it's called "saint junior", by Sherman Alexie, from The Toughest Indian in the World.
"...Roman's entire political philosophy revolved around the basic tenet that a person, any person, had only enough energy at any given time to believe in three things...Roman himself believed in free expression, Grace Atwater, and basketball. Neither a Republican nor a Diplomat, Roman had always voted for the candidate who looked like he or she could hit a twenty foot jump shot with three seconds left on the clock and the home team down by one. "
ok ok ok it's not just cuz it's about a basketball player. sherman alexie writes stunningly beautifully. also Grace Atwater is the wife of the main character and she's totally hot and totally sexy.
the story is brilliant and whimsical and sexy and gorgeous. it makes me really happy. my favourite story ever. all my friends be warned that i will probably force it on you at some point soonish...
me, i just got home from playing some basketball myself. now i'm drinking my second beer and i have an ice pack on my lower back.
it was a pretty good night. maybe not "glorious" but still really good.
between the story and the basketball i played i got to thinking about our wedding vows on the way home. sarah doesn't seem too keen on me saying that she is "the only thing that gives me more joy than basketball"...personal isn't the same as meaningful...? or something... it made me feel pretty mushy... sigh
anyway tonight...
i made a bunch of jump shots
grabbed a bunch of rebounds
dropped some awesome dimes
ran a couple pick and rolls
completed a couple give and go's
got out on the fast break
led a couple fast breaks
drive and kick
drive and kick
stole one inbounds pass
and missed the layup
called out defensive assignments in transition
made a great help defense lock down move in the paint
threw a pass to jason under the net that somehow ended up as a basket...seemingly against the laws of physics...
floated a couple passes into the post for devastating hook shots
hustled
ran
cut
spun
jumped
...sherman alexie writes in lists too...although he seems to be a little better at it than i am.
in other news all we need to do is assemble and stamp and address our invites to the wedding. less than two months to go. no pressure.
damn. if i call in sick to work tomorrow, it'll really fuck up a few people who i really like.
did i mention the camping trip? last weekend a work camping trip. adam and i drank an ounce and a half every hour we were there if you average it out. kinda messy. i didn't pace myself so good the second night, but that was ok too. i made it through the "i never"...
and i got adam back to michelle safe and sound. which means i'm safe and sound cuz michelle won't kill me...
i love those kids.
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
Thursday, June 22, 2006
work lately...worries...weddings...
we've been working on a few shows for the history channel lately, to do with ww1, and mostly about the major battles where canadians took part even if the show isn't specifically about canadian soldiers. the somme. ypres. passchendaele. it's been more interesting than normal actually.
the one about the somme was a bit surprising even. it turns out that the film footage of the somme - which is actually the only footage i can recall of ww1 - is mostly faked. the british generals expected a great swift victory. they got an ugly long slaughter. the filmmaker who was supposed to capture the victory got instead what actually happened. then some fake footage was combined with cuts from his footage to show a victory. one scene in particular stands out. i'm sure a lot of people would recognize it as the one they saw in history class, and in text books. allied troops are going over the top of a trench and one man is shot just as he sticks his head up and falls back down but everyone else makes it out of the trench anyway. i don't know if my description can call it up in memory, but it's such a familiar sequence that i'm sure it would be recognized.
turns out that was fake. propaghanda. it's not a trench. the men don't have any gas masks or any other equipment at all with them. the "officer" is actually only carrying a cane.
i can remember pictures of this sequence in history text books.
so...early propaghanda...
actually the show was/is pretty cool. they get all csi with the film, trying to figure out which parts of it are real. at the same time, 2 brothers from newfoundland, armed forces guys themselves, are retracing the footsteps of two uncles who fought at the somme. it works as a good counterpoint, with the forensics and specialists working on the film and the big picture history of ww1 and the brothers dealing with the personal and family histories, and even retracing routes and events in actual clothing and equipment of the period.
the specialists they call in are pretty awesome. they take stills of the footage to identify actual places where they were filmed, and the soldiers in them. they use facial analysts to compare images, and a lip reader to figure out what they might be saying.
the brothers are also pretty interesting. they're able to make this giant, unfathomable event real with their family histories, and heirlooms. one brother sews his uncle's hat badge onto the uniform he's wearing. they also have a story about the uncle who survived, despite getting shot in the leg and losing the leg.
"one time i was left alone wit' uncle linus, an' me ma tol' me never to ask him about his leg. so as soon as she left the room i says to him 'uncle linus, what happened to your leg?' an' he lets out this great cackle an' he squints at me an' he says [in a popeye kinda voice]'a tank run over it'..."
i dunno. it's a silly little story but so real and so human...
the more they talked about newfoundlanders in ww1 though, ...it made me pretty curious about how ww1 history might be really different in newfoundland than what i learned. there was one regiment that started the day with 750 men and only had 68 at role call the next morning. and overall newfoundland lost more men than any other country, in proportion to how many enlisted. (newfoundland wasn't part of canada then.) is there anymore resonance, or maybe presence in the classroom or maybe just greater weight to the teaching?
i dunno. just a thought.
interesting show anyway.
the one about the somme was a bit surprising even. it turns out that the film footage of the somme - which is actually the only footage i can recall of ww1 - is mostly faked. the british generals expected a great swift victory. they got an ugly long slaughter. the filmmaker who was supposed to capture the victory got instead what actually happened. then some fake footage was combined with cuts from his footage to show a victory. one scene in particular stands out. i'm sure a lot of people would recognize it as the one they saw in history class, and in text books. allied troops are going over the top of a trench and one man is shot just as he sticks his head up and falls back down but everyone else makes it out of the trench anyway. i don't know if my description can call it up in memory, but it's such a familiar sequence that i'm sure it would be recognized.
turns out that was fake. propaghanda. it's not a trench. the men don't have any gas masks or any other equipment at all with them. the "officer" is actually only carrying a cane.
i can remember pictures of this sequence in history text books.
so...early propaghanda...
actually the show was/is pretty cool. they get all csi with the film, trying to figure out which parts of it are real. at the same time, 2 brothers from newfoundland, armed forces guys themselves, are retracing the footsteps of two uncles who fought at the somme. it works as a good counterpoint, with the forensics and specialists working on the film and the big picture history of ww1 and the brothers dealing with the personal and family histories, and even retracing routes and events in actual clothing and equipment of the period.
the specialists they call in are pretty awesome. they take stills of the footage to identify actual places where they were filmed, and the soldiers in them. they use facial analysts to compare images, and a lip reader to figure out what they might be saying.
the brothers are also pretty interesting. they're able to make this giant, unfathomable event real with their family histories, and heirlooms. one brother sews his uncle's hat badge onto the uniform he's wearing. they also have a story about the uncle who survived, despite getting shot in the leg and losing the leg.
"one time i was left alone wit' uncle linus, an' me ma tol' me never to ask him about his leg. so as soon as she left the room i says to him 'uncle linus, what happened to your leg?' an' he lets out this great cackle an' he squints at me an' he says [in a popeye kinda voice]'a tank run over it'..."
i dunno. it's a silly little story but so real and so human...
the more they talked about newfoundlanders in ww1 though, ...it made me pretty curious about how ww1 history might be really different in newfoundland than what i learned. there was one regiment that started the day with 750 men and only had 68 at role call the next morning. and overall newfoundland lost more men than any other country, in proportion to how many enlisted. (newfoundland wasn't part of canada then.) is there anymore resonance, or maybe presence in the classroom or maybe just greater weight to the teaching?
i dunno. just a thought.
interesting show anyway.
Monday, June 12, 2006
funny titles of the blogs i haven't gotten around to posting lately...or something
"between the legs, around the back, spinning, off the backboard, in traffic..."
about the best shot i've ever made while playing basketball. the off the backboard part was even on purpose. it was so ridiculous that i could only walk away from it, and i could barely meet anybody's eyes. mark was just shaking his head and laughing.
"ha ha ha - i've made it past 3 months...you can't fire me now..."
about how i've made it past the ol' 3 month probation period at work. not only that but my first day after probation was june 6, 2006...06/06/06...i listened to black sabbath all day that day.
ok that's all i can remember off the top of my head...while at work...so i'll post a part two of this when i remember more of the funny things i meant to blog about lately.
things are ok. but nutty. wedding drama abounds. the invitations are just about done and just about ready for assembly. we're scouting out registry stuff. sarah's dad wants to throw a bachelor party for me. i'm leaning towards softball in the earlier evening and then drinking later, maybe with cards...? i dunno. but i'm playing shortstop.
about the best shot i've ever made while playing basketball. the off the backboard part was even on purpose. it was so ridiculous that i could only walk away from it, and i could barely meet anybody's eyes. mark was just shaking his head and laughing.
"ha ha ha - i've made it past 3 months...you can't fire me now..."
about how i've made it past the ol' 3 month probation period at work. not only that but my first day after probation was june 6, 2006...06/06/06...i listened to black sabbath all day that day.
ok that's all i can remember off the top of my head...while at work...so i'll post a part two of this when i remember more of the funny things i meant to blog about lately.
things are ok. but nutty. wedding drama abounds. the invitations are just about done and just about ready for assembly. we're scouting out registry stuff. sarah's dad wants to throw a bachelor party for me. i'm leaning towards softball in the earlier evening and then drinking later, maybe with cards...? i dunno. but i'm playing shortstop.
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