Monday, January 26, 2009
The Ballet of the Possible
8:09 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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This morning at the gym I watched a man playing with a basketball by himself. He didn't look like a basketball player. In fact, he looked more like a football. Not a football player but a football - pointed at the ends and round in the middle.
I envied his ability to dribble the ball between his legs, a technique I've never mastered. By quickly raising his considerable body onto his toes, he made enough space for the ball to pass through his legs before his body lowered again. Then again. And again. The ballet of the possible.
The spell was broken when he shot the ball toward the basket. It was a missile that fell short of its goal by almost the length of his body. He retrieved the ball and shot again - another dart that passed under the rim, not by inches, but by feet. Over and over and over again I watched this man miss shot after shot after shot. Sometimes the ball fell well short, sometimes it hit the backboard so hard it ricocheted over his head, sometimes it struck the rim and shook the mounts. He was a caricature of a ball player, and I felt embarrassed for him.
Then I thought, what sort of confidence must he possess to be shooting a basketball so horribly in a gym where NBA players are known to play? He had no qualms about being bad; he just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, and occasionally dribbling between his legs. He was practicing to be better, occasionally reminding himself of what he had already achieved.
I have no doubt that one day he will master his shot just as he found a way to master the between the legs dribble. It won't look conventional, but it will work.
While watching him I listened to a 1964 speech by Malcolm X he titled "The Ballot or the Bullet." I know little of Malcolm except the small amount the mainstream media has offered to me over the years. Based on this recording, he was a gifted speaker and a visionary. He was also a strident separatist, advocating that the black community buy only from black merchants and encouraging black citizens to try the American government before the United Nations. In this speech, he felt change might never come, and, if it did come, it would arrive only through aggressive means, not through government action nor any group's participation in it - not through the ballot. The ballet of the impossible.
Having just returned from Washington, D. C. where I witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama in person (joyful!), it occurred to me that there is a correlation between these three people - the ballplayer, the activist, and the President.
The activist felt change would never come. But, the two ballplayers, having nothing in common but confidence and belief, felt that not only would change come, but that they could help it come.
The Ballot over the Bullet. The Ballet of the Possible.
I envied his ability to dribble the ball between his legs, a technique I've never mastered. By quickly raising his considerable body onto his toes, he made enough space for the ball to pass through his legs before his body lowered again. Then again. And again. The ballet of the possible.
The spell was broken when he shot the ball toward the basket. It was a missile that fell short of its goal by almost the length of his body. He retrieved the ball and shot again - another dart that passed under the rim, not by inches, but by feet. Over and over and over again I watched this man miss shot after shot after shot. Sometimes the ball fell well short, sometimes it hit the backboard so hard it ricocheted over his head, sometimes it struck the rim and shook the mounts. He was a caricature of a ball player, and I felt embarrassed for him.
Then I thought, what sort of confidence must he possess to be shooting a basketball so horribly in a gym where NBA players are known to play? He had no qualms about being bad; he just kept shooting and shooting and shooting, and occasionally dribbling between his legs. He was practicing to be better, occasionally reminding himself of what he had already achieved.
I have no doubt that one day he will master his shot just as he found a way to master the between the legs dribble. It won't look conventional, but it will work.
While watching him I listened to a 1964 speech by Malcolm X he titled "The Ballot or the Bullet." I know little of Malcolm except the small amount the mainstream media has offered to me over the years. Based on this recording, he was a gifted speaker and a visionary. He was also a strident separatist, advocating that the black community buy only from black merchants and encouraging black citizens to try the American government before the United Nations. In this speech, he felt change might never come, and, if it did come, it would arrive only through aggressive means, not through government action nor any group's participation in it - not through the ballot. The ballet of the impossible.
Having just returned from Washington, D. C. where I witnessed the inauguration of Barack Obama in person (joyful!), it occurred to me that there is a correlation between these three people - the ballplayer, the activist, and the President.
The activist felt change would never come. But, the two ballplayers, having nothing in common but confidence and belief, felt that not only would change come, but that they could help it come.
The Ballot over the Bullet. The Ballet of the Possible.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My Money is Your Money
11:19 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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My morning podcast is a wonderful thing. Last year I stepped into the iPod world, finally convinced to do so by iTunes U (I like music but don't make time to listen to it). Now, when I manage to make it to the gym, I like to listen to lectures, interviews, and essays.
This morning I listened to a podcast that begins this way:
This morning I listened to a podcast that begins this way:
Since 1980, adjusted for inflation the total national income of the U.S. rose by 70%. During that time 90% of Americans had an income growth of 0%.
Well, it's no secret I suppose that the podcast is about taxes, but, believe it or not, it isn't much about income taxes.
I plan to make the book one of my airplane companions. I've not read it, so I can't endorse it wholeheartedly.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
The Sustainability of Sustenance
10:43 AM | Posted by
Steve |
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At the gym this morning I listened to an interesting podcast on food and how we get it.
Of the many interesting facts, I'll stick with two.
I invite you to listen here or see The Omnivore's Delimma. Or, maybe you want to read more about the author.
Of the many interesting facts, I'll stick with two.
- About the middle of the 20th century we used 1 calorie of energy to get 2 calories of food. Today, we use 10 calories of energy to get 1 calorie of food.
- Recently, the FDA approved a process to raise chickens in the U.S., harvest them, ship whole fozen chickens to China where they are cut into pieces, and ship them back to the U.S. for sale and consumption.
I invite you to listen here or see The Omnivore's Delimma. Or, maybe you want to read more about the author.
Labels:
farming,
food,
free range,
local produce,
omnivore,
pasture fed,
sustainability
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- Sometimes you think I'm daydreaming, but I'm actually thinking about something. No, really. Honestly. Sometimes.