Level Up!

Once again, Jenn has leveled up her ninja guy to brown-white belt status. Friday was a very fun test, with the new BQC Demo Team performing for the first time, and Jenn and Kim enter the last color series before Black Belt. Highlight reel:

• Jenn n Jeff unleash the steel.
• Free response in "wind" element
• Thanksgiving leftover snax afterwards. What a party!
  
  Pictured: Jenn n Jeff Demo Team practice; Jenn has way way too much fun beating up other people's children.

Good job, everyone, and thanx to Hollie for being my personal photographer. ~Jenn

Jenn Enters the Void

The next BQC testing event will take place this Friday the 28th. That would be Black Friday, though for Jenn it will be Brown-White Friday instead. Ha.

This should be an exciting event, as the brand-spankin'-new BQC Demo Team will be performing their first demo at this event, along with the normal black belt demos which are always a good experience.

Also, Bonzuko's own Jenn will be testing her way into the next element, the last colored belt series before black belt. At least, that's the plan. We'll see if she gets her testing stripe this week.

Either way, the BQC test event is fast becoming the place to be in Boulder on the last Friday of the month. Here are the details for November's test:

BQC test: Friday, November 28th, 2008

Little teeny kids ("mighty dragons") go at 5 pm

Youth and Adults go at 6 pm

Thanksgiving leftover potluck and party directly afterwards.

Map here.

Come celebrate and enjoy the display of martial art-y goodness, and cheer Jenn on as she embarks on the home stretch of TSD.

Image is of Jenn "dying stylishly" from a BQC demo back in early 2008. Naginata (Kevin) vs. katana (Jenn). Naginata wins. This time. :)

Stage Combat Class Final Countdown

The MSCD Stage Combat class has been working hard all semester (since mid-August!!!!) and are now ready to present their final exam performances. The requirements are: they must integrate either a published or original scene within their choreography, and must showcase all three weapons we've learned this semester (unarmed, staff, and rapier). Come by to support them and have fun!

The Event: MSCD Stage combat class Final Exam

When: December 9, 2008 10am-12noon

Where: Auraria Campus ARTS building room 271 (map here)

Hey, guys, I have a great idea!

We were chatting in the MSCD Stage Combat club yesterday about the really stupid (or really sad, or both) stories of stage combat gone awry or gone missing. We wryly chuckled about some of these disasters and realized someone thought whatever-it-was was a great idea. So we came up with a danger phrase:

"Hey, guys, I have a great idea!"

This phrase was, no doubt, the inciting incident for this Julius Caesar debacle in Aspen (pictured): http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20070830/NEWS/70830004

...and this Dracula tragedy in Texas, which I actually wrote about in the book: http://www.ringofsteel.org/reference/news.html

...as well as a stabbing I heard tell about at UCD? Someone who knows the facts comment here and let me know what really happened. Oh, and of course, the demise of Brandon Lee: http://www.thecrow.info/accident.htm

So if you hear someone uttering the above phrase, or this one: "I know what we can do!" Run away. Far away. :) ~Jenn

P.S. If we were to make a Darwin Award for stage combat blunders specifically, what would you name it? Comment here please, and we'll institute said award once we have the perfect name.

meh.

Hey fellow lovers of this crazy English language! A new word has entered into the dictionary. Not the American slang dictionary, no, but the real live Collins dictionary of Britain. The word is:

meh.

The dictionary defines it as, "an expression of indifference or boredom, or an adjective meaning mediocre or boring."* Use it this week to commemorate its promotion of status into a real word. Or buy the "meh" hoodie at thinkgeek.com. I'm seriously considering it... ~Jenn

*Quote from: http://www.straitstimes.com/Breaking%2BNews/Lifestyle/Story/STIStory_303251.html

More Awesome Falling

Jas and I were watching genius Weird Al Yankovic last night--a compilation of videos we own. We were reminded of an amazing feat of break-dance-slash-prat-falling skill of a dancer in the video for "Dare to be Stupid." The video and song is obviously a parody of '80s techno-weird group Devo, as well as social commentary. The amazing faller I'm talking about is the masked, yellow-panted guy in the carpeted room. He shows up a couple times throughout the video. Once, it looks as though he lands right on his collarbone, though--see what I mean?
~Jenn

Algorithm March

Jason Braddock was asking about this infamous viral video (is it viral yet? I dunno...) that I absolutely adore. It begins to make sense (?!) when the ninjas join in. The dance is from a children's show called Pythagoras Switch from Japan.

And I think that Mr. Braddock has a BRILLIANT idea for using this choreography in an upcoming play he's directing. I'll tell you all if he gives me permission to. You never know, he may want to keep it to himself till it happens. Brilliant idea, though!!!

http://video.google.fr/videoplay?docid=-3722022205894297957&q

Now, I originally fell in love with this dance because of the ninjas. But it looks like this show does the Algorithm March all the time, with different groups of people. Here's them doing it with a soccer team: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iX-41QnnbUE&feature=related And here with boxers/wrestlers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4DBxw9YMGs&feature=related . So much fun--it's a delightful movement puzzle that just makes me happy!

~Jenn