Talib Kweli
Was watching
Talib Kweli's new video "Listen". Reminded me how much I like his music! He started out in a group called blackstar with fellow New Yorker, Mos Def.
A little fyi; When Brooklyn's oldest black-owned bookstore was in financial trouble Talib and Mos Def bought the bookstore and eventually turned it into the Nkiru Center for Education, a non-profit organization promoting literacy and multicultrual awareness for people of color.
If you listen to hip hop and don't listen to Talib Kweli, you don't listen to hip hop.
You have been Assimilated...
Here's a pic from Dad preparing to ship out to Afghanistan. He has been getting briefed in D.C. this week and leaves friday. He will arrive in Afghanistan Sunday.
The Snowman
If you have been to my myspace page you have probably seen this guy's bald head in one of my videos. He is Jeff Monson one of my favorite grapplers/fighters. He will be fighting against Tim Silvia for the Heavyweight title November 18th. I'm hoping he will exploit Sylvia's inadequecies on the ground. Sylvia is a good striker but doesn't like to go to the ground and usually doesn't since he is 6'9 but if anyone can take him to the ground it is Monson. Monson is a powerhouse built for grappling @ 5'9 and 240lbs he is one tough guy to handle. Compact, powerful guys like this are good for grappling because it's harder to get leverage on guys that are strong and don't have long limbs. I like him because he's of similar height to myself and roughly the same build as myself, although he is in Much better shape, so I like to watch how he grapples and try to learn from what he does.
Jeff is also educated. He graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he wrestled, and then received his Masters in Psychology from the University of Minnesota. During his graduate work, Monson had his political awakening—a course entitled Community Psychology.
“Oh man, that class really opened my eyes,” he says. “Just looking at the way the world is run, the way that the people that might be disabled or have mental issues are left behind. How education and general welfare are not a priority, and how the elite run everything for their own benefit. Then I started reading a bunch of stuff—Animal Farm, the International Socialist Review, Chomsky—and I started thinking in a different way.”
Shirmp Festival
IT's that time again! Shrimp Fest is upon us here at the Gulf! This weekend looks like it will be pretty prime with weather in the 70's! This will be my first shrimp festival and from what i'm told not only is there shrimp but alligator on a stick also! But, mainly it's shrimp and arts and crafts. There is a sand castle contest...
Obsession
Sorry it's been so long, but here you go... I can feel Jiu Jitsu becoming my obsession these days! I know I haven't felt this kinda obsession since my basketball playing days. I gotta say I really enjoy the challenge! It's been so long since I have prepared myself for competition that I still have an uphill battle to wage against my out-of-shape body. I'm getting there slowly but surely... It basically comes down to paying your dues! And I have a lot of dues to pay! I have taken to training jiu jitsu more often 4-5 days a week. Training like this keeps everything fresh in my mind so I'm concentrating on the movements and strategies that I need to become second nature.
Ok, so to explain the picture. The lineage of jiu jitsu I train in comes from
Pedro Sauer a Rickson Gracie black belt. The school I train at is a sister school to Allen Hopkins a black belt under Pedro Sauer. There are so many moves in jiu jitsu that each system or school usually has variations and preferred methods of applying techniques.
Moving on...
Well, I'm making it official tonight. I'm going to start training in brazilian jiu jitsu. I finally found a school here in town that has a great group of guys that train the way I like, ALL OUT! I like the time i spent training in Yoshitsune Ju jitsu but it's just not totally what I was looking for... Just too traditional for me! There are a great group of guys there and will miss being around them but it's time to take it to the next level. The new place is cheaper and they train 3x a week. 2hrs tues. & thurs. and 12noon - until on Saturday! The group of students at the new place are younger and more athletic! I went last week to train with them and was blown away by the welcoming attitude and quality of competition. I also found out that I gotta start pushing harder in my training to get competitive! Looks like the last 25-30lbs. will be coming off soon!
Was watching Talib Kweli's new video "Listen". Reminded me how much I like his music! He started out in a group called blackstar with fellow New Yorker, Mos Def. 
