Best of Boxing (Episode 3)

I was watching When We Were Kings last night; and if you haven't seen it, it's a must-peep. The film won an Academy Award for best documentary in 1996, but it's an in-depth look at my favorite fight ever: Ali vs. Forman's "Rumble in the Jungle" in Zaire (1974).

The fight was incredible, but it was so much more than a boxing match. Every important sports journalist in the world was there, from Hunter S. Thompson to George Plimpton to Norman Mailer. Mailer's memoir of his experience in Zaire, The Fight, is fantastic and available at your local library (the Dewey decimal is 796.83 MAILER if you want to check it out). Don King--this was his first go-around as a boxing promoter--got both Ali and Forman to sign conditional contracts stating that they would fight each other if both of them were guaranteed $5 million each. King got President Mobutu of Zaire to put up the skrilla, and King even signed B.B. King, The Spinners, and James Brown (RIP) to come and have a concert before the fight. Here's some footage of James and the JB's from When We Were Kings:

The build-up to the fight had been enormous. Forman had gained the Heavyweight Title by basically killing Joe Frazier. And I mean killing. Like, knocked him down 6 times in two rounds. And I don't know how he got up from the 2nd knockdown. It's almost sad to watch, but worth seeing just to see how much heart and pride Frazier had. He wouldn't quit. Either the ref was going to have to stop the fight, or Joe would keep going until he got knocked unconscious. Reminds me of the end of the Thrilla in Manila, but that's a story for another time. Peep:

Ali had been stripped of his title in 1967 for famously refusing to enter into the Army after being drafted during the Vietnam War. He was quoted as saying "I ain't got no quarrel with them Viet Cong. Ain't no Viet Cong ever called me N*****." In 1971, the Supreme Court reversed his conviction for draft dodging, and Ali was given back his licence to box but not his Heavyweight Championship that had been wrongfully taken from him. He would get his chance to re-gain the title in Zaire, but he would have to beat Foreman, who had destroyed everyone he had faced. Foreman was an unstoppable force. He was younger than Ali, stronger than Ali, and had knocked out his previous 11 opponents in 4 rounds or less. That fact may have contributed to Ali's plan for the fight, as Muhammad suspected George of not having the stamina to go the full 15 rounds.

Ali had been telling anyone that would listen that he intended to dance once he was in the ring with Foreman, but that was not actually his plan. Early in the first round, Ali started throwing right hand leads. This is almost never done in boxing, and here's Norman Mailer to explain why:

Now that Foreman was going crazy after being insulted with right hand leads from Ali, Muhammad realized he could get George to punch himself out. That's when Ali went into the now famous "rope-a-dope". It really was a fantastic thing to watch. Ali would lay against the ropes for almost the whole round absorbing punishment with his arms only to spring off the ropes for the last ten seconds of the round with a flurry that would score and steal the round in most cases. From the 2nd to the 7th round, Ali lay against those ropes and let Foreman get tired.

Then came the 8th round. Ali had Foreman where he wanted him. George was tired. He was breathing through his mouth (a tell-tale sign of fatigue in a fighter) and was pawing with his punches. Ali lay against the ropes for almost the whole round, and then it happened:

The impossible became possible. Foreman had been beaten. Ali had been redeemed and was Heavyweight Champion again. The Establishment had been proven wrong. Ali's refusal to fight an unjust war was affirmed. The true Champion had the belt again, and Ali proved himself a true hero worthy of admiration and respect from everyone.

Hunter Put Me On To These

Durring a break in our practice session Monday night, Hunter showed me a few videos on youtube. The first is simply hilarious. You may remember from this post that I'm all about MOP's Ante Up (best song about robbery ever). Here's the best video for the best song about robbery... it even showed up on the turntablelab blog today:

Man, Ernie as Lil Fame and Bert as Billy Danze is too funny. Also, here's James Brown giving some free dance lessons (listen to his feet shuffle when he starts doing the robot):

Weekends Real Big

After work on Friday, I chilled with Trey and watched some DVD's. Then I went out to Sullivan's Island for Rob's birthday party. We chilled at Poe's Tavern for a while and drank some good beer. Lots of people were there: Ben, Mel, Diddy, Charlie, Ryan, E-Bar, Erin, Leah, Schrader, Panda, Eddie, Bochet, Emily, and two of her friends. After Poe's, we went to Off the Hook to hear a pretty bunk DJ get me all excited with a couple bangers in a row only to drop into some techno club garbage or a dirty mash-up set. Seriously, he did this all night... even after 1 am. Somewhere along the way I lost track of Rob. Maybe it had to do with all the dancing (Emily's friends were in town from St. Louis and were excited to get a chance to dance... apparently they don't bust moves in The Lou), or the hundred photos that Bochet shot and the subsequent damage to my eyes; but we eventually caught up with Rob in Dunleavey's. He used to work there and was hanging out in the less-crowded bar getting free booze. After last call, we went down to the beach to hang out. We all decided to go swimming, which made the end of the night hilarious for all of us. Not a single bathing suit was brought, so there were a lot of wet kids finding there way home at the end of the night.

On Sunday, I met up with Bochet, Emily, and her friends Meghan and Alex over at TJ and Ben's. Hangovers real big. We went over to Diana's and got extra late breakfast. Then we went to see The Dark Knight in Mt. P. I thought it was very good, but a little long. After that, Ben and I met up with Schrader, Panda, Leah, and RoBo at Schrader's, and then we all went to the Battery game. We met Charlie and Molly there, and since the Battery defense got a shut-out, we all got BoGo coupons for Cold Stone in Mt. P. Cam was working at the game, and he got us all wrist bands to go up into the bar at Blackbaud stadium after the game. Big ups for that. Then we got some food and went back to Schrader's to watch Saturday Night Live (Walken was hosting), and I went home to sleep and try to recover from the previous night and a full day of steez.

I woke up still pretty tired on Sunday, but I packed up my turntables and most of my records to go over to Hunter's to practice this 2 DJ/4 turntable thing we are planning. We just jammed (didn't work out any sets or anything) and had fun trying to collaborate. It all worked out pretty well. I made it back downtown at 5 after a few hours of practice over at Hunter's. Then Palmer, Ben and I went to Juanita's for dinner, and I watched Funny Games back at my house in the evening. I didn't really like it too much, but it was interesting. Tim Roth's character and performance were both great. Maybe the only saving grace of the movie.

Now I'm at work, and I'm going back out to Hunter's to practice more after I get off.

Still Haven't Slept

Alex's going-away party left me crazy tired this morning, but yesterday was fantastic. After I got off work at 5, I went over to LP's with Ben, Will, Betras, and Alex. We played kickball in the park next to LP's place with that crew plus Brian. The game was lots of fun, even when it rained for the 3rd inning.

After everyone went home to shower and change; Ben, Will, Alex, Bochet and myself went to Mellow Mushroom to eat and watch soccer. The process of and benefits to HGH and blood doping were discussed (Bochet is a fan of both), and afterwards, it was time to go back to LP's to pre-party.

By the time we got there, things were already poppin off huge. Everybody was there: Tyner, Schrader, Barber, Molly, the Macs, Panda, Leah, Charlie and his roomate, Diddy, Trey, TJ, Austin, Mel, Fowler, and RoBo (happy birthday, pimp). After a very heated game of quarters, it was off to Wasabi for drinks/dancing.

The ever-ellusive rhombus step popped off big, Sarah and Anne met up with us, Palmer and her friends Deep and Lorena came through, Captain Morgan made an appearance, Eddie came out, and things got crazy. The DJ was pretty bad, but he did play lots of Wayne. In fact, Will and I each heard A Milli 5 times yesterday between the radio and the DJ at Wasabi. After the bar, we all went back to LP's for the afterparty/mario cart on the wii. Then I drove Palmer and her car back to her house and went home.

Thursdaysrealbig...

The Sleep Deprivation is Starting to Get to Me

I haven't been sleeping much lately. There's not really a reason, there's just always something to do. Tonight is Alex's last night in town, so I have a feeling I'll only be getting a couple of winks tonight. I've been working on new mixes (kind of abandoned the Sunny Sunday mix). Hunter and I are trying to get dates to spin around town, so I've been stacking killer dance floor mixes as well as midtempo underground hip-hop/funk warmup mixes. I'll need these planned mixes in case I run out of ideas at a bar/party and need to keep it moving. It's always good to have a back-up for when the creative juices get too diluted by the alcohol.

Hunter and I are trying to play out at bars/parties with 4 turntables and all vinyl. We want to go back and forth between us rather than have me do a set and then him do a set. We were invited to play at the Black Cart (a bar I've always wanted to spin at), but the new management was not exactly welcoming to us. After telling Hunter how much they hate having DJ's, they let us know that we would be getting a portion of the door instead of a flat rate (they wanted to charge a cover... Hunter and I weren't about that). They also let us know that we would be paying for our drinks, and that they were trying to throw themed scene parties. Needless to say, we let them know that we weren't down.

So, we're both practicing as often as we can separately, and we are getting together to jam/work out a set on Friday afternoon. Hopefully soon, we'll be prepared to take Charleston over (Hunter is talking to people from Chai's) and get this money, son. In the meantime, if you are having a party, or know someone that is, that would like to have 2 DJ's killing it all night, holla. All we ask is free drinks and a little paper... or maybe just some drinks to take home. I'll always remember the time E-Bar paid me to play her boyfriend's birthday party with a bottle of Patron. Just as good as money in my opinion.

Once Again, It's Been A While

I still haven't been able to keep up with the blog as much as I would like. I've been crazy busy lately between moving into my new place, practicing on the turntables so Hunter and I can start getting spots to spin around town, and playing a lot of Rock Band.

This past weekend, Will came into town; and so did Emily, Maggie, Meredith, Lynsey, and Alana. I spent Friday with Will, Alex, LP, Brian, Panda, Leah, and Betras. We chilled at LP's and then went to Juanita's. I walked Linzy home and watched some of Boondock Saints, then went home to bed. On Saturday, I chilled with Ben, Will, Charley, Bochet, Diddy (briefly), Maggie, Meredith, Emily, Lynsey, Crosswell, Bonam, JP, and Alana at Ben's. Then over to Bonam and JP's for a great dinner, and back to Juanita's with that crew in the evening. Long walk home from Ben's at 4:30 in the morning. On Sunday, I slept until 4 and went to meet up with a homie in West Ashley, then over to Palmer's for Rock Band with Andy and Linzy.

Seriously, lots of Rock Band lately. Mostly, I've been watching this youtube video of the bass part from Muse's Hystweria on Expert. Trying to learn it with muscle memory first before I try it in front of the "bandmates". The politics of Rock Band are hilarious. Who plays what instrument at what level seems to be a much bigger topic than it should be. Anyway, peep the Muse chart and try to play along (lots of hammer-ons):

Do It Big... hopefully I'll write a new post before next week, but no promises.

I'll Serve Your Ass Like John McEnroe

I really like this video... kinda reminds me of the Kanye video for The Good Life with the text of the lyrics being the focus. Anyway, it's Pete Rock's remix of House of Pain's Jump Around. Peep the homemade video... makes me want to try this with a BIG song, or maybe even Ghostface.

Long Overdue Post

Once again, I haven't been keeping up with the blog. That's why I'm on here now writing my first post in a few days. Seriously, it's been a minute.

I've been playing Rock Band a lot lately (Andy just leaves it at Palmer's house, and we play there). Other than that, I've just been getting steezy with my people and preparing myself to move. I'm moving deeper into Elliotburough (a couple blocks toward the hospital and a couple blocks toward the crosstown). I'm excited for the move, and especially excited that my rent will be $100 less a month at the new spot.

I went to see my parents over the 4th of July weekend. I stopped in Clemson to say hi to Grant on the way there and back. Nice to see him. On the way back, I listened to a long forgotten but favorite album of mine: D'Angelo's "Voodoo". My favorite song is Greatdayindamornin'/Booty. Jay Dee (of The Ummah, Soulquarians, ATCQ, Pharcyde, Slum Village, etc. fame) on the beat. It's illy. Peep:

Other than all that, lots of people are coming to Charleston for a mini Clemson reunion this weekend. I'm looking forward to that. Do it big in July!