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Occupational hazards… not of my occupation

One of my favorite details of the Idea Festival conference so far: as we’re assembling for lunch, there’s an empty room showing the “Jump London” documentary, a film about free running and parkour. Parkour is a movement art created by Frenchmen David Belle and Sebastien Foucan, who ran through urban spaces, leaping over and around obstacles in ways that are both expedient and beautiful. (Parkour evidently refers more to the “practical” side of the art, while “free running” focuses on the aesthetic experience as well.)

The film features Sebastien Foucan and friends, running around London landmarks, jumping barriers and climbing walls. Foucan was scheduled to speak and do a demonstration at Idea Festival. But the room is empty, with a sign on the door, which reads, “Talk cancelled due to injury.”

Odd. It’s rare that I have to cancel a talk due to injury. Then again, my daily routine rarely involves leaping through urban spaces at high speeds…