Home

Advertisement

The League of English Majors vs. The Nazi Zombies From Planet X [entries|archive|friends|userinfo]
suburbaknght

[ website | Dancing Through the Recession ]
[ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ]
[ archive | journal archive ]

Passed! [Dec. 3rd, 2009|04:58 pm]
After eight months of preparation, I finally took my DVIDA exam this morning for bronze smooth.

Not only was this the biggest, most comprehensive test I have ever taken in any subject, but barring my Arthur Murray certification exam last year - which doesn't even begin to compare to the DVIDA exam - this was the first test of any kind I've taken since the Fall semester of my sophomore year of college. Seven years ago.

The exam went better and worse than I expected. I initially choked during the dancing portion, with my waltz coming close to falling apart. Foxtrot was slightly better, though I didn't hit my stride until tango (generally one of my worse dances in smooth). Funny enough, Viennese ended up being my best dance. Things went much, much better, however, once I was doing the theory and teaching sections. I only really screwed up one question when I answered a question perfectly... but about the wrong step. There was one other question where I know I gave the wrong answer but don't think it was drastically wrong, and one question where I kept second-guessing the right answer, though I did settle on the correct answer in the end.

At the end, my examiner confirmed that I had passed, though I have to wait for DVIDA to mail me the scores and his comments, so it's possible I did better or worse than I realize. Still, I passed!

Now, on to rhythm!
link6 comments|post comment

Game Writing Pt. 2 [Dec. 1st, 2009|11:43 am]
[Tags|]

This wasn't supposed to be a two-part piece but due to a conversation last night I wanted to do a follow up.

This conversation was with my friend C---- and was regarding the Heroes of Rokugan campaign. HoR is a living campaign, which I like to describe as an MMO RPG, but without the O. You create a character that can be used and developed in any HoR adventure (module), whether run with a home group, a local play group, or at a convention. Moreover, HoR is based on Legend of the Five Rings, a fantasy roleplaying game based on feudal Japan.

Now before we get into this, let me talk a bit about L5R. The best way to describe L5R is feudal Japan as the Japanese wish it had been. It's a world where samurai really are noble warriors, where knowledge of the Tao really does lead to magical power, and where Japan actually has an empire (What's the difference between an empire and a kingdom? An empire is a grouping of otherwise independent political states ruled by a single body or figure. This is why Japan is historically described as having an emperor but no empire - it was only one country). While I cannot claim to know everything about the setting I have researched it extensively, both as a player and GM, but also in academic settings: my final paper in Japanese literature was about Rokugan as an amalgamation of east Asian archetypes, Americanized for western understanding. My conclusion was that their use of archetypes was the key point of the setting, because it allowed a rapid understanding of how to play in the setting even if one did not yet understand the details.

The other thing that was key, however, was the Americanization of these archetypes. This is not something that has been limited to L5R but has been occurring for decades in Asian and pseudo-Asian literature. My favorite example is how many of Kurosawa's movies, most notably Seven Samurai and Yojimbo were Japanese translations of American archetypes, particularly from westerns, which then went full circle and were remade as the westerns The Magnificent Seven and A Fistful of Dollars respectively. Because L5R is based on archetypes it uses these types of movies as inspiration, and consequently includes Americanization at a very basic level.

Furthermore, because many (though not all!) of the writers for each edition came to know L5R from the RPG rather than by directly researching Japan, with each new edition the depiction of Rokugan becomes more and more Americanized. First edition had a very mythological feel. Many of the stories were about otherworldly spirits, the description of the setting was exotic but often confusingly so, and the clans were much more insular and isolated. Comparatively third edition is almost New York cosmopolitan. Even the introductory mood fiction in the third edition L5R core book, in which a Kakita duelist dies saving a town from thuggish bandits, feels more like a western gunfight than a samurai duel.

But is this a bad thing?

One of the great things about HoR is that not only can anyone play in it, but anyone can create content by writing an adventure - a module - for it. Player-written mods may not be a staple of the campaign, but are one of the best ways for players to increase their participation. C---- was talking to me about a mod he wanted to write. I reiterated much of my previous game writing post (he doesn't read my blog, to my knowledge) but was getting a lot of hemming and hawwing from him. Finally I asked, "What experience do you want players to get out of this?"

"I want them to understand what Rokugan is about."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I wanted this one section [scenario where the PCs are presented with a situation where if they interfere based on morality will have massive, permanent backlash]."

I replied that I didn't think this was a good idea for several reasons. The first is that it's passive. People play a game because they want to play it, not observe it, anything that penalizes players for taking an active role is a serious design flaw (and, though I didn't say this, usually a sign of a designer masturbating over his or her ideas by forcing the players to sit back and watch the "grand story" they've created). The second, and more serious problem, is that the scenario he was describing, while very true to historical samurai values, was one that ran counter to much of what was presented in HoR.

"But that's the way it should be!" C---- said. "I see people playing these mods and... they're wrong. And it pisses me off!"

"Maybe so," I replied, "but right or wrong, that's the game."

Rokugan is a hard setting to get down. This is why it's based on archetypes: one can comprehend a cultural archetype much quicker than learning all the nuances of a foreign culture. There are a lot of players who like those cultural nuances, and they tend to play appropriate characters that let them utilize their knowledge of such nuances. Learning those nuances are part of the game for these players and make it more fun. Many players, probably the majority, however, don't have time for that. They have busy lives and don't even have the time to devote to reading a core book before playing. If the game is good - if they have fun and see themselves continuing to play it for awhile - they may read the core book, but they're not going to devote hours of academic research to mastering a dead culture in order to play a game. Instead, they'll use the archetypes they're presented and the gaming techniques they're familiar with to make their way through. It's not perfect, but it works and it results in fun.

The problem I had with C---- was that he was trying to force people to play "better." "Better" itself is a problem because it means very different things to very different people; i.e. it would be more historically accurate and true to literature to end every adventure with a tragedy, but how many people would consider that sort of game fun? Rule 0 states that fun comes first, and anything that makes the game less fun is, by definition, worse.

I've talked before about how you need to bring the right character to the right game. Monte Cook has a great blog where he talks about how players have a responsibility to "bring a character to the table motivated and able to get involved with the story." This goes even more so for living campaigns where there's less flexibility about how you can shape the story. A mod that runs counter to the feel of the campaign is a bad mod, even if it's accurate. And at last we get to the crux of this post: GM's have a responsibility to run an engaging game, players have a responsibility to create characters that can take part in the adventures, and designers have a responsibility to create a game that can be enjoyed.

In HoR this means that GM's should be prepared when they run their modules by knowing what it's about, who the NPC's are, and capable of keeping the table flowing smoothly. Players should create characters who are worthy of the campaign title: Heroes of Rokugan, so that they can take part in the adventures. And designers should set both GM's and players up so they can fulfill their responsibilities.

One of C----'s complains was that PC's should not interact as well as they do, and most should go against the hooks provided by the adventure. "If our clans are at war, dangling a favor in front of me shouldn't make my character put aside the war to help you get whatever it is you're going for." Realistically, no it shouldn't, but from the perspective of a game, particularly an open-ended game like HoR, it has to, and trying to dictate otherwise to the player base is an incredibly elitist attitude.

I hate gaming elitism. Games are supposed to be about having fun. When I hear D&D players making fun of Vampire players for being drama queens, or Vampire players making fun of D&D players for being immature hack-and-slashers, it makes my blood boil. This is why there's very little crossover between the two groups, but both are still valid games and both immersion and hack and slash are valid play styles, as long as you're having fun. You are not a better gamer for running a "gritty" game and any attempt in a mod to penalize players for not conforming to how you view the game should be played is both unfair and offensive.

We finished the conversation unresolved. I ended up telling C---- that I thought he had some great ideas for a mod, and he did, but he needed to reevaluate what he wanted the mod to do.

"These are great ideas and I hope you write your mod, but if you don't like the way they'll be used in HoR, then you probably shouldn't write it for HoR. Honestly, if you hate the way HoR works that much, I'm not sure why you play. The game is what it is, and what you or I think it 'should' be has no factor on that. So what do you want to do: are you willing to sacrifice some of your concept in order to make a game that people will play, or are you going to throw your hands up because they don't, 'get it.'"

I'm sad that he went with option 2.
link9 comments|post comment

Writing Games [Nov. 30th, 2009|01:01 am]
[Tags|]

Recently I've had several people asking me about game design. Some of this has been since I finished "Masterpiece: Iron Crane Chef," but a lot has been beforehand. I'm not going to go on here about my experience writing games, but I did want to talk a bit about what I do when I sit down to write an adventure, whether for a home game, a living campaign, or a professional product.

Rule 0: Make it Fun

Rule 0 comes from the 3rd ed. D&D Dungeonmaster's Guide. Before I even talk about Rule 0, I want to give due credit to that book: the 3e DMG is the most essential gaming book I've ever come across for anyone intending to write or run a game. I don't care what system you're using or what kind of game you're playing, that book is required reading. It talks about every aspect of design philosophy, play styles, and group interaction you could think of, most of it without referencing mechanics except to use as examples. Go and get yourself a copy: it's only $1.48 on Amazon so money should be no excuse.

Anyway, Rule 0 states that fun comes before everything. If anything isn't fun, change it so it is! Most game books make a similar claim, though they usually state it is story comes before everything. This is different. While D&D is often knocked for not developing story sufficiently, it is correct in acknowledging that story is subservient to, and in support of, fun.

This comes into play when designing for games because everything you do should be weighed against, "How will this make the game more fun?" If it's not fun, cut it out. This can be tricky when designing for different or unknown groups, who may find different things to be fun than you or your play test group do. I recommend using modular design, where each encounter can be expanded or skipped over with a single check or two, so that the GM can adjust on the fly based on her players' reactions.*

Rule 1: Everybody Wants to be Cool

Games are not novels. Novels generally have one protagonist. They may have multiple heroes and may tell multiple characters' stories, but they're usually about one person. Consequently, whatever happens in the novel, whether good or bad, is to make that character's story interesting and engaging; in other words, cool. RPGs, however, are about multiple characters. Not every character is the same type of hero - some are champions, some are support, some are anti-heroes - but every character deserves the game's respect. Imagine Star Wars giving the same credit to Leia, Chewbacca, and C3PO as it does to Luke (and to a lesser extent, Han). That's what a good RPG needs to do.

As a game designer, you need to plan those moments for PCs to be cool. For combat characters this is easy. Put in a few fights and something cool is bound to happen at one of them. In fact, I believe this is one of the reasons D&D is so popular: because you have to create a combat character in D&D, and most challenges are combat-based, you're bound to be the star at some point or another.

This is not always viable in other games, however. Many Whitewolf characters, for example, are based around non-combat abilities. The lethality of l5r makes repeated combat challenges a dangerous and unpleasant prospect even for combat characters. Thus you should strive to create challenges appropriate for multiple character types. Better yet, you should create challenges that have multiple solutions. The computer game Fallout 2 is a phenomenal example of how to do this. Shadowrun is an entire RPG based around the "multiple solutions" approach.

Rule 2: Build Memories

Think about your favorite gaming moments. Chances are they were rarely the things we normally think of as the climactic highlight of a game. One bit of feedback that's always stuck with me came from [info]lex_of_green at the end of a Mage campaign.
Alex’s Mage campaign ended last Wednesday. We saved the world, discovered the 10th sphere of magic, and Awakened the entire population of earth.
That isn’t important. I play Exalted. Saving the world is… uhhh, how do you say “par for the course” without using a golf metaphor? “Normal”? Saving the world is normal.

The not-normal part is that we all wound up happy at the end. That’s never happened to me before. Usually there’s a certain weariness – an emptiness left over, like in order to save the world, you have to break yourself. Zee says that the one thing you can’t give for your heart’s desire is your heart, but I don’t think I ever listened properly. Zee also says that yellow is a pretty color and that she’s never wanted to eat her dice. Psh.

My character figured out how to stop compulsively sewing wings on dead squirrels, and her mom baked us all a batch of homemade cookies. More characters in huge, epic stories need moms with cookies, I think.
Or inventor fathers with books full of limericks.

I hadn't intended to do so, but I accidentally stumbled onto something significant in that campaign, though it took someone else to point out what had happened. We're gamers. We're used to saving the world. That's not what gets us playing. But how many times has a campaign finished and your character ended up happy? Not just for meeting some goal you decided he had but because he did something that made him happy?

We don't remember saving the world because we've done it dozens of times. We remember the things we do differently. We remember a character ending up happy because it happens so rarely. We remember character deaths because they are unique events (and hence they must, must be significant or they become very much not fun). So when you design an adventure and think of those cool moments, think in terms of stories people will want to tell over and over again. Those moments don't have to be accidental; you can make them.

Rule 3: Work Backward

Okay, you have a list of cool things you want to include an adventure. What now?

Now you figure out how to make them happen. I like to start at the end, with a point I know I want the PCs to end up in (i.e. a fight on an oil tanker as it explodes one section at a time) or a reward I want them to be able to earn (i.e. a prominent Crane-trained chef as their personal servant) and work my way back. This is accomplished by asking questions. Why are they fighting on the oil tanker? How did they get there? What will happen if they win? Or lose? What must they do to become the chef's patron? Why are the PCs the ones who have to do it?

As you answer the questions, try and connect the answers to the other cool things on your list. Before you know it, you have the outline for an adventure.

Rule 4: Let Players Enjoy Their Rewards

There is exactly one spell that I hate in D&D. Just one, but I hate it with a deep, burning passion. What spell is it? Antimagic field.

I hate it because it deprives players of their magic items and it prevents them from using their powers. Magic items and power are the main rewards of D&D. They're why you go adventuring: phat lewt and XP. When a GM sets up an encounter with an antimagic field, she is immediately revoking the main resources the players have been developing. That's not fun.

Nothing is more frustrating, as a player, than an auto-shutdown. Anything that says, "You can't use this ability your character is based on and that you've been working the entire campaign to develop," makes the game less fun for whatever player just got kicked in the gnads by it.

Auto-shutdown effects are lazy game design. They say, "I can't find a way to make this challenging other than to make you weaker." Think of stealth missions in fighting games where you instantly lose if an enemy sees you. No one is playing a fighting game to play stealth missions. In fact, you've been playing to get better and cooler fighting abilities, then along comes this mission that prevents you from using any of the fun stuff you've spent all game developing! That's what you do to your players when you shut down their abilities.

If you've designed a challenge that can be instantly solved by a rare ability, don't try to negate that ability. The player who invested the resources in obtaining it should be allowed his moment in the spotlight (see Rule 1). This is not a case of instantly beating the challenge; he's been preparing to beat the challenge the entire campaign, even if he didn't know it, by getting that rare ability. Likewise, challenges should changes as PCs develop. That antimagic field should never be placed over a pit just to stop PCs from flying over it with spells or magic items; they get access to fly at 5th level because by 5th level they should be facing more advanced challenges than pits.

Rule 5: Ask Your Players What They Want

The best adventures are the ones that you'd want to play in, but sometimes you get tapped out of ideas. At that point, ask other players. I'm working on another l5r mod right now that's inspired by a certain genre. The first thing I did? Ask other l5r players (who aren't involved in the campaign), "What sorts of things would you like to do in a [genre]-type game?"

* A note on gender pronouns: Far too many game books have started with disclaimers or explanations of why they use the pronouns they did. Some were offensive (D&D 2e), some were confusing (D&D 3e), and some were vastly overcompensating (White Wolf OWoD). In my game design I use an arbitrary system for clarity's sake: I always refer to the GM as female, single players as male, and multiple players as male and female. This has less to do with equality and more to do with avoiding confusing duplication and switching of pronouns. Suck on that, political correctness.
link2 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - West Coast Swing [Nov. 25th, 2009|02:56 pm]
[Tags|]

Jordan Frisbee and Tatianna Molman. I'm constantly amazed by what they bring to this dance.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tEW1oJieUY
linkpost comment

Dance of the Day - Delayed [Nov. 23rd, 2009|10:39 pm]
[Tags|]

Dance of the Day will not be posted tonight. It was a video of Ellen and I dancing our "Flying" waltz in our first dress rehearsal, however I'm holding on to it until we debut the piece on Dec. 13. See you then!
linkpost comment

Dance of the Day - Cha Cha [Nov. 18th, 2009|11:36 am]
[Tags|]

Joe and Leisa Howard, the national 9 professional dance champions and the top professional Arthur Murray dancers. I've been fortunate enough to take a few workshops by them, and my Leisa actually conducted my first certification exam.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KaSdmcPlZdU
linkpost comment

Constitution [Nov. 15th, 2009|04:56 pm]
This is perfect:
http://www.theonion.com/content/news/area_man_passionate_defender_of
link2 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Smooth [Nov. 13th, 2009|09:55 am]
[Tags|]

Dance competitions are not usually done one dance at a time, but rather in multi-dance heats by category. In smooth one dances waltz, tango, foxtrot, and Viennese waltz*. In Rhythm one dances cha cha, rumba, swing, bolero*, and mambo*. In standard it's slow waltz, tango, Viennese waltz*, slow foxtrot*, and quickstep. And in Latin cha cha, samba, rumba, paso doble*, and jive*. The exact formula for determining the overall winner is quite convoluted and seems to be constantly changing. This video is the finals of professional smooth so you get to see all four dances. I started out rooting for couple 142, who had the best waltz in my opinion, but after seeing couple 128 dominate the tango I had to switch my favorite.

* Advanced dance, not usually danced competitively at lower levels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Je6t3kS-ccE
link2 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Quickstep [Nov. 11th, 2009|08:52 am]
[Tags|]

Normally I'm not a fan of quickstep showdances - it doesn't really lend itself to performance, in my opinion - but I really enjoyed this. There's a reason J.T. and Thomas are one of my favorite couples (they were the top smooth couple in the U.S. at 2007 Ohio Star Ball).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ZIQmBLvmzs
link1 comment|post comment

Thoughts on Viennese Waltz [Nov. 10th, 2009|02:26 pm]
I can't recall exactly when it happened, but at some point Viennese waltz became one of my Big Goals in dance. I wanted this dance. For whatever reason, it took a very prominent place in my mind as a dance that called to me. Unfortunately, the opportunities to learn it were slim. There's no bronze Viennese competition in the collegiate system, so when I was in Madison none of my classes were teaching it. Arthur Murray considers Viennese to be an advanced dance and won't teach it to students until they're at least halfway through the entire bronze program; since I was a new student specialist I never taught Viennese and hence received very little training in it. Still, I persevered in independent study and private lessons outside the studio, and finally succeeded in developing a passable social Viennese about August of last year. Since beginning my certification training, my Viennese ability has increased by leaps and bounds. This pleases me immensely.

Contrary to what many teachers claim, Viennese is actually a very simple dance. The core steps (hesitations, reverse turns, natural turns, and change steps) are not particularly intricate and there are only a few techniques (footwork, driving legs, contra body motion, frame, and sway) that are required to make the dance function. The difficulty is that there is no room for error. If a single step is out of place or any of those techniques are not present then the dance will feel labored at best and crash to a halt at worst.

The more I learn Viennese, the more I am convinced that this required precision, and not any inherent difficulty in the dance. Most ballroom studios in the U.S. will refuse to teach Viennese to beginners, something that we have discussed before. I am now convinced this is a marketing decision. Learning Viennese requires of repetition more than anything else, and lots of it. Most beginners are turned off by the amount of raw drilling required to learn the dance and would not complete the program, so ballroom studios direct them to other dances. If they lose a few dancers who had been set on Viennese (like [info]beloitist), it's still a net gain since they direct students into other dances who would have been turned off by the process of learning Viennese.

I think this is a bad process. New students can learn Viennese. In the past few months I have taught Viennese to two single dancers and one couple. The single dancers had limited experience with other dances (one only a smattering of slow waltz, tango, west coast, and hustle; the other had extensive experience with Lindy hop and Argentine tango but only limited experience with ballroom), while the couple had no dance experience at all. The results have been quite encouraging, far better than what I was lead to believe would be the result, even if none of them are set to win any competitions. Clearly Viennese can be taught to beginners, so now the questions are A) should it be taught and B) how should one teach it?

I still believe that beginners should be steered to dances other than Viennese. While the complete newbie couple learned the dance, they did not do nearly as well as the single dancers. That said, if a beginner is set on learning Viennese, a teacher should warn them of what it will entail and then proceed if the student is still on board. Quite frankly, there are reasons a student may want or need to learn Viennese. No one getting married wants to be told they can't use a song their heart is set on, there are many events that feature Viennese waltz dancing, or perhaps the student is traveling. The teacher has a responsibility to help the student reach his or her goals, even if those goals are harder than other students' goals.

That said, the process of teaching Viennese to a beginner is different than teaching a more experienced dancer. All the rules about teaching beginners still apply (proceed slowly, find creative ways to get the student to practice the core material, etc.), but the situation requires special attention. I would not recommend beginner Viennese waltz students be permitted in group classes for the dance unless those classes are specifically targeted for beginners. It is physically painful dancing Viennese with someone who doesn't know what he or she is doing, and any teacher who permits beginning dancers in those group classes is doing a disservice to the other students who attend the class expecting a minimum level of training among the other students. Instead, beginner dancers who insist on learning Viennese waltz should be informed they will need to learn through private lessons until they are judged ready for the group classes.

I've also been thinking about the character of Viennese waltz. As I remarked to [info]d33pthought yesterday, Viennese waltz is an anomaly. Most international dances are intended for competition or performance rather than social dancing, while most American dances are intended for social dancing rather than competition or performance. The exception is Viennese waltz. International Viennese is incredibly simple - it only has nine figures in the entire syllabus though typically only four are used: natural turns, reverse turns, forward change steps, and back change steps - and competitions are focused on the level of precision executing those steps. Conversely, American Viennese waltz includes a dozens of figures, most of which are impractical on a social dance floor and are almost impossible to lead but look beautiful when properly executed. The result is that international is best suited for social dancing where its simplicity becomes an asset, while American is best for performance and competition where its flourishes and patterns can be used and enjoyed by both the dancers and the audience.

When I think about Viennese waltz, and American Viennese waltz in particular, I don't think of it as a social dance. Part of that is a legacy of the pedestal that Viennese waltz has been placed on, but it is also because when you do see it danced to its top level it doesn't look like a social dance. When I see a championship level waltz I see something that looks like it comes from a social floor, even if it is bigger and better than anyone (even those dancers) will ever dance on a social floor. When I see a championship level Viennese waltz, it is always so intricate for the speed that I can never envision it being used socially. The feel is of performance, but is also of idealism. I often say that while slow waltz can feel romantic, the main theme of slow waltz is not romance but of dreaminess. Slow waltz is a dream, whether beautiful or loving or joyful. Viennese waltz is also a dream, but its dream is of the perfect waltz.

This is not to say that American Viennese waltz cannot be done socially - it can - but it aspires to something else.

Here's one that I really like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlNTvZ1l7so
link6 comments|post comment

Lifts Lesson [Nov. 8th, 2009|01:15 pm]
Just had one of the best dance lessons I've had in ages. Finally learned how to do the floatee, vastly improved the dolphin, and fixed the ronde de jambe ending for the oversway. Boo yah!

Bonus: Really good feedback on the choreography!
linkpost comment

Warehouse 13 [Nov. 4th, 2009|12:52 pm]
I just realized why I like this show so much: it's a show about the Technocracy as heroes! They're agents from a shadowy, semi-official union with mysterious backers who confront strange people and artifacts that are having an unbalancing effect on reality!

This show is exactly how to run a Technocracy game. Peter's the NWO rep. who can use the tech and devices but shines at understanding people. Myka's another NWO but she's focused on taking that understanding it and shining it on the Union itself. Artie's a Void Engineer who's spent way too much time in the field, has become somewhat unstable, and consequently is less and less trusted by his superiors. Claudia's a Virtual Adept who's been recruited into Iteration X once she realized what the consequences of an unstable reality really are ("Iteration X is where Adepts go when they grow up." William Albacastle) Ms. Frederic is a Woman in Gray (politically correct version of Man in Black, but at a higher clearance level) who provides the link to Control.

And, of course, James MacPherson is the former Void Engineer who suffered a massive paradox backlash and became a Marauder.

I liked the show before; I love it now. I really need to get a group together for some Mage.
link6 comments|post comment

Books are fun! [Nov. 4th, 2009|12:49 pm]


I know it's the worst kind of fan fiction (biblical), but I can't be the only one who wants to actually read this thing.
link1 comment|post comment

Dance of the Day - Theater Arts [Oct. 29th, 2009|12:43 am]
[Tags|]

If you like lifts, watch this! I saw them perform at Mad Jam back in April and have been trying to find a video of their performance ever since. They are insane.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zqrj3TZ2TBo
link4 comments|post comment

Spycraft... [Oct. 28th, 2009|05:31 pm]
[Tags|]

... may be a fun game, but it has the most needlessly complex rules I've ever seen. And yes, I am including Champions in that comparison.

For what it's worth, I'm referring to v. 2.0.
link1 comment|post comment

Weekend Update [Oct. 26th, 2009|12:41 pm]
- Awesome larp on Friday. I won a poker tournament!

- Solid lesson with Ellen on Saturday. We're doing much better with the pivots and have vastly improved our dolphin lift. Now we just need to get down the floatee.

- You know that scene in Oregon Trail where you caulk the wagon and float it across the river? You know how it looks seeing the wagon up to the wheel wells in water? That was my Saturday evening.

- Tasty Malaysian food with Wynd Saturday night followed by awesome dance at the Blue Ballroom.

- Showcase on Sunday. No videos yet, but I think it went quite well.

- Squash soup = yum.
link1 comment|post comment

Taylor Swift - Again! [Oct. 22nd, 2009|12:01 am]
Hi there Livejournal! It's time for another edition of, What the Fuck is Wrong with Taylor Swift? In our last edition, we talked about how the bland, teenage romance images she propagates harm society. In this edition we'll talk about why the characters she sings about don't deserve romantic success even within the context she's singing about.

I didn't want to listen to her new song, "You Belong With Me," but you can't avoid it. It's on every radio station, from the top 40 stations to the indie stations to the country stations to even the fucking hip hop station. It's saturated our culture so much that while I'm still trying to memorize Robert Service's, "The Cremation of Sam Magee," I already have nearly every word of the wretched abortion of this song stuck in my head. And let me tell you, folks, these are Bad lyrics. And I mean that in the sense of D&D alignment.

In the gender wars, one of the rarely used but surprisingly strong criticisms men have against women is specialness. Women want to be special. They're encouraged to think of themselves as special. The idea that every child is special that's saturated education in the past twenty years has accompanied a decline of masculinity in the common culture. This is unfortunate because specialness is something more often associated with girls than women, and when women are encouraged to think of themselves as uniquely special without justification it reduces them to the status of children.

Think about the most popular little girl fantasy: being a princess. A princess is someone who is special not because of what she's done but who she is. She is special because of the way she was made and nothing she or anyone else does can diminish that and nothing anyone else does an equal it. As the girl matures she is encouraged to buy into other fantasies like horoscopes. Again, it is telling girls they are worthwhile (which one would think good) but is not connecting this to anything they have accomplished. Is it any wonder there are so many men who consider women irrational? The vast majority of women are quite rational, or at least as much as men are, but these men are responding to what they see as women's culture and they understandably don't like what they see. The fact that most women don't like these portrayals becomes irrelevant as the portrayals dominate the media over these women's objections. It doesn't matter that the public as a whole has turned against bullshit self-congratulations, these self-congratulations are still associated with women.

There are other examples I could bring out but just pick up any issue of Cosmopolitan from the last ten years if you don't believe me, and you'll see an entire magazine of un-earned self-accolades. For the rest of this post, accept the premise that we live in a culture that encourages women to believe in their specialness, regardless of whether it is earned.

And so we come to, "You Belong to Me."

The premise of the song is the inner pinings of juvenile girl who has a crush on her male best friend; said best friend is in a relationship with another girl. I have no problem with this premise. Unrequited feelings are part and parcel of growing up. It is a highly appropriate topic for a tween pop song. But after listening to the lyrics, I just want to take the narrator and throttle her. I want to scream at her, "Of course he's chosen another girl instead of you! You're boring!"

She is boring! There's not a single line in the song where she tells why she would be a good girlfriend. To paraphrase Dan Savage, your significant other has one job and that's to make your life better. How is Taylor Swift's protagonist going to make the guy's life better? You don't know anything about her! All I know about her by the end of the song is that she likes unpopular music (we're probably supposed to interpret this as indie music) and she doesn't put any effort into her appearance. She claims to have a close relationship with the guy but leaves us no reason to believe it. She never references a shared experience or even an in-joke. Despite the emphasis many people place on musical taste, has anyone ever fallen in love with someone because of their CD collection? This is a girl with nothing going for her.

We don't have a lot of info on the rival girl except that she occasionally gets upset (Really? Is there anyone who doesn't? Ever?). We're also told she wears high heels and short shorts, contrasted with the narrator's sneakers and t-shirts. We're clearly supposed to interpret this to mean that the rival is a phony and the narrator is pleasantly laid-back. I interpret this to mean the rival puts effort into her appearance and is willing to put effort into her relationship, while the narrator is just going to wait and whine until she gets what she wants. Who would you want to spend time with her, let alone date her?

One could make a very strong argument that all the characters are kept deliberately vague as either an artistic or marketing decision in order to allow the audience to project themselves and their situation into the song. This is probably true, but it's not exactly a point in the song's favor. A situation bland enough to have anything or anyone projected over it is not equivalent to a universally sympathetic situation.

Everything comes to a head with the narrator whining, "Why can't you seeeeeeeeee? You belong with meeeeeeeeeeeeee!" There is no explanation of why the guy belongs with the narrator, just a complaint that he doesn't. What exactly are we supposed to see, Taylor?

Perhaps we are supposed to interpret the lyrics to mean that the narrator and the guy are fated to be together. This would fit into the princess/zodiac pattern by suggesting the narrator (and thus the audience) will get her perfect romance because of who she is and not because of anything she does. The end result is is yet another pop culture entry that demeans life its subject and misleads its target audience. Once again we're left with the girls who listen to this shit having another piece of media not only misleading them but developing harmful versions of romance and self-esteem. But worse than usual, it's done in an insidious matter because of a forcible attempt to cause the listener to self-identify as the protagonist.

God, I hate Taylor Swift.
link30 comments|post comment

Editing [Oct. 20th, 2009|01:44 pm]
Ah! Teh grammarz! It hurtz!
linkpost comment

Dance of the Day - Landler [Oct. 20th, 2009|10:24 am]
[Tags|]

The Landler is an hold German and Austrian peasant dance that is widely considered to be the most direct ancestor of the waltz. You can see a lot of the precedent in this video, from patterns such as the schmetterling to the turning that would characterize the waltz to the hopping that would accompany early forms of the dance (and become more integrated in other round dances, such as the polka). At the same time, the dance is very clearly tied to other folk and set dances, such as the quadrille.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN3TcWrAiy0
linkpost comment

Gig? [Oct. 18th, 2009|02:12 am]
This was posted on Saturday at about 10:30 AM.

You post this now? Four days before the start of the class? Really? Good luck with that.

For the record, I did send in an app., but due to a previously-booked lesson, I'm not available until the following Weds. and told them as much. It has the potential to be a fun job, but I'm not bumping my best clients for these last minute folks.
linkpost comment

Dance of the Day - West Coast Swing [Oct. 17th, 2009|01:22 pm]
[Tags|]

Linked to by my friend Sarah, from Art of Dance, out in Madison.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3i6kyLLB2g
linkpost comment

Waltz Music [Oct. 16th, 2009|12:17 pm]
Man, it took me way too long to identify this. I kept thinking, "Man this sounds familiar. Where have I heard it before?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6MqdIRbNYU
link1 comment|post comment

Gen Con [Oct. 16th, 2009|10:13 am]
( Only two months late! )
link1 comment|post comment

Dance of the Day - Wedding [Oct. 16th, 2009|10:04 am]
A few months ago my friend Carrie, a former Arthur Murray teacher, asked me to choreograph a dance for her and her fiance for their wedding (Carrie specialized in international standard, while the dance was a mix of country and American rhythm, plus her fiance was non-dancer). This was my wedding present for them.
http://s72.photobucket.com/albums/i183/suburbaknght/GenCon%2009%20and%20Dancing/?action=view¤t=DSCN0586.flv
linkpost comment

Testing [Oct. 13th, 2009|03:15 pm]
I've set up my examination. This Thursday, Dec. 3, in Towson, MD, I will be taking my full bronze exam for waltz, tango, foxtrot, and Viennese waltz. Wish me luck!
link6 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Bolero [Oct. 13th, 2009|10:15 am]
[Tags|]

Very nice routine that gives the feel of the dance without getting as over-the-top as bolero is normally shown.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2w62OqyQ3o
linkpost comment

Dancing, Music, and Dancers [Oct. 11th, 2009|08:45 pm]
Phenomenal weekend. Wynd came up. Saturday morning we went over to Mascher to start a new waltz piece (yes, I'm still working on the waltz with Ellen. That's something separate). Wynd and I have done dance performances before - our Labyrinth cha cha at Gen Con, our 7th sea tango, and our Pirates of the Caribbean paso doble (starts at 4:50) this year - but they've always been incidental, or more accurately, gimmicky pieces. This is the first time we've done a dance performance that is purely about the dancing, not a game or a costume contest. We spent about two hours working on it and got a bit over half the choreography done. There's a lot of styling we need to do, but it's turning into a really beautiful piece. Now to get ideas for the second half...

After waltz we drove down to Atlantic City. The drive was easy and then we walked around the shore. First we walked by the beach, watching the waves, the sand, and the birds, while Wynd took photographs. We wandered in the casinos, the most impressive being the Tropicana, which was rather like Disneyland with its theme areas done up like palaces or Havana or what not. After wandering we had dinner at a great Vietnamese restaurant, apparently the only vegetarian restaurant in Atlantic City, though they had non-veg food as well - I had a fantastic pork chop.

Finally, it was time for our trips raison d'etre, a concert. Off to the Trump Marina for Big Bad Voodoo Daddy! This was the tenth time I'd seen them perform and, in my opinion, the best. While their new album, A Tribute to Cab Calloway, is good enough (I give it an eight out of ten), the band is clearly inspired and taken by the new music and is energized in a way I haven't seen them in years. They were great to hear and, as always, phenomenal to dance to. We even got a few compliments - and one complaint - about our dancing!

Today we finished the weekend by driving down to Wilmington and the Delaware Center for Contemporary Arts. Our primary motivation was to see an exhibition of ballroom dance paintings. Ironically, it turns out we'd already seen the paintings because one of our studios had already displayed them! In fact, we even knew the dancers, Pasha and Danielle, who were depicted in them! That said, the museum was phenomenal. They had a lot of compelling pieces, and an entire room of kinetic sculpture.

Whew, now I'm tired.
link5 comments|post comment

Waltz Routine [Oct. 11th, 2009|05:18 pm]
Started a new routine this weekend with Wynd.

( Choreography )
linkpost comment

Day of Dance [Oct. 8th, 2009|09:48 pm]
Despite Jen getting sick and not being able to come work on the performance I'm doing with Ellen, we (Ellen and I) ended up having an amazing practice. Several of the new techniques and stylings we've been working on with Ken Richards came together. I took out two phrases that I didn't care for and a lift that wasn't working, and replaced them with things that work much better, though we haven't tried the new lift yet. Traveling pivots still aren't happening but they're top priority for our next lesson with Ken. Overall, this is really coming together.

Hell, long as I'm talking about the waltz I want to brag about our first lesson with Ken. Ken is the vice president of dance sport for USA Dance (formerly known as USABDA), former director marketing for Arthur Murray, and owner and manager of The Blue Ballroom, a new studio that's already making quite a name for itself and my favorite place to dance. They're hosting a showcase in December and are bringing in competition judges to give feedback. In fact, this was the main motivation for Ellen and I to participate - while we've been working on this waltz since about June, the opportunity to get feedback as if we were competing was why we decided to debut the piece here.

At any rate, last Sunday was our first lesson with Ken. I was scared to death at this lesson. This isn't the first dance I've choreographed since leaving Arthur Murray (that would have been Carrie's wedding dance), but it's the first one I've really... invested myself in. This piece isn't dumbed own at all - it's at the limits of my abilities and I'm amazed at how well Ellen's been keeping up. Showing this to another dance teacher, especially one of Ken's caliber was terrifying. And yet, he liked it! He got it, instantly. Everything I was trying to communicate, why I'd selected the patterns I had, the relation to the music, the use of stationary patterns vs. moving patterns, my basis for creating variations... everything! And he liked it! Not just said he liked it but only ended up changing two measures of the choreography, and those were the exact two measures I was least satisfied with.

I cannot describe how happy it made me that he liked the piece!

Anyway, the lesson itself went great. Most of it was spent working on Ellen's part. This isn't to say that I was perfect, but because waltz in general and this piece in particular highlight the lady, it had to focus on her. There was a lot of additional work on styling, but it seems like this is really going to work! *squee!*

So yes, today went well. The only thing left that really needs to be learned are the pivots and the floatee. The former has never worked for me, so this is as good a time as any to learn (that's why I put it in the choreography) and the latter, well, I've only had to learn specific lifts for specific performances, except for a brief period where I was fascinated by swing aerials (which don't really work in waltz). We'll do the pivots with Ken next time and I may book us a lesson with Ginny (a teacher at Top Hat who is not only my teacher and partner for my smooth exam, but is also certified in theatrical ballroom, meaning she has a lot of experience with lifts) to work on the floatee.

Also had a great lesson with Aideen in preparation for my waltz showcase on October 25th.

Everything's coming up Milhouse.
linkpost comment

Waltz Choreography [Oct. 8th, 2009|01:28 pm]
( Read more... )
link3 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Convention [Oct. 7th, 2009|10:26 am]
[Tags|]

This guy makes me so happy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVztwW1T0VA
link1 comment|post comment

X-Men [Oct. 6th, 2009|04:48 pm]
( The terrible secret of the X-Men revealed within. )
linkpost comment

Submitted! [Oct. 6th, 2009|10:09 am]
After three months' of back-and-forth e-mails, write ups, re-writes, edits, playtesting, feedback, more re-writes, more feedback, more re-writes, and more edits...

I have a final draught of my Heroes of Rokugan adventure, "Iron Crane Chef." It is now submitted to the Campaign Administrator. Wish me luck!

Okay, taking a few minutes to enjoy Hulu before jumping on to the next HoR project: Kuni Yami Seshin and Tamori Iwao's death fics.

And this weekend: outlining the next HoR adventure with Wynd.
link4 comments|post comment

Stupid Vampires [Oct. 6th, 2009|07:24 am]
The best part of today's Darths and Droids strip was the writer's commentary:

"We're not sure exactly when vampires stopped being horrific and became vehicles for adolescent angst, but we suspect roleplayers might have to own up to some of the blame."
link1 comment|post comment

Books [Oct. 5th, 2009|11:58 pm]
After year's of cajoling and recommendations I've finally started reading Ender's Game. I'm surprised to say that it's the first classic I've read in years that deserves its reputation for excellence.
link2 comments|post comment

Crazy [Oct. 4th, 2009|01:29 am]
What does it say upon me, that after viewing Kaci Battaglia's video for "Crazy Possessive" my first thought as not, "Damn she's hot!" but, "You know, this would be a great for a team routine where one guy dances with two girls. He always does east coast swing with one girl, west coast swing with another, and the song finishes with him doing hustle with both of them simultaneously."
link1 comment|post comment

Costume Ideas Needed [Sep. 30th, 2009|12:54 pm]
Costume suggestions, please. The dance: tango. The music: "The Diva Dance" (no sound effects).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n0qy3JHz6X0
link3 comments|post comment

Joss Whedon [Sep. 25th, 2009|12:09 pm]
Joss Whedon was interviewed by This American Life. It's a good interview.

I knew he was a fan of Sondheim.
link2 comments|post comment

Ordering Wine [Sep. 24th, 2009|12:01 pm]
How To Impress Your Date With Wine Knowledge

This is pretentious bullshit. Restaurants have a sommelier on the floor because most people don't know enough about wine to toss out bullshit wine diction, let alone apply it in any way that makes a difference. He is there to help you, let him do his job. You're not there to impress the sommelier with your knowledge, and you're not even there to impress your date. You're there to have a good time. The best dates in the world are about having fun, and a nice bottle of wine is part of that fun. Trying to perform will just make you look like a jackass.

Here's a trick that has never failed me. When the waiter or sommelier comes over, take the wine list and hold it so that they can see but your date can't. Say, "I'm having the [blank] and she's having the [whatever]. I was thinking something like this," while pointing to one of the wine listings. Instead of pointing to the type of wine, however, point to the price. This way you get to take advantage of their knowledge, infer a bit of expertise, avoid coming off like a show-off, and stick to your budget.

Tip well for this. Normally one tips heavy, knowing the waiter will share tips at the end of the night, but I would slip the sommelier at least $10 for this; after all, he or she is going out of the way to not only give you both a great experience, but to make you look good. Just palm the money and shake his or her hand before the evening's out - you'll feel it disappear before you know what happened.
link6 comments|post comment

Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along-Hijacking [Sep. 21st, 2009|09:49 am]
Apparently Dr. Horrible interrupted the Emmy's last night to bring you a very important message: television is dead.

link4 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Cha Cha [Sep. 21st, 2009|09:35 am]
[Tags|]

Two of my students do their wedding dance, a cha-cha, to "Starlight" by Muse. I am more proud of them than I can say.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZZTj722i7U
link3 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Theater Arts [Sep. 16th, 2009|07:35 am]
[Tags|]

Theater arts is a category of ballroom dancing used exclusively in competition, and then only in choreographed showcase pieces. It combines the dramatic elements of performance dance with the partnering and musicality of ballroom, with a particular emphasis on aerial movements, such as lifts, jumps, drops, and dips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcgg6YLVj28
link1 comment|post comment

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy [Sep. 15th, 2009|12:10 pm]
Big Bad Voodoo Daddy shows I've been to.

Date - venue - friends in attendance

1) Aug 2005 - Trocodero, Philadelphia - [info]lacrimawanders
2) Feb 2006 - Potowatami Casino, Green Bay - [info]guardian852
3) July 2006 - Bastille's Day, Milwaukee - [info]damn_robots and [info]canetonlaid
4) July 2006 - Bastille's Day, Milwaukee (stayed for the second show) - Solo.
5) October 2006 - House of Blues, Chicago - [info]lacrimawanders, [info]tapitup, and [info]fynixsoul.
6) December 2006 - Keswick Theater, Philadelphia - My parents!
7) June 2007 - Some Milwaukee casino - Solo.
8) Jan 2008 - New York - [info]wyndstormhntrss
9) Aug 2009 - Camden Waterfront, Camden - [info]guardian852 and [info]mythic

Which brings us to...

10) October 10, 2009 - Trump Shell, Atlantic City - Your name here!

Edit: Fixed the date!
link2 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Zombies [Sep. 11th, 2009|04:48 pm]
[Tags|]

What does it say about my posts when the subject of this entry was already in my browser history?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqRKWhbwneo
link1 comment|post comment

Dance of the Day - Viennese Waltz [Sep. 8th, 2009|12:34 am]
[Tags|]

I know I've posted this before, but it remains my favorite American Viennese waltz showdance. Most performances of American Viennese waltz look too rushed, too crowded. There's a lot going on in this performance, but it fits the music and they set everything up in the context of what happens beforehand. Plus, the music box at 1:46 is just incredible. No wonder they're the national smooth champions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79hjsgBNpoU
linkpost comment

My Students [Sep. 6th, 2009|11:15 am]


I taught them.
link7 comments|post comment

Writer's Block: Worrisome [Sep. 3rd, 2009|10:19 am]
[Tags|]

What is your biggest worry right now?


View 1184 Answers


My performance tonight. Remembre this? Yeah, that's in seven hours.
link4 comments|post comment

Writer's Block: All Dressed Up [Sep. 3rd, 2009|12:05 am]
[Tags|]

Describe your all-time favorite outfit.


View 172 Answers


A black suit of worsted wool. The jacket has peaked lapels and an open front with long tails in back. The trousers have a satin stripe down the outside of each leg. It is worn with a white pique cotton shirt, with a white bow tie and waist coat of the same material. Accessories include silver shirt studs and cufflinks as well as a white linen pocket square.

Come on, were any of you really surprised?
link1 comment|post comment

Babylon 5 [Sep. 2nd, 2009|03:41 pm]
I'm sorry, after 10 discs I give up. It's decent but not fantastic. It's well-written but it still doesn't captivate me. It engages but it does not enthrall. And frankly, it's not worth it. Sorry.
link7 comments|post comment

Dance of the Day - Line Dance [Aug. 26th, 2009|09:48 am]
[Tags|]

This has been stuck in my head all week.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKtx54Ht-GU
linkpost comment

navigation
[ viewing | most recent entries ]
[ go | earlier ]

Advertisement