Hola, Sneakers! Welcome to Episode 488 of the podcast that’s great!
This week: in the moment; Owen Chicken; clueless audience; who owes you; obscure sitcoms; forgotten unknowns; car show; it’s Cannon; non-native Native American; full of fear; tough time; metaphor mall; out on a limb; elusive chord; rude interruption; comics on one’s organ; bad time for enthusiasts; what the Beeple; can we be normal; won’t somebody think of the children; the luckiest generation; the voice of greed; the housing high tide; the laundry economy; she blew it; the upside-down boat; slim pickings indeed; you have to find your fun; invest in a moat; convince yourself; more Linklater; too authentic; scary times; stop talking; it’s what you want; unpronounceable force ghost; what the future holds; Dork Shadows – Death Is But a Dream; Question of the Week – Sneakers respond; good obituaries; tone deaf dance; white knights; tapcast; variable time; the bitter end; all or nothing; smells like Dave’s spirit; Butt love; angry Ian; rude interruption #2; and, finally, sacked.
Question of the week: When you’re finally vaccinated, what is the first thing you’d like to do?
Sub-question: Did you grow up with siblings? Did you get along? And if you didn’t have any brothers and/or sisters, did you wish you did?
Hey! Check Dave out on the Dirty Harry Minute discussing The Dead Pool like he knows something! Go here to hear!
Well, even the settings on the website agree with Ian!
We’ve talked about it twice. One more time and it will pop out of a mirror:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Ian left this out last week, I guess my long-winded message in turn took the breath out of Ian (Sorry Ian!):
Never really gave it much thought until you guys mentioned it but in my mind the week starts on Monday, with the obligatory “I Hate Mondays” to anchor down another five days of drudgery. The “Week End” includes Saturday and Sunday which I remember as a young child feeling like they should be larger on the calendar because they just felt bigger, larger and more important than the weekdays. Also as a young kid, I can remember feeling slightly depressed on late Sunday nights knowing it was soon to be over until the next weekend.
Sorry about that! I blame Dave.
No, blame me and my long-winded messages. The sad part is that when Listening Party is finally over, I’ll have to double up on my writing here. So get ready.
When I’m fully vaccinated and when it’s safe to do so, I’m looking forward to singing in person with my choir. There’s no at-home substitute for how it feels when you’re harmonizing shoulder to shoulder with 30 other people.
About the lindy hop scene in A Day in the Races. I found a helpful essay about it entitled
A Gaze into A Day at the Races.
https://swungover.wordpress.com/2020/04/24/a-gaze-into-a-day-at-the-races
The author is Bobby White (no irony intended) who is a white swing dance instructor who also writes about black art forms. He goes into great detail about the technical aspects of the dancing. Then he discusses the historical background of the negative stereotypes surrounding the number in a section he says he couldn’t help calling, “A Day at the Racists’?” He thoroughly analyzes what’s wrong about the scene while admiring what’s right about it.
Typo. A Day AT the Races.
Thanks for sharing the essay Louise, it’s a helpful tool to better understand the “then and now” of the Lindy Hop sequence from “A Day at the Races.” Every bit counts and even though I know the intention of filming these dancers, awesome as they may be, wasn’t meant to be harmful to black audiences at the time. It is dependent on us, through empathy and knowing the current social climate around us, to educate those who lack the context of sequences like this. Like I wrote last week, I think about the child who may be a newly budding Marx Brothers fan and sees this scene for the first time, what would they think? I’d hate for a young Marx fan to walk away from their entire body of work just because of this dance sequence. It’s our responsibility to us to provide context and understanding so that they aren’t damaged or uncomfortable about it and much like many other subjects, be open to an honest discussion about it. Matthew Coniam, one of the hosts of the Marx Brothers Council Podcast has a book titled “The Annotated Marx Brothers: A Filmgoer’s Guide to In-Jokes, Obscure References and Sly Details”, I’ll have to look up this scene in his book and see what he’s written about it, I may find some further insight. Like White wrote in the essay, it may have been included due to the popularity of “Porgy & Bess” but I’ll have to see if anything is written about what MGM was thinking. Having discussed dancing on the recent podcasts, I’ll say that I could watch performances like this all day. This whole thing is such a double edged sword for me and I’ll admit it can be just as difficult to watch as it is entertaining, I hope these performers are immortalized by their skill and hard work, not because of the color of their skin or stereotypes.
I am currently coming up to the three week anniversary of my first vaccination, still waiting for the second. What I’d like to do and what we’ll be able to do may not necessarily coincide as I’m a little ahead of the curve yet, but I am looking forward to getting together with friends, going to a movie, and the return of horse shows – Every. Single. Weekend. (or am I?)
Do I have a sibling? Why, yes I do – a brother who is almost three years younger than me. Did we get along? Why, yes we did – we are polar opposites, personality-wise, and I took full advantage of my brother’s gregarious nature by pointing him towards other kids on the playground and saying, ‘Go make friends with them’, and then I’d be able to come along for the ride, too (being too shy and retiring to go out and make my own friends).
As we got older we still were close, and when he left home at 18 to move to Alberta for a job I really missed him. Fortunately now we live only about 5 minutes away from one another.
I can understand missing the horses. I wonder if they’ve missed you? Didn’t you mention the great smell of horses a show or two ago? Horses smell wonderful, reminds me of the Texas State Fair in October we have here…the smell of corny dogs, funnel cakes and horses….
Hi there, I had to go re-read my response as sometimes I think I wrote something and instead wrote something totally different – I tend to do that way more speaking – like the time in Grade 2 when I did an oral report on Mt. Cook in New Zealand only to have some smarty-pants in the class point out my glaring error – I had been saying Mt. Baker (a local mountain across the border in Washington state that we could see from our front window) the whole time. D’oh!!! Anyway, it was horse shows I was missing (maybe not missing) – I usually spent pretty much every weekend April through October coaching at shows, and once a month over the cold winter months (brrrr). Fortunately through second and third wave I have been able to see the horses regularly, but during first wave I was not able to go see my horse from March through until the end of July. And he did miss me, I am sure. Our pony lives at another place so we were able to see him regularly as I am on the list for daily care for him.
By the time you read this, it’ll be two weeks since I was fully vaccinated, so I’ve already done what needed to be done. I drove to Denton, Texas where my brother lives and we met my parents for lunch…kind of a late birthday get-together for my Mom’s birthday in February that we skipped. Both my parents have been fully vaccinated before me and my brother has had his first last week, so we’re all almost there as a family. Being sight disabled, it’s been difficult for my brother to find out where to go, so we found him some assistance that was offered. He’s now signed up for both vaccinations, one down and one to go, as well as a ride to and from the site which happens to be the Texas Motor Speedway. I asked him if he planned on hanging around for the nitro burning funny car races. Susan and I received both of ours at our local mall, more specifically in the empty Sears that went out of business last year….I think I was in the Men’s Accessories department both times. Are they vaccinating in random locations like this up there in B.C.? I’ve heard of places where folks could even stay in their cars while getting the shot! So far it’s all gone very smoothly with no waiting and kind volunteers.
Like I mentioned above, I have one brother, he’s seven years younger than me so I kind of helped raise him and watched over him when we were kids. I can remember wanting a brother so bad that Mom told me to pray for one, so I’ll take full credit for him. We get along so well that we talk almost every day and I try to get up to where he lives as often as I can so I can take him places he can’t go to alone. He wasn’t always sight disabled, this has happened over the last eight years or so, slowly deteriorating due to a faulty optic nerve in his brain. It’s been frustrating for him to slowly give up the things we take for granted, like driving, reading and watching television but he’s done pretty well with the adjustments. On some days he can see better than others, stuff like barometric pressure and bright sunny days affect his sight the most. We grew up interested in most of the same things, so aside from sharing the same womb, we’re also very like-minded about everything. So much that we can easily tell what the other is simply thinking about.
To respond to your question about where they are vaccinating in BC, the answer is all over the place (but so far, no malls that I’ve heard of). In some remote areas with high case counts they have flown in and vaccinated the entire town, usually at the local medical centre. Our daughter Mary was vaccinated back in December on Day #2 of Canada’s vaccine roll out (due to her working with the elderly) – both times she went to the local hospital. My dad got his first in March, he went through a drive through (which is also a Covid testing drive through) in the parking lot of a local college. I got my first in March, also at a drive through but mine was in the school district’s warehouse – I got my appointment time, had driven into the first section of the warehouse within 4 minutes of arrival where I got my shot, then drove forward to the second section of the building where we had to turn off our vehicles and wait for 15 min., then off we went. In April they started a parallel vaccinate program using local pharmacies, and that’s where Dave got his shot. Mary’s boyfriend Duncan is a paramedic and he got his on site at work. Eve is the last in our family to be waiting for her inoculation; we will see where she has to go to get hers.
Hello David and Ian… and all the Sneaky listeners out there. Please don’t run me out on the rails when I say this, but I’ve been fully vaccinated since February. I was fortunate to have received the vaccine early when the Health Department had doses remaining at the end of the day. The downside of this is that I am the only one in my family vaccinated. Both my father and son have medical issues that puts them in the “at risk” category to not survive COVID. Not only is my son too young for a vaccine, but his medical team have concerns over how he might react to the vaccine since his condition is rare. So, my reality is that even though I am vaccinated, I could still catch the virus and be an asymptomatic carrier and pass it on to them. 🙁 I still have to wear a mask, wash my hands, social distance, and other safe measures. No fun times for me, yet. BUT, when all of this is OVER, I am going to go to England. I’ve always wanted to go. The planning for this trip gives me something positive to anticipate!
Sub-question: I have one brother. He’s ten years older than I am. When I was growing up, he was the coolest of the cool in my eyes. I remember that he had a huge floor model record player in his bedroom. When I was outside playing, he’d raise the window and call me over. He’d drop the needle on a record and ask me if I could name the song, band, and album. It was a fun game and it probably helped to influence my musical tastes. We’ve always got along well, but he lives a distance away. I haven’t seen him in person since before COVID. He’s afraid of unintentionally passing it on to me, our dad, or my son. He’s a thoughtful, considerate guy; and I am glad he’s my big brother. I am missing him right now, too.
Oh heck, I am late, late, late. Sorry I’ve been slacking again. But I wanted to answer the QOTW, because I am fully vaccinated as of mid-March! The most significant thing I’ve been able to do is sit in with some vaccinated friends who do a semi-regular live Facebook concert. We were actually able to hang out in their living room and sing and play and eat with no masks in sight, just like old times. It was a little weird at first – when I first got there I kept feeling like I should be holding my breath or something. But after a few minutes it all felt natural again. Even more excitingly, our full band (which also includes my dad) is booked for our official return on June 5th to the outdoor restaurant we used to play at once a month, and the gig is the day before my birthday! It’ll be the first time we’ve played since March 7th of last year.
Of course, I’m also still working at my shitty retail job and getting more and more burned out there (and it’s not just me – the job is actually getting shittier, as independently verified by multiple coworkers), so there’s this weird mood swingy thing happening where I’m stressed and miserable at work while simultaneously starting to get the good and meaningful things that I live for back in my life. Strange days indeed.
I hope everyone else reading or hearing this is feeling that hopeful glow in their lives as well. If you haven’t been vaccinated yet, just hang in there and stay safe a little while longer. I wish we could all get there at the same time, but the vaccines are rolling out faster every day. You’re gonna make it, and it feels amazing!
I’ve been meaning to write in for a few weeks now, and luckily the latest question allows me to weave together some recent topics of discussion. So yes, it’s going to be l-o-n-g.
Following my second vaccination this week, I’m desperately looking forward to being able to swing dance again, preferably with a group of friends and to a live band. Recent fatherhood means that it’s been a year and nine months since my last partnered dance, and I’ve been pining for that feeling throughout. Dancing solo in the living room is all well and good, but you can’t beat the feeling of connecting with and counterbalancing against a parnter. Add live music, and you connect with everyone on the floor through the band.
To link to last week’s question, since swing dancers have no fixed partner, it’s true to say that my favourite dancer is often whoever I’m dancing with at that moment!
As for who inspires me… a bit of context first. Much as ‘Rock and Roll’ used to mean ‘sex’, so ‘shag’ used to mean ‘dance’. I specialise in a fast, fun style called ‘Collegiate Shag’, which was the most popular swing dance in the USA before Lindy Hop, and which is now experiencing a surge in popularity across the world.
I’ve been lucky to teach across the UK and Europe with a wonderful and constantly inspiring dance partner called Aila Floyd. As a duo, we’re inspired by mining ideas from classic clips from the swing era, sadly few of which feature African American dancers.
The strong angular shapes of Shag did make it perfect fodder for golden age cartoons, and we run a special session in ‘Cartoon Shag’. Famous faces including George Goof, Tom and Jerry, Donald and Daisy Duck all can be found dancing Shag. The Donald & Daisy cartoons in particular are drawn faithfully from visual reference from the Disney vault. Unlike many cartoons, there’s no rotoscoping, and no fudging of footwork, the proof of which is that we’ve managed to translate their routines back into human movement!
(Link: Mr Duck Steps Out) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8SzBtdZD4k
For a taste of the best of today’s Shag, check out my friends Steve & Chanzie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uUGsLoZYXb4
Dance is my connection to both Richard Linklater and Marvel movies:
I was a dance extra in both ‘Me and Orson Welles’ and Cap’s flashback in ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, both of which filmed in London’s beautiful Rivoli Ballroom. I had a blast on Avengers, even though there’s little to show for a full day of aerobics in full army woollens.
To wrap up with local filming:
My home village of Freshford in the West of England was the location for ‘The Titfield Thunderbolt’ – not a pornographic movie but a gentle Sunday afternoon Ealing comedy. Aside from regular Jane Austen films set in Bath, the most notable movie from these parts would be ‘Hot Fuzz’, filmed in the beautiful little City of Wells. Like many British Cities, Wells is a city because of its Cathedral, not its size, and I’d recommend anyone visiting England to head West for rolling hillsides and charming villages.
No time for an elaborate sign off
Thank you for the wonderful company your podcasts provide,
Peter