Kael in Theater

Kael in Theater
Originally uploaded by anselm23.

I think this is Kael. He performed during the Performance class on Sunday night, and I think his poi-spinning from a technical point of view was pretty amazing.

In case you can’t tell… I just posted a bunch of photos from WildFire and elsewhere to my Flickr account and you’re welcome to go check them out.

WildFire staff & play

This morning at breakfast, I sang the “Good Morning!” song before I made my announcements. People seemed really to like it. I also got to set off the camp “lightning alarm” as the community alarm clock at 8:30am. That was fun, though many people seemed to think it was annoying.

I did a bunch of minor errands in the morning, and then went to a swordplay class which was really interesting. Apparently you can’t lunge or do sudden strike maneuvers in fireplay, because the fire tends to stay in the same place, and then you move into it. Oops. Parries 4 and 6, and a few others, work… but you have to position your sword/firewand in such a way that the fire does not run up the blade to the hilt. So none of the downward positions work: parries 7 and 8 for example, as well as prime.

I went to two classes on single staff. One was on contact staff, which I loved but couldn’t do well. Then there was a traditional staff class, which I also liked a lot, and felt like I can do it with some practice. The two combined are capable of making a really amazing show together. I was going to do a double-staff class, but and I were overheated and needed a swim.

The fire-breathing crew think I’m pretty good. They want me to work on a special trick with them, and I’m down with that. We were going to do some of the practice this afternoon. However… It’s currently thundering/lightning. So we wound up clearing the field of extraneous equipment, and went inside instead.

Our friend R. wanted L and I to participate in a play. At first I was going to be Winnie the Pooh, but then I was just going to be a drummer. Now I’m doing something else, but I don’t know what. And I missed rehearsal, so now I really don’t know what I’m doing.

I’ve met a number of people I like, and a few that I’d like to get to know more clearly. There is, as said, a great deal of eye-candy and very beautiful men and women in all sorts of alt-outfits. The women are particularly spectacular; I may say more about that in another kind of post some day, though maybe not.

Firebreathing!

Firebreathing!
Originally uploaded by anselm23.

My lady actually took this photo, but I wanted to be able to post it and show that I really was doing it! That’s me on the right, and Reynard is on the left, holding a kevlar riot shield that I’m aiming at, bouncing the firebreath off of it.

I’m feeling awkward about clothing for this weekend. I brought what I have in terms of costumes, but I’m highly conscious that I’m representing the BSA as much as I’m just me in a playful environment. It’s a weird dichotomy. At the same time, today’s Devil’s Panties is right up my alley. I’m thrilled with it, not least because I own both the boots and the kilt.

I got to breathe fire last night. I was able to produce a couple of really impressive dragon-breaths. Last night I considered it in terms of Randy Pausch’s “First Penguin Award” — sometimes there are rewards for going into the icy water first, not knowing if a walrus or polar bear is waiting beneath the surface. I didn’t breathe fire first; but by going on the first night, I helped ease some of the group’s fears about the BSA freaking out about what they do here and how. I was also able to wow a couple of people last night with my lung strength, and they’re feeling somewhat more comfortable about having me here as their site rep.

Changing the relationship between freaks and the BSA, one breath of fire at a time.