I'll be at the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF). LEAF is an extremely wonderful festival that is held twice a year (May and October) at Camp Rockmont near Black Mountain, NC. Visit http://www.theleaf.com/ for information about the festival, and to get tickets (May is SOLD OUT, but tickets for the October event go on sale June 1st). It's looking like Thursday night for setting up camp may hold some rough weather, with severe thunderstorms and an isolated 'nader or two possible, but after that, with the exception of some passing showers, the rest of the weekend should be wonderful!
In case you want to follow along with what's going on at LEAF this weekend, here's something for you to keep tuned to. Worldspace Live at LEAF. They'll have interviews, photos, videos, and other stuff as they broadcast throughout the course of the festival. Enjoy (and be jealous...hahahaha)! I'll see you Sunday night...LATE Sunday night!
And just in case that didn't work for some reason, you can access it by going to this link.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Answer
OK, it's been a while, so here's the answer to the last post in case you didn't get it. I received the E-mail shortly after 8:00 pm. The dance started at 7:30 pm that same night. That means that the person who sent the E-mail was not at the dance! Not only that, but anyone he sent it to who read it when it came through was not only not at the dance, but they were also probably hopelessly unable to attend at this point as was my case. If I'd walked out the door the instant the E-mail came through, I would have arrived at the dance after it ended.
Oh well, maybe I'll be able to attend a future Tuesday night dance there, unless there's a great band in Winston-Salem (or I'm calling there).
Oh well, maybe I'll be able to attend a future Tuesday night dance there, unless there's a great band in Winston-Salem (or I'm calling there).
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
A Contra Dance Advertisement
Every once in a while a piece of literature will cross your path and make you have to backtrack and think about what you just read. A contra dance advertisement that I received just a few minutes ago was one such piece of literature. Take a read and see for yourself if there is anything that stands out as strange to you:
Subject:
Dance Tuesday 29th
Date:
4/29/2008 8:06:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: (deleted for privacy of sender)
Reply To:
To: (deleted for privacy of sender)
The Cape Fear Contra Dancers hold their International Tuesday night dance at the 5th Ave United Methodist Church on South 5th Street at Nun, Tuesday, April 29 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. This is a very social dance for all levels. Singles and couples are invited to come. Cost is $3.
I'll let you know the problem in a future post.
Subject:
Dance Tuesday 29th
Date:
4/29/2008 8:06:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time
From: (deleted for privacy of sender)
Reply To:
To: (deleted for privacy of sender)
The Cape Fear Contra Dancers hold their International Tuesday night dance at the 5th Ave United Methodist Church on South 5th Street at Nun, Tuesday, April 29 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM. This is a very social dance for all levels. Singles and couples are invited to come. Cost is $3.
I'll let you know the problem in a future post.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
27, And Nothing's Changed
Yet. I'm still the same old me that I was on the 5th, only on the 6th the number that supposedly represents my age (though an entirely relative thing) is now 27.
In the past month, not much has happened. I went to see "Li'l Abner" in Georgetown on March 6th. That was a really cute show! The whole cast was wonderful (including the person that I knew, who managed to forget a line in the song that he sang that night). From what I heard, a few of the cast members were new to acting, and in my opinion, that's a big testament to the theatrical talent in the area, because I thought EVERYONE did an AWESOME job. And I'm STILL, a month later, singing that song in my head (Jubilation T. Cornpone). It's probably the only show I've been to in the area that I haven't in some way worked on that had me smiling the entire way through.
Two days later, on the 8th, I called the regular monthly contra dance in Columbia. Bonne Terre was the band. It was a lot of fun, and I got a couple of dances on video.
For the birthday, I worked. 8:30-3:00. Then it was over to Hope's place to talk about a "Celebrity Reading Night" for a local school. after that, it was home, then hit the road to Southport, NC. This is a town that I normally visit only twice a year. Once in February for the Cape Fear Contra Dancers dance called the "Salty Swirl," and again on July 4th for their annual festival. For my birthday, though, I decided to go up again to attend a free concert by the contra dance band known as the Great Bear Trio. And let me tell you, it was truly great! I enjoyed every foot tappin' tune that they played, both the traditional ones, and their many originals. I purchased 3 of their 4 CDs (LEAF is coming up...have to get something then), and my parents thought I had given them a present by dragging them along.
Anyway, here are some videos of contra dances that I have called. The first 3 are from Beaufort, NC on January 19th, 2008, and the last 2 are from Columbia, SC on March 8th, 2008. I am calling the dance later tonight (April 8th) in Winston-Salem, so expect more videos soon.
In the past month, not much has happened. I went to see "Li'l Abner" in Georgetown on March 6th. That was a really cute show! The whole cast was wonderful (including the person that I knew, who managed to forget a line in the song that he sang that night). From what I heard, a few of the cast members were new to acting, and in my opinion, that's a big testament to the theatrical talent in the area, because I thought EVERYONE did an AWESOME job. And I'm STILL, a month later, singing that song in my head (Jubilation T. Cornpone). It's probably the only show I've been to in the area that I haven't in some way worked on that had me smiling the entire way through.
Two days later, on the 8th, I called the regular monthly contra dance in Columbia. Bonne Terre was the band. It was a lot of fun, and I got a couple of dances on video.
For the birthday, I worked. 8:30-3:00. Then it was over to Hope's place to talk about a "Celebrity Reading Night" for a local school. after that, it was home, then hit the road to Southport, NC. This is a town that I normally visit only twice a year. Once in February for the Cape Fear Contra Dancers dance called the "Salty Swirl," and again on July 4th for their annual festival. For my birthday, though, I decided to go up again to attend a free concert by the contra dance band known as the Great Bear Trio. And let me tell you, it was truly great! I enjoyed every foot tappin' tune that they played, both the traditional ones, and their many originals. I purchased 3 of their 4 CDs (LEAF is coming up...have to get something then), and my parents thought I had given them a present by dragging them along.
Anyway, here are some videos of contra dances that I have called. The first 3 are from Beaufort, NC on January 19th, 2008, and the last 2 are from Columbia, SC on March 8th, 2008. I am calling the dance later tonight (April 8th) in Winston-Salem, so expect more videos soon.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Friday's Coming
And with that comes a trip to Charleston! And not a trip that will involve training for work, either. This trip will allow me to partake in one of my favorite things: contra dancing.
The second and fourth Friday of each month, the Charleston Folk dance group holds a contra dance at the Ballroom Dance Club, which is located on Ashley Hall Road, off of Sam Rittenberg.
For a while back in the early spring and part of the summer of 2007, I was not able to get to Charleston. I closed the North Myrtle Beach store on Friday nights, and I was not happy about that. Then at the tail end of July, I started opening the store Friday mornings!
So I was looking forward to getting to dance on Friday, August 10th. August began, and I went to PLUS (PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium). I rode the coasters at Dollywood on August 1st, talked Christmas lights the 2nd-4th, and came back home on the 5th. Worked like I always do on Mondays on the 6th. Then it was time for my "weekend." Tuesday, August 7th, two things happened. First, I went to Winston-Salem, my weekly trip up there to dance. Second, when I got home and checked my E-mail, I had, in the mid-afternoon hours (after I had left for the dance of course--a 4 hour one way trip) received my usual "Tuesday before the dance panic E-mail" from the booking person, asking if I could come down and call the dance that Friday. So I immediately started to plan for the dance.
Needless to say, the next time I danced in Charleston was not the 10th, but the 24th. I then danced on September 14th, and played in the band on September 28th. October's dance history, other than LEAF, seems to have escaped me altogether. November was sparse. I called the dance in Winston-Salem on the 13th, and the one in Wilmington on the 24th. I then found myself once again calling the Charleston dance on December 14th, and I was desperately hoping to make the dance on the 28th.
So as late December rolled around, I found myself in a play. And I made plans with the director to hang lights. The only problem was the only night he could work it in at that time was December 28th, so I stayed home and helped him hang lights. And wouldn't you know it? I found out in Mid-January that there was someone from the play who WAS at the dance that night, and it wasn't me (but it was someone who I wouldn't mind dancing with if she wanted to...but I'll stop there in case the Saylors happen upon this blog...I'd never hear the end of it from them).
So, now the play is over, and the second Friday of February is coming up. February 8th. The Hungry Monks are playing, and Joyce and Bob from Savannah are calling. I WILL be there! And I'm contemplating a trip to Columbia on the 9th, too.
I'll post videos of a dance that I called in Beaufort on January 19th in another blog. Actually, I need to get up there again, too. But I'll be in Columbia this Saturday. Maybe for the March dance?
The second and fourth Friday of each month, the Charleston Folk dance group holds a contra dance at the Ballroom Dance Club, which is located on Ashley Hall Road, off of Sam Rittenberg.
For a while back in the early spring and part of the summer of 2007, I was not able to get to Charleston. I closed the North Myrtle Beach store on Friday nights, and I was not happy about that. Then at the tail end of July, I started opening the store Friday mornings!
So I was looking forward to getting to dance on Friday, August 10th. August began, and I went to PLUS (PlanetChristmas Lights Up Symposium). I rode the coasters at Dollywood on August 1st, talked Christmas lights the 2nd-4th, and came back home on the 5th. Worked like I always do on Mondays on the 6th. Then it was time for my "weekend." Tuesday, August 7th, two things happened. First, I went to Winston-Salem, my weekly trip up there to dance. Second, when I got home and checked my E-mail, I had, in the mid-afternoon hours (after I had left for the dance of course--a 4 hour one way trip) received my usual "Tuesday before the dance panic E-mail" from the booking person, asking if I could come down and call the dance that Friday. So I immediately started to plan for the dance.
Needless to say, the next time I danced in Charleston was not the 10th, but the 24th. I then danced on September 14th, and played in the band on September 28th. October's dance history, other than LEAF, seems to have escaped me altogether. November was sparse. I called the dance in Winston-Salem on the 13th, and the one in Wilmington on the 24th. I then found myself once again calling the Charleston dance on December 14th, and I was desperately hoping to make the dance on the 28th.
So as late December rolled around, I found myself in a play. And I made plans with the director to hang lights. The only problem was the only night he could work it in at that time was December 28th, so I stayed home and helped him hang lights. And wouldn't you know it? I found out in Mid-January that there was someone from the play who WAS at the dance that night, and it wasn't me (but it was someone who I wouldn't mind dancing with if she wanted to...but I'll stop there in case the Saylors happen upon this blog...I'd never hear the end of it from them).
So, now the play is over, and the second Friday of February is coming up. February 8th. The Hungry Monks are playing, and Joyce and Bob from Savannah are calling. I WILL be there! And I'm contemplating a trip to Columbia on the 9th, too.
I'll post videos of a dance that I called in Beaufort on January 19th in another blog. Actually, I need to get up there again, too. But I'll be in Columbia this Saturday. Maybe for the March dance?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
When The Target's Too Far Away
You travel on the Internet! To whatever destination you want.
Like today, February 5, 2008. I'm stuck here in Conway, SC. Got all my lights in out of the yard before the sun went down since I knew we had a chance for some great (or not-so-great, depending on how you look at it) weather tomorrow.
After getting that done, and seeing Bodhi off with his dad, I hit the web. I first opened two of my favorite sites for weather information, Stormtrack.org which concentrates on storm chasing and chasers, and Storm2K.org, which has a strong tropical following, but has an all-around weather function to it also.
By the time 3:00 AM on the 6th rolled around, I had no less than 10 different sites/windows open on the screen tracking storms. This is also about the time I gave up and did my usual rounds on Facebook and Myspace before typing this up and going to bed.
While I would have loved to have been in the field (still have yet to actually chase), I was pretty darn successful with my cyber chase! Tracked many tornadoes across the south through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. Tracked a deadly tornado up through north central Arkansas. Caught a tornado on a live webcam out of Memphis as it tracked across the southern part of town. I'm still kicking myself about not getting to the Union University webcam before it got hit (had I hit the "go" button 30 seconds earlier I would have seen it hit the campus, and destroy the camera...but alas, I got a "the site could not be found" screen). Tracked a tornadic storm from Mississippi, all the way through downtown Nashville, and up past Tompkinsville, KY. Later tracked another storm from west of Nashville, through it's northern suburbs, and out through Monroe County, KY again. Then tracked yet ANOTHER tornadic storm through Franklin, and the southern suburbs of Nashville before just giving up.
After all, anyone in their right mind knows it's dangerous to chase after dark, anyway!
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected tonight, and to those still being affected, and those to be affected tomorrow. Many fatalities occurred during this early season outbreak, and it's somewhat unsettling to know that as I was watching these storms track across the land on radar, people were dying in them (3 passed away in an Arkansas storm, 3 in Muhlenburg County in KY, 2 just west of Jackson, TN, I believe 1 in Memphis, and at least 2 in Sumner County, TN northeast of Nashville). And those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There were MANY injuries all throughout the region, and classes have been canceled until at least the 15th (I believe) at Union University in Jackson, TN, where 3 dorms were destroyed, and several students were trapped (thank goodness none were seriously injured).
Round 2 tomorrow, though it shouldn't be as bad. And it should be right here! Hmm...maybe we should take that off the net and onto the road?!?!?!
Like today, February 5, 2008. I'm stuck here in Conway, SC. Got all my lights in out of the yard before the sun went down since I knew we had a chance for some great (or not-so-great, depending on how you look at it) weather tomorrow.
After getting that done, and seeing Bodhi off with his dad, I hit the web. I first opened two of my favorite sites for weather information, Stormtrack.org which concentrates on storm chasing and chasers, and Storm2K.org, which has a strong tropical following, but has an all-around weather function to it also.
By the time 3:00 AM on the 6th rolled around, I had no less than 10 different sites/windows open on the screen tracking storms. This is also about the time I gave up and did my usual rounds on Facebook and Myspace before typing this up and going to bed.
While I would have loved to have been in the field (still have yet to actually chase), I was pretty darn successful with my cyber chase! Tracked many tornadoes across the south through Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, Missouri, and Kentucky. Tracked a deadly tornado up through north central Arkansas. Caught a tornado on a live webcam out of Memphis as it tracked across the southern part of town. I'm still kicking myself about not getting to the Union University webcam before it got hit (had I hit the "go" button 30 seconds earlier I would have seen it hit the campus, and destroy the camera...but alas, I got a "the site could not be found" screen). Tracked a tornadic storm from Mississippi, all the way through downtown Nashville, and up past Tompkinsville, KY. Later tracked another storm from west of Nashville, through it's northern suburbs, and out through Monroe County, KY again. Then tracked yet ANOTHER tornadic storm through Franklin, and the southern suburbs of Nashville before just giving up.
After all, anyone in their right mind knows it's dangerous to chase after dark, anyway!
My thoughts and prayers go out to all who were affected tonight, and to those still being affected, and those to be affected tomorrow. Many fatalities occurred during this early season outbreak, and it's somewhat unsettling to know that as I was watching these storms track across the land on radar, people were dying in them (3 passed away in an Arkansas storm, 3 in Muhlenburg County in KY, 2 just west of Jackson, TN, I believe 1 in Memphis, and at least 2 in Sumner County, TN northeast of Nashville). And those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head. There were MANY injuries all throughout the region, and classes have been canceled until at least the 15th (I believe) at Union University in Jackson, TN, where 3 dorms were destroyed, and several students were trapped (thank goodness none were seriously injured).
Round 2 tomorrow, though it shouldn't be as bad. And it should be right here! Hmm...maybe we should take that off the net and onto the road?!?!?!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
More Bodhi
These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, still in 2007, but after Christmas:
This video clip was taken the same night:
Isn't Bodhi just the cutest little boy ever?!?! I'm very proud to be his uncle.
In other news, I'm in a play called "The Winning Ticket," written by local playwright Kathryn Martin. It opened last weekend, and it runs Friday and Sunday this weekend, and then the following weekend. There is talk of extending the run to the first weekend in February since, according to Kathryn's latest E-mail, ticket sales for the next two weekends are doing very well. It's a cute show.
Also, I'm going to be in Beaufort, NC this Saturday, January 19th, to call a contra dance for the Down East Folk Arts Society. The band for the dance will be Gaelstorm, a group of friends of mine from the North Myrtle Beach/Calabash area that plays some of the greatest sets of celtic dance tunes you could wish for.
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