Rampage the Boxing Slayer........UFC's Muhammad Ali

"That's the way I rumble. I do my thang!"

On Seis de Mayo, day after the thrilling Mayweather/De La Hoya bout, I had the inkling that boxing was dead. After watching UFC 71, I now know who killed it......Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Point blank.......He's a beast.

I've watched Rampage long before the UFC was on the scene. I had a friend in Japan send me videos of this crazy, barking wrestler that was destroying veterans of the PrideFC. In the most technical of sports, Rampage was freestyling with little formal training. I mean reversing arm bars with sheer brute force and WWF slams (on GP, I can't call it WWE). From the first time I saw him fight, I knew it was only a matter of time before world domination. (I called the fight.....but never posted my blog beforehand. No seriously......I picked the "underdog".)

I knew he was working on his boxing, grappling, wrestling, jujitsu, speed, and conditioning, but I didn't know about the charisma. This is why Rampage is going to take the UFC to the next level. As fans of the sport, we need an icon. We need someone to standout as a symbolize of our hopes and dreams. We need a modern-day Ali. We need Quinton Jackson.

Give credit to where it is due. Dana White has cleaned up the sport. Chuck Liddell has made the brutal, savage sport more humane and more intelligent (80% of the fighters have college degrees). Ticket prices are up and celebrities fill the front row. The sport is practically tamper proof. There is no amount of $ that would get me in the cage. I'd rather fight Tyson in his prime. Fixing a UFC fight is suicide.

Talk about protecting the fighters. There is a mandatory suspension for UFC 71 fighters until 6/17. Dana's even changed the rules to make it safer and more exciting. They even bought the competition....the whole damn league......Ballin'. Now, UFC and PrideFC are going to be a world wide sport. It could rival soccer (more so than any other sport). This isn't a sport for violent, crazy idiots. It is the ultimate kinetic chess. More complex than boxing with so many other skills required. Mayweather said the "UFC ain't $hit". Dana asked him to make the fight happen and the greatest boxer of all time apologized for even uttering such foolishness. Don't take my word for it, lets look at the numbers:

1M PPV buys (UFC 71)
$4.4M gate proceeds (UFC 71)
UFC's 2006 PPV revenues were almost $223M
2006 - $177M for boxing on HBO
2006 - $200M for WWE

The fight could have been bigger. Even more hyped. If Rampage had more fights, the build up would have been ridiculous. Even Rampage thought he should have had more UFC fights. He apologized for making Chuck look bad. The crowd didn't know any better and never stopped booing. Even after the devastating chin check. 2007.....year of the upset. It wasn't an upset to me. It just got some people upset.....Chuck...Dana. Dana and Chuck are like Diddy and Biggie. They need each other. When Chuck lost the first time to Rampage, Dana had bet PrideFC $250,000 that Chuck would win the entire tournament.

When will fighters stay out of the lime light before the fight? Tarver does Rocky, Liddell does Entourage.....when are they going to learn? Chuck admitted to begging Dana to hookup the deal to be on his favorite show. I love Ari too, but Ari isn't giving away any of that fuck you money.

Chuck, you were the best that's ever done it. You are a very respectable and gracious champion, but please...no re-rematch.

Rampage, you're a celebrity. Please don't fall into the trap. Turn down any and all pre-fight movies/guest appearances. And I know you want that Bentley, but don't buy it. You want those grillz for your family and your shoes. No bling please. At least don't buy it. Have your agent get it for free. You're a celebrity, you don't have to pay anymore.

For those who don't know. Watch this clip. He's a beast!



For those who think he's an a$$. Watch this ultimate display of sportsmanship and humility.

Better CEO: Einstein or Bartleby?

I just read an old post by Jonah Keegan on NYCE (New York City Entrepreneurs). He posed the question, "When should I start blogging my new business?"

Jonah's answer:

My experience (very tech heavy) is that ideas do not make or break 99% of the companies in the world, people do.

I completely agree. As a new entrepreneur with limited resources you have to get your name/idea out to the world, as soon as you are ready. How does one define ready?

You don't. Because you can't. You will never be ready so there is no reason to postpone. Just FN Do It! (I'm not saying be foolish. Make sure you are in position to make the competition irrelevant before you open your big mouth).

How valuable is an idea?.......no really.....tell me! Every "idea" has already been identified. Someone has already thought about it and done it. It might suck, but somehow it's getting done right now. Your "idea" isn't scared and anyone who thinks so.......kick rocks! Your "idea" is simply to do something better than everyone else (perhaps in a different way).

It's all about the execution. Einstein had brilliant ideas. I'm sure Bartleby the Scrivener had a plethora of great ideas too.......like go on a vacation for example. Now........who would I bet the farm on? Neither! Einstein doesn't have enough stamina to do a full day. And Bartley.....he could have been a rock star CEO, but...........well.........we all have different preferences.

Yeah I hate on Facebook..........because they don't have a revolutionary idea. But in terms of implementation, Mr. CEO Bitch is killing the game.

Bull$hit until proven true......Vitaminwater = 50 Cent's 40 bagger

They say the proof is in the pudding. Well...I want to hear the words straight out the Cosby's mouth. I've scoured the internet and talked to several alternative information sources to substantiate the RUMOR that "50 Cent banks $400 million on sale of Vitaminwater."

Now you know I'm a hater....but are you telling me that 50 is the hip hop Warren Buffet? Who gave him the sound business advice to invest $10M for a 10% equity stake in 2004? C'mon 50, who is your broker?

Somebody....Anybody....say it ain't so!!!!!!!!!!!! Because if it's true, I'm about to shoot myself 360 times (40 x 9) and start working on my album ASAP! Howard, how did you miss this?

WTF! I'm really in the wrong business. First Facebook (needs a separate post), now this. I just got off vacation. My therapist advised me to slowly ease back into the hate. F*ck him!

Thai Ping Pong

So on Sunday we decided to check out the local mall. We went to Siam Paragon which is one of the largest malls in Bangkok. Now don't get it f*ucked up. I wasn't forced to go to the mall. I do my fair share of shopping and challenge anyone (male or female) to a shopping endurance test.

Anyway, we proceeded to shop at the usual suspects (gucci, zegna, ferragamo, etc.) looking for bargains. No deals to be had! You're better off going to 5th ave. for a better selection and cheaper prices. After the 10% service charge AND the VAT, it's just not worth the price (even with a strong USD).

As we stepped out of the mall onto Rama Road several men kept approaching me......wanting to "show me Ping Pong". Now, I played football in college and only watch/participate in real sports (football, soccer, basketball, etc.). You know......sports where one actually sweats. I save the recreational games (ping pong, golf, billiards, etc.) to the old and out of shape.

Anyway, these guys kept harassing me for the rest of the night about some damn ping pong show. So now its like midnight, we've eaten dinner, and we go to a bar for some drinks. After 4 hours, I'm starting to get really f*cking annoyed with all this ping pong pestering. I mean......who wants to play ping pong at 1 am in the damn morning.

Finally, a guy pulls out a card with a menu full of prices for a variety of karma sutra positions. He was inviting me to a Patpong Show. Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Talk about not reading the context clues. These guys were trying to sell me some a$$........all while I'm with my girl. Needless to say, we found the entire experience quite amusing and laughed all the way back to the hotel.

On a final note, during our night excursion we did notice a reoccurring theme...........this will however require a dedicated post! (I may even have to recruit a guest author!) Here is a sneak peak! (key words: old men and lady boys)

$1.50 Put-Put taxi and Thai Negotiations 101

Where are these in NYC when you need a quick ride? I know we have the rickshaw pedal cabs, but who needs a guy riding a bike when you can ride in the middle of the street in a golf cart? I want my Put-Put taxi! Not only can they zip through traffic, but $1.50 USD can take you a long ass way. You can't even get into a NY cab with the meter reading less than $2.50.........I don't think I'm going to make it back to the states.

These put-put taxis are so common, they are part of Thailand's arts and crafts. Now at the Suan-Lum Night Bazaar you can pick up a Heineken model put-put for 350 ฿ (Baht). Don't do it! We've mastered the art of Thai bargaining. First, cut the price in half! It doesn't matter what you are trying to buy, if you look gullible (a.k.a. American) you will pay more. Once you've established a reserve price, test if the seller will go lower. If not, slowly work your way up to a "fair" price.

If the seller is not offended and will go lower, ask "what is the price for 2"....then 3...etc. Once you get the wholesale price for 3 or 4, use that as your new base reserve price for a quantity of 1! When employing this technique you can buy your very own Heineken put-put model for a mere 170 ฿. This also works for negotiating your put-put taxi fares. Good luck!

Happy Birthday to me! (Now......who told Dick?)

Dear whooknew,

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Gerry,
Happy Birthday to you.

Now F*ck you, pay me!

Yours truly,

Your friends at Time Warner

NYC to Bangkok.......in only 24 hours!

I had no idea! I've traveled a lot, but never to southeast asia. Now I know why. We boarded the plane at JFK 10am on Friday morning. Couple hours layover in Tokyo and then straight to Bangkok. Long ass flights, but I was able to do a lot of reading. I think I've found my new favorite magazine, Trader Daily. I've recently subscribed, but didn't feel like waiting 6-8 weeks for my first issue to arrive. Although, I have selective A.D.D. (self-diagnosed), I actually read the whole thing cover to cover. And I NEVER have the time or patience to do that. (My findings will need a separate post.)

So we're staying at a new hotel, Dream. Seems cool. I like the vibe and the in-room dining menu seems quite tasty. (I'll have to give a more detailed report on my stay at Dream).

We are off to our first taste of Bangkok nightlife. First we're headed to bed supperclub. (Again, a more detailed report will follow).





I'm out!

I want to Tivo my radio (freebie idea)

So I was driving home in the yOOnew mobile after Mother's Day and decided to listen to the radio. As I flipped through stations, I heard two songs that I liked. Papoose - "Victory" and Raekwon - "Fly Poetry".

After each song, I hit the "Back" button on the cd changer expecting it to replay. I'm so used to rewinding tv with my DVR, I subconsciously tried to do the same thing with the radio. The more I thought about, the more pissed I became. Why can't I rewind radio. There is certainly less data in a song than there is in a video. WTF?

+ + + =

So here is my freebie idea. I want a Tivo for my radio. I want to schedule recordings ahead of time, just like Tivo. I want the ability to rewind, fast forward, etc. like my dvr. Now if you can throw in satellite programming that would be super. To top it all off, I would appreciate suggested audio files based upon my listening habits....You know, similar to last.fm functionality. GO TO LAST.FM !

Is this too much to ask for?

Happy Mother's Day

Just wanted to say Happy Mother's Day to my mom. She's just mastered text messaging and email and will soon start blogging (ok that may be a bit ambitious). The hate will have to be postponed until tomorrow.

Love you mom!

It Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None)

The New Enron = Fuqua Cheating Scandal

Is it just me or is this absolutely ridiculous. 34 Duke bschool students face disciplinary action for cheating on an open book take home exam. Let me get this straight. Cheating on a bschool open book take home exam. What an f*cking oxymoron! (remember my original disclaimer)

I didn't attend Fuqua, but I can say that I've graduated from probably the most rigorous bschool program in the world. (Yes I'm proud to be a Sloanie!) Having spoken with peers from other top bschools, I believe team work and task delegation are the most important skills that one learns from bschool. Bschool is unlike any other masters program. The focus is not on depth, but rather breath of knowledge. No matter what bschool you attend, it is IMPOSSIBLE to do all of the reading and all of the work alone. If you manage to do so, then you've completely missed the whole purpose of bschool and just flushed 100k+ down the $hitter. Why you may ask? Bschool is about breath of business knowledge and learning to work with differnt types of people. Rote memory is best left to the bookworms. (Yes, this is an MIT graduate talking.)

Now, I don't know all of the details so I can't really comment. What I can say is collaborative effort and group thought is paramount at most bschools. These precepts coupled with effective time management dogma teach bschool students (the corporate leaders of tomorrow) to work together for a common goal. Does this mean cheat? Absolutely not. I am too much of a competitor to ever condone cheating. At the same time, institutions of higher learning cannot preach teamwork out one side of the mouth and then at the 11th hour except students to study and perform in a completely different manner.

Is Fuqua getting a bad rap for what happens everywhere? Absolutely. At the end of the day, bschool is about having fun and making life long connections with friends. Even Snoop can tell you, it Ain't No Fun (If The Homies Can't Have None) and he didn’t need to go to Sloan or Fuqua.

Ballin.............NOT really

It must be nice! Sitting ringside with your millionaire buddies while Mayweather stings De La Hoya for 12 rounds. What a life! Being part of PPV history (2.15M buys) and then heading to the after party at Tao to pop bottles of Krug Rose (jay doesn't do Cris anymore). Now that's what I call ballin..............NOT.

Here are the facts (according to Wikipedia):

Hip Hop Moguls Net Worth
1. P. Diddy, $346 Million
2. Jay-Z, $340 Million
3. Russell Simmons, $325 Million
4. Damon Dash, $200 Million
10. Nelly, $60 Million

Don't be fooled. These are not salaries. This is net worth. To me that means if any of these "ballers" cashed out right now, they would get no more than 1/3 of a billion. They may have fuck you money, but that's nothing when compared to "fuck anybody money". Let's talk about the latter.

sergey and larry, 14.1B, 14.0B; (ages 33, 34)
jerry and dave, 2.2B, 2.5B; (ages 37, 40)
pierre, 7.7B, (age 39)
jeff bezos, 3.6B, (age 42)
j russell and ruth, 1.8B, 1.8B; (ages 40, 39)
a dikshit, 1.6B, (age 35)
calvin arye, 1.0B, (age 44)
m dell, 15.5B, (age 41)
cuban; (i hate to admit it) 2.3B, (age 48)
chad and steve; ($1.6B for YouTube)
chris and tom; ($580M for MySpace)

These guys and gals will $hit on any Hip Hop mogul. And I don't want to hear any excuses about age, because these are not old farts. Talking about the old "new money" ballers is a completely different conversation. (I won't even get into bill, warren, sheldon, or larry.)

(insert "hate" here)

Contrary to popular believe, NOT ONE of Hip Hop's moguls are ballin. If they were really ballin, they should go buy a sports franchise like a real mogul that's bored with success. And I'm not talking about sharing an insignificant equity stake just to get your name in the papers. I mean buy the whole damn team. But they can't do that. Why? Because they are NOT ballin. Only a fool would think about talking $hit when others draw annual salaries greater than his/her net worth.

I do give jay some credit. He's maturing:

I'm, young enough to know the right car to buy yet grown enough not to put rims on it
I got that six-duce with curtains so you can't see me and I didn't even have to put tints on it
I don't got the bright watch I got the right watch
I don't buy out the bar, I bought the night spot
I got the right stock
I ... got ... stockbrokers that's movin' it like white tops
I know you like fuck, this is child abuse
call D.Y.F.S., I might just be gettin' nicer
them young boys ain't ready for real
30's the new 20 n**** I'm so hot still

Allow Me To Reintroduce Myself

After years of procrastination; I’ve finally decided to stop talking trash and just blog (ok, I lied...the trash talking will never stop). At first, I wasn’t really sure what I would blog about……then, I started reading a sample of random blogs and the “hate” started to fester. Hate you ask? Absolutely! I couldn’t understand how many random a$$ people could drive so much traffic to their random a$$ blogs.

(Disclaimer: Although I have full command of the English language, at times the use of profanity is mandatory to underscore the specific feeling I would
like to emphasize. You’ve been warned.)

For those who don’t know me, I’m a self-proclaimed “hater”. Not in a malicious way, but I'm a competitive realist. Those who do know me, they know that “I only say true $hit.” I have no problem saying the things that others either don’t know or are too afraid to say. This is usually a character flaw for most, but I try to temper “hate” with tact and emotion with logical reasoning.

What do I “’hate”? Here are few examples:

I’m sorry, I'm a hater. What 22 year old of sound mind and body would turn down $250M in cash (1/2 of $1B minus taxes)?








I’m a hater (and a fan). Do you know any 33 year olds that made $1B+…….LAST YEAR?









He’s a hater. I’m a hater. The hate is mutual. I only aspire to be half as lucky.







And so I bring you Transparent Volatility; a clear, open discussion on the topics that tend to piss me off the most.

Please read and enjoy........................

"Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free!"