Raven Jake’s Observations

The resourceful ladies of the Inland Empire have done it again with another jaw-dropping alternative bellydance showcase. This time the theme was "Strip 'n' Slide" combining 50's-style burlesque with bellydance and well, really anything goes.

I very nearly missed the whole event - no one thought signs were necessary, apparently. But once settled in after half an hour circling the campus, my sense of humor returned to enjoy Dot Toddy's "Clown Interrupted" act.

Next up was Lux La Crois, who looks very much like a young Josephine Baker, and whose tribute to Lawn Jockeys Everywhere was both funny and empowering. Hey Ya - you go, girl! Shake it like a Polaroid picture!

Frederique brought it back old school with an act Little Egypt would've been proud of.

 

Subee Djinn, Nikki and Ekaterina (aka SuperKate), can always be counted on to push the limits of what bellydance is; well really, what "dance" is. Their tribute to Frankenstein was all slide and no strip and quite unique.

Getting back to classic burlesque, La Cholita did a wild flamenco striptease and Vixen Violette got down to Bon Jovi's "Dead or Alive." Charlotte la Belle Araigne'e was straight out of the Moulon Rouge and Renee du Jour brought down the house with her Heidi tribute complete with naughty goat marionettes and "The Lonely Goatherd" from The Sound of Music. Emcee Laura Sutherland kept things lively (and funny) while stagehand Rheo managed an air of subtle insubordination while sweeping up.

A good time was had by all - evidently this is the last "Stiletto" event - one of the organizers, Rachel Lazarus Soto, is moving away. As a guy, I'm all for attractive women taking their clothes off, and I hope someone steps up to fill the void that Rachel's departure will undoubtedly create. Politti Ascroft of Blue Damsel Studios makes a lovely Genie / Jeannie (and don't even get me started on what I would do if I

opened a bottle and Barbara Eden came out - she wouldn't be washing dishes!)

Blue Damsel http://www.bluedamsel.org/

La Cholita http://www.myspace.com/natashathevamp

Vixen Violette http://www.myspace.com/VixenViolette

Charlotte la Belle Araigne'e http://www.myspace.com/charlottesparlor

 

 

Subee Djinn http://www.subeedjinn.net/

Renee du Jour http://reneedujour.com/

Laura Sutherland http://goddesskaffeina.com/mc.html

Politti Ashcroft http://www.myspace.com/punk_rock_geisha

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The ladies of the inland empire bellydance scene just keep coming up with wilder events and the next one is coming up on Saturday. This is going to be a fusion of striptease cabaret and bellydance and promises to be quite a spectacle. I won tickets at Punk Raqs - the best $5 in raffle tickets I ever spent - and the girls are getting naked (well, sort of) for a good cause - the Cal State San Bernardino dance department.

 

http://www.bluedamsel.org/bluedamsel/stiletto35.html

This here is a revisit of a flint knapping class I attended back in '06. Tony Soares is better known around the desert as the Ollaman, but I was fortunate enough to make his acquaintance over at the Agua Caliente Cultural Museum at one of his rare point making classes. Making an arrowhead is one of those things that when you see a pro crank one out it looks easy - and it's not. But it is a skill, and skills can be learned. Sure does give you an appreciation of how things were in the old days, and let me tell you folks, those things are sharp! Also - a shout out to my buddy Kiriel, who let me use "Ponder Rosa" off her Big Earth Sky album.

Jane's turned her photo/research project into a slideshow, but she insists she's still not finished. There are more memorials out there and more research to be done. Be that as it may, I think she's made her point whch is everybody (but most particularily these kids right out of high school) best not be getting loaded and drivin' around. Just stay at the party; there's no rush to be anyplace at 10 at night. When you are driving, please remember that everybody else on the road is smokin' crack/just got their license last week/legally blind and put on your seat belt. Maybe think about gettin' a crash helmet. Again, my condolences to the families of these boys, it is a terrible thing to lose a loved one.

Folks, one of my guilty pleasures is Ween's awesome 1996 country album, "12 Golden Country Greats." As you can tell from the title, there is something in this song to offend just about everybody, and if that's you, then I strongly caution you not to click on that play button. The album only has 10 songs, not 12, it isn't country exactly and none of the songs went "golden" - however there is a weird satirical greatness about it - if your sense of humor runs that way. Here, via someone named Crinos, is Ween performing Piss Up a Rope live with very few heads and cell phones gettin' in the way.

 

 

The Inland Empire chapter of the Middle Eastern Culture and Dance Association (MECDA), which is a long way of saying "belly dance club," is the most happening, both in terms of members and events, in California. Punk Raqs, with the subtitle "this ain't yo mother's bellydance," takes it to the extreme with the "girls" dancing whatever way they want to whatever music they want and the punk-er the better. Here are some highlights of the event. Next up is the "Stiletto 3.5 Strip and Slide Show" happening on July 19. It benefits dance scholarships at CSUSB, a worthy cause, but do you really need an excuse to go out to see attractive partially naked women perform bellydance/burlesque fusion?

 Blue Damsel / Stiletto Event Info - http://www.bluedamsel.org/bluedamsel/stiletto35.html

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jane Pojawa of Cabot's Pueblo Museum has a photo project going - recording the roadside memorials of Desert Hot Springs and researching the people and circumstances to led them to this sad conclusion. From the top we have Jose Nicola Escobar (DHS), Richard P. Abrane, Roberto Gallegos Lira (Palm Springs), and Victorio Chavez and Xavier Santos (Cathedral City). All came to their ends in car crashes on Palm Drive, except for Jose whose life ended on Mountain View. DHS has some of the worst problems with pedestrian deaths, hit-and-run, and fatal accidents in the desert and Jane wants to call attention to these public safety issues by giving them a human context. In the meantime, you will greatly increase your chances of living to age 21 (Richard was the only one to make it that long) by wearing a seatbelt and staying at the party instead of driving home drunk (or getting into a car with a drunk driver.) Raven Jake sends his heartfelt regrets to the friends and families of these boys whose lives were suddenly cut short.

Everyone who has ever driven out the 10 freeway towards Palm Springs has wondered about those giant dinosaurs at Cabazon, now more famous for its casino.

 

According to the Wikipedia, the Cabazon dinosaurs were started in the 1960s by Knott's Berry Farm sculptor and portrait artist Claude K. Bell (1897-1988) to attract customers to his Wheel Inn Cafe which opened in 1958. Dinny (Dine-ee), a 150-ton, larger than life-sized sculpture of an Apatosaurus and the first of the Cabazon dinosaurs, was started in 1964 and created over eleven years out of spare material from the construction of nearby Interstate-10 at a cost of $300,000 (USD). With the help of ironworker Gerald Hufstetler, Bell worked on the project independently, and no construction company or contractors were involved in the construction. From 1981 - 1986, Mr. Rex, a 100-ton Tyrannosaurus rex, was constructed near Dinny.

More than mere sculptures, Dinny and Mr. Rex are habitable buildings; the entrance to Dinny is located at the base of his tail.

 

Weirdly, since 1996 they have been owned by a christian group that uses them to “prove” the case for intelligent design. Still, regardless of your religious proclivities, the Cabazon dinosaurs are first-rate roadside attraction sculptures and a fitting legacy for Claude Bell’s unique genius.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Where better to kick off Retro UFO than Pioneertown? Pappy and Harriet's has a long and outstanding tradition of serving great barbeque and strong drinks and showcasing the finest bands in the area. We met up with some of the presenters for Retro UFO at the iconic adobe-and-glass-bottles eatery on Mojave Hotshots night, and a good time was had by all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Other links - Paul Kimball's website Above and Beyond: http://redstarfilms.blogspot.com/2008/05/retro-ufo-3-recap.html

Greg Bishop - http://www.ufomystic.com/?p=1247

Nick Redfern - http://www.forteantimes.com/front_website/themag/

 

 

 

 

One of our group members, Amy H, just posted a reminder about Independent's Week, a worthy project for supporting local business over multinational corporations. Spending money in your own community tends to keep money in your own community. I'm put in mind of Northern California's "Eat Locally" campaign that focused on supporting local farmers, with the added benefits that the food tended to be fresher, healthier and cheaper.

See Amy H's blog about Independents Week

Here's the American Business Alliance: http://www.amiba.net/independents_week.html

and if you want to track money in your community, this site is the best: http://www.wheresgeorge.com/ warning: this takes time, but is weirdly satisfying. You register your folding money and track where you spend it - the gas station, the market, the strip bar, the babysitter... whatever. When you're given money, you register that and eventually you see who spends money on what (it's on an as-annonymous-as-you-want-to-be basis). I recieved a $5 bill in change when I bought a Guadelupe t-shirt at an art gallery in Santa Fe. That five-spot came from Hawaii and we parted company at a post office in Los Angeles. Good times. That one didn't go local but I was travelin' a lot at the time (and I guess some Hawaiian was too).