8-Ball with my Bro

   

   

#50

02.19.10

 

Photo

 
To be honest, I didn't think I'd get past entry #8 in this iPhone Photo Blog; yet here I am at post #50.  And to commemorate the occasion I am posting a photo that features a Human for the very first time.  How perfect that it be one of my favorite humans of all time, my youngest brother D.M.E.?
  
Though I was still recovering from a stomach bug that laid me low for about 48 hours, and from which I continue to recover even now; Wednesday night was the last night my parents and D.M.E. would be here in Anchorage for their visit.  So I mustered the strength to take D.M.E. out to the Anchorage Billiards Palace on C Street.  He had been playing there one to three hours every day since he arrived, but I had never been there with or without him.  
  
In fact, I hadn't "shot stick" really since I was an undergrad student at the University of Utah in the early 90's.  That's where I'd meet guys like M.R.B., M.C.D., J.H., D.R.S., C.T., and my "irish twin" brother E.S.E. at the Union Building from time to time.  While our skill levels were variable, neither the quality of company nor the presence of Pink Floyd, Tesla, Whitesnake, Queensryche and Tom Petty on the jukebox were variable.  What great times!  You know, on second thought, I did shoot some stick with M.C.D. in Chicago when I got to go out and visit him and his brilliant wife a few summers ago.  More great times!
  
Playing pool again was a real blast.  The Anchorage Billiards Palace is a real clean place featuring no smoking and a dress code to boot; so there is nothing to keep me from wanting to go again right now, even.  I really, really like this photo of D.M.E. putting some felt and wood on the ball.  If I'd snapped the photo one split second later you would have seen a cloud of blue chalk rise like smoke off the cue... or do I wax too poetic?  
  
I only wish I could look so cool in such a photo.  He was kind enough to offer to take my photo when I shot, but after the photos I had of him, I just knew I couldn't ever measure up.  And for those keeping score, D.M.E. took the day 3 games to 2.
 
More photos showing the photogenicity of D.M.E. as well as his gnarly pool skills:
 

 

 Sink it, D!

I almost chose this as the featured photo.  And I must give myself credit for teaching D. the "behind-the-back" shot, which M.R.B. taught me many years ago... and I'll be chucky-darned if he didn't sink the first three behind-the-back shots he tried!  Please remember me in your future memoirs, D:

"SLC Slim - Pool Shark".

And to finish my tribute to the D.M.E., I just have to say how proud I am of him for graduating as a Doctor of Pharmacy in December.  He just passed his national board exam right before coming to Alaska, so it was time to celebrate indeed.

Music

  
In 1987-88, right before I went to Guatemala for two years, I started listening to the synth-pop sounds of a band called Underworld that formed from the fragments of another band I followed called Früer.  By the time I got back from Guatemala in 1990, the Underworld had morphed from a synth-pop band into a techno band, and I wasn't in to no sissy techno / electronica / rave bands, you know?  Except that after listening to Dubnobasswithmyheadman by the Underworld, I was in to sissy techno music after all.  And lots of it, too.  
 
I went methodically through all the bands as they came out in the movement, including Chemical Brothers, Prodigy, Fluke, Orbital, Utah Saints, Daft Punk... you name it.  I sampled, purchased and liked some from each group.  But all these years later, it is still Underworld that has my ear.  And how could I not like these cats?  I'm a proud Welsh-American, afterall... and these boys are from Cardiff.  Cymru Am Byth!
 
This track 8-Ball fits the photo perfectly in both name and mood.  It comes off their album 1992-2002 as a previously unreleased recording.  What a song!  I get lost in it every time, and have found myself typing to the beat since I started playing the track on loop tonight.  And though I passionately loathe dancing, I cannot help but admit I've had a few shoulder wiggles and head bobs as I've typed, too.  The horror!  What's happening to me?!  What's next, ABBA?!  Somebody, quick!  Call the paddywagon!

  

Parting Comments

  
Just last week it seemed like everything was firing on all cylinders.  Work was great.  The family was great.  Everyone was in good health.  The Sun would rise and set at the expected times and places.  My folks and brother arrived for a visit.  The blog was humming along with regular entries, each the length of the pre-edited script for Ben Hur. 
 
And then... well... I just don't know.  The wheels came off the wagon, so to speak.  I got the stomach bug, and *poof*, it was a struggle to keep afloat.
 
But today the old wagon's wheels have been replaced with high performance Blizzaks, and I'm ready to roll again.  Thanks for your patience, most gracious gentlepeople.
 
Until tomorrow... thank you for looking, listening and reading.  CCE