The Rugged Gentleman - Latest Comments

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Mercierjanice — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:30:55 -0000

Totally AGREE!! Its the dumbest idea I ever heard of. That and "trendy".

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Mercierjanice — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 16:30:15 -0000

Sorry its ANNOYING!!! Just make me the damn drink already

Re: You Are NOT a Billboard

Jacye_9900 — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 10:27:08 -0000

just ran across your bolg. amazing! i am american and feel dwowned the world you described above, hoodies trainers, etc. also there is n quality to be found here as everything that exists is from asia and the primary stores are chain retailers. thankyou for reflecting thoughts that i perhaps could not word. C

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Subtilitas — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 23:34:51 -0000

The last time I saw a juggler and was honestly impressed was a few months ago in Austin, Texas.

I play polyphonic African music on thumb pianos (specifically the Zimbabwean matepe) with some friends who live in Austin, and this music is not for the faint of rhythmic ability (or even rhythmic comprehension!) It's fair to say that there is far more going on than simply what meets the ear. To an initiated and experienced performer of this type of music, the complex combinations are not unlike a comfortable, downy mattress into which the joys of the performer can sink. Endless permutations and combinations await those who actively pursue it...and the greatest surprises are those that arise in live, social performance. To the uninitiated, it is a whirlwind of pulse-pounding intensity that can captivate with equal parts speed, ferocity, finesse, tightness, and groove.

Jugglers sometimes express their craft as a rhythmic art--the physical manifestation of an aural concept. Often, when learning, they admit to a process by which beat patterns are translated into alternations of tosses and catches. In essence, they are invoking the same process by which a drummer is capable of both mentally and physically isolating body movements in a rhythmic context. Listen carefully to jugglers who are graceful and not spastic with their motions: you'll hear the rhythms unfold and interlock like the cuica and the agogo in a samba bateria. These audible combinations become all the more impressive when an increasing multitude of objects are being juggled in geometrically daredevil fashion.

Let's take this a step further with my experience in Austin. As my friends and I were playing this precise, complicated Zimbabwean music, a juggler approached us and actually chimed in with the rhythms of his tosses. We later learned that he is a champion contender in this style of juggling, but even before we knew that fact we were floored by how he was altering the rhythmic fabric of his throws by keying in on what WE were playing. Incredible. A live 'quid pro quo' existed as rhythms from thumb pianos became etched into the air as tangled loops...and when we craned our ears to listen, surely enough his catches mirrored our beat patterns nearly exactly.

Not all jugglers practice this amount of subtle dedication and rhythmic intensity. And I can deduce with great certainty (thanks to the contributions of the posts on this page...thanks!) that the entertainment of willing audiences is more of a primary goal of a flairtender than the appreciation of rhythmic whizbangery. I, for one, can appreciate equally the skill and dedication necessary for polyrhythmic juggling and flair bartending. The difference between them, I think, lies in the perceived audience and the type of entertainment-space created by the performer. The context of the juggler, whether for rhythm or for barroom entertainment, invokes a sort of transformational (liminal) state where an audience undergoes a change from start to finish.

With rhythm juggling, few may be able to understand and appreciate the nuances of a performance, but those who do can then communicate it to those who may not see it. And everyone touched by the performance will certainly be thinking about rhythm in a very different way.

With flair bartending, anybody can understand it as it is visually occurring. Everybody's "Point A" at a bar is markedly different (thanks for clarifying that, Ericmichael001), but flair bartending creates a space where everybody's "Point B" might end up being the same: entertained, and feeling a little better than before.

Juggling still impresses the hell out of me, be it with balls or with bottles!

Re: What is a Dandy?

Nxlcsdeo — Sat, 11 Aug 2012 22:13:14 -0000

What an enjoyable read! I suspect those who have succumbed to the culture's pervasive bohemianism may have been annoyed by your extensive vocabulary as well. In spite of the popularity of college education these days, we've been considerably "dumbed down" by numerous social bombardments, and your article aptly points out one of those. Thank you!

Re: What is a Dandy?

Bongani — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 14:07:36 -0000

Best article on rebellious clothing I have ever read so far!!!

Re: The Last Bastion of the Cold War: Understanding a Divided Korea

Cyrus Kirkpatrick — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:58:31 -0000

I explored this place pretty thoroughly and you can check out photos / writing over at cyruskirkpatrick.com, this will remain the most interesting country in the world to me and I'm really rooting that things will shape up for the better over the next few years.

Re: What is a Gentleman?

Kathryn Botsford — Fri, 13 Jul 2012 02:13:19 -0000

Vince this is fantastic! I love the image of, "Words feel like a stain when they prove inadequate." That is just a phenomenal and beautiful comparison.

Re: What is a Dandy?

Livingzurich — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 11:11:40 -0000

http://livingzurich.blogspo...

Re: Flying Pigeon Bicycles

David Willoughby — Sat, 09 Jun 2012 09:31:33 -0000

UPDATE: See Seth Coleman's site for a short documentary on Flying Pigeon:

http://sethcoleman.net/blog...

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Ericmichael001 — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 10:28:58 -0000

I have been a bartender for more than 30 years.I have flipped many bottles and glasses or even ashtrays when we had then.I have done bar tricks with bottles, coins,you name it.There is a time and a place for everything.This was even before we invented shooters and flavored martini's this was when we only had 2 single malt scotches in Ont.Working behind a bar is an amazing experience and most definitly fun at most times.Entertaining is what we do.Many people go to bars for many different reasons.We try to please you all.Some like to read a book at the bar.....go figure,some like to talk some just want to watch tv,some don't want any attention at all because they are depressed.Some go because it helps their ego's and some go to get laid....what can I say.If I am doing something that is putting a smile on your face,then I am doing the right thing.CHEERS !!!!

Re: Flying Pigeon Bicycles

jc — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:07:58 -0000

But they're out of the low-bar style. :(

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Marlais — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 12:29:53 -0000

I wholeheartedly agree with you. Flair saps drunkenness of all its tragic dignity. No self-respecting alcoholic drinks at flair bars. Would 70's era Tom Waits drink at a flair bar? Certainly not!

Re: Flying Pigeon Bicycles

Gues — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 03:41:50 -0000

A shop in Los Angeles sells them, both in-store and online. http://flyingpigeon-la.com/

Re: God Wants You To Be An Atheist

Tara — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 17:49:51 -0000

You know it's funny because I was just thinking that exactly...then I found your writing. Let's hypothesise that God does exist, if He does, why would He give us a mind that delights in solving problems and figuring things out, a mind that loves science, and then punish us for it when we come to the only logical conclusion? But if He does exist, we have to remember he also gave us imagination, which helps us aspire new heights, to be better, and to think "What if?". The only truth for now is to neither believe nor disbelieve in the existance of God/Gods. We simply don't have enough evidence either way. But that doesn't mean we should love our lives or what beauty there is around us any less, or stop trying to make life better for those we can. And it doesn't mean we can't hope. I liked this, by the way. :)

Re: Flying Pigeon Bicycles

Ashleye Cardenas — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 20:51:46 -0000

I'm in the market for a FP, I'm located in CA, were you ever able to make the importing possible?

Re: Podcast One: Monuments to Power

KimMinam — Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:20 -0000

Hi, I live in Yangsan and it's hard not to see the Yangsan War Memorial as a huge contradiction and slightly offensive because of it. The huge gun barrel phallically rising above the brotherly band of men charging determinedly into battle while behind them we see the horrific images of war. These images and the "peace star" placed inside the barrel of the gun do little if anything to add even a semblance of solemnity. If anything the idea of solemn reflection is brought asunder to the idea of determined victory at all cost. Plus, the tank placed next to the monument instills it also with a sense awe, i think. Any hint of 'celebration' is hard to justify these days surely.
Great podcast, some good observations and points made. Thanks.

Re: The Founding Fathers

TheTruth — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:02:22 -0000

To -> Too

Re: The Founding Fathers

TheTruth — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:01:43 -0000

Excellent article. To bad the religious in the U.S. *and* the relgious outside the U.S. who hate the U.S. will still try to spin it to their advantage (more so the outsiders).

Re: The Founding Fathers

Pheroc — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 18:52:48 -0000

Amazing

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Pcolantuoni — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 00:51:30 -0000

Well done sir.

Re: What is a Dandy?

Alieakub — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:23:26 -0000

view this link...............http://www.hiddenidol.com/view_vid...

Re: God Wants You To Be An Atheist

Guest — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 10:44:56 -0000

Humans aren't perfect, so isn't science that results from the imperfect human. God created man the way we re, that's the beauty of his creation. Some accept him, some don't. Science has done a lot of good, but also a lot of bad. Science has its limits, and based upon a limited knowledge its wrong to come to conclusions.

Re: Against Flair Bartending

Golfing_iowa — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:20:38 -0000

Bartenders are entertainers... We do not live off of our paychecks, trust me. We live on making people smile and by making sure people enjoy themselves when we can. Small talk is great, but when you do something that catches somebody's eye, that is more impressive. We chose not to sit behind a cubicle and enter numbers into a spreadsheet, and most of us enjoy what we do. I'm willing to bet more bartenders enjoy their job compared to whatever it is you do. I do apologize for us trying to make a dollar, but more importantly, I apologize to your "friends" who are entertained by something entertaining and probably had to listen to you complain about it all night long.

-A bartender who is trying to learn to flair.

Re: Up Past Curfew

Ash — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 13:37:13 -0000

Ah, Phuc Tan. I lived in Hanoi for 7 months, and I remember that place fondly. :-) I also liked Mao's and the Dracula Bar, but for the best times, get out of Hoan Kiem.
Thanks for the memory jog