TOLAROIDS: Where is snow

So there is no snow in Ann Arbor yet, even though I think this time last year we already had some on the ground. Well, to get into December spirit I pulled some of the photos from last winter in AA but also some old ones from different occasions, because I actually love snow and hope to summon some through this post 🙂

 

The Kingdom of Tokavsk, Session 0: Entrance

You’ve traveled for days in the back of a cart, huddled under layers of furs and blankets.  Driving wind blows above you and through you in hollow howls, tugging eddies of snowflakes into your tearing eyes.  Your fingers are numb, though they’re wrapped in layers to prevent the flesh from freezing, and your satchel is stiff with ice.  Before you, a warmly clad man clutches the reigns of a grizzly.  You’ve never been to this part of the world, so you’ve only heard stories of the people who have tamed the great beasts of the north, and before you were half-certain they were hearsay.  But the land of permanent frost is as real as the skin on your bones.

Welcome to the Kingdom of Tokavsk, a boreal nation situated on the continent of Helya.  Beyond the snow-covered plains and dense forests lies a land of wild cold and beacons of heat, scheming nobles and superstition.  It is a land of eternal winter, of wild beasts and mystical ruins.  It is a land of tenacity and death.

What secrets will you find within this place, adventurer?  Will it be a journey of opportunity, or are you fated to meet a grisly end?

 

Hello!  Alias here.  I’m taking my blog in a different direction this time around.  I’ve been on a fantasy streak lately, so I am using this blog as an opportunity to create a new world.  My current plan is to start with an overview of the kingdom and its distinguishing features, then go from there.  Being the lover of character creation that I am, I may also write a few vignettes and character profiles.  This blog will likely have a lot less comedy than my posts from last year, but rest assured I am still the same complete dork with a weird sense of humor.  I simply have varying interests when it comes to writing and tend to flit between various subjects.  (That being said, I plan to stick with this blog topic for the duration of the year.)

Fire up, and Go Blue!

Alias

The Rise of the Band Geeks, Episode 20: The March March

With winter acting like spring for some reason, it’s only natural for our local band geeks to gain enough motivation to start practicing outside.  However, the dangers of the real world do not end where March begins.  Several band geeks have compiled a comprehensive guide to avoiding the threats to musical instruments in the form of a Q & A session:

Q:  I’m from a part of the country where pollen falls in droves for some ungodly reason.  Will pollen damage my instrument?

A:  I’m not really sure about that in terms of practicing, but if you’re allergic to said pollen, definitely don’t practice outside in early spring.  Or mid-spring.  Or summer.  Because summer gets hot, and then you’re sweating and sunburned and don’t even want to do the C major scale to warm up.  Of course, if you leave your instrument outside overnight, then yes, that’s bad.

 

Q:  What happens if a diag squirrel approaches me while I’m practicing?

A:  If you’re on the diag, it’s fine.  The squirrels are in their natural habitat.  If you’re on Elbel Field or inside Pierpont when you encounter said squirrel, run.  It’s possessed.

 

Q:  What happened to all the snow?

A:  Oh, it’ll be back.  Da-da-da-da-daaah da-da-da da-yaaaah da dah.

 

Q:  OK, but what if it starts snowing during practice like it did the week leading up to The Game and most of The Game?

A:  This is Michigan.  It always snows.  If the snow isn’t blowing sideways and you’re feeling antsy, practice outside if your instrument allows.  Nobody will think it’s weird if you start doing Big 10 Entries in the middle of February because they’re too cold.  But it’s March, isn’t it?  It could still snow.  I think.  IDK, I’m not a Northerner.  I’m from Arizona, Hal.

 

Q:  How do we know we’re improving if we’re practicing outside by ourselves?

A:  Focus on your technique, embouchure, sound quality, etc.  Do 69 reps of something you struggle on until you get it right–actually, I’ve seen an online band poster that says to practice until you can’t get it wrong, so do that.  Anyway, did you know today (March 10th) is the 69th day of the year?

 

Q:  Shuddap, Hal!!!

A:  That’s not a question.

The Rise of the Band Geeks, Episode 8: 42-27

In light of our resounding victory against That Team Down South, your local band geek would be remiss not to write about The Game from the perspective of the Michigan Marching Band.

I’m just going to preface this with a simple yet eloquent statement:  WE CRUSHED THEM, BABY!!!!!!  YEEHAAAAAAWWWW!!!!!!  ONLY ONE FOOTBALL TEAM IS GOING TO THE CHAMPIONSHIP, AND IT’S NOT THAT TEAM DOWN SOUTH!  (As you can see, I’m still basking in the glory that comes from defeating Public Enemy #1.)

5:00 am.  Yes, really–we arose at 5 am in the shadow of the waning night to get fired up for the day we had all been waiting for.  Bundled up in multiple layers with our garment bags in tow,

I forgot where I obtained this from, but I am 99.99999% confident the image is public domain.

we traversed the distance from our dwellings to the sanctified building known as Revelli Hall.  For all the hype that coiled through the frigid atmosphere, the uncertainty of what lay ahead–namely, the expectation that we were going to lose–crouched in the backs of our minds for the most part.

We all wanted to win, of course.  But being a Michigan fan, as we all know, means preparing for the worst during The Game.  Were we going to be subjected to abysmal ref calls?  Succumb to a walloping by That Team Down South (TTDS) for the ninth game in a row?  Or were we finally going to show TTDS who was boss?

 

Pregame.  In all my time as a marching band member (so basically just this season), I have never heard the fans be so loud.  This was easily the rowdiest the student section has ever been.  And when the band took the field doing entries?  Utter chaos.

It was cheering for the most part, though there were spurts of intense booing that were audible with and without foam earplugs.

Truly, it was magical.

 

The First Half.  Cold.  Cold.  Cooooooooooooooold.  Where I’m from, temperatures do not dip this low for such extended periods during which we must be outside.  Compared to the eager snow and vengeful wind, the sweater weather that dominated October was a tropical paradise.  Lukewarm handwarmers, semi-numb fingertips, and–hang on a second–

WE GOT THE FIRST TOUCHDOWN OF THE GAME.

The rest of the first half unfolded as a true nail-biter (or glove-biter, if you were fortunate enough to have gloves).  The holy band beanies were indeed a saving grace against the winter weather (it’s still fall, right?  RIGHT!?!?!?!?!?!?)…until the time came for the halftime performance.

 

Source: @umichband via Twitter

Halftime.  Arguably the most crucial part of The Game other than the victory, the halftime performance provided heat where the weather did not.  The dusting of snow revealed the tracks of marchers as we went through our drill, our breaths almost as visible as the bull’s ferocious puff at the end of the first song.

By the very end, my fingers were numb and I was in physical pain, but retrospectively it was awesome.  And playing El Toro Caliente evidently worked, because the weather was less miserable during the third quarter.

 

The Second Half:  Where it All Went Down.  With each touchdown, each stands cheer, the tenuous hope we’d clung to throughout the first half gradually solidified.  Was this really happening?  Were we finally going to dominate TTDS?

I didn’t let my excitement carry me away until the fourth quarter.  When the score was 28-20, I knew The Game could easily be tied with a TD and a two-point conversion, which has been a sore sport for the Wolverines this season (read:  we’ve missed it every time, and the other teams seemingly snuck past our defense to score.  Yes, I’m looking at you, Sparty).

Then, in the fourth quarter, it happened:  the cymbal rank leader called Cheer 8.

The drumline calls a series of cheers throughout the game, each in a different context.  Drum cheers are similar to stand tunes other than the fact that only the drumline plays.  Cheer 8 is reserved for moments when we are definitively beating the other team and involves a dance that includes the whip, so its being called was a watershed.  All of a sudden, the possibility of victory felt real.

When Haskins scored the sixth touchdown, we knew.  The final minutes were those of surreal anticipation and chaotic thrills as the seconds ticked toward zero–

And then the football team rushed the field.

 

Source: @umichband via Twitter.

Triumph.  Elation.  Screaming brazenly as our lord and savior Carl Grapentine announced the final score to thousands of victorious Michigan fans.  A fervent rendition of “The Victors” exploding from our instruments as fans began to storm the field.  I sensed going into the season that the field would be stormed if we won The Game, but it was a mere fantasy, a wishful hope the dream of smashing TTDS would finally come true.

As my overjoyed hollering joined the ecstatic roars of thousands, the cold evaporated into a storm of maize and blue.

 

Aftermath.  …for about ten minutes.  Then, we had to wait for quite literally thousands of fans to clear the field.  (Also, it was snowing again.)  The field, when we did finally set foot onto it, was littered with detritus:  primarily maize pom-poms, although I did spot a shot-sized bottle of Fireball whiskey.

The MMB celebrates wins by wearing our shakos backwards from the conclusion of our postgame performance to the moment we enter Revelli after cadencing there.  Flipping around my shako as I had done for all the home games this season felt differently than before.  It felt magical, incredible, fantastic.  It also felt unstable because my chinstrap was not adjusted accordingly, and I was too dang cold to bother adjusting it.  Perched as it was atop my beanie (with help from my hand holding it in place), my backwards shako bore the victory as I marched along the pavement with a giddy smile stretched across my face.

Although the regular season is over, the band/football season and this blog are far from finished!  Tune in next week for more band-related hubbub.