Well this weekend sure did fly by.

I have a mixed bag of thoughts concerning the July 10th party.  I thought I had a God awful set, however, my wife was quick to point out that I had the most people dancing up until we had left at a quarter to three in the morning.  I think my troubles stemmed from the fact that I was having a difficult time keeping the beats synced with the CD players enduring so much rumble from the bass.  I think Alter Solum would be a great venue if the location was not so run down.  It’s at the Kalihi edge of Chinatown and the unfortunate truth is that particular area still has a lot of work if it’s to scrub away its seedier reputation. Parking can be difficult if you don’t know the area.  Finding parking where you feel safe leaving your vehicle even more so.  There’s also a lack of optimism in the air at the club – at least on the last couple nights that I’ve been there. While I’m a bit guilty of this myself, I do have the inclination to think that perhaps Alter Solum is a bit under-promoted.

That being said, there is a general malaise consuming Honolulu’s night club scene. People are finding it cheaper to stay at home and throw parties at their leisure. Certain locations are weathering this malaise better than others, but these are locations where the owners have deep pockets and contingencies in place for the inevitable ebb in night life entertainment.  Lack of “proper” promotion, a steady loss of morale, poor economic conditions, and unfavorable elements near the venue all conspire to stymy if not completely halt Alter Solum’s development.

July 11th was UFC’s 100th major event which featured Brock Lesner vs. Frank Mir, George Saint-Pierre vs. Thiago Alves, Micheal Bisping vs. Dan Henderson, and two undercards.  Overall the event was pretty good. I think the hype might’ve been a bit much because the whole thing felt like eating Chinese take-out – it tasted good but I didn’t feel full after eating it all up.  The bout with Lesnar & Mir was stopped due to Mir being unable to defend himself.  GSP won a dominate decision over Alves. Henderson roflstomped Bisping.

Now the Lesnar & GSP victories got me thinking.  There’s an obvious difference in size at fight time which gives the advantage to the guy who can cut weight and then build back up to their natural weight.  Whereas the guy who’s naturally 175 or 260 gets the shaft or has to move down a weight-class.  My thoughts on this is, if we want more fights to be fair, weigh-ins should be the night of.  If a fighter cannot make weight, the fighter is disqualified and if the fighter has the title, the fighter should be forced vacate the title. These contests should be about skill, not about being able to lay on top of somone until someone breaks the other’s will through the sheer force of one’s weight.

My wife and her friend had their birthday celebrations yesterday (Sunday, July 12th, 2009) at Kaakoako Water Park. It was a fun time. A few friends and some family showed up. I was supposed to DJ for it, however, the generator decided about an hour in that it would be a good time to inform us to replace the groumet on the fuel valve.  As disappointing as that was, I had a good time … and it was nice to see my wife be her typical social butterfly self.

So that leaves The Gathering in Las Vegas at the Riviera. I’m really looking forward to this. We’ve got most of our trip planned.  Thursday night we’re going to see Reel Big Fish w/ English Beat.  Friday night is The Gathering.  Saturday is probably going to be devoted to just lounging around and perhaps a bit of shopping. Sunday is the Lake Mead/Hoover Dam boat tour and we leave on Monday.  Somewhere in there I’d like to fit in DEFCON, but seeing as this trip also doubles as a long, long overdue honeymoon, I’d rather not bore my wife to death with super geeky stuff.