finbarrio

Cool! I have never been to a ski resort to bike, but a lot of my friends have and said it was a blast. I'll definitely be heading up to New Hampshire this Spring/Summer to check them out. Are there particular areas around Baltimore that you ride at?

Wow - Tea Leoni is vegan? Awesome. She was in a movie called "Spanglish" and she was in INCREDIBLE shape - all fit and ripped. The fact that she's vegan makes her even hotter.

Gosh, Courtney Love is just so talented and beautiful. And relevant. And she's a truly wonderful role model. If I ever father a daughter, I want her to be just like Courtney Love! (sorry - what I wanted to type about her would have been too offensive, so I decided to submit my comment from Bizzaro World instead)

"Falafel Factory" - that's a funny name - sounds yummy too. Thanks very much for the info. Looks like I'll be eating well!

Welcome Wildflower!!! Have fun popping around the different threads on this forum. There is tons to learn and chat about. I have a Mt biking topic in the "Other Sports" thread if you ever feel like chatting about that. I also have a German Shepherd (mixed with Rottweiler) that you can see in the Photos thread. You can post a pic of yours if you like...

Awesome progression! The facial expressions (big smiles ) while you're competing show how much you truly love what you do.

No Kidding! I will DEFINITELY be checking out that place and submitting a review for you. I'll probably go more than once in fact! I hope it's close to my hotel. THANKS!!!

Great post, cg! That's funny what Williams said about IFAW, considering that IFAW was originally founded in 1969 specifically to STOP the seal hunt. IFAW employees documenting the "hunt" (slaughter) have been attacked by sealers. Sealers HATE IFAW The McCartneys rock!

Great thread. I'm vegan because factory farming is pure EVIL, my cholesterol and BP were too high, and because my wife convinced me to "cut the crap" and go from veggie to vegan. Also, and I'm not sure I've seen this reason in here yet - because it feels good to live a principled life. I'm living more in line with who I really am. I'm closer to the person I want to be, the person I know I can be deep inside - the ultimate me, if you will. The closer I get to that, the more happy I'll be.

Despite the apparent irony of the subject line - I know there are some folks from Germany on here and I have to go to Hamburg next week for work and am wondering if anyone knows of any vegan-friendly restaurants in the city?? Thanks.

Dang - I thought I had the world's biggest calves, but I think you got me! Good luck with the cardio/weight gain battle. It's a tough one, especially if you like running.

I'm just joshing. I'm not smart enough to debunk something so accepted as an absolute truth. It's just that to me, the whole "straight" or "gay" thing as it pertains to labeling a person one or the other - it's just another concept made up by some person at some point in time. It's so engrained in our culture that we take it for granted that's it's real, but in truth, it's just a concept. Oh, and I don't define homophobia as having a fear of homosexuals - I define it as having a fear of BEING a homosexual.

The cemetary golf course is the bomb! When I was a wee little one, my dad was playing rough-house with me and he knocked me out by accident - the weird thing, though, was that I could hear he and my mom hovering over me saying "is he ok?" etc. I just couldn't move or open my eyes - almost like dream paralysis. Since then, I've had this phobia that the same thing will happen when I die - that my heart will stop beating, but I'll still be conscious and stuck inside my dead body (kinda like the video for Metallica's "One"). Therefore, I'd opt for ashes. Or the "Fargo" wood chipper treatment.

that's funny - probably true though (that I'll be accused of being homophobic just because I thought the movie wasn't as good as everyone else did. But this isn't a sexuality forum, so I'll resist the urge to altogether debunk the myth of sexuality ). I don't want to ruin the movie for you, but that's not accurate.

Sorry for your loss, Brandon. 14 years is a long life - you must have taken awesome care of him. And I'm sure you tons of fond memories - hope that helps you get through the sadness of losing him.

Me and Mrs. me (yogita chiquita): http://myspace-739.vo.llnwd.net/00531/93/75/531235739_m.jpg Pretending we're bodybuilders: http://myspace-444.vo.llnwd.net/00032/44/40/32460444_m.jpg Amy (dog) and Clementine (rescued pets rule!): http://myspace-800.vo.llnwd.net/00150/00/89/150239800_m.jpg

Brokeback Movie - that's what I called it. Why? Because the first sex scene came so out-of-the-blue to me ("WOAH - WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?!") that it ruined the rest of the movie for me - so I sat squirming around in my seat trying to find a position that wouldn't hurt my back (believe me, it was not a sub-conscious Freudian reaction to the sex - those damn cinema seats are killers!). Then the end has another under-explained scene (how a particular character dies). I thought I was going to need a chiropractor at that point. Alas, after debating this with a friend who didn't find a problem with either scene, I was lent the book (short story actually). Lo and behold, both of the movie scenes I had a problem with are better explained in the book. There WAS more relationship development in the book prior to the initial hook-up, and the cause of death was more clearly defined. Why the movie didn't explain these better, I don't know. I'm surprised more people haven't had these same complaints about the movie. It was a good movie, but it would have taken a whole 2 or 3 more minutes of film to make it a great movie. I agree that Anne Hathaway was superb. Jake and Heath were both very good as well (I thought Jake's character was a bit more interesting, though, and would give him a better chance of scoring an Oscar than Heath).

Welcome drummer boy!!! So...are you a drummer?

I think a lot of animal rights/welfare organizations face a difficult question - how far should we go to achieve our mission? I guess there's some line they draw in the sand and say "ok, we'll do anything up to that line, but we won't cross that line." For PETA, the line is pretty far out there. They will cause a lot of controversy; they will use aggressive fundraising tactics; they will use celebrities to help raise their profile. I think they've even crossed their OWN line and had to backtrack. But, they apparently feel that the ends justify the means, and I happen to agree. I wish more organizations were as "out there". Sidebar: The topic of PETA and their tactics is a great ice-breaker to get into the discussion of animal rights/welfare...."yeah, PETA can do some crazy stuff, but what they believe in, in terms of animals getting a crappy deal in the world, isn't so crazy." And off you go...

that is awesome. some great pics too!

I personally feel that veganism is the practice of avoiding the consumption or use of animal/animal-derived products. Therefore, I think eating eggs, no matter how fairly the parents were raised, would violate that. But if one was going to eat eggs, that's certainly the way to do it.

Point fighting in tkd, some boxing, kick-boxing. I love all aspects of martial arts (forms, training, weapons), but sparring was always my favorite and the guys in my training center had a great variety of backgrounds. Nothing like getting punched in the nose by a muay-thai guy and fighting through the stars.

Hey y'all- Just thought I'd see if there are any serious mt bikers around? I live in Mass (USA) where there aren't a lot of mountains, but there are plenty of freeride and XC areas, and I indulge in plenty of both. Any other mtbikers out there???

Welcome Yogita Chiquita!!! Cute name, hun - I guess that translates to "Mexican Yoga Guru". I told you this was an awesome site! Definitely! I guess my view is that this IS a bodybuilding site, and though I'm not a bodybuilder, I really respect them, and I certainly can learn a lot from bodybuilders that will make me a stronger athlete in general. And, I probably have a lot more in common with the people on this forum (the vegan/animal welfare/rights thang) than I do with people on my mountain biking forums. And, when I see picutes of some of the huge and fit people on this forum, I am even more certain that vegan and fitness go hand-in-hand. And, it's good to read and share the experiences of being a vegan athlete. Booyah!

Welcome!!! I did the same thing (veggie to vegan) and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be. My cheese and ice cream withdrawals weren't nearly as bad as I thought they'd be (thanks in part to Tofutti).