June 20, 2008
Signage compilation
I’ve compiled a photo gallery of all the various signs that have impressed me over the past two years. You’ve seen a many of them before but there are some new ones and I’ve added new captions.
June 18, 2008
Well, I hadn’t seen it before.
A friend just pointed me in the direction of this clip .
June 17, 2008
No way, Bruce Gracie!
Well that’s me in shock for the rest of the day.
I just found out that Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu legend Rickson Gracie has a cameo part in the new “The Incredible Hulk” film!
In the film’s flashback sequences Bruce Banner settles in Brazil and comes across Rickson in an Aikido dojo (bit weird!)
Rickson teaches Banner to control his emotions and shows him that weird-yoga-stomach-exercise-thing that he did in his own documentary Choke (Which is a classic film itself and a standard tool when introducing someone to the world of MMA) to help him control his breathing.
Rickson famously quipped in Choke that “Strong men grow on trees” regarding Jiu-Jitsu’s superiority over muscle-bound fighters of other disciplines. So, the question would naturally follow- which tree did Mr. Hulk sprout from?
The other weird thing about the casting is that they’ve labeled him in the credits as an “Aikido Instructor.” When the discipline that his family established, spread and popularised was Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (Or Gracie Jiu-Jitsu as the family refers to it).
Actually, on a side point, something that I’ve always found funny is knowing that one of Jean Claude Van Damme’s earliest film roles was a minor part in a film called Monaco Forever, where the credits listed him as “Gay Karate Man.” Somebody must have accurately sized him up when he attended the casting auditions.
It’s true that martial arts such as Aikido, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Judo all find their roots/origins in traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu. These three arts are sort of like sons from the same father.
But hasn’t anyone heard of sibling rivalry? Why attribute such a famous martial artist to a rival martial art? Especially when he’s amongst the founding family of the art itself?
It’s a bit like giving the CEO of Coca-Cola a bit part in a film and casting him as “Pepsi salesman.”
MMA stars have long been making appearances in films. We’ve had Randy Couture making cameos (and now rumored to have been given a significant role in Mummy 3). Bas Rutten is so prolific in films that he now has a filmography section in his Wikipedia article.
Even last night I abruptly sat up in my chair whilst watching Drillbit Taylor as Chuck Liddell suddenly appeared on my screen.
I’m just wondering what to expect next, Alien Vs Rampage?!
June 17, 2008
Ever had this problem?
You want to repair your TV set but also need to rather urgently fatten your chickens and the geographical restrictions of your city mean that you won’t have enough time to resolve both problems in one day.
Well, look no further!
This shop can attend to both your needs and under just one roof.
June 16, 2008
Muslim Aid
A good idea but why restrict yourself to half of the Muslim market?
Don’t sisters bleed too?
What we need some is SisPlast.
June 15, 2008
Shock News: Bin laden with rubbish photographed!
I think this is one thing that I like about Saudi - the little men on bins wear thobes.
Well, actually I have two interpretations to the logo above and haven’t decided which is a more valid explanation for this fine specimen of a motif.
The optimistic interpretation:
The little stick man in the picture is indeed wearing a thobe and the message is addressed to Saudis:
Keep your city tidy, put your rubbish in the bin.
The pessimistic interpretation:
Based upon the observation that some Saudis believe that “work” is something that you import and pay someone else to do. The little stick man in the picture is actually wearing a lungi and the message, whilst still addressed to Saudis, is:
Keep your city tidy, tell your worker to put your rubbish in the bin.
Which one is closer to the truth? Well…
June 12, 2008
An absurdity?
Question: In a country where females are prohibited from driving, should there be such a thing as a pink car?
Answer: Well much to my surprise (and various ex-pat friends who I’ve discussed this with), I’ve laid witness to many.
Furthermore, I’ve stared aghast at pink SUVs, motorbikes and even a pink pickup truck!
I won’t venture into any “in my day…” diatribes and shall restrict my comments to the above.
But…
Bonus points goes to anyone who can correctly guess the link (in my head anyway) between the picture below and this whole post.
