Post Meridiem

... very post meridiem.

Well, at least they're in their PJs

True to form, cmat 2k7 kept its intrepid crew and young competitors up past their responsible bedtimes to finish sometime around 10:30 or 11 pm. It's somewhat lurid the sort of things I've learned about what this year's crew had to overcome to stage it. New leadership at the 'MAP has apparently been a little unkind to the event, upset over the absent (or perhaps VERY delinquent) tournament report from last year. Consequences of this included drastic cuts in the hospitality budget that discouraged attendance of at least a few would-be officials known to your correspondent.

This put a lesser official like me in the unique position to judge the Nandu events this year, mixed in haphazardly with far more qualified ex-professionals. A fascinating but ultimately excruciating duty as always, the Nandu system reminds me of something some Soviet-era bureaucrat might devise. I escaped many of its technicalities by going for the B-category, which in many ways seems a kind of throwback to traditional-style judging based on more nebulous terms like 'spirit' and 'intent'. By now subjectivity is something I revel in, so I got the hang of things pretty quickly. Subjective as it was, my B-category cohort and I were in pretty good agreement for the majority of routines.

One thing I've become pretty aggravated with is how so many routines today have large pauses that have no stylistic function beyond setting up some snazzy trick. I miss flow, kids. Flow is where the rhythm comes out, and rhythm, like in music, goes a long way towards defining the accents and flavor of a particular style. I can't help but wonder if the Nandu system's rigid requirements for certain difficulties is discouraging that kind of aesthetic. At the very least B category is there as a kind of hedge against such dogged technicality.

After party in the Free Republic of Berkeley was chaotic, uninterrupted by law enforcement, and as always, remarkably responsible. It's become such the cliche for me to consider not going to these events, but I ultimately end up having a terrific time and always come out impressed in some way.