Специалисты Honda Racing Corporation разработали и успешно испытали на трассе новый двигатель HRC-K20C, созданный на основе силового агрегата от серийного автомобиля Honda Civic Type R...

I've kind of been ignoring this blog for a while. That's nothing new... there have been multi-year periods with no posts. I'm still writing stuff...

Shinichiro Watanabe compares COWBOY BEBOP to LAZARUS but admits nothing beats his experience on SPACE DANDY in this interview.

Due to demand from vendors, The Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase (BICS) is going to a two day show in 2025

AS FEATURED IN

First off, I want to thank you for your interest in my product. I aim to give you the absolute best quality product that exists, as well as the best possible technical support for all of your questions, concerns, and comments.
I wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and tell you a little bit about my new Muscle Building Program.
My name is Ben Pakulski , the author and creator of MI40. I will start off by answering the question most commonly asked. What is the significance of the name?
The name, MI40 - “Mass Intentions” is significant to this program because it is representative of the conscious INTENT, to create TENSION in the muscle, as well as the pun of overall mass creation.
The number 40, is the most important number in this program because it is the number that has the most scientific significance in MI40. 40 is representative of the number of days in the program (40 days), the amount of time in a set (40 seconds), the rest between sets (40 seconds), and the number of exercises used in constructing this muscle building protocol.
Many of you will immediately recognize the scientific significance of all of these numbers and some of you may not. The number 40 was chosen because of it being the MOST optimal number for many of these variables.
As will be explained in the program, 40 days has been proven to be the most optimal amount of time to adapt to any new training program (6weeks). 40 seconds is the ideal amount of “Time under Tension”(TUT) to illicit muscular hypertrophy. 40 seconds rest is the ideal amount of time to allow your CP and ATP Glycolytic energy pathways to recover before the next set (these are the energy pathways that drive muscular contraction of fast twitch muscle fibers which are responsible for growth!).
To tell you all a little about myself, I am a graduate of the University of Western Ontario. My areas of study were primarily Kinesiology, and Biomechanics.
My passion for health and fitness is second only to my passion for helping others improve their lives. I live my life by the acronym “CANI” – Constant And Never-Ending Improvement. 1% Improvement Every Day.
I have never viewed myself as an overly blessed individual, which is why my life is always centered on learning the best information, from the best resources and brightest people that exist. 14 years of seeking the best information and applying just about every possible technique on myself , has brought me to where I am today. A very successful, happy, healthy, motivated -professional bodybuilder, author, public speaker, nutrition coach, celebrity trainer and success coach. Sounds like a lot of hats, but they all tie into one balanced life…. Sometimes! ☺
The 2 main principles (or as Vince would reference them – “hooks” and Unique Selling Propositions) set forth in MI40 are the concepts that I deem to be most greatly contributing to holding people back from achieving their goals! “The WEAKEST LINKS!!” Here are the two problems MI40 Solves:
1) Most people have no idea how to feel how to “feel” their muscles, and therefore have little idea how to exhaust and build these muscles. ‘Intentions’ the ideal tool to assist them in doing so.
2) Then there is the idea of creating sufficient overload to stimulate a muscle to grow. Many people spend way too much time in the gym trying to “train” and exhaust a muscle group.
NOS has been designed to get the MAXIMUM efficacy in the shortest amount of time. It will fatigue the muscle faster and create the most optimal hormonal environment to illicit the growth response. Keeping the workout time shorter, means less cortisol (muscle breakdown) and therefore better body composition and muscle growth!
As many of you may already know, in a manner consistent with my approach to all aspects of life, I have gone out and sought “the best”. I have hired marketing genius and fitness pro, Vince DelMonte as my campaign manager for MI40. After spending quite a bit of time with Vince in prepping him for his competitions in 2011, I knew Vince was the guy to help me launch my muscle-building baby to the world! Vince is becoming renowned for his consistent low-to-mid 6-figure launch records. I believe in the product I have created, and I want to share my knowledge and expertise with as many people as I can.
I truly believe that this product has the science, the practical basis, the structure and format to help anyone that comes in contact with it. I want your help in spreading this knowledge and passion with the world!
Yours in fitness, health and passion, Benjamin Pakulski

A short message from your launch manager… Vince Del Monte

We have more than one – earning it’s rightful tag line, “Twice The Muscle, Half The Time!”
First, MI stands for MASS INTENTIONS and INTENTIONS is Ben’s trademark technique that addresses the problem of not being able to go heavier and heavier with your weights unless you wish to carry more risk than reward.
Going heavier isn’t your best option, especially after a few years of lifting, if you want to stimulate muscle growth and you most look to other solutions. With INTENTIONS you change the angle of pushing or pulling by means of a technique almost imperceptible to an observer. You push inward or pull outward with your hands or feet as you perform an exercise. I was introduced to intentions in December 2010 and ever since, my body has never looked the same. You’ve seen my pictures! Intentions literally RE MOLDED my body. On lat pulldowns as I pulled the bar down, I tried to pull my hands apart. They didn’t actually move on the bar, but that different motion made my lats fire in a different way, and my back was more sore the next day than it had been in months.
In the MI40 DVD, Ben teaches you how to apply INTENTIONS to virtually every exercise, not an easy task if you’re untrained in biomechanics and kinesiology (Ben holds a degree from the University of Western Ontario in Kinesiology). On barbell presses for chest, for example, you try to push your hands together. One thing is certain: Forget about using your normal weights. Typically, I do work sets with 180 to 230 pounds on lat pulldowns to the front; at that recent back workout I didn’t need to go any heavier than 150. As I said, though, the feeling in the lats was completely different.
We often play around with grip widths and experiment with pushing and pulling angles, but with intentions you introduce a variable that can awaken dormant muscle fibers and stimulate them in fresh, new ways. Pakulski has used intentions to get more out of exercises like leg presses, squats, barbell rows, bench presses and overhead presses—really anything that has you pushing or pulling both limbs at once on a bar or roller pad. It’s helped him become ripped at 270, place Top 10 at the Arnold Pro Show, Top 5 at the Flex Pro show and on his way to qualifying for the Mr. Olympia next year! INTENTIONS is 100% unique and will breath new life into your workouts. More important, it stimulates new muscle growth based on science and biomechanics, not bro science.

Ben already explained this but lets review it once more to ensure you know exactly what you’re endorsing. You and your list are going to LOVE the simplicity of the mechanism that makes MI40 so effective.
40 days!
40 second sets!
40 second rest periods
40 minute workouts!
40 exercises!
40 foods!
40 day meal plans!
This is the exact workout I followed in prep of the WBFF World Championships and here’s a reminder that it works!
As you can see, MI40 did not transform my body, it literally RE MOLDED it and it’ll do the same for you.



Aside from Ben’s trademark technique Intentions and the science behind the number 40 (we can explain why 40 is scientifically optimally for every variable above), we have…. NOS!
I’ll let Ben explain NOS to you…
Join the NOS revolution:
For years, I had been searching for the best way to overload my muscles each and every time I go in the gym. I know you can relate to those days when you worked “hard” but still feel like you could have done more. Leaving the gym feeling like there was more in the tank or maybe getting home and regretting not pushing harder?! I CRAVED something that would ensure that my muscles are taken to their limit, and CREATE NEW GROWTH!
This is when I discovered NOS!
My training partner and I had been coming up with creative ways to inflict pain on each other during leg workouts for years. I remember daydreaming of ways to make workouts harder. My goal was to leave the gym knowing I had BLASTED every last muscle fiber, and to have my training partner talking about how he had never experienced muscle pumps and growth like this.
“Straight sets” just didn’t seem to do the trick anymore. Ya sure I felt a decent pump, but it just didn’t seem to be the type of intensity that I KNEW I needed to grow!
FACT: A “straight set” will NEVER cause the type of neurological adaptation, hormonal response, and thereby GROWTH that a NOS set will.
NOS WAS BORN ON A LEG PRESS!
Being a research junky I had always read about overloading the muscle and overloading the nervous system to stimulate new muscle and strength gains respectively. Time under tension was proven to be the number one factor correlated with muscle growth and overload!
Something clicked in my brain! Time under MAXIMAL TENSION! This had to be better than just time under tension!! And so, my GROWTH BABY was born!
If I could use the maximum amount of weight I could handle for strict form for the greatest amount of time possible, growth was inevitable! The only catch is, that ITS HARD!
NOS is something that I have been using religiously ever since. Perfecting its components. I use it to get ready for my contests and in my offseason. Straight sets are now a thing of the past.
The science behind NOS: Neurological Overload Set.
The NOS system has been specifically designed to ensure a maximal MUSCLE OVERLOAD! The greatest number of muscle fibers are broken down or exhausted. Taking your muscles to such an exhausted state also causes the highest possible release amount of growth hormones and growth factors within a working muscle! Without these, you can train all day and eat a perfect diet and expect ZERO growth. This is one of the main reasons why so many people train often, train “hard” and see minimal results. They never reach that “overload-anabolic state.”
GREATER OVERALL STIMULUS=GREATER MUSCLE GROWTH!
Now this Math I LIKE!
How to: NOS
NOS is completed by performing an “extended set”.
The goal here is to extend the set for as long as possible while maintaining tension on the working muscle, and perfect form!
Start the set with a weight that you can use for a strict 8 repetitions. After completing your first 8 repetitions, decrease the weight by 20%(if youre using 100lbs, you would decrease by 20lbs, etc.) Immediately continue to perform as many repetitions as you can with the second weight (usually 5-8 reps). Repeat this process 4 times total. (You will complete 3 drops, therefore 4 “sets”-100,80,60,40lbs).
DO NOT allow your form to stray in an attempt to complete more reps. If anything, decrease the size of the Range of Motion (ROM) (“partials”), just make sure to be initiating the movement with the working muscle from a fully stretched position.

FRONT END OFFER:

Component 1
The 40 Day MASS Intelligence Training Manual
Component 2
The 40 Day MASS Consumption Nutrition Manual
Component 3
The 40 Day MASS Instruction Workout Videos
Component 4
The 40 Day MASS Proportions Exercise Demo Guide
Component 5
The 40 Day MASS Prescription Printable Workout Sheets
Component 6
The 40 Day MASS Pursuit Calendar
Component 7
The 40 Day MASS Supplement Stack Protocol
Component 8
The Sciene & Story Behind NOS & Intentions Audio Interview

 

 As we've seen, the Mayan Calendar is a chart of the evolution of consciousness in the universe.

Each Cycle or Age has its own dominant paradigm or point of view. As you move up through the 9 Cycles, new perspectives and new ways of being arise.

This new perspective starts to show up in the world, but it isn't an immediate switch from the old way of doing things to the new way.

It takes time, and a process of transition, for a new understanding to gain prominence.

The quantum physics revolution is a perfect example. We've known since the 1950's that matter isn't solid, and reality is nothing like we've imagined. Yet for the most part, our world continues to go along believing in the old materialistic ways... "Reality" is what can be proven with the senses. Medicine sees the body as a machine with unconnected parts. The Earth is dead, and humans are the pinnacle of evolution. And so on...

Yet, as we progress, the old perspective becomes more and more marginalised. People begin to talk about things in a new way. Then people begin to act in a new way. Finally (we're not there yet), the tipping point is reached -- the old way is as disregarded as the once unshakeable "knowledge" that the Earth was flat.

And that process is what the 13 days and nights of the Mayan Calendar describe.

The "Days" are times when consciousness expands, new perspectives arise -- times of fresh beginnings.

The "Nights" are times when the new consciousness is applied, new procedures initiated, and old ways (usually forcefully) overthrown.

And each of these 13 periods is characterised by specific circumstances.

Here's a breakdown of each of the 13 Days And Nights of the Mayan Calendar, and the specific transformation that occurs in each.

The First Day

A period of illumination -- new perspectives arise. Beginnings. Seeds are planted; energy begins to flow in a new pattern or paradigm.

The First Night

A period of darkness, rest. Integration. The new pattern begins to germinate within the dark subconscious of mind.

The Second Day

The second period of illumination. Dual paradigms, the old and the new, overlap -- both can be seen. In history, a time of turmoil, as the old ways (status quo) try to repress the new.

(This is where we are as of April 20, 2011.)

The Second Night

The second period of darkness. Followers of the two different paradigms battle for supremacy. Historically, very violent eras.

The Third Day

The third period of illumination. The new paradigm begins to spread deep and wide, beginning to show up in the world as new methods of doing things, new ways of perception. The new pattern begins to overtake the old, as fables, falsehoods, and failures expose the weakness of the past system.

The Third Night

The third period of darkness. The fledgling perspective of the new paradigm is refined, and the earlier, simplistic aspects fall away. The old system is thrown over, usually by force.

The Fourth Day

The fourth period of illumination. The new pattern becomes stronger and goes deeper into consciousness. A period of expansion, as the new paradigm takes form in the world. New corollaries emerge, as the new perspective takes precedence.

The Fourth Night

The fourth period of darkness. Healing the pain of the transition and the death of the old ways. Rebuilding after the destruction of the old status quo systems. The new, more healthy paradigm is truly established now.

The Fifth Day

The fifth period of illumination, and point of greatest radiance in the Cycle. The new paradigm flourishes, sending information about wonderful new knowledge out into the world. The highest possibilities for this Cycle are attainable.

The Fifth Night

The fifth period of darkness, and the nadir of darkness. This is a time of major hardships, cultural collapse, horrific violence. However, it is also a little like gestation: within the dark, something new awaits. From the death, new life will arise.

The Sixth Day

The sixth period of illumination, a time of Enlightenment. The flowering of the paradigm into stunning new insights and newer perspectives... in fact, sowing the seeds for the new Cycle of evolution to follow.

The Sixth Night

The sixth period of darkness. The paradigm has reached its peak and begins to dry and wither, like wheat in autumn. Typically a time of war and violent conflict.

The Seventh Day

The seventh period of illumination. There is a sense of openness, of being ready for something new. The best of the paradigm has been harvested, and it's time for a new level of consciousness to arise.

From the Seventh Day of the Mayan Calendar, we proceed directly to the First Day... from Light to Light. This demonstrates that whole process, even though it contains much dismantling and death, is finally and entirely a process of Creation.

The Mayan Calendar is an illustration of this process.

That's what makes it so fascinating... How did the Mayans ascertain such detailed information, that accurately predicts the ancient past (of which they could have known nothing) to the far future (which they are scarcely more likely to know)?

We may never know the answer to this question. But at least we finally know enough to appreciate their wisdom at last.

And just in time!

With Bright Blessings,

Surviving the 2012 Transition involves dealing with loads of uncertainty and requires continuous adaptation.

There is no avoiding it. The only constant anymore is constant change.

This is something our forebears didn't have to worry about. For hundreds of generations, nothing much changed. They could mosey along with their noses to the agricultural grindstone, doing the same thing their parents and grandparents and greatgrandparents did. We have it in our genes to like things this way (mostly).

But that's not the reality any longer.

Surviving 2012 calls for a different approach, because life is different... even from 10 years ago!

Changes that took millennia in the beginning of time, half a millennium around the time of Christ, and decades in the 1900's are now occurring at 20 day intervals! We can't see anymore where we're going or what's coming next -- the only certainty is that it's coming fast.

And we have to change the way we live, to live with the change.

 

The more you hang on to what you already know, what you're comfortable with, the harder these times will feel and the more difficulty you'll have surviving the 2012 Transition. We are all being called to immense rapid change. It's natural to want things to slow down... but they won't.

And the more you resist it, the more suffering you create for yourself.

So let go of resistance.

Accept that this is the new reality.

Practice letting go easily and flowing with the tide of change.

I call this Dancing Lightly On The Edge. If you're standing on ground that keeps shifting underfoot, you just have to stay light on your feet.

It's kind of like levitation. 

I read one guidebook on levitation said it's a matter of switching your gravitational "pole" -- instead of being held by the gravity of Earth, you are held by the gravity of the Sun or Moon or stars. Then you naturally "fall" upward.

If you can shift your "polarity" from worldly-existence to Divine-process, you will be upheld by that energy.

What I mean is by worldly existence is holding onto ideas like... "I have to look out for myself first" "It's work work work that makes the world go 'round" "I must stay in control in order to survive" "I want things to go back to the way they were" "I already know who I am, and all I need is better stuff and a more obliging lover to make me happy" "All that spiritual mumbo-jumbo is pure fantasy; the world is made of dead rock, man is at the pinnacle of evolution, and the physical world is real enough for me!"

This is a recipe for not surviving the 2012 Transition! It's a recipe for a very hard, unpleasant life!

The more you can switch to Divine process, the more easily, successfully, and beautifully your life will flow.

That means working from ideas like... "The more I help others, the more I ultimately help myself." "It's love that will save me, and compassionate kindness that will save the Earth." "I rest my life in the hands of the Divine, and so I am perfectly safe." "I am part of the most wondrous evolution ever experienced, and I am thrilled to allow it to flow through me." "I am Divine Light; I am Divine Love; I need nothing else: I am One with everything." "The only real reality is Consciousness."

Surviving 2012 is do-able. It may even be easy, depending on how well you master this skill.

In fact, it could very well be the best thing ever, as the entire planet is uplifted to this more beautiful state of consciousness!

With Bright Blessings,

 I have to change platforms for the newsletter.

Mailchimp cuts off free use at 2000 subscribers and there were (a lot!) more of you than that.

I've switched to TinyLetter, but they ask that instead of just importing names, people subscribe.

It prevents a lot of bounce backs from stale addresses.

So, if you want to get the newsletter (and of course the reason this is happening is there's one in the works) just click here to resubscribe.

If you don't, no worries.

NEWS – As the holiday season approaches, Creality is thrilled to launch its biggest-ever Black Friday event! From October 21 to December 3 on the Creality Store and November 21 to December 2 on Amazon, enjoy record-low prices on an extensive range of 3D printers and accessories. Whether you’re a 3D printing enthusiast or a […]

REVIEW – Look at my fancy coffee maker! The PINKAH Stainless Steel French Press Coffee Maker is a contemporary take on the French Press design that features an innovative leakproof pouring mechanism and a double-walled design that keeps your beverages hot for hours. We love all the coffee things, so let’s learn more. To the […]

I am over-the-moon excited to share with you that today is the book birthday for my newest book, THE SPELLSHOP! It's a cozy fantasy about a rogue librarian and her best friend, a sentient spider plant, who take on the low-stakes market of illegal spellmaking and the high-risk business of starting over. And it's for anyone who is looking for a slice of joy, a bit of comfort, or just a deep breath.

I wrote this book to feel like a warm hug. Or like drinking hot chocolate. Or like eating really good raspberry jam. Or a cinnamon roll, with hot chocolate and maybe some raspberry jam on the side...

We've all been through a lot over the past few years, and I wrote THE SPELLSHOP for anyone who wants to escape into a world filled with kindness and enchantment.


Thank you to everyone at Macmillan/Tor/Bramble for bringing this book to life and gracing it with Lulu Chen's beautiful cover art and such lovely lavender sprayed edges!

If you'd like to learn more about the book or read the first chapter, please visit my website: http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/Spellshop.htm

I'm also going on book tour starting today, and I'm so excited!! If you'd like to join me at any of my tour stops, I'd love to see you! For details, see the Events page of my website.

Happy reading!!!

THE SPELLSHOP IS A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER (#7), A USA TODAY BESTSELLER (#13), AND AN INDIE BESTSELLER (#10)!!!!!!!! I’M SOBBING!!!! Thank you so much to everyone at Bramble/Tor/Macmillan who made my dreams come true, including the incredible Ali Fisher, Dianna Vega, Caro Perny, and Julia Bergen! Thank you so much to my amazing agent Andrea Somberg who has been with me for 18 years and 28 books! And thank you to the wonderful booksellers and readers who made this possible!!!! I love you all so much!!!

Happy paperback book birthday to my YA thriller, THE LAKE HOUSE!!! It's about three girls stranded in the woods in Maine. No food, no water, no shelter, and someone -- or something -- is hunting them. Paperback edition out today from HarperTeen! 

http://www.sarahbethdurst.com/LakeHouse.htm

Very excited that THE SPELLSHOP is out today in Germany (with lovely purple edges)!!! Thank you to everyone at Fischer Tor! I like to think that Kiela, Caz, and Meep are celebrating their book birthday by selling spells and jam somewhere along the Rhine... 

https://www.fischerverlage.de/buch/sarah-beth-durst-spellshop-9783596710942

- Scarper; British slang for 'run away'. From Scapa Flow - Go. 

- Grass; as in informant. From Grasshopper - copper (and from there to copper's nark) 

- Dukes; slang for fists, as in 'duking it out'. From Duke of York - Fork. ('Forks' being now-forgotten slang for hands.) 

- Donkey's years; a long time. From Donkey's Ears, rhyming slang for Years... but then the Y crept back in. 

Alt Text: Donkey's ears. And between them, a donkey. Well, I suppose there's always a donkey between a donkey's ears. I mean: another one, framed in the photo between the ears of the first donkey. Glad we've got that clear. It doesn't matter in the least.

 

Alt text: A trailer, made by the excellent people at Stage Fright Films, which eventually tells you it's called 'The Researcher's First Murder', and revealing the excellent cover illustration by Tom Gauld.

You can pre-order it here, and I won't at all mind if you do.