Your mission for today: challenge yourselves. Do something that's exciting and scary for you! Start a conversaton with a total stranger, wear an insanely huge and obnoxious hat, learn a new skill (sewing, making awesome coffe, changing a tyre, riding a motorcycle perhaps?), take a class (pottery, film-making, massage?) or dive out of a plane if that's your thing! I started small: I wore shorts today. Short ones. I haven't worn shorts this short since I was a newly-teenage teenager. Hey white legs!
Get out there and live your lives! Just go crazy - life is too short to sit around wishing you were out doing exciting things. Don't settle for normal and don't just get by. Be the most amazing person you can be, everyday of your whole damn life. You owe it to yourself to enjoy every interaction, every moment, every breath. Challenge yourself to make every day exciting, and better than the last. You won't regret it, I promise. You'll feel like a whole new person. And, you will be.
Not too long ago, man-of-the-hour Kid Cudi rapped over a choice beat sampling Lady Gaga's infectious acoustic version of "Poker Face". Kanye and Common came in for backup and A-Trak dropped by for some cuts (which got credited on the single cover art with "Scratches By A-Trak" - a first in my eyes). Fools Gold sent out the call for remixes and what came back has been blowing up. First - Afrojack's edit keeps the vocals intact and tears in on the bassline. It's a fun record for the club but the change-up from the breakdown gets a little distracting. Take a listen and I think you'll get it.
The real gem of the remix package is Nadastrom's "88 Dub" (which, for fear of reprisal, I'm not posting, but you can download via the link here on the FG blog). The boys throw the song in a dark, heavy direction, and it bangs. It's going to be hard on my fall rotation and I think it's one of the best edits this duo's done to date (which, after their remix of "Juke Dat Girl" this year, is saying something)
Now, time for a quick shameless plug - for those at Burning Man this week, swing by Root Society at 10:00 and Esplanade. We've got three domes this year and I'll be DJing alongside the likes of Bassnectar, Rabbit in the Moon, Josh Gabriel, DJ Dan and Donald Glaude, Hatiras, Jelo, Joachim Garraud, and electro-house ballers, Santiago and Bushido. There will be dancing until the sun comes up and you might catch me dancing around in a furry pink boa. Might, but probably not.
Since I've been having so much fun with my belly-dancing lately, I'd thought I'd do a little write-up about what it is, and why I think it's so damn great. So, here we go.
"Belly dance" is a western term for a traditional arab dance known as raqs sharqi, or "oriental dance". It is native to the Middle-East, but is now popular world-wide. In popular culture, the rise of belly dancing is probably attributable to the Latin American singer Shakira, although a range of pop stars have used belly dancing moves in their film clips. I know I was one of many teenage girls who vowed to learn to belly dance after seeing the film clip for the hit song Whenever, Wherever . I was totally intrigued! Check out this little video of Shakira strutting her stuff to see what had me so hooked: Most of the movements in belly dancing involve isolating different parts of the body (hips, shoulders, stomach etc), and one of the most famous moves is the shimmy (which, I was suprised to learn is created by moving the knees past each other at high speed). It all looks pretty complicated, right? One of the reasons it's taken me this long to try belly dancing was because I thought it must be really hard to do. While it is in some ways - for example, co-ordinating the movement of only one part of your body at a time - the basic movements are actually pretty easy to learn. In fact, if you've got a few minutes you can learn some basic moves right now:
Belly dancing is a non-impact, weight-bearing exercise, which puts minimal stress on the knees and feet. It is suitable for all ages and all body types, so no excuses! You're not too old, and you're definitely not too fat - some of the sexiest belly dancers have plenty of meat on their bones! Plus, the level of intensity in the movements can be adjusted to suit the individual. Belly dancing can burn as many calories as light jogging, swimming or riding a bike, depending on the level of intensity you use.
Other advantages of belly dancing include:
Reducing the risk of osteoporosis
Strengthening the heart
Increasing circulation
Strengthening trapezius and abdominal muscles
Ability to move muscle groups independently
Increased flexibility in torso and back
Hip movements strengthen the legs and long muscles of the back
Awesome right? Plus, women who belly dance tend to become more positive towards their sexuality and their bodies. I know that belly dancing makes me feel unbelievably sexy. It is also believed that the belly dance was traditionally taught by the wise women of the group to prepare women for preganancy and childbirth - the movements strengthen the abdominal and pelvic region, apparently making childbirth less painful. Not that I'm planning to give birth anytime soon, but I can still appreciate all the positives!
Well, there you have it - belly dancing is a fun, fabulous exercise that makes you feel sexy and confient, while giving you great abs. So, what are you waiting for?
I'm dressed to suit my true nerdy nature today - because, it is imperative that the world knows that not all nerds are middle-aged men who live in their parents' basement, playing Halo 3 all day instead of getting a real job. I, in fact, have a real job, and am not middle-aged, or a man. And, I can kick your butt on Halo if you let me get the rocket launcher.
Outfit Rundown
"OMG PWNIES" T-shirt: Think Geek, $18.99 Belt: Jay Jays, 2 for $15 Jeans: Target, $20, DIY'ed by yours truly. Boots: Target, $40
On another note, I made a few adjustments to these jeans in the hope of getting them back into wardrobe rotation. They were bought a few years back, and are now way too big for me, which is never a good look for skinny jeans. So I attacked them with "Denimolition - Denim Distressing Gel", and turned them into baggy capri-like pants. You can't really see in the pictures, but the rips continue all the way down the legs of the pants. I'm not 100% happy with how they turned out - I was hoping for more of a worn look than flat-out holes in my jeans. I think in the future I'll just stick to sandpaper. Still, these babies are fun to prance around in, and that's what really matters right?
That Fat Nerd - a friend of mine has just started a blog, documenting his efforts to reach a healthy weight using video game exercise (Eg. WiiFit, WiiSports, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero), in part to prove that being a gamer doesn't automatically mean you must be fat. I think it's the best idea ever, and I wish him all the luck in the world.
Belly Dancing! - Belly dancing is the latest thing I've tried from my list of new things to try, and I love, love, love it. It gives your abs a great workout, is heaps of fun and makes you feel pretty damn sexy. The Boyfriend is also a fan of my newfound belly dancing obsession.
Going through old magazines and ripping out the DIY pages - I have a huge collection of these pages now. A rather invaluble resource for the days that I decide to tie dye, play with bleach & fabric paint or redesign my own shoes because they're far too boring.
The First Wives Club - Book or movie, take your pick. The book is decidedly more serious, but the movie has Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton. And, I have to admit that I'm a sucker for it, and the whole "sisters are doing it for themselves" vibe.
Reading American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis - This man is an amazing writer. Absolutely amazing. And also disturbing. I only recommend reading this book if you have a strong stomach and a twisted sense of humour - or are just incredibly unfazed by violence. If you are one of those people though, I would whole-heartedly recommend it. It is a dark (and did I mention disturbing?) look at the mindless preoccupations of our society.
I can touch my head to my knees when I touch my toes now!
My life - I'm just in such a good place at the moment, and everything seems to be falling perfectly into place. Like my life is suddenly decided to align itself with my desires, or something equally mystical. Anyway, I'm having so much fun right now, just living.
Other assorted happiness gems: feeling inspired, creative and driven; drinking way too much iced coffee; borrowing library books; researching business avenues; finding a decent pair of work pants for $12.95; thinking of slogans to put on a groupie sign (another friend of mine is playing his first live gig Saturday night!); sewing at 3AM; ducking responsibility and spending the night watching Daria episodes on youtube; Vinyasa Yoga, sun salutations and shoulder stands; accidentally falling asleep during the relaxation section after a good yoga workout, getting Tim Minchin tickets right near the front of the stage; amazing supportive friends and love, glorious love.
Ten blog years ago, I fell in love with Nacho Lovers' "Acid Life" and Jokers of the Scene's "Baggy Bottom Boys." And though much has happened and a whole slew of huge new cuts have been released since these tunes first found their respective ways into my sets, I still play both out on the regular.
But to make sure y'all didn't somehow forget about our Canadian friends, the crew over at Fool's Gold went out and did up a video for the J.O.T.S. hit. And the flick rules. Granted it took me a good five or so tries to watch the whole thing (so as to avoid a seizure), but still. Everything rules. This video falls under the umbrella of "everything." Thus, this video rules.
EDIT: Another of those old movie videos. This time courtesy of DJ Ayres and one of his pals. This one popped up half a year ago, but I'm pretty sure I never saw it till this afternoon. (Thanks to our friends at Electric Zoo for the heads up.)
We here at Panda Toes love miss Dani Deahl. Her tunes rock socks off, her mixing's on point, and she's an all-around splendid gal. Thus, it comes as no surprise that I find myself ignoring a movie about Italian fascism, opting instead to post up the video for her "Poppin' Bottles."
A few things struck me throughout the video.
1) The man in the video is chubby. 2) I wish I had his mustache. 3) I need more Dani Deahl shots in her next flick.
And that's about it. Elementary observations to say the very least, for the Dartmouth love for Dani can't be summarized, can't be quantified, etc. So yea, I'm not even gonna try. Enjoy the tune, enjoy the video, and be sure to catch Dani if she ever rolls through a town near you.
