Hoop dreams
Hooping.org has been named Top Blog by an Australian news website! Read the blurb here. (via Ariel)
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.: posted by Vera 
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Spun
I finally saw Spun. Colin, my sister and I rented it on Saturday night. It's about a bunch of crazy speed freaks. We went to bed right after watching the movie. The next morning, it was interesting to hear the different sleep experiences the three of us had after watching the Spun kids go on a sleepless four day speed binge. My sister reported that she couldn't fall asleep. It was as if she was on speed herself. Colin said that he had intense, high strung dreams that night. I on the other hand was so thankful that I wasn't on speed and actually tired that I immediately sunk deep into my pillow with a smile and woke up very well rested the next morning.
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.: posted by Vera
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I love LA
After about nine hours of driving along the coast, my sister and I arrived in Los Angeles last night. We are staying at my friend Colin's in West LA. Colin is letting us sleep in his regal king size bed while he is sleeping on a self-inflating queen size air matress which he plugged into the outlet as soon as we got home last night. What did we come home from? First we had Sushi at Wana Sushi. The waitress was super sweet but an airhead and forgot to bring our edamame, California roll and Vegetable Tempura, basically half of our order. By the time we alerted her to this, the kitchen was closed.
Then we went over to Zanzibar in Santa Monica. This was very fitting, I thought, since my sister spent three months in Tanzania a few years ago (I think it was '98) and has been to Zanzibar! It was Bossanova night at Zanzibar, and the music was fantastic. I'm normally not a big House head, but last night I was! There is something magical about the bass at that club; it made the place vibrate so much, it sounded like a steady whistle blow. The club also has several very comfortable couches with lots of pillows and a cool breeze, where you can go to take a break from the dance floor oven.
Towards the end, my sister the heartbreaker was hit on by a tall handsome blond Russian named Sergej who invited all of us to a party at Michael Bey's house. Yes, that would be director Michael Bey. He said it was on Apollo in Mount Olympus. Colin said "Sure, I know where that is." So we drove over to Hollywood, took Laurel Canyon towards the hills, made a right on Mt. Olympus and after cruising the sleepy neighborhood for about an hour, we finally found Apollo. But there was no party. There were no lights, no cars, no people; the entire street was asleep. Looks like Sergej didn't know Michael Bey as well as he represented. Just as well because I was tired and ready for that king size bed.
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.: posted by Vera
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Limon & Oxygen
Last night my sister and I went out with two people I work with, Israel and Edwin. My friend Lura came too. I invited Israel because he is cool and because he speaks Spanish. My sister spent almost a year in Spain recently, and I thought it might be nice for her to be able to speak Spanish while she is in this strange, English-speaking country. And I invited Edwin because he is just plain cool.
We had dinner and Sangria at Limon and took lots of pictures with various camera phones. Afterwards we went to the Oxygen Bar and inhaled some oxygen. Bianca, Israel and Edwin had never done this before, but I'm pretty sure we all found it very relaxing.
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.: posted by Vera
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Piano techno
Once again, I have to point to the awesome Menu/Hyper Breaks mix I mentioned the other day. There is this old school piano section that starts at about 2 hours and 21 minutes, and that's when the host says
Sending this one out to those who remember, to all the Spanish ravers, to all the UK ravers, to all the worldwide ravers, that know.
References like that make me feel all fuzzy. I wasn't part of the scene yet when electronic music had piano in it, but I recognize an old school track when I hear it. And I'm sure Sean, the old school raver pictured next to my sister below, would really appreciate the host's homage.
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.: posted by Vera
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Hello Kitty is British
The Chinese takeout guy at lunch today noticed my Hello Kitty sunbrella. He asked me if I liked Hello Kitty. I said that I did and asked him if he did too. He said that he didn't but that he had two little girls one of which was crazy about Hello Kitty. Then he asked me if I knew where Hello Kitty was from. I said that I didn't. He said that everybody thinks Hello Kitty is from Japan but that she is really from England, according to a TV show he saw recently. So there. That was educational. Of course he didn't say England; he said Engrand. But I think I knew what he meant.
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.: posted by Vera
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Cyberfest
My sister and I went to Cyberfest last night. It was fantastic. It was so good that when it ended at 2am and the entire Cow Palace was leaving at the same time, the crowd started screaming in appreciation. I have never seen anything like it. A crowd of perhaps a couple of thousand people was screaming at the top of its collective lungs, basically expressing "This party rocked!"
Madame Mercury tore it UP. This was the third time I have seen her now, and it only gets better. What a tease Dieselboy was though. First he made us wait for at least 45 minutes from his scheduled set time while this annoying band was playing with REAL instruments - the horror! (I don't mean to offend anybody who likes real instruments, but I just happen to prefer machine-made music, especially when I'm at, you know, a RAVE.) So when Dieselboy and his loyal MC finally came on, they only played for about 15 minutes! I have no idea what was up with that.
I also met a very cute boy. I don't know if I'll ever see him again, but even just meeting him was a VERY GOOD THING.
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.: posted by Vera
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No longer airborne
My sister has arrived.
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.: posted by Vera
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Not a good time for beetles
This morning I attempted something that my landlady attempted two weeks ago when she wound up physically abusing my only child. It was street cleaning time on our side of the street so I moved my car from our side of the street to the opposite side of the street. I did this without ending up on the neighbors' house back on OUR side of the street. It really was quite simple. Get in the car, start it, drive across the street, park it, turn it off, all is well. This is what my landlady did two weeks ago: Get in the car, start it, haul ass across the street, haul ass against a tree on the other side of the street causing smoke to rise, kick it in reverse without ever letting go of the gas pedal, haul ass back towards our side of the street almost running over my roommate, crash into an innocent yellow bug causing it to fly but still don't take the foot off the gas, instead use the innocent yellow bug as a guardrail towards the neighbors' building, haul ass into another tree, keep hauling ass in reverse up the neighbors' stairs, fiddle with the shift to shift it back into first gear, hear my roommate scream at the top of his lungs, turn it off, climb down out of the car and off of the building, all is not well.
I hope to get my car back on Friday.
Today -- you will not believe this -- I witnessed yet another car run into another beetle on the same block - my block! This time it was a green beetle. If you have a beetle, do not go near the block of Texas Street between 18th and 19th. It's NOT a healthy block for beetles.
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.: posted by Vera
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Bye bye baby blue cell phone
 I have gone about as far as I can go with my Nokia 5190. Yeah, it was fun changing around its face plates. I went from baby blue to pink to turquoise to Hello Kitty and back to baby blue. Yeah, I really liked its "Dizzy" ring tone option. It made my phone sound like it was from another planet. But those are just superficial things. I am normally very superficial even when it comes to utilitarian items (why else do you think I got a yellow beetle?), but for my cell phone I have decided to be more practical now. A while ago I mentioned that I would like to get a Pocket PC or something similar. But I have decided that that is too much of an investment for now. I opted for something slightly cheaper and smaller, a cell phone that is also web-enabled and will let me check my email, get directions and other good stuff like taking pictures. So I got a Sanyo SCP-8100. Ariel, who recently got the phone herself, helped me make the decision by doing all sorts of experiments as to how much it can actually do on the web. I was satisfied and ordered it. It arrived yesterday.
Speaking of cell phones: My first one was a tiny electric blue Ericsson CF768 (the one pictured first in the list) that I got in 1999. Remember those? I think I recently saw one on display at a museum.
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.: posted by Vera
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Brown liquid meth
I had a mocha at about 4 this afternoon, and I completely FREAKED OUT and haven't stopped. I am Speedy Fucking Gonzales. Everything I have done since can only be described as FRANTIC, whether it was talking to coworkers, going to the bathroom, driving home, reading emails, writing emails, shopping for Puma shoes, putting on chapstick or twirling my hair. I don't know if I'll ever sleep again.
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.: posted by Vera
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Music that makes you go mmm
For a while when I was growing up, I had a friend named Tobi. He lived across the street. In 7th grade he said something that I haven't forgotten. He mentioned that there are some songs that are so good that they make him think of all the hot girls he has ever known. I don't remember which song we were talking about in particular.
One time in 1997, a few friends and I were driving in a car listening to Prodigy when one of my friends said that the music was so good it made him horny.
However you express it and whichever music does it for you, I think we all know what I'm talking about. I prefer to call it "music that's so good it makes me believe that the world is really okay and always will be." One example of such music is the part in this mix that starts at about 4:20. Aren't the screams and the squeals about the best thing you ever heard? Maybe not. But that's how I feel.
How do you feel when you hear music that takes you higher?
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.: posted by Vera
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Sunny Sunset Party
On Saturday afternoon I went to a fabulous fabulous Sunset Party in Golden Gate Park. It was in the same spot as the Sunset Party I went to last year. It was the hottest day I have ever seen in San Francisco (over 90 degrees), but luckily the dance floor was covered in shade. I ran into quite a few people I knew including Araya, the high impact girl I had met four years ago and recently ran into again. I also met Qzen, a local Jungle DJ who I had communicated with on Friendster. Qzen is probably the only girl I know besides myself who ALWAYS wears her glasses. Always. I recognized her at the party and was about to go over and talk to her when she approached me asking if she could try a hoop. There. The hoop makes everything effortless.
More pictures from the party here.
I also hooped a lot on Sunday. Read the story here.
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.: posted by Vera
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One more week
Today is September 11th. This means that MY SISTER IS COMING IN ONE WEEK!
For a less irreverent take on this day, see the Esquire Story The Falling Man. (via Ariel (via Jason))
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.: posted by Vera
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Cubicle debauchery
I know you all have been wondering what I have been up to since it's been a while since my last vital sign. I'll tell you what I have been up to: Laughing at certain pictures from a certain party. The new Flash came out yesterday. And Sunday night we had a little party at work in its honor. The party has been exhaustively documented. So far there are no captions because pictures speak louder than words. Email me for the password if you would like a peek.
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.: posted by Vera
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Get Freaky
How fitting that on the night I finished translating The History of Breakbeat, I went to a party where two of England's most well-known Breaks producers played: Freq Nasty and Tipper. The party was called Get Freaky and it was at 550 Barneveld aka Space 550. I had never been to this club before, but it was awesome. It was a Burning Man afterparty, so there were lots of interesting costumes. Lura and I brought some hoops.
 
 
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.: posted by Vera
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Picture postcard from Burning Man
My friend Lura is the best. She sent me a postcard from Black Rock City! Apparently they have a post office there. Lucky me!
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.: posted by Vera
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The History of Breakbeat Part II
As promised, here is Part II of Dr. Schmidt's History of Breakbeat, translated into English. The History of Breakbeat Part II - Hardcore is a lot longer than Part I, which is why it took me so long. Enjoy.
Editor's Note: Now I finally understand why my roommate Zaina, who likes House, always refers to the music I am into as Hardcore. I always used to think "Harcore? Yeah, well, I guess it is harder than House, but why would you call it Hardcore?" But now I realize that she was actually just much better informed than I was.
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.: posted by Vera
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I knew nothing about this, I swear.
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.: posted by Vera
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Just when I thought that things were going a little too well..
My landlady, who is pretty old, decided this morning to floor the gas pedal on her little white Mazda and run into my car and into a tree and into the building next door. I was just rolling out of bed when it happened. My roommate knocked on the door and said "Vera, I have to talk to you." I thought "Oh shit. Did I leave my dishes in the sink?" No, I hadn't. But the landlady had ploughed into my car.
Surprisingly and luckily she wasn't hurt at all. Her little white Mazda, however, is totaled. My little yellow Beetle will be staying with friends over at Superior Automotive on 16th and Valencia for a while. In the meantime, I am driving an ugly Toyota rental car.
The positive side? The passenger side of my car was already a little scratched up anyway.
Editor's Note: A few updates.
1. My friends over at Superior told me that the estimate is at $5600 and counting.
2. My roommate posted some more pictures of the accident scene.
3. My roommate also told me that my landlady hit my car with so much force that it was LIFTED OFF the ground before it LANDED on the sidewalk.
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.: posted by Vera
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So, I just made an appointment for LASIK surgery.
I must say that I am very surprised they are even willing to attempt to correct my eyes. My eyes are something else. I have had magnifying glasses strapped onto my face since I was four years old. I am heavily farsighted and have an unhealthy amount of astigmatism. When I was 13, vanity started knocking on the door, and I decided to get contacts. After traveling the seventeen seas of heaven and the earth, my eye doctor, Doktor Aretz, found some rigid contacts for me that worked, but barely. For years he emphasized how difficult it was for him to fit contacts to my astigmatism-warped eyes. He always called me his "most special case." Sometimes he also called me his "guinea pig." A year and a half ago, I am told, no corneal surgeon would have wanted me as their guinea pig. But a new laser came out last year that can correct vision as "special" as mine. The appointment is on. The procedure is on October 8. Unless, of course, I chicken out and cancel it.
Editor's Note: The procedure has been rescheduled to January 15.
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.: posted by Vera
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Hoop sweatshop
Our hooping godfather Jason hosted a hoop making extravaganza at his new home in Berkeley yesterday. There were about 15 people, 400 feet of tubing, 20 different colors of tape, 2 blow driers, and one pot of hot water, and the result was: About 15 shiny new hoops! Read and see more about it here and here. I made a bright yellow hoop with bright pink and holographic blue accents.
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.: posted by Vera
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