UFC 86 Predictions

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Okay, let’s take a look at tonight’s UFC card:

* Light-heavyweight title fight: Rampage Jackson vs Forrest Griffin: the smart money is riding on Rampage and the “heart” money goes with Forrest. I’d bet on Rampage straight up, but I’m pulling for Forrest.

* Ricardo Almeida vs. Patrick Cote: Alemida is in his second fight after a three year layoff and Cote is on a three fight win streak. I’ll take a chance that Cote pushes the streak to four.

* Joe Stevenson vs. Gleison Tibau: I like Big Daddy Joe Stevenson and that’s reason enough to pick him against Tibau.

* Josh Koscheck vs. Chris Lytle: Josh Koscheck is talking about dropping weight and taking on BJ Penn in a title fight, first he’ll need to win against Lytle. I think he will.

* Marcus Aurelio vs. Tyson Griffin: This will be an exciting and explosive match. I’m predicting Tyson Griffin will find a way to win.

Here’s to great fights with more fireworks than we saw last night!

How I Spent My 4th

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I love used book stores. My buddy, Rob, has been telling me about Chamblin’s Book Mine in Jacksonville, Florida for some time now. Today, I knew I would be in the area and so I made it a point to go there. My wife and I were excited about hitting Chamblin’s. If it was half as good as Rob described it, we’d get some great books at great prices.Funny thing is… I didn’t consider that they’d be closed on the 4th of July. They were. Arrrgh! We’ll try again the next time we’re in the area.In the meantime, have a Happy 4th of July! We’re off to see the fire works and then back home to catch some episodes of Twilight Zone Marathon on the SciFi Channel!

Top Westerns

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The Western Writers of America recently posted their list of the 100 Top Westerns. You just know I had to use their top 100 to come up with my top 20:
  1. The Searchers
  2. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
  3. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
  4. The Wild Bunch
  5. The Outlaw Josey Wales
  6. Tombstone
  7. Open Range
  8. The Cowboys
  9. True Grit
  10. Shane
  11. The Magnificent Seven
  12. Dances with Wolves
  13. Stagecoach (1939)
  14. Unforgiven
  15. The Ox-Bow Incident
  16. High Noon
  17. The Shootist
  18. Red River
  19. Silverado
  20. The Long Riders
After The Searchers a lot of the order is subject to change depending on my mood. Also some of the movies that made their top 100 didn’t fit my definition of a “western.” Sure, “Blazing Saddles” is a great COMEDY set in the west, but is it really a western? “The Last of the Mohicans” is a great adventure/romance, but where are the cowboys? In other words, I left off what some might consider to be classics because to me, a western is cowboys and Indians.

– A tip of the hat and a hearty “Hi Ho Silver!” to Bill Crider for the link!

 

Goon Optioned

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I’ve been an Eric Powell fan for years. His Goon is one of my favorite comics currently published. [I’d have said that even if Eric didn’t draw one of my all-time favorite Stallone pieces!]

Eric recently announced on his website that David [Se7en] Fincher has teamed with Blur Studio and optioned the rights to the Goon for a CG animated feature. Dark Horse Entertainment, the publisher of the Goon will also be involved.

This is great news for Eric and Goon fans everywhere.

Only One Cooke Needed

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Darwyn Cooke is one of my favorite comic book creators. I was lucky enough to get a Stallone sketch from Darwyn at MegaCon 2007. It was the last sketch that he did on the last day of the show. Whew!

If you read this interview with Darwyn posted today at Newsarama you’ll begin to understand why he’s a fan favorite.

If you read Darwyn’s The New Frontier; Batman: Ego and Other Tales; or his take on Will Eisner’s The Spirit Volume I and 2 you’ll know why.

Heck, anyone whose favorite movie is The Wizard of Oz [my all-time second favorite movie] has got to be alright in my book!

MMA Update

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On June 19th I suggested that Dana White reconsider his tolerance for the drunken destruction that is encouraged in the house during the filming of The Ultimate Fighter. The following day, Ken Iole, who covers the MMA for Yahoo Sports posted similar thoughts.

Guess what Dana White announced today?

“Fighters of Season 8 – which completed filming last week and will begin airing in September – were told they’d have to pay for any damage they did.”

White also announced that Jesse White will fight C.B. Dollaway on the July 19th card headlined by Anderson Silva moving up to light heavyweight to fight James Irvin.

Check out Ken Iole’s column for the full story!

T.H.E. Cat

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About a year and a half ago I posted that I’d love to find the opening to the sixties tv show “T.H.E. CAT.” I hadn’t seen the show since it originally aired in 1966-1967. I was 8 years old at the time and thought T.H.E. Cat was the man. Often things we find awesome as kids don’t hold the same appeal when we become adults. I doubted that the opening could be as cool as I remembered it.

I was wrong. It’s even cooler. Here, see for yourself. How can you not love an opening that describes the “hero” like this:

Along comes a man who saves lives at the risk of his own. Once a circus performer, an aerialist who refused the net. Once a cat burglar, a master among jewel thieves. And now, a professional bodyguard. Primitive, savage, in love with danger. The Cat.

Add in the jazz score by Lalo Schifrin, stunts, a hero with a past, great graphics, and filmed in color but not afraid to focus on black and white — shadows and light. Here is another opening. I just wish that the season [it only lasted one] was available on dvd!

Staycation: PH & CDS

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This year it didn’t work out that we could take our normal family vacation. We usually spend some time in Indiana and then either Tennessee or North Carolina. With everyone on different work schedules and gas [not to mention the economy] being what it is we opted to take a staycation rather than a vacation. [As in stay Florida and do some day trips…]
We’d wanted to see Cirque Du Soleil for years and decided that this would be the time to finally do it. Tickets with our AAA discount were reasonable and so last Wednesday we made a day of it.

After a late breakfast the family piled into my “Jack Cartermobile” and headed to Orlando to hit some of the shopping outlets. On the way over we got caught in one of the worst storms that I’ve ever driven in. Lighting was striking all around, rain was coming down in washtubs and visibility was nil — then it started to hail! Luckily the storm passed after just a few minutes and we continued on. Years ago, when the outlets were truly discount shops, we’d drive over on a pretty regular basis. Now you really have to get lucky to find a real bargain since most of the shops are tourist traps. Chris and Mike scored a couple of t-shirts and the Queen found some sort of bags that keep fruit and vegetables longer in the “As Seen on TV” store.We decided to go to Planet Hollywood for dinner before Cirque Du Soleil. The Orlando Planet Hollywood has always been my favorite due to it’s location and unusual design. We hadn’t been there in a few years, so we were all looking forward to it. I’m happy to say that none of us were disappointed. The menu has been updated a bit, but we were still able to get our “Cap’N Crunch” chicken appetizer [they call it something else, but that’s what it is] and it was as tasty as we remembered. Dinner was even better. Mike and I opted for BBQ bacon burgers, Chris had the Philly cheesesteak, and the Queen had a spinach salad. Everyone thought that their meal was the best and no one left hungry. On the way out, we swung through the gift shop so I could score a t-shirt [see the design in the photo above], and then it was off to the circus… literally.

We were really lucky in that we were seated in the second row from the stage. At first I was concerned that we might be too close to the action and get stiff necks from looking up, but that wasn’t the case mainly due to the amount of action going on everywhere! And once the show starts it doesn’t let up. If you’ve ever seen Cirque Du Soleil on television and been impressed you can just begin to imagine what it’s like to see the performers live and so close you could literally [at least from our seats] reach out and touch them.Everything about the show is amazing. You probably already know how awe-inspiring the acts are, but until you see the show live, you don’t realize how well designed the sets and stage are. Or how the special effects and live music work to change the moods of each performance. Looking back, it’s also crazy to think that once the show started there were no words spoken and it never felt like we were watching traditional acts in a “circus.” The time flew by and I left wanting more; not because I didn’t get my money’s worth, but because I was having such a great time. The Queen and kids felt the same. We’ll definitely go back.

After the show we walked around Downtown Disney. The crowds weren’t too bad and the night was just the right temperature to make trips to the Virgin MegaStore and other shops enjoyable. The drive home was filled with laughter and talk about what a great day it had been… we didn’t even complain about the storm.

If only every day could be so perfect.