Comparative Culture, Tuesday, Period One

[doubleohblonde]

Bond was actually in the classroom this morning, and he wasn't dressed like a pirate, so it would appear that things were back to normal today. There were also two long tables laid out with various dishes.

"Good morning class," Bond greeted them. "Now I've spoken briefly before about fusion cuisine. However, beyond food which is explicitly labelled as such, variations in available produce and cookware, amongst other factors in immigrant and diaspora populations, can result in food that is commonly believed to come from an immigrant culture as having distinct differences from dishes actually cooked in that culture's homeland, sometimes to the point these dishes were actually created in the country that perceives them as 'foreign'."

He gestured towards the tables. "Bearing that in mind, the left table contains dishes that one might find at the average American Chinese restaurant, while the other contains samples of Cantonese and Szechwan cooking, which are only two regional Chinese cuisines. I would like you to try a range of dishes from both tables and make note of differences between both between the American and Chinese dishes, and between the two styles of Chinese dish."

[Class Roster]

Fandom High Library, Wednesday

[talentforlying]

"Look, I get you're trying to be as helpful as you can manage, given your brains are made from paper. But you need to quit harassing the kids, yeah?"

Yes, John was addressing the library-at-large. Yes, he looked like a madman. No, he didn't much care.

"Etiquette, stop being shit. Horror - no. Aviation, just 'cause the little bird is a soft-touch doesn't mean she should be patching you lot up for being dumbshites and listening to Time-Life. No one should listen to Time-Life. Hell, Time-Life shouldn't listen to Time-Life."

"You're books, not possessed demon tomes. Bloody well act like it."

It was... the most librarian-y John had managed to be all year? Don't get used to it.

[OOC: Open! Library is available today for hauntings & ghostings, if you're willing to brave the magus who will not hesitate to throw salt in your face.]

Keeping Your Advantage: Terrain and You [Weds, 3rd Period]

[atreideslioness]

Class today met in one of the classrooms, which Ghanima had converted to piles of pillows, blankets, squishy chairs, and low tables set with Fremen tea services (sans Spice), snacks, and photos from last week's trip.

"I'm interested to hear what you all thought about last week," she began, perched on the back of an overstuffed chair. "How do you feel you fit in with the terrain? What did you enjoy? What did you feel was your greatest advantage, and what was your weakness? How would you compensate for that next time you find yourself in a similar situation?"

Heroic Tales, Wednesday, Period Two

[ldymacgyver]

When the students arrived, they would find Daphne standing next to the large TV at the front of the room. There was also popcorn and other assorted snacks set off to the side.

"Thor wasn't able to be here today," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. He was probably off doing something amazing. "So, I thought since there was no lesson plan left for us to follow, we could watch the second part of the first King of the Bracelets film that we started last week.."

The Extended Edition was awesome, guys.

Daphne grinned and pushed play on the remote when she got comfortable in her chosen seat.

How To Get By In A Hostile World, Wednesday

[suitably_heroic]

"When I was younger, it was made clear to me that I couldn't handle every situation with a blaster or with my wits, fantastic as those might be," Atton said. He looked much better this week. A miracle what actual sleep and relaxation could do, right? "I needed to learn hand-to-hand, so I could defend myself if it was up close and personal. Because if there's one thing you can rely on, it's that some time or another, it's going to get up close and personal. And not in the good way."

He shrugged. "Anyway, I got instruction in the Echani martial arts. Now, the Echani are pretty special: They're a culture based around hand-to-hand combat. The Echani feel that the only way to truly know a person is through combat-- that it's a perfect form of expression, a ritual. But mastering that kind of art takes years - a lifetime. It's not really something I can teach you in a single class, though who knows, I might actually lose my mind some day and try to teach some."

Yeah, probably not. Echani was... it was something.

"But you are probably going to wind up in a situation where hand-to-hand is a useful thing to know, and while I might not be able to teach you anything big to stick right now, I can give you a few pointers. One, try to intimidate your opponent first. Shove 'em around, yell, make it clear you're not an easy target. Only if that doesn't work are you going to want to try and give the guy a beating."

He'd brought a practice dummy into class for just this reason, because now he could point at stuff. Like the face. "Couple of prime targets if you just want to get in enough of a punch so you can get out," he said. "The eyes, the nose and the neck are great if you're in someone's face and your hand's your best bet. Try to poke or scratch at those eyes, or fold your hand like this--"

He brought up the heel of his hand and smashed it into the front of the dummy's face. "...and break the guy's nose. If that's not really possible, flatten your hand, fold in your thumb, and hit him horizontally on the neck as hard as you can. That can stun a person." He stepped away. "Finally, there's the knees. Kick a guy in the front of the knee, and it's going to hurt, but kick a guy in the side of the knee--" as he was now demonstrating, "...and that knee is gonna fold and he'll be kissing the pavement."

He turned back towards the class. "Now, if you want to do the most damage in the shortest space of time, use your elbows, your knees, or in a pinch..." He pointed at his forehead. "The head. That's where most of the bones are, so that's what's going to hit the hardest. 'Course, the best choice would be to grab a pipe or something and use that, but that's not always going to be an option. Keep in mind you're always going to throw your weight into it, though."

He rolled his shoulders. "Okay, now I'm gonna show you a couple of things," he said, "When I'm done, you get to try them out on each other. If you already know how to fight, go easy on your fellow students. I don't want any actual broken bones, here. That'd just look terrible on my record."