of walnut oil at 4:00pm.

I'm back to eating a big salad for dinner and then calling it quits for the night.

I'm back to regular exercise.

I'm back.