CMMA Punk

Going up, I was big fan of professional wrestling.  I don't really watch it anymore.  I stopped being interested in WWE long ago when the storylines were being pushed too far for my liking and I wasn't seeing enough action.  One guy that I've heard about a lot is Phil Brooks AKA CM Punk.  I saw a match or two of his.  He's a very talented performer.  

Recently he parted ways with the WWE.  To many people's surprise he's been signed to the UFC.  Keep in mind he's never been in a MMA match.  He's 36 years old which is a bit old to be entering this.  The UFC is the biggest promotion in MMA.  There's a lot of people balking at this.

I'm not one of them.

Dana White was asked why he signed Brooks, and he answered.  It boils down to this is a dream of Brooks who is a legit martial artist and he doesn't have enough time on the clock to work his way up through the amateurs.  Brooks gets to live his dream and get paid.  The UFC gets a ratings boost and Brooks' fanbase will be checking out his fights, so there's the potential to gain new fans.  Brooks brings more to the table than fighting ability, and these are things that are well established.  If he does well in the Octagon then that's even better.

This is a win all the way around for all involved.  Is it fair that Brooks gets in when there's other fighters who have been working their butts off to get noticed?  No, its not.  Still, White and the UFC doing something like this generate interest and revenue which keeps the organization going, and keeps them around so there's a platform for these fights to work towards.

I'm looking forward to watching Brooks fight, and wish him well.  Its going to be a tough road for him as his likely weight classes are packed with great fighters.  The last pro-wrestler to enter UFC was Brock Lesnar who did indeed win the championship, but the heavyweight division was a little light when he did it.  We'll see what happens.

Insignificant strikes

There's been a whole lot written about last Saturday's UFC welterweight championship match in which Georges St. Pierre "defended" his title against Johny Hendricks.  First, I want to make it completely clear that I am a GSP fan.  We're both karate guys.  He's always come off as a classy fellow and a great champion.  There's a serious problem with last Saturday's fight.  I watched it, and I had this fight scored 49-46 for Hendricks.  GSP looked like he'd been through a meat grinder by the end of the match.  Hendricks looked like he'd maybe gone for a jog.  This had been the foughest fight the champ had been in for a quite a while.  Yet, the judges gave GSP the win in a split decision.

There's some serious problems going on here.  This is the second title fight I've seen recently with some really questionable judges decisions.  Last fight was Jon Jones' defense again Alexander Gusstafson.  That fight was incredibly close and two judges giving it to Jones 48-47.  The last judge gave it to Jones 49-46, which was complerely nuts and spawned jokes that the judge in question was paid off by either Gatoraide or Nike (who both sponsor Jones).

That match raised a few eyebrows, but it was understandable that Jones had done enought to keep the belt.  The GSP/Hendricks fight is a completely different story.  This raises a lot of troubling questions, mainly, was this rigged?

The problem here was not GSP.  He fought with everything he had, and doesn't control the judges.  He seemed surprised as well with the decision.

The problem is not with the UFC and Dana White, because they do not get to pick the judges.  MMA walks a fine line.  They have to stay sanctioned with the athletic commisions of various states so they can keep holding events in them.  They don't dare rig or work a fight because White knows full well that's one of things that screwed boxing.  Yes, things are set up to make a bit of drama, but once those two fighter get in that cage there is no script.  If people get the very notion that this is rigged then the whole franchise is doomed.

The problem lies squarely with the judges, and the UFC has no control over them.  They don't get to pick them.  White doesn't seem to trust many of them, especially in Nevada where the fight took place.  I've seen some of these score card and have watched the fights they go with.  One of the things that fighters are scored on is "significant strikes".  I've been in martial arts since I was kid.  I've put on the gloves.  I've gotten concussions and cracked ribs.  I know what a significant strike is.  A significant strike does something.  It causes damage and/or knocks the other person back a bit.  Judges are declaring strikes significant that fighters are moving away from avoiding the brunt of the blow and sometimes the strike is completely blocked.  As mean as it sounds, many of these judges really need to get punched in the face just so they know what a significant strike is.

Dana White has said he's really hesitant about holding any more matches in Vegas after this.  That should be enough for the Nevada athletic commission to get the hint and look into this, but I doubt they will.  The only thing governments like better than money and power is red tape.  Fortunately, there's many other states that sanction UFC events.  Love to have them come to Norfolk.  That's the smartest move right now for the UFC.  The judges in that state are bad, so stay out of that state.

Other sports have their own referees and judges.  What would be best is if the UFC could get a bunch of judges that they know are going to be solid and get them sanctioned in the states they're holding fights.  I don't know how difficult that is going to be though.

There's been so much drama and speculation around this fight, and much of that is around the decision.  There's the "Hendricks tapped" dopes who must be really new to the sport to think Hendricks tapped in the first round.  There's rumors that UFC wanted GSP to remain champ because he's more marketable and will be in the upcoming CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER movie.  There's GSP's remarks about him needing some time away from the sport.  Its a whole big mess.

One thing is completely clear though: the scoring system in MMA needs to get a good hard look and things need to change.  Johny Hendricks got completely screwed over, and that shouldn't happen in any title fight.

Do it right

Its Wednesday, April 11, 2012, I'm tired and this The Side.  Nothing clever to open up with.  My buddy broke his arm at work yesterday, so I'm off and running to try to help out as best I can.

TEACHIN'S!!!

There was a really unfortunate incident last week.  Two guys were wrestling.  Neither of them had any real training.  The younger guy lucked into a rear naked choke.  The older didn't know how to react and was put under.  The younger didn't know what had happened and continued applying the hold.  His cousin never woke up.


Here's a quick word from two guys who know a lot about a rear naked choke.





What's important here applies to all martial arts.  Just because you see something that looks cool on TV or in a movie doesn't mean you should try it at home.  I cringe at footage of some of these dumb kids would watch WWE and go out in their backyards or go into their basements and decide to have their own rasslin' match.  Somebody goes getting hurt.  Sometimes there's even some pissed off parent who wants to blame WWE or the UFC or whatever because their kids did something ignorant or stupid.


This is coming form a guy who grew up doing stupid stuff like this.  I didn't emulate pro-wrestling, even though i did love watching it, but I had a steady stream of martial arts entertainment coming my way.  If there was a martial arts movie coming out, my Dad was more than happy to take me and my brother.  Unlike many families, there was a key difference between my brother and I, and the two cousins involved in the tragic incident the video talks about.


My brother and I had training.


Even better, that training came from my father, and experienced instructor, who was the one taking us to these movies or watching these TV shows with us.  He gave us a full appreciation for how dangerous those stunts were.  We knew how much a martial arts technique could hurt somebody.  I've been hit plenty of times during my training, and it hurts plenty even with the punches pulled.  Getting hit full steam is something I take very seriously whether I'm on the giving or receiving end.


Mixed martial Arts is one of the most popular sports right now.  Professional wrestling continues to be very popular as well.  These are both great, but if you're a fan of these thing, you need to really appreciate what those people in the ring do.  They train hard.  They know the risks.  They know their bodies.  They know what these techniques can do.  They know what it feels like to have a submission hold put on them.  Very important, they know when to tap out.  More important than that, they know when that other guy taps to let the hell go.


Safety is important, and part of that is getting the proper training from someone who knows what's up.  Sure there are the McDojos out there just looking to make a buck, but there's plenty of other schools and clubs that can give you a really good idea of the realities of hand-to-hand combat both for sport and protection.  If its worth doing, then its worth doing right.  Get the training.  At the very least go online and hunt down some resources detailing what these techniques do.  Better to be safe than be a news blurb.

MUSIC!!!

Been listening to a lot of Midnight Oil lately, so now you will listen to Midnight Oil.

Vulcan Doomsday!!

Hey there, sports fans. Its Sunday, May 29, 2011, I'm needing more coffee, and this is The Side. Typically, this is when I'd start talking UFC as there was card last night. Unfortunately, I didn't get my kitchen pass, so I wasn't able to go watch it. More unfortunate was how the card shaped up in light of the number of injuries going around.

The scheduled main event was Frankie Edgar in his rematch title defense against Gray Maynard. Their last fight was a war that went to a draw. Unfortunately, Edgar has a couple of bulging disks in his back and can't fight right now. He's probably going to need surgery and I wish him well. This put the Jackson-Hammill fight in the main event, and Jackson had a broken hand going into it, so he wasn't able to throw his big bomb punches. Didn't make for an exciting card.

Injuries happen. It seems sometimes that I'm always injured, either with something new, or an old injury flaring up. When you're not training competitively, you can train around it. However, if you try to do that when you're looking to keep your championship you're either going to lose that championship, get hurt worse, or most likely both. I respect the heart of a fighter who wants to step in the ring even though they aren't 100%, but I'd rather these guys take care of themselves and be healthy. That's how sports like MMA keep going strong.

COMIX!!

My books didn't get in until Friday, which would make posting my reviews Friday morning rather difficult. So, here we go.


A massive object is heading for Earth at near lightspeed that'll wipe out all life on the planet upon impact. Inside it are a bunch of homicidal Doomsday clones. This looks like a job for Superman. ACTION COMICS #901 gave me what I've been waiting for: Superman and his allies up against incredible odds with world at stake. Its a cat-and-mouse game as the heroes race to figure out how they can possibly stop a bunch of Doomsdays, and it gets worse when they learn that giant space station thingamahoozits they're on is heading straight for Earth and not in a good way. Forget the whole Superman walking around and being a douche. Paul Cornell serves up tight action with Superman in what feels like a space horror story. Kenneth Rocafort and Jesus Merino are definitely up to the task of bringing the tension and action to the page. It was weird to see an Obama analog for the President in the issue. I do like that DC had a history of having a fictitious government type folk. That was one of my gripes about the JMS stuff. I don't read comics for diatribes about "real world" stuff. I want escapism and a good story. That's what I got here. Kind of funny that there was that flap over the idiotic Superman story in the last issue about Superman renouncing his United States citizenship and in this issue we get "Superman, your country needs you now!" Love it!

Also this week DETECTIVE COMICS #877 continues "Hungry City". Scott Snyder and Jock continue to deliver with this book. Dick Grayson is trying to help a business owner who is being pressured by criminals to launder money. That businesswoman also happens to be the daughter of the thug who murdered his parents. Oh, and there was that whole whale inside of a building thingie to figure out. Snyder really has Dick Grayson-Batman figured out. He plays the Dark Knight role very well when battling thugs and tracking down leads, but he's still the Grayson we know and love when Tim is giving him grief. The story itself is revealing slowly. We're fully on-board with Dick as he tracks down leads and presses for information. We don't see what's coming, and this is so important for detective fiction. We're having to put the pieces together right along with Batman, and it keeps us engaged. This isn't so much a "Sherlock Holmes" Batman in which he's five steps ahead of everyone in the story as well as the audience, with the reveal of how he figured everything out later. This is the audience righting shotgun on a mystery, and I'm loving the ride.

One last thing. There's a lot of rumors going around about a big announcement that's going to be coming out from DC. A lot of it seems to be that they're going to re-set all their comics back to #1 to try to get more readers. That's just rumors at this point, but let's remember that we just had three big centennial issues, with the fans voting to have WONDER WOMAN renumbered so that she could get the centennial issue she deserved. DETECTIVE COMICS is about a year out from hitting #900. Not saying that's ruling out a re-set stunt, but doing so would be aggressively stupid.

MUSIC!!

Because when you're Mister Spock everyone else and sod off.



That's it for me today. If you see someone who served our country, tell 'em "thanks". We'll see y'all Wednesday.

Going to H3ll Once in a Lifetime

Hello, Sinners! Its Friday, April 8, 2011, my soul is black, but that's from the spray paint, and this is The Side. Not as much stuff I'd like today as i was without internet for a good portion of yesterday. Of course it comes back on the instant we called tech support. The internet is a wily thing.

But its back now and has informed me that George Lucas's daughter has an MMA fight this weekend. This is the first that I'd heard that she did mixed martial arts, but when your daddy creates and then craps all over one of the most beloved sci-fi franchises of all time I figure you've got to learn to fight and quick.

The creation of Jar Jar Binks alone must have lead plenty of knuckles being thrown.

COMIX!!!

SECRET SIX #32 takes us straight to Hell where we find Ragdoll leading an infernal army. Its the Secret Six versus the Secret Six-Sixty-Six, although with that many demons it would be kinda hard to keep them a secret. Ragdoll has indeed been made a prince in Hell after its revealed that he has no soul, which I find hard to believe because I understand he plays the blues better than any other bandy villain. The rest of the team have gone after him to pull him out only to discover that he doesn't want to leave. Scandal is after the "get Out of Hell Free' card from an earlier story arc so she can rescue her deceased lover, Knockout. It wouldn't be SECRET SIX without members turning on each other and bloody battles ensuing. Deftly written by Gail Simone this story is one that just as you've think you've got everything in place on your mental chessboard you realize not all the pieces are there yet. Well worth the read.

THE LEGEND OF WILL POWER #1 is the latest offering from Primal Paper, and is created by Vince White. The story involves time travel, mad science experiments going wrong, and the highest achievement of man (as according to Al Bundy) high school football. The story has a very Marvel Silver Age feel to it. Its the kind of concept I would expect to come from Stan Lee with the young athlete whose father just happens to be a brilliant scientist and inventor. It does have an interesting twist in that young Will doesn't receive superpowers instead the world around him is weakened. Everything has become less dense, which of course sends my science brain into a tizzy figuring effects concerning gravity and the like. I'm sure this'll all be delved into later. The writing is good with enough interesting twists here and there to make me want to keep reading. White cracks open enough doors that I want to peek in and see what's really going on. His stylized art gives the story plenty of character. All and all, this was a very enjoyable first issue.

MUSIC!!!

Do the arm chop! DO IT!!!



That's the whole ball of infernal wax for today. I'm going to go watch a bunch of SUPERNATERAL episodes, just to calm my nerves. See y'all Sunday.

Jonesing for Wonder Woman

Rats! Its Sunday, March 20, 2011, I'm mildly disappointed with myself, and this is The Side. The karate tournament went well yesterday. All of my students competing placed in their divisions. First place trophies eluded us, but that's not a big deal because I'm proud of all my students because they did well. For many of them it was their first open competition and they did well again tough competitors as well as being out in front of a large audience for the first time.

I'm slightly disappointed with myself for flubbing my forms a bit. Sure I placed in both my divisions, but my rust was showing. I haven't competed in two years and that was evident. So I'll be working that much harder for the next tournament.

It was also a little disheartening to see the turn out for the event. I remember how packed this tournament used to be when I was a kid. Not as many competitors this time. I know a part of it is money. This tournament costs $40 to enter, which is very reasonable for a tournament of this size and quality. Some people just can't afford to pay that and pay for gas to drive to this event. Still, it was a good event, and hopefully will grow again in the future.

BEATIN'S!!!

So what do you do to warm up before the biggest fight of your MMA career and you very first title shot? You stop a thief. Its great for your cardio.



Jon "Bones" Jones is the type of fighter that perfect for the sport. He's recognizable, personable, respectful, entertaining, and most importantly he fights like a beast. Boasting the longest reach in the UFC at 84.5 inches he's incredibly lanky compared to many of the other fighters in the light-heavyweight division. This weight class is the UFC's thickest stacked with many of the sport's biggest names all vying for the title. Jones is 23 and has only been training in MMA for three years since transitioning into the sport from wrestling. So when he was offered a title shot when his training buddy, Rashad Evans, got injured there were doubts that he'd be up to the task.

Taking a fight against Shogun Rua is always a risky proposition. Shogun is one of the most feared strikers in the world with a long and impressive resumé. As much as I like Jones, I had a lot of doubts. Sure the kid hasn't been beaten, but if anyone was going to put an end to that streak it would be Shogun.

Shows what I know.

It was a very one sided affair with Jones using his incredible reach with his arms and legs to keep the very dangerous Rua at bay and when Rua did get too close Jones used his grappling to take him down and punish him is elbows. Jones sealed the deal in round three using strikes to the liver to crumpled Rua. Rua was tapping out as the referee was stopping the bout.

Bones Jones. Crime fighter by day and by night the youngest ever UFC champion. Kudos to this great young fighter.

WHO'S THAT LADY?

Its a pretty tough time to be a Wonder Woman fan. Straczynski's revamp of the character still hasn't gone away even though he sodded off to go do other things. This has left an unpleasant hole in my DC reading. But then I figured I could get my fix with NBC making a Wonder Woman pilot for a possible TV show. Cool, since I loved the old TV show. Everybody did, except for cummunists.

But then more and more details came out about the project. The guy who created ALLY MCBEAL was in charge. Networks were passing on the project. Still its getting pushed. Now we have a picture of the costume, which is based on the Jim Lee redesign, but with thankfully less black. No, that's not an image of someone cos-playing from a conventions, that's what Wonder Woman is supposed to look like now. Now don't get me wrong, the actress is a very attractive woman, and would probably be a great Wonder Woman, if she was actually allowed to play Wonder Woman.

The fact that a lot of networks said no thanks to this actually give me some hope. Even TV network executives have a notion of what Wonder Woman is, and they aren't seeing it. Hopefully this'll mean getting away from the JMS reboot soon and getting back to having Wonder Woman the way she should be. Honestly, from the details I've been hearing about the script this sounds worse than the 1974 TV attempt.

What does that failed effort and this current future failed effort have in common? The '74 TV version was based off the "I Ching" version of Wonder Woman in which she had no, powers, no real costume, and feminists quite upset. This current version is based on the JMS reboot in which we have a HaRdCoRe Wonder Woman who isn't really anything like he real character.

Yes, things do need to be altered a bit in adaptations, but basing entire projects on unpopular derivations or iconic characters is just flat out doomed. Ah well, I've still got my WONDER WOMAN animated feature DVD. I'm all set.

MUSIC!!!

I'm directing my feetza to Daddy Green's Pizza.



That'll do it for me this time around. I'm going to go make some coffee, and be thankful that Dana White will be starting the UFCs an hour earlier from now on.

Brock Lesnar versus Zangief?!?

Its Wednesday, March 16, 2011, my joystick is doing a 360 while I mash the punch button, and this is The Side. So much is going on in the world right now. Libya is in a civil war. Japan is in deep trouble and working hard to recover, and that's going to take years. Our financial woes here and going to get worse with energy prices rising because out Pop Star-in-Chief won't lift his idiotic oil drilling moratoriums and think windmills are the way to go.

Makes somebody want to hit something. Or write about people hitting things.

MOVIN' AND SHAKIN'!!!

Big news for MMA fans like me. Zuffa who owns the UFC has bought Strikeforce. This brings some really great talent into the UFC roster and makes some dream matches possible. A lot of people have been wanting to see Fedor for Lesnar, and know that's possible. There's also the possibility of of Women's MMA matches in the UFC.

But there's some people crying foul. The UFC and Strikeforce were the two top MMA promotions. Some are saying that in buying Strikeforce Dana White and Zuffa have created a monopoly. It is true that the UFC is the only big show now, but its not a monopoly. There's still plenty of independent promotions around. They don't have the resources that the UFC does, but that's just how it is. Strikeforce was in a bit of money trouble. Their parent company wasn't interested in pursuing maintaining Strikeforce, and Zuffa was in a position to buy. Pretty simple. A lot of people aren't happy because the UFC has bought up a few other companies in the past and some think its their way of getting rid of their competition.

Competition is what MMA is all about. When the UFC bought the Japanese PRIDE promotion the reason was they wanted to expand their roster of fighters. The WEC was faced with some financial issues and the UFC bought them and in the bargain gained fighters in the featherweight and bantamweight divisions thus adding new and exciting fighters and divisions. The UFC is still growing, it has to because not growing and adding new fighters runs the risk of things becoming stagnant. There's a heavy demand for the UFC to do shows in other countries. Now this is a lot easier because the they don't risk spreading their roster too thin and can do more than one show per month. This is the fight game. It takes time for these people to train and recover so they can stay healthy.

Will there be another promotion that'll rise up and become the new "number 2" as Strikeforce was? Sure. It'll take some time, but the sport of MMA is based on guts, and that's not just the fighters. The promoters have them too, and a hunger to succeed. Someone will rise. n the meantime, I'll be checking out the UFC PPV this weekend.

ZANGIEF'D!!!

OK, we all know bullying is bad. Kids pick on other kids for a ton of different reasons and kids are targeted for many different reasons. So, when a kid in high school was the target of bullying for years because he was overweight it wasn't anything new. The thing is when the person who is being bullied outweighs the bully by a good hundred pounds, its pretty obvious that the bully is a complete moron.

I was on Twitter and was surprised to see "Zangief" trending. "How the hell does that happen?" Sure, I love the character from the STREET FIGHTER video games, but it just seemed so random. So i did a little investigating, and it didn't take much before a discovered "The Zangief Kid". I'm not posting the video on here because frankly, I'm not looking to get into hot water with blogger again. Seriously, YouTube was yanking down videos of this as quick as they possibly could.

For those not familiar with the STREET FIGHTER games Zangief was a larger than life Russian grappler with buckets of throws. Essentially if he got close enough to get his hands on you you could probably kiss half of your life bar good-bye.

In the video the bully approaches the overweight teen grabs him by the shirt and punches him in the face. Other students are around and do nothing. It looks like a school, but there's no faculty around. The bully tries to punch the kid in the face again and this time the kid blocks the punch. At this point the bully dances around and throws some punches at the kids belly. Well, at this point the kids springs off the wall grabbing at the bully, and despite acting like a tough guy a second ago the little weasel scrambles desperately to get away. The kid grabs the bully, yanks him into the air and slams him to the pavement. The kid them walks away as the now broken bully tries to walk on a, quite possibly, broken leg. As face is a pathetic mask of a whimpering child who had bought a ticket on a ride he could not ride.

The kid in question has been suspended from school of course, because if you are being bullied and/or assaulted in schools you aren't supposed to defend yourself at all. Hey, you may end up in the hospital, but at least you won't get expelled. If any of my students are forced to use anything I've taught them to defend themselves they'll likely get expelled. Doesn't matter if someone is beating them for all their worth, if a kid punches back to try to stop them, he's going to get suspended or expelled. They're supposed to get out of the situation and go get a teacher. If there was a teacher around then the bullies wouldn't be assaulting anyone, now would they.

So, the rules about defending yourself are idiocy imposed by pussies, but they're just trying to keep the children safe, so it should be hugs and pie all around. See, these bullies just need understanding.

No.

They need the Zangief Kid to bounce them off the pavement.

The internet has made this kid a celebrity. I haven't seen a single comment anywhere against this guy. Why? Because everyone knows what the idiots in charge don't: these little bastards have a world of hurt coming and they're past due to get it.

MUSIC!!!

The only Oasis song that doesn't suck.



That's the skinny for today. Please continue to keep Japan in your thoughts, and if you can, donate to help. See y'all Friday.

Fitch Beats up a Cheesehead for Comics!!

Shame! Or possibly sham. Its Sunday, February 27, 2011, I've returned to you, and this is The Side. "Where was Friday's post?" you may ask. More computer trouble, but its been resolved. I thought about posting up some stuff on Saturday, but it would have been more rushed and half-assed than usual, so I figured I'd wait.

Alright, time for a shameless plug. I like video games, but I'm not super up on all the news and details. Lately, I'm playing more older games since they're cheaper to get a hold of and i don't have the latest systems. So if you're looking for some video game news and articles, go check out my buddy Joe. You'll be glad you did.

BEATIN'S!!

The UFC last night proved three things to me: you don't ever want to get punched my Mark Hunt, Michael Bisping is an asshole, and Jon Fitch can't catch a break.

The main event last night was disappointing and not because of the fight. After seeing Michael Bisping blatantly throw a completely illegal technique and then go on to win I was a bit soured. However, then out comes Jon Fitch to some sweet Johnny Cash music. Much has been made of him coming into this fight, mainly due to him adopting a new diet which is pretty much a vegetarian one. He's been a dominant fighter in the welterweight division. And now standing between him and title shot is the former champion BJ Penn.

Fitch might look like he should be in a van with a Great Dane and some other kids out solving mysteries, but he's the real deal. He battled a very tough Penn in a grappling war the first two rounds, and then beat the crap out of him in the third taking the fight to the a decision. The Judges chose poorly and the fight was declared a "majority draw" meaning two of the judge called the fight even on points while the third said Fitch won. Even Penn said that him getting a draw in that fight was an act of the gods and he thought he lost. Fitch was very disappointed but his attitude about it was outstanding.

His stance is that its not his job to decide who gets a title shot. He's there to do his job and that job is to fight. He's said that if he hasn't convinced Dana White, the UFC and fans that he should be the number one contender to the title then he hasn't been doing his job right.

No excuses. No whining. Hard work and dedication. That's what I like to see. Does Fitch deserve a title shot? Absolutely. Will he get one? Probably, since he's not going anywhere, looks better than ever in the ring, and is patient enough to do whatever it takes to achieve his goal.

DIRTY LOW-DOWN SHAME!!

With me being knocked offline for a couple days I spent my mornings before work watching the morning news shows. I got to see some true stupidity. The big news was that blogger who got an interview with the Wisconsin Governor by posing as someone else. Pretty lame stuff considering the Governor said the exact same stuff in a press release a couple hours later. But this was apparently some kind of brilliant ploy against the Governor. What was the monumentally dumb part was they played a portion of the phone interview and the Governor said that since certain state senators are literally in hiding to avoid doing their jobs then he was going to stop the direct deposit of their pay and take the checks and lock them into the desks of the senators, so if those clowns want to get paid they better show up for work.

At this point the dim anchor woman said how horrible it was to even suggest that those state senators be locked to their desks. Not surprised she got confused as she does tend to get confused easily. Fortunately there a guy on the same show who is actually quite brilliant and pointed out her mistake. Unfortunately as he attempted to explain why the Governor is correct and the protesting unions are not the show conveniently ran out of time for that segment. Nice.

But yes, the bill is working its way through limiting the collective bargaining abilities of public unions in Wisconsin. Democrats were chanting "Shame" as it passed. Of course they're pissed. This directly affects them. See, this is about public unions. These unions are made up of people whose wages are paid by money from taxes. The heads of these unions donate money to politicians from union dues. Doesn't really matter what the rank and file union workers want, they don't have much say in the matter. Unions is Wisconsin donate a disproportional amount to Democrats over Republicans. The Democrats are pretty much in the Union's pocket as they know which side their bread is buttered on. So yeah, the Democrats are pissed because they couldn't stop this bill which would decrease the power of public unions. The whole reason this is going through is in an attempt to balance the state's budget. It doesn't cut anyone's pay or take away their pensions. All it does is put a check on the power of unions. The unions don't want it. The Democrats they gave money too couldn't stop it. So they're worried they won't be getting their hefty union donations come election season.

Yeah. That's a damn shame.

Its been such a crazy week with everything in politics. Protests are going on in a bunch of countries against their governments. Libya is completely nuts right now. I have to wonder if our Pop-Star-in-Chief isn't trying to get himself impeached with his declaring law "unconstitutional" and refusing to defend them. He was supposed to be the one with all this understanding of the world, and the world is going apeshit on his watch. Not his fault, mind you. There's nothing he can really do about it. But between that and his old lady giving him grief about her crusade as First Lady to fight obesity, I wouldn't be surprised if he's considering saying "Fuck this! I'm out of here, and going to go get myself a cheeseburger." So, he's doing a bunch of dumb stuff that Presidents can't do and hoping to get tossed.

Its just nuts. Fortunately, good old Virginia is trudging on fairly steadily. The only political uproar here is if our Governor will be on the Republican ticket as Vice President if he gets asked. Amazing how our budget is manageable and this being a right to work state. One hell of a coincidence.

Politics. It really is like a contact sport.

THE LATE MANNY FRESH

Manny Fresh is dead. That's the reports coming in via The Mike and Bob Show. Manny went out doing what he loved but also proved that masturbation and gun play are never a good combination.

But is there more to this story? Manny Fresh had his share of foes. They struck at him through Twitter, but Manny masterfully shut that down. Then came "Cupcake" who also approached Manny via the internet and attempted to lure him to his doom with the promise of weird sex while simultaneously trying to drive a wedge between Manny and the Dudes. Yet, still Manny persevered! But now it seems he has fallen, and while it appears to be accidental, I wouldn't rule out foul play. This could have been staged and Manny's body could have been left in the state that it was to try to shame his memory. However, it was Manny, so there's not much that could be done to shame that memory.

Could this secret cabal that was attempting to destroy Manny Fresh have finally succeeded? Is Peter Criss Mask somewhere out there oddly laughing at Manny's demise? Has Manny really been sent back through time and is being hunted by a metaphorical curse machine? Will be one day return to form Manny Fresh Inc and train Manny Freshes around the world?

Only time will tell.

COMIX!!!

I'm going to start this off on a serious note. This week we lost a really great talent. Dwayne McDuffie passed away due to complications from a surgery. You're probably familiar with is work. He's been a writer in comics for many years. He's done a lot of work with the DC animated properties. I even scripted the Justice League Heroes video game for PS2. McDuffie was a writer that you could trust to deliver. He didn't get the recognition that some of the writing "superstars" get, but when he's mentioned you're not going to hear much of anything bad about his work. And this is good. This is a fellow who will live on through the amazing body of work that he produced in his life. The day that he passed the animated feature ALL-STAR SUPERMAN that he wrote was released. I wasn't planning of purchasing it, but I am now. Not so much as a tribute, but as a fan who now has a greater appreciation to a talent that was taken from us to soon.

On to some actual reviews, and this week's book were really great. Starting the ball rolling with DETECTIVE COMICS #874. Earlier in the Snyder run the book was split with half of it following Dick Grayson and the other half following Jim Gordon. That format got dropped to complete the Grayson story, and now that its wrapped we pick up right where we left off with Jim Gordon and his son. When I was picking up my comic the guys were discussing Luke Cage and how that fella eats a lot. It seems that there's a lot of appearances with Luke Cage eating. So its funny that the first issue I read this week opens with a diner scene. Its brilliant. Its so tense that it palatable. Brilliantly written and the artwork by Francesco Francavilla is incredible. Grayson is indeed here and dealing with the after effects of his battle with The Dealer. Fortunately he has Red Robin to back him up. I always liked reading these two teamed up. It does seem weird that in the field Tim is referred to as "Red Robin". It just doesn't sound right, but that's just how it is now. Great issue front to back.

Moving on to another Red Robin appearance over in TEEN TITANS #92. Georges Jeanty pencils this issue, and i like his work, but I was really amped to get my Nicola Scott fix. After a few deep cleansing breaths I dove in. With everything going on with Calculator the story was mainly about the team preferring to have Tim with them than Damien. I understand it since a lot of the team has a long history with Tim. These are his best friends. It makes sense that he's with them now that his quest to find Bruce has been completed. However, I prefer the team with Damien on it. J.T. Krul really made that dynamic work and I was eager to see how this was going to play out in the long term. Looks like we'll never know. Something that was bugging me was the deal with Kid Eternity. He got snatched like a year ago and it seemed like nobody noticed. Well, they certainly noticed now.

Over in ACTION COMICS #898 Hairless Lex Luthor takes on his old Orange Lantern ally Larfleeze. Paul Cornell and Pete Woods are nearing the end of this story which has just been completely stellar. Just when you start to really pull for Lex Cornell reminds us of what a complete bastard that he is. The end of this issue has a huge reveal about Robo-Lois which had me smacking my forehead and wondering how I couldn't have seen that one coming. We knew she had an agenda separate from Lex's and that she was working for someone else. Now we know who and this has me itching to see the next issue.

ATOMICA #5 turned things from a light-hearted romp to a nasty chain of events. After talking with a counselor about her Amnesia, Rose discovers that Professor Colluns is missing! The hunt for the good Professor leads out plucky heroine straight to one Dr. Astray. Ted Astray is still a nasty opponent and fairly creepy, but the creepiness gets upped with his parting warning "Beware the Metavore!" I don't know what a Metavore is, but I'm damn sure bewaring it. I have to wonder if this has a connection with Atomica's past and if this is the "big bad" that Astray is working for. Hopefully we'll get more answers next issue.

MUSIC!!

I'm a general fan of there domestic policies concerning boggy marshes.



That's the whole nine yards for today. I'm ready to go back to bed or start a coffee IV. Money's on the latter. See y'all Wednesday.

Blind man's blog

It's Sunday, February 6, 2011, I can't see a damn thing, and this is The Side. I hate it when I wake up in the morning reach over to the nightstand and my glasses aren't there. That is where they should be because I place them there every night when I go to bed. So, I'm stumbling around, and squinting like Mister Magoo.

So, where are my glasses, and why aren't they on the nightstand? The answer is simple, really.

You see, despite being poor, white trash I am a powerful and feared individual. When you possess the mountain of importance that I possess you become a target for those you either want your power or those you horrible things to to gain power. I know the Anti-Nozz protests have for the most part been peaceful, but there are a few kooks out there. I wouldn't put it past any of them to break into my house while I was asleep and steal my glasses in an effort to make me more vulnerable. There has been no less than five assassination attempts on me while I sleep, but since I am the illegitimate son of Keith Richards I cannot be killed by conventional weaponry. The Missus is spared from any such attempts as she looks so darned cute when she's asleep.

Now without my glasses I believe my detractors will believe me vulnerable and will soon enough call me out into the street to face them in unarmed combat pitting their fighting skills and martial arts prowess against mine as most of my detractors are ninjas. There was a heavy contingency of pirates in the mob too, but they pissed off after I kicked their drunken asses. Pirates suck. They kept whining about how things would have gone different if we were at sea. Buncha Marys.

Back to the ninjas, those glasses stealing sons of bitches. They're all pissed off because I've said online repeatedly how much ninjas suck and how they can't fight their way out of a wet paper bag. Please note that them stealing my glasses is only reaffirming my statements that they can't fight worth a damn. And if they think for one moment that I won't beat eight shades of shit outta them without my glasses then they're in for a surprise.

You don't see the hippies pulling stupid stuff like this. I'm sure they're busy bitching about corporations, trying to get the government to run everything, and being miserable bastards about everything. They keep right on complaining between joints and only really get nasty around Christmas time since they worships trees and no one ever gets them presents for Arbor Day. This right here is why we can't legalize marijuana, because if we did we could round up potheads and beat them with hoses no more. Nothing puts a spring in your step like beating a pothead with a good rubber hose.

Screw this. I'm going to go find the prick ninja that stole my glasses and thump him proper. Too bad ninjas are such a secretive bunch as the YouTube video of this would be awesome.

MY EYES!!!

Sure enough I've gotten my glasses back. Ninjas, as I always say, are a bunch of sissies. Unfortunately, I got my glasses back just in time to see pictures from the impending Spider-man film.



Great. I get my glasses back just in time to gouge my eyes out.

BEATINGS!!

Big weekend in sports this weekend. I hear there's a football game being played somewhere, but the heck with that. It was fight night last night. It was a little bittersweet for me. Anderson Silva kept his title, which annoys me because I don't really like the guy, however he won it with one of the techniques which I constantly stress the importance of to my students. Its pretty much me feeling validated in what I teach, I just wish his opponent was the one who threw it.

But more fun was watching the co-main event. It was another case of me liking both the fighters so whoever won I was happy. Rich Franklin is a class act and one of the top fighters in the world. Forrest Griffin is a big goof, and lots of fun to watch. We all have a soft spot for ol Forrest. His self deprecating attitude and sheer love for what he does makes him quite a character. He's a former champion, and that's due to another thing I always preach to my students: practice.

Forrest is one of the hardest working guys in mixed martial arts. They've had to kick him out of the gym and take his keys away to make him go home. Franklin also is incredibly dedicated and trains hard. So this made for a great fight that went the distance and both guys giving it their all for three rounds. Forrest won by decision, which was well deserved and hard earned, but what happened after the fight really stand out.

He didn't toot his own horn. He didn't trash talk. He didn't even plug his book (Joe Rogan did it for him). Before his hand was raised he and Franklin were smiling and joking with each other. It was like two guys at the dojo who just got done with a fun sparing session. That's the kind of attitude you like to see. That's what makes it a real sport and not a spectacle. This isn't guys in their back yard brawling anymore. That looks more like this.



OK, maybe not exactly like that. Still, hats off to Forrest Griffin for being and entertaining fighter and being a great dude to be a fan of.

MUSIC!!

Time for a bump and grind number.



That's the whole nine yards for today. Everyone enjoy the Super Bowl tonight. Stay safe. We'll see y'all Wednesday.

Nozz World Tour!

Yeah, that's right. Its Sunday, January 30, 2011, I'm ready for the zombie apocalypse, and this is The Side. All and all, I don't sweat a zombie apocalypse. The shambling dead don't scare me but I don't fear what I can outthink, outfight and outrun. The preparedness comes from the mountain of bagged leaves I amassed yesterday. It would make a convincing barricade.

Its like this every year. I make some decent headway in keeping the yard up. The weather turn and the leaves get ahead of me. I finally get back to dealing with the yard. I finally get all the leaves up, and by then they're getting ready to fall again.

I love my house, but its time for a getaway. Off we go!

NERDOM 'ROUND THE WORLD

I've seen a lot of kids who think they've got what it takes to be a manga artist and say they're going to someday move to Japan to pursue their dream. The majority of these kids can't draw worth a damn and have no clue about what it takes to make it as an artist there. I used to think it was just a fad appeal and that it would blow over. Made me wonder why kids like these weren't watching Disney or Pixar flicks flicks and saying they wanted to move down to Florida to work for them. Now I know. The level of nerdom in Japan overshadows the nerdom of Florida exponentially.



I think the kiddies think that Disney may have the Magic Kingdom, but Japan is the Magic Nation. They can sit and draw all the live long day and stay in a place like this.

I'm just thankful my young cousin Jacob hasn't fallen into this. He probably hasn't because he and his parents are all sane, rational people. Japan: seems like a lovely place to visit, but I wouldn't want to draw there.

WORLD AT LARGE

There's some crazy stuff going on around the world. Well, there usually is, but this could get really ugly. If you don't know that there's major protests going on in Egypt and that their government is on verge of a likely collapse then you really need to pay more attention. There's other protests popping up in Jordan and Libya. Egypt has killed the internet for its citizens because it was allowing them to get word out about what was happening and letting them organize to easily.



Egypt is a dictatorship. The people are sick of it and want reform. Obviously the dictator doesn't want that, so now we have protests that are getting very violent. Tunisia just had its government ousted and it looks like Egypt will follow suite.

But there's a problem. Assholes and bastards have taken notice and the potential for a power grab. The Muslim Brotherhood, who are dedicated Jihadists, have joined up with the protesters. This is bad because the Muslim Brotherhood has some organization and that alone can supply some stability if and when the current government collapses. This is bad. That's not even bringing into play the violence that has erupted, the artifacts in museums that have been destroyed, or the massive jailbreak.

America is in a tight spot because we know the current dictator is an asshole, but we also know that there's bigger assholes poised to seize power when he's gone. If we go in to try to help to make sure those assholes don't seize power we end up looking like imperialists who don't care about the Egyptian people.

This is why killing the internet is so dangerous right now. The people who were getting the world out don't know how many people here in America are pulling for them. Yes, there needs to be serious government reform there. No, we don't want a bunch of jihadist pricks taking over. I can do post after post, and tweet after tweet showing my support for the people who are living under a government they cannot tolerate. I truly hope for the best for the Egyptian people, because what's going on right now over there is going to have an impact over here.

We get our oil from that region, which is completely stupid, but the idiot hippies won't let us use our own resources and the government like to appease the idiot hippies. Energy is vital to the economy. Since we can't use our own, we're stuck having to deal with those who do have it, and these protests are going on right in the middle of things. So yes, we in America are affected by this. And don't start posting comment about alternative energy sources and driving your stupid electric cars. We are nowhere near ready to transfer over away from fossil fuel based energy resources. The technology isn't there.

But even that is down the road a bit. Right now there are people taking to the streets against a dictatorship and they don't know how many people around the world are sending them hopes, well wishes, and prayers.

Keep that in mind the next time you hear people talking about net neutrality and having a "kill switch" for the internet. Information is power. The Egyptian government took that power from its people this week.

MUSIC!!

While not a huge Joan Jett fan, this song is awesome. Easily as awesome as Megumi Fugii.



Thus completes our Sunday world tour. My continued hopes and prayers go out to the people of Egypt and I hope things turn out alright there. See y'all Wednesday.

Fashionable Fighting Fanatics

Zounds! It's Wednesday, August 18, 2010 and I've discovered that if you put a ton of pictures in your posts you don't have to write as much but it gives the illusion that you're actually doing stuff.

BATTLEGROUND: NEW YORK!!

It you haven't heard about it then you haven't been paying attention. There's a Muslim community center that proposed to be near the site of the 9/11 attacks in new York City and that community center is to contain a mosque. This obviously has a lot of people really pissed, and the media has not helped matters by repeatedly referring to it as the "Ground Zero Mosque". It gives the impression that the plans are to build a mosque right where the twin towers used to be, but that's not really the plan.

But media stupidity aside, this is screwed up on a few levels. The one that's really striking to me is that there was a church that was destroyed in the attack. It was a Greek Orthodox Church that still has not been rebuilt due bureaucratic crap, but while that church is stuck in limbo, this other project has folks bending over backwards to make it happen. See, no one wants to be perceived as slighting Muslims, even if that means slighting another group to do it. So fairness kinda flew out the window.

Does the group have the right to build that building? Yes, as long as they file everything appropriately and adhere to the proper codes and standards, then there's nothing to stop them. The project has gotten support from our Pop-Star-in-Chief Obama and Hamas. One of those two don't like America very much. That's a low estimate. However all Muslims don't support the project saying this is "mischief making" and that goes against the teaching in the Koran. It wouldn't be the first time a group or individual has used the Freedoms here in America to hide behind being an inflammatory gaggle of douchebags. Need examples? See the Westboro Baptist Church and the idiots behind and participating in Everybody Draw Muhammad Day.

This whole thing stinks of someone counting coup. Follow the money. There's some shadiness afoot.

BEATINGS IN CHURCH!!!

A church here locally is going to be holding a mixed martial arts event to raise money. Brilliant idea, but of course there's folks ticked off by it. Good thing they don't come by the church we work out in. For those slow on the uptake: combat sports are not the road to hell. I say this a guy who has sat next to a preacher watching UFC over at my cousin's house. Mixed martial arts is growing leaps and bounds in popularity. What was once a side show is now in the mainstream.

Engaging in martial arts, be it karate, wrestling, boxing, or MMA does not make anyone less of a Christian. Its a sport. There are rules. This isn't street fighting. I'm not going to say its for everyone, because its not. However those saying that this is the work of the devil and not very Christian-like need to go soak their heads.

Jacob wrestled an angel.

TOP 10: BAD SUPERHERO FASHION!!

A while back I threw down a little redesign action on some of the Legion of Super-Heroes costumes, because somebody really needed to. But the Legion aren't the only characters that have had costume woes. There's lots of things that have just been bad juju in the super-fashion, and here's some real stinkers.

10: The low cut. I appreciate cleavage as much as the next guy, but when it gets to the point of 'how does it stay in place' or 'how are they not popping out' then it's gone too far.



And don't go thinking that the ladies are the only ones guilty of this!



9: Sunglasses. Because nothing says "I'm cool and hip" like a superhero who wears sunglasses as part of their costume. Of course these will prevent anyone from figuring out their secret identity. Especially if their secret identity is lame, because lame people couldn't possibly be cool enough to wear sunglasses to a super fight.



8: Shoulder Pads. Yeah. I think we can safely blame Rob Leifeld for this one. The giant shoulder pads are pretty much a failure, especially when they're so big it compromises arm movement. Note: SuperPro gets a pass on this one.



7: Spikes. Yes, I know spikes on a costume are the best way to let people know that this character is HaRdCoRe... or excessively emo, take your pick. However, if you can't save a hostage without fear of putting their eye out, then you have a problem.



6: Pouches. I know having a few on a utility belt or something is handy for carrying spare cash, a wallet and your keys to your superhero mobile, but there's a line as to how much is too much. If your don't have to worry about body armor because the pouches are enough to stop small arms fire, then you've gone too far.



5: The Ab Hole. Because it is vital to the character that readers know if they are an innie or an outie.



4: The Ridiculously Long Cape. Artistic license is awesome and all that, but when it can double as a parachute... well... you get the picture.



3: Spike Heels I don't know how on Earth women walk in them, much less fight crime. The Flash agrees. And he's awesome. Geoff Johns says so.



2: The Battle Thong. And you bastards need to all get down on your knees and thank the e-Gods that I couldn't find pics from Jim Lee's X-Men run in which the entire team rocked the battle thong. Yes, that includes Wolverine.



1: The Boob Hole. Behold the distraction. Let's take a key target on the body and give it absolutely no protection whatsoever. Sounds like a winner. The only character that can get away with this is Power Girl. Not due to cup size, but due to those monsters being bulletproof.

MUSIC!!

There's a very special birthday around this time of the year. Loyal supporter, confederate, and my sister from another mister, Linda. She likes the Muppets a bit, because they're awesome and so is she, so this week, prepare for some Muppets!



That's the whole nine yards for today. Should be back Friday as usual. Y'all come back now. Y'hear?

MMA is just Thuper, thanks for asking!

Had to go with an old South Park joke for the title because I'm typing about a critism that is an old joke. I love the fights. I love watching it on TV and going to live shows when I get the chance. I love watching mixed martial arts (MMA) and have been to a few small local events. I also love chatting about MMA as long as it doesn't devolve into the "this guy could totally beat up this guy" idiocy. Even though we are talking about fighting, there's no need to fight over it.

So I brought up the subject in an online forum and after a few intelligent and pretty cool response this popped up:

I feel the same way about MMA that I do about pro wrestling: gay porn for closet cases who want to watch muscular guys with groomed body hair get sweaty and roll around.

Now, this is normally the beginning of the end of these discussions and the start of nasty flame wars, but I wanted to keep a lid on it. I've seen this criticism before and it usually comes from people who have never actually watched any MMA. I inquired if the person who made the comment had indeed watched any MMA, and got the response:

Yes, and it’s exactly like watching gay wrestling pornos with bigger budgets. And no c***sucking.

Having myself, my students and much of my family called a bunch of "closet cases" was nearly worth it to have this guy admit his expertise in the area of "gay wrestling pornos" and I do wonder if his biggest beef with MMA is the lack of c***sucking. Still, I did have someone say on my now deactivated Facebook account that the sport was homoerotic, which is ridiculous of course, but had me thinking about the argument.

MMA is fightsport, pure and simple. So why do people consider it homo-erotic? I think there's a few reasons.

First, pure ignorance. Some people may hear about it or see a picture and see two guys with no shirts, and that's all they can come up with. This is where a lot of the comparisons with professional wrestling comes from, but to be fair there have been crossovers between MMA and professional wrestling with various wrestlers either giving the sport a shot (like Dan Severn, Brock Lesnar and Bobby Lashley) or fighters making some money on the pro-wrestling circuit (like Ken Shamrock, Paul Varlens and Tank Abbott). There's also some confusion about the ground game, which was quite common in the early days of Ultimate Fighting Championships. Those notions and confusion are quickly dispelled once these people get a better understanding of MMA.

Second, there are people who view everything in some sort of sexual manner. I had a professor for a crime and violence in literature class back in college who was seeing sexual elements in some of the stories we read that had the majority of class wondering what on earth she was talking about. Nice lady, but she got quite a few odd stares from me. Its the same here. Good old Freud. If he only knew how much comedy who come from his theories.

Third, there are people who are just turned on by two guys fighting. Not my thing, and I don't think it needs anymore explanation, so let's move along.

Lastly, there are people who feel threatened by it's existence. I see it in pseudo-intellectuals who like be elitist and use there smarts to try to set themselves above the masses. Along comes MMA. Its primal, physical and often brutal. The pseudo-intellectual elitist has no purchase. His reason and vaunted supposed brainpower can't compare in popularity with what is now one of the most popular sports in the world. He feels above it, so he can't dignify himself with actual understanding of this base thing. He must decry it. He must bring it low to show the thug masses that they are fools for liking it. As such he goes for the insult of choice for middle schoolers: "its gay". A pathetic attack really, but it strikes at testosterone driven love of fighting, so it occasionally gets a rise out of fans. More mature fans of the sport can just look at these fools and laugh. Smart folks know that they don't know everything and there's a lot of very intelligent people among the fans of MMA.

I'm not going to say that MMA is for everyone. There's plenty of people who have a hard time watching fights and fightsport. Still, if it's not your bag, or you don't really understand it, that's fine. No one's going to judge you. You don't have to slander it. And if you're trying to slander it by calling it "gay", really, who's the homophobe in that equation?