I realized today that one of unexpectedly hard parts of changing my eating patterns has nothing to do with what I eat, it's communicating what I want. Tim Ferriss writes about how important it is when eating out to modify your typical food order to make it healthier. Like substituting roast veggies for french fries, or…
Mopane Worms and Lamb Brains: South African Foodie Adventures
I had few expectations about food when I was planning my trip to South Africa. I knew a little about South African cuisine, from having visited a couple of restaurants in the East Coast. But otherwise, I was pretty open. To start with, there is no one South African cuisine. It’s too diverse of a country,…
“Alive and Kicking” Mini-Review: A Love Letter to Lindy Hop
Last night, I got to see a sneak preview of the new swing dance documentary "Alive and Kicking" at the Brava Theater in San Francisco. A labor of love by director (and swing dancer) Susan Glatzer, the film "explores the culture surrounding swing dance from the emergence of the Lindy Hop to the modern…
Pantsula, Gumboot, and Mozambican Swing: Dope Dancing in Cape Town!
My main inspiration for coming to South Africa at this time of year was a dance camp going on in Cape Town called Mother City Hop. Last summer, I met a Swedish woman in Herrang who kvelled about what a great event Mother City Hop was. So I did some research into it and it seemed…
Intro to My Adventures in South Africa
I’m just back from Africa, a bit browner, a bit fatter, and excited to share about all I experienced. There’s so much to write about my two week trip to South Africa, it’s hard to know where to start. So instead of trying to write a huge magnum opus that few people would be interested…
Mother City Hop Was Awesome!
I'm way behind on my blogging because we've been so busy having fun in Cape Town! But just a quick shout to the Mother City Hop organizers for putting on a fantastic dance event. It was everything I hoped for and more — fun dance parties, awesome tours of the city, incredible dance workshops, and…
Exploring Johannesburg: a Hipster Market, Strolling through Apartheid and in Da Club
Hanah and I started the first leg of our epic South African adventure in the mega-city of Johannesburg. Home to a rich mix of 4.5 million blacks, "coloureds" and whites, Joburg is a much cooler place than I anticipated. We arrived early in the morning on a Sunday to the very popular hostel Curioucity Backpackers…
Recalling a Life-changing Trip to the Philippines
Check this picture out! I'm in my early twenties, a zillion years ago, on my first trip to the homeland of the Philippines with my gramma. That's her in the background wearing one of her many muumuus. As I prepare to depart for South Africa, I'm thinking about that formative journey. I didn't know how…
Speak up, son! Let me get my reading specs.
Often I feel very thankful for my health: I can run several miles at a time, I dance most nights of the week, only experience minor aches and pains on occasion. But the past week I've had to face my own declining faculties. I've started wearing glasses and ear plugs on the regular. My near…
Let’s Rename the Jack and Jill Contest (Op-Ed)
The Jack & Jill contest is a mainstay of the lindy hop dance scene, from local contests to international competitions like the International Lindy Hop Championships. It’s an exciting and dynamic format that many feel is a true test of a lindy hopper’s dancing ability. It’s also an archaic term that we should stop using. A…