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of Glass Coming soon from Dusty Spark Publishing |
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December 19, 2008: Practice Dec 6, 2008: Alexi II November 24, 2008: Conclusion |
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December 16, 2008
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First, I want to say that I have NO INTENTION of making this blog a political or religious outlet. I'm a writer and artist, and that's what I want my blogs to focus on. But, occassionally, something may come up that ties my religion or political views into what I've been talking about, like the Accuracy Series that I just completed. When that happens, I'll go ahead and use it. That said, my latest blog has absolutely NO political or religious overtones.
I few weeks ago, I went bowling. I grabbed my bowling ball, got the directions, and took off. Some friends from school were there, one celebrating his birthday, and another also had a birthday at the same time. I'd say there were about thirty who showed up. I love bowling. It's about getting something to happen after the fact. Once you let go of that ball, everything is determined and you just have to watch and wait. Maybe use some body english, but it doesn't really work to do much more than make you look silly, annoy the people in the next lane, and possibly hurt yourself. I was excited! Bowling! I love bowling! I grabbed my ball from my bag, went to my lane, took my stance, aimed, started my motion, dropped the hand back, slid the foot, pushed the hand forward, and let go! Wow! Nine straight gutter balls! Got one down the lane for seven, then through two more gutter balls. For the next three frames, I guttered the first ball and scored on the second. After the first couple frames, I knew I forgot to do something very important: practice. It was the first time I've gone bowling in seventeen years, and the fact that I didn't take my shoes because they didn't fit should have tipped me off. But no, I didn't bother. And, frankly, I sucked. The moral here is pretty obvious: Practice is everything. Do you think I just started writing and selling poems one day? No! I wrote my first set of verses when I was nine, and I've never looked back. I've written just about everything but porn, and if someone challenged me, I'm sure I'd come up with a few things. Errrrrr . . . . . . pun not intended. Practice keeps your mind and body adjusted to what they're supposed to do. They're a team! They have to coordinate. Just because you remember what to do doesn't mean your body can still do it. Try lifting weights for the first time in years after having a good lifting history! (I did, and it wasn't pretty.) And if you've still got the moves, you may not remember how to use them. Rehearsals are a great example. You can't be in a play if you keep saying the wrong line and giving away the big whodunnit. It's not safe if you don't know the timing of your entrance so you don't hit the guy holding the knife when you come through the curtain. You practice so you will be safe, consistant, and accurate. Okay, twenty-five gutterballs in thirty frames is disastrous. But it taught me the big lesson: Practice for a week before my big billiards birthday party this year.
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