Fanzine
Pretty exhausted. Working 3 days a week, taking 3 classes, and playing footbag through the course of a week takes a lot of energy. And the jetlag from my trip to Svendborg doesn't help at all.
In good news, my legs feel pretty much back to normal. I still plan on continuing my downtime streak, partially because it seems like a safe move, but also because I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm also going to try and limit the length of my sessions as a precaution.
No footbag tonight, but I played yesterday with Chris and the day before that with Adrienne for a little.
Saturday: The plan was to go to Maryland, play some footbag and basketball with Age, then go to the Maryland-NC State game. As it turned out, the gym closed earlier than expected, so we only played a little footbag and b-ball. Still had a lot of fun. The highlight for me was the basketball. I always enjoy doing non-footbag things with my footbag friends. We didn't ball very seriously, but I had a couple And1 style tricks that worked, including the old "throw the ball off the glass real hard to yourself, rebound, and make a shot" trick. Boom. The Maryland game was hella fun too; it was my first college game. Adrienne tried to teach me all the ritual traditions, but there were so many it was hard to keep up.
Sunday: Chris called me to play because he "watched some videos and was amped to play." Not an exact quote, but I was very happy to see him so enthusiastic about footbag again. We ended up having an excellent session. I'd say it was the best I've seen Chris play to date. I was planning on taking it pretty easy, and overall I did. I stuck to short runs, and all downtime. I still managed some new stuff:
Highlights:
*void. My second ever.
*pdx whirl-gyro whirl
*vortex-spinning clipper
*spinning clipper-vortex
*ducking symp mirage, no plant, both sides
*vortex-pdx egg
*gdlo-paradon bsos
*ducking dlo, ducking pdlo, both hatchets.
I may play tomorrow night, depending how much energy I have.
In good news, my legs feel pretty much back to normal. I still plan on continuing my downtime streak, partially because it seems like a safe move, but also because I'm having a lot of fun with it. I'm also going to try and limit the length of my sessions as a precaution.
No footbag tonight, but I played yesterday with Chris and the day before that with Adrienne for a little.
Saturday: The plan was to go to Maryland, play some footbag and basketball with Age, then go to the Maryland-NC State game. As it turned out, the gym closed earlier than expected, so we only played a little footbag and b-ball. Still had a lot of fun. The highlight for me was the basketball. I always enjoy doing non-footbag things with my footbag friends. We didn't ball very seriously, but I had a couple And1 style tricks that worked, including the old "throw the ball off the glass real hard to yourself, rebound, and make a shot" trick. Boom. The Maryland game was hella fun too; it was my first college game. Adrienne tried to teach me all the ritual traditions, but there were so many it was hard to keep up.
Sunday: Chris called me to play because he "watched some videos and was amped to play." Not an exact quote, but I was very happy to see him so enthusiastic about footbag again. We ended up having an excellent session. I'd say it was the best I've seen Chris play to date. I was planning on taking it pretty easy, and overall I did. I stuck to short runs, and all downtime. I still managed some new stuff:
Highlights:
*void. My second ever.
*pdx whirl-gyro whirl
*vortex-spinning clipper
*spinning clipper-vortex
*ducking symp mirage, no plant, both sides
*vortex-pdx egg
*gdlo-paradon bsos
*ducking dlo, ducking pdlo, both hatchets.
I may play tomorrow night, depending how much energy I have.
I can relate to how tired you are feeling. When I was going to Drexel for MBA, I was working full time and going to school full time at night. It was horrible (also really made me value my wife even more than I did already). The good news is that you crank through the credits faster that way (the "rip the bandaid off quickly approach" I always say) while also gaining work experience/$$. It'll be worth it later.
Different topic (for thought/discussion, not really applicable to your situation, just thought you'd find this interesting): I was listening to a program on NPR about the value of college from a purely economic standpoint. The basic point was that Americans are led to believe that the path to financial stability is through college. But, when you stack up tuition (assuming parents aren't paying and that you don't have scholarships) for 4 years, and the resulting lingering debt, against a whole bunch of different job choices that pay decently during those same 4 years, school may not be the best financial decision for some/many.
So, I was thinking of the team working for me. They don't make much money at all, but they all have college degrees (let's call it $35-45K). Then, I contrasted that to my best friend who did not complete college but makes $15K more than them in his job (let's call it $55K). Interesting ain't it?
Different topic (for thought/discussion, not really applicable to your situation, just thought you'd find this interesting): I was listening to a program on NPR about the value of college from a purely economic standpoint. The basic point was that Americans are led to believe that the path to financial stability is through college. But, when you stack up tuition (assuming parents aren't paying and that you don't have scholarships) for 4 years, and the resulting lingering debt, against a whole bunch of different job choices that pay decently during those same 4 years, school may not be the best financial decision for some/many.
So, I was thinking of the team working for me. They don't make much money at all, but they all have college degrees (let's call it $35-45K). Then, I contrasted that to my best friend who did not complete college but makes $15K more than them in his job (let's call it $55K). Interesting ain't it?
Bob R.
Feel like I haven't played footbag in a while. Was hoping to play this week, but a combination of papers, bad weather, and a bout of indigestion kept me from playing until today. Hopefully I'll sneak in a session tonight.
I've taken my mind off footbag by being very strategic with my fantasy NBA team this week. I've talked a lot about fantasy NBA in here, and since this blog is primarily for my own future reminiscing, I thought I'd list my core roster here:
Guards: Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Mike Bibby, Larry Hughes
Forwards: Gerald Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, Richard Jefferson.
Centers: Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Chris Kaman.
My legs are feeling very good these days, so I may start doing sets again. I've had fun working downtime, and I'm curious to see if my work on downtime will strengthen my bigger uptime tricks. Like, I want to see if all my work on flip pdlo will translate to stronger flip fogs. I think my best approach would to just work basic sets next session, and if they feel good, then try bigger uptime tricks the session after that.
Random note: I'm going to meet Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today. Lots of cool opportunities and things to do in DC; I'm really enjoying being here.
I've taken my mind off footbag by being very strategic with my fantasy NBA team this week. I've talked a lot about fantasy NBA in here, and since this blog is primarily for my own future reminiscing, I thought I'd list my core roster here:
Guards: Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Mike Bibby, Larry Hughes
Forwards: Gerald Wallace, Andrei Kirilenko, Richard Jefferson.
Centers: Amare Stoudemire, Carlos Boozer, Chris Kaman.
My legs are feeling very good these days, so I may start doing sets again. I've had fun working downtime, and I'm curious to see if my work on downtime will strengthen my bigger uptime tricks. Like, I want to see if all my work on flip pdlo will translate to stronger flip fogs. I think my best approach would to just work basic sets next session, and if they feel good, then try bigger uptime tricks the session after that.
Random note: I'm going to meet Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg today. Lots of cool opportunities and things to do in DC; I'm really enjoying being here.
That's news to me... is it possible you read a post from a couple years ago? I don't have plans to leave the East Coast for a while. In fact, March 22nd is Adrienne's tournament in Maryland, which I'm definitely going to, so even if I could go to Cali, that would be like the worst possible day for me.
I've had a couple real nice days in a row. The weather in DC got nice again, and I'm sure that has something to do with my improved mood. I also got to play footbag tonight, which was a treat. I feel like I hadn't had a serious session in about a week.
Shred with Chris Miller tonight. I barely made it to the session on time, because service at dinner was slow. As a result, I was burping sushi throughout the session. I started off real slow because of this, but towards the end I was feeling fine. Chris and I had another good session. It's cool to see how much better he's got since I got to town and he started playing again.
Other than the sushi factor, today's session was notable in that it marked the first time in like 3 weeks that I used uptime in my game. All my sets were rusty, but it was fun to do them. I started off the session doing some silly stuff inspired by Johnny's latest video, like pogo ss symp mirage, and full sidewalk. I also tried a trick I think he did in the vid: flailing ss symple legover. I didn't hit it... it's really weird. Playing with sets again was a lot of fun. It's just another mixup to throw in the game, another way to change things up and keep it interesting. That said, I think I should ease my way back into using them. Like, try and keep my game 75% downtime, but have some sets in there as a mixup.
The other big part of today's session was finding I was damn close to marius. I had it off my foot so many times, that it became something of a running joke. There was even one time when it came up straight, and literally slipped through my fingers. I didn't even get angry, because I knew I'd hit it soon. Sure enough, I hit it to a handcatch seal, and then later I upped the ante and hit it to a run that included DSC using the other spin. I didn't film the session, so after I got those 2 seals, I decided to try it for the camera. Happily, I hit one on camera on my first take.
Highlights:
*Marius was the biggie.
*tomahawk-blurry whirl
*gdlo bsos, and nearly vortex bsos in the same run
*spinning pdlo
*flailing ss symp dlo (Bill and Ted's?) pretty much off my foot
*Oh, and from a while ago: Barefoot enterrage
At the end of the session some of the kids in my dorm walked in on our session, and since they'd never seen me play before, I did some showing off for them. Some flyers, a pendulum, DATW, sole stall, ducks and dives... all that crowd pleasing stuff.
I'm hoping to go to Maryland on Sunday and do some bowling with Chris and Adrienne, and then get in some shred.
Life's pretty nice these days.
I've had a couple real nice days in a row. The weather in DC got nice again, and I'm sure that has something to do with my improved mood. I also got to play footbag tonight, which was a treat. I feel like I hadn't had a serious session in about a week.
Shred with Chris Miller tonight. I barely made it to the session on time, because service at dinner was slow. As a result, I was burping sushi throughout the session. I started off real slow because of this, but towards the end I was feeling fine. Chris and I had another good session. It's cool to see how much better he's got since I got to town and he started playing again.
Other than the sushi factor, today's session was notable in that it marked the first time in like 3 weeks that I used uptime in my game. All my sets were rusty, but it was fun to do them. I started off the session doing some silly stuff inspired by Johnny's latest video, like pogo ss symp mirage, and full sidewalk. I also tried a trick I think he did in the vid: flailing ss symple legover. I didn't hit it... it's really weird. Playing with sets again was a lot of fun. It's just another mixup to throw in the game, another way to change things up and keep it interesting. That said, I think I should ease my way back into using them. Like, try and keep my game 75% downtime, but have some sets in there as a mixup.
The other big part of today's session was finding I was damn close to marius. I had it off my foot so many times, that it became something of a running joke. There was even one time when it came up straight, and literally slipped through my fingers. I didn't even get angry, because I knew I'd hit it soon. Sure enough, I hit it to a handcatch seal, and then later I upped the ante and hit it to a run that included DSC using the other spin. I didn't film the session, so after I got those 2 seals, I decided to try it for the camera. Happily, I hit one on camera on my first take.
Highlights:
*Marius was the biggie.
*tomahawk-blurry whirl
*gdlo bsos, and nearly vortex bsos in the same run
*spinning pdlo
*flailing ss symp dlo (Bill and Ted's?) pretty much off my foot
*Oh, and from a while ago: Barefoot enterrage
At the end of the session some of the kids in my dorm walked in on our session, and since they'd never seen me play before, I did some showing off for them. Some flyers, a pendulum, DATW, sole stall, ducks and dives... all that crowd pleasing stuff.
I'm hoping to go to Maryland on Sunday and do some bowling with Chris and Adrienne, and then get in some shred.
Life's pretty nice these days.
Uh... you DO know that my team is the Suns, right? As a Suns fan, there is no team in the league that we hate more than the San Antonio Spurs. In fantasy NBA I make it a point not to have any members of the Spurs (or Lakers for that matter) on my team, even when they would help me, just as a matter of principle.
If I continue to post vids in my blog, will you post an attractive girl representing a team I don't despise in my blog? Cause having an ugly Spurs girl in my blog is like a slap in the face for me.
*note: I'm only half serious with all this... but I definitely hate the Spurs.
If I continue to post vids in my blog, will you post an attractive girl representing a team I don't despise in my blog? Cause having an ugly Spurs girl in my blog is like a slap in the face for me.
*note: I'm only half serious with all this... but I definitely hate the Spurs.
Wayway to the rescue:
Life is pretty nice up here in NYC as well, Ken. Us NYFA are doing our best to represent in "Shred for Savvy" next month, so we definitely need to get in a circle together when that event comes up.
See you soon!
edit: Props on Marius! Forgot to mention that in my post!
Life is pretty nice up here in NYC as well, Ken. Us NYFA are doing our best to represent in "Shred for Savvy" next month, so we definitely need to get in a circle together when that event comes up.
See you soon!
edit: Props on Marius! Forgot to mention that in my post!
Waylon Lew - maker of Wasabi bags
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
NYFA represent.
"Footbag can be pretty frustrating when it's supposed to be fun. I was partly driven by this forum - practice, practice, practice... As that is true, I think someone can be too focused on progressing and training that they miss the fun aspect of it." - Bander87
-
slapdash21
- Futureless
- Posts: 4681
- Joined: 29 Sep 2004 14:50
- Location: Beantown, kidd
-
zeroman13
- Post Master General
- Posts: 2385
- Joined: 17 Jan 2006 07:17
- Location: Somewhere in the desert!!!!!
- Contact:
I couldn't agree more with you Ken!C-Fan wrote:Uh... you DO know that my team is the Suns, right? As a Suns fan, there is no team in the league that we hate more than the San Antonio Spurs.
Thank you Waylon for putting an even better looking and dressed cheerleader in here!
Pete, you are so right
Josh M.Wasabi wrote:Footbag is not materialistic; it's about challenging yourself and having fun at the same time.
My Website
Pm me for details about Munster Bags!
Man, my blog has taken a turn for the strange... 
Went to Maryland today to play footbag and bowling with Adrienne. Footbag was fun; we played next to the bowling alley in the student's center, so we entertained some students. I was a bit distracted because Men In Black was playing on the TV behind me, and I kept reciting entire sections of the movie. I still played well. I think my ratio of downtime to uptime was about 65-35, which I was happy with. My flipside sets deteriorated a lot during my time away from them, but I don't even care that much. I wouldn't mind if my game took a turn towards the downtime.
Age hit some good stuff. I challenged her to hopover-rev whirl, and she got it.
Highlights:
*DSC-pdx torque midstring, super solid.
*Double spinning butterfly, with a vortex (other spin) in the seal.
After watching a recent Anssi video, I've decided I'd like to learn ripsteins. I used to hit them (like, back in the year 2000) jumpy style, ala Outsider, but I'd like to learn to do them like Anssi does. Let's see if he gives me some advice.
After footbag we bowled, and I quite literally bowled the worst game of my life. I think Wii screwed up my expectations, or understanding of the physics of the game, but regardless, I was still amazed by how badly I did. I didn't even break 100... I missed it by, oh, something like 44 points!
On the other side, Adrienne started with strike-spare-strike-strike, and then fizzled from there. Not the prettiest game ever.
All-Star game tonight. Unlike past years, I feel like I've had to psyche myself up for it. No Baron, no Garnett, and possibly no Kobe all make it a little less exciting for me somehow. At least Sheed is in it.
Went to Maryland today to play footbag and bowling with Adrienne. Footbag was fun; we played next to the bowling alley in the student's center, so we entertained some students. I was a bit distracted because Men In Black was playing on the TV behind me, and I kept reciting entire sections of the movie. I still played well. I think my ratio of downtime to uptime was about 65-35, which I was happy with. My flipside sets deteriorated a lot during my time away from them, but I don't even care that much. I wouldn't mind if my game took a turn towards the downtime.
Age hit some good stuff. I challenged her to hopover-rev whirl, and she got it.
Highlights:
*DSC-pdx torque midstring, super solid.
*Double spinning butterfly, with a vortex (other spin) in the seal.
After watching a recent Anssi video, I've decided I'd like to learn ripsteins. I used to hit them (like, back in the year 2000) jumpy style, ala Outsider, but I'd like to learn to do them like Anssi does. Let's see if he gives me some advice.
After footbag we bowled, and I quite literally bowled the worst game of my life. I think Wii screwed up my expectations, or understanding of the physics of the game, but regardless, I was still amazed by how badly I did. I didn't even break 100... I missed it by, oh, something like 44 points!
On the other side, Adrienne started with strike-spare-strike-strike, and then fizzled from there. Not the prettiest game ever. All-Star game tonight. Unlike past years, I feel like I've had to psyche myself up for it. No Baron, no Garnett, and possibly no Kobe all make it a little less exciting for me somehow. At least Sheed is in it.
Feeling a bit down lately, probably has something to do with my dental woes. Hit the dentist in DC and got my teeth looked at again. Gonna need a really expensive root canal in the next month. 
Doesn't help that I have lots of work, both school and internship-wise.
Played footbag solo tonight because Chris is sick. I played for a long time because I needed to de-stress, even though I probably should have done more homework. Solo shreds can be good to clear your mind.
Warmed up with long tiltless again, while listening to various mashups of "Closer" by NIN.
Highlights:
*Legbeater swirl.
*Tomahawk-pdx drifter drill.
*Barfly x15. New personal record.
*Spin PDLO, a curse word, then a marius.
*Marius sealed with a run.
*Flurry-parkwalk swirl. Pretty blurry.
*Bl. drifter-pdx torque-pdlo
*Bl. drifter-pdx torque BSOS.
Doesn't help that I have lots of work, both school and internship-wise. Played footbag solo tonight because Chris is sick. I played for a long time because I needed to de-stress, even though I probably should have done more homework. Solo shreds can be good to clear your mind.
Warmed up with long tiltless again, while listening to various mashups of "Closer" by NIN.
Highlights:
*Legbeater swirl.
*Tomahawk-pdx drifter drill.
*Barfly x15. New personal record.
*Spin PDLO, a curse word, then a marius.
*Marius sealed with a run.
*Flurry-parkwalk swirl. Pretty blurry.
*Bl. drifter-pdx torque-pdlo
*Bl. drifter-pdx torque BSOS.
Ripstein, eh? I feel honored for this, Ken. Thanks.
I guess what's different in my Ripsteins from others is that I try to do it with low set, sharp dexes and tiny windows. Most of players do Ripstein with huge windows, propably because it makes the trick look relaxed and it's more impressive somehow. Big windows need a high set. The higher you set, the easier it is to 'the' it at the peek, because your foot can't reach above the bag. Big Ripstein is more like Swirling Swirl, than Double Swirl. For some players (Vasek is a great example) the flow isn't continuous, but the dex momentum slows down towards the end of the first dex and then speeds up for the second dex. I would compare it to Pixie muted ATW versus DATW.
I try not to roll the set at all, but still go for fast start, which makes it pretty hard. Then think it like Clipper DATW, both dexes at the same pace, all at once - just like DATW.
You don't need much higher set than a normal Swirl. It is possible to set too high, when you can't do the dexes properly the way I ment them.
I'll film some Ripsteins with both styles tomorrow for comparison, and post them in my blog.
BTW - nice highlights, but where's that genuine you promised?
I guess what's different in my Ripsteins from others is that I try to do it with low set, sharp dexes and tiny windows. Most of players do Ripstein with huge windows, propably because it makes the trick look relaxed and it's more impressive somehow. Big windows need a high set. The higher you set, the easier it is to 'the' it at the peek, because your foot can't reach above the bag. Big Ripstein is more like Swirling Swirl, than Double Swirl. For some players (Vasek is a great example) the flow isn't continuous, but the dex momentum slows down towards the end of the first dex and then speeds up for the second dex. I would compare it to Pixie muted ATW versus DATW.
I try not to roll the set at all, but still go for fast start, which makes it pretty hard. Then think it like Clipper DATW, both dexes at the same pace, all at once - just like DATW.
You don't need much higher set than a normal Swirl. It is possible to set too high, when you can't do the dexes properly the way I ment them.
I'll film some Ripsteins with both styles tomorrow for comparison, and post them in my blog.
BTW - nice highlights, but where's that genuine you promised?
Thanks for the tips and the video Anssi; I'll start trying to actively figure out the trick in my coming sessions. I'll also make an effort to film some genuine too, though that can be affected by my mood. I've still been a bit down lately, and not even sure why.
Adrienne's tourney is just a month away. Not sure if she's gonna run routines, but it might be fun to practice a routine regardless. I've got a song already, so why not?
Hopefully play footbag with Chris Miller tomorrow. Gonna use that as motivation to get my schoolwork done... these next 4 days are gonna be a tough stretch for me.
Oh, and I found a vid from my last session that I forgot to upload. One more small string for your viewing pleasure.
Anybody else see the lunar eclipse tonight? It was really spectacular since it was a full moon.
Adrienne's tourney is just a month away. Not sure if she's gonna run routines, but it might be fun to practice a routine regardless. I've got a song already, so why not?
Hopefully play footbag with Chris Miller tomorrow. Gonna use that as motivation to get my schoolwork done... these next 4 days are gonna be a tough stretch for me.
Oh, and I found a vid from my last session that I forgot to upload. One more small string for your viewing pleasure.
Anybody else see the lunar eclipse tonight? It was really spectacular since it was a full moon.
edit: Shoot, I hate starting a new page in someone else's blog. Here's a vid that Ken posted in last post from previous page:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABaJchvnrb8&feature=user
I think it must be from reading your blog that I've been having these dreams about school the past couple nights. When I was in grad school (remember, full time work and full time school at same time) my stress levels were so high. For literally a year afterwards I would have nightmares of forgetting to work on a big assignment etc. You know, the classic school dream that people have. The past few nights I've been having them again. Interestingly, in the dreams I've been missing chemistry assignments >> and chem hasn't been a part of my school life since like 1996. Ha ha.
Warm weather will brighten your mood I bet. It always does for me. Only a few more weeks and we've made it!
Loving all the vids, really appreciate you taking the time to do that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABaJchvnrb8&feature=user
I think it must be from reading your blog that I've been having these dreams about school the past couple nights. When I was in grad school (remember, full time work and full time school at same time) my stress levels were so high. For literally a year afterwards I would have nightmares of forgetting to work on a big assignment etc. You know, the classic school dream that people have. The past few nights I've been having them again. Interestingly, in the dreams I've been missing chemistry assignments >> and chem hasn't been a part of my school life since like 1996. Ha ha.
Warm weather will brighten your mood I bet. It always does for me. Only a few more weeks and we've made it!
Loving all the vids, really appreciate you taking the time to do that.
Bob R.