I’m in love with the Lindy Hop
Lindy Hop
I think I love the Lindy Hop.
I must admit that when I first tried the Lindy Hop, I wasn’t very good at it. This was in high school. I didn’t like it at all, actually, and I did it wrong.
But after getting going with swing again here again, I’ve become quite fond of the Lindy Hop.
I’ve discovered my weaknesses when it comes to the Lindy Hop. For one, I don’t like to turn too much; as a follow, I’ve got to turn a lot more than the guy has to, and that makes me rather dizzy. No wonder it’s best to figure out some neat turns and moves in-between.
But getting dizzy from turning too much has an easy fix. For me, what doesn’t have an easy fix are things like breaking frame and, subsequently, leaning out too far, thus creating a need of sorts to want to add an extra step, and screwing up that backstep to get into another turn or whatnot.
From what I understand, the basics of the Lindy Hop start with this: rockstep, triple step, one-two, triple step. The way I’ve learned Lindy Hop (which should result in turning 180 degrees), during the first triple step and the one-two, I’ve got to turn all the way around, and my lead is responsible for a lot of that. Well, when coming out of that and going into the next triple step, I tend to drop my shoulder. It’s tough because there’s a lot of force going outward there; drawing out and creating tension in my arm through dropping my shoulder is kind of an instinctual reaction. Instead I’ve got to focus on making sure my frame stays pointed at my partner and that I don’t angle myself away from him.
I think refining the basics is definitely going to make for a much better experience dancing. Before we got working on those fine details tonight, it was tough to get me out on the floor. Nathan really had to pull me out. I think we made some great strides tonight, and I’m sad that we’ll be skipping a week for spring break and whatnot. Hopefully I’ll remember what I need to work on to make my Lindy Hop perfect!
My First Blog Post for the South Africa Project
I’ve published my first blog post for the South Africa Project!
(And I’m writing a blog post about a blog post! Go me!)
I’m really excited about this because I’ve been working for the South Africa Project for something like a month now and have really only used Twitter, Facebook, and to a degree worked on the MySpace and Flickr pages. This has been an opportunity for me to really write.
The South Africa Project is a campaign built by the non-profit organization Ubuntu Now, aimed at bringing attention to social issues in South Africa during the 2010 World Cup. The five areas of focus for the South Africa project are promoting gender equality, rape prevention and female empowerment, post-rape care for victims, orphan support, and providing access to financial independence. We have just become a certified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization.
As for my first blog post, I wrote about the legacy of Olof Palme, the Swedish Prime Minister who was assassinated in 1986 outside of a cinema. Palme’s name is probably forgotten to most people nowadays, especially in this part of the world, but his death sent shockwaves through Sweden and Europe, as it was unfathomable to the Swedish people that one of their public officials could be murdered in such a callous manner. To this day, many Swedish officials are able to live without round-the-clock protection from a bodyguard, but more are choosing to travel with protection; Sweden revisited the shock of losing a public official in 2003 with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anna Lindh, was murdered while shopping in a Stockholm department store.
Palme was known around the world for his committment to peace, justice, and equality, shown in part by his stance against apartheid. I had written about media coverage during the investigation of Palme’s death for an international media course several years ago, so I am rather familiar with Palme’s story and was able to connect his involvement with South Africa when I began working on the South Africa Project. I believe that it’s important to remember how Palme contributed to the struggle against apartheid when considering the ways in which we should approach the push for change in South Africa’s current climate; despite the political freedoms granted in 1994 when all-race elections broke racial barriers, there are still serious issues regarding equality and justice that require worldwide attention. Although I have certain opinions when it comes to interfering with another nation’s democratic process, I feel that these are very important issues that are relevant to the rest of the world, much in the way apartheid was; especially now that South Africa is hosting the World Cup in 2010, it would show a lack of responsibility to let these injustices go without being addressed. Palme serves as an example for how the international community should come together for such issues, and it is a shame that he is not here today to help the cause.
I’d greatly appreciate it if anyone who reads this goes and takes the time to visit the blog for the South Africa Project. I’d be great to get some traffic to the site, but I’d also love to see any comments — not just on my post, but on other posts, as well. Please go check it out!
The Wrestler, “Choose Death,” and the Construction of Nostalgia
Warning: this post contains spoilers about The Wrestler! Oh, and this post is really, really long. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.
- Main Entry: nos·tal·gia
- Pronunciation:
- \nä-ˈstal-jə, nə- also nȯ-, nō-; nə-ˈstäl-\
- Function: noun
- Etymology:
- New Latin, from Greek nostos return home + New Latin -algia; akin to Greek neisthai to return, Old English genesan to survive, Sanskrit nasate he approaches
- Date: 1729
— nos·tal·gist
1: the state of being homesick : homesickness 2: a wistful or excessively sentimental yearning for return to or of some past period or irrecoverable condition ; also : something that evokes nostalgia— nos·tal·gic— nos·tal·gi·cal·ly
* * *
Anyone who knows me relatively well knows that I’ve had a tough time adjusting since I got back from Sweden. It’s not so much culture shock or wanting to be back in Sweden (which was definitely an issue early-on), it was a combination of all the wrong things at the worst of times: my dog died before I made it home, my grandfather died, three of my mother’s uncles died, there was a ton of family drama, I was sick and bouncing between methods of coping for a good year-and-a-half, I moved four five times, I racked up a ton of debt living in Sweden, and I decided to finish my degree in history and thus made life much harder on myself. I have learned that things just don’t return back to normal, not with a new semester, and sometimes not ever; the life I left when I set foot on that plane at DIA two and a half years ago was gone for good, and I did not become aware of it until fairly recently. It took a few failed friendships, some massive failures in relationships, and (dare I admit) some failures in school to realize that I, for whatever reason, had lost my bearings, and something needed to change.
With that said, let’s fast-forward to last night. My friend Ben had just returned from a work trip and I hadn’t seen him in a while, so we decided to go see a movie last night. I had been told that Watchmen would probably make me uncomfortable, and that it’s a waste of time and money, and the book on DVD is way more worth my time. I remembered that and agreed to see The Wrestler with Mickey Rourke; Jill convinced me that it was really good, and Ben wanted to get home at a decent hour — it was the only movie showing early enough to be out by midnight. Why not?
I’m actually really glad that I went along with seeing The Wrestler. It was something that, on the surface, seemed like something to which I could never relate. First and foremost, I wasn’t interested in the topic of professional wrestling at all, even though I knew the movie would be about more than wrestling. Evan Rachael Wood portrays Randy “The Ram” Robinson’s estranged daughter, far from my reality of having a pretty damn good relationship with my father. And I certainly don’t know much about strip clubs, either, which is where Marisa Tomei’s character, Pam (or Cassidy, as she was known on-stage) faced as a sort of parallel storyline to that of Randy “The Ram” and his struggles with age.
Swing Dance Class, Weeks 4-6
I must admit, I didn’t have all that much to write about swing dancing during the last half of the class.
Part of this is because I missed weeks 4 and 5 due to illness and prior commitments (like Ignite Boulder 3!). But during the last class, on week 6, I felt like I was able to retrieve a lot of my rhythm and movements even though I hadn’t used them in a few weeks. I’m hoping it’s a sign of progress; when I got back to classes in the first place, I just couldn’t remember most of what I learned in high school.
The most beneficial things I learned in my six weeks of refresher’s classes were probably (finally) the Charleston, some better tricks when dancing Lindy Hop, a more refined triple step, and how not to elbow/get elbowed in the face (um, yeah, happened once or twice…). It was easier to get out there and I don’t see myself needing the whole night to figure out things I should already know (once I get myself out to dance some night). My dance partner Nathan is really set on making our nights out a regular thing, and I am going to try my best to do that.
The End of the Rocky
Today marks the last day of existence for the Rocky Mountain News. E.W. Scripps announced its closure yesterday. Though it was far from a surprise, it was still a shock — how could this paper disappear from Denver?
Honestly, the Rocky Mountain News was not necessarily my paper of choice in the Denver area. I wasn’t a huge fan. In my father’s opinion, it was too conservative. My favorite thing in the newspaper used to be the hockey coverage, and I didn’t like that in the RMN, either. We read this paper in a few classes in high school, and for some reason, I never really took a liking to it.
There was another newspaper I liked, and still do. The Denver Post, with which the RMN established a Joint Operating Agreement in 2001, was what we read in our household, and I continue to read it more regularly than the RMN. Now it is the sole paper in Denver.
Unfortunately, this is the way it will to have to be in Denver. Denver is just not big enough to carry two major newspapers. I’m sad about the Rocky, even though I didn’t agree with its editorials and I prefer the Post. It marks a huge loss in journalism, from a smaller job market for journalists to a larger dominance of a single editorial board, both of which are ultimately, if ever-so-slightly, detrimental to free speech and opinion. Furthermore, Colorado is considered one of the most flexible states in terms of journalistic rights; journalists in Colorado are more protected from libel than journalists in most other states. It’s a shame that the amazing freedom of the press in this state is witnessing the closure of one of its oldest and most storied institutions.
For that, for the other journalists in Denver, I am truly disappointed that the Rocky has seen its final day.
Ignite Boulder 3
Ignite Boulder 3 was a blast. Although I didn’t get to present, my dear friends Ben Roberts and Efrem Rodriguez did — and they were amazing!
Ignite is a series of presentations in which the slides move every 15 seconds, and the presenter has only so many slides available — it makes for a crazy, fast-paced evening of technology, humor, and all-around fun. This was my second Ignite.
Ben Roberts presenting about the Zombie Apocalypse at Ignite Boulder 3
Ben (whose online moniker is “Ace Harmon,” though I’m not sure Andrew Hyde has picked up on that yet) gave us all the gory details of what humans should do in the event of a zombie apolocalypse. It might’ve taken the audience a little longer than usual to process his brand of humor, but all the better as some of the delayed “duh!” laughs just made the presentation funnier and funnier. “A gentleman does not eat brains and tell!”
It wasn’t long before dearest Ef (whom I’ve nicknamed Puggles) presented “How to Sing Your Way Out of Danger.” I had actually never heard Efrem sing before, though we are the best of friends and have been through plenty of adventures together (especially situations in which he probably should’ve tried singing us out of danger). If it isn’t already self-explanatory, Ef was teaching us how notes and music and lyrics could be combined into a life-saving tool. He brought along his guitar and some nifty tunes, made especially for the Ignite presentation. I must say that I am very happy to have finally heard my Puggles sing, and I hope I get to hear more of it (hopefully outside the context of danger, however).
Ef Rodriguez swoons the crowd with his singing!
The rest of the presentations were indeed wonderful. I’d have to say that Most Original goes to Tim Poindexter’s “The History of the Mustache,” for which he groomed the most amazing mustache. Tara Anderson and Jeremy Tanner, as the stand-up champions of the Boulder tech community, broke the crowd down to tears of laughter with, respectively, “How to Piss Off People and Lose Friends in Boulder” and “What Business Development Can Learn from the Seduction Community” (oh yes, you’d better believe it!). I met some awesome new people like Brian Shaler (“How to use Twitter for Marketing and PR”) and Vikas Reddy (“Award Rules”). On top of that, I was able to see some of the coolest people I’ve met in Boulder present on things that relate closely to their fields or interests: Jo White used some of her media research to present “Breasts and Media’s Obsession With Them,” Brandon Whalen brought down the house with “How to Make a Rap Song,” and Ingrid Alongi — with the help of some of our friends and acquaintances — showed how the Boulder tech crowd can be resourceful in the face of a bad economy. Jen Mayer’s presentation about healthy eating (she is just so cute!) opened some eyes and motivated us to create new eating habits while Grant Blakeman and Reid Phillips (of The Autumn Film) asked us “What Would a Crack Dealer Do?” (just check it out, you’ll get it!). If you want to check out some of the other presentations, you can find them at the Ignite Boulder webpage, which includes links to the presentation videos and will include info about the next Ignite.
I’m hoping to submit a topic again this next time, and although I’ve hinted at it with friends, it’s staying on the down-low for now. Needless to say, I’ve been inspired by this incredible crowd and I would be humbled to get to join the ranks of these guys in the next Ignite. Boulder has truly set the bar for Ignite, and I dare anyone else to beat it!
Swing Dance Class, Week 3
We still had pretty good turnout for week 3. I’ve made a new friend, Nathan, who also goes to events sponsored by CU International. We’ve decided that we make a pretty good team and hopefully we won’t have to switch partners too much next week.
We worked on the Charleston some more, at which I’m becoming quite good. I’ll practice whenever possible, even in line at the grocery store.
I’m really looking forward to dancing more advanced lindy hop. We’ve been working on a triple step. It’s a bit difficult to get that triple step in sometimes, but we found a trick: if the lead uses his hips and weight a bit more to force the follow to make a quick move, then a triple step results, and in a beat more akin to, oh, a pick-up note at the beginning of a measure (as opposed to being choppy and too deliberate).
I think one of the most difficult things I’ve found is that it’s tough to keep a good posture throughout an entire session. No wonder dancers have good posture — it’s something they need to learn to do without thinking about it.
I’m actually going to be doing a lot more reading, research, and practice to be able to better blog (and understand) swing dancing. You might be surprised just how many resources there are on the ‘net for swing dancing!
(to be continued…)
Swing Dance Class, Week 2
This week saw a small drop in numbers, but we did gain a few people, and there are a good dozen of us who seem genuinely committed. I hope we all show up weekly. My new friend Nathan is probably my favorite person to dance with in class — we click pretty well.
I’m doing really well working on the Charleston, though it isn’t perfect. I can’t wait to be able to dance the Charleston in tandem (it just looks so cool!). I’m struggling with knowing just how to read the turns. I am confident it’ll get better with more practice.
We received a list of all the places to go swing dancing every single night of the week. Maybe I’ll have to dedicate another night in my busy week to some more social dancing. If not every week, then at least once in a while!
Swing Dance Class, Week 1
I went to my first swing dancing class tonight. I got there just in time, and was very surprised to find that the class was 75% male! The instructors were quite surprised. They said that it was typically female-dominated.
We started out with learning the Charleston. I had never learned that. It’s still taking me some time, but I think I’ll get it. I did much better with East Coast, or the Jitterbug, but I had learned that before and it’s rather easy. The East Coast a six-step, whereas the Charleston is an eight-step. I found myself counting out loud as I do these steps, especially if my partner wasn’t leading well. We’re all really eager to work together and do well, though, and that’s the best part; I’m anticipating that my dance partners will improve quite a bit, just as I hope I will.
It was really cool to see the instructors as they showed us some of their best moves. I’d like to become advanced in swing dancing, and this may just be a start, but I can see my poorly-coordinated self learning how to become better-coordinated.
One of the best parts is, after instruction, that we get more (optional) practice at a dance floor on the other end of campus. I didn’t attend tonight, but I think it’ll be a common feature of my Wednesday nights.
Furthermore, I think I will be blogging a lot about it because I want to keep good track of how I’m doing. It provides a way to reflect and self-evaluate. Maybe I’ll even have pictures sometime!
