Captain Zorikh's Log

Battle of the Nations!

2012-01-29T21:54:00.000-08:00

In the coming weeks I will be giving more details, but for now, let;s just say that I am in training to try out for Team USA at the Battle of the NAtions.

The Battle of the Nations in an international medieval combat & vculture competition and festival. It has been going on for several years in Eastern Europe, and is run by a Russian company, as I understand. This year it will be held on April 29 - May 4 near Warsaw, Poland. For the first time ever, there will be a team of Americans going over.

There will be a national practice in Springfield IUllinois in a couple of weeks, and I will be there, doing the best I can to prove that I have the "stuff" to be part of this team.

As I said. more details will be forthcoming, but for now, you can see more about the team at http://www.usaknights.org, you can see more about the event at http://battleofthenations.com.ua (click on the tiny British flag in the upper left-hand corner for English), and you can see video of the event here...

Dream reminder of high school reunion

2011-10-15T05:30:00.000-07:00

Today is an anniversary reunion of my class at Stuyvesant High School. I have never been much of one for reunions before, especially when they are at posh clubs and cost over $100. But this time I was reading all the posts on the Facebook group, and actually getting a little interested. Unfortunately, by income level right now is too prohibitively low to buy a ticket, but a fellow alum offered to pick up a couple of tickets for those of us in my condition

Since accepting the offer, however, Life has gotten in the way of my remembering. I shot a documentary at the Pennsic War, got a new job, performed in the Faux-Real Theater's Oedipus Rex, and have been dealing with trying to get the money owed me by my last job. Earlier this week, however, a Facebook post reminded me.

But what with all the excitement around the NY Comic Con and reprising my role from last year in today's encore performance of "Oedipus Rex" on Roosevelt Island, it slipped my mind again. Then this morning my alarm clock went off (way too early), so I re-set it for two hours later and went back to bed.

This time I found myself in a classroom-type situation, filling out a form as a couple of women sat at the front of the room behind a table. They were advisers of some sort, and we were going over what we did in high school. Then I would go to the end of the table and take a photo of an arrangement. The arrangement included a book with a picture and short piece of text highlighting the alumna's high school career, a book mark with a picture and another bit of text, and some object that fit in somehow (memory getting hazy). There were only about 3 or four alums in the room, including me.

While I was taking the picture for myself, another female adviser, one who was sitting at a desk beyond the opposite end of the table, said to one of the alums, a fellow I knew from my homeroom back at Stuyvesant, "It says here you were present at two homicides in high school and didn't report wither one of them."

"I thought that was taken care of," he replied, in the kind of voice one would expect from someone who got caught in a bad situation that wasn't really his fault, he had to pay a high price for, and now had thought he had finally put behind him.

I said "Come on, that was 25 years ago. Give the guy a break!" As the adviser and the alum argued, I looked down at the book and saw that his page talked about how his life had gone bad. It included a quote form him?:" Yes, I had some chances, but IO blew it." I decided not to include this in the picture.

The bookmark was much more positive, highlighting his good points and not mentioning the homicides.

Then I woke up and remebered that tonight was the night of my high school graduating class reunion.

Before I go on...

2011-10-15T05:29:00.000-07:00

I still miss my cat, Tommi.

Clinically Bereaved

2011-09-07T07:05:00.000-07:00

Not to beat a horse or anything, but I am amazed by how bereaved I am right now.

Is there such a thing as "clinically bereaved?" If so that's me.

At any notice or thought of something that relates to Tommi, the cat that of mine who died on Monday morning, any instinctive reaction that came through living with that cat for 14 years, just makes me sad. I start crying, moaning even. Then I take a deep breath and move on. then something else will come up and I start crying and moaning again.

Lots of people I have known have died in the past two years. Friends, relatives, and friends of friends, but none of them , in fact no death of anyone I have known, has affected me quite so deeply as this.

Could it be the fact that we have shared such close contact for so long? Could it be that she never did a thing that I didn't like (that's not true, but nothing that really mattered, in the end)? could it be that no matter how my relationships with various people changed, she was always true to me?

The label in the box I buried her in says "The Truest Cat." That is true. In every way she was as true as a cat can get. Her walk, her leaping and climbing, her scratching and chewing of inappropriate objects, her stealing and attempted stealing of any chicken I ever tried to eat, her kneading and suckling on my sweaters, her dragging of socks and long underwear into the hallway (presumably as prey), her head-rubs on my shoulder when sitting next to me, her choosing of the spot right in front of the computer monitor to sit when I was working, her knocking of things off the table, her waiting for me outside the kitchen door, her "cat-loaf" pose and her "decadent kitty" pose and her sleeping by my head in the colder months, and her perfect, perfect kitty-cat face and perfectly soft fur, not too long, not too short, not too soft, not too stiff. She was never anything other than what she was: a cat. THE Tommi-cat.

She had great cat genes: that fur, that face, her little white pudsies and the crazy white ring around her tail. It is a shame that contemporary ethics and pet-population issues forced me to get her "fixed." I would have loved to have seen her create offspring, perhaps to keep with me as she grew old and to have with me now.

The emotional outpouring from me did not start initially upon finding her lifeless body by the door when I got out of bed Monday morning. My neighbor, who knew the cat, started crying instantly when I told her. But as the reality sunk in, seeing her little body lying still on the floor as I started to make arrangements and figure out what to do, that's when it came in. When I had to step over her body to go to the bathroom, and when I saw her still there when I came back, when I looked at the water dish, which I had been used to filling every day, her food dish, her litter box, the spot on the printer where she would always sit in her cat-loaf position, the emotions stated coming up. And now, when I thought to pick something up off the floor because the cat might step all over it, and I realized she was never going to step on anything again, and I will never have to chase her into my room again, and I will never have to change her litter box and clean her water dish again, I get very, very sad.

Dream of being a film PA-turned-time traveller

2011-07-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

Dream morning of 7-11-2011

So I find myself on a movie set on location. The location is outdoors, but on the grounds of a mansion or something. I am there with a friend and a kid. Gary Busey is there also, being very Gary Busey-ish with one of the other PA’s

So we are there as PA’s, but I get the feeling that we are from outside the production, since we just arrived. All the production activity is going on elsewhere, perhaps inside the house, so we are just waiting for orders, pretty much.

I wonder if there is any food available. I notice craft services, and go over there. The fist thing I see is a few slices of carrot cake and some chocolate cupcakes, about half of which have been crumbles. I pile up some of this on a plate and pout another plate on top, to save for later. I then see that there is the regular buffet, which might not have been for me and my friends, but it looked like everyone else had taken their share and they were about to pack it up.

Some guy went over and picked up a fork out of the tuna casserole and ate some, then put the fork back. I thought that was disgusting. I thought about saying something loud, but decided against it. He walked away, and I went around and picked up the fork, went over to the silverware tray and looked for a clean one. There were no dinner forks left, but there were salad forks, so I selected one of them and brought it back. The craft services lady explained that the guy was one of the greatest guys in the world, that everybody loved hi. So here I was thinking he was an asshole, but now looked like an asshole for thinking so about this guy.

Then there was a scenario shift, though the location stayed the same and my friends and I were still there in essentially the same social roles: outsiders in service to the authority. Now we were servants at a wealthy person or noble person’s household in the late 19th century. We were in our late teens or very early 20’s. One of the other servants, who had slightly more seniority but was stationally equal (and had been one of the PA’s) really didn’t like us, and was trying to do things to get us into trouble. He most especially had a trick where he would flick his hand at me and say “when I do this, you just stand there.” But I was to smart for that. When he did do it, I parried his hand-flick and struck him in the chest.

He continued to try to get us in trouble, though. My friend in this scenario turned out to be Robert, my best friend from Elementary school. The guy was whispering into his ear, trying to screw with him, and I was in his other ear, telling him so, and the thee of us were jostling each other.

It came to the point where, I don’t remember what the guy said, but my response was “Look, you’re Christian, I’m Pagan, no, atheist, he’s Jewish, and we all know Pagans! Don’t you think we know that’s not true?”

I turned out that we needed to get back to our own time. The guy tried to tell us that we needed to go down the river to the “twenty-first point twenty-third waterfall.” He repeated that number as I visualized the spot. The kid, a 10-12-year-old boy who had been with us all along, said “That’s not true, I’ll prove it to you.” And got out a pencil and paper and started doing some mathematics.

“How do you know that?” the guy said.

“It’s Math.” I replied.” We’re from the 21st century. We do that.”

Then I woke up.

Dream of Julius Knipl in a dystopian farm collective

2011-05-17T16:06:00.000-07:00

Dream on the afternoon of May 17, 2011.

I was drawing superhero pictures for a play to be performed at the Brick Theater in June when sleepiness overcame me…

A middle-aged woman works in a near-featureless square building, raised on a platform, on a farm. She is in overalls-jump suit. She goes to the central collective where she meets with me and another friend, an older black woman. We pick some papers up from a clerk at a raised kiosk/desk. The woman talks about how things are going well with the Collective. The older black woman talks about how she used to fly all over the world doing something that she would get paid $5,000 a shot for, and how she owed a half million. I talk about how things from the past fascinate me, how I enjoy looking at printed things from the past, like posters from the “Vans.”

What are “the Vans” the older lady asks.

“They were a youth-oriented concert series sponsored by a sneaker company” I reply. Then the first lady gives me a present. It is a paperback edition of collected works of Ben Katchor, particularly his “Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer” work. I exclaimed with glee “This is the work of the guy who created Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer!” (I could not remember his name) This makes me so happy!” Tears started welling up in my eyes.

I went on to explain why this was important to me: “What fascinates me is the transitory nature of the printed media. Someday this will all be dust. So when I find, say, a sealed package of corn flakes under a shelf in Hoff’s Supermarket, or something like this I treasure it greatly.”

Note: At this point in time, there has been a breakdown in society, perhaps an eco-disaster or global war or revolution or some combination thereof. Hoff’s Supermarket is a crumpling ruin in the forgotten city that no one goes to, and I actually envisioned a square Tupperware container in which someone packed some corn flakes a very long time ago.

Captain Zorikh ALL OVER Wicked Faire this weekend!

2011-02-14T10:45:00.001-08:00

Hi friends and fans. Captain Zorikh here.

Sorry it’s been so long since an update here. Please accept my belated wished that you had a happy and joyous mid-winter holiday season and that the New Year finds you full of hope and optimism!

This year is starting out pretty busy for me!

Those of you who are not connected to me on Facebook, MySpace, or Going.com may have missed the latest from Zorikhville. I will sum up:

The Wicked Faire is happening this weekend, February 18-20 at the Doubletree of Somerset, NJ, and I am ALL OVER it! Below is a description of all that I will be doing, and below that is the schedule of when those things will be happening and where.

The biggest thing I will be doing there, the thing that the past two months of my life have been focused on, is a brand new grappling arts stage show, “Hit the Mat.” I have been thinking about, and talking about, doing a show like this for near two years now. Thanks to a wonderful confluence of circumstances, I have found myself with a cast, a script, rehearsal time and space, and a performance venue. This will be part of the activities in the Warriors of Doom Wrestling Room (“Ares’ Playground”). Other activities there will include demonstrations of submission grappling for fun and safety, challenge matches, viewings of my grappling movie “Redemption,” and games of Combat Twister!
http://www.captainzorikh.com/hitthemat
http://www.captainzorikh.com/redemption
http://www.captainzorikh.com/combattwister

I will also be hosting the Incredible Return of Captain Zorikh’s Costume Contest! With a wild and diverse selection of prizes led off by a $150 prize pack from Forbidden Planet! This is the “people’s costume contest” because you get to decide who gets the prizes! Captain Zorikh will keep the action moving but the true stars are you, the costume enthusiasts who enter and the people who love them and cheer! Categories will be made up on the spot! Prizes will be distributed! Costume death matches and dance-offs are not unheard of! Register on the spot and strut your stuff! http://www.captainzorikh.com/costumecontest

My Captain Marvel Culture lecture will be making its Wicked Faire debut, complete with updates to reflect recent developments! In case you haven’t been paying attention, I have been spending the past 7 years studying the history of the name “Captain Marvel,” the many superheroes who have used it, and their historical and sociological relevance. I say the “Captain Marvel” is the most important name to study in comics with regards to western popular culture and history. Come and find out why! http://www.captainmarvelculture.com

Everyone knows I have been doing armored swordfighting for over 20 years with a large medieval recreation group, so it stand s to reason that I might have absorbed a little information about the history of armor and chivalry, their development and evolution, and how this is reflected in the development of King Arthur stories. I will be sharing this info in my “History of Armor and Chivalry” lecture. This lecture has been a big success at I-Con for the past 6 years, and this is the first time it will be given at the Wicked Faire. http://www.newyorkknights.captainzorikh.com/

Finally, but not fatally (I hope!) Captain Zorikh, The Time Travelling Bard, will be giving an irreverent, entertaining musical performance. His songs have brought a tear to the eye, a lump to the throat, and a knife to the back of many a mighty warrior and lovely lass…and left ‘em laughing in the aisles. There are rumors of a guest appearance by the Death Star Repairman, last seen on the TV show Sci-Fi Science, with some old and new sci-fi themed rockabilly music, as well as a potential heckler!! http://www.myspace.com/captainzorikhmusic

Here’s the schedule…

Saturday:
1:00 – 2:00 Captain Marvel Culture lecture, Palace of the Eagles
2:10 – 3:00 Captain Zorikh, the Time Travelling Bard, Anansi’s Nest
4:00 – 5:00 Captain Zorikh’s Costume Contest, Magpie Bridge
7:30 – 8:00 Performance of “Hit the Mat,” Ares’ Playground
8:30 – Game of Combat Twister, Ares’ Playground
9:00 – Screening of “Redemption,” Ares’ Playground

Sunday:
1:00 – 2:00 History of Armor and Chivalry lecture, Palace of the Eagles
2:30 - 3:00 Performance of “Hit the Mat,” Ares’ Playground
3:30 Game of Combat Twister, Ares’ Playground

For more info on the Wicked Faire, including location, directions, and TICKETS, go to http://www.wickedfaire.com

I hope to see you there!

Captain Z
http://www.captainzorikh.com

Today's dream: "If anyone has any free will left, follow me!"

2011-01-08T00:45:00.000-08:00

Dream on the morning of Saturday, Jan 8, 2011

I’m out in the woods on a day-trip holiday. About 3-4-5 people and I decide to jump in a pond. It’ll be fun! We jump in. One of us (me?) drifts towards the edge of the pond and goes over a dam/barrier. About 4 or 5 of us wind up drifting down this small river, going over falls and barriers. One of us is a semi-hapless guy who has lost a “thing” in the water and we all go drifting after it. That “thing” will become the McGuffin of the story.

Soon we slide down a water ramp and wind up indoors in a structure of sorts. We are in a gray stone corridor and there is a sense that it is underground. We are being led by fit, young, black-clad security guards who keep on asking where “it” is.

We walk through a particular section where the corridor is a little wider and makes a turn when one of our number decides to do a forward roll. We wind up in a spot where the questioning gets particularly intense. The semi-hapless guy manages to whimper/mumble “Red Hook” and “Waterfall,” which was where the river was and where the “thing” got finally separated from us. The questioners are angry and don’t seem to understand. Very frustrating.

We go back to walking through that last section of corridor. At the section where the guy did the roll, now the two people guarding us (both female) do forward rolls as if it was part of their routine to do so at that spot. They begin to engage in a hand-to-had combat training routine and seem to forget about us. We pass by about a half-dozen security guys doing routines with each other using assault rifles. The guy who originally did the forward roll (Me? But he didn’t look like me. But through the rest of the dream I was “playing” him) thought about taking one of the guns away from the guards. There was the constant clamoring of the boss of this facility as to “where is it?” and the constant thought by me of “We were in the river, we lost it in the waterfall, we don’t know where it is.”

Then I entered a room where more of these guard-types were training on special apparatus. They were training drone-like, like mindless robotic soldiers with now free will. There was a doctor type (who was like a particular black doctor I think was on a sci-fi TV show) who was checking them out one by one. I happened to know him and asked what was going on. He said things were going great and he expected to begin his procedure (become one of the guards) soon.

So it seems that the “thing” turns people into these combat machines that serve the powerful guy who probably wants to take over the world or something. At that point I seemed to recall reading a capsulized description of this movie before it began.

The doctor started getting a little edgy, nervous, repeating himself, like he was hypnotized or brainwashed or something. I headed out of the room and found in a dark corner a bunch of normal-looking people cowering in the shadows. There was a middle aged/old lady, a small boy, and other normal, average people in dirty street clothes looking stunned, I said “who has any free will left?” One guy, the semi-hapless guy, who was now a portly, balding, bespectacled guy in a Hawaiian shirt clutching a tall potted plant, said he did.

Apparently these were people who got caught up in this complex and training system who were not perfect enough to be soldiers, so they wound up drifting into dark corners and cowering. It was quite possible that they might not get out of here alive. I said to the semi-hapless guy “Let’s go” and headed for a door at the end of this dark corridor a short distance away. About 3-4 people seemed to respond, but somehow they didn’t make it to the door. I think a guard or something may have come in and started to hustle these people away or threaten them. When I got to the door I turned around and whispered loudly “anyone who has any free will left, come with me!” Only the semi-hapless guy with the houseplant was with me.

There was a lot of play in my mind at this point about “Free Will” as I woke up.

Today's dream: A View to Die For.

2010-12-14T02:12:00.000-08:00

I have been a little under the weather for the past week, and I have not gotten very much sleem lately as I have been working and out of the house a lot for the past four days. Today, after getting home around 8:30, then putting on m,y armor and walking around Manhattan for a photography student, then getting home around one, I stayed home, slept for 3 hours, then worked on editing videos and watched the Giants beat the Vikings (football, not mythology). I got to bed tonight at about 2 AM. I woke up about 4:15 from the following dream:

About a half-dozen men are in a large, round room with large windows at the top of a tall tower near the southern tip of Manhattan. The view includes NY Harbor, New Jersey, the Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn, the East River, and the bridges there. The men are all people who have done something morally repugnant, ethically wrong, illegal, or just plain shameful, but have somehow gotten away with it.

Aside from the window, the room has a domed ceiling of rich , dark-colored wood. The window frames are likewise of that rich wood, as are the walls, which are about 6’ high. The general air of the room is of a library in a wealthy Victorian mansion.

The men are there at the invite of the owner of the place, an old man sitting on a red velvt couch at one end of the room. When one of the men asks what this place is, he explains that it displays panoramic views of great disasters, but always ends the moment before you would have died.

The men wonder why they are there, and each try to avoid talking about the various repugnant things they have done, although some people in the room recognize others for who they are. The old man watches knowingly, with a half-smile on his face.

At one point the conversation turns, and it leads to discussion about what a person’s favorite time to have lived would be. One fellow says “The 20th century, a more elegant time” and the view in the windows starts to change. The city appears older, the buildings more ornate, and shorter. “I’m talking about the nineteen-tens!” he says. The ceiling disappears, revealing a spectacular sunset.

“Wow! Now that is gorgeous!” he says, looking all around at the sky. The sky is a deepening blue and purple with clouds that are highlighted in magical tones of orange. There is also a yellow-orange glow on the horizon where the sun has gone down.

“Or the 1890’s! The Victorian age!” The walls disappear, although the window frames remain, extended all the way down to the floor now. “That’s what I’m talking about! Look at those ships! Not a steam engine to be seen!” Suddenly there is an explosion among the tall-masted ships docked in the East river. “Except that one.” Sparks like fireworks shoot out of the now-burning steamship. The man thinks it must be for the sake of a spectacular fireworks show we will now see in this panorama. He looks around to NY Harbor, and sees a fire with black smoke pouring out of it into the still-spectacular sunsetted sky..

The old man interjects, “Yes, the ironic thing is, the stem engine ended the steel industry in New York.”

“Wait! This is the great fire! This is ’99!” the previous man cries. Then realization begins to dawn on him. This fire burned New York City to the ground with great loss of life. “This room shows great disasters of history!” The flames grow higher. Panic starts to set in among the guests.” We see a view as if we were in, say, the 5th story of a building, so we can see in the windows of the top floors other buildings as the flames overrun them. In one window we can see a portrait of someone who might be famous or familiar burn up. The flames are now a raging inferno in the windows.

“But wait, you said it ends right before the moment we would have died, right?” The man is panicked. He looks around. Suddenly there is an image of a small flame leaping from a smoking pipe into a lighter. The man looks around the room. The windows are now dark. The walls and ceiling have re-appeared. Everyone appears dead, even the old man. He says, with curious fear “So, what? Do we now just…expire?”

And then I woke up, saying “Faaantastic!”

A postscript began, in which we say three people walking down a long transparent corridor or elevated tunnel through a futuristic New York. But I could not drift off to sleep enough to finish it.

Today's dream: I married Princess Di. I don't think she was into it

2010-10-11T07:46:00.000-07:00

This morning I dreamed I married Princess Diana. I don’t think she was really into it.

We were in a private civil ceremony, and while she was dressed in her usual conservative elegance, I was in an over-sized sweatshirt and shorts (what I happened to be sleeping in). After an official said a few words, we were to sign a book. She signed first, very carefully caligraphing the letters, scratching them out several times and writing them over. Someone said she was doing her “chancellery hand.” I mentioned that I had several calligraphic hands that I could write in, but the fellows there said that it was traditional for it to be a Roman hand, which I knew to be big bold capital letters. I opted for a modern signature, but I didn’t want it to be my current illegible scrawl, so I drew it carefully. It wound up with oversized vowels, making it look like a child’s signature.

Also present was Prince Charles, Diana’s ex-husband, looking a lot younger than he does on the cover of that gossip paper with the headline about him being gay. It made me think that the picture was of Prince Philip, the Queen’s husband. Being as Diana was no longer wife to the Prince of Wales, I thought her title now was Duchess of York.

She did not speak to me, and barely looked at me during the ceremony and procedure, and quickly went of to lunch with a friend at a nearby café. I followed her there so I could suggest we get together sometime over the week to get to know each other a little before the big wedding that would take place a week later. Neither she nor her friend really seemed into it. Her friend even said some ostensibly polite but blatantly dismissive thing to me. I said some quasi-sarcastic thing about being sure that she would be a nice person if she wanted to.

I think I was selected mostly at random for this marriage, like she had to be married to someone for some reason, which was why I was unprepared for it.

Most of the rest of the dream has faded now. I think it may have been inspired by recent interactions with women I have met that don’t quite seem to develop into dates or relationships. This is all part of getting “back into the swing of things” after a particularly effective dismantling of my social life through the course of a recent relationship.

This morning's dream: Little Richard, Sleepy LaBeef, and Elvis Presely

2010-10-05T08:45:00.000-07:00

Fun sort of a dream last night. It involved three of my favorite rock & rollers and a convention.

I was at a large convention of some sort (perhaps inspired by the fact that I had been at the Big Apple Comic Con for the past three days), and found myself sitting at a counter next to Little Richard. He was autographing a record album and I leaned over and asked “Richard Penniman?” He said yes.

He was younger looking that he is now, without makeup and with a very 1980’s sport of look, gerry-curled hair in a sort of afro-mullet, a silk sport coat, remarkably subdued, as if this was his off-stage persona.

I told him I was a big fan, and enjoyed his shows. He thanked me. He happened to be looking at something that had words or a name that included the work “le beuf.” I asked him if he had heard of Sleepy LaBeef. Sleepy is a great rockabilly singer whom I have seen several times but not for a few years. Sleepy does great shows and I said so. Then wouldn’t you know, I turned around, and he was coming onto the room to sign autographs! There he was, all 6’7” of him in his big black hat.

Little Richard had not heard of him, but I knew Sleepy should be a big fan, so I brought Richard over to Sleepy to meet him. Sleepy remembered me form the several times I have seen his shows. I said to him “I have Richard Penniman here” and he said “Oh, yes, the actor.” I think Sleepy may have been a bit confused and distracted. I said “no, no, Little Richard, the singer.” I think Sleepy must have been very distracted, because he could only briefly acknowledge that before turning back to deal with his autograph-seeking fans.

On our way back to the counter, Richard walked on his knees in disappointment. I started doubting that this was Little Richard because in concert it did not seem that he was quite so limber as to be able to do that. When back at the counter I grabbed his leg and felt his leg brace under his pants. That confirmed for me that it really was him.

Then somewhere in there Elvis showed up. Well, not Elvis himself, but a famous impersonator in a casual sport coat and tie. Somehow I got the three of them together, and they wound up on a line to meet someone. I don’t know who, but it was someone they all wanted to meet, along with lots of other people because it was a rather long line on the sidewalk outside. I then suggested that they sing something together. I can’t remember what they sang, but it was awesome to have Little Richard, Sleepy LaBeef, and a famous Elvis impersonator (or perhaps it was the guy from the Broadway show “Million Dollar Quartet”) singing together.

My dream this morning: Going up on a line in a movie shoot

2010-08-02T06:21:00.000-07:00

So it seems that I was given a small but important part in a movie, and I was doing pretty good at memorizing my lines. We were shooting a scene in an empty lot next to a tall, blank, brick wall. I was supposed to wait a couple of beats, then say a line, then cross to another person in the scene while the main character said her line. We shot this a few times, but on the 4th or 5th take, I said some lines later in the scene to the person I had crossed to. But on that take, I did not get my first line right. When I tried to remember it, I couldn’t. My only explanation was that I had done the line so many times that I just went up on it. So I asked if anyone had a script handy, and no one did.

I went back into the room, which was adjacent to the lot (a somewhat good-sized room with a very high ceiling that was empty of furniture save for one corner where a whole office set-up, including desk, filing cabinets, bookshelves, printer, etc were located), where all my papers were on the floor. I had used to live in that room, but had recently moved out of it because it was being turned into an office. I gathered all my papers into a pile, but could not find my script in the pile. At the same time, the guy sitting at the desk (who happened to be the son of Tom Dolan, an English and acting teacher at Stuyvesant High School who directed the first two musicals I was in there) was trying to figure out how to run the printer (which was printing pages that looked like ditto machine prints) so that in would print a negative image. I didn’t have time to help him because I needed to find the script. I went back out into the lot, and right about then I realized this was all a dream. This was pretty surprising because I thought I could remember the weeks of rehearsals on this project.

I think part of this dream may have been inspired by the fact that I need to memorize a lot of lines for the Faux Real Theater Co's "Oedipus Rex" that I have just been cast in.

Disturbing dream about America

2010-07-20T02:08:00.000-07:00

I just woke up from the following dream:

I was looking at a map of the United States, and it seems that a few years ago, a chunk of middle American states (mostly the ones stacked north of Texas extending all the way up to Canada) have been defined as areas which should belong to Native Americans. In fact, a big chunk of central Oklahoma and all of Kansas and Nebraska, as well as chunks of Missouri, Iowa, and maybe a little bit of Colorado have been defined as "B. B. B." I'm not sure what that stands for, but they are now an autonomous region administered by Native Americans.

So I was sitting in the window of the kitchen of my mom's old apartment on East 61st Street (only it was on the first floor in this dream, not the 4th floor, as in real life), and there happened to be a very large map of the US on the wall of the building across the street. There was a fight going on in the street over the situation represented by this map. It seemed to just be fistfights and grappling, and no one was getting bloody, so I stayed out of it. But then I saw that one guy, who had his arms held by three others, was just stabbed in the chest with a knife. I actually saw the knife being pulled out of his chest. That's when I reached in my pocket for my phone to call 911. But a police car pulled up right at that moment.

The people fighting started to scatter. I opened the windows so I could tell the cops which way they went, but one guy started advancing to the window, and I closed it, not knowing if he was a plainclothes cop or not.

Eventually I figured out he was, as a cop in a suit came to my window, which I opened. I told them I saw one of the guys who was fighting run around the corner, and that I witnessed a stabbing. The cop in the suit pulled out some papers saying they needed authorization to check my apartment for fingerprints (that fingerprint bit may have been inspired by something I saw in "Rules of Engagement" tonight). Then another guy reached right through the open window to grab something out of the kitchen. I smacked it out of his hand, and it turned out it was Woody Allen.

There was a little bit of discussion about checking the apartment, as I was sure no one came in from the street, and I wasn't comfortable with cops tromping through the place.

The theme of this dream, the fighting over the situation in America where a big chunk of it is given back to the Native Americans, was probably inspired by a debate I have been having on Facebook. It seems there is a guy who got an advertising circular from a used car dealer that included the words "Se Habla Espaniol! Trabajamos Con Tax ID!" He posted a picture on his FB page of the circular with that phrase circled in red and a yellow sticky that read "Bob- We live in America! We speak ENGLISH! 'NO BUENO!' You have permanent (sic) lost my future business."

This picture was followed by a bunch of supportive remarks, leading to accusation of a "Socialist Agenda" by the Obama administration, etc, etc, etc., and saying that this car dealer was not "pro American."

I found this quite disturbing. What's the big deal? So the car dealer speaks Spanish. In my America, we have the right to speak whatever language we want, and it is simply good business to be able to speak the language of potential customers.

Apparently there are bunches of people (some who call themselves a "silent majority") who really don't want people to use languages other than English here. Spanish seems to be the biggest target around here. Some of them are spouting a psuedo-Aristotlian quotation, "Tolerance is the last virtue of a decaying society" (which sometimes appears as "Tolerance and apathy are the last virtues of a decaying society" and sometimes it's "...decadent society"). Most of them are hollering "You're in America, SPEAK ENGLISH!"

They are actually taking offense at advertising and public signage that is not in English. They say that anything that makes it easier for someone who doesn't know English to get around and get along is hurting this country. They are calling for boycotts of businesses that speak Spanish (and presumably other languages). Some of them even admit, proudly, to defacement of advertisements in Spanish.

Another common theme among them is the stories of immigrants who came to America because they wanted to be Americans and learned English right away and assimilated. Assimilation with American society is a big thing among these folks. They claim that all these "push #2 to hear this message in Spanish" stuff is coddling lazy people who don't want to be Americans.

They claim that because the Founding Fathers spoke English, and the Constitution and Declaration of Independence were written in English, that no other language should be used in this country. They point out that a common language help commerce and gives a sense of unity.

Now I grew up in New York City, a multi-ethnic town with lots of neighborhoods loaded with non-English signage. I never saw it as any sort of threat to American society or as something not "pro-American." Heck, thanks to the signage, I know that "no se apoye contra la puerta" means "do not lean against the door." I had bi-lingual friends, and went to school right near Spanish Harlem. Half my high school was Asian. There was always a Spanish TV station or three on the dial. So to hear objections to businesses that speak Spanish and non-English signage and advertisements is to hear objections to the world in which I grew up. It sounds like they are objecting to my friends.

It is not a very far jump from boycotting businesses and defacing billboards to throwing rocks through windows and attacking store owners. Should restaurateurs refuse to serve people who speak Spanish while they are eating? Should Telemundo, Telefutura, and Univision be shut off the air? Should foreign-language newspapers be banned? Should we have education camps for non-English speakers?

This sounds like fascism. Yes, I am saying that, Fascism. Does Krystalnacht ring a bell? To get rid of all non-English advertising and signage would take an effort much like that. There are too many people in this country, citizens, immigrants, residents, visitors, and tourists, who enjoy speaking their native tongue or the language of their parents and grandparents to make the enforcement of English possible through boycotts and nasty letters alone.

If anyone wants to get ahead in this country, they are going to have to know English. But if they want to increase their customer base, it won't hurt to learn any other languages that happen to be in use in their neighborhood, or for that matter, the languages of any tourists or foreign visitors (such as students) that may come through their neighborhood. Market forces will lead to a common language being used. That is the history of language. Sure, we could force English Immersion on them, but the vehemence with which this message of "English first" is being spewed does not convince me that it would be done in a helpful and supportive way.

Furthermore, language is the preserver of a culture. Different languages, and different cultures, have different ways of seeing things, different values, different tastes, different aesthetics. Having a variety of cultures gives us a variety of ways of looking at the world and a variety of choices in dealing with the world. Just as you would want to eat different foods at different times of the day, it is beneficial to have the availability of different outlooks on the world. You may find one day that what you have learned is not helping you with your current situation. If there is someone else who has a different outlook with you, they might be able to provide a solution.

I find that permission and support of variety and diversity is a strong unifying influence. It is the promotion and effectiveness of that ideal that has carried these United States through a Civil War and a couple of World Wars (despite the hypocrisy of the sentiment at the time, what with things like Jim Crow laws, Japanese-American internment camps, Indian reservations, etc). There are few things that will anger a person like saying they cannot do something that they enjoy doing. One's right to say something, in any language they choose, seems far more worth fighting for than forcing people to speak only one language.

That psuedo-Aristotlean statement above does not hold true when you notice that ancient Rome, a society that was very tolerant and diverse, lasted for a thousand years, while the 3rd Reich, a society defined by its intolerant unity, barely lasted a decade.

So it's quite possible that this debate inspired my dream of fatal stabbing in a fight under a map of the US in which several mid-American states were given back to the Native Americans. I have no idea why Woody Allen was in there.

Dreamed up Sitcom Script

2010-07-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

In the half-wakefullness of the morning, this scene from a sitcom came to me...

Bill and John are sitting at their usual coffe shop table talking about the date John went on last night...

Bill: So how did the date go?

John: Well, she cooked for me./

Bill: Not so bad...

John: She works the 7-midnight shift at the diner. (laugh)

Bill: Oh. Well how was it?

John: Well, she was only bad at two things - cooking and serving. (laugh)

Bill: How could she be bad at serving?

John: Well, you know how you usually serve food on a plate?

Bill: Yeah...

John: She didn't. (laugh) I'm just lucky that dish was on the same side of the planet as the food. (laugh) As it was I had to buy a new shirt after dinner. (laugh)

Bill: Well it's a nice shirt...(laugh)

John: You like it? Kinda costly but the fabric is very soft...(laugh)

Bill: It's so hard to get a good soft shirt these days. (laugh)

John: Tell me about it. (laugh)

Bill: So the night wasn't a total loss, then. (laugh)

Hey, this sitcom writing stuff ain't so hard...

Unique Way to Sponsor my Grappling Movie

2010-07-15T05:03:00.000-07:00

Hey folks, I got an idea that I hope will make sponsoring this movie fun and exciting!

As you should know by now, "Redemption" is being screened at the NY State Grappling Championships this Saturday, July 17th in Fishkill, NY. Well, I've been inspired by walk-a-thons to set up a plan that will encourage me to fight harder than ever before!

All you have to do is decide on an amount of money you would like to pledge for every point I score in the tournament. Then, when the event is over, I will post the video of the matches, and you can see all the points I score. Then you can go to Indiegogo.com and donate your pledge. You will notice that each pledge there comes with a collection of "perks" commensurate with your level of contribution.

Now I have a 2-32-2 record in competition and I don't think I have scored even as many as a dozen points in my entire career, but I have been working out, training, and improving, as you can see by this video...

...so you are taking a gamble by pledging here. Can you handle it?

The minimum pledge is 25 cents a point. And just to put as little more competition in, the person who pledges the most will receive a copy of the preview DVD screener, a copy of the finished movie, and a copy of the all-original soundtrack CD once it is all done!

Here's the way scoring will work at the tournament, according to the rules posted at the Acom Sports website:

Scoring Points: To gain points for any move or position, the competitor (aggressor) must show clear control for a 3 second
count by the referee – this is the key in point scoring for ACOM-SPORTS – TOTAL CONTROL FOR 3 COUNT TO EARN POINTS

1. Takedown or Throw: Land on Top in Guard or Half Guard= 2 points Land on Top in Side Mount or Full Mount= 3 Points
Note: Points will be awarded separately for Full Mount after an additional 3 count of control.

2. Sweep with Legs (from Half Guard or Full Guard) or Arm Drag from Open Guard to Turtle: 2 points (must hold for 3 count to
be awarded). NOTE: Inversions (Power Rolls from Side, Full or North/South are NOT considered Sweeps & will not awarded any
points or advantages

3. Passing the Guard (open or closed) - 3 points (must hold for 3 count to be awarded points) – MUST CLEAR ARMS & LEGS

4. Mounted position (both knees on the ground): 4 points (must hold for 3 count to be awarded)

5. Back Mount with Leg Hooks (or Knees on the Ground with Opponent Flat on his Stomach): 4 points (must hold for 3 count to
be awarded)

In addition, for the purpose of this pledge drive, if I win by points, that's worth 5 points plus points scored in the match.
Should I get so lucky as to win by submission, that will count as 10 points, plus points scored in the match.

Thanks in advance, those of you who will be contributing. I look forward to doing my best and living up to the confidence you have put in me!

On TV this morning! Redemption movie screening next weekend!

2010-07-11T07:11:00.000-07:00

Hello friends, I’ve got some big new! I’m on TV again this weekend, my movie is screening next Sautrday, and I ACTUALLY WON A GRAPPLING MATCH! ON CAMERA!

First off, the TV show “Toni On! New York” is rebroadcasting its episode of “Weird New York” in which they visit the Big Apple Comic Con and interview Yours Truly, Captain Zorikh, and display cartoons I drew of the Toni On! Team as superheroes. Tough I did not find out about this until just now, you can tune in (or set your VCR or TiVo) at 11:30 AM tomorrow morning, Sunday, July 11.

Next, that grappling movie I have been working on for the past year is having a big screening at the Acom Sports NY State Grappling Championships next Saturday, July 17th. I will be competing in this tournament, after which we will screen the movie. This will be at the Fishkill Recreation Center at 793 route 52 in Fishkill, NY. Registration begins at 8:00 AM, matches begin at 10:30 AM, and the movie will be shown when the matches are done, probably around 4:30 – 5:00 PM. For more info, go to http://www.acom-sports.net.

I’ve been editing the film down a bit, making it more concise, and also am going into the studio with the brilliant musicians Ash Gray and Jeff Webb to record a whole new soundtrack! You here's a rough demo of one of the new songs:

Finally, what makes next Saturday’s tournament especially exciting for me, is that all my hard work, training, and persistence has been paying off! In addition to being in some of the best shape of my life, I actually won a grappling match at the NY Submission Open two weeks ago! You can see parts of the match in this highlight video of the event:

So now we’ll see if I can pull out another win on the occasion of the screening of my movie!

I hope to see you there!

My dream this morning: Michael Jackson, dead bodies, zombies, and electrified fences at the beach

2010-06-26T06:32:00.001-07:00

So I found myself looking at some photos I had taken of Michael Jackson (the late singer, not the alcoholic beverage expert) at a concert. I somehow wound up at a MJ concert. After the show, MJ was outside, near his car, doing something very special and personal for a fan (perhaps autographing a magazine, I forget) while a female TV entertainment new reporter was covering him. The reporter said “Michael, there are lots of your fans here. At the very least you could acknowledge them with a wave or something." MJ waved and smiled and the crowd cheered.

Bu the car was parked in a bad spot (loading ramp or something, maybe a truck was coming through, I forget) so it had to back down the street. MJ and the reporter followed (at this point in the dream I was like the camera of a TV show, watching, but not actually present). When the car got to the end of the street, Mj was getting in and the reporter gave him something (the pictures I had taken, I think) MJ was getting in at an awkward angle (facing the rear of the car) lost his balance and fell. The reporter tried to help, but was not sure that she should actually touch the men. , so she went looking for his bodyguards.

There was one not far away and he came over to help. At about this time in the dream I shifted from being non-existent to being present. I found a dead body in a doorway across the sidewalk from the car.

I’m not quite sure of the transition here, but somehow this made me think of zombies, as in the movie “Zombieland.” I got to thinking about failed methods of zombie prevention, specifically electrified fences at the beach. I thought back to how four drunk people riding a golf cart on a beach tried leaving the beach and wound up driving right into the electrified gate of the electrified fence. (Zap! Zap! Zap!). I went back in time just a little, to before that incident, and I was hanging out with the bunches of people on the beach behind the electrified fence that separated the beach from the city, but I realized that a crawling zombie could just crawl under the gate (the gate was higher off the ground than the rest of the fence).

This beach happened to be a half a block from the doorway where I had found the dead body. There was another doorway right next to it, and inside was an artist studio for an art school, with easels and paint all over the place. I’m not quite sure what happened there, but I was having a conversation with one of the art students as an occasional person went in and out.

Then I woke up.

My dream this morning: Video rentals, invisibility, alien Nazis, and Bayou Bushwhackers

2010-06-06T09:25:00.001-07:00

My dream: morning of June 6, 2010:

I was a friend of the local video store, and they had a “rent 5 get one free” policy, but occasionally the manager would let me borrow a VHS tape for part of a day, and I would go lay back on a lawn chaitr on the sidewalk and watch it and takje a nap. One time, thoughI got back to the store and one of the other countermen was actually a little upset about me borrowing them, but checked with ththe manager by phone and foundout it was OK.

Somehow this turned into a movie where Ian McKellen plays an old Nazi undercover in America. I was at some sort of hotel/convention center where a big international conference was going on. A Sarah Douglas type was trying to catch me because I was sneaking around and really shouldn’t have been there. She had the power to turn invisible, and I discovered that so did I. This was fortunate because at one point I found myself without pants (hate it when that happens) and my blak t-shirt was just barley long enough for decency’s sake.The invisibility enabled me to escape, but it didn’t last forevere, and when two girls say me., I found out it had worn off.

I ran around a corner and somehow found some pants in time to duck into a large ballroom where the results of the US election were being announced, and the winner was the Ian McKellen Nazi. As the announcement was made, the picture of the Great Seal of the US and the slogan “Justice for All” and the Stars & Stripes banners were replaced by a picture of the guy in his uniform and hat and a slogan about the supreme rule of the dictator and banners of his symbol (much like a combination of McKellen’s “Richard III” and the Ridley Scott Apple Computer Super Bowl ad) appeared. I thought this was just wrong and started singing “America the Beautiful” real loud, and the Americans in the room (this was, after all, and international conference) started singing along (very “Red Dawn” like).

When we were done I started with “The Star Spangled Banner” and was hustled from the room. Somehow I escaped and would up in the Louisiana Bayou. It turns out that these Nazis were aliens from outer space, hey were about to attack this gathering of US resistance fighters, and we were preparing to resist. I was concerned with our level of fighting effectiveness as compared to regular troops. As everyone else was putting on helmets and hats with leaves stuck in them for camouflage (and I was struck by the image of all these people, their faces obscured by the leaves in their hats and helmets, around the bayou, getting in boats, cleaning their weapons, on the march, etc), I looked through the 3 camo outfits I had brought with me, which were hanging up in a densely packed rack of coats, jackets, and jumpsuits/coveralls), I had brought some Swiss alpenflage, some German fleck camo, and somehow I had gotten some hunter’s woodland camo (the kind that has actual leaves in the pattern). I pointedly remembered that I had no US woodland camo. I asked the local bushwhacker which pattern would be best for the area. We weren’t able to decide for sure (although it was thought that a one-piece jump suit might not be the best, rather a jacket-and-pants combination), but the Nazi aliens were about to attack…

…and then I woke up.

Captain Z Competeing at Renegade Grappling League this Weekend!

2010-04-24T09:20:00.000-07:00

Hey friends, if you have been following my Facebook announcements and YouTube channels (Captain Zorikh and CZRedemption) you know what’s going on this weekend. For the rest of you, here’s the news.

I have recovered enough from the injury I suffered at that grappling tournament where I won my first match to consider myself ready to re-enter the ring. I’ll be doing so on Sunday, April 25 (tomorrow) at the Renegade Grappling League even!

This went will take place at John’s boxing gym at 436 Westchester Ave in the Bronx. It’s just one block from the 3rd Ave-149th St. stop on the 2/5 train.

It will be a round-robin, open-skill level tournament (anyone at any skill level may compete with anyone else) divided into 6 weight divisions, with an open weight tournament also.

If you want to compete, it’s only $35 (the cheapest tournament fee around). Spectators are free, just walk right in.

There is an event announcement on Facebook with more details and I posted an event announcement on Going.com as well.

I hope to see you there, and if you can’t make it, wish me luck and safety!

Captain Z
Zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorkh.com

Captain Zorikh GETS HURT!

2010-04-24T09:19:00.000-07:00

Here's the video that explains that injury...

My first grappling victory!

2010-03-01T14:14:00.001-08:00

I finally scored a victory in a grappling tournament match! And I am not going to feel bad about it! Here’s how it happened…

I had signed up for the Long Island Submission Tournament in Port Jefferson, NY some weeks ago, and had done what I could to train and prepare for it while editing my movie and working for the NY Comic Book Marketplace event. I had been watching instructional videos, drilling moves with the Twin Towers Wrestling Club, and reading up on Musashi’s “Book of 5 Rings. I had also competed in the Renegade Grappling League’s first tournament. I fought well there, but still failed to secure my first victory.

A friend of mine from Twin Towers was supposed to go with me, but when I called him early in the morning to catch the LIRR, he bailed, so I was there on my own. Several people recognized me from other tournaments that I had been at, though, such as NAGA and the NY Submission Shootout.

The event was held in a gymnastics school, and there was a pit filled with foam blocks. I swore that I if won a match, I would do a flip into the foam pit. In fact, I had been envisioning what I would do if I won all week, and this seemed just too outrageously perfect.

I realized once I was there, though, that I had forgotten my protective cup. This tournament did not have any dealers set up other than the refreshment stand, and the nearest sporting goods store was miles away. There was, however, and Karate/MMA school right across the street, the United Martial Arts Center. Their Shihan, Andrew Stigliano, was kind enough to help me out. They had a small store of martial arts and training supplies, and he gave me a brand new cup.

At this tournament I weighed in at 177.5 lbs, about what I weighed at the last one, and about what I’d expected. Due to the number of competitors and the structure of he tournament I was placed in a division defined as “middleweight, 168 – 177 lbs.” I signed up as a “beginner” (more than a novice, less than intermediate).

My record going in stood at 0-19-2.

There turned out to be four people in this division, and I had the first match. Not surprisingly, my opponent was short and stockier than me. I went into the match with the intention of “treading him down,” like Musashi says. We engaged standing, and I fought to push his head down, looking for a guillotine (something I had worked on). After a few moments of that, all I accomplished was being able to control the rate of descent after he got underhooks, and establish half guard with him on top of me. He passed the half-guard and moved into north-shout, going fo a choke which I blocked with my arm, but he crushed my shoulder into my chest, forcing me to tap.

I lost. My record now stood at 0-20-2

I do believe that is where an injury occurred. As I am typing this there is a pain in my chest that remains after the general soreness of the tournament has gone away. I will look into it later. But at the time my adrenaline was still up, and I was still ready to play.

The way the bracket was set up, they guy who beat me would fight the winner of the next match, and I would fight the loser. The match went on for the full five minutes and into overtime. Of course both competitors were totally gassed, so they held an “exhibition” bout between two teenagers to let them recover. I suggested that I could fight a bye or a gauntlet to match my opponent’s fatigue, but nothing came of it.

So my next match would decide the third-place finisher of the division. I was faced up with a fellow who must have been the smaller person in the bracket, meaning I outweighed him by almost 10 pounds. He was also about a foot shorter than me, but he appeared to have some cauliflowering on his ear and carried himself klike an experienced fighter, so I did not have any reason to expect, going in, that this match would turn out any differently than any other match I had ever been in.

Again I went for pushing down his head, treading him down, and again he achieved the top position in the takedown.

Sadly the guy holding my camera only got the first two seconds of the match, and a lot happened, so I’ll try my best to reconstruct it here.

I found myself on my knees defending the neck from a guillotine choke. I couldn’t feel any slack to get our either side, but he spun around to take my back faster than I could spin with him. I kept a tight hold on at least on of his arms the whole time, and looked to dump him over my shoulder (one of the first tricks I learned, but I recognized that the grip he had on my left arm would put him in a great place for an arm-bar, so I was being very cautious about it. He got leg hooks in. I tried clearing one leg out, and he tried flattening me out. Neither of those things worked. He pulled me back, and was working on the rear naked choke, when the referee called time out.

Apparently there was blood coming out of a cut on my head. While they were getting something to staunch it with, I asked the guys at ringside how it looked, and they said it looked pretty horrendous, so I chanted “ECW! ECW!”

We restarted in the same position. He was able to get his right arm around my neck and was in the process of locking his left arm over my head, when I remembered the defense for that (something they taught at Renzo Gracie’s the month I was there). I pulled his left arm down over my shoulder and attempted to get a submission lock on his elbow.

I didn’t get the lock in, but the distraction gave me a chance to adjust my position in his leg hooks. I forced myself around to face hi, and thought that I would then me in his guard, but he didn’t close his legs around me, allowing me to attack him from something side-mount-ish. I grabbed one arm, his friends warned him to watch out for the arm-bar. I switched to the other side, and as I tried to put knee on belly to take mound, he grabbed my left leg with the intention of an ankle submission.

Something switched on at that moment in my brain. I don’t like leg submissions. They are fast, painful, dangerous, and at my skill level, not used often. From my limited experience with them I knew that I had to get moving, quickly, in order to save my leg, and that’s when I realized, this is a fight. This is not a show, an exhibition, a practice roll, or a cooperative exercise, this person is trying to do things to my that could break me, and the only way to make him stop, is to do it right back to him. Suddenly the time lag between thinking of a move and doing it disappeared, and each move was done with more strength than before.

I extracted my leg and found myself over him as he turtled. I spun to take his back. He semi-blocked me but I was able to get my left arm around his neck. I stuck my right leg into his leg (gaining a hook) and pulled him back. As I fought for the other leg hook, I remembered a training video that showed rear naked choke technique. Rather than grabbing my bicep and swinging my forearm down behind his head (easy to block), I slid my right hand over my left as I snaked it behind his neck until my right bicep reached my left had. That was probably the best rear naked choke I have ever applied.

I realized then that I actually had a chance to with this thing. This was a realization, and a sensation, I had never had before. All I had to do was keep on squeezing tighter…and tighter…and then I felt that gentle tapping on my left shoulder.

I won! My record now stands at 1-20-2! The streak is over!

I jumped up, raised my hands in the air and shouted “First win ever!” I turned to give my opponent a hug, and he had turned away. I felt kind of bad about that, but the ref turned him around and I hugged him and shook his had.

Then, as I promised, I ran to the foam pit and did a Geronimo flip in. High-fives and congratulations all around. I recorded a little piece for my YouTube channel and looked for the guy I defeated so I could shake his had again and tell him how much this victory, first after 22 tries, meant to me. I couldn’t find him. I kind of felt bad about that.

But wait a minute here. Yes, I was a foot taller than him. I outweighed him by almost ten pounds. I’d had a short match and a long rest; he’d had a long match and a short rest. These were all advantages for me.

But I am certain that he trains more often than me, fights more often than me, and has less bodyfat. The order and matching of the bouts was essentially random. Having the endurance to do multiple matches in short order against different sized opponents is part of the game.

So dammit, I am not going to feel bad about winning!

One final thought: Earlier in the day there were kids’ matches, and some of the kids took losing pretty hard. I was speaking with the fellow next to me and he said there is no reason to get upset about losing, because you always learn something from losing, you never learn anything from winning. I told him I’d have to get back to him on that. Well, here’s what I say: I did learn some things from winning. I learned that I knew how to execute a rear naked choke. I learned that I have a fighter’s mentality when I want to. I learned what it felt like to win, and that is what a successful redemption is about. You take everything that you have, that you are, that is inside of you, and you cash it in and find out what you are worth. It feels good to know that you have what it takes to get what you want.

Now I have another tournament next week, the Long Island Grappling Challenge. Let’s see if I can get that second win, and get it on camera this time!

Renegade Grappling League tournament report: Why I am glad I saw "Avatar" the night before

2010-02-08T15:53:00.000-08:00

On Saturday I was not sure that I would go to the Renegade Grappling League tournament the next day, but then I saw Avatar (read my review of Avatar here), and that inspired me to go, and I am glad it did.

Avatar is about a man who finds something he had lost in learning the skills and lifestyle of an alien tribe. Without going into all the details (that’s for another time) let’s just say that his adventure mirrors my own in the world of submission grappling.

Specifically, the joy the hero, Jake, felt when experiencing the physicality of his alien avatar body felt much like the way I feel when experiencing the physicality of a properly executed grappling move, and I knew that the more I practiced and competed, the more I would get to feel that thrill.

Also the more Jake did with the tribe, the more he was accepted by them, and who doesn’t want to feel that acceptance?

So I trekked up to Johns Boxing Gym in the Bronx for the inaugural tournament of the Renegade Grappling League. It was a modestly-sized affair, with about a dozen or so competitors of various weights. It was set us as a round-robin tournament, with fighters getting multiple matches against other fighters in their weight bracket.

It was run by the good folks from Sadistic Athletics, who definitely allowed a sense of fun to pervade the afternoon. Most everyone there was more experienced, stronger, better conditioned, and shorter than me, which is pretty much par for the course wherever I go, but I was determined that no one would have more fun than me!

We fought in a boxing ring, so of course I had to mount the ropes and make like I was going to dive off before my first match. I was paired up against a short, stocky, quick wrestler guy who had fought one or two hard bouts already. He was not very aggressive in the opening, so I got to establish the clinch, but then he got a headlock on me and took me down into side control with an arm triangle. I pushed out of the triangle, and while I was bringing my leg in front of his face to go for the armbar, he stuck my arm between his legs and put pressure on the elbow, forcing me to tap pretty quickly.

Well, I generally get at least one short match like that in every tournament, so I guess it was just as well to get that out of the way quickly, so I would be fresh for my next bout.

I was paired with a guy about my height and about 10 lbs lighter than me for whom this was only his second competition. This match lasted the distance. In this event each match was three rounds of three minutes. Again I mounted the ropes, and by then I was beginning to win over the crowd. I had been chatting with the Sadistic Athletics people earlier about possible work involving my grappling movie “Redemption,” and a fellow who had been involved in the rehearsals of that movie was also there, and they all were shouting advice to me during the match. I followed the advice as best as I could.

In the match, I was able to control the takedowns so that my opponent wound up in a guillotine hold, though I was unable to complete the choke. I avoided several submission attempts, and escaped a rear-naked choke that almost got locked in. I almost got a toe hold/leg lock locked in, but not enough to make him tap. I escaped from under his half guard once or twice. I may have been “saved by the bell” at one moment (and in between rounds I almost spit water on someone accidentally), but when the last round came I laid it all out. I leaped off the second rope, the crowd was cheering, and rather than a handshake, my opponent and I high-fived.

I almost got the guy in an upside-down leg triangle and kimura, but he grabbed my shorts and pulled his head out. I wound up in his guard but stayed on top of him till the end of the fight. He almost arm-triangled me there, but I held out, then fought out, and was working on a kimura when the match ended.

The judges were not scoring by “points,” during the match, but did make decisions when no submission was scored. They said it was close, and in a split decision, gave the victory to the other guy. I have to agree with them, as it felt like he was on top of me, one way or another, through most of the match.

After the regular matches were concluded and the prizes awarded, there was an open-weight tournament. I was paired against the shortest, lightest guy in the tournament, a 135 lb. guy who can’t have been more that 5’3” tall. But he was a strong, , trained, ninjitsu fighter with great endurance and used to fighting folks bigger than him. I made the joke that it would be like Rey Mysterio fighting Kendall Grove. He fought in gi pants with no shirt, so I took my shirt off as well.

The match was scheduled for three minutes. My feet slipped on the mat at the first clinch, and after a brief struggle, he pulled guard. He attempted an armbar on me, which I stacked him out of. He was able to pull back to guard, and eventually went for another armbar. I had it defended, but he fell over and my elbow got pushed painfully sideways, so I tapped out at about 2:30.

So now my grappling competition record stands at 0-17-2. But I had fun, and I definitely won the crowd over. The Sadistic Athletic boys had, in fact, asked me to continue bringing the entertainment, which I did every time I entered the ring by standing on the ropes like a pro wrestler. I was appreciated for who and what I am, an entertainer who is learning skill as a grappler. I was, in fact, complimented on how well I did and how well I was taking instruction during the match. And that was the payoff I was looking for, and why I am glad I went to see Avatar the night before.

Some thoughts about grappling vs. swordfighting

2010-01-23T11:40:00.001-08:00

I have recently been attending the sessions at the Twin Towers Wrestling Club at the Hamilton Fish Rec Center here in NYC. Is part of the Parks Department activities, and there's usually about a 60-40 split between what I call "pin" wrestling and submission grappling/jiu jitsu. On a recent week I spent most of the session just going and going and going with a guy with unlimited energy and good skills. Then that weekend I put my armor back on and went to the local SCA armored swordfighting practice at the Brooklyn Army Terminal (first time in months).

On the grappling mat the other guy pretty much had the advantage on me all the way through. He was stronger and had better skills, and got me to tap out after hard matches almost every time. At the SCA practice, one of the better fighters there asked me if I had been training elsewhere because I was fighting very well. He said my shot selection was better, my targeting better, and basically I was fighting better than ever in the 3 or 4 years he has known me.

I can credit that to a few things. First off, I cannot discount that the particular fighters I faced happened to be of sizes, styles, and experience levels that were a good fit for me.

Also, I picked up Miyamoto Musashi's "Book of 5 Rings" for the first time in a long time recently, and after 23 years of armored swordfighting and three years of grappling, I actually started to understand it. Passages about "treading down the enemy" and not thinking to just let him attack and look for an opening made sense in the grappling arena. I then figured out how to apply it to swordfighting.

Grappling takes a lot of endurance, a different kind of endurance from swordfighting. In armor, when you are down to your last ergs of energy, you can focus everything you've got left into one last blow or combination, and if it fails, you can cover up and get out and wait out of range until you are ready to go again. In grappling you don't have that option. If you are tired, your enemy is already all over you and you get gradually worn out until you tap out.

I have seen many, many successful swordfighters that hardly look like athletes, but very few grapplers that aren't extremely fit.

Another key difference between the two sports is that swordfighting can end with one hard percussive shot. Boom. Done. Grappling by its definition is a progression of moves leading to a gradual sinking into a submissive position. But even with the differences in the game, there ares till similar principles and concepts. Aggression, taking the initiative, defending while looking for an opening, and training specific moves all are part of the ingredients of a successful fighter in either game.

Happy Holidays! Big media week for Captain Zorikh!

2009-12-21T10:38:00.000-08:00

Hi Friends! Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanzaa, happy Solstice, Saturnalia, and everything else that goes with the season! I hope that this time of year brings to you the joy and festivity that is traditionally associated with mid-winter festivals, especially that you can look back on a year of growth and forward to a year of success!

Thank you to those of you who made the Movie Madness at Café Nijasol a success!

I just got through a remarkable shooting day for the latest film I am directing, “The Duel.” We shot a scene with samurai on the beach, and fights involving boxers, king fu fighters, and pro wrestlers, all in one day! Pictures will be forthcoming!

It’s another big week for Captain Zorikh in the media!

The Science Channel continues to shot the program “Sci-Fi Science.” It seems that almost every episode includes a bit of the lengthy and extensive interviews shot of me at I-Con and NY Comic Con earlier this year. The different episodes of the half-hour show are being broadcast several times a day and friends tell me that the episodes about blowing up a planet and building a lightsaber include some footage of me being interviewed at I-Con this year!

You can see the schedule of the broadcasts at
http://science.discovery.com/tv-schedules/series.html?paid=48.15730.127643.38766.6

The episode of Toni On New York that shows me at Big Apple Comic-Con and my cartoons of the team on the show is now on YouTube:

The issue of Alter Ego magazine containing my article about the female Captain Marvels is now in better newsstands and comic shops all over the country, and can be ordered directly from the publisher, for a discount on the printed version, and a deep discount for the Digital Edition, at http://new.twomorrows.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=98_55&products_id=849

Finally, not too long ago I was part of the production of the music video “Constantinople 1453” by the Greek-American heavy metal band Phoenix Reign. It was in the finals for the IndieMusicTV.com top videos competition. If it wins, I may be able to show it at my next Movie Madness screening at Otto’s Shrunken Head January 17th! You can see the part of the video that I am here (I’m in my steel armor and gray cloak with long black hair and mustache).

I apologize for not getting this message out before the voting ended. A Facebook invite I got said voting ended at 7 tonight, but it ended at noon today.

Finally, Watch This Space Enterprises has some great last-minute stocking-stuffers for you. Just go to the products catalog at http://www.captainzorikh.com/wts/catalogue.html, including videos, music CD’s, and comics produced by yours truly, Captain Zorikh.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!

Captain Zorikh
Zorikh@juno.com
http://www.captainzorikh.com
http://www.youtube.com/captainzorikh
http://www.youtube.com/czredemption
http://www.myspace.com/captainzorikhmusic
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=name&id=598551661#/profile.php?ref=name&id=598551661
http://zorikh.blogspot.com/
http://captainzorikhmedia.blogspot.com/
http://www.captainmarvelculture.com

Bob Sheppard, Voice of Yankee Stadium, retires.

2009-11-26T20:37:00.000-08:00

When I was younger, I used to love going to games at Yankee Stadium. There I would see my baseball heroes win games, I would almost always go on a giveaway day, and it was a big thrill. There was a distinct feeling in the air at Yankee Stadium. People cheering, filling out the scorecard, the hot dogs and mustard, the tension of the game, the grandeur of the architecture, I just loved it. It was a part of my youth that was most defining and enjoyable.

Now, as I grow up, I find pieces of my youth slipping away with the inevitable march of time. The latest is Bob Sheppard. Mr. Sheppard was the public address announcer of Yankee Stadium. He started in 1951 and just announced that he does not plan to return to Yankee Stadium (he had taken the past couple of years off for health reasons, only doing pre-recorded stuff). He has announced the names of all the greats, from Joe DiMaggio through Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Phil Rizzutto, Mickey Mantle, Billy Martin, Elston Howard, Roger Maris, Roy White, Sparky Lyle, Graig Nettles, Chris Chambliss, Thurman Munson, Reggie Jackson, Ron Guidry, Catfish Hunter, Goose Gossage, Dave Rhigetti, Dave Winfield, Don Mattingly, Steve Sax, Derek Jeter, Bernie Williams, Paul O'Neil, David Cone, Andy Pettit, El Duque, Mariano Rivera, and countless more.

A professor of speech, his steady, mannered tones, announcing the number, position, and name of every player was as much a part of the Yankee Stadium Experience as the sunset over the upper deck, the echo of the cheering fans, and the playing of "New York, New York" after every game.

When Jerry Seinfeld was the guest announcer for a game, he did his best to imitate Mr. Sheppard. Legend has it that Bob would get very upset a Phil Rizzutto for such mangling of the English language as "he slud into second base."

He is 99 years old and was working at a job he obviously loved. how can you beat that?

Here is the news announcement on Major League Baseball's website.

2009-11-06T09:32:00.001-08:00

Hi Everybody! How was your Halloween? Someone told me that they loved Halloween because they don’t have to be the person they are. That made me realize that for some, the reason to love Halloween is that it gives you the license to be who you really are.

I had a good one, swordfighting on the rooftop of a private Steampunk party in Brooklyn Heights. But now it’s back to the “real world” (or as real as it ever gets with me)

This weekend I will be hosting yet another Captain Zorikh’s Movie Madness at Otto’s Shrunken Head. at 538 E. 14th St. in Manhattan. We have got perhaps the strongest program yet this time around. The films we have scheduled so far include:

The Phoenix Reign music video “Constantinople 1453 – On the Eve of the Fall”
“Ben Pickle – the Sweet Gherkin Cut” by Nic Beery
An episode of "Losers" by Zack Abramowitz.
A scene from "Redemption" by Captain Zorikh
A trailer for "The Resurrectionists" by Scott Teel

…with special surprises as well!

So come on down and enjoy free movies and fancy drinks with paer umbrellas, from 4 – 6 PM at the delightfully tacky yet unbrefined tiki bar/lounge, Otto’s Shrunken Head, 538 E. 14th ST, just a block and a half from the 1st avenue stop on the L train!

And finally…

I have posted up two new videos.

First, I have edited together a portion of my “Captain Marvel Culture” lecture at I-Con this past March, dressed it up with some rare Golden-Age comic book covers and historical photographs, and put it up on my Captain Marvel Culture YouTube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/CaptainMarvelCulture

In this clip I explain the lawsuit the killed the original big Red Cheese in 1953. Please take a look and let me know what you think!

Next, I have a brief, new scene from “Redemption.” You can see it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bZs3itI6BQ It’s all about the elbows!

So watch the vids, and I will see you this Sunday at Otto’s

Captain Zorikh
Zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorikh.com
http://captainzorikhmedia.blogspot.com/
http://captainmarvelculture.blogspot.com/
http://czredemption.blogspot.com/
http://zorikh.blogspot.com/

But...

2009-09-10T02:45:00.000-07:00

...just to reaffirm my own ego, it is the ex-girlfriend story to beat them all!

BACK TO LIFE!

THE END

2009-09-10T02:05:00.000-07:00

Strange. Funny. Depressing. Weird. A chapter in my life just got the final, official nail in its coffin for me about an hour ago, and I really thought that it had already happened months, if not years ago, and I was over it, and I was wrong.

Emotions are funny things. They defy logic. They defy intelligence. They take things that should make perfect sense and confuse them entirely.

Sometimes we cling to things that are dead because we have seen them come back to life before and we think they will do so again. We may have been willing to give them up the first time, or even the second, but after they keep on coming back we begin to count on them, never realizing that each comeback really means there is one fewer comeback till the end. If we had the courage, the strength, the willpower, the pride, the lack of sensitivity, to let it go the first time, it would not hurt so much now.

To give more detail, to talk about who is to blame and what could have been done, even to talk about the inevitability of it all, would lessen the importance of the impact here.

My Birthday Plans!

2009-09-05T08:36:00.001-07:00

Hi Friends. It’s hard for me to believe it’s been a whole year since my last birthday, but here I am again, 39 and holding, and realizing that I have been so busy with my movie and job and other bits and pieces of my life that I have not though much about September 6 as special day. But I have a plan anyway!

I will be having three “Events” to celebrate my birthday, two involving music, two involving movies. One will be a personal, just-cause-I-want-to thing, the other a big, fantabulous, blow-out that will be shot for inclusion in my movie “Redemption,” and the other other the latest edition of a bi-monthly blast!

The first will be on Sunday, September 6. I have sort of made it a habit to invade an open mike on my birthday for the past few years, so I figure I will keep up the tradition. I will head down to Pete’s Candy Store, 709 Lorimer St. in Williamsburg (directions below), where the open mike starts at 5 PM. I will get there around 4 and will be leaving around 7:00, and I invite all of you to come, hang out with me and help me celebrate this milestone year for me.

Then on Saturday, September 12, I will be playing a gig at Otto’s Shrunken Head, 538 E. 14th Street in Manhattan (directions below) from 6-7 PM. Two songs in this set will be backed up by a band composed of some members of the cast of “Redemption” and will be shot as part of a scene in the movie. Anyone who wants to be in the movie, and wants to help me celebrate my birthday again, is invited to come on down and be a part of what is sure to be an amazing event!

Afterwards we will hang out, get something to eat, and enjoy all the warm and fuzziness that comes from the magic of motion picture-making!

And finally, on Sunday, September 13, Captain Zorikh’s Bi-Monthly Movie Madness will occur, also at Otto’s Shrunken Head. This time around we will be showing an all-new episode of Zombie Hunters by Patrick Devaney, the short film “Loss of Hope” by Scott Goldberg, and of course, more new footage from “Redemption!” It’s going to be an amazing afternoon of zombies, wrestling, and nuclear terrorism! The excitement is scheduled to begin at 4 PM (but usually starts a little later) and will probably run to about 5:30. There will be much hanging out afterwards, though.

Here’s all the vitals:

Pete’s Candy Store: 709 Lorimer St. Take the L to Lorimer or the G to Grand/Metropolitan. Walk down Lorimer under the BQE, then go 1 ½ blocks and there you are, between Frost St. and Richardson. You can see a map at http://www.petescandystore.com/petes_map.html

Otto’s Shrunken Head: 538 E. 14th Street. Take the L train to 1st Ave, walk 1 ½ blocks east and there you are, between Ave’s A & B

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorikh.com

DISCLAIMER: You are getting this message because I want you to help me celebrate my birthday.

Who wants 300 posters, 1980's - today?

2009-08-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

Hi Friends. Just a quick note to let you know that the latest video from my grappling movie “Redemption” is on YouTube. This time it is the first half of the climactic tag-tam match, in which several sub-plots are developed and resolved. Most of the footage was shot in on, long, 12-minute take in which the actors outdid themselves in keeping the action flowing, and all three cameras got some great action. I have made some new music choices this time around. Check it out and let me know what you think.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_kvHh1-ZDE

I will post up the second half at 1000 views or ten days, whichever comes first.

On a related note, I am raising more funds to finish off this movie by selling off some things that I no longer need, some pieces of my life that I am leaving behind. I used to collect posters. At every comic convention, every free giveaway, every movie premiere, if they were giving away posters, I would take some. Some had been given to me as gifts, some I even sought out and bought. But now they are just taking up space, cluttering up my room, and not doing me any good. I don't have the wall space for them, and besides, I'm not a kid anymore.

So who wants about 300 posters from the 1980's up to today? Mostly they are movie posters, sci-fi and fantasy, although some of them are for comics, books, games, sports, art, music, and I even have a few that have the World Trade Center in them. I don't have the time to put them all up on E-Bay, so I will accept any reasonable offer, so long as you either come to pick them up or pay for shipping.

You can see photos of them all at http://s846.photobucket.com/albums/ab21/captainzorikh/Posters/

Below is the list of what's available:

Movies & TV
300 DVD (3)
Alien Raiders (small) (3)
Alien Raiders (4)
Apollo 13 (2)
Babylon II (2)
Beowulf (2)
Black Dahlia
Blade Runner- National College Preview (2)
Blade Trinity 1
Blade Trinity 2
Boogeyman (2)
Braveheart weapons
China O'Brien 2
Cloverfield
The Core
Cutthroat Island
Daredevil – Ben Afleck
Daredevil – Bullseye (2)
Daredevil - Elektra (2)
Daredevil – Kingpin (2)
Darkman (3)
Dead Presidents
Deadly Spawn (6)
Death Prof & Planet Terror/Death Proof (2)
Death Proof & Planet Terror/Machete (2)
Doomsday (2)
Dragons – Animal Planet (William Stout)
Eight Legged Freaks (3)
El Cantante
Escape From L.A.
E.T. 20th Anniversary (5)
The Exorcist (remake)
Face/Off
Fanboys (6)
Fido
Final Destination 2 (2)
Flyboys
The Fourth Protocol (3)
Ghost Ship
Golden Compass
Grant Morrison's MBX (online animated)
Harry Potter Soundtrack
Hellboy (small) (2)
Hellboy (big)
Hellboy II
Hell's Beacon (signed)
Highlander/The Cutoff (Karate International) (2 sided)
House of the Dead (2)
The hunchback of Notre Dame (Disney)
Indiana Jones (4)
Into the West – TNT (2 sides) (2)
Iron Man (launching) (2)
Iron Man (4)
Iron Man (2)
Jackass 2
The Jacket (2)
James Scott (audio play)
Jurassic Park – The Lost World (2)
Kill Bill (3)
Kull the Conqueror (3)
LifeForce (9)
Lord of the Rings – Two Towers (small) (2)
Lord of the Rings – Two Towers (big)
Lord of the Rings – Return of the King – Gandalf
Lord of the Rings – Return of the King - Frodo
Master and Commander (2)
Master & Commande (2 sided) (2)
McHale's Navy (4)
Millenium Actress (2)
Mongol (59)
Mr. Ed Salad Bar – Nick at Night
Ninja Babes from Space (2)
One Piece (2)
Pathfinder (2)
Perfect Creature (2)
Punisher 2004 (Skull) (2)
Punisher 2004 (Thomas Jane) (3)
Punisher War Zone
Red Planet
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (2)
Remo Williams: The First Adventure (6)
Return of the Aliens: The Deadly Spawn
Robin Hood: Men in Tights (7)
The Rock
Rollerball (remake) (3)
Sci-fi Channel (2)
Scorpion King (8)
Seeing Red
Silence of the Lambs
The Sixth Day (3)
Slacker Cats
Slayer (3)
Stardust (2)
Stargate - Ark of Truth
Star Trek Nemesis (4)
Star Trek 2008
Star Wars – Revenge of the Brick
Star Wars – The Phantom Menace – Taco Bell 1 of 4 (with coupons)
Star Wars – The Phantom Menace – Taco Bell 2 of 4 (with coupons)
Star Wars – The Phantom Menace – Taco Bell 3 of 4 (with coupons)
Sweeny Todd – Depp (2)
Sweeny Todd – Depp & Carter (2)
Tales of the Broken Moon
Timeline (3)
To the Devil – A Daughter (2)
Tomb Raider soundtrack
Tomorrow Never Dies
The Tune (singed & personalized by Bill Plympton)
Transformers (2)
Twilight (2)
Underdog
Underworld (2)
Urban Legends - Final Cut
War of the Wizards (11)
War of the Worlds
Watchmen - Silk Specter (5)
Watchmen – Comedian (2)
What About Bob
X-Men (2)
X-2 (3)

America Film Market 1989
America Film Market 1990
New York International Independent Film and Video Festival 2005 (2)

Theater
It Ain't Nothin' but the Blues

Books
Hatter: The Looking Glass Wars - (2)
Star Wars – Legacy of the Force
Tigerheart (Peter David) (2)
Waldenbooks Other Worlds Club

Comics
100% - Vertigo
2001 Nights (3)
Arrowsmith
Batman Adventures
Big Daddy Danger - DC
Black Dragon
Black Tiger
Chronicles of Sara
DK2
Feather
The Filth – Grant Morrison – Vertigo (2)
Fables
Galtow
Helix Comics
Human Target - DC
JLA: Obsidian Age
Magnus Robot Fighter – Aklaim
A Man Called Ax – DC (3)
Marvel in Previews
More Than Mortal Sagas
Ninjak – Aklaim
The Pummeler
Replacements
Savage Swod of Conan
Sin City
Spiral/Black God
Troublemakers - Aklaim
Turok - Aklaim
The Warrior's Way
Wonder Woman: The Hiketeia – Original Universe
Warrior's Way
Will Eisner Tribute
WS: Eye of the Storm - Wildstorm
Zombie Loan/Alice on Deadlines

Big Apple Convention September 2005 10th Anniversary (Arthur Suydam) (3)
Big Apple Convention November 2007 (Brian Kong)
Big Apple Convention June 2008 (Michael Golden - Iron Man) (16)
Creation Convention National Tour 1983
MoCCA Art Fest 2005 (2)
Whitney Comic Art Show 1983

Computer Games
Asheron's Call (2 sides)
Dragon Age Origins (2 sides) (24)
Lair (3)
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Middle Earth – The White Hand
Tenchu
Warhammer Online Age of Reckoning (2 sides)

Non-Computer Games
Andromeda 2500
Dragon Quest
Kult – Illusion #1, 1994
Shadowstar Games
Sorcerer's Crusade
Who's Who Among Vampires – Children of the Inquisition

Toys
Batmobile 1950's
Justice League
JLA – Starro
Superman #14
Watchmen

Art
Architecture calendar posters (2 different)
Architecture in Congrass 2000 - 1985
Cheshire Cat
Dragan Ilic
Dragan Ilic signed & numbered (1 of 100)
Excedrin 1
Excedrin 2
Wavertree ship in South Street Seaport
Heavy Metal (Royo)
Red Grooms Grand Central Terminal (signed & personalized)
Salute to Brasil 1979
Sagres – Portuguese ship
Sci-fi – Columbia House
Space

Sports
Boxing - John Duddy vs. Dupre Strickland 5/18/2007
Boxing - Tyson - Holyfield 11/9/1996
Dr. J – Converse
Football Cards, uncut sheet
International Fight League
NASCAR Sprint Cup 2008
New Jersey Red Dogs Arena Football 1999
New York Knights Arena Football 1988 (3)
Pepsi-Gatorade (2 sided)
Tommy Moe-signed
USA Basketball “America's Team” 1992
Super Bowl XV – New Orleans

Music
The Beatles First US Visit
Hudson River Revival 1986
Apocalygma Berzerk
Battery Cage
Bella Morte
Imperative
KMFDM
Psyclon 9
Retrosic
Seabound
System Syn

Other
Cindy Crawford in fantasy armor - Pocari Sweat (Japan)
D-Day 50th Anniversary (3)
Famous Grouse “Henge” scroll
Famous Grouse map of Scottish whiskey distilleries
Head of Charles Regatta
“Marihuana” Warning
School of Visual Arts – Churchill & Eiffel Tower
School of Visual Arts – Imagination Birds
Stuyvesant Scroll
Taco Bell “80's, what a Decade” 1990 calendar
Timespell (Multi-media show in Watkins Glen, NY)
Tower Records book covers (2)
Tower Records calendar 1987 (3)
Tower Records calendar 1989

Most of the posters are in great shape, though some are a little battered from having been up on a wall or in transit.

If you are interested, contact me at zorikh@juno.com or 917-865-1214

Japan is a Strange, Disturbing Place

2009-08-11T16:48:00.000-07:00

Someone else posted this link on their blog. I had to share it with you. It is a Russian website full of strange, disturbing images from Japan.

http://fishki.net/comment.php?id=53840

RIP Frank McCourt

2009-07-20T04:29:00.000-07:00

Just read the NY Times article. He was right, you do look back on things as funny, and absurd. I have to, anyway. He brought that to his classroom, and that, to me, proves his value as a teacher-man.

I am sure there are enough people out there who will write eulogies and tributes about his warmth and humor, his resourcefulness and inspiration, his rags-to-riches story and how beloved he was as a teacher and writer. I am just proud that I was able to share one high school semester of my life with him.

He exposed me to Thomas Wolfe's "You Can't Go Home Again," the ultimate exploration of autobiography, and the potential use4s of one's own life as writing material. His class was the definition of "write what you know." For that I will forever be grateful.

Captain Zorikh's New Haircut!

2009-07-19T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, my hair was not as long as it is in this video, but I feel that I might as well share it with you, ans I have just gotten my summer haircut.

Panhandling act needs work

2009-07-13T04:39:00.000-07:00

So I was sitting on the subway, reading a comic book with a Captain Marvel in it, when one of NYC's ubiquitous Subway Panhandlers entered. He was a short, middle-aged man loudly mumbling something about how he was starving and just needed five dollars for "a cheeseburger and a Pepsi-Cola."

Now, I will happily give money to an entertainer on the street or in the subway if I truly enjoy them, but I am not in a financial position to donate to everyone who walks through a subway car with their hand out, and this guy did not seem entirely kosher (meat & cheese notwithstanding).

He was very loudly and annoyingly moaning about how hungry he was, so I offered him a Nutter-Butter I happened to have in my bag. He said he couldn't eat sugar.

BUSTED!

I pointed out that he was asking for a Pepsi-Cola. Pepsi has sugar in it! He stammered out "I...I meant Diet Pepsi! Diet Pepsi!" I continued to point out the fallacy in his pitch. and told him to take a hike. He beat it out of that subway car in the next stop.

EPILOGUE:

A few weeks later I saw the same guy in the same subway line. He was still loudly mumbling/moaning about being hungry and needing money. I asked him if he ever got his burger and Pepsi-Cola, then loudly remembered that he didn't eat sugar. He beat it off of that subway car right quick.

Captain Zorikh's Movie Madness today!

2009-07-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

The third bi-monthly screening party at Otto's Shrunken Head returns!

Horizontal lightning

2009-07-12T03:40:00.000-07:00

I saw a bolt of lightning that was perfectly horizontal. It was up almost long enough to get a camera and shoot it, but not quite.

But for one letter...

2009-05-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite former features of the Village Voice's former sports section was "Uni Watch." It now has its own blog, bless 'em, and they found a picture that but for one letter, could have had my name on it:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3572/3557691739_da17d5068b_o.jpg

Good fortune cookie.

2009-05-24T11:16:00.000-07:00

"The right choice saves time."

Would that I was wise enoughto make the right choices in many part of my life. The choice to forge ahead and not dawdle, the choice to get to work and not procrastinate, but those are the obvious ones.

The choice to go with one party over another in the making of my movie, the choice to gather the parties together for conference, these would have saved loads of time and givien me the opportunity to get money sooner, maybe even not lose a particular job.

Live and learn.

About Times Square

2009-05-05T21:59:00.000-07:00

When I was younger than I am now, I used to go to or through Times Square a lot. It was on my way to the Harlem Children's Theater Company when I was a member there, it was where I could see bad movies cheap (double features like "Warriors of the Wasteland" and Sword of the Barbarians" for three bucks, or rarities like "Laserblast" paired with "Warriors of the Lost World"), it was where I could get a cheap pizza or gyro sandwich, where I had a choice of movie theaters to see first-run features at, where locally owned business sold a variety of merchandise, from souvenirs to martial arts supplies, and where one could really get a sense of glorious seediness of New York City. It was also where I could get adult entertainment products before I was legally an adult.

That has all changed now. All the porn shops have been closed, most of the movie theaters torn down or converted to stage theaters or something else, national chains and multi-national corporations have taken over the district, and brand new towers have turned what used to be a shallow bowl into a narrow canyon. As if this was something that needed to happen.

All I have to say about that is...

I'm glad there's a Hershey's store. I never knew where I would get a Hershey Bar in this town.

I'm glad there's an M&M's store. I never knew where I would get any M&M's in this town.

I'm glad there's a Red Lobster. I never knew where I would get seafood in this town.

I'm glad there's an Olive Garden. I never knew where I would get Italian food in this town.

I'm glad there's the AMC Empire and the Regal E-Walk. I never knew where I would see a movie in this town before them.

Just a thought.

Geocities, soon to be RIP

2009-04-27T18:29:00.000-07:00

My life is over.

OK, not really. But my internet life is turning a corner.

Back in 1998 a fellow moved into my building who brought with him... a computer, and in the computer was...a modem. And with that modem came...the internet.

And my life was over. Instead of drawing my comics, or looking for auditions to go to, I started surfing the internet, looking for wabsites about my various interests, downloading pictures, following links, and more.

Then I found Geocites.com.

Wow! I can have my own website! For free! I soon found other free website servers, Freeservers, Xoom.com, etc, but none had so user-friendly an interface and as warm and fuzzy a sense of "community." You picked a "city" based on the content of your site, and were assigned a choice of "streets" and "addresses." Then you could see what other websites were on the street to find other websites of similar interests. I chose "Athens," and of my choice of streets, I selected "Styx/3301" because the name sounded cool and the number was similar to the address I grew up on. You can still see the original homepage I built at http://www.geocities.com/zorikh/home.html.

In time I discovered that the amount of space you got on Geocities was far, far less than what I needed for what I wanted to put up. I was posting pictures of the Pennsic War, pages of my comic art, my acting resume, lists of medieval movies with Amazon.com links, SCA armor resources, promotions for shows I was in, stuff about my father, CJP LaCoudre, pages of the Amazing Grendel Conspiracy, my pictures of the 9-11 attacks, the French Army in World War II, and keeping an on-line journal, years before "blogging" became so last year. So I started several new Geocities websites for each of my various interests.

Now it seems that later this year it will all go "poof!" You know, I had, from time to time, wondered about the permanence of on-line content. So much of today's culture, and so much of my life only exists in electronic format, a good EMP will detroy it all, like an electronic burning of the library at Alexandria.

Captain Zorikh ALL OVER I-Con this weekend!

2009-04-03T07:27:00.000-07:00

Captain Zorikh ALL OVER I-Con convention next weekend!

That's right folks, there's hardly a corner of I-Con in which the Captain will not be found in this year!

First, on Saturday, there will be the annual lecture on the history of Armor and Chivalry at 2:00 PM in room A322 of the Field House at Suffolk County Community College Grant Campus in Brentwood. http://www.newyorkknights.captainzorikh.com/

Next, The Death Star Repairmen will be performing a full hour of music at 6 PM in the Islip Room of the Holiday Inn, Ronkonkoma. Http://www.captainzorikh.com/dsr

For the first time in five years I will not be performing in the Cabaret, but I will be helping judge the costume contest in the Masquerade Saturday night sometime between 10 PM and 12:30 at the Crystal Room of the Holiday Inn, Ronkonkoma.

Then I will be rushing over to screen the latest version of “Combat Twister and the further battles of Kim Fu Yu and Jenny Rancid” at 1:00 AM in the Renoir Room of the Islandia Marriott Hotel as part of the “I-Con After Dark” programming. Http://www.captainzorikh.com/combattwister

The next day, Sunday, I will be hosting the “Top Ten” discussion panel, an amusing hour in which we will be creating “top 10” lists about everything sci-fi, fantasy, horror, comics, medieval, and more!

Finally, immediately following that, on Sunday at 3 PM, yours truly will be lecturing on Captain Marvel Culture, the history of the many Captain Marvels, in room A315 of the Field House at Suffolk County Community College Grant Campus in Brentwood. Http://www.captainmarvelculture.com

And in between all those times I will be in the dealer's room selling my latest CD's, comics, videos and more!

Then its back to the real world, where we are still working on the next Captain Zorikh thing, “Redemption,” the movie that will do for submission grappling what “Rocky” did for boxing, “Karate Kid” did for youth karate, “Bad News Bears” did for little league baseball, and “Role Models” did for LARPing! Http://www.captainzorikh.com/redemption.

You can check out all about the convention, including admission directions, and other programming by going to http://www.iconsf.org.

See you there!

Combat Twister Screening a Success!

2009-03-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

So last night I exposed the world to it's first view of Combat Twister...sort of. Due to an unfortunate mix-up on my part in saving the videos, I accidentally used the "making of" video in place of the actual first part of the video. I also used a version of the shot drinking contest that was missing part of the scene, so the background music ran into the next scene.

But the audience, most of whom had not seen any of it before, responded very positively, and Frank Wood accepted it into a film festival this October!

Also, the band Stark totally rocked out and was very happy to be a part of it.

In the end we played a little game of Twister.

In total, then, I would call this a success. Now I am going to take care of those videos and get them ready for I-Con in April.

COMBAT TWISTER Screening Party Tonight!

2009-03-04T15:54:00.000-08:00

Hi friends. This is possibly the most exciting event I have ever held since I began inviting you to my events. It is the screening party for the rough cut of my FIRST MOVIE! The absurdist action/comedy short subject COMBAT TWISTER and the Further Battles of Kim Fu Yu and Jenny Rancid!

This 15 minute video is the culmination of a year's work and experiences. It is a transitional piece that draws from almost everything in my recent past as well as my near future. The personal significance of it to me cannot be understated, and I really want to share it with as many of you as possible. You can see previews of this movie at http://www.captainzorikh.com/combattwister

The best part of this is that it is being shown in a screening party at Otto's Shrunken Head (http://www.ottosshrunkenhead.com/), a delightfully tacky yet unrefined tiki bar and lounge at 538 East 14th street, between Ave's A & B. At 10 PM the band STARK (http://www.laniford.com/ they're in the movie) will play. At 11 PM the video will be screened, then at 11:30 we will all play Twister, hosted by Dana Sterling, founder of Disco Crisco Twister (http://www.discocriscotwister.com/). The whole evening is being presented by Watch This Space (http://www.captainzorikh.com/wts/) and Frank Wood (http://www.mrfwood.com/).

Please RSVP for the event so I know that you're coming (and to see who else is), at http://newyork.going.com/event-519407;Rockin_Combat_Twister_Screening_Party.

And BTW, rehearsals for my next movie, The Redemption of Captain Zorikh, have been going extremely well. You can see video of me running a gauntlet, wrestling every member of the cast, male and female, big and small, expert and beginner, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uMg4EwLZIw&feature=channel_page.

But we are still looking for a location to shoot the big tournament scene on or about April 18. Any space suitable for a wrestling tournament will be spectacular. If mats are available at the space and a place for an audience to watch the tournament also that would be fabulous. Our budget is low but we are willing to give exchanges of services or favors (a part in the film or the making of it, free grappling lessons, etc) for consideration.

So I hope I see you all on Wednesday!

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorikh.com

Captain Zorikh on NY Rocks TV!

2009-03-02T00:35:00.000-08:00

Here it is folks, the lates appearance of Yours truly on Phil Fiumano's NY Rocks TV show! Skip ahead to 50:20 to get to my segment, although starting at 24:52 you can see my stuff on Phil's table.

Weestling party next week!

2009-02-19T09:04:00.000-08:00

Something that happened in Times Square

2009-02-15T22:34:00.000-08:00

A few months ago I was working doing street promotions for the Halloween Adventure Costume shop in Times Square. One day I was on the street with my friend Damien and we were both wearing costume armor, me wearing a horned "Viking" helmet. A fellow with a baseball cap on cockeyed asked me if I was getting paid enough to dress like a fool. I told him that at least my hat was on straight. He said " Well, I'm G, man." I noticed his rotund appearance and said "You look more like an 'O,' man." He responded by starting all over again with the thing about me looking like a fool, and I reminded him that at least my hat was on straight.

For three months I hit the streets several days a week in one absurd costume or another. I dressed like a gorilla, an Elvis Santa, a Spartan from "300," an Immortal from "300" and a giant cockroach ("New York's Original Love Bug"). I wore the giant "Squawk Beast." I got hugs from cute girls, I got kicked by small children, I got my picture taken by lots and lots of tourists. I even got a few people to come to the shop.

Then several weeks after the incident related above, I was out dressed as the cockroach and the same fellow happened along. This time he gave me props because here I was, doing my thing, doing my job, out there for all the world to see, day in and day out, with no shame.

And that's what it's about, isn't it? If you are gonna do something, do it without shame, without apology. So long as what someone does is not evil, respect them for doing it.

Great night at open mike!

2009-01-29T22:53:00.001-08:00

I got sent home early to work today (nothing I did, it was just slow at Dave & Buster's) and I passed by the local cafe that has open mikes on Thursdays. As I passed I though about how I haven;t had a chance to perform in a while, but I also though about how much work I have to do (my costume contest at Wicked Faire, my "Redemption" video project, my Captain Marvel Culture work, etc) but I also though about hoiw I do need to get out more often, meet new people, get more people to know me, and how I did not know when the next time I would get to perform would be.

So as soon as I got home I pulled out my old Alvarez guitar (my newer one has a broken string that needs replacing) and made sure it was in tune (it was) and grabbed my harmonica and headed out.

I got there just as they were standing up to leave. I asked if I was too late, and the owner of the cafe, Jose, said now, to come on up, and he re-plugged in the microphone. Everybody sat down as I began to play.

I was on FIRE! The guitar was clanging, the harmonica was in tune, and my voice sounded out loud and clear (it helped that the venue was small and everyone was paying attention). The audience laughed at my jokes, bopped to the music and gave all the right responses.

Then, after playing "Bound for Brooklyn, telling a story about an ex-girlfriend that led into "too Crazy for Me," then doing my "M&M Song," I asked how many more songs I had, and they said a couple more. So I slowed it down.

I did the Blasters/Dave Alvin's "Little Honey." it is a song about a man who's girl is going out, possibly to see an old boyfriend, possibly not coming back. It has personal significance to me, and when that song was done, I continued into an instrumental on the harmonica.

I discovered, after not playing for months, how I can really tell an emotional story with the harmonica. I felt my emotions of the situation coming out through the notes and the rhythms. The emotions change, as I resolve from an angry boyfriend into one who has decided to move on, and that launches me into the Blasters/Dave Alvin's "So Long, Baby, Goodbye." That's when I opened my eyes.

I had completely lost the audience. Here I had thought that they were hanging on my every note, were hi[p enough to follow me on my emotional journey, and that they would be transfixed by my sincerity, but one person had walked out and the others were just kind of sitting there dumb.

So as soon as I got through "SLBGB," I launched into one verse of "Johnny B. Goode for the Lower East Side." That got them back.

I was invited to do one more song (it turned out that the guy who left just had to answer his cell phone). So I first warned them about, and then played, "The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins in the Style of Arlo Guthrie." I tore the house down.

To be more precise, it was what I have come to expect from a crowd that size (about 8 people). One guy got every single reference and was in tears all the way through. About 3 other people got most of the references and died every time they came up. The rest did not quite understand it, but enjoyed the good naturedness and sheer bizarreness of it. And they were a little slow picking up on the "Bilbo" call-backs.

If I don't have work on Thursday night next week I will go again, otherwise, well, ti was fun. I do hope to go again. I need to get out more often and make new friends.

Redemption of Captain Zorikh Production Blog!

2009-01-21T00:37:00.000-08:00

I have started a new blog, strictly for chronicling the progress of my "Redemption of Captain Zorikh" video project. You can follow it at http://czredemption.blogspot.com/

Autdition today

2009-01-18T02:27:00.000-08:00

I just got home after pulling the closing shift at work. Now I have just a couple of hours to sleep before the audition I am running for my next video project, "The Redemption of Captain Zorikh." Details to follow!

The next wrestling party! Flower Power!

2009-01-12T09:31:00.000-08:00

New Workout Begins!

2009-01-03T13:17:00.000-08:00

I am hereby officially launching my push for the "Redemption of Captain Zorikh" video project. I went to the gym today.

I actually have gone to the gym four times in the past two weeks. Not much, I admit, but I gotta start somewhere. First I tried a 30-minute, upper-body circuit workout I found in an old Muscle & Fitness magazine. After doing that twice I realized a few thing things: 1) My pecs need more work, 2) My shoulders need to be handled carefully, and 3) this workout is for folks who go to the gym regularly and once or twice a month only have thirty minutes where they would usually spend a little more time. To build strength and muscle one needs to concentrate on body parts. On Monday I did back and triceratops, today I did chest and bicycles. I will try to go tomorrow or Monday and do shoulders, legs, and trapezoids. I do abs each time.

I also have a home workout routine I do that involves lifting furniture and super-sets with my barbell and dumbbells. I also am going to start running up and down the stairs like I did a year ago.

Over the past few months my low income and active work had conspired to lose me about 15 lbs. If I entered a grappling tournament now I would be fighting guys that come up to my sternum, I'm so light. So I have lost some mass, and people are noticing. My face is thinner, and so is my waist. But I have less body fat and greater definition than I had when I was 197 lbs., working out 4-5 times a week and eating a lot of high-calorie foods.

Wrestling party tonight, Combat Twister Video, more!

2008-12-03T04:39:00.001-08:00

Hi Folks! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, eating much wonderful food with the people you love.

I have been busy here. I have posted up a short video on the making of “Combat Twister” (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL5mUOb7Y6M) , the video shoot that took place a few weeks ago at the Halloween Adventure Costume Shop on West 43rd Street. It is backed by the music of STARK (http://www.starknyc.com), a hard rock band that performed at Frank Wood's birthday celebration. The video that I actually shot still requires a few hours and some financial support to finish.

I have also posted up a short statement form Neal Adams about Captain Marvel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5upTHccAQi0), made at the Big Apple Convention a couple of weeks age (and I edited in a few pictures of Captain Marvel, just to help get the point across). It is the first video of a new YouTube channel I have created, where I will be posting videos relating to the Captain Marvel Culture project.

Finally this week, it's that time of the month again, when Grapple Den hosts its monthly wrestling party. This, the last party of the year, will feature a X-Mas unwrapping match, blizzard wrestling, and of course, the royal Reindeer Tag-in Rumble! This will all go down at Tagine, that lovely Moroccan restaurant on 9th Ave near 40th Street on Wednesday, December 3rd, from 9:30 PM to 1:30 AM. As a special holiday present from Grapple Den, admission is half the usual price, only $10 per person this time! For more info, go to http://www.grappleden.com/party.

Now just a few plugs:

As you all know 'tis the season where we all are looking for that perfect gift for that special someone. Times are tough for all of us, so I hear, and Captain Zorikh is sensitive to this issue. That is why all products in the Watch This Space catalog, including the Pennsic War video documentary ( a great gift for that medievalist or LARPer), the Captain Zorikh music CD's (of which I highly recommend the Death Star Repairmen for that special Star Wars fan), and everything else is either $1 or 15% off, whichever is greater, from now through December 31. Simply deduct the appropriate ammlount from your PayPal order, or send a check or money order to the address at http://www.captainzorikh.com/wts/catalogue.html.

And should you find nothing there that is just right, remember that you can click on the link to Amazon.com from almost any page at http://www.captainzorikh.com and http://www.captainmarvelculture.com and a small portion of your purchase price will help Yours Truly finance future projects. Those websites happen to have lists of movies of interest to anyone who digs medieval/renaissance/ancient world/fantasy/swordfighting stuff, a list of comic book movies, and books about stage combat and armor, all linked to Amazon.com (and I know some of you out there dig that sort of thing).

And to wrap it up, plugs for two places in times Square that have kept me fed the past few months...

Dave and Buster's on 42nd Street between 7th and 8th Ave is having a Punisher party, with free giveaways and other special stuff to celebrate the release of the new film, “Punisher: War Zone.”

Halloween Adventure Costume Shop on 43rd Street between 8th and 9th Ave, in addition to having hosted the Combat Twister video shoot, also has lots and lots of costumes and accessories, masks, wigs, hats, makeup, magic tricks, gag toys, funny nose & glasses, squirt guns, lightsabers, even plastic doggie do! It also has Santa suits and elf costumes of all sizes for any budget, and New Years party hats, horns, beads, noisemakers, confetti, and more!

That's Captain Zorikh for you, you never know where he will show up next!

Captain Zorikh
http://www.captainzorikh.com
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214

I need a new gig bag!

2008-11-25T18:44:00.000-08:00

When I lost my guitar on the L train on September 22 of 2007, the Manny's Music gig bag that it was in went with it. Phil Fiumano of NewYorkRocksTV.com was good enough to give me one of his, but the bag it came in has given up the ghost. The zipper is shot, and it looks like I am going to have to decide whether to keep the guitar in the bag forever, or destroy the zipper.

Well, since I have to play the guitar, the zipper will have to go, so...

Does anyone have a guitar gig bag to spare? I don't care how many extra pockets it has, a lot or just one, it's fine. I don't care what color it is or whether it has any fancy brand or label on it. The important thing is that the straps allow me to carry it with the neck pointing up, but not too high above my 6'4" high head. This means the straps need to be attachable about halfway up the neck, not at the base of the neck like that ubiquitous, omnipresent bag that Guitar Center sells for about half a buck. I got that one already. I nearly broke the neck of my guitar off in the subway, and the case wound up falling apart when I used it as a sword case.

Musically yours, Captain Zorikh
http://www.captainzorikh.com

McCain is Mondale-Dole

2008-11-04T22:47:00.000-08:00

I had been thinking this for a while, and the tonight's election results have proven it: John McCain is a combination, a pastiche, if you will, of Walter Mondale and Bob Dole.

Think about it. An aging, disabled war veteran and Senate elder statesman, running against a skilled and charismatic communicator, and countering faltering polls through energy and hard work.

I will let everyone else talk about the historic significance of the first black president, about how the economy was what won it for him, about how he was able to energize a previously under-active electorate, how this signals a change in the attitude of the nation and the revitalization of the Democratic party. I will allow others to express relief that this election was decided so early in the night and with so little controversy. I will even expect other people to point out how in even larger presidential victories you did not see such spontaneous expressions of joy as we did in Chicago and New York. I will just point out that as different as things may be, we can always see a paralell in the past.

Filmmakers' Meetup

2008-09-18T22:58:00.001-07:00

I went to a "meetup group" of independent filmmakers tonight and made a pitch for my two short film projects, "The Redemption of Captain Zorikh" and "Kim Fu Yu vs. Jennny Rancid."

The first film is an absurdist comedy involving the ongoing conflict of two different women. I have shot the 2nd and 3rd scenes fo this 3 scene film already, the shot dri9nking contest (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xodPhbxFTws) and the streetfight, and intend to shoot the "Combat Twister" scene on Sunday, October 26th.

The second is a "rocky/Karate Kid" type story that chronicles Captain Zorikh being defeated by Veve Lane, then working out, training, facing other opponents, and finally meeting her again in a tournament. I have shot the first 40% of it (you can see some of the working out comedy at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJOOOIxtO8Q), and need to finish the training montage, one scene of dialogue, one scripted match with another fellow, and the grand finale showdown with Veve.

In my pitch I described the marketability of the lead and supporting performers, Veronica Vicious, Morgan Sinead, Veve Lane, and Damien Terror Dog, how their videos, photo comics, trading cards, etc, have already sold well at conventions, on-line, and elsewhere, and several people came up to me interested in working with the project.

There were just a few things I forgot to mention or plug at the meeting, so I am taking the chance to do so here, and have posted a note on the Meetub Group message board, sending them to this blog post to read them:

1) I intend to shoot the "Combat Twister" scene on Sunday, October 26. I could use background actors, a low/no budget location, a girl-rock group willing to provide their presence for the shoot and music for the scene, food for the cast and crew, and volunteers for AD, DP, 2nd unit director & crew, and advice to make sure I haven't forgotten anything.

2) To help raise money for the project, I am selling various products I have created, including videos, comics (drawn and photos), and music CD's http://www.captainzorikh.com/wts/catalogue.html

3) You can see some of the footage I have shot already at http://www.youtube.com/user/captainzorikh and some more of Veronica Vicious and Veve Lane at http://www.youtube.com/user/jolievoltaire

I look forward to working with you!

Captain Zorikh
http://www.captainzorikh.com

Audition observation report

2008-09-14T01:55:00.000-07:00

On Friday I went on an audition for a NYU student film. The scene was about semi-homeless wandered crashing at an old school buddies' house, and the awkward moment of trying to settle in with his buddy's wife. It was basically about the awkwardness of two people who don;t know each other trying to pass time and be polite and friendly.We have all been there, perhaps in a waiting room, or sitting in a plane, or being the first one to get to a party, or having to entertain your roommate's girlfriend...you get the idea.

I had read through the scene several times, but I couldn't get the feeling of artifice out of my system. It just felt forced. I had done a student film about a month and a half before, and when I saw it, I wasn't happy because the acting looked so forced, and I wanted to get away from that feeling.

So while waiting for the audition, I found myself in a waiting room with an actress also waiting for the audition. I asked her if she wanted to go over the scene, so we did. Then I started engaging her in conversation. I tried to guide the conversation into the same basic framework as the scene. As I did so I paid attention to where my voice was going, what my body was doing, how I was saying what I was saying. Thus, when I went into the audition, I knew where to go and how to deliver the lines.

I rocked the audition and go the part. We will be shooting the scene on Friday!

http://www.captainzorikh.com

Final Hospital Video (we hope)!

2008-09-14T01:37:00.000-07:00

Captain Zorikh on City of Fame

2008-09-09T02:05:00.000-07:00

It works best if you pause the video until it fully loads, the play it.

Go to http://cityoffame.newyork.com/watch/20d2abefe558796b9958/Cowboy-Zurich to comment on and rate this video.

Captain Zorikh's Birthday Gig Crawl!

2008-09-06T06:31:00.001-07:00

CAPTAIN ZORIKH'S BIRTHDAY OPEN MIKE CRAWL!

Hi Friends and Fans. It's that time of year again! Yes, every September 6th I celebrate the anniversary of my first exposure to this fabulous mystery we call Life. This year it happens to fall upon this coming Saturday.

I have decided that this year I will do not one, but TWO open mikes!

The first one will be at Banjo Jim's at 700 E. 9th Street, just off Ave C. Sign up is at 2:45, and the music begins at 3:00 PM

The second one will be at Paddy Reilly's, the famous bar the Black 47 used to do weekly gigs at. It is located at 519 2nd Ave at 29th Street, and they know how to pour a proper Guinness! Sign up is at 5:30The action begins there at 6:00 PM.

If we last that long we might make it to the open jam at Fat Cat on 75 Christopher Street at 1:30 AM.

There will be a diner stop along the way at a place to be determined.

I would love to see as many people along this “crawl” as possible. Those of you who are musicians (and I know who you are) are invited to jam with me or to sign up and do your own open mike performance.

You can join in at any point along the crawl. Just call me at 917-865-1214 if you are not sure where I am at any particular moment to join (like if you want to join in the “to be determined” dinner stop).

Happy Birthday to Me! (If you were there last year, you know how old I am this year!)

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
http://www.captainzorikh.com

What the Hell's Kitchen Chef Taught Me

2008-09-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

I usually don't watch "reality" shows or make time for "makeover" shows, but every once in a while I surf past one at get curious enough to stay tuned. Last night I stumbled on to "Kitchen Nightmares," Where Chef Gordon Ramsey goes into variuous restaurants that are not doing so well and fixes them up. In some cases all they need is a re-focusing of the menu and better efificience in running the business. In others, the just need to be neutron-bombed and completely re-done from the goround up. In every case, after a visit to the restaurant as a customer and an observation of an evening, Gordon shuts down the place, makes changes, and when the place re-opens, it is a big success, and when he revisits, the place is doing even better because they have stuck with the changes.

Of course nothing is ever as perfect or quick as it appears on TV, but one thing does come through. In almost every case, the restaurants were poorly and inefficiently manged, certain egos were getting in the way of good work, and things needed to change. Gordon totally broke down the owners' and manager' egos and then showed them how to make the business work. Also, simplicity, focus, and efficiency were a big part of wheat he brought to the business.

This is a good lesson for a lot of us, especially people like me who are "all over the place." We have to cut out the crap, ditch the excess baggage which is holding us back, and focus on our strength. Ego is nothing. Success is everything.

Why Captain Zorikh's Not at Work Today

2008-09-03T00:46:00.001-07:00

Captain Zorikh for President!

2008-08-23T09:28:00.000-07:00

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Made new CD, need new glasses

2008-07-03T06:56:00.000-07:00

Captain Zorikh's New Glasses Benefit CD!

Over the course of a person's life, glasses get lost, damaged, destroyed, worn out, and it comes time to replace them.

Such a time has come upon Captain Zorikh.

My famous aviator-shape spectacled with the transitions lenses have become too scratched and worn to wear, the really cool, very expensive rimless glasses you can see in the “M&M Song” video on Youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrthXdfCg3U went and disappeared at a Valentine's Day party. Those round glasses, that really aren't doing it for me anyway, have had their ear pieces replaced twice and the bridge has given way. The little round glasses that I have had since 2000 had broken a while back, which had prompted the purchase of the new rimless ones. The old navigator frames, which had been brought out of retirement as the Last Pair Left, suffered a fatal twist on the way home from the Totally Normal Event and the attachment point for the ear piece has broken off.

In short, it's time for new glasses. I found two perfect pair, one a quite fashionable aviator frame that will go great with the transitions lenses, and the other a wireless set with nigh-indestructible stainless steel handles, at a buy-one-get-the-other-pair-half-off deal. To support the purchase of these glasses, I have produced a CD of all-original songs . Some of them are the best cuts from previous CD's, some are brand new. There are 11 songs in all (with one bonus “hidden” track) with myself on guitar, harmonica and vocals, and support from Eli Maniscalco and Danny Wacker on guitar, Eli on bass, Jeff Webb of Eastwinds drummers on drums and percussion, and Marnen Laibow-Koser on fiddle/violin.

You can see the conditions of my glasses, and order the CD through my website at http://www.captainzorikh.com/glasses. If you are not inclined to buy a CD, but would still like to contribute to the cause, please feel free to purchase any other item on my Watch This Space catalogue page, or even order anything through Amazon.com through any Amazon.com link on any of my websites. Finally, if actually buying something is of no interest to you, but you would still like to contribute to the causes, you can use the Amazon Honor System by clicking on the link at http://www.captainzorikh.com/glasses

In other news, I have posted a new video on YouTube. You can find it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX2rpGMtC9Y. It is a report of my bout at the Grappler's Quest tournament last weekend. The report explains why we don't actually have video of the match.

Also, my review of “The Incredible Hulk” is up at http://bigapplemedia.blogspot.com/.

Finally, there will be a review of the first issue of “Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam” at http://captainmarvelculture.blogspot.com/ by tomorrow.

Hang in, see well!

Captain Zorikh
zorikh@juno.com
917-865-1214
hjttp://www.captainzorikh.com
http://www.captainmarvelculture.com

Captain Zorikh attacks the Ballance Ball

2008-06-30T11:40:00.000-07:00

New Video on YouTube:

Yes, more Zorikhness at the gym, with myself and Marnen on the "Celts Go Marching In" song. Where will it lead?

http://www.captainzorikh.com

New Video: Captain Zorikh vs. the Back Extension Machine

2008-06-19T14:03:00.000-07:00

I have added a new video to my Youtube account. It is part of a new project IO am working on called "The Redemption of Captian Zorikh"

New Blog: Captain Marvel Culture

2008-06-19T13:15:00.001-07:00

Yep, it works! I have a new blog under this profile: http://captainmarvelculture.blogspot.com/

It will contain updates on my Captain Marvel Culture project and synopses and critiques of developments in the various Captain Marvels.

http://www.captainzorikh.com
http://www.captainmarvelculture.com
http://bigapplemedia.blogspot.com/

Now let's see...

2008-06-17T15:23:00.001-07:00

Theoretically, I can have more than one blog under my account. If that be the case, then I am going to start one right now.

http://www.captainzorikh.com
http://www.captainmarvelculture.com

It Works Now!

2008-03-15T23:03:00.000-07:00

Yay! It works now! I simply had not selected a template.

This is just a test...

2007-12-11T20:07:00.000-08:00

I have been unable to see my own posts lately. Let's see if this works.

OK...

2007-12-05T23:20:00.000-08:00

Just checking to see if this will work.