Rikomatic

My Favorite Swing and Lindy Video Clips from 2011

 

Here's one of my favorite video clips from 2011 -- the world's best lindy hop troupe, the Harlem Hotshots, performing at the largest swing dance camp in the world, the Herrang Dance Camp.  Sadly, I missed this performance by a week or so when I was there.  Still this is some ridiculously badass dancing.

The year 2011 was a fun year for swing and lindy hop.  Here are some of my favorite video clips from the past twelve months I wanted to share with you.

Rik doing cartwheels

 

It took me just 42 years, but I can finally do cartwheels.  It's never too late to learn something new.

Happy Funky New Year from the FreePlay Dance Crew!

Here's a super cute picture of my dance crew FreePlay, wishing you a very funky, happy New Year!

Christmas 2011 with the Santos Clan

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday, full of loved ones and yummy food.  The Santos clan gathered at the home of my Auntie Gloria and Uncle Andy in Hercules, CA.  It was a good crowd of about 30-some folks, each of them bringing boatloads of food and drink to the affair.  That's lasagna, beef with broccoli, potato au gratin, shrimp, corn pudding, pancit palabok noodles, fried dili fish, salsa and salmon on the table.  Not pictured is the roast beef, ham, sotanhon soup, and chicken curry.  

Did I mention dessert? My cousin Rafael of course always does an amazing job making desserts.  This year he made these delicious red velvet cake lollipops that he placed on a little Christmas tree. Almost too good to eat... but of course I ate about four of them.

We also had several cheesecakes, various cookies, rice crispy treats, pie, and desserts that I've already forgotten.

Moving My Domains from Godaddy on December 29 for "Move Your Domain Day"

I probably should have done this a long time ago, but on December 29 I'm moving my web domains from the domain name registrar Godaddy.com to another service.  

I probably should have done it awhile ago. Godaddy has tacky, sexist advertising. The CEO enjoys killing elephant for sport. And finally earlier this month, they announced their support for the SOPA legislation that threatens the underlying structure of the internet.  WTF?

Reddit user "selfprodigy" started by ball rolling on December 23 by pledging to move 51 of his domains from Godaddy until they express their opposition to SOPA.  He also suggested that others do the same on December 29, i.e. "Move Your Domain Day." The opposition has grown and grown, with even Wikipedia moving their domains.

So I'm going to do my little bit as well.  If you'd like to do the same, here's some info on how to move your domain and where you can go to publicly pledge your opposition to Godaddy's support of SOPA.  

My 2011 Holiday Video Greeting

 

 

Just under the wire, here is my 2011 Year End Holiday Greeting, for all of my friends and family who made this year so awesome. 

I hope you enjoy it. Happy Holidays!

 

Yehoodi.com and Frim Fram in the New York Times!

My friend Swifty sent me the exciting news that the "grey lady" of journalism, the New York Times, has done a great writeup of the local swing scene in New York, with prominent mentions of Yehoodi.com and our Frim Fram Jam Thursday night dance! This is definitely one of the most prominent media mentions of Yehoodi ever in our history!

I love this description of Fram and quote from Swifty:

At the intergenerational Frim Fram Jam in early December, energy surged through the room when Gordon Walker’s cover of the Andrews Sisters’ hit “Bei Mir Bist Du Schön” went on the turntable at 10:25 p.m., by which time people had been dancing strenuously for more than two hours. From his booth, the D.J. and Yehoodi music organizer Ryan Swift noted the fresh excitement. “Man, I feel old,” said Mr. Swift, who is 34. “There are plenty of kids here, but look at some of these old folks dance.”

Head here to read the whole story, from the December 23, 2011 Edition of the Times, in the Dance section!

Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings Perform "He Said I Can" on VH-1 (video)

Get More: Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, He Said I Can, Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings Music Videos, Live Performances

Check out Ms. Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings throwing it down on the VH-1 as part of "VH-1 Divas Celebate Soul"! So amazing.

And if you like that song, her new album "Soul Time" is just $3.99 on the Amazon MP3 store right now!

My new About.me Page

About.me is a web-service that allows you to display on one page all of your various social media links.  

Here's mine: http://about.me/rikomatic .

Lasercut Recycled Pins from the Renegade Craft Fair

Yesterday I went to the amazing Renegade Craft Fair in Soma , San Francisco, along with my cousin Mel and his girlfriend Cynthia.  It was perhaps the best craft fair I've ever been to, with 250 stalls selling metric tons of amazing, handmade crafts and arts.  

It was really inspiring seeing all of the creative work in the hangar-like Concourse Exhibition space. The vendors were a combination of local artisans and people traveling here from across the United States for this moving celebration of handicrafts.

Despite the shopping season, I found the crowds to fairly managable even at its busiest.  And folks seemed quite upbeat and friendly, bopping their heads to the DJed music, chatting amiably with each other and the vendors, drinking beer and snacking on baked goods sold nearby.  Definitely a fun ambiance for perusing and shopping.