Monday, September 19, 2011

Charles Barkley: Crooner?

This is Painful:
However the question still remains, is his singing worse than his golf swing?

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

At Least We Looked Good in Defeat

The University of Maryland has apparently decided to turn itself into the Lady Gaga of college football.

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Teddy Roosevelt v. Rally Monkey

The Rally Monkey jumps out of the stands and attacks Teddy Roosevelt. If you don't watch this video you should take some time and reevaluate what is important to you in life.

Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Life Shards: Volume 5

In this ongoing series I'll post short comments that I say, type, or hear during everyday life that seem like a profound, and possibly incomplete and cryptic, description of how my life is going. Here is today's offering;

"I feel like I just obtained 1,000 soldiers, 10,000 horses (sounds weird in English.. haha)"
-My friend Seohee, upon hearing that she had passed the New York Bar Exam

Sunday, April 17, 2011

As Dusty Would Say, I'm "Liv'n On The End Of A Light'nin Bolt!"

Life has been hectic in a good way lately. I really want to write in a little more detail about all the things I've had on my plate, but for now here's a little sampler of what's going on.

(That is the look of a man who isn't phased by a hectic schedule)

-I'm back training Muay Thai and Jiu-Jitsu. I have very few regrets in life, I can probably count them on one hand, but stopping training a little over a year ago is one of them. Fortunately that time is over now and I'm not stopping again. At this point I don't even think I have a choice to stop training because it makes every other form of exercise I've tried seem monotonous.

- Took a trip to Atlanta for WrestleMania 27 with 3 great friends. We ate like king, had luxurious reservations, and were treated a fantastic show. I didn't know at the time that I was watching my favorite wrester Edge's last match, nobody did, but the fact that I did see it will make the memories of that trip even sweeter.

- I'm working with 2 of the guys who I road tripped to WrestleMania with on starting a local indy wrestling promotion. We've got a location, we've got a date, we've started preliminarily booking wrestlers and we've got a ring lined up. Before I throw out any specifics I want to get signatures on the contract I sent over to the building we'll be running in, but that hopefully will come this week.

More to come on all of this as it develops.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

On Fighting and Being Human


Sergio De La Pava's A Day's Sail is one of the very rare writings I've found that comes close to doing justice to the beauty and potential for metaphor found in fighting. He is able to artfully weave Virginia Wolfe, Gatti v. Ward, Corrales v, Castill, and even a pinch of law to make this article seem like I commissioned it myself.

Thanks to the ability to embed video De La Pava doesn't have to explain the the exceptional feats and heart displayed in the ring to the reader, but can instead allow them to experience it themselves with just a click.

Beyond just succeeding in using boxing as a writer's tool it's also a nice look at what it means to fight, or struggle, and what kind of light you deserve to be seen in as someone willing to endure the fight. Borrowing the term “in a light most favorable to the People” from the realm of law De La Pava argues that "Certain people are entitled to this light. They are numerous and teem and their numbers include artists, fighters, nurses, damn almost anyone who does or worries about doing." Personally, I wouldn't have extended that last sentence to include anyone who "worries about doing," but it's not a big enough difference of opinion to sour me on his point.

I can't encourage you enough to READ THIS. It is worth every one of the very few minutes it will take.


Friday, March 11, 2011

Life Shards: Volume 4

In this ongoing series I'll post short comments that I say, type, or hear during everyday life that seem like a profound, and possibly incomplete and cryptic, description of how my life is going. Here is today's offering;

"I call it like I read it...and I'm usually, almost, sometimes, never wrong."
-Jamee Gordon

Wednesday, March 09, 2011

Annoying Day

These are just a few of the things that make me very happy that I start 5 days a week with Muay Thai or Jiu-Jitsu class;

-Awkwardly timed traffic lights leaving me with tough decisions on whether to slam on the breaks or chance a possible camera enforced red light ticket.
-Web browsers with minute malfunctions leading me to have to use 3 different browsers to check my bank balance.
-Gas pumps that take a $73 deposit that doesn't clear for 3 days.
-Forgetting to charge my cell phone on one of the very few days I'll actually need to use it to call some people.
-Limited healthy eating options.

In the grand scheme of things none of these things are tragic and won't matter much at all. However when they seem to be clustered together, along with many other annoyances, in one day it's not enjoyable. This video was shared on my facebook today, I find that fact very appropriate (Language NSFW).



Things are looking up though, only 9 hours 15 minutes until Muay Thai Class.

Saturday, March 05, 2011

Life Shards: Volume 3

In this ongoing series I'll post short comments that I say, type, or hear during everyday life that seem like a profound, and possibly incomplete and cryptic, description of how my life is going. Here is today's offering;

"Man, it's like you have Popeye's forearms for calves. It's crazy."
-A coworker admiring my calves. No homo...I think.

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

Life Shards: Volume 2

In this ongoing series I'll post short comments that I say, type, or hear during everyday life that seem like a profound, and possibly incomplete and cryptic, description of how my life is going. Here is today's offering;

"If only Congress had 1/1,000th of the charisma that Charlie Sheen has..."
-Adam Samons

I Want to Get (back) to There



Sunday, February 27, 2011

Life Shards: Volume 1

In this ongoing series I'll post short comments that I say, type, or hear during everyday life that seem like a profound, and possibly incomplete and cryptic, description of how my life is going. Here is today's offering;

"Yeah Jim, I had a nice conversation with my Muay Thai instructor about beard brushing the other day. It seems quite helpful, certainly worth a try."
-Adam Samons

Saturday, February 26, 2011

UFC 127 Main Even Pick Posted…Just Because

I want to like John Fitch, I really do. When we watched UFC 87 at Angelina’s place and he took 25 minutes of ass whupp’n from GSP but just refused to die he earned a ton of respect from me. Also, the man perfectly times his walk in to Johnny Cash’s Rusty Cage so that he always walks into the Octagon as the guitar solo hits. But since then he’s been a bit of a boring decision machine.

As for BJ, I never feel 100% confident picking Penn because you never know when he’s going to come into a fight all disinterested and looking like he’d rather be ordering up fries at the Hilo BK. When he’s dialed in I think he takes this fight 75% of the time. So my pick comes down to whether I think BJ will care or not.

I’m going to have to go with Penn in a decision because he’s got better hands and good enough take down defense to eek out a close decision. (And yes, I do realize my reasoning for the pick actually didn’t have anything to do with the stuff I had written up until that last paragraph. I guess I was going for more of a surprise ending than a well formulated term paper approach with this comment)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

You Make the Call

(Not the team I'd pick for a playground pickup game)
Caltech broke their 310 game conference losing streak last night. Their last conference win? 26 years ago. Yeah, they look happy in the pictures, but I'm still not sure if this is a moving story of the triumph of the human spirit or just really depressing.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Impressionist Painting or Tourist Photos?

From the “I wish I had thought of that great art project” folder comes this Flavorwire story about Corinne Vionnet, a Swiss photographer who “layered between 200 to 300 tourist-taken shots of some of the world’s most famous landmarks to create what look like blurry, Impressionist paintings.

Here’s a link to her project’s site: Photo Opportunities/

Sunday, February 20, 2011

"As if Every Thought that Tumbles Through Your Head was so Clever it Would be a Crime for it Not to be Shared."


(Yeah, it's that good)

Saw The Social Network last night. This isn't news to anybody, but this movie is fantastic. The dialog hits you at a breakneck speed and is a challenge well worth accepting.

At least to me this movie is a tale of old money versus new money. A story of how a group of stately "Harvard Men" simply can't comprehend, nor properly react to, an outsider geek getting over on them.

In one of the movie's most telling exchanges a young Mark Zuckerburg is chided by his business partner, Eduardo, over having potential facebook interns compete for their positions in a competition that equal part drinking game and hacking competition. Mark responds that this competition is at least as relevant as having to care for a chicken, a task Eduardo has been saddled with by his prestigious "finals club" for which he is pledging.

This kind of old world tradition v. new economy efficiency rings throughout the movie and is an inspiration to anyone who hopes to create their own enterprise. A certain DVD purchase for me once I can get around to it.

Wednesday, February 09, 2011

Watch Black Swan, It's Great

Director Darren Aronofsky’s last film before Black Swan was 2008’s the Wrestler, his brilliant look into the life of an aging professional wrestler. On the surface the subject matter of pro wrestling and ballet couldn’t seem to be farther apart, but there are some similarities in the way Aronofsky handles both movie’s themes. These similarities combined, among other things, with Aronofsky’s fantastic ability to bring you into the mind of a person descending into madness make Black Swan a very entertaining 108 minutes.

Natalie Portman plays Nina, a brilliant but naïve ballerina is going for the lead role in a new production Swan Lake where the lead will be expected to pull double duty by playing the roles of both Black and White Swan. Nina’s sheltered existence and constant striving for technical precision as a dancer make her a perfect fit for the innocent role of the White Swan. However after being cast in the lead she is forced to find a more impulsive, sensual, and impulsive side to herself to fulfill the Black Swan role.

This transition runs so opposed to the world Nina knows that it wears away at her sanity. Just like Randy “The Ram” Robinson in the Wrestler trying to adjust to normal life where he is no longer cheered by thousands the feelings of awkwardness and even cognitive dissonance are palpable as you watch Nina find her more impulsive side. The feeling is especially pronounced when Lilly, a free spirited fellow ballerina played by Mila Kunis, is on screen.

Without giving away too much of the story away before you set foot in the theater I’ll also say that you should watch for how Aronofsky uses the thematic underpinnings of Swan Lake itself, especially in the plot’s resolution.

Very quick note: I love how the Wrestler and Black Swan deal with mental demands of characters who’s lives completely revolve around physical performance. This seems to be a niche where Aronofsky is peerless.

Wednesday, February 02, 2011

Observations

2 quick observations from listening to a workout mix tape I made years ago that happens to have some wrestling intros on it:

1) No matter what you are doing, or where you are, when the Ultimate Warrior's music comes on it's almost impossibly hard not to run full speed towards the first rope like object and shake it.
2) Even if you don't feel awkward listening to and liking Chris Benoit's old intro you'll probably still feel kind of awkward about not feeling awkward.