We Don't Walk Slow

WAL on ESPN is Electrifying

WAL on ESPN

ESPN has been showing the World Arm Wrestling League as part of its programming and I’m hooked. The idea of two men squaring off to see who is stronger, without punching each other in the head, is exhilarating. Competition is vicious as men come from all over the globe to compete. There is no better test of arm strength.

Arm wrestling is set up in tournament format with single pull’s that lead up to semi final matches, and then finals. Most matches are over within 5 seconds as the stronger man dominates. There is hardly any luck in arm wrestling and strategy can overcome power. The mental battle is just as fierce as the physical. The best are the best.

Pulling John

Pulling John is a documentary released in 2009 that follows John Brzenk, the greatest arm wrestler of all time, as he prepares for upcoming opponents. John Brzenk has been dominant for 25 years and I paid $2.99 to watch his mind set leading up to the Zloty Tur (one of the biggest arm wrestling tournaments). John, Alexey Voevoda, and Travis Baegent were the focus of the documentary and the viewer gains insight to their training and intensity. Mild mannered John Brzenk immediately becomes your favorite arm wrestler because it feels like he shouldn’t be the best, but is (even though he loses to Alexey at the end).

John Brzenk and Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top

John “the perfect storm” Brzenk is still arm wrestling at 51. He is 225 and will still pull against the super heavyweights. Watching the greatest of all time is a privilege and who knows how much longer he can continue. Watching a man of 51 pull against younger, stronger opponents, and still win, is what the sport is all about.

Will Arm Wrestling Gain in Popularity?

Ron Bath, John Brzenk, Travis Baegent, Cobra Rhoades, and Michael Todd in 2008

Now that there is a proper medium for distribution, the sport will grow. With Game of Arms on AMC and now the WAL being broadcasted on ESPN, there will be a ratings surge. If I find the programming exciting, I’m sure others will too. Here are a few reasons why this sport grows on you.

Just because a left hander can dominate a division, it doesn’t mean his right hand will. Travis Baegent will own all the left heavyweights but he can’t beat Dave Chaffee right handed, and vice versa. This gives extra incentive to the top pullers to be the best.
Allen Fisher

The competitors also have personalities which makes it all the better. Allen Fisher, at 59, is Mr. Intensity and even though he’s not as dominant as he was, he puts on a show every time he steps to the table.
Most of these guys are working other jobs and the arm wrestling is just a side gig because the money isn’t that great unless you win. This aspect that everyone isn’t a millionaire is another reason the pullers are easy to relate to.
The idea that you are the “strongest in the world” is the ultimate appeal. Training never stops because there is always someone better than you. Even when you become the best, there are always pullers trying to overtake you.
It’s a sport that is simple and everyone follows the same rules. The only way to get better is hard work which is what separates the competitors. A truly raw and powerful display of strength that is worth watching.

By Tom Stortz|2016-11-08T09:59:40-05:00August 11th, 2015|Sports|6 Comments

The Difficulty of Sharing Thoughts

Sam and I both had posts today which I’d consider poor. Mine was a cut and paste from Reddit and his was a part 2 to a post which probably didn’t need a part 1. Why does this happen?

Simply put, living a life and blogging are two separate activities. How long do you think it takes to create a post with original content that people want to read? My feeling is that a minimum 1 hour needs to be spent on a post that generates any interest. Better posts can run 2-3.

When I arrive on Monday morning and haven’t posted since Friday, I scramble to post any content whatsoever. The only other possible post I could write would be a write up of my weekend which I pretty much hate doing because I’ve done it so many times. This is what I could have posted instead of the Reddit / Trump post.

I left work at 2pm on Friday to go golfing. I shot a 96. Adam and Bud shot 80, 97 respectively.
Friday night I lost $250 playing poker after starting with $400, dropping to $150, up to $750, then played a $1,200 pot when my 88 lost to 55 on a 55K 8 ( I didn’t even see the river) board.
After 4 hours of sleep I played kickball from 9am until 5pm on Saturday. We played 5 games and lost in the semi finals.
My entire body hurt (and still does) on Sunday and I decided to play golf. I shot a wretched 97 while the rest of my group made me look like a tard.
I watched True Detective and a bunch of other shows before I fell asleep.

There is no time for blogging. What I did wasn’t that exciting. A cut and paste from Reddit is all I could muster up or else I probably wouldn’t have posted until Tuesday night.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-10T12:03:40-04:00August 10th, 2015|My Brain|0 Comments

Vote For Donald Trump

Donald is a polarizing figure that is good for the election. Here are the most popular reasons for why to vote for Donald (taken from Reddit).

I’m seriously thinking about voting for trump, and here is why. I firmly believe that our system of government is deeply flawed, if not completely broken. Yet we still keep voting for the same type of people. If trump wins, there’s a good chance the whole thing will collapse from his absurdity. Then maybe we could start over and build something better that works. A vote for trump is a vote for full system breakdown, which I believe is exactly what we need.
He’s an asshole, but at least he’s honest, and isn’t really into bullshitting people. Besides, I don’t want a third Bush or a second Clinton in office anyway. The Presidency is not a hereditary monarchy.
I like him because he exposes the giant fucking joke that politics is, and everyone hates him for that.
The primaries are finally interesting for once because guys like Trump and Paul have views that aren’t 100% in line with the 3×5 card of acceptable opinion that the rest of them read their lines from.
When Oppenheimer developed the atomic bomb and was asked if it should be used, he said that it had to be used so that everybody knows why it should never be used again. Donald Trump could end the Republican Party as we know it. It would begin a new era of non-proliferation.
He isn’t a pandering politician. He is relatively centrist and populist. He has a long track record without any damaging scandals. He seems more than the others to be genuinely interested in being a good leader for the country, rather than only for his base (as he doesn’t really have a base to pander to.)
In short, the rest of the field looks slimy and self-serving. Trump has proven successful enough at serving himself that he comes off as credibly genuine and not like he’s running to make more money or get more recognition or power. He is less easily corruptible than a politician looking to trade favors and pander for votes. And the media reaction to him only serves to make the media look like corrupt establishment boot lickers seeking to control the narrative and the political process entirely. I guess it takes power to speak truth to power, sometimes.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-10T09:00:22-04:00August 10th, 2015|Celeb|3 Comments

The Troy Merritt Bender

Troy Merritt won me $80 dollars last week by winning the Quicken Loans National tournament by 3 strokes over Rickie Fowler. He was a bit of a long shot (8-1 on day 4 while leading) and this is because he had missed five straight cuts prior to his victory. A victory earned him more than $1.2 million, an invite to the Masters and a set of other Tour perks and exemptions. One of the those perks was playing at the WGC Bridgestone this week. What did Merritt do in his first round back? He shot an 82. This was the worst score of the day. By 5 strokes.

“I’m still just riding the high, coming off the win and built a lot of confidence. The body physically isn’t quite back to where I’d like it after the long week, but it will get there soon.” – Troy Merritt

Took care of 2 firsts the past 2 weeks – got my first win and shot my first round in the 80s on Tour. Golf is a funny game…

— Troy Merritt (@TROYMERRITT_PGA) August 6, 2015

“I just haven’t slept very well,” Merritt said about the last few days. “It’s been a long couple of days answering all the messages and hearing and seeing the outpouring of all the well wishes from friends, families, fans. I’ve answered a bunch of messages, as many as I can, and it’s been a lot of fun reliving it now and realizing that we’re PGA Tour champions. We’ve won on the PGA Tour. Just looking forward to what’s going to come next.”

C’mon Troy. You partied your ass off. You accomplished a feat that sets you up for life.

Show up. Shoot an 82. Go home. Repeat.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-07T09:54:38-04:00August 7th, 2015|Sports|0 Comments

Subtleties of Speech

Found this on a Reddit Board. Like always, the gold is found in the comments.

Life Pro Tips

Replace “but” with “however”, “although”, or even just a pause so your listener avoids negating the first part of your sentence.

When people hear “but” they automatically negate the first part of your sentence. This is why many people say “I’m sorry,but…” Isn’t a real apology — because whatever the second part of the sentence is trumps the sorry.

I’ve found its especially useful when you’re trying to avoid being accusatory or when you’re trying to bring up an issue without putting the other person on the defense because the pause required to replace the “but” will also make you consider how to phrase the rest of your thought better.

Person: You handled that customer well, but you can’t be so blunt.

Other person: you handled that customer well. However, next time you can try telling them in a kinder way.

Comments

[–]blargh12312312312312 [score hidden] 3 hours ago

Wrong! Those still negate the sentence. Use “and” instead.

By Tom Stortz|2016-10-29T12:27:14-04:00August 6th, 2015|My Brain|0 Comments

Remembering N64 Music

4 hours of N64 game music found on one Youtube video. I’ve time traveled 15 years.

It’s hard to express the feelings that come along when I hear music from N64 games. It immediately brings up memories of sitting in front of a TV holding my N64 controller “the wrong way”. In comparison to everyone I knew at the time, only Eric Lubowitz could stand up, and exceed, my abilities. I logged countless hours into many games but Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Mario Kart, and Super Smash were my favorites.

Top 5 Tracks of N64 Music

Goldeneye – Train
Fucking Natalya. If you tried to beat the missions on 00 Agent in a certain amount of time, you’d know that Natalya was the bane of Bond’s existence. Anytime you had to replay a level 100 times (or more) to beat the time, you start to get infuriated by the music. The train was a nightmare because you had to laser off the trap door and then run away at the end with Natalya surviving.

Mario Golf – Toad Highlands
I’ve actually played this game more recently than I did as a kid. I was more of a fan of Hot Shots golf instead of Mario, although I dabbled in both. All the music on the courses is good but I like the chirping in the background on this one. It’s soothing and allows for a cool and collected round of 18.

Super Smash Brothers – Hyrule Castle Music
This was always my favorite track. It was just perfect battle music. KO’ing someone to moon when the music upticks was rewarding. It didn’t hurt that I felt that Hyrule Castle was the best level out of them all.

Mario Kart – Koopa Troopa Beach
I time trialed this board often. Making the jump 3 times to beat your best time was what this game was all about. You’d always be racing your ghost and that just made it more exciting. This is another game where if you weren’t orange e’ing all over the place, you aren’t that good.

Goldeneye – Facility
How to Unlock: Complete Facility on 00 Agent in 2:05 or less. The beginning of this track brings me right back to the vents. I swear I played this level 1,000 times. Maybe more. This has to be one of the hardest cheats to unlock of all time. I would argue that unless you could unlock this cheat, you weren’t a good Bond player and that eliminated 99% of the population. Strafing was the only way to do it and this is what separates the strong from the weak.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-06T10:36:08-04:00August 6th, 2015|Music|4 Comments

Lil’ Dicky – Professional Rapper

The Anti-Rap = More Real Rap

First and foremost, I’m not a huge Lil Dicky fan even though he grew up in our backyard (Cheltenham). I’ve listened to a few of his tracks and some I enjoy but others I think are tough listening. That being said, Professional Rapper is a great track. Dicky’s self awareness shines through in this song and having Snoop back him up gives it credibility.

If you wanna do this, then you won’t get far acting like a little bitch
Nah, that’s my niche!
Don’t get offended by this, but that’s the market y’all missed
That’s the target I’ll hit
And that’s the heart of my pitch
I wanna do this whole thing different

Dicky knows his target and hits it with “funny rap”. It isn’t the traditional rap but he’s creating his own method of delivering content. He hits and misses on various tracks (and 90 minutes is far too long for his album) but even though I don’t consider myself a “dickhead” yet, I’ll give him a chance.

And my favorite line from Snoop

Why does everything you say sound so soft?

The next best track and definitely worth listening too as the hook is tight.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-05T14:44:54-04:00August 5th, 2015|Music|1 Comment

Why the Breakfast Club is My Favorite Movie

This quote was brought to John Hughes by Ally Sheedy (Allison) and was used as the intro to the movie unbeknownst to her. It comes from the second verse of Bowie’s “Changes” and is a powerful theme to the movie.

The Breakfast club was shot in 1985 which makes it roughly 30 years old. A major plus of this movie it stands the test of time. I watched it yesterday and there are virtually no parts that make it feel outdated (except for Claire’s dance which I personally love – 23 seconds at the end). The theme of students feeling different (and eventually realizing they aren’t) and how parents just don’t understand will never grow old. This isn’t an analysis of the movie though, it’s why I like it.

Bender’s facial expressions are so over the top that it looks like he’s ready to snap any minute. I’m positive this is what he was going for.
Claire is great too when she gets caught up in the Bender interrogations.
Brian is easily my favorite character. He seems the most natural to me.
I don’t like when Andy he falls for Allison after Claire does her makeup.
Ally doesn’t speak for the first 33 minutes and her character is a bit of a roller coaster.

My Favorite Part

Andy describing how he taped Larry Lester’s buns together. Brian revealing his suicide effort with a flare gun. Ally tormenting Claire with lies to get her to confess that she’s a virgin. Bender antagonizing Claire about her real diamonds that daddy bought her. It’s all there.

Plus who can’t forget the dance scene.

Points I didn’t touch on were Principal Vernon and Carl. In the opening credits you can see the janitor Carl was Man of the Year at Shermer High school. The conversation between these two while they’re drinking some brews is great with Vernon saying how the kids change and Carl replying that they don’t, he does. Paul Gleason (Vernon) was also credible as a principal and his scenes with Bender are great. The flinching with the basketball make my day.

The title should also read one of my favorite movies. But what kind of a title is that.

Don’t mess with the bull young man,
you’ll get the horns

The inspiration for Nelson Muntz

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-04T09:17:30-04:00August 4th, 2015|Movies|5 Comments

Quicken Loans National – Betting on the PGA

I woke up today and immediately thought to bet on Rickie Fowler. I watched yesterday and his iron game was so strong that he could have gone way lower if he was making 15ft putts. Of coursed he did do this.

70 feet. Tracking the entire time. Wow. Good on you, Rickie Fowler. #QuickHits http://t.co/CIUXCoUcYc

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 1, 2015

He’s the obvious choice for today but the oddsmakers also know this as he going off at +200. Those odds don’t excite me.

He’s also the best at these two stats which don’t mean much.

Troy Merritt shot a 61 yesterday and is going off at 8-1. He is remarkably average but a good putter.

The more I’ve researched this, the more difficult it gets to put any money down. Justin Rose is attractive at +900 but he is 3 back and that’s a lot of strokes if one of the guys at -13 plays well. All that being said, I’m taking $50 dollars and putting it on Rickie Fowler and $10 dollars on Troy Merritt.

By Tom Stortz|2015-08-02T11:50:39-04:00August 2nd, 2015|Sports|0 Comments