Tonight I took Roxane Butterfly’s two workshop. She taught two classes for the West Coast Tap Dance Collective, a very fine organization.

Roxane was named Butterfly by legendary tapper Jimmy Slyde, who will be in Vancouver this weekend for the Vancouver International Tap Dance Festival. The festival weekend means hundreds of tap dancers and the best tappers in the world will be in this city. And, on Monday, they will be performing at the Playhouse.

$42 for adults and this is a 2-3 hour show, absolutely fantastic. These are the top dancers in the world, who rarely, if ever, share the stage in this way.

More photos of Roxane

Radiohead has a blog. Dead Air Space. I like the candid photos, but is that really a dog?

Amazon.com is way ahead of its fellow online book retailers. You can still buy the latest 50 Cent album, as well as cameras, phones, jewellery–bless their cotton socks–almost anything. Earlier this year you could also watch short films, and now you can buy short stories for 49 cents. Right, I forgot they also sell books.

Amazon announced this week Amazon Shorts. They are starting with 59 authors who’ve submitted short fiction, and Amazon is selling the stories for 49 cents each. You get a digital file. I haven’t bought one yet so I don’t know what it looks like.

Amazon Shorts web page

Categories include Literature and Fiction; Nonfiction and Essays; Biography and Memoirs; Maybe You Know …; Mystery and Thrillers; and Editors’ Picks.

Powells.com has a fantastic newsletter. They’ve got book reviews, first editions that they flog, interviews, bestseller lists and great bits of personal information, like where their staff went on summer vacation. This month they also solicited 200-word essays and comments on the best/worst day of school, which got me thinking about first days of school.

As a girly girl, the first day of school always meant a new outfit. I wasn’t a fan of dresses, but I did accessorize at an early age. My fashion downfall occurred in second grade when I was still at the age when allowance only bought penny candies not ensembles.

The current fall fashions are forcing fashion flashbacks upon me: the browns, yellows and greens of the 70s. My first day of second grade my mother adorned me in relish green slacks and a mustard yellow turtleneck. I understand. She was a slave to the fashion mags of her time. But it was still wrong. And the rainbow belt? So misguided.

Shamble, stumble, flail, have a good time? No, we’re not getting legless, I’m talking zombies. Any Zombie obsessions out there?

Please join me Saturday, August 27 from 4 pm onwards.

ZOMBIEWALK 2005 starts at 4 pm from the VAG and 5pm from 15th and Sophia (near Main St).

Here are the details I’ve received:

Quote: The walk will start in two-stages as follows:

1. All non-lazy zombies (or “super zombies”) are invited to gather on or around the big steps at the Vancouver Art Gallery no later than 4pm. From the VAG the horde will be skytrain bound. After a stumble through the mall and a short jaunt on Vancouver’s fine public transit system we will de-train at Main St. station and stumble on up to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church – 320 East 15th – two blocks east of Main. Once there, we will take a short pause to collect ourselves, gnaw on brains, and meet up with . . .

2. The lazy zombies. A second group of zombies will gather in front of the above mentioned church (Bethlehem Lutheran, 320 East 15th, at Sophia and E 15th) at or around 5pm. Remember – zombies tend to move slowly and occasionally have problems with limbs falling off, body stiffness and possibly skytrain security officers. If you do not see any of your brethren exactly at 5pm, be patient. Mill about and look scary.

Once all zombie factions have massed at the church it will be time to head onward and uphill to Mountainview Cemetery at Fraser and 31st. For reference, the walk will proceed along Main Street to 31st should any zombie stragglers be left behind and/or spontaneous zombies wish to join the braaiiins procession.

Once at the cemetery, please be on good zombie behaviour – respect your brethren.

We will linger a short while in the cemetery before moving onwards to nearby Queen Elizabeth Park for some games, brains, fun, prizes, brains and a pinata or two.

Yes, you do have to dress like a zombie. Those who do not do so are welcome, but risk having their brains eaten by confused zombies. You have to admit – they’re not all that smart, but they know a good living brain when they smell it.

Potentially useful things to keep in mind:

Causes of zombie-ness:

As everyone knows – or should know – zombies are usually attributable to one or more of the following:

1. voodoo
2. science gone astray – chemical or biological accidents, experiments, viruses and the like
3. the apocalypse

Of course, there are many more possibilties. Be creative. Corpses in all stages of decay are encouraged.

For the low-budget zombie:

1. Oatmeal and liquid latex works wonders.
2. Food colouring and corn syrup makes convincing blood, but sticky. However, also tasty.
3. Value Village – but I’m sure it’s hardly necessary to mention that.

Finally: As mentioned previously – zombies are only really effective when travelling together in large groups. Bring your friends, foes, family and other loved ones.

Nothing says you love someone quite like caking yourself in make-up, limping down the street together and eating them in the park!

Not sure where this started but here’s a blog link that looks like the original. Supernovajuice.com

Wanna come?

Today was the memorial service for “Smokey” Smith. The procession made its way through my neighbourhood and across the bridge to St-Andrew’s-Wesley Church. The roar of the CF-18s is stuck in my mind.

“Smokey” died on Wednesday, August 3, in Vancouver. The friends and dignitaries at the memorial service spoke of him as a card, as a man who liked a laugh and a good scotch, and most of all as a man who will be remembered as a hero.

The passing of “Smokey” Smith marks the passing of living history into oral and written history. As the last living recipient of the Victoria Cross “Smokey” had the remaining first-hand stories of what happened that night in Italy on October 21, 1944. It was his duty in accepting the Victoria Cross to represent bravery and to continue acting as a public figure and spokesperson long after the war. As a Canadian and a citizen of the world, I do not want those stories to die with him.

I did my English thesis research on wartime stories and although I don’t want to live in the past, I spent a lot of time thinking about it then, and again today.

The Victoria Cross is awarded for bravery, valour, self-sacrifice or extreme devotion to duty in the presence of the enemy. The cross is 1.375 inches across and is made from cannons captured from the Russians during the Crimean War.

There have been 1,351 Victoria Crosses awarded, 94 to Canadians.

The last living recipient of the Victoria Cross will have his ashes scattered at sea tomorrow. Sergeant Ernest Alvia “Smokey” Smith, VC, CM, OBC, CD. 1914-2005.

The last couple of days there has been increased activity in my brain, in particular on the crafty side. Cunning and creative.

Yesterday I was thinking buttons.

Now more on the board:
Take the virtual tour of the Skates Online Skateboard Museum

The new banner for So Misguided is of a rare 1930s scooter skateboard hybrid. Begone butterfly from the template.

I like the skateboard because it is red and I don’t have to change the template colours yet. I like that it is a rare skateboard, everyone knows the Roller Derby. There’s a social misfit or cultural icon element to skateboarding that I find interesting. If you could say “so misguided” about anything skateboarding is definitely it. I don’t skateboard but I’m drawn like a magnet to the logos and board designs.

Now if you’re going to link buttons to skateboards, here’s my segway. Check out PD’s Hot Shop on 4th Ave. in Vancouver. Or go to the website.

Quote: open at noon cep’n fer sundays closed or
we might be around but check first.
prices subject to change according to
customer’s attitude.

For sure there is a button quote there. Check out the whole site. “We are anti-technology which means no credit carrds, no interwack or debit shit.”

More on the board:
Quote: Thirties – Scooter Skate
The rare 1930’s scooter skate was a skateboard / scooter hybrid which was designed with a quick change single bolt adjustment allowing the user to roll it as a scotter with the handle or as a skate without it. This was a three-wheel design with steel roller skate style wheels and no turning or steering mechanism. The bulbous rocket ship style 6 1/2″ x 13″ deck was stamped out of metal and finished in a vibrant red. This particular design showed patent pending makr, although it’s unclear whether the final patent was granted. Skating then involved pushing down a hill and hoping that you made it to the bottom … this must have been a noisy, adrenaline stirring, rough ride.

Roller Derby #10, my second favourite.

I’m a day behind but not a word short. CBC reported yesterday that podcast, phishing and wiki are among the new additions to the second edition of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Read the CBC article

Second edition? The first edition was published in full in 1928. Is there a certain number of words that have to be added before it is considered a new edition vs. a new printing? Curious.

Curb your enthusiasm.
So Misguided skates the issue.

The first commercial skateboard was the Roller Derby Skateboard (1959) but before that skateboards looked like scooters. The cool kids removed the pushbar of the scooter and voila the skateboard above was born (see the new banner for So Misguided).

Skateboarding Vancouver at the Vancouver Museum is on until August 30.

More on the board to come …