Category: Housekeeping

Housekeeping Post: Visiting the Forum

2/14/2012

I noticed the other day that someone had brought up a very interesting question in the Forum about lighting in techno contras and having the levels please everyone, no one, or something in between, and I wanted to float it to the group; it seems that the issue of lighting has come up a few times in the course of the conversation and it's an aspect that as a dancer I honestly don't pay as much attention to (unless it's disorientingly dark).

Chime in, please -- clearly others have more interesting and varied opinions than I do.

Housekeeping Post: Giving Thanks

11/23/2011

As many of us in the U.S. get ready to celebrate Thanksgiving tomorrow, I wanted to take a minute to say that I am incredibly thankful for my readers and my contributors and all those awesome people who have made this project fulfilling and wonderful. When I jumped into this back in late March/early April as an assignment for grad school, I never thought it would take off enough to still be going after I picked up my degree. This has been a really fun thing and I've gotten to talk to and meet a bunch of people that I would not have met otherwise. And for that, I thank you all. You are amazing.

(And at the risk of getting too mushy about the whole thing, today's Pearls Before Swine reminded me where I'd be without you all reading and commenting and sharing new insights.)

Thank you to all -- the Friday Flourish will update as normal on Friday, and then we'll have more interviews coming from people involved with setting up Spokane, WA's Deca-dance and an interview where Vince Budnick sheds some light on the effects of Technoberfest in Willow Grove, PA! Stay tuned!

Carry on Dancing,

Ryan

Housekeeping Post: Technoberfest in Willow Grove, PA

10/24/2011

Steve and I are back from Technoberfest safe and sound. Despite a few adventures in car maintenance which contributed to some schedule adjustments, we had a fantastic time dancing to the music of Double Apex and the calling of Donna Hunt and Melissa Taggart. Particular thanks go to Vince Budnick who arranged the event, and to those of you wonderful readers whom I got to meet there!

P.S. Incidentally, I managed to lose my bracelet there -- it was pretty blue river pearls with a heart-shaped clasp and was made by a dear friend of mine for my last birthday. I've called the venue to inquire, but did any of you happen to see it in the room with the foozball and the snacks?

10 Things I've Done Related to This Blog that I Never Thought I'd Do

10/10/2011

Last Thursday marked the six-month mark since I launched this blog. Six months, a whole bunch of Facebook followers, several Forum threads, many emails, a lot of in-person discussions, and quite a few new friends later, we're still going strong with no plans to change that.

I got to thinking, and realized that it's been one heck of a half-year. Like many things in life, it's spawned a bunch of interesting stories. Here are 10 of mine:

If you asked me six months ago, I never thought I'd....

Housekeeping Post: We Have a Facebook User Name!

9/28/2011

I am pleased to announce that Contra Syncretist now has its own user name on Facebook! (Thanks to all of you who have "liked" us so far! And for those who haven't yet, what are you waiting for?)

Find us at www.facebook.com/contrasyncretist.

(Also -- there has been some activity in the Forum lately, with a couple of people asking for some help in organizing some techno contras in their necks of the woods, notably out West; I know that several of you have some really great ideas you could share....)

Housekeeping Post: Facebook Page is Live

8/5/2011

Some of you will be particularly happy to note that we've now got the official Contra Syncretist Facebook Page up and running, which will have these blog entries cross-posted to its Wall regularly!

Update, 10:40 A.M.: Fixed the link. Sorry about that!

Housekeeping Post: Call for Submissions & Suggestions

7/29/2011

Hi all, Just wanted to take a moment to say hi to the new readers on this blog, and make a few announcements/requests:

(Don't worry, the Friday Flourish has updated as usual, scroll down.)

1. I've been combing the Internet looking for people who have called/organized/spun/etc. various techno and crossover contra events. If you know anyone who falls into this category, especially those I haven't talked to yet (see the list on the right of the blog page as a guide to people I've discussed on this blog in some capacity), please send them my way.

2. I am also actively looking for bands who are doing something nontraditional with contra music. Send them my way too, or post about them in the Forum -- albums or bands, either one works for me; I'll happily review the albums or go talk to the band members if I can get my hands on contact info.

3. I've been hearing inklings about several private parties back in the late '90's that some people are saying actually might have been the very first spontaneous crossover contras, predating the Whipperstompers and YDW events in 2008. I would love to hear from folks that were at or organized some of these for a possible future blog post.

4. As we've been saying every week on the Contra Syncretist YouTube Channel, we're constantly on the lookout for new flourishes. Upload them or send them our way, and they may end up featured as a Friday Flourish!

5. I've got more features and pages in the pipeline for this site that I'm hoping to roll out later this summer, and I do take suggestions for same from the peanut gallery. If you have ideas, please drop me a line!

Housekeeping Post: Did you know about our RSS Feed?

7/6/2011

Did you know that you don't necessarily have to come to this page to see the latest Contra Syncretist interviews and videos? As much as I love it when you all stop by, this blog can also come to you!

A Facebook page is currently in development, but right now there is an RSS feed if you want to bring the Contra Syncretist straight to your RSS readers:

http://www.contrasyncretist.com/1/feed

It is also accessible through the link at right, under "RSS Feed."

Now, if you will excuse me, I just returned from a week and a half overseas and I am exhausted despite my relative lack of dancing (Steve did lots, with his morris side -- I just got swept into a couple of rollicking polkas in cobble-stoned Dutch city squares when the musicians decided to finish off the stands). Among the highlights of the trip was a Dutch accordionist who, having played for English morris dancing all day, turned around and played a song by American Hank Williams in an Italian restaurant in Utrecht...how's that for mixing a few traditions?

Special thanks go to Keith Holman, who posted my entries to the blog while I was away!

Regular content will resume Friday, with the Friday Flourish video as usual.

Coming up in the next couple of weeks, I will be posting my interviews with Maryland-based caller Ann Fallon, who called for DC's Contra Sonic series in June, and with Sheldon "DJ Shel D" Lieberman, who organized and spun for Technophoria in Asheville, NC. Stay tuned!

Carry on Dancing,

CS

Quick Housekeeping Post -- Scroll Down for this week's Friday Flourish!

5/6/2011

As you've undoubtedly seen on the YouTube videos, there are a couple of people who make Contra Syncretist work. While Steve has more or less become the face in the videos (and I think he's doing an awesome job), it occurs to me (Ryan, the blonde in most of the videos) that I should point out that this is very much a team effort; while Steve has graciously helped with the videos and made them a whole heck of a lot easier to shoot (two-person video operations are significantly easier than doing them solo), I'm the one behind the DIY editing of the videos, the acquisition of content for the blog, the editing of the blog entries, and the nascent forum, and in fact am most of the brains and labor behind the site.

This started out as a grad school project for my Masters in Publishing program, which I pushed out to 25 of my dancer friends by email as part of an assignment in early April. Contra Syncretist has happily taken on a life of its own in the meantime, allowing me chat with a bunch of people in the greater contra community and have a lot of fun doing so. I've also been introduced to some of the surface of the DJing community, which has been really awesome since that wasn't a scene I was terribly familiar with before. Although my school term is drawing to a close (I will officially obtain my degree this summer), I will continue to maintain the blog and the site and will continue shooting the videos and posting them weekly.

Meanwhile, if you see me on the dance floor, come say hi! (And please do continue to tell Steve what an awesome job he's doing showing off in the videos. Because he is, and he's much better at off-the-cuff monologues than I am.)

Carry on Dancing!