Showing posts with label The importance of being earnest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The importance of being earnest. Show all posts

The 800-Pound Gorilla in the Room



The truth of the matter is that for all the mystic associated with Martial Arts, when it comes down to it, there is very little that is glamorous about the arts.

It all depends on what one means by artistic, of course.





While the use of the word art in this context owes more to definition number two (Martial Art, as a technique), than it does to definition number one (Martial Art, as relating to the philosophy of aesthetics, the theory or set of principles governing the idea of beauty at a given time and place), we wish it were not so.

We wish, in fact, that it could be as easy as that:



Or as aesthetically pleasing as this:



Or this glamorous:



But it is neither.

THIS is what the true face of Martial Art looks like (and the true face of Ronda Rousey, when she is in the ring, that is):







This is no flower bending in the breeze, this is a bulldozer.

There is a reason why martial arts like Kung Fu or Aikido do not cut it at the UFC (Yip Man and Morihei Ueshiba are rolling in their graves).

It has been argued, of course, that the techniques taught by the various Kung Fu schools are too hardline a style, which, in practice, ultimately renders them useless in a ring because many of those schools most effective moves would be banned by the UFC due to the fact that such moves are specifically designed to cripple or out-right kill.

Some of those techniques can be categorized as follow:



I don't know...



I mean, such arguments are difficult to disprove, of course. Such a demonstration, one way or the other, would require nothing less than a UFC champion to face a Kung Fu or Aikido challenger in a no-holds-barred contest.

Somehow, I can't help but feel Ronda Rousey would be more than a match for any potential would be challenger.



Including even, perhaps if it came to the event, has it been argued, of a mixed martial arts (MMA) contest with professional boxer Floyd Mayweather.


Fitness . . .

The more serious you are,
the more fun it becomes...







Whatever the market will bear

That's right, little Timmy.



Here, at Disneyland, we like to refer to it as "the invisible fairy of the market."



It's part of the four basic laws of supply and demand

Do you know what the four basic laws of supply and demand are, boys and girls?



Overcrowding has been forcing Disneyland and Disney' s California Adventure theme parks to turn people away at the gates.



What else could be done, but increase prices to $92 per ticket?

Or, if it were to come to it, $100. Or more.

Anyone, class?

Only Margherita feel like a holiday

Hey, I didn't totally suck!

And I have a trophy to prove it.





OK, it says "turkey" on it. A bowling lingo for three strikes in a row. That's what it's called—or so they assured me.

I think they were just trying to make me feel better about myself.

My average is in the 80s. I’d be glad if I could scrape 100. Still, it's a clear improvement from last time, when most of my balls were ending in the gutter.

Thank you to all of you who helped me—you know who you are.

And, most of all, thank you to Wayne Webb and Lisa Wagner:



I mean it. Thank you, guys.

I couldn't have done it without you!

Grand Exit



Think of your last moments as the final summation of an essay, the rousing conclusion of a stump speech, or the grand finale of your one-man or one-woman show. It's your last chance to make a strong impression. In the space of just a few brief moments, you'll shape the image that your friends and your close ones will keep of you forever as they remember you…possibly for generations to come. A legend to their children and their great grandchildren.

We all have to go sometime. And so, when that fated moment comes of which I speak when I too one day must go, may it be like this old man, with a flourish and a last trick up my sleeves.



And don't...

Just don't you dare look under the bed, you Philistines you.

Arch-Villainesses!



From Molotov Cocktease...



...to Dr. Mrs. the Monarch...



...enquiring mind wants to know:

How do they do it?

Everything is simple or not:



Tricks of the trade:


An inspiration to us all!

Her name is Annie Mist Thorisdottir (Thor's daughter), she comes from Iceland. And she is the fittest woman on earth.


It's called resistance training.

And it's good for you!

But then again, so is lounging at the bar...


ACK!



I guess I'd better start hitting the gym!




Thank you for the present.