September 6, 2006
Rockstar Elimination: Week 10 OR Horror of all HORRORS!
People, you gotta help me out! OH MY GOD! We had "Meet the Teacher" night at Big I’s school. My parents were watching Lil C and instead of letting the nice Tivo do what it’s supposed to do. . . they CHANGED THE CHANNEL TO TENNIS which means they had to say "yes" to that little prompt about changing the channel and canceling the recording. Of all the rotten things you can do to a person. . .
My husband is frantically searching the net to find out the results for me because he realizes that I’m a woman on the EDGE. I can NOT believe I won’t see this episode.
And NOW, he’s telling me that Toby got the encore; that the bottom three were Dilana, Lukas and Storm. . . and STORM WENT HOME, even when Lukas re-performed his song from last night???? I think the full moon is influencing the world tonight; and I am NOT a happy camper.
Please, for the love of God, someone, burn it onto a DVD and mail it to me. I beg you!
September 5, 2006
Rockstar Recap: Week 10
Tonight, the rockers each performed two songs including one original tune. It was certainly an interesting night. The originals really divided up the contestants into two distinct groups.
Dilana kicked the night off with a classic song by The Who, "Behind Blue Eyes" and then an original called "Super Soul". Every song choice seems to be stemming from her "troubled" times and it’s getting a little old. If she wants everyone to forget about it and get over it, then why does she keep bringing it up? I thought her performance was more like an evening with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Her soft side was revealed again in the first song, but it seemed fake. Her original lacked all creativity, and from the brief vignettes that the show revealed, Gilby Clark is less than impressed with her creativity as well. The house band was also less than thrilled with her complete lack of knowledge of "Behind Blue Eyes." I’m so over her and I think Supernova is too.
Magni was up next and offered a stark contrast to Dilana’s performance. He belted U.S.S.R. and followed up with an original that showed a new side of him completely. He offered an intense performance that was stellar in contrast to Dilana’s. What I also like about Magni is that he doesn’t kiss butt. When Tommy Lee told him his performances sounded "the same," Magni offered a sarcastic, "Well, both of those songs were performed by me" and left Tommy Lee without a comeback. If chosen, he would definitely be a leader, and wouldn’t feel as if he owed the band anything. That would be refreshing.
Storm came out and got a little surprise. Dave Navarro jumped on stage to perform "Suffragette City" with her and she proved that she can perform with the best. Navarro offered her an incredible compliment, by telling her afterward that performing with her was like performing with the other stars he’s performed alongside. She rocked a classic, and followed it with an original "What the What is Ladylike" that is still in my head. It was one of the top two originals of the night. She managed to entertain throughout the entire performance without making the "something smells bad" face. That alone is worthy of praise.
Lukas performed a stripped down version of Bon Jovi’s "Living on a Prayer", but to me it sounded more like "Mumbling in a Microphone". He seems to be moving away from the Robert Smith lookalike thing and more towards going for resembling a tarantula or something equally leggy and hideous. His hair style tonight was practically giving me an anxiety attack. I was afraid he was going to poke his own eye out or something worse. I despised his original. I just can’t take the screeching and odd facial expressions anymore. Why do people like him? I don’t get it. He was the only one of the five whose lyrics I could not understand at all.
Toby brought down the house with his original that offered a memorable sing-a-long lyric that the crowd grabbed onto immediately. He worked the room and jumped from stage to stage, even getting goosed by Tommy Lee at one point. His song was right up Supernova’s alley and it was one of the better ones tonight. It’s a good thing too. I love The Killer’s song "Mr. Brightside", but I can’t help but think that although Toby did a good job with it, Marty Casey of last year, did it better.
At the end of the show, early voting revealed that the rockers were lining up like this:
- Toby
- Lukas (Why? Why? Why?)
- Magni
- Storm
- Dilana
Encore will definitely go to either Toby or Storm (I simply can’t choose just one.)
Bottom three will be: Dilana, Magni, and Lukas (PLEASE let Lukas be in the bottom three!)
I’m going to go out on a limb here and predict that Dilana goes home. If Ryan can go home, anyone is game.
What do you think???
September 3, 2006
Ding, ding, ding Round 1
Mr. BBM and I have been kind of crabbing at each other all weekend. It started with shopping, then turned into an argument about a pan; and I was very annoyed that we had yet to spar. I mean come ON, we got the equipment on Friday. So knowing my state of grumpiness, Mr. BBM knew he had to do something to salvage the rest of the weekend. That and I called him a "chicken."
This afternoon Mr. BBM put Lil C in her port-a-crib and told Big I to entertain her. "Let’s go," he said, "We’ve got 10 minutes" which is about the limit that Lil C will happily tolerate being in her port-a-crib with Big I as an entertainer. We geared up quickly and ran down to our sparring room (aka the basement) and got busy.
Without the self-consciousness that I have at the dojo, sparring was a piece of cake. My roundhouse kicks were killer and sent Mr. BBM retreating most of the time. I tried to follow my kick with another kick, or by moving in and getting a good punch in at the belly or a back fist to the forehead. I definitely held my own. It was obvious that Mr. BBM was trying to figure out how to defend against my kicks. He’s going to have to think long and hard about that because the kicking is definitely my strongest asset.
I have super long legs. Even though my husband is a good 6 inches taller than I am, our legs are the same length. When I was pregnant with Big I, I wore his jeans during that in-between stage. So, the kicking went well. I’d also like to introduce you to my two new best friends:
(Those are not my legs by the way.) Sparring with shin guards on makes a world of difference. I was not tentative with my kicks. Without anticipating the pain that usually occurs in the shin area, I felt uninhibited and was free to let loose. I have to say that the shin guards are my favorite part of my sparring gear. I did not feel ANY impact what-so-ever. At our dojo, we use Century Lightening gear, so the Macho Warrior was an experiment. . . one that turned out very well. I’m super happy with the extra padding on the kickers and shin guards, because when sparring a 10th kyu you need all the padding you can get.
There was one place where Mr. BBM could have used some extra padding, but I’m sure you can figure that out without me spelling it out for you. Before all of you guys start doubling over with sympathy pain right, let me just tell you that as a girl, it is not any fun to be kicked where it counts either. Since Mr. BBM invaded my personal space first, his nether regions were fair game. (Just to be clear, I didn’t aim for the jewels; but if he’s going to kick and leave his leg hanging out at awkward angles. . . well, he should expect a wake up call or twelve.) I think we’ll probably start using our mouth guards next time, because we had some close calls with a hit to the eye, chin (both on him. . . . WHAT? He turned his head right into it!), and nose (like my nose needed even the threat of swelling or injury).
Mr. BBM likes the gear as well, especially considering he’s a white belt and well, let’s just say that we had some conversations about a little word that in karate, we like to call "control." Actually, for not having any real experience sparring in a dojo, Mr. BBM did very well. I found that I could easily defend against his kicks though, because I could tell when they were coming. His punches were my problem.
Being that he has me by 6 inches, he would often sort of make a fly-by and quickly run across the floor, and then lean in and bop me on the head. It got really annoying. Blocking against his punches and head bops was a little rough. I did great blocking kicks and I blocked almost all the shots to my stomach, but the head is where I’m lacking. This is definitely a problem. Mr. BBM has some muscles; he’s strong and I have skinny string bean arms that don’t do well when blocking against a punch coming from him. I’m going to have to figure out how to work on that. I really don’t know any other way other than to work on my upper body strength, or get quicker so I can move out of the way. Any suggestions on this would be happily appreciated.
I’m sure that as we spar more, I’ll be able to start reading my opponent better and will be better prepared. Sparring someone for the first time is always an adventure. You never really know what someone’s fighting style is going to be. The trick will be changing up my fighting style to keep him guessing.
Now that we know that we can break a good sweat with only a 10 minute escape from the kids, sparring on a regular basis is not going to be a problem.
Any suggestions from the karate crew on defending against punches to the head when your opponent has much more upper body strength than you have? I would be very appreciative of suggestions, and so would my brain that seems to be rattling around in my skull a bit since we sparred.
If you would like to join the Black Belt Mama Challenge, it’s not too late. The BBM Challenge is on-going and new participants can sign up at any time. Go here for details. Participants in the BBM Challenge will receive a coupon code to use at Everything Fitness, and a wealth of support from other blogger participants.
September 3, 2006
Chicken
I am the initiator of the Black Belt Mama Challenge.
I should be setting a good example. I should be following through with my goals.
I have a problem. Unfortunately, part of my goal involves another person, Mr. BBM.
We ordered our sparring gear and being the nice person that I am, I even let my husband choose his color first. He picked black, the color I wanted. I let him have the black because I figured he’s a 10th kyu on a semi-permanent break and therefore I’ll let him have the black gear and feel all big and bad.
I ordered metallic blue which I thought would emphasize my eyes nicely. . . and it does.
We got our gear quickly (Karate Depot doesn’t mess around when it comes to shipping). On Friday it arrived and I ripped it open with enthusiasm.
My daughter and I had a blast trying it on and "sparring" in the kitchen.
My husband is one of those people who, on Christmas morning, immediately disappears to try on a new shirt or pair of pants as soon as he opens it. He’s very much like a kid. Because of that, this was the scene as soon as he saw that the gear had arrived. . .
Big I could care less that she doesn’t have sparring gear yet. She’ll use her bare hands to inflict pain. She’ll take out her Kindergarten frustration on her Daddy any day (notice the "height" of that particular punch). He’s grimacing for a pretty good reason, or so he tells me.
Because Mr. BBM and I will be sparring each other, and because my shins already are a lumpy bumpy bluish/purplish/greenish/yellowish/grayish (depending on the day and age of the bruise) mess, we also ordered shin guards.
But, besides the few brief moments of Big I threatening my husband with bodily harm, and her yelling "HEY!" every time I bopped her while sparring in the kitchen, our gear has remained relatively dormant. Mr. BBM and I have not engaged in any official sparring activity. (This, of course, does not include the argument we had this evening over the soaking of a certain pan that needed intense therapy after Salmon Burger Fest 2006 inflicted on it by none other than Mr. BBM himself). Yes, besides Mr. BBM walking around the house kicking things and remarking how thick and nice and padded and awesome our kickers and shin pads are, our gear has remained relatively inactive.
Sure, this was Kindergarten week and that took a lot out of all of us. Of course, the girls are on really messed up schedules right now that is throwing us all for a loop; and yes, we have spent a disproportionate time of our weekend shopping. But that’s no EXCUSE! Black Belt Mama needs to set an example, and I intend to start. . .
tomorrow.
Mr. BBM fell asleep upstairs while putting Lil C down for the night. An accidental nap? I think not. I think there’s a certain 10th kyu with black sparring gear that happens to be a bit afraid of his soon to be (hopefully) 3rd kyu wife who happened to take issue with his soaking pan comment.
My message to him is simple: BE AFRAID. Be VERY AFRAID, because I’m gonna look so good in my metallic blue gear that you’re not even going to see that roundhouse coming, or that back fist to the head that comes on the tail of a simple block. That’s right Mr. BBM, I’m throwing down the gauntlet. Bawk, bawk, bawk, bawk. . . are you chicken. . . or are we gonna GO?
Think that will get his butt in gear?
If you would like to join the Black Belt Mama Challenge, it’s not too late. The BBM Challenge is on-going and new participants can sign up at any time. Go here for details. Participants in the BBM Challenge will receive a coupon code to use at Everything Fitness, and a wealth of support from other blogger participants.
September 2, 2006
Perfect Post-August
It was easy for me to pick a Perfect Post this month. With all of the emotions involved with sending my first baby off to Kindergarten, I couldn’t help but be moved by Karl’s post about meeting his twin daughters for the very first time. It took me back to the baby days with Big I which is exactly where I wish I could be right about now.
Dropping Big I off at Kindergarten was gut wrenching, and I can only imagine what it must be like having not been able to see your daughters for the first few weeks of their lives and what that first meeting must have felt like for Karl. If you haven’t already read it, please check out his post.
If you’d like to see other Perfect Post Winners for the month of August, you can see them here or here.
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