Still Going Strong, full speed ahead in 2007!

It has been over a month since my last post. Lots of end of the year stuff to deal with regarding work, company partnerships, family, health etc., etc. I am going out on another interview first week of January 2007. Luckily it will be part of a work assignment.

I am working this week on solidifying my production and postproduction budgets and the final packages for presentation at some broadcasting concerns. Yes I am being vague. What is really important is having a sound alternative in the event that the broadcast concerns are not concerned at. With a good hustle I can finish the film this year.

I have received some really good contacts this past two months. There are some interviews that will really help bring some substance to the film. One of the things I found out is that Ashida Kim did not lie about John Keehan working with the Blackstone Rangers (Black P Stone Nation). The BDFS got involved with the YMCA and a community outreach program that was trying to turn the gangs away from violence and petty crime. I will come clean on the details as I verify things.

Today I did a new Count Dante Bulletin Board on the website. I want to foster a community that gathers and posts information about Count Dante for us all to share. These are the discussion topics:

World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets
Discuss Count Dante’s 1968 publication, World’s Deadliest Fighting Secrets. Crap or useful? Was it worth the $5.00 plus .50 postage?

Mixed Martial Arts and the Legacy of Count Dante
Do you think Count Dante had any influence on the spread of full contact and mixed martial arts competitions?

Black Dragon Fighting Society Alumni
Were you a member of the Black Dragon Fighting Society in Chicago during or immediately after the time of Count Dante? We want to locate as many of Count Dante’s old student’s as possible for a group photo during the course of making the film. Let’s talk about that here.

Count Dante Stories
Do you or any of your sensei or sifu have any stories about Count Dante from back in the day? You can share them here.

If you want to participate please got to Count Dante Bulletin Board. Just click on the link and, boom, you are there.

Meanwhile I am trying to run down pictures of Lt. Commander Robert Cramer, the man who was responsible for a lot of the early aikido training in in Chicago back in the 50s. He was yet another teacher of John Keehan’s I am told. He also instructed Sensei Robert Brown. The one thing I really want to do is to get the history right.