Short Little Poem

by edmakowski

There’s an old adage about never trusting a skinny chef. I guess that same train of thought led me to this little poem fragment. Now if I could only find those glasses I never wear…

 

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Canoeing Along the Wisconsin River

by edmakowski

Community Gardens: A Poem About Plants in Nature

by edmakowski

I was at work the other day, asking about planting strategies with a very experienced land management specialist. He mentioned something, almost as an afterthought, about how forbs need root competition to flourish long-term. Otherwise they grow too large and collapse on themselves. I found this interesting and ended up writing a poem about it. We published it on our Blog at Schlitz Audubon Nature Center. It’s pretty fantastic that I’ve got a job where I’m invited to write poetry about nature.

Go here to read Community Gardens, a poem about how plants depend on one another.

Harley-Davidson #FindYourFreedom Motorcycle Internship Video

by edmakowski

Harley Davidson announced its #FindYourFreedom internship earlier this spring and while the semester closed out, I put together this video and slideshow as a submission. They selected eight students or recent college grads to participate in the program. I didn’t really expect anything to come out of it, just figured I’d put the video together to learn some new skills.

Alas, I was not one of the people handed a motorcycle to tour around on and document my two-wheeled journeys. However, during the process I learned some new tricks and used the Splice by GoPro app to make this video entirely on my phone start to finish. Additionally, I learned that with a cheap lav mic you can easily record superior sound quality alongside videos. I hope you enjoy my video – please let me know your thoughts!

 

A Poem About Men Talking

by edmakowski

I typed this little poem quick on my phone while working. I kept overhearing these guys and it struck me, these men talking to one another candidly and without any sort of concern. How they felt their families, their jobs, their futures. Admirable.

. . . . . #poetry #poem #men #poetsofinstagram #stoplightpoetry #feelings

A post shared by Ed Makowski (@edmakowski) on

The Improbable Daniel Cormier Conquers Again

by edmakowski

In 2009 I drove to watch the incomparable man-legend Fedor Emelianenko fight on American soil for only the second time in history. This was also the first time he would fight in a cage instead of a ring. The fight took place in Hoffman Estates, Il, and the rest of the card was equally impressive. Andre Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum, Mousasi against Sokoudjou and Jake Shields fought a still seemingly mentally healthy Jason “Mayhem” Miller. As we walked in toward our seats my brother announced, “Ed! That’s Daniel Cormier! That’s Daniel Cormier!” I looked over at a guy standing behind a table, waiting for anyone to talk with him. He looked emotionally bruised by all of the spectators walking by, unaware of who he was or why they would stop by to ask for his autograph. “Who? Who is that?” I asked.

My brother explained that Daniel Cormier was a wrestler, but had not only had he been a wrestler, he had been an Olympian. Cormier had earned the dreaded 4th place at the 2004 Athens Olympics. That’s the closest to the podium anyone can get, while still sitting on the sidelines with all of the other also-rans. At that point, when we went to watch Fedor knock out Brett Rogers, Daniel Cormier was 1 – 0 in his MMA career. He was just barely starting, waiting to sign autographs to anyone who might wonder who this guy was sitting at the table.

Daniel Cormier looked to be about my height (I’m 5’10”) which is way too small for a heavyweight anything, unless you’re built like Samoan specimen Mark Hunt, or Daniel Cormier it turns out. Cormier’s title shot may have come during a dark time in the UFC Heavyweight Division, but it was no gimme fight. Already the current Light Heavyweight Champion of the UFC, years ago Cormier won the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix after having bested Jeff Monson, Antonio Silva, and finally Josh Barnett. Cormier even rag-dolled Barnett, an accomplished lifelong grappler.

Daniel Cormier is about a head shorter than most heavyweights, as evidenced by the ribbing by fellow heavyweight Derrick Lewis earlier this week. Eye-poke weirdness notwithstanding, and a post-fight interview rife with the pro wrestling shtick of Brock Lesnar, Daniel Cormier used the clinch and dirty boxing to knock out Stipe Miocic, who’s shown some of the best boxing ever witnessed inside the UFC Heavyweight Division.

Today I’m thinking about that 1 – 0 fighter waiting for anyone to acknowledge his potential, and how my brother had to get his autograph. Nearly a decade later, and a hair under the age of 40, Daniel Cormier is the only human to simultaneously hold the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight UFC belts. The world can now see who Daniel Cormier was working to become.