NOT ART, or art; bricolage, or A-way with-Out Magic (channel 4, deal 3, trick W)
Image by KevinHutchins314
NOT ART, or art; bricolage, or NOT A-way with-OuT Magic
We now see the Surtout des Atouts, the unbeatable highest key "terminal" card of the deck, the TITAN (unassailable unmovable 21 of trumps) whose ultimate disposition was always unchangeable and always relevant to the concerns of the WIZARD (number 1 Ace of trumps Magician variable). The player holding the superlative Titan was also dealt some wonderful dancers alongside the DEMON (number 0 unsuitable fool-ish Joker excuse.) It was an amaZING delight for the game~golem to watch the Lovingest dancers of the Cosmic Tribe, to see the tableaux shared by the King of Mostest, the Mage of Leastest, and the Jester of Nothingest, choreographed with all their friends in the tarot garden.
Nobody can change the contractor's successful scoring now, so they're able to timewARP the end of the scorecards, wRAP up the deal, settle up their tournament winnings, and release the deck at last so it might hopefully be hard~shuffled for another game some day. Away with the fairies, away with their counsel, NOT all who wander ARe losT, for some are individually twisted and yet able to triumph, BUT others team up together and give credit to the most delightful plays with many clever moves on the dancecards. Some gamblers exchange their credits for monetary value, but casual gamers might prefer more enticing rewards such as raspberries or breathtakingly dangerous kisses. There's always a delightful ZING to the re-Integration of the wHole! Oh goodness, stick them in there, we love it!!
Strategy:
Medium = This is your final lead, and your two remaining cards of the 14 (Eric Ganther's artist) and 15 (stevee's devil) in the Void are now co-adjacent and effectively equal to each other. You play your Art 14 of Temperamental trumps, although you know it will be captured by the opponent's angelic co-Titans, as it makes no difference which of those two dancers come at the netherworld here.
Dealer (Contractor) = Your final two cards are the co-adjacent 21 and 20 of the Void who have jointly held the co-Titan position throughout this entire deal. They were unassailable all along, you will win these final two tricks, and it makes no difference in which order you reveal them here to scoop up the remaining several cards. You show everybody how you have the World in your hands, and overtrump with the 21 Aethereal king of honour along the multiverse-axis, heavenly cosmic dancer at the end of the Universe.
Initiate = Both of your final cards are empty "pip cards" with no extra points to score, so it makes no difference in which order you acquiesce now. You play your lowest 7 sWords of Futility, a whistle into the vanishing winds, but it's a surrender of relief. You know you have absolutely minimized the expense of the contract payment, and could not possibly optimize the scores further. Good job, you clever player!
Scansion:
Medium = surrender with temperance, Artist 14 of the Aether.
Dealer = overtrumps, Aether 21 TITAN is the unbeatable Key card in the scoring trilemma as part of your Destiny sequence.
Initiate = void, and devoid of trump cards, unfavorably dispose of 7 sWords in the Air, sigh of relief.
Contractor scores +4 points for the Key TITAN Cosmos terminal card (oudlers/ bouts/ honours/ "Le Surtout des Atouts", the unbeatable 21 of trumps), plus +1 Tricky Point for the tierce, no face cards. These 5 are added to his previous 29 for a new subtotal of 34 points at the end of this penultimate Trick W. The Dealer will lead into the next (ultimate) Trick X to collect the final tierce of Destiny, and then they'll be able to settle their scorekeeping when the discarded tierces are thereafter confirmed by this process of elimination (Y and Z).
What's in my bag?
Image by seanbirdsell
I shot the Music Maker Relief Foundation Warehouse Blues concert on Friday (my plan is to shoot the whole series over the summer). Finally unpacked my bag today and thought I should do a "whatsinyourbag" shot.
This is my concert gear: 2 Nikon D2H bodies with a short lens (17-35mm) and a long lens (80-200). Yes, carrying two bodies is heavy, but it's such a luxury to not have to change lenses--95% of what I shoot is with these two lenses. The 50mm is for when either the light is gawd-awful low or I need a bit more stretch than the 35mm .
The flash is for emergencies. I bought some daylight-to-tungsten gel this past week to better balance the flash to ambient light. For an example of what happens when you don't do that, look here . (Notice how she looks a little on the cool side, while the background is really warm.)
Finally, there's an extra battery (yes, I make sure it's charged) and an additonal 4 CF cards in a Kinesis wallet.
That's it.
ALmOsT A WATER spOuT (channel 4, deal 3, trick U)
Image by KevinHutchins314
The whirlwind was ALmOsT A WATER spOuT on Bellingham Bay. Tony and i were at the window while it was storming on Friday afternoon, the 11th of November 2011 (11/11/11). The winds were whipping and howling, blowing rain forcefully against the building, stripping the autumn leaves from the trees in the neighborhood, swirling them hundreds of feet up into the air. I was playing with the tarot cards, hoping the power wouldn't go out. Then Tony exclaimed, "Look at that water spout forming right next to the sailboats!" As we watched, we could see the whirlwind making a circular vortex on the surface of the Bay right near the shoreline in front of our home where many sailboats were anchored during the storm. The mist sprayed up in a circular spiral which was almost forming an upright column of water, and this vortex danced quickly over the the foaming sea, blasting right over three or four of the boats.
"It's coming right for us!" he said (in imitation of Jimbo and Ned on South Park.) It certainly was! It came right up over the beach and lost it's spiral column shape as it hit the land along the edge of Boulevard Park by the (toxic waste sites of) former Cornwall Avenue landfill. As the mists were losing their circular formation the wind howled so fiercely i thought the gusts might damage the roof and windows. Suddenly hail began pounding against the glass. The pellets of ice were smaller than peanuts, a few millimeters thick, and the force of the gail was hammering them against the building with a super loud hissing sound. Ice began forming around the corners of the window ledge. The hail was hitting the ventilation chimneys on the roof with so much force, it sounded like somebody was using the metal vents as a drumkit. I wondered if i might be experiencing a tornado again for the first time in over thirty years, and began considering the option of hiding under the desk.
But fortunately, after just a minute, the hail began dying down and the howling winds lost some of their strength. The gail continued to cause all of the leaves and debris to stream sideways, blowing the dirty shower of particles and ice up the street, pulling many of the leaves off the neighborhood trees. After a couple nervous minutes things became a bit more calm and less vicious, although rain and breezes continued. The sailboats didn't look like they had any obvious damage (everybody had furled their canvasses into tight rolls before the storm), although a couple of them might have been moved despite their anchorage.
An eagle flew overhead for a minute, near the south end of the former Georgia-Pacific property, heading toward Fairhaven. That's not at all unusual around here, we see eagles at least a few times per year along this seashore because they have eyries in the cliffs near Ferndale, Lummi Island, and other stretches of the local coast. It must have been stirred out of its home by the tremendous winds. It was only in the sky briefly before heading out of sight around the southwest shoulder of South Hill.
"Wow." Tony and i were impressed. It was a bit thrilling to see such crazy meteorology, but it made me nervous. Fortunately none of the power lines seemed harmed, and i didn't see any damage to the building. The Bellingham airport across the Bay only recorded winds of 50kph, but i'm sure our shoreline must have experienced gusts above the 80kph range. Some weather stations in the San Juan Islands and along the coast all the way from Anacortes (in Skagit County) to Delta and Richmond (in British Columbia, near the Vancouver airport) recorded gusts over 100kph. It was a relief to watch the weather settling back down to a less ferocious rainshower as we approached sunset.
I had been working on the moves of the next trick on the tarot tableau. The three items in the tierce had been calculated and selected, and i had been arranging them into an aesthetically pleasant configuration when the ALmOsT-WATER-spOuT blew over. Tony looked at the illustrations on the cards as i pointed out their symbolic names and allegorical qualities.
The 6 Cups is the symbol of Multiplication, increase, expansion, and spreading of the element of Water.
The 13 Aether of Trumps is the symbol of Death, intense cyclical transformation, and horrible fears transcended by a dove of peace escaping from a vortex of destruction.
The 8 Cups is the symbol of vast Drainage, great outpourings, emotional gushing, and the flow of anger.
My, how we laughed! Oh goodness, we chuckled and giggled at the gaming coincidence. "Oops! I'm sorry! My bad!" i joked, "I guess i should be more careful with my tarot cards, eh?!"
It reminds of that quip from Steven Wright: "Last night i was playing poker with my buddies, but we were using a deck of tarot cards. I got a Full-House, and three people died!"
Strategy:
Medium = You have a single dancer remaining in the Cups of Water, and three dancers in the Aether. Your three trump cards are the 14, 15, and 18; whereas the contractor's remaining three trump cards are the 21, 20, and 13, plus he holds another Fire dancer. In order to preserve one of your cards in the Void, you need to force the contractor to play one of his by leading with your 6 of Cups. It's the last thing you can accomplish with the distribution of elements which was dealt to your hand.
Dealer (Contractor) = You are required to trump into the Void of the Water being drained by your opponents, so you play your lowest 13 of Death. Now you have no more choices to make. All of your options will hereafter be easy to predict because there is only one way for you to optimize your score now. You have no logical alternatives.
Initiate = You are required to follow suit into the Water with your final dancer among the fountains, so you let the 8 Cups be drained away. You will only have one more opportunity to make any further optimizations after this move (deciding when to dispose of your final face card) and then you'll have no remaining options which could affect any scoring outcomes.
Scansion:
Medium = lead to the end of the river as the delta fans into the sea: 6 Cups spreading.
Dealer (Contractor) = void, 13 trumps, Death, and reach your final optimal state.
Initiate = acquiesce with your outpouring of 8 Cups as you near that ultimate ocean.
Contractor scores +1 Tricky Point for the empty tierce (no face cards); this is added to his previous 28 for a new subtotal of 29 at the end of this Trick U. As the players' options are eliminated, the mechanics of the game~golem's scoring on the dance card become formally predictable. The Dybbuk is soon to be nigh when all moves become utterly automatic.
CASE (Copy and Steal Everything)
Image by Miss Shari
I won't be surprised if cameras are banned from future expos. People were (well, one lady was, and then there was me) snapping photos of cards they liked. If you're not a craftsy person, you should know that half of all the people who make cards like this get REALLY mad if you copy their techniques. The other half will give you the exact instructions on how to do it. It has always been this way in the universe.
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