Let's All Meet Up in the Year 2000

Me at Raks Spooki V, performing to "Bad Things" (Theme from True Blood), photo taken by Najmat!

We were afraid we weren't getting any trick or treaters this year, but surprisingly they all started showing up after 6pm.  Some really adorable costumes have been coming though :-)
.

One good thing about driving a car, even--maybe especially--in horrid rush hour traffic is that you get the chance to listen to college radio, and hear over the course of a couple of hours alternative news, Native American music (powwow, rock, blues, whatever, so long as a Native American made it) and a show whose only unifying theme is that all the songs are sung/rapped/chanted/otherwise enunciated by women.  Need to find out what that Portuguese techno was...

I'd kind of forgotten just how damn funny powwow music can be.  Humor, as Sherman Alexie said in Indian Killer, may be born of a survival strategy, but at least it's smart, provocative strategy that works the brain.  I do miss the days when I spent a lot of time in that world.  Not long ago I googled some of the people I knew back in Chicago and Canada, and it was so wrenching how many were dead in their 50s and 60s--cancer, complications from diabetes, a mysterious death in a bar.  Here on the US East Coast we don't see Native American issues that immediately, except for casino negotiations, and it's easy to romanticize reservation life in many ways.  And indeed, it isn't all horrible, there is strong community and the continuation of traditions and values, but so much of it is truly grim, in a way that surpasses anything I've ever seen in urban settings.  One of those who has passed away told me back in my anthropology student days that I would sooner or later leave Native American issues behind, because all the students eventually do.  I was a bit insulted, and insisted no, I was in it for the long haul.  But here I am, just as he predicted.

So for Columbus Day,as it seems timely, I'm going to try to put together a list of books, movies and some music that I think every American ought to read/see/hear.  It will just be my white girl's opinion, but they will be sources that educated me, and that I know ring true to the Ojibwe, Menominee, Hochunk, Kanienkehaka, Cree, Inuit and the other peoples it has been my privilege to meet over the years.  I can--should, must--do that much, share what I have been given.  Because that's the spirit in which it was given to me.
.

PSA to American restaurant-goers in Middle Eastern restaurants:  it's okay to look at the belly dancer!  It's what she's there for! ;-)
.

Not the dead dancing spy, but an organization that does important work for all women:

Meiver's School of Oriental Dance* Presents:
"BARAKA: A benefit for Matahari"
Annual Student Dance Recital and Showcase. Featuring diverse and mesmerizing dances from the Arab world presented by Meiver's students and guest artists.

Wednesday August 18th 2010
...7:30 PM
$15 ($13 students w/ID & Seniors)
The Multicultural Arts Center
41 Second St. Cambridge MA 02141 617.577.1400


Tickets are now available online!
At the CMAC homepage: http://cmacusa.org/
Direct ticket link: https://cmacusa.secure.force.com/ticket#details_a0OA0000000HebwMAC
Tickets are also available to purchase in person at the CMAC box office.

*We recommend buying your ticket in advance, as we expect the show to sell out.*

About Matahari:

Matahari: Eye of the Day
Ending Exploitation. Building Solidarity. Creating Community Solutions.

Matahari: Eye of the Day and its Solidarity Network projects address social injustices and human rights violations, including gender violence, slavery, sexual and labor exploitation and immigrant rights violations in the US. Our mission is to create safe, healthy communities, while shaping a strong social movement, prioritizing the leadership and voices of communities of color and immigrants. More about Matahari at http://www.eyeoftheday.org/.

*Baraka: in Arabic means spiritual wisdom, blessings, a gift from God.
*Raqs Sharqi (Oriental Dance in Arabic) is the term used in the Arab world for what Americans call "Belly Dance."

(I am performing in Meiver's troupe and as a soloist)
.

Wow, I am going to get soaked tonight.  I have an umbrella, but.

I have had no time to write my varied thoughts on SYTYCD; this morning started with an overflowing clogged toilet, and it hasn't gone far uphill from there.  On the positive side, I did keep the toilet water (not remotely to be confused with eau du toilette) from flowing out onto the hardwood floors, and I have kicked Access' arse at work today.  Anyway:
( SYTYCD )

Argh, not only I am going to get soaked but my meleya and veil and fans are going to get soaked too...
.

It was an interesting show last night.

( Read more... )

How annoying that Project Runway and the SYTYCD results show are on at the same time tonight.  Fox and Lifetime must be affiliated, because commercials for PR were running before SYTYCD--why set up that conflict?  Bad TV execs!
.

[Error: unknown template qotd]
Kermit the Frog, in a long red wig and belly dance costume.

( so you think you can dance... dance... dance... )

In other news, I've listened to the new M.I.A. album, and I like a lot about half of it, the loud abrasive non-autotuned half.  Not so convinced by the softer side.  As far as the singing and autotuning go, her unique voice has always been a major draw for me, and this material detracts from that.  Only listened to it through once though, so I'll give those songs some more chances.
.

I am currently reading China Miéville's The City & The City--to the writer of the cover blurb that says the book is the lost love child of Philip K. Dick and Raymond Chandler raised by Franz Kafka, I say yes, that's exactly it, and oh yes, I am loving it.  About a third of the way in so far.

Oh, and last night was SYTYCD.  ( SYTYCD spoilers )

It made it all the way down to 82 in the house this morning, so the ferrets got to come out and do their own dancing for a bit.  Happy weasels!
.

tabarnac it is hot hot hot!
.