Open Mike: Wanna Play?

Efren ("The Magician") Reyes of the Phillippines, master 9-ball pro.
Photo by Vinod Divikaran.

Anyone want to play some pool?

I'm not actually joking. My doctor says I need a hobby (that's kinda funny, if you think about it), and also that I need to be on my feet and move around more, so I thought I'd take up pool. Pocket billiards, that is.

Trouble is, I have no friends. Well, I do, but not at the pool hall. So if you're local to me and you'd like to shoot some pool for an hour sometime, let me know. I'll even pay for the table (it's $8 an hour and as you know, I am nothing if not a big spender.) I don't mind talking about photography.

Ice cube: I don't know...sometimes I see the world as tragic, sometimes as amusing. This week, amusing.

For instance, this is kinda funny. I thought I'd make a folksy little reference—maybe in the preamble of a blog post—about the day that the last of the ice and snow disappeared here in Wisconsin. But there's this place where I shove the snow off the deck all winter where it heaps up. It's partly under the deck's overhang, and it's north-facing so it gets no sun, and there was a ridgeline of ice there that just didn't want to melt. Day after day after day, late March, early April—still there. Upshot, last week on Tuesday evening after two days of rain I glanced over there and it looked like the ice was finally gone. But I figured I'd better be sure (get the facts straight!), so I looked more closely, and there, hiding in the grass, is this tiny little piece of crusty antediluvian ice, no bigger than maybe two ice cubes, still hangin' on. Had to laugh.

So it finally melts on Wednesday—completely—finally!—the last of the ice and snow—and then this morning, what happens? Snow on the deck. Not much, but still. Winter's hanging on like a bulldog.

Control of the time domain: I finally figured out why I don't care so much for video. The thought came to me when I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum with Ken and Chris last week. There was a big three-screen video presentation, and of course you walk in "in the middle" at "installations" like that, and I was thinking I'd just much rather be talking to Ken and Chris than standing in the dark watching some dude writhe on the carpet in slow motion. The problem with video is that it takes control of the time axis with a viselike grip...you have to go at the speed it dictates. Can't speed up, can't slow down, can't skim or skip, can't pause to reflect. Reading, you can do all those things. (Admit it, you're skimming now. I'm not offended.) The baseline requirement for video for me is that it has to at least give me more to think about than I can think about in the time it's taking up. Otherwise, I'm bored.

That's entertainment!: So then, given my general dislike of the moving-picture medium, this is kinda funny: all this past week, I've been watching...YouTube videos of 9-ball matches. The videos show everything, and I mean everything, even the pauses when the players step away from the table. And they can last for two hours or more.

...And I find them completely engrossing. Like this epic seesaw match between the late George "Ginky" San Souci (he died last year at age 39 of unknown causes) and Mike Dechaine. (For the three of you who will actually start watching this, the match doesn't start until the 7:45 mark.)

Pool as a public sport is about as under the radar as it gets—even badminton and trampolining are in the Olympics—so the videos are highly variable in production quality, and the voiceover commentary can be anything from insightful to hilariously awful. But to me, they're as fascinating to watch as golf. (I love watching golf on TV. Yes, I know most people don't.)

Rule reform: I tried watching basketball, during March Madness. Really gave it the old college try: followed the action, looked at the brackets even though I didn't make my own, read up on some of the schools and players. Now there's a boring sport. I suppose it's because I was never any good at basketball and have bad memories of it from when I played. But I also just think there are structural problems with that game. The endings are almost always draggy and anticlimactic, while the teams trade fouls and laboriously manage the clock. I'd love to see the ending of the game rethought so that it could more often be exciting and athletic. They should experiment and see what would work better. For instance, I'd start by making any foul inside the last two minutes result in two automatic points for the opposing team, with play continuing unchecked. That would get rid of the awful routine of the trailing team fouling and the opposing team going to the line multiple times in the closing seconds, which has got to be the biggest buzzkill in all of sports. The strategy is complex in basketball and the athleticism truly amazing—it must be a great game to play if you're decent or better at it—but when occasionally you do get an actual good ending to a game, it's the exception that proves the rule.

Bro: My more talented younger brother Scott was my main opponent in games of sport and skill when I was a kid. My height advantage in driveway basketball (he's five years younger) gave him a wicked outside jumpshot that served him well in high school, although tennis was really his game (and he was even better at table tennis, a.k.a. ping pong). He was more coordinated than I was, and had a more positive attitude and more competitive fire.

I played pool with Scott endlessly when we were kids, after our long, gruelling campaign to wheedle my parents into buying us a pool table was finally successful and before I went off to college. I don't recall how many years that would have been. Four or five, maybe.

But, curiously, like most people, we were only ever playing half the game. The front half of the game is pocketing the object ball, but the back half, "playing for position," i.e., putting the cue ball in position for the next shot, is arguably more important. In fact you have to think at least two or three balls ahead, and good 9-ball players are usually thinking through the whole table before they hit one shot. I find it fascinating to watch, because the professionals think it through so quickly. They can make shots faster than I can think one or two balls ahead. I feel mighty proud on those rare occasions when I can see three shots ahead before a player pockets a ball. I'm still struggling to "see the table." I know I'll get it if I keep trying, but I'm not there yet. Keeps me engaged.

Anyway, if you want a game, beware: I suck. Unless you count thirty-five years ago, I just took up the game on Wednesday, the day the ice melted, 2013.

Mike
(Thanks to Scott—not for this post, but for all those games we played as kids)

"Open Mike" is a series of off-topic posts that appear only, but not always, on Sundays.

Original contents copyright 2013 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.

TOP's links!

(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:

Ruby: "You have absolutely read my mind and put your finger on why I hate videos. I've never been able to articulate it, but now I am quoting that paragraph to people."

Charles Lanteigne: "Too bad I'm not in the neighborhood, I love pool! My father and I play on a fairly regular basis, maybe twice a month. For us it's 8-ball. We play 'first one to win 10 games,' and we do this usually twice. Since we are a close match in skill (or lack thereof), runs often end 10-8, 10-9, so that means we play maybe 32–38 games during those three/four hour afternoons. I don't know that it's any good in terms of cardiovascular activity, but it's better than sitting at the computer all day. (I'm typically sore in one shoulder the next day!)"

John Camp: "The thing about really good art still photography is that it's really, really good.

"The thing about art video is that it usually seems really, really poor. That's because we're so used to highly professional and extremely expensive movies and television, and highly professional and extremely expensive documentaries, that make 'art videos' simply look crude. Because they are.

"My late wife was on the board of directors of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and one continuing argument they had there was modern chamber music vs. classical chamber music. The players always pushed for more modern stuff, the number-crunchers for more classical stuff, and the reason was simple—when they played a modern program, ticket sales tanked, and even a lot of the season ticket holders don't show up.

"But the reason isn't what a lot of people think it is—that people are unsophisticated about modern music. The real reason is that when you're listening to serious classical chamber music, you almost by definition are listening to a masterpiece that has survived for centuries. Most modern music is nothing like a masterpiece (and if you think about it, you'll know why—masterpieces are rare at any time, but do accumulate over the centuries.)

"I think that's also the case with photography, but video in particular. With video, our standards are so high that we don't want to see handmade stuff by a guy who got his camera three weeks ago, and is shooting pictures of himself or his friends.

"A few years ago, I was on the couch watching some movie (I no longer remember what) and there was a sequence where some people were hanging out at an L.A. food truck. As I watched, I realized that if I could have taken a half-dozen still photos of the sequence, they would have been some of the best 'street' photos I'd have taken in my life. Because the cinematography was brilliant. Color, composition, lighting, it was all there....

"A guy rolling around on the floor ain't gonna make it."

Mike replies: I think there's another explanation in addition to the accumulated-masterpiece theory. It's that the most talented people in those eras were composing classical music. Despite the existence of a few talented composers in that field now (I find Steve Reich consistently interesting, for example), it's undeniable that most people with a talent for music these days direct their attentions and energies elsewhere. There's not a lot of call for new classical compositions, not a lot of audience for it, and not a lot of money to be made doing it. So it doesn't attact the driven, ambitious, talented people. So the work isn't typically especially compelling or popular. QED.

P.S. Like you, I'm not infrequently amazed at the talent of cinematographers.

mark: "Efren ('The Magician') Reyes looks like he carries a bit of a paunch. You might want to think about a hobby that involves some exercise. Or at least an activity whose most famous participant has a nickname other than 'Fats.'

JohnMFlores: "Great to see a photo of Efren 'Bata' Reyes. He's a national hero where I come from. As a kid he used to rack the balls at the local pool hall by day and then practice whenever he could. He'd sleep on the tables at night, or so I heard. I was playing pool in Manila with cousins when another legend, Francisco Bustamante, walks in and starts playing at the next table. Next thing we know, Bata's there, and under the klieg lights of greatness my game when from passable to piss-poor.

"I totally understand the watching pool on YouTube. Months ago I spent hours watching snooker maestro Ronnie O'Sullivan. Here's one where he alternates between shooting righty and lefty. Smashing!"

carlweese: "My grandfather, John Francis (Jack) Duggan, was born in Ireland, came with his parents to Canada, then sneaked into the U.S. on a bicycle at the age of 14. At 28, he was a vice president of Gimbel Brothers, the department store giant in New York. One reason was that he could join the New York Athletic club (the other executives could not in that era, because they were Jews) and make the business connections denied to the others. He also became the billiards champion of the club. I have a bunch of sterling silver hip flasks that were the awards for yearly championships (this was during prohibition of course, which makes it more delicious). My father told me that shooting pool with his father-in- law was the most frustrating thing in the world. Jack would let you break, you might sink a ball or two, then he'd clear seven or eight tables in a row. Talk about planning the whole table at once from the result of the break....

"He died when I was only five, and no longer lived in a place that could house a pool table, so I never learned the game from him."

Sean: "The pool hall above local arcade held a much bigger draw to me than school ever did. I could not hold a pen right, but the things I could do with a cue. I never liked snooker that much. My wag officer (truant officer) promised me that if I stayed in school every day for six weeks, he'd take me for a game of snooker. It was a big ask, but I managed it, he was true to his word. The table was too big to me; I didn't play well. We went back to our cat and mouse relationship soon after."

JTW: "The snow/ice has (almost) gone from under your deck? We (Western Canada) are having the worst spring (or lack of) in recent memory. There is still snow everywhere, and in a month that last year posted highs in the double digits (celsius, of course) this year we've hardly broken 0° (32°F to you).

"I don't watch basketball either. Never have. I have reached the conclusion that the sports biggest problem is the size of the court. When the game was first 'invented,' in a YMCA in Canada, the players would have been, what, 5' 8" on average? Six feet would have been big. Now, it's played by guys who can go down the court in three strides, so the whole nature of the game is different."

Mike replies: If I get another life, I am going to make a billion dollars by starting an alternative basketball league called "The Six-Foot League." No players over 6', no play above the rim allowed, and games will be best three-out-of-five eight-minute "sets." (Because really, if it's a blowout, who needs to see more than 24 minutes? If it's close, you get to see the full 40 minutes.) Fouls will renew for each set so the best players won't have to sit out at the end of games, and of course my pet ideas to make the final minutes more exciting will all be implemented....

The first step would be to hire 12 or 15 guys to play a bunch of games with different rules, so we could research what works best. Maybe I should write a letter to Mark Cuban. Yeah, that would be a good use of my time. :-D

Comments

[Steven ralser]

I remember watching the British program Pot Black (if I remember rightly)in my youth, showcasing billiards (or whichever of the games it was; I get them all mixed up). I remember it being enthralling, but maybe the staid British commentary had a lot to do with it. I don't know if it was shown here in the US, this was back in Oz.

Steve

[Jamie Pillers]

Mike,
Pool for those Wisconsin winters, golf for late spring through late fall? There are some wonderful landscape photo opportunities out there on the golf course (excuse to buy that Coolpix A). :-)

[Tom Kwas]

Re: Rule Reform...

...not much of a basketball fan, but watched a few of the games. Still amazed when someone gets called for traveling, it seems like everyone is always just running around out there, unencumbered. The refs from the 70's would have a field day...

[John Krumm]

An enjoyable post Mike, and I didn't even skim. Brought back memories of my dad using pool for the same reason. I wonder if there are any pool playing clubs in your area. I joined a photo club a year ago, and while it has done little for my photography, the social aspects feel good, and now I often know the other photographers I encounter out in the field. My guess is that you should be able to find at least a couple reliable pool buddies for regular games.

[Christoph]

Have a look at that, play with your readers and contributors in the annual or weekly TOP-tournament from the comfort of home: http://www.mywebsport.com/en

And three-cushion (is this really the official name?) is amazing, surprisingly players do not all have advances mathematics or physics degrees.

[Tony Collins]

The sister game of snooker used to get big viewing figures in UK with a programme called Pot Black which produced one of the most quoted sports commentary gaffs, "For those of you watching in black and white the pink is next to the green"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_Lowe

[Andre]

"...also that I need to be on my feet and move around more..."

Got same advice from my doctor. Got me a treadmill, and I'm doing 30 minutes per day while listening to music from an MP3 connected to the treadmill speakers.

And when it's nice out, I take a 30 minutes brisk walk. Beneficial for the heart and at same time, it clears the mind.

[Ben]

Mike, couldn't agree with you more on video. There is a lot of discussion about the convergence of stills and video, but I've always believed them to be fundamentally different media, for exactly the reason you state: time domain control. It's why I've never been able to get into audio books, either, even back when I spent a lot of time driving.

So I think that while still and video may merge from the technical, capture, side (giving us both endless flexibility in use and endless headaches in editing), there will always remain a difference in the application side of things–there will always remain a place for still photos in news, for example, even when the last newspaper has been printed, thrown away, and completely bio-degraded...

[Another Phil]

Shame I'm in the UK.

Interesting cultural differences between your and my countries; in the UK we have snooker halls rather than pool halls, with pool being more of a pub game. I'd guess about 50% of the pubs in Devon when I was growing up had a pool table. You'd put money in a slot to release the balls with the winner staying on the table and anyone else who wanted a game put their name on a blackboard and paid for the next frame when your name was called, so if you were good you could get a lot of free games.
I grew up watching snooker on a B&W TV with my dad, so you had to concentrate to remember the colours - seven shades of grey! there is a famous blooper I remember from a commentator which goes along the lines of "for those of you watching in B&W the blue ball is the one behind the pink ball". It's still a popular televised sport shown on the BBC and popular in various Asian countries.
First televised 147 break http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgnAIsPY8hA

Here basketball is called netball and is played by schoolgirls -ducks-for-cover-

We got up this AM to watch Formula1 and are now watching the US Masters, polar opposites but both fascinating.

[Roger Bradbury]

My brother used to watch the snooker on TV years ago. Two things made this difficult. First, it was a black and white TV, and second the picture was 20" but the TV screen was only 12"; he could only see the centre of the picture. He had to rely on the audience's reaction to know if the ball had gone in the pocket. : ]

[Phil Cook]

Mike, over here in the UK "pocket billiards" is slang for another solo pursuit.

Steve, Pot Black was a TV program featuring a shortened frame of snooker with less reds than the fifteen in a normal frame.

[Dean Johnston]

Hiya.

"Admit it, you're skimming now. I'm not offended."

Sorry, I had actually leaned forward and was paying close attention.

(even more so than earlier when I was checking the tracking number and progress of the camera I hope will arrive today - mind you, it was displayed much larger)

[Jack]

1. Mike and Jamie, repeat after me, "There is no spring in Wisconsin".

That's why I'm in Arizona now.

2. Mike, I will play pool with you, but I'm in Arizona now.

[Kent]

You, Mike Johnston, are a threat to my time and wallet. Your recent post in which you mentioned Wisconsin's billiard cue manufacturers reignited an old passion of mine. I dug around in the shed and found my old cue, which in addition to being a bit dinged up turned out to be inadequate by modern standards, so I bought a new one. And a case for it. And a very cool little tip tool. I have also been taking advantage of the Internet's magical ability to deliver endless streams of video footage on just about any subject imaginable, absorbing hours of pro pool games in a way that simply wasn't possible "back in the day," as they say. I also used said magical Internet thingy to locate no fewer than five pool halls within a leisurely drive from my house.

It has begun, you are partly to blame, and I thank you. :-)

[Kenneth Tanaka]

Too bad we're not in closer proximity, Mike. I'd take you up on an evening of billiards every so often. I dislike 9-ball -- it's too quick and strictly for betting -- but love "straight pool". In fact in my (much, much) younger days I spent time in tournament circuits...and even still have one of my cues!

You won't get much exercise from walking around, or leaning over, a pool table but it sure can be good fun! I've not played in 20+ years.

[David A.]

No offence, Mike, but you know your doctor wants you to actually move. Move like brisk walking for 30+ minutes per day, not stand around a pool table. There is no free lunch and you know it. We all, myself included, are dealing with this -- certainly as we grow older and split our time between work and home duties.

[I hear you, but no; I'm already doing my walking. He thinks it will be a good thing for me to be on my feet and moving around a bit in a variety of ways, stretching, bending, etc. Good for my back. The pool will serve.... --Mike]

I have a sister-in-law who talked of various diets for years and was getting nowhere fast. Some months ago she finally started running. Combined with a healthy diet she is not only losing weight, but feeling better. It has become a drug of its own. She can't imagine not exercising.

Instead of renting, or buying, yet another camera, get yourself a treadmill (if you don't have one already) to use in the winter months. And most importantly, use it. No, you don't have to run. You can walk at a fast pace. You and I, both.

[Mike Plews]

Is your doctor new to the upper midwest? It sounds like he has never seen a case of cabin fever before.
By the way growing up in North Dakota we called snow on the deck "a sucky 4th of July".
Anyway I got the "get some exercise" talk last check up. I'm walking a couple of miles a day now with a pocket camera in my coat. No pool halls around here so that's what I am trying out.

[Steve G, Mendocino]

Your choice of pool as exercise has a fine literary precedent - Nero Wolfe in the later books.

Of course, he had room in the basement of the brownstone for his own table...

[James Bullard]

RE: Your observations on time. You just nailed what I don't like about video. Your comment reminded me of a tall ship cruise I took. Now I have to say that it was a terrific experience and I'm glad I did it but... I was confined to the ship (a rather small ship) and where the captain wanted it to go. For me watching video has that same sense of cutting off options. And before you ask, no I don't like video games even though I have more control.

[MarkB]

Pool tables... my lovely wife grew up with a pool table in the basement and three older siblings. Back when we had time to go to the "Irish" pub in Evanston, she would (sheepishly) shark many a frat boy out of their beer money.

Not bad for a hobby, but you should get out more than once a week to be a "regular."

[Sarge]

Efren "Bata" Reyes (locally, The "Kid"), a.k.a. "The Magician" in pool circles for his "impossible" shots, was inducted to the BCA Hall of Fame in 2003.

He also plays chess. The ability to see several moves ahead—if not the entire "table"—is essential to success in both games. I suck equally at both.

Most Filipino pool players, the world-beaters, didn't go to college. They have a highly developed spatial (pattern recognition) and kinesthetic (mind-body coordination) intelligences which can't be learned at school.

Just trying out the "capcha" with a link thrown in. I look at it as an exercise in visual acuity and pattern recognition. So I don't mind. I like the capcha "blurb" :).

[John Haines]

"(I love watching golf on TV. Yes, I know most people don't.)"

Which means, I suppose, like me you just finished watching today's fabulous final round of the Masters. So if you need some exercise, why not golf? It's an incredible game and sport - just you and the landscape. And you can do it till you're in your 90s or later.

[Neal]

Keep trying, I've played a fair bit of pool and it does start to come more naturally over time, (seeing ahead I mean) The same can also be said of Chess, very much a "think ahead" kind of game and one I've not played in some years. must fix that.

[Cmans]

A couple of decades ago I was (what I thought to be) an above average player and after watching a particular tavern for a while from a distance, I noted that ingress and egress was sufficient, the clientel wasn't too loud, and no serious drinking or any fighting was going on, so I decided to try the thrill of playing a game of eight ball with a stranger. I put my quarter down and waited and watched. The two gentlemen playing before me were ok, but I was confident I could have beaten either one. My turn came up, the winner put my quarter into the slot pushed the lever and the balls dropped and he racked them. He seemed to be very fastidious about setting the balls, and I felt that this was a good thing. He chalked his cue, bent over, pulled his cue stick back, and with one stroke sunk the eight ball on the break. I didn't (and truthfully still don't) know the rules well enough to know if sinking the eight ball on the break is a "win" but I noticed that the 1/2 second it took for me to compute this caused the whole room to go quiet, and I was glad that I had scoped out the copious exits ahead of time and made careful and deliberate use of same. I think someone was trying to tell me that I didn't belong there and I listened.

[Hugh Crawford]

Pool & Photography
Pool is how I got my darkroom as a kid. My father thought it would nice to get a pool table , but since there was no space in the house for a pool table he proposed building a small outbuilding to house the pool table. The rest of the extended family (I grew up on a multi generational family farm) comprising a bunch of architects and engineers for whom designing and constructing buildings was somewhere between a hobby and competitive sport thought this was a fine idea. We had a dairy barn that looked vaguely Frank Lloyd Wright built of terra cotta, who knows what they would come up with for humans. My mother thought that if we going to build a pool room, we should add on a pottery studio, and I figured if there was going to plumbing for a pottery studio there may as well be a darkroom. In short order the pool room accreted a laundry room, a small office, an 1870 square grand piano, a painting studio and while they were are at it lots of wall space for hanging art and storing books.

Unexpected snow in mid April
Some years later I was living in an old dairy barn on an old hudson river estate. On April 14 I bought a 69 Chevy convertible for $300 to replace my car with 400 colors of paint but no reverse gear. The low price was in part on account of there being no canvas on the top only the frame, but it was April. I figured that while waiting for the new top from JC Whitney driving in light rain with no roof would be fun and girls like that sort of thing. Of course the next morning, April 15 it had snowed nearly a foot , and in order to get to the post office to mail my taxes I had to not only dig a path for the car to get to the road , but I also had to dig out the drivers seat and drive to town in a car full of snow to mail my tax returns.

Oh and it turns out that the sound of the cue stick striking the ball is to me much like the sound of chalk squeaking on a blackboard, so I never really played any pool.

[JohnMFlores]

Damn you Mike. I've just spent another hour watching Ronnie O'Sullivan! Here's more brilliance - http://youtu.be/dnYvlQq3_wk

[David Dyer-Bennet]

You've nailed the problem with video (streaming media in general), of course. Seems like there's a strongly bi-modal distribution, too; at work I'm being told repeatedly that we must have an introductory video on the site because people won't take the time to read text -- but reading the text takes me much less time than the projected length of this video. I'm fighting for both, and I think I may even win that one. I think lots of both kind of person exist.

Similarly, people talk about "the short-attention-span" generation preferring video, but my objection to video is precisely that it wastes my time usually.

(I have nothing to say against first-rate video made for people who like my kind of information-flow rate -- except that depending on mood and interruptions my information flow requirements change. And of course some things I really do find easiest to understand with an integrated sound / sight / motion presentation.)

I was going to recommend UK coverage of billiards-type sports, but I see that's already been covered. I also have seen a surprising amount on ESPN and related places. Good players are really amazing (and, like basketball, there are also trick players who do really amazing tricks that are too risky or require too precise a setup for real play, but are still amazing).

Haven't watched enough basketball to notice the problems you mention at the end. Maybe they hadn't figured it out yet back when I watched a few games? But it sounds devastating to the flow of the game. That's the problem with basketball anyway, the flow is interrupted far too often. Football has brilliantly avoided that by having the game proceed in short segments -- thus making it boring most of the time. If not as totally and overwhelmingly boring as baseball, which I have never understood why anybody ever gives a second glance to.

[David Dyer-Bennet]

The bloody damned Captcha is gonna drive me batty, though. Took me three times to find one where my guess was acceptable to the system, and on all of the three it really was a guess, they're so distorted I'm never sure what they're supposed to say.

I happily create accounts for sites I use FAR less than TOP. I'm pretty sure you could configure it so people who want to can create an account, and when logged in don't have to face the Captcha. Then people could choose their particular preferred annoyance and you'd still keep the spam down to a dull roar.

[Thingo]

Ah. Memories. I recall fondly many many games of snooker while at uni. Of course Walter Lindrum is considered by those of us 'down under' to be one of (if not the) greatest exponents of the felted tabletop.

[Patrick Perez]

Hey Mike, I recall seeing a cool old Twilight Zone episode about pool (or probably billiards). It was a two character story and the two stars are both recently deceased. Jack Klugman and Jonathan Winters. Here's the IMdB page for the episode: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0734540/ Basically it was cashing in on the popularity of the film The Hustler.

Patrick

[Paul Mc Cann]

Over here 'Pocket Billiards' is played with both hands in trousers pockets.

Netball is a different game to basketball. In netball there is no back board behind the net.

Basketball is quite popular in Irish schools and colleges.

[ChazL]

Welcome (back) to the world of pool, Mike. I myself picked up a cue for the first time 17 years ago at the age of 40. I don't play a lot, but I very much enjoy the game. Were I not located in New Jersey and a thousand miles removed, I'd very much like to take you up on your offer to play.

Serious pool playing has been in decline for a good many years in the USA, , and it is hard to find a poolroom in many parts of the country. Even if a room is available (your post sounds promising in this regard), there may not be a cadre of experienced players to learn from. In this case, watching professional matches online can be a godsend in the learning process. In addition to the recorded matches on Youtube, you can find a schedule of live webcasts and tournament coverage online at azbilliards.com.

If you were self-taught as a youngster, it would be very worthwhile for you to pick up an instructional book or two before you return to the tables. You'll get a grounding in the game's fundamentals before you have a chance to pick up (or revert to) any bad habits. The physical fundamentals are simple, and easy to learn and apply, but are critical to proficient and consistent play.

Allow me to recommend Robert Byrne's New Standard Book of Pool and Billiards, available via Amazon. The book is a modern classic and Byrne (who has also had several non-pool titles published) is a talented writer.

(The literary standards of the pool world are distressingly low, with the exceptions of Byrne, George Fels, and R.A. Dyer. All three of these are eminently readable, and their works go beyond instructionals to cover the colorful history and lore of the game. I'd recommend all three to you).

I hope you enjoy your return to the game, and that you'll keep us posted on your progress.

[Steve Smith]

so I thought I'd take up pool. Pocket billiards, that is

Over here, that doesn't mean what you think it means!

[The Lazy Aussie]

Wouldn't it be lovely to play pool with Mike? He could bring a coffee press, I'd have a beer or two...I would really love to do that.

[The Lazy Aussie]

And I have been watching 9 ball on the screens at the gym lately. Quite an interesting game, (also moderating comments for my own blog on the treadmill the meanwhile). They occasionally have American baseball on too, which I was astonished to find was about 5 times more tedious than cricket! I was not expecting that.

[R Hunter]

Without trying to delve into your personal life, I wonder what goal your physician had in mind when he prescribed a hobby. In this circumstance, a great many people respond to such a prescription by selecting/defaulting to a hobby that perpetuates, rather than relieves, the "condition" that the hobby is supposed to help.
Let's say, for example, that a person writing a photography blog several days a week (a stressful deadline-driven activity) was in need of a hobby to find relaxation and stress reduction. But, that person, without the benefit of a goal in mind, selected an activity, like billiards, that created the stress of competition against one's self as well as one's opponent. That won't help the person find much respite, will it? Just food for thought.
Why not dancing? You can polka with those Swedes all year round (haha).

[D-Squizee]

For some time I really enjoyed watching snooker.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OpQNCB3jO4

[Chuck Holst]

Ice Cube: Yesterday, April 14, was the average ice-out day for Twin Cities lakes; this year on that day the ice was still a foot or more thick.

Pool as a popular sport: Snooker was the sport my wife's uncle was watching on TV during our visit to the UK eight years ago. I was somewhat bemused by it, because pool is not that popular on this side of the ocean.

Exercise: Spring through fall, I go for a 30-40 minute walk before breakfast. In winter I work out on one of the original Nordic Track ski exercise machines, which are a bit like a self-propelled treadmill with optional arm exercise. They're no longer made, but you can sometimes find one at a garage sale for $10-$15, and they fold up very compactly -- great for a small house like yours. For extra incentive, this winter I installed a small TV and DVD player over the Nordic Track, so I can watch movies and video lectures while I work out. They really make the time go fast.

[Roger Bradbury]

It can do you nothing but good to get out and talk to people face to face.

I'm in a motorcycle club. There's about 15 of us and we all all in an email group. We email to the group all the time. It's used for organising meetings and events, spreading news, discussions, making dreadful puns and taking the p!ss out of each other.

It's pretty good, but it's nowhere near as good as actually meeting up and having a chat. We had a ride out yesterday to a cafe and I felt great when I got home.

It was fun to ride the bike, especially as it was the first nice weekend of the year, but the bike riding is just the framework and shared experience for the socialising that means so much to us all.

[Steve Rosenblum]

This is one time where I must respectfully disagree with you, Mike. I love spring college basketball--the NCAA tournament and the Sweet Sixteen and I am sorry it is over. Yes, I'm sure that part of my interest this year was due to how well my home town team (University of Michigan) did in the tournament after a 20 year drought brought on by the Fab 5 scandal. But, my overriding interest is generated by the fact that in college ball, especially during the tournament, on any given day, in any given game, even the lowest ranked team might show up, elevate their play, and depose the number one ranked team. Nothing is for sure and it ain't over til it's over! Some kid you have never heard of can turn it on and become a star in one period of one game. I find the lack of predicability and the fact that these boys are playing their hearts out makes those few weeks very entertaining indeed.

[Mark Hespenheide]

Pool/billiards is a fine game. But what happened to cycling and that fine Rivendell I remember hearing about?

[I wish. No Rivendell for me. Mine's a mid-level Cannondale, which is nice enough. It's on the way to the shop for its annual tuneup. Under the theory that it has to get warm around here sooner or later. --Mike]

[Mark Alan Miller]

I wish I didn't live half a continent away, as I'd love to play you. My game isn't as strong as it once was, but it's still good fun playing when I can. I've played in the same pool league for 24 years (and am in their Hall of Fame - my proudest accomplishment), and joining that league completely changed my life for the better. Most of my friends I met in the league and they have done so much for me. Pool hall culture is different than a league, with a few too many weird people (colorful, but tiring.) Pool leagues also have their characters, but the percentage is lower.

Efren Reyes is every bit as charming in real life as he seems on TV. He's one of the rare nice people in the pro ranks. He was always a wiry guy until developing major health problems, so his paunch is meaningless. Hardcore players seem to run to the physical extremes. Very fat or scrawny. They either eat too much junk food or forget to eat at all. I also like watching golf on TV without playing.

And I second the recommendation of the Byrne book. He is analytical and has been involved in research on the physics of pool, so gives accurate, detailed explanations of what happens when tip hits cue ball.

[Dave Kee]

There is a great trap, skeet, and rifle range down in Bristol, WI, about an hour south of you. Both types of shooting (guns and photography) are addictive and get you outside.

[Jason Hoss]

Mike,

I'd engage in a game of pool with ya. Just down the road in Milwaukee.

[Karl]

Mike,

I've been playing for 35 years and it's a great compliment to photography. If you just want to play for fun, then play when you can and don't think twice about pool books because they'll just make you crazy and likely screw up whatever game you have. But if you want to learn to play well, or above average, then I'd take a lesson or two from Jerry Briesath in Madison, one of the great teachers. He has videos on youtube, check him out.

http://www.thepoolschool.com/

[ctein]

Dear Mike,

This reminds me of a fellow from my days at Caltech back in the sixties, by the name of Steve Pomeroy. He was unusual even by Caltech standards. He was an extraordinarily natty dresser, had a predilection for foreign-made cigarettes was very exotic blends and he did serious weight training (none of these were common characteristics of college students in the late sixties, especially the weight training; the combination may very well have been unique). He was short but rectangular, built like a brick. He could bench press considerably more than his own weight, which was not inconsiderable given his physique.

Steve was a pool hustler. It's how he'd made a living before coming to Caltech. It was said he owned an apartment building, maybe more than one, in the Midwest where he grew up, that he acquired by hustling pool. I believe it. It was also said that he made enough from his calling to pay his way through Caltech. I definitely believe that.

None of this came from Steve, it was just something we all *knew*. Hell, it might even have been true.

We played eightball. Not because I was any good, but because Steve was so good that he could play with anyone and make the game interesting for them, and it was always enjoyable for him. That was something I learned from Steve–– sometimes, when you're really, really good at something, it's fun just to relax and lay back and not have to work any harder than you have to at what you love to do. As for me, I never won a game, and I knew I'd never win a game, but it was for the fun of playing, because he made sure it was going to be fun for both parties.

Likely, he wouldn't have been able to find anyone to play with him more than once, otherwise, and he did like to play…

As for me, I think I like playing pool with him better than anybody else, precisely because it wasn't ever about winning, it was about enjoying the playing.

Always wondered what happened to him after he graduated. Had this feeling that if anyone was going to come out of Caltech and be one of the puppet masters, it would be someone like Steve.

pax \ Ctein
[ Please excuse any word-salad. MacSpeech in training! ]

[charlie d]

At least ride your bike to the poolhall Mike!

Speaking of S. Reich http://www.linnrecords.com/recording-kuniko-plays-reich.aspx