The League of English Majors vs. The Nazi Zombies From Planet X

The League of English Majors vs. The Nazi Zombies From Planet X

suburbaknght

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Beloit Visit	[Jul. 13th, 2009\|10:33 pm]
The details are still being worked out, but it's pretty much official at this point: I will be visiting Beloit the first weekend of April, 2010. On Friday and Saturday I'll be running a series of dance workshops at the college. I hope to make it up to Madison in the preceding and/or following days. I hope to see many of you at this time. Edit: Fixed the date.
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So much dancing...	[Jul. 12th, 2009\|10:03 pm]
Work on Friday, donated blood, then taught Viennese waltz. Up early on Saturday, taught a double bolero lesson, then what was supposed to be a double group class in hustle turned into a private lesson as I was the only one to show up. Finish by going dancing with Goobles. Was able to sleep in on Sunday, but then had to drive up to New Brunswick for a competition try-out with a silver-level dancer. Two and a half hours dancing at maximum power and capacity. I'm so wiped. I'm so tired.
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Tired	[Jul. 9th, 2009\|11:56 pm]
So tired. But I win at Thursday.
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Insurance	[Jul. 8th, 2009\|04:15 pm]
I found dance instructor insurance! It provides for up to $1,000,000 per incident, covers injury and sexual harassment, and the cost is only $341 per year. This is something that's been terrifying me since I started teaching independently. I'm applying for a formal quote.
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10 Business Lessons I Learned From Playing D&D

[Jul. 7th, 2009|09:15 am]

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My dad sent me this, so I'm passing it on to you.

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Dance Article	[Jul. 1st, 2009\|09:07 am]
My first dance article, "Dance on a Budget," has been reprinted in the July/August issue of Dance Spotlight. Check it out here.
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Do you hate for Fox?	[Jun. 26th, 2009\|05:29 pm]
Wow... Fox News gets okay to misinform public, court ruling The attorneys for Fox, owned by media baron Rupert Murdock, successfully argued the First Amendment gives broadcasters the right to lie or deliberately distort news reports on the public airwaves. We are pushing for a consumer protection solution that labels news content according to its adherence to ethical journalism standards that have been codified by the Society of Professional Journalists (Ethics: spj.org). (continues at ceasespin.org)
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Dance of the Day - Waltz

[Jun. 26th, 2009|12:21 pm]

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All of modern ballroom dancing can be traced back to two people: Vernon and Irene Castle. The Castles were dance teachers but were best known for their Vaudeville dance performances. They took partner dances, which had previously been a high-society form of folk dancing, and elevated it to the level performance art by integrating classical dance techniques. Yet even as they raised the status of partner dancing, the Castles were not only using popular music, but dancing in Vaudeville, a lowest-common-denominator entertainment provider, thus keeping partner dancing universally accessible. When Hollywood began to incorporate ballroom dancing, they based it on the Castles' style. Still, the Castles were primarily performers and while they did teach, they were not prolific teachers. It would take one of their students to create a nationwide system of the teaching of dance, a student named Moses Teichman. Perhaps you've heard of him after he changed his name to Arthur Murray.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1zruFzWwUE

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Foxtrot Routine	[Jun. 25th, 2009\|06:44 pm]
Ditched the previous routine I'd put together for my foxtrot exam. Here's the new one. I actually like this one a whole lot better. Wall 3, which actually cuts across the entire floor on the diagonal, affords a huge opportunity to demonstrate movement. I'd never do it socially, or even in competition, but while demonstrating power and technique for an exam... I like it. ( Commence in CP facing DW )
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Mojitos	[Jun. 25th, 2009\|12:42 am]
The mojito is a commonly misunderstood drink. Too many bartenders pulverize the mint, resulting in a drink that tastes something on the order of mouthwash, and that's if they're even bothering to make one instead of using a mix (vile things). This stems from an erroneous assumption that mint is supposed to be the dominant flavor of the mojito. It's not. The intended flavor is freshness; mint is a flavoring to achieve that sense of freshness. While mint should be used liberally, it should be bruised, not shredded. Moreover, the importance of fresh lime juice cannot be overstated, and while it's not a common ingredient, I highly recommend homemade sour mix as the balance. Simple syrup makes for an effective way to control the sweetness of the beverage, but is not required.
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L5R	[Jun. 24th, 2009\|09:44 pm]
Dear l5r players, Would any of you be interested in critiquing an outline for an adventure for me? This is for the Heroes of Rokugan campaign, so if you play in HoR yourself, you may not want to review this. Experts on the Crane and culture are especially appreciated (and yes, I know how redundant that phrase was). Thank you. - Sub
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Dance of the Day - Maxixe

[Jun. 17th, 2009|10:38 am]

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The maxixe is the prototype version of samba, the first attempt to adapt the solo dance of Brazilian Carnival to a partner dance. Although originally danced in the United States to ragtime music, as people became interested in the dance it went back to its Brazilian roots, before eventually becoming samba.

The dancing part starts at 2:17.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7cZQFlVfzs

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Bloomsday	[Jun. 16th, 2009\|08:58 am]
Happy Bloomsday, Internetz! For those of you who majored in something productive (a.k.a. anything other than literary studies), Bloomsday is an celebration annual celebration in honor of James Joyce, who is widely acknowledged to be the greatest author in the English language of the 20th century, and often in history. While Joyce was a prolific short story writer, his Dubliners tales being the most widely read, he is even more celebrated for his novels including Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and his seminal work Ulysses. It is from this latter work that Blooms Day derives which describes June 16 as an ordinary day for protagonist Leopold Bloom. Despite its acclaim, the book is rarely read except by scholars. Joyce was not particularly interested in things such as plot and characterization, though both are compelling aspects of his work, and focused on language. Ulysses can almost be considered an experiment in language more than a novel, but that would be doing it a great disservice. In honor Bloomsday, let us share the conclusion of the novel. O that awful deepdown torrent O and the sea the sea crimson sometimes like fire and the glorious sunsets and the figtrees in the Alameda gardens yes and all the queer little streets and the pink and blue and yellow houses and the rosegardens and the jessamine and geraniums and cactuses and Gibraltar as a girl where I was a Flower of the mountain yes when I put the rose in my hair like the Andalusian girls used or shall I wear a red yes and how he kissed me under the Moorish wall and I thought well as well him as another and then I asked him with my eyes to ask again yes and then he asked me would I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breasts all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes I will Yes The passage is done in stream of consciousness from the perspective of Molly Bloom, Leopold's wife. She has noticed a change in her husband's manner and deduced that he had an orgasm earlier that day and notes that this is not the first time he has been unfaithful to her. It causes her to reminisce about many things: her previous lovers, her family, they day they've spent together, the pain he causes, and his proposal. Due to the stream of consciousness technique employed - a technique that would be considered one of Joyce's innovations - the passage is incredibly jumbled. In fact, the entire chapter is eight incredibly long run-on sentences, of which I've clipped only the tail end of the last one. Because of this, we not only see Molly's thoughts but experience her emotions: her highs, her lows, the way she gets swept up in them. The end of Molly's final sentence has a distinct orgasmic quality to it. It comes on in a rush, there are repeated affirmations and exultations, an onslaught of sensual imagery, all to produce a distinct sexual air to this otherwise proper Irish lady. That she she does this in spite of Leopold's infidelity is part of the key to understanding the passage, but so is the language itself, and so are the memories. In spite of the pain Leopold has caused her - in spite of his infidelity, the awkward love-making, and the opportunities she's left behind - in spite of everything, she says, "Yes." In spite of everything, she looks back at the path that has brought her here and knows that she would make the same choices all over again. In a world of pain Molly finds pleasure. In a world of disconnect she finds love. When she had every reason to be afraid, she says "Yes." And so it ends, but not truly. Look at the end of the passage; I have not cut it short. There is no period. Yes
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Choreography	[Jun. 10th, 2009\|09:20 pm]
Apparently I can choreograph rumba. Huh. Who would have thought? ( You really like to read the dance? )
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Killer Characters

[Jun. 9th, 2009|11:07 am]

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In my l5r larp, the city was recently decimated by an invading Crab army. Most of the survivors are trying to rebuild the city. This means a lot of very basic services: reservoirs, food sources, and so on. While my new Kitsuki is dedicating many of his efforts to restoring order, he's also trying to secure the rebuilding of the geisha houses. I'm trying to use this opportunity to explore an area normally ignored in role-playing games: post traumatic stress disorder.

Most RPG characters see a great deal of combat. Even non-combat characters tend to be exposed to it on a fairly regular basis, but combat characters deal with death and danger fairly consistently. Nor do I mean strictly their own. If I may paraphrase Dan Carlin, the worst thing that can happen to a D&D character during an adventure is that he is killed. The best thing that can happen to a D&D character is that he kills lots and lots of other people. Death is very rarely their motivation, but during at least one part of most adventures, RPG characters are expected to be serial killers. They're expected to be mass murderers.

Now I don't want to give the impression that all games are flippant about this. While old-school dungeon crawls were very direct kill-the-monsters-and-take-their-stuff scenarios, most modern games give better justification. In fact, games often set up very intricate scenarios to make players decide if violence is justified and, if so, on whose behalf. They introduce morality into the stories and are very explicit that wanton killing is evil. Characters may be killers but they are not supposed to be murderers.*

The problem is that even if the killing is justified it should have an effect on the PCs. An American soldier who is fiercely patriotic, joins our all-volunteer army out of a sense of duty, and fights insurgents and murderers in Iraq for eighteen months, may full-well believe in the morality of his actions, yet still suffer a lifetime of nightmares and flashbacks over what he had to do to save innocent lives. Whether his actions are correct or not (and he believes they are), violence takes a very real tole on the human psyche, one very rarely portrayed in gaming. It should be.

In the Akashic Brotherhood source book for Mage: The Ascension, there is a side-bar giving the rules for Do, a near-magical martial art that is (arguably) the most devastating combat skill in the game. It includes the ability to deal lethal damage with unarmed strikes, to block weapons with one's bare hands, reduced difficulties to make its use easier, and numerous other special abilities. But the section closes with a warning for GMs concerned about balancing the use of Do in their games: don't try and restrict the use of Do, but focus on its consequences. A person who can kill with a single strike is a monster, or at least borders on becoming one, and a person who can kill without regrets is not a hero. We use another word for such a person: psychopath.

I am deeply bothered when players - and I include myself among them - portray combat characters who seem unaffected by their violent actions. They may dwell upon the consequences of said actions, but they are rarely affected by the actions themselves. A character who can fight and kill without regret, without empathy, but with a detachment allowing them to only consider the effects of their violence, is displaying the textbook definition of psychopathy. I'm tired of seeing characters like that and the concept of continuing to play such characters makes me more than a little nauseous.

Think about what it really means to be a D&D paladin. Your god calls you to service. You answer the call and a sword is thrust into your hands. You find like-minded, if less high-minded, allies and accept a mission protecting the weak. You journey to a village that is under attack by zombies. Every night, a necromancer summons dark energy and the bodies of the fallen are resurrected into cruel mockeries of their former selves. Each night you find yourself engaged in brutal hand-to-hand combat against these things where the best you can hope for is to mutilate the bodies of those you'd sworn to protect, then you look over and ten feet away see one of your allies losing that same hand-to-hand struggle. Finally you locate the necromancer raising these foul things. Blinded by rage over his crimes you fight your way through more of his creations and bury your sword in the magician's chest. Blood comes spurting out and as he dies he keeps laughing.

I've just described a typical low-level adventure, just with a different emotive twist. What would the dreams of such a person be like?

Shell-shock among RPG characters should be epidemic.

* A quick word here on the differences between fighting monsters and humans. Most RPGs draw a distinction between monsters, many of whom are inherently evil, and humans or humanoid races (i.e. elves, dwarves, etc.). This was a thin veneer of morality tacked onto early dungeon crawl adventurers to justify the rampant violence, and one nearly all players and GMs pass through quickly. It is almost requisite for every GM to run adventure that acknowledges monsters as intelligent beings worthy of respect in their own right, yet even that may not go far enough. The wanton slaughter of displacer beasts should be nor more acceptable than the wholesale extermination of boa constrictors or other dangerous creatures. I could see a compelling D&D or Urban Arcana game featuring the People for the Eathical Treatment of Monsters, or some such.

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Bartending	[Jun. 8th, 2009\|10:00 pm]
Store-bought sour mix is an evil that must be destroyed.
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Dance of the Day - Dance Crazes

[Jun. 7th, 2009|09:55 am]

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Countdown!
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videolinks/thedudette/nostalgia-chick/7929-top11dance

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Dance of the Day - Steampunk

[Jun. 5th, 2009|10:17 am]

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From a sci-fi convention. I think my favorite part is the man dancing with the little girl at about 1:10.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GR8uiJyfvBo

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Foxtrot	[Jun. 3rd, 2009\|11:45 am]
Certification routine theory (never danced. This is all in my head). ( Cut because it's more for my records than your edification. Come on? How many of you are really interested in reading a dance? )
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Abortion	[Jun. 2nd, 2009\|11:01 am]
Seems relevant to bring up this classic: Christ Kills Two, Injures Seven In Abortion-Clinic Attack
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Einstein was right	[Jun. 2nd, 2009\|10:20 am]
Compound interest is the greatest invention in human history.
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I hurt	[May. 31st, 2009\|04:45 pm]
I had a tryout with a new potential partner last night. As with most such tryouts, we went to a social dance. Now this was all kinds of fun. It's been a long time since I had a partner where I could really dance all-out, stretching every last bit of technique out of each step (including a not-inconsiderable amount of literal stretching), to say nothing of doing my advanced steps. It was amazingly fun. The problem, however, is that I haven't danced that hard for that long in nearly fifteen months (the last time I went to an Arthur Murray professional dance social). Dear Lord, I am sore, I am tired, and I really, really hope this partnership works.
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Character Research	[May. 31st, 2009\|01:19 am]
Okay, a bunch of you are crime drama and real crime literature nuts. I'm playing a Kitsuki Investigator (detective) in my l5r larp. Can any of you recommend any entertaining books on forensic investigation? Many thanks. Edit: Preferably non-fiction. Thanks.
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Dance of the Day - Wheelchair Samba

[May. 27th, 2009|06:33 pm]

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From Sandy Fortuna.

Dear Dancers,

By now most of you are aware that wheelchair dancing is again a big passion of mine. Brian [Fortuna] is working on a new show, to be produced by BBC, called Dancing On Wheels. It pairs celebrities with physically disabled dancers.

A couple of weekends ago, Aubree [ Marchione] invited Nick "The Beast" Scott to come to Universal to learn a samba to be recorded and then used for promotion of him and of Aubree and of the activity, wheelchair ballroom dancing. Nick is a wheelchair bodybuilder and is working hard to give wheelchair bodybuilding an attractive face. Now he is a wheelchair ballroom dancer, too.

In four hours Nick learned the dance. In two days we could tell that he had talent, perserverance, motivation and some pretty surprising dance skills-plus he is a terrific guy. He also has the charisma to excite people about wheelchair dancing.

On the fourth day, Aubree's friend, Rob, videoed their dance.

If you will click the link,
http://bodyspace.bodybuilding.com/TheBeastWCBB/more.php?section=videos&type=favorite&i=524302#524302, at the bottom of the page is a samba video of Aubree and Nick. It has gotten about 83,000 views, and is 1 video away from being on the front page of Bodyspace.com. The top 2 viewed videos will appear on the front page of Bodyspace.com, so we need more views. If we can get enough views we can capitalize on front page exposure.

Please view the video and invite all your friends to do so too.

Sandra at Universal
Thank You VERY Much for Your Support!!!!

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Prom	[May. 22nd, 2009\|10:15 am]
One of my active forums is Dance Forums, which focuses mostly on ballroom, but also other partner dances such as, swing, salsa, Argentine tango, country, etc. About every two weeks or so, a new user will post in the general category something along the lines of, "I have a school dance coming up and I don't know how to dance." Normally people are very nice and make the points that A) neither do most of the people there, B) unless you're a great leader or happen to dance with one of the rare teenagers who knows how to do actual partner dancing, the knowledge wouldn't help you anyway, C) if you really want to learn, you need to take a class rather than try and find directions on a website, and D) just relax and enjoy the event. Today we got this post: Prom is TONIGHT!!???!! My Senior prom is TONIGHT! And i need some pointers for dancing. I told my girlfriend/date that I wasn't bad at dancing but frankly I have no idea how good I am. I've only ever danced at a fast pace at parties and gatherings with my friends and we've only danced in a big circle and just messed around and had fun. We made moves like "the bus driver" and "the windshield wiper" etc. But I don't know how to dance WITH a girl at a fast pace. And for slow dancing, I always trip over myself because I don't know where to place my feet in relation to hers... She is a good dancer and I just dont want to look like a fool in front of her. Please help meeee.. Really? Prom is tonight? And you didn't know this was coming? This was a surprise? No one told you about prom at all? You just realized you didn't know how to dance? Seriously? Or how about the lying. What in the world made you think that was a lie you'd be able to get away with? Did you just figure it wouldn't come up? That your date wouldn't dance with you? You honestly didn't expect to get called out on this? Or maybe you thought you'd have more time to learn to dance but then you got hit by the surprise prom. You: Well, I told her I can dance well, and I'm taking classes every day. I'm sure I'll look decent when prom rolls around by March 2010. Prom: Surprise! You dance now! You: Oh noezzz! You're lazy. And you're a lying sack of shit. You could have told your date you didn't know how to dance. You could have asked her to teach you to dance. That might have actually been fun. Instead you dicked around until mid-May while lying to your girlfriend. I hope you trip in the punch.
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Dance of the Day - American Viennese Waltz

[May. 15th, 2009|12:01 pm]

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I recently had a discussion with

goobles about American Viennese waltz. I maintained that it is an intricate, beautiful dance that takes classic waltz and develops it into an astounding amalgamation of classic smooth and modern Latin. She disagreed, feeling that all the changes in the American style detract from the classic feel of the dance.

I must confess, that much of the time I disagree. Many - most, even - couples who dance Viennese in competition simply look rushed and frantic, going from figure to figure and pose to pose as if they're afraid to actually develop anything. Which is why I love this show dance by Wynd's favorite pretty boy, the current American smooth champion, Johnathan Roberts. Be sure to check out the stunning Music Box at about 1:50.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79hjsgBNpoU

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Waltz	[May. 14th, 2009\|02:46 pm]
Audubon canceled the gig. Ah well. I'll probably use the choreography for the showcase piece Ellen and I are working on.
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Why do I do it?	[May. 10th, 2009\|01:28 am]
Sometimes I wonder why I work so hard to dance. Why do I push myself through the lessons, the practice, the expenses, the tapes, the training, the classes, the advertising, the endless, endless practice. Then I get a call from a gentleman whose wife passed away from cancer in the past year and who wants to start dancing, and I have a way to help him meet other people, get out of his house, and start healing.
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Star Trek	[May. 9th, 2009\|09:43 am]
I feel like the only person in the world who didn't care for it. It was an action movie. Yes, it had great characterization, but the plot was dumb, the exposition awkward, easy to miss, and irrelevant, and it lacked all of the themes that make Star Trek Star Trek. C-
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Tango	[May. 9th, 2009\|01:56 am]
I may not have gotten the position with Dancing Classrooms, but damn if I can't do a bad-ass tango oversway.
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Dancing Classrooms	[May. 8th, 2009\|03:58 pm]
I didn't get the Dancing Classrooms position. I'm bummed, to say the least. This is the reason I started teaching dance in the first place. And, honestly, I was a superb candidate: - Dance experience. - Professional teaching experience. - Already partially trained for Dancing Classrooms. - Runs own dance business. - Letters of recommendation from previous Dancing Classrooms teachers, coaches, and studio owners. - Teaching certificate for young children. - Flexible schedule. - Phenomenal interview. The good news is my friend who also applied was told she didn't make it on Tuesday, whereas I was told today, so apparently I made some sort of short-list. Furthermore, due to the recession state budgets are way down so they may not have had space for all their current teachers, let alone new teachers. I'm going to be working part time, starting next week, and am looking into starting community college courses to work towards my teaching certificate, which should make me an even stronger candidate for next semester. That said: fuck.
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Dance of the Day - Country Waltz

[May. 5th, 2009|02:16 pm]

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I'm going to blatantly steal from this showcase for a routine with Ellen. Openly and without any subtlety whatsoever.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgqvPBMYNXQ

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The Ball (pt. 2)	[May. 3rd, 2009\|07:54 pm]
( Pictures from the ball )
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The Ball	[May. 3rd, 2009\|01:58 am]
The Viennese ball was amazing. Pictures to follow.
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Writer's Block: End of the World as We Know It

[May. 1st, 2009|10:43 am]

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Robert Frost speculated about the world ending in fire or in ice. Which do you think is likely to end us all: meteorite, global warming, nuclear weapons, zombies, or the superflu?

View other answers

Some say the world shall end with vampires,
some say in zombies.
From poor impressions of preteen desires
I'm predisposed to loathe vampires,
but if I could but destroy twice,
I think I know enough of rot
to know that zombies should be shot
(they're not that nice).

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Gaming

[Apr. 27th, 2009|11:14 pm]

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I play in an l5r larp that meets monthly down near DC. Last session did no go well. For those of you who know l5r, we're set during the Clan War, based in Ryoko Owari, and were just steam-rolled by the Crab. My character, Togashi Katsuken, walked to his death as the first casualty in the fight to take the city. There is now talk among the players about what will happen to the game, several have said they're dropping out, and so on and so forth. Here is my response, as posted to the game's boards, reposted here because I get somewhat into the theory and purpose of gaming:

It is the possibility of failure that makes success significant.

Yes, the city is a corpse. While it is not leveled, it has been stripped clean. The resources are gone, much of the populace is dead or has fled, the council is a shadow of its former self, and the Empire that surrounds it can ill-afford to bring about its recovery for us.

But isn't that what being a hero is all about? There is a saying among the Lion: death is lighter than a feather, duty heavier than a mountain. It is easy to give up. It is easy to say, "I don't want to play anymore." And that wouldn't be wrong; this is a game, but it is not the game any of us initially expected. Instead, it's a much more compelling game. The question before us now isn't how to protect what already exists but how to build something new. Toshi Ranbo was not created for its opium dens and gambling houses - those came later - but because a trade nexus existed and people gathered there. Whether it is trade, troops, or the resources of rebuilding a devastated empire, much will pass through this site and Ryoko Owari will stand again. Only this time, we have a chance to influence how it's rebuilt.

Some of you will be familiar with the philosopher Socrates. Socrates, as related to us in Plato's Republic, declared that all poets were liars. Fiction had no place in his perfect Republic. Aristotle had a different view. Aristotle said that if a tale is well told, if it is populated by realistic characters who behave in a believable manner, even if the situation of the tale is removed from our daily lives, upon its conclusion we will observe the consequences to the virtuous and the vile and in turn we shall experience "a useful fear." While Socrates saw literature as distracting and deceptive, Aristotle saw something in it that would allow people to experience that which was beyond what they already knew, so when they encountered new situations they would be prepared.

I have never faced down an army with nothing but a sword to defend me. I have never called forth fire from a scroll. I have never traversed an empire on horseback, given religious advice to a governor, or knowingly walked to my death. But I have stood up for what I believe in, and I have worked to make the world a better place, and I fully expect to do so again in what I hope to make a very long life. At the end of that life, however, I want to know that I have left behind something that matters - I'm trying to start a business now, as it happens - and I can't think of a better way to play out the process of creating something than to play a game where I join my mind with those of people I know and respect in order to create something.

Yes, this is a game, yes it's entertainment, but it is also a mirror. If it is your choice to walk away because it has gotten hard I cannot condemn you for it. But I will be there on the 24th with deck of cards and a new character trying to make a better dream.

I hope you will join me.

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Certification	[Apr. 24th, 2009\|01:35 am]
Waltz routine: Choreographed. Tango routine: Printed routine (will not be posted for copyright reasons) Foxtrot routine: In progress. Viennese routine: In progress, possibly not needed. ( Slow waltz )
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Job Interview	[Apr. 21st, 2009\|09:29 am]
Job interview on Monday afternoon with the people from Dancing Classrooms, the program started by Pierre Dulaine. If that name sounds familiar, the documentary Mad Hot Ballroom was about him and this program, and Take the Lead was a fictionalized account of this story. This is, quite simply, something I have been working towards for over three years. Wish me luck.
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Dance of the Day - Bolero

[Apr. 20th, 2009|11:17 am]

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I like this one, largely because (unlike many boleros) it doesn't just look like an overdone rumba.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtCC2zIF4Gw

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Dance of the Day - Stick

[Apr. 19th, 2009|06:29 pm]

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Ladies, is there something lacking in your social dancing? Maybe you need the Lead Me Bitch Stick.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpJzuuos6Ag

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Gen Con Schedule	[Apr. 19th, 2009\|06:01 pm]
Thursday RPG0901567 - The Hidden Heart Legend of the Five Rings (Heroes of Rokugan). The Imperial Herald has delved into forbidden and blasphemous secrets, and now he must pay the price. An adventure for all characters. SEM0903105 - A Salon on Gameology Salon: An 18th Century term meaning “A periodic gathering of people of social or intellectual distinction.” Gameology: The study of games and the people who play them. The Brilliant Gameologists Podcast: Educated type folks who talk about the science of games, gamers, and gaming. Interested? Join the hosts of the in a facilitated “roundtable” discussion about gameology, the industry, and nerd-a-rific, jargon-tastic fun. SPA0900163 - Swing Dancing Wynd and I are running this! Jive! Jitterbug! Lindy hop! No matter what you call it or what style you do, swing dancing is one of the most fun styles of social dance around. Come learn the basics from a professionally trained dance teacher as we show you how to move to everything from Benny Goodman to Outkast. No partner or experience necessary. Friday RPG0901549 - Classic BattleTech Role Playing Game Learn the basic rules of character creation, skill use, and combat. Your character can then directly transfer to and play in any Classic BattleTech miniatures session. SPA0900167 - Latin Dancing Wynd and I are running this! Latin dancing is hot! And it's more popular than ever. With salsa clubs taking over the scene in many cities, and names like Chelsea Hightower and Julianne Hough being popularized through television, nearly everyone's seen how fun Latin dancing can be. Now it's your turn to get in on the fun. Join us and learn the basics of salsa and any other Latin (or other) dances YOU request. No partner or experience needed. WKS0900146 - Dancing for Larpers Wynd and I are running this! Do you have an upcoming game that features dancing? Do you WANT to have a game that features dancing? Come learn the basics of social dancing, how to put together performances, and how to successfully incorporate dancing into your larps! No experience or partner necessary. SPA0901652 - Belly Dance for Every Body! Any body can belly dance - and that means you! Belly dance is an ancient art form that strengthens stretches your body and puts a smile on your face. Wear comfortable clothing and enjoy us for a wonderful time! RPG0902134 - Bloodlust d20 Modern: When travelers start disappearing en route to California, it's time to round up a posse and find out why. LRP0900154 - Negotiations in Vodacce Minor 7th Sea: The Vaticine Church and Vodacce nobles are meeting to discuss construction of a new cathedral. Of course, being Vodacceans, there's a lot more going on. Can you navigate the complicated negotiations? Can you even survive? Saturday SPA0900159 - Learn to Dance Wynd and I are running this! Back by popular request: get ready for the Gen Con Dance by learning the basics of partner dancing with us! We'll have you ready to shake your groove thing so you can go out and get crazy on the dance floor tonight! Designed for beginners by an experienced professional dance teacher. No partner or experience necessary. SEM0903106 - The Airing of Greviences Celebrate Festivus in summer! Need to get something off your chest about the game-o-sphere? This will serve to be a safe haven to do so (though laughing may be encouraged. Any games tick you off? Mad about video games taking over the "Gaming" tag? Have a beef with the Brilliant Gameologists podcast? Welcome home my friend. Welcome home. SEM0901471 - True Horror: Organizing for a LARP Game Come see just what it takes to prepare for and set up a LARP game. Flavored heavily for Cthulhu Live, but the techniques here are useful for any game system. SEM0902995 - Food for Thought A key ingredient to believable characters and stories is food. Heroes, villains, and the supporting cast have to eat from time to time. How can you enrich your writing by adding a dining experience or two? What does food say about the world you've crafted? Gen Con Costume Contest No parade for us this year, but Wynd and I will be showcasing new costumes she's making and performing a new paso doble routine. ENT0904345 - Gen Con Dance: Masquerade Ball The 4th annual Gen Con Dance is celebrating an old Renaissance tradition, a masquerade ball. It’s your chance to dress up and conceal your identity for one magical night of music, dancing and mystery. Come adorned in Venetian flare or dressed for the Monster Mash. Masks and costumes are not required, but as Oscar Wilde once said, “A mask tells us more than a face”.
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Dance Update	[Apr. 17th, 2009\|02:52 am]
No, not a life update, but for me the two are pretty similar. Studio I'm currently taking lessons from three studios, Top Hat, Dance Sport Academy, and Dance Factory Top Hat is my regular studio where I take group classes several times a week, and a few private lessons. They specialize in hustle, but have done very well in ballroom competition. Dance Sport Academy is, primarily, a competition studio. I take lessons there only every other week as they are the most expensive teachers I've ever had, but are also the hands-down best teachers I've ever had. I only work on smooth there, as I intend to compete in smooth. Finally, Dance Factory is Wynd's studio in VA. We're using them to choreograph and prepare us for a dance routine we're doing at Gen Con this year (and probably a few other cons along the way). Certification Since leaving Arthur Murray I've been training for independent certification. I'm doing this through Dance Vision in their DVIDA syllabus. My aim is to test in June for re-certification in junior associate smooth and rhythm (re-certification will convert my Arthur Murray certification to DVIDA), and hopefully test for my full associate in smooth. I've been studying like a fiend, both books and DVDs, and am using most of my private lesson time towards that end. The Business I've also begun teaching. Since late February/early March, I've been teaching independently, mostly wedding couples and young people who can't afford a traditional studio package. It's fun, keeps me in teaching mode, and despite my ridiculously low price (for the dance world) of $40/hr, still nets a respectable sum of cash. My goal is to be dance-neutral, which is to say, making enough money to pay for my own lessons. I'm proud to say I succeeded in this endeavor for March, though April looks like it's going to be a squeeze. I love running my own business. I love having full control over my teaching methods, my implementation of syllabus, and my sales methods. Dear lord, I love having control over my sales methods. The downside is that I'm all alone; I can't ask another teacher to step in or for a manager to clarify studio policy. That said, I do like being an entrepreneur and facing those challenges myself. The only thing I don't like is that lesson times often interfere with my own lessons. Favorite Dances I will not be differentiating between American and international style. Now, from most to least: waltz, west coast swing, foxtrot, Viennese waltz, paso doble, east coast swing, cha cha, samba, polka, tango, hustle, nightclub two-step, quickstep, mambo, bolero, Argentine tango, lindy hop, country two-step, rumba, salsa. The Website I'm very happy with the blog, but I really need to convert over to Word Press so people can use RSS feeds, and (most importantly) so I can get comments. Dear Lord, I feel like I'm shouting into a vacuum some days. Competitions None on the horizon at the moment, though as previously stated, Wynd and I will be debuting our routine, a paso doble, in the Gen Con costume contest, and probably before that (anyone going to Balticon?). I was approached by one of the Top Hat studio managers to ask if I would partner other dancers there for competitions. I gave a tentative yes, though made sure to make clear that I was not available for Disco America. It will largely depend on what happens with Ellen and me, whether Wynd and I end up competing, as well as whether these women are serious about training.
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Dance of the Day - Centraal Station

[Apr. 16th, 2009|12:10 pm]

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I don't know if this was a stunt or from a film, but it's still cool. For the real deal search You Tube for "lindy bomb."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UE3CNu_rtY

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Dance Article	[Apr. 12th, 2009\|08:52 am]
New interview up on Dancing Through the Recession: an interview with Daniel McGee: http://www.dancingthroughtherecession.com/Home/interview-with-daniel-mcgee
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Tango	[Apr. 2nd, 2009\|12:43 am]
Long side - commence DC: - Reverse turn with outside swivels ending in promenade position; drop the hesitation to collect. - Open fan with running finish (two extra quicks). End facing new LOD. The count is: Q Q S Q Q S S S Q Q S S Q Q S& S& S& Q Q Q Q S
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Wisconsin	[Mar. 12th, 2009\|12:33 am]
( I miss Wisconsin )
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Jam Like Mad	[Mar. 10th, 2009\|12:21 am]
Went down to DC this weekend for Mad Jam, a three and a half day festival celebrating hustle and west coast swing (and to a lesser extent, DC hand dance). Highlights of the weekend include: - My first competition with Ellen. We did hustle (which we botched in the first round and later recovery couldn't save us) and west coast (which we did better than I expected but not enough for us to make the cut). - Pro-am west coast and hustle with my instructor Ginny. I didn't rank, but I did qualify for silver medal standing. - One of the most fun foxtrots of my life with Wynd. We went to dinner Friday night at a nearby diner and ended up doing zig zags around the tables when the jukebox decided to favor us. - Truly phenomenal workshops. - Pro performances, including Jordan Frisbee and Tatianna Mollmann (my favorite WCS couple. Suck it, Benji) and Billy Fajardo (who did the video syllabus for DVIDA's hustle and theater arts syllabi). - Bacon! - New shoes! - Arrived home to discover that the study material for my full bronze certification test had arrived: video syllabi for bronze American waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz, and nightclub two-step, and written syllabi for bronze American smooth, rhythm, and nightclub two-step. I'm a big fan of sales, tax write-offs, and tax rebates.
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Snow	[Mar. 2nd, 2009\|08:40 pm]
Attention Wisconsinites: Commence laughing at Philadelphia.
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Dance Prep	[Mar. 1st, 2009\|12:04 pm]
Next weekend is Mad Jam, a weekend of hustle and west coast swing competitions, workshops, and social dancing in the DC area. Ellen and I will be competing together for the first time, I'll be dancing pro-am with my instructor Ginny, and jack-and-jill, all of the above in both hustle and west coast. Consequently, yesterday was a big day of cramming. It started with two hours of hustle class working on amalgamations and double inside turns. This was followed by a double private lesson with Ginny. I like my lessons with Ginny. While Aideen, Ellen and my smooth instructor, is unequivocally the best dance teacher I've ever had, Aideen is more of a football coach: she drills us hard and pushes us harder. That's not a complaint; it's exactly what I said I wanted when we started our lessons at Dance Sport, and it's one of the reasons she is such a great teacher. Ginny, on the other hand, is more playful in our lessons. We joke around a lot more and frequently get distracted and wander off-topic discussing theory. Just as an example, another couple that was sharing the space with us was working on samba and whenever there music was playing and we weren't doing hustle or west coast, I almost absentmindedly began doing my balancetes. Ginny's response: "Okay, we're doing a minute of samba so you can get out your system." It was the right idea. After my three hours of hustle and one of west coast, I went back home and pretty much collapsed. After a dinner of beer and hot wings (shut up, I earned it) I felt barely able to move. Unfortunately, I'd been planning on going to Peppermint, a local social ballroom group. In fact, I'd been planning to go for two months, largely because they were doing a nightclub two-step lesson that night, a dance I know more than a little about but not nearly as much as I'd like. It seemed that exhaustion was going to win the day, but at the last minute, through a not-inconsiderable act of willpower, I got my ass up and there. The lesson was good. Better than I expected, though I'm getting really sick of the people who don't take any lessons other than the pre-dance lessons. The dance itself was great. I ran into one of my favorite couples from Top Hat, several of my favorite partners, and had two phenomenal Viennese waltzes, a good bolero, and one of the rare rumbas that I actually enjoyed (the secret: we did it to cha cha music). Then I came home, flopped onto the coach unable to move, and watched two hours of Veronica Mars.
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