Our first performances went quite well! We got lots of positive feedback from the audiences as well as feedback in general on how the whole set of performances felt and what worked best for the audience and what didn't work as well. If any of you have further comments, please let me know! Anything from "here's some music you might like to use" to "it would be great if you could incorporate more X" to "I really liked / didn't like this particular move"; all of it will be helpful to us!

I was really touched by the support so many of my friends showed by coming out to see the performance. (Sometimes more than once!) Thanks to all of you who made time to come check out the gym and our show in particular. We're still gathering up the raw materials (photos and videos), but I'll let you know when those go up so those of you who missed it can get a flavor for the performance.

Date:	2009-03-23 10:39
Subject:	AscenDance Performances March 28th, 29th
Security:	Public
Mood:	excited

If you enjoy climbing, dancing, slacklining, supporting local artists, or watching incredibly strong people perform beautiful and inspiring feats, please come join us this weekend at the Bridges Rock Gym Grand Opening!

p.s. The other day, zudini and I had an opportunity to eat at Little Star Pizza in SF, hailed by friends as "even better than Zachary's" (which would ordinarily be considered blasphemy).

The food was fabulous. The self-service garlic bread was divine (a roasted head of garlic, warm soft butter, and a sliced baguette) and the pizza itself was wonderful. 5 stars for the food (and the beverage selection).

But only 2 stars for the restaurant experience: it was clean and well-dressed, the service was fine, but the restaurant itself was crowded and incredibly noisy; definitely not a place for conversation or lingering.

Okay, on to collapsing.

Date:	2009-03-11 22:41
Subject:	Stinky
Security:	Public
Mood:	sore
Music:	Downloaded for further study / ideas

Today:

Up, email, LJ-check, shower, dress, head off to the climbing gym at 12:45.
Climb routes for a little while, get through a couple of bouldering problems, take a walk.
Hit Trader Joe's for some food, race to the studio for choreography and rehearsal.
Rehearse / Choreograph 4:15 to 6:15. (AWESOME!)
Strength class at the studio 6:30 - 7:30. (OW!)
Home, home, home! (Long enough to feed the cat.)
Chipotle...
Browse web briefly for costumes.
Post to LJ: first performances are March 28th and 29th for the grand opening of a new bouldering gym in El Cerrito!
Collapse.

Tomorrow is a rest day, Friday and Saturday will be more rehearsals during the day, and then again Sunday night.

You can watch / listen to the proceedings here: http://sfgov.org/site/sfgtv_index.asp?id=11463 (SFGTV2)

It's quite fascinating.

I'm in!

The team has five new members out of a team of nine (for the climbing wall, plus 3 dancers dedicated to the bar structure), so it's very possible that what we do may look and feel different from the pieces that have already been created. Regardless, here's a link to their YouTube channel if you want to check out their past productions.

I've always threatened to run off with the circus some day; I'm happy that I've found something different, something I never knew to dream about, which is an even better match for my skillset and lifestyle.

Not necessarily happy, but beautiful nonetheless.

Date:	2009-02-11 13:14
Subject:	Is it wrong to be unwilling to tolerate hate?
Security:	Public
Mood:	frustrated

How about lies and propaganda? Refusing to believe our best scientific knowledge? Using religion to force your own agenda even when many members of your religion disagree with said agenda?

I'm not generally one for shutting down speech, but I'm up for speaking out against http://silencingchristians.com/. You can take a non-scientific, completely biased and poorly-written 'survey' at this site (bring your favorite spam email address if you don't want emails). They would like to share the results with national media to prove that Americans have 'family values' that make it okay to discriminate against gays but not against blacks. While you're there, you can watch the one-hour special (produced by the AFA) that they hope to air nationally where they reveal that homosexuals have been brainwashing the population using horrible techniques like calling themselves 'gay' and coming up with terms like 'homophobia' and 'bigot' to describe those who are.. um... yeah, I'll let you fill that in yourself. They claim that there's no evidence that shows that kids are okay being raised by gay or lesbian parents, and that there's plenty of experiential evidence that shows that children don't know how to deal with those situations. (Which is blatantly untrue.) From the HRC: The "anchor" of this faux-news program, which may have already aired in smaller markets, is controversial talk show host Janet Parshall, who in 2006 suggested Matthew Shepard's lifestyle was responsible for his murder and called gay adoption "state-sanctioned child abuse."

*sigh* There's more to say, but I doubt it would be helpful to say any of it.

If you think that hour-long gay-bashing specials deserve air time, I won't hold it against you. Like I said, I'm not one who's usually up for shutting down speech and shutting down this particular speech ("how the homosexual agenda is silencing Christians") is actually a little bit odd. But TV stations also choose what they air. If you'd like to encourage the first station that's planning to show this special to replace it with an actual debate about the issues you can do that very easily through the HRC here. (Again, bring your spam email address if you'd prefer to not get emails.)

Date:	2009-02-07 17:17
Subject:	Audition
Security:	Public
Mood:	happy and sore!

It's been a long, long time since I had an audition. This one was fun.

Date:	2009-01-19 22:04
Subject:	Panorama-making?
Security:	Public
Mood:	tired

Dearest Lazyweb—

I used to have the panorama software that came with my Nikon Coolpix 4200. I continue to take panoramic sets of photos, but I can't find the CD with which to install on my new Mac the panorama stitcher I used to use.

Awash with options, many of which require some amount of money, I am wondering if anyone has experience and advice on this matter they would like to share. (And if so, what that experience and advice might be.)

I remain

Yours sincerely,

maerdi

zudini and I just got back home last night around midnight. It was a journey of opposites: both hot and cold, overcast and sunny, relaxing and stressful, full of family but also strangers, and both too long and too short. We even had two suitcases to check (for the first time in a long time): one outrageously large, the other ridiculously small.
( Read more... )

Date:	2008-12-17 12:49
Subject:	A Moment
Security:	Public
Mood:	trying not to be stressed

The transcript fiasco has been remedied (or so I hope), the presents are packed and ready to be shipped, the item to be returned is out and ready to be returned to the same place where I can pick up the car to drive to Oakland for my very last day as a Citizen Teacher. The email to our game-nighters has been sent (mostly), the dry cleaning dropped off, the last of the gifts have been ordered and should arrive in time for the holiday. I'm even eating lunch today. The to-do lists are large but getting smaller.

Thanks to all who replied to my last post: I won't have time to work on the item until next January at the earliest, and I hope you don't mind being patient until then for a reply to your comments. My last applications are due Jan 15th, and I hope that I'll have some breathing time for a few days after that.

I hoped to make a post-concert post for my own records, so for the next hour I'm allowing that to be my task (well, plus lunch). Since most of you have probably never heard / heard of Over the Rhine, instead of posting a set list I'm going to post a few favorite lines from each song they played. Behind an lj-cut, of course. Also, a big congrats to the band for having the Air Force Brass Band ask if they could include brass band renditions of two Over the Rhine songs in their holiday concert! Also, I can't help but be impressed that the band toured the country and brought volunteers for the charitable organization World Vision with them to all their shows. Maybe you'll be impressed by that, too.

( Okay, as promised, the real concert details are behind the cut )

Date:	2008-12-04 15:04
Subject:	Looking for Leather
Security:	Public
Mood:	hyper

I'm looking for a scrap of leather approximately 10 inches square, in case anyone has anything lying around.

In other news, I finished my second of two Introduction to Jewelry and Metal classes. Once I acquire said scrap of leather, I can finish and put up photos of my latest piece.

In other, other news, applying to three types of schools simultaneously is a wee-bit crazy-making.

In other, other, other news, I'm going to see my Dad for the first time in two years this weekend. Yay!

Once every couple of years or so Over the Rhine, a small band from my hometown in Ohio comes touring through the Bay Area. When they do, it's my pleasure to see how they've grown and changed since the last time I saw them perform.

Soft, slow, smoky & never superficial, it's hard to put any kind of catch-all label on their sound. I have two tickets to their show at Slim's this Thursday night, December 4th. One is for me. If you'd like the other one to belong to you, let me know.

For a preview of their music, check out their record player (currently playing "Snow Angels", their Christmas album from 2007) or buy mp3s of their albums / songs here (may I recommend the Live From Nowhere series if you're willing to throw in for a full album).

Cheers.

Date:	2008-11-03 20:16
Subject:	Voting in CA—Ideas Welcome
Security:	Public
Mood:	patriotic

I've already decided how I'd like to vote on all the Propositions except for Prop 5; does anyone care enough to make a case in either direction on that one?

For any other Berkeley-ites out there, if you care particularly about any local issues or candidates, please let me know what drives you.

Gratzi!

I'm usually a pretty healthy gal, I don't like to complain too much on LJ, and I especially dislike feeling weak or unhealthy, but this particular story was surprising in an incredibly helpful (maybe even life-changing? well, for some it would be) way, so I figured I'd share it in the off-chance that it could be useful to someone else.

Background 1:
I've always had trouble with swimming (which is a little funny I guess because I've often been told that I'm built like a swimmer): when I get into a pool I've always had a very strong sensation of pressure on my chest, and it takes a lot of energy for me to breathe. Since my Dad can literally do push-ups on the bottom of the deep end of a pool and since his lungs and heart are larger than usual for a man his size, I just always figured I didn't have the genes for being comfortable in the water, that maybe my big heart and lungs just don't like the additional pressure more than normal people's do. In hindsight, it seems like a ridiculous theory, but since I was never crazy about the water I never really questioned it too much. I didn't even realize that it was all that abnormal; I think I figured everyone felt it to some extent and one would just get used to it over time if one kept swimming.

Background 2:
Some of you may remember that in my senior year at Mudd I got a cough that lasted for about 6 months or so. Eventually I went to Baxter and they concluded that my cough had irritated the lining of my trachea enough that the irritation made me cough and they gave me an inhaler so I could stop coughing long enough for it to heal. Since then, I've seemed to be susceptible to very long-lasting coughs: if I get a cold or cough (maybe once every year or two?) I'll keep on coughing for weeks or months. I never really thought much about it (other than berating myself for my weak lungs) until I finally quit my job and acquired a new doctor close to my house instead of my job. I went in for a first physical armed with a list of a few things I wanted to ask about / put into my record. One of these was my long-lasting coughs. I gave him a short history and, in a very House-like maneuver, he diagnosed me with cough-variant asthma based primarily on my response to previous treatment (if inhalers make the cough go away, that's what it is). Happily, he seems to be correct: I can now head off what would have been weeks of coughing with just a few inhaler puffs in the first few days of symptoms.

Denouement:
While I was in Cyprus, I met an English lady who has classic asthma. Happily, somehow we ended up talking about swimming, at which point she explained that she had always thought that she was just bad at swimming until she finally learned that the chlorine in the pool triggered an asthmatic reaction! Not full-on wheezing and whatnot, but the same pressure on the chest and gasping for breath that I had experienced that very morning in the pool near our apartment. She had recently taken up swimming in a pool that uses ozone instead of chlorine and was very happy to report the experience was completely different. The next day we headed out to the sea for some swimming and indeed being in the open water was as comfortable as could be, breath-wise! Salt water in one's throat is not terribly pleasant, and I wasn't interested very interested in trying to open my eyes under the water without goggles (which I do in pools regularly), but at least I could breathe without troubles!!!

While it's sad to have to come to terms with the fact that I really have developed asthma, hurrah for learning from other people's experiences! Also, I don't have to feel nearly as bad about how terrible I am at holding my breath underwater in a typical pool; I'm pretty sure that it's a lot harder to hold your breath when you're oxygen-starved to begin with. Nor do I have to feel so bad about how much gasping I end up doing after a simple lap or two of racing (again with the it's so much easier to exert yourself if you can actually breathe). Now I just need to find some more swimmable waters nearby so I can finally pick up some skill and comfort in the water...

I've always enjoyed activities where I end up with a solid physical object of my own creation, so I've been taking advantage of my free time with a few such manufacturing classes.

My most recent creations come from the Intro to Jewelry & Metal class from The Crucible:

The raw metal

After the patina

And from a mask decorating class from Castle In the Air:


I don't post nearly often enough, so I thought I'd share, even though this feels awfully light on content... I guess I can add that I'll be taking the second Jewelry & Metal class in November, where I'll learn such useful techniques as bezel settings and riveting. Full descriptions of the classes ( behind the cut )

I'm hoping to buy some lab-time once I've completed these two classes; hopefully then I'll have the skills to, among other things, finish a few projects *cough*amoken*cough* and to make good on one promised *cough*linley*cough* but never started...

Which reminds me! (Unrelated post to follow.)

I'm looking for role models for poor people: someone(s) who started out in poverty and rose to do great things, someone(s) those in poverty could look up to and try to emulate.

Preferably someone(s) who didn't end up being assassinated.

Any ideas?

I'm feeling a bit lonely and sad today. Does anyone have anything interesting they'd like to talk about?

Some possible suggestions:

• the AI in a box problem from one of patrissimo's recent posts.
• what causes dishwashers to be less effective and how one can improve their performance
• Fault Lines
• working alone versus working with a partner versus working as part of a group; which of these brings out your best performance and why?

A warning for anyone who was thinking about watching Body of Lies or who might get roped into seeing it by their friends: definitely not recommended. Stay home and play Shadows over Camelot instead.