Perspective on Earth's rotation?

I know the Earth rotates pretty fast, around a thousand miles per hour at the equator if I remember correctly...but I just don't quite understand how that's possible. To me, if that were the case day would be changing to night and vice versa constantly. I don't understand how the Earth can be spinning like that while we can look up at a virtually still sky (sun, stars, moon). Does it have something to do with orbit? I think I need some kind of example to put this into perspective...I also don't understand how the spin is slower at the poles. If I were to spin a basketball on my finger, is it really rotating slower at the top and bottom? I can't quite grasp that.