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I check our web site's statistics pretty regularly and I have noticed that every so often, somebody hits our site while Googling the name "Ratamyus." (The name is also spelled "Ratamyas" in some places, but "Ratamyus" seems to be more common.) This happens as a result of an article I wrote last year on my secret love for old-school wrestling promotions from the Kentucky/Tennessee area. Ratamyus (Bill Howard) was a legendary heel who took on Randy Savage back in 1982 in a long feud that ended in a gruesome steel cage match at Lexington's Rupp Arena (I got to see the whole thing on television a week or so after the actual event). Probably the best, most extensive overview of the Ratamyus story line was penned by Eric Westlund and it's part of the ICW (Poffo) series on the Kayfabe Memories web site.
Anyway, it's pretty cool that there are a few folks out there that seem to remember this very creepy and bizarre character. But oddly enough, there don't seem to be any pictures of Ratamyus available on the Internet. In fact, the first hit I found (out of only 160 or so) when I Googled "Ratamyus" tonight was from a thread in which somebody was asking what Ratamyus looked like and why he was so scary. So as a public service, I have decided to post a picture of Ratamyus below. The best I can do is this photo of my television screen featuring a still frame from an old ICW tape. I think this show was from mid-1982 and the picture is a close-up of Ratamyus after he interfered in a match between Tony Falk and Ron Sexton. He also managed to spit a mouthful of green stuff on the show's promoter before he was driven off by a bunch of other guys. Enjoy!
Note: All links below lead to the respective YouTube videos unless otherwise noted.
Despite the fact that I stay pretty busy these days, I still squeeze in a little time these days to surf around on YouTube. I am guessing that YouTube's site content grows exponentially every few weeks, so there is always something new to discover there and it's becoming easier to find even the most obscure stuff, even for someone with fairly eclectic tastes..Like, me for example...
The live version of Dinata Dinata by Eleftheria Arvanitaki is one of my favorite Greek songs ever (thanks, of course, to Antonis for sharing this with me), but I must confess that I like the skyladikoversion by Antique as well (sorry, Antonis!) I like the Antique megamix video as well.
Indian music and Bollywood films are still fascinating to me and there are plenty of good videos from this genre on YouTube. I typically like the classics, such as Pyar Kiya Tho Darna Kya from Mughal-E-Azam and Chalte Chalte from the film Pakeezah. The great song Mehbooba Mehbooba from the movie Sholay is also posted along with a few others from the same film. The Kishore Kumar/Asha Bhosle song Aap Yahan Aaye Kis Liye used to be posted on YouTube, but unfortunately, it appears to be gone from the site for the time being. Some of my more recent favorites, like Maye Ni Maye and the Rang De Basanti song Khalbali (which includes some dramatizations of the imprisonment of Bhagat Singh) are also on YouTube and are great to watch again and again.
And how cool is it to find original, old-school Venom videos online? Seriously. Cheers to the dude that posted the Witching Hour & Bloodlust videos! His introductory note says it all: "No need to explain Venom. If I have to, you neither deserve to live or watch this video." Tee hee. This Witching Hour video was the first Venom video I ever saw, way back in 1989 or thereabouts. Over a decade and a half later I am still hooked! Hail Venom! (But don't take this stuff too seriously, folks.)
A few folks have also posted the video for Danger! High Voltage by Electric Six. This video is one of the strangest – as well as one of thefunniest – videos I have ever seen. And I love that huge guitar sound! If it hadn't been for the local public access show "Pirate TV," probably never would have seen this video. Great, great stuff.
If old-school Championship Wrestling from Memphis is your thing, there are a few gems on YouTube, including some highlights from the classic Jerry Lawler/Nick Bockwinkel feud. Unfortunately, my favorite clip from this period is not posted yet: Lawler's controversial victory over Bockwinkel at the Mid-South Colosseum back in the early 1980's. If you're more of an ICW fan, you might want to check out the clip featuring Macho Man Randy Savage reading Dr Seuss! It know it's just an impression, but it's close enough to the real thing and it's a real hoot!
And a tip of the hat to my pal Panos Fidis for posting a series of short films chronicling thehistory of the KKE.
Then there's this...Probably the coolest thing I have ever seen on YouTube: The live version of Boikot's version of the classic Carlos Puebla song Hasta Siempre. This video has it all, including archival footage of Che Guevara in action along with the brilliant lyrics of Puebla and a massive "guitar-god" sound. You can view this video by clicking on the clicking on the "play" button in the lower left corner of the image below.
By the way, don't look for the fat cats at Target's corporate headquarters to make the call to carry any Boikot albums in Target stores anytime soon. Cheap trinkets that are mass produced through exploitive labor practices in the third world are apparently less offensive to Target management than Che's image (read the story here). I was reading a little about this online and I saw that some pompous right-wing blogger posted an "attaboy" article to the folks at Target for pulling a CD case that features Che from Target's store shelves. The guy described Che as having been "in charge of execution squads in Cuba that murdered over 1,000 people." It is true that Che oversaw the death sentences of many of Batista's henchmen. These henchmen were villainous monsters who had brutalized and repressed the Cuban people for many years. So let's compare notes, shall we? How many innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed by the Bush administration since the 2003 invasion? At least 30,000, you say? That's a rather conservative estimate these days, isn't it? But on Target.com, you can still buy a signed photograph of Curt Schilling with President George W. Bush. (click here to view) Go figure.
