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July 11, 2010

happy birthday nikola tesla

Posted by dogpossum on July 11, 2010 8:00 PM | Comments (0)

It was Nikola Tesla's birthday yesterday and I missed it.
Last year I wrote this poem for him:

Happy Birthday, Nikola Tesla,
inventor of alternating current,
unfortunately not
a pro-rock-n-roll wrestler,
but still: fully sick,
Nikola Tesla.

"happy birthday nikola tesla" was posted in the category people i know

February 16, 2010

digital resources... mostly

Posted by dogpossum on February 16, 2010 5:38 PM | Comments (0)

This post is really just to track a range of online sources I've used today. I'm really interested in the relationship between different tools, and between online and face to face tools. I want to frame this post/discussion by pointing out that swing DJs are interested in music primarily as dancers and as DJs for dancers. So their interest in music and dance and history is almost always tied to the physical experience of dancing. And dancing is ALL about the body, no matter how intertubed you are. Dancers also tend to have quite extensive online networks, networks of friends and acquaintances which crisscross their country and the world. I just know that if Peter wasn't actually playing music as I type, he'd be chiming in with useful tweeted comments and links.

The body pwns the intertubes any day.

I read this thread on SwingDJs this morning,

which directed us to:

this story about hot jazz in a full-text issue of Life on Google books.

I replied in the thread on swingdjs, but also in a post on my own blog, here.

Reading the list and thinking about hot jazz as I wrote that post, I was reminded of things I'd read in books (!), one of which is also available in full text on google books here.

I have also found full text versions online, but I can't remember where. If you start with The Jazz Study Group @ Columbia and Jazz Studies Online you'll probably eventually find them all.

But while I was reading these things in books, I came across references to a series of photographs and films which are very popular with dances - by Gjon Mili. Mili is best known amongst dancers for his short film Jammin' the Blues which is available on youtube along with other films he made featuring jazz musicians (I link them here.)

There're some iconic photos of dancers in Life magazine in their 'Life goes to...' series. These are available in Google/Life's online collection. Gjon Mili also did some very interesting photos as part of a photo shoot for Esquire in a Jam Session series.
I've already written about magazines and jazz ad nauseum.

Meanwhile, that original Life article listed '30 good hot records'. Which made me think about canons. And discographies as canons. There are various online versions of discographies, but the good ones aren't freely available online. Boo. Hiss.
Canons and discographies made me think about following particular musicians, and all this talk about 'essential' lists of jazz musicians and songs made me think about the Great Day In Jazz photo, which has a documentary film attached, and which Rayned used to structure his Yehoodi Radio show, which you could stream online.

After I'd written that post earlier today, I was still thinking about these issues. And I remembered seeing a note attached to an Australian photo from the 20s in an online collection. I eventually found the photo on flickr.com in their flickr commons (with which I am obsessed) by typing 'bands jazz sydney' into the search box, getting this list. This is the photo. I was particularly interested in the comment that black American bands were banned in Australia from the date of this photo (1928) until 1955 (when Louis Armstrong visited Australia). I wondered if it was true.

So I asked twitter. This led to a discussion between (mostly) The SwingDJ, DJRussellTurner, a discussion witnessed by all the people who followed one or all of us on Twitter.

TheSwingDJ was sceptical.

DJRussellTurner tweeted clarified the Rex Stewart thing.

DJRussellTurner suggested a distinction between 'band' and 'musicians', and then linked to an an article by Alec Morgan in the journal Scan which used the original photo and added

But, not all musical imports were welcomed by Sydney's moral guardians. Sonny Clay's renowned Jazz band, The Colored Idea, arrived here from the USA in 1928 to play the burgeoning nightclubs. After a couple of white women were found in a hotel room with the Afro-American musicians, the band was escorted back to the ship and told never to grace our shores again. While the occasional black musician was allowed in after careful scrutiny for a limited period, Afro-American bands were not permitted back until the mid 1950's when Louis Armstrong and his band pushed the colour-bar down.

I suddenly decided I needed to know more, and I certainly needed to verify this idea that 'black bands were banned in Australia' during this period. The important question here is why? Why did I want to be sure? Partly because this would indicate interesting things about:
- race and racism in Australia (White Australia Policy)
- jazz and jazz culture in Australia (jam sessions, playing with and listening to other musicians is central to the exchange and cultural transmission of creative, ideological and discursive forms. A lack of African American musicians in Australia would go some way to supporting my continuing suspicions about the whiteness of Australian jazz. And, consequently, white jazz dance.
- the music and entertainment industry in Australia.

I had a bit of a squizz in various online sources, but eventually decided I needed to look at some more newspapers from the day. These sorts of (albeit somewhat unreliable) primary sources can be helpful.

So I started simple, and followed this link from the flickr page. Not a whole lot of help right now, but it would be worth following up the original photographer.

Then I remembered someone on twitter mentioning an online tool which allowed you to search online Australian primary sources. I couldn't remember who it was who put me onto it (I still can't), so I just followed a bunch of links from likely sources.

Until I saw a name I recognised: Trove. And started searching for "Sonny Clay".

I found this newspaper article on Trove which outlined accusations about the musicians' union from the 'banned band''s representatives.

Meanwhile, TheSwingDJ confirmed our suspicions but also noted that Rex Stewart wasn't black, according to the musicians' union (I wish I had his reference for this, actually).
He also tweeted other interesting tidbits including one about 'good reputations' and 'paying' to be allowed to play.

And then there were various comments on twitter from peeps 'listening in' to our 3-way chat, including comments about the photos as resources for fashion, Trove's value for private research projects and so on. I asked for help RE Trove's browser-compatability as I wanted to edit the scanned text of the article, but couldn't log in. Various tweeps offered tips and feedback.

Then I revisited DJRussellTurner's link to the Scan article and the original flickr photo page and discovered that the author of the Scan article had a blog where she discussed this photo and issue. Her thinking about this issue led to her discussion of flappers and gender here and here.
I then checked our her blog's 'about' page and discovered she's at the Centre for Critical and Cultural Studies at UQ where I did my BA and MA and where I still have friends working.

In one of those blog posts she notes in a caption for (a repro of that original photo from flickr):

(Members of Sonny Clay's Coloured Idea (including the singer Ivie Anderson) on deck as they pull into Sydney, 1928)

And this made me think: Ivie Anderson! Best known (in my world) as a singer with Duke Ellington's band. So I did a crappy search of my music (using the wrong date) to see if she recorded with Ellington during this period. I also scanned the photo carefully to see if I recognised her. I was, pretty much, guessing. But I was using photos of Anderson I found online to try and compare them with the women in those two original photos.
TheSwingDJ beat me to it with this link to a source many Swing DJs use quite often. That entry for Anderson includes:

Born in California, young Ivie received vocal training at her local St. Mary's Convent and later spent two years studying with Sara Ritt in Washington, DC. Returning home she found work with Curtis Mosby, Paul Howard, Sonny Clay, and briefly with Anson Weeks at the Mark Hopkins Hotel in Los Angeles. She also found work in vaudeville, touring the country as a dancer and vocalist in the Fanchon and Marco revue, starring Mamie Smith, and with the Shuffle Along revue. She was featured vocalist at the Culver City Cotton Club before leaving to tour Australia in 1928 with Sonny Clay. Returning after five months down under she organized her own show and toured the U.S. In 1930 she found work with Earl Hines.It was while appearing with Hines that Ellington first heard her sing. He hired her in February 1931, and she quickly became a fixture of the orchestra's sound.

(I've bolded the important bits.)

At this point, we're still thinking about and looking up sources. Meanwhile, colleagues from the CCC at UQ have chimed in about the author of that blog, discussions about archiving this sort of research are happening, I'm listening to 1930s Ellington featuring Ivie Anderson and I'm just about to look up youtube for some clips of Anderson to see if I can check her out more thoroughly.

But first, I think I'll go dancing.

(srsly)

"digital resources... mostly" was posted in the category djing and lindy hop and other dances and music and people i know and research

December 1, 2009

Pacific House noms on Sunday

Posted by dogpossum on December 1, 2009 8:41 PM | Comments (0)

We did eat other things in Melbourne after the stupid eggs. Masses of seafood at Pacific House in Richmond. And salt and pepper fu.

"Pacific House noms on Sunday" was posted in the category gastropod and melbourne and people i know and travel

November 29, 2009

MLX9 set 2

Posted by dogpossum on November 29, 2009 2:30 PM | Comments (0)

Because I <3 Timmy.

Last night I did my second set, starting at 2.40am. It wasn't the best I've ever done, it wasn't as good as last night. Here's my list of excuses:

• I started my period and I was beginning to feel really rough. Also, a little angry. Don't DJ angry.
• The preceding DJ was using the booth monitor which was sitting next to me where I was preparing my for my set. It was very loud and full of bass and jiggled my sore menstrual guts in a painful way. Did not want.
• Everything seemed really loud. It did not please me. But I turned the volume waaay down when I started my set.
• I felt really good about the job I did the night before. Quite a few people had said they were really looking forward to my work in my second set. The pressure was on, and I felt a bit under the pump. And I crumbled.
• I was cold. The night before I was boiling. But last night I was cold. So I wore Scott's (tiny, kindly leant) jacket and it squeezed me.
• I really wasn't on top of my music; I didn't have enough badass stuff at the front of my brain.
• I couldn't really find my focus til the last part of the night

I have plenty more excuses, but these are the important ones.

MLX9 28/11/09 2.40am-4:00am

Froggy Bottom Jay McShann and his Band with Jimmy Witherspoon 155 1957 Goin' To Kansas City Blues 2:37
Sent For You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today) Count Basie and his Orchestra with Jimmy Rushing 172 1952 Complete Clef/Verve Count Basie Fifties Studio Recordings (Disc 2) 3:13
Blues In Hoss's Flat Count Basie and his Orchestra 144 1958 Chairman Of The Board [Bonus Tracks] 3:13
Flat Foot Floogie Carol Ralph 186 2005 Swinging Jazz Portrait 3:44
Sweet Nothin's Midnight Serenaders 154 2009 Sweet Nothin's 3:14
I Ain't That Kind of a Baby Janet Klein and Her Parlor Boys 159 2008 Ready For You 2:59
Putting On The Ritz The Cangelosi Cards 195 Clinton Street Recordings, I 3:38
Shake That Thing Preservation Hall Jazz Band 157 2004 Shake That Thing 6:30
Deep Trouble Les Red Hot Reedwarmers 179 2006 King Joe 2:55
Tishomingo Blues Carol Ralph 128 2005 Swinging Jazz Portrait 4:15
Davenport Blues Adrian Rollini and his Orchestra with Jack Teagarden 136 1934 Father Of Jazz Trombone 3:14
The Harlem Stride Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra 199 1939 Live At The Savoy - 1939-40 3:29
Whoa Babe Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra (Lionel Hampton voc) 201 1937 The Complete Lionel Hampton Victor Sessions 1937-1941 (disc 1) 2:53
Everything Is Jumpin' Artie Shaw and his Orchestra 170 1939 Self Portrait (Disc 1) 5:07
Fifteen Minute Intermission Cab Calloway and his Orchestra 165 1940 Cab Calloway and his Orchestra 1935 - 1940 vol 02 (disc 04 - New York-Chicago 1939-1940) 2:54
Just Kiddin' Around Artie Shaw and his Orchestra 159 1941 Self Portrait (Disc 3) 3:21
Blackstick Noble Sissle's Swingsters with Sidney Bechet 183 1938 The Young Bechet 2:46
Peckin' Johnny Hodges and his Orchestra 165 1937 The Duke's Men: Small Groups Vol. 1 (Disc 2) 3:10
Truckin' Henry 'Red' Allen and his Orchestra 171 1935 Henry Red Allen 'Swing Out' 2:54
Ain't Nothin' To It Fats Waller and his Rhythm 134 1941 Last Years (1940-1943) (Disc 2) 3:10
Light Up Buster Bailey 189 2008 Complete Jazz Series 1925 - 1940 2:48
Chasing Shadows Louis Prima, Pee Wee Russell, Frank Pinero, Garry McAdams, Jack Ryan, Sam Weiss 170 1935 Louis Prima Volume 1 3:04
Algiers Stomp Mills Blue Rhythm Band (Lucky Millinder, Henry 'Red' Allen, J.C. Higgenbotham, George Washington, Edgar Hayes) 219 1936 Mills Blue Rhythm Band: Harlem Heat 3:08
Solid as a Rock Count Basie and his Orchestra with The Deep River Boys 140 1950 Count Basie and His Orchestra 1950-1951 3:04

The preceding DJ had been playing a set of favourites and crowd pleasers, all of which were at moderate to slow tempos. The set began a bit old school, but moved into a more mixed, and then more contemporary set. The floor was full the entire set. I think that this is where my personal priorities as a DJ become mixed: do you take a risk and play a mixed tempo set and really push dancers, so that the hardcore kids really stretch _and_ the newer/slower/injured/older/not full-on dancers get some fun? Or do you play a set pitched primarily at the latter group and guarantee a floor full?

I didn't get the floor as full as the previous DJ, but I did hit the 3am kill zone, and lost a few folk. There was a full blues room with some great DJs, and blues is almost as popular as lindy at MLX, so that room was very full, and there's not a lot of lindy/blues cross over once people are in a particular groove. Also, I didn't really get it together. I couldn't quite find my groove. I think, basically, I was too tired for the job. Goddess help me with my 3-5am set tonight. But I just couldn't quite find my flow, couldn't quite get in the zone, couldn't really get it together. So I felt as though I wasn't really _with_ the dancers, and it really showed. But, ah well. What can you do?

The last song of the last set was a soul/funk track, which meant that I could either change gear without the clutch or find a transitional number. I began with an old fave and my workhorse starter: Jimmy Witherspoon doing some chunking, in your face hi-fi jump blues. I should have realised when I began with that, that I wasn't quite happening. But I had a short list of about 30 possible songs, and that also tells me I couldn't quite get a handle on the dancers.
I wanted to get to old school, big band lindy hopping action. So I went with 50s Basie and Rushing as a transition.
Then I got distracted and confused. Rather than going straight to someone solid like Lunceford before getting into more unusual stuff, I was pulled off-course by Carol Ralph (an excellent Australian act). I think part of me was thinking about the previous DJ's populist approach, and I wanted to maintain that general, all-crowd interest with something with vocals and hi-fi. It's a great song - a really great version of a well-known fave - but it pulled me away from my mission.

But from there I figured wtf, and did a little Midnight Serenaders loveliness. A little saucy, but kind of quirky and accessible. Followed by Janet Klein, who does similar stuff. Then the glorious Cangelossi Cards. This little chunk of three songs (which a friend described as 'old fashioned radio style songs') went down really well. It was a lovely room to play at that moment. Willing to experiment with quirky stuff, interested in the more complex musicianship and arrangement, enjoying the funny/suggestive lyrics. So what did I do wrong?

At this point I thought 'I could do an entire set of new bands.' But I discovered that that stuff wears a little. I should have moved from the Cards to something different. But I went with the Preservation Hall. That version of Shake that Thing is fab - long, though - full of energy, lots of shouting. But LONG. And while it filled the floor, it did tire everyone out. It also tends to get a bit wearing, what with all the shouting.

The Les Red Hot Reedwarmers was positioned wrongly. It's a great song, and goes down well, but it was too great a mood change from the Pres Hall. I should have played it directly after the Cards instead. It's kind of a light, wacky feeling version of a really nice song. But it really conflicted with the Pres Hall. I should have gone into something solidly lindy hop or solidly big band or solidly olden days here instead.

So I figured I'd fucked up a bit. The floor was emptying. We were right in the middle of the kill-zone: 3.15/3.20. If you don't keep them on the floor here, they go home. If you do keep them on the floor, you have to be careful with their energy. Let it get too low with too much slow or mellow stuff and they get tired and sit down. Let it get too high and full on and they get overkill and tired and sit down. And when they sit down two or three songs at that time, they go home.

Ralph was ok here, but it was just a little slow. And a bit too in-your-face, really. Which is in contrast with the way this song usually works - it's a good floor-saver earlier in the night.

Then I played Davenport Blues. Again. Yes, I'd played it the previous night as well. I love it more than anything. And I wanted an old school medium energy song that kind of chugs along and then builds a little. But I just couldn't think of anything else. Which means that a) I was too tired, b) I was too uninspired, c) I don't know my music quite well enough atm, d) I was just not _on_. Sigh. It's moments like this that I get frustrated with myself. I know I can do better, but I just don't quite bring it off.

So here I thought: 'ok, wench, fuck this shit up properly; get those motherfuckers dancing. Do what you do, don't try to do what other people do.' Thank you Ella with Chick's band, live @ the Savoy in 1939 (not '41, Brian :P ). Chunking fun that did what I wanted.
It did clear out some of the lagging tireder not-hardcore-lindy hoppers, but then I was thinking 'ok, can we dance badass at this point, please?' I figured that the earlier part of the night had been more accessible, it was time to really push things. Which is kind of dodgy thinking, I know. But we are at the biggest, most hardcore lindy exchange in the country.

Whoa Babe has a fabulous intro. But it drags in the middle. It made people crazy, but then it screwed them over and let them down instead of sustaining them with crazy energy. I should have chosen something a little more badass all the way through. This is another point where my tiredness and not-on-ness really showed.

So I decided to save it with something familiar and live and pumping. That Shaw track is great. It's long, but it's really worth playing because it's so energetic and great. It's also a very accessible tempo/energy combination. And it worked. Unfortunatey the version of Fifteen Minute Intermission was almost incoherent audio mess on the sound system. Sigh. DJfail. Again.

The next Shaw track saved me again, but then I fucked it with Blackstick. I had had reservations about that one, but I thought 'it's high energy, it's a fave.' I should have reminded myself 'it's squawky, New Orleans flavoured and kind of unrelenting' a little more loudly.

Then I just thought 'Hamface, what would YOU like to dance to right now? What do you love?' And I decided: something lighter-feeling (ie not a wall of sound or face-punching intensity). Something musically a bit interesting. Something at an easy tempo. Something with a lovely riff that just makes you feel really good. A sort of melodic sweet-spot that makes you feel really good with its repetitive, charming gentleness. Peckin' was just right.

I love to follow this song about a dance move (where there's a line dissing truckin') with this spunky Red Allen version of another song about a dance move. I love it that they're both kind of sell-out pop song tracks about pop culture. But that I love the scrunchy vocals in Peckin and I love the kind of lazy, sardonic, vocal part of Truckin. They sort of tip the sell-out factor on its side. This version of Truckin really _feels_ like the dance step. Sort of slidey, scuff-and-drag shuffle with a quirky finger in the air - the lighter melody waggling over a chunky, drag-shuffle rhythm. And Red Allen making it all work together.

And then my fave Waller song. A slightly bigger group for him, and a nice, easy tempo. Friendly, fun, dirty lyrics. It's a great song. And people loved it. Not quite selling out to the Waller craze because it's a bigger band. But mostly selling out. But then: I loved Waller when all the kids were into the Soup Dragons.*

I thought Light Up was one of those Herrang-fad songs that everyone knew. Perhaps not. It's a great little song, that did go down well. It has a big break in the middle with almost utter silence. I hadn't been paying attention, so when it came on the crowd yelled and I was caught hopping. At first I thought 'hey, what's gone wrong now?' and couldn't figure out the error - it was still playing. All was cool. And then it started again, and everyone laughed and yelled and it was all cool.

At this point, I had them. The floor was filling for every song, regardless of tempo. I had found my groove. Lighter feel, not in-your-face. Mixing tempos. Interesting musicianship. Quirky not-big-band, mid-30s coolitude. It was also about then I was told I had to wrap it up. Which was frustrating but also a very great relief. I like to finish on a high note, and I don't like to drag a set out to the point where there's no one dancing but a couple of friends. There was a general outcry from the dance floor, but I was very firm. And then Cheng was very firm. I let them know we had to stop to give the volunteers a chance to clean up. It was also 4am and there were a lot of people there and a lot of junk to clean out of the room. They wouldn't have had that room done til 5am at least.

Meanwhile the back room was continuing with blues. We went home because we were EXHAUSTED.

I have to add: Yvette Johansson and Andy Swan did their mid-50s Ella and Louis show at the evening dance, and it was just GREAT. I sat and watched and had a lovely time. I danced about four songs (I'm not dancing much - I need to keep an eye on my stupidly swollen ankle), and those four songs were fucking amazing. It was a really good show. They were so professional, Yvette has great stage presence and really commands the band, calling the solos, checking the tempos, working the crowd. She's a gem. A lot of people commented on these things, and it was really nice to see how the dancers really responded to her/their work. There was a massive ovation at the end of their second set, and I did think they were going to demand an encore right then and there. That second set was really tops. And the third was tops. Talking to Yvette, she said that she'd planned a mellower, gentler set of favourites for the first one, then heated it up for the kids in the second. That's a dancer/seasoned band-for-dancer speaking right there. It was also nice to see how she worked the dancers' energy and really engaged with them, talking and interacting with them from the stage.

I have really enjoyed the MLX9 bands: I think I'd really rather there were bands at each event, and far less DJs.

But I have also heard some nice DJing. Loz Yee had only just begun DJing when I left Melbourne, and in the last year she's really started kicking arse. I enjoyed here band break sets an awful lot. Sharon Callaghan was a gun, but unfortunately wasted on a first set to an empty room (sigh). Same goes for Sarah Farrelly. But I made an effort to be there to hear them, and I enjoyed them both.

I have also pretty much decided that the sistahs are pwning the blokes, DJing wise. Justine and Alice at SSF/SLX, then the Loz/Sharon/Sarah trifector at MLX. But there's always tonight, and I'm sure the fellas will bring it.

*I also like their old stuff better than their new stuff. And I listen to bands that haven't even been formed yet.

"MLX9 set 2" was posted in the category djing and lindy hop and other dances and lolfrankie and melbourne and music and people i know and travel

December 14, 2008

look, no hands

Posted by dogpossum on December 14, 2008 6:28 PM | Comments (1)

I'm copying Alice's work and having a bash at some photoshop tutorials. You MUST go and look at Alice's work - it's freakin' sweet. Mine is a little dodgier:

If you can't see all the image, best to click through to the permalink.

It's not really finished. Basically, it took me hours to get to the point where I had the figure on the textured background. I'm not all that happy with that part - there's not enough texture on the figure (mostly because I gave up on the layering). The text is shitty, but that's because I gave up before I got to the bit in the tutorial about adding layers of 'paper'.

I'm really enjoying it, but I have to follow the instructions _exactly_ because I don't know very much about photoshop at all. I'm just a baby with layers, buggered if I know anything about masks or any of the fancy shit. So, really, I don't actually know anything, I've just been copying. But I'm going to have another go to see if I can actually _learn_ as I go.

I quite like the colours (this whole image is probably the result of too much Deadwood this week), but I _really_ like the colours on Alice's latest effort.

My eyes are kind of square, too.

Ok, here are my sources (and most of them I just found via Alice or the original tutorial):

The basic picture of the woman is from facebook, and it's a picture of Michelle from Sugar Blue Burlesque.
Then I added a hare's head from stock.xchng.
The background paper was also from stock.xchng.
The sunray thing was from deviantart.com.
There's a bit of nice wallpaper in there (as in the stuff you put on walls) fromlovelamp.
There're some brushes (now, there's something I'd never used before) from brusheezy.
I think the font is from dafont.

I'm going to have a bash at some more of these photoshop tutorials. I wish I was a bit more visually creative, or that I had something specific to design for. I just couldn't think of anything to write on this one (it's pretty dumb, I know).

I'm also a bit concerned about putting animal heads on women's bodies. Especially on burlesque bodies. There's something weird there. And I'm not entirely comfortable with burlesque as it is - my politics suggest that there's really nothing all that ok about stripping and women dancing erotically for (predominantly) male audiences. I mean, just 'cause it's old timey stripping, don't mean it _isn't_ stripping and _doesn't_ carry all the accompanying problems that stripping carries generally.
... part of me is also thinking about the Dietrich film 'Blonde Venus' and all that feminist film stuff about female bodies as 'pieces' cut up by the male gaze. I also worry about animal headed women not being able to 'return' the male gaze.
But there you go. I dare say my using that picture of a woman I know without permission is also problematic.

I have a couple of ideas for animal headed men, but I think I'm kind of over them. We'll see, though. I think I'd like to go for a more modern look as well - I'm a bit over that dirty look. But it is useful to know how to do it, now.

But what _I'd_ really like to know how to do, is add those 'pieces of paper' with the text on them. I also discovered that I'd forgotten how to do shaped text (as in following a free form line). Sigh.

...and, my foot is still bung. It's about three weeks, now, and I'm only up to 10 minute walks. They make my foot hurt and hurt, though. But yesterday I rode my bike and it didn't hurt my foot. Ace. I still have a bit of a cold from MLX, but I'm absolutely dying of cabin fever and lack of exercise. I MUST do some sort of exercise before I go nuts. I also plan to get into yoga again after christmas. My house-bound-ness has made me very dull, I'm afraid, so nothing more from me. There's more Deadwood to watch. :)

"look, no hands" was posted in the category clicky and crafty bastard and people i know and webbing and yoga

August 22, 2007

the legend of D4E

Posted by dogpossum on August 22, 2007 2:12 PM

Whenever I see D4E (which is a few times a year at a lindy exchange - in Sydney, in Perth, in Melbourne) we plug our earbuds into each other's mobile music devices and play each other music.
This is where I learn about music that isn't jazz and wasn't released in 1992 on Shock Records.
I only play music - he makes it.

the legend of D4E Hip Hop Mixtape

(I'm not sure if he rocks, though)

"the legend of D4E" was posted in the category clicky and djing and music and people i know

November 28, 2006

next?

Posted by dogpossum on November 28, 2006 1:42 PM

On Friday night the lovely vocalist for our first band of the weekend greeted me with "Sam, did you hear Anita O'Day died?!" and I replied that I hadn't heard, what with my recent level of busyness. We agreed that it would be appropriate for her to sing a bit of Anita that night in memorial.

Reading through Barista today I discovered that Robert Altman has also passed away, and I wonder who'll be next.

"next?" was posted in the category people i know

August 11, 2006

some things are simply true

Posted by dogpossum on August 11, 2006 11:32 AM

"It doesn't really matter how big my arse is, because I'm really smart."

"some things are simply true" was posted in the category people i know

June 16, 2006

weekly round-up

Posted by dogpossum on June 16, 2006 2:39 PM

Today is a kind of day out of time for me. The thesis is with the Supes, to be looked at later on (and to be talked about next Thursday). Next week I'm going to get into all the annoying administrative bits of submitting a thesis - cover sheets, descriptions, forms, etc. But this week (ie the last 2 or 3 days, incuding today) I've given myself leave to do whatever I like. That means:

• obsessing about the MLX6 site. I have some neat stuff from our Arty Team (ie Kylee and Scotti - designer and scribbler respectively), and a good plan for the site. But this week was all about designy stuff - trying to make the logo work with the practical functions of the site. Or, in other words, laying it all out on the page in a pretty and yet usable way. Eek.
• finishing off some sewing jobs that really needed doing (PJs for The Squeeze - bad wobot, altering my lovely plum stretch needle cord trousers so they're not mega bags, finishing off a neat black (with white arm-stripes, red wrist-cuffs and big red cross on the front) fleece jumper - fleece is neat. I promise to post some sort of pictures at some point. This last jumper was black, white and red in an attempt to be Serious and Grown Up (esp after my pink and red fleece hello-kitty lined hood fleecy cardigan thing), but ended up looking like something Dennis teh Menace would wear:
  

  
  I like to imagine that I am, in fact, a comic book hero when I'm burning down Sydney Rd, dodging cars and yelling "BAM!" under my breath* like Frida: She does actually yell "BAM!" and she's probably shouting "YEAH!" in a loud, Swedish-American accent in that photo.

• discovering last-minute thesis jobs and FREAKING out about them
• actually submitting my Intention to Submit form (yes, I know - it's madness. But you have to give them 3 months to find you 3 markers or else you delay the return of your thesis post-marking), with abstract, thesis title (what? you mean I have to name this thing before it's even finished gestating? what?!). I can't remember what that was. No, wait, I've found it:

  Hepfidelity: Swing dance and the role of digital media in embodied practice

  Ta-DA!

• And... what else have I done? Oh, I went to see Dave Chappelle's Block Party, where there were 4 of us in the cinema - me and 3 teenage/first year boys. I laughed at the Huxtable jokes, they laughed at the hip hop references. Cultural capital for all.

So it's been an ok week. I feel a bit lost, but still. I've also been looking for work. Yeah, right. Let's not talk about THAT.

Anyhoo** here are two interesting things to read:

• this blog called avant game, which is a far more interesting games studies blog than any I've ever read before
• and B's entries on meditation, starting here which are quite a lovely read.

I especially like this bit:

Upon returning to Alice Springs, I kept up my practice, and found other people to meditate with from time to time. One group that met on Sunday afternoons was a small Sangha group. It was held in the artist’s workshop out back of the house of one of the members. Although I was not really studying Buddhism, they were always welcoming, and it was a pleasure to sit with them for a half hour in that quiet room, and feel their energy.

I really like this idea of being part of a group while meditating. Meditationg, martial arts and other inwards-looking practices like yoga or Thi Chi can often be seriously inward-looking, or in-the-body. To such an extent that they can affect your outward-looking interactions with others***. I am really interested in the idea of being-in-the-body and inward-focussed, and yet to still be aware of and part of a group or partnership. It's an idea I'd like to explore a little more. Particularly when you keep in mind that African American vernacular dance - vernacular dance is about being part of a group, about social context, and about call-and-response between dance partners, between dancers on the floor, between musicians and dancers, and between dancers and audiences. Being seriously inwards-looking is kind of not so great in a social dance situation where the dance is all about conversations with others...

* I'm brave, but not that brave.
**that was for you, Galaxy - I'm crazily aware of it now. But I think of a friend called Dave who says it a lot. He's probably referencing the Simpsons, but I'm referencing an insanely good dancer who's also a Thai Chi master country boy.
***it's not uncommon for hardcore martial arts people or yogis to be quite terrible partner dancers because they're so focussed internally, they are so good at responding with their bodies, they're not so good at responding with their bodies in relation to others, as a partnership.

"weekly round-up" was posted in the category academia and lindy hop and other dances and people i know and yoga

March 24, 2006

ve believe in nusink

Posted by dogpossum on March 24, 2006 11:31 AM

We are big Coen brothers fans at our house, particularly The Big Lebowski. Last night we were sitting in a BBQ joint in China Town eating duck on rice, when 3 Chinese kids come in with super-cool hair and super-cool black clothes.
I remark: "cool hair"
The Squeeze remarks: "ve are nihilists. jah. ve believe in nusink"

And I proposed to him then and there.

"ve believe in nusink" was posted in the category people i know

February 28, 2006

btw

Posted by dogpossum on February 28, 2006 6:26 PM

Despite recent comments to the contrary, my brother is 28 this year, because i'm turning 32. i know this because i was born in 1974 and it's 2006 this year.
Go arithmatic, go.

"btw" was posted in the category people i know

February 19, 2006

hormones + tiredness = ideal butt for a joke

Posted by dogpossum on February 19, 2006 8:24 PM

Returning home from dinner tonight, The Squeeze remarked that an indication of interest in the toilet on his part was sufficient to motivate me to a rush for the Facilities.
"That's because I'm Pavlov's Bladder."
Crinks, with a confused frown: "Is that like the ballerina?"

"hormones + tiredness = ideal butt for a joke" was posted in the category people i know

February 16, 2006

blue house

Posted by dogpossum on February 16, 2006 1:58 PM

My parents have gone insane. Why did they think smurf-blue was a good idea? Well, at least it lends itself to creative gardening... You know how there are 'feature colours' in the pre-packaged colour packs at the paint shop? My parents tend to choose all of the feature colours - they don't waste their time with dull filler colours.

And yes, that's actually the front of their house. Mostly because the back is where the action is, with a wall of windows looking out onto these views:

mood #1: daylight over Mt Wellington and whatsit bridge

mood #2 pensive afternoon

mood #3: sunset. Yes, that's the real, genuine, actual colours of that evening. I have a million more, but you'd expire from boredom.

"blue house" was posted in the category people i know

December 11, 2005

a fish-eye view

Posted by dogpossum on December 11, 2005 11:15 PM

The Squeeze rediscovered his fish eye lense a few days ago and brought it with him to a BBQ on Sunday. I really like the way the whole group fits into one photo - I like the ... scale. I like the way it allows a photo to have lots of things going on at once. There are hundreds in his photostream, but they're all private. I went through and found a few I liked. Starting with this one, which I like for the number of things going on. I also like the green grass and lush garden - reminded me of brisvegas...

"a fish-eye view" was posted in the category people i know

December 7, 2005

Perhaps I Should Have Left My Ex For Galaxy Then? or, The Joy Of Online Referencing

Posted by dogpossum on December 7, 2005 11:31 AM

And, because it seems to be the order of the day...
and because I apparently have words to burn at the moment...
another blog entry.

I was reading a friend's blog just now, and she asks

Does this happen to other people? Do you stick to what you intend to write about? Or do you get all Virginia Woolf and attempt to write down every thought that occurs to you?

Nope. Never happens to me :P Never on my blog, never in my thesis, never when I kept a diary, never when I talk, never when I'm lying in bed thinking before I go to sleep, never when I'm posting on the board, never when I'm tutoring or giving a lecture and never ever when I'm giving a paper.
As Galaxy writes,

there’s something that happens when I start writing: thoughts are sparked and tangents beckon, or as Dostoyevsky writes in Notes from Underground, ‘I practise thinking, and consequently each of my primary causes pulls along another, even more primary, it its wake, and so on ad infinitum’.

I can't help myself. I'm never at want for something to say or write. If I ever am, I know there's something up, and I worry about me.

To demonstrate the point....
as I was writing and referencing the bit above, I got to thinking about how neat hypertext is for referencing. Footnotes on the printed page are so oldskool - I love the way hovering over my footnote markers in my chapters in Word give me a little pop-up window with the footnote's contents. I love clicking on a link to see the page/site that's being referenced. I like links within a page, guiding me through the contents, especially if it's links in a table of contents. How wonderful!

But all that 'yay for hypertext' stuff got me thinking about the paper I gave in Sydney, and how it'd be nice to post it online somewhere so all the people who've asked me about it could read it. It'd be cool to link to the clips I showed in the paper as well... though I have some reservations about that - it would certainly be in breach of my ethics agreement, unless I managed to get permission from all the participants. And I'm not sure the paper would work as well without my excellent intonation and timing for the jokes. Or the random forays into (un)related topics, mid-paper...

... I guess the tangents only beckon when you a great many thoughts jumping around in side your head. Wouldn't it be horrible to never have anything to say or think? I remember once when my ex exclaimed in response to an observation I'd made (and I paraphrase the following): "You think too much!" and Galaxy stepped in with "Oh, I don't think it's possible to think too much - it's certainly better than never having any thoughts at all". I know that it was one of those moments where I suddenly thought 'Yeah! More thinking! Yeah! I'm ok - I'm not a fool! Yeah!'. Thank heavens for Sisterhood: effective self-reflexivity is far more difficult when you're busy paying too much attention to yourself.

Perhaps I should have left my ex for Galaxy then?

"Perhaps I Should Have Left My Ex For Galaxy Then? or, The Joy Of Online Referencing" was posted in the category people i know

October 7, 2005

team brunswick is so adorable

Posted by dogpossum on October 7, 2005 7:00 PM

"team brunswick is so adorable" was posted in the category people i know

July 26, 2004

doris

Posted by dogpossum on July 26, 2004 5:39 AM

here is a pretty picture of doris in herrang. that's my arm there next to her, but i looked crappy so i took me out.

"doris" was posted in the category herrang and lindy hop and other dances and people i know and travel