"Dance battles and such" written by Tinypliny on estrip.org

Category: art

12/19/10 02:43 - 22.ºF - ID#53303

Dance battles and such

Thanks to (e:heidi), I had one of the most fun audience experiences I have had in a while. She urged me yesterday to "Get yer butt down here" and I am glad I did exactly what she asked me... after a couple hours.

Even though I was just passively standing in a corner and watching the battles, all the windmilling that went on left me completely breathless... and a bit worried. For those of you who have no idea what I am talking about, this was definitely not what it looked like...

Nopes. This was not it either...

It was more like a couple hours of this...

The breathlessness was a result of all the frenetic action in front of me. I could hardly keep up with all the battles. How does one judge these things? They all looked awesome to me. I am guessing that the three interesting people who were judging the dances were watching for technically challenging moves. I say interesting, because the judges seemed rather young. I wonder if they were experts or just appointed judges for the evening...

But my subconscious worry was because I was approximating the number of subtle shear injuries all these dancers were accumulating as they danced. Most of the battling dancers were pushing their bodies to the extreme. They were achieving what would have been physically impossible without a high velocity movement of their limbs. If I had a speed gun yesterday, I am sure it would have recorded the same velocity as a windmill in buffalo on a particularly windy day... and we all know that's not really a pastoral idyllic scene.

It was absolutely dazzling to watch at close quarters but it left me with some doubts about why I would want to take such an intense hip hop class. On the other hand, life would not be challenging or half as interesting if I limply sat here and chomped on those windmill biscuits with tea, would it?

NB: If you want to experience windmills, worlds apart from what Don Quixote battled, and a completely novel approach to what self-expression through dance can mean, trot on down to Verve Studios on Main street (above the Hyatt Art Store) and see the battles for yourself. Verve studio is electrifying hip hop on the web at this

Permalink: Dance_battles_and_such.html
Words: 399
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/20/10 04:10

Category: buffalo

12/18/10 12:17 - 28.ºF - ID#53296

Buffalo Library Webpage Clutter

Who on earth thought up this splendid idea for the library's homepage?!

UGH. Hurts my brain.

If I had been about to donate, I would have second thoughts after witnessing this level of tackiness.

Permalink: Buffalo_Library_Webpage_Clutter.html
Words: 36
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/18/10 12:22

Category: music

12/17/10 10:43 - 28.ºF - ID#53294

TalismÃ¡n

I love this song to bits. The lyrics ring so true for me right now and the music is SO incredibly Rainbow + Deep Purple with that unmistakable magic of Rata Blanca...

Fui como un Ã¡ngel caÃdo
preso de mi libertad
hasta que te conocÃ
por esas calles

Fue porque quiso el destino
que te pudiera encontrar
y hoy no sÃ© como seguir
cuando no estÃ¡s

Te agradezco que sanes mi alma
sobrevivo encontrando en tus ojos
el resplandor de un verde talismÃ¡n

Si al final esta vida es un sueÃ±o
sÃ³lo sÃ© que a tu lado me quiero despertar
amanecer una vez mÃ¡s

Sabes, cuando era muy joven
nunca pensÃ© que el amor me darÃa
sin preguntar tantas respuestas

Y hoy me fÃo de pocos
y hoy que reina la traiciÃ³n
se que alguien puede curar mi corazÃ³n

Permalink: Talism_n.html
Words: 151
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/17/10 11:57

Category: music

12/17/10 09:32 - 28.ºF - ID#53293

Un Amor.

Un amor
Un amor vivÃ
Llorando. Y me decÃa
Las palabras de Dios,
Llorando por ti,
es con amor.

Un amor
Un amor vivÃ
Llorando. Ya tormentado
Las palabras de Dios,
Llorando por ti,
es con amor.

Hay para ya vivir junto a ti
Me enamorÃ© ya de ti
Ya sin tus besos yo no puedo
Vivir y recordar

Yo quisiera
Para entender un amor y saber
Que me querÃa ya tormentado
Las palabras de Dios,
Llorando por ti,
es con amor.

Hay para ya vivir junto a ti
Me enamorÃ© ya de ti
Ya sin tus besos yo no puedo
Vivir y recordar

Permalink: Un_Amor_.html
Words: 109
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/17/10 09:43

Category: goals

12/15/10 07:09 - 22.ºF - ID#53281

Fitness Advice?

The people have spoken. (E:peeps) have infinite wisdom and are to be trusted. So I have a fitness question for you all.

I think I have finally identified the weakest link behind my lack of core stability - and no, it's not my stick-like forearms. I have a fairly good posture and no lower back or upper back issues so it's most certainly my weak abdomen muscles. I really loathe doing abdominal crunches... well, I guess I could do them, but they will be my last resort. Can you think of any other exercises or exercise-routines that you have personally done and seen results with?

I know the web has a trillion pieces of advice and probably a zillion flatten-your-abdomen exercises, but I am specifically looking for exercises that you have achieved results with - not really to flatten my abdomen, but to build up the isotonic strength of my abdominal muscles, however un-flat the results might be.

Ideas?

PS: Before you suggest belly-dancing, have YOU really achieved muscle tone with beginner belly dancing?!

lauren writes at 12:36:40 12/18/10 - Comment #59831: Haha no. A windmill is incredibly difficult. Felly was able to do a backspin, which uses the same principles, but she could only spin for maybe a second or two before losing the momentum. The exercise I am talking about though, isn't as hard as it sounds, just best to do it on carpet if your hips are sensitive at all. Oh and, I was never fond of standing on my head either. I did it once and felt like I was going to pass out, so that was it for me. Felly did it well though so she would just do them randomly throughout the day and swore that they helped her core.

tinypliny writes at 09:54:05 12/17/10 - Comment #59814: Were you able to do the complete windmill when you were in hip hop class??

tinypliny writes at 09:52:52 12/17/10 - Comment #59813: Stand on my hands or head?! The answer is an emphatic NO!! I haven't even joined that class yet. I looked at that windmill exercise you described and yikers... that is intense! How does your hip keep from dislocating while doing that?!! I think I will have to join the hip hop class along with the yoga because I want to get better at Salsa - if that makes any sense!

Thanks, (e:lauren)!!! :-)

lauren writes at 09:52:35 12/17/10 - Comment #59804: are you able to stand on your hands or your head? if you can do that a couple times a day it definitely builds up your core. there are also planks, which look so easy but when you actually do them, they burn. and my last bit of advice is pretty difficult to explain, but it is basically a mimicking of the windmill in breakdancing, but without the spinning on your back part. start lying with your back on the ground and your feet up to the ceiling, spread in a v. then you are basically going to use the momentum of your legs to go onto your stomach and follow through till you are on your back again, keep your legs spread the entire time. The best video I found of this is below, although this guy doesn't go all the way over, I help it shows what I mean. Also, just check out Bboy exercises for the windmill, which is all core.
:::link:::

tinypliny writes at 09:50:07 12/15/10 - Comment #59785: I am encouraged to give it a whirl! Thanks so much! :) Thinking of doing Saturday mornings...

mrmike writes at 09:41:14 12/15/10 - Comment #59784: I haven't had the problem there at all. I go in the evenings and all the folks teach so somebody coming for the first time can do it.Believe me, I have no sense of proper yoga fashion and I do fine

tinypliny writes at 09:34:56 12/15/10 - Comment #59783: You mean Evolation? There are a zillion instructors there... any tips on who might be non-snobbish and kind to beginners and those without a sense of yoga fashion?

mrmike writes at 09:00:59 12/15/10 - Comment #59780: Having decent luck with my Bikram Yoga at the studio on Elmwood

Permalink: Fitness_Advice_.html
Words: 176
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/15/10 07:09

Category: the odes

12/13/10 10:42 - 12.ºF - ID#53269

Hispanophile!!!

I am ALWAYS mistaken for a Hispanic at Pricerite by someone or the other especially when I am hovering in the Goya section or near the root vegetables, wondering for the nth time what one does with them.

I don't think I look particularly Hispanic but I admit it - I would LOVE to be able to speak fluently in Spanish. I think the language is so poetic and sounds so much like my mother-tongue.

My favourite band has always sung in Spanish and I know most of their lyrics by heart - even though I have no idea what they mean.

(well... not exactly, I have looked up translations in the past and know the gist of their songs. But yes, if you ask me for a word-for-word translation, I would probably just blink dully at you.)

I also love MarÃa Dolores Pradera beyond a healthy limit.

Oh, and let's not forget the latest addiction to Salsa that I seemed to have sponged up.

I think this was just inevitable. ~~Friends, Romans,~~ Mum, (E:peeps), you are now reading the journal of a bonafide Hispanophile!

Permalink: Hispanophile_.html
Words: 195
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/13/10 11:38

Category: the odes

12/12/10 10:35 - 35.ºF - ID#53255

Wake up?!

The lamp is on a deal at Amazon. This promotional video made me laugh!

I can totally see myself as part of that geeky little team of technicians cheering at 3 AM because a rooster crowed early. lol

Permalink: Wake_up_.html
Words: 40
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/12/10 10:37

Category: eating in

12/12/10 01:54 - 35.ºF - ID#53247

Baking without recipÃ©s. Finally!

I made this.

A super-tasty spice and nut bread.
Without a recipÃ©.
Without eggs.
Without butter.
Without sugar - well... added sugar, that is.

With plum jam, flax seed, almonds, milk powder, 100% whole wheat and a tonload of wheat bran. It is SUPER-delicious out of the oven, can be toasted to perfection and is divine with just about anything. And one slice meets 50% of my daily fiber AND protein requirements.

This may look like a small baking step, but its a big leap for ~~mankind~~ ME!

I never follow recipÃ©s and can't remember any of them anyway. I don't have measuring paraphernalia, refuse to let my life be ruled by tablespoons and cups and hate non-metric units that everyone seems to be obsessed with! And I really dislike that eggy smell that surfaces once in a while when you don't want it to.

Well...not anymore!!!!! You won't smell the fear of baking ever again in my kitchen! You will only smell cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg and a ton of triumph... and maybe a bit of banana since some of those have been ripening on my table for ages.

Permalink: Baking_without_recip_s_Finally_.html
Words: 192
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/12/10 01:54

Category: buffalo

12/12/10 11:43 - 35.ºF - ID#53245

Grouponoids

I was wondering about just how many Groupon-like online daily discount deal websites exist for Buffalo, did a quick web-trawl and found five.

1. Groupon

2. LivingSocial

3. SocialBuy

4. Deal of the day

5. WGRZ discount deals

One of these days, I might be persuaded to get a mani-pedi and a swedish massage or maybe I could go y0ga-craZy and try out every flavour of class down Elmwood.

All of the other zillion grouponoids cater to posher cities and of course, NYC - regardless of wherever they are based. I even found some European ones from UK and Germany that had NYC listed as one of the deal cities! Buffalo doesn't seem to be that popular...

Permalink: Grouponoids.html
Words: 136
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/14/10 12:33

Category: the odes

12/11/10 04:33 - 38.ºF - ID#53237

The evil shadows of Facebook.

At my department party yesterday, someone from the department that I didn't know very well knew me from some of my pictures posted by her boyfriend's friend who is on facebook and went to the same baking workshop as I did. Minutes after the party, I ran into (e:enknot) who said he finds (e:strip) boring nowadays because it's the same old 5 people posting. And something to the effect of facebook being a much more dynamic connection to the planet.

On the detour-ridden walk home through smoky downtown, I really missed my dance class (we are on holiday break and classes resume January) and the absolute joy of salsa beats. To make up for the vacuum and erase an overdose of lady blabla and the impersonal nature of electronic music, I dropped by Club Barcelona hoping to catch the latin jazz project and Ibrahim Ferrer in the making. Turned out they had taken a leave of absence just for yesterday.

As I walked two other annoying points came to mind. My Ã¼bercool salsa teachers are on facebook and nowhere else. And not just that, my primary citation manager is now suggesting that I "like" articles and login with my facebook login. To give in or not to give in to facebook-it's-so-cool pressure? That was the irritating question.

I don't want a connection with the planet. I like my own little flow of thoughts here and I completely love the new interface of the site. Big thumbs down to Dr. Evil. I am not filling in the mini-me shoes anytime soon.

tinypliny writes at 10:23:49 12/13/10 - Comment #59716: THEY were right THERE in downtown on saturday. :::link:::

DAMN, you fb. Don't want to join you and yet everyone I am seeking is with you. Aaarrgh. Wish I had seen this sooner - I would have headed straight to the Pucho Olivencia Center on Swan after the party!

tinypliny writes at 11:52:13 12/12/10 - Comment #59658: haha - I think the dangers and distractions of joining outweigh the pleasure of stalking my teachers. I don't think I am quite at the desperate stalkerish level yet. May in a few months... :-)

I tried twittering and it totally wiped out my desire to write here for a bit. When I was twittering, I felt like I was frittering away my thoughts in 140 characters and being even more vain and trivial than I usually am... I see facebook as a similar, if not worse, experiment.

metalpeter writes at 11:38:31 12/12/10 - Comment #59657: I think you should join and also stay here. Maybe connect with the dance people and try to get them to Join Here?

metalpeter writes at 10:52:50 12/12/10 - Comment #59656: Well the thing that is funny about facebook is that I have friends on there that I have meet at (e:strip) parties that I'm not sure if they are on (e:strip). Or if they are I don't know there user names..............

uncutsaniflush writes at 09:53:40 12/11/10 - Comment #59634: (e:paul) - I think your analysis is spot on. If people put in as much energy here as they do on facebook, estrip would be a different place.

I'm a member of facebook but I don't really very much there at all.

I like the idea of a blog better than the idea of immediate social networking. The only places that I've blogged are estrip.org and wordpress. I like the control that I have over the look of the interface on wordpress. But I also really like the new estrip. I've decided that for the nonce if I'm going to blog only in one place, it will be estrip.

Ironically enough, as the internet has gotten more into the social side, I've become more of a recluse. I used to be on irc, on usenet, on aim, on icq sometimes all at once. It was great to be able to talk to someone half a world away. It seems less cool to talk to someone online that you just saw at work. But that is just me.

I've been thinking that I'm going to post links to my estrip stuff on facebook. Go figure.

I think that I might be a bit of a Luddite or some sort of dinosaur destined to die when the next social networking comet hits the earth.

tinypliny writes at 07:42:47 12/11/10 - Comment #59622: "you entire friends, family, and coworkers are here"

That FREAKS me out. I am SO glad I am boring and don't want to be poked or liked. I use (e:strip) almost as a personal reference. I wish I had kept a regular record even earlier when I was in med school. My life was so jam-packed with craziness then and now I can't really identify with that crazy person anymore...

paul writes at 05:19:37 12/11/10 - Comment #59619: You don't have to feel guilty and I don't think they are evil. (e:enknot) is right, estrip is boring now because no one posts anymore besides a very few of us. Its especially boring if you are the type of person who is always on the prowl for "La fille du jour" or the internet meme of the day.

For me I prefer the longterm journal nature of a blog than the immediate feedback of of a whole slew of semi random acquaintances feeding each other links and brief status updates. I mean its fun to have other people participate in your life but even if everyone one else left I would keep writing as I love in my blog as I love being able to flip back through my life.

At the same time, I can understand wanting move to a more immediate feedback environment if that is the type of thing someone is looking for - especially for more social individuals. There is really nothing estrip can do to compete with the "you entire friends, family, and coworkers are here" and they all want to "like" what you say and poke you to make you feel special that face book has. I guess unless that is what you were not looking for in the first place.

Permalink: The_evil_shadows_of_Facebook_.html
Words: 265
Location: Buffalo, NY
Last Modified: 12/11/10 04:38