Cue “Eye of the Tiger” here.
WOW. This page took me a lot longer than it should have. The last few pages dragged on a little longer than I meant them to. I need to cram more story and dialogue into less space. I’ll work on that. Hopefully I haven’t lost anyone to boredom yet!
First the Olympic Games, then the Paralympic Games. Today there’s a new opening ceremony in Beijing kicking off the first event of its kind. The First Annual World Mind Sports Games begin today. Featuring the world’s most popular strategy games, Bridge, Chess, Go, Checkers (Draughts), and Xiangqi (Chinese Chess), the idea first gained popularity in the 1990s when the Bridge and Chess associations petitioned the IOC to be included in the Olympics.
This week as part of my research I rented the movie Nomad (2005). Starring Kuno Becker and Jay Hernandez, the movie presents a fictionalized historical epic about the formation of Kazakhstan. Under threat from hostile Jungar (Dzunghar) tribes in the 17th century, the native Kazakhs must band together to repel the invasion. A boy saved from death becomes the legendary Ablai Khan destined to unite the Kazakh tribes against their enemy.
Heavily subsidized by the Kazakh government in hopes of a Braveheart-style success, the movie falls short of its grand intentions. It still manages to entertain, however with several scenes of superior Kazakh horsemanship and sword battles. The production is slick and professional, and it should be noted that there are no computer effects used in this film. The vast battle scenes are filmed entirely through the use of extras. It recieved an “R” rating mostly due to a lot of sword slashing, stabbing, and one lost head. I watched it using subtitles and enjoyed the pleasing sounds of the Kazakh language, which is most closely related to Turkish. But unless you’re really into the history of Kazakhstan, it would be hard to recommend this film. Unfortunate because Kazakhstan desperately needs some good PR after the disaster of Borat. View a trailer of the movie here.
Note: Don’t confuse Kazakh with Cossack.
The comic page will be up a little late this week, but I’ll get it up as soon as possible. I had the privilege this weekend of attending a fencing director’s clinic given by the esteemed Derek Cotton of the Fencing Officials Commission (FOC). Derek is not only a highly knowledgeable referee but also an entertaining speaker. Unfortunately I found out quickly that this was not to be a test-prep lecture. In addition, my strategy of studying the rulebook systematically and waiting until the week before the test to start with the study guide proved faulty. But as I was told by many others, most of whom were simply there to get their annual requirement fulfilled, the test is designed not to pass the first time. So really, it’s less of a test of what you know than a “teaching” test. I will admit however that knowing the penalty chart a little better will help. I’ll be ready for the next attempt, and hopefully I can share some more useful study techniques.
This was also my first time at Mid-South Fencer’s Club. This club has a great coffeehouse feel (besides the upstairs coffeehouse) that makes it a place you want to hang out in. With exposed brick walls and artwork by owner Matt Cox, it’s the kind of club you’d want if you had your own club. It doesn’t hurt that it has air conditioning, either, a boon if you understand how hot and humid North Carolina can be in the summer. Matt and Jen were very hospitable and I’m looking forward to attending a tournament (and re-taking my exam) there in the future.
After observing the practical portion of the lecture on Sunday, I swung by the N.C. Museum of Art on the way home for some inspiration. My usual method of going through a museum, is to walk by every piece stopping only at the ones that catch my eye or leave me with a question which can only be answered by closer observation or reading the placard. While I admire the obsession with detail of the Renaissance masters but I look at them much like I look at classical fencing; pretty, but inert. For representational art I prefer the more graphic look of medieval icon paintings, ancient Egyptian reliefs and more primitive styles of illustration. Modern art in contrast to classical reduces form to the basic details without sacrificing feeling or sense of motion. My goal as an artist, particularly as a graphic artist, is to find a way to express in line and color a representational image without losing the big picture; the heart and feeling of the subject. As those readers who fence understand, fencing is all about heart, a fact that I hope you will come to appreciate throughout the course of my story.
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