Magnifico!

In a string of "Hmph, that's pretty gosh darned incredible!" posts of late, I stumbled across a set of trivia bullets about Michelangelo's David that completely blew my feeble mind! Like a previous post (CLICK) about some profound sculpturing talent, the 10 items listed below make some astounding claims that are so overwhelming, they have to be true!

Not from the same author, but supporting the truth of the statements, the following "facts" about Michelangelo's brilliance simply stagger the imagination. I cannot, for the life of me, remember where I first saw these little tidbits, so my apologies to the original author, but you should know that I truly appreciate your efforts to educate the planet about outliers like Michelangelo.

The statue of David may well be the most perfect work of art ever created - yet it was carved from a rejected block of stone. Here are 10 reasons why "David" is so astonishing (CLICK).

1. The colossal figure is 17 feet tall, equivalent to a 2-story building. It was carved from one enormous block of Carrara marble.

You can get a better understanding of the statue's magnitude when you compare the people below pictured standing in front of it. While I know nothing of the art of sculpturing, working with a piece of marble that large is incredible enough. 

2. The block it was hewn from was damaged. Two sculptors were tasked with the commission before Michelangelo took over, but neither could successfully work the low-quality stone provided.

Okay, it's not enough that he created this from a flawed hunk of stone, but he also 'inherited' the feeble attempts of two others who couldn't get the job done. Wowsers! 

3. David's form accounted for the limitations of the stone. He is slim in figure and his head is pointed to the side - because the block was too narrow for him to face forward. His contrapposto poise accounted for a hole that already existed in the marble between the legs.

You read that correctly. Not only was Michelangelo working in a challenging scale, the imperfections in the marble profoundly influenced the final outcome. The brilliance required to make subtle alterations to accommodate those imperfections is ridiculous.

4. Michelangelo was only 26 when he started it and 28 when he finished. He was already one of the finest sculptors alive at that point, having completed the "Pietà" to the total disbelief of Rome when he was 24.

5. It was originally meant to sit atop the Florence Cathedral roofline. When it was complete, it was simply too beautiful, and large, to be hoisted up there, and was instead displayed at the Palazzo della Signoria.

6. Modern studies have found it to be anatomically perfect, except for one tiny muscle missing in the back. Michelangelo, who studied anatomy scrupulously, was aware of this - he later wrote that he was limited by a defect in the marble.

Wait ... what?? Michelangelo achieved near absolute perfection despite consciously leaving out a small detail in an accommodation for the marble's fragility? That's crazy!

7. The jugular vein in David's neck is bulging, appropriate for someone in a state of fear or excitement (as the young shepherd would have been). Michelangelo evidently knew this was a feature of the circulatory system, but medical science didn't document this discovery for another 124 years.

Believe what you wish, but if the ancients did not possess the required understanding of medicine, what's the explanation for their knowledge? You can't chalk it up to a coincidence! I'm not ready to state 'Divine Intervention' but something has to provide insight, doesn't it? 

8. It was stylistically groundbreaking. Earlier interpretations of David, such as by Donatello and Verrocchio, depicted him victorious over the already slain Goliath. Here, he's at the precipice of battle, his intense stare and furrowed brow depicting a contemplative moment.

9. David represents the idealized male form and proportion, a common theme of Classical Greek sculpture. But Michelangelo's work is much more naturalistic, rooted in an anatomical understanding which far surpassed the Greeks. David is both a beautiful representation of the ideal, yet astonishingly lifelike - a defining achievement of the Italian Renaissance.

Incredulous only partially explains the emotions garnered by the statue's achievement.

10. Today, around 1.5 million people visit David every year. It has lived in the Accademia Gallery in Florence now for 150 years, since it was moved inside in 1873 to protect it from the elements.

As you can imagine, Michelangelo earned the admiration of many for his toils, including the great Renaissance artist and historian Giorgio Vasari ... "When all was finished, it cannot be denied that this work has carried off the palm from all other statues, modern or ancient, Greek or Latin; no other artwork is equal to it in any respect, with such just proportion, beauty and excellence did Michelangelo finish it."

Of course, David was not the only offering from the brilliance of the sculptor, CLICK here to see a list of the his work, not the least of which was the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. 

According to Wikipedia Michelangelo's creative abilities and mastery in a range of artistic arenas define him as an archetypal Renaissance man, along with his rival and elder contemporary, Leonardo da Vinci. Given the sheer volume of surviving correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences, Michelangelo is one of the best-documented artists of the 16th century. He was lauded by contemporary biographers as the most accomplished artist of his era. His contemporaries admired his terribilità—his ability to instil a sense of awe in viewers of his art.

Michelangelo continued to produce exquisite pieces well into his senior years, even credited with a piece called the Rondanini Pietà, which he worked on six days before his death in 1564 at the age of 88. Sadly, the piece would never be completed because he carved too deeply until there was a lack of stone.

The face behind the chisel / brush / pen was in steep opposition to the work.

Paraphrasing Wikipedia, his reclusive nature made him a curiousity with his contemporaries, said to have been indifferent to food and drink, eating "more out of necessity than of pleasure". Although considered amongst the greats of the High Renaissance along with da Vinci and Raphael, he had little to do with other artists, even outliving many of them by more than forty years. His biographer Paolo Giovio says, "His nature was so rough and uncouth that his domestic habits were incredibly squalid, and deprived posterity of any pupils who might have followed him." He shunned disciples, being by nature a solitary and melancholy person, bizzarro e fantastico, one who "withdrew himself from the company of men." Michelangelo's bank accounts and numerous deeds reveal his net worth was about 50,000 gold ducats, more than many princes and dukes of his time.

Yet another example of the balance of Life ... when graced with talents well beyond those of the average in one facet, the payback was made up in other components.

Still, there's no arguing the beauty of his work.

Inspiration personified!

This grinning, handsome young man is Nick Vujicic (phonetically it’s pronounced “Vooyi-chich"), and as I have discovered, he's a pretty cool hombre!

I was graced to have Nick's amazing story brought to my attention, and to say that I was touched is a gross understatement because this might very well leave me smiling for a couple of weeks! If you're willing to invest a few minutes in a read and a watch, I'd be shocked if you didn't come away with a similar reaction. 

I want to go on the record that this is PURE GOLD!

While my introduction to Vujicic was in the form of a video, some poking around discovered a variety of sites that filled in the background details about a life that is the epitome of optimism. Yes, life was not always 'sunshine and roses' for this incredible young man, but his choices have created a movement of Love that has to be unparalleled!

Use the scroller to fast forward to 8:00 and you won't be disappointed!

 Yep, you saw that correctly ... Nick Vujicic has no arms or legs! 

In a life spent heavily invested in athletics, the concept of dealing with the day to day without legs and arms (and by default, no hands) is truly mind boggling, and despite an innate confidence in my ability to cope with some sort of accident that might result in the loss of ONE limb, it would not be unfathomable that Nick could have easily chosen to let his affliction spiral him into depression. If you choose to watch one or both of the videos below, you'll see for yourself why he is a true inspiration of resilience.

 

According to his own web site (CLICK) Aussie-American Nick Vujicic was born in 1982, to the shock of his parents and doctors, without limbs. Vujicic has Tetra-aAmelia Syndrome, a disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs. Originally, the toes of one of Vujicic's feet were fused, but eventually an operation was performed to separate the toes so that he can use them as fingers. Vujicic refers to this foot as his "chicken drumstick". In spite of his physical limitations, his courage and tenacity for life have caused him to become one of the biggest motivational speakers in the world, known as an expert on resilience and reframing challenges.

Nick has traveled to 78 countries, presenting on 3500 stages, to crowds as large as 800,000 people. He works with education ministries of various nations, live streaming his anti-bullying messaging to youth, and also developed the Attitude Is Altitude Curriculum, helping to enforce values and positive attitudes for Gen Z. Meeting 25 Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Vice Presidents and at the same time addressing rescued human trafficked victims and orphans, Nick has a message of hope for everyone.

You can find this on YouTube under 60 minutes Australia if you wish

a fuller picture of who Nick is and what he's doing with his life.

The original 60 Minutes Australia episode was so popular they did a follow up!

No arms, no legs...no worries mate!

This is the mantra of no ordinary man, but of a life force who has turned the unimaginable challenge of navigating the world, despite bearing the profound difficulty of physical limitations that would crush the vast majority of us, proudly wearing a smile while striving to make all around him do the same. Yes, much of his 'preaching' is through the lens of Christianity, but his is a manner of gentle prodding rather than shameless guilt-ridden condemnations of fault. His skillful use of self-concept, paired with a brilliant sense of humour, creates a truth ladened presentation that is mesmerizing, awe-inspiring, and thought provoking.

Following a 30+ year career helping my fellow man, I would assert that Vujicic's video be required viewing at some point in the educational stream, likely best fitting into the grade 10 careers unit. One can't listen to the message and get mired in personal 'problems' of the universe throwing a curveball with Vujicic coming across like a super nova of positivism and resilience. 

If you've made it thus far in this post, I'd venture that your feeling the same eyebrow-raised wonder that I was. How can you not go out and have a good day after all of that?

They're always watching!

So, it's the morning after, and I'm feeling like I need to put some thoughts out there ...

Last night I was honoured to assist with the City of Barrie Jr Basketball Championships being held at Eastview SS, the culmination of a very busy Jr Boys' and Girls' season that, so I'm told, featured over 700 games that were covered by the Barrie Referee panel, or BDABO. The tournament is the much anticipated crowning of a champ for a lot of high energy, high volume basketball'ing kiddies aged 10-12 years.

I was asked to cover the playoff rounds for the boys' side of the tournament, which would eventually include the gold medal game, and I don't mind admitting that I'm always honoured to be nominated for a championship because we have a large number of competent officials in BDABO, any of which would be an asset to any event. 

Having said that, this particular post isn't about me ... quite the opposite, actually.

Before I get into the 'meat and potatoes' of this piece I should include a little background information, 'setting the table' as it were. You should know, in the off chance that you haven't witnessed Jr aged basketball in the Simcoe area in the last 10 years, things may not resemble what you may remember. Thanks to a number of factors, basketball has exploded in popularity, and bolstered by some pretty impressive skill development by the local club programs, there are some gosh-darned talented bambinos competing in your local gyms. At the risk of tooting my own horn, based on over 35 years of coaching from gr 4 all the way up the chain to the national program, I feel I'm qualified to make an accurate assessment of the talent level. When you try to host a 5v5 game in a half gym and the kids can really, really play, it quickly becomes apparent that the space is not nearly sufficient, and the play sometimes turns physical. With elementary basketball organized to utilize a single official in a half-gym set up, I knew that I would have to be on top of the action because these kids get after it, and safe play is not always forefront in their brains.

The championship game would eventually feature backyard neighbours Algonquin Ridge ES and Hyde Park ES. Featuring a number of club trained athletes, and some jaw-dropping athleticism, the game had the potential to be an old fashioned 'barn burner'. True to form, it was a hotly contested and high scoring affair, each team featuring players that were making incredible plays, much to the delight of the packed sidelines of parents, relatives, and supporters. What these kids lacked in team concepts and structure, they more than made up for in 1v1 skills, at times prompting a 'geez' from this old fart's lips. With each team taking turns squeezing out small leads, the game came down to the proverbial wire and the game was tied with time running out.

It's because of this 'my turn - your turn' style of play that things turned ugly ... or, should I say, people got ugly, causing an uptick in the amount of spectators who couldn't resist offering their opinion of the events, often with decorum filters turned completely off.

To give you a mental image, the half-gym at Eastview becomes quite the intimate setting with supporters lining all sides of the court in an effort to have the best view of 'little Johnny' and his mates giving it their all. Despite stopping the game on a number of occasions in an attempt to mitigate potential safety risks from the crowded sidelines, those that couldn't resist bellowing their input or criticism were close enough to spray spittle on the faces of the already sweaty players. 

The whole thing came to a head when one young man ... in his 20's perhaps ... decided he had the right to march right out onto the court to voice his displeasure with how I was officiating the game, and after ignoring my instructions to leave the playing surface, continued to tell me exactly what he thought. I felt that I was left with no choice but to ask him to leave the gym. I could truly care less what he thought of my performance ... I am very confident in my abilities ... but the example he was setting could have far-reaching negative effects on these youngsters. With some help from others cheering for the same side as he was, he was eventually convinced to leave, but the 'damage' was done, as others voiced their opinions that I was quote, "robbing the kids of the game".

Really??

How far have we fallen as a society that supposedly mature adults feel they are justified to behave in such a ludicrous manner, for the sake of a game featuring 10-12 year olds. As the whole thing unfolded, the image of a poster I have seen posted at OFSAA events flashed in my brain ...

Look, there are three take-aways here:

One, While I'm focussing on the few, many that were there were prototypically awesome, cheering for both teams, and revelling in their youngster's efforts. They have my upmost respect for doing it the right way, and their children saw that.

Two, those few individuals who lost control were also noticed by their children, sadly.

Three, I still had a blast being a part of this game! It would take significantly more than some vocal displeasure to sour my enjoyment of helping kids experience the thrills of competition, and judging by the emotional celebrations of the winning team, there were some really awesome memories made.

That's really what it's all about, isn't it?

Ch-ch-changes Ver2

I written in this Blog previously how social media leaves me in a dichotomous state, at times striking wonder and awe, others furrowing my brow in consternation. How can a 'service' prompt such a wide range of emotional responses? With a shrug and grin, I'll simply tolerate the bad with the good, armed by the knowledge that had I chosen to close my accounts, I'd be missing out on little gems like the one below, nor would I be able to share these thoughts as widely or easily.

I'm betwixt and between, if I'm honest!

I'll start with a plea for your forgiveness since this has been posted over and over on various platforms, but in the oft chance that it escaped your scrolling ambivalence, I've provided a copy. I've looked to see if I can uncover the original author but while the words are a popular topic on a plethora of platforms, no hard evidence of the owner was discovered.

I asked a friend who has crossed 70 & is heading towards 80 what sort of changes he is feeling in himself? He sent me the following:
1. After loving my parents, my siblings, my spouse, my children and my friends, I have now started loving myself.
2. I have realized that I am not “Atlas”. The world does not rest on my shoulders.
3. I have stopped bargaining with vegetable & fruit vendors. A few pennies more is not going to break me, but it might help the poor fellow save for his daughter’s school fees.
4. I leave my waitress a big tip. The extra money might bring a smile to her face. She is toiling much harder for a living than I am.
5. I stopped telling the elderly that they've already told that story many times. The story makes them walk down memory lane & relive their past.
6. I have learned not to correct people even when I know they are wrong. The onus of making everyone perfect is not on me. Peace is more precious than perfection.
7. I give compliments freely & generously. Compliments are a mood enhancer not only for the recipient, but also for me. And a small tip for the recipient of a compliment, never, NEVER turn it down, just say "Thank You.”
8. I have learned not to bother about a crease or a spot on my shirt. Personality speaks louder than appearances.
9. I walk away from people who don't value me. They might not know my worth, but I do.
10. I remain cool when someone plays dirty to outrun me in the rat race. I am not a rat & neither am I in any race.
11. I am learning not to be embarrassed by my emotions. It’s my emotions that make me human.
12. I have learned that it's better to drop the ego than to break a relationship. My ego will keep me aloof, whereas with relationships, I will never be alone.
13. I have learned to live each day as if it's the last. After all, it might be the last.
14. I am doing what makes me happy. I am responsible for my happiness, and I owe it to myself. Happiness is a choice. You can be happy at any time, just choose to be!
Why do we have to wait to be 60 or 70 or 80, why can't we practice this at any stage and age?

Listen, I'm proud of myself!

With all humbleness and humility, I feel that I 'live' many of these little gems, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I'm still working on numbers 3, 4, and 13, at least to an extent. 

Re #3: I don't haggle with vendors like the kind I meet when I attend a Farmer's Market because they work really, really hard and deserve my few shekels, but I'm not against shopping like a hawk at the big box stores or grocery chains. They're already registering record profits off the 'supply chain' issues, or so they claim, so I'll keep my shekels, thank you very much. Thanks to a generous pension, and the extra earned through refereeing and supply teaching, I don't feel the need to 'penny pinch', so I'll freely choose who to give money to and who not to.

Re #4: In that same vein, I am NEVER opposed to tipping appropriate amounts for services rendered, be them amazing or horrid, and although I have never had the courage to leave a zero, I have also rarely felt compelled to leave an exorbitant sum. I will tell you though, I am slowly simmering over the trend I've noted these past few years, of tips being requested for services where I've done most of the work. Case in point, I was purchasing some treats at a local bakery during a recent bike ride, and upon paying the hefty asking price with debit, I was presented with the option to add a tip, with auto choices of 20%, 24%, and 28%? Seriously? I've seen this at all manner of places as well ... fast food, oil change shops, even hardware stores?

Re #13: I do strive to make each day count, doing my best to be present and enjoy what the Divine Plan feeds me each day, but I'd be remiss if I didn't find myself looking forward with an intention or longing, especially if it includes some cycling or travelling. Although I'm loving the relaxing freedom of retirement, those previously mentioned income streams allow for the extras without tapping resources accrued during the working years. I can easily entertain myself or thoroughly enjoy the company of my beloved bestie, but I do enjoy being busy with a variety of things that leave me with a sense of both fulfillment and satisfaction. 

I wholeheartedly feel that the message intended has extreme value and should be required reading on every decade's celebratory loop of ol' Sol because, Lord knows, we have absolutely have no idea how much time we have left, a fact driven home yet again with the recent passing of my Queen's FB buddy Jet. 

To the author, my sincere thanks for taking the time to stir my soul.

Enjoy the pondering the above items may cause.