Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
Not much to say about today's physio except that my left knee was very uncooperative today. That makes me very cranky and then I get annoyed about other exercises. I'll return on Thursday.
Mika Nishio leaves KO Productions
Mika Nishio has announced on her blog that she has left KO Productions/A To Z/JD Star and will become a freelancer.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Otis Redding
Song:Good To Me
Album:Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding
Another great song from this 4CD box set of one of the greatest soul singers of all time.
Song:Good To Me
Album:Otis! The Definitive Otis Redding
Another great song from this 4CD box set of one of the greatest soul singers of all time.
Monday, January 30, 2006
GIRLS DOOR to revive the red belt
As many regular readers are aware, I'm not a big fan of nostalgia as it relates to the joshi business. There have been whispers for the last month that Kumiko Maekawa would defend the WWWA Singles Title before her retirement. I'm okay with her doing that on her retirement show especially if she takes care of the unfinished business she has with Nanae Takahashi. It's well known those two dislike each other for real. But I'm not crazy about bringing the red belt back for any other reason. AJW is dead and while the legacy of the red belt was tarnished enough by Matsunaga stupidity, I'd like to see the red belt stay inactive so the legacy isn't tarnished further. GIRLS DOOR has convinced Maekawa to defend the WWWA Singles Title on their Feb. 19 show at Shinjuku FACE against Ayako Hamada. I will reserve judgement until I see how this is handled but I have bad vibes about this. Other than nostagiac value, the belt doesn't mean anything anymore. Here's the lineup so far.
GIRLS DOOR - 2/19/06 - Shinjuku FACE
Cherry vs GAMI
Aja Kong & Tomoko Watanabe vs Manami Toyota & Dynamite Kansai
WWWA SINGLES TITLE:Kumiko Maekawa (champ) vs Ayako Hamada
GIRLS DOOR - 2/19/06 - Shinjuku FACE
Cherry vs GAMI
Aja Kong & Tomoko Watanabe vs Manami Toyota & Dynamite Kansai
WWWA SINGLES TITLE:Kumiko Maekawa (champ) vs Ayako Hamada
Another match added to FF2 show
Another match has been added to Friday's FF2 show. I would think that the card is complete at this point.
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu,2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1round, 6 minutes
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Ayumi "Edge" Saito
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT-Kinuka Sasaki vs Tachiwaki Yui
60KG BOUT-Harumi vs Mizuho Sato-new
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu,2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1round, 6 minutes
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Ayumi "Edge" Saito
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT-Kinuka Sasaki vs Tachiwaki Yui
60KG BOUT-Harumi vs Mizuho Sato-new
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:John Fogerty
Song:Centerfield
Album:Centerfield
Of course Fogerty is best known as part of the clasic 60s group Creedence Clearwater Revival. Centerfield was his first solo album in 1985 and the title song was a big hit. Fogerty continues to produce solid music today.
Song:Centerfield
Album:Centerfield
Of course Fogerty is best known as part of the clasic 60s group Creedence Clearwater Revival. Centerfield was his first solo album in 1985 and the title song was a big hit. Fogerty continues to produce solid music today.
Rey Misterio Jr. wins Royal Rumble
Rey Misterio Jr. won last night's Royal Rumble. This means he's supposed to get a shot at one of the two titles at Wrestlemania. There are already reports that he will lose the title shot. That will be very disappointing to fans who want Rey to be champ. But the WWE can't get past Rey's lack of size and the fact that fans don't care about that. He's earned the chance to be the top guy but won't get it because the WWE is stupid and would rather just exploit Eddie Guerrero's death through Rey. I hope the WWE changes their attitude towards Rey but have my doubts.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
NASCAR's Casey Mears part of 24 Hours of Daytona winning team
NASCAR Nextel Cup driver Casey Mears (#42 Texaco Dodge) was one of the winning drivers in this weekend's Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona along with 2005 IRL & Indy 500 champ Dan Wheldon and IRL driver Scott Dixon. Believe it or not, this is the first time non-regulars have won this race.
The Daytona race has become very popular with the NASCAR boys because it's just before their season starts and they're itching to get on the track. With the exception of Bobby Labonte, it's a one shot for all of them. Bobby has an ownership stake in the car he was driving.
After almost winning this race the last two years, 2005 Nextel Cup champ Tony Stewart just didn't have a car that could run up front. Danica Patrick & Rusty Wallace did have a car that could run up front but the engine blew up. All the other NASCAR boys in the race had mechanical problems.
Congratulations to car owner Chip Ganassi and drivers Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon & Casey Mears. Casey will definitely have bragging rights in the NASCAR garage.
The Daytona race has become very popular with the NASCAR boys because it's just before their season starts and they're itching to get on the track. With the exception of Bobby Labonte, it's a one shot for all of them. Bobby has an ownership stake in the car he was driving.
After almost winning this race the last two years, 2005 Nextel Cup champ Tony Stewart just didn't have a car that could run up front. Danica Patrick & Rusty Wallace did have a car that could run up front but the engine blew up. All the other NASCAR boys in the race had mechanical problems.
Congratulations to car owner Chip Ganassi and drivers Dan Wheldon, Scott Dixon & Casey Mears. Casey will definitely have bragging rights in the NASCAR garage.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Etta James
Song:Wet Match
Album:The Right Time
R & B legend Etta James has been making great music since the 50s with hits like Dance With Me Henry and all her Chess Records classics from the 60s. She's still doing it today. This album is from 1992. Her sons are in her band and it's just wonderful that someone who has been around as long as Etta is still making great music. Many fans can't believe she's still alive.
Song:Wet Match
Album:The Right Time
R & B legend Etta James has been making great music since the 50s with hits like Dance With Me Henry and all her Chess Records classics from the 60s. She's still doing it today. This album is from 1992. Her sons are in her band and it's just wonderful that someone who has been around as long as Etta is still making great music. Many fans can't believe she's still alive.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
G-Shooto adds match to Feb. 24 show
G-Shooto has added a Bantamweight match to their Feb. 24 show at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. The card so far. All bouts are scheduled for two 5 minute rounds.
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Maho Muranami vs Yukiko Seki
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Kayo Nagayasu vs Akiko Inoue
BANTAMWEIGHT GRAPPLING MATCH-Sayaka vs Kyoko Murakami
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Maho Muranami vs Yukiko Seki
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Kayo Nagayasu vs Akiko Inoue
BANTAMWEIGHT GRAPPLING MATCH-Sayaka vs Kyoko Murakami
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Karen Clark Sheard
Song:Balm In Gilead
Album:Finally Karen
As I've said before Karen Clark Sheard is one of the legendary gospel group The Clark Sisters and is one of the most accomplished vocalists in the world today. This live song was written & produced by Donald Lawrence featuring The Tri-City Singers. Donald & Karen have a lot of chemistry together and he has worked with her on all her records. When a singer is as good as Karen, everyone wants to work with her.
Song:Balm In Gilead
Album:Finally Karen
As I've said before Karen Clark Sheard is one of the legendary gospel group The Clark Sisters and is one of the most accomplished vocalists in the world today. This live song was written & produced by Donald Lawrence featuring The Tri-City Singers. Donald & Karen have a lot of chemistry together and he has worked with her on all her records. When a singer is as good as Karen, everyone wants to work with her.
Friday, January 27, 2006
DVD review:Yumi Fukawa Sayonara
It was a very sad day for joshi fans worldwide when cute little ARSION wrestler Yumi Fukawa retired in March 2002 due to recurring concussion problems. Yumi became extremely popular because of her combination of ring skills, charisma & sex appeal. Upon her retirement ARSION released a tribute video called Sayonara. My pals at Wrestlegirlz sent me the first two volumes.
The video starts with Yumi Fukawa's training in All Japan Women in 1993. She eventually debuted in AJW but her matches were very ordinary. Yumi left AJW in 1998 to join the fledgling company ARSION along with Aja Kong & Mariko Yoshida and others. Yoshida was head trainer and to differentiate ARSION from the other joshi companies, it was decided that the ARSION style would be more mat based with an emphasis on submission holds. Of course it helped that Yoshida is a walking encyclopedia of submission holds. Though they would also do some of the trademark joshi high flying, the ARSION submission style was born.
Other than Ayako Hamada & Jessica Soto (Bionic J), all the 1998 ARSION wrestlers had varying degrees of joshi ring experience. Some had already established a ring style so Yoshida concentrated on teaching the ARSION concept to younger wrestlers such as Yumi Fukawa & Michiko Ohmukai. Both had ring experience but hadn't established a distinctive personality. They even put the two together as a tag team. Yumi Fukawa seemed to adapt particularly well to Yoshida's instruction.
Yumi Fukawa is a very small girl. She is maybe 5'2" and maybe 115lbs. I could be a little high on both estimates. Of course this always makes her the underdog which is very appealing to fans. Momoe Nakanishi had the same appeal. Add to that Yumi's charisma, sex appeal and her determination in the ring and you have quite a potent little package. Yumi also showed tremendous emotion in her facial expressions and that ability would get her over even more. A lot of wrestlers never learn how to do facial expressions properly but it was one of Yumi's strong points.
The second part of Sayonara features some of Yumi Fukawa's best matches. This includes her match on the first ARSION show vs Candy Okutsu. She formed a tag team early on with Michiko Ohmukai. The two also had a famous match against each other that was taped by a hand held camera. When I look at them, I'm thinking that they're two beautiful & sexy girls. But their match emphasizes the quality of their ring work and their toughness. One would think that Yumi's match vs Aja Kong would be a squash. But Aja let Yumi have a lot of offense and made her look credible. Aja won though. There was also Yumi's tag team with Rie Tamada. They were used mostly as fodder for Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita's invasion of ARSION. It also includes Yumi Fukawa's biggest victory of her career over her mentor and queen of submission wrestling Mariko Yoshida in October 1999. Yumi's reaction after the match is priceless.
The final part of Sayonara is a digest of clips from every Yumi Fukawa ARSION match that was ever videotaped. It is fast paced fun. When most fans think of joshi puroresu, they think of the trademark high flying of someone like Manami Toyota. The success of Yumi Fukawa in ARSION proves that there's more to joshi than flying. She didn't do much flying and of course at her size she really couldn't really do power moves either. She could do it occasionally but Yumi Fukawa was very good at two things. She could take a beating as good as anyone. She would react to a power bomb like she had been killed. Of course that ability may have cost her with all the concussions. After taking that beating, she had the ability to turn it into a Fujiwara armbar or a cross arm breaker and make her opponent tap out. Add her natural charisma, facial expressions and sex appeal and like I said before, Yumi Fukawa was quite a potent little package. Too bad she was forced to retire at such a young age.
The Yumi Fukawa Sayonara DVDs are recommended to any joshi fan even if you're not familiar with Yumi's work. She was very entertaining in the ring and that comes through very clearly. The best place to get Sayonara is from my Aussie pals Amy Action & Bliss at http://www.wrestlegirlz.com/ They're only $10US each and Wrestlegirlz packages all their DVDs in deluxe full colour packaging. I don't know of anyone else who sells joshi that way. The girls ship worldwide and accept Paypal. So get over there and get some top quality joshi puroresu DVDs from two girls who love joshi as much as any fan.
The video starts with Yumi Fukawa's training in All Japan Women in 1993. She eventually debuted in AJW but her matches were very ordinary. Yumi left AJW in 1998 to join the fledgling company ARSION along with Aja Kong & Mariko Yoshida and others. Yoshida was head trainer and to differentiate ARSION from the other joshi companies, it was decided that the ARSION style would be more mat based with an emphasis on submission holds. Of course it helped that Yoshida is a walking encyclopedia of submission holds. Though they would also do some of the trademark joshi high flying, the ARSION submission style was born.
Other than Ayako Hamada & Jessica Soto (Bionic J), all the 1998 ARSION wrestlers had varying degrees of joshi ring experience. Some had already established a ring style so Yoshida concentrated on teaching the ARSION concept to younger wrestlers such as Yumi Fukawa & Michiko Ohmukai. Both had ring experience but hadn't established a distinctive personality. They even put the two together as a tag team. Yumi Fukawa seemed to adapt particularly well to Yoshida's instruction.
Yumi Fukawa is a very small girl. She is maybe 5'2" and maybe 115lbs. I could be a little high on both estimates. Of course this always makes her the underdog which is very appealing to fans. Momoe Nakanishi had the same appeal. Add to that Yumi's charisma, sex appeal and her determination in the ring and you have quite a potent little package. Yumi also showed tremendous emotion in her facial expressions and that ability would get her over even more. A lot of wrestlers never learn how to do facial expressions properly but it was one of Yumi's strong points.
The second part of Sayonara features some of Yumi Fukawa's best matches. This includes her match on the first ARSION show vs Candy Okutsu. She formed a tag team early on with Michiko Ohmukai. The two also had a famous match against each other that was taped by a hand held camera. When I look at them, I'm thinking that they're two beautiful & sexy girls. But their match emphasizes the quality of their ring work and their toughness. One would think that Yumi's match vs Aja Kong would be a squash. But Aja let Yumi have a lot of offense and made her look credible. Aja won though. There was also Yumi's tag team with Rie Tamada. They were used mostly as fodder for Mima Shimoda & Etsuko Mita's invasion of ARSION. It also includes Yumi Fukawa's biggest victory of her career over her mentor and queen of submission wrestling Mariko Yoshida in October 1999. Yumi's reaction after the match is priceless.
The final part of Sayonara is a digest of clips from every Yumi Fukawa ARSION match that was ever videotaped. It is fast paced fun. When most fans think of joshi puroresu, they think of the trademark high flying of someone like Manami Toyota. The success of Yumi Fukawa in ARSION proves that there's more to joshi than flying. She didn't do much flying and of course at her size she really couldn't really do power moves either. She could do it occasionally but Yumi Fukawa was very good at two things. She could take a beating as good as anyone. She would react to a power bomb like she had been killed. Of course that ability may have cost her with all the concussions. After taking that beating, she had the ability to turn it into a Fujiwara armbar or a cross arm breaker and make her opponent tap out. Add her natural charisma, facial expressions and sex appeal and like I said before, Yumi Fukawa was quite a potent little package. Too bad she was forced to retire at such a young age.
The Yumi Fukawa Sayonara DVDs are recommended to any joshi fan even if you're not familiar with Yumi's work. She was very entertaining in the ring and that comes through very clearly. The best place to get Sayonara is from my Aussie pals Amy Action & Bliss at http://www.wrestlegirlz.com/ They're only $10US each and Wrestlegirlz packages all their DVDs in deluxe full colour packaging. I don't know of anyone else who sells joshi that way. The girls ship worldwide and accept Paypal. So get over there and get some top quality joshi puroresu DVDs from two girls who love joshi as much as any fan.
Megumi Yabushita holds first womens combative sports seminar
On Friday the very first womens combative sports seminar was held at the SOD dojo. Your instructor is the world renowned judoka, MMA fighter and pro wrestler Megumi Yabushita. She was assisted by MMA fighter Youko Takahashi. Twenty women were admitted free.
The session started with stretching exercises to warm up followed by passive mat movements. This progressed to demonstration of holds such as triangle & sleeper holds and even arm bars. The participants seemed to enjoy the punching bag the most. There's less contact when shadow boxing.
The participants seemed to be happy to be there at first but were a little stressed after Yabushita put them through the wringer for a while. Yabushita emphasized that combative sports should be an enjoyable experience. She also said she hopes to have more seminars in the future to spread the good word about womens combative sports. Here's a link to a pic of the lovely & talented Yabushita demonstrating some torture to her students.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/headlines/images/20060128/20060128-00000000-spnavi-spo.html
The session started with stretching exercises to warm up followed by passive mat movements. This progressed to demonstration of holds such as triangle & sleeper holds and even arm bars. The participants seemed to enjoy the punching bag the most. There's less contact when shadow boxing.
The participants seemed to be happy to be there at first but were a little stressed after Yabushita put them through the wringer for a while. Yabushita emphasized that combative sports should be an enjoyable experience. She also said she hopes to have more seminars in the future to spread the good word about womens combative sports. Here's a link to a pic of the lovely & talented Yabushita demonstrating some torture to her students.
http://sportsnavi.yahoo.co.jp/headlines/images/20060128/20060128-00000000-spnavi-spo.html
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Clarence "Frogman" Henry
Song:Don't Know Why (But I Do)
Album:Ain't Got No Home
This New Orleans based singer got the nickname Frogman from his croaking on his 1956 hit Ain't Got No Home. He was a contemporary of Fats Domino & Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd. Don't know Why was a big hit in 1961 and showcased Henry's singing ability. It still sounds great. Henry is still around and has performed at the New Orleans Heritage Jazz Festival in recent years.
Song:Don't Know Why (But I Do)
Album:Ain't Got No Home
This New Orleans based singer got the nickname Frogman from his croaking on his 1956 hit Ain't Got No Home. He was a contemporary of Fats Domino & Roy "Professor Longhair" Byrd. Don't know Why was a big hit in 1961 and showcased Henry's singing ability. It still sounds great. Henry is still around and has performed at the New Orleans Heritage Jazz Festival in recent years.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
Today we continued to do more unassisted walking. We didn't even bother with the canes today. William also spent a lot of time manipulating my back muscles. My lower back sure gets stiff. Snap, crackle, pop. I'm not walking very far and I'm taking very small steps but I just want to do more and more until I get pooped out. My left knee doesn't want to cooperate though. It sure gets stiff. William says I did better today and we'll do more of the same when I return to Lyndhurst on Tuesday.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Cannonball Adderley
Song:Work Song
Album:Them Dirty Blues
Classic song from a great sax player. One of his best known songs.
Just wanted to mention that my Joshi Dreams column will return to the new website from PW Insider, PW Insider Xtra. http://www.pwinsiderxtra/ They have started this site to handle all the non-WWE news they receive. I believe the column will actually be on both sites. I plan to write a special video review tomorrow and you will all see it first here.
Song:Work Song
Album:Them Dirty Blues
Classic song from a great sax player. One of his best known songs.
Just wanted to mention that my Joshi Dreams column will return to the new website from PW Insider, PW Insider Xtra. http://www.pwinsiderxtra/ They have started this site to handle all the non-WWE news they receive. I believe the column will actually be on both sites. I plan to write a special video review tomorrow and you will all see it first here.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
WWE signs two year renewal for Smackdown
The big news yesterday was the merger of the UPN & WB networks that will be called CW. So the question is will WWE Smackdown be on this new network. Variety is reporting today that the WWE has already signed a two year renewal with UPN and will be on CW in September.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Van Hunt
Song:Who Will Love Me In Winter
Album:Van Hunt
Van Hunt is a young R & B singer from Dayton, OH. He moved to Atlanta a few years ago and was signed by Capitol out of the R & B scene there. His 2003 debut album did very well and he's another one of these guys who writes and produces great songs so he's destined to have a long career in music. Worth checking out.
Song:Who Will Love Me In Winter
Album:Van Hunt
Van Hunt is a young R & B singer from Dayton, OH. He moved to Atlanta a few years ago and was signed by Capitol out of the R & B scene there. His 2003 debut album did very well and he's another one of these guys who writes and produces great songs so he's destined to have a long career in music. Worth checking out.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Toyota names first three NASCAR Nextel Cup teams
Toyota named the first three teams to run Toyota Camrys in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series. They are Bill Davis Racing, Waltrip-Jasper Racing & Team Red Bull. Waltrip is running the #55 Dodge in 2006 but Davis will start a new team in 2007 to replace him. Red Bull has a lot of participation in motorsports but this is their first big move in NASCAR Nextel Cup. They will field two cars and the drivers will be named later. Robbie Gordon is a possibility because Red Bull has sponsored his Busch Series car a couple of times in the past. NASCAR veteran Marty Gaunt will be the GM of Team Red Bull. So Toyota will have a total of five cars in Nextel Cup in 2007.
Today's physiotherapy
Today I walked unassisted for the first time. I didn't walk very far and I wasn't very impressed but William said it was a big deal and a lot of people never get to that level. What usually happens is he gives me something to do and I just do it. I try not to think about it too much. I don't want to psych myself out. I'm not sure how far I can go but we'll see. I don't look at it as really walking. Maybe others look at it differently. I walked with canes again as well. I don't know. I'm looking for a breakthrough and I don't know if I will get it. I saw Thomas again today and he wants me to come to his house and help him get online. It looks like he's hooked up but doesn't know how to get started. I told him to figure out when he wants to do that. I will return to Lyndhurst on Thursday.
G-Shooto announces next show
G-Shooto has announced that their next show will be Feb. 24 at Shin-kiba 1st Ring. Two matches have been announced.
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Maho Muranami vs Yukiko Seki
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Kayo Nagayasu vs Akiko Inoue
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Maho Muranami vs Yukiko Seki
CLASS C+ STRAWWEIGHT BOUT-Kayo Nagayasu vs Akiko Inoue
Debi Purcell added to Feb. 15 Smackgirl show
Smackgirl has added two more matches to their Feb. 15 Korakuen Hall show. The big news is the long awaited Smackgirl debut of US fighter Debi Purcell. Debi was supposed to be on the Nov. 2004 World Remix Tournament but dropped out due to injury. She has a tough opponent in Smackgirl 2005 Next Cinderella 59kg tournament winner Hitomi Akano. She is 5-0. With Debi Purcell, Hisae Watanabe & Megumi Yabushita all appearing, this could be quite a show. The card so far.
SMACKGIRL - 2/15/06 - Korakuen Hall
61.5KG BOUT-Debi Purcell vs Hitomi Akano-new
60KG BOUT-Takayo Hashi vs Kazuna Moroboshi-new
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Hisae Watanabe vs Ichigo
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-KM-MAKI vs Mizuho Kawasaki
SMACKGIRL OPEN WEIGHT TITLE BOUT-Megumi Yabushita (champ) vs Amanda Buckner
SMACKGIRL - 2/15/06 - Korakuen Hall
61.5KG BOUT-Debi Purcell vs Hitomi Akano-new
60KG BOUT-Takayo Hashi vs Kazuna Moroboshi-new
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Hisae Watanabe vs Ichigo
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-KM-MAKI vs Mizuho Kawasaki
SMACKGIRL OPEN WEIGHT TITLE BOUT-Megumi Yabushita (champ) vs Amanda Buckner
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Weather Report
Song:Birdland
Album:Jazz Legends:Bass 'N' Drum
Weather Report was a very popular jazz fusion group that was spun off from the Miles Davis Bitches Brew group by sax legend Wayne Shorter, keyboard legend Joe Zawinul & bassist Miroslav Vitous. Jaco Pastorious replaced Vitous by the time Birdland was released. It was their biggest hit. This Jazz Legends CD appears to be a various artists collection. The song was originally on the Heavy Weather album.
Song:Birdland
Album:Jazz Legends:Bass 'N' Drum
Weather Report was a very popular jazz fusion group that was spun off from the Miles Davis Bitches Brew group by sax legend Wayne Shorter, keyboard legend Joe Zawinul & bassist Miroslav Vitous. Jaco Pastorious replaced Vitous by the time Birdland was released. It was their biggest hit. This Jazz Legends CD appears to be a various artists collection. The song was originally on the Heavy Weather album.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Toyota makes the expected announcement
Toyota made the expected announcement this afternoon that they will enter the Toyota Camry in the 2007 NASCAR Nextel Cup. They will announce their teams at a party in Charlotte tomorrow night. There have been rumours but other than Bill Davis Racing, we don't know who is going to Toyota. They also said that there will be no factory sponsorship and the teams all have their own sponsors.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Ray Charles
Song:Let's Go Get Stoned
Album:Music From The Motion Picture Ray
Ray Charles had a way of taking someone else's song and making it his own. Such is the case with this Laura Nyro classic that was a big hit for The Fifth Dimension.
Song:Let's Go Get Stoned
Album:Music From The Motion Picture Ray
Ray Charles had a way of taking someone else's song and making it his own. Such is the case with this Laura Nyro classic that was a big hit for The Fifth Dimension.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
New England Championship Wrestling starting womens promotion
The following is courtesy of Mike Johnson of PW Insider. Though Sheldon Goldberg is a strong supporter of womens wrestling and I wish him the best of luck, I am skeptical of the success of this promotion. History has shown that for a womens promotion to be successful, it needs to be a stand alone promotion so the owner can concentrate on that promotion alone. That's why SHIMMER has a good chance to be successful. Like Michelle Starr of Supergirls, Sheldon will have to divide his attention and NECW will be his priority as it should be. I would prefer to see him do what Afa does in WXW and put on one or two shows under the NECW banner and then see what the demand is. If the demand is there and there's money to be made, no problem. But he doesn't know yet if the demand is really there and SHIMMER has a huge edge with it's ROH DVD deal. They're not depending on the live gate.
New England Championship Wrestling returns to live event action on Sunday, March 5 with the world premiere of a new women's promotion, World Women's Wrestling (Triple W for short). Bell time will be 3:00 PM for this event, which takes place at Good Time Emporium, 30 Assembly Square Drive in Somerville, MA.
"Based on the positive response to the women's events we've held in 2005, I felt that a full-fledged women's promotion was the right thing to do for our business," said NECW President, Sheldon Goldberg. "Women's wrestling is one area where NECW has been the clear leader in the region and this was the next logical step."
"There will still be women's matches on the regular NECW shows, but there will also be a mixed tag team division in WWW, so both companies will operate hand-in-hand with each other," said Goldberg. There will be a WWW championship introduced in May and a mixed tag team championship will be introduced at a later date. The status of the NECW Women's Championship is currently "under review" by NECW and WWW officials.
The main event for the WWW premiere will be an NECW Women's Championship match as Violet Flame defends that title in a triple threat elimination match against former champion, Mercedes Martinez and #1 contender, Nikki Roxx. Other stars including, Ariel, The Diva Killers, "Pryme Tyme" Amy Lee, Tanya Lee, Amber, Missy Sampson, Jade, Alere Little Feather and more will be appearing. More details on stars and match-ups will be available in the weeks to come.
Advance tickets for the WWW premiere are on sale now at all Strawberries locations and online at www.NECWwrestling.com.
New England Championship Wrestling returns to live event action on Sunday, March 5 with the world premiere of a new women's promotion, World Women's Wrestling (Triple W for short). Bell time will be 3:00 PM for this event, which takes place at Good Time Emporium, 30 Assembly Square Drive in Somerville, MA.
"Based on the positive response to the women's events we've held in 2005, I felt that a full-fledged women's promotion was the right thing to do for our business," said NECW President, Sheldon Goldberg. "Women's wrestling is one area where NECW has been the clear leader in the region and this was the next logical step."
"There will still be women's matches on the regular NECW shows, but there will also be a mixed tag team division in WWW, so both companies will operate hand-in-hand with each other," said Goldberg. There will be a WWW championship introduced in May and a mixed tag team championship will be introduced at a later date. The status of the NECW Women's Championship is currently "under review" by NECW and WWW officials.
The main event for the WWW premiere will be an NECW Women's Championship match as Violet Flame defends that title in a triple threat elimination match against former champion, Mercedes Martinez and #1 contender, Nikki Roxx. Other stars including, Ariel, The Diva Killers, "Pryme Tyme" Amy Lee, Tanya Lee, Amber, Missy Sampson, Jade, Alere Little Feather and more will be appearing. More details on stars and match-ups will be available in the weeks to come.
Advance tickets for the WWW premiere are on sale now at all Strawberries locations and online at www.NECWwrestling.com.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers
Song:So Tired
Album:Night In Tunisia
Drummer Art Blakey is one of the all time greats of jazz. And as a bandleader he broke many young musicians into the music business. His music was sharp even when Art got older. Very powerful.
Congratulations to Donald Lawrence for winning 7 Stellar Awards at last night's ceremony in Nashville for his CD I Speak Life. The Stellar Awards are the awards for the gospel music industry. The show is syndicated and will start airing next weekend. Check out http://www.gospelflava.com/ for more info.
Song:So Tired
Album:Night In Tunisia
Drummer Art Blakey is one of the all time greats of jazz. And as a bandleader he broke many young musicians into the music business. His music was sharp even when Art got older. Very powerful.
Congratulations to Donald Lawrence for winning 7 Stellar Awards at last night's ceremony in Nashville for his CD I Speak Life. The Stellar Awards are the awards for the gospel music industry. The show is syndicated and will start airing next weekend. Check out http://www.gospelflava.com/ for more info.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Michael Brecker
Song:My Ship
Album:Nearness of You:The Ballad Album
Michael Brecker is one of the most respected sax players in the world today. I've been a fan for many years and he's always worth a listen.
Song:My Ship
Album:Nearness of You:The Ballad Album
Michael Brecker is one of the most respected sax players in the world today. I've been a fan for many years and he's always worth a listen.
MTV taping wrestling pilot
I heard about this yesterday but I now have more details. MTV & Big Vision Entertainment are taping a pilot for an original wrestling program. It will be taped in LA on Feb. 9 and they'll give away tickets next week. Among those scheduled to appear are Vampiro, Sean Waltman, Justin Credible, Matt Sydal, New Jack, Jack Evans & Teddy Hart. MTV isn't announcing the show format yet but expect some crossover with live bands or something similar.
WWE signs Krissy Vaine to developmental contract
Sean McCaffery of DOI is reporting that Kevin Matthews & Krissy Vaine have signed WWE developmental contracts. These two are a couple and were backstage at Monday's RAW. Both are headed to Deep South shortly.
Matthews had his first WWE tryout in February 2005. He has been training at Deep South for the last month and Bill DeMott has been impressed with him.
Krissy had her first WWE tryout in Dec. 2004 and has been rumoured to sign with the WWE several times since. She has been part of the very popular Team Blondage with Amber O'Neal. Krissie also had recent breast augmentation surgery. That probably sealed the deal. Her website is http://www.krissyvaine.net/
Matthews had his first WWE tryout in February 2005. He has been training at Deep South for the last month and Bill DeMott has been impressed with him.
Krissy had her first WWE tryout in Dec. 2004 and has been rumoured to sign with the WWE several times since. She has been part of the very popular Team Blondage with Amber O'Neal. Krissie also had recent breast augmentation surgery. That probably sealed the deal. Her website is http://www.krissyvaine.net/
Friday, January 20, 2006
Michael Waltrip now a Nextel Cup owner
In NASCAR Nextel Cup, the top 35 in owner points are guaranteed spots in the race. For the first five races of the season, this is based on the previous year's owner points. Penske South Racing & Jasper Engines lost the sponsorship of the #77 so they decided to close down the team. Doug Bawel of Jasper Engines owns the #77. Michael Waltrip's #55 for Bill Davis Racing is a new team so he would have had to qualify for the first five races on time. So Waltrip has formed Waltrip-Jasper Racing with Doug Bawel to acquire the #77 owner points. It will still be a Bill Davis Racing Dodge but Waltrip is now guaranteed a starting spot in the first five races. Waltrip has had his own team for a while, mostly in the Busch Series, but this is something new for him.
Paul Tracy to run five NASCAR Busch races
Player Management International has announced that Toronto native and former CART champ Paul Tracy has signed to run five NASCAR Busch series races in 2006. He will drive the #34 Chevy owned by Frank Cicci and former Buffalo Bills quarterback Jim Kelly.
Tracy will debut at the Daytona Busch race and then run in Mexico City (March 5), Las Vegas (March 11), Indianapolis (Aug. 5) & California (Sept. 11). The primary sponsor will be Sport Clips haircutting with American Crew men's grooming as associate sponsor.
Tracy has been trying to break into NASCAR for the last year. He tested a Chevy for Richard Childress in Michigan last summer but wasn't able to get sponsorship. Tracy has said that he is looking to run NASCAR full time in 2007. He would like to get into Nextel Cup but many in the NASCAR garage told him he needs to prove himself in the Busch Series first. This is good news for Canadian NASCAR fans as a Canadian driver in NASCAR will force the Canadian media, especially TSN, to cover NASCAR better. Here's a link to the announcement at PMI which includes a picture of Tracy with his new ride. Best of luck to Paul Tracy.
http://pmifirm.com/news/012006.htm
Tracy will debut at the Daytona Busch race and then run in Mexico City (March 5), Las Vegas (March 11), Indianapolis (Aug. 5) & California (Sept. 11). The primary sponsor will be Sport Clips haircutting with American Crew men's grooming as associate sponsor.
Tracy has been trying to break into NASCAR for the last year. He tested a Chevy for Richard Childress in Michigan last summer but wasn't able to get sponsorship. Tracy has said that he is looking to run NASCAR full time in 2007. He would like to get into Nextel Cup but many in the NASCAR garage told him he needs to prove himself in the Busch Series first. This is good news for Canadian NASCAR fans as a Canadian driver in NASCAR will force the Canadian media, especially TSN, to cover NASCAR better. Here's a link to the announcement at PMI which includes a picture of Tracy with his new ride. Best of luck to Paul Tracy.
http://pmifirm.com/news/012006.htm
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Stealers Wheel
Song:Stuck In The Middle With You
Album:100% Classic Rock
Great song from Gerry Rafferty was a huge hit in the 70s and then was a hit again when Quentin Tarantino used the song in his film Reservoir Dogs. Yahoo played it from some various artists CD. I don't know what else is on it. But I do recommend the soundtrack to Reservoir Dogs.
Soul legend Wilson Pickett died yesterday of a heart attack at age 64. Condolences to his family.
Song:Stuck In The Middle With You
Album:100% Classic Rock
Great song from Gerry Rafferty was a huge hit in the 70s and then was a hit again when Quentin Tarantino used the song in his film Reservoir Dogs. Yahoo played it from some various artists CD. I don't know what else is on it. But I do recommend the soundtrack to Reservoir Dogs.
Soul legend Wilson Pickett died yesterday of a heart attack at age 64. Condolences to his family.
Toyota to enter NASCAR Nextel Cup in 2007
On Monday, NASCAR will hold a press conference at their R & D centre in Concord, NC. This press conference will be live on SPEED at 12:15PM. The New York Times is reporting that NASCAR will announce that Toyota will enter the NASCAR Nextel Cup & Busch Series in 2007 as expected. Toyota has been involved in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series since 2004. Bill Davis Racing will likely be the flagship Nextel Cup team for Toyota. Davis currently runs two Dodges in Nextel Cup, #22-Dave Blaney & #55 Michael Waltrip but Davis also runs Toyota Craftsman Trucks for Mike Skinner, Bill Lester & Johnny Benson. Michael's older brother NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip also owns a couple of Toyota Craftsman Trucks and it is rumoured that he will step up to Nextel Cup with Toyota. It has also been rumoured that Honda will follow Toyota to NASCAR.
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
First, I wanted to mention that the Wheeltrans driver who injured her back after falling on Tuesday is going to be OK. She'll be off for a while but isn't seriously injured.
Who did I run into at Lyndhurst today? My buddy Thomas-The Coach. He was there for physiotherapy. There was some concern that Thomas would have to have another operation to relieve pain in his lower back. He says they're going to give him some sort of injection instead. Thomas is a great guy and I hope to see him again soon.
Rich from MediChair says that we can have the rings installed on the chair. It's just a question of whether they're installed here or at Invacare in Ohio. I need them to help Wheeltrans anchor the chair on the bus.
William is trying some different things in physio because he knows I get bored. I have a habit of questioning the effectiveness of exercises because of my impatience. It's going OK generally though my left knee was really stiff today and was giving me trouble while walking with the canes. I'll return to Lyndhurst on Tuesday.
Who did I run into at Lyndhurst today? My buddy Thomas-The Coach. He was there for physiotherapy. There was some concern that Thomas would have to have another operation to relieve pain in his lower back. He says they're going to give him some sort of injection instead. Thomas is a great guy and I hope to see him again soon.
Rich from MediChair says that we can have the rings installed on the chair. It's just a question of whether they're installed here or at Invacare in Ohio. I need them to help Wheeltrans anchor the chair on the bus.
William is trying some different things in physio because he knows I get bored. I have a habit of questioning the effectiveness of exercises because of my impatience. It's going OK generally though my left knee was really stiff today and was giving me trouble while walking with the canes. I'll return to Lyndhurst on Tuesday.
MMA matches added to FF2 show
A couple of MMA matches have been added to the FF2 show on Feb. 3 at Kitazawa Town Hall including Smackgirl veteran Masako Yoshida. Both matches will be under Smackgirl rules. FF2 is a co-promotion of Gi-Feminino & Smackgirl. The card so far.
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu,2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1round, 6 minutes
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Ayumi "Edge" Saito-new
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT-Kinuka Sasaki vs Tachiwaki Yui-new
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu,2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1round, 6 minutes
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Masako Yoshida vs Ayumi "Edge" Saito-new
MIDDLEWEIGHT BOUT-Kinuka Sasaki vs Tachiwaki Yui-new
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Alicia Keys
Song:Streets of New York (City Life)
Album:Unplugged
I guess the popular thing now is to hate Alicia Keys because she has become so huge. Not me. I've liked her since I first saw her several years ago on BET's old Planet Groove show. Alicia is a remarkable talent and will have a long career in music because she writes and produces her own material with her brother. Alicia Keys is no flash in the pan.
Song:Streets of New York (City Life)
Album:Unplugged
I guess the popular thing now is to hate Alicia Keys because she has become so huge. Not me. I've liked her since I first saw her several years ago on BET's old Planet Groove show. Alicia is a remarkable talent and will have a long career in music because she writes and produces her own material with her brother. Alicia Keys is no flash in the pan.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Ayako Hamada in full heel mode at M's Style show
At the last M's Style show, baby-M retired and Hikaru was sent to the hospital after a devastating kick from AKINO. This was supposed to be the basis of M's Style's new general manager angle. But Hikaru was nowhere to be seen at Sunday's M's Style show at Shinjuku FACE. A little backstage dealmaking got Hikaru a win at KO Productions' ONLY ONE tournament and it looks like Ayako Hamada is changing the tone of this angle. It might be good.
Let's talk about a couple of the undercard matches first. Whether she's wearing a mask or not, Atsuko Emoto has been around the wrestling business for a while now and doesn't appear to be getting anywhere. Facing Aja Kong wasn't going to help her much. It was an uphill battle for Emoto and Aja finished her off with a diving elbow drop at 10:25. Next we had an ARSION reunion. Mariko Yoshida & AKINO vs GAMI & Michiko Ohmukai. After GAMI won the fall over Ohmukai, GAMI had the other three laughing about her interest in the M's Style GM position. I don't know if it's that funny behind the scenes.
The main event had Ayako Hamada vs Leon. In order to make it clear that she wanted to be the heel, Ayako wore a skull & crossbones on her outfit and brought her barbed wire bat. She proceeded to bust Leon open and beat the crap out of her in 29:20 with the AP Cross. Leon said afterwards that she had known Ayako when she broke into the wrestling business and wanted Ayako to see how Reina Takase had grown up to become Leon. Well, she certainly took a beating. This is obviously headed towards Ayako vs AKINO down the road and that can't be a bad thing. This starts to set that up. Here's the results of the show.
M'S STYLE - 1/15/06 - Shinjuku FACE
Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu def. Nozomi Takesako & Cherry (Ran over Cherry in 14:02)
Tsubasa Kuragaki def. Ayumi Kurihara in 10:09
Aja Kong def. Atsuko Emoto in 10:25
GAMI & AKINO def. Mariko Yoshida & Michiko Ohmukai (GAMI over Ohmukai in 17:11)
Ayako Hamada def. Leon in 29:20
Let's talk about a couple of the undercard matches first. Whether she's wearing a mask or not, Atsuko Emoto has been around the wrestling business for a while now and doesn't appear to be getting anywhere. Facing Aja Kong wasn't going to help her much. It was an uphill battle for Emoto and Aja finished her off with a diving elbow drop at 10:25. Next we had an ARSION reunion. Mariko Yoshida & AKINO vs GAMI & Michiko Ohmukai. After GAMI won the fall over Ohmukai, GAMI had the other three laughing about her interest in the M's Style GM position. I don't know if it's that funny behind the scenes.
The main event had Ayako Hamada vs Leon. In order to make it clear that she wanted to be the heel, Ayako wore a skull & crossbones on her outfit and brought her barbed wire bat. She proceeded to bust Leon open and beat the crap out of her in 29:20 with the AP Cross. Leon said afterwards that she had known Ayako when she broke into the wrestling business and wanted Ayako to see how Reina Takase had grown up to become Leon. Well, she certainly took a beating. This is obviously headed towards Ayako vs AKINO down the road and that can't be a bad thing. This starts to set that up. Here's the results of the show.
M'S STYLE - 1/15/06 - Shinjuku FACE
Toshie Uematsu & Ran YuYu def. Nozomi Takesako & Cherry (Ran over Cherry in 14:02)
Tsubasa Kuragaki def. Ayumi Kurihara in 10:09
Aja Kong def. Atsuko Emoto in 10:25
GAMI & AKINO def. Mariko Yoshida & Michiko Ohmukai (GAMI over Ohmukai in 17:11)
Ayako Hamada def. Leon in 29:20
Tuesday's physiotherapy
I was busy last night so I'm just getting to this now. Tuesday was one of those bad weather days around here. It was around the freezing mark and raining so sometimes it was rain and sometimes it was freezing rain. What a mess. So the Wheeltrans bus stopped at an apartment building on Weston Rd. for a pickup. The driver slipped and fell and had to be taken to the hospital with back pain. Fortunately, there was another bus in the area. He came and picked the three of us up. I was early anyway so it wasn't a problem. Hope the driver is OK.
I got pooped out in physio but that's OK. I'm supposed to get pooped out. William says my leg control seems to be improving. I dunno. I really can't tell and I'm not satisfied anyway. We'll just keep working at it and things will improve gradually.
I got pooped out in physio but that's OK. I'm supposed to get pooped out. William says my leg control seems to be improving. I dunno. I really can't tell and I'm not satisfied anyway. We'll just keep working at it and things will improve gradually.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Lloyd Price
Song:Stagger Lee
Album:The Complete ABC-Paramount Recordings
I loved this song when I was a kid. It still sounds great today.
Song:Stagger Lee
Album:The Complete ABC-Paramount Recordings
I loved this song when I was a kid. It still sounds great today.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
WWE signs new diva
I have learned that the WWE has signed Kara Slice to a developmental contract. Kara is primarily a valet who has been training to wrestle. Kara recently went to OVW in an effort to get signed by the WWE. When she showed them her cheerleader gimmick, the WWE signed her on the spot. Expect her to be a part of Spirit Squad. Someone actually started a rumour about this a couple of weeks ago but Kara denied it. Now it's true. It doesn't look like she has a website right now but here's a link to her page at Glory Wrestling.
http://www.glorywrestling.com/gg/MissKaraSlice/MKS.asp
http://www.glorywrestling.com/gg/MissKaraSlice/MKS.asp
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Buddy Holly
Song:Oh Boy
Album:The "Chirping" Crickets
Buddy Holly's tragic death in that plane crash meant that we would never get to see what he was going to become later in life. He had already become one of the most accomplished songwriters & singers in 50s Rock & Roll. The sky was the limit.
Song:Oh Boy
Album:The "Chirping" Crickets
Buddy Holly's tragic death in that plane crash meant that we would never get to see what he was going to become later in life. He had already become one of the most accomplished songwriters & singers in 50s Rock & Roll. The sky was the limit.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Two matches added to FF2 show
Two more matches have been added the FF2 show on Feb. 3 at Kitazawa Town Hall. This is a joint promotion of Gi-Feminino & Smackgirl. The card so far.
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1 round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu, 2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes-new
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1 round, 6 minutes-new
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi-1 round, 7 minutes
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLACK/BROWN BELT-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes
SPECIAL EXHIBITION BOUT-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi-1st round, ju jitsu, 2nd round, MMA
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:PURPLE BELT-Akumi Fujishiro vs Aiko Hattori-1 round, 7 minutes-new
BRAZILIAN JU JITSU:BLUE BELT-Megumi Iwamoto vs Shinobu Kobayashi-1 round, 6 minutes-new
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Al Green
Song:Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)
Album:Anthology
This live track is one of the bonus tracks you get with this 4CD collection of one of the best soul singers anywhere.
Song:Sha-La-La (Make Me Happy)
Album:Anthology
This live track is one of the bonus tracks you get with this 4CD collection of one of the best soul singers anywhere.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Yoshida teaching weekly joshi class
Everyone knows Mariko Yoshida as the submission queen of joshi
puroresu. She is especially admired for her time in the ARSION/A To
Z promotion as head trainer. She also started her own promotion last
June called Breath. The next show is Jan. 29.
Yoshida has now started what is being called Yoshida's Gym. What it
really is is a weekly joshi class intended to teach wrestlers the
fine points of joshi. It's not really intended for beginners though
Yoshida trains them too. Yoshida believes that improper training is
one of the problems plaguing the joshi business and this will help
correct that. Thirteen wrestlers are attending this class every
Tuesday in JD Star's ring at the Shin-kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo. The
Yoshida Gym started when JD Star decided to emphasize the Athtresses
and they realized that none of them knew what they were doing in the
ring and there was no veteran prescence to show them. So they called
Yoshida. Then JWP asked Yoshida to help them with Kyoko Kimura. The
classes have grown from there with the beginning of Breath. So this
can be best described as supplemental training.
Back in the glory days of joshi, there was a mandatory retirement
age of 25. With most of today's top wrestlers in their thirties, the
average age of Yoshida's Gym is 25.7, much older than one would
expect. Yoshida believes that today's generation of joshi is
important to the next generation. She said "If today's wrestlers
don't shine in the ring, fans don't want to see them." The classes
are free though Yoshida's only income is from her matches.
New blood isn't entering the joshi business because business is bad.
Today's young wrestlers are being held down by veterans. They don't
learn how to win and get discouraged. Yoshida remembers what things
were like when she was young. This is her attempt to improve this
generation of joshi and bring a level of professionalism that some
of them don't have. She hopes this will raise the quality level of
the in ring product.
puroresu. She is especially admired for her time in the ARSION/A To
Z promotion as head trainer. She also started her own promotion last
June called Breath. The next show is Jan. 29.
Yoshida has now started what is being called Yoshida's Gym. What it
really is is a weekly joshi class intended to teach wrestlers the
fine points of joshi. It's not really intended for beginners though
Yoshida trains them too. Yoshida believes that improper training is
one of the problems plaguing the joshi business and this will help
correct that. Thirteen wrestlers are attending this class every
Tuesday in JD Star's ring at the Shin-kiba 1st Ring in Tokyo. The
Yoshida Gym started when JD Star decided to emphasize the Athtresses
and they realized that none of them knew what they were doing in the
ring and there was no veteran prescence to show them. So they called
Yoshida. Then JWP asked Yoshida to help them with Kyoko Kimura. The
classes have grown from there with the beginning of Breath. So this
can be best described as supplemental training.
Back in the glory days of joshi, there was a mandatory retirement
age of 25. With most of today's top wrestlers in their thirties, the
average age of Yoshida's Gym is 25.7, much older than one would
expect. Yoshida believes that today's generation of joshi is
important to the next generation. She said "If today's wrestlers
don't shine in the ring, fans don't want to see them." The classes
are free though Yoshida's only income is from her matches.
New blood isn't entering the joshi business because business is bad.
Today's young wrestlers are being held down by veterans. They don't
learn how to win and get discouraged. Yoshida remembers what things
were like when she was young. This is her attempt to improve this
generation of joshi and bring a level of professionalism that some
of them don't have. She hopes this will raise the quality level of
the in ring product.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Yolanda Adams
Song:Time To Change
Album:Mountain High, Valley Low
This album made Houston based gospel singer Yolanda Adams a big crossover star with Open My Heart (a song she wrote). The CD is excellent and was a big shift to a more urban based sound for Adams. A lot of the credit goes to former Elektra Records boss Sylvia Rhone who told Adams to get the best producers and do things right. It proved that gospel has tremendous mainstream potential if promoted properly. Now that Rhone has gone to Motown, things aren't so rosy for Adams. On this record she works with Mary Mary & Warryn Campbell, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Buster & Shavoni, Kelly Price and others. I was not a Yolanda Adams fan prior to this CD. It is highly recommended.
Song:Time To Change
Album:Mountain High, Valley Low
This album made Houston based gospel singer Yolanda Adams a big crossover star with Open My Heart (a song she wrote). The CD is excellent and was a big shift to a more urban based sound for Adams. A lot of the credit goes to former Elektra Records boss Sylvia Rhone who told Adams to get the best producers and do things right. It proved that gospel has tremendous mainstream potential if promoted properly. Now that Rhone has gone to Motown, things aren't so rosy for Adams. On this record she works with Mary Mary & Warryn Campbell, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Buster & Shavoni, Kelly Price and others. I was not a Yolanda Adams fan prior to this CD. It is highly recommended.
Saturday, January 14, 2006
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Charlie Parker
Song:Out Of Nowhere
Album:The Washington Concerts
I upgraded my Windows Media Player and LAUNCHCAST is working again.
There's not much I can say about Bird. Possibly the most influential musician in the history of jazz, Parker literally changed jazz in the 40s. Too bad he couldn't stay off heroin. This song is from concert tapes that were discovered in the 80s. The man was a genius.
Song:Out Of Nowhere
Album:The Washington Concerts
I upgraded my Windows Media Player and LAUNCHCAST is working again.
There's not much I can say about Bird. Possibly the most influential musician in the history of jazz, Parker literally changed jazz in the 40s. Too bad he couldn't stay off heroin. This song is from concert tapes that were discovered in the 80s. The man was a genius.
Friday, January 13, 2006
Amazing Kong in Califormia
This is interesting. Though Amazing Kong is from LA, she is making her first ever US wrestling appearance tonight for the Empire Wrestling Federation in Covina, CA. AK was discovered training at New Japan's LA dojo in 2002 and has wrestled in Japan, mostly for the now defunct All Japan Women, since then. Her opponent is Candace LaRae. Candace had her head handed to her by Princess Sugey at the first Chickfight show. Someone call an ambulance.LOL
Hisae Watanabe added to Smackgirl show
Smackgirl has added two matches to their Feb. 15 show at Korakuen
Hall. One match features kickboxer Hisae Watanabe. Hisae has proven to
be one of the more accomplished fighters in Japan. Her opponent is
Ichigo. Ichigo says that she knows Hisae is the favourite but she has
been training hard and wants to break Hisae's winning streak. That's
very doubtful. Hisae is very tough. The main event with Megumi
Yabushita defending her Smackgirl Open Weight Title against Amanda
Buckner has already been announced. All bouts are for 2 five minute
rounds. The card so far.
SMACKGIRL - 2/15/06 - Korakuen Hall
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Hisae Watanabe vs Ichigo
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-KM-MAKI vs Mizuho Kawasaki
SMACKGIRL OPEN WEIGHT TITLE BOUT-Megumi Yabushita (champ) vs Amanda Buckner
Hall. One match features kickboxer Hisae Watanabe. Hisae has proven to
be one of the more accomplished fighters in Japan. Her opponent is
Ichigo. Ichigo says that she knows Hisae is the favourite but she has
been training hard and wants to break Hisae's winning streak. That's
very doubtful. Hisae is very tough. The main event with Megumi
Yabushita defending her Smackgirl Open Weight Title against Amanda
Buckner has already been announced. All bouts are for 2 five minute
rounds. The card so far.
SMACKGIRL - 2/15/06 - Korakuen Hall
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-Hisae Watanabe vs Ichigo
FLYWEIGHT BOUT-KM-MAKI vs Mizuho Kawasaki
SMACKGIRL OPEN WEIGHT TITLE BOUT-Megumi Yabushita (champ) vs Amanda Buckner
GIRLS DOOR names El Gran Hamada producer and announces next show
GIRLS DOOR has announced that their next show will be Feb. 19 at Shinjuku FACE. They also named El Gran Hamada show producer. As many fans know, he is Ayako Hamada's father and a veteran luchador.
Pandora song of the day
Artist:Miles Davis
Song:Right Now
Album:Jack Johnson
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST wasn't working today and really hasn't been working well since they had problems with it last month so I have found another custom radio station at http://www.pandora.com/ that does something similar so I'm using it as a backup.
Miles wrote & performed the music for this documentary about boxer Jack Johnson. The music is definitely similar to Bitches Brew. The main difference is the presence of drummer Billy Cobham. If you've never heard this, you should check it out.
Song:Right Now
Album:Jack Johnson
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST wasn't working today and really hasn't been working well since they had problems with it last month so I have found another custom radio station at http://www.pandora.com/ that does something similar so I'm using it as a backup.
Miles wrote & performed the music for this documentary about boxer Jack Johnson. The music is definitely similar to Bitches Brew. The main difference is the presence of drummer Billy Cobham. If you've never heard this, you should check it out.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
I guess the only problem I'm having with physiotherapy is I don't feel I'm making enough progress. I probably expect too much. We'll keep working at it.
Yabushita giving free MMA lessons
Smackgirl Open Weight Champion Megumi Yabushita will be giving a free mixed martial arts seminar at the SOD dojo in Tokyo on January 27. Youko Takahashi will be the second instructor. The first 20 women over 18 years of age will be admitted free.
Yuka Tsuji added to FF2 show
A special exhibition match featuring Smackgirl Lightweight Champion Yuka Tsuji has been added to the Feb. 3 FF2 show being presented by Gi-Feminino & Smackgirl at Kitazawa Town Hall. Her opponent will be Smackgirl veteran Yasuko Mogi and the match will have Ju Jitsu rules in the first round and MMA rules in the second round. The card so far.
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
Brazilian Ju Jitsu-1 round 7 min-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori
Brazilian Ju Jitsu-1 round 7 min-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi
Exhibition Match-1st round Ju Jitsu, 2nd round MMA-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi
FF2 - 2/3/06 - Kitazawa Town Hall
Brazilian Ju Jitsu-1 round 7 min-Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori
Brazilian Ju Jitsu-1 round 7 min-Naoko Sekiguchi vs Youko Takahashi
Exhibition Match-1st round Ju Jitsu, 2nd round MMA-Yuka Tsuji vs Yasuko Mogi
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Traffic
Song:The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Album:The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Classic song from one of the more interesting British groups of the psychedelic era. They started as a fairly traditional band but added more folk & jazz influences later on. Steve Winwood went on to have a very substantial solo career.
Song:The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Album:The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys
Classic song from one of the more interesting British groups of the psychedelic era. They started as a fairly traditional band but added more folk & jazz influences later on. Steve Winwood went on to have a very substantial solo career.
WWE signs Trinity
Mike Johnson of PW Insider is reporting that the WWE has signed Stephanie Finocchio AKA Trinity formerly of TNA. Stephanie had a tryout at OVW last month and appeared on Heat last week as a dancing Jersey Girl in a segment with The Heart Throbs. Stephanie is a Long Island native and was trained to wrestle by Mikey Whipwreck. She was a big part of TNA from their earliest days but left a few months ago. She has also done a lot of stuntwork in films and she sometimes had schedule conflicts with TNA. Don't know if she's on the main roster or not and we also don't know if the WWE can use the Trinity name (probably not). They're certainly not going to call her Stephanie.LOL
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
Smackgirl names Yabushita's challenger for Open Weight Title
Smackgirl has announced that Ring Of Fire veteran Amanda Buckner will challenge Megumi Yabushita for the Open Weight Title in the main event of Smackgirl's Feb. 15 Korakuen Hall show.
Tamura defends titles at NEO's first big show of the year
NEO held their first big show of 2006 on Monday at Korakuen Hall. The main event had Yoshiko Tamura making her first defense of the NEO Singles/NWA Pacific Titles against Mima Shimoda. It also featured the first match between Kyoko Inoue & Manami Toyota in six years and a Meiko Satomura sighting.
But first, the usual NEO comedy nonsense. Somebody thought it would be a good idea to say that because Bullfight Sora dresses in a sort of cow costume that she must have come from Texas. Opponent Etsuko Mita had a confused look on her face but finished Sora off with the Death Valley Driver in 8:01. Then Kyoko Inoue won her match with Manami Toyota in 20:25. Kyoko said the two of them aren't as selfish today as they were six years ago. Uhh, right.
Meiko Satomura took some time off from torturing her trainees at the new Sendai Girls dojo and made an appearance for NEO. She teamed with Ran YuYu vs Misae Genki & Azumi Hyuga. After a very strong and energetic match, Genki used the G Driver on Ran for the win at 19:33. Satomura said she was very happy to appear for NEO and would like to return for a shot at the double titles. After defending her NEO Singles/NWA Pacific Titles over Mima Shimoda, Yoshiko Tamura said she would be happy to oblige. Make it happen, Kyoko. Here's the results of the show.
NEO - 1/9/06 - Korakuen Hall
Yuka Shiina & Natsuki*Head def. Mariko Yoshida & Ayako Sato (Natsuki over Sato in 16:30)Men's TEIOH def. Tanny Mouse in 8:45
Etsuko Mita def. Bullfight Sora USA in 8:01
THREE WAY MATCH:Yuki Miyazaki def. Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Emi in 13:34Kyoko Inoue def. Manami Toyota in 20:25
Misae Genki & Azumi Hyuga def. Meiko Satomura & Ran YuYu (Genki over Ran in 19:33
NEO SINGLES/NWA PACIFIC TITLES MATCH:Yoshiko Tamura defended her titles over Mima Shimoda in 17:03
But first, the usual NEO comedy nonsense. Somebody thought it would be a good idea to say that because Bullfight Sora dresses in a sort of cow costume that she must have come from Texas. Opponent Etsuko Mita had a confused look on her face but finished Sora off with the Death Valley Driver in 8:01. Then Kyoko Inoue won her match with Manami Toyota in 20:25. Kyoko said the two of them aren't as selfish today as they were six years ago. Uhh, right.
Meiko Satomura took some time off from torturing her trainees at the new Sendai Girls dojo and made an appearance for NEO. She teamed with Ran YuYu vs Misae Genki & Azumi Hyuga. After a very strong and energetic match, Genki used the G Driver on Ran for the win at 19:33. Satomura said she was very happy to appear for NEO and would like to return for a shot at the double titles. After defending her NEO Singles/NWA Pacific Titles over Mima Shimoda, Yoshiko Tamura said she would be happy to oblige. Make it happen, Kyoko. Here's the results of the show.
NEO - 1/9/06 - Korakuen Hall
Yuka Shiina & Natsuki*Head def. Mariko Yoshida & Ayako Sato (Natsuki over Sato in 16:30)Men's TEIOH def. Tanny Mouse in 8:45
Etsuko Mita def. Bullfight Sora USA in 8:01
THREE WAY MATCH:Yuki Miyazaki def. Toshie Uematsu & Sakura Emi in 13:34Kyoko Inoue def. Manami Toyota in 20:25
Misae Genki & Azumi Hyuga def. Meiko Satomura & Ran YuYu (Genki over Ran in 19:33
NEO SINGLES/NWA PACIFIC TITLES MATCH:Yoshiko Tamura defended her titles over Mima Shimoda in 17:03
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers
Song:The Best Is Yet To Come
Album:Restoring The Years:The Best of Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers
Donald Lawrence is another highly talented gospel producer, writer and especially arranger and choir director. Everybody wants to work with him so he's a very busy guy just churning out tremendous music. EMI Gospel released this Best Of collection when Lawrence left for Verity Records last year. It's a good introduction to a great choir.
Song:The Best Is Yet To Come
Album:Restoring The Years:The Best of Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers
Donald Lawrence is another highly talented gospel producer, writer and especially arranger and choir director. Everybody wants to work with him so he's a very busy guy just churning out tremendous music. EMI Gospel released this Best Of collection when Lawrence left for Verity Records last year. It's a good introduction to a great choir.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
The big problem with the new chair will be getting up & down some of the ramps of some of the older Wheeltrans buses & vans. The ramps are too steep and the footplate gets stuck. That's what happened with the bus that picked me up today but I had no problem with the van I went home on. We're still working on the same things in physio. William says I'm walking better. Hell, I don't know. I can't tell. I felt my legs were really stiff today. I'll return to Lyndhurst on Thursday and I have to see Dr. Matthews too.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Dianne Reeves
Song:Darn That Dream
Album:A Little Moonlight
Dianne Reeves is one of the premier jazz singers in the world today. This excellent version of a classic Miles Davis song is very typical of her style. She's much more aggressive than some of the more popular jazz singers and is highly recommended. Also check out her recent appearance in George Clooney's film Good Night and Good Luck.
Song:Darn That Dream
Album:A Little Moonlight
Dianne Reeves is one of the premier jazz singers in the world today. This excellent version of a classic Miles Davis song is very typical of her style. She's much more aggressive than some of the more popular jazz singers and is highly recommended. Also check out her recent appearance in George Clooney's film Good Night and Good Luck.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Jumbo Hori returns at LLPW show
The big news at Sunday's LLPW show at Korakuen Hall was the return to the ring of 80s joshi star Jumbo Hori as Shinobu Kandori's mystery tag team partner. The opponents were Takako Inoue & Mima Shimoda. Takako & Shimoda were waiting in the ring when Kandori made the announcement. Apparently some fans were wondering where the comedian Toshino was. He appeared at some recent LLPW shows and they were expecting him to be Kandori's partner. The LLPW website was last updated in October. Kandori apologized and said the LLPW website will be updated without fail. This is what happens when one doesn't know how to run a business. Hori won the match over Takako with a power bomb. Eagle Sawai & Noriyo Tateno defended their LLPW Tag Team Titles over Kaoru Ito & Kumiko Maekawa in the main event. Here's the results of the show.
LLPW - 1/8/06 - Korakuen Hall
Hiroyo Muto def. Obacchi Iizuka in 7:18
Sayuri Okino def. Bachiko in 8:13
Harley Saito def. Eiger in 11:39
Jumbo Hori & Shinobu Kandori def. Takako Inoue & Mima Shimoda (Hori over Takako in 7:52)LLPW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:Eagle Sawai & Noriyo Tateno defended their titles over Kaoru Ito & Kumiko Maekawa (Tateno over Ito in 13:59)
LLPW - 1/8/06 - Korakuen Hall
Hiroyo Muto def. Obacchi Iizuka in 7:18
Sayuri Okino def. Bachiko in 8:13
Harley Saito def. Eiger in 11:39
Jumbo Hori & Shinobu Kandori def. Takako Inoue & Mima Shimoda (Hori over Takako in 7:52)LLPW TAG TEAM TITLE MATCH:Eagle Sawai & Noriyo Tateno defended their titles over Kaoru Ito & Kumiko Maekawa (Tateno over Ito in 13:59)
Sendai Girls opens dojo
Sendai Girls opened their dojo on Sunday with about 100 people in attendance. Head trainer Meiko Satomura looked up at the gym's new sign and said that if the popularity and ability are up to par, Sendai Girls can be the number one womens pro wrestling company in the world. She's hoping to train a lot of teenage girls in her new gym. She also wants to defeat Aja Kong at the Sendai Girls debut in April.
Satomura's trainees Okuda (15), Kanari Chisako (17) & Kaneko Yurie (19) talked about their training. Okuda said she wants to impress fans with her wrestling ability though the pain is terrible. Chisako said she is holding on though the pain is great. Expectations are high. All three said that Satomura is putting them through hell daily. Sendai Girls president Jinsei Shinzaki said he hopes that Sendai Girls will revive the joshi business. With Satomura as his ace, he feels they can do that.
Satomura's trainees Okuda (15), Kanari Chisako (17) & Kaneko Yurie (19) talked about their training. Okuda said she wants to impress fans with her wrestling ability though the pain is terrible. Chisako said she is holding on though the pain is great. Expectations are high. All three said that Satomura is putting them through hell daily. Sendai Girls president Jinsei Shinzaki said he hopes that Sendai Girls will revive the joshi business. With Satomura as his ace, he feels they can do that.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Rahsaan Patterson
Song:Where You Are
Album:Rahsaan Patterson
Some folks may recall an 80s TV show called Kids Incorporated about kids forming a band and covering pop songs. Several of the cast members have gone on to a career in music as adults, most notably Stacy Ferguson of Black Eyed Peas, but Patterson has the most talent. He's an R & B singer/songwriter/producer but his CDs don't sell because he's never done a video. If you like R & B without gimmicks, check this out. BTW, Randy Jackson of American Idol was exec producer of this CD back when he was working for MCA.
Song:Where You Are
Album:Rahsaan Patterson
Some folks may recall an 80s TV show called Kids Incorporated about kids forming a band and covering pop songs. Several of the cast members have gone on to a career in music as adults, most notably Stacy Ferguson of Black Eyed Peas, but Patterson has the most talent. He's an R & B singer/songwriter/producer but his CDs don't sell because he's never done a video. If you like R & B without gimmicks, check this out. BTW, Randy Jackson of American Idol was exec producer of this CD back when he was working for MCA.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Tower Of Power
Song:You're Still a Young Man
Album:What Is Hip? A Tower Of Power Anthology
This San Francisco horn band became very popular in the 70s with their mix of funk & soul and by playing on other people's records. You're Still a Young Man was probably their biggest Top 40 hit with lead vocals by Lenny Williams. They continued to record in the 80s & 90s but you should probably stick to their 70s Warner Bros. recordings that are on this 2CD Anthology.
Song:You're Still a Young Man
Album:What Is Hip? A Tower Of Power Anthology
This San Francisco horn band became very popular in the 70s with their mix of funk & soul and by playing on other people's records. You're Still a Young Man was probably their biggest Top 40 hit with lead vocals by Lenny Williams. They continued to record in the 80s & 90s but you should probably stick to their 70s Warner Bros. recordings that are on this 2CD Anthology.
Saturday, January 07, 2006
Main event announced for FF2 show
Two matches including the main event have been announced for the FF2 show on Feb. 3 at Kitazawa Town Hall. FF2 is a joint presentation by Gi-Feminino and Smackgirl. They're doing a Gi-Feminino vs Smackgirl concept. The main event will be Megumi Yabushita vs Keiko Hattori. The other match will be Naoko Sekiguchi vs Yoko Takahashi. Both matches will be Brazilian Ju Jitsu rules. We all know about Yabushita but Hattori is a ju jitsu specialist so it should be very interesting.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Billy Cobham f/The Brecker Brothers
Song:Some Skunk Funk
Album:A Funky Thide Of Sings
In the 70s, Panamanian Billy Cobham became one of the most powerful & popular drummers in jazz mostly through his partnership with Randy (trumpet) & Mike (sax) Brecker. Billy & Randy first worked together in Horace Silver's band then brought in Mike to form the group Dreams. Billy left Dreams to join The Mahavishnu Orchestra and then started his solo career. Not surprisingly, he asked his pals The Brecker Bros. to join his tour band. They had started recording as well and Some Skunk Funk is actually a Mike Brecker song from the first Brecker Bros. album. Cobham has been inconsistent over the years but his early recordings like this one are still worth seeking out.
One thing is for sure. My new power chair takes bumps and curbs a lot smoother than the loaner. I always felt like the loaner would break going up a curb. I don't feel that way with this chair. It's snowing right now and I do have to go out later for TTC tickets. I may delay that until tomorrow or Monday if I don't like the looks of the weather.
Song:Some Skunk Funk
Album:A Funky Thide Of Sings
In the 70s, Panamanian Billy Cobham became one of the most powerful & popular drummers in jazz mostly through his partnership with Randy (trumpet) & Mike (sax) Brecker. Billy & Randy first worked together in Horace Silver's band then brought in Mike to form the group Dreams. Billy left Dreams to join The Mahavishnu Orchestra and then started his solo career. Not surprisingly, he asked his pals The Brecker Bros. to join his tour band. They had started recording as well and Some Skunk Funk is actually a Mike Brecker song from the first Brecker Bros. album. Cobham has been inconsistent over the years but his early recordings like this one are still worth seeking out.
One thing is for sure. My new power chair takes bumps and curbs a lot smoother than the loaner. I always felt like the loaner would break going up a curb. I don't feel that way with this chair. It's snowing right now and I do have to go out later for TTC tickets. I may delay that until tomorrow or Monday if I don't like the looks of the weather.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Another new joshi promotion...sort of
You all know how annoyed I am about all the new joshi promotions that keep popping up. So today a press conference was held in Tokyo to announce a new joshi promotion called EXCITING BOX. WHAT! ANOTHER JOSHI PROMOTION! Well, before we all get too upset, it's more of a replacement for an existing promotion, albeit one show, and the owners have experience in the joshi business. So let's look at the background story.
Over a year ago, you may recall that former JWP president Masatoshi Yamamoto and his money mark announced a partnership with Mayumi Ozaki to make OZ Academy a full time promotion. For whatever reason, that never happened. Recently, former FMW star Megumi Kudo and her partner former AJW ring announcer Imai started a new joshi promotion called Indy Trial. They put on their first show last month. Yamamoto has teamed up with Kudo & Imai to start a new joshi promotion called EXCITING BOX. Yamamoto will handle the business end. Imai owns the Marupro Gym so there's your dojo and Kudo will be in charge of training and booking. No, Kudo isn't going to train young girls to do barbed wire matches. Fans forget that Kudo was part of the famous AJW class of 1986 and was trained by and wrestled a lot like Jaguar Yokota. She knows the basics. Alan & Ruslan Karefu have been hired to handle the wrestler management office. They've worked in the past for K-1 & HERO'S. Maybe Kudo & Imai started Indy trial strictly to attract money. If so, it worked.
Yamamoto said that he knows there are a lot of joshi companies right now and fans are very confused but EXCITING BOX will be different. I wonder how he will do that. He also expressed interest in getting into the womens MMA business. EXCITING BOX will produce one show per month beginning February 4 at Shinjuku FACE. Nanae Takahashi, Hikaru & Kumiko Maekawa have already signed to be on the show. I look at EXCITING BOX the same way I look at GIRLS DOOR & Sendai Girls. It they do what they say, they'll be OK. Otherwise, they'll all be zombie feds by the end of the year. We have enough of those already.
Over a year ago, you may recall that former JWP president Masatoshi Yamamoto and his money mark announced a partnership with Mayumi Ozaki to make OZ Academy a full time promotion. For whatever reason, that never happened. Recently, former FMW star Megumi Kudo and her partner former AJW ring announcer Imai started a new joshi promotion called Indy Trial. They put on their first show last month. Yamamoto has teamed up with Kudo & Imai to start a new joshi promotion called EXCITING BOX. Yamamoto will handle the business end. Imai owns the Marupro Gym so there's your dojo and Kudo will be in charge of training and booking. No, Kudo isn't going to train young girls to do barbed wire matches. Fans forget that Kudo was part of the famous AJW class of 1986 and was trained by and wrestled a lot like Jaguar Yokota. She knows the basics. Alan & Ruslan Karefu have been hired to handle the wrestler management office. They've worked in the past for K-1 & HERO'S. Maybe Kudo & Imai started Indy trial strictly to attract money. If so, it worked.
Yamamoto said that he knows there are a lot of joshi companies right now and fans are very confused but EXCITING BOX will be different. I wonder how he will do that. He also expressed interest in getting into the womens MMA business. EXCITING BOX will produce one show per month beginning February 4 at Shinjuku FACE. Nanae Takahashi, Hikaru & Kumiko Maekawa have already signed to be on the show. I look at EXCITING BOX the same way I look at GIRLS DOOR & Sendai Girls. It they do what they say, they'll be OK. Otherwise, they'll all be zombie feds by the end of the year. We have enough of those already.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:John Coltrane
Song:Impressions
Album:A John Coltrane Retrospective
Another classic track from one of the all time greats of jazz.
Song:Impressions
Album:A John Coltrane Retrospective
Another classic track from one of the all time greats of jazz.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
I finally have my new power chair
I am writing this while sitting in my brand new power chair. That's right. It finally arrived and I exchanged chairs with Rich Vanderwal of Medi Chair at Lyndhurst today. I was really hard on the loaner. This new chair is much more comfortable as it is custom made for me and that is a big issue as I am 6'2". I fit much better in this chair. It is a silver Invacare Storm TDX4. The silver colour matches the tires so it's pretty cool. The improvements include a centre footplate instead of footrests. This will make it a lot easier to do transfers to and from the chair. The gel cushion is longer than usual and is a lot more comfortable. The backrest and lumbar pad are a lot better too and allows me to sit up straighter and not slide on the cushion. The controller and joystick is a lot closer to the chair and will make it easier to go through doorways. The controller on the other chair would get caught sometimes. It will just take some time to get used to the handling and turn control but we can make adjustments to the chair as we go along. We may need to adjust the speed and turn control to make it easier to get on and off some of those vans. It's all computer controlled. I'll take it out in the street tomorrow and see how it feels over curbs. That's the real test. The main thing is it's great to have my own custom made power chair. I'm a lot more comfortable already. I will return to my regularly scheduled physiotherapy on Tuesday.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Don McLean
Song:American Pie
Album:American Pie
This song was a huge hit in the early 70s and broke the three minute barrier for hits on Top 40 radio. I remember people trying to figure out what the song was about and radio stations giving out lyric sheets to listeners. It was basically about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & JP Richardson and how it affected the music business negatively. McLean had another big hit in Vincent but he is remembered today mostly for American Pie.
It's official. I'm getting my new power chair today. We'll make the switch at Lyndhurst. I can't wait.
Song:American Pie
Album:American Pie
This song was a huge hit in the early 70s and broke the three minute barrier for hits on Top 40 radio. I remember people trying to figure out what the song was about and radio stations giving out lyric sheets to listeners. It was basically about the plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Richie Valens & JP Richardson and how it affected the music business negatively. McLean had another big hit in Vincent but he is remembered today mostly for American Pie.
It's official. I'm getting my new power chair today. We'll make the switch at Lyndhurst. I can't wait.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Hikaru wins ONLY ONE tournament
KO Productions held the conclusion of their ONLY ONE tournament Tuesday at Korakuen Hall. You may recall that Hikaru lost her first round match a while back. So they had an empty slot in the second round and rather than giving Saki Maemura a bye, they had a scramble match with first round losers Hikaru, Fuuka & Shuu Shibutani. Hikaru won that match and got back in the tournament. I suppose they could have done worse things.
Hikaru defeated Saki Maemura in her second round match. Kana & Mika Nishio won their matches. The fourth second round match was a much anticipated match between Nanae Takahashi & Yumiko Hotta. Oh yeah, that's right. Takahashi wasn't in the first round of the tournament. They went over twenty minutes and neither of them would do the job. The match ended in a double countout and both were eliminated. Nishio got a bye into the finals. Shouldn't they have had another loser's scramble match to fill that slot? Never mind. Sorry I tried to use logic. This is the kind of booking on the fly foolishness the joshi business has become.
Hikaru defeated Kana in her semi final match and then won the tournament final from Nishio. So what's going on here anyway? Here's my theory. If you like it, fine. If you don't like it, that's OK too. In order to get Hikaru to cancel future M's Style appearances, KO Productions & Flash 7 had to put her over in this tournament. And neither Takahashi or Hotta had to job to her. So they give the appearance of elevating Hikaru without her beating anyone of significance. Everybody's happy...I guess. Here's the results of the show.
KO PRODUCTIONS - 1/3/06 - Korakuen Hall
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT LOSER'S SCRAMBLE THREE WAY MATCH:Hikaru def. Fuuka & Shuu Shibutani in 6:01
DEBUT MATCH:Mika Mizunuma def. Yasusato Nakajima in 6:48-both are big girls
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO
Kana def. Sachie Abe in 7:36
Hikaru def. Saki Maemura in 14:05
Mika Nishio def. Kumiko Maekawa in 18:35
Nanae Takahashi - Double countout in 23:55 - Yumiko Hotta
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT SEMI FINAL:Mika Nishio def. Kana in 8:50
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT FINAL:Hikaru def. Mika Nishio in 13:23
Hikaru defeated Saki Maemura in her second round match. Kana & Mika Nishio won their matches. The fourth second round match was a much anticipated match between Nanae Takahashi & Yumiko Hotta. Oh yeah, that's right. Takahashi wasn't in the first round of the tournament. They went over twenty minutes and neither of them would do the job. The match ended in a double countout and both were eliminated. Nishio got a bye into the finals. Shouldn't they have had another loser's scramble match to fill that slot? Never mind. Sorry I tried to use logic. This is the kind of booking on the fly foolishness the joshi business has become.
Hikaru defeated Kana in her semi final match and then won the tournament final from Nishio. So what's going on here anyway? Here's my theory. If you like it, fine. If you don't like it, that's OK too. In order to get Hikaru to cancel future M's Style appearances, KO Productions & Flash 7 had to put her over in this tournament. And neither Takahashi or Hotta had to job to her. So they give the appearance of elevating Hikaru without her beating anyone of significance. Everybody's happy...I guess. Here's the results of the show.
KO PRODUCTIONS - 1/3/06 - Korakuen Hall
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT LOSER'S SCRAMBLE THREE WAY MATCH:Hikaru def. Fuuka & Shuu Shibutani in 6:01
DEBUT MATCH:Mika Mizunuma def. Yasusato Nakajima in 6:48-both are big girls
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT ROUND TWO
Kana def. Sachie Abe in 7:36
Hikaru def. Saki Maemura in 14:05
Mika Nishio def. Kumiko Maekawa in 18:35
Nanae Takahashi - Double countout in 23:55 - Yumiko Hotta
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT SEMI FINAL:Mika Nishio def. Kana in 8:50
ONLY ONE TOURNAMENT FINAL:Hikaru def. Mika Nishio in 13:23
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Santana
Song:Evil Ways
Album:Santana's Greatest Hits
This is the hit that made Carlos Santana a star back in the 60s. I don't listen to his recent music. His older stuff is much better and I would recommend Santana & Abraxas and that's it. Otherwise he's boring.
Song:Evil Ways
Album:Santana's Greatest Hits
This is the hit that made Carlos Santana a star back in the 60s. I don't listen to his recent music. His older stuff is much better and I would recommend Santana & Abraxas and that's it. Otherwise he's boring.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Today's physiotherapy
Things went pretty well in physiotherapy today but the big news is my wheelchair guy Rich says that my new power chair arrived today. He's going to have a technician at the office check it out and hopefully we can do the switch when I go to Lyndhurst on Thursday. He will call me tomorrow to let me know because if we do the switch, I have to bring the battery charger with me to the hospital. It's about time.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:The Clash
Song:Train In Vain
Album:London Calling
Remember punk? The Clash were one of the best bands of the punk era and this Motown influenced hit still holds up well today.
Song:Train In Vain
Album:London Calling
Remember punk? The Clash were one of the best bands of the punk era and this Motown influenced hit still holds up well today.
Monday, January 02, 2006
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:The Band f/Neil Young
Song:Helpless
Album:The Last Waltz
Of course this is the famous farewell concert for The Band with tons of guests including Neil Young singing one of his classic songs. Check out The Last Waltz on DVD too.
Song:Helpless
Album:The Last Waltz
Of course this is the famous farewell concert for The Band with tons of guests including Neil Young singing one of his classic songs. Check out The Last Waltz on DVD too.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
The Bloody & Fang Suzuki retirement show
The time:New Year's Eve. The place:Shinjuku FACE. The Bloody (Naomi Kato) & Fang Suzuki retire together. They've spent most of their careers together in JD so a joint retirement is appropriate. The show was titled FIN. The main event was a JD specialty match called LSD 2005, most number of falls in 2005 seconds wins. Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai defeated The Bloody & Fang Suzuki three falls to two. They used tables, ladders & chairs and it looks like our retirees went out with a bang. BTW, it is very normal for the retirees to do the job in their final match.
Then the retirement ceremony with all their pals entering the ring with flowers and things. Lots of tears, lots of streamers and a special appearance by Lioness Asuka at the end. I was never a big Fang Suzuki fan but The Bloody is one of the toughest ring generals you're ever going to see. Fang has said she is retiring due to injury but I think it's pretty clear that Naomi Kato is retiring because she is dissatisfied with the current state of the joshi business. I can't say I blame her. She's getting out while she still has her health. Best of luck to The Bloody & Fang Suzuki on their retirements.
Here's a link to some pics from the show. Keep in mind that there are five pages of pics. If you go to the bottom of the page there are links to the other pages. Also, here's the results of the show.
http://sikisai.heavy.jp/p05.prowres.130_1.html
THE BLOODY & FANG SUZUKI FIN - 12/31/05 - Shinjuku FACE
Ishijima & Matsui def. DAISUKE & Kimura
Jaguar Yokota, The Bloody & Yumi Ohka def. Nanae Takahashi, Toshie Uematsu & Fang Suzuki
FOUR WAY MATCH:Yoshiko Tamura def. Tanny Mouse, KAZUKI & Obacchi Iizuka
Mima Shimoda & Saki Maemura - 10 min. draw - GAMI & Yuki Miyazaki
Kyoko Inoue, Misae Genki & Hiroyo Muto def. Manami Toyota, Chikayo Nagashima & Megumi Yabushita
THE BLOODY & FANG SUZUKI RETIREMENT MATCH-LSD 2005 Rules:Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai def. The Bloody & Fang Suzuki 3 falls to 2.
Then the retirement ceremony with all their pals entering the ring with flowers and things. Lots of tears, lots of streamers and a special appearance by Lioness Asuka at the end. I was never a big Fang Suzuki fan but The Bloody is one of the toughest ring generals you're ever going to see. Fang has said she is retiring due to injury but I think it's pretty clear that Naomi Kato is retiring because she is dissatisfied with the current state of the joshi business. I can't say I blame her. She's getting out while she still has her health. Best of luck to The Bloody & Fang Suzuki on their retirements.
Here's a link to some pics from the show. Keep in mind that there are five pages of pics. If you go to the bottom of the page there are links to the other pages. Also, here's the results of the show.
http://sikisai.heavy.jp/p05.prowres.130_1.html
THE BLOODY & FANG SUZUKI FIN - 12/31/05 - Shinjuku FACE
Ishijima & Matsui def. DAISUKE & Kimura
Jaguar Yokota, The Bloody & Yumi Ohka def. Nanae Takahashi, Toshie Uematsu & Fang Suzuki
FOUR WAY MATCH:Yoshiko Tamura def. Tanny Mouse, KAZUKI & Obacchi Iizuka
Mima Shimoda & Saki Maemura - 10 min. draw - GAMI & Yuki Miyazaki
Kyoko Inoue, Misae Genki & Hiroyo Muto def. Manami Toyota, Chikayo Nagashima & Megumi Yabushita
THE BLOODY & FANG SUZUKI RETIREMENT MATCH-LSD 2005 Rules:Mayumi Ozaki & Dynamite Kansai def. The Bloody & Fang Suzuki 3 falls to 2.
Yahoo LAUNCHCAST song of the day
Artist:Herbie Hancock
Song:Maiden Voyage
Album:The Complete Sixties Blue Note Recordings
Maiden Voyage was Herbie Hancock's debut recording and immediately caused jazz fans to take him seriously as a bandleader. Hancock is an experimenter and has occasionally made more commercial recordings but he always returns to his jazz roots.
Happy New Year to everyone. We had quite the blizzard here yesterday but it doesn't look like it has amounted to much snow. I'll find out when I go outside.
Song:Maiden Voyage
Album:The Complete Sixties Blue Note Recordings
Maiden Voyage was Herbie Hancock's debut recording and immediately caused jazz fans to take him seriously as a bandleader. Hancock is an experimenter and has occasionally made more commercial recordings but he always returns to his jazz roots.
Happy New Year to everyone. We had quite the blizzard here yesterday but it doesn't look like it has amounted to much snow. I'll find out when I go outside.
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