Media Gets It All Wrong Covering Kids’ Grappling Match

Now, if you write a story about Mixed Martial Arts but you only call it “cage fighting” and/or “ultimate fighting,” you are showing yourself to be uninformed. If you show a video of kids that are clearly just grappling at a MMA event, somehow assume that they are in a full on MMA fight with no gloves (whereas all the professionals use gloves, etc.), mistake an arm bar for being “repeatedly kicked in the head while [one's] arm is twisted,” and write about how “disturbing” it is, well, you are an idiot. Read more »

Fox Nation Is A Jerk: Michelle Obama Under Attack

Can the people on Fox Nation try any harder to be declared jerks? Our initial post on Fox Nation was prompted by a picture of Kate Middleton in a bikini that was the site’s “Pic of the Day.” The comments that followed instantly and oddly concentrated on comparing and degrading First Lady Michelle Obama. It was a total non sequitur for normal people, but for Fox Nation, it seemed like they were on the same wavelength.

We again look at the Fox Nation “Pic of the Day,” and this time, I actually have to thank them for reminding me how funny the British satirical show Brass Eye was.

I couldn’t help but think of Brass Eye’s ‘Paedogeddon’ episode where they joked about people’s obsession with pedophilia, and specifically, I was reminded of this quote:

Gary Lineker – “Take a look at this [shows photo]. What is it? Just a hillside? Look again. There’s a child there, no more than a blue speck. The fact is, if you showed this picture to a paedophile, they’ll actually try and attack it in an attempt to reach the child. That’s the sort of warped mindset we’re dealing with.”

To get people on Fox Nation worked up and crazy all you have to do is find a picture of Michelle Obama playing tennis to, heaven forbid, support her campaign against childhood obesity. Read more »

Saccadic Narcohypnia: “Story Time”

The second of a probably longer series. This one focuses on crap I can’t stand in short fiction. Well, two craps I can’t stand, anyway.  The script and video are below.

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DREAM.17 Rolling Out PVs

DREAM.17 is soon upon us, and the recently released PVs are certainly getting us excited. The event is set to take place at the Saitama Super Arena on September 24th, and the card is stacked with many of our favorite fighters: Sakuraba, Aoki, Tokoro, Kitaoka, Kawajiri, Imanari… the list goes on. This is looking to be a great event.

Check out the impressive PVs (we’re really liking the gigantic screens/visuals they used in these promos) after the break. Read more »

Saccadic Narcohypnia

So, here is a little pilot episode for a grammar youtube-thing that I have been considering for a long time. It’s clumsier than I would like because the basics of sound editing escape me and a lack of a real camera force me to rely on extremely ghetto means of composition. Windows Movie Maker and MS Paint being the ghettoest things I’ve ever worked with, but it is here and I’m hoping to do more. Read more »

Shizuka Sugiyama: Notes On Her Time Abroad

Shizuka Sugiyama is now over four months in to her year-long stay in Sydney, Australia. When we first heard she would be studying abroad, our biggest fear here at Pancake was that she would not be training and would be super rusty when she got back. Thankfully, along with continuing her studies in English, Sugiyama has also been continuing her studies in BJJ. She has hooked up with Gracie Oceania, and specifically a blue belt Laura Ng who operates a blog, skillfully named iheartbjj.com. Read more »