So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

A new one just begun

So this is Christmas

I hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

 

So a very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

 

So this is Christmas

For the weak and the strong

For rich and the poor ones

The world is so wrong

So Happy Christmas

For black and for white

For yellow and red ones

Let's stop all the fight

 

A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Let's hope it's a good one

Without any fear

 

And so this is Christmas

And what have we done

Another year over

And a new one just begun

And so Happy Christmas

We hope you have fun

The near and the dear one

The old and the young

 

A very Merry Christmas

And a Happy New Year

Without any fear

 

War is over if you want it

War is over now

 

Happy Christmas

 

 

 

 

 

Let those who need to remember the time of giving.

The past few days I have heard about this movie starring Mickey Rourke and Marissa Tomei called The Wrestler, which is getting very good early reviews, and already having Rourke as an Oscar nod for Best Actor.

 

As one who had followed the sport since I was around fourteen, and through the years watched WWF and AWA (All-American Wrestling. Here's the kicker folks: AWA was based out of Minneapolis, and was shown nationally on some insignificant and upstart all-sports 24/7 channel called ESPN back in the 1980s), well the premise is for me, for a lack of a better phrase. From what I understand, it may give Rourke a second chance at stardom.

 

All I really know is Rourke's character is a former 80's wrestler who goes from being A-List to probably C-List.  One of those stars who everyone knows who used to be famous, but couldn't keep it going. He's down on his luck, and of course somehow manages to find a way to make himself relevant again. Issues with his kid, trying to live...you know the basic premise.

 

As a kid, I kind of had an idea who Mickey Rourke was, and it seemed he was always in movies that I was disinterested in, or I was too young to understand. Then somehow, he just kind of disappeared off the face of the earth.

 

From what I'm reading about this movie, it's kind of like Rocky Balboa, but in some ways, seedier.  The ending I hear, is not exactly a happy one. Supposedly, it feels almost like a documentary (more on an excellent wrestling documentary in a moment). For someone like me who at one time lived and breathed watching this stuff, knowing some of the behind the scene stuff, the lingo (thanks to the internets in the late 90's), I'm one of the obvious target audiences.

 

However, if it is getting Oscar buzz, that's something. Almost a year and a half ago, one of my favorite wrestlers killed his family and himself. It was really the last time I cared about the sport/entertainment. This could possibly be what Rocky was to the boxing industry, if the buzz is true.

 

I mentioned documentary-like quality, and I'd actually like to address this, because about a dacade ago, a small indie documentary called Beyond The Mat was released. It managed to be in Sioux Falls, and my friends and I went to it on the first night in town. Believe it or not, the theater was packed. Granted, it wasn't one of the theaters that would pack people in to see Star Wars or something on opening day, but I was surprised.

 

Basically, the filmaker followed the lives of several wrestlers. One was an up and comer who never made it due to injury. The rest were household names for the most part. Terry Funk (if you saw Roadhouse. he's the guy who got knocked out by the polar bear), Jake "The Snake" Roberts, and Mick Foley (aka Mandkind).

 

At the time, Terry Funk was considering knee surgery (at age 54), and still wanted to wrestle. What is revealing is when he is confronted by the surgeon, he is told that he has the knees of an 80-year old man.

 

Jake Roberts story is incredibly tragic, and may mirror The Wrestler from what I've read of that film's plot. Jake was a fan favorite in the 80's who used to have a boa constrictor named Damien in which he would drape on his victims after he defeated them.

 

However, the Jake we see in the documentary is one of a drug addicted, bitter man who is estranged with his daughter. At one point, the narrator states that Jake goes to find more heroin before continuing to film. The man is reunited with his father, and for the brief time they are together, they do not utter a word on camera to each other.

 

Mick Foley at the time of the documentary is in the prime of his popularity. He is for the most part, a fan of wrestling who made it in the sport. However, like Funk, his path in the sport was brutal on the extreme side.

 

The pivitol part with Mick, however is when he is shown the footage of a Pay Per View match that shows the reactions of his wife and child to the brutality he is facing at the time of the match. All he could say was, "I'm a poor father."

 

That's what intrigues me with The Wrestler. It's almost like Hollywood might have gotten a clue and that the sport shouldn't be lampooned in movies, but taken seriously.  Perhaps it's because darker, realistic stories are more common these days.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It only takes a split second to make a choice

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ugh.

 

It's not going to be warm the next week or so, kiddies. Not one bit. Supposedly, starting tonight, I have a blizzard, and if I needed to freeze some steaks or something, I could just put them on my deck and not worry about putting them in the freezer.

 

Two Presidential cycles ago, I was in Australia getting sunburned, scuba diving off the Reef, drinking lots of beer, and taking off clothes to feel comfortable. I spent a good chunk of November 2000 in weather of 90+F with humidity of 100%. When I came home in early December, it was -20F in Sioux Falls.  And guess what?  My roomate forgot my coat in Vermillion!

 

I kid you not, I wore two sweatshirts (or if that wasn't an option, at least three t-shirts and a sweatshirt) for at least a month. Then again, when I went to Oz, it was 20F here, and when I landed in LA, it was about 65F.  Not too bad there. I didn't go outside when I was in Sydney the first time, because I had to catch my flight to Cairns (pronnounced cans with a slight long a to it). When I landed there, I was wearing jean jacket and jeans.  It was a shock to my system to be sure.

 

One thing I noticed when I was in the tropics is, after awhile, you just stopped showering, unless you just want to cool off. Because ten seconds after you get out and wipe yourself off, you're soaked in sweat again.

 

Most of my clothes consisted of very thin troppo shirts, light khaki shorts, and sandals. After all, you're just sweating. However, considering this is the Christmas Season, one thing struck me as total wrong when I was in the tropics.

 

How could anyone in that kind of weather have the courage to wear a full-blown Santa Claus suit? Not only that, seeing "reindeer" and no snow? My fellow American and Canadian travel members would all just say, "This is so wrong".

 

Eight years later (and for the most part every winter since that trip), I wish I could be Down Under during this time of year. Hell, if I would win the lottery, I'd prolly move there..:).

 

But alas, some cold air is coming my way, and I'm gonna freeze. At least I can crawl under the covers and read a book.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's your own fault

Being selfish

Why do you have to be just for me?

(Can you hear me cry)

 

 

 

Dedicated to Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fifteen Years. Nine untill first parole. Maximum sentance: Thirty-three years.

 

Karma.

 

Unless we start to hear stories of Orenthal James Simpson's life in prison on a daily reel, I hope that this is the end of this drama.  I watched the video of him pleading, and frankly, it *IS* sad.

 

Sad for the fact that a man who is a Hall of Famer, still holds the most rushing yards in NFL history. He had a somewhat successful acting career, and also was for a time a very good NFL analyst/reporter gig.

 

Now, justice is served.

 

In the 1994-95 trial, watching that fiasco saw him smirking, and in years to come, he was golfing, even after losing the civil suit, it was like he was laughing at the justice system.

 

I think perhaps the biggest mistake he made prior to the Las Vegas thing, was his attempt to write a theorical tell-all If I Did It, about if he actually committed the crime. That's ego at it's finest. Not.  Stupidity is more like it.

 

Watching him plead "I'm sorry" was so phony to me. Granted, I AM biased here, but just watching him when the sentance was given, I felt sorry for him.

 

To watch an icon like this take fourteen years to fall from grace.

 

May have God have Mercy on a sorry excuse of your soul.