Do you find that as the world spins more and more out of control males seem to fixate more and more on the world of sports? The gear, the beer, the cheer, the FB postings? I shouldn't say male. Some females of my acquaintance do too. I've always found it an odd pursuit, gaping at widescreen teevee sports, beer and wings and chips and popcorn at the ready, cheering for millionaire unknowns as if one knew them.
In extremis of the above paragraph: the superbowl had the most viewers, the most sexually charged performances, the most human traffic with pimps (an estimated 10,000), the raunchiest, most violent ads., etc., in history. And very few see anything wrong with that.
I'm thinking of starting a more cerebral type of dinner party circle here. A potluck and "bring something to read" event, drifting around to different houses once a month or so. I ran it by a friend today and she was really enthused. Elevating the level of discourse which tends to circle around the 3Ks here in my wee outport. If it doesn't start with me, where does it start. I instigated a really lovely one in Toronto years ago and most of us are still in touch.
I don't know why this story (true) popped into my head today, but it did. About 12 years ago I had a call from another accountant who had her own practice. She said she had to meet with me as she had a very sensitive matter to discuss. The long and the short of it was her son had died. He was a highly successful IT entrepreneur and hadn't filed his taxes in six years which was a total shock to her. A bachelor, he had left everything to her. She couldn't face the boxes and boxes of material he had left behind and engaged me to do the work. Which I did. But the oddest, weirdest thing was the way he died. The overhead fan in his bedroom had stopped working. He took a knife from his kitchen drawer and attempted to tighten one of the screws. The fan started up and the knife flew out of his hand and into his heart. Instant death. 34 years old.
I am preparing a story telling talk. I have so many stories. I really want to tell them. They float in and out of my head to bursting.
All of us should be telling more stories. I remember my granny's and even my great-granny's. And so many in between.
Each day of our lives is a chapter in the book of life. We only need to listen.
ReplyDeleteSporting events are our way of waging war like we used to do in the olden days between villages and towns, and all the carnival events that come with it happened then too. History is just repeating itself, although we pretend to be very civilized. I do have to say that I like the way we compete with each other a lot better now because there are less deadly casualties. As for the other ones, they have always been around. That's nothing new.
ReplyDeleteI think you know more stories than anyone else I know and you seem like a sponge that soaks them up. I do expect you to write an anthology of them real soon. xox
GM:
ReplyDeleteAnd why don't people?
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Irene:
ReplyDeleteI would differ with you in that I think sports are a huge distraction from the constant wars that are being waged on the planet not to mention all the other crises of climate change and drought and no water.
Invented by the old industrialists to sedate the masses (go team go).
Thanks for the kind words, I've been around a lot.
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What a strange way to die - I do not watch sports - and if you have the meetings at different homes I wish I lived near - my kind of gathering :)
ReplyDeletemeant to add
ReplyDeletethat one of the reasons
I started writing 5 years ago was for
my grandchildren. There have been
so many stories about the past
that I wanted them to know about...
seems since that time
I just enjoy writing about a lot
of subjects.
wisewebwoman: You are right about the sports. And the vulgarity. And dancing on the graves of the victims of the Superbowl fiasco, while we are at it.
ReplyDeleteThis country been at war for almost 12 friggin years, and things are turning really really rotten.
Sport is, and always has been, a blind spot for me, whether the doing or spectating or fandom of, so Superbowl and the rest go right over this old head.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of fans - the other kind - that was a chilling story,WWW - almost as though the guy had had a curse put upon him.
I would much rather listen to a few interesting stories than watch even five minutes of some sports fixture. As you say, cheering for millionaire unknowns. And admiring other people's physical prowess while perpetuating your own couch-potato inertia. What's the big attraction?
ReplyDeleteSo I guess that makes me an intellectual snob....
OWJ:
ReplyDeleteYou'd be oh so welcome my dear and it is funny that, how we can start writing for others and then, wham, we discover we are writing for ourselves!!
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Hattie:
ReplyDeleteWith short breaks I think it's longer than that, perhaps. I remember learning about the 100 year war in Europe and thinking it was unbelievable, not anymore, alas.
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T:
ReplyDeleteI played tennis for years and then ran for a lot of years too so was a participant though never, interestingly enough, an enthusiast.
I would watch the odd game of hurling in Cork and rugby in Canada and participate most dreadfully but the only reason I watched the lads at it was to see the blood. My dark side. I know.
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PS I wondered about his karma/wevs too, it was a horrible death to leave behind but perhaps apt for a workaholic.
Nick:
ReplyDeleteWell yes, me too. I rather real life any day and good hearty discussions over a loooong meal.
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I am decidedly not the male stereotype that you have portrayed. I do not watch TV at all except when there is some important breaking news. My poison is reading and the blogworld.
ReplyDeleteI can tell stories too. Some as bizarre as that of the way your friend's son died. Most of the stories come to me via my mentees or family and friends.
AND, I have a captive audience everytime I am with my friends at the park who depend on me to brighten them up in the evenings that I am there with them.
I also use the blog to share some of the stories but refrain from most due to the sensitivity of the individuals concerned.
There have been studies which have demonstrated why people enjoy watching sport - one of the interesting write ups is here:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/7179471/this-your-brain-sports
In short - your brain mirrors what the athletes in front of you are doing, more so if you already know how to play the game, and this results in a similar endorphine high as to when you participate yourself (therefore men are more likely to get a bigger buzz from watching things like the Superbowl, as they are more likely to have played the sport in high school - for some reason, traditional women's sports, such as netball, don't get as wide a showing on TV - I wonder why...? ;-)). Whilst I don't often watch sports, I did enjoy watching the hockey at the Olympics, and definitely found my leg muscles aching in sympathy, particularly when the goalkeeper was diving to save the ball!
The dinner and discussion idea is great - we have a similar one with our sci-fi group (called PIG - it was the Port Ingestion Group, due to the alcohol consumed, but is now the Phoenix Incinerated Goods group, as those of us who enjoy baking have gradually taken over!) - we all bring a plate of food and nibble whilst we discuss everything under the sun (not necessarily sci-fi). With a huge age range of attendees, and a world of experiences, it is never a dull evening!
Please do share your stories - they are fascinating, and you tell them with such colour and style.
Hello www,
ReplyDeletethanks for the Candlesnap post, very amusing.There must be something about humans that makes them celebrate odd days and seasons. The church cottoned on to that early, very enterprising of the various branches of Christianity to appropriate them for their own festivals.
As for sport, count me out. I am neither a participator nor a couch potato.
Now intelligent dinner parties is another matter altogether. So sad that we live at opposite ends of this globe. (I blame blogging for finding me like-minded souls which I’ll never meet). In my little village we don’t need books for dinner parties, people just bring themselves - and a bottle - and off we go. Not everybody is a worthy guest, we have a smallish circle of friends but each one can be relied on to liven up an evening. You’d fit right in.
Are you a true Irish story teller at heart? Well, tell them here.
I forgot to ask:
ReplyDelete“the most human traffic with pimps”
i know what pimps are but still don’t understand . . .
could you explain, please?
Ramana:
ReplyDeleteI think male bloggers, by default, are NEVER the Nascar stereotype so none of my male blog buddies, I would suspect, fall into that category.
Can't you heavily disguise your stories?
An anonymous blog is a good way to fly, lol.
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Jo:
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be a fly on the wall at your sci-fi nibble nights. Sounds like wonderful conversation!
I like your apologia as well for sports spectators, I guess that's why children's hockey gets so much bad press here with so many parents (yes, moms too) getting banned from their children's games.
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Friko:
ReplyDeleteI just know I'd love your dinner parties. I find initially it is good to stimulate by bring a piece of poetry or a thought or a short story, or... options are open and of course people with just their open minds are always welcome :)
As to the human traffic, yes, white slavery is alive and well. All tastes were catered to at the Superbowl and boys and girls shipped in to accommodate. And fortunes made no doubt, but not by them.
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