Musings on Dance, Food, Geek Stuff
As another birthday rolls around, it’s time to learn something new and #embracethesuck. What will I be terrible at today? Two weeks ago, I was biking around Golden Gate Park with my friend Jess when we passed by the “Skatin’ Place” circle near 17th street and Fulton. We were watching the skaters spin, slide, and…
The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet. Frederick Buechner This morning at Quaker Meeting for Worship, I’ve been reflecting about “my calling,” which has been a refrain that has run through my entire life. One way of understanding a “calling” is something that…
The Cakewalk is one of the lesser known “grandparents” of Lindy Hop, alongside the Charleston, Black Bottom, the Breakaway and others. The cakewalk, however, was more than just a dance, it was also a subtle but powerful means of Black resistance to white supremacy. The history of the cakewalk goes all the way back to…
“To be antiracist is to reject cultural standards and level cultural difference. Segregationalists say racial groups can not reach their superior cultural standard. Assimilationalists say racial groups can, with effort and intention, reach their superior cultural standards.” — Ibram X. Kendi, How to Be an Antiracist I’m reading the wonderful book How to Be an…
This is my dad in 1968 with his mom, about to get on his first plane ride in his life from his home in Manila to Phoenix, Arizona, USA, a place he knows nothing about. When I think about doing something scary, I want to remember what this must have felt like for him to…
“The show doesn’t go on because it’s ready; it goes on because it’s 11:30.” Lorne Michaels, Executive Producer, “Saturday Night Live” As quoted by Tina Fey in her book Bossypants (2011).
I’ve done a bunch of variations of roast chicken over the years. This version I’ve found to be my favorite. Spatchcocking makes the bird cook faster, crisp up more, and break down easier when it’s done. And it’s kind of fun to do, once you get the hang of it. Ingredients 3 ½ to 4-pound…
For no specific reason, I set a goal for myself to successfully run a 10K. It’s certainly not the first 10K I’ve ever run. And I didn’t plan on setting a personal best time. I just wanted to run a distance of 10 kilometers without stopping. Luckily, I live right next to a perfect place…
My Uncle Danny just sent to me a bunch of pictures from a trip to Disneyland we took back in 1976. That would make me seven years old at the time, so one of my first trips to the theme park. Apparently my Uncle Danny and Auntie Susan had just moved to the States from…
So I woke up yesterday to a video message in my in-box from Joonas Suotamo, the Finnish actor who for the past five Star Wars films has been playing the iconic character Chewbacca! This was a very special thank you message from my good friend Barry Joseph. Sadly, Barry’s father recently passed away, and I…