So... fellow blogger, La Tanguera, posted this video on her blog:
and it got me thinking... I usually say I don't like performance because you rarely see something you haven't seen before and it just bogs the the night down; energy et all. Watching this - Fabulous - milonga performance, it just dawned on me why I don't like performances: YOU CAN NOT DANCE LIKE THIS IN A MILONGA! Certainly you shouldn't and/or shouldn't be able to.. although there are plenty of hot-shot-jerks who try, and cause havoc - especially on the ankles of innocent followers. Keep this stuff on Broadway.. why dance like this at a milonga-performance when no one can try the same steps once the floor fills up again.
One of the best performances I've ever seen was performed by Christopher and Caroline of San Francisco.. they danced within one 24" x 24" dance parquet square the entire song to demonstrate that one does not need space to dance well.
Kudos to all who can dance like the kid in that video, but it don't do naught for me.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Tango-sick
3-more weeks until Memorial Day festival in Denver and Ms.Spain's arrival. I've been working like a dog last several weeks and miss dancing tango. I've been invited to go to Ann Arbor for no charge (travel fee's still apply, of course), but I just can't afford the travel or lost time at work.
I can do work whilst traveling but sleeping in late and spending 3-6+ hours at a milonga per night takes its toll on my productivity.
Ms.France.. my longtime friend and quasi-training partner often calls me to whine that I don't show up to dance.. she lives 80 miles north in the next town. If I want to dance, period, I'd have to drive up north to her town, where the community milongas are. Sucks to live in a tango vacuum.
Ms.Vegas' friend from Michigan is considering moving to my town/state.. if she does.. that might be a boost to my dancing frequency. It's been limited to dancing during my travels to or with Ms.Spain ever since Ms.Vegas moved to, well, Las Vegas, last year. I feel I'm seriously back-tracking in my dancing abilities not dancing as often as I used to.
Blah..
I can do work whilst traveling but sleeping in late and spending 3-6+ hours at a milonga per night takes its toll on my productivity.
Ms.France.. my longtime friend and quasi-training partner often calls me to whine that I don't show up to dance.. she lives 80 miles north in the next town. If I want to dance, period, I'd have to drive up north to her town, where the community milongas are. Sucks to live in a tango vacuum.
Ms.Vegas' friend from Michigan is considering moving to my town/state.. if she does.. that might be a boost to my dancing frequency. It's been limited to dancing during my travels to or with Ms.Spain ever since Ms.Vegas moved to, well, Las Vegas, last year. I feel I'm seriously back-tracking in my dancing abilities not dancing as often as I used to.
Blah..
Monday, March 17, 2008
DC Tango Marathon, done with
Heads remained surely and solidly lodged up peoples asses.
Attendance on Sunday was about half of Saturday, so there was quite a bit of space to move, but one still had to keep a lookout for the donkey's that possibly shot out towards you from the dark breeches of the floor.
DJ Yulia did a great job at the afternoon milonga but her one and only alternative set was not a very danceable one.. otherwise she did splendidly.
DJ Fredi should crawl under a rock and rot. He played a lot of alternative.. mostly attached to vals and milonga sets thus extending the length of those sets to 5-7. Majority of the alternative was crap. I'm sure he thought his cortina, too, was a cute and smart one as it was about tango, but it was hard as heck trying to figure out what was alternative and what was his cortina, so you ended up standing there for 15 seconds looking dumbfounded whilst trying to figure out whether to embrace or to say "thank you". Later on in the morning, circa 3 am, he started playing his sets in a completely unpredictable manner at one point playing a tango tanda that was 8 song long. You begin with an format; you end with an format. His sucky selections made me leave early.
In the hindsight: Not a festival worth paying $20 per milonga and $45 per class. Certain people will keep making the festival a destination, though. A festival for people who want to do what-the-ever-the-fuck-they-want-when-they-want-to-do-it, though; not a social dance festival.
Ta.
Attendance on Sunday was about half of Saturday, so there was quite a bit of space to move, but one still had to keep a lookout for the donkey's that possibly shot out towards you from the dark breeches of the floor.
DJ Yulia did a great job at the afternoon milonga but her one and only alternative set was not a very danceable one.. otherwise she did splendidly.
DJ Fredi should crawl under a rock and rot. He played a lot of alternative.. mostly attached to vals and milonga sets thus extending the length of those sets to 5-7. Majority of the alternative was crap. I'm sure he thought his cortina, too, was a cute and smart one as it was about tango, but it was hard as heck trying to figure out what was alternative and what was his cortina, so you ended up standing there for 15 seconds looking dumbfounded whilst trying to figure out whether to embrace or to say "thank you". Later on in the morning, circa 3 am, he started playing his sets in a completely unpredictable manner at one point playing a tango tanda that was 8 song long. You begin with an format; you end with an format. His sucky selections made me leave early.
In the hindsight: Not a festival worth paying $20 per milonga and $45 per class. Certain people will keep making the festival a destination, though. A festival for people who want to do what-the-ever-the-fuck-they-want-when-they-want-to-do-it, though; not a social dance festival.
Ta.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Sunday ; last day.
Today is the last day of the DC Tango Marathon. Here's my POV and scoop of experiences.
There's a ton of extra women and lack of dancing is causing even good follows to start thinking that they must suck and that they're not good dancers because they're not getting asked for hours - and this time most of the extra women are not women with "extra" or women "without". They're good looking good dancers.. so go figure.
As suspected, the click/clique crowd is alive and well and flourishing. Fortunately they do not have a central hangout place like the do in Portland, but it is clear they only dance with each others and not with others. Since I don't register on the clique radar I found myself sitting, also, for a hour or so in the middle of the milonga - although I have to say I could have been dancing but wasn't feeling like dancing.
The venue. Main ball at the Trinity College in a questionable area of NE D.C. Music is piped through two large sized speakers at an volume that surely damage your hearing if sitting too close to them. The floor mysteriously seems to go from slick to sticky to slick from milonga to milonga and day to day.
Music. Thorstein; so-so music.. didn't obey energy of the floor but also his milonga was deserted. Robin; splendid, as always, love this man. Laura; does not know at all how to boost or control energy.. kept playing weak stuff right when you need to build it up.. Shorey; very nice job, but too much of the same stuff, although she was the first to play Fresedo with Ricardo Ruiz - viva!! Upcoming: Yulia and Fredi.
Floorcraft. Abominable. It'd be easier to go find the abominable snowman than to find a working line of dance at this festival. People in the "middle" or "inner lane" absolutely had no respect for the outermost lane and kept pushing in or dancing into the tiniest holes possible. Small and few gaps in the tables cause people to plop up on the dancefloor right in front of you if you were not paying attention like a hawk. The """A-dancers"""... those with any national infamy were absolutely the worst and the donkeys asses. They kept dancing in a slow moving circle assuming an aura of space because constant steps and moves back toward line of dance. Width-wise they were taking two lanes. If they weren't, they were zig-zagging and taking any little space possible.. even those spaces that one would assume caused someone else to run into them, of course thus making the person whose space was stolen look like the criminal. Floorcraft is worse than in Portland during the height of the festivals - at least so I think.. I might think quite the opposite next time in Portland... fleeting thoughts, maybe.
Maybe people will pull their heads from their asses today and matters improve.. we will see.
Ta
There's a ton of extra women and lack of dancing is causing even good follows to start thinking that they must suck and that they're not good dancers because they're not getting asked for hours - and this time most of the extra women are not women with "extra" or women "without". They're good looking good dancers.. so go figure.
As suspected, the click/clique crowd is alive and well and flourishing. Fortunately they do not have a central hangout place like the do in Portland, but it is clear they only dance with each others and not with others. Since I don't register on the clique radar I found myself sitting, also, for a hour or so in the middle of the milonga - although I have to say I could have been dancing but wasn't feeling like dancing.
The venue. Main ball at the Trinity College in a questionable area of NE D.C. Music is piped through two large sized speakers at an volume that surely damage your hearing if sitting too close to them. The floor mysteriously seems to go from slick to sticky to slick from milonga to milonga and day to day.
Music. Thorstein; so-so music.. didn't obey energy of the floor but also his milonga was deserted. Robin; splendid, as always, love this man. Laura; does not know at all how to boost or control energy.. kept playing weak stuff right when you need to build it up.. Shorey; very nice job, but too much of the same stuff, although she was the first to play Fresedo with Ricardo Ruiz - viva!! Upcoming: Yulia and Fredi.
Floorcraft. Abominable. It'd be easier to go find the abominable snowman than to find a working line of dance at this festival. People in the "middle" or "inner lane" absolutely had no respect for the outermost lane and kept pushing in or dancing into the tiniest holes possible. Small and few gaps in the tables cause people to plop up on the dancefloor right in front of you if you were not paying attention like a hawk. The """A-dancers"""... those with any national infamy were absolutely the worst and the donkeys asses. They kept dancing in a slow moving circle assuming an aura of space because constant steps and moves back toward line of dance. Width-wise they were taking two lanes. If they weren't, they were zig-zagging and taking any little space possible.. even those spaces that one would assume caused someone else to run into them, of course thus making the person whose space was stolen look like the criminal. Floorcraft is worse than in Portland during the height of the festivals - at least so I think.. I might think quite the opposite next time in Portland... fleeting thoughts, maybe.
Maybe people will pull their heads from their asses today and matters improve.. we will see.
Ta
Friday, March 14, 2008
DC Tango Marathon Day 1, Thursday 13th
Been a while again...
Tonight was the (un-)official opening night of the annual DC Tango Marathon. It was at the Eastern Market in SE DC, not far from the Capitol. There was a lot of strange energy in the air this night and I was not the only one to notice it. I think it had something to do with people not quite knowing their places yet, and so there wasn't an established "clique" crowd yet. I'm sure that by the end of the first alternative milonga tomorrow, clear and definite classes will have borne out of the masses; you'll have your A and B class citizens.
The floor at the Eastern Market was it's typical late fall/winter/early spring quality; it was covered in red dust that made the floor very slippery. But by 12:30am the dust had been absorbed into peoples shoes and it even began to shine in places and got to be super sticky - kind of like in the humidity of the summertime.
Another downfall was the lack of bathrooms. In fact, I believe it to be illegal to put on a public event for which you are charging a covercharge, and then not provide lavatories for all.
I wasn't feeling very energetic nor inspired and ended up sitting quite a few sets down. The clear lack of cabeceo also throws me on a loop. We'll see how this weekend progresses, etc.
Ciao
Tonight was the (un-)official opening night of the annual DC Tango Marathon. It was at the Eastern Market in SE DC, not far from the Capitol. There was a lot of strange energy in the air this night and I was not the only one to notice it. I think it had something to do with people not quite knowing their places yet, and so there wasn't an established "clique" crowd yet. I'm sure that by the end of the first alternative milonga tomorrow, clear and definite classes will have borne out of the masses; you'll have your A and B class citizens.
The floor at the Eastern Market was it's typical late fall/winter/early spring quality; it was covered in red dust that made the floor very slippery. But by 12:30am the dust had been absorbed into peoples shoes and it even began to shine in places and got to be super sticky - kind of like in the humidity of the summertime.
Another downfall was the lack of bathrooms. In fact, I believe it to be illegal to put on a public event for which you are charging a covercharge, and then not provide lavatories for all.
I wasn't feeling very energetic nor inspired and ended up sitting quite a few sets down. The clear lack of cabeceo also throws me on a loop. We'll see how this weekend progresses, etc.
Ciao
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
This and that
My diet last fall was a blazing disaster. It was clear that I couldn't control my intake well enough to lose weight the way you gain it quickest...
So I've broken down and bought an E900 Horizon elliptical trainer.
I also bought a new tv - first in 6 years- a 42-inch LCD Phillips that I've hung on the wall. The plan is to watch movies/tv/netflix while exercising.
I tried connecting my old laptop to the tv, but kept getting the blue screen of death. I had bought a new (old style) video card for the laptop docking station that had an DVI port and not just an VGA port. I was able to only find a DVI-to-HDMI adapter cable; not VGA-to-HDMI. There was S-video connection possibilities too, but I really didn't catch on to that, and the fact I would have had such a cable, until too late. I then tried my new laptop that comes with an DVI port, but after I log onto windows it seazed showing stuff on the tv.
The I hauled my desktop over and it's working like charm. Already managed to watch a movie through it too from netflix-online: "A Simple Curve".
I didn't get the sounds to work adequately, though, so I hauled over my DJ equipment and plugged in the 300 Watt amp and 2 foot tall speakers. No remote but at least it sounds good.
I then decided to move the old laptop back and make that the new HUB for printers and peripherals - in the midst of installing drivers for them and stuff, I tried re-installing the docking station drivers, as the VGA port in the back of the docking station that I had plugged in the old LCD monitor didn't seem to work....
WHABAMM.. fucked Windows irrecoverably.. I'm now reinstalling Win XP from scratch after having formatted the hard drive. In a way, that gives me a fresh start on a very software-plagued computer, but I feel I may have permanentally lost pictures, files, drawings that I may not have had backed up last year when I was moving them to my new laptop... oh well...
At one point I also plugged in my old Pentium II desktop that's been collecting dust for the last 6 years, hoping to find that it might be strong enough to double as a server/hub, but to no avail. I need to take it to the dump along with an even older 386DX/16 I've got in the basement... I guess I'm a tech-packrat.
Let's hope that I don't have to redo everything I'm doing now when I go try to re-install the docking station drivers after XP finishes.. it shouldn't, though. Maybe this fresh install will let my network to work as intended - it never has. The old laptop was always able to access the other two computers, but to the other two it was as good as not there. Probably had somethign to do with the fact that the ethernet connected to the docking station and not to the laptop directly. Essentially I always had two LAN ports of which one didn't "work", as per Win.
Ok.. it's starting the XP up now.. ta ta!
So I've broken down and bought an E900 Horizon elliptical trainer.
I also bought a new tv - first in 6 years- a 42-inch LCD Phillips that I've hung on the wall. The plan is to watch movies/tv/netflix while exercising.
I tried connecting my old laptop to the tv, but kept getting the blue screen of death. I had bought a new (old style) video card for the laptop docking station that had an DVI port and not just an VGA port. I was able to only find a DVI-to-HDMI adapter cable; not VGA-to-HDMI. There was S-video connection possibilities too, but I really didn't catch on to that, and the fact I would have had such a cable, until too late. I then tried my new laptop that comes with an DVI port, but after I log onto windows it seazed showing stuff on the tv.
The I hauled my desktop over and it's working like charm. Already managed to watch a movie through it too from netflix-online: "A Simple Curve".
I didn't get the sounds to work adequately, though, so I hauled over my DJ equipment and plugged in the 300 Watt amp and 2 foot tall speakers. No remote but at least it sounds good.
I then decided to move the old laptop back and make that the new HUB for printers and peripherals - in the midst of installing drivers for them and stuff, I tried re-installing the docking station drivers, as the VGA port in the back of the docking station that I had plugged in the old LCD monitor didn't seem to work....
WHABAMM.. fucked Windows irrecoverably.. I'm now reinstalling Win XP from scratch after having formatted the hard drive. In a way, that gives me a fresh start on a very software-plagued computer, but I feel I may have permanentally lost pictures, files, drawings that I may not have had backed up last year when I was moving them to my new laptop... oh well...
At one point I also plugged in my old Pentium II desktop that's been collecting dust for the last 6 years, hoping to find that it might be strong enough to double as a server/hub, but to no avail. I need to take it to the dump along with an even older 386DX/16 I've got in the basement... I guess I'm a tech-packrat.
Let's hope that I don't have to redo everything I'm doing now when I go try to re-install the docking station drivers after XP finishes.. it shouldn't, though. Maybe this fresh install will let my network to work as intended - it never has. The old laptop was always able to access the other two computers, but to the other two it was as good as not there. Probably had somethign to do with the fact that the ethernet connected to the docking station and not to the laptop directly. Essentially I always had two LAN ports of which one didn't "work", as per Win.
Ok.. it's starting the XP up now.. ta ta!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Airport, Deja Vu
Okey, then. Here I am again, at the Springs airport waiting to fly out. The was a last minute urgent development with a job that I did in Delaware in October of 2006. Some very expensive highly custom low-voltage lighting burnt out and has to be replaced at the cost of me and that of the manufacturers. Honestly majority of the cost is and should be absorbed by me vs. the lighting manufacturer, as I had apparently failed to relay to him how high the ambient temperatures were going to be where the lights where going to be installed. The 5W bulbs laid flat over the electrical wire and had an aluminum "heat sink" shield plate between the socket and the bulbs to protect the wire from the heat of the bulbs. What that shield ended up doing, though, was to concentrate the ambient temperature from the room to the spot where the socket was soldered to the electrical wire and managed to burn themselves off the wire. The new lighting has the sockets standing upright without heat sinks, so I should be safe now. The problem is, the system is now one inch taller than before and is no longer hidden behind the custom wood valance I had created to hide it. I will have to take all the valances off (8- 8foot runs) and create a 5/8" wide groove by one inch deep so make the lighting sit in the material so it doesn't stick past the valance. I got the airline tickets using up 25,000 frequent flier miles out of my 54,000 mile balance. I am now 25,000 short to gualify for an ticket to Finland or Buenos Aires next summer. Taxes to the ticket came to $60, +$50 for over-weight luggage, +1-2 nights in Delaware, $500 for the Xenon light bulbs (old ones were incandescent), rental car, and replacement lumber of $100-200 and the shipping of it $250. In essence, this warranty trip is going to cost exactly whatever profit I managed to make on the project year and a half ago. Oh well.. oh well oh well. Live and learn. Any low-voltage lighting I use from henceforth, though, is sure to work fine and not to fail, as we know what to look out for.
The one bonus to this trip is that I get to go hang out with Ms.Spain for the long MLK weekend before hitting the road to DE. We had somewhat considered meeting-in-the-middle in Houston next weekeend during the Tango Festival there, but honestly, the DJ list for the festival didn't look very exciting. There is a festival in Ann Arbor this weekend with pretty good DJ's, but it was too close to Ms.Spain's trip to see me over New Year's, and now this extra trip came about. Next time I'll travel will be for the DC Tango Marathon in March.
With all the hastle I had at the ticketing desk with my big, overweight, bags, messing with name tags on the new bag I had to buy for this trip, etc, she selected me to go through additional security measures - probably as an payback for the time and effort I made her go through to check me in. Although I do have to say they did a poor job with the additional check, which was mainly to check for bomb residue. Because my second bag also got to be a little over #50 lbs, I transferred a Home Depot bag full of various junk and tool to my carry-on that has the low-voltage lighting, bulbs, and breakers. The bag also included a brand new 1" wide chisel that they didn't notice during the x-ray. Not that I will or would no anything funky with it, but that's beside the point. Last June they found a utility knife inside one of my shoes in my carry-on. I had last minute transferred some items from checked to carry-on to keep the second checked bag under #50 lbs.
I also had the written (LEAB) test for the CSPD this morning. I went through it in record speed because I was tight on time, spending only 45 minutes out of my allowed 2:30. I felt and thought that I did very well though.. I had no problematic questions.. but regardless I only got an 6 out of 10. 5 is a passing grade, but anything below 8 is wasting time to continue in the process..
My section is boarding.. got to go..
Ta.
The one bonus to this trip is that I get to go hang out with Ms.Spain for the long MLK weekend before hitting the road to DE. We had somewhat considered meeting-in-the-middle in Houston next weekeend during the Tango Festival there, but honestly, the DJ list for the festival didn't look very exciting. There is a festival in Ann Arbor this weekend with pretty good DJ's, but it was too close to Ms.Spain's trip to see me over New Year's, and now this extra trip came about. Next time I'll travel will be for the DC Tango Marathon in March.
With all the hastle I had at the ticketing desk with my big, overweight, bags, messing with name tags on the new bag I had to buy for this trip, etc, she selected me to go through additional security measures - probably as an payback for the time and effort I made her go through to check me in. Although I do have to say they did a poor job with the additional check, which was mainly to check for bomb residue. Because my second bag also got to be a little over #50 lbs, I transferred a Home Depot bag full of various junk and tool to my carry-on that has the low-voltage lighting, bulbs, and breakers. The bag also included a brand new 1" wide chisel that they didn't notice during the x-ray. Not that I will or would no anything funky with it, but that's beside the point. Last June they found a utility knife inside one of my shoes in my carry-on. I had last minute transferred some items from checked to carry-on to keep the second checked bag under #50 lbs.
I also had the written (LEAB) test for the CSPD this morning. I went through it in record speed because I was tight on time, spending only 45 minutes out of my allowed 2:30. I felt and thought that I did very well though.. I had no problematic questions.. but regardless I only got an 6 out of 10. 5 is a passing grade, but anything below 8 is wasting time to continue in the process..
My section is boarding.. got to go..
Ta.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
New Year
Been a while..
Been suffering from something the last 2 weeks not sure what.. it's been afflicting my lower back.. it hurts to sit and after I rise up I might not be able to stand upright. It isn't subluxations since I've gone to see my Chiropractor quite a few times in the last 2 wks. He suspects a virus that's attacking the muscle(s) which seems pretty doubtful to have a virus that is so localized, but I'm heading few hours north in a bit to see a man whose a Chiro but also a Kinesiologist with an Rife-machine. If he finds a virus he can zap it out.
Ms.Spain visited for 1-week ov2er New Year's, but we managed to only dance once due to my busy schedule and hurting back.
My lower back's actually been hurting longer than 2-wks... it used to get really bad dancing already a few months back... I thought it was from bending too far forward when dancing with sligtly shorter follows.. maybe it was just the early phases of whatever is going on now..
We'll see what he finds out.
Been suffering from something the last 2 weeks not sure what.. it's been afflicting my lower back.. it hurts to sit and after I rise up I might not be able to stand upright. It isn't subluxations since I've gone to see my Chiropractor quite a few times in the last 2 wks. He suspects a virus that's attacking the muscle(s) which seems pretty doubtful to have a virus that is so localized, but I'm heading few hours north in a bit to see a man whose a Chiro but also a Kinesiologist with an Rife-machine. If he finds a virus he can zap it out.
Ms.Spain visited for 1-week ov2er New Year's, but we managed to only dance once due to my busy schedule and hurting back.
My lower back's actually been hurting longer than 2-wks... it used to get really bad dancing already a few months back... I thought it was from bending too far forward when dancing with sligtly shorter follows.. maybe it was just the early phases of whatever is going on now..
We'll see what he finds out.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
Tango Dance styles of old
Here's Rudolph Valentino in 1921 'dipping' his stuff in "Horsemen of the Apocalypse".
And here is Carlos Gardel in 1935 from "Tango Bar" moving smoothly to the rhythm. Unfortunately, this was all the tango dancing in this 1-hour long movie. Tango Bar was also Carlos' final leading role. He perished in the plane crash later that same year. Carlito is the second dancing couple.. not the first.
"Tango Bar Drama, 1hr 27min Carlos Gardel, Rosita Moreno, Enrique de Rosas. Killed in a plane crash in June of 1935, Argentine musical star Carlos Gardel was well on his way to becoming a legend when his final starring feature, Tango Bar, was released in the U.S. Though well past middle age, Gardel convincingly plays an amorous young cabaret vocalist named Ricardo, who falls in love with gorgeous dancer Laura (Rosita Moreno). To rescue the heroine from a gang of crooks, Ricardo puts his own life on the line, nearly losing same in the process. The villain, played by Enrique de Rosas, is a government official, reflecting the "outlaw" status of the tango in much of South America. Though filmed in Spanish and set in Argentina, Tango Bar was lensed in its entirety in Paramount's East Coast studios at Astoria, Long Island. Songs: Arrabal amargo, Por una cabeza, Lejana tierra mía y Los ojos de mi moza. Bonus Track : Gardel Color "Por una cabeza", "Golondrinas", "Cuesta abajo"
And here is Carlos Gardel in 1935 from "Tango Bar" moving smoothly to the rhythm. Unfortunately, this was all the tango dancing in this 1-hour long movie. Tango Bar was also Carlos' final leading role. He perished in the plane crash later that same year. Carlito is the second dancing couple.. not the first.
"Tango Bar Drama, 1hr 27min Carlos Gardel, Rosita Moreno, Enrique de Rosas. Killed in a plane crash in June of 1935, Argentine musical star Carlos Gardel was well on his way to becoming a legend when his final starring feature, Tango Bar, was released in the U.S. Though well past middle age, Gardel convincingly plays an amorous young cabaret vocalist named Ricardo, who falls in love with gorgeous dancer Laura (Rosita Moreno). To rescue the heroine from a gang of crooks, Ricardo puts his own life on the line, nearly losing same in the process. The villain, played by Enrique de Rosas, is a government official, reflecting the "outlaw" status of the tango in much of South America. Though filmed in Spanish and set in Argentina, Tango Bar was lensed in its entirety in Paramount's East Coast studios at Astoria, Long Island. Songs: Arrabal amargo, Por una cabeza, Lejana tierra mía y Los ojos de mi moza. Bonus Track : Gardel Color "Por una cabeza", "Golondrinas", "Cuesta abajo"
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Last flight of the year?
Here I sit, at the airport again, on my way home after - a total of - 2 weeks with Ms.Spain. Quite possibly the last trip I'm undertaking this year as I've no other trips planned and/or paid for at the moment.
I'm 99.90% certain that I won't be going to Portland this Valentine's for Valentango, so I don't have any clue when my next trip will be. I have a trip coming up for 2-3 weeks to Houston, but that won't occur until the later part of next year. I might go to Seattle again once there is adequate cashflow to support it. I liked Seattle.. maybe I should wait until the weather there gets a bit better, though.
I (bought and) downloaded an unabridged audio book copy of Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat. 20 CD's worth of book.. 23-25 hours.. lol. It's hard to type this and to concentrate on the audio book at the same time so I just had to pause the book.
I like working (design work) to audio books and earlier in the year went through all of David Sedaris' work and 6 years worth of This American Life from NPR. I can't, however, type or write while listening to an audio book. For that, only music works, as long as the music isn't intellectually demanding; i.e. require listening to the lyrics.
We went to a milonga last night and it was an ok one. Unfortunately, the music for over half the night sucked. Lots of nice dancers, but because of the music I only danced with 4: Ms.Spain, Ms.Belgium (who was recuperating from a serious allergic reaction), Ms.Ruskie#1, and Ms.Ruskie#2.
This will be my first time flying on Frontier. I was able to find a very decently priced 1-way ticket to DEN.. it's even a true non-stop flight. Even if it's the same plane that takes you from A to C through B, but you have to de-plane at B, it isn't a non-stop flight in my book. Too bad there isn't a non-stop flight from here to my hometown... would make it so much easier to visit Ms.Spain and to get her to come visit me. She's talked about coming around New Year's after spending Yule with her parents.
Anyway... it had been awhile since the last post so I thought to drop a line..
Ta
I'm 99.90% certain that I won't be going to Portland this Valentine's for Valentango, so I don't have any clue when my next trip will be. I have a trip coming up for 2-3 weeks to Houston, but that won't occur until the later part of next year. I might go to Seattle again once there is adequate cashflow to support it. I liked Seattle.. maybe I should wait until the weather there gets a bit better, though.
I (bought and) downloaded an unabridged audio book copy of Anne Rice's Vampire Lestat. 20 CD's worth of book.. 23-25 hours.. lol. It's hard to type this and to concentrate on the audio book at the same time so I just had to pause the book.
I like working (design work) to audio books and earlier in the year went through all of David Sedaris' work and 6 years worth of This American Life from NPR. I can't, however, type or write while listening to an audio book. For that, only music works, as long as the music isn't intellectually demanding; i.e. require listening to the lyrics.
We went to a milonga last night and it was an ok one. Unfortunately, the music for over half the night sucked. Lots of nice dancers, but because of the music I only danced with 4: Ms.Spain, Ms.Belgium (who was recuperating from a serious allergic reaction), Ms.Ruskie#1, and Ms.Ruskie#2.
This will be my first time flying on Frontier. I was able to find a very decently priced 1-way ticket to DEN.. it's even a true non-stop flight. Even if it's the same plane that takes you from A to C through B, but you have to de-plane at B, it isn't a non-stop flight in my book. Too bad there isn't a non-stop flight from here to my hometown... would make it so much easier to visit Ms.Spain and to get her to come visit me. She's talked about coming around New Year's after spending Yule with her parents.
Anyway... it had been awhile since the last post so I thought to drop a line..
Ta
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Dumb thing to say
Alright.. So I flew back home on Tuesday and returned to Ms.Spain on Friday.
Last night we had a nice milonga that we went to, and I said something not-so-wise. Last few months I've been suffering from severe lower back pain; The muscles get all tense and locked up when I dance. Well.. for some reason I told Ms.Spain that my back didn't hurt with somebody else but did with her... which of course wasn't true.. my back hurt equally bad with everyone. So, naturally, I managed to hurt her feelings.
The DJ was an out-of-town variety and she did not do very well. The first set she played, for example, were all the same orchestra, but different eras and different singers. Then later in the evening a vals set mysteriously turned into a tango tanda after only 1 vals.. and the next non-tango set that she played a little later was again a vals tanda. Quite strange.
We just had dinner and I'm feeling woozy: had a glass and a half of red wine, which I haven't had in ages. For breakfast/brunch/lunch we went to a local diner that served all-you-can-drink Mimosas for $7, and I had three, I think. So I've been slightly intoxicated most of the day, lol.
My expensive laptop is working a little strange so I bought a bluetooth mouse and a keyboard today.. pretty nifty.
No tango today. Have to wait until tomorrow night for some. 'Till then...
Last night we had a nice milonga that we went to, and I said something not-so-wise. Last few months I've been suffering from severe lower back pain; The muscles get all tense and locked up when I dance. Well.. for some reason I told Ms.Spain that my back didn't hurt with somebody else but did with her... which of course wasn't true.. my back hurt equally bad with everyone. So, naturally, I managed to hurt her feelings.
The DJ was an out-of-town variety and she did not do very well. The first set she played, for example, were all the same orchestra, but different eras and different singers. Then later in the evening a vals set mysteriously turned into a tango tanda after only 1 vals.. and the next non-tango set that she played a little later was again a vals tanda. Quite strange.
We just had dinner and I'm feeling woozy: had a glass and a half of red wine, which I haven't had in ages. For breakfast/brunch/lunch we went to a local diner that served all-you-can-drink Mimosas for $7, and I had three, I think. So I've been slightly intoxicated most of the day, lol.
My expensive laptop is working a little strange so I bought a bluetooth mouse and a keyboard today.. pretty nifty.
No tango today. Have to wait until tomorrow night for some. 'Till then...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Sunday morning soreness
Ms.Spain's mattress seems to be the cause for both our sore backs.. more so on me than her.
Last night I DJ'd my second time in this town and the first milonga here that I would classify as very conservative. Now mind you, a couple did come ask for Pugliese, but that was a fluke.
I let Ms.Spain help me choose some of the sets I played so that I could utilize her Spanish skills: I wanted to make sure I didn't have sets where 3 songs sing about a broken heart and the 4th is about losing money at the horse track. With the exception of one Di Sarli set, and a few sets that I should have played much earlier in the evening because they were so fast and energetic, I think it went alright. I was swimming in my suit, though. I had forgotten to bring a tie with me, and then the black shirt I had chosen to bring was clearly faded against the black suit so I swapped shirts last minute.The new shirt didn't work with my perspiration-fighting Potomac Field Gear-undershirt so I used a regular undershirt and was soaked.
My new suit is also one size larger than my regular size. I, mistakenly, listened to the suit salesman.. or rather trusted him... I clearly can not see what I look like behind and asked him if there were problems and he said no. Last night there were alot of mirrors, and it became clear to me that the jacket was and looks to be 1 size too big. Shoulder line doesn't stay straight and crisp, and with my arm up the jacket doesn't taper one bit *sigh*
I've got work to do and I don't feel like doing it. People, before I came here, kept telling me: Have a nice vacation, and I kept saying that it wasn't since I was bringing work with me, but I sure feel like it's a vacation.. sleeping in late.. not getting naught done.. lol.
Ms.Spain will go to work tomorrow so I'll be forced to be productive being by myself.
Ta
Last night I DJ'd my second time in this town and the first milonga here that I would classify as very conservative. Now mind you, a couple did come ask for Pugliese, but that was a fluke.
I let Ms.Spain help me choose some of the sets I played so that I could utilize her Spanish skills: I wanted to make sure I didn't have sets where 3 songs sing about a broken heart and the 4th is about losing money at the horse track. With the exception of one Di Sarli set, and a few sets that I should have played much earlier in the evening because they were so fast and energetic, I think it went alright. I was swimming in my suit, though. I had forgotten to bring a tie with me, and then the black shirt I had chosen to bring was clearly faded against the black suit so I swapped shirts last minute.The new shirt didn't work with my perspiration-fighting Potomac Field Gear-undershirt so I used a regular undershirt and was soaked.
My new suit is also one size larger than my regular size. I, mistakenly, listened to the suit salesman.. or rather trusted him... I clearly can not see what I look like behind and asked him if there were problems and he said no. Last night there were alot of mirrors, and it became clear to me that the jacket was and looks to be 1 size too big. Shoulder line doesn't stay straight and crisp, and with my arm up the jacket doesn't taper one bit *sigh*
I've got work to do and I don't feel like doing it. People, before I came here, kept telling me: Have a nice vacation, and I kept saying that it wasn't since I was bringing work with me, but I sure feel like it's a vacation.. sleeping in late.. not getting naught done.. lol.
Ms.Spain will go to work tomorrow so I'll be forced to be productive being by myself.
Ta
Saturday, November 24, 2007
After the first milonga
Okay! We finally made it out to dance last night. I arrived late Thursday night and we just
retired pretty early. On Friday we went to see "Love in the time of Cholera", which is based on a very successful book. The movie isn't nearly as good, but it isn't a horrible movie. What pisses me off to no end, though, is how they just employ actors with horrible (or authentic) Spanish accents instead of just speaking in Spanish, since they ARE in Columbia. Kind of like war movies where Germans and Russians speak English in an accent, lol.
The milonga was a disaster floor-wise. It was more slippery than an ice rink, if you had anything leather on the sole of your shoes. Rubber would have been best and would have/did slide just as well as leather on a normal floor. It was so slippery that every muscle in your body had to tense to keep from falling, so you quickly felt like you'd been beaten with a 2x4.
We left after only 4 sets and didn't dance with anyone else either.
Tonight I'm DJ'ng at another event so I hope all goes well. Will update after.
Ta!
retired pretty early. On Friday we went to see "Love in the time of Cholera", which is based on a very successful book. The movie isn't nearly as good, but it isn't a horrible movie. What pisses me off to no end, though, is how they just employ actors with horrible (or authentic) Spanish accents instead of just speaking in Spanish, since they ARE in Columbia. Kind of like war movies where Germans and Russians speak English in an accent, lol.
The milonga was a disaster floor-wise. It was more slippery than an ice rink, if you had anything leather on the sole of your shoes. Rubber would have been best and would have/did slide just as well as leather on a normal floor. It was so slippery that every muscle in your body had to tense to keep from falling, so you quickly felt like you'd been beaten with a 2x4.
We left after only 4 sets and didn't dance with anyone else either.
Tonight I'm DJ'ng at another event so I hope all goes well. Will update after.
Ta!
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Travel Day on the Turkey Day
Wow.. DIA has moved into the 21st century and has started providing free WiFi; WiFi that is ad-laden, that is. Top of the screen has advertisements and crap - Not free-free like it is at the COS airport and Helsinki-Vantaa in Finland. I also wouldn't be surprised, if the free zone only extended to this end of the C-terminal, where the SouthWest Airlines gates are. Since they moved to Denver a year ago, they've added tables that provide free power; even in the form of USB ports for juicing your gear. No other airline or other spot in the airport has such good access to electrical plugs.
I'm spending pretty much the entire day, 11 hrs on planes and in airports plus 2.5hrs of driving, getting out east to be with Ms.Spain for at least a few days. Original plan was for 12 continuous days, but problems with the current contract may force me to fly back next week and then return to Ms.Spain, and ultimately return almost a week later than now planned. If the building owners or their representative wants me to return to finish the job before the end of the month, they're going to pay for 3 flights to accomplish that.
I'm going to DJ once during my stay and the pay is actually pretty good. Twice what I got for last weekends gig in-town, and 35% more than the typical milonga in Denver. In fact, it is exactly 1-half of my airline ticket price, before tax. I need to create more tandas before Sat, though. The event is super conservative. It will, in fact, be the first time I've ever DJ'd whilst wearing a suit. I foresee heavy d'Agostino and Fresedo presence at the milonga - my two current favorites. It is interesting how ones music taste changes over the years. I used to much dislike both of them - I was more of a de Angelis/Pugliese-kind-of-guy. I feel that the next orquesta I might "re"-discover is Di Sarli.
Anyways.. they've got a football game blaring in the area I'm sitting in, and it's quite distracting. I don't follow football, though. I stopped caring for it when I stopped playing it myself.
Ta!
I'm spending pretty much the entire day, 11 hrs on planes and in airports plus 2.5hrs of driving, getting out east to be with Ms.Spain for at least a few days. Original plan was for 12 continuous days, but problems with the current contract may force me to fly back next week and then return to Ms.Spain, and ultimately return almost a week later than now planned. If the building owners or their representative wants me to return to finish the job before the end of the month, they're going to pay for 3 flights to accomplish that.
I'm going to DJ once during my stay and the pay is actually pretty good. Twice what I got for last weekends gig in-town, and 35% more than the typical milonga in Denver. In fact, it is exactly 1-half of my airline ticket price, before tax. I need to create more tandas before Sat, though. The event is super conservative. It will, in fact, be the first time I've ever DJ'd whilst wearing a suit. I foresee heavy d'Agostino and Fresedo presence at the milonga - my two current favorites. It is interesting how ones music taste changes over the years. I used to much dislike both of them - I was more of a de Angelis/Pugliese-kind-of-guy. I feel that the next orquesta I might "re"-discover is Di Sarli.
Anyways.. they've got a football game blaring in the area I'm sitting in, and it's quite distracting. I don't follow football, though. I stopped caring for it when I stopped playing it myself.
Ta!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Another week gone by
Been a bit since my last post; been pretty busy.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
I'm working on a project that is due for completion day after Thanksgiving, and I was essentially given 10 days, including 2 Saturdays and 2 Sundays, to get a job done that I told them as early as 2006, takes me 14-working days -not including weekends- to complete. *sigh*
I DJ'd on Friday and last night.
On Friday the attendance was pretty good since Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa were scheduled to perform at midnight. Well.. they were late.. and I estimate a good 30% of the people had left by the time they got there and performed at around 1 am. Of course it could not go without another incident: I play off of my laptop but the facility has 2 CD decks available. I had not tested the CD-player other than putting a CD in it with the sound down to see if it played, and it does spin the record. Well.. when it came to crank the volume.. of course nothing comes out *sigh* Had to swap the players while Julio was tapping his foot and whistling in the middle of the dance floor.
Last night we had our annual milonga here in-town, for which they collect money all year round, rent the space, and this year I even got paid a bit. Including me, there were 30 people. Lame. I was so wiped from the previous night and having had to get up early on Sat to go to work, still, that I had a hard time staying awake. My back was killing me too when I danced and my heels have been bruised for a week now from the physical labor. I only danced 3 sets and they were all with my cat sitter; sort of payment for her services.
Went to Lowes today.. I was blogging about my experiences during my last Lowes visit in June on my old blog. The place SUCKS. Ok so I go there for the ONE thing they've got that Home Depot doesn't : Cedar/Cedarwood colored caulk/silicone. I ended up buying all sorts of things, of course, as I usually do.. blades, drill bits, and the sorts. 160 dollars worth. And again, as last time, I get NO HELP what-so-ever. You can't even see associates lounging about as they do at H.D. I would have bought a 260 dollar cordless nail gun, but since I received no assistance and there were none to be readily taken on sale, I took off. They had ONE cashier-assisted register open, and that was at the help desk. Four self-help lines were in-use and I had to succumb to use one of them. I hate them. I pay good money for my tools and crap and expect someone to ring me in and to bag the shit for me. I don't want to do it myself. And then, of course, the machine has to think that you didn't ring something up or didn't put it in the bagging area or some other crap like that, and it's bitching at you non-stop. Sucks to have to rely on idiots and/or crappy organizations/companies.
Relief is just around the corner, though. I'm scheduled to complete my work by Wednesday on this project, and on Thursday I'm cramming my ass on an airplane for an all-day travel excursion back to the East Coast to be with Ms.Spain for 12 days. Finally good dancing and TLC.
Ta.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Night at the movies, a few recommendations
I tend not to like to stay home on Samhain (Halloween), as I don't endorse and encourage eating sweets - least not excessively, as the habit is, during this season, in this country. I, myself, would be considerably more healthy and in-shape if my parents had curbed my habits when I was young.. problem was.. my habit came from my mom, who still has one.
Food is wrecking what otherwise is a good baseline of genes.
Anyway... So I went to a double feature.. first "Bella", and then "Dan in real life".
I felt so compelled to write about these two movies, and I felt in the truck on the way home, that I would have had something so eloquent to say about them, but now I'm drawing a complete blank.
Bella is a small budget, if not in actuality then in illusion, and independent. I won't give away more than what you can learn about it visiting the above link and will leave it with this:
The movie touched a nerve so deep,that it made this, otherwise hard-shelled-mean-bastard, weep on at least three different occasions.
Dan in real life, has a lot and a lot of Hollywood in it, but because of the director, it comes across very independent-y. You'll be mostly laughing but there are a couple of moments that will tug at those strings again. One thing I noticed, though, that I hate.. is that they used a scene in the trailor for the movie that was actually not in the movie. It'll probably show up in the bonus features section of the DVD under deleted scenes. That was done at another movie I saw recently, and it was a big moment-scene, but forget what movie it was now.
I highly recommend both movies.
Food is wrecking what otherwise is a good baseline of genes.
Anyway... So I went to a double feature.. first "Bella", and then "Dan in real life".
I felt so compelled to write about these two movies, and I felt in the truck on the way home, that I would have had something so eloquent to say about them, but now I'm drawing a complete blank.
Bella is a small budget, if not in actuality then in illusion, and independent. I won't give away more than what you can learn about it visiting the above link and will leave it with this:
The movie touched a nerve so deep,that it made this, otherwise hard-shelled-mean-bastard, weep on at least three different occasions.
Dan in real life, has a lot and a lot of Hollywood in it, but because of the director, it comes across very independent-y. You'll be mostly laughing but there are a couple of moments that will tug at those strings again. One thing I noticed, though, that I hate.. is that they used a scene in the trailor for the movie that was actually not in the movie. It'll probably show up in the bonus features section of the DVD under deleted scenes. That was done at another movie I saw recently, and it was a big moment-scene, but forget what movie it was now.
I highly recommend both movies.
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Fall Season
Been awhile.. nothing much has happened. Fall has come.. it's cold(-ish) in the morning and then it warms up by mid-day - usually to a point where the vest or coat you needed in the morning now suffocates you.
I'm DJ'ng three times in November, and it worries me just a little bit (three times in my state - also when I go meet Ms.Spain for Thanksgiving I've been scheduled to play): I originally didn't want to play too often from the fears that it waters down the music.. you hear the same stuff too often it gets old. For that reason I never request to DJ but rather do it only when I get asked to. I'm playing the 2nd, 16th, and 17th. Usually my list is heavy on artists that the other local DJ's don't play much: Donato, Rodriguez, d'Arienzo/Echague.
I finally started listening to more of the music I have so I just got done creating 10-12 new tandas just from d'Agostino, Fresedo, and Laurenz. It's hard to pay good attention to the music when trying to concentrate on work at the same time and there's just no time to just sit around for hours listening to music. Having just been to Portland's festival kept some tandas fresh in my mind to re-create them at my end. Also helped that Ms.Spain is a native Spanish speaker and she was able to memorize and recognize a song just from having danced to it with me: we found it right away once we got back to the hotel.
I now have 5 hours and 50 minutes worth of pre-made tandas of tango only. 2-3 hrs of milongas and 2-3 hours of valses. I have enough un-listened/edited music, still, to create maybe another 1-2 hours of tandas for each style.
Ta.
I'm DJ'ng three times in November, and it worries me just a little bit (three times in my state - also when I go meet Ms.Spain for Thanksgiving I've been scheduled to play): I originally didn't want to play too often from the fears that it waters down the music.. you hear the same stuff too often it gets old. For that reason I never request to DJ but rather do it only when I get asked to. I'm playing the 2nd, 16th, and 17th. Usually my list is heavy on artists that the other local DJ's don't play much: Donato, Rodriguez, d'Arienzo/Echague.
I finally started listening to more of the music I have so I just got done creating 10-12 new tandas just from d'Agostino, Fresedo, and Laurenz. It's hard to pay good attention to the music when trying to concentrate on work at the same time and there's just no time to just sit around for hours listening to music. Having just been to Portland's festival kept some tandas fresh in my mind to re-create them at my end. Also helped that Ms.Spain is a native Spanish speaker and she was able to memorize and recognize a song just from having danced to it with me: we found it right away once we got back to the hotel.
I now have 5 hours and 50 minutes worth of pre-made tandas of tango only. 2-3 hrs of milongas and 2-3 hours of valses. I have enough un-listened/edited music, still, to create maybe another 1-2 hours of tandas for each style.
Ta.
Sunday, October 21, 2007
Portland Part 1
Ok.. lot's of bithing about things Pacific, as usual.
It's Sunday right now and Ms.Spain and I just got done eating breakfast and are waiting in the lobby for her room to get cleaned. We've got one more milonga to go: We're skipping the 4 to 7 "maestros" milonga and the all-nighters at Alex's: Ramu is DJ - no thanks. Besides, Ms.Spain has a 7:30am flight to catch and the milonga doesn't end until around 8 am, anyway, and she needs to pack and we need more quality time together.
Miles has been posting, as far as I know, in his typical manner so I will keep my whining to what bothers me.
Clique-crowd. The Portland scene is by far the worst - maybe because it is the youngest? Seattle certainly has a good deal of the same going, but it seems so much more and visible in Portland. They only dance with each others and look down upon anyone else not in their midst. They also avoid talking to, making eye contact, and otherwise relating to us mere mortals out of the risk of possibly having to feel obligated to dance with someone not at their (IMAGINED) level. Location: Always as near or behind the DJ as possible.. typically a stage of sorts. PPAA, Norse Hall, Oaks Park.
DJ's. Why are they letting Ramu play twice? Why was the best alternative tango DJ in the country not utilized at all? Vijay is playing twice too, but at least as a traditional DJ he knocks Ramu's socks out.
DJ Dan B. was absolutely wonderful at the Oaks Park all-nighter, but both Ms.Spain and I were suffering from lack of sleep and had to retire at 4 am.
Floor. There has at best only been one line of dance. A lot of people seem to dance kind of on two lanes where you can't pass them on either side as to the left of them begins the whirlwind of the center chaos. I, myself, typically dance always so close to the outside that I touch furniture etc. They also haven't been doing a very good at setting up tables so that the chairs stay off the dance floor and you have walk ways around the dance floor: ONLY Oaks Park was like that, but the floor was stickier than a June Bugs arse.
Other complaints include the typical ones: people not asking for permission to enter the dance floor and cut someone off; more than 1 couple squeeze in-between someone getting on the floor; chatting on the floor past the 1st measure (intro) of music; not clearing the floor promptly during the cortina; taking backward steps (biggest offenders this year have been 'well-known' teachers and dancers who dance alternative on a very crowded floor), etc, etc, etc.
I might go more into detail later but I didn't make any posts after each night so I can't remember in too good detail.
Ta.
It's Sunday right now and Ms.Spain and I just got done eating breakfast and are waiting in the lobby for her room to get cleaned. We've got one more milonga to go: We're skipping the 4 to 7 "maestros" milonga and the all-nighters at Alex's: Ramu is DJ - no thanks. Besides, Ms.Spain has a 7:30am flight to catch and the milonga doesn't end until around 8 am, anyway, and she needs to pack and we need more quality time together.
Miles has been posting, as far as I know, in his typical manner so I will keep my whining to what bothers me.
Clique-crowd. The Portland scene is by far the worst - maybe because it is the youngest? Seattle certainly has a good deal of the same going, but it seems so much more and visible in Portland. They only dance with each others and look down upon anyone else not in their midst. They also avoid talking to, making eye contact, and otherwise relating to us mere mortals out of the risk of possibly having to feel obligated to dance with someone not at their (IMAGINED) level. Location: Always as near or behind the DJ as possible.. typically a stage of sorts. PPAA, Norse Hall, Oaks Park.
DJ's. Why are they letting Ramu play twice? Why was the best alternative tango DJ in the country not utilized at all? Vijay is playing twice too, but at least as a traditional DJ he knocks Ramu's socks out.
DJ Dan B. was absolutely wonderful at the Oaks Park all-nighter, but both Ms.Spain and I were suffering from lack of sleep and had to retire at 4 am.
Floor. There has at best only been one line of dance. A lot of people seem to dance kind of on two lanes where you can't pass them on either side as to the left of them begins the whirlwind of the center chaos. I, myself, typically dance always so close to the outside that I touch furniture etc. They also haven't been doing a very good at setting up tables so that the chairs stay off the dance floor and you have walk ways around the dance floor: ONLY Oaks Park was like that, but the floor was stickier than a June Bugs arse.
Other complaints include the typical ones: people not asking for permission to enter the dance floor and cut someone off; more than 1 couple squeeze in-between someone getting on the floor; chatting on the floor past the 1st measure (intro) of music; not clearing the floor promptly during the cortina; taking backward steps (biggest offenders this year have been 'well-known' teachers and dancers who dance alternative on a very crowded floor), etc, etc, etc.
I might go more into detail later but I didn't make any posts after each night so I can't remember in too good detail.
Ta.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
PDX here we come
Here I am sitting yet at another airport enroute to another city. This time the trip is to Portland, OR; my second this year. The primary reason is the largest tango festival in the country, the Portland Tangofestival. The second reason is to take a written test with the Portland Police Department.
This is the first year I'll have an room mate in PDX (my 7th-9th time visiting PDX) so I'm anxious to see how that goes: I have to make two trips down to Tigard to meet with my suppliers and then the one-two trips to the Police Department, and I'm also giving my roomie rides....
This is also the first time I'm staying as far east as the airport. Ever since one of the hotels downtown closed and got turned into college dormes it's been hard to find sub $50/night rooms in the city or right on the east side of the river. In February I actually stayed down in Tigard but that wasn't an option this year with an room mate. Getting the room for $40 a night vs. $90 is still worth the 10-15 minute ride from the milongas.
Ms.Spain will also come to the festival, Yay!, but only from Saturday through early Monday morning, weep!, but it's still better than naught. I'm going back to the East Coast to be with her a longer time at Thanksgiving so these two days are just to tie us over until then, lol.
Well.. enough of this for now.. need to do some work.
Ta!
This is the first year I'll have an room mate in PDX (my 7th-9th time visiting PDX) so I'm anxious to see how that goes: I have to make two trips down to Tigard to meet with my suppliers and then the one-two trips to the Police Department, and I'm also giving my roomie rides....
This is also the first time I'm staying as far east as the airport. Ever since one of the hotels downtown closed and got turned into college dormes it's been hard to find sub $50/night rooms in the city or right on the east side of the river. In February I actually stayed down in Tigard but that wasn't an option this year with an room mate. Getting the room for $40 a night vs. $90 is still worth the 10-15 minute ride from the milongas.
Ms.Spain will also come to the festival, Yay!, but only from Saturday through early Monday morning, weep!, but it's still better than naught. I'm going back to the East Coast to be with her a longer time at Thanksgiving so these two days are just to tie us over until then, lol.
Well.. enough of this for now.. need to do some work.
Ta!
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Morning after
Ok.. so I got to DJ last night the whole night with no interruptions from the band.
This of course means I can play a lot more better music but also really have a chance to play with the energy and speed, etc.
No one came to complain about anything last night except for myself. The first set was by R.Firpo and it sucked. I hadn't played it in ages and thought it would be good to start with.. blah. Throughout the course of the night I played 3 tandas of Canaro milongas, 2 of which were new tandas just assembled the morning of.. they were horrible! The second set was actually so bad I had to run back and cut out the last 2 songs and replace with 1 OTV milonga to close the set to move on.
A lot of people came to comment on how good the music was - even the proprietor came to tell me a lot of people had told her they enjoyed my music...
then Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.. I wake up this morning to find this e-mail in my inbox:
"The problem, ******, is that you play the same dreck over and over. Get some new music and we'll show up".
No idea who it is. How do they know what I play if they aren't there? And I've only DJ'd at that event 4 or 5 times ever in the last 5 years. And as far as my music goes.. I play good stuff.. if they don't know how to dance to d'Arienzo, I'm not going to play Di Sarli all night long. And I have 47 gigs of music - I think that's plenty. Pisses me off.
This of course means I can play a lot more better music but also really have a chance to play with the energy and speed, etc.
No one came to complain about anything last night except for myself. The first set was by R.Firpo and it sucked. I hadn't played it in ages and thought it would be good to start with.. blah. Throughout the course of the night I played 3 tandas of Canaro milongas, 2 of which were new tandas just assembled the morning of.. they were horrible! The second set was actually so bad I had to run back and cut out the last 2 songs and replace with 1 OTV milonga to close the set to move on.
A lot of people came to comment on how good the music was - even the proprietor came to tell me a lot of people had told her they enjoyed my music...
then Whiskey Tango Foxtrot.. I wake up this morning to find this e-mail in my inbox:
"The problem, ******, is that you play the same dreck over and over. Get some new music and we'll show up".
No idea who it is. How do they know what I play if they aren't there? And I've only DJ'd at that event 4 or 5 times ever in the last 5 years. And as far as my music goes.. I play good stuff.. if they don't know how to dance to d'Arienzo, I'm not going to play Di Sarli all night long. And I have 47 gigs of music - I think that's plenty. Pisses me off.
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