New Pic with My Old Cam

© by Gerald So | 4:30 PM

I took this selfie with my Kindle Fire the other day to use as my Mastodon avatar. By chance its colors match this blog, so I'm using it on my bio page, too.

Brian Shaw's Final World's Strongest Man

© by Gerald So | 6:30 AM

I have fond memories of watching marathons of the World's Strongest Man finals on ESPN2. In early 2020, having dropped cable TV, I reconnected with the sport of strongman through Brian Shaw's YouTube channel, getting to see his affable nature with wife, kids, training partners, competitors, and fans.

It would've been nice to see him win a fifth World's Strongest Man title, but pragmatically older strength athletes are at a disadvantage against younger. The older you get, the more difficult it is to prepare and make your way into contention. Athletes like Mark Felix and Brian Shaw should be commended for it.

I suspect many strength athletes use performance enhancers or eat exorbitant diets to maintain themselves. In my pursuit of greater everyday strength, I don't have the inclination to use PEDs nor the money to support such a diet, but part of me will always wonder and be amazed how strong humans can be.

Confess, Fletch

Posted 11:30 AM by Gerald So

I waited decades for another Fletch movie. See what I thought of it.

Embed from Getty Images

Recent Advance Reviews

© by Gerald So | 11:00 AM

Curious about this year's Robert B. Parker continuations? Check out my advance reviews of Alison Gaylin's first Sunny Randall and Mike Lupica's first Spenser. Thanks again to Putnam and NetGalley.

Snatching Victory

© by Gerald So | 12:30 AM

I've exercised with kettlebells since November 2020. After a few weeks of a 30-minute, 24kg swing-pushup program, last week I did my first 16kg one-arm snatch. I then decided to get a 12kg bell to improve my form, a step back to move forward.

April is the Cruelest Month

© by Gerald So | 3:30 AM

My weekly poetry site The Five-Two traditionally celebrated National Poetry Month with a blog tour formerly called 30 Days of The Five-Two and The Cruelest Poetry Month.

This year I shortened the event name to pay full homage to Eliot. There's no full tour, but I am open to original poetry commentaries and I need two more Poems of the Week to round out the month.

Creating this year's image inspired me. I hope you're inspired to submit so the site can continue. My only socials are Mastodon and YouTube, so I very much appreciate your mentioning The Five-Two in your circles. Thanks as always.