IanKShields

Would LOVE to hear your definition of "artsy-fartsy"... Too demanding on your attention? Too complex or difficult? Too... what, exactly? Explain why all of us should avoid contact with such things, and instead hide in our living rooms staring at "American Idol", please. Am eager to improve my country, in any way you suggest.

What the hell does being able to "hum the tunes" have anything to with anything? Some music is aimed at hummers (melody-heavy), and some music is aimed at more complete impressions. That's not a qualitative judgement, it's basic music comprehension. C'mon now, don't be a rube! (Sorry for jumping into your flame-war with the other guy, but that was just too cheap to ignore.)

Yeah, I tried a white version too. It looks pretty good, but it was just enough like Phantom's headgear that I finally steered away. Anyway, I think the blue helmet would really make the shiny chromium "star", front visor, and chinstrap elements "pop" really nicely. If the helmet is super-glossy as well, the blue would just look too fabulous for words under the lights! Was thinking of an impression of speed, superpowers, etc -- not so much military as futuristic, by way of "Flash Gordon" or "Captain America". Nobody else is really going for such a thing, so it seems like a fun niche to fill, and would certainly fit the current hyperspeed drill designs. Glad you like it!

How about:

... and even that goes to prove your good point, which is, in essence: "what do you want -- more tradition, or better beer?" And, after all, if you repeat something enough, it becomes "tradition" anyway. It may as well be something good. Let's start now!

Yikes! Kid, you're not even married yet, and you're already calling her a "ball and chain"? If you feel like that for real, save yourself a ton of money and grief and stop the wedding, 'cuz the marriage is already over!

If it helps, I'm not Blue Stars alum, just a musician & fan who remembers the old unis vividly (including the guard's Bermuda shorts -- not "hot pants", as they've been sexily described). I always thought the old unis made everyone look fat. The cross straps seemed to be the primary culprit, followed by the very-round pith helmet design, and I'd always wondered what kind of better impression the 'Stars might make if their uniforms weren't so roly-poly-looking. They always played and marched powerfully, but, phew...ugh. By contrast, when the new uniform came out in photos the first time, I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a near miraculous job of redesign, without losing identity, and it was SHARP! One of the prettiest uniforms I've seen in years, in fact. It has altered my view of the formerly dowdy Blue Stars in a 100% positive way. So, I am, in spirit, in complete sympathy with the 'Stars vets here who are concerned about throwing away corps identity, but in reality I am simply loving this new uniform. I think it succeeds magnificently as a complete redesign that somehow still screams "Blue Stars"; that creativity, as it often does, has trumped the potential problem. Now the issue arrives with the hats. Yeah, I think the helmet is very much an important Blue Stars signature, and I hope that, however good the Shakos look and work, Blue Stars can find themselves in some sort of sleek new helmet soon. Perhaps something like the deep-well Phantom/Bluecoats profile that obviously works on the move, adapted to the futuristic new Blue Stars look? There are so many very striking possibilities...

I've given this some deep thought, and concluded that your signature photo of Audrey Hepburn is very sexy.

Your reply is deeply prejudiced in an even worse way: You are defending ignorance as though it were a virtue. For that, you are flat wrong, morally, spiritually, and intellectually. As for Art, it can't be "overrated", any more than water or oxygen. It's part of being human, and without it, we are something less. As for "modern art", which has hundreds of forms and styles, you are ranting in the language of the torch-carrying mob -- the kind of rubbish that can only come from having no eyes at all, no humanity, and no love of life. It's amazing you're even here on this forum. Why are you here? Did you think we were going to be talking about football, or just sitting around with our grey matter dripping out of our ears? How about you entertain ME with a reason why you want everything dragged down to the lowest common denominator, and how you think you're improving the world by doing so? Hm? Well?

There has not yet been a drum corps show that requires a dissertation or lecture on how to watch it, so that's a straw man argument to begin with. Even the most complex shows are purely pleasurable just from the sound, color, and energy of it all. As for Jeff Fiedler and his "how-to" on Spin Cycle -- I think you're completely missing the pleasure boat here. Why doesn't this sound just as cool to you as the "extras" on a DVD, where you get to see the process behind the creation of a great movie? How could anyone interested in this amazing activity (especially as it is advanced by the Cavaliers) fail to jump at an educational treat like that? I don't understand your resistance, or what possible purpose it serves you, but I will happily devour that paper by Mr. Fiedler if you don't want it!

Which "they" are we talking about? I know you're not painting all shows with the same brush, but where people draw borderlines intrigues me... (This is often where audiences are revealed to be complex organisms, made up of a wide variety of other organisms, as opposed to some big "Average Joe" whose taste is easy to determine.)

Maybe they're not "pretentious boors", but very nice, smarter-than-average people who have good attention spans, a love of really good stuff, and a willingness to defend it. Maybe raising one's standards about things is one of the great enjoyments of life, and doesn't require anything more than a mind that's awake. Maybe the whole activity of Drum Corps is more about raising one's standards than lowering them. And, maybe, you're just trying to make mediocrity sound really cool, so your dumb friends won't beat you up.

So what is an "elitist", why is that bad, and what is your ideal human type, by contrast? Do explain, so that we can avoid the pain of being elite, should it ever rear it's ugly head. (I certainly wouldn't want to get so uppity as to understand and feel affected by Picasso's "Guernica", or any other such naughty things...)

Art is not stuffy. Businesspeople are stuffy. Ignorant people are especially stuffy (ever try to teach a pig to dance?). Art is made by the most creative, rebellious, anti-establishment, un-stuffy characters who walk the Earth. It's also the word for anything expressive that humans create. DCI is as much Art as anything, and there's nothing "high-falootin" about that. It's part of being human. Now go, enjoy the sound and movement and "themes", and stop being such a big dope about it.

Agreed. That's a qualitative issue of individual shows, though, not a criticism of themes. Everyone has the right to give it a shot. At least, I respect that more than the lazy alternative of not trying anything challenging at all, and it's fun to mentally "suggest" improvements that might make their concept work, as I watch! I really enjoyed the Academy's show this year, for instance, because it was obviously trying for something really stimulating, difficult, and thematically clever. I was rooting for them, like you root for someone who climbs Everest the hard way, or juggles live animals. When they make it work, it's so much more meaningful than someone who spends all their energy showboating at the top of an anthill...

He was talking about Picasso's "Guernica". It is a large painting (the size of an entire gallery wall), in stark blacks, whites, and greys. As big as it is, the cubist images of war seem to burst out of its sides and into the room. For anyone who has an adult mind and a sense of humanity, it is one of the most terrifyingly vivid expressions of the dark soul of war. Does your six-year-old have all that inside? I hope not. If you don't know what "Guernica" and other masterpieces are about, and why they are hailed as great works, you need to drop the stupid, smug, defensive, low-brow arrogance, and learn. And while you're at it -- enough criticizing people just for being educated. Our country is in deep educational doo-doo right now, and the last thing on Earth it needs is any more anti-intellectual nonsense. Do you want a better place, or a worse one? A better one? Alright then: act like it. End of sermon.

Is this some sort of argument for something that's worth doing? Or, just a definition of a very stupid person?

Touche! I'd also like to see a moratorium on any more Americans suggesting the "dumbing-down" of anything, anymore, ever. It's over. It is so over. In fact, how about, for a change of pace, we start fighting (LOUDLY!) for smarts, intelligence, education, challenges, longer attention spans, and pursuit of expertise? Make quality synonymous with Mom, apple pie, and patriotism. Make mediocrity suspicious and sinister, for bleeding once! Whatta concept... To quote the legendary Pat Paulson: "I've upped my standards. Now, up yours!"

"Less intellectual"?!!! What is it about sound, color, and movement that's got you so confused? (The reactions of audiences are just inexplicable sometimes ... sheesh!)

Ex-Indiana University, now SF Bay Area foodie bloke here -- I'll join many others here, and recommend Mother Bear's as a primary choice. If the deep dish pizza is as good as I remember it, it's simply off the charts: hearty, spicy, mouth-watering and really, really BAD for you. And, don't even THINK of getting one without some kind of meat on it. (Anthony Bourdain would approve.) Run, don't walk. :tongue:

EuphCub very clearly (and boldly) said "Madison's Corps uniforms". Not "Madison's man-ssiers".

I just did a whole thesis on the same subject further down the page! They do look mightily handsome. In fact, I wish I had that suit to wear this evening...

Thanks for showing these -- great shots! And, yeah, a big "pee-yew" on those guard costumes ... boy. Ighh. Bleah. Well, at least your photo series was also a nice reminder of just how classy and handsome the new Scouts primary uniform is. What a blessed relief from the graphics-addled recent editions! Just hope they hang onto it as they build themselves back to top level. Hey, wouldn't it be a pip if the Scouts reintroduced something like the 1982 "GQ" guard look, with the dress ties (complete with flashy tie-tack detail) and those white fedoras? The "City of Angels" show from '92 was another great take on that "GQ" style. I'd think, generally, I'd like to see Scouts go for more of a dressy, "man-about-town" approach to guard outfits, as opposed to original-design fantasy costumes. It would suit their particular image better, I think. (It would also win them a new generation of ga-ga girl fans -- you should have seen my now-wife in '82 when she saw the Scouts dancing like Astaire in those fedoras ... she was whooping and whistling like a construction worker!) (Hm... maybe this isn't such a good idea after all...)

I love that those are considered conflicting values! Only in America.... You've said a mouthful.

Nah, "Spartacus" is unlikely to nab the "Spirit of Disney" award. The "Spirit of Scorcese" award, on the other hand....