THE QUEST FOR QUALITY, PART 3
An alternative perspective on the nature of quality
At the end of the nineteenth century, somewhere in the Pinsk marshes, a boy had to choose between possibly freezing to death in the water, or facing certain death as he watched his shtetl burn to the ground.
That was the defining moment in the life of my Uncle Joe. Technically, he was my mom’s uncle, but if a man lives long enough, he becomes everyone’s Uncle Joe.
Joe was brilliant, but suffered from a lack of education as his family immigrated to New York and lived in poverty.
He could pull apart and repair radios, but was best known for his hilarious malapropisms.
And the “entities” that plagued him until the day he died.
Long before psychologists discovered PTSD, my uncle was afflicted by the memories of murderous Cossacks and the need to hide and escape.
Maybe…
We’re all headed the same direction
In 1964, at age twenty-four, Jack Weinberg said, “Don’t trust anyone over 30.” Let that be a lesson for you.
At the time he said this, I was a kid and he seemed way old, so I wouldn’t have trusted him either.
I have friends 6–9 years older than me and they feel like a completely different generation I would never trust. That age group includes the Holy Trinity of liars: Agent Orange, Dubya, and Mitt Romney.
On the other hand, I rarely trust people more than 6 years younger than me. Could you blame me? Group members: Lyin’ Ted Cruz, Sean Hannity, and Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
And don’t get me started on millennials.
I don’t even trust…
Dreck in a post-Agent Orange world
(Gutbloom would be proud of me)
The biggest miracle in life is the ability to breathe, even if it’s only a sigh of relief.
I’m so grateful that the guy who bragged “I could shoot somebody in the middle of Fifth Avenue” and get away with it, tried to hijack our government but didn’t.
Humans are not made to stay in a constant state of stress. Our adrenal system eventually burns out as we alternate between the primitive instincts of flight or fight. The only way to relieve the stress for me was to boycott TV and radio news so I wouldn’t have to hear Genghis Tang’s daily stream of lies.
Although we still confront so many critical issues in this country, it’s a…
The literary equivalent to reminding you to eat your spinach if you want to grow up to be big and strong
Once a coach, always a coach…
While most people will give you their two cents without hesitation, I always try to go that extra step and offer my two-and-a-half cents (which also corresponds to my daily earnings this month!).
Since you followed The Inner Game of Writing, I have to assume you have some interest in peak performance training as it applies to writing, except for those of you who fit in the following categories:
NBA PREDICTIONS PART 3
The state of the Western Conference at the quarter pole
The NBA offseason finished so fast and had so many twists and turns I didn’t even have time to proclaim, “The Lakers Just Won Back to Back… Free Agencies.”
As I wrote in my Eastern Conference analysis, there were so many unknowns and confusing results, I delayed publishing my season predictions three times.
The West has been just as much of a circus.
Denver started the season 1–4. Houston imploded and had to trade James Harden.
And the Clippers (without Kawhi) lost by 50 to the Mavs (without Porzingys).
The Golden State Warriors exploded out of the blocks with a 115.2 rating after five games! Oh wait, that was their defensive rating. Their net rating of -14.5 was even worse than the Minnesota Timberwolves.
I’ve only got six words…
NBA PREDICTIONS PART 2
It’s the only way to understand this season at the quarter pole
Note: I started writing this article after the first week of the season but was so confused by the results I delayed publishing three times. After all the injuries, Covid-related absences, and trades, my predictions ended up back where I started.
Last November (otherwise know as “the off season”), I analyzed the winners and losers of free agency.
But there were too many unknown variables to make complete predictions.
There was no way to know if Kevin Durant was healthy or what would happen if Kemba Walker wasn’t healthy.
There was no way to know if any rookie could contribute without the testing grounds of March Madness, Summer League, training camps, and a full preseason schedule.
There…
NBA PREDICTIONS PART 1
Taking on the King means adjusting the six keys to win an NBA title this season
The Golden State Warriors had an incredible five-year run, but were they really “light years ahead?”
That was the pronouncement of Joe Lacob in 2016, as the Warriors were rolling to a record-setting 73–9 regular season.
He is the same guy who was booed by Warriors fans when he bought the team in 2010, a team that had won one playoff series since 1991. Under Lacob’s leadership, the Warriors won 59 games! Oh, I forgot to mention that was over his first two seasons as owner.
But he did hire Jerry West and Bob Myers in 2011, and those were brilliant moves, along with drafting Curry, Thompson, Green and Harrison Barnes, and hiring Steve Kerr as…
Are you process-based or results-oriented?
Unlike most people, the driving goal of my life was to overcome the limitations of gravity and time.
No, that didn’t make me a superhero, Jedi Knight, or a character in a Hong Kong martial arts movie. Just a professional athlete.
As a tennis player, my life revolved around chasing and hitting a fuzzy yellow ball before it bounced twice on my side of the court.
Over and over again, for as many hours as it took to play a match.
If I won, I got up the next day to repeat the process.
If I lost, I spent my time ready getting for the next tournament.
My focus was on mastering my craft, training, strategizing, learning new…
SATIRE
Michael Jordan exploring every avenue to protect his GOAT status
If you believe the pandemic was part of a Democratic conspiracy to discredit The Discredited One, guess again.
On March 6, 2020, LeBron James passed Michael Jordan in career scoring. To add insult to injury, LeBron did it with over 1,200 less shot attempts than the Bull/Goat.
As someone famous for taking umbrage against players (and teammates) who never slighted Jordan in any way, allowing some young upstart to score more points demanded retaliation.
Michael Jordan found the perfect way to remain the undisputed GOAT — just stop basketball from being played anymore.
Only five days later, the NBA suspended their season due to the pandemic.
Coincidence? I think not.
By financing the development of the virus, Jordan…
AMERICAN POLITICS, PART 2
Just when we thought it couldn’t get any worse, Trump finally crossed a line that forced some Republicans to put country over party
You already know about the riots at the Capitol building. I just wanted to add my voice to those in Congress who said our Constitution is stronger than a band of thugs and pond scum.
I hope the word thug will take on a new meaning. The first thing I want you to think about when you hear the word thug is this guy:
Lon Shapiro
Ad agency creative director, writer & designer at https://guttmanshapiro.com. Former pro tennis player and peak performance coach for professional athletes.
