Tom Hodges Got Carter

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This week we have Sly from Get Carter by Tom Hodges. I discovered Tom’s art through his DA site. I saw that Tom was going to be drawing live on UStream so I commissioned several sketches which will be posted in the coming weeks. Tom still draws regularly on UStream and it’s always a blast watching him sketch and interacting with the crowd.

Lance Sawyer’s Expendable

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Lance Sawyer makes his first appearance here with his sketch of Sly as Barney Ross from “The Expendables.” I’d been a fan of Lance’s art for a while. Recently I had a chance to purchase a few sketches from him and I could not be happier in how they turned out!

If you’d like to see more of Lance’s art, you can right here.


Happy New Years 2012

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We’re just a little over 6 hours away from 2011 going into the history books and 2012 opening a new chapter in all of our lives.  I like the promise that a new year holds.  Don’t you?  [You’re not one of those “2012: end of times” fanatics are you?  If so, I’ll bet you’re having a hard time getting excited about the promise of the coming year.]

I have to admit though that I’m usually not excited to see a year come to an end.  For one thing it means we’re getting a year older.  That by itself is no biggie.  Who cares about one year coming to an end?  It’s the cumulative effect of all those previous years ending that take their toll.  Plus when a year comes to a close, it signals that all of our unfinished goals, resolutions and projects won’t be finished THAT year.

I do like that New Year’s is a time to pause and reflect on the past year and the blessings that we’ve received or heartache we’ve been spared.  I also enjoy the opportunity to plan for the coming year.  Although I’m not one for resolutions, at least public resolutions, I hope 2012 sees a couple of mine succeed.  While I’m hoping for good things in 2012, let me wish you and yours the best that a new year can bring.  

UFC 141 Results and Thoughts

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Last night UFC 141 provided fights that shocked a lot of people.  Let’s look at the results….

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks.
Prediction: Fitch by unanimous decision.
Result: Hendricks won via 12 second KO making me 0-1 for the night.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
Prediction: Cerrone wins a tough battle.
Result: Diaz won a unanimous decision making me 0-2 for the night.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
Prediction: Overeem by TKO.
Results: Overeem won via TKO due to strikes in round one making me 1-2 for the night.

Final Thoughts:

  • The only person who had a worse night than me [1-2] was Brock Lesnar.  Even Fitch could argue his loss was a lucky punch.  Brock and I, though, just got badly spanked.
  • Some are arguing that the Fitch fight was stopped early.  They make the point that Fitch was still fighting back when the fight was stopped.  While that is true, he was fighting the ref since Hendricks had already been declared the winner and had walked away.
  • It’s no secret that Dana White didn’t like Fitch’s fighting style and called it boring even though Fitch was beating everyone in front of him.  I’ll bet Dana is glad that this loss will put a stop to all of the questions that White was getting about a title shot for Fitch.
  • I was glad to see that Cerrone and Diaz had a mutual respect for each other after their 3 round war.  I wonder though, if Cerrone had won, would Diaz have shown the same respect that he received from “the Cowboy”?
  • The Lesnar fight ended the way I thought it would.  No surprise there.  The shock, at least for some, came when Brock announced his retirement before leaving the octagon to go to his dressing room.  I’m not shocked or even surprised.  Think about it.  What was left for Brock in the UFC? 
  • Lesnar had repeatedly shown he not only didn’t like to be punched, but that he couldn’t deal with strikers.  Cain Velesquez and Alistair Overeem destroyed Brock.  Were they to fight Lesnar, both Junior Dos Santos and Shane Carwin would probably go in as favorites.  [And yes, I know that Lesnar beat Carwin the first time they met in the cage.  Would that happen again?  I seriously doubt it.]  Frank Mir [who split wins with Lesnar in two fights] and even Dan Henderson [a light heavyweight] had let it be known that they’d welcome a fight against Lesnar.
  • Who was left for Lesnar to fight that he could beat?  All of the top contenders had his number.  Suppose Lesnar fought Mir again and won.  Would that put Lesnar closer to a title shot?  No.  What if Lesnar fought Henderson?  If he won, which is questionable, he’d have beaten a light heavyweight.  If Lesnar fell victim to Hendo’s punching power, it would be more evidence of Lesnar’s inability to take a punch.
  • So, with it clear that Lesnar would be out of the hunt for a title shot, what’s he to do?  The obvious answer is to retire and go back to the WWE where he can make a ton of money by just working the big event pay-per-views.  What’s even better for Brock is that he’ll know going in that he’s going to win.
  • Alistair Overeem gets the next title shot against Junior Dos Santos.  THAT should be a great fight.

UFC 141 Predictions

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Tomorrow night, that‘s right the pay-per-view breaks tradition and airs on a Friday, we have one of the most highly anticipated MMA cards of the year when Brock Lesnar enters the octagon against Alistair Overeem at UFC 141.  So, let’s look at the top three fights and my predictions:

Jon Fitch vs. Johny Hendricks.
Thoughts: In the last few years Fitch has been able to beat everyone except the champ.  Fitch grinds out wins.  He’s not fighting the champ.
Prediction: Fitch by unanimous decision.

Nate Diaz vs. Donald Cerrone
Thoughts: This should be an excellent fight.  Both guys are tough.  Neither cares for the other.  Nate Diaz comes across as a thug, but wins fights.  Cerrone is definitely the good guy in this fight… even if he wears a black cowboy hat [which, by the way, Diaz knocked from his head at the weigh-ins].
Prediction:  Cerrone wins a tough battle.

Brock Lesnar vs. Alistair Overeem
Thoughts: Lesnar is the underdog.  Overeem is considered perhaps the hardest striker in the UFC.  Lesnar has had trouble against strikers.  Lesnar is a world class wrestler and will want to take Overeem down.  I have no doubt that he will.  I just wonder if he’ll be able to keep him down.  Frank Mir thinks that Lesnar will win.  I trust Mir’s opinion, but…
Prediction:  Overeem by TKO.

I Married a Monster from Outer Space

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It’s no secret that I love old monster movies.  We’ve covered many of them over the years, you know films like “Them” and “The Thing from Another World” and “Night of the Living Dead” and… well, I’m sure you get the idea.

One movie that I really like, but doesn’t get much coverage here or anywhere for that matter, is “I Married a Monster from Outer Space.”  It was one of my favorites when I was a kid.  I saw it again a few years ago and it was still a lot of fun.  I’m thinking that maybe a double feature of “I Married a Monster from Outer Space” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” is in order.

Thanks for Bill Crider’s post which obviously struck a chord.

Mike Torrance Presents “The Night the Reindeer Died 2”

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Mike Torrance aka The Krayola Kidd returns with a clever over-sized card that he gifted me. I can compliment Mike enough on the creativity that went into making it, Everything from the fonts to the cast to the fact that it’s “The Night the Reindeer Died 2” emphasis on the 2. I totally love it and can’t thank Mike enough.

You can see more of Mike’s art at The Daily Sketch with The Krayola Kidd and his Deviant Art site. Mike is available for commissions and his prices are very reasonable. Tell him Sly Santa sent ya!