LeBron's No Jordan

 If You Know, You Know

Basketball: photo by Cliff Hutson

I was ill this past week which gave me the opportunity (?) to stream a very good series.

It also sapped my will to write; so this is all I got for this post.

Reading Log: February 2025

 The books I read in the month of February 2025

February 2025 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Of Ice Packs and Men," Rick Bass

"Orange County," Gustavo Arellano

"How to Change Your Mind," Michael Pollan

The paucity of books this month can be chalked up to my trying to put a dent in the weeks old pile up of the "The New Yorker" magazine.

Reading Log: 2024

A Year of Books

A Book: photo by Cliff Hutson

Here’s my annual list of all the books I read the previous year. (For comparison, this is the one for 2023.)  I read 48 books of fiction, science fiction and nonfiction. While it was two sort of my goal, that seemed like a decent total. But, it is said that; "Comparison is the thief of joy". Thus I felt a bit down when I saw that David Allen, whom I have been measuring myself against for the past few years, read 55.

However, this morning, when The Guardian saw fit to print a headline proclaiming ‘I read 35 books this year!’ I perked up a bit.

Anyway here is my list:

1. "The Hammer of God," Arthur C. Clark

2. "My Gun Has Bullets," Lee Goldberg

3. "Dead Space," Lee Goldberg

4. "The Left Hand of Darkness," Ursula K. Le Guin

5. "A People's Guide to Orange County," Gustavo Arellano et al.

6. "Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team," John Steinbeck

7. "Lives of Weeds: Opportunism, Resistance, Folly," John Cardina 

8. "Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories," Elmore Leonard

9. "The Seed Detective," Adam Alexander

10. "The Secret," Lee Child and Andrew Child

11. "Basketball for Dummies," Richard "Digger Phelps, et al.

12. "The Big Goodbye," Sam Wasson

13. "Ten Birds That Changed the World," Stephen Moss

14. "Shock Wave," John Sandford

15. "Basketball (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano 

16. "Movies (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano

17. "The Four Foundations of Golf," Jon Sherman

18. "Sacred Mounds," Jim Metzner

19. "The Talk," Darrin Bell

20. "Unnatural Habitat," Craig Stanford

21. "Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging," Sebastian Junger

22. "The Last Rose of Shanghai," Wein Dai Randel 

23. "Four Fish," Paul Greenberg

24. "Farewell Amethystine," Walter Mosley

25. "Wildlife Preserves: A Far Side Collection," Gary Larson  

26. "Eats, Soots & Leaves," Lynne Truss

27. "The Perfect Protein," Andy Sharpless and Suzannah Evans

28. "The Invention of Prehistory," Stefanos Geroulanos 

29. "The Bogey Man," George Plimpton

30. "Golf in the Kingdom," Michael Murphy

31. "Golf Dreams," John Updike

32. "Up on the Woof Top," Spencer Quinn

33. "A Farewell to Arfs," Spencer Quinn

34. "Paper Lion," George Plimpton

35. "The Silk Roads," Peter Frankopan 

36. "Outside Lanes," A.J. Stewart

37. "The Waiting," Michael Connelly

38. "Football for Dummies," Howie Long, John Czarnecki 

39. "Women," Charles Bukowski 

40. "The Backyard Bird Chronicles," Amy Tan

41. "The Downhill Lie," Carl Hiaasen

42. "Hoops," Walter Dean Myers

43. "Falling Is Not An Option," George Locker

44. "Black Ball," Theresa Runstedtler 

45. "Tooth and Claw," Craig Johnson

46. "Big Jim and the White Boy," David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

47. "The Breaks of the Game," David Halberstam

48. "Evergreen," Naomi Hirahara 

Does anybody care to share what they read last year?

Reading Log: December 2024

 The books that I read in the month of December 2024

December 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Tooth and Claw," Craig Johnson

"Big Jim and the White Boy," David F. Walker, Marcus Kwame Anderson

"The Breaks of the Game," David Halberstam

"Evergreen," Naomi Hirahara 

Fútbol

El fútbol es vida 

"Fútbol is life" is a famous catchphrase from the character Dani Rojas in the Apple TV+ series "Ted Lasso," which emphasizes the joy and passion associated with soccer. 

Seemly, it is also a fashion choice:

All writing and images ©Cliff Hutson unless expressly noted. Do not use without permission.

Reading Log: November 2024

 The books that I read in the month of November 2024

November 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Hoops," Walter Dean Myers

"Falling Is Not An Option," George Locker

"Black Ball," Theresa Runstedtler 

"Tooth and Claw," Craig Johnson

Reading Log: October 2024

 The books that I read in the month of October 2024

October 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Waiting," Michael Connelly

"Football for Dummies," Howie Long, John Czarnecki 

"Women," Charles Bukowski 

"The Backyard Bird Chronicles," Amy Tan

"The Downhill Lie," Carl Hiaasen

Reading Log: September 2024

The books that I finished reading in the month of September 2

September 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Paper Lion," George Plimpton

"The Silk Roads," Peter Frankopan 

"Outside Lanes," A.J. Stewart

Reading Log: August 2024

 The books that I finished reading in the month of August 2024:

August 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Bogey Man," George Plimpton

    Arguably one of the funniest books on golf ever written. I am certain that all of the stories are true; give or take a lie or two.

"Golf in the Kingdom," Michael Murphy

    A lot of people really like this book; I am not one of them.  I will say that it is better than the movie, but that bar is set pretty low.

"Golf Dreams," John Updike

    I really enjoyed the essays in this book. I had not read any of Updike's work prior to this and my dissatisfaction with the excerpts from his "Rabbit" novels may explain that.

"Up on the Woof Top," Spencer Quinn

    For my money, this is by far the weakest entry in the Chet and Bernie mysteries.

"A Farewell to Arfs," Spencer Quinn

    Having finished this book, which is the latest in the series, I feel assured about my assessment of "Woof Top". But, do note that I believe that all are worth reading. 

Reading Log: May 2024

 The books that I finished reading in May 2024

May 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Movies (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano

"The Four Foundations of Golf," Jon Sherman

"Sacred Mounds," Jim Metzner

"The Talk," Darrin Bell

Frog Jumping Day

 National Frog Jumping Day

Frog: photo by Cliff Hutson

National Frog Jumping Day is on May 13, its origins come from Mark Twain’s first published short story about a betting man and his pet frog  -  named “The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County”.

Some people actually jump frogs on, or around, this date. But, as you might be able to ascertain from the photo, my frog don't hop.

Reading Log: April 2024

 The books that I finished reading in the month of April 2024

April 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"The Big Goodbye," Sam Wasson

"Ten Birds That Changed the World," Stephen Moss

"Shock Wave," John Sandford

"Basketball (and Other Things)," Shea Serrano 

Reading Log: March 2024

 Better late than never?

March 2024 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Three-Ten to Yuma and Other Stories," Elmore Leonard

"The Seed Detective," Adam Alexander

"The Secret," Lee Child and Andrew Child

"Basketball for Dummies," Richard "Digger" Phelps, et al.

Reading Log: June 2023

 The books I finished reading in the month of July 2023

June 2023 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

"Soccer for Dummies," Tom Dunmore and Scott Murray


"Chasing Giants: In Search of the World's Largest Freshwater Fish," Zeb Hogan and Stefan Lovgren 


“Clean: The New Science of Skin," James Hamblin 


We Are the Champions

 A Six Nations Grand Slam

IFRU Ball: photo by Cliff Hutson

An annual rugby union competition contested by the national teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, and Wales; the 24th  2023 Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) was played out February 4 – March 18.

Ireland took the championship with a Grand Slam, i.e., winning every game they played. 

Rugby Ball: photo by Cliff Hutson

Obviously, this is old news. But, my replica ball just arrived the other day, and not having much else on my mind, I decided to post about it. My Aunt Dagmar would have opined that some times it is better not say anything at all. But, I did not want to break my streak. 

Reading Log: October 2019

The books that I finished reading in October 2019

October 2019 Reading: photo by Cliff Hutson

“Bloody Genius,” John Sandford

“Upheaval,” Jared Diamond

“Half Court Press,” A.J. Stewart

“The Art of Loading Brush,” Wendell Berry

“Past Tense,” Lee Child

“The Adventure of the Peculiar Protocols,” Nicholas Meyer

“Paw and Order,” Spencer Quinn

“Scents and Sensibility,” Spencer Quinn

July 2018 Reading

The books that I finished reading in July 2018

July 2108 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

This was a very focused month as I decided to just commit to finishing off the Miami Jones series, by A.J. Stewart, which I started last month. It was not that difficult as all of the stories are real "page turners"and a treat to read.

I very much appreciated the depiction of the experience of Black golfers on the PGA Tour in "Deep Rough."  Though, Stewart takes a big liberty with history - the 1966 Los Angeles Open was actually won by Arnold Palmer, despite a closing two over par 73. Charlie Sifford was the first African American to play on the PGA Tour; and he did win the Los Angeles Open in 1969. Sifford and Lee Elder were an inspiration to many in my generation. (Let us just say that Tiger Woods is quite a bit younger than my children.)

All of the stories contain fascinating nuggets of insight in to various sports such as baseball, yachting,  and cricket. And, Miami's observations on exercise and healthy eating also inspired me to do a little  better in my personal life. Not that I will ever put a bunch of green stuff into a blender and drink it for breakfast.

So, I guess that by now the discerning reading will have gathered that I highly recommend these books.

Catching Up on My Reading

The Books I Finished Reading in December 2017

December 2017 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

The Books I Finished Reading in January 2018

January 2018 Books: photo by Cliff Hutson

October 2017 Reading

The books I finished reading in October 2017

October 2017 Reading: photo by Cliff Hutson

Day 2400

“Life goin' nowhere. Somebody help me.

Somebody help me, yeah.

Life goin' nowhere. Somebody help me, yeah.

I'm stayin' alive.”

  -  Bee Gees

2400th Day: photo by Cliff Hutson

Healthy Aging

Various studies have sown that “healthy aging is associated with a decline in sensory, motor and specific cognitive functions. However, such declines depend on various factors, such as genetics and lifestyle. In particular, physical activity and training not only improve physical and motor but also cognitive functions, and reduce risk for cognitive decline and dementia in later life.”

This past Monday marked a milestone of 2400 days since I made a commitment to regular exercise. The photo is of the display of the Wii Fit application on my Nintendo, so I think the data is close enough for our purposes.

To be sure, I have not worked out on every one of those days. But, I did something on most of them; missing occasionally due to illness. One streak was broken when I was out of town last year. I like to believe that my activity has helped improve my mood, well being, and energy level.

High Score?; photo by Cliff Hutson

On the Other Hand

One of my activities is playing tennis on Wii Sports. Three years ago I reached the skill level of 2399. Some say that this is the highest score possible.  I am very proud of this as it was done playing left handed,  and, like Inigo Montoya, "I am not left handed."

This morning marked my 1785th day of playing a variety of video games with my "other" hand. There are those whom argue that this is a bad thing, but I found it to be an intriguing challenge. And, there are others citing its benefits.

I can’t prove that this exercise has improved communication between my left and right brain hemispheres which might benefit creative and abstract thinking, but I don’t think that it been detrimental to my wellbeing. Neither do I consider myself to be ambidextrous and would never consider eating not writing with my left hand unless forced to do so.

Architecto - Model 01: photo by Cliff Hutson

Cognitive Skills

The concept of some type of neural or cognitive pool of resources that protects against age-related cognitive decline has been an important idea in both the cognitive and neural aging literature.

Spatial thinking is a collection of cognitive skills. The skills consist of declarative and perceptual forms of knowledge and some cognitive operations that can be used to transform, combine, or otherwise operate on this knowledge. The key to spatial thinking is a constructive amalgam of three elements: concepts of space, tools of representation, and processes of reasoning. -  “Learning to Think Spatially,” by NationalResearch Council.

Wikipedia tell us that “Older adults tend to perform worse on measures of spatial visualization ability than younger adults, and this effect seems to occur even among people who use spatial visualization frequently on the job, such as architects . . .” So, in order to maintain my visual perceptual abilities, principally the ability to understand spatial relationships, I decided to play with blocks.

I have amassed several sets. The most challenging of these is Architecto which provides a series of increasingly difficult plans and asks the player to build the structures. Another, which is simpler in nature, but intrigued into studying more about architecture is Blockitecture Series 1: Brutalism. Designed by James Paulius for Areaware. They seemed to have renamed it "Habit", but it is still a set of architectural building blocks than can be used to create a variety of structures.

If building projects stimulate creativity, and sharpen crucial skills in children the activity might help me maintain mine.

Blockitecture Project: photo by Cliff Hutson

SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave