Kamui? Phooey!

I've taken a break from my Moori medium tip to try out the Kamui medium, but I'm going back to the Moori. Too many miscues with the Kamui. And I have heard that from other players too. However, I have not tried the Kamui Black Soft or Super Soft. That may be a better bet than the medium. But I've tried the Moori soft tips and don't like all the mushrooming.


Or... is it possible that the percentage of miscues is inversely proportional to the hours of practice? Maybe?

It was those amazing videos on the Kamui website that got my attention. I figured that if those tips could help me make shots like those, then I'll play with a Kamui. Needless to say, it takes more than a tip to have a stroke!

(top)

Girls before Pool?

I was looking forward to some advanced straight pool tonight. By advanced I mean that my opponent is an excellent player, and it would take a performance on my part that would stretch my skills. I like that. It's not every day that I get to shoot pool with somebody as good as he is.

Notice how I am not using the name of this person? This is because it is in the Code of the Brotherhood that men, brothers, do not name unless absolutely necessary for self preservation, which in this case it is not. Now back to the story about Girls or Pool.

Then comes the email... (I paraphrase) He forgot that he had a date with a girl, so do I mind if he goes on his date instead of pool?

WTF?

Do Girls rank higher than Pool?

Well, yes.

It is the Code of All Mankind.

The Universal Truth.

The Unspoken Law.

It has been said, many times, mostly by women, that "men are dogs". This is meant to imply that, by definition, a man would as soon have sex than any other activity, and that there is no civilized thought given to who, what, where, when, or why. If dogs have sex on the front lawn, at noon, then a man would do that as well. It's a fact. (need proof? see this story about a guy having sex with lawn furniture during daylight hours) If a dog would have sex with a human leg, then surely a man would have sex with a dog's leg, if that was the best he could get at the moment. I have no link to support that assertion, but it is simply to illustrate that there is no known line which a dog will not cross. So, when it comes to the hierarchy of Girls or Pool, it's the ladies that win every time. Because men are dogs.

When a guy says to another guy Let's shoot some pool on Wednesday night, at 7, it is an Agreement, bound by the rule of law, but that law has many loopholes, such as "except in the case of an Act of God" which usually means such things as tornado, hurricane, flood, locusts, pestilence, etc. Nowhere in the Law of Agreements is the sex loophole mentioned. However, it is understood the world over to be the Great Unwritten Rule.

We don't want to actually write this rule down, for it could be our great undoing. That is why it is Unwritten.

When we look at the world according to the Great Unwritten Rule, we can see why they have separate tournaments for men and women. You must use your imagination here because there is no reason for me to get lurid or specific. Let your own fantasies be your guide...

These facts are not being debated. However there is a more subtle consideration for your intellectual amusement: why do we assume that it is Girls OR Pool? Why is it a choice of one OR the other? Why not BOTH? This is the mark of a thinking man! So the email would read: "Luck happens. Pool starts 2 hours late."

This is The Code of the Brotherhood. Anything less and you are a dog. The Brotherhood of Pool Players recognizes that for man to be more than an animal, there must be rules, just as there are rules for pool, there must be rules for Life. One of those rules for pool players is that you get only a couple of hours to delay a non-tournament match-up in favor of indiscriminate sex.

To completely cancel Pool for a Girl is to be put on notice for expulsion from the Brotherhood.

The wise choice is Girl AND Pool. Put things into perspective! Think about it and you will see that it is a Choice, and that we can do Anything, all we have to do is to Do it. This is the Code of the Brotherhood. In the argot of the day, it is simply "Man up!"

It is the Code of the Brotherhood which separates Man from dog. It is the ascent of Man, the evolution of a more perfect, thinking being.

Girl AND Pool.

Duh.

(top)

Practice warm-up #2

Still slow-rolling to get the feel going again. El Maestro always said to visualize the ball going into the pocket slowly.

Notice the low lighting. I like to play in darkened conditions, where I rely more on a sense of where and how to hit the ball without really seeing an exact aim point.

A few more sessions of open table practice and I'll be ready for some serious drills...

(top)

Warming up, piling rocks

After several weeks of no pool, I'm getting back on the table to hit a few and see if I have remembered how a stroke works. It was also a good opportunity to check out the new Flip HD video camera which is the simplest, smallest video recorder I have seen. I put it on a mini tripod for stability and put in on the fireplace mantel, and pushed the big red button. That's all there is to it. Comes with its own built-in USB connector and software.

As for the pool, I'm just hitting them nice and easy. Slow rolling if possible, just to get the feel of the stroke basics. I would typically hit a few racks like this to warm up before getting into some serious drills where I would record the results or a competition.

Watching this video tells me that I want to stay down on the shot longer (among other things). I think I also had some schmutz on the lens. It doesn't look HD to me!

(top)

Pure play

It has been at least 10 days since I picked up a cue! What's up with that? And I have a pool table staring me in the face all day every day. I have to walk around it probably 50 times a day. And I can't pick up a cue to hit a few?

Maybe I just needed a break. I haven't been giving it much thought, until just a while ago, I finally did pick up my cue and started hitting a few, and then a few more, and right from the start I was feeling loose and stroking fine, and it was epic, if you catch my drift. I was getting Earl-type action without much thinking at all. Hey, I don't wanna say the shots were all dropping in the pockets, but the cue ball action was sweet.

Loose. That's what it was that was feeling so good. No pressure, no camera, no drills, no opponent, no spectators, no expectations.

This must be what the Buddha means by non-attachment. The Zen state of mind.

It's times like this that keep me coming back to the table. Pure play!

(top)