Random Rambles
UFC : Just watched Brock Lesnar vs Heath Herring again. Brock Lesnar is ENORMOUS. Heath Herring is 230 lbs and looked like a child next to him. Imagine Rich Franklin fighting Diego Sanchez. Sanchez is probably the better fighter by a small margin, but there’s just no way in hell he is going to beat a guy who outweighs him by that much. The days of heavyweights weighing 230 lbs (Cro Cop, Randy Couture) and being competitive are over. There is no way in hell a guy 230 lbs and a little flabby can beat a guy who weighs 285 lbs and is solid muscle. Sure, he can if their skill set is vastly different, (Fedor) but if they are even close in skill level, the bigger guy wins every time. Cain Valasquez is 245 lbs and an up and coming prospect. Undefeated in six fights. TKO in the first round in five of them. He has some flab around the middle. I suggest he cut down to 205. The future belongs to Lesnar, Carwin and guys like them. The guys who have wrestling pedigrees, hands the size of small planets, athleticism like GSP and have to cut weight in order to make the 265 lb limit.
Spanish : For a couple of days last week I was very into my Spanish. Class went well and I came back, fired up and did some Rosetta Stone for a while then tried watching some TV in Spanish on my computer. We have “Buffy” season three on DVD and I thought I would put on the Spanish dubbing and the subtitles and try to improve my listening skills. Sadly, on this, and every DVD I have checked, subtitles are different from the spoken word. I don’t know why they would translate it using two different methods, but they do. The words on the screen hold superficial resemblance to the words the actors speak. It is the same for “Heroes” season one and the six movies I checked. The text might say “Hello” and the speech will say “What’s up?” or “How’s it going?” It just devolves from there. So, it’s either listen or read, not both. Very annoying.
Politics : Wendy and I watched Obama’s speech, addressing Congress last week. Good lord it feels good to have him in the white House. We just felt so great and hopeful after watching the speech. Nice to have a smart man with a plan leading the country.
But what the Hell was up with Nancy Pelosi? Holy fucking annoying. I really think John Stewart missed some great comedy there. He did mention something about “whack-a-mole” in reference to her constantly leaping up, but that could have been mined for a lot more comedy. The other thing that amazed us both was how both her and Biden were both READING THE PROGRAM while Obama was speaking. Nancy would leap up every thirty seconds or so, then sit down and grab the program and start reading. What, was Obama boring you? Heard the speech too many times before? What the hell? You realize that you’re on camera, right?
Music : Do you know about Pandora? The Music Genome Project. Wendy turned me on to it. It’s an internet radio web site that is just incredible. You create a free account and it asks you to name a very few artists you like and then everything coming out of your speakers is in the same vein. You can fine tune it by clicking on “I like this song” or “I don’t like this song” and it learns. It is unlike any other radio station I have come across and I love it.
Writing : The silence is deafening. I have six short travel pieces out and have heard nothing for what seems like an eternity. Rejection would almost be better than the silence. It is the same story with agents. I have a meticulously crafted query letter that I have sent out to maybe a dozen agents and the wait is killing me. It takes about two hours an agency to find out who to send it to, what they are looking for, modifying the letter, finding out if they want attachments or text in the body of the letter, if they want to see some of the writing or just a query about a proposed project. I don’t care if I get fifteen rejections and one acceptance as long as I get one acceptance. For magazines I am batting .500 and for agents I haven’t come to the plate yet.
Movies : Slumdog Millionaire? Really? That was the best movie of the year? Must have been some crap in the theaters this year. We liked the movie, but didn’t love it. Will probably never watch it again. Now, it might have been the best movie of those nominated, and if so, maybe they should have nominated some different films. Like, The Visitor or even Mama Mia.
Spanish : For a couple of days last week I was very into my Spanish. Class went well and I came back, fired up and did some Rosetta Stone for a while then tried watching some TV in Spanish on my computer. We have “Buffy” season three on DVD and I thought I would put on the Spanish dubbing and the subtitles and try to improve my listening skills. Sadly, on this, and every DVD I have checked, subtitles are different from the spoken word. I don’t know why they would translate it using two different methods, but they do. The words on the screen hold superficial resemblance to the words the actors speak. It is the same for “Heroes” season one and the six movies I checked. The text might say “Hello” and the speech will say “What’s up?” or “How’s it going?” It just devolves from there. So, it’s either listen or read, not both. Very annoying.
Politics : Wendy and I watched Obama’s speech, addressing Congress last week. Good lord it feels good to have him in the white House. We just felt so great and hopeful after watching the speech. Nice to have a smart man with a plan leading the country.
But what the Hell was up with Nancy Pelosi? Holy fucking annoying. I really think John Stewart missed some great comedy there. He did mention something about “whack-a-mole” in reference to her constantly leaping up, but that could have been mined for a lot more comedy. The other thing that amazed us both was how both her and Biden were both READING THE PROGRAM while Obama was speaking. Nancy would leap up every thirty seconds or so, then sit down and grab the program and start reading. What, was Obama boring you? Heard the speech too many times before? What the hell? You realize that you’re on camera, right?
Music : Do you know about Pandora? The Music Genome Project. Wendy turned me on to it. It’s an internet radio web site that is just incredible. You create a free account and it asks you to name a very few artists you like and then everything coming out of your speakers is in the same vein. You can fine tune it by clicking on “I like this song” or “I don’t like this song” and it learns. It is unlike any other radio station I have come across and I love it.
Writing : The silence is deafening. I have six short travel pieces out and have heard nothing for what seems like an eternity. Rejection would almost be better than the silence. It is the same story with agents. I have a meticulously crafted query letter that I have sent out to maybe a dozen agents and the wait is killing me. It takes about two hours an agency to find out who to send it to, what they are looking for, modifying the letter, finding out if they want attachments or text in the body of the letter, if they want to see some of the writing or just a query about a proposed project. I don’t care if I get fifteen rejections and one acceptance as long as I get one acceptance. For magazines I am batting .500 and for agents I haven’t come to the plate yet.
Movies : Slumdog Millionaire? Really? That was the best movie of the year? Must have been some crap in the theaters this year. We liked the movie, but didn’t love it. Will probably never watch it again. Now, it might have been the best movie of those nominated, and if so, maybe they should have nominated some different films. Like, The Visitor or even Mama Mia.
they need a 225lb class
ReplyDeleteNancy Pelosi is a spineless idiot. I really do not like her. She allowed a bunch of really bad shit to pass in the 110th Congress. She had the power of the agenda & she could impeach. She did neither.
ReplyDeleteShe's nothing more than a Quisling.
But for entertainment these days, I'm liking the GOP vs. Limbaugh fight. It's like seeing two of your least favorite people biting and clawing each other.
Cheers!
-JoeG
That's not a bad idea, Chris. I would not be opposed to a 225 lb. class and even a 245 lb. class as, truth be told, I think there is a lot of talent out there that would shine in those divisions. A "little big man" like Vera would shine at 225 division. Lesnar might make 265 (just barely) but he'd never make the others.
ReplyDeleteWith that said, I don't see Brock beating Frank Mir in a rematch and I'm hardly alone. Mir is something of a beast in his own right, but he definitely isn't the sort of man mountain with planet hands you suggest the heavyweight division will be belong to in the future, Jamie.
Just checked out www.pandora.com...thanks for the link. I love it! Something to listen to while playing WoW. :)
ReplyDelete