Return to Boxing by Way of Froch v. Kessler - Super Middleweight

I took a break from boxing. Not cold turkey (that would be impossible), but a break from allowing it to rule my life. Whenever I've watched a fight in recent months, I realize how much I miss it. I'm overjoyed to an almost overwhelming point.

I tried to get back into it by starting to watch Friday Night Fights again. I went to the Lazy Dog. It's a huge restaurant with a huge bar area and multiple big screens. I asked the bartender if I could get a channel change to ESPN 2. As usual, the bartender asked me what was on. This (almost*) ALWAYS happens to me. I fear it's because I'm a female. I always want to reply "Cheer nationals" and see what happens. Who gives a fuck what's on?! It's a bar with big screens. That means sports. ESPN 2 is a sports network. Shut the fuck up and change the channel. I'm also really disappointed that bars, even sports bars don't automatically put it on ESPN 2 on Friday nights and that the management and bartenders don't know that there's boxing on television on Fridays. That's just un-American.

I tell the bartender "Friday Night Fights".  He has to ask his manager. So I wait. And I wait. After 10 minutes I ask him if he's actually asked the manager. He says yes. 10 minutes later he comes back and says the manager said they can't put on boxing because it's a family restaurant. It's almost 8 pm on a Friday night. I don't see anyone under the age of 21 in the entire restaurant. And I'm in the bar area. Boxing isn't suitable for viewing in a family restaurant? I'm pretty sure they show hockey and football, which are also violent sports. Boxing is an Olympic sport and once upon a time it was one of the big three (boxing, horse racing, baseball - I miss you Bert Sugar!).

I now consider the Lazy Dog an anti-American organization. Don't go there. Don't give them your money.

So, I leave the Lazy Dog and head into the dark night, unfamiliar with my surroundings as I'm still new to the area. My phone tells me there's a bar in a strip mall a mile away. The Shady Nook. It was both. It was a bit of a scary crowd for a woman alone, but I pressed on. I sat down and asked the FEMALE bartender for a channel change to ESPN 2. SHE DIDN'T ASK ME WHAT WAS ON. *This is the first time that's ever happened to me. It was a great fight night and I started contemplating letting boxing take over my life again. However, it's a difficult sport to follow. I don't have cable. I haven't found a bar to watch Friday Night Fights. I don't know anyone near me with HBO or Showtime. I miss McCann's in Astoria so much. Best bar to watch any fight. HBO is right. Boxing isn't a sport. It's a way of life.

But oh my stars Froch-Kessler may have pushed me to be really aggressive with my performance review at work to better my chances of a big raise so that I could get cable. What a spectacular fight! Both excellent technical fighters, but with the ability and willingness to brawl. Froch looks great physically. He's filled out and he was able to take Kessler's punches better. Kessler, who's been a favorite of mine since I watched him work Librado Andrade like he was a hanging side of beef. He's lost a step, but he can still throw bombs and he's very active in the ring.

Digression: I drove up to Oakland to watch Kessler fight Ward in 2009. I had to leave for the trip right after a morning practice. I was still in my sports bra and didn't have a chance to shower before attending the event. Talk about a place a woman shouldn't travel alone. I was happy to have the extra funk as protection. I felt safe in the Oracle Arena, but I had to park far and it was a long walk in the dark. Kessler lost, but I was so excited that he was fighting stateside. I still regret not seeing Naseem Hamed when he fought in Vegas. I had traveled alone and done some other activities alone a bit, but I wasn't at a place where I felt comfortable going to Vegas alone.

I wholeheartedly agree with Froch about a fight with Ward - a good fighter, but not entertaining (fight-wise or personality-wise). Personality is important, not just in sports or entertainment. If you're a cubicle dweller at American, Inc., you still need to have some sort of engaging personality to succeed. I would welcome Froch-Kessler III. Maybe I'll be able to afford to watch it in the comfort of my own home by then. Keep your fingers crossed for my performance review!

Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman

 I read Neverwhere and American Gods, the latter which I love, love, loved, so I wanted to find out how his stories read in shortened versions.

The stories are quite varied. There are poems and funny stories and sad stories, but they almost all of them take place outside this realm. My favorite, of course, was “The Monarch of the Glen”, an American Gods story. Shadow is such a delicious character. The Sherlock Holmes story was spot on for the Holmes canon, but fit with Gaiman’s style, too.

I finished it a few weeks ago and every once in a while one of the stories pops into my mind and clouds over my day a little bit, but in a good way. Namely, “Keepsakes and Treasures”, a story about rich people always getting what they want and getting away with it, and “Other People/Afterlife”, basically, hell. The former seems like something that could be happening right now somewhere in the world.  Some of the stories read like drafts of thoughts. Others are like unfinished dreams that are barely remembered. I had nightmares every night I read a story in the collection.

If you like Neil Gaiman’s writing, you’ll probably like most of the stories. Like, not love. If you’re a fan of Stephen King’s short stories, you’ll definitely like a few of these stories.

A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin

***SPOILER ALERT*** ***SPOILER ALERT***  ***SPOILER ALERT***  ***SPOILER ALERT***

Book four and book five are supposed to have concurrent timelines, so I made the dumb decision to read them at the same time – a few chapters in one then a few chapters in the other. Don’t do this. It’s confusing.

A Feast for Crows is basically the day-to-day drudgery of war: strategizing, traveling, miscommunications, horrible conditions, betrayals, attacks, etc. However, the day-to-day drudgery in Westeros is more entertaining than any other kind of drudgery one can experience or imagine.

This is a Cersei, Jon Snow, Arya heavy book and I enjoy all of those characters. Cersei’s back story is revealed, but a bit too much in my opinion. She went to a fortune teller when she was young who foretold her marrying Robert, Robert having umpteen illegitimate children, and her having three incest babies. The fortune teller also revealed that she would see all of her children die and be overthrown by someone younger and more beautiful. If true, that’s beyond foreshadowing. That’s a spoiler in the story.  She thinks it’s Margaery, widowed bride of Joffrey and Renly and current bride of Tommen, but that seems unlikely. I think it foretold of Daenerys coming back, but who knows.

After finishing the fourth book and starting the fifth, I think all of Westeros is falling apart just so Jon and Arya could fulfill their potential. Jon is now commander at the Wall, which may have happened if his dad and Robert had lived and the lands weren’t plunged into war. However, I doubt it. And Arya! No way would this be her life: an apprentice at the most mystical monastery? She would’ve been wed to a lesser son of a decent house, most likely against her will. No way would she be allowed to fight and study such things. They’re my favorite characters, so I’m quite pleased.

However, can anyone tell me why Arya didn’t ask Sam about Jon? She knew he was from the Watch, but didn’t ask about her favorite sibling (probably)? Sam wouldn’t know who she was. She could’ve just asked general questions. It really, really bothered me. [Seriously, if anyone wants to book club this, drop me a line: thisisatesttiat@gmail.com. I’m not so much about theme and symbolism, but I need to talk (gossip) about Arya and Sansa and House Stark!]

Jamie gets more interesting with each book. Time away from Cersei has caused him to grow in amazing ways and for the scales to fall from his eyes. He finally realized what his true love really is: An ambitious sociopath who will use any means (including her lady bits) to get what she wants. The only things she wants are for her children to be protected, power, and Jamie. Jamie seems to have shunned her completely and her power seems to be more illusion than real. Karma’s a bitch to bitches, too. I’m digging it.

That’s all I can really remember. Honestly, I don’t recognize most of the characters or how they fit into the war, but it’s still great.

Something interesting: there were fewer shocking deaths and some false death alarms. I think Mr. Martin is growing fond of his characters. We’ll see . . .

Enjoyable quotes:

“Every man should lose a battle in his youth, so he does not lose a war when he is old.”

“Too stupid to learn and too stupid to give up.”