A New Year's Serve

[bottle]

Questions

Having been photographically burned in effigy one time in the Tennis Warehouse discussion board, I think nothing of using voodoo dolls to take revenge on my electronic antagonists whether here or someplace else.

The dude will be halfway through a forehand when suddenly he will feel a long pin in the process of running through the top of his shoulder carapace from front to back.

This is somewhat similar to 10splayer wishing my death on a Michigan intrastate. He did not specify slow or quick. Slow, I imagine.

I took this seriously in that both my recent partner Hope and I had separate, horrendous blowouts on these roads in our separate vehicles.

My previous Hungarian girlfriend, a mystical person, taught me to be very superstitious about all such threats on anyone's person since they often come true.

But when 10splayer calls me a "whack-job" as he has frequently done, is he just showing the result of an impoverished vocabulary or actually accusing me of masturbation? And how, I would like to know, does he know anything about that? Any more than he knows my publishing history? How can he know anything about the past New York literary agents who actually took on my work (four to six depending on interpretation)?

And how does one determine success in New York publishing? A best-seller? That would be a failure, wouldn't it?

In any case, Annie Dillard wrote at her website, "I am unaware of any publishers taking on new writers at this time."

And as Pliny wrote long ago, There is nothing certain but uncertainty, and nothing more miserable and arrogant than man.

[bottle]

More straw man fluff. Asking questions and then you supply the answers.

But for now...Hope told you that I was good looking and when a woman says this she means the same thing when a man says it. It's what is not said that counts. Hope also said that I was a man of the world once she heard me out about the odyssey I had been on for the past 12 years or so. You weren't listening to me. You were too fixated on "bringing me down" already. I was only explaining that it was prudent to hear Donald Trump out at that point which was a year before the election and not too many were giving him a chance.

The rest is history. You flunked the test about the "looters" by the way. You, bubble, are the racist. Unable to see beyond the demographics. I'll explain later. I have a class at the club that will test the game of tennis. A group of sixteen or seventeen. That is enough to qualify as a mob but I am certain that it will not.

She called you a nut. And if she called you a man of the world, now she thinks you are a hick.

[bottle]

Absolute nonsense...per usual. Watch the video. Discuss it with us. Discuss it with your classes to get their perspective. I haven't been influenced one little nano iota by Donald Trump. Another of your baseless statements that you draw out of midair. Obviously I am my own man. Ask Hope. She'll tell you.

Nobody is trying to change you. You are perfect just the way you are. The perfect campaign mechanism for Donald Trump...ironically.

No, actually, Hope has said-- and more than once-- that you are a nut. Sorry about that. Actually, I am the one who cuts you more slack. But I couldn't get the video to work. Do you think I make stuff like that up? Okay, it's a video about black people looting buildings in hurricane ravaged areas. I get the idea, but maybe I'm a white person almost ready to loot some buildings. Push anyone far enough and they will loot.

That's a nice theory about people who are articulate on the subject of Trump's flaws playing right into his hands. It's wishful thinking. People who are standing up to him are the ones who are bringing him down. Even stronger are the ones who effectively laugh at him, for, as Mark Twain pointed out, no one can stand up to laughter. You certainly do promulgate some convoluted theories, but that's okay, I guess, if you've got nothing better to do.

So instead of calling your stuff nonsense as you just called mine, I think I'll call it baloney today, yes that is the word I shall use today-- baloney. Would like to apply it to the utterances of Steve Bannon as well, a guy with whom you have more in common than a first name, in my view.

And are you the one to decide whether you have been influenced by Donald Trump? A better subject for evaluation by other persons, I would submit. Sometimes, despite your claims, I wonder if you know yourself at all and even more how you are coming across.

Of course that is something you would say about me and have many times. I think it's amazing how the same arguments get used in the two opposite directions over and over. But submit again that it is air-brained projection by Trump and his cronies so unable to put in distance between him and them. The way it works is that somebody on the left says something, and then the person on the right gets very belligerent and truculent, and uses the same words (complaining all the while about how mean they were) and directs them back. Sort of like a block in tennis. But then the right wingnuts get all romantic and misty-eyed about what a shrewd guy Trump is and how he can turn anything back.

No he can't. He blocks the ball on the frame, not the strings. Much more inept than people like you seem to realize.

Well, I just wrote all that very fast. Don't have time for much more. I think that most conservatives nowadays are jelly doughnuts with sentimentality not substance (and certainly not facts!) at their core.

[bottle]

I'll keep your last few sentences in mind. The rest of the diatribe I can do without. I'm glad you've got a friend or two to support you. The stuff about me getting killed on the interstate doesn't need response from me. Other than that it demonstrates character deficiency on the part of the two guys who say it. I know you and think you are better than that. As far as the other guy, I don't know. I reserve judgment. Once he wanted to be friends. Not now. Okay. And the video didn't work on my computer for some reason. Okay again. It just would have depressed me as a lot of this stuff does.

You guys are not going to change me nor I you so why should anybody try? The audience is other people, and one doesn't have to go around counting every nose or making up some number the way an advertising person like Donald Trump does. I'm serious. I think that both you and 10splayer have been overly influenced by that man. Always thinking about demographics: How many books did you sell-- three? How many friends do you have at TennisPlayer-- not many. An obscenity comes to mind, but it would be better if 10splayer put a book in the Amazon slush pile himself to see how he does. Then he would know a little more about the realities of American publishing.

If either of you want to write and sell a book, I advise going the more traditional route. My best friend's cult movie SHOOT THE WHALE appears to be catching on half a century after he made it-- in Germany of all places even though it contains stock Nazis in Death Valley. 90 per cent luck, I believe, and I've not had more than my share of that (according to my sister).

[don_budge]

That guy should restrain himself whenever it comes to women's tennis, lest people think that A. he doesn't like women and B. he doesn't like Afro-Americans. And TennisPlayer might well ask why it doesn't have women in its discussion board the way it once did and how it could increase the number of women on its subscription roll.

I don't plan on restraining myself based on anything you say. I think I like women and African Americans as much as the next guy. I look past the demographics as much as possible and see people...which have a tendency to disappoint in general. Can one be accused of racism if their faith in the human race comes up short of smelling like roses?

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nati...172469001.html

One grows weary of your baseless accusations regarding racism and sexism. Naziism. The harbinger of them all. You are claiming nonexistent victories with your baseless accusations. Oh Great Social Warrior...what do you make of the video in the article? What can we...if anything...conclude from the video? You...the expert and all knowing psychopath...sociopath. Social Justice Warrior. I am curious. I haven't drawn any real conclusions about the video myself but I do find it curious and thought that you might just be able to shed some light on it. Some of your wisdom. Your wit and what are you calling it? Tough questions given your proclivities. Give it a shot. In between self feed on the Southfield Freeway at rush hour. I understand the bounce is perfectly true.

Were either of the women in the U. S. Open match that I was discussing African American? Were both of them? I didn't notice. Later I saw Sloane Stephens accepting a check for 3.7 million dollars and I had to ask myself what she had done to earn that compared to Rafael Nadal's effort to earn the same amount. As a bonus...Sloane managed to throw in her saga how she had come back from injury and what a great mother she had...and on and on and on. Personally I am not all that interested in the personal lives of athletes. It is the contest on the field that interests me and nothing else.

I thought the Women's Final was abysmally played and it had nothing to do with anything other than the tennis. But why does Mr. Social Justice Warrior make everything to be about demographics? Is he the real racist? This may be a good lesson for your 175 African American students to ponder a bit. By the way...watch "To Sir With Love" about a million times before proceeding with your lesson plans about being a good Trump hater. A good American hater. Try to do things with love. Particularly when you teach. Love, truth and trust. These are the key ingredients to good teaching.

[bottle]

I'll tell you what Bottle, i will stop posting if even 5 people say (post) that you're not a whack job.

Nah, they don't want to mess with the likes of you. I'm the only one whose degree of not caring is sufficient to do that.

But I appreciate your saying that nobody reads my stuff and I don't have any friends. Really, my seventh graders are more mature than you. And please, readers who are my friends, in some cases great friends, I beg you not to reply to this loon.

And loon, go ahead and post all you want. You are so delightful. Love to read you. I do like real loons if not humanid loons. Had two favorite loons on Boyden's Lake in Maine. They'd go under and come up a hundred yards away. And made noise like 10splayer.

[10splayer]

The important thing is that I keep going. Whether anybody reads me doesn't matter.

(Hmm, let me see, 57,756 views as of today.)

I'll tell you what Bottle, i will stop posting if even 5 people say (post) that you're not a whack job.

[bottle]

Written During the Men's Final of the U.S. Open, a Disparagement of All Men in the World

You are the biggest bigot and wannabe bully I have ever met in my life. This is from one that knows. Trust me. You know what I hate more than anything? That's right...bullies and bigots. Guess why?

You got beat up by black kids. My barber in Grosse Pointe also grew up in this part of Detroit. He told me that if I was going to ask kids their opinion of Donald Trump I must bend over backward to be extremely open. I was willing to do that but the situation was different from what the barber imagined. The 178 kids are 100 per cent opposed to Trump. I try to be open anyway and reward kids for offering any counter-argument at all though they never believe it even as they say it.

The barber was alluding to The Detroit Riots. "All I knew," he said, "was that kids were trying to hurt me, and I didn't know why."

No, I'm not a would-be bully but an actual bully just like Nadal or anybody who dictates play on a tennis court. And the court here is the court of public opinion, comprised of those who have read both of our posts. Many times when you think you have gotten the best of me you haven't.

For instance, when for the hundredth time you bring out your tired quote from Dostoyevsky to say once again that I am "scum," you neglect Dostoyevsky's background as a rich kid. And you neglect the great difference in wealth between those who owned manors and those who were TB-ridden peasants/serfs in 19th century Russia. I have drawn your attention to such overwhelming debater's points many times. Your response: Simply ignore them. That doesn't cut it.

Same thing if I infer that social warriors and men of ideas from Burke to Jefferson, Hamilton, Jay and Madison created and passed the United States Constitution, you won't admit that I made a compelling point. Once upon a time everything I said was fine. Then anything I said was awful. This wasn't a change in me. It was you changing when Donald Trump came on the scene.

Again, I'm not a would be bully but an actual bully pushing a propagandist, advertising man or giraffe from South Africa around a tennis court.

Think Ted Cruz if you think this behavior of mine is unattractive. Cruz was a natural to play the prime witch hunter in a Harvard production of Arthur Miller's play "The Crucible." Although many persons would join me in saying he is an even more unattractive man than Donald Trump, we all would also have to admit that while he was an undergraduate at Princeton he won the U.S. Collegiate Debating Championship.

[bottle]

One Dozen Cracked Tennis Courts at Rouge River Park

Some day white people are going to wake up and realize there aren't enough black people to go around.-- James Baldwin

THIS...is your karma coming home to roost.

Early this morning I did self-feed in Grosse Pointe, Michigan where most of the courts are pretty nice. Ironically, I did not enjoy this as much as I do the Rouge Park cracks which send the balls flying in all sorts of weird directions.

And when we consider poor bottle/John Escher's sad fate-- if we even do and there is no particular reason we should-- know he has 178 seventh grade social studies students rather than the 125 he thought. And that, although things could change in a nano-second, this chapter in his life may be more interesting to him than any other.

[bottle]

Well let's see...you have brought my wife into this. My father and my dog... It isn't that I am a tough guy from Detroit...it's only that you are quite the opposite.

Then Hallelujah!

But YOU (don_budge) brought your wife and dog into this public discussion although we all should be wary of putting wife and dog together in the same sentence. And you on your own mentioned your "dear old dad" many times before I met him and saw that that description was true.

The dog, Puntzie, figured in your reported walks. In one of your walks, Donald Trump had just captured the presidency and all in the world and cool weather of Sweden seemed bright and beautiful to you. To quote William Wordsworth to an old leech gatherer, "This morning gives us promise of a glorious day."

And your wife figured in a difficult horse birth, reported by you, a horse birth with which I had nothing to do. My sister, who knows an unbelievable amount about horses, who can even give them an IQ test with a quick look at their ears and conformation, would like to know more. So would I. We would like to know more about your wife's horse breeding farm of which you have only given us glimpses such as the big kick you received.

Now I freely admit I may have inadvertently connected your wife to black covered trains that ran unimpeded through Sweden in World War II. With the cooperation of the king of Sweden they were carrying supplies for the destruction of Norway and Denmark.

I invoked that bit of history at a time when I was convinced that you are a Nazi. And my concern was with all enablers of Nazis.

So ask your wife, please, if you are a Nazi. And report back on what she says. But only if you want to...

[bottle]

Read once again below John Escher...Fyodor is writing about you and your ilk. Social Justice Warriors.

Social justice warriors created Communist Russia. But they also created modern France and the United States.

[bottle]

Unperceptive Reading of Dostoyevsky is Better than Foul Obscenity (Congratulations)

Question: Did don_budge write about the the U.S. Open dismissal of the seventh or ninth seed on the men's side the way he did the seventh seed on the women's side (Johanna Konta)?

Summary and accusation: don_budge is not qualified to write about women's tennis because he is too negative on the subject of all women's sports and of all female accomplishment in general.

Some kind of love should exist at the core of everything we write.

don_budge is comic in his inflexibility, and I am determined to have fun with him as I make fun of him.

[don_budge]

In Earlier Days at TennisPlayer

The dozen crack-ridden Rouge River Park courts in Detroit do not come with a ball machine but I still do the other stuff before deeming myself ready to travel to where there are players besides myself.

THIS...is your karma coming home to roost.

Ironically I played my first sanctioned tournament there and lost first round to the number one seed Tony Lamerato 6-0, 6-1. It was 16 and under...I was a late starter. I beat him on his home court at Western Michigan University about five years later in collegiate competition. He was undefeated at the time. It isn't about where you start...it's about where you finish.

[don_budge]

That guy should restrain himself whenever it comes to women's tennis, lest people think that A. he doesn't like women and B. he doesn't like Afro-Americans. And TennisPlayer might well ask why it doesn't have women in its discussion board the way it once did and how it could increase the number of women on its subscription roll.

The story of Sloane Stephens' recovery from surgery (and the extent of that recovery) is more intriguing than whether some expat in Sweden is still licking his wounds from Billie Jean's victory over Bobby Riggs many decades ago. So yes, something is as dumbed down as it can possibly get but not what the expat thinks.

I won't return here for several days to avoid a likely squawk and altercation usually in the form of foul obscenity from more than one person and worthy of the president himself. Let's just hope the expat, muttering under his breath that no one is going to push him around or mess with him since he is a tough guy from Detroit, doesn't give a case of rabies to his dog Puntzie.

Well let's see...you have brought my wife into this. My father and my dog. You have really dug a hole for yourself. It isn't that I am a tough guy from Detroit...it's only that you are quite the opposite.

You are the biggest bigot and wannabe bully I have ever met in my life. This is from one that knows. Trust me. You know what I hate more than anything? That's right...bullies and bigots. Guess why?

The match sucked. It was a stinker and I feel sorry for anyone stupid enough to attend such a fiasco. You are another story altogether.

Read once again below John Escher...Fyodor is writing about you and your ilk. Social Justice Warriors.

"I have already hinted that all sorts of low-class individuals had made an appearance among us. In troubled times of uncertainty or transition all sorts of low individuals appear everywhere. I am not talking about the so-called "progressives", who are always in a greater hurry than everyone else (that is their chief concern) and whose aims, though mostly absurd, are more or less definite. No, I am speaking only of the rabble. This rabble, which you will find in any society, usually rises to the surface in every period of transition, and is not only without any aim, but also without an inkling of an idea, merely expressing with all its strength unrest and impatience.. And yet this rabble without realizing it itself, almost always finds itself under the command of the small crowd of "progressives", who act with a definite aim, and it is they who direct this scum where they like, provided they themselves are not composed of utter idiots, which, however happens, too." Fyodor Dostoyevsky…The Devils, Part III Chapter 1

[bottle]

In Earlier Days at TennisPlayer

Bungalo Bill and I were locked in mortal debate. He had been, I believe, in the stable of Vic Braden teaching pros. Me, I had been the crew coach at Skidmore College and West Virginia University.

One day I got an email from Ben Ford, a tour technician who decided to recognize me as a fellow technician although he purposefully misspelled the word as "technition."

I was amazed to learn that in this big world there could be such a thing as a tour technition, a person who travels with the famous touring pros we all love too much.

I think now of a herd of stampeding caribou. The stragglers and puny ones at the edge or rear are likely to be picked off by a wolf, a lion, or a tennis technition.

Middling or lower ranked tour players, it seemed to me-- the ones about to go into Real Estate-- were Ben's prime customers.

They would come to him and explain that since they couldn't win, could he maybe give them a new stroke or two?

He then (and he explained this part to me so I am not guessing here), did what I used to do-- self-feed, hit a wall, use a ball machine while designing all the way.

The dozen crack-ridden Rouge River Park courts in Detroit do not come with a ball machine but I still do the other stuff before deeming myself ready to travel to where there are players besides myself.

And I like to name any new stroke I come up with, always have, as part of an effort to give it identity, hence edge.

Should you give some thing a nice name or a cold number? A cold number for a hurricane according to one of my seventh grade students.

Well, Ben followed my arguments for a while. In Bungalo Bill, he said, I had run into a cut shot artist. And Bungalo and bottle both knew enough tennis to be dangerous.

Dangerous? Just the opposite of innocuous as in the previous post. So which is it, reader, you decide.

I'll tell you this. My old forehand, The Ziegenfuss, carried a lot of arm before body pivot took over-- same idea as an Ellie-bam.

And if you believe, as I do, that arm work independent from bod is essential to Federfores and other more modern forehands, that arm work may best be delivered in a longitudinal way, i.e., from butt of racket to its tip.

This scheme makes racket spiral inside out to rise on outer edge of the ball.