Introducing ninja ball

Introduction to takraw: (VIDEO LINK)

I heard about this via the Asian Games.  Something you'd clearly have to pick up as a kid.  I'm good for 10 juggles with a hackey sack, but these guys are spectacular. 

Charges dropped against Steven Seagal

On the heels of the news that the harrassment extortion suit against him was dropped, Steven Seagal will debut in a new show. The same jour-nihilists that ran with the story of indictment should now be proclaiming Seagal's innocence from the rooftops. But - social irresponsibility and the media go hand in hand, and we can only hope that as the media rolls around in dirt, the public will question and interrogate the motives instead of blindly believing.

Bonus: Quote of the day

"Steven Seagal goes through more phases than Barbie. So far, we've seen Mafioso Seagal, Reggae Musician Seagal, Environmental Activist Seagal, Gangsta Seagal, Asian Seagal, Jimmy Buffet Seagal, and Southern Lawman Seagal. It looks like his Southern phase is going to extend just a bit longer, with the news that Seagal will topline the TV crime procedural 'Southern Justice'."

- Wookie Johnson, Screen Junkies.

BREAKING NEWS: Steven Seagal stars in new t.v. series "Lawman"

This is not a drill!

http://www.aetv.com/steven-seagal-lawman/

Catch the show Wed., Dec. 2 at 10 p.m. on A&E.

This news rekindled an old passion in me in trying to obtain his brand-name energy drink, which I am poring over the internet for high and low.

I can see it now: "OMG, I'm being arrested by Steven Seagal!"
Awwwwww YEAH!!!

Related articles:
1. http://makalakapisei.blogspot.com/2009/04/some-winning-advice-from-steven-seagal.html
2. http://makalakapisei.blogspot.com/2008/12/mini-review-of-film-kill-switch.html

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Seagal's_Lightning_Bolt (Wow, there's even a Wikipedia entry on this now?!)

...useful information from the Forum today

Quotes on the imported drywall problem which is suspected of contaminating homes:

First we put a Wal-Mart in every town and suckled at the teat. Little people who stood up to Teh Wal-Mart would be destroyed like the little guy in a bad Steven Segal movie or any episode of the A-Team. We bulldozed historic Civil War sites to put up more, nothing would stop in the way. That was not enough.

Short term thinking/profits - ignore any long term consequences. It's been the U.S. mantra for 3 decades now.../ still lovin that cheap crap you can buy from countries run by dictatorships?// Americans ... self-destructing, by our own greed

Quotes on TSA airline security issues (screener left post and snuck through security):

"TSA is in a no win situation and someone has to draw lines in many grays. It's largely a matter of liability and reactive policy that you see some of the restrictions being enforced.That said, I can't believe that TSA brain trust is anymore, or for that matter, any less inept than any other fed. agency."

"Ok, since you asked. 1)Militarize it.13 weeks of basic training for all TSA employees, including discipline and respect. I've never seen a soldier sailor or marine on duty behave as anything less than professional when dealing with the public, even in a disaster (I've vol'd witht he red cross). It also engenders more respect from the public, elicits more trust, and hopefully, would make anybody trying something suspicious think twice about messing with a solider than a rent-a-cop. In addition, recruit, train and deploy 75,000 new air marshalls, randomly deployed on all flights throughout the united states. Run the whole thing like the Coast Guard, answerable to the Joint Chiefs."

"The flight was held up for over an hour as every passenger was taken off the plane and screened again, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said. The plane took off at 10:15 a.m. without Weems, who was questioned and taken into custody, Davis said.Because ONE PERSON got on without screening, they subject the entire passenger list AGAIN to another tedious time-wasting screening. Jackasses. There's actually decent logic behind that practice.If they had smuggled a bomb or a gun on the plane, they could have passed it to an accomplice prior to being removed from the plane. If they only searched that one person, the contraband would not be found.Of course in this situation, its pretty clear they weren't dealing with a terrorist just an idiot, but the policy must be followed because it does not allow any room for judgment calls. And when you are dealing with a bunch of uneducated workers in positions of implied authority, I think taking away their ability to make judgment calls is the wise thing to do."

Some winning advice from Steven Seagal

In case of emergency: Break out Steven Seagal quote:

"Superior state of mind, superior mental attitude."

I don't like all-nighters anymore, but I have to summon some Seagal-like qualities to finish these two papers in ten hours.

Mini-review of the film 'Kill Switch'

Yes, go rent it already.

How could someone be a registered member of the Seagal forum and then just go off and call Kill Switch a bad movie? It was a blast. I loved Steven's "ghetto south" persona and accent. The directing/production was pretty cutting edge for the established limits of the film (don't think this was a theatrical release vice a home entertainment release). The story was entertaining and not just "pulp." Music, lighting, sets, acting, everything deserves a healthy critical eye, not a slam like "This movie was bad."

The best was the climax - the rock 'em sock 'em boss fight at the end - unnecessarily extreme and a atrociously joyous surprise. Justice is a dish served best with ball peen hammers. Noticed the film was done in Canada - has this been the norm lately?Thank you Steven & co. for another fantastic film.

Eagerly anticipated Yakuza 2 to be released in '08

Yakuza 2 Coming to PS2 in North America
This is great news! Even though my life is nothing like a mob paperback novel, the original Yakuza game (2006), dark and all "neon-y" in it's setting, really made me nostalgic for getting lost on the metro. Did not think this game would get released over here. So while you're killing time for the next installment of Tenchu, you should check out Yakuza.

http://www.dailygame.net/news/archives/006625.php

[Excerpt]

Remarkably, there are still Playstation 2 titles still in development that are slated for release in 2008: Yakuza 2 is one of them. Yakuza 2 continues the twisting storyline one year after the Yakuza storyline where Kazuma is named Fourth Chairman of the Tojo Clan and retires from the yakuza life the same day. The person he entrusts the future of the Tojo clan is assassinated by a former allied gang called the Omi. These events set in motion a chain of events that see Kazuma traveling back and forth between Kamuro-cho and Western Japan in a desperate effort to stave off an all-out war between the Tojo and Omi clans. Players will find themselves alternately dealing with the police, meeting the ladies, and punching hundreds if not thousands of enemies in this fully upgraded sequel.
Yakuza 2 is slated to be released for the Playstation 2 in 2008.

Ninja heist in Pennsylvania

Excerpted from www.foxnews.com


A Pennsylvania robbery turned into a bad kung fu movie last weekend when two women in ninja attire robbed a gas station of lottery tickets, cigarettes and cash, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reported.
The two women walked into the Sunoco station early Saturday armed with a samurai sword and a dagger, respectively, the paper reported. They allegedly tied up a female clerk, grabbed the loot and fled. The robbery was captured on security video.
Click here to watch the video.
The swarthy 'ninjas' were dressed all in black except for white gloves. Police have made no arrests in the case.





[End Story. Note: That is great. P.S., if you are having trouble picking out a Christmas gift for me, I really need new throwing stars. The little ones I have would never hurt anybody. I'm looking for the ones closer to the size of a dinner plate. - Ed.]