Over the years I've become more and more interested in creative photography and image making. I've been a musician all my life, as well as a DJ, producer, and touring performer. Now I feel the need to extend my creative work and express my art in...
Hip hop fans are way more familiar with this film than they rwalize since Wu Tang Clan sampled the shit out of it and their best emcee took his name from the it (Ghostface Killah). Oh yeah…and the song. Yup, this is The Mystery of Chess Boxing and, in my eyes, it is one of the best old school kung fu films ever made. It’s the epitome of old school. It may not have the glamour and glitz of an early Jackie film but all the components are there: dumb student, wise old teacher, silver (grey?) haired bad guy, crazy styles, training sequences etc. Actually, the one thing it has over a Jackie film is the bat-shit bonkers acrobatics. Jack Long (the old teacher) is a legendary “flipper.” Dude could back flip all day.
Sadly this is another one that never got a remaster. All that exists (unless you go to bootleggers) is a shitty, full screen VHS rip. But if you do want to watch it (and you should), it’s free on Prime Video.
Otherwise, peep this fresh four minutes of classic shapes work by two under appreciated legends..
Facebook post by Robert Hartwell on 24 June 2020. Caption reads:
3 weeks ago I found this house online. I said āthis is my houseā. I called the seller and was told it was a cash only offer and that āIām sure that takes you off the tableā. Donāt you ever underestimate a hard working black man. I saw the house last week and when I walked in I knew I was home. The house was built in 1820 for the Russell family who owned the cotton mill in town. Slavery was still legal. When the agent asked me why I wanted such a large house I said it was āa generational moveā. I know this house is bigger than me. I wish I couldāve told my ancestors when they were breaking their back in 1820 to build this house that 200 years later a free gay black man was going to own it and fill it with love and find a way to say their name even when 200 years later they still thought I would be āoff the tableā. We are building our own tables. Iāve never been prouder to be a black man. Come to my White House any time. I canāt wait to have you! Glory to God in the highest. Iām a homeowner.
Image: Robert, smiling, standing on the lawn in front of his new two-story house. The house is white with two chimneys and a red door.
