***Knife Review*** Ugly Knife from Tribal Edge Knives

OK, if you read the post about my summer vacation, you will see that I went to see my

Silat teacher(who showed me some cool Kali, also), Mushtaq. Aside from being a scholar,

cook, and martial arts teacher, Mushtaq also is a knife maker. His website for this is

http://www.tribaledgeknives.com/

He does this with Chuck Pippen, but they both have different styles.

When I arrived, he gifted me with two items I will keep forever, a walking stick, which will be reviewed later, and a knife, known as the Ugly Knife.

This knife is a wonderful multi-purpose knife. It is probably the most useful all around knife I have owned for quite a while.

According to Mushtaq, he designed it with utility in mind first, and SD as something it can do

as well. I can attest to it's utility use, as I carried it at work for awhile, and used it in the warehouse. Comfortable, sharp, and strong enough to handle everything, including falling on a concrete floor while I was climbing some shelves.

But, as we all should know by now, my interest in knives is more towards the SD/survival end of things. This knife performs wonderfully in this regard. A neutral handle means it can be used in all 4 primary grips. The balance point is in the middle, slightly in the handle, making slashes

easy and second nature. The point lines up for thrusting as well as any bowie I have used.

Look Mushtaq and the crew up at the link provided above, and buy one.

Even if you don't need one, you really do.

RIP Carl

I just found out that Close Combat teacher and researcher, and major influence on me,
has died. Carl Cestari passed on yesterday, 23JUL07.
I will miss our discussions, and all of his contributions to helping people learn to defend himself.
Mostly, I am sad that the world will be missing out on an example of his level.

RIP, Carl. We still need men like you.

Damn, check this out!!

As many of you know, one of the most important things in my life is music.
Primary among my favorite groups is Motley Crue.
Nikki Sixx of the Crue is releasing a book soon called the Heroin Diaries, due in September.
Of course I'm going to get it, but the cool thing is that he has made a soundtrack for the book.
Check out the first song on it at www.sixxammusic.com
I also have it as the profile song on Myspace.
The song is called "Life is Beautiful", and it is kick ass.
Go on, click the link and listen.

Just one voice saying

STOP IT, PLEASE!

Sometimes things in life, and the world in general back right up on you, and make you shake your head in disbelief.
When you have a martial artist stealing his friend and partners work, without credit, and cutting said friend out of the organization they made, that is chickenshit, and not worthy of a man, much less someone who proclaims himself a friend, useless turd. Bite me Bernard.

When you have corporations raping the environment, making it impossible for working people to survive, much less prosper, in the pursuit of greed for greeds sake, and a government that is staffed by the same bastards, how do you go on? When hard working men and women cannot afford health insurance, or have to wonder how they will pay the utility bills, because some
dollar sucking business whore needs another new vacation home or a $55 bottle of 'Bling"
water, how can you sit back and be quiet? When gas prices rise, and record profits are taken by
oil companies who are unapologetic about their gouging, how can you believe in justice and fairness? When those gas prices make your food budget unaffordable, how do you live?

When your government supports fat bastards who would whore their mother for a dollar, instead of the people, how can you have faith in elected officials? When the "elite" get commuted sentances, or special treatment, how can you believe in equal justice under the law?
When a city is still destroyed after a hurricane 2 years ago, how can you trust the government, when they are selling that city to their rich buddies?

When a liar, drug addict, drunk can claim authority from God to start an illegal, immoral war, and then ignore those who he works for, how can you believe in representative government?
When the VP can insist he answers to no one, how can you trust Executive Branch decisions, statements or announcements?
When our government supports repressive governments it likes, and supplies them with the money and tools of their oppression, but overthrows democratically elected leaders it does not like, how can you trust our foreign policy?
When the congress cannot or will not stop an out of control executive branch, how do you not think it is a dictatorship?
When corporations buy off all our politicians, but they limit our access and influence, how can you trust the Constitution?
When prisons are privatized, and war as well, how can you believe that we are still a just nation?

Where is the fairness inherent in being equal in this country. How can you believe in the American Dream when it is jerked further away everyday by those who have achieved nothing, save being the lucky result of sperm placement or theft?

Just tell them all, STOP IT, NO MORE, I WILL NOT WORK FOR THIS, OR PUT UP WITH THIS! In whatever way you can, because we cannot survive like this.