Where have you been?

Polish people are very into their dogs. Almost everyone has a dog or two. Unfortunately it is very uncommon for people to have them spayed/neutered and there is a huge problem with strays. Additionally, the pound where we picked up Kobra has over a thousand dogs. Everyone claims dogs are much healthier if they have puppies once. This only works for the females so I guess for male dogs it must be the "oh, I can't do that to him..." excuse. Amazing and very sad.

Another problem is that although its law that you must pick up after your dog no one does. If you venture off the pavement chances are you'll step in something unplesant if you are not careful. I have "hit pay-dirt" several times myself. When I mentioned this to my girlfriend she commented that its good luck to step in dog shit. Her mom confirmed and said I must be very luck considering how many times I've done it. Yes, very lucky indeed.

Another photo from the back of our apartment.

It is never fun to watch kids fight but man is it fun to watch kids fight. Anyone ever seen a 10 year-old knocked out cold? I have. He got dropped like a sack of shit with a fierce elbow to the jaw. Excellent.

Famlies in the West baby their kids relative to the young fighters in Thailand but the fights over here can be exciting as well. This photo shows the Singto Champion Shane Littlechild issuing out the beat-down to one of many of his victims. Er, opponents. But thanks to the alway cool and in-control refereeing of up and comming referee Kru Ryan Rudkin no one was hurt.

...to watch the Champions League final between Liverpool and some Italian team. Unfortunately the Italians won but not before they could show typical Italian sportmanship. Naturally all footballers are cheats and play dirty but Italians seem to do it with more style. For example, when this particular Italian team beat Man U in the last round several of the players developed "cramps" in their legs that required medical attention on the pitch, after only 70 minutes of play. Humm, professionals who are paid quite well should at least be able to play a full 90 minutes without succumbing to fatigue. Last night was no exception and they tried to run the clock out using this tactic. Fortunately the Ref was having none of it and would help the "injured" player off the pitch so play could resume. Naturally they would bounce back up immediately after the Ref's almost god like healing touch to reenter the game. But this was not enough as Liverpool lost 2-1. Oh well, better luck next time English Football...

Another photo from my going away party. This features my younger step-brother.

This weekend I went on a day trip to Marbork Castle with my girlfriend, her parents, and their dog Tosia. It was a nice trip and the castle was as intersting as it was grand. We took a tour of the castle, which is sort of mandatory, that ended up being boring as hell though. We had to buy a Foto/Video pass too which was pretty lame considering we had to fork out for the mandatory tour. The pass said you could not take professional photos/videos for sale. So anyone want to buy a non-professional picture of Marbork Castle?

We also toured around the Mazury area (pronounced like the US state Missouri) which is the "beautiful lake and forest area of Poland." It sorted of reminded me of the area around Texas A&M with lots of wodden areas separated by small towns and various lakes/ponds.

The photo was take at my going away (to the UK) party back in 2004. The guy on the right is a good friend of my from graduate school. If you read this I would love to hear how you are these days and whats new...

Alright, we are back from England and our computer is working good now so I will be posting on a regular basis. Perhaps two or three times a week. I will also try to limit my use of YouTube videos (although many of them are really funny).

We want to say thanks to our friends at Rock Road for letting us stay for the week. We had a nice time visiting with old friends and hanging out in Cambridge.

This video is of the commedian Dave Chappelle and his take on George Bush. This is his idea of what it would be like of Bush were black. I am using the Portugês version because it is uncensored and therfore much more funny. I love how the UN needs to "shut the fuck up."

This guy is none too subtle but I bet most of you have no idea why this is so funny.

Shane Littlechild holds both the F.I.S.T. Midlands Area Champion and W.M.T.O. Midlands Area Champion titels. In this picture an 11 year old Shane takes on a 21 year old lady during one of the Singto events. The young lady was the same weight as Shane and felt she had a good chance considering the fight would be Shane's thrid of the day!

Has anyone who has seen Shane fight like to comment about the excitement surrounding this kid. He is currently focusing on honing his boxing skills at a traditional western boxing club; has anyone seen him fight in a traditional western boxing match? Please post your comments below!

Fighting is not about blind agression but rather the calm and controlled application of serious force. The concentration can be seen in the eyes of this Singto fighter as he goes in for the kill.

I have to plug my old Muay Thai club, Singto Muay Thai Network, another time because, well, just because. If you are considering starting a martial art or are looking to switch to another area then Singto Muay Thai is for you. The environment is great, the people friendly, and the instructors are dedicated to teaching not only the art itself but Thai culture as well. The classes provide a fun and entertaining workout while learning a very effective form of self-defense. They are open to people of all ages and abilities and if you feel you might not cut it go anyway - everyone there is encouraging and very supportive!

In addition to the classes the Network also offers extension courses, external siminars by top members of the sport, and host club level events as well. The fights are light contact and an excellent opportunity to test your skills against another beginner. They are good fun for the spectators as well and always end with the fighters giving each other a respectful hug and everyone gets a trophy. A few photos from one such event are shown above.

I have finally put a few photos into the Top Photo section of the website. Let me know what you guys think of what I consider to be my "top photos" and take a look at some of the interesting external websites I have linked to.

The photo above has had some Photoshop work done to make it look like a painting. I would love to be able to paint but I guess I'll have to be happy with photography for now...