don't throw me in a cell

this thanksgiving, i went all out, and by that, i mean that i made an excel spreadsheet to organize my cooking/baking.


go ahead and call me crazy. i don't mind.

dance flash @ the appeal: 2009 holiday dance schtuff, take one

here's an excerpt from holiday dance schtuff, take one at the sf appeal.

"the day after thanksgiving, you can stand in the 'i'm totally crazy, full, and sleepy' line at best buy at 4am or hot-foot it to the 9am cardio kickmyass class. neither, though, may be as enjoyable as taking in odc/dance's 23rd season of 'the velveteen rabbit,' with its plush animal costumes and contemporary dance. if you're still feeling the after-effects of rum punch and soy nog, don't worry. 'the velveteen rabbit' is narrated."

the full article is here.

my nutracker contest entry!

i submitted an entry to sf ballet's magical memories nutcracker video contest. the gist of the contest is to submit a video, via youtube, that:

• reenacts or re-imagines a magical scene from nutcracker OR create a video depicting your favorite magical nutcracker memory.
• contains at least one nutcracker character.
• is 65 seconds long (reason: that’s one second for every year nutcracker has been a holiday tradition in america, since sf ballet first staged it on christmas eve 1944).
• mentions or displays “san francisco ballet” visually in the video.
• is creative and/or funny--"innovative characters, dancing, scenery, costumes, and props will be judged favorably." "featuring san francisco settings or a san francisco landmark in your video in some way will be judged favorably."
• is tasteful and family friendly.

my favorite part of "nutcracker" is always act II, the land of the sweets section, so my video is an ode to all that is sugar, spice, and everything nice about san francisco (at least that would fit into 65 seconds). music, used with permission, by christmas at the devil's house (thanks, john!)

tour stops include tcho, the ferry building, i preferiti di boriana, miette patisserie, recchiuti confections, bart, mission pie, tartine bakery, saratoga chocolates, hot cookie, the f-car, miette confiserie, and the war memorial opera house.

dance flash @ the appeal: the sf hip hop dancefest

(this photo is not doctored! that's the south korean crew last for one posing with secretary of state hillary clinton.)

this week's dance flash: the san francisco hip hop dancefest.

an excerpt:

Does an audience need to know their popping from their locking? Definitely not. These shows are meant to expose people to lots of different types of hip hop dance in a friendly environment. About the audience, Rosales says these are "not your everyday dance hip hop watchers... I love doing the show for our company because it's our time to expose ourselves to a new audience and a new demographic, and I think it's great... because it's our chance to really hit the spotlight for a second, you know, and get recognized for something that we've been doing for so long."

And Micaya says, "[Hip hop] is definitely mainstream now. I had a lot of battles, so to speak, when I first started the festival just by using the word hip hop. When I first started, you can imagine, 11 years ago, the first thing that came to people's minds was, "Are there going to be guns?" and negativity, and I was just like, 'Oh my god! You've got to be kidding me! Just come once, and, for the rest of your life, your mind will be altered about what this image of, back in the day, that word used to put in people's minds,' because it's so far from the truth of what artists are doing in the genre."

for the entire preview, go here.

wash n' dry

the best place to find original prose is at the laundromat.


text:
--Lady--

Why do you want to pick a Fight with US. We WoRK here. YOU have already insulted us by Calling US
Freaks.

ANd you Also Assumed we Live here. YOU think that becouse we don't sociolize we are rude. we keep the place clean and the machines working. If you must know we come to work at 5 A.M.

Sorry but magazines Litter the Laundrymate. AND MoST Plople donot pick up after self. So please Let me take care of my work

dance flash @ the appeal: an interview with dv8's lloyd newson

I interviewed Lloyd Newson, the artistic director of DV8 Physical Theatre, for the San Francisco Appeal. Here's an excerpt.


What does physical theater mean? Could you give me a little more information about how it's different from other forms?

We call it physical theater instead of dance theater because it's often driven by meaning as opposed to theater or dance. And because it's highly physical as much more than just talking heads, hence physical theater seemed appropriate.

[That was a short response. Maybe I won't push on that. I mean, we went round and round and round and finally the guy agreed to call me from England, the home of Posh Spice and Harrods. But is dance not driven by meaning?]

I was reading on your website that you're moving towards more text-based work as opposed to movement-based. Is there any specific reason for that?

Well, if you try just saying in dance, "This is my sister, " it's going to take you a long time.

hmm...[really. i said that aloud.]

For the complete interview, go here.

"To Be Straight With You": Image of Ankur Bahl. Photo by Matt Nettheim

you've been a very bad boy

wonder what this server's brother's name is...


in case your eyes can't deal w/the blur, the server's name was "Good".

a comma coma

the other day, a coworker sent this request out officewide via email:

I'm looking for a large black man's umbrella to borrow until next week.

most people in the office quickly understood that punctuation and readibility are not this person's forte, but all i wanted to know was was there a reason why she didn't want a small asian american man's umbrella?

dance flash @ the appeal: printz dance project

this week's dance flash (at the san francisco appeal) focuses on the printz dance project.

"While creating new dances and guest teaching here and throughout the world (like Ireland, Russia, New York, and Kentucky), PDP has been Printz' local expressive outlet. Reflecting on the past decade, Printz says, 'While I think the company has evolved and changed, I also feel like our core values and desires have stayed the same. And, unfortunately some of the 'bootstrap' financial struggles that we had early on, we still face today! On the flip side, there is a calmer approach to producing the home seasons than there was in the beginning; early on there are so many new things to figure out. At this point we have a better sense of how to organize it and make it unfold. That said, I love that each season is full of surprises that offer just enough newness to keep us on our toes.'"

read the entire preview here.

disrepair in the air

like many san franciscans, i signed up for alertsf, which sends "alerts regarding emergencies disrupting vehicular/pedestrian traffic, watches and warnings for tsunamis, flooding, and Citywide post-disaster information to your registered wireless devices and email accounts."

until now, i'd maybe received one notice a month due to flooding or a very major multi-block accident. with the bay bridge closed, i've received eight text messages (and eight identical emails), including this very informative one:

A new email has been sent to your AlertSF email account related to the Bay Bridge.

right now, i have my hand up by my forehead, and i'm tipping my hat (well, sort of pulling my pink and grey striped beanie up and down) to you, alertsf, for you may be in cahoots with verizon. this message alone (and yes, i'm trying to ignore the awkward sentence construction; my email account is not related nor has ever been married to the bay bridge) cost me 20 cents, and the very important, must-know-right-this-second message was... the bridge may not reopen tomorrow, so i should plan on an alternate commute route. well, buddies, i neither walk, bike, nor drive across the bridge each day (nor do i join the herd and take BART), but thanks for telling me to check my email.

not to be outdone, alertsf has also recommended that i make alternate plans and relocate my weekly backstroke training from the bay to another large body of water due to the most recent oil spill. next up: alertsf will call in the hazmat team regarding the dark blobs pushed into a corner in my fridge. little to they know, those aren't blobs. they're... kalamata olives. muahahahahaha!