#81: Operation Shoebox

We do not seek accolades, yet I find it very satisfying (and humbling) to know you believe in us. -Thank You Note from Officer Lewis Thomas
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I've rarely had the joy of giving out Halloween candy to kids. I used to work that holiday for so many years! But this year I finally had it off and, oh! It was such a treat to hand out candy once again this year.

But I learned from last year that my Halloween candy can sit around for months and months without any hope of it disappearing. So this time did something about it: I Googled it. "What do I do with my leftover Halloween candy?" And up came Operation Shoebox.

Turns out the troops need TWO big things from us:

1. travel sized toiletries, and

Charlie Day's Amazing Speech

The Words of Charlie Day's Zeitgeist Speech

Of all the 2014 commencement speeches, the clear front-runner is Charlie Day. Speaking at his alma mater, Merrimack College, he managed to hit the ball so far out of the park, that his words are going viral.

That's right. We non-grads are tuning in too.

Why? Well, it's not because of his jokes, which were aplenty and it's not because he used the word, "sh!t," which is what all the reporters seem to think.

No, we have heard talented jokes before. And the use of a single bad-word does not a viral video make. (Well, not this word anyway.)  So I'm sorry, but I'm afraid it's the front-runner because of what he actually said. And meant. And taught.

#80: The Making of 'Walk Like an Egyptian': A Champion WCS Routine

The First Anatomy Lesson into the 
World of Champion WCS Routines

You move that starting position even one half square?... And you change everything. -Making of Walk Like an Egyptian

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Let's get serious. Be honest. Up front.

Everybody in WCS wants to be a Champion.

A Champion WCS dancer. That's the goal. That's the dream. That's the victory that everyone desires. And we all know it isn't done by winning a competition. No way. One win in one division, let it be Classic, Strictly, or J&J's doesn't mean jack, does it?

No. To be a Champion you have to do something different. Be something different. Master something different. That's partly why being a WCS Champion dancer is such a desired goal... because the label is elusive... hard to get... almost impossible to find.

#78: The Monopoly

A New Audio Exposé is Here!

I am speaking for all of us. I'm the spokesman for a generation. -Bob Dylan

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I am so glad you guys are loving the new Audio Exposé podcasts. At the start I was calling them my Memories, but after listening to my 10th confession or so, I realized these jam-packed podcasts weren't properly named.

The more I listened, the more I knew I wasn't just telling observations about my time with Boogie by the Bay... I was sharing tips, insights, secrets and scandals about everything... from The Ten, to the Council, to workshops, to... well, everythiiiiiiiing! So I knew I had to call them something else.

I've decided upon Audio Exposés: My Memories, Stories & More. Much more appropriate, yes? Or simply Audio Exposés for short. Ta da! Now, onto my most scandalous Exposé.

No Doubt-Jr's Sexism Spanked Abramson Out of NY Times

Powerful Plays vs. Nepotism Brought NY Times Down

Women battle to break through the glass ceiling. After that, what comes is walking on broken glass. -Frida Ghitis

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It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that Jill Abramson, the first female editor of the NY Times, was fired because she is a woman.

Or maybe it does?

Because people seem to think it's up for debate, especially men. They are certainly voicing their opinions. One man thought the entire disaster wasn't a disaster at all. He didn't think it was an action worth any ink on the page. Wow. I guess Ryan Gosling's character in the movie Crazy Stupid Love was right: "The war between the sexes is over. We won the second women started doing pole dancing for exercise."

Eminem's 'Headlights' Breaks New Ground

Eminem's Vulnerability in 'Headlights' Pays Off

I hate Mother's Day. I really do. I didn't used to and I didn't for most of my life, but once I hit adulthood, things started to change. 

As I grew up on my own, studied on my own, lived on my own (before the days of umbilical cord texting) I started getting this sneaking suspicion that... well, I wasn't exactly... right.

I had handicaps. I had fears. I repeatedly harpooned my own cargo carrier and sailed down bombs to explode my own battleships. Everyone said I had promise, but I spun my wheels faster, faster and then even faster... to nowhere.

There's normal. There's better than normal (read = healthy) and then there's... us.

#77: Behind the Scenes of BBB Part 2

The Anniversary Celebration Con'ts

BBB Part 2 - Audio Exposé

Any problem, big or small, within a family, always seems to start with bad communication. Someone isn't listening. -Emma Thompson

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Now, before we get going, let me first say that I released a surprise Note to you on Friday. I know you look forward to my normal Monday morning releases, but it was for good reason. A special occasion. You'll see. 

So before you check today's Note out, go ahead and search your inbox for Friday's release. (Or find it here: Weekly Note #76: Behind the Scenes of BBB Part 1.) Then come join us again!

Now, to those of you who were devilish enough to actually listen to the entire podcast of Behind the Scenes of BBB: Part 1/2 with me since Friday, then I congratulate you! You've figured out that  my memories and my experiences are extremely powerful... if you know how to use them.

#76: Behind the Scenes of BBB Part 1

Celebrating the 2nd Anniversary
of Weekly Notes w/ a New Format!

Hello everyone! Most of you joined me during the age and creation of Weekly Notes. Before that, as you know from my first book, Telling the Truth, I wrote the Articles that established the dance of West Coast Swing once more.

I gave you a foundation, a home, a structure and a living. The words grew into a movement and the people united, asking more questions about how to turn their new foundations into communities, towns and full blown cities. You wanted WCS to *live* again. And so did I.

Then an extraordinary dancer named Cynthia Ann Richards walked up to me at Boogie by the Bay after I was wrapping up rehearsals with Josh. It was the first BBB after The Time Has Come had been released. The air was electric. The air was buzzing.

And I wanted to hide underneath a piano.

#75: No Swing at BBB

Changes to BBB 2013
(I designed this logo! Cool, right?)

Since I used to live in the Bay Area and used to work on and for Boogie by the Bay, I thought I should give my students and followers up there a heads up.

The Lindy side of BBB has been deleted this year. I know a lot of you had started going to their workshops instead of the WCS ones, which was a really smart bet - I loved hearing what you learned.

But Sylvia Sykes is all that is left of the Lindy track anymore (so sorry Lindy-babies!!!). She'll be teaching workshops designed for WCS, and as you already know, I respect her tremendously. She's go the info - and identified Abstract as a non-rhythm dance before anyone else I know.

Also, they added A TON of local instructors, which, as you know, might be an interesting new twist on the event. The Bay Area was the birthplace of Abstract Improvisation after all, so if it were up to me, I'd probably re-name it Beat by the Bay, dontcha think?

#75: Rocking the Rock Step Part 2 (Patterns!)

The Power to Take WCS Back
From Abstract Lies Here

A revolution is an idea which has found its bayonets. -Napoleon Bonaparte

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It's time to learn some of the those hot WCS patterns you've seen in all the videos. The Ten won't teach them to you, so we will. Watch us! Get ready. They are not easy! But I know you're up to the challenge.

But first, let's take a look at what's been happening. Just a few weeks ago, in Weekly Note #70: Rocking the Rock Step, I urged you to, once again, introduce the Rock Step back into our dance. I said it would put the "swing" back in swing. How right I was.

#74: My First Super Angry Note

WCS Attitudes:
Delusional and Shameful

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. -Albert Einstein

ROLL CALL!

Will every single WCS dancer who attended any and every part of the SOS Fall Migration in North Myrtle Beach, SC please step forward!!! All of you. Every single one. Do it. Step forward. It is your time. Don't shift left. Don't shift right. You know who you are. Step forward!

NOW.

Good. Now listen closely. How dare any of you step into one the most hospitable dance scenes on the planet and behave in such a way that ricocheted so loudly ALL. WEEK. LONG. during the SOS Fall Migration, that by the time we'd hit - what, Wednesday? Tuesday even???... I could hardly stand the fact that I actually made the mistake of encouraging you to go!!!

#73: Is S.O.S. Fall Migration for WCS?

What You Need to
Know Before Bringing
Your Swing

I'm really glad so many of you are making the decision to head on over to North Myrtle Beach. Whatever SOS you attend, you're guaranteed to have a blast. Carolina Shag IS a swing dance after all! And they've done a great job of preserving it. I'll say more on that in a second. 

Here are a few things to know, though, before you go plunging into to a huge SOS, where thousands of dancers have descended into a single beach town to rock it out with each other. These survival tips will help prevent you from being buried in the crowd:

#1: Is it okay to dance WCS? 

Of course it is! But only if you play by the rules. This is the South after all, and people still hold the business of manners to be important. Keep your slot small, don't expand and bump into anyone in any way and most definitely don't elbow anyone. Be extremely respectful.

#73: We Will Never Forget

When Fashion Remembered

What separates us from the animals, 

what separates us from the chaos, 

is our ability to mourn people we've never met. 

-David Levithan

I know we're in the middle of all the hubbub of Fashion Week.

Maybe it's because I'm over here on the West Coast

where it seems easier to forget everything and anything

#72: Every Dancer's Dilemma

How I Learned to Heal...
the Hard Way

When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied. -Herophilus

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I am a dancer. And I have the same problem every other dancer faces: I don't want to stop dancing. I've danced through stress fractures in both of my feet, a torn up knee, three spinal injuries, a neck injury and a shoulder injury. Whew.

But I'm a dancer. I kept dancing. Danced right through it all. That's what we do!

So it took me two whole years to finally take my new injuries seriously. I had my very first concussion. The ER didn't say anything, so I didn't think anything of it. I iced it, I stayed in bed, and then I went back to teaching and traveling.

#71: The Brave One

50th Anniversary of
"I Have a Dream"

I say to you today, my friends, that in spite of the difficulties and frustrations of the moment, I still have a dream. -Martin Luther King Jr.

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It's the 50th Anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" Speech. I hold this dear anniversary very close to my heart, for many many reasons.

First and foremost is the influence of his words on me over these last few years - and for his bravery in times of the most horrific backlashes from a society who did not want to "let freedom ring." 

He kept writing and kept speaking anyway. His heart burned for his followers and for those being hurt by the same people who were attacking him.

#70: Rocking the Rock Step

Who Killed the Rock Step,
Why, and How to do the Tandem

Instead of standing alone in the face of challenge or temptation, they check to see which way their friends are going. -Charles Stanley

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Hm. I hope today's quote really resonates with you. We've been hitting some anniversaries along the way here, and I'm suddenly aware of how and where things are right now.

I really do wonder how much happier we all would have been if those who have been complaining for all of these years about "this isn't swing," "that isn't swing," "the music" "the music" "the music!" had actually followed through with some kind of action. We would've settled for a minute pink-lift, right? SOMEthing, anything, right?

But all of them, when they've had, what? their like, 3 MILLION opportunities to actually act on their complaints? They've followed their "friends" instead, even when they knew