Well, it’s Monday, and that of course is pure suckage. And I am in a particularly beastly mood today – as in, I am in a mood to go hit things and lift heavy shit. Being in that frame of mind has led me to assemble a whole bunch of interesting videos related to MMA, starting with one of my favourite martial artists of all time – the legendary Buakaw Banchamek, whose fearsome striking skills were truly something to behold when he was at his fighting peak back in the early 2000s:
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Michael Bisping is not everybody’s cup of tea – a lot of MMA fans think he’s a royal arsehole, and they’re right, he is. But he is also a pretty interesting guy and a very skilled fighter with a lot of great stories to tell:
Mr. Bisping’s comments concerning who he would pick in a fight between a Navy SEAL and an MMA fighter are spot-on.
Navy SEALs and other SPECWARCOM personnel are very skilled at hand-to-hand combat, for sure. They have tremendous strength, endurance, and willpower – that’s what they are selected and trained for. But, the fact is that MMA fighters live and breathe fighting – whereas special forces personnel are trained to use particular techniques in specific applications.
Moreover, the type of hand-to-hand combat taught to each type of person in any given armed forces branch and specialty is different depending on the role involved. So, someone in the US Army in Basic will learn, well, basic H2H skills – whereas someone going for Ranger school will learn an expanded or different skill set, as will someone going to IOBC and then OCS.
Put simply, military personnel are not going to spend five years of their lives studying every minute detail of muay thai or wing chun or boxing or BJJ or judo. They’re going to learn what they need to, in order to survive. And that’s a good thing.
Stick those same guys in a ring with a specialised martial artist, and they’re going to get their butts handed to them, 99 times out of 100.
By that same token, though, stick a mixed martial artist in a gunfight or a sentry raid or a HALO drop, and he’s almost certain to die.
It all depends on what you specialise in. The same logic applies to different fighting styles too. If you specialise in muay thai, and then you enter a BJJ competition and fight under BJJ rules, you’ll get massacred. Likewise, if you specialise in wrestling, and then try to fight a real striker under ISKA Oriental rules (i.e. you can kick people in the legs), your cornermen will be carrying you out of the ring in a stretcher – because your legs will be destroyed.
It’s all a matter of specialisation, rule sets, and situational skills.
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I found a pretty cool MMA listicle channel that has put out some excellent Top 10s videos, such as these – check it out and subscribe if you’re interested:
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And while I was browsing through that, I came across a channel called MixedMollyWhoppery, which has to be one of the best MMA commentary channels out there:
The 3-part commentary concerning the epic rivalry between Dominick Cruz, Urijah Faber, T. J. Dillashaw, and Cody Garbrandt is also quite something to watch:
Dominick “The Dominator” Cruz is one of my favourite fighters as well as a remarkably astute and observant colour commentator. The depth and precision of his knowledge is astonishing, and his fighting style is one of the weirdest, most awkward, yet brilliant and cerebral, approaches to fighting that I’ve ever seen. Unfortunately he hasn’t fought in about 3 years now, and I honestly suspect that he’s basically about done. It’s sad to see him on the bench for so long, given his incredible skills and winning track record, but the fact is that he is simply too prone to injury to hold on to the championship belt for very long.
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Well now, ain’t this interesting – PewDiePie, the biggest name on YouTube, has announced that he is going to leave YT and join a blockchain-based competitor to the Goolag’s content platform:
Youtube is starting to realise they aren’t the only person in the room anymore. For many years they have had the monopoly on the video sharing industry online. In November 2006, youtube became a subsidiary of google further consolidating the stronghold of the internet giants. We have seen time and time again, anyone who becomes successful and could be seen as a competitor is either shut down or bought out by groups like google and amazon. No longer will this occur with such a crippling effect.
With the introduction of blockchain, video streaming sites like Dlive have developed, pushing against all that these internet giants stand for. They are decentralized, transparent and fair. Content cannot be moderated or pushed with corporate agendas. Cuts as big as 50% going to the man in the middle are a thing of the past. And it looks like the world is starting to notice.
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DLive is changing the whole game by putting platform ownership in the hands of the users through blockchain technology powered by Lino. The users of DLive are rewarded for their contributions as the platform grows. Both content creators and viewers are valued. Unlike traditional platforms, DLive takes absolutely zero platform cuts from users’ donations and subscriptions. Instead, the economic system has been designed to revolutionize revenue distribution by rewarding the community for their contributions rather than a corporation.
Those of you – all two of you, I suspect – that were paying attention to last Monday’s awesome assemblage of excellence will recall that I posted quite a bit of stuff about blockchains and how to use them.
Make no mistake, brothers: blockchains are a real revolution. Properly implemented, they are very difficult (but not impossible) to hack, and nearly impossible to take down by any single large entity, because they are decentralised and built around powerful mathematical algorithms.
Those who are more technically inclined would be advised to read the original Bitcoin white paper, by “Satoshi Nakamoto”, for an explanation of how blockchains work in an applied manner.
Now think about what will happen once YouTube’s ability to block content creators from getting paid, is removed by blockchain-based distributed ledgers. Suddenly, (((You)))Tube and Goolag completely lose control over advertising, content creation, and most importantly, the narrative.
That, my brothers, is huge.
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Jezza tries to drive a BMW M3 indoors, with, shall we say, predictable results:
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James May unpimps a ride in his signature laconic style:
“I hope Chris Harris was driving around that bit” – brilliant.
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The Big Bear on Charlize Theron and the realities of the free market:
Big Bear has been on a roll of late. If you’ve watched his commentaries on various things, such as what is wrong with Amy Schumer (where the hell would we even begin with that one?!?!?), you’ll see what it looks like when a truly free, genuinely good man lets rip on those who serve lies:
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#BasedTucker, again:
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Avi Yemeni was blocked from entering the US of A, detained, and deported when he tried to fly over and confront Jim Jefferies for being a hypocritical foul-mouthed jackass:
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Your drool-inducing video of the day – the Koenigsegg Jesko is going to be a truly INSANE machine whenever it finally comes out, with a possible THREE HUNDRED MPH TOP SPEED:
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Mark Henry, who is apparently fairly well known in powerlifting and strongman circles, talks about drugs in the iron sports:
To be honest, I wonder why any of this is news.
See, here’s the thing: the world’s best drug-tested powerlifting federations, most notably the IPF, are quite strict about testing requirements, equipment, and technique. And you can see just how incredibly strong those guys are – for instance, if you watch Ray Williams going straight-up savage in the powerlifting meets, you will see that the guy can squat over 1,000lbs cleanly and down to depth, and can deadlift over 900lbs.
But the world records for those lifts are much, much higher.
The world record for the equipped (i.e. strapped) deadlift is 500Kg, as far as I know, and that was set by Eddie Hall. The world record for the squat is something like 1,200lbs – I know Andy Bolton squatted that much, but he did it with a “super suit”.
Here are the records from various weight classes with and without equipment. Now compare those with some of the weights lifted by strongmen like Hafthor Bjornsson, Brian Shaw, and others.
Notice anything?
Like, say, how the WSM competitors routinely outlift and outlast their powerlifting brethren?
Basically, a simple rule of thumb for figuring out whether a competitor is on the juice or not, is to check whether or not he competes in a drugs-tested federation, like the IPF, and then see whether his records have been beaten in other competitions like the World’s Strongest Man, or in other non-tested federations.
If they have been beaten in other competitions, then you can be pretty damned sure that the IPF competitor is NOT, in fact, on the juice – and the other guys are.
It’s not that hard to figure out. Natties will never be able to lift as much as enhanced competitors, by definition.
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I had an interesting conversation with Didact Sr. earlier this week, where he asked why it is that Christians and Buddhists generally don’t particularly like each other. He was confused because he thought that Buddhists are a peaceful bunch. I told him that he was quite wrong, and that Buddhists actually have a long history of intolerance, violence, and great xenophobia exhibited toward non-believers.
As to exactly why this happens, well, that comes from the fact that Christianity and Buddhism have almost diametrically opposed viewpoints on the fundamental question of what causes evil, and how to solve the problem:
The general pattern in Eastern religions is to consider evil as the effect of spiritual ignorance. The first noble truth proclaimed by the Buddha states that the only reality of human existence is the all-pervading reality of suffering. This perspective is valid for most of the Eastern religious thinkers that followed the period of the Upanishads. The only possibility of escaping suffering is to know the true nature of things and so to escape from the dominion of ignorance, karma and reincarnation. In the dualistic religions, evil is coeternal with good. Matter and embodied existence are evil, and our ignorance keeps us from attaining perfection as angelic beings. According to Christianity, evil is neither created nor a natural or necessary element. It is a parasite state that perpetuates itself by misusing God’s good resources and by following a wrong direction. It is the illness of beings that are no longer in communion with God. Therefore, world religions contradict each other in explaining the meaning of evil.
Obviously, being a Christian (for all of three months, so those of you who were born into the faith have a legitimate reason to tell me to keep my trap shut), I am quite biased on the subject, but as far as I am concerned, the question is not about how to solve evil – we already have the solution, and His name is Jesus, who is the Christ, and who is Lord.
No, the question is whether or not you, personally, will bend the knee and acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
To call Christianity “a” solution to the problem of evil is simply ridiculous. If evil did not exist, there would be no need for Jesus, at all, in any way.
Jesus is not a solution. Jesus is THE solution.
It’s a subject for a later post, but when you actually think through the axioms and logical deductions that form the Christian view on evil, you quickly realise that any other approach, outside of Jesus and His sacrifice, cannot solve the problem of evil.
It’s just not possible.
I won’t go into the details here, but think about it this way:
The true Creator, as acknowledged by most (not all) world religions, is all-benevolent and all-powerful. Or so we are told.
Yet, evil exists.
If the Creator refuses to solve the problem of evil, He is not all-benevolent. If the Creator cannot solve the problem of evil, He is not all-powerful. In either case, He is not the Creator, by His own definition.
There is no way out of this problem without resorting to all sorts of forced tacked-on epicycles, such as the “one God, many gods” paradigm adopted by Hinduism, Buddhism and other polytheistic faiths, or the fickle, perverse, and deeply unlikable “god” of Islam, who is capricious and twisted in the extreme.
The only possible logical way out of this is the Christ, whose name was, and is, Jesus. If you look carefully at what Jesus did, and what He said, you will see quickly why this is so.
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Peter Grant and Kim du Toit, two old white dudes from Africa, have some rather trenchant views on how to solve the insoluble problem of what to do about the Dark Continent. Kim’s solution essentially comes down to, Let Africa Sink.
Mr. Grant doesn’t agree with that approach… but he can’t come up with an alternative, either:
Therefore, I can’t propose any way to “organize and govern countries like Rhodesia/Zimbabwe and South Africa in light of the potent and undeniable realities of race, IQ, and culture (and their attendant, inescapable, behavioral consequences)”. I can’t”identify [an alternative] to the widely discredited system of Apartheid that will not result in the appalling dysfunctionality and squalor that characterizes Sub-Saharan Africa today”. There is no practical possibility whatsoever of doing so from within, because those solutions require education, the end of tribalism and superstition, and a willingness to work for the greater good of society – all of which are conspicuous by their absence in almost every part of Africa. And, since there’s no internal structure to support such political solutions, they can’t be imposed from outside, either. China is making them work economically only because it imports every skilled worker it needs from China to staff its African enterprises. It could not succeed if it relied on local workers and administrators.
Africa is hamstrung. It has no way forward unless and until it develops an educated people who understand that they have to move beyond the shackles of past superstition and tribalism if they’re to join the modern world. Tragically, the powers that be in Africa have no intention whatsoever of allowing any such education to take place, because they know it would mean the end of their rule. Africa is at an impasse, and I see no way forward at this time. All I can suggest is that we try to support and defend any potential progress – and worthy individuals – we can identify there, try to protect them from the rapacity, greed and ruthlessness of local rulers, and see whether, in due course, the shoots of democracy and freedom will take root and grow in what has proved to be a Dark Continent indeed.
So… in other words, just leave Africa alone and don’t bother trying to fix it, right? Which, if you think about it, just comes down to: LET AFRICA SINK.
Come on, guys, it’s not that hard to figure out. I mean, the British, who ruled over the ENTIRE Indian subcontinent, a land of 300 MILLION pagans, with barely 100,000 civil servants, troops, and administrators, were unable to do anything of consequence to civilise Africa.
That should tell you something.
The greatest empire-builders in all of human history couldn’t do it. Nor can, or will, or should, anyone else. So stop bothering.
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Life as one of the Wives And Girlfriends (WAGs) of famous athletes, especially Premiership footballers, is not quite the fun and games that you might expect from TV:
The Secret WAG also says she’s heard stories about the ways in which other footballers and their partners keep their sex lives exciting.
“Apparently some top premiership players and their WAGs have formed a small, discreet swinging circle,” she says.
“My WAG friend told me that one of the couples has a huge Jacuzzi in their house – big enough for at least ten people – where the group of footballers and WAGs drink a lot of alcohol then have sex with a different partner… or many different partners.
“Now there are so many more actresses, page-three girls and members of girl bands dating footballers, because footballers consider themselves more as celebrities than sportsmen – but that’s a fearful prospect for normal WAGs because of the pressure to look great and remain looking young.
“The scales have become a character in my life and every day, I compulsively weigh myself an extraordinary number of times.
“No WAG wants their man’s head to be turned by a slimmer woman, and in one day, I’ve been to the gym four separate times.”
I would say that, on the other side of the equation, the men involved are basically overgrown children, in psychological terms.
Yes, they are great athletes. And yes, they have strong Alpha male characteristics. But, fundamentally, most of them are all about having the most expensive toys, the biggest houses, and the hottest girlfriends – because those are the incentives and the lifestyle that they are given.
That is not a recipe for long-term happiness, because these are things that children concern themselves with.
Adults concern ourselves much more with being satisfied with what we have and are given, and with devoting ourselves to that which is truly important – namely, faith, family, and friends.
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For those of you who are interested, here is a quiz that will help tell you where you stand on the Supreme Dark Lord’s (PBUH) Socio-Sexual Hierarchy.
Note that this was not created by His Voxness. And as a result, it is a bit heavier on the sexual/PUA side of things than the social side. There are flaws in it which will result in lower Deltas being ranked as Gammas, for instance. And this is not correct.
But, overall, it will give you some idea of where you stand on that hierarchy.
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Speaking of the SSH, have you ever wondered what it looks like when a woman reacts to a Gamma?
Skip ahead to 0:53 in this clip and you’ll see a picture-perfect example:
There is a reason why attractive women treat Gammas as if they are simultaneously radioactive and wearing a sign saying “I HAVE EBOLA!!!!!”.
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Lana Lokteff from Red Ice TV is most definitely not married to a Gamma, and is most certainly a woman who knows what she is talking about when it comes to welcoming the hard times that are upon us now:
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The very last few scenes of HALO 4 make me misty-eyed every single time I see them:
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Our boy Razor has some very sharp things to say about the next installment in the Mortal Kombat series:
Yep, definitely not playing that one. Let’s be honest – guys like me really enjoy the ridiculously skimpy outfits worn by Sonya, Mileena, and Kitana, and now the SJW assholes are trying to do away with them.
Screw ’em.
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The Trap Lord mulches a “fat acceptance activist”, who apparently has Twinkies in place of brains:
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Courtesy of our friend the Gentleman Adventurer, here is the trailer for the upcoming Vietnam War movie, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan. It’s gonna be good:
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Related – perhaps the most harrowing scene in one of the best war movies ever filmed, We Were Soldiers:
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Our Ukrainian lady friend is back with another installment of Eastern European wisdom concerning the differences between Asian and Slavic parenting methods, versus Western ones:
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Dog of the week is the Thai Ridgeback:
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I can only describe this next video as, “Barbie Meets Metal”:
WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST WATCH?!?!?
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Pictures from Power Line and other places:
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I’m not quite sure whether this belongs in the gym idiocy section, but it is fairly stupid – and also somewhat disgusting:
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What, in the name of all that is holy, would possess a woman to mutilate her otherwise quite beautiful body into such a grotesque parody of femininity?!?
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Gym idiots time… Sorry, lads:
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No martial arts maulers this time, they’re all up top – but rest assured that I’m not going to leave you without lifting motivation today:
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#PowerOfThySword
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And finally here’s your Instathot to get the week started off on the right boobs foot. Her name is Carly Baker, and she works as a UFC ring girl, “actress” (yeah, right), and “Instagram influencer” – whatever the hell that means, your guess is as good as mine.
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1 Comment
An Schumer, etc., some interesting commentary also in the stream that also inspired the "get god, get a baby" mixes. It's one of the oldest ones in Owen's Livestream channel at unauthorized.tv