James R. Begley’s: STAREDOWN MMA

Are you familiar with the saying “I have caught the acting bug”? You know the bug where you hardly work, get paid tons of money, and everyone kisses your butt? Yeah I think we have all caught that one! Well now it seems as though MMA stars are catching the acting bug and are making strides to cement a career on the big screen as well as inside the cage. Women’s MMA standout Gina Carano is getting as much if not more press attention for her latest film project titled ‘Haywire’ which was directed by acclaimed Hollywood director Steven Soderbergh than she is for her fighting career that is still in a sort of holding pattern after her failed medical clearance for a fight that she was supposed to have on the 18^th of last month.

Carano was the face of women’s MMA for ‘Strikeforce’ before she lost her bout against rival female powerhouse Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos. It never hurts when an athlete is as easy on the eyes as they are talented in their respected profession. Carano “does” have a look that is suited for Hollywood and I’m sure that if any professional athlete was given the opportunity to star in a movie then they would agree to it. Randy Couture is actually doing quite well as an actor but he has the luxury of not having to compete in MMA events any longer so his schedule is a lot more open than someone who is still fighting. Couture’s performance in Sly Stallone’s ‘The Expendables’ has earned him a spot in the sequel which is currently in production from what I hear.

Cung Le would be another great example of MMA star turned actor for he has been a few higher profile movies such as ‘Fighting’ and ‘Pandorum’. I actually loved ‘Pandorum’ so Le’s presence was well received by me and he got show off his skills in that movie to boot. I have never really been much of a fan of professionals in any other realms of entertainment making crossovers into other areas. Most musicians that become actors aren’t that great with a few exceptions, but for the most part it just seems like a novelty to me. With the increasing popularity of MMA it doesn’t appear as though this trend will slow down any time soon. With MMA competitors signing lucrative endorsement deals with major cooperation’s and other tie-ins I guess it just makes sense.

The relationship between Hollywood and MMA is just starting to gain momentum. A Newer production called ‘Warrior’ is about to be released in theaters that has MMA as a topical basis, and I think most of us remember ‘Never Back Down’ which was released a few years ago. Even though ‘Never Back Down’ was far affected and completely unrealistic it did however gain a younger audience for MMA as a whole. By using the tried-and-true “revenge” formula best used by earlier martial arts films from the mid 80’s through the early 90’s in movies like ‘The Karate Kid’ and ‘Bloodsport’, ‘Never Back Down’ did a fairly good job at producing a film that was a throw back to golden days when action films were king at the box office. Jean Claude Van Damme, Steven Seagal, and the late Brandon Lee were all superstars during this era of movie making.

So now that that they are making movies with actual MMA athletes I wonder if any of them have the acting chops to stabilize a career in film. It’s not as if action movies require a Gary Oldman level of acting skill, but still you have to be pretty good to pull off a believable acting performance.  I just read that they are now producing a film based on the life of former ‘UFC’ Middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Franklin was a school teacher when he began his MMA career so I guess Hollywood believes it’s a story worth telling and I agree. As far as Le and Carano are concerned I would actually rather see them fight than act. Le has stated recently that he would love a chance to fight in the ‘UFC’ so we’ll see how that pans out for him.

Carano needs to get back inside the cage instead of concentrating on her acting career because women’s MMA could really use her right now. If women’s MMA is going to continue to grow I think that Gina’s presence is required. I think that we are only witnessing the beginning of MMA stars becoming movie stars and with the increased visibility and notoriety of MMA we might very well see the next Jean Claude Van Damme come from inside the MMA industry. People love a good story and when ‘Rocky’ was released in the 70’s it started a boom for these types of movies. I can’t wait to see who jumps into acting next from MMA. It should be interesting in seeing who catches “the acting bug” next.

Is the paranormal frightening or fascinating?        By James R. Begley

Ever since I was a little kid growing up in a small Ohio town I have been thoroughly intrigued with ghost stories. It seems like every town has their urban legends or locations that the locals consider to be haunted. I lived in a house when my age was still in single digits and I believed the place to be extremely haunted. I had multiple experiences in that house that could be considered paranormal. I’m that guy who gets really excited when the topic of haunting or ghostly encounters is raised in conversational situations. Whenever given the chance I love to ask people about their own experiences and listen to the details of their stories with a great level of attention. I have a friend named Don whose parents bought a house that was very active with events of the paranormal. Don and his family had so many experiences in their home that they actually named their “ghost” Timothy.

Whenever I was in Don’s company I would hound him about what new events had transpired at his parent’s home. I myself was fortunate enough to be able to visit the house and the feelings that I would encounter there were eerie to say the least. For some reason I just can’t get enough of listening to people discuss this topic. So I was watching ‘nothing but trailers’ today on ‘HDNET’ that I had on my DVR and I keep seeing previews for movies that deal with supernatural themes. These films look to cash in on the fascination with a topic that we still know very little about. Ever since 1982 I have had a continued growth in appreciation for ghost stories after I saw ‘Poltergeist’. I found the movie to be not only scary as hell (I was only 11yrs. old after all!), but also incredibly interesting. ‘Poltergeist’ wasn’t the first movie about ghosts and haunting but it was the first one that I really paid attention to.

It seems now there are so many programs that showcase ghosts and ghost stories. The first show that comes to mind for me would be the ‘SyFy’ network’s wildly popular ‘Ghost Hunters’, which chronicles the escapades of two ‘Roto-Rooter’ technician’s investigations of supposedly haunted locations. The show does very well and has spawned not only an international version of the series, but also a good number of mimics as well. Notables would be ‘Ghost Lab’, ‘Ghost Adventures’, ‘Destination Truth’, ‘Celebrity Ghost Stories’, and ‘The scariest places on Earth’. This has always been a popular subject in the mainstream media market and doesn’t show any signs of slowing down.

Movies also continue to spin yarns of what we can’t see, explain, or don’t understand. Films like ‘The Sixth Sense’, ‘Paranormal Activity’, ‘A Haunting in Connecticut’, ‘An American Haunting’, and the previously mentioned ‘Poltergeist’ films only seem to further fuel our hunger for tales of things that go bump in the night. Even comedies such as ‘Ghostbusters’ tackled the subject and to great success. I wonder if any of you readers out there have ever had a paranormal experience. And if so what’s your favorite ghost story? I have my own thoughts on the subject but I’ll leave that for another article! Try to sleep tight everyone, and remember that some of the scariest things we’ll ever experience are things that we can’t see or explain. A lack of understanding sometime creates further fascination and fear. It’s a very interesting topic and one that I intend to pursue further in the future. The city that I live in now has a paranormal society and lately I have considered contacting them to see if I can possibly join them on a ghost hunt.

Social networks and online dating. By James R. Begley

It wasn’t until about three months ago that I finally followed the herd and put together a ‘Facebook’ page. ‘Facebook’ was suggested to me by my publisher as a way to increase visibility as well as reach friends that may live in other markets. I accepted his advice and went about constructing my page so I could start putting myself out there so to speak. I have to note however that I have never “really” been one those social network guys, I tend to prefer doing most of my networking in person.

About 3 years ago I did develop a ‘Myspace’ page in an attempt to find gainful employment as a musician but I never caught the bug for extended sessions on the site. My ex-girlfriend has been involved in social networking for years and as I remember it was on ‘Facebook’ long before it became the institution that it is today. She as well as friends of mine at the time tried to get me to join ‘Facebook’ back then but I just blew them off thinking that it was just silly. And before the days of ‘Twitter’ I never thought that my day was so special that I had to tell everyone what I was doing every 10 minutes.

Just recently though I have to confess that I have probably become the most obsessive ‘Facebook’ user since it was only available on the Harvard campus! I post like a madman constantly, but now I have to mention a few things that I’ve learned since becoming a “seasoned” user on ‘Facebook’. First I learned that not everybody is going to be equally as excited as you are about your post. Whether it’s a funny quote or a ‘Youtube’ video, chances are there is going to be somebody out there ready to cry at your party. The ironic twist is that these same people tearing your posts down are the same people that are supposed to be your “friends”!

Second thing that I learned is that some people “do” indeed change, and that same guy you were getting drunk with back in high school is now preaching the gospel of whatever religious viewpoint that he’s decided to follow. This became ridiculously obvious fairly soon after I started to get back in contact with people that I haven’t seen in over 20 years. As my friend list started to grow I realized that some of the people that I used to hang out with all those years ago have developed some pretty interesting standpoints. There isn’t an hour that goes by that I don’t see a post from someone that I have a distinct picture of from the past now taking such a bold stand on topics that range from religion, extreme political views, and heartbreaking tragedy involving illnesses and military action just to list a few examples.

I feel for these people and respect all their views, but there are other platforms available for these types of posts. Needless to say and this might sound horrible but I have now started lining up these “friends” that have such opposing views or can’t seem to post anything but tragic events in a sort of ‘Facebook’ firing squad, gunning down the ones who “bring me down”. I’m a very positive and upbeat guy and I think you can tell from my articles that I am not that angry dude sitting at my laptop complaining about things that I don’t like in the world. That being said, I have adopted a philosophy of just trying to throw out topics that stimulate conversation or inform readers of points of interest. I also created a ‘Twitter’ account recently as to stay abreast of current developments in the world of pop culture and entertainment. It is an incredibly useful tool for communicating with industry professionals.

What I’ve stated thus far in this piece is a great lead-in to the closing of the article. I am single and spend the majority of my time doing research and writing from home. I rarely am presented with an opportunity to get out and meet anyone to hang out with that is of the opposite sex. I can’t help but notice more and more marketing campaigns for online dating sites that promise that you will meet your soul-mate. It’s an interesting prospect indeed but does it work? I don’t know as of yet because I’m still embarrassed or have just enough insecurity to have not made what many would consider a desperate attempt to try and find love. Please don’t misinterpret this paragraph as me fishing for sympathy. In fact it’s quite the opposite. I would love to just as anyone like to find that special “someone” that seems to be your soul’s counterpoint.

The only example that I have of the online dating thing working is a friend of mine that actually met his present and only wife online. They are very happy and have a beautiful daughter together. Happy ending right, well not so fast! Like I said I have “one” example of this method of meeting people working. So if anyone out there reading has some other stories of the “fairy tale” coming true for another couple that met online please let me know. My lack of courage has prevented me from taking the leap into online dating myself.

Gorno could be a new term. By James R. Begley

A little while back I dropped ‘Showtime’ the premium movie channel from my television package plan. The reason being as that I’m a movie guy and let’s face it ‘Showtime’ has in my opinion an incredibly lame film selection. I tried to justify the monthly expenditure by watching their original series offerings instead but ultimately I decided to switch to ‘Starz’, which offers a much broader selection of movies. I find it ironic though that it was an original series on the ‘Starz’ network that provided the topic for this piece. I’m sometimes “late to the party” when catching up on certain things so my “On Demand” service is where I discovered this show.

The ‘series’ I’m referring to is ‘Spartacus: Gods of the Arena’. It seems as though the intensity level for what’s being displayed in both film and television programs has increased considerably! I’m not writing this article because I’m complaining about this, but I do think that there are some interesting points to cover concerning this progression of portraying “extreme violence” with an almost equal amount of “sex”. I recently heard a term used to describe this sort of entertainment and have adopted this into my own vocabulary. The word is “Gorno”, which is what I think to be a wonderful combination of the words “gore” and “porno”!

Using a historical setting for its conceptual backdrop, ‘Spartacus: Gods of the Arena’ looks to rope you in by portraying a story that is filled with guilty pleasure type viewing. The program displays in equal amounts, scene after scene involving ferocious brutality and overt sexuality. Think of the worst things you could do somebody or the most erotic and chances are you’ll get more than your fill with this series. Ever since films like ‘Saw’, ‘Final Destination’, ‘Hostel’, ‘The Devil’s Rejects’, ‘Frontier(s)’, and ‘Cabin Fever’ audiences seem to be flocking to these types of releases. I’m curious as to what fuels our lust for topics that are “taboo” or tend to lean more towards the “dark” side?

Have we all be come so desensitized that this what we expect from this type of entertainment? Is the “shock” factor the most important aspect when producers green light these types of projects? I’m not sure, and in all honesty I don’t mind at all. I’d like to mention ‘horror’ films in particular. I think the door can swing both ways. Yes, in some instances it is more effective when seeing the gory details of a certain scenario, but also to reference the philosophy of the great Alfred Hitchcock, sometimes what we don’t see is far more gripping! (Anyone remember the shower scene in Psycho!)? This bizarre evolution is pretty interesting when you start to think about it in those terms. Don’t you think?

It’s hilarious because my ‘DVR’ device from my ‘satellite TV’ provider is so full of programs and ‘movies’ that I have a really hard time following everything that’s out there, much less the shows that I actually like. With that in mind the other day I was watching old reruns of ‘The Office’ in an episode in which the cast were trapped outside. So as to pass the time, one of the characters started asking his co-workers what their top 5 desert island ‘movies’ were. The ‘films’ in which they couldn’t live without, and could never get sick of watching. I as well as some of the characters on the show were both shocked and appalled by some of the picks that were thrown out into the conversational kiddy pool.

Have you ever really thought about that question though? Or tried to narrow your choices down to just 5 ‘movies’!? For some it’s an almost unanswerable question, usually forcing most into backpedaling into the safe area of saying that they have favorite ‘movies’ in different genre’s of ‘film’. What a cop-out! LOL! Amazingly I find it rather easy to narrow my selections down, and keep in mind that I have run 2 ‘video’ stores and was also at one time the ‘video’ dept. manager of ‘Media Play’. To put it more plainly I stopped counting how many ‘movies’ that I had seen at 11,000 titles! It would seem to be a lot of wasted time huh!? Some would say “yes it is a waste of time!”  But I have always been so passionate about the creative ‘arts’ that I just can’t help myself! I love ‘movies’!

That leads me to the selections for my top 5, as well as why I chose them. I guess I’ll start from #5 and work my way down to my favorite ‘movie’ of all time! I must add though that the #1 and #2 slots on my list sometimes have a tendency to switch positions with one another. I know! How weird right!? LOL! Alright lets get to it shall we? At #5 my pick is the Alex Proyas film from 1998 ‘Dark City’ starring Rufus Sewell, Jennifer Connelly, Kiefer Sutherland, and William Hurt. Excellent cast, even better concept. This is one of those ‘films’ that is super interesting all the way through until you reach the end. Then it gets 1000 times better! The first time I saw the last 10 minutes of this ‘movie’ I flipped out because I had no idea that what was “really” going on is what was going on! I can’t say enough good things about this ‘movie’ and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it, because it is very original.

My #4 pick has got to be my favorite ‘comedy’ of all time. The 1980 Harold Ramis side splitter ‘Caddyshack’. This ‘movie’s’ cast alone delivered some of the funniest performances ever caught on camera! Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, and Ted Knight had me laughing so hard that I thought I was going to pee myself! Especially Rodney, who had arguably some of the best lines in the ‘movie’! And to think that all through filming Mr. Dangerfield kept consulting the production staff, thinking that he wasn’t performing well because nobody was laughing during takes! (It was his first ‘movie’ and he had come from ‘stand-up’ where you either get laughs or you die trying!). Also a key note about this movie is that it’s widely known that Bill Murray and Chevy Chase did not like each other at the time of production. Something that had to do with their ‘SNL’ days I believe.

This leads me to #3 and a foray back into the ‘science fiction’ realm. In 1982 Ridley Scott directed what is my opinion the finest ‘science fiction movie’ ever made ‘Blade Runner’. This is a ‘film’ that has so much soul that even to this day in the wake of all that is ‘computer’ generated it doesn’t look dated, and continues to age with utter grace. The set design is magnificent! The cast is terrific! And the source material from which it’s derived from is amazing. The film is based on Philip K. Dick’s story “Do androids dream of electric sheep?” Many purists would go to the mat with me over the fact that I don’t consider Stanley Kubrick’s ’2001: A Space Odyssey’ the most significant ‘sci-fi’ offering, but it doesn’t matter to me. I like what I like, and I would never expect anyone to agree with my opinion just because I think ‘Blade Runner’ is superior.

Now it’s time for the fun part! Getting down to my final 2 choices is a struggle that I’ve dealt with since the latter half of the 80′s, and like I stated before these 2 titles battle for domination over my loyalty! Now that I’m faced with having to actually write about my list, I have no choice but to place these ‘movies’ in their rightful positions. At #2 is going to have to be what I consider the perfect ‘action movie’. Brilliant direction from Steven Spielberg coupled with an incredible script based on a concept developed by George Lucas. And introduced Hollywood to one of the most memorable, as well as influential characters in ‘film’ history. The’ movie’ is ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, and it was the first time ‘film goers’ caught a glimpse of Indiana Jones!

This ‘film’ also holds a special place in my heart because one of the ‘trailers’ that was shown in the theater when we saw ‘Raiders’ was for ‘The Empire Strikes Back’! Which we didn’t even know was being made considering we didn’t have all of the information about “every” ‘movie’s’ production like we do now. All I could do was stare at the screen with my jaw wide open! Needless to say, it made quite an impression! It wouldn’t be until 1986 that I would see the ‘film’ that takes the #1 spot on my countdown. Directed by ‘horror’ maestro John Carpenter, and utilizing practically every known trick in the ‘Special FX’ handbook. Mr. Carpenter released my all time favorite ‘movie’, that I’m not afraid to admit that I’ve seen 147 times! ‘Big Trouble in Little China’!

I think this ‘movie’ is so great because it contains elements of almost every known genre of ‘film’. It has ‘action’, ‘comedy’, ‘romance’, ‘martial arts’, ‘guns’, ‘monsters’, ‘magic’, ‘spiritualism’, ‘horror’, and even a hot car or two, as well as a big truck! My point being is that one of my main philosophies when viewing ‘movies’ is that I look for what I believe is the most important aspect of ‘film making’ and that’s entertainment value. I think ‘movies’ were mainly conceived as ‘escapism’ fun. And that other genres of ‘film’ evolved out of that initial plan. If I’m not totally mistaken I think one of the first ‘silent films’ depicted a trip to the moon in a rocket ship! That’s hardly what I would consider dramatic entertainment.

The thing is that I would like to think that this is why movies were created in the first place. So we didn’t have to go to the theater and watch things that we could see in our everyday lives. Personally if I want to watch ‘dramatic’ material or “based on a true story” types of ‘movies’, than I would just as soon watch a ‘documentary’ on the same or a similar topic. (They are far more accurate, as well as informative.). Please don’t get me wrong! I love ALL ‘movies’! It doesn’t matter what kind. But if you’re going to give me a choice between ‘The Piano’ and ‘Star Wars’ I’m going to choose the latter every time! Why do think ‘The Wizard of Oz’ is still so popular to this day!? I think that ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ was made with the same philosophy in mind, and that is why it’s my #1 desert island ‘film’. So what’s on your list!? Write me and let me know! I’m super interested in seeing some of your picks! Pretty interesting topic isn’t it?

Just recently I had a friend of mine ask me if I could do a favor for a family member of his who owns a courier business delivering the newspaper locally where I live. I have a fairly open schedule usually so I decided I would do my best to try and help this person out of a jam. It seems the woman who owns the delivery business found herself extremely short staffed and needed some extra help picking up the routes that had unexpectedly opened up due to employees forfeiting their duties.

Let’s just say that had I known what I was in for with what transpired over the next nine days, I would have never agreed to help out! The reality of what I believed to be a seemingly unimposing task quickly turned into what I now consider to be an absolute nightmare! I think I should probably explain the process from the beginning so you can get an idea of just how nerve-racking an experience this job really is. After speaking with the business owner, from which she gave me an extremely vague overview of the job, I then told her that I would be where I needed to be so as I could get started.

Having some already preconceived notions as what to expect, I with my trusty ‘G.P.S.’ unit thought that this was going to be a walk in the park! Ha! I could not have been more wrong! Upon my arrival to the “hub” where all of the papers are delivered to prior to being prepared for delivery, I was soon greeted with my first dose of reality when I figured out that I was also going to have to roll and bag every paper that I was required to deliver. (Average for papers delivered on my route each night was 200-250) seeing as though it was my first time performing this duty I found out rapidly that I was no good at it! LOL!

I’m one of those guys who believes that he can pick up on things pretty fast and then just cruise to the finish line, but with this particular job I just couldn’t seem to find my groove. I became frustrated and started making even more mistakes while I watched everyone around me bag up what felt like ten papers to my one! Then it hit me! Now I was going to have to actually drive all of these papers to all of these residences and I started to kind of freak out a little!

My first night was a ride-along with the girl for which I would be filling in for. She was cool and patient which helped out a lot. I have a tendency to talk way too much when I’m either nervous or excited about something, so needless to say I didn’t pay very close attention to exactly where we were when we dropped off each paper. I tried my best to keep with each location by making notations and what not, but it was four o’clock in the morning and it was pitch black in some off the neighborhoods. Throw in the fact that not everybody has there number for their address displayed on their house and I knew I was in for one of the worst times of my life in the next nine days that followed.

Never having an opportunity to use my ‘G.P.S’ unit to track the area we were in made me even more hesitant about the upcoming obligation. What did happen over those next days was in my opinion one of the poorest decisions that I have ever made when it came any type of employment. (I should note however that one comforting thought that I carried with me throughout this endeavor was that I didn’t “need” to work there, and that I was just doing this as a favor for a friend that has been very good to me in the past. But at the same time I didn’t want to do a bad job either because I didn’t want anything negative to reflect on my friend.)

To make a long story short the main priority of the paper delivery gig is that all of the papers “have” to be delivered by a specific time or the business is forced to refund money due to the fact that subscribers pay for a service that guarantees a specific delivery time. Well guess what? I never made the deadline, and I got my butt chewed out at the end of every shift that I worked! After a night filled with squinting trying to see what street I was on, whether I could see a house number or if it was on the right or left side of the street, the last thing I wanted to hear was someone screaming at me, and trying to make me feel like I was an idiot!

Some customers wanted their papers left in specific spots which meant that you had to get out of your car to walk up to the house and set it on a chair or on mailbox hooks. You don’t realize how much time you lose when you have to reference a list and then check it off to track your progress while driving in unfamiliar territory. I had a lot of trouble with the fact that I just wasn’t accustomed to the area my delivery route was placed in. I’m sure that with time this would have become like second nature but I never reached that point.

It became very evident after about three days of this that I wasn’t suited for this job, and I started to regret my decision to help out my buddy! Night after night I would creep through these neighborhoods looking for these houses with my bright headlights blaring and every dome-light in my car on, as well as my hazards blinking. To any passerby I probably looked as if I were completely insane, always looking down at my list crawling like a snail through some subdivision every once in a while tossing a paper out of my sunroof! LOL!

I think that in nine days of service I put nine years of wear on my transmission by always having to throw my car into park or reverse! This also started to become a concern for me because I started to worry about whether or not I was tearing my car up. I started to hate this job after the first night I was on my own, but I stuck with it until it started to become a monkey wrench in the gears of my already pre-existing life. I keep odd hours anyway and at first didn’t see it as being that big of a deal in the grand scheme of things seeing as though I’m usually up writing between the hours of now and quarter to never!

I was wrong and it started to affect my work as well my relationship with the woman that I was dating. So when it came to the point to which the woman who runs the business started to react irrationally towards the fact that I wasn’t the greatest paperboy in the world (between us I think I can live with myself! Ha-ha!) I was not heartbroken when she told me to not come back to work the next night following a horrible night of throwing papers. I thanked her for the opportunity to help. I apologized for my performance, and told her that I would contact her about being paid for the days that I did work. I then drove to my girlfriend’s house straight from there and was told by her that she didn’t want to tell me that she wished earlier that day that I wouldn’t do the paper gig anymore! I think that is hilarious, especially after I told her that I wished for the same thing!

I personally would not recommend this line of work to anyone. Not just because it’s a seven days a week job, but that you’ll most likely cut the life of your vehicle in half. But you might also either ruin a relationship with someone because of the scheduling or become a vampire which comes with a whole different set of challenges! LOL! I’m Mr. Positive and I got nothing but a negative vibe from the entire operation from the bottom to the top. Way too stressful for me! Like I said in the title, I think I’ll stick to playing ‘Paperboy’ the video game. At least I can just turn that off if I get mad!

It was only a few months back that I finally got a top quality ‘smartphone’ and let me tell you, learning how to navigate my new phone’s user interface by using nothing but a touch screen really put me through my paces. Hilariously enough I functioned for years with a simple bare bones ‘cellphone’ that had no video capabilities or any other features that would place it in the category of ‘smartphones’. My phones always never had more than a grammar school education.

I was extremely accustomed to doing all of my ‘cellphone’ duties with either the face of the phone’s keypad or a flip-out keyboard. So once I was faced with the task of performing everything required on a touch screen I soon found out that I was awful at it! It took me forever just to type a forty character text message and I started to not only get frustrated by my lack of expediency. But I was also starting to wish that I had purchased a model that had a keyboard option.

The phone that I settled on is an ‘Android’ based model that is made by LG. After a little time spent on trying to get a hang of the functionality of my new toy, I took my first trip to the ‘Android’ marketplace where thousands of applications are available at your disposal. Anything that you can think of, they most likely have an ‘app’ for it! You name it! Full sites like ‘Facebook’, ‘Twitter’, and ‘Youtube’, to personalization tools such as ‘wallpapers’, ‘ring tones’, and ‘horoscopes’. Me personally am “super geek supreme” so I went straight for the ‘games’ list!

I have a tendency to overdo things that I’m excited about so I downloaded like thirty ‘games’ just to get myself started! I had all seven panels on my phones palm sized desktop full of icons for all of the ‘games’ that I had downloaded, it was ridiculous! LOL! Strangely though I rapidly started to realize that my skills when pertaining to my phone’s operation were starting to get “really” sharp and accurate! What was it? Were the ‘games’ that I had been wasting so much time on teaching me how to use my phone better!?

In its purest form I conclude that the answer is yes, the games did train my finger placement and performance capabilities by using very basic principles mixed with interactive graphical presentations disguised as games that made the “training” for lack of a better term seem fun! A game like ‘Traffic Control’ is sweet for pulling and dragging icons. Whereas a game like ‘Fruit Slice’ will help with accuracy in navigating icons. The only thing I can say about ‘Angry Birds’ is that it’s like crack that you only have to buy once, it’s so addictive! I don’t believe that game taught me anything about how to use my phone, but it sure is a great time killer!

Once I conquered selections such as ‘Jewels’ and ‘Bubble Blast’ I quickly became an absolute ‘Jedi’ master of anything ‘smartphone’ oriented! The transformation from not being able to hardly type on the touch screen soon became a stealth mission of ninja like precision, and I haven’t looked back since. In all fairness I have scaled the games on my phone down to one, but I have to give credit where credit is due. I honestly believe that something as absurd as a video game enabled me to become more efficient on my ‘smartphone’! Nice! I support it!

My friend Jeff just emailed me a message telling me how upset he was that he was going to have to buy ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ trilogy yet again, so that he could have the “definitive” versions of the films. He went on and on to say that the new versions “really” didn’t offer anything different than what he had already previously bought in the past. I have to be perfectly honest with all of you in the fact that I too am guilty of this, and I have the same dislike for studios milking every last penny that they can out of a franchise.

I am what many might refer to as an “early” adopter of technology, especially when it comes to ‘movies’ and home theater viewing in particular. I’m the dude that had 600 ‘LaserDiscs’ before I was dragged kicking and screaming into the ‘DVD’ market. I gradually weaned myself off of ‘LaserDisc’ and fully committed to the ‘DVD’ format. I can’t lie and say that I wasn’t upset by the fact that I was going to have to buy all of the ‘movies’ that I had on ‘LaserDisc’ all over again to have the best quality versions of the films. (I must note that some ‘LaserDisc’ titles were in upwards of $100, and averaged about $35).

As with all cool things after a while something cooler comes along and improves on an already awesome idea. Now that we have ‘Blu-Ray’ discs and ‘3D HDTV’, it seems that I’m back in the same boat, being forced to yet again replace all of my ‘DVD’s'  with the better ‘hi-def’ versions of the ‘movies’ that I already own. Luckily for me I was a musician for years and I’ve sold everything that I’ve owned 7 times over to survive! LOL! I totally understand why Jeff is upset by this, and recently I have adopted a philosophy of waiting until an “unrated” or “director’s” cut of a film is released for sale.

I have to confess however that I have bought close to 6 different versions of ‘Blade Runner’ until they finally released the “final cut” ‘Blu-Ray’ set not too long ago. Another great point to make is that some types of ‘movies’ are edited to achieve a lower rating to attract wider audiences when released theatrically. ‘Horror’ and ‘action’ films can in many cases have more intense footage removed so when shown in theaters more people can buy tickets. So really we all might be better off waiting until the studios make up their minds as to what will be the “definitive” version of their ‘movies’.

By James R. Begley

I have been playing guitar since I was age thirteen. I have an older brother that has also served his time in the trenches of the music industry as an artist and a performer. Being three years older than me allowed him earlier opportunities to start playing with other musicians, thus creating afternoon jam sessions at our house. Personally I was always enthralled by the guitarist. I can’t put a finger on it but I can tell you that whenever they took a break I was always asking the guitarist to show me what he was doing.

My new obsession with guitars only escalated when the following year I would form my own band as the lead singer and would also provide me with my first gig experience. My band was called ‘KAOS’, I know it’s a lousy name but we were all in our mid teens! We did covers of ‘glam’ rock or whatever ‘hard’ rock or ‘heavy metal’ that our skills would allow us. The one thing though is that our lead guitarist was amazing! He already understood bending and phrasing and was nailing all of the solos in the songs we selected at age thirteen.

Just as stated earlier when my brother’s groups would jam, I was always asking our lead guitarist to show me how to play! After about three months or so around my fifteenth birthday I bought my first guitar. I wanted a ‘Charvel/Jackson’ strat style guitar but couldn’t afford it. My brother being so cool, took me to a local pawn shop and said that he was going to pawn his ring so as that I could get the ‘Charvel’ that I wanted! How awesome is that!?

Upon looking around the shop I soon discovered that there was an axe there that I could probably live with. I ended up getting a ‘B.C.Rich’ “Rich Bich” model that was hot pink! It had two humbuckers and a ‘Floyd Rose’ tremolo system on it that I had absolutely no idea how to operate, let alone change strings on! LOL! That was my first guitar and sadly I don’t have her anymore but I’ll never forget how I got her, and how my bro didn’t have to hock his ring!

The one constant that remains from that first guitar is that the strings that I chose to replace my old ones are the same gauge that I use to this very day, regardless of tuning. On a six string I use 10.-52. On a seven I would add a 56. as the low B string. Unfortunately it took me quite a few years to decide on a brand that would hold up to my heavy handed picking attack! I must note that I taught my self how to play rhythm guitar by hacking along to ‘Anthrax’, ‘Megadeth’, ‘Slayer’, and ‘Testament’ albums so I chug the low strings pretty hard!

Believe me guys after about twenty five years of playing and trying every brand of string made I have settled on what I will continue to use until they stop making them, ‘DR’ strings! I started using ‘DR’s in 1999 and I haven’t broken a single one of them in over nine hundred shows! They sound incredibly bright and crisp. If any player is like me that uses a very overdriven tone then you know how much fun it is to do “pinch”, “pick”, or “pig squeal” harmonics when playing.

Anyone who has ever enjoyed the playing of greats like ‘Dimebag’ or ‘Zakk Wylde’ knows how cool those sounds can be! ‘DR’ strings allow them to be performed with great ease due to their tight feel and response. They also last for good while and don’t seem to go dead like other brands that I’ve tried. To reference ‘Dimebag’ again he believed so heavily in the ‘DR’ brand that not only did he endorse them, but also towards the tragic end of his career he had his own line of ‘DR’ strings.

You can still get the ‘Dimebag’ ‘DR’ strings at most of your local music suppliers and as a matter of fact I have a set of them on my ‘Kramer’ “Frankenstein” guitar right now, and I just got done doing some heavy riffing! I can’t say enough good things about the ‘DR’ company but if you are unsure about what strings to buy or you’re looking to try something new than I would definitely pick up a set and give them a strum. They make all styles and gauges and will also make you custom gauge sets, so tell me how it gets any better!? I don’t think it does!

A few weeks ago I posted a video for a band that to me defines the word “technical” in the respects that in the context of the music that they compose leaves very little if any room for error. Soon after a friend of mine sent me a very clever comment about how the stuff that I was posting was the musical equivalent of doing math problems and that this type of music I was posting didn’t really contain or display that much “feeling” or “emotion”.

Ok, cool enough, that’s a fair assessment when dissecting the finer details of certain genres of music such as ‘progressive’, ‘tech’ or ‘math’ metal, as well as forms of ‘techno’, ‘industrial’, ‘House’ or even ‘hip-hop’. The reason being is that the music is very precise, if not perfect in many ways. ‘Techno’, ‘industrial’, and ‘hip-hop’ leaning more towards the perfection end due to it’s production duties being performed mostly by machines.(mistakes within the confines of these types of music are programmed mistakes.)

My friend went on to say what was my favorite comment that he made saying that “the only time I can think that math ever brought anybody to tears was during exam season in school!” LOL! I thought that was an awesome statement and it gave me quite a chuckle!  I suppose he was making the argument that anything over thought couldn’t possibly contain any kind of “passion” or “feeling”. Personally I don’t believe these types of musicians are over thinking anything.

I have another friend who is a graduate of the Guitar Institute Of Technology who voiced to me a similar opinion,  but in a much more aggressive manner. His time spent at ‘GIT’  gave him first hand experience into the world of “shred” guitar as well as  extremely disciplined theory, so he knows what he’s talking about. My own theory about his opinion is that he became disenchanted with the exacting precision involved with learning music theory in the spectrum of advanced guitar techniques. (No it’s not you Chance! …..inside joke)

He wouldn’t be the first. My example would be ‘Richie Kotzen’ who eventually developed a style that is very distanced from his ‘shredder’ beginnings as an artist on the legendary ‘Shrapnel’ guitar label that showcased all of the hot shot headhunters of the ‘shred’ movement from the mid 80’s through the mid 90’s. Richie now has adopted a more soulful and bluesy style where he sings far more than he displays his chops as a guitarist, but he does still rip it up so you never forget just how incredible of a player he is.

I adore the simplicity of other genres of music as much as the next guy and I have a deep appreciation for more “loose fit” types of groups that go more on vibe and mood to get their point across. I expect those types of performances from bands like that. I don’t anticipate hearing the songs the way they were recorded from these types of bands, and I enjoy them just as much as I do the bands that do sound just like their recordings.

Anyone who has ever been to a ‘Rush’, ‘Pink Floyd’, ‘Dream Theater’, ‘King Crimson’, or ‘Queensryche’ show will tell you that they sound exactly like they do on their albums, and their fans expect nothing less than that from them. My favorite example to further my analysis of whether or not the level of technical proficiency actually detracts from the emotional element of any type of music is ‘Steve Vai’.

I think that ‘Steve Vai’ is one of the greatest musicians alive because of his passion! If you ever get a chance to see this man perform do it because afterward I would love the opportunity to ask you whether or not you thought he was “feeling” his performance. Whereas the bulk of Mr. Vai’s work is on a technical level that is far above the normal abilities of the mortal guitarist. The one thing that is most notable about his compositions is that they are steeped in emotion and beautiful melodic passages. I think he just throws all the crazy techniques in there just to show everyone that he is capable of doing things that others simply aren’t.

And my last example that I have to prove that just because it’s difficult to play doesn’t mean the soul has been sucked out of it is ‘classical’ music. Arguably the most disciplined and exacting form of music ever conceived. I have heard and seen countless stories of orchestral players not getting jobs with certain philharmonics because they missed a single note in a piece that is to be performed. The world of the classically trained musician is pretty cutthroat and perfection is demanded. Some of these musicians do come off as slightly robotic, but when your next job relies on you being spot-on you may find yourself becoming a little mechanical as well.

The reason I bring up classical is that when these pieces were composed all those years ago, they were the emotional extensions of how those composers were trained, if they were trained at all. To further solidify my thoughts on why just because the music is perfect, doesn’t mean that it’s soulless, are how many people I know that are incredibly moved by classical music. It affects them in both the happiest and saddest of ways. I agree somewhat that a single note can be more effective than a thousand, but what about a thousand notes as effective as the one note in question? When I do the math on that problem I like the solution!

If you give me the choice of a thousand notes as powerful as your one note I’m going to take the thousand. Not because I’m greedy, but because I just prefer it that way. Technical proficiency is very important to my enjoyment of music, but it is not a prerequisite. I love all music but I’m more impressed by the players that you can tell spent a tremendous amount of time getting very good at their craft. I just feel like they worked a little harder for it, and that it meant more to them that they were great at what they do. My hope is that music never goes away in any form! Just think of how awful our world would be without it!

Advents in communication technology are an amazing thing when it comes to developing more efficient ways for us to obtain information. Being a journalist it is imperative for me to stay abreast of all the current events in the world of entertainment and pop culture. Just recently a former business partner of mine suggested that I create a ‘Twitter’ account for my self.

Knowing very little about ‘Twitter’ other than its existence I decided to go ahead and check it out before I started “tweeting” my self. I soon found out that it was kind of exactly what I was looking for when it came to wondering what everybody was talking about. Once I created my account I went about the task of compiling the list of people that I was going to start “following”.

This posed a more daunting effort than expected! Once I realized just how many people out there have ‘Twitter’ accounts I then knew how long it was going to take to get my “follow” list up to snuff! I cover three primary areas of entertainment, those being ‘movies’, ‘music’, and ‘MMA’. There are literally thousands of people that make up these three industries, and trying to keep up with them is basically impossible.

So there in lies the challenge of narrowing your list down but at the same time not cutting yourself out of possible information that may come from an unlikely source. Think about it like this. For every musician, movie star, athlete, or to just say celebrity there are hundreds, if not thousands of fans out there “tweeting” and “re-tweeting” everything they say! It’s overwhelming and very hard to follow.

Once I got the hang of it I was able to access a bevy of informational tidbits that became extremely useful as a tool for what I do for a living, which is invaluable to a journalist. I can now follow directly and in many cases send direct messages back and forth with industry professionals as well as insiders that enables me to provide the most accurate details of whatever topic that I may be writing about. I think ‘Twitter’ is awesome and I have since linked my ‘Twitter’ account to my ‘Facebook’ page so I don’t have to spend time on both sites at different times! Wonderful!

If you are at all interested in what your favorite celebrity has to say, or what they are currently involved in, then ‘Twitter’ is definitely worth checking out! The best thing about ‘Twitter’ as well as the worst thing is that nobody seems to be able to keep their mouth shut for an extended period of time, thus creating a tidal wave of information about everything and nothing at all! If you are one of those people out there that spend a lot of time surfing the net then I would fully endorse ‘Twitter’ as a great place to spend some free moments.

Just last August I purchased my first new car. I must first start off by saying that I am not a big “car” guy in the fact that I know that the larger vertically placed rectangular pedal on the right makes your go fast, and the horizontal pedal just left of it makes you stop. LOL! All joking aside I’m not that unknowledgeable about automobiles, but you won’t find “The Fast and the Furious” movies in my collection either. I can’t tell you specifications but I know what I like.

I went to a dealership that was referred to me by my father because they had on their lot the type of car that I was looking for. Ever since I saw the remake of the movie “The Italian Job” I have since then dreamed of owning a ‘Mini-Cooper’. That is why I visited this particular dealership because they had a ‘Mini’ in a color scheme that I also find desirable, black and silver. Needless to say I went straight for the car and waved down the nearest salesman to get me some keys so I could tear through the city and decide on whether I would buy it or not.

My wish was granted and I got my test drive. I liked it, but wasn’t blown away by what I expected after seeing Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, and Marky Wahlberg rip it up in the final chase sequences in “The Italian Job”! Being slightly disappointed but not rejecting the idea of purchase, the salesman then directed me to another car. The car he showed me was the car that I ended up getting instead of the ‘Mini-Cooper’. That automobile was the Mazda3 S. it was the four door hatchback model with the “trick-shift” manual/automatic transmission and more accessories than Paris Hilton at a premiere! All it took was about a half of a mile to realize that the thing just rocked, handled better than a forklift and oh yeah, it was black!

I immediately had him draw up the paperwork and I drove her home that night and kept her until Sunday the 1^st of May for which I totaled the car being  involved in a head on collision at the speed of fifty mph plus! Thankfully nobody involved in the accident was seriously injured in any way. Having no previous knowledge of the safety specifications of my automobile, I was simply amazed at the amount damage that was inflicted on my car with me being able to literally walk straight out of the car no more than three seconds after impact with only a scrape on my left knee and right arm!

The amount of debris and glass was a sight to behold! It broke my right front rim in half, and threw the bearings out of it fifty feet! I was totally coherent for the entire experience and I have to give credit where credit is due. The Mazda3 saved my life! The airbags were deployed where they needed to and it also seemed that the amount of damage to the other car seemed to be lessened by how the car absorbed the impact. Although the other automobile seemed to deflect off of my car and slide another hundred feet or so, the two men inside the other car involved were also able to get straight out of the wreckage and get to the side of the road to safety in a matter of seconds.

Being a twisted journalist I immediately called 911 from my phone that also survived the crash (thank you LG!), and then of course I posted on Facebook right after I got off of the phone with the dispatch operator. I know I’m sick right? LOL! But after hearing the opinions expressed by the emergency staff as well as the police officers that arrived on the scene, (who did a great job I might add).  I as a survivor realized just how lucky we were. I heard at least a dozen stories in an hour’s time about how many of these same types of crashes don’t end up well.

I would have to say that after the experience it has left me relatively shaken and a little weary about driving again. But I will say that if, or when I do decide to purchase another automobile in the future, I believe that Mazda is going to be at the top of my list. Not just because they make sharp, incredibly responsive cars, but also because they are “safe” and now that I’ve been in a major accident, safety is going to be my primary concern when I consider buying another new car.

There seems to be divided camps in the ‘MMA’ world concerning Steven Seagal’s recent appearances and involvement with two of the most popular fighters in the ‘UFC’. Current Middleweight champion and pound-for-pound best fighter nominee Anderson Silva, as well as his ‘Black House’ gym teammate and training partner Lyoto Machida. Both have been quoted as saying that Seagal has been an integral part to their recent success. With two appearances resulting in first round knockouts with similar techniques, this has posed a lot of questions throughout the ‘MMA’ industry.

Is this a gimmick!? Is this a publicity stunt for Seagal to rejuvenate his career? Or is this a genuine relationship developed with a foundation in traditional martial arts? Could it be that these fighters are actually learning something from someone outside of the “known” business so to speak? I don’t have the answers, but I might have a couple of interesting theories! First I “do” know for sure that Steven Seagal “is” the real deal when it comes to his knowledge of the art of ‘Aikido’.

He is recognized worldwide for his numerous achievements in the martial arts world long before his association with Hollywood or the ‘movie’ business. Seagal is a legitimate seventh-Dan black belt in the ‘Aikido’ form and was the first foreigner to operate a dojo in Japan. The same year that he debuted as a ‘movie’ star with the action film ‘Above the Law’ he was also awarded the ‘Black Belt Magazine’ Instructor of the Year award for his teaching credentials.

So which is it, fraud or fact? I’m not sure yet, but judging from the research that I’ve done on Silva and Machida, I’m starting to think the latter! Anderson and Lyoto already have a reputation for being “true” martial artists that walk the way of the traditional creators of their respective arts, especially Machida whose own father is a legend in the martial arts community. Whether there was to be ‘MMA’ or not Lyoto was destined to be a martial artist from birth.

I’m starting to think that there is some validity to all of this hype, and being a martial artist myself who was training pretty heavy during the time Seagal started making ‘movies’, there is a small part of me that wants to think the most fantastic of possibilities that this could bring to the overall entertainment value of ‘MMA’. Let’s be honest with ourselves as fans. Do we not want ‘MMA’ to become the biggest sport in the world or do we want it to become just another fad that died out like Steven Seagal type ‘movies’ did back in the mid 90’s!?

I’m pretty sure that this recent activity will not start a trend of other ‘Kung Fu’, ‘Karate’, or ‘Action’ style ‘movie’ stars showing up at events as anything more than spectators. But I can’t say that this hasn’t been a lot of fun to talk about over the last few days either! I have had the most fun by reading the comments by those that don’t know that Steven Seagal actually “can” kick some serious ass! There have been so many people trashing him not knowing that he is legitimate.

He might be showing these warriors a different way of approaching the fight, or any number of things that most fighters forget to use when in combat. I hope that it is the case because Anderson Silva is my favorite fighter and if Seagal can keep him from getting beat I’m all for it! LOL!

Everybody knows how much of a ‘film’ nerd that I am! Anyone who has ever entered into a conversation with me involving ‘movies’ knows that I will go on for days about details that to the laymen may seem like insignificant, worthless knowledge, and perhaps may come off as a little snobbish. This is many cases is true. But I like to refer to myself as being a ‘film’ purist that only looks at whether or not a ‘film’ contains what is the only thing that “really” matters, entertainment value. I don;t care how you get me there during a movie going experience, I just want the ‘filmmakers’ to get me there. That place where I forget about everything that’s going on in the world except for what I’m watching on the screen.

‘Special FX’ makeup has always fascinated me. The way the artists create ‘monsters’, ‘aliens’,  realistic ‘violence’, and ‘aging’ I think is amazing! That leads me to our topic for this piece. Ever vigilant in trying to stay on the cutting edge of entertainment I recently started following a series on the ‘SyFy’ network called ‘Face Off’. The show hosts a competition between ‘special FX’ makeup artists that compete against one another to have their work judged by very respected and critically acclaimed industry professionals. The participants hope to not only win $100,000 and a year’s worth of makeup supplies, but to also gain the attention of ‘filmmakers’ looking for the next artist to push the envelope even further than it is now.

Personally I found just the mere concept of this show made it a “must” see! Needless to say the show didn’t disappoint! The artists were put through a series of “what if” scenarios that would not only test their creative skills, but also their adaptability to certain situations that arise on a ‘film’ set when doing things “by the book” aren’t an option. This lead to an eventual “cream rising to the top”, in that the winner showed the he/her was able to handle the strains of “running with the big dogs”, for lack of a better term! Of course with all “reality” based entertainment, the ‘drama’ factor was severely emphasized, creating unnecessary cliffhangers and other staple traits that plague “reality” shows.

This show though I found to be very refreshing and original compared to some of the programs that we are subjected to on what seems like a constant basis. It was nice to see a show that focused on an extremely creative field that usually doesn’t get a lot of exposure. So let me ask you what your favorite ‘special FX’ makeup job that you have seen in the ‘movies’ is!? ‘Dinosaurs’ in ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘zombies’ in ‘Dawn of the Dead’, Boris Karloff and Lon Chaney’s self applied makeup work!? Wow! If you start going through how many ‘movies’ there are that totally rely on the craft of ‘special FX’ makeup it will make your head spin! But in a good way!

The other day my friend Britney and I were having a pretty awesome discussion about different styles of ‘metal’ ‘music’ when she dropped a ‘mental’ deuce on me! LOL! She asked me whether or not there was a connection between all types of ‘mental’ and ‘physical’ ‘abuse’, and the ‘aggressive’ and ‘emotional’ outpouring contained in the ‘lyrical’ content of heavier types of ‘music’? Wow Britney! That’s a really great question! And after pondering this for a few days I decided to sit down and throw out a few words about what I think about the subject.

Personally I think she’s right on the money, and the fact that she was able to come to the assumption that most of the musicians that write music within the realm of ‘metal’ may have possibly experienced a certain level of either ‘mental’ or ‘physical’ ‘abuse’. Whether it was ‘psychological’, ‘emotional’, or ‘sexual’ in nature. Only further solidifies the fact that if the artists are indeed releasing their anger, despair, longing, torment, and frustrations by channeling their negative energy into ‘music’. Then it’s rather apparent that she is picking up what they are laying down.

I can tell you from my own experience that when I was writing ‘music’ and ‘lyrics’ for the ‘metal’ band that I was in, I recalled painful memories from my past to try and get that ‘aggressive’ vibe thing happening that is essential to ‘metal’ music. I, like a lot of kids that grew up in my generation come from a broken home Thus creating ‘insecurities’, ‘co-dependency’, and ‘abandonment’ issues. I have also had a multitude of failed relationships that gave me plenty of fuel for my songs! Of course my own personal experiences lean more toward the ‘emotional’ end of the spectrum, so I can’t really comment on the ‘physical’ or ‘sexual’ aspect of abuse, and nor will I.

But to be quite honest with you I’m actually pretty inspired by the fact that these artists are able to create something positive out of something so horribly negative. About a week ago I posted a video onto ‘Facebook’ of the band ‘Chimaira’ playing one of their songs called “Pure Hatred”. A female friend of mine then sent me an email about how she wasn’t an ‘angry’ person, and that she didn’t get all of the screaming and ‘aggression’. I then went on to explain to her that I thought that it was better that they were writing ‘music’ about hating everything as opposed to going out and letting their ‘anger’ spill out into society. I think after that explanation she started to look at the genre a little differently.

Stories of ‘abuse’ in all forms surround a plethora of mainstream bands. It might be publicity to attract fans that share similar experiences, or maybe it’s the truth and that’s why the ‘music’ is so powerful. Either way ‘metal’ is the one genre of ‘music’ that doesn’t judge it’s fans, or ask them to be something that they’re not. When we all grow up there is that age in which we develop the taste of ‘music’ that will most likely be our favorite kind of ‘music’ for life. It’s usually between the ages of  twelve and fifteen. For me that wasn’t too long after my parents got divorced so that’s probably why I adopted ‘metal’ as “my” ‘music’. It was loud, fast, and ‘angry’, and for some reason it just spoke to me.

My palette has expanded over the years, but no matter what I always drift back to ultra saturated, over the top, and super ‘aggressive’ sound of heavy ‘music’! To me there is something medicinal about the sound of an over driven guitar just chunkin’ along to a steady but incredibly powerful drum pattern. For me that’s “zen” it calms me down as opposed to hyping me up. My friend Britney told me the same thing the other day when she said, “when I’m in a bad mood I listen to ‘metal’ because it makes me feel better”. Great point! And what a fascinating topic! I believe her theory to be sound, and would love to hear what you readers out there think! Pretty interesting isn’t it?

Recently I caught myself making a  statement that I thought I would never hear myself say. I actually said “I don’t think that I can live without my ‘cellphone’!”. These are words that should be completely foreign to me considering that if you were to have even mentioned the word ‘cellphone’ to me 20 years ago I would have looked at you like you told me that you had just seen ‘Elvis’! ‘Cellphones’ have “really” only been standard for a little over 10 years now, but the way that they have connected all ‘media’ to our immediate attention is something worth taking a look back at, so we can see  how far ‘connectivity’ has come in a relatively short amount of time, as well as list some of the primitive precursors to ‘cellphones’.

I grew up like many other kids in a smaller town outside of a larger one during the 70′s and 80′s, where basically we as neighbors all hung out with the other children that lived in our vicinity. So in other words if I told my mother that I was going to be at Michael’s house and she called and I wasn’t there, that most likely meant that either I wasn’t there, or we weren’t answering the phone. My point being is that we didn’t have ‘cellphones’ with ‘caller ID’, ‘text messaging’, ‘GPS’, ‘Facebook’, or even ‘voicemail’ at that time! The closest thing we had were ‘answering machines’ during the 80′s, and really some of the only people that had them were our “rich” friends! LOL! (the same “rich” friends that had ‘Atari’ before our families could afford it! LOL!).

It wasn’t until the latter half of the 80′s when we first started seeing small glimpses of what could be possible in the world of ‘wireless’ connectivity. I remember that my late grandmother who was a ‘realtor’ had just gotten not only a ‘beeper’ but also a ‘carphone’, and I thought that was just about the coolest thing that I had ever seen up to that point! Now she could reach more clients and close more deals. Brilliant! That was probably my first exposure to ‘high-end’ electronics and what not. The type of connectivity that we posses nowadays is really quite incredible by comparison.

If we look at the technology that we control presently its almost creepy at the ability that we have to  keep track of, and stay connected to nearly anything that we desire. Be it our children, spouses, or friends it’s now extremely easy to obtain information on whatever it is that you’re looking for. The other day I saw what looked to be an eight-year-old girl ‘tweeting’ on an ‘iPhone’! This blew me away! Not just because she was so young, but because she was manipulating the device with the same level of skill that ‘Steve Vai’ displays on the guitar! Lol! And another thing was that ‘iPhones’ are expensive and my parents would have never bought me a $300 ‘phone’ when I was eight!

Think about it though! Do you remember the first ‘mobile phones’? You know the ones that looked like the ‘walkie-talkies’ in ‘Saving Private Ryan’! I do and they were hilarious and cats thought they were “ballin’”! Now I have an ‘Android ‘phone that looks more wicked than something in ‘Total Recall’!  It’s really quite amazing the things these types of ‘smartphones’ can do. Obviously I’m a journalist and having the ability to research on the fly separate from my ‘laptop’ is invaluable! There are so many different ‘apps’ out there that can really simplify and make your life more efficient. My only fear is maybe we are getting a little too connected with leads to overly possessive social behavior. But I don’t write about those types of topics. What do you guys think about our modern day connectivity and ‘cellphones’? Love em’ or leave em’? Personally like I stated at the start of this piece “I can’t live without my ‘cellphone’!

I don’t think that I am the only one aware of the fact that this is the first time since the seventies that selling a million albums is considered a big deal. I would like to take a look back at the last 15 years of mainstream music production, and see if there are any clues as to why this has become the present state of the music industry. I may have to go back further than 15 years to find some examples of what started this evolution or de-evolution depending on how perceive the business as of late. Image may be a good place to start.

Back in the 60’s and 70’s when consumers would flock to their local record stores to buy the next big thing, the albums that were purchased a lot of the times didn’t even contain a photo of said band. That in itself, I think gave the fans of that time something that has been lost in music for quite some time, and that would be mystery. Not knowing what a group looks like immediately erases any prejudice one might have by looking at a cd cover and dismissing an artist because of their image, and in some cases it may actually enhance the listening experience not knowing what an artist’s appearance is. Even a marketing machine such as KISS, arguably the kings of self promotion, and visual entertainment toyed around with their fans knowing that information about the group at the time of their rise to super stardom wasn’t as readily available as it is now.

Information now is unavoidable, and in many cases the image of a performer is well known before you hear the first note. That wasn’t the case back then, and as with any business there comes a time when profits become way more important than the products themselves, and the need to produce more, as well as make more money begins to take precedent over whether or not the product is off any quality. The advent of MTV could also have played a part in how the industry has changed also. When music videos became all the rage in the early 80’s, MTV as well as the major record labels were scrambling to get their artists on the infant network. I remember when MTV first aired. The video selection was so slim that you saw the same 40 videos essentially on a loop, also there no commercials either, just videos 24 hours a day!

With this came a tsunami of content from all over, but mainly from Europe where television programs that featured musical acts were far more common than they were here in the states. What also came with this was an influx of different styles exhibited by these mostly unknown acts. New wave pop, punk, rock, synth groups, and classic well established artists trying to get in on the new fad! Once the music video became an integral part in groups reaching wider audiences, image became priority. Now everyone could see what the bands looked like and could put faces with names, as well as pick favorite members. This was a revelation for some, and a curse for others. It wasn’t too long after MTV became a standard that record labels began signing acts based on their looks as opposed to their material or talent.

This I believe is the start of a trend that leads to a theory I developed that explains why there aren’t as many albums being sold in the music industry as of late. If you just look back at the rollercoaster trends of the music business starting from 1995 to 2010 you may be amazed at how much money was spent, made, and lost in those 15 years. Even if you were to just go back 5 years you would see that there were acts that were selling in excess of 10 million copies of a single album. That presently seems like an almost unreachable feat.

The downloading of music and radio can also very easily thrown into the mix for reasons for this. Sites such as Napster, Limewire, and Itunes just to name a few have allowed consumers to buffet style there music choices without shelling out 15 bucks + for an entire album that they might not like. I agree with this to an extent. I may be different than most, but when an artist that I’m interested in releases new material, I want to hear everything they have to offer.

Radio in conjunction with downloading sites and MTV can also be viewed as an ingredient to the current plight. When the radio plays a new song from an artist and promotes it heavily as a hit it caters more to the singles market than anything, which is great for mainstream acts, but not so much for groups that aren’t known for writing popular styles of songs. Radio in some cases tells the listener without saying it, that there are only “these” songs worth listening to on the album. There’s also a lot of money being thrown at the radio stations by the labels for prime rotation and promotion of song as well.

At the beginning of the decade around 2000 there was so much money being made that some labels were buying the first million copies or so of their own albums so they could claim in the press that the release shipped platinum! But by the time 2010 rolled around those are just fond memories. I believe that in the wake of this, labels have taken on a philosophy of marketing products instead of artists. With shows like American Idol, which creates a guaranteed fan base and record sales, discoveries from Youtube, and countless other examples have shown that fewer chances are being taken. This I believe could start a cycle of diminished quality. I understand the reasons why fewer risks taken. The economy is bad, and people have a lot less money to spend on things such as records. That being said I do still have concerns about the future of the business. Has it become style over substance? It’s something ponder.

I remember like it was yesterday. It was 1993 and I was nursing an injury sustained from kickboxing training. Feeling blue and getting lazy I was contacted by a martial artist friend of mine that he and a few others were planning to take a trip to Denver, Colorado to see what was pitched to me as a “real life” Bloodsport, using the title from the 1987 Jean Claude Van Damme film of the same name as a term for what was expected. Of course being a fan of the film’s concept and some of the fight sequences I jumped at the chance to go with them and check this out.

What we did see changed not only my outlook on the martial arts as a whole, but also started a now 14 year love affair with what is now an international sensation, Mixed Martial Arts. The event I’m referring to is the now legendary, as well as hugely successful, first Ultimate Fighting Championship, or UFC as it’s more widely known. This is an experience that I will certainly never forget, not only because of it’s unique nature, but because also it showed me that I didn’t know half as much as I thought I did.

You see there was this fighter there that some of you may have heard of by now, Royce Gracie. A smaller man that fought in a traditional style jiu jitsu gi, that didn’t exactly cut an intimidating presence, and not only looked as if he was about to take a nap, but that he was also going to get thrown around the cage! Boy we couldn’t have been more wrong! Mr. Gracie not only won the tournament, but didn’t seem to sustain any damage at all. It was a sight to behold seeing all of these very dangerous men submitting to the chokes and locks that were displayed by Royce.

My eyes were opened wide to the fact that these gentlemen with loads of experience in the fighting arts were looking kind of helpless against the Brazilian jiu jitsu philosophy. I had never seen someone end a fight without really punching or kicking someone. I mean I knew what jiu jitsu was, I’m familiar with judo, and a few other grappling principles, but I came from the martial arts movie kind of training. Lots of kicks and punches never really considering the fact that almost every fight ends up on the ground. LOL! That is what was so incredible about what we witnessed that night. It changed the way the world looked at the martial arts, not just me. Jiu jitsu had made its debut, and it was undeniable!

From that first tournament though posed an interesting challenge for the then fledgling company that had a very hard time trying to convince the public that this more than 2 guys fighting like pit bulls in a cage. That was indeed the beginnings of what is now the fastest growing sport in the world! A lot has changed since the first UFC. One example is the addition of regulated rules. The first tournaments rules were slim to none. I believe they were no biting, no fish hooking, no eye gouging, and that was about it! The rules now are fairly stringent in comparison.

Another example would be the creation of weight classes. Anybody other than me remember 170lb. Royce Gracie Fighting 235lb. Ken Shamrock, 265lb. Dan Severn, or 245lb. Kimo! Wow! You don’t see freak shows like that anymore outside of Japan! These changes were necessary for the sport to progress, as well as gain acceptance of a larger fan base.

In the 90’s when the sport was still trying to get a foot hold in the sports marketplace it ran into countless obstacles trying legitimize itself as a valid alternative to traditional sports. Congressmen, senators, mothers, and various protest groups tried hard to discredit and derail the sport from gaining any further exposure, even going as far as to attempt the banning of events entirely. It worked for a good amount of time, but the foundation had already been laid, and it was only a matter of time before MMA as we now know it would explode!

Before Mr. Dana White took over as president of the UFC the company was in serious financial trouble, and was looking for a buyer. White, a then known boxing promoter that had made his move to managing MMA fighters saw this as an opportunity to take the UFC label to the next level. For the price of 2 million dollars White was able to purchase the company through an investment deal with Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta, casino owners in Las Vegas.

White then requested an additional investment of 40 million dollars from the brothers to take the franchise to the next level. With financial backing White was able to set in course a series of excellent business decisions, most notably the creation of the Ultimate Fighter reality show that gives fighters a chance at a lucrative contract with the company, but also gives fans a chance to see the personalities of the fighters, giving them an opportunity to see who they want to root for. Strategies as such combined with the rule revisions and gained acceptance from state licensing commissions has led the UFC to the top of the mixed martial arts heap in less than 10 years time.

The sport is fairly inescapable now even for non fans. Whereas this type of fighting has been very popular outside of the U.S., mainly in Japan, Brazil, and some European countries, it has just within the last 5 years become one of the most popular spectator sports in the United States. This has created a frenzy amongst different fight promotions in that everybody wants a piece of the pie now. Franchises other than the UFC are now commonplace and are all touting their fighters as the best in the world. Companies such as Strikeforce, Dream, Sengoku Raiden, Bellator, MFC, Titan, and Shark Fights just to name a few are all trying to get to where the UFC is today, which is light years from its humble beginnings. MMA is now a multi-billion dollar business with clothing and equipment companies, video games, sold out events, and training facilities popping up in every small town across the country. Yes folks the human cock fight is now a sport and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. It’s makes you think!

Seeing some the recent trailers for films that will be included in this summer’s blockbuster season, the fact that I’ve always been a sucker the big budget, huge explosion, incredible visuals, grand scale, popcorn selling event type movies becomes more and more prominent. This I think can easily be attributed to the fact that I grew in the era of when this type of filmmaking “really” started. The first and arguably the best example of this would be the original Star Wars film.  I was six years old when released in theaters in 1977, and I believe that this was the beginnings of the term I used earlier, the event film. Nothing like Star Wars had been done before to such a degree.

The FX we’re a first for most filmgoers. Only a handful of films prior to Star Wars experimented with the notion of attempting never before seen visual effects. 2001: a space odyssey comes to mind first, but with the debut of Star Wars it also created an appetite for this type of movie, and it seemed the industry would forever be changed. Patrons ate it up, and now every studio in Hollywood was somehow looking to see if they couldn’t create the same kind of magic that George Lucas was able to. The bar was set for all to measure up to, and what followed was, and is still to this day a never ending game of “mine’s bigger than yours!”

Budgets expanded, innovations in FX technology were daily, sequels to hits started becoming standard, and fans just couldn’t seem to get enough! I could write an entire article on significant post Star Wars event films (and I will! Lol!), but what has taken me so long to get to in this piece is that I do have a few questions. Has the FX bar been set too high? Have we as people become jaded or spoiled by the advances in visual FX technology?   And in this economy is there enough money in Hollywood to keep up with what I consider the movie that has taken these kinds of movies to new heights. I’m referring to James Cameron’s epic Avatar.

Released in the latter half of 2009, Avatar set new unimagined precedents in filmmaking history. Not just because it’s the highest grossing film of all time, but because the amount of money that was spent on production, and the insane attention to detail that was displayed onscreen. This wasn’t your typical computer generated animation film like say the one’s produced by Pixar and Dreamworks to just name a couple of examples. By using radical advancements in effects technology Mr. Cameron was able to produce a finished product that on a technical level was light years ahead of anything that’s ever been done before. Having said that I now pose the question as to whether or not it was “too” good! Avatar’s production budget was rumored to be approximately 237 million dollars (after marketing and promotion the amount is estimated at close to 500 million dollars), which is far above the average of 88 million for most major studio offerings.

This is an obscene amount of money to spend on production, but most would argue that you get what you pay for! Just a couple of tidbits to put this into perspective would be that The Lord of the rings trilogy had a combined budget of 285 million dollars, only 50 million more than Avatar’s budget to produce three complete films that also received numerous accolades for its visuals. Another and probably my favorite is The Hurt Locker, which directed by James Cameron’s ex wife Kathryn Bigelow was shot for an estimated budget of 11 million dollars, and went on to not only defeat Avatar at the academy awards, but also became the lowest grossing film in history to ever win the Oscar for best picture. Wow!

Getting back to my point is that ever since I saw Avatar and how breathtaking the movie was visually. I now can’t help but think that most everything that follows may not quite measure up. I have all the faith in the world that producers and directors are going to give their best shot, but one of the reasons Cameron was able to pull this off was because he already had the highest grossing film of all time pre production of Avatar, this of course being Titanic.

With that much power and financial backing he was able to distance himself away from the pack, and now that Avatar has eclipsed 2.5 billion dollars in worldwide ticket sales, he may have put himself in an unreachable position. Franchises will still draw their fans, remakes of previously successful films will continue to be made, and now that the game has changed, bigger just isn’t big enough! I really hope that there are enough financial resources left to give the rest of the business an opportunity to try and release the next jaw dropper! With trailers for films such as Battle: Los Angeles, Thor, the final Harry Potter film, Cowboys and Aliens, and many others, it seems that no one is backing down from the challenge set forth by Avatar. Good luck to all in Hollywood! I will be rooting for you, and look forward with great interest to your next offerings! It’s something to think about.

As a former conservative-turned-libertarian I feel especially qualified to broach this topic. It is important though to understand the modern day vocabulary prior to proceeding. To put into the most simple of terms there is left liberal, right conservative, libertarian, and authoritarian statist. This is best illustrated by a political diagram entitled “the Nolan Chart”. Thinking in terms of a one-dimensional political “spectrum” is over simplification whereas a two-dimensional plane in the shape of a diamond most accurately represents today’s political ideologies. There is of course left and right, but there is also north and south; north being libertarian and south being statism /authoritarianism. This makes it glaringly obvious that both liberals and conservatives can be advocates for big government and both liberals and conservatives can also be advocates for limited government. Liberty or libertarianism is the opposite of statist authoritarianism. Liberals tend to want to impose economic governmental intervention whereas conservatives tend to want to impose moral or governmental intervention on personal behavior. As stated in an overly used cliché “liberals want the government out of your bedroom, while conservatives want the government out of your boardroom”.

An image of this can be found here:
http://libertarianmajority.wdfiles.com/local–files/platform-portal/NolanChart.png

To learn where you stand take the short free quiz (it takes just under a minute):
http://www.theadvocates.org/quiz

What is interesting is that an increasing number of individuals are libertarians or are at least beginning to identify themselves as such. And a great deal of the voting population openly declares libertarian tendencies regardless of what they actually label themselves. In other words most people are a lot more libertarian than they think they are.  A study produced by the Cato Institute notes that in 2006 13% of the entire electorate in the US can be broadly defined as libertarian. In 1999 this number was closer to 9% showing positive growth. The study itself can be found here: http://cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6715

While individuals who are libertarian have much in common with both conservatives and liberals, the best current electoral strategy is for strategic alliances to be formed with conservatives under the umbrella of the Republican Party. If successful, this will provide the quickest path to electoral victory.

Fortunately the issues that divide the conservatives and libertarians are largely irrelevant in most modern day elections, especially on the local level. While I will personally never support someone who seeks to increase the size or scope of government, I have no reservations working side-by-side with them to advance the cause of liberty and limited government if our paths should so temporarily align. In fact at this juncture I believe it is the only chance for electoral success in the next several election cycles.

So what do real conservatives and real libertarians agree upon? Well fiscal matters first off. Governmental spending should be greatly reduced and in fact minimized which would of course allow taxes to follow the same downward direction. Secondly regulation stifles business and economic activity not to mention that it is the antithesis of freedom. Conservatives and libertarians agree that the Republican Party, to their own peril, has left both groups out in the cold. For most local elections these 3 points of agreement are enough to hold a coalition of conservatives and libertarians together as a formidable force against left liberals and big-government/establishment Republicans.

Libertarians and conservatives need each other. Libertarians are what is known as “politically homeless” particularly in the modern day political culture*. And conservatives are often used by big-government Republicans in order to gain power and then quickly neutralized by the establishment once that power is attained (note the GOP history of 1996-2006).

This can be changed and is in fact being changed at this very moment. Many local Republican Parties will be holding their elections in the next 7 months which offers the perfect opportunity for conservatives and libertarians to gain influence within the GOP. The time for the tea party and liberty movements to coalesce is now so that seats can be won on local Republican Executive Committees. I believe this is the only chance both libertarians and conservatives have of preventing a political dejavu of Republican big-government shenanigans witnessed over the last 15 years.

Think of the Republican Party as a giant oceangoing cargo ship. On the bridge where the ship is being steered are a very few but very strong individuals at the helm. The ship is headed in the wrong direction for various reasons, one of which being that the individuals at the helm are deviating course due to their own personal agenda. The liberty movement and tea partiers are the workers on the ship who know that the ship is heading the wrong way but feel very powerless to stop it. But the workers can come together, rush the bridge, and because they have greater numbers than the few already there, begin to take control of the helm and turn the ship ever so slowly in the correct direction. It will not be a fast process, in fact it will be long and tedious. However the Republican Party can indeed be sent in the right direction if the correct individuals are able to work together take the helm.

*A common point of confusion is that of the Libertarian Party and the libertarian philosophy. Individuals who are a member of the LP are labeled as Libertarians while those who are simply advocates of liberty and less government are labeled as libertarians. One can be a libertarian without being in the Libertarian Party just as one can be a conservative and not be in the Conservative Party.

Article by: Matt Collins