Mark's Notebook

All Articles - September 2005

Square Dancing By The Numbers, Part 3

I bid $11 on this Ebay auction earlier today:
SQUARE DANCE CALLS PIONEER FOLK 1930S-50S 5 BOOKS LOT

Ha! The auction ended at over $140. This lot included the book that started it all. No, not Pappy Shaw's Cowboy Dances, but Henry Ford's Good Morning. It also includes Dance A While, another highly-sought book that is still being published in its 9th edition, and is the classic intended for public school teachers who want to teach square dancing to their students. (Remember those good old days?)

Good Morning is available in a number of editions and a wide range of prices on Amazon.com.

So is Dance A While.

I wish the demand for old books like this translated into a burgeoning interest in square dancing. But I fear it mostly translates into my paying very high prices for old square dance books.

8000 cue sheets and counting

The cue sheet database now has over 8000 cue sheets cataloged. The most recent addition was about 150 cue sheets from the Idaho web site.

http://www.mixed-up.com/round/all-over/

Square Hoppers

The Square Hoppers square dance club was started in 1959. They will be celebrating their 46th anniversary with their annual Apple Pie Hoedown on Saturday, October 1, 2005. The dance will take place at John Muir School on Branham Lane in San Jose. Club caller Larry Davenport will call the squares, and Wendy-Jean Iannico will cue the rounds.

The club was started in 1959 as an IBM club with Bill Peters as caller. He gave this club its name, and called for 28 years. Ken Kenmille, the second caller, was with the club 12 years. Larry Davenport is has been the club caller since 2000.

The club presently has about four squares that dance on Thursday evenings in Los Gatos. They run a beginners class every year. September 29, 2005 is the 3rd night of introductory classes for the 2005-2006 season. The class is open to couples and singles. It runs from 7:00 PM to 8:30 pm. Then the club dances the full Plus level until 10:00 pm.

In addition to the Apple Pie Hoedown, the club also has an annual picnic and a Christmas dinner each year.

Square Hoppers has a web site:
http://www.mixed-up.com/squarehoppers/

Christian rockers risk wrath of DMCA with DRM tips

The Register

By Team Register

The bassist of Switchfoot is teaching fans how to disable the copy protection measures in the San Diego rock band's own CDs, presumably upsetting Sony and perhaps unwittingly testing the anti-circumvention rules of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Tim Foreman, brother of lead singer Jon, has taken exception to the Digital Rights Management software that appears on the platinum-selling Christian band's latest release, Nothing Is Sound.

"My heart is heavy with this whole copy-protection thing," he wrote on the band's website last week after it came to his attention that fans were having problems importing the band's latest songs from CD to iTunes. So he posted full instructions for disabling the DRM that accompanies the CD, including a link to an open source program that helps to rip CDs.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2005/09/21/christian_rockers_drm_tips/

http://www.switchfoot.com/

Desmond Tutu's advice for a long marriage

Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of South Africa, appeared on the Charlie Rose show today. (It may have been a tape from some time in the past.)

Desmond Tutu just celebrated his golden wedding anniversary. Rose asked whether he had ever considered divorce. Tutu replied with the classic line, "Divorce, never. Murder ... many times."

But when asked seriously his advice for establishing a long-lasting marriage, the Archbishop had this simple advice: Learn to say "Please." "Thank you." "You are beautiful." "I'm sorry."

Mark's advice for newlyweds

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Two are better than one;
because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow.
But woe to him that is alone when he falls;
and there is not another to help him up.

Also, if two lie together, then they have warmth;
but how can one be warm alone?

And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him;
and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Two are better together if they lift one another up when they fall. But if they do not help each other, but pick at each other instead of lifting each other up, then their lives will be bitter.

Even better than a marriage of two is a marriage of three. A marriage in today's world will be constantly under attack by the media and the so-called norms of society. Don't be deceived by false views of marriage, romance, manhood, or womanhood as presented by Playboy, HBO, movies, the New York Times op-ed page, or radical feminism. When your marriage is under attack, it needs to hold together like a rope made of three strands braided together. The third strand is Jesus. When Jesus remains an integral part of your marriage, it cannot fail.

The only way for a marriage to work is if the husband lives to serve his wife and if the wife lives to serve her husband. Ephesians 5 is the "marriage submission passage" we all love to hate. In most basic terms, the scripture simply means that the wife should love and serve her husband the same way the church loves and serves Jesus, and the husband should love and serve his wife the same way Jesus loves and serves the church. There is no difference. Jesus gave everything, his very life, to save the world. In response, the faithful give everything to serve Jesus. In the same way, the husband and wife must give up everything in order for their marriage to work over the long run.

Congratulations to Aaron and Sherrelle

My stepson Aaron Rogers married Sherrell-Lee McCuin on Friday, September 17, 2005. The wedding and reception were held at the Los Gatos Opera House, and 150 of their friends and family were in attendance.

We all wish them a long and happy marriage!

The newlyweds are now on a cruise ship heading for tropical storm Rita. So we also wish them safety!

Religious scholar Huston Smith talks about Christianity and why religion matters today

San Francisco Chronicle

You grew up in China, where your parents were Methodist missionaries. How did that affect your spiritual life?

Well, you know, I grew up in a functional nuclear family. We were the only Americans in our area. So, I absorbed [my faith], as the Romans used to say, cum lacte, with the mother's milk.

William James makes an important distinction between "the once-born" and "the twice-born." And I'm the once-born, because I just grew up with this religion. I can't say it was in my genes. No. But it was in my nurturance from the very beginning, so it's hard to target a moment when I first became aware of it.

One of the many hot-button issues dividing scientists and religious people is the debate over evolution and so-called intelligent design. What's your take on this controversy?

Science has given us the fossil record, which shows that it took three and a half billion years for life to evolve to our level. The writer George Will -- I don't agree with his politics, but he said something that was right on. He said that six-day creationism is not only nonsense -- it's nonsense on stilts!

However, you are never going to explain in a laboratory what it is we call the divine spark, which every religion has described. You will never get a sense of our divinity, of the image of God. These things cannot be explained by natural selection or chance mutations. For that you need to turn to religion.

You've written that politicians, particularly those on the far right, have hijacked Christianity for their own means. Why do you think that's happening now?

Honestly, I think it has something to do with greed. You can cushion it any way you want, but the present administration is guilty of rewarding greed with all of its tax rebates and so on.

Genuine religion is about generosity. And greed, when it takes over -- and I speak metaphorically here -- is an indication that we have fallen into the temptation of the devil. The devil wants us to be greedy.

Many people today feel disconnected from organized religion. So they're going their own way, blazing their own spiritual paths. What do you think about that trend?

It's probably better than nothing, but not much. Another phrase for it is "cafeteria-style spirituality." You go to the cafeteria, and normally most people choose what they like.

Do they choose what is good for them? Do they put that above what they like? Well, most people do not. There is also a problem that often we don't know what is good for us.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/archive/2005/09/19/findrelig.DTL

Club of the week: Stanford Quads

by Mark Brautigam

I learned to dance at a small Mainstream-level club in south San Jose. When it came time that I should learn Plus, someone in that club suggested I should try Stanford Quads. This was a club where I could not only learn Plus, but I could re-learn everything from an APD perspective. (APD stands for All Position Dancing, a mode of dancing that allows a larger repertoire of dancing formations.)

When I started at Quads in the fall of 1986, they held three introductory nights on the deck outside the student union on the Stanford campus. It was fun dancing on the cement outside, dragging unsuspecting passers-by into the squares. After the intro nights, the club danced in the Old Student Union ballroom, a wonderful room with space for about ten squares on a wood floor, barre along the side walls and mirrors on the back wall. There was also a back room with couches where dancers could relax between tips.

Quads was always a peculiar club. Their classes included many students and even some faculty. Square dance attire was never required. Early on, the club always had more men than women in attendance. This required (or allowed) men to practice dancing as women. Of course, it wouldn't be fair if women couldn't therefore also dance as men. While caller John Sybalsky faithfully taught all his classes from an APD point of view, the ability of dancers to freely swap gender roles allowed reinforcement of the principles of APD.

Many challenge-level dancers enjoyed dancing at Quads. John almost always called multiple star tips after the Plus dance, especially during the summer after the beginner class had already graduated. Star tips frequently included A1, A2, C1, and C2. On rare occasions higher-level dancers would attend, and there might be C3 or C4 star tips. I recall one occasion during my first year at Quads that a large group of strangers showed up. They wore matching t-shirts with a spiral of stars, an arrow, and a sign saying "You are here." I called them the Space People. I quickly learned that they were great dancers and they could fix any problem in my square. Years later I learned that they were C4 dancers attending an annual C4 dance nearby.

Many of the bay area's best challenge-level dancers have had some association with Stanford Quads, either having started dancing there, or having practiced advanced and challenge dancing at the star tips there.

After John Sybalsky moved here from Massachusetts around 1980, he started Stanford Quads as a club modeled after the already-successful Tech Squares of MIT. John was already a notable C4 caller who had taught a series of C3 classes before moving to the west coast. The club hosted two beginner classes during the 1983-1984 season, and has hosted a beginner class every fall since then. The class of 2005-2006 will be 24th class. John is a thorough but patient teacher who makes sure the class members are more than well prepared for the "real world" of Plus hoedowns.

Stanford Quads had to move off the Stanford campus after the earthquake of 1989 damaged the Old Union building. Since early 1990, they've been dancing at Fairmeadow School, near East Meadow and Middlefield in Palo Alto.

In 1996, cuer John Flora started teaching and cueing rounds at Quads. After seeing the early days of jeans and t-shirts, bare feet, and cross-sex dancing, round dancing seemed an unlikely direction for the club to take. But club members took to round dancing with the same enthusiasm they had for square dancing, and soon almost everyone had learned.

The highlight of the year for Quads members is the annual hoedown, which used to take place in early June right after class graduation, but now takes place in late September just before new beginner classes start. This year's hoedown takes place September 24, 2005, at St. Andrews Methodist Church on Alma Street in Palo Alto. A fun feature of the Quads hoedown is the full hour of star tips at the end. Even if you don't dance the higher levels, they can be fun to watch. Star tips start at A1 and continue up the levels until there are not enough dancers to field a square. As far as I recall, there has been only one year that failed to field a C4 square. Of course, the hoedown now also includes John Flora cueing pre-rounds and rounds between tips.

Stanford Quads has a web page here:
http://www.mixed-up.com/quads/

There is more club history here:
http://www.mixed-up.com/quads/articles/about-quads.html

There is a hoedown flier (PDF) here:
http://www.mixed-up.com/quads/quads-hoedown-05.pdf

New beginner classes start October 2, 2005. There is a class flier (PDF) here:
http://www.mixed-up.com/quads/quads_flyer_2005-1.pdf

Groom, Family Jailed After Melee

AP

New York

A groom spent his wedding night in jail with his father, his brother his father-in-law and seven other members of his wedding party after the group allegedly brawled with another bridal party and police, according to a published report.

The altercation reportedly began with a case of mistaken identity. A member of the second wedding party confronted Fortunato's best man, believing him to be a wedding photographer, who had absconded. The best man allegedly responded with force sparking a bench-clearer.

"Everybody's fighting everybody," White Plains police spokesman Martin Gleeson told the Daily News. "And both brides are kind of walking around helpless like, 'This is my wedding? I can't believe this is happening!'"

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/09/15/national/a130601D19.DTL

They just want to talk on the phone

USA Today

By Michelle Kessler, USA TODAY

"People are not really flocking to phones with new features," says David Chamberlain, a mobile phone analyst with In-Stat. "They just want to talk on the phone."

A recent In-Stat survey showed relatively little interest in new phone add-ons, such as video. Since most people upgrade their phone about every two years, they're looking for an easy-to-use device — not a pricey all-in-one, equity analyst Albert Lin says.

Still, cell phone companies persist with fancy phones.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/technology/2005-09-05-multipurpose-cell
-phones_x.htm

Square Dancers for Katrina

by Tony Oxendine

It is time for square dancers world wide to unite. Together, we can make a difference. Over the years, square dancers have shown themselves to be some of the most caring people in the world.

Our goal is to send a check and truckloads of supplies to the affected areas on October 3, 2005. We will be in contact with FEMA to find out exactly where to deliver everything, and to determine what organization(s) to give the monies collected. Our goal is to send at least one semi-truck full of supplies and to hand over a check for ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

We will be updating the website www.squaredancers4katrina.org on a daily basis to keep everyone abreast of our progress. Please check the site often. We need to get the word out quickly to as many square dancers worldwide as we possible can. If you have a website, please post a prominent link to ours on your page. If possible, send this letter out to any friends you have on the internet.

http://www.squaredancers4katrina.org/

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