New Trapeze video

Ok, so as long promised. I asked a very nice fellow classmate in my last class to take a video of me working on my new trick. He had one of those fancy Flip video cameras so the picture is pretty good quality. Please follow the below link


http://sharing.theflip.com/session/9d83f6c5a5bd3a28ab836e1fcfba90d8/video/9742911

So this trick is called a Back-end Split off the 1st Rise.

Please pay attention to the following:

1. If you have watched any of my previous flying videos you will notice that my “Take-off” or how I jump off the board has changed. Not only am I now doing a one-handed take-off, where I start by holding the bar with my right hand and the riser with my left; bringing my left hand to the bar as I leave the board. But I am progressing in my skill enough that I am now doing a virtually un-supported take-off. Previously, the instructor on the board would hold me by the back of my safety harness to make sure that I left the board safely. Now his hand is poised in front of me just in case something should go horribly wrong. This is a big-deal because it’s a significant step towards becoming an intermediate flyer –right now I am still a beginner.

2. I am performing this trick off the 1st rise. In the video you can see that I am standing not flat on the board but on a bar in between the risers about 6 inches above the board. This gives me more height in my trick, which makes it prettier. Advanced students will go off the 4th or 5th rise and subsequently fly much higher.

3. This trick is called a back-end trick because on the “front” or when I first leave the board till I get to the apex I’m just swinging, I get into the trick (the split) on the back end, so when I swing backwards.
The trick still needs to work, you can hear my instructor yelling for me to “Big Hollow” –yeah I didn’t really hollow at all and the catch itself was a little sloppy. But as I keep saying it’s progressive.

2010 Catch-Up

I am such a bad blogger --it’s been so long. In an attempt to make it up to you --here’s a slew of posts about what I’ve been doing lately.

1. What I’ve been reading...

Thanks to my company’s work contributions to the Kindle, Amazon gave us a huge discount right before Christmas --and well it was too good to pass up. So thanks to my Grandparent’s generosity I got a Kindle. I love, love, love it. It’s easy to read, there’s no difficulty flipping pages while I hang on to a subway pole and drink my morning coffee, and I love having a bookstore at my fingertips so whatever I want to read, I can download it in 90 seconds.

So my first Kindle books were: Conan-Doyle’sThe Return of Sherlock Holmes, Steig Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Girl Who Played with Fire.

Sherlock Holmes is fun and brilliant --these stories follow his battle with Moriarity and show a more vengeful side of Holmes. After almost dying and hiding out for a long time he is bitter and spiteful as he goes after enemies, becomes a criminal himself breaking and entering (admittedly the culprit deserved it but still a departure from his norm), and deceiving Scotland Yard.

Steig Larsson’s books are amazing, and unfortunately since he has passed away there will only be three of them. I believe this is first time I’ve read a book set in Sweden, these books bring to light the nitty-gritty and worst side of the people --a definite change from the Noble prize and non-involvement.

Larsson is brilliant in building complex and unknowable characters so that every move they make is a surprise, and never dull. The story is complex but it bends together so well that the end brings everything together, I was surprised and satisfied by the endings for each.

And then in traditional book format I’ve been reading Raymond Chandler’s Farewell My Lovely and Audrey Niffeneger’s newest book Her Fearful Symmetry.

Chandler is the definition of noir, his writing style is smart and completely true to his protagonist and the period. The story, however, left several things to be desired, he weaves this tale of the tribulations of a private investigator yet at its conclusion so many of the plot points just fall out, that they were unimportant and the solution --well it just “came to him” --that’s just weak.

I was concerned when I first picked up Her Fearful Symmetry reviewers have not been kind. Niffeneger’s writing style remains elegant and direct and she is still one of my favorite writers of magical realism. In her writing I almost forgot the magical element, her style just makes be believe that time-travel and amorphous ghosts exist -or at least I would like them to.

1. Flying Trapeze

I’ve started going once a week, creating my own sort of workshop. It’s been really helpful to work with the same instructors each time, to have the same people critiquing and giving me tips on being a better flyer.

I’m getting better, and feeling stronger. Going once a week helps, before I would spend my first couple of turns making sure I remembered everything from my last class. I don’t have the same concerns now.

So I’m still working on my swing, learning back-end tricks which incorporate my swing so that I can build more power and finesse into each trick, and I starting to work on catching and returning to my original bar. Videos soon, I promise.

1. Linguistics Palooza in Baltimore

On my first business trip of 2010 I went to Baltimore for the Linguistic Society of America annual meeting. The meeting went very well, however, the main highlight of the trip happened outside the meeting. Normally I avoid the super-touristy aspects of the cities I visit when I have time off. However, my friend/colleague and I couldn’t pass up the aquarium after the meeting was finished on Sunday.

The Baltimore Aquarium is amazing! Since I don’t see fish on a daily basis I almost forgot that no matter how ugly or strange looking they may be, the way they move is so elegant and graceful. I wanted to be one of the little kids who runs up to the tank and presses their noses and all ten fingers against the glass just to get a better look.

1. Miscellaneous...

Work is going well

I’m starting to enjoy watching professional football --and while I still only watch with a group of friends, it’s more entertaining now that I have a better understanding as to what is going on

The holidays were a lovely whirlwind. Not exactly relaxing but I had a great time seeing family and friends. Santa was very generous too. New Year’s was more relaxed this year, friends and dancing, I had a great time.