so the World Cup has started....

...and it's incredible how much of the street noise is gone because everybody is watching football. Also this afternoon public transportation was insane, and it's not even as if the opening match was here. I've never seen so many people wearing jerseys, colors, and even ridiculous hats and carrying flags around. And on my way home, when the game had already started they were making goal announcements over the underground speakers.

Totally unrelated to that, the whole exercise thing is proving more complicated than anticipated. Since I didn't have any sports shoes suitable for jogging or walking (and for that reason could use some new trainers anyway), I went to a specialized running store to get competent help and advice on shoes really fitting for me. I can state right away that I didn't use their service to the full extent, since getting some kind of video (?) analysis of my feet/gait while running on a treadmill they provide for that seemed like overkill for me, not to mention that I have never run on a treadmill and would have felt completely self-conscious.

Anyway, I was feeling somewhat out of place even though the assistant was quite helpful. However once he looked at my feet he told me that I'd need some orthopedic insoles because the arch of my feet is too flat or I'd end up hurting my knees if I started jogging without that extra support, though walking isn't as problematic. So apparently I have to find and see an orthopedist.

I still bought some shoes after trying several pairs with and without a kind of insole similar to one I'd be likely to get prescribed. The pair I ended up with is really quite comfortable and it was reduced in price too, so it wasn't too bad. Also I got the new experience of the inside of a sports store. *g*

At least today I definitely got plenty of exercise without even trying to exercise since I took a wrong turn on the way back from that store, got kind of lost and consequently walked around for quite a bit longer than I intended (and had to rush too). Combined with the other stuff I had to do today I've been walking for the better part of three hours with an unfortunate number of stairs thrown in as well.

ETA: Of course now that the game is finished there's an infernal racket outside with honking cars and shouting and chanting fans and such.

a question...

I vaguely remember hearing from several people in comic discussions that they didn't really know how to talk about graphic storytelling or how to pin down what elements have which effects and why, when trying to analyze comics, or do comic meta.

I love reading comic meta that goes into detail, but I'm far too lazy to do anything like that myself. However, since I've been interested in comics for as long as I can remember, I have over time read/listened to/participated in a whole bunch of books/talks/lectures/workshops on comics and graphic storytelling, anything from the often quite convoluted academic analyzes of comic pages to how-tos for aspiring artists, and occasionally acquire books on that subject. For example, most recently I have picked up the Wizard How To Draw volume on Storytelling when I got my comics today. As is usual for this series there's lots of examples with little text, in particular of course focused on superhero comics, and paging through it, some seems quite interesting.

Now I'm wondering whether anybody of those who feel they're lacking the vocabulary or whatever to analyze comics would be interested in scans from books about it, like for example from that Wizard volume. Also, if you are thinking it might be useful, I'm obviously curious what you'd find particularly interesting to know about.

Like for example the chapters in that Wizard book (each only about 2-5 pages and by different authors) on the graphical aspect of storytelling are: fundamentals of page design, panel sequence, laying out a page, panel layout, advanced layout, splash pages, evolution of a page, pacing a scene, pacing an issue, dramatic tension, emotional impact, tension & pacing, settings, settings at work, backgrounds, background details, group shots, group dynamics, shadows, silhouettes, negative space, sound effects, master storytelling, and then there's the last part with example scripts and the authors and artists talking bout a particular aspect of the realization, though they didn't reprint the actual comic pages which makes it a bit harder to imagine, unless you own them, in particular Bendis, Bagley and Finch talk about Drama & Action with the example of an Ultimate Spider-Man issue, Kirkman and Ottley about Fight Scenes with an Invincible issue and Brubaker, Epting and Lark about Flashbacks with a Captain America issue.

Any opinions?