Bill Riddle

I WANT!!!!!

2008-08-27T17:58:15Z

Dude!

Creektoad just sent me a link to the ultimate gaming table and I really want one. The primary question is: "Can I take out a loan to get a game table?"

Link to table: http://www.geekchichq.com/The_Sultan_.html

Sigh... Dreams can come true it just takes longer to get some of them to happen than others... Some day I'll have a table like this.

Cheers.

DANCING, DANCING, DANCING

2008-08-14T04:42:47Z

Hello all,

I am dancing this Friday night at the Yaa Halla Y'all in Grapevine. I am one of 5 guys that are competing that night and there will be a trophy for the winner. The show starts at 6:00 and I will go on shortly after 8:00. I will be the 3rd dancer in the men's routines.

for more information on the event see: http://www.isisandthestardancers.com/YH2008/YH2008_Home.htm

I think the tickets will cost between $15 and $19 per ticket at the door.

This is the first Men's competition at Yaa Halla Y'all and I am really hoping I can win this competition. We are called the Blades of Isis and we are going to start doing more dancing in the area. We really would like more men dancing so if you are interested give the studio a call.

Take care all...

Reflections on this year at Scarborough

2007-06-05T03:36:40Z

When I found out that I was to be this year's Fight Director I was filled with excitement but was also very nervous. This was my first experience being in charge of something so big. I focused myself and gave the task my all, and it paid off in spades.

Things in workshops were great; the fighters were creative, active and willing to take direction to help them look the best they could. I was in great physical health and was actually looking to getting into a few fights myself. Then the fateful day came when Mono kicked my butt, it was the dress rehearsal weekend and it hurt me deeply that I could not be there for my fighters. I had a really hard time forgiving myself for being sick.

Mono for those of you that do not know is a sickness that hits you in waves and causes extreme fatigue. Energy levels drain to minimal levels and in the beginning stages getting up from the couch to fetch a drink of water will cause you to be exhausted for hours. We get better but it does take a long-term toll on your body. There are times when you feel fine for three hours and then suddenly you need a nap because the reserves are drained. The initial symptoms last from 1 to 3 months and the sickness stays in your system for 1 to 3 years, during which time you can relapse if you push yourself too hard. It went around a lot in the faire family this year and it kicked a lot of butts.

The following weeks were extremely hard as my energy fluctuated a lot. This sickness is incredibly frustrating for a person who is used to being very active. I was used to doing three to four shows a day on a blazing hot stage in one of the fastest, most active sword-fighting shows on the circuit. This was tough on my self confidence and it was hard to make it through. My handfast-wife was the strongest influence on my recuperation, I would have either given up or run myself into the ground if she was not there to monitor me and give me encouragement (and water, and vitamins...). She did a great job of getting me healthy and reminding me to rest when I was pushing too hard. (Thank you sweetheart you saved me, I love you)

The fighters did a great job this season and the fights were fanstastic. Every one of them was a showcase for that actor's talents. I received several compliments saying that the Chess Match was the best they have seen in a very long time and that the fighters looked really good. I had a few Fight Directors tell me that our fighters have acting intent (yay!) and that the fights seem more realistic due to it. I explained my belief that fights are not just about the moves but the characters behind the moves. If you let your actors keep their characters while they are building the fights and make the fights specific to and consistent with the characters then you have actors engaged in compelling physical drama on your board.

We teach our actors to get into a character that they stay in for almost 10 hrs a day; it is not fair to the actors to have them drop the character when they step on the board. If they keep in character they can have action even when they are not in a fight. The interaction between characters is noticed from the audience and if there is tension between 2 characters they feel it. In doing this those 2 characters never need to fight to have a physical conversation that the audience reads and loves. Not one of our actors dropped character on the board, and I was so proud of them for their commitment and versitility.

I love this crew of fighters; they are a group of amazingly talented and caring individuals. I am proud of each and every one of them.

They gifted me with a great season. They gave me their trust and I am honored to have been given it. I feel that I rewarded their trust with drive and focus, I wanted every one of them to shine and they did; they shined so bright that it caused thousands to notice.

I reached out a hand to help offer guidance and support where it was needed and they gave me back a Saber, a beautiful tool of my trade and a completely unexpected gift . This saber is a treasure to me, it will always remind me of a wonderful group of fighters that gave me all I asked for and to whom I will give my all.

Hats off to you, I love you all,
Bill Riddle
Scarborough Faire Fight Director

Chess Match

2007-02-09T20:20:29Z

So I did it!!! I finished chess match before the workshop process started. Only by a few days but I still did it.

I had one completed before January ended but then I realized that every piece that moved to take someone else won. I realized "Ack, I can't actually have each piece take the one it move to because that takes away the ide of battle chess... doh!!". Then I started the path of writing a chess match that made sense and was random enough... not easy but I made it work.

I cheated in a few places but I can explain that in a statement at the beginning... A King that is in check does not need to move if he thinks he can take the piece that threatens him. This also means that he can move into check if he is not threatened by the target that would do the checking. That sould about cover that aspect of what I did.

Now all I have to do is plug and play the fighters and we are ready to go...

We will not be doing chess match at the Grapevine mills mall and instead will do a fight demonstration at that time instead. We will be performing the Chess Match on that Sunday so the FoF that come out for the day really will get a sneek peek at the show.

I can't wait to get started... Saturday is just the beginning but I am really ready to go...

Hey Mick!!!

2006-12-05T05:08:41Z

Hey Mick,

Can you contact me? I don't have your email address or your phone number.

Email me at sirjohngage2000 @ yahoo.com.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Scarby Fight Director - Bounce, Bounce, Bounce

2006-11-21T22:41:21Z

Hello all,

I wanted to let everyone know that I just got an offer for the position that I have been trying to get for a very long time. Coy called me and offered me Fight Director at Scarborough Faire for next year. I of course jumped on the chance.

So all you guys that said you will not fight as long as Tawn was fight director can come back now.

I am looking forward to a wonderful year of Training and Teaching.

I am very excited about this and I have already started writing my Curriculum.

Take care all,

Bill Riddle
Scarbourough Faire Fight Director

One SAFD Cert down, Seven to go

2006-10-29T22:12:37Z

Hello all,

I passed the Single Sword SAFD Certification... Whoo Hoo!!!

and now we are on to Hand-to-Hand...

Thank you Thom, Mindy, and John for coming out to cheer us on. Hugs guys.

I hope everyone is doing well...

Happy Halloween.
Bill

Day... uh... I have lost the days... nice feeling that.

2006-06-16T13:29:18Z

We spent 2 days in FFB and then hit the road.

We made it to an increadable campsite that was right by a river - I have noticed something on this trip, we always seem to sleep better when we are by the water - and spent some time cooking dinner. The next morning we headed out towards Burghausen, the longest castle in Europe. Well, just across the valley from the castle we took a break from driving - Arianna took a break from driving, I took a break from navagating - and stopped for lunch. We had lunch within sight of the castle and have some great pictures from that location. Then we headed to the castle.

We have some really nice shots of the castle while walking through it and then some more once we were in the museum... We have some nice shots of weapons and costumes... nice stuff. The castle was 1 k long... and was a major hike in some places... I can understand why castles were built on hills now... after climbing up as far as you would have to you kinda loose the will to take a gate, except the fact that you cannot rest due to the volleys of arrows and rocks falling on you... I got a few nice shots of the guard house and took a few pictures of really defensable locations. It was all very nice.

Then we headed out towards Chesky... we did not make it as far as we would have liked and camped the parking lot of a truck stop with really good food - Lendzeit. We headed out in the morning and arrived farly early to Cesky Krumlov... very nice place... the castle is stunning. I am again getting lots of pictures... we actually got rooms at the Ubytovani that Arianna§s parents told us about. The room is amazing and we have the one that I have seen on their home movies... very nice and again right by the river. We had dinner where I had another nice steak... one thing I will say about being over here is that I don§t starve. Last night was a good rest and today is the first day of the festival... it does not actually start for a few hours but I am sure we will enjoy it.

I have seen 4 countries in less than a week and I am loving every minuite of it. Italy, Germany, Austria, and the Chez Republic. I can now count to 10 in 5 languages... I am also learing new phrases as I travel and am doing farly well at partial translation before having to say, Mine Deuich est Nicht zia gut, Anglase... and in some cases they have not known English but between the partial German and English we manage to make it through a transaction... it is very fun every time.

I am starting to make sense of the money here as it is in cz rather than dollars or Euros... it seems that it is about 30 cz to the Euro, which is about 21 cz to the Dollar... the dollar is a little less than 1.50 dollars to the Euro. So zea things are a bit more expensive here but I am getting a handle on the money.

More travels to report at a later time.

Hugs to all,

prowlingwolf @ 2006-06-13T11:34:00

2006-06-13T10:24:24Z

Hello All,

I'm safely in Germany and I am having a great time... The flight over here was interesting because we missed a connection in Philly that would have taken us right to Munich, and instead had to take a trip to Milan (oh darn, twist my arm won't you...) so we spent about 3 hrs in Italy before heading to Munich. There is much more to this story than what I have covered but internet time over here is limited. I'll try to explain in a later entry...

We took a train out to Furstenfeldbruck where we spent 2 very restful nights and 2 wonderfully relaxing days getting our bearings... There was a very full weeping Willow across the river from where we are staying that got a major trimming yesterday... I have pictures... there were 2 guys in the tree tied in with climbing ropes and harnesses. It was very impressive. What they did to that tree can only be described as skinning it. That poor tree...

We took a walk through the garden paths here and they are stunning. I got to see the Kloster Furstenfeld which is where the town got part of it's name, the other part is for the river Brucke. The Kloster was amazing and is still in use as part of the complex is a city museum now. While we were walking around it we stumbled across a concert, that played a mix of Irish with some other styles of music - most I did not know the origin of - but I always recognize Irish and Scottish.

We are now going to travel to Dachau and a museum in Munich by train... then taking the campervan to a place just out of town for camping tonight. Tomorrow we may be heading towards Eichstatt near the Solnhofen limestone quarries to see a castle (and an Archaeopteryx).

I am already getting used to the culture change and have actually done a few transactions in German (mostly)... The several weeks of studing German before leaving have paid off and I am understanding more than I expected to.

Well off for more adventure...

Hugs to all.

Out of the Country

2006-06-08T19:45:12Z

Ack....

I leave tomorrow at 3:00 for my trip to Germany, Czech Republic, and Austria and I am fairly nervous about the trip. This will be the first time I have ever left the States and it is for 2 weeks.

I am also very excited about the trip because it is all new to me, the sights, the sounds and the smells will all be new and different. I will not be alone, my lady will be traveling with me and in some cases guiding me through the backroads that she has traveled before.

We plan to visit Vienna, Austria on this trip and Chesky Krumlov for the Festival of the Five Petaled Rose (A renaissance festival in the Czech Republic).

I'll try to keep a running log of my travels and checking email when I can. I hope that I can find a sword to ship back while I'm over there but that depends on where we go.

Hugs to all and I'll see you when I get back.

Working on a Heidelberg Scar

2006-05-17T21:11:06Z

Hello all,

This weekend, Sunday to be precise, I was struck in the face with a tip cut during a show. The cut is about 7/8 of an inch long and is on the left side of my nose just under the eyebrow. Another 1/8 inch or so and I could have lost the eye. I am alright due to some quick work from my Healer and girlfriend. The incident happened in the first fight of the second show of the day. We completed the full show and that was the only real hick up in the whole show. I got my tetanus shot on Monday and though it is a pain in the butt to deal with I am glad for the soreness that I have with it. I had not had my booster shot since Middle School / High School and if I had not received the shot then it may have been much worse than it currently is. We still have to watch the cut and ensure that it does not get infected because it may cause me to loose some vision if it gets too bad but I believe in the abilities of my Healer and my ability to Heal.

I just wanted to get this out there in case stories were already circulating.

This was an accident and not intentional, but it does bring up two things that I want everyone to pay attention to...

1. IF you have been doing the same fights for a long time do not loose focus in your fights, stay in there and pay attention.

2 If you have not had a tetanus shot in more than 10 years GET ONE NOW there is no cure for tetanus and you will spend the rest of your lives with great pain in your muscles.

Hugs to all and I'm glad I'm in one piece.

Prowling Wolf
"Thrust" of Cut Thrust And Run

Arthur Pole

2006-04-26T19:07:27Z

Arg...

I have a character that is bouncing around in my head that I want to play next year.

The concept is based on the Dandy that Tim Roth plays in Rob Roy.

There is alot to the history so far and I am still building the concept but he will be a real a$$.

I may post more as it developes depening on interest.

Hugs,

My WereWolf...

2006-04-21T19:50:18Z

You scored as Silver. You are a Silver Were. Silver Weres are the spice in the Garou, the strange and unexpected, often rare creatures. The irony of being Silver, even if the metal doesn't harm Weres like it was beleived, brings joy to the Silver Ones to no end. They are fascinated by the paranormal happenings around them, including themselves!

</td>

Silver

78%

Red

64%

Gold

62%

Black

59%

White

59%

Brown

55%

Grey

40%

What Color Werewolf Are You??
created with QuizFarm.com

Second Scarby weekend

2006-04-17T16:21:48Z

Wow,

This weekend was very good. We had good crowds, they had a good time and we had fun on the stage.

But if this weekend is only a taste of the heat that we will be getting this summer we are going to be brain tostey by the last weekend. Sunday's final show was a bit disjointed because we were hot.

So the lesson to take away from this weekend is:

Drink more water and stay in the shade as much as possible.

By the way for anyone out there that wants to stop by and say hello, we usually camp out across the road from the Ship stage between our shows, it is a nice shade tree and has become the lounging spot.

Hugs to all,
Prowling Wolf
Thrust of Cut Thrust And Run

Hmmm... I am, really?

2006-04-04T21:13:30Z

You're The Hobbit!

by J.R.R. Tolkien

All you wanted was a nice cup of tea when some haggard crazy old man
came into your life and told you it was time to do something with yourself. Now you're
all conflicted about whether to stick with your stay-at-home lifestyle or follow this
crazy person into the wild. While you're very short and a little furry, you seem to be
surrounded by an even greater quantity of short folks lately. Try not to lose your ring,
but keep its value in perspective!

Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Cut Thrust And Run (CTAR) at Scarborough Faire

2006-03-29T20:24:44Z

Hello,

I am posting to let everyone that does not already know, Cut Thrust And Run will be a Scarborough Faire this season. We have 4 shows on the Peg Leg Stage (Ship Stage) and the times are 11:00, 12:30, 3:30 and 5:30. We have some new fights this year and are looking forward to performing them. We did not get the contract for the full run of Minnisota but we are trying to negotiate a contract for a weekend or two.

This year we have two people working for us:

Pat Riddle (MOM): Box Sales Manager
JR Esparza (Fast): Media Director

If you are interested in helping with sales or working a camera this season please send me your contact information.

We are all looking forward to seeing you all at faire.

Take care and remember "The Fruit is gonna get it,"

Thrust of Cut Thrust And Run

Bridige over untroubled water

2006-03-29T16:58:07Z

WOW... I was sent this picture as a place to see while I'm in Germany...

This is a channel-bridge over the River Elbe and joins the former East and West Germany, as part of the unification project. It is located in the city of Magdeburg, near Berlin. The photo was taken on the day of inauguration.

It took six years and 500 million euros to complete.

the bridge is 918 meters long

I may actually try to see this while I'm there.

I'm headed to Germany in June for a 2 week holiday.

Hugs to all,
ProwlingWolf

LOL, I'm what!!!??!!!

2006-03-28T14:02:29Z

What type of Fae are you?

Guardian Spirit

2006-03-07T23:05:14Z

You are protected by the guardian is the earth

Uh... sure, match me with the Russian...

2006-03-02T18:29:37Z

heh... he,he,he,he... heh....

Your results:
You are Chekov

Chekov		70%
Uhura		65%
Mr. Sulu		65%
Mr. Scott		60%
Worf		60%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		50%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		50%
Geordi LaForge		50%
Will Riker		50%
Deanna Troi		50%
Spock		49%
Data		48%
Beverly Crusher		45%
Jean-Luc Picard		40%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		25%

Brash, rash and hasty,
but everyone loves you.

Click here to take the Star Trek Personality Quiz

Hmmm... interesting

2006-03-02T18:22:07Z

Your results:
You are Derrial Book (Shepherd)

Derrial Book (Shepherd)		65%
Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)		60%
Jayne Cobb (Mercenary)		60%
Malcolm Reynolds (Captain)		55%
Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command)		55%
Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic)		55%
River (Stowaway)		50%
Alliance		45%
Wash (Ship Pilot)		40%
Inara Serra (Companion)		40%
A Reaver (Cannibal)		5%

Even though you are holy
you have a mysterious past.
You aren't married.
Have you taken a vow of celibacy?

Click here to take the Serenity Personality Quiz

prowlingwolf @ 2006-02-22T14:39:00

2006-02-22T20:55:32Z

This year I have had a good birthday.

Friday night there was a cake for me at the Amber Inn. The Riddles123 clan came down from the north to spend some time in town, Which means I got to see my brother even though it was just for a few hours. I wish Saturday had not run so long so that I could have seen him more while he was in town but the CTAR rehersal needed to last most of the day.

Sunday txreisende took me out to a fancy steak dinner that was just wonderful, the excellent food and ambiance was a very nice change of pace.

I was given Stargate: Atlantas first season by imperatrixluna and perigrian which was unexpected and very much appriciated.

Over all this birthday did not suck... in fact it was one of the most relaxing birthdays I think I have ever had. I thank you all for your well wishes and for the gifts of love.

B-day wishes

2006-02-15T20:08:03Z

Happy Birthday ronninfernum, may you have a good one.

Take care and see you around.

LOL That's funny

2006-02-03T16:32:14Z

Ice Pick Andy
People Iced:	Nineteen
Car Bombs Planted:	Seventeen
Favorite Weapon	Piano Wire
Arms Broken:	Six
Eyes Gouged:	Sixteen
Tongues Cut Off:	Two
Biggest Enemy:	Da' Soul Taker
Get Your HITMAN Name

What weather am I

2006-01-26T18:56:35Z

You Are Lightning

Beautiful yet dangerous
People will stop and watch you when you appear
Even though you're capable of random violence

You are best known for: your power

Your dominant state: performing

What Type of Weather Are You?