Gerard Pas | Musings and Cogitations: knocking down the pins

Bowling?

Man has bowling changed since I last went. The squeeze, da progeny, and I went bowling on Boxing Day.

It was kinda fun and I was amazed by just how much bowling had changed.

Sadly, gone are the days of The Big Lebowski, with The Dude polishing his ball in a linen towel. Those were the days!

It has become a freak show of over indulgence: short film clips digitally projected on numerous screens at the “pin” end of the lanes. Black lit lanes where neon coloured illuminated balls roll down lanes, which can be automatically programmed to give each individual players various preferences, such as bumpers, computerized coaches, etc. I do like automated score keeping! 15 of us went and played 2 games each using two lanes for approximately 2hrs and 15 min for a cost of CDN $95. With Sarsaparilla drinks and some small snacks throw in an other CDN $60-90 bucks.
Now with all that potential, you’d think they program the LCD projectors to show clips of movies like that masterpiece movie by the Coen brothers mentioned above. No funny clips of Jackie Gleeson’s bowling on the Honeymooners. A series of vapid and ephemeral clips, which made you think you were watching Sesame Street over your toddlers back or MTV hits clips today.

Poster Images from the Lebowski Fest

There wre no images or posters from the “Dudireno” Lebowski Fest in New York, not even a still from Gutterball. Just the same monotonous fill of images which we see every day and could pave the way from Columbus Circle to the Brooklyn Bridge in New York, so mindless we can’t remember a one.

This electrified environment, with the comforting sounds of pins falling and the smack of balls pounding wood, was then augmented by the shrill call of popular top 10 hits amplified to the sound of a private jet revving up on the runway of Trenton Airport, NJ. Is there such a thing as bowling music? If no, then how about the Blues?

That said, I’m no stick in the mud and I did find a way of enjoying myself in the company of friends and loved ones. It’s still bowling and what’s not to like about sticking three fingers in a heavy acrylic ball, forcing it to roll down a hardwood lane to knock down a set of 10 pins. Damn I had to find some joy there because my score totals sucked so bad I’m still hearing the passing of wind through my ears.

It seems like an appropriate way for me to post my last post of 2005, talking about bowling. A noble sport and short of joining a league, I think I may start a quest to find “the perfect bowling alley”, then again, maybe I won’t, but I can dream about it.

So in closing why not take this quiz: Which Big Lebowski Character Are You. I did.

Happy old year my friends, see you in the new one. So now, I’m not thinking of balls but sinking apples, or is that raising apples.