Fake it till you make it

15 darts thrown (2 bounced out). There's a (fake) 180 in there somewhere.

Dicking around 'cos my darts at the moment are absolutely shocking. It's my worst slump in at least a year. No explanation but a lot of bullshit theories. The least bullshit - and, therefore, most plausible is that I'm just winding down on the darts. A combination of age, health, indifference and just feeling fucking blah.

All melancholy aside, throwing multiple darts at the board in a random fashion actually serves some purpose. It's good for the dartitis . . .  if nothing else.  I even threw the darts without using the 'fake' throw. I haven't thrown darts like that for a while.

Play for Today: A Mother Like Him (1982)

 

An Accidental Studio (2019)

 

Hollywood: A Third Memoir by Larry McMurtry (Simon & Schuster 2010)

 

HOLLYWOOD—as opposed movies, its principal product—entered my life almost simultaneously with my son, James McMurtry, who arrived in March 1962, at which time I was teaching world literature—all of it, from the Ramayana to Dylan Thomas—at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas. To the farm and oil patch kids I was teaching, literature—or at least my mandated selection of it—held little appeal. In desperation I began to challenge these reluctant students to Ping-Pong matches, a game at which I was then quite good. If a student won, he or she got an A; if they lost they got a C.

That may seem a little unorthodox, but then five classes is a lot of classes. Between matches I was able to make friends with two writers, John Graves and Dave Hickey, both still alive and both still friends.

Then one day a man from Paramount Studios called, taking me by surprise. He turned out to be a location scout—that night he took me to dinner at what was probably the best restaurant in Fort Worth. Though, by this time, I had lived in both Houston and San Francisco, I knew nothing of fine dining. The man wore a pin-striped suit which bespoke a standard of eloquence far beyond my own. Though the suit was probably just normal Brooks Brothers, I remember it to this day; and I also remember the news he brought me, which was that Paramount had just bought the film rights to my slight first novel, Horseman, Pass By, and planned to film it in the Panhandle of Texas, starting almost immediately, with Paul Newman to star. The sum they planned to pay me, $10,000, meant, to me, farewell forever to the Ramayana and to table tennis as a grading system as well.

Rik Mayall: Magnificent B’Stard (2026)

 

Listening to podcasts about Adrian Mole and a family revelation

Posted late evening June 27th.

Just walked in whilst listening to a podcast about the enduring brilliance of Adrian Mole,  only to meet with the sad realisation that I'm the only member of my immediate family who likes Bolands Raspberry Cremes.

Absolute bloody heathens.

87/50

Fantastic Four

Last time I hit 4 180s in one day was early May of last year.

86/50

Three's a charm

Maybe I should dial down the practice more. I haven't really been playing that much  in the past week - here and there - and I'm suddenly hitting some sort of form again. Funny how that works.

85/50

That Spongebog meme . . .

You know the one . . . 

Actually, can six minutes qualify as "A few moments later"? 

In a darting timeline, probably . . . why not  . . . leave me the fuck alone.

84/50

Half a man

A couple of days ago I got one of those Facebook Memories thingies in my timeline, where I was informed that this time last year I'd just hit my 150th 180 in 2025. Sadly, I can't link to that 180 on the blog 'cos I've yet to post it. (My continuing bad.)

Why the drop off? No idea. I can't really blame the dartitis 'cos I'm sure the dartitis was up and running last year. Have I played less? I can't be certain but, if I was to guess, I'd say that in fact I've played more this year. That leaves me with the conclusion that last year just happened to be an exceptional year, and I've just levelled out again . . . reverting back to where I'm truly at. A bit of a come down but why lie to yourself?

Anyway, I still have plans to adopt a proper practice routine to see if I can improve my game . . . and I just hit my 83rd 180 of 2026. One of those 180s where I didn't necessarily realise that I was aiming for the 180 with my third dart.

 

83/50

P.S.

I'm back on the Dark Thunders.