tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post7592138083378773996..comments2024-03-29T05:14:33.223-07:00Comments on Steve Sailer: iSteve: What's the most literary sport?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger59125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-81491057741071396452013-02-13T11:48:59.160-08:002013-02-13T11:48:59.160-08:00Izaak Walton was a bait fisherman. The portion of ...Izaak Walton was a bait fisherman. The portion of "The Compleat Angler" on fly-fishing was written by his friend Charles Cotton.<br /><br />I am surprised no one has mentioned hunting (i.e., riding to hounds) as a literary sport. As a subject of literary effort, it is ancient. Xenophon's "Cynegeticus" and two treatises on horsemanship touch directly on it. Arrian's "On coursing" is another classical work. Numerous mediaeval and early modern works exist on this favorite sport of aristocrats and royalty. The Victorian author R.S. Surtees made it the subject of several novels. Wikipedia notes:<br /><br />"As a creator of comic personalities, Surtees is still very readable today. Thackeray envied him his powers of observation, while William Morris considered him 'a master of life' and ranked him with Dickens. The novels are engaging and vigorous, and abound with sharp social observation, with a keener eye than Dickens for the natural world. Perhaps Surtees most resembles the Dickens of Pickwick Papers, which was originally intended as mere supporting matter for a series of sporting illustrations to rival Jorrocks."<br /><br />As a journalist, Surtees's great accomplishment was as founder in 1853 of "The Field," the British sporting magazine, still going strong 160 years later. We may contrast its lasting success with the short run of Dickens's "Household Words," founded in 1850 and discontinued in 1859, or the two short-lived newspapers on which Thackeray lost most of his inheritance.Crawfurdmuirnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-2217688670286798892013-02-09T01:55:02.365-08:002013-02-09T01:55:02.365-08:00Most literary sport?
Fly fishing.
Most literary sport?<br /><br />Fly fishing. <br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-88182782379940109372013-02-08T10:41:23.771-08:002013-02-08T10:41:23.771-08:00I also nominate fly fishing. "Why should not...I also nominate fly fishing. "Why should not old men be mad? / Some have known a likely lad / That had a sound fly-fisher's wrist / Turn to a drunken journalist" <a href="http://classiclit.about.com/library/bl-etexts/wbyeats/bl-wbye-why.htm" rel="nofollow">--Yeats</a>*<br /><br />RE: mountain climbing, don't forget such explicitly literary ascents as Petrarch's climbing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascent_of_Mont_Ventoux" rel="nofollow">Mont Ventoux</a> in 1336, an event of huge artistic importance.<br /><br />And there's the Auden/Isherwood play, The Ascent of F6...<br /><br />* Nice HBD reference in the 2nd quatrain<br /><br />-ProvencalAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-37217207358855637802013-02-07T20:31:44.923-08:002013-02-07T20:31:44.923-08:00"Anonymous said...
Eastwood's Eiger SAnc..."Anonymous said...<br /><br />Eastwood's Eiger SAnction from the early 70's is good and they didn't use blue screen from what I understand."<br /><br />The climbing scenes in that movie were fascinating as I recall (I'm not a climber), though the story was pretty ridiculous. It was also Eastwood's funniest movie - a lot of great lines in that one.Mr. Anonnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-76141269696367550152013-02-07T19:49:08.402-08:002013-02-07T19:49:08.402-08:00I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Eiger Sanct...I'm surprised nobody mentioned the Eiger Sanction. I never read the book, but it was a terrific movie starring Clint Eastwood.Five Daarstensnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-1626131533889454682013-02-07T18:40:54.187-08:002013-02-07T18:40:54.187-08:00A surprising number of physicists have been climbe...A surprising number of physicists have been climbers of note. William Shockley, Henry Kendall, Frank Sacherer, & George Irving Bell are a few of the notable physicists who climbed. The sport doesn't seem to attract many unintelligent people to it. <br /><br />Polar exploration also has very good literature. Aspley Cherry-Garrad's book "The Worst Journey in the World" is one my favorites.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-33872256731187979632013-02-07T17:52:56.065-08:002013-02-07T17:52:56.065-08:00According to him, a green dress signifies a loose ...<i>According to him, a green dress signifies a loose girl.</i><br /><br />"And not a real green dress; that's cruel."<br /><br />- Canadian ProverbAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-79110632859073727422013-02-07T17:48:13.907-08:002013-02-07T17:48:13.907-08:00Oops: that DC Comics hero was supposed to be '...<br />Oops: that DC Comics hero was supposed to be 'Lt. Johnny Cloud, Navajo Ace.' <br /><br />Maybe I should prime myself tp spring for a new pair of bifocals.Auntie Analoguenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-87560342514702509672013-02-07T16:59:30.979-08:002013-02-07T16:59:30.979-08:00Anonymous said... Hemingway said there are only 3 ...Anonymous said... <i>Hemingway said there are only 3 sports: car racing, bull<br />fighting and mountain climbing.</i><br /><br />George Carlin also said there were only three sports as well: baseball, football and basketball. One criterion was the possibility of serious injury.<br /><br />He ruled out ice hockey, because it used a puck, and those were also used in urinals. He grudgingly respected auto racing, as "now we're talkin' <i>serious</i> goddam injury."Reg Cæsarnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-32334461610460588622013-02-07T16:51:09.071-08:002013-02-07T16:51:09.071-08:00The best sports novel I've ever read is Fat Ci...The best sports novel I've ever read is Fat City by Leonard Gardner about boxing. It's a masterpiece of spare, modern prose. <br /><br />End Zone by Don Delillo about college football is also a very good sports novel. Mr Lomezhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07043467547490085497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-17385066766927517892013-02-07T16:22:28.921-08:002013-02-07T16:22:28.921-08:00Vicente, not Vincente. Also a good story by Blasc...Vicente, not Vincente. Also a good story by Blasco-Ibanez - La Barraca. According to him, a green dress signifies a loose girl. not a hackernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-13226943202336720792013-02-07T16:18:41.616-08:002013-02-07T16:18:41.616-08:00"Touching The Void, by Joe Simpson, is a book..."Touching The Void, by Joe Simpson, is a book and a movie. You should check out the movie, Steve, being a movie buff. It's very good."<br /><br />To connect this to an earlier thread, Touching the VOid is directed by Kevin McDonald, who's the grandson of great English filmmaker Emeric Pressburger.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-65120637592726113792013-02-07T16:05:19.472-08:002013-02-07T16:05:19.472-08:00Hemingway said there are only 3 sports: car racing...Hemingway said there are only 3 sports: car racing, bull fighting and mountain climbing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-34217929881207602102013-02-07T16:01:37.121-08:002013-02-07T16:01:37.121-08:00"If you like mountain climbing, the German fi..."If you like mountain climbing, the German film "North Face" is absolutely stunning. The re-creations of being in the Alps during a snow storm are done incredibly well. Streaming on NetFlix right now.<br /><br />Eastwood's Eiger SAnction from the early 70's is good and they didn't use blue screen from what I understand. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-15424210771082432192013-02-07T15:53:32.351-08:002013-02-07T15:53:32.351-08:00Not literary, exactly, but it takes some intellect...Not literary, exactly, but it takes some intellect: Charles Goren wrote about baseball teams playing bridge in the locker room, and being reasonably good at it. It's hard to imagine that now, though.Cail Corishevhttp://cailcorishev.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-89496743229945041782013-02-07T15:31:41.781-08:002013-02-07T15:31:41.781-08:00I'll second Touching the Void- just amazing. F...I'll second Touching the Void- just amazing. Fitzgerald's The Highest Andes (on Aconcagua) is well worth a read. That said, much of the recent output is just a reflection of our narcissism- self-congratulatory crap. On a behavioral spectrum from Hillary to Woodall, the trend has been, unfortunately, in favor of the latter.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-87305529782694053062013-02-07T14:51:18.527-08:002013-02-07T14:51:18.527-08:00Re 'Blood and Sand', I see that Valentino&...Re 'Blood and Sand', I see that Valentino's co-star, Nita Naldi, was born Mary Dooley.<br /><br />She was a great friend of Valentino's wife, Natacha Rambova - born Winifred Shaughnessy.<br /><br />I wonder if it works in reverse? Any Irish-named actors with Russian birth names? Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-46061023552778936342013-02-07T14:40:07.984-08:002013-02-07T14:40:07.984-08:00Let's see how hard it is to leave a comment no...Let's see how hard it is to leave a comment now that I've turned on Word Verification to get out from under the mountain of spam lately being misdelivered to my Comments for Moderation file instead of to the Spam file.Steve Sailerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11920109042402850214noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-41031964833065457002013-02-07T14:40:03.785-08:002013-02-07T14:40:03.785-08:00"I can't speak to bullfighting."
It...<i>"I can't speak to bullfighting."</i><br /><br />It's a novel, but 'Blood and Sand' by Vincente Blasco Ibanez. The film was a big hit for Valentino, but it's a good book - very modern for 1909. Roissy would appreciate it.<br /><br />As for hunting, R.S. Surtees is an acquired taste. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-74938684041129471372013-02-07T14:38:27.703-08:002013-02-07T14:38:27.703-08:00In Britain this sport is called "hillwalking&...In Britain this sport is called "hillwalking":<br /><br />http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hill_walking<br /><br />They don't have huge mountains in the UK, mostly big hills or small, relatively flat mountains. So the term "hillwalking" better captures the more leisurely, walking nature of the activity. Mountain climbing is much more vertical and arduous.<br /><br />It's easier to be pensive and think up poems will taking a leisurely walk than mountain climbing. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-90305999285775104252013-02-07T13:51:46.515-08:002013-02-07T13:51:46.515-08:00I can see why it's not on your radar (though I...I can see why it's not on your radar (though I believe it has a long history in L.A.), but I'd be surprised if any sport has generated more serious literature than cricket.<br /><br />Mountaineering has an in-built advantage over other sports in that its stock in trade is adventure stories, rather than descriptions of ball games.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-71805932498956204722013-02-07T13:47:23.149-08:002013-02-07T13:47:23.149-08:00As for sports normally thought of as sports, boxin...<i>As for sports normally thought of as sports, boxing would be my choice. Hemingway and Mailer, of course, but also the articulate Howard Cosell, saw into the literary dimensions of boxing. Can't really think of anyone else, though.</i><br /><br />Also A.J. Leibling, whose book <i>The Sweet Science</i> is a masterpiece. There's also <i>On Boxing</i> by Joan Didion.<br /><br />PeterAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-74950761165316984312013-02-07T13:37:56.462-08:002013-02-07T13:37:56.462-08:00Climbers are completely over-represented in the li...Climbers are completely over-represented in the literary world. There is so much self-mythologizing about the significance of every ascent or attempt because it is of so little real import. Even climbers who never intend to publish maintain journals at a higher rate than teenage girls. It's also a means to carve out a living for a sport that doesn't pay very well, even at the highest end. <br /><br />Climbers with little significant material will resort to writing guidebooks to let the world know what they've climbed first or how important their crag/mountain range was to the progression of the endeavor. Many who climb get so incredibly caught up in their obsession that they need to tangibly validate their accomplishments in print, and it has created a glut on the market. It was always about having incredible, mind-blowing experiences few will ever know, and that's always been enough to sustain me and most of my partners. I've refused to climb with glory hounds on multiple occasions.Marc Bhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15526121114466617234noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-113390286839815842013-02-07T13:32:40.135-08:002013-02-07T13:32:40.135-08:00As for sports normally thought of as sports, boxin...As for sports normally thought of as sports, boxing would be my choice. Hemingway and Mailer, of course, but also the articulate Howard Cosell, saw into the literary dimensions of boxing. Can't really think of anyone else, though.<br /><br />Most team sports are metaphors for war, but if you are a great writer, why write about metaphors for war when you can write about war? <br /><br />Boxing brings us into the zero-sum dimension of individual human experience. (Of course, now that it isn't zero-sum anymore, it isn't very literary anymore.) dirknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9430835.post-42391323351903847062013-02-07T13:19:38.449-08:002013-02-07T13:19:38.449-08:00The only mountain climbing book I remember reading...The only mountain climbing book I remember reading recently was "Between a Rock and a Hard Place" which was later made into the movie "127 Hours".<br /><br />The movie only focuses on the last incident where the protagonist Aron Ralston gets stuck in a canyon and has to cut off his own arm. But this Ralston character also climbed many conventional mountains too.<br /><br />Most people who see the movie wonder why he is climbing-hiking alone. Surely this is the kind of adventure that normally requires a climbing buddy. Indeed if he had had a buddy, there would have been no story. The buddy would just pull him out or go for help.<br /><br />So where is the buddy? Readers of the book know that no one was with him because all his former climbing buddies would not go out with him anymore. He nearly killed three of them in an avalanche. He was crazy reckless.<br /><br />He was very lucky to only lose an arm. His friends all expected him to kill himself.<br /><br />AlbertosaurusPat Boylehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13477950851915567863noreply@blogger.com