Monday, February 28, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
The Double D Movement
Dancers for Democracy: LET IT HANG!
Did you know your dancing was supporting people who are actively working to demolish the NEA, unions, and Planned Parenthood? Lycra®, one of our beloved faux fibers, is manufactured by INVISTA, a subsidiary of Koch Industries, owned by the infamous Koch Brothers.* How can we run our State Representatives ragged to stop the cuts when we are accidentally funding the campaigns to enact them? Swear off the Lycra®! I know it seems like a random thing, a "few dancers and yoginis swearing off Lycra®," but together we have an incredible reach and cultural impact.
Think of all the dance competitions locally, globally and televised. That's a LOT of Lycra®. There is also an incredible influence of Yoga on today's fashion styles. TJ Max is seething with Lycra®-infused tops and bottoms, not to mention undies and bras. And let's be honest, these items tend to give us headaches and rashes. Save your bodies, save your democracy, and save the environment: boycott Lycra®.
Besides, this might be the extra push you need to walk more, change your eating habits and love the skin you're in!
Yes, this is scary, and likely heart-wrenching, especially if you remember the days of polyester, but this is important. Besides, we are only asking that you stop buying new gear. You can swap, you can go to used clothing stores, but no you cannot accept gifts of new outfits; that would be cheating.
If you want to go radical, toss it all out, or make very funny stuffed "animals," write to your favorite brand, like say, um, Lululemon or Danskin, and ask them to invest in finding a high performance fabric to use that does not include Lycra. As a matter of fact, let's just call our beloved dance wear brands and ask if they have apparel without Lycra. That would be a good way to start.
Lululemon has a fabric education page (of course they do) but let's call to make absolutely sure...phone: 1.877.263.9300 ext. 2 or phone: 1.604.215.9300
Danskin does not have fabric care page and if you bought their gear from Wal-Mart, you have to call a completely different number. Whoa. Here is the corporate number and email Toll Free: 1-877-443-2121
Email: edanskin@danskin.com
Think about it: are there alternative fibers and designs that we have been ignoring out of habit?
Now who can get this message out to their mass mediated patrons/clients/agents? Can we reach into SYTYCD? Can you figure out how to enlist your students in a campus-based viral campaign? Can you host a bra top sewing party? What ways can you support your body without Lycra? Make a video and post! Create a postcard for us to hang in dance studios everywhere! Keep a blog journal of a day without Lycra®--this might be devestating if you are a Vickies fan ;-< but worth the drama! record your call to the apparell companies. You can send them all to editor [at] afrological [dot] com. If they aren't too lewd, they will be posted. Spread the word. Let 'em bounce. Let'em fly. Let it all hang out.Boycott LYCRA®. Join the Double D Movement. Dance for Democracy.
*I posted an earlier note about these two gentleman if you are not aware who they are and what they have been up to, especially in Wisconsin, where there is a citizen occupation of the state house.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
AFRO ALERT: are you funding the end of your democracy?
The boycott of Koch Industries has begun. Who or what is that? Koch Industries belong to two arch conservative, yet exceptional businessmen known collectively as "The Koch Brothers." These two men are funding major strategy and policy shifts across the United States, including in the Supreme Court. They hold meetings for a very select few, offering opportunities far from Washington, DC to influence politics and society. They have been very successful in their endeavors, mainly due to the confluence of secrecy, money and oppositional inertia. Those of us who believe in a society where happiness counts, with public commons and good at the center have been bickering among ourselves as to the best route to take to maintain these values.
I rather believe that what has actually happened is that the Democratic Party has attempted to usurp these ideals while running a game of long term strategy that has yet to pay off. They generally have messed things up with all their horse trading and insider back biting. What a perfect opportunity for very patient, reform-minded ultra-right wing investors, corporations and strategists. Don't hate the player; hate the game. No matter the party in power, money will win in this game. Which is why we MUST boycott these products, regardless of your political ilk.
It is incumbent upon us all to restore the value of our vote. If two brothers can eviscerate our Commons, upend our social contract with a few timely meetings and millions of dollars, then we are all, ALL, just a few decisions away from becoming indentured servants. Don't know what I am talking about? Ask anyone with credit card debt higher than $15,000 or college loans over $100,000 if they feel in control of their destiny. Read what Egyptians, Tunisians, Bahrainians, Saudis and Libyans had to say about living in oil-rich countries with few if any social services, job opportunities, and CULTURAL OUTLETS. Yes, the cuts of the Planned Parenthood, NEA, NEH, CPB, and NPR are all part of this "social blitz."
Let's stop chasing each issue and cut to the chase: keep your money in your pocket.
Guess what? If you refrain from buying these exceptionally toxic and environmentally destructive products, you become instantaneously green! Imagine that. Not only are they controlling our perceptions of society at large, but The Koch Brothers are also decimating our forests, polluting our indoor air and giving us skin rashes. DANCERS: they make Lycra. Time to make like Isadora Duncan or go completely Wolof and hit the cotton supports! Dancers for Democracy Let it Hang!
BOYCOTT KOCH INDUSTRIES
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Time Capsule: Gandy Dancers, Washerwomen & Wisconsin
Songs and dance organize labor, especially repetitive, dull, difficult labor. Mechanization often is said to liberate humans from this type of work, but it also usually frees employers from dealing with people who are literally synchronized into pools of labor, where they can clearly see the value of their work. This also means that mechanization has displaced communal labor and thus communal memory. Not to fall into the pit of nostalgia for "simpler times," these workers instead show us the value of group negotiations; of power through collectivity.
In our mediated, mechanized culture (because it is not like this everywhere), it becomes much more difficult for workers to galvanize their efforts, to work as a union without giving the appearance of being exclusionary and/or parasitic. This is awful. When you watch the Gandy Dancer's video, you will hear towards the end how unions made it possible for these mean to take their very intricate knowledge and advance in the companies that simultaneously valued and disavowed their contribution to the railroad.
The washerwomen in Brasil fought hard to get the right to the equivalent of a social security card so that they could have retirement. In the clips, they all speak about learning these songs as a way to make the work happen, even when it felt impossible. They sung and danced themselves back to their own humanity. That's what unions do; they guard the humanity of workers.
Now, our current problem is that contemporary unions also protect and reward ineffective workers simply because of how much time they have had on the job, not necessarily because of evidence of specialized knowledge. We are at a tipping point where many people who would like to become workers feel they cannot because unions are making sure that their members stay in jobs that are either no longer needed (stalling digitization of records for example), or maintaining practices that no longer serve the needs of society (like last one hired, first one fired). While this may not be true, it is the perception and possibly exists because we do not labor all that much as a nation any more.
In particular, the role of teacher unions in large cities in the US have become fraught with these questions. For example, here in Los Angeles, there are "banked minimum days" that teachers use to meet and learn from each other, but this happens during school hours, thus reducing the amount of classroom time for students and creating a bit of work havoc for parents, especially single working parents. Parent teacher conferences no longer happen at night, but during the day, again cutting into instructional hours and work hours for parents. It is great for teachers who want to get off campus asap, but for those committed to teaching, those precious missing hours are debilitating. For parents who want to be involved with their child's learning but cannot leave work for fear of loosing their at will jobs (an entire other discussion about unions), these "business hours" for teachers are especially punitive. This is an instance where collective bargaining may be hindering the labor needed to complete the job. Very touchy stuff.
So look to Wisconsin right now, where a Tea Party governor is trying to eradicate unions by stripping collective bargaining, and then think about advances in railroad maintenance and clothes washing. Would those advances even have ocurred were people still treated as indentured servants today? Collective bargaining pushes innovation. Song and dance define humanity. Let's not loose sight of that.
Enjoy these videos.
http://www.folkstreams.net/film,101
Gandy Dancers, Film by Barry Dornfeld, Maggie Holtzberg-Call
Lavadeiras de Almenara
Check out this website for the North East Festival of Washer Women in Brasil!
Saturday, February 19, 2011
AFRO ALERT: or cp-timed listings 2/19/2011
To listen to LA news, the sky is falling, but it is just rain. What this means for those of you headed out to take in some of the MANY magnificent dance shows and film screenings tonight is that you WILL take the streets. Steer clear of the freeways as they have absolutely horrible drainage and most of the lane dividers are not visible during downpours, let alone during downpours at night. Give yourself some extra extra time to get to the show, which means as soon as you are done reading this, head to the theater of your choice!
REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012 Winter Studio, Saturday & Sunday, February 19 - 20, 8:30 PM; $15/$12/$8
Winter Studio 2011 features some of my fav fools of the performance art scene: Marcus Kuiland Nazario and Kristena Wong. This round of STUDIO is INSANE! OMG, looks ridiculously good. I am especially interested in BEATRIX*JAR: B. LUXX & J. STARR but I am wondering about putting an ensemble piece with six kids, EMILY MAST: WE PLAY NOTHING, on the same bill as Cat Lady. Wong's Cat Lady is nasty nasty nasty. I laughed so hard at Anatomy Riot #38, almost dropped my camera phone. MKN's Drift is most assuredly not all about sleep neither, ahem. Well, who am I to talk? Gregory Barnett selects his outrageously revealing outfits based on whether or not my kids will be in the audience.
PAN AFRICAN FILM FESTIVAL, Culver Plaza Theater, 9919 Washington Blvd, Saturday night February 19th, tickets at the box office, $11
Fantastic fantastic fantastic line up of films, and the rain even gave us a break a bit earlier today, atypical for the festival which almost always takes place during a torrential downpour. Oh the black girl hair angst! Right, so films to go check tonight, seeing as I missed "The Prof" by Abena Busia this morning at 11 AM (walking pneumonia is no joke). Well, tonight, there is quite a range of things to see, so please go "flip through" this pretty happening film guide. Desert Flower, about a refugee from Mogadishu finding a career as a supermodel in London sounds interesting for 8:30, Mountains Take Wing at 6:30 PM could be both depressing and incredibly inspiring, especially if you love you some Angela Davis; at 8 PM definitely go check Flags, Feathers and Lies, a documentary on the Mardis Gras Indian and the possible disappearance of this unique art form; and PAFF staff highly recommend Scheherazade,Tell Me Story, a narrative film depicting a female talk show host in Egypt who unwittingly oversteps her boundaries
A Little Louder: Performance in Conversation #1: DOUGLAS KEARNEY, Kristi Engle Gallery, 5002 York Blvd., Los Angeles, CA Saturday, Feb 19, 8 - 11:30 PM
Highland Park is in for a treat. This is one bad-ass poet. Brotha can ROCK IT! I might end up there, though Studio doth call. If you have never seen this man do his do, you gotta get there.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Americans for the Arts E-Advocacy Center
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Thursday, February 10, 2011
BREAKING LOCAL SCHOOL GARDENING NEWS
OK Y'all. Egypt is on the brink of something major, The NEA is about to be sliced and diced and though we love to say the word "innovation," very few folks are willing to undo business as usual in order to foster it. Feeling helpless? DON"T. We still got our collective mojo and here is one of those moments where we can exercise it. My new BFF, Mud Baron, is seeking to revolutionize school gardens EVEN THOUGH HE GOT SACKED BY LAUSD. That's right, a little more cow bell please! Hate on Hater, but he's gonna do him, and what he does is plant for change. Please read below for instructions on how to get him 100,000 organic seed packs plus wheelbarrows, shovels and other farming tools the kids will need to grow their own food.
your voice is best!> Or click HERE:
http://shortyawards.com/CocoxochitlIt's part of an online contest called the shortys. Online contests are silly, resources for cash-strapped schools, not. A sample wishlist is up herehttps://sites.google.com/site/greenshortypledge/home/micheltorena-elementary-school-and-community-gardenand here:https://sites.google.com/site/greenshortypledge/home/-bk-farmyards-school-garden-listtumblr here:http://schoolgardencoop.tumblr.com/Mud Baron aka @cocoxochitl, needs 370 votes to match over $300,000 in in-kind support for school gardens in LA, SF, Denver, New Orleans and Brooklyn. There are 100 of you that can help do this and it takes 10 seconds. We are looking to never have to buy organic, heirloom seeds again for our school gardens if we do this.> Thank you.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Finale of the Golden Dragon Parade 2011
What a surprise! In previous years, we were never able to get close to the final fireworks, but this year I discovered that the Lion Dancers "eat" firecrackers as they pop. The Lions chase the fuses up to the bar where they are tied. Because of the smoke and ash (!) I had to put the camrera away for a bit. It was a formidable feat of dance and martial arts. Worth risking the burning eyes if you ever get the chance to see it.
