Have you held your fermata today?

Currently in Earphones: "Siuil A Run (Walk My Love)" as performed by Celtic Women, "The Queen of Argyll" as performed by Silly Wizard.

To counteract the rather bleak previous post, I'll post some lyrics to my current favorite song, "The Queen of Argyll" Here ya go:

Gentle men it is my duty
To inform you of one beauty
Though I'd ask you of a favor,
Not to seek her for a while
Though I own she is a creature
Of character and feature
No words can paint the picture
of the Queen of all Argyll.

Chorus:
And if you could have seen her there,
Boys if you had just been there
The swan was in her movement,
And the morning in her smile.
All the roses in the garden,
They bow and ask her pardon
For not one could match the beauty
Of the Queen of all Argyll

On that evening that I mention,
I passed with light intention
Through a part of our dear country
Known for beauty and for style
Being a place of noble thinkers,
Of scholars and great drinkers
But above them all for splendour
Shone the Queen of all Argyll

So my lads my needs must leave you,
My intention's not to grieve you
Nor indeed would I decieve you,
Oh I'll see you in a while
I must find some way to gain her,
To court her and to tame her
I fear my heart's in danger
From the Queen of all Argyll

So guys, you know how it feels to find a woman like that right? Just blows you away? This song always puts a smile on my face because it reminds me of that feeling. I'd sing it to a depressed female friend to restore her faith in the male component of humanity.

On another cool note, I've corresponded with Mr. Robert Todd Carroll, author of "The Skeptics Dictionary," a must have for all you healthy disbelievers out there. Turns out Mr. Carroll lives in Davis, and I asked him if he could sign my hard copy of the dictionary, to which he gracefully has agreed to. I look forward to next week!

And on yet another cool note, Anja is coming to visit me during break! She can now finally see that my parents are great people and we're not all crazy!

Enough. More Later.
- James

...Darkness the right hand of Light.

Currently in Earphones: "Estuans Interius" from Carl Orff's Carmina Burana.

And the Angel of Mercy looked down on the past,

And staggered backward upon the heat of the blast,

Then the Monster of Jealousy whispered horrid and chill;

The Angel’s wings were stained black and forever were still.

- Rearranged and mangled from Byron a la myself.

Enough. More Later.
- James

The Dance of Blades

Currently in Earphones: "The Count of Monte Cristo" Soundtrack by Edward Shrearmur.

OK, so this has been a while and coming, but here ya go.

The Fencing crew left from Davis around 9:30ish Friday morning. Since we were planning on staying over with the Poly crew, we had twice as much stuff, so the majority of our fencing equipment went with Aljay in his truck. The trip down was relatively uneventful, and we arrived there in the early afternoon.

I tell ya, the Poly crew's (Patrick, Ryan, and housemates) house was situated very oddly. It's a flat that was once a duplex, but had the middle wall knocked out to create a very interesting configuration of rooms and doors. Patrick had a habit of coming in by a different door every time he returned to the house, and we'd always start when he popped up seemingly out of the woodwork. All in all a very nice place, though waaay out in the boonies between a junk yard and PG&E outpost.

The upshot of being in such and odd place was what has been dubbed "Spooling." Right next to their driveway is this giant open-walled shed with large wooden spools (we think that they used to hold cables for PG&E) which vary in size but are perfect for balancing and moving about on like giant wheels. You would stand on top of one and walk forward to move backwards and backward to move forwards, kind of like a clown balancing act. Well, we had a lot of fun seeing how fast and how far we could go on them, jousting on them, and generally goofing around on them. I didn't partake because I wasn't in the mood for any big injuries, seeing that the next day we had the Tourney. It was a fun spectacle to watch, in any case.

The next day we all had a leisurely breakfast, which was the upshot of not being a novice. Novice fencers usually have the earliest call in a tourney, because they take up the most room and usually take a good amount of time to finish up. However, given that we were not Novice fencers anymore, we didn't have to make that call, and instead got to sleep in and enjoy ourselves. The one snag was that we were given mis-information about when the Advanced Foil registration closed, and both Toes and Preston missed out on doing foil as a result. It wasn't too big a deal, because Sabre was both their forte and Toes could still do Epee.

I unfortunately got stuck with some sharks in the pools for Epee (viz, way more advanced fencers than I) including the great Tom Ellison, and only made it 1-4 (That is, won one bout and lost 4 bouts out of 5). The annoying part was that my one victory was against our club president, Fez, who is an excellent Foilist (made 3rd place in the entire tourney) but is just getting in to Epee.

Then, wonder of wonders, before I knew it I won my first ever Direct Elimination. I was going up against a (Santa Cruz?) girl named Alexa who had fenced Epee for 3 years, and yet she had all of the problems I had. After my first bout in the pools in which I got my ass handed to me, TC took me aside and gave me some advice. I was (and still am, to an extent) fencing like a musician; I was too nice, thinking too much, and not having a very competitive edge. TC told me, and I paraphrase "You fence, don't you? Got all the equipment and all? Then by golly, you're an athlete!" To this, I realized he was right, I AM and athlete, and there was a mentality there that wasn't sinking in. "You've got to go in there ready to win," TC told me (paraphrasing again), "because that's what it means to be an athlete. And relax, let your actions just happen. Right now when you're attacking you're like a musket, ::imitates a delayed musket fuse and shot:: you're taking too much time. You need to be more like a contemporary rifle, ::ch-chick-BOOM!!::" In any case, this advice went directly toward my first D.E. bout.

Alexa was a nice enough girl, but after the first few touches, I realized that she had no drive. She would sit in En guard and defend, but make sparse actions against me. As much as I wanted to be nice, I ended up just taking advantage of her (errr, well, not in that way, obviously). I went in relaxed, and just let the touches happen. ::ch-chick-BOOM!!:: got a handshot, ::ch-chick-BOOM!!:: got a beat to her arm, ::ch-chick-BOOM!!:: got another handshot. In the end it was just touch and go. Granted, there wasn't a whole lot of opposition, but it was darn good practice. I walked away with the bout in my favor.

My second D.E. was much more difficult, but twice as much fun. I finally met the twin Epeeists of Cal poly, the two tall and very nordic looking Trent and Troy. I was up against Trent for my second D.E. and met him beforehand via Mr. Ryan Curtis. Trent was fun fellow, right up my alley, and we joked and talked before the match. Both Fez and Ande had given me advice as to Trent's style, so was somewhat prepared when we both hooked ourselves up to the strip.

Since both of our height advantages were null (we're roughly the same height) we both played very cautious, padding just out of each other's distance and gauging each other. The first few touches were back and forth, Trent usually waiting for a counter-attack to my attack and giving little offence. He got a shin-shot off on me, which gave me the idea to copy it. I feinted toward his hand a few times a touch afterward, then zoomed into a crouch and got him squarely on the shin. I resisted the urge to say "Didn't see that one comin', did ya!!" As the match went on, we were basically going point for point. Cody and some of the Davis crew were cheerin' me on on the sidelines. In the end, Trent won, but not before I made him sweat by getting up to 7-7 in a 10 touch match. I was leading when we stopped for our minute break, but my mind then went out the window and his came back to him for the second half. All in all, a great match. I truly said when we shook hands "Whoo! That was a great match! What fun!" We were all smiles.

If there were any other matches to mention, I'm afraid I missed them, being so occupied with Epee. However, Both Toes and Preston placed in the top 8 for Sabre, and also got medals for team Sabre. All in all, Davis did really well, and rocketed up to Second place for the Big Cup. Huzzah to all!

We decided to zoom back to Davis Saturday night rather than Sunday morning, which in retrospect was rather tiring. I regret not hanging out with the Poly crew more afterwards, but Homework called, and we can always do it when they come up for the Davis Tourney.

P.S. I have been in the company of Anja for at least an hour each time for the past few days. I'm getting the niggling suspicion that she fancies me ;). I'll say this, I've enjoyed her company very much, but to iterate what we do here would be improper. Oh, and she's been nice enough to get me some Lady Grey tea, of which you can read an interesting factoid here. My only complaint is that I need to make sure I get enough sleep. No more 8am classes for me, ever! (if I can help it).

Enough. More Later.
- James

Hold on to your hats....

Currently in Earphones: "One Speed" from the Chronicles of Riddick Soundtrack by Graeme Revell.

Don't go away, y'all, I'll update in the next few days with the previous goings on of the Cal Poly Tourney.

Dunno if you ever watched Peewee's Playhouse as a kid, but I'll always remember the various commercial break cuts/ditties: "After theeeese messages, we'll be riiiight...back!"

(And those frikin' odd Twix commercials, I'm scarred for life)

Enough. More Later.
- James

A Woman's Heart.

Currently in Earphones: "Children of Dune" Soundtrack by Brian Tyler.

So yeah, went with Anja to see "A Woman's Heart" at Mondavi last night, was pretty impressed. I'm glad that she and I share the same opinions, though.

First, the first half I found much better than the second, maybe because I'm more of a traditionalist and like the modal and instrumental pieces. It got off to a great start with the amazing Cara Dillion, who had an amazingly sweet and melodious voice. That she started off with her own rendition of "Black is the Color" made my day; it's one of my absolute favorite songs. After a few more nice vocal pieces, Sharon Shannon came down on Accordion and played some wicked reels and jigs of her own making. I really liked how she combined the quick beat and traditional lines with some more classical phrases in her compositions, but needless to say she had everyone bouncing in their seats.

The second half was ok. First off there was Maura O'Connell, this fantastically quirky woman with a lusty alto. She had this huge shock of (looked to be brunette from my vantage point) hair and goofily frumpy clothing, but boy was she having fun! She'd dance around and romance the microphone like a gutsy blues singer. And did she ever have an amazing lung capacity! She held on to notes for what seemed like forever. I liked her soulful repertoire, particularly her "Love you in the Middle," which still touched me even though it's a middle-aged love ballad. Finally there was Mary Black, who although was the more well-known of them all, wasn't particularly impressive. Sure, she had a nice voice, but it was hard to understand her. As Anja so adroitly pointed out, she didn't enunciate and sometimes seemed to be singing around her brouge. Although they all finished out with a few numbers which featured all of them, what was the crowd favorite was the first encore number: Sharon Shannon came out with her squeezebox and sparked the place off with some great fast-moving (Jigs? Reels?). The final pieces afterward seemed underwhelming after such a high-energy finish, but all in all, I liked it all.

The concert last night rekindled Anja's desire for the green land, and I support her whole-heartedly in her desire to spend either a summer or a year there. All I know is that, if she wishes to choose the course that will make her happy, I shouldn't have to play a role. If she really wants to spend a year there, I can't be the one factor holding her back. Goodness knows she's putting herself through enough that she can even go to Ireland. If she does choose for the full year, then I only say this to her: If you find someone else, no doubt better than I, I only ask that you not forget me. Love is not a shackle, and as I love you so should I not greedily bind you to me. You must do what makes you happy, the last thing you need are the desires of a foolish man holding you back from better things.

Enough. More Later.
- James

Indeed...

Currently in Earphones: "Doom Service" "Door of Destiny" "Hellstorm" "Power Struggle" by Klaus Badelt.

I froze. What was I to do? Had I heard correctly? What a time for fatigue to dull my senses. If it was, 'twas so out of left field that I had no time to think, only to react. I made my choice, then realized that it was I who was bass ackwards. Damnit! Shame filled me. I was like the dog that cringed away from a friendly hand after being hit too often. Only the hand was her silvery laughter; pure and sweet, without malice, and my mistake made me cringe. One does not merely unlearn years of humility and shame in a moment, and as much as I wanted to be purified then and there, still I tremble. Have patience with me, Cara Mea, and hopeless though we are, I may yet have courage.

Enough, More Later.
- James

Swords, Cloaks and Late Night Happenings.

Currently in Earphones: Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children Soundtrack.

Man, this weekend was packed.

First off, got up in the wee hours of the morning Saturday to head to UC Santa Cruz for the Tourney. We piled into Bishop's car and raced down, listening to our newest incarnation of the "Beer For Bishop" compilation that's taking our friends by storm, and singing our lungs out all the way (aside from the occasional nap).

Arrived at the UC and unpacked. It was a small tourney in one of their indoor multipurpose courts, nice and comfy. Now, I had never fenced Epee in any sort of tournament before, so I was prepared to get my ass handed to me. TC counseled me as such, and also said "You can be the thorn. As long as you can get some points off on them, it's all good. Just be a nusiance. Come to think of it, we should totally get you a coat of arms!" Well, first match off the bout (to five points) my opponent got a point, 0-1 his favor. Then 1-1, then 1-2, then 2-2. Then all of a sudden it was 3-2, then 4-2, then 5-2! Bout! I'd won! TC was very impressed, as was I. And that was my victory for the day. Everything else was the other fencer whipping the heck outta me. But I got some good pointers from Mr. Ryan Curtis, one of the Cal Poly crew and an excellent Epeeist. My only regret was having my pools include more lefty-fencers than righties.

Things went very swimmingly afterward. Toes fenced both Saber and Foil, and to our surprise not only did well in pools, but knocked out at least 2 D.E.s in each. He even managed to best Bishop, not an easy feat, which was rather bittersweet. On one hand, Bishop had taught Toes well enough to best him, and on the other, he had been beaten.

But the real kudos goes to Preston, who amazed us all.

So there we were, the second round of D.E.s for Saber, and Preston was up against a USFA C Ranked Fencer from Berkeley (for those of you who don't know, A rank fencers are top of the heap). It was a match to 10 touches, and Preston was getting nailed. It was 8 points to Preston's 1 point, and things were looking grim. Ryan, Patrick, TC and some assorted Davis fencers were on the sidelines yelling encouragement, and TC says at this point "Preston! Do something DIFFERENT!!!"

Preston then pauses, cocks his head to the side and thinks for a moment, and then Ryan shouts "BEGGARMAN!" Now, the Cal Poly people have also heard Beer for Bishop, and know as well as all of us that Beggarman is a song with a very fast tempo. We almost see the dawning comprehension bloom in Preston as the judge says "Ready, Fence!" He immediately starts hopping about "like a leprechaun on meth," as he so eloquently retold, and totally throws the Berkeley fencer off guard, landing a neat clean point.

There's a collected vibe of "Cool! It Worked!" that runs through the air, and Preston jigs it up for a point or two more and starts to gain the upper hand. Patrick then shouts "HEART OF THE OCEAN!" in much the same vein: a song with a slow tempo. At the "Ready, Fence!" the Berkeley fencer immediately tenses up, waiting for the fast and furious. It never comes. Preston calmly advances forward in tempo and clunks him upside the head.

This goes on until they are tied: it's 8-8 and the excitement is buzzing. The entire Salle is watching the match, it seems. Preston is mixing it up like mad and we're right there along with it. The other fencer and his coach are grinding their teeth in frusteration. Then it's 8-9, Preston's favor. Then Preston relaxes just enough to get careless. Now it's 9-9, La Belle: Match Point. Tension is thick in the air. We all hold our breath as we hear the familiar "Ready, Fence!" and Preston and the other charge full on at each other. The sound of blades keen through the air as they swing, and our hearts stop for the nanosecond between the time we hear the box go off and we look at the indicator lights. One Light. A Clean Hit.....Preston's Point.

The Davis/Cal Poly Crowd goes absolutely apeshit. Cheering, hooting, howling, and much back slapping and congratulations ensue as he gets unhooked from the strip. As the Berkeley fencer consulted with his coach, we could almost here them saying "What the hell is a Beggarman?!?!?" An amazing match. Though Preston didn't manage to win the following bout afterwards, it remains the high point of the day. We didn't go away empty handed though; through a technicality we won 3rd place Team Saber. We didn't have any girls at all show up, which was sad in itself, but it also disqualified us from any team scoring (That is, the collective points of all who fence advanced Foil/Saber/Epee). However, there were only two groups who qualified to win Team Saber, and since we placed highest after them, we won third by default. The trophy is on our mantle; Preston earned the right to keep it.

So After staying up for 20 hours on Saturday for all the Tourney related activities, I hobbled through Sunday and most of Monday in recovery. Monday night, though, was a total blast. The great Aljay held a Halloween party at his place (conveniently located on the same street that Anja resides) and we all went out trick-or-treating. Of course, being a bunch of college kids, we devised a new way of making it more legitimate. We had Mike, one of the more musically talented in our party, bring his accordion, and he taught us a very catchy song that he and others had devised earlier. It's a crazy little ditty, and it goes something like this...

"Please give us some Candy,
Starving college students need food!
Please give us some Candy,
Our Stomachs will surely thank you!

Please give us some Candy,
Boy, that would surely be keen,
And we hope that you may have
a Fantastic Halloween!"

Needless to say, we brought a smile to many a face, and tons of extra candy from all the appreciative people as we went door-to-door caroling, as it were. It brought smiles to our faces to hear family after family go "This has been the highlight of our evening!" We even had one house where a husband and wife answered the door, and just before we were about to break into song, the woman said "Wait! I just put our 8 month old to sleep..." ::we all deflate:: "...but I'm gonna go get him up, he should see this!" ::we all resume:: A kind soul even gave us $20 with the admonishment "Go get yourselves a pizza!" We all agreed it was Mikes, what with carrying his accordion around. In any case, we had a blast, and were totally making plans for next year: we'll have more instruments the next time (I on my fiddle, of course)! It was the best Halloween I've had in ages.

Of the time I got to spend with my dear Anja, I will only say this: Although I may be lacking for sleep because of it, the time I spend with her has been the best. The only thing I wish to be able to happen now is for us to fall asleep in each other's arms without care for the next day. I cannot say this enough: I care for her more than I can put in words. I am hers.

But soft, I have homework to do!

Enough, More Later.
- James