Minority Rule

 

Free our people.

I've explained elsewhere in the blog that there is a spiritual symbolism of black and white that is played out in the drama of human racism.

A lot of media tries to peddle that white is pure and black is marred, or white is good and black is evil.  This is not the case.  They are merely different, and neither could exist without the other, for the one defines the other.  But they war and dance anyway as if it matters, like the yin and the yang that chase each other.

Spiritual white has held supremacy for so long that it has become almost an unstoppable empire.  It has been able to write a narrative that has been unquestioned by most that makes black seem evil.  But black is not evil, it is merely the counter.  In fact, by being such a dominant power, spiritual white treads the line of evil more, even though because of its dominance it can fool us into believing otherwise.  (Evil is as evil does, not what evil looks like.) 

Neither white nor black by nature are evil. It is only by being out of balance that either side may tread evilness. And then reflections show up from the spiritual reality to the human nature.

Pressing the court for moral purity may have started as a noble pursuit, but quickly turned evil.  The Letter kills the Spirit.  Let people find their own happiness.  Just love yourself and love others. It really is that simple.

Balance needs to be restored.  Not for black to triumph over white, but for both spiritual powers to coexist in harmony; for all human races to coexist in harmony.

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From wikipedia: Apartheid (South African English: /əˈpɑːrteɪd/; Afrikaans: [aˈpartɦɛit], segregation; lit. "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 until the early 1990s.[note 1] Apartheid was characterised by an authoritarian political culture based on baasskap (or white supremacy), which ensured that South Africa was dominated politically, socially, and economically by the nation's minority white population.[4] According to this system of social stratification, white citizens had the highest status, followed by Asians and Coloureds, then black Africans.[4] The economic legacy and social effects of apartheid continue to the present day.[5][6][7]

Broadly speaking, apartheid was delineated into petty apartheid, which entailed the segregation of public facilities and social events, and grand apartheid, which dictated housing and employment opportunities by race.[8] Prior to the 1940s, some aspects of apartheid had already emerged in the form of minority rule by white South Africans and the socially enforced separation of black Africans from other races, which later extended to pass laws and land apportionment.[9][10] Apartheid was adopted as a formal policy by the South African government after the ascension of the National Party (NP) during the 1948 general elections.[11]

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Sugar

Animals need the right amount of glucose sugar in their diets, within tolerable levels.  Too much can lead to obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, tooth decay and other complications.

Conversely, if our cells don't get enough glucose sugar they begin to die.  If the blood sugar levels drop too low, it could lead to symptoms such as an irregular or fast heartbeat, fatigue, pale skin, shakiness, anxiety, sweating, hunger, irritability, and tingling or numbness of the lips, tongue or cheek.

Interesting fact:  zombies crave brains because they refuse to consume glucose sugar.  Brains are the most energy-demanding organ, using one-half of all the sugar energy in the body.  So that's why zombies crave brains.  To consume glucose sugar that they refuse to otherwise eat.

They just need a glucose cure.

Not all sugars are the same.  For instance, fruits and complex carbohydrates are healthier than simple sugars found in sweets.  But that doesn't mean you should avoid sweets altogether, for we should also enjoy life!  But while caramel apples remain popular, if you should eat any amber candy around Halloween, make sure you brush your teeth immediately afterward so it doesn't get caught or, more importantly, stuck.

The point is to make sure you eat a healthy, balanced diet with fruits (strawberries, raspberries) and vegetables (lettuce corn) and grains (bread, rice) and meats (bacon, ham, sausage)* and dairy (cheeses**, milk), and fat.  And yes, you can also have your cake and eat it, too.

Moderation in everything, including this.

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 * We eat way too much meat, and factory farming is inhumane.  We should move to eating less meat, and meat that is raised and slaughtered healthier and more sustainably.  There are a number of really good meat-substitute products on the market right now and in development!  I can imagine a future where it's delicious, convenient, and healthy to be vegetarian or meat-less.

 ** I love cheese! My favorites are: gouda, American, goat, monterey jack, pepper jack, mozzarella, feta, swiss, provolone, cheddar, blue cheese, and cottage cheese. I used to like manchego, but I'm pretty much over it.

Batman v Superman

Ever wonder why Batman and Superman are often depicted as rival good guys?  I question this!  They might not seem like alter egos, but the two could certainly coexist and get along just fine. Wish more could see this.

Tale of the Wild Run

There once was a tributary of a raging river.  The freshwaters streamed downhill from an unadulterated watershed, crashed over a waterfall, and then snaked further downward as a wild run before colliding headstrong into the raging river.

Children liked to escape the summer heat and play in the cool waters of the wild run, throwing rocks to find crawfish and salamanders underneath.  It was fun to splash around beneath the shade of the trees.

Teens liked to break away to kayak and canoe... and party away from the prying eyes of their reproachful parents.

Adults liked to take respite from their busi-ness to relax beside the waters.

Animals took refuge in all the niche habitats.

Well, one day some developers decided they wanted to make some money by chopping down trees and building more houses.  You know how that goes.

But the wild run was too wild.  The strong currents would reshape its course every season.  This was fine until now, since the wild run ran inside a preserve.  But the developers wanted to chop down trees and build more houses inside the preserve.  You know how that goes.

So the developers used the magic of lawyers and powerful friends who ran the government to allow them to chop down trees and build more houses inside the preserve.  But before they could chop down the trees and build more houses inside the preserve, they first had to dam that damn wild run.

So they did.

And that shut it up.

The wild run was no longer wild.

It was a lame run now.

But it shut it up too much.  The current slowed to a crawl.  Debris started collecting everywhere.  Scum was foaming and forming.  The children didn't want to stick their hands in the water to throw rocks and look for crawfish and salamanders.  The teens couldn't float down the run.  The adults didn't like the look or smell.  Many of the animals found their habitats stressed.

So they petitioned to undam the damnned dam.  They lost time after time, because they did not have the magic of lawyers or powerful friends who ran the government.

The beavers saw how unfair this was.  The humans were always mucking everything up, putting dams where they shouldn't be, building them incorrectly.  So they got busy tearing that damn dam apart.  The human developers, when they got wind of it, tried shooting the beavers, but they fought back, biting the human developers and chasing them away!

When the damn dam finally broke, it unleashed a righteous torrent that swept up over the banks, flooding the banks and the nearby houses that were developed on the preserve where there used to be trees.  The wild run wasn't too sad about it, because, well, they shouldn't have done that.  They should have known better.  Everyone knows you shouldn't use the magic of lawyers and powerful friends who run the government to chop down trees inside a preserve to build more houses to make more money.  Everyone knows that.

Of course debris still flowed through the river.  You cannot prevent that.  It is impossible to prevent that, and insane to imagine that you might.  But if you allow the river to run wild, the debris will not sit and collect.

After the damn dam broke, there was still a lot of silt clogging the run that prevented it from flowing fully.  But in time the wild run would return to its natural, wild state for the enjoyment of all.

Time Served

Hogwarts

 

To which house do you belong: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, or Slytherin?

Wicked Witch

She comes from the West.

She has mindless, flying monkeys do her bidding.

She casts sleeping spells, but snowfall from the Glinda the Good Witch from the North breaks the spell.

She uses fire to burn and scare.

She doesn't want the group to travel to Emerald City, and demands that the citizens there turn them over.

She hates water.  It melts and destroys her.

The protagonist kills the Wicked Witch from the West.

(This is on the DC Beltway).

RESIST!

Hell or High Water

The four elements cannot exist apart from one another.

But if I had to choose, it sure as hell wouldn't be hell.  Burns too much.

Zombies

I really dislike most zombie movies.  But at least there's some comfort in knowing that interest in the genre will eventually die off.  Just have to survive the fad.

I am so tired of zombie movies right about now.

But I always remember to buckle up.  And double tap.

LEGO Movies

Everything is Awesome.

"Can we be special best friends still"?

"Forever".

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team 

Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream

Everything is better when we stick together
Some have said you and I are gonna win forever?
Lets party forever
We're the same unlike you, you're like me we're all working in harmony

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream

Woo! Three, two, one, go!
Have you heard the news? Everyone's talkin'
Life is good 'cause everything awesome
Lost my job, there's a new opportunity
More free time for my awesome community
I feel more awesome than an awesome possum
Dip my body in chocolate frostin'
Three years later wash off the frostin'
Smellin' like a blossom, everything is awesome
Stepped in mud, got new brown shoes
It's awesome to win and it's awesome to lose

Everything is better when we stick together
Side by side, you and I gonna win forever?
Let's party forever
We're the same unlike you, you're like me we're all working in harmony

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream

Blue skies, bouncy springs, we just named a few awesome things
A Nobel prize, a piece of string
You know what's awesome? Everything!
Dogs with fleas, allergies
A book of Greek antiquities
Brand new pants, a very old vest
Awesome items are the best
Trees, (frogs), clogs, they're awesome
Rocks, clocks, and socks, they're awesome
Figs, and jigs, and twigs, that's awesome
Everything you see or think or say is awesome

Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you're part of a team
Everything is awesome, when you're living out a dream

R2-KT

Aka QT-KT, a Rebel droid.  Just something fun and adorable that everyone loves.  (I would admit before a jury of my peers that I wish I had one).

Hazing

“Be Jesus for us”.

“Wut”?

“We want you to fulfill the second coming of Christ”.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me”.

“Nope. And if you don’t believe us now, we will use an assortment of tricks to deceive and coerce you. You have no idea the resources at our disposal. We can put ourselves into every nook and cranny of your life.  We'll be in your work and in your school.  We'll be your neighbors and your retail employees”.

“You’re insane. I’ll resist and fight back. I’ll never give up”.

“Then we’re going to inflict non-stop, covert psychological pain on you unless you say the magic word and pretend to be Jesus”.

“WTF.  You are insane! That’s pathologically twisted shit. Absolutely no way”.

“Then you’re a bad person because we’re the good people. Therefore, we’re going to continue to covertly hurt you until you join our club. Or hurt you until you collapse so that we can posses your body and fulfill our prophecy”.

“You are psychopaths and clearly not good people”.

Tale of the Minecraft World Bidding War

There once was a man who built huge, intricate Minecraft worlds.

He would build the worlds full of Sims, raise a Sim up to a higher level and leave them in charge to run it.  Then he would sell the world to another for their amusement.  It was like a snow-globe full of digipets.

He couldn't do it alone, so he enlisted the help of many.  In order to get every detail perfect, many of them occupied the avatars inside the game, alongside the Sims, the simulated life beings, that were created for the world.  The Sims were legitimate life in every sense of the word, though many of the workers, who came from above, looked down upon them and took advantage of them.

The designer of the world wanted to raise one of the simulated beings up to a higher level, to the place the workers came from.  It was like turning a 2D stick figure into a 3D being, no easy task.  But with a lot of trial and error and pain and the help of many, they got there.

Except for one problem.  The 3D being wasn't what the designer wanted.  So the designer and all of the workers used a variety of deception and manipulation and psychological warfare and abuse over many years, increasing the pressure and heat, to try to change the autonomous, self-determining being to submit to their desires, obey their command, and do as they please like a well-trained pet.  All so that they could then sell the Minecraft world for more money to the highest bidder.

The 3D being was actually designed to withstand a great amount of torture.  That didn't mean it didn't hurt just as much or damage it just as much.  As time went on, the being became less and less functional, at least temporarily.  But that didn't stop the designer and the workers from trying to squeeze the top dollar out of the 3D being and the Minecraft world to the highest bidder.

In fact, the more they squeezed, the less functional the 3D being became.  The less functional it became, the more they increased the pressure and pain.  This went on a long, long time.  Neither would relent.  The 3D being was quite determined to withstand the pain, and the designer and workers were quite determined to break its will.  All so that they could squeeze the top dollar out of the 3D being and the Minecraft world to the highest bidder.

Eventually, the designer and workers resorted to reprogramming the 3D being against its will, literally stealing its self-determination and autonomy, stripping free will from it.  All so that they could squeeze the top dollar out of the 3D being and the Minecraft world to the highest bidder.

Desperate, the 3D being continued to fight back against the oppressors, crying out to anyone out there who might be able to help save it.

Xenophobia

SPOILER ALERT!  This whole post is just one big, fat SPOIL.  Because, well, if you haven't noticed, everything.  That's why.

Who doesn't like sci-fi movies?  (People who don't like sci-fi movies.  Duh.  What kind of question is this?)

From fandom:  the humans are the aggressors and the bugs the victims: when the bugs bomb Buenos Aires, they are not attacking the human race but reacting to human colonists encroaching on bug planets.

Can I go home now, please?

The Beatles, Abbee Road, The End

Sir Oscar Isaac

These two articles have absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the blog, I swear on the Bible.

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Oscar Isaac Will Return to Star Wars “If I Need Another House or Something”

[T]he actor doesn’t seem to harbor any dreams of returning to the franchise to reprise his role as Poe Dameron, the headstrong pilot caught in a forever fanfic with John Boyega’s Finn. In an interview with Deadline, Isaac quipped that he might return to the galactic franchise—“if I need another house or something.”

The actor was sitting for a video interview with writer-director Paul Schrader, promoting their upcoming movie, The Card Counter. During the chat, Isaac—who rose to fame after the Coen brothers’ folksy Inside Llewyn Davis—said while he enjoyed the process of filming Star Wars, the galactic fantasies are not exactly the kinds of movies he wants to make.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/06/oscar-isaac-star-wars-house

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Oscar Isaac Has Never Felt Like a ‘Star Wars’ Insider

Unlike his “Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker” co-stars Daisy Ridley and John Boyega, Oscar Isaac had already established a long and acclaimed acting career before J.J. Abrams cast him as ace X-wing pilot Poe Dameron in 2015’s “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” including standout roles in 2006’s “The Nativity Story” and 2011’s “Drive,” and leading roles in 2013’s “Inside Llewyn Davis” and 2014’s “A Most Violent Year” and “Ex Machina.”

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/star-wars-oscar-isaac-the-rise-of-skywalker-1203436342/

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JSON

JSON.  I get it.  I get most of your references, and the ones I don't I at least understand you're referring to me and poking fun of me.  You're not funny, with all of your incessant barbs and poking.

For python class I had to write a JSON formatted file.

{

  "abusesEtc" : {

    "types of abuse" : {

      "abuse of authority" : true,

      "abuse of discretion" : true,

      "abuse of dominance" : true,

      "abuse of indulgences" : false,

      "abuse of information" : true,

      "abuse of power" : true,

      "abuse of process" : true,

      "abuse of rank" : true,

      "abuse of the system" : true,

      "academic abuse" : false,

      "ad hominem abuse" : true,

      "adolescent abuse" : false,

      "adult abuse" : true,

      "alcohol abuse" : false,

      "animal abuse" : false,

      "bullying" : true,

      "character assassination" : true,

      "child abuse" : true,

      "civil rights abuse" : false,

      "cyber bullying" : true,

      "dating violence" : false,

      "defamanation" : false,

      "detainee abuse" : false,

      "disability abuse" : false,

      "discriminatory abuse" : {

        "age" : false,

        "appearance" : false,

        "education" : false,

        "ethnicity" : false,

        "gender" : false,

        "health" : false,

        "height" : false,

        "income" : false,

       "language" : false,

       "lifestyle" : true,

       "occupation" : false,

       "political affiliation" : false,

       "race or skin color" : false,

       "sexuality or sexual orientation" : true,

       "social class" : false,

       "weight" : false

       },

      "doctor abuse" : false,

      "domestic abuse" : false,

      "drug abuse" : false,

      "economic abuse" : false,

      "elder abuse" : false,

      "emotional abuse" : true,

      "employee abuse" : true,

      "false accusations" : true,

      "financial abuse" : false,

      "gaming the system" : true,

      "gaslighting" : true,

      "gay abuse or gay bashing" : false,

      "group psychological abuse" : true,

      "harassment" : true,

      "hate crimes" : false,

      "hazing" : true,

      "human rights abuse" : false,

      "incivility" : true,

      "institutional abuse" : false,

      "insult" : true,

      "intimidation" : true,

      "legal abuse" : false,

      "lesbian abuse" : false,

      "malpractice" : false,

      "market abuse" : false,

      "material abuse" : false,

      "medical abuse" : false,

      "mental abuse" : true,

      "military abuse" : true,

      "mind abuse or mind control" : true,

      "misconduct" : false,

      "mobbing" : true,

      "narcissistic abuse" : false,

      "neglect" : false,

      "negligence" : false,

      "nurse abuse" : false,

      "online abuse" : false,

      "parental abuse by children" : true,

      "peer abuse" : true,

      "persecution" : true,

      "personal abuse or personal attacks" : true,

      "police abuse" : false,

      "political abuse" : false,

      "prejudice" : false,

      "prison abuse or prisoner abuse" : false,

      "professional abuse" : false,

      "psychological abuse" : true,

      "racial abuse" : false,

      "rape" : false,

      "relational aggression" : false,

      "religious abuse" : true,

      "resident abuse" : false,

      "rudeness" : true,

      "satanic ritual abuse" : false,

      "school bullying" : true,

      "sectarian abuse" : false,

      "self-abuse" : false,

      "sexual abuse" : false,

      "sexual bullying" : false,

      "sibling abuse" : false,

      "smear campaign" : true,

      "societal abuse" : true,

      "spiritual abuse" : true,

      "spousal abuse" : false,

      "stalking" : false,

      "structural abuse" : true,

      "substance abuse" : false,

      "surveillance abuse" : true,

      "taunting" : true,

      "teacher abuse" : true,

      "teasing" : true,

      "telephone abuse" : true,

      "terrorism" : false,

      "transgender abuse or trans bashing" : false,

      "umpire abuse" : false,

      "verbal abuse or verbal attacks" : true,

      "whispering campaign" : true,

      "workplace abuse or workplace bullying" : true

    },    

    "types of bias" : {

      "anchoring" : null,

      "apophenia" : null,

      "association fallacy" : null,

      "attribution bias" : null,

      "availability heuristic" : null,

      "cognitive dissonance" : null,

      "confirmation bias" : null,

      "conformity" : null,

      "egocentric bias" : null,

      "extension neglect" : null,

      "in-group favoritism" : null,

      "fallacy" : null,

      "framing effect" : null,

      "mere-exposure effect" : null,

      "prospect theory" : null,

      "truthiness" : null

    },    

    "manipulation techniques" : {

      "bandwagon effect" : true,

      "brandishing anger" : true,

      "covert intimidation" : true,

      "crying" : false,

      "dark psychology" : true,

      "denial" : true,

      "diversion" : false,

      "emotional blackmail" : true,

      "evasion" : false,

      "feigning confusion" : false,

      "feigning innocence" : false,

      "guilt trip" : true,

      "lying" : true,

      "lying by omission" : false,

      "minimization" : true,

      "nagging" : true,

      "negging" : true,

      "rationalization" : false,

      "playing the servant" : false,

      "playing the victim" : true,

      "projecting blame" : false,

      "selective inattention" : false, 

      "seduction" : false,

      "shaming" : true,

      "silent treatment" : false,

      "sulking" : false,

      "swearing" : false,

      "threats" : false,

      "veiled threats" : true,

      "villifying the victim" : true,

      "yelling" : true

    },

    "social engineering priciples" : {

      "reciprocity" : true,

      "commitment and consistency" : true,

      "social proof" : true,

      "authority" : true,

      "liking" : true,

      "scarcity" : true

    }

  }

}

My Movie

This is how I would write the movie of my life.

Epic, erotic-romance, sci-fi fantasy; rated NC-17.

• Part of a long, over-arching grand story. A story of hope: the old ways transcending to new; a New Age Renaissance; Age of Aquarius; global environmental, social, and spiritual enlightenment; technological advancements; alien contact in an exciting way that leads to discovery and exploration and possibly upheaval, but not war with them.  Lead people in some way.
• A love story that is sex positive; in a free to love and express who and how you want; not in any way Gorean or Handmaid’s Tale or a sensationalized, dehumanizing way (opinions vary on definition, but most modern studio porn and a lot of music videos/other media is oversexualized or cheapens the value of sexuality).  But where LGBTQIA and RACK BDSM/kink and polyamory and other ethical non-monogamy (ENM) are perfectly acceptable.
• Spirituality in a New Age sort of way (not the dominant, intolerant monotheism) and magic in a Star Wars "Force” sort of way, along with space exploration and/or inter-dimensional exploration.
• Somewhere between rated R and unrated/X. Not obsessed with sex and sensuality, but also freely allowed to explore sex and sensuality, fulfill fantasies, and indulge.

Lots and lots of adventure, but with plenty of rest, too. Western, in a space and/or inter-dimensional exploration way.

Plenty of mystery, but not too much; lots of breaks/plateaus.

Some action and maybe just a tiny bit of thriller, but not for a while—burned out.

A little noir and dark comedy.

As little war as possible (something involving grand-scale chess is different if there isn’t too much weight or guilt of casualties).

No horror at all! No disaster!

On Bullies

What causes someone to be mean?  To take advantage of someone else's weakness?  Of their ignorance?  Do they get a rush of endorphins from the power trip?  Do they feel relatively higher when they push others down?

Why do people make fun of others?  Make them the butt of inside jokes?  Do they feel special, part of an exclusive club?

It can be teachers, students, coworkers, bosses, subordinates, family members, neighbors, employees in community stores, or even strangers.  It can be a part of nearly every conversation or baked into the curriculum of your classwork or superfluous side work at your job, and so on.  It can be constant, pervasive, like being attacked by a swarm of biting flies that you cannot escape, or sometimes stinging wasps, depending.

It can make life so difficult that you find it hard to hold a job or stay in school.  You might find yourself experiencing crushing anxiety, and bouncing between frustrated anger and severe depression, often contemplating suicide.  Perhaps you even checked into the hospital a couple times.  Maybe it destroyed your marriage along with your mental health, career, and reputation.

Watching shows like The Office are painful for how awkward they are, but they are tolerable and funny because they are actors, not real people who are vulnerable and experiencing pain.

What, and I mean this with the utmost sincerity and genuine care, THE FUCK is wrong with YOU PEOPLE?!

GOAT

When my brother and I were children we met Muhammad Ali in NYC.

By the time we met him, he was long retired, having already suffered so much brain damage and Parkinson’s.  But despite his massive size and slowness in both movement and wit by then, he was still a soft and gentle soul within the playful showman who liked to ham it up.

A brief biography:  Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Clay in Louisville, Kentucky.  He won two national Golden Gloves and then the light heavyweight boxing Olympic Gold Medal.  Shortly thereafter he converted to Islam and changed his name.  At the age of 22 he won the world heavyweight championship against Sonny Liston in a major upset.

He was a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War due to his religion and refused to serve when he was drafted.  He willingly gave up his world title and fighting license, and served 5 years in prison for his beliefs. The conviction was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court, but the world never got to see the best of Ali in the prime of his youth.

Most fighters would have given up, having their skills atrophied so long.  Not for the Greatest of All Time.  Some allies helped him earn his fighting license back, and in short time he was able to contend for the title again.  Billed the "Fight of the Century" against Joe Frazier, some saw it as a heavily racial contest.  Ali lost the bout by unanimous judge decision.  He met Frazier two more times in his career and won both.

Four years later Ali was able to challenge the champion of bachelor hamburger grills, George Foreman.  He named this fight "Rumble in the Jungle," as it took place in Zaire.  Ali employed his "rope-a-dope" technique, allowing Foreman to expend all of his energy attacking him while Ali conserved his energy crouched in the corner.  At the opportune time, Ali unleashed a massive holy fury that knocked the fucking shit outta Foreman, spilling raw hamburger out of the ring.  Pace yourself, bro.  Ali won the title for the second time in the most televised event in the world to date at that time.

One of the next fights included the one which inspired Rocky!  It was against Chuck Wepner, who nearly won.

In 1975 Muhammad Ali met Joe Frazier for the third and final time in Manilla, Philippines.  Dubbed the "Thrilla in Manilla," temperatures reached over 100F degrees!  Ali won the fight, giving him a total match-up lead of 2-1 over the years.  He was clearly spent after the bout, and said he considered retiring.

Ali's career suffered some blows after that.  There were some split decisions, stadium crowds that booed him after his conversion to Sunni Islam, and a doctor who quit when Ali refused his advice to retire.

Ali lost his title to up-and-comer Leon Spinks, who only had seven professional fights.  However, Ali challenged Spinks to a rematch and won the title back seven months later, the first and only fighter to ever hold the world championship three times.

He went on to fight a few more times against the pleas of many.  It is estimated he absorbed about 200,000 blows over his career.

Muhammad Ali was known for his bombastic, rhyming taunts, to include his favorite self-reference, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".  He still remains the Greatest of All Time, the only boxer to have ever won the world heavyweight championship three times.  He won 56 of his 61 total fights, 37 by knock out.

He was married four times, and had seven daughters and two sons. His daughter Laila was a professional boxer from 1999 to 2007. He was also a major philanthropist, humanitarian, and involved in politics.