Mark's Notebook

All Articles - March 2005

Dance of the week: Bows and Beaus Newer Dancer Hoedown

Bows and Beaus sponsors a January class level newer dancer hoedown to be held on April 2, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose. John Muir School is on Branham Lane in south San Jose, near the intersection with Almaden Expressway.

This dance is also suitable for September level newer dancers, who are encouraged to attend.

Bows and Beaus has an enthusiastic club and an active beginner class.

Bows and Beaus has a web site:
www.bowsandbeaus.org

Here is more information about the upcoming newer dancer hoedown and other newer dancer hoedowns:
www.mixed-up.com/square/newer.html

Club of the week: Bows and Beaus

Bows and Beaus is a large club that meets in Palo Alto. Although it began as a singles club, today it is fairly evenly divided between singles and couples. Both singles and couples are welcome.

Club History

The club started in 1963. The original caller, Jerry denBroeder, gathered some folks in the carport at his apartment house so he could practice calling. Later the group arranged for the club to dance in Mountain View public schools. The club continued to dance in the Whisman School District until this year when it moved to the Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto.

Club callers include:

• Jerry denBroeder (1963-1979)
• Honey Wolfson (1979-1982)
• Doug Saunders (1983-1984)
• Don Lewis (1984-1987)
• Keith Ferguson (1987-present)

The club has bbout 90 members, almost all of which are "active." They generally have about 6-7 squares dancing on a club dance night.

In 1987, when present caller Keith Ferguson took the reins, the club had about 18 members. Even with the growth of the club from 18 members in 1987 to its present size it has always strived to maintain a friendly atmosphere. Keith has been voted one of the Top Ten callers by members of the SCVSDA and especially enjoys teaching newer dancers.

Beginner Classes

The club holds a beginner class every year. This year they are using the "multi-cycle" approach: one class started last January and another will start on May 2. They welcome both singles and couples. The class is held on a separate night than the club so more time is available. The class always gets excellent support from the club members.

Keith says "Beginner classes are absolutely essential to the health of a club! The continuous stream of new dancers is vital to the enthusiasm of the club.

"We teach our classes using the LISST method, which interleaves the Mainstream and Plus calls giving dancers more experience with the type of dancing actually encountered in the real world -- the more frequently used and more complex calls are taught earlier so our graduates can really hit the road running."

Activities

The club sponsors the Ice Cream Fling Thing every year. They also sponsor one or two newer dancer hoedowns each year and the club has many other social events for its members. They invite former members to a special Alumni Night every February.

This year, they sponsor the upcoming January class level newer dancer hoedown to be held on April 2, 2005 at John Muir School in San Jose.

The second Wednesday of each month is party night. The third Wednesday is fun night with a special theme -- those participating in the theme (announced in the newsletter) are eligible for a mystery gift drawing. The club also participates in Fifth Wednesday parties with other Wednesday clubs.

The club is really focused on dancing! Breaks between tips are short, and squares often form even before the caller gets back to the stage! Very few folks sit out during the tips -- people come to dance.

One of the "secrets" of the club's success is that each evening starts with a half hour workshop. The caller believes that a distinguishing feature of Western Square Dancing is that it exercises both the mind and the body, and that there is always something new to learn! These workshops may review Extended Applications (APD), introduce experimental calls or unusual uses of existing calls, or show concepts the caller feels will expand the understanding and enjoyment of square dancing.

Bows and Beaus has a web site:
www.bowsandbeaus.org

Here is more information about the upcoming newer dancer hoedown and other newer dancer hoedowns:
www.mixed-up.com/square/newer.html

It's dangerous and lonely to be an Iraqi Christian

Christianity Today

"Sunday comes after Saturday." To Iraqi Christians, it means they may face the same fate as the 100,000 Iraqi Jews forced out of the country in 1951.

But several Christian congregations in Iraq are growing, especially ones that worship in buildings without traditional steeples and crosses. Some Pentecostal Christians report five-fold church growth, topping several hundred new worshipers since the end of the war.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/004/14.84.html

As Town for Deaf Takes Shape, Debate on Isolation Re-emerges

New York Times

By Monica Davey

SALEM, S.D. - Standing in an empty field along a wind-swept highway, Marvin T. Miller, who is deaf, envisions the town he wants to create here: a place built around American Sign Language, where teachers in the new school will sign, the town council will hold its debates in sign language and restaurant workers will be required to know how to sign orders.

Nearly 100 families - with people who are deaf, hard of hearing or who can hear but just want to communicate in sign language - have already publicly declared their intention to live in Mr. Miller's village, to be called Laurent, after Laurent Clerc, a French educator of the deaf from the 1800's.

"Society isn't doing that great a job of, quote-unquote, integrating us," Mr. Miller, 33, said through an interpreter. "My children don't see role models in their lives: mayors, factory managers, postal workers, business owners. So we're setting up a place to show our unique culture, our unique society."

While deaf enclaves, like the one that existed in Martha's Vineyard decades ago, have cropped up throughout the nation, this would be the first town expressly created for people who sign, its developers say. Even the location, in sparsely populated South Dakota, was selected with the intent of rapidly building political strength for the nation's millions of deaf and hard-of-hearing people, a group that has won few elected offices around the country.

But in the complicated political world of deaf culture, Laurent is an increasingly contentious idea. For some, like Mr. Miller; his wife, Jennifer, who is also deaf; and their four deaf children, it seems the simplest of wishes: to live in a place where they are fully engaged in day-to-day life. Others, however, particularly advocates of technologies that help deaf people use spoken language, wonder whether such a town would merely isolate and exclude the deaf more than ever.

Over the past 15 years, he said, it has become easier for the deaf and hard of hearing to grow up using spoken language, because of a steady rise in the use of cochlear implants, more early diagnoses and therapies for deaf children and efforts to place some deaf children in mainstream schools. That fact has set off intense political debate over what it means to be deaf and what mode of communication - signing or talking - the deaf should focus on.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/21/national/21deaf.html

Dance of the Week: Yellow Rock and Rollers

The newly-forming Yellow Rock and Rollers San Mateo Chapter, a new youth square dance group, sponsors a dance on March 26, 2005 in Belmont, CA.

The dance is Plus level. The callers are Ruth & Sarah Riegelhaupt-Herzig. Wendy-Jean Iannico will cue rounds.

Sarah Riegelhaupt-Herzig is a 13-year-old caller who is starting a youth group by and for teens and tweens in San Mateo. (Parents are also allowed in the group, but the focus is on and the decision-making by the kids.) The benefit is to kick off the club because the cost of halls is so high and she is planning to distribute flyers in the schools (which can add up). The club will be the Yellow Rock & Rollers, San Mateo Chapter.

This will be Sarah's first hoedown, although she has been sharing calling responsibilities with other callers at Belle Swingers in Sunnyvale since last May.

7:30 pre-rounds
8:00-10:30 Plus squares
Ralston Middle School, 2675 Ralston Ave., Belmont

Yellow Rock and Rollers has a web site:
www.yellowrockandrollers.org

Club of the week: Yellow Rock and Rollers

I talked to Ruth Riegelhaupt-Herzig, caller for the Yellow Rock and Rollers youth square dance club of Cupertino. Their club had a great turnout at the recent Spring Fling held by Sunnyvale Singles in San Jose, and we danced with several members of the club.

How and why was the club started?

The Yellow Rock and Rollers, Cupertino Chapter was formed in September 2002. It is for youth ages 8 and up. Cloverleaf Critters, for kids ages 5-8, was formed four months after YR&Rs.

The San Mateo club is being formed to have a group specifically run by and called for by the youth (as well as most of the dancers being youth, of course). The San Mateo club is for ages 10 and up.

Why is there a need for a youth club?

We formed Yellow Rock and Rollers to give youth a club where they are the priority. When YR&R Cupertino was formed, there were not many clubs that allowed youth at all. The numbers of clubs in this area that allow youth has increased significantly since the club was formed, but youth still need a place that they feel is their own. Yellow Rock and Rollers in general was designed to be a place where kids felt was for them. They weren't being "allowed to dance." They were being encouraged to dance. It isn't a group where kids can come if their parents are wanting to learn to dance and the kids want to tag along. It is a place where the parents can tag along if their kids say it's okay. The club is about the kids...getting kids to want to dance. Like most square dance groups, we foster a sense of unity, which I think is very important for kids. They are a team...they work together. Unlike adult groups though, the unit is the kids. The kids are a group and the parents (although we are also now friends) were thrown together because of the kids...not the other way around.

How often do you have beginner classes?

We have had a variety of beginners' classes in Cupertino. We have had traditional classes each year and have played with other ideas. The Cupertino group had a summer camp last year and will be having a Spring Break camp (and probably summer camp again) due to the success of the first camp.

The traditional class was September to early March this year.

What is the dance camp?

We had a week long dance camp last summer and will repeat it this Spring. We have the only week long camp that I know of. It went very well last year and produced some very active dancers.

Last summer's five day camp went to Mainstream and even learned a few Plus calls, despite losing a full day due to logistical problems. With some follow-up those dancers went to Plus. Dancers could probably learn Plus in a camp environment in five or six days while still keeping it fun and not overwhelming.

Here are the advantages of a dance camp: (1) Due to meeting every day, people don't forget much between sessions. There are not hours spent on review. (2) Scheduling conflicts do not cause the students to miss weeks and have to play catch-up. It is much easier to commit a week than to commit a night every week for seven to nine months. (3) The class is quick, so people can go to dance events right away. (4) No burnout from class after class after class for months.

How big is the club?

If all members, kids and parents show up, there are about five squares, but that really doesn't happen. We usually dance two or three squares.

How does the "Cloverleaf Critters" work?

The idea behind this group is to give the kids a positive exposure to square dancing early on. We don't worry about how many calls they learn...just the experience. Younger kids don't mind lots of repetition. Some Critters have become YR&R members (and even members of other clubs). We usually allow new people to join three or four times per year.

Tell about the new club starting in San Mateo.

In San Mateo, there is currently no youth (or even family) group. The San Mateo YR&R is being formed to have a group specifically run by and called for by youth (as well as most of the dancers being youth, of course).

The idea is to give teens and tweens a place to dance that they really feel is for them, right down to having it run and called for by a teen. It's a teen oasis within square dancing. They will still go out and dance at events with adults, but the idea is that this is by and for them. We hope that having a youth caller will appeal to teens who think that square dancing is just for older people.

How did Sarah become interested in calling?

Sarah says..."It's challenging. It's kind of like a puzzle and I like puzzles."

Sarah's very mathematical and visual, so calling was a logical interest for her. She was already interested when I went to callers' school before starting the Cupertino group. She went as my partner so she could hear when I heard. The rest, as they say, is history.

She's also into theater, so I think the whole opportunity to perform is a factor too.

Lastly, her interest became stronger when she decided she wanted to start a youth group that was a "true youth group".

Yellow Rock and Rollers sponsors a dance on Saturday, March 26, 2005 in Belmont. This will be a benefit dance for the newly forming San Mateo club.

Yellow Rock and Rollers has a web site:
www.yellowrockandrollers.org

Retailers on the hook for rebate delivery

San Jose Mercury News

By Mike Langberg, Mercury News

Mail-in rebates, the dark underbelly of consumer electronics and computer retailing, is finally falling under the harsh light of government scrutiny.

In a little-noticed action announced March 11, the Federal Trade Commission took a hugely important step by saying -- for the first time -- that retailers could be liable when manufacturers fail to honor rebate requests.

Mail-in rebates are particularly epidemic in the closely related categories of consumer electronics and computers.

When rebate forms are too complicated to fill out, or manufacturers somehow ``forget'' to honor your rebate request, we're being defrauded.

http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/11170430.htm

Healing Progress

I guess it has been quite a while since I posted any progress update. Things have changed quite a bit since my last post on the subject, which appears to be January 3 unless I mis-marked some other post.

With the consent and advice of my chiropractor, I attended Mac World Expo at Moscone Center in San Franciso on January 12 and 13. Moscone is a huge convention center and I figured it would be a workout. Unknown to me, they changed the format so that all the exhibits would be in Moscone South, which cut my footsteps in half. I was able to attend both days without any weakness or discomfort. I did bring the cane but I didn't really need it; and when my hands were full, the cane got in the way.

On January 20, I decided to give up the cane entirely. I feared that using it was causing me some back problems. Deciding to walk without the can was more a psychological hurdle than a physical one. I found that I got along just fine, even in situations where I had previously found the cane useful.

At our follow-up appointment with the surgeon on February 17, he told us that I am losing bone mass and calcium at the fracture. The bone is mending just fine, but it's possible to lose enough calcium in only a month that it will take a year of exercise to regain it. So he suggested that any kind of exercise would be beneficial: bicycle, jogging, walking, and yes, dancing. So we decided that I should start square dancing again as soon as possible.

As a test, I danced one day at an invitational dance in Petaluma on February 26. This was the first time I had danced in over four months. It went well but I did get tired, and I was sore the next day.

The following weekend, we went to a beginner hoedown in San Jose. We figured this would be more exercise than we normally get at a hoedown. Then I started dancing with Mary at her tape group in Concord, partly for my own benefit, and partly becuase that tape group has some people injured and unable to attend. This has all gone well but I do get sore the next day. The chiropractor and physical therapist are trying to find the exact source of the soreness, since it is only in one spot.

We are not sure yet about round dancing. It requires a lot more balance and stamina than square dancing does. But I'm getting stronger every day.

NCRDTA Rounds of the Month

There is a new web page that shows the Rounds of the Month for 2004-2005. These dances were selected by the membership of NCRDTA, the Northern California Round Dance Teachers Association.

The page includes choreo and record information for each dance.

http://www.mixed-up.com/ncrdta/rom.html

Dapper Dancers

There is now a new web page for Dapper Dancers, a round dance class that meets on Saturday mornings in Redwood City, California. The cuers are Chuck and Darlyne McDowell.

www.mixed-up.com/dapper/

IBM to unveil mouse adapter to steady cursor

San Francisco Chronicle

Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer

Inventor Jim Levine has come up with a device that helps the elderly and anyone with illnesses that cause their hands to shake, such as Parkinson's.

IBM is expected to unveil the product today, a mouse adapter that filters out the shaking movements of the hand to enable a user to navigate a PC screen more smoothly.

The device is plugged between the mouse and the PC and works like the stabilization systems found in many camcorders.

"If your hand is moving in a generally steady direction, but it is moving up and down or in a circular motion, the filter removes the little jiggles and the steady stuff stays in there," said Levine, who developed the adapter with IBM engineer Michael Schappert.

The device has been licensed by Montrose Secam, an electronics company in London. It is expected to help the firm's director, James Cosgrave, who suffers from essential tremor, an ailment that causes his hands to shake.

Frances West, director of IBM's worldwide accessibility center, said the mouse adapter is part of Big Blue's efforts to develop technologies for the elderly and people with disabilities.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/14/MOUSE.TMP&nl=top

Joy Read Injures Wrist in Accident

Overheard on the Round Dance mailing list:

From Terri Cantrell, Saturday 12 March 1:51 pm

Heard through the grapevine (the really fast one so would that be the pepperpot-grapevine?).....

Joy Read slipped this morning while at the Kansas Festival in Junction City and broke her left wrist. It sounds like she was warming up and the chair slipped or collapsed just prior to their morning teach at the Kansas Festival in Junction city this morning. It sounds pretty serious as she has visited multiple doctors.

Paul & Linda Robinson stepped up to the plate and are teaching their Take A Bow and possibily one other routine this afternoon. I am sure that another couple is also helping out with the II-III program in the other hall. Thanks much Paul & Linda.

Thanks to John Burnett from the D.C. area (through Debbie Hawks from MN who is attending) and Rob & Terri Sherwood (from CO who are attending) for letting us know.

From Jerry & Sandy Adams, Saturday 12 March 7:18 pm

Just to let everyone know Joy Read is in the hospital in Salina, KS following a fall at a dance weekend in Junction City, KS. She was warming up and stopped to retie or adjust a shoe and somehow the other foot slipped out from under her causing her to fall into the chairs along the side. First dance of the morning.....before the teaches even started.

It is thought that she has broken two bones in her lower left arm and wrist. Evidentally, she landed on that arm trying to stop the fall.

Just got new information....the surgery appears to have been successful - they were able to use pins to set the bones.

Also

It appears that Wayne & Barbara Blackford will take over for Kay & Joy at Bakersfield Fiesta.

Maybe they'll send me copies of the X-rays to post here? :-O

Round Dance of the Week: Bakersfield Fiesta

Bakersfield Fiesta is also our featured Round dance of the week. They have a full round dance program that this year features cuers Mary Ann Callahan & Brian Wyatt, T.J. & Bruce Chadd, and Wayne & Barbara Blackford.

Don't forget to leave extra early if you dance rounds. Super early sessions of round dancing start at 5:00 pm on Friday. There are two separate halls of early rounds: Phase 2-4 and Phase 4-6. For many of us, this session is the best session of the weekend. There are three solid hours of rounds before any square dancing starts. Each cuer gets one hour in each hall. The Phase 4-6 hall has plenty of dances at each level. Some of the dances are programmed but there is room for some requests also.

This year, Wayne and Barbara Blackford substitute at the last minute for the ailing Joy Read, who broke her wrist just yesterday. Wayne and Barbara will teach a Phase 4 dance and a Phase 5 dance on Saturday morning. T.J. & Bruce Chadd will teach a Phase 3 dance on Sunday morning.

http://www.bakersfieldfiesta.com/

Challenge Dance of the Week: Bakersfield Fiesta

Bakersfield Fiesta is also our featured Challenge dance of the week. Internationally-known Saundra Bryant will call C1 and C2 tips, and maybe a C3A star tip? She also calls a session in the A2 hall, and Johnny Preston calls one session in the challenge hall.

Past challenge callers at Fiesta have included Mike Jacobs, Ben Rubright, and Lee Kopman.

Fiesta's challenge hall is always well attended by southern California's Trailblazers and northern California's Interlocked Squares. We've seen as many as seven or eight squares in the challenge hall. The callers are always the best, the dancing is good, and the squares are friendly.

Fiesta also has a super busy A1-A2 hall. Featured callers include Bronc Wise, Tony Oxendine, Tim Marriner, and Saundra Bryant.

http://www.bakersfieldfiesta.com/

Dance of the Week: Bakersfield Fiesta

Bakersfield Fiesta is one of the liveliest festivals we have attended. This festival takes place every March in Bakersfield. They always have a full schedule of Mainstream, Plus, Advanced, Challenge, and Round Dancing, in five separate halls. The callers and cuers are always top-notch and the festival is always well-attended.

The 2005 festival takes place March 18-20. Featured callers include Tony Oxendine and Johnny Preston. Saundra Bryant is featured in the Challenge hall and also calls Advanced sessions. Wayne and Barbara Blackford head up the round dancing program.

A fun part of this festival is their photo scrapbooks that go back 40 years. Check them out in the Plus hall / registration area.

It takes about four to five hours to travel from the San Francisco bay area to Bakersfield, depending on your exact location in northern California and the weight of your foot. If you're coming from the south, I think it takes only about two hours to get to Bakersfield from the San Fernando Valley, longer if you're in Pasadena or Orange County.

Don't forget to leave extra early if you dance rounds. A super early session of round dancing starts at 5:00 pm on Friday.

http://www.bakersfieldfiesta.com/

Apple Wins Trade Secrets Legal Dispute

San Francisco Chronicle

By Rachel Konrad, AP Technology Writer

A judge on Friday ordered three independent online reporters to divulge confidential sources in a lawsuit brought by Apple Computer Inc., ruling that they were not protected by the First Amendment because they published trade secrets.

The ruling alarmed speech advocates, who saw the case as a test of whether people who write for Web publications enjoy the same legal protections as reporters for mainstream publications. Among those are protections afforded under California's "shield" law, which is meant to encourage the publication of information in the public's interest.

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg ruled that no one has the right to publish information that could have been provided only by someone breaking the law.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/03/11/financial/f122955S64.DTL

Squashed Philosophers

Described by Glyn Hughes, who condensed them:

"Unfortunately, life is rather short, the little storeroom of the brain doesn't have extensible walls and the greatest of thinkers seem to also be among the worst, and the lengthiest, of writers. So, most knowledge of Plato or Hume or Aristotle tends to come second-hand, unfortunately too often through masters more filled with pompous pleasure in their own mastery of complexity than with knowledge of their subject. Which is a pity, because your Prince, whether they call themselves President or King or Prime Minister, has almost certainly read Machiavelli. Your therapist is steeped in Freud, your divines in Augustine. Lawmakers take their cues still from Paine, Rousseau and Hobbes. Science looks yet to Bacon, Copernicus and Darwin.

"So, here are the most used, most quoted, the most given, sources of the West. The books that have defined the way the West thinks now, in their author's own words, but condensed and abridged into something readable."

http://www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/squashed/

The First Jesus Freak

OC Weekly

A pot-smokin’, LSD-droppin’ seeker turned Calvary Chapel into a household name. So why is Lonnie Frisbee missing from church history?

http://www.ocweekly.com/ink/05/26/cover-coker.php

What do you do when the Jesus freak who started your church dies from AIDS?

Simple. Erase him from history.

http://lonniefrisbee.com/

My Radio, My God

The Revealer

NPR's gifts of the spirit and the Bible's strange demands

By Lisa Anderson

Mario was curious to see if his community could sustain a strange element like me. "We're an inclusive environment, a diverse community." If I was interested in being part of that community, I was welcome. "But you know who won't like this?" he asked rhetorically, "The cool people. I can't wait." Click.

Great, I thought, I'm going to be the token Christian. I imagined Mario's cool people. People with smooth voices, expansive vocabularies, mad technical skills and an automatic dislike for me.

Station lore has it that a local church has commissioned several of its members to monitor the station around the clock and complain to our archenemy, the FCC, whenever we inadvertently curse on air or play music with lyrics they don't like. I'm thinking that it is this Christian who comes most immediately to their mind. That I would call myself by this name must seem unbelievable.

http://www.therevealer.org/archives/main_story_001727.php

Challenge dance of the week: PACE

Internationally-known challenge caller Vic Ceder will be calling a weekend of challenge dancing at PACE in Pleasant Hill on March 11-13, 2005.

The Friday night session will be C2. This one session will take place at the alternate location of Pacheco Community Center in Pacheco, not far from Pleasant Hill.

The Saturday sessions will be C1, both morning and afternoon. There will also be a C4 session Saturday evening.

The Sunday morning session will be C3A, and the Sunday afternoon session will be full C3.

The 2005 PACE schedule is here.

A PDF flier for the March 2005 dance is here.

Dance of the week: Shamrock Shuffle

Every year the Los Altos Spinning Wheels sponsors the the Shamrock Shuffle on the second Saturday in March.

This year's hoedown takes place March 12, 2005. The Caller will be Gary Carnes, with Jim & Adele Chico cueing the rounds. The dance is at John Muir School, 1260 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA. 8-11 pm.

Spinning Wheels has a web site here.

Club of the week: Spinning Wheels

Spinning Wheels Square Dance Club has been in existence for 47 years! They have five squares who dance Plus on Thursday evenings in Los Altos, CA. The club caller is Jim Osborne.

Spinning Wheels started in November 1957 with caller Don Hills and wife Wilma. Other callers to follow included Jim Fusaro, John Davis, Terry Walden and Charlie Brown with wife Linda who was the club caller for over 25 years, from 1976-2003. Jim Osborne is the current caller.

The club has always danced at Loyola Elementary School in Los Altos. In 2003-2004 the school was closed down, rebuilt completely, and reopened last September. During its closure, they danced at Springer School. Dorothy Carlson says, "We love being back at Loyola and the new multi-purpose room where we dance is beautiful!" The club donated a brick placed in the patio of the new school -- it is inscribed "Spinning Wheels -- Keep Dancing!"

The Shamrock Shuffle is the club's one big event of the year. They also hold parties for members at Christmas, Valentines Day, Cinco de Mayo, etc. and have a yearly Ladies Luncheon. The men get together for tours of the NUMMI plant, the aircraft museum, etc. Several couples regularly attend Winterfest, Solvang, and McCloud dances.

The club also participates in the Fifth Thursday Clubs joint dances. They dance at some community events when asked.

The club invites former members to the annual Christmas potluck and dance and they have numerous theme nights at regular club dances.

The club is a very friendly group and always welcomes visitors.

Shamrock Shuffle

Every year the club sponsors the the Shamrock Shuffle on the second Saturday in March.

This year's hoedown takes place March 12, 2005. The Caller will be Gary Carnes, with Jim & Adele Chico cueing the rounds. The dance is at John Muir School, 1260 Branham Lane, San Jose, CA. 8-11 pm.

Spinning Wheels has a web site here.

Shower of wildflowers

San Jose Mercury News

California Bracing For Wild Spring Show

By Holly Hayes

Native plant enthusiasts are abuzz over what they're predicting will be the best wildflower display in nearly half a century. Credit our abundant winter rains for the spectacular rainbow that is unfolding from the deserts of Southern California to the Oregon border.

Traditional favorite viewing locations include Death Valley National Park, Henry W. Coe State Park, Pinnacles National Monument, Yosemite National Park.

Close-to-home viewing sites include the Forest of Nisene Marks and Wilder Ranch state parks in Santa Cruz County, Montara Mountain north of Half Moon Bay, Edgewood County Park and Natural Preserve near Redwood City, Tilden Park near the University of California-Berkeley and Almaden Quicksilver County Park and Alum Rock Park in San Jose.

In Central and Southern California, the hot spots will include the Carrizo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County, the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve west of Lancaster, Cuyamaca Rancho State Park near Descanso and the hills surrounding Gorman in the Tejon Pass, Dutcher says.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/living/home/11049256.htm

Club of the week: Sunnyvale Singles

Single Squares of Sunnyvale is one of the largest square dance clubs in the Santa Clara Valley. Six to seven squares dance weekly on Thursday nights at the Murphy Park clubhouse in Sunnyvale. Dancing starts with one half hour of pre-rounds at 7:30, cued by Jim Chico, followed by six or seven tips of Plus level dancing from 8:00 until 10:00, called by Jake Shimada.

Club History

Sunnyvale Singles started in 1957. According to a former member, the club was started by a group of single ballroom dancers. Past callers include Brad Bradford, Bill Davis, Gary Carnes, Scot Slocum, and Ken Carroll. The club has had round dancing from the very beginning. Past cuers include Barbara Bradford, Jim Turner, Larry Segal, and Craig Rice.

The group has had more than 3000 members over the years. The Sweethearts list alone has 492 names of those who married other club members. (This does not include club members who married class members.)

The club has danced at a number of locations, but mainly at Ellis School in Sunnyvale in the 60's and 70's, and Blackford High School in San Jose in the 80's and early 90's.

Former members include callers Ken Kenmille, Jay Klassen, and Ben Goldberg, and cuers Jim Turner, Larry Segal, and Craig Rice.

Past President Joe Carboni says that in the late 80's and early 90's the club had about 400 members, and was considered the largest singles club in the USA. Current membership is about 80 people. The only other valley club of comparable size is nearby Palo Alto club Bows and Beaus.

Beginner Classes

The club also hold classes weekly on Tuesday nights at the same location. Roger Smith is the class teacher. The club runs three beginner classes every year, starting in September, January, and May. Classes last eight months, so each new group overlaps and interacts with the previous group and the next group. One group learns Mainstream from 7:00-8:30 pm, and the second group learns Plus from 8:30-10:00 pm, in separate sessions on the same evening. Plus class members are encouraged to assist with the Mainstream class. This gives them a refresher on the previous calls.

Josie Baumgarner says the new class format works well because class members often bring their friends to the next class and do not have to wait a year. They can become angels to their friends. Also if a person has to miss and can't keep up, they can restart in a short time. The classes also get many people who danced before and do not want to start from the beginning. They can start with the phase 2 class and pick up their dancing skill fast to rejoin the club.

Annual Hoedowns

Sunnyvale Singles sponsors three special hoedowns every year. Spring Fling, a September-level newer dancer hoedown, is held every year in March. The Strawberry Festival is a Plus-level dance held every June. Cactus Jack is a Plus-level dance held every November.

The group also holds other special dances. The largest is the Sweetheart dance held every February near Valentine's Day. On this special club night, former members who met in the club and have married are invited to return for a grand party. This evening forms a kind of reunion for many former club members, and out come the photo albums going back 30 years or more.

A Place For Singles

The club membership consists of single dancers, but they invite all dancers, single or married, to join them every Thursday evening in Sunnyvale for grand evening of dancing.

With a smile, Joe Carboni says Sunnyvale Singles is an ideal place for singles to meet, dance, and have fun in a friendly atmosphere, but it has one drawback, you must learn to square dance.

Board member Ellie Wierenga says the club schedules monthly non-dancing social events. These might include potlucks, rafting trips, whale watching, theater plays, ball games and anything else that might be of interest to members and friends.

Spring Fling

This year, the Spring Fling hoedown takes place on Saturday March 5, 2005. Sunnyvale Singles has run beginner classes every year for a long time, and their members have always supported the newer dancer hoedowns. Please come support the latest group of beginners at the Spring Fling hoedown.

You can find out more about Single Squares of Sunnyvale on their web site: http://www.singlesquaresofsunnyvale.org/

Global Suspense

Christianity Today

The trick of faith is to believe in advance what will only make sense in reverse.

by Philip Yancey

In a German prison camp in World War II, unbeknownst to the guards, the Americans built a makeshift radio. One day news came that the German high command had surrendered, ending the war—a fact that, because of a communications breakdown, the German guards did not yet know. As word spread, a loud celebration broke out.

For three days, the prisoners were hardly recognizable. They sang, waved at guards, laughed at the German shepherd dogs, and shared jokes over meals. On the fourth day, they awoke to find that all the Germans had fled, leaving the gates unlocked. The time of waiting had come to an end.

And here is the question I ask myself: As we Christians face contemporary crises, why do we respond with such fear and anxiety? Why don't we, like the Allied prisoners, act on the Good News we say we believe? What is faith, after all, but believing in advance what will only make sense in reverse?

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2005/003/22.120.html

Artists Break With Industry on File Sharing

Washington Post

Some Musicians Say Web Services Can Be Valuable Means of Distribution

By Jonathan Krim

A prominent group of musicians and artists, breaking with colleagues and the major entertainment studios, is urging the Supreme Court not to hold online file-sharing services responsible for the acts of users who illegally trade songs, movies and software.

"Musicians are not universally united in opposition to peer-to-peer file sharing" as the major records companies claim, according to a draft of the group's court filing. "To the contrary, many musicians find peer-to-peer technology . . . allows them easily to reach a worldwide online audience. And to many musicians, the benefits of this . . . strongly outweigh the risks of copyright infringement."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61254-2005Feb28.html

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Last updated Monday 3 August 2009