Are you kidding? Look at the reach on the guy in green!
What gets me is that either they're 8 feet tall or the room has 6 foot ceilings. Also the guy in red is a woman.
Fencing is probably more challenging as a mental game than it is as a physical sport. Seems like a great way to ward off senility to me.
This is so awesome it makes me forget about West Virginia. Crap, I just remembered again. Fuck.
Also the guy in red is a woman.
I'm betting on the guy in red based on their respective footwear.
On the other hand, Belle, Childers appears to be winning!
5: It isn't the most physical of sports, but it does require a fair amount of muscle control to put the point of the sword where you want it.
Fencing is probably more challenging as a mental game than it is as a physical sport.
I love that Chris Matthews called Hillary Clinton "the Al Sharpton of white people."
the Al Sharpton of white people
What is that even supposed to mean?
14: your error is in assuming anything Chris Matthews says ever means anything.
15: Not so. Perhaps in assuming anything he says is ever supposed to mean anything.
Well, in the video, he seems to be expressing concern about the need to talk about "white voters" and "blue-collar workers" and stuff, which I think just means he doesn't like talking about white people as having race (just like men, as the default gender, tend not to be described as gendered in the way women are), and that HRC keeps bringing whiteness up as a thing, as a position under attack, calling for solidarity or whatever, or celebrating it, at least. Right?
I'm not saying there's no physical effort involved, rather that from my experiences with fencing, it was obvious that while I might aspire to the control and reflexes required, my skills as a tactician of martial arts were never going to rise above "abysmal." And that didn't seem to be an altogether alien notion to other fencing students I've spoken to either.
Oh dear god, even better picture here.
I love it. The guy is all, "You SEE, this here is the HILT. I daresay it is the most IMPORTANT part of the WEAPON," while the woman goes, "oh, look, an opening," and runs him through.
That's how I see it, anyhow.
17: So HRC forces him to confront race re: white people the way Sharpton forces him to confront it re: black people? That sounds plausible and only somewhat absurd.
Doesn't it just mean that she plays cheap identity politics?
Note that most of these women are apparently retired nuns.
Chris Matthews is the Slavoj Žižek of MSNBC hosts.
18: Ah, I see. Yeah, that makes sense.
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It seems I now know for sure what I'm going to be doing this summer.
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Did anyone else read the subhed in the link at 12 as "...a new lease on life through fucking"? This is why I should not read slower.
I also like to imagine that these are the same pensioners* used in these fabulous reconstructions of famous atrocity photographs.
*Though actually the atrocity old people are Scottish, I think.
(You have to click the arrow buttons to see the photos properly.)
Why are you discovering your career, teo, if you're also applying to grad school?
Career Discovery is open to anyone graduating high school in 2008 or older
Graduating high school is not, technically, an age.
27: awesome, teo! You'll have to hang out with us weirdos.
30: They're trying to steal foolishmortal's ego wall!
And congrats, teo. It looks great.
37 is hilarious; 38: ditto, teo. Suerte, and all that.
"Fencing Pensioners" would be a good entry in a "These Would Be Good Band Names" contest.
rfts, some of the events depicted in the photos were not exactly atrocities. I suppose it depends on one's opinion of Yalta.
Actually, I should do that thing in 27. Fuckity.
42: I had a very similar thought.
Why are you discovering your career, teo, if you're also applying to grad school?
I am discovering my career in order to determine if I should apply to grad school.
Thanks, everyone. I'm pretty happy about it.
Teo! Now you have to promise to come to our housewarming party in, like, late June-ish. All y'all, in fact.
Sifu and w-lfs-n should just go do some pushups and be cops.
I am discovering my career in order to determine if I should apply to grad school.
Wise man.
41: Oh, right you are. It was the atrocity ones that really stuck in my memory. Okay, atrocities plus bonus non-atrocity material!
The career discovery thing looks super cool.
My partner the former fencer wants everyone to know that fencing is too a very physically demanding sport, and that the old ladies in the photo aren't wearing proper protective equipment.
Inasmuch as Ari appears to be napping: teo, you should go to graduate school in history.
That seems like a really strange job. Grunt work tech support and coding, together?
Inasmuch as Ari appears to be napping: teo, you should go to graduate school in history.
I'll revisit the option when I'm done discovering.
45: ooh I hope we're around that weekend. Busy end of the month.
46: I've been working on the GSwift Pigidential Fitness Challenge every morning. Not going to become a cop, though.
Pigidential Fitness Challenge
Ho ho.
That seems like a really strange job. Grunt work tech support and coding, together?
It's kind of like dealing with unfogged.
My partner the former fencer
Stras is TAKEN?? Drat. (not that one thought his posts were excellent and all.)
And Teo, that career discovery thing looks great. Good job, man!
That's true. You don't think you could get a higher-level coding job?
Stras has mentioned his partner before.
You don't think you could get a higher-level coding job?
Nope!
Ben, you totally underrate your skills. I'll give you a recommendation, if it counts for anything. I'm totally serious.
51: Right. I did a lot of foil as an undergrad. Fast reactions and good control are critical but so is stamina and a certain amount of overall strength.
Seriously, b-dub, Becks is right. You have no idea how many incompetents have plum gigs.
"I'm a project manager who leads teams of professional software developers and Ben's a better developer than a lot of people I've worked with who have made this their career. He'll do great work and you should totally hire him. He'll probably correct the grammar in the comments and might insult one of your customers but he'll write smart, solid code."
I did a lot of foil as an undergrad.
You're supposed to wrap it around your head, not smoke it.
I say 'not that physically demanding' and submit as evidence the number of championship fencers who smoke cigarettes between bouts. It requires better conditioning than some other sports, but not compared to things like running, cycling, swimming. It's a skill sport.
That said, LGM is right. Getting used to the basic stance caused one of my friends to exclaim 'ow., you must have butt muscles of steel.'
Aw shucks, guys.
I wouldn't be myself if I didn't underestimate, but I do think that I'd be hampered by language knowledge, and my resume isn't exactly loaded down with relevant experience, possible recommendation or no.
my resume isn't exactly loaded down with relevant experience
It's too bad you don't have butt muscles of steel.
Wait, now we're taking Chris Matthews seriously?
Wait a minute, does this mean you're thinking of leaving grad school?
All grad students are always thinking of leaving grad school. Duh.
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I checked the primary results from my old precinct, and Obama succeeded in cracking the 25% barrier. My parents were late deciders, but they voted for Obama in the end.
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Bone up and improve your skills while staying in grad school and making the minimum plausible academic effort.
I knew a guy who dropped out of grad school, but learned enough stats in his last year that he was able to get a pretty good job.
I am actually neutral about your staying in grad school, in the sense that you seem to like that stuff better than I do.
76: The term is "always already", B.
The Childers win in Mississippi makes the third big special election switch this cycle, after Cazayouz in LA-6 (Republican since 1975) and Foster in IL-14 (Republican since 1939). If you're looking for omens, those are promising.
27: Nooooooooooooooooooo!
(Also, congratulations.)
Fencing is probably more challenging as a mental game than it is as a physical sport.
It isn't the most physical of sports, but it does require a fair amount of muscle control to put the point of the sword where you want it.
OOH! I join Strasmangelo's partner in the ex-fencer protest. And I rant! I rant!
It's demanding as hell if you and your opponent are evenly matched and you're at a point in the learning curve where you've learned to move your feet. At its highest level, it's very demanding. Maybe not marathon-level physically demanding, but definitely sprinter-level physically demanding. See, for instance, here.
You'll quickly realize it's demanding if you just do proper footwork. You're in a squat, lunging full out, recovering to a squat, hopping while in a squat, lunging again, etc.
Rfts just put two and two together and realized that the voice of Mister Glitch from Square One was also Teeny Little Super Guy.
It came to me all in a flash!
How about being a scuba diver? Or a choreographer?
Math man! Math man! Math man! Math man! Math man! Math man! Math man! Math man!
You ran out of time with all that preaching, Mathy!
If only Heebie were here. Maybe she ran out of time with all that preaching.
I teach a topics course on choreography in p-adic spaces. For p not 2, of course.
I did a lot of foil as an undergrad.
You're supposed to wrap it around your head, not smoke it.
I worry about this, because I smoked sooo much tin foil in graduate school (in the service of smoking tar heroin, I mean). seriously, am I at hideous risk for alzheimer's now? I just smoked my way through roll after roll of tin foil, which was visibly altered where the flame passed under it. I can't help but reflect that that might have been a bad idea.
My fencing master in college used to tell stories of clubs back in France where elderly members would put down their canes, take up their weapons, beat you 5-0, and say "Not bad for a beginner."
There are also places in France where they don't need to bother with putting down the cane.
http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=wuTeAaSG_i8&feature=related
Last I heard the Alzheimers / aluminum link was discredited. That doesn't stop the door to door stainless-steel kitchenware people from publicizing it, however.
Tell us the truth, you heard that rumor from someone selling organic vegan cruelty-free bongs down in Eugene, didn't you?
How do I know this, you may ask? For about five years one of my duties included delivering brains to the Alzheimers research center. I delivered 100-200 brains altogether -- call me Igor.
I also once delivered a decayed liver for toxicology testing. The police lab had double bagged it without a tight seal, and it smelled like dirty diapers. It had been taken from the body of a woman found dead in the woods after several months there. Sadly, I had met her when she was an inpatient at the crisis unit.
one of my duties included
or
was
Fuck HTML
"one of my duties was"
or
"my duties included"
86- It looks even harder when there are all those wires holding them back.
Re: the original picture, the best strategy is to kick out the walker then score points once they're on the ground with a broken hip.
re: 86
Yeah, when I fenced regularly I had better explosive lower body strength than at any other time.
But it doesn't require much aerobic fitness, it's too quick so mostly anaerobic, and doesn't require much upper body strength either.
I worry about this, because I smoked sooo much tin foil in graduate school (in the service of smoking tar heroin, I mean). seriously, am I at hideous risk for alzheimer's now?
At first it struck me as amusing that Alameida was more concerned with the long-term health effects of the aluminum foil than the heroin, but then I remembered that someone in the urban public health field once told me that most purported heroin overdoses are actually related to the toxicity of whatever random bulk chemicals the stuff is cut with.
I had better explosive lower body strength
See 79.
97: I may have mentioned that when my mom came out to do a forensic path consultation many years ago, one of her carry-ons for the flight home was a brain in a dainty hatbox.
the best strategy is to kick out the walker then score points once they're on the ground with a broken hip.
And be sure to say, "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die."
re: 102
I've also been told that one of the commonest causes is shooting up in a strange place. The body doesn't produce all the 'counter-acting' effects it's been conditioned to by a familiar environment. Hence all the junkies found dead in fast-food restaurant toilets and the like.
What the one on the right doesn't know is that the one on the left is not right handed.
whatever random bulk chemicals the stuff is cut with
To tie this in with the gin and tonic thread: quinine is among the common adulterants mixed with cocaine and heroin.
107: Neither is the one on the right, but they've forgotten taht.
Look, I'm not saying fencing isn't physically demanding, I'm just saying that there exists, in parallel to the physical development curve, a learning curve for the tactics which is underestimated by many introductory students of fencing and non-fencers. And I don't think that point even contradicts theorajones' point either.
re: 110
Yeah, I was coached by the British Olympic coach for a brief while.* I'm familiar with the tactics, which are, as you say, clever and sneaky.
* not because of anything special about me, but because that's who teaches/taught the intermediate/advanced foil classes here.
96: I thought the Al-Alz link had been disproved over twenty years ago. I think it started with someone discovering some aluminum in the "tangles" characteristic of Alz and the news people jumping to alarming conclusions.
To tie this in with the gin and tonic thread: quinine is among the common adulterants mixed with cocaine and heroin.
This gives me a great idea for a quixotic* liberal policy proposal: in the interest of harm reduction, there should be a standard chemical adulterant for cocaine and heroin, which would be non-toxic, freely available, and have similar physical properties to the drugs themselves. Carrying the idea a step further, the adulterant could be fortified with trace amounts of whichever vitamins and trace minerals addicits typically are deficient in. You might even throw in some attenuated hepatitis vaccine for an added bonus.
Does Mark A.R. Kleimann read unfogged? Just take this idea and add some equations, Professor, and you've got yourself a new drug policy paper. No need to thank me.
*in a country where even a Democratic president felt compelled to oppose needle exchange programs, despite the near unanimous agreement of experts in their favor.
I join Strasmangelo's partner in the ex-fencer protest. And I rant! I rant!
You guys do realize I am an ex-fencer too, right? Moved my feet and everythin'. 110 is exactly right and not in tension with 86. It is a sport which develops one's large leg muscles and in which one does need to be able to move explosively. It is also one where most of that comes second to technique.
Not that physical condition doesn't matter. I haven't fenced in several years and if I were to go and decide to bout a friend to 15 points I would certainly be sore the next day. But I can do that in a way I couldn't just up and run five miles. (In other words, in the world of sports, it's not one of the more physically demanding sports. This doesn't mean it doesn't require any physical conditioning.)
You guys do realize I am an ex-fencer too, right?
Would you recommend fencing as a sport for young children? At what age is it feasibible to take it up? In France, I walked past a community hall in a village and saw a bunch of 6-8 years olds taking fencing lessons, and it was the cutest damn thing I ever saw.
re: 115
I don't see why not. It's fast, and it's fun. I only did it for a couple of years, so not an expert. But I can't see any reason why small-ish kids couldn't enjoy it.
Yay, Teo. It will be good to have you around. I knwo an architect whose daughter had a job as an intern* at a law firm who decided that she didn't ever want to be a lawyer who is doing or just did that program.
*This was a paid job, but the small-ish law firm chose to call the recent college graduates they hired for two years interns instead of paralegals.
You guys do realize I am an ex-fencer too, right?
With butt muscles of steel!
I'll join the rest of the chorus of ex-fencers to say that it can too be physically demanding, and that fucking groin tears hurt like a mother fucker.
KR--They might have more fun with sabre, but it's all good.
Teo! Now you have to promise to come to our housewarming party in, like, late June-ish. All y'all, in fact.
Awesome, mrh. Congrats on the new house! The last meetup Sifu said that we'd have to make sure to have an eat-up at your house sometime, btu we were all kind of worried that we wouldn't be able to before your wife gave birth.
Would you recommend fencing as a sport for young children? At what age is it feasibible to take it up? In France, I walked past a community hall in a village and saw a bunch of 6-8 years olds taking fencing lessons, and it was the cutest damn thing I ever saw.
Yes. It's a very safe sport, and a good beginner program will place a lot of emphasis on footwork, which teaches balance, develops leg strength, and coordination.
I would recommend starting them on foil. Sabre is a blast, but the technique one learns in foil translates very well to sabre or epee, but not as much the other way.
I prefer axe fencing.
I prefer penis fencing. Because I'm a feminist. Note reference 2 in regards to the current top thread.
Last I heard the Alzheimers / aluminum link was discredited. That doesn't stop the door to door stainless-steel kitchenware people from publicizing it, however.
Yeah, like other's said, but I heard this stupid myth just the other day from Martha Friggin Stewart. I mean c'mon, Martha, get into the 90s at least.
Nobody else has said "foiled again?" Is it too obvious? What? What?!
I forgot to say that axe fencing would require some extremely strong wrists.
And I am sure that penis fencing would practically guarantee explosive lower body strength.
