Kung Fu poi balls, birds, and Switchback

[la_belle_laide]

This morning in Kung Fu Erica suggested we work with escrima sticks, which was mine and Lee's first time with them. Erica taught Lee and Chris K. taught me. Here is what was amazing: Chris taught me the first really simple drill (simple if you don't think too much,) and then after I got that down, he said, "This is what it looks like when you do it fast and loosen your wrists," and he started doing the maori poi ball butterfly move that I could never do, only with the escrima sticks. My jaw must have been on the floor. I said, "I'll never be able to do that; that's actually a part of a dance that I have never been able to learn." Chris said, "You'll get it." And then I did. Chris taught me in five minutes what professional poi ball dancers and teachers have not been able to teach me over eight years' time. He just broke it down into seperate moves and a rhythm. I went home and tried it with actual poi balls, and I almost had it. It's a lot easier with the sticks. They don't bend and get tangled, you see. But I have the basic movement in my head now. If I practice it, I'll bet I can do it.

What else? Oh, just a few minutes ago I lost my little runt of the sparrow nest. I'd held some hope for him, too, so it was disappointing. I also forgot to mention yesterday that I got a fledgling flicker. I named him Raphael, after Raphael Sorel. Because I'm a doofus like that. Then today I went to EEVEC to pick up another fledgling robin. I have to figure out a name for him, something in Hawaiian or Tahitian having to do with sunshine or daylight. That's the theme with robins this year so far, at least this little group. Anyway, Kim was there and we chatted for a while. Hope we can get together to watch Alexander this week. Movies like that somehow get better (or at least more fun) when you watch them with someone who can appreciate, you know, certain aspects of them. ^_~

Then I went to Blockbuster and picked up Switchback. It was slow in a lot of places, but overall halfway decent I guess. I love Danny Glover, and he was a really chilling bad guy. I've never seen him play a bad guy before; I was impressed. Dennis Quaid almost showed an emotion once or twice. Jared played the noble nice boy he sometimes gets saddled with, but I liked it. This role didn't seem like too much of a stretch or a challenge for him. He was very understated--not in the Dennis Quaid kind of way, I mean just understated. Oddly, though, his last scene (where he writes the address) made me physically nauseous and I have no idea why. It wasn't overly gory or even really bloody, and truth to tell, I can usually deal with gory and bloody stuff in movies without getting squicked too badly.* It wasn't like in most of his films where he is mutilated or dies horribly. You're left to wonder if he actually lives or not (I'm still not sure which I think,) but, you know, I just can't put my finger on it. It put a knot in my stomach.

I should get to bed, but I'm restless. I thought of a short and weird story that I wanted to call "Pretend I'm The Night Sky" but I don't have the spit to actually begin it.




*Exceptions to the gore statement: (1) The curb scene in American History X, because of the just plain hate and brutality, plus the gross out factor. It was a powerful movie and I love Edward Norton, but I just couldn't take that one part. And (2) Anything from that waste of time, money, and film, Dr. Giggles. I count that as the most hateful and pointless movie I've ever seen, and I think it might be the only movie I've ever seen that made me wish I could unsee it. It had no redeeming qualities.