Athletes You’ve Probably Never Heard Of: Numero Uno

A new weekly column will be running in Ulterior Magazine. As many people are major sports fans, it seems logical to touch on issues in sports. But we’ll do things a bit differently.

Ask most people in America who Michael Jordan, and 99% of them will know he was argubly the best basketball player ever. Ask most people in America who Babe Ruth is, and they’ll tell you childhood folklore of the Great Bambino’s dynasty. Even Michael Phelps, who competes in a sport where until recently was fairly scant in coverage, is a recognizable figure.

This column is going to moreless shine light on athletes who fly under the radar. Those that aren’t necessarily in mainstream sports, or are given much television exposure. These are athletes that persevere through rigorous training for pride and the ultimate goal of being number one.

And now for the first contestant.

Coming down the aisle, from LATVIA, weighing in at 285lbs, the Lativan Lifting Sensation, with more power by the hour, and is half related to a grizzly……..KONSTANTIN KONSTANTINOVS!!!

The Latvian powerlifter first caught the eyes of powerlifters worldwide with his outstanding junior powerlifting performances, including a deadlift of 390kg (858lbs). This is just inhuman, but merely a step toward the ultimate goal of being the best.

He is also one of 13 men to ever deadlift over 900lbs. 13 men in the history of the WORLD. THATS IT!! And don’t come on here and tell me your best friend’s uncle’s roommate’s cousin deadlifted 1150lbs but he doesn’t compete because he doesn’t want to be seen, because you’re full of shit.

To put that in perspective, there have been 18 perfect games, 15 players that have hit for four home runs in a game, and 14 unassisted triple plays…….IN MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL HISTORY. The number of men who have achieved the 900lb deadlift has occurred less then the rarest play in major league baseball, a sport that has had tens of thousands of games. Incredible!

This video highlights Konstantin deadlifting 939lbs………WITHOUT A BELT. This is just completely insane, and pushes the boundaries of human performance to astronomical levels. The relative ease he makes the lift seem relative to the weight lifted is remarkable. Most people couldn’t roll a bar loaded with that much weight, let alone even think of being able to pull it.

Konstantin also excels at bench pressing. 550lb close grips are not uncommon, and that is scary. His arms are about 10.5 feet long and he still manages to be awesome at benching. Some people have all the luck!

Konstantin also reflects the sport in a very positive light. He lifts with all he can, and is gracious in accepting any praises or awards he may receive.

His training videos are an inspiration to thousands of aspiring strength athletes. His unmatched intensity and focus are qualities found in all champions of any sport.

If we can get Konstantin over to America, and compete in what is argubly the greatest sport on Earth, it should be done somehow. We need to have this beast come over and kick the shit out of weights so we can applaud and fulfill our manly activity quotas.

If the bars not bending, you’re just pretending

Burnin for You: Cowbell Dings and Spicy Wings

If you happened to drive by the Inner Harbor in Syracuse yesterday, you may have noticed something going on. The aromas, the sounds, the people. Why were they there!?

Chicken wings unite people.

A few thousand people filtered in and out of the Inner Harbor both Friday and Saturday for the annual Chick N Wing Festival. Numerous vendors were present, including 2 time defending champion Shifty’s Bar from Syracuse.

The spiciness of the barbecue sauces and the epic guitar riffs in the background provided an exciting aura and added to the overall sense of the festival.

The lines to get wings were long at times, so one had to pick and choose. O.I.P (Original Italian Pizzeria), Wing It, and Shifty’s were a few of the vendors present along with Buffalo Wild Wings, The Spud Shack, and Mugshotz.

O.I.P’s wings had a smoky, spicy flavor, but they were relatively dry. The dryness of the wing was more of a lack of sauce rather then the quality of the chicken. Very solid display.

Wing-It’s brought to the table an advertisement claiming more then 100 flavors. Festival goers may have been a tad disappointed when they found that 97 of those flavors wouldn’t be available.

The wings were fresh, and had that great crispness you’ve come to know and love about everyone’s favorite finger food. The sauce however, was a bit bland, save for the Frank’s Red Hot Sauce base.

Then there was Shifty’s. The undisputed champions of the wing. The showstopper. The main event. The icons. The provider of the chicken. The bringer of good times. The peanut butter to your jelly.

Enough with the accolades. These wings kicked ass, and they deserve to be champions again. The spices used on the hot wings provided a sudden flash of heat once it hit your tongue. The wings were meaty, savory, and alpha.

The festival wasn’t just about wings either. Numerous displays across the grounds advertised t-shirts, ice cream, and a play to get your boots polished. What more could you ask for?!?!

Theres more. Across the grounds you could find a stage with 8 bands playing over the 2 days. As you approached the stage, a man’s booming voice comes over the speakers, and you can hear it clear as a whistle.

Ooooooooooh yeah……BARK AT THE MOON!!

OH MY GOD ITS OZZY OSBOURNE!!! HE’S HERE IN SYRACUSE!!………..

Wait, no he’s not. But Aylyst was, and their rendition of the legendary hit of one of metal’s pioneers was nearly flawless. The band’s energetic stage presence and a lead vocalist looking strangely similar to Howard Jones of Killswitch Engage, the band grabbed your attention with ease.

Aylyst was honestly one of the best cover bands these ears have come across in 23 years. Loud instruments with no distortion, clear vocals, and hair that screamed METAL. Aylyst kicks your ass!

As night approached, lines were getting longer and the masses needed to refuel. Dashing and darting in between groups of people was a necessity in order to see the Blue Oyster Cult take the stage. Blue Oyster Cult has been around for 237 years, and they still rule. The light show highlighted the band’s classic rock approach as they rocked on into the night.

Nothing says summer like hot wings, bands, and 90 degree weather. Soon enough we’ll be donning flannel and hoodies, so its good to savor the summer weather while it lasts.

I’ve got a fever, and the only prescription is more COWBELL!!

Knockin on Heaven’s Door: A Tribute to Les Paul

This article was written by Mike Lazzaro (www.iawcc.net/blog):

Les Paul (1915-2009)

The musical legend.

Being as it is my field I feel the need to break the string of Dear Vancouver posts to properly assess his greatness.

Les Paul, as most of you know, produces guitars made by Gibson. He created the first solid body electric guitar. If you could ever attribute the creation of rock and roll to one person, he would be who you point to.

He created his first electric solid body guitar in 1941, unfortunately for him it didn’t take right away. When Leo Fender came out with the Telecaster and it became a success, Les did the same with his design. His, amazingly superior and still unsurpassed, design.

But he didn’t stop with the one thing that made him famous. He developed the concept of multi-track recording and the idea of overdubbing.

Les Paul was unique. Most people/rock-stars confine themselves to one niche and stick to it. But Les didn’t. He embraced every aspect of music that there ever was. From Led Zeppelin, The Who to Guns’n'Roses all big steps in all different directions. For someone who was a country and jazz musician that played with legends Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby, those bands were the ying to Crosby’s yang.

And he did all this with a gimp arm. He broke it when he was younger and he had the doctors re-set the bone in the perfect position to hold a guitar and still be able to play.

Most people view his development in electric guitars as his defining work. Multi-track recording is his unsung un-strummed legacy. He changed the landscape of putting together an album and no longer required a band to play into a single microphone.

But seriously, have you ever heard what a Les Paul sounds like?

Modesty: A forgotten pastime?

Pondering the upcoming NFL season by going through the stats of the stars of today in order to prepare for fantasy drafts across the country. Some play for money, others play for free, but all play because of their shared love for the sport of football.

Football is a sport that brings out the inner aggressions and passion of players, coaches, and fans alike. Bonds between teammates radiate the energy that stimulates the crowd. It helps fulfill the crowd’s thirst for punishing tackles, fast breaks through the gaps, and dazzling throws made even more spectacular by the bounding leaps of wide receivers.

But when is the excitement, and cause for it, a little too much?

Nothing is wrong at all about a team or player getting pumped and having the intensity to compete at the best level they can. It’s another thing altogether, however, to glorify events or plays in various contests that really don’t matter, or would be considered routine.

The source: A steady decline in modesty in today’s culture.

When Albert Pujols was interviewed during the MLB All Star Game this past July, the interviewer made reference to him being “argubly, the best player in the league today”. Pujols, in an act almost shocking to witness, cracked a smile and bashfully disclaimed the statement. He mentioned that there were many great players in baseball today.

Now THAT is modesty.

Back to football, if you watch a game, you can’t help but notice excessive celebrations and just outright disrespect toward others players and teams. It seems routine these days to make a shoe string tackle after the running back already withstood four crushing blows, and proceed to do backflips and crowd taunts. Its unncessary and reflects a bad image on the players and the league overall.

Modesty is a fading commodity in this country it seems. Every day more and more people feel a sense of entitlement and desire to put themselves on a pedestal and make themselves out to be something special. These kind of people generally have no real accolades, and rely on activities that cannot be judged by a true standard of rules.

If you ever went to a college party, you would know that 98.75% of the people at the party claim to be the “sickest beer pong players ever”. After you’ve heard this obnoxious and juvenile hype for what seems like forever, you start to accept it as common place.

Therein lies the problem. We merely cast aside those with big egos as either being too full of themselves, or believing that they really are something special and respect them out of reputation.

We need to bring modesty back to the forefront. It brings with it honor and respect, which as you know are important characteristics in human life. If we stepped back for a second, and reflected on where we truly are in life, we shouldn’t be thinking of it with an inflated sense of self-importance. Rather, we should look at our achievements, be proud of what we’ve done, and strive to improve ourselves.

There is nothing wrong with pride, but when it starts to overcast what you are truly capable of, its only a matter of time before someone gets called out for it. You can’t go through life with a holier-than-thou approach, or you’re either going to piss off a lot of people, and in a case or two, get your ass handed to you for it.

Satisfaction is the death of desire.

Sailing the Seven Seas with Blackfoot Jack

Blackfoot Jack. Its a name you’ll want to remember and may find yourself screaming it while in their presence.

Is Blackfoot Jack scary? At times it can be, 4 dudes on a stage while possibly intoxicated is a cause to be frightened about.

If you need a visualization of what the band looks like, here is a recently discovered picture of them from the deep forests of the Amazon:

Arr matey!

If you tack on about 2 years to this picture, you get what they look like now, minus subtle differences. When this picture was taken, Alex Diskin (bassist, white shirt) and Devin Blake (lead guitar, black shirt with the biggest biceps ever) were involved in a treacherous steroid/gambling ring that extended down to Georgia.

So it may be true that the devil did indeed go down to Georgia. And in the cases of Devin and Alex, they got a little beefier and played some roulette along the way.

Spencer (guitar, vocals, red bandana showing his turf Blood colors) and Adam Morgan (drums, the spiffy looking one with a tie) are brothers who are law abiding citizens, unlike their other crooked band brothers.  

The Electric Company on Varick Street hosted the quartet Thursday evening  just following the Saranac Thursday event just up the block. A modest sized crowd flowed in and out of the dimly lit bar throughout the night.

Beer was served to the patrons who were there to check out the band’s show. Some had too much to drink, but most everyone handled themselves well. Although there was that one incident with Pete and Tyler in the parking lot, but thats for another web site.

Blackfoot Jack’s early style was a more classic rock approach, but have now sought out a more modern style with splashes of the oldies. The band even had a guest vocalist, the lady killer and 5 time Grammy nominee, Robert “Check out my Pecs” Pexton.

Adorning a black shirt to make the veins in his arms look better, Robert brings a more aggressive aspect to the band. His lower vocal style complements well with the more soprano approach of Spencer.

Rob delivered on performances of Sound of Madness by Shinedown and Seeing Red by Chevelle so awesomely 14 women fainted during the performances. None sustained serious injury.

Adam, who’s a more behind the scenes player in the band, brought the energy by pounding the drums like when Brock Lesnar demolished Frank Mir.

Performances of Welcome Home by Coheed and Cambria and Bark at the Moon by Ozzy Osbourne gave the band a little bit of the “off the beaten path” kind of vibe. Hearing these songs at a bar is rare enough for the most part, and hearing them played by a band is even more difficult to find. Excellent choices with those tunes.

Spencer’s wailing guitar riffs, Al’s deep bass lines, and Devin’s intimidating stage presence made for a front line that was backed up by thunderous percussion from Adam. The band as a whole can deliver, but theres still one thing they need to do.

The band needs to get a following outside of friends. The band needs to solidify who they are. They need that little piece of the puzzle. The people must know that when they come to see Blackfoot Jack, they can expect a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

They need to cement their name into the scene. Until that point, all aboard the ship as we continue following the journey of Blackfoot Jack!

Somethin’s brewin

Theres about to be some changes being made……………somethin’s happenin

2010: A Decade of Cynics?

Its a bold prediction to make, a landscape of unsure thought about the future. What can possibly go wrong when in the modern age we’ve done so much right?

Walk around a college campus and you will see part of the possible new wave of cynicism to hit America. People flood these campuses in hopes of a better education, but the guarantee of a job is long gone.

With this realization that the future is no longer planned out by the hour, students are starting to get nervous. Are they just wasting away the minutes learning about material that may or may not launch them into the real world?

A new generation of cynics may be on the horizon. Those with bachelors may find themselves having to rely on entry level jobs and take the long route.

And thats IF they get a job.

People shouldn’t have their head in the clouds about the future. Working hard and having goals is great, but even the hardest working are experiencing hard times.

There will always be those who flourish no matter what circumstances they are in. They have the ability and the talent to succeed and for that they are too be commended. Now it may take even more to reach the pinnacle of success.

People shouldn’t be affected by defeat, they should learn from it. Rather then blaming an outside source such as a professor for example, a student should realize what he or she may have done wrong.

Unfortunately, it’s not always like that. A lot of people like to place blame on others because its easier to do then carrying the burden of failure.

Then there are those who may be cynical for all the right reasons.

There are plenty of hard working people that may be told that they are great and that they mean something. Two weeks later, they’re out of a job, and a fresh new face is there to replace them.

It’s the truth. Just about everyone in their line of work can be easily replaced. There are only so many spots on the elite level, which is what makes it so hard to get there.

For everyone else, it’s the notion that job security is dead in so many areas that have led them to panic. You must always be aware at all times of what is going on around you.

We have over saturated many fields of study to the point where it’s almost been devalued down to a piece of paper. This abundance of acceptance by colleges can only lead to feelings of failure for many that float in the cess pool of education.

It’s hard to see how the future will turn out. 18 years ago, a kindergarten class was being told that they were the world, they were the future.

They were told that they would change the world. They were told that America is the land of opportunity. They were told that they would be the next great leaders of society.

Now they’re 70 million deep heading into a job market that is occupied by baby boomers and Generation X. Now they must face the greatest competition they’ve ever participated in for the almighty dollar.

They must now keep progressing the technology that has already advanced so rapidly in the last 100 years. They must take technology to the next level to satisfy their needs to be the best.

They were raised as a family. Now they’re awaiting divorce.

They were told they were the greatest. Now there is too many considered elite.

For some of them, success and happiness made their lives happy ever after. For others, the never ending conformity into the economical structure of America rages on. All for one and one for…….themself.

Here WE are now, entertain US.

THE Juice

Its a topic discussed ad nauseam throughout the sports world. It’s the buzz in major league baseball, as well as other professional sports.

Who would have thought a syringe would cause all this commotion?

Steroid usage is starting to become more well known to the public. Before, players were getting away with it because there wasn’t anyone around to blow the whistle on them. Now that the rules are more strict, the chances of being caught have increased significantly.

What can be done to resolve the issue of steroid use in professional sports? Well for one thing, you can run a very thorough drug testing policy. It’s going to be costly, but the integrity of the sport is priceless.

Should steroids be made available to the general public at will? Can steroids be sold over the counter like many other prescriptions, but allowing certain people to get them, much like alcohol.

Steroids should be legal.

It’s simple as that. If a person decides to take steroids, is it better for this person to run the possibility of getting dirty syringes, a bad sample, and possibly getting involved in underground crime? Or is it preferred to be distributed cleanly in a controlled environment?

People can get ahold of steroids as long as they have that piece of paper stating how much and how often. But it shouldn’t even need to go this far.

If people wants to run a cycle, a person who is of age should have the freedom to do so. It’s also important to realize that the government should be putting out honest information about steroids. Rather than using scare tactics and sensationalist journalism, just be upfront and honest.

Most people who die as a result of steroids die because they took way much (overdosing, this is never good) and coupled with a possible history with other recreational and pharmaceuticals that may call for a serious problem.

If steroids by themselves were as dangerous as made out to be, then wouldn’t Arnold Schwarzenegger, Lou Ferrigno, and Franco Columbu have died by now?

Steroids have their place like other things in life, and should be used responsibly if someone decides to do so. If a person does go this route, what they should do is read everything they can about the particular types they’re looking to get. Look at the chemical composition, side effects, cycle logs, and experiences with them.

It’s better for a person to be educated about something rather then just using propaganda as a scare tactic. The government needs to realize that they can’t police everything,  and some things are better left alone. Instead, give the person the right information they need to make a decision, and they can go from there.

If steroids are banned in particular sports due to integrity and tradition and so forth, then steroid users should be punished. Using them at your discretion with no particular effects on anyone else is one thing. Being unnatural in an otherwise natural world IS cheating.

People who decide to take steroids, its important that they get the right information, they talk to some people who know a lot about it, and look at both sides before making a decision.

It’s not for me, but i’m not stoppin’ ya.

Nice shades! Where can I get some?

They are stylish and are always fashionable. They are worn by young and old.

They are used very carefully, and help bring joy. Joy in the sense that the world just got a little happier.

Do you know where I can find rose-colored glasses?

Everyone has worn them at some point or another. We’ve all had those times in our lives that had little reasonable merit. Everyone hits a bad streak here and there. What happens though when time passes and you look back more fondly at memories that may not be that at all.

Does one look back on “memories” for the sake of them actually being memorable? Or are people just wearing rose-colored glasses and convincing themselves the past was that much better.

Nostalgia is a good thing, and a closely tied entity to this. Rose-colored glasses tend to use nostalgia as the headlining reason for reminiscing.

The difference between real memories and rose-colored glasses memories is that one can look back on nostalgia at any time and say that was an amazing time. It starts the day after and goes on forever.

What rose-colored glasses do is take an event that may have been fun, but nothing out of this world, and glamorize it for the sake of nostalgia. People will look back on times that they claimed sucked ass, and turn a 180 a year later when they think they are reminiscing.

Some people want to follow the notion that everything in the past was better, that they are blinded and don’t follow through on the present day. They don’t make new memories, they just merely string along in life looking for the last remnants of their “glory days”.

Life is a book of memories…..

My dad told me that a while ago. It appears to be common sense, but it can be looked at very deeply. We spend our live trying to make sure that what we did in our lives was the best thing we can. The last thing we should do is try to make false happiness due to the supposed need for nostalgia.

We need to keep marching forward. It’s great to look back on the past from time to time, but to keep yourself locked into a time period just as a safety net for your consciousness, you’re not allowing yourself to experience other facets in life.

The more you block out, the less you can absorb.

Life after humans?

Its a thought that many don’t care to think about, but it’s something inevitable. Through various branches of science, scientists have been able to put together a hypothesis, albeit a complex one, about the one burning question.

What would the world look like without humans?

In what I considered to be a fascinating documentary, Life After People, put together by the History Channel, looks at how having no humans on the planet affects it.  Through various technology they uncover a scientific way to move forward in the world.

The documentary makes you wonder, just how much good and how much bad have we done? Well it depends on how you look at it.

Good in the sense that we have uncovered hundreds and thousands of years worth of secrets through archaeological findings and modern technological advancement. We have found cures for many diseases that previously would have been considered fatal.

Also good in the sense that humans are constant advisers to the world’s needs, or at least that’s the goal. We basically operate as one massive life form composed of billions of counterparts. Everyone in the world has some purpose, and we participate in activities that we feel helps to further our race.

We’re not all good either.

In a double-edge sword, us being the constant advisers to the world can be a detriment. Humans have complicated their lives so much that we have created artificial ways of transportation and enhanced technology thousands of times over.

We threw off the earth’s natural equilibrium by introducing things like the automobile, factories, and a lot of industrial plants. These things weren’t naturally found in nature, humans created them. This doesn’t mean that these things are all bad and have no purpose, but in regards to nature it’s unnatural.

The earth, if anything, will return to a more serene, balanced world. It would take hundreds, possibly thousands, of years to evolve into a greener earth.

Think about the oceans. If humans don’t use fuels in the water, and don’t over fish the waters, depleting schools of fish, then the oceans will flourish. Life in the sea I believe would generate a huge population increase due to the reproductive output of fish being high.

Land animals wouldn’t fare so well. Domesticated dogs would struggle for a short period of time before either having to escape and find food, or just dwindle. It’s sad, but the domesticated dog has largely been removed, figuratively speaking, from it’s more aggressive relatives in the wild.

Human taming will cause the domesticated dogs to have a difficult time. The wild animals however, should find out that the barriers once held against them by humans have suddenly been removed. Free to roam around, wild animals can flourish in lands once forbidden to them due to human interest.

In a large picture, it makes perfect sense. Without human interruption, bridges corrode and collapse. It’s nothing more then the substance vs the elements. The substance, in this case steel, is being subjected to severe weather patterns like thunderstorms and blizzards, referred to as the elements. Steel in its natural sense is then subjected to weathering and corrosion that naturally occurs with a metal of this type becoming oxidized and taking on a rusty appearance.

Life after humans will bring about a renaissance of sorts. You will first have the destruction and the erasing of human culture with vegetation taking over everything. After, when the plants have begun climbing up buildings and houses, will spread further out, casting a soft green covering over the vast outreaches of the world.

Without humans, oxygen consumption would drastically reduce, and much more would be available to the animals and plants flourishing in the new environment. With more oxygen available, insects and birds may possibly be able to evolve to larger life forms that can be sustained with the additional oxygen available.

Without power plants and factories operating, fossil fuels burning into the atmosphere as emissions will cease to exist. The air as a whole will become much cleaner and the quality will substantially increase.

For the world, human life has swung the pendulum much farther then ever anticipated. For one thing, the evolution of the world is an amazing, fascinating process that has amassed thousands of ideas.

We did get here by evolution………..right??