Happy Tuesday!

I’m feeling good right now because I just finished a meeting about moving forward with Rancho Santana: Then and Now.

This is a book project I’ve been working on for at least 10 years. The idea was to document the amazing history of this place, from when it was a cow farm till it became a five-star resort.

In the beginning, I tried to get my partners here involved in the publication. I thought they’d be interested, but they weren’t. So I put it aside for a while and then decided I would produce it myself. The story should be told.

I say “produce,” because books like this are major productions. The last one I did, Central American Modernism, took many years, involved dozens of contributors, and cost a quarter-million dollars to complete. It’s not like writing an ordinary book manuscript and then having a publisher edit, print, and sell it.

It’s really much more like making a movie. The “script” writer is about 60% done with the text. I just hired an assistant producer, who will help me hire a half-dozen other people – specialists in making a book like this come to fruition.

Re today’s issue… Get ready. It’s a video of a very exciting and out-of-the-ordinary Sumo wrestler.

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You may be wondering why I’m wasting your time on full-grown men having a shoving contest in diapers. Like many, my first impression of this sport was something between astonishment and disgust. But as a student of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu for more than 20 years, I’ve developed an appreciation for grappling – especially the Japanese forms.

What you’ll see in the video is Takanoyama Shuntaro, a Czech (born Pavel Bojar), defeating Japanese opponents twice his size. What is less obviously amazing but is super-cool for anyone that understands grappling, is the extreme level of the techniques used by Takanoyama in achieving these victories. (The  techniques are called “kimarite,” and the Japan Sumo Association recognizes 82 types of them.)

The word Sumo means “to mutually rush at,” and the goal is to push your opponent to the floor or outside of the ring area (known as the dohyo).

Originating in Japan more than 2000 years ago, Sumo is heavily traditional but surprisingly inclusive. Participants come from all over the world, including the United States.

So now… meet Takanoyama Shuntaro.

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