Check it out:

So, do you want to learn about character voices and accents…or any other topic for that matter?  If so, let me know in the comments or on the forums and I’ll be more than happy to write it up, or even make an episode of FU-TV about it.

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I know you’re sitting there thinking, “But HI is funny!”  You’re wrong.  HI is currently about as funny as watching me write this article. (Ed. Note – I’m just sitting here, hitting keys.  Nothing funny to see here)  So, what happened?  Was HI ever funny?  And if it was, where has all the funny gone?

The short answer: The funny has been misplaced.

The longer answer: HI’ers have been copying one particular style for so long that they’ve forgotten the most important style: their own!  Maybe they should read my article on doing what you know.

So who is to blame for this homogenization?  Well, the competitors are!  The people who originated the currently popular style – where every character is either overly manic or an impression of a celebrity – (Most notably, Nathan Rarick) were simply performing in their own style.  You can’t blame someone for performing in their own style…well, I can’t anyway.

The problem appeared when more and more people who emulated this style kept finalling, leading to fewer and fewer styles to see, as people then emulated those people.  This caused most competitors to believe this was the only style they could perform in.  That is simply not true.

Last year, Sealed For Freshness proved that a simple, solid piece can beat out any piece that relies on insane, blippy characters to make up for its weak cutting.  That isn’t to say that you should all start performing simple, character-driven pieces. Instead, you should figure out what makes you funny.  Then cut, block, and perform your piece in a way that enhances your style, whatever that happens to be.

All that said, and HI bashing aside, now is the perfect time to get into HI.  With everyone performing in nearly the exact same way, if you come along and perform in your own style (and do it well), you’ll stand out as easily as a Duo in an Extemp round.  As a former HI’er myself, I want to see it return to its former glory.

All it takes is a few people to take the leap, and soon everyone will begin to start doing their own thing again.  Then and only then will HI be as competitive as it once was.

And if you still don’t believe me, grab the NFL final tape from 2004 and compare it with 2009’s…if you still can’t see what I’m talking about, then feel free to perform in any style you wish.  As for the rest of you, I hope it will inspire you to not just change your style to one that suits you better, but also change the entire event for the better.

So, what do you think.  What style are you personally a fan of?  What do you wish you saw more of in HI?

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People don’t get to final rounds because they do what everyone else does well; they do well because they do what they do well.

So it may be tempting to throw in a tech-heavy song-based signature moment like in Charlotte’s Webb, considering how it brought the house down, but you have to ask yourself what you can bring to the table that’s new.

If you’re a great actor or actress, a simpler piece and a more direct style is probably for you.  If you can sing well, find a way to work it in.  And if you’re a former gymnast, feel free to cut The Matrix in such a way that allows you to make full use of your ability to perform a back handspring.  Think of any hidden talents you may have (Like the contortionist in the image above) and figure out how you can work it into your performance to make it truly yours.

Especially in the speech events, like OO and Extemp, you must be very aware to make your choices your own, because when they’re not, it becomes clear that you aren’t being true to yourself and your personal style.  Just because Josh Gad took off his jacket and sat on stage does not mean a similar act would bode national success for you as well.

Whatever you choose to do, just make sure you are choosing it because it’s what you are good at, and not what was good for someone else.  If you do, you’ll do better and you’ll have more fun.  What’s not to like about that?

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As all of you, I’m sure, are aware, in late October, the forensics community lost one of its most ardent and passionate supporters; Gary Fan.

Gary was what forensics was all about, and was the entire reason I started posting articles again during the summer, after a long silence on this site.  Gary messaged me constantly, and would IM me regularly to ask when I’d be posting a new article.  Those who knew him know that you just can’t say no to Gary.  So, I brought the site back!

It was around this time that I also started recruiting new bloggers and looking to reinstate the site rankings.  Gary volunteered to help with both.  Gary was set to begin posting articles for us in early November.  Tragically, he was taken from us before he ever got to share his passion through his writings.  But anyone who spoke with him surely felt that passion, and those who experienced his love of our sport know he would have had some amazing articles to write.

After he passed, I tried time and time again to write this post…any post, but it was just too hard.  However, Gary would not have liked this site to remain silent.  So, although I know I’ll never have the love of forensics that Gary had – I don’t think anyone can – it’s important that we all do what we can to embody the spirit of Gary in our small little community, and the way I feel I can do that best is by posting.

I can’t promise that I’ll be able to write as regularly as I once did, as it’s still hard to write with Gary still so fresh in my mind.  But I can promise that I will do everything I can to try to do Gary and his memory proud.

I hope you do the same.

I’d love if you used the comments and the forum to share your favorite memories of Gary, to help his spirit live on.

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Today’s Quick Tip is a trick designed to make you pop easily on any surface.  So let’s get ready to pimp your shoes!

Get some wide masking tape and cut off a piece big enough to cover most of the heel of your shoe.  Just trim around the edges and you’re done.  This little trick has saved me so many times over the years as it allows you to pop easily on tile, carpet, lava, you name it!  It should last for a while, and when it starts to peel, just pull it off and put a new piece on.

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It’s an elite club, one with very, very few members, and it took me a lot of pain and suffering to get into it.  In fact, I’m the only person I know who’s a member, and I’m perfectly OK with that.  I don’t want you to be in my club.  And neither do you.

No, I’m not talking about the club of people who almost missed their own Harvard final round, which I am a reluctant member of.  I’m talking about the club of people who’ve broken a bone, mid-round and mid-performance.

It was the Quarterfinal round of St. Joseph University’s Villiger Invitational, and our Duo performance was going well.  As it should have been, too; Nick and I had practiced a lot, and it showed, especially during the upcoming sword fight sequence.  Slash Left, Slash Right, Wide Swing, Jump, Block Up, Fall to a Knee. We could do it blindfolded, we could do it in our sleep, and -most importantly- we could do it in a hotel room while our coaches threw ice cubes at us.  This time, however, it didn’t go quite as planned.

Slash Left! Slash Right! Wide Swing! Jump! Block in mid-air while landing directly on your knee! Wait, what? CRACK.

I screwed up?  Inconceivable!  Not content with just screwing up, however, I had screwed up in a way that meant the judges had no idea anything was wrong, but massive waves of pain were shooting up my left leg.  Wincing at the judges,  I realized my grimace could be interpreted as part of the performance, and so I did what any true forensicator would do.  I kept going.

After the adrenaline-fueled round, I sat in the cafeteria with an ice-pack and a hastily bought bottle of Advil.  I had never broken a bone before, and I had no idea what a broken kneecap felt like.  I did, however, know what a normal kneecap looked like, and this elephantiasis-stricken  monstrosity was not it.   I went to the hospital, got a cast, and went home.

Or so it would have went if I wasn’t the stuff of legends.  In truth, Nick and I broke to Semis, then Finals, and eventually won the tournament.

In the end nobody wants to let their partner or their own abilities down, and performing in front of a hundred people creates more than enough adrenaline to cancel out some pain.  Although I’d love to take all the credit for sacking up, my teammates were absolutely phenomenal.  They practically carried me to the door of each round, at which point I walked in as normally as I could so the judges didn’t notice anything.

I guess I have to pick a couple morals to the story so it’s more than my own narcissistic rambling, so here they are:

1) If you screw up in a round, no matter how big the mistake is, don’t give up and don’t assume the judges saw it.
2) If you’re in DUO, don’t let down your partner; it’s one thing when one of you carries a performance, and it’s another when one of you literally carries the other to the round.
3) Forensics IS a sport, no matter what your friends may argue.  I’ve got the leg-brace to prove it.

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I am not your menopausal mommy judge.

I am not your terrified teacher judge.

I am, however, a former speechie.  I know what I’m talking about, and I hate you.

I don’t hate you because of your team, your state, your hair, that booger dangling so precariously from your left nostril.  I just hate the very essence of your being.  I’m not sure why, but your filthy little forensicating life force fills me with the deepest loathing imaginable.

So why am I at your tournament, in your round, hunched and glaring at you over my crappy cup of complimentary coffee?  Perhaps it’s the mad cash money  I earn for scrawling angry, smeary, indecipherable codes all over your ballots.  (65 bucks?  A king’s ransom!)  It’s possible that I secretly adore your fancy little suits.  (Ill-fitting polyester: so chic.)

Or maybe I want to see some magic.  (Please put away your wands.  The powers of the Potters will not teach you to properly pop.)  I want you to make me forget where I am.  Mesmerize me with your performance.  Take your ten minutes and make me laugh so hard I (maybe) pee a little; wring tears from my cold, tiny heart.  I’m there because I want to be absolutely blown away by you.  If you can’t do that, I want my time back.

See, I’m secretly on your side.  I actually want you to succeed.  My cell phone is off, I have several backup pens, and I will slap anyone who walks into the room during your performance.  I am paying attention, no matter how awful I think you are.

But mostly I’m there for those 65 sweet buckaroos.  I’m broke, y’all.

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Take a look, and get yourself registered:

On behalf of the University of Florida and Florida Blue Key, it is my pleasure to invite your speech and debate team to participate in the twenty-fifth annual Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament. This year’s tournament will be held October 30 to November 1, 2009, and will feature twelve competitive individual and debate events. As usual, supplemental events will be available for students who do not advance past preliminary rounds.

Our website contains all of the important information you’ll need to know about the tournament while you are preparing to attend. Please be sure to review:

• Official Rules (2009 revision pending)
• Important Dates
• Featured Events
• Fee Summary & Entry Limits
• Current Tournament of Champions Bids
• Travel Information
• Hotel Information
• Recent Updates

When you are finished reviewing this information, you may proceed to online registration. To access our online registration system, click the “Registration” tab at the top of this page, or click here.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us via e-mail to registration@bluekeydebate.com. While we do prefer e-mail, you may also phone us at (352) 273-0829.

We wish your team luck during the upcoming debate season, and look forward to welcoming you to the University of Florida this October.

Respectfully yours,

Ryan Ross, Chairman
Florida Blue Key Speakers Bureau
Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament James Ferraro, Executive Director
Florida Blue Key Speakers Bureau
Blue Key Speech & Debate Tournament

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This is the story all about how my life got flipped, turned upside-down…and ended up winning a trophy first place at the Harvard Speech and Debate Tournament in Duo. After this, you may just want to ask yourself, “Do you know where your duo partner is?”

Also, sorry about not getting my Monday blog post up…It was eaten by my computer.  I’m doing my best to try to have it ready to post by the end of the weekend.