Category: Sports, Games, and Exercise

Coaching, games, puzzles, sports, working out and training.

aerobic dancing

Exercise Resolution-80s Style

Sports, Games, and Exercise 4 comments

Aerobic Dancing
Sorensen
1979

Now that we are in January for real (I was in denial), time to get started on those new year’s resolutions. How about you go old school with some aerobic dancing? Although it’s changed a bit over the years, the basics are still out there: music, accelerated heart rate, and some kind of choreography. You can even break out some leg warmers if you want the truly authentic retro experience.

Aerobic dancing was the new thing in the late 1970s and Jane Fonda’s exercise video in 1982 made aerobic dancing a household term. Basically, this was the incorporation of dancing to improve your heart rate and general endurance.

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backgammon for blood

Backgammon for Blood

Sports, Games, and Exercise 10 comments

Backgammon for Blood
Becker
1975

I had no idea that backgammon was a blood sport.

I have never played backgammon, so I can’t speak to the quality of this book.The title is kind of cool, so points for that. I did take a look at the beginning chapters and still didn’t quite “get it”.  I’m not very quick on picking up games.

As a weeding candidate, unless the rules have changed or the tone or vocabulary is dated, I wouldn’t necessarily toss this. Given that the book is over 40 years old, it’s not too bad.

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Tumbling and Trampolining cover

Tumbling and Trampolining

Sports, Games, and Exercise 9 comments

Tumbling and Trampolining
Loken
1977

Submitter: I weeded this book from my high school library immediately upon seeing it–way back in 1990. For some reason, however, I can’t seem to throw it away. It’s just too awful and each photo is better/worse than the previous one.

Uncharacteristically for high schoolers, there are no drawings or comments in the book, which is ripe for that sort of thing. Great conversation starter!

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How to Sht in the Woods

Leave No Trace

Health and Safety, Sports, Games, and Exercise 9 comments

How to Shit in the Woods: An Environmentally Sound Approach to a Lost Art
3rd Edition
Meyer
2011

Submitter: Recently weeded from my small rural public library. I did not weed because of content or even because of the title, but really because of lack of circs and we’re starting to get very overcrowded on our Adult NF shelves. Does there really need to be an entire book on this subject? I would think this subject can be covered in a few paragraphs in any good hiking/camping/survival book. Oh, and I learned something here that I apparently didn’t learn in Sunday School decades ago: the Bible has a verse telling you what to do with your excrement. Huh… who knew?

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football heroes

You Gotta Be a Football Hero

Sports, Games, and Exercise 5 comments

Pro Football Heroes of Today
Stainback
1973

Believe it or not this book is still in circulation! All they need to do is just change the title to Pro Football Heroes of Yesterday. I remember these guys from when my dad talked football to my clueless pre-teen self.

I picked a handful of notable entries. You youngsters out there will recognize OJ Simpson. Yes, he was a football hero before he had some troubles. (As an aside, I had former co-worker who never knew that OJ had a football career. All of the more senior members of staff had a collective aging crisis.)  The other hangup is that this book is dirty (and not in a good way) and is stained on way too many pages. I will give the book props for having a good binding. This book probably should have been retired by the late 1970s.

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