Stro

[Drunk Monk]

Do I look like Google?

um...no

Malta is 9 hours ahead.

wait. now you do...

[Greg]

I've never liked you.

[Drunk Monk]

I've never liked you.

[Greg]

It's Validation Day! I'm supposed to hear from the Blue Ridge Festival today. I'm not really sure if they have seen the film or not but maybe.

The Malta Festival was successful in that more people have seen the film, but the way it was run was really sketchy. I think most of the people who saw it did so because of the links I put up. If you look at the Malta Film Website, you can't even tell if they have festival. I'm curious if they did any local advertising because there were a few european views of the film.

It will be a busy validation week, I'm supposed to hear tomorrow and Friday as well. Fingers crossed that Dublin says yes on Friday.

[Greg]

Once again, I really need to refresh the Film Freeway submissions page before I post. Blue Ridge FF has pushed their notification to Friday.

[Greg]

Oh, disappointment. Vancouver (who validate tomorrow) have told me they will not validate me. I was getting into the mindset where everyone was selecting Stro:TMDS. Alas, that does not appear to be the case.

[Drunk Monk]

[thatguy]

I shared the Malta links on our work BB as well as the Norman Bates Memorial Soundtrack Show FB group (which enjoys a lot of bay area local stories) and managed to watch it while working. Thumbs up.

Nice to see the Yeti and DM up there on the tiny screen. Also, nice to see Bob Bailey (from Salle Santa Cruz)'s visage. I liked the use of the fencing magazine covers as a transition mechanism. I enjoyed the story. I really didn't know anything about Stro. My sister did a portrait of a fencing teacher when she was at De Anza. For some reason I thought it was Stro, but it was probably De Cesare who taught a Sunnyvale parks & rec class. It was a good portrait, but who knows where it ended up.

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

My sister did a portrait of a fencing teacher when she was at De Anza. For some reason I thought it was Stro, but it was probably De Cesare who taught a Sunnyvale parks & rec class.

Dm taught fencing at De Anza for a while. It was under Elmer Gates, who was a PE teacher there and really knew very little about fencing. He was the official fencing teacher, but he would get dm enrolled in the class and dm would teach. dm did that for a few quarters - don't really remember how long. It wasn't a paid position but Elmer would always arrange for some sort of gift at the end of the session. It was a nice plastron once. He was a sweet man. Dm got a lot of experience teaching out of the deal, although it was sort of under the table, so it wasn't something that he could really add to his resume. Dm also had his first and only affair with a student through that. Strange memories. 

I just looked Elmer up out of curiosity and found his obit.

Elmer Curtis Gates
1931 - 2014

Elmer Curtis Gates
Resident of San Diego
Elmer Curtis Gates was a long time resident of Saratoga, California. He passed away June 6th 2014 in San Diego, California.
Born in Indiana Sept. 5th 1931. He graduated from his beloved Indiana University. He went on to get a maters at I.U.
He headed for better weather and got a job teaching, coaching, and as the first paid trainer for San Diego State. While at San Diego State he meet his wife Gwen Burke. They along with her daughter Debe moved to the bay area. He taught one year at Foothills college. He got a job at the new De Anza College. He taught and coached there for 26 years and retired in 1992.
Elmer and Gwen move to San Diego, California to live with their daughter Debe and son in law Ed Finch. Elmer loved the beauty of San Diego got in touch with many of his old friends.
Elmer loved teaching and coaching. He was a gymnast in his college days. He loved most sports and never missed a game on TV. He followed the IU teams all his life. He was one of their biggest fans. He loved people and was a people person, one of the nicest men you would ever meet.
He had a large extended family in Indiana. He always kept in touch with them. In fact, he still was in touch with kids all the way back to grade school.
Gwen passed away in 2011. Elmer is survived by his daughter Debe Finch, son in law Ed Finch, their three children Jena Johnson, Jason Finch, Sarah Sachs, and their spouses and four great-grandchildren, Mary Chalko his sister, Oscar Gates his brother, Tom Gates his brother, and their families.
He will be forever missed. We were blessed to have him in our lives.
He was laid to rest June 21 at Singing Hills Memorial Park in El Cajon, California. A celebration of life will be held September 6th at Los Gatos Lodge in Los Gatos, California at 2:00 p.m.

To Plant Memorial Trees in memory, please visit our Sympathy Store.
Published in San Jose Mercury News/San Mateo County Times on Aug. 31, 2014.

[Greg]

I took lessons from coach Gates.

I'm glad you liked the movie, thatguy.

[thatguy]

When did DM start talking in the third person? We are not amused...

--tg

[Drunk Monk]

Dm does that when he speaks of something incriminating. He's always done that. Think of it like a Jekyll & Hyde sort of thing.

[Greg]

Um, sure.

[Drunk Monk]

Um, sure.

DM never liked you.

[Dr. Ivor Yeti]

Dm needs to get out a little more, Plague not withstanding.

TG, that was John DeCesare and it was not likely DeAnza, but more likely Adult Ed/Parks & Rec at Homestead High School