Breathe.

Of course. I breathe all the time.

Breathing can transform your life.

Wrong. It’s not breathing that will transform your life.
Sorry, I’ll cut the crap. Leo Babauta at Zen Habits has written a great post on breathing. I recommend you read it in full. But first, breathe.

f you feel stressed out and overwhelmed, breathe. It will calm you and release the tensions.

If you are worried about something coming up, or caught up in something that already happened, breathe. It will bring you back to the present.

If you are discouraged and have forgotten your purpose in life, breathe. It will remind you about how precious life is, and that each breath in this life is a gift you need to appreciate. Make the most of this gift.

If you have too many tasks to do, or are scattered during your workday, breathe. It will help bring you into focus, to concentrate on the most important task you need to be focusing on right now.

If you are spending time with someone you love, breathe. It will allow you to be present with that person, rather than thinking about work or other things you need to do.

If you are exercising, breathe. It will help you enjoy the exercise, and therefore stick with it for longer.

If you are moving too fast, breathe. It will remind you to slow down, and enjoy life more.

So breathe. And enjoy each moment of this life. They’re too fleeting and few to waste.

Text by Zen Habits
Photo by LunaDiRimmel

Lawyers say ‘Down Under’ is a rip-off of the children’s classic ‘Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree’ which was written in 1934 by Melbourne music teacher, Marion Sinclair, for a Girl Guides competition.

Ok, now go read something else while I weap a pint of bitter, not-so-manly tears.

via 3 News > Entertainment > Story > Men at Work accused of plagiarism over ‘Down Under’ .

On June 24, 1374, the party got out of hand in Aachen, Germany. What started out as a mildly enthusiastic celebration on St. John’s Day exploded into a runaway dancing frenzy. Really — an out-of-control dancing frenzy. Nearly the entire population of Aachen was gripped by fits of frantic, uncontrolled dancing accompanied by screaming and hallucinations. The victims of this disease leapt, shouted, twitched and danced until they were literally too weak to stand.

And it didn’t stop in Aachen. It spread. Thousands of people across Europe were “infected” by this choreomania dancing madness. It became an epidemic.  [...] Once the outbreak got calmed in one area, it popped up in another. This went on for centuries. [...]

So what has this got to do with manliness? Well, first off, a manly man ain’t afraid to dance — especially if dancing is something his sweetheart enjoys. But a manly man won’t ordinarily let himself get frenzied about it — even in a case of demon possession. After all, he’s got his dignity to think about. Sometimes a man’s just got to put his foot down and keep it in one place for awhile.

via The Edmond Sun – Manly men aren’t afraid to dance, as long as it’s dignified.

But the article got me thinking. Who, besides me, will motivate my sons to learn a manual skill in this digital age? Probably none. And even though I have learned and practiced a lot of manual skills in the past, I must admit that most of my work is now on computers. How are my sons going to appreciate craftmanship if they never see me build a shelf? Or learn the pleasure of fixing things?

Thanks for the tip, Brett. And thanks for explaining the silence of men in this great way:

The satisfactions of manifesting oneself concretely in the world through manual competence have been known to make a man quiet and easy. They seem to relieve him of the felt need to offer chattering interpretations of himself to vindicate his worth. He can simply point: the building stands, the car now runs, the lights are on. Boasting is what a boy does, who has no real effect in the world. But craftsmanship must reckon with the infallible judgment of reality, where one’s failures or shortcomings cannot be interpreted away.

via 30 Days to a Better Man Day 23: Learn a Manual Skill | The Art of Manliness.

photo by Let Ideas Compete.

Say a male is presented with a challenge of losing a job. A boy will lose his temper, let testosterone take control and go into a frenzied rampage of hate. A boy will not go out looking for a job, he will mope about and waste away. A man however has initiative. After his downfall he gets right back on the horse and keeps looking for a new job, not letting the failure of his last job influence him in any way.

via Becoming a Man.

I’m convinced IKON is destined to become a new classic because it’s so easy to wear (even as a woman, I’m enjoying sampling it…although it is a bit “guy’s skin – piney” for me).  I love that the lemon note mingles with the sensual davana flower and lasts very well, and how as the scent wears on, the scent stays fresh and dry.  The final dry down stage reveals some warm incense notes, giving it a touch of Oriental seductive flair without going the heavy, headshop way.  This is the perfect all-occasion, all season scent, the “little black dress (kilt?)” of Men’s fragrances.  It can be casual or professional, and smells mild, clean, sexy and delicious.  I want to get this one for my guy, too!

via Featured Review: Zirh IKON (2008).

Clark has received two Botox injections, but doesn’t suffer from peer-related anxieties. This may be because he is very tall and built like Conan the Barbarian; it is difficult to imagine a sane redneck questioning his masculinity.

“I spend a lot of time in the gym, eating well, taking supplements” he said. “The most I ever did was slap some sunscreen on. But I see a real difference already. If I can prevent wrinkles later, with Botox now, it makes perfect sense. It’s that stigma handed down from generations of our fathers, that you don’t cry, you don’t get pedicures. Things have changed.” Clark raised his eyebrows. There were no wrinkles.

I had always thought of myself as one of those men who would go through life without having Botox injected into his forehead. On Thursday I became one of those men who has Botox injected into his forehead.

[...]

Recently, David Hasselhoff admitted, joyously, to receiving Botox injections.

He accused Clint Eastwood of doing the same. Simon Cowell, the American Idol judge, seemed shocked two years ago when a reporter asked him if he’d enjoyed some non-surgical enhancements.

“I’ve had Botox, but not in an obsessive way,” Cowell said. “Then again, every guy I know who works in the city has had it now.” Even Clint.

via Never say never to a Botox injection .

Marcus is only seventeen, but he figures he already knows how the state system works and how to work the system for himself. Attuned to the networked world, Marcus has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive surveillance systems as well as other state surveillance apparatus.

However, Marcus’s whole world changed when he finds he and his friends caught up in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew were arrested and whisked away to a secret prison where there were interrogated as terror suspects.

When he was finally released, Marcus discovers his city had became a police state where citizens are all treated like potential terrorists. That is the point where Marcus decided to take on the government. Thus the quest began where the geeks are the one who save the world, not the macho men.

via Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother « A L V I N O L O G Y.

If you have not witnessed the TimberSports series, I urge you to watch it.  You have great athletes(?) competing in events such as who can cut three slices off a log with a chainsaw the fastest.  This would be like the 100 meter dash, if we were watching track and field.  Now I respect the manliness of a chainsaw.  It’s only natural to want a powerful machine with a spinning chain of razor sharp blades between your legs.  But, I usually have to buy DVDs of that at the Erotic Boutique near my [Ed. note: parents'] mansion.

via I’ve Got Some Major Wood | Bleacher Report.