[Originally posted to a now defunct Yahoo! Group.]
The second half of _Waiting for God_ consists of essays rather than
letters, and the first two prompted differing reactions. The
essay "School Studies" was brief and thought provoking, suggesting
that "attention" was the key discipline of the student and that the
role of school was to train us to give systematic attention to
whatever we were studying.
While it sounds a bit simple in summary (as does much meditative
stuff), it rang true to me. The ability to turn our minds to
something is a true gift, and it is the essence of the Golden Rule,
which suggests we must imagine what it is like to be in another's
shoes. For that reason, and because of the intense egoism that is
fed by sin, I think "attention" to anything is difficult.
Weil's second letter, on "The Love of God and Affliction" was less
helpful for me; it seemed a bit more abstract and repetitive. That
said, I've had that reaction to devotional literature before, so I'm
not totally surprised. Her descriptions of affliction were poignant
and induced one to compassion.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Weil; Letters 3-6
Letters 3-6 are densely packed and hard to summarize, but they have
provided ample material on which to chew. These letters
include "Spiritual Autobiography" and "Last Thoughts."
Much of Weil's thoughts cover her correspondence with a priest who
has counseled her about why she will not be baptized. Her
explanation about a calling to remain outside the church as a
reminder that the church is not analogous to God's acceptance is
quite challenging, as is her discussion of the effects of dogma.
Here is a quote that encapsulates much of this section:
provided ample material on which to chew. These letters
include "Spiritual Autobiography" and "Last Thoughts."
Much of Weil's thoughts cover her correspondence with a priest who
has counseled her about why she will not be baptized. Her
explanation about a calling to remain outside the church as a
reminder that the church is not analogous to God's acceptance is
quite challenging, as is her discussion of the effects of dogma.
Here is a quote that encapsulates much of this section:
"Christianity being catholic by right but not in fact, I regard it
as legitimate on my part to be a member of the Church by right but
not in fact, not only for a time, but for my whole life if need be."
Weil; Letter 2
In her second letter concerning hesitations regarding baptism, Weil
writes:
This was a powerful way of describing a tendency that I have both
seen and experienced; the assumption that we must "do something" in
the face of any problem or obstacle. Sometimes God calls on us to
wait, and the illusion is that the problem is of a nature that what
is called for is not necessarily activity. There are times when a
conflict or problem can SEEM unbearable, and we think that we must
do something not because we think it will be effectual but b/c we
want the illusion of progress that comes with activity.
A good letter with much to ponder.
writes:
"I think that with very important things we do not overcome our
obstacles. We look at them fixedly for as long as is necessary
until, if they are due to the powers of illusion, they disappear.
What I call an obstacle is quite a different thing from the kind of
inertia we have to overcome at every step we take in the direction
of what is good. I have experience of this inertia. Obstacles are
quite another matter. If we want to get over them before they have
disappeared, we are in danger of those phenomena of compensation,
referred to I think by the Gospel passage about the man from whom
one devil had gone out and into whom seven others entered forthwith"
(56).
This was a powerful way of describing a tendency that I have both
seen and experienced; the assumption that we must "do something" in
the face of any problem or obstacle. Sometimes God calls on us to
wait, and the illusion is that the problem is of a nature that what
is called for is not necessarily activity. There are times when a
conflict or problem can SEEM unbearable, and we think that we must
do something not because we think it will be effectual but b/c we
want the illusion of progress that comes with activity.
A good letter with much to ponder.
Spiritual Classics:
[Originally posted to a now defunct Yahoo! Group]
From Letter I "Hesitations Concerning Baptism"
This was an interesting passage from Weil:
"The third domain is that of the things, which, without being under
the empire of the will, without being released to natural duties, are yet not enitrely independent of us. In this domain we experience the compulsion of God's pressure, on the condition that we deserve to experience it and exactly to the extent that we deserve to do so. God rewards the soul that thinks of him with attention and love, and he rewards it by exercising a compulsion
upon it strictly and mathematically proportionate to this attention and this love. We have to abandon ourselves to the pressure, to run to the exact spot whither it impels us and
not go one step farther, even in the direction of what is good. At the same time we must go on thinking about God with ever increasing love and attentiveness, in this way gaining the favor of pressure that possesses itself of an ever growing proportion of the whole soul."
I find this an interesting passage in relation to the contemplative tradition--that thinking about God is spiritual work, or can be. I'm so conditioned by the J.I. Packer quote that knowing about
God is not the same as knowing God, that I tend to think that the contemplative has to be prayer or meditation. I hear Weil saying that if we think about God, he becomes more real to us and the desire to act in his will becomes a compunction rather than a discipline that we try to manufacture.
I'm also interested in her claim that we should not go beyond the compunction, even in the direction of the good. In one sense I see a truth in this. In another, I worry about how easy it becomes to never take ourselves in hand, so to speak, and do what we don't feel like doing. Plus, isn't thinking about GoI'd a movement beyond where we are at? That being said, it suggests
to me that one thing that might help me in the Spring is thinking about God rather than trying to think of something to DO. The latter, if it is selected arbitrarily, will drain rather than train
or energize.
From Letter I "Hesitations Concerning Baptism"
This was an interesting passage from Weil:
"The third domain is that of the things, which, without being under
the empire of the will, without being released to natural duties, are yet not enitrely independent of us. In this domain we experience the compulsion of God's pressure, on the condition that we deserve to experience it and exactly to the extent that we deserve to do so. God rewards the soul that thinks of him with attention and love, and he rewards it by exercising a compulsion
upon it strictly and mathematically proportionate to this attention and this love. We have to abandon ourselves to the pressure, to run to the exact spot whither it impels us and
not go one step farther, even in the direction of what is good. At the same time we must go on thinking about God with ever increasing love and attentiveness, in this way gaining the favor of pressure that possesses itself of an ever growing proportion of the whole soul."
I find this an interesting passage in relation to the contemplative tradition--that thinking about God is spiritual work, or can be. I'm so conditioned by the J.I. Packer quote that knowing about
God is not the same as knowing God, that I tend to think that the contemplative has to be prayer or meditation. I hear Weil saying that if we think about God, he becomes more real to us and the desire to act in his will becomes a compunction rather than a discipline that we try to manufacture.
I'm also interested in her claim that we should not go beyond the compunction, even in the direction of the good. In one sense I see a truth in this. In another, I worry about how easy it becomes to never take ourselves in hand, so to speak, and do what we don't feel like doing. Plus, isn't thinking about GoI'd a movement beyond where we are at? That being said, it suggests
to me that one thing that might help me in the Spring is thinking about God rather than trying to think of something to DO. The latter, if it is selected arbitrarily, will drain rather than train
or energize.
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
Dog Fighting
I've been working my way through The Waltons on DVD--a show I never saw as a kid and one which I think is quite good. Sometime in my copious amounts of free time, I'd like to right a paper comparing the representation of fatherhood, power, and authority in The Waltons and Little House on the Prairie.
There was an odd little aside in one episode in Season 3, though, that got my attention. Mary Ellen has been given a fancy dress by a rich neighbor, and as she is showing it off to her family, someone says that there is no place around Walton mountain for her to wear such a dress. One of her brothers (I forget if it is Jason or Ben) says, "Maybe she could wear it to a dog fight."
I certainly didn't take from that exchange that dog fighting was something the Waltons approved of or even attended, but it was interesting to note that it was a practice common enough around rural Virginia for the kids to know it went on.
The recent events surrounding the indictment of Michael Vick for his participation in a dog fighting ring have created a spotlight into a subculture that many of us did not know existed. Some athletes, such as Clinton Portis, have expressed a difficulty in understanding the level of shock at these charges, a difficulty that I attribute not necessarily to their own affinity for the practice but from what seems to be a genuine surprise that people are only now professing to have learned that such practices exist.
I'm not condoning or defending dog fighting here. I am suggesting that the degree of repulsion or outrage we feel over practices might be affected by how familiar they are to us. One politician was recently quoted at SI.COM as saying he hoped there was a "special room in hell" for those who abused animals. Putting aside for a moment the question of whether or not "special" can mean particular (in which case one wonders if every room in hell isn't special in a Dantean sense), one wonders, from an anthropological perspective, what practices we disapprove of but don't stir us to outrage that members of a community that knows of dog-fighting might think warrant out own special rooms in hell.
There was an odd little aside in one episode in Season 3, though, that got my attention. Mary Ellen has been given a fancy dress by a rich neighbor, and as she is showing it off to her family, someone says that there is no place around Walton mountain for her to wear such a dress. One of her brothers (I forget if it is Jason or Ben) says, "Maybe she could wear it to a dog fight."
I certainly didn't take from that exchange that dog fighting was something the Waltons approved of or even attended, but it was interesting to note that it was a practice common enough around rural Virginia for the kids to know it went on.
The recent events surrounding the indictment of Michael Vick for his participation in a dog fighting ring have created a spotlight into a subculture that many of us did not know existed. Some athletes, such as Clinton Portis, have expressed a difficulty in understanding the level of shock at these charges, a difficulty that I attribute not necessarily to their own affinity for the practice but from what seems to be a genuine surprise that people are only now professing to have learned that such practices exist.
I'm not condoning or defending dog fighting here. I am suggesting that the degree of repulsion or outrage we feel over practices might be affected by how familiar they are to us. One politician was recently quoted at SI.COM as saying he hoped there was a "special room in hell" for those who abused animals. Putting aside for a moment the question of whether or not "special" can mean particular (in which case one wonders if every room in hell isn't special in a Dantean sense), one wonders, from an anthropological perspective, what practices we disapprove of but don't stir us to outrage that members of a community that knows of dog-fighting might think warrant out own special rooms in hell.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Pirates of the Caribbean III Rant
Not a review, here, just a slightly edited discussion board post that I felt sharing beyond the few contributors to that board.
**********************************************************************************
I spent a decent part of the last day or so meditating on what made this film so wretchedly bad. I even contemplated (and believe I could) setting up a Slactivist-type project whereby I would write an essay a week on some micro portion of the film, dissecting how it is “instructively bad” at each individual point.
The plot is bloated and migraine inducing, while the photography and editing is shockingly bad. A stellar example is a scene between Knightley and Chow Yun Fat that can’t decide whether to use dolly shots or jump cuts and so intersperses both with little rhyme or reason—managing to confuse spatial relations and break rhythm at the same time. Look, I’m not asking for mise en scene here—this is an adventure movie, not Citizen Kane--but I think if this were a film school project it would get thrashed.
I think what ultimately grinds my gears about the latter two installments is the pointlessness of the whole thing and the way it tends to use reversals and new information as deux ex machinas rather than mythological layering. Oh it was fun to see the shifting allegiances in the first film, but by the second (and certainly the third) you would think the characters would know what they stood for and wanted even if others were mistaken about them. The pirate code seems binding at times, at others, it is merely, you know, “suggestions.” The problem with that is that the film wants to have it both ways…chastising government and institutions for being capricious and hypocritical yet championing the pirate life not as some embodiment of a Thoreau-like adherence to a personal integrity but only as a rebellion against that which it isn’t all that different from.
Look, I hate the RNC as much as the next namby-pamby liberal who laments the erosion of our civil rights under the Bush regime—but must EVERY adventure film portray ANY form of institutional power as totalitarian? I wrote an op-ed piece a couple of years ago about how Hollywood films were doing the cultural work of paving the way for war with film after film that lionized a small group of noble brethren who withstood robotic and totalitarian armies (historical and fantastic) by holding fast to principles in the face of great odds. No more…
Here we get Elizabeth Swann doing her best impersonation of Winona Ryder doing a postmodern interpretation of Henry V…”we few, we happy few, we band of loosely affiliated mercenaries with momentarily aligned mutual interests…for whoever fights with me is my brother, from now until the end of the scene!”
These characters are so devoid of deep commitments (or even passions) that it just feels like nothing is at stake…a feeling that is only exacerbated by the decision to treat death as one more plot hurdle to be written around rather than a consequential possible result of a wrong (or, God forbid, a right) decision.
But hey…I’m a red blooded, American male, so who wouldn’t want to watch Keira Knightley prancing around in a tighty-nighty that can barely cover her (as Forrest Gump would say) “butt-tocks”? At least her attributes are more consistently present than Sparrow’s “now you see them—now we are too busy to think of how to get rid of them so they’ll disappear for no reason” surrealistic hallucinations. Maybe the film wouldn't have been nearly three hours if someone hadn't accidentally inserted Un Chien Andalu in the second reel.
Somewhere out there, I’m willing to bet there is some fundamentalist who is protesting The Simpsons and Harry Potter but who wouldn’t blink at Jack’s (or Barbosa’s) assertion that “there is more than one way to gain eternal life” or find its phrasing anything other than coincidental.
(1 rum bottle out of 5)
**********************************************************************************
I spent a decent part of the last day or so meditating on what made this film so wretchedly bad. I even contemplated (and believe I could) setting up a Slactivist-type project whereby I would write an essay a week on some micro portion of the film, dissecting how it is “instructively bad” at each individual point.
The plot is bloated and migraine inducing, while the photography and editing is shockingly bad. A stellar example is a scene between Knightley and Chow Yun Fat that can’t decide whether to use dolly shots or jump cuts and so intersperses both with little rhyme or reason—managing to confuse spatial relations and break rhythm at the same time. Look, I’m not asking for mise en scene here—this is an adventure movie, not Citizen Kane--but I think if this were a film school project it would get thrashed.
I think what ultimately grinds my gears about the latter two installments is the pointlessness of the whole thing and the way it tends to use reversals and new information as deux ex machinas rather than mythological layering. Oh it was fun to see the shifting allegiances in the first film, but by the second (and certainly the third) you would think the characters would know what they stood for and wanted even if others were mistaken about them. The pirate code seems binding at times, at others, it is merely, you know, “suggestions.” The problem with that is that the film wants to have it both ways…chastising government and institutions for being capricious and hypocritical yet championing the pirate life not as some embodiment of a Thoreau-like adherence to a personal integrity but only as a rebellion against that which it isn’t all that different from.
Look, I hate the RNC as much as the next namby-pamby liberal who laments the erosion of our civil rights under the Bush regime—but must EVERY adventure film portray ANY form of institutional power as totalitarian? I wrote an op-ed piece a couple of years ago about how Hollywood films were doing the cultural work of paving the way for war with film after film that lionized a small group of noble brethren who withstood robotic and totalitarian armies (historical and fantastic) by holding fast to principles in the face of great odds. No more…
Here we get Elizabeth Swann doing her best impersonation of Winona Ryder doing a postmodern interpretation of Henry V…”we few, we happy few, we band of loosely affiliated mercenaries with momentarily aligned mutual interests…for whoever fights with me is my brother, from now until the end of the scene!”
These characters are so devoid of deep commitments (or even passions) that it just feels like nothing is at stake…a feeling that is only exacerbated by the decision to treat death as one more plot hurdle to be written around rather than a consequential possible result of a wrong (or, God forbid, a right) decision.
But hey…I’m a red blooded, American male, so who wouldn’t want to watch Keira Knightley prancing around in a tighty-nighty that can barely cover her (as Forrest Gump would say) “butt-tocks”? At least her attributes are more consistently present than Sparrow’s “now you see them—now we are too busy to think of how to get rid of them so they’ll disappear for no reason” surrealistic hallucinations. Maybe the film wouldn't have been nearly three hours if someone hadn't accidentally inserted Un Chien Andalu in the second reel.
Somewhere out there, I’m willing to bet there is some fundamentalist who is protesting The Simpsons and Harry Potter but who wouldn’t blink at Jack’s (or Barbosa’s) assertion that “there is more than one way to gain eternal life” or find its phrasing anything other than coincidental.
(1 rum bottle out of 5)
Emma (1-3)
I enjoyed discussing Jane Austen with my most recent class, so I thought I'd try something different and blog about passages once a week as a means of working through one of her works--creating a book discussion platform if anyone wants to join.
I'm starting with Emma because it is the book with which I am most familiar, having discussed it with a panel of scholars at a National Humanities Center study a few years ago.
Emma begins with, well Emma.
We are told that she IS "handsome, clever, and rich" but only that she "seemed" to unite "some of the best blessings of existence." The negation effect of "seemed" is tantalizingly ambiguous. Are money, looks, and wit only seeming blessings, or does Emma only seem to unite them (either with each other or something else)?
More ambiguous still is the transition between the first paragraph, where we are told that Emma has lived "twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her" and the second paragraph where we are told that "her mother had died too long ago for her to have more than an indistinct remembrance of her caresses" (1).
The juxtaposition of these roughly contradictory statements is too archly delicious to be anything other than intentional, coming as it does so early in the novel. What do we make of it, then? "Things aren't always what they seem" is a master trope in Austen's fiction, and it makes an early appearance here. Beyond that, though, the order with which we are given these statements strikes me as telling. The words "handsome," "clever," and "rich" are bold words, and they create a near immediate impression. By the time we are told about her mother, we are already subtly envious with and frustrated at her. Why should Emma have all the best blessings of existence?
Why indeed? Is there a satisfying answer to that question, or are we all by nature prone to envy? Part of Austen's achievement in this novel is that she stacks the deck in Emma's favor and then makes us feel guilty for our natural reaction. She does this, in part, by letting us see how little sympathy those we envy usually receive. Miss Weston had "fallen little short of a mother in affection" (1), but the gulf between a mother's caresses and the excellent service of a governess, exemplifying as it does the "very little" that has distressed or vexed Emma ought to make us wary right off the bat of taking anything the narrator says (especially about Emma) at face value.
Oh and a word about Emma's father--he is "affectionate" and "indulgent." These are two seemingly benign (or fortuitous) adjectives. Given the fact, though, that Emma's condition of having too much her own way is described as "evil" (more on that in another post) and that although he is amiably high maintenance, he is high maintenance indeed, we have yet another example of first impressions not being exactly trustworthy.
What are the best blessings of existence--of ours or someone else's? We certainly act as though we know and pursue the answers that come to mind with a relentless vigor. Oftentimes the conditions or material things that we are most desirous of, though, can be the most injurious to us, while those we are the most fearful of surrendering are the portals to richer blessings still.
[To read more examples of close readings, click on the label for Emma at the bottom of this post.]
I'm starting with Emma because it is the book with which I am most familiar, having discussed it with a panel of scholars at a National Humanities Center study a few years ago.
Emma begins with, well Emma.
We are told that she IS "handsome, clever, and rich" but only that she "seemed" to unite "some of the best blessings of existence." The negation effect of "seemed" is tantalizingly ambiguous. Are money, looks, and wit only seeming blessings, or does Emma only seem to unite them (either with each other or something else)?
More ambiguous still is the transition between the first paragraph, where we are told that Emma has lived "twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her" and the second paragraph where we are told that "her mother had died too long ago for her to have more than an indistinct remembrance of her caresses" (1).
The juxtaposition of these roughly contradictory statements is too archly delicious to be anything other than intentional, coming as it does so early in the novel. What do we make of it, then? "Things aren't always what they seem" is a master trope in Austen's fiction, and it makes an early appearance here. Beyond that, though, the order with which we are given these statements strikes me as telling. The words "handsome," "clever," and "rich" are bold words, and they create a near immediate impression. By the time we are told about her mother, we are already subtly envious with and frustrated at her. Why should Emma have all the best blessings of existence?
Why indeed? Is there a satisfying answer to that question, or are we all by nature prone to envy? Part of Austen's achievement in this novel is that she stacks the deck in Emma's favor and then makes us feel guilty for our natural reaction. She does this, in part, by letting us see how little sympathy those we envy usually receive. Miss Weston had "fallen little short of a mother in affection" (1), but the gulf between a mother's caresses and the excellent service of a governess, exemplifying as it does the "very little" that has distressed or vexed Emma ought to make us wary right off the bat of taking anything the narrator says (especially about Emma) at face value.
Oh and a word about Emma's father--he is "affectionate" and "indulgent." These are two seemingly benign (or fortuitous) adjectives. Given the fact, though, that Emma's condition of having too much her own way is described as "evil" (more on that in another post) and that although he is amiably high maintenance, he is high maintenance indeed, we have yet another example of first impressions not being exactly trustworthy.
What are the best blessings of existence--of ours or someone else's? We certainly act as though we know and pursue the answers that come to mind with a relentless vigor. Oftentimes the conditions or material things that we are most desirous of, though, can be the most injurious to us, while those we are the most fearful of surrendering are the portals to richer blessings still.
[To read more examples of close readings, click on the label for Emma at the bottom of this post.]
The Simpsons Movie
My review of The Simpsons Movie should be available sometime today at Christian Spotlight on Entertainment.
Here is a link.
Here is a link.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Wrap Up
Finally back home after two long days of driving.
Tallies:
States Visited: 10
Courses Played: 11
New Courses: 9
Total States in Which I have now played disc golf: 37
Tallies:
States Visited: 10
Courses Played: 11
New Courses: 9
Total States in Which I have now played disc golf: 37
Sunday, July 22, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Illinois
It is ironic that in my quest to play disc golf in all 50 states that Illinois was the last state I played east of the Mississippi. (Because Cindy and I lived in Illinois for 10 years.) I was planning on playing in the trip we took with the Truffins several years ago, but rain prevented it.
Cindy and I played 9 holes at Long View Park in Rock Island, IL. The park was wide and spacious, and the grounds were immaculately mantained, but we couldn't find tee markers. (They were set in the ground to allow mowers to go over them.) Because the holes were so long and there were so many up and downs, we spent more time looking for tees than throwing the holes.
Despite some long holes, we did manage to play par golf over nine holes, thanks to a booming downhill drive on #1 and a long putt on another hole. Just walking the course was a challenge, and the time constraints sent us on to DeKalb without finishing the round.
My friend Mark and his son Chris went out with me to Kirkland, Illinois to play a new ocurse there. It was surprisingly fun, little course, but there were a bunch of geese on the river, so the course was overrun with goose droppoings. I threw an SE Leopard into the Kishwaukee. (Grrr.) It wasn't grip lock, just a matter of not knowing the hole and realizing where the shore line was.
I did get some nice birdies, and Illinois is on the board, raising the total number of states played to 36 or 37.
Longview Park; Rock Island, Illinois
2-4-2 4-4-3 2-3-3 (27) Out
Pioneer Park; Kirkland, Illinois
2-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-2 (25) Out
3-4-2 4-3-2 3-2-3 (26) In 51
Cindy and I played 9 holes at Long View Park in Rock Island, IL. The park was wide and spacious, and the grounds were immaculately mantained, but we couldn't find tee markers. (They were set in the ground to allow mowers to go over them.) Because the holes were so long and there were so many up and downs, we spent more time looking for tees than throwing the holes.
Despite some long holes, we did manage to play par golf over nine holes, thanks to a booming downhill drive on #1 and a long putt on another hole. Just walking the course was a challenge, and the time constraints sent us on to DeKalb without finishing the round.
My friend Mark and his son Chris went out with me to Kirkland, Illinois to play a new ocurse there. It was surprisingly fun, little course, but there were a bunch of geese on the river, so the course was overrun with goose droppoings. I threw an SE Leopard into the Kishwaukee. (Grrr.) It wasn't grip lock, just a matter of not knowing the hole and realizing where the shore line was.
I did get some nice birdies, and Illinois is on the board, raising the total number of states played to 36 or 37.
Longview Park; Rock Island, Illinois
2-4-2 4-4-3 2-3-3 (27) Out
Pioneer Park; Kirkland, Illinois
2-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-2 (25) Out
3-4-2 4-3-2 3-2-3 (26) In 51
Thursday, July 19, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip Day 9: You Really Ought to Give Iowa a Try
I happened to notice last night that there was a Play It Again Sports in Burnsville that was advertising a big sale, so we waited until 10:00 a.m to get on the road. Unfortunately none of the discs were on sale. I did see a few Jaguars, though. I haven't seen those discs in years.
The drive was brisk to Ames, and after lunch and much agonizing over which of two nearly identically described courses to play, we settled on the Carroll Marty DGC. I was thinking it might have less traffic than the course on campus, but it was actually pretty crowded.
The course was nice enough, but we hit it in the heat of the day and there were more than a few hidden pins that caused us to walk 1/2 way up fairways. That, combined with the numerous elevation changes kind of wore me out for a short course.
Cindy and I shot a 49, the odd thing about which was that we birdied holes two and three and then parred about 11 consecutive holes before getting deuces on 14, 15, and 16. Two of these were longer holes that wouldn't necessarily be ones I would think of as gimmees, so I really need to heed Cindy's reminder that you don't always know where your birdies are coming from. I remember how disappointed I was in Fargo that I deuced the first three holes and didn't get but one more the rest...would I have cared if I had got one on the front nine and then got three in a row in the middle of the round? Sometimes shorter holes are harder to calibrate on the fly and a longer, more open hole can be easier. The last hole we deuced was a 300 foot pinnacle to lower elevation shot, and I've noticed that a lot of these Midwest courses are enamored of these sorts of holes. (One park in Minnesota had three of them, I think.) The eighteenth was a 270 or so uphill. Nothing too impossible, but the walk up to my approach was tiring. We went into the clubhouse and Cindy got another Skeeter but I didn't get anything.
We got into Des Moines about 4:00 pm, but the course I was thinking about playing was actually on the other side of town and we were a little tired, so we decided to get a nice dinner and do laundry in the free facilities.
Speaking of which, Priceline has treated us nicely this trip. Despite a preponderence of surly check in people (in Minnesota and Iowa), the rooms have been really nice, and the Candlewood Suites in Des Moines has been especially good. I'm not sure I can use Priceline to save money at the lower end anymore, but it does tend to get me a nicer room for roughly the same price I would pay retail for a bargain hotel.
Going by Penzy's tomorrow, but we still haven't decided whether or not to play Des Moines in the morning or a course just across the border, such as Moline or Rock Island.
Carroll Marty DGC; Ames, Iowa
3-2-2 3-3-3 3-3-3 (25) Out
3-3-3 3-2-2 2-3-3 (24) In 49
The drive was brisk to Ames, and after lunch and much agonizing over which of two nearly identically described courses to play, we settled on the Carroll Marty DGC. I was thinking it might have less traffic than the course on campus, but it was actually pretty crowded.
The course was nice enough, but we hit it in the heat of the day and there were more than a few hidden pins that caused us to walk 1/2 way up fairways. That, combined with the numerous elevation changes kind of wore me out for a short course.
Cindy and I shot a 49, the odd thing about which was that we birdied holes two and three and then parred about 11 consecutive holes before getting deuces on 14, 15, and 16. Two of these were longer holes that wouldn't necessarily be ones I would think of as gimmees, so I really need to heed Cindy's reminder that you don't always know where your birdies are coming from. I remember how disappointed I was in Fargo that I deuced the first three holes and didn't get but one more the rest...would I have cared if I had got one on the front nine and then got three in a row in the middle of the round? Sometimes shorter holes are harder to calibrate on the fly and a longer, more open hole can be easier. The last hole we deuced was a 300 foot pinnacle to lower elevation shot, and I've noticed that a lot of these Midwest courses are enamored of these sorts of holes. (One park in Minnesota had three of them, I think.) The eighteenth was a 270 or so uphill. Nothing too impossible, but the walk up to my approach was tiring. We went into the clubhouse and Cindy got another Skeeter but I didn't get anything.
We got into Des Moines about 4:00 pm, but the course I was thinking about playing was actually on the other side of town and we were a little tired, so we decided to get a nice dinner and do laundry in the free facilities.
Speaking of which, Priceline has treated us nicely this trip. Despite a preponderence of surly check in people (in Minnesota and Iowa), the rooms have been really nice, and the Candlewood Suites in Des Moines has been especially good. I'm not sure I can use Priceline to save money at the lower end anymore, but it does tend to get me a nicer room for roughly the same price I would pay retail for a bargain hotel.
Going by Penzy's tomorrow, but we still haven't decided whether or not to play Des Moines in the morning or a course just across the border, such as Moline or Rock Island.
Carroll Marty DGC; Ames, Iowa
3-2-2 3-3-3 3-3-3 (25) Out
3-3-3 3-2-2 2-3-3 (24) In 49
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Disc Golf Trip: Burnsville, MN
Little bit of a transition day as we made our way back to Minneapolis before turning South. Was a hot, humid day, and I only ended up playing Alimagnet Lake Park near Burnsville (Minneapolis suburb). It was only twelve holes and fine for a neighborhood park. I took a +1 (three birdies, four bogeys), which was irritating because I just wasn't concentrating on easy approach shots or didn't know particular layouts which affected approaches.
One of the baskets was stolen. I noticed at Fargo that there was a reward being offered for four stolen baskets and wondered whether basket theft was more popular in certain areas.
Couple of random trip notes:
--saw a deer near an exit at Indiana.
--in Wisconsin saw a blur running across a field. Looked at it and realized it was a bear. Wow, cool animals.
--notice on the map that we were near Mankato and Sleepy Eye, but I couldn't find Walnut Grove, which I might very well have made a sojourn to see. (Todd and I went to Sleepy Hollow but skipped Robert Frost home.)
--I would have thought I was making hasty generalizations about the way Minnesotans drive (not well) if there hadn't been a stand at the welcome center offering me tips on how to cope with "aggressive drivers."
--According to the rules of the 2007 Mashed Potato Scupture Contest at the Potato Days Festival in Barnesvill, MN, entrants may "embellish" their sculptures with "materials of their choice" as long as those materials don't include paint or more potatoes.
One of the baskets was stolen. I noticed at Fargo that there was a reward being offered for four stolen baskets and wondered whether basket theft was more popular in certain areas.
Couple of random trip notes:
--saw a deer near an exit at Indiana.
--in Wisconsin saw a blur running across a field. Looked at it and realized it was a bear. Wow, cool animals.
--notice on the map that we were near Mankato and Sleepy Eye, but I couldn't find Walnut Grove, which I might very well have made a sojourn to see. (Todd and I went to Sleepy Hollow but skipped Robert Frost home.)
--I would have thought I was making hasty generalizations about the way Minnesotans drive (not well) if there hadn't been a stand at the welcome center offering me tips on how to cope with "aggressive drivers."
--According to the rules of the 2007 Mashed Potato Scupture Contest at the Potato Days Festival in Barnesvill, MN, entrants may "embellish" their sculptures with "materials of their choice" as long as those materials don't include paint or more potatoes.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Days 6/7; Wisconsin, Minnesota, Fargo
Lot of driving and disc golfing and not much else.
Played Deforest, Wisconsin. It was a traditional ball golf layout. Wide/generous fairways, slightly longer drives than I could make. Some obstacles but not tight. I think I threw the Sidewinder like 14 of 18 drives. Nice signage and well thought out, but not too exciting. Definitely the sort of course that the better player would win, since there isn't much here to punish less than good shots, so it's about making good shots (longer) consistently. I think Cindy and I threw a 53 or so.
Played Acorn Park in St. Paul. It wasn't as short as I thought, and the signage made it unclear as to which tees to play. We ended up playing some combination of longs and shorts, I think. We shot a 50, including throwing in a 80 foot chip or so with the Roc.
Played Oak Grove Park in Fargo. Got there late in the day and started on Hole 10. Birdied the first three holes (10, 11, and 12) and missed a makeable putt for birdie on the next. Then settled down. Muddy course (on Red River Bed, looks like it floods some time), but I settled down after that and took an irritating five on 560 foot hole 18. Finished with a 51.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are really quite beautiful this time of year. Lots of huge farms which look majestic rather than dull because of undulating hills rather than perfectly flat land.
Been playing some good golf, but I think the "great" round may be trying to get out.
Played Deforest, Wisconsin. It was a traditional ball golf layout. Wide/generous fairways, slightly longer drives than I could make. Some obstacles but not tight. I think I threw the Sidewinder like 14 of 18 drives. Nice signage and well thought out, but not too exciting. Definitely the sort of course that the better player would win, since there isn't much here to punish less than good shots, so it's about making good shots (longer) consistently. I think Cindy and I threw a 53 or so.
Played Acorn Park in St. Paul. It wasn't as short as I thought, and the signage made it unclear as to which tees to play. We ended up playing some combination of longs and shorts, I think. We shot a 50, including throwing in a 80 foot chip or so with the Roc.
Played Oak Grove Park in Fargo. Got there late in the day and started on Hole 10. Birdied the first three holes (10, 11, and 12) and missed a makeable putt for birdie on the next. Then settled down. Muddy course (on Red River Bed, looks like it floods some time), but I settled down after that and took an irritating five on 560 foot hole 18. Finished with a 51.
Minnesota and Wisconsin are really quite beautiful this time of year. Lots of huge farms which look majestic rather than dull because of undulating hills rather than perfectly flat land.
Been playing some good golf, but I think the "great" round may be trying to get out.
Monday, July 16, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip Day 5--South Bend, Indiana
The day began with two pleasant experiences: more complaining about Ada, and a leisurely breakfast with the Truffins before departing Tiffin.
On the former...I took seven to eight penalty strokes at the tournament, only one of which was caused by gong out of bounds in a meaningful sense. Yes, the two meter rule was in effect (first tournament I've played that chose to have it), and yes, I lost a stroke to it. The annoying thing was the sidewalks. Picture this computer screen as the playing field on which a hole is set up. Now blindfold a four year old and give her four to seven seconds to randomly scribble on the screen. These are your Ada sidewalks, and they are all OB. I'm all for giving right of way to pedestrians, but when it's a spaghetti latticework of four foot strips of concrete running through the course that has nothing, really to do with whether or not you threw a good shot or a bad one, I figured you could just as well have each group throw their respective minis in a plastic bag before each hole, draw one at random, and assess its owner a penalty stroke.
I did, however, check the PDGA results and see that despite throwing rollers and thumbers and being dreadfully bored hobbling around on blistered feet, I threw within a stroke of my PDGA rating, so at least the experience won't kill my rating.
The drive to DeKalb wasn't too long, so we decided to stop at Rum Village Park in South Bend, Indiana. I had one bad approach shot that cost me a four on a 260 foot (or so) elevation to elevation shot, but I got a three on the looooooong ninth hole (no yardage marked, but it felt like 550 or so downill). All the pins were in the long position, making it a bit more challenging, and I just missed on some long putts. Still, Cindy and I managed to throw a fifty-five. Normally the double nickel is my least favorite score, especially on a new course, but there were enough long holes here that I had to concede that this was a pretty good round. (Cindy nearly holed a three on her own for a 365 foot downhill hole and is throwing the Skeeter very nicely.) I suppose on some level, I needed to throw a challenging courses a well more than I needed a pitch and putt. I mean, after you throw a 91 in a tournament round, I think you need some evidence you are not a total loser, even if that 91 was on 21 holes from ridiculous long tees in 25 mph winds.
The worst part of the day is it took us about an hour to drive the eight miles or so between Gary, Indiana and the Illinois border. As near as I can tell, it was all just a bottleneck from losing one lane to road work. Grrrr.
That means we arrived in DeKalb later than anticipated, but fortunately we gained an hour from going to Central time. Entering DeKalb isn't much at all like revisiting Toccoa. My memories of Illinois are pleasant, if not overly rose-colored, but I still get that same disconnect of trying to fathom, you know, actually living in a place in which I'm now an outsider. I told Cindy that sometimes it doesn't feel like a lifetime ago so much as it feels like we've led several different lives, and I'm trying to remember that one.
Rum Village Park; South Bend, Indiana
2-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-3 (27) OUT
3-2-4 4-3-3 3-3-3 (28) IN 55
On the former...I took seven to eight penalty strokes at the tournament, only one of which was caused by gong out of bounds in a meaningful sense. Yes, the two meter rule was in effect (first tournament I've played that chose to have it), and yes, I lost a stroke to it. The annoying thing was the sidewalks. Picture this computer screen as the playing field on which a hole is set up. Now blindfold a four year old and give her four to seven seconds to randomly scribble on the screen. These are your Ada sidewalks, and they are all OB. I'm all for giving right of way to pedestrians, but when it's a spaghetti latticework of four foot strips of concrete running through the course that has nothing, really to do with whether or not you threw a good shot or a bad one, I figured you could just as well have each group throw their respective minis in a plastic bag before each hole, draw one at random, and assess its owner a penalty stroke.
I did, however, check the PDGA results and see that despite throwing rollers and thumbers and being dreadfully bored hobbling around on blistered feet, I threw within a stroke of my PDGA rating, so at least the experience won't kill my rating.
The drive to DeKalb wasn't too long, so we decided to stop at Rum Village Park in South Bend, Indiana. I had one bad approach shot that cost me a four on a 260 foot (or so) elevation to elevation shot, but I got a three on the looooooong ninth hole (no yardage marked, but it felt like 550 or so downill). All the pins were in the long position, making it a bit more challenging, and I just missed on some long putts. Still, Cindy and I managed to throw a fifty-five. Normally the double nickel is my least favorite score, especially on a new course, but there were enough long holes here that I had to concede that this was a pretty good round. (Cindy nearly holed a three on her own for a 365 foot downhill hole and is throwing the Skeeter very nicely.) I suppose on some level, I needed to throw a challenging courses a well more than I needed a pitch and putt. I mean, after you throw a 91 in a tournament round, I think you need some evidence you are not a total loser, even if that 91 was on 21 holes from ridiculous long tees in 25 mph winds.
The worst part of the day is it took us about an hour to drive the eight miles or so between Gary, Indiana and the Illinois border. As near as I can tell, it was all just a bottleneck from losing one lane to road work. Grrrr.
That means we arrived in DeKalb later than anticipated, but fortunately we gained an hour from going to Central time. Entering DeKalb isn't much at all like revisiting Toccoa. My memories of Illinois are pleasant, if not overly rose-colored, but I still get that same disconnect of trying to fathom, you know, actually living in a place in which I'm now an outsider. I told Cindy that sometimes it doesn't feel like a lifetime ago so much as it feels like we've led several different lives, and I'm trying to remember that one.
Rum Village Park; South Bend, Indiana
2-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-3 (27) OUT
3-2-4 4-3-3 3-3-3 (28) IN 55
Saturday, July 14, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Day 4; Ada, Ohio
Found out at the last minute that masters had to play round one from the long tees. 797 feet to an open hole with 25 mph wind gusts. Bleech.
The grounds were immaculately maintained, but the design, especially the long tees, was boring. Lot of 500-800 foot holes with not much variety. I've never thrown so many rollers and thumbers.
Can't say I enjoyed it.
The grounds were immaculately maintained, but the design, especially the long tees, was boring. Lot of 500-800 foot holes with not much variety. I've never thrown so many rollers and thumbers.
Can't say I enjoyed it.
Friday, July 13, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Day 3; Tiffin, Ohio
I returned to Hedges-Boyer with Todd and Cindy to play some singles, and I was happy to throw a 56 (1 under par for 19 holes). I threw in two longer putts, but I chunked two approaches. Overall, I was very happy, carding five deuces on a longer course and getting in a round under par. (I hope I can keep up the putting at Ada tomorrow.)
I looked up the course stats on the PDGA site, and 56 was a 909 rated round in their last tournament, which feels about right. I could easily have been 3-4 strokes lower if some putts had fallen, but I could also have been 2-3 strokes higher.
I'm still thinking about not knowing what my strengths are. I don't think of myself as being good or better at longer courses...but I seem to be getting good results on longer courses. (There is less margin for error on short courses, I know.)
Hedges-Boyer Park; Tiffin, Ohio (19 holes)
2-3-3 3-3-2 3-3-2-4 (28) OUT
3-2-3 4-4-3 3-2-4 (28) IN 56
I looked up the course stats on the PDGA site, and 56 was a 909 rated round in their last tournament, which feels about right. I could easily have been 3-4 strokes lower if some putts had fallen, but I could also have been 2-3 strokes higher.
I'm still thinking about not knowing what my strengths are. I don't think of myself as being good or better at longer courses...but I seem to be getting good results on longer courses. (There is less margin for error on short courses, I know.)
Hedges-Boyer Park; Tiffin, Ohio (19 holes)
2-3-3 3-3-2 3-3-2-4 (28) OUT
3-2-3 4-4-3 3-2-4 (28) IN 56
Thursday, July 12, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Day 2: Columbus, Tiffin
Day two began with a change of plans. We decided rather than drive to Tiffin and spend a day in Columbus on Friday, we would meet the Truffins in Columbus and get back in time for Todd's doubles at the Tiffin course.
In addition to my chimerical goal to play disc golf in all fifty states, I have a slightly less obsessive one to track down all the Artemisia Gentileschi on public display. So we met the Truffins at noon at the Columbus Museum of Art, which holds Artemisia's David and Bathsheba (1651).
The painting was a good one, but it was a bit harder to warm up to than some of her others. Perhaps it was the outdoor setting--certainly the museum had it in a room that was a bit too small, making it hard to take in the painting whole without a bad glare on one part. (The reproduction linked above is a poor one, but what can you do?)
I wrote a poem that got me paid a dollar for being reprinted in an art journal after seeing my first Artemisia, so my tradition is to write a poem for each new painting of hers I see. (I don't normally write poetry, but this is a nice exercise.) Here's my poem about this one:
"On Viewing Artemisia Gentileschi's David and Bathsheba at the Columbus Museum of Art (July 12, 2007)"
When did you know something was wrong?
Did others go before you to prepare the way that was not so clear?
Or did you forge ahead,
Oblivious to the flaccid foundations of your fragile refuge?
Did your women's intuition--that Biblical Spidey Sense--tingle,
Telling you it wasn't alright,
When all the powers of earth and heaven said that it was?
Did your fear recede when you knew it was him?
A friend of the family.
Trusted.
Or did you sense even then the shadow of lust he hid even from himself?
Did you grow to love him as love grew inside you?
What shadow passed between you and your father,
As you were punished for his sin?
You will never be alone again.
History will absolve but never clothe you.
Blessed be the man who need never face
The torturous peril
Of a solitary woman
Taking a bath.
*****************************************************
After a nice lunch (and a pile of nachos higher than my head), we made our way to Tiffin and did manage to venture out for the Thursday night doubles. It's always weird being the new guy at club doubles as people don't know whether to be happy or sad they drew you. I exonerated myself nicely, shooting -4 with my partner (winning number was -8), dropping in several long chip shots and putts to keep us in the running with the other group up to the very last hole.
The course was a bit long and open--in other words, it didn't play to my strengths, but I had fun with it, throwing a thumber approach on one hole and a roller on another drive to net a 300 foot plus deuce.
Tomorrow it appears that we will stick around Tiffin, so maybe I'll play the course again.
In addition to my chimerical goal to play disc golf in all fifty states, I have a slightly less obsessive one to track down all the Artemisia Gentileschi on public display. So we met the Truffins at noon at the Columbus Museum of Art, which holds Artemisia's David and Bathsheba (1651).
The painting was a good one, but it was a bit harder to warm up to than some of her others. Perhaps it was the outdoor setting--certainly the museum had it in a room that was a bit too small, making it hard to take in the painting whole without a bad glare on one part. (The reproduction linked above is a poor one, but what can you do?)
I wrote a poem that got me paid a dollar for being reprinted in an art journal after seeing my first Artemisia, so my tradition is to write a poem for each new painting of hers I see. (I don't normally write poetry, but this is a nice exercise.) Here's my poem about this one:
"On Viewing Artemisia Gentileschi's David and Bathsheba at the Columbus Museum of Art (July 12, 2007)"
When did you know something was wrong?
Did others go before you to prepare the way that was not so clear?
Or did you forge ahead,
Oblivious to the flaccid foundations of your fragile refuge?
Did your women's intuition--that Biblical Spidey Sense--tingle,
Telling you it wasn't alright,
When all the powers of earth and heaven said that it was?
Did your fear recede when you knew it was him?
A friend of the family.
Trusted.
Or did you sense even then the shadow of lust he hid even from himself?
Did you grow to love him as love grew inside you?
What shadow passed between you and your father,
As you were punished for his sin?
You will never be alone again.
History will absolve but never clothe you.
Blessed be the man who need never face
The torturous peril
Of a solitary woman
Taking a bath.
*****************************************************
After a nice lunch (and a pile of nachos higher than my head), we made our way to Tiffin and did manage to venture out for the Thursday night doubles. It's always weird being the new guy at club doubles as people don't know whether to be happy or sad they drew you. I exonerated myself nicely, shooting -4 with my partner (winning number was -8), dropping in several long chip shots and putts to keep us in the running with the other group up to the very last hole.
The course was a bit long and open--in other words, it didn't play to my strengths, but I had fun with it, throwing a thumber approach on one hole and a roller on another drive to net a 300 foot plus deuce.
Tomorrow it appears that we will stick around Tiffin, so maybe I'll play the course again.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
2007 Disc Golf Trip--Day 1: Winston-Salem
Cindy again decided to join me on this year's summer disc golf excursion, mostly because I was going by North Dakota, the only continental state she has not yet visited. My goal is to play disc golf in all fifty states, and this trip should add six to my current total of thirty.
I'm still a bit sore from The Great 8, so we are easing into the disc golf part of the trip. Today's drive went from Fuquay-Varina to Charleston, WV, with a stop in Winston-Salem to play Horizon's Park.
I've played the course twice before, and the first time I did I shot a 49. Cindy and I play doubles and we shoot a 49; it's hard not to look at that as signifying that I haven't improved. I know I have, though. It's a very windy day, so conditions aren't great. There has to be some other indication of improvement besides continually raising the bar on your best ever. While I'm putting well, I'm approaching poorly and I make two mental errors. So perhaps one mark of improvement is that I tied a previous "hot" round even though I'm struggling. I make two long putts, but I'm beginning to notice that some of my approaches in the 100-150 foot range are not as precise as they should be. I also still pick the wrong disc on occasion. We take three fours (inexcusable), and one is on a hole where I remind myself that the only way to get a four is to go in the bush to the left of the hole--which I promptly do.
To focus on the positives: I am increasingly my distance a little, especially throwing uphill. I get a birdie into the wind on a right turning uphill hole that I probably wouldn't have reached before.
Overall, it was a good way to break up the drive, and a fun course to play to get into the flow.
Horizon's Park: Winston-Salem, NC.
2-2-4 2-3-4 2-2-3 (24) Out
2-2-3 3-4-3 2-3-3 (25) In 49
I'm still a bit sore from The Great 8, so we are easing into the disc golf part of the trip. Today's drive went from Fuquay-Varina to Charleston, WV, with a stop in Winston-Salem to play Horizon's Park.
I've played the course twice before, and the first time I did I shot a 49. Cindy and I play doubles and we shoot a 49; it's hard not to look at that as signifying that I haven't improved. I know I have, though. It's a very windy day, so conditions aren't great. There has to be some other indication of improvement besides continually raising the bar on your best ever. While I'm putting well, I'm approaching poorly and I make two mental errors. So perhaps one mark of improvement is that I tied a previous "hot" round even though I'm struggling. I make two long putts, but I'm beginning to notice that some of my approaches in the 100-150 foot range are not as precise as they should be. I also still pick the wrong disc on occasion. We take three fours (inexcusable), and one is on a hole where I remind myself that the only way to get a four is to go in the bush to the left of the hole--which I promptly do.
To focus on the positives: I am increasingly my distance a little, especially throwing uphill. I get a birdie into the wind on a right turning uphill hole that I probably wouldn't have reached before.
Overall, it was a good way to break up the drive, and a fun course to play to get into the flow.
Horizon's Park: Winston-Salem, NC.
2-2-4 2-3-4 2-2-3 (24) Out
2-2-3 3-4-3 2-3-3 (25) In 49
Monday, July 09, 2007
The Great 8
On Saturday, I played in the Great 8--a marathon disc golf tournament in which players begin at Zebulon Community Park and attempt to play eight courses in one day.
Despite playing some great golf and literally running the last course and a half, my partner (Cliff Patton) and I took a DNF by six holes. We were on hole 13 of Cedar Rock when time was called. This ending was incredibly frustrating for an otherwise great experience. It was not any one thing that caused the delay, rather an accumulation of little things. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to finish (barring an accident) if I play next year, and I've ironed some of the issues that caused delays already.
This year's scores:
Zebulon Community Park (Starting Hole 16)
4-2-4 2-3-3 3-4-4 (29) Out
3-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (26) In 55
Cedar Hills (Starting Hole 1)
2-3-2 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
3-2-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (26) In 48
Kentwood
2-3-2 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
2-3-2 3-3-3 3-3-3 (25) In 47
Buckhorn
3-2-3 4-2-2 3-2-3 (24) Out
2-2-3 2-3-3 2-3-3 (23) In 47
UNC-Chapel Hill (Beginning Hole 8)
3-3-3 3-4-3 2-2-3 (26) Out
3-3-2 3-3-4 3-2-3 (26) In 52
Valley Springs (Durham)
2-2-3 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
3-3-2 3-2-3 3-3-3 (25) In 47
Wellspring (Running!)
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-3-2 (25) Out
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-4-3 (27) In 52
Cedar Rock (Skipping Holes 8&9/7to10)
3-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (27) Out
3-3-3 DNF
Despite playing some great golf and literally running the last course and a half, my partner (Cliff Patton) and I took a DNF by six holes. We were on hole 13 of Cedar Rock when time was called. This ending was incredibly frustrating for an otherwise great experience. It was not any one thing that caused the delay, rather an accumulation of little things. I'm pretty sure I'd be able to finish (barring an accident) if I play next year, and I've ironed some of the issues that caused delays already.
This year's scores:
Zebulon Community Park (Starting Hole 16)
4-2-4 2-3-3 3-4-4 (29) Out
3-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (26) In 55
Cedar Hills (Starting Hole 1)
2-3-2 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
3-2-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (26) In 48
Kentwood
2-3-2 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
2-3-2 3-3-3 3-3-3 (25) In 47
Buckhorn
3-2-3 4-2-2 3-2-3 (24) Out
2-2-3 2-3-3 2-3-3 (23) In 47
UNC-Chapel Hill (Beginning Hole 8)
3-3-3 3-4-3 2-2-3 (26) Out
3-3-2 3-3-4 3-2-3 (26) In 52
Valley Springs (Durham)
2-2-3 2-3-2 3-2-3 (22) Out
3-3-2 3-2-3 3-3-3 (25) In 47
Wellspring (Running!)
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-3-2 (25) Out
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-4-3 (27) In 52
Cedar Rock (Skipping Holes 8&9/7to10)
3-3-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (27) Out
3-3-3 DNF
Sunday, July 08, 2007
This blog is rated...
Damn! I can't believe my blog is rated "G."
Hey, maybe it's PG now, since I said "damn."
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Competitive Eating
Why, every fourth of July (and sometimes at other times) are we subjected to coverage of this nonsense? Why with famine in the world, obesity prevalent in America, and a general ignorance about the most mundane matters of health, do we get front page coverage on guys trying to eat 60 hot dogs in twelve minutes without throwing up.
Shame on Sports Illustrated, especially for featuring this prominently on their web site.
Double shame on ESPN for broadcasting it.
Hey guys, why not show clips from a DISC GOLF tournament instead?
Shame on Sports Illustrated, especially for featuring this prominently on their web site.
Double shame on ESPN for broadcasting it.
Hey guys, why not show clips from a DISC GOLF tournament instead?
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
2007 Cha-Ching & Zing
I had pretty much decided not to play the 2007 Cha-Ching & Zing.
Zebulon has always been a long course that pretty much kicks my butt, I had had faded badly at a tourny in Kinston earlier this summer (and resolved to not play any more two day tournies), I was getting ready to play the Great 8 and go on vacation....
But the PDGA ratings came out and I went down 4 points (877 to 873), I got an unexpected cash flow problem worked out, and I didn't want to leave for vacation with that bad taste in my mouth. Plus, I had one of my better rounds at Zebulon during the Dogwood Crosstown Challenge last year, making me wonder if maybe I wasn't better off on a long course.
Well, I took a 6 on the very first hole, and I thought I was in for a long weekend. It was a long weekend, but I somehow managed to hold it together. I played three mediocre/poor rounds (70, 68, 70 on 19 holes) and one great for me round (58 on 18 holes).
To give an idea about the last round:
1) It was the highest rated tournament round I've thrown, ever.
2) It was the highest rated round for my division (Advanced Masters) that weekend.
3) It tied or beat 6 open players and 6 Open Master players. (Not that my overall score was anything close to them...just saying on a given round if I play over my head and they have a terrible round...)
Now this is strange. It goes against several "conventional wisdom" points I've developed...specifically a) I do better on short courses than long (because I can putt and can't drive over 260 feet consistently; b) I have to start hot and hold on because I wilt over time as I get tired; c) I do better if those around me are playing better.
Granted it may just have been a strange biorhythm day or something, but I felt strong and despite having some ups and downs and not getting a good score in the morning, I was still able to finally break through and shoot a good round on Sunday afternoon. The last round should erase the other three as far as my rating (all four average 870) tourney should help my rating a little, I think, and I'm glad I went. Next stop, the Great 8:
Saturday
RD 1 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2B)(837 rating)
4-2/2-5 4-4-3 6-3-4 (37) 6-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-5 (33) (70)
RD 2 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2B)(866 rating)
3-3/3-4 2-5-3 3-3-6 (35) 3-3-3 3-4-4 4-5-4 (33) (68)
Sunday
RD 3 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2b) (841)
4-3/3-6 3-4-3 4-3-6 (39) 3-4-3 3-4-3 4-3-4 (31) (70)
RD 4 (Starting on Hole 14)(18 holes) (936)
3-2-4 3-3-3 4-3-4 (29) 4-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-3 (29) (58)
A couple of things I learned, too:
If I'm having mechanical problems, I need to fix them with the mechanics, not by changing discs.
A stroke counts the same no matter where you get it. We tend to think that the blow up holes are the ones that get us, but I felt like I was doing well in Round 3 but flubbed a few approaches and had two penalties for OB making 4s out of 3s and a 6 out of a sure 5 and maybe a 4. Every hole counts.
Zebulon has always been a long course that pretty much kicks my butt, I had had faded badly at a tourny in Kinston earlier this summer (and resolved to not play any more two day tournies), I was getting ready to play the Great 8 and go on vacation....
But the PDGA ratings came out and I went down 4 points (877 to 873), I got an unexpected cash flow problem worked out, and I didn't want to leave for vacation with that bad taste in my mouth. Plus, I had one of my better rounds at Zebulon during the Dogwood Crosstown Challenge last year, making me wonder if maybe I wasn't better off on a long course.
Well, I took a 6 on the very first hole, and I thought I was in for a long weekend. It was a long weekend, but I somehow managed to hold it together. I played three mediocre/poor rounds (70, 68, 70 on 19 holes) and one great for me round (58 on 18 holes).
To give an idea about the last round:
1) It was the highest rated tournament round I've thrown, ever.
2) It was the highest rated round for my division (Advanced Masters) that weekend.
3) It tied or beat 6 open players and 6 Open Master players. (Not that my overall score was anything close to them...just saying on a given round if I play over my head and they have a terrible round...)
Now this is strange. It goes against several "conventional wisdom" points I've developed...specifically a) I do better on short courses than long (because I can putt and can't drive over 260 feet consistently; b) I have to start hot and hold on because I wilt over time as I get tired; c) I do better if those around me are playing better.
Granted it may just have been a strange biorhythm day or something, but I felt strong and despite having some ups and downs and not getting a good score in the morning, I was still able to finally break through and shoot a good round on Sunday afternoon. The last round should erase the other three as far as my rating (all four average 870) tourney should help my rating a little, I think, and I'm glad I went. Next stop, the Great 8:
Saturday
RD 1 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2B)(837 rating)
4-2/2-5 4-4-3 6-3-4 (37) 6-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-5 (33) (70)
RD 2 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2B)(866 rating)
3-3/3-4 2-5-3 3-3-6 (35) 3-3-3 3-4-4 4-5-4 (33) (68)
Sunday
RD 3 (Starting on Hole 17)(Alternate hole=2b) (841)
4-3/3-6 3-4-3 4-3-6 (39) 3-4-3 3-4-3 4-3-4 (31) (70)
RD 4 (Starting on Hole 14)(18 holes) (936)
3-2-4 3-3-3 4-3-4 (29) 4-3-3 3-3-3 4-3-3 (29) (58)
A couple of things I learned, too:
If I'm having mechanical problems, I need to fix them with the mechanics, not by changing discs.
A stroke counts the same no matter where you get it. We tend to think that the blow up holes are the ones that get us, but I felt like I was doing well in Round 3 but flubbed a few approaches and had two penalties for OB making 4s out of 3s and a 6 out of a sure 5 and maybe a 4. Every hole counts.
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
"R.I.P. Tony Soprano"
My thoughts on the series finale of "The Sopranos" are now available at "The Matthews House Project." Follow this link to read the article.
Monday, June 25, 2007
2007 State Games of North Carolina
Ugggh.
I had hopes for a better showing here, especially since my highest rated tournament rounds were at a short course. (Though I did have comparably rated rounds at Zebulon.) It was a one day tournament, so I thought fatigue would be less of a factor and it was a short course. I just couldn't make a 10 foot putt all day (for birdie, anyways, I made a few 15-20 footers for par). I think that's just a concentration issue as well as being tired. There's no reason to miss putts of that length. (Instead of putting the disc you just open your hand and gravity almost immediately makes the disc drop.)
Plus it always seems like someone is having a bad round and hence in a foul mood.
Still, I did get the ace in my warm up round Friday, and any round below par is a good round, even if it's an 850 rated round.
I had hopes for a better showing here, especially since my highest rated tournament rounds were at a short course. (Though I did have comparably rated rounds at Zebulon.) It was a one day tournament, so I thought fatigue would be less of a factor and it was a short course. I just couldn't make a 10 foot putt all day (for birdie, anyways, I made a few 15-20 footers for par). I think that's just a concentration issue as well as being tired. There's no reason to miss putts of that length. (Instead of putting the disc you just open your hand and gravity almost immediately makes the disc drop.)
Plus it always seems like someone is having a bad round and hence in a foul mood.
Still, I did get the ace in my warm up round Friday, and any round below par is a good round, even if it's an 850 rated round.
Friday, June 22, 2007
One being the number of my strokes and the number of my strokes being one...
Career Ace #4
June 22, 2007
Johnson Street Disc Golf Course; High Point, NC.
Hole #16--White Tees--179 feet.
Disc: Champion Roadrunner
Witnesses: Cindy
Was I upset that I got the ace while playing a practice round for tournament tomorrow? I was not. The rest of the weekend is gravy.
June 22, 2007
Johnson Street Disc Golf Course; High Point, NC.
Hole #16--White Tees--179 feet.
Disc: Champion Roadrunner
Witnesses: Cindy
Was I upset that I got the ace while playing a practice round for tournament tomorrow? I was not. The rest of the weekend is gravy.
Monday, June 18, 2007
Best...round...ever.
So I was fortunate enough to get paired up with Wes at tonight's blind-draw, best shot doubles at OT Sloan, and found myself on the winning team for the second time this season.
We shot a 40, which is, I'm pretty sure, my lowest round of disc golf, ever. (If it isn't, it's tied; Chris Temple and I might have shot a 40 at Higher Ground two years ago.)
What made this one especially gratifying is that I actually contributed to the team effort, making a few medium range putts, a solid approach on 11, and a handful of drives that led to birdies. I usually joke with Wes that my strategy is for him to shoot a -11 and I'll promise to get one of the seven holes he misses. There's more than a grain of truth in that, but I'm finally getting to the point in my game where I feel like I can be an asset to a pairing and not just along for the ride. I'm still not going to carry anyone to victory, but (I hope) I can let some of the better players be a little loose, knowing they don't have to make every shot.
We shot a 40, which is, I'm pretty sure, my lowest round of disc golf, ever. (If it isn't, it's tied; Chris Temple and I might have shot a 40 at Higher Ground two years ago.)
What made this one especially gratifying is that I actually contributed to the team effort, making a few medium range putts, a solid approach on 11, and a handful of drives that led to birdies. I usually joke with Wes that my strategy is for him to shoot a -11 and I'll promise to get one of the seven holes he misses. There's more than a grain of truth in that, but I'm finally getting to the point in my game where I feel like I can be an asset to a pairing and not just along for the ride. I'm still not going to carry anyone to victory, but (I hope) I can let some of the better players be a little loose, knowing they don't have to make every shot.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Im a...what's that other thing, you know, the opposite of a loser?
Probably less than twenty showed up for this month's monthly at OT Sloan (all up in Winston-Salem, I guess). Well, I heard the ace pull was over $200, so I figured I'd go play even though there wouldn't be enough players for an Advanced-Masters division.
Because it was a monthly (I guess) we did have a division of two Masters...but it was played as Pro Masters because that's what the other guy played. I figured, okay, only real difference between that an playing open was who I gave my money to. Well, I won. (Last tourny victory of any kind...not weekly doubles...2002 Shenandoah Shag Intermediate division.)
I did manage to place in the prizes at Advanced once in a monthly...but little did I know, I have now won a pro division. (My take...$8 [paid in $12 got back $20]).
Unfortunately nobody hit the ace pool, so back for doubles on Monday.
Because it was a monthly (I guess) we did have a division of two Masters...but it was played as Pro Masters because that's what the other guy played. I figured, okay, only real difference between that an playing open was who I gave my money to. Well, I won. (Last tourny victory of any kind...not weekly doubles...2002 Shenandoah Shag Intermediate division.)
I did manage to place in the prizes at Advanced once in a monthly...but little did I know, I have now won a pro division. (My take...$8 [paid in $12 got back $20]).
Unfortunately nobody hit the ace pool, so back for doubles on Monday.
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Missed Opportunities
The disc golf theme this month is missed opportunities. Earlier this month I shot a 63 to tie for first (after one round) at the King's Cup only to follow it up with a 67, 69, and 73 (to finish 5th, I think).
Today I shot 8 birdies from the short tees at Buckhorn, and was putting to go to -7 at 16. Unfortunately, I three putted and then put an approach in the water on 17. Still a good round (51), but I had an opportunity to break my personal best.
I guess the King's Cup wasn't really a missed opportunity so much as a bad idea. By half way through the second round, various aches and pains were beating me up, and I just wanted to get off the course. I slept poorly and woke up not feeling great for day two. I really need to not play in two day tournaments, especially on long courses. I'm not sure what possessed me to sign up for four rounds from the pro tees...I pretty much did what I always do on those sorts of tournies--started out well and then lost gas and eventually interest as something I normally do for fun (play DG) turned into a grind. I think I would have been better off just playing the doubles and the first day of the tourny. (Since I don't need points because I don't want/need to qualify for anything and am not playing in the money anyway, I'm not sure why I didn't just play day one).
Buckhorn was irritating. I definitely left some strokes on the course that made the difference between a great round and my personal best. Ah well, that's golf.
Today I shot 8 birdies from the short tees at Buckhorn, and was putting to go to -7 at 16. Unfortunately, I three putted and then put an approach in the water on 17. Still a good round (51), but I had an opportunity to break my personal best.
I guess the King's Cup wasn't really a missed opportunity so much as a bad idea. By half way through the second round, various aches and pains were beating me up, and I just wanted to get off the course. I slept poorly and woke up not feeling great for day two. I really need to not play in two day tournaments, especially on long courses. I'm not sure what possessed me to sign up for four rounds from the pro tees...I pretty much did what I always do on those sorts of tournies--started out well and then lost gas and eventually interest as something I normally do for fun (play DG) turned into a grind. I think I would have been better off just playing the doubles and the first day of the tourny. (Since I don't need points because I don't want/need to qualify for anything and am not playing in the money anyway, I'm not sure why I didn't just play day one).
Buckhorn was irritating. I definitely left some strokes on the course that made the difference between a great round and my personal best. Ah well, that's golf.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Rescue Dawn
Christian Spotlight on Entertainment has published my review of Werner Herzog's RescueDawn.
To read the review, click here.
To read the review, click here.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Sanford Spring Sling III
Observations:
1) I got miscalibrated on this course. I know it had been over a year since I had thrown it, but I had recollections of -3 being "about average." Now, I suppose tournament conditions might add a stroke or two, and it was windy. But I had a tough time shooting par (only 1 in 4 rounds). More to the point, the scores across the board were not reflective of the degree of difficulty I remembered. For example, I remembered the course as being maybe a "tad" tougher than Kentwood, especially on the back nine, but while a 49 on the former was rated as a 905 round, a 53 at OT Sloan was rated 922.
2) That 922 was my highest rated tournament round of golf, I think. First time I shot over the 915 threshold, which is supposed to be the window for the advanced division.
3) I hit the red number on the top of the basket on 15, narrowly missing my fourth career ace. It's been almost two years since my last ace, and I've hit chains and basket several times on my tee shots in the intervals (on holes 1, 5, 9, and 15 at OT Sloan; holes 1, 7, 8, 14 at Buckhorn, 1, 6, 9 at Kentwood...you get the drill). This effort did get my a CTP--a cordless phone and t-shirt from Windsteam Communications (love them sponsors).
4) I struggled for most of two rounds (the early rounds both days) and really worked to not just explode. Not giving away loose shots when things aren't going well really is a discipline.
5) If you're only going to do one thing marginally well, it might as well be putt. Putting not only helps your score by getting birdies, it increases your margin for error on approaches. The extra strokes you don't add to your score are just as important as the birides you make.
6) I really need to learn to throw a thumber. I don't even need to throw it well, just enough to have it in a place where that is the only throw called for.
7) There are jerks (I was going to use a word that started with "A" and ends in "holes") and nice guys at pretty much every tournament and at most levels of competition.
8) The worse a good player is going, the bigger jerk he is. The better a novice/intermediate player is playing, the bigger jerk he is.
9) There are a lot of foot faults in disc golf, even in tournaments.
10) Over four rounds I took 14 strokes on hole 5--the easiest on the course. Go figure.
11) I lost a second CTP by the length of Gary's toe. Grrrr.
12) I'll never understand why people don't want you to clear the basket after a made putt.
13) I'll never understand why people ask you to clear the basket after a made putt and then don't wait for you to walk clear of the basket before they putt.
14) Applied learning is a wonderful thing. I remembered the lesson from Roselane last week about a heavy tail wind on a short approach. I putt a bit more on a short approach and sure enough when the tail wind knocked it down still had enough to get it close.
15) I hit four trees less than fifty feet away from me (three on intermediate approaches)...man that is annoying.
16) I'm getting to the point where playing 72 holes in two days is bordering on work rather than fun--and where I feel it in my back and muscles for a day or two afterwards.
17) Ticks bite...and they suck.
Round 1 (Starting Hole 12)
3-4-2 3-4-3 3-3-2 (27) Out
3-4-2 4-3-3 5-4-2 (30) In 57 (Rating 857)
Round 2 (Staring Hole 13)
3-3-2 2-3-3 4-3-3 (26) Out
3-4-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (28) in 54 (Rating 889)
Round 3 (Starting Hole 13)
3-3-2 4-4-3 3-2-3 (27) Out
4-5-2 3-3-3 5-3-3 (31) In 58 (Rating 858)
Round 4 (Starting Hole 12)
3-3-2 3-3-3 2-3-2 (24) Out
4-4-3 3-3-2 4-3-3 (29) In 53 (Rating 922)
Postscript--I believe this makes my average rating for all four rounds an 881, which means I shot a whopping 4 points above my PDGA rating (877); Looked at differently, the PDGA rating correctly predicted my score after 4 rounds to within 1/2 a stroke. Sheesh. I guess Bill Parcells was right...you are what your record says you are. (But at least I'm still getting better.)
1) I got miscalibrated on this course. I know it had been over a year since I had thrown it, but I had recollections of -3 being "about average." Now, I suppose tournament conditions might add a stroke or two, and it was windy. But I had a tough time shooting par (only 1 in 4 rounds). More to the point, the scores across the board were not reflective of the degree of difficulty I remembered. For example, I remembered the course as being maybe a "tad" tougher than Kentwood, especially on the back nine, but while a 49 on the former was rated as a 905 round, a 53 at OT Sloan was rated 922.
2) That 922 was my highest rated tournament round of golf, I think. First time I shot over the 915 threshold, which is supposed to be the window for the advanced division.
3) I hit the red number on the top of the basket on 15, narrowly missing my fourth career ace. It's been almost two years since my last ace, and I've hit chains and basket several times on my tee shots in the intervals (on holes 1, 5, 9, and 15 at OT Sloan; holes 1, 7, 8, 14 at Buckhorn, 1, 6, 9 at Kentwood...you get the drill). This effort did get my a CTP--a cordless phone and t-shirt from Windsteam Communications (love them sponsors).
4) I struggled for most of two rounds (the early rounds both days) and really worked to not just explode. Not giving away loose shots when things aren't going well really is a discipline.
5) If you're only going to do one thing marginally well, it might as well be putt. Putting not only helps your score by getting birdies, it increases your margin for error on approaches. The extra strokes you don't add to your score are just as important as the birides you make.
6) I really need to learn to throw a thumber. I don't even need to throw it well, just enough to have it in a place where that is the only throw called for.
7) There are jerks (I was going to use a word that started with "A" and ends in "holes") and nice guys at pretty much every tournament and at most levels of competition.
8) The worse a good player is going, the bigger jerk he is. The better a novice/intermediate player is playing, the bigger jerk he is.
9) There are a lot of foot faults in disc golf, even in tournaments.
10) Over four rounds I took 14 strokes on hole 5--the easiest on the course. Go figure.
11) I lost a second CTP by the length of Gary's toe. Grrrr.
12) I'll never understand why people don't want you to clear the basket after a made putt.
13) I'll never understand why people ask you to clear the basket after a made putt and then don't wait for you to walk clear of the basket before they putt.
14) Applied learning is a wonderful thing. I remembered the lesson from Roselane last week about a heavy tail wind on a short approach. I putt a bit more on a short approach and sure enough when the tail wind knocked it down still had enough to get it close.
15) I hit four trees less than fifty feet away from me (three on intermediate approaches)...man that is annoying.
16) I'm getting to the point where playing 72 holes in two days is bordering on work rather than fun--and where I feel it in my back and muscles for a day or two afterwards.
17) Ticks bite...and they suck.
Round 1 (Starting Hole 12)
3-4-2 3-4-3 3-3-2 (27) Out
3-4-2 4-3-3 5-4-2 (30) In 57 (Rating 857)
Round 2 (Staring Hole 13)
3-3-2 2-3-3 4-3-3 (26) Out
3-4-3 3-3-3 3-3-3 (28) in 54 (Rating 889)
Round 3 (Starting Hole 13)
3-3-2 4-4-3 3-2-3 (27) Out
4-5-2 3-3-3 5-3-3 (31) In 58 (Rating 858)
Round 4 (Starting Hole 12)
3-3-2 3-3-3 2-3-2 (24) Out
4-4-3 3-3-2 4-3-3 (29) In 53 (Rating 922)
Postscript--I believe this makes my average rating for all four rounds an 881, which means I shot a whopping 4 points above my PDGA rating (877); Looked at differently, the PDGA rating correctly predicted my score after 4 rounds to within 1/2 a stroke. Sheesh. I guess Bill Parcells was right...you are what your record says you are. (But at least I'm still getting better.)
Friday, May 04, 2007
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
Stephens County Pro Am #6 (2007)
Some things I learned:
1) You are what your record says you are. There is a reason I feel like I'm in this no man's land between Advanced and Intermediate. I shot a 73-77 (24 holes each), which the PDGA website said were rounds of 899 and 889 rating. Advanced rating according to PDGA is 915 and up. (At least that appears to be when you are required to play in that division.) At roughly 9 points per stroke (b/c the course playing marginally more difficult than the average course which is 10 points per stroke), that means I played 2-3 strokes (over 24 holes, roughly 1-2 strokes over 18) higher than a typical advanced player.
2) Size may not matter but length does. I just can't drive as far as players 40-50 points higher than me. My short game is okay, but not above average.
3) Every stroke counts the same. The most important putt I made was the first hole; it helped me recover from a shaky drive and shakier approach. Starting +1 just gets me off on the wrong foot.
4) I'm mentally stronger than I have been but still not totally there yet. At one point in round 1 I was -2 and putting for birdie. I had one of those putts where the disc hit the basket, fell to the ground, flukishly landed on its edge and rolled fifty feet away, turning a possible two into a four. Earlier I might have let that derail my whole round or day. For the first time in a tournament setting I was able to shake off a bad break and still play some good golf. In my second round I was very tired, but I managed to finish birdie, par on holes 10 and 11. In another age I might have figured (rightly) that I was out of it and just picked up a few loose strokes, but I'm trying to play from first hole to last.
5) A tail wind doesn't just knock the disc down on putts. My most difficult lesson was a 70 foot approach that only went maybe 40 feet because the tail wind just knocked it straight down into the ground. Cost me a stroke on what should have been an easy three, but that is a lesson I will remember.
Round 1 (Starting on hole 14)(Short pins, short tees)
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-5-3 3-3-3 3-3-2 2-4-4 4-2-3 2-3-4 (73)
Round 2 (Starting on hole 12)(Long pins, short tees)
4-2-4 3-5-3 4-5-3 2-3-3 2-3-2 3-3-4 3-3-3 3-4-3 (77)
1) You are what your record says you are. There is a reason I feel like I'm in this no man's land between Advanced and Intermediate. I shot a 73-77 (24 holes each), which the PDGA website said were rounds of 899 and 889 rating. Advanced rating according to PDGA is 915 and up. (At least that appears to be when you are required to play in that division.) At roughly 9 points per stroke (b/c the course playing marginally more difficult than the average course which is 10 points per stroke), that means I played 2-3 strokes (over 24 holes, roughly 1-2 strokes over 18) higher than a typical advanced player.
2) Size may not matter but length does. I just can't drive as far as players 40-50 points higher than me. My short game is okay, but not above average.
3) Every stroke counts the same. The most important putt I made was the first hole; it helped me recover from a shaky drive and shakier approach. Starting +1 just gets me off on the wrong foot.
4) I'm mentally stronger than I have been but still not totally there yet. At one point in round 1 I was -2 and putting for birdie. I had one of those putts where the disc hit the basket, fell to the ground, flukishly landed on its edge and rolled fifty feet away, turning a possible two into a four. Earlier I might have let that derail my whole round or day. For the first time in a tournament setting I was able to shake off a bad break and still play some good golf. In my second round I was very tired, but I managed to finish birdie, par on holes 10 and 11. In another age I might have figured (rightly) that I was out of it and just picked up a few loose strokes, but I'm trying to play from first hole to last.
5) A tail wind doesn't just knock the disc down on putts. My most difficult lesson was a 70 foot approach that only went maybe 40 feet because the tail wind just knocked it straight down into the ground. Cost me a stroke on what should have been an easy three, but that is a lesson I will remember.
Round 1 (Starting on hole 14)(Short pins, short tees)
3-3-2 3-3-3 3-5-3 3-3-3 3-3-2 2-4-4 4-2-3 2-3-4 (73)
Round 2 (Starting on hole 12)(Long pins, short tees)
4-2-4 3-5-3 4-5-3 2-3-3 2-3-2 3-3-4 3-3-3 3-4-3 (77)
Forgiving Dr. Mengele
I noted today that this film is now widely available on DVD; I saw it available at Blockbuster and is now available at Netflix. My review is here.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Tournament Preparation
I'm playing in the Stephens County Pro Am this weekend, and I decided to try to prepare for a tournament in a slightly different way--I've been playing rounds leading up to the tournament designed to take me out of the comfort zone.
I went on a Sunday to Buckhorn because I knew it would be crowded and got in with a group. Sometimes the pace of play in a tournament can throw you off. Yesterday, I threw from the pro tees to get different looks at holes and practice throwing holes I hadn't seen in a while. This tactic also made me work on my approach game--really trying to be 100% up and down in 2 from within 150 feet.
I shot a 60 from the pro tees at Buckhorn (with a 3 putt on hole 5...grrr), so I hope I'm not leaving it all on the practice greens.
I went on a Sunday to Buckhorn because I knew it would be crowded and got in with a group. Sometimes the pace of play in a tournament can throw you off. Yesterday, I threw from the pro tees to get different looks at holes and practice throwing holes I hadn't seen in a while. This tactic also made me work on my approach game--really trying to be 100% up and down in 2 from within 150 feet.
I shot a 60 from the pro tees at Buckhorn (with a 3 putt on hole 5...grrr), so I hope I'm not leaving it all on the practice greens.
Monday, April 23, 2007
"Like the Decalogue,...
...but funny," is how director Mark Wain is quoted as describing The Ten in the new issue of Entertainment Weekly.
You know, I'm trying to think of a single sentence that would make me less inclined to go see a movie, and I'm having a rough time of it.
Possible candidates would probably include the phrases: "snuff film," "Mary-Kate and Ashley," "Deuce Bigalow" and, "Jar Jar Binks."
You know, I'm trying to think of a single sentence that would make me less inclined to go see a movie, and I'm having a rough time of it.
Possible candidates would probably include the phrases: "snuff film," "Mary-Kate and Ashley," "Deuce Bigalow" and, "Jar Jar Binks."
Saturday, April 21, 2007
What I Can't Find at Blockbuster
Ever since I got Total Access, I'm catching up on some TV on DVD that I never watched (those free trade ins...)
Anyways, I started watching 24, Season 2, which is like 6 years old...and when I got to Disc 3...my Blockbuster store in Fuquay had it checked out. For like a week now. So, on my way to work, I stopped at the Blockbuster in Spring Lake, and...it was also checked out. Back to Fuquay yeterday. Disc 1 and 2 are in. Disc 4 and 5 and 6-7 are in. Still no disc two.
Today I went to Cary to see Persona at the Galaxy theater. I stopped in Holly Springs on the way home, which also has a Blockbuster. It had 24 season 2 on DVD. It had discs 4, 5, and 6-7, but disc 3 was...checked out.
Bizarre. Guess I should find some other 6 year old television show to watch.
Anyways, I started watching 24, Season 2, which is like 6 years old...and when I got to Disc 3...my Blockbuster store in Fuquay had it checked out. For like a week now. So, on my way to work, I stopped at the Blockbuster in Spring Lake, and...it was also checked out. Back to Fuquay yeterday. Disc 1 and 2 are in. Disc 4 and 5 and 6-7 are in. Still no disc two.
Today I went to Cary to see Persona at the Galaxy theater. I stopped in Holly Springs on the way home, which also has a Blockbuster. It had 24 season 2 on DVD. It had discs 4, 5, and 6-7, but disc 3 was...checked out.
Bizarre. Guess I should find some other 6 year old television show to watch.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The Sopranos
I guess my prediction is that Phil Leotardo is going to whack Christopher, but everyone (most especially Carmella) will think that Tony did it.
Then again, in six plus seasons I have never correctly predicted a Sopranos turn.
More likely to get killed: Tony or Harry Potter?
Then again, in six plus seasons I have never correctly predicted a Sopranos turn.
More likely to get killed: Tony or Harry Potter?
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Easter Golf
Bit of a cold spell running through North Carolina this weekend, but it wasn't so cold that I couldn't get in a round of Easter Golf.
Consecutive two putts on 9 and 10 left me three over and then, wow, birdies on 11, 13, 15, and 16 to finish -1.
Must...resist...cheesy Easter cliche about come backs. Really was a phenomenal finish. I have to remember to keep fighting no matter how bad a round gets.
Consecutive two putts on 9 and 10 left me three over and then, wow, birdies on 11, 13, 15, and 16 to finish -1.
Must...resist...cheesy Easter cliche about come backs. Really was a phenomenal finish. I have to remember to keep fighting no matter how bad a round gets.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Lolita
So...I was doing an electronic search through the Wake County Public Library for a recorded book version of Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita.
I found it, but what caught my eye was the subject heading: erotic fiction.
Umm. Sort of. Lolita is probably the least erotic book I can think of, but whatever.
I found it, but what caught my eye was the subject heading: erotic fiction.
Umm. Sort of. Lolita is probably the least erotic book I can think of, but whatever.
Persistence
Last week Cindy and I went out to Zebulon to play the disc golf course there. It is a long and particularly challenging course, so I was frustrated when we took a 4 on the second hole--one of the easiest on the course. We played through it, though, and eventually shot a 58.
Today I went to Buckhorn. I had a birdie on the first hole but took a disastrous 6 on hole 3. I fought back and even got under par before taking a bogey on 17 to finish the round at a respectable 54.
I'm doing better at fighting through an early set back and finding that I even have some successful rounds when doing so. I always used to feel like to have a great or even really good round I had to get off to a hot start, but really, you just have to play every hole.
Today I went to Buckhorn. I had a birdie on the first hole but took a disastrous 6 on hole 3. I fought back and even got under par before taking a bogey on 17 to finish the round at a respectable 54.
I'm doing better at fighting through an early set back and finding that I even have some successful rounds when doing so. I always used to feel like to have a great or even really good round I had to get off to a hot start, but really, you just have to play every hole.
Offside
My latest film column, about Jafar Panahi's Offside and other Iranian films is now available at The Matthews House Project.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Movie Prayers: Ragtime (1981)
“Lord…I’d hoped I’d have the courage to know what I should do. You must see how sick at heart I’ve been, and how I’ve performed this thing with little appetite….I’d hoped you’d reveal to me along the way why you put such a rage in my heart! [Pause] Tell me what to do now! [Pause, softer] Please. God, tell me what to do.”
Movie Prayers: A Man for All Seasons (1966)
"Dear Lord, give us rest tonight, or if we must be wakeful, cheerful, careful only for our soul's salvation, for Christ's sake. Amen. [Pause.] And bless our lord, the king."
Movie Prayers: The End of the Affair (1999)
“Dear God please…let him live. Please bring him back. Please don’t take him. I’ll give him up forever. Only, please, let him be alive. Let him live, and I promise…I’ll never see him again.”
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Call For Papers: Faith and Spirituality in World Cinema
CFP--Faith and Spirituality in World Cinema (
--Michelangelo Antonioni
--Ingmar Bergman
--Robert Bresson
--Luis Buñuel
--Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne
--Carl Theodor Dreyer
--Krzysztof Kieslowski
--Akira Kurosawa
--Yasujiro Ozu
--Roberto Rossellini
--Andrei Tarkovsky.
Essays should demonstrate a familiarity with the reception history or critical dialogue surrounding the director(s) or film(s) being discussed, but they should avoid being openly derivative.
The deadline for proposals is
Electronic submissions are welcome.
Please direct proposals, submissions, or questions to:
Kenneth R. Morefield
Department of English
Friday, March 23, 2007
Think You Know Me? Prove It!
Yes, I'm hopeless derivative. I saw a link to this site at Todd's blog, so I had to make one of my own.
You have 20 questions, and they are all about ME! Take the test
You have 20 questions, and they are all about ME! Take the test
http://www.truefriendtest.com/friendtest/155602
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Movie Prayers: Offret (The Sacrifice)
Our Father, who...
Our Father, who art in Heaven...
hallowed by thy name...
Thy Kingdom come..
Thy will be done...
Give us this day our daily bread...
And deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom...
and the Power...
and the Glory.
Amen.
Lord!
Deliver us in this terrible time.
Don't let my children die,
nor my friends...
my wife...
Victor...
All those who love Thee and believe in Thee...
All those who do not believe in Thee, because they are blind...
those who haven't given Thee a thought...
simply because they haven't yet been truly miserable.
All those who in this hour have lost their hope, their future...
their lives...
and the opportunity to surrender to Thy will.
All those who are filled with dread
who feel the End coming closer...
who fear, not for themselves, but for their loved ones.
All those whom no one,
except Thou, can offer protection.
Because this war is the ultimate war
a horrible thing.
And after it, there will be no victors and no vanquished...
no cities or towns, grass or trees,
water in the wells,
or birds in the sky.
I will give Thee all I have.
I'll give up my family, whom I love.
I'll destroy my home,
and give up Little Man.
I'll be mute, and never speak another word to anyone.
I will relinquish everything that binds me to life...
if only Thou dost restore everything as it was before...
as it was this morning and yesterday
Just let me be rid of
this deadly...
sickening, animal fear!
Yes, everything!
Lord!
Help me...
I will do everything I have promised Thee.
Our Father, who art in Heaven...
hallowed by thy name...
Thy Kingdom come..
Thy will be done...
Give us this day our daily bread...
And deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom...
and the Power...
and the Glory.
Amen.
Lord!
Deliver us in this terrible time.
Don't let my children die,
nor my friends...
my wife...
Victor...
All those who love Thee and believe in Thee...
All those who do not believe in Thee, because they are blind...
those who haven't given Thee a thought...
simply because they haven't yet been truly miserable.
All those who in this hour have lost their hope, their future...
their lives...
and the opportunity to surrender to Thy will.
All those who are filled with dread
who feel the End coming closer...
who fear, not for themselves, but for their loved ones.
All those whom no one,
except Thou, can offer protection.
Because this war is the ultimate war
a horrible thing.
And after it, there will be no victors and no vanquished...
no cities or towns, grass or trees,
water in the wells,
or birds in the sky.
I will give Thee all I have.
I'll give up my family, whom I love.
I'll destroy my home,
and give up Little Man.
I'll be mute, and never speak another word to anyone.
I will relinquish everything that binds me to life...
if only Thou dost restore everything as it was before...
as it was this morning and yesterday
Just let me be rid of
this deadly...
sickening, animal fear!
Yes, everything!
Lord!
Help me...
I will do everything I have promised Thee.
Movie Prayers: Les Anges du Peche
"Let me talk to you directly. Your saints will understand why. Look at me...listen to me! Take my anguish away from me. Tell me the burden you loaded me with by letting me know a desperate soul's secret is a test which will breed my purest joy. Protect me with your Hand. Deliver us from evil..."
"You who never sleep...you watch over me. Thank you for receiving me every night. They have filled the gap with thorns. For them, I'm a prowler...stealing bits of eternal peace. For you, I remain your child. Every night I leave my barn to come to you and [???] a world-wide audience. You are not a S[???] yet you desired to stay with us as long as possible like a sample human being...a simple brother. That is why I dare offer you...my miserable complaint before my prayers. Help me, my grief is too deep! And Teresa, Teresa who you entrusted to me...let me recognize her voice in that hymn...which I have no longer the right to sing. "[Faints]
For The Record
For the record, yes, I have been banned from a certain website at which I used to post comments about spirituality and the arts. The moderator has denied several times that this is the case, and I'm mostly willing to say "whatever" and move on, but I mention it here because I recently received yet another "Private Message" from a user of that site to which I was unable to respond because he was using the site's internal messaging function which no longer works for my account.
Because several people have asked me whether or not this is just some cute semantic parsing or honest misunderstanding about terminology, by "banned" I mean:
1) I am administratively prohibited from posting comments at this site. (No, I have not asked to be banned from posting comments. Yes, I have tried to post comments. I receive a pop-up message saying, "Your posting privileges have been removed.")
2) I am unable to send messages using the site's messaging function nor to respond to messages sent to me. (No, I did not ask to have my messaging capabilities revoked. Yes, I have tried to reply to private messages. I receive a message that says I have exceeded your message limit and the message has not been sent, regardless of the fact that I do not have any messages in my inbox or sent folder.)
If you recently sent me a private message from this website and I have not responded, either:
a) I didn't get it.
b) I got it but could not respond to it because I don't have your e-mail address and you don't have it listed in your profile at the site in question.
Ken
Because several people have asked me whether or not this is just some cute semantic parsing or honest misunderstanding about terminology, by "banned" I mean:
1) I am administratively prohibited from posting comments at this site. (No, I have not asked to be banned from posting comments. Yes, I have tried to post comments. I receive a pop-up message saying, "Your posting privileges have been removed.")
2) I am unable to send messages using the site's messaging function nor to respond to messages sent to me. (No, I did not ask to have my messaging capabilities revoked. Yes, I have tried to reply to private messages. I receive a message that says I have exceeded your message limit and the message has not been sent, regardless of the fact that I do not have any messages in my inbox or sent folder.)
If you recently sent me a private message from this website and I have not responded, either:
a) I didn't get it.
b) I got it but could not respond to it because I don't have your e-mail address and you don't have it listed in your profile at the site in question.
Ken
Saturday, February 17, 2007
MacGuffins of Men--Contrarian Blog-A-Thon
Earlier this month at Matthew's House Project, I posted a response to the question, "What makes a good contrarian review?"
This weekend, The Contrarian Blog-A-Thon officially gets underway, so I wanted to participate by writing a contrarian take on a current release. The general consensus in the preparatory comments at Jim Emerson's blog seemed to be that it is easier to be a nay-sayer than a white knight, though doing either well (as opposed to being contrarian for the sake of it) strikes me as equally difficult.
As the title here suggests, my contrary take is on Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron's ninety-one percent "fresh" thriller that garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
I know some critics, especially in Christian media, have been knocking the screenplay for losing what is perceived to be the latent (or implicit) Christian content of James's novel, but my reservations are of a different sort.
I thought the film was, essentially, one long set piece chase scene. It was a cross between Terminator and The Gauntlet, with a strong, cynical male hero protecting an innocent female whose survival is more important than his own.
A MacGuffin (alt. maguffin, McGuffin) is a plot element which advances the story and/or motivates the characters but which remains ambiguous as to its details. Whether it be the papers in Casablanca (are the Germans really going to let them leave just because they have papers?) or the trial in Snakes on a Plane (does it really matter why they are on the plane?), the particular details of the MacGuffin (maybe even the internal consistency of them) are immaterial.
There is a MacGuffin in Children of Men; it is the baby. Oh, but someone might object, the baby is the whole point of the film--the survival of humanity depends upon its survival. Maybe, maybe not. The details as to the whether or not this baby is unique [or only its mother] and whether it will have a better chance of survival with the shadowy "Human Project" are largely absent from the film.
I actually like the way Wikipedia puts it: "A true MacGuffin is essentially interchangeable. Its importance will generally be accepted completely by the story's characters, with minimal explanation." With minimal explanation it is accepted by the story's characters that it is necessary that Kee and her baby survive and be delivered to the Human Project. Because minimal explanation is required, Kee and her baby are "essentially interchangeable" with any other object that would need to be delivered from point "A" to point "B" in order to save the future of mankind: a plague vaccine, a secret formula for food, war plans, a portkey to another dimension. The important point is not how Kee and her baby will save mankind but only that someone in the story--Clive Owen--believes they will.
In my preparatory piece at The Matthew's House Project, I argued: "[M]any of the best—or most persuasive--contrarian reviews I’ve read are the ones that reveal weakness or problems within a film that have been hiding in plain sight rather than the reviews that attempt to argue for problems that only the contrarian critic was sharp enough to spot."
To illustrate this point, let me indicate how many of the positive reviews mention--but overlook--the film's deficiencies:
"The infertility theme isn't explored in any depth. What exactly will it accomplish to get Kee out of the country? Since the future of mankind rests on this pregnant girl, we want details. "Children of Men" leaves too many questions unanswered, yet it has a stunning visceral impact. You can forgive a lot in the face of filmmaking this dazzling."--David Ansen, Newsweek
"...[T]akes the classic movie formula of a cynical tough guy required to see an innocent party to safe harbor, and shoots it to pieces."--Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter (who calls the film "gripping"). While insisting that the film revitalizes rather than merely regurgitates the formula, Bennett doesn't exactly say which parts are new or how it is innovative (except that its vision of the future is different from that presented in recent films by "Richard Curtis and Woody Allen"). At another point, Bennett goes from saying in one paragraph that "there's barely a pause for breath" to claiming in another that the film "take[s] sufficient time to register the deeper impact of things that are troubling the world." These are not exactly contradictory claims, but their juxtaposition is suggestive.
"It contains evocative passages and some interesting and powerful ideas, but it often reads too much like an erudite potboiler." -- James Berardinelli, Reelviews (who awards the film three stars out of four).
"[T]he future he presents is so poorly conceived and full of contradictions, and is such a non sequitur coming just 20 years down the road, that we never buy it long enough to suspend disbelief."-- William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (who calls the film "a solid action movie").
My point here is not that Children of Men is the worst film of all time or that those who rated it highly are conscious hypocrites. My larger point isn't even about Children of Men at all but rather about contrarianism.
In this day of marketing hype and review saturation, the difference between a contrarian review and an assenting review is often little more than a matter of which the viewer trusts more--the consensus opinion or his or her own two eyes.
This weekend, The Contrarian Blog-A-Thon officially gets underway, so I wanted to participate by writing a contrarian take on a current release. The general consensus in the preparatory comments at Jim Emerson's blog seemed to be that it is easier to be a nay-sayer than a white knight, though doing either well (as opposed to being contrarian for the sake of it) strikes me as equally difficult.
As the title here suggests, my contrary take is on Children of Men, Alfonso Cuaron's ninety-one percent "fresh" thriller that garnered an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
I know some critics, especially in Christian media, have been knocking the screenplay for losing what is perceived to be the latent (or implicit) Christian content of James's novel, but my reservations are of a different sort.
I thought the film was, essentially, one long set piece chase scene. It was a cross between Terminator and The Gauntlet, with a strong, cynical male hero protecting an innocent female whose survival is more important than his own.
A MacGuffin (alt. maguffin, McGuffin) is a plot element which advances the story and/or motivates the characters but which remains ambiguous as to its details. Whether it be the papers in Casablanca (are the Germans really going to let them leave just because they have papers?) or the trial in Snakes on a Plane (does it really matter why they are on the plane?), the particular details of the MacGuffin (maybe even the internal consistency of them) are immaterial.
There is a MacGuffin in Children of Men; it is the baby. Oh, but someone might object, the baby is the whole point of the film--the survival of humanity depends upon its survival. Maybe, maybe not. The details as to the whether or not this baby is unique [or only its mother] and whether it will have a better chance of survival with the shadowy "Human Project" are largely absent from the film.
I actually like the way Wikipedia puts it: "A true MacGuffin is essentially interchangeable. Its importance will generally be accepted completely by the story's characters, with minimal explanation." With minimal explanation it is accepted by the story's characters that it is necessary that Kee and her baby survive and be delivered to the Human Project. Because minimal explanation is required, Kee and her baby are "essentially interchangeable" with any other object that would need to be delivered from point "A" to point "B" in order to save the future of mankind: a plague vaccine, a secret formula for food, war plans, a portkey to another dimension. The important point is not how Kee and her baby will save mankind but only that someone in the story--Clive Owen--believes they will.
In my preparatory piece at The Matthew's House Project, I argued: "[M]any of the best—or most persuasive--contrarian reviews I’ve read are the ones that reveal weakness or problems within a film that have been hiding in plain sight rather than the reviews that attempt to argue for problems that only the contrarian critic was sharp enough to spot."
To illustrate this point, let me indicate how many of the positive reviews mention--but overlook--the film's deficiencies:
"The infertility theme isn't explored in any depth. What exactly will it accomplish to get Kee out of the country? Since the future of mankind rests on this pregnant girl, we want details. "Children of Men" leaves too many questions unanswered, yet it has a stunning visceral impact. You can forgive a lot in the face of filmmaking this dazzling."--David Ansen, Newsweek
"...[T]akes the classic movie formula of a cynical tough guy required to see an innocent party to safe harbor, and shoots it to pieces."--Ray Bennett, The Hollywood Reporter (who calls the film "gripping"). While insisting that the film revitalizes rather than merely regurgitates the formula, Bennett doesn't exactly say which parts are new or how it is innovative (except that its vision of the future is different from that presented in recent films by "Richard Curtis and Woody Allen"). At another point, Bennett goes from saying in one paragraph that "there's barely a pause for breath" to claiming in another that the film "take[s] sufficient time to register the deeper impact of things that are troubling the world." These are not exactly contradictory claims, but their juxtaposition is suggestive.
"It contains evocative passages and some interesting and powerful ideas, but it often reads too much like an erudite potboiler." -- James Berardinelli, Reelviews (who awards the film three stars out of four).
"[T]he future he presents is so poorly conceived and full of contradictions, and is such a non sequitur coming just 20 years down the road, that we never buy it long enough to suspend disbelief."-- William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer (who calls the film "a solid action movie").
My point here is not that Children of Men is the worst film of all time or that those who rated it highly are conscious hypocrites. My larger point isn't even about Children of Men at all but rather about contrarianism.
In this day of marketing hype and review saturation, the difference between a contrarian review and an assenting review is often little more than a matter of which the viewer trusts more--the consensus opinion or his or her own two eyes.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Munich, Contrarianism, and Effective Arguments
Later this month (February 16-18) Jim Emerson (Scanners Blog) will be sponsoring a Contrarianism Blog-A-Thon. Among the questions Emerson asked film writers to explore: what makes a good contrarian argument? I like this question for many reasons, not the least of which is that I’ve been thinking a lot recently about how reputation, marketing, and popularity affect our reception of commercial art and entertainment.
For the full column, click here to go to the Matthew's House Project.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
2006 FFCC Awards
So the big award ceremony you are all waiting for with baited breath is coming out...well, today, I was told.
Yes, it's the 2006 Faith and Film Critics Circle (FFCC) awards. This marks either the third or the fourth year I've voted in it, and if past performance is any indicator, generally nothing I vote for makes the top three in any category and there will be at least one award that makes me doubt my colleagues' sanity. (Lord of the Rings for best adapted screenplay?)[Ah, a quick peak at the archives suggests there is the rare synchronicity of opinion; I think I did vote for Philip Seymour Hoffman last year.] But I'm a member, and as long as they are going to keep counting my votes and not just throw me out of the group for not liking what everyone else does, I think I'm supposed to promote group activities...so here we go.
Aaaaaanyhoooo...for the three people who actually care about this that aren't, you know, in the the FFCC, below is a copy of the ballot I submitted. Can I give a shout out to Dennis Quaid? He almost did for American Dreamz what Johnny Depp did for the original Pirates of the Caribbean. If you are wondering what he's doing on this list, go rent the American Dreamz dvd and watch just the scenes he is in.
Pretty much everything else is either safely esoteric (I mean, if we lined up all the people who saw Climates on one side and all the people who saw Forgiving Dr. Mengele on the other--would we have enough for a girl's basketball game in the state of Iowa?) or so patently right that if you disagree with me you are, well....wrong.
Yes, it's the 2006 Faith and Film Critics Circle (FFCC) awards. This marks either the third or the fourth year I've voted in it, and if past performance is any indicator, generally nothing I vote for makes the top three in any category and there will be at least one award that makes me doubt my colleagues' sanity. (Lord of the Rings for best adapted screenplay?)[Ah, a quick peak at the archives suggests there is the rare synchronicity of opinion; I think I did vote for Philip Seymour Hoffman last year.] But I'm a member, and as long as they are going to keep counting my votes and not just throw me out of the group for not liking what everyone else does, I think I'm supposed to promote group activities...so here we go.
Aaaaaanyhoooo...for the three people who actually care about this that aren't, you know, in the the FFCC, below is a copy of the ballot I submitted. Can I give a shout out to Dennis Quaid? He almost did for American Dreamz what Johnny Depp did for the original Pirates of the Caribbean. If you are wondering what he's doing on this list, go rent the American Dreamz dvd and watch just the scenes he is in.
Pretty much everything else is either safely esoteric (I mean, if we lined up all the people who saw Climates on one side and all the people who saw Forgiving Dr. Mengele on the other--would we have enough for a girl's basketball game in the state of Iowa?) or so patently right that if you disagree with me you are, well....wrong.
MOST SIGNIFICANT EXPLORATION OF SPIRITUAL ISSUES
- 1) L'Enfant
- 2) Requiem
- 3) Forgiving Dr. Mengele
BEST NARRATIVE FILM
- 1) L'Enfant
- 2) Climates
- 3) Requiem
- 4) The Queen
- 5) Pan's Labyrinth
BEST DOCUMENTARY
- 1) Shut Up and Sing
- 2) Forgiving Dr. Mengele
- 3) When the Levees Broke
- 4) The Pervert's Guide to Cinema
- 5) Lake of Fire
BEST ACTOR
1) Jérémie Renier - L'Enfant
- 2) Edward Norton - The Illusionist
BEST ACTRESS
- 1) Sandra Huller - Requiem
- 2) Victoria Hill-MacBeth
-
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
- 1) Dennis Quaid--American Dreamz
- 2) Rufus Sewell--The Illusionist
- 3) Paul Giammati--The Illusionist
- 4) Adrian Grenier--The Devil Wears Prada
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
- 1) Déborah François - L'Enfant
BEST DIRECTOR
- 1) Luc and Jean -Pierre Dardenne - L'Enfant
- 2) Barbara Kopple--Shut Up and Sing
- 3) Sophie Fiennes--The Pervert's Guide to Cinema
- 4) Tony Kaye--Lake of Fire
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST
- 1)The Devil Wears Prada
- 2) Pan's Labyrinth
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
- 1) Luc and Jean -Pierre Dardenne - L'Enfant
- 2) Pan's Labyrinth
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
- 1) The Illusionist
- 2) V for Vendetta
- 3) The Devil Wears Prada
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- 1) Gorkhan Tiryaki--Climates
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
- No vote
BEST FILM FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY
- No Vote
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Paragraph 175 (2000)
A short (81 minutes) and somber documentary by the directors of The Celluloid Closet and The Times of Harvey Milk, Paragraph 175 details the internment and treatment of homosexuals during the rise and rule of the Nazi party in Germany.
Was it my imagination, the editing, or the participants that made me feel as though the participants had to break through emotional and psychological walls of reluctance and diffidence in order to relate their experiences? The film suggests that unlike other Holocaust survivors, gay men have not been an encouraged to tell their stories, have been met with rejection when they tried. Given the fact that Paragraph 175 was not rescinded in Germany until decades after the war, many of the homosexuals who were imprisoned were still looked at as criminals rather than victims.
The participants themselves range from the angry to the melancholy to the shell shocked, and it is surprising (at least to me) how many times we can hear stories of lives torn apart by war and yet not feel them to be rote or repetitive. There is always a cadence, a detail of memory, that personalizes the story and makes it seems very real, and a good part of the film's emotional impact comes from hearing the survivor's and experiencing their stories not as a unique part of history but as a part that was experienced emotionally as anyone would who lost a loved one.
One participants relates of spending a night with a lover only to have the Gestapo arrest his compatriot (but not him) the next morning. "It had a different value then," he says softly, "...a night of love."
Perhaps, though, a night of love always has the same value. It is we who feel (or fail to feel) that value differently depending upon our circumstances.
Was it my imagination, the editing, or the participants that made me feel as though the participants had to break through emotional and psychological walls of reluctance and diffidence in order to relate their experiences? The film suggests that unlike other Holocaust survivors, gay men have not been an encouraged to tell their stories, have been met with rejection when they tried. Given the fact that Paragraph 175 was not rescinded in Germany until decades after the war, many of the homosexuals who were imprisoned were still looked at as criminals rather than victims.
The participants themselves range from the angry to the melancholy to the shell shocked, and it is surprising (at least to me) how many times we can hear stories of lives torn apart by war and yet not feel them to be rote or repetitive. There is always a cadence, a detail of memory, that personalizes the story and makes it seems very real, and a good part of the film's emotional impact comes from hearing the survivor's and experiencing their stories not as a unique part of history but as a part that was experienced emotionally as anyone would who lost a loved one.
One participants relates of spending a night with a lover only to have the Gestapo arrest his compatriot (but not him) the next morning. "It had a different value then," he says softly, "...a night of love."
Perhaps, though, a night of love always has the same value. It is we who feel (or fail to feel) that value differently depending upon our circumstances.
Where the Heart Roams (1987)
Showing signs of age but still interesting as a document of a cultural phenomenon in its infancy, Where the Heart Roams centers around the time when the Romance Novel began to come out of the shadows and become a cottage industry. It follows several authors and wannabes as they tour America on the (I'm not making this up) "Love Train," an Amtrak special moving cross country to bring its occupants to a Romance writer's conference.
The film is ultimately too respectful to be campy fun and too clinical to be anything else. Only really when E. Jean Carroll is on screen is there any hint of irony, and she is careful to diplomatically let those aspects of the industry or writers that she finds ludicrous or contradictory speak for themselves.
Janet Dailey offers the following:
It's about "things" and "feelings" are definitely one of the "things" it's about. Check.
There's some cursory examination of the business aspects of the industry that I would have liked to have heard more about--an editor tries to give one aspiring writer a set of guidelines about how the series she is seeking to contribute to is arranged, but these are writers who are clearly attached emotionally to their subject matter in ways that make editing painful.
Also of interest might have been conflicts between the first and second generations of writers. Both seem to agree that women want the Romance as a means of escapism, fueled in part by their entrance into the work force. There is also this insistence that the whole enterprise is vaguely feminist in its insistence on allowing women to chose and pursue what they want, but although we are told anecdotally about the corporate businesswoman who runs a conglomerate by day and fills her nights with bodice-rippers, the women we see mostly appear to be domestics who see the chance to write as more comforting than liberating--participating in the formula creates a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Trendsetter Barbara Cartland was not yet too old to participate, and her accomplishments earned her tribute from her followers even as they largely ignored her advice and she denigrated their work as soft porn. Not since Samuel Richardson wrote Pamela has there been an author so openly instructional about how to get your man:
According to Wikipedia's biography, Cartland was divorced at least once, amidst charges and counter charges of infidelity.
The film is ultimately too respectful to be campy fun and too clinical to be anything else. Only really when E. Jean Carroll is on screen is there any hint of irony, and she is careful to diplomatically let those aspects of the industry or writers that she finds ludicrous or contradictory speak for themselves.
Janet Dailey offers the following:
A romance novel is..is an excitement. It deals with feelings. The feelings of a woman...how she feels when a man pays attention to her, how she feels when, when, he kisses her, when he makes love to her. The things that she feels and the things that are important to her, things that are very difficult to verbalize, but it's a writer's responsibility to write them.
It's about "things" and "feelings" are definitely one of the "things" it's about. Check.
There's some cursory examination of the business aspects of the industry that I would have liked to have heard more about--an editor tries to give one aspiring writer a set of guidelines about how the series she is seeking to contribute to is arranged, but these are writers who are clearly attached emotionally to their subject matter in ways that make editing painful.
Also of interest might have been conflicts between the first and second generations of writers. Both seem to agree that women want the Romance as a means of escapism, fueled in part by their entrance into the work force. There is also this insistence that the whole enterprise is vaguely feminist in its insistence on allowing women to chose and pursue what they want, but although we are told anecdotally about the corporate businesswoman who runs a conglomerate by day and fills her nights with bodice-rippers, the women we see mostly appear to be domestics who see the chance to write as more comforting than liberating--participating in the formula creates a sense of belonging and acceptance.
Trendsetter Barbara Cartland was not yet too old to participate, and her accomplishments earned her tribute from her followers even as they largely ignored her advice and she denigrated their work as soft porn. Not since Samuel Richardson wrote Pamela has there been an author so openly instructional about how to get your man:
Then I get an enormous amount [of letters] from married women saying I've helped their marriages enormously, because they've realized that they're not giving enough love to their husbands, they're not making things beautiful enough for him. And they're beginning to understand that if you want to keep a man--to keep him faithful--you have to work at it very hard and you have to make his prison, which is his home, really attractive for him. Otherwise he breaks out, and that's the trouble with the divorces today, it's because women are not doing their job.
According to Wikipedia's biography, Cartland was divorced at least once, amidst charges and counter charges of infidelity.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Gymkata (1985)
Today, while looking up some information on Gymkata to make a message board post about Children of Men, I happened to notice that the camp classic was...wait for it...banned in Finland?
There has to be a story behind this that is not nearly as interesting as all the ones my imagination is coming up with. I tried Google, but didn't find anything.
Anyone able to help me out with the skinny on this--or even an entertaining lie?
There has to be a story behind this that is not nearly as interesting as all the ones my imagination is coming up with. I tried Google, but didn't find anything.
Anyone able to help me out with the skinny on this--or even an entertaining lie?
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)
As a lovely parting gift for being banned from a certain message-board website, a friend of mine recently sent me Sophie Fiennes documentary in three parts on DVD.
I first saw the film at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, and while I wasn't blown away, I did enjoy every minute.
What captured my love in the first viewing was Zizek's infectious enthusiasm and obvious love for film. So much theory (be it film or literary) is dry and lifeless because the writer obviously looks at it as work.
What I noticed most upon a second viewing was the direction by Fiennes. Sure the placing of Zizek within sets carefully designed to look like the movies he is commenting upon is a conceit, but the cleverness/shock value actually wears out pretty quickly, and were he not saying anything of interest the fact that he was sitting in a bathroom that looks identical to the one Gene Hackman was investigating in The Conversation wouldn't be of much interested.
What's interesting are the cuts, the way Fiennes keeps the rapid flow of energy going so that the viewer is able to forgive the number of thoughts Zizek doesn't quite finish before moving on to the next one.
I think a less sure director would have tried take after take in an attempt to streamline, to make it more coherent even at the cost of making it more dull. Like the uncontrollable body parts that Zizek riffs upon, the film itself is full of life and energy, occasionally banging into walls but always rising unhurt to go barrelling at a 100 mph into the next wall.
Great, great fun. Do see it if you get a chance.
I first saw the film at The Toronto International Film Festival in 2006, and while I wasn't blown away, I did enjoy every minute.
What captured my love in the first viewing was Zizek's infectious enthusiasm and obvious love for film. So much theory (be it film or literary) is dry and lifeless because the writer obviously looks at it as work.
What I noticed most upon a second viewing was the direction by Fiennes. Sure the placing of Zizek within sets carefully designed to look like the movies he is commenting upon is a conceit, but the cleverness/shock value actually wears out pretty quickly, and were he not saying anything of interest the fact that he was sitting in a bathroom that looks identical to the one Gene Hackman was investigating in The Conversation wouldn't be of much interested.
What's interesting are the cuts, the way Fiennes keeps the rapid flow of energy going so that the viewer is able to forgive the number of thoughts Zizek doesn't quite finish before moving on to the next one.
I think a less sure director would have tried take after take in an attempt to streamline, to make it more coherent even at the cost of making it more dull. Like the uncontrollable body parts that Zizek riffs upon, the film itself is full of life and energy, occasionally banging into walls but always rising unhurt to go barrelling at a 100 mph into the next wall.
Great, great fun. Do see it if you get a chance.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Movie Prayers: The Simpsons
"Are you there, God? It's me, Bart Simpson. I know I never paid too much attention in church, but I could really use some of that good stuff now. I'm afraid. I'm afraid some weirdo's got my soul, and I don't know what they're doing to it. I just want it back. Please? Well, I hope you can hear this...." (3F02: Bart Sells His Soul)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
More Blockbuster Blunders
I like Blockbuster; I really do.
I keep trying to let them compete with Netflix, but they continually find ways to mess things up.
Case in point, I "broke a set" in my Blockbuster queue so that I could place items in between discs of Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5. Anything that takes a little longer to watch (because Cindy and I both watch it, means I don't want more than one disc at home at a time).
So, anyway, Blockbuster gets a return, sees item #1 on my queue is BG 2.5 Disc 1. It is classified as "Long Wait"; it quickly scans down my list and instead sends me the first item on my list that is available now...
Battlestar Galactica, Season 2.5--Disc 2.
Cindy's reply..."how come that never happens with Netflix?"
And people wonder why the Red and White continue to gain subscribers, even with Blockbuster rolling out Total Access package.
I keep trying to let them compete with Netflix, but they continually find ways to mess things up.
Case in point, I "broke a set" in my Blockbuster queue so that I could place items in between discs of Battlestar Galactica Season 2.5. Anything that takes a little longer to watch (because Cindy and I both watch it, means I don't want more than one disc at home at a time).
So, anyway, Blockbuster gets a return, sees item #1 on my queue is BG 2.5 Disc 1. It is classified as "Long Wait"; it quickly scans down my list and instead sends me the first item on my list that is available now...
Battlestar Galactica, Season 2.5--Disc 2.
Cindy's reply..."how come that never happens with Netflix?"
And people wonder why the Red and White continue to gain subscribers, even with Blockbuster rolling out Total Access package.
I Heart Facets
Those who hang out at various web forums where I post know that I recently discovered Facets while trying to track down a copy of Antonioni's The Red Desert to view. (It is out of print.)
Well, I got their freedom pass, a service similar to Netflix but which allows me access to their VHS library. Yummy.
Then, to top it off, they sent me this message today about a 99 cent sale on selected VHS titles:
After Sex
The American Soldier
The Bank
Before the Revolution
The Conductor
Enjo
Fireworks
Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle
In Praise of Love
In The White City
Interview
Knife in the Head
Ladies on the Rocks
Life and Debt
Life is to Whistle
Maborosi
Marius and Jeanette
Mon Oncle d'Amerique
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser
Paragraph 175
Pickpocket
The Plot Against Harry
Provincial Actors
Rendezvous in Paris
Running Out of Time
Sand and Blood
Second Skin
The Silence
The Swindle
Taboo
Taxi Blues
Three Lives and Only One Death
To Be and to Have
Trembling Before G-d
Two Friends
Under the Sun
Unknown Pleasures
Unmade Beds
Voices of Sarafina
Voyage en Douce
When I Close My Eyes
Where the Heart Roams
The Wind Will Carry Us
Without Anesthesia
Well, I got their freedom pass, a service similar to Netflix but which allows me access to their VHS library. Yummy.
Then, to top it off, they sent me this message today about a 99 cent sale on selected VHS titles:
After Sex
The American Soldier
The Bank
Before the Revolution
The Conductor
Enjo
Fireworks
Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle
In Praise of Love
In The White City
Interview
Knife in the Head
Ladies on the Rocks
Life and Debt
Life is to Whistle
Maborosi
Marius and Jeanette
Mon Oncle d'Amerique
The Mystery of Kaspar Hauser
Paragraph 175
Pickpocket
The Plot Against Harry
Provincial Actors
Rendezvous in Paris
Running Out of Time
Sand and Blood
Second Skin
The Silence
The Swindle
Taboo
Taxi Blues
Three Lives and Only One Death
To Be and to Have
Trembling Before G-d
Two Friends
Under the Sun
Unknown Pleasures
Unmade Beds
Voices of Sarafina
Voyage en Douce
When I Close My Eyes
Where the Heart Roams
The Wind Will Carry Us
Without Anesthesia
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