New Documentary on Cab Calloway airs on PBS! (video)
Watch Cab Calloway: Sketches on PBS. See more from American Masters. Cab Calloway is one of my personal heroes as a bandleader, a dancer and a larger than life personality during the Harlem Rennaissance. While Ellington was smooth and Basie was cool, Calloway was flamboyant, antic, and always entertaining. His fame as an African-American artist…
Carl’s Jr’s Oreo Ice Cream Sandwich: Surprisingly Unterrible
I got home late from a night of dancing, with a serious need for an ice cream sandwich. Unfortunately all of the bodegas around my apartment in Oakland were already closed, and 7-11 was too far away. Then I noticed that the Carls Jr on the corner advertises that it now has "Hand-scooped Oreo…
The Perfection of the Monte Cristo Sandwich
This has been one of those indulgent, diet-be-damned kind of holiday weekends. Among the terrible things I've eaten, the best / worst has to be the nearly perfect Monte Cristo sandwich I had at the Copper Skillet in Dublin, CA. The Copper Skillet is one of those small town eateries that does classic American fare…
RikBlock: My First Game on Stencyl
Here's my first iOS game I created / modded using the fun Stencyl game development system. Obviously a work-in-progress. But it's already pretty fun to play!
Thankful
About a year ago, I moved to the Bay Area from New York, with some fairly ill-defined goals — more of what Quakers call a “leading,” rather than any kind of concrete plan. I knew that I wanted to be closer to my family. I felt like it was time for some kind of big…
My New Gig at…. wait for it… the California Academy of Sciences!
So I've been waiting to tell people this news because frankly I'm not sure I believe it's actually happened. I'm now working at the California Academy of Sciences as a program assistant in their new Digital Learning Program. It's kind of a dream come true for a geek like me. I will share more details as…
Taking a Step in a New Direction…
Tomorrow is the first day of my new job. So excited, but can't really talk about it yet. More details soon, hopefully…
“Hotel Nacional”: Gloria Estefan’s New Music Video features Lindy Hop, Electro-swing, and the Kitchen Sink
Still not sure how I feel about this music video by Gloria Estefan. I like electro-swing, lindy hop, and b-boying, so in theory I should love this. The "Rocky Horror Picture" references are mostly lost on me, but I'm told they are there. And the burlesque, glam-Paris look is well done. Still, it feels…
Things I Learned while Glitching with My Girlfriend
For the past couple of months I've been playing the MMO Glitch with my girlfriend. I've never had a gamer girlfriend before, so it's been an interesting experience for me. I've learned a few things about online gaming with an S.O. that you might want to keep in mind: When she asks for the keys to your…