hoopy new year.

I don’t even think this one needs an introduction…

and the “new” version:

p.s. No, he didn’t pee his pants. He had just been at the kitchen sink washing his son’s puke infested clothes after a projectile vomitting scene in the car.

I miss my Charlotte friends. I think back to the duration that I lived in NC. It was really a quick stint or shall I say stunt in order to sweep my woman off her feet and bring her back to the west coast with me. Mission accomplished. Although, now that I’m living in Portland with Kari happy as a duck -I think back to all the friendships that I made in Charlotte. I really appreciate those friendships and fun times.

We spent so many long winter nights around our tall, black dining room table sharing food, drinks, and stories of the past. Of course the infamous hula hoop would come out to play some time during the evening. I loved getting a mid-day phone call or text from friends saying, “Come meet us for Indian food tonight! We haven’t seen you in a while! Let’s catch up!” I cherished the days when we’d get a knock at the door from M.M. and E.L. after Charlotte’s streets would get a shaving of snow – enough to shut the city down for a snow day. Yay for snow days!

This Christmas season is reminding me of all the quiet holidays that Kari & I would spend alone in Charlotte – creating our new family traditions. I think every holiday we painted a room in the house a different color of the ROYGBV pallette. Last Easter, we played the NFL version of Monopoly while sucking down a bottle of champagne in our mimosas. Later that day, we went for our traditional stroll up Commonwealth Ave. to our local watering hole “Common Market” to people watch and gather with any friends looking to get away from their family’s house. And, I’ll never forget the homemade Indian food we always make for Christmas Eve and homemade Mexican food for Christmas Day.

This blog post goes out to all my Charlotte, NC peops. I miss you. I love you. I’m sorry we abandoned you, but we’re making a lovely nest here in the pacific northwest. I can’t wait for the days when you can come out for a visit. You are our family and always will be.

Peace.

There is something so hot about a man in a dress shirt and a wife beater underneath. …. * drool * …and tattoos….omfg, tattoos…and if he can rock a baseball cap…and GLASSES!!! Wow, getting hot in here. Okay, I’m back from La La Land now. I swear. Wait, I hope you people aren’t thinking I want Mr.Hottie to be wearing all of the above all at once…that would look kind of weird….or really hot…I haven’t quite figured out which yet. Aaaanyways movin’ on.

So I was working out with my mom when this song came up on my playlist. I love this song but one part in particular stuck out in my head.

And a body built just like a Coke bottle

The reason for this is because I was doing my lazy workout. That means I’m swinging a hula hoop around in my living room while I’m making my mom climb stairs. On my lazy days, I like to alternate the hula hoop, light weights and climbing stairs. I’m tired from chasing my patients around all day (especially if they’re fast little midgets age 5 and under) and wrestling my older patients into submission during dressing changes.

So what does this song, the segment about hula hoops from The Queens Of Comedy and I have in common? Me. That’s what.

In case you don’t know what I’m talking about, peep the following clip :

She f*cking cracks me up. Omg…yeah, I don’t think my mom was thinking the same thing Sommore was when she bought me my first hula hoop. I was so good at that damn thing, I won all the hula hoop competitions in elementary school. This was before I moved to Hawaii for high school so don’t give me that “You’re from Hawaii” excuse.

That skill came in handy when I took up Tahitian dancing my senior year in high school. In case you don’t know what Tahitian dancing is, it’s the one where the girls’ hips are moving at supersonic speed and they’re wearing those gigantic grass shirts topped off with a coconut bra. Yeah, that’s right. I wore a grass skirt and coconut bras when I was in Hawaii while dancing hula my senior year.

But that’s not the story I’m telling right now. Right now, I was trying to figure out why I’m good at the hula hoop.

You see, my mom can’t swing it around more than 15 revolutions before it succumbs to gravity and falls down to the ground in defeat. I don’t think my sister can beat her. And yet the only reason why I stop is because it’s been over 30 minutes and I’m getting bored. I also PWN the hula hoop game on the Wii Sports thingy. That’s my favorite game on that disc.

I started trying to figure out why it is I’m the champ and yet the women I most closely resemble in terms of DNA are n00bs. It’s not because they lack rhythm because my mom used to get busted sneaking out of the house to go dancing and my sister isn’t uncoordinated. No…that’s not it.

Maybe it’s their approach to the whole concept of the hula hoop. I think my mom gets in her head that it’s like some kind of epic battle – Woman (Hear Me Roar) vs. Hula Hoop. What I don’t think she understands is that you can’t FIGHT the hoop, you gotta RIDE that rhythm. You have to find that sweet spot where flesh meets circle and just GO with it! Don’t think! Just do it, like Nike says! Less thought, more action!

Hey, that’s what Big Mike was telling me when I was learning how to surf. I think I get it now, Big Mike!! ….I think…

I’ve also decided it’s because of the way I’m built.

I’m not built like your typical Asian female. I’ve heard everything from the super corny “Danger, danger! Deadly curves straight ahead!” to enough comparisons with soda bottles to figure out that I’m curvy. My mom and my sister have more of the classic bean pole body type.

Again, I don’t know why I’m a freak. But what I have decided is that having a waist means it’s somewhere for that hoop to hang out and if it isn’t getting with the program, my hips makes sure that damn thing isn’t going anywhere but round and round.

Wait. My figure wasn’t always like this because I was scrawny as hell when I was growing up….and I STILL rocked that hula hoop.

Huh.

Okay, I have no good explanation for it except I’m not that girl Blaque was going on about when they sang “She ain’t got the boom like I do”. Haa haa haa!!

I think I shouldn’t drink so much caffeine this late at night.

I recently came across an extremely fun way to get a full body work out (very much needed). I get bored easy with “traditional” exercising so I needed something fun to do and to learn at the same time to keep my mind busy. I also need something that does not cost me much money. Hooping! It is often referred to hoop dancing and is starting to become popular in many countries for both men and women (and it can have you doing some sexy moves regardless of your body shape). All ages can do this. There is a great video showing and adorable white-haired lady hooping at hooping.org to prove it.
This is not the hula hooping you may have done as a kid. More on this later in another post. Here, I want to show you how to make your own hoop.

You can buy some fantastic hoops online and I will share a few links  near the end of this post along with a coupon I found. But when you first start learning, you will be rough on your hoop. Building your own can be much less expensive in the long run and you can also experiment with different diameters to suite you. You may also feel less protective of this hoop, allowing you to relax and just have fun trying to learn.

There are several kinds of materials you can use (see hooping.org link below), here I used coiled PVC. It was all I could find in my area though it might be a little more difficult to use. Once you find the materials, making the hoop is easy. It is the connector that can cause some problems. It has to fit and not leave a flat spot in the hoop. Though, you can use a hoop that has a flat spot, it looks funny and may goof up a few moves.

Materials:

• Coiled PVC (see picture above). 160 psi rating (so it is not flimsy). I used 3/4 inch diameter. I have seen it in red and white at Home Depot. I bought the white. No reason. I covered it with tape later so I did not worry about the color. You can buy a large or short coils.  The large is around 100 feet long but you can make many future hoops from it or share/sell with friends and it is cheapest in the long run. So far I have cut 4 hoops and I still have enough left for a few more. The shorter (15 feet?) will cost less up front but you only have enough for one hoop. Once you add the cost of  taping  it, you might as well order a pre-made hoop for a little more.

• A Method of cutting the PVC -I used a pipe cutter. There are also PVC cutters. Both are inexpensive. I found the pipe cutter to have a cleaner cut.

• A method to cut PVC length-wise under the curve. Here we used a Dremmel with cutting disks attached.
• Marker that can mark plastic.
• Pliers
• Flat head screwdriver (optional)
• Pretty tape. I used colored duct tape (from a craft store). It is less expensive and strong. It will get scratched up while you learn but you can upgrade to prettier tape later. If you are not concerned with decorating your hoop right now, you will want a little bit of duct tape to hold the ends together.

Remember, I am new at this but I thought I would share a method that worked for me with the limited materials I could find. There are easier ways and that is why I suggest also looking further to pick a method that will work for you. This hoop is very solid and has survived a serious beating with my first lessons so you might find it worth it. In other words, this is not the only way to do this, this goes for all of my posts. I feel very enthusiastic about hooping and I just want to share what little I can so far.

As usual some of my pictures (below) tend to float around the page for some reason and mess up my paragraphs. I am working on it. Not sure if this is a Facebook issue or something I am doing wrong. I barely have time to post right now so I am going with it anyway.

The Hoop

Sizing:

Warning! Each end of a the coil of PVC will often have straightened out some. You will probably want to cut off about 6 inches or more from each end to avoid having a flat spot in your hoop. After removing the end, then start measuring for your hoop.

Measuring:

First of all you need to get the right size hoop. The size you used as a kid will not work.  For a beginner or someone who is on the heavy side, bigger is better than smaller. It will look huge at first. That is normal. Keep in mind when building the hoop, you can still pull it apart before you tape it and resize it if it is too big. Start big and go smaller if you need to. You cannot go from small to large.  Many people start with a diameter of around 42 inches. Another way to measure is leaning the potential hoop against you while resting it on the floor (you will have to hold the coil together). The top edge should land between your naval and chest. If you are very heavy, you may want to add more. Yes, you can hoop without a waste.

Have someone hold the coil of PVC open to the diameter you want, either measure across or hold it up against you, and make a mark with a marker where you wish to cut.

Cutting:

I used a pipe cutter (left) because that is what I had. You put it where you want to cut and spin the cutter around the pipe. With each rotation, tighten it a little bit.

Do not rush it, if you over tighten each time you go around, the cut will not be as nice. Practice on the bad end of your coil first. You can also use a PVC cutter or a saw.

The Connector

The connector is a little bit more work to make but not so bad if you have a good method of cutting it lengthwise.

I have tried several pre-made objects to hold the hoop together but I always ended up with a flat spot. This was our solution. You may come up with something else. There is no “right” way as long as the ends are held  together to your satisfaction. I do suggest not having much of anything bulging out, such as from a wrap-around connector, unless it is soft. You are going to feel bruised enough when you first start with a smooth surface rolling all over your body. If something is sticking out slightly, you will know it.

We chose this method because the connector has the same curve as the hoop and it fit snug.

Cutting:

On PVC you are not using for your hoop, cut off about 4 inches. This does not have to be exact. A little shorter is easier, longer more secure. You can always cut more off if it is too long. The piece shown in these pictures is too long. We cut it down later. This was our third hoop and we were experimenting with different connector lengths.

Next, you will need to mark off about a finger-width section, length wise, under the curve or arch of this piece. You will remove this bit from the center of the curve. The lines can be rough. They are just a guide and this will all be hidden later.

Now use the method you have chosen to cut out this piece. If you use the Dremmel, cutting disks work well. Wear eye protection and a mask. Bits will fly up at you and you can breath in fine particles. Do not press down to hard. Just lightly go over the line several times. The plastic will melt if you press too much and you also risk breaking the disk in the groove. Neither is bad but it is better to avoid it. You can cut most of the way through and then just pry up the rest with a flat head screwdriver.

A flat head screw driver might help pull that last bit out so you do not have to saw all the way through.

Here the piece has been removed.

You might want to experiment with other, lighter material for the connector, should you have it, if you have trouble cutting the strip out.

Preparing:

Now one edge needs to be curled under the other edge to decrease the diameter of the connector. No need to be fancy with any of this since the connector will be hidden. You just need it to fit snugly inside of your hoop.

Take your pliers and crunch down the one edge. You will just work your way on down. Keep doing this continue  to work the first edge under the second edge. Long handles on your pliers may give you better leverage to do this but it is not needed.

When done, your connector will be curled in on itself and narrower.

Inserting:

Now it is time to stuff the connector into the hoop. The tighter you wound the connector, the easier this will be.

First, mark the center (you do not need to be exact) of the  connector so you know when you have inserted the connector far enough into one end of your hoop. Again, the piece we cut for the connector in these pictures was too long. We cut it down later.

While inserting the connector, use the pliers throughout. Do not be afraid to crunch it more narrow as you go. The pliers will give you a good grip and you can rock and twist back and forth as you go. Do try to keep the curve in line with the hoop as much as possible. My husband found it helped to press his thumb against the pliers to help force in the connector.

When you hit the half way mark, stop. Now wiggle and twist the other side of the hoop onto the other end of the connector. Again, use the pliers to crunch the connector narrow as needed. If you need to shorted the connector the pipe cutter, etc an do the job even if the connector is curled up the way it is. We had to on this one.

The two ends of the hoop should now be flush and hopefully no obvious flat spot. You may notice a little wiggle room or gap on one side but that will be fixed with the tape. You are now mostly done! Whew!

Finishing the Hoop

If you do not decorate your hoop, you will want to at least secure the ends together with some duct tape. Tape the ends tight together and wrap a little more around that. This might be what you want to do at first if this is your first time hooping. You can play with the hoop awhile and see if this is the size you like. Be sure to give it some time before deciding unless you have plenty of PVC to make more hoops. If you feel you want a smaller hoop, peel off the tape, pull the ends apart, and cut some off of one end and put it all back together. You have to work harder with smaller hoops, this is why bigger is often better to start  (yes, you can get too big). In the picture, my husband found it was easier to wrap the hoop if he held it with his toes.   He made his black with some red stripes. Yep, he hoops too!

If you decorate the hoop, I still recommend some securing tape at the connector. I covered the entire hoop in a one base color and then added contrasting colors on top. It is all up to you. You can do spirals, stripes, dots, etc! I do not recommend tassels or anything else hanging off of the hoop. They snag in your hands.

Soon, I will post a short blurb about hooping itself and my newbie experience with it.   See below for additional links on making/buying hoops of various types  and to learn more about hoop dancing. The list is not long because I am just getting into this and I am still finding new sites to look at.

Additional links:

Here are some links I found useful or interesting. Unless I state otherwise, I do not personally know  the quality of any products listed at these sites.

Shopping:

http://www.hoopnotica.com Hoopnotica. They have DVDs, hoops, and other fun stuff. This one I found a coupon code for $5 off your order. It is AA0902. I do not think it expires. Let me know if it does, please, so I can remove this. So far I have ordered a DVD from them as recommened by a friend. I cannot tell you what I think yet because I am too new to be fair. I bought level 2 instead of level 1 since I had someone to show me the early moves. But they were fast with shipping and looking through the DVD, it seems to actually show you how to troubleshoot as well as how to do the moves so I do like that so far. Plus there is a work out routine you can follow.

http://superhooper.org Super Hooper. This site has hoops, supplies, tips, and listings on where to go for free classes. They will travel to various places and hold free classes if someone will host them. I was fortunate to recently attend a beginner’s class when they came through my area. It was a lot of fun. Lara, the lady who taught us, was very nice and a lot of fun. I learned much more than expected and never felt put down for being new. So do check that out. And no, no one wore funny outfits.   Also, if you attend a class, you get free shipping on an LED hoop. Also, the classes included more advanced hooping, LED, and fire as well.

I also was able to look at and play with their LED hoops and I found them to be very well made. I hope to treat myself to one later on.

General:

http://www.hooping.org This site has a little of everything, including making hoops of various types. There are tips, videos, links, and much more. It takes a little digging in a few places but it is usually worth it. I refer to this site before any.

http://www.squidoo.com/hulahooping Make a hoop.  Here is  a site that shows another way to make a fast hoop with the more popular materials if you can find them in your area.

http://www.myspace.com/mariethomas108 This is a link to Marie. She is organizing a hooping club or class in the Destin/Fort Walton Beach Florida area. As of December, 2009 it is still in the rough and not yet organized. But if you are interested, contact her. She is nice. Tell her Amy sent you.

Online Videos:

On Youtube, search out Hooping basics. They have a series on there I like very much because they will show you how to do each move as well as what  it is. Unfortunately it is not easy to know what order they should go in but you do have a general idea of the level of difficulty.

I hope to continue adding to these links.

Hey everybody! Did you know there are two C’s in the word “Science”? Me too! Now learn another thing or two by check out what’s on the Internets:

• Talk about a chewing gum with explosive flavor.
• Now, I know most of you love bacon. But do you love it enough to make a really catchy rap about bacon?
• If shows were named by internet lingo, what do you think they’d be?
• Wow Fox News, you guys are really good at saying some of the dumbest things ever. Keep up the good work!
• Captain Jack Sparrow has some competition!
• Do you love Mystery Science Theater? Well, thanks to Hulu, you can watch full MS3K movies fo’ free!
• And finally, Alvin & the Chipmunks singing ‘Hula Hoop’ in normal speed. Hearing a grown man ask for a hula hoop is actually pretty creepy.

Found anything awesome? Post it on the comments below. Missed yesterday’s It’s the Internets?, click here to watch a girl from Jersey Shore getting punched in the face.

We are [sometimes] zealous supporters of exercise.

My body is my temple. My church. My ashram. My christian science meeting hall.

In cold weather, the thought of traveling to a fitness center seems arduous. And the treadmills. Well, they donʼt seem to go anywhere, do they?

I could chase after boys. I could set my alarm late and dash off to a midtown Manhattan career. But exercise is a rewarding activity that should make you glow, not make you frustrated.

Bring the excitement to your home. Here are my recent favorites:

1) The Hula Hoop.

2) The Baton.

3) The Laser Pointer.

The Hula Hoop can be easily purchased online or made from PVC pipe. This may seem a daunting activity at first, but this is because we beginners have this erroneous idea that successful hula hoop motion comes from the hips. This is not true. Successful rotation comes from the stomach. Back and forth. Back and forth. The more stomachs you have, the more successful you might be.

The Baton is, in my opinion, more of a difficult skill that takes time to cultivate. But while you practice, your arms burn with the fury of whichever gods you pray to. This exercise takes the least amount of space. Although professionals claim this is only a right-hand pursuit, I am severely left-handed and pretend not to listen.

The Laser Pointer is…no, please do not laugh. We have two cats in our home. One requires more exercise because he has unbridled enthusiasm for stealing the other catʼs food [he's a fatty]. We point our laser pointer at the floor for him to chase its light. He semi-consciously spins round and round for hours. Minutes, even! This will work on humans, in my experience. You only need an open mind and a light source.

This winter, cast off the weary tedium of exercise machines, retreat into your cosy household, and invoke the wonder and the spectacle of circestral dance props! You never know when you will be called upon to choreograph and star in a Lower East Side revue.

Flexis are cool. People don’t make them that much any more, as far as I know. Maybe it’s difficult to make them these days. Maybe I should investigate, and if I can, just make a flexi for the hell of it. And hey, if I did, it might be like this one, as it’s a good one. Not only does it involve Hood, everybody’s favourite band that nobody has heard of but who are really very good indeed, but also Hula Hoop, who I remember did an excellent split album with Boyracer, and Blairmailer, who I  remember were something of a big (indie) deal in Australia in the early nineties.

This flexi came free with a fanzine called Open Your Eyes, amongst other things – back in the crazy early nineties there were all kinds of hook-ups and cross-promotional activities going on, with flexis being given out free with several fanzines, fanzines given out free with flexis, and so on. That fanzine was very, very well written and I distinctly remember it as being the first place I ever read the phrase ‘post-rock’. This may not mean much now, as the phrase is attached in one way or another to pretty much every independent band that doesn’t sound like Coldplay of the past ten years. But it was a strange and mysterious new phrase back then – which I think was attached to not what you might expect (the often-referred to as ’slowcore’ of Slint, Codeine etc) but instead to the gliding modern swoops of Trans Am and the noisy tension of Rodan. Actually, Rodan were kind of post-rock-meets-slowcore, but there I’ll end my categorisations before I tie myself in pointless pigeonholing knots.

I’ve actually got several copies of both Open Your Eyes and the associated Hula Hoop/Hood/Blairmailer flexi – for reasons I can’t exactly remember; but very possibly due to my vague plans once to act as an independent distributor and hence buy in several copies of a thing in order to sell it on (for no profit, by the way) after that. Anyway. If anybody reading this wants a copy and can stump up a couple of quid to cover postage, let me know, and I’ll ‘hit you up’ as they say.

I have found my new ‘hood.   Northern Liberties…otherwise known as “No. Libs”. I checked out The 8th Annual Northern Liberties Variety Show last Sunday with Autumn.

The show was held at the much past by, never visited, often thought of, bar, Johnny Brenda’s.

The Libertines, a dance trio reminiscent of gay Paree, provided entertainment between acts, in addition to a nod to Statler & Waldorf, all lead by an MC who explained the top 8 people on Philadelphia’s Shit List. (Mostly politicians and the obscene new bike rules and fines).

Acts consisted of live music, performance art including “Death Tap” , a tribute to Farrah Fawcett and her “ass cancer that can never have a proper fundraiser”, man boys playing guitars, a country trio, and comedians.  Two surprises of the night were Chang Chang and the Hula Hoop girl.

Chang Chang performed early this year with Leslie Hall and the Lys. I can only describe his show as “All Over”, as in he is all over what ever he is standing around.  And the Hula Hoop girl teaches Hooping at my gym! On my first day in class (and my only day, really) after 20 minutes of  being able to get the hoop around me once, every time. She said, “We will find you a hoop. No one fails at this with me, I promise.” Maybe I’ll go back to the class now that I’ve seen her do the show.

Here are some pictures from the other acts.

Or course, I did not leave this show uninspired! I, too, would be willing to perform in the 9th Annual Northern Liberties Variety Show! My song (you know it’s coming!) of choice?

Bette Midler: “My Otis Regrets”

I just need to find some Queens for back up dancers!

Today I’ve been musing about how much I like to create the things I do.  My husband has  quietly watched me over the years and I thought that his only creative “juices” were to monopolize the tv remote and switch channels from game to game. Boy,  was I wrong!  His passion is antiquing and finding that item for a steal that makes his heart sing. The items vary with time. Sometimes its baseball memorabilia, other times it might be hotel silver, persian rugs,etc.,etc. It changes and I don’t know what inspires the change. But whatever, he finds, he cherishes.

I discovered that he had a passion for blue jeans. You heard me, blue jeans.  He was amassing a stack of them. Please don’t ask me why, because I honestly don’t know. He is a mystery to me at times. I came home from work one day  and saw that my garage door was open and he was merrrily splashing primary colors of paint in random patterns all over  one pair of his blue jeans. I thought he had finally gone nuts! I said nothing and proceeded into the house. The only thing I could think of was Jackson Pollack creatively flinging paint to create his masterpieces.  I finally could not control myself and teased unmercifully re: his “art”. He was proud of his work and was going to wear them the next day.

I kept getting reports as to how many people stopped him in the street, admired his jeans and asked where to get them. I thought he was kidding but he was not. When friends came to dinner one evening, they couldn’t stop talking about them and thought he should start a business painting these jeans and selling them. A brand name was created (after 2 bottles of wine) and they were to be called FIRE IN YOUR PANTS, (my husband is a retired Boston Firefighter).

I think the painting phase is over and he is on to new “art”. He picks up items that I think are totally useless but I have to say It never fails that a week , a month or maybe a year later, I see his ideas in magazines, on the news or in the Globe Sunday paper. I am starting to think that maybe he has an eye for things. Now when he brings home one of his treasures I am not so quick to tease and taunt  but think “will this be the next hula hoop?

fries in a cone. √

hula hoop. √

vintage ski sweater. √

i’m pretty sure the neighbors think i’ve lost my marbles.

300 Days in Office

P.S. Please excuse the spelling mistakes. I’ll do it over one day.

• You do not sleep well when The Husband is not at home.
• Look on the bright side, at least CMT was airing “Top Gun” one night.
• Find a way to say “Son, your ego is writing checks that your body can’t cash” sometime soon.
• If you’re ever watching it again, remember to mute the movie whenever Val Kilmer is on, because he smacks his gum, and mouth noises are really yucky.
• When you haven’t gotten much sleep over a four-night period, you are going to be TIRED.
• So, knowing that, if The Husband goes out of town for work again, and there is an opportunity to volunteer at Big Sister’s school, you might want to take an afternoon shift.
• Volunteering from the time you drop her off until the time you pick her up makes for a long day.
• Even longer when you’re outside for all of it.
• And even longer when much of the day your station was closest to the stereo that was playing a Radio Disney CD.
• You liked it a little too much when the music changed and you were singing along to “I’m Walking on Sunshine”.
• You almost started dancing.
• Thankfully, you hid it well by hula hooping.
• Buy a hula hoop.  No one has to know that it’s not for your daughters. 
• Or you could get a Wii Fit and do the hula hoop thing on that.
• An actual hula hoop is probably a lot cheaper.
• And you can go outside to use it.
• And your neighbors can marvel at your mad hula hooping skillz.
• As will The Husband.
• And then you will probably not get much sleep over a four-night period.

Have a great weekend!

…because of the inordinate amount of fries i consume.  girly has a belly. 

extraordinarily attractive shot of my midsection

girly needs to lose that belly before she turns the big five-oh-my-gawd.

and lest we forget the bedtime snack plate:

the familiar hot apple cider with tuace (in a less fragile mug) and some gluten-free lemon wafers.  mmmm.  don’t be fooled by the dainty serving of 4 gluten-free lemon wafers.  i can eat a half box of these in one sitting.

and so i hoop.

Richard Knerr (derecha) y Arthur Melin

.

“Si Spud y yo tuviéramos que definir nuestro aporte, yo diría que hicimos cosas divertidas. Pero creo que este país (América) nos dio más de lo que nosotros a él. Nos dio la oportunidad de hacerlo”.

.

Pocos hombres han hecho mover tanto las caderas y las cinturas como Richard Knerr y Arthur ‘Spud’ Melin, los padres del Hula hoop. Aunque los hermanos Coen despistaron a los espectadores de cine atribuyendo la autoría de este objeto al personaje de Norville Barnes en la película El gran salto, lo cierto es que fue en 1958 cuando Knerr y Melin crearon el aro de plástico.

Richard Knerr nació el 30 de junio de 1925 en San Gabriel. Conoció a su futuro socio comercial, Melin, cuando era adolescente y estudiaron juntos en la Universidad de California del Sur. Como ninguno de los dos quería trabajar para sus padres -el de Knerr vendía propiedades inmobiliarias comerciales, y el de Melin hacía negocios en la madera- decidieron crear su propia empresa para adiestrar halcones; sin embargo, la petición de un cliente (“no quiero un pájaro, pero me gustaría tener un tirachinas como ese”) los introdujo en el mundo de los juguetes.

Los dos socios se compraron una sierra y, en 1948, empezaron a fabricar tirachinas en el garaje de los padres de knerr en Pasadena. En poco tiempo, obtuvieron muchos beneficios, por lo que trasladaron la compañía, a la que llamaron Wham-O por el sonido que hacía el tirachinas cuando daba en el blanco, a un edificio en San Gabriel. Lo que vino después, fue todo un cofre de tesoros de decenas de juguetes. Y otra vez, por capricho del destino o porque habían nacido para ello, un inocente comentario de un amigo (les habló sobre un aro de bambú usado para hacer ejercicios en Australia) les catapultó a su mayor éxito. Sin ver el original, Knerr y Melin se lanzaron al diseño del aro de plástico.

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Armados con los primeros ejemplares, en 1958, fueron a una escuela de Pasadena y animaron a los niños a probarlo tentándoles con la posibilidad de quedárselo después. Fue un éxito. Knerr y Melin empezaron a regalarlo por los barrios para que corriera la voz y exigieron a los ejecutivos de su empresa que los llevaran cuando viajaran en avión para despertar la curiosidad de otros pasajeros.

Muy pronto Wham-O estaba produciendo veinte mil aros al día en plantas en al menos siete países, mientras otras compañías sacaban imitaciones. En tan sólo cuatro meses se habían vendido 25 millones de aros. Como afirmó Richard A. Johnson en su libro American Fads (1985), “ningún artículo novedoso se extendió tanto por el país como el Hula hoop”.

Knerr y Melin no pudieron patentar el juego como invento, ya que el aro se usaba desde hacía siglos, aunque ellos lo hubiesen manufacturado en un material nuevo; todo lo que pudieron registrar fue el curioso nombre “hula hoop”: la denominación de “hula” se agregó a aro (hoop en inglés) después de que algunos marinos durante el siglo XVIII observaron ese uso en las danzas de nativos de las islas de Hawai.

El “hula hoop” de Wham-O, originalmente en colores brillantes y con un diámetro de 71 centímetros, hizo furor durante algunos años. La novedad del hula hoop coincidió con la expansión de la televisión -todavía en formato blanco y negro pero toda una novedad desde la Argentina a Noruega, desde Tokio a Sudáfrica- y una de las primeras imágenes de “cultura americana” que se globalizó fue la de los jóvenes haciendo rotar aros alrededor de su cuerpo. Pero pocos años después, se esfumó la moda del Hula hoop y Wham-O suspendió la producción, aunque Knerr y Melin para entonces seguían su éxito comercial con otro juguete: el frisbee, el disco volador.

En 1982, los fundadores vendieron la compañía por doce millones de dólares a Kransco Group Cos. Y en 1994, Mattel Inc. compró Wham-O y la revendió a un grupo de inversionistas en 1997. Arthur Melin murió en el 2002 y Richard Knerr falleció en 2008.

A new use for all those unsold Davy Crockett hats

Idea Prompt for 11/5/2009

THE SOURCE: MAD magazine, issue #100, dated January 1966. Staff writer Dick De Bartolo wrote a number of humorous ads for ‘re-packaged’ items. The imaginary products were inspired by outdated fads from the 50s and 60s.

WHAT WAS I THINKING… MAD magazine has created parodies that just don’t get outdated. Flip through any issue from the 60s, as I’ve been doing, and you’ll find a couple articles that could easily be transported to the 21^st Century, with only the names changing.

IMAGINE… finding new uses for fads that have passed their expiration date.

…THE POSSIBILITIES: Among the products repurposed by MAD were hula hoops, coonskin caps and 3D movie glasses.

THE EXERCISE: Think of what were the fads of the past 10 years. Internet fads don’t count, because they’re not solid objects that can be repurposed. Go to BadFads.com for a list of out-of-date fads. Pet rocks, pogs and superballs, anyone?

NOTE: If you’d like to develop these Ideas further, just leave a Comment and share your work.

CONTENT INVENTORY

1. Context

Beginning in the early 2000s, a resurgence in burlesque performance began in cities across the United States. A distinctly American genre of erotic dance, involving strip-tease, retro-inspired pin up desires and performances became embraced by an underground community of women who saw much more than stripping for the male gaze.

Much of what was considered low brow culture, burlesque was often ignored as an artform. However, in cities like Seattle, New York, Boston and San Francisco not only has it become a staple of everyday nightlife, artists are offering classes and workshops to inspire a new generation of burlesque performers, often called “Neo-burlesque”. Neo-burlesque has been embraced by queer nightlife culture, often mixed within the likes of drag queen and drag king performances and spaces.

In 2001, the festival coined “Tease-O-Rama” began as “America’s first convention dedicated to the foxy, fabulous and all-around over-the-top world of burlesque”[1]. Similar pageants, workshops, and festivals have sprouted with similar enthusiasm and attendance, such as the annual Miss Exotic World Pageant[2], the annual BurlyCon festival in Seattle [3], the New York Burlesque Festival [4], and the Great Boston Burlesque Expo [5].

The price for attendance and classes often reflects the kind of invested interest one needs to handle, travel, lodging and expenses, not inclusive of the kinds of work that go into costuming and appearance. While most schools and festivals offer scholarships for folks who have economic or other hardships, the niche of the genre is further reduced into non-mainstream access simply due to the high costs associated with it.

Exposure to burlesque is also another barrier to a wide audience. Of the twenty persons surveyed on Facebook, only about half had seen or heard of the artform’s resurgence.  Of those who attended, most said it was a result of word of mouth or stumbled upon.  Of those who saw a performance, both first-timers and veterans, claimed interest in going again, but most cited financial or barriers based on lack of promotional materials.  This barrier to burlesque has kept the genre within a niche audience of extreme enthusiasts and occassional supporters.

By bringing burlesque education and workshops online, via webisode format, through various outlets like YouTube, Howto.com, and other online instructional video hosting sites, burlesque can further create a personal impact on the lives of persons interested in the performance.

Why is this important or even necessary?

Neo-burlesque as a cultural phenomena has the potential for becoming a trend of the 2000s, a side-note to the resurgent trend in vintage and retro style femme fashions of the early 21st Century.  But, the potential of burlesque as a serious form of dance, gender expression, and entertainment is possible with an increased audience and increased base of new performers.

With artists like Dita Von Teese appearing in the mainstream and Cristina Aguilera shooting a film about burlesque due for release in 2010, burlesque is at a crucial moment of being acculturated and either accepted or rejected by mainstream audiences.  The more it can be seen as a serious and inspiring form of American expression, unique to the current times and not just a retro-fad of the past, the more potential it has to be a thriving business for a primarily  female work force.

Who would participate in this project?  How would it be distributed?

Luckily, online digital media distribution of large file sizes are becoming more and more easy to access both as a producer and media consumer.  Such content sharing sites such as YouTube have been a way for performers to promote themselves as well as the venues and management with which they’re involved.

I have pitched my concept to the NY School of Burlesque to be a partner in collaboration with my project, in order to promote the form as well as support their business efforts to attract students and performers.

My proposal the the NY School of Burlesque is the following:

I’m interested in supporting the promotion of education of burlesque in the public sphere, through formats like instructional webisodes.  These introductory videos would accomplish a few things:

1) Bring a much wider access to burlesque to folks either financially or geologically unable to commit to a class

2) Promote the NY School of Burlesque by featuring instructors, logos, contact information, and schedules

3) Attract a more diverse audience of novice-burlesque enthusiasts

Of course, I understand the financial needs of any business (working in a non-profit myself) and want to address how instructional videos can actually help, rather than take away from, your business.

1) The videos would be under five minutes, and would be enough instruction to begin folks on their journey into burlesque.

2) Each video would end with a teaser, where the school workshops are featured.

3) Potential for online secured classses via PayPal and SSL access is an option for non-NYC based enthusiasts.

How can I support this being done?

1) As a student, I have access to A/V resources, including HD Panasonic cameras, lighting equipment, skilled crew and post-production materials.

2) Depending on your level of interest and my own schedule, I am willing to work on this as a pro-bono project.

3) The series would be a collaborative effort between myself and the school.

Sources for your content

Tease-O-Rama: An annual event held in Seattle, WA, San Francisco, CA & Portland, OR, combining workshops, performance, and networking events

http://www.teaseorama.com/

The New York Burlesque Festival: An annual event bringing international performances to the mainstages of burlesque venues throughout New York City, competing for the coveted “Golden Pasties” award.

http://www.thenewyorkburlesquefestival.com/

The BurlyCon Festival: In its second annual year, BurlyCon showcases everything about burlesque, minus the stresses of performance, and is meant to be a space for both experienced and newbie performers, scholars, and enthusiasts to gather, network, and learn. Takes place in Seattle, WA.

http://www.burlyconseattle.com/

What’s out there?

There’s already a vast catalog of classes and workshops being offered at these festivals.  But the classes and workshops have been limited to high-cost attendance which relies primarily on not just class admission fee, but often travel and lodging expenses, or even venue attendance fees.

The following list are classes being offered at various festivals and venues by performers with expansive resumes on each.  Online venues for these workshops are possible and can be used as promotional media for events and workshops:

- stocking & glove removal

- press kits & self-promotion

- pastie making

- pin up photos

- boylesque

- bellydance

- beginner/intermediate

- strip tease

- bump n’ grind

- walking in heels

- make-up

- fans

- tassell twirling

- stage presence (attracting your audience)

- boas and parasols

- creating your persona

- Hula Hooping

- Stripping out of Street Clothes

Features/ideas from your audience research

Not enough people have been exposed to burlesque.  This is likely due to lack of access, and ways in which it has been reduced to a niche or trendy cultural artform.  Similarly, the taboo of strip-tease as an empowering versus objectifying form is still a source of contention, even among a younger female audience.

Do you have or need each content item?

– bring examples of existing content

Currently, Jo Weldon, also known as “Jo Boobs” has DVDs for sale and also a promotional video.

DREAM TEAM

Ideally, I would want to work with Jo who I have some contact with through colleagues.  However, the project would want to keep the focus away from doing the same of the old and bring to the table better quality content than the amateur video or promotional interview.

Jo Boobs, aka Jo Weldon, is the Headmistress at the New York School of Burlesque. She has her own DVD’s, called “Honey & Spice: Sensual and Fierce Burlesque” for sale on Amazon.com as well as another featuring using Fans during a performance.

Hopefully, the goal of the project, to promote NY School of Burlesque through well-designed promotional content that would both attract online and other students.  The instructors would be, as an example, Miss Saturn, and her Hula Hoop workshops – that would promote both the artists and the workshops offered at the school.

rain or shine.

i’m getting wicked fancy with the hoop now. 

but trust.  i still smack myself in the noggin more than i’d like.

My office faces out onto Gay Street, which I think is one of the most interesting streets in downtown Columbus.  It might be called a “mixed use” street and is home to our law firm, office buildings, two hotels, condos, and some older buildings across the street that have restaurants and bars on the ground floors and what appear to be apartments above.

This past week was particularly noteworthy on our block of Gay Street.  The word spread through the grapevine at work that someone in one of the apartments across the street was trying to break a hula hoop endurance record.  Sure enough, I looked out the window of my office and there, clearly visible in through the window, was a guy in a ball cap and shorts doing his hula-hoopin’ thing.  He was doing it Friday morning when I got in, and Friday afternoon when I got back from lunch, and on Saturday I got reports that he was still at it.

I learned today that he broke the record.  His name is Aaron Hibbs, and details about him and his record-breaking effort can be found here.  (The website also provides some reassuring information that answers some of our questions, like whether he was permitted to take time out to address bodily function needs.)  And even though his endurance feat has ended he continues to add to the interesting atmosphere on Gay Street.  This morning the local Fox News outlet was there to videotape a story, with its logo truck parked out front and its antenna fully extended.

So I say:  Congratulations, Aaron!  You made working on Gay Street a lot more interesting last week and just affirmed, again, why it is more enjoyable to work on an active downtown rather than in some drab, cookie cutter suburban office building surrounded by an ocean of parking spaces.

Hula Hoop Circle

Supplies Needed:

• Hula Hoop- 1 per group

Game Directions:

• Have everyone stand in a circle, facing inward.
• Hang the hula hoop around one person’s arm.
• Have the entire group hold hands.
• When you say “Go” the group needs to get the hula hoop all the way around the circle, without letting go of each other’s hands.
• Time them and do it a few times- see if they can do it faster.

Play Until:

• The hula hoop makes it around the circle at least one time.

Debriefing Questions:

• What was difficult about this activity? 
• How did it feel when the hula hoop got all the way around?
• How did this activity remind you of our virtue for this month?

We all know about the Baller-in-Cheif,  but on Wendesday,  Flotus strutted her playground skills while hosting the Healthy Kids Fair at the White House. In addition to promoting her program to improve children’s health through exercise and healthy eating, she played double-Dutch, hula-hooped (142 times), tried to walk on a tightrope, and ran an obstacle course! Without question, she is the coolest FLOTUS EVER! 

And while she promoted healthy eating — she also shamelessly admitted her love for french fries. She is human after all!

This lass is pure class - exhibiting nice posture even while running! (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)

Look at the total glee! and p.s. I bet she can dunk! (REUTERS/Larry Downing )

Watch all the action here: