Wrestling With The Ox

A Christian scholar of Buddhism, Paul Ingram here develops a primordial theology that deals with the key religious issues of our times, including religious ways of knowing, the character of the Sacred, our relation with nature, and the various forms of liberation--of the self, of others, and the final liberation from death--with which all religious Ways must deal.

"Toocool is training to be a champion wrestler. He must try his amazing 'dog hold' move to beat the famous King Booker and Jamie the Ox!"--Back cover.

Toocool is training to be a champion wrestler. He must try his amazing "dog hold" move to beat the famous King Booker and Jamie the Ox!

Through the Hoop To arc a jump shot through the orange rim . . . to tap in a rebound . . . putting the ball through the hoop represents a transcendent moment in basketball for player, team, and crowd. Such a moment exists in every sport. But to enjoy it, fans and athletes alike are often forced through other kinds of hoops. Sports can be violent, lonely, poetic, painful, uplifting. It can breed fitness or injury, sufficiency or dependence, pride or prejudice, friendship or hostility. When does the discipline of sport become dangerous obedience? When does self-mastery become self-aggrandizement? When does athletic activity cease to be empowering for the participants and fans to become an exercise of power over us? Answers to such questions are hard to find. Sports, unlike most topics previously addressed in special issues of Southern Exposure — labor, women, folk life, health, prisons — has never had a network of informed progressives working outside the established channels, posing critical questions, offering insightful direction for our thinking and doing. Trusted commentators and friends who know where they stand and why with regard to other central aspects of our culture shy away from giving serious thought to sport. As a result, many of us are left with personal confusions brought on by alternating experiences of frustration and fulfillment: How do we talk about a subject that on the one hand can be so easily criticized for abuses and on the other hand remains so compelling? How do we effectively criticize the sports establishment that manages ACC basketball or NFL football when we find ourselves glued to the set at playoff time?

David Pelly tells the Thelon's story, exploring the mystery of Man's relationship with this special place in the heart of Canada's vast Arctic barrenlands. From Thanadelthur and Telaruk to J.W. Tyrrell, John Hornby and Eric Morse, the history is detailed, complete and exciting. The Thelon is the setting for a compelling Canadian adventure tale -- with all its drama, intrigue, joy and tragedy. But the writer goes beyond that to contemplate the significance of the Thelon wilderness, and to examine its uncertain future. "It is the richness of human experience, layered on top of the natural splendour of the river valley and its wildlife, that really sets the Thelon apart. The place has a history, both Native and non-Native, which gives it standing beyond the intrinsic value of wilderness itself." David Pelly writes as one who has been there time and again. He knows the Thelon from personal experience. As a freelance writer for 20 years, he has travelled many parts of the Arctic, but claims that "nowhere draws me back more powerfully than the Thelon."

The Buffalo Reader collects the best of over 25 years of blogs, liner notes and Southern

After dying a million times playing the same classic video game, a young boy knows that he will always live, but this time it's different. This time it's raining outside and TIMMY has been in an auto accident. He's home alone and injured and his time is up. The MESSENGER OF DEATH (MOD) comes knocking on the front door to collect the injured boy. TIMMY slowly realizes he will die if he cannot keep the MOD out of his house until the day is over. THE MIGHTY OX, a wrestler and larger-than-life 'star' of video games unexpectedly comes to life. He possesses an extraordinary game-winning 'secret' weapon. Time and time again he proves to be a guardian angel, refusing to let anyone in the house and keeping the boy safe by fighting off the hench-men of the MOD. After using every trick in the book, the MOD realizes he has one last chance to get the boy. He tricks the boy's crafty wrestler by proposing a final old-fashioned, do-or-die, no-holds-barred wrestling match with the boy as the prize. Timmy is nervous. He knows he will make it through the day and live to grow up but when all the chips are down and when the day is almost over, the 'unimaginable' happens. The Mighty Ox's potent and unique game-winning 'secret' weapon turns out to be no secret after all.

Wrestling dates back to ancient times, but it was not until Edmond Desbonnet (1867-1953) produced his groundbreaking work The Kings of Wrestling in 1910 that its history was set down in book-length form. His work consists of nearly 150 biographies and accompanying photos of the men who pioneered professional wrestling, particularly in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He explains how Greco-Roman wrestling emerged in France around 1845 and then evolved into a big business during its golden age of 1890 to 1910. The sport drew men from all over Europe as well as Africans, Turks, East Indians, Russians, Americans, and others. Wrestling became the first truly international sport the world had ever known. Desbonnet wrote his history in French, and it is translated here for the first time. This richly illustrated edition has an introduction and extensive annotations, along with many contemporary newspaper articles, book excerpts and magazine pieces from French, Italian and German sources.