Motto for the Elderly

[Karl Schudt]

Today, "to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield" got me my five squats at 202.5. Most particularly, the "and not to yield" line. I recant my previous barbaric suggestion to replace "not" with "never" and will be using it in the future whenever my fifth rep needs a little extra grit. :-)

Never underestimate the power of iambic pentameter, only to be exceeded by dactylic hexameter.

Arma virumque cano troiae qui primus ab oris
Italiam fato profugus laviniaque venit. . .

[Mark E. Hurling]

Latin is a dead language, dead as it can be. First it killed the Latins and now it's killing me.

I personally prefer the first word in Beowulf: Hwæt! Which means, listen up. I can almost visualize R. Lee Ermey bellowing that out while dressed in a hooded cloak in front of a hall-hearth.

But then the first lines of the Illiad aren't bad either: Rage — Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles.

But like I keep reminding people, Achilles was dead before he was 30. Beowulf lived on to a ripe old age and died of his wounds after he actually slew a dragon.

[Timojin]

Lift heavy and often and get killed in a bar fight at 85.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Lift heavy and often and get killed in a bar fight at 85.

As hard as I'm trying to find something in this noble aspiration to achieve, I can think of 100 better ways than to die than gurgling in the toxic waste that seeped into the knotholes of some goddam dive with Tammy Wynette wailing in the background on some sorry ass juke box.

[Timojin]

I just wanted to reply "me too" but the system demanded more letters so here they are.

[pkelly54]

As hard as I'm trying to find something in this noble aspiration to achieve, I can think of 100 better ways than to die than gurgling in the toxic waste that seeped into the knotholes of some goddam dive with Tammy Wynette wailing in the background on some sorry ass juke box.

Mark, LOL thanks. I don't know what made me laugh more, the visual of a dead pumped up geezer with the Tammy Wynette tunes as the background music, or the juxtaposition of Tammy Wynette and Beowulf. The former is not the stuff of epics, however, Tammy Wynette signing in iambic pentameter, well that could have been something.

[Mark E. Hurling]

In her latter days Tammy could very well have been Grendel's mother. And I don't mean that hot looking one voiced by Mrs. Pitt.

[pkelly54]

I saw the new Bond movie last weekend. I discovered Dame Judi Dench could be a potential starting strength geezer, although she is 77. She did quote the last lines of Tennyson's Ulysses. I thought is was so cool, it made me want to go and lift something heavy.

Bill Brownley should ask for some screenwriter's credit.

[Mark E. Hurling]

I really like Dame Dench. I have to see that movie. Craig is THE BEST Bond since Connery. He's completely retro in the sense of returning the roots of the thuggish bad-ass Bond was when Fleming wrote his stuff. It campier and campier as it went on especially with Roger Moore. Worse in his own way than Lazenby.

[Joe Murphy]

I really like Dame Dench. I have to see that movie. Craig is THE BEST Bond since Connery. He's completely retro in the sense of returning the roots of the thuggish bad-ass Bond was when Fleming wrote his stuff. It campier and campier as it went on especially with Roger Moore. Worse in his own way than Lazenby.

Hear him! The first Craig/Bond may have been the best Bond movie ever. A lot of people didn't understand it was a modern-day prequel... James becoming a 00, etc. The second one sucked, but Craig was pretty good in it. I haven't seen the new one, yet, but look forward to it. Connery will probably always be the archetypical Bond, but the lame SFX and plots from those movies haven't aged well. And Moore-- what was up with that. I see some of the Saint once in a while and understand the appeal... but his Bond fell flat with me.

Has anyone read "The Irregulars," by Jennet Conant? Roald Dahl, Ian Fleming, David Ogilvy, etc. Not the most well-written book, but it's quite a read. http://www.amazon.com/Irregulars-Roa.../dp/B003JTHSD6 I'm a big fan of all three of those guys and it's really a quite amazing they were all 'spies' together....