Competition Time: Part III...

I was supposed to be competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the Brighton Open. Unfortunately, my ribs are still healing and a recurring knee injury is flaring up, so I went along to support my team-mates and do a bit of a recce to see what the competition was like. 

My friends did very well. One blue belt pal looked pretty unstoppable in both go and no-gi, while a white belt colleague won all three of his fights to win gold in his division pretty comprehensively.

I watched the fighters in the age and weight category that I compete in and a few of them looked very good, very calm, very experienced and technically very solid. But I felt, if fully fit, I could have worked as hard as they did and have been as dynamic, which would give me a decent chance of at least not getting totally ruined against them. 

It also made me realise that If I want to compete and do well I  have to train, eat and rest properly before an event. Preparation may not be the key to winning against a more skilled fighter, but it will give me a better chance of success. 

I did see two brilliant things at the Brighton Open, though. 

The first was a young lad in a wheelchair, who had lost the use of the bottom half of his body, fighting in the event. He won a massive round of applause for both his fights and rightfully so. Getting caught up with winning and losing can sometimes make you forget that just competing and learning and improving should be enough when you're doing a martial art. It was a good lesson in humility.

The second was a young girl of about six competing. She already looked quite fluid but everyone else was just so much bigger than her. It was impressive to see, though, and again quite humbling. 

But it was a good day. Competing would have been better, but a bit of supporting and the chance to do a recce wasn't a bad second place option. 

The key tactical things I took from the day were: fighting and driving for position and securing a stronger position; and never accepting an inferior position.

The Labour Party...

I've just joined The Labour Party. Living in Guildford, that makes me something of a minority. 

When asked whey I was joining, I said the following: 
'There has to be an alternative.
Labour has to be that alternative. 
And it has to win the argument. 
Now, more than ever…'

Pretentious? Maybe… But it's bloody true.

Five-word Reviews: Ant-Man...

Nerdbait-filled, fun superhero frolic.
Thoroughly enjoyable comic-book romp.

The Best Joke in the World: Part II...

'Aaaaaaaaaa!'

'Eeeeeeeeee!'

'Iiiiiiiiiiiiiii!'

'Ooooooooo!

'Uuuuuuuuu!' 

I have irritable vowel syndrome.

The Tory Party...

Growing up in Yorkshire, I saw successive Conservative governments destroy large swathes of my beloved home county and its industries, whether it was attacks on the coal mines, the docks, shipbuilding or any other major or light industry that happened to not fit in with their economic vision. 

Consequently, for quite a long time, I held the view that the only good Tory was a dead one.  I've since met Tories that I've liked and been charmed by, so I've decided my adolescent view of the Tory Party and any fucker associated with it may have been a tad extreme.

Now David Cameron and his pals have been re-elected, though, I'm starting to wonder if it really was all that extreme in the first place. 

Most of them don't seem to give a shit about anyone but themselves and their monied kith and kin, they seem to have very little concern for any form of compassion for those less fortunate, and their economic policies seem to be about creating more wealth for the wealthy and not really giving a shit about the poor. 

And, worse, they don't even try to pretend they care any more. Every policy they create smacks of an arrogant flaunting of wealth; they trumpet the values of the unfettered free market, while scapegoating all those without their fortunate social status who don't have financial or class privilege.

But how do you combat them? 

There's no point in trying to cull them via some act of barbaric terrorism. For a start, that's not an acceptable answer and, logistically, there's just too many of them coming off the Eton production line. And certainly, judging by the result of the last election, the argument about who should run the country and what values we should uphold seems to have been lost. They remain the people most other people want in power at the moment.

It's a horrible feeling that they've probably won for quite a while now. And it's a massively depressing thought that most people either think like them or don't care enough about anything but themselves to seen any alternative.

Labour needs to get its act together. The alternative is too depressing to seriously think about...

Rejection Letter...

Today, I got another script rejection through the post. Actually, I lie. It was an email. But it was still rejection none-the-less. This was a bit galling, but I'm sort of hardened to it by now. 

On the plus side, though, the script in question did make it through to 'an advanced stage of reading' so it means it wasn't rejected outright. And, as I haven't quite finished rewrites on the script yet, it means I have reasons to be optimistic when I send it to a few other places over the next few weeks.

So reasons to be cheerful. Sort of...

Esther from Syria: Part I...

I am getting emails from a young lady in Syria who is 'enthusiastic to establish long-time romance'. She is also keen to know whether I am 'enthusiastic to establish similar'.

It is Saturday morning and I am sitting in my office at home when another email arrives.
'Esther's emailed me again!' I yell to the Missus.
'Again? She's keen,' she replies. 
'I admire her work ethic. She also seems to really like me...' 
'Yes. But she hasn't seen a photo of you yet, has she?'

I think that was an insult. I consider sending Esther a photo...

Modern Phrases: Part II...

'If it looks like a feckless slut, acts like a feckless slut and dresses like a feckless slut, then it's probably a feckless slut. Or a reality TV star...'