Looking Forward

Thursday I'll be focusing on things I'm thankful for. I like to think I do that more often than a single, designated Thursday per annum, but on Thursday especially. Today, however, I'll focus on things I'm looking forward to.

MOVIE

Sucker Punch Blimps and dragons and swords, oh my! Showgirls and mental hospitals and isolation, oh no! March 25, 2011

SPORT

UFC 124 St-Pierre vs. Koschek. If you're not into it, that's fine. If you are, this should be a good one. December 11, 2010

BOOK

Angel Town by Lilith Saintcrow. I'm looking forward to dozens of books in the coming year, some of which I haven't even heard of yet, but Angel Town will be the finally installment of Saintcrow's Jill Kismet series. The series has been a beautiful, raw challenge of a read, and Saintcrow ended the fifth book, Heaven's Spite, with an actual to be continued... followed by the most amazing snippet.

So tell me, readers and passers-by, what are you looking forward to in the coming months or years?

UFC 113 - Yes, I AM Blogging About This

As promised, my first post on the wide world of sport. Last night, in preparation for Mother’s Day, we watched UFC 113. The main event was crazy. Mauricio Rua came out with none of the caution he exhibited in his first match against Lyoto Machida, a disputed match which the judges said he lost. He wasn’t reckless. No concern that Machida would pull some kind of disorienting and indefensible karate. No. Rua outgunned Machida and knocked him out in the first round. My only complaint about that fight is that it was too short.

The Jeremy Stevens-Sam Stout fight was excellent, in part because Stout looked so overmatched early by the fast and furious Stevens, but rallied and went the distance. This battle deserved the Fight of the Night honors.

The Fight that Sucked Last Night was the Josh Koscheck-Paul Daley match. It was a Big Fight, in that both fighters were vying for a spot on The Ultimate Fighter and a chance to go up against the phenomenal and lovely GSP. I understand that they were trying to play up their bad-boy images. What I don’t understand is when the definition of “bad boy” was changed to include play-acting which I equate, at least during a sporting event, to lying. I understand that soccer has a whole culture of it, some of which has crept into other sports. But Koscheck faking receiving a knee to head while down on hands and knees, when there was very clearly no contact, seems kind of…this is a family blog, so I won’t us the 5-letter word that starts with a “P” that I was thinking of. Unacceptable.

Then, of course, Daley punched him after the match in a purely classless act. Yeah, he was frustrated at Koscheck outmatching him on the ground, at the childish act Koscheck put on, at losing the opportunity for the TV gig and the fight…but a professional fighter cannot do something so blatantly irresponsible that it was possibly illegal. Wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out of the UFC. Sadly, now we’ll all have to put up with Koscheck on The Ultimate Fighter. Hopefully he’ll remember to pause in his antics occasionally to help the up-and-coming fighters in his camp.

Things I Know (unrelated to fighting) About Mixed Martial Arts (installment 1)

I know, I know! I haven’t been writing nearly enough about MMA (mixed martial arts for those of you who don’t know…seriously, get on board), as so many of you have pointed out. And, to the kind gentleman who told me that I probably don’t know anything about MMA because I seem like a siscy (I believe he meant “sissy”), that’s not true. Many sissies (wait, maybe he was trying to shorthand “Sicilian”) know a lot about MMA. I don’t claim to be one of them, but I don’t think you should generalize like that.

Actually, while I may not know much about the mechanics of mixed martial arts, I would wager that I notice many things during MMA bouts that hardened ig-sissies (that’s the opposite of sissy, FYI) do not. For instance, I always notice when the tag of a fighter’s shorts is showing. For all you cornermen cornerpeople out there, do your fighter a favor and take care of that. Unless 1) It is a diversion technique to distract your fighter’s opponent or 2) It gives them that crucial additional ballast necessary to get their underhooks set.

Other things I know about MMA:

1) Of all MMA fighters I have seen in the last year, Cris Cyborg and Thiago Alves are the most frightening

2) Of all the UFC’s Octagon Girls, Arianny Celeste is by far the most attractive (this includes one-time Girls, and Girls next door masquerading as OGs (Octagon Girls, not original gangtas), plus she’s fun to follow on Twitter. Her tweet about going shopping with Royce Gracie was a delight.

3) Thing #2 (from this list) is not misogynistic. Those girls have to work hard in atrocious, blood-, spittle-, and sweat-soaked conditions. That’s usually considered man’s work.

4) You will have better luck talking your girlfriend/wife into watching Pay-Per-View UFC events if you:
a. Pay – no asking her to go halfsies on it

b. Make the GSP fight on March 27^th the introductory bout for her. GSP is the gateway drug for squeamish, lady newbies