Category: Entertainment

With a definite slant towards comedy, this category holds articles that discuss what’s up with fun. They are: Golf, Novels, Italian and Independent, Country Music, Cartoons, Stand Up’s Greatest, Jokes You’ll Never Hear, and Chapters 1-6 of a novel in progress.

Italian and Independent

Now that we’ve digested the onslaught of free music out there, some of us are looking for tunes that are completely different. Here are two suggestions: Italian and independent.

Italian

Italian music can be generally classified as light pop. Yes, they’ll occasionally kick it up a notch but dagos never encroach upon hard rock. Unfortunately, Italian rap is terrible. So you’ll have to listen late at night (say, after 9:00), when all the little rappers have gone to bed.

Here are a few tracks:

  • Laura Pausini featuring James Blunt – Primavera in Anticipo 

  • Gianluca Grignani – La mia storia tra le dita

  • Cixi – Non Sono L’ultima 

A good Italian radio station, Italia On Air, can be found at 1.FM.

Independent

Thanks to technology, today’s independent music scene is booming. It only costs $20/month to run a radio station and many focus on independent art. These stations usually play all sorts of genres so there’ll be songs you don’t like. But give one a chance and you’ll find something.

Here’s a sample:

 

What do you think?

Novels

Life has many tricks so here is one of mine: buy reference books and get novels from the library.

There are books for knowledge and books for pleasure. Get your novels from the library since you’ll only read them once. Knowledge books are different. They get highlighted and picked back up many times so keep them around. Buy knowledge books to make your own personal library and pass on novels so they don’t take up space and get dusty.

Because of the medium, novels stimulate a deeper sensation within us. Touching somewhere that movies or television can’t reach. And they provide us with common points of reference that can be used for communication. Lots of famous speakers express themselves by referring to popular novels (which only works if everyone has read them).

Anyway, I’m sure you get the point. Here is the list of my favourites:

  • A Prayer for Owen Meany – John Irving
  • A Time to Kill – John Grisham
  • East of Eden – John Steinbeck
  • Elvis, Jesus and Coca-Cola – Kinky Friedman
  • Flowers for Algernon – Daniel Keyes
  • Gone Girl – Gillian Flynn
  • I Know This Much Is True – Wally Lamb
  • Kane and Abel – Jeffrey Archer
  • Murder on the Orient Express – Agatha Christie
  • Naked – Daniel Sedaris
  • She’s Come Undone – Wally Lamb
  • Strip Tease – Carl Hiaasen
  • The Da Vinci Code – Dan Brown
  • The Godfather – Mario Puzo
  • The Glass Castle – Jeannette Walls
  • The Piano Man’s Daughter – Timothy Findley
  • 100 Years of Solitude – Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Where’s yours?

Golf

I have a nephew in Toronto who is athletic, but not a golfer. Here’s how I’d teach him to play.

There are four components to the game: driving, approach shots, chipping, and putting. The basic swing applies to the first two. Chipping is a modification of the basic swing, and putting is something completely different.

Basic Swing

The basic swing has eight parts.

Eye on the ball

  • “Keep your eye on the ball” is the oldest adage in golf. It was designed to help players make proper contact between the ball and club.
  • Your head should be tucked, looking directly at the ball, until at least a half second after you’ve made contact. Then, your back shoulder will naturally make your head turn forward as you complete your follow through.
  • Hit the middle of the ball with the middle of the club. (Easy when using a tee. Also why you make a divot when shooting off the grass.)

Feet position

  • Stand close to the ball (you’re not playing hockey).
  • Your front foot position varies by club: with short irons (6-9 iron), the ball stays in the middle of your feet. When hitting long irons, woods, or drivers, the ball should be closer to your front heel.

Front arm straight

  • For right-handed golfers, your left arm should be mostly straight (but do bend your wrists).
  • Your club should be on the same plane going up as coming down.

Closed face

  • The club head can be either open faced, straight, or closed. Try it all ways and you’ll find the ball goes further with it closed.

Knees bent

  • Keep your knees bent throughout the swing. They’ll naturally rise back up as part of the finish.

Turn your hips, turn your wrists

  • Drive your hips through the swing and turn your hands over as you make contact.

Hit through the ball

  • Don’t just hit the ball and stop. Hit all the way through on your way to the finish.

Finish your swing

  • Your chest should be facing the hole, all puffed out like a rooster, with your club’s shaft touching your back just like Rory McIlroy.

Practice the basic swing by concentrating on each component, until the whole thing feels natural. Start by hitting the lower clubs (e.g., wedges) and then gradually move up to drivers. Hit each club at least 8 times. After hitting a hundred balls or so, every day for 3 weeks, you’re ready to play.

Chipping

  • Pop the ball up using a short back swing, firm wrists, and a little hips.
  • Still bend your knees.
  • The trick is to hit the bottom of the ball with the bottom of the club (not the middle of the ball with the middle of the club).

Practice in your backyard by lightly popping up a ball for no more than 5 feet. Do this a million times over and you’ll become good.

Putting

  • There are two parts to making a putt: line and weight. Weight is how hard you hit the ball, and line is where you put it.
  • Putt with your arms and shoulders (not wrists). Your wrists should be straight (and don’t break them).
  • Line up the ball by pointing its arrow (or lettering) towards the hole. This way, during your actual stroke, you’ll only worry about weight.

Practice putting on a practice green at any golf course. Remember, it’s line and weight. If you line up the ball properly, you only have to worry about weight. Place your feet one step back from the ball, and take 2-3 practice strokes for weight. Then step forward and hit it.

P.S. Tiger is getting old.