Archive for July, 2007

• 7.14.07 "Emily & Mike Dancing — my first youtube video" is posted in Dance, Photos, Too, Reflections

So I gave in and got a new camera. So far I’ve taken a lot of pictures and videos. There’ll be more later on the camera decision and my revised thoughts on why I’m taking photos. In the mean time, here’s the first clip that I’ve posted online (well, my first streamed clip). It was also my first experience with Windows Movie Maker–and I must say it was super painless to rotate the video and give it a title.

As for the characters in the video, they’re Emily and Mike. Emily is one of my favorite people (we used to stay out late dancing every Wednesday…those were the days). Mike is her boyfriend and also one of the most creative dancers I know. This film was taken at Glen Echo on Friday the 13th. There’s nothing particularly special about the video (Mike & Emily are even better when they’re performing) but I just wanted to try this out and capture a fun dance.


vlogged by WP Video Blogger / hosted by YouTube

Emily & Mike at Swingin the Blues on July 13, 2007 at Glen Echo Park. Just a random dance that I figured I'd capture 

It turns out that I’m going to have to update WordPress to fully support YouTube embeds, and hopefully to solve the issue of the ugly white border on the video…

• 7.7.07 "What happened to personal letters?" is posted in Friendship, Reflections, Relationships

I was deciding between my blog and my (paper) journal tonight–where to capture the emotion I’m feeling right now? And then it occurred to me that I hadn’t written one of those long, serious, personal letters I used to write all the time. And that just seemed like the right way to let it out.

I’m fairly outspoken and have friends who listen–so normally I’d just grab the phone and reach out. For how many years has this been possible? I mean, it was always possible, but there was a time when people were generally away from a personal line most of the day, when long distance was expensive, when people had to share phones. That was a time when I would write to my friends to seek out advice, to share a thought, to let out an emotion. No matter whether it was email or paper, it was a very different process.

It’s not that we can’t write seriously anymore; arguably, it’s easier than ever. (more…)

• 7.1.07 "Growing slowly" is posted in Reflections

I’ve spent more weekend evenings at Glen Echo Park than anywhere else in the last 7.5 years. There are the special events where lots of old friends come out. There are the slower nights where you get to meet new people. There are the chilly winter nights and steamy summer evenings…but I pretty much know what to expect. It’s always been that way.

Driving back, though, has been quite different. For the first few years we would always go to a diner (and talk about the merits of Hollywood vs. Savoy styling until the wee hours while slurping down Silver Diner ice cream “health shakes”). There were the times I had to drive people back to Catholic, to Georgetown, to Arlington… but more often in recent years I would just hop on the phone. For a time there were people I wanted to wish goodnight. Then there was the friend on the west coast who I wouldn’t worry about calling at midnight. But tonight was quiet.

I got to thinking about past summers and what my ride back was like last year. It was very different. I had just bought the new car but not much else was the same. Or was it?

There was an obvious difference. (more…)