WD SYNDICATE DAMES Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Once upon a time this site did photoshoots with hot gals. At the time the site was still under construction (not much has changed) and we had no place to post said pictures. I was cleaning out my hard drive and thought, "Hey, why not just post them in the Riot Act for now?" So without further delay, here are some of the Syndicate's finest....
AMANDA Amanda was the winner of the Syndicate's first (and only) model search contest on Myspace. Out of 10 potential dames, Amanda won via landslide. Occasionally you can catch Amanda writing album reviews in the Riot Act section.
JAMIE DANIELS Jamie is an old friend who made it big in the foot fetish industry (www.jamiedaniels.com). Hey if toes are your thing then she's your gal. But for those of us who appreciate all the other female parts...
NICOLA OLIVIA We met Nicola at a SNAPM' UP event. Only she could strike up a conversation while getting her ta-ta's slathered in body paint. See some of her more risque shoots at BURNING ANGEL! (photo by Tarilyn Quinn)
JEN LEE DOLL I met Jen at a tattoo convention down in Pennsylvania. Jen has a knack for making custom clothing including denim, halter tops and more. She's a nut but in a good way. Her and her entourage came to my aid when a group of bikers wanted to beat the shit out of me for "accidentally" spiking a beach ball towards their leader...
MMA vs. BOXING Friday, July 31, 2009
I've been getting into these debates a lot lately so I figured why not blog about it on the site, maybe even get some feedback from the readers. So here I am, about to give you ten reasons why MMA will surpass boxing, if it hasn't already, in the next decade. I wouldn't even be surprised if boxing disappears altogether. The boxing elite know this change of the guard is coming. So here is my argument:
1. Quick. Name the boxing heavyweight champion of the world. More than likely the sound you'll be hearing after you pose that question will resemble the sound of a packed movie theater at a Woody Allen marathon. Crickets ladies and gents, crickets. I approached 10 avid sports fans and asked the same question and got several different answers. The correct answer? I'm reluctant to take a guess and say it is, WladimirKitschko. But to be honest, I can't say for 100%. All the resources i have checked out also gave me a bunch of different answers. Which leads us to....
2. What's with all the acronyms?!?! The reason why its pretty much impossible to name the heavyweight champion is simple. There is no clear cut, undisputed, heavyweight champion. Reason being that their are 5 different organizations which put on fights, each with the ability to have their own champion. The idea of unifying all these titles hasn't been done since Roy Jones Jr. (I could be wrong on this too) and even his status as undisputed light heavyweight champion was, well, disputed.
Here is a list of all the boxing organizations: WBA (World Boxing Association), WBC (World Boxing Council), IBF (International Boxing Federation), WBO (World Boxing Organization), IBO (International Boxing Organization). That's a lot for a fan to swallow ain't it? True, MMA is starting to go through a similar, but highly less confusing ordeal with more and more organizations starting up. UFC being the most noteworthy, followed by WEC, Affliction and Strikeforce. And each organization has its own champions so having a "unified" or "undisputed" champion in a weight class will probably never happen.
3. There's no Don King! In my opinion shameless promoters hold a large share of the blame for boxing's downfall. Bouts are set up with nothing but the payout in mind. There is no pride or dignity in the sport anymore. Its not surprising to see so-called "champions" fighting absolute no-names so long as the purse is right. What the UFC did in this area was brilliant. They sign fighters to short term contracts, not in years, but in the amount of fights. No sleazeball promoters! In each fight you can received bonuses. Put on the best Fight of TheNight? That might get you an extra 5-10 grand! As seen in UFC 100, Dan Henderson cashed in with Knockout of the Night honors and raked in a six figure salary. Its obvious that when the cash goes to the best performer, the crowd always gets a better show. Performance based salaries...what a great idea hey Mr. King?
4. MMA has a larger talent pool than boxing ever will! You tell me how many high schools have boxing teams or clubs in them? I know in my area (NYC) there aren't many if any. Now tell me how many high schools have wrestling teams? Fact is wrestling is a large part of MMA. But wrestlers have no where to turn to after their high school and collegient careers run their paths. Some of the top wrestlers in the country (and world) have turned to MMA as a means to go somewhat "professional". UFC veteran and former PRIDE champion, Dan "Hendo" Henderson was an Olympic wrestler. Current UFC welterweight champion, Georges St. Pierre is a highly skilled Canadian wrestler. Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling is right behind college football and basketball. I wonder where boxing ranks amongst them? *check out The Mat: The Official Website of USA Wrestling 5. Yes, MMA IS barbaric! And that's the beauty of it! Jump in a fucking time machine to the days of Jack Dempsey and I'm willing to bet the masses were against Dempsey's, sometimes bareknuckled brawling! How is MMA any different? Its new as compared to boxing, but pitting man against man in a ring, cage, arena has been entertainment for centuries, and that will never change. 6. MMA is physically and mentally more demanding than boxing. There I said it. Even though UFC CEO, Dana White usually dances around this question, you know he wants to say it. MMA athletes can outlast any boxer. Period. I'm not taking anything away from the athleticism of today's boxers but come on now. There are so many aspects to train for an MMA fight. Plain and simple, MMA is a simulated street fight, boxing is just a small part of that formula. The argument that boxers endure 12 rounds of fight while MMA combatants usually go for only 3-5 rounds is null and void. Boxing bouts that I have seen recently get stopped for some nonsense reason and leave both corners arguing who really won the fight.
7. How many boxing matches end in some sort of bullshit decision? I've been watching the fights (boxing) lately on Showtime. And in one night there were 4 fights. ALL of which ended in a decision or a questionable stoppage. There were no clear cut winners in any of the matches. It left me thinking, "Wow. I just wasted my time watching this crap!" Its clear that the judges in boxing have no clue how to judge a fight. I don't know what fight they are watching half the time. With the judges inability to properly score a bout, and the ineptitude of the referees its amazing fights even make it past the second round these days. Does it happen in MMA? Sure. But no where close to the frequency of boxing.
8. Boxing is corrupt. We all know it. I don't even think I should have to argue this point any further. Check out ESPN's article on the top ten questionable bouts ever. Those are just ten! The article also sheds some light on how exactly a boxing match is scored.
9. The old timers just don't get it. MMA is confusing for someone say my father's age (60) who grew up watching boxing legends such as Rocky Marciano, Muhammed Ali, Joe Frazier, and Roberto Duran. Its a simple, sweet, science. Two guys in a ring and they punch each other till one blacks out or it goes the distance and some mystery judges decide their fate. Watching UFC 98 with my dad, it was hysterical to see him bitch and moan about two guys "hugging all over each other". But once explained, he started to understand that each move in JiuJitsu has a specific and deliberate purpose. I even got him looking into the Gracie history of the sport. Unlike my pops however, some old-timers (if he reads this he's gonna kill me for referring to him as that) just refuse to try and understand MMA.
10. Boxing has a legacy...for now. In the above clip, Joe Rogan makes a brilliant comment about today's boxing heroes. Quite simply there aren't any. The "greats" that will always be remembered are the heroes our parents tell us about. There will be no more Muhammad Alis. There will be no more Sugar Ray Leonards. Hell there won't even be anymore circus sideshow acts such as Mike Tyson! Will there be "legends" so to speak in the MMA world? The UFC has a Hall of Fame. The Gracie name is almost religiously spoken of when conversing with todaysMMA greats. The fact is only time will tell and MMA has all the time in the world and boxing is on life support.
Dana White & Co. outdid themselves with this card. The UFC, in my opinion, is doing everything correctly when it comes to marketing and pushing their product. And don't kid yourselves, it is, and always has been a product. But hell, its probably the most true sport out there right now. To watch a UFC event these days can probably be compared to watching a boxing match circa 1920. Before it was untouched and tainted by promoters, bookies and Don King. I digress. The night of fights included notables Dan Henderson Vs. Michael Bisping, Thiago Alves Vs. Georges St. Pierre, and the main event, heavyweight title bout, Frank Mir Vs. Brock Lesnar. As Bruce Buffer says.... IT'S TIIIIIIME!!!!!!
ALAN BELCHER Vs. YOSHIHIRO AKIYAMA
Belcher has the most horrendous Johnny Cash tattoo on his left bicep. Looks more like a bloated Homer Simpson doing an Elvis impression. Akiyama is apparantly the Japanese David Hasselhoff.
GDeViL's Scorecard: Round 1: 10-10 draw Round 2: 10-9 Belcher Round 3: 10-9 Akiyama GDeViL's Final Score: 29-29 for the draw Realtime Score: Akiyama by Split decision.
Some people will say Belcher was robbed but Akiyama scored a knockdown at the end of Round 3 that probably pushed him over the edge for the split. Either way it was too close for me to call it.
JON FITCH Vs. PAULO THIAGO
Jon Fitch is one of the UFC's original badasses. I'm hoping he gets another shot at GSP for teh title eventually. Thiago seems to be an up and coming beast.
Round 1: 10-10 Draw Round 2: 10-8 Fitch Round 3: 10-8 Fitch Winner by Unanimous Decision Jon Fitch
Realtime Scorecard: Jon Fitch by Unanimous Decision
DAN HENDERSON vs. MICHAEL BISPING
This is what I paid $44.95 for. Both fighters were coaches in this past season of TUF. Henderson leading Team USA while Bisping lead his countrymen of Brits, Team UK. Suffice to say Team UK pretty much made the bickering Americans look like patsies, so the only one left to save face was Dan Henderson when he takes on Bisping at UFC 100. If you saw the season you saw how Henderson is a really laid back, quiet guy while Bisping is a shit-talking limey. The season ended with Bisping talking his usual smack and Henderson calling Bisping a "douchebag" and having a need to shut his mouth up. Game on.
Round 1
Henderson stalks Bisping from the start of the round. Its clear that Bisping is adopting a stick and move mentality while Hendo is looking for the homerun shot. With :45 left Bisping has a bloddy nose. Clinch game up against the fence where Hendo feels right at home laying on some knees to The Count's midsection. Bisping breaks free of the clinch and attempts to shoot on Hendo. Hendo laughs and ends the round with a strong right.
GDeViL's scorecard: 10-8 Henderson
Round 2
Round opens and both fighters looking to keep it a standup duel. At 3:50 Hendo lands a strong right. Bisping keeps his feet but keeps circling to his left (Hendo's right) which proves not to be such a good idea. Henderson faints a left leg kick followed by a HUUUUGE right which sends Bisping to Howyadoin Land. Henderson adds insult to injury by landing an even bigger right after Bisping went down. Totally legal as the ref didn't make any gesture to indicate fight was over. Total highlight reel material.
Henderson by Knockout
The setting was spectacular. I love anytime a shit-talking punk gets his mouth shut by a crafty veteran. Its gonna take a lot for Bisping to overcome this loss. He was so cocky and arrogant going into this fight and I just don't see him having any humility. I mean he was obliterated by that punch. Seeing him in a daze asking, "What happened?" really put a smile on my face and hearing Dan Henderson say "I think I finally shut his mouth up" was icing on the cake.
WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
GEORGEST. PIERRE vs. THIAGO ALVES
GSP enters wearing his usual gi and gay-ass spandex underwear. I'm going on record saying GSP is more than likely a gay man. A gay man who can kick my ass, as well as probably most of the earth's population. I also think his "life's partner" is his coach, Greg Jackson. I'm just talking here. But if you heard his inspirational chatter to GSP between rounds, you couldn't help but just feel uncomfortable. Alves enters wearing Brazilian colored board shorts and paces back and forth during the introductions like a mental patient just out of the asylum.
Round 1
Opening jabs and leg kicks traded. GSP scores easy one leg takedown at 3:50. GSP delivers some ground and pound before Alves escapes to standing using sheer power. GSP goes for another takedown but Alves stuffs it. Alves charges in with some fierce Muay Thai kicks, GSP counters with a takedown. Alves again uses brute force to get to standup but suffers cut to right eye to close the round.
GDeViL's Scorecard: 10-9 Georges St. Pierre
Round 2
Alves trying to land some bombs. Both fighters seem a bit hesitant. GSP making great use of the Superman Punch to leg kick combo. GSP scores another takedown seeminly at will. On the ground GSP mauls Alves and almost achieves the mount. Alves bleeding badly from nose due to an elbow or two...or three. GSP is able to maintain great control from teh top position. Alves finally makes great escape to standing with :23 left.
GDeViL's Scorecard: 10-8 Georges St. Pierre
Round 3
Alves scores a good left hook, stuffs another takedown attempt. Lands some decent kicks before GSP takes him down to the ground again. Alves explodes to standing with no dmagae taken by either fighter. Alves lands a good right hand at 1:10. At :40 Alves gets knocked down by GSP. Ground and pound by GSP. Alves holds on and recovers by end of the round.
GDeViL's Scorecard: 10-9 Georges St. Pierre
Round 4
Alves face is welted up pretty badly at this point. GSP explodes to a leg shoot to takedown. Maintains half guard, passes to mount. Looking for an arm triangle. Alves scrambles and achieves top position in full guard, delivers some ground and pound. GSP makes some good defensive moves and escapes to standing. That's teh first time I've seen GSP on his back in a while, maybe even ever but Alves delivered littel to no damage. Leg kick Alves, takedown GSP. Alves gives up back, GSP attempts rear naked choke. Alves survives round.
GDeViL's Scorecard: 10-9 Georges St. Pierre *GSP states that he has a pulled groin in his corner.
Round 5
Alves strikes first with good leg kick. GSP answers with a shoot takedown. Alves escapes to standing again using pure strength. Both fighters trade some strikes. GSP shoots agin for a takedown. Alves escapes to standing (see the pattern?). GSP shoots again for another take down and maintains half guard till the bell.
GDeViL's Scorecard: 10-9 Georges St. Pierre GDeViL's Final Score: 50-44 George St. Pierre.
Real Time Decision: Georges St. Pierre by Unanimous Decision
Seriously? Can anyone stop GSP? After the fight he made some hints that he would bump up to middleweight and take on Anderson Silva. When you think about it, there really is nothing left for him to do but that.
MAIN EVENTHEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
FRANK MIR Vs. BROCK LESNAR Referee: Herb Dean
Frank Mir enters to Kanye West wearing Echo Unltd. t-shirt. A hemotoma is noticeable on his right temple, sustained in training. Left leg is very taped up. Brock enters to Enter Sandman (yawn...can someone say "Jock"?) wearing his usual Deathclutch t-shirt.
Round 1
Brock immedscores a takedown and lands into halfguard. Both fighters seem very patient on the ground. Brock fires some short, stout rights which cut Mir on the bridge of his nose. Mir still very patient but receiving lots of damage while on the bottom from Brock's continuous right hands. GDeViL'S sCORECARD: 10-8 Lesnar
Round 2
Mir lands a great knee but falls on his back. Surpisingly Brock lets him up. I was getting teh feeling that Brock was just going to lay on top of Mir for five rounds if it lasted that long. Mir gets up lands some big knees to Brock and attempts a flying armbar. Attempt stuffed by Brock and lands on top into halfguard. Pushes Mir up againts fence and obtains wrist control over one of Mir's hands. Brock lands a big power right into the face of Mir. Mir is dazed and Brock goes for the kill with more vicious right hands before Herb Dean stops the fight.
Winner by Knockout (TKO) Brock Lesnar
Brock celebrates by giving the middle finger to the crowd and spitting all over the fence and camera during a closeup. Frank Mir's face looks like a Sicillain style pizza pie, bloated and red. In my opinion there is no one strong enough to deal with Lesnar in his division. I can't stand teh way he fights though and I'm definitely not a fan of his antics. Any fatty can just lay on top of someone and pound away with those ridicuous looking short punches. He just looks so uncoordinated. Is he good for MMA? Its a matter of opinion I guess. He brings his WWE persona to the UFC and that could be potentially hazardous for a sport which many still claim to be a joke.
PRO vs. CON: WHO THE HELL IS LORDI ANYWAY? Monday, March 9, 2009PRO from a Pro
Ok so last week I'mwatchintv and I'mwatchin this show about Black Metal. They were talking about how some Norwegian metal bands were allegedly burning churches and turning their backs on Christianity, but that's not what I'm here writing about...but it did get me in a very metal mood. So fast forward a few days when I was hanging in the basement from hell with 'The Gut" and I was telling him about this metal mood I have been in since watching a bunch of Nordic motherfuckers burn shit and he brought me to a web site with this band called Lordi. I was like "What the fuck its this shit?!"( if I'm late to the party about this band.... FUCK YOU ALL! I was listening to Venom when you were still swimming in your daddy's sack!) They were all made up with these fuckin costumes as if they were out of some B-rated monster movie. We ended up finding their video and listened to their one cdThe Arockalype. Dude if you like old school metal like Accept, Manowar, Armored Saint, get this fuckincd! Dude I thought I was in high school again! They even have UdoDirkschneider, Jay Jay French and Dee Snider doing some guest appearances throughout the album. The music has catchie choruses, like Hard Rock Hallelujah, Bringing Back the Balls to Rock, and more. They seem like Gwar but without the politics. So if you're looking for some old school metal like you used to listen to back in the day pick this cd up.
~THE GUY ON THE WALL
CONfrom a CON
My esteemed friend, The Guy On The Wall, can not be wrong enough when it comes to the rubber enveloped ripoffs known as Lordi. I mean really. Really? Seriously? These guys have about as much to do with Black Metal as I do... and I can put on a mean Black Metal outfit for Halloween. So here's my take on these fakes. Yes, they sound like a good throwback, viking metal band. But lose the costumes fellas. If you haven't noticed, its been done before. And done with waaaaay more creativity than these wannabes. Yes. I am speaking of the alien beings who have conquered and enslaved Earth nIne times over...GWAR!!! Not only are GWAR a brilliant sideshow circus act, but they are a damned talented trash metal band to boot. Lordi may sound old school, but do they behead the likes of Osama Bin Laden, both president Bushs' and Paris Hilton? Does the singer of Lordi have an alien penis which sings soprano? Better yet, how many feature films have these dopplegangers made? ZERO! Gwar have starred in numerous entertaining films such as Phallus in Wonderland and Rendezvous With Ragnarock, both are pretty much Oscar material. I couldn't even tell you how many albums these sick puppies have put out at this point, but the two best are Scumdogs of the Universe and Violence Has Arrived. Classics in their own right by all means.
TWO FROM THE VAULT: AS FRIENDS RUST vs. THE LUNACHICKS Tuesday, March 3, 2009
AS FRIENDS RUST
Here we go again (no not the Shelter song) I’m trying my hand at reviewing again. This time it’s not an album, it’s a band. That band is As Friends Rust. Besides winning an award for having one of the best band names ever, they were actually pretty damn good.
I don’t feel like getting into the whole, who, what, where etc of the band but I will say they are from Gainesville, Florida. Vocalist, Damien Moyal you might remember him from such great bands such as Culture, Morning Again and oh let's not forget Shai Hulud for a short period after AFR. If you don’t know any of those other bands you should go check em out. To start out with I love the songs on 6 song EP. Especially Half Friend Town and Like Strings. Oh and their cover of the Circle JerksOperation is great. The whole cd is fast and full of heartfelt lyrics. Damien’s voice has a great smooth aggression to it.
Their next album, Won is a great sophopmore effort which shows off AFR's maturity. The music is still fast but has great melodic breakdowns. Opening with a song like We On Some Next Level Shit is a great start. In a smart way it pokes fun at the kids that are always telling you what’s best for you. As far as great auto-biographical lyrics, Fourteen Or So has it nailed down. This song is fast and just filled with honesty. Laughing Out Loud probably has the best and most disturbing opening lyrics, “sometimes I’d like to know the insides of my wrist”. This song has great melodic/screaming, back and forth vocals. There’s just a great feeling of acceptance and fed up in this one song. The music echoes the lyrics perfectly. The record takes a darker slower turn. But it holds up. It’s not one of those records that your all amped on for the first 5 songs and than you have it on and it’s over and you didn’t even realize it. Ten ends the album perfectly.
Last record I’ll sum up is A Young Trophy Band in the Parlance of Our Times. Ok granted the title is kinda ehhh. The songs also gained wordy titles but their word play titles so it works. For example “more than just music, it’s a hairstyle”, wordy wise ass title and great song. It’s slower but still strong. A lot of it I believe has to do with Damien’s voice and lyrics. It maintained the honest and angst. The music also raised it’s levels. The rest of the band has a great way of mirroring the feelings in the lyrics, or vice versa. There is only six songs on the cd, so it does go pretty fast even though the songs are slower. Especially with a 46 second sorta ballad. And well than there’s the last song, Where The Wild Things Were. This is another one of Damien’s auto-bio songs. It basically picks up from where he left off. It starts fast than leads into a great breakdown and than picks back up. You start to understand his issues a little and his acceptance of himself with them.
If you ask me, if you like bands like Avail or even the Bouncing Souls, you’ll probably like As Friends Rust. The sincerity in each note and lyric is astounding.
The year was 1994. I, along with Chris and some other of our friends made the trip into the city to see a great lineup at Irving Plaza. The Offspring may have been the headliners (don't laugh, back then, they weren't all about the pop and were actually a great act to see) but the real show-stealers in my book were a band called The Lunachicks.
As soon as they took the stage I'll have to admit I fell in love. There stood Theo Kogan, lead singer of The Lunachicks, decked out like a barbie doll on speed, grilled with tattoos, towering above all who gazed upon her. Sigh.... my heart and groin still remember that night, because it was the first time I saw an all female band actually kick some ass. Theo is one of the best front-person I have ever seen perform. She was the whole package. Gorgeous, talented and hysterical. Yes, to see a Lunachicks show and not laugh is pretty much unheard of. I was a fan from the moment she answered a heckler who yelled out "Show us your tits!" with a belly bursting belch from hell. I tell ya, a small part of me died when I heard she got hitched to Toilet Boys guitarist, Sean Pierce. (And let's not forget Gina Volpe, guitarist...she was friggen hot as well!)
The band formed in 1987 according to their bio. I got hooked on them when they released Binge & Purge in 1992. That album in my opinion showcases The Lunachicks at their most raw. Tracks such as Apathetic, Superstrong and This Is Serious are the top tracks and were all show-closers even in more recent years. The best way to describe The Lunachicks were by no means, redefining music in any way. They were all about having fun and kicking ass. But they did it in a way that empowered females but never shunned away the fellas.
One can find great tracks on all of their records. I kind of lost touch with them when they released Pretty Ugly, but Binge and Purge, Jerk of All Trades and Luxury Problem will always have a home in my iPod. As will any tattoo mags with Gina and Theo in them...double sigh...
(Since calling a hiatus in 2000, members of the band have went in various directions. Theo has been heading Theo and the Skyscrapers while landing various acting jobs. Gina Volpe is vocalist for the power trio, Bantam, who happen to be pretty damn kickass. Squid was, or is a tattooist in NYC someplace.)
AND NOW THE NEWS...2/19/2009 Wednesday, February 18, 2009
ITS NO HORSE SHIT!
After 82 years, the Model T is set to replace the horse - again.
A city lawmaker wants to phase out controversial buggy-pulling horses and replace them with eco-friendly electric replicas of vintage Model T Fords.
The proposal - which has been pitched by animal-rights activists for months - has been taken up by Councilman Daniel Garodnick (D-Manhattan), who is hoping to put it before the City Council this spring.
"We have been exploring the idea that would essentially create a substitute for the horses," said a source close to Garodnick.
Its about fucking time. I'm not a super animal rights activist or anything but have you ever walked passed a Central Park horse and buggy? Or better yet actually been victim to a horse and buggy ride? The smell of horse shit permeates throughout. Its enough to make you want to vomit. How romantic can a buggy ride be when it smells like your significant other bathed in shit for hours prior? I say good move going to the old Model T. Alas, I'm sure some fuckwad liberal cunt will be protesting about the ozone next however. Ya gotta love this city.
JEW NOT GONNA BELIEVE THIS
A Hasidic Jew indicted on shocking kiddie-porn and child-rape charges claims he's too religious to even look at the grotesque photographic evidence against him.
The 23-year-old Rockland County man is due in a Manhattan court today to seek bail. If convicted, he could go to jail for as many years as he's lived.
Prosecutors say David Silverman and two buddies - both now fugitives in Israel - used MySpace to lure three girls, ages 14 and 15, from their Westchester County homes to nightclub-style porn set near the Javits Center in March 2007.
Once there, the men allegedly plied the girls with alcohol and filmed the resulting orgy.
"The worst part is, we have no idea if these pictures - and there's video, too - are still out there," one source said
Raised in a Hasidic family upstate, Silverman left home in his teens, shaved his hair, tattooed his body, pierced both ears multiple times, and joined the sex- and drug-drenched rave and trance music scene.
The girls knew him only as David or his online names, "DJ Rings" and "King Dingling." By the time cops found him, his two friends had fled the country, the illegal "dance club" on 34th Street had been dismantled, and his computer's hard drive was wiped clean.
Or so Silverman thought.
Three days into jury selection last month, prosecutors resurrected a series of triple-X photos implicating Silverman and his two alleged accomplices.
Silverman has insisted he never touched the girls.
On the strength of the new evidence, Silverman, who had returned to the Hasidic lifestyle and moved to Spring Valley, was tossed into jail in lieu of $50,000 bail on charges of child pornography and statutory rape.
Now, he is refusing to discuss anything to do with the charges or look at the evidence "for religious reasons," says his lawyer, Israel Fried.
"He was 21 at the time, and the girls were 14, 15, but did not represent themselves as such," Fried claimed.
Isn't it funny how religion an come in handy when the shit hits the fan? Get caught playing patty cake with a few underage teenagers and all of a sudden Yahweh is your savior once again. If this story is true let's hope "King Dingaling" gets his bells rung while in C-Block by a guy named "Bubba". As if I didn't hate the rave and trance scene enough...
A-ROID PHENOM
You'd have to be deaf, Dumb and blind not to hear any of the bullshit, New York Yankee all-star, Alex Rodriguez has been spewing about his past steroid use. When the story first hit, his reply was ,
"Well to be honest, I'm not sure what I was really putting into my body."
I smell cop out. Alex. Here's some advice. Admit you shot yourself full of GH or whatever teh hell it was, admit it wasm a mistake, admit it was to gain an advantage and to keep your edge, and I would have more respect for you. But alas, what does the dipshit do? He holds a press conference, of which was televised on virtually EVERY major news channel. In this press conference one can see how nervous Mr. Rodriguez was. Look how many times he goes for a drink of water!!!! And he STILL does not admit the truth. Instead he, his agent, and teh Yankee public relations team concoct this story in which he and his un-named cousin tried taking steroid. "To be honest, I'm not even sure we were doing them correctly."
Boli!? I'm no doctor but common sense tells me that "boli" may be short for "anaBOLIC"? Just maybe? And what's with that long, drawn out, over-exaggerated pause when he goes to address his teammates? SOOO SCRIPTED!!! Must have been taking acting lessons from that talentless hag, Madonna.
To be honest??? In my experience, anyone leading off with "To be honest" is anything but! I have officially given up on baseball and maybe even sports in general. Fact of the matter is its a new age, sports and science go hand in hand and athletes will do anything to gain an edge, to be that much better, to make that much more money. I blame teh fan for allowing such nonsense such as million dollar signing bonuses to enter into professional sports. These guys forget what exactly they are doing for a living here. They are PLAYING a game that more than likely we have all played at some point in our lives. And at some point we decided these guys should make millions in order to give us a little excitement. Priorities America. Priorities.
NO MORE MONKEY BUSINESS!!!
A chimpanzee, considered a fixture in the north Stamford community, turned into a monster on Monday afternoon, attacking a 55-year-old woman after she showed up at the home of the animal's owner, at 241 Rockrimmon Road.
"He bit both of her hands off and the cop told me he just kept eating her. It's terrible," said Lynne Mecca, a friend of the victim.
The 200-pound animal was a celebrity in Stamford. It appeared in TV commercials. People would stop to take photos with "Travis the chimp" as he was called.
But that all changed when it attacked Charla Nash, a friend of the animal's owner.
Ok. I know some woman is in critical, hell she may have even died by now. But I have to say this. You mess with the bull you get the horns. Or in this case, you mess with the chimp, you get your face ripped off. Seriously, is ANYONE out there shocked by this? A random pitbull attack is one thing. But when you mix anti-depressants, wine and a 200 lb chimpanzee your just playing with fire. My thing is that you actually have to tell people this!?
We're not sure what caused the attack?!?! How about keeping a 200 lb, wild, jungle dwelling, creature in a residential area and raising it as a pet, or a human? How about doping it up with Xanax???? I must be a horrible person because I can't help but laugh everytime I hear that 911 tape! I know i know! It's terrible! But I just can't help thinking that the 911 operator is thinking in the back of his head, "Man, if I get one more prank phone call today, I'm gonna go ape-shit!" That was funny. Admit it.
Anyway we could all learn a lesson here. Don't feed your primate Xanax and alcohol. No matter how much they beg. Never feed them after midnight. And never get them wet...oh wait wrong movie...
How about we turn towards this flop of a movie starring B-Horror hero, Bruce Campbell and Ghostbuster, Ernie Hudson in 1995's Congo? Its almost as if the writer's predicted this chimp uprising!!!
Ahh, if only all primates were as good as Amy was....
TWO FROM THE VAULT Monday, February 9, 2009Ever hear an old school hardcore/punk/metal guy complain about the "scene"? Chances are if you've been reading my blogs for a while now you're more than likely tired of reading about how i think the "kids" today are all jerkoffs and don't have a clue about music..blah, blah, blah... So today I decided to let my friend Chris from Robots Will Kill do the ranting, or in this case, reviewing. He's so jaded he refused to review a new album and dug through his collection to write up an old one. Hey whatever man, I'm just glad the guy can actually form sentences...more or less. I thought this was a pretty good idea. Maybe, just fucking maybe, some youngster will read about these albums, check them out and realize there's more to music than crying about murdering a girl who broke your faggot, emo heart. I joined in the fun and grabbed an new/old album to review. At least mine is a brand new compilation of an old band. Beat that Chris! Enjoy!
ENSIGN Love The Music, Hate The Kids Blackout!
I remember being at a show on Staten Island and this band shows up with H2O. They weren't billed to play and we were all standing there as they set up wondering who the fuck these guys were. The mystery band ended up being NJ natives, Ensign. That night they played an extremely short set, but it was enough for me to buy their EP and to follow them for years to come. Fast forward about 13 years and here I am, still listening to Ensign. I chose their 2003 release Love The Music, Hate The Kids (Love that title). The album features cover songs of bands who influenced them over the years. Tim Ensign's voice has always had a great old school sound. So when he does Underdog's Say It, it actually sounds as if it were recorded in 1988. And musically? The band is tight as hell. Take a listen to the breakdown on Say It. It's on point! For me, its great to see what influenced a band I basically grew up on. Having similarities with their taste in music, you get to see why you actually like them o begin with. Ensign covers Bad Brains, to The Descendants to Infest, Bad Religion and so on. I remember when they use to do Inside Out's Burning Fight, Tim would take over on bass, and Nate led what would end up a huge sing-along, pile on the mic, frenzy. i mean every fucking kid in the place would be on stage singing their hearts out, so hearing on this album took me back to a VFW hall someplace in New Jersey. The way hardcore was meant to be heard.
TOP TRACKS: I'm Not A Loser (The Descendants), Trial (Verbal Assault), Say It! (Underdog), Telltale (Killing Time), I Will Deny You (The Dwarves). ~ Chris of RWK
FINAL VERDICT: Worth every penny. Especially for me since years ago some dick broke into my car and stole most of these original cd's. Fucking savages in this town.
MOUTHPIECE Can't Kill What's Inside: The Complete Discography Revelation Records
There once was a time when bands played in the auditoriums of Catholic elementary schools, V.F.W. halls and the local Moose Lodge. The shows, while not of the greatest sound quality, definitely put forth the most energy hardcore and punk could and would, ever harness. Call me old, but I would trade today's over produced shows for yesterdays DYI shows any day. Hell, back then we didn't even call them "DYI" shows! It was just a fucking show. Of course we did it ourselves! Who else would have a bunch of hardcore/punk kids throw each other around like animals in their establishment?! My favorite was going to a Veteran's hall for a show and seeing some of the Vets who take care of the place as we were leaving. The look on their faces were always priceless. Like "We just allowed this to happen in our place!!?" Anyways, Since the subject of today's update is "old school" I decided to write about a band who I think is the total embodiment of old school, DYI, hardcore, and that band is a little group from New Jersey known forever as MOUTHPIECE. Yes, I'm from NYC but I think there as no hardcore scene like the 90s NJ hardcore scene. And if you had to crown someone king, Mouthpiece would definitely be in the running. I have yet to see a sing along, pile on bigger than when Mouthpiece sang Can We Win. True, Mouthpiece was a straight edge band, but they didn't preach or shut anyone out of their shows. They didn't put on the tough guy act and didn't start any cliques. They were there for the music and the "kids" who supported them. Old school. Anyways, Can't Kill What's Inside is a complete discography that contains everything ever recorded by the band. This includes 1995's "Face Tomorrow" EP, 1994's "What Was Said" full-length, the self-titled 7" from 1991; and tracks from the "Anti-Matter", "It's for Life", and "Words to Live by, Words to Die For" compilations - in addition to three previously unreleased tracks that were recorded live way back in 1991. As a bonus, the disc also contains mp3's of a 13-song, surprisingly clear-sounding live set recorded at CBGB's in 1996 (and it appears this material's available as part of the album on iTunes as well, which is awesome) and the video for "Cinder". But most interesting are the liner notes. Lead singer, Tim McMahon must have known they were on to something special, because he kept track of every show they ever played, where and with who and when. It's an absolutely awesome album.
TOP TRACKS: All of them. Fuck you. I said ALL OF THEM.
GDEVIL'S VERDICT: It seems redundant to even say, but if you're fan of hardcore, past and/or present it would behoove you to have this album in your collection. I said ALBUM! Buy the fucking thing in a record store so you could read the liner notes. Reading is fundamental ya dolts! ~ gdevil
AND NOW THE NEWS...2/6/2009 Friday, February 6, 2009
Welcome to yet another addition to the Riot Act. As you all know, I have plenty to say on the many different topics of the world. Sometimes...most times, it gets me in more trouble than what its worth, but that's the greatest thing about this country. I can call anyone I want an asshole on the Internet (or in person at times) and not fear being thrown in a Turkish prison for the rest of my life. I'm going to try and sift through the morning paper on a weekly basis and give my opinion on some of the headlines, because I know your all sitting there in your fucking cubicles with some mindless comic strip someone cut out staring you in the face making a piss pour attempt at being witty about how monotonous your work day is. I figure I would try to livin you up a little, maybe cause a revolt or two. If I can take responsibility for at least one Office Space gang beatdown of a fax machine, my job is done. And now....
THE NEWS!!!!!
SINGLE MOM TURNS HERSELF INTO BABY FACTORY
You've all heard about the single Californian mom who had herself impregnated an insane eight times through in-vitro fertilization, or as I like to describe it as a spermicidal turkey basting? If you haven't heard of her you will. She just scored her first television interview with Ann Curry of NBC. If having eight children at once isn't insane enough for you, how about the eight will add to Miss Nadya Suleman's brood of six! That's fourteen total children people!!! Last I checked this country was bordering on fiscal suicide. People are having a hard enough time paying their bills and this lady is popping out children as if she gets a prize for having the most! Oh wait, she actually DID score a prize. A television interview??? I know the networks are after ratings but rewarding someone for totally irrational behavior by giving them their 15 minutes of fame is just wrong. The article in the New York Post goes on to state that Nadya has been on disability since 2001. Apparently she suffered a back injury during a riot at a psychiatric hospital where she worked. She has collected $165,000 in disability from 2002-2006. By my math that's about what? $27,000 a year? I don't know one tax paying, hard working couple who can live on that themselves AND raise ONE child. How the fuck is the Octomom going to raise 14 kids on that!?!
No idiot. It's controversial because a.) you don't have a job and b.) YOU DON'T HAVE A JOB!!!! And kiss any hopes of landing a husband goodbye lady. I've heard of "baggage" before but any guy willing to take on fathering responsibilities for 14 kids needs to have his head examined as well.
Prediction. Out of the fourteen kids this loon is "raising" I bet at least 6 of them land in jail, crazy, handing out blowjobs in seedy motels for meals, or a combination of all three scenarios. Nadya, are you sure you weren't a patient at that psyche hospital you use to work for? Hmmm, I wonder? All I know is not one cent of my taxes better go towards this irresponsible jerkoff who states in the article, "After the first successful IVF...I just kept going". I'm not knocking single mom's by any means, but it has to be difficult for one WORKING single mom to raise ONE kid let alone fourteen.
OBAMA'S TAX DODGIN' CABINET NOMINEES
Before I even get into this I will say this. I despise politicians. They are all full of shit. I don't care what party they are in, what they promise, what color they are or what cult religion they follow. Bottom line, they are all in it to get over on the working man. With that said I find it pretty funny that Obama has attempted to name four nominees to his cabinet who all have had a problem paying their taxes in the past. I won't start bashing Obama because I don't need the zombies that follow him sending me hate mail on a daily basis. All I will say is that if I were running something important as say, the country, I would probably look into people's financial history before naming them to something as important as say, the Treasury Secretary. Just my opinion is all. And even if I let it slip my mind, because I am running THE COUNTRY and all, wouldn't I have people that look into that for me? Just sayin.
MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON
Captain Chelsey B. Sullenberger, the pilot who crash landed a plane loaded with 150 passengers in the middle of the Hudson River was interviewed by CBS' "60 Minutes". I believe every pilot should be forced to take flight lessons from Captain Sullenberger and his crew. Nuff said.
TSA FASHION SHOW
The Transportation Safety Administration (TSA) will be allotted $50 million dollars to purchase new uniforms. I have a better idea. How about instead of squeezing the overweight, sometimes overzealous, but always rude glorified security guards into new uniforms, how about spending the money on training them to speak English? Speak English already? Good, how about spending the money on more training so they catch more people trying to stuff C4 explosives in their shoes? I've flown a lot in the last few years. And I gotta say most of these people are absolutely incompetent. I can't tell you how many times I have packed my carry-on in a haste and forgot a pocket knife in one of its pockets. I have been through security unscathed. Never once pulled to the side and made to disrobe....ok one time, but that was voluntarily.
A WORD ON MICHAEL PHELPS
The half human, half dolphin found himself in a heap of tuna shit this week when a photo of him hittin a bong surfaced. WHO THE FUCK CARES! I firmly believe I am the only person in this country that does not smoke pot and I don't have a problem with the Olympic super star taking a few hits after collecting how many fucking medals? No, being a sports superstar shouldn't get you out of trouble, but seriously folks, is this THAT serious? First off if I were Phelps I would vehemently deny it. "Yes its a photo of me an d a bong, but it wasn't marijuana, it was that delish tobacco I tried in China while conquering the entire world in watersports", is exactly what I would say. How the hell can anyone prove it was actually marijuana from a photo?!?!? Mike. If you want a lawyer, I'm available.
MOVIE REVIEW: HE'S JUST NOT INTO YOU
Joking. I have what they call a penis, attached to it are two testicles. I would not be caught dead seeing this movie. And men, please... if your girl "makes" you go see it, leave her where she stands. Any girl who makes their boyfriend, husband, slave see any movie which stars Ben Affleck, Drew Barrymore and Jennifer Anniston all at once is a sadist and enjoys watching you in pain. The only excuse to see this is if Miss Aniston is nude throughout the entire flick, which sadly, does not occur. An shame on you Justin Long for indulging in such a script!
WIN TICKETS TO SEE SWORN ENEMY!!!!!! Sunday, January 25, 2009SWORN ENEMY is invading Brooklyn on February 8th, 2009 at Southpaw. Playing with Vehement Serenade and newbies, Preaching to the Converted, its sure to be a rager. Wanna chance to go? For free? Of course you fucking do! The word "free" is pretty hard to come by these days and as we all have learned, there ain't nothing for free. So here's the skinny. Below you'll find FIVE trivia questions that have to do with Sworn Enemy, WD Syndicate and other tidbits of useless knowledge. Do some homework, answer the questions and submit them for your chance to win a pair of tickets to see the madmen from Queens for free! Its a god damned open book test! Cheating is strongly urged.
THE RULES: Simple. Answer the questions and email them to:
info@wdsyndicate.com
Make sure you type "SWORN ENEMY" in the subject line and include a name, mailing address and t-shirt size. All those who correctly answer all TEN questions will be added to the pool and will then be randomly selected. There will be five winners, each receiving a pair of tickets. Good luck!
THE QUESTIONS:
Sworn Enemy was previously known as Downfall then Mindset (1995). As Mindset, they produced a demo, appeared on New Found Hope II - The First Amendment compilation CD and released a 3 song seven inch entitled what?
WD Syndicate longtime friend, Jamie Daniels is a queen in the fetish world. Thousands worship her feet everyday. But she didn't start off on the top. What was the name of the smalltime dungeon where she got her start in?
Name 4 bands that played in the 2008 Black n Blue Bowl.
WD Syndicate posted its Best of 2008 Awards not too long ago. In it, the best and worst of 2008 were celebrated. In the Best TV Show category, who was the first runner up?
Which Canadian cutie joins WD Syndicate's pal, Go Go Amy, in her Pretty Things Peepshow?
WD SYNDICATE'S BEST OF 2008 Saturday, December 27, 2008
WD SYNDICATE BEST OF 2008
Happy holidays from the Syndicate! Hopefully Santa made his yearly visit, dropped off some toys and didn’t make out with you girl in the meantime. If you’re reading this you survived the annual holiday shopping frenzy and your kicking back with some eggnog while wearing that ugly sweater your Aunt Tootsie made for you (yes, I had an Aunt Tootsie). In all seriousness, we here at the Syndicate wish you and yours a very happy and safe holiday.
With each passing year we are always subjected to all these year end reviews, or best of lists. Frankly I’m not impressed with many or any of them. So being that WD SYNDICATE made its official relaunch in 2008, I felt it necessary to put our own spin on the best of 2008. From, music to politics, 2008 was far from boring. So without further adieu, we bring you the BEST OF 2008!
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Ok here are the ground rules for this category. At first we were going to go by genre. But listing Best Punk Album, Best Hardcore Album, Best Metal Album, Best Metalcore Album, Best Emo Album (if that even exists), and so on and so on would just be counter productive. No, we wanted the best fucking album put out in 2008 hands down. The best album of 2008 should blur the lines of genre and make it to your playlist the most despite your so called musical allegiance.
CANCER BATS Hail Destroyer
Obviously this was a tough category, especially when combining all musical genres. But Canadian rockers the Cancer Bats hit a home run with Hail Destroyer. Combining genres such as metal, hardcore, punk and southern rock, we here at the Syndicate found it virtually impossible not to give this award to them! The album is an absolute rager from beginning to end and does not let up at any point. Songs such as Harem of Scorpions, PMA Till I’m DOA, and Regret are absolutely mosh pit inducing numbers. I challenge anyone to name a song better to get over getting played by a chick than Sorceress. Working day and night got you down? Try throwing on Deathsmarch while stuck in the cubicle next time. I’m willing to bet your ripping off your cheap tie and throwing windmills by the copy machine in no time.
Runner Ups: (1) Parkway Drive Horizons, (2) H2O Nothing to Prove, (3) Gojira The Way of the Flesh, (4) Testament The Formation of Damnation, (5) The Gaslight Anthem The’59 Sound,
WORST ALBUM OF THE YEAR
To be the winner of this prestigious award a band has to have two elements. One, the band has to suck to begin with and two, the band has to put out an album that is complete garbage. Hey they say, consistency counts for something right? The Worst Album of the Year should be exactly that….garbage that just annoys you just for being played. It’s the album that either hasn’t made it to your iPod or you immediately skip over any of its songs while on shuffle. And the loser is…
METALLICA Death Magnetic
It’s of no surprise that our WORST album of the year is apparently Revolver magazine’s BEST album of the year. Just goes to show you who sucks dick at the rest stop bathroom and who doesn’t. How anyone can name this drawn out album the best of 2008 is beyond us. Here at WD headquarters the consensus seems to be that Metallica lost its teeth when it released the radio friendly, hard rock, Black Album. They left metal behind and joined the ranks of Led Zepplin, CCR, Pearl Jam and their classic rock motif. Ok, maybe we’re being a bit harsh on the guys here. With all due respect, we know that without the monster that was Metallica, many of today’s bands probably wouldn’t exist. Their music has inspired many…but the keywords “was” and has”…past tense. The leader of the big 5 of thrash hung up its chops, licks and fast paced riffs with Justice and never looked back. Sure Death Magnetic has its moments, but for such a juggernaut we were expecting so much more…and utterly disappointed yet again (hello St. Anger!). The Unforgiven III?!?!? Come on now!!!!
Runner Ups: (1) The Offspring Rise and Fall, Rage and Grace, (2) Guns N’ Roses Chinese Democracy, (3) Saliva Cinco Diablo, (4) Nickelback Dark Horse, (5) Fall Out Boy Dave de Sylvia, (6) Judas Priest Nostradamus.
COMEBACK BAND OF THE YEAR
Bands come and go and sometimes, come back again. Sometimes they are better off not coming back. It’s a tough obstacle to overcome and any band that can do it successfully are usually a force to be reckoned with. 2008 was filled with comebacks. Some more commercial than others, but only one will win the Syndicate’s title of Comeback Band of the Year…
H20 Nothing To Prove
New York hardcore legends came back with glorious anger with the release of Nothing To Prove. After a seven year hiatus which included branching out into various side projects (Toby Morse - Hazen Street, Todd Morse - Juliette and the Licks and The Operation M.D., Rusty - P-Nut Jewelery) the band regrouped and put together an album that made us feel like it were 1994 all over again. The album is fun, fast and furious. Plenty of gang vocals and guest appearances (Lou Koller of Sick of it All, Matt Skiba of Alkaline Trio, Roger Miret of Agnostic Front) litter the album and give it a great old school feel but the guys go through great lengths not to be "preachy", chasing away new listeners. The album was followed by nonstop touring which the band has always been known for (Dropkick Murphy's, H2O, and Civet on the ALL ROADS LEAD TO BOSTON TOUR). A good part of my life has been spent at H2O shows and its great to see the guys haven't lost a step. They are one of the best hardcore bands to perform live, always have been. After a seven year layoff, they learned a lot about life and it shows in both the album and their live performances. At the end of the day, they got nothing to prove.
Runner Ups: Testament, Motley Crue, AC/DC
BIGGEST LETDOWN ALBUM
This category is not at all similar to the Worst Album of the Year in that the “winner” of this award isn’t necessarily a disaster of a band that induces sleep or suicide. Everyone has bad days and maybe this band just wasn’t feeling so hot when they recorded the biggest letdown since you told your parents you were dropping out of school to pursue your acting career.
ALKALINE TRIO Agony & Irony
I can hear thousands of emo kids crying their mascara off already. I know, I know…we’re a bunch of savages for naming Alkaline Trio as the recipient of this award. I’m sure I’ll lose about 10 minutes of sleep over it. Agony & Irony was over-hyped and disappointing. No one wanted this album to be better than what it was than we did! There’s only about two really good songs on this album and comparing it to the band’s predecessors is futile. It just doesn’t compare.
Runner Ups: (1) Rise Against Appeal to Reason, (2) In This Moment The Dream, (3) All That Remains Overcome.
BEST TV SHOW
Again, we’re combining all the genres here. Comedy, thriller, mystery, cop shows, all got to compete for the best show on television. New, old, it didn’t make a difference. It had to hold our attention for the entire season. That means we would lie, cheat and steal in order not to miss an episode. But being we all have DVR or Tivo I guess that just makes us really bad people huh?
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Another tight race but the gang from Sunny won in convincing fashion, and for good reason. Hands down it is the most original, most entertaining, most shocking and most hysterical show on television today. If Danny DeVito ran for president the Syndicate would vote for him. The Syndicate’s own, Gdevil was Greenman for Halloween! They did an entire show about a mystery poop!!!! Is there anything more funny than poop humor? We don’t think so, and if you do, you’re probably on the wrong website.
Runner Ups: (1) Sons of Anarchy, (2) Dexter, (3) Burn Notice, (4) Psyche, (5) True Blood
HOTTEST “UNKNOWN” GIRL ON MYSPACE
Fire up your engines boys and girls. This award goes to the hottest amateur model/gal on Myspace. Looks are one thing, but the winner of this one isn’t just lips, tits and a great ass. She also has to have a good attitude. One where if you leave a comment on her page she actually writes you back saying how sweet you are, making your ego as well as other body parts swell. By “unknown” we mean she hasn’t graced the covers of Maxim, FHM or Stuff (is that still out?) just yet, but she’s also not just posting camera phone pictures of her in the ladies room. Please ladies, some professionalism por favor? Our Hottest Girl on Myspace has to have mostly all or some professional photography in her profile.
Jessenia Vice
Instead of telling you all why Jessenia won, how about we just post a photo or two and tell you we hope she does a WD shoot in the near future. We have a feeling the title "Unknown" won't be for very long. Ladies and gentlemen, Miss Jessenia Vice…
Runner Ups: Jessenia won by such a large margin we actually sold all of the runner ups to Middle Eastern men to be sex slaves.
BEST PORNO
Best pornographic film. Yes, pornography is on everyone's mind. Don't front. Even the holiest of holy's have indulged in a Debbie Does Dallas video or two..or three. Porn has come a long way since the cheesy music and over abundance of pubic hair circa 1970s and 80s. Have you seen the crowd the AVN's get each year in Vegas??? Fact of the matter is the porn industry is one of the largest in the world and like it or not (WE LIKE IT! WE LIKE IT!) its here to stay. So why not have some fun with it? The best skin flick as judged by WD SYNDICATE has to entertain as well as arouse. We're artists here for god's sake! Give us more than a suck, slam, money shot for our dollar!
Tattoos+hot gals+porn+money shots = WD SYNDICATE'S Best Porno of 2008! This one from Burning Angel is sure to take the wrinkles out of your pants. Directed and delivered with the quirky comedic genius of Brookyln's favorite Jew, Joanna Angel, COMT#4 assembles a gorgeous cast including Jessie Lee (GDevil's favorite), Casi Nova, Dasi Marie, and the smoking hot Jezebelle Bond. The girls produce scorching scene after scorching scene but in true BA fashion, never taking themselves too seriously. You'll find yourself laughing while choking your chicken for sure. And who doesn't want to laugh AND whack off???
Runner Ups: (1) Babysitters, (2) Honey Bunny, (3) Fuck Me In The Bathroom
BEST FREE PORN WEBSITE
Why waste money on porn when you can get some quality skin flicks for free via the internet? If you choose to throw money out of your window you probably ate some paint chips when you were younger. Yes there are some quality pay sites out there, and if you are looking for a specific sort of fetish such as midgets, bondage and/or choking then maybe you should steal mom’s credit card and go nutty…no pun intended. Till then here's the Syndicate's best free porn site of 2008...
Pornhub is awesome. It’s updated a bunch of times daily and you rarely see the same video twice. Your not getting snips of videos, mostly your getting whole clips! No more skipping on the money shot for us! Another feature includes a great search engine to find all the scenes of your favorite vixen or genre. Why waste time searching when there’s spankin off to be done??
There are zillions of websites out there. Hell even WE have a website! Who would have thought! If you can think of it, there’s a site for it. Hairy footed women who perform topless car washes? Google it. I’m sure something will come up. The winner of this award should be able to keep you busy for hours and piss off the IT department so much they eventually block it from work computers.
Got hours to kill? Procrastinate much? Dodgin doing actual work? OVGUIDE is the place to be. It breaks down all that is the internet into categories and then gives you the best sites to surf on. Check it out!
Runner Ups: WWW.WDSYNDICATE.COM Come on, did you really think we weren’t gonna plug ourselves here???
BEST MMA FIGHT
Congrats to MMA for pretty much making the fiasco known as boxing a thing of the past. Let’s just all hope and pray that greed, money and power doesn’t infect what is probably the most entertaining sporting events of recent time. With that said, there were some great MMA fights had in 2008. UFC, WEC, Affliction all promoting big name cards and putting some quality fights for display. The Best MMA Fight of 2008 should have it all though. Great storyline, great fighters and of course, a great fight.
Couture vs Lesnar
This was a tough decision but in hindsight we felt that the Couture vs Lesner fight had it all. The salty veteran warrior verse what seems to be the future, immoveable object. In the end, Couture fell to Lesner in respectable fashion. The fight brought great debate the next day at the water cooler as yuppies and pencil pushers talked about as if they were starting a Fight Club of their own in the parking lot.
Runner Ups: (1) Urijah Faber vs. Jens Pulver, (2) Chuck Lidell vs. Rashard Evans, (3) Eddie Alvarez vs. Joachim Hansen
BEST ART WEBSITE
Yes, we’re a cultured bunch. We can appreciate good art even when its just for art’s sake. Just don’t show me a lump of shit and tell me it’s man’s plight against the system. The winner of this category should be able to hold anyone’s interest, even if they aren’t art aficionados.
I swear, favoritism had nothing to do with this selection. So what I’ve known the head honcho over at Robots for upwards of 20 years (shit, just gave away my age didn’t I?). This is in no way a plug for the fastest growing, most informative street art and graf site in the world. I swear. (How was that for subtle Chris?)
BIGGEST DOUCHEBAG
The list was long. Too long. We kept adding to it as the days went on and finally we had enough and decided to just name a whole bunch of douchebags to the list. They are all deserving of praise. Douchebaggery seemed to run rampant in 2008 and sadly it doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Please do everyone a favor. If you see douchebaggery occurring in your neighborhood, please do something about it. Much like terrorism, if you see something, say something. And the douchebags are...
There you have it folks. The best and worst of 2008 as viewed by us at the Syndicate. The views expressed in this article are the soul opinions of WD SYNDICATE. If you disagree with or are offended by any you're probably a douchebag yourself and may very likely end up on next year's list. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
MOVIE REVIEW: THE WRESTLER Monday, December 22, 2008
So here I am sitting at my desk after baring witness to an indie movie which as of last week, I had never heard of. Tonight I battled the balmy cold weather to make my way to a small theater in the Lower East Side of Manhattan to see The Wrestler. The Landmark Sunshine Theater. For years I have always walked right past this place and never even thought about stepping foot in there. Usually its lined with the trendy, indie, overly liberal rot that infests my city like the bubonic plague. Only instead of puss filled blisters they bring really stupid furry hats and way too tight shirts, and of course their piss poor attitude. So when I saw the latest movie starring Mickey Rourke and Marisa Tomei was showing there, I gasped a little. I hope it's worth dealing with fake city dwellers and freezing tempertures.
I've been on a bit of a Mickey Rourke kick lately for some reason. The other night a friend brought over a movie called Barfly and ever since I have been looking up any flick with the walking, plastic surgery disaster known as Mickey Rourke in it. The ugly fucker has been in some show stopping movies and in my opinion, has always given his characters that "badass" appeal. Barfly was an awesome movie and I'm glad it took so long for me to see it. Had I seen it when I was younger I totally wouldn't have appreciated it fully. (So yes, Janine, thank you!).
The Wrestler is a movie about a wrestler's fall from the spotlight and how he copes with normal everyday life. For me, it reminded me of the old school WWF and brought back some great childhood memories I had. I remember watching wrestling with my brother all morning long on Sundays, trying to recreate the moves we saw I heroes pull off. I remember how frustrated my brother would get when he could not, for the life of him, figure out how to get me in a "figure four leg lock", even when I would let him position me. It was damn confusing for us! "Mr. Wonderful" Paul Orndorf, Ivan "The Polish Power" Putsky, Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, Ric Flair, Classy Freddie Blassy. The list goes on and on. We'd watch for hours and beat the crap out of each other during the commercial breaks. Back then wrestling was still trying to pull off being a legitimate sport and anyone who called it a "stage act" got a beatdown right there on television! I remember watching Regis Philbin getting supplexed after calling wrestling fake for cryin out loud! It was a soap opera for kids then, and nowadays its the same. It just targets grownups and it dropped the "this is real stuff" act.
As staged as it is the blaring fact is that wrestlers have not lead such poignant lives equal to their superstar or celebrity status. For a while it seemed that the pro wrestlers of yore were dropping like flies everyday. It was a sad reality that these once harrowed superhumans were passing well before their time. But why? These guys had millions chanting their name. They had everything. Fame, glory, fortune...right? This is where Rourke's character, Randy "The Ram" Robinson takes center stage. The movie centers on Rourke's differentiation between life in the ring and reality. Through a series of twists and turns The Ram is forced to choose between the glory or the reality, leaving for a great ending in my opinion. One you'll have to see the movie yourself to see.
Pluses for the movie:
Mickey Rourke kills it on screen once again. His fucked up face perfectly casts him as a beat up wrestler. If he wanted to go into the biz he really could. I'm willing to bet he spent a lot of time with the small time wrestling circuits to really grasp the lifestyle.
Marisa Tomei is a stripper. Which means we finally get to see her do some nudity. And much like Rourke, she did her homework in some stripclubs to learn the ropes. And we ain't talking the high class kind, we're talking truck stop titty bars. Sign me up! Always had a thing for you Marisa. Right up there with Alyssa Milano.
Acting, screenplay and camera angles were all fucking top notch. If this doesn't win some Oscars I am never paying to see another movie again.
THE FUCKING SOUNDTRACK KILLED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quiet Riot was the first metal record (yes, I said RECORD) I ever owned!!!!
Things that sucked about the movie:
I'm sure some will bitch about the ending. Without giving it away it sort of pulled a Sopranos on you. I liked it though.
Nothing really sucked except the asshole who kept yanking my seat back every time he had to get up during the movie, the two fucktards who yapped as they were 10 minutes late and tried finding a seat in a packed house, and the other two jerkoffs who camped out on the floor next to me as if it were Central Park and we were having a god damned picnic.
MYSPACE VS. FACEBOOK: WHICH CAN GET YOU LAID MORE Monday, December 15, 2008
MYSPACE VS. FACEBOOK: THE SAGA CONTINUES
The year is 2008, fastly approaching 2009. I ask you all this question. How many people do you know WITHOUT either a Myspace or Facebook profile? If you answered a few, well you are a minority. According to Techradar.com a total of 170 million people are registered to one or the other, or even both sites. Those are pretty impressive numbers considering what both Myspace and Facebook started off as. Just a small idea to keep people connected, and look what it exploded into? Do you think Myspace Tom ever thought his little social networking idea would spawn relationships, make bands into overnight superstars and make that girl next door an international sensation? Both of these sites have injected themselves into our lives to such an extent we have to check on our friends Facebook status on the hour via cell phone or check our Myspace inbox to see if that dreamy guy/girl messaged us back on the hour. For some people it has launched them into careers of modeling, acting, hell even the totally talentless (see Tila Tequila) has garnered international superstar status by blogging about lipstick colors and lesbianism. Pretty much, if you have an internet connection, a digital camera and a little html know-how, you have a chance to be your own little celebrity, rock-star. It’s an idea that engulfs us all at times. And I call bullshit if you have never lipsynched or air-guitared in front of a mirror.
I am guilty of falling into the self indulgent world of both Myspace and Facebook. I’m not going to make excuses. I like attention and I’m willing to bet the majority of people also like attention. Otherwise how else would explain all those girls posing half naked in front of their bathroom mirrors with cell phone camera in hand on their Myspace pages? But which site can actually deliver the goods and get you laid? THAT'S the real question isn't it? Again, your not putting on your best makeup for that perfect cell phone picture for nothing are you? So today I’m going to weigh and compare the two social networking giants based on my personal experiences and some other's experience. Now I know both of these sites are not billed as dating sites so to speak, but we all know the truth of the matter here. I'm willing to bet out of those 170 million people with profiles out there, at least more than half aren't really interested in spreading the word about the latest shitty band in your neighborhood…MYSPACE VS. FACEBOOK!! The saga continues!
Myspace Where do I start? I remember a friend telling me I should join the site after I just got out of a bad relationship way back in 2000. He didn't bill it as a dating site, just a site where you can meet people which appealed to me because of my zombie-like work hours at the time. i didn't and still do not have the time to go out and mingle in bars, clubs, bookstores or the local coffee shop to hit on, flirt with or approach women...your mother included. I was apprehensive about the whole idea of having my information out on display for all to see until i saw how many women were EXTREMELY excited to take soft core porn shots in front of their bathroom mirror and post them for the world to see! "If these girls can almost show nipple and aren't worried about anything, why should I thought?" was one of my thoughts. My other thoughts ranged between how much lotion do I own and will anyone notice a tube of it on my computer desk. I succumbed and immediately started adding people I knew, people they knew then eventually just random hot chicks. "Where are these girls in real space!?!" I asked!!! I grew some balls and asked a few out. Some blew me off, others took me up on the offer and gave me many stories to tell for years. Some good, some bad...mostly bad.
Obviously I will hide the identities of all girls because I don't want to get WD SYNDICATE sued. Hell, then again, we barely own anything so if these descriptions come anywhere close to you I suppose you can give your jerkoff lawyer a call. Our secretaries will be standing by. Here are the wackiest two broads I've met on Myspace.
Girl#1 - "The Mouth" This gal started off as a pen pal. We would exchange messages, comments almost on a sickening level. Eventually phone numbers were exchanged and finally we started hanging out. She was a cool girl with great taste in music in my opinion and we had plenty in common. BUT...it should have been kept on that friend level. Once we crossed the line I started seeing who this girl really was. For one thing, she wouldn't shut up. She had a nervous tick in her face that made me start thinking she had a form of Tourette Syndrome. Needless to say it didn't work out as she started to make up stories of how we were such great friends and how we were truly in love, blah..blah..blah... Truth of the matter is we spoke about maybe a dozen times on the phone in about 2-3 years and have hung out physically about 3-5 times. But yeah, that's true love.
Girl#2 "The Itch" I friended this girl purely on impulse. She was hot therefore I added her. Shame on me, I know. But whatever, I was on a mission to meet someone...ANYONE, at this point in my life. She was a tan brunette with, what appeared to be a pretty smoking body (you'll see where this is going). Again, we started messaging and commenting back and forth and eventually moved to a phone relationship...a big step in the internet world. On the phone she had a very strong Irish brog, which surprised me because of her tanned complexion. "Oh, I just got back from vacation." she replied. It eased any anxiety I had that she would be a totally different person when and if we ever met. Speaking of anxiety, all her photos were "waist up" pictures. "Hmmm this has disaster written all over it" I remember thinking. We agreed to meet up for lunch and a drink one day. I ring the bell and it all comes to fruition. Yes she's tan. Because she's Pakistani! Something you may have wanted to share with me, but again, shame on me, because when someone says they are Irish that just means they were born there. Hell, I know a bunch of black Italian citizens who were born there as well, but I wouldn't ask them to make me ravioli. The date was horrible. She proceeded to get so drunk she could barely walk. The more drunk she got the less I could understand her as accent got really incoherent. I also got to notice her mangled teeth on occasion when she would laugh so loud her mouth opened like a PEZ dispenser to put all those "summer teeth" (summer here, summer there) on display. I smoothly told her i had to go to work earlier and guided her back to my car. During our walk and ride back to deliver this mess home, I noticed she kept scratching her stomach violently. We arrived at her apartment, I opened her car door and came to a horrifying discovery. Her shirt was almost completely undone revealing what she had been scratching. It appeared to be a rash I could only describe as "flesh eating" and "zombie-like". I ejected her to her front door and ran home to disinfect the ride. Friendship - deleted.
FACEBOOK Facebook, to me, is for grownups. Hell, my brother, sister in-law and all of my family is on there so I usually am on somewhat of my best behavior. It's not the right setting to go out and whore about town. This really is the best way to keep in contact with old friends and reconnect with people from grammer school, high school and college. Sounds great right?
Wrong. Yes its all nice to see what your long lost friend from 15 years ago is up to. But its also a bit depressing. Think about it. You see all your old classmates all married and having kids and what are you doing? Trying to bang girls off the internet!? Posting why Chuck Norris is the world's biggest badass!? Hey look there's that girl ou use to drool over in high school. She married the guy who use to kick you in the nuts on your way to gym class and they have 2.5 kids, a sick house and three cars. And what do you have? Maybe a goldfish and a lot of credit card debt from charging happy endings at the Korean Massage Palace.
So in review. I liken Myspace as what some child molestors see a schoolyard as...a smorgasboard full of opportunity. Everyone is on there for self gratification so why not fuel the ego by trying to cash in with some fornication? Facebook really is just a social networking site, good for personal and business use...and also if your looking for that extra push off the ledge if your down in the dumps about your miserable life.
SASQUATCH AND THE SICK-A-BILLIES Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Let me first start off by saying that I don't claim to be a writer, a critic, or know every aspect of music, but I do know what I like. With that said here's one guy's perspective on the Sasquatch and the Sick-a-Billys show on Dec 7th at Otto's Shrunkin Head in NYC that me and Chris of Robots Will Kill headed to.
If you haven't been there here's the layout. The place is small with a tiki lounge feel to it. A small bar in the front room with a couple of booths. There's a narrow hallway that leads into a room that's not any bigger than your folks living room. Oh and squeezed into that hallway is a photo booth and a hunting video game. In that room is a small stage, maybe ten inches off the ground and some seats & tables on the outer wall. As for Sasquatch, if you haven't seen him, fucking get out there and check these motherfuckers out! I assure you they will not disappoint. From the lead singers antics such as deep throating the mic to the tons of nose picking, earwax licking hijinx... all without missing one goddamn guitar riff. It's a show that's sure to blow your fucking head off! Sasquatch is a three piece band that's as tight as a frog's ass who will make you appreciate side saddlin, hony tonky, dirty country rock. The style reminiscent of their forefathers of country; you can hear similarities from the driving bass lines from the Reverend Justin K to the drumming styles of Snake. Its great to see a band that's committed to the sound they love so much. I mean, here's a band that drives out from Pittsburgh, Pa to do a show for "FREE" on a Sunday to a handful of people. That says something to me. Hearing them cover the Misfits' Hollywood Babylon and Metalicca's Am I Evil in pure rockabilly form is a treat everyone should take in once in their life. Than there's the random 4 Non Blondes cover of What's Goin On, which was kind of odd, yet fun.
This is just some of the antics Sasquatch and the boys had in their 2 hour set (yes once again for FREE!). Oh and another great treat was when Sasquatch was just calling out drummer's styles and Snake would play them at random. For example, he went from Louis Prima (whose birthday it would have been) to Hank Williams Sr. to Slayer and than to the rhythm halting White Stripes.
***NOTE!!! This video was ripped from a previous show..just notice Sasquatch's reaction to the heckler...priceless***
Get out there and support the scene before there is no scene from...
WD SYNDICATE AT THE NYC EXXXOTICA EXPO Wednesday, December 3, 2008
So many of you have been asking...Where are the chicks!? Unfortunately our Dames Section is still in the works (see WD ANTI-SOCIAL coming soon!) but GDevil and company did have a chance to visit the NYC Exxxotica expo held in beautiful Edison, NJ this past Summer. We got to hang out with Joanna Angel, Jessie Lee, Azreal,Draven Star, BellaVendetta and Misti Dawn of Burning Angel. Watched them beat the shit out of guys who wanted free porn. Guys...its for free on this thing called the INTERNET if you search good enough. Dummies. Got to meet Gianna Michaels and rested my head on her ginormous boobies. Tina Tink, Jackie Joy, Jasmine Mae, Stoya, Jesse Jane....you guys get the idea. So many porn stars, so little time. Enjoy! GDeViL
PROZACTA-MUNDO: OVERMEDICATING AMERICA ONE KID AT A TIME Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I live in an over-medicated, pussified city. It’s not the same city I remember growing up in. I mean, one expects change but not this drastic. The neighborhoods I was warned never to enter, mostly because I wasn’t Hispanic, black or Asian, are now home to yuppies, hipsters and trend-setters from the Mid-West. Gentrification at its best can be found in New York City. But I digress. I always tend to get off point once hipsters enter my train of thought. Damn skinny jean wearin sons of bitches!
I was enjoying some tacos in a place called San Loco with my friend Tina one night. Its one of my favorite places to go and I usually overdo it and eat my weight in tacos. Just a plain hard shell beef taco at San Loco does a growing boy good. It’s long been a place of late night eats, and long conversation. While we were waiting for our second order of nachos to make their way to our table I started thumbing through a local newspaper. It wasn’t a major paper, just your typical liberal NYC rag littered with cultural, arts and music articles. Complete with ads for transvestite prostitutes in the back of the paper. I was midway through the paper when an article jumped out at me, made me drop a nacho and get nacho cheese on my crotch. The article was entitled “Is It Ok to Mix Alcohol With Prozac?” At first, I thought it was a joke. As I read on I saw it was no laughing matter, and it was serious article, part of an entire section devoted to psyche meds and the city. While reading this article I started getting angry. It made me feel as if I were the only person in NYC NOT on any sort of anti-depressant. It glamorized drugs such as Prozac and Lithium and then, the fucking kicker, it suggested knocking back a few cocktails with your dose!
Why did I get mad? For the same reason I usually do. The late, great, George Carlin coined a term I have come to use almost on a daily basis while walking the streets of Manhattan. Mr. Carlin had a knack for calling a spade a spade. He saw that people were becoming “soft”. He called this transformation “Pussification”. And I must say it suits New York City to perfection. Years of coddling America’s young and babying their every step has lead to the easy way out when it comes to raising our children. There’s a fucking pill for every little deficiency! Sad? Pop a Prozac. Anxiety? Pop a Xanax. Whatever happened to coping skills? Dealing with emotions rather than covering them up with pills? People have been raised to become pussies. NYC, as well as many other cities I’m sure, have become soft, and I blame poor and lazy parenting as the root cause of it all. Today parents have to peel their kids away from their internet, or gaming console in order to set up an outdoor playdate with another, equally coddled youngster. Think about it.
(And at the sake of sounding like an old man wagging his finger at a youngster saying, “When I was your age!!!”…)
I don’t know about you, but I use to look forward to blasting through the screen door and ringing my friends’ doorbells with that ever so gleeful, “Can so-and-so come out to play!?” I also didn’t have to wear a fucking helmet when I went for a ride on my bike. And trust me; if anyone needed a helmet, it was this guy. I know when I was building ramps to launch my Haro sky high into the Staten Island summer sky, a helmet was the last thing on my mind. When I brought home a bad report card my parents administered some sort of corporal punishment. They didn’t send me to a shrink to give me pills so I can concentrate more, get better grades in social studies and in short, become a blithering zombie who can’t fucking think for himself!
Do I have kids? Absolutely not. Maybe I don’t have any authority to belittle today’s parents? My answer is, yes, I, and everyone else has every right to rip on bad parents who continue to litter the neighborhoods with mindless morons who will eventually be our police officers, salesmen, and even that weird artsy kid who is making my latte. Rest assured, when and if I do decide to hatch a hell-spawn into this world you can guarantee, my kid will kick your kid’s ass!
UFC 91: COUTURE VS. LESNAR Sunday, November 16, 2008
So here I am on a Saturday evening. Its raining cats and dogs here in Staten Island. The weather reports a tornado may actually touch down here. In New York City!? All signs point to a somewhat quiet night inside. One thing is for sure, this guy is not going anywhere in this monsoon. So what to do? Order up some cheap Mexican food and watch what has been labeled the most anticipated MMA bout of the year.... UFC 91: Couture vs. Lesnar. Other than the heartburn achieved by shoveling down six tacos, it was a pretty damn entertaining evening.
***(ANY VIDEOS BELOW ARE FROM PREVIOUS BOUTS OF ONE OR BOTH FIGHTERS)***
Bout 1: Damian Maia (9-0) vs. Nate Quarry (16-2) Referee: Herb Dean
Maia is a two time world jiujitsu champion who is suppose to be a ground game technician. Quarry is on the come back after having back surgery. One of his sponsors is Nuvasive Tech who supplied the technology to "rebuild" him...I just thought that was cool.
Round 1: Quarry gives up his back early in the bout. You can actually see Maia licking his chops as he sinks in a rear naked choke for a first round submission.
Damian Maia wins by tap-out (rear naked choke) 2:13.
Bout 2: Josh Hendricks (18-4-1) vs. Gabriel Gonzaga (9-3) Referee: Steve Mazagatti Hendricks is a burly guy who is currently on an eleven fight win streak. Took a year off so he may have some rust. He'll be testing it against a Brazilian JiuJitsu champ in Gonzaga, who is just a beast. He rolls out of the locker room to Danzig'sMother...so I have my prediction already. I remember seeing him knockout Cro-Cop and being pretty impressed...
Round 1: Heavy blows are traded by both monsters from the opening bell. You could hear the sickening thuds of each punch landed. Gonzaga landed more clean punches though. Gonzaga starts to land some serious knees while in a stand up clinch then unleashes a vicious right cross to Hendricks' head that sends him to the mat. The ref stops the fight as Hendricks is in La La Land.
Gabriel Gonzaga wins by TKO at :61.
Bout 3: Matt Brown (10-7) vs. Ryan Thomas (9-2) Referee: Herb Dean
Matt Brown (Ultimate Fighter alumni) replaced Matthew Riddle (knee injury) on short notice for this fight. So who had the upper hand with this? Recent fights like this show the new fighter winning a slightly higher percentage of the time. In my opinion it presents a problem for both fighters. Its like getting ready to take out the prom queen only to find out you got stuck with her fat cousin instead.
Round 1: Thomas takes it Brown early. They go to the ground where its pretty even as both fighters trade offensive guards.
Round Winner: DRAW
Round 2: Again the fight goes right to the ground. Brown manages to get Thomas in an arm bar. Thomas attempts to slam Brown two times (sans Quentin Jackson) to no avail as Brown is able to flip Thomas onto his back and gets full hyper extension on the arm bar.
Matt Brown winner by tap-out via arm bar at :57.
BOUT 4: TamdanMcCrory (11-1) vs. Dustin Hazelett (13-4) Referee: Steve Mazagatti Two tall, lanky fighters. McCrory prides himself on his Greco Roman background while the bearded hillbilly Hazelett, who entered the ring to CreedanceClearwater Revival, has been studying the "rubber guard" extensively.
Round 1: Excellent strikes traded at opening bell. Fight goes to the ground where Hazelett's rubber guard comes into play. Hazelett ties up McCrory in an OmaPlata. McCrory manages to roll out of it but lands right into a tight arm bar.
Dustin Hazelett wins by tap-out via arm bar at 3:59.
BOUT 5: Jeremy Stephens (15-3) vs. Raphael Dos Anjos (11-2) Youngster Jeremy "Lil Heathen" Stephens whose three-fight win streak was snapped with a recent unanimous-decision loss to Spencer Fisher, will welcome Brazilian Fury Fighting lightweight champ into the UFC.
Round 1: Good strikes exchanged from opening bell. The fight goes to the ground where Dos Anjos shows great control, putting Stephens on the defensive for most of the round.
Round Winner: Dos Anjos (2-1)
Round 2: Great right hand and knee combos thrown by Stephens. Dos Anjos times one of these combos just right and spears Stephens to the ground where he locks on a tight anaconda lock around the torso of Stephens. Stephens defends well and manages to escape mounting Dos Anjos, landing some serious elbows during an effective ground and pound.
Round Winner: Stephens (3-1)
Round 3: The biggest right hand of the night is thrown by Stephens. I mean he winded up like Popeye does after eating spinach. Sends Dos Anjos hurdling to the mat where Stephens goes for the kill, following up with some more punches before the referee puts an end to it.
Jeremy Stephens wins by TKO :39.
BOUT 6: Kenny Florian (12-3) vs. Joe Stevenson (34-8) Kenny Florian is one of my favorite fighters. Not only does he look like Face from the A-Team but his fighting style is just insane. Joe Rogan made some comments that everyone takes his ground game for granted because his opponents are focusing with his Muay Thai skills. Stevenson (who resembles John Leguizamo) has an impressive record and is a skilled wrestler and Brazilian JiuJitsu black belt is looking to make a name for himself with a win over Florian.
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Round 1: From the opening bell Florian looks to use Muay Thai kicks to open things up. Stevenson gets in close and pins Florian to the fence. Florian escapes and manages to take Steveson down to the mat. An excellent transition fom stand up to ground game. Florian applies a rear naked choke.
Kenny Florian winner by tap-out via rear naked choke 4:03.
MAIN EVENT: Randy Couture (16-8) vs. Brock Lesnar (2-1) Referee: Mario Yamakazi Here it is folks. The main event! Randy "The Natural" Couture meeting maybe his toughest challenge in his career. He's without a doubt, a legend in MMA fighting and the UFC. And at 45 years old he can still bring it. His opponent, who I am balloting to nick name "Baby Fenster" is 31 years old and outweighs him buy about 45 lbs, and oh yeah, has a 85 inch reach! When the fighters touch gloves one is instantly reminded of Rocky being dwarfed by the gigantic Russian destructive force, Ivan Drago.
Round 1: Both fighters hunt each other before clinching. Brock throws a few knees that land to the body before Randy sneaks big right to Brock's head. Brock shoots on Randy for a take down. That boy can friggen move for a big guy because its lightening fast. They trade guards at about 2:00. But Brock can't do anything from half guard and seems winded by end of the round.
Winner: Draw
Round 2: Round opens with a big elbow by Brock to Couture's head. Randy, stunned, begins to lean on Lesnar as he pushes him up against the fence. It gives Randy enough time to recover. At 3:37 Brock gets cut on right eye by some good shots by Randy. Brock throws a 1-2 combo and lands a big right to the left side of Couture's head which sends him to the mat dazed. Brock rains a flurry of hammer punches until ref stops the fight.
Brock Lesnar winner by TKO at 3:07 in the second round.
Fight Summary: This was a classic battle of experience versus ability. Not taking any ability away from Randy Couture but at first glance the fight looked as if it would be lop-sided. I mean what in hell does this Lesnar guy eat?! Couture put up a great fight in my opinion, and Brock., although I dislike him for his arrogance, deserved the win and fought a little better. A lot of people are blogging today about how the ref stopped it too early but i call bullshit on that. I think the ref gave Couture ample time to recover but after 30-40 hammer punches by this behemoth you can't blame the guy for stopping the fight in the interest of safety. Could Couture have continued? Of course he could have. But that's what separatesMMA/UFC from a random street fight. The only question now is will Randy Couture hang up the gloves? Only he knows the answer to that.
CAR SHOW A GO-GO Sunday, September 7, 2008
Had a chance to hit up a local car show on Staten Island held annually at Msgr. Farrell High School. I love going to these car shows. My only gripe are some of the people walking in front of you as you're trying to snap a decent picture of the cars. I had to deep six a bunch of shots because the same fat guy kept appearing in all of them! Kind of like that "ghost" you see in the movie "Three Men and a Baby". Here are some shots if the rides on display.
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