All Star Thursday

What’s Goin’ On?

This greeting was used by the late great Marvin Gaye for the title of what I believe to be one of the single greatest albums ever created (he said dating himself). If ya ain’t heard to the whole thing in a while, do yourself a favor and put it on from start to finish. Take the time to listen to the lyrics of course, but also to the arrangements, the background vocals, the percussion, and then let me know what you think. Don’t try to do this from memory or by hearing bits of “Mercy, Mercy Me” on the your local Lite music station.

So this week’s weather was cool and the October sky was clear with multiple layers of cloud moving through as I crossed the Meadow seeking out the Manhole (Jam Coordinates = 40° 46′ 18″ North 73° 58′ 31″ West). There I saw Mark (The Hibernatin’ Estivator) Sebastian and Fast Eddie Bennett* as the first tribe members on the scene. As I applied my new Lou Moose Antler nails (very strong, not quite as fast as bone but still better than any plastic I have used–though I haven’t tried the World Famous Yar-nails just yet) the two of them got up for a “light toss” as Eddie is wont to say. * – Eddie is one of the most underrated Jammers around. He has great flow and his foot brushes and kicks are as accurate as most people throws.

My boy Fearless was the next to arrive so the two of us got up to have at it.

From the moment we started this Jam was qualitatively different from others we have had. We play together quite often in some combination with the Grand Masters but today our flow alone together was instantaneous and each of us was more fluid in our individual combinations as well as several co-ops than the norm. The disc wasn’t hittin’ the ground for long stretches and we both went for new moves and seals. This was going to be a good day!

While we were playing, the rest of the crew made there way in with Quinn-O, Joey, Phillip, Fresh, TO, the Lovely Chrissy, and a pitstop by Mary-Mary. Interestingly this was for pairs as Quinn-O and Ted got up together while the Oracle took Phillip out for a solo spin. Shortly thereafter Rob arrived and when TO said “What’s Up, Rob??” with his typically joyful tone, Rob replied “I’ll show you what up!” reaching into his MetroCard style messenager bag to pull out the Yella Jersey for this week’s designee. Having dispatched his responsibilities he stretched out and then got up with Fresh. During this time I got up for a Heave with Eddie Elkin, a friend from my old neighborhood so I was unable to witness most of what was yet another in a series of amazing Jams with those two. They know each other so well and are able to anticipate what is coming in a way that is truly as unique as their individual styles. Rob was once again a Gitis Machine and Dougie served up a heapin’ helpin’ of hein-e-ousity.

After my long tossing foray which was marred a bit by a UV Ultrastar that both a bit soft and a little warped. This caused it defy my specific instructions and fly according to its own wishes so I stopped for a Margarita to sooth my delicate sensibilities (Thanks Chrissy). During this time TO and Quinn-O joined Rob and Dougie for a Mob-op while I then got up with Fearless and Roger. Dusk was setlling in so we all had to step it up. In our Jam, Fearless and I picked up where we had left off earlier with the addition of Roger’s unique ability to serve as the Walrus to our respective Eggmen. We have much heavy flow and more fun than a body oughta have, including one sequence where we all touched the disc at least twice, passing it among each other in a variety of ways with Roger hitting an “All-In, I’m Goin’ for It” Gitis where he hit the turf and rolled into a sweet overhand throw. BRAVO!!!! Jam of the Day honors go to that last Mob Op because the combination of a blazing Fresh and Rob joined by a already hot Quinn and Ted led to an incredible meeting of the minds. The Yella Disgnee for next week will be either Bradford T or the Ageless Trevor Brown depending on who actually shows and the final decision of the Board.

It is now time bid a fond farewell to Phillip (As JFK once said “Icht Ein Berliner!”) our buddy from Germany. He goes down in NYC Freestyle lore as the first Guest Jammer to make it to 4 (four) consecutive All*Star Thursdays. What I will remember most about his play are his awesome variety of throws, those quickfastinahurry turnovers, and his never say die attitude. He may appear very casual but that belies a strong passion for the game. Phillip, you will be missed.

Until next time…

TP, TJH

Hail and Well Met My Brethren & Sistren,

The first All*Star Thursday of the Autumn was a nice day as crisp as many of the players participating. I was a relatively early arrival with newly purchased shorts, NY Mets T-shirts (Long and short sleeves) , but neither nails nor glue since I had left my gear uptown thinking my errands would allow the time to pick them up. As I approached from the Northwest corner I saw Fearless Lou and the Ageless Trevor Brown already having at it. I got myself changed and then asked the Man w/o Fear if he had nails. Lucky for me he has just completed a run of new Moose Antler nails* which he he allowed me to test-drive. I got up to join that original pairing and soon we were in the bliss filled realm of of the Jam.

Phillip, our resident Guest Jammer from Deutschland arrived shortly thereafter, avoiding any possibility of the Cowardly Coverlet touching his skin in his first week of Yella-gibility. Lou split off with Phillip and Trevor and I continued soldiering on through the swirling and squirrely winds. While we do take a measure of pride in dealing with the elements as they are, I cannot deny that when the gusts hit 20 mph and change direction mid-combo things are a bit more, er, challenging.

* – Moose Antler are fast and may be more sturdy than the rib-eyes I have been using recently.

Doug E. Fresh, Rob, Roger, Quinn-O, Joey, the Lady Tricia (spouse of Sir Roger), Mary, and the Lovely Chrissy all arrived in short order since the sun was to set at about 6:45p. After getting warmed up and wrestling with the winds for a while, Trevor and I broke for liquids. Lou, Quinn-O, and Trevor then went for it while Rob and Fresh got up to play. Roger was kind enough to ask me to join him. This was notable as those three were the Jam of the Day combination last week yet Rog gave me a shot at glory. This is one of the real Blessings of A*T’s here in NYC. So we got to moving’ around and got a nice flow going.

Roger’s unerring ability to seal the deal must have been of some inspiration because The Oracle himself deigned to end his stint on the DL by making our pairing into a trio. He announced “I have limited mobility” and then proceeding to shred in place with his first move being a nice brush/guide combo into an under the leg catch. The neatest thing about the Jam as we progressed was how he was able to continuously make the appropriate play even without moving around much. Phillip broke off from his Jam to watch the Oracle at play and then join in to create a mini Mob Op. Things got heated up quickfastinahurry and we had some really fine sequences. Phillip hit a couple of those microwave turnovers of his to go along with a mess of excellent throws. Roger of course was his normally shredful self and we were able to move the disc around briskly including one ‘everything but the girl’ sequence with 12 touches before the dang wind pushed the disc off course to sabotage the Walrus ending we all foresaw. As the sun set and dusk settled in, Fresh finished up with Rob and joined our conclave for the final burst of the evening. Personally I developed a late case of Roberto Duran syndrome (Hands of Stone) so I focused on playing, passing, and making certain the disc stayed off the ground.

Jam of the Day honors go to the Return of the Oracle combination which I had the honor of playing in. Anytime a cat like Joey come back to the field of play it is worthy of showing respect. In the meantime, the Lovely Chrissy was flying solo representing the firm of O&M since TO was working late at a business meeting for the second consecutive evening. The Board showed no mercy and chose him as our next Yella designee without debate. Speaking of the Canary Clothing, this wee we had no official designee since we had a full house last week with Brad avoiding Yella-gibility by making a late appearance just before darkness reigned. So that is the story for this week. Until our next gathering…

Tall Paul, The Jammin’ Heaver

Hail and Whattup to all my Plastic Peeps,

The Summer is now drawing to a close so our weekly after work Shredfest now comes to a close at 7:15pm or so. That means we have to put our Jams in the microwave instead of using conventional heating elements. It has been some time since my last entry in the A*T C’s but the the Hard Corps of the Big Apple continues to bring it with great abandon.

For myself the funniest moment came a few weeks back when your intrepid reporter showed up to the Meadow early with my beloved Carina in tow, met Dori, got drenched and split at 5:40pm…only to discover the skys would clear at 6pm and the crew gathered at the Bandshell and did what we are all meant to do. Due to the grievous transgression of my early exit, I was voted the Yella Designee for the following week. Though I protested mightily on that day, the Board was not moved by the fact there was a Jammer with a Double Yella on his head nor by my plea for mercy. Very upset but resigned to my fate I turn around to find that Carina had donned the Canary Coverlet in my stead. I asked her to take it off so I could do my penance she said “No”. First I laughed and said “Come on Kid, gimme the Jersey” and she said “No!” Then I tried the stern Daddy voice.

“Carina–Give me the jersey right now! The Board has made a decision”. She calmly replied “Daddy, you were NOT Yella!! You were here and I WILL NOT LET YOU WEAR IT!!” Seeing the determined look upon her face and understanding that discretion is the better part of valor, I returned to the Board who grudgingly acquiesced to her wearing it in my stead as she is a blood relation. Gotta tell ya all I was pretty proud of her willingness to take one for the team.

Fearless Lou was the next designee even though he was away on vacation. The Board would not accept being out of town as an excuse. Then came Doug E. Fresh was the Yella Man for the inaugural appearance of Phillip from Berlin. I was the first of us to arrive at our damp weather site and saw this guy with orange plastic and a kind of expectant look on his face. Since I didn’t recognize him I said “whassup” and went over to our normal bench to nail up. He then grabbed his gear, came over and said “Are you Tall Paul? I’ve read your All*Star Thursday Chronicles.” Nothing like the miracle of technology to help break the ice! I got the first International Jam of the day with him while TO, Fresh, Roger, Fearless came to have at it on the hard concrete. We did much shifting of the groupings and wound up with an excellent mob op as darkness fell.

This past week we had a healthy sized gathering of the tribe with TO, the Lovely Chrissy (Marghies in tow), Quinn-O, Fearless Lou, the Ageless Trevor Brown, Avi, Jaime (TJH), Fresh, the now Yella-gible Phillip, Mary, Joey “DL” H. and Yella Designee Rob Fried. Bradford T showed up late thus avoiding his own potential penance for absence. First up was TO and Phillip who were joined by Trevor while Quinn-O and Fearless got moving followed by Roger and Doug E. Fresh.

Personally I started with a Mighty Heave with Jaime and we got into the Zone very quickly. Our flow was natural with high arcing backhands followed by laser straight forehands and all forms flight in between. Unfortunately, Jaime tweaked his shoulder so we had to cut things short. Coincidentally, Trevor took a hydration break at that moment so I subbed in for him. Now everyone has their signature and with Phillip it is an amazing array of throws which all come in as strikes with Z’s. Overhand, Backhand Mac, UD with both spins with uncanny accuracy. His style is so casual that he picked up the nickname of the “Sleepy Jammer” back home in Berlin but his disc-terity and deft touch belied that description. In particular he’s got a turnover that happens so quickly it looks like sleight of hand and caught Teddy and I both by suprise. So Big Ups to Phillip and all of our Euro-Brethren–y’all are shakin’ things up and bringing great joy to our whole community.

I was so busy in our Jam I had no time to observe but I did hear the distinctive wocka-wocka of the Gitis Mallet wielded by Joey almost constantly. This was due to the Jam of the Day honorees Roger, Fresh, and Rob. Doug and Rog estimated that Rob hit 20 (twenty) Gitis’ seals which was independently verified by Quinn who witnessed the barrage of fine play. Rob of course was upset he didn’t nail the double spinning Gitosis he wanted but wha’cha gonna do? Darkness fell entirely too quickly for my taste but we have been Blessed by another season of fine play regardless of the weather and ya gotta like that. Until nest week…

Tall Paul, The Jammin’ Heaver

P.S. Special thanks to Bill Wright for serving as point person with the folks at Discraft as they seek to solve the mystery of the suddenly fragile Skystylers.

Hello to all,

The weather report as of last night was for rain all day followed by evening
T-showers so when I awoke this morning to a lovely day I thought “well, the
weatherman has been wrong before…” So I packed up my gear, made certain the
Yella Jersey was in the bag, grabbed two umbrellas and Carina (my progeny for
those who don’t remember) and off we went downtown. Traffic from the Bronx was
a nightmare but we lucked out and got a parking space at 5pm sharp. The first
raindrops hit my windshield as I shut off the car but who cared, right?
…right???

By the time we actually get to The Meadow it is raining pretty steadily and
everyone there moved under the trees for shelter. Hmmmm, I think…yes I see
Joe Heaver not far away chatting with a longhaired young man who is deomstrating
a backhand form. We go over to say hello and it turns out to Dori, our FLOWing
Friend in from Israel. He is in NYC vacationing after having chaperoned
Israel’s Jr. Ultimate team to an international tourney and wanted to make sure
he made and A*T appearance. So we chat for a few minutes and watch the rain.
As it eased up for a moment I said “ah, it looks like we might get lucky”, DOH!
then it started coming down hard. Discretion being the better part of valor, I
suggested strolling over to the bandshell just in case but to no avail. It
rained harder and harder plus there was some event at the bandshell and at that
point I declared EVERYBODY ELSE YELLA! Frankly I felt a bit like Charlie Brown
standing out on the pitcher’s mound in a
monsoon–all I needed was for Snoopy to come by in a rowboat to point out my
folly.

Anyway, the official designee remains Sir Roger of Dodger unless the Board
choose to cut him slack…however unlikely that may be. In the meantime,
Circus, one of the original Central Park Frisbee players just sent me a link to
the video that Dave Lewis and Z put together and posted on youtube: Secrets of
Pro Disc Freestyle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2QH6gQMN38

I watched it back in April but seeing it again is a reminder of why I love this
stuff so much and the level of talent, innovation, and passion that is out
there. No way to single out any one Jammer as all were simply shredful…All
y’all should take a bow. Take 4:07 and immerse yourselves in the Flow and get
psyched for your next Jam wherever it may be.

Let’s hope we don’t get no more rain on Thursday evenings for a while.

Ciao for Niao,

TP, TJH

Funk Lesson #4–name that tune and the artiste:

“Once there was a Boogie Singer, Playin’ in a Rock and Roll Band and he never had a problem, pullin’ down the one night stands…”

Hello to all,

We’re now slipslidin’ on toward the end of summer with the days growing noticeably shorter but the Hard Corps of the Big Apple careth not to take notice preferring to simply play on. The day was a beautiful as could be with some puffy cumulus and high cirrus clouds but no sign of rain nor thunder in the vicinity. Fearless Lou and Joey were first on the scene and both were up and at ’em in a flash. Combining Old and New Schools, I’ve been using contact cement with some fresh rib-eye steakbone nails so I took time time to stretch while those gents loosened up. By the time I joined the fun they had a full head of steam and we all went at it pretty hard. Lou’s been hitting a nice variety of new seals and added in a variation of Gary’s 5-fingertip tap/spin for use on those crazy counter UD overhands I’ve been throwing. Joey, of course, never ceases to amaze with this week’s addition of a behind the back tap, to an under the leg tap, to a kick tip, to a blind scarecrow guide/brush, to a flying under the leg seal. I was there and I still have trouble processing what I saw. Elegant in its simplicity, flawless in execution. Wow.

During this time the crowd started coming in featuring the Ageless Trevor Brown, Quinn, Doug E. Fresh, Teddy O, the lovely Chrissy, Kevin, Pat, Avi, Dr. Mike in from Ohio, with Jill, Claire and BenJAMin rounding out the field. The primary Yella designee Sir Roger of Dodger ducked out after a 5-minute Johnny Jam asking for the mercy of the Board as his daughter was coming in from sleepaway camp.

Rob, the secondary designee, came unprepared for Jamming since he was heading to see Jorma. Both of these gentlemen may receive sanctions if the Board can agree on the proper punishment. The most pleasant of suprises this week was the arrival of multiple Mighty Heavers: Joe, Dan Weiss, Aldo, with Special Guests, Paul Pinto in from Del Ray, FL, and Damion “Uncle D.” Watkins in from Paris.

This last gentleman is one of my dearest friends, Godfather to Carina, and not only is he in my Top 5 of the Mightiest Heavers of all time, he is flat out the BEST I EVER SAW at tracking down flying plastic. He can run like the wind with an unerring eye for the flight of the disc. Having back home for and A*T just about perfect.

My day was a veritable cornucopia of fine play. After my first Jam, I got up to throw with Joe Heaver with a brief Dan Weiss interlude. This was followed by a Quinn-O and Fresh Jam with much hein-iocity then I got in with Ted and Fearless for a while. After hydration I got up for a bit of Heaving with Uncle D. He is fully ambiDISCerous with fore and backhand throws from the port and starboard sides, all of which he can throw for strikes at distance. We went at it for a good long time just like old times until we had to break for liquids again. The last Jam was a high rotation Mob-Op featuring TO, Fresh, Pat, Lou, Quinn, and yours truly at different times. The flow was outstanding and the energy universally high with Pat playing the role of most able facilitator. The disc really just kep moving and even if the girl left the Limo, everyone stayed in it and amped.

The Jam of the Day honors go to a Heave this week because your intrepid reporter has to give props to Uncle D. Playing with that guy is an unbelievable pleasure and even with all of the shredful play in tight, I say All Hail the Mighty Heaver from Paris. The Yella Designee for next week will be a Double Yella Jolly Roger.

Until next week,

TP, TJH

“Good Evening–Do not attempt to adjust your radio, there is nothing wrong.

Welcome to station W-E-F-U-N-K. WEFUNK–swift lippin’, ego trippin’, and body snatchin’! Comin’ to you directly from the Mothership…”

After a brief respite your intrepid reporter returns with tales of Freestyle derringdo. It has been a few weeks since my last report so I must give a quick recap.

The July 27th A*T featured a third consecutive guest appearance by Gary Auerbach which I believe is a record for a an out o’ towner. Jan from Denmark was livin’ in NYC during his stretch so I’m giving Big Ups to GA for stick-to-it-tiveness.

Also on hand that evening were Joey, Fearless Lou, Pat, Roger, Fresh, Avi, the Ageless Trevor Brown, Kevin, Eddie Bennett, Jaime (TJH), Jestin Heaver, Joe Heaver (our resident Ultrastar entrepreneur) along with Jill, Claire and BenJAMin.

I believe I started my day of Jamming with Roger and Lou with the combination of Gary, Joey, and Fresh getting their respective shreds on concurrently. Gotta say that GA upped the ante big time having gotten his feet wet twice before. He had said during that first week that he hadn’t Jammed in a couple of months and while he was typically excellent right from the start, by Round 3 he was just tearing S*** up! There was much flow in that threesome with Onus being passed forward and the stakes raised on nearly every pass. I was having as much fun as a body oughtta have when it was time for liquid sustenance. It was at that time I saw my Heaving brethren up slinging two discs at maximum velocity so I was enticed into that circle. The rule was to never have two discs in your hand at the same time which was not easy to do when plastic is zooming to and fro among these folks. It took me a little time to catch that rhythm but suffice to say there was much fabulous flight involved.

The last Jam (also Jam of the Day) was the Mob Op featuring GA, Fresh, Pat, Joey, and Roger. Too much Heinous action for description but you know that it was serious ‘cuz I saw two Doug mugs plus some prancin’ coming from Mr. Fresh.

As dusk descended that one wrapped up and the question of the next Yella designee arose. With Ted n’ Chrissy absent, the Board decided that the Lovely One should wear the Jaundiced Jersey the following week. It was at this moment that the exact whereabouts of the Canary Coverlet came into question. No one was wearin it so where is it? Joey said “Wasn’t Carina (Daddy’s Best Girl) wearin’ it last week?”

I said “Nay, Carina presented it to…Doug E. Fresh! Doug, where’s it at?”

Would that you all could have seen the look of abject despair upon the visage of our boy as he said “Oh, VERY BIG PROBLEM.” You see, there is only one non-negotiable rule regarding the Yella Jersey: You must bring the following week or you is Yella AGAIN. And thus the Yella designees for last week was esatblished.

Now the A*T of August 3rd was notable for those who were absent as well as who was there. The thing is (sigh) yours truly was not able to make it. I had to drive my daughter upstate to Schroon Lake (just North of Lake George) for a week of fun and frolic. It is my understanding that we had Guest Jammers from CT and the Shred was in full effect (any attendees wish to chime in?). I can say Carina is having a blast and I enjoyed getting out of NYC’s triple digit heat to breathe some fresh air and swim in the lake for a few days.

Yesterday (August 10th), a thunderstorm blew through in the early afternoon but by 5pm it was a beautiful day. I arrived to a pristine but empty field? Could it be that our crew would be deterred by a little precipitation??? I checked the bandshell just in case but no one was there so I strolled over to the manhole, nailed up, and communed with the turf. First to join me were Mighty Heavers Dan W. and Aldo, the latter being the father of a toddler who is often on Daddy Duty himself so this was a special occasion. The three of us got up to fling that thing and were really able to take advantage of the wide open space.

I have previously mentioned Dan’s prowess but Aldisimo is no slouch. Both of them like to throw a Hammer which is really more of a Scythe–it remains vertical as it slices towards your waiting fingers and woe to those not prepared to read the flight properly. We really got a tremendous rhythm going with an amazing array of throws, runs, and catches including Dan’s blind 50 yard strike to me off a running catch, Aldo whipped a bunch of nasty forehands and high powered backhands, and I managed a couple of Big Hooks (forehands that arc out wide and setlle in to a long flat filght in for the strike). Man, I love this stuff!!!

Joey arrived as we were getting started followed by Fearless Lou, Fresh, Quinn-O, TO and Chrissy. When the Heavers broke to hydrate and those gents headed back to their paternal responsibilities, I came in to do the round of greetings. Now I knew that Ted and the Lovely One were MIA for last week’s gathering of the tribe so I was hopeful that the traditional Double Yella would trump my single transgression. Alas, Fresh said “It was a tough decision but I believe I am doing the right thing” as he presented me with the Cowardly Coverlet. In a free society journalists must be held to a higher standard so I donned the YJ without a whimper (unlike some who will remain nameless!) 😉 and set about making certain I would do my penance with gusto. Ted, Quinn and Fresh got up first with Joey and my boy Fearless starting up while I shared some Mexican Ambrosia with Chrissy. It was around this time that we heard the sound of thunder off in the distance and noticed the sky darkening to the North. Oh, not to worry that’s over da’ Bronx we’ll be fine.

Both Jams continued unabated and when I heard some more thunder, I looked up, saw lightning and the cloud cover becoming thicker and progressively more ominous. I packed my gear, stowed it under Lou’s poncho, and kept playing. Now the lightning strikes were to the North, East and West and their frequency increased as the closed in on our patch of green. Of course “we don’t need so stinkin’ conditions” so we all figured to tough it out, what’s a little rain anyway? We all looked over Central Park West to see a gray curtain being drawn over the buildings in rapid succession then, BOOOOOSH! The rain came down with such ferocity I took off my glasses to keep playing. This worked for about 3 minutes because there were lightning strikes all around us and suddenly this was just not a good place to be. Discretion being the better part of valor, we all gathered our stuff and scattered.

Jam of the Day honors go to all that showed!!! We didn’t have time to choose a Yella Designee for next week. I will take nominations under advisement and let you know who shall be the chosen one soon. It’s nice to be back.

All the Best to All Y’all

Paul

Hello Everybody (Yes Indeed, Yes Indeed, Yes Indeed…)

First things first. The correct answer to last week’s puzzler is “Hollywood Swingin'” by Kool and the Gang. I got several replies from our brethren but no one got it right. I will periodically drop science on The Funk in order to hasten the coming of the Mothership.*

* – Yes, this too is a Funk reference–and it is saucer shaped.

This was a special A*T on a number of levels. There was a big turnout of local and outtatown talent. Dave Bolyard and the Lady Wendy came in from Milwaukee to check out our emerald essence and absorb some NYC energy. Plus, I believe for the first time, we had a guest Jammer become Yella-gible as Gary A. returned for the second consecutive week to dazzle us with his singular plastic prestidigitative stylings. When I arrived there was already a sizable crowd.

My daughter Carina was with me to present the Yella Jersey to this week’s designee Mr. Doug E. Fresh and some YELLA String Cheese to the the runners up (Quinn, Roger, and Rob) who had elected to miss the previous gathering to attend a concert featuring some type of Incident. Also with us for the evening were Joey, Ted, Avi, Bradford T., the Ageless Trevor Brown, Fearless Lou (who really ain’t skeered o’ no fancy duds), the Lovely Chrissy, as well as Jill, Claire, and BenJAMin. In addition we had Joe Heaver, Jaime (The new Jammin’ Heaver), and Ultimate Hall of Fame nominee Dan Weiss came out to get some of that good flight on a Thursday night.

I started my evening by getting right to the long toss with Jaime and Dan which was simply awesome as we locked in immediately. Jaime is a very serious in his own right as I have noted here before and Dan is very high on my list of All Time Mighty Heavers. He has a larger disc vocabulary at distance than just about anyone I know including a Hammer that Thor would be proud of and a high angle heave that no one can match (and most can’t catch). The winds were shifting when I broke in so we rotated positions so I could take the bottom of the slope at the South side and at this point we all got into a tremendous groove with 50-70 yard strikes and some nice running catches to boot. Did I mention that I really enjoy this stuff?

During this time Rob, Roger, and Joey got up for a Jam of epic proportions. I wasn’t able to watch much but I did see some very serious flow with Joey continually making the appropriate play, Roger’s airtight sealing, and Rob (who is absolutely at the top of his game) just goin’ off. When Roger took a break to hydrate, Rob and Joey entered “The Zone” for 10-15 minutes and got into the rarified air that frankly I can only dream of. When the Jam is just right the comparison to music is most apt and this is a case where they were trading licks like Bluefish which cannot be described only observed. And that was just one Jam! Dave B. was up with Trevor and Avi, and Brad, Gary and Ted got their shred on together as well so there was much whirling Dhervish behavior among all the Tai Chi with a Tool set.

One of the cool things about our A*T gatherings is the fluid nature of the Jams. When I finished Heaving and got some Mexican Ambrosia in my system, I subbed in for Trevor who was up with Ted and Gary. As I made my approach and asked in, Gary was just completing a shredful combo with a this sinuous low to the ground seal that was akin to a landbound Bad Attitude (it may have a name but I defer to those more knowledgeable for it) and it was clear that if I was gonna bust I had to BRING IT. I managed to do a nice combo for my first play and then throw a high Z strike so we were off and running. The now Yella-gible Gary is a very special player who is technically very sound but has a style all his own. He throws everything for strikes and his roll combinations, disc manipulation skills, and the most fluid combos into seals I have seen. We kept at it until it was time for more hydration and then I got up with Milwaukee’s finest, Dave B., for his last Jam before dinner. He and I had nice flow and a grand time as we DISCommunicated in the universal language of Jam.

I believe the last Jam of the evening involved TO, Fearless Lou, Gary and myself as dusk settled in and we all did our due diligence with Fearless getting Big Ups due to his amazing improvement over this season. His moves, combos and especially his throws have all gotten better day by day and the linebacker mentality he brings to the game makes me attack even more as I try to raise my own level. Personally, I’m trying to get passed the Brain Freeze that leads to Flaming The’s when I should go for the FANCY! T

Jam of the Day honors are shared this week by the Rob ‘n Joey pairing and every Jam that included Mr. Spinning Bee himself. Anytime a Guest Jammer comes to make consecutive appearances and then displays that go for it attitude we New Yorkers love so well, he (or she, if we can get some our Sistren to join us) should be held in the highest of esteem. Separately, I don’t recall who will be designated as the wearer of the the Cowardly Coverlet for this weeks edition though Kevin and Pat both come to immediately to mind…the Usual Suspects, as it were. 😉

Keep it off the ground!

TP, TJH

Hey, Hey, Hey…Wha’cha Got ta Say? (Give me the Title and Artist for that lyric and you get a special mention in the next A*T Chronicle)

So a few days have passed since an eventful A*T. The first item of interest came when I received an e-mail from one Suzy Allman*, a Sports Photographer from New York’s Paper of Record. She had an idea to do a shoot featuring guys playing Frisbee in business attire and her first attempt didn’t work out as she wished. Through the magical conduit of the Internet she found the original A*T article on the Frisbee.com website and contacted your intrepid reporter to see if there were any players who could Bee of service. Always one to accomodate if possible, I put out the word to the crew in the hopes that some of the Hard Corps of the Big Apple might be willing to play in civilian garb. She decided to come down to shoot an actual A*T and thus our story begins…

* – Check out her website to see some really amazing images–she also shot some cool stuff from yesterday’s NYC Triathalon in today’s Times (print version only…pffffft!) http://www.suzyallman.com

I arrived at Sheeps Meadow at about 4:30pm carrying dress slacks, a dress shirt, dress shoes, and in a nod to our traditional noncomformity, a Jerry Garcia signature tie. My daughter Carina was in tow and we bumped into Suzy whom I recognized because of her beautiful smile and camera equipment. When I introduced myself she said “I was expecting a geeky looking White Guy” and I said, “well you have a geeky lookin’ Black guy–I hope that will suffice”. 😉

We found Phil (our resident Martial Artiste) seated about 15 yards from the manhole and shortly thereafter came Teddy Ballgame fresh from closing on his new NYC digs (Congrats TO & Chrissy…God Bless You Both) with a full-on business suit in his garment bag. Moments later, Frisbee Dan (Dang! I forgot his last name) and his girlfriend Lisa made a suprise NYC visit from Florida and then Gary Auerbach made a special guest appearance as well. Yes, this would be a good day.

Ted changed, Brad in casual but cool attire got up to join him as I finished getting my shoes on, and Suzy began shooting. I have to tell you that I got amped up right away and our flow was almost immediate. Truth be told, with TO in the Jam it is easy to catch on because he gets to everything and makes the properly heinous play. Brad too was at the top of his game, playing hard and accounting for camera placement so Suzy could snap away. Carina even shot some cel phone video (very well framed I must say, which I promise to upload as soon as I can figure out how!) so I won’t go into a detailed description now. I can tell you we hit an 8-pass O’Malley, Ted nailed consecutive double leg-overs (right to left, left to right) and a crazy barrel seal, and Brad did a sequence which I just watched 15 times and still can’t describe with mere words–GO BRADFORD T.!!!! I vaguely recall hitting a Tall Paul/Statue of Liberty sky drop combo with a foot brush that left a scuff mark on the disc reminiscent of Cleon Jones in the ’69 World Series. Suzy shot for about 40 minutes and by the time she was finished Teddy had a Rohrschach test pattern of sweat on the back of his suit and I was so drenched I could barely get my JG tie off. YEAH BABY!!! It was a good day and just getting started!

While all that was going on we were joined by the Lovely Chrissy, Mary, Fearless Lou (who came with civilian garb but chickened out), Joey, Kevin, Fast Eddie Bennett, Jestin Heaver, Mighty Mike Heaver with his expectant wife Nicole (Congrats to YOU BOTH!), and John Burke. Gary and Trevor started Jamming and Brad joined those gents while Ted and I changed into the proper gear. Joey said “When I was walking in I was wonder who that guy was shredding in a suit?” drawing laughs from all. After that (literally) hot Jam, I needed to get my long distance groove on, so I got up with Mike. With all due respect to all of the many talented Heavers, Huckers, and very long chuckers I have shared the field with, Mike Mena is the BEST I HAVE EVER PLAYED WITH. His Back-hand is so strong that I have to return with a forehand and play the wind like a violin to get it back within 15 yards. We got a tremendous flow going with Big Hooks, Helixes, and extended flights of fancy which defied biomechanical limitations.

When we finished and went to hydrate, I joined Gary, TO, and Joey in what became known as the Everything But the Girl Jam. There were a number of truly remarkable sequences with Gary in particular doing some Houdini type of, er, stuff only to have the young lady in question exit the vehicle without a word.

Of course that didn’t stop us from shredding away with Fearless Lou and Kevin rotating in when anyone needed Mexican Ambrosia from the Lovely Chrissy’s cooler. As dusk settled in there was a feeling of real camaraderie and some accomplishment for all of us. Spreading the Jam and having fun is what it is all about and that is ‘Zackly what we all did!

If only because of the amount of sweat that poured out fom our respective pores, the Jam of the Day Honors go to the Businesman Jammers. It is my fervent hope that Suzy got the type of images she needed for this assignment. The wearer of the Yella Jersey for this week was none other than Carina Mondesire who became Yella-gible with two consecutive appearances. My daughter was practically giddy to be included in our ritual and Daddy was really proud of his Best Girl! The battle for next weeks designee was a tough race among Fresh, Rob, Quinn-O, and Roger who all are deserving of the Cowardly Coverlet having CHOSEN to attend a String Cheese Incident concert. The Board was far from unanimous in bestowing the rag this week and I will report the final dispensation in the next issue.

Until then,

Tall Paul, The Jammin’ Heaver

P.S. Big Ups to John Burke who organized a picnic for us all on Friday which took place on Frisbee Hill just North of the Meadow. Joey & Rob (aka Bluefish) performed, there was a MY-T-FINE mob-op jam (in which I took much well deserved grief for a FLAMING ‘THE’), which was topped off with Mango/Cranberry/Blackberry Mojitos provided by Mary, and Jay, the Meadow’s finest entrepreneur. Whatta great night. P.P.S. The BIGGEST THANK YOU goes to my daughter Carina who made my 46th birthday (July 16th) weekend nothing short of spectacular. I Love You Kiddo!!!!

Hail and Well Met!

After last week’s deluge and much precipitation in my fair city, we have had several days of nice weather so this edition of A*T looked promising. For the second week in a row I arrived to a virtually empty field so I planted myself at the manhole and was joined shortly thereafter by Joey. The Oracle was AWOL last week and sensed he might well be the Yella designee. He hoped that his going to see Hot *%##^^ Tuna would get him off the hook but I, representing the opinion of the Board, quickly disabused him of that notion. Fearless Lou arrived moments later followed by Jaime, the new Jammin’ Heaver who had with him the dreaded Canary Coverlet. Showing the proper respect for protocol he said to Joey “I’m not sure if I have the right to do this, but I think I have something for you”. Lou and I assured him that he had not only the right but the DUTY to bestow the Yella Jersey upon this week’s designee which he did with a flourish.

The Lovely Chrissy arrived next with her life long friend Pamela who was in from North Cackalackah, toting a cooler and a double batch of Margaritas. Hana (who later hit a sweet Gitis while tossing with Pat) followed next and the field was rounded out by Tedley, Roger, Quinn, Avi, Kevin, the Ageless Trevor Brown, Patrick, and John Burke who is one of the first generation of Central Park plastic devotees.

Folks were moving a little slow so Jaime (who put on nails for the first time!) and I started with a round of Heaving. We were join by Stephanie Heaver, a young former Ultimate player whose first throw went awry…then she nailed everything for the next 15 minutes. She has tremendous form with excellent control so the three of us locked into a series of majestic flights as well as flatball strikes. Ted and Kevin got the Jams going with the Oracle donning the Yella Jersey and doing his best to shred appropriately in penance. When the Heaving contingent stopped to hydrate, Jaime got to Jammin’ with Avi and Trevor while I busted in with Quinn and Roger. Our threesome was paced by Roger who hit several double spinning combos with one very sweet Triple Fake seal and another where he snatched a Gitis that seemed almost magical as it came from outta nowhere. Quinn too, was in rare form spinning, sealing, and throwing his southpaw overhands and mac-throws with great ZZZZ’s and accuracy. I got all hot and bothered when I hit consecutive right then left foot brushes setting up a long arm of the law roll n’ seal. We kept this one going long and hard until the disc gave out… the unmistakeable sound of cracked plastic followed one last kick tap so we had to take a break and refresh ourselves with some of the aforementioned Marggies. Life is Good!

I then join Fearless, Ted, and the Oracle for and extended Jam. The flow was very serious though a few of the best combos ended with “Everything but the Girl” and Lou’s plaintive cry of “she slowly got out of the Limo and he knew that it was over”. This jam expanded with the addition of Trevor, Pat, and later still Kevin joining the fray. Seven on one disc is tough but it is fun because we just kept it moving and made sure it didn’t touch the ground. I bailed so I could watch for a while but after a couple more tastes of that Ambrosia Mexicano, I got back up to properly finish the evening with a heapin’ helpin’ of disc-pitality. I’ll give that last one Jam of the Day honors not due to the extraordinary play (which you best believe was in there!) but because it best represents our Jam Central Station ethos of sharing the wealth.

The next Yella Designee was a hotly contested race with Bradford T edging out Rob and Fresh who is in Montana raisin’ up a crop of Dental Floss. And speaking of Yella…

As we were walking out, I had a chat with Tedley who mentioned that a couple of gentlemen were TALKIN’ ’bout comin’ down but have thus far managed to cat out at the last moment. Now I won’t name any names but one shares a surname with the Head Coach and President of the Miami Heat, and the other shares his monicker with a quickfastinahurry DC superhero. So let it be known that I am calling these two out in front of everyone. Come Down before I must insult you a second time!

Until next week!

Tall Paul, TJH

Greetings to…to…ALL Y’ALL!!!

Congrats to all the players at AmsterJAM! It sounds like it was an amazing time and the pix helped share the vibe It is great to hear about the cool stuff happening in Europe. And much respect to our Japanese Jammin’ Brethen–nice video and always good to see the Global Jammin’ Agenda further expressed. As a counter-man myself, I see no problem as long as the throws are accurate.

Anyway, doesn’t the Coriolis Effect cause Discs to spin counter on that side of the Pacific? 😉 We hope that A*T becomes a tradition in the Land of the Rising Sun as well.

So this week’s All*Star Thursday got a late start. I brought my daughter for the 2nd consecutive week (she is proud that now she can be considered Yella-gible) and when we arrived there was nary a Jammer in sight. Actually, Bradford T. and Gerry Linas were throwing an Aerobie so we didn’t see them.

Shortly thereafter Jestin Heaver and Jaime Shifrin (the new Jammin’ Heaver) came in so I was able to do my preferred long toss warm-up. I find it both relaxing and helpful to throw long first because my strength and accuracy are increased by the Zen of extended flight. The Ageless Trevor Brown was next and then came Roger in civillian garb followed at 30 paces by Ted, barefoot and ready to play. Fearless Lou of course made his presence known and got up as soon as he put his stuff down. Rob rolled in with a smile, fresh in from AmsterJam with tales of great shred and informed us that the Gitis Mallet (more powerful than the Hammer of Thor) now is in the hands of Iwan. Right On, Iwan!!!

The Yella designee for the week was….JAIME, the Jammin’ Heaver, because the Board had not made an official decision last week and Roger’s on the spot nomination was unamimously seconded. Once he donned the Canary Cloth, he stopped Heaving and commenced to Jamming with great enthusiam. ‘Round this time we had a visit from a long missing member of out intrepid band–Kevin, who we had just about given up on. We were very upset because we had reserved the Yella Jersey for him for weeks to no avail. I was starting to give him major grief when I noticed the doo rag under his bike helmet was Yella. This gave me a good laugh and he said “Do you REALLY wanna mess with me???” tearing off the bandana revealing Neon Yella hair. He then stripped off his shirt an show Neon Yella armpits to match. No, we didn’t ask about, well you know…

So Kevin got up with Lou and Jaime while I started with Ted and was joined shortly thereafter by Roger and we all got our respective Jams on. All the while we watched as thunderheads began coming in from the Southwest. The first line actually passed us by drenching lower Manhattan by the sound of the thunder so we thought we might escape. Mother Nature had other thoughts on the matter.

The rain started and we all kinda laughed it off and kept pressing forward. It then got harder…and harder…and harder still. Soon it was coming dow in buckets with a little hail and drops that splattered off my spectacles in spectacular patterns. Once properly drenched I wanted to keep playing but Daddy Duty, knowing discretion is the better part of valor, and that my car was a long haul away got me packing up my gear. Carina of course was like “C’mon Daddy, let’s stay! This is GREAT!”, making me one proud Papa and we stuck around for a couple more minute and watched the Hard Corps of the Big Apple prove their worth.

The bulk of the boys soldier on through the deluge so Jam of the Day honors go to all the showed up! Kevin gets bonus points for ingenuity and many thanks to Jaime and Jestin for the Mighty Heave to start my day.

Until next week!!!!

Tall Paul, TJH!!!