I am returning to the hardwood floor after about a year of not playing the game which I devoted so much of my earlier years towards. I suffered a fairly severe bone bruise around this time last year in my right foot that forced me to stop playing and I never got back for some reason.... mostly laziness I suppose. But now I am going to be playing on an adult team again, hopefully on a team where I can be a true role player 3rd option type. My whole basketball career(save high school for obvious "Hallman" reasons) I have been the 1st or 2nd option on almost every team I have played on, with mixed results. I am sure that sounds like I am good, or was good, and I was for a time. I used to be a Lamar Odom "do everything type" kind of guy and for my size I was fairly quick and good with the ball similar to LO so anyone that knows basketball knows that kind of game is more suited for a 3rd option role similar to how LO is playing with the Lakers now and last season. Me and Odom have one thing in common, we are good at a lot of different things but not great at any of them. I am a good rebounder, good scorer, good passer, ok ball handler, ok defender, ok outside shooter, but I have never really been great at any of them. I guess that is why Lamar has always been one of my favorite players if not my favorite.
So all this about my personal basketball skills is basically me being excited about playing again, and looking forward to having that role of being the guy who does a little bit of everything to help the team win while the better players are doing most of the scoring and playmaking. It is going to take a few months of pretty hard training to get back into playing shape, I am starting today at 5:00 hitting the weights and running. Long distance running starts on Monday along with actual basketball training, practicing and playing pick up games during the week.
I am also looking forward to getting back into shape for my general health. I have recently gone straight edge and that was a big step for me, so I figured its time to finish it off by eating healthy and using sports as a way to live healthy in general.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens
Jimi Hendrix was a wise man when he said the quote that titles this blog. Even though I think he spoke more with his guitar than really listened. But maybe he did listen and used what he heard when playing music........ either way it is safe to say whatever he did worked out pretty good.
I have noticed a lot of people have been speaking to me but no one really listening. One person who is definitely listening is Mr. Kornfeld, I have to give my good friend and first blog watcher a shout out for just listening instead of speaking..... or rather he was doing both, which makes him knowledgeable and wise I suppose.
A big pet peeve to me are people who do in fact feel the constant urge to speak their knowledge(which is almost all the time stupid trivia masquerading as knowledge) and use their "knowledge" not only as a crutch but as a bludgeon for the wise. I am not saying I am a terribly wise man. In reality I catch myself doing the very same thing I hate from time to time, but for the most part I try not to use my stupid trivia as a crutch I can safely say that I never use what I do know as a way to attack someone or make someone feel stupid.
I think Bob Dylan said it best when he said what do we really know? And there are different definitions for the word know..... like NO and know and KNOW. Basically most of us really know nothing, nothing of extreme importance anyways. I don't KNOW anyone who KNOWS how to cure cancer, or figure out our failing economy, or how to make cars that run on water. And the people that do know those kind of things aren't running around like fools saying they do so they can say that they do.
I have a been serious visual artist for almost a year and the art world, at least the art world in my corner of the world, could be the most obvious culprits of my points previously written. The pretentious, ex-emo kid, know it all, insecure babble that comes out of some of these people are both depressing and laughable. Depressing in the sense that even though almost all of me seeks criticism, know matter how harsh, can still hurt a little when it comes to my art work. Especially when it is obvious to me the attacks are not even about my work or my skill but about me and my character. And it is laughable because it is hard not to see it that way a little bit when these walking art cliches do nothing but talk about their art backgrounds(as if this makes them some renowned art experts), how hard life is in upper middle class suburbia and of course, stupid trivia.
Being an ex basketball player and current basketball coach, I understand a thing or two about the nature of competition. And what I can tell you is that competition need not exsist in the art world. I know the American motto is to compete in all facets of life, but I say we try to make an exception here. A great thing about art is that their is no bad art, or no bad artists. I may not like an artist or some art works, that does not mean it is bad, it just means it is not my cup of tea. I have been doing this art thing for less than a year so obviously I have a lot to learn here. I used to be the jock/music guy who in art and photo class would do enough to get by but never really loved it the way I do now. That being said, someone who took art very seriously through out their lives does not put them on a pedastool to attack ME(attack my art all you want, like I said before, I feel if you aren't getting criticized than you are doing something wrong not right)
I may sound bitter and overly angry, but it gets frustrating when the narrow-minded disrespect me so. I am known as a man who lets the world roll of his back, but when I am surrounded my vindictive and emotionally shallow people who try to tear me down near daily.... it is hard not to respond in the way I have.
This is one of many aspects/reasons/things that have caused me to question the goodness of the human spirit, and as a result, I haven't been that happy lately. This makes me lonely, because the list of good people I know seems to growing shorter instead of longer. I find this difficult to bear, I used to be a person who believed that most people were good and decent.
Apparently my naivete is wearing thin.....
What I am listening to right now:
Radiohead
I have noticed a lot of people have been speaking to me but no one really listening. One person who is definitely listening is Mr. Kornfeld, I have to give my good friend and first blog watcher a shout out for just listening instead of speaking..... or rather he was doing both, which makes him knowledgeable and wise I suppose.
A big pet peeve to me are people who do in fact feel the constant urge to speak their knowledge(which is almost all the time stupid trivia masquerading as knowledge) and use their "knowledge" not only as a crutch but as a bludgeon for the wise. I am not saying I am a terribly wise man. In reality I catch myself doing the very same thing I hate from time to time, but for the most part I try not to use my stupid trivia as a crutch I can safely say that I never use what I do know as a way to attack someone or make someone feel stupid.
I think Bob Dylan said it best when he said what do we really know? And there are different definitions for the word know..... like NO and know and KNOW. Basically most of us really know nothing, nothing of extreme importance anyways. I don't KNOW anyone who KNOWS how to cure cancer, or figure out our failing economy, or how to make cars that run on water. And the people that do know those kind of things aren't running around like fools saying they do so they can say that they do.
I have a been serious visual artist for almost a year and the art world, at least the art world in my corner of the world, could be the most obvious culprits of my points previously written. The pretentious, ex-emo kid, know it all, insecure babble that comes out of some of these people are both depressing and laughable. Depressing in the sense that even though almost all of me seeks criticism, know matter how harsh, can still hurt a little when it comes to my art work. Especially when it is obvious to me the attacks are not even about my work or my skill but about me and my character. And it is laughable because it is hard not to see it that way a little bit when these walking art cliches do nothing but talk about their art backgrounds(as if this makes them some renowned art experts), how hard life is in upper middle class suburbia and of course, stupid trivia.
Being an ex basketball player and current basketball coach, I understand a thing or two about the nature of competition. And what I can tell you is that competition need not exsist in the art world. I know the American motto is to compete in all facets of life, but I say we try to make an exception here. A great thing about art is that their is no bad art, or no bad artists. I may not like an artist or some art works, that does not mean it is bad, it just means it is not my cup of tea. I have been doing this art thing for less than a year so obviously I have a lot to learn here. I used to be the jock/music guy who in art and photo class would do enough to get by but never really loved it the way I do now. That being said, someone who took art very seriously through out their lives does not put them on a pedastool to attack ME(attack my art all you want, like I said before, I feel if you aren't getting criticized than you are doing something wrong not right)
I may sound bitter and overly angry, but it gets frustrating when the narrow-minded disrespect me so. I am known as a man who lets the world roll of his back, but when I am surrounded my vindictive and emotionally shallow people who try to tear me down near daily.... it is hard not to respond in the way I have.
This is one of many aspects/reasons/things that have caused me to question the goodness of the human spirit, and as a result, I haven't been that happy lately. This makes me lonely, because the list of good people I know seems to growing shorter instead of longer. I find this difficult to bear, I used to be a person who believed that most people were good and decent.
Apparently my naivete is wearing thin.....
What I am listening to right now:
Radiohead
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