I've always been the kind of person that doesn't like to complain about something and not do anything about it. Lately my life was at a point where I wasn't necessary unhappy, but I certainly wasn't "happy". Change was in the air, and I made lemonade out of lemons.
Last night I became a student of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, and I took the first step towards getting out of this shell I've known for 33 years. The classes are small and extremely different than anything I have ever been a part of. You know you're in for a ride when the very first instruction you're given is to take off your shoes and socks. The lessons are not only academic in the sense that you would sit in a classroom and take notes. These lessons allow you to find your inner self and realize things about yourself that you would otherwise have never known.
We began with breathing exercises and trying to find where our vocal powers come from. We lay on our backs without our shoes and stared at the ceiling while understanding how our breathing and vocal system works. The next teacher started us off by putting on some African music and he had us dancing in ways I would never have imagined myself dancing. There was a part in the night where we formed a circle and everyone had to take a turn inside the circle and just let everything go. You had to dance and everyone around the circle has to imitate what you're doing. If that isn't frightening, I don't know what is. Needless to say, I went first and just let myself go. It was somewhat refreshing and exciting all at the same time. After about three of hours of dancing we finished the night with 45 minutes of Yoga. Yup, we all sat there and took in the first night of a different type of class. I'm extremely excited about all these new things in my life and it has refreshed my inner self in ways I hadn't expected.
I can't wait till tonight and tomorrow's classes. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my life and I can't wait to see where I am a year from now.
It seems like it was only yesterday that I was crossing the 59th street bridge by foot. The scene looked like a movie where thousands of people were walking on both lanes and chaos was in the air.
My day started out normal, I got into work early and was getting ready for the day's work. My boss came in and says to me "Did you hear about a small plane hitting one of the World Trade Center towers?" I hadn't heard anything by that point so I was oblivious to what was transpiring. We walked out of the office we were in and headed towards the conference room where a small group of people were looking at the TV screens.
None of us thought we were under attack so my boss asked me to go to one of the other labels we worked in (J Records). As I walked from 45th street and Broadway towards 57th street and 5th I could see the smoke coming from downtown. The feeling was very strange but we still thought it was an accident of some sort.
Now that I'm in J Records more and more people are gathering in the conference room glued to the TV. The second plane had struck and now we were certain it was no accident. Everyone looked at each other with disbelief, and we all had a sense of fear. Perhaps it was fear of the unknown but nonetheless it was fear. We were told that we could go home and be with our relatives because this was now a national crisis.
Upon leaving the building I tried to use the subway to get home but soon found out that all the trains had stopped working. Amazingly enough as I'm heading down towards the subway platform I bump into a friend of mine who was with a couple of other people and she tells me, "The subway is out of service everywhere". We all get out of the subway and start walking home. We had no choice. My friend was gracious enough to let us stay with her for a few hours because all public transportation had ceased at that point.
After leaving her place I couldn't even get a cab to go home so I ended up walking all the way home. One of the memories that I have from that day that I have never been able to forget is the walk over the bridge. Seeing thousands of people without a clue as to what was happening sent shivers down my spine. It seemed like a mass exodus. After getting home my next concern was my immediate family. I wondered how they would all get home.
By night time we all sat around and continued to wonder in amazement as to how this could happen in New York City. We were all glad to be with each other and lamented the loss of life in one single day. We should never forget September 11 2001, but we should also move forward.
Back as far as I can remember, I've always liked Martial Arts. My obsession started with the likes of Bruce Lee, Jackie Chan (way before they were mainstream in America) Brandon Lee, and your usual characters in Jean Claude Van Damme and Steven Seagal. Between my friends and I we used to have discussions about which Martial Arts Discipline was the best. We would argue how if Bruce Lee were alive, his Jeet Kune Do fighting style would kick almost anyone's butt.
Other than the Olympics, and in Dojo's there really wasn't a place to see people with different disciplines fight each other. You could always go see a Judo match, a Kickboxing match, but never a Judo fighter vs. a Kickboxer fighter against each other. We got small glimpses of a supposed barbaric sport in the movie called Bloodsport where fighters would fight with their legs and without gloves.
Not too long ago a fighting organization was formed and called the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship). Way back in the early 90's we finally got to see fighters with different disciplines fight one another and yeah, it was bloody. Not too many people except die hard fans actually bought the pay per views, but the sport lived underground for a bit.
It wasn't till new ownership of the UFC that the sport took off. The new owners would get the sport commissions to sanction the fights and thus make it legal. Needless to say, I've been a fan ever since the very first UFC. Along the way I grew to like a variety of fighters for very different reasons.One of those fighters was Evan Tanner. I think I associated with Evan simply because he wasn't braggadocios in victory, and he was always humble in defeat.
I was able to attend UFC 50 on October 22 2004 and you know who was on the card that night. Evan Tanner vs Robbie Lawler.
In the picture below you see Mike Goldberg, and Frank Mir with the mic's and Ken Shamrock sitting on the bottom left hand side.
The first fight of the night. Travis Lutter vs. Marvin Eastman
Believe it or not, Mixed Martial arts is much safer than boxing.
We finally reach the fight with Evan Tanner
Evan Tanner was found dead on Monday September 8, 2008. Besides being a fighter, Evan was somebody who appreciated life and actually lived it to it's fullest. It is believed that after going to the desert he succumbed to the extreme heat, but the reports have been very vague up till now. Perhaps I identify with Evan because he was a free spirited person. Never ordinary, and always searching. What a beautiful way to live your life. I've always said that it's not tragic to die doing what you love.
Evan wrote about his trip to the desert. You can read his writings here. As you well know, I don't believe that Evan went somewhere else and is now living somewhere happily. I believe that Evan lived his life here on Earth, and allowed us to part take in a little bit of it. He has left us his legacy of being an exceptional MMA fighter, but also an exception human being. Thanks for the inspiration Evan Tanner. Thanks for having existed.
Back in the days when I used to work at BMG (Bertelsmann Music Group) we used to get tons of CD's handed out to us. The building consisted of a variety of music Labels (RCA, J Records, Bad Boy, etc.) and there was always something in your taste there. Amongst the things you'd expect to like, there were bands like The Verve Pipe which I never really paid attention to back then as my musical taste was different.
Last week a friend of mine who worked with me in the same floor at BMG invited me to a private party he was having at his apartment. Woo Hoo, big deal. Well, what he mentioned next to me was rather surprising "Brian Vander Ark from The Verve Pipe will be at the party performing and hanging out for a little bit". Now, I remembered the band name and the singers name but I couldn't remember what songs I knew?
A quick check online and hours later I couldn't stop listening to a bunch of Brian's music. Considering that my taste in music right now is exactly what Brian Vander Ark is doing, it was a thrill to know that I'd be in a small setting listening to him. If you still don't know who Brian is, he is most known for the song called "The Freshmen"
Now that you know who he is, let me progress with the party at hand. The night begins with some food that my friend Bill Fleischer (the host) provided.
The veggies were right on the money!
Damn, that yellow cheese was so good.
This is a must for any REAL party.
Brian Vander Ark listens to the host before he begins to play.
In between songs Brian explains how some of the songs came about.
Rocking to the tunes head shake
To hear his voice live is an experience on it's own
Lastly, yours truly with Brian. Great shot Bill!
The entire night was just awesome! I cannot tell you how great it was to listen to Brian Vander Ark live, and only about 5 feet away from me. Don't believe me, check out the video:
The life of an I.T. guy is an interesting one. Until people stop being people, we will always have a need for I.T. guys. I have heard everything from My printer is broken (when it's really just in need of toner) to My Computer is broken (when it's really just turned off). So while I'm happy that there are extremely computer illiterate people in this world, there are some of you who are extremely funny with computers.
As you will see in the following video, some people just can't function with a little change. I have met a bunch of people like the ones you are going to encounter in this video, and that goes for both the I.T. guy and the person(s) on the other line.
There are those who talk about doing it, and then there are those who actually do it. On Sunday, our buddy Chris made his stand up debut at Caroline's Club in New York City.
At the office Chris is your regular clown making us laugh with the silliest of things, but I think that we are all proud of Chris as he embarks on this rather difficult but rewarding path to success.
Chris started this stand up routine by going to "Stand Up Comedy School". Yes folks, there are even schools for this. The grand finale was at Caroline's and while we got to see the rest of his classmates, I must say Chris along with two other comedians were the highlight of the night.
Some of the other people were somewhat funny, but you can't expect much considering this was their first time. If nothing else, Chris has inspired me to follow my dreams and has proven yet again that if you work hard enough for something it can come true.
So I'm sitting in the dentist's chair getting ready to meet the guy who will be using instruments of pain in my mouth and I begin thinking of the worst scenarios. I think he won't be able to pull out the wisdom tooth, and in turn it'll require more injections inside my mouth.
As I meet the doctor I notice that he is a chubby fella in really good spirits. He proceeds to talk to me about how the longest part of this procedure is filling out the paper work and we strike up a conversation about technology. Being that I'm a tech geek I mention to him how it would be great if there was such a thing as a wireless tablet with a touch screen where all the info entered on there automatically goes to a database rather than writing it out on paper then entering all the info on a computer terminal.
The doctor proceeds to tell me that, that technology is already in place but in big hospitals. He tells me that perhaps in another 10 years we might start seeing all that in regular offices like the one I was in. While we're having this convo the doc proceeds to start the numbing procedure and we continue talking.
I ask the doctor "Why do they call it Wisdom Teeth?" The doctor then explains that wisdom teeth start to come out between the ages of 18 and 25 when we are supposedly "wiser" or when we supposedly acquire wisdom. I don't know if that's the absolute correct theory or explanation on why they're called Wisdom teeth but I like it and I'm sticking to it.
My next question to the doctor is "If we really don't have a need for these teeth why does our body produce them in the first place?" The doctor's answer: Evolution. Yes folks evolution is partly responsible for those extra set of teeth we have. The explanation is as follows.
Back in our primitive days we had a different diet where our body required the extra set of teeth to break down the kind of meat we ate along with the kind of greens we had as well. You have to remember that for a long long time we didn't have fast food, or for that fact cooked food. As we have evolved into what we are now, we no longer have a need for those extra set of teeth because our mandibles are receding thus it explains why most people have all set of wisdom teeth removed.
By now my mouth is numb and the doctor explains that I will feel a little bit of pushing here and there. He asks me if I want to put on my iPod and listen to music while he's doing this so I take out my iPod and start listening to music. By the time a third of the song goes by he turns around and starts packing up. He then says to me "you're all done". To my amazement the procedure took less than a minute and my worry had been for nothing.
Of course I couldn't really eat the first day but that was no biggie for me. So as I left I wondered who in the world came up with the idea of calling it Wisdom teeth in the first place. I ask this because you encounter things in your life that somtimes question what Wisdom really is.
So, you still think we acquire wisdom between the ages of 18 and 25?
So today is a terrible Tuesday for me. First, let's begin with the bunch of fun I will be having shortly at the Dentists office. Getting this damn wisdom tooth removed proved to have no wisdom. UGH!
Secondly, as a HUGE New York Mets fan I woke up to terrible news today. The manager for the New York Mets was fired last night after the Mets actually won a game. While there might be some understandable reasons for firing your manager in the middle of the night, after a win, I can't help but really be mad at the Mets hierarchy right now.
I don't think they conducted themselves in a manner that is due to someone like Willie Randolph. Willie had shown a lot of class and poise during the good and bad times he managed the Mets. Who knows what will happen to this team now?
To Willie I say this to you: Hold your head up high. You always did your best and if you're the one to take the blame for old players not being able to play to their potential, so be it. You know in your heart of hearts that it wasn't you who lost the games after your relievers couldn't throw a strike to save their lives, it wasn't you who struck out with your bat on your shoulder with one game to go to the World Series. It wasn't you who blew three consecutive saves with tons of runs on the scoreboard. And it certainly wasn't you who decided to let go of Ruben Gotay, Brian Bannister, Paul LoDuca, and many other stinkers Omar Minaya has done up to this point.
If this team no longer performs on the level it's supposed to, I say look at Omar Minaya as he's the one who assembled this team.
Good Luck Willie! Thanks for all the Amazin' Years as the Mets Manager.
When I think about diving with Great Whites, jumping out of airplanes, or any activity like that I don't normally get scared. Sure there is a sense of fear, but that fear eventually turns into fun and you want to do it over and over again.
So explain to me how in the world I am terrified to get my wisdom tooth pulled out? Yup, out of all the things that I have done in my life, getting my tooth pulled out has me scared like a little girl.
This brings me to something about the tooth itself. Why do people call it a Wisdom Tooth? If these supposed Wisdom teeth always end up getting pulled out, where's the wisdom in all that?
So now I eagerly await the fun filled day of numbing and pulling. Ouch!
How many faces do you have? After attending a wedding last Friday I realize that we all have multiple faces. We have our "work" faces, where we are always serious and trying to get the job done. We have our "partner" faces where we are different with our partners in crime. We have our "party" faces where we are always smiling at the same people that perhaps you wouldn't necessarily talk to at work.
So I ask myself... Why the need for so many faces? Is it hypocritical? I don't think so. I think it's necessary because you wouldn't behave the way you do at work, the way you behave with your friends.
If you're an avid user of Youtube, you might like this little tweak. Some current videos have links like "Watch In Hight Quality" underneath the video screen. Some videos don't. For those that don't you can still somewhat force the video to play in high quality.
The next time you're watching a video look at the address bar and at the end of the address add the following text &fmt=18.
So the original link would look like this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9W55utXqwTw After you've added the text it should look like this: http://youtube.com/watch?v=9W55utXqwTw&fmt=18
Location: Metsville, New York, United States About Me: I am a plethora of things. I love discussions, different points of view, music, photography, books, the universe, and the ocean in no particular order.
As you can see I have very different opinions and I'm not too shy to share them with you. It is not my intent to insult you if that should happen.
So stay a while and perhaps share your opinion on a post of interest. My Profile!
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