I mentioned this Sunday afternoon.

Robert Zemeckis is doing a remake of The Beatles “Yellow Submarine”.

Check out the story here.

I was walking through the living room the other night as my wife was watching the Golden Globes and I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard….Ladies and Gentlemen please welcome Paul McCartney. Wow Paul was at the Golden Globes, I have to watch this. With a driest of wit, Sir Paul introduces himself as Paul McCartney better known these days at the guy from Rock Band, which got a lot of laughs and got me thinking. You know he is right….to an entire generation Paul is “that guy from Rock Band”, not a member of the Beatles, not the lead of Wings, not one of the best writers of music the world has even seen…he is some guy on a video game. For some reason this triggered a memory for me of the 80’s when Julian Lennon produced a couple of hits and I remember listening to a group of teens talking about Julian and his music, when one of the said…”And did you know his dad was in some band back in the 60’s?”  Life, its all about perspective, the glass is half empty or half full…Paul and John are the song writing duo from The Beatles….or a couple of guys on Rock Band.

PS: Thanks Drew

Contra Dancing is way, way cooler than Square Dancing, and way older as well.  Sometimes called New England Folk Dancing, you can show up to a dance with NO experience and NO partner and have a rollicking good time.  There are certain steps they’ll teach you, but they’re easy, and the tradition is to CHANGE partners each dance.  There’s live music, and people usually bring munchies for the breaks.  There’s usually no alcohol (something I appreciate, not being a drinker).  It runs about 2 1/2 – 3 hours, but you can certainly sit out a dance if need be, or leave early, or come late.

Generally, a leader, known as a caller, will teach each individual dance just before the music for that dance begins. During this introductory “walk-through” period, participants learn the dance by walking through the steps and formations, doing what the caller says.

At most dances, nobody dresses up, or down, but you’ll see  “peasant skirts” or other full, lightweight skirts, even on men sometimes.  Low, broken-in, soft-soled, non-marking shoes, such as dance shoes, sneakers, or sandals, are recommended and, in some places, required. However, dancing barefoot is also common.

There’s a real sense of camaraderie without condescension here.  At least, the dances I’ve been to in NePa.  Everybody is extremely tolerant of newcomers; they know you don’t know the steps and will call out encouragment and helpful tips (like the one about looking right into your partner’s eyes when you spin, otherwise you’ll get dizzy).  They also know you’re going to LOVE the whole thing and will soon become part of the group.

And I’m happy to report there’s no correlation between the Iran-Contras and the Kingston Contra Dancers!!

The ones in Kingston are the first Saturday of the month (mostly), sponsored by the Chicory House. The next one is February 6, at 7.30 pm, at the Church of Christ Uniting in Kingston, Sprague Ave, Kingston PA (that’s where they usually are). Admission to the dance is $9 for adults and $24 for families.  Well worth it!

What say we show up next Saturday with a whole bunch of newcomers!  See you there!!

Information on the dance: folkloresociety.org

Here’s a video from a place I’ve actually danced at! The quality’s awful but it’ll show you what Contra dancing’s all about   Contra dancing in Glenside, Pa

I went looking for my stash the other weekend, no not that one, my stash of cassette tapes that I listened to growing up. You know that collection we all built using the Columbia House Record Club, when you would buy one album or tape and they would give you ten free! So I am digging around in the closet looking for that leather bound box that contains my childhood musical memories. Yes, there they were…BTO 1 and 2, Band on the Run, Dust in the Wind, Piano Man, Dreamboat Annie, I Robot, The Best of Bread…no really I did have that one mostly for the girls. But where is Machine Head? I need my Smoke on the Water, where the hell is my Deep Purple cassette? Answer: In my Son’s room. Seems like he has been listening to that and others from the 70’s and beyond and as I go to reclaim that which was once mine, he informs me…well Dad I love the song but the tape is a little worn out. That and its 40 years old….

Yes I hang my wash out all year ’round.  It gives the clothes a smell and feel no chemical could ever impart.  And what cracks me up, is, when I started doing this 25 years ago, I was frowned upon by my neighbors.  We weren’t that kind of neighborhood (although in fact we were).  When we did move to Yuppiville, NJ, it was even worse.  The neighbors couldn’t stand us, and not just for the wash, which was actually mostly hidden behind the detached garage.  NOW it’s all about green, and they try to convince us on TV not to put our clothes in the dryer.  Hah!  25 years head of you.  Think of all the precious electricity I’ve saved.

And here’s the biggest myth about hanging the wash in the winter….yes, the clothes do freeze when you first put them up (or, in reality, the water in them freezes, making them like a board).  But then, wonder of wonders, the water does evaporate.  Or actually sublimates, since that is the process of a substance going directly from a solid state to a gaseous state.  But our fabulous sun can do that!  And voila, the clothes dry.  It takes a little longer (like three or four times as long as in summer), and if it rains or snows, they have to stay up there.  But they do eventually dry.

Grammy nominations are out and I am glad to see that Green Day, U2 and Dave Mathews and Eric Clapton and Steve Winwood all picked up nods this year. But there are a couple of things that I do have to wonder about. For examples can someone please explain to me the difference between Song of the Year and Record of the Year? Aren’t they the same thing? Since when is a song not a record? And what about CD of the year? And in case you missed it, former President Jimmy Carter was nominated in the spoken word category. If he wins I might be the only person in the world with a Nobel Peace Prize and a Grammy?

Funny, how perception can change things.  Years ago, I was accused of being CHEAP for refusing to buy plastic diapers or baby food, for re-using paper towels, plastic bags, or those aluminum dishes you get with pies and breads you buy.  In fact I was a hippie for making my OWN bread (and that was before those bread-maker things).  I was an Evil Mom for packing sandwiches instead of letting my kids eat those fat-and-sodium laden Lunchables.  Catching rainwater in a bucket to water the garden is NOW called “rainwater harvesting”.  Buy your clothes at a thrift store?  You must be some kind of freak.  I’ve been turning used paper upside down and sticking it back in the printer since 1996.  I’ve been using the comic sections of Sunday papers to wrap presents since the 70’s. Composting kitchen scraps and yard waste since forever.  NOW it’s all about recycling and re-using.  Suddenly instead of a cheap, nasty miser, I’m a freakin’ hero.

And here’s a perception that needs to change…it should not cost MORE to be green-friendly.  There are plenty of companies out there that are more than willing to take your money for a greener alternative you can probably make at home, for one-tenth the cost.  No, it’s not ALL about money but being cheap and being green can go hand-in-hand, if you are just willing to invest a little time.