GENERAL INTERESTS:::::Writing - Creative, both in free form, and within the confines of newspaper and magazine layout. Art - Photography and painting, drawing: pencil, pen, and ink. Eventually I'd like to learn the art of tattooing. Communications - visual and verbal (written and spoken); gaining daily insight towards the unravelment or assembly (matter of perspective/comfort) of life and our interactions w/ the world. UFC/Pride and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, spending time at the gym, and working on staying fit. My free time is spent either in a poolhall, at the gym, or with my old man German Shepherd "Cyrus." If not doing that I'm most likely out on a hike w/ my girl. Love my dog, cat, rats, girlfriend, and playing the game of billiards, particularly nine-ball, 14.1, one pocket and bank pool (the aforementioned list is in random order).My homes away from home: ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- VAN PHAN'S SPORTS AND BILLIARDS - Van is one of my best friends in the world, she's played in the Women's US Open and is an amazing three cushion player, she's helped me a ton w/ two and three rail kicks, not just hitting them but playing to pocket them! Her room is beautiful, it's located in S. Burlington, Vermont; 12 Brunswick Gold Crowns w/ Simonis cloth, an oak bar and a private room for poker and high stakes pool. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- THE GOLDEN CUE - Rocky is like an uncle to me, I love the guy. Rocky Sr., Rocky Jr., fuckin' Benny, and Brian. These guys are why I come back to Albany, New York. The hall is legendary; Willie Mosconi cut the ribbon and when the hall opened in 1963. I swear Lassiter, Don Willis, Rags Fitzpatrick and other ghosts, hustlers, stakehorses, nits and sweators alike are sometimes heard faintly whispering along the rail. There are rows upon rows of Gold Crowns, and the cloth is replaced every two years. On table twenty three, decades ago, Minnesota Fats lost a lot of cash to a local shortstop. I was a little fish swallowed by sharks when I began my pool journey there years ago. Guys giving me the seven, eight, nine and drilling me, busting me. Watching old guys play one pocket and naively thinking that looks like a simple enough game. The Golden Cue is a Joss Tour stop, and this year I'll be playing in a few events. ----------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------- Who I'd meet includes legends from past and present, alive and deceased. (Billiards) Luther "Wimpy" Lassiter, Don Willis, Efren Reyes, Jersey Red, Robert Byrne, Louie Roberts, Bugs Rucker, Eddie Taylor, Ralf Soquet, Alex Pagulayan (Jujitsu) Calson Gracie, BJ Penn, Dean Lister. ********With good weather here again my testosterone is on the rise, here are two great motivating videos. ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------- NEW::::: Just bored this afternoon and thinking about others whom I admire. Savion Glover is an amazing performer , in my opinion, the greatest tap dancer ever! He's the young boy in this clip (not dancing), if you ever get a chance to see him dance, it is unforgettable. This is an amazing film. Gregory Hines, Sammy Davis Jr., and other great dancers. Enjoy!I think a lot of young people forget just how good Efren was/is; shotmaking and gears no other player could even imagine. Back in the day when Five Hundred and Thousand dollar bills were still kicking around in the pockets of old men...William McKinley is on the five, and Grover Cleveland is on the thousand; my Grandfather (he adopted me at 5 months old) left me a few of them, he was a fascinating guy, Family Court Judge and District Attorney of Saratoga County in the 1960's. He saw fifty consecutive opening days at the Saratoga Race Track (spanning 50 years), box seats in the clubhouse right on the finish line. Scotch and peanuts, casinos, craps, naps, law, and betting the ponies, these were a few of his favorite things. Billiards would come on the television, and as a child and he's sit me down and say, "watch them, watch how easy they make it look, watch how they control the cueball."
MUSIC:::::Hip hop to Radiohead, Dylan, Stones, The Shins, Billie Holiday, Lightnin' Hopkins and other Blues greats,Edith Piaf, Yo Yo Ma, Rufus Wainwright, Damian Rice, Pete Yorn, Frou Frou, Gangstarr, Grand Master Flash, KRS 1, Jay-Z, Guru, Mos Def, Stereophonics, Nick Drake, K-Solo, Blacksheep, Kate Bush, Kate Nash, Regina Spektor, Lily Allen, Tribe Called Quest to Counting Crows.
MOVIES:::::Guy Richie films, Snatch to Lock Stock... 1961 The Hustler w/ Paul Newman, 1986 The Color of Money (also a Newman flick), Poolhall Junkies, Fight Club, American History X, Run Lola Run, anything w/ Audrey Tautou, she's cool.
TELEVISION:::::I write messages with my finger across the dusty black screen, "Honey, I've gone to pick up milk and T.P. at the store, be home after nine." That's the extent of my t.v's utility.
BOOKS:::::recently... Angels and Demons, DiVinci Code, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, The Gashlycrumb Tinies, Flowers for Algeron, The Life of Pi, A Confederacy of Dunces, Me Talk Pretty One Day, Infinite Jest, The Boy who was Raised like a Dog, Charles Bukowski, Ginsberg, Ferlinghetti, and other beat slobs, Vonnegut and others. ----------------------------------------------------------- BILLIARD RELATED: Pleasures of Small Motions: Mastering the Mental Game of Pocket Billiards, The Mind-Body Connection: Maximizing your Sports Potential by K. Baum, The collective works of Robert Byrne (he is to billiards what Shakespeare was to theater), Phil Cappelle's various books, 99 Critical Shots, One Pocket books by Eddie Robin, Banking with the Beard by Freddy Bentivegna, Playing off the Rail by McCumber, Running the Table "The Kid Delicious Story," by L. John Wertheim, Hustler Days and The Hustler and the Champ, both authored by R.A. Dyer. Secret Systems - The Diamond System, by Rossman. I AM A HUMAN SPONGE WHEN IT COMES TO BILLIARDS.Soon to buy and read: Painting on Green Canvas by Bob Watson.
HEROES:::::THIS CAT IS MY HERO!!!And...IKE RUNNELS TOO!!!