Last Thursday was the "Open House" at the 9:20 Special dance in San Francisco. This is when the 9:20 organizers throw open the doors to the community and allow anyone to come in for a free swing dance lesson and enjoy dancing to the music in the huge dancehall of the Russian Center on…
Category: SF Bay Area
The Zeum: San Francisco’s Amazing Children’s Art & Tech Museum
Recently, I met up with a friend who works at the Zeum, the Children's Museum of San Francisco, in the lovely Yerba Buena Gardens. The Zeum is a "21st century multimedia arts and technology center for children," as the website states. But what it really is is a huge playground for kids to let…
Free Swing Dance Lesson and Dance Next Thursday at 920 Special in SF!
The nice folks at the 920 Special lindy hop dance in San Francisco send out the news that Thursday, March 31st, is their annual "Open House." On Thursday, the public is invited to partake in a free introductory swing dance lesson, and then practice their moves at the free social dance, plus watch performances and…
Apartment Hunting in San Francisco: from Mount Olympus to the Gritty Mission
I spent yesterday morning and afternoon running around San Francisco with my friends David and Kim looking at apartments for rent. It was elluminating for me to learn about different neighborhoods, their varying amenities, deficits, and personalities. As a veteran of various hard-fought battles in New York to find the mythical "perfect apartment," I was…
Learning “Urban Contemporary” with Loose Change Dance Company
Yesterday, I had the privilege of taking a class with Eric Fenn, choreographer of the innovative "urban contemporary" dance troupe Loose Change. Combining house, popping, waving, and breaking with modern dance, martial arts and ocassionally, swing, Loose Change has been a pioneer in the dance fusion movement for 20 years. I've long been a fan…
Breaking Class with Drew Looner at Athletic Playground: Pushing Your Body and Your Mind
Although I was pretty tired from the two day conference I just got back from, I decided to head out to catch B-boy Drew Looner's breaking class at Athletic Playground in Emeryville. Athletic Playground is a small and friendly space where they teach all manner of athletic pursuits from gymnatics to parkour, acro-yoga, and something…
Yehoodi Talk Show # 124: Lindy Luv is in the Air on the Lindy Dating Game!
For this Valentines Day, Spuds and I are happy to bring to you a very special edition of the Yehoodi Talk Show: "The Lindy Dating Game". Three lovely lindy bachelorettes and one lindy bachelor play our game to win a date and valuable prizes. Find out if Kevin ends up with Sarah, Kellie or Becca…
Lindy in the Park: Free Swing Dancing in Golden Gate Park since 1996
I had a fantastic time today at "Lindy in the Park," a weekly outdoor swing dance that happens every Sunday afternoon in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. A mainstay of the Bay Area lindy scene since 1996, Lindy in the Park is a great public outreach for the dance, since it attracts hundreds of passersby,…
Following a Leading : a two week update on my Bay Area move
"The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world's deep hunger meet." — Frederick Buechner, Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, 1973 So it's about two weeks into my big move from New York City to the Bay Area, which has been really wonderful so far. Mole and I are mostly…
My elderly mom tries out the Prius electric/gas hybrid (video)
My sister rented a Toyota Prius hybrid electric-gas car yesterday and really likes it. Here's her giving our mother a quick lesson in driving the Prius. I think it's interesting how nervous mom is getting the thing started, but once she was driving for a couple of minutes, it just became another car to…