Life, Interrupted

We've all seen them -- covers with poses that we suspect defy physical possibility. Well, Jim C. Hines has one of those covers on THE STEPSISTER SCHEME. He decided that investigation was in order -- and what better way to investigate than to pose for the covers himself? So he did, thanks to his giggling wife as photographer. And here are his results -- Women (yes, scads of these poses are painful and several impossible) and men (bare-chested manly men, but still in dominant positions over women.)

To add to the fun, you can also check out a post by a martial artist and contortionist who points out that even she cannot get into these poses, much less fight crime in them. And why would those awesome women even need such silly poses?

Finally, the talented folks who brought us Avatar, the Last Airbender (the anime, NOT the movie) purposely made the magic forms based on different real, graceful, powerful martial arts -- thus making the fight scenes even more awesome, because the things done are possible! So -- after seeing the contortionist do things that may give you nightmares, check out the Avatar short. Well worth the two minutes, if you like visualizing things like this. (Short link provided for those who fear the contortionist.)