Best Of The Super Juniors

The video above is a compilation of every Top Of/Best Of The Super Juniors tournament final, from 1988 to 2009. Before watching this, I was familiar with a handful of the matches; regardless, I was gobsmacked throughout the entire 12:58 of this vid. My favorite? The El Samurai/Koji Kanemoto match, which you can find at the 2:57 mark. The shit they were doing was insane.

This comp also contains footage of Chris Benoit (as Wild Pegasus) winning two of the tournaments. This is the first time I've been able to watch anything Benoit-related without wincing. Look closely, and you'll see other gaijin talent, like Fit Finlay, Scorpio, Dean Malenko, and Eddie Guerrero. Actually, you won't have to look too hard for Eddie...that's him beating Jushin Liger as Black Tiger in 1996 (at the 2:19 mark).

The 2010 edition is only days away, and among the participants is Winnipegger Kenny Omega. His tag team partner, Kota Ibushi, is also a participant. As opponents, they're no strangers to each other. Guaranteed, there won't be any "going outside" shit in the tournament.

Bonus stuff: watch the 2009 final between Kanemoto and Prince Devitt. It's amazing. Adam and Mike of F4W's Big Audio Nightmare figure Devitt will probably win this thing. I'm inclined to agree, as Devitt has been shut out of the tournament two years in a row due to injury, only to lose in the match above. It may be logical to give him the rub here. Part of me wants Davey Richards to win. That dude is a serious bad-ass.

More bonus stuff: I'm a big fan of the Tumblr blog FUCK YEAH WRESTLING! (I'm not yelling...that's their name.) Random articles, photos, and videos – all wrestling. I'm happy to have contributed some items to the site.

The Paper Champion

Many thanks to mcenroe for the EP cover. Looks dope!

Via mcenroe's Twitter:

Finished the rap mix of "The Paper Champion", my new EP. Now doing crazy dubbed out mixes for the bonus disc.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to this. After his killer mixtape/album Mastermind, and his criminally slept-upon synth pop recording Edge of Town, there's been a bit of a gap between P & C releases. But he's addressed that. When will this come out? Only Rod knows. Keep your ears open.

Random Thoughts: May 17th, 2010

Friday's brunch.

• Changes are afoot. In about a week or so, I'll be an uncle. In two weeks, I'll be a homeowner. Come late October, I'll be a dad. In-fucking-sanity.
• Output. Creativity has slowed to a mere trickle, if you can call it that. With the impending move, the living room is full of boxes, so I'm even less inclined to do stuff. On Friday, my drawing desk was dismantled for easier transport. Factor in my scattered/dark state of mind, I've been the very picture of inertia. So, how have I been getting my kicks? Well, through impulsive writing/blogging/whatever via this blog, Twitter, and this blog's offspring (which is actually dedicated to rapid sharing and half-thoughts). And I'm alright with this. I'll get back to drawing. The creativity/consumption balance will be restored in good time.
• Philip Lumbang Obey Sketch. Check it out. It's from his days of working with Mr. Fairey. Nice, eh? Quite a contrast from his bear-centric spreading of happiness, which is also pretty damn nice. Check out his work here.
• Safeway In Winnipeg. The history of Safeway in Winnipeg at West End Dumplings in four parts, with copious pictures – start here. I've been meaning to link this up for a while now, because it's just so damn interesting. Props to Christian Cassidy for his dedication and research. Be sure to check out his other blog, This Was Winnipeg, and his Flickr photostream.

GIVEAWAY!

The Epson color printer that used to be mine.

It's Giveaway Weekend! There's something fascinating about watching folks go through stuff that used to be yours. Before putting this printer out on the corner, I placed a box of assorted stuff out there first. Two people walked off with stuff while I watched from the second floor landing. That right there is tailored entertainment value. One of the two people came back for the printer, and I decided to stop watching until dusk. We'll see if there's anything left!
Best part? Two turkey-shaped items (a salt shaker and a napkin holder) = GONE.

This was prefaced by joining a long-ass lineup for a discounted compost bin and a rain collector across from Silver City Polo Park. Both are now in our living room.

Stop Draggin' My Heart Around

You have to admire his passion. Taken Sept. 11th, 2006.

I love this city to death, and I hate to see it get jerked around.
Minutes ago, I checked out today's lead story in The Winnipeg Free Press', and it seems that one more hurdle may have been cleared in the fight to keep the Coyotes in Phoenix for one more season. Fine, I say. If the whole buyer thing works out, great. Bettman's hard-on of stubborness is intact. Good on ya, Gary.

I just hate hearing the press jump on every rumor regarding the possibility of our long-lost Winnipeg Jets returning like the Prodigal Son. Truthfully, I'm not sure if that simile is appropriate, but it sure does sound good. Anyway, I just feel bad for folks in this city that get worked up over faint hope. The whole situation is some sort of open wound that forces outside of this town love to thrust a few fingers in for kicks. They love it when we squirm in the form of grassroot movements to fetch our team back from the indifferent Sun Belt.

And what about the Moose? Yeah, you remember them, right? I feel for those motherfuckers. Be real, y'all: the Moose are totally the jilted second wife in this mess. She knew Winnipeg and the Jets were tight, but the breakup was bitter, and she'd do anything to make him forget. The thing is, ol' Winnipeg never got over The Franchise, even though she crossed the border, changed her name and hooked up with Phoenix. Winnipeg got drunk every few years and openly pined for The Franchise, sending ill-advised texts and nude photos, all the while assuring wife no. 2 that everything was on the up n' up.

It's 4:58, and I've clearly gone too far with this metaphor. This post was just an elaborate ruse to use that photo.

Digital Dalliances

Hi. I've been in some dark places mentally, lately. I'll eventually get on track, including the Zero 2 Illo challenge. In the meantime, let me hit you off with some online bullshit.

• Me at Flavors.me – flavors.me/misterlorde: I did this on a whim, inspired by my man Chris. Essentially, it's a one-stop contact page or social network business card. I just remembered I had this.
  
• Mr. Lorde Should Be Drawing – misterlorde.tumblr.com: That title mocks me like nothing else. It's an effective shame tool. Basically, I started this when I fell out of love with my blog for a moment. Now, it's storage place for impulsive posts. So, The Place Where Al Dwells... = depth, Mr. Lorde Should Be Drawing = brain farts. I'm only 15 posts deep, but I'm beginning to enjoy using Tumblr, especially with this new theme I'm using. We'll see how long this lasts. I guess I should stay on board, as Mr. Mayer feels Tumblr is the future, and we all know how wise he is.
  A warning: nudity may show up every once in a while. None of my own. 

A note: History repeats itself. For nearly two years I said I didn't need Twitter, and then I joined. My joining of Tumblr shows that I'm pretty good at shooting my mouth off.

Allow me to be passive-aggressive for a moment...

Apparently, because I'm going to be a dad this year, I'm no longer allowed to acknowledge cool things. This came as news to me! All this time, I thought it was a healthy thing for someone to have interests outside of work and that it was possible to have these interests with offspring on the horizon. Well, I'm glad they straightened me out. I'm sure my son or daughter would rather have a dishwater-dull old man than a vibrant, pop culture-damaged idiot savant for a father.

Also, I've had more folks than I care to count (because that would mean taking an interest in something) tell me to get my gadgets now, because a child will fuck all of that up. Well, I'll be damned if that ain't some top notch advice. I mean, I knew I had to make certain sacrifices, but that notion hit me like a bolt of lightning! While I'm at it, I should stop buying comics, books, magazines, and music. Those items are frivolous and not at all life-affirming or informative, and my child should know that.

Thank you (hands clasped)...thank you for putting me on the right path, friends.

New Japan Pro Wrestling's YouTube Channel

Streaming full-length matches from New Japan's 38 year history. This makes me happier than a bunch of puppies running into a kitchen!

Dynamite Kid vs. Tiger Mask, January 28th, 1982

Tiger Mask vs. Bret Hart, February 5th, 1982 (WWF Junior Heavyweight Championship match)

Masahiro Chono vs. Steve Austin, September 23rd, 1992 (NWA World Heavyweight Championship Match – I think this might be slightly clipped.)

A clip of Antonio Inoki vs. Ric Flair, May 1st, 1995 – Pyongyang, North Korea