That space I’m leaving between my car and the car in front of me, particularly in a torrential downpour, is so I have enough room to stop, especially in poor driving conditions.

It is absolutely not for the pick up truck you don’t even really need, particularly the one you’re driving right now without your headlights on, despite visibility not being great.

Love,

Josh

“Eh. Not much.”

“I’m thinking you’ve got a lot going on. You haven’t blogged much lately, you haven’t really Tweeted anything meaningful in recent memory, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Facebook is so easy that even Rick Perry could use it, you probably wouldn’t even be updating that.”

———————————————————————

Hey folks,

It’s been a while. almost four months now. I seem to be going through these long dry spells of writing a lot lately. I’d like to blame my ADD, but, in all honesty, 2011 was a whole lot of suck for me.

My social life; my friends; things like kickball, wrestling, and roller derby – they all kicked ass. But professionally, and financially, 2011 was a kick in the balls. Even personally, i suffered some great losses. i have never been so glad to have a year be in the past than i am about 2011, and i am very excited to have the opportunity to swing for the fences and knock 2012 out of the park.

Two of my friends died in 2011.

Longtime ICW/ICWA Texarkana Television Champion Larry Sweeney. RIP friend.

Alex, better known as Larry to most people (myself included), passed in April. I hadn’t spoken to him in nearly a year when he left us. He called me the summer prior, while I was out running, in a rainstorm. We spoke briefly, and then I let him go to prevent my phone from getting soaked. I wish I had spoken to him longer.

Being involved in the wrestling business, I knew it was just a matter of time before I lost a friend. I just kind of hoped it happened decades from now. RIP Larry Sweeney/Alex Whybrow. A lot of people love and miss you brother. 12 Large.

My friend Paul died in October. It was awful, and it shook me to the core. Paul was six months older than me, and he died in the gym, working out. He was a good man, and he should still be on this planet. While Larry/Alex’s death shocked me, Paul’s devastated me. It devastated a lot of people, and I think we’ll all be reeling for a long time. RIP Paul Kurtzman. You are loved, and you will be in our memory for as long as we live.

Me, Toddy, Paul, Larry, and Robby in Atlanta last year, for our annual Wrestlemania get-togther. I never imagined it would be the last time we'd all be together. RIP Paul.

I probably should have had an idea of what 2011 had in store for me when I was forced to move from the apartment I loved, the one found for me before I moved here from NYC, and one that was really, really perfect. It was through no fault of my own, but I had to move nonetheless.

But, more than anything, the part of 2011 that kicked my ass the most was my job situation, and related to that, my finances. the first third of the year was relatively calm on that front. I was working two jobs part-time, and eventually left one to go full-time at the other. While I knew money would be tight by doing that, I felt in my heart it was the right decision, and that I would love what I would be doing.

And I did. For a very brief period of time. And then, the proverbial shit hit the fan.

I should be more clear. I loved what I was doing right until the end of that job. I wasn’t in an office, I had some really great co-workers, and I got to play with dogs all day long. But at some point, the owner of the place decided micro-managing was the way to go. And when I mean micro-managing, i can’t over-emphasize just about micro. I’ve never seen anything like it.

Flexible schedules were a bad thing. Willing to cover shifts when someone needed a day off was a bad thing. Willing to learn as many different jobs in the company, was a bad thing. Suggesting ideas to increase our customer base, was a bad thing.

Kickball - another high point of 2011. yes, i'm wearing tall socks

Until the next day…when the opposite might be true. or, really, any given day, when it would change again. sometimes, there would be no right answer. There’s a reason that business has been through a half-dozen groomers and an equal number of general managers in just over a year of business. There’s one common denominator, and sadly, she’ll be the reason for the demise of her own business.

When you spoke up, the owner didn’t fire you. Instead, she would reduce your hours dramatically, in an effort to get you to quit, so she wouldn’t have to pay unemployment. it’s unethical, and it’s scumbaggy. When you filed for unemployment, she would make up a litany of charges against you, things that couldn’t possibly be true. There’s a reason she lost lawsuits and every unemployment case against former employees.

And the only thing more miserable than working there for me was the fact that at once point, it was a fun place to work, and watching how bad it got, and how fast, was just awful.

The potential for that place was amazing. But as long as the owner continues to run it like she does, it will be awful, at least until it goes out of business. And unless she finds someone to sucker into buying a part of the business, I don’t believe it will be around next Christmas. I’m not one to mock someone for losing their livelihood, but if that place goes under, it couldn’t happen to a more deserving person than the evil woman who owns it.

2011. Kiss my ass. 2012, I am embracing you with open arms.

2012 began with me wrapping up a vacation in New York. It was fantastic to see family and old friends. That led into a wonderful birthday weekend, which rolled into me starting a new job.

I’m excited about the new job. It’s a good opportunity, and while not the writing job I had hoped for, it interests me, and it pays well enough. And it has benefits (i haven’t been on a serious health insurance plan in almost three years, so it will be really nice to have that again.)

Highlight of 2011 - watching these woman kick ass and win the 2011 Dallas Derby Devils Championship. Way to go Slaughterers! (photo credit to whomever took this pic.)

I’m excited as usual about spending times with my friends, and being involved with wrestling, roller derby, and kickball once again.

I feel lucky that the worst of my problems include losing my apartment and having a crappy job. Losing loved ones was awful, but there are people with worse problems – they wonder where their next meal will come from, they don’t have a roof over their head, and there really is no positive end in sight to their troubles.

What’s 2012 got in store for this blog? well, if you’re easily offended, check out now. We are in a run up to the 2012 presidential election, and things could get ugly in here. While I’ve been disappointed with Barack Obama, I still have faith in him, and i KNOW beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s better than any other candidate out there.

So, politics. It will be discussed here. And you may not like it. or you just may very well love it.

2011, you are in my rear view mirror. The good memories will remain. The bad ones? You are done, and don’t let the door hit ya where the good lord split ya.

2012, you are going to be a damned good year. End of the world? kiss my ass Mayans, because i am knocking this year out of the park. It is going to be one helluva fun ride!

On a three-lane interstate (per direction), the left lane is for passing, the center lane is for travel, and the right lane is for slow vehicles. If you’re going to drive the speed limit or less, please get out of the travel lane.

Saw this on Facebook after I wrote this entry. seems appropriate.

Thank you, and much love,

Josh

p.s. I’m Baaaaaaack. details on where I’m going, and where I’ve been, to follow. it’s about to get fun up in this joint, and if you’re easily offended, please check yourself at the door.

Paul was 6 months older than me. He was a wrestling fan. He had a wife and a few kids and worked hard and was a spiritual man and was really one of the greatest people you could ever have the pleasure, and honor, to know.

He loved good beer. He loved good people, good friends, good times. He loved soccer. He liked the TV show “Glee”. He traveled to Haiti on a relief mission to help the victims of the 2010 earthquake. He could laugh heartily at nearly any joke, but wasn’t so aloof that he wouldn’t let you know if you said something that was insensitive or just plain old pissed him off.

He got to see Spain vs. the US in soccer this year. He saw the Red Sox collapse. He went to several WrestleManias. He got to see the Bruins win a Stanley Cup again.

I got to drink really good beers with him the last time we hung out. In fact, I discovered a whole new type of beer that I’d never had before, and I discovered that beer with Paul.

When a doctor told him a few years ago that his health was in poor order, and he needed to make urgent lifestyle changes, Paul embraced those changes with gusto. Sure, now and then he’d slip up and eat something less than healthy, but in the grand scheme of things, Paul was serious about getting back into shape, and a simple comparison of “now-and-then” photos shows just how serious – and successful – he was in that mission.

Paul died in the gym, working out, keeping himself in shape.

I am heartbroken, and although I know he’s looking down at us and telling us to “shut the hell up!” with our mourning and whining and simpering, this world is a little less bright without Paul in it.

Yesterday, my friend Paul died.

Paul, the last time he and I hung out. He's disappointed that the Duck-Rabbit Milk Stout was not that good. However, the Ichtegem's Flemish Sour was out of this world, and is my favorite beer ever. RIP buddy. I love you brother.

This blog post will be celebrating a joy of life somewhere in the middle of great and small, that being the fact that Jewish holiday music has evolved into something at least moderately entertaining. From originals to parodies of pop songs, Jewish music has developed from….hmmm..from things shockingly not that good, to things that, are, at the very least, fun.

Take, for example, the Brothers Zim.

Sol and his brother...errr, i don't know his name, but he has a Jewfro and a Magnum PI moustache.

Seriously. Take them. Take them far away. Somewhere really far away. and leave them there. I do not want to know where they are, I just want to know they’re somewhere that they can never escape from. Like New Jersey. or a convention of Harry Potter Fans. just, take them away.

Ok. I mean, the Brothers Zim weren’t the worst musicians ever. They’re actually pretty decent singers. But to me, they just represent the schmaltz and cheese of Jewish music, a music that forever seemed stuck in EZ Listening mode, Jewish versions of songs on some 1970s radio station that had a moniker like “EZ 104 – Your Light Listening Station” or “94.9 Heart – Music That Soothes Your Soul.”

I think it took us Jews longer to start recording entertaining holiday music than it did Moses to find his way out of the desert.

Most of the contemporary music is silly and light-hearted. Often, it’s a bit too much over the top, but it’s still entertaining.  And there are a LOT of inside Jewish jokes and humor, but that’s probably what makes it really fun.

The songs also cross every genre from punk to hip hop to dance to pop to everything in between. Let’s kick it off with some Hebrew Crunk! Dip the apple in the honey, oh yeah!

ok, yea, that was a bit silly and over the top. This one though – from Prodezra Beats – is the real deal. Born Reuben Formey in Savannah, Georgia, Prodezra left his home state after what he calls “some bad decisions”, moved left for Yeshiva in New Jersey, and ultimately Jerusalem.

Prodezra is solid hop-hop. No jokes, and no more gimmicky at this point than Matisyahu, the well-known orthodox reggae/hip-hop superstar.

Good shite, right?

Now switching gears, let’s have some fun with the Shlomones (rhymes with “Ramones”) – sure it’s light-hearted and fun, but it’s a really entertaining take on the classic “Blitzkrieg Bop”, albeit with a Rosh Hashanah bend.

Punk not your bag? How about some super sweet sugary pop? (ok, this song does not do it for me. i dig her voice, but it’s just not a style of music i can dig. Still, there’s no denying it’s part of the changing face of Jewish music, especially Jewish holiday music).

see what i mean? super sweet. i have cavities now. Thanks, RHGirl! oy!

Now we’re going to start getting to the meat of the matter, and what is probably the biggest sub-genre of Jewish music, that being Jewish-themed parodies/covers of well-known pop,rock, and dance songs. This one (which actually came out last year) is a pretty fun DIY video, down to the not-terribly well done lip synching.

See, wasn’t that fun? not terribly brilliant in any sort of way, but certainly a solid representative of the genre.

This one is…a but quirky. It’s a take on a Shakira track, and the video seems straight out of 1980s silliness. But there is a cameo by some handmade “Angry Birds” (and Green Pigs too!), so that gives it bonus points for me. Even so, this song probably went #1 in Israel, which has some weird, weird musical tastes.

Now, we’re getting to the heavy hitters. The first – the Maccabeats – are arguably the superstars of this genre. In less than a year, the video for their Channukah song “Candelight” has had nearly six million hits. Yep, 6 million. The Brothers Zim would kill for that number. Here’s their Rosh Hashanah entry for this year, a take on OneRepublic’s “Good Life”.

i don’t think it’s nearly as good as “Candelight”, but with their vocal chops and sense of humor, you can see why the Maccabeats have done quite well for themselves.

It’s looking like the biggest holiday song for Rosh this year is going to be this take on LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem”. It has all the keys for success in this genre – a catchy video, a familiar tune, fairly entertaining lyrics (Three times a day I’m shucklin‘, shucklin’, shucklin’) and most of all, some damned good break-dancing. No joke, Jews can break dance!

Ok, I realize these songs aren’t Grammy winners, and they’re not likely to be remembered in 25 years. But for a genre that has long suffered, they are a huge step up.

(bonus Maccabeats “Candlight” track)

And, if there are any in the top 10 that are remotely entertaining or super weird, I’ll list those for Gits and Shiggles.

Counting down, from 10 to 1.

10. flying saucer beer

9. what is edamame

8. onion sniffer

7. onion farming

6. “arts fifth avenue”

5.  onion farmer

4. suburban store

3. grocery store

2. under the texas sun

1. yuppies

some of those are weird – I mean, how many pages deep on google did people have to go to find me using terms like grocery store and yuppies!?!? (it should be noted that since January 1, yuppies has been used 104 times to find this blog. 104 times! but it’s not number one – what is? guess we’ll have to wait until the ned of the year to find that one out!

and onion sniffer?? really? what is wrong with folks?

although it will be hard to top that onion sniffer one, here are my 3 favorites that fell outside of the top 10:

3. manimal wrestler

2. sunshine schwartz bullrider

1. former pro wrestler/animallover

that last one, is a doozy. i am completely baffled by it. And that manimal wrestler guy? he’s a friend of mine – go like his Facebook page. :o)

I wonder what terms will get people to my page next month. this should be fun.

She’s a good person, and while I’m sad it didn’t work out, I’m glad she was, and still is part of my life.

Here’s to you Ang – may lots of good things come your way for years to come.

Sometimes, as a writer, we write something, and never publish it. There are a myriad of reasons why we don’t, some good, some lame. This one is more or less lame, as I think I didn’t publish it simply because I’m lazy.

It looks complete. Maybe I wasn’t satisfied with it, I don’t know. Maybe I really was lazy. Maybe it didn’t seem like the right time, but considering I began writing this in January, picked it back up in May, and then picked it back up AGAIN today (interestingly, four months apart each time), I wonder if there ever was going to be a right time.

Then again, I can probably stop wondering any of that, since I’m publishing it right now. I suppose NOW, is the right time, today, 09/12/2011, the 10 year anniversary of my first day in a brand new world, of everyone’s first day in a brand new world, and a day that changed…well…everything.

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I originally wrote the first version of this column in late January. Somehow, I never went back to it, but the recent killing of Osama Bin Laden was bittersweet for me. It’s hard to celebrate anyone’s violent death, but he was the man behind one of my life’s defining moments, and certainly one of the most defining of my dozen years spent living in New York City.

In a few weeks, I will “celebrate”" my18-month anniversary of being back in Fort Worth.

I’m not sure what to make of this anniversary. On one hand, i am enjoying my lifestyle in Texas. It is active; it is vibrant; it is full of life, love, and the pursuit of happiness (and beer). On the other hand, I *really* miss NYC. I mean, I really miss it.

I miss the pace, I miss the diversity, I miss hunkering down in my basement apartment, completely oblivious to the world around me. I miss having lots of late night (well after midnight) restaurant options, every night of the week.

I miss the subway and not having to worry about driving places, I miss wandering Times Square on a HOT summer night at 2:30 in the morning and the place being completely alive despite the time and temperature. I miss that living on edge moment because you never knew when an argument between two people on the street might break out into a fight.

I miss that buzz.

But i don’t miss the cost of living. I don’t miss NOT being able to come down from that high that is NYC. (I often equated living in NYC with being high or buzzed 24/7. That’s nice in theory, but in reality, you always do want to come down eventually, and NYC really doesn’t allow that.)

I don’t miss being constantly poor, and simply not being able to go out 9 nights out of ten. I don’t miss having a limited circle of friends, and I don’t miss the fact that none of us could do much of anything together because we didn’t have money.

But there is just so much I do miss, and so many things I don’t think will ever translate to Fort Worth. For being such a large city, and despite having really progressed in recent years, it’s still caught up in backwoods, small town politics, and well, pettiness. “The Fort Worth Way”, as it’s been called.

Anyway, I didn’t come here to bury Fort Worth; but rather to praise NYC. It’s an amazing place, filled with so much life that if you’ve never been there, you can’t even imagine it.

It is alive and it is vibrant. And it is always on. Fort Worth certainly has its moments where it rivals that vibrancy, but it seems to be limited to the weekends, and the odd week day – which, is not necessarily a bad thing. That spontaneity definitely allows for some excitement – you never know when a Monday happy hour with a friend may turn into a full-blown evening of revelry concluding with beers on your patio on a warm summer night.

I like Fort Worth. I love New York. Granted, I had a dozen years in NYC as an adult to build that love, and less than two years in Fort Worth. I believe there’s a reasonable chance I will have time to grow to love Fort Worth, but for now, my heart still belongs to NYC, and I suspect as the 10th anniversary of 9/11 approaches, that love will grow.

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Epilogue: That love d0es continue to grow. Yesterday, 9/11/2011, I thought of New York a lot, and in a very fond way, not a sad, somber way. (note: one of the reasons this blog post is devoid of photos is because I really wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to use 9/11 images, and I just wasn’t feeling any other images. I do think, in time, I will go back and add photos of NYC, of some of the people, places, and whatever else that really made it a special time and place in my life.)

Not a day goes by where I don’t think about NYC, and I feel like one day, if my finances stabilize, I may end up back there. That’s not in the near future, for sure, but in the distant future, much like that Monday Happy Hour, anything is possible.

His video work is some of the best I’ve ever seen, and professionally, I’m glad I got a chance to work with him. What he does in the editing room, is off the charts.

This is his swan song, his epitaph, his…his look back at Victory Crown Championship Wrestling.

While I still may write that column one day, for now, things have changed. Instead, this column on professional wrestling is about a dream deferred.

It is about the demise of Victory Crown Championship Wrestling (VCCW), a professional wrestling company in which I was part owner, and played a role in building. It is about a dream come true, only to come crashing down a few months later. It is about heart, and lack of it.

VCCW was a vision and concept conceived by a close friend of a mine, a friend with similar attitudes and beliefs about not only professional wrestling, but about life. He gave it a go a few years ago, but as is often the case, one person’s dream can take a deep personal toll if he doesn’t have anyone to share it with, and in time VCCW was put on the shelf.

Cue Spring, 2011. My friend realized he was not alone. Plenty of beers drunk on the front porch of his house while talking pro wrestling showed him I believed as well. We also learned of a couple of others who believed – one a former pro wrestler who believed he felt the business in his heart, the other a life-long fan like myself, who just happened to be a genius with a video camera and editing software in his hands.

The concept and idea would take time to develop, but it was a simple one. It was one where we believed that once again professional wrestling in Texas could not only be bigger than it currently is, but could thrive and this state could once again be a mecca for professional wrestling, much like it was when the Freebirds and Von Erichs were tearing up this state in one of the greatest feuds in professional wrestling history.

(watch as much as you want, but the first 2:30 or so is where you’ll see the insane crowd reactions, especially when the Von Erichs head to the ring)

And by mecca, I mean multiple things. I mean a place where promoters could make money, and dare I say, make a career out of professional wrestling. A place where fans knew they would see some of the most kick ass professional wrestling in the entire country. A place where professional wrestlers could hone their craft before heading to the major leagues of the WWE, or a place where professional wrestlers could come and wrestle some of the others who were among the top of their craft.

And mostly, for the boys, a place where they could make money.

"The Underground Icon" Scot Summers - the only man who will ever hold the VCCW Openweight Championship.

Where the guys and gals who spend years training, of bleeding, of breaking bones, could work for more than 10 bucks a night. Where a guy like Scot Summers, who busts his ass every time he’s in the ring, can make a living doing the thing he loves the most, professional wrestling.

Where a guy like The 300 lb Manimal, one of the most professional guys I’ve met in this business, and one of the few who actually “gets it”, can go to make money, to further his career, and become a household name, in professional wrestling.

This SPORT is something I love. I was never big enough, or had the “right body type” to be a professional wrestler, so I got into this business late in life, in an unorthodox manner, and I worked hard once I was in. This is a brotherhood, and when you don’t come in the “right way”, it’s hard to be considered part of that brotherhood. I was fortunate that some of the classiest and most professional people I’ve ever met, from Roderick Strong to CM Punk to everyone else that worked in the ring, locker room, and behind the scenes, took a liking to me and accepted me, despite the roundabout way I got into professional wrestling.

There are plenty of people in this business – and a shit ton of them here in Texas – that did not come into this business the right way, are not respectful of it, and if they tried to work in the Northeast, they’d be changing their fucking gear in the hall way or out back behind the building because they’d get tossed out of the locker room.

And the same goes for some promoters in this state – just because you own a wrestling ring doesn’t make you part of the business. It makes you a payday, and again, if you ran in the Northeast, a few of y’all would have been cuffed across the ears and socked in the jaw multiple times for your shitty attitudes.

Anyway, I digress from The Dream Deferred. The vision was simple. To help turn Texas back to its glory days of professional wrestling. To help make it a place where wrestlers could make a living, and draw real, fair, paydays. To help make it a place where wrestling promoters – ALL WRESTLING PROMOTERS, even rival promoters – could make a living, giving the boys places to work, giving themselves enough money to feed their families and keep the show going.

In Spring of 2011, four men shared this vision. By late Summer 2011, after just two shows, only three still shared that same vision. Unfortunately, the fourth was the one with the money, and when there’s no money, there’s no business. It’s the golden rule – he who has the gold, makes the rule. I won’t slag that man personally, but professionally, I think he’s made a big mistake, and one he will eventually regret. But, what’s done is done.

Victory Crown Championship Wrestling stopped breathing with no warning in late August, 2011. She went on life support with no real hope of recovery on August 25, 2011, and the plug was pulled earlier this morning, August 27, 2011, around 10:15 am.

For now, the dream is deferred. I don’t know what the future of that dream holds. It may dry up, it may fester, it may stink, it may sag like a heavy load, it may explode . But it also might crust and sugar over, like a syrupy sweet. But for now, I just don’t know.

As for VCCW itself, this is the end as far as I’m concerned.

You may see that name again, but unless things change dramatically, the majority of the men who conceived, envisioned, and dreamed, will not be involved. It would be like Dirty Harry without Clint Eastwood, the Godfather without Marlon Brando, Gone With the Wind without Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. The name of the product would be there, but the heart, soul, and guts would be missing. And without that, it is nothing.

RIP VCCW. You were a good friend, and you will be missed.