Who / What is That?

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If you’re like 99% of the population, when you look at the untouched photo taken in the early 20th century, you see a man and a woman… but wait!  What is that huge face of the bearded man doing between them?  Could it be a ghost?  The head of a giant?  Jesus?  Nope.

Click here to see what the image really is. [Via Neatorama]

PS – When my wife looked at the photo for the first time, she saw what the image really was.  I was floored.

Otis Frampton: Cop Land

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Otis Frampton’s art is no stranger to the StalloneZone. I’ve told you about Otis’ 7-7-7 Sundays before. I’ve been fortunate enough to get three previous sketches from Otis — Rambo, Jack Carter and Cosmo Carboni. You can see them here.

I finally got to meet Otis in person at Heroes Con last year. When Otis attends conventions he has sketchbooks that he sells for a buck each. Yep, one buck. And to make the deal even more enticing, Otis includes a free headsketch. For mine he did Freddy from Cop Land. I would have gladly paid a buck a piece to have Otis draw Sly from every movie he’s done, but the idea is to get new fans to give Otis’ work a look. So instead, whenever I ran into a friend who’d never heard of Otis I’d slap a buck down and buy ’em a copy of the sketchbook with a free headsketch. Luckily none of them requested Sly, or I might have had to keep the copy for myself. ; )

It’s True, Grit Too

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It’s been years since I’ve watched True Grit starring John Wayne, Kim Darby, Glen Campbell and Bruce Dern.  I saw the movie when it was first released and I loved it.  I remember thinking that it held up well when I watched it again years later.

This trailer for the re-make by The Cohen Brothers that stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin looks like it will give the original a run for it’s money.

UFC 119 Results

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I’m sorry to say that with just one exception, it was a pretty lackluster night of fights.  Let’s cut right to my predictions and the results:

  • C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen
    • Prediction: Dollaway winning by decision.
      Result: Dollaway won by 1st round submission making me 1-0
  • Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione
    • Prediction: Mitrione winning via TKO.
      Result: Mitrione won by decision making me 2-0
  • Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens

    • Prediction: Stephens for a 3rd round stoppage or submission win.
      Result: Guillard by decision making me 2-1
  • Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra
    • Prediction: Serra for the win.
      Result: Lytle won by decision making me 2-2
  • Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk
    • Prediction: Dunham for the win in a tough battle.
      Result: In a tough battle, Sherk won a split decision making me 2-3
  • Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira:

    • Prediction: Bader via a decision.
      Result: Bader won via a decision making me 3-3
  • Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir

    • Prediction: Mir for the win.
      Result: Mir won by 3rd round KO making me 4-3

CB Dollaway earned the “Submission of the Night” bonus of $70,000.  Two bonuses for “Fight of the Night” were awarded.  The Sherk vs Dunham and Mitrione vs Beltran fights both brought each of the fighters another $70 grand.  No “KO of the Night” award was given despite the fact that Mir knocked out Cro Cop.  Sure, it was a boring fight right up until the KO, but shouldn’t Mir still get the bonus?  I believe he should since he did score the lone knockout of the evening.

Ben Affleck’s Town

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The Town is one of my all-time favorite crime movies.  Ben Affleck, as director and star, surrounded himself with a great cast [Rebecca Hall, Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Pete Postlethwaite, Chris Cooper] and terrific story [and adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves].

Part of the reason that I love The Town so much is that it feels real.  This was Affleck’s goal in both casting the roles and filming.  When casting the female lead, Affleck said it was really important…

…that she feel like a real person. If you dropped a very recognisable Hollywood whoever-it-is or starlet that everyone knows into that role, somebody who depends on a certain kind of acting that was sort of “recognizable”, the immediately the audience would know “Okay, it will be hard for her, but then she’ll come back and she’ll be winning and we’ll all go home happy” and it would allow the audience to feel comfortable…

Affleck believes that his decision to use security camera footage also helped with the feel that the robberies were real…

…The security camera footage, I wanted to use so that the audience would subconsciously feel as if it were more realistic. I think we’re actually used to seeing crime and violence through that prism, that 15 frames per second, no sound, black and white security stuff. So when you see that happen, “this feels real” and then you cut into the 35 stuff and maybe at some level in your mind you’re feeling like it’s more kind of authentic.

You can read more about Ben Aflleck’s contributions to the success of The Town at Bleeding Cool’s post.

UFC 119 Predictions

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UFC 119 is tonight so let’s go right to my predictions:

  • C.B. Dollaway vs. Joe Doerksen: Although I’m not a fan, I see Dollaway winning by decision.
  • Joey Beltran vs. Matt Mitrione: Both guys will be swinging for the fences.  I think Mitrione can take whatever Beltron lands and I see Mitrione winning via TKO.
  • Melvin Guillard vs. Jeremy Stephens: I’m not big on Guillard.  He’s talented and might be coming into his own now, but I’ve seen him fold and am not too sure it won’t happen again.  I’m going with Stephens for a 3rd round stoppage or submission win.
  • Chris Lytle vs. Matt Serra: This has fight of the night potential.  Both guys need a big win to insure a spot in the UFC.  I think that Serra has the better punching power and ground game so I’m going with Serra for the win.
  • Evan Dunham vs. Sean Sherk: This should be a great fight.  I’m a fan of both guys.  I think this will go the distance and I’m going with Dunham for the win in a tough battle.
  • Ryan Bader vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira: If Serra vs Lytle doesn’t win fight of the night, then Bader vs Little Nog should.  This should be an exciting war.  Nog has trained and is ready for Bader and all he brings to the cage [superior wrestling skills, strength, brutal punching power and an undefeated record].  If Bader doesn’t gas out and doesn’t make a stupid mistake he could launch himself into title contention.  My prediction is Bader via a decision.
  • Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic vs. Frank Mir: It’s no secret that I’m a huge Frank Mir fan. I believe Mir is going to be able to avoid Cro Cops brutal leg kicks and punches to submit him, possibly early in the fight.  With that said, Mir has done more than his share of trash talking for this fight and that never bodes well.  Added to the mix is that Cro Cop needs the win to show that he’s not over the hill in regard to a legitimate run at the title.  If Cro Cop tags Mir early or is able to take this fight into the later rounds, Mir will find himself in deeper, more dangerous waters.  I’m hoping for a solid, if not devastating performance from Mir, so of course I’m going with Mir for the win.