Andrew Bargh is a genius.

He found this video. Now there are countless videos that I love, but let's face it, this is something at we have all wished for at one time or another. These guys are brilliant and I'm mildly obsessed, since the things they do are things that Mike and I want to do every day.

Enjoy!
Charlie

The golden rule

I figured out a way to put into words the way I view the world now. And in fact, it's kind of an interesting thought for all of us, I think.

We've all heard this:

"Treat others as you would like to be treated."

It's known as the Golden Rule. It is all over Greek philosophy. Most of the major world religions have a very similar thought, usually summed up in a phrase like the one above. For example, the version of the Golden Rule in Christianity is found in Matthew 7:12a, which reads, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you." We have been taught this since we were kids, in Sunday school, the playground, when you share your gum with the wholeeee class. If everyone just followed the Golden Rule, what a perfect world this world would be.

But what if we don't all want to be treated the same way? Herein lies the problem. Some people like when they are the center of attention, while others want to be left alone. Some people would rather everyone suck up to them and make everything sunny, while others would like honesty, no matter how brutal. Not all of us want the same treatment, making treating someone the way we want to be treated kind of stupid, egocentrical and hard to compromise. Everyone happy would be, "Treat others as they would like to be treated." I wonder if that would make you truly happy, however, as you are too busy trying to please everyone to focus on yourself, and to get in touch with yourself.

It is in this way that I am mixed up. I am following the Golden Rule, more than most people I know, but because the way I want to be treated is a little quirky and weird, I come off looking like a spaz at times. For example, sometimes I enjoy people being a little bitter and sarcastic. It's really funny to me, especially if that person has some wit. As such, I am bitter and sarcastic whenever I feel like it. Which is very often. It is very unreasonable to think that everyone I'm around to be in the mood for that. Most of the time it comes across as bitching. Sometimes I like to be left alone... and so I leave everyone alone. This is also not okay with most people, I have found.

So what's the plan? Follow the Golden Rule, almost selfishly it appears, or treat everyone the way they want to be treated and miss out on personal growth?

O scriptures, be more obvious.

Love,
Charlie

My poetry class fell in love with you too. It might have taken them a few more stanzas than it took me.

So a revised version of my poem "Classroom Map" got into Grub Street, Towson's literary magazine, which apparently is Award-Winning. Aren't we all. (Not really so much their website.)

This poem has a few familar characters in it. I appear in it a few times as various people, that kid who always wanted to start a band in high school is in it, Matt Riley is in it, and of course, another important person in my life. My class loved it, and my professor loved it. Kenny Johns loved it, which is saying something, and Liz Laribee had some nice things to say, and had some suggestions I tried to incorporate.

A lot of potential

Cash thrown at your sister to attend the school of her choice,
you know, the one with the stone buildings
and the same history professor
as when your grandfather went there.

A local band at last opening for their heroes,
who are always named something too intense,
like Lovedrug or Copeland or Showbread.
They’ll outplay the headliner tonight, in their big chance.

A 6’ 7” lefty with a fiery heater and wicked hook
and an evil look that would make
Mickey Mantle Himself quiver in his spikes.
He’s only 20 and in the big leagues already.

And most of all, the girl across the hall
with the Technicolored eyes and kind voice.
The one who smells like pot, speaks French,
enjoys pottery and kisses as soft as she smiles.

But your sister meets a frat boy, drinks too much
and drops out by March.

The frontman quits and tries to go solo,
and the band never leaves the garage.

The lefty can't throw strikes, hurts his golden shoulder,
and opens a used car dealership.

And the girl across the hall starts to kiss other boys,
boys in bands,
boys who speak French with her over a glass of wine.
Another family fills her old apartment,
leaving your team in last place for another year.

And with that, spring break has begun for me. I'll be going to such exotic places as Gettysburg, PA and probably Frederick, MD. You will all envy my tan when I get back.

Love,
Charlie

A Fallen Weekend II: This Time It's Atlantic.

To know how this weekend's tournament went in sunny Salisbury, Maryland, read about my frustration in my last blog. Multiply it by ten.

Saturday: With thunderstorms in the forecast, the directors try to dodge a bullet by pushing back the start time of the tournament to about noon rather than 8:30. As a result, from 8 until 11, it is 65 degrees with a slight breeze. At 11 it gets dark, and the wind picks up. At 11:30, the wind is about 30 MPH (a reminder for those of you not familiar with ultimate frisbee: a large portion of the game revolves around steering a 175 gram piece of plastic around a field in the air). It is dark. By 12:30, it is pouring, only sideways from the 30 MPH wind. By 1 or so, the tournament is cancelled for the rest of the day. By 2:30, it is completely sunny again, and still 65.

Sunday: A nice clear day for ultimate! No cancellations today! Which, it turns out, is unfortunate, for not only is the wind still 30 MPH, but the temperature has dropped from the day before's 65 to 35. In addition, due to some selfishness, some misunderstanding, some selflessness and some mismanagement, one of our best players (who is especially good at playing in the wind) plays all day with the B team. We consequentially get crushed in our first two games.

This is the second year in a row Salisbury has made me hate ultimate frisbee. Last year, we (Messiah) played there two weeks in a row... for Huck of the Irish (in which we beat Towson 13-0) and Atlantis. We struggled through Huck of the Irish and got third. We tanked at Altantis, got back to PA and none of us touched a disc for a week. The place is an absolute hell hole for ultimate.

Guess where our sectionals are scheduled to be? The biggest tournament of our season?

I hate Salisbury. And I am starting to despise Towson as well.

A few misfired hucks, and a fallen weekend

It was windy as balls in Millersville this weekend. It was probably one of the most frustrating weekends of ultimate I have ever experienced. In addition to some extremely distressing things happening on the team internally that are split out onto the field, it ended in disappointment.

We lost in the semis to Bucknell, my old rivals from West Penn sectionals. They are certainly in my top five least favorite teams, and we lost in a pathetic way, going up 5-1, and losing 15-8. They ran this zone that was just tricky, nothing that we should have been shut down by, and we could not move the disc. Lots of drops and throwaways and poor defense, and next thing we know we are stuck watching Bucknell in the finals against

Messiah.

My old mates. Who I have been dying to play since last May. Boys who I love, would do anything for, and have done everything for me, but to whom I have something to prove to in terms of ultimate, whether that is real or imagined. Hanging out with them on Saturday night reminded me that I fit in somewhere, even if not at Towson. The whole chain of events just made me feel sick.

As some shit-tasting icing on the cake, I blew out my elbow. It's throbbing even while typing. Here's hoping it's better by Saturday. It might even turn out better than before once it's healed. I've heard of that happening...


I would raise a glass to that, if I could.

Cheers,
Charlie