| A pool player challenges the dead champion to a game, the bet is life or death. He wins, but when he dies, he now has to be challenged for eternity. | Starring: |
| Jack Klugman | |
| Jonathan Winters |
Enjoy!
Gold Crown IV
FastMikie's Fun House, Del Mar, California
Thursday, June 06, 2013
Twilight Zone: A Game of Pool
On October 13, 1961, this episode of The Twilight Zone was aired, only a few weeks after The Hustler premiered on September 25, 1961.
Enjoy!
Enjoy!
Wednesday, May 01, 2013
Don't mess around with Jim!
On the occasion of my little brother Jimmy's birthday, here's some pool-shooting music by another Jim (Croce). Enjoy!
Uptown got it's hustlers
The bowery got it's bums
42nd Street got Big Jim Walker
He's a pool-shootin' son of a gun
Yeah, he big and dumb as a man can come
But he stronger than a country hoss
And when the bad folks all get together at night
You know they all call big Jim "Boss", just because
And they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim
Well outta south Alabama came a country boy
He say I'm lookin' for a man named Jim
I am a pool-shootin' boy
My name Willie McCoy
But down home they call me Slim
Yeah I'm lookin' for the king of 42nd Street
He drivin' a drop top Cadillac
Last week he took all my money
And it may sound funny
But I come to get my money back
And everybody say Jack don't you know
And you don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim
Well a hush fell over the pool room
Jimmy come boppin' in off the street
And when the cuttin' were done
The only part that wasn't bloody
Was the soles of the big man's feet
Yeah he were cut in in bout a hundred places
And he were shot in a couple more
And you better believe
They sung a different kind of story
When big Jim hit the floor now they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim
Yeah, big Jim got his hat
Find out where it's at
And it's not hustlin' people strange to you
Even if you do got a two-piece custom-made pool cue
Yeah you don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim
(top)
Uptown got it's hustlers
The bowery got it's bums
42nd Street got Big Jim Walker
He's a pool-shootin' son of a gun
Yeah, he big and dumb as a man can come
But he stronger than a country hoss
And when the bad folks all get together at night
You know they all call big Jim "Boss", just because
And they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim
Well outta south Alabama came a country boy
He say I'm lookin' for a man named Jim
I am a pool-shootin' boy
My name Willie McCoy
But down home they call me Slim
Yeah I'm lookin' for the king of 42nd Street
He drivin' a drop top Cadillac
Last week he took all my money
And it may sound funny
But I come to get my money back
And everybody say Jack don't you know
And you don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Jim
Well a hush fell over the pool room
Jimmy come boppin' in off the street
And when the cuttin' were done
The only part that wasn't bloody
Was the soles of the big man's feet
Yeah he were cut in in bout a hundred places
And he were shot in a couple more
And you better believe
They sung a different kind of story
When big Jim hit the floor now they say
You don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off that old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim
Yeah, big Jim got his hat
Find out where it's at
And it's not hustlin' people strange to you
Even if you do got a two-piece custom-made pool cue
Yeah you don't tug on Superman's cape
You don't spit into the wind
You don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger
And you don't mess around with Slim
(top)
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Repost: Johnny Archer teaches me the 9-ball break
I just noticed that this video clip I put up on YouTube just passed 100,000 views! It's only 80 seconds long, but Johnny Archer is a great teacher. This is a trip down memory lane for me, and hopefully you'll enjoy it (again?) as well:
(top)
(top)
Friday, April 05, 2013
21 Better Than Worst: A true short story about Life, Death, Pool, Girls, and Cars
I recently found this 3 year old facebook post and because it was all about pool, life, death, girls and cars, so I figured that readers of this blog would find at least one thing of interest in it:
I am writing my will.
It has been 17 years since my last will was written,
and duly recorded according to the laws of our land,
so that my heirs are properly protected,
and my stuff is disposed of as I direct,
and the party is pre-paid.
In a way, this will is a summation of my life,
so far, that is,
for I hope there will be, at a bare minimum, many more good years of it,
as I am in no hurry to end it,
nor do I know of any condition which would hurry it.
I feel fine,
but I'm dealing with the paperwork of my will
which has expired in some regards years ago,
and I have been delinquent in keeping it current,
(I'm not a fan of paperwork)
and I'm just getting around to it.
It's an interesting exercise to contemplate
the sum of my 67.5 years, so far,
what I have done with it,
what I want done with my stuff,
my departure from this plane...
These are heavy thoughts,
but it's philosophy for another time, another story.
I only speak of these thoughts as background
for what happens next...
In the file folder,
containing a copy of my previous will,
among other papers,
I find a copy of my college grades.
After reading them again for the first time in 46 years,
it brings back those times, in college,
as a reality apart,
a period of transition to the real world,
but not of the real world.
For the 4 years I endured the academic experience,
my entire performance was calculated to be 79.257%.
There were 197 students in my graduating class,
and my grade put me 176 down the list,
or, if you prefer you can admire my safety margin
which put me
21 better than worst.
As I write those words, 21 better than worst,
I consider it a tribute to positive thinking.
Some would call it delusional.
But what else could you expect
from 4 years of living away from home for the first time,
having a car, and freedom of a higher order,
while being governed somewhat loosely by an academic and religious hierarchy,
which must be respected, and rules obeyed,
or I would be expelled into the real world,
which would likely lead to taking bullets in Viet Nam,
or if I could arrange something other,
the other would surely include some sort of manual labor,
or worse...
The fear of that something worse,
while dancing my way through the land mines
of rules and regulations,
mixed with girls, cars, shooting pool, and capers aplenty,
for four years,
this was my life,
now before me,
summed up into one number.
21 better than worst.
It's a miracle that I made it through, really.
My interest in girls was very high,
and consumed a lot of time that could have been spent studying.
Testosterone was in control,
and I had a car.
Since it was a boys-only Catholic college,
a car was essential to mate with distant females.
My hunting territory was normally within 100 miles of the school,
but it was still a time consuming distraction from building better grades.
Really, any grade above failing
is a tribute to my ability
to balance my time
in order to remain in the sweet spot of life.
I got good at this.
So good that I could even shoot pool while doing it.
I was much better at pool than academics.
My ranking among the pool players was probably in the top 3,
but it was a small school,
so it may not count for much of an achievement.
I loved learning and excelling in pool,
and I enjoyed hanging out in the on-campus pool room.
It was a comfortable place to be.
I enjoyed moving up the hierarchy of pool players,
and the ever-changing intellectual puzzles the games presented,
and the joy of developing physical motor skills
to deliver what you can create in your mind...
It was an overpowering, compelling, addictive pastime.
Pool also consumed time I could have been studying.
In my first year I failed Economics.
The first semester my grade was 64.
The second semester my Economics grad was FA, Failed due to Absences.
Oh, I also failed Physical Education due to Absences.
But in my defense, the Economics course was incoherent,
and as for not going to Gym class,
well, I just miscounted how many absences I could get away with.
But somehow I was advanced to my 2nd year studies.
And I got away with failing 3 more credits while advancing again.
The school was very forgiving.
Third year I failed 4 credits, and yet advanced again.
Finally, with great triumph, I failed nothing(*) at all in my senior year.
Upon graduation, I had erupted into real life.
The transition was complete.
Look out world.
There would be no more shooting pool for 40 more years.
It was all business until I was 50 years old,
then I cashed in my business,
played with Ferraris and airplanes,
spending money loosely,
making up for years of frugality.
And now, again, I am living conservatively.
It was fun to think of those college years.
Because when I do,
I think of the capers.
I started a few businesses while I was in college.
Those stories have been told at this link.
My focus was not on academic excellence.
It was on girls, cars, shooting pool and making money in my own businesses.
At that time, I was
most likely to fail out of college, and yet, somewhat paradoxically,
most likely to succeed in pool and business.
In fact, both of these likelihoods occurred.
Just prior to graduation I was notified that I would not graduate,
because I had over-cut too many classes.
But I somehow talked my way back into a passing grade
after I was selected for a job with IBM.
For the true story of that great double miracle,
of my cliff-hanger graduation,
and my accidental Destiny of a life with computers,
the reader is again directed to the link, above.
Now I must get back to dealing with my will...
(top)
I am writing my will.
It has been 17 years since my last will was written,
and duly recorded according to the laws of our land,
so that my heirs are properly protected,
and my stuff is disposed of as I direct,
and the party is pre-paid.
In a way, this will is a summation of my life,
so far, that is,
for I hope there will be, at a bare minimum, many more good years of it,
as I am in no hurry to end it,
nor do I know of any condition which would hurry it.
I feel fine,
but I'm dealing with the paperwork of my will
which has expired in some regards years ago,
and I have been delinquent in keeping it current,
(I'm not a fan of paperwork)
and I'm just getting around to it.
It's an interesting exercise to contemplate
the sum of my 67.5 years, so far,
what I have done with it,
what I want done with my stuff,
my departure from this plane...
These are heavy thoughts,
but it's philosophy for another time, another story.
I only speak of these thoughts as background
for what happens next...
In the file folder,
containing a copy of my previous will,
among other papers,
I find a copy of my college grades.
After reading them again for the first time in 46 years,
it brings back those times, in college,
as a reality apart,
a period of transition to the real world,
but not of the real world.
For the 4 years I endured the academic experience,
my entire performance was calculated to be 79.257%.
There were 197 students in my graduating class,
and my grade put me 176 down the list,
or, if you prefer you can admire my safety margin
which put me
21 better than worst.
As I write those words, 21 better than worst,
I consider it a tribute to positive thinking.
Some would call it delusional.
But what else could you expect
from 4 years of living away from home for the first time,
having a car, and freedom of a higher order,
while being governed somewhat loosely by an academic and religious hierarchy,
which must be respected, and rules obeyed,
or I would be expelled into the real world,
which would likely lead to taking bullets in Viet Nam,
or if I could arrange something other,
the other would surely include some sort of manual labor,
or worse...
The fear of that something worse,
while dancing my way through the land mines
of rules and regulations,
mixed with girls, cars, shooting pool, and capers aplenty,
for four years,
this was my life,
now before me,
summed up into one number.
21 better than worst.
It's a miracle that I made it through, really.
My interest in girls was very high,
and consumed a lot of time that could have been spent studying.
Testosterone was in control,
and I had a car.
Since it was a boys-only Catholic college,
a car was essential to mate with distant females.
My hunting territory was normally within 100 miles of the school,
but it was still a time consuming distraction from building better grades.
Really, any grade above failing
is a tribute to my ability
to balance my time
in order to remain in the sweet spot of life.
I got good at this.
So good that I could even shoot pool while doing it.
I was much better at pool than academics.
My ranking among the pool players was probably in the top 3,
but it was a small school,
so it may not count for much of an achievement.
I loved learning and excelling in pool,
and I enjoyed hanging out in the on-campus pool room.
It was a comfortable place to be.
I enjoyed moving up the hierarchy of pool players,
and the ever-changing intellectual puzzles the games presented,
and the joy of developing physical motor skills
to deliver what you can create in your mind...
It was an overpowering, compelling, addictive pastime.
Pool also consumed time I could have been studying.
In my first year I failed Economics.
The first semester my grade was 64.
The second semester my Economics grad was FA, Failed due to Absences.
Oh, I also failed Physical Education due to Absences.
But in my defense, the Economics course was incoherent,
and as for not going to Gym class,
well, I just miscounted how many absences I could get away with.
But somehow I was advanced to my 2nd year studies.
And I got away with failing 3 more credits while advancing again.
The school was very forgiving.
Third year I failed 4 credits, and yet advanced again.
Finally, with great triumph, I failed nothing(*) at all in my senior year.
Upon graduation, I had erupted into real life.
The transition was complete.
Look out world.
There would be no more shooting pool for 40 more years.
It was all business until I was 50 years old,
then I cashed in my business,
played with Ferraris and airplanes,
spending money loosely,
making up for years of frugality.
And now, again, I am living conservatively.
It was fun to think of those college years.
Because when I do,
I think of the capers.
I started a few businesses while I was in college.
Those stories have been told at this link.
My focus was not on academic excellence.
It was on girls, cars, shooting pool and making money in my own businesses.
At that time, I was
most likely to fail out of college, and yet, somewhat paradoxically,
most likely to succeed in pool and business.
In fact, both of these likelihoods occurred.
Just prior to graduation I was notified that I would not graduate,
because I had over-cut too many classes.
But I somehow talked my way back into a passing grade
after I was selected for a job with IBM.
For the true story of that great double miracle,
of my cliff-hanger graduation,
and my accidental Destiny of a life with computers,
the reader is again directed to the link, above.
Now I must get back to dealing with my will...
(top)
Thursday, February 21, 2013
The Table's New Home
My treasured Gold Crown IV is now enjoying life at a young and energetic tech company here in San Diego (Web Shop Manager, e-commerce websites), providing lots of fun breaks from the challenges of a fast-growing company. Below is the nice Thank You card that arrived in today's mail:
Notice that I am *lending* it to them. The reason is that it was a gift to me, so I would feel bad selling it, and who knows, maybe someday my neck will get better and I'll want it back, but that's unlikely. Meanwhile, it's on long term loan.
(top)
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Fast (Mikie) Pain Relief
The table is now on loan to one of my Protégés, and is installed in his company offices. Lucky them! Here's what the space looks like now, right after the pool table was moved out. I kinda like it...
(top)
Friday, December 28, 2012
What a pain in the neck!
I got a pain in the neck, full time, and it comes on real bad, it seems, after I shoot a little bit of pool. This has been going on for a couple of years, maybe 4 years. About 2 years ago I had an MRI of my entire spine, and one of the notes in the 4-page printout was "broad disc bulge with bilateral foraminal stenosis" on five of the vertebra in my neck.
That's medical-speak for it's not likely to get better and shooting pool is gonna irritate things. So I haven't been shooting much pool, and now on the last two occasions of hitting only a few balls, the pain in my neck has been severe for days at a time, and recovers only after extensive icing and Advil and rest. I'm beginning to think that having a pool table here at the Fun House is a health hazard.
My trusty cue lays unused. So tempting to pick it up, so easy to just move a few balls around the table for a while, to feel the speed of the table, the action off the cushions, to feel for the stroke and the cue tip and the cue ball, to take the long way around for position... because I can! So much fun.
I wanna play, but I know it's gonna hurt real bad.
I read that last line and it reminds me of a few ex-girlfriends.
I love you baby, but I gotta go.
And so it seems with pool.
FastMikie has left the game.
(top)
That's medical-speak for it's not likely to get better and shooting pool is gonna irritate things. So I haven't been shooting much pool, and now on the last two occasions of hitting only a few balls, the pain in my neck has been severe for days at a time, and recovers only after extensive icing and Advil and rest. I'm beginning to think that having a pool table here at the Fun House is a health hazard.
My trusty cue lays unused. So tempting to pick it up, so easy to just move a few balls around the table for a while, to feel the speed of the table, the action off the cushions, to feel for the stroke and the cue tip and the cue ball, to take the long way around for position... because I can! So much fun.
I wanna play, but I know it's gonna hurt real bad.
I read that last line and it reminds me of a few ex-girlfriends.
I love you baby, but I gotta go.
And so it seems with pool.
FastMikie has left the game.
(top)
Thursday, October 18, 2012
Just a little bit rusty
Tried my hand at a pool tournament today. Last time I played in this tournament (or *any* pool tournament) was 21 months ago. I won it back then, as I had won it twice before.
This time, I went undefeated in the two warm-up matches, and undefeated in the 6 matches to get into the finals, and then missed two shots to lose and come in second. Bummer, of course, but I really wasn't figuring I was going to win it all this time as I had done zero serious practice in almost two years!
I also noticed that I was nervous before the tournament and for several of the first matches. It's really important to play in tournaments and match-ups to get "tournament tough".
The next tournament is in 3 months. I should practice...
(top)
This time, I went undefeated in the two warm-up matches, and undefeated in the 6 matches to get into the finals, and then missed two shots to lose and come in second. Bummer, of course, but I really wasn't figuring I was going to win it all this time as I had done zero serious practice in almost two years!
I also noticed that I was nervous before the tournament and for several of the first matches. It's really important to play in tournaments and match-ups to get "tournament tough".
The next tournament is in 3 months. I should practice...
(top)
Friday, July 27, 2012
WTF?
It sure has been a long time since I've had any real competition.
Don't get me wrong... there are players out there who could offer real competition, but I just haven't gone looking for it. And that's because my game is off, and that's because I haven't been practicing, and that's because I have been doing other stuff.
It's not just that I haven't been practicing... I haven't even picked up a cue in weeks!
(top)
Don't get me wrong... there are players out there who could offer real competition, but I just haven't gone looking for it. And that's because my game is off, and that's because I haven't been practicing, and that's because I have been doing other stuff.
It's not just that I haven't been practicing... I haven't even picked up a cue in weeks!
(top)
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Johnny Archer and Nick Varner hanging out at the Fun House
Two of the greatest pool players in the history of the game just happened to be hanging out at FastMikie's Fun House, and here we see them in a lighter moment, just foolin' around with a trick shot that involves both of them shooting at the same time. Third time's a charm!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB6JM6twWSw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB6JM6twWSw
Kamui chalk version 1.21 is awesome!
Kamui has just released a new chalk compound, version 1.21, which is a follow-on product to the previous release, the introductory version 0.98, and the one I tested about a year ago.
Disclaimer: I am not getting anything for my review except the one piece of chalk they sent me in the mail.
Review: The best chalk just got better. Worth the price if you value your game. It feels right going on, and the hit is better, with or without extreme english. It all comes down to being able to deliver a confident stroke when you need it. That's priceless. You could use cheaper chalk, but why?
(top)
Disclaimer: I am not getting anything for my review except the one piece of chalk they sent me in the mail.
Review: The best chalk just got better. Worth the price if you value your game. It feels right going on, and the hit is better, with or without extreme english. It all comes down to being able to deliver a confident stroke when you need it. That's priceless. You could use cheaper chalk, but why?
(top)
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Power is striking true
I ran across this great quote and thought of my lesson with Johnny Archer on how to execute the best break in 9-ball (video link: http://youtu.be/Ffkl-zp96N8):
(top)
"Power is not revealed by striking hard or often,
but by striking true."
Honore de Balzac
(top)
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