Au Cochonnet Marin

When you attempt to write about an event that you witnessed (and photographed), the first thing that you need to do is triage. You need to go through the hundreds of shots that you took and discard the undesirables. And it is a difficult and times consuming task… but you to learn to suffer for what you love… Then you can look at the pictures while writing what you witnessed.

In many respects, photography is somewhat like pétanque… sometimes you hit, and many times you miss. And due to the many shaded areas of our beautiful field, I bungled a lot of shots. But, c’est la vie… One word of advice though… if you want to look your best in pictures, don’t wear black… or white. They absorb or reflect the light and prevent a photographer from taking clear, well-focused pictures.

All right, let’s get down to business. Due to unforeseen circumstances, I missed the opening of the tournament, but I will try to redeem myself. So on August 8^th, I managed to make it to the field around 12:30 while everybody was munching (and moaning about lost games).

The weather was partly cloudy and ideal for pétanque.

As I was made aware, 30 select doublettes made it to the field, ready to brawl (and some almost came to that). The Heavy Weights (bogeymen) made it to the Concours, and the others were shown the door to the Consolante.
By the way, I want to pay tribute to Christine Cragg for a well-run tournament. It is never as easy as it looks, and she did a great job. Merci mille fois Christine!

In the afternoon, while I was busy putting as much stuff as possible on film, people lived and died on the field. I got to watch the fight between Max/Antoine Lofaro versus Paul Yang/Jer Thao and it was Homeric. The Lofaros won by a very thin margin and made it to the finals.

I got a few glances at the game between Paul Kos and Isabelle Kos and Brigitte Moran and John-Philip Wyek. I was surprised by the skills of the Kos formation that literally tore apart two seasoned players. If I am not mistaken, Paul and Isabelle won First Place in the Consolante. Congrats guys!

The finals saw Wolfie Kurz and Mickey Coughlin (two heavyweights) battling Antoine and Max Lofaro, also two very good players.

Mickey played as a pointer and Wolfie as the shooter. They were in total sync and played beautifully, especially on gravel. On the Lofaro side, Max was the pointer, and Antoine was the shooter. From the beginning though they did not fare well. They lost 4 points on the first mène, and it looked bad. While Wolfie and Mickey continued to be extremely accurate, and Antoine missed a few crucial shots. In the finals it is deadly.
Mickey and Wolfie won 13/5.

Concours
1^st place: Mickey Coughlin and Wolfie Kurz:                  $260.00 ea   Gold medal
2^nd place: Max and Antoine Lofaro                                     $173.00 ea    Silver medal
3^rd place: Janice Bissonette and Mike Lee                         $130.00 ea    Bronze medal

Consolante:
1^st place: Paul and Isabelle Kos                                             $103.00 ea
2^nd place: Chong Xiong and Linda Bedrossian               $69.00 ea
3^rd place: Joe LaTorre and Rob Everett                              $43.00 ea

Alain

 PS: to watch the pictures, click on “My photos”
The photos of the Consolante winners were taken by Christine Cragg

Don’t take to task, those who ask, why don’t you wear a mask?

Masks can be bothersome, but they are our first line of defense against viruses. You don’t see the little buggers, but they are there, everywhere, waiting to ambush you. And like guerillas, they will hit and run the minute that you lower your guard.
And by the way, these little beasties are atheists… they don’t believe in God, in prayers or incantations. Don’t count on divine powers to ever intercede for you.

Some people thought that like bad guests, masks abused their stay, but this is not the case. The authorities are now warning that in view of the resurgence of the Covid Variants, masks may become mandatory again in all public venues.

Yes, it is a constraint, but what is the alternative? Moving to another place? This is a worldwide problem and no place on this planet is safe…

And then, instead of circling the wagons, we have the skeptics, the doubters, the rebels who feel that this is not necessary. We don’t need no stinking masks or vaccines they say. This is much ado about nothing… we are healthy, and the proposed cure might be worse than the disease… we don’t know what is in these syringes and it might do more harm than good.

Well, let’s consider how many people died from the disease versus how many people died from the cure. The margin is so wide that it is not even debatable. And let’s look at the annoyance of wearing a mask versus the satisfaction of not wearing one. Is the smugness of being a free-thinker worth the risk?

You might opt to swim with the sharks without any protection, but personally, I would rather wear a stainless-steel mesh suit to frolic with these guys. Yes, it is more cumbersome, but it is way safer.

And if you are still unwilling to wear masks or get a free jab in the arm, just consider what it would cost you if you were to be hospitalized.

According to Healthcare Finance,

“The average cost of hospital care for COVID-19 patients without insurance or who receive out-of-network care varies greatly by age – from $51,389 for patients between 21- and 40-years-old, to $78,569 for patients between 41 and 60 years old, according to updated cost analysis data from FAIR Health.”

 A little sobering isn’t it? Save yourself and your family a lot of troubles and get vaxed! It is much cheaper than a little stopover at your local hospital.

“I got the bill for my surgery. Now I know what those doctors were wearing masks for.” ~ James H. Boren

Alain

“Noise: a stench in the ear.” ~ Ambrose Bierce

 That sums it up for me. Noise, one of the most detestable nuisances of our time. No matter where you live, there is no escape… You will be regularly assailed by noise-making contraptions.

Souped-up cars, pick-up trucks, Harley Davidson motorcycles, gas-powered chain saws, leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, grass mowers… and this is just the top of the crop. There are also continuous noises and low-frequency noises and even though they are not as obvious as the above mentioned, they still impact your well-being.

We are now besieged by permanent noise, and it isn’t just annoying — it is bad for your health. Scientists have confirmed that noise pollution produces stress that can lead to all kinds of unpleasant ailments, including death. Can noise kill you? Rarely. but yes. “The threshold for death is usually pegged at around 185-200 dB. “

I am now reaching an age, where my hearing is not what it used to be. In my youth, I could hear a mouse fart… not anymore. I presently struggle to comprehend words spoken in a low voice or in a noisy environment. One of my pet peeves, for instance, is the introduction of the morning news on major networks. The voice of the announcer is muffled by some ridiculous, totally unnecessary background noise. It prevents hard of hearing people (and we are legions) to clearly understand what is being said. Whose utterly stupid idea is this? ABC, CBS, NBC can you hear me? Stop that nonsense.

But besides machine-generated noises, there are also numerous commotions produced by humans. And they can be as bad as machine noises. Some human beings are loud and sitting next to them in a public space can be extremely annoying. Contrary to what you might think, noise pollution is not exclusively generated by hairy men. Women used to be dainty creatures speaking in whispers. Not anymore. Some women are now as boisterous as drunken sailors, and it can be highly irritating.

Don’t get me wrong. I have been an early supporter of women’s causes, but noise making is not one of them.

“All noise is waste. So, cultivate quietness in your speech, in your thoughts, in your emotions. Speak habitually low. Wait for attention and then your low words will be charged with dynamite.” ~ Elbert Hubbard

“The earliest noise complaint in history also concerns a bad night’s sleep. The 4,000-year-old Epic of Gilgamesh recounts how one of the gods, unable to sleep through humanity’s racket and presumably a little cranky, opts “to exterminate mankind.”

 I would not go as far as that, but for some repeated offenders, some caning might be appropriate.

Alain