Category: In Passing

Categories
In Passing

Superman v. Clark Kent

I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. I felt very puny as a human. I thought, ‘Fuck that. I want to be a superhuman’David Bowie Rolling Stone Magazine,1976

Given the choice, would you go for superman, or average Joe?

I ask because few people have that choice. It’s bestowed upon some by dint of natural ability or talent, on others by happenstance, and still others by dynasty.

A member of my extended family had that choice from natural ability, but has chosen not to follow its call. He’s chosen average Joe.

His natural ability is in a sport which New Zealand has a long and proud history in. It’s not rugby. It’s an individual sport, which in some ways is more brutal and primal than the gladiator sport which is rugby.

I’m fudging the sport to avoid further embarrassing my nephew. So this isn’t a criticism – it’s his life, and I’m just interviewing my keyboard here.

His natural ability is such that he’s left a string of records behind him at age-grade level, at least one of which was taken from an Olympic silver medallist. It’s top-tier.

I know a lot about the sport from being halfway good at it during my teen years before retiring to sloth and decadence for 30 years. “Halfway good” means winning some school and city titles, but nowhere close to national level.

I’ve followed the sport since my teens. I’ve read widely about it, and now plod along at the Geezer Games ( parkrun.co.nz ) on many Saturdays.

So I understand that it’s brutal, and involves pushing to and through physical limits, not to mention mental ones.

For my nephew, following the call would have involved 10 or so years of training, and single-minded dedication. That’s a basic requirement, on top of tonnes of physical ability.

Then there would be the gut-wrenching pressure of performing as a pro on Big Stages. It takes nerve, self-belief, and a fierce determination to win. Boffins call it a ‘Type A’ personality.

It’s a rare beast which meets all of those caveats, which is why the air is thin at the top.

In moments of grandeur, I like to think that given the option, I would have followed that call.

My wrinkled self would, but he may have a skewed vision of my pimpled self.

So I’m left wondering whether my mid-20s nephew sometimes ponders the receding Fields of Glory, not to mention money and fame. Somehow, I doubt it. He’s ( apparently ) happily married and making his traditional way.

Clarke Kent is fine with him.

Categories
In Passing Vietnam

Books

The night-time reading habit that I restarted seems to be working, so it’s more of the same.

After polishing off Ugly Americans , I’m now onto The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

Ugly Americans, a ‘true’ story of American stock-market traders operating in Japan and Singapore in the 90s, is about a three-star read, good enough to lull one into relaxation for the night ahead.

‘Tis a strange thing, but bedtime reading, as opposed to button-pressing on the phone, fosters a forgotten , foreign sense of … contentment.

Mezrich’s book – picked up at the seocnd-hand store for ~= NZD 3.30 – uses some of the techniques showcased way back by Tom Wolfe, and others, in The New Journalism ( 1973 I think ). That is the use of fictional devices in reporting, and, especially in the case of one Hunter Thompson, the author inserting himself into the story.

But in Ugly Americans it’s unclear for dunces such as myself when we have fiction and otherwise. The descriptions of opulence get a little tedious, but the characters are interesting enough.

Spoiler Alert

The ending does come as a pleasant surprise, and satisfies in a strange way.

For my next outing, I went back to the new bookstore, which is well-stocked, and offers cheap new English-language titles.

There are a gamut of self-help books, even some that are relatively fashionable, but otherwise the menu is lots of Classic Victorian literature. Which for me is a PITA for it’s hand-wringing Christianity and moralism. And they’re forever banging on about class.

I chose Conan Doyle because he’s less about all that, and more on the science and problem-solving end. Plus, Carl loved him, and to my shame I don’t think I’ve read any of it, so time to plug that gap.

And, hopefully, continue improving habits as I go.

Categories
In Passing Random Thoughts Seen and Heard

There’s Nothing Wrong With Faking Your Own Death

There’s nothing wrong with faking your own death. You get into trouble when you start making people pay for it.

Continue reading “There’s Nothing Wrong With Faking Your Own Death”