It’s no secret that I’m a fan of robot driving. Humans are terrible drivers. And why should we be good at it? Controlling a vehicle on four wheels moving at 100 km/h among other similar vehicles, each of which can easily kill occupants or pedestrians due to their mass alone… why does anyone think the human nervous system is equipped for that?
Most people are not ready to allow robots to pilot their car because they think they’re safer. But there was a small milestone in taking away driver control in which the driver was unauthorized and clearly a danger. From ABC news:
The 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe roared away with officers in pursuit, but shortly after the suspect made a right turn, operators at General Motors Co.’s OnStar service sent a command that electronically disabled the gas pedal and the SUV gradually came to a halt.
The flustered thief got out and ran, but was quickly nabbed after he climbed several fences and fell into a backyard swimming pool, police said.High-Speed Chase Ends When OnStar Halts Stolen SUV – ABC News
This reminds me of the scene in Minority Report (2002) …
“You actually want an element of disorientation—that’s what makes it exciting,” Murch says of his approach to splicing together a fight. “So you put the focus of interest somewhere else, jarringly, and you cut at unexpected moments. You make a tossed salad of it, you abuse the audience’s attention.”Dark Knight, Christopher Nolan, and the rise of the choppy fight scene. – By Dennis Lim – Slate Magazine
Thanks to Bonzuko for bringing this to my attention.
In this great assemblage of film fights, we see the changes in fight scene choreography and shooting style over time. I had a great time seeing these classics again, and appreciating them afresh for the commentary in the sidebar. Novices and old-hands at fight direction will appreciate this examination of pivotal scenes.
Like evolution, it may look like a progression toward something better and more perfect. In reality, it is like real evolution: an expression of the best fit to the environment… in this case it’s the cultural environment that the film fits itself to. Style is not something linked to a particular year or a particular country, even though critics would have you think it is when they talk about “German Post-War Cinema”. The …
3 Hours of Unarmed Stage Combat
3 Hours of Sabre for the Stage
Stage Combat Fundamentals in One Day
To perform fights on stage, there are two elements: performer safety and the illusion of violence. When you want to look like you’re trying to kill someone, it’s a bad idea to improvise. The fight looks like crap and people get hurt.
In this intensive one-day workshop, we’ll cover the basics of stage combat, including:
Slaps
Punches
Hair Pulls
Chokes
Falls
Sword parries and footwork
Sword attacks
Wounds and death
Important and Convenient
Anyone who performs fights for entertainment needs to know these essentials, whether you’re acting in plays or film, or performing fight demonstrations.
It’s at Academie Duello, conveniently located in downtown Vancouver.
It’s happening on a Saturday, a one-day commitment, ending early enough that you still have your evening to see a show and enjoy the rest of your weekend. It’s also affordable to anyone who has an interest: $80 for the full day.
More Info
Keep yourself safe and look like an action hero. Register by dropping by Academie Duello: 422 Richards Street (upstairs), or call 604-568-9907. We have a Facebook Event here: Facebook | Slaps & Slashes Stage Combat. As always, you can get tons of stage combat information at PlayFighting.ca
I’ve been away from the blog for a few weeks, at the FDC National Workshop in Waterloo, then the process of moving from Toronto to Vancouver. In the meantime, there have been a few news items about stage combat, and I’ve picked three for you today: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
As is the tradition, let’s start with the Bad news:
Hanging around for the credits | Nashua Telegraph
…does “Jersey Boys” really need a fight director? I realize this is a story about some sketchy guys from New Jersey, but c’mon. This wasn’t exactly “Goodfellas the Musical.” Yeah, there are a few Tony Soprano-type moments, but I can hardly remember any real dustups in the play.
You, my readers, know that a few Soprano moments can mean a broken nose if you don’t have a fight director. But that’s not all. He goes on:
…“Romeo and Juliet.” What? I don’t recall any kickboxing or scissor holds in Shakespeare. A fight director for the Bard? Instead, how about a translator for those of us not too well versed in Shakespearean prose?
Is he just being inflammatory? Or is this critic “not too well versed in Shakespearean” anything? Even if the first scene of …
Many characters suffer and die in plays and films. Some actors consider it to be the most fun scene, others think it’s the most challenging. How do you play a realistic death?
The researchers at New Scientist took evidence from various sources to create subjective descriptions of the events leading to death for a number of scenarios. The information came from known medical processes, accounts from near-death survivors, and autopsy data.
Death: Scientists Reveal What It’s Like To Die | Sky News:
Drowning:
Victims first panic and try to hold their breath, typically for 30 to 90 seconds. Survivors have reported a “tearing and burning” sensation as water enters the lungs – but it is quickly followed by a feeling of calmness and tranquility. Oxygen deprivation results in loss of consciousness, the heart stopping and brain death.
Heart attack:
A “squeezing” chest pain, or feeling of pressure, is the most common symptom as the heart muscle struggles for oxygen. Disruption of the normal heart rhythm effectively stops the heart beating. Loss of consciousness can occur in about 10 seconds and death can follow minutes later.
Loss of blood:
Marked by several stages of “haemorrhagic shock”. Anyone losing 1.5 litres of blood feels weak, thirsty and anxious. By …
Scientists stop the ageing process › News in Science (ABC Science)
Scientists have stopped the ageing process in an entire organ for the first time, a study released today says.
Published in today’s online edition of Nature Medicine, researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York City also say the older organs function as well as they did when the host animal was younger.
To summarize, one of the main ways that the liver loses performance with age is the buildup of junk proteins. In a young normal liver, these proteins are rounded up and transferred into sacs called lysosomes where they are broken down into harmless molecules. A chemical receptor on the lysosome enables this process.
As the liver ages, the receptors stop working well, and the toxic proteins don’t get digested. The liver slowly degenerates as the proteins build up.
This study created genetically modified mice with more copies of those receptors. Those mice had healthy livers into their old age (22-26 months).
An important side note is that this is not simply a liver problem. A build-up of toxic material is pronounced in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurodegenerative disorders. If the same …
Having built not only this website, but previously my site for Memorize Shakespeare and for PlayFighting: Vancouver Stage Combat, I am branching out into the area of website design through Wordpress.
I’m also very well read on SEO, so I’m offering that on an ongoing basis to local businesses.
So, any Vancouver area businesses who want to update their stodgy website (or don’t have one at all) can contact me, and I will be your online marketing partner. That is, I will build and maintain your website using a Wordpress blog, which will not only bring you into the 21st century of web design, but also beat out your competition in online attraction. I will not do this as a one-time deal, but I will remain your partner month after month, because online rankings change, and you need constant attention to keep your site at the top of the search engines.
Any company can give you a #1 ranking on Google for one week, for keywords that aren’t even that good. I will keep you at the top over the long haul, and rake in the business.
What Phone Book?
Did you know that 80% of people look up what they need …
The sad news is that David Carradine was found dead in a hotel room yesterday. There is an ongoing investigation and there will be an autopsy, but there is already wild speculation around the web.
Here is a good article that both details his life and the circumstances of his death:
Actor David Carradine Murdered Or Asphyxiation?
If it’s true that he didn’t commit suicide and he wasn’t murdered, then what, an accident? That seems a bit difficult to understand. I mean, how does a curtain cord accidently get taken down and wrapped around the throat of a nude person; unless it is something called the ”choking game”.
In short, he was found in a closet, naked, with a curtain rope tied around his neck. He was in a sitting posture. There were no signs of a break-in or any struggle. There are conflicting reports of whether his hands were tied behind his back or not. There is also no word if there was a suicide note or not.
Those close to him say that although the past couple of years have been hard, and he has been in debt, that he was not suicidal. He had been addicted to alcohol, but was happily …
This is your last week to catch Fat Pig, which is getting fantastic reviews, like this one:
From Vancouver Observer:
Director Michael Scholar Jr. has done a great job at staging the play in a way that keeps the audience focused and engaged. The set is minimal and shifts direction, both physically and metaphorically, at several points throughout the performance.
Kathryn Kirkpatrick delivers a brave and stellar performance as Helen, the object of Tom’s (Lawrence Haegert) desire and Haegert pulls us in completely with his performance, giving us hope that he’ll come through in the end. Jennifer Mawhinney and Aaron Craven’s characters (Jeannie, Carter) provide the cringe. Their dialogue is rich with all we try to hide in ourselves.
Fat Pig is a play that everyone should see. If you can get past the title, it’s definitely worth the time.
Vancouver Observer: Articles
The play is not about obesity itself, but concerns honesty. I found it a fascinating exploration of what it means to be honest with oneself and with others. Is being truthful always good? Is changing your mind a matter of integrity? Is there any truth or lies without a society’s judgment? Each of the characters struggle with these ideas, and that’s …
Because learning strategies are important for physical skills like martial arts, and for mental skills like memorization, I have written two articles on the topic.
On PlayFighting.ca, I discuss Learning Fight Skills
On MemorizeShakespeare.com, I discuss Learning Memory Skills
Both articles are concerned with the Cone of Learning. That is, your depth of understanding and the amount you remember is based on your sensory experience. The narrow end of the cone is reading. The wide end of the cone is simulating, acting or recreating. Both articles reference a diagram that is very helpful.
The message is the same: books are great to start, but if you want mastery, you’ve got to perform.
