Gary

I just logged into my LJTalk account. I don't use it but it's great to see Frank here. I'm still not using this blog though :p.

I've moved blogs to this one! I figured I'd have all my blogs on the same site. I shall still read my friends blogs from here though.

Umm... well that was fun.

I have been tagged, as all the cool kids call it, by drsordid to do this meme.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.
6. Tag five people.

The continue statement is similar to break, but instead of exiting a loop entirely, continue tells JavaScript to bypass the rest of the statements in the loop block and begin a new iteration of the loop.

That's from Using JavaScript which doesn't actually belong to me. It's also only one sentence but then it's also a paragraph and the rest of the book would send you to sleep so lets just leave it at that, m'kay.

Apparently I should tag people but since I don't believe in doing this if you want to be tagged then go right ahead and pretend it was from me.

I've been using a lot of Google's Services recently. They seem to have a lot of good idea and though, sometimes, their implementations can be a bit iffy they often hit the mark. One thing that I strangely like about the service (and I really do mean strangely like rather than, say, hate) is the Google Ads that you get for your GMail. It's such fun seeing what crazy crap will be advertised based on the parser grabbing the content of your mail :D. I had an advert for a (I presume) kids TV program called The Wiggles based on a conversation about wiggling while dancing. Ah such fun.

Anyway I wrote, some time ago now, a script (well not really it's in Java but it's so short I'd be ashamed to call it a program) to grab favourites from Flickr and add them to a directory for rotating in your background images. I've been meaning to talk about it and upload it at some stage and since I don't have an Application Development blog then I figure I'll probably post it here at some stage. Not sure if anyone who reads my blog will be interested but I figure it will be indexed and someone who is interested might come across it.

I haven't looked at LiveJournal in months so if I've missed anything significant in my friend's posts I'm sorry. It's unlikely that I'll catch up. Anyway I might actually make a proper post here one day. For friends that don't post friends only I'll probably subscribe to the feeds of. For those that do I'll try and keep up this time with posts (until I work out how to authenticate in RSS).

It's been a while since I've played a board game so I was looking forward to the BGoD we played on Friday. It was Twlight Imperium III, aka The Big Spaceship Game (^©purplesparkler), which was good fun though took a bit to get into and ended very quickly. The 4 player game feels strange given you have all the event thing cards. Anyway I'd love to give it another go at some stage :). I'd like to also try Arkham Horror at some stage though I'm not convinced that a board game can capture horror.

Maybe I'm too interested in what services Google has to offer but does anyone have an Orkut account? What is it? Is it exciting?

Well though it hasn't been declared as a planet (yet). The recent discovery of an object larger than Pluto (PDF) has been of great interest. Of course they have been talking of the object for a while but the confirmation of its size gives some weight to validate it and invigorates that curiosity of space I've always had. I expect they will classify it as a planet; rather than demoting Pluto to a large asteroid. I wonder if they'll stick with Xena or go with another name... UB313 has a sort of Aliens feel to it :).

Also; this strangely makes me want to play Traveler again.

I've been holding back from posting as I felt that my first non-dance related post should be significant in some way; a sort of return to old times that would herald a return of the posts that many knew and loved. Then I realised that I never made those posts and therefore I could just start with some garbage instead.

I cancelled my cable box subscription a month and a bit back. I haven't watched TV at all and I've found I don't really miss it. Generally a bit of my day was taken up channel surfing and there are better things to spend my time on (even if that better thing really is just playing computer games). This isn't to say that I don't watch TV at all; I have DVDs I've been watching and I've recently thoroughly enjoyed watching the Band of Brothers mini-series (the cinematography in it puts a lot of films to shame). I'm also looking forward to getting the next season of the Battlestar Galactica TV series when it comes out on DVD. I pondered buying a freeview box with PVR as well since I might tape programs that I can then watch at a later date. However I'm not sure whether this would result in me taping a big bunch of stuff that I really have little interest in watching but watch anyway because I have the ability to watch it at a time that suits me. I have refrained, for now, from purchasing such a bit of kit.

I've also been to see a lot of films recently. At times it feels like pretty much all the films that came out during the run up to Christmas and just as many films post-Christmas holidays. Starting around October (when the fab Serenity came out) I just ended up at the cinema once or twice a week. I did really enjoy King Kong which surprised me a little. The big surprise in recent time was probably Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which proved really witty and a lot better than I was expecting. I was disappointed in Jarhead to the degree that I wish I had just stuck with the fantastic trailer that it had. Underworld: Evolution was only saved by throwing popcorn at the person I went to go see it with. Finally I was recently disappointed by Memoirs of a Geisha; it failed to really do anything though it did look quite pretty. Anyway I did go see a lot more films recently but it was never my intention to turn my blog into a film review. If you want amusing film reviews I whole-heartedly recommend Mark Kermode's Film Review; I hear it is also available on this radio thing... whatever that is.

Right well; that's decided. I'm moving all my dance related blogging to Blogger. It's going to take me absolutely ages to transfer all my previous posts across but I will do that (along with changing the layout and such). That leaves this blog for everything else like talking about life... well when life isn't in some way connected to dancing. So not a whole lot here then. I'll lose things like the Mood button. I suppose I can just post my mood though. I do ever so much enjoy creating new blogs :D.

I shall make tonight my first new post there.

Urgh! I've left this post till a little late in the evening. So I'll try and make it quick. This might be one of the last posts in LiveJournal on account of me planning on moving to Blogger with this. On that note should I bother to post my move list or should I just keep a local copy of it (given that Blogger doesn't have a lj-cut replacement; though I might look at JavaScripting it).

Tonight's dancing was a bit average. I had a lot of good dances (not great but good) but my moves and energy seemed a little lacking. Still I've been here before so I'm sure it'll pick up again. The numbers were balanced (men a little over at times in the beginner's class) which was great I prefer that to a thousand extra women. Even then there were a lot of women that I would have loved to dance with that I never got the chance to.

Someone also said that a bunch of the women said they really enjoyed dancing with me. Yeay!

( Read more... )

OK. So this is just getting silly. I will get around to making all my back catalogue of posts. I'm sure many of you are wondering why I'm bothering.

Tonight was really good; I had some fab dances and one that just really connected and worked. It had been a while since I had danced with the woman and she got all cheery and said how much I had improved and how much she enjoyed the dance. I shall definitely ask her to dance more in the future.

I feel that Thursday night's playlist could do with a bit of a change though; maybe just a slightly wider pool of tracks would help. I mean, I like dancing to familiar tracks, but the introduction of tracks I haven't heard presents a challenge and keeps the music fresh. Salsa often drives me mad due to the similarity of the tracks; I'd hate to think that Ceroc would end up doing the same.

( Move List )

Well a write up of the BFG and my Thursday night lesson are coming. I've voice recorded them at the moment so I don't forget them. My fourth party representing my fourth month of dancing, pretty much, as well. Unfortunately it wasn't the best party nor did I think I was particularly on form. The night started badly when in my second dance I nearly dropped someone; now I know that it happens and I didn't actually drop her but it still made me a little on edge. However as I try not to make drops a large part of my dance anyway then my lack of desire to do them didn't really affect my night that much. I think generally I just had difficulty concentrating and it took me quite a few dances before I felt more on form. Saying that I did have one woman mention I had a reputation (which was good apparently :D) as I asked her to dance. The music was very much what I've come to expect from an Edinburgh party night; I like a lot of the tracks but I felt there could have been some new stuff thrown in. Tried a bit more double trouble too and that seemed to go quite well; I ended up double troubling on the last track (excluding the twilight dance) and felt quite good at the end. So started bad and progressed to better throughout the night. I had a very good time post party as well :).

Went to ceroc tonight and really did have some great dances. I feel it is important to mention that before going on to say that I was hoping I improved a little more. When I was dancing on Sunday (at the BFG which I will finish writing about) I felt there were only a couple of dances that went wrong and so many that just felt so right. Maybe it was the music or atmosphere. Maybe my sleep deprivation just made me think everything was great. I suppose my biggest disappointment in myself is that I had the best dance with someone from Edinburgh on Sunday and I was really hoping for that same feeling tonight. Though the dance wasn't bad; it just wasn't... that. Also someone commented that I was rushing the moves by half a beat; some times just not completing the moves on the beat etc. I shall work on this; I think it is, as she said, that I'm thinking about getting into the next move rather than that pause. Anyway met a couple of first time people that had a fantastic following skills; though they were a bit uncertain I still lead them through a few intermediate moves. Hope both of them return.

( Moves! )

I suppose it could also be factors outside of dancing that have actually affected my night. It hasn't been a good week so far.

This is what you get for writing a Thursday post on a Monday. You've forgotten much of the event. As a result it is just a list of moves being, as it was, overshadowed by the BFG (write up coming).

( Moves )

Well my third week of Salsa in my current class. Unlike last week were we didn't really learn anything in the way of moves we learned quite a few this week. Since there is a long intermediate class after the beginner and nothing for us beginners to do but watch or (yeah right :)) chat then I didn't wait around for freestyle. As such I didn't really get to practice any moves or enjoy a freestyle :(.

( Salsa Move Stuff )

Tonight the venue was in a bit of disarray. The taxi dancer was also the venue manager which meant that she couldn't take the beginner revisited class during the intermediate. The beginner class went on past what would be freestyle and into intermediate. The intermediate class went on well past half nine. Furthermore the beginners couldn't do the revisited class until after the intermediate class. I was tempted to offer to taxi but, again, it would be on my own and I don't think I'd be very good (there would be a way to find out though). Had some good dances and noticed that there are some really good beginner followers out there. Danced with my ickle sister and one of my long term friends in some double trouble which was good fun even though I was making up most of it. Being super busy with women I didn't get the chance to dance with half of the people I wanted to including a big bunch of beginners which I really wanted to. Seriously I should give this taxi thing a go.

( List of Moves )

Why not leave the post till super late again? It was stupidly busy tonight. There was probably as many women as last week and then more men had turned up to make it so packed that you could hardly move on the dance floor. It was an enjoyable night with some enjoyable moves. I can't believe that we still consider the In-and-Out as a move. I suppose the other three basic moves were quite complex but they could have at least done a Sidestep or something. Intermediate moves were really good.

( The really good intermediate moves )

Right salsa it is. First of I found out that we are doing New York (Cross Body) style of salsa. Given that I don't know anything about the Cuban style that's popular I'm not really sure where the differences are. Anyway first they teach an interesting dancers frame (higher arms elbows out) and leading with the shoulder for a spin. Apart from my lack of balance I was finding I could project myself through a double spin occasionally. Had totally forgotten the left hand turn from last week. I think the key point being that I kept trying to put a spin into it (there really is only a pivot). I probably asked less people this week than I did last being content to chat to people. I really should have danced with more people though. At times I also find trying to get the correct beat in the music difficult and in moves that are prone to falling out of beat I often don't correct. I'm also prone to rushing through the silent beat as well.

They did do a good job at telling you about using the balls of your feet rather than heels and how to distribute your weight; frame technique and such. Even if I can't, at the end of it all, still get that salsa feel I think I'll still walk away feeling that I've learnt a lot. They teach a good grounding in the theory of dance :D.

Anyway we did a cross body lead which involved using the first part of a left turn but stepping out to the side creating a gap for the woman to walk through. Guide her with the frame (so pushing on her high back and pulling with your left hand) then turn her to face and move back into "the line". Revisited some of the stuff from last week. I also lead a left turn using the ladies left hand and a right handed turn for the lady where you break her turn with a flat right hand (to her left) and turn her around for a left hand turn. The intermediate class did a multiple cross body lead that I tried to shadow with a friend. Basically its the cross body but rather than pivot to face your partner you pivot to the other side and keep an open line so you can cross lead your partner again then do the same again (you are transfering momentum at this stage) and release into an open hold. I'd say that I successfully did it about 25% of the time :(.

Something wasn't quite right last night. I'm not sure if I just wasn't focused or it was the miserable weather (yes; I'm aware it is indoors) but I didn't feel particularly on form. This especially was true during class where I was hopeless with one of the moves which is the first time, in a while, where I've struggled with an intermediate move to the extent that I was prepared to give up on it. This was particularly crippling as I didn't actually think the move was that difficult maybe just to much unnatural feeling movements. I managed to mess up the second move for a while but then I realised I was offering my right hand; doh.

Despite not feeling on form I did have a surprising number of good dances. I was also snatched up by a few women for dances too which always feels good :D. So despite feeling like I was struggling and wasn't dancing at my best I did have a good time. Just hope my partners found it enjoyable too.

( Two Lovely Moves; One EVIL One )