June 27, 2026

The Blockhead Project: Where To Even Begin?

The Blockhead Project: Where To Even Begin?
Apple Podcasts podcast player badge
Spotify podcast player badge
Castro podcast player badge
RSS Feed podcast player badge
Apple Podcasts podcast player iconSpotify podcast player iconCastro podcast player iconRSS Feed podcast player icon

All links and notes for this episode can be accessed via the blog page below:

https://yourfavoriteblockhead.wordpress.com/2026/06/27/the-blockhead-project-where-to-even-begin/

WEBVTT

1
00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:25.039
Twelve Blockhead Nation. The microphone has fired up again, and

2
00:00:25.120 --> 00:00:28.320
I come before you in the most humble way that

3
00:00:28.399 --> 00:00:33.200
I know how, just to say that I apologize to

4
00:00:33.399 --> 00:00:38.119
my audio listeners. You were never meant to be neglected.

5
00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:43.719
It's been almost a month instead of every two weeks

6
00:00:44.759 --> 00:00:48.399
that I would come and speak to you. Now. To

7
00:00:48.560 --> 00:00:52.200
be fair, we did an episode a couple of weeks

8
00:00:52.200 --> 00:00:55.799
ago in the studio at podcast Mansfield with a very

9
00:00:55.799 --> 00:00:58.280
dear friend of mine, so we had the video podcast

10
00:00:59.119 --> 00:01:02.759
up and rolling. But I don't want to neglect you guys,

11
00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:06.200
and it's finally come to where I need to sit

12
00:01:06.280 --> 00:01:08.719
down and just hit the record button and just see

13
00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:11.879
what happens. So thank you for tuning in. You are

14
00:01:11.920 --> 00:01:15.480
listening to your favorite blockhead. This is a podcast that

15
00:01:15.519 --> 00:01:21.079
has evolved over the last ten years, and over that decade,

16
00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:25.920
I have done everything from be vulnerable with you, to

17
00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:31.159
being experimental, to combining two worlds that would never work

18
00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:34.079
in any other world except for mine, Me and the

19
00:01:34.079 --> 00:01:37.920
Peanuts comic strip and mixed martial arts. But there are

20
00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:40.200
a few things that I still abide by on this show.

21
00:01:40.319 --> 00:01:44.760
Number One, God is King. Number two, Peanuts is still

22
00:01:44.799 --> 00:01:49.200
the single most successful comic strip in all of American history,

23
00:01:51.000 --> 00:01:54.000
but we've had to make way for the world of

24
00:01:54.040 --> 00:01:57.640
mixed martial arts as being a fan of that sport,

25
00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:06.079
to interject more observations about life, especially after grieving the

26
00:02:06.120 --> 00:02:11.240
loss of both of my parents, facing the world without

27
00:02:11.280 --> 00:02:15.000
them as they are in glory, which I fully believe

28
00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:17.000
they are with Jesus and I will see them again

29
00:02:17.080 --> 00:02:21.759
one day, and just how that process has gone for me.

30
00:02:22.680 --> 00:02:25.439
So that's kind of the third element that's been thrown in.

31
00:02:26.560 --> 00:02:31.879
But I just come to you with really my hat

32
00:02:31.879 --> 00:02:35.520
in my hands. I've taken my ball cap off, I've

33
00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:37.960
stepped off the picture's mound and just said I've done

34
00:02:37.960 --> 00:02:40.960
a little too much with the video content, which I

35
00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:44.719
do appreciate those of you that prefer that it's just

36
00:02:45.159 --> 00:02:48.479
the audio. Those of you that listen to the podcast

37
00:02:48.520 --> 00:02:52.240
are extremely loyal, and you're back again, and I can't

38
00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:55.479
tell you enough how much that means to me. So

39
00:02:55.599 --> 00:02:59.639
I apologize for all the delays, and I really appreciate

40
00:02:59.680 --> 00:03:02.599
you coming and back. If you are new to this show,

41
00:03:03.719 --> 00:03:07.360
then be ready for a live diversity and a lot

42
00:03:07.400 --> 00:03:10.800
of going all over the map. Because normally I would

43
00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:15.680
talk about the Peanuts comic strip right away, but there

44
00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:19.240
needs to be something to address about with this show. Yes,

45
00:03:19.400 --> 00:03:22.199
Your Favorite Blockhead is a hat tip to Charlie Brown,

46
00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:28.960
to Snoopy, to Linus pig Pen, Lucy Schroeder and the

47
00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:32.199
Gang and everybody that was in the world of Charles

48
00:03:32.199 --> 00:03:35.280
Schultz with his comic strips, with the TV specials, with

49
00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:40.199
the anime movie. That is still true. But I think

50
00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:44.080
the older that I get after doing this for a decade,

51
00:03:44.199 --> 00:03:46.840
you have to look at it another way too, is

52
00:03:46.919 --> 00:03:51.520
those of you that listen in. If you carry out

53
00:03:52.599 --> 00:03:55.479
what's discussed on this show by a guy that's flying

54
00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:58.560
solo and just putting his thoughts out there to the

55
00:03:58.599 --> 00:04:04.560
podcasting world, you'll be questioned when people say you take

56
00:04:04.599 --> 00:04:08.319
advice and wisdom from a guy who has a show

57
00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:13.599
called Your Favorite Blockhead. Do you realize how absurd that sounds?

58
00:04:14.840 --> 00:04:19.160
So in a way, the name itself is almost like

59
00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:23.079
an insurance policy because if you take everything that I

60
00:04:23.160 --> 00:04:26.120
say to heart and you try to apply it and

61
00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:30.199
it doesn't work out, well, I've put my full disclosure in.

62
00:04:30.279 --> 00:04:33.680
You've been warned that there may not be one hundred

63
00:04:33.720 --> 00:04:36.720
percent accuracy with everything I say, but it is all

64
00:04:36.720 --> 00:04:40.920
from the heart, and since we have a lot of

65
00:04:40.959 --> 00:04:43.360
catching up to do, I don't have a whole lot

66
00:04:43.399 --> 00:04:46.680
to discuss with you about the peanuts right now, just

67
00:04:46.720 --> 00:04:51.279
because we've also shifted another way in how this podcast

68
00:04:51.360 --> 00:04:56.240
can serve you. It's no longer about what I want,

69
00:04:56.759 --> 00:04:59.399
It's about what do you Blockhead Nation want to get

70
00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:02.839
out of this show? Oh, how can I contribute back

71
00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:06.759
to all the years that you have been loyal? And

72
00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:08.519
one of them, I have to start with my very

73
00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:10.800
dear friend who I've been talking to today, my friend

74
00:05:11.680 --> 00:05:16.399
brother Sin. You know who you are. So, Brother Sin,

75
00:05:16.720 --> 00:05:20.519
who's been a friend of the show for years not

76
00:05:20.600 --> 00:05:23.600
too long ago, reached out and asked where I should

77
00:05:23.639 --> 00:05:28.439
start when it comes to listening to music by the

78
00:05:28.519 --> 00:05:34.720
group Shane and Shane. Valid question, but I can tell

79
00:05:34.759 --> 00:05:40.120
you starting off with the hymns that are currently out

80
00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:43.759
that Shane and Shane has done the last couple of years,

81
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.519
me and the Christian group the Christian artists known as

82
00:05:49.000 --> 00:05:53.839
Shane Everett and Shane Bernard from Texas who have traveled

83
00:05:53.879 --> 00:05:57.399
for years and years. I wouldn't tell you to jump

84
00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.839
right in with both feet and start listening to their

85
00:06:00.120 --> 00:06:03.600
hymns that are recent because that's like going into the

86
00:06:03.639 --> 00:06:06.839
deep end of the ocean. You need to get your

87
00:06:06.839 --> 00:06:10.480
feet wet a little bit with the early years, so

88
00:06:10.560 --> 00:06:12.519
I sent him a couple of suggestions on when they

89
00:06:12.519 --> 00:06:16.839
were much younger and when they were live. A fun

90
00:06:16.879 --> 00:06:19.959
song they did back in the day called Namesake, which

91
00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.160
I'd recommend anybody to go listen to them play. Shane

92
00:06:23.199 --> 00:06:29.240
and Shane live Namesake very much worth listening to that

93
00:06:29.319 --> 00:06:34.759
and their style very fun. There's even an older video

94
00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:37.959
out there on YouTube of Shane and Shane when they

95
00:06:37.959 --> 00:06:40.360
were young and they were at Texas A and M.

96
00:06:40.920 --> 00:06:43.439
I believe that was the arena they were in and

97
00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:47.399
they were singing a song called the Answer. Lots of

98
00:06:47.480 --> 00:06:52.199
fun to see the talent these guys have, the skill

99
00:06:52.240 --> 00:06:54.800
they have, and how they give it all back to

100
00:06:54.839 --> 00:06:58.759
the Lord. If you wanted to go further into it,

101
00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.560
then it wouldn't hurt to take a look at the

102
00:07:00.720 --> 00:07:05.079
album pages which take you into the song vision of You,

103
00:07:06.720 --> 00:07:09.319
a song that's pretty easy to follow called We Love

104
00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:14.720
You Jesus, and then a song about the three Hebrew

105
00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:18.000
children by the name of Shadrack, Me Shak and Abndigo

106
00:07:18.959 --> 00:07:22.319
called burn Us Up about the three who wouldn't bow

107
00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.160
Ane to the king, they would only bow to the

108
00:07:25.160 --> 00:07:28.160
one true King. Burn us up stee. I've given you

109
00:07:28.240 --> 00:07:31.319
several songs if you wanted to go into Shane and Shane,

110
00:07:31.319 --> 00:07:36.360
I would recommend those. Try Namesake, the live version, try

111
00:07:36.439 --> 00:07:42.000
the Answer live version, and the album pages, because once

112
00:07:42.040 --> 00:07:45.399
you get through those three songs, you're hooked. You want

113
00:07:45.399 --> 00:07:49.120
to finish the album. That would be where I begin.

114
00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:52.480
Anybody with Shane and Shane, and people don't realize how

115
00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:58.000
effective they have been on my life. Shane and Shane

116
00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:03.480
was there in my darkest times. They've been there in

117
00:08:03.519 --> 00:08:09.360
my happiest times and in my most contemplative times. When

118
00:08:09.399 --> 00:08:14.920
I say darkest times, there were many times on my

119
00:08:15.079 --> 00:08:18.079
ship when I was in the Navy when we would

120
00:08:18.079 --> 00:08:20.639
be under way out to sea, out in the middle

121
00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:26.519
of nowhere, and the pressures were just mounting down on me.

122
00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:29.560
I felt that I had no one to turn to,

123
00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:35.519
that I was alone, the family was thousands of miles away,

124
00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:41.320
that God was very distant from where I was. I

125
00:08:41.360 --> 00:08:45.960
was debating my own worth and my own value in

126
00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:50.399
a very depressive state. And there was a night when,

127
00:08:52.759 --> 00:08:56.200
after really going through a rough shift on my ship,

128
00:08:58.039 --> 00:09:02.240
and I was taking a load of trash. You see,

129
00:09:02.279 --> 00:09:06.120
when you dump trash out in the ocean, you have

130
00:09:06.159 --> 00:09:08.559
two types of trash. You have some that you can

131
00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:12.919
throw over the side, then you have your recyclables. So

132
00:09:13.000 --> 00:09:18.879
if it's aluminum glass, things of that nature, and you

133
00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:20.759
can recycle it, you don't throw it over the edge

134
00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:25.799
for ecological reasons and for marine life. But what you

135
00:09:25.840 --> 00:09:31.840
can throw over the side is anything that is perishable, eggshells,

136
00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:37.039
banana peels, paper, trash, you name it. Things like that,

137
00:09:37.159 --> 00:09:41.440
leftover food waste. You can throw that over the side.

138
00:09:41.519 --> 00:09:44.360
And so there'd be a lot of different trash details

139
00:09:44.360 --> 00:09:47.720
that we would have. And I remember one particular night

140
00:09:47.759 --> 00:09:49.200
when I was just taking one up and I was

141
00:09:49.320 --> 00:09:54.279
just exhausted. I was furious, I just had it. I

142
00:09:54.320 --> 00:09:58.720
was argumentative, but also I was getting beat down emotionally.

143
00:10:00.120 --> 00:10:04.159
Isn't to gain sympathis just telling the truth. And I

144
00:10:04.200 --> 00:10:09.000
remember taking that trash and throwing it over the side

145
00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:13.279
on the starboard side of the ship. And after I

146
00:10:13.320 --> 00:10:15.679
had done that, I almost went back inside, but I

147
00:10:15.720 --> 00:10:20.879
turned and I looked, and I just stared into the darkness,

148
00:10:20.919 --> 00:10:26.039
into the abyss, and the thought did cross my mind

149
00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:31.000
that if I went overboard, they wouldn't find me until

150
00:10:31.000 --> 00:10:35.840
hours later, and by the time they did, I'd already

151
00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:41.519
be gone. It was an inner battle that I had

152
00:10:41.559 --> 00:10:43.320
to hand over to the Lord instead of me trying

153
00:10:43.360 --> 00:10:46.279
to battle it myself. And how did I do that?

154
00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:49.440
I wish I had opened the word, but the closest

155
00:10:49.440 --> 00:10:54.480
thing I had was Shane and Shane. I don't remember

156
00:10:54.519 --> 00:10:57.159
if I was listening to the Psalms album or the

157
00:10:57.200 --> 00:11:00.360
Clean album or the Upstairs album, but it was one

158
00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:06.840
of those three, and those lyrics just got me through

159
00:11:06.879 --> 00:11:11.399
that tough time. So when I saw Shane and Shane

160
00:11:11.480 --> 00:11:15.759
in person in my hometown, when they went to Farley

161
00:11:15.759 --> 00:11:18.720
Street Baptist Church per a performance the night that they

162
00:11:18.759 --> 00:11:23.879
did Psalm thirteen, another one that anybody should hear. I

163
00:11:23.919 --> 00:11:27.960
told them in many ways that their music saved my life,

164
00:11:28.000 --> 00:11:34.399
because I think it did. God intervened through their lyrics

165
00:11:34.440 --> 00:11:41.320
and through their music. Little testimonial there getting deep into that,

166
00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:45.639
but Shane, Shane has always been there as a companion

167
00:11:45.679 --> 00:11:49.759
and a friend for many, many years. I'm forever grateful

168
00:11:50.080 --> 00:11:53.639
to Shane Bernard and Shane Everett for their passion, for

169
00:11:53.720 --> 00:11:58.360
their talents, for their skills, that are God given and

170
00:11:58.399 --> 00:12:04.080
the melodious harmony that they can produce. So I just

171
00:12:04.159 --> 00:12:05.840
I had to get that one out there for you.

172
00:12:05.919 --> 00:12:08.480
If you want to know about Shan Shan, there's a

173
00:12:08.480 --> 00:12:11.080
few worth your time. But if you want to go

174
00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:14.279
into the yminals, it just depends on where your faith

175
00:12:14.320 --> 00:12:16.840
walk is, because there's some intense ones, and most of

176
00:12:16.879 --> 00:12:18.840
them we're gonna probably leave you in tears wanting to

177
00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:23.120
rip your clothes. If you know the biblical aspect of that.

178
00:12:23.200 --> 00:12:26.879
You know what I mean about, you know, tear your clothing.

179
00:12:28.120 --> 00:12:30.679
Either way, take that for what it's worth. Please don't

180
00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:32.960
put your hand in the gutter or something like that,

181
00:12:33.039 --> 00:12:38.360
but that would be the direction I would go fast

182
00:12:38.360 --> 00:12:46.200
forward twenty twenty six instead of getting into everything about Peanuts.

183
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:52.480
The movie that I've waited thirty eight years for is

184
00:12:52.519 --> 00:12:58.960
finally out in theaters, Masters of the Universe, and I've

185
00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:02.360
seen it three times and would go back many, many

186
00:13:02.399 --> 00:13:09.159
times if anybody asked me to. I just cannot tell

187
00:13:09.200 --> 00:13:12.080
you where to begin on this one, whether it was

188
00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:15.480
a flop in the box office or not, whether it's

189
00:13:15.519 --> 00:13:17.480
still growing strong, if there will be a sequel or

190
00:13:17.480 --> 00:13:22.360
there won't be a sequel Chef's Kiss, to Amazon, MGM Studios,

191
00:13:22.440 --> 00:13:26.759
to Travis Knight, to Brian May from Queen who played

192
00:13:26.799 --> 00:13:32.840
the guitar for this one, since we're kind of correlating

193
00:13:33.320 --> 00:13:39.519
musical interpretations here, amazing work. So much of that was

194
00:13:39.559 --> 00:13:42.240
so exciting. And if you go back and watch my

195
00:13:42.360 --> 00:13:44.840
TikTok videos, if you go to look at your favorite

196
00:13:44.840 --> 00:13:48.919
blockhead on TikTok, you'll see very much how I feel

197
00:13:48.960 --> 00:13:57.480
about this movie. Fun, great movie, not exactly the masterpiece

198
00:13:57.519 --> 00:13:59.120
that people might have been looking for, at least if

199
00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:01.240
you were a diehard fan. If you walked into this

200
00:14:01.480 --> 00:14:04.960
film looking for problems, you were going to find them.

201
00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:09.279
If you insist on dissecting and critiquing every little thing,

202
00:14:10.120 --> 00:14:14.039
you're not going to enjoy the ride. And it was fun,

203
00:14:16.000 --> 00:14:19.399
And there are many misconceptions about that I would happily

204
00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:22.320
clear up because I followed Masters of the Universe my

205
00:14:22.399 --> 00:14:26.120
whole life. I knew the toy line, I knew the

206
00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:30.399
mini comics, I knew the TV specials. I knew many

207
00:14:30.639 --> 00:14:35.159
of the cassette tapes and the golden books that came

208
00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:38.519
with that from growing up. I knew the action figures,

209
00:14:38.559 --> 00:14:45.960
I knew the different playsets. I knew the vehicles Season one,

210
00:14:46.159 --> 00:14:49.799
episode three of the Toys that made Us. We'll walk

211
00:14:49.840 --> 00:14:52.919
you through the history of that toy line. It did

212
00:14:52.919 --> 00:14:56.879
the exact opposite of what Star Wars did. They started

213
00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:59.759
with the toy line and then through darts on the

214
00:14:59.759 --> 00:15:02.679
wall until they figured out what worked. It was a

215
00:15:02.759 --> 00:15:05.639
kitchen sink approach. Throw everything at it but the kitchen

216
00:15:05.639 --> 00:15:09.159
sink and see what sticks. Thus they had to sell

217
00:15:09.200 --> 00:15:12.559
the toy line. The nineteen eighty seven movie was a

218
00:15:12.559 --> 00:15:16.279
total disaster. They're man to look at as a cult classic.

219
00:15:17.120 --> 00:15:20.759
That's fine if you don't mind such a Star Wars knockoff.

220
00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:24.399
How does he man need a laser blaster? Please explain

221
00:15:24.480 --> 00:15:26.519
that one. To me, the most powerful man in the universe,

222
00:15:27.440 --> 00:15:28.799
his sword of power is not enough.

223
00:15:29.720 --> 00:15:34.399
It is in this one. So a movie to have

224
00:15:34.480 --> 00:15:41.840
fun with, to be excited about, to have insight from

225
00:15:41.919 --> 00:15:44.240
thirty eight years of knowing it, but just keeping it

226
00:15:44.320 --> 00:15:47.879
under lock and key because the world isn't paying attention

227
00:15:47.960 --> 00:15:52.639
to that. It quickly passed me by because as I

228
00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:55.519
grew up, people started paying attention to teenage mutant Ininja Turtles,

229
00:15:56.200 --> 00:16:01.120
Transformers mention of the nineties came around, and he got

230
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.200
sucked into all the me different animations and cartoons and

231
00:16:05.240 --> 00:16:08.080
other things that just caused he man to take a

232
00:16:08.080 --> 00:16:12.279
back seat. It was only an undercurrent. It was a small,

233
00:16:14.440 --> 00:16:17.080
less known network of people that follow this stuff.

234
00:16:18.879 --> 00:16:22.039
So I didn't just openly talk about it. I just

235
00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:25.120
enjoyed it on my own until it came to the

236
00:16:25.120 --> 00:16:28.240
surface again. And here it is right there in front

237
00:16:28.240 --> 00:16:33.000
of you. So ultimately I'd give probably the entire movie

238
00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:36.159
of nine out of ten seeing it three times, I'll

239
00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:40.919
gladly go again. And now I have to address and

240
00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:43.279
I don't have to, but I'm going to address something

241
00:16:43.320 --> 00:16:47.679
else that the dust is settled, that I have been

242
00:16:47.720 --> 00:16:54.240
watching this from afar, and simply just to say, I

243
00:16:54.320 --> 00:17:01.320
wish before this trial, before in my own backyard of Texas,

244
00:17:03.879 --> 00:17:12.519
we have the Carmelo Anthony trial, we have the verdict,

245
00:17:13.279 --> 00:17:18.200
and all I can say is I wish more people

246
00:17:18.240 --> 00:17:21.000
would go back and watch the old classic movie Twelve

247
00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:27.039
Angry Men, because at least you can see the historical

248
00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:34.799
trajectory that created that fictitious masterpiece where one man out

249
00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:41.160
of twelve has reasonable doubt is able to convince everybody

250
00:17:41.599 --> 00:17:47.079
at the end of it that we need to question

251
00:17:47.200 --> 00:17:51.759
what was brought under cross examination instead of laying our

252
00:17:51.759 --> 00:17:55.240
own prejudices getting the way, let the facts speak for themselves,

253
00:17:56.799 --> 00:18:01.319
things like a self appointed or government appointed the lawyer.

254
00:18:03.680 --> 00:18:07.119
But something else was very prevalent in that as well,

255
00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:11.000
and it has been since the nineties, even before that.

256
00:18:11.079 --> 00:18:15.640
But I have to start with a more recent incident

257
00:18:16.079 --> 00:18:20.200
that I'll start with. Where as Atticus Fence once said,

258
00:18:20.200 --> 00:18:22.079
if you've ever read To Kill a Mockingbird or seen

259
00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:26.000
the movie, you gotta know what I'm talking about. Where

260
00:18:26.000 --> 00:18:29.319
Atticus Finch is defending the black man who's done nothing

261
00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:34.839
wrong and he's been given this case, and he's saying

262
00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.279
that the evidence does not point to this man, but

263
00:18:38.440 --> 00:18:43.359
there is a and I quote rigid, time honored code

264
00:18:43.400 --> 00:18:49.640
of society that neither side is willing to break because

265
00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:53.200
he's found guilty, is charged. If you know the story

266
00:18:53.240 --> 00:18:58.279
where if you look at the courts, the courts are

267
00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:04.160
supposed to be the great leveler. So to go back

268
00:19:04.160 --> 00:19:08.400
to the nineties, just to paint a picture here and

269
00:19:08.440 --> 00:19:12.759
show the pattern, because I was a bit I wouldn't

270
00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:16.400
say fearful, but I was watching from afar saying, am

271
00:19:16.440 --> 00:19:19.839
I going to see history rhyme all over again. History

272
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:24.680
doesn't repeat itself, but a boy, it's sure rhymes. And

273
00:19:24.960 --> 00:19:29.599
I can remember seeing the nineteen ninety two La riots.

274
00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:39.680
We have Rodney King beaten, caught by a home video

275
00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:46.519
and an entire jury of Caucasians that allow him to

276
00:19:46.559 --> 00:19:53.160
walk free, and the city goes up in flames. Fast

277
00:19:53.160 --> 00:20:00.319
forward a few years, a man named OJ Simpson is

278
00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:03.000
able to say that he is the first African American

279
00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:11.400
to walk free because of his race. And what many

280
00:20:11.480 --> 00:20:15.440
figured out is you didn't do anything for a race

281
00:20:15.480 --> 00:20:17.400
of any kind here. All you did was help a

282
00:20:17.440 --> 00:20:22.440
guy who was wealthy and lived in Brentwood get off

283
00:20:22.519 --> 00:20:25.759
because of his skin color, certainly not the content of

284
00:20:25.799 --> 00:20:28.039
his character. Quoting Martin Luther King.

285
00:20:28.079 --> 00:20:28.240
There.

286
00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:40.480
I can remember also during COVID, another black man that

287
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:45.640
caused an uproar all through the nation. And I remember

288
00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.759
seeing this young kid. It was a video that was

289
00:20:48.839 --> 00:20:54.400
up on YouTube, a young kid who's angry, and another

290
00:20:54.440 --> 00:20:58.559
gentleman saying, I know you're angry. We're angry too, But

291
00:20:58.599 --> 00:21:02.079
I ask you this, Can you come up with a

292
00:21:02.119 --> 00:21:05.240
better solution. It's your generation that has to do it,

293
00:21:05.640 --> 00:21:10.519
because what we're doing isn't working. We're not bringing any

294
00:21:10.680 --> 00:21:16.519
justice to George Floyd. He's still dead. So there's three

295
00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:20.319
incidents that point to a pattern that I wondered what

296
00:21:20.359 --> 00:21:26.480
would happen in the backyard of my own state. And

297
00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:28.960
there was still the same Going back to Twelve Angry Men,

298
00:21:29.000 --> 00:21:32.319
there was the stereotypical about, oh, they're all born liars.

299
00:21:33.200 --> 00:21:36.240
Oh the only good white man is a dead white man.

300
00:21:36.279 --> 00:21:39.640
And I am very much exaggerating what was saying. Even

301
00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:44.440
the stereotypes of slums or breeding grounds for criminals, and

302
00:21:44.480 --> 00:21:47.880
the witnesses are one of them. Let me tell you

303
00:21:48.480 --> 00:21:52.000
one thing I can tell you about this case is

304
00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:59.920
the kids and their testimony. Everyone of these track stars,

305
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:03.680
every one of these athletes that got on the witness

306
00:22:03.720 --> 00:22:08.039
stand block ad Nation, they came up with a better solution.

307
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:17.920
They told the truth. Those kids testimonies. Those athletes allowed

308
00:22:18.039 --> 00:22:26.960
our courts in Texas to be the great leveler because

309
00:22:27.119 --> 00:22:32.279
in a murder trial, it has to be accurate. And

310
00:22:32.359 --> 00:22:36.720
every one of these kids they got up there. I mean,

311
00:22:36.799 --> 00:22:40.200
there's only two witnesses in the movie Twelve Angry Men.

312
00:22:40.920 --> 00:22:47.039
All these athletes said the exact same thing that Austin

313
00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:53.279
Metcalf's brother said. Word for word. So I bring all

314
00:22:53.359 --> 00:22:55.000
that just as I've watched it from afar and I've

315
00:22:55.000 --> 00:23:00.440
allowed this just to marinate in my mind. Is that

316
00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:06.279
not only did Carmelo Anthony Steele Austin Metcalf's life and

317
00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:11.279
a future for his family without him in it, he

318
00:23:11.319 --> 00:23:20.039
didn't just do that. He stole the limelight. He stole

319
00:23:20.400 --> 00:23:24.839
those athletes moment to be recognized for their hard work

320
00:23:24.880 --> 00:23:29.759
as well. He stole from their blood, sweat and tears

321
00:23:30.440 --> 00:23:32.799
and their moment of triumph that they should have had

322
00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:40.240
that day they got justice, and again all the more

323
00:23:40.279 --> 00:23:42.880
facts come out and we have this court appointed lawyer

324
00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:45.319
instead of a solid lawyer. Though was supposed to be

325
00:23:45.359 --> 00:23:47.920
funded by that go fund me account, but we saw

326
00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:50.720
where those funds ended up and how there are many

327
00:23:50.759 --> 00:23:53.039
within their own community that have turned their back on

328
00:23:53.119 --> 00:23:59.279
the guy. So I simply say this after watching that trial,

329
00:24:01.960 --> 00:24:04.920
there is just like Psalm chapter one says, there's a

330
00:24:04.920 --> 00:24:08.680
way of the righteous and there's a way of the ungodly.

331
00:24:10.680 --> 00:24:12.640
So normally I would throw in my scripture of the

332
00:24:12.720 --> 00:24:15.440
day midway through this episode, but I can't do that

333
00:24:15.519 --> 00:24:21.400
now because I've got to include it here. Psalm chapter one,

334
00:24:21.640 --> 00:24:25.279
Verse one says, blessed as the man who walks not

335
00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:28.599
in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the

336
00:24:28.640 --> 00:24:32.640
path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

337
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:39.039
There's a Hebrew word there, escher. And this is going

338
00:24:39.079 --> 00:24:42.400
off of David Musick from commentary from Blueletterbible dot org.

339
00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:46.400
If you want it, the Hebrew word there a shar

340
00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:50.759
its root word just simply means to be straight, to

341
00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.200
do what's right. I mean, I looked up some other

342
00:24:56.240 --> 00:24:59.920
commentary that was on the Gospel Coalition page Gospel col

343
00:25:01.480 --> 00:25:05.000
and both chapter one and chapter two of Psalms, composed

344
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:11.559
by David set of framework that is the way of

345
00:25:11.599 --> 00:25:15.079
the blessed, and eventually you get to the way of

346
00:25:15.079 --> 00:25:17.279
the wicked further down when you start in chapter four,

347
00:25:17.319 --> 00:25:21.359
but one through three, especially one in two Psalm Chapter one,

348
00:25:21.799 --> 00:25:25.720
as it says, provokes our passions to be that blessed person,

349
00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:30.319
a faithful saint who is rewarded with eternal life, albeit

350
00:25:30.559 --> 00:25:35.039
not without first suffering. As job chapter five, verse seventeen says, Behold,

351
00:25:35.559 --> 00:25:39.599
blessed is the one who God reproves therefore despised, not

352
00:25:39.920 --> 00:25:44.759
the discipline of the Almighty and then it goes on

353
00:25:44.799 --> 00:25:48.160
to destruct us how to be such things because there's

354
00:25:48.200 --> 00:25:52.759
a metaphor used in the Psalm. The metaphor way it

355
00:25:52.839 --> 00:26:00.599
signifies disposition, indeeds, your conduct, your consequences. Jesus is the

356
00:26:00.640 --> 00:26:06.039
fulfillment of this blessed man. So I know that's a lot.

357
00:26:06.079 --> 00:26:10.960
It's just a life of obedience to God and a

358
00:26:11.000 --> 00:26:16.079
bodily resurrection that walks us through the first three chapters

359
00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:20.640
of the book of Psalms, but ultimately points to a

360
00:26:20.680 --> 00:26:23.880
life fulfilled with Jesus. Once you've been saved, then there's

361
00:26:23.880 --> 00:26:31.000
the sanctification process, which we knew was being undermined through

362
00:26:31.039 --> 00:26:35.680
this whole trial. Guys, I've sat here in ranton the

363
00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.480
whole time, but it's just for me to get back

364
00:26:37.519 --> 00:26:40.319
on here and maybe get some kind of a rhythm down.

365
00:26:40.359 --> 00:26:46.400
But thank you for staking this far. But the last

366
00:26:46.400 --> 00:26:51.240
thing I can mention is anybody that sat through. I

367
00:26:51.279 --> 00:26:53.119
know I'm bringing up MMA again, but I kind of

368
00:26:53.160 --> 00:27:00.079
have to simply from the perspective of UFC Freedom two fifty.

369
00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:06.799
All that time leading up to this event, I was

370
00:27:06.839 --> 00:27:13.880
going through what you would call cognitive dissonance that I

371
00:27:13.920 --> 00:27:18.839
had toward this event. It's it's this mental tension and

372
00:27:18.920 --> 00:27:23.440
this conflict inside of me because I'm going, Okay, we

373
00:27:23.480 --> 00:27:25.960
want to have something that represents freedom in America of

374
00:27:26.000 --> 00:27:29.759
two hundred and fifty years. Well, guys, the UFC has

375
00:27:29.799 --> 00:27:32.640
only been around since nineteen ninety three, and Donald Trump's

376
00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:36.119
a fan of it. So when it appears on the screen,

377
00:27:36.160 --> 00:27:39.519
that's happy eightieth birthday, mister Trump. Okay, Now I'm kind

378
00:27:39.559 --> 00:27:43.000
to understand this is what he wants. We were supposed

379
00:27:43.039 --> 00:27:46.400
to get seven title fights, but we got two. So

380
00:27:46.480 --> 00:27:52.359
I walked in with a lot of not false hope,

381
00:27:52.519 --> 00:27:55.960
but I walked in thinking this is going to underdeliver.

382
00:27:58.160 --> 00:28:02.400
I stand before you corrected, lockhead Nation. And for those

383
00:28:02.440 --> 00:28:06.480
that wanted to oppose this event being held on the

384
00:28:06.480 --> 00:28:09.440
South Lawn or the White House and saying this is

385
00:28:09.519 --> 00:28:13.039
just a bunch of people that are uneducated want to

386
00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:16.880
watch people fight. Everybody wants to point to what happened

387
00:28:16.920 --> 00:28:20.480
with Josh Hokit, which quite frankly was a little bit embarrassing.

388
00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:23.839
That's easy to target that I didn't hear one of

389
00:28:23.880 --> 00:28:26.799
you talking about Diego Lopez, you know, the guy that

390
00:28:26.839 --> 00:28:30.319
won the first fight on the South Lawn. You talk

391
00:28:30.359 --> 00:28:33.240
about freedom and freedom. But another thing about America is

392
00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:37.160
this thing called diversity and opportunity. Diego Lopez is the

393
00:28:37.160 --> 00:28:38.920
one who had the first win on the South Lawn.

394
00:28:39.000 --> 00:28:41.279
Nobody can ever take that away from him. Ranked number

395
00:28:41.319 --> 00:28:44.359
two in the world in his division, and also offered

396
00:28:44.359 --> 00:28:47.240
to fight a second time on the same night if

397
00:28:47.240 --> 00:28:50.519
there was a weight problem between Eliot Toporia and Justin

398
00:28:50.559 --> 00:28:54.920
Gaechee and his substitute Armand Sorrukion, who had been in

399
00:28:54.920 --> 00:28:59.480
a competition on Friday before, in a Brazilian jiu jitsu competition.

400
00:28:59.559 --> 00:29:01.559
So for the fact that he would put his name

401
00:29:01.599 --> 00:29:04.119
out there. I didn't hear one of y'all talking about

402
00:29:04.119 --> 00:29:08.920
Diego Lopez. Sure, I see everybody getting irritated with all

403
00:29:08.960 --> 00:29:11.960
the comments made in all the little scuffles that are

404
00:29:11.960 --> 00:29:15.279
going on outside of the cage, people from having one

405
00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:16.680
two million to drink. I didn't hear any even talking

406
00:29:16.680 --> 00:29:20.359
about Mauricio Huffy when he quoted scripture when he won.

407
00:29:20.559 --> 00:29:24.759
I didn't hear that. And to go, how is this patriotic?

408
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:30.359
How is it not patriotic for the main event to

409
00:29:30.440 --> 00:29:34.119
watch easily the greatest walkout I've ever seen. I didn't

410
00:29:34.119 --> 00:29:38.640
think it would, but Justin Gaichee to hear that music

411
00:29:38.680 --> 00:29:42.960
ain't no grave and keep my body down. For him

412
00:29:43.039 --> 00:29:47.880
to start his walk staring at the Declaration of Independence

413
00:29:47.920 --> 00:29:52.799
on the wall, and then to make his walk and

414
00:29:52.839 --> 00:29:57.000
to go past all of those presidents. Nothing about that

415
00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:59.640
seemed disgraceful. It's almost like every one of these presidents

416
00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:02.720
looking at Justin Gatchie as he's passing, almost as if

417
00:30:02.720 --> 00:30:08.119
they're saying, go get them kid. We knew he was

418
00:30:08.119 --> 00:30:12.519
the underdog going into this fight. Eliot's Aporia was very

419
00:30:12.640 --> 00:30:15.400
much the favored fighter out of these two. A guy

420
00:30:15.440 --> 00:30:19.799
from Spain. You want to talk about a rocky for

421
00:30:20.119 --> 00:30:23.799
field when Justin Gasey causes this guy to quit on

422
00:30:23.839 --> 00:30:28.279
his stool after the fourth round. For Justin Gaichie to

423
00:30:28.279 --> 00:30:33.519
be the American hope that we saw that night. So

424
00:30:33.640 --> 00:30:36.519
for those that walked in with any kind of skepticism,

425
00:30:37.839 --> 00:30:40.559
it went away very click and quickly. The entire night

426
00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:46.319
incredible fights, some heartbreaking, many not so much. Every one

427
00:30:46.319 --> 00:30:50.519
of them finish. Talk about a way for these guys

428
00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:52.960
to show up for somebody who doesn't make near the

429
00:30:53.039 --> 00:30:56.559
salary than an NFL NBA player. And I'm not trying

430
00:30:56.599 --> 00:30:59.799
to compare salaries here, but most of these guys, the

431
00:31:00.279 --> 00:31:02.279
Justin Gatge walked away with eight hundred and twenty five

432
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:08.160
thousand dollars for his win bonus. That's your average NHL

433
00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:12.160
hockey player that you never heard of. So we can

434
00:31:12.160 --> 00:31:13.720
get to that another day if you want to talk

435
00:31:13.720 --> 00:31:18.599
about fighter pay and how most agents would rather support

436
00:31:18.640 --> 00:31:21.519
an MMA guy over a football player because they're more sincere,

437
00:31:22.400 --> 00:31:25.319
they're more down to earth. The ones who know how

438
00:31:25.319 --> 00:31:28.240
to fight, too often are the ones that don't go

439
00:31:28.279 --> 00:31:30.400
around looking for one. And it's really hard to defend that.

440
00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:33.200
Saying that as of what just came out with Dustin Poirier,

441
00:31:34.799 --> 00:31:38.599
it's really hard for me to watch a guy who's

442
00:31:38.640 --> 00:31:42.960
had so many big moments and spectacles, a guy who

443
00:31:43.039 --> 00:31:47.640
has an organization called the Good Fight Foundation, who possibly

444
00:31:48.839 --> 00:31:51.559
while maintaining a CTE and probably having one two million

445
00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:53.640
to drink that night, wants to get in the scuffle

446
00:31:53.680 --> 00:31:58.240
with a police officer. Not a good look. That story

447
00:31:58.319 --> 00:32:02.039
is still unfolding. It's heartbreaking for me to sit here

448
00:32:02.079 --> 00:32:06.240
and watch it. From afar. I gave my last root

449
00:32:06.240 --> 00:32:10.720
beer to the Diamond and now he's being taken away

450
00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:16.000
in handcuffs. That still stings, do you even say that,

451
00:32:17.319 --> 00:32:21.240
but continue to look to things in the future. We're

452
00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:25.240
gonna have a Connor McGregor return against my favorite fighter,

453
00:32:25.279 --> 00:32:28.599
Max Holloway. We're gonna have a comin event of Patty

454
00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:31.599
the Bay versus Ben was Saint Dennis come July eleventh,

455
00:32:32.400 --> 00:32:34.440
and I probably will be speaking to you prior to

456
00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:37.559
that time. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day.

457
00:32:37.559 --> 00:32:39.680
This is your favorite blockhead sign out. We'll catch you

458
00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:44.200
next time, same blockhead time, same blockhead chain