The Cue Has Started......Time to Get the Crown Resized

Bavafongoul

AzB Silver Member
Silver Member
Dear Azers.....for my questionable behavior towards another Azer, I have deleted my thread & cue pictures.

I spoke of wearing a crown. In order to wear a crown, you must exhibit dignity and I failed to do that with "skins".
and I owe him a public apology.........I am sorry for inappropriate remarks and I will be more discreet in the future.

Matt Brennan
aka "Bavafongoul"
 
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I recognize the camera! Mine's done in two weeks, can't wait...working with Jerry to get the cue the way I want it and his constant updates/photos has been a real pleasure. One example...he's putting different ferules on each of my two shafts; I try both out, keep the one I like and send the other back to get the ferule replaced. He definitely wants you happy! That's a very tasty forearm you've got there...nicest BEM I think I've ever seen.
 
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Wow....how much better can you get other than if the two of you lived in the same neighborhood.
He's just a gracious person and takes cue-making very seriously. We discussed ferrules & shaft
weights, different woods and veneers for an hour Tuesday evening after he had dinner. I'm on the
west coast so there's a 3hr time difference between us.

I spoke with him again yesterday and we ironed out the veneers. He's been very generous with his
time and the two of us are the same age range so we share so many similar values and views. I truly
feel like I've made a new pal. F.Y.I. Bob Owen is the same way.......also of the same age group as
Jerry & myself. Ernie Guiterrez is the same age range as us and he's cut from the same mold we were.

A handshake and a man's word still has importance and value to all of us. Jerry started my cue and I
only mailed my down-payment Wednesday and the US mail takes at least 5 business days coast to
coast. He hasn't even received it but we agreed on some things and he knows I do walk the talk.
Deanoc will vouch for that, as would some sellers on Az I've dealt with.

Jerry will bend over backwards to accommodate a customer and he expresses a meticulous attitude about
cue-making and fastidious workmanship in his cue designs. And he makes full splice and short splice cues.
Mr. Rauenzahn is a craftsman extraordinaire in my opinion.......and my cue is only 44 weeks behind yours.

Ugh, that doesn't quite sound as promising as your cue's outlook.........you fortunate bastard.

Matt B.
 
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Here's Another Niece Wood Selection

Post & Photos deleted....bad behavior on my part.
 
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It's kind of an inside joke of sorts.

Azer "skins" has a gorgeous cue from Pete Tascarella posted and the design is a Bushka style.
The posts on his thread included acknowledgements on how stunning his Tascarella cue is.
There was a post commenting about his cue possibly being "King of the Bushka Tribute Cues."

Well, you know how guys are.....we tend to playfully rank on each other. And that's what I tried to do.
I posted on his thread that I'm having a cue made and sometime next year when it's finished, it would be
more handsome than his Tascarella cue, which I know seems ludicrous because his cue is a crown jewel.

So I playfully start yanking on his leg that when my cue comes, the King will be dethroned and tried to add
a little humor by referring to Game of Thrones...."The King is dead....Long live the King." referring to when
my cue is finished. So I posted something about the crown will have to get resized thus suggesting that it
would move from his cue to mine as the most beautiful Balabushka Tribute cue.

Matt B.
 
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It's kind of an inside joke of sorts.

Azer "skins" has a gorgeous cue from Pete Tascarella posted and the design is a Bushka style.
The posts on his thread included acknowledgements on how stunning his Tascarella cue is.
There was a post commenting about his cue possibly being "King of the Bushka Tribute Cues."

Well, you know how guys are.....we tend to playfully rank on each other. And that's what I tried to do.
I posted on his thread that I'm having a cue made and sometime next year when it's finished, it would be
more handsome than his Tascarella cue, which I know seems ludicrous because his cue is a crown jewel.

So I playfully start yanking on his leg that when my cue comes, the King will be dethroned and tried to add
a little humor by referring to Game of Thrones...."The King is dead....Long live the King." referring to when
my cue is finished. So I posted something about the crown will have to get resized thus suggesting that it
would move from his cue to mine as the most beautiful Balabushka Tribute cue.

Matt B.

It's not an inside joke. I understood you loud and clear. In my opinion, he was not happy with your comments. YOU went onto HIS thread ans started spewing your typical garbage. YOU made comparisons to Tascarella and "your" cuemakers. Not on any planet will Bob Owen, Jerry R or Cohen (not yet) reach the level where Pete Tascarella is. Not now. Not ever. They are what they are. Decent cuemakers without waiting lists. They are hard workers and have a good market for people who buy cues in that price range. Heavily inlaid/intricate cues from the Tascarellas are rare gems.

When all is said and done - they are still JUST Tributes. Their is no crown in copying someone else's "style".

I will NEVER mock a cuemaker for what they do unless they steal designs/ideas. YOU compared cuemakers. I let you know the reality.


Enjoy your builds and cues. It's good to see buyers supporting cuemakers. But if you start kicking sand in well respected faces, understand that it will cause issues. And people will say something to you. Especially me, if I feel you or anyone is out of line.





Off Topic - You "asked" Jamie to start another Award poll. Why don't you do one? You seem to know a lot about cues and cuemakers. Do you actually think the AZ COY is a real title? Granted there are some truly beautiful cues being shown on AZ, but there some true Monsters that never see the light of day.




Chris
 
Oops....sorry for the overreach and like I said, I consider Tascarella in the top 20 cue-makers which is an elite ranking in my opinion. He's not in the top ten but top twenty is very elite.
And the cue-makers I am using were in the top 50 and maybe you & others don't agree with my ranking. But that doesn't matter because I angered you with my remarks and I do
apologize, although some might say I'm not sincerely being contrite about it. Honestly, I am sorry for making you upset.

As far as any cue-maker feelings, Mr. Tascarella or anyone else, I do not apologize for that. Cue-makers are no different from any other craftsman or even say an artist. Just because
you make something....a table, a portrait, etc., everyone that views it doesn't have to like what was made.....that's life.....opinions vary and every opinion isn't complimentary.......it goes
with the territory of the trade. If my posts offended Mr. Tascarella, well that's just how it goes.....sort of like a movie critic review of your film.....they can't make a movie but never the less,
are entitled to rate them and occasionally film maker or actors don't like what they read. I feel the same about "every" cue-maker......whether I am paying them or just looking at their cues.
I compliment when & where and criticize with the same brush stroke......it's based upon the merits of the cue-making as I see it......and I'll criticize Mr. Owen, Rauenzahn, Tascarella or
Gus Szamboti.....again, based upon my opinion of the circumstances at hand.....a cue-maker doesn't gets a pass because of their great reputation or otherwise....not that it matters to you.

However, at the same time, I do not offer spurious, ingenuous compliments about a cue or cue-maker either and so when I do present praise about a cue or a cue-maker, you can rest
assured it was well deserved......again, based entirely upon my opinion. I wasn't mocking anyone if you understand the meaning......it's called criticism. I know this might not sound like I am
sorry for pissing you off but I really am. I have no gripes with you but have given cause to feel that way with me for which I am sorry for offending a fellow Azer who did nothing to start this.

Matt B.
 
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Puh-leeze....:rolleyes:


You didn't piss me off (that's if you are referring to me). I don't take people on an Internet forum seriously. You are entitled to criticize what you want. I also never said you had to apologize. My point (which apparently zoomed right over your head) was that you brought your opinions into someone else's gallery thread.

Start your own thread if you have an issue. Put a link to his thread, if you want. What is rude is what you did in HIS thread. Not your opinion. Not what you like in a cue. And definitely not your rankings of cuemakers.



Enjoy your new cue.
 
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good taste

​First, I totally agree with CMD, (Chris). Chris, you took my words out of my mouth. Bavafongul took Skins thread and hi jacked it, and negative no less.

If someone takes the time to post a thread and share a cue, they must be proud of it. If you like it, you should comment. If you don't, your comments are not needed....that is the way I way was brought up.

Bavafongul injects a one "upmanship" as a negative, which is in poor taste. Please note in my post, after Bavafongul's comments, I said,"unless they know each other and are needling".

Both of these cues that Skins has posted are off the charts. They are "Jewels" in any collection.

Bavafongul, your Jewels are dreams! I sincerely hope they come true...but to match these Tascarella's????? In your dreams!

Please take this in the proper spirit, because I may be wrong, after seeing your posts, I see you have been playing pool for 5 decades....I thought you were a teenager.

This thread needs to move main forum as there is nothing to show in the cue and case gallery.

My best regards and good luck,

Your fellow AZ member,
Phil
 
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What a sensitive bunch. I didn't see anything wrong with Bava's remarks. He gave his nod of approval.

His remarks wasn't directed at anyone or anybody. He was praising the cue builder that is taking on his project is what I got out of it. He wasn't knocking anyone's design.

I am sure he is a good dude and a very intelligent one judging from his posts.
 
​First, I totally agree with CMD, (Chris). Chris, you took my words out of my mouth. Bavafongul took Skins thread and hi jacked it, and negative no less.

If someone takes the time to post a thread and share a cue, they must be proud of it. If you like it, you should comment. If you don't, your comments are not needed....that is the way I way was brought up.

Bavafongul injects a one "upmanship" as a negative, which is in poor taste. Please note in my post, after Bavafongul's comments, I said,"unless they know each other and are needling".

Both of these cues that Skins has posted are off the charts. They are "Jewels" in any collection.

Bavafongul, your Jewels are dreams! I sincerely hope they come true...but to match these Tascarella's????? In your dreams!

Please take this in the proper spirit, because I may be wrong, after seeing your posts, I see you have been playing pool for 5 decades....I thought you were a teenager.

This thread needs to move main forum as there is nothing to show in the cue and case gallery.

My best regards and good luck,

Your fellow AZ member,
Phil

Calm down buddy. You are doing exactly what you are accusing him (Bava) of.

Something that may be "off the charts" to one person may be just plain old good to another.

Those cues are good to great but nothing that we haven't seen before.

Should I post my cheap Players cue and have everyone compliment me on them? I am not saying these Tascarellas are comparable to Players btw.

Just because its a Tascarella, it doesn't mean we all have to love it.

You want a real 'Bushka tribute? Let us see some Adams 'Bushka, if I am not mistaken holds the rights to produce these cues with 'Bushka's name on them too.
 
It's guys like this last guy, dom_poppa, who are dragging this AZ site down into the dirt as of late. Look at his last comment on JimmyRayK's thread about his big Szam. :eek:

What an argumentative troll. Do everyone a favor here and just stay in the main section. This area is for people who appreciate and enjoy seeing all kinds of cues & cases and the related camaraderie...not for always negative, classless clowns who thrive on drama with uninformed and idiotic posts.

You want to post your Players cue, please do. Why don't you grace us all with the presence of a cue that hasn't run 5 consecutive balls in its lifetime. :)
 

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What a sensitive bunch. I didn't see anything wrong with Bava's remarks. He gave his nod of approval.

His remarks wasn't directed at anyone or anybody. He was praising the cue builder that is taking on his project is what I got out of it. He wasn't knocking anyone's design.

I am sure he is a good dude and a very intelligent one judging from his posts.

You are a nit.
 
To CMD et al......

The only nit here was me...."bavafongoul" and my behavior. Dom is trying to express his opinion and in doing so, it came across as a defense of what I posted.
I do hope everyone will keep in mind....and hopefully believe me....that I did not do it with malice, or much forethought, for that matter.

I appreciate Dom's viewpoint but he shouldn't take fire over my actions. The bulls eye target deserves to be entirely on my back and stupidly, I put it there. If anyone
wants to poke fun at my taste in cues, well, my long awaited new custom arrives next week. It's something I designed so it may turn out to look horrible and after my
cue-maker posts photos in the Cue Gallery next week, everyone can go to town ridiculing my pool cue.

My point is is I am the center of this cyclone I stirred up and at some point, hopefully, all this wind dies down. Meanwhile, my turn is in the barrel next week and everyone
can take pot shots at criticizing or praising my cue. It doesn't matter because the cue is finished and so it is what it is.....I can't change anything or tinker with its design
now. The jury is still out right now but the final verdict will be rendered next week.

Matt B.
 
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To CMD et al......

The only nit here was me...."bavafongoul" and my behavior. Dom is trying to express his opinion and in doing so, it came across as a defense of what I posted.
I do hope everyone will keep in mind....and hopefully believe me....that I did not do it with malice, or much forethought, for that matter.

I appreciate Dom's viewpoint but he shouldn't take fire over my actions. The bulls eye target deserves to be entirely on my back and stupidly, I put it there. If anyone
wants to poke fun at my taste in cues, well, my long awaited new custom arrives next week. It's something I designed so it may turn out to look horrible and after my
cue-maker posts photos in the Cue Gallery next week, everyone can go to town ridiculing my pool cue.

My point is is I am the center of this cyclone I stirred up and at some point, hopefully, all this wind dies down. Meanwhile, my turn is in the barrel next week and everyone
can take pot shots at criticizing or praising my cue. It doesn't matter because the cue is finished and so it is what it is.....I can't change anything or tinker with its design
now. The jury is still out right now but the final verdict will be rendered next week.

Matt B.

every time i log on to az i always browse through this forum 1st to look at whats new. i hardly ever post on this forum though... i go to the main forum and post crap about leagues or what not that interests me.

making a exception and posting my observation and even giving a lil of my .02 and some of you may think its worth less than that.

this forum is all about bragging and saying...hey look at what i got. thats all well and fine. you oughta be proud of what you spent your hard earned money on.

problem is if some one don't praise what you got you get your feelings hurt .

i think its fine to have a civil debate about who is the best at ...whatever.

problem is people get their feelings hurt when some one thinks x cue maker is better than xx cue maker because they own a cue from x cue maker .

seems like there is a whole lotta hurtin going on in this forum some times. :grin:

how about some of you all knowing cue aficianados enlighten me.

why is it when x cue maker makes a certain design cue its a tribute and xx cue maker makes the exact same design its a copy ? what exactly is the difference ?
 
Quote: "Not on any planet will Bob Owen, Jerry R or Cohen (not yet) reach the level where Pete Tascarella is. Not now. Not ever. They are what they are. Decent cuemakers without waiting lists. They are hard workers and have a good market for people who buy cues in that price range."

Wow, Really??? Another well thought out condescending comment from CMD. What would we do without you around here?
 
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"Not on any planet will Bob Owen, Jerry R or Cohen (not yet) reach the level where Pete Tascarella is. Not now. Not ever. They are what they are. Decent cuemakers without waiting lists. They are hard workers and have a good market for people who buy cues in that price range."

Wow, Really??? Another well thought out condescending comment from CMD. What would we do without you around here?

Don't mind him, he is a troll.
 
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