Short and sweet entry now:

I haven’t watched So You Think You Can Dance much at all, but I’m told this season was amazing, and I’m happy to hear a woman won.

Here is the Mia Michaels choreographed piece about addiction, performed by Kayla and Kupono:

Accept that this sorrowful song will never be heard/experienced the same after learning from Jermaine in this very way, how much this song meant to Michael. In context to his life and how he chose to live it, against all odds, despite several life incidents that would cause most people to break down and give up, Michael apparently still chose to believe in people. It calls upon that life motto, “what one gives, one shall receive.” I hope all who surrounded him in his 50 years of life, gave him the love he needed and deserved. Besides a select few, no one will ever really know.

I can’t-nor do I want-to ignore the utter contrast in media attention pre- and postmortem. He was portrayed as anything but angelic and inspirational in the media over most of the past decade. Regardless, I’m touched by the positivity caught in today’s service. I cringe in anticipation of the sensationalized aftermath attention to his relatives, especially his three children. For all that’s good that resided in this one human being, whose influence reached more people than several former presidents (what else to compare him to??), I can’t help but wish he had been recognized for it while he was alive and with us. True to human nature, we cherish that which we lose.

President Obama speaks to us on Independence Day

It’s just a good kind of new day when the President of the US maintains an online presence to keep us informed. From Twitter to Facebook to his own official website, I’m happy to see him reaching out to anyone and everyone who’s interested, making him accessible (or at least appear as such, to be fair). Even if it isn’t really him, it’s officially okayed by him. Regardless, he is keeping up with all forms of communication to include all generations, young and old. With this strong online presence, he appeals to a younger generation whose votes can and should determine the future. And Obama’s the first [president] to acknowledge and welcome that.

Click here for his official letter to us, and see below for his email to us:

Friend –

This weekend, our family will join millions of others in celebrating America. We will enjoy the glow of fireworks, the taste of barbeque, and the company of good friends. As we all celebrate this weekend, let’s also remember the remarkable story that led to this day.

Two hundred and thirty-three years ago, our nation was born when a courageous group of patriots pledged their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to the proposition that all of us were created equal.

Our country began as a unique experiment in liberty — a bold, evolving quest to achieve a more perfect union. And in every generation, another courageous group of patriots has taken us one step closer to fully realizing the dream our founders enshrined on that great day.

Today, all Americans have a hard-fought birthright to a freedom which enables each of us, no matter our views or background, to help set our nation’s course. America’s greatness has always depended on her citizens embracing that freedom — and fulfilling the duty that comes with it.

As free people, we must each take the challenges and opportunities that face this nation as our own. As long as some Americans still must struggle, none of us can be fully content. And as America comes ever closer to achieving the perfect Union our founders dreamed, that triumph — that pride — belongs to all of us.

So today is a day to reflect on our independence, and the sacrifice of our troops standing in harm’s way to preserve and protect it. It is a day to celebrate all that America is. And today is a time to aspire toward all we can still become.

With very best wishes,

President Barack Obama

July 4th, 2009

P.S. — Our nation’s birthday is also an ideal time to consider serving in your local community. You can find many great ideas for service opportunities near you at http://www.serve.gov.
—————

After reading that, of course I looked into a way to volunteer. I haven’t volunteered my time on a regular basis for the betterment of anything in an organized way… for years. Let’s see if the hoped-for effect happens, shall we?

P.S. Here are photos that further support the portrait of Obama as one not unlike most of us who grew up in the US (photo credits to RollingStone), complete with swinging a bat:

Moulin Rouge

Strictly Ballroom

I once got to see the 1999 World Champion ballroom dancers perform in person in a hotel banquet room. I used to watch PBS coverage of ballroom dance competitions, replete with sequins and dyed feathers. The above two clips are good film portrayals of the beautiful ferocity of ballroom dance (note both films are baz films). The downside to ballroom is that indeed, it takes two to tango. As the female, I have to rely on my partner to lead. Thus we have the limiting factor. But the tango clip above is a good dose of dance inspiration that makes me think it time to give this dance form another chance.

I’m drunk, first of all. I had to backspace to spell that correctly. SSL = SOLID STATE LOGIC, and you should know about this band if you are in any way devoted to underground unsigned bands. San Francisco houses rare talent, and SSL is a beacon when it comes to that. I have scouted them out at various venues within SF: Slims, Bottom of the Hill, Oakland Metro, Great American Music Hall, and now they’re featured on a local radio station, Live105, on Sunday’s Soundcheck show, hosted by Aaron Axelsen. I met Aaron once. He’s bleach blonde and eccentric, possibly bi, vcool. I appreciate his Livermore roots and devotion to Indie music but openness to rock. Hence his inviting SSL to play at Live105’s summer annual BFD music festival at Shoreline. Anyway, check out SSL here.

When it rains, most people avoid being in it. I have always sought it out. To this day, I love getting wet and dirty in the rain. I’m no hippie, though I <3 hippies (most, anyway )… and I did create a twirling group in college to help friends de-stress (quite effective)… but I digress. There’s something about min. 2:35-3:25 from the clip below, taken from the movie Swept from the Sea, that captures the quiet panacea of being entirely cloaked in rain. The character, Amy, is played by the beautiful Rachel Weisz and her twirling is accompanied by some of John Barry’s best orchestral stringwork. Albeit dramatic, quite beautiful.

Fast forward to minute 2:35:

Ever since the song “It’s Been Awhile” got more air time than it deserved, Staind became a band I found innocuously annoying for unofficially copyrighting a common conversation starter that when used, forced me to hear Aaron Lewis lugging those words through a sleepy melody, 14 times. To this day, when I hear the phrase uttered, I can’t get Staind’s damn song out of my head.

But then I heard another song of theirs recently on my Pandora quicklist (Pandora’s aptitude for figuring out what other songs and artists you’d like is impressive):

“Take This” (Chapter V album) boomeranged me back to appreciating the band and lamenting radio for not playing it. This song unapolagetically appeals to the heart better than their other big hit “Right Here” through a simple unadorned melody that builds up to a chorus full of perfect vulnerability and (of course) melancholy. Savory from start to finish, I downloaded this from iTunes and bathed in it on repeat for 8 hours straight. Take this.

Elmer Valentine, who’s given credit for inventing the gogo dancer in his Whiskey a Go Go club on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, died. Not that this blog is solely about dance, but I can at least explain for why I show so much interest in it and have the banner overhead of me in a shadowbox.

I started my gogo dancing career at a lesbian Cream party in a South San Francisco dance club. I disappeared on the box in my conservative all-black outfit, dancing my technically polished hip hop. My showmanship proved lackluster for a crowd wanting an intimate connection I knew not how to fake. Dollar bills stayed aloft at their fingertips around my box but found their way to neon-fishnets-clad hips and breasts moving sexually. What I wish I had known about the inside of nightclub entertainment:

First, apparel: Most clubs require you to wear your own outfits. The less the better is just how it is. Ultimately, what you wear is sex.

Second, lingo: Terms of endearment substitute for your name (or stage name as it may be) – “lovely,” “honey,” “sweetheart,” “babe” – with overt flirtation and passe.

Third, dance space:

- Boxes are usually in the thick of the crowd, smack in the middle of the floor or lining it, and require more reined in movements because boxes shift and shake easily. While I enjoy being close to the crowd, boxes are the hardest to dance on, while in platform heels/boots.

- Poles are fun and act as a dancing partner to spin around among other things, allowing for switching up dance movements quite a bit. I learned in Vegas early on (thanks hometown!). If you want to learn, go to a strip club and observe, take a class and explore your poletential, or watch video clips.

- Shadowboxes are beautiful and unforgiving. You are separated from the crowd entirely, unable to see out, but they can see you, all of your outline. Stay as close to the divider as possible to keep a clear silhouette, move slower than you think you should, and don’t talk (they can see your lips move).

- Cages are ideal because you have a railing to use as leverage and for balance, allowing you to dance fiercely. Because they tend to be set above the crowd, be mindful of how you move so that people can’t snap photos of bits you’d rather keep private.

Since that cream party, I’ve danced in the heart of San Francisco for higher end clubs and other popular clubs sponsored by local radio. I’ve lucked out with getting to wear custom-designed outfits and jewelry, bond with extraordinary and versatile dancers, and learn choreography from dance captains with extensive dance backgrounds and college degrees.

Edit made 10-2009: I “hung up my hat” by removing my belly button ring (ha) in 2008, and have since pursued dance in other avenues, namely becoming a dance committee member to help enhance visibility for all in the dance industry. I’m thrilled to have had each and every experience through go-go dancing, certain of their impossibility otherwise. The vein I tapped – dance, performance art, music, and the creators therein – is forever with me.

What comes to mind when you think of a sideshow? If it’s a black-haired Jesus doing a suspension by four hooks in his back; an exposed penis mixed with Lucky Charms, kitten fetus, and cow tongue; a pig’s heart out of a burlesque dancer’s bra; a demolition of cinder blocks, plywood, and an old radio by a sledge hammer; some world-record-breaking sword-swallowing; a sparking metal crotch; an 8-foot-long boa named Moa; a stilt-walking dancer, bearded lady dancer, fish girl dancer, and alligator girl dancer; a corpse bride trapezist; some optical illusionists and jugglers; a feather fanning aerialist; or a strip tease resulting in human blood down a pale back pierced with feathers, then you’re familiar with a modern day sideshow in San Francisco. The picture above captures observing the moment the pale back is pierced with feathers prior to the on-stage solo act for an unprepared mother, a performance that would consist of a girl pulling feathers out of her back one at a time in between pauses to remove articles of clothing one at a time, until an audience member would take it upon herself to reach up on stage and rip feathers out two at a time, inducing blood spilling and face smashing and a security guard rushing to interfere – only to be stabbed by a tip of a feather freshly ripped from the pale back – and therein goading the performer to finish what she started by slowly pulling out the remaining feathers from her back, now shining bright red, and stripping down to a thong and black electrical-tape X’s on her nipples. Back stage afterward while one leg would shake uncontrollably as a stagehand would snap photos of battle wounds, the naked girl would say over her shoulder that this was easier than dancing burlesque.

Edit made 9-22-08: The brilliant photo above was taken by Mr. Nightshade, AKA The Blight, and you can see more of his work here. He makes it seem so easy. The “stagehand” was not in reference to Mr. Nightshade. If I knew who it was who snapped photos of the performer backstage (again, this was not Mr. Nightshade at this time), I would have used his actual name. If “stagehand” connotes something less than worthy, then disregard, as everyone involved was eccentrically awe-inspiring.

The next time you find yourself feeling negative, take a few minutes to watch this video where Mr. Rogers, America’s Favorite Neighbor, implores “hatchetman” Senator John Pastore to stop budget cuts for public broadcasting so that he can continue his “expression of care” for children. Touched, Pastore raised the budget by millions of dollars. Who would have thought that Mr. Rogers could touch people well beyond their youth?

“You’ve made this day a special day, by just your being you. There’s no person in the whole world like you, and I like you just the way you are.”
- Mr. Fred Rogers (1928-2003)