Talk about Deliberate Practice.... a tiny shout out to the UVic cohort of the century! If research tells us that we have to spend 10,000 hours in deliberate practice to become elite, how do we explain prodigy like the video??
And please don't get me started on the concept of competitive thinking. I still believe one does not have to BE an elite athlete in order to THINK like an elite athlete. Fat curlers and emciated poker players can still qualify as elite. Where we get stuck is in our definition of elite.
Now that i am all worked up I am going to replay the kitten video from the top... sigh [leaning back in my chair and feeling cuddly] [suddenly catching myself in a non-male moment!}
Hey Go Lions! Kick some Rider Tail on Saturday. (whew - that was a close one. I was drifting.....) Keep on pushing - Straight ahead Jimi Hendrix http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AduRG9NSesU
For Christopher - who turned me towards Death Cab for Cutie - thx - and is presently convalescing (sp? too lazy to look it up!) hopefully on a couch under a warm quilt as he reads this.
This is the Sound of Settling
I am pissed at the lap top - crashed in the middle of producing my Review of the Literature tonight.
It literally ATE hours of work in one blue screen moment. sigh...
Solja On Bruvva.
What choice do I have - I am settling, too I guess.
the old Og would have busted something right quick.....
so delightfully cynical... Thanks B-dis for turning me their way. :)
This is my weekend for thinking of others.
Memorial today for a colleague and mentor. Memorial on Sunday for an instructor that influenced my life.
Saturday i am off to visit a courageous young man fighting to maintain his fragile sense of balance.
To lead is to serve. - Thanks Sully - words of wisdom.
I am a reluctant leader, a recalcitrant server.
i hope everyone who has read this far (all three of you!) (okay, two) take a moment on the weekend to reflect on mentors and their place and value in our lives.
not gurus -
mentors
It's been my experience that having a mentor doesn't take much more than a willingness to listen and learn.
i am appreciative of the mentors i have had.
From their January '07 appearance on Letterman
the Shins "Turn on Me"
You had to know that I was fond of you,
Fond of Y-O-U.
So I took your lips at the time,
And to change like that is just so hard to do,
Hard to do.
Don't let it whip-crack your life,
And bow out from the fight.......
From the new home of the Terry Fox Family, Chilliwack BC, - go make a difference this weekend......
The video above will mean almost nothing to anybody other that those in it.
In fact, out of context it likely needs explanation.
Except if you have been to grad school.
'nuff said.
In the meantime - no word on the TKR situation.
Doc says he wants more X-Rays of my knee joint in a weight bearing situation.
Okay.
Small delay.
Off to X-Ray.
It's the only way.
Live another day.
So.......
Question: What Does my body have in common with Billy Idol's Jacket?
Answer: They are both covered in zippers.
Crikey, (as Billy would no doubt exclaim) I am a technological walking miracle.
Working from the bottom up -
L ankle ligament repair
L achilles tendon rupture repair
R achillies tendon rupture repair
R achilles tendon graft from material taken from inside the R gastrocnemeus
R Knee cartilege and meniscus repair arthroscopy
And now i go see a specialist about TKR - total knee replacement.
i have to admit it is more than a bit scary.
But if it means i can return to a level of activity I am used to - then hurray.
In the meantime I would try and pray about it - but that involves kneeling, and that involves knees - so maybe, dear reader, that is something you can do for me instead.
But seriously - does this look like something you would want?
sigh.....
Feeling nostalgic tonight.....
Here's a curious nugget, a blast from the past.
Dusty Springfield: All I See is You"
"I tried so hard all summer through
Not to think too much of you...."
;>)
corny, hey, but great pipes!
and as an antidote: Billy Idol : "Dancing With Myself" "Let's sink another drink It'll give us time to think..." night
Saturday, September 08, 2007
Bruce Springsteen - Thunder Road
...So you're scared and you're thinking
That maybe we ain't that young anymore...
...And I know you're lonely
and there's words that I ain't spoken
But tonight we'll be free,
all the promises'll be broken
There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys you sent away
They haunt this dusty beach road
In the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
They scream your name at night in the street
Your graduation gown lies in rags at their feet
And in the lonely cool before dawn
you hear their engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind, so Mary climb in
It's a town full of losers and
I'm pulling out of here to win.
Oh, Bruce - How does he do it so well?
So often when you write down on paper the lyrics to a song it diminishes the impact.
Not so with Bruce.
It is kind of the opposite with me.
I am soooo impressive on paper, but when you see me in real life - dullsville.
I guess I am the anti-Bruce, the oppo-Bruce, not the Boss but the underling.
In honour of Bruce - may you never again...
"...hide `neath your covers
and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers,
throw roses in the rain
waste your summer praying in vain..."
Not me.
I already have my next five summers semi-planned!
Maybe i am thinking I... I dunno "ain't that young anymore.."
It gives purpose to every day I am here.
I really like that.
thanks again, Bruce. Enjoy this version of a terrific poem.
- it truly goes a long way. It can make a long season of losing an enjoyable journey amongst friends. It can make a new job a challenge instead of a chore. It can make the people around you more pleasant (or at least they seem to be.) I think coaches need to possess a positive outlook or they make the room toxic.
Coaches are guests at the request of the players. Players want to be pushed, but they want to be treated with respect.
It's a tough chore to come in new and "change the culture" as Sean Payton said he wanted to do for the New Orleans Saints. But he did it. not everybody liked it because there are many who have so much invested in status quo they fight change.
Or they leave.
My first year coaching varsity girls i had three senior players on the team. Four others quit as soon as they found out one of two things - 1) old coach was not coming back; 2) new coach was me.
I could have used them that year. We were dreadful, but we improved every year.
I believe we will be terrific this year.
Same school, same neighborhood.
But i have had my battles. I expect that anyone who tries to change too much too soon experiences the same thing.
You find out how many friends the dead have when you try to move a graveyard.....
From the Soundtrack to "Half Nelson", the story of a troubled and addicted teacher (Ryan Gosling) gets help from an unexpected source of positive attitude - one of his adolescent students.
Here's Broken Social Scene: Stars and Sons
check out the basketball scene - Awesome coaching style....!
sing along:
Then when you let it
You asked for nothing
Why don't you share it
All of the time you live
There's something out there
This one will know, how far I live on
This one will ever know in this town
And in the red room
At a distance
How would you know it
You're the same when you're living
I don't know when
It won't be this
This one will know, how far I live on
This one will know, how far I live on
All of the time you wait,
there's someone out there
And anyone can find all the rest
How would you show it? You can see through the rest
The pleasure of routine following long hours of concentration.
Domestic Bliss!
Here is a great shot of the three kitchen wenches I had in my residence looking after me and attending to my needs.
The big fellow in the foreground was my personal training guru - he gave incredible backrubs - no happy endings! - all on the up and up , so to speak.
In the background is the head chef who looked after all my nutritonal requirements and helped sculpt me to become the Adonis i now am.
Here is a shot of me performing my "Shake Until Invisible" routine.
You have to see it to believe it.
At the point of this photo I am exactly eleven seconds from disappearing from sight all together. You can see part of my arm is beginning to fade already.
I reappeared on the other side of the room. Tru story.
In the middle is the cleaning lady we let in to the gathering on the condition she cleaned up after us. Just being in our presence gave her a thrill.
All the marks are in - all that is left is the completion of the project, and it is heading in the right direction.
i need diversion and more exercise.
Baby, you can choose despair, Or you can be happy if you dare. So let me take you there.... -- Ian McEwan, Saturday p 170
So, dear reader, what is the difference between "mid-life crisis" and "mid-life awakening"?
Faith No More: "Mid Life Crisis" (for Danielle and all the Danielles to come)
We refer to mid Life Crisis as if we know what it is.
We don't.
We shouldn't even pretend we do.
Is it a selfish chase for the good life, an opportunity to catch up on missed chances, a reckless seizing of the moment?
Carpe Diem or Bust?
Is it truly the Pusuit of Happiness unbridled?
- The Pusuit of Happiness, as you know, was a semi-raucous punkish Canadian band fronted by a cynical Torontonian (by way of Edmonton) named Moe Berg that had a hit entitled "I'm an Adult Now"
("I can't afford any artificial joy
remember now?
Mid life - is what exactly?
It might be the intersection point between productive relevance and unproductive uselessness.
Or the tipping point when health only continues to fall off.
Or perhaps it is a time of endless questioning of self and self worth.
How did you measure up?
Me?
I'm fine.
I'm productive, relevant, and in the best health i have been in in fifteen years.
I am anticipating the next twenty - five years with eagerness and continue to seek passion.
I still want to lose myself in the two hundred projects I have left to do.
Ever start to feel more important than you really are? i do. I seem to be doing it more and more. i can make a difference, this thing is really important, people's lives will change because of this thing I am doing, thinking, creating.....blah blah bla
Then I look at the map above and it all comes back into perspective.
I take some solace in the knowledge that I can make a difference to the people immediately around me, the ones I can contact with a simple gesture, uplift with a word of encouragement, console with a heartfelt hug. Don't misunderstand me - I am still very, very tiny in the overall scheme of things. But if i make the people around me bigger, do I not also grow?
"Wish I knew what you were looking for Might have known what you would find...."
The Church : "Under the Milky Way"
never - ever - pass up a chance to view the celestial. the shooting star you choose to ignore may have been the one to change your life. and so soon it fades... and is gone....
Rilo Kiley: "With Arms Outstretched"
and if you want me,
you better speak up
i wont wait
- Rilo Kiley
i have never been a big fan of deadlines, ultimatums, "have-to's" but there is growing within me an increasing desire to get on with my life - such as it is.
Places to go, people to see, things to do.
It's not impatience, it is better time management.
Life as i have known it for the past couple of months - Can I get an amen from my cellmates? It's tough to get used to the idea that rooms can have more than four walls. for seven weeks my world was a combination of four walled rooms and the beach. Not much in between. in honour of Dan Patrick's last show, his fave band (gawd...) Hootie and the Blowfish: "Only Want to be with You"
and I've included a clip of the "07" cohort as they left the campus in Victoria.
Big Brother UVic is over, Liz and Joe did the Love Tour one last time, to rave reviews - here's some footage of the historic moments
One last on site task and then it is on to life as we once knew it - two years removed of course... What did you look like two years ago?
Me?
I was 45 pounds heavier and I knew everything already.
Now i am 45 pounds lighter and I know nothing at all.
Long talk tonight with a friend about the nature of the course of events as we define this master's trip to nowhere special....
The analogy she brought forward was that we were our own episode of Big Brother.
(anyone else notice that Julie Chen is far more attractive as she gets older? forgive me, i digress)
We are thrown together unannounced, unitroduced, and for the next 16 months are expected to work together to survive. It must seem incredibly odd to be a boyfriend or a spouse of a member of Big brother and just wonder what goes on there the cameras are not on.
Despite the understanding that no television network would ever film our world (endless hours of people typing at their desk!), the reality is that the type of journey we have been on has an effect onthe ones we leave behind. what are they doing over there? What are those guys like ? What are those women up to ? etc etc - you know the bit.
the answer is simply - nothing much.
But the dynamic of trust and collaboration that has grown between the occupants of Big Brother house UVIC is exceptional.
tomorrow we celebrate.
tommorow we say goodbye. It won't be easy, but we can't say we didn't see it coming. James Blunt : goodbye my Lover
Carrie Underwood : Wasted
Before you write in all your flak - by request... It's kind of a theme around these parts these days.++++
Wow Finally got the D Link in the room working again. Access to the web is important in the last days of class -- Thursday!! Been a long time. Roller Coaster of emotions.
"Let the Jury Decide...." I heard two phrases this summer that have sort of come together: "I don't want to live in a box." (female) "I live in that square." (male) Funny thing is - I agree with both of those comments. Living in a Box: "Living in a Box"
.....everybody Wang Chung tonight... I bet there is a song for every situation.
Of Montreal: "Faberge falls for Shuggie"
Don't ask me to explain. Imagine Kevin Barnes trying to explain androgynous post funk modern groove to Generation Y. nigha nigh
The lead singer in this band is getting raves- "Let's get out of this Country" may just become some kind of an anthem if the Iraq thing continues to press.
thanks for the musical snack, K.
Ball? Ball? Kick!
...exactly.
Saturday is another day of nuptials. What a treat it will be to see family again.
I am starting to think of my new family in Victoria as almost family.
I am so close to being finished here it is ridiculous.
What is also ridiculous is how much I complain.
I claim grad school prerogative.
baaaallll...Ball. I claim grandfather prerogative. Afi says so.
"K" pointed out to me that it is summer, and that reminds me that
summer needs those songs that you only hear in summer.
Beatles - "Baby You're a Rich Man" Tremeloes - "Silence is Golden" Sly and the Family Stone - "Hot Fun in the Summertime" Martha and the Vandellas - "Heat Wave" Doobie Bros. - "Jesus is Just Allright With Me"
Here's a modern one: Peter, Bjorn & John - "Young Folks"
I played fast pitch softball with a very good player who anchored our infield at third base, while I did my best to hold the fort at second.
He regularly would holler "you never know" as a way of keeping team mates on their toes. It was rapid fire chatter, almost one word; "yenevrno, guys." To him it meant, "be ready, the ball may be coming your way."
I never thought of it as an expression that meant anything else, not in the sporting world at least.
I found myself saying the phrase from the sidelines coaching my basketball games one season.
One of my captains pulled me aside after a game and asked if I could please stop saying "you never know" during the games.
I asked her why she was so bothered by it.
To me it meant "be ready, stay on your toes."
Not to her.
To her it meant " You never know - we may get lucky and actually win." To her it was a negative phrase.
I worked in Hope as a temporary social worker with a permanent social worker who told me the story of her 13 year old boy who had spent the weekend with his father, the dad who wasn't around much.
He had come back from a terrible time with dad. After a long tale of misery and woe, mom said to him "i can really appreciate how you feel right now." she had lived with him long enough to know just how awful a week with him could become.
To her it was the most empathic, correct and understanding thing she could say to another human being who had undergone a tough experience.
The boy bolted from the house and was gone for two days.
By the time she tracked him down he was adamant he was not returning home.
Why not?
Because mom had told him she was glad that he had such a terrible time with dad, that she was glad he had been so poorly treated by him. How could he live with such a heartless b*tch?
Needless to say it took a bit of education to teach the boy what "appreciate" truly meant.
***
Tonight I heard some bad news about a good man. Despite a life of fairness, decency, kindness and service, of athleticism and health, a friend has had a major bit of terrible news about his health, news that could prove to be devastating.
It doesn't make sense.
It's not fair.
You never know.
Thanks to one of the finest Smiths ever - for the cold beer at the end of a long dreary weekend...
Here are the Smiths : "How soon is Now?"
"When you say it's gonna happen now, Well, when exactly do you mean? See I've already waited too long ..." you never know
Where have all my friends gone? They've all disappeared Turned around maybe one day You were all that was there Stood by unbelieving Stood by on my own Always thought I was someone Turned out I was wrong But you brought me through And you made me feel so Blue, why don't you stay behind, soBlue, why don't you stop and look at what's goin' down Live by an old woman She'd never sell me a lie It's hard to sing with someone Who won't sing with you Give all of my mercy Give all of my heart Never thought I'd miss you That I'd miss you so much...Jayhawks, "Blue" Apparently in the Inner Harbour there is a Festival tonight. The Victoria Symphony is playing and there are fireworks. I am in the building next to the Library doing project work. By my count there are three of us here this weekend. Everyone else is gone - hence the song above.(Plus I wanted to use the word "hence". It's been a while) You don't miss people you don't care about. I miss everybody. I miss the people I usually miss, and I miss the ones I have only recently come to miss. This is rough. There better be a big prize somewhere at the end of this yellow brick road or me and the the Scarecrow are gonna have words.
Jayhawks: Blue
11 years later and I still dig this song.
"Thought I was someone, turned out I was wrong..." Not all maudlin, just dig that line. nigha nigh
. Accordingly, the Commission approves the application by the Education Alternative Radio Society for a broadcasting licence to operate an English-language community-based campus FM radio programming undertaking at the University of Northern British Columbia in Prince George. The station will operate at 88.7 MHz (channel 204A) with an ERP of 510 watts.
How good is this?
Kudos to the mighty C and all his minions for the excellent leg work.
Here is a picture of Makoto, Dave, and me coming out of the Library after a long hard day. After working with Dave for a day I can see why Les goes home every weekend.... I guess the theme is "to get something you have to give something". That is the hard part for me. I want my cake and I want more cake. But if I am going to give up a weekend, I want something to show for it at the other end. So first thing tomorrow AM it's back to the mine shaft. Lee Dorsey - take it away: Workin' in a Coal Mine I love the metallic clang in this song.
Come on in boy, sit on down And tell me 'bout yourself So you like my daughter, do you now Yeah we think she's something else She's her daddy's girl and her mama's world She deserves respect, that's what she'll get, ain't it son Now y'all run along and have some fun I'll see you when you get back Bet I'll be up all night Still cleaning this gun
Now personally, I don't know much about Rodney Atkins.
And there are, admittedly, some rather large areas of modern country music that I just do not know much about, nor feel drawn to explore.
That's not a good or a bad, it's just - to phrase it in countrified talk - "it's just a is."
But tonight I feel compelled to talk about daddy's and their girls.
Tonight I was referred to as a "second dad", a term of incredible honour that I do not take lightly.
I wrote a paper on the topic recently about the issue of female teams with male coaches.
And I have been deeply moved this week by a story of father / daughter disconnect, of two good people (I actually only know one, and she is outstanding. I assume the dad is a wonderful person as well.)
So I look at the Atkins lyric above and I reflect.
That is not how I see the relationship between myself and my daughter (or "daughters" if the concept of "second dad" holds past the weekend).
Staying up all night cleaning a gun readying myself for the eventuality that some punk ass kid has stolen my baby away and has to be dealt with.
hmm.
While I might have felt like that at times, I can't imagine being like that. I dunno, maybe I was but I wasn't aware. But the lyric just doesn't sit right with me.
I was probably a little too much the other way - giving a lot of freedoms but keeping a watchful eye, hoping she would make good choices all the time knowing -eventually - she would.
And I was right, despite the innumerable mistakes I made along the way..
And yet the story of disconnect between my friend and her father moves me.
I find it indescribably puzzling how a dad could not want to be a major part of his daughter's life. And not just because the individual in the story above is a wonderful person. She is more than that. She is talented, dedicated, thoughtful, and driven to be successful. She possesses a will to laugh, has a great BS detector, and calls a spade a shovel. She is great company and a joy to know. I truly hope we will always be close.
She is also conflicted in her personal wants and needs, and stands at a bit of a crossroads in her life right now. She needs a dad. She needs her dad. I hope at some point she - or he - reach out for the other.
It's is hard to maintain a supportive dad position without becoming a major hovering pain in the ass. That is the theme of the lyric of Adkins, and as clever as the lyric is, and as popular as the notion of DAD the PROTECTOR is, it is a position that is doomed to fail.
Daughters need dads - and they also need dads to leave them alone when requested.
Still, dads have a tough time letting go of their little buddy, the neat-o kid that rode around on their shoulders and actually sought them out - but the moment they do they begin the process of hanging on to their daughters in a new and much more powerful way.
Roots can't run deep if you constantly take them out of the soil to examine them. Just pour water, stand back, and admire.
I admit that I admire my daughter every day.
And if some new kid on the block wants to call me her second dad, I am good with that, too. The more people you put in your heart, the bigger it grows.
I know I might take a little bit of flak about the musical choice here -
but its my blog, pathetic as it might be, so here is
Paul Simon: Father and Daughter, with a stikingly simple visual.
and Trace Adkins: And Then They Do - yeah yeah, I know....
