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-- Friday, Edition 105

Friday, Edition 105

Ding, ding COR wh00r3s...it be Friday again. Another week nearly over, and all I got to show for it is getting older. Supposed to get a couple of rounds of potentially severe weather this weekend (if you don't like the weather in the Southeastern US, just wait 10 minutes). No real plans other than yard work and house chores. Going to try to catch up on some movies: The Girl on the Train; The Girl With All The Gifts; and maybe Bloodfather.

Big time half marathon tomorrow morning, been training hard for this for 5 months. New mix to accompany it

quote:

Originally posted by ziptnf Big time half marathon tomorrow morning, been training hard for this for 5 months. New mix to accompany it

Wishing you nothing but success, sir. I got up to doing a couple of 5k jogs twice a week a few summers ago, but that was my limit. I have nothing but respect for you marathon folks.

G'luck zip! I mean, I realize it's about personal goals or w/e, but yeah good luck all the same.


Re: The Girl on the Train. I assume it's pretty bad because I watched it on a plane without sound, and there was not an ounce of subtlety to any of the visual storytelling. The plot was beyond predictable. Def did not need dialogue to make sense of things; in fact I imagine dialogue is probably used to obfuscate in that movie. So yeah.

quote:

Originally posted by Silky Johnson Re: The Girl on the Train. I assume it's pretty bad because I watched it on a plane without sound, and there was not an ounce of subtlety to any of the visual storytelling. The plot was beyond predictable. Def did not need dialogue to make sense of things; in fact I imagine dialogue is probably used to obfuscate in that movie. So yeah.

OMG, why must you ruin my movie-time weekend, you ******ing ****?!

I'm just saying.

got to do chores and yard work myself. BBQ later in the day for the girl. i don't feel like doing anything today though. so far i woke up and ate chocolate almonds. this weekend is loaded with shit i don't want to do. if i wasn't fat and bald i'd binge eat until my hair fell out

quote:

Originally posted by Silky Johnson G'luck zip! I mean, I realize it's about personal goals or w/e, but yeah good luck all the same.

Thanks guys! I've actually lost like 10 lbs or so in the last month just because I seriously tightened the screws on my diet. Went super clean and stopped eating all junk. I don't know how much I've actually lost because I'm terrified of scales. They always tell me stuff that I don't want to see

Anyway I'm looking forward to this being over so I can eat some junk and be lazy for a couple of weeks before going back to my normal routine

There's a general strike going on in Brazil, but I've come to work only to find out my faculty pretty much had the same idea (thankfully, as I really didn't want to be the resident contrarian again). Hitting the gym later tonight and will take my wife to a cafe after that.

Life is good.

i shaved my beard for a moustache

quote:

Originally posted by Lira There's a general strike going on in Brazil, but I've come to work only to find out my faculty pretty much had the same idea (thankfully, as I really didn't want to be the resident contrarian again). Hitting the gym later tonight and will take my wife to a cafe after that. Life is good.

How are labor unions viewed in Brazil, say, vis-a-vis the US? Not attempting to start any "religion and politics" type discussion here, just genuinely curious.

quote:

Originally posted by Zoso How are labor unions viewed in Brazil, say, vis-a-vis the US? Not attempting to start any "religion and politics" type discussion here, just genuinely curious.

Nah, it's fine, I'm not really partisan in any way

You have to keep in mind labour unions are much stronger in Brazil than in the US - think of us as an American nation with European politics. We've got no prime ministers, as in the US, but loads of political parties and coalitions, as in Europe. The US has never really been a socialist stronghold, and that's where labour unions seem to thrive (reason I'm lumping it all together for brevity's sake). Brazil, however, a lot like Europe, is much more ambiguous about socialism and workers rights.

Whereas there isn't a big socialist party in the US (which is why Bernie such a poor fit in the Democratic Party), the Workers' Party is Brazil's 2nd largest party - and, if you include splinter groups, they easily outnumber the nominally biggest party, a centrist big-tent relic of our past.

Trade Union density here hovers around 26%, as in the UK, and one of the reasons behind this general strike is that workers will no longer have to pay an obligatory union tax, so there's a lot of money involved and benefits to affiliates. As a matter of fact, the party that ruled the country up until last year is closely linked to Brazil's largest trade union the Central �nica dos Trabalhadores (the Unified Workers' Central), something I've never seen in the US. So views regarding trade unions here depend on your political leanings. While they're popular among leftists, let's just say right-wing Brazilians aren't fond of them, to put it mildly.

So, in short, they're powerful. Whether or not they're seen as an effective force for good depends on whom you ask (as a centrist, I think they're a necessary evil).

quote:

Originally posted by Lira Nah, it's fine, I'm not really partisan in any way You have to keep in mind labour unions are much stronger in Brazil than in the US - think of us as an American nation with European politics. We've got no prime ministers, as in the US, but loads of political parties and coalitions, as in Europe. The US has never really been a socialist stronghold, and that's where labour unions seem to thrive (reason I'm lumping it all together for brevity's sake). Brazil, however, a lot like Europe, is much more ambiguous about socialism and workers rights. Whereas there isn't a big socialist party in the US (which is why Bernie such a poor fit in the Democratic Party), the Workers' Party is Brazil's 2nd largest party - and, if you include splinter groups, they easily outnumber the nominally biggest party, a centrist big-tent relic of our past. Trade Union density here hovers around 26%, as in the UK, and one of the reasons behind this general strike is that workers will no longer have to pay an obligatory union tax, so there's a lot of money involved and benefits to affiliates. As a matter of fact, the party that ruled the country up until last year is closely linked to Brazil's largest trade union the Central �nica dos Trabalhadores (the Unified Workers' Central), something I've never seen in the US. So views regarding trade unions here depend on your political leanings. While they're popular among leftists, let's just say right-wing Brazilians aren't fond of them, to put it mildly. So, in short, they're powerful. Whether or not they're seen as an effective force for good depends on whom you ask (as a centrist, I think they're a necessary evil).

Thank you for that. I think in the US, at least in my neck of the woods, unions are somewhat frowned upon (many companies locate factories in the South because of the lack of union shops). I think unions, at one time, played a very vital role in the US. I feel we would not have nearly the federal employment laws we have today that generally serve to benefit and protect workers were it not for unions. One might make the argument that, with these laws, unions have "served their purpose," but the price of "freedom" is eternal vigilance, as they say.

quote:

Originally posted by Zoso Thank you for that. I think in the US, at least in my neck of the woods, unions are somewhat frowned upon (many companies locate factories in the South because of the lack of union shops). I think unions, at one time, played a very vital role in the US. I feel we would not have nearly the federal employment laws we have today that generally serve to benefit and protect workers were it not for unions. One might make the argument that, with these laws, unions have "served their purpose," but the price of "freedom" is eternal vigilance, as they say.

I don't disagree with you, actually.

The history of employment laws in Brazil is quite weird though because, for the most part, we still use the laws of the closest we've had to a fascist dictator, who appeased workers to avoid a Communist uprising. So it was the right, rather than the left, that passed pro-workers legislation around here... And I'm not sure trade unions had that much of a say. I suspect the history is quite different in the US though

Spent my Fri-Sun moving stuff in to the new place. The move for the most part, went fairly smooth. Got a little nervous having to drive that moving truck through afternoon capitol traffic, but no one got hurt luckily. I haven't had time to actually enjoy the new roommate-less spot, had a beer and a few shots last night then it was off to bed for work. But I'll def be getting cozy to it this week. Adulting, fuck yeah!

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