Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Jonathan Renwick's LiveJournal:

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Friday, September 28th, 2007
1:40 pm	Given enough time, we eventually become unrecognizable. I am still rowing, though I mainly use a rowing machine now. Went from weighing around 203 lbs to 170. I have retreated far more into myself than I realized and things have changed due to it. Current Mood: Relaxed Current Music: Alien (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 7th, 2006
6:40 pm	Rowing update and history I am mainly writing this so I can keep track of my progress with rowing. October 20 I start my month long set of private rowing instruction. Each week I row an average of 4 to 5 times in the level 1 boat. Week of November 20 I do not remember the day of that week, but I take the test for the level 2 boat and pass. The transition to the new boat was quite a challenge. November 20 through February 20 I am now rowing three times a week since rowing 4 to 5 times a week can be a bit fun for repetitive injuries. February 21 through May 15 Had to take the time off due to insane amounts for overtime with work. May 16 Finally return to rowing and learn that my posture was in need of correcting. After a consultation with my instructor my rowing improves. June 7 Took the test for the level 3 boat and passed. I took the level 3 boat out and enjoyed it. The transition from the level 2 boat to the level 3 went smoother than it did with the level 1. I am looking forward to being back in the boat on Friday. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, May 26th, 2006
1:59 pm	The Progression of Self Inflicted Masochism I knew early on in life that I had no desire to go to a gym to get a proper workout. Being in a room with a lot of sweaty people performing routines that took them nowhere made me uncomfortable. I wanted to do something that would not make me bored very quickly. After college, the first thing I tried was either rollerblading or tennis. Rollerblading was interesting for a short while, but I felt that I was too attached too the skates and that it was too much of a risk. As for tennis, I was never competitive enough to actually play a full game. I just wanted practice hitting the ball back and forth, much to the chagrin of others. A while later I decided to try martial arts. After doing some web searches, I came across budo taijutsu. I was interested in it since it was a rather offensive martial art. I should have realized that it would come to bite me on the ass when I had a nice knee injury due to it. After that I took a break and then decided to give soccer a try. That lasted for a couple of months, because I decided to stop when I was able to score a goal and the competitiveness of others was wearing me down. Next came mountain bike riding. I was able to maintain that for about a year. It was very enjoyable and I was able to choose routes at the Walnut Creek trail that varied the ride. All was going well until the day where I had three painful falls within one hour. After that I was unable to become fully confident in riding. I may ride again every once in a while, but I am still hesitant. This now leads me to the current activity I am enjoying: rowing. About 5 months ago, the company I work for was doing one of those chartered boat excursion when I saw someone kayaking. It looked interesting enough, but I wanted something a bit more formal. I did a little bit of research and a week later I was taking sculling lessons. I think I have finally found an activity that I can be happy with for quite a while. Though there is a danger of drowning, this is very low impact. I have already fallen into the water once, and the experience was oddly pleasant. It is something that I can do that I can completely focus on. There is so much that you have to be mindful of that it easily takes your thoughts away from external pressures. Plus it is very strenuous excercise when done correctly. A nice full body workout. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, November 9th, 2005
2:48 pm	Because of the outcome of proposition 2, I decided to see what the reaction at the free republic web site was like. What I found was not surprising. Almost all of the comments were theme and variations on the standard hate speech that is spoken by people hiding behind their god. The one comment that stuck out the most for me was this one: "For some reason in Lawrence, they determined that homosexuals, a group of people who are self-defined by their behavior, have a set of civil rights assigned to them as if they were born that way... which has never been proven." If I were to follow this line of reasoning then I should be able to argue that they do not have any rights to religious freedom since they were not born christians. They can argue that they were, but I have never heard of a child whose first words were “praise Jesus.” It would be nice if these people would not use god as a means to justify their bigoted views and just accept the fact that they are just assholes. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, August 25th, 2005
12:12 pm	Here is something for your late afternoon. Lady - a transgendered pop group from Korea. Also a video: The Video (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, May 9th, 2005
1:55 pm	Update to the Firefly fans The May 26th screening sold out within 15 minutes. Grr. Hopefully there will be another showing within a couple of weeks. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
8:40 am	To all the Firefly fans There is going to be another screening of the movie on May 26th. The site Can't Stop the Signal should be updated sometime either today or tommorrow with ticket and theater information. Last time it was playing in 10 cities. This time it will be playing in the original 10 as well as 10 new cities. (Comment on this)
Thursday, May 5th, 2005
11:25 am	Fanboy musing on Firefly and Serenity. Firefly is one of those shows that I hesitate to call a comfort show. Most of the films and television shows that I lump into the category of comfort are there, because I can have them running in the background while I am doing something and just exist as a bystander in that universe. I try doing that with Firefly, but I will inevitably lose all focus on my other tasks and just get absorbed into the show. When it first aired I was hesitant about watching it since it was a western set in space, but this being the creation of Joss Whedon I would give it its day in court. Friday nights and no dvr made it difficult for me to be able to watch. When I did watch it I would come away glad that I did. At that time the characters I was mainly intrigued by were River. A prodigy, whose brain was rewired by a shadowy government, who at one point tries to use quantum theory to fix the bible and later panics and flees from a plumage of hair that rivals a peacock. What's not to be intrigued about. Skip ahead several years and there I am finally watching all the episodes after owning the dvd set for quite some time. It is a case of wondering why I waited so long to watch this show in full. Whedon, along with Tim Minear, Jane Espenson, and Ben Edlund are among the few who can make a series that can be very funny as well as very depressing in the same episode and pull it off well. After watching the series in full, and subesquent re-viewings I find that my fascination with the characters has grown from just River to the whole cast. There is very strong and well executed character development in this show. I find myself actually caring about the crew on the ship. But, it all comes back to River. On the surface, it appears that goverment modified her brain so that possibly train her a some kind of assasin. But, knowing the way that Whedon will take a plot that seems familiar and completely make it change course, I have a feeling that story of River will play out differently than what I am imagining in the movie. Which brings me to the movie. September is rather far away and I can get impatient. Sure there is the screening that is happening tonight, but it is sold out and is also a rought edit of the film. From what I have read this film will give each of the characters there own time in the spotlight, but its main plot will focus on River. That makes me happy. There is probably much more to say, but this feels fine. Current Music: Zero 7 (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, April 1st, 2005
1:30 pm	( And now for a politically incorrect statement ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, January 21st, 2005
1:53 pm	I am not sure as to how recent this was released, but here is the trailer Tim Burton's new film, The Corpse Bride. The Trailer Here is the summary from imdb: Victor (Johnny Depp) is travelling home with his friend to get married to his fiancee Victoria (Emily Watson). The two stop to rest in the woods, and as a joke, Victor puts his wedding ring on a finger-shaped stick in the ground and says his wedding vows. The stick turns out to be a rotted finger belonging to a murdered girl (Helena Bonham-Carter), who returns as a zombie and insists that she is now Victor's lawfully wedded wife. (5 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 10th, 2005
8:53 pm	( On allegory, Tolkien, and the Journey to the West ) (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, January 3rd, 2005
9:26 am	Don't rely on this to get you high (Comment on this)
Monday, December 20th, 2004
5:28 pm	Christmas has come early. Book 6 is finished. Release date announced tomorrow. (Comment on this)
Monday, November 15th, 2004
7:18 pm	Dear John Balance, Rest in Peace (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, July 28th, 2004
3:43 pm	A lot of people have a fear that robots will take over the world. Something akin to Terminator. Then there are the people who are afraid that Mormons will take over the world. That would be one part Matrix mixed with two parts Best in Show. Now if you were to mix the two together you could get something akin to a Mormon Skynet. A half robot/half bicycle transforming missionary machine bringing the Heavenly Father to your doorstep. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, June 13th, 2004
8:39 pm	"Its Bullshit being the only Nation on the Planet that has the courage and the Power to do what is right, and inevitably being condemned for it." This quote, which came from The Command Post really frightens me. The first word that came to mind after reading it was 'fasciscm.' (Comment on this)
Friday, May 21st, 2004
1:43 pm	There was a time when I was living in Corpus Christi that I had a rather fevered hallucination. It was the middle of the night and I was in the middle of a very horrific bout of the flu. I remember waking up and bringing my right hand up to where I could look at it. Instead of fingers there were long metal spikes. Like very thich needles. I remember bringing the tip of the index finger and the thumb together and how they connected perfectly even thought the tips very sharp. Then I received what felt like an electric shock. I do not remember what happened after. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, May 12th, 2004
2:16 pm	Still shooting blanks since March 17, 2000. (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 7th, 2004
6:01 pm	Here is a quick thought and request. Stop what you are doing and think about the breathing that you are currently doing. Ok. When you think about breathing, does it switch from an involuntary process to a voluntary one? Do you have to force the act of breathing until you lose that thought and becomes involuntary again? I am trying to determine if this is just me and the need of the people in the white lab coats to drag me away. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, March 26th, 2004
5:25 pm	The trailer pretty much explains it all if you have not heard of the film "Shaun of the Dead". The short musical number close to the end is hilarious. Shaun of the Dead Trailer (Comment on this)