Speechify

Bleh.

Speech last night didn't go as well as I'd hoped. Deliverly wise I didn't get any negative feedback. But I came in at 4 minutes on a 5 minute speech. Which wasn't good, considering that I'd be coming in a 4.5 minutes during rehearsal. And that was without my visual aids.

So either I raced through the speech like a small town driver on a back road or I jettisoned a fifth of my speech.

Query. Which is worse, being a minute short, or two minutes over? I'm inclined to say the former.

Anyway here's the speech.

I’ve been playing Ultimate Frisbee for a little over four years now and I’m often asked to run down the basics of the game to interested individuals. The best way I’ve found to describe the sport is that it’s a combination between basketball and football, only played with a Frisbee disc.

Like basketball, Ultimate Frisbee teams place five players on the field. Each individual player is allowed to have contact with, handle and throw the disc in any direction they choose. However, a key departure between Ultimate Frisbee and basketball is that when a player is in possession of a disc they must have one foot planted on the ground at all times. Players are absolutely not allowed to run with the disc.

Ultimate Frisbee’s football influences come primarily from the makeup of the field the game is played on, as well as how points are scored during the game. As in football, there is larger a field of play sandwiched between two smaller end zones. Players attempt to move the disc up and down the field of play towards the other team’s end zone. Teams acquire a single point at a time by catching the disc in the opposing team’s end zone.

Now that I’ve outlined the basics of how they game is played I’m going to demonstrate the three most common throws.

The first throw is called the backhand and I imagine that its one most people in the class might recognize. The backhand is the simplest throw there is in the game. If you’re tossing a disc at a picnic or just goofing around with friends, chances are you’re throwing the backhand.

To throw the backhand a player will curl all their fingers underneath the lip of the disc and hold it in firmly in place with their thumb on the Frisbee’s topside. To release the disc the player moves their arm across the front of their body and releases the Frisbee with a flick of their wrist just shy of their arm’s maximum extension. This is the most powerful way to throw a backhand. To achieve more accuracy from their throw a player will place their index finger along the rim of the disc. This will make the throw less powerful, but it gives the thrower more control when they release it. The backhand throw is best used for beginning players.

After mastering the backhand most players often choose to learn the forehand throw, more commonly know as the flick. To throw a flick simply make a ‘V’ with your index and middle finger, just like a 60‘s style peace sign. Tuck your middle finger firmly under the rim of the disc and once again the disc is sandwiched firmly in place by your thumb. To release the disc tuck your elbow into your side, rotate your arm so that your wrist faces upward and let go of the disc with a firm snapping motion of your wrist. The majority of the power in this throw comes from your wrist. There should be very little, if any, actual movement of your arm. The flick is the best all-purpose throw in the game, easily thrown over a variety of distances with varying degrees of power.

Now the biggest drawback to these first two throws is that they are released roughly parallel to the field you are playing on. What this means is that if I want to make a backhand throw or a forehand throw to one of my teammates in the end zone I need to make sure there are no opposing players between me and him. Otherwise the chances are fairly high that the opposing player will catch the disc instead of my teammate and we’ll lose possession of the Frisbee.

This is where the third throw I’m going to discuss today comes in, the hammer. To throw a hammer a player grips the disc just like the flick. But that is where the similarity ends. To release a hammer throw the player holds the disc overtop their head at a 90 degree angle, like a plastic Mohawk, and makes a quick cutting motion with their wrist, releasing the Frisbee just in front of their forehead. The hammer is not a very accurate throw and is only really used for larger distances. The major upside to the hammer is that players are able to throw the disc down the entire length of the field, overtop of the heads of their opponents, giving skilled throwers a distinct advantage in playing the game.

Now that you’ve seen the basic throws used in Ultimate Frisbee maybe I’ve enticed you to give the game itself a shot.

I certainly hope so.

Thank you.

Back in the saddle again.

I was away last week at a work conference.

So my posting accordingly dropped to nil.

I'm spending today rotating between editing the second draft of the mag, which looks great, and putting the finishing touches on my second in-class speech. The designer always gives me some initial push back on magazine related editing critiques but then turns in the best re-edits.

That says more about his talent than it does about my edits. He makes my job so much easier.

Anyway tonight's speech is supposed to be a demonstration speech. Think cooking show or infomercial if you want to get a taste of what that entails. So I decided to speak about "The three most commonly used throws in Ultimate Frisbee."

Here's some raw material that I'll be using with the meat of the speech to come later.

Enjoy.

Or not.

The Backhand.

The Forehand (or Flick).

The Hammer.

Truffle - shuffle. Or; how I learned to love the organized chaos that is wedding planning.

So,

We may be down a groomsman. Our current g-man is wheeling and dealing a big business arrangement half a world away. He’s already blown a couple dates for coming back to Canada as this deal picks up more and more speed. Unfortunately this groomsman was also responsible for planning my bachelor party since my best man is currently residing in Ottawa. So right now I’m just waiting to connect with him to confirm it officially before I start seeing about moving other players around.

We’re thinking about promoting the Master of Ceremonies, who was already the de facto fifth groomsman. Now this means that we either ask him to do double duty or we can look for another MC. My vote is for the latter. I’m sure it’s not that difficult to take on both jobs, but I’d rather split up the responsibilities to lessen the chance that there will be a significant oversight on the day. The problem we ran into the first time we tried this is that any potential MC, who we’re BOTH close to, is already a part of the wedding party.

Choices, choices.

Is it wrong that my chief concern is that I don’t know who’s going to plan my bach party?

It is, isn’t it?

Worst. Fiancé. Ever.

Long weekend hi-jinks

Ugh.

Sore allll over today. S and I went up to the cottage over the long weekend with my parents to help in the never-ending reno project. What was supposed to take place over one summer is now stretching into it’s third. I suspect it will take at least another two years to get everything done. Swimming and sun tanning is out and manual labour is in.

This weekend consisted of digging eight 4-foot holes for the new deck, and then filling these holes in again. Nothing makes for a relaxing weekend quite like shattering your shovel on the upper layer of the Canadian Shield. Which I did after about 30 seconds.

I only wish I was joking for comedic effect.

Between the rocks, the clay and the on-again, off-again rain I wouldn’t quite call it a relaxing weekend, although we did get a couple of games of Risk, poker and Soduku in.

But the capper had to be stopping off in Port Perry for lunch on Monday and watching the neighbourhood kids run and around the backyard and shoot fireworks at each other. Ahh yes, nothing tells you that you’re in a small town quite like watching a roman candle bounce off someone else’s noggin head.

More time than I know what to do with.

Invites for wedding were finished on Sunday, mailed Monday and the replies started coming back to us yesterday.

Oh it’s on like the wrath of Kahn!

Just because we didn’t have enough on our plates already, the return of the wedding invitations marks another milestone in the planning of this little shin-diggity. Before we were planning for a wedding that we could reasonably be sure was going to be attended by people we knew. Now, with each little return card that shows up in our mailbox that’s one more person to have to look out for.

(Isn’t so-and-so deathly allergic to water? You can’t sit Uncle Jimmy next to Cousin Ted, don’t you remember what happened the last time? Keep Samantha away from the punch, I’m pretty sure she’ll try to spike it. Your ex-boyfriend is sitting WHERE?)

A short list of things yet to be done.

Suit rentals.
Ring buying.
Cake design confirmation.
Gifts for the bridal party to be purchased.
Meet with DJ.
Meet with florist (again)
Buy centerpieces wholesale.
Decide conclusively on which centerpiece to buy (wholesale)
Seating chart.
Bachelor and bachelorette parties.
Wedding shower.
Engagement photo.
Hook drain directly to bank account.

In other news, the new team jerseys arrived today, a day late for last night’s game. The blue is darker than I hoped for. The logo seems too small and the sizes are always a little hinky.

But now we can go out there and lose as a team. Like we did last night. But goddammit, at least next week we’ll all look the same when losing.

NCD #8: When will Final Crisis get here?

Booster Gold #9

Geoff Johns continues to do what he does best, mine DC’s past for continuity errors to smooth over. This week’s victim of nostalgia is the Justice League International. In Booster Gold #9 Johns makes an attempt to explain away how Maxwell Lord showed up in the pages of Countdown to Infinite Crisis with a flesh body instead of the cyborg chassis we last saw him sporting.

It wasn’t a great explanation, apparently he’s one massive skin graft, but it’s more than anybody else could be bothered to do. John’s time on this title is coming to a close so at this point he’s really not really advancing the plot much, just tying up loose ends. (I suspect the next issue won’t extend much beyond a generic fight scene and a long villain exposition about why they’re doing this)

But the biggest question I have about this issue is; Does Batman wear his entire costume under every disguise, bat ears and all?

Green Lantern Corps #24

Patrick Gleason, you’ve done it again, Oh and kuds to everyone else who helped out with this issue. I’m glad to see that the Green Lanterns have officially swiped Mongul from Superman for their own Rogue’s Gallery. It just makes sense to have an intergalactic dictator match up against the space cops, as opposed to the guy who could be almost anywhere in the blink of an eyelash but rarely leaves downtown Metropolis.

In this issue writer Peter Tomasi tries a different take on the Black Mercy by making it show victims their greatest fear rather than deepest desire. Considering Mongul is now the leader of the Sinestro Corps it’s a neat little twist that pays homage to Mongul the first’s most recognizable story while acknowledging his son’s new role in the GL mythos.

I approve.

Batman #676

This is the first part of Batman R.I.P. which promises to change everything in Batman’s life…again. Here we’re introduced to the Black Glove group who may, or may not, know Batman’s secret identity. Tony Daniels art and layout is much more palatable this time out than it was in the previous issue. Unfortunately readers are still getting stuck with serviceable art when they should be getting someone a little more A-list. I understand if Kubert is off that list for perpetually blowing deadlines but surely there is someone a step up from Daniels.

I’m a little bitter because I was hoping for something really visually different for the new batmobile and what I got was a generic re-tread of the first bat-car, only with red headlights. I wonder if Batman’s throwaway line about the car ‘not being what he expected’ is part of the story or Morrison’s opinion on the limitations of the artist he’s been saddled with.

Green Arrow \ Black Canary #8

I read this title because I like the character of Green Arrow.
I’m clearly not reading it because I enjoy the writing or the art.
I hate myself.

Walking Dead #49

However, I am reading this title because I enjoy both the art and the writing. Robert Kirkman has significantly pared down the group of survivors who were previously residing at ye olde prison complex. And despite the perception the reader is left with after the bloodbath of the last issue, the original group of survivors isn’t quite as decimated as they seem, especially when you take into account those who left in the RV with Dale and Andrea.

In this issue, with the exception of a brief cameo by Michonne, we follow Rick and Carl as they attempt to find food and shelter after escaping from the Governor’s deathsquad. It’s a nice simple break from the all out action this title usually provides. It feels like everyone, writer and readers alike, are taking a nice deep breath before plunging into the next chapter of a post-apocalyptic zombie world.

I can’t wait.

Muzak: Nine Inch Nails - Ghosts I - IV

I loves me some Nine Inch Nails. When Cobain passed on and grunge was dying a public and painful death from overexposure, NIN was the band that I turned to. My anger, rage and roiling emotions were nicely duplicated in Trent’s muzak. It was a much needed outlet for pent up teenage life.

As I matured, and Trent mellowed, I found that NIN was one of the few bands who’s new albums continued to be just as relevant and groundbreaking as their older material. They resisted the urge to milk the nostalgia of their older fans and persisted in exploring the breadth and depth of their unique sound.

So it’s almost inevitable that NIN would get around to creating an album like Ghosts I – IV. This album, which is completely instrumental, also happens to be their first studio album recorded outside of a major record label deal. Where Radiohead hath trail blazed, NIN shalt follow.

What else can I say about this album? Well, the majority of it is like listening to the acoustic version of wallpaper actually. That sounds overly critical and I don’t mean it to be. It was actually meant as a compliment. I’m crap at just putting something on in the background and letting it function as white noise. If the radio or television is on I have to actively focus on what is being played. I am biologically incapable of tuning anything out.

Ghosts is the rare exception to this. Alternating between light piano interludes and the more familiar grinding guitars Ghosts seems to be made up entirely of the instrumental segues that are peppered throughout so many of his other albums. At times I felt like I was listening to a lost track from ‘The Downward Spiral’ or an extended version of something off of ‘With Teeth’.

But with this album I was able to listen to the whole thing and drift in and out of it at will, enjoying a snatch of guitar here or a particularly noteworthy solo there. Although it’s all solo when you get down to it. The songs on Ghosts don’t employ a typical verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus structure. They are all essentially rambling train-of-thought pieces, which only helps add to the albums background music feel. There is no stress on the listener whatsoever to actively participate in the experience of enjoying these tunes.

So on the whole, I approve. I probably wouldn’t normally have given an album like this the time of day, instrumental\experimental muzak isn’t really for me. Having the NIN name on the disc made all the difference regarding my choice to purchase it. But now that I have bought it, I’m glad I did. It’s a welcome break from what I normally listen to and I think it broadened my horizons enough for me to consider giving something similar a try.

Well played Trent Reznor. Well played.