Friday, February 10, 2012
Monday, February 6, 2012
Walter Blankenship
Walter Blankenship passed away Friday night. I believe he was 32. I may have seen Walt a few times over the years here and there, but I really didn't get to know him until he started working at Pizza Hut with me in the spring of 2010.
Walter Blankenship was a very complex man. I can't say that we were best friends or anything. I didn't know much about his life and he didn't know much about mine. But, over the year-plus that we worked together, we definitely formed a friendship and got to know each other to a degree.
On the outside, if you didn't know him well, he could seem abraisive and maybe even a little scary. There were more than a few times when he would get angry and I would do my best to stay out of his way. But, if he let you past that exterior, you would have been pleasantly surprised to know that he was a really nice guy. Once he showed you that he liked you, your relationship with him changed completely.
One of the things that surprised me the most was realizing how smart and talented Walt actually was. As I mentioned, in the beginning, that gruff exterior was still up. Then, a few weeks after I met him, it was a busy day at work and in discussing it, he made a Dante's Inferno reference. Shortly after that, Walt randomly one day began singing Myley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" and mentioned that he had learned to play that song on the guitar. I asked why. He replied "Why not?"
When work was slow, Walt and others would grab their skateboards and goof off in the parking lot. Pizza Hut seemed to be full of employees who were either good at skateboarding, guitar, or video games. I never saw Walt play guitar in a band, but I knew of a few of his bands; Pariah Carey being the most notable. By the time I met him, music was more of a hobby for him when he had a chance and I saw him play a few times here and there late at night after a few drinks.
Like a lot of people who live in Princeton (and work at Pizza Hut), Walt seemed directionless at times. He had hopes and aspirations and things that he wanted to accomplish, but he was seemingly stuck where he was. When it seems like you can't change your situation, all you can really change is your mood. Walt, like many others around him, would alter his mood through a variety of different means.
Sometimes doing that is fun. But then sometimes you do it so much and so often that it gets scary for those around you. Last summer, Walt got to that point. I would see him at work stumbling around and nodding off, and I worried about him. We all had those conversations behind his back, like "What are we gonna do about Walt?" Nobody was really sure what to do. I had one discussion with him. Not wanting to be too direct to make him mad, all I said was to make sure nobody could tell he was on anything while he was at work. He assured me that he was okay and that those were isolated incidents.
As summer turned to fall, Walt abruptly quit Pizza Hut and moved to Ohio. I thought it would be good for him. He had family out there and often talked about his desire to go there.
The last time I talked to Walt was around Thanksgiving. He had gotten a new phone and texted me his new number. He told me he was enjoying Ohio and had cleaned up his act. I was happy for him and told him that. We agreed to stay in touch. Sadly, we didn't. I never talked to him again.
A friend sent me a text Saturday evening asking if I had heard about Walt. I said no. He told me that he had died. I was shocked. I went to Facebook to see if I could confirm it and get some details. I found several people talking about his death. I assume more people know by now, as at least a day has passed. But, I sent out a few "Did you hear about Walt?" texts myself and had to fill some people in on the information.
It looks like the rumor mill has already started churning, as somebody left a comment on Walt's on-again, off-again girlfriend's Facebook page asking if we knew who had killed Walt yet. She then stated that his cause of death was aspiration, caused by excessive drinking. When you load your body up with depressants, it's harder for your body to protect itself against things like choking or being unable to breathe. As of right now, that's all I've heard regarding his cause of death.
I've blogged a couple times in the past about Walt. In the summer of 2010, I posted a blog titled "I'm fuckin blockin, Walt" which was a short video of a guy playing a video game and asking Walt for help. All Walt would say was "Block, block, block" which prompted him to reply "I'm fuckin' blockin' Walt!" The next time was a little more personal. In January of 2011, I wrote a blog titled My headshot for life. I looked at some issues I was having regarding life and college. I posted a conversation I had regarding those subjects with an anonymous Pizza Hut employee. If you go read that blog and look at the description of that guy I talked to, you'll notice that I described Walt.
Something a lot of people probably didn't know about Walt was that he had a Twitter account. I introducted twitter to a lot of my Pizza Hut friends back in 2009 and when Walt came back into the picture a year later, they introduced it to him.
I feel like his account, @Peteyman5000, was an interesting look into his head, as he often posted some pretty intense thoughts on everything ranging from the economy, the government, relationships, laws, and drugs. He got the account back in 2010 and tweeted for a few months before forgetting his password and not caring enough to find it out again. I noticed about a month ago that he had started tweeting again. His last tweet was sent February 1, and in an odd way is somewhat fitting - "Girl, you know i'm no good at court ordered goodbyes."
In April of last year, I was working with Walt and we were closing down Pizza Hut together. A grease trap started to overflow and I thought his initial reaction was funny, so I pulled my phone out and started recording. After hearing of his death, I decided to upload it to YouTube to share with his friends. If you've been around Walt long enough, you had surely heard him get angry and go on one of his infamous rants. It gets a little morbid near the end, as he talks a little about death, but taken as a whole, I feel like it's pretty funny and is an example of "Walt being Walt."
If anybody wants to share any thougths about Walt, feel free to do so here.
Walter Blankenship was a very complex man. I can't say that we were best friends or anything. I didn't know much about his life and he didn't know much about mine. But, over the year-plus that we worked together, we definitely formed a friendship and got to know each other to a degree.
On the outside, if you didn't know him well, he could seem abraisive and maybe even a little scary. There were more than a few times when he would get angry and I would do my best to stay out of his way. But, if he let you past that exterior, you would have been pleasantly surprised to know that he was a really nice guy. Once he showed you that he liked you, your relationship with him changed completely.
One of the things that surprised me the most was realizing how smart and talented Walt actually was. As I mentioned, in the beginning, that gruff exterior was still up. Then, a few weeks after I met him, it was a busy day at work and in discussing it, he made a Dante's Inferno reference. Shortly after that, Walt randomly one day began singing Myley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" and mentioned that he had learned to play that song on the guitar. I asked why. He replied "Why not?"
When work was slow, Walt and others would grab their skateboards and goof off in the parking lot. Pizza Hut seemed to be full of employees who were either good at skateboarding, guitar, or video games. I never saw Walt play guitar in a band, but I knew of a few of his bands; Pariah Carey being the most notable. By the time I met him, music was more of a hobby for him when he had a chance and I saw him play a few times here and there late at night after a few drinks.
Like a lot of people who live in Princeton (and work at Pizza Hut), Walt seemed directionless at times. He had hopes and aspirations and things that he wanted to accomplish, but he was seemingly stuck where he was. When it seems like you can't change your situation, all you can really change is your mood. Walt, like many others around him, would alter his mood through a variety of different means.
Sometimes doing that is fun. But then sometimes you do it so much and so often that it gets scary for those around you. Last summer, Walt got to that point. I would see him at work stumbling around and nodding off, and I worried about him. We all had those conversations behind his back, like "What are we gonna do about Walt?" Nobody was really sure what to do. I had one discussion with him. Not wanting to be too direct to make him mad, all I said was to make sure nobody could tell he was on anything while he was at work. He assured me that he was okay and that those were isolated incidents.
As summer turned to fall, Walt abruptly quit Pizza Hut and moved to Ohio. I thought it would be good for him. He had family out there and often talked about his desire to go there.
The last time I talked to Walt was around Thanksgiving. He had gotten a new phone and texted me his new number. He told me he was enjoying Ohio and had cleaned up his act. I was happy for him and told him that. We agreed to stay in touch. Sadly, we didn't. I never talked to him again.
A friend sent me a text Saturday evening asking if I had heard about Walt. I said no. He told me that he had died. I was shocked. I went to Facebook to see if I could confirm it and get some details. I found several people talking about his death. I assume more people know by now, as at least a day has passed. But, I sent out a few "Did you hear about Walt?" texts myself and had to fill some people in on the information.
It looks like the rumor mill has already started churning, as somebody left a comment on Walt's on-again, off-again girlfriend's Facebook page asking if we knew who had killed Walt yet. She then stated that his cause of death was aspiration, caused by excessive drinking. When you load your body up with depressants, it's harder for your body to protect itself against things like choking or being unable to breathe. As of right now, that's all I've heard regarding his cause of death.
I've blogged a couple times in the past about Walt. In the summer of 2010, I posted a blog titled "I'm fuckin blockin, Walt" which was a short video of a guy playing a video game and asking Walt for help. All Walt would say was "Block, block, block" which prompted him to reply "I'm fuckin' blockin' Walt!" The next time was a little more personal. In January of 2011, I wrote a blog titled My headshot for life. I looked at some issues I was having regarding life and college. I posted a conversation I had regarding those subjects with an anonymous Pizza Hut employee. If you go read that blog and look at the description of that guy I talked to, you'll notice that I described Walt.
Something a lot of people probably didn't know about Walt was that he had a Twitter account. I introducted twitter to a lot of my Pizza Hut friends back in 2009 and when Walt came back into the picture a year later, they introduced it to him.
I feel like his account, @Peteyman5000, was an interesting look into his head, as he often posted some pretty intense thoughts on everything ranging from the economy, the government, relationships, laws, and drugs. He got the account back in 2010 and tweeted for a few months before forgetting his password and not caring enough to find it out again. I noticed about a month ago that he had started tweeting again. His last tweet was sent February 1, and in an odd way is somewhat fitting - "Girl, you know i'm no good at court ordered goodbyes."
In April of last year, I was working with Walt and we were closing down Pizza Hut together. A grease trap started to overflow and I thought his initial reaction was funny, so I pulled my phone out and started recording. After hearing of his death, I decided to upload it to YouTube to share with his friends. If you've been around Walt long enough, you had surely heard him get angry and go on one of his infamous rants. It gets a little morbid near the end, as he talks a little about death, but taken as a whole, I feel like it's pretty funny and is an example of "Walt being Walt."
If anybody wants to share any thougths about Walt, feel free to do so here.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Concord University Alternative Spring Break
Concord University is holding one final interest meeting for their annual "Alternative Spring Break" event, Monday February 6 at 6 p.m. in the State Room. It looks like this year's event will be held in Charleston, South Carolina. I don't know a lot about the events, as I've never participated, but I know some people who have. You travel with a group of people and do volunteer work. Past events have featured some religious undertones; I'm not sure about the current events.
For more information, check out the Alternative Spring Break blog. It also directs to their Facebook page. Link is here - http://concordasb.wordpress.com/
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Best in the World
There's a famous promo by legendary grappler Terry Funk. In his southern drawl, he exclaims "The name on the marquee says Wrestling, spelled Dubya-R-E-S-T-L-I-N-G."
WWE created the term "sports entertainment" in the 1980s. Back then, though, it was mostly a backstage term used to describe the product they were putting out. The term didn't become part of a wrestling fan's vocabulary until the late 1990s and early 2000s. WWE has stated for years now that they don't do wrestling or feature wrestlers, they are a sports entertainment company.
What that means is that they emphasize showmanship and flair over actual in-ring competition. Starting with Hulk Hogan and continuing with John Cena, it doesn't matter if you're the greatest mat-based wrestler. As long as the crowd reacts and you sell merchandise, you're a star.
Ring of Honor was founded in 2002. They heavily promote the fact that they are not a sports entertainment company. They promote wrestling and feature some of the best wrestlers in the world.
Two of the greatest wrestlers in Ring of Honor in the mid 2000s were CM Punk and Bryan Danielson. Since enacting their brand extension in 2002, WWE has had a Heavyweight champion on their two shows, Raw and Smackdown. In 2012, the WWE Champion on Raw is CM Punk and the World Heavyweight Champion on Smackdown is Daniel Bryan, the man formerly known as Bryan Danielson.
It has been a nice change of pace over the last several months to see WWE reward some of their better wrestlers. It is a true testament to the fact that learning your craft and becoming the best at what you do will pay off. It is no longer the days in wrestling of buff bodybuilders who get winded after 5 minutes in the ring.
There might be better interviews. There might be better looks, cosmetically. There might be better PR shills for the company. But from a mat-based, technical standpoint, there is nobody in the WWE who can touch CM Punk and Daniel Bryan in the ring.
For years, only the hardcore fans knew it. CM Punk debuted in WWE in 2006 and was shown to be good, but they never let him become the true superstar that he knew he could be. Finally, last summer they cut his leash off and let him loose. It's the same with Daniel Bryan. He debuted in 2010, and was presented as somebody who was a good wrestler, but he didn't get the chance to showcase his true skills.
There's a reason for that. If CM Punk and Daniel Bryan and countless others like them were allowed to run at full speed years ago, they would have blown past everybody in WWE. Cena, Randy Orton, Kane, Batista, JBL, Big Show, etc... can't hold a candle to the ring work and presentation of what we'll call the "ROH Guys."
The reason hardcore wrestling fans are so happy for Punk and Bryan is that this isn't just a victory for them individually. This is a victory for every true wrestler who was held down over the years, when your physical build was more important than your ability. Punk and Bryan have shown that they can be sports entertainers. They can be dramatic, funny, flashy, everything that they need to be in interviews. But, they have the solid wrestling background to back it up that most don't have.
The stigma of being a wrestler on the independent scene used to be impossible to overcome. Being labeled an "indy guy" was often the kiss of death for a WWE superstar. Punk and Bryan have seemingly flaunted that in WWE's face on numerous occasions. The night Bryan won the World Championship (Punk won his the previous month), Punk tweeted a picture of the two of them with their championships and the caption, "Not bad for two indy schmucks."
Punk and Bryan appeared the next night in Philadelphia. The "City of Brotherly Love" has been an important area in wrestling history. In addition to numerous other claims, Philadelphia is considered the home base of Ring of Honor. With the two of them standing the ring together, Punk indirectly mentioned the company that made them both stars, noting that they met 10 years ago down the street at the Murphy Rec. Plex (the gymnasium that was home to several early ROH events).
Embedded above is a video of these two men wrestling this past Monday on Raw. The basis for the match was that they were both calling themselves the Best in the World. Embedded below is a video featuring highlights from a match these two had in 2004. Look at how small the audience is. Look at how small-time it looks. But, then, look at the world-class action in the ring. These two men were having this type of match years ago, and WWE has only recently given them the opportunity to show everybody that they are both among the Best in the World.
Early in the video the words "I hope your parents die" flash on the screen as CM Punk looks at the crowd. That's because he yells that at a member of the audience. Click here to watch just that scene.
Seeing my grandpa
I recently spent a few days at my grandpa's house in Ripley, WV. Location wise, if you drew a compass on the state of West Virginia, Princeton would be around where the "S" would be written. Ripley is around where the "W" would be. It's right on the border of Ohio.
I blogged back in December that my grandpa had cancer and underwent surgery to remove his stomach, which contained some tumors. During the surgery, they realized that it had spread to several other areas of his body.
A lot of my friends don't like how openly I talk about death sometimes. But, I'm realistic about things. At 71-years-old, with no stomach, and a cancer-riddled body, he's basically sitting around waiting to die. It's rough to watch, but my mom is insistent that I make several trips up to see my grandpa waste away in front of me.
It's rough. When I first came down around the time of his surgery, I noticed that he had lost a little weight. With the cancer in his stomach, he couldn't keep anything down. Now, he has no stomach. I'm no doctor, so I can't go too in-depth with this, but they somehow rigged his intestines up to his throat. I initially saw something about this years ago on that Ripley's Believe it or Not! show. A guy had tried to commit suicide by drinking pipe cleaner. He survived, but it ate away at his stomach to the point where they had to remove it.
I saw him last week. He's lost roughly 60 pounds. His face is really thin and he's starting to get those thin anorexic-girl arms. He's around 6-feet tall and has weighed around 200 pounds for as long as I've been alive. He's always been in decent shape, but developed a little gut as he got older. He weighed himself on Saturday. He was down to 137 lbs. They then asked me to weigh myself. I'm around 5'5" and came in at 148. I weigh more than my grandpa does.
Over the years, my grandpa has collected quite a bit of stuff. The kind of stuff you initially look at and dismiss it as junk. But, it's also that same kind of stuff that sells for a lot of money on Ebay and is appraised for a lot of money on Antiques Roadshow. So, he's been talking about selling a lot of that stuff to help pay for his funeral. Stuff like antique cabinets, old pitchers, antique razors, old Elvis memorabilia, and assorted other knick knacks. Like, a 2-story house full of that stuff.
I've been doing fairly good at keeping my emotions in check, especially in front of my grandpa. I'm sure he wouldn't want to see me getting sad about seeing him like that. He was talking to me about selling all of his stuff, and said he'd like to help me out a little bit and asked what my debts were. I thought he meant that wanted to give me some extra cash to help get caught up on bills, so I thought for a second and added some numbers in my head. I told him my bills were about $500. He then told me that he meant school debt, which I realized meant he was talking about student loans. I gave him a ballpark estimate and he told me he'd see what he could do.
It really moved me and made me very emotional to realize that even in his last moments, he still wants to try and take care of me.
One of the hardest hardest things for me, though, is a completely mental one. My great grandma (my grandpa's mom) died when I was 8, when she was 82. I have no memories of her as anything other than an old, feeble woman. She walked around with a cane, but generally she was okay. Shortly before she died, her health took a turn for the worse and she had to use a walker to get around. So, I've always associated that in my head with her death. When I think of my healthy great grandma, I picture her with a cane. When I think of her before she died, she has a walker.
When I saw my grandpa shortly before his surgery, nobody really told me what to expect. I didn't know what kind of physical state he was in. I was just told to come see him. So, it really freaked me out when I saw him shuffling through the kitchen using a walker for support.
But, I've gotten used to that. I guess. I also guess I've gotten used to everything else about my grandpa's current condition. I'm not sure when I'm going to see him again. My mom has implied that every free day should be spent with my grandpa. She says these things, and she fails to remember that a two-hour drive, passing through three toll booths is not a financially-responsible drive to be making regularly. So, we'll see what happens with that.
I blogged back in December that my grandpa had cancer and underwent surgery to remove his stomach, which contained some tumors. During the surgery, they realized that it had spread to several other areas of his body.
A lot of my friends don't like how openly I talk about death sometimes. But, I'm realistic about things. At 71-years-old, with no stomach, and a cancer-riddled body, he's basically sitting around waiting to die. It's rough to watch, but my mom is insistent that I make several trips up to see my grandpa waste away in front of me.
It's rough. When I first came down around the time of his surgery, I noticed that he had lost a little weight. With the cancer in his stomach, he couldn't keep anything down. Now, he has no stomach. I'm no doctor, so I can't go too in-depth with this, but they somehow rigged his intestines up to his throat. I initially saw something about this years ago on that Ripley's Believe it or Not! show. A guy had tried to commit suicide by drinking pipe cleaner. He survived, but it ate away at his stomach to the point where they had to remove it.
I saw him last week. He's lost roughly 60 pounds. His face is really thin and he's starting to get those thin anorexic-girl arms. He's around 6-feet tall and has weighed around 200 pounds for as long as I've been alive. He's always been in decent shape, but developed a little gut as he got older. He weighed himself on Saturday. He was down to 137 lbs. They then asked me to weigh myself. I'm around 5'5" and came in at 148. I weigh more than my grandpa does.
Over the years, my grandpa has collected quite a bit of stuff. The kind of stuff you initially look at and dismiss it as junk. But, it's also that same kind of stuff that sells for a lot of money on Ebay and is appraised for a lot of money on Antiques Roadshow. So, he's been talking about selling a lot of that stuff to help pay for his funeral. Stuff like antique cabinets, old pitchers, antique razors, old Elvis memorabilia, and assorted other knick knacks. Like, a 2-story house full of that stuff.
I've been doing fairly good at keeping my emotions in check, especially in front of my grandpa. I'm sure he wouldn't want to see me getting sad about seeing him like that. He was talking to me about selling all of his stuff, and said he'd like to help me out a little bit and asked what my debts were. I thought he meant that wanted to give me some extra cash to help get caught up on bills, so I thought for a second and added some numbers in my head. I told him my bills were about $500. He then told me that he meant school debt, which I realized meant he was talking about student loans. I gave him a ballpark estimate and he told me he'd see what he could do.
It really moved me and made me very emotional to realize that even in his last moments, he still wants to try and take care of me.
One of the hardest hardest things for me, though, is a completely mental one. My great grandma (my grandpa's mom) died when I was 8, when she was 82. I have no memories of her as anything other than an old, feeble woman. She walked around with a cane, but generally she was okay. Shortly before she died, her health took a turn for the worse and she had to use a walker to get around. So, I've always associated that in my head with her death. When I think of my healthy great grandma, I picture her with a cane. When I think of her before she died, she has a walker.
When I saw my grandpa shortly before his surgery, nobody really told me what to expect. I didn't know what kind of physical state he was in. I was just told to come see him. So, it really freaked me out when I saw him shuffling through the kitchen using a walker for support.
But, I've gotten used to that. I guess. I also guess I've gotten used to everything else about my grandpa's current condition. I'm not sure when I'm going to see him again. My mom has implied that every free day should be spent with my grandpa. She says these things, and she fails to remember that a two-hour drive, passing through three toll booths is not a financially-responsible drive to be making regularly. So, we'll see what happens with that.
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Chris Jericho finally speaks, enters Royal Rumble
Long considered one of the greatest talkers in the history of professional wrestling, Chris Jericho returned to WWE on January 2, 2012 and did not say a single word until last Monday night, January 23.
What is he doing? Why has Jericho kept his mouth shut for the first time in his career? The mystery is one of the best things going on WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw.
Jericho's initial return after over a year away from wrestling (click here to read my blog about it) saw him come to the ring, soak in the cheers of the audience for 10 minutes and then leave. His next apperance the following week saw him come to the ring, soak in the cheers, then appear to break down crying and leave. His third appearance saw him finally compete in a match, a 6-man tag team contest. He teamed with Daniel Bryan and CM Punk against Dolph Ziggler, Mark Henry, and David Otunga. Midway through the match, Punk finally tagged Jericho in. He soaked in the cheers of the crowd, then promptly tagged Bryan in without doing anything and left.
All of that led up to Monday, Jan. 23. He was scheduled to host his famous interview segment "The Highlight Reel." He would usually come out and talk for a minute, interview a guest, then it would usually degenerate into some sort of brawl (depending on the guest). As the video above shows, he comes out, soaks in the cheers of the crowd, leaves and comes back with a t-shirt firing gun, takes the camera man's camera and shoots footage of the audience, then introduces a video package looking at his 13-year WWE career.
After the video ends, Jericho speaks his first words after 4 weeks of appearances: "This Sunday at the Royal Rumble, it's gonna be the end of the world as you know it."
What does that mean? What's going to happen at this Sunday's Royal Rumble pay-per-view? Jericho is entered into the 30-man over-the-top-rope battle royal event, with the winner receiving a WWE or World Heavyweight Championship match at WrestleMania. Does he have some sort of trick up his sleeve?
Also, what does any of this have to do with Jericho's refusal to speak for the entire month of January? Why did he do that?
Right before he spoke, Jericho seemed to revert to his smarmy, smug heel persona he employed from 2008-2010. That character was arguably the best work of his career. His entire career, he had either been a care-free, happy fun-loving face character or a whiny, cowardly heel. They were both basically extensions of the other. With his last run, he transformed himself into a completely different character; a darker, methodical, brooding bad guy.
Up until he spoke, Jericho had seemingly been the original "Y2J" Chris Jericho and the crowds couldn't get enough of it.
In wrestling, you always want more questions than answers. If things are predictable and stale, then it's not as fun. When the mysterious promos started airing back in early December, everybody recognized that they were for Jericho. Even though they were purposely misleading, we all knew they were for him. We were excited to see him again, but there wasn't a lot of mystery to the videos, aside from their weirdness. It wasn't as fun. Since he's come back, it has been hard to figure out what his motivations are. If you don't say or do anything, nobody can figure you out. It's fun trying to figure out what he's doing.
Now we know he is headed into the Royal Rumble, and it is going to be the end of the world as we know it. What does that mean? I don't know and I am very curious to find out.
The Royal Rumble airs this Sunday, January 29, on pay-per-view.
Additional:
Royal Rumble 2012: By the Numbers [YouTube video]
Top 10 Royal Rumble pay-per-view events [Under the Ring blog post]
Saturday, January 21, 2012
My latest articles
If you like reading about high school basketball and professional wrestling, then this is the blog post for you. Below, you'll find some of the recent articles I've written for my local newspaper, the Princeton Times and the wrestling blog I contribute to, Under the Ring.
Looking at Bobby Roode's TNA heel turn
Tigers end year on high note
Tigers run record to 4-2 on season
Tigers falter, rebound with win against Riverside
The Bobby Roode blog goes hand-in-hand with a piece I posted on here in December, which was basically some YouTube videos looking at how his heel turn came about.
Covering the basketball games has been fun. I enjoy interacting with the Princeton head coach, Ernie Gilliard. After the games, I usually go find him in the locker room and interview him about what just transpired. Talking to the opposing coach is fun too; it's nice to get their perspective on the game. Usually, the coach stands outside of the locker room after the game while the players change. Except for the last time, the Riverside coach was in the locker room, so I had to walk in there and look for him.
Click here to see the last blog of articles I posted.
Looking at Bobby Roode's TNA heel turn
Tigers end year on high note
Tigers run record to 4-2 on season
Tigers falter, rebound with win against Riverside
The Bobby Roode blog goes hand-in-hand with a piece I posted on here in December, which was basically some YouTube videos looking at how his heel turn came about.
Covering the basketball games has been fun. I enjoy interacting with the Princeton head coach, Ernie Gilliard. After the games, I usually go find him in the locker room and interview him about what just transpired. Talking to the opposing coach is fun too; it's nice to get their perspective on the game. Usually, the coach stands outside of the locker room after the game while the players change. Except for the last time, the Riverside coach was in the locker room, so I had to walk in there and look for him.
Click here to see the last blog of articles I posted.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Understanding #SOPA
Today is the big day. January 18, 2011 will live in infamy. The much-ballyhooed Internet Blackout is taking place. Several websites, most notably online encyclopedia Wikipedia, have shut down for the day. Others are staying open, like Google, but throwing its support to the Internet Blackout by putting a black bar over its main page.
What is everybody protesting? They are protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act. Abbreviated as SOPA, hash-tagged as #SOPA.
What is SOPA? If you look at various tweets and Facebook posts and other assorted knee-jerk reactions, SOPA is an attempt to censor the Internet. These people are trying to destroy Wikipedia and YouTube and Twitter and Etc...
The Stop Online Piracy Act is designed to do what is states, stop online piracy. It was introduced by Lamar Smith, a Republican in Texas' House of Representatives. House Bill 3261, as SOPA is more formally known, is designed to protect copyrighted works and the people/corporations who own those copyrights.
Why is something like SOPA necessary? Have you ever downloaded a song or movie? In a nutshell, that is the reasoning behind SOPA. More specificially, it was created to stop online piracy by overseas entities of copyrighted content, specificially music and movies.
Enough with the knee-jerk reactions by people who have never heard of SOPA before today. This is not an attempt to censor the Internet or make your life harder to live. This bill was created with the best of intentions. Online piracy is something that needs to be stopped.
However, the issue with the SOPA bill is that it is vague and there is potential for censorship. You know when you go to YouTube and try to watch a video and there is a message that says the video has been removed due to a copyright issue. Presently, if you upload that video, it gets taken down and you're told to stop doing it. If SOPA were to go into effect, it looks like you could potentially be prosecuted and given jail time for uploading a copyrighted video to YouTube.
And that applies to everything - putting something up on your Facebook or Twitter, linking something in Wikipedia or other sites could potentially be seen as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted material.
Some stuff should be stopped. Somebody stealing somebody's content and putting it on their own website - be it cartoons, writings, etc - for profit should be stopped. Profiting off of somebody else's hard work should not be allowed. SOPA would look to stop things of that nature.
But, the vagueness of SOPA would allow for something like me innocently putting somebody else's cartoon in my blog and then me getting my site taken down and potentially going to jail for it. I'm not profiting off of it; it's just there. But, I didn't create it and don't own it, so I'm in violation of the SOPA act.
That's the problem here. It is a good idea in theory, but looks to have a lot of problems in its possible execution. Not to age-discriminate here, but it looks like the problem here is an old man who doesn't understand the Internet is trying to fix it. Representative Smith is 64 years old. He is not part of the "Internet Generation." While I don't claim to know Mr. Smith's Internet prowess, I doubt he blogs or surfs the 'net. At the most, I figure Mr. Smith likely checks his email, and it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't even do that.
People who don't understand the Internet should not attempt to regulate it. If I created the SOPA bill and was told that representatives of Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo and Facebook JUST TO NAME A FEW thought this was a bad idea, that would lead me to seriously question what I'm doing. And that is just what happened. Those sites, in addition to several more, have spoken out against SOPA.
With everybody speaking out and protesting what a poorly-written piece of legislation SOPA is, hopefully that will stop this from becoming a reality. Nothing is certain, but it is likely that House Bill 3261 will come up for discussion sometime in February. Hopefully enough voices have been heard and common sense will prevail.
Humor website http://www.theoatmeal.com/sopa is also currently part of the Internet blackout. On their home page is an animated .GIF describing SOPA. Take a look at it. It's humorous and summed up what I just said in a couple pictures.
Also, check out this post from CNN's blog. It has some more information and also some screenshots of Google's & Wikipedia's home pages - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/sopa-internet-blackout/
What is everybody protesting? They are protesting the Stop Online Piracy Act. Abbreviated as SOPA, hash-tagged as #SOPA.
What is SOPA? If you look at various tweets and Facebook posts and other assorted knee-jerk reactions, SOPA is an attempt to censor the Internet. These people are trying to destroy Wikipedia and YouTube and Twitter and Etc...
The Stop Online Piracy Act is designed to do what is states, stop online piracy. It was introduced by Lamar Smith, a Republican in Texas' House of Representatives. House Bill 3261, as SOPA is more formally known, is designed to protect copyrighted works and the people/corporations who own those copyrights.
Why is something like SOPA necessary? Have you ever downloaded a song or movie? In a nutshell, that is the reasoning behind SOPA. More specificially, it was created to stop online piracy by overseas entities of copyrighted content, specificially music and movies.
Enough with the knee-jerk reactions by people who have never heard of SOPA before today. This is not an attempt to censor the Internet or make your life harder to live. This bill was created with the best of intentions. Online piracy is something that needs to be stopped.
However, the issue with the SOPA bill is that it is vague and there is potential for censorship. You know when you go to YouTube and try to watch a video and there is a message that says the video has been removed due to a copyright issue. Presently, if you upload that video, it gets taken down and you're told to stop doing it. If SOPA were to go into effect, it looks like you could potentially be prosecuted and given jail time for uploading a copyrighted video to YouTube.
And that applies to everything - putting something up on your Facebook or Twitter, linking something in Wikipedia or other sites could potentially be seen as the unlawful distribution of copyrighted material.
Some stuff should be stopped. Somebody stealing somebody's content and putting it on their own website - be it cartoons, writings, etc - for profit should be stopped. Profiting off of somebody else's hard work should not be allowed. SOPA would look to stop things of that nature.
But, the vagueness of SOPA would allow for something like me innocently putting somebody else's cartoon in my blog and then me getting my site taken down and potentially going to jail for it. I'm not profiting off of it; it's just there. But, I didn't create it and don't own it, so I'm in violation of the SOPA act.
That's the problem here. It is a good idea in theory, but looks to have a lot of problems in its possible execution. Not to age-discriminate here, but it looks like the problem here is an old man who doesn't understand the Internet is trying to fix it. Representative Smith is 64 years old. He is not part of the "Internet Generation." While I don't claim to know Mr. Smith's Internet prowess, I doubt he blogs or surfs the 'net. At the most, I figure Mr. Smith likely checks his email, and it wouldn't surprise me if he didn't even do that.
People who don't understand the Internet should not attempt to regulate it. If I created the SOPA bill and was told that representatives of Wikipedia, Google, Yahoo and Facebook JUST TO NAME A FEW thought this was a bad idea, that would lead me to seriously question what I'm doing. And that is just what happened. Those sites, in addition to several more, have spoken out against SOPA.
With everybody speaking out and protesting what a poorly-written piece of legislation SOPA is, hopefully that will stop this from becoming a reality. Nothing is certain, but it is likely that House Bill 3261 will come up for discussion sometime in February. Hopefully enough voices have been heard and common sense will prevail.
Humor website http://www.theoatmeal.com/sopa is also currently part of the Internet blackout. On their home page is an animated .GIF describing SOPA. Take a look at it. It's humorous and summed up what I just said in a couple pictures.
Also, check out this post from CNN's blog. It has some more information and also some screenshots of Google's & Wikipedia's home pages - http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/18/sopa-internet-blackout/
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
WWE Network set to launch soon
I'm excited about this. The WWE Network has been something that has been rumored and thrown around as happening some day for probably the last 2 or 3 years. It's now close to a reality. The unofficial launch date is April 2012, to coincide with WWE's biggest annual pay-per-view of the year, WrestleMania. This year's event is headlined by The Rock vs John Cena.
There have been some rumors creeping up the last few days that the network debut might be pushed back to later this year. We'll see what happens with that.
Monday, January 9, 2012
Scott Hall ESPN documentary
"I can't tell you not to drink, do drugs; they are fun. It's fun. They work. But what sucks is when you wanna quit and you can't." - Scott Hall
In late 2011, ESPN profiled professional wrestler Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall as part of their E60 documentary series. The half-hour documentary looked at the man behind the wrestling character, behind the "machismo," and showed the world Hall's issues with drug and alcohol abuse.
If you've been a wrestling fan over the years, a lot of Hall's troubles were already known. Also known were the multiple "second chances" he has received from wrestling promotions over the last decade, once with WWE and multiple times with TNA Wrestling.
The documentary is very compelling. He talks very openly about some of his issues. His ex-wife is interviewed. She goes into the issue that Hall is just as addicted to wrestling and the spotlight as he is drugs and alcohol. Scott seems to confirm that, as he talks about the rush he gets from wrestling, at one point joking, "Where can I get 10 refills of that?"
The saddest part of the documentary is when it shows Hall's appearance in early 2011 at an independent wrestling show, where he showed up very obviously intoxicated. He stumbled to the ring, slurred his words, and fell down at one point.
While I knew about it shortly after it happened, seeing the documentary was actually the first time I watched any of the live footage. The night it came out that he had appeared in front of a crowd like that, I saw a picture and chose not to watch the videos. It was too sad for me.
Scott's attempt to train his son, Cody, to be a professional wrestler is showcased. I've read an article updating that situation. He actually no longer lives with his father, but he is still pursuing professional wrestling.
The verdict is still out on whether Scott Hall's story has a happy ending. In the documentary, he reveals that he has been to rehab 10 times and that WWE has spent in the 6 figures to put him in treatment themselves. I believe he has been to rehab at least twice since the E60 piece aired. And, I actually think he might be in rehab right now.
So, we'll see what happens with Hall. Hopefully 2012 can be the year he gets his act together and can actually enjoy the status he's earned - a true, legitimate legend of professional wrestling.
In late 2011, ESPN profiled professional wrestler Scott "Razor Ramon" Hall as part of their E60 documentary series. The half-hour documentary looked at the man behind the wrestling character, behind the "machismo," and showed the world Hall's issues with drug and alcohol abuse.
If you've been a wrestling fan over the years, a lot of Hall's troubles were already known. Also known were the multiple "second chances" he has received from wrestling promotions over the last decade, once with WWE and multiple times with TNA Wrestling.
The documentary is very compelling. He talks very openly about some of his issues. His ex-wife is interviewed. She goes into the issue that Hall is just as addicted to wrestling and the spotlight as he is drugs and alcohol. Scott seems to confirm that, as he talks about the rush he gets from wrestling, at one point joking, "Where can I get 10 refills of that?"
The saddest part of the documentary is when it shows Hall's appearance in early 2011 at an independent wrestling show, where he showed up very obviously intoxicated. He stumbled to the ring, slurred his words, and fell down at one point.
While I knew about it shortly after it happened, seeing the documentary was actually the first time I watched any of the live footage. The night it came out that he had appeared in front of a crowd like that, I saw a picture and chose not to watch the videos. It was too sad for me.
Scott's attempt to train his son, Cody, to be a professional wrestler is showcased. I've read an article updating that situation. He actually no longer lives with his father, but he is still pursuing professional wrestling.
The verdict is still out on whether Scott Hall's story has a happy ending. In the documentary, he reveals that he has been to rehab 10 times and that WWE has spent in the 6 figures to put him in treatment themselves. I believe he has been to rehab at least twice since the E60 piece aired. And, I actually think he might be in rehab right now.
So, we'll see what happens with Hall. Hopefully 2012 can be the year he gets his act together and can actually enjoy the status he's earned - a true, legitimate legend of professional wrestling.
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