Jeff

After meaning to do so for ages, I'm finally donating one of my AT&T 5620 blit terminals to the Computer History Museum. A nice, bitmapped, windowed, green phosphor, page display (1024x800) terminal using a Western Electric WE32000 processor and up to 1MB of memory from the early 1980s. Code ran split between the server and on the terminal, itself. I was still using it in the early 1990s connected to a BSD/OS box, along with another friend and colleague that also had one.

Alas, I assumed they wouldn't want my original IBM Personal Computer Model 5150 and ended up recycling it during my great purge process, recently. They were interested, after all. Luckily, they might get a friend's, instead. Though, I'm still bummed about not being able to donate mine.

Here's a quick pic of the blit terminal:

My dance troupe's big show is next week, Friday and Saturday, June 4th and 5th. Don't miss it! Buy discounted tickets online now before the show sells out. We only do this large performance every 2-3 years.

The Academy of Danse Libre presents
"M is for Mazurka", a Dancing Whodunnit!
The long-awaited opening night of Club Bijou unfortunately ends with the mysterious death of business tycoon Bartholomew Buchanan. Follow Inspector Kelly as he attempts to unravel this tale of intrigue and dance that will take you from the 1930s back to the Victorian and Ragtime eras.

Also featuring performances by the Swing Cats Rhythm Revue.

TICKETS: http://danselibre.org/show.html

Friday and Saturday, June 4th and 5th.
Doors at 7:30pm; show starts at 8pm.

Cubberley Theatre
4000 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303

Web: http://danselibre.org/
YouTube: http://youtube.com/academyofdanselibre
Facebook: http://facebook.com/danselibre

The summer has gone by way too fast. And, I still haven't been making time to update here. We'll see if I can make more time going forward for that.

This summer hasn't gone as I'd hoped in at least two ways. My health has mostly stayed in good form. I've been traveling a lot these past several months, entirely for dance. Even the family visit included a dance trip.

I participated in the NY Baroque Dance Company's Historical Dance Week with a group of fabulous dance historians, teachers, performers, and students. Though having no Baroque experience, I jumped into an intermediate/advanced Baroque dance class and managed to do reasonably well, considering that. ;) Nice compliments. Plus, a great group of friendly, supportive, social dancers.

Some of the roles I seem to have taken on, recently:
Marketing Director
Steering Committee member
Mentor
Dancer
Guest performer
Video editor
Designer
Teacher
Coach
Beta tester

My commitment load is very heavy. I'm still missing something in my life. But, still have some hope.

The M.C. Escher exhibit at the Portland Art Museum ends up 13 September 2009. I hope to see it, but may not be able to fit it into my schedule.

Come to Friday Night Waltz tonight, Friday, July 17th, in Palo Alto! Richard Powers is teaching the Bohemian National Polka tonight at 7pm sharp. (Last time the BNP was taught at FNW: May 2004.) There are various videos on YouTube. The BNP is danced at every FNW and danced around the world. Social tango figures will be taught at 8:15pm. There's an introductory waltz class 7-9pm downstairs, too.

Dancing 9pm-midnight. $12 for classes/dance. $8 for dance only. Casual comfortable attire. All ages.

Come dance with me!

Danse Libre's final season performance will be at PEERS Secret Agents' Ball TONIGHT, Saturday, 6 June 2009. We'll be performing three Ragtime era dances (hesitation waltz, tango, and a Castle walk one step) around 9:45pm, I believe. Some of us may also be helping with a Big Apple (everyone dancing) around 8:45pm.

General info: Class 7-8pm; dancing begins at 8pm; $20.

Since I'll be dancing on the Queen Mary next week (and leave Sunday morning), I'll likely be leaving PEERS shortly after our performance (after I change out of my tailcoat). If you want to dance, grab me on the early side or let me know so we can try to grab a dance right before I depart.

Another month goes by without time to write. Maybe someday soon I'll write more again.

Some of what I've been up to (in no particular order):

o family birthdays.
o severe allergies or normal kind of illness.
o trip to visit family. meeting my new niece.
o checking out the piano I grew up on and considering having some work done on it.
o dancing while traveling. reconnecting with dancers there.
o vintage waltz workshop in Lexington, KY.
o changes at work (as predicted, but having an impact on my vacation).
o only barely finding time for personal projects.
o turning an overbooked weekend into one of rest with apologies to friends events I had to skip:
- a play, recitals, dance performances, dances, friends booths and talks at maker faire, friends attending maker faire.
o registering for the Stanford Dance Weekend and hearing about a good friend registering, too.
o missing talking with various friends.
o missing getting together with others.
o trying to figure out how to get everything completed in the short amount of time I have.
o providing help for a friend and getting the opportunity to chat for a while.
o finally catching up with another.
o my own performance.
o dancing all night for the 4th year in a row.
o helping celebrate a couple friends' wedding.
o missing some a friend's band and other events to rest and take of my own health.

There were details I thought about and wanted to write up here, but they'll just disappear or be written about another time.

Next week I get to dance on the Queen Mary and will be visiting with an ex and good friend I met 22 years ago. It'll be great to meet her kids and see her and her husband again.

I'll be dancing at FNW in Palo Alto tonight! Richard Powers and Angela Amarillas will be teaching Frankie Manning's Shim Sham at 7pm. Frankie, one of the original lindy hop dancers from the 1930s, passed away this week, a month shy of his 95th birthday.

decadance will be performing at the first break (~9:45pm).

$12 for Classes and dance ($8 for students). Classes 7-9pm. Dancing 9pm-midnight. Casual attire and friendly dancers. No partner necessary.

Come dance with us!

Come see Danse Libre perform an approximately hour long show this Sunday, 26 April 2009, starting at 3:30pm at the Cubberley Community Center Auditorium in Palo Alto. Danse Libre will perform a variety of dances from the 19th and early 20th centuries (Victorian and Ragtime eras) in period costume. Each dance brings a period in history to life, complete with the music, dance, dress, and mannerisms of the time.

This FREE performance is part of the Adele Saxe Cultural Arts Series organized by the Oshman Family Jewish Community Center.

RSVP via the facebook event.

Performance details:

FREE
Sunday, 26 April 2009, 3:30pm - 5pm
Cubberley Community Center Auditorium
4000 Middlefield Road
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(near the Mountain View border)

I'll be at the final performance of Cats tonight at the West Valley Light Opera in Saratoga. jhazen is playing Old Deuteronomy!

I'll be dancing at Friday Night Waltz in Palo Alto tomorrow, Friday, 20 March 2009. My former instructor Anna Botelho will be teaching some fun classes from 7-9pm. There are always introductory waltz classes downstairs, too. Dancing 9pm-midnight. $12 for classes and dancing. You should come dance with me.