Beatnik Goth Bellydancer Meez. The non-abbreviated version can be seen here.

I've always loved Gothic bellydance, but lately I've become completely obsessed with it. If all goes well in the next couple years, I hope to work myself up to something like the picture (minus the mushroom cloud, I mean). We shall see... I have a name in mind and everything. Not. Telling.

Snagged from the glorious wymzie on MySpace.

Underbelly - starring Radio Bastet fan Princess Farhana! (and a few other people, heh heh)



Bound to stir up some controversy - can't wait!!

Conjure Oils scent du jour: Poison Apple

I'm grumpy today. Damn hormones. So herewith I present the fabulous Desert Sin and their incredible Mermaid Dance (unfortunately it stops at 2:21, even though the length is given as 3:56). Ah, now I feel better.

More Desert Sin. When, oh when is Musee Des Femmes coming out on DVD?????

I'm on Bhuz, so add me, won't you? (And point me to all the juicy threads...)

We are having a great holiday - byroncaloz's been home all week and we are having a stellar time organizing stuff, putting away stuff, throwing stuff away, drinking absinthe and rum-laced eggnog (not together!!), and playing Trivial Pursuit and Yahtzee! He gave me a Cuisinart (I've been wanting one for like 20 yrs); I gave him DVDs galore: the new Blade Runner set and oodles of Bruce Campbell (Brisco County Jr., Jack of All Trades and The Man with the Screaming Brain)! Now it's time for veggie tacos! Love to all!

If you're a member there, add me won't you? I've about given up on LastFM; they're pushing paid subscriptions and aren't supporting the old image-based players. Fie on them.

How did I miss the Portland performance??? (aha - same night as Fat Girl Speaks! Damn!) Who's up for a Seattle road trip????

I don't watch Dancing With the Stars, but I do like the concept. I wonder if any "stars" bellydance? They could do a duet with a contestant. That would be extremely cool. I think Salma Hayek knows the basics, at the very least. I wonder who else...? Failing that, they could get one of the Bellydance Superstars, I s'pose. But seeing a "star" who is not generally known as a bellydancer getting up there and shimmying would be awesome-tastic. I really need to start dancing again; I was going to at the beginning of the year, and it just didn't happen. Sigh.

byroncaloz wrote about our fabulous meal tonight at Pirates Tavern - go read what he wrote; couldn't have put it better myself. And since I can't, I instead hereby present what may be the most radical-awesome thing ever:

Pirate bellydancers. (Thank you, phoenix_witch!)

This may be weird, or not. But the sight of a woman with a sword makes me really happy.

I loathe violence and am a bit of a pacifist, so I really can't figure out why this is. Is it the image of the strong woman, the protector, the righteous avenger, the warrior? Not exactly sure. But I find it deeply satisfying at some level I don't quite understand.

Or - "Less Miles, More Dancing!" Or - "Hi, I'm Miles Copeland! Watch me make piles of cash from bellydancing! You can too! You have to get different 'girls,' though!"

Just got the DVD today. God, Copeland is irritating. I'm glad he's bringing bellydance to a wider audience, but he's perpetuating stereotypes as he gives lip service to breaking them. Watching Suhaila read him the riot act was great, but he didn't hear a word she said. Maybe if she hadn't been "play-irritated" with him (you could tell she was really pissed, but she probably didn't want to ruin her relationship with him and diffused her emotions with mugging and the like) and really let him have it with both barrels, it might have made a difference. Oh well. It's still worth watching and has some great dance sequences (nice to see some of the vintage stuff), and it tells a good story. Just wish I could edit Miles out of it.

We did this about 3 years ago, up here in the computer room (which has since undergone a massive rearrangement). The sound is a couple seconds ahead of the picture. Lame, lame, lame. I will be starting lessons again at Caravan Studio next month, and I promise you - there will be improvement. In fact, I've been thinking of little else besides bellydance the past couple of weeks. I really can't wait to start dancing again.

Crazed: The Bellydance

Aside from one rather ethnocentric statement, this is probably the most right-on depiction of what bellydance is all about that I've ever seen. Awesome. I'm more inspired than ever to start lessons again after the first of the year!

While straightening up in the bedroom today, I found my Chango bracelet that had gone missing right before I left for California in August to receive my elekes and warriors. I believe there is some spiritual significance to both the timing of the bracelet's disappearance and its reappearance. I'm feeling much more centered in my spiritual life these days. It seems to ebb and flow, especially during certain times of the month, if you catch my drift, but I think it's starting to get more on an even keel. For which I'm eternally grateful. (BTW, for those in the know - is the preferred spelling Chango or Shango??)

Saturday we went to the Vegan Holiday Festival, which was pretty interesting. We're not strictly vegan, although dairy products are starting to bother both of us, and byroncaloz is trying to limit eggs as his cholesterol level continues to be on the edge of worrisome (it may be genetic, though, since he hardly ever eats the kind of crap that generally raises one's cholesterol). We especially wanted to see Howard Lyman, former cattleman, vegan activist and author of Mad Cowboy, but his talk had already started by the time we got there so we just got a glimpse. Takes guts to do what he did, I think. We snacked on yummy samples, talked to a raw food advocate who says she cured her cancer with a raw food diet, and were the high bidders at the silent auction for a spay and neuter for Delbert and Spalding (sorry you two; it's for your own good). Got some good recipes and a cool cookbook, Heart of the Home. An afternoon well spent.

That evening we headed to Caravan Studio (first time I'd been back there since I quit my job in August) for the first recital/hafla by Severina's Tribaret students. They were magical!! They had open dancing afterwards, and I got to dance with my beautiful friend aratia, who danced in public for the first time that night and was utterly radiant. I'm proud to be her friend!! I'm really inspired to start taking lessons again after the holidays.

Speaking of food and cooking, we are into our 4th week of pre-planned, home-cooked meals, and it's going phenomenally well. We sit down every Sunday and plan out our dinners for the week. We have some staples; Byron makes spaghetti every Sunday, and Friday night is Veggie Taco Night. We try to have Cincinnati chili once a week or so as well. I end up doing most of the shopping, preparation and cooking, but I really don't mind and it's actually kind of fun (I have to admit I'm getting into the whole hausfrau thing). I swear I've chopped more onions in the past few weeks than I ever did in my whole life up to then! There have only been a few clunkers so far, but we've got it all written down and will be learning from our mistakes. We'll be spending Thanksgiving with Mom at Harvest Homes, so no major cooking for us that day, huzzah!!!

That's really about it. Just been reading, knitting, cooking, grocery shopping, making rosaries, praying, meditating, working on my hoodoo course homework, and just generally co-existing. OH - and I actually excercised this morning! I'm definitely keeping up with it; it felt fabulous! So how's by you?