Saturday, August 25, 2012

Alan Meires: Joe Frazier, Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, On British TV (1989)

Source:Alan Meires- George Forman, Joe Frazier, and Muhammad Ali. Three real World Heavyweight Champions, from the 1970s.
Source:Real Life Journal 

"Frazier, Ali and Foreman On British TV Show Very Funny. I found this buy luck the British BBC  was broadcasting this as a tribute to the late Great Jo Fraziers Death. 18 October 1989" 


Three giants in the ring and two of the funniest people who've ever lived in Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. Without Parkinson's, imagine Big George and Muhammad, doing a two-man comedy routine and show together. Muhammad, going off on all his opponents that he beat and George telling people how fat people can succeed in America. Or at least people with big mouths and appetites. 

Joe Frazier, not exactly known for humor, but I don't know of a better heavyweight champion who was under 6'0 at least since the 1960s who was better. He's definitely one of the best 5-10 heavyweight champions of all-time. Even though his time as a world champion or even world championship contender was over by his early thirties.

Unless you want to put Larry Holmes in this group who didn't become the World Heavyweight Champion until 1978, I believe we're talking about the three best heavyweight boxers of the 1970s. Muhammad, won the World Heavyweight Championship twice and was 3-1 against these other two great boxers. 

Joe Frazier, was World Heavyweight Champion for what, five years. And it took someone as big and strong as a George Foreman to beat him. 

George beat Smokin Joe twice and George also beat Kenny Norton and some other great boxers. And you could even argue that George underachieved in the 1970s and perhaps should have accomplished more. So this is a great group that was on TV together.

Lifetime: Jessica Savitch- Intimate Portrait: The Queen of Nightly News

Source:Pearl Guthrie- Intimate Portrait Jessica Savitch.

Source:The Daily Press 

"This show about Jessica Savitch [1947-1983] aired in 1995. 

Almost Golden_ The Jessica Savitch Story Almost Golden_ The Jessica Savitch Story Almost Golden_ The Jessica Savitch Story. 

Jessica Savitch goes on a tirade. Don't know if she's totally in the wrong though, after all the anchor is the one that ends up looking silly, even if its everyone . 

Here's a mostly complete NBC News Digest with Jessica Savitch. This is notable for being one of her last appearances on television before her untimely and . 

By request: Jessica Savitch's three appearances on Late Night: 1. February 22, 1982: for three segments. 2. August 11, 1982: for one segment (sorry about the." 


"Jessica Savitch accomplished her goal of becoming a network anchor by the age of 30, but at tremendous personal cost. A long-term abusive relationship, a brief, loveless first marriage, and a melodramatic second marriage that ended in her husband's suicide are some of the traumas with which she dealt. Meanwhile, she skyrocketed through the ranks of broadcast journalism when women were practically nonexistent in the field. This 45-minute video, augmented by interviews with Savitch's sister, biographer, and several coworkers and by much broadcast footage, makes the argument that Savitch's troubles began long before the start of her landmark career. As Savitch's drug use spun out of control, so did her career, culminating in the famously disastrous footage (included here) that led to her firing from NBC. Her accidental death shortly after ended her unrelentingly tragic trajectory. The contrast of Savitch's broadcasts with early black-and-white home movies makes for a hauntingly visual telling of this pioneer's story." 

Source:Amazon- Intimate Portait Jessica Savitch,

From Amazon

Source:Lifetime- Intimate Portrait Jessica Savitch.

Jessica Savitch before she tragically died in 1983, was the weekend anchor of NBC Nightly News. Only behind Tom Brokaw at NBC News as far as their anchors and when she died was considered the most trusted news anchor in America. Essentially replacing Walter Cronkite with that title. She was both gorgeous and adorable, but very intelligent and worked very hard at her craft. A true news junky, which is what you almost have to be to be a successful news anchor, as well as a political junky. All traits I love as someone who shares these same traits and she picked up these traits very early on in life, as being the daughter of a news and political junky her father, who she was very close with.

I wasn't born until 1975 so almost everything I've seen from her have been old news footage of her, actually a lot of it on YouTube. And she became a star in network news by the late 1970s, a very turbulent time in America. With an energy shortage, a weak economy, with high interest, inflation and unemployment rates, the Jonestown tragedy in 1978, the Iran Hostage Crisis. America seeming to be in decline by the summer of 1979 and Jessica Savitch was covering all of these stories.

Jessica Savitch was ahead of her time, because she made it to the top, or very close to it by the late 1970s. When network news was still dominated by men and when women were still coming up in this business and had she not died in 1983 tragically, maybe she's the lead anchor of one of the network newscasts for 15-20 years. Like Tom Brokaw, Peter Jennings, or Dan Rather. She was too big and too good to the weekend anchor indefinitely and could've gone a lot further, if she just had the time to do it.

Friday, August 24, 2012

HBO Sports: George Foreman vs Michael Moorer- World Heavyweight Championship (1994)


Source:HBO Sports- for the World Heavyweight Championship.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"Michael Moorer defends the heavyweight title against George Foreman. Entire HBO program from beginning to end. Hosted by Jim Lampley, Gil Clancy, and Larry Merchant. Recorded on VHS November 1994."  

From Sterling Wainscott

This a fight that Mike Moorer would like to have back. This fight reminds me a little of George Foreman vs Muhammad Ali, for the World Heavyweight Championship in 1974 where Muhammad, waited for Big George, to punch himself out while landing enough punches in the fight to stay ahead. But essentially let Foreman land his punches thinking he wasn't built to last and would punch himself out. And that is when Ali went to work on him and knocked him down for the ten count. 

This was a little different where Big George, lost almost all the rounds if not all of them and did enough to buy himself time to capitalize on a mistake from Moorer, which is where he hit him with a 1-2 and knocked him out.

Big George, is 45 at this point and in his eighth year of his famous comeback looking to win back the world championship. Weighing in at 255-260 pounds and slow, but still having devastating power and the ability to take great punches. 

Mike Mooere, 26 at this point and should have been in this prime and was prepared at least physically to hold on the title for a long time. He beat Evander Holyfield for the championship in 1993. He was 6'2, 215-220 pounds, real quick and real powerful. But perhaps a bit overconfident lacking the work-ethic needed to stay as a world champion. Not that different from Riddick Bowe, or Buster Douglas.

So going into this fight this almost looked like a mismatch. People thinking that Moorer, would pound Foreman the whole fight and be able to avoid Foreman's big jab and win most if not all the rounds. Either wear Foreman out, or win with a landslide decision. 

The cliche always has a punchers chance, was never more correct than in this fight. George Foreman, in every fight he ever fought was always 1-2 punches away from winning. Because he could knock anyone out in 1-2 punches. Or nail you so hard with one punch and then pound you with several big blows after that would take you out. 

Big George, caught Moorer with one of his huge jabs and then decked him with a punch that Moorer didn't see. And that is how he won the World Heavyweight Championship. Where he trailed the whole fight.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

HBO Sports: Gerry Cooney vs Larry Holmes- World Heavyweight Championship (1982)

Source:HBO Sports- Cooney vs Holmes, for the WHC, in 1982.

Source:Real Life Journal 

"Larry Holmes vs Gerry Cooney (High Quality) 11th of June, 1982...............Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada WBC Heavyweight World Championship" 

From Katis

Gerry Cooney vs Larry Holmes, was the classic matchup of the power-fighter vs the power-boxer. Gerry Cooney, is one of the strongest and hardest punching heavyweights of all-time. Who was good enough to fight for the World Heavyweight Championship. But was not a fighter who was built for the distance. 

Cooney didn't move very well standing 6'7 and weighing 230-240 pounds depending on who he fought. He reminds me a little to George Wepner and if he could get to you early and pound you, he could take you out, because he was so strong and so powerful even for a heavyweight. But the problem he had is he fought a lot of strong heavyweights who could move and take punishment. Larry Holmes, perfect example of that.

Larry Holmes, wasn't a one or two-punch knockout artist, but he was a strong powerful heavyweight who moved very well, who had great boxing skills and simply punished his opponents. Reminds me and a lot of others of the great Muhammad Ali. 

This was a fight about who would get to the other first. Could Cooney, take the momentum first, or would Holmes stick and move as he's delivering great punishment to Cooney. That is how Holmes won this fight by attacking Cooney and as a result was able to keep Cooney off him and avoid those huge powerful punches from Cooney. 

Holmes, didn't take out Cooney in a few punches, but instead pounded Cooney over several rounds and eventually wore Cooney out.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Reason: Javier Sicilia- 'The Caravan For Peace Calls For an End to The Drug War'

Source:Reason Magazine- covering The Caravan of Peace.
Source:Real Life Journal 

"On August 12, where the wall between Mexico and the U.S. meets the Pacific Ocean, acclaimed Mexican poet Javier Sicilia and busloads of people who are fed up with the drug war launched the Caravan for Peace. Over the next several weeks, the Caravan will travel to 25 different U.S. cities with the goal of starting a serious national dialogue about the failure of drug prohibition.

Javier Sicilia, whose son was murdered by drug traffickers in 2011, described the drug war this way:

"This war's failure is devastating: the 23 million American drug consumers are far from diminishing but increasing instead; in the past 5 years, Mexico has accumulated almost 70 thousand dead, more than 20 thousand missing people, more than 250 thousand have been displaced, along with hundreds of thousands of widows and orphans, and these figures keep rising. The American gun manufacturers arm the organized crime through illegal trade, while the Mérida Initiative legally arms the Mexican army, fostering war. The American jails imprison millions of human beings because of drug consumption. The immigrants are criminalized on this side of the border and extorted or made to disappear on the other side; the temptation to militarize using the police regime emerges on both sides, while setting a deep crisis for democracy and undermining the greatness of open societies."  


Imagine if we had a war on junk food, junk drink, coffee, swimming, go carting, sky diving, alcohol and tobacco, steroids, sex, athletics, gambling, all things that can bring people pleasure, but come with certain risk factors. First, we would have a lot less insomniacs in America, because we would be such a dull country. But we would be country of prison inmates, because Americans do these activities everyday. And thats just for the people who would be arrested for having a good time. 

We simply don't have enough law enforcement officers to arrest everyone else. We would be arresting people for having a good time and how they live their own lives, not what they do to other people.

Think about it, what are laws for? To protect innocent people from criminals, not to protect people from themselves. Well, the War on Drugs is the opposite of that, because it arrests people for what they do to themselves, not what they do to innocent people. And people who support the War on Drugs, people who I call Drug Warriors, will say we have drunk driving laws. Well, thats obviously true and I support that, but we haven't labeled alcohol a drug thats really a narcotic considering how dangerous it is and the damage that can come from it, if it's abused, illegal at least since not prohibition.

If you don't like marijuana, you don't like the smell of it or whatever, I have some advice for you: don't use it, don't take it, don't use it at all, don't hangout with people who at least do it around you. Congratulations, because you've just made the decision not to use marijuana. And if you have kids, you should keep it away from them as well. 

But don't try to force other people not to be able to use marijuana legally. Because for one, just a practical reason, you won't be able to stop them. I mean talk about wasting time, you would be better off trying to pick up a beach ball with a baseball glove. But the other reason being its really none of your business unless they are friends, or relatives and they are abusing it. What you should do instead is mind your own damn business.

Worry about what happens in your own life and what you have control over, rather than what happens in other people's lives. The War on Drugs is about control, overprotection, trying to save people from themselves. Like the overprotected father who tries to lock his daughter in her bedroom until she's 21. For fear she might meet a dangerous guy. 

And most of the victims of this War, are the people who Drug Warriors claim they are trying to save people who have experimented with illegal narcotics and end up in the criminal justice system as a result. For what they've done to themselves, rather than what they've done to others.

The Young Turks: Ana Kasparian & Cenk Uygur: Freakin Ridiculous Fine For Swearing

Source:The Young Turks- TYT Baby Girl, Ana Kasparian: freakin ticked off about the Middleborough fine for swearing. LOL
Source:The Daily Journal 

"If you swear in public in Middleborough Massachusetts you can expect to be fined. Is cussing protected under free speech? Should the ACLU get involved? Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur discuss this bullshit on The Young Turks." 

Warning! To all of you sensitive viewers who are offended by cussing, you may want to close your eyes as you attempt to read this blog. Because it may have language inappropriate for your sensitive eyes and brain.

If fining people for what they say in public and I’m talking about what people say to each other, we obviously don’t have a constitutional right to threaten people, but that’s not what this is about, but what people say in public that’s not threatening especially when they are angry and have a right to be or are inpatient, if fining people for blowing off steam (to put it mildly) is not a violation of the First Amendment, the constitutional right to free speech, then the First Amendment is useless. And should be thrown out and we no longer live in a liberal democracy, but a police state.

Which perhaps some Americans would like us to be so we can become what we say we are against and get on other countries for being. Fines for foul language, perhaps they make sense on TV, especially for kids who don’t understand that language yet. And we don’t want them cussing out their parents and teachers and that sort of thing and hopefully vice-versa, all right. I can go along with that, but fining people for what they say on the streets, even when they aren’t cussing at anyone in particular, is fucking bullshit. And I already put out the warning so don’t get on me for that now.

For someone in my age range and generation, I don’t cuss very often. People now judge other people for how much they cuss. You’ll have a hard time finding a comedian under fifty today who doesn’t fucking cuss their ass off when performing and in general. They do it to sound cool and to be funny. For a lot of people cussing is a way of communication, that’s how they talk, you won’t find a hit fictional show on cable (and not just HBO) that doesn’t have a tone of cussing. A shit load even, (if you prefer) because they want their shows to sound cool.

And that’s how you communicate to young people today. For me cussing is a form of expression, I cuss to express anger, or amazement. Like: “holy shit that building is huge!” Or that guy is fat to use as examples. But I’m not one whose blown away by things like that very often and a pretty even-tempered guy and will say what the hell, or get the hell out of here, that sort of thing, instead of what the fuck. So when I do drop F or S Bombs, you know I meant it and not just trying to sound cool.

But just because I don’t fucking cuss my ass off on a regular basis, doesn’t mean I believe others should be fined when they do. Because that’s just plain God Damn fucking stupid! Is your life so fucking boring that you have to regulate what comes out of other people’s mouths, when they aren’t threatening, or libeling people, or yelling fire in a crowded place? Is your thumb so far of your fucking ass, you don’t have anything better to do with your time? And that pretty much sums up how I feel about this Massachusetts so-called public decency law.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Reason: Lucy Steigerwald- 'What We Saw at The Solidarity Concert for Pussy Riot'

Source:Reason Magazine- Lucy Steigerwald interviewing a Pussy,  LOL!
Source:Real Life Journal

"Amnesty International called Russian punk feminist collective Pussy Riot "prisoners of conscience," after a February 21 anti-Putin protest landed three members of the band on trial for "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred." The plight of Pussy Riot has provoked international attention — and pressure for lenience — as the women face three to seven years in prison. On August 10, Reason TV headed down to the Solidarity Concert for Pussy Riot, right across from the Russian embassy." 


Wow! I thought Christian-Nationalism was a problem in America, especially when it’s involved in politics. But didn’t realize how big of an issue it is Russia as well. That their Federal Government is trying to clamp down on pornography and perhaps other forms of adult entertainment. Perhaps that has something to do with the fact that I don’t live in Russia, or aren’t of Russian ethnicity. You hear stories about Russia as it relates to the Putin Administration clamping down on speech as it relates to the press.

Because Russia does technically have free press over there, with private media and so-forth and the Federal Government gets involved when one of their news networks, or publications report a story that’s critical of the Putin Administration. Which is bad enough, but to take it to the next level and it interfere with how people live their own lives and what they do in their own homes, is beyond extreme. Its big government gone wild and is something that the Christian-Right would love to see in America.

I can see one of these groups holding rallies with some of their famous religious leaders in defense of President Vladimir Putin and what he’s doing to crack down on immoral behavior as they see it.

I can see it now, Christian-Conservatives holding rallies in favor or what the Putin Administration in Russia is doing as far as it regulates its own people. They would call it something like: “Defending God in the name of morality and decency by trying to eliminate pornography in the Russian Federation.” They would be defending a country that just twenty years ago was a communist republic, a country they use to protest against, especially as it relates to religious freedom.

But now the Christian-Right would be coming out in a favor of a country that still cracks down on freedom, but in a different way: people’s ability to express themselves and be able to live their own lives and control their own bodies. And perhaps see Christian-Conservatives holding rallies against people speaking out in favor of free expression.

Which is how pornography has been ruled constitutionally protected under the First Amendment in the United States. I could see rallies organized by Christian-Conservatives that would one defend the what President Putin is doing in Russia as it relates to pornography and rallies speaking out against people who are speaking out in favor of people’s ability to express themselves sexually. And calling these people immoral and people who should be in prison for what they do in private and what they are speaking out in favor of. Which is a big part of what Christian-Nationalism is in America: restricting freedom to protect what they see as national security and morality.

Saturday, August 11, 2012

FORA-TV: 'Political Satirist Will Durst- Takes on Mitt Romney'

Source:FORA-TV - Will Durst doing his Ben Carson impersonation: I mean he’s talking about Mitt Romney in 2012. L OL 
Source:The Daily Journal

“Comedian Will Durst talks presidential hopeful Mitt Romney, and satirizes the candidate’s “out of touch” election persona.”

Source:FORA-TV

The best way to describe Mitt Romney the politician is to use his own gaffes, I mean words his own thoughts. He said he’s not a politician, which might be technically true in the sense that he currently doesn’t hold public office. But why is that, because he has a very hard time getting elected to anything, except in 2002 when he was elected Governor of Massachusetts.

But that’s not the whole story, because Mitt ran for President in 2007-08 in wide-open GOP field and finished third. Despite having the best resources and perhaps organization. And loses a Senate election to a vulnerable Ted Kennedy in 1994.

Mitt, decides not to run for Senate against John Kerry in 1996, against another vulnerable Senator in John Kerry and decides to take a few years off from politics instead . But the man has been thinking about running for public office at least since 1992. He just hasn’t found a way to get elected except for 2002 as Governor of Massachusetts.

The reason why Mitt is not a career politician, is because he keeps losing or can’t find an election he can win. Not because he’s only interested in being a successful businessman. He’s been thinking about being President of the United States since 2004 and started running in 2006. It's taken him six years just to win he Republican nomination.

It’s not just Mitt Romney’s gaffe that he’s not a career politician. That takes up a whole paragraph. Then there’s the one where he says he doesn’t care about the poor. Well, pardon the expression: no shit, Sherlock! Also in he news fire can burn human flesh and people can drown underwater. And concrete is hard, etc, no real news made here.

Here’s a good one: Mitt is unemployed, actually he gets paid to run for president with all he money he raised running for President. He was fired from that back in 2008 when the GOP decided not to hire him to be their presidential nominee. He did managed to get another job running for president in 2009-10, in about three months, he’ll probably be fired again.

And then of course there all the flip-flops, like not being in favor of his own healthcare law that he singed into law in Massachusetts. He figured out that’s not going to fly and has decided he’s now in favor of Romney/ObamaCare.

The best way to describe Mitt Romney without using his own words, imagine a slick used car salesmen, who has the attitude: “I need to tell my customers what they need to hear for them to buy a car from me and where I’m wrong, I’ll try to fix this in the future.” Like saying a car that’s supposed to have four doors, but it only has three which will keep you warm in the winter in Wisconsin with only three doors. Thats sums up Mitt’s flip-flops. “What do I have to say to this crowd to get their support and how do I change that around to get the support of the next crowd that I’m speaking to.”

Mitt is a slick used car salesmen which unfortunately is a great way to describe a lot of American politicians.  

Sunday, August 5, 2012

RT America: Alex Wahl & Alex Chance- 'Porn Stars Choose The Next U.S. President'

Source:RT America- RT is at least partially funded by Vladimir Putin's Russian Federation Government-


“As the November elections on the doorstep more and more porn stars are having their say on who they want to be the US next president. President Obama has a whole support team made up of porn actors while Mitt Romney has at least one supporter as well. With porn having a dramatic impact on the US economy it’s no wonder so many folks whithin the adult film community have opinions on how it’s regulated. Alex Chance, a xxx-rate movie performer joins RT’s Liz Wahl from Los Angeles for more.” 

From Russia Today

As the so-called Family Values Party heads to the adult entertainment capital of America, (which is Tampa, Florida) where the Grand Old Party meaning the Republican Party will hold their convention, (you can have all sorts of fun with this) I thought it would be fun to look at how the so-called porn industry could affect Mitt Romney and his potential Republican vice presidential candidates.

I guess we can drop Rick Santorum, Mike Huckabee and Michele Bachmann, from the list since they all support a constitutional amendment to outlaw pornography. And since the GOP is the Family Values Party, they’re not going to nominate someone for vice president who would outlaw porn. And risk getting kicked out of Tampa. And being forced to hold their convention in West Virginia, or somewhere else in the Bible Belt where they would all have to rent helicopters to get to the convention because there aren’t enough roads.

One of my favorite jokes is that you would have better luck finding a prostitute, or some other adult entertainer at a Southern Baptist Convention, then you would see the Chicago Cubs winning the World Series, or Detroit Lions winning the Super Bowl. But the problem with that joke is the Republican Party is in Tampa this year and there might be all sorts of adult entertainers at their convention looking for potential clients and showing them a whole new way of living.

Like what it’s like checking out women other than your wife, (in public) or what its like to have sex, (with someone other than your wife) that not all women wear long dresses everywhere they go and aren’t afraid to show their legs and even butts in public. Tampa, is about as Bible Belt and Christian-Right of a city as Seattle is in the Southeast. A very friendly individualistic of a city where people are free to be themselves.

It’s funny enough that today’s modern Republican Party is in Tampa in the first place. I guess they’ll be in Sin City Las Vegas in 2016, where you’ll have thousands of Republicans who perhaps have never seen a casino on TV before let alone actually been to one.

If an adult entertainer endorses Mitt Romney for president in Tampa, it could cost Mitt twenty points in the GOP, even if his approval rating goes up with the rest of the country. And you may see Mitt trying to convince people that he was never endorsed by an adult entertainer, or the person had him confused with another Mitt Romney. Like the Mitt Romney from 2002, or 1994.

I mean a party where you got a certain percentage of its members, maybe 1/3 who believe pornography should be illegal everywhere in the country, having their convention in the porn capital of the country, there’s a lot that’s ironic about this picture.