#semipro

[gmcrphotographer]

Welcome to my #tumblr here is one of my favourite photos I've taken in 2022 so far on my phone. I'm a semi professional photographer who is starting up and trying to get out there and seen more so please share and give credit to myself. All photos feature my watermark and please search Gian Luca Photography on your search engine and click my website it really helps me out 💚

[delawaresportsblitz]

On this episode, I’m joined by Brad Fielder and Jade Mesias from Albion SC Delaware, and they talk all about their semi-pro club. 

[facetheravenwood]

so unbelievably excited for Jinkx to have a major role in DW, two of my worlds colliding for sure 🔷🔷❤️⛈️

[swamplevel]

"they don't have to respect you, but they do have to die for you" at the start of the LD social mechanics design doc. and circled three times

[modernmutiny]

You know everyone i know who played tennis, whether for school or professionally, craves the sport like nothing else. Hell i haven't played a match in years, but i saw that documentary on apple and now it's like an addiction, i gotta find my old racquet and get to the courts like they're giving out free cocaine

[irisbleufic]

CONGRATS ON YOUR SHINY NEW HUGO AWARD FOR BEST SEMIPRO ZINE POETRY EDITOR MOTHERFUCKER (ALSO AFFECTIONATE) 🪐🪐🪐🔥✨🍾

What

What

OMG???!

[hooked-on-elvis]

EP Playing Touch Football

This ripped shirt reminded me of something Jerry wrote in his book. I wonder if this shirt ended up ripping accidentally, with a random, non-directed pull (maybe E even ripped the shirt himself, somehow), or if the guys still gave El a harder time than they did the other players every time he played with them (I didn't notice any other guys with the torn clothes).

JERRY SCHILLING'S MEMORIES OF PLAYING FOOTBALL WITH ELVIS:

At one of our bigger games in the spring of 1955, we’d been playing for a while when a couple of very large men showed up and asked if they could get in the game. They explained that they were semipro players, had heard about the Elvis games, and wanted to be a part of it. The rest of us were not so eager to play with these big guys, but as far as Elvis was concerned, these players were stepping onto his turf and he wasn’t going to stand down. He wanted them in.

We worked out the teams again to include them and got set to play. On one of the first offensive drives, Elvis was taking a break from quarterbacking duties and was on the line blocking. When the ball was snapped, this 200-pound-plus semipro hit Elvis hard and ran right over him. Elvis took his time getting up — he was obviously a little shaken.

Now, we played tough at these games, with all-out effort, and we regularly knocked the hell out of each other. But the point was that everybody got knocked around — nobody ever specifically targeted Elvis. You wouldn’t think twice about hitting him if that’s the way the play went, but nobody was ever going out of their way to try to hurt him. From the look of that semipro player’s first hit, it seemed that maybe these guys weren’t so interested in playing ball for fun they were going to teach “Pretty Boy” Presley a lesson.

As we got back into a huddle, it was clear that Red West was furious. “I’ll take that son of a bitch out,” he said.

“No, Red,” said Elvis sharply. “Damn it, no. Just play the game.”

We ran a few more plays, and it was the same thing each time —Elvis got a tremendous hit from this charging rhino. But Elvis made a point of hopping up a little faster each time and just shaking it off. It got to a point where the day just didn’t feel like fun anymore. All the regular players were furious, and we were all telling Elvis that the game couldn’t go on like this, but he wouldn’t hear it. He wanted to play through. I found myself lined up next to Elvis, with the same big guy ready to charge at him again.

“Hit me from the left side,” said Elvis. “What?” asked the rhino. “Hit me from the left side.” “Why?” “I got a few bones over there that ain’t broke yet,” said Elvis.

The big guy started laughing, and by the time the ball was snapped he was laughing hard enough that he didn’t have the strength to steam-roll Elvis. After the play, we took a break and the guy went over to his fellow rhino. In a few minutes they walked back toward Elvis. Now the big guys were all smiles.

“Excuse me, Elvis,” said the one who’d been knocking him down.

“We sure did enjoy the game. Hope there aren’t any hard feelings.”

Red was still ready to lunge at them, but Elvis just shrugged.

“No hard feelings,” said Elvis. “Just bruises. Good luck with your season.”

Their big faces lit up like they’d just been blessed by the Pope. They started to walk away, when the guy who’d been knocking Elvis down turned around and came back.

“Uh, just one more thing, Elvis? Our wives are over there—can we bring them over to meet you?”

“Sure,” says Elvis. “Bring ’em over.”

As Elvis signed autographs for their wives, it all came together for me; if he had let Red and the rest of us go after these guys, then he would have ended up with some more enemies. Instead, he took a little punishment and ended up with four new fans.

There were a lot of people in Memphis that wanted to knock Elvis down, figuratively and literally, but what I saw happen on that field with the semipro guys was something I’d witness over and over again: A lot of people thought they had something against Elvis, but I never saw anybody who spent any time with him walk away not liking him.

Excerpt "Me and a Guy Named Elvis: My Lifelong Friendship with Elvis Presley" by Jerry Schilling (2006)

December 27, 1956. Elvis played touch football at the Dave Wells Community Center in Memphis with some friends.

[shewhoworshipscarlin]

Earlene Dennis Brown

Earlene Dennis Brown, a three-time Olympian, was the first African American woman to win a medal in the shot put. Throughout her life Brown excelled in a variety of sports, gaining attention, recognition, and honors. She is the only shot-putter to compete in three consecutive Olympics (1956, 1960, 1964). Brown won Olympic bronze for Women’s shot put in 1960; was Amateur Athletic Union Champion in shot put (1956-62, 1964); won Amateur Athletic Union Championship, discus (1958-59, 1961); won gold medal in shot put, silver medal in discus, USA-USSR dual meet (1958); was shot put and discus champion, Pan-American Games (1959); and placed 12th in shot put, Tokyo Olympics (1964).

Earlene Dennis, born July 11, 1935, in Latexo, Texas to Espenola Tillis Dennis, a domestic servant, and Willie Dennis, a semipro baseball player with the Negro League in Texas. When her parents separated in 1938, Dennis remained with her mother and they moved to Los Angeles in 1945. Dennis’s mother married Julius Walker in 1946. Dennis attended Jordan High School in South Central Los Angeles, where she excelled in track and field. Her athletic ability was noticed by many, including Adeline Valdez, Dennis’s high school gym teacher, Josephine Spearman, and Coach Clarence Mackey, who tried to get her to compete in the Helsinki Olympics (in 1952 in Helsinki, Finland). Valdez is credited with putting the first discus in Dennis’ hands while her history teacher taught her to shot put. Before competing in shot put and discus, Dennis anchored the relay team.

In 1956, Brown finished in the top ten in the shot put and the discus. In 1958 Brown received the #1 world ranking and became the first American to break the 50-foot barrier. Brown won gold medals in the shot put as well as discus events at the Pan American Games in 1959. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964 Brown placed 12th in the shot put.

Brown retired from the shot put competition in 1965. The same year she took up another sport, roller derby. Brown’s career in skating began as a blocker for the New York Bombers.

In 1975, Brown retired from all athletic ventures and worked as a beautician to provide for herself and family. On May 1, 1983, Earlene Dennis Brown passed away in Compton, California at the age of 47. On December 1, 2005, Earlene Brown was posthumously inducted in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame by the USA Track and Field (USATF) Association during the Jesse Owens Awards and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Jacksonville, Florida.

[dee-the-red-witch]

New month, new pinned. Right? Right.

Hiya. I'm Dee.

Weirdass trans woman artist. Master leatherworker and maskmaker. Writer. Reviewer. Self-tattooist. Amateur drawer. Semipro digital artist and designer. Mom of two. Mid 40's. Queer poly lesbian. Atheist occultist. Gothy nerd and dork. Avid horror fan. And ABSOLUTELY NOT YOUR RESPONSIBLE ADULT. Follow at your own risk.

I do a LOT OF STUFF. Most of it can get found here at http://tormentedartifacts.com

Like these:

If you came here from a weirdly intense prose post that gave you feels and questions, you're encouraged to message or ask about them.

Unrelatedly, I also wrote a book and did a tarot deck. They're available here:

I also do weekly readings from the deck for subscribers on patreon in addition to media revuews and other bits. Here's that link: http://patreon.com/tormentedartifacts

I still don't know what a Jerma is. Do not tell me.

I've also done a lot of queer/trans/gothy/cyberpunky merch stuff available through BigCartel here: https://tormentedartifacts.bigcartel.com/

And currently, in addition to dealing with a ton of backorders, I'm also working on learning more tattoowork, and building up a whole collection if art to tattoo on folks once I'm ready for it:

So, yeah, I do a lot of stuff. Questions? The ask box is somehow still open.

Hells, I even have a wishlist, right here.

Is there a discord? Yes. But you have to ask to join.

[quiltofstars]

A chunk of the Small Magellanic Cloud // SemiPro

[malebodyexhibit]

On Board and On Brand (a Next Door Boy tale)

You might have heard of the Next Door Boy agency and its services. Everyone lately had been on board with the promise of a new body, but have you heard of the recent scandal with the social media influencers?

The three men you see above are not who they say they are. (Expectedly on brand with Next Door Boy’s services.) The one on the left is a 40something bartender from Provo, Utah. An ex-Mormon who abandoned his wife and kids for the body of a snowboarder turning tricks in hotel rooms. The one on the right is a geriatric who served in Vietnam. A former 70s hippie and veteran now doing Jagger shots in a jacuzzi with his groupies. The one in the center, surprisingly, is a teen who immigrated from Mexico. He comes from wealth and orchestrated this scheme using his parents' money.

Santiago turned 18 this past year and had recruited the two former adults for a plan he had in mind. While it isn't clear why those two specifically, it is determined they met on an online forum prior to Santiago's scheme. He proposed that he would have them placed in bodies of attractive, athletic young men in order to gain sponsorships from the traveling and sports industries with the gay demographic as their target.

So what happens when you put the minds of older men into young bodies? Absolute horny mayhem. The ex-Mormon, Joseph, was caught blowing guys for money and sometimes just for free. The body of the ex-semipro snowboarder is paraded around the world shirtless and wearing zero underwear. This has naturally caused an outcry from the former-snowboarder who wants his body back.

The hippie, Leonard, had zero inhibitions on strutting in the nude. Having been a nudist in his prior body, Leonard saw no reason to change this mindset. He developed a group of fans who bring the party to him. He's often doing shots with and plowing his college fanbase. The body of the ex-college basketball star now filmed and posted on porn sites strains the relationship between the former college athlete and his parents.

As for Santiago, still retaining his wealth in his new body, happily flaunts his chiseled body and charming smile. He has legally changed his name to Alex and began an open relationship. He remarks that he's finally fitting in with people he always wanted to be a part of. "It feels nice to be an American," he stated after a photoshoot. With his new fame due to his fitness sponsorships, he is considering breaking from the two friends in order to keep his good name intact. On brand with his physical fitness, Alex is launching his new health supplements later this year and has started a training regime for the upcoming sports season.

What of the former bodies? Both previous bodies of Joseph and Leonard (names withheld) are pursing action against the two for violation of conditions set during body transfer, namely the use of substances and illicit sexual acts. The outcome, while not yet determined, will entail the returning of the bodies and financial compensation. Next Door Boy has refused to make a statement for what could be abuse of their services, but usage of their services has increased since this story made headlines.

No action has been taken by the former body of Santiago, who, while seeing the success Alex has, decided to remain living as the Mexican youth until the end of the services. He mentioned Alex approached him about a more permanent condition, and Santiago wasn't opposed to this idea as he reported to me on board his million-dollar yacht.

[oliviawebsite]

Liv Lore expansion drop: did you know my first "job" was being a soccer ref? it was just local youth level stuff but i took a few steps up the qualification ladder and was officiating semipro local games at a certain point. idk why i stopped i guess i just lost interest. anyway you were offsides and that goal has been called off 🙅🏻‍♀️

[steampunkforever]

As a semipro screenwriter myself, I often find my thoughts occupied with a yearning of sorts for the close circle of creatives that spawned the Romantic movement or the Beat Generation. "Networking" and the astroturf sterility of online writers guilds and facebook groups just don't have the same spark as a loose grouping of maladaptive freaks devoted to making intolerably pretentious artworks. Where, I ask, do I organically find a circle of like minded snobs to be a freak about movies and culture with? Do they not make those anymore? Where have all the inner circles gone? Did nepotism and studio commercialization pave over the greatest minds of our generation?

In watching legendary skate film Yeah Right! I was reminded that these sort of movements aren't sorted until hindsight can gain some focus. "Malaise Era" is a term referring to Carter's post-Vietnam America (specifically in the manufacturing industry) decline, but it was minted in a 2008 jalopnik blog post. Cultural storms are only named well after landfall, and Yeah Right! reminded me of this.

Yeah Right! is a darn good skate film, but the talent within it is frankly of more note than the film itself. The movie gives you exactly what you want from a skate film: people doing tricks on boards. It's artfully shot and tracked to a stacked setlist of the best possible songs you could imagine for this sort of skate film (minus break stuff, mind you), with whip smart editing and great composition, but that's not the special part.

What's most impressive about the film is who populates the credits, a star studded list of skateboarding for that era's best and brightest, alongside names like Sofia Coppola, Owen Wilson (who has a great little cameo sequence), Sam Spiegel (whose work you've definitely encountered through Jose Cuervo/Levi's/H&M/T Mobile ads if you didn't encounter it through MIA/Kanye/Doja Cat/Crystal Castles/Maroon 5 first), Andy Jenkins (of the band Milk) and Ty Evans. Even if they didn't contribute to the film any more than needed to warrant a special thanks mention, these names represent a network of creatives who all hang together in a loose association that only now am I connecting into a sort of movement of young creatives of the era that reaches all the way to Nitro Circus, Gymkhana, Hoonigan, and RWB in japan.

What I'm saying is that you won't be able to see the wave til it breaks. And this is coming from someone who watched the film surrounded by a loose collection of like minded movie freaks that'd organically grown from just a few people who wanted to see weird films into an organized crowd of people there to discuss art, film, and whether or not Nic Cage is hot. Some questions answer themselves. Go watch Yeah Right! It's a great piece of sports cinema.

[pastel-kaleesh]

Am I a amateur semipro or professional artist?

You're an amateur but don't worry! We all started that way and I've seen you get better! Do everything!!! Experiment!!! Mess around with your art!!! That way you'll get better at it!! That's how I learned!

[lboogie1906]

Earlene Dennis Brown (July 11, 1935 - May 1, 1983) a three-time Olympian, was the first African American woman to win a medal in the shot put. She excelled in a variety of sports, gaining attention, recognition, and honors. She is the only shot-putter to compete in three consecutive Olympics (1956, 1960, 1964). She won Olympic bronze for Women’s shot put in 1960; was Amateur Athletic Union Champion in shot put (1956-62, 1964); won Amateur Athletic Union Championship, discus (1958-59, 1961); won gold medal in shot put, silver medal in discus, USA-USSR dual meet (1958); was shot put and discus champion, Pan-American Games (1959); and placed 12th in shot put, Tokyo Olympics (1964).

She was born in Latexo, Texas to Espenola Tillis Dennis, a domestic servant, and Willie Dennis, a semipro baseball player with the Negro League. When her parents separated in 1938, she remained with her mother and they moved to Los Angeles. She attended Jordan High School in South Central, where she excelled in track and field. Before competing in shot put and discus, she anchored the relay team.

She attended Compton Junior College and completed a machinist training program. She joined the Amateur Athletic Union. She married Henry Brown, a brick mason. The couple had a son.

In 1956, she finished in the top ten in the shot put and the discus. In 1958 she received the #1 world ranking and became the first American to break the 50-foot barrier. She won gold medals in the shot put as well as discus events at the Pan American Games in 1959. At the Tokyo Olympics in 1964, she placed 12th in the shot put.

She retired from the shot put competition in 1965. he took up roller derby. her career in skating began as a blocker for the New York Bombers.

In 1975, she retired from all athletic ventures and worked as a beautician to provide for herself and her family. She was posthumously inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame by the USA Track and Field Association during the Jesse Owens Awards and the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in Jacksonville, Florida. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

[variousqueerthings]

wrote a long post about subtle changes i would have put into s3 of ted lasso to set it up as a four-part show, accidentally wrote another post now about potential s4 stuff (but do not have it in me to write out an episode by episode structure post)

but also really the main gist is that why I was initially confused at the 3-season structure (and then I felt right in having felt it should have been longer when I did watch the season, despite liking where it ultimately landed on those final scenes), was that everything barring ted himself felt like it needed a bit more time

if ted ended s3 by making his decision and telling rebecca (either on or off screen, but if it were cliff-hanger I'd say off) and then having all of s4 setting that up while he's in a much better place to help others with their various things after a s3 where he was so in his own head that he wasn't a very good coach for almost all of it -- and then also a story about when he's planning on telling the team

if one could have fully dealt with sam's narrative about being hounded for standing up for his ideals and grounded him more centrally and built up to him joining the nigerian national team, rather than jumping to it, and given proper space to his interpersonal relationships (such as with the woman managing his restaurant, sorry I forget her name rn)

if nate could have had a whole season after being with west ham where he's back with the team, in which he could have, yes, made it up to some people, but also dealt with how it felt to be with west ham and before that, how he was treated by his teammates, his girlfriend, and even his own father

if rebecca could have had that whole season after their manchester win to go "oh wait, I really don't care what my husband thinks of me" while getting to share scenes with both his ex-wife and his current (but also soon-to-be-ex) wife, showing the three of them in a supportive space recovering from being in a relationship with a manipulative, cheating, controlling man

if keeley could have a whole season building her company with her new, more financially savvy and more organised friend at her side, barbara, while not centering romantic relationships/having her realise that she really can be okay without one (whether or not she is with anyone by the end, but actually giving it a whole season's worth of time)

if there could be a whole fallout/supportive trend after colin publicly kissed his boyfriend on the football pitch, to really give us more actual delving into what it means to be out as a male football player, and perhaps isaac taking that on himself as both his best friend and team captain, and how that plays out in contrast to perhaps other teams, none of which would have out players

if roy and jamie kind of... I guess continued along the lines they were doing, but really got to get into the former's feelings about being "old" in football terms, but not really that old at all, and the latter's relationship with his father (and yeah, I'm a roy/jamie/keeley fan, so scenes that let the three of them be mutually supportive and effortlessly close with one another)

with trent crimm's own narrative continuing to be that of documenting and pulling together the structure

and all of that with a main storyline on building a women's football team and centering keeley's storyline around that as well (also soooo many gay characters then, for realism 😜 also I know two non-binary football players who play semipro personally, there's more than that, so that could be a storyline too...)

just a bit more time youknow

it would have first of all given a final season that broadens the world they're in more, after a third season that wasn't trying to wrap things up and so maybe gave us a bit more west ham/just football beyond the tiny sphere of richmond

and crucially that things weren't flattened to make them get to the ending faster (things like how some characters had done some really nasty stuff (rupert, jamie's dad), but at some point characters just went *ah well, but I'm over it enough to start moving on,* or how sam never quite got to carry an ongoing dramatic arc that wasn't solved with a handwave that didn't give enough weight to how serious his narrative was, or whatever jade's deal was and how she wasn't nice to nate (and neither was coach beard's gf) and the rushedness of keeley's company and need for romantic partnership to feel safe in herself, etc.)

I really liked the ethos of the show and I enjoyed watching it, but I do not believe that three seasons was the intended structure, and I think if I knew for sure that was the case, I'd be more shrug-and-move-on of some of its rushedness than I am now, where I'm trying to understand what prompted those choices if indeed they were deliberate. because there was a lot of unexplored territory for almost every character, I think especially the characters of colour (nate with how he was treated and sam with his politically deeper storylines) and the female characters (keeley with her business, potentially rebecca with her kinship with bex)

like how the sense8 movie could never in a million years have paid off all the plot that came before, but we're just glad for the catharsis

also lastly, it could have still setup a potential spinoff centering the woman's team entirely, if that was something one wanted to do