The Strict (But Not Strange) Diet and Lifestyle of the World's Current #1 Tennis Player

VIRGINIA RACE: KEN CUCCINELLI'S CONSERVATISM VERSES TERRY MCAULIFFE'S LIMITLESS LIBERALISM

THIS IS VIA THE WSJ AND BUSINESS INSIDER TODAY ON NOVAK DJOKOVIC'S WINNING DIET AND TRAINING LIFESTYLE as revealed in his forthcoming book Serve To Win--The 14-Day Gluten-Free Plan For Physical and Mental Excellence to be released this August, 2013.

I agree with many---but not all---of his diet dos and don'ts. This from the WSJ:

Want to roll like the world's top men's tennis player? Start by drinking loads of warm water all day long, as well as shakes made with pea protein concentrate. Avoid dairy and stay away from alcohol during tournaments. Eat lots of avocados, cashew butter and very little sugar. Banish caffeine, other than the occasional energy gel bar before matches. Be sure to get seven to eight hours of sleep a night, meditate, do plenty of yoga and tai chi, take melatonin supplements, hook yourself up to a biofeedback machine that measures your stress level and, when you have a free moment or two, keep a diary. Feel free to unwind with a cup of warm licorice tea. as revealed in his forthcoming book being released in August.

I totally agree with the room temperature or even warm water, the avoidance of dairy, sugar and most alcohol....but caffeine!? Say what!? Not ready for that one just yet. Have no intention of hooking myself up to a biofeedback machine any time soon.  And I've never heard of pea protein concentrate but I'm open. As for avocados, I can't imagine a day without one.

Yet the biggest, most important  of Djokovic's winning habits is one I whole-heartedly agree with---giving up all wheat and gluten:

Djokovic also eats gluten-free. After he went 14 days without gluten, his doctor had him eat a bagel which Djokovic said made him feel like he had a terrible hangover. Ever since, he has eliminated gluten from his diet and claims he's never felt better, he writes: "My allergies abated; my asthma disappeared; my fears and doubts were replaced by confidence. I have not had a serious cold or flu in nearly three years."

Interestingly, it's not just  gluten that's so bad for us. It's that wheat and most grains today are genetically modified in ways that make them very hard or impossible for humans to digest properly.

Djokovic also eats a lot of manuka honey from down under which I loathe and think raises your blood sugar to dizzying unhealthy heights only to fall precipitously causing extreme tiredness and mood swings (in me at leat). Honey, in my opinion, is the greatest antibiotic for skin infections---including flesh eating disease---the world has ever known. But eating a lot of honey long-term simply would only make me tired during the day.

I'm sure there's more in the book to whet our appetites, but these are the high points for now. I plan to get this book when I get back to Tennessee.

Sadly, Getting Ready to Go Back to Tennessee---Too Soon

SING IT FELLAS.

 I have major work calling me back to Tennessee sooner rather than later, and  have mixed feeling about leaving  Wyoming  this year so soon. Meanwhile am non-stop busy seeing long-time dear friends, along with fishing and hiking as time allows.

Posting will be spotty for the next 7-10 days, as I wind my way back across the country slowly but surely.

Sunday, Seek First The Kingdom of God As the Highest, Most Fundamental Foundation of Life

IMPORTANT SERMON FROM PASTOR MIKE ATKINS AT RIVER CROSSING IN JACKSON HOLE.

 Everything in your life is designed to deliver you out of your own hands and into His. What joy to be freed from ourselves. His dominion is undeserved, unmerited, unearned---called Grace.

Which Comes First?

THE GARDEN?

OR THE GARDENER?

IT'S A GOOD QUESTION. BUT I KNOW THE ONLY CORRECT ANSWER:

It's the gardener, my good friend Peggy in Grand Junction who's done her magic again this year! This is just a sampling  of the wonderful produce---beets, kale, eggplant, cucumbers tomatoes, zucchini and carrots.  Wouldn't it be fun also to  have a pic of her cooking, then serving this fresh food to her husband Steve, aka My Bad Influence? Mouth watering and ever-so-nutritious. Congratulations Peggy on doing it again!

What an abundant feast to say grace over, giving thanks to the Divine Gardner who gives it all.

Royal Georges Down Through British History

IF YOU'RE AS WORN OUT WITH READING ABOUT THE DISGRACEFUL ANTHONY WEINER AS I AM, then I've got just the post for you---a nice journey down history lane and the King Georges that came before the little fellow above, if you haven't already seen this.

Quick! Do you know what number king the latest royal baby boy George will be?

Well, he if he makes it to the throne, then he will be King George VII, the seventh.

 So let's look quickly to Georges I-VI and I'll link to the excellent piece yesterday in the Telegraph giving the royal rundown---Royal Baby, the Legacy of Royal Georges.

And FYI, that legacy does not include George Clooney, George Zimmerman or Boy George.

Below is King George I.

From the Telegraph article,

King George I, the eldest son of the Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, was born in 1660 and inherited the throne from Queen Anne in 1714, becoming the first Hanoverian king of Great Britain.He spoke very little English, preferring to converse in German and French, and regularly visited Hanover to fulfil other duties. He was left reliant on his ministers, with Whigs dominating Parliament through his reign. According to the official record of the British monarchy, he was known for his “family tensions”, including the imprisonment of his own wife in 1694, and a difficult relationship with his son, George. He died in 1727 during a visit to Hanover.

Skipping down a couple of Georges to number III. This is the king of England who lost the American colonies to its drive for freedom  and independence from the British Crown:

George III was born on June 4, 1738, and succeeded his grandfather in 1760, becoming the first Hanoverian monarch to be born in Britain and have English as a first language. He is perhaps the best remembered of the Georges, being nicknamed Mad King George after losing his sanity in his latter years. He is also remembered for losing the American colonies. Official literature from the Palace states his popular legacy is “far from the whole truth”. A father of 15 children, some historians believe his instability was caused by a hereditary physical disorder called porphyria. He died in at Windsor Castle in January 1820, after a reign of almost 60 years.

If we skip several other intervening kings, the latest George in our time was King George VI who happened to be Queen Elizabeth's father. He was also the subject of the recent movie The King's Speech:

George VI, the Queen’s father, became King in 1936 unexpectedly following the abdication of his brother Edward VIII. Latterly remembered for his stammer, he reigned during the Second World War and remained in Buckingham Palace, visiting bombed-out areas of London with his wife, Queen Elizabeth. He instituted the George Cross and George Medal, for acts of bravery by citizens, and visited troops in France, Italy and North Africa. In 1947, he became the first monarch to go on tour with his family, visiting South Africa with the young Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret. Suffering poor health in his later years, he died in his sleep in February 1952 at Sandringham aged 56. He was portrayed by Colin Firth in the Oscar-winning 2010 film The King’s Speech.

Isn't it fun to put things in historical perspective? The older I get, the more I love history and stuff like this.

Good News: More Hollywood Liberal Entertainers Boycott Florida's Stand Your Ground In Favor of Lie Down and Die

TED NUGENT WEIGHS IN ON SOULLESS STEVIE WONDER AND BRAIN DEAD BOYCOTT

I LIKE YOU STEVIE, BUT NOT THAT MUCH

LATELY....SOME VERY NARCISSISTIC, LIBERAL ENTERTAINERS ARE HAVING A HISSIE FIT OVER TURN-OF-EVENTS IN FLORIDA AND THEY'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT NO MO!! 

IT'S SPREADING LIKE, WELL... WEED...They want you to know the Rule of Law and jury system makes them really, really, really mad, and they've having a tantrum until the state of Florida bends to their wishes.  It's not about Tryvon Martin either, it's about power.  And nothing will be enough.

Isn't it interesting that all these boycotting entertainers have a major corps of body guards and security forces that are packing more heat than an ordinary big city police force?  Are they going to let them all go now? 

So take that, Florida! And that!  They're big enough to bring down the  entire state and have more body guards too!

You see, they're bigger than the people, governments and the Rule of Law and the jury system.

Well Stevie, Kanye, Jay Z (without the hyphen for heavens sake)and Madonna--The Material Girl---this is certainly drawing a line in the sand...and a good line.  Meanwhile, my personal response is the title of one of my favorite Stevie classics.... OVERJOYED. So here's some advice fellas---Maybe it's time to sure nuff stay out of Florida and to go to Jamaica or Iran or Venezuela where you might better belong.

Are These Kids Not Adorable With Their Swaddled Newborn Baby Boy?

@HET?: ANTHONY WEINER FOR PRESIDENT!
KLAVAN:  HOLDER FOR LIE DOWN AND DIE!

HOW CAN ANYONE NOT LOVE A GOOD FIRST COMES LOVE, THEN COMES MARRIAGE, THEN COME THE ROYALS WITH A BABY CARRIAGE STORY?

Can you remember taking your first newborn home?  You're excited, scared, fascinated by this new little creature wiggling in your arms.   You have no idea how little sleep you're going to get for the next few months. How utterly exhausted you'll be. No idea.  Or how much one of those little things can scream and poop.

Do you remember how beserk you went the first time that itty bitty looked up and smiled at you?  You thought they were smiling at you, didn't you? but it was really.....gas......followed by the most horrible sounds you ever heard.....ooops! And we won't even mention the smells or the spit up.....Hurry, bring another diaper. And another, and another.....

Then one day, it really is a real smile and you are  simply beside yourself, over-the- moon with joy.

It's all an amazing time.  Good for them for not having a nanny right now.  Of course, she has her mother Carol and plenty of other help and assistance.  But I'm also sure they want  time alone with this little fellow to bond and get acquainted. 

Congratulations to this adorable little family and may God watch over them and bless them greatly.

Sunday---Kiddos On Atlantic, Sermon On Discernment

THANKS TO MY FAVORITE SON.

Here is an interesting brief sermon on why we need discernment in all areas of life, including but not limited to listening to the news.  Never have we needed discernment more as individuals and a nation and never have we had it less:

Bill Whittle: The Lynching That Won't End

ALLAPUNDIT: OBAMA'S TRAYVON SPEECH WAS  FOR LEFT TO KNOW THAT DOJ HAS NO CASE AGAINST ZIMMERMAN

THESE SHOCKING AND SHAMEFUL FACTS JUST DON'T LINE UP WITH THE LIBERAL NARRATIVE, DO THEY? 

Publications like TIME, the NYT, WaPo and many others haven't printed anything like what was in the police, FBI and autopsy reports.

Sadly, many people simply don't make time or bother to get acquainted with the pesky little facts.  They look at some photo and make up their minds in the most superficial of ways.  Especially over-politically correct 'journalists,' grandee celebrities and liberal, racist politicians who would never want the truth get in the way of a modern day lynching.  It's good for their business.

Amazing how many salient and relevant facts were not allowed in the courtroom testimony and yet the jury acquitted Zimmerman anyway.

Justice for Trayvon but none for Zimmerman? You'd have to have part of your brain removed to take the racist bait of such notables as President Barack Obama and his  sidekick, Eric Holder, not to mention Al Sharpton---all who are waging a nuclear Word War devoid of facts but rife with emotion and demagoguery.

H/T American Digest

Disgraceful Obama Administration Perpetuates Racism

UPDATE:  OBAMA KEEPS PUTTING ON HIS DADDY HAT ON

I CONTINUE TO BE HORRIFIED at how Mr. Obama and Mr. Holder keep inappropriately interjecting themselves in the Martin/Zimmerman case (closed) only making things  worse. They just keep digging themselves deeper and deeper into a hole.

What an insult to state and local law enforcement agencies and  courts who found there were no racist motives whatsoever involved in this case.  Yet these federal elected and appointed officials keep trying to hijack the narrative, beat a dead horse and make it about something it's not.  Yes, there are many injustices in the mandatory sentencing procedures that incarcerate more blacks for longer than whites....and other things.... and that needs to be changed.

Yet, in this case, justice was served.

Bryan Preston writes about the Obama speech today at PJMedia:

Throughout his remarks, Obama went to his “on the one hand, on the other hand” style in which he appears to be a moderate, but ultimately what he did was fail to lead. The tragic shooting of Trayvon Martin is becoming a cause, or an excuse, for some to commit violence against their fellow Americans.

Rioters have committed numerous acts of violence, including attacking a Hispanic man in Baltimore and assaulting a white grandmother in Houston. This is unacceptable. Unrest has been encouraged by the New Black Panthers, by Sharpton and the refrain “No justice, no peace.”

Obama’s answer to violence? More talk: “If I see any violence, then I will remind folks that that dishonors what happened to Trayvon Martin and his family.” There has already been violence. Has he not seen it?

It may not have occurred to the president, but people who have already resorted to violence are not likely to listen to anyone remind them of anything. How about warning them that the criminal justice system stands ready to deal with anyone who breaks the law ahead of any violence? Obama did not issue such a warning.
That, and his entire tone, constitute a glaring failure of leadership. Barack Obama had a moment when he could have stood above all the factions in the black community, indeed all the factions arguing over the verdict in that trial. He could have spoken to and for more than just one American community. He chose instead to insert himself and race into the story from the world’s largest bully pulpit, while refusing to use that bully pulpit to stand up forcefully for the rule of law.

No fair-minded person will reject the fact that blacks have faced extraordinary mistreatment and racism through American history, from slavery to Jim Crow to backward attitudes that continue to persist. But race played no role in this specific case, according to the prosecution’s case, according to the jury that reached the verdict, and according to Trayvon Martin’s own mother. The president owes the American people a basic, factual accounting, not a third autobiography. By insisting on injecting himself and race into the case, Obama risks inflaming passions when he could have quieted them.

If You Only See One Kitten Rescue Film This Year....This Is It!

LUCKY THE KITTEN GETS  REALLY LUCKY AND MEETS HER KIND RESCUER! Not a minute too soon.

This little gem of a film was done tongue-in-cheek by the Fresno firefighter who always wears a camera on his helmet when working.

Further explanation here:



H/T HotAir

Liz, It's Not Going To Happen For You In Wyoming Right Now, What Are You Thinking?

UPDATE---GAIL COLLINS @ NYT: THE CHENEY IN WAITING

LOOK LIZ, I'VE SEEN YOU OCCASIONALLY ON TV and think you're fairly smart and articulate. Then last year the buzz around Jackson was you and your hubby were moving  here so you could begin to build a political power base for yourself.

But isn't today's official announcement that you're running against senior Republican Sen. Mike Enzi jumping the gun a tad bit? To me it verges on major arrogance.  After all,  you've been living in Virginia for decades even though your dad and mom have a huge second or third home here in Wilson.

If you're really doing this for the people of Wyoming, then shouldn't you wait a while and get acquainted with them ---not just in liberal-leaning Jackson but all over the state?  Enzi has been a Wyomingian for decades and serves the people admirably.  He knows them and their issues. He's also the incumbent, one of the most conservative senior senators in Congress.

But you know all that, and clearly are choosing to shove ahead with the help of your dad and his network of deep-pocket friends.

Carry on, my dear. But I predict this is not going to go the way you'd like it to next year.  You come across as a pushy, impatient, divisive and self-serving  broad who's out for herself. It's simply too soon and way too insincere.

You're using the people of Wyoming---not to mention forcing Enzi to start campaigning a year early, taking him away from doing his job---and I pray they won't let you succeed.

A Few Words On the Zimmerman Verdict

THERE'S VIRTUALLY NOTHING I CAN ADD TO  THIS CORRECT VERDICT  except to repeat what has already been said ad nauseam:   It has been the biggest, silliest and craziest witch hunt---and attempt to make a humongous  mountain out of a sad but minor molehill---that I have seen in my lifetime.  Congratulations to the jury for not bending to massive, highly charged political and emotional pressure,  and instead ruling on the unvarnished evidence.   No other verdict could have come from jurors even mildly in touch with reality (verses manufactured media fantasy propaganda).

As a matter of fact,  I too think this case should never have gone to  trial in the first place.  Fortunately Zimmerman as unfortunate scapegoat and sacrificial lamb had terrific, smart lawyers who did their part to defend him extremely well.

Highest congratulations and best wishes to them.

I blame the MSM media---including  Matt Drudge whom I mostly like--- and the professional race baiters for much of the mayhem and emotional tantrums and group projections on Zimmerman. (Is America really gripped in the second day of mass fury? Or are the usual suspects having their usual cry baby tantrums and getting more than ample attention from the usual media suspects who then try to magnify it into World War XYZ? It's a rhetorical question.)  

Victim consciousness is alive, well and getting louder in American today. In fact, it's big business with all the special interests that stand to gain more hits and money from beating this dead horse and continuing to give coverage where coverage is really not due. Such publicity is only playing into the unthinking, over-emotional masses only too willing to take up their cross of victimhood and follow race baiters' lead like sheep to the slaughter. This is exactly what the liberal media wants them to do.

Eric Holder and Al Sharpton are beyond the pale in every way as far as I'm concerned.  Two race-baiting hacks who love the sound of their own divisive, racist voices and have  no limits to the extent of their power-mongering egos.

Meanwhile, Talk Left gives the finest wrap-up of the Zimmerman trial I've read to date:

The legacy of this case will be that the media never gets it right, and worse, that a group of lawyers, with the aid of a public relations team, who had a financial stake in the outcome of pending and anticipated civil litigation, were allowed to commandeer control of Florida's criminal justice system, in pursuit of a divisive, personal agenda.

Their transformation of a tragic but spontaneous shooting into the crime of the century, and their relentless demonization of the person they deemed responsible, not for a tragic killing, but for "cold-blooded murder," has called into question the political motives and ethics of the officials serving in the Executive branch of Florida's government, ruined the career of other public officials, turned the lives of the Zimmerman family, who are as innocent as their grieving clients, into a nightmare, and along the way, set back any chance of a rational discussion of the very cause they were promoting, probably for years.

The problems of racial disparity and arbitrary enforcement of our criminal laws are real, systemic and need to be addressed. Criminal defense lawyers see it and fight to correct it every day. From charging decisions to plea offers to sentences, the system is not fair and everybody knows it. 

But this case has never been representative of those problems. And perhaps most unfortunate of all, as a result of the false narrative created by the lawyers for grieving parents who tragically lost their son -- a narrative perpetuated by a complicit and ratings-hungry media -- any attempt at meaningful reform is likely to fall on deaf ears for years to come.

Sunday---Pastor Mike Atkins On What 'The Fear of the Lord' Really Means

Faith-Filled Living In Fear-Filled Times (Pt. 8) from River Crossing on Vimeo.

TO MY WAY OF THINKING, this is one of the all-time best, most inspired of Pastor Mike Atkin's many great  sermons. So packed with insight it is, I've listened to it twice and will surely do so again periodically.

 I've learned so much that I want to share it today.

One of the best bottom lines is: Before you can embrace the Good News of salvation in Jesus Christ, you have to really understand the bad news first. There are many more salient points, but you can mine them for yourself from this glowing gem of a sermon.

Greetings From Jackson Hole With My Brand Spanking New Hard Drive

NO SOONER THAN RETURNING FROM CLARK, WY MONDAY EVENING, I found my computer's hard drive crashing as it got slower and slower. 

By early Thursday it was non-existent.

I began assessing my few sad options with no connectivity:  either go to Idaho Falls and buy a new computer with the dreaded new Windows operating system; or find a competent geek here in Jackson to mine my hard drive data and put it on a sparkling new one.  I chose the latter, finding a terrific, adorable guy from Slovakia named Yuri (pronounced your-eye) with a business called Computer Clinic that fixed everything in less than 24 hours.

 Now I'm happy to be back, thanks to my new friend and  computer-snowboard geek---Yuri.

OK, so the pic above is one  I took at the car wash after picking up my newly remade computer this afternoon.  It tells a great story of indigenous Jackson Hole, but the story will have to wait till in the morning when I'm fresh and ready to write again.

Meanwhile,  have a nice evening;  hope see you  soon!

Sunday, Seeing Pleasure Through the Enemy's Eyes

THERE ARE TWO FATHERS: Our heavenly Father or the Father of Lights and His defeated enemy the father of lies who urges us to sin and self-indulgence---saying it won't hurt us---and be as gods in our own lives. Following the First Father leads to Life and Light and disciplined pleasure and maturity. Following the second leads to death and darkness and the very false belief that all gods are created equal. Partaking in God-designed pleasures in unnatural and depraved ways only leads to pain, addiction and dis-ease.

Greetings From Clark, Wyoming

UPDATE: TEN THINGS EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ISLAM

HAD  MORE PICS and a few other things to post over the weekend, however, there's virutally no internet  where I am and the uploads take forever (except very early in the morning apparently).  So, hope to be back next week.  Meanwhile it's been extremely, extremely hot here but finally cooled off with a massive, epic gully-washing rain last night and more is in the forecast.  That means all the rivers and tribs will be trashed for fishing the next few days.

Still it's wonderful  to be here in old, unglamorous Wyoming, even with  little connectivity where mountain lions, rattle snakes and grizzlies still roam freely and a good cup of cowboy coffee is a girl's best friend. Hope you're having a safe weekend. God Bless America.

 

More Gravitas.

 

150th Anniversary Re-Enactment At Gettysburg With Some Modern Accoutrements

MORE PHOTOS.

The Lumineers @ Glastonbury

VICTOR DAVIS HANSON: FLYING AS TORTURE
IN ADDITION: A TERRIFIC NEW CAUSE FOR SCOTLAND
THE FRESHEST, SIMPLEST,  BEST OF IT.

VIA/FOR MORE: TRB