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Reading List
"The Godfather of Grappling" by Gene LeBell
"Pain and Passion: The History of Stampede Wrestling" by Heath McCoy
"Preacher" Graphic Novel series by Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon
Anything written by Tim Dorsey
Anything written by Andrew Vachss
The John Rain series by Barry Eisler
"The Road to Hell" and "Angels of Death" by William Marsden and Julian Sher
"Rust and Bone" by Craig Davidson
Anything written by Joe R. Lansdale
"Dog Eat Dog" by Edward Bunker
"Dead Famous" by Ben Elton
"The Big Books of Combat" by Bas Rutten
In this corner…
September 07, 2008
LAETRILE/VITAMIN B-17
In 2004, I took my wife Marianna to the IMAQ clinic in Tijuana, Mexico (www.drcastillo.com) to see what they could do to help her in her battle with breast cancer. I won't go into detail about the horror story of the treatment she'd received from most of her physicians before that point, but needless to say, clinic founder Dr. Isai Castillo could not have done any worse to Marianna than had already been done so we had nothing to lose.
I was quite literally shocked with what I saw when I got to Mexico. I spoke with literally dozens of people who had been sent home to die by their physicians back home, only to have their lives extended by years or even decades by Dr. Castillo. And while the treatments varied from patient to patient, the common ingredient in almost every case was Laetrile, otherwise known as Vitamin B-17.
Sadly, the damage done to Marianna by medical practitioners in North America proved to be cancer's best friend, and after initially restoring much of Marianna's vitality and destroying the tumor from which her cancer had spread, Dr. Castillo's treatments were negated by medical incompetence and quackery, and Marianna died. But even in spite of the fact that Laetrile couldn't stave off the effects of medical abuse and save Marianna, I remain convinced that it is a viable, even essential ingredient in the prevention and treatment of cancer.
Click HERE for BadNursing.com's take on the Laetrile situation in North America. It's a long read, but it quite eloquently illustrates how "big pharma" has fought the use of Laetrile on every front despite there being no proof of it being anywhere near as toxic as currently-approved (and horrendously poisonous) cancer-fighting drugs.
If you plan on contributing money to events such as last Friday's "Stand Up to Cancer" wank-fest, I suggest that you read this article first so that you'll at least know the true attitude of the people to whom you'll be giving your money, and why such events will continue to raise billions of dollars without ever bringing us one inch closer to a cure.
September 04, 2008
BIG MOVES FROM BIG NAMES
Both the MMA and pro wrestling worlds have had some major announcements made by some of their biggest stars lately, the most momentous of which is probably the return of Randy "The Natural" Couture to the UFC.
Upon his departure, Couture was very vocal about his dissatisfaction with the way he was treated by UFC's parent company Zuffa (and by UFC president Dana White in particular), even going so far as to state that he'd rather never fight again then return to the Octagon. But several months of legal wrangling and abortive attempts to make a fight between Couture and Fedor later, it became apparent that Zuffa was going to be able to prevent Couture from fighting for any competitive organization, at least for the time being. And with his 45th birthday now behind him, Couture has to be feeling Father Time's breath on the back of his neck, and know that he can't afford to wait any longer to get his fights in.
And thus, the recent announcement was made that Couture had signed a three-fight deal with UFC, which will commence with a heavyweight title defence against Brock Lesnar. This fight is a masterstroke by the UFC, since for them it's a win-win situation. If Lesnar wins, which I personally favour him to do, then a new star is born and new life will be breathed into a largely lackluster heavyweight division. If Couture wins (and it should be noted that out of the last ten fights where Couture was declared the underdog, he only lost once), then the legend of "The Natural" becomes even greater (if that's possible) and UFC will still have him for what may be the final two fights of his career. And of course, let's not overlook the fact that, if properly promoted (which it almost undoubtedly will be), the Couture vs. Lesnar match could very well set an all-time record for pay-per-view buy rates, putting millions of dollars into the already-swollen coffers of Zuffa, Inc.
On the wrestling side, Mick Foley has announced that he will be jumping ship from his spot with WWE and heading off to rival company TNA. This was originally Foley's plan some time ago, when he correctly felt that by helping TNA become viable competition for WWE, he'd be driving Vince McMahon to greater heights than he might otherwise attain, therefore helping the entire business on the whole. Of course, McMahon predictably disagreed with this idea the first time around and offered Foley a contract so much larger than the TNA offer that he couldn't say no, but lately Foley has expressed dissatisfaction with his current position on the SmackDown commentary team (probably due to McMahon's apparent habit of bellowing at his announcers during broadcasts) and with his contract now expiring, is free to re-enact his original plan.
While I consider TNA largely a lost cause in the booking department, I do think that Foley will be a valuable addition to their roster, and I am sincerely hoping that his arrival will result in the eternally apoplectic Don West getting a lot less mic time!
Both UFC and TNA will bear watching in the future to see how these new developements play out.
September 02, 2008
CATCH 22
Anyone who knows me knows that ever since my knee surgery last year, I've been kind of a porky bastard (okay, before that too, but not so much as after). Gaining weight as easily as I do, it was no trouble at all for me to balloon up to nearly 300 pounds immediately after the surgery, and I'll be damned if the weight didn't fight me every step of the way when I started becoming more active again.
As a way of giving myself incentive to get back to an only semi-corpulent state, I made a resolution last May that I wouldn't touch another drop of alcohol until I got under 250 again. In the early going it wasn't easy, especially when my self-imposed sanction necessitated a booze-free birthday party in June, but I managed to stick to my guns and (thanks lots of inspiration from my buddy Mark Gibbon, and the shame I felt upon seeing footage of myself in a form-fitting Electronic Arts motion capture suit) I finally chiseled away a good-sized portion of my soft, flabby outer coating.
I'm pleased to announce that as of yesterday, I weigh 250 on the nose for the first time in over a year, and am now free to booze it up. The only problem is, now that my liver has become relatively pristine, I've lost my damn taste for alcohol! In terms of my physical and financial health this is far from a bad thing, but at the same time it also means that I'm going to continue getting berated at social functions by certain fellow stuntmen who are convinced that my current state of sobriety is indicative of a newfound love of gay sex.
I'm sure that I'll end up getting blotto at some party or other in the future, but for now I'm just going to have to accept the fact that I've got one less vice than I used to have. Of course, there are plenty of others to choose from, so I might just try something new to fill the void. I hear that the kids these days are all excited about that crack cocaine...
August 31, 2008
RIP WALTER "KILLER" KOWALSKI
Early yesterday morning, world famous Hall of Fame wrestler Killer Kowalski died after holding on for several weeks following a severe heart attack. Over the past several decades, Kowalski made his indelible mark on the wrestling business through first his own career, then by training many notable names including Frankie "Kaz" Kazarian, Chnya and HHH. Click HERE for the Ottawa Citizen's report on the passing of a true legend of professional wrestling.
August 27, 2008
KENNY VS. KIMBO
As you probably know by now, Elite XC's next CBS event will be headlined by a bout between Kimbo Slice and "The World's Most Dangerous Man", Ken Shamrock. While this bout will undoubtedly have many hardcore fans howling for the matchmaker's head on a pike, I think that it's a prime example of how Elite XC has managed to at least book Kimbo properly in the midst of the colossal goatfuck that that company has become.
While he's certainly not top-ten material yet (and who is, after only 3 pro fights?), Kimbo has proven to be a magnet for the casual fans who should be the primary target of any promoter. Putting Kimbo against Ken Shamrock, who has tremendous mainstream recognition due to his dominance in the early UFCs and his tenure in WWF, is a masterstroke that has the potential to post ratings rivaling the 6.5 million viewer peak during Kimbo's last fight against Englishman James "The Colossus" Thompson.
Hardcores be damned, this fight is a FANTASTIC idea for the struggling EXC, and it leads me to believe that Bas Rutten must be taking an extremely active role in the selection of opponents for his protege. Top marks to you for making this fight, EXC--you've been retards in many other ways, but where Kimbo's concerned you continue to get it right.
August 24, 2008
THE RETARDATION CONTINUES
I just checked out an article on MMAJunkie.com about trouble in the Elite XC promotion, centering around a war of words between EXC vice-president Jared Shaw and manager of EXC lightweight champion KJ Noons, Mark Dion.
The gist of the problem is that Shaw wants to promote a second meeting between Noons and UFC vet Nick Diaz on CBS with Noons' world title at stake. As much as I regard Shaw as a guy who only got his job because his daddy ran the company, I have to agree with him here as, thanks to the prior antics of Diaz and his brother Nate (footage of which EXC is stupefyingly refusing to air because it's "bad for the sport"), the Diaz/Noons matchup is easily the most marketable one that EXC could make that doesn't involve its top stars Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano.
However, Dion thinks otherwise, apparently stating that since Diaz has fallen to Noons once already, it is not in Noons' best interest to fight Diaz again. Instead, Dion feels that former bodogFIGHT champion Eddie Alvarez is the true #1 contender, and that Eddie should be KJ's next opponent. I spoke with Eddie himself about this development, and even he seemed baffled about why he'd be considered a #1 contender when he's only fought once in EXC, beating lower-tier fighter Ross Ebanez.
This is a prime example of the brain-damaged logic that led to the demise of Bodog, IFL, and scores of other MMA promotions. I have all but given up hope that promoters will eventually learn that it's NOT about "making the best fights", it's about showcasing the most marketable fighters and matchups. You would have thought that EXC would already know this since they've correctly built their company around Kimbo Slice even though his career is still in its infancy. But just like TNA wrestling, they take one step forward and then five steps back, taking the attitude that they'd rather please a handful of internet-dwelling purists as opposed to millions and millions of neophyte fans.
It still amazes me that so much money can be controlled by people this stupid, and this unwilling to learn from the mistakes of others. I am seriously running out of hope that there will be a North American promotion outside of UFC that consistently gets it right.
August 23, 2008
UGH...
I just awoke from a semi-comatose state after a fourteen-hour stretch on the wire team of the Ben Stiller movie "A Night at the Museum 2". NATM has quite a sizable budget and a large crew of performers, so I got to work with a lot of people whom I had not seen since before my surgery in 2007.
During the past month I've been lucky enough to be picking up a little work here and a little work there, but this job made me feel like I was officially back in the game, and it felt pretty damn good. One of the wire gags required me to jump off a ladder a couple of dozen times from about six feet up, and although my knee is aching a little it held up beautifully under the strain. Many thanks go out to Dr. Thomas Lu of Richmond, BC for his masterful work, as well as to Colin Decker, Dean Choe, JJ Makaro, Dustin Brooks, Darryl Quon and anybody else who had a hand in my being brought in yesterday.
I also bagged a couple of stunt days for next week on the same show, playing a member of Attila the Hun's army, so for now, the streak continues!
August 20, 2008
TNA STAR LEAVES PROMOTION
In a completely unexpected development, TNA wrestling's top female star Gail Kim has left the promotion, and her name has been taken off the TNA website. Details are hard to come by at present, but with Kim's departure coming so closely on the heels of the resignation of fellow star Tomko, and of Kevin Nash stomping out of a recent TV taping, it leaves one to wonder just how much tumult is going on behind the scenes at TNA.
MORE EA, TIESTO, THEN I DUNNO WHAT ELSE
My month-long hot streak of work looks like it may be coming to a close, as I just finished a two-day stint at Electronic Arts after working as a wire technician on Sanctuary on Monday night. Tomorrow are auditions for another EA game that I'll be both performing on and coordinating. After that, the only thing I have booked is a two-day personal protection job for Tiesto as he passes through Vancouver, and then it's back to hustling for more work. I've got a lot of resumes out, so hopefully it won't be long before I get a hit on one of them so I can keep this streak alive!
August 17, 2008
CONGRATULATIONS, SHONIE!!!
I just got off the phone with MMA superstar "Mr. International" Shonie Carter and am happy to announce that his two sons, Samearion Andreas and Kavion Osiris (Shonie does know how to hang a name on a kid!) will be returning to their rightful home in Illinois within the next few days.
As was mentioned here a few months back, the boys' mother took them to Florida without Shonie's consent, and he's been fighting to have them returned ever since then. Now it looks like he's finally got his wish.
Congrats, Shonie!
August 16, 2008
SANCTUARY AND EA
While exhausting, the day on "Sanctuary" went great, which was pretty much a given seeing as I was doing most of my work with the ridiculously talented Don Lew. I have been suspecting for years that that little bastard is the reincarnation of Bruce Lee, and during our fight scene he did nothing to disabuse me of that notion. One of the very best in the business, for sure.
It was cool to bump into series producer/star and former Stargate SG-1 cast member Amanda Tapping as well, who is one of the nicest, friendliest people on the damn planet. In fact, the whole crew was a blast to work with and if I ever get another offer to perform on that show, I won't have to be asked twice. Top marks to the FX team for their masterful prosthetic work (their work on the gigantic John DeSantis was particularly disturbing) and to actors Byron Lawson and Robin Dunne for their well-above-average physical skills and work ethic (especially Robin, who spent the day labouring within a horribly cumbersome full-body prosthetic outfit that was essentially a mobile sauna).
Many thanks to stunt coordinator Marshall Virtue for generously sending the work my way, and best wishes for a quick recovery to stuntman Paul Wu, who suffered a severe knee injury during shooting on Wednesday.
Next week it's one final night on Sanctuary, this time on the pull team, then three days at Electronic Arts before hitting the much-anticipated Def Con 5 Talent Agency anniversary party over the weekend.
