Ready to Rumble?

This post is partial filler, partial real post and, like most posts, completely self promoting. As some of you may know, I perform, teach & direct stage violence,

 and this year I terrifyingly became a "professional" and am enjoying the fruits of my labors.

One of my most recent exploits is with Pioneer High School, and I was thrilled to be asked to help with choreographing the infamous Rumble. Although VERY enthusiastic the guys were VERY respectful and attentive. We worked through the fight, I acquired some fantastic stage weapons for their use and at the end of just a few rehearsals it was looking good enough for an opening night. This was back in February, so as long as they keep polishing, the Fight captain getting on their case, it should be a smash. Here's the flyer, go check it out. The little bit of musical rehearsal I saw was fun and I think the cast is diverse yet doesn't detract from the source material. All the actors seemed to want to be there and have a passion for theatre. Hope to see ya there!

2nd Anniversary!

Wow. Two years and still I give of my mind freely. Let us look back at some of the posts I consider gems, shall we?

True Player
I have mentioned in the past I consider myself a Playa (not a beach, but the slang for Player) in the noun sense, not the adjective. Especially of Nerdcore. Check the post for original context then come back for an updated movie link, as the old one got pulled.


What's in a Character Name!? Forsaken
Walk through some of my logic, as twisted as those paths are, concerning how I named some of my WoW toons. I think the paths have some decent scenery when it comes to the end product.

LEEROY Vs. Freak Out
More Wow, More Vids, and yes, I have opinions and feelings.

BOSSFIGHTS!
Of course, gotta do 3rd for T3h NRRD. Hopefully these cats will drops some new tunes before/around Nerdapalooza this year.

And then I was gonna post another, and another, and another, but honestly, just look back over the last few months as I feel there is some real quality posts for most of my readers.

Also, Thank you all again, new and old readers. Spread the word, the gospel of the H47! I will do my best to continue to provide slices of my mind to you, the semi-enthusiastic H47ites!

Texts to Self Fanime Recap!

Fanime! Day 0: Rode line ride twice. Brought stuff up from car thrice. Ended up sweatin dice.

Day1: Went home. Tacked stripes onto a corset. Came back & ate in room. Got pissed in dealers hall. Went back to room to eat. Walked more. Rovers told me i cant plug in there, but i can plug in here. Had a great night without actually being at con.

D2: shaved, walked, pizza, paneled. Sushi/donuts. Got flyers for store. Dropped them off at dojo and got talked up. Munchkin, pizza. Walked, creeped/chivalried, la vics, MADNESS!

D3: rocked check out. Home, shower, phish, chat, fam med issues, dm prep, promo. Prep & promo turned into playtesting with mom & daughter couple from hawaii, walked, got knapped, pubbed & celtic musicd, walked. Set up for pathfinder, waited, waited, waited, freaked out, waited. relieved. Combat, drop off co-worker, home.

D4: late, artist alley table hi-jack. trio of sexy pokemon. trio of sexy pokemon in dealers hall. Traitor customer "motivated" with phish. walked. Iguana'd. walked. pics. home!

I took . . . 2 pictures total, and they are up HERE, I'm sure T1nk will have a much more detailed, pic-filled post . . by the end of the month?

A Fitting Anniversary

One whole stinking year of regular updates and sub-quality posts.

Yay me & my brain!

Since I'm already posting a 3rd 4 t3h Nrrd I figure I can do a cop out one year post and link to some of my favorite posts form the last year. Give them a peak wont you? I've been as clever as I am now as I was a year ago. Real convincing, I know.

What's!? In!? A Blog Name?

-get the down low on what's up high on/in my head

3rd 4 T3h Nrrd: Oct. '09

-my monthly nerd music focus, this one on Front

Meme-Orable: Memeet the . . .

-amusing meme from a Valve classic

Meta-simi-phor-lies
-a break down on some concepts I like

Know Your Roll . . . In WoW: DPS
-pep talk around why random dungeons have 20 min queues

Here's hoping for many more of these shameless self-plugging annual recaps!

Have Walking Stick or Parasol, Will Defend Self

I've said it before and I will say it again here; Tonys are not to be trusted, trust me. But more on that in a moment.

Bartitsu/ Baritsu: I have mentioned this before. I discovered it two years ago while doing research on self defense schools and their mode and philosophies. I saw the word in conjunction with Judo/jiu-jitsu and was instantly intrigued as it smacked of Non-Asian in nature. To be honest it sounds exactly like it is, an un-clever yet straightforward name from its originator and the school it was born of.

Born in Victorian England it is a cross-training of Judo, boxing, Swiss grappling and french cane fighting. Roughly.
I wont mince words here. This is pretty sweet to me, yes, it has blatant steam punk overtones and I think that any martial art that allows me to use my cane, is "win" in my book.

Apparently, this martial art was so prevalent at the time that even many ladies of class learned it for self defense, and even more proactive pursuits. Yes, suffragettes were using their parasols and Bartitsu expertise to fight off angry mobs and even police.
Kind of bad ass, when I order a few of the books and manuals I might snag the one about Edith Garrud. Tink was definitely interested.

Now, as I went about my research (click link, click link, Google search, etc. . ) I noticed a familiar white haired figure on the Bartitsu site.

Tangent: Back when I was writing a paper on the history of stage combat/fight choreography I came across a book that hadn't been fully published yet called "A Terrific Combat" and was intrigued but couldn't pursue it further as I had a due date to contend with, so it was left to fall from my memory. I did remember the name as I attempted to find the same author in conjunction with other published works concerning stage combat.
Okay, back: This guy was Tony Wolf, what's he doing on the Bartitsu . . oooOOoooohhh . . . . Of course, Tony is among the leading modern revivalists and educators of Neo-Bartitsu and the editor of pretty much ALL of their literature AND a co-producer/co-director/co-dude-on-the-spot of their documentary.
See, Tonys are not to be trusted, trust me.

I'll be honest (perhaps, due to a phenomena, or something I haven't quite explored or thought very deeply about, But something I WILL post about soon, I have the notes typed up) something still feels pedestrian or amateurish about the whole affair. Not that there is anything wrong with that, nor does it lessen how cool this is and how much respect I have for all involved for going out and doing it (something which I need to do more of). Perhaps it is because it is so new and those involved are focused on the core subject and let other things be addressed as they come, or because it is that obscure that there is no need for anything more elaborate as far as the website and the movies and the books. Look for my next post to explain the feeling I have (ooh boy, feelings, I know) about professionals in like areas of expertise as martial arts, fight re-enactors/stage combatants/even weapon specialists and their interactions..