Monthly Archives: April 2012

Resurrection Theater: “Talking With” notes and comments

Posted on April 13, 2012 by scharles

What we have in “Talking With” is a study in existentialist drama. Which is not to say absurdity, or angst. It’s more like “existentialist quirk”. Because the characters are caught in the middle of their story, and alone, they become eccentric. Well they actually are eccentric to start with, but more so because they are completely out of context. Continue reading →

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Crossfit: conversations with better athletes

Posted on April 12, 2012 by scharles

This week the CFES foundations class had 2 WODs that involve running, and I happened to be at both of them.  The one from the other day involved 2 rounds of 200m-400m-600m runs, then a 6 round tabata of  burpees, pullups, dumbbell clean … Continue reading →

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Mad Men: notes and comments

Posted on April 12, 2012 by scharles

Mad Men season 5 premiered last month.  I don’t have super-duper cable so I don’t get AMC.  I watched all 4 previous seasons via NetFlix.  I’m always a bit behind on popular culture because I don’t want to pay the … Continue reading →

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Crossfit: more fear and loathing (well, jealously anyway)

Posted on April 12, 2012 by scharles

So today we had 10 1 minute 200m sprints with max double-unders for the remaining time.  It takes me about 45  seconds to run 200m, so I had precious little time to get to the rope.  My best effort was 3, and … Continue reading →

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Belen Fernandez: Coffee with Hezbollah; comments and notes

Posted on April 11, 2012 by scharles

The Middle-East is a strange place.  That’s the conclusion I came to after reading Belen Fernandez’s recent book “Coffee with Hezbollah.”  If I had to sum up the book in a few words, I’d say it’s a combination of “Fear … Continue reading →

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Crossfit: mental discipline revisited

Posted on April 9, 2012 by scharles

Crossfit requires a huge amount of mental discipline. The whole concept of crossfit is based on intensity; it’s painful, so it takes a bit of work just to give oneself permission to endure it. For me there is also quite a bit of emotional energy, various attachments to ego, self-worth, self-perception. Continue reading →

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Crossfit: the nature of exuastion

Posted on April 7, 2012 by scharles

Lately I started to think about “mean time between failure” (MTBF), which really just means not allowing myself so much rest time. After all the rest time is reducing the intensity, and I don’t want to lose too much of that opportunity. Yesterday I decided I needed another formalism, an “exhaustion ratio”. Continue reading →

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Crossfit: motivation, fatigue, coachability

Posted on April 6, 2012 by scharles

The other day I was working on hang power cleans, trying to do 10 at 95# without putting the bar down.  I’ve been at CFES for about 15 months, but I hadn’t really internalized very much about the Olympic lifting techniques. After … Continue reading →

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Jeff Webster

Posted on April 6, 2012 by scharles

I love theater… everything about it. I’ve been acting in the Sacramento area for several years. When I’m not on stage, I’m often sitting in the audience. I have appeared in dozens of Sacramento area theater productions and recently started … Continue reading →

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Crossfit: if you’re not on the edge of fitness you cannot improve

Posted on April 5, 2012 by scharles

I confess I am afraid of failure. Or I used to be. Now I’m on somewhat more friendly terms with failure. Or more accurately stated, I’m learning how failure can be accomplished in a controlled environment. Continue reading →

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