Have a Happy New Year!!!

("Auld Lang Syne" plays in background) Since I was late and missed a chance to Wish everyone a Merry Christmas, I wanted to make sure that I at least wished everyone a Happy New Year! I hope everyone has a prosperous 2009, and that you don't throw your resolutions out the door by the end of January ;) (Firecrackers blow)

My First Bears Game

I was just at my first Bears Game with my dad on 12-11-08. We had alot of fun, but it was freezing cold!! I only took a few pictures, because I didn't want to take off my gloves ^_^. I was lucky enough to get 2-Tickets to the Game from someone at my work. They were good seats in the 2nd Level, so we were able to see the Bears win in overtime against the Saints. Go Bears!

Shoes being thrown?!

I was just reading about the Iraqi reporter who took off his shoes and threw them at President George W. Bush. That really makes me sick. I don't care if he was a Democrat or Republican, we as Americans should not sit back and say nothing when some coward insults the Leader of our Country like that. As always, most of the Middle East jumped up in support of such disrespectful and uncivilized bahavior. As much as I dislike Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, I wouldn't even think of throwing my shoes at them........they are heads of state, and due a certain respect. (not to say that I wouldn't yell something their way). What happened to our Self-Respect?

American City Names

I was just thinking how it strange that the 3 Largest Cities in The United States names are each a different language:

New York City-----English

Los Angeles-----Spanish

Chicago-----French/Native American


Interesting.....

Chicago: City of the Year

Chicago has been getting a lot of publicity as of late. I just wanted to let you know that Chicago:

-Was Chosen City of the Year by Fast Company for 2008.

-Was Chosen City of the Year by GQ Magazine for 2008.

-Was Only American City in Top 10 Cities to see in 2009 by Lonely Planet.

-Is one of the Front Runners in the Bid to Host the 2016 Olympics.

-Is currently the home to be of the World's Tallest All-Residential Skyscraper.

-Is 4th Largest City Economy in the World. (After Tokyo, NYC, & LA)

-Is the Hometown of the President-Elect.

-Was the setting of Gotham City in Batman "The Dark Knight".

Human Weapon

I caught this show on iTunes and got instantly hooked. Jason Chambers and Bill Duff basically go to a different country every episode, spend a week or so training in that country's specific Martial Art, and then faces off against a Master or champ in that Martial Art:

United States = MMA
Korea = Tae Kwon Do ;)
China = Kung-fu
France = Savate
Japan = Karate, Judo, Ninjitsu
etc.

It is really a good show. I bought the ENTIRE Series on DVD @ Best Buy for like $20. Just throwing it out there

Kickboxing???

I am very interested in Martial Arts that implement more "Traditional" applications into their system, however, I signed up for a Free Trial Lesson of Kickboxing (emphasis on Free). I never experienced Kickboxing in my life, so it will be interesting to see how much it is both similar and different from Tae Kwon Do. I will try and get up a Martial Arts Profile for Kickboxing either this Weekend, or by this coming week. I also signed up my brother for the Trial Class......(this ought to be interesting)......

EOC Meeting in Istanbul

Chicago 2016 Officials, including Mayor Daley, met with, and presented to members of the EOC in Istanbul. Tokyo, Rio, & Madrid also were there to present their bids as well. I was happy to hear that Chicago hit the ground running that morning, as all the members of the EOC woke up to a complimentary copy of a special Chicago 2016 Edition of the International Tribune. Later that day President-Elect Obama expressed his support of the Chicago Bid to the EOC in a 90-Second Video for the Committee. This is the biggest presentation that Chicago will do before the meeting in Denmark with the IOC. I believe they did a great job.

Crazy Hap Ki Do

I wanted to show you a video of the Martial Art of Hap Ki Do. This is actually my Master's Grand Master. My master is awesome at Hap Ki Do, and now I know why.....look at his teacher! :)

The "Obama" Factor

Although I personally didn't Vote for President-Elect Obama, I wanted to see the Silver Lining in the Cloud. Foremost in my mind is the tremendous amount of both Publicity and Support that he has and will bring to Chicago's Olympic Bid. Already Tokyo 2016 Officials have commented on their concern for the influence that he brings to Chicago's Bid. A couple days later Madrid and Tokyo tried to downplay their concerns and comments......but that quick break in their confidence invigorates our Bid. Only Upstart Rio hasn't commented (to my knowledge). Two major things I sincerely hope Obama will do as President is:

1. Make the Case for Chicago's Bid in the Final Presentation.

2. Go to Denmark to support Chicago on the day the Host City is chosen.

Having the President pitch for his Hometown is always welcome. I hope that he can take some time out of his busy schedule for that.

Also, USA Soccer is hoping that he will be able to do his bit for their hope to capture either the 2018 or 2022 FIFA World Cup. Having the Olympics followed directly by the World Cup would be an awesome experience for the United States.