The Click Heard Round the World

Global Kids invades Liberty Island!

I had a lovely day with my colleagues in the Global Kids Online Leadership Program during our staff retreat on Liberty and Ellis Islands. 

It couldn't have been a more pleasant way to spend a Tuesday "at work."  We spent the morning on Liberty Island, in the shadow of the statue, talking about the program and our individual roles in it.  It was a good point to evaluate OLP as a whole, since Global Kids runs somewhat in conjunction with the school year.  And it was good getting out of the office and outside to think more expansively and creatively about the work.

Several of us spent the afternoon on Ellis Island, exploring the museum there, learning about the immigrant experience, and talking about how we could create a much more interactive and educational virtual Ellis Island in Second Life.

We also spent part of the day celebrating our colleague Jay, who has been co-facilitating our Playing For Keeps serious games program this year.  Jay is moving on soon to start working on a farm to prepare for his next phase of work on American food policy.  He's been a great co-worker and will be missed by all of us.

Metaverse Meetup at Global Kids HQ this Wed July 23!

This Wednesday, July 23, Global Kids is playing host to the next NYC Metaverse Meetup. The topic is a timely one: "OpenSim and virtual worlds interoperability" featuring  David Levine of IBM and Adam Frisby of DeepThink Labs. With the enormous growth in online spaces from Second Life to Google's Lively to Sony Home, there will be increasing demand for users to be able to connect with each other across these different virtual worlds.  What kind of standards and norms can be created to ensure that your identity can be preserved across these varying environments?

The Metaverse Meetup is an always stimulating, casual gathering of folks interested in virtual worlds, from developers to artists to researchers.  And this next one is a good opportunity for folks to check out Global Kids sweet new headquarters.  We're located at 137 East 25th Street, between Lexington and 3rd Avenues in Manhattan.

UPDATE 2PM, 7/21/08: The registration for this event is now closed.  Sorry! But do signup for the Metaverse Meetup group for future event notices.

The complete invite follows after the jump...

Working on my soul basic at the NYC Subway Soul party

Westiegirl, Westie's friend Noelle, the lovely Miss V, and I checked out the monthly Subway Soul dance last night at Fontana on Eldridge Street in the LES. 

The evening did not start out promising as the Shalitas took the stage in the basement bar.  No disrespect to the band, but the music could hardly be called soul.  Described as "the Shangri-Las meet The Ramones," I'd put the emphasis strongly on the Ramones. 

The Shalitas did do a rocking version of "Twistin" as their closer.  Awesome number, great energy from the singers. This however was slightly ruined for us by a couple pushing Westiegirl aside to stand right in front of us to do some arhythmic stomping around that could only loosely be called dancing. I mean, the song is called "Twistin" -- which sorta means that you are meant to Twist to it. Please, please, bend over and shake a tailfeather.  Oh, the humanity.

The evening improved however with the arrival of the DJs on the main floor...

Brompton II: Electric Boogaloo

A week ago I was feeling pretty teed off about my stolen Brompton bicycle from Union Square.  Thanks, everyone, for your good wishes and condolences.

Since then I have made a conscious effort to let go of the anger and accept that my beloved bike is in the end just an object.  It actually took awhile to file a stolen property report with with the NYPD, which I finally managed to complete on Wednesday. Almost simultaneously, I found unexpected cash coming my way from various sources, including my Economic Stimulus check from the gummint.

Flush from my unanticipated windfall, I went to David, my bike mechanic at Bfold and told him to assemble a new bike for me.  I just picked it up, so behold my beautiful new, jet-black S-type Brompton.  She rides like a dream and feels a good bit lighter than my previous Brompton.  I'm not sure how I feel about the sportier handlebars, but I think I'll get used to them.

Click here for more pics or see the slideshow after the jump.

Next up: a better lock and a new helmet!

Me dancing with Voon at Midsummer Nights Swing

Here's a quick clip of me dancing with one of my favorite new lindy hoppers Voon at Midsummer Nights Swing last night.  Taken by my friend Will.

Brooklyn Bombshells going to Intl Lindy Hop Championships in DC in August!

I've neglected to mention that I'm going to be competing at the International Lindy Hop Championships this August in DC.  Myself, along with a group of 15 other dancers, will be doing a more competition-friendly version of this award-winning performance at ILHC!  We'll be entering in the Cabaret Division, where a lot of the wackier more eclectic performances take place (i.e. hip-hop, disco, african dance, etc).

I'm not sure exactly why I'm doing this. Perhaps because my friend Lilieblue is the choreographer.  Or maybe it's because I was already planning on going to ILHC.  Or maybe because I'm just a big ham.

The competition at ILHC is expected to be fierce, so winning is not really our goal. I'm not even sure how they judge the cabaret division.  I just want us to do a bad ass, crowd-pleasing performance.

Me solo charlestoning and breaking at Moondance on Pier54

Here's a short video taken by my friend Will of me doing some solo charleston and a little bit of breaking at the Moondance last night at Pier54. Look for my signature "Rusty Dusty" move toward the middle.

Thanks, Will!

Grooving to the Sultans of Swing at Pier 54 this evening

I had a lovely Sunday, starting with Quaker meeting, then brunch with my sister for her birthday, followed by some breaking practice at home. 

In the evening, I headed out to Pier 54 on the Hudson River to catch Dave Berger and the Sultans of Swing playing swing music for the masses, sponsored by Dance Manhattan Studios.  It was simply a gorgeous evening, a cool breeze coming off the Hudson, the light fading into darkness, hundreds of dancers and music fans crammed onto the pier.  I got some really fun dances in with friends and strangers alike, and just enjoyed absorbing the happy vibe in the air.

After the concert, I had a relaxing bike ride home on my roommate Swifty's sweet mountain bike that he has lent to me while he is traveling the next few weeks.  That should give me some time to figure out what I'm going to do about replacing my Brompton.

A Lackluster Midsummer Nights Swing Season?

Me with my friend Celia at Chuck Brown concert last night at Midsummer Nights Swing. Taken by Jerry.

I'm a big fan of swing dancing in New York during the summer. There's usually so much great, free, outdoor dance opportunities, from free concerts by the water, DJed music in Central Park, and jazz groups playing for festivals all summer long.  Typically, the highlight of swing dancing during the summer  is Midsummer Nights Swing, Lincoln Center's music festival that takes place in the plaza in front of the various performance spaces in the Upper Westside.

That said, I gotta admit I am not really feeling Midsummer Nights Swing this year.

"I Feel Like Bustin Loose": Chuck Brown at Midsummer Nights Swing

The "godfather of go-go swing" Mr. Chuck Brown performed a funky couple of sets tonight at Midsummer Nights Swing at Lincoln Center. Mr. Brown is best known for his 60s classic funk song "I Feel Like Bustin Loose."  But he just released an album last year that shows the man still has it.  In this quick video, you can see Chuck Brown singing while his daughter does some tight rapping on the song "Chuck Baby." 

It was a small but lively crowd of folks, many coming in from Baltimore, DC and Virginia to catch Mr. Brown.  Great stuff.