1001 Disco Days

Yesterday was a snow day and so we stayed home and had a dance party. The Odd Squad soundtrack album (via Spotify) turns out to be really fun to dance to. There's a western song, a smooth jazz track, a computer robot number and etcetera. We invited the upstairs neighbor, 9 year old Julia, down to join us. We all got reallllly into it. One of our games is to play live DanceCentral, so that one person is the instructor and everyone else has to follow them. Follow that!

Why has dance dropped out of my life. If I'm honest I would say because I don't have the inspiration. Why does one have to be inspired to dance? I danced last week at my daughter's kindergarten class. A woman from Cuba named Cristina came in a led us all in latin dance moves. I was the parent volunteer, to help assist the dancer, and just decided I would dance too. As many as of the kids were watching me, in disbelief, as the instructor. There was a break between the classes and I had a long talk with Cristina about Castro dying, what it meant, and how she and her family had personally suffered, how her music and dancing were banned. I asked her if she thought that could happen here and she said in a way it already has, as art programs were being defunded. She also said a friend of hers was in a dance troupe traveling in Africa and since Trump has rescinded the consuls, there was no one there to help them and they were having trouble getting an epipen and qvar across for ...

  My mom was visiting and the girls were in a great mood.  I danced in the living room with both girls at once. I can't even remember the song, probably some African Christmas song. It was almost extraneous; merely an armature for the dance. I swirled both girls up in a swirl of magic, made them fly, and then land back down in a pose of grace. It was only a moment in time, a small one, but one that fully deserves to be here among these 1001.

I was explaining to Sofia what a silhouette was, which lead to looking up the etymology. It was named after an 18th century French politician named Etienne de Silhouette. No one knows anymore why, which made me curious. Was it some kind of metaphor for shady dealings? Anyway, when I saw this graffiti cover-up on the wall in Doughboy park in Queens today I decided to take the silhouette selfie. I was dancing to a band Mandi Rudd introduced me to called Houndmouth. And they had one song, Sedona, with lyrics ending, "A Saturday night kinda pink." And I loved that idea, it made perfect sense. But it also hit me on a deeper level. I want my work week to be so good that I'm swimming in Saturday night pink. That's the goal. Swimming! Though it's Wednesday, there's a little Saturday pink in this pic. But mostly I just love it as a reaction to the political climate. The way the darkest moments can bring out the best in people, the way that can ...

Went up Roosevelt to see if the Banksy I saw 3 years ago was still there. (See essay at end of this post.) Discovered on Spotify that the Hamilton Mixtape came out and listened to that. Listening to the "Immigrants (get the job done)" song from Hamilton, while dancing up Roosevelt and dodging in and out of immigrants of all stripes. Which all felt pretty good given the political climate these days.     good name for a twee band    a million things to see on Roosevelt Avenue     beautiful composition, natural. Or at least beautifully arranged by the poster putter-upper.    Finally made it to the wall. No more Banksy. Is it under the paint? I couldn't find a trace. And here's the essay I wrote and finished this morning about seeing the Banksy here 3 years ago. The Queens Banksy Chase On the morning of Oct 15th, 2013 my wife Genevieve sent me a text, letting me know that Banksy was in the m...

This morning I listened to the band recommended to me a few days ago by the couple I met in the cemetary. Blockstop. It was great to dance to, jazzy hip hop with politically motivated lyrics. Just Be Just Be yourself, be clean, be kind, be beautiful be practical, creative, logical, open and original, be conscious, be aware, sensitive, be sensible, sensual, sentimental, take care of yourself and know your body, know your mind, know where you’re going mostly all of the time, be responsible, responsive, reach for autonomy and realize your dreams, be healthy, helpful, hopeful, not doubtful, be safe, be courageous, don’t fear death, it’s just a transition, don’t get rattled, complete your mission, serve yourself, take the road less travelled, look inside for answers but ask others if you must and just be just. Open your mind. Feel the presence of light shines at the right time. Be a child of the universe, be at peace with God, b...

Woke up in shock with the rest of the sane world this morning at the election of Trump. Genevieve in tears. Such a serious set back.  Ugh. But walking the girls to school, some hope: "Girls, did you hear that Hillary lost last night?" Sofia says, "Who won?" "Trump." Long pause... "Well, when I grow up I guess I will become the first woman president." That's our girl. Tears came to my eyes and I high fived her. "Why do you like that so much?" she asked. Because it is optimistic. "What is optimistic mean?" asked Lucia. So I explained the difference between optimism and pessimism. Seemed so apt! After walking them to school I meditated, which helped enormously. And then I danced. A powerful one two combo. My upstairs neighbor asked, "Random question...nt sure if you're home. Im' noticing the floor and windows are shaking. Any ideas why?" "I'm dancing. I can try in baseme...