The Mascot Gallery is fixed! I ran this nifty little script I found via MacFixIt, then republished my pages and now Firefox 3 renders these pages correctly. Thanks for your patience!
See previous post: Firefox 3 Breaks iWeb
In the sidebar I added a news feed from NBC that lists Olympic fencing news! Watch this space during the Games to keep up with the latest events. If you mouse over the headline, you’ll get a description of the article before you click on the link. I’m still waiting to hear if there will be television coverage or live streaming video available. As soon as I hear anything, I’ll let you know!
Update: You can grab a sweet NBC Olympic News widget here to put on your desktop or website!
PLEASE READ ALL THE WAY DOWN FOR UPDATES.
As usual, Fencing.net has the scoop:
Women’s Individual Sabre: USA network on Friday, August 8 9; 2-3pm and again at 9:45-10:30 pm*
Women’s Team Sabre: USA network on Wednesday, August 13 14; 2-3:30pm and again at 10-11pm*
Men’s Team Sabre: MSNBC on Saturday, August 16 17; 10-11:30pm.*
Times are subject to change so please check your local listings for updates. Also watch NBCOlympics.com for possible streaming video options.
I downgraded my cable over a year ago because I wasn’t watching that much tv. So, do I upgrade for the Olympics? It’s very tempting….
*UPDATE 1: I’ve found conflicting information on the dates and times. Another source lists August 9, 14, and 17, and it’s not clear what time zone the broadcast is listed in. I will keep this post updated with the latest information.
*UPDATE 2: Yay! Cable’s back on, and the schedule pages at NBC have been updated. I think it’s clear that fencing will be broadcast in the U.S. on August 9th, 14th, and 17th. What is not clear are the times. For Women’s Individual Sabre, a window between 2:00 am and 2:00 pm EST is listed on USA Network, and 10:00 am EST to 6:00 pm EST for NBC. ARRRRGGH! How am I supposed to watch TV all day just to see fencing? Grrrrr.
*UPDATE 3: Dsapery over at Fencing.net has posted the times for the fencing events. The following are the times posted, in EST:
Women’s Saber - Fri Aug 8 to Sat Aug 9
10:00pm-1:45am Round of 64 through quarterfinals
7:00am Semifinals
7:50am Bronze Medal Match
8:10am Gold Medal Match
Women’s Saber Team - Wed Aug 13 to Thu Aug 14
9:30pm Quarterfinals
10:40pm Losers bracket
11:40pm Semifinals
12:50am 5th place and 7th place matches
6:00am Bronze Medal Match
7:00am Gold Medal Match
Men’s Saber Team - Sat Aug 16 to Sun Aug 17
9:30pm Quarterfinals
10:40pm Losers bracket
11:40pm Semifinals
12:50am 5th place and 7th place matches
6:00am Bronze Medal Match
7:00am Gold Medal Match
I’ve only listed these events because they are the only ones to be broadcast live in the U.S. You can catch the other times over at Dsapery’s post at Fencing.net.
I’ve just cracked open my copy of Epee 2.0 by Johan Harmenberg. Harmenberg describes in the introduction how Eric Sollee’s fencing system evolved from working within an “area of excellence,” and neutralizing any advantage held by an opponent by forcing them to attack your strongest points. Art is like that, too. In a recent blog post by Tom Richmond, he describes working in different mediums but remaining within your own style:
“…the point is that there is nothing wrong with constantly exploring new mediums and applications for your work, but you need not compromise yourself as an artist by trying to be someone else. Be yourself.”
Be yourself. It sounds so easy, but it isn’t, is it? I’ve been working for years, wondering what my “style” should be, and dabbling in different mediums. Style seems to come so easy to some people. I’m only just now realizing that your “style” should just be whatever comes naturally to you. You can be inspired by other people, but to copy the work of others is to compromise your artistic integrity, and to belittle yourself by trying to be someone else. Don’t work against the grain, work with the grain. If you express yourself better in line, as I do, work in a way which uses line to your advantage. That is not to say you should ignore obvious deficiencies in your skill set, of course. In fencing, if your parry four is weak, you should work to improve it, but in a competition, force your opponent into your six-line to take advantage of your best move.
Developing your own method of expression should come from a place within yourself. I think it’s hardest for those of us who are excellent copycats. Especially when you haven’t been really thinking about how you want to express yourself visually for a long time. Being in the military kind of discourages individual or creative thinking, so I have some ground to make up.
I haven’t found a lot of articles which discuss how an artist develops a personal voice or style, but I’ll post them as I come across them. Martin Salisbury’s Illustrating Children’s Books has some excellent material, but I’d love to see something more comprehensive. Drop me a note or leave a comment if you have any resources to suggest, and I’ll post them here.
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