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mjoakes

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Posts posted by mjoakes

  1. Just finished Episode 8. As noted before, I am ambivalent about this as a show. A couple of points, however:

    First, I think our perspective on the show is definitely different because we know much more about the subject. I'm a business professor. Whenever I see TV shows or movies with business as a focus, it's just awful for me. So lacking in dimension. Much of the time, just badly inaccurate. I've shared this with friends who are MDs and lawyers. They say similar things about shows focusing on medicine and law. Maybe that's something.

    Second, I never liked the Cadets' 2016 show. From LOS in June to LOS in August, the show concept never grabbed me. The mannequins in August: good grief. It all had me turned off. But Clash helped strip away some of that easy criticism and cynicism. Behind what I still think - for me - was a silly show idea was much hard work and very good execution. From the members but also from the staff.

    I've known this about the hard work, of course. It's just easy to push it aside from the stands. And too-quickly judge. So good. Because of time spent watching Clash, I'm more likely to have a better attitude when I see another silly show next summer.

    • Like 1
  2. Something pretty cool for those marching Cavies Guard next summer...

    Cavies guard members will be spending a week with Visceral Dance Company in Chicago.This intensive will be held at Visceral Dance Chicago's Logan Square location the week leading into the corps official summer move-in, with a focus on ballet and contemporary technique training. Members of The Cavaliers color guard will also dive into repertory and choreography sessions with Pupillo (the choreographer and Cavies former staff member) and his team of Chicago dance teachers.

    Love the direction and commitment that we are seeing from the Cavies new leadership and design team.

    And Logan Square!

  3. Just saw the last episode. Didn't really get why the cadet member said technically a corp seeded in 14th can win. That could only happen if the previous 13 didn't show up. The cadets were never all season over n the hunt. They were trying to protect a 4th place.

    You're right that it wasn't an accurate comment. But it probably wasn't meant to be evaluated as good critical thinking but as one of those general "it's anyone's game" comments even when every knows that isn't likely true. It's not over 'til it's over. That sort of thing. You need to do your best because you could also screw up badly and drop a few places, in other words. Or because competitors could surprise. Like the Cavaliers.
  4. I am always way impressed that many of you on DCP know (or remember) the shows, drills, music selections of so many corps over so many years. Would be great to have an easily accessible site or database of all that info. Type in a corp, year, and up comes details. Or type in a theme or music, and up comes all the corps that have touched on or near those things.

    Of course, maybe that kind of place exists and I am too much a drum corps peasant to know about it.

  5. Interesting question that I don't have the experience to answer. But I enjoy reading others' answers.

    An important, somewhat academic, perspective is whether the good habits and skills were likely to have been developed by (at least some) individuals even without having been in a corps. Is the act of committing to a summer or three of drum corps something that self-selects certain kinds of individuals in the first place?

    Just an FYI comment. Certainly don't want to diminish the experience, and I'm anxious to read the feedback others provide to the original post.

  6. Just reserved at the Omni Severin. A little pricey ($171), but about $80 off the regular rate, and the hotel is right on Georgia Street.

    As a BTW, I didn't see the JW Marriott listed when I plugged in my dates. It was a few weeks ago. Wonder if that means the special DCI block is all booked up.

    Strangely, you have to pay close attention to find the hotel link from the DCI site. References to area hotels have still not be updated with the link.

  7. This is @DrumCorpsClips' on Twitter's featured clip today for #HalloweenScreamers:

    https://twitter.com/DrumCorpsClips/status/791765962936623104

    Ballet in Brass is about as classic as it gets for Madison. You can kind of hear some 2001-era arranging influences in this version (screamers be ######), but it works as well as any other rendition of that tune from them.

    What would it take to see an updated 2017 version on the field? Is it even possible, or is a musical focus like that just not rewarded enough competitively to be feasible? Or worse, would current trends render it so unrecognizable and disjointed so as to leave well enough alone?

    Something to think about.

    Great clip I didn't want to end. Thanks. Power and energy I missed in the 2016 show.

    • Like 1
  8. The Big Four internship is meaningful, arguably more so if you are an accounting major than if you are in finance or, perhaps, business technology. And good for you: That third year internship is important, and there is a lot of competition for a Big Four spot.

    That said, from your vantage point as an undergraduate it looks somewhat more critical for your career than it needs to be. Much, much about what you do in your career - in those first few years, yes, but especially once you are no longer entry level - is in your hands to shape as you want. Circumstance matters, and your own skills, critical thinking, and adaptability matter, too. Still, you have some good control that can overcome something like not having a traditional internship, if that's what you choose.

    Certainly, there is a way to tell the drum corps story that will be appealing to many employers. They see hundreds of students with conventional stories; you have a chance to stand out. Some of those employers crave the conventional, because it is safe. But some, correctly, look deeper. And wider.

    I'm saying there is probably a cost to turning down the internship, but it doesn't have to be a significant one. There's a cost to giving up your age-out year, too.

    I'm also not recommending one opportunity over the other. You'll need to work that out. But I'm impressed you are asking the question. Talk to friends and family. Pay attention to what you're feeling (without giving in to anxiety). (Is there any opportunity to intern, or do part-time projects/work, during your senior year?)

    Never faced this situation myself. I'm a finance professor at a big school where the Big Four is a big deal. But also where plenty of other things are big deals. Often, I help students think through the tradeoffs of study abroad vs. internships.

    • Like 2
  9. I only ordered BluRays, and I got a shipping notice as well.

    Yesterday, I could click on the UPS box and see that my label had been printed, but UPS was waiting on the product. This morning, I can no longer get to shipping status from the DCI site. My order is listed as complete and shipped, but when I click on the invoice number, it takes me back to the DCI landing page.

    Also yesterday, I saw something saying the Blue Rays were expected to be available at the end of November.

    So maybe this really is pre-order, or something like that.

  10. i know! It's weird canned music.

    Yes, they did play Pines of Rome right from the get-go. The first half of the show didn't change much throughout the season. The second half changed dramatically. Especially closer.

    At Indy, didn't the Cadets have some guy/statue walking from the sidelines out to the field during the closure? And I think I remember he looked almost nude, not with any of the statue costume on. It took a looooong time for him to reach his spot, too.

    • Like 1
  11. After four episodes, the show isn't doing much for me. It's mostly a reality show issue, I think, not necessarily the Clash idea or production. After following a few reality shows when they first appeared, I don't watch them much now.

    The exaggerated tension is a bummer. Like an HGTV show when they discover an electrical problem that might ruin all the design plans and force the home owners to go bankrupt... But after commercial a contractor fixes if for another $500.

    I sort of get that from the Cadet's foot problem, for example. Not at all belittling an injury or real pain he might suffer. It's just that, well, what was the deal? For a few minutes, his season might be all over. Then it's apparently not so bad and he goes on.

    On the other hand, the Cadet 3rd trumpet, and the two BD snares, are fun to follow.

    And as a BTW, in a shot of the (kind of half-empty!) seats during Cadets' opening Indy show I could pick out yours truly. I was applauding but not standing. Was probably perplexed by the show concept.

    • Like 1
  12. And with Madison, the clarity wasn't there. It just came at you as a mishmash of JCSS.

    I'm a big Scouts fan and have had trouble identifying why the 2016 show didn't move me so much. Mishmash of JCSS is kind of right. Seemed like there were potential musical and drama moments that were ignored.

    So here's predicting - which is, for me anyway, really just hoping - for something with more focus, and more Scouts attitude, in 2017.

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