coming out of the broom closet

ok, so a little addendum to post about the "advocates for magic and spiritual convening" group, or whatever they were called. the chronicle published this interview with a local pagan. good reading for halloween. just don't read it and drink milk at the same time.

"This being Halloween, M. Macha NightMare will dress up with a pointy hat, black clothing and a broomstick. It's mostly for fun, but it's also what people expect from the 62-year-old educator, author and priestess, who also happens to be a witch.

NightMare -- not her given name -- considers herself a Neo-Pagan, an eclectic term describing a diverse cluster of religious movements in the last 100 years or so seeking to resurrect pre-Christian spiritual beliefs, like a reverence for nature and Goddess worship. Some Neo-Pagans are witches, others are Wiccans and still others are both and neither..."

"What was the last spell you did?

Oh my! I have to think about that. One of them I did that stands out was basically a curse designed to eradicate corporate greed. I did it a few years ago on the Russian River near the Bohemian Grove during an anti-globalization protest. The spell is called the Curse of the Morrigan."

"What form did the spell take?

One of the ways that the Morrigan has revealed herself to people has been as a character called the Washer at the Board. The Washer at the Board is seen washing the garments of people who will be slain in battle that day. So she is sort of a precursor of death to come.

As the people were marching from the rally site across the bridge up to the gates of the Bohemian Grove -- that's when I did the spell. I kissed the water and began washing the suit and white shirt in the river. It's kind of funny, but shortly after I did that Enron blew up.

And you think you might have had something to do with that?

I don't know. You just put these things out there, and you have to let them go."

For more, go here.

happy halloween!

i attempted a new yoga class this weekend, but i ended up straining a muscle in my back. the instructor kept pulling my left side more to the left, and i have slight scoliosis, so this just kept making it worse. i never had an instructor do this before, so what was i supposed to say in the middle of class? ow? well, that night, i had a huge knot in my back and the next morning i couldn't bend over without extreme pain shooting up my left side. after lots of heat and massage, todd and i embarked upon our journey to the other realm, aka bernal heights, for the annual pumpkin carving contest and soiree. our albino pumpkin was a good 15 lbs. or so, so todd carried it all the way there, and even after we gutted, carved, and decorated it, he carried it back. tres chivalrous. especially since it turned out sort of "girly."

this year's pumpkin became cinderella's carriage (alphie wants his mice back though), and it perhaps bested last year's george w., complete with hidden earpiece. see below.

ooga booga

on our way back from shangri-la saturday night, we passed by kezar on the bus and had to go back to check out the scene. well, what we were missing. after being offered freebase (which we pleasantly decline) and a night with two women in some "pristine" cardboard hotel room (also a no. and these were separate offers), we got back to kezar and found that the witch and magic advocates were holding their annual halloween dance and ritual. yes, ritual. with chanting. which (or witch) we could hear outside. for $100, you too could throw on your dark green velvet cape, park your broom with the valet, and dance in a circle to the beat of the drum.

"The all-new Spiral Dance: the Reclaiming Community's major public celebration of Samhain, or Halloween.... We've been working all year to re-conceive the ritual, to make it more powerful, coherent, shorter and more participatory. The words to all the songs and the great spell will be projected on screens for all to view, and everyone is invited to sing along with the chorus. We have shortened the ritual by about one third, finding imaginative ways to honor and name the dead and the newborn, invoke the elements of life, call to the Goddess and God, bring forward all the spiritual help we need, and finally, dance the sacred spiral of life, death, and renewal. Our new space is beautiful, and its shape allows us to more easily create a rounder double spiral than in previous years. Please join us to celebrate on Saturday, and bring your friends. Also, we still need volunteers -- please check the website for more information."

um.... yeah. glad they're tech-savvy witches and warlocks. projecting the chants up on a screen is a novel idea! but the new space being beautiful? it's a basketball court/sport pavilion. mmm, sweaty athletic socks. magical. i hope they added some patchouli to the cauldron.

you knead me

blogging is pretty much on the back burner because work today consists of mail merging, envelope stuffing, volunteer directing, and stamp applying. and i need to bring home the bread. but i'm not the breadwinner in the apartment. my bread resembles a sourdough baguette while todd's looks more like a massive whole wheat challah. but without my bread, we couldn't make sandwiches. so there.

south florida update

i just heard from my mom, who was calling me on her cell phone which was charging in her car after she had waited hours in much miles-long lines to get gas, and now i feel incredibly guilty for my earlier post. here i am, complaining about lack of heat, when i have power, water, ice, a working stove, only 4 flights of stairs to walk up at night (as opposed to 13 like my mom), internet access, tv, fans, etc., and she doesn't. she told me that FEMA screwed up again; there isn't enough ice, water, or food being distributed, and the lines for gas are just enormous. best buy was open today, and while without power, was selling generators, batteries, and anything that could ease people's lives right now. also, she said that they're being told they may not have power restored to the area until mid-november not so much because of lack of power, but because of all the power lines being down, and flooding, and tree debris and stuff. incredible. so please, donate time, effort, money, food, whatever. and remember, you've got it good.

it's getting cold in here. so put on all your clothes.

when i was growing up, i lived in the land of humidity and hotness (temperature wise), so heat was never an issue. during the summer, we all curled up near the air conditioner and ferociously chewed on ice cubes and slurped smoothies. this whole climate thing probably played a role in my quick escape to college in snowy connecticut, and it certainly doesn't hurt that san francisco rarely gets "hot." but heat. well, during the fall and winter, we need it. especially at night, when i find myself wearing yoga pants, a tank top, a sweatshirt, and a big pair of todd's socks to bed. and then i curl up in a ball under two comforters (neither of which are down alternative, thanks to overstock.com's inability to work towards efficiency). and the heat doesn't go on until 5am. and then, it's coming out of one of those old school radiators, sort of sounding like a mouse and spouting steam heat which only heats a 5 inch radius around the heater. which doesn't help if i'm 13 feet away. or even right next to it. maybe if our tripped-out landlord ever turned on the heat (literally) for more than 30 minutes a day, or had it on when it's cold out (as opposed to a few weeks ago when it was blasted at 2PM when outside it was 75 degrees and sunny as could be). and i called mr. landlord several times last year, as have our neighbors. but have we gotten anywhere? no. for all i know, he'll ask if i've been washing my hair in the radiator! ok. maybe not. but that's always the answer i get from him about any other issue. so for the next few months, i'm prepared to flaunt the greatest fall fashions of yesteryear: mismatched sweats, fuzzy blankets, and oh-so-blue fingers. oh, the joys of fall!

rain drops aren't falling on my head

it's raining cats and dogs. ok, not cats. my cat is at home, probably all curled up on a chair, warm and sleepy. i, though, had to dodge big rain drops falling from the trees and sky. ick. i ransacked the apartment looking for my little friend. no, not that friend. for my umbrella. and not just any umbrella. a black hammacher schlemmer wind-defying 44" auto-open stick umbrella with a life-time guarantee. it retains its shape in winds of up to 35 miles per hour thanks to its patented vented mesh system. but somehow i couldn't find it, so i grabbed todd's camel-colored walgreens umbrella and braved the ever-increasing raindrops. miraculously, i survived, and so did my hair. phew. but how great it would be to be a cat today, minus the seafood and poulty diet and habit of licking oneself instead of taking real showers. and there's that whole walking around in just your fur thing.

how to help those affected by hurricane wilma

from the sun-sentinel:

American Red Cross, www.redcross.org (or click link at right) or 800-435-7669. Specify Hurricane Wilma Relief. Mail to: American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013.

Volunteer Broward, will match your skills with an agency that needs your help. For volunteer opportunities call 954-522-6761.

Archdiocese of Miami, Hurricane Relief Fund c/o Catholic Charities, 9401 Biscayne Blvd., Miami Shores, FL 33138. Make checks payable to Catholic Charities. 305-752-1332.

Christian Community Foundation of South Florida has established the Angel Fund to target such relief organizations as Samaritan's Purse, Operation Mobilization, Convoy of Hope, Salvation Army and various churches working in the affected areas. Send checks to: CCFSF Angel Fund, Christian Community Foundation of South Florida, 5120 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33308. 954-771-0110.

Cooperative Feeding Program is collecting non-perishable food items for Wilma victims in Broward County. Also in need of volunteers to sort food donations and help with clients, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays. The pantry and kitchen is at 1 NW 33rd Terrace, Fort Lauderdale, at Broward Boulevard and 33rd Terrace. Call 954-792 2328, or visit www.feedingbroward.org.

Food for the Poor is accepting donations of food, hygiene kits packed in shoeboxes for easy distribution and financial contributions. Drop off items Monday-Friday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. at 550 SW 12th Ave., Deerfield Beach. Call 888-505-7400, or visit www.foodforthepoor.org.

The Salvation Army of Broward County is accepting checks at: The Salvation Army, P.O. Box 230, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33302. Designate Hurricane Wilma relief. Call 800-725-2769, or visit www.salvationarmyusa.org.

United Jewish Community of Broward County: www.jewishbroward.org or mail a check to: United Jewish Community of Broward County/Hurricane Katrina Relief, 5890 S. Pine Island Road, Davie, FL 33328. Designate Hurricane Wilma relief.

United Way of Broward County has information on donating food and running a food drive. Financial donations to the Hurricane Wilma Relief Fund accepted at www.unitedwaybroward.org, or by mail to: Hurricane Wilma Relief Fund, 1300 S. Andrews Ave., Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316, 954-462-4850.

let's yoga in a toga

i got into yoga about 4 years ago. then, i belonged to 24 hour fitness, and all classes were free. i went to power yoga twice a week before work for an hour each time, and i felt good after class. once i canceled my membership, though, my yoga dedication seriously lagged, and one of the reasons was the cost. $12-$15/class is in itself not so expensive, but if i went twice a week, the costs could soar above $100/month. that's $1,200/year. when i worked in the financial district, my company had an in-office gym, so i could go there and use the machines for free and then not feel so guilty about going to yoga every so often. but then i bought a class card, which was $110/10 classes, and that seemed doable. except i had 30 days to use 10 classes. which meant i had to go 2.25 times a week to use my card or else i ended up losing money on it. and i did. twice.

when i joined club one last year, classes were again included, but yoga was always scheduled at a wierd time like 1-2pm or 7:30pm. and i only had an hour for lunch and never wanted to stay downtown until 8:30pm when i had to be back 12 hours later. so i never went then. and now i've joined the koret center and classes are included. so i need to get my butt moving. one of the bigger drawbacks to included classes, though, is that if i have a yoga buddy, she/he has to be a member to also take the class. there's no drop-in rate. and i have a semi-frequent yoga buddy. we've hit the mindful body, yoga tree on stanyan, international orange, and yoga loft. this weekend we're even going to try yoga garden (formerly castro yoga but it's not in the castro anymore so the name would sort of be meaningless) just to get a hint of the full spectrum of offerings at the above-market yoga studios. i've come to realize that the investment is worth it; i get good quality friend time along with an hour and a half yoga class plus i'm not yogaing with chirpy college students. plus, i've gathered some good info on these places.

my findings so far on the yoga classes and instructors:

International Orange (one class), $14/class
small rectangular room, good natural lighting.
Katie Lewis: killer class, more active and power yoga-like. tons of lunges which after 30 minutes my knees can't handle. and i'm 25.

The Mindful Body (more than several classes), $13/class
one big room separated into two by canvas drapes. some natural lighting, but can be claustraphobic-inducing. FREE towel service. sigh.
Andrew Barrett: nice body, calming demeanor, really enjoys plank position.
Jason Crandell: good sense of humor; varies class well among lunges, balances, and stretching.

Yoga Loft (several classes), $14 for most classes (Tony Briggs classes are $17)
huge ballroom-like rooms with tons of natural lighting. used to be anna halprin's dance studios. great couch in waiting room.
Jason Crandell: more hands-on classes than at mindful body b/c more space and less students than mb. still great instructor.
Sabine Kuehner: loves, loves, loves props. class doesn't flow like jason's does. or anybody elses. go if you want to contort yourself with ropes and chairs for an afternoon. a razor would be nice.
Bria Larson: more introspective than sweat-focused, but great workout focusing on stretch and alignment.

Yoga Tree (many classes), $14/class ($12/class with student id!!!)
one room with no real natural light unless drapes are pulled back from entryway. lit candles, sometimes incense. tiny waiting room.
Dina Amsterdam: motivating, invigorating classes focusing on breath and flow. hers are some of the more popular, so get there early. and be prepared to get to know your neighbors well. real well.
Michael Cooper: the first time i took his class, he played madonna. both her chanting stuff and vogue. go figure. slightly kooky, but nice and very informative. good for the beginner. movement oriented.
Charu Rachlis: focuses on core strengthening and alignment. sometimes i don't get "warm" enough, though.

wiiiiiiiiiiiiilmaaaaaah

i just heard from my mom in ft. lauderdale. she and my sister are ok. nothing major to her apartment, but a window did shatter, and the entire bedroom is soaked. the damage to the town, though, is frightening, and it's being reported as the worst hurricane damage in 55 years. you can view pictures here.


addendum at 7:13PM: right now, fox news (gotta love 'em) is reporting from the tiki bar in ft. myers, where apparently many west coast floridians are "recovering" from the storm via leis, neon signs, accoustic bands, and mixed tropical drinks. only on fox news from florida, where the hurricane didn't even directly hit

are you there, god? it's me. becca.

last week the ap had a nice little blurb about god bloggers. not god himself blogging, but those blogging in his name or on his behalf, sort of like his executive assistant. which is different than singing in the name of love because that's u2. totally different. today i checked out the evangelical outpost, which is one of these sites where bloggers write about god, religion, and the anti-christ. today's post centers on how technology has or has not created a "virtual gomorrah," and that cable tv and the internet are (or aren't) to blame for p0rn and inappropriate and illicit activities. um. no. we are to blame. all of us. because technology didn't just create it all on it's own. for example, evolution may have created the turban squash, but we farm and sell it... evolution is a whole other discussion though, and i'm sure the evangelical outpost guy has his own strident views on that. back on topic. some person had to come up with the idea of a sex website or $7.99/all-day access or babes and brawn without bikinis or whatever, then produce it via the means to support it, build it, test it, and launch it. does p0rn just pop out of nowhere? some men might say yes. "honey, i don't know how a year's worth of hustler got stuffed in the back of my closet!" but really, we're all responsible. and we shouldn't argue that technology isn't to blame. why waste our time? and we should be able to take responsibility without infringing upon people's rights to xxx materials. or turban squash. and shouldn't we be worrying more about god highly influencing certain people to invade other nations?

quite nutty

yesterday we got a bag on our doorstep. it wasn't some homeless guy's old shirts or a neighbor's garbage. no, it was a sample bag of nutella. now that kobe bryant's no longer nutella's spokesman, guess they need to resort to grassroots efforts to get the word out that nutella tastes delicous and will clog your arteries. i think i'll put this in the earthquake pile; this way, when it's the end of the world, at least i'll have something chocolatey and sinful to eat.

seems like alphie enjoys nutella, too.

raging bull?

if the government and/or military wanted me at 82 years of age, i wouldn't know whether to be flattered or scared sh!tless. really, if we need the elderly to help fight supposed wmd's, suicide bombers, and terrorists, we might as well give up now and start planning early retirement in florida. have you seen them all drive? they'll be steering those humvees and tanks going 1/5 of the speed limit. and they'll put their blinkers on at least 4 stops lights to early. now how's that for evasive maneuvers?

'Raging Granny' Gets Marine Recruitment Letter

Thursday, October 20, 2005

(10-20) 14:18 PDT Albuquerque, N.M. (AP) --
Sally-Alice Thompson had to laugh when she got a letter from the Marine Corps' commanding general, telling her the military "is in need of your service" and inviting her to find out more by sending in an enclosed card.

"What else could I do? I mean, I'm 82 years old," Thompson said.

...The letter from Brig. Gen. Walter E. Gaskin told Thompson that "now is the time to put your unique language skills to the test as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps. Your command of the Arabic language will be invaluable among the elite few."

Thompson, who said she knows two words of Arabic, said she has no idea why she got the letter.

For more, go here.

hit me baby, one more time

did you know that if you shamelessly plug michael vartan on your blog, you'll get 30-some odd hits in just a few hours? wonder what happens if i shamelessly plug him some more.

michael vartan is french.
michael vartan has been missed.
michael vartan puts the a in alias.
michael vartan shouldn't have done that jennifer lopez movie.
michael vartan looks great in chain mail (see the mists of avalon for proof).
michael vartan is hotter than ben affleck.
michael vartan can't run for president (of the US).

this rookie is a cookie

huston could be named AL rookie of the year
and everyone says he's really a dear
he pitched great throughout
getting lots of strikes (some balls) and outs
prepare to celebrate with fine wine and beer

michael vartan saves alias from awful demise

hallelujah!

from wednesday's ask ausiello

Question: OK, I admit, I was one of those people beating up on you, sending you a harsh e-mail after the season premiere of Alias. However, you have fully redeemed yourself with your latest tidbit about the Michael Vartan saga! Don't stop there, though — any news on the negotiations to bring him back to the show? — Andrea

Ausiello: Were you the one who banished me to a life of eternal damnation? All my hate mail tends to blur together. Anyway, yes, there is a major — major — development on the Vartan/Vaughn front: The deal officially closed late last week and Vartan returned to work on the Alias set yesterday. Please don't ask me who he's playing or how long his return engagement will last, because that I can't tell you. (Mostly 'cause, well, I don't know.)

tb or not tb, that is the question.

on monday, i received my every-three-year basic tb test. it hurt, by the way. really. instead of in the good old days when the nice doctor quickly pricked your inner forearm and then gave you a lollipop in your favorite flavor, now it's a big needle that injects a lima bean-sized amount of liquid and burns. and then you bleed. and you can't put a bandaid on it, so you bleed while sitting at your computer. or in a meeting. or having lunch. great. so this nurse who came at me with a needle, and at first i thought about going head first out the 4th story bay window. i told her that i have a tendancy of having mini-anxiety issues with needles, and that frequently afterwards (it's not like i'm shooting up and have this experience ALL the time), i tend to get light headed and faint or pass out. i tried giving a couple of examples like:

• when i got my allergy testing done, they did a back test where they injected little dosages of things like mold, grass, pollen, etc. on my back in a nice grid-like fashion. there were supposed to something like 30 different injections, so i asked the nurse to tell him what she was doing so i knew what was going on. i kept feeling stinging and sharp implements prodding my skin and all. well, she said i didn't need to know, and 10 seconds later i was out. they had to bring my mom in, put cold towels on my face, and give me orange juice. what's worse, they refused to continue the testing, so i never found out what i was allergic to. ha.
• in college, i got the meningitis vaccine. and so did pretty much everyone else. we all lined up in one of the large common rooms in the student center and it was sort of like a cattle call. you just went over to the nurse who yelled "next," gave him/her your arm, got pricked, went and sat at a row of chairs for 10 minutes to make sure you're ok and all, had some orange juice, and left. well, that would have been good and all if someone had been stationed there to monitor those needing to be monitored. instead, i put my head between my legs and dozed for about 30 minutes. and no one noticed.
• i gave blood here in san francisco a few years ago, and it actually went pretty well. todd even picked me up in our 4-wheel vehicle at the time (and it wasn't the bus). so a year or so later, i went back to do it again, but it went badly. they couldn't find a vein. and then the nurse kept taking out the needle and reinserting it trying to find a "better vein." 3 nurses all looked perplexed and there i was, sitting into some psuedo-doctor lazy boy with my arm strapped down and blood going everywhere and my heart beating so fast i'm sure the neighbors could hear it. but after all of that, they told me never to come back again. i'd been blacklisted by the blood center of the pacific. but, i still had to sit at the counter for 10 minutes and sip cran-orange juice in order to get my blood sugar back up to normal. and then 4 weeks later, i got a new blood donor card thanking me for my recent donation.
  

right, so i got my tb test and walk the 15 feet back to my circular non-cube before my arm began to feel warm and the room spun a few times, but i had water and a granola bar to help tide me over. and when she comes back to read my arm today, i so want to say i told you so. but she'll have my whole future in her hands (literally), so i think i'll suck on a tootsie roll pop and keep my mouth shut.

No, this is me in a nutshell: "Help! I'm in a nutshell! How did I get into this bloody great big nutshell? What kind of shell has a nut like this?"

a long, long time ago, in a galaxy far far away... no, actually, back in those ancient college days, i went on a leadership retreat and got myers-briggsed. our dean had each of us take the mb test so that we could learn how to better work with each other. everyone else scored as an extrovert (that lovely e), but i was an i. an istj. the only istj of the bunch. and the dean's comment to me regarding my score? "oh, becca, it'll be so interesting to work with you this year. " hmmm. i'm interesting. great. so i didn't think about it until my new supervisor told me that everyone at the staff retreat did myers-briggs, and she wanted to know if i'd ever done it so that she could know how to work with me better. i didn't want her to say "oh, interesting." but the subject changed quickly, and now i need to figure out a way to say "hey, i'm an istj." so what is an istj?

• ISTJs have a keen sense of right and wrong. for example, i know that the oakland a's are right and the san francisco giants are wrong. but really, everyone should know that. but they don't b/c they're not all ISTJs.
  
• ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." this might shed light how i know religion is such a crock of $h!t. but science is great. and science fiction, even better.
  
• as do other introverted thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without considerable energy loss. this probably explains why i can't stand warm weather, but my fingers get blue when the temperature drops below 40. and also why i highly support energy conservation and solar panels.
• ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. like overstock.com. it took 3 weeks for them to approve a return of a comforter because they sent me the wrong color and wrong size. after haggling with them to return it b/c it was THEIR mistake, they finally approve me to send it back. BUT it's been 3 weeks since the return, and they still can't update me as to the status of my return and exchange. like they don't have computers or little christmas elves. it's so NOT about the O. and there's no O in ISTJ.

what's in your lunch box?

today marks the beginning of a whole new era. no, not one where i join the cult of scientology. or quit my job and join the peace corps. or skip to work instead of saunter. no, today i begin bringing my lunch to work in this nifty little container. it's called the "laptop lunchbox," and there are little sections for each piece of my lunch. today i've got vanilla yogurt with blueberries and raspberries, edamame tossed with soy sauce, half of a tofurkey sandwich on whole wheat sourdough, and vanilla joe joe's. Oh, and some dried fruit and nuts along with string cheese for a snack. i'm hoping my inspiration will continue; maybe i'll start eating better, instead of just a sandwich or finding some oversized (and overpriced) burrito or pizza or coconut curry noodle bowl on the haight. i got my inspiration from this blog, where the writer posts the (vegan) lunches she makes for her son everyday. now that's dedication. if i had 35 free hours everyday, sure, maybe i'd do this for my child. or maybe i'd find something better to do with my time like rescuing hamsters from the local university and then letting alphie chase them around the apartment or planting a vegetable garden (and then killing it with my green thumb) or organizing my black shoe collection in some random order like heel width. but making a full vegan meal from scratch (and a different recipe every day) for a kid to take to school and chow down on in 10 minutes? give me 15 years or so to warm up to the idea.

fashi(on)sts

one of the challenges of my job is learning how to accessorize. i'm a minimalist in everything (attire, writing, people) except piles. i hoard everything and "organize" them into a multitude of piles and mini-piles categorized by owner of said pile, topic, urgentness, and amount of cat fur collected while becoming a pile. but i'm getting off-topic.

a broach here, a scarf (egad) there, somehow i need to dress up my dark pants and solid colored sweaters and make them seem like i actually put thought into what i put on in the morning as opposed to saying grey pants, plum sweater, black kitten heals w/pink accents, done. oh, and sometimes i match my underwear to my sweater, if i'm so inclined. but that's probably TMI. anway, i'm not into layering too much, maybe a cardigan or a blazer if it's chilly, and i don't like to feel bogged down or too overdone. so now i'm in this wierd limbo state where some people can get away with business casual and some can't. and i'm one of the ones who needs to look a tad bit older than i am, so i guess it's time to clutter on the beads, slather on some smelly lotion, and bejewel myself. or hire a personal shopper. or just get over this self-presumed image of what a fundraiser should dress like. or work from home and support the sweats-not-suits movement.

Potential sleeper depends on Aurora to keep us wide awake

The Kirov Ballet at Zellerbach Hall
Presented by CalPerformances
October 12, 2005

The Kirov Ballet returned to Berkeley last night with Konstantin Sergeyev’s The Sleeping Beauty. Based on Petipa’s choreography and including “fragments” by Fedor Lopukhov, the October 12^th performance served as a Diana Vishneva tour de force. Her Aurora proved to be the highlight of the night, and made me glad I traveled via MUNI and BART to see her come of age, draw blood, slumber, and after much beauty rest, find love with a man who wears golden slippers and, thanks to some technical help, hits a bulls-eye on the first attempt.

Vishneva’s interpretation added magic to the air, and while this is normally a fairy’s job, no one could outshine her. She convincingly transformed from 16-year-old ecstatic teen to confused spindle pricker and then wise, love-stricken bride. All eyes followed Vishneva from step to step, and while the corps de ballet’s missteps were minor, they greatly lacked the oomph and zest which Vishneva provided. Uliana Lopatkina’s Lilac Fairy served as a nice balance to Vishneva’s dynamic Aurora. Appropriately bathed in a bright lavender spotlight throughout, Lopatkina displayed steel will and languid limbs, and this Lilac Fairy differed from the sprightly fairies of days gone by; her mature portrayal displayed an urge to provide protection and guidance, a mystical mother figure if you will. Trust me, don’t mess with her or she’ll arabesque you! Carabosse, played rather creepily by Igor Petrov, discovered this on several occasions.

One of Vishneva’s most glorious moments came in Act I where she piquéd into attitude and then relevéd into attitude entournant, adding a side cambré and making the entire movement seem circular and all-encompassing. She continued this sweeping image through each step, and her développés, passés, and pirouettes seemed never ending. This magnified when, dancing with her Prince Desiré (Igor Zelensky), she was on pointe in a low penché with the same spiral-like side cambré, and Zelensky held onto her hip softly while pulling away and promenading her, emphasizing the curve of the movement while displaying trust between the two dancers. Zelensky’s Price combined nobility with humbleness. His dancing, while crisp, contained a natural elegance that shone through constantly, such as in a set of chaîné grand jetés in a large circle, but came to fruition in his partnering sequences. Dancing with Vishneva, he held her softly yet steadily, and they made a spectacular pair onstage.

Other dancers stood out, particularly Yana Selina’s effervescent Lightheartedness Fairy and flirty Puss (the cat), Viktoria Tereshkina’s polished Diamond Fairy, and Yana Serebriakova’s shining Sapphire Fairy and poised Courage Fairy. Anton Korsakov’s Blue Bird fluttered about with strong brisés and lovely pointed toes, but his Princess Florina (Yulia Bolshakova) had issues taking flight. The sets added a needed ambiance and featured a sprawling golden gate (not the kind we have in San Francisco), a springtime garden full of greenery, and a sepia-toned forest. In addition, the Orchestra overcame a sloppy Prologue and played well for the remainder of the evening

Vishneva’s Aurora conveyed beauty in an infinite amount ways, but it couldn’t conceal some of the major imperfections. The Kirov brought the older Beauty, as their new version doesn’t fit on U.S. stages, yet this one still looked cramped (perhaps due to the multitude of well-coached students on loan from San Francisco Ballet School) on the Zellerbach stage, and at three hours and 40 minutes, this Beauty treads on overstaying its welcome. Overall, the dancers looked tired and lacked energy, and it was the three leads, particularly Vishneva’s divine interpretation, that kept me awake and wanting more.

For discussion and more, visit the Kirov Ballet: US Tour forum.

possessed

(kirov review to come later today. promise.)

i had to look up how to properly make nouns possessive (really, it's been awhile) when two people own one thing, and as i'm a chicago manual of style afficianado, i ran straight to their website, and found the perfect answer. i think.

Q. Please state which of the following is the correct usage, sun and earth’s gravity or sun’s and earth’s gravity.

A. Since the sun and the earth each possesses its own gravity, make them each possessive: “the sun’s gravity and the earth’s gravity,” or, more concisely, “the sun’s and earth’s gravities.” When you refer to a single item that two subjects share, a single possessive serves: Claire and David’s house.

The Chicago Manual of Style: 15^th edition
http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/cmosfaq.html
© 2005 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

discover the magic

i've been watching the new abc show commander-in-chief, and it's better than expected. geena davis as a president who actually wants to work for the people and not for special interests? what an outlandish thought. plus, she's a woman (gasp) AND and independent. whoa. now that's far out there. but some conservative groups are labeling the show as a hillary clinton vehicle, saying that abc is trying to warm us all up to her presidential win a few years from now. abc? the godson of disney, who basically censored farenheit 9/11 and made miramax find a new distributor? disney, who broadcasts rush limbaugh on the majority of it's radio stations? disney, whose family channel carries pat robertson's 700 club, definitely republican and christian in theme? disney, who has a major saudi arabian prince investing in eurodisney? and you think abc and disney are trying to push a democratic agenda on national television? must be all that fairy dust. did i refer to disney and abc as fairies? how democratic of me.

don't let your dreams get squashed

i can conquer the baking, frying, and stewing of most vegetables: zucchini bake, carrot souffle, roasted peppers stuffed with risotto, szechuan eggplant, and chard-filled enchiladas, to name a few. but now it's squash season, and i have to face the fact that turban squashes are abound everywhere! a year or so ago, some grocery (trader joe's, rainbow, albertsons perhaps?) was selling turban squash, and as i love squash, especially acorn squash with apples, i figured i had the balls to take on this odd-looking cousin of the pumpkin. but i didn't. after wanting to throw the sad squash against the wall or run over it w/the v6, i faced reality and called in todd to use his manly muscles to slice it in half. after much sweat and swearing, he sliced it in 2, but after 3 hours in a 475 degree oven, it still wasn't finished baking. once it was cooked, it tasted like muck (although i've never tasted muck. but i'm sure that's what it tasted like.), and i had to give up on the squash to beat (not beet) all other inferior squashes to a pulp and order take-out instead. so you might see a turban squash while at your neighborhood grocer and think "hmmm. let's cook a turban squash. it'll be fun!" but heed my warning and choose a friendlier gourd instead. your loved ones will thank you.

those silly russians

this week's a big dance review week for me. friday, i saw compagnie jant-bi at ybc, and wednesday, christine and i are going to see the kirov's the sleeping beauty with diana vishneva as aurora at calperformances on wednesday. when i emailed them asking for press tickets, i really thought i'd get a no thanks, as last year i panned the bolshoi's screwed-up modern take on romeo and juliet, and i haven't been back since. what's cracked me up ever since that review, though, was that the bolshoi posted it on their website! why post an awful review that says you suck? anyway, calperfs is happy to have me back, and even gave me two press comps for the performance, so look for a kirov review posted sometime on thursday. if however, i post a bad review and then go MIA, don't worry. it's just the witness protection program at work. or perhaps cousin boris has come to visit.

Review: Compagnie Jant-Bi

Fagaala reflects on the past and looks towards the future
Compagnie Jant-Bi’s Fagaala
October 7, 2005
Yerba Buena Center for the Arts


Germaine Acogny’s Compagnie Jant-Bi landed with a bang in San Francisco Friday night. Acogny, choreographer and “mother of contemporary African dance,” along with Japanese choreographer and Butoh-trained Kota Yamazaki, weaves a multidimensional and thought-provoking combination of dance, music, and theater into an inspirational evening-length work for seven male dancers entitled Fagaala. Currently touring the US and Australia, Fagaala; which means genocide in Wolof, the Senegalese language; claims inspiration from the genocide in Rwanda, but doesn’t seem to judge or criticize past events. Instead, it takes us on a journey of the human experience during this violent period.

While I initially balked at combining contemporary modern movements, African dance, and Butoh-inspired dance into one seamless movement vocabulary, Acogny and Yamazaki succeeded in their effort, presenting a contemplative array of ideas in a loose yet directional framework. Jant-Bi’s seven dancers: Babacar Ba, Cire Beye, Abdoulaye Kane, Pape Ibrahima Ndiaye (Kaolack) Ousmane Bane Ndiaye, Tchebe Saky, and Abib Sow; performed admirably, with crisp technique and a passion for performance, and they displayed a power onstage that is rarely seen. There’s a moment early on, when the cool lighting changes to a warm, golden hue, and they stare into the audience with a look of longing and reflection, but when the mood shifts back to blues and grays, their faces reveal the cold, harsh reality of life as a conglomerate of solitary moments fused together. The dancers’ physicality extended beyond the forearm cartwheels and back headstand walkovers to capoeira-style kicks, modern lifts, hip rolls, and curvatures of the back. Throughout, they emphasized the physical body as a representation of the individual and the masses, and visions of masturbation, sexual conquests, murder, and birth populated the work. Genocide tore apart these bodies, these people, in a raw and vulnerable way, and it further affected how they viewed themselves and everyone else around them.

One of the final segments brings many of these ideas together in a unique way. The dancer who earlier with his shirt covering his face gyrated his pelvis back and forth for four minutes in a spotlight of pale yellow light, returned to the stage covered in chalk-like dust, resembling a statue or the body of the deceased. Downstage, he moved at varying speeds, jumping, swaying, and gesturing, and as he did so, dust would lift off of his body and extend into the audience, the wings, and the stage, emphasizing that we are all connected, and while this travesty occurred in the past, it is not forgotten. We have a common responsibility to correct the errors of the past and create a better, more accepting world instead of one where genocide is condoned.

Not everything, though, works in Fagaala. For example, long drapes of fabric are overused in contrived manners, such as running from wing to wing being held above the head or draped over a dancer suggesting ominous things to come. But this is trivial compared to the rest of the work which exceeded my expectations and had the gears in my head spinning from the end of the performance through now. Fagaala truly presents compelling and provocative images in a multi-faceted, rousing, and exciting performance, and I hope it inspires and affects others for years to come.

Compagnie Jant-Bi’s current tour continues with appearances in Australia and the US.

For discussion and more, please visit the Compagnie Jant-Bi forum at CriticalDance.

i want my mmm... tv

when i'm walking down the sidewalk, and i find an old tv lying by the road, i ignore it. same thing when i trip over discarded old shoes, a broken bench, or someone's lost grandma (ok, i'll help grams out. i'm a good samaritan and all). but really, who wants an old, dusty tv (as opposed to grandma), especially not knowing if it works or just acts as a massive paperweight? last night, we ran into some crazy kids who strapped a homeless 21" panasonic to their skateboard and began wheeling it home. either sheer brilliance or pure stupidity.

moving forward?

kron 4, our local not-nbc-anymore affiliate, has jumped on the bandwagon with tbs and is airing early (semi-censored) episodes of sex and the city. but they couldn't just stop there. no. during the episodes, they run commercials entitled "meet your own mr. big" sponsored by toyota. i feel bad for the mr. big wannabes who are looking for love in obviously the wrong place because not only are they not chris noth-like, but they're being exploited just for toyota's gain. plus, are they looking for their carrie? b/c then she'll have to be a major smoker, unable to coordinate a non-hideous outfit, and only be friends with a group of white chicks. doesn't sound very san francisco to me.

what kind of noise does a camel make?

i left work early yesterday b/c i felt sick. it's most likely allergies, so while i wasn't giving anyone little green germs of death, the room spun and my eyes were scratchy. even with all this, i ventured out last night into soma to see clap your hands say yeah, a group of grads from connecticut college who are touring with the national all over the country, canada, and the uk. if i needed to pay for my ticket, i would have stayed in bed in a heartbeat, but one of the bandmembers (thank you robbie) put me, todd, and another conn alumn on the guest list, so we had freebies. and how could i pass up a chance to see them perform? exactly. so we waited in the cold and smoke-filled line down a back alley in soma, got front row seats to a street fight, met two friends name bill who were sharing a burrito yet appeared totally straight, finally got in, and the band sounded awesome. still can't tell which twin is which, though. but i highly recommend picking up their self-produced cd at your local music store (and if they don't have it, check out their website for info on how to order). amoeba might have some copies left, and amazon will also be selling it starting next week; you can even reserve your very own copy. just a side note, this past weekend, their cd was #493 on the amazon sales ranking and today it's #207. incredible. the one downside to last night was that all the neighboring cigarette/misc. smoke made my allergies worse, so now i have to work from home (thanks to trusty work-supplied laptop). but i get to work in sweats, and i saw some camels perform. bonus.

1 kilogram, 2 kilograms, 3 kilograms, floor.

todd referred to himself as a metricsexual this morning. i think it was a little brain fart on his part, as i'm sure he meant metrosexual. but the more i thought about it on my long long walk to work, i realized he's more of a metricsexual than a metrosexual. after all of 8 minutes of thought, i decided that a metricsexual is one who is part metrosexual, part math/economics loving guy. for example, he's the kind who

• enjoys working on my excel project at 9PM on a saturday night (and refers to it as "fun" with a big, joyous smile), but also let's me give him a manicure every two weeks or so.
  
• reads the wall street journal instead of the chronicle or the new york times, and makes sure he's not mixing a brown jacket with black or grey clothing.
• creates massive linked spreadsheets (notice a pattern?) to deduce the best weekly lineup for his fantasy basketball team while insisting that his flat-front pants are ironed and not wrinkled (although he's not the one ironing them).
• for the holidays, requests that i get myself a roth ira as a present to him, yet takes me out for a classy dinner at millennium to celebrate.

truly, i have discovered a new breed of man.

l'shanah tovah...

so it's the jewish new year. what a wild and crazy time here in san francisco! people are running through the streets drunk and naked, celebrating the incredible coming of the new year! ok. not really. in fact. i'm at work. one of 6 people who had to report to work today. which is fine b/c i'm not jewish. nor do i celebrate jewish holidays. but what about the other 30 staff members who also work at this non-denominational organization? they're "working from home" which means they got it off. it's ok, though. i thought my "not-my-religion" new year today would be pretty uneventful, considering that my christian new year went by in a flurry of unexcitement and couch-potato-ing. well, except for trying to make ammends w/my dad. that didn't quite work out. but now, for the jewish new year, he finally emails me something other than a forward (that he's sent me 89 other times) that takes up 65% of my inbox; this time, it's a yahoo egreeting wishing me a happy new year. um. yeah. except it's not my new year. at least on january 1st, i got to open a new calendar and start writing a new year on my checks. this new year... i could pretend to eat apples and honey. and light candles. and eat challah french toast (yum). but it's not my new year. so do i write back? i'm thinking i let it be and maybe, if i'm feeling extremely generous, understanding, forgiving, and perhaps drunk beyond belief, attempt again on chinese new year (begins around january 29, 2006). now there's a new year i celebrate.

c is for cookie

saturday night, as i was trying to eradicate all thoughts of work from my brain, i turned on pbs and started to watch a player to be named later, a documentary from 4 years or so ago that profiles 4 players on the brewers' triple-a affiliate team (the indianapolis indians, not to be confused with the major league cleveland indians). one of the coolest parts of the documentary was that they profiled marco scutaro, now the back-up shortstop for the a's. only they called him scu-TA-ro then and now he seems to go by the americanized scu-ta-ro. or mar-co. scu-ta-ro. like when you played marco polo in the the pool with 13 other kids. and then you got tagged. and you went around for hours while all the kids had secretly gotten out of the pool, toweled off, and started to eat chips and dip underneath the umbrella-d table.

so the documentary was interesting and all, until they profiled the "cookie lady." she looked 70, and all she lived for was baking cookies for the players. if she was a hot septuagenarian, that'd be ok, but she closely resembled mimi from the drew carey show only 30-some odd years older. and wackier. which got me thinking. do i want to continue baking cookies for the bullpen? what if i end up like this crazy old broad, with blue eyeshadow, major pink lipstick going outside the lines, and blush streaking from here to boston? sure, i won't be profiled on some minor league made-for-tv movie, but there's more to life than baking cookies for some world-class relief pitchers. who cares if their tummies are happy? what matters is how they pitch. and cookies most likely don't affect that. but i'm sure other things do. so perhaps i should become the brownie babe. or even better, the lasagna lady. yeah, that has a nice ring to it.