interesting articles & websites
midweek madness
| The Primitive, Complicated, Essential Emotion Called Fear | |
| Are you a man or a mouse? No matter how you answer, you experience fear the same way in your brain. a long article, save it for your lunch hour |
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| The 14 Funniest Police Composite Sketches | |
| These are some of the worst police sketches we have ever seen. Whether they look like they were drawn by a third-grader or one of the guys in Times Square who does the big-headed caricatures, if anyone should be arrested, it’s the artist responsible. some real gems in there |
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Blood Falls |
| This natural time capsule holds an alien ecosystem. | |
| but does it hold aliens is the real question | |
| Can Lil Wayne Bring His Teeth to Prison? | |
| Grills behind bars, explained. $150,000 set of chompers |
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| La Puerta | |
| A stop motion animation created in Grottaglie, Roma, Barcelona and Murcia. super spiffy |
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the quotable game
that’s what he/she/it/they said
Seth Stevenson, journalist, on the Olympic sport of curling:
It’s the sport itself, though, that has really transfixed me. It features the collision physics of billiards mixed with the spin-heavy, long-distance shot-making of golf. Those furious sweepers make adjustments on the fly—brooming harder to coax the stone down a straighter path, or leaving it alone to let it inscribe a tighter arc.
A scene from the television series Bones (one of my favorites!):
Max: Oh, he’s a full grown scientist?
Clark: I shave, sir. I have a driver’s license, I’ve won a couple of fistfights, I saved a life, I’ve lain with a woman, I’ve been hustled at pool, I’ve defied my father’s wishes, I have broken hearts and I have been heartbroken, so by all the markers of this society, I am a grown man.
Max: … Wow. You’ve lain with woman?
random ramblings & observations
when my mind wanders, it always gets lost
TEAM: Together Everyone Acquires Masochism
In my history of playing in various pool leagues, I’ve never taken the initiative to assemble a team. This is due to 1). being lazy, 2). knowing that I am not a responsible leader-type person, and 3). having a pervasive attitude of indifference. (Well, I did assemble a team once — the famed JagerBombshells…)
In general, I believe league play is more about socializing and less about serious cutthroat competition. A league team is usually composed of friends. Occasionally, there are mercenary teams (“stacked” or “all-star”), teams put together for the sole purpose of winning, but today’s bit of ramblage will address the teams initially assembled for “funsies”.
Let’s talk a bit about the game itself. Pool is, inherently, an individual affair. Even if you have a team of players, the entire team’s performance is rooted in the results of each individual player against his or her opponent. Your teammates cannot physically help you in your game (aside from breaking a bottle over your opponent’s head, maybe) as they can in many other team sports (basketball, baseball, football, various other games that are worth jillions of dollars). Because of this, there is very little blame to be placed on teammates if you lose — it’s all you, because you were the one that wielded the cue.
Now, let’s talk about winning. I think everyone has a desire to win. This desire exists in different intensities. Therefore, some of us can play for fun (which I define as not giving a crap about winning or losing) and some of us must play for stakes (blood, pride, money, stuffed animals, food). Winning can be a drug. You feel that high of victory (or the frustration of almost-victory) once and you can be hooked for life. You’ll spend endless amounts of time and money to chase that feeling down again. You might begin as a funsies player, but win something meaningful once, and all of a sudden, you DO give a crap about losing.
A team may initially start out as a “fun” team composed of friends who decide a pool league might be a fun activity to do together once or twice a week. They don’t care about winning or losing and perhaps the team’s ranking fluctuates between the middle and the bottom of the barrel. But, it’s not a big deal. They’re here for fun and the occasional win is a bonus. However, this “fun” team may have one session where they do exceptionally well and either win or place near the top. This is where the evolution begins.
Having known victory, they want to know it again. Gradually, the members become more serious. Clearly, some play better than others. Some begin to practice on their own in their spare time. Everyone surreptitiously catalogues the strengths and weaknesses of the others’ games. An unspoken hierarchy of skill begins to be established. Calculations and probabilities for victory come into play. There’s strategy. There’s criticism. There’s bickering.
A certain point is reached when, for the greater good of the team, a player is cut from the roster. That’s when the team morphs from a fun team to a competitive team. It’s not personal when they vote you off the island. It’s just business. You weren’t voted off because they didn’t like you. You were voted off because you couldn’t draw your ball when required.
I’ve seen the above situation happen a few times over the years. Anyone see the same thing happen or experience it yourself? What are your thoughts?
Fighter vs Fan
I love pool tournaments. In the past, I used to attend all the major pool tournaments I could, sometimes as a spectator, sometimes as a participant. As I’ve improved, I’ve limited myself to attending only those events I can play in. This is due partly to the economy (sucks), my job (can’t perpetually be on vacation), and my own competitive nature (I’d rather play than sit around).
In recent times, people often ask me if I’m going to go to such-and-such major tournament. I often say no, because I can’t afford, or have not been invited, to play in the event. The questioner then expresses surprise and tells me they thought I would go to watch. I’ve also had situations where people ask me if I’m going to a tournament and I say yes. They ask if I’m going to watch the players and are surprised/amused when I tell them I am actually going to play in the event. I’m not offended at these moments. They are interesting indicators as to who thinks I’m a pool player and who thinks I’m only a pool fan.
Sometimes, I’m the only one who thinks I’m a pool player…
Supercute
Some pictures of adorable creatures to brighten your week.
They are from CuteOverload.com!
people who ordered mugs
I’m in line to use the kiln… sorry for the delay! 
The team I am on is called “Chuck Jaeger”. Nobody would ever be cut from the team unless they couldn’t do a shot of Jaeger when required.
After playing with the JagerBombshells, I can safely say — I could never play on your team.
We let Jaeger-losers substitute Jamesons. I did that last week until I choked on the Jameson’s and gave myself a Neti-pot’s worth of whiskey in my sinuses. Hello pain. Back to Jaeger
“However, this “fun” team may have one session where they do exceptionally well and either win or place near the top. This is where the evolution begins.”
I think you’ve nailed it. I’ve seen it several times, too. Although I don’t know that I’ve seen anyone cut from the roster, except for not showing up reliably. Usually, the atmosphere of the team changes enough, that they leave because “it just wasn’t fun anymore” or they were being benched too often because the team couldn’t risk the loss.
Sometimes its a team that had a few competitive players, who really wanted a winning team, but just accepted that’s not what they had. But I’ve also seen it happen with team who really didn’t care a flying fig, until they won something.
Its kind of fascinating.
It IS fascinating to watch the metamorphosis. I feel like I should make a documentary or something about it, hahaha!