The act of dancing makes me feel connected to my human heritage. In this house, we are always dancing, which is perfect, and marvelous. We dance during the day, waking up, getting ready for the night (last night, we danced for courage to go face the lobsters). Earlier this week, Ryan and I danced to African drumbeats together. Miles and I dance whenever there’s music, and there’s always music.
And when I think of dancing, I don’t just think of these things, but also of the country dances Hardy described, and the tribal dances in Africa and the Americas, of the Irish who kept dancing even when it was outlawed, of all the times people have turned to dancing in sadness, and also in elation. I need to keep dancing.
I’m frustrated cos I can’t find the article corresponding to the story I heard on the bbc world service podcast to-day, but it was hilarious. Apparently, the Russian army has decided to change their uniforms, but in the process, they’ve realized that a lot of their top-ranking officers are obscenely overweight. Now they’re putting them all on a diet!
Oh, well, if I lived in Russia, I’d be fat, too. It’s cold there! Speaking of fat (but don’t expect too close a connection), another funny thing is Danny Kaye.
I’m behind on the news. I have four editions of the BBC World Service podcast piled up in itunes after a hectic week. But I am so bored of the olympic torch stories. Which is interesting, because I never seem to get bored of the news from Zimbabwe.
And upon further consideration, I do take some interest in the ideas behind the events surrounding the torch relay. It is fascinating that something that really is no more than a symbol can mean so much to people on both sides of the question. And even those people who feel that the protesters are wrong–that they are, in confusion, attacking the symbol of the olympic games, conceived to promote peaceful relations, and not China–must admit that it’s impressive what an object like that can stir up.
Please see: the bbc radio podcasts
