Holiday Video Fun Time

God bless The Onion. Seriously, The Onion cranks out so much hysterical content it's ridiculous. I dare you not to laugh at this....



One punch KO...Hell, this was a one punch fight (yes, a grand total of ONE punch was thrown in this fight). However, it was one hell of a punch.



I am posting this only because it's almost Christmas Eve, and I feel like I need to post something Christmas related (and it is mildly humorous).



Have a Happy Holiday!

More Internet Randomness...

I actually hate Sex in the City (for a number of reasons, but I will spare you). But I found this parody to be pretty funny. Plus it includes Mrs. Garrett from The Facts of Life.

And on a Related Note....

Wonder why she's delaying the release.....

Hmmmmm

Oh Lord...Britney's Sister is Preggers

Following in her big sister's footsteps, Jamie Lynn Spears will now have a little bundle of joy of her own. See below. Never mind that Jamie is only 16!

ANOTHER Spears baby is reportedly on the way -- and it's not Britney's. Jamie Lynn Spears, the 16-year-old star of the cable TV comedy series Zoey 101 and sister of Britney, told OK! magazine that she was pregnant and that the father is her long-time boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

"It was a shock for both of us, so unexpected. I was in complete and total shock and so was he," she said.

Jamie Lynn is 12 weeks pregnant.

"As soon as I found out for sure from the doctor, I took two weeks to myself where I didn't tell anybody," she said.

"Then I told my parents and friends. I was scared, but I had to do what was right for me."

Spears broke the news to her mother, Lynne, just before the Thanksgiving holiday on November 22, the magazine said.

"She was very upset because it wasn't what she expected at all," Spears says.

"A week after, she had time to cope with it and became very supportive."

Lynne, already grandmother to Britney's young sons, said: "I didn't believe it because Jamie Lynn's always been so conscientious.

"She's never late for her curfew. I was in shock.

"I mean, this is my 16-year-old baby."

She said her daughter had known Aldridge for years and had begun dating him in high school.

Worst Wrestling "Gimmicks" EVER

As many of the people reading this know, I enjoy the "wraslin". I have been watching it for some time, and along the way I have seen quite a few terrible gimmicks (see below the video for a pretty good definition of what a "gimmick" is) . That's why I take my hat off to the gentleman that put the below video together, as it pices together a vast aray of horrible gimmicks. They're all here: The Gobble-D-Gooker, Pappa Shango, H.L Hopper (who is often forgotten), Dr. Isaac Yank'em, Giant Gonzalez, The Dynamic Dudes. It even includes a clip of Vince McMahon dancing at "The Slammy's," the kickoff of the XFL, and a priceless Tugboat interview where he announces he will punish his opponenets by throwing them in his rubber boat. Good stuff.

"Gimmick, a wrestler's personality, behavior, attire and/or other distinguishing traits while performing. It can also be an implement used to cheat. For example, Jeff Jarrett's gimmick is knocking out opponents with his guitar, and the guitar itself is also a "gimmick." In recent years, the emphasis has been on more realistic gimmicks which portray the wrestler as an actual person, albeit with exaggerated personality traits, as opposed to previous years during which gimmicks could be best described as cartoonish. A wrestler may be expected to portray many gimmicks during their career, most of which may be implausible or inconsistent. Sometimes a wrestler may undergo a complete change of on-screen personality from one week to the next. "

M.I.A

Just heard the song "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. (check out the song here). It has been awhile since I have heard a song with a "hook" this stellar. I am not sure if "the kids" have discovered this song yet or not (being that I am an old man now, I am a little out of touch with what's "hip"). But if this hasn't hit the mainstream yet, when it does I predict that M.I.A. will have a HUGE hit on her hands.

Check out her website here. (be warned, if you are prone to seizures you might want to steer clear).

Bad Girl's Club

Why have I never heard of this show until now? Apparently, it is the highest rated program in the history of the Oxygen Network (at least according to Wikipedia). Check out this description:

"The new season of Bad Girls Club premiered last night on Oxygen, which is made up of a wonderful cast of hateful, awful women. Produced by Bunim/Murray -- the people who brought us The Real World and The Simple Life -- Bad Girls Club takes seven girls with horrible attitudes and puts them in a house stocked with liquor, just 'cause. They're not expected to change their ways or become better people."

From what I can surmise from the website, and the various clips I have seen on youtube, every episode contain three basic elements:

1. The girls get drunk.
2. The girls get in a fight.
3. The girls take their clothes off.

I love this clip, because it contains all three of the above elements. One of the girls (Ripsi) gets hammered (which seems to be a common theme for her) and goes on a violent rampage through the house. It's a disaster to watch, but it's damn entertaining.

Here is a New York Times article about the show. Someone is going to be setting their Tivo.

More Randomness....

Random Things Found on The Internet (Part 1)

Here is Christopher Walken teaching us how to make a delicious chicken with pears.

That is all.

Evel Knievel R.I.P.

This just in, Evel Knievel Is dead.

http://in.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idINIndia-30777520071130

Quick "Evel" story: A former co-worker of mine once worked for Osco (Osco Corporate), and as part of her duties would sometimes have to meet with celebrities that were making store appearances for grand openings and what not. She once met Evel at a grand opening where he proceeded to use the following line on her: "I have jumped a lot of things in parking lots, and I wouldn't mind jumping you in this one."

Evel Knievel = all class.

Kelly Pickler

Kelly Pickler (American Idol contestant) is NOT smarter than a 5th Grader. Actually, Kelly Pickler is barely smarter than an infant.

Retro Hester

The only bright spot for the Bear so far this year. Some clips of his college days at Miami. Worth watching until the end for the return against Duke...just ridiculous.

I Am Fat

Currently, I have hit a bit of a speed bump on the way to my ultimate goal of weighing a svelte 180 pounds (I am in a contest to see who can get to 180 first, but if you are reading this, you probably already know that). I call this speed bump, "a weekend in Nashville for Barry's birthday."

Weight Friday morning before I left: 198.5
Weight upon my return on Sunday afternoon: 213

Yes, over 14 pounds in 2 days. Strong work by anyone's standards (Even the morbidly obese would have to tip there hat to the orgy of eating and binge drinking that led to my rapid weight gain). So kudos to me! I'm fat!

P.S. Clint, you can stop counting now.

Bundyology

Wow, after the last post I went in search of information about the "no ma'am" episode, which the clip I posted seems to be from, and stumbled across this.

Good stuff.

The "Best" of King Kong Bundy...

So writing the post about "Moving" rekindled my interest in a some what long forgotten remnant of WWF (E) past....King Kong Bundy. After some Youtube research, I stumbled across the following clips.

I fondly remember this first match. I have not seen it in probably 18 years. Not nearly as good as I remember (actually, it's terrible), but the commentary by Elvira (yes, Elvira "Princess of the Night") is awesome. This match is also in the "big blue cage," which I really miss. Also, the amount of "heat" (which is wrestling terminology for the level of crowd involvement) that they got from a couple of simple "big splashes" is ridiculous.

Wrestlemania 2...Hogan vs. Bundy.




This one is for C Funk (who will most likely remember the details of this episode). This clip is interesting for a couple of reasons. 1. It includes Bud in a bee costume for some reason. And, 2. It includes Michael Clark Duncan as the security guard, which I thought was funny.



This just shows you how far "Kong" fell one year. This is Wrestlemania 3, and Bundy was relegated to wrestling midgets (Little Beaver and Lord Little Brooke) with Hill Billy Jim. I apologize for the video quality. This is probably another one that Funk will appreciate.

This is For My Mom....

My mom is deathly concerned that someone may wander across this blog and assume that the picture of the heavy set guy with the tattoo is me....it is not.

I have no tattoos, but aspire to have one some day....one much like this.

Saturday Afternoon TV

This Saturday afternoon I had the fortune of stumbling across one of my favorite "under-rated" movies on TV One....."Moving"! (By the way, TV One is a new "African-American" station. I have never seen this station before. Of course, I am not a huge fan of "227" and "Sister, Sister" reruns, so that may explain why I have never stumbled across it).

Essentially, "Moving" is about a family that's, well, moving. The main character, played by Richard Pryor, gets a new job in Idaho and must move his entire family from Jersey to Boise. This movie is good (and under-rated) for several reasons:

1. It's one of Richard Pryor's last quality movies before his disease really starts to outwardly take it's toll.
2. It stars Randy Quaid in a hilarious role as the obnoxious next door neighbor (a role that pre-dates his very similar role in the "Vacation" movies), and a young Dana Carvey as the split personality psycho that Pryor hires to drive his beloved Audi to Boise.
   
3. It also stars the super hot Stacey Dash, best known for her role as the token black friend in "Clueless" (as a side note, Stacey was 29 years old when she did "Clueless!" I was shocked. Check it out.). By the way, she's 41 now...still not too shabby (see below).
4. There is a King Kong Bundy sighting. King Kong Bundy makes an appearance as one of the movers that Richard Pryor hires...good stuff.
5. It's really funny.
   

Check out a "Moving" trivia game here here.

What Is This F1 Stuff?

check this out:

"Yesterday, the World Motor Sport Council, the governing body of Formula One auto racing, slapped the unprecedented fine of $100-million (U.S.) on McLaren, the latest chapter in a high-test case of industrial espionage that has rocked the auto-racing world."

Yes, $100 million dollars...and suddenly the New England Patriots don't feel so bad.

The whole article is here.

Fun With Google

I thought this was kind of cool...nerdy, but cool. Basically, it shows you some hacks that you can do with Google.

This one is my favorite: ("robots.txt" "disallow:" filetype:txt). Type it in the search box and the results your given are text files of pages that the publisher does not want Google spidering. In other words, it's pages on a website that the creator doesn't want to appear in search results. The first listing is for www.whitehouse.gov. Kind of fun. Obviously, this stuff isn't classified, but it's fun to think that it's at least stuff they don't want the public reading.

This is a cool site too. Stuff people have found using Google Earth.

Other stuff:

This is a video of a bunch of Google tricks (like how to view the page in Klingon).

The WWE "Wellness" Program

I promised myself that I would not blog about wrestling here any longer, but after all the reading I have done recently regarding the controversy surrounding the WWE Wellness Policy, I felt compelled.

This past week the WWE went on a suspension and firing spree. Ten wrestlers were suspended, most of which for there involvement with Signature Pharmacy (which is under investigation for illegal distribution of steroids..in total, fourteen WWE wrestlers appeared on the investigators list of Signature customers). I believe three wrestlers were fired (I know of three for sure). Those being Mike Bucci (formerly Simon Dean and Nova in ECW), and Cryme Time (a tag team, so two people got the boot here). All were fired for there behavior and not drug use. I know most of what I have read, including the ESPN article that recently appeared on the front page of ESPN.com, has sighted the recent suspensions as a sign that the WWE is starting to take the health of it's wrestlers seriously. I would argue that this could not be more far from the truth.

The suspensions were not done as a way to punish the wrestlers, as much as it was a way to make it look like they did something. Most of the wrestlers suspended will not be missing from TV or PPV, as the suspensions typically only apply to house shows. This does affect the wrestler's income, especially those wrestlers that have small down side guaranteed money and count on the house show income to supplement. However, if a wrestler is still appearing on TV and PPV, I would hardly call him "suspended." The funny thing is, and I can't believe that someone in the "mainstream" media has not picked up on this, one of the WWE's worst offenders wasn't even punished. Randy Orton is the only wrestler on the Signature Pharmacy list to have a past drug test failure for steroids. Yet nothing has happened to him...nothing.

The Wellness Policy has so many loopholes it's ridiculous. Never mind the fact that the wrestlers know in advance when they are being tested. But any wrestler with a valid percription for the drug they tested positive for, regardless of the amount that's found in there system, is given a pass.

Eventually, this all will blow over, as I have read that Congress is pleased with the actions that the WWE has taken thus far, despite the fact that the testing policies are ridiculous.

Something lost in all this is the fact that two wrestlers recently turned in there notice. King Booker and Ric Flair, for reasons unrelated to the steroid controversy, have quite wrestling. The fact that there will most likely be no big deal made of Ric Flair retiring is ludicrous...but that is a blog for another time.

Muir Woods

Got a chance to play with my new camera while out in San Francisco. These are some of the better shots that I took. I spared you the ones with my ugly mug in them (your welcome).

The Human Tornado

Finally, the choreography and infectious sounds of "Beat It," coupled with the athleticism and human drama of wrestling...the result: magic!

Below is the Human Tornado. Frankly, one of my favorite "indie" wrestlers. These clips should explain why (or maybe they don't, but they're still funny).

Don West = Beanie Babies?

For whatever reason I found this hilarious. Hopefully, the 8 people who are still watching TNA IMPACT! on Spike will enjoy this (or maybe they won't. Regardless, I don't care). Apparently, esteemed TNA host Don West spent some time trying to shile Beanie Babies on the Home Shopping Network. This isn't quite as good as the near coronary level intensity he uses when trying to swindle the public into buying one of those coma inducing TNA PPV's, but it's funny none-the-less. Enjoy.

Google Dance 2007

Working in the online marketing field does have it's perks at times. I was lucky enough, along with about 1,000 of My closest friends in the industry, to be invited to the "Google Dance." If your not familiar, it's a party that Google throws in conjunction with the SES (Search Engine Strategies) convention in San Jose (which I was lucky enough to be attending). I am still on the road, so have not had time to upload my photos, but here is a link to some other dudes pics. Good times. And I managed to get a little (ok, more than a little) tipsy on Google's dime.

For anyone dreaming about working for the "number 1 place to work in America," you'd better be under 30 and very good looking. It was like a Calvin Klein commercial...seriously.

Check out these "Googler" perks....

Finally, adding a picture that I took at Google Dance. This is Jen (co-worker), Brian (guy that we meet at the conference who tagged along with us), and myself.

REAL Tag Team Wrestling

Ever wonder what a real tag team match would look like. Yes, actually tag team rules, only with legitimate fighting (i.e. not "worked" or WWE wrestling).

Below is from ZST (pronounced "zest"), an MMA organization in Japan. This is purely grappling, but is otherwise a legitimate tag match.....

WWE to Face Congressional Committee

And another in the long line of things that makes me embarrassed to be a wrestling fan.....

From ESPN.com:

In a move that significantly widens the impact of wrestler Chris Benoit's murder-suicide case, two congressmen who opened steroid hearings into Major League Baseball have requested that World Wrestling Entertainment provide records pertaining to the WWE's testing policies and practices.

In a three page letter dated Friday, Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Tom Davis, its ranking minority member, asked WWE to provide a series of documents intended to give the committee and its investigation a detailed look at WWE's drug-testing policy, including information about the results of performance-enhancing drug tests on pro wrestlers.

"The tragic deaths of World Wrestling Entertainment star Chris Benoit and his family have raised questions about reports of widespread use of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs by professional wrestlers," the congressmen wrote.

"These allegations -- which include first-hand reports of steroid use by prominent former wrestlers -- have swirled around the WWE for over a decade. Investigations by journalists have described a culture of performance-enhancing drug use in professional wrestling, high fatality rates among young professional wrestlers, and an inability or unwillingness of WWE to address these problems."

The letter from Waxman and Davis described WWE wrestlers as "multimedia stars that have an influence on the behavior and attitudes of the nation's youth."

"WWE has a responsibility to do everything possible to eliminate the use of performance-enhancing drugs -- or the perception of such use -- by its wrestlers."

The records request is wide ranging, and parallels what was asked of Major League Baseball. It seeks a list of drugs covered by its policies; the entity that conducts its drug testing; the number of tests it conducts annually; the protocols followed after a positive test; and the procedures for awarding exemptions.

It also wants hard figures about the number of tests that the WWE conducts each year; the numbers of wrestlers tested; positive results for each specific drug; and the number of positive tests for which wrestlers were penalized.

In an attempt to investigate the WWE's reaction to past scandals, the committee is also seeking "the results of any investigations prepared [by the company] regarding the deaths, injuries, or illnesses of current or former professional wrestlers that may have been related to the use of steroids."

It adds to the list "all communications between [the company] and outside entities including communications with health care professionals or law enforcement authorities, regarding allegations of drug use by wrestlers."

WWE chairman Vince McMahon was given until Aug. 24 to comply.

"We are reviewing this letter and will respond accordingly." said WWE spokesman Kevin Hennessy.

The WWE instituted its current drug testing policy after the November 2005 death of Benoit's best friend, Eddie Guerrero, 38, who was found dead in a hotel room in Minneapolis. A subsequent autopsy showed heart disease. Because steroids cause the heart to work harder to pump blood to an enlarged physique, they have been associated with arterial wear and tear.

The WWE has insisted that it randomly tests its 180 athletes at least four times a year. But its program has been criticized for being too employee-friendly. In a recent interview with the New York Times, David Black, the company's hired drug testing administrator, said: "The intention is not to punish, but to get them [the wrestlers] to engage in a different lifestyle.''

In a June 28 interview on the Today show, McMahon defended his employees, saying: "Everyone that's in this organization, to my knowledge, is well-adjusted, family people. They go to work like everybody else, except their definition of what their job is, is to put a smile on somebody's face. They're performers and they do their jobs very, very well."

The congressional request is the most direct approach on the WWE since 1994, when federal prosecutors charged McMahon with steroid distribution. A jury found him not guilty. In the years since, McMahon has regained widespread respectability, selling shares in the WWE to the public and luring celebrities like Donald Trump to his shows. But the double murder-suicide in late-June involving Benoit, one of his company¹s biggest stars, has refocused attention on the issue of wrestler deaths and steroid use.

Authorities have said Benoit's body was found to have 10 times the normal level of testosterone, as well as amounts of the anti-anxiety drug Xanax and the painkiller hydrocodone, but there has been no evidence that steroids played a role in the deaths of Benoit's wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel. Georgia's top medical examiner said the testosterone, a synthetic version, appeared to have been injected shortly before Benoit died. He hanged himself in the basement gym of his suburban Atlanta home.

"The God of Wrestling"

Karl "The God of Wrestling" Gotch
1924 - 2007

Born Charles Istaz in Antwerp, Belgium (on August 3rd, 1924), Karl Gotch, as he would later dub himself, would go on to be recognized by Japanese wrestling fans as one of the greatest wrestlers, and toughest men, in professional wrestling history.

While unknown to most American wrestling fans, Karl Gotch is a significant figure in both Japanese pro wrestling, and, for that matter, modern MMA. During his career he was considered a legitimate "shooter," or real submission wrestler, and would go on to train the original stars of Japanese MMA: Ken Shamrock, Masakatsu Funaki and Minoru Suzuki. All learned there base submission knowledge from Gotch, and, using that knowledge, would go on to form Pancrase, a precursor to the UFC. The early years of Pancrase was based on testing the original fighting and submission techniques taught by Gotch.

I could ramble on and on, but will spare you. Additional information of Gotch can be found here and here


Below is a Antonio Inoki/Karl Gotch match from 1972 in 3 parts. If you have the patience, check it out.