Ring Dust/Rust-The Truth on Jon Jones

  Jon Jones is under a bit of fire ahead of his rematch with Alexander Gustaffson on Dec 29th, which is to be in LA instead of in Vegas due to him testing positive for a picogram of turanibol in his system, after passing over 4 tests. The reason I want to do this article, is simply because I think there are some very important factors that people are missing.

  Joe Rogan said that he leans on the side of clemency regarding Jon's innocence claim. However, what I fail to see, is how the grounds that everyone is using for that argument holds up. Jon's system had an almost undetectable amount, which is true. However, he was tested extensively over the last year and a half. Joe argues that the testing protocols and sciences improve all the time. Yet, there is absolutely no indication at all, that this trace amount was undetectable on previous tests. In fact, according to reports, it's exactly the opposite. The issue is that the commission is wondering why he passed so many tests to pop only now, ahead of his contest with Gus. I lean towards the theory that Joey Diaz introduced on the Rogan podcast and I will explain why. Joey says that like many athletes in the recent past, Jon could be micro dosing, to avoid large amounts in his system. I believe that, and my confidence in Jon Jones is at an all time low. I'm not sure that will every change again.

  If you study, and are immersed in athletics your whole life, like I have been, unless you are simply not intelligent in that area, you learn how to read physicality, and body makeup, as well as body language. The issue in sports today, for instance, when it comes to boxing and combat sports judging in general, is that even professionals today, have very little knowledge about the science. You have a whole world of boxing stars and fans that are criticizing Mikey Garcia for fighting Errol Spence, saying that he has no chance at all. Only 2 former fighter, Paulie Malignaggi, and Tim Bradley, have shown the boxing knowledge to see the areas in Spence's game that Mikey can exploit, and how that matchup can play in his favor. Everyone else sees the contest like a layman. That is one of the biggest problem across all sports today, and I will one day touch on that in an article. But for now, I want to focus on Jon Jones, and MMA in general.

  You have different body types. Some people have more slow twitch, and others more fast twitch muscle fibers. This results in some people being naturally more muscular, and able to retain muscle and definition, and some people who, when involved in athletics, appear to be freaks of nature, because regardless of how they train and develop, their body does not retain muscle and definition. It comes down also to genetics. If you look at Brandon "Bam Bam" Rios, he is an excellent example. In his last fight, he came in with a better training camp than any time in recent history. But the only way you would know that, is by watching his performance. He decimated a highly skilled, and hugely muscled brother of Canelo Alvarez- Ramon Alvarez. That honestly was probably the best I have ever seen Brandon Rios look in a very long time, or possibly ever. And guess what? It was with the same doughboy physique that he has sported for the past decades in the sport. He can't retain muscle. He trained his butt off for the fight, and improved his power and cardio, stopping Alvarez in the later rounds in brutal fashion.

  Jon Jones is also a slow twitch muscle build. He DOES NOT retain muscle.  How people don't see that, is another testament to how block headed fans and fighters can be today. There are many college associates who now compete in MMA, that attest that Jon has been a user since college, and when you look at all of the evidence up until now, you have to be an idiot to not at least partially agree. When you go back and look at every step up test that he has faced, not just the DC matches, you will noticed a marked increase in muscle mass and definition, with an 8 pack of abs and ripped, huge arms, and neck bulging on him, as he struts around the cage following his victory. Then, when you look at fights like the one against Bonnar, you see a change in build. After every camp, Jon's body rapidly loses muscle, and if you watch any interview, even days after, or before a fight, you will see a lanky, skinny-fat physique. He can't escape it. He is definitely a special athlete, and has stamina and good power naturally, but the animalistic power and muscle that he displays in some of his biggest fights, is not natural for his physique. He attributes everything to power lifting, but if you use logic, you will see that with extensive training methods in the past, his body always goes back to its natural state. For fighters in general, they rehydrate after weight cuts and taper off from training the week of the fight. You will always see a rapid decrease in definition and muscle, coming into fight night. Especially with a fighter who is not naturally muscular. Mayweather has good genetics, and keeps good definition naturally. You can just look at his father. However, as cut as he is at the weigh ins, on fight night, there is a drop off. With Jon Jones, you see him look his most muscular in the cage during many of his biggest fights.

  Also, just look at the psychological aspect. Jon was busted several times when he fought DC both times. Even with all the talk and build up, he talked as if the fight was won at signing. Yet, immediately after talking like a god, he would constantly get himself in to some kind of issue. If you look at him in the first Gus fight, once again, you see a rise in muscularity. And going back to the OSP fight, you see a rise in muscularity during many of his recent fights. This isn't just hitting weights harder. I believe evidence is slowly showing us, that he has been steadily juicing, beyond the few times that he has been caught. What I've come to realize about Jon Jones, is that his main strength that he boasts, which is confidence, is actually his biggest weakness. He doesn't refuse to lose; he fears it deathly. That's a problem, and when you look at all the evidence, you can see that he will do anything to avoid it. It makes me question how much he really believes in his skill. He's shown himself to be a slickster, who has no problem lying through his teeth, as he did under oath, several times, to protect more lies. He strikes me as someone who will go through the fire for bad decisions regarding supplements and drugs, and without hesitation do it all again without blinking, to avoid losing at all costs. That type of desperation is pathetic and not the calibur of a champion. He remains in denial, and while he continues, he will always hold himself back.

Generations and a Social Revolution- Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Introspective

  In this essay, I wanted to just discuss a couple of topics. One of them, is the misunderstanding by sociologists of generations, and the other is how the gaming industry has changed the way they make video games completely because of this generational divide. It is said, by sociologists, that those born from the beginning of the 1980's through the millenium, are part of the millenial generation. The interesting thing is that the distinction between the first half of this group and the second, is extremely clear using their own criteria. The focal point of this discussion is something that video game developers across the industry need to take heed of, because with some of the most pivotal franchises, you are seeing these very traits that define this generation.


  The first thing to discuss, is what formulates a generation. A layman may first refer to years or age, but a sociologist will correct you and say that several components far more important are considered, such as economic phases, political structure, industrial developments, and social climate. All of these are true. And what really is mindblowing to me, is to look at the changes that took place in society and globally over the course of my formative years into adulthood, juxtaposed to the experience that people today have had, when born after 1995. I was born in 1985. In my childhood, I experienced a world, where technology and life had a different balance. Sure there were innovations, as there have been since civilizations dawn, but it wasn't as pronounced as it is today. I love to watch old boxing broadcasts from the 70's and 80's, and see the commercials from back then. It's amazing how much more straight forward and simple life was, the further you go back.

  When I was 11 years old or so in 96 or maybe as early as 95, the public libraries in New York, first got the internet on their computers available for the public. It may have been netscape navigator or something. We were excited, yet at the same time, it didn't necessarily explode out of proportion. We still had the simple games like Carmen SanDiego, Oregon Trail, etc. Now, we had early search engines, where we looked up pictures of anime like Dragon Ball Z and stuff. There was an early game site called Secrets of the Sages, and later GameSages. I believe that today's Gamefaqs, is closely related, which I still use. Because, the social climate was still much healthier than it is now, there was still social interaction. Only 3 years after that, I entered high school in late 99. The internet, when you think about it, was still not the dynamo that it is today. When I think back, libraries were a hangout spot all the way until I was a senior. When you had a project, the go-to source was still encyclopedias and research books. I graduated in 2003, and then went on to college which I finished in 2005. Social media, network sites, file sharing, smartphones, tablets, etc still, at that point were not yet in existence. Just think about it, all of those things did not exist until years after I finished school. You had smartphones take off in 2007, and social media sites hit their stride in 2006. All through my school days, when you wanted to interact, you defaulted to meeting up in physical social groups. Internet dating and chat boards were almost taboo outlets for those who were ostracized.

  Politically, and socially, you still had a moral structure, where there were things considered improper to do. People on professional platforms such as news media, knew that they had to carry themselves in a certain way, distinct from the casual public. The makeup and dress was in a manner that deflected from attention and depicted professionalism, completely different from today's female new casters who will wear pounds of makeup and sex dresses that not only form fit, but are mini-skirt in length. Speaking grammatically correct and professionally was more strived for. Language was watched. Whereas today, profanity is no longer isolated at all. You're seen as having a vocabulary issue, if you fail to curse several times each sentence. When you engaged in lewd acts, you used to be villified. Now, over the past several years, a culture of sensitivity has developed, where even telling children that they failed a test in school is now outlawed.

    Now take a kid who was born in the late 90's, or early 2000's. When you use the same criteria, socially, technologically, and politically, their teenage years and school days bleed into the dawn of these revolutions, which we can't deny, have reshaped humanity in major ways forever. They will never know what it is like to not need the internet, and to interact normally. There was even a report on the news a couple of days ago, where a researcher shows  concern over psychological disorders developing in children today, including depression, due to the mass-use of technology and social media. These kids never have a childhood, where the only option is to go outside, or talk to a person. We have created outlets that will never allow humanity to be what it was ever again. There is no way to fail to see the complete rift between my era and the one that younger ones live in now.

   Often you've heard me complain about this age of updates, and the fact that in technology, new is more important that functional. It's true. And when it comes to the gaming industry, this generational movement has effected it too. Back in the previous decades, as gamers, we brought games because we loved the idea of being able to control our favorite characters and plots from the comfort of our home consoles. In fact, there was a time that we all looked to consoles to port over arcade gems that we had to burn quarters on, just so we could enjoy at home at our leisure when not in the arcades. When these ports came to consoles, they included expanded modes of play, that let us fully enjoy the content. While we had sleep-over weekends, and parties galore, we all wanted our own personal consoles and games, to enjoy privately, just like the concept behind the PC, which stands for personal computer. People have always, in the past desired private, intrinsic time, to build on hobbies and interests, before bringing them to the fore. That is another thing that has changed tremendously with this generation.

  We live in an age, where due to social media and the psychological issues it brings, people crave exchanging attention with other people in digital social groups, more than anything else in the world. Each day, the internet controlled world, arises in the morning, to check on the approval of each selfish photo they post across the globe. And they make it a point to insert their approval or disapproval of any and every post that they can find. If you listened to my last podcast about the grand scheme, this essay ties into it very well. I remember when Myspace first launched back in 2006, and people were just warming up to sharing content. Everyone would try to post the  most extravagant and professional pictures they could online. I was the only one out of the hundreds of people I know being laughed at, taking head shots of myself in different settings. Everyone told me that I look desperate, taking pictures by myself and holding the camera. I swear to you, no one was doing that back when I started. Guess what happened there.


  So in gaming, while we used to enjoy playing single player campaign content, and socializing together in physical groups later to share our experiences, now people just want the social aspect to be the game. Online gaming isn't a brand new thing, nor is playing socially and competitively. In fact, the franchise that I'm going to discuss in this essay- Super Smash Brothers, follows this timeline perfectly. I played World of Warcraft and some other PC games online in the late 90's. I'm not new to the party by any means. I also never said I don't condone multiplayer online or offline, as I have amassed huge amounts of achievements and stats in online games from Soul Calibur, to Smash Brothers, to Madden, to Street Fighter. I just notice the change in balance.

  Like I said, back in the day, companies made games, especially Nintendo, with the intention of people playing together. But that was done in addition to single player content, that would allow you to build on your interest, and sustain interest in the game. From Street Fighter 2 on home consoles, to Goldeneye on N64, we played together as friends and at parties, yet had just as much fun at home playing alone. In recent times, trophy systems have been instituted in games to show everyone over an online social platform, every little thing that you accomplished in each game. This concept took off like a rocket, which had me scratching my head back in the mid 2000's. I wondered why that satiated people so much. Sometimes, games would be under-developed, and released early and flawed, and patching a trophy system into the game would quell all of the uproar. When Street Fighter 5 came out on the Playstation 4 in 2016, it was the game I purchased the system for. At launch, the game was horrible for single player. It only had short character storylines and online play. No arcade mode, no survival, no expansive story. There was an appropriate outcry, and the game, being the flagship that it is, was fixed. All of those modes were added, and the game continues to grow. When you make a game, you have to visualize a time when online servers are no longer viable.

   Developers have become so concerned with serving everyone's suck-buddy needs, that they now make games with multiplayer as the sole focus. Single player content is added close to the end of development, as an afterthought. Super Smash Brothers Ultimate is the latest casualty. What is sad, is that this is possibly the greatest franchise of all time. If any game has stood the test of time, and never settled in delivering everylastingly satisfying content to its fans, it is Smash Brothers. However, with this game, it's like the month of March. Out of the gate, it seems loaded with content. However, when you analyze what it offers the solo gamer, it is infuriatingly disgusting. Most games today, if you look at the main menu, you will see a mural of multiplayer and online modes. In the corner, as a small icon, you will see content that can be played offline in single player. This is a stark contrast to the era I mentioned earlier, and it is a problem. They attempted to make an adventure mode in Smash Brothers Ultimate, which has some value. However, they have removed all of the special vs modes, such as lightning melee, giant melee etc. And they have discarded, mindlessly, all of the leisure modes of the past, such as Target Mode, Homerun mode, Smash Run, and the traditional adventure mode. There are 104 stages in this fighting game, which fans and developers alike, have aptly stated, is difficult for the gamer to digest. That's all the more reason that slower paced modes should have been left in the game. Now essentially, either you play a versus mode that goes from fight to fight, quickly, or go online and do the same thing. There is no means of enjoying the scenery and content offline as a solo gamer.

  Sakurai is the genius behind  this game, and while I have showered him with praise over his hard work and effort, I also see him as somewhat of a shortsighted fool, for missing this many crucial opportunities to keep the timeless quality in a game that was born perfect. He spent so much time agonizing over multiplayer and online, and also apparently, stripping essential modes, when if he paid attention, he would have noticed that the game already thrives in the multiplayer setting due to its addictive system. I would like to inquire from him, what exactly possessed him to make him decide to remove modes that have always been an identifying mark of the franchise. The reason we don't hear an outcry of any kind, is because gamers and people today are such social psychos, the only mode they run to is online. I've heard a few complaints about the single player, but it almost seems to come to people subconsciously at this point. Right now, without a patch of some kind, a nearly perfect franchise has been completely destroyed because of a growing, plague-like, millenial movement.

Jokatech Podcast- Wilder Vs. Fury

This is it. A fight that both pugilists can be proud of, and it was also insightful for the casual fans to understand better how judging and refereeing work. Jack Reese gave a very good interview with Fight Hype in the following days that I encourage you to check out. Much goes into a referee studying fighters' tendencies before a fight, observing their body language during the fight, and assessing damage on both sides. Administering a count in boxing for a downed opponent is more than just counting to 10. It also is not literal seconds. Also, what I failed to mention in my podcast, is that the 3 knockdown rule was once instituted some time ago, although now seemingly defunct. I believe for the same reason that knockout protocol has been adjusted for title fights. It also pertains to the scoring system. A fighter who has had 2 knockdowns, is down 2 10-8 rounds. His opponent need only win 2 other rounds for a draw. If a fighter is knocked down in 3 separate rounds, he is now fighting for essentially a draw, unless he can score a knock out or several devastating rounds, including a 10-7 round. While possible, the damage a fighter has taken to that point has to be assessed, and so erring on the side of caution, once down that many times, fights used to be stopped, considering the deficit. With new protocol, fighters have to demonstrate the ability to move laterally from left to right on their own, to the referee's liking, in order to continue. That gives a more accurate depiction of their current balance and coherence.



This is the Podcast of my Analysis

Latest Episodes of The Beast and Jokatech Podcast

Wassup kids?  These are the latest and greatest episodes of the shows. I wish I could have held out a day or two to cover post fight events after Wilder vs Fury, but I will be out of town.

Here is the latest episode of The Beast:Season 5- Episode 7- Love Fist- where I covered my process of actually being forced to improve with arcade stick while I had a bad fight pad, which eventually broke. The final match is played with a new copy of my original fight pad.

Next up is the latest episode of the Jokatech Podcast: Episode 25- Just Dust- Here I cover a very solemn, yet needed reflection that everyone needs to hear, and is missing from modern rhetoric. Then I cover the last MMA event of Liddell vs Ortiz 3

 I can't believe both series have lasted this long. Enjoy. And the cool thing is you can follow on Youtube, or watch conveniently right here on my site. Take care.

Love Fist- Album Review

The review for the album is live

http://thearkofmusic.com/jokatech-love-fist/

Just Listen

  I haven't done a blog post like this in a long time. For supporters of mine, please don't be put off by my analysis. This is not meant towards you individuals. This is me airing out some thoughts. Just bear with me, and don't over think it.


  I'm releasing what may be my last album. This time around, that is a more sincere statement. But in my journey, I've noticed and learned a lot about the humans around me. In fact, besides working on my next novel, I've been contemplating writing a psychology book or manual. I'm honestly disappointed in people. I expected more. Over the years, I've constantly tried to buy into the changing rhetoric that adjusts in order to dismiss my efforts. At times I resisted, and then at times I have honestly tried to see where everyone is coming from.

  Over my career, I've released 19 albums at this point, including my upcoming "Love Fist" record. I deal with many hurdles and issues including mental mazes, since childhood. I've always embraced it. It makes focusing very difficult most of the time, and you really have no idea how hard it is to live in my skin. Nobody does. It's the equivalent of running a marathon on one leg. It feels, and is a really unfair state. If only an honest story could be told of my life inside and out, from the beginning, you would see that what I've accomplished up to this point, is nothing short of astounding. That isn't bragging. It's just pointing out how much of an oddity I am. When you are working with so many deficits that you can't change, at a point, you accept them, and abandon excuses, eventually expecting an unrealistic amount of output from yourself. And some find a way to cope with it. Some cave in, and commit suicide at times. It's more difficult than the average person will ever realize.  But when I look at my body of work, I'm more sure than ever, that something is definitely wrong with people's perception and reception of me, to a large degree, which is sad. But I don't feel it's going to change. I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with the release of Love Fist. There isn't a better album to hang it up with. I can't possibly imagine a better effort than this record. Yet, I already know what the response is; and that's what's sad. Time and again, I watch this really cringe-worthy performance people put on, when I corner them for an opinion about my work. The response is like they're forced by some entity to not just dislike, but to refuse to even entertain it most times. It feels like people are scared or prohibited from forming emotional opinions these days.

  The other day, a friend made a comment as we were at a pool hall, that really made sense. We were there, while a DJ was providing music for the venue. Oddly enough, my friend noted that the music being played wasn't current gen music. It was dance and party hits from the 90's and early 2000's. He said isn't it odd that even though the location was packed with people that subscribe to the latest artists, they won't play that music. Deep down, people recognize good sounds to some degree. Music, and entertainment has become overly social. I've realized that people will force themselves to listen to someone who is socially acceptable to them, and force themselves to dismiss someone who isn't. It's a really pathetic way to live life, but it has become the standard.


   There is no physical, logical way to dismiss my catalog of work completely. A lot of people think I glorify and augment everything that I do, and don't have a realistic opinion of my own work. That is one of the biggest cop out statements and opinions. With the mental health issues I've dealt with over a lifetime, I am beyond my biggest critic, and that's literally beyond my control. That's part of my condition. That's how misread I am. You have no idea how hard I am on myself. I over analyze every little thing that I do. Going back to my first album- Pariah, I've dismissed many of my records, simply because there are little sounds or nuances that annoy me, or that I could have done better. I don't even really feel I came into musical maturity until I did the Magnum Opus records, where I really developed a meticulous and professional approach. With each record, I go over them with a finer tooth comb each time. In fact, it has gotten harder and harder for me to even release records over the last few years. This is due to my ears always getting more critical, my standards constantly raising, and the fact that I cannot stomach producing the same sound twice. No matter how much I nail something, if it sounds like something I've done, I will scrap it. These are some of the little things that people don't realize is going on in my head, and with my work. I'm not some mindless clown who just rambles on about nothing, and sloppily does unprofessional work, and it really sickens me that I seem to have been given that label and disrespect, just because I'm not socially agreeable with the masses. And with all the hang ups and life challenges that have happened, keeping me on my toes, I was surprised to look at my catalog, and see that I've released at least 1 if not 3 albums every single year, for my entire 12 years I've been doing music. And people looking from the sidelines will dismiss that as, "Oh well that's nothing special. He's doing little junk projects that take nothing to make." That's the stupid ignorance that ticks me off. I wish you could see a video of the process each time I do a record. That thinking is based off of individuals who have a low opinion of me no matter what I do, from the start. If you could only see the loads of work that goes into the process. But a pop artist that you all accept could literally steal an entire album, and you'll "see" work put in that doesn't even exist.

    And when people do give an opinion of sorts, most of the time it's not balanced. They strain to ostracize it as weird, left-field and unapproachable, scrutinizing details that don't even exist, when if they held the artists that they respect to those same made up standards, they would fall far short. It's just a bull game of politics that really agitates me, and that's part of why I'm getting fed up.

  For a long time now, I've been wanting an honest breakdown as to what the highs and lows are of my different projects, yet no one is willing to do it, like it's a waste of their time to even entertain a second of the pieces. Years ago, a former colleague said some nonsense to me in the studio, that my lyrics are just gaudy sounding, but are just random picked words put together that convey simple ideas. This is an idiot that worked with me on some projects. This is how stupid people can be. They can work directly with you, like that fool, and still be attached to a low opinion of you, because everything they see, hear, and feel, is based off of a pre-determined agenda that they follow like drones. You should want to be more than that, as a human being. And in light of statements like that from people, I've several times invited any and everyone to break down my work and make that case. Not a single person has taken the bait, because deep down, you all know what's up. There is absolutely no reason that Love Fist should not get acclaim, as well as past projects like Standing on the Corner and Religion. I'm not saying Hall of Fame status, or Grammy demands per say. I'm just talking about a simple base of support or niche. That's all. If somebody more socially agreeable put these records out, they would be recognized. There is just no denying that at this point, even dismissing all but my very best efforts. You can't argue genres because I've covered too much. Love Fist is as palatable as you can possibly get Pop-wise. And when I did my experimental albums, I got a lot of flack wrongfully. When I look at the entire experimental scene, just looking at acclaimed works that have support on all of the major outlets, I'm hard pressed to find a more accessible experimental record than what I did with SSSX and Religion. I've purchased and listened to records in this genre from respected artists and they fall far short of the mark sound-wise. But these cats get away with it, because nobody is actually listening. The name carries them. People just continue to manipulate and set different standards to wall me out of consideration, which is bullocks. It's not right.

  Love Fist is by far my best work. And it conveys a theme that I envisioned being made into a martial arts movie at some point. It also conveys a principle idea that I have had and developed in real life application when it comes to true technique and self-control and and self-defense. It's actually based off of deep discussions I've had with teachers of mine. There is a lot that can be said about the record. But the track "La Tekniq" is actually a really descriptive summary of the entire idea. That song is probably one of my best lyrically written songs ever. Instead of just assuming that I'm not saying anything, I invite my skeptics to actually read and listen to they lyrics. Another thing that I'm proud of on this project, is the production. I went over and over it again and again, refining the quality, and the diversity of the compositions. This record ended up coming out so clean, I'm still surprised. I always had on my bucket list as an artist, to do a Vinyl record before I was done. I'm very much a sound snob and meticulous, so I don't think that a record should be a vinyl unless it has layers and layers of quality, just like a movie shouldn't be blue-ray or 3D unless it's giving you transcendent art to look at. It just so happens, that with this last record, I finally did a work of art that I am considering putting on Vinyl. That would be some way to call it a career.

  Maybe at some point, I will do the movie, if I can get the support for that. The idea I had is really interesting. Honestly, this is the last stop for Jokatech. I urge you to, if nothing else, give this record- "Love Fist" a listen when it releases on Spotify and Itunes. For just once allow yourself to base the merit of a work on its fruits, not the person behind it. You will really not be disappointed, and will hear the best of what I had to offer.

New Projects- Love Fist

  There's been a lot going on lately. But since I started my latest novel, and hit writer's block, I started to assume I was done with creating new work. It's especially difficult to find new sounds that make an album worth it. I think one thing that has driven me is the growth that I see in my own work. It annoys me that this generation and world today is fixated on commodities and familiarity. I often, and still state, that if Robert Frost, Mozart, or Miles were making art today, they'd be dismissed as nothing, if even noticed at all.

  I've finally gotten my new album- "Love Fist," underway. It started off as a tribute to style and the arts, particularly Kung Fu. Below is the EP. Also some artwork

https://soundcloud.com/jokatech/sets/love-fist

                                                    Just A Giant

For the Real Ones- NBA 2K18- Review

 I'm going to start this off by saying that my purpose in doing reviews for games, music, movies and other media, is to give a perspective for what has become an archaic mindset- that of the intellect. I've come to notice that when browsing reviews today, as someone who is not a millenial thinker, I'm often dissuaded from projects and pieces of work that are actually great. The other day, I was flamed on Gamefaq's message board for saying that due to the limited roster in the latest DBZ game, it was glaring that the last boss of the last series, who as I stated in my review, was transcendent to the series, is not in the game, which is supposed to be an all star cast.  These days, when the average person wants insight on a subject, they want it from someone superficial who they can relate to, not a scholar of the discipline. It's become more about who than what to people with music, movies, games, literature etc. But for those who have not sunk into that thinking, it's important to have some outlet where you get an explanation and analysis of something that doesn't make you feel insane.


   I had a similar experience when I looked at reviews for NBA 2K18. I played this series in spots back in the mid 2000's. I was primarily an NBA Live player. In fact, I can recall the war that went on between the 2 franchises for years, until Live was just about phased out. I always loved how much work 2K put into the soundtrack for the games. Then, as I played it more, particularly 2K7, I noticed that there was more artistry and control to the game that Live didn't quite have. It was also a more personal and immersive experience. That stuck with me, even though I played Fight Night and Madden primarily for the  next decade.

 When it was announced that 2K18 would have a neighborhood mode, with tons of things for your character to do, I was immediately intrigued. It boasted the story of an undrafted rookie who works his way up from the hard courts to the pros, getting the opportunity of a lifetime. 2K always had a similar take on career, but this was much more fleshed out. It had the usual well done soundtrack, and commentary. I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get back into the series, and purchased it for the Nintendo Switch.

   When I read reviews, I heard about control issues, and online criticism. The problem with games today, and fans, is that everything is overly focused towards online interaction. I appreciate those modes, but not only do fans no longer care about single player presentation, but developers are, in light of that, focusing less on that themselves. However, with this game, they did not let that go.As I mentioned, the game has an open world neighborhood to explore, which is equipped with a barbershop, clothing stores, tattoo parlor, ESPN Zone, basketball arenas and parks, your apartment which can be customized, your sports agent's office, a fully functional gym, the team practice facility, etc. It is loaded! And it allows seamless interaction for online play, where the problems start.


 The biggest issue I have with the game, is that the campaign is run in the neighborhood, and requires you to establish an online connection before starting. So basically, if you don't have, or lose internet connection, not only can you not play with other players in the neighborhood- you don't get the neighborhood at all, and you don't get the single player campaign at all either. That was the biggest and most idiot blunder I have ever seen done in a game. The problem, is that it isn't seen as a blunder at all. Everyone today accepts forced online connectivity in gaming, not giving any thought to the possibility of being offline. I've been in locations where I can't connect to the internet, or have an unstable connection that keeps dropping. If your connection drops, you are exited to the main menu, where you can choose to play career games, but any campaign progress is stopped. Not a single reviewed complained about this.

  The other issue that does exist is the input lag. That is one problem that was actually complained about. Especially on the Switch, there is jerky framerate and fluctuating lag that can make execution very frustrating. Often times, I go to make a double move on the court, and shake my defender. Then my player freezes in place, the defender catches up, and my player does another delayed move, putting himself out of position, robbing me of countless flashy scoring opportunities. It even affects your execution in workout and practice activities. However, it is not always so apparent, and the game for the most part is still effective.

   Visually I was at first unimpressed on the Switch. Then I started noticing that the nuances and textures were well rendered in their own way. It isn't as smooth as the console versions, but at times the gap seems to close considerably. I would wager to say they could have done better, as the characer modes are very well done and detailed at times as well as the arena, and at other times it can look like a sharper version of a PSP era NBA game.

  The soundtrack is awesome, with a wide range of musical genres and old and new tunes. You will find yourself putting on your headphones in the game to just go to the gym, or run to the court listening to the tunes. The commentary for NBA games is absolutely amazing. It felt life like. In fact, is wasn't for a very long time that I started hearing some commentary said again. There was so much naturalness to the way it was done, it makes you shudder at thinking of the work that must have went into it. There are even times when Shaq and Kenny begin going at it in a heated debated during pregame  or half-time discussions. Oddly, Charles Barkley isn't present at the desk, which would have been beyone amazing. For those who are real OG's, not the new millenials, you will by laughing out loud alot during the commentary, and even chiming in with your own comments at time, mistaking it for real banter.


  This leads to another criticism that makes me shake my head. This was the biggest inspiration for me to do this review. The writing. As good as the commentary from the crew is, as well as the 2K TV series that ran in real time, covering real life tournament, and game events, which I thought was cool, the writing for the campaign was as good, if not better at times. I saw, in just about every review, people completely dismissing the single player campaign and writing completely, or going off on riffs calling it the worst thing they have ever experienced. This is where the difference between those from the age of intellects, and the millenials today becomes extremely apparent. I hate to hammer that so much, but it can be frustrating, because if you go by what has been said, you will get the completely opposite impression. Just like as an old school anime fan who grew up on many classics including Dragon Ball and Dragon ball Z, I saw the ups and downs of the series. If you come from my era, you know that DBZ was iconic, but didn't have the depth and emotion of a Rouroni Kenshin. When you saw the potential in the last part of the latest Dragon Ball series, with some emotional parts and very awesome last boss, if you are from my generation, you sat up in your seat keenly tuned in to see what could have transcended the whole story arch. If you're a millenial, it was annoying nonsense to you, and nothing more. You can't really say anything to fix a rift like that. It is what it is.

 Not to get off topic, that is what you have here in the NBA 2K18 story. You play as yourself in the shoes of a character nicknamed DJ, who worked as a DJ while pursuing NBA hopes. You participate in a street tournament, where you get noticed by NBA scouts who try you out. Eventually, you work your way onto an NBA roster. You have a few friends who stick with you the whole way. Mainly it's B-Fresh, an Asian American girl you grew up with, who is extremely funny and down to earth. She becomes an indirect manager of sorts a times. You also make friends with the veteran on the team who takes you under his wing. You make other friends in the NBA and the neighborhood. The staff at the team facility, including security, and maintenance also build a rapport with you. I can't explain fully how wrong the reviews are. The writing is absolute gold. I could have been in my worst mood, or the most angry at how a game went, and the dialogue from teammates, coaches, facility staff like Boo Boo the security guard, friends, etc is so dynamic and real and funny, I can't help but either smile or most times be rolling in laughter. It is so natural and flowing. It doesn't feel like a limited script at all, In fact, at one point, I started to think it updates in real time. It's the kind of funny banter the real ones with a sense of humor would have, just chilling, or after a tense game. There was one time Kyrie Irving, who you make friends with, sneaks into your place, which he does a few time, and you make an Uncle Drew joke, which is what I would have done in real life myself. I know people rag on it, but in my opinion, Uncle Drew is a legendary hallmark  basketball movie. The thing is, that Uncle Drew came out this year in 2018. NBA 2K18 dropped in mid 2017. That's how thoughtfully the writing was done. That's mind boggling.


   I'm currently in the post season stage, and I'm working on leveling up to 99 OVR. That is my last huge issue with the game. You are micro-transactioned to death!!! You increase your parameter limits by leveling up and training at the gym and research center. These workouts and activities gain you fractions of percentages towards parameter increases, like .2%-.3%. That's astronomically low. You gain a few slots of parameter limit increases once you reach 100%, and then it starts over. You have to increase several of these slots before it raises your characters level. To do that requires in-game currency in the thousands. You get about 500 coins for each NBA game as part of your salary. The most experience comes from team practice drills at the facility which are limited to when it closes. You get around .5%-.8% for drills, and the drills also raise several skill sets at once. These skill sets are labeled as badges that improve your performance  overall in areas like defending, fast break ability, and quick reflexes. When you consider it all, between getting the slow exp points and then the revenue from playing games, or getting the ridiculously small checks from sponsors, it could take almost forever to level up substantially. That was a mistake. Before long, you will either give up in that regard, or break down and spend. And you will spend. I spent overall close to $50 just buying VC which is the games currency, in order to level up. Then you have to grind to raise your limits so that you can level up more. It's ridiculously tedious.

  All things considered, I truly have complained at times about the execution of the game, but I've loved the story and atmosphere. It isn't without its flaws, and the charm will win old heads over for sure. The glaring issues I mentioned are the only things keeping this game from being an all time Legend. Still, it's one for the real ones. Salute!!!    8.3/10

New Episodes

These are some new episodes of the Jokatech Podcast, and the ongoing series- "The Beast"
Please enjoy

What happened to Nintendo's Identity???

 For years I and many others grew up in an era where Nintendo always brought integrity to the game as a company. Regardless of how kiddy or imbalanced its libraries were at times, we always counted on them, as a company, to provide an old-school approach to games, without the bells and whistles that convoluted everything.

 However, over time, they have slowly acquiesced to the public and the majority. Now, starting this month, the online service has begun, requiring gamers to pay a fee in order to play any of the online content in any of their games. The issue with this, is that today, online and single player are for some ridiculous reason, fused together in most games. For instance, 2K sports decided that the cinematic single player campaign in NBA 2K18 needed to be married to the online server. So you have to connect to the server and the internet, in order to play your character's customized campaign. What the heck does my career have to do with interaction with players around the world. That was totally stupid and unnecessary. So what that means, is that once the pay services dropped. My career is locked, cinematics and all, until I pay for a monthly subscription. And many games are making the majority of their modes online, and the offline modes are scant, and often integrated into some need to access the server.

  It is a stain on their name that Nintendo has bought into this idiotic philosophy. I am sincerely thinking over how much I will continue to support them. I play games, at this point, when I can, and to work on my solo game, going online at my leisure. What the gaming industry is telling gamers like myself, is that we don't belong. Either we get on the grid and force paying subscriptions we hardly use and constant downloads and updates that are often unnoticeable or damaging to the game, or we just don't play games.

New Playlists on SoundCloud

  In the near future, I'm going to be condensing some album material on Soundcloud. This will be extended mixes of the records opposed to individual tracks. This is partially due to space limitation on the site. Hopefully, this won't affect how much content is available on the site. However, the idea is to draw traffic to my Spotify page, where more of my catalog is available. Please stay tuned for updates in the near future. Thank you.

Racial Lineage and the Broken Concept (read or don't ask)

 I've done a lot of work over the last decade, and much of it has been about education. It annoys me to continue to slam into ignorance. One thing that recently disturbed me, is to have my own father call my work- stupid nonsense. I couldn't just excuse that with senility.  There is an undertone of ignorance there that I find disgusting. If you know me, you know I don't suffer ignorance. That is especially so when involving flesh and blood. It's one thing to have natural ignorance and be unaware of something. It is entirely another, to fight to stay ignorant, even violently so. Not only due to the fact that many of my complex pieces were dedicated to him, but just the simple fact that with base intellect, you can see that the work I do is anything but stupid nonsense. This is part of this world's current fight to champion ignorance and eliminate intellectualism.


  For years, even decades, I have put myself out there, like any true artist. I have been transparent all the time. Any topic, just about, that you could want to ask me about, I've elaborated on, at some point, in my work, including race and race relations. Yet, I find that presently, I'm getting questioning left and right about these same topics and my knowledge and stance on them. Bottom line, this is the last time. If you read then, very well. If you choose to ignore this, like you choose to do with every thing I say or do, just be blindsided by me ignoring you if you question me in person. I will not be engaging any questioning going forward that I discuss extensively in my works. I don't mean this, obviously for every single topic. But if I strongly present, or have presented an idea, and you claim to know and listen to me, yet have not heard anything of it, that's on you.

 Long ago, since I was a child, I've always been interested in lineage, genetics, and sociology to an extent. I remember researching a book on black indians in the library randomly in the library in 7th grade. I've always been fascinated by that kind of science. Another thing that always bothered me, is the ignorance of most blacks. Throughout history, that is the most marginalized race on the planet. And I don't mean just in discriminatory acts. What I also mean, is that blacks have been relegated to just a group of people who percolated in the center continent throughout history, completely isolated, and with straight-forward, simple lineage. And almost all blacks accept that. I've noticed that in black families, those who try to tie together answers about their true history, tend to be automatic black sheep, or laughing stocks. This goes right back to the championing of being ignorant of things.

  I've touched on these topics many times in the past in written and spoken form. There are varying degrees of what we as a society blanket as "black." I even wrote an article a while back on how flawed of a concept race itself is. Anyway, I did a DNA test almost 10 years ago, just to get an overview of at least part of my lineage. It started as something very minor in nature. I had always been curious as to the origin of the Mongolian spot birthmarks that myself and others are born with. I also noted how I would often see people who grew up in urban settings or in America in general, who  have features that denote other cultures. It always seemed like it was taboo to even think about looking into your roots as a black. You automatically get labeled as a "Tiger Woods." I never agreed with his criticism or that general ideology. Of course, I already know of many who probably would or did stop reading, to laugh at the sentence with Mongolian in it. I'll attach an article about that in this post. The point is beyond that though as it's more about regions than Mongolia the country. I'll elaborate more on race movement.

   Races started from a common source, in a common region at man's start. Post-flood, many variations began to develop and migrate to different parts of a changing globe. DNA tests, test the weighting of yDNA strands to develop what are called Haplo groups. The necessity then, is to build a base of knowledge and understanding of sociology and history. I was never a master of Global history, but I do have some intrigue towards it. What you have to understand is that when the sociology is taken into consideration, you can understand what people moved where, why, who didn't move much from certain regions, what people chose to mingle, and what people chose to only conquer. In Indonesia, China, and India, amongst many other Asian countries, you find people presenting black features mixed with asian features. This is seen in Europe and other countries as well. In some cases, it was a matter of Africans migrating, and in other cases, it was a matter of the other culture migrating. This occurred with different cultures for thousands of years. Some Indians may even have Chinese features, as well as vice versa, or even Mexican or South Americans. This happens sometimes, by a culture migrating, and then slightly receding, leaving only a trace of the introduced group. This also applies to blacks, primarily Africans. This leads me to something else.

   I was watching a show the other day, where a black american woman comes to tears about having low self-esteem and respect  during her childhood from other blacks, for looking like what they call "Africans."  That's another flawed concept that I will try to calmly address. African "blacks" are in all reality, without bias, the richer and more diverse by far of black cultures. The diversity and intermingling that I just discussed occurred through trade, conquest, or pilgrimage. The American blacks who try to stick their noses up at Africans are laughable. Who do you think was brought over in bondage as their forefathers. They were primarily unlettered field workers and farmers, from a few select regions, with similar roots. Then through slavery, you either were Geechied up and stayed the same in the south, or you had some interactions, mostly undesired with slave owners, leading to variations. If you call that stepping up above Africans, not only are you sad, but you're also extremely ignorant. And all Africans do not look alike or have the same customs. Get educated. The so-called lowly Africans that you left behind for slavery, were of higher and varying social classes, and cultured, having bartered with nations across the globe and innovated technology. In the process, there was a mutual mixing of races and cultures. The saddest case is modern times, where a more Westernized Africa allows wars and exploitation to rip it apart. But its history can be ignored, but never erased. Get that straight.

  Getting back to the topic, races and cultures moved over and over again. And with genetics, a common thing that I hear people say, is that when a trait is spotted in one race from another, that it's just a coincidence. That's also ignorant. Apart from pathological mutations, which are a completely different thing, features are handed down from ancestors, the same way genetic diseases are to offspring. Just because you don't dare to open that box, doesn't mean there's nothing inside. The study that a European man did on Mongolian spots was interesting. But also, his studies on genetics and contribution to the field are impressive. He lived hundreds of years ago, having moved to Japan and married a Japanese woman, and then having kids, noticed on his children as well as some of the other children in that, and surrounding regions bearing the mark. He continued to study it, and noticed patterns. When you look at the findings, it's very informative for more than one thing. It also shows you movement. The percentages and cultures that it spread to, show you a map of where people from that region migrated over time. Just like Native Americans and Indians have some common ancestors at a point in some cases, over time some of those Eastern Asians with the propensity to develop the mutated pigmentation, migrated to other regions, and then receded over time. Their genetic code is still there. In South Africa, there are some regions where the dialect has traces of the Asian cultures that migrated through there, as well as the people having vestiges of the features. You can cover over DNA, but like matter, you can't destroy it. So the Mongolian name my daughter bears is not about a country per say, bore moreso the tail-end of a genetic line, and a region of origin.

   I'm doing this test and research again, just to be more informed, and yes, to share it with my daughter when she is older. I'll update this page, maybe, when my results are in. This test should yield more than the last one. The last one only showed a map of my Paternal line. If you don't know, it's basically father's, father's, father's, father etc. So it's very limited. It did show a map of how his ancestors moved between Sicily, the Middle East, and Sudan, as well as South Africa. I'm hoping to get more info on my maternal lineage, because my mother presents an interesting foil. She does descent from slaves and has more of a Westernized lineage pattern,  so I'm curious to see the variations there. Anyways, until next time. Here is the article on Mongolian Spots.------------  \/

MultiRacial Lineage

New Jokatech Podcast Episode 21- The Whole Truth

Here is another update episode covering current events in life and sports and an analytic breakdown of matchups.

The Mascot Who Could- Uncharted: A Thief's End- Review

  There is something to be said about establishing a mascot for a console. Mario and Sonic did it effortlessly in the 80's and 90's, and everyone else spent decades chasing their heels. Sony had a large scale, and successful protagonist in Crash Bandicoot that still sees success in sales of remakes. And yet, he was never able to stand quite that tall. In the end, the staying power of the prospective game plays a big part. We all played Crash Bandicoot, and as much as everyone praises the classic nature of the series, we all know good and well that the game didn't offer nearly enough depth and staying power to be considered flagship worthy.

    The game I'm reviewing has really brought together and culminated a series in a way that has eked out its own niche. Uncharted is a series that I was reluctant to get into for years. It first launched in 2007 with Drake's Fortune, and had several titles over the years on Sony's last 2 big consoles. I entered the series with my purchase of Golden Abyss for the PS Vita. I still believe that was a good entry point. My criticism of Uncharted in the past, was what I assumed was a lack or replayability. Yeah, you played a gorgeous looking title, but it seemed to be on rails, and very predictable from what I saw. It gained a huge following over the years, and Golden Abyss opened my eyes a bit. When I played the game, I was floored by how detailed and captivating the game was. While it was a funneled action adventure in some aspects, I immediately could see myself playing the game again, when I saw how involved and detailed each aspect of it was.

    Uncharted is the story of Nathan Drake, who is a very knowledgeable explorer and excavator or sorts. He travels the world with a few friends, such as Sully, who is his navigator of sorts. The uncover secret ruins and artifacts, usually at the risk of their lives from natural perils, or villainous ones. He meets different people on his journey, and his wife, who for some reason has a different last name, accompanies him. Actually, he doesn't really have a name anyway. He was an orphan, and created his name from a book alluding to fortunes that he and his brother discovered before running away. The last game, which is this one- A Thief's End, ties all of that together, which was very good.

    In this last chapter, Nate is living a normal life working for an excavation company, diving into deep waters to recover wrecks and ruins. He lives at home, with his memorabilia tucked away from his previous adventures, reminiscing in his attic at times. His brother, Sam, who he thought died when then were children being chased from a mansion, is actually in prison with a man named Salazar, who breaks him out and demands he find a treasure of Captain Avery's, which is hidden somewhere in Madagascar. There ends up being a sick twist to that whole story. But in the end, a former partner of Sam's and Nathans- Rafe, ends up on the trail for the treasure, and the lives of both of them. He proves to be a troublesome, and sick adversary, who is dangerous until the very end of the game. It is his army, in coalition with a female soldier, who attack and threaten Nate and Sam, as they reunited and seek the treasure together.

    You do a lot of platforming in this game, and puzzle solving at times to get through secret caves and ruins. At random and often times, you encounter combat scenes with shoot outs. One thing about this game, is that they don't really have a sense of balance when it comes to that. In both Uncharted games I played, each gun fight in the later stages of the game, is basically you and perhaps 1 other person against a literal army. You will be floored by the amount of enemies they expect you to beat single handedly. And in A Thief's End, you encounter enemies with armor and advanced explosives. In fact, they often seem to surround you instantly, and possess superhuman awareness. I would be picking off perimeter enemies and retreat to the only corner I could find, to see myself rained down upon from all sides by enemies I couldn't see on often occasion. It felt like the shots were coming from heaven.

   And the realism is one-sided in combat. When you apply accurate shots to enemies trying to conserve ammo, I've had them survive kill shots, or point-blank explosions, right in my face to then surround me. Because the thing about this game's combat scenarios, is that you have to be quick in thinning the numbers. When you have 30 elite soldiers coming at you, and a few of them survive 3 direct grenades, you've lost ground and ammo.

  The game has a wide assortment of handguns, shotguns, AR's, Snipers, and Rocket Launchers, and grenades on deck. Your health replenishes with time, but there are no health items. You use the old cover system from so many other games, to tackle units. You have melee sequences that you can initiate with most enemies, along with a counter system that you battle with, in order to disarm them or defend. It's pretty quick and efficient.

   Graphically, this series is special. It has always utilized state of the art graphics, and provided a controllable cinematic experience to the player. That was the objective. As you explore, you go to different locales and settings indoor and outdoor, and the level of detail is like real life. In the beginning and end of the game, you are in Nate's house, waiting to go to the next events, and I couldn't help go through each of the bedrooms and bathrooms, interacting with items, and taking in how life-like it was, down to the sunlight coming in through the windows. When traveling in vehicles during your travels, it's the same. The outdoor settings of Madagascar, Europe and Asian countries was breathtaking. Standing on the hills in Italy and looking out over the mountains was amazing. And when the game slowed down, you just felt like spending time enjoying the layout of a rich mansion, or the bustling streets of a country's market. And the game does a good job encouraging that. You have a treasure system, where random treasures are scattered throughout nooks of the game, according to region. So you don''t really feel like you are on rails. You can wander off to side roads, and marshes and sections of mountain ranges, and ruins, and abandoned cities. In little corners, you will find these treasures, which serve as unlockables.


    The sound was excellent. The soundtrack was gripping and well done, while not super melodical. I enjoyed the life-like banter and reactions of the characters. The humor was well done, and kept the game light, which saves it from a broken CD at times. The game will go from quite an serene, to loud and dangerous at time, when fights break out. You can also have side conversations at times, with dialogue that expounds on the story. Audio has the proper distortion when diving under water, and really feels isolated. During rainy sequences, the storm audio is realistic and panoramic.


  All in all, the games in this series are long. They tend to be 22 chapters on average, from what I've seen. This one had a prologue and epilogue, which took some of the play time up. It's such a grand experience, that you won't have a problem playing it again. It seemed as if it marked an end to the life of Nate Drake, but that is resolved at the end. He does get to resume a family life, and it was good to see that wind down. I honestly wouldn't have minded the game being twice as long, as I look back now. But the gun fights will have you crying for the finish. Not only did those seem impossible at times, but the final fight with Rafe, was a bit psychotic. He really was a raved out lunatic. I enjoyed putting him down. It was annoying that he was allowed so much quarter in the first place, as dangerous as he is. In the end, he turns on and loses his love interest and partner in the solder girl, and you take out his army, leaving him and you to fight it out. I had no idea he was a master swordsman. It was difficult, memorable, and epic. This is how Nate makes his case for being the mascot. I definitely believe in him now.    My score is a fortuitous:  9/10

Jokatech Album Review: Standing on the Corner: The Unborn Soundscapes

New Album Review
http://thearkofmusic.com/jokatech/

A Pinnacle- Dragon Ball Super Review (spoilers!!!)

Okay, so after sticking it out, I'm going to get into an anime I had mixed feelings about from the start. And I couldn't get a good read on what to really expect, because people that saw this anime aren't super enthusiasts, or very observant. I knew, towards the end of the series, that I was going to write this. This is my review and reflection of the last series in the Dragon Ball saga- Dragon Ball Super.

 At this point, there is a huge video game out now starring much of the cast from the show and series, with perfect timing, as Super really is a grand tour of the entire story. Believe it or not, the word story is the biggest part of why this is being written. I know, the first thing that comes to your mind is the disbelief that story and Dragon Ball mix, but that isn't really correct. The thing about Dragon Ball that always attracted me, was that it is a pure story of not only growth, but martial arts. And it is also centered around principles of friendship. Most so-called fans know nothing about that, because for years, they were caught up in the plot line of the protagonists getting stronger to encounter the next threat.

 Let's break down the blocks from the beginning. In the beginning, Dragon Ball is the Japanese iteration of the Superman story. It is the story of a boy named Son Goku, who is raised by Gohan, after falling to earth in a space pod as a boy. Having a tail, he is unusual, and prone to transform into a large ape, capable of great destruction. His loving guardian raises him like a father, and never alerts him to the state of being an alien. Unfortunately, on a full moon, he transforms into the ape and accidentally kills his father, totally unaware when he awakens. He is taken under the tutelage of a sensei Master Roshi, who trains him in the style of Kamesenin. His tail is also cut to avoid further occurances. He masters the trademark Kamehameha wave, and goes on a journey, meeting friends along the way, who start as adversaries.

  It isn't until later, as an adult with a son who he named after his deceased father, that he encounters lost members of his alien race, who alert him to his origins. One threat after another happens, and Goku continues to grow, and become a protector of his friends, and against his admission, the earth. He's a simple character, who's pure of heart, but when pushed to his limits and in real danger, his passion for self-improvement, and the protection of justice come out, making him a very magnetic person. I feel like that is very important to balance in an anime. But also, like Superman, while certain villains are memorable, the series never had a truly deep antagonist. Along the story, you have an android named Cell, who proves formidable and takes over to a degree before being beaten by Gohan, and you also have Frieza, who continues to be a formidable villain who pushes Goku to his limits. But you never had a truly compelling enemy, who you could sympathize with to a degree.

  In all honestly, the Cell and Frieza sagas were amazing, but the anime, while iconic, especially from a martial artist perspective, never lived up to being the great story that it could be. When I heard about the new series, at first I thought it was a retelling of events, or a spin-off. But when I heard it was a continuation, I was intrigued. I wanted to see if the producers would take it to the next level, and they did. But, as I'll explain, it wasn't without sabotage.

  As the new series starts, a god of destruction named Beerus, is awakening from a long sleep, looking for a planet to destroy. His power is on a completely different realm than the mortal beings that have been in the series. He isn't completely sinister, but he does eventually set his eyes on earth. He and Goku meet at some point, and they do battle over the fate of the planet. Goku's protective side comes out in that fight, as his is pushed beyond his limits and eventually to his knees, pleading with his last strength for Beerus to spare the planet. Goku normally has an innocent arrogance to him, as much like Superman, he rises above all of his enemies throughout the series, and for the most part, expects to from the outset. I've never been fond of that in anime, but the exceptional ones have a way of bringing that full circle. Beerus pretends to fight Goku to a standstill in the end, and spares them due to a hidden fondness for Goku's nature.

  Eventually a whole world of dieties unveils, with heirarchies etc. I wasn't fond of that in the first place, with the trivial nature of it all, but especially with certain things. After a while a tournament takes place with a parallel universe of earth's. Beerus' brother is the god of destruction in that universe, and they put their best warriors against each other. Goku makes a rival/friend in a character named Hit, who defeats him in the tournament. They eventually find out that a total of 12 universes exist, and are controlled by a supreme creator- Zen O Sama. Zen O Sama is depicted as an ignorant, and aloof child, who has no sense and does everything at a whim, totally unaware of anything, and needing to be constantly taught and told what's going on. That stupid depiction was annoying, and the producers' way of going as far as they could to undermine the creator. That was totally stupid and unnecessary. He was also such an annoying character that I almost stopped watching due to him.

  Goku requests an ultimate tournament when he hears there are other universes, and Zen O Sama agrees, with the surprise conditions that all the universes that lose will be erased. Goku is hated among the universes and called evil when they discover what he has caused. Among the universes, Earth is considered one of the weakest, but I was eager to see how the tournament would play out.

  The ultimate villain is what had me intrigued. His name was Jiren. From the moment they introduced him, I announced him the savior of the anime. He shows so much unbridled power, and mysteriousness, that I wanted to see his story unfold. The tournament was given a time limit, and flight was prohibited. I like that, because it was the series' way of going back to the pure Dragon Ball martial arts roots, which I didn't expect. The tournament itself went on until the end of the series, which was 131 episodes total. The tournament starts around episode 70. It was cool to see different sides to Android 17, who was a reformed villain working as a wildlife conservationist, and Krillin, who was a family man and police officer, who secretly missed being able to keep up with Goku. There was a lot of emotion and maturity in this series which I expected and appreciated. It was like watched fun-loving and promising kids grow into adulthood with all of their potential realized.

  The selected 10 people to represent each universe, and Frieza was brought back, to everyone's dismay. Sadly, you never get to see a more passionate side of Frieza. As the tournament went on, Universe 11 became clearly the universe that would be there in the end. Jiren and his comrades were a justice force on their planet, and each had touching stories of justice in their past. His right hand man- Toppa, was the leader of sorts, and extremely powerful. When the tournament reached the end, it was only Toppa and Jiren left to represent Universe 11 against Universe 7's Goku, Vegeta, Frieze, and Android 17. You hear a bit of Jiren's story of seeing injustice as a child, and experiencing great loss that he vowed to erase with achieving strength. But the control and untouchable nature of his character was truly admirable and captivating. I love when villains like that are done well. In the end, even though Goku taps into cosmic power, unlike previous villains in the series, Jiren doesn't crumble. You also don't see Vegeta take the usual backseat to Goku like in every other series. He is there each time when Goku ascends. And he takes on Jiren in impressive fashion during the fight, even outdoing Goku in certain rounds, which was refreshing to see. I loved seeing them break away from the format, and aim to be memorable. However, the disappointment came in the last couple of episodes.


 Jiren was amazing, and he seemed to have a huge amount of layers to him. This was Funimation's chance to cap off a series with an elevating explosion that would have easily put Dragon Ball Super in the top 3 animes of all time, when quality is considered. Everyone lauds it for the household name it achieved over a few decades, but no anime buffs consider Dragon Ball a serious and riveting series, which I always felt is a travesty considering its subject matter. But with the amazing boost in animation quality, and the emotional explosion of this series, I felt like they were poised to change all of that. Jiren was that chance. I thought he was going to truly unveil a different side to a villain this time,  and be more of an anti-hero who revealed his motives at the end and refused to lose. Instead, at the very end, they reduce him to a whining and impulsive snob, who wildly kneels before an ascended Goku, who masters a technique called Ultra Instinct. In the end, Jiren is pushed to his limits, after fighting all 4 of them at one, by Goku alone. I wouldn't have minded if they fought to a stand still, but to see him so quickly crumble and quiver before Goku just like every other villain, was the height of disappointment. My heart really sank at that point. Such a deep character never goes beyond just an angry kid who watched his loved ones killed and vows to get strong, shunning friendship. Goku's argument was that friendship is needed, and got him to the point he reached. You even get to see that side from Vegeta which was touching. But I expected more from Jiren.


  I really was expecting the universes to be saved with a wish by the tournament's winner, but I expected it to come down to a draw between Goku and Jiren in the end. Oddly, after subduing Jiren, Goku's body goes into convulsions and he falls, with Frieza rising. After Goku recovers a bit, they team up on Jiren and drag him off the stage, leaving Android 17 standing alone as the winner. If that was the intention, why emasculate Jiren the way they did earlier, after building such an awesome and inspiring character? Two of my favorite anime are Rourouni Kenshin and Baki the Grappler. Both of those anime hold so much symbolism and depth in the stories. In each of them, you have an enigma of an antagonist, who you grow to understand. And moreso, they stand for something. When that happens, you have to be careful how you resolve the plot. In Black Panther, the villain wasn't beaten into submission and dismissed. He refused to yield, and clearly defined and discussed why, making his point before his exit. In Rouroni Kenshin, the villain wants a utopia, and was once a noble sodier, who sought to rip the government from corrupt hands and mold an ideal society. He never yields. In fact, he is only defeated by his own health condition. In Baki the Grappler, the villain teaches the importance of strength and awareness of danger in the world. He is never defeated. In fact, the hero manages to fight him to a draw at the very end of the entire manga, before he disappears into the distance. All of these scenarios aren't just mindless. There is a point to their ends. It establishes the ideals that they campaigned during the respective series. In Jiren's case, he represented self-reliance, and determination to gain strength to avert future loss and pain. That could have been expounded upon, and for someone so deep, to be unraveled so quickly and so simply, just felt sloppy. It ruins the point of the argument. After the universes are brought back, he is just one of the many faces of determined rivals who resume their chase of ultimate power.

  Dragon Ball Super had a chance, and was within a few strokes of capping off a truly transcendent masterpiece. For some reason unknown to me, at the home stretch, they decided that they wanted to end they way they always have. I can't say whether that's overall bad or good, but it was definitely short of what it could have been.

Good Products and Fun Times

This is a new Bonus Video showcasing my tumultuous time playing through Online matches and Survival Mode of SFV- Arcade Edition. There is also a music track here that I did playing around with my new Yamaha RX15. I'm getting used to it, and it definitely holds a place in history, with sounds that cannot be reproduced completely, which makes it special.

As a side note, please be aware that the ads you see in my posts are no spam. You know that I hate that stuff. As an artist, I am affiliated with Amazon, which is a great place to shop. Therefore, I post products that I personally buy, use and swear by. Please don't hesitate to check them out. The links are for direct reference from my page as promotion from my site, so if you see a reference, which is usually topic specific, that you like, click here.

ONCE AGAIN, THIS IS A PRODUCT THAT I USE EXTENSIVELY. THE DRUMS ON MY LAST FEW ALBUMS ARE FACILITATED BY THIS EXCELLENT MACHINE, WHICH IS ALSO GOOD FOR LEARNING MECHANICS ON THE GO!

Jokatech Podcast: Episode 20- Be Complete

This is the latest podcast episode on sports and art. There is a link below to the video, as well as some good equipment to keep you ahead of the game. If you want reflexes like your boy Jokatech or P4P champ Vasyl Lomachenko, you need a reflex ball in your corner. You already know it's on deck.

Street Fighter 5- My Beatings Continue.

 Okay, so I'm still oddly in a love hate relationship with Street Fighter 5. With the latest updates, we now have a character named Falke to contend with. I did an episode recently chronicling my runs through survival mode on hard, which I have suggested to many youtubers to do on their channels. No one has dared to take the challenge yet. The thing about SFV Survival Mode, is that it actually does improve your skills in the game. Those skills just don't translate to that mode. I showcased this lovely controller here-----> in my playthrough. It is a game changer. I really did see an improvement in control, and execution. And oddly enough, it's one of the more low end pads. This is a great pad to use for any fighter out there. You need to cop this as a go to weapon.

Here is the video of my beatings. And a video of online beatings I've administered. Check out the pad below.

 These are 2 new art pieces, which may be concept art for the upcoming album, "The Unborn."

A Sidestep for Clarity- An Essay

 I've been working on a lot of things lately, and have much to reveal in the future, but there is something that has been nagging at my mind recently that I have to cover here. I just find it very odd to observe the way people interact with facts, truth, and their own mind and shortcomings. Every last person on this planet is imperfect.

 What's interesting to me is that, the new mentality of society today, which is supposed to be "progressive", is to question all that is. Which is fine. Perfectly fine and appropriate, if that were the actual case. But the funny thing about that, is that all of those who claim, and think themselves to be doing that, really aren't. I've had the opportunity to share scriptural thoughts and topics with a few associates in the recent past, and have gotten different responses and reactions. A few have been curious to look into truth itself. One or two others have reacted extremely volatile. Sometimes the volatility is indirect, where they will have disdain for me and comment about such feelings to friends. In the end, lets analyze what I did.

 Let's paint a scenario. You have 3 friends who live in a neighborhood. They hang out, get into trouble together, etc. There's a market that's in the center of town, that they all shop at for years. One day, one of the friends finds out that as good as the products seemed coming out of the market, they are actually laced with poisons. Another friend also finds out the same thing. The third, hasn't heard about it yet at all. The first friend just continues to take the third one to the market when he goes. The second friend, when he sees the third tells him about what he learned, and agrees that it sucks, but it's the truth. Which friend is a friend, and which is not? The sad thing, is that today, that is actually not only up for debate, but turned completely inside out. "Are you religious?" That's such a funny phrase that has become like a metal detector device in today's world. And with it's connotation and colloquial meaning, when analyzing me you would have to say no. You see, today, it has come to mean fanatical in a negative way. That isn't the behavior a believer would exhibit, despite what you've heard, and it isn't the way prophets of old behaved.

  Notice in the scenario I just used, the malicious friend is actually the one that learned the situation first, and that he and the second friend both knew it. This is to make it abundantly clear that this is not to be misconstrued as a pushing of conjecture, or baseless facts.

  Some of the people I shared information with, attribute their change in attitude towards me as "discovering how I think." I laugh at that. If you know me in the slightest, I'm far from a zealot, and I'm very transparent. People think that for you to be a truth seeker, and someone who adheres to the truth in the scriptures, you can't be a straight talker, or approachable and realistic. Try reading about the apostle Paul. Truth is truth. It doesn't exist only in the bible. It's also the bible's legal representation. It's a fact of life. If the bible says you're going to grow old an die, how am I a zealot who crazily clings to that as my little truth, when you're dying right now, even  not believing that? In the example that I mentioned earlier, does it make sense that the third friend hate the second, and accuse him of pushing his ideals on him? What does the second friend have to do with a store maliciously choosing to sell bad products? The problem, is that people are caught up in inaccurate word association, and negative experiences with people who claim to be religious.

  In the beginning of this blog, I mentioned those, meaning most people today, who think they question all things established. But I'm going to give you a mirror check right now. And this includes myself, and everyone I've spoken to. What is your routine? What do you practice? Those 2 questions can go very deep, and in reality we all have layers to work on. But the point is about recognition. A lot of times, people get defensive when you bring something to their attention. But who does that hurt. In my example, who does the third friend hurt, by shunning the second one for his warning, and going with the first one? If I bring out a scriptural truth about world conditions, and prophecies that foretold it, some give me a weird look, like I'm delusional, even if and when, they allow me to show them a correlation. I wasn't born knowing what I know. And if you know me at all, I've never been a simple "tell me" guy. So it's stupid to attribute that to facts that I share. I'm one of, if not the biggest cynic at times. And that's facts. Yet, each month and year, when do you ever question why you observe the celebrations that you do? Why do you say "bless you" after someone sneezes, or tatoo and deck yourself out in various symbols? Where do theses symbols actually come from? What does the bible say? What is truth? These are questions that most won't dare ask, yet they consider themselves inquisitive. If you truly are, question all of those things, and engage facts as they are presented. Otherwise, you can't call yourself intellectual. You amount to someone who is truly controlled, and scared of having your conditioned delusions rattled.

  One thing about me you must know, is I'm not dogmatic. I'm a person of honesty and direct information. I'm not going to share anything with you as a voice-piece or a drone. If you can look at my career and life story and even think drone, there are more mental problems at hand that need to be tackled first. What many people don't know, is that many of your precious iconic "worldly" thinkers, like Einstein and Darwin, knelt to the factual truths in the bible, including those about creation, agreeing with them on the record. Because as realists, and factualists (new word), they had to. What separates them from people today, is that today, you have an abundance of non-intellectuals, who are more concerned about staying with the flow and the pack, regardless of where it's going. I've been a person who questions every single thing at every turn in life. What gravitates me in general, is when I see consistent facts proven and stability of concept. Part of maturity, is learning to focus on that, and push aside agendas and butt-hurt feelings about one person or another. If my faith in truth itself, was controlled by mortal people that surrounded me, or specific ones that I've come in contact with, I'd be in a whole other, horrible place. That doesn't define me.

  It's very upsetting that people who have conversed with me at length, could be capable of painting me as some kind of wide-eyed zealot, who is narrow minded and dogmatic, simply because they feel pressured by information that they feel I know. I don't own truth. If I was an oncologist, who understood some of the early signs of cancer, and we happened to be friends, why the heck would you grow to despise me and question my motives, when I list some early signs in a casual conversation, and you go home and examine yourself and realize you exhibit some. That is the most backwards way of thinking. I wouldn't even know if you had or hadn't. I really hope some of those who I have in mind, do somehow get around to reading this in some form, because I mean it with love. I have no animosity, but I also understand that pride is something that can tend to be a noose for people. It can take a long time, and ripping through countless layers, before we sit in our room one day years later, looking at the wall, and say, "You know what; that was a true."

  No one is reinvented overnight. I am far from perfect. When ever someone levels with you like I'm doing right here, the first natural reflex is to thing they are an arrogant, delusional perfectionist. But go back and read this again, and try to find where I was out of line, or off, and please let me know. Sharing information is how people grow. I had a discussion about teachers with a few friends a while ago, and I remember mentioning that a teacher's foundation is facts. Traditionally, you don't become a teacher of anything, until you have removed doubt about what you know. And why is that? Because you aren't doing anyone's kids or any student any good, by guessing along a curriculum to pass on knowledge to them. If they fail, you would be painted as malicious. Just like, if I called myself your friend, but didn't tell you that someone is looking for you to harm you right now, you would not consider me an actual friend. Even though we all say, "Of course," to these examples I listed, you'd be surprised how people contradict them on a constant basis.

   And to take it even deeper, I don't have to be your friend. I could mean you harm, and guess what, facts remain where they are. I was training in my profession years ago, and my instructor was a very arrogant person who didn't want to train me or anyone. He was immensely knowledgeable. I went to my administrators seeking to leave training to rid myself of the poor evaluations I was receiving and the atmosphere. My administrator pulled me aside, and told me words I'll never forget, "Don't forget. No one can take knowledge from you. So get it while you can, and forget everything else." He made it clear that regardless of how my instructor was towards me, he was giving me a great gift. If I'm telling you something that you weren't aware of, and you come to see it's of benefit to you, but unfamiliar to you personally, don't even bother reassessing how much of a friend I am based on how you like the information. Just analyze and look into whatever benefit it can server towards you.

  Truth is one thing. People tell themselves that it's a matter of perspective. The only thing you can manipulate is how much you benefit or not from truth. Many say, "I don't want to listen to what this person of that person says. I'm my own person." That's correct. Truth has nothing to do with what a person says. It has to do with what is actual fact. Do you think it cares about how much you do or don't approve of where you discovered it from? It all comes down to how we analyze ourselves in the mirror. Yeah, I look in the mirror, and I want to tell myself I'm not jaded and gullible and I make my own decision. But how much am I blindly allowing myself to follow and be decided for me, completely contrary to my assumed nature, simply because I like and feel familiar with others who are doing that. If you tell me something today that sounds completely new to me, but I can't find anything inaccurate about it, yet it makes me uncomfortable; you know what- I'm going to find out about it, and verify it. I'm a fitness person. I've been doing it for almost 20 years now, at a high level. When someone comes along with a workout or nutritional tip that I haven't used or heard of, I may naturally tense up, not wanting to change or be "taught" by someone. But in the end, if it is new and beneficial information, I'd be childish and ignorant to not bother confirming it and growing from it, stuck in an offended state because of how uncomfortable it made me.

PLEASE READ THIS AND GROW