Odds and Ends

'The article' has been sent! Fingers crossed, the editor won't tear it to shreds and email the shreds back for changes, or worse, pay me a 15% kill fee. That would be humiliating. Typically, I would celebrate the completion of something like this -- but no time, I've had to jump right into another writing thing with a deadline of -- tomorrow. Eesh!

Maybe after it is sent off, I'll see if I can't bug a friend to join me in a little self-congratulatory something or other.

Why I'm procrastinating now with a blog entry is beyond me.

However, just so you don't think that all I do is write...

A couple weeks ago I went to the Getty Villa. Going there had been one of about a million things I've been wanting and planning to do, since moving to Los Angeles seven years ago.

Needing nothing more than a free ticket, ordered a couple weeks in advance, it is a really wonderful place; easy to get to and once you leave the parking garage, it's as if you've gone to Italy.
Walking around this "villa", (actually a nice sized museum) I couldn't help but think… Oh, to have been a robber-baron.

So, if you live in Los Angeles and have the urge to do something that is:

A. Inexpensive (8 bucks for parking)
B. Out of the ordinary.
C. Culturally stimulating.
D. As if going on a European vacation.

I highly recommend it.


At the Getty Villa. Not trying to look cool... I was being blinded by the sun.

Afterwards, drive up the PCH a bit and have a drink and burger at Dukes (in the barefoot bar), or go a little further to Malibu Seafood and have the best fish tacos around. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Lately, the aerobic part of my workout routine has been made bearable by listening to a lot of Perez Prado. My in-place jogging and jumping jacks tend to devolve into goofy interpretations of Mambo dancing (all the window shades are very tightly during these moments). Even as I laugh at myself (hey, at least it gets the heart rate going), I've also been recalling another thing that has been on that 'list-o-things to do' since moving to L.A.

So, a couple nights ago, I found myself googling around… and I think (if I can get up the nerve), I will soon go for it: Finally learning how to dance – properly.
Considering how long I've loved Rockabilly music, it's pathetic I've never learned to Swing dance properly. Yes, I know that's so- retro-ten years-ago. More than swing dancing though, and maybe this is my ancestral blood (I'm half Cuban), I'm thinking Mambo, Salsa, Tango (yeah, right)…

I will report fully on how this progresses. Don't expect to see an update instantly. I do need to earn more money first. Dance lessons aren't cheap.

In the meantime, if you haven't seen the original JAPANESE version of Shall We Dance, go to Netflix or wherever you get your videos and order it NOW!. Not the American remake, the original Japanese version. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

And finally, here's a Perez Prado clip to put a smile on your face.
It's a hybrid of Swing and Mambo. Maybe that will be the next retro-rage. If so, sign me up.

Check out the cutaways to the disapproving old folks.