3.000 Year Old Mayan Ballgame

In high school, I made a presentation about games in ancient cultures. One game that I was very interested in was a 3.000 year old ballgame played by the Maya's and the Aztecs. People have different opinions about the characteristics of the game and its meaning, but there is evidence that this game existed, because only in Mexico, 600 playing fields have been discovered by archeologs. A lot of information about the ballgame is suggestive, and that's the reason why people hold different opinions about character of the game and the meaning of the game. In this blog, I will tell something about why and how the Maya's played this ballgame. The game was played with two teams, each of 5 persons, who played with a heavy, rubber, ball. The ball was supposed to be heavy, in order to injure one another.  The goal was to throw the ball through one of two stone rings that were hanging on the walls. The players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands, and another important rule was that the ball couldn't touch the ground. The players were allowed to wear protected clothes, but the game was still very dangerous. 

 One of the Chichén Itzá rings

http://grenswetenschap.nl/blogs/Het-balspel-van-de-Mayas/

The ballgame was not just a sport, but the game also had a religious meaning, the players imitated an old mythe through their play.  I think it is interesting to see how 3.000 years ago, people already played sports that are not even that different from modern sports. It also shows how important sports and games are for people. Even though the reasons to play sports and games may differ (not many sports today have a religious meaning), I think that people will always have the drive to compete and to be the best and therefore, they will always play sports and games and and that is why I think people will keep inventing new games. 

Even today, centuries later, in certain areas in Mexico people still play variants of the 3.000 year old ballgame. I found a movie on youtube that shows how the game is played (indoors) today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hI43Ge4B30

What do you think of the Mayan ballgame? Isn't it fascinating that people still play this game in Mexico?

This Blog

So I have definitely seen other blogs about our "blogging" but I wanted to make my own rendition of it....

I'm just somewhat confused on why we blog, what we're supposed to blog about, and if anyone actually cares about what we write? We write just to write at this point. We want to get good grades, we want to do well in the class, and we want to do something that is essentially easy. But then whats the point? If everyone is not doing blogs to their best ability, not actually caring, and writing about stupid things...then i repeat, what's the point?

If I had actually input on how to conduct this class, I think these blogs should be more focused. I think that each week there should be some sort of prompt that enables students to follow guidelines. Normally I like when things are open ended, but I feel that this blog is too open ended that people start talking about nothing. That nothing, gets boring, and that nothing...sucks.

It's boring to read, it's boring to write...and I just think that if our ideas were more focused it would be more interesting Individuals could see how one prompt could open up various ideas. These ideas would be interesting because they would still be our own, and still be somewhat uniformed, but you'd see a little piece of our individuality in it.

Sibling Rivalry: a game in itself

For generations, siblings have been in constant competition. From the love their parents feel for them, to material goods that their parents purchase them...there has always been the aspect of the game within the relationship. Last week I overheard a conversation while sitting in a deli that got me thinking. I heard a mother speaking about her two children, and she was the one causing the need for competition. One would think a parent would want her children to feel that they are both great, and both have everything going for them...yet, this mother put her children up against each other. She described that Sarah, her oldest, was smart, studious, and funny. She was valedictorian of her high school class and was essentially brilliant. I thought to myself..."wow, thats great...talking up her daughter." However, what surprised me next, was that she spoke of her youngest, Rachel, as dumb, yet beautiful. "Rachel is not the brightest...but all the boys love her."

Now...I started thinking. What if her children knew she was saying this? The competition I'm sure they already feel was just confirmed by their own mother. What if Rachel wanted to do well in school, tried extremely hard, but just didn't have the confidence because her parents deemed her as "dumb"? And what if Sarah didn't want to be look at as the "funny" sister?

In my own family, my sister and I definitely have some sort of rivalry going on. I went/ go to a better college, but I always view my sister as prettier, and more fun to be around. Now...I think about if my parents say such things about us as this mother did. Would that create more competition between us? I don't know if my sister actually feels competition, and I don't really either. But when thinking about it and narrowing it down, there are always moments between siblings that feel competitive.

Do you think sibling rivalry exists?

The NHL Playoffs: The most exciting event no one seems to talk about

This year the NHL playoffs have been nothing short of spectacular. Each game has provided incredible excitement, as approximately 50 percent of the games played so far have gone into overtime. This is a truly remarkable statistic! Some of the games have been stopped numerous times due to fights, and other physical plays, while other games have had an incredible blend of skill and determination. Yet, ESPN, and sports fans everywhere have nearly failed to even mention that the playoffs are going on. Instead, we are forced to hear more about the Tim Tebow saga, and the over talked about bounty scandal in New Orleans.










The Philadelphia Flyers have been putting on an absolute show against the stanley cup champion favorites, The Pittsburgh Penguins. In the first game of the series the Penguins took an early 3-0 lead. The Flyers showed incredible determination, and ended up coming back and winning this game in overtime. The following game, the Penguins took a 2-0 lead to start the game, but once again the Flyers fought back and ended up winning. In this game, there were numerous records set, including two separate hat-tricks by Flyers players (Claude Giroux & Sean Couturier). To go along with the hat-trick Giroux set a playoff record, by recording 3 assists giving him 6 overall points. While that is remarkable, Couturier's story might even be better. Couturier is one of the youngest players in the NHL, as he just turned 20 years old. That means he is younger than most kids in this class! If you can't appreciate that, than I give up.

If scoring does not do it for you, then you should tune into the New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators or Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals series. Both of these series have been filled with physical play that has warranted numerous ejections and even suspensions. If you are interested in the fighting aspect of the NHL, click on the link below to see how the Rangers game started yesterday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8OmSl8tNik

Overall, I am asking for sports fans to give the NHL a chance. If you were to sit down for one whole game of the playoffs, I promise you that you will not be disappointed. Unlike the NBA, the NHL players actually try their hardest out their, and are willing to put their body on the line in order to increase their teams chance of winning. So please everyone, get rid of your notion that the NHL is a regional sport. Sit down, and watch one of these games, and I promise you, you will not regret it.

My First NBA Game!!

Last Friday, April 13^th 2012, I watched my first NBA Game, it was between the Detroit Pistons and the Milwaukee Bucks. Being an exchange student from The Netherlands, I had never heard of the NBA and I knew nothing about basketball either. However, I live in a house with all American students, and I could not escape their conversations about the NBA. They all sounded very excited and they told us that we had to watch one NBA game before we go home. Watching a game was high on our American to do list and therefore me and my friend decided to go watch a NBA game ourselves. Some housemates offered to come with us so that they could explain the rules. I was intrigued by the massiveness of the event- there where thousands of people yelling and cheering for their team.  There were cheerleaders (Ok I know that doesn’t sound noticeable for you guys, but I am not used to cheerleaders at games), there where fire flames and in the breaks we got an amazing performance from the Harlem Globetrotters.                                                                                                            I am not going to try to give a complete game analysis (since I am far from an expert in this field;)). I really enjoyed watching the game and I learned a lot about basketball. For example, that there is a European and an American, NBA, style of play.  I also found out that basketball is for Americans what soccer is for Europeans. This made me think about the cultural meanings of sports. In lecture, we talked about the cultural meaning of the Olympic Games. Sport and games bring people together and the only way to describe that feeling of “togetherness” is by actually being part of it. I really enjoyed watching a NBA game and it definitely completed my American experience, I am glad my housemates convinced me to go.  I learned a lot about American culture by going to an NBA game. Since this was such an interesting experience for me, I wonder if there are American students with the same experiences. Have you ever been to a sports game/ event in a foreign country, and how have you experienced that?

The internationals right before the game

Is texting a game?

So lets be real, we all play the “texting game.” We like a boy/girl, text them, and the game begins. Who’s going to answer first? What are they going to say back? Was I too forward? This is a constant game that we take part in, that many don’t even realize they are participating

in. I started to think about this, this past weekend when my friend was hesitant about sending a text to a boy. When she did, the game of texting began. Although she wanted to get his attention, she tried to be subtle, hoping in the end that would spark his interest in the whole, “hard to get” way. However, we do this even without playing that specific game. Whether it be saying “Hi” with one I, two I’s, three I’s, is what essentially changes the context of the text, to the way we sign out with a “bye” or “talk to you later” that we can’t help but over analyze. Yes, maybe I’m a little crazy and analyze this a bit too much, but I know, many girls, maybe not as many boys, do the same. We play this constant match because texting has become so prevalent in our communication within the sexes. We avoid in person contact, phone calls, and instant messaging, only to let autocorrect and slang rule our lives. In the direction

we are going, do you think relationships, as a whole will become more of a game? And, will this texting game worsen our relationships?

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Closing Time

After learning in one of my psychology classes about laws of attraction and relationships I started to see this as a game itself. The professor made a comparison between the time left before a bar closed ("closing time") and the likelihood to go home with someone. She stated that as the time decreased and the night started to wind down, people at the bar began to find people more attractive and were more willing to go home with them. When first hearing this idea I laughed because I didn't really believe that this theory was true, our professor even challenged us to see what happened next time we went out and a party or bar was ending.

The next weekend I observed as the night started to wind down and saw that people I would never expect together started to couple off! This made me laugh because just like in many games as time runs out players become desperate to get more points, this happens to college kids too. As time runs out in a night people become more desperate to go home with someone and the game begins to find someone so that this "player" does not go home alone. Maybe people blame it just on alcohol for their mistakes from the night before, but psychological studies have shown that this is not the case most times. Next time you go out think about how many times you have done this or if you haven't done this watch your friends scramble when it is last call, I promise you'll have a great laugh out of this!

Game Theory in The Hunger Games!

http://www.myhungergames.com/photos-stills-from-the-hunger-games

A couple of weeks ago I finished the first book of the The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins. For those of you who don’t know The Hunger Games yet or who refuse to participate in The Hunger Games “hype”, I will first give a short summary. The Hunger Games is about sixteen year old Katniss Aberdeen, who is a “tribute” (contestant) in The Hunger Games, an annual event in which one boy and one girl from each district, between the ages 12 and 18,  are selected to compete in a battle in which only one person can survive. In this blog, I would like to share my thoughts about how game theory is related to the Hunger Games. More specific, I noticed that in the ending scene, Katniss and Peeta face a prisoner's dilemma. In the ending scene, Peeta and Katniss are the only tributes left and one must kill the other to win. However, Katniss doesn't agree with this "one winner rule" and threatens to eat poisonous berries. Since the prisoner's dilemma is such an important concept in Game Theory, I would like to discuss the prisoner dilemma, as depicted in the Hunger Games. As we have learned in lecture, in a prisoners dilemma, two players are presented with two choices: cooperate or defect (or betray). The outcomes will depend not only on whether or not player one cooperates, but whether the other player cooperates as well. In this scenario, the best outcome would be when both Katniss and Peeta would cooperate, but what if one defects and the other cooperates? The table below shows the possible outcomes for both parties (K= Katniss, P= Peeta):

In a prisoner's dilemma it all comes down to a matter of trust. What would Katniss and Peeta decide while the world is watching? Keep reading the book to find out how Katniss and Peeta solve this prisoner's dilemma... or go see the movie :)

Who Needs Lessons: Bubba Watson and his Unusual Path to Victory

For the past 20 years Bubba Watson has been looked at as the most unusual, most interesting golfer of recent memory. For his entire career, Bubba has been criticized for his unusual approach, and almost crazy style of play on the course. In case you do not know much about Bubba I will give you a little background information on his golfing style.

Bubba is known for “never hitting a straight shot,” and “his ridiculously long Tee Ball.” The first of these two might seem crazy to you, but all that means is that Bubba attempts to shape every one his shots instead of just hitting the traditional “straight ball.” Many golf experts have criticized him for this unusual style, but to Bubba’s credit he has stuck to his ways. And we should all be thankful for this, as this weekend Bubba proved to the world that there is no set formula as to how to win on the PGA tour.

Bubba pulled of one of the most remarkable shots in the history of the PGA tour, and his imagination was to thank for that. Most golfers would not even be able to picture the wedge shot that Bubba pulled off on the second hole of the playoff. But Bubba used his incredible creativity, and imagination, to envision “the shot.” He then proceeded to use his talents and incredible guts to pull off the near impossible shot. If you are reading this and thinking what the heck am I talking about, here is a link to the incredible shot that I am talking about:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJQGfbr9MxM

Bubba is the only golfer on tour that has openly talked about the fact that he has never taken a lesson, or even seen his swing on videotape. Other professionals, bring their coaches with them to tournaments, and basically have a lesson everyday of their life. They have seen their swing so many times, that they can basically visualize each part of it without even looking at it.

I think we as golf fans should applaud Bubba for his ability to be a real person, and to truly teach himself the game. For anyone who has ever played the incredibly frustrating and difficult sport of golf, they know how hard it is to teach yourself the game. Many people give up before they ever are able to break 100. This is what makes this so remarkable. Bubba was so persistent and determined, that he figured out all of his kinks, (even though his swing is definitely not something you should practice) and was able to prosper on the PGA tour.

I want to take this time to find out what people think about this incredible accomplishment. Do you think that we as fans should idolize Bubba for never taking a lesson, and figuring out his swing on his own? Or should we applaud him for his victory, but look at this as a fluke event, that future professional golfers should not attempt?

A Review of the Masters

As always, the Masters did not fail to disappoint. Leading up to the tournament all of the discussion was about the re-emergence of Tiger Woods, and whether or not Rory Mcilroy could overcome his woes of last year and compete for his first ever Masters victory. But as many golf fans have come to realize, the only thing predictable about golf is the unpredictability.
The first three days were incredible, as the leader board was filled with an array of well-known golfers, as well as lesser known players. Going into the final round there were twenty plus golfers with a reasonable chance of catching the leader (Peter Hanson). As the fourth and final round transpired there were many incredible moments, and in the end there was a tie after 72 holes allotted to the tournament. Bubba Watson, a true "All-American," was tied with a former British Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, and a sudden death playoff was set to begin.
Due to the nature of a sudden death playoff, everyone was on the edge of their seats as they watched these two emerging starts battle for the "Green Jacket." Then it happened. After "shanking" his drive into the woods, Bubba Watson did the unthinkable. After Oosthuizen had already played his second shot, Bubba was left with a decision. "Do I play safe and trust my wedge, or do I attempt the near impossible shot." For those of you who follow golf and Bubba, you know this was a no brainer for him. Bubba proceeded to hit a 40 plus hard hook out of the trees, through the spectators, over the camera man, and onto the green 15 feet away from the pin.
Not only was Bubba able to hook his 54 degree wedge 40 plus yards, but he was able to control the distance perfectly, which is near impossible from the pine needles. Bubba proceeded to two-putt to victory, completing one of the greatest comebacks in recent memory.
Overall, this masters was an incredible display of an array of golfers, and gave us great insight as to what the future of the PGA holds for us fans. Now I wonder...

Are people going to look at this Masters as an incredible sporting event like I saw it? Or are people going to think about it as the tournament that Tiger and Rory failed to show up for? What do you think?

Monkey Ball...what a game...

Monkey ball is what comes to mind when I think back to growing up. Being at friends houses for sleepovers, competing each time at a somewhat stupid game. However, as I've gotten older and have become familiar with more intense, better made games...monkey ball is still my all time favorite. Something about the ability to make yourself balance, flip, roll, and perform these crazy moves was always invigorating. It was so competitive, which is kind of funny being that the goal was to roll your monkey along paths. Although looking back on it, it was dumb, it was and is the only video game I have ever been competitive with. My friends from middle school and high school who were not interested in video games at all, found this bizarre competitiveness within it. Was it the familiarization of the different monkeys? Our attachment to it? Or was it one of the only video games that didn't have a male aura around it?

Why I'm Excited about Prince Fielder

    Ever since the Detroit Tigers Signed Prince Fielder to a 9 year 214 million dollar contract there have been a lot of skeptics saying that the contract is too big. They have valid reasons to back up this arguments the biggest one being his weight. Prince is about 6 feet tall and weights 285 pounds. Many people think he wont stay in decent enough shape to play baseball for 9 more years. Others said by signing Prince the Tigers defense gets much worse because they have to move Miguel Cabrera to third and it would be safe to say he is a sub par third baseman. However I am extremely excited about Prince Fielder playing in a Tigers uniform.
    Its easy to get excited just by looking at his career statistics. His career batting average is above 280. He usually hits well over 30 home runs a year as well as over 100 RBIs. These are incredible numbers and the best part about it is the Tigers have two guys on their team who can put up these numbers. With Cabrera and Fielder hitting back to back in the middle of the Tigers order things get very scary for opposing pitchers. I can also guess no one is happier than Cabrera who wont be intentionally walked nearly as much with Prince standing in the batters box.
    Now not only are Prince's stats amazing, but I love his enthusiasm on the field. Last year Prince's former team became famous for their Beast Mode move and Prince seemed to be the center of this excitement. For those of you that don't know what this move is here is a picture of Prince back in Milwaukee.
  
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnh-sAlZ5qemFb1Vg-VT9IkV2oJSqGIyESxLIBfoeslVrnyhDXqYd_CQHwKOT-EGpHxMUaCbIU0aNHn7sqMmD4hADIUw4-gLJhgN8cHsOxh4WNWGnGXw1s7-RfkbW9BBF6mzGrtflPbK8/s1600/BeastMode2.jpg

   Now as many of you may know baseball can be dull and it is great for fans to have someone who provides some excitement. Miguel Cabrera is also great at having fun on the field always seen messing around with other guys on the field.  I think this is great for team moral and gets all the players more excited to play. I saw this part of Prince's personality already in a Tigers uniform when he was one of the first ones on the field to celebrate with Austin Jackson after his game winning hit today.
    I can't wait to see the Success the Tigers will have with Prince Fielder on the field. I have to admit I am a bit worried about his health in the last few years of the contract, but I know we have a great player for at least the next 6 years. For the time being I don't think the move could have been better for the Tigers and I can't wait to watch these two play together this season.

http://l.yimg.com/j/assets/p/sp/ap/0c/fullj.7997a5f029a78e2672a4c4ad4e0a53ca/ap-201204051549569570070.jpg

Know the Rules to break them?...or not

For generations artists have been learning the proper ways to execute their artwork. From brush strokes, to their lack of finger smudges, artists have been taught “rules” in order to make them skilled in their profession. However as society has changed and the ability to express oneself has become more prevalent, artists struggle. There is a tug of war that now occurs between trying to be a classic aesthetically pleasing artist and being an artist that catches ons eye by being outspoken and essentially risky. This is where the game begins. Being in the school of Art and Design, I am constantly hearing “You need to know the rules to break the rules.” However doing this is more difficult than it seems. Students are trying to be risky, trying to not draw as “beautiful”, yet as a result teachers scold our attempts. One would think if they were trying to teach us and help us in the future they would want us to step out of the box, and although they say they do, they don’t. Students are put in the constant struggle of making art for the teacher, for that particular assignment or deciding to take the risk and make art that means something. It becomes a game, and a hard one. We need to trust our own judgement to do the right thing, knowing that more times than others, we are going to be shut down. However, that one in a million chance we happen to get it right, we are excessively praised. It raises the question, if we already know the rules, why can't we break them?