Here’s a fun video of local lindy hoppers PinkieLou and Par celebrating their engagement with a lindy jam at last night’s Frim Fram dance. That’s Lou in the (duh) pink dress and Par in the gray sweatshirt. The awesome song is "Gangbusters" by Cats and a Fiddle (1937). Congrats, guys! I took this with my…
Yehoodi Talk Show #503: The Rave Dance Episode
The Yehoodi Talk Show video podcast Episode #503 is now available for your viewing pleasure. The Yehoodi Talk Show is a biweekly podcast hosted by myself and my buddy Spuds where we discuss what’s new in the world of lindy hop, swing dancing and whatever else we feel like throwing in. This is a very…
YouTube Battle
True story: At our family Christmas party, my sister Cori is talking to my cousin Rafael, who’s a university student in California. She asks Rafael what he is up to. He mentions that he is part of a hip hop dance group. "Oh, my brother is in a breakdance group, too. You guys should battle!"…
My top 10 dances of 2007
By photographer Laura Hanifin This year has been a remarkable one for dancing. Here are my top ten dances of 2007: Dancing at the Apollo with Sharon Jones (perhaps #1 for LIFE) Breaking with my breakdance group at PMT Studios Fall Showcase Performing with the Brooklyn Bombshells group at the Mermaid Parade Lindy hopping to…
My Top 10 Second Life Events for 2007
Over at New World Notes, I posted my Top 10 Event Picks for 2007. When I was planning out the post in my head, I imagined it would take about an hour or so to put together. It ended up taking up most of the day into the evening, as I sorted through 12 months…
Chicago Tribune on Stepping
The Chicago Tribune has a very sweet story about the phenomenon of stepping, a vernacular African-american social dance very closely related to lindy hop. Typically danced to soul and R&B music, stepping is a much more smoothed out and relaxed dance with a looser connection between the lead and follow. As the Tribune describes it:…
XO Laptop versus Apple eMate
My XO laptop arrived in the mail today! From my first couple of hours experimenting, I can tell that it’s an impressive little machine. I look forward to playing with it for the next weeks, which I will be sure and blog about. One of the first things I did was put the XO side-by-side…
Christmas at the Panganiban’s
I love this silly picture of my mom, my sis and me on Christmas eve. The pajamas are courtesy of my mom, the ridiculous sunglasses from my sister. Awwwww. It was a wonderful holiday, despite recent personal and professional transitions. I got to spend a lot of time with family — particularly my little posse…
Review: Castronova’s Exodus to the Virtual World
I just finished my advance copy of Edward Castronova’s Exodus to the Virtual World: How Online Fun is Changing Reality (2007, Palgrave McMillan.) As anyone familiar with Costronova should expect, the book is provocative and entertaining. Costronova’s central premise is simple: as more and more people spend a larger percentage of their waking hours in…
Scott Pilgrim Graphic Novel Series: Must Read!
My roommate Swifty recently loaned me Volume 1 and 2 of the Scott Pilgrim graphic novel series, thinking I would like it. Man, was he right. Scott Pilgrim, by Bryan Lee O’Malley, tells the story of the title character, a Toronto slacker who’s only ambition it seems is to play bass with his band Sex…