Sac Au Lait performs tonight!
So I'm at Camp Jitterbug…
Where everyone in the city looks like a Lindy Hopper, and I'm talking to this Australian woman. She mentions that her husband was in Baltimore this last weekend. The whole reason he was in Baltimore is apparently because he loves the show The Wire so much, and he wanted to see all the landmarks in the show (BTW, if you haven't seen The Wire, but like detective or cop shows, you'd probably love it. It's amazing). So, he walks around the city, alone and without a map, which is something that only television film crews with lots of bright lights would ever do. He gets to Pratt street and suddenly is in the middle of a group of drug dealers, and seconds after that, is in the middle of a group of flashing police cars. A screaming police officer throws him against the wall, searches him, and asks what the hell he's doing walking around that part of town. "He was so happy." she said. "It was just like The Wire."
For those of you who want a glimpse into the dangerous and squallid lives of those of us who live in B'more, where we live one day at a time, bring a forty and come out to dance to the Baltimore Dixieland band Sac Au Lait. They've still got some community service left on their sentences, so they'll be playing at least two and a half hours. We also got black top, dynamite, WMD, and Wild Pony.
Social Moves for Inter/Adv starts tonight
We're going to spend the next five weeks working on the intricacies of fancy social dance moves and techniques. Drop-ins welcome for $15 (class and dance). For Int/Adv dancers. From 8:30-9:30.
New Beginner Series begins June 16!
The Jam Cellar's world renown 6 week beginner series will begin it's next run June 16. It's the perfect class for any friends of yours who wanted to learn Lindy Hop.
ILHC registration open
Don't forget, ILHC registration is open. You don't want to miss this incredible competition weekend in your won back yard. www.ilhc.com.
NEW YORK vs SEATTLE: Tourism death match
The past two weekends marked the best 11 straight days of Lindy Hop the world has seen in a long time. The first weekend was Frankie's 95, and the second was Camp Jitterbug's 10 year anniversary, which gave up its usual Memorial Day spot to Frankies. Though the events took place in one country, you can't deny that it was two different worlds.
So, how about a pointless death match contest?
WEATHER
Camp Jitterbug had some of the best weather any event has ever had ever. The entire city was room temperature with air conditioning. The days were long and there wasn't one drop of rain. Apparently this changes from June to April. New York, however, was what you'd expect from the city in summer; warm and a little muggy. The fact that Seattle wins this category is merely an anomaly. Seattle got lucky. Winner: Seattle
HOMELESS
Seattle's homeless looked alarmingly like hipster grad school students. I couldn't help but fear that my money would be used towards vinyl. One difficulty might be that it's impossible to get oneself dirty by wallowing around on Seattle streets. There's no contest here. For the good old hopped-up, apathetic, torn-up overcoat wearing schitzophrenic who smells like urine and vinegar, New York can't be beat. Winner: New York.
HOT DOGS
A New York street vendor Kosher hot dog is a cultural icon. At $3.50, a dog with everything on it and a flat coke is THE poor man's (Lindy Instructor's) s New York lunch. Since icon's have a social sacredness to them, it's not really a contest. It'd be like trying to have a contest between an elderly Norma Miller and a young champion dancer. That said, however, Seattle has answered the challenge with a black-light-lit, disco hot dog truck with 8 different super Hot Dogs, including 4 vegan choices.
Friends of ours from California took us to this joint after one of the dances, and we found it by following the techno music. The menu showed videos of pictures of the hotdogs. That sentence, though not my best, is correct. Every picture of a hot dog soon faded out and back into the exact same picture of a hot dog. I had the Texas, which was a large, juicy frank topped with pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and onions. It was delicious, but also twice as much as a New York hot dog.
While we were there, a group of girls who all shopped in the same corner of the Gap came up and asked us about the hot dogs and about ourselves. "Where are you from?" they asked.
"California and D.C." we replied.
"Oh, wow. Two of my favorite cities." No Winner. (see above.) Though it should be noted New York people would not talk to you while you're trying to eat a hot dog. And they'd probably never say California is a city. Of course, they'd never say any place is one of their favorite cities. New Yorkers live in their favorite city.
POSSIBILITY OF GETTING HIT BY A CAR
Being from Baltimore, I've gotten used to jay walking slowly across streets and staring down honest law-abiding drivers. In New York, this is a sure way to get a Taxi in the lower back. However, in Seattle, all cars in a surrounding block begin to slow down and stop, and without the slightest protest from a horn. For the most part, people in Seattle respect walkers to a noticeable degree. You have a much bigger chance of being judged by your bike choice, however. Winner: Seattle.
RANDOM TOURISM SPOTS
Considering the material New York has to work with, it's hard to imagine Seattle could even come close to beating the Metropolis in this category. Seattle seems much more a city that people live in, not a city people visit, whereas Manhattan seems like the opposite for most. While we were there, our incredible host Blake took us around to some of the city's unique wonders. First was a statue of an emo troll crushing a Volkswagon that was under a bridge. The second was a park made from an old gas work factory, and the final spot was a marsh walking trail along the shore of the sound. There is, apparently, a cool underground part of the city. But what could seriously beat the top of Rockafeller Center or a Broadway show? Winner: New York.
THAI FOOD
So, this section is really just an opportunity to tell people that if they're ever in Seattle, they must go to Thai Toms, a Thai restaurant near the university. And go during an off-hour, because the entire restaurant only seats 8. You'll be sitting next to the oven and I hope you like the smell of garlic. You'll see the chef throw fresh ingredients into four different woks and ably juggle a continuous line of orders without flinching. If the sopping-wet chef drips sweat into your bowl, don't interrupt him; it's the ingredient of love. And, it's absolutely incredible Thai food. Winner: Seattle.