Hail to the Chief

Enter Sandman

No training today. Recovery has been a little slow lately so I'm going to take it easy on my off days. I need to start getting more and better sleep. I'm also going to start taking Advocare's Nighttime Recovery and Zzz. Nighttime Recovery is designed to boost up the body's metabolic processes that take place when we sleep. Nighttime Recovery supports the production of human growth hormones (HGH, IGF-1, etc.) Sleep is the time when our bodies recover and repair from the rigors of physical activity, so Nighttime Recovery can be beneficial for athletes and adults looking to maintain the muscle mass they already have.

Zzz is an herbal supplement with added melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that is produced naturally by the body. It is the bodies regulator of the sleep/wake cycle. In other words it helps you stay asleep. Zzz also has other herbs and extracts that work to calm and relax you before you fall asleep. I know that on occasion the cause of my inability to fall asleep is that my mind is full of a million different thoughts floating through my brain. Zzz helps to alleviate this and help you fall asleep faster.

After a few trial nights I will let you know how it goes.

Hail to the Chief/ He's the Chief he needs some hailing

Monday was President's Day in these United States and I celebrated by asking athletes and adults who their favorite historical president was. I was sorely disappointed by the results. It's not that I disagreed with some of the selections, it was that most people didn't have a selection. I can't say that I was surprised by this occurrence however. I ask the kids a lot what they learned in school that day and these are some of the most popular answers: "nothing", "I don't know", "we had a bunch of tests". Fucking pathetic. I have the utmost respect for teachers and think they are grossly underpaid, but the amount of apathy I see in a lot of students is alarming. Learning about history shouldn't be boring or tedious. Pick something that interests you and find out more. You can bet your ass I have a favorite president or two. The reasons these men are my favorite presidents has nothing to do with policy or peace accords or any of that shit. Straight up these men were badasses. I'm talking old school beat-the-shit-out-of-you-for-looking-at-them-the-wrong-way badass. First up Andrew Jackson.

Andrew Jackson's nickname was "Old Hickory". This was due to his habit of carrying around an old hickory cane and beating senseless anyone who got in his way. Second to his love of hitting people with a big stick was his love of dueling. Jackson often dueled for the honor of his wife. She married him before the ink was dry on her divorce papers. In the good ol' days this gave her the reputation of a whore in some circles. Jackson would have none of this. On one occasion he dueled a man named Charles Dickinson who had done the unfortunate deed of insulting Jackson's wife. Jackson knew Dickinson was an excellent shot and let him shoot first. That's right, he let Dickinson shoot first and as he reloaded Jackson steadied himself and blasted that motherfucker back to his maker. The bullet came so close to Jackson's heart that it was never removed.

Badass Quote: "I have only two regrets. I didn't shoot Henry Clay and I didn't hang John C. Calhoun." Calhoun, by the way, was Jackson's Vice President.

Up next, my personal favorite, Theodore Roosevelt.

Teddy Roosevelt lived a more productive life than you did. I don't care who you are or what you have done, Roosevelt did more. If you read his resume when he was 45 it would include but not be limited to: Harvard graduate, cattle rancher, deputy sheriff, police commissioner of New York City, explorer, outdoorsman, assistant Secretary of the Navy, Governor of New York, published author, and war hero. Roosevelt had on paper had the pedigree of the things he accomplished, but was actually born a very sickly child. He was challenged by his father to build himself into something less snively and shit-stained and he delivered in spades. Asthma and constant diareah didn't prevent him from becoming a pretty damn good boxer, jujitsu black belt, president and kicking more ass than should be allowed by law. What's your excuse?

Biggest Display of Badassery: When Roosevelt was campaigning for a third presidential term in Milwaukee he was shot in the chest by a saloon keeper. Since he was a seasoned anatomist he knew that since he wasn't coughing blood the bullet was not completely lodged in his lung. Instead of going to the hospital he proceeded with his scheduled speech. His opening line was, "Ladies and Gentlemen, don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose." Colonel Roosevelt you are an American Badass. Fuck you Kid Rock.

So you see kids, history isn't just dates and names. It's full of violence, bloodshed, asskicking, and straight up badasses.

Song of the Day: "The Gold Song" by The Bouncing Souls

"One man with courage makes a majority." -Andrew Jackson

Sources: Wikipedia.org; entries for Jackson, Andrew and Roosevelt, Theodore

http://www.cracked.com/article_15895_the-5-most-badass-presidents-all-time.html