Boozer Interview

My husband just interviewed Carlos Boozer in Utah. Check out what he says - Boozer interview.

Roughhouse Friday

Roughhouse kicks off 2008 season
By Courtney Nelson
For the Juneau Empire
Marlintini’s Lounge kicked off the 2008 Roughhouse Boxing season with six tough bouts. The main event was the quickest fight of the night with Bullwinkle employee Aaron “Red Baron” Tucker, 18, knocking out his friend Charles Paul Bagoyo, 21, forty seconds into round one. Tucker, the 2007 Southeast Showdown Champion, dominated Bagoyo by aggressively chasing him around the ring until he landed a hard right to the head that dropped Bagoyo to the mat. Tucker said his strategy going in was to “work on his gut, then make some power shots to the head.”
A bout with a thirty-year age gap featured Norman “Thunder Punch” Flood III, 20, defeating first-time-fighter Nestor Manuel Pinango, 50, via split decision. Flood had fists of fire early in the bout and dropped Nestor at the bell. Nestor, a Taku Fisheries employee, landed a hard left to Flood’s nose in round two. Flood looked tired in round three and Nestor was just getting warmed up landing three hard jabs to Flood’s middle then a huge right to his head but it was too late.
In the only MMA fight of the night, Roger “Barcode” Booth IV, a “Slaveway” employee fighting for the “almighty dollar” defeated Alaskan Brewing Company employee James Stern via TKO tap out 58 seconds into round two. Booth and Stern, both fighting MMA for the first time, came out swinging spending most of round one on their feet trading hard head shots. Booth Stern, bloodied and tired, tapped out after Booth had him in a head lock on the floor.
First-time-fighter Michelle Macasact, 23, of Ketchikan took a break from cocktailing at Marlintinis Lounge to defeat thirty-seven-year-old Angela “Grim” Anasogak, 6-2-0, by dominating Anasogak every round while wearing a mini skirt. Macasact, a stand-in for a last minute fight scratch, seemed seasoned and more energetic than the experienced Anasogak, going in with quick, clean shots to the head and then keeping her hands up in defense. Macasact said in a post fight interview that she wasn’t sure if she would fight again.
Twenty-two-year-old college student Cameron “El Moostache” Mitchell, 151 lb., defeated twenty-three-year-old Nathan Schroeder, 155 lb., via unanimous decision in a fight that went the distance. Mitchell came out strong, delivering multiple hard left jabs to Schroeder’s head in round one, then Mitchell tired in round two after Schroeder exploded from the bell with renewed energy. Mitchell ended the round with a hard left right combo to Schroeder’s head at the bell. Round three, both boxers tired but Mitchell hung on for the win.
James Roberts Jr. of Klawock defeated Walter “Showstopper” Brown in a close heavyweight bout that went the full three rounds. Roberts, whose strategy was to “go all out and knock him out,” delivered Brown two standing-eight-counts in round one but was sucking air in round two. Brown came alive landing multiple shots in round three but the blows seemed to wake Roberts and he battled back to hang on for the win.
The next fights will be held October 17th. Anyone interested in fighting can contact Bob Haag at (907)240-2530.

Bear trouble

There's an old Arabic saying, "never invite a bear to your garden."

When this bear came in to our garden to eat our raspberries, he stayed for over two hours roaming from front to back and then staring me down through the glass. He is so cute, but next summer, if he doesn't get shot first, he will come back quite a bit bigger and very comfortable and familiar with our garden. Ah, the unique things we deal with when living in Alaska.

Stay tuned

A new evolution of writings will come soon....

Fight or flight? Just stick it out

Is it me, or is panic running wild through the streets of Juneau? It seems like every other friend is loading a barge for other parts. There's no question these are strange and unsettling times, and almost sure to get stranger. I can certainly understand friends wanting to be closer to their families. Circling up to share the work, share the expenses, and reduce travel costs. But many people have told me they are leaving because they are worried about the price of fuel. And the avalanche certainly messed with everyone's sense of security.

But before you jump ship in a panic, ask yourself, where are you going that's better? California is on fire and it's only the first week of July. The midsection of the country was battling floods while tornadoes blew through Washington, D.C. Right now, Hurricane Bertha is headed for the East Coast. People in other regions have a lot of uncertainty hanging over their heads. Add to it the one certainty we all have, that fuel is going to go up, and it doesn't sound like the grass is any greener.

Every time I talk to one of my friends in other parts of the country, they say the same thing: "But you don't have to commute!" I know, we all gripe about the "long commute" from the valley to downtown, but for most of the country that is not a commute. And most people here haven't even begun to think about taking the bus or carpooling.

I know we live in a rain forest, that we don't have the option of solar anything in the winter, that it will snow. But our environment is still relatively stable. When you're planning, it's nice to have some things you can count on, even if it's that it's going to get very, very cold. So will it be fight or flight? I vote for fight.

Other things you can count on if you choose to stay and fight are: F ... Fresh air and fish. I ... Interconnection with friends near and far, thanks to technology, and connection to our neighbors. G ... A genuine life, polar fleece and Xtra-tufs work fine. ★ ... Help and heart through happiness and hardship. T ... Short travel times. Trees to fuel your wood burner.

When it comes to fight or flight, we've already shown the world that we can fight. Our 30 percent reduction in energy is, literally, the talk of the planet.

We know Alaskans are different. So you singles especially, stay and fight. Find someone who is resourceful and self-reliant to ride out this storm. What better attributes are there to have in a mate?

Of monks and men: Coffin combines boxing and Buddhism
By Courtney Nelson | For the Juneau Empire

Jaed Coffin is as complex as his dichotomous life. Not only was the 28-year-old a Southeast Alaska middleweight boxing champion in 2004, he's also an ordained Buddhist monk.

A boxing Buddha, if you will.

Coffin, who was The Island Institute of Sitka's April writer-in-residence, also authored a book about his time in a Thai monastery called "A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants" released by De Capo Press.

Coffin left his hometown in Maine at 21 and returned to his mother's native village of Panomsarakram in Thailand to connect with his cultural origins and bring him closer to the spiritual foundations of his family and their village. He became ordained as a Buddhist monk while there to fulfill a familial obligation, as almost every man in his family had done, and to earn good karma for his family.

Coffin left the monastery and returned to the United States.

After a time of wanderlust which found him running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, backpacking through Mexico and traveling around the Lower 48, he eventually ended up in Alaska after kayaking solo from the San Juan Islands to Sitka.

"(It was a) spontaneous decision to buy a sea kayak and solo kayak from the San Juan Islands up to Sitka," he said. "When I got to Sitka I didn't have any plans to stay but a contact of mine suggested I get a job at the Native education program. I applied for the job, got it that day, then had a life in Sitka for a little while."

In addition to teaching, Coffin began boxing in Sitka. He trained with Victor Littlefield, who taught him "boxing is controlled aggression and the imposing of your will over someone else's."

This philosophy contradicted the Theravada Buddhist tradition he learned in Thailand where anything seen as a lack of self control "is considered antithetical to the monastic practice."

However Coffin, who fought as an amateur in the Lower 48, said he never felt out of control inside the ring.

"I don't think I've ever lost control in the ring," he said. "My first several fights at Roughhouse (at Marlintini's Lounge), you don't know what you're doing, so you dive forward and plunge forward and that's what most of those fights are like, you know, brawls.

"But I think the thing you learn as a boxer is just to keep control always, and that's what wins fights. Stay disciplined."

Coffin combined the opposing forces of stillness and action as well as Thai and American cultures which deepened his experiences.

Coffin has a deep commitment to the Buddhist tradition his mother brought him up in, but he left the monastery because he was more inclined to be a boxer than a monk.

"One very strong part of my personality is a desire to do things and try things which doesn't happen when you are a monk ... you have to stay put and sit still."

His experience in Thailand taught him discipline. Because he learned how to be still and meditate, Coffin believes it made him a better boxer.

"The notion of meditation when you fight is very important because boxers that have a lot of passion when they fight will tire themselves out and you have to really learn to be calm in moments of a lot of aggression, which is a unique combination."

Coffin retired from the ring due to a neck injury in 2007 after winning several amateur championships, including the 2006 Northern New England Golden Gloves title. Coffin suffered the injury while sparring in Maine.

He said the injury just made him sure he is supposed to be a writer.

Coffin wrote an article about Roughhouse boxing when he got back to Maine for his hometown paper, but he didn't consider it to be a book idea until his agent pushed him to think about his next project.

Coffin wrote 70 pages of a memoir, but admits his boxing book has taken a different turn since coming to Sitka.

"The fellowship with The Island Institute has changed everything for me because now I'm here and it breaks that bubble of imagination," he said. "When you are away you can think, wow, this is the world I imagined, but now that I'm here everything seems more visceral and more real and I went to the fights on (April 11) and that makes everything more present in my imagination. It complicates things but it will be a better book."

He's also writing an article on Southeast Alaska boxing for the New York Times new sports magazine, Play.

I can't read your mind! Or can I?

There are few things more irritating in a relationship than having your mate pout, "You should have known!" First they don't care where you eat, then when their chimichanga arrives, you should have known they wanted chow mein.

Experts say there is no room for mind reading in a relationship. Maybe not, but every car salesman or Casanova will tell you it's the nonverbal communication that seals the deal.

It doesn't take a crystal ball; the messages are always being sent. You just have to pay attention to body language to hear them. It will open up a whole new level of communication and give you an edge in the competitive world of dating.

Birds preen, so do we. If you see someone across the room tossing their head or brushing their fingers through their hair, they are preening for you. You'll know it's for you, because it will be accompanied by looks that linger a little long.

Preening might be followed by displaying. Men and women both thrust, wiggle and shimmy to draw attention to key body parts. Women show off all their territory, while men tend to suck in their guts, spread their legs, and focus on lower torso displays. Women are big on licking their lips.

Next comes contact. Is the handshake a two-finger-wimpy or a bone crusher? Clammy or dry? If it's a hug, is it cuddly, or stiff with back pounding like they expect you to cough up a furball?

We'll assume the initial contact got them to level two, or at least wasn't a complete turnoff, and now you're talking. Is he or she standing a little close, square on you, blocking out competition? Accidentally brushing you? Imitating your gestures or language and holding eye contact? Are those lips being licked? All signs of positive engagement. Nice. And flattering.

But is it real? I hate to inject a buzz kill, but while birds might not practice deceit in their mating dance, humans do.

We play some pretty dumb games - think chimichanga vs. chow mein. So listening to yourself is just as important as listening to them.

Pay attention to your gut, it has a savvy mind of it's own. You always want their smile to go all the way to their eyes. Half smiles, or twitches and ticks, should put you on high alert for deceit. Beads of sweat? Generally not a good sign. Nor are wandering eyes, answering their cell phone, or texting while you're talking. Knot in your stomach? Message delivered.

Now is the time to save yourself and your friends a lot of pain by sending a signal of your own. Fold your wings snugly across your lovely torso and break eye contact.

Then fly around and check out a different flock.