only for the instructor that has the answer

[dr9ball]

Thanks Rufus. It's not an easy thing to do.

BTW, Love your music page and your music. I was a music major my first two years in college. Got tripped up on counterpoint, though. That's tough stuff. I'm sitting next to my keyboard now, in fact. I'm not nearly as good as you are but I love it just the same.

I know I'm off-topic here but everyone should check out Rufus's music page.

Thank you Fran. I am glad you enjoy my songs. I wish I could read music. I write the songs in my head and then record them. I also enjoy playing along with songs I find on YouTube. I can't sight read at all. We should all pay a visit to a piano bar and take over for a night.

I think given the talented instructor/musicians we have here we would have a fine time indeed. Maybe we would even compose a song about teaching pool. Some titles to consider might be: " Aimimg System Blues", a reworking of Billy Squier's "The Stroke", or"The Pool School Shuffle".

I'm sure others can thnk of other songs to write based on our collective experiences as instructors. I would love to hear everyone play their chosen instruments. As some one suggested, a band might be a fun idea.

 

[BilliardsAbout]

That's some tough love right there Fran. Sometimes it's needed. Kudos to you for saying it.

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

I love pool players and my fellow pool instructors. God bless you all.

 

[sfleinen]

Matt, if you want to continue to try to convince people you're an expert, then may I suggest that you take down all photos of yourself from your web site where you are demonstrating correct positions. You're giving yourself away as someone who is a rank amateur player. There are signs that I am not going to share with you that make your level as a player obvious to those of us who can play.

Pool is not football, Matt. If you want to teach, you have to know how to play. If you don't truly know what something feels like, you can't explain it to a student. Copying and rewriting other people's explanations is not going to cut it.

Regarding the information you post, there are many many things I disagree with that are not worth arguing with you because you aren't qualified to argue the points. I think that you can hurt a lot of players with your information, such as statements like this:

"Standing 45 degrees to the shot at hand helps relax the pocket billiards shooter and find balance. My weight is set about 50-50 atop each leg during play."

Did you just copy that from someone else, or did you actually study it?

That whole 'poor me' spiel that you rant about doesn't cut it. Enough people have recognized that you are no expert. If you really have a passion to learn to teach pool, then go back to the beginning and start by learning to play.

Fran:

I agree with Rufus -- this is tough love, but it *had* to be said, and I'm glad it were you to say it, in your poignant, elegant, and eloquent style.

Unfortunately, it looks like content mills have "discovered" the AZBilliards forums, and are invading with a double-edged sword -- one edge to "advertise" the content mill's existence at every step and turn, the other edge to slice and dice the knowledge found here and relabel it as original material from the content mill author. If you follow the content mill author's communiques very carefully here, you'll notice phrases like "word count" being used. That's a dead-ringer for "volume."

I think Matt has found out (or is quickly finding out) that he's among giants here, and that his "content" isn't the universally-accepted authoritative fodder here, as it is with the general public stumbling into the content mill via search engines, techniques that the content mills specialize in to "pump up the volume."

I agree with you, that Matt should take the pictures down that display him showing shooting positions and other fundamentals, because, like you, I see things that are a dead-ringer for his level of play, and he's actually HURTING his readership, not helping them. He's not hearing this for the first time, by the way -- it has been discussed in one of the other subforums, the Aiming Conversation subforum.

Anyway, I'm probably going to catch some flack from him about this -- e.g. "give me FACTS, not your conjecture or opinion" -- but I'm hoping that with continued tactful observations like yours, that the content mills will find out that their techniques simply don't work here.

A tip of the hat to you,
-Sean

 

[Mr. Bond]

first of all - oh snap. ^

*pause for effect*


2nd - two accordian players in the same room?? astronomical.

*pause *


3rd - i also dabble in music. keys mostly

 

[greyghost]

Fran,

I get it. My music professor in college played an excerp of a Chicago song & an older lady made the comment that it just sounded like noise to her. Chicago is my favorite group. I guess my playing trumpet might have influenced my objectivity a bit.

Thanks for the explanantion. Mozart? Some people can't chew gum while they're walking. But... Mike Seigel can chew gum while playing great pool.

I just watched him on You Tube, playing Jose Parika during the 2011 14.1 & notice his seemingly extreme 'elbow drop' but as you know his cue stroke is awesome.

I know we're off topic but a little diversion can be good at times.

Stay Well,
Rick

Rick Seigel can do more than chew gum, he can flap his lips while stroking out as well lol. Where are you located at in south LA? I'd love to get together with you before i make the flight back up to Oregon in the middle of October.

best wishes,
Keebie

 

[BilliardsAbout]

Fran:

I agree with Rufus -- this is tough love, but it *had* to be said, and I'm glad it were you to say it, in your poignant, elegant, and eloquent style.

Unfortunately, it looks like content mills have "discovered" the AZBilliards forums, and are invading with a double-edged sword -- one edge to "advertise" the content mill's existence at every step and turn, the other edge to slice and dice the knowledge found here and relabel it as original material from the content mill author. If you follow the content mill author's communiques very carefully here, you'll notice phrases like "word count" being used. That's a dead-ringer for "volume."

I think Matt has found out (or is quickly finding out) that he's among giants here, and that his "content" isn't the universally-accepted authoritative fodder here, as it is with the general public stumbling into the content mill via search engines, techniques that the content mills specialize in to "pump up the volume."

I agree with you, that Matt should take the pictures down that display him showing shooting positions and other fundamentals, because, like you, I see things that are a dead-ringer for his level of play, and he's actually HURTING his readership, not helping them. He's not hearing this for the first time, by the way -- it has been discussed in one of the other subforums, the Aiming Conversation subforum.

Anyway, I'm probably going to catch some flack from him about this -- e.g. "give me FACTS, not your conjecture or opinion" -- but I'm hoping that with continued tactful observations like yours, that the content mills will find out that their techniques simply don't work here.

A tip of the hat to you,
-Sean

Hi, Sean:

You may have noticed this is a thread about making the peace between instructors. I am a paid professional instructor as well as having a site readership as you mentioned.

I play pool well and I make no apologies for having unorthodox teaching methods. Unfortunately, when you make a post that potentially affects my ability to support my family with income, I need to respond.

Most of my links are answering questions, at no cost to the reader--and at scant benefit to myself other than the joy of giving. I'm not being facetious.

I come to AZ as it's fun when there aren't trolls--and I do get inspired sometimes here as to content for an article--that did happen once.

However, my book, DVD and site (open at About.com since February 2007) were completed before I began activity here in earnest about one month ago.

There's no plagiarized content on my site and I'm asking you man-to-man, gentleman to gentleman, to please refrain from accusing me of plagiarism.

Thank you in advance.

PS. I gave you the courtesy of a full reply when you asked me about "word count" in another thread. Both of us are published authors who have worked in editing, remember?

Your remarks here regarding word count are disingenuous and you are not taking me as a person of my word.

 

[Okie]

I meant that there are some players, even strong players--just a few now, who are really harsh to a lot of people on the forums and are not instructors in the classic sense but vary offering real help and attacking me and other people.

Thank you.

Thank you

Ken

 

[BilliardsAbout]

Thank you, Ken, sincerely.

I really got off onto the wrong foot here and there is less freedom to speak my mind here than on my own site, but I will try to be more careful in the future.

 

[Tony_in_MD]

This could be a thread by itself. I need to think about some song titles myself.

I LOL'ed at work thinking about the "Aiming System Blues".

That and Fran's musical history helped make the end of a very poor day at work better.

Thank you Fran. I am glad you enjoy my songs. I wish I could read music. I write the songs in my head and then record them. I also enjoy playing along with songs I find on YouTube. I can't sight read at all. We should all pay a visit to a piano bar and take over for a night.

I think given the talented instructor/musicians we have here we would have a fine time indeed. Maybe we would even compose a song about teaching pool. Some titles to consider might be: " Aimimg System Blues", a reworking of Billy Squier's "The Stroke", or"The Pool School Shuffle".

I'm sure others can thnk of other songs to write based on our collective experiences as instructors. I would love to hear everyone play their chosen instruments. As some one suggested, a band might be a fun idea.

 

[Mr. Bond]

Thank you Fran. I am glad you enjoy my songs. I wish I could read music. I write the songs in my head and then record them. I also enjoy playing along with songs I find on YouTube. I can't sight read at all. We should all pay a visit to a piano bar and take over for a night.

I think given the talented instructor/musicians we have here we would have a fine time indeed. Maybe we would even compose a song about teaching pool. Some titles to consider might be: " Aimimg System Blues", a reworking of Billy Squier's "The Stroke", or"The Pool School Shuffle".

I'm sure others can thnk of other songs to write based on our collective experiences as instructors. I would love to hear everyone play their chosen instruments. As some one suggested, a band might be a fun idea.

how bout a country and western ditty called:
"you can lead a horse to water, but you caint make em drank"
or...
" i kept the table, but shes got my balls "

 

[FranCrimi]

Fran:

I agree with Rufus -- this is tough love, but it *had* to be said, and I'm glad it were you to say it, in your poignant, elegant, and eloquent style.

Unfortunately, it looks like content mills have "discovered" the AZBilliards forums, and are invading with a double-edged sword -- one edge to "advertise" the content mill's existence at every step and turn, the other edge to slice and dice the knowledge found here and relabel it as original material from the content mill author. If you follow the content mill author's communiques very carefully here, you'll notice phrases like "word count" being used. That's a dead-ringer for "volume."

I think Matt has found out (or is quickly finding out) that he's among giants here, and that his "content" isn't the universally-accepted authoritative fodder here, as it is with the general public stumbling into the content mill via search engines, techniques that the content mills specialize in to "pump up the volume."

I agree with you, that Matt should take the pictures down that display him showing shooting positions and other fundamentals, because, like you, I see things that are a dead-ringer for his level of play, and he's actually HURTING his readership, not helping them. He's not hearing this for the first time, by the way -- it has been discussed in one of the other subforums, the Aiming Conversation subforum.

Anyway, I'm probably going to catch some flack from him about this -- e.g. "give me FACTS, not your conjecture or opinion" -- but I'm hoping that with continued tactful observations like yours, that the content mills will find out that their techniques simply don't work here.

A tip of the hat to you,
-Sean

Very interesting indeed, Sean. So a content mill is sort of like what we in NYC think of as diner food. There's no shortage of quantity on your plate, but the quality is piss poor.

So, word count equals volume. Got it. Thanks for the education.

Well, there's sure a lot of word count flying around here these days.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Crucifiction ?

Where & when did this well intentioned thread turn into the second crucifiction? I respectfully declare that this is not the place. At least it was not intended to be such.

I respectfully request that courage be found to start a seperate thread for that purpose.

How can an end be put to this unbecoming behavior?

Sincerely,
Rick

PS I understand that there may well be underlying history. But that history is not readily apparent here, at least not to me & probably not to the average AZB 'observer'.

PSS No offense meant to anyone. Mr. Wilson, maybe it is time to kill this thread before it is highjacked into the reverse of its' intention.

 

[BilliardsAbout]

Where & when did this well intentioned thread turn into the second crucifiction? I respectfully declare that this is not this place. At least it was not intended to be such.

I respectfully request that courage be found to start a seperate thread for that purpose.

How can an end be put to this unbecoming behavior?

Sincerely,
Rick

PS I understand that there may well be underlying history. But that history is not readily apparent here, at least not to me & probably not to the average AZB 'observer'.

PSS No offense meant to anyone. Mr. Wilson, maybe it is time to kill this thread before it is highjacked into the reverse of its' intention.

Amen, brother. Like, I don't even know what the history is. Let's all bury the hatchet and play nicely.

PS. I recommend Odessa in the East Village and Tom's Restaurant uptown.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Sides?

Let it be known that I am not choosing 'sides'. As I have said, I do not know any possible history. I am merely stating that this thread is not the place to wash this laundry. I also 'believe' that this 'type' of 'stuff' is what insighted me to start this thread with this topic.

Still hopeful,
Rick

 

[Tony_in_MD]

............

Second thoughts, it just is not worth it.

Thanks BBB

 

[Okie]

Adolph Hitler

 

[ENGLISH!]

Adolph Hitler

Sir,

Would you care to elaborate? Specifically, to whom is that directed & why?
On second thought, that might not be a good idea. Let's just leave that alone.

Rick.

 

[sfleinen]

Where & when did this well intentioned thread turn into the second crucifiction? I respectfully declare that this is not the place. At least it was not intended to be such.

I respectfully request that courage be found to start a seperate thread for that purpose.

How can an end be put to this unbecoming behavior?

Sincerely,
Rick

PS I understand that there may well be underlying history. But that history is not readily apparent here, at least not to me & probably not to the average AZB 'observer'.

PSS No offense meant to anyone. Mr. Wilson, maybe it is time to kill this thread before it is highjacked into the reverse of its' intention.

Rick:

I think the problem is that instead of "identifying the problem and quelling it" (which I'm sure was your intentions), you instead inadvertently "put a spotlight on the problem and accelerated it," if that makes any sense. What was probably a quiet simmer, turned into a full rolling boil because the heat was turned up "to get more light on the problem."

However, even though you may think things went awry, even this has a way of resolving the problem. It's apparent that folks had more to say on this issue, more to get off their chest, and that in itself is a good thing. Perhaps now, that folks had said their piece, it will turn out they've also said their peace, if that makes any sense as well?

And, I apologize for my part in this. I am a full believer in identifying root cause of a problem (heck, it's what I do for a living), and hopefully this thread will die down, lessons learned, the appropriate folks adjust their actions (that goes for *both* sides, by the way), and this will be a distant memory.

You meant well, but sometimes these things happen.

-Sean

 

[Bob Jewett]

Re: "Hitler" remark.

Sir,

Would you care to elaborate? Specifically, to whom is that directed & why?
On second thought, that might not be a good idea. Let's just leave that alone.

Rick.

No real problem. But it does illustrate how little some new members know about discussion groups or the internet. Here you go: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law I was participating in internet (formerly Usenet, formerly Arpanet) discussion groups before Godwin formulated his law -- older than Godwin, you might say.

I think this thread was a mistake. Metadiscussions usually are.

 

[ENGLISH!]

Rick:

I think the problem is that instead of "identifying the problem and quelling it" (which I'm sure was your intentions), you instead inadvertently "put a spotlight on the problem and accelerated it," if that makes any sense. What was probably a quiet simmer, turned into a full rolling boil because the heat was turned up "to get more light on the problem."

However, even though you may think things went awry, even this has a way of resolving the problem. It's apparent that folks had more to say on this issue, more to get off their chest, and that in itself is a good thing. Perhaps now, that folks had said their piece, it will turn out they've also said their peace, if that makes any sense as well?

And, I apologize for my part in this. I am a full believer in identifying root cause of a problem (heck, it's what I do for a living), and hopefully this thread will die down, lessons learned, the appropriate folks adjust their actions (that goes for *both* sides, by the way), and this will be a distant memory.

You meant well, but sometimes these things happen.

-Sean

Sean,

I hope you are right. I did mean well, but very little if anything is perfect. Especially not me.

Thanks for your insightful input.
Rick