Reflection, joy and disappointment: UFC 75

First let me say that watching MMA fights with my wife is super cool. She was completely disgusted with the sport the first time she saw a fighter turn into a bloody old faithful about a year ago. She still doesn't like to see a fighter broken, bloodied and bruised, but she seems to take a lot more fun from a solid technical fight these days. I'm sure she would much prefer a girlie show about interior design, but she still sits down with me every time there is a big fight.

We both sat down to watch Saturday's fights with much anticipation for the final bout. The under cards were host to some pretty amazing fights and one mind boggling decision by the judges.

The first fight was between two fighters I had honestly never heard of, but Houston Alexander certainly did impress with his super fast first round knock out. It makes me wonder why Keith Jardine is getting a big fight against Chuck Liddell, when he lost to Houston back in May. Why not give an up and coming fighter like Houston a shot? I guess you have to make a name for your self first or the UFC wants an easy fight to put a big ticket fighter like Liddell back in title contention. The second fight was by far the most thrilling of the night Paul Taylor was striking his way to what I thought would be first round knock out when with only 45 seconds in the round he was countered into a beautiful arm bar submission by Marcus Davis.

Matt Hamill was robbed! Crystal and I both had him winning when the third round ended in his fight against local (UK) legend Michael Bisping. He was very strong for the first two rounds and was clearly gassed by the third. His open mouth and wild hay makers in the third does not a memory wiping first and second round make however. The fight was a clear 29-28 victory for Hamill and some how the judges scored it 29-28 Bisping, 29-28 Bisping and 30-27 Hamill. While it sucks to lose by decision I won't say that Hamill gave a definitive performance. If you leave it up to the judges and you will always face a possible lose from the cards. Finish it on your own terms and there is never a question in the outcome.

Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic is my boy, one of my favorite fighters by far, but he is on a downward slide. I had hoped his trouncing from Gonzaga in April was a fluke. This Saturday's loss to Cheick Kongo makes me think that he may be on his way out, not back. He was bullied from the start of the fight to its boring conclusion. I was screaming at the television for him to just do something. Apparently I wasn't loud enough or Cro Cop was content with playing the counter defense game to a three round decision loss.

The big match of the night ended in the way that any fight between two powerhouses in a sport usually ends, going to the cards. Rampage was hands down the winner, he controlled Henderson on the ground and traded with him blow for blow in the stand up. Henderson seemed out matched and out sized for most of the match and the cards showed it. First it sucks for any match that involves a title to go to the judges, but its expected. Second, while I like Jackson a lot, his post bout interview where he claimed that his hands hurt from hitting Henderson's rock hard face smacked of corny WWE trash talking, instead of the "actual" sport post fight I'd like to see.

Shower shoes if you like

It has been more than a month since I put foot to pedal and this Saturday not only saw that long hiatus removed, but saw it done in shower shoed style.

Grant has been putting out the call for Saturday morning rides for going on three weeks. I have always responded with confirmation that I would attend only to see my hopes dashed by weather or last minute obligations. When the invitation to ride came again this weekend I was determined to actually see myself on a saddle. 7:30am came far too soon though and by the time I was rubbing the sleep out of my eyes and having a bowl of cereal it was already 8:30 (the original start time). I got Grant on the phone and we decided on a new start and general location for the ride.

Grant was on the ball arriving not twenty minutes past our phone call. We chit chatted while packing up the gear and went inside to pick a route for our short adventure. The classic, but brief ABC 20 mile (warning PDF file) would be our chosen weapon. We recorded the cue sheet on a fashionable piece Mary Kay stationary and hit the car for our trip to the not so fashionable LPSC. Unless your into pay day loans, dollar stores and cheap dry cleaning, the LPSC parking lot is not for the feint of heart.

Some where in my rush to prepare my gear and pack it into Grant's car I missed one of the most essential pieces. Or rather a pair of the most essential pieces, my shoes. Not the end of the world if I rode on flat pedals, but I ride clipless and without the shoes to match them they can be a huge pain to deal with. I rung Crystal with the hope that she would meet me half way with my shoes and a kiss. No luck, she was just getting out of the shower and would be at least thirty minutes. I decided it wouldn't kill me to ride twenty miles in my flip flops (I call them flops, Grant calls them shower shoes).

Off we went through a sketchy back alley that I would have never found if Grant didn't already know the way. The neighborhood that the ride started in was an super pleasant gradual downhill, the wind was flowing through my toes and the day had not begun to simmer yet. Our route soon turned into to more country roads and the traffic was low. The ABC route is well worn by our two wheeled brohams, I counted at least 30 other riders coming from the opposite direction (I guess most riders get up earlier than us). The cue sheet was a wash, some streets where completely left off and road name changes where missing in action. We had a spot of luck at one confusing intersection when we ran into Champ (Raba member, introducer of the ABC route to Grant and all around good guy). He showed us hot pink arrows that Raba had spray painted on the road a few weeks ago. We ditched the cue sheet, said our good byes to Champ and were on our way.

We end up getting lost two more times (due to conversation and lack of attention, not the arrows) before making our way to the half way point for drinks and a snack. The second leg of the ride was mostly uneventful as the day started to heat up. We rolled back through the neighborhood we started in noting that it was not as pleasant on the way back, now that it was a gradual up hill in the heat. We pulled back into the LPSC parking lot at around 22 miles, counting the two times we got lost. We packed the car and went our separate way, promising to do it all over again as soon as possible.

It felt good to ride again and helped me figure out what I want for my birthday this year. Bike money! My bike needs love and I have been neglecting it for far to long. This 26th year of my life I will be taking care of my two wheeled friend.

Pictures coming soon...

For the love of cookbooks

I know that I have mentioned 101cookbooks.com before, its a great read on the exploration and experimentation that ultimate leads to an amazing recipe. I had never actually made any of the dishes from the blog though. For shame I know. The photography and write ups keep me extremely entertained on there own, so recommending the site without actually cooking didn't seem to devious.

So, last night I manned up and picked Heidi's "Five Minute Tomato Sauce Recipe" to make for Crystal. There was near zero time or monetary commitment for this meal, I had most of the ingredients already and as the recipe says "five minute". I put it over Penne and served it with cold water (exciting I know, I couldn't find Orangina at the store I went to). It was a hit, very light and simple given the hot summer weather. The next time I make it I will most likely cut back on the crushed red pepper flakes a bit (1 tsp vs 1 1/2 tsp) as they are intended to add kick to the meal, not dominate it.

I have always wanted to know how to make a quick and tasty tomato sauce from scratch. Canned sauces always feel like they are only going half way between bland and uninspired so I swore them off years ago. Crystal makes a killer meaty pasta sauce, that will warm you to the core in the winter months, but can make you feel like your 3 hours into to a Thanksgiving day nap in the summer. This recipe is just the ticket for last minute guest and great after a long day at work that would feel even longer should you spend more than 10 minutes in the kitchen.

I will be trying more of the dishes from 101cookbooks.com in the coming weeks and will come here to share my successes and failures rest assured.

MMA's Stars Collide

Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (current UFC champ) and Dan "Hollywood" Henderson (current Pride champ) will be fighting each other in this weekends UFC light heavyweight championship.

This weekends bout is the stuff of MMA fantasy, UFC's best vs Pride's best, there has been more debates than you could count on which organization retains the strongest fighters. When Pride went belly up this spring and UFC bought them out we were promised these kinds of fights. There have been a number of Pride fighters who have made the jump, but without Fedor coming stateside to fight Couture nothing has been as big as the fight this weekend. That and its not even on pay per view, its free on Spike TV (9pm EST), so if you are a cheap MMA fan or never really got into the sport this is an opportunity to see the best light heavyweight fighters in the world throw down.

As a side note my friend Kevin (GetSomeMore) is a trainer/instructor at the MMA Institute here in Richmond, VA. If you are interested in training or at least just seeing what MMA is all about give them a ring (or email I guess).

Loose Ends

There a few unfinished entries on the site as of late, so why not use a Thursday morning to take care of them.

BioShock Wrap (link)
I wrapped up BioShock over the weekend at around 10 hours of playtime. This is game of the year material and has been reviewed as such. I am eager to share my experience with others and will be swapping Dirt for some shock to Heavy Mehtul at lunch next week. If you have a 360 this game is a must, if you have a PC with the chops to run it then I'd suggest picking it up as well.

Chronicles of Conan Continued (link)
I couldn't contain myself after finishing volume two, I went out Tuesday night to the local comic shop and picked up volume three. I haven't opened it up yet, but rest assured that I will be near done with it before the weekend is up.

Tattoo Photos (link)

Crystal and Elizabeth's Twin Sparrows

Crystal's Lilys

More Ink

Saturday night we went out with Crystal's sister (Elizabeth) and her boyfriend to grab a bite to eat and get some new ink. Crystal and Elizabeth decided at the beach this summer that they would get matching tattoos on their feet. It would be Elizabeth's first and Crystal's fourth. They took some time to find what they wanted and eventually settled on the classic sparrow seen here.

You would think there was a national shortage on ink the way Elizabeth hounded Crystal for a firm date on when they would get their new foot art. Friday night wouldn't work because we were munching on tasty Vietnamese cuisine and catching a picture with Grant and Erin. Saturday afternoon didn't work either because we were helping some friends move. Saturday night worked out though so we set up a 7pm appointment and ventured into the city.

Elizabeth was up first, so there would be no way for her to back out. She had planned to only get the outline at first, but after toughing that out she was peer pressured into to getting the full color done as well. Crystal went second and much to Elizabeth's disappointment she was not cringing in pain the way Elizabeth had. After two hours on the ribs for her (still unfinished) last piece, a tattoo on the foot was child's play.

The two of them hobbled out River City at 10pmish and we went for what has now become a post tattoo tradition, ice cream. Stomachs full of reese's pieces sundays we went to Kroger to pick up tattoo care supplies for Elizabeth. Then it was back to our house to show her how to implement said care. The two of them still have swollen feet and complaints about wearing shoes, but their new tattoos look great and they may be closer for it.

After Crystal leap frogged me to get this newest ink, it has me planning my next one with quickness. I have been thinking about a quarter sleeve that would integrate my right arm and the tattoo I already have there. I am struggling for ideas though, I want to get a lily on the back of my arm and smoke to blend everything together, but I can't think of what else to use. More on this later I guess, as I really have no clue what else to include.

Oh and I'll include pictures of both of their tattoos as soon as I take them. So soonish I guess.

The Governator is a Hypocranator Part 2

Man I love this movie...


...what happened Arnold?