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! 

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? 

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 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcometto/5701886869/in/photostream

Wall Street

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcometto/5697466702/in/photostream

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

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcometto/5676857025/in/photostream

Fuerza Bruta, Daryl Roth Theatre
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lcometto/5711479193/in/photostream

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? 

No More Coffee?

So I think I have to quit Coffee….at least for a while.   

I’ve been having some prolonged problems with my stomach lately (heartburn, acid reflux, etc) and while I’m hoping I haven’t come down with an…

.

.

.

U

L

C

E

R

.

.

.

….it seems like I might have one.  

I’m not sure how I came down with it, either, but I think a lot of it had to do with stress, the cold I came down with because of the stress, the Advil I was taking, and all the junk food / late night snacks I’ve been eating with my roommate.  Alone, none of those things are bad enough to cause indigestion at my age, but the combination of all of them pushed past my poor stomach’s defenses and got through with its acidic evils, causing my doctor to give me a prescription and send me down to the lab for some blood work. 

I MISS YOU, BABY!

This really sucks because coffee shops are *EVERYWHERE.* 

I feel socially handicapped because of this.  Getting coffee has become the modern-day equivalent of smoking - it's the all-purpose excuse occasion for social activity!

.....and until I get better, I'm gonna be missing out on that.

I’ve gone “Cold-turkey” without my lady caffeine for a good week, hoping that would be enough time, but it doesn’t seem like it; I had a couple  sips this morning after eating some cereal and milk, but still felt it in my stomach like I did when this problem first started. 

I’m hopeful, though.  This is very similar to something I had in the past where it turned out to NOT be an ulcer, and my stomach healed rather quickly.  (at least, that’s how I remember it)   

I’m gonna wait another week and see if my stomach can handle coffee by next Monday.  If not, I’m just going to have to quit altogether. 

Anyone else have this problem?   

Any suggestions / tips?  

America's Responsibility?

We were discussing politics at work the other day (already a bad sign), specifically the recent & numerous crises that have hit Japan, and one of my co-workers voiced the following opinion: 

“America has too many problems of it’s own to be helping Japan right now.  Don’t get me wrong, my heart goes out to them.  But I just think we should try solving our own problems first before we go off spending money helping someone else.”  

When I first heard this, I thought my co-worker was being kind of an ass.  But I thought about it later and I came to the conclusion that, even if the majority of Americans agree with that statement, that’s not really a stance that America can take these days. 

Sure there are probably some other (good?) reasons why America shouldn’t help Japan – but I

First of all, it’s a bad move from a Diplomatic viewpoint.  Considering how other countries went out of their way to help us during the Katrina tragedy, not helping Japan during their time of tragedy would do some serious harm to our foreign trade relations.....!

 

Not to mention cause us to look, as a Nation, like serious dicks. 

Secondly, America’s already set a precedent as being the country that helps other countries out.  We’ve been “THAT nation” since we got involvedin World War I and haven’t stopped being that “helpful neighbor” ever since.  It almost seems like other countries expect us to help when something like this happens. 

Incidentally, this also reminded me of the Arizona Immigration issue.  I heard someone (else) once use this same point to argue why America shouldn’t allow illegal immigrants to stay in the country.  I feel this is a different issue and haven’t quite sorted my thoughts on this one just yet. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 

For your Bad movie Consideration....!

- BEHOLD -

HOLLYWOOD COP! 

FYI - you can probably tell without even watching,but this video is kinda NSFW. 

A Psychic's Influence

My brother went to see a Psychic about a month ago.  He went with a friend of his - mostly for moral support (or so he said) - and had his fortune told. 

A few days later, he called to tell me what the Psychic had to say - about me. 

And I had to admit, I couldn't wait to hear what the Psychic said.  

She (the Psychic) seemed to know that our Dad passed away -- albeit ten years ago, and not "recently" as the Psychic indicated -- and that his spirit was still lurking around our house......and that he was worried about me; specifically my "financial problems."  

Not sure if that was the reason my Dad hasn't moved on yet -- the psychic didn't say -- but it was important enough to my brother for him to mention it to me.  

My mom also called me the same day to ask if I needed money.

The next week my mom told me she wants to get our house blessed and asked if I wanted her to wait until my usual trip back for Christmas. 

Now lemme just say that I'm not a big believer in Psychics, ESP or the afterlife; my family's not religious and I personally don't believe in life after death.  Don't get me wrong, I personally think religion's great (when used correctly), I just choose to believe in Science. 

But on the off chance that we're wrong and there *is* an afterlife, it doesn't hurt to take a Psychic's advice every now and then, does it? 

WHAT DO YOU ALL THINK?   DO YOU BELIEVE IN AN AFTERLIFE?