hodgepodge

as was stated in my earlier post, i’m taking it easy on the blogging front.  just want to take it easy for awhile.  sad to say, i don’t have any new to report.  just enjoying the downtime.

like anything in life, blogging can consume your time just as quickly as any activity or addictive substances.  in some ways, i envy pool minnow’s decision to quit blogging.  must have been quite liberating.  i haven’t quite reached that point, and i don’t want to be (yet), so i’m giving myself some space to avoid burnout.  anyway, just gonna do some random rambling here.

as you’ve no doubt heard by now, the seminole tribe of florida has ceased to operate the seminole pro tour.  it’s an unfortunate turn of events, but i can’t help but think what the pool community really have to offer the tribe.  in order for this tour to become a successful venture, it’ll either have to be profitable, or offer something in return, like media exposure, or an increase in business for the tribe-owned enterprises.  i’m not involved in the tour in any capacity, but my guess is that the tribe is not getting a whole lot in return.  the tribe may make good money in their casinos, but in this economy, i can hardly blame them for pulling the plug.  i still believe that pool needs to be self-sufficient in order to become successful, but i don’t have any good ideas on how to achieve self-sufficiency.  at this time, we’re looking at independent events and individual challenge matches ala TAR.  sure, there are the u.s. opens and derby city, but the big tournaments are few and far in between.  for pro players who are making money strictly on pool, i think asia or europe are the better places to go, unless you’re just going to gamble all the time.  at least they have some big tournaments you can play in.  of course, you can always try your hand at poker; risky, but there’s more money.

there’s an article on mental_floss about names.  i can never understand why certain parents decide to give the most exotic name they could think of to their precious child.  (audio science?  rumer scout?  wtf, really?)  do they want their child to be ridiculed in school?  is this their way to torture their kids because they secretly hate children?  i just don’t get it.  the lakers’ forward ron artest recently renamed himself metta world peace, but hey, at least he did it to himself and not his children.  however, any parent who tries to name a child metta world peace should be jailed and left to rot.  that’s just cruel punishment on a hapless kid.

speaking of names, i recently watched the swedish film let the right one in.  (it was free.)  one of the actor’s name is ragnar.  i think that’s an awesome name.

you: hey man! what’s going on?  *turning to your friend* here’s my classmate i’ve told you about.
classmate: *extending his hand to your friend* hi, my name is ragnar åskväder.  what’s your name?
your friend: uh, hi.  my name is bob.

to borrow a line from dave chappelle, ragnar just put your friend on the spot with his super-cool name.  suddenly, bob just doesn’t feel good enough.

tournament director: here’s the result for today’s tournament.  first place: ragnar åskväder.  second place: bob.

i’d hate to be bob at that point.

and now, a bit of random weirdness.

i enjoy reading books.  i was more of a magazine guy than a book guy, but that has changed.  now i enjoy both equally.  some time ago i was reading this novel series, and one of the themes of the series dealt with locking onto one possibility at the expense of all others.  i think that applies to pool.  in the beginning of any player’s path, he or she watches someone plays pool, or perhaps gets a coach/teacher to learn the game.  it is a necessary step, but the person risks getting locked into one particular style of play, a style not his or her own.  i’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing, but there’s always the chance that the style may not be the best for that person.  if the player never ventures beyond the style that was taught to him/her, then the player is, in a sense, trapped into one perspective of the game.

personally, i think it’s a good idea to explore and observe as many different styles and techniques as you can.  when i think of distinct styles of play, i think of mike davis with his almost stiff-armed stroke.  there is no textbook (as far as i know) that will even mention mike’s form.  it’s a style of davis’ own creation, and it works for him.  could he force himself to play with the conventional form found in countless numbers of instructional books?  i’m sure he can, but he doesn’t.  he’s found something he could call his own.  to me, that’s being bold and fearless––marching to your own drum beat and be fine in your own skin.  i believe in finding your unique form.  whatever people say, you can at least call it your own.  better than slavishly following what everyone else is doing, i think.

anyway, gonna continue to chill out & take blogging easy.  if i see anything unusual or cool i’ll write a post.  happy playing.