The impulse to quit is grounded in vanity. When I need a righteous kick in the pants, Dylan Thomas is the man I go to see. Continue reading
Archive for December, 2011
In My Craft or Sullen Art
Posted in Reading, Real Men with tags Dylan Thomas, In My Craft or Sullen Art on December 29, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleShotgun Party
Posted in Fiction with tags Armed robbery squad, Mouthful of Stones, Rodney Hall, Victoria Police on December 28, 2011 by Jarrod Boyle
Many of the episodes in Mouthful of Stones are ‘true’. However, this doesn’t mean that all of them overtook your humble narrator. This story belongs to a very good friend who had once been a member of the now-defunct armed robbery squad. After hearing it, I inserted a first-person narrator to make it fit the shape of my design. Continue reading
The Dark Knight
Posted in Film with tags Alan Moore, Batman, Christopher Nolan, Gomorrah, Gotham City, Harvey Dent, Heath Ledger, Two Face, Watchmen on December 26, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleI sat down and had another go at Batman Begins the other night. After sitting through the first ridiculous half-hour, it sucked me in. It’s a great looking film, and distinctly Christopher Nolan; he’s only 41 (so says Wikipedia) and he’s been permitted to make a whole lot of frighteningly big-budget films, real close together. How you feel about them depends on whether you feel that his tropes are strongly established (a Kubrickian sense of individuals dwarfed by technology and architecture, organised along ruthlessly symmetrical lines) or all a bit repetitive. I’m willing to ascribe to the former. Continue reading
Icons: Part I
Posted in Film, Journalism, Observation with tags Andrei Rublev, Andrei Tarkovsky, Birth of Venus, Botticelli, Dante, Inferno, Ivan's Childhood, Lumiere Cinema, Museo Del Prado, Pasolini, Primavera, Salo, Uffizi on December 24, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleMany years ago, my good friend Jonathan Devenish and I dragged ourselves off to see Andrei Rublev at the now-defunct Lumiere Cinema. Continue reading
A Tribute: Mark Fowler
Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags Andrew Parnham, Bulldog Gym, Cheyne Reece, Mark Fowler, Photajaroen Gym, Thai boxing, WMC title on December 19, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleTragedy has struck at Andrew Parnham’s Photajaroen (PTJ) Thaiboxing gym in Ryde, Sydney, and the repercussions have been felt around the country. It’s a loss for the sport itself and more negative publicity we don’t need, but worst of all, the Australian kickboxing community has lost a significant member of its social fabric. Continue reading
Full Thai: Tommy Murray
Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags Boonchu Gym, Crossfit, Full Contact Fitness, GV Martial Arts, Hammer's Gym, Invictus, Matt Reid, Sanchai, Ultimate Kickboxing, Warrior's Way on December 14, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleInternational Kickboxer Magazine, November/December 2011
Tommy Murray is that rarity; a Victorian fighter who specialises in Full Thai Rules. He holds a swag of titles, among them a couple of WMC belts. His biggest challenge-to-date will be when he fights Ben Mahoney in front of a home-town crowd in Shepparton, Victoria on September 10. Mahoney will be representing JWP’s Boonchu gym, possibly the most venerated Thaiboxing gym in the nation. Tommy gives JARROD BOYLE the rundown in the last days before the fight of his life. Continue reading
Mick Siebert: Back in Black
Posted in Journalism, Kickboxing with tags Ben Edwards, Brian Douwes, Carter Williams, Kelly Seif, Kings of Kombat, Mick Siebert, Paul Slowinski, Peter Graham, Steven Bonner on December 11, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleInternational Kickboxer Magazine, November/December 2011
Mick Siebert is the kind of heavyweight we love to watch; big, skilled and lives to fight. He has spent some time getting his demons in check and has returned to the ring with a highly impressive decision win over the seasoned American K1 veteran, Carter Williams. He talks to JARROD BOYLE about his return to the ring and his plans for the future. Continue reading
A Small Skirmish in the War of the Sexes
Posted in Observation with tags Blah Blah Ginger, Bootsy Collins, Devil's Playground, feather boa, Feminism, Gary Larson on December 7, 2011 by Jarrod BoyleSome weeks ago, I attended a dance party known as ‘Devil’s Playground’. Continue reading