some great hoop isolations

www.youtube.com/watch

> I feel a little sorry for that kid. I wish he could just have a little natural skill. <

Natural, schmatural. If the kid keeps at it for two or three years he'll be great. What he needs is OBSESSION! What he needs is to get hung up in what he's doing, and not in the impression he thinks he's making by doing it.

If he can't get beyond self-image, he'll drop this soon enough and join the ranks of all those whatever-they-ares that can't get outside themselves. (though it took me until middle age to get there, so maybe I'm missing something)

Talking about very much the same thing with Greg tonight, and how it is a major division in all physical manipulation groups: poi, juggling, martial arts, magic, . . . oooh, magic!

Years ago I was very active in alt.magic.secrets, being concerned with skill development and sharing rather than power trips and secrets. Amazing the number of people who just would not get it!

Maybe we all eventually grow up.

Maybe we don't.

For some, obsession (or total involvement outside the self) is a way to escape pain and anxiety and pressure. It's a way of forgetting what hurts and looking at or becoming one with beauty and wonder. Moby Dick and the bible were my first such escapes, followed by science fiction and historical fantasy. I still have difficulty separating the god who sends bears after children with Robert Heinlein.

Hmm. I believe this more properly belongs in my blog, so I'll put it there, too