BJJ Blue Belt

I would like to announce something very, very exciting. Last night, I got my Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt.

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Blue Belt

I put in a good eleven months to get this belt and as my instructor said last night, I have only missed one class…and that was because of a BJJ tournament. I have also been going in for privates most weeks.

Even though I only have just under a year’s worth of training, I do feel strong about what I can accomplish on the mat. I usually find a way out of some hairy situations and quite often end up turning things into a . Plus, I have the rest of my life to continue training, so it’s only going to get better from here.

I love this stuff. I really do.

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Danny Glover and Felix Justice At Eastern Connecticut University

Hey, guess what we did Tuesday night. No, we didn’t sit in the basement and watch Lost. The rest of the world was watching Lost, but we weren’t. Good thing we saw it on the internet Wednesday evening because I would have been upset if I really missed it.

Instead of watching Lost, we went over to University (EastConn? – do they call it that?) to see Danny Glover and Felix Justice give a performance called “An Evening with Martin & Langston.” I will admit that it was very good.

Here is a pretty decent description I found at GTN:

“An Evening with Martin & Langston” draws audiences inside the worlds of two of the greatest orators of the 20th century: Martin Luther King, Jr., and Langston Hughes. The evening begins with Justice`s critically acclaimed portrayal of Dr. King; through the words of his most memorable speeches, Justice transforms into the legendary civil-rights leader, recreating the power of the man and his message. Justice then introduces “an old friend of mine I think you may have heard of,” and Glover enters the stage to bring to life the words and . Accompanied by readings of his work, Glover portrays one of the great American writers in modern history.

Following their respective performances, Justice joins Glover on stage for a question-and-answer session to complete an evening that is memorable, heart-felt and not to be missed. To quote The Los Angeles Times: “The entire program turned out to be all about dreams…”

I am going to be very honest here. While the performance was very moving, I didn’t hear it all that well. We kind of sat towards the back and I am hard of hearing at times. My better half apparently heard everything just fine. I am sure she could recite much of it word for word.

I did feel a little guilty just smiling and nodding my head when we discussed the performance later on that evening. It’s not easy to put on that type of charade for as long as I did. I was kind of like, “Yeah, I think so too.” and “Absolutely, that part was great.” Then I would quickly change the subject to something more along the lines of Jiu Jitsu. That usually does the trick.

I hope she doesn’t read this. I am in for a beatdown if she does.

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NAGA Mr. Armbar T-Shirt

After class last night, my man Mersh came up to me and handed me something. He said, “The minute I saw this at the tournament, I knew it had your name written all over it.”

Hmmm…I wondered what it was. When I got in the car, I opened the bag and unrolled the shirt. It said, “’s Mr. Armbar – With A Slight Bend In The Elbow.” How awesome is that? Of course, now I feel like I owe it to him to throw in a few more armbars here and there.

Thanks Mersh!!!

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Back To The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

Ahhh, Sunday. What a fine day for a return visit to the up in , CT. Again, this little trip was “suggested,” but I’m not complaining. Me complain? I don’t think so.

I don’t want to make a long post out of this. All I really want to show you is a really neat painting that I haven’t see before. It’s called:

Interior of a Picture with the of Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga
Artist: Giovanni Paolo Panini
(Italian, 1691-1765)
1740

Interior of a Picture Gallery with the Collection of Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga

Interior of a Picture with the of Cardinal Silvio Valenti Gonzaga

It was a really great painting to look at. I have always said that I enjoy really detailed art as opposed to paintings that look like someone just splattered different colors of paint at a canvas. I don’t know art, so I am not going to attempt a name for that type. All I know is that I like stuff that takes time to do.

You really should see this painting up close. It’s interesting how someone is so capable at doing something so complex. I wouldn’t be able to copy one small item in this painting, even if I traced it. How is that? How are people’s brains to different from one another? Who knows.

Anyway, enjoy the painting and you really should take a trip to this museum. It’s a great place and they do a nice job with their collections.

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Mersh At NAGA New England Grappling Championship

Okay, here are some pictures and videos of who we like to call, “Mersh.” This nickname has become a necessity because his first name is quite popular these days.

Mersh fought in two categories, “Men’s NO-GI Executive Novice” and “Mens GI Executive White Belt Middle Weight.” These are basically two beginner level categories. divides people up by their skill level, weight and age.

Way to go Mersh!!!

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Buying Bare Root Norway Spruce Transplants

Well folks, it’s that time of year again. The time of year that I start thinking about Spring.

I know I have explained my obsession with trees in the past. It’s not such a bad obsession to have I guess. I mean, I am trees and that’s good for the air. It’s good for a bunch of other things too.

This year, I decided that adding a little green to the would be nice. I am getting a little tired of looking at all the boring brown of the deciduous trees we have. There are tons of them and sprinkling some evergreens around would really make me smile.

I have been looking at places to buy bare root evergreens online for a while. In the past, I got all my trees from , but they are getting a little pricey and the trees are really small. I knew there were some better alternatives out there.

After going back and forth between two websites, I settled on NurseryMan.com. Why? I don’t know…I like the guy. Also, he includes shipping and all that right in the price. I hate being nickeled and dimed with shipping fees.

Evergreen trees - Screenshot courtesy of NurseryMan.com

Evergreen trees - Screenshot courtesy of NurseryMan.com

I got 100 for $190. That’s not bad considering they are not those tiny little 6 inch seedlings. They are a few years old and between 10 and 16 inches tall. They actually seem larger in his instructional tree videos. Check them out here. Also, just look at those fields. I would be in heaven if I ran that place. I think I would go out and pet all those trees every day.

so, you might be asking yourself, “What in the world are you going to do with 100 you crazy fool?” Well, 100 trees may seem like a lot, but I am sure I can find places to put them. Also, we are sitting on over 4 acres here, so any extras can find homes in the woods. I won’t have any extras though.

Okay, see ya in the Spring.

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2010 New England Grappling Championship – Twin River Casino, Rhode Island

So today was the day we went to the New England Jiu Jitsu tournament run by (North American Grappling Association). It definitely had the potential to be a very long day. The guys who were competing had to weigh in at 8AM. They could do that or could have weighed in last night. One of our guys stayed at a hotel last night and took advantage of option two. Our other guy woke up wicked early this morning and took care of business then. That was a little early for us and since we really didn’t have to be there for that, my lady and I arrived a bit after 11.

On a side note, my lady is apparently now an avid Jiu Jitsu fan. She has suggested that I compete. I suggested that I don’t. I recollect the days of me trying to climb the tennis ladder and I would prefer to keep any competition related obsessions at bay. As I explained this evening, once I know I am going to go up against someone in a competitive environment, I lose all track of life. I would rather stay focused on work and keep this sort of thing on a more casual level. Although, I will say that as I watched all the other matches this afternoon, I had an insane urge to jump in there and roll around. So with that, I will not completely rule out getting into something like this in the future. I’m the “morning of” kind of guy.

Awesome day – When we got there, the place was packed. I mean packed. I was a little surprised because this was my first tournament. People kept saying that once the kids left, the place would clear out. It didn’t. Actually, I think more people showed up.

We watched our guy Chris compete once with no gi and once with gi. We were also there for our guy Pete to compete no gi. They both did great. I was proud that they got out there and did this. You should have seen us with the camera and on the sidelines watching. There was so much adrenaline running through my body, I was shaking. I’m not sure who was more nervous, them or me.

Here are a few pics from the event. They are basically just crowd shots, but they are pretty good. Tomorrow, I am going to upload some real photos and some video.

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NAGA New England Grappling Championship

How exciting is this? Straight from the site…

“On Saturday, February 6, 2010, brings the world’s largest grappling tournaments back to New England for its New England Grappling . This tournament is open to all grappling styles, you do not need to be on a team or be a member of any organization to compete. The event will take place in the Casino’s spectacular 26,000 sq. foot Grand Ballroom. 14 competition rings will be running at once. This event is nationally ranked.”

Well, two of our guys decided that this was their chance to compete. I guess it was just a matter of time. We do really well at our school and the next step in evolution is generally to see how we do against other guys out there in the world. Me? I don’t think so. I really think I would do pretty damn good, but I just don’t have that thing that drives these guys to do this. I am having fun exactly how things are going. I know myself. If I lose, I will be so mad for so long. If I win, I’ll go totally overboard and train like a psycho. Let’s just leave good enough alone.

Even though I will not be competing next weekend, I will be attending the tournament to help out the guys. I know it’s a big deal for them and they can use all the moral support they can get. It’s nice for them to know a few of us are there. There will also be some guys from a couple other schools we know. It’ll be fun to hang out with them too.

Here’s a video of a tournament at this casino in Rhode Island (I believe):

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Wrestler’s Sit Out From Turtle Position

I know the “turtle position” sounds a bit weird, but it’s extremely helpful when you are on the ground and in a jam. Basically, try to get on your stomach and curl up like a ball. There are a few things you can do from there if you are fast enough. Being in the turtle position is not someplace to sit and hang out. There are a ton of submissions available against someone in the turtle position for someone who is skilled enough and who is proficient at floating around on your back.

I usually end up in turtle position when I get out of north/south or after being taken down at the start of a match. Also, a lot of times I just end up there. It’s really a defensive position.

So, when you get there, what do you do?

Well, there are a few things. One, you can roll to your side and try to get the other guy in your guard. After that, it’s up to you. What I have been having better luck with lately is using the wrestler’s sit out. It’s a “burst” like move and works really well when the other guy isn’t expecting it. Even when he knows is coming, it’s a tough one to stop.

Here is a video:

As you can see, it’s pretty sweet once you get used to it. I used it a few times during this morning’s class and loved the effect. I actually ended up on top of my opponent and he ended up in the turtle position. Nice.

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Good Bye Air America

Weirdest thing. I was going through my broken links with the plugin I use for WordPress this evening and I came across a broken link entitled, “Air America.” I was like, “WHHAAAAAT???”

I clicked on the link and was brought to a page with this text as the first paragraph:

It is with the greatest regret, on behalf of our Board, that we must announce that Air America Media is ceasing its live programming operations as of this afternoon, and that the Company will file soon under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code to carry out an orderly winding-down of the business.”

Okay, I’ll admit that I haven’t listened to Air America in about a year, but still, they had some good programs. I enjoyed Rachel Maddow and Ron Reagan.

While I do have some hurt feelings about this closure, I am a bit disappointed in the management. In typical media style, this is how the third paragraph from the bottom was worded:

So we intend a rapid, orderly closure over the next few days. All current employees will be paid through today, January 21. A will be offered tomorrow to full-time current employees with more than six months of tenure.”

I am wondering if this is how the employees were informed that they no longer had jobs.

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