Body Shaming

It seems that for as long as there have been people, there has been body shaming. This is what it's called when people react publicly with negative comments about another person's appearance in relation to their weight.

There are many variations in the precise insults, but the majority are aimed at women. The traditional targets have usually been people who somebody has perceived as being too large. In the internet age it is all too easy to make such comments with anonymity and with lightning speed, and to a massive audience.

A bright spot has been a growing movement towards acceptance of being larger than some warped ideal, both by society and by the victims of such shaming.

I like the lyrics to the Meghan Trainor song that go;

     Because you know I'm all about that bass
     Bout that bass, no treble
     I'm all about that bass
     Bout that bass, no treble
     I'm all about that bass
     Bout that bass, no treble
     I'm all about that bass
     Bout that bass...bass...bass...bass

     Yeah, it's pretty clear, I ain't no size two
     But I can shake it, shake it, like I'm supposed to do
     Cause I got that boom boom that all the boys chase
     And all the right junk in all the right places

And so, people being people, there have recently been a growing number of attacks on public figures for being smaller than what many are starting to call, "real women." Let me give a few examples.

Recently, a young, female body builder posted a picture online of her washboard stomach. She must have worked very hard to create it, and must have been proud. She received back a great deal of hate for being some kind of monster; not a "real woman."

On a bigger stage, the woman who played the main character in the new Star Wars movie has come under attack. In that film, Daisy Ridley plays the part of Rey. She is supposed to be a young scavenger from a barren, desert world. As a result, she is physically wirey, and self-educated. The actress's body is very slender, but has the ability to perform the demanding physical tasks required by the part.

Ridley is 5'7" tall. How much to you think that she should weight to play an undernourished desert scavenger who can run like somebody in a marathon? She is 119 pounds. Slender? Yes, very, but that's who she's playing.

It seems that according to the new version of body-shaming, she isn't a "real woman."

Let's see. The rule of thumb calculation system on livestrong.org (I hate BMI stuff), says for ideal weight (best for longevity) for women is 100 pounds for their first 5 feet of height, and then 5 more pounds are added for every inch above that. With a larger frame (which Ridley doesn't have), ten percent gets added, or if muscular (not Daisy). With a slight frame, ten percent gets deducted (Daisy is very slight). That all says her best weight would be 121.5 pounds. OH MY GOD. She's 2.5 pounds less than her healthiest weight.

The biggest action-hero star since Hans Solo erupted onto the screen 39 years ago is a woman, and her detractors say she's not a "real woman."

Of course, this is not the average weight of an American woman. The CDC reports that the average American women above the age of 20 is 5' 3.8" tall, and weighs 166.2 pounds. The entire point of a Star Wars hero is that they are not average. They are archetypes. She is a scavenger waif, and shouldn't look like she just had a nice lunch.

The cool thing about both of these thin-shaming examples is that the "victims" refused to put up with it. They both blasted right back.

It is my own opinion that every woman out there is a "real woman." How could they not be? In just the same way, every man out there is also a "real man." If some guy flounces around flamboyantly, he's still a man. How about a tough guy like John Wayne? He did have a mincy walk, but he was also a man. A fat man is still a man. A thin man is still a man. How about a fat woman; she's real? What about a skinny woman; she's real?

So enough already.

World Boat

Helen and I are having a lotta-cruise period right now.

Looking back a year, we did a 10-day Alaska cruise, and a week in the Mediterranean. Looking ahead a year sees us onboard in Alaska again for two weeks, and another week in Hawaii.

That's 17 days out of the past year, and 21 in the coming one.

We have actually toyed with the idea of a voyage around the world, but somehow they are just not right.

Take the Holland America round-the-world cruise that sails at the start of 2017. It is a voyage of 111 days. You might think that the problem is that it's too long, but that isn't it at all. It isn't long enough.

The first few days illustrate what I mean. The ships sails from Fort Lauderdale, crosses the Caribbean, and heads through the Panama Canal. How wonderful is the Caribbean, and how many stops should they do?

There is exactly one stop, and that one is Cartegna, Columbia. They spend 4 days at see, and only one in port.

Once through the canal, they do a nice job of Central America, visiting three countries with only one day at sea. After that they turn north, visiting exactly one city in Mexico, and one stop in the USA at San Diego before heading across the Pacific.

Let's fix this entire part of the voyage. Add in stops in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, and one more west-coast Mexican port. My personal taste would be to add more, but am trying to keep things light. Even so I've turned their 111-day voyage into one lasting 114 days.

They also rush Hawaii, And Japan, but I haven't bothered to figure out by how much. Let's just add two more stops to each; and now the total cruise length is 118 days.

In the Mediterranean, their priority seem to be setting a hurried pace. They do one very cool thing, in that they head a bit off the straight route, hitting one Greek island and heading to Istanbul, Turkey. Well done. Then they head west until they hit Gibraltar.

If you were designing that leg of the voyage, wouldn't you hit another Greek Isle, have at least one stop in Italy, perhaps see Malta, have a day on the French Riviera, and a couple of days in Spain. That would be 6 shore days at a minimum. They actually do a Greek isle, Malta, and two Spanish stops, or 4 shore days. Let's beef up our make-believe voyage to a new total of 120.

I think you get my point. Investing 111 days and quite a few tens of thousands of dollars on a World cruise would not prove worthwhile if you end up feeling short-changed.

As a result, this trip just isn't for us. Of course, there are other world cruises, but all I've investigated so far fall short of my fantasy trip.

Perhaps someday the perfect trip-around-the-world will surface, and we shall go.

Always fun to dream.

iPad Pro

While visiting Mesa Arizona recently, I spent a bit of time in Apple stores drooling over the iPad Pro. Instead of a 7.9" screen like the iPad Mini, or the 9.7" screen of a full-size iPad, the Pro sports one of 12.9". That gives it exactly twice the screen area of a normal iPad.

I was so enraptured that Helen bought me one for my birthday as soon as we got home.

So what makes it different? I am currently using it to write this review.

First off, the on-screen keyboard of the absolutely huge iPad Pro is marvellous. All the keys are present all the time, just like a real keyboard. If you use a normal iPad, you'll know what I mean. Suppose you are Canadian, and want to do something as simple as a postal code. On smaller iPads, and your code is V2P7M4, you have to do the following;
Shift v switchtonumberskey  2 switchtoletterskey shift p switchtonumberskey 7 switchtoletterskey shift m switchtonumberskey 4
On the big iPad Pro there is no switching of the screen from letters to numbers, and there is a shift lock key. You go;
CapsLock v 2 p 7 m 4
Instead of 14 strikes, there are only 7, and none of the mental jarring of having your keyboard vanish and reappear repeatedly.

Then only drawback is that every on-screen keyboard has; of no physical feel. For most people this isn't an issue, as they are visual typers. For a true typist, it has an amateur effect. That is why I will be adding a physical keyboard as soon as possible.

Apple makes one, but for the same price Logitech produces one that is both superior, and totally protects the entire iPad Pro. It also comes in snazzy colours compared to the dull slate grey of Apple's version. I want a silver keyboard married to a red case; very snazzy.

An even more critical accessory is something that Apple has named a "Pencil", but most would call a stylus. Paired with the iPad Pro, or with an iPad Pro Mini, it is magical. It is an incredibly precise drawing and painting tool. It is meant for serious artists and graphical designers. I bought one, and am deeply enfatuated, and trying to master the ins-and-outs of Adobe Sketch, and several other similar apps.

Ok, so it is a dandy machine for serious writers or artists, but what else can it do.

Ever watch a movie on a device. The Pro's screen is precisely twice the are of a normal, full-sized iPad. Films look super on it, but that isn't all. Normal pads have tiny, weak speakers, and so movie viewing pretty much demands the use of headphones. The Pro can be used that way, but also has four speakers that can really boom out sound.

The sound system being built-in means that it is a fine music machine that does not require external speakers.

There is also a feature on the operating system that was introduced for this machine and is a strong addition. Two apps can be up on screen and operating side-by-side. Earlier today, I was watching online tutorials for Adobe Sketch, while actually drawing on the other half of the screen. This feature is also possible with smaller iPads, but it shines on the big screen.

The downsides. Two spring to mind. While being big is great, it is also a disadvantage. As an at-home device, or an artists' tool it is superb. For carrying around it is not. The other downside is the cost. An iPad Mini with the same memory costs $659, a full-sized iPad is $999, while the big boy is a hefty $1249. There is also a version with twice the memory at $1499.

When buying devices, I usually spring for the largest amount of memory available, but baulked at the price tag and scaled back. There is also a low-memory model available for a mere $1049, but in the two days I've had mine I've already exceeded memory limitations of the cheaper model. I consider that version a non-option.

Putting together the price and large physical size inspires a desire to protect the device in a significant way. As I already mentioned, I will be wrapping mine up in a keyboard case. This increases the overall price, as well as the net size and weight. In comparison, my iPad Mini rides in my pocket with no case or cover of any kind.

The 12.9" iPad Pro is not a device meant for everybody. The true audience consists of people wishing to draw, and for that it is smashing.

Goals

It seems I do better with goals in my Jiu-Jitsu training.

Didn't know what that could be after I returned from the south. There were regular classes, and stuff such as helping people during open mat. Nothing really big enough to be considered a project.

Then Tawha asked me if I would help her prepare for her BBS1 exam. That's a different kettle of fish, and I readily agreed. I've been involved with that for four different people, besides myself. Here was something to use as a goal.

Such a thing takes a minimum of ten solid hours of work on the mat outside of classtime, give or take five or ten hours. We met on Sunday morning, and got going with a two-hour session. We made it through 1/7 of the material, and not in any sort of polished form, but it was a healthy start.

The hard part will be finding the time. I have lots, but Tawha has both family, and work, to consider.

Then I chatted a bit online with Koko. She is away right now at University finishing off the winter semester. Turns out, she'll be home soon for about three weeks before returning to school for the summer. During her time here, we will get together like we did around Christmas. Back then she was doing her own BBS1 work, and I wanted to polish up some of higher, fancy techniques. We did both. This time she doesn't need BBS1, so it will all be the good stuff.

So that's going to be my goal for the short term; to help Tawha with her test prep' and execution, and to work on advanced material with Koko.

Then I'll be ready for something else. Rob wants to get going on the test, and I think Tobias does, too. Perhaps I'll help with that.

Cosme wants to get going on the higher, BBS2 exam, so maybe that is a possibility. It will be significantly more difficult. Around here only our instructor has done that one so far. If Cosme does start working on BBS2, of course I will help, and it will be a splendid time for me to do that one for myself as well.

Putting it all together, I might just be set until well into the summer.

And then something else will turn up.

Jesse and Scott

Just this I got to see two perfect examples of Jiu-Jitsu in action.

By this, I do not mean that I saw high-ranked students defeating one another, or some kind of street fighting.

What I saw was safe, and controlled, but clear as day.

The first involved two of our White Belts warming up by rolling around for a few minutes. Jesse has been attending classes for a good long while, and is easily the most skilled student we have at that level. Even more than skill, he is quite comfortable with the whole idea of Jiu-Jitsu. The other is a considerably larger and stronger guy, who has also been training for a fair chunk of time. He is close to the other guy in skill, but nowhere near as comfortable.

They started to free-roll, which White Belts don't normally do. The bigger guy went a bit crazy and was doing everything he could think of to control and dominate his partner. Jesse went onto the defensive, just like he is supposed to do in that type of situation.

For a while, it looked like size and strength would prevail, but every time the bigger guy started to achieve a superior position, Jesse would scramble just enough to wrap him up again in the guard. This happened over and over. Jesse never freaked out, and this in turn made his partner try even harder.

About 60 seconds in, it was clear who was going to eventually “win”. The big guy was turning a shocking shade of red due to the intense effort he was putting in. Conversely, Jesse remained as fresh as a daisy.

By the two-minute mark, the big guy was starting to flail, and could no longer control the situation. He was ripe for a submission, that he was too exhausted to prevent.

The only thing that “saved him” was the call for class to begin. They both got up smiling, and shook hands, but one of seemed to have a little trouble walking over to the lineup for the start of training. He could barely stand.

This is exactly what Jiu-Jitsu is about; becoming skilled enough and confident enough to be comfortable in a very, very uncomfortable situation. The plan is let an attacker largely defeat themself.

The other example was much faster.

One of our instructors, Scott, has invited a few people to come and roll in a sort of wager. If they want to roll with him, they get a free month of training. For every minute they last, they get an extra month. There is an upper limit, but I don't recall what that is.

So anyhow, in comes this guy, who has actually done a bit of Jiu-Jitsu training. There is a rule about the challenge being grappling only (no hitting), and staying on the ground (no dangerous take downs).

Scott didn't want to embarrass the guy, so didn't make a production out of it. Only a few of us knew what was going on.

Anyhow, they started on their knees.

The guy grabbed Scott, who wrapped him up in his guard. One hand latched onto the guy's collar, then the other... squeeze... tap. The whole thing lasted just under 16 seconds.

After the surrender, they rolled on for a bit more just for enjoyment.

The guy got his automatic free month of training.

Extra Credit

Jiu-Jitsu promotions can be tricky to finish in the minimum 8-month period. Often people come up short on their attendance requirements.

The problem lies in the Master Cycle class requirements, and there are only limited methods to make them up.

On rare occasions, our instructor holds extra classes to work on the most recently released curriculum. These count, but they happen very rarely.

It is also possible to arrange for private lessons. These are by far the best way to learn Jiu-Jitsu, and this is reflected in how they are counted attendance-wise. They count as two classes each. The only downside is the cost involved.

Sometimes, a Gracie seminar happens somewhere within drivable distance. In a typical seminar day, there will be 4 sessions, and each count as a class for attendance purpose. Seminars, however, are incredibly rare.

Sometimes students work incredibly hard on their own time preparing for optional curriculum exams. Completing all the training, and the actual taping, can easily consume ten hours of very intense effort. It would be nice if that work counted for something on the tally, but it doesn't.

Take my next belt-stripe promotion as an example. Instead of taking 8 months it will take 12. This is due to a number of missed classes due to planned holidays for my wife and I. If there are any opportunities to catch up, I will take them. Seminar? I'll be there. Extra, new-curriculum classes? I'll be there. Might just shave those long 12 months down to 11.

Back

I received my Purple Belt on February 26.

After that, Helen and I spent the month of March in Mesa, Arizona. It was a time of sun, and of swimming pools. Last year before I attended a few classes at the Scottsdale and Phoenix Gracie schools. The Phoenix group had a Black Belt instructor, and he taught a lot of stuff that was new to me and very, very interesting.

This year, I dropped in at Phoenix again. Things have changed a bit. The staff is the same, but they have finally gotten around to fully following the Gracie Master Cycle curriculum. At the class I attended, they were doing a lesson I've done many, many times already. No more fancy-and-new material for me. It was still fun, but the drive was an hour getting there, and an hour getting back. I didn't return.

It was back on the old home mat starting April 5. In the previous 38 days I had only trained that one time.

There were two disconnects happening at once. I was both a brand, new Purple Belt, and a guy who hadn't trained in over a month.

It was all good, but as regular classes were starting to wind down on my first week back I was beginning to wonder about a focus for my personal training. Before any conclusions were reached, Tawha got in touch with me. She is one of our Blue Belts, and about to reach the rank of 3 stripes. She has decided to work on doing the first big, nasty curriculum exam. I am probably the best person we've got, other than our absent instructor Shawn, to assist with this. She asked if I would help her prepare.

This will also be splendid training for me, and a dandy focus. If we put in lots of extra hours, the process should take about 3 weeks.

Then, just as I was feeling all happy and settled with this, I got into a message conversation with a friend who is currently off at University. She will be back home in about ten day, and then be here for about three weeks until she heads back to school. We agreed to put in some training together during that time.

We were regular partners for maybe a month earlier in the year. She was working on her own curriculum exam, and also worked on the fancy-pants stuff at the BBS3 level.

Another chance for more of the tricksy, high-level material.

Two partners, and I'm all set for maybe a month. By then, other opportunities will have arisen. For example, both Rob and Tobias have mentioned starting in on their own curriculum tests, and there will always be BBS3 to learn and polish.

Maybe I'll even start working on doing my own second-level curriculum exam.

Back in the saddle.