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Tinypliny's Journal

tinypliny
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01/13/2011 11:11 #53430

I really do take salsa lessons.
Category: dance
Some of the first things people say when I tell them I am taking salsa lessons is:

"Really? I somehow can't visualize you doing salsa."
(Silent me: No one asked you to visualize anything!)

"Really? you wear a dress and heels and all that?"
(Silent me: I don't wear metallic lamé, if that's what you mean.)

"Really? I don't see you moving to salsa?"
(Silent me: Good to know you don't have an eye disorder.)

"Really, you don't look like *that* type."
(Silent me: I will wear a T-shirt that says "that type" prominently on it, next time.)

"Really? I would never have thought!"
(Silent me: Yeah, thinking was never your strong point.)

"Really? When are you starting?"
(Silent me: I guess listening is not your strong point either.)

"Really? You can dance?"
(Silent me: Well. You have seen me walking...)

"Really? Surprising."
(Silent me: What, exactly?)

"Really?!!!!"
(Silent me: REALLY!)

Oh, and the worst...
"Really. Hmm (up and down doubtful body-stare)."
(Parkinson me: *annoyed pout*)

It's a weird feeling to receive all these comments. It's the same way when I tell people I love 80s and 90s heavy metal. My dance class (and for that matter, love of heavy metal) is an outlet of tons of fun for me, not some competitive salsa world championship entry practice (or an entry point to a "metalhead" lifestyle).

Screw it all. I love salsa.

::DOWNLOAD SOUND::




PS: I usually invite all of them to Configuration dance studio on Lexington and Ashland to Sarah Hooper and Sean Ortiz's salsa lessons on Thursdays (TODAY!) starting 7:00 PM. You could salsa too if you wanted, regardless of how many "Really??"s you get. :-)
tinypliny - 01/27/11 21:44
"Boobs the size of a kids head"?? What kind of salsa DVDs are you watching?!
metalpeter - 01/26/11 21:27
I get why people are shocked you are into Salsa.... You aren't tall with long legs and long flowing hair and Boobs the size of a kids head... I'm also guessing that you don't dress fancy.... I'm betting the Metal thing is cause you don't have the metal T-shirt and Jeans or the Hard core look either..... As long as you enjoy it that is what counts though....
paul - 01/15/11 12:16
Really, YOU dance salsa!? ;)
leetee - 01/15/11 10:28
Anyone who has that kind of reaction doesn't know you, and your enthusiasm....

01/09/2011 10:42 #53415

What a bunch of tripe.
Category: science
Classic example of why one-line snippet "conclusions" of scientific studies can often lead to a bunch of stupid contradictory recommendations:



I can't believe the University of Buffalo is writing up such unsubstantial fluff to "guide" the public and calling it science-supported! UGH. I especially have issues with:

7. Jack-up your consumption of soy (The evidence is NOT conclusive. I, for one, have trouble believing that the women who ate more soy in that study did not have other healthy habits along with the soy-eating behaviour. (These might not have been the focus of that study.) And I happen to know what dataset that study came from.)

9. Pay with cash at the grocery store to avoid junk food. (I NEVER pay with cash. Ever. Come and take a look at my kitchen, UB news person! If method of payment drove food habits, why don't we just go ahead and ban credit cards. Ever heard of something called an ecological fallacy?)

10. Have a few drinks to boost romance. (Sure. Why not. Eat a chunk of tofu to go along with the alcohol. I am sure that will balance out all the ill-effects of alcohol.)

Badly done, UB. I wish you didn't go about giving misinformed pop-advice and calling it "research-tested". It decreases the credibility of the research that actually went into the studies that this ridiculous list cites.

metalpeter - 01/10/11 16:57
  1. 10 if it is red whine is correct of course the same stuff that is in that is also in grapes so pure grape juice is just as good..........

I thing with all the things the mention with out taking science in some time all seem like things that don't cause another...

01/06/2011 17:52 #53399

Salsa Salsa Salsa
Category: dance
My classes start once more this new year and I have missed them so much! I have a rather ambitious new year resolution of getting really good at Salsa.

Well... not as good as this pair... but you know what they say.
image
If you aim for the stars, you will at least put your boots on and get to your roof, or something to that effect.


PS: There is something so amazing about that wikipedia photograph of salsa. I love that pose they are striking. The expressions on their face, as they dance, are so charming.

PPS: Come to the Salsa for the soul class at Lexington & Ashland today at 7 PM for the beginner's class and 8 PM for the intermediate class or stay for both. Super-awesome Sarah Hooper and Sean Ortiz will be gliding and shining you into some Salsa awesomeness.

PPPS: You KNOW whatever is on TV or wherever else is so not worth missing Salsa lessons! :-)
tinypliny - 01/07/11 09:30
I wish you were here (e:lilho), I never really got a chance to talk with you at all... well, if you don't count the five words I have said to you these past two years.
lilho - 01/07/11 09:23
I would so go if I lived there... Dance is my new thing even though I'm no good... Yet!
tinypliny - 01/06/11 22:23
You didn't come, (e:metalpeter). I was counting on you and was partnerless for a while. :(




..




Kidding, but did the guilt trip work?! :-) That lovely women has some lovely arms and legs. I seriously felt I need some muscle today. Sarah told me she couldn't feel the weight of my arms at all...
metalpeter - 01/06/11 19:41
So Where are the Chips???????????

Kidding that lovely women looks very lovely Oh yeah!

I'm sure you will have a great time at the classes... Learning new stuff can both be challenging and fun.....

01/07/2011 00:35 #53404

Push-Pull-Push
Category: dance
I stayed on for both the beginner and the intermediate salsa-for-the-soul classes today. Only, it didn't turn out quite as smooth on my soles. And I mean that in a very literal sense.

I was a whole 15 minutes late for the beginner's class because the HSBC ATM on Elmwood and Utica was out of order. Why does it have to be the one day that I forgot to withdraw cash in the morning?! So I ran around in the snow looking for another ATM and found a random one at some sleazy bar that charged me $2.50 extra for the money. I think the patrons at the bar got a kick out of all my hurry to get the money out and some of them were shouting "welcome to (whatever that bar was called)" as I rushed out. I swear it sounded like welcome to hotel california! So weird. I should have chosen the one at the petrol pump.

I finally stomped into class and then, in a completely miscalculated and misguided move, I tried to put Gaffer tape all over my "dance-designated" shoe-soles to make them spin better. It was as if an evil tiny voice in my coat hood was telling me to delay dancing even further by trying ludicrous things at the last minute. For those not in the know, Gaffer tape is a matté take on duct tape. It is used for residue-free sticking jobs in studios and in the entertainment industry.

image

It sounded like a good temporary fix for sticky shoes and thus, better spins in theory. Alas, the ridiculously fancy-looking tape reverted and stuck to the floor as I danced. So I had to peel it all off in the end. I am sure I annoyed Sarah and Sean with all my deranged flitting-about near the studio door.

To add to the general stickiness of the dance floor, someone else in the class, quite unfortunately, came in with their street boots (I did not!!) and there was water on the floor near where I put my dance anchor down. As a result, spinning, on the whole, was a disaster yet again. I tried wiping the water off with the tissue I had but some wet spots remained. Thankfully, Sarah took care of them later.

I guess I will need to pick my dance spot carefully next time, move away from anyone wearing street boots and wear heels with suede. I am done wearing flat boots and feeling like.. well a flat waddling duck. This probably means wearing dress socks under the wool socks I usually wear, and then maybe I will look like a duck with boots on?
image

Anything for salsa!!!!

Apart from all the sticky sole drama, the beginner class was a blast. I met this really cool person who had a lovely name that I just can't remember now. Mariposa? That Alzheimer's must be creeping up on me faster than I think. Thanks to my diminished faculties, we will henceforth refer to her as Mariposa. I think her name was really quite different and I am losing my touch here but let's not squabble over scrabble and get on with the story.

So the point was, Mariposa's whole being invigorated everyone around the studio. I wish I were more like her and less like loony here-but-not-really-there me. I LOVED her energy as she danced... darn it, I wish I could remember her real name. She lighted up the proceedings and at one point, while we were dancing, suddenly swept me off the floor - I honestly have no idea how she did that!!?! Maybe she has trained in martial arts? Apparently, my stick-like forearms and frame have no weight at all and people can't even feel them.
image

Now, that is some cause for concern - to be so unsubstantial as to be weightless. Maybe I need to do some weight-training and put some muscle on? I wish I had some of the muscle of that enviable wikipedia salsa woman.

Which brings me to another little hitch in my dancing technique. Salsa is very much about dynamics and part of the dynamics are developed through a push-and-pull kind of movement. It's almost like you and your dancing partner are on opposite ends of a huge elastic band and you take turns at pushing and pulling the band as you dance. The beats that accompany salsa music also undulate and then tighten. The music and the synchronous dance steps are the basis to the elastic push-pull-push rhythm of salsa. Something like this - pay attention to the hands..

(Yeah, I don't have a clue what they were on about, either.)

The thing is my push-pull-push technique is frankly, quite awful. I annoyed the hell out of another student in the class, who has been dancing for a while, with all my ineptness at the "elastic band" moves. When Sean or Sarah is leading, I hardly feel as if I am a bad follower but my lack of skills as a follower are magnified with everyone else. This is probably why I can't dance effectively outside of class, yet. I am hoping that things get better with each class... I have faith that they will but dance is like a language. Without immersion and practice, it's going to be an uphill task.

Oh and I learnt this absolutely awesome 70s disco-like move where you almost moonwalk sideways by alternately pivoting with your left heel and toe as you move sideways to your right. It was so cool to be able to do that step that I wished that salsa didn't have to be a partnered dance. There is definitely some scope here for "salsa battles" with individual dances. Maybe I should join the hip hop class and incorporate salsa moves into it. There are some interesting possibilities to where I want to take my sudden interest in salsa. I just feel that, with no current or even future practice partners, my partnered salsa will never really get better - so why not work more intensively on an individual style...


PS: I guess the salsa class drawing-muse theory isn't working. My mad drawing skillz are worse than a 1st grader. Pfft. On a positive note, at least they are accurate. If someone is desperate enough to ask me what I look like on film, I can comfortably point at my strikingly-lifelike self-portrait here.

PPS: I also danced with Sarah for a bit today and found that not all people have a hair texture like a street-sweeping broom. I am so used to the texture of my hair as I comb it with my hands everyday that it comes as a sensory surprise when someone's hair feels like silk. Her's does. It took me by surprise so much that I actually said it out loud. And I winked back at Mariposa across the studio a minute later. Two completely unrelated things... that are bothering me slightly right now. Maybe I shouldn't care so much.

Salsa for the soul, indeed.
libertad - 01/07/11 08:14
Marisol? Maribel? Good for you for learning salsa. Someone tried to teach me once and I wasn't able to catch on too quickly.

01/06/2011 00:46 #53398

My even newer dream Sewing Machine...
Category: the odes
is out there.

While (e:paul) is obsessing about smartphones, I have been poring over sewing machine reviews and photos. Currently, I am torn between these two:

The Singer 4411 heavy duty model
image

and

The Brother XL2600I 25 Stitch Mechanical model
image

I want to be able to
  • hem jeans and trousers
  • make duvet covers
  • make that winter coat

I don't know if either of these will serve all those purposes...

tinypliny - 01/06/11 22:26
(e:heidi), if you are up for it, I can teach you whatever I know (or don't know hehehe) for free. I will at least have someone to practice with. :)
heidi - 01/06/11 19:30
Yes, there are consumer-level sewing machines with USB drives that take programming instructions. They're generally for embroidery but it's expanding.

I've heard that about Singer also. It's sad because they're such the classic name in sewing machines. My machine is a Brother, it's quite nice but it's not heavy duty, I don't even try jeans. I've heard that buying them at local dealers can be great because they have refurbished ones, sometimes heavy duty ones that they've sold/leased to schools for home ec classes.

I'm bummed about salsa lessons... I'm already pushing myself too hard for January.
metalpeter - 01/06/11 16:43
@(e:Paul) . Not sure if this is true or not but I have heard that their are sewing machines like that I don't know if a Person can go out and buy them though. I have heard that is how Hats are made...........
tinypliny - 01/06/11 10:20
Goal not a goat. Yeesh.
tinypliny - 01/06/11 10:19
Thanks so much, (e:heidi). I totally meant to talk with you about everything-sewing at the 24 but I guess all that hairspray messed with my faculties. I was hoping to catch you at salsa lessons today... oh well. :/

This whole sewing machine shopping is rather confusing because look at the one other opinion I got at this forum: :::link::: I ordered the brother machine yesterday but put it on hold because I spotted the Singer. I see your point about winter coats being heavy-duty and that is holding me back from making a decision.

You see, the newer Singer machines are uniformly getting some really bad reviews across the net. If I were to believe the huge sewing community online, Singer, as a company seems to be headed down the drain with increasingly worse workmanship on their machines and shoddy plastic parts that cost a lot to replace. The brother machines appear to be a little better, with positive reviews balancing out the negative ones. I am so confused. I want to go ahead and buy the Singer heavy-duty because my primary goat is the winter coat - but then all those reviews are rankling in my mind.
heidi - 01/06/11 09:55
Of those two, the Singer model is heavy duty and that's the kind of work you want to do. The Brother is a regular-duty machine and wouldn't be able to handle the denim & multiple layers of the coat. Just about any machine can do a duvet cover unless you're using a heavy denim.

A heavy-duty machine can do all light tasks and can also handle the thick, tight materials. Don't forget to get the heavy-duty needles, too.
tinypliny - 01/06/11 01:09
Actually, a number of brother models are computerized but after reading several reviews, I think the computerization detracts from their sewing capabilities because some of the manual control is lost.

I have seen my mum fight innumerable battles with awry tensions on her multiple sewing machines over the years and I dreaded the day I would have to fight in the tension battlefield. But now I am willingly putting on my armour. I am just trying to avoid the machines that have known tension problems at the outset. On an average, the computerized models seem to have more tension issues after couple months of use compared with mechanical models...

If I end up with a lemon, I fully expect my blood pressure to go up ten points.
paul - 01/06/11 00:58
I would like a sewing machine that is attached to a computer.