Book Review: Mankind Have a Nice Day!

It is no secret that I love the world of professional wrestling. I don't just like to watch it, I enjoy learning about it. From the history to the psychology to the real-life stories. In fact, I enjoy learning about professional wrestling than I do watching it.

I finally finished my book for the quarter and as you can guess, I read a book about professional wrestling and about one wrestler in particular, Mick Foley.

Now I have known about this wrestler (known as Cactus Jack back then) when I first started to watch wrestling back in '89-'90. He was a strange man. He didn't have the physique of a wrestler and he seemed to be a bit unbalanced. But I kinda liked him because he was different (and because he was a heel; and in the professional wrestling world, a heel means a bad guy) and really gave it is all.

This book chronicles his life as a professional wrestler and it was quite entertaining and full of interesting stories and facts. If you still think that professional wrestling is fake, you need to read just one chapter out of this book and it will convince you otherwise. Sure, the results are predetermined, but the match is not and actual fight is much more brutal and real than you think.

Mick Foley (as Mankind) is most famous in the professional wrestling world for this match.



One of his teeth split in half and it might have came through his nose because of the impact. And he talks about this match in depth in the book.

See that white thing below his nose? That was a partial tooth. And yes, those are thumb tacks.

But what made this book engaging is that you get to see the man behind the violent and strange characters he plays. Didja know he married a model? You got to see how he grow up and became a father and strove his hardest to take care of his family.

I do recommend this book. It is not like  the Bret Hart book I read last year, which while still entertaining, I think it appealed more to the hardcore fan of wrestling. This book was more for the casual reader which is why I think anyone would like reading this book. But I will warn you, it is not for the faint of heart. It can get pretty graphic about the brutality of his matches and lifestyle. But it will also make you laugh and you might come away with a little respect to the business of professional wrestling.

Up Next: Belinda Carlisle's Lips Unsealed.

The Torture Rack

It is no secret that I love professional wrestling.

This is no April Fool's Joke either. I really like wrestling. I like the story lines, I like the action, I just like the whole package. Yeah, I know it can be downright stupid and it can be cheesy too. But that is all part of the package.

That isn't a smile on her face. She is in a lot of pain!*

Here is picture of Kristy succumbing to the power of Lex Luger's Torture Rack.

Yeah, I want to be a wrestler too.

*that is an April Fool's Joke

March Day(s) of Reckoning Part II

Day 148

I am going into my fourth month of my New Year's Resolutions and it feels like I have been doing them for YEARS. Time does fly but when it comes to these goals, time is dragging.

These last two weeks have been a ton better. I think having to blog about what I have done has helped me be more accountable and more aware. Part of me feels bad for those that follow my blog since I am sure this bores the snot out of you.

So let's get to it!

WRITING:

As many of you know already, I am starting a new writing challenge called Script Frenzy. I am looking forward to this new challenge and hope it helps hone my writing skills. It starts April 1st but I have been spending some time plotting and figuring out where I want to take this story.

I still have not yet completed my last insert into the Vessel. But that WILL be done this week. I guarantee it!

READING:

Last week, I felt horrible by not doing one single iota of reading. I certainly have changed that these last two weeks. I have read two books and I am on my way to completing my fourth ahead of schedule.

This book was an easy sell. Spider-Man has always been one of my favorite characters and I was feeling nostalgic so this book was right up my alley. DeFalco (the author) interviews about ten writers and artists about working on Spider-Man. This book is not a Marvel book so these creators really could let their feelings be known. Reading these types of books really inspire me to write. The part I enjoyed the most was reading about the Clone Saga. For those that don't know, this will go down in history as the WORST Spider-Man story ever (it lasted for years) but hearing the behind-the-scenes stuff was cool. The creators really thought that had something in that story but it quickly derailed when Sales and Marketing got involved.

I also started and completed this book by Warren Ellis. Ellis is one of my favorite comic book writers and this was his first novel. What I like about him is his cast of characters and how they are very unique. The plot was about a guy searching for the real US Constitution and who's hands it passed through. It was pretty violent and filled with stuff that I hope I never come across in real life. Definitely not for the weak of heart. I definitely like his comic books better and probably only because it is filtered down. Still, a fun and imaginative book.

The next book I am currently reading is the autobiography of Bret "The Hitman" Hart. He was a famous professional wrestler and this chronicles his life. He was a smart man, he kept audio diaries when he was wrestling just so he could write a book later in life. So far the book is excellent. Again, I like behind-the-scenes stuff and this is filled with it. A lot of funny stories; especially about the time his dad Stu would take perspective wrestlers down to the Dungeon and beat the tar out of them. In one case Stu was 65 years old and he made this one kid (who thought he was awesome) bawl like a baby because of the pain.

Exercise and Eating Right
I exercised most of the days, only missing one sessions. Unfortunately my weight was off a bit. We splurged last weekend and now I am suffering for it. No treats until Easter except for a few rare exceptions. But even then, I can only have treats in moderation. And since the weather has been nice, I have been running up to the Logan Temple and walking a few times around it. That gets the heart going since it is on a pretty big hill.

Every Tuesday during Lost I have been doing some drawing. More than likely next time I will be doing some storyboards for my script.

So not a bad two weeks.

By the way, I keep forgetting to thank Milton for the tip on cheap Creme Eggs. I got a bunch of those "gross" little things. Too bad I cannot eat them until Easter!

Sunday Confessional: The Squared Circle

Day 141

I am a recovering wrestling fan.

It all started way back in 1990. I was watching WTBS and was waiting for a James Bond film to start. WTBS always started programming 5 minutes into each half an hour and I was stuck watching the remaining five minutes of the program that came on before the film.

It was World Champion Wrestling. I didn't want to flip the channels to find something else so I decided to stick it out and watch it. And that was a big mistake. The last five minutes involved 2 of my all-time favorite wrestlers, Sting and Ric Flair. Sting was part of Flair's group the 4 Horsemen and Sting had a World Title shot wit Flair. Flair and the other Horsemen didn't like it so they kicked him out and attacked him, right in the ring. I had always thought that wrestling was just a bunch of wrestling matches in the squared circle (what they call the ring) with no story lines.

Yes, I was fooled. Fooled and hooked.

I just had to see what was going to happen next. So from that moment on, I watched wrestling and WCW in particular until they shut down in 2001. Unfortunately the wrestling business is not what it used to be and now I rarely watch wrestling nowadays. Sure if I am flipping through the channels, I may stop and watch but it doesn't hold my interest as it once used too.

It didn't help that my mom watched wrestling too. Her favorite was Ric Flair.

Are you ready for another huge confession?

I have been to an actual live wrestling event. And I took my wife and my mom with me. My sister's family came too but they sat elsewhere. I went to see WCW back on May of 2000. And it was a lot of fun.

Here is a picture of the event. In the ring is Ric Flair.
Are you ready for another larger confession?
I actually made a sign to take. That is a staple of a wrestling fan, to make a sign and take it to an event. I wanted the full experience so I made a clever sign to take. Not your average misspelled poster. This was a classic. Both my mom and I were fans of Ric Flair and he was known for being quite a womanizer. One of his favorite things to say was "All the ladies want to ride Space Mountain." So I thought it would be funny if I took a sign that said, "My Mom Wants to Ride Space Mountain." And then my mom held up a sign that said "I'm His Mom!" Everyone around us thought that was the best sign. We didn't make it on TV though.

You know at the time we all thought it was funny. Now I am not so sure, now it sounds kinda creepy. Maybe I finally have grown up.

Wrestling was a fun thing to watch. People may think it is stupid and there are aspects that I think are stupid too but it was still harmless fun. I don't regret watching it at all, it was fun. And it was something to do on Monday nights when football was not on. Think about it, wrestling has no reruns. They are brand new every Monday night.

I hardly watch wrestling anymore, unless it is some of the old stuff. It just isn't like it used to be. Now I am much more interested in what was going on behind the scenes, the backstage decisions and the drama. That backstage stuff is much more interesting. I will admit that one of my favorite books is The Death of WCW. It chronicles how a company had lost 95% of its paying audience in about 4-5 years. It also is not afraid to poke fun of professional wrestling. Another book WrestleCrap takes a look at all the terrible stuff wrestling has done. And my next book for next month is an autobiography of a famous Canadian wrestler Bret Hart.

The biggest comment I get is well, you know it isn't real. Yes, I know that. I know things are scripted out and planned. But I also know that while wrestling moves are staged, they still have some impact and that these guys are definitely athletes. Just ask John Stosell if he thinks it is fake.


I feel much better getting that off my chest. Go ahead and make fun of me if you wish to. Just be careful, I know how to take a chairshot to the back (ask my bro-in-law Eric) properly. Do you?

Now I am off to go put Logan in the Torture Rack.