Man at Arms: Art of War

[Drunk Monk]

Work on your dance moves now.

Good advice.  

But keep in mind, Danny saw Salma dance live.  He was in the bar too in that movie.  All the more reason why I take his comment to heart.  



okay, i confess, that means nothing.  i just wanted to surf the web for more salma gifs.  as if you don't like it.

[Drunk Monk]

Well fuck.  KFM is experiencing a major crash in its admin so I can't post my final MAN AT ARMS piece for this season.  So much for timing.




For the DOOM record, I was originally supposed to be in this episode.  I had prepared a shit-ton of research on Machetes, but this was the one where Robert Rodriguez appears, along with Rebel, and they put Diana Inosanto in because, well, I'm not sure why.  She is cuter and much more bad ass than me.  That's probably why.  So they felt there were 'too many people in the war room' and I got tossed to the curb.  Bummer, right?  Actually, at the time, I was a little relieved, what with processing our Sifu's passing and all.  

I'm more bummed that our IT has shit for brains.  The retail site is having issues too, during the holiday sales season no less, so KFM is a lower priority.

[Greg]

Isn't everyone more badass than you?

[Drunk Monk]

Isn't everyone more badass than you?

Well, you aren’t. Your voice sounds hollow on podcasts, like you’re talking in a toilet bowl. My podcast voice is whiskey-soaked sexy like Stevie’s. 

The final ep was the best of this season. Ilya teaching Rebel was really cool and that Machete was so sweet. And Diana & Ray sinewali work - they were super fast in person. The show’s slo Mo misses that. Even tho they both trained under her father, but they hadn’t worked together in years. I hope she replaces Crystal next season. If there is a next season...

There’s some sort of shake up at Defy. I received some legalese letter about claims (I got no claims). Matt & Ilya have started their own YouTube show ‘that works’. Kerry reached out to me to discuss potential Kung Fu weapons because there’s talk of s3. Ive been too squinched at work to engage it. Over the weekend, the new martialartsmart site crashed. We’re back up but as I said, kfm went down this morning.

[Greg]

I blame the sound mixer. I have that delicious bass in my voice that brings all the girls to the yard.

At least that how it sounds in my head.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Dude, you have *skunks* in your yard. And coyotes.

[Greg]

And Havoc and Mayhem!

[Drunk Monk]

I have that delicious toilet reverb in my voice that brings all the canines and odoriferous rodents to the yard.

Last night was def the best ep of season 2.  Latin Dragon vs. Machete banter was hilarious.  They should've had more on the Machete 2 fight scene between them tho.  

Now back to regular programming.

[Greg]

Tell me again, what part did you play in the best episode of the season?

[Drunk Monk]

Tell me again, what part did you play in the best episode of the season?

umm, i'm in the intro for a tiny second - me stabbing a balldummy with tizona in a yeti-approved lunge & i got a credit at the end.

yeah, bummed i got booted off that ep.  but i get it.  diana was a much better spokesperson, and robert's banter takes it all up a notch.

[Greg]

Well, my fingers are crossed for a third season so you can show them what they missed by not having you in the last episode.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, my fingers are crossed for a third season so you can show them what they missed by not having you in the last episode.

Honestly they didn’t miss much. There’s only so much you can say about machetes. My research was mostly about the Haitian Machete lineages.

[Drunk Monk]

Got a call from my showrunner this morning.  They are making the pitch for Season 3 (13 eps) to the money people.

Defy went bankrupt.  That's why Matt & Ilya did their own spin-off show.  Not sure what the fate of Man at Arms: Reforged will be.

El Rey is still into it and our international distributors are into it.  We will know more in January.

[Greg]

Fingers crossed.

[Drunk Monk]

Finally looked up DEFY situation. 

NOVEMBER 6, 2018 9:18AM PT
Defy Media Is Shutting Down, Will Lay Off Employees
By TODD SPANGLER
Todd Spangler
NY Digital Editor@xpanglerFOLLOW


UPDATED: Defy Media, the digital media company whose brands include Smosh and Clevver, is shutting down operations and laying off its employees.
“Regretfully, Defy Media has ceased operations today,” the company said in a statement released Tuesday evening. “We are extremely proud of what we accomplished here at Defy and in particular want to thank all the employees who worked here. We deeply regret the impact that this has had on them today… Unfortunately, market conditions got in the way of us completing our mission.”
The company at one point reported having nearly 400 employees. Defy did not confirm its current headcount, which has shrunk in recent months as it pared back the business in the hopes of staying afloat.
The company’s in-house studios had produced 75 regularly scheduled shows. It’s not clear what will happen to the Defy brands going forward, but the company indicated it’s seeking buyers or partners for the properties. Defy’s brands, which include Smosh, Smosh Games, Clevver, AWEme, Break and Made Man, have more than 140 million followers across YouTube and social media, according to the company.
“Our main focus right now is to find homes for these great brands and people so that they can continue to thrill and delight their millions of viewers with as little interruption as possible,” Defy said in its statement.
Ian Hecox, co-founder of comedy group Smosh, said in a tweet Tuesdaythat the Smosh team is in the process of “finding a new home.”
Defy Media’s shutdown “doesn’t mean Smosh is going away,” Hecox wrote. “We’re already in the process of finding a new home and will update you all as soon as we can.” He formed Smosh in 2006 together with his longtime friend Anthony Padilla, who left the group last year to pursue a solo career.
Clevver executive producer and host Joslyn Davis posted a similar statement on Twitter saying the lifestyle and pop-culture outlet hopes to land somewhere else. “Making awesome videos for you guys is our number one priority, and we’re hoping to have exciting news to share with you soon!” she tweeted.
The official confirmation of Defy’s shuttering came after word earlier Tuesday that the New York-based company was closing its production facility in Beverly Hills and would lay off all employees at the location by the end of the year. Per notices sent to Defy employees, the Beverly Hills office at 8750 Wilshire Blvd. will be closed effective Jan. 2, 2019.
The company notified employees of the plans under the requirements of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and California’s State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The closure of the L.A. office was first reported by Tubefilter.
Earlier Tuesday, a staffer who answered the L.A. number for the company said she was unable to provide any info on the closure. Calls placed to the main phone number listed for Defy Media’s New York office were answered with a recorded message: “The Google subscriber you have called is not available.”
The shutdown of Defy comes after a series of cutbacks and divestitures by the company. This past March, Defy laid off 8% of its workforce, exiting its programmatic advertising and video licensing and syndication businesses. Then in July, the company sold its long-languishing The Escapist video-game website to Canada’s Enthusiast Gaming and also announced a deal with Fandom to sell Screen Junkies, its entertainment news and parody property.
Defy Media was formed through the merger of Alloy Digital and Break Media in 2013. Two years ago, the company announced $70 million in funding led by Wellington Management Co. Previous investors include ABS Capital, Lionsgate, Viacom and Zelnick Media Capital.
Defy distributed its original programming across more than 25 video platforms, including YouTube, subscription VOD services and TV networks.
Defy’s website currently lists seven job openings for its Beverly Hills location, including for a VP of brand and content strategy, a post-production supervisor, and a supervising producer.