…with Gary Moss

Archive for June, 2009

I love a good laugh, don’t you? ‘THEY’ say that laughter is healthy for us. My fondest memories are of times with friends and family when laughter filled the air.

I’ll admit it. Every now and then I get an idea or notion and become down-right silly. The idea gets the best of me and I just crack myself up. I become driven to share my laughter with others and use my email or blog as the vehicle to deliver the spoof. BUT, not everyone shares my perception of FUNNY.

Like yesterday. With the recent passing of Michael Jackson, the media has been providing a continual blast through the airwaves of his Highs and his excentricies. Meanwhile, the newly formed NASPA has been taking itself very serious, issuing opinions and edicts about scrabble rules and procedures.

For whatever reason I first thought about Michael Jackson’s glove and next I imagines a tournament room full of scrabble players all wearing a single glove (on the hand that does not draw tiles). I put the two together and nearly fell out of my chair laughing. I raced to my computer and created this page on my web site, CLICK HERE.

Would you believe that some people took this seriously and sent inquiries to the NASPA? And the orders for gloves streamed through Paypal. Look what I’ve started, for the want of a good laugh.

Wishing you a day filled with S’s, Blanks, and Laughter.

We in the USA are fortunate to be able to play scrabble as often as we choose, wherever we choose. We are free to play OWL2 or SOWPODS. We may play the ‘naughty words’ if are so inclined. And we have a long history of helping others find and secure the same freedoms. Happy Birthday to the United States of America!

Where does your ‘LOYALTY’ lie?

I used to frequent a great little family restaurant that had the greatest tasting, and most economical, menu. Their specialty on Tuesdays was veal parmesan with a spaghetti side. The dinner included salad, dessert, and beverage. It was a wonderful dining experience.

Like so many things in life, CHANGE happens. Other restaurants opened in the area; people who had patronized the eatery, now looked for something different; the state of the economy shifted and people went out for dinner less often; along with others, I moved to a different neighborhood.

A year or so after I had moved away I found myself back in my old neighborhood, and it happened to be Tuesday. My mouth salivated as I drove my car in the direction of my favorite old haunt. To my shock, the windows were boarded up and a large sign read, “Out Of Business”. I felt was as if an old friend had died.

I’ve never been able to find the same exact taste of that spaghetti sauce and their veal cutlet. Today most restaurants only serve veal patties and, in my opinion, that is nothing at all like the ‘real thing’.

There are about 100+ scrabble directors across America. I am a bit more ambitious than most, directing 3 weekly scrabble clubs sessions (Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday) in Orange County, California. I’ve been doing it for several years. Each session plays 4 games and lasts about 4 hours. The modest $5 fee is less than the cost of a night at the movies. The fee pays my driving expenses, score sheets provided, category prizes, computer time to write up and report stats, and promotion. (I arrive early, am the last one to leave, and do the set up and break down at some locations.)

I have learned that the one thing necessary to be successful is LOYALTY. I show up at every club session whether there are 15 players or 2 players, and my costs of operation stay the same.

Some people have told me that I’m crazy for doing what I do. ‘ THEY’ just don’t get it. It has never been about money. It’s about the love of the game of scrabble and being an instrument to help it thrive in my neighborhood.

But like my favorite restaurant, my clubs rely on the loyalty of others to insure their continuity. How much longer can I keep on keeping on?

Loyalty Begets Loyalty. Play scrabble at Club #350 and The 1st Sunday Tournaments.

Support your local scrabble clubs and tournaments. Join the NASPA.

Learning words by going through the dictionary line by line can get the job done, but for most people it soon becomes boring.

SPICE THINGS UP!

In my opinion, the most efficient way to learn words, that are useful in achieving higher scores when playing scrabble, is by learning the TOP 100 STEMS.

Another way that people amuse themselves while learning words is by creating and studying category lists, words that have something in common. Here’s one I created just yesterday.

WARNING! When you create category lists, double check with the OWL2 that the words in the category are also in the dictionary.

In about one week’s time, the baton will be passed from the NSA (National Scrabble Association) to the NASPA (North American Scrabble Players Association).

You say that you’ve never heard of the NASPA? Well, if you compete in sanctioned scrabble tournaments, you better get up to speed or you’ll find yourself out of the loop.

All Good Things Come To An End. The current economic times may have been the factor that caused HASBRO (the owner of the scrabble trademark) to reevaluate its annual contribution to support the tournament scene, via the NSA and its agent John Williams. A meeting was convened, December 2008, which included 10 hand picked players from around the US and Canada. This group was told of the dramatic change and provided the opportunity to take the ball and create an entirely new player association. Co-presidents, Chis Cree and John Chew and their committee formed the NASPA and immediately began to rebuild membership from the ranks and clubs of the NSA.

Several pieces are already in place after only 6 months time. NASPA claims to have more than 1,000 members enrolled to date. Their tournament sanctioning authority takes effect on July 1, 2009. Their first National Tournament is scheduled in Dayton, Ohio, August 1-5, 2009. For more info about NASPA, CLICK HERE.

Meanwhile, the NSA is turning it’s focus to ‘scrabble in the schools’ and ‘casual clubs’.

What does all this mean to those of us who have been the backbone of the NSA for the last 20 – 30 years?

It means adjusting to doing things differently.

Former NSA CLUBs have been invited to join the ranks of the new NASPA. But the neophyte association needs funds, so they have put a price tag on affiliation, in the past the NSA merely required registration and a certified director. As a result of the required fee, some clubs have not affiliated. However, the unaffiliated clubs will most likely continue to meet and play on their regular schedules.

As of July 1, 2009 all tournament players MUST be NASPA members; all tournament directors must pay a fee to be a director (formerly no charge under NSA) and the rating fee for tournaments will increase from previous charges of $1 per player to $ .50 per game per player. That is a significant hike. When the 1st Sunday Tournament had 20 players as a part of an NSA 7 game tournament, I paid $20; the new fee under NASPA will be $150. Who will pay? The players will play via higher entry fees or smaller prize payouts.

“I Hate CHANGE; It will never work.”

But what doesn’t cost more these days? I guess we never knew how good we had it with HASBRO subsidizing the game.

Some players are screaming and threatening to quit the game. That’s silly. There’s nothing cheaper; consider what people pay to play Golf, Tennis, Fishing, Poker.

And consider that diehard scrabble players are as addicted to scrabble as others are to smoking and eating chocolate.

CLUB #350 and The 1st Sunday Tournament will still be here for you and the other scrabble players when you finish having your hissy-fit.

This morning I did not begin my day by looking at the headlines in the newspaper. This morning I did not turn the TV on to CNN to see what happened around the world as I slept last night.

I did look at my email where I found a note from my 89 year old mother. I opened it expecting to find a brief hello, but was delighted and surprised by the journey that began with that email that led me serendipitously around the world wide web.

Mom’s email note provided a link for me to check out an article about my more famous brother, Joel, who has been Cutting ‘HAIR’. CLICK NOW.

On the same page was a movie snippet of a group called CROOVE ADDICTS. If you like music and you like creativity, you won’t believe your eyes and ears. (Take the time to listen.)

Then my eyes wandered down to an ad on the page that asks, “ARE YOU A CREATIVE ACTIVIST”? I’ve always liked to see myself as one of those. So I just had to click on that LINK.

That’s how I ended up at Creative Visions.CLICK HERE There I watched a video of a man who brought skateboarding to the children on the streets of Afghanistan. If it is still there, it is a must see.

What does all this have to do with SCRABBLE? Absolutely nothing, and absolutely EVERYTHING.

My mom, my brother, the actors, the musicians, and the skateboarders are all doing things that are the expression of their passions. That’s why they are so good and so creative. That’s why they are all so successful.

These stories inspire me to follow my passions. These stories help me envision how much more there is for me to do at my scrabble club and scrabble tournaments. The innovations in these stories make me think about how many new ways there must be for me to introduce scrabble to others.

Visit my other scrabble web sites:
http://www.just4thespellofit.com
http://www.wordgifts.net

What’s your passion? Do something today.

Don’t you just hate it, when after you’ve spent time committing something to memory and then it escapes you? That is one of the prime reasons that people who love the game of scrabble steer away from playing competitively. Those folks don’t want to tax their memories and possibly look awkward if and when they misspell some word. The truth is, when I misspell a word and take the time look at it afterward, I rarely misspell that same word again. That’s how the learning process works for most.

New club players want to know where to jump in. What does one memorize first?

Memory is like a muscle. The more you work it, the stronger it becomes. People who say and believe that they have a bad memory most likely have a bad memory. They haven’t worked that muscle in years. Maybe they haven’t discovered a memory system that works for them.

The truth is, most of us are able to improve our memories and some can expand our memory beyond our wildest notion. It all begins like most other things: Attitude and Effort.

I tell people to begin by learning the Official 2-Letter Word List. Those of us who play in the US and use the OWL2 dictionary (Official Word List, 2nd Edition) , have to learn 101 words. 2-Letter Words are not abbreviations. Just because you don’t know a word doesn’t mean it is not a real word. Definitions for most words can be found in the OSPD4 (Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, 4th Edition.)

The OSPD4 is published by Webster, has definitions and parts of speech, but is missing 303 naughty words, due to political correctness. Those words include racial slurs and cuss words heard on every playground, but unacceptable to use when addressing the Queen.

The OWL2 is self-published by the National Scrabble Association and includes all the words, nice and naughty, up to 14-letters long. This publication is strictly an alphabetical word list and does not include definitions or other information.

An additional publication called The Long List contains longer words, beyond 14-letters long, legal for play in scrabble competition.

The OSPD4 is available at most book stores. The OWL2 is not. I am prepared to secure copies of the OWL2 and/or The Long List and deliver via mail in the US for $25 each. Contact me at: jftsoi.moss@gmail.com

Every players must know the 2 Letter Words down cold to be competitive. Those small words are used to hook words together when you place your next words onto the board.

Learning the 3-letter words required a lot more commitment; there are 1015 3-letter words.

How it is possible to learn so much? Easy! The same as eating an elephant, one bite at a time.

Father’s Day comes once each year and every year it re-raises all sorts of emotions and feelings ranging from sincere love, to unforgiving disgust, to indifference. It primarily serves the interests of businesses like Hallmark and the manufacturers’ of shirts and ties for dad.

My dad always poo-pooed days like Father’s Day and asked that instead I call him or spend time with him on any ordinary day. Being remembered because the calendar said so, diminished the sentiment for my dad.

I didn’t truly understand that years ago. I understand it today.

I imagine that most of us grew up wanting to be a part of the fairy tale, ‘Father Knows Best‘, family. That’s usually not what we got. During challenging times I sometimes imagined that things were so much better in my friend’s house, across the street. (The grass always seemed greener on the other side of the road.)

The truth is: Fathers do the best that they can do. For that alone, they deserve our gratitude and respect. We should not wait until a designated day to let them know how we feel about them. I am most fortunate to have had a great relationship with my pop.

I’m not sure if women completely understand about becoming mothers, before they give birth. I assume that ‘maternal instincts’ drive females to a higher degree and that parenthood is a very different experience for them. I remember one female friend, Lila, who was so much into being a mom that she shared that ‘she loved the aroma of a dirty diaper’. I can’t fathom any father feeling that way.

A dad’s biology and urges drive him to procreate. He is proud of his virility. But I don’t know that he really knows how his life will change as a result. As mom’s focus and energy shifts to the children, dad’s life usually suffers the loss of a lover and playmate, and is replaced with added financial responsibility and stresses. Most men initially work hard to adapt to their new lifestyle and try to please their wives and support their families. But life and it’s demands fill the roads with obstacles.

Why is the current divorce rate in the United States well over 50% for first time marriages? It is clear to me. Couples never have honest conversations about expectations . . . before they married. They are blinded and deafened by their passions. Marriage, for the most part, is the result of hormonal spikes and drives. A lasting marriage requires so much more than that.

And who says that everyone is supposed to be married?

My dad and mom were married 63+ years, ‘until death do us part’. There had to have been a whole heap of conversations and compromises during those 63+ years. They had to tune out the messages that blast out of our radios, TVs, and billboards. ‘Have it your way.’ ‘Have it NOW!’ They substituted, ‘have it OUR way’ and ‘we’ll have it if and when we can afford it.’

How do you spell father? Today I spell it L-O-V-E and I-N-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N. I salute his O-P-T-I-M-I-S-M, his love of language, his G-E-N-E-R-O-U-S-I-T-Y, his H-O-N-E-S-T-Y, his C-R-E-A-T-I-V-I-T-Y, his artistic scrawl, and his D-E-V-O-T-I-O-N to mom.

Happy Fathers Day to All

There are a lot of ‘naysayers’ out there. Often it is your best friend who warns you, “Don’t even try that.” But remember, ‘THEY’ don’t have your vision. ‘THEY’ don’t share your passion. And so what if the final outcome to your dream isn’t exactly what you imagined? There is great satisfaction in expending the effort. You won’t really know, if you never try.

A little black boy was attending a public school in the South in the 1950s. He didn’t seem to be learning; and so some teacher or administrator had him moved to a special education class and classified him as being retarded. The child’s mother knew that there was a problem but she also knew that her son was not retarded. With limited financial resources, it took her a while to be able to get things organized to move to a different State, where the boy was reassessed. There she found fresh eyes to evaluate her ‘retarded’ son. That young man was not retarded at all; he went on to complete high school and graduated college. For years now, he has been a nationally renown motivational speaker.

A little white girl shrunk into her world of blackness and silence. She was both blind and deaf. Luckily for her, her parents were able to fight her battles and find a miraculous teacher who could bridge the gaps and unleash the girl’s potential. We all know about the success of Helen Keller and her teacher, Ann Sullivan.

I become annoyed when people don’t say the truth. Almost every week some person stumbles upon one of my scrabble clubs at BORDERS or ARBYS or The Neighborhood Cup. They’ll approach and say something like, “I love to play scrabble.” But then they follow that up with, “I’m not good. I can’t spell.” No matter how gracious and welcoming I am to them, they’ve already decided that they can’t do this. Soon after, they drift away.

I would have rather that they had said, “Just looking. I don’t want to spend my energy learning words, I’d rather spend my time etching glass.”

And that’s okay. But the truth is . . . we can all do just about anything. And the good feeling and fun we get from doing anything is in direct relation to our personal effort.

So, get up and go do ‘that thing’ right now.