To keep my stroke and composure, to keep my head, while the swimming pool is drained. To stay calm when all the water has gone and i am left flapping around on the tiles like a shark out of water.
To keep breathing in rhythm, no matter what is happening outside the pool, out of the waterworld where i live. Keep breathing, don't loose your nerve. Keep breathing. Think of happy flowing thoughts.
To continue counting in my head while i swim, counting the amount of pools in the local area, and calculating the provision for swimming based upon statistical data concerning population, provision and church/state boundaries.
Lets follow the nature of swimming, the peaceful and relatively silent meandering through the thicker atmosphere of water, pushing and pulling, working the cardiovascular regions, and joints and muscles together.
Let swimmers weigh their words against the experience of swimming itself, and then let non-swimmers weigh their words about swimming, the importance of swimming, the finance, health, business and provision of facilities to swim in.
"maybe GOD didn't wear any trunks?" Billy said laughing a belly laugh.
"But he sure plays dice". Jan replied.
COMPREHENSIVE SWIMMING EDUCATION.
Swimming is an activity that is defined by each and every individual swimmer, and the incorporation of swimming, as a practical model - for advancing other activities and academic areas of research is limited only by access to WATER itself. But, human access to water, and water deep enough to swim in is not simply for everyone and anyone. You need a license to swim (in most lakes or out in the Channel) and some money and often transport to get to that rare pool of WATER. Still, human beings and water mix well and human beings will only find helpful and healthy information when they look at swimming - the activity itself, in the future, but splitting the activity of swimming from the practical requirement of having a swimming pool of water to swim in, becomes more difficult when confronted with a tidal-wave of old swimming pools closing, in favour of smaller paddling pools and pools with rounded edges and hot water, too hot for any serious swimmer who likes to propel themselves through the water using their hands, legs and body i.e to swim.
Maybe the paddling pool type water holes could be incorporated into the shopping malls and trendy night club spots, due to the ease with which people can just hop in and paddle about, wading in the water, maybe drinking a cocktail drink?
Lack of information: Everything and everybody benefits from a better flow of information. Swimming has some structural similarities with the flow of information and brings up, to my mind, the fields in which the future of the field lies. Movement through any given medium.
1. Dudley Council is not a human being, it is the name of a group of people and their ideas about government. So i ask why the majority of the news press quote Dudley Council as saying? They mean a spokesperson, for D.C. said... And they might name that person, or at least name the people who most strongly reflected the opinion contained within the quote.
2. Swimming is recognized as a universal individual human right, most governments, or those with sufficient resources - in the mostly white richer nations - advise that swimming be available to every man, women and child. Something about the richer nations around the world that seems commendable, a truly shared public facility that brings an equal pleasure and healthy option to 2009 electronic culture, coercive education and whatever else lies out there awaiting us in civilization. Swimming remains a form of sensory deprivation and isolation too, along with being a perfect environment for group activities, games, even sport (if that word can be equated with good spirited, fair play, in 2009?) WATER provides a unique environment for human exploration of both inner and outer worlds. More specifically clean and temperate water deeper that 8 feet, and pools longer than 20 meters. To mix measurments - another trick employed by those obssive compulsive people who also define geographical boundaries, activity design parameters and finance for so called - sporting - provisions.
3. Knowledge, education, good speech and right mind are ingrediants not usually associated with swimming, a physical activity that has not spawned many philosophers and/or artists. After all, look how well a fish can swim, how fast and efficient, compared with a human being. If the activity does not involves some kind of languaging facility, or human feedback through language - then what is the difference between man and fish, or man and dolphin, to use a better analogy? An Olympian then, in some sense should be one who combines disciplines, using one's atheletic ability to then share the fruits of spending so much time involved within a sporting activity. What wisdom and knowledge they must have to share with the world, wisdom and knowledge concerning discipline, sacrifice, mental agility and meta-programming of the human bio-computer.
4. Dr. John C. Lilly - whom i met and have studied as a layman for over 10 years has provided a huge body of work defining the importance of WATER for human beings, other species and the planet itself. Way beyond the scope of what i have said so far, Dr. John Lilly does however bring the field of swimming and water activity to another plane all together. And as a world recognized scientists his results and findings can be used as more evidence and support for the more basic principles of human access to bodies of water, and the provision for swimming and/or floating: a unique innovation of Mr. Lilly that brings many of the benefits of a reduced gravitational field or suspension in a body of water - into the home and private space of the individual. Something that individuals and governments should consider as a means of providing some, but not all, of the benfits of a body of WATER for a human beings to relax in. Yes, like a bath, but larger, filled with epsom salts and in combination with a learning and creative program, or not.
5. High level competition and sporting meets between different teams, nations and atheletes can also lead to policy revision and the involvement of the best people in any given activity - getting involved, having a say, and being recognized for their achievemt - not with a flag - but with some words, the ability and with encouragement the wisdom to share their knowledge and well deserved place as an authority, spending most of their life engaged in the activity they excel in. The arena of interactive competitions and meets of sportspeople - the sports grounds - might one day compare statistics and data about swimming within their local area, data about the amount of swimming provisions made available compared with the population and usage data. Why not? Surely those most deeply involved with the activity - swimming in this case - would be looking to turn on others to their art and craft, by way of helping to provide provisions for such an activity? Maybe highly trained sports people often loose a grasp on reality, the communal reality and remain submerged in a world dominated by training the body and stilling the mind - which is a very helpful program - but, seem to be very self-contained as both teams, and competitive individuals. Swimming does not see the kind of media attenstion football does, yet swimming is a more popular activity and is aeons older. This imbalance between different sports poses problums for those arguing for rather unique, specific and very expensive provisions for the activity.
6. Natural resources. I feel that humanity should at least make a picture and model of urban environments that make the maximum use of WATER ways, both natural and artificial and consider the possibility that one day, in the future, cities and towns may open up the water ways for swimmers and water revelers. Visualize a sprawling aqua park, where humans, nature and human-nature industry thrive together. Adequate activity provisions, clean water and access to good and frequently updated information. Visualize a utopian kind of Atlantis across the planet where intelligent WATER builds everything, molds, erodes and reduces gravitational forces. Intelligent WATER itself, may build these new cities, after the humans fail to read the signs about the importance of swimming, aquatic survival, water flow and rhythm, fluid-hydrodynamics, Ceteacean physiology, oceanography, swimming provisions for humans living in crowded areas.
7. The OLYMPICS? and the question of sports, for the individual and the nation and the relationship between the two, represneting one's nation in a sporting activity brings up many semantical and ideological paradoxes. Not least the poverty and closure of hundreds of sporting facilites, as a result of making provisions for the elite - Olympic one-off games and events - due to take place in Great Britain Summer 2012. More than this though, is the deeper Olympic ideal, to try to put a positive sporting gloss on this world famous Greek-American influenced meeting of developing nations in a sporting environment, where the best can compete tohgether on an international stage. But what do we the peole get from this? a sense of patriotism, wonder and media titilation? Inspiration to go and DO a healthy activity? soft entertainment and something better than the usual electronic and newspaper programing? A window for big business and international finance corporations to shop their customers products and ideas to the gigantic AUDIENCE, connected to the games via telecommunications technology, monopolized out of existence and out of the hands of any good natured sports fan, who might want to record their greatest sporting hero - to watch and learn agin, just how they DO it! Nike, Addidas and other sport pimps might consider a sponsor versus sponsorer - intercamp - competition, where they can switch roles and compete, communicate and work out. The executives and board members can run the marathon while some ethiopian and African runners dictate the next three years of sponsorship policy, money allocation, brand and A&R issues.
8. Music and sport. A structural affinity? Rhythm, anticipation, improvisation, dexterity, staminar, breathing, balance, practice, competitive spirit? yet, other than some boozed up football songs, what has popular entertainment done to promote sports and music? Celebrity come dancing with a Rugby player or tripple jumping showbuisness rooky? And yet all the above similarities mentioned above remain. Maybe this lack of cross-over is due to the rigid governing bodies of most sporting institutions compared with the flexible nature of music - which has that extra degree of communication of self expression through ART, that sports lack for the most part. Music also plays with the human emotions by using a more detailed language of vibration, rhythm, melody and often counterpoint. Sports, concentrate on the activity at hand and how to win the game or race. Music, is not really a race, whereas sports are often forced into racing for the title of the best. In music the question of the best is more of a utalitarian issue of subjective taste and accomplishment over a long period of time, but both sharing an equal commitment, dedication and discipline required to excel and master a particular activity. So, what might be the musical equivalent of such a master sportsman as Micheal Phelps - the 8 gold winning, bong smoking swimmer? John Coltrane? Elton John? Jimi Hendrix, Bach? Johnny Cash? Beethoven? how do you estimate musical ability and mastery? by the use of the vibrational physics that rule the musical environment? Public acceptence? Press reviews and popular opinion? innovation and starting of new trends like Duke Ellington and Theolonious Monk
Culture, Media and Sport Committee Conspiracy?
The great swimming Conspiracy SCRIPT goes something like this:
Swimming facilities are being torn down and demolished to make way for leisure centers and for private health clubs. Although technically - once Public swimming facilities, they now are quasi private-public entities due to the wrestling of public owned property, services and facilities in Great Britain over the last 25 years. In 2009 the multi-billion pound sport and leisure industry has turned into a shambles of mixed signals and hypocritical actions, with every government controlled sport and leisure group failing to acknowledge the growing trend, and frankly suspicious repetative cycles of mis management, low maintanence and rapid demolishion of our old traditional British swimming pools, in a favour of the providing a more Hawiian aqua experience in a fun paddling pool, with water slides and wave-machine. Not only energy wastful and impractical fad's, but the un-rectangular and un-square shaped swimming baths, so common these days up and down the UK are next to useless for anybody wishing to improve upon their swimming technique, cardio-vascular fitness, or play water-polo. The idea's and thinking from the British Government and its regional outposts seems much like the swimming pools which they encourage to be built around Britain: Shallow!
By proposing a conspiracy, i am raising the game on the authorities and Government agencies, they have continued upon a certain trajectory and have made a familiar pattern with their wrecking balls and bullshit in their wake, where once stood swimming baths of significant beauty and containing much Great British heritage.
The Conspiritors:
1. The Government Agencies responsible for swimming provision:
2. The Private business partners who rent out the swimming facility, at profit.
3. The ASA Swimming Association and their association with some of Britains greatest polluters, usurers and energy pirates.
4. The Olympic Committee and the elite few who dictate Billions of Pounds of sports finance and management, again, in partnership with the worlds greatest crooks, fraudsters and cheats. McDonalds, Coca-Cola, Addidas. Maybe AIG will become an Olympic sponsor?
5. Most Sports Governing Bodies, who keep silent about the dirty tricks and cheats being played upon the unsuspecting players themselves.
6. The Newspress partners and media marketing army, for not giving the public the data, or anything resembling the facts and forces involved in these sly political games played out in front of us. Shame on them.
I hope to use this model for a short TV series, or comedy set inside a swimming baths. But not the Brittas empire.
Swimming the Merciless A.K.A Mark My Spits.
