Sportsfans, I'm depressed...I honestly am. This whole thing with Michael Vick really has me bummed out. My favorite player on my favorite team being indicted on charges of dog fighting...and especially when one considers my buddy German Shepherd is named "Vick". When I heard the indictment went down, I literally felt like I got punched in the gut. This was the first football player I couldn't wait to watch every week during the season the Walter Payton or Herschel Walker. I've got TONS of Vick memorabilia in my house with all my other Atlanta Falcons stuff as well. Now, what I'm about to say will probably make people think "oh please dude, you're just saying that because you're a fan of his"...but in this country one is innocent until proven guilty, so I will keep hoping that he was just a dumbass who really didn't know what was going on. If he did, then lock him up for a long time, but I won't pass judgment until ALL the facts are known. I refuse to buy into the media frenzy like the whole Duke lacrosse rape thing. Let him have his day in court and let's see what happens. Sadly, the media is treating this case like any other...he did it, case closed, no need for a trial. The reason I have this stance is because of a class I took in college on media law. This class was one of the toughest I had, and I got an "A" on a paper I wrote dealing with rape suspects. I found SO many cases where a guy had his name in news stories being accused of rape, it turned out he didn't do it, and yet his life was ruined. And no, these weren't just cases where a guy was found "not guilty", these were cases where something would happen like the woman admitting she made the whole thing up for whatever reason...yet he would still be treated like he had done it in the community he lived in. So as to if he is guilty or not, I will wait and see how it unfolds. And yes, if he did it then lock him up...because it's very obvious if you read my stuff how much I love dogs, and I can't imagine someone participating in this stuff.
One positive on all this, there has been a lot of talk on news shows and sports talk radio about "street cred"...basically a black athlete starts making tons of cash yet still has to associate with people from the hood or act like he's still a gangster. First off, if you go to college...even if you just play football and have all your classes "taken care of", you are NO LONGER a gangster. You CAN'T go to college and be a gangster, ok? Second...why in the heck would anyone want to play a role of a drug dealer/gang-banger? And don't give me the "that's how they grew up" crap because it all comes down to personal responsibility. Oh sure, one could say it's easy for me to say that being a white guy from the suburbs, but my dad literally came from NOTHING, yet got a doctorate and was a VP at a large company. It's like the line from "Rocky Balboa" where he's telling his son that he can't sit around pointing fingers saying he isn't where he wants to be because of this person or that person...only cowards do that. These wannabe gang-bangers are a bunch of losers who really need to grow up. A real man takes responsibility for his life and what he does with it. A real tough guy deals with daily crap and overcomes it to make himself a better person and have a positive effect on those around him. You know what? I'm starting to get pissed off about all this, and I have some funny stuff to talk about, so I'm ending this here.
Well...then again I don't know if this will be funny to anyone but me and Matt...our drummer...but I still laugh about it. It may take a few to get to the punchline so stick with me here. Saturday night the mighty NoiseCult went on the road to play a gig in Cave City, KY. We loaded up the van and get up there...and after driving around for 45 minutes trying to find the club, we arrive. The place was really cool. HUGE room to jam in with a big stage with another area with pool tables and stuff. The only problem was it was a dry county..and Matt wasn't very happy...haha. What started as "I think I'll grab a beer real quick" turned into "I can't believe this friggn county!!!!" He likes to have a beer or two before we play...and this night he couldn't. But once we started playing it didn't matter...because we ROCKED! And when I say that we rocked...I mean that in every sense of the term. The sound on stage was awesome...which is rare...so I didn't have to scream my head off as usual. We played 11 songs, and I think it was our longest set...and people were digging it big time. In fact, we played our first encore. Wait...I'm leaving something out. No details here...but Matt ended up with something to drink during the show so he was happy...haha. But what I really dug was that the monitor mix was really good...I could hear everything. Plus, the place was dark and had a bunch of lights flashing onstage...and yes...I had evil red on me. Don pointed it out during one of the earlier bands. He said, "Hey man, looks like you're gonna have your evil red light on you", and I looked up to see that the side of the stage I would be taking had a big red light on it flashing off and on. Oh yeah...it was going to be a good show. Anytime I know Dio would be proud of an evil red light, the gig shall rock! We went up to Kentucky because this one band we gigged with about a year ago called Slander wanted to bring us up. It was their CD release party, and a couple of other bands were on the bill...both of which kicked ass. Oh, and Slander ROCKED as well. Those guys play some straight-forward 80's heavy rock with some twists. I can't wait to jam with them again. And this other band called "Edge of Reason" really blew me away. I was quite impressed. Well after we got done I was paid some huge compliments. Oh, let me say one other thing, after every guitar solo Don played ended, it was answered with a lot of applause. I swear, I think all three of us were just dead-on Saturday night. I had never been more relaxed and into it...what a blast it was. Ok, back to the compliments...hahaha. Now I've said it before, but I don't take complements well...I really don't know why...but I get all "aw shucks" and shy about them. In the past, one guy said I started sounding like Danzig, someone said I sounded like Tom Araya of Slayer at times...and a couple of weeks ago I was told we all sounded like a mix of COC, Slayer, and Black Sabbath. Well those were all very cool...but a dude told me after the gig that I reminded him of James Hetfield. I can honestly say that is the best compliment I have ever received. I think Hetfield is the best lead singer (that also plays an instrument) of all time. So to hear that was incredible...and right after that the owner of the club came up and was saying we were like Motorhead...a three-piece where the lead singer plays bass. And then he started going on about how good I was and he couldn't believe that my fingers were flying around like they were while singing. It was at this point I said "ok...my head is swelling now". Yeah, I did say that because these were the best compliments I've ever heard. Wait...there was supposed to be a funny story here so let me get to it. We ended up leaving the club about 2:30 in the morning...and I've got a good buzz going off a few beers and some shots of Jager. Not drunk...but a good buzz going. Plus, I'm exhausted so I'm a wee bit slap-happy as well. We were in the van, and all decided to stop for a minute for a bathroom break and some food. We found a truck stop/diner/gas station that was open and stopped. I couldn't believe how many people were in there at that hour. When we pulled up, I noticed a bunch of dudes in cowboy hats for whatever reason and headed to the bathroom. One dude was at a urinal and Matt went to the other...so I had to choose a stall. I go in, shut the door, start going about my business, and look up to the container that has all the toilet seat covers so you won't get AIDS. Someone decided to write something on it, and I read it. It said "Free Cowboy Hats". I saw that, remembered all the dudes in the diner with cowboy hats, and then pictured someone wanting to fit in pulling a toilet seat cover out of this thing...putting it on their head...and trying to strike up a conversation with the other truck drivers all the time thinking he looked cool. I started laughing uncontrollably. I finished up, and then went to wash my hands still laughing. Some dude was using another sink and there is no telling what he thought since I was just busting. Matt finishes and goes to another sink...he starts laughing because I am and asks me what's so funny. I try explaining it, and I can't because I'm laughing so hard, which makes him start laughing harder. I then get it out about the free cowboy hats...and I'm honestly laughing right now thinking about it...so he goes into the stall to see it. He comes out laughing as hard as I am. Then the both of us leave the bathroom and Don is at the counter ordering something to eat. He looks over and me and Matt are in tears laughing. So of course Don starts laughing wondering what's going on. We both try to tell him but are laughing too hard...and yes...he starts laughing harder. Finally I explain it...and then me and Matt look at each other and just blurt out the laughs. I imagine every person in that place thought we were tripping on something...but the fact is, that was just hilarious on a decent beer buzz and lack of sleep. We sit down at a table to eat, and I start to calm down. Then Matt is saying something and I just blurt out "free cowboy hats" and start another laugh-fest...which Matt joins in on. The mental image of someone wearing a toilet seat paper cover and thinking it was cool was just absolutely hilarious to me. We laughed about that for most of the drive home for some stupid reason. Anyway, that's the big bit of comedy...I thought it was funny...and if you didn't then oh well...hahaha. Free cowboy hats...HAHAHAHAHA!
Oh, I said I'd go over the details of my 20-year high school reunion...but I didn't go. Yeah, Friday rolled around and I thought I'd actually have more fun coming home, playing the new kickass football game "All Pro Football 2K8" and watching a new show called "The Human Weapon". I know I did the right thing. After all...why would I want to go and make small-talk with people I don't talk to? The show is one that is completely awesome. "The Human Weapon" is a new show on The History Channel where two trained fighters travel to different countries and study the martial art that originated there. At the end of the show, one of them actually fight someone from that country who trained in that art. They started the series on Friday studying Muay Thai in Thailand...which is what I train in...and it was fascinating. These guys learned things from masters in that art...guys who grew up training in it their entire lives. I learned a couple of things that blew my mind...and I know this series already has me hooked. The training they had showed the contrast of competitive training versus life or death combat. When the two guys went to a very remote village and trained in real life and death combat fighting, that was unreal. They were showing the village master what they had learned at a Thai gym, and the master told them that some of it was useless, and then showed them why it was geared towards competitive fighting and not real life. I watched the show...and then watched the replay of it later in the night. The show broke down Muay Thai and the effectiveness of the strikes on a level that rivals most high-school science classes. For example, they spoke about how an effective knee strike can have the same impact as someone being hit by a car going 45 mph. And then one of the counters they showed is exactly the type of thing missing from the classes I take. A guy throws a right...you block it with your left arm then step in, shoot your right arm over his neck, then throw a knee right into his chest. Now I'm glad I have a basic understanding of Muay Thai from the classes I take, but this was exactly the type of stuff I want to learn. I was telling Matt about it after the gig Saturday and asked him to throw a right...he did, slowly of course, and I was amazed that I was able to absorb the fluidity of it all because I was able to walk through the counter and strike with no problem...and for that I am glad about the training I've received. Now I'm not trying to say I know more than my instructors at all. This is just me looking at classes being geared more towards competitive MMA than real-life. But I can say the classes have taught me to think about a fight very differently than I ever would have before. When you start concentrating on knees and elbows being used, you look at it all differently and don't feel so limited. For example, one thing the show did a great job of was breaking down the Thai kick. In stuff I've see before, a standard sidekick generates all it's power from the thigh. In a Thai kick, it's the equivalent of swinging a baseball bat. When you bring that leg around to connect with your shin, you're not just using your leg...you're also using the momentum of your waist rotating...just like swinging a bat. But enough on all that...just check out the show...it rocks!
Time to go play some of "The Punisher"
videogame before feeding the kids. Later sportsfans!