point of view

I would like to begin this post today by wishing the best to the bereaved families of those shot dead in Toulouse, France this morning.  My thoughts and prayers go out to you.  I just hope it is not racially motivated as there is already enough hatred. 

Over the last week or so, a few things have caught my eyes and ears and I would very much like to convey my opinions on these things.  I was on my way home from the gym (because I am a total tank) the other day when I heard on the radio that the artist Plan B – who I do believe is a very talented artist – believes that the riots in London last summer were due to the upper and middle classes labelling the lower class derogatory names such as “chavs”.  I do believe that people are entitled to their own opinions and I also think that there are some people in society that genuinely do not know any better just because of their social status in society or the way they were brought up, however, I still do not think that this was an excuse.  Therefore, Plan B, I think this is a bollocks excuse!  People, no matter how stupid they are, know when something is right and wrong.  Going out rioting, setting things alight, looting, ruining other people’s livelihoods as well as killing is just plain wrong!  And you are trying to tell me it’s because of school playground name calling??!  COME ON!!! 

There was no excuse.  It ruined last summer in London for everybody.   People have been made to feel inferior due to different ethnic backgrounds, gender and age even today and they have not been lame enough disturb the peace.  If you want to be heard there is a more effective way of doing it rather than getting violent about it.  If their sole mission was to achieve equality in treatment – and everybody knows it was just an excuse to grab a free TV – they totally shot themselves in the foot as now these people are thought to be scummier than ever.  Around the same time in many countries in the Middle East, young and old were marching for basic human rights and in London a bunch of dickheads were looking to grab a tescovalue bag of basmati..... tragic. 

Elsewhere, a US serviceman went a little trigger happy when he was drunk.  Apparently he was mentally and physically injured in a tour of Iraq which is – according to his lawyer – what gave him the impetus to murder in cold blood 16 innocent people in their own homes.  Oh, but he was mentally and physically injured in Iraq so it’s ok, right?! Get a fucking grip.  I suppose you could argue that the military should have been more sympathetic to the fact that he was not fit to serve his country so soon after returning home from his previous tour(s) but, this is still unacceptable.  He is there to represent his country and it’s not like they were doing a stellar job as it was but this event has undone any good they have done.  

I have seen an advert for a book called Religion for Athiests: A non-believers guide to the uses of Religion.  The advert has the slogan - "Even if religion isn't true, can't you enjoy the best bits?" Every time I do see it I can’t help but get pissed off!  I think you already DO enjoy the best parts of religion.  You have made Christmas and Easter painfully commercial as it is.  Also, not that I have a problem with homosexual relationships but, listening to gay people express their negative views on religions but demand to have the rights to same sex marriage –  A RELIGIOUS RITUAL – is a bit paradoxical, no?  Have your civil partnerships, be who and whatever you want to be as long as you are a happy, good person however, don’t mock and abuse something that you don’t wholeheartedly agree with but wish to pick and choose only the best bits.  It doesn’t work that way!

Much love,

Jackson L.

Rihanna

I would like to discuss my intolerance towards Rihanna.

Firstly I will begin by emphasising her complete stupidity... I will for the life of me never ever know how or why she managed to forgive Chris Brown.  In case you haven't noticed, Rihanna, you are a rold model for many douchebags whether you like it or not..... what kind of message do you think you are portraying?! 

"Its okay to get the shit kicked out of you by your man." 

Idition, Chris Brown is sucan epic cunt.  For you constantly saying you have changed, you will orever be known as the knob that beat on a woman. Your juvenile, tragic faggotry on twitter shows you in your true light.

Furthermore, you constantly insist on torturing us by working with Drake - rap's spastic child.  I completely adore the fact that Drake is all:

"HO! GANGSTA!! HO! BITCH GANSTA!"

Mate, you went to a fucking private school in Canada and you used to look like this.  Rihanna, your music is even more shitty and monotonous because of your shit collaborations with him.

"Square root of 69 is 8 something, right?" - for one, shut the fuck up.  Two, you are not clever.  And three, you are a cunt. Fuck off.  Also, your name is RIHANNA!  You are 24 years old.  You really should know your own name by now!

Finally, with all this said - I have come up with a theory about Rihanna.  She is the lost tellytubby.  Don't act all surprised!  It is really obvious when you think about it.  Listen to all her shit songs. 

"You DA one that I dream about alweh eh ehz....You DA one I think about alweh eh ehz"

It's 'THE' not 'DA' but I do recall the tellytubbies saying "EH-OH" all the time.  What's with all the 'eh eh eh', Rihanna? Hmm??!

"You can stand under my umbrella ella ella EH EH EH"

I think my theory is gathering a little strength. 

"RUMPAPAPUM RUMPAPAPUM....Man down"

Tellytubbies generally make stupid noises.  Also, refer to intro to Disturbia, S&M, Pon De Replay (what does that even mean?!) and so many more. 

All your songs are annoyingly mundane.  I can't stand your shit and the fact that people call your noise music is an insult to art. 

Much love,

Jackson L.

Supplementation

Month 5 of my research into the supplementation and it has, so far, gone very well. 

After having taken Creatine pre-workout, a carbohydrate shake during and a protein shake post workout – all compounded with fat burners – my body fat percentage is now down to 15-17% having maintained most of my body mass. 

Before I delve a little more into the value of “stacking” the supplements, I will just explain a little more about my targets.   I am very happy with the level of strength I have.  I know I can improve on it but, I am not too bothered to be honest.  What I do plan on doing is altering my body image for self-efficacy and esteem.  I plan of dropping to around 9-10% body fat and raise my body mass to around 98-100kg (15stone 7lbs to 16 stone) or approximately 210-220lbs (for my imperial system using American readers).  I know that you may think this is mission impossible but I think that by the end of June I can achieve these targets.   I have altered my lifestyle so that I have cut out a lot of things from my daily diet which really helps.  I have completely cut out added sugars as well as cutting out white carbs altogether and replaced with wholemeal pasta, bread, rice, even sweet potatoes instead of normal potatoes.  In addition to this, I have cut my fat intake considerably.  One should not cut out a macronutrient from their diet altogether but, if you are trying to get rid of fat, it would be stupid to add more fat to your body.  I get my fats from nuts, no sugar organic peanut butter, olive oil and humous.  All of this coupled with correct supplementation will really help achieve my goal.  I have tried this for the last few months and when I have lapsed into a normal diet again I have found that I am putting on weight easily without losing any shape.   I’m looking forward to that phase of my journey as I will be gorging on everything!

Anyway, how many of you people workout regularly and take supplements and not noticed the desired effect?  It is probably because you have been briefly told about protein and how muscle needs protein to grow and repair.  Well, let me tell you the science of muscle is a lot more complex than just simple growth and repair.  To put it simply, growth and repair, just like everything is our crazy universe requires energy.  Energy in its most abundant form for humans in fat but, unfortunately, too much fat is not good for you.  So, we turn to carbohydrates.  An average 70kg man required 300g (40g of which to be sugars) in his daily diet.  This is to maintain a healthy average body mass index (BMI).  If you want to grow muscles, you need more than 300g.  This is why drinking a carbohydrate shake during a workout helps gain optimal muscle growth.  Carbs saturate the muscle quicker and it is a faster source of energy when you have depleted your energy reserve.  Ever wondered why you were advised to eat carbs after a heavy session – cardio or weights?  Particularly if you want to build muscle. 

Your body naturally creates a source of energy called adenosine triphosphate.   It is the single most potent source of energy in your whole body.  So incredible in fact, that your body recycles it and it is capable to creating energy levels comparable to burning of alcohol – 45.6kJ/mole to be precise.  It is required for literally everything your body does; breathing beating heart, blinking, hormonal release, digestion – essentially voluntary and involuntary movement.  So with that, a phosphate from the ATP combines with a muscle specific energy used during anaerobic exercise called creatine giving phospho-creatine.  This is what gives you the energy to push out those reps.  Supplementing your natural reserve of creatine with a creatine shake helps pile out another 2-3 reps and this helps you develop quicker. 

Protein shake for after workout to help with growth and repair is essential but, your body can only take so much protein per day.  Too much protein can actually cause kidney stones which is very painful to pass.  Also, too much of any macronutrient will be stored as fat as your body will not be able to metabolise it. 

In addition to these supplements, fat burners are a good way to kick start your day.  They are usually packed with caffeine which are naturally good at metabolising fats and can contain other natural extracts such as green tea extract, cayenne pepper and orange peel.  A lot of research has gone into fat burners but, always; with all the supplements ignore what they say on the label – apart from the dosage.  With fat burners you need to be careful as fatty receptor cells are sensitive.  They can get used to a specific fat burner and after time it will not have the desired effect.  This is why having two fat burners and interchanging (2weeks on 2weeks off) is the best way to ensure they are working.

To summarise, you need to STACK your supplements.  This means take more than one supplement.  Creatine and a fat burner pre-workout, carbs during your work out and protein post workout seems to be the winning formula. 

I will no doubt keep you posted.

Much love,

Jackson L.

Cats versus dogs

I am such a cat person. Cats are far superior to the annoying, needy cannes mongrelise. Not just domesticated cats but the whole feline family as a whole.

I know a lot of dog owners and thankfully not all of them become like their pets - weird, needy, smelly and annoying. They are one step away from licking their own balls and then licking your face. Disgusting and deplorable behaviour. Also, is there anything more tragic than seeing a dog owner pick up dog shit whenever these people take their dogs out in public?!

Read this:

http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/humor/otherhumor/dog_cat_diary.htm

Cats are so much more intelligent than dogs!

Much love,

Jackson L

A controversial opinion

I think that there is a long overdue apology in order for some of my readers who have actually even sent me emails questioning whether I am still in fact walking around on our beautiful Earth.  Well, I am alive and kicking and doing just fine!

I do apologise tremendously for being so off the radar.   I have been insanely busy.  Research is going well and I will update you all on that on a later blog…because I am sure you all want to know about it!

I do have rather a lot to talk about but the more I think about it I guess it is now considered old news.  You all have probably formulated your opinions and moved on and that’s kool.  I guess it serves me right for not updating in so long.

….Uh Happy New year by the way!  I just realised it is indeed my first blog of 2012 and what better way to start with a bit of controversy?!  Eh??  Ya bastards!

I would like to address several issues here.  There has of late, been many programmes on TV looking at how segregated communities in the UK are.  One area in particular is Bradford which has a population from many diverse origins; Afro-Caribbean, Asian and white and from different social statuses.  A series, Make Bradford British, documenting one person from each of these ethnic backgrounds (male and female) - who were born and raised in the UK but failed ‘The Government UK Citizenship test’ – was chosen to live together for a few weeks.  I believe it to be a rather positive and interesting social experiment as it is carried out before the all-seeing eyes of the British public and it is footage at its most raw.  This allows people who do observe to formulate proper opinions with a deeper understanding of how ‘their foreign neighbour’ may operate on a daily basis.  So far we are one episode in and I think it will get better. 

The important thing is though, it got me thinking more and more and I think it is important that I – as a Muslim man living in the UK hailing Britain from the Arab world – get these opinions across in any way I can. 

A few weeks ago I was walking en route to work and I stopped and watched a crowd of people launch a symphony verbal abuse at an Arab Muslim – my kinsmen – for holding a sizeable placard stating:

MAKE BRITAIN SHARIYAH

Now, living in the country that we do, we have several freedoms and rights and one of those rights is the freedom of speech.  I have always said – and I will say again – there is no such thing as ‘Freedom of Speech’.  I am of that philosophy as in public, despite having the right to your own opinions, you still need to be careful about what you say because you can still offend people.  Freedom of speech would entitle you to call an individual who is of a Negro persuasion a ‘nigger’.  This is a very derogatory word, it offends, and it therefore, should not be said.  However, a bigoted, intolerant, Nazi shithead could argue that it is well within their right to say that as it comes under freedom of speech, hence, in my opinion, this is a grossly paradoxical. 

Anyway, I deviate.  In between the moderate racism I was hearing, I was trying to gain better understanding of his want for a Shariyah Britain. 

Shariyah – This is the name given to the law under Islamic code.  Essentially it follows political, country, housing, tax, charity (etc) laws as it is stated in the Quran. 

If I am perfectly honest, he did look the type that may have just wanted there to be Shariyah law JUST because and ONLY because he was Muslim.  In my experience however, I am trying my best to not judge a book by its cover and I do strongly believe his heart was in the heart place.  He explained that he lives in fear.  He also went on to explain that this is his Britain as well and he is saying that Shariyah law would make Britain a safer, more economically stable country with low unemployment rates etc.  I am indeed, like many of you reading this sceptical, but I couldn’t help but think ‘what if?’  If nothing else, could he be right?  Would the death penalty act as a deterrent?  Would no alcohol and no gambling mean less violence in the streets?  If taxation was not a big deal and everyone did chip in (pay Zakat) would we be hit as hard in the recession?? Who knows?

Anyway, the more I thought about it the more I began to think that this guy is awfully brave, to the point of being stupid, for voicing his opinions publicly.  There are so many movements trying to get rid of ‘the foreigners’ who have stolen the native’s jobs, money, streets, women, houses and healthcare.  The likes of the National Front, English Defence League, Scottish Defence League who have also exercised their right to a freedom of speech to stop any progression towards changing their British law.  The law of their land.  The law it has always been and the law they have always understood.  I feel at this point I must reiterate that I am a Muslim man. I wholeheartedly understand why there are all these movements with such far right wing ideals. When something that you love comes under any threat from anything foreign you feel like you must defend it and I respect that.

I do not agree with the way that some of these people portray themselves though.  I think when any violence, rather than civil understanding through debate and discussion, is introduced you induce fear between these groups.  Fear due to lack of understanding leads to hatred because of cultural differences and this leads to racial hate and discrimination.  This occurs on both sides of the fence so I am not one of those people who exclaim “THE WHITE MAN IS THE DEVIL!”  They are both as guilty as each other. 

The National Front movements have had educated people speak up against what they believe is wrong in their country and I understand that but, their movement is tarnished because you get the ‘foot soldiers’ who commit violent attacks on innocent people with different coloured skin.  One cannot help being born with the colour of the skin!  One also cannot help being born in a foreign country, much like I was.  I was born in the UK and I embrace myself as British.  I was raised here.  I grew up here and I feel I integrated well here.  I have been presented with many opportunities which I try to take full advantage of and I have a fantastic life here.  I would never expect to see Britain change to a foreign way of life and so they should not!  We, the foreign people, are lucky to be in a country which has granted us asylum, a house for us to make into a home, benefits (if we need it), free healthcare and education.  Basically, we get hooked up!

In Islam we are taught to respect the laws of foreign land.  Britain is not a Muslim country and therefore, from a Muslim’s stand point, this is a foreign country.  We must respect the law of their land.  If British non-Muslim women went to Saudi Arabia (don’t ask me why….) they would be expected to cover up their hair and dress in a certain way.  The very least we can do – after being given so much – is adhere to their regulations, not be cheeky enough to try and change it!  By all means uphold your own cultural customs but don’t become a fundamentalist and try to get an entire country to observe to your principles. 

Much love,

Jackson L.