A changing experience

Defiantly an experience that was life changing was the first time I sparred in a boxing ring.  I had been boxing for about two months at the time, defiantly working hard and really loving every minute of it.  It was incredibly physically demanding but every time I left I felt great.  So of course since I'm boxing and learning how to fight I start to think I'm really tough and awesome and can kick any body's ass.  I had no idea how quickly this was all about to change.  The first time I sparred was with a guy named Mike who was in the amateur ranks.  We got into the ring and he came at me like a freight train.  He was so fast and so powerful I must have looked like an 8 year old in the ring with mike tyson.  There is no other way to describe it other then he kicked my ass.  He even put me on the ground and once that happened the trainers stepped in and realized how over matched I was.  To say the least it was an embarrassing and humbling experience, because it was incredibly hard to go back to the gym the next day but I made myself, and I think people respected that.  Also as corny as it sounds, getting your ass kicked really makes you realize how much violence or fighting really does suck unless its absolutely necessary.  Overall the experience of being dropped in about 30 seconds made me more relaxed and not so eager to prove myself because I realized I have a lot to learn!  

Element of popular culture

I just finished watching the fifth and final season of the Wire, and have come to the conclusion that it is the best piece of cinema I have ever seen.  The show takes place in Baltimore Maryland and each season they chronicle a different facet of the city.  Season 1 is the drug trade, season 2 is the ports and harbors, season 3 is a political campaign, season 4 is inner city schools, and season 5 goes inside the day to day operations of running a newspaper.  All of this is done with striking realism and authenticity, and gives you the impression that the creators care much more about provoking thought and interest then they do about ratings.  Also the show has five years (over sixty hours) to introduce you to the characters, and the development in that department is nothing short of superb.  All of it is shot on location in Baltimore, the only time there is music is when it is ambient (coming from a car, someone listening to it on a boom box), and there are no flashbacks or narrations, all of this adding to its unparalleled realism.  In season three it documents a man named Thomas Carcetti running for mayor, it shows the back door bureaucratics that are involved in such a quest, how a candidate promises one thing and then once in office delivers another.  It shows the tireless work and effort that it would take to run for any position in office, and more then anything it shows the problems one faces once elected to try and fix a terribly underfunded and ignored post industrial American city.  As you can tell I am entranced by the Wire, I have never seen anything like it before or since and most likely never will, but don't just take my word for it, go watch it!