Trick-shot bowling
April 6, 2007 5:20 AM Subscribe
I think you can watch trick bowling on the Ocho every now and then...
posted by tadellin at 6:17 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by tadellin at 6:17 AM on April 6, 2007
I've watched trick bowling on (one of the) ESPNs before. It's entertaining. On average, more fun than trick pool, I thought.
posted by inigo2 at 6:40 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by inigo2 at 6:40 AM on April 6, 2007
Norm Duke has to be my favorite trick shot bowler. Apart from the Spinning Ball Spare in this playlist, he also does a spinning ball shot where he picks up the 7-10 split by slowspinning the ball down the lane, and then caroming a full-speed throw off that ball, driving each ball into their respective pins.
He can also throw strikes at will with a towel, using it as a sling with the ball. Awesome.
posted by davelog at 6:41 AM on April 6, 2007
He can also throw strikes at will with a towel, using it as a sling with the ball. Awesome.
posted by davelog at 6:41 AM on April 6, 2007
If these guys are so awesome that they can throw strikes at will with a towel how is there even any competition during a regular tournament. Don't they all just get 300 every game?
posted by DU at 6:43 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by DU at 6:43 AM on April 6, 2007
> Don't they all just get 300 every game?
Not until competition bowling allows retakes each frame.
posted by ardgedee at 6:46 AM on April 6, 2007
Not until competition bowling allows retakes each frame.
posted by ardgedee at 6:46 AM on April 6, 2007
Not until competition bowling allows retakes each frame.
I draw your attention to the phrase "at will".
posted by DU at 6:57 AM on April 6, 2007
I draw your attention to the phrase "at will".
posted by DU at 6:57 AM on April 6, 2007
I draw your attention to the phrase, 'Towels aren't allowed.'
Trick shooting plays to strengths anyway. Most bowlers, for example, are better at picking up the 7 pin or the 10 pin, and their tricks are set up accordingly. You don't get the privilege of preparing the lane to your liking in competition play.
posted by ardgedee at 7:05 AM on April 6, 2007
Trick shooting plays to strengths anyway. Most bowlers, for example, are better at picking up the 7 pin or the 10 pin, and their tricks are set up accordingly. You don't get the privilege of preparing the lane to your liking in competition play.
posted by ardgedee at 7:05 AM on April 6, 2007
Ok, for the sake of preventing this potentially cool thread from turning into another lame semantics battle, allow me to rephrase.
He's really fucking good at throwing strikes with a towel.
posted by davelog at 7:05 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
He's really fucking good at throwing strikes with a towel.
posted by davelog at 7:05 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
If these guys are so awesome that they can throw strikes at will with a towel how is there even any competition during a regular tournament.
I think for the same reason the Harlem Globetrotters aren't the dominant team in the NBA.
posted by billder at 7:28 AM on April 6, 2007 [6 favorites]
I think for the same reason the Harlem Globetrotters aren't the dominant team in the NBA.
posted by billder at 7:28 AM on April 6, 2007 [6 favorites]
My mouth is dry from hanging open so much. I never knew this existed, and I'm very glad it was posted. Is there anything beer the internet can't do?
posted by languagehat at 7:30 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by languagehat at 7:30 AM on April 6, 2007
The three chair trick seems surprisingly dull, really. As long as you can throw the same shot consistently, don't you just put the chairs down where the shot goes?
posted by jacquilynne at 7:30 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by jacquilynne at 7:30 AM on April 6, 2007
Thanks for posting this.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:19 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane at 8:19 AM on April 6, 2007
On average, more fun than trick pool
Incorrect.
posted by anomie at 8:24 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
Incorrect.
posted by anomie at 8:24 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
how is there even any competition during a regular tournament
And why don't the Harlem Globetrotters ever win any championships?
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:30 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
And why don't the Harlem Globetrotters ever win any championships?
posted by StickyCarpet at 8:30 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
look, this whole debate about why trick bowlers aren't champion regular bowlers is FASCINATING and all, but I have a more important question:
why on earth do some youtube videos take forever to load while others, even if they're longer and you're trying to watch them at the same time of day, take no time at all? that last video just isn't loading for me.
posted by shmegegge at 8:47 AM on April 6, 2007
why on earth do some youtube videos take forever to load while others, even if they're longer and you're trying to watch them at the same time of day, take no time at all? that last video just isn't loading for me.
posted by shmegegge at 8:47 AM on April 6, 2007
why on earth do some youtube videos take forever to load while others, even if they're longer and you're trying to watch them at the same time of day, take no time at all? that last video just isn't loading for me.
OK, I'm about to blow the lid off of something that's been festering for years and years and years. This may not be the correct venue to expose this dire threat to what little is left of American liberty and free expression, but I simply cannot keep this knowledge hidden away for any longer. So here goes....
Youtube is, in fact, a diabolical front company for the Worldwide Terrorist Conspiracy. Not al Quaeda, not the Aum Shinrikyo, not even ETA. Something bigger, badder, more insidious, more malevolent, bent on destroying everything that we hold good and true. The 9/11 attacks, the Madrid and London bombings, the Tokyo subway gas attacks - all of these were small-scale dry runs whose purpose was to distract us from the real menace. They are massively well-funded, technologically sophisticated, intelligent, and savvy; they have sleeper cells in countries across the globe; and they have been patiently waiting for years. They have only one problem: how do they communicate their messages to their thousands of brilliantly-camoflauged sleeper agents across the globe?
After years of brainstorming, they came up with a diabolical solution: hide their messages in plain sight. Some place that no one would ever think to look. Videos. Videos of trick bowling, and people lip-synching to bad eastern european pop, and kids getting stuck in pet doors, and middle american teens giving predictions about upcoming ultimate fighting tournaments. The kind of videos no one would ever think to give more than a cursory inspection. The kind of videos that every bored office drone and stay-at-home dad and zit-popping teen would forward to everyone on their email list. The kind of communication whose maddening ubiquity concealed its insidious nature.
Buried in some of those videos are secret messages: detailed plans about future terrorist strikes; architectural plans and structural details of major buildings, dams, and power plants; instructions on the synthesis of new chemical agents and construction of elaborate dirty-bomb delivery systems; synthetic biology textbooks on the genetic alteration of pathogens; years' worth of global airline and shipping timetables; novelized biographies of agents' cover identities.
Those videos you watch, those innocuous few seconds' worth of stupid human tricks that you turn to for a laugh or a distraction from work, are really terrorist communication devices, but you're too technologically unsophisticated, naive, or just plain ignorant to notice it. And thats what they're counting on. Its a brilliant, devious plan. And it seems to be working. There are simply too many videos for any intelligence agency to sift through. Those college guys from Pennsylvania and Indiana that thought their silly little idea was original? Ha. They were fed those ideas by the Worldwide Terrorist Conspiracy. They're dupes. Well-paid dupes, no doubt, but dupes nothetless. And so are you.
But there's one small problem. The videos that contain all that detailed information? They're much bigger than other videos. So even thought they're only 15 seconds long, they have orders of magnitude more information contained in them. That 5th-generation 15-second numa numa clip you're trying to download? Complete satellite imagery of every nuclear power plant on earth. That responce to "White Chicks and Gang Signs" from the 13-year-old Albanian shepherd's daughter? Detailed calculations and design specifications for a device that will predict the timing of, and harness the energy from, future solar flare activity. That 1950s-era Lucky Charms commercial that has inexplicably been viewed more than 10,000 times? The entire genome sequence of a genetically-modified strain of mononucleosis that sterilizes sexually-active teenagers.
And that, my shmeggy friend, is why some youtube videos take longer than others to download.
posted by googly at 9:40 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
OK, I'm about to blow the lid off of something that's been festering for years and years and years. This may not be the correct venue to expose this dire threat to what little is left of American liberty and free expression, but I simply cannot keep this knowledge hidden away for any longer. So here goes....
Youtube is, in fact, a diabolical front company for the Worldwide Terrorist Conspiracy. Not al Quaeda, not the Aum Shinrikyo, not even ETA. Something bigger, badder, more insidious, more malevolent, bent on destroying everything that we hold good and true. The 9/11 attacks, the Madrid and London bombings, the Tokyo subway gas attacks - all of these were small-scale dry runs whose purpose was to distract us from the real menace. They are massively well-funded, technologically sophisticated, intelligent, and savvy; they have sleeper cells in countries across the globe; and they have been patiently waiting for years. They have only one problem: how do they communicate their messages to their thousands of brilliantly-camoflauged sleeper agents across the globe?
After years of brainstorming, they came up with a diabolical solution: hide their messages in plain sight. Some place that no one would ever think to look. Videos. Videos of trick bowling, and people lip-synching to bad eastern european pop, and kids getting stuck in pet doors, and middle american teens giving predictions about upcoming ultimate fighting tournaments. The kind of videos no one would ever think to give more than a cursory inspection. The kind of videos that every bored office drone and stay-at-home dad and zit-popping teen would forward to everyone on their email list. The kind of communication whose maddening ubiquity concealed its insidious nature.
Buried in some of those videos are secret messages: detailed plans about future terrorist strikes; architectural plans and structural details of major buildings, dams, and power plants; instructions on the synthesis of new chemical agents and construction of elaborate dirty-bomb delivery systems; synthetic biology textbooks on the genetic alteration of pathogens; years' worth of global airline and shipping timetables; novelized biographies of agents' cover identities.
Those videos you watch, those innocuous few seconds' worth of stupid human tricks that you turn to for a laugh or a distraction from work, are really terrorist communication devices, but you're too technologically unsophisticated, naive, or just plain ignorant to notice it. And thats what they're counting on. Its a brilliant, devious plan. And it seems to be working. There are simply too many videos for any intelligence agency to sift through. Those college guys from Pennsylvania and Indiana that thought their silly little idea was original? Ha. They were fed those ideas by the Worldwide Terrorist Conspiracy. They're dupes. Well-paid dupes, no doubt, but dupes nothetless. And so are you.
But there's one small problem. The videos that contain all that detailed information? They're much bigger than other videos. So even thought they're only 15 seconds long, they have orders of magnitude more information contained in them. That 5th-generation 15-second numa numa clip you're trying to download? Complete satellite imagery of every nuclear power plant on earth. That responce to "White Chicks and Gang Signs" from the 13-year-old Albanian shepherd's daughter? Detailed calculations and design specifications for a device that will predict the timing of, and harness the energy from, future solar flare activity. That 1950s-era Lucky Charms commercial that has inexplicably been viewed more than 10,000 times? The entire genome sequence of a genetically-modified strain of mononucleosis that sterilizes sexually-active teenagers.
And that, my shmeggy friend, is why some youtube videos take longer than others to download.
posted by googly at 9:40 AM on April 6, 2007 [3 favorites]
I like the commentary in the second video. Because we need an expert for us to understand the nuances of competitive trick bowling.
posted by ferdydurke at 9:48 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by ferdydurke at 9:48 AM on April 6, 2007
Don't they all just get 300 every game?
does the pope shit in the woods?
posted by phaedon at 10:21 AM on April 6, 2007
does the pope shit in the woods?
posted by phaedon at 10:21 AM on April 6, 2007
That flying eagle almost seemed lame after seeing Varipapa do it. And getting tricky strikes doesn't really do it for me.
But that spinning spare conversion was awesome.
posted by DU If these guys are so awesome that they can throw strikes at will with a towel how is there even any competition during a regular tournament. Don't they all just get 300 every game?
I was on a team that always won tourneys at home, and changing lanes wreaks havoc on a bowler. We never did very well in tournaments abroad.
posted by dreamsign at 10:32 AM on April 6, 2007
But that spinning spare conversion was awesome.
posted by DU If these guys are so awesome that they can throw strikes at will with a towel how is there even any competition during a regular tournament. Don't they all just get 300 every game?
I was on a team that always won tourneys at home, and changing lanes wreaks havoc on a bowler. We never did very well in tournaments abroad.
posted by dreamsign at 10:32 AM on April 6, 2007
Thanks, anomie, for that fun trick pool link!
I laughed at what the one lady says near the end of that vid: "It's an incredible waste of time!" :)
posted by darkstar at 10:34 AM on April 6, 2007
I laughed at what the one lady says near the end of that vid: "It's an incredible waste of time!" :)
posted by darkstar at 10:34 AM on April 6, 2007
This is not 'Nam. This is bowling. There are rules.
Hey, nobody fucks with the Jesus.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:53 AM on April 6, 2007
Hey, nobody fucks with the Jesus.
posted by Ogre Lawless at 10:53 AM on April 6, 2007
Pretty much all of these pros can walk into you standard bowling alley with lanes set up for league play and go crazy. There's a former pro on one of my leagues that shot 300s 3 out of 4 weeks, and easily averages in the mid 230s.
PBA conditions are extremely tough and require a bowler to be extremely accurate to do well - which all of those guys are. So when they get to use lighter balls, specially drilled balls for trick shots, and lane conditions to make these sorts of things easier, it's not unthinkable they can do this. Yes, I'm sure it's still quite hard, and fun to watch.
There's another guy on a league of mine that did the pro tour for a year or two back around 1980. He's got some amazing stories about things that happened - such as how they'd oil the lanes to keep a certain person from winning on a certain week, for example. I think my favorite was when there was a PBA event in Portland right when Mt. St. Helens blew - they walked in the morning of the final day to find the lanes covered in a thin coat of ash. And since the rules forbid the lanes from being redone once they'd been properly oiled, everyone had to bowl on it. The only person who could bowl well was a guy who threw a completely straight ball.
posted by evilangela at 11:07 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
PBA conditions are extremely tough and require a bowler to be extremely accurate to do well - which all of those guys are. So when they get to use lighter balls, specially drilled balls for trick shots, and lane conditions to make these sorts of things easier, it's not unthinkable they can do this. Yes, I'm sure it's still quite hard, and fun to watch.
There's another guy on a league of mine that did the pro tour for a year or two back around 1980. He's got some amazing stories about things that happened - such as how they'd oil the lanes to keep a certain person from winning on a certain week, for example. I think my favorite was when there was a PBA event in Portland right when Mt. St. Helens blew - they walked in the morning of the final day to find the lanes covered in a thin coat of ash. And since the rules forbid the lanes from being redone once they'd been properly oiled, everyone had to bowl on it. The only person who could bowl well was a guy who threw a completely straight ball.
posted by evilangela at 11:07 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
You mean there is there no honor in bowling? Wow, I'm shocked.
also, you might enjoy this.
posted by phaedon at 11:19 AM on April 6, 2007
also, you might enjoy this.
posted by phaedon at 11:19 AM on April 6, 2007
May I draw your attention to the worst soundtracked video ever
posted by tehloki at 11:25 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by tehloki at 11:25 AM on April 6, 2007
Since we're on sports, and they are so looked down upon... I present the craziest ending to an NBA game you will ever see
posted by phaedon at 11:26 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
posted by phaedon at 11:26 AM on April 6, 2007 [1 favorite]
Actually, I have kind of a beef with the music that surrounds bowling. Watching bowling videos? Prepared to be assaulted by some sort of Ibiza-house-cheese. Planning on going cosmic bowling? The worst dance remixes of pop songs ever created by mankind will pound you into submission. Even in regular bowling alleys at regular hours, it seems like they're always playing the same lackluster soft country. When did bowling and music decide to forever part ways in decency?
posted by tehloki at 11:28 AM on April 6, 2007
posted by tehloki at 11:28 AM on April 6, 2007
Agreed, tehloki... While waiting for league to start, I'm assaulted with the worst pop hits of the 70's and 80's... I'm so happy when they turn it off.
Of course, nothing was worse than the weekend where the only time I could get to work with my coach was during... Country Xtreme Bowling. Yeah, I'm serious.
posted by evilangela at 11:46 AM on April 6, 2007
Of course, nothing was worse than the weekend where the only time I could get to work with my coach was during... Country Xtreme Bowling. Yeah, I'm serious.
posted by evilangela at 11:46 AM on April 6, 2007
ok, that was amazing.
as a side note, japanese people totally fascinate me, i'd rather live in japan, and somebody has to show me how to do that.
posted by phaedon at 12:34 PM on April 6, 2007
as a side note, japanese people totally fascinate me, i'd rather live in japan, and somebody has to show me how to do that.
posted by phaedon at 12:34 PM on April 6, 2007
# Believe it or not, one of the beluga whales at the Atlanta aquarium blows bubble rings to the delight of the humans.
posted by ijoshua at 12:45 PM on April 6, 2007
posted by ijoshua at 12:45 PM on April 6, 2007
I've seen the bubble rings done before, but in the ocean they aren't so pretty, too much current.
posted by dibblda at 1:05 PM on April 6, 2007
posted by dibblda at 1:05 PM on April 6, 2007
i think it's the music that gets me. sounds like an underwater mario level. or maybe the end of castlevania 5.
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on April 6, 2007
posted by phaedon at 1:12 PM on April 6, 2007
I saw a bowling documentary at the SXSW film festival that really made it clear what a mental game competitive pro bowling is... and what a racket out-of-mainstream pro sports like bowling, fishing, etc are.. Pin Gods was the name. I have never seen it on video or DVD.
posted by bgribble at 7:44 PM on April 6, 2007
posted by bgribble at 7:44 PM on April 6, 2007
Props for making a playlist!
That was really fun. Last I checked, there was a ton of bowling stuff on YouTube. I wish I could watch it at the center; would make those weekend shifts more enjoyable.
posted by Eideteker at 8:07 PM on April 6, 2007
That was really fun. Last I checked, there was a ton of bowling stuff on YouTube. I wish I could watch it at the center; would make those weekend shifts more enjoyable.
posted by Eideteker at 8:07 PM on April 6, 2007
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... Ok seriously, those were fun to watch.
posted by knave at 5:34 AM on April 6, 2007