Destreza and Me: In which we discuss the value in knowing how to dance (or knowing how to move your feet around in any way other than walking).

A lot of you may know that my two biggest fears have always been spiders and dancing.  I'm starting to regret never overcoming the latter.  It seems as though a little dancing experience would make my fencing footwork a little smoother.  I'm apparently a fairly clumsy and uncoordinated person (go figure!). 

The only thing I've ever practiced that forced me to move my feet in strange and awkward ways was tennis, and it's been years since I've played.  Learning to fence means, first and foremost, learning to keep your balance centered.  We've been going over the footwork a lot in class and, so far, it's proved to be my biggest challenge.

Of course it's also the key component in keeping your organs intact and unperforated, so the practice is certainly important.

An interesting facet of Destreza is its mathematical foundation.  Its seems the Spanish really systematized swordplay using geometric theory and other science "stuff" (that's about the best explanation my right-brain dominance can give).  Camillo Agrippa, an Italian architect and engineer, set a lot of the groundwork for this and his work was recently translated into English. 

The stuff we are being taught in our class is the later Spanish works.  They're being translated by Mary Curtis (the wife of my instructor, Puck Curtis).

Anyway, we moved on to some attack and parry drills after the footwork.  I was paired with Tyson who is a bit taller and a bit larger than me, so it was interesting having to adjust some of my foot-work in order to hit him.  My biggest challenge is going to be my reach disadvantage.  There's some fancy stepping I can use in order to compensate for this though, so in reality it's just going make me that much more badass.

Here's a short clip of one my instructors, Puck Curtis, fencing at the Western Martial Arts Workshop (he's the one on the left).  If I'm not mistaken, it's the same bout that he mentioned in my SNR interview with them and shows a shorter fighter going up against a taller one:

 

Here's one of my other instructor, Eric Myers (it's sabre, which i'm not learning, but still really cool) He's also on the left:



Before you ask, we don't wear period clothes in our classes. 

Well I better get going.  Hope you find all this as interesting as I do.  Also, don't be afraid of the linked reading material.  There's nothing wrong with a little learning.

Destreza and Me (and you too if you're reading this).

About a month ago I interviewed a couple local guys who run a fencing school here in town.  It was a lot of fun.  I learned what it means to be a Maestro in the fencing world, the differences between classical and "sport" fencing, and heard some stories about some pretty awesome historical figures.  I also came away with about an hour and a half of recording which I ultimately had to condense down to that "15 Minute" piece for the News and Review. 

The only problem with the whole experience was that they let me hold a sword.  And wear a fencing mask with gauntlets.  And swing said sword at an actual living person (albeit a suitably protected one).

Before I knew it I found myself searching Wikipedia for more information about classical fencing, specifically Iberian fencing.  I was reading translations of old fencing manuals and flirting with the idea of starting an account on the sword forums.  I stopped making fun of my friend Tyson (who got me into this mess in the first place) and actually starting asking him more about swords and history and various 16th and 17th century fencing masters.  I even started pricing the class and the equipment and asking Lucy if we had anything really pressing to do on Thursday evenings (I can watch Fringe on Hulu, after all).

During college, my best kept secret was that I really liked swords and castles and knights.  I wrote my fantasy stories alone in my dorm room at night and pretended I was "cool" during the day.  After all, that stuff didn't get me very far in High School.  College meant I could be anybody I (thought) I wanted.

I've since grown more comfortable in my own skin and, over the past few years (much to Lucy's dismay, as she slowly realizes the extent of my lies) I've been letting my geek flag fly higher, inch by inch.

I'm reasonably certain that Eric and Puck (the Maestros) knew exactly what they were doing when they handed me the sword that evening.  They probably took one look at me when I walked in the room and said to themselves: "Oh yeah, this guy definitely read a lot of fantasy when he was a kid.  He probably even has a secret Dungeons and Dragons game on the weekends." 

So, to make a long story short, I'm now taking an Iberian fencing class on Thursday nights where I too will learn how to use a sword so that, if need be, I can someday defend my life and/or honor.  Or my family from zombies. 

Anyway, in all seriousness, I'm excited about this whole thing.  It's like getting a history lesson every week and learning a fun skillset.  The instructors are extremely intelligent and love what they do.  The syllabus they're teaching out of is one they are actually translating themselves from the original Spanish, so it really gives the feeling of being a part of an ongoing research project.

I'm going to be blogging about it more, so stay tuned.  It's about damn time this site had some direction anyway.





"I....am not left-handed."

Drowsy Mornings

     I felt like a shitty dad this morning.  Lola waking up every couple hours has our nerves frayed even though we know it's because her gums hurt or itch and she's just so uncomfortable.  But then waking up in the middle of the night with her screaming just made me feel so stressed and I cussed and Lucy held her, trying her best to be patient also.
     So I put my head back on my pillow after the screaming subsided, feeling like an asshole, and looked at my daughter.  She was laying with her head on Lucy's chest, just looking at me with her big red eyes.  Sort of hiccuping as she drifted back to sleep.  My heart broke a little bit.
     Then later, after Lucy went to work and Lola woke up again, I laid her on my own chest and just felt her breathing, trying to get comfortable.  Her little face twisting back and forth, deciding which side felt better. 
     When she started stirring again an hour or so later I braced myself for some more tears.  Instead she sort of propped herself up on my chest, looked me in the eye and gave me a big toothless grin.
     We played for a while and I changed her and took her to her little bouncer in the living room.  She watched as I bummed around the apartment, trying to clear the morning fog.  Every time I looked back she'd give me the same grin and bounce a little harder.
     I think she forgives me...

Pretty cool.

It looks better in print.

New Comic

Suckers. I found that baby.

Take advantage of every opportunity...

Apparently my right side is my chubbiest side.

Comics you may have missed by not joining the Twitter Nation

Sometimes the LARPing in my head gets out of hand.



Mmmphdon'ttalktomei'meating.


Silly me, bills must be paid.





Good Judgement

COMIC #4: An Alternative to Nigerian Princes

COMIC #3: Just nod and smile and sign here.

POST-IT COMIC #2: What you don't know can't hurt you (unless there's a claim).

As promised, comic #3 will include mouths.

BTW

Because someone asked: This is NOT the webcomic I've been referring to.

Thank God.

POST-IT COMIC #1: A Serious Conversation

Hollywood here I come!!!

Please view the linked video for a sample of my acting work.

Yes I am currently looking for representation.

Although I would love to do your little "indie" film, frankly they just don't make enough money. I have a reputation to build.

In other news...

The weather outside: Not as frightful.

Last night's pub night was especially exciting. As of Monday we have an artist for our webcomic (Matt Day) and Tyson brought by the rough script for our first post along with character sheets. Matt is hopefully working on the character designs as we speak.

Keep your fingers crossed. Our plot device has infinite possibilities. You guys will hopefully love it (or at least be mildly entertained by it). Our goal is to have some flyers and promotional material ready for this years Comic-Con.

I'm obviously really excited about a number of things this year and this project is quickly climbing that list, although everything else is going to be vastly overshadowed by Lola's arrival. She's kickin like a CHAMP. Maybe it's her mom's soccer skillz.

I also met a really interesting fella at the pub named John. He's from Australia and is a friend of a friend. Talking to him reminded me of how much I want to travel again.

If you're watching "Lost" at all this year, here is some food for thought courtesy of the wise Adam Gildner: Could Jacob and his well be a reference to the biblical "Jacob's well"? If so, what does this mean for Locke? Leave comments....

Talk to you soon.

Quick thoughts...

The weather outside: Frightful (in a good way).

Work is going well. It amazes me that my uncle was able to get this place up and running in such a short time considering the economic climate.

I am (not so) ashamed to admit that I've been really into American Idol this year thanks to Lucy. I didn't realize how emotional I'd get watching reality TV.

"Lost" is as exciting as I'd hoped it would be this season as well. Oh and Battlestar Geeklactica (as Lucy calls it) is equally intense. I've stopped being ashamed of my TV watching habits and my love for B-grade, mindless entertainment. There are gems here and there most definitely, and I figure if I try to look at all the crap I watch/read from the standpoint of a student, I actually can learn a great deal from it. By that I mean that sometimes watching/reading crap really teaches you how to tell a better story.

I wanted to talk a little bit about my growing love for comics as a medium. This will fall on mostly deaf ears I'm sure, but that's ok with me. The whole genre really fascinates me. I never really realized how much you can do in the medium that you can't do in others (like TV, Movies, or literature). I have Tyson to thank for that. He pointed me to "Watchmen" and Neil Gaiman's "Sandman" a couple years ago and they both really gave me a deeper appreciation. Sandman especially. I still haven't finished the series because there are just so many layers and literary references, you just want to savor every page.

I'm excited about writing our own for a number of reasons. 1.) It's forcing me to develop my dialogue. The creation process (as far as the writing is concerned) is very similar to the screen-writing process in that the focus is mostly on description and character voice. You're challenged to be as concise as possible in the dialogue (being limited by physical space in each panel) while still keeping each character's lines meaningful and unique. I sort of compare it to a cross between children's book writing and screen-writing. Incredibly fun and extremely difficult.

The best part of it (to me) is that you get to develop these really unique characters in these really exciting and action packed (sometimes off the wall) settings. Yeah the medium is cartoony and campy sometimes but often when you're reading comics you're sort of surprised by little gems of truth and brilliance. (There are also some that are achingly heartfelt).

Anyway, I'm rambling now which tends to happen a lot these days. If you're interested in some reading or viewing suggestions that you may not have considered before, let me know.

Look forward to hearing from you guys. Lucy and Lola (from the womb) say hello.

Addendum

To be fair (before Tyson points this out), I'm the only Attention Deficit writer that has lost steam. Tyson posts semi-frequently, as does Danny.

Hmm..

Ok so disregard my last post (obviously). We ran out of steam a lot quicker than we thought we would.

It's been a while since I posted because I am currently engaged and an expecting father and have had a lot on my plate dammit!

That and I haven't really been writing any prose to speak of. I'm working on a comic book (don't laugh) and it's going really well. I'm also brainstorming for a possible webcomic (exciting huh?).

Because of those last two sentences, this will probably be the last time Sherry checks my blog (unless my last post was the last time).

Anyway. I think I want to make this about my life because I so enjoy reading the updates on my friends blogs. It makes me feel involved in their lives. I hope that people will want to feel involved in mine as well. So I'm committing to at least three blog posts about my life and what I'm thinking/reading/watching/playing.

What do you think?

P.S. I miss all you guys.

Chickity Check This....

and keep checking it. Every day. For the rest of your life.

www.attentiondeficitfiction.com

This is the time to rethink your life...

Actually, that's every day for the past month. My decision? There's really nothing to rethink. I love where I live. I can tolerate what I do because of the free time it allows. I love who I love because she helps me look up instead of down and helps (forces) me to see the brightness of my future. I don't tell her that enough.

There's a sign in front of my desk that says "Every person is the architect of their own character." I always put it in the stupid office motivational blah blah booster category in my mind, but I can't escape the truth of the statement. I'm the architect of my entire life and, although it sometimes resembles a barrio rather than a basilica, there's beauty there too. Sometimes more.

So anyway, long story short (I spaced out for a while), life is good and I hope yours is too. To everyone who occasionally reads this: I miss you. Please write soon.

Oh and read a graphic novel sometime! That goes for you too Sherry. Sometime in the near future you might even see one on the shelf written by myself and my good friend Tyson and drawn by the creative talent of TBD.

Any further inquiries should be directed to my email. If you don't have it you will be kept in the dark (you can ask me for it if you want, but don't ask about the project because Tyson has put us on media blackout).

Sincerely,
Me

"The Reverend Wayne's Pearly Gates is the cult of Asherah."

Fair warning: Don't mess with large Aleuts driving nuclear motorbikes and carrying glass knives.

Unless you have a very unique anti-rape device...