Tag Archives: Dude

Love This Dude

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I’m sure there’s another side to life on an island by yourself – water, food, medicine – but this dude and his turtles, trees, and birds seems pretty happy.

Posted on Kottke and TheKidShouldSeeThis; so you know it’s good.

My email exchange with Mrs. Dude when I shared the video sums it up pretty well…

Dude: Awesome. Email this dude and see if he’ll leave the island to us in his will. 🙂

Mrs. Dude: OMG LOVE this guy! What a great life!!!!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdqTmBGcg3M[/youtube]

 

Russian Dude Trademarks the Goatee

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Facial Hair Types

Facial Hair Types

I’ve only known a few Russian dudes in my day, but they’ve all seemed tough as nails. It’s not anything in particular; it’s just a vibe that the Ruskies give off.

Have you seen Putin?! Dude seems hardcore. I don’t want to piss any Russians off.

But I’m rocking a goatee, and that’s in direct conflict with the trademark law handed down by a Russian blogger. Not cool.

(I guess Russian bloggers practice trademark law now? Who knew?)

Ain’t that some shiznat?! The dude claims a trademark on the goatee. I like your style Ruskie. I like your style.

I’m planning to trademark the boxer brief. I wear them everyday. Been doing it for years. No boxers. No tightie whities.

Seems like I should be gettin’ some royalties from all you copycats. Just send along some dinero, and we’re good.

Here’s the catch. I was planning to shave the goatee, but last night I trimmed it just right. Now I’m digging it. Y’all know I love some facial hair. What’s a dude to do?

I think I’m going to wait for the cease and desist order…or until I have a Russian knocking on my door.

Although, this gives Mrs. Dude a good reason to shave it…hopefully she doesn’t team up with the Russians. I guess I’ll have to sleep with one eye open for multiple reasons.

Napping is the Bees Knees

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King of Naps

King of Naps

As the self-proclaimed King of Naps, I feel that it’s my duty to pass on this great napping info to my napping subjects.

Thanks to EdGalaxy.com for sharing the siesta stats.

Nap on.

Napping may save your life
A multi-year Greek study found napping at least three times per week for at least 30 minutes resulted in a 37% lower death rate due to heart problems.

Can’t sleep? Don’t stress
Even if you can’t fall asleep for a nap, just laying down and resting has benefits. Studies have found resting results in lowered blood pressure, which even some college kids have to worry about if they are genetically predisposed to high blood pressure.

Pick the right time
After lunch in the early afternoon your body naturally gets tired. This is the best time to take a brief nap, as it’s early enough to not mess with your nighttime sleep.

It makes you smarter
According to Dr. Matthew Walker of the University of California, napping for as little as one hour resets your short-term memory and helps you learn facts more easily after you wake up.

Abandon all-nighters
Foregoing sleep by cramming all night reduces your ability to retain information by up to 40%. If you can, mix in a nap somewhere to refresh your hippocampus.

Drink coffee first
The way this works is you drink a cup of coffee right before taking your 20-minute or half-hour nap, which is precisely how long caffeine takes to kick in. That way when you wake up, you’re not only refreshed, but ready to go.

The ultimate nap
According to Dr. Sara Mednick, the best nap occurs when REM sleep is in proportion to slow-wave sleep. Use her patented Take A Nap Nap Wheel to calculate what time of day you can nap to the max.

Getting Old is Comical

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That title is true, but it’s not the whole truth. Getting old can be hard too, but maybe with the right perspective the hilarity can outweigh the challenges.

I’m not old enough to face the full onslaught of age, but the Dude has entered the “Dude, I’m old” stage.

Age is definitely a state of mind more than anything, but there are some realities that are unavoidable.

1. Concerts take on an entirely new perspective as a parent. I love music, and live music is amazing, but these days the Dude is happy to trade a great Pandora station for a live show. That just seems like a lot of work. 🙂

Questionable Skills does a great job capturing this.

Questionable Skills - Concert for Parents

2. The mid-30’s is an interesting stage. Not young, but not old.

Whoa! Did I just define myself as mid-life?!

Below is a comical video about the mid-30’s. The Dude’s peers. I’d like to think that I’m better off, but I can definitely relate. It’s interesting to see where people are in their mid-30’s.

Luckily, I fall into the “Parent Concert” category. And I couldn’t be happier to be here. Being young and dumb is fun. But it’s nothing compared to having fun as a parent. And the comparison to mid 30’s and looking for fun at an improve class isn’t even in the same universe.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HWHXMBDs5U[/youtube]

Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

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Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

Dude + Nature = Happy. John Muir Agrees.

The Dude is a sucker for the natural world…and a great beard.

This John Muir cat is one rad dude. Loves nature and beards.

A large part of conservation land in the U.S. can be connected to Muir. But beyond any activism – activism always has pros and cons – I dig John’s view that nature is an integral part of our lives, and that we should break away from civilization to “wash [our] spirit clean.”

Happy spring. It’s a beautiful day. Let’s get out there and wash our spirit.

And Muir had a killer beard. Lookin’ good John, lookin’ good.

For anyone interested, here’s a list of 10 Cool Things About John Muir…see, a cool cat.

“Keep close to Nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.

The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.

The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual.”

Dude, Suess-isms for Life. Love it.

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Seuss-isms

Seuss-isms

The internet is amazing. Such a constant flow of great information.

You just have to know which rocks to look under. And the Brain Pickings rock offers some gems. I’ve added quite a few books to my “wish list” after a Brain Pickings post, but this could be my favorite.

The Dude is a giant fan of Dr. Suess. The poetry is infectious, and the philosophy is perennial. The Good Dr. has just as much to teach adults as kids.

Not sure how I’ve missed this all these years, but I am jazzed to find Seuss-isms: Wise and Witty Prescriptions for Living from the Good Doctor. 

Words to live by.

Think left and think right
and think low and think high.
Oh, the thinks you can think up
if only you try!
(Oh, the Thinks You Can Think!)

Thank you Brain Pickings. The Dudes are going to enjoy philosophizing with the Good Dr.

By the way, you should peruse the B.P. for other super cool book recommendations as well.

The Power of Music

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This video is worth 6 minutes of your time.

Watch how much music effects an Alzheimer patient.

His expression when he first hears the music explains it all.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKDXuCE7LeQ[/youtube]

Hats off to swissmiss & Kottke for sharing the video.

Check out Mrs. Dude’s Alzheimer portrait of her Grandfather, Poppy. Great story and amazing pictures.

Have I mentioned that Mrs. Dude is fantastic photographer?

Take Care of Yourself

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There’s only one person who can take care of you. You.

The other day I mentioned that I was going to expand Dude Knows Best to include some more of the “Dude’s Flow” – i.e. anything that the Dude is currently into. Maintaining my core focus on family life, but also including the Dude’s hobbies of the moment.

Nobody sticks the Dude in the corner.

One of the topics I’ll throw out there from time to time is health. That’s a broad category, but we’ll narrow it down from time to time.

Let’s start with mobility. Strange place to start a discussion on health? Not really. We all need to move well, and to do that we need to focus on maintenance. Mobility is one of the foundations of good health.

Mobility may not seem as exciting as diet and exercise, but the results are immediate and often overlooked.

“All human beings should be able to perform basic maintenance on themselves” – Kelly Starrett, DPT

I love stretching and yoga, but there’s a lot more to mobility than stretching. We need to have a consistent focus on maintaining our bodies. It feels great – in a painful way – and you’ll thank yourself for the effort.

This Kelly Starrett cat is legit. His videos are quick and packed with practical info you can use on a regular basis.

Don’t get caught up in every detail of every video. Or get overloaded on info too quickly. Pick the info that makes sense for you.

Two pieces that I’ll point out:

  1. This couch stretch is amazing. Do it while you watch tv. It will hurt…a lot. But that means it’s working. Your hips need to be opened. And this will do it.
    1. And Kelly is entertaining – “Patting the dog…that’s what we’re talking about.”

 

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZX1QMTdAC4[/youtube]

  1. Get a lacrosse ball – or “pain ball” as Kelly calls it. Start a regular practice of deep tissue massage. You have knots that need to be worked out. It will hurt. But also feel great.
    1. The video is of the shoulder, but this works for all muscle groups.
    2. And Kelly is entertaining. “Don’t ever pass out drunk on your lacrosse ball.”

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SA56ZCzYGTA&feature=plcp&context=C476bcc0VDvjVQa1PpcFOq-qJSvqR-V7LJcSncMlFYyVHJwzw2chQ=[/youtube]

Take care of yourself.

Happy Easter. Here’s to New Beginnings, Dude.

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Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter 2012

Happy Easter to you and yours from the Dudes.

Family is the Dude’s favorite part of a holiday. To me, holidays mean a day of uninterrupted family time. A day to refocus on what means the most to us.

However, I know there is a more subtle meaning to holidays – an overt meaning to many, but subtle to the Dude. Religion.

But maybe it’s only subtle to the Dude because I focus on the wrong ideas. I’ve always felt uncomfortable with the religious explanations to holidays. Taking a literal interpretation of religious stories is hard for the Dude to hold onto. Yet, these seem to be the prevalent explanations these days.

A lot of stories – especially important stories – carry subtle, hidden messages. Focusing on literal interpretations can ignore the hidden – more important? – messages.

By refocusing the ideas that build meaning to holidays, perhaps the Dude can feel more comfortable with the religious/spiritual meaning behind the holidays.

Here’s an interesting point of view of Easter from Rudolf Steiner from 1906. I’m just scratching the surface of Rudolf – great name – but from what I can tell, Mr. Steiner has some incredible thoughts.

If you are unfamiliar with Rudolf Steiner, here’s an explanation from Wikipedia:

Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner[2] (25/27 February 1861[3] – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian philosopher, social reformer, architect, andesotericist.[4][5] He gained initial recognition as a literary critic and cultural philosopher.

Major holidays built around cycles in nature? Seems to make a lot of sense from a human evolution perspective.

Connecting holidays to a natural significance has a much greater appeal to the Dude.

And if we want to take Steiner’s thoughts to the next level, the celebration of new beginnings is much greater the than new beginnings of spring.

Yes, the natural new beginnings are crucial to our lives and evolution – and well worth huge celebrations throughout the millennium. But if we want to think BIG, and build our lives around a spiritual existence, what could be more exciting than celebrating the “resurrection” of a deep connection to the “Greater Spirit?”

From the Dude’s vantage point, there sure does seem like some hidden messages in the story of Jesus. Maybe we’re too literal.

At any rate, it’s Easter. It’s a beautiful Spring day to enjoy with the fam and celebrate new beginnings – however you define that.

Happy Easter.