It’s coming, or should I say, they are coming. It is just taking me a lot longer than I thought. Also, I am working without a laptop so it’s taking even longer. I am being patient. I think.

Hacer el amor no es fácil: no porque haya tantas posturas a elegir que no sepas cuál es la mejor, sino que normalmente hay que tener como mínimo un acompañante (bueno, para algunos la autosatisfacción sexual es hacer el amor, pero no lo es, lo siento). Y ya, si nos ponemos tiquismiquis, un acompañante que nos dé placer, tanto placer que no tengamos ganas de dejar de hacer el amor. Sobre todo cuando queramos o no queramos tenemos 300 orgasmos al día. Porque, seamos sinceros, ¿quién no tiene 300 orgasmos al día? Cuatro desgraciados, el resto del mundo sí.

Pero no todo el resto del mundo tiene nombre de cara al público usuario de los medios de comunicación: una mujer, sin embargo, sí tiene nombre, y cara de felicidad. Su nombre es Michelle Thompson, y tiene 300 orgasmos diarios debido a una enfermedad (bendita enfermedad para muchos) llamada síndrome de excitación sexual permanente. ¿Qué significa esto? Pues básicamente que está todo el día gimiendo de placer.

Y puede parecer divertido, podemos hacer muchas bromas al respecto; pero para ella es una condena. Sus novios nunca han podido aguantar el ritmo de tanto sexo diario; y claro, si a algunos hombres ya de por sí les cuesta aguantar más de diez minutos dale que te pego, sólo hay que imaginar cómo debe acabar un novio de esta mujer, que está todo el día con la sangre en sus genitales que en el resto del cuerpo: agotados. Así lo reconoce ella misma, al decir que tras cinco años de relación (a 300 orgasmos al día… pues una bestialidad, hablando claro) acabó derrotado. Podemos imaginarnos al pobre hombre absolutamente demacrado, sin fuerzas ni para andar. Un hombre al que se le han quitado las ganas de tener sexo: un caído en campo de batalla, un héroe que se merece un homenaje que nunca recibirá, por desgracia.

Porque ella seguía teniendo 300 orgasmos al día, pero él ya está acabado para toda su vida. Porque ella encima ahora es feliz, ya ha encontrado a un hombre que la satisfaga toda su vida, pero él, el ex novio que duró cinco años con ella, ya ni puede practicar sexo pasivo. Y mientras el novio actual de Michelle Thompson puede hacer el amor con ella 10 veces al día. ¿Creíble? ¿Imposible? ¿Estamos ante un superman moderno, pero que se viste con la ropa interior por debajo, como debe ser?

Muchas preguntas sin responder, por el momento. Al hombre se le ve cara de estar y ser feliz. Y no es para menos, un hombre capaz de hacer el amor 10 veces al día le viene como anillo al dedo a una mujer que tiene más de 10 orgasmos cada hora. Los números cuadran, estas dos personas tenían que estar juntas a la fuerza. ¿Y qué mejor que el sexo para unir a dos personas? ¿Un cura en una iglesia? Claro que no.

El problema que se le puede ver a la relación es un detalle que la señorita Thompson afirma: que tiene que cruzar la calle para ver a su nuevo novio, y ya cuando cruza la calle, es cuando zumban. Muy bien, ¿pero no sería mejor que vivieran juntos y así en lugar de hacer el amor 10 veces al día lo hacen 15 ó 20? Porque entre que sale de casa, cruza la calle, se mete en la suya y a la media hora vuelve a la casa del hombre para otro rato de sexo, se pierde tiempo. En Lancaster (el Reino Unido), que es donde vive la pareja, y en cualquier otro lugar del mundo.

Eso sí, hay que entender que el hombre no quiera vivir con ella. Necesita unos minutos para descansar, es imposible aguantar tanto sexo al día, acabaría muriendo de un infarto o absolutamente exhausto a mitad de un polvo, y al final eso no sería bonito. Las últimas palabras que diría el pobre hombre serían “cariño, abre las piernas que vamos a por el quinto de la tarde”.

Porque la mujer aguanta, por supuesto. Joder, si es que tiene orgasmos sólo por escuchar el ruido de las máquinas en una máquina de galletas. Que la persona que se compra la caja piensa que el proceso de elaboración ha sido normal, pero en realidad la mujer se ponía como una burra escuchando el ruido de las máquinas y vaya Dios a saber si hizo algo que no debía y las galletas vienen con un ingrediente extra.

En fin, ante una mujer que se excita escuchando el ruido de unas máquinas (hemos de suponer que no es un ruido normal, sino que tienen una grabación de Darek hablando en perfecto inglés, porque seguro que aunque tiene problemas con el español, el inglés lo habla a la perfección) hace falta una máquina sexual, y para su fortuna lo ha encontrado. Otra cosa es que la relación vaya a ser para toda la vida, no sería extraño que en unos cuantos años el hombre acabe peor que De Juana Chaos después de su huelga de hambre: eso sí, lástima del terrorista no hay que sentir nunca, pero con el máquina (que se llama Andrew) que satisface sexualmente 10 veces al día a Michelle Thompson sí habría que apenarse.

Héroes como él hay pocos en la faz de la Tierra. Y si no que se lo digan a Michelle Thompson, que en estos momentos debe estar haciendo el amor con él… y da igual a qué hora se haya escrito este post y qué hora lo lean las personas que lo lean, seguro que sea cual sea la hora estos dos están haciendo el amor.

Porque hay que dejarlo claro: lo curioso no es la enfermedad de la mujer, que es una enfermedad al fin y al cabo, más o menos extraña y curiosa; lo curioso es que haya un tío que aguante ese ritmo y haga el amor con ella 10 veces al día.

Fuente:

www.elmundo.es

Some of Andrew’s recent favourite films!

My Dinner With Andre – Louis Malle

Synecdoche, New York – Charlie Kaufman

Antichrist – Lars Von Trier

Katalin Varga – Peter Strickland

Vigil in Washington Square

Dear Esmeralda,

I am touched that you came to the park for our ceremony. My intention in

bringing people together to honor and remember Andrew was primarily so that you

could see the response, so that you would know the community cared. I could not

bear to walk through the library for days after Andrew’s death, and even now I

want to close my eyes when I cross the floor, blocking out my mind’s picture of

what happened there. Every morning that I go to class there, I can’t help but

wonder whether I’m in the same elevator that he was. I didn’t think it was right

for there to be business as usual when something so profound had just happened,

something that immediately affected all of us students, but that we had no way

to deal with. We needed a way to acknowledge what happened, and to show you and

the rest of Andrew’s family and friends that even in one of the biggest schools

in one of the biggest cities in America, people who don’t even know Andrew are

impacted greatly by his loss, and are able to respect the tragedy that occurred.

I live directly in between Coral Towers, where Andrew lived, and Alumni Hall,

where I believe your daughter works. I know I walk the same streets as your

children, and I think of them constantly. I agree with you that Andrew’s death should be

the beginning of hope for others to reach out and get help. Please take care of

yourself and your family, and remember that Andrew is gone from you only in a

material way. I hope you are surrounded by close friends and family tomorrow and

that you are able to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday, knowing that Andrew would

wish for you the most warm, wonderful celebration.

I sincerely hope that I can be of help to you in some way, please don’t hesitate

to let me know if there is even the smallest thing. My heart was so heavy seeing

you place your flowers down in the park, but it is lighter now as I read what

you have written over the past couple of weeks and I am confident that you are

strong and will continue to be strong for Andrew’s sake.

With all my good wishes,

Sofia

Checkt das Portfolio von Andrew Bernadi, einer der kreativsten Köpfe die ich persönlich kenne!

Andrew Strauss has consistently refused to offer any clues about the make-up of his England teams, but he took secrecy a bizarre step farther by refusing even to say how he intends to call the toss before the one-day international at Sahara Park Newlands this afternoon.

Perhaps the captain was concerned that South Africa would mint a double-headed coin had he revealed that he may shout “tails”, but his reticence emphasised the importance of this element of fortune at a ground where batting first in day-night contests has been decisive. Twelve times, a South Africa captain has won the toss in floodlit matches here, 12 times he has opted to bat and on all 12 occasions he has supervised victory.Mbt shoe    Mbt sport shoes    Mbt walking shoes

In fact, the ground is something of a fortress for South Africa, with 24 wins and only three defeats in all one-day games in the shadow of Table Mountain. They have not lost for six years but, with England 1-0 ahead after two games of the five-match series and full of confidence, Graeme Smith will be concerned if Strauss calls correctly.

Evan Flint, the groundsman, believes that the advantage may be less acute than it once was, but he also said that any grass on the pitch will be fresher by early evening. There is also an issue with the setting sun in the peripheral vision of the batsmen at one end.

England are fully aware of these features, because it was here at the 2003 World Cup that James Anderson came to prominence with four Pakistan wickets during a masterful spell of swing bowling under lights.

Both captains must stress that batting first does not automatically equal success. On the one hand that attitude can foster complacency, on the other defeatism. Strauss sounded like the fund manager he may, in other circumstances, have become, when he said: “I am always a little bit sceptical about statistics like that [on the toss]. Past performance does not necessarily count for anything in a new set of circumstances.”

England, of course, can go down as well as up, but the new circumstance is a top five that looks potentially better than anything assembled for some time. Strauss admitted being “a little surprised by the general consistency in the way we have batted” and the bowling will be strengthened by the return of Stuart Broad.Mbt shoe  Mbt lami shoes   Mbt Chapa

Graeme Swann is near full fitness after a side strain, but if England allow more recovery time with the fourth game in Port Elizabeth on Sunday in mind, they face a tough decision on the spin option. Pulling Adil Rashid from the line of fire and promoting James Tredwell may be less damaging than again exposing Rashid to South Africa batsmen who sniff weakness.

There is a distinct glow about the squad at the moment. Leaving ugly Johannesburg for Cape Town can only have that effect. Some of the team have taken the opportunity to ride around the Cape on Harley-Davidsons, others have been whale-watching and swam with sharks.

South Africa have placed a greater onus on practice, although yesterday afternoon was a lighter occasion for those who accompanied Jacques Kallis to his alma mater, Wynberg Boys High, for a ceremony to rename the school first XI ground in his honour. Smith suggested that England have played the bigger moments more responsibly so far, the same reason to which Strauss attributed the Ashes success in the summer. “But South Africa are a top-quality side, so to expect them to roll over and die would be pretty naive,” Strauss said.

The captain is soon to discuss central contracts, still unsigned, with the Professional Cricketers’ Association, but does not expect problems. Nor does he sense that the Indian Premier League [IPL] will distract Eoin Morgan, Jonathan Trott, Broad, Anderson and Luke Wright, who have shown interest in entering the auction.

“There is no reason not to let that scenario run,” Strauss said. “Agents are paid to do that sort of thing. There is a lot to be gained from the IPL and we are also conscious of the need to keep players fresh. There is a balance, but I have no problems with them playing in the IPL.”

How they line up

South Africa (from): G C Smith (captain), H H Gibbs, H M Amla, A B de Villiers, J-P Duminy, A N Petersen, M V Boucher, R McLaren, J A Morkel, R E van der Merwe, W D Parnell, D W Steyn, M Morkel, C K Langeveldt.

England (from): A J Strauss (captain), J M Anderson, T T Bresnan, S C J Broad, P D Collingwood, J L Denly, S I Mahmood, E J G Morgan, K P Pietersen, L E Plunkett, M J Prior, A U Rashid, G P Swann, J C Tredwell, I J L Trott, L J Wright.

Umpires: R J Tucker (Australia) and M Erasmus.

Third umpire: B G Jerling.

Match referee: J Srinath (India).

Television: Live on Sky Sports 1 from noon (match starts at 12.30pm).

Not the Thanksgiving table, but still a table With Andrew in his rightful seat

It is the evening before Thanksgiving.  I’ve always loved the eve of a holiday, of an anniversary or a birthday.  The anticipation, the last minute shopping for… oh I don’t know, an extra pie?

“And what about heavy cream?  We only have half a pint left in the fridge.”

I’d like to say that I take a dollop with my apple pie, but….Oh what the hell, I’m baring everything else,  I might as well come clean here; only lashings of thickly whipped cream will do it for me.

“Oh Andrew?  Did you have to put sugar in it?  It’s fattening you know!”  Laughter, laughter; they all thought it was funny, one teaspoon of sugar, a mountain of cream…

Back from seeing my Guru, Amma, I stare at the misty scape filing past the car windows on our way home from the airport.  No shouts of “Shotgun!” for the front seat and no discussion about who would sit in the middle.  There are only a few inches of back seat between Robert and me, but even the Grand Canyon does not come close to the barren emptiness of the middle seat.  What an alien feeling, no child up against my right side, no squabbling in the ranks.

I look outside again.  You know, I am one of those people who loves seasons, and all things being equal, I’d welcome a dank, drizzly day as I do a new Spring day.   But  this time last year, it was five of us – now it is four and the foggy grayness outside is no match for the rawness of my slaughtered being, but it dulls my brain and freezes the ongoing caroussel in my mind.

A phone rings!  It is Andrew’s, I snap to attention.

“Who is it?”  I ask.

“It’s one of Andrew’s friends,” Robert  says, staring at the phone.  Before any of us gets it together and answers, the friend with a Chinese name rings off.

“Here, let me see,” says Florentina taking the phone.

“Should we call him back?” I ask.

“You do it,” and I am handed the phone.  ”Hello, you just called this number, I am Andrew’s mother,” I explain.

“Hel-lo…I am a friend of Andrew’s from Drexel…”  he hesitates. Poor thing, he doesn’t know how to put it.  ”I just heard something… but I don’t think it’s true.”

I don’t think it’s true either, but I keep being proved wrong.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, a new holiday for us Europeans, but one that we took to instantly, and we did feel sorry for poor old England or Italy (and the rest of the world) that had to manage without it.  What a great recce stop on the way to Christmas.   Instead of a mass produced bird, a free range organic turkey would have come out of the oven this year; other than that, after much to-ing and fro-ing,  the same dishes would have filled our plates this year as they had every other year.

Driving home, amidst traffic and drizzle, I ask myself what I am supposed to be thankful for.  Nobody would hold it against me if I said that I didn’t feel very thankful.  But is it true?

And what would that say of the twenty years and five months that Andrew shared his life with us?  But how can I feel so much pain and not die?   Why does the sound of the bad-news-ringing phone keep interfering with the sound of Andrew’s voice? Why do images of Andrew, dead on a hospital gurney, keep obscuring those of Andrew sitting next to Robert, opposite me at the Thanksgiving table?

I must be a sucker for punishment, but I wouldn’t trade those twenty years and five months for anything!

I have much to be thankful for: my husband, our daughter and our youngest son; the family, friends and fellow human beings who have taken it upon themselves to support us.  Three weeks and one day from November third, and I have yet to cook a meal.  Plane tickets and hotel accommodation to go and see Amma, lovingly presented to us as a gift.   Palpable prayer upon prayer; where would we be without them? And so many kind kindnesses that I’m hard put to find fault with anything.

Only the silence from Andrew’s lips, only the emptiness of Andrew’s seat.

iPhone 3GS – Brooklyn, NY – Nov. 09

I recently read a friends blog.  She talked about books she read and I made some comment about her selection of favorite books.

I’m really good at being sarcastic about other people’s habits and overlooking my own strange quirks. In reality I actually only read three books…over and over and over…

They are:

Christy by Catherine Marshall

A Rose In Bloom and

Old Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott

I grew up with an English teach…I know what good literature is.  These books are not really what I would call GOOD literature but they are beautifully sentimental and inspired much of who I am today.

I love the heroines and admire the journeys they travel through these little books. I always connect with their struggles and feel better about my own.

But I haven’t read any of them in a year…or more.

I was trying to think about why I have put away my old loves and what has cause such a strange hiatus from the books I have faithfully read again and again since I was thirteen.

Then I was looking through old pictures yesterday and found this:

Andrew in June 2008

Andrew is literally exactly like all of the leading men in my beloved novels! I’m serious. Here are some descriptions of the dudes:

“Big-boned, a large frame even for a man. He had a shock of reddish hair, unkempt, looking as if it had not been cut in a long time, tousled and curly.  His features were rugged with deeply etched lines.” – concerning Dr. McNeill in Christy

“Trying to discover why he looked so well in spite of the blue flannel suit and dusty shoes. There was a certain sylvan freshness about him, as he sat there full of the reposeful strength the hills seemed to have given, the wholesome cheerfulness days of air and sunshine put into a man, and the clear, bright look of one who had caught glimpses of a new world from the mountain top.” – concerning Mac in A Rose in Bloom

“but there was a brisk, genial, free-and-easy air about him, suggestive of a stirring, out-of-door life, with people who kept their eyes wide open…The rough and ready traveling suit, stout boots, brown face, and manly beard…” – of Tom in Old Fashioned Girl

Not only does Andrew look similar to these heros but he also had similar life transformation to them all.

Weird.

I won’t go into all that now…although I wish I could but if you’re really desperate to find out just read the books yourselves…ah…you will love them.

Anyway, the whole point is that i realize that I am living what I dreamed about as a young woman. I don’t know if Andrew was it all along or if the novels influenced my taste in men but I’m thrilled to have the love of my life echoed in these treasured pieces of fiction.

from my dreams

The only problem is that if He is just like Neil McNeill then that means I’m Christy and Clare is Catherine and she will write a novel about us later in life…geez…I should have been a little more interesting.

In other parts of my world: Gonna stuff my face tomorrow.  WHO’S WITH ME?!!?!

Oliver and his family solidified my love for thee red door. Last year around this same time Karen asked me to take family photos for their Christmas cards. I must have done something right cause they came back for more this year! Except this year we stayed inside.

I don’t do a lot of studio work anymore. I can, however, really enjoy having complete control over my environment and my weather!   It’s the subject that remain ‘uncontrolled’ Luckily for me I got a great, fun and willing-to-do-anything-I-said family.  How could it not be a good day!

Oliver was such a shy guy last year who barely said a word. This year he was all smiles, talked about starting kindergarden and made a new friend in my son Liam. The other exciting news in Oliver’s family was this past April his mom, Karen, and Andrew (aka. Ra) were married in Florida. They asked me to tag along (with my camera of course) but I was otherwise disposed in Australia. I heard it was a beautiful wedding!

Without further adieu, here are the photos.  And I will take this opportunity to say my very first one of the year: Merry Christmas!

A possible Christmas card cover?



Possibly my favorite of the day:

PS. Don’t look at Andrew’s toes. According to him they are gross. Haha, just joking of course Andrew!

watch it here!

It should be good. You can now watch the soundcheck (Andrew just finished his, Jesca’s doing hers now)! Seriously, watch it! I hope I’m in time because I have to babysit.

By Cara Sulieman

THE CHIEF Constable of the British Transport Police said that public transport in Scotland should always be policed by his force – even if the debate on a single Scottish constabulary results in change.

He spoke of being able to “police across boundaries” when he met Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill in Edinburgh today (Tues) to talk about the ongoing partnership between the BTP and the Scottish Government.

Andy Trotter’s comments come just a week after Met Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson backed calls for radical reform of forces across the country.

And in Scotland there has been a long-running debate on the future of the country’s policing, with ex-Chief Inspector of Constabulary Paddy Tomkins calling for one massive force to be created.

“Strong partnership”

Mr Trotter took over as the Chief Constable in September this year after five years as Deputy of the organisation.

And he hopes to continue what he calls a “strong partnership” between the BTP and local forces in Scotland – saying a combination of local knowledge and sizable resources were needed to effectively tackle crime.

Mr Trotter emphasised the BTP’s ability to chase criminals around the country without having to go through reams of paperwork.

He said: “The work that we do knows no boundaries, we chase criminals across boundaries. As well as working with local police forces in the UK, we work with authorities in France and Belgium as part of policing Eurostar.

“Criminals don’t respect boundaries, and victims of crime don’t understand these boundaries either. You can get a lot of debate between police forces about whose ground a crime happened on.

“The victims don’t want to know about this debate, they don’t care. People do things at the start of their journey, they do them at the end, and they do things in between. It is important that we are able to get them wherever their crime took place and wherever they go.”

Local knowledge

He went on to say that it isn’t just this ability to “cross boundaries” that makes up effective policing, but local knowledge plays a large part as well.

And he thinks that Scotland has a good balance of local knowledge and co-operation between forces.

Mr. Trotter added: “I have found that in Scotland there is a much more corporate approach to policing. The very small forces get help when they need it from the big forces.

“What the community wants is a local force they can talk to, and they get that too.”

And that “local knowledge” is so important to Mr Trotter that he has given his area commander Chief Superintendent Martyn Ripley free reign to run the force in Scotland.

Anti-social behaviour

He said: “I give my area commander in Scotland a lot of freedom. He has targets to meet but apart from that he runs the force up here as he sees fit.

“These are local solutions to local problems. This is a very Scottish approach.”

The pair discussed the newly introduced fixed penalty notices to tackle anti-social behaviour on the rail network.

Since they were introduced in April, 162 fixed penalties have been handed out for offences such as breach of the peace and drinking in public.

And the justice secretary said that he had recently experienced how safe the railway was after dropping off a friend at Waverley train station on Saturday night.

“Good atmosphere”

He said: “I was down in this (Waverley) station on Saturday night where I was showing a friend back to a town along the road from here where we both come from and it was a remarkably good atmosphere.

“The rugby fans were going home and station was safe, secure and well policed.”

See more of our pictures at our Flickr site and videos at our dedicated channel,  Deadline TV.

Over the weeks here in England, I have observed a vast array of comestibles indigenous to this British population. Some I have consumed with great pleasure, while others I have gone to great lengths to avoid, like an eight-day-old boy who has caught sight of a rabbi. This short blog is dedicated to the latter category of sustenance. Below, I have constructed a list of Andrew-rebuked food items, the rejection of which should be self-evident. I anticipate that this list will expand as the years pass. Here they are in top-10 format:

10. Pulses (it turns out these are beans, or something, but the terminology reminds me of a beating heart)

9. Salad cream (this mayonnaise-based salad topping doesn’t even require refrigeration… or at least none of the restaurants we’ve been to bother)

8. Tuna mayonnaise and sweetcorn sandwich

7-5. “Gü” (pronounced “goo”) brand “pud” varieties, including: “chocolate puds,” “mini puds,” and, my favorite, “saucy puds”

4. Jellied eels

3. Canned goose fat

2. Prawn mayonnaise pita (exactly like it sounds)

And last but not least, everyone’s favorite beverage:

1. Cockburns Assured (who knew that drinking could be so dangerous)

If you’d like to see me stumble through Latin, take a look at this video of 1 Thessalonians:

(I also contribute to Deuteronomy, Lamentations, and Jonah)

I’ll admit that the opening sequence of 1977’s Saturday Night Fever alone had me more than tapping my feet, much to the anguish of the friends that watched it with me. Having said that, I can definitely see why this film had such success with soundtrack sales. You just kind of want to strut along with John Travolta and pretend you look good in those digs. I sure do.

Travolta plays Tony Manero who, in response to possibly relying on his dead-end job for the rest of life, simply says “fuck the future.” His home life is rife with tough love in its purest form, as is the case with most of the characters that would come in later movies of this nature that “just want to dance.”

And dance he does. After eating a meal with his humorously dysfunctional family, Tony piles into a car with his posse who excited to have in their possession “some ups, some downs, and half a bottle of vodka.” They soon arrive at local club and Tony wanders out to the dance floor and chooses a partner. It was at this juncture that I noticed some angle work. Nearly all shots of Tony’s face during his and his partner’s little number are low, empowering shots. Inversely, his partner’s face is usually viewed at a downward angle, obviously indicating that Tony’s machismo is just so powerful that the camera cannot rise above it. I thought back to the earlier portions of the film and remembered that all shots involving the “disco” Tony rather than the “son and sibling” Tony had these same upward angle tendencies.

It is drastically easy to see how this film was able to reach blockbuster status. It was released at the pinnacle of the disco era, and it definitely was aware of this. The entire film is saturated in disco culture, from the Beegee’s musical flair to the painfully accurate outfits that Tony and his friends sport. Seriously, if anyone wants to go as a disco-lover for Halloween next year, consult this film and get your learn on. I’m sure the line I’m about to quote might have been taken seriously when the film was release, but I had quite a good laugh when I heard Tony very belligerently respond, “Only dancin’?!” However, before disco died its eventual death, I’m sure this rang true for disco guys and gals everywhere. The film also indicates what disco culture opposed in a scene in which the posse eats at a White Castle. During this scene, David Bowie is mentioned to be a faggot, and then a half-faggot.

However, disco culture isn’t the only thing this film has going for it. The disco factor itself in conjuncture with John Travolta was undoubtedly the primary reason this film reached blockbuster status, but there are other themes in this movie that surprised me, as I’m sure they did any skeptics when the film was first released. Tony just wants to be somebody, as do most dance flick characters, but his desire is rooted in several different places. When his brother leaves priesthood after violating celibacy, Tony’s mind frame instantly reaches the conclusion that if his brother isn’t as pure and incredible as the family once believed, maybe Tony himself isn’t as brash and untamed in comparison.

The most significant difference that exists between Tony and his dance flick brethren is his rationality. He is aware, at times comically and at times seriously, that he won’t be able to dance for the rest of his life, at least not how he does in this film. After strolling with his love interest Stephanie, as played by Karen Lynn Gorney, this rationality becomes clear and the focus of the film changes. Any shade of cheesiness that I detected in the film left completely and after the following scene in which Tony and his mother get into a shouting match about how, since her eldest child has left the church, she now just has “three shit children”, I started taking the film far more seriously than I thought I might have when I pushed play. After I began viewing the film from a deeper perspective, I was then able to cite interesting attributes of Tony’s dual existence. He is quite unable to clear all the clutter and doubt from his home life, but he is more than able to clear a dance floor. He makes slightly less than desperate attempts at integrating his two lives. On one night in particular, his brother joins he and his friends at the club. His brother decides to leave early, and Tony is visibly upset by this, asking him to stay around. He even carries this to the next morning, again stating how he wishes that his brother would have stayed just a bit longer. These attempts don’t completely fail, as it is obvious that his brother takes notice of his smooth dancing during their time at the club.

The film also touches on racial tensions, particularly during the scene in which Tony and Stephanie in their first dance competition together. They win over a Latino couple who Tony believes were clearly the better dancers. However, because the club is predominantly Italian, Tony and Stephanie come away the prize. After giving the first-place trophy and prize money to the Latino couple, Tony leaves the club with Stephanie on his arm, ranting about he wishes everything could just be done straight without race being a factor. In Tony’s words: “Everybody’s always downin’ somebody.”

Ultimately, this film was a very pleasant surprise. It’s a dramatic and accurate piece of social realism wrapped up neatly in a dance film starring John Travolta; wrapped up in the way all meaningful blockbusters are. Blockbusters of today are exactly what they advertise with a very small supply of subplot expansion. I don’t believe I’ll ever lump Saturday Night Fever in with the rest of the dance flicks I have seen, as it did have some important things to say that were performed excellently.

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Parade Ice Gardens might be our home rink.  Or it might be the home rink of the Storm B1 team.  No one (that I talk to) seems to know.  The parents of the B1 skaters observed that they had played there infrequently.  The same is true for us.  That’s too bad, because both the North and South rinks are great places to watch a hockey game.

The rinks are also among the best for shooting hockey photos. Both Mike and I shot from the penalty boxes, which provided an unobstructed, ice-level view of the action.  Mike got some really terrific photos, naturally emphasizing the B1 skaters as much as I focus on the B2 Black team.  Since many of you know the B1 skaters, you should definitely check out Mike’s photos on his blog.

The action on November 22 continues in the photos below.  There’s likely to be one more post on the game after this one.  Just maybe.

Wyatt reaches to stop the puck

Ross catches a pass

Opponents are wary of Jack

Andrew controls the puck just outside the opponents' zone

Defending the zone, Robert eyes an opponent

OK, you’ve read this far, and seen the many photos of the action in the game against the Storm B1 team. Now I’m just wondering…

It’s so easy to fall into a slump and only express yourself in one size. This comes from an overflow of feeling safe in what you know and generally, from only looking at your movement in a single dimension. In today’s episode, we’ll show you a method to start breaking down your own movement into three parts, to learn to adapt from one thing to the next.

This is our maiden voyage. Each segment, we’ll bring you various things concerning the performing arts. From reviews, professional advice and insight, backstage life and much more, you can find it here.

Today’s subject is facilitated through Solo Charleston, a vernacular Jazz dance style. Below, we’ve included two quality clips from the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown 2005. This clip is one of our favorites and showcases several different styles and takes on the use of the basics.

If there is a particular subject that you want covered, let us know. Anything from reviews, backstage spots, advice etc, we want to know what you want. There is a great deal out there that we plan to bring.
Until next time, Watch Your Step.