Thursday, May 26, 2011

Happy B-day, Frankie!

Some of you may not know this, but today is a special day for swing-dancers - lindy hoppers in particular.

Today is Frankie Manning's birthday.


Frankie Manning was considered one of founding fathers of the swing-dance revival scene.  A big time movie star back in the 1930s & '40s (dancing movies like Hellzapoppin' & Jittering Jitterbugs), his real legacy began in 198 when he was contacted by a couple of local dancers in New York City.  Seems these youngsters heard he knew of a little dance called the Lindy hop and they asked if he could teach them how to do it too.

The dance caught on when his two students moved to California, and Frankie Manning began cool cats & kittens the Lindy Hop all over the world.

 So, in honor of his contributions to the swing-revival, lindy hoppers everywhere are dancing a special dance he helped bring back tonight - the shim sham:

AND YOU CAN LEARN IT TOO WITH THE HELP OF YOUTUBE!   



EVERYBODY SHIM-SHAM! 

Sunday, May 22, 2011

We were all left behind

So I've apparently been out of the Biblical loop because I had no clue that the Apocalypse Rapture was supposed to happen yesterday (at 6pm!) until last week.

A lot of people sure are talking about it now, though....and making jokes.  And while making fun of extremist Christians sure sounds fun, I can't help but think that those people must be feeling pretty foolish and sad right about now.

I was reading about this all weekend online; all the up-to-date news reports on what people were doing and everyone's opinions, all the little internet jokes -- I gotta admit this "Raptor / Rapture" one *was* pretty funny....!


....and while I can't find the article anymore, I read somewhere that there was a group of people waiting nearby those believers who thought the Rapture was happening waiting to counsel them to help them deal with the eventual disappointment when it didn't happen.  I thought that was kind of nice.

On the flip side, though, a lot of Rapture-related internet scams seem to have popped up because of all this - the most noteworthy I can find being the "After the Rapture Pet Care" - where those of us who were "left behind" will take care of the pets of those of who ascend after the Rapture comes - because as it supposedly common knowledge - pets can't ascend to heaven.

After doing a bit of research, I actually found a lot of forums, movies and other media discussing and dealing with this historical date that people seem to be anticipating.....I actually find myself wanting to see Kirk Cameron's "Left Behind" movie now....! 

I am absolutely *POSITIVE* I will regret watching this. 
But getting back to this whole "Rapture" media frenzy, I just have to ask - if this whole episode was just the act of some extremist religious cult......


....how did this get so much media attention? 


My own theory is that religion is ingrained in us from a very early age so no matter how logically ridiculous it seems, we still believe in it a little no matter how much we try to deny it.  It's very similar to why The Exorcist and Paranormal Activity were such scary movies.  We know that they're just movies and that "the supernatural" doesn't really exist (or does it?) but it scares us anyway because a part of us still believes in it no matter how much we tell ourselves that there's no such thing.


What do you all think?  
Were you even slightly worried that the Rapture might actually happen yesterday? 

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Coming up Next - NYC!


Hey everybody!  I bet you thought I gave up on this blog, huh?  

Well, you were close – I *did* forget about it for a while.  But a recent break in the onslaught of work, etc. has allowed me time to update you on the nothings going on in my life.  And believe me; I’ve been doing a lot of nothing.  It’s been kind of boring / frustrating, actually….! 

I guess that’s the way life goes sometimes, right?  You can’t be wild & crazy all the time….or else when would you ever sleep? 

But exciting things are in the works – I’ve got a big trip planned to NEW YORK CITY coming up next month!  I leave in about three weeks and am staying there for about ten days.  I’m gonna be sight-seeing and visiting my ole friend from college, Lucas, who keeps his own photo blog http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcometto/ of the stuff he sees around New York. 

Gotta admit – I always get a little excited for my trip every time I browse through his photos.  

*Due to Flickr's photo policies & my inability to link pictures from a URL, you will have to click on the links below to see these awesome photos.  Sorry for the inconvenience.  

New York State Capitol 

Wall Street

Street Art? – Urs Fischer’s “Untitled (Lamp/Bear)" 


I’ve got a giant list so far of all the places I want to see when I go there, but I’m always up for adding new places to the list.  I heard that it’s possible to see all the main tourist sites - Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge, etc. - in a single day (it’s not recommended, though). 

ANY SUGGESTIONS FOR ME?