I'm going to share with you the kind of person that I really don't like. Some of you don't like story tellers or republicans or atheists.

Well I can't stand gym rats.

They're exemplar of neutered machismo. They're faggots without the balls to suck cock.

Let me explain myself. A little.

They haven't any reason to lift. They do it to look good, and in doing so, get caught up in their appearance. A guy who frets that much over his appearance isn't much of a man. The truly angering part is that somehow, in these meatwads' heads, lifting weights makes you more of a man. But it's the same as putting make-up on, with more sweating.

I don't mind guys who lift for a reason. Sports, a job, rough neighborhood. But the meaty types that lift just to lift? They don't even have to be all that meaty, they still piss me off.

After a few years lifting, you get a very tailored 'gym' look from moving 100's of pounds of iron a few feet. And it's not impressive in the least. They can't do much with that bulk but lift weights and flex.

It's the mentality that really gets me. The "let's get big and look pretty" sort of thing. I guess? And that makes you more masculine how? These are the types of guys who walk by a mirror and flex and pat themselves. What-the-fuck-ever.

I lift too. I go to gyms. Get pumped. But my reasons are entirely different.
Entirely.

For one, I have to be prepared for the end of the world. It'll be nice to have a little bulk and endurance for fighing off zombies or outlaw biker gangs. (If it's the Elder Ones, I'm fucked, no matter what I do.)

Bigger muscles let me dig deeper trenches, carry my bike farther, hit people longer, climb better and generally be more badass.

I lift for self-reliance. These guys lift for other people. Which makes them women. And they think they're more manly.

Fucking pussies.

Tell us what you really think, Roman. :)

I reread this and see I sound, in sentence structure, a bit like invert_nexus. At least. There aren't periods all over. Like. This.

And.

What I really think.

I forgot. I'll be back.

Isnt this human nature? everybody wants to be liked, respected or feared in some way, dont you think?

Alot of things people do can be explained as just "trying to impress people", from why you cut your hair, why you wear cologne, why you shower, why you buy nice clothing and even why you became what you became as far as a profession goes. Theres actually people who became lawyers just cause its good money and it impressed people.

Well I can't stand gym rats. I lift too. I go to gyms. Get pumped.

And the moral of the story is...

Pumping iron breeds contradiction?

I lift for self-reliance. These guys lift for other people. Which makes them women. And they think they're more manly.

I lift for self reliance and for other people (women, specifically). What's that make me?

I do it primarily because it's healthy, secondarily because it can be useful and thirdly because it helps my looks and thus improves my odds of getting laid.

I don't do it to be generally more badass, to be able to hit people longer or 'fight zombies', and whether this makes me less manly or not is irrelevant to me.

That said I can see why you'd dislike the particular kind of people who believe that weightlifting somehow makes them more 'badass'.

Weightlifting as a tool to improve one's ability to do other things. I gave a few tongue in cheek examples. Excuse me if you didn't quite catch my irony.

Lifting for cosmetic reasons is entirely different. It's make-up. It's misleading. Sure you have a nice physique, but what can you do with it? Curla few hundred pounds. Look pretty.

Guys who lift to look good are fops. It's a certain breed; not every lifter is a fop, nor is every non-lifter a non-fop. There's a very funny contradiction in the guy who bulks up in the gym and thinks he's so masculine, but checks himself out in every reflective surface he walks past.

And the useless muscles. They're almost as bad as fat. They don't do much. Fancy skin clothes.

And the moral of the story is...

Pumping iron breeds contradiction?

Nah, I don't blame the iron, or even in the lifting of it. It's the kind of person that lifts for no reason but to be pretty, then decalres they're more masculine than a man who's smaller than them.

so... concern for one's appearance is an exclusively feminine trait? huh. do you shave? or comb your hair? or wear clothes that you like the appearance of?

I think you are just a contemptuous jerk Roman. You assume you know their reasons but you don't even know your own. Your line about the end of the world is transparent whimsy, something you just came up with on the spot so you wouldn't have to lower yourself to their level. You're an elitist is all. You know you like to look better, to feel better, and to be able to impress people with what you can lift and they do too.

so... concern for one's appearance is an exclusively feminine trait? huh. do you shave? or comb your hair? or wear clothes that you like the appearance of?
Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the type of person I speak of. That's cool. I can respect that.

Do I look after my appearance? Yeah, I do, but only as much as I have to. Never comb my hair. Get it cut about once every 6 to 8 months, gets pretty mullet-y. Clothes. Eh. I learned pretty early that just wear what other people wear and you fit in alright. No need to make a statement about how 'unique' I am or some such attention scheme. But I go for what's comfortable, practical and cheap.

I haven't answered your question about caring about one's appearance being a feminine trait. Do you know the difference between a homosexual and a metrosexual? They both act gay (like a woman).

SpyMoose,
I think you are just a contemptuous jerk

I think I am, too.

You assume you know their reasons but you don't even know your own.

I do know their reasons. I talk to them. Do you?

Your line about the end of the world is transparent whimsy, something you just came up with on the spot so you wouldn't have to lower yourself to their level.

Maybe. I spend a lot of time in places where all I have is me to rely on. It's nice to know I have a little strength to back myself up. I'm not bullshitting you about shady alleys or the hoods or whatever, but out in the wilderness with grizzly bears or having to carry my bike for hours through willow thickets. Self confidence goes a long way when dealing with bruins and moose.

You're an elitist is all. You know you like to look better, to feel better, and to be able to impress people with what you can lift and they do too.

No, I don't like to impress people with what I can lift. I think it's gross. I like to impress people with what I can do, not how much I can sweat under fluouroscent glow and bricks.

I am an elitist. Bummer for you? Bummer for me?

i know the type of person you speak of. they are arrogant, certainly. but there is a distinction between the fastidious fashion sensibility of the metrosexual and the mindless machismo of a body-builder. (do i get +2 on my persuade check for having alliteration?)

Dr. Cello:

Nay! Only +1.

Roman:

I just found a great irony in your statements considering your screen name. You are lambasting hedonistic body builders for being as they are, yet your screen name, Roman, can be linked to the very same hedonism, as the Romans were obsesssed with physical appearance. Well-to-do men would spend their entire days at the baths working out, lounging in warm and cold baths, oiling up, playing sports, wrestling, et cetera, all to get an ideal body type.

Roman's actually my name.

Yeah, I see where you are coming from, Roman. High school. Back then, I couldn't understand those that were different from me either.

Roman:

The irony grows.

Roman's actually my name.

How is it pronounced?

I find it is a strange name, for the English language at least.
"Roman" works in some Slavic languages, German, some Latin languages. But it souns odd in English ...

Water:

If he comes from an English-speaking country, it is likely "Roh-man". Roh as in "row", "man" as in "the man on the street".

It's a fairly common Slavic name. I think it comes from my Polish great-great-uncle.

I have a question for you water. Where does the name come from in Slavic? Does it have a special meaning? Is it all related to the Roman empire?

It's a fairly common Slavic name. I think it comes from my Polish great-great-uncle.

I have a question for you water. Where does the name come from in Slavic? Does it have a special meaning? Is it all related to the Roman empire?

Off the top of my head, I don't know the etymology of the name "Roman" -- but I'll be in the library tomorrow, and I'll check it just for you!

But I can say that it makes no associations with the Roman empire.
A citizen of Rome is called a "Rimljan" or something similar, and "Rome" is "Rim". The name "Roman" doesn't seem to be related to "Rome" in the Slavic languages.
I'll check some etymological and onymic dictionaries and let you know.

roman it looks like you fear something if they are everything you say then why waste your time writing an epic like that i mean no dissrespect but people are all different dont let others flair your temper learn the tao it explains all.


i lift wieghts but dont obsess most of my training consists of tai chi and shaolin body conditioning im a personal trainer and tai chi instructor dont hate on the people who seek attention you play there cards.

Chi,
At least my epic has periods. You should try to use more punctuation, you know? Writing needs to flow like chi, not shit.

Anyways, as I explicitly stated multiple times, this is Roman being angry about something that really gets on his nerves. Nothing more, nothing less.

Ooh, and you know what really gets me? People who buy into Asian religions. How trendy can you get? Tai chi is like the geekiest thing ever. It's even worse than D&D.

Romarks:


And the useless muscles. They're almost as bad as fat. They don't do much. Fancy skin clothes.



Bigger muscles let me dig deeper trenches, carry my bike farther, hit people longer, climb better and generally be more badass.

____________________________________

I reread this and see I sound, in sentence structure, a bit like invert_nexus. At least. There aren't periods all over.


I lift for self-reliance. These guys lift for other people. Which makes them women. And they think they're more manly.

I lift too. I go to gyms. Get pumped. But my reasons are entirely different.
Entirely.

Roman,


I checked the dictionaries -- the name "Roman" does come from Late Latin "Romanus" ('of Rome'), which is a personal name derived from " Roma", 'Rome'.

I like the Portuguese form best though -- "Romao", with a ~ on the a (can't type this here).

Thanks for digging that up water. I appreciate it.

Romão?
Would that sound like row may oh?

It seemed so obvious that Roman was of Latin origin that it couldn't be. You know, I once had a kid accuse me of killing Jesus. Second grader to second grader, that was something werid.

Romão,


How did you do that, that ã? I can't do this on my keyboard, I had to copypaste!

ãããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããããã ããããã

I think it is pronounced more like roo-mah-o, we'll have to ask TruthSeeker.

on a windows XP computer, anyway: start-programs-accessories-system tools-character map. in the bottom right corner it contains directions for keystroke. in the case of the ã, it is alt+0227. these numbers should be entered on the numpad. and apparently in internet explorer this command does not work, so you may need to enter it in notepad or just use the text field in the character map programme.

On my mac, I push option+n, which gives the tilde. Then the next letter I type gets stuck under it. We call a ~, by the way. Or at least, us Alaskans do in Spanish class.

And thank you again for looking up the origin of my name.

ah, it appears that in IE i had numlock toggled off. be sure it's on and all will be well.

yes, it is called a tilde.

buy into asian religions? dont you mean born into? do you think i am western? and i dont care to waste time punctuating my paragraphs i personally dont care for my grammer on an internet site aslong as my point has gotten across and i dont care to pointlessly argue either

I do know that that wave is a tilde.
But my keyboard is set differently, as alt+0227 gives ă .
:(

EDIT:

Dr. Cello -- did that with the character map. Chose an a with a ~ ontop -- and got ă!!

look in the character map. it's got a lot of characters you can play with.

and i dont know what D&D is so fill me in please

another thing i ment no dissrespect so dont take it as me critisizing you just speaking my mind like you were

another thing i ment no dissrespect so dont take it as me critisizing you just speaking my mind like you were

Dear Empty Force of Chi,
Don't be an empty force, okay?



P.S.
"Disrespect" is with one s. "Dissrespect" might actually be understood as respect for dissing. Now here's a thought ...

Roman is right, kind of..

Because 'pumping iron' truly is a contradictory trait in the modern man. When someone is puffed and an all around burly bastard, I tend to assume that his 'exterior' is in a direct correlation with his life.

A construction worker or a bouncer usually possesses muscles above average. But to have all that extra weight and not put it to constructive use is a waste of resources.
During the war they gave more food stamps to people who worked in jobs that took a toll on the body, but at least the people had a proper excuse for wasting energy.

You think a lion digs running around wasting energy for no rational reason? Me neither, It's a dumb fucking lion if that's what it's into. It lives a life which molds - as it should.


If ones life does not offer enough servitude to stay healthy, something is wrong.
To see a guy drive to a gym just to waste energy which could be used to build a goddamn house is wrong.

It's just stupid.

And sports offer entertainment, hence the participants are not total wastes.

I bike or walk many km's per day, I have to, I like to. Fuck the excessive torso in the SUV.

How efficient are those big pumped up muscles?
What can these men do?

Alright, some work hard, are construction workers, or engage in sports that demand a lot of physical strength. But we're not talking about these men.

We're talking about those prancing around in gyms.
Anyone who is genuinely into some outdoor sport, esp. like trekking or alpinism, knows that those prancers are usually slow and don't have much stamina.

well im a personal trainer and martial arts instructor would alot of you people say my time in the gym is pointless or is one of you going to critisize that one of you probably will pick at it?

well im a personal trainer and martial arts instructor would alot of you people say my time in the gym is pointless or is one of you going to critisize that one of you probably will pick at it?

What is your problem?
You don't strike me as a good taoist. (!)

Oh man, it's pretty sweet to have water an perfect agree with me!

I have a warm little fuzzy feeling inside!

To see a guy drive to a gym just to waste energy which could be used to build a goddamn house is wrong.
Yeah, that's one of the uglier things out there. I'm right with you on biking. Back in Alaska, I biked eveywhere, even when it was -20°F or snowing heaps or icy slick. And I liked it. Something like 100 mile weeks, pretty much all commuter miles. On campus though, I never have to walk for more than 20 minutes.
What I really like about European cities, and Europe in general, is the de-emphasis on cars. It's great to see everyone biking around.

How efficient are those big pumped up muscles?
What can these men do?
They're pretty efficient at lifting heavy things.
These men can lift heavy things and look big. They also make decent fighters, bodyguards, bouncers, etc. Most people aren't well trained enough in any sort of martial art that the sheer bulk of these big guys can really smash someone up. If they're trained fighters, though, well, that's something else entirely. They're profession probably centers around being big and pushing people around. Which I can respect, because all that bulk has purpose.

It's the guys who get big and pretend they have any sort of prowess beyond that of lifting weights that really gets me. Such narcissism.

i do actually agree with you roman going to the gym just to look good is pointless, it dosent make me mad or annoyed though, but i do laugh at people who do this its pathetic, but atleast they are keeping in shape even if its for the wrong reason,
its better than people who let there pathetic bodies get weaker and weaker over the years because they havent kept it in shape, and plus! gym rats give me money for there shallowness so i actually profit from these fools


Ps yes i agree im not the greatest taoist and i contradict myself also i dont always practise what i preach but i am only human cut me some slack please

most of these "gym rats" who just pointlessly pump iron to look good know nothing of the art of fighting, let me tell you that from real experience of teaching some or "trying to teach" they are basicly big punching bags with slow reactions and not much stamina.

What is your problem?
Nothing.

I'm a fop but I'd sure like to fight zombies.

I work out at home i do eat alot, drink protien shakes and take pro-hormone/steriod substances.
However i do not do it to look good, i do it so i am strong and healthy and dont look like a stick man.

And once you have put on a number of pounds in weight you do have to keep going with some sort of exercise and diet to maintain it.

Live in the world of the shnizzle sh*tty fizzle.

but atleast they are keeping in shape even if its for the wrong reason,

i dont see how it can be a wrong reason.

to impress other is a wrong reason

to impress other is a wrong reason

why?

well simply first of all wrong and right are opinions and my opinion is that it is wrong to workout just for someone else because that is very shallow, just to impress others maybe if its for your wife because you care for her to see you as attractive, but just for other random people in the gym? that is very shallow and shallowness is wrong in my books,

i workout because thats what my life usually revovles around. plus i actually enjoy it physical aswell as mental challenges is what my life basicaly is, among other things.

I think in some cases you can suffer from a REVERSE anorexia, you know anorexics look in the mirror and think they look horrible and fat but are actually bony they have low self esteem and no ego.
Well you could have the opposite where you look in the mirror and think you look thin and constantly need to get bigger and have a big ego and too much self esteem.

Doing something simply for other people usually isn't good. You become too dependent on others and become weak. That's popular sentiment, anyway.

Doing something for other people to make yourself happy is good. For instance, if you want to get laid, usually there are some things you ought to do, such as shower or brush your teeth, for the other person.

i agree roman but i do all of those things "such as shower or brush your teeth" anyway without wanting to get laid, plus im married anyways so thats not an issue but besides the point i kinda agree with you but, for people just wanting to look good to random other people including guys is wrong in my opinion.