Mike "The Mouth" Matusow: Check-raising the devil

While I was watching the WSOP, I noticed Mike Matusow say that he had a copy of his new book for everyone at his table. I figured it was just another poker book about stratigies on hold em, but it turns out that its his autobiography. The book starts off of him talking about his addiction to the 5 card draw poker machines and his days of working in the family business. It then moves on to how he got his start in playing poker and how he became one of the best limit hold em players (as limit back in the early 90's was the most easiest game to find. no limit wasn't popular yet to have many tables or players playing it) to his first wsop bracelet in omaha, his drug abuse, battling depression, hadd and bi-polar, to being set up for a drug bust and doing 6 months in a county jail. Then coming out of jail to pick up where he left off.

I read the entire book in one day while i was on vacation last week. I couldn't put it down! This is a must read if you are a huge poker fan like myself. I have to admit that I have a new found source of respect for this man.

Noooo, no' my Engrish!! I'm so ronery nowww :(

Next year the Chinese city Shanghai will host the World Expo. This is a very prestigious event that will attract thousands of visitors from around the world. No wonder then that the Chinese want to make a good impression. That is why authorities have sent out teams of students to rid Shanghai of signs with misspelled and ungrammatical English. This type of English is known online as "Engrish" and is a source of major amusement for many people surfing the web. Check it out for yourself!

Blackwater is a private contractor straight out of the Bourne Trilogy

I am a huge fan of the Bourne Trilogy. In my humble opinion Jason Bourne kicks James Bond's ass any day of the week. For those of you that don't know: Jason Bourne is an American CIA agent/assassin who loses his memory after a hit gone wrong (for more go see the movies). He is part of what is labeled Operation Treadstone. This operation is very top top hush hush secret and has been created so the CIA could assassinate enemies of the US or its allies.

Yesterday the New York Times reported that the CIA had been involved in something similar to Operation Treadstone. The CIA had made plans to kill the leaders of Al Qaeda. But instead of using their own well trained CIA operatives they hired mercenaries who worked for the private contractor Blackwater. Blackwater has many former Navy Seals, Green Berets, etc amongst its ranks, ready to go in and do some damage, all the while being paid a salary men who fight for the US government can only dream of.

When Blackwater employees were involved in shootings that cost the lives of 17 Iraqi civilians, the company became a bit too hot to handle. It subsequently was kicked out of Iraq by its government, and the US did not sign any new contracts. But some contracts have not yet ended, and so it turns out that Blackwater is still involved in both Iraq and Afghanistan for a total of over $400 million. After all the bad publicity, Blackwater changed its name to make a fresh start. Ironically this is exactly what the bosses of Operation Treadstone did.

For those of you who want to know more about Blackwater, I highly recommend the book Blackwater by Jeremy Scahill. Scahill will be a guest of Bill Maher this coming Friday during his television show Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO.

Men and their 'precious'

Men love beer like women love their clothing. The following commercials show what happens when men decide to use a woman's touch:



And now: the REAL walk-in-fridge :D

American sports: Cheaters and thugs do prosper

American sports seems to be teaching kids that it is OK to cheat, and act like a thug. In baseball, you have guys using performance enhancing drugs, and all they get is a slap on the wrist 50 game suspension, but all their records still stand. Yet, one baseball icon is still banned for betting on baseball. Where is the logic and justice in that?

In football you have guys being sent to jail for dog fighting, and another guy is involved in shootings at strip clubs, but they get 2ND, 3RD, and 4Th chances. If the average Joe were convicted of these crimes, they wouldn't be able to find a job making $6 an hour. Yet, these guys get the chance to make millions all over again.

I think its time to bring these over paid bums back down to earth. Maybe go back to the old days, where you played for your next contract year after year. Those were the days when sports were pure, and the players played because of their love for the game. These sports figures today get paid millions even before they ever set foot on to a playing field, and the majority of them feel as though they deserve it all. What they forget is it's a privilege, not a right. They should be thankful for every fan, and every penny that they earn.

The signing of Mike Vick

Ok, by now i think the entire world has heard of the Philadelphia Eagles signing Mike Vick last Thursday. However, I'm already sick of hearing how the birds are now a superbowl bound team because of him. Let's break this down:
1. He is a average passing quarterback. While he played he has thrown 71 td's and 52 interceptions.
2. He averages a horrible 155.5 yards per game.
3. He hasn't taken a snap since the 2006 and is NOT in football shape.
4. This is still Mcnabb's team . Vick will be used in certain situations, but won't be in every down on offense.

Also, the birds O-line is decimated with injuries right now. With all the changes this off season, they won't have that same chemistry they have had over the past few years. In last weeks pre-season game against the Pat's, the o-line did a better job run blocking than pass blocking. If you think about it, that doesn't sound good since Big "Fat" Red is a pass happy coach. Their wide-outs didn't do much to impress me, and Mcnabb still had plenty of moments of his old self from the NFC champ game.

In my humble opinion, I don't think this team is any better then last year. Hopefully they can prove me wrong.

Chance of a LIFETIME

Kent Senter, a 55 year old father of 4, had a dream of one day playing in the main event at the WSOP. However, the cost of the buy-in and the cost of the travel expenses were too much as that money could be spent on things his family needed.

This past March his dreams were crushed when he learned when he was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma, which is also known as Jim ValVano disease, a bone cancer that affects only 5-7 people out of 100,000. His prognosis was max a year.

One night Kent and his wife Patty were watching tv when a commercial came on for the WSOP. Kent got up and walked into the bathroom and cried. Hearing this, Patty knew why he was crying and decided to act. A week before the main event started Patty contacted Bluff magazine. IN turn Bluff talked to the online site: Pokerstars, and the two of them bought a seat for Kent. Pokerstars team members, Chris Moneymaker, Greg Raymer, and Joe Hachem all took time out to spend time with him.

While he made it thru day 1, his luck ended agasint Elky Grospellier on day2.

The poker world came together to make a dying man's dream come true. With all the talk about how bad poker is, and that it causes gambling issues, and the fight against the U.S. Fed govt to lift the ban,, acts of kindness like this usually go un-noticed.

*I found the article in the August 09 issue of Bluff. On newsstands now!*

Student from Mali slain in Southwest Philadelphia

A 22 year old student from Mali, which is located in western Africa was shot dead in an apparent failed robbery attempt as him and 3 friends sat on a bench in Southwest Philadelphia. It is believed the victim was shot because he couldn't understand what the robber wanted as there was a possible language barrier.

The United States is supposed to be a place where people come to better themselves, but end up getting caught in the act of senseless violence. Makes you wonder......

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/20090818_Student_from_Mali_slain_in_Southwest_Philadelphia.html

Brazilian schoolgirl serial killer

This blog title may attract some filthy sex offenders looking for a myspace url, but honestly guys: it's not that kind of story. A Brazilian seventeen-year-old girl has confessed to having murdered thirty men. All men were killed up close and personal (something women are true masters at) with a knife. The girl had been arrested on other charges and decided she might as well confess to the thirty murders to avoid being tried as an adult. She committed the murders "for money, revenge, and to bring justice".

Still interested in a cheap Brazilian hooker? Well you might want to know that you won't have to travel all the way to Brazil for a good "cuckoo" time. Manson family member Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme has recently been released from prison after serving 34 years for trying to kill then-President Gerald Ford. She's a bit old now, well sixty could be the new thirty, but that only means you are better equipped to deal with her murderous tendencies and general psycho behaviour. One tip though: Keep her away from knives at all time.

Damn hippies...there goes the neighborhood

When residents of Long Branch, New Jersey saw a suspicious man wearing a hood walking through their neighborhood and peering through the windows of a house, they did not hesitate and immediately called the police. Twenty-four-year-old officer Kristie Buble was on the scene within minutes to discover the bum that was still roaming the streets. Officer Buble asked the man for his name. In a rasp voice he answered his name was Bob Dylan and that he was looking at a new house he might buy. Buble had heard of a pot smoking anti-government activist by that name but was unsure if this was the same man because he failed to produce any identification. It wasn't until Dylan took her to his tour bus where he produced his ID that the officers believed that this hippie was of no immediate danger to the Long Branch community. After African Americans, hippies are arguably the most feared "new neighbors".

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