Sunday, August 15, 2010

The twisty loops of the intertubes...

So the video clip with Ralph Severe doing it wrong caused me to Google "Ralph Severe poser", which led me to...

...zomg! I remember this thread at TFL! Marko and I were reduced to tears of helpless, shrieking laughter by the photo captions. And there was a link to that "Sharp Phil" guy's site and his droll essay on "Internet Tough Guys", but the thread's, like, eight years old and of course the home.att webpage is long gone... But there's always the Wayback Machine... And I wonder...

Huh. Phil Elmore has apparently been writing the whole time.

Whether I agreed with him or not, I always found him an interesting read.

11 comments:

  1. Oh. My. Gawd.

    The picture (on that TFL thread) captioned "Must be a fan of Mapplethorpe" had me doubled over in my chair, howling!

    I think I'll have to get our mutual friend Lawdog to audit a session or two with Mr. Severe. His comments should be absolutely priceless!

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  2. The Mapplethorpe caption had me spraying coffee.

    Yeah, I wasn't prepared for teh funny. Can't say you didn't warn me, either.

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  3. Sharp Phil is great!

    The good folks at bullshido.net especially cherish his internet presence...

    That takes chutzpah, bloviating on fighting while being downright paunchy. Entertaining to watch, though.

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  4. Außenseiter,

    "The good folks at bullshido.net especially cherish his internet presence..."

    The testosterone-by-association in the punchy-kicky martial arts world makes the shooty-bangy martial arts world look like a sewing circle by comparison. It's fun to watch from the outside.

    I do enjoy Phil's stuff, and he often has good points, and even the ones that aren't are pleasant to read, unlike the monosyllabic gruntings and 1337-speak nonsense that clutters so much of the 'net.

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  5. Phil Elmore does have a fair point in his articles now and then, I've read them a time or two.

    But Elmore fighting with this guy Severe about who is more mall ninja? It strikes a bit like the episode of South Park where Timmy and Jimmy get into a fight. Ya know the cripple fight? Only in this case, it's a...Mall ninja fight!

    -Rob

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  6. Ancient Woodsman8:26 PM, August 15, 2010

    Interesting thread on TFL.

    It would seem that the only technique missing from the Severe curriculum vitae would be the John Cleese expert military instruction on how to defend youself against a man armed with a banana.

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  7. "But Elmore fighting with this guy Severe about who is more mall ninja?"

    I reckon Phil would win on points because he doesn't have a goofy "Ninja Warrior Name" like Master Kalamari. ;)

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  8. Ancient Woodsman,

    Maybe, but then I don't know how to say "Greater Leaping Banana Defense" in Japanese, so it may be in there too. ;)

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  9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBXPp88pqu4

    Like sparring with Teddy Ruxpin.

    Sorry, I can't help myself.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMVVAhzhT8o

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  10. You've invoked his name! Prepare for a visitation!!!

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  11. I've never claimed to be anything I'm not -- unlike Ralph and those who follow him -- and I don't take myself very seriously (again, unlike someone like Ralph, whom I've known for years is an obnoxious bully). And yes, I have indeed been writing all these years.

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