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January 26, 2009

bikes, cockatoos, plants and the freakin' humidity

I can't figure out what I've done with the comments. They're busted. I think this blog needs an overhaul, anyway - it's been ages since I did the templates. Probably also need to update to new MT. Or new blogging tool.

News:
- We are biking tourista grande! We are riding our bikes everywhere. I am trying to find a nice way of putting them on a map. Bikely isn't very helpful (it has a craptastic site). Am considering special cycling blog. Nerdy enough? NO! But we have discovered some lovely river-side bike paths (Cooks River) and some sneaky off-road shady tree lined bike paths (somewhere in... Petersham? Parallel to... Hewson Canal ?). We have also decided we don't like riding through stupid Darling Harbour (well, across that bridge - the Piermont? - it sucks) because not only are pedestrians dumb, but tourist pedestrians are stupidly dumb. I am also having brought home to me just how un-bike-aware Sydney drivers are. It's like they freak out when they see a cyclist - they swing out really wiiiiide to get around us. Or they crawl along behind us. Melbourne motorists have mad cyclist-aware-skills. Also, Sydney drivers pull up at traffic lights at the very last minute. This is terrifying if you're just in front of them, pulled up with one leg down, waiting for the lights to change (but also makes the point: do NOT hug the curb at lights - TAKE THE ENTIRE LANE).

If you'd like to come bike riding with us, drop me a line. I am very unfit atm, so we go slow. Especially on hills. We have taken many friends for their first-in-10-years bike rides. They've liked it. We're kind and are quite happy just to poodle along, chatting and sticky beaking.
We also avoid busy roads and we like to explore and 'just have a look'. We like a combination of urban streets (lots of windows to look in) and leafy bits. We've been surprised by how leafy Sydney is, and how many nice, quiet streets there are right here in the inner suburbs. There are also some really great bike paths. Even the city (on a Sunday) isn't so scary. Though I don't ride on the actual road.
We also like to stop regularly for cake.

- It was recently very hot here in Sydney. But now it is only quite warm and incredibly humid. It's been drizzling all afternoon. That's good, because we rode to Bunnings in Ashfield today (via Harbourfield) and bought plants. When we got to Bunnings we were (once again) shitted off by its shitfulness: no bike loops (well, duh - it's like _the_ most car-centric place ever... after Ikea), inept staff, etc etc. But we bought plants. A grevillea and some sort of native climber (whose name I can't remember). I wanted Telopea and Protea, but they are fuck-off expensive (as in $50 for small pots). So we said "fuck off!" and got the common-as-muck moonlight grevillea and cheapy native climber. Then we rode home. It was so hot. It was overcast, but I got burnt badly. Because I am a dickwit.
When we got home we rested. Then we cleaned our house. Then we planted the plants. I actually supervised (because I am still injured - and will be for at least another couple of months, if not forever (the future isn't looking too good for my poor foot injury, but I don't want to talk about that because it makes me cry. A future without dancing will do that.) The Squeeze dug. In the light rain. He was sweating more than it was raining because it's so warm. The holes are great, though. And the dirt drains nicely. Anyways, we planted those suckers.
Now we need another grevillea. I did see something I liked: some sort of grevillea (or was it a narrow-leafed banksia?) which had dark purpley/marooney leaves. It was neat. I was thinking a couple of those with a bunch of knee-high purple grasses (which were just near by) would be wonderful. But I can never go past the grevillea. And I wasn't sure the purple one flowered - it didn't have a very useful tag. I did want to get something indigenous to this area, but, frankly, we're a bit short of accessible nurseries here. You have to have a car to really get sweet lowdown. I am going to check out the Marrickville markets some weekend soon - I need a cheaper source of plants. And I also want to stay away from the Bunnings type plants. I want something that's not force-grown in big green houses or big plantings. I want tough plants grown in some poppa's back yard in cheap pots. Something street-wise and rough.
Anyways, I'm going to get those natives happening down the front, in front of the main bedroom windows. The climber will climb up the railing on the front steps (but I'll clip it to stop it getting onto the top rail). I'd really like to plant up the grass down there with some taller native grasses, but I don't think our land lord would like that. I'm also thinking about veggies and herbs again. I just can't live without my herb garden any longer. And this weather is so plant-perfect. We'll see.

- Today we saw something awesome. As we were digging in the garden (well, The Squeeze was the one actually digging - I was standing under an umbrella in his crocs supervising and carrying the watering can) a bunch of rowdy cockatoos landed on the facade of the olden days flats on the opposite corner. There were about six or eight of them and they were obviously feeling their oats. Feeling all charged up by the cool and wet (after a little research, I've discovered they like to flap about in the rain to bathe themselves). They clambered about on the front of the building shouting for a while. Then they flew over to the olden days garage on the other corner. That's when things got good. They're such big, flamboyant birds. All yellow combs and huge white wings. They were very loud and social and clambered about all over the place, using their beaks and claws to get about. They were also digging about in the cracks of the buildings and the power pole. They spent some time pulling the power pole to bits (literally - they pulled great chunks off the top and threw them on the road) and shouting. Then they started pulling bits off the garage's facade.
They started just digging in the cracks and pulling off bits of plaster. Then they started pulling bricks out of the facade. Real bricks. The big chunks of masonry and plaster and brick fell down with big crashes and the cockatoos shouted and laughed and called across to each other. They were spread out all over the facade and the power lines and power poles, upside down, ride side up, combs up, wings out. It was awesome. Eventually the guy in the flat above the garage stuck his head out the window to see what was going on. The cockatoos kind of sneered and shouted at him and carried on. Until one pulled a massive brick out of the wall and nearly dropped it on another who was trying to pull the window awning off. Then they got a scare and had a shout at each other, then flapped up to the power pole. And then down the street. It was like a rowdy bunch of... large, rowdy birds... were moving their way down the street, shouting and talking and pulling shit to bits. It was fully sick. I didn't think to take a photo til far too late. So just take my word for it, ok?
It's nice to live in a city with lots of native trees and plants, and, consequently, lots of native birds. Unlike noxious-weed-Melbourne, which is chock full of stupid introduced plants.

- Today we rode up the bike route to a little cafe in Dulwich Hill. It was full of skanky yuppies. The food was ok. Then we decided to ride on to the Bunnings in Ashfield via Harbourfield. I got burnt. We both got freakin' hot. We rode back from Ashfied. We are badarse.
Yesterday we went in on the train to Town Hall station to collect The Squeeze's bike from his office. Then we rode across Piermont Bridge, down the side of Darling Harbour. We spent some time looking at a ship. That was neat, but not as neat as the books in Piratica. They're the best because they're pirate ships. Captained by women.
Then we rode along the beach, looking at yuppy warehouses flats. They were boring. We rode past the park where they were having Jazz On The River. The grass was all brown, crackly sticks.
Then we rode on to the Fish Market. The market was hot and crowded and The Squeeze didn't like it. So I foraged some sushimi, prawns and octopus. Then we rode on.
We were pretty freakin' hot by then, and I was feeling weak, so we caught the light rail (which is just like a kind of piss-weak tram, but with REAL conductors (so you have to buy tickets) and which you can TAKE YOUR BIKES ON !!1!). That was a nice, short trip to Lillyfield.
From Lilyfield station we rode up the hill across Paramatta Road, then up a little hill and taking a right turn at a little cafe (which was called something like Lily and Somebody or something. It had its name written in white in 'American Typewriter' font on the window and was closed). Then we rode along the bike lanes to an old building which looked a bit like an old train station or some sort of feed station (a sort of Victorian loading or despatch dock).
Then we kept on riding along the ridge til we got to... um... a park.
Then we turned left on a road which had no cars at all.
Then we... rode a bit. Then we went down the Hewson Canal bike path, which is very nice and shady, but made me think 'don't ride here by yourself ever, ladies.' We saw no one on that very nice bike path but three tiny little girls with bright white hair and one giant, bald dad.
Then we rode on and up til we got to the road that goes under a bridge - the end of Marion Street (which I think of as the road near the corner where I nearly stacked it on our first Big Ride).
Then we continued on and got onto another bike path past a giant dog park with about a squillion dogs roaming about.
Then we rode on to the bike path that runs along the canal that goes into the ocean.
Then we rode on. I can't remember what happened there, but we ended up coming out on Old Canterbury Road at that weird stop sign. Then up Old Canterbury Road to Dulwich Hill. I was especially badarse on that last bit.

Basically, I am badarse because I'm not scared of hills any more. The Squeeze is badarse because he rides his one-gear bike very slowly, just behind me (but not too close or he gets yelled at). Going slow is harder than going fast.

"bikes, cockatoos, plants and the freakin' humidity" was posted by dogpossum on January 26, 2009 9:53 PM in the category bikes and dogpossum and domesticity and greenies and sydney

pav's cat rocks awesome words yes

There is something visceral about that harmony moment in choral music, the moment when the music spreads out sideways, like the opening of a fan.

(more here).

"pav's cat rocks awesome words yes" was posted by dogpossum on January 26, 2009 9:17 PM in the category clicky

January 23, 2009

swing dancers movin' on up

Recent clips from the Swing and Soul weekend in the US.
Check out those hardcore lindy hoppers gettin' all into the soul.

...incidentally, three of those blokes (Steven Mitchell, Manu Smith and Peter Strom) are teaching at Camp Oz in Adelaide this week.

"swing dancers movin' on up" was posted by dogpossum on January 23, 2009 12:35 PM in the category lindy hop and other dances | Comments (0)

January 21, 2009

Bones and books

I really like Bones, but it's a little lacking in scientific... hell, logical reality.

1. Would you use an elevator to reach the floor of a building where a bomb had blown up and caused a fire?

2. The computer machine thing that the girl lab person (what was happening in that sentence?) uses to recreate an image of the victim works a little too quickly. It's also a little dodgily convenient. I doubt its existence. I also doubt (in the nicest possible way) an artist's ability to write a program so sophisticated it could 'build' a picture (a 3D picture!) of a person from a bone fragment. Maybe she does have mad programing skills, but that sort of seriously specialised mad programing skills? Nope.

3. Whatsit Boreanz isn't the best actor. He's fully built, but has dodgy posture (though that's improved a bit). I think he's a cheery person in real life. This isn't a critique of the program, merely an observation.

4. I do like it that Bones' boss is also an alpha chick. And that Boreanz doesn't really mind being bossed about women. Ace.

I'll post more observations about Bones as I come to them.

Also, we are watching Mad Men. It tends to rely on the 'woah, things were weird in the 50s' effect a little too much. The story moves so slowly and there are so few parallel story lines, it makes for quite boring viewing. I like the 50s stuff but not enough to be distracted from the fairly boring story line. Quite frankly, I don't really care about the protagonist's 'secret past'. Not even for curiousity's sake.

And, on an even sider side point, today I spent about four hours in three different book shops. Firstly, I went to Kukinyani (doods, I just cannot spell that). I spent about two hours there, wandering around the young adult fiction section. Then I spent some time in the illustrated books section (can't remember the fancy word for comics I'm afraid). Mostly I was with the YA stuff. I put together a very expensive pile then left all but one book with a very nice campy boy who recommended Alison Bechdel's other book when he saw I had the most recent Dykes to Watch Out For book.
I ended up going home with an Ursula K. LeGuin short story collection (in the Earthsea universe) - one of the pretty re-releases. I left the Bechdel book and three Jane Yolan books (The Heart's Blood series) in the pile.

Then I went to Galaxy Books. I remember it being better than it is. It's also a bit expensive. And they don't have a separate YA section. Which is annoying.
Then I went to Abbey's and spent a loooong time in the YA section, and then an even longer time just kind of cruising the ground floor. Many more YA books added to my list. And then some other awesome things, including a book (in the serious style guides/editing/how to write a book section) telling you how to write a book using proper pirate talk. It's apparently an historically accurate guide to pirate vernacular. It also looks just like a 'real' pirate book. And rocks. I've just been reading Tanith Lee's Piratica books (all three, and all three are utterly awesome - totally rockingly awesome), and suddenly, I'm totally into pirates. Not sure I want to write a pirate book, though. At any rate, I then had to kill a bit of time, so I started looking through every shelf quite carefully. And instead of just looking, I had a proper girl look, and actually took things off the shelf, moved them around, looked properly and closely. It was ace. My interest was especially caught by books about:
- music and dance in Australia (not actually all that awesome, disappointingly)
- a French widow champagne maker who smuggled the stuff internationally during the French revolution
- R. Crumb's 1980s life and art (saucy but also interesting, especially his drawings of blues musicians)
- explorers who died on the job - for Australia Day: Captain Cook was speared and then eaten by Hawaiins. Awesome.
... there were a bunch of others, but I can't remember them. Basically, my eyeballs were kind of blowing up after all that really small font. Suddenly, I just want to read and read and read. Wish I was rich.

I don't mean this to sound as if I don't read and read and read usually. I'm always reading. It's just that, all of a sudden, I'm discovering new books that I haven't been leant or bought second hand. Suddenly, I'm looking at non-fiction (what is with that?). It's weird.
I'm still having trouble with the price difference between adult and YA books. Why are YA books between $10 and $17 (unless they're something bullshitty like the Twilight crap) and adult books over $20? They're often the same size. The font is frequently the same size (especially if we're talking about those terrible 'books for women' - not the romances, those terribly books with bright covers and stories about shoes and chocolate). So why the price difference? Not that i'm complaining, mind you, but I am confused. Also, I wish books were cheaper.

"Bones and books" was posted by dogpossum on January 21, 2009 8:01 PM in the category bones and books and television | Comments (0)

January 19, 2009

pumpkin: pwn; fish:pwned

I'm sure I've crapped on about this great little cookbook before (potato salad, orange salad). It's called Flavours of Mexico (in the 'Good cook's collection', published by Fairfax in 1998). Yesterday, as we searched through The Diet Book for something even remotely interesting, I suddenly remembered this nice little Mexican cook book and its lovely salads. This book is about how I like my cookbooks - large pages, bright, coloured photos. I could do with something a little more substantive (82 pages isn't quite enough, thanks), but when every recipe you've made from a cook book has been gold, you kind of figure you're getting all-wheat, no-chaff.

Tonight we made 'Squash with Green Onions'. I was actually cooking a fish in the oven using a recipe from the book (Roasted Garlic Fish) which didn't turn out so well. The fish was a poor choice - I'm just buying everything one by one, figuring out their strengths and how they should be cooked as I go. So far The Squeeze (who's only new to whole fish and was at first entirely suspicious) is a big fan of the Coral Trout. I've forgotten this one's name, which sucks. I should have gone with my instincts and gotten Snapper, but I didn't. But as the oven was on and I was flicking through the book for a nice salad dish, I came across the squash recipe.
I didn't have any squash, though. Just pumpkin :D It was freakin' wonderful. As it was cooking, we almost expired from delight.

Here's the recipe:
1kg butternut pumpkin, peeled and chopped
350g yellow or green patty pan squash (those cute little yellow ones that taste like zucchini)
4 carrots, peeled and halved
2 tsp finely grated lime rind
1 tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
155g feta cheese, crumbled

Green onion dressing:
12 spring onions, sliced
3 mild fresh green chillies, sliced
1/3/90ml cup olive oil
1/4 cup/60ml apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp lime juice

Ok, first thing to note: don't leave anything out (except those yellow squash - we did). Everything is essential.

1. Chop up your pumpkin and carrots. I cut them so they'd take the same amount of time roasting - so bigger pumpkin, smaller carrots. The Squeeze likes his pumpkin sloppily overcooked (he's just new to pumpkin too, but he's all over it now), I don't. I don't mind my carrots having texture. He does.
Grate that lime rind over the veggies. Do it - don't leave it out or substitute with lemon! And grate it very finely so it gets everywhere - not big chunks. Add that olive oil (even less if you can - you don't want this to get greasy). Grate some black pepper over it - to your taste (don't go nuts, but don't be too stingy).
Ok roast those suckers til they're done - golden and soft if you have a good oven. Cooked and kind of damp if you have a shitty oven like ours.

2. Make the dressing. We actually only had 750g pumpkin, 2 carrots, no yellow squash. So I only used 6 spring onions. That was a lot. Perhaps too much, as you're using white and green parts. But while you can reduce the proportion, do be generous with your onion - it's meant to be a key feature, not a tiny little decoration. Slice that onion diagonally - don't make tiny little circles.
Add the chillies. Don't leave those out. We only used one small red one, and we ended up with a salad that was a tad too sweet. Use those chillies. Use nice green ones, too. Add that olive oil. Add all of it and then be stingy with the final dressing - don't screw up the proportions before hand.
Add that apple cider vinegar. Don't use any other type of vinegar - that's your only option. You want that appley taste.
Add that lime juice. Do it.
Whisk that dressing.

3. Cut your feta cheese into chunks. Crumbled gives you a kind of feta slop.

4. Ok, put your roasted veggies on a serving dish (breathe in that fabulous pepper/lime combination - yum!). Add the feta. Pour over the dressing.

EAT IT.

It's so good, it's just freakin' amazing. If you're not sure about the oil, then reduce the amount of dressing you add at the end - don't stuff up the proportions. It's actually quite a wet dish - you can afford to reduce the amount of dressing you use.

This dish is so freakin' good, we made do with it and tomato/mint/coriander salsa when the fish turned out crap. The fish tasted like dirt. I'm sure it wasn't mullet.

BUT the recipe was quite special:

1.5kg whole fish such as bream, snapper, whiting, sea perch, cod or haddock, cleaned
1 lemon, sliced
2 fresh red chillies, halved
3 sprigs fresh marjoram
7 cloves garlic, unpeeled
30g butter/splooge of olive oil
1/3 cup coconut milk.

1. Ok, get your garlic and roast it in a pan. I used a cast iron pan. You want the cloves to get charred and the garlic soft. When it's done, tip it into a bowl and squeeze out the guts. Get rid of the skins. Lick your fingers here - this is one sweet taste.
Add the olive oil. I substituted olive oil for butter and think I preferred it. I also didn't use very much - just enough to carry the flavour of the garlic.

2. Shove some lemon slices, the chillie and the marjoram inside the fish. Don't skimp on the chilli - you won't taste it much. Don't exclude the marjoram - it's essential.

3. Rub the garlic slime over both sides of the fish. Put the fish in a grill-proof baking dish. Cover with foil. Cook until flesh flakes (20-30 mins depending on your oven and the size of your fish).

4. Remove foil, place under hot grill and cook for 3-4 minutes until skin is crisp. Serve with a drizzle of coconut milk.
We didn't bother with the coconut milk. The fish tasted yuk, but the sauce was fabulous.

I did find a copy of this recipe book here. Look for it second hand. I've made many things from it and loved them all. It's kind of Mexican for beginners, but it makes you realise that some things are very important in Mexican cooking:
- limes
- coriander and mint (fresh of course)
- salady bits
It doesn't have any recipes that use mince. It does have recipes for roasted chili duck and quail with rose petals. It uses a lot of different types of chillis, most of which are hard to find in Australia (in both Melbourne and Sydney), so you might want to grow your own. If you're a hardcore Mexican foody, this will be too basic for you. If you want a few tasty salads and vegetable dishes and some simple, low-fat but high-taste recipes for meat and fish, this is a good option. We love it.

"pumpkin: pwn; fish:pwned" was posted by dogpossum on January 19, 2009 8:34 PM in the category fewd and gastropod

mercy dee walton's Pity And A Shame and mildred anderson's No More In Life

Finally, my emusic month rolled over, and there was goodness to be had. Unfortunately 50 songs doesn't go that far when you have a wish list as long as mine. At the moment that list is divided equally between spankin' olden days jazz from the 20s and 30s and saucy hi-fi blues from the 50s and 60s. Well, actually, the list is weighted towards the olden days stuff. Because I just can't get enough of the Chronological Classics - it's a little bit exciting to have them available.

Mercy Dee Walton's Pity and a Shame is making me very happy. Hi-fi 60s blues, piano + harmonica + vocals. Kind of sparse instrumentally, but with a big, fat hi-fi sound. Perfect for blues dancing. Also, fixing my need for saucy blues.

Mildred Anderson's No More In Life

This woman has an amazing voice. I'm also enjoying the superior quality of these recordings: stereo! It's been a long time since I bought something in stereo. It's a bit exciting. And caught be my surprise, the first time something different came out of the second speaker. Both are from the Fantasy/Prestige label on emusic. This is some special stuff.

I'm also thinking of both these with blues dancing in mind. Not mine (as I am still MIA with fuckingshit injury), but other people's.

You know, it's actually a lot easier finding music for blues dancers. The time period is looser - I'm working between the 20s and the current day, though I'm heavier in the 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s. There was just such a wealth of nice, fat blues action recorded. The swinging stuff I need for lindy hop (mostly late 20s, 30s and 40s, with some time in the 50s) is a lot harder to find, and it's also a lot trickier to judge the quality. Quality as in recording quality, but also (and more importantly) quality for actual dancing. Perhaps my standards are just lower for blues dancing. Or perhaps Australian blues dancers just have lower expectations of their DJs. At any rate, with all this lovely blues music available (and relatively easy to find - both online and in music shops), why is it that we have to listen to bullshitty 'blues fusion', trance, etc at blues dances? I know other people are into it, but it just shits me. If I wanted that action, I'd go listen to some decent DJing by hardcore trance/fusion DJs who really knew their shit. And I wouldn't be dancing the naff blues partner dancing to that shiz. No way.

... I guess I'm a little cranky about this stuff at the moment - I can't dance to anything, so it's horrible watching people waste their lucky dancingness on bullshit music.

Sigh.

I am cranky.

"mercy dee walton's Pity And A Shame and mildred anderson's No More In Life" was posted by dogpossum on January 19, 2009 6:05 PM in the category digging and djing and lindy hop and other dances and music | Comments (0)

oh goodness me

This is one kickass band of stars. I'm still on my Willie Dixon kick. Watch for his seriously saucy vocals and bass action.
(clicky)

"oh goodness me" was posted by dogpossum on January 19, 2009 11:41 AM in the category djing and lindy hop and other dances and music and objects of desire | Comments (0)

January 18, 2009

sometimes it's better never to have seen an iconic film

(because it's always better to hear a story retold by your friends)

"sometimes it's better never to have seen an iconic film" was posted by dogpossum on January 18, 2009 3:33 PM in the category fillums | Comments (0)

January 17, 2009

:(

I just wrote a long, awesome post. And then closed the stupid browser by accident. Fuck.

":(" was posted by dogpossum on January 17, 2009 4:44 PM in the category | Comments (0)

Introducing the Rhythm Club All Stars

I can't really be bothered writing about this, beyond "want!".
From the site:

Introducing the Rhythm Club All-Stars . . . a brand new, super swingin collective specializing in jazz from the 1920s and '30s. True to its name, the RCAS is an all-star aggregation that features some of the top professionals on the Southern California scene. Led by internationally renowned drummer Daniel Glass (Royal Crown Revue, Bette Midler, Gene Simmons), the RCAS also include guitar wizard and vocalist John Reynolds (Cab Calloway, Janet Klein), bassist John Hatton (Brian Setzer Orchestra), and horn master Corey Gemme (Johnny Crawford, High Sierra Jazz Band) on cornet and trombone.

Combining vintage instruments and a classic look with a period-perfect sound that swings like crazy, the Rhythm Club All-Stars offer an authentic, high energy retro experience that has quickly become a favorite among Los Angeles area swing dancers and corporate clients alike.

The band's debut CD features a wide variety of classics, from the familiar ("Honeysuckle Rose," "Blue Skies") to the obscure ("Old Joe's Hittin' the Jug," "Digga Digga Doo"). But it's the band's hard swingin' approach and unique arrangements that bring new life to this material. Check out the moody cadence of "Caravan," the fiery brushwork on "Jeepers Creepers" or the virtuosic banjo playing on "Digga Digga Doo" and you'll find yourself screaming for more. This is one disc not to be missed!

CDbaby pleases me: wonderfully prompt service, great products. Yes.

"Introducing the Rhythm Club All Stars" was posted by dogpossum on January 17, 2009 3:40 PM in the category djing and lindy hop and other dances and music and objects of desire | Comments (0)

January 12, 2009

sigh. dance torture.

Sitting here, drowning in self pity for my own inability to dance, I've been torturing myself watching dance clips. Of all the competition footage I saw from/during last year, this one of Stefan and Bethany at ILHC is the one I keep watching. Not so much on the lindy hop, but chock full of interesting (dare I say eccentric?) jazz. I like the way they've used a fairly unconventional song for a fairly unconventional routine. One of the trickiest parts of dancing a revivalist dance is coming up with new and interesting choreography (actually, I guess that's the hardest part of any dance). But this one is really interesting. It's not perfect - there are a few things I'd have liked to be a bit tighter - but it really reflects the dancers' personalities. I tend to watch Bethany more than Stefan (as Pat said, all those years ago, "Don't wear black to a performance" - you just blend into the background, especially on a night with bright lights and serious contrast between the lit and unlit parts of the floor), but Stefan's really lovely in this as well.

Sigh. At least I'm back on the bike now, though - fitness will return and I'll be ready for a return to uninjuredness. I am, incidentally, off for an MRI on Tuesday (tomorrow) followed by another appointment with the specialist on Wednesday. If the plantar fascia is torn (as is suspected), then I'll be wearing a corrective boot to keep it immobile for a while. If it's not torn, then I'm to get to some cortizone. I should be on anti-inflamatories, but I just forgot to pick them up on Friday. I am a dumbarse for that, of course. Either way, no dancing for a couple more months. This is excruciating. I haven't gone this long (four months) without dancing in ten years. But I'm trying to be philosophical - perhaps this prolonged break will bring me back with renewed enthusiasm and inspiration. Perhaps I can come in rough and do some serious learn, side stepping my bad habits. Perhaps. Either way, I'm glad I'm back cycling, as it was killing me going without exercise. I'm also back into yoga next week (had planned last week, but the doctors' appointments have managed to screw with my Wednesday evenings).

"sigh. dance torture." was posted by dogpossum on January 12, 2009 6:44 PM in the category lindy hop and other dances | Comments (1)

Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings

This is how I danced at sharon Jones and the Dap Kings last night:

...well, I would have if we weren't mashed in like sardines. Even though I'm still injured, that's how I would have danced. If I'd had room.

It was great. The Ray Mann 3 were pretty ordinary, but SJ&DK were freakin' AWESOME.

"Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings" was posted by dogpossum on January 12, 2009 11:13 AM in the category digging and music | Comments (0)

January 1, 2009

al minns

Here's an interesting clip - Al Minns dancing in 1980 in NY. I'm not sure who the dancers in the background are. There's another one of Minns in the 80s here. It's interesting to compare his style with Frankie Manning's:

...and it kind of blows my brain that they're both in about their 70s in the later bits of the clips. Frankie is 95 this year (check the site for more info) and it's a really big deal - as you might expect.

I'm more of a Frankie fan (guess that makes me second generation) - I like the bounce and the low, 'flying' style Frankie has.

"al minns" was posted by dogpossum on January 1, 2009 12:39 PM in the category lindy hop and other dances | Comments (0)