As The World Turns

Dendroaspis Polylepis

Remember the words of Chaim Bertman: “in the venom, is a whisper of the antidote.” (Chaim Bertman, A Taxonomy of Vipers ) This is the way of the “eagle in the sky …. the snake on a rock” and W.B. Yeats’ “terrible beauty”.

Disclaimer: The writers of this blog will not be held responsible for any uncontrollable paroxysms of enlightenment that may result from  ingesting  its contents; the cyber-axiomatic musings of unsung savants.

The Editor

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Does Frank Mir really want a rematch with Brock Lesnar? (Poll)

Or is he just talking to himself and or the peanut gallery? We, for one, think he does not really want that rematch. And the reason is singular:  A healthy, ground-pounding Lesnar – the same who can turn a roaring lion into a whimpering mouse.

Frank Mir’s latest victory – to wit -  that lopsided drubbing of a hapless Cheick Kongo was just a salve for a battered ego. Nothing more. Nothing less. The real fight that keeps him awake at night is with a bully who cannot take his lunch without roughing him up in front of the world. That, we contend, is something Frankie has not come to terms with.  So he morphs into this pesky cross between a jeerer and a stalker (mentally speaking).

Our analysis is simple. When we weigh a fighter’s desire for a rematch, we look at the last fight couple of fights and then try to make a distinction between self-talk and public talk to save face,  versus a  genuine desire for a rematch steeped in a genuine belief that one has a shot at winning. We think Mir’s request for a rematch, post-UFC 100 falls into the first two categories.  Take Lesnar’s illness out of the picture and that is where it falls each and every time.

Perhaps you think otherwise. We are game. Please vote your views and then  go ahead and leave comment in the commentary box if you feel so disposed.

Bipedal Domination - The Ascent of Brock Lesnar at UFC 100: In the animal kingdom such verities have distinct odors .... and cues that are not easily forgotten. Evolution of the species. And for your own information, Frank Mir is the bloody mess in the distal corner: the one with the blood red trunks. (Copyright: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC)

Text copyright© 2010 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Kery James The Enunciator: Portrait of a hip-hop legend in the making

He creates more drama with a single camera and an off-stage mike than a B-movie shoot-up in monochromatic shade.  With the ease of an orator channeling a fire he has made peace with – Kery James lays into the sluggish beat of a track, marking his lyrical accents with the precision of a trained pugilist. The camera zooms in to frame a face straight out of our mythical past.  He is Janet Jackson’s Hounsou Djimon – to wit  Hounsou Djimon with muscularity of the lyrical kind;  or  Shabba Ranks flashing “Tight Grip” chic sans the urbane-but-sinewy rhymes of the hip-hop dispensation. And yes,  like Hounsou Djimon or Shabba Ranks’, James’ facial template has the  iconic-talismanic power of  a relic  out of an Ann Liebovitz  archaelogical scrap book.

Kery Jakes Sui Generis as urban griot, a latter day Nostradamus hurling dark quartrains about les damnes de la terre. The hard core edge of his earlier incarnation is gone, but the urgency of delivery remains l'outrance.

Unlike Mack “le Couteau”: He flashes white without a trace of blood but still  evokes memories of the Maroons and the Mau Mau  – even when sporting a Tommy Hilfiger get-up.  Stereotype? Perhaps, but it goes deeper than that. The nervousness surrounding James’ hard core stylings and  Muslim beliefs, is rooted in a reactive subconscious and the perception  of James as a particularly potent messenger. When he intones  about “ma conviction”, the powers that be want to know what that “conviction” is, because all of  suddenly the medium has really found a message and a messenger – and where hip-hop is concerned, it can be perceived as potently subversive. (The same story played itself out with hard core groups like N.W.A. et al in the U.S.A. )

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Kery James Chronology

• 1977 – Born Alix Mathurin in Les Abymes, Guadelope, West Indies, December 28, 1977.
• 1985 – Comes to France and starts to rap
• 1989 – James  begins rapping out of  the Paris suburb of Orly.  He gets noticed by MC Solaar who decides to feature him on his  1991  debut album “Qui Sème le Vent Récolte le Tempo”.
• 1990 – Kery James becomes a member of the Ideal Junior group with DJ Mehdi.
• 1992 – Idéal Junior releases the 12″ single,  “La Vie Est Brutale”  on the French dance label On the Beat.
• 1996 – The James/DJ Mehdi duo shortens its name to just Idéal J  and  release the eponymously named “Ideal J” album.
• 1998 -  The duo releases its second full album entitled “Le Combat Continue”.
• 1999 – Las Montanas, one of James’ childhood friends is shot and killed. Kery James places his career on hiatus and takes sanctuary in the Islamic faith that had been the matrix of his childhood years.
• October 2001 – Kery James comes out with the first solo album “Si c’était à refaire”. It breaks into the top five albums on the French charts. Although the album is self-titled, it marks the first time he has recorded with a major record company: Warner Brothers. The album is a personal testament, that also marks James’ turning from his more hard-core stylings of the past.
• 2003 -Kery James reunites with Mafia K’1 for the album “La Cerise Sur le Ghetto”.
• 2004 – Kery records his second solo album “Ma vérité” which is released the following year.
• 2008 – James records his third album “À l’ombre du show business” which reaches number three on the French charts. By 2008, James had done a total of 54 collaborations with other artists in the short space of seven years.

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The Real Kery James: A hip-hop legend in the making. Notice we did not say "French" because that would be besides the point.

If the French hip-hop exhibits the robustness, spit and polish of American hip-hop, it is because of its roots and origins. Latter day musical historians place the birth of French hip right about the early 80’s fueled by the racial, colonial and urban experiences  of North African and Caribbean immigrants.  This places the emergence of French hip-hop, which, according to Andre J.M. Prevos,  is an amalgam of  Euro-French and Francophone strains, soon after the initial flowering of hip-hop in the United States in the late 70’s.  Prevos places the first recordings of French hip-hop around 1982 and 1983 with the release of a 12 inch b-side by Fab Freddy. (Further citations needed). The unmanned sonic landing of American hip-hop in France was followed by a tour of Europe by a group of American rappers in 1982. Some of them performed in France and ignited the already nascent ambers of the genre. The themes of racism and marginalization in the HLM (habitation à loyer modéré), the so-called affordable high-rises which are the French approximations of American projects or ghettoes, basically resonated with Les Damnés de la Terre.

The rise of Kery James intersects with that of the first French hip-hopper to make it big, MC Solaar, a Senegalese immigrant, who met James in 1989 and featured him on his first solo album in 1991.

Against this background, Kery James has emerged as  something of a prodigy and seminal figure in his own right by virtue of his grasp of the hip-hop genre. Rapping in a language that has a surfeit of soft consonants James has excelled at forging a style that is as hard as it is articulate.  He doesn’t just trip out his rhymes, he spits them out with the precision of an orator who is hell bent on impaling you with every vowel,  every consonant and every sound. And he does this all with the gravity of a jail-warden on execution day.  So commanding is James’ demeanor on-camera that he often requires little to minimal props in his videos – holding court and cutting loose with flow that has  the weight Nostradamic  quartrains. This is what Busta Rhymes was aiming for in his millenial trilogy(When Disaster Strikes, Extinction Level Event and Anarchy) but never quite  pulled it off for lack of gravitas.

(This article is far from complete. More material will be added soon. Meanwhile, check out some of Kery James tracks on lala.com here (The website allows you one full  listen per track. After a number of listens, the website will ask you register for free with a valid  e-mail. ):   http://www.lala.com/#search/kery%20james

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Appendices:

Global Noise: Rap and Hip-hop Outside the USA – Edited by Tony Mitchell

Hip-hop and Rap in Europe: The culture of the urban ghettoes

Breaker, Breaker – Gza (Under The Surface)

Minimalistic, futuristic.

Clean and cuttin’ as a scalpel,

This is the shits right here,

(Required listening

For all the pretenders out there.)

It’s not just the rhythm,

The rhyme and the flow,

Check out the lyrics,

For how it should be done son.

(I’d have left that chick on freeway too,

coz if it’s too good to be true ….

Ya know the spiel.)

————————————————————————————————

Breaker, Breaker Lyrics – Gza

[Chorus: GZA]
Breaker, breaker, one nine, clear the line
Can you read me? Extorted your rhymes
MC’s should expect the worst
I stay alert and shoot first

[GZA]
This is not a test, it’s difficulty
Picture closely, the ignorant mostly
Blind, deaf, dumb, your mind left numb
Lost soul who failed to hear the roll of the drum
In the bottom of your bomb shelter, still felt the
heavy blast that blew off the masks of twelve welders
The math of an elder, praise the Lord – thank you Genius
Operation: Project English
Commander-n-chief of flight style, check the aircraft
Glide like the frisbee, Digi look Disney
To check fault in oneself is pure loveliness
You break the mirror that remind you of your ugliness
So when I bust, no one is untouched
Some returning with the mic clutched, like such
who plan but never execute
He had the heat in his hand, but yo he didn’t shoot
Therefore; your mechanism of material better be sickly
or let your lead spread incredibly quickly
I move bravely, travellin on a horse
on the battlefield, surrounded by the lost
of those who plotted with the brains of animals
My high molecular structure be untangible
The name ring a bell, killable two syllable
The Wu is comin through, the outcome is critical
To be blunt, the beef was cooked up like coke goods
The rhyme first came to me in the oak woods
Up to no good, rap icon
“Milk” the industry like the Wall Street junk bond
You see the bright stone, I got your height sewn
Direct current, that move through the mic-phone
Key contributor, well known major factor
Rhyme distributor, the drive of a tractor
who run ya down if you don’t wanna move or wanna linger [echoes]

[Chorus: x2]

[GZA]
The immortality of my fame is the measure of other’s torture
Burnt offer, from a flamin author
The falconer who flies enough birds for the chase
Strictly excel in what is excellence with grace
The significance was not the vulgar applause of interest
but the feelin that exit, completion of a sentence
With age and experience, my reason ripens
I strike on you Vikings, slash like a hyphen
If you enter the house of fortune by the gate of pleasure
You will leave by sorrow, the flow measures
everything fails with the unfortunate
Learned that recordin it, so my mind broaden it
Track records, ranks us, with the exceptional
Extreme complex physics, high technical
The truth is usually seen and rarely heard
What’s more dangerous than hatred, is the word
You wild cards, Jack of all trades
Those who parade their positions, show their Spades
A large flock of MC’s, they figure to be taught
It ain’t hard to see why I’m vigorously saught

[Chorus: x2]

[Outro: GZA]
Breaker, breaker, one nine
Breaker, breaker, one nine

Beneath The Surface (Gza/Genius) feat. Killah Priest

Minimalistic, futuristic.

Clean and cuttin’ as a scalpel,

This is the shits right here,

(Required listening

For all the pretenders out there.)

It’s not just the rhythm,

The rhyme and the flow,

Check out the lyrics,

For how it should be done son.

And how old is this shit?

Ten years and countin’?

Nuff said, nuff said.

———————————————————————————————–

Lyrics: Gza/Genius Beneath The Surface, feat. Killah Priest

[GZA]
On a man-made lake, there’s a sheet of thin ice
Where unskilled skaters, couldn’t figure-8 twice
At 16, uncut, direct from the cult
Head on assault, the result, death by the bolt
In a vote, it spoke about the average loss commission
That was seen by a king in a prophetic vision
Like a plane crash from a bomb blast
Special broadcast, slot time with con cash
It kept the jury quiet, and now a riot will form
While satanic man, now hang in his dorm
I swing, on you fake, radio personalities
Boost ya ratings, but hypes behind casualties
Fire shots, for low-pressure water gun play
Instantly, slap ya fire like it’s Palm Sunday
I fashion the first tool, from the elements
The earth use, and built it to a complex
Network, of communications, you’re up against a hopeless, situation
I screen every vehicle, through enemy observation
Swarmin unpredictably, we spread terror
Increase the force significantly, change the error
Check my wind pattern, it’s headin west
Success is freedom, failure could mean death
Humans sweat, aim shovels
Dig up the debris and rubble
Permanent, damage caused by the double-
U, Now who, cowardly urge you to merge through
And think the workers’ll serve you
Signin marvel, who just dropped the next novel
Worldwide, practically marred in marble
His accountless, amount of MC’s I saved
And those same niggas wanna squander those gifts I gave

[Chorus: RES sample]
Scratch underneath the surface, where does your purpose lie?
It seems our world is worthless, like we’re pawns beneath the sky
Change the race by reason, and ashes just the wind
The left is so our we’re breathin, keep ourself from givin in

[Killah Priest of Sunz Of Man]
Love and hatred, home is most sacred
Both species, they lay naked in the tombs of oasis
Think back on niggas I ate with, spent the day with
Guns we played with, niggas I relate with
We broke bread, I heard through a vine niggas workin for the Feds
Sent out secretly to take my head
I lay back and meditate to the words they say
Skip town for a mutten goofy dred
Had a friend tell my family I was dead
Return at the last fall of the autumn leaves
Operate the plan accordingly, in case the Feds are recordin me
Sign all documents, usin forgery, cuz just a near thought of me
Like Solomon, spoke bluntly
Told the word I’m black and calmly
Howls from the grave haunt me
The smell of death’s upon me, I dwell in the hills like Gandhi
Been in the presence of mad peasants, and old kings
Who sold everything, on a quest for god’s divine
Slept in caves to get a clear mind
Who prayed 3 times, when the moon lit and the sun rise
I met dwellers in the desert, talked to shepherds
Been in the mouth of many leopards
Felt the death kiss, of Satan’s mistress
Walked the vacant districts, for 4 religions, studied Pagan scriptures
True philosophers and physicians, on a cure missions
Who harden their hearts, to ward the weak, sick and ifflicted
Candles lit, gamble with a bitch
Who made me love her, when I touch her, soft cause hide claws
Bees with sweet honey in they mouth
Have bitter stingers at they tail
Walk through the chambers of death, take a hold on to hell
Embracing her was like embracing a 3rd world

[Chorus]

[Outro: RES sample]

Cyberaxis Media Center

The Bane of Media Usage: Unrelenting commercialism interrupted by useful tid-bits of information, is still there but there is something to be said for "free" TV, news, movies & documentaries that that one can get through the magic of the world wide web. The computer as your own personal console to the world of "free" content, as in non-subscription, is a revolutionary concept that for-profit cable companies don't like to think about much.

NEWS PLUS

ABC

World News Tonight (ABC News):  http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?catId=1206853

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NBC

MSNBC (News, Opinion, Features, Interviews): http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3096434/ns/msnbc_tv

NBC News with Brian Williams: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032619/

NBC L.A. News:  http://www.tvlizer.com/content/view/1020/838/

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CBS

CBS News Video:   http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6076823n&tag=mg;eveningnews

CBS TV Video :  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/?tag=hdr;cnav

CBS News: http://www.cbsnews.com/?tag=contentMain;contentBody

CBSNews.com:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=6004488n&tag=related;photovideo

CBS 48 Hours Mystery:   http://www.cbsnews.com/video/48hours/?tag=hdr;cnav

CBS 60 Minutes: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml?tag=hdr

CBS Face the Nation: http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/ftn/main3460.shtml?tag=hdr;snav

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VHI Video

VH1 Video – General:    http://www.vh1.com/video/

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YAHOO

Yahoo News Video: http://news.yahoo.com/video

Fox Business TV: http://www.foxbusiness.com/index.html

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CBC Vancouver (Canadian News):   http://freeonlinetvradio.com/cbc-vancouver

KRON 4 TV News (US Stream):  http://www.ustream.tv/channel/kron-4-news

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MOVIES:

Thriller TV:  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/thriller-tv

Reel Good TV (Movies):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/reel-good-tv

Italian Movies:  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/italian-movies

Digi TV (Movies):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/digi-tv

The Movies Channel:    http://freeonlinetvradio.com/the-movies-channel

Dubbed TV Online (Comic):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/dubbed-tv-online

BUSINESS:

Forbes Video Nework (Recen Video): http://video.forbes.com/recentVideo

DOCUMENTARIES:

Featured Documentaries -  “Trails from the East” (Link TV) :     http://www.linktv.org/search/r/episodes/q/trails%20from%20the%20east

Future Express: Australia – Migrant New Style: http://www.linktv.org/programs/future-express-australia

“After Israel, Australia is the country with the highest percentage of immigrants in the world. A quarter of the population originates in other countries. Almost half the population is of Asian descent in the big urban centers. Most of them are young and well-educated. They are a new type of immigrant, able to fit in anywhere in Australia and around the world.”  (Link TV)

Documentary-Film.Net: http://www.documentary-film.net/

DocumentaryWire.Com: http://www.documentarywire.com/

FreeDocumetaries.Net:  http://freedocumentaries.net/

FreeDocumentaries.Org: http://freedocumentaries.net/

Link TV Documentaries: http://www.linktv.org/documentaries

Top Documentary Films:  http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/

SnagFilms.Com (Features, documentaries):  http://www.snagfilms.com/

EDUCATIONAL:

Link TV – TV San Frontieres (Documentaries, news, cultural programming):  http://www.linktv.org/

Link TV Program Clips:  http://www.linktv.org/programming/browse

BBC One TV (Informational):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/bbc-one-online-tv

Fora TV – Forums (Economy, Technology, Science, Culture, History Politics):  http://fora.tv/

Yoga TV Online (Spiritual Practice):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/yoga-tv-online

Diet TV Online (Health):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/diet-tv-online

Rail TV Online (Specialty/Hobby):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/rail-tv-online

Information TV Online (Unknown):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/information-tv-online

Bloomington Educational TV (Academic) http://liveonlinetvradio.com/bec-tv-online

MUSIC:

Link TV – Best World Music Videos of 2009:  http://www.linktv.org/worldmusic/2009

Kiss TV (Music) http://liveonlinetvradio.com/kiss-tv

Chinese Classical Music:  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/chinese-classical-music

Classical Music America http://liveonlinetvradio.com/classical-music-america

Ro-Manele TV (Romanian Music):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/manele-tv

Mboa TV (Afro-French Music):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/mboa-french-music-tv

Clipland TV (Music):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/clipland-tv

Paprika Music TV:   http://freeonlinetvradio.com/paprika-music-tv

Uno TV (Independent Music, Italy):  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/uno-tv

MISCELLANEOUS:

Asylum TV (Performance Artists):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/asylum-tv

SFGTV (Municipal TV):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/sfgtv-online

SPORTS:

Poker TV (Specialty/Games):  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/poker-tv

Tennis TV Online:  http://liveonlinetvradio.com/tennis-tv

Fight TV (MMASports): http://liveonlinetvradio.com/fight-tv

Yahoo Sports:  http://sports.yahoo.com/video/player/mma/16953483;_ylt=AjTcOJvmBFZOfigpfjgP4lRZEo14#mma/16772413

WEBCAMS:

Florida Beach Webcam:  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/florida-beach-webcam

Jerusalem Western Wall Webcam:  http://freeonlinetvradio.com/jerusalem-western-wall-webcam

Appendix:  The internet and the erosion of subscription TV, cable and associated media

This list of free TV, video, film and radio  is a work in progress. Links are gonna be added and deleted as time progresses. So if you find something you really like, save it to your bookmarks. Meanwhile, consider this your own Free Media Console. The smoothness of the play will depend of several factors like your connection, settings and or the streaming aspect of the website you are accessing. So be patient.

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Frank Mir needs to learn to keep his mouth shut

Frank Mir’s win against chiseled Parisian, Cheick Kongo, at UFC 107 last night was impressive, but Frank’s trash talking prior to the fight took a bit more from his win than Kongo’s status as a fighter whose career is on the decline.  The post-fight conciliatory gestures did little  take away the sour after-taste.  It does not matter that Frank’s analysis of Kongo’s talents or lack thereof, was spot on. Trash talking is trash talking. And the fact that the normally reticent Kongo took umbrage to it just put an exclamation mark on the whole “affaire”. (See Kongo turning his back to Frank at the weigh-in.)

The unnecessary trash talking placed Frank in the unenviable position of being “the jerk” who won; which is an odd position for a man who used to be Mr. Clean. After all the trash talking, there was very little room for the kind of inspirational speech-lettes he gave after  after knocking off Big Nog,  Antonio “Minotauro” Nogueira at UFC 92.

The  role of a trash-talking “heel” for Mir  is as ill-fitting as a “gi” on Brock Lesnar. Please note that the trash-talking started around the time Mir’s career was in the rough.  And prior to UFC 107 last night, his mouth was running more than a toilet bowl. Coincidence? Perhaps not.

(The fabricated bad blood, such as the ballyhooed one between Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Rashad Evans) is the kind of crap the UFC needs to stay away from lest it begins to manifest hereditary genes of the WWE bloodline. (UFC 107: A better card out of the blue – Cyberaxis)

Standing Caveat: This is not your brother’s WWE: And it cannot be all light-hearted ribbing when your opponent takes umbrage at your talk and bashes your face in a few extra inches  a la Brock Lesnar or Dan Henderson in the case of the pesky Michael Bisping. The only exception to the rule about trash talking are fighters who choose that as part of their persona in which case the mouthing off becomes as fitting as a reversed doo-rag on the head of Tupac Shakur. Mir did not start off this way, hence our dismay at this insidious drift which really leaves him in no-man’s land because Mir is not an avowed heel when it comes to the octagon.

Those who defend this trend as a way to drum publicity should think of the WWE and the fact that its recessive genes may find bothersome expression in UFC culture.

Cyberaxis to Frank Mir: Shut the fuck up and remember this UFC 100 drubbing every time you try to open your mouth. (Photo by Associated Press)

As for Frankie, he in the interim,  needs to decide whether his spiel is gonna veer more towards comedy which is pardonable or the-walk-the-talk realism which is permissible only if he can walk the talk. In the months and weeks prior to UFC 100, it veered  more towards comedy and the people  who were disinclined to cut him some slack forgave him because people knew his life was clearly on the line.

Be that as it may,  the trash talking against Lesnar, after Mir’s UFC 100 drubbing, created a monumental  PR/image problem for the UFC veteran. There was some sense, justifiable pari passu, that his merciless drubbing and Lesnar’s over-the-top celebration was Mir’s deserved comeuppance. Yes, there are people who withheld sympathy for Mir because of the basis of his taunting of Lesnar.

If Frank wasn’t such an insecure prick, he’d be very likable. He’s very good on the WEC as a analyst, but once you put an opponent in front of him, he becomes a tool. What’s funny is that he seems to fluctuate between the insecure toolishness and genuine goodness that he possesses. During the Countdown show, he said Kongo’s striking was mediocre. Then at the pre-fight presser today, he says that he’s a great striker and that he will look to take the fight to the ground. Very interesting guy, he just needs to realize that he’s a great fighter and doesn’t need to mask his insecurities with cockiness. (Spirona, Reader Comments, Five Ounces of Pain 12/10/09)

Mir should resolve to zip it up at this point and let his fighting do the talking, unless he wants to become “the  Lesnar of the mouth” – which is representative of the failure of inner PR.

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Cheick Kongo Loss At UFC 107: Anatomy of a career in decline

Losing to Frank Mir at UFC 107 came as no surprise. However doing so in 1:12″ flat,  after a vicious knockdown at 46 seconds which resulted in a rear naked choke,  sure came as a surprised. And if you wanna talk about adding insult to injury, here it is: Frank Mir who had been running his mouth may have, with that summary win,  succeeded at “handing Cheick Kongo his walking papers.” Just like he said. Just like he said. There was no poetic justice when it was needed most. But we digress.

Cheick Kongo - A painful study in contrasts; the contrast between promise and delivery, appearance and reality, form and function. Is it too late for the chiseled Parisian? (Picture: Dave Mandel)

With that loss, Cheick Kongo’s UFC record since  UFC 61 – Bitter Rivals on 7/8/06,  stands at 7 wins and 4 losses. That is a loss rate of more than half of his matches in the UFC – not a stellar record by any measure. It looks terminally dismal when one considers the promise that Kongo – a formidable specimen of chiseled  physicality with an equally impressive highlight reel – brought to the UFC. The fact that he is 34 and counting casts a rather sobering shadow to the whole scenario.

Cheick Kongo’s overall record, inclusive of his pre-UFC fights is 14-6-1. While this recasts his situation, it also shrouds it against a more realistic assessment of a career that seems to be in decline since   UFC 82 (Pride of a Champion) gainst Heath Herring on 3/1/08. Fact: with the exception of Mirko Cro Cop in   UFC 75, Kongo has not fared well against UFC stalwarts like Herring, Velasquez or Mir. Sure, following UFC 82,  he did score wins against Dan Evensen, Mostapha Al Turk and Antoni Hardonk, but these were fighters with non-stellar records, at least by UFC standards.

Reflections on Kongo’s Career: One’s intuitive assessment of Kongo’s career would lean towards the conjecture that this was perhaps a man who started his fighting career late. But no, if reports are to be believed, Kongo started training in Kendo and Karate.  and the tender age of 5. His career record prior to UFC was marginal with slightly more wins than loses. In UFC it hasn’t really changed with the exception that the losses are beginning to edge the wins, and the big momentum in more recent fighters with UFC stalwarts has been zero. So what that means is that he is really fighting his way down, instead of up the ladder.

Remember that this was at one time whispered to be a prospect against Lesnar on top of his own grumblings about how Lesnar got a shot at the heavyweight “title so fast” against fighters who had been in the UFC longer than him.  My! how quickly things can change. Kongo would probably not want to face a pre-sickness Lesnar because that Lesnar ….  the Lesnar who re-arranged Frank Mir’s face in no time flat would kill him, plain and simple.

So given the facts of Kongo’s career to date one can draw a few tentative and some non-tentative conclusions.

1. Kongo is actually not as strong as he looks.

2. In the ring, he appears stiff and punches without the snap that multiplies power.

3. He has poor perception, strike defence and a weak chin.

4. His ground game is pathetic (His tussel with Gilbert Yvel was laughable.)

2. He tends to lack stamina, relative to his opponents.

3. He lacks to ability to adapt  to his opponents and think on his feet.

The interesting thing to note about this video is how uninformed the announcers are relative to the perceptive comments of the Youtube posters. Oi vei.

Is it too late for Cheick Kongo to reinvent himself. We hope not, but time may not in his favor.

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

UFC 107: A Better Card Out of the Blue (Partial Results Update)

Sometimes the best cards come out of lack of contrivance on the part of the UFC. Take the headlining clash between B.J. Penn and Diego Sanchez for example; it is better in every way than the manufactured  hype that was supposed to be the shits between Quinton “Mr. T. for 5 minutes” Jackson and Rashad “Machida sang me a lullaby” Evans. The latter is the kind of crap the UFC needs to stay away from lest it begins to manifest hereditary genes of the WWE bloodline. That fight was just not interesting on so many levels. But we digress.

Penn vs Sanchez is a match-up that promises more substance and real fireworks on so many levels. We would watch this anytime. We are sticking with Penn on this one. Our call: a Penn win via a knock-down which culminates in a TKO or submission by round 3. Sanchez may be the night-stalker terror, but he is not yet ready for B.J. prime-time.

Do Not Discount Kongo: The other interesting match-up is between Frank Mir and Cheick Kongo: two guys who cannot afford to lose another match running. A loss on either resume (read that record) would look really bad besides portending a career in decline. There’s something immeasurably painful about these moments and anyone who does not feel them sympathetically should have their heart checked out.

Frank Mir needs a win bad to replenish depleted levels of testestorone after the merciless by Brock Lesnar at UFC 100 and Cheick Kongo needs to show why being and expat fighter is worth his or the UFC’s  time after an extremely poor showing against Cain Velasquez in UFC 99. Kongo looked old and spent in that fight, and there are no acceptable excuses for poor stamina and strength for a buck built like him. Cain, on his part, is not yet ready for prime-time, despite protestations to the contrary, and losing to him was not a good sign for Cheick Kongo. Based on this we would say Kongo needs a win perhaps more than Frank Mir tonight, but Frank Mir is not gonna make it an easy job for him.

The fight will most probably go the distance with the win going to Frank Mir by a unanimous decision. However there is a chance that this fight may end quickly in the first or second round if Kongo strikes find a lucky mark. Discount this possibility at your own risk.

A win by Kongo would be poetic justice for a Mir who has lost his gentlemanly mojo. The latter's trash talk has ceased to amuse. Think Brock Lesnar of the mouth. Case closed. (Photo by Dave Mandel)

Update: 11/12/09, 11.30pm

Frank Mir pulled a win in spectacular fashion over Parisian fighter, Cheick Kongo 1:12″ flat with a rear naked choke that almost left Kongo unconscious. Whether this spectacular win was a result of Mir’s improvement of Kongo’s deterioration will be up for debate in the coming weeks.

We gave Kongo a striker’s chance of landing the big one but that did not come close to seeing the light of day after Mir landed a big strike that brought the muscular Parisian down at 46 seconds into the opening round. After that it was countdown to lights out. Oi vei!

B.J. Penn’s  win over Diego Sanchez was not a surprise. What was a surprise was the amount of damage he inflicted on the nervy fighter. The gash he opened over Sanchez’s left eyebrow with a kick to the head in the fifth round did more damage than the doctors could stomach. The referee called a stoppage to the fight right there but that was the culmination of tremendous punishment Penn had inflicted on the challenger from the opening bell. In certain ways it  was reminiscent of G.S.P vs Thiago Silva.

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Appendix:

The Unrealised Promise of Cheick Kongo (Cyberaxis)

Seven foods experts won’t eat by Liz Vacariello

In the food industry as in the health industry, profit can have a inverse relationship to the health of people who consume or use the end product. There is a place for healthy skepticism when it comes to the motives of the food and health industries when it comes to certain ways of doing business. Food production and processing is one area in which the buyer needs to beware. Beyond certain broad regulatory parameters the industry looks out for number one and our politicians can be on the short leashes of lobbyists.

That leaves the consumer to look out for him or herself. While cost of production or purchase are inhibiting factors when it comes to making unrestricted right decisions, it behooves the consumer to put a price tag on his or her health. Voting with one’s feet or dollars and sense aided by creative alternatives is a way to start moving the mountain.

In this connection the article by Liz Vacariello of PREVENTION magazine makes  a very interesting read. People might be skeptical about her motivations or way of looking at the food industry and consumer health, but they should not entertain that to the point of throwing out the proverbial baby with the bathwater for reasons mentioned in the preceding paragraph.

What I find surprising is that she limited herself to just seven foods.  There is no way this list should be this short. Yes, the problem she adumbrates points to a bigger problem of the environment modern society is creating, but that should not stop people from minimizing the effects by taking small, finite steps. A cursory perusal of this short list shows that there about two or three that one can drop from it without breaking much of a sweat:

The Seven Foods Experts Won’t Eat:

1. Canned Tomatoes (Culprit: bisphenol-A, a synthetic estrogen in resin linings of tin cans)

2. Corn-fed beef (Culprit: Low nutrition, high fat and inflammatory Omega6s)

3.  Microwave popcorn (Culprit: Disease causing perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in the lining of the bag)

4.  Non-organic potatoes (Culprit: herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides absorbed from soil)

5.  Farmed salmon (Culprits: Low levels of vitamin D and high levels of contaminants,  carcinogens, PCBs, brominated flame retardants, and pesticides such as dioxin and DDT)

6.  Milk produced with artificial hormones (Culprits: Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH or rBST, as it is also known) which  leads to higher levels of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1), high levels of which may contribute to breast, prostate, and colon cancers.)

7.  Conventional apples (Pesticides)

Read the complete article here:

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/health/the-7-foods-experts-wont-eat-547963/

The ventriloquism of revelation by press statement is not serving Tiger Woods well

By all counts, the ventriloquism of  revelation by press statement is not serving Tiger Woods well. Let’s count the ways. First there was the flinty stonewalling followed by a piddly statement on the tigerwoods.com website to the effect that Tiger had been:

…. in a minor car accident outside his home last night. He was admitted, treated and released today in good condition. We appreciate very much everyone’s thoughts and well wishes. (Statement from Health Central Hospital and Tiger Woods’ office, Friday 11/27/09)

After that would not calm down the waves of inquiry, speculation and innuendo, Tiger released another statement two days later on Sunday. The belated intent was clearly for damage control at this point:

As you all know, I had a single-car accident earlier this week, and sustained some injuries. I have some cuts, bruising and right now I’m pretty sore.

This situation is my fault, and it’s obviously embarrassing to my family and me. I’m human and I’m not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn’t happen again.

This is a private matter and I want to keep it that way. Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible.

The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false.

This incident has been stressful and very difficult for Elin, our family and me. I appreciate all the concern and well wishes that we have received. But, I would also ask for some understanding that my family and I deserve some privacy no matter how intrusive some people can be.  (Statement from Tiger Woods, 11/29/09)

When that did little to quell the  storm clouds of women possibly coming out with stories of more flings, Tiger released yet another statement, owning up to Biblical-sounding “sins and transgressions”.  This was hours after US Weekly magazine ran a story alleging that Woods had had a long-running affair with a Los Angeles cocktail waitress named  Jamie Grubbs. The feeding frenzy was fully on:

I have let my family down and I regret those transgressions with all of my heart. I have not been true to my values and the behavior my family deserves. I am not without faults and I am far short of perfect. I am dealing with my behavior and personal failings behind closed doors with my family. Those feelings should be shared by us alone.

Although I am a well-known person and have made my career as a professional athlete, I have been dismayed to realize the full extent of what tabloid scrutiny really means. For the last week, my family and I have been hounded to expose intimate details of our personal lives. The stories in particular that physical violence played any role in the car accident were utterly false and malicious. Elin has always done more to support our family and shown more grace than anyone could possibly expect.

But no matter how intense curiosity about public figures can be, there is an important and deep principle at stake which is the right to some simple, human measure of privacy. I realize there are some who don’t share my view on that. But for me, the virtue of privacy is one that must be protected in matters that are intimate and within one’s own family. Personal sins should not require press releases and problems within a family shouldn’t have to mean public confessions.

Whatever regrets I have about letting my family down have been shared with and felt by us alone. I have given this a lot of reflection and thought and I believe that there is a point at which I must stick to that principle even though it’s difficult.

I will strive to be a better person and the husband and father that my family deserves. For all of those who have supported me over the years, I offer my profound apology.  (Tiger Comments on Current Events, 12/2/09)

At this point Tiger could have as well be using Muppets  to deliver his mea culpas because that would have been working  just about as well.

The saying s#*t or get off the pot would probably do Tiger better good than his own counsel combined with that of his advisers right now. What more, it would be free, versus the thousands he is paying advisers right now. If he wants to remain silent, then he should do it with steel balls, sans the  measured and half-assed statements that he has been issuing every two days or so.

The fall of Tiger Woods and what it reveals: The fall of Tiger Woods is the result of the image that had formed around him with the active collusion of him and his PR machine: that of a deliberate, smart and Stanford-educated superstar. On the golf course he may have been “passionate” and petulant even, but he also balanced that off with customary reticence and obsessive privacy when it comes to dealing with the press.  Tiger was, by design or default, positioned as an athlete worlds removed from the hi-jinks of your average NBA or NFL jock.

The w0manizing revelations thus came as a shock because it proved otherwise.  And as if that wasn’t enough, the kinds of women Tiger apparently chose and his methods of contacting them showed a man who did not put much thought into the probable fallout of such contacts and the possible impact they could have on his family and or the multi-million endorsement deals that formed the foundation of his incredible wealth. Now what could possibly account for such recklessness. Ego? Entitlement? Diminished judgment or all of the above? Now if Tiger was suffering from diminished judgment, what could  possibly account for such?

Unfortunate Shades of Michael Jackson: The other thing the fall of Tiger Woods reveals  is a naivety that rivals that of Michael Jackson when it comes to a less than sophisticated appreciation of the workings of the media. Tiger’s navel gazing and combined with his reflexive swiping at the media, show a man whose preoccupation with his own reality precludes any real understanding of the Faustian bargain celebrities strike with fame and fortune; a revelation which doesn’t jibe with the image of a smart, articulate, Stanford-educated maverick.

Abbreviated reflections on Tiger Woods

Those who were expecting Tiger Woods to open up and give a humanizing “mea culpa” in the wake of the fire hydrant brouhaha, have no real sense of the man because Tiger, like old Homie De Clown,  “don’t play that”. Never has and never will. The latter brings up the real seedy aspect of this whole saga; namely the unflattering expose of a headstrong celebrity who is unwilling to pay the publicity piper and and a public that apparently doesn’t have better things to do with its time. The latter shows the real seedy aspect of celebrity culture; the distractedness that the real movers and shakers count on when they are trying to slip one past the people like in the case of the mega bank bail-outs and the current health care debate.

Tiger Woods and wife Elin Nordergren in happier times. Behind the smile is a testiness and aloofness that borders on contempt at times. (Watch Tigers reactions to public galleries during play) Until Tiger comes clean, so to speak, the paparazzi are gonna test both.

The real  story behind the Woods saga, if you can concede that much,  is how Tiger Woods who is known for being obsessively private and testy with the press (and sometimes the public galleries), is gonna deal with the press after being found with his pants down. The initial report cards are rather dismal. Tiger, like Michael Jackson, has a sense of simplistic and one sided entitlement. His sense of outrage at the scrutiny he has been subjected to, now lacks the sense of gravitas that once kept the press jackals at bay.  Tiger’s inability or unwilingness to maintain a sense of perspective over the press he is getting stands to damage him more than the supposed  infidelities.

copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Appendices:

OTL Talkback: PR Nightmare for Tiger  (An ESPN forum discussion)

The Arrested Development of Tiger Woods by Patty Kleban

Tom Rinaldi on Tiger Woods (Earlier news reports)

Tiger needs to cut out the spit and polish act if he is to present the right image by John Hopkins

Overheard: L’affaire de Tiger Woods

Overheard: L’affaire de Tiger Woods

Oh what a Thanksgiving week it’s been. First the Salahis crash into an invitation-only Thanksgiving shindig at the White House and a more-than-embarrased Secret Service admits that “mistakes were made,” then the most famous golfer in the world, Mr. Eldrick “Tiger” Woods, crashes into a poor fire hydrant and a tree in Windermere, FL.

Now concerning the latter, the news is not that The Tiger crashed or that he may have been (gasp)  schtupping a brunette from “Noo York”. No, the real news is that a celebrity known for his obsessive reclusiveness and testiness with the press  was figuratively caught with his pants down. THAT is the story, right up there with the reader quips that give the news stories  a run for their money:

Nordegren on the grass: Way with an 7 iron?

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“Elin Nordegren swings a mean club. Don’t be surprised if she’s on the ladies LPGA Tour this year.” Borough Watch, Reader Comment – New York Dailynews  Nov 29, 2009, 11:16:27

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“Tiger hasn’t had a drive this short since he was five. Thank you. Thank you very much.”  Reader Comment Fan IQ News 11/28/09

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“Anyone with half a brain can figure out what went down here and it is not Tiger’s version of events. Does anyone seriously think the National Enquirer would go forward with a story like this without being very sure they had the goods? The answer is of course not.

“Does anyone think Rachel Uchitel would be in Australia on business and it just happens to be the same week Tiger is there? Of course not!

“The full truth will come out eventually and Tiger will eventually have to face the music. My guess is his handlers have been trying for days to get him to come clean and he has stonewalled it. His pride won’t allow him to. His pride is going to bring him down.” David Paisley, Reader Comment, Bleacher Report 11/29/09.

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If a golfer crashes his SUV in the forest with no one around, who gives a crap? Don’t we have real news to report here?

Cavalier1138,  Soundoff reader comments, CNN 11/30/09

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Had it been Mrs. Woods driving and hitting the hydrant and tree while Tiger was swinging a club, wouldn’t you expect at least an investigation by the police for possible domestic violence? Why should it be different since he was driving and she was swinging the club…? Freeportguy, Soundoff reader comments, CNN 11/30/09

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If the press is the forth branch of government it’s no wonder why we are a nation in peril. Gossip and celebrity worship preoccupies the press while Rome burns… it’s pathetic really that this kind of story is allowed to dominate the media spotlight for days.  Theoverlord, Soundoff reader comments, CNN 11/30/09

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I think Elin should leave him. So should Steve Williams.

Tiger should reinvent himself as some sort of Shaft meets Happy Gilmore. He should get one his bitches to caddy for him wearing a bikini woven from azaleas plucked straight from Amen Corner at Augusta National.

Then he might get some fans. ( bettyforddropout The Sport Blog – Reader Comments – 6 Dec 2009, 4:08AM)

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Some good has come of this. Judging by what Woods has been indulging in on the sly, whilst promoting an image of wholesomeness, the question of his political affiliation is resolved once and for. Republican.

Hardly a surprise. Golf is a sport of nasty, reactionary, right wing men. ( goto100 The Sport Blog – Reader Comments – 6 Dec 2009, 7:15PM)

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Just goes to show, no matter how hot a woman is (and Tiger’s missus is fit)…… somebody somewhere is sick of her sh*t……     ( millerb The Sport Blog – Reader Comments – 6 Dec 2009, 9:15PM)

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copyright© 2009 cyberaxis.wordpress.com

Appendices:

Abbreviated Reflections on Eldrick “Tiger” Woods