stifled4mallettechnique

And Boston moves up .5 for the guard salute (it would have been a full point if the pole had been there...) And I'm outtie.

Ummm... the standstill must have been shorter than expected. Those girls didn't even have time to finish getting dressed!

The rest of the crowd will be composited in later... electronically...

Did I miss all of the talking parts when my audio skipped? Or did George just do that stuff so he could trick everyone into voting for synths?

Now THAT'S a synth effect! No, wait, the feed is just messed up...

So YOU'RE the one that gave him the idea! GET HIM GUYS!

Indeed

Long time no see kiddies! Yes, that goes for the old folks as well... If someone beat me to this, just ignore it. I probably won't see your flame anyway... Here's how this works... there are two corps in finals who have scored well above the rest. The corps going on second to last floods the field during their closer. They lose two points, but are still above the third place corps. The final corps slips and falls constantly, likely finding themselves in twelfth place. Sure, it's a dirty trick, but when nobody understands your artistic vision and nobody likes your narration, what's a second place corps to do? Sarcastic? Sure. Likely? You betcha. It would be instantly accepted by the masses, just like amps and duts are now. Expect ANYTHING to happen that the rules allow or fail to prohibit. [self-edit]inappropriate comment involving other liquids ommitted[end self-edit] OK, I'm gone again. See ya in a few months!

A shame, isn't it?

Renegades. You just can't beat that pit! (Yes, that was an obvious S&M joke. Get over it.) But seriously. Renegades. Also, though I didn't care for the design, Teal Sound's blue looks amazing in the sunlight. Hopefully one day I'll get to see it under stadium lighting. Kingsmen at semis was a treat, nice old skool, with the guard in matching cadet jackets and shakos... and those boots!

PM me their addresses. I will go to the home of each and do just that. ^0^ Accept what I say or don't. You haven't responded to me directly before, so I assume that you secretly do.... For all of the talk about how much better the kids are today is true (and yes, I am generalizing. I know you haven't all said that), you should be able to perform more demanding shows without crutches. Yes, the timing demands are generally higher today. Yes, "duts" are allowed. Yes, if your corps takes the time to learn to do your show without "dutting", you will be trampled by the corps that "dut" and use the extra time for other purposes. Yes, if your corps falls out of the top 12 it will lose a lot of money. I understand. It's not your fault. The system is to blame. But those of you that act like you are Gods of drum corps and the generations that came before you are slugs probably ought to keep your pride in "dutting" on the DL (Do they still say "DL"?). Not mowing the 50 doesn't prove that you are a better marcher, a better player, or a better person. It just means that you are performing a show with certain challenges built in that many before you didn't face. Challenges you can't overcome without "duts". Apparently, many of you are proud enough of that fact that you think it's cool to demonstrate it by "dutting" so that the crowd can hear it. Why shouldn't you be proud? You're getting as many points as you can and not breaking any rules! And doing it without breaking rules is still a step above the "win at ALL costs" attitude that pervades society today. Good job!

Does anyone know where the "Captain Obvious" smiley is? I'm about to need it. It just MIGHT be possible that if the drummers (and others, but this is a response...) weren't put in places and configurations that made things so difficult, they wouldn't need to "dut" to get through it. So why are they put there? To look cool? Not necessarily. To make it harder for mom to pinpoint them from the stands? I doubt it. I'm guessing they are put into more difficult situations to earn more points. Obviously, since there is no penalty for degrading the quality of the show by "dutting", and since winning is more important than quality product and/or education, corps are going to reach beyong their grasp and compensate with a crutch. As I asked in an earlier thread, and I didn't see a response for some reason, Is a "crutch" a bad thing? It must be, or you people wouldn't dismiss the word so indignantly. As to your question about why those opposed to your point of view aren't running drumlines.... I'll bypass the obvious myriad of responses and ask you this: Have you ever bowled a 300 game? Do you know a gutterball when you see one?

I want to make sure I understand you. The show you are teaching is too hard for your kids, given the funding and time you have been allotted, so you have them "dut" to avoid watering your show down without sacrificing some precision. You have no choice, as you feel obligated to give your members a competitive experience. Everyone else does it, so if you want your program to have a chance you must bite the bullet and compromise. A losing program is a program that will fold, and then it won't be there for the members to get anything out of. If I have it right, I feel your pain. This is what much of the public education system has become, although outside of the music programs one could argue that there are more "duhs" than "duts". If I misunderstood you completely, my apologies.

If I understand the young'uns (just had to use that label to keep the tension up!), "duts" are necessary to facilitate the performance of drill that could not otherwise, with the allotted rehearsal time and talent of members and staff, be accomplished. If I am misstating or misunderstanding, please let me know. "But the snare line can't see the drum major because in this part of the drill we are going for extra GE by putting our heads into the contrabass tuba bells!" Don't care. It probably smells better than where your show designers' heads are. "But Our lead sopranos trumpets are in each corner of the field facing away from everyone else!" Well, didn't you just get 15 more slots? Use a few for drum majors! "But our three marching snares (which we field in homage to the olden days) hear a delay from the mic'd drum machines in the pit!" When it gets to this you can all have the Good Doctor transmitted into your wireless in-ear monitors. OK, I get it. Really. The judges allow "duts". "Duts" help you do things you can't do otherwise. This means you get a higher score. I understand. Nevermind the contradictions of the positions many pro-"dut"ers have posted elsewhere on DCP. It's all about compromising to win. I hope DCI starts random drug testing soon! BTW, I hope I have sufficiently satisfied everyone who loves to see new skool/olds kool (no typo) arguments with my irreverance, and that a few of you see the rest of the post. Hopefully I have crafted this sloppily enough that someone will tackle it directly for a change. And for the lazy (ironic in this thread, no?)... tl;dr ("too long;didn't read" for the uninitiated) Yeah, "duts" are legal. Yeah, they help make hard stuff easier. No, I don't generally like them.

Anyone that says "duts" are not a crutch is either a liar or a fool. It doesn't matter how hard the show is, or how it compares to any show from the past or present. Now that I've hurt some feelings, let's go further. Is using a crutch bad? That's a matter for personal opinion, and the judges' personal opinions will dictate. IMRHO, if use of a crutch does more good than bad, why not? If I need a literal crutch to walk, I'll use one. If I do more damage to my armpit or my cats or (insert silly example here) than I prevent to my foot or mobility by using the crutch, perhaps I should reconsider. Crutches, whether literal or figurative, exist everywhere. They're just tools. If used well, they can be (for brevity's sake) "good". If not, they can be very "bad". Those of you that justify "duts" merely on the premise that they allow you to do things that the old skool corps did not should probably reconsider your overall position. More to follow... gotta run.