Yes, someone has written about the Sex Life of Socks. I found it Googling for "The Joy of Sox." I was following up on Tuesday's Schmerltz re-evocation. I suppose I should have expected no less.
Here is but a small sampling of the insights awaiting you:
From a human perspective, the mating behaviour of socks seems highly ordered. Each sock has its destined partner from day one, and barring accidents or natural disasters, each pairing is supposed to last for many long, toe-warming years. And when at last an elderly sock gives up the ghost and disappears to the great laundry basket in the sky, its bereft partner will surely find its life devoid of purpose, and relinquish the will to grip, only occasionally getting a second chance at a useful existence as a glove puppet, duster, or novelty penis-cosy.
However, this vision of socklife actually reeks of prejudice, half-truths and out-moded moral standards. Try looking at things from the point of view of a sock. (If you are by nature unimaginative or overly literal, then lying on the floor with your head in a shoe might help.) Why should creed, colour or the presence of man-made fibres dictate a sock's choice of life-partner? They shouldn't. Socks don't ask for much (when was the last time you heard one ask for anything, in fact?). All they desire is freedom to choose who they wish to love, whether for a lifetime or a day, and not to be shackled into an unfeeling relationship just because humans deem it right. So there.
You've probably seen it on TV. A basketball court with trampolines. Apparently it's called Slamball. It's got teams. It's got action. It's official. It's just about impossible to find a place that is actually set up for the public to play. It's probably the perfect TV sport - accessible only by TV. I founed another "official" Slamball site.
Clearly, I've mixed reactions about this innovation. I applaud the inventiveness, the action, the challenge. But I am less than impressed by accessability, or lack thereof. Even if they eventually build Slamball courts for the public, It might turn out with all this need for expensive, special equipment, that there's too little room for fun.
My hope for the future of sports now that I found New Zealand GolfCross, I Google my way to Wallyball - a kind of volleyball game played on a kind of racquetball court. It's already a very "official" sport, with official rules and official equipment. Which is perhaps the discouraging part of the whole endeavor. On the other hand, it appears to be an exciting, challenging, and, dare I say it, fun activity that, with a little enlightened lightening up, could be played in many off-the-wall environments (like hallways, gym corners, alleys).
Anyhow, for a taste, here's some answers to FAQs:
1.) CEILING IN PLAY OR IN BOUNDS
The ceiling is in bounds only on the side of the team that is returning the serve or volley, provided a player on that team touches the ball first.
2.) NUMBER OF PLAYERS
Each team shall be composed of two (2), three (3) or four (4) persons. Each team shall be allowed one substitute or alternate player. When a team has been reduced to less than the allotted number of players, a substitution may be called, the game may be forfeited or the game may continue with remaining players, i.e. two (2) against three (3), three (3) against four (4) (must continue to play by 4 person rules).
3.) PLAYER DIVISIONS
Teams entering league or tournament play shall be classified into one of the following divisions:
Open, Advanced, Intermediate and Novice.
Men’s 2, 3 or 4 player teams.
Women’s 2, 3 or 4 player teams.
Coed 2, 3 or 4 player teams.
5.) FOUR PERSON PLAY
In four- (4) person play, the server on offense or defense cannot spike or block the ball, fake either one or even attempt either one.
6.) SIMULTANEOUS CONTACT WITH THE BALL BY BLOCKERS
A player, who participates in a block and makes only one attempt to play the ball during the block, may make successive contact with the ball during such play even though it is not a hard driven spiked ball. Players participating in a block may participate in the next play; this second contact shall count
as the first of three (3) hits allowed a team.
7.) PLAYING TWO OR MORE WALLS
Contacting two (2) or more walls with the ball are allowed only by the team in possession of the ball on their own side provided a player on that team touches the ball first. If the ball crosses the net after contacting two (2) or more walls without making contact with a player, a side-out of serve will be called..
10.) THE BALL
The ball shall be spherical, weighing not less than nine- (9) ounces (280g) nor more than ten-(10) ounces (280g). The ball shall not be less than twenty-five (25) inches (62cm) nor more than twenty-seven (27) inches (68cm) in circumference. Ball pressure should not exceed eleven (11) pounds for the pink balls. We recommend the official ball....of course.
On yesterday's walk, I overheard a couple say the name "Carl Rogers." This name has a certain magic for me - Rogers was the founder of Client-Centered Therapy, and was, for me, one of the most inspiring leaders in revisioning mental health. In many ways, his model for letting the client be the author of his own healing influenced my understanding of how to facilitate children's play.
So, I turned around and caught up with the couple, trying to find out if they were using one of my heroes name in vain. We walked together for a while (me walking the opposite direction from home, but definitely going the right way) that's how I met Jim Morissett. We both carried voice recorders. Only his is better. And he uses it to create an audio journal, the first I've encountered online, in which he records his daily conversations with himself.
He left me with this poem (Hiaku-ish - 17 syllables exactly):
Work exists in the service of play
It's surely not the other way
This morning, he sent me the link to one month of his musings. I was touched and delighted by his inner play, and thought you might be, too. You'll need Real Player.
Speaking of odd-shaped balls, here's the PhysioRoll - a kind of dumb-bell-shaped ball. What, perhaps, one might consider calling a "Dumball."
All of which is to continue on the theme of changing the shape of sports by changing the shape of its, umm, play objects. Dumballs, Eggballs, could each and both lead us to the invention of volleyball and perhaps even soccer variations of the non-round-ball type. Each of which, as Burton Silver so lyrically implies, could "challenge human ingenuity and reinvigorate the human spirit "
"Say, Bernie," you silently exclaim, "how did you ever manage to find such a cool and clearly obscure sport as New Zealand GolfCross?"
Thanks for asking. It was one of those amazingly rewarding surprises that make this whole blogging thing pay-off, in a conceptual, spiritual kind of way.
I had been thinking about Volleyball a lot, and wondering if maybe a new kind of ball would result in making the game new enough to bring more fun for more people. I was thinking of a cylindrical ball, actually, but when I was in Pennsylvania at my friend Bill's gym, I saw these large, oval, exercise balls. And decided that maybe one of these would work. So, I Googled my way towards "oval balls" and finally found these Egg Balls on the web.In the very same listing, I found the story about New Zealand GolfCross, and once again, history was made. Or something remarkably like that.
Apparently, once you get rid of all that putting nonsense, the notion that golf balls need to roll clearly becomes obsolete. As we all know, it's not the putt, but the flog after which golf is conversely named. Hence, the invention the oval golf ball and birth of New Zealand GolfCross. A small step for golf, you say. Yes, but a giant step for golfkind.
Burton Silver of New Zealand has taken the flogging part of golf to the next level, inventing not only a new kind of golf ball and a new kind of non-hole-in-the-air and what might very well prove to be whole new game.
It turns out that an oval golf ball is reportedly far more condusive to both not-rolling, and more controllable flogging. According to the official NewZealand GolfCross site, the ovality of the ball allows you to:
1. Hit the ball straight every time. 2. Perform controlled slices and hooks with ease. 3. Adjust the degree of fade or draw you require. 4. Generate backspin — even with a wood or out of the rough. 5. Apply top spin to achieve long low running shots and, 6. if you really want to show off, do double curves and play tunes.
Says Mr. Silver:
“It seems strange and sad to me that we don’t do more to encourage a spirit of innovation in sport. Because inventing new activities and getting people to participate in them is so exciting and stimulating for all concerned. It always leads to new discoveries about our physical and mental capabilities and skills, and it presents us with new challenges, which is surely what sport should be about.
“It’s my belief that the creation of the new in sport is as important as the celebration of the old. That actively experimenting with sport and staging new events challenges human ingenuity and reinvigorates the human spirit and I’d love to think that GolfCross® may in some way act as a kind of catalyst in encouraging us to explore all the other new sporting challenges that are just waiting to be discovered out there.”
Ever watch Zoom? It's definitely one of the best school age kids show to come out of public TV. I especially like their games (naturally), because they came from kids. And, lo and behold, here's a page full of all the ZOOM games fit to play.
They call it a "Fling Sock." We called it a "Schmerltz." They make theirs as follows:
Bean bag end - Sinks securely into the palm of your hand. Double bagged and filled with non toxic polyethylene pellets(the same material used for sandwich bags)
Tail section - Made of durable tie dye colored nylon fabric. Trails behind the bean bag when thrown providing a long, easy-to-grab target.
Handle - Soft foam enclosed in heavy duty nylon. Provides a specific comfortable place to hold so the spin and timing for release are always the same. That means your throws will be consistent. Keeps the tail from sliding out between fingers so tail catches are automatic.
We made ours by putting a tennis ball into the toe of a sock and making a knot above it (or not).
Whether you make your own or buy the commercial version, here's a Field Manual for many hours of active and attractive flinging.
From the perspective of someone facilitating a play event, these Schmerltz/Fling Sock thingies, once in flight, are as eye-pleasing and crowd-gathering as a Frisbee. The tail flutters in the air like a giant sperm. Throw a bunch of them at once to fertilize the playful imagination.
From the players' perspective, the Field Manual demonstrates how many different ways there are to play with this toy, and how inviting it can be for people of all skills and ages.
I haven't been able to stop thinking about the magnitude of family fun described in Jan Nickerson's response to my open query about intergenerational games. Yesterday's Drawing Quotes game was part of it. Today, I decided that I had to blog the rest of it.
Jan writes (Bernie laboriously adds links where appropriate):
Our ages range from 10 to 17 for kids, 40's and 50's for adults, and 75-85 for grandparents. We especially like to play family games on New Year's Eve - fun for all!
There's never time to play ALL the games we're prepared to play - we just self-organize around whichever ones people want to play. By having the round robin, people can choose. Those who want to play Magic, for example, can for one 30 minute round, and still be available to play other games during the night with people who don't play Magic. If you've ever been to an Open Space Conference, that's basically how we organize it. Half hour time slots are rows of the matrix, Rooms with game selections are columns of the matrix. Kids get to choose who they'll play what against in each time slot, making sure that they play at least 1 game with each person there (works for 8 people). After the kids have chosen, which includes committing adults in different time slots and games, then the adults fill in the empty slots. Don't worry if a game takes less than 30 minutes - time to play another quick version, or refill a drink. This variety and mixing gets our kids asking for game nights with the family and friends.
Computer games we love to play include:
Zoombini, and all of the Dr. Brain's (e.g. see how many puzzles you can do in 20 - 30 minutes) Jigsaw(Bernie notes: this online Jigsaw puzzle site allows you - if you join, for free - to upload your own photos and make puzzles out of them. All puzzles on this site can be made more or less difficult, changing the size and number of pieces. Very cool.)
Board games we love include: Apples to Apples (great for all ages 11 and up) (there are sets allowing you to extend the age range downward to 7) Loaded Questions (GREAT fun, especially for friends and family you don't necessarily see often - perfect for holidays) Cranium (fun to see who becomes the resident actor, singer, artist, or factoid expert!) Pictionary Upwords Tangrams Elferraus (German game by Ravensburger, building up and down sequence with 4 suits) Hot Seat (like loaded questions, esp good for teenagers) Jenga Truth or Dare (like Jenga tower of wooden sticks, but each one has a truth or dare challenge - good for teenagers)
Old Standby Favorites: Charades Card games/activities: Crazy Uno (see instructions in the Deep Fun weblog - or just google search for them) RummiCube Sequence (my husband and I have played this at least once a day, for 2 years now!) - see below for rules variations House of Cards (see how many cards you can add to the house of cards in 5 minutes, without making it fall) Fluxx (rules change every hand!) Bali (like double solitaire, but with letters building up words) Magic (for those who know how to play)
This is a variation of telephone game, but done with pen and paper, using quotes and drawing. (see also: Exquisite Corpse)
All this takes is a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, per player.
Each person writes a 3 - 10 word phrase (could be famous saying, book title, or just something quirky you thought up) at the top of a vertically-held sheet of paper. Write your own name at the bottom of the sheet, so you know when it comes back to you. Fold the top over so no one can see the quote and pass it to the left.
The next person looks at the phrase and draws images connoting the the phrase. Then folds the paper down another flap, so the next person can see the drawings but NOT the phrase. Pass the paper to the left.
The next person looks only at the drawings, and right below that writes the phrase that reflects the drawing. Fold the paper down another flap, so the next person can see only the most recent phrase,but nothing preceding it.
Continue until the paper comes back to the first person. Generally 1 sheet of paper suffices for 8 people.
The person who originated the phrase now reads the last phrase, then the original phrase, and then everyone looks at the paper, hooting and hollering hysterically over the pathway the message took.
You've probably seen it on TV. A basketball court with trampolines. Apparently it's called 
My hope for the future of sports now that I found 
and what might very well prove to be whole new game. 
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