It's been difficult to get my thoughts all up and running together lately, because my lifestyle has changed completely and my brain is still sort of scrambling around trying to make some kind of schedule out of it. I'm still waking up way later than I think I should and still having trouble forcing myself out of the house with all my new found free-time. And to tell you the truth, I spend a huge portion of that new 'free time' doing exactly what I said I was going to do: Homework.
The homework front of my life is pretty awesome lately, but probably not very interesting to read about. Here are the highlights:
I'm doing a research presentation on the old Annex building on 4th avenue. As a result of this, I went down to the library and ended up spending 5 hours totally engrossed in the new 'Seattle Room', which is all old local maps, phone directories, books, weekly magazines and independent writings about my lovely home.
My research has got me seriously thinking about the role of social dancing in US culture, how it's changed courting into dating, and how dating has severely decreased it's eventual influence on our lives. The wars and mobility are all a part of this as well, of course, but the change from town hall dances to commercial dance clubs is suprisingly well documented in Municipal meetings and newspapers from all over the country. I spent hours reading old copies of a 4 by 6 inch magazine called 'Marquee' from the late 20's through the 40's. Dancing and ice skating are huge.
I'm going to a Black and White Ball on Saturday night (diamonds or pearls only, please), and I wish i had the funds to buy the fabric for the dress I imagined for myself, which has a very ballerina thing going on on bottom and a very punk rock thing going on top, all in white with black slippers and a black mask. I don't know what I'll do instead, but luckily I have at least 3 white and 2 black formals on hand already.
and the doughnut shop is still awesome. I'm going for a walk.
Posted by Sonya at March 10, 2005 12:39 PMi still haven't been to the library! but what would be sweet is if there were formal dances and ice skating *in* the library building! heck, make it formal ice skating dances!
Posted by: yukino at March 10, 2005 01:46 PMWell, now that you mention it, The Mighty, Mighty Annex Kids (tm) will be doing "The Library Project" (working title) next January, and I'm sure social dancing and ice skating must fall in the Dewey Decimal system somewhere (although I'm not sure if they'd be located in the 300's -Social Science, or the 700's - Arts) so potentially there COULD be social ice dancing involved as part of the performance, who knows?
Posted by: KING COMTE I at March 10, 2005 04:08 PMMan, I hadn't thought about that aspect of the building's story, but it is fascinating that it was a social-dance school, a theatre where concerts/parties were held, and then the home of the VERA project, which is sort of the heart of the teen dancing/dating crux these days. Kids and their music, yo. Would the species survive without it?
Posted by: mols at March 10, 2005 06:26 PMWould we WANT to?
Posted by: KING COMTE I at March 10, 2005 07:16 PM