Derby Girls

3B and H pencils, colored in Photoshop

Al and I went with friends Sunday to a roller derby bout, to support my friend Laurie, a referee for the Dominion Derby Girls.

I've watched a few episodes of A&E's Rollergirls, but I have absolutely no recollection of watching roller derby on television when I was little, although people tell me it was there (I vividly remember watching Prince Charles' and Princess Diana's wedding, though, through the holes in the afghan, when I was supposed to be sleeping on the babysitter's couch. Oh, sorry. I digress.). I don't remember hearing much about roller derby at all, in fact. Didn't even know that, not only did Jim Croce record a song called "Roller Derby Queen," but I actually already have it on CD.

To me, it's a new sport, even if it actually dates back to the 1930s. So I had expectations, from the A&E show, but really no idea what to expect (that isn't a contradiction in my head). Some of my expectations, such as seeing lots of tattoos and some funky clothes, were met, although it was cool to discover that the crowd was actually wildly varied in age, race and "type," from the mainstream to the eccentric.

The sport, though, was, well, far more intense than I dreamed, even having heard from Laurie about the demanding workouts they go through four or so days a week. (This isn't meant to be a slight to roller derby. Keep in mind that my absolute favorite sport is baseball, where they sit around a lot of the time and stand around a lot of the time and run and throw every once in a while.)

Let me just say, wow. It's sort of like basketball, in that they don't stop very often. It's sort of like football, in that they are trying to get past each other and there's a lot of physical contact. It's sort of like Olympic speed skating, in that some of these girls are wicked fast. And then, I could make some hockey comparisons, too. But really, roller derby is quite unique. And the endurance of these athletes is awe-inspiring (as is the endurance of the refs, who must skate the entire time, unlike the competitors, who swap in and out with their teammates).

Not only that, but they can cross their feet over. I never could get the hang of that. Much less while looking backwards over my shoulder while simultaneously pulling my teammate through the pack. Quite impressive.

If there are bouts in your area, go. The rules seemed a bit tricky, at first, but eventually, they made sense. I understood what was going on and got into the cheering very quickly. I can't wait to go again.

Staying on Tune

I don't know how it happened. Honestly.

I am not a big fan of competition-style reality shows. Not only that, but I tend to prefer bands and singer/songwriter/musicians over singers who just sing (with some exceptions, most of whom recorded forty or fifty years ago). But for the first season ever, I am watching American Idol. And I'm really into it. I definitely have my favorites already. I'm invested. I am shocked, myself.

Let's just get this straight. I can't sing. Sometimes I can stay on tune, if I really pay attention and work at it. But I don't have a good singing voice. (I know this for a fact. I taped myself once, I'll admit it, out of curiosity, because I didn't think I sounded that bad, and I immediately taped over it because it was mortifying. That's when I learned that the voice we hear inside our own heads is not necessarily the same voice everyone else hears.)

But my biggest observation about American Idol is that I, personally, don't care so much about the singer's voice as I do about their personality (at this point, they all have pretty good voices, anyway). And I don't mean, "Oh, she's so sweet," or "He's so nice, please don't vote them off." I mean the personality they put into the songs. I got the impression that some of these singers memorized the lyrics as a bunch of syllables. That they had absolutely no idea what the songs they were singing were about. And that's sort of sad.

Because there's more notes to hit than musical ones. If you can't hit emotional notes, then you're just singing in another kind of off-key. If you're singing a happy song, I want to believe that you are the happiest person in the world. If you're singing a party song, I want you to get me off the couch and dancing through the sheer joy of your singing. If you're singing a love song, I want to feel loved. And if you're singing a song about breaking up with someone, it doesn't matter if you're male or female, I want to feel like you're breaking up with me.

No matter what song it is, no matter how many times I've heard it before, no matter how much it might be my favorite or least-favorite song, ever, I want to believe that you are the very first person who ever sang it, that you wrote it, last night, in your hotel room, on a napkin, and that it is the most important thing you'll ever sing.

And only a few people pulled that off. They're my favorites.

Professional Procrastination

This is very funny.

10 Ways to Be Busy All Day and Never Accomplish a Thing!

I am especially proficient at numbers 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10.

(Via Tinker).

Getting Territorial

I am pleased to announce that I have settled on a web hosting company, and registered a domain name, and will soon have a web site to call my own.

I will officially unveil my site address once I have something to show.

Mailbox Magic

Wow.

My name actually got drawn out of a hat, and I opened the mailbox today to find a lovely, cheerful, bright yellow package from Tinker, full of sweet treats -- chocolate, a beautiful Valentine's cookie, a tea bag (English Breakfast, my favorite, how did she know?), and very best of all, a beautiful, luminous piece of her artwork. I am SO excited.

I really wish I could take a picture, but you'll have to settle for words, which at times like this, are highly inadequate.

A thousand thank yous, Tinker!