There she stands, this lovely creature

Treasury inspired by the Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds song Lovely Creature, and my attempts to work out a belly dance solo to it. Also inspired by items in my Etsy favorites, as you can tell from all the olive shades.

Fun times not as advertised

Here's a picture of my Mistress of Ghosts earrings. Blogger is being dumb and rotating pictures for no reason again, but we can pretend that I just took the photo at an artsy angle.

So, as the title of this post suggests, last night's concert was not quite what I and my fellow belly dancers expected. First of all, despite the fliers saying that the show started at 9pm, they didn't let people in until after 9, and then we had to sit through 2 hours of the house DJ, who was playing very loud hip-hop. Things at least got interesting after an hour and a half, when the previously empty dance floor became the stage for a few hip hop/break dancers to show off their very impressive moves. At around 11, the opening act came up. Unfortunately, this was another DJ, and his music wasn't that great.

Finally, Beats Antique took the stage at somewhere between 11:30 and midnight, and the dance floor filled up. It was an interesting mix of belly dancers, burlesque dancers (and some bleed over between those two groups), break dancers, normal people at a club dancers, people standing on the floor just swaying a bit, and one annoying trancy guy who was taking up more than his fair share of floor space.

The music was pretty good, though much more skewed towards the hip-hop end and not so much the Middle Eastern and Gypsy influenced pieces that I've seen belly dancers performing to. They also didn't have Zoe Jakes dancing for them, which was a big disappointment. I still managed to have some fun dancing (after all, I've applied my moves to disco, metal, and classic rock), but it was really not what I expected.

After a bit, the breakdancers pretty much took over the floor, and I got shoved into a corner as everyone else crowded in to see what was going on. Now, admittedly, those guys had some awesome skills and I really enjoyed watching them... But I came there to dance as well! Maybe if the club hadn't set up tables on more than half the dance floor (most of which were not occupied), there would have been room for everyone to have their own little space to dance.

I think I'd probably see Beats Antique live again if given the chance, but only if I knew they were actually coming on stage at a decent hour, and with a reasonable sized dance floor.

Fun times tonight!

After class tonight, we're heading right over to a Beats Antique concert that happens to conveniently be happening just down the road 40 minutes after class. I'm pretty excited, as other than shows at Ren Faire, I have not seen a concert since I was a kid. I'm looking forward to some good music, some dancing, and hopefully a bit of socializing with my fellow dancers.

Of course, I have to leave in a little over an hour and I'm still having an internal debate on what to wear -- decisions, decisions!

New York Ren Faire

Here's a picture of me vamping it up a bit at the NY Renaissance Faire in Tuxedo, NY. If I look just a little rumpled, it's because this pic was taken at the end of the day and that top sash had taken several dives into the muddy ground, including one where I thought I'd lost it for good. Luckily a vendor saw it in the path and hung it on her booth, and we walked by and saw it.

My costume is pleasantly cobbled together from items that I brought from home and items that I bought while in NY. Oh yes, and I'm wearing elf ears! I wasn't going to get them, since I don't do faerie costuming as much any more, but everyone thought that I should try them on and they looked perfect on me, so my MIL gifted me with a pair. She also bought a pair for herself, to go with the horns she bought last year. She looked so cute with her elven ears! The vendor even poked a hole in them for her cartilage piercing, making them look even more natural.

Over all, the Faire was muddy but awesome. There was an incredibly light misty rain off and on throughout the day, but otherwise the weather was perfect. Neither too hot nor too cold for my costume, and the clouds kept me from adding to my collection of sunburns. I was a bit disappointed that I had to layer my white choli over my green tie-dye top, but I think it looked OK.

The nice thing was that my brother-in-law Pete and his girlfriend Lisa were able to join us for the day. We wouldn't have been able to see them otherwise, as Pete is going to school a couple of hours away from home.

We caught quite a few shows throughout the day. I was excited to see that Wolgemut was performing that weekend, as I'd heard good things about their music but hadn't yet picked up any CDs. We spent a few minutes watching an impromptu jam session with them and another musician (one of the guys from Karpathos, I think), in an attempt to earn some free beer, and then we caught their 4pm show. Unfortunately, in the middle of their second song, their bagpipers pipe broke, a victim to the humidity. It was repairable, but not immediately so, so they apologized profusely and said they'd only be able to play one more song, which didn't involve the bagpipes. Then they said that everyone should clap along or dance, and of course, I chose the latter option. I was the only one who did so, and then to my utter amazement, they waved me up onto the stage.

So, without any warming up or preparation or anything, I improv-ed a dance to the song, using only a few moves because almost everything else that I knew totally fled my mind -- ha ha. But it was awesome! Possibly the coolest thing that has happened to me so far this year. After the song, they thanked me for my dancing, and Chris and his family told me how cool they thought it was, and of course, we bought CDs to make up for only getting a few minutes of music.

I was also able to get my shimmy on with the belly dancers later, when one of them caught me bouncing my hips along to the last song and pulled me out (they'd been pulling girls in throughout the show, but I was standing in the back avoiding notice... he he). It was a lot of fun, even if we were dancing in a muddy, grassy field (they were dancing in golashes!).

Anyway, my luggage finally arrived earlier (hence my ability to pull pictures off of my camera), so I should really go do some laundry and put away all of my purchases, so I can get the suitcases out of the living room.

A whirlwind of activity.

Well, this has been a crazy month. After gem show, I had less than a week until my in-laws were due to arrive, and the guest room was still cluttered with packed boxes from the move and BFAC items. Plus I had a scary doctor's appointment during that time (which thankfully resulted in non-scary news). So there were several days of cleaning and reorganizing and generally being too busy and tired to be on the computer.

That was followed by three jam-packed days with the in-laws. We went to the Renaissance Faire, where we got to see Mediaeval Baebes (one of my favorite bands), who were giving live performances for two weekends and President's Day only. It was nothing short of awesome. While at the Faire, I got two halter tops and veils for dancing (one set in saturated teal, one in green), and I got Chris a flute-staff. It's a bamboo staff, with a flute built in. Plus my in-laws bought us a really cool carved wooden dragon with hooks for hanging things, which will go up in the guest room. And of course, we got chocolate, because we always get chocolate for the road.

There was lots of shopping, eating, and talking during the visit, and it was really just a nice time. The corgis hit it off very well with my in-laws, and didn't even bark at them much like they sometimes do with guests. On Wednesday, we all went down to the dog park for the first time, where Maggie made friends with all the other dogs and we met a fellow corgi owner.

Since then, I've just been trying to recover and get things ready for the BFAC 2009 auctions, while at the same time receiving my BFAC 2010 kit. More about that next month, I'm still sworn to secrecy!

Anyway, I'm going to resume regular blogging now, and hopefully I won't have another prolonged silence like this.

My day at the Faire.

Ahhh, the Arizona Renaissance Festival. This was my 10th year going. It's been a tradition for Chris and I, ever since it was our first* date. We traditionally go during mid-March to mark our anniversary, but this year we finally decided that from now on we'll go in February. What prompted this decision? It was hot on Sunday. Rumor has it that it was 90! And as you can see, I was not dressed for 90.

Yep, the above is me in my Gothic/Tribal dance clothes, with my little shoulder dragon! This is the same thing that I wore for Halloween (well, I didn't wear the dragon then). You can see the yarn belt that I made, although my yarn hair isn't showing too well. It isn't full enough, I think I need to go buy some more green chenille and add to it. The skirt and the lace top are both thrift store finds, and the choli is something that I asked Mom to make to go with last year's costume. All in all, I feel that it turned out fairly well. A random little girl who was walking by looked up at me and said "You look really pretty" which basically made my day. Plus at one point, a woman grabbed my belt and showed another lady that this is what she was planning on making for herself.

Chris doesn't like me sharing pictures of him, but you can see his shadow in this picture, and see that he is wearing a cool hat. He bought it in NY from a drum vendor that also sells at our Faire. It's a woven straw hat from Africa, with leather accents. They're pretty sturdy and pretty cool looking, and a lot of vendors, employees, and musicians at the Faire also wear them. It was like Chris was part of some secret club... he and another hat-wearer would see each other, and either say "Cool hat!" or give each other the chin**. And two separate people stopped him and asked him where he bought it -- including one guy when we were standing in front of the drum booth!

So, the Faire itself. Other than the hot weather, it was a good time. Not too crowded, but busy enough that you didn't feel bad for the vendors and performers. We caught two shows of the band Tartanic, because we like them that much. We saw the falconry show for the first time, and that was pretty cool. The white-backed vulture decided to go rambling, so I got some pretty close looks at her. What an impressive bird! She was so close that, had I been a stupid person, I could have leaned forward and touched her. And we also saw two different music and dance troupes, which are the highlight of the day for me!

Both troupes had sword dances, which were incredible. I was very impressed at both dancers' ability to balance the blade on their head while doing floorwork, including some serious back-bends. And the first troupe also had a dancer who did fire eating while dancing, which was very cool. Actually, I noticed a lot more fire at the Faire this year, as there was also a whip trick guy whose finale was performing with two flaming Kevlar whips, and more jugglers with fire tricks. I have to wonder if there was some sort of ban lifted or something.

Shopping-wise, I didn't see too much that was wow-inspiring. It was mostly the same things as previous years, and the new vendors weren't too impressive. I did notice that they seem to be down to one maille vendor, and there may have been less leather vendors than usual, too. Some of the vendors that seemed absent really struck me as major productions in the past, but I have to wonder if this bad economy is really hurting them, and perhaps like many bead sellers, they've decided to stay closer to home for their shows.

As such, instead of making lots of little purchases, we limited ourselves to one large purchase each: Chris got the pants to match his leather doublet*** and I got some beautiful silk dance clothes. Plus we picked up a new Tartanic CD, and got our traditional end-of-the-day chocolate.

All in all it was a great day, and as is usually the case after the Faire, I'm really feeling inspired to improve my dancing -- starting tonight!

*Well, we say it was our first date, because that was the plan, but the weather ended up being bad and no one wanted to go with us, so instead we saw The Man in the Iron Mask and then went to the Faire the next day. However, since the movie wasn't that great, and we went with a friend who slept through it, I'm not sure it even really counts as a date, so the Faire may technically still be our first.

**I don't know what the rest of the world calls this, but in our circle of friends "giving someone the chin" is the reverse nod where you tip your chin towards someone in acknowledgment. In our gaming, it's a frequent form of greeting among stoic samurai warriors.

***This is the main reason for going in February. Chris wants to wear his leather doublet, without getting heat stroke.

Staying home, getting things done.

I decided to skip D&D today so I could try to get better, and also get some things done here at home. I'm glad that I did, because it is such a beautiful day and I have a nice breeze blowing in through my front window. Even with being sick, I don't feel bad, because everything else is just right. Perfect temperature, wearing my favorite jeans, a happy cat in my lap, and Dead Can Dance on iTunes.

Spring arrived rather suddenly here in Tucson, and caught me off-guard. One day I was wearing long-sleeved tees, the next I was digging around trying to find my tanktops because once again, the living room was turning into an oven during the afternoon. I just hope that Summer doesn't arrive fast on its heels. This weather is so pleasant, I want it to at least stick around long enough for me to go to Renaissance Faire and not get heat stroke.

After I do some much-needed housework, I'm hoping to finally start beading again. I hate sitting around, not making anything, when I have so much cool, inspirational stuff around me.

Last night we went out and saw "In Bruges." It was really, really good. Sometimes I was sitting there wondering if I liked the movie, because some of the humor was off, and some of the scenes really seemed quite random. But then it all pulled together at the end and I was all "Wow!" It's only playing on one screen in all of Tucson, so I guess it has a pretty limited release. Everyone who was watching it at the same time as us really seemed to enjoy it, though. Please note that this is not the movie for you if you have a problem with cursing, or a little American-bashing. I'm not sure I've ever heard so much cursing in one movie.

The interesting thing to me about the film was that the trailer totally plays it off as a comedy, albeit a dark one with some gun fights. However, there's also some serious drama in there. Although at times I questioned the blend, overall it came across as pretty natural. "In Bruges" has the kind of comedy I prefer, which is to say, witty dialog that seems natural. I don't like forced situational comedy or physical comedy.

We also went to the CD store, where we found two QNTAL CDs, a Voltaire CD, an Ataraxia CD (I have no idea if I like them, but they were on Chris's list of bands to look for, and they were on the Lotus Eaters Dead Can Dance tribute CD), and another Nordic Roots collection. Please note that neither Chris nor I have any Nordic roots of which we are aware, but we do occasionally enjoy some good Nordic music. Garmarna and Varttina are both good, though I swear I can't tell them apart.

I suppose I should stop rambling on and go get to work!

A Day Of Getting Things Done.

I woke up today, and just decided that I didn't feel like going to D&D. Not only am I a little tired of the Dungeons and Dragons system, but I was feeling a little blah. I knew that if I went to gaming, I'd be uncomfortable, start to resent being there, and possibly take it out on my friends. So instead, I just stayed home. And while I was home, I figured I might as well us all of this unexpected free time to get a few things done.

One of the things that I did was finally add a list to the blogs that I read every day. Some are shopping related, some are bead and jewelry related, and some are not. Insect Picture of the Day, for instance, is exactly that. Pictures of bugs. Hey! I like bugs! And Gateway to Doom is the blog of my friend and fellow AJ, who does fantasy artwork. Oh, and Miss Doxie is just plain funny, though her language is a little salty. You have been warned!

I also set up my own playlist on Chris's iPod, which I've taken over ever since he got his silly iPhone. Previously, the only list I had was my dancing list, which had just a fraction of the music that I like. Now, don't get me wrong, for the most part our music tastes overlap, and I don't think there's anything I like that he doesn't. However, he has a few bands on the iPod that I really don't like, and some that I have to be in the right mood to hear. I really got sick of getting up to skip past Rage Against the Machine whenever they came up. I don't have all the music that I want in the list yet, but I've got a day and three hours worth so far, which means that today I can bead unmolested by Corrosion of Conformity.

The other thing I kept putting off was signing up for Facebook. Our D&D GM has been using that to post exp and other game info. I'd resisted signing up, simply because I already have two e-mail addresses, a blog, several forums, etc to keep up with. But everyone else gave in, so I caved. Now I just need to figure out how it works.

With all of that done, I have hours and hours of good beading time ahead of me! I'm halfway done with another ornament for the 2007 Holiday Ornament Give-Away, and once that's done I'm going to work on my top-secret project. I started it last night. I might take a break and play a little Guild Wars between beading, or maybe dance a bit. I danced last night and surprisingly, I don't hurt today.

Of Music, Seasons, and More.

Despite it being over a week and a half until the Vernal Equinox, here in Tucson we've had beautiful 80 degree weather all week. It's been very pleasant and I feel so energized. Not only have I been dancing, but I started working out again. This is my favorite sort of weather, and I'm going to enjoy it while I can, because soon enough it will be 100+.

It's odd, but all Winter I was pretty content to work in silence. I only turned on music when I wanted to dance, and I didn't mind that Chris hadn't been playing his iPod all night. But since the weather started warming up, suddenly I've wanted music. I guess it all started when I was thinking about a band I used to listen to a lot, and how I hadn't in a while, and how, come to think of it, there were a lot of bands that I loved, and wasn't listening to. So it's been very musical around here lately. Today alone I'm up to my third CD.

Yesterday I was working on finishing up my new tribal necklace, and I decided I really needed some tribal music to go with it. So first I played some Dead Can Dance. Their "Spiritchaser" album is some of my favorite dance music, so it seemed fitting. Then I broke out the Afro-Celt Soundsystem, which I hadn't listened to in almost a year. WOW! I forgot how much I liked them. I ended up dancing to them later -- the music is so high-energy that it's a lot of fun for dancing, and a great workout, too. I was exhausted when I finished, and that was just a little more than 15 minutes. Of course, I did finish the necklace first, and it looks awesome. I'll share it sometime next week.

The jewelry is all ready for tomorrow's update! Today I was going to do photography, but I have company coming over so I had to clean instead. Bah!

Today's Cool Thing is Prickie.com which has a HUGE selection of pin-back buttons by various artists. Woohoo! I sure do love buttons.

And, of course, the BFAC auctions are still cool! ;)