Eisen Und Blut

Posted on February 7, 2013 by tosabarbell

Last summer, shortly after I hit town, we were strolling along the river in downtown Milwaukee when a police van went by and honked. Bigg looked at me and asked why, I say “dunno.” And off we went. Suddenly, the police van showed up again and a very large man jumped out and started coming at us. I felt pretty secure holding Bigg’s hand but wondered what was up. Then this very large stranger/cop started laughing and Bigg started laughing. Turns out this was a training friend (and of course he and I were FB friends), Eric Ratzmann.

I like how he kinda makes Bigg look normal sized. Anyways.

Eric is lifting this spring in the Relentless 2013-APF/AAPF Powerlifting meet to support the HopeKids organization. In order to raise money for Eric’s HopeKid, he has been selling an awesome T-shirt with the slogan, Eisen Und Blut.

The shirts have been popping up all over the place…McBob’s (of course)…

In the gym…

And of course back at McBob’s!

This Saturday, there is a special Fundraising Benefit for Eric’s HopeKid, Thomas Beverson. It begins at 7pm and will be held at Cloud Bar (111 W. Howard Ave. in Milwaukee.) There are some amazing raffle prizes, food, beer, and there’s sure to be plenty of Eisen Und Blut gear to grab.

If you’re in the area and free, join Eric and his pals for some great fun and support an awesome cause. We’ll be there, rockin’ the Eisen Und Blut fer shur!

“The great questions of the time will not be resolved by speeches and majority decisions—that was the great mistake of 1848 and 1849—but by iron and blood.”

Otto Von Bismarck

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Local Girl

Posted on February 6, 2013 by tosabarbell

I’ve admired Lindsey Vonn for a long time. First off, she’s a local girl. She spent the early years of her life in Minnesota and ski’d at Buck Hill in Burnsville. Since I’ve ski’d Buck Hill many times, I believe that makes me about .000000000010% as awesome as her since we’ve been on the same hills (not really.)

She is another example (Serena Williams, Ingrid Marcum, etc.) of a strong and beautiful female athlete. Her sport; however; is cray cray. I was a recreational downhill skiier so going AS FAST AS POSSIBLE was never my goal. Hers is and she is exceptional at it. So it was a little heart stopping this morning when this picture was on the news…

Vonn crashed during the Super G event in Austria, tearing her ACL and MCL and breaking her right tibia. She has a long recovery road ahead of her but that’s not the point. The point of this post is to remind you that a top American athlete has gone down and needs some strong thoughts from the world. So send them eh?

If you’re explaining, you’re losing.

Ronald Reagan

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Monday Bacon: Squats Didn’t Built That

Posted on February 4, 2013 by tosabarbell

We’ve all seen them, the amazing squat ass pictures. They usually have some motivating/shaming caption requiring us to believe in the fact that these women who have a 45″ perfectly rounded booty and 19″ waist have literally squatted their ass on. 

What’s wrong with this picture? Uhhhhh…no quads; no hamstrings; no nothing except a nice booty. But surly we believe that squats built dat ass, right? Cuz we’re stupid? Right?

Look, some women have nice ass’. Cuz they get one…for a while. They don’t have to train or anything, they just get a nice arse. I will be the second to admit that it looks awesome (Bigg was the first;) but it has nothing to do with squatting. So stop selling the snake oil. There are a lot of women who train, are strong and don’t end up with the body of a pin up girl. Obviously.

Well, you know, it’s really been, you know, quite a trip for me.

Patty Hearst

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Friday Jams

Posted on February 1, 2013 by tosabarbell

I ADORE Elton John. He is the ultimate entertainer. He IS the Piano Man; he IS the Walrus. He has spent his life making music for us to dance; laugh; boogie; cry to.

We watched him drive a crowd crazy with  his appearance at a George Michael concert and saw him drive a congregation to tears with his special rendition of ‘Goodbye England’s Rose’ for the service of Princess Diana.

Seeing him perform live is tops on my bucket list. Hopefully.

There are few times in life where I play the “I wish” game. I wish I could sing like Donna Summer; create a flower garden like Martha Stewart :throw like Adrian Wilson;  and play piano like Elton John. And then I wake up. Heh.

Enjoy the weekend.

And I’m afraid, in this day and age, trust, which I count so, you know, I love loyalty. I love trust.

Elton John.

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