You know Ping Pong has got serious then the Wall Street Journal is writing about it - and publishses a picture of 50 Cent playing (not sure about that grip fiddy).
It will be interesting to see how the Bud Hard bat classic raises awareness of the game beyond that (un)holy triumverate of professinoal players, basement players and beer pong dudes.
April 27th sees the final, I think, chance to win the bud-light hard bat classic tournament and score a trip to the Open Finals in Vegas. The event is hosted at The Bell House - only a few blocks from where I live - so I'll no doubt head down there. I got to the quarters last time but got killed by a dude called Tal who is ranked around 2250.
According to the Montreal Gazzette, everyone's favourtite Canadian band, Arcade Fire, are players. Their office is vacant loft apart from a solitary Ping Pong table. I know these guys are notoriously media shy but that would be a trip to Canada well worth taking.
A film of their last Neon Bible tour, Mirior Noir comes out next week. If it's anything like their first two albums it should be pretty darned good.
There is this film out at the moment with Zac Efron called 17 Again. Matthew Perry goes back in time (a bit like Freaky Friday) and becomes a schoolkid again. If I could go back in time I'd get my skinny ass over to China and work on some drills. You know what I'm sayin?
If you ever have ping pong lessons all coaches will tell you it's all about the footwork. This video is a great example of that theory. Check out how she runs around her backhand to hit forehand smashes.
This weekend for the first time since 1934 (apparently) there was a New York City Open. It was held at Columbia University and sponsored by Joola. I played in a couple of events, the u1300 and and u1500. I won three and lost three. Basically my game has plateaued - dramatically. Most of the people I now play against play every day, and a good couple of hours a day. So I think it's either time to put up or shut up.
The open singles title was won by a Canadian dude called Pradeeban Peter-Paul. Cool name.
I love this table by Hunn Wai for the Mein Gallery. If Ping Pong is going to be big we all need to think of ways of making it less basement. Ok most of us are not going to be able to afford anything as amazing as this. But this is how design works. Some pioneering soul does something beautifully unique (and therefore expensive) and then someone finds a way of making it cheaper.
The swedes love a bit of Pong so how long before we see an Ikea dining / table tennis / table? Yeah.
"PING-PONG Dining table harks back to the origins of table-tennis with its duality of both being a table fit for dining and playing on. What started off as impromptu after-dinner amusement mimicking tennis in an indoor environment for upper-class Victorians became an international phenomenon with rules and standards. This is an official-sized game table with a DuPont Corian surface CNC machine-routed with French Rococo patterns interjected with Ping-pong iconography filled with gold lacquer, supported by stately hand-lathed timber legs. In the middle, a long rectangular vase filled with dainty blossoms does double-duty as a game-net and a table floral arrangement. Reinstating grandeur and pomp with neo-classical inspired embellishments , with a twist in material by using the hi-tech marble-like Corian, the PING-PONG dining table creates a remarkable conceptual and lifestyle statement in the true heart of the home, the dining area."
I made a little movie showing two days of my life. I was back in London working. I was going to say that it's not a particularly typical representation of my normal days being a Creative Director but actually I don't know what a typical day is anymore. Projects are blurred, work becomes plays, play becomes work. There are two ping pong references for ya'll. Firstly I set a creative brief for students entering the Young Creatives Network competition to promote our favourite sport. There are some images from some of the entries - most of which were great. Secondly there is a brief clip of the Bud Light hard bat classic tournament I played in Brooklyn. It's great that Bud Light are promoting the sport but to be honest the event was pretty lame. They could have promoted it a lot more. So in one day I did two ping pong things - one in London, one in New York. That's how we roll.
Hexstatic presents 'Solid Reel' - Video podcast from Solid Steel on Vimeo. Great video podcast by Hexstatic supporting 20 years of Ninja Tune's Solid Steel radio show in the UK. Ninja Tunes and Coldcut especially were always one of my favourite artists. Their JourneysbyDJ is a seminal album and paved the way for the mash-up. I also saw them VJ live at The Big Chill in 2006. They rocked it.
Ping Pong features quite early on but it's worth checking out the whole film if you like your D&B, manga and crazy graphics.
Celebrity PingPong is a free Magazine founded by James Cooper. We are always looking for interesting people to interview over a game of Ping-Pong. Do you want to play? Email me james (dot) cooper at gmail (dot) com.
