Last night I finally made it to one of these breaking practice spots that b-girl Monica keeps telling me about. On Mondays and Wednesdays (for now, at least) there is a free breaking class and practice session at the Bushwick Hylan Community Center in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. When I arrived, the staff directed me to a…
Celebrating 11 years of Yehoodi & new Yehoodi 3.0 website this Thursday at Frim Fram!
I am excited to announce that this Thursday, October 22, Yehoodi.com, the swing dance website I help run, will be celebrating our eleventh year of operation. So we are throwing an extra special Frim Fram Jam swing dance this Thursday featuring all of your favorite Yehoodistrators! The incomparable Manu "Spuds" Smith will be spinning songs…
Thoughts on balance and the Spirit
I had a lot of really interesting conversations with Quakers this weekend on the subject of "Balance," which was the theme of the retreat I was attending. I wanted to capture some of the best bits of insight here so I can come back to it later. Imbalance and Fear We talked about what makes…
Finding balance with the Brooklyn Quakers at the Powell House Retreat Center
I just got back from the Powell House retreat center in upstate New York, joining 40-some Quakers from the Brooklyn Friends Meeting. It was a relaxing and spiritually recharging weekend among some very deep souls. I'm fairly new to Brooklyn Meeting, having only started attending a couple of years ago. So going on a weekend…
Quaking and Swinging: Teaching Quakers how to social dance
This weekend I am up in Old Chatham, New York at the Powell House retreat center for the annual retreat of my spiritual community, the Friends Meeting of Brooklyn. Tonight I taught a small group of Quakers the basics of social dance both as a fun activity and to deepen their understanding about the concept…
Reframing social media for non-early adopters
Yesterday I had the pleasure of helping facilitate an all-day training on social media for educators and nonprofits at the Global Kids offices, as part of our regular professional development services. It's always fun to talk with an eager and open group of folks about social media, particularly if they have no particular background in…
Apl.de.ap of Black-eyed Peas wants to “Take You to the Philippines” (video)
I got that news that Philippines-born member of the Black-eyed Peas Apl.de.ap recently launched a new music video / tourism spot called "Take Me to the Philippines" on MTV Asia. It's a catchy little number and a slickly produced music video, created by LA-based We Are Royale, with support from the Philippine Department of Tourism. …
Settling into my Prospect Heights pad
I finally got a few hours today to get a bit more settled into my new Prospect Heights apartment. On the plus side, I've got the bedroom and the bathroom basically sorted at this point. On the negative side, the two middle rooms are kind of a disaster and the kitchen is still pretty messy. …
Interactive “Shim Sham” line dance instructional video
Here's a really well-produced instructional video on how to do the "Shim Sham Shimmy," a popular line dance that is performed at swing dances all around the world. The video project was conceived and created by lindy hoppers Patrick and Natasha of Montreal. Here's why they made this video: We all know how frustrating it…
Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown Streaming Live Video on Saturday October 10!
My friend BigCash sends out the exciting news that they are going to be streaming live video from the Ultimate Lindy Hop Showdown in New Orleans on Saturday, October 10! That evening, ULHS' Saturday night dance/competition will be streamed live from the National WWII Museum. Head here to watch it live that evening. The Ultimate…