Pandekar

My Take on UFC 112: Overlookin' Edgar

vrax — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 21:51:16 GMT

Edgar vs. Penn
I scored it 2, 4, and 5 for Edgar, although I can easily see giving the second to Penn. Frankie Edgar's 7-to-1 underdog upset victory should be the big story coming out of UFC 112. Yet, it isn't.

The last time that there was a long-odds championship upset - Matt Serra's decimation of Georges St. Pierre - the fans and media alike were in an uproar. Even after a decisive TKO over GSP, people still doubted Serra's ability. So when we see Edgar edge out a split decision, over the man believed to be the greatest 155lb. fighter in the history of the sport, aren't we hearing a similar chorus of doubts regarding Edgar?

People love drama. That's just the (often sad) truth. And the Fight between BJ Penn and Frankie Edgar simply wasn't dramatic in the traditional sense. Neither competitor was ever in any danger of being finished. The fight was technical, the decision close enough to reflect that, and Edgar was declared the victor. The big drama was about whether or not Edgar could keep working at and imposing such a frenetic pace.

Normally today's intardweb argument would be about this fight, the judging, what went wrong with BJ, and how maybe some of the haters should include Frankie on their top pound-for-pound lists. Many fans would call for a rematch; the Penn loyalists in the hopes that their man will prove himself best, and show that it was just an off night, and the Edgar fans who would like to see Frankie win with a more dominant showing.

Well, my hat's off to Frankie Edgar whom, according to the announce team, may have actually been facing off against a cyborg. No matter how many times Mike Goldberg reminded us that Freddie Roach says BJ Penn has the best hands in MMA, the fact remains that he was out-boxed in Abu Dhabi. Since the commentary of aged boxing coaches isn't worth what it used to be, Joe Rogan felt the need to add the following attributes to Penn's arsenal: Snake-like Jabs, Laser targeting pinpoint accurate punches, Laser-guided Bombs, and he also upgraded BJ's jaw from Granite (as shown by the description graphic during his entrance) to Iron.

Yes, "Edgar Defeats Cyborg Fighting Champion" should be the day's headline but instead people are talking about...

The Main Event
Featuring: Anderson Silva vs. Himself, the crowd, and marginally Demian Maia. As well as Demian Maia vs. Bruce Lee and his tag-team partner "Big" Dan Miragliotta. In A Steel Cage!

Maia and Silva enter the Octagon, and almost immediately the awkwardness begins; first Silva goes to the center of the ring, kneels and bows while facing Maia. Demian then joins Anderson in the middle of the ring, kneeling and bowing to Silva. Meanwhile, Silva is ignoring Maia, and has begun turning to the four corners of the arena and continuing his prostrations, which were apparently directed at the fans, and not his opponent. Oops.

The shenanigans are further foreshadowed by the announcement of "Big" Dan Miragliotta as your referee for the contest. Miragliotta has edged out Steve Mazzagatti as the sport's worst official - quite a feat, some might say. And as soon as Dan opened his mouth and stuttered his way through the rules recap, things started to steadily go downhill.

For the first two rounds, Anderson Silva wowed the attending crowd with his impressions of Bruce Lee, including totally out-classing his opponent. He broke Demian's nose, and injured Demian's leg so badly that later blows to the leg would send Maia to the canvass. Some people have criticized Silva for not fighting to win in those first couple of rounds. Here, I beg to differ; breaking a bone in someone's face is generally associated with trying to win fights. The same could be said for such devastating low-line kicks. Combine the with the fact, and it is a fact, that Demian Maia is the best Brazilian Jiu-jitsu practitioner in MMA, and you might be able to see why Silva was hitting and moving, rather than going all-out. Simply put, you do not want a grappling ace to get a hold of you while A) the guy isn't tired, and B) you're not sweaty enough to have become slippery yet.

I cannot and do not fault Anderson for playing his own game and sticking to it during the opening rounds. I don't even mind some, or hell a ton of, showboating, as long as you're doing damage and continuing to have a good showing. In those first couple frames, Silva was doing just that.

Ring rust is a bitch and a half, though, isn't it? And after an eight plus month lay off, and arm surgery rehab Silva did the worst thing he could've done - he got tired. Now when you're tired and facing a game opponent, you definitely do not want to let on that you're exhausted. So he began to taunt Maia, and then slip away, while doing just enough to remain ahead on the judge's scorecards.

I don't blame Silva for staying ahead and coasting, I don't mind him using the rules to his advantage. Me? I blame Dan Miragliotta. Just over three minutes into the final round, Miragliotta warns Anderson to engage, stating that if he continues to back away a point will be deducted. This is an action I have no problem with. My issue is with the timing of the referee's warning. To have any real effect the official needs to step in with a warning at the first appearance of a rules infraction, in this case that means in the third round, early on.

Dan simply doing his job would have changed the tone of the fight and the entire event. Miragliotta is part of a broken system. The other part is the 10-point must system for scoring. Due to the scoring system the outcome of this fight wouldn't have changed one bit, even if Silva had lost a point in rounds 3, 4, and 5 each! Anderson would still win the bout with a score of 47 to 45. But at least the event would have been better run, and hopefully not left so many fans irate.

Down With Miragliotta~! Down With Boxing's Old Scoring Rules~!

I... snerk chortle snicker Heh.

vrax — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:49:41 GMT

vrax — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:33:16 GMT

All right, so hi!

So we are, transfiguration and I, discussing relationships and I'm reminded of a conversation that I had with someone I just met about what was going on between her and her boyfriend. At one point she was discussing the level of connection between them and saying how deep it was, and as the conversation progressed she also revealed that there were some problems within the relationship. Issues that she was not satisfied with. She was worried about addressing those things because doing so might create a large conflict which, at the time, would have felt worse than just enduring this dissatisfaction.

Because my goal in life, and certainly when giving advice, is that the people around me come out happier, I wondered how she felt about conflict or suffering in general, especially if it was for a greater cause, or even if it was just for personal growth or happiness. So I used basic debate skills to get her to discuss some of these issues, many of which had to do with feeling overprotected, and as though the people that protect her are in some way being condescending by doing so. She was making an assumption that there was an implicit statement in the desire to protect her that said that she could not protect herself.

So I asked her, "Have you ever tried this? Perhaps you could look at people being overprotective, especially your boyfriend or anyone that loves you, not as saying that you can't protect yourself, but as saying 'I'm sure she'd be fine but why should she have to be bothered?' In that way you could view the inferred condescension just as someone wanting to do something nice and be of service to you as a friend or lover."

She answered that she would simply rather not be protected because, by protecting her, regardless of the veracity of any implication or inference, they were robbing her of her opportunity to learn by failing or going through hardship, and facing challenge head on. I then confirmed, "So, you don't think that it's a good idea to avoid any sort of suffering or conflict as long as you think it will bring about personal growth and greater happiness." She said I was correct, and indeed that she would rather face a challenge head on and learn from that experience even if it was a more painful way at the time.

"Then really it sounds like you should talk about these issues with your boyfriend, seeing as how your stated position is that you'd rather face something head on if it results in personal growth." That was game folks.

After glaring at me for having successfully ensnared her in my trap of the obvious, she relented and admitted that she knew I was right and of course it's untenable to remain in an unhappy situation just as it's untenable to maintain any situation in which you feel a need to alter your behavior on the basis of fear. In this case it was the fear of losing the connection that she has with her boyfriend.

Once she had come to this realization, I then noted that I felt like the connection would probably be deeper if she could be totally honest with him. She then asked, "So what do I do then?" She literally asked, word for word, "I mean should I just tell him exactly what's on my mind?" I began to laugh. "Listen to yourself!" I said. "Did you really just say out loud, 'Should I tell my boyfriend, with whom I have a supposedly deep connection, what is on my mind?' Yes! Yes! Yes - you should."

I was reminded of this experience because last night my lovely fiancee and I each received an email from a concerned friend. I responded to the concerned party with my sincere feelings, but transfiguration felt that there were some things that she was inclined to say yet had some reservations about.

I understand that no one wishes to be misinterpreted or say something that they would later regret or that is only true while said in a moment of emotional response. So I decided to tell my fiancee this story. Hopefully she will be able to use it to think about a good way to word her response, as I know she cares deeply for the friendship she shares with this concerned party.

Who knows? Maybe it will even help light the way for someone else.

HAHA! Take that you dumbfuck homophobes!

vrax — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:39:48 GMT

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1218651/Thugs-attack-men-dresses--turn-cage-fighters.html

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 5:31 PM on 07th October 2009

* Comments (382)
* Add to My Stories

Two thugs who attacked what they thought were a pair of transvestites picked on the wrong men - when their intended victims turned out to be cage fighters on a night out in fancy dress.

Dean Gardener, 19, and Jason Fender, 22, singled out the two men walking along a street in wigs, short skirts and high heels.

Bare-chested Gardener was caught on CCTV confronting one of the men in a pink wig, black skirt and boob tube - then seen swinging a punch, a court heard.
yobs attack cross-dressing cage fighters

Taunts: Dean Gardener, 19, and Jason Fender, 22, are punched to the ground after attacking two cross-dressing cage fighters

But the other cage fighter, wearing a sparkling black dress and matching long wig, sprang to his friend's help, delivering two lightning-quick punches to the two stunned yobs.

The cage fighters were then seen teetering away in their high heels, stopping only to pick up a clutch bag they dropped during the melee.

Gardener and Fender were left dazed and seen staggering to their feet after their failed attack.
Knockout: One of the cross dressers casually feels for his clutch bag before walking away

Knockout: One of the cross dressers casually feels for his clutch bag before walking away

CCTV cameras followed the pair as they weaved along The Kingsway in Swansea, South Wales, before being arrested by police.

Mark Davies, defending, said: 'You know it cannot have been a good night when you get into a fight with two cross-dressing men.

'Unfortunately they were extremely drunk.
Yobs attack cross-dressing cage fighters

Dazed: The two cage fighters teeter off on their high heels as their two attackers struggle to get to their feet

'They had been out drinking jugs of cocktails and Fender had drunk at least 10 pints of cider.'

Police later discovered the two drag queens were cage fighters on a fancy dress stag night out with other friends.

Both Gardener and Fender, from Bonymaen, Swansea, pleaded guilty to using abusive words and behaviour.

CCTV footage of the attacks was shown at Swansea Magistrates' Court. It shows them fighting with several men before the approach the two cage fighters.

The pair were sentenced to a four-month community order, were electronically tagged and placed under a curfew between 7pm to 7am.
In the light of day: The Kingsway Swansea, where the incident took place

Click the article link to see pictures and VIDEO.

Things wrong with us.

vrax — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 15:47:34 GMT

Sent at 3:07 PM
_Liss: The last 3 hours of the day are always the hardest.

me: yep, boring, and time is all drowsy and slowed down. Time itself naps at about 4pm.
This explains the success of the English-
they had tea, you see

_Liss: Dammit, I drank all my tea already.

me: Used the extra time, and nearly took over their visible surroundings.
That's why it's called "Tea Time"
It's not time FOR Tea, but rather time FROM Tea,
crafty cockney bastards.
This is why the revolutionary Boston tea party was so damning, you understand.

_Liss: odds bodkins, you astound me.

me: they stole literally thousands of man hours from the Brits and dumped all that time in the sea-
and laughed!
So, obviously,here we have the origin of the phrase "time flies",
it also goes splash, but that part lost out to the laughing.

me: Now the British had always hidden their secret tea practices under guise of "gentlemanly warfare" wherein they would actually take breaks from battle, to have tea.
Rarely did their foes also have tea, and so they tended to lose a lot.
Thence comes the saying "mister tea pities the fool" this was how they taunted their opponents, while maintaining the code.

_Liss: Are you going to share this secret with the world?

me: The Tea Secret? Hh heavens no.
The English would eat me for breakfast, another code. They become quite noticeable when you know about the cipher.
Yes the great mystery of Tea Time was in fact by revealed by a priest who served as adviser to the early papacy.
He was later known as Father Time.
He actually became addicted to it himself, Father Time that is.
To the caffeine, I guess. In those days it was a big deal.
In any case he eventually went mad and had to be jailed.
Rumor has it that Father Time always managed to smuggle tea into his cell, and get I don't know, buzzed off it, he'd eat it raw. And drink it, but like HARD Drinkin'.
Even this has spawned a common modern phrase - "doing hard time".
He died near the jail, mad with the Tea Time.
Thinking himself full of "all the Time in the world" he ran right off the edge of a cliff.
It wasn't fun.
And so?
Time did not fly.
But he did go splash.

_Liss:HA!

MoOonkey!

vrax — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 16:49:08 GMT

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MURNKAY!

YAY!

HE'S MY FAVORITE MONKEY!

YAY!

DANCE MONKEY DANCE

DANCE, DANCE!

WHOO!

I joined a club

vrax — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 12:20:50 GMT

Because some things must be brought to light

vrax — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:16:05 GMT

Very Yes.

vrax — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 15:16:25 GMT

This is something I often think about, but can't quite get out onto the page. That's because I am not a damn fine writer like my best friend, and evil twin murnkay is. So please, go read this:
http://murnkay.livejournal.com/1492780.html

It is so worth the time. And above all, Rock! On!

Just sayin'

vrax — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:39:02 GMT

By the way, sipping Talisker and playing randomized-pack sealed deck with theferrett is one of the best ways to spend an evening that I can think of.

That doesn't involve sex.

Silly query

vrax — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 16:37:34 GMT

Are there any real Goths? Or are there only wannabes and people who used to be Goth? It seems that no present tense actual Goths even exist. Thoughts?

Yay! 4-0!

vrax — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 13:01:04 GMT

Happy Happy Birthday to theferrett! Send him good wishes (ladies that means pictures of your bits) and go out and do something fun, something you love but haven't done in a while. Spread the joy! Happy Birthday Man!

I dunno a talk with people, about things.

vrax — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:31:58 GMT

I keep seeing people getting very upset about things which they cannot change. I am reminded of the Serenity prayer. Unless you live in Tehran, Somalia, or Kandahar (et.al.) - you have it pretty fucking good. Chill out folks.

ajjones:"Perhaps, but there's a difference between accepting the things you cannot change, and burying your head in the sand, telling yourself you can't change anything because you're too lazy."

And as she so often is, ajjones is right.

Apathy is not the same as acceptance. What I'm getting at is the upset itself - it's not necessary to the persons involved, nor does it aid in resolving any issues at all. Initially the upset is useful as a tool for motivation, driving us to take action. However, once we begin to act, the upset is useless, and can be cast aside. Sometimes we wait and endure, sometimes we must struggle on - but being upset about it is neither productive, nor fun.

Happy Fathers day!

vrax — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 15:37:00 GMT

I had my children over for pizza lunch and ice cream and techno dance party - what a blast!

So remember to hit up the literal mother fucker in your life, and say "yo" today.

"Cosmic" yields strange search results.

vrax — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 02:29:11 GMT

vrax — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 00:23:04 GMT

vrax — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:28:59 GMT

Cauldron bubble and hexes wither,
On the double, come thee hither!

Fucking Pervert Gorgons

vrax — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 19:11:21 GMT

PRIDE

vrax — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 19:43:45 GMT

So June is like Gay Pride month and stuff. So here's some Gay PRIDE:

OOps! Wrong kind, though I never get tired of that macro. Ahem.

Anyway I tend to think that every day is a pride rally in life, and every month is gay pride month, at least it is for me. That's because i have to work twice as hard, since I am only half gay. I mean bi-sexual. Or, Pomo- Pan- Sapio- um I like both boys and girls, let's just say that.

And I'm half gay. I'm very proud of that half. WORD.

Show some Pride bitches!

I LOVE JAPAN

vrax — Sat, 30 May 2009 14:14:30 GMT

Throw in the damn towel!

vrax — Fri, 29 May 2009 19:56:46 GMT

Props to CagePotato:

That's Lyoto Machida KO'ing Rashad Evans to win the UFC 205lb title

Obviously.

vrax — Thu, 21 May 2009 15:46:19 GMT

Thoughts on relationships, and the desire to manage others

vrax — Wed, 20 May 2009 19:02:21 GMT

So I'm out; bisexual, liberal, polyamorous, member of a fringe religion, believer in magick. I have thoughts about being a happy person, while being these various things at the same time.

I've known I was bisexual since I was a teen, liberal since long before that, and I have very few memories of the time before I had had any mystical experiences.

Which leaves Poly. In some ways, I am new to poly, in others I am merely revisiting it. I was in a monogamous relationship with the same woman, my wife, for over ten years. I have a pretty good working knowledge of how relationships function or don't, largely based on that experience.

I have also, in times past, been in a few poly relationships. They were bad, I didn't understand the needs I had, let alone those of any partner or partners. They crashed and burninated the countryside. I was jealous, I tried to be more permissive than I was comfortable with, and I wanted all aspects of the relationships involved to include me.

Thing is, I try to learn from my mistakes, and take lessons from my experiences. Now I have this theory that I operate under within any relationship. No fighting against each other, only along with each other. The English language being the vague and ungainly thing that it is, renders that last sentence rather meaningless. So I will attempt to explain. What I mean is this; if I see my partner as an opponent in a conflict, there is no good answer, since even if I "win" the argument, I will have done so to the detriment of my partner. FAIL. So, I find it important to recall during any struggle, that "hey, we're on the same team" Team Us.

While maintaining a perspective of teamwork is critical in any relationship, it's even more important in an open one. The temptation to run off to another partner who might agree with you, or simply enable you to avoid the issue at hand is strong. It's also pure sabotage. Walking away from the person you're supposed to be a partner to not only doesn't address whatever the problem is - it creates a secondary problem.

Fighting alongside someone is often harder than it would be to fight against them, this is because there is no clear objective (winning) nor is there any room for - and this is of utmost importance - there is no room for dishonesty.

Most of the time, the reason we're dishonest towards those people whom we profess to love*, is because we do not wish to hurt them. Not wanting to hurt others is a nice idea, but generally detrimental to all involved. This comes down to the reasons that we try to shelter people:
1) We do not like being the bad guy, he who brings sadness is not too cool, and it's not how we like to think of ourselves.
2) People are empathic, we can feel what others around us feel, even if it's only to a very small degree; we do not want to feel that reflected dismay.
3) We're afraid of change. We don't want to bully and force, and we're afraid that if something changes it will turn out worse.
4) Embarrassment. Sometimes we want petty or weird things, and so we worry that if our partner really new what we wanted, they'd leave or love us less.

Every one of those reasons can be summed up in one word: Selfish. They're all different forms of Ego-focus. Not wanting to appear certain ways, is really about a desire for control in life, specifically for control over someone else's reactions to us. And that? It's something that people get to decide for themselves.

If someone doesn't love the honest you, they don't love you at all. If someone can't listen to the truth and deal with it, depressing as it may be, they're not your partner in things, they're a hanger-on. If you can't just say what you want, then you're a coward who doesn't yet deserve to get it.

Stop running. Stop lying. Do those things and you will be able to live a happy life. You can have fulfilling relationships. I don't think of myself as a particularly wise man, but I do think of myself as one of the happiest people I know. I'd love to see all of you happy too. Hopefully this will help some of you to avoid the mistakes I've made.

*If you love someone, you do not lie to them. Until you're ready to tell them the whole, honest, blunt truth? It's all pretense.

Just some random bits

vrax — Tue, 19 May 2009 15:40:07 GMT

So I talk to no one, a lot. Not to myself, not really, but to no one, or sometimes to characters that I am making up on the fly. And often I will improv a conversation between them.

Recently my favorite time to talk to no one is while making a French press of coffee. I like to pretend there are teeny tiny Frenchmen in the grounds begging for me not to squish them. Too bad I say, that they taste so damn good.

So um, when do you guys like to talk to no one, and what kinds of things do you say?

============

I find the way that some people "manage" their finances to be infuriating. It seems that some people always have money for trips, cons, and pretties. Yet these same people can't seem to afford to pay back loans and debts to their friends. That ranks as an 11 on the Lame Scale. Please note, the Lame Scale only goes to 5.

============

I think I have convinced my mom to come and jam out on Rock Band some night. I am overjoyed about this. It involved me showing her a video of myself playing the game, and asking "Are you really going to be that bad?" Eventually she acknowledged that "Oh my God, are you kidding? Of course I won't be that bad."

============

I saw an awesome movie over the weekend, and immediately began shuffling spots in my top 10 to make room for it. I highly recommend the viewing of Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story.

Other weekend movie observations: Kenneth Branagh is not a good actor. At all. Strangely, Justin Timberlake struck me as being better. Wow, there's some shit I never thought I'd write. Or see. Huh. Odd.

============

Observations:

Seeing two women, one raised Catholic, the other Jewish, decide who gets to do the chores in a whirlwind of guilt and reverse guilt is somewhat hilarious.

Anubis is the king of all zombie llamas.

There was really a lot of weird faux-bondage in the GI Joe cartoons. Wtf, Cobra Commander? Perhaps, when presented with a prisoner, "Take them to the Arena of Sport" should not be the first thing you come up with. Maybe. Just a thought.

I hate lawns. The greener and more manicured they appear to be, the more I loathe them.

More Llamas

vrax — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:38:52 GMT