Today and other days...

Today I went to the grocery store. I had a plan for a change instead of going in there high and buying too much stuff that I can't afford.

I bought sandwich materials for lunch and cheap pasta for dinner.

Recently while drunk at CVS I couln't help but cave in on the 3 for $10 deal on Cinnamon Toast Crunch. So breakfast is covered.

This may not seem interesting to you, but... Well, it's just plain not. OK, moving on...

So I looked at the first blogging effort of mine today for the first time in a few weeks and I decided that, while I am not a very good cohesive writer, I thought it wasn't an all together horrible effort.

So I decided to take a less structured crack at it and rant. And so here I am.

DC Statehood is being voted on soon. What this means is DC will get to have an appropriate amount of Congressional Representatives and Senators. I do not know a whole lot about any of this. I feel like right away, it seems like a good idea. Taxation without representation seems bad, but I also heard that it's been opposed for so long that it's unconstitutional. Also, I learned today that you can get free health care in DC as long as you are a resident. This also will require more research on my part, but it's something that I've been thinking about.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D.C._Statehood

I just went and got a pack of cigarettes and when I smoked the first one on my way home I got the first "cigarette buzz" I've had since high school. I didn't like it then and I don't like it now.

My friend Tim also started a blog. His is much better than mine.
http://timlarsenphotography.blogspot.com/

The NBA All Star Game is tonight. I am very much looking forward to seeing Shaq and Kobe AND Phil on the same team again. Should be awesome. I'm calling a West victory, 361-288.

Nate Robinson jumped over Dwight Howard. Yes, he deserved to win.


Also, this kid is everything that is right and wrong with the internet and the country.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Pruane2Forever

The Stimulus Bill passed with little help from the GOP. Whatever. It passed.

I watched "The Dark Knight" last night with someone who hasn't seen it. It was as always, awesome.

Also, I have been watching Season One of Studio 60 on the sunset strip. That was Aaron Sorkin's most recent show. (Aaron Sorkin created "The West Wing" which if you know me, know that it's one of my favorite things ever, and probably played a big roll in me moving here to D.C.)
So far it's pretty good. I remember seeing and episode before it was canceled that didn't seem all that interesting. So I hope it was just a one time thing... whatever. I'm going to go watch it now.

Thanks for reading. It'll be better next time, I swear.

Mike Tyson Played Himself

I would like to talk a little bit about Malik Abdul Aziz.

You know him as "Iron" Mike Tyson. Few people have entertained me on so many different levels as good 'ol Mike Tyson. As a kid growing up, watching him beat the holy shit out of people was always really awesome. Playing "Mike Tyson's Punch Out", was one of my favorite pastimes as well.

Before I go any further, it is important to note that Tyson had a very successful boxing career by any standard. He retired with a record of 50 Wins (44 knockouts, 5 decisions, 1 disqualification), 6 Losses (5 knockouts, 1 disqualification), 0 Draws, 2 No Contests. He held all three major championship belts; WBA, IBF, and WBC.

Watching his decades long downward spiral has been an adventure the likes American pop culture has never seen.

" This country was built on rape, slavery, murder, degradation and affiliation with crime."
-Mike Tyson

Mike played himself in the 1991 Drama, "Black And White". Mike also played himself in various other productions, including... Ready?

• Webster
• Who's the Boss
• Rocky Balboa
• Several Pro Wrestling cards including Wrestlemania 14,
• He was even on Arsenio Hall.

Mike Tyson as a sports, and quite clearly, entertainment icon, has played HIMSELF everywhere. The lines of reality are all but indistinguishable when it comes to him. He was of course featured on several albums, most recently with 'Lil Wayne. Mike played a role in the L.L. Cool J/Canibus feud. (That feud probably warrants a blog of it's own, but one step at a time). My favorite line in "2nd Round Knock Out", which was apparently not included in the video was;

"I caught these foul slouch-ass ni***z, youknowmean? Talkin foul bout you the other night on the corner of the boulevard man - I wasn't with that but I ain't know you well enough to defend you though right?"

I ain't know you well enough to defend you.... I love it. Anyway... moving on...

Who could forget "The Bite Fight". This one reached out to everyone. Not just the boxing/sports community. There was no getting away from it. This alone puts Tyson in a whole other category than just about any other professional athlete. Seriously... even despite Mike's explanation of getting "butted" repeatedly, who bites someone?

"I'm the most irresponsible person in the world. The reason I'm like that is because, at 21, you all gave me $50 or $100 million, and I didn't know what to do. I'm from the ghetto. I don't know how to act. Who am I? What am I? I don't even know who I am. I'm just a dumb child. I'm being abused. I'm just a dumb pugnacious fool. I'm just a fool who thinks I'm someone. And you tell me I should be responsible?"
-Mike Tyson

5 years later, Mike would again bite his opponent.(sigh) This time however, it would happen at a press conference turned riot, when Mike would bite World Champion Lennox Lewis' leg.

"All praise is to Allah, I'll fight any man, any animal, if Jesus were here I'd fight him too."
-Mike Tyson

Tupac Shakur was murdered after leaving the Tyson vs. Seldon fight on September 7th, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this clip, Tyson seems about as normal as one can expect from him. There even seems to be some depth there.

Maybe Depth isn't the word... He didn't curse, raise his voice or insult anyone... So that's kind of what I mean by depth.

I guess what's so fascinating to me about Tyson is that he was allowed to continue to be himself, wherever he chose to do so. Weather it be a press conference, a movie, a boxing ring, a pro wrestling event, a talk show, a Pepsi commercial, a sitcom, Nintendo Games or in prison. And as long as the money was there, we all watched (prison notwithstanding, of course). And that's what kept this whole thing going. You could always count on something happening.

I don't think there will ever be a spectacle quite as grand as The Mike Tyson Show. His antics made Dennis Rodman look kind of like a frat boy. He kept up such a high standard of insanity for so long, that it would take someone beyond crazy to fill that void.

Here's to you Mike, you crazy son of a bitch!