2010 NEW New Years Resolution Complete
February 7, 2011
I made it – 52 (I think it actually ended up being more) new experiences in 2010. Sometimes it was a lot of work – finding and researching new activities, determining if I would be comfortable going alone – if not, finding a companion to accompany me and all this is before I did my new adventure.
Some people asked me to continue on with my NEW New Year’s Resolution into 2011. I thought about it because it was so great for me, however there are so many other things I want to accomplish this year: learning to cook well, starting to paint again, maybe relearn Spanish and starting to do the crossword puzzle on Sunday. I had so much fun and will continue to try new things, but I won’t have to be so rigid about it. I also have so many things I did this year that I want to do again – Books and Bars, cooking classes, volunteering with WomenVenture, all the festivals, such as Bockfest and Tour de Fat. Life has so much to offer, I hope to always have a zest for new experiences and not to get sedentary before my time comes.
I learned a lot from my new adventures in 2010. I learned a lot about my independence. If I want to do something, I will now just do it if I have someone to join me or not. I learned about my friend’s and acquaintances, those I could count on and those who would continuously cancel last minute. Some people I wished would have canceled once we made it to the event/activity. I learned a lot about the people of the Twin Cities and Minnesota – how inviting and welcoming they are to new people, even if you are completely ignorant to their cause. And I learned that assumptions are truly that – some of the activities I was most looking forward to were not what I was hoping for and some activities/events that I was leery about were fantastic.
Thank you to those who supported me by attending my new adventures, everyone who read my blog and those that appeared on my blog, but maybe didn’t realize they would be on the Internet. J Thank you CityPages, VitaMN, MeetUp.com, MetroMix, the Southwest Journal and the Uptown paper for continuously giving me ideas for my new experiences.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Miller
Here goes three experiences in one post. I figured I wouldn’t draw this out any longer – 2010 is over, I accomplished my NEW New Year’s Resolution of one new experience a week, now you just need to read about them.
1) Poetry Slam
My first new experience of the week had some people calling me freak. One asked, “Are you going to a coffeehouse in 1994?” and I said, “No, Kieran’s Irish Pub.” with a roar. It’s my last week of new activities to cram, so I went to my first Poetry Slam.
Pretty good, huh? Not really. I thought I would start my post with a poem to honor one of this week’s new experiences: a Poetry Slam. While I rhymed this poem, I don’t think any of the poet’s at the slam rhymed theirs – I think that’s an amateur (like me) thing to do.
Rose and I attended a Poetry Slam last Tuesday at Kieran’s. Besides the poetry, the room was a draw. Kieran’s moved last March and I still hadn’t scoped out all of the rooms. The Slam was held in the Titanic room and was beautiful – great room to rent out for a party.
Twelve poets compete in the Slam at each bout. The 1st round includes all 12 poets, the 2nd round, 6-7 poets and the 3rd round the top 2 poets. The poets move on based on points. See the rules below if you would like to know more. The poem topics ranged from falling in love with a lesbian, holding on to your culture, women’s rights, teaching children, having sex with zombie-women, autism, a study-abroad trip, wanting a hug from a large, black man, having a drink with God and more sex poems, but not with zombies.
I was very impressed with the poets and their work – the poems were really good and the poets read them well. And it was a lot of fun! A great way to get your poetry and a couple beers. 
Sorry no pics, I didn’t want to distract the poets while they were reading – however, there are plenty of pictures of the drag show for you.
The Rules
Each Poet (or duet) is given 3 minutes (for some events this time limit is changed) to perform an original piece of work in the name of poetry. The host will announce bout structure and explain any special rules for the evening at the beginning of the bout. Be sure to listen carefully!
Most slams have an open sign-up, these are called Qualifying Slams, if you place in the top 3 (or 4 for head-to-head bouts) at a Qualifying slam you are qualified to advance to one of the Finals Slams.
ORIGINAL WORK: Poets must perform original work.
NO-REPEAT RULE: In the first round of every slam, you are required to perform a piece that has not been previously performed during a poetry slam at Kieran’s during that season.
NO REPEAT SHEET: At each slam, competitors will be given a form to fill out listing the poems they competed with that evening. List only the poems that you used and turn the sheet in at the end of the show. You are not eligible to compete in another slam until the turned in form is received.
SAMPLING: using a part of another person’s poem within your own poem is allowed. For example, if you quote a line from Robert Frost, you can still use that poem. If Robert Frost wrote the poem and you include a quote from you cannot use the poem.
LENGTH: You have three minutes to perform one poem in each round.
TIME PENALTY: After three minutes (or whatever the allotted time may be) and a ten second grace period, your overall score will be penalized. Time penalties are half a point for every ten second you go over. For example: if your performance is 3:09:29, you are in the clear. If it is 3:10:01, 0.5 points will be subtracted from your score. If it is 3:42:05, then you will have 2.0 points deducted, etc.
PROPS: You cannot use props, costumes or musical accompaniment. You can beat box, make arm pit noises, whistle, or sing. You cannot break out the kazoo or bring a beat loop.
JUDGES: Your poem and performance will be judged by three to five judges selected before the show. Every effort is made to select a diverse group of judges that preferably do not have any connections to any of the competing poets. SlamMN! is limited by who is at the venue, and who is willing to judge. If a poet has a problem with any of the judges selected, they should notify the host before the competition begins.
SCORING: The judges will score each performance from 0.0 to 10.0. Zero is very bad, ten is very good. If we have five judges the high and low scores are dropped and the three scores in the middle are added together. This sum is your score for the round. On Head-to-Head nights the slam is based on judges’ preferences.
INFORMATION:
2) Drag Show at the Gay 90’s
I’m going to let my pictures tell you most of the story for my second new experience of the week – the Drag Show at the Gay 90’s. I will say that I had a great time, there was a very eclectic crowd and I made a couple new friends. Anyone looking for singing, dancing and beautiful women, head to the Gay 90’s – everyone is welcome.
See if you can figure out which musician the Drag Queen is impersonating – some are tricky. Scroll over the picture to find the answer.
INFORMATION:
Gay 90’s
Phone: 612-333-7755
Address: 408 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55401
Drag Show Schedule:
MONDAY – DARK
TUESDAY – DIAMOND DIVAS 10pm (downstairs)
WEDNESDAY – 90′s Main Room 10pm
THURSDAY – 90′s Main Room 10pm
FRIDAY thru SUNDAY – LA FEMME SHOW LOUNGE 9:45pm
3) Psychic Reading
With the conclusion of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, I thought a psychic reading would be a great last new experience to finish my NEW New Year’s Resolution.
However, great isn’t the way I would explain it . . .
There is a house near mine that advertises Psychic Reading $10. So I went in planning to do the $10 reading and leaving a $5 tip (I think you tip psychics, it’s not like they are medical professionals). I walked in the door to be greeted by a slightly chubby, unkempt man sweating in a wife-beater and sweatpants. I thought he was going to get the Psychic when he told me to sit down – it turns out he was the psychic. He gave me all of the rates for their “specials”, which ranged from 1 card, 1 question for $10 to a full service appointment including stuff like aura balancing and smelling candles or something. I wanted more than 1 card (so I thought at the time) and I felt a little bad for the guy and it was the holidays, so I gave him $30 for 3 cards and two questions. I wouldn’t say this was the worst way I have ever spent my money, but close. I do think the psychic man needed the money more than I did, so I’m going to look at my spend as more of a kind gesture at the holidays than a service.
I shuffled the cards and cut them in two piles. I selected one of the piles and the psychic man flipped over my first card. He said I had accomplished a lot in 2010 and would have many choices and decisions to make soon. All right, that first card was on point so far. The second card was flipped and the words sounded about the same. The third card was flipped and again, 2011 would hold choices and decisions for me. Again, I was told there would be options and choices and decisions to be made when I asked my two questions regarding what 2011 and my career held in-store for me. Wow, repetitive, ambiguous and uninspiring.
To psychic man, I hope you enjoy that $30 more than I did.
INFORMATION:
I’m not going to give you information on psychics, just stay away.
Week 51 – Part 3: Star Wars
December 28, 2010
Many people from Eric Foreman (That 70’s Show) to my sister’s ex-husband who tattooed Darth Maul on his forearm have gone crazy over Star Wars. I had never seen any of the six movies, or episodes as they are called, until this week when I watched them all for one of my new experiences of the week.
As you can watch the Star Wars movies on your own or read about them on Wikipedia or the many Star Wars sites and forums, I’m not going to summarize the movies here, but give my opinions and thoughts on them.
Over the years people have tried to persuade me to watch Star Wars with arguments such as: “It is more than Sci-fi, it is a story about 1) a boy’s journey to manhood 2) a love story 3) the relationship between a father and son.” Others lashed out on me when they found out I have never seen a Star Wars episode. The truth is it was just never on my radar when I went to watch a movie; I wasn’t against seeing it, I just didn’t. I was finally tired of hearing about my lack of Star Wars viewing and figured that with my NEW new year’s resolution that this would be a perfect time to watch all six movies.
Before I began my Star Wars marathon, I asked some experienced Star Wars screeners if I should watch the episodes in the order they were released – 4, 5, 6, 1, 2, 3 or if I should watch them in numerical order 1-6. Everyone agreed I should watch them in the order they were released. I received my first three (actually 4, 5 and 6) through Netflix and watched them over a two day period.
Star Wars fans are going to fight me on this review, but here goes: I didn’t feel emotionally connected to any of the characters in Star Wars or the Empire Strikes Back (ESB) except to Han Solo (Harrison Ford). Han has a cocky attitude and looks great with his utility belt swinging on his hips . The two characters that I should of have been rooting for – Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia – I wanted to punch in the throat. I realize these movies were made over 20 years ago, so it’s not about the crappy special effects, but I just wasn’t getting into the story line at all and I didn’t like Luke and Leia. I felt Luke was an ungrateful little shit and Leia was a tease using sex to put a wedge through the growing man-relationship between Han and Luke because she had to be the center of their attention. Not only could I not get into the story line of ESB, I couldn’t even tell you want happened in that episode; it was so forgettable to me.
I finally stated coming around to the saga that is Star Wars in Episode 6: Return of the Jedi. Maybe because the story was finally coming to a head or because the characters were more interesting to me: Jabba the Hutt and his crew were in the beginning of this episode for a significant amount of time and the Ewoks were introduced. Even though I enjoyed Return of the Jedi, it left me with one question: the Emperor was egging on Luke to attack him as he was “unarmed” to bring him over to the Dark Side. However, I found a flaw in this as the Emperor’s weapon in this scene wasn’t a light saber, but his commands to his troops to kill. I believe Luke would have been just in his attack on the Emperor – is this wrong in the world of Star Wars, Jedi code and Dark Side intricacies?
I actually posted this question on a Star Wars forum to get some expert opinions; here is the thread thus far:
StarWarsNovice (me) wrote:
Question: In Return of the Jedi, the Emperor was egging on Luke to attack him as he was “unarmed” to bring him over to the Dark Side. However, I found a flaw in this as the Emperor’s weapon in this scene wasn’t a light saber, but his commands to his troops to kill. I believe Luke would have been just in his attack on the Emperor – is this wrong in the world of Star Wars, Jedi code and Dark Side intricacies?
Bri-Jay Waycay wrote:
Well, I believe Palpatine was unarmed, he did not have any physical weapons on him at that moment. Second, he didn’t have any troops in the room with him, it was just Palpatine, Vader and Luke.
While it is not the Jedi way to kill an unarmed man, exceptions have been made and this situation certainly had cause to make an exception. To kill the Emperor in order to save the galaxy probably would be accepted, while striking him down out of anger and hate would not be true to the Jedi way.
Palpatine would not have just stood by and let Luke kill him, he would have defended himself, probably with Force lightning.
(or Vader would have intervened like he did)
But Luke simply attempting to strike down an unarmed man out of anger would have pushed him down the dark path, something Palpatine wanted and would have taken advantage of.
Seer Travis Truman wrote:
Thats what Luke tried to do.
The reason Emperor was unarmed is the same as why Yoda is. He is the master.
That was the point. Lucas was so dumb that he did not know that the point of Yoda was that physicality was not what was supposed to matter.
This brilliant website explains how society works, how culture works. Filmmakers just copy a basic cultural element.
sw_fan66 wrote:
I think the Emperors saber was on him. But there was no need for him to show it, because Vader was there to protect him, if Luke ever tried anything. Remember the Emperor loves to lie in order to get what he wants.
Seer Travis Truman wrote:
The reason is because the master jedi did not have light-sabers until those awful prequels. Thats was the whole POINT of Yoda. He did not to resort to physical weapons.
Bri-Jay Waycay wrote:
lol okay dude. I liked Yoda with a lightsaber, he was highly entertaining.
Seer Travis Truman wrote:
Are you 5 years old? Or would a freeze-frame of George for the entirety of the film be “exciting” for you?
It seems to Me that you are just going to swallow what ever George tells you to.
This is instructive in Forbidden Truth . A sad devotion to something that makes no logical sense can be seen, where there appears to be a need (rather than a desire) to believe that these are good films when they are tripe.
I guess you just dont understand the film-making process.
I never thought I would start a fight on a Star Wars forum . . .
Moving on to episodes 1, 2 and 3. I have heard mixed reviews from Star Wars fans about the greatness of the prequels (obviously Seer Travis Truman didn’t like them). I don’t know about how well they fit in with episodes 4, 5 and 6 or if they stayed true to the Star Wars and Jedi-ways, but I thought they were entertaining. I think I also enjoyed 1, 2 and 3 more because I could follow the stories better due to the fact I had a hard time hearing what Darth Vader was saying in 4, 5 and 6 with his mask and heavy breathing (it also probably helped I generally knew the outcome of the prequels).
Overall, I enjoyed my Star Wars movie marathon and am happy to be able to say I have seen all six episodes when people ask (you wonder who asks me about Star Wars – more people than you realize). Although I enjoyed my Star Wars education over the past week, my mom wasn’t so thrilled when I got a little tipsy and continuously discussed the plots of Star Wars and sang the theme song at the Christmas dinner table.
Week 51 – Part 2: Irish Dance Lessons
December 27, 2010
The Irish Dance Class was one of the most fun new experiences I have had this year. Cultural learning, exercise and beer – how could it be bad?
The Dubliner Irish Pub in St. Paul has Irish dance instruction every Wednesday beginning at 7:30pm. There are quite a few people that come every week and there were a couple new students like me as well. One of the regulars showed me some standard steps that are used frequently in Irish dancing. We did about 4 or 5 dances throughout the evening – I was sweating; I could lose some weight doing this if I didn’t replenish with beer.
Everyone was so friendly and the dances were fun; I had a really good time. I plan to head back to the Dubliner to continue to hone my Irish dance skills.
INFORMATION:
2162 University Avenue West
Saint Paul, MN 55114
(651) 646-5551
Week 51 – Part 1: Kurdish Food
December 24, 2010
My love of food brought me to Babani’s for Kurdish cuisine for one of my new experiences this week.
As Babani’s is located just a few blocks from where I work in Downtown St. Paul, I recruited a couple of co-workers to join me for a Kurdish lunch Tuesday. Stephanie and “Phil” were a little hesitant about trying Kurdish fare, but the lure of food excitement couldn’t keep them away (apparently “Phil” doesn’t want to be exposed on the Internet as someone who eats lunch).
Babani’s is quaint restaurant with high ceilings and decorated in authentic cultural pictures and knick-knacks. We decided to order 3 dishes and share, we ordered:
Kubay Sawar – Crushed wheat made into a dough and filled with lean ground beef, spices, and onion then sautéed in olive oil. This dish was first made famous in Nineveh – Modern day Mosul, Iraq.
Kubay Brinj – Similar to Kubay Sawar, this rice “dumpling” is filled with lean ground beef, special spices, olive oil and parsley, then quick fried to a crisp brown shell.
Nineveh Saute – Kurdish Saute of mushrooms and tomatoes in olive oil with pepper and other Kurdish seasonings with chicken.
Everything was great. I thought the dishes would use a lot of Middle Eastern spices that my palette isn’t used to yet; I could taste cumin in the Kubay Sawar, other than that the dishes were rather mild tasting. We all agreed the Kubay Brinj would do well at the Minnesota State Fair – deep fried, mild flavored and tender meat in the middle.
A plus to Babani’s is the store next door, City Pickers Presents Antiques and Affordable Thrift. On the outside, City Pickers has giant statues and a huge 80’s boom box blaring – awesome. On the inside, not a whole lot in there except a very nice man who smokes like a chimney; you may cough from second-hand smoke when you enter the store.
INFORMATION:
Babani’s Kurdish Restaurant
544 St. Peter St.
St. Paul, MN. 55402
651-602-9964
"Phil" at Babani's
Kubay Sawar
Kubay Brinj
Nineveh Saute
Stephanie and "Phil" enjoying Babani's
City Pickers Presents Antiques and Affordable Thrift
Week 50: Cooking Class
December 22, 2010
My zucchini casserole that was mistaken for soup or maybe curry.
See that to the left? That’s my contribution to my company Holiday potluck – Zucchini Casserole. It doesn’t look very appetizing. My new experience for week 50 was right on time – a cooking class at Whole Foods.
As 2010 comes to close, I think about what my New Year’s resolution will be for next year; I’ve decided I am going to learn to cook. Not just cook, but cook well, so this week’s experience suits me perfectly and gives me some foundation for my 2011 resolution as we leave 2010 behind.
I knew I wanted to learn how to cook in 2011, so I have been purchasing cook books and kitchen gadgets and doing some research into cooking classes. I looked into Kitchen Window and Cooks of Crocus Hill, both had great reviews, but the classes were more money than I wanted to spend. I googled cooking classes in Minneapolis and Whole Foods popped up. I had no idea Whole Foods held cooking classes. I viewed the classes, menus and price and I was sold – I signed up for December’s Catch on December 16th. Each month Whole Foods devotes a class to seasonal and fresh seafood – you don’t know what you are going to cook until you get to class; the menu depends on what fish is fresh and in season.
The “classroom” seats 8, however there were only 7 students in my class: myself, a mother/daughter team and two married couples. Chef Ani Loizzo began the class by speaking about the importance of choosing fresh fish and seafood and speaking to your local fish monger for selection advice. The discussion also focused on the nutritional benefits of fish and seafood and general cooking information.
We each selected a slip of paper with one of the five dishes for the evening and that was the dish we were going to assist with. The five dishes were:
Fritto Misto – fried calamari, scallops and shrimp
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp – pretty self-explanatory . . . bacon comes up again in this blog
Smoked Salmon Mousse
Crab Cakes
Cioppino – an Italian peasant fish soup
I was to help with Cioppino. The Cioppino had the most ingredients, so I was a little nervous – I like making dishes with the least amount of ingredients possible. To my surprise the Cioppino was easy to make and so were all of the other recipes. The recipes were not only easy but delicious. As we worked through the recipes, Ani gave helpful tips on the recipes, ingredients and cookware, told antidotes about her experiences with cooking and answered our questions without skipping a beat.
I learned, I ate, I met new people, I was entertained – this was quite a steal of a new experience for $30 and I will be back for more classes in 2011.
Check out the pictures of moi and class cooking up a tasty storm.
INFORMATION:
Making Smoked Salmon Mousse
Smoked Salmon Mousse
Making Crab Cakes
Crab Cake
Raw squid
Making Fritto Misto
Still making Fritto Misto
Fritto Misto
Making Bacon Wrapped Shirmp
Bacon Wrapped Shrimp
Adding garlic to the Cioppino
Adding broth to the Cioppino
Adding mussels to the Cioppino
Cioppino
Week 49 – Part 2: Ugly Christmas Sweater Party
December 20, 2010
After hearing about Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties for several years, I finally got to one, actually two, myself.
Part of the fun of an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party is going to find your ugly sweater. I live a couple blocks from the Ragstock in Uptown and they have racks and racks of ugly sweaters. As I enter Ragstock to locate my ugly sweater, I am excited to laugh hysterically at the ridiculous green and red sweaters with puffy Santas, reindeer with red pom-pom noses and trees with 3-D lights. As I’m looking through the racks, my thoughts are, “These aren’t so bad.” and “This one is really cute”. With my final thought being, “I must be getting old – these sweaters aren’t ugly at all”.
I find my sweater – a black sweater with grey sleeves with two pixilated Santas. I didn’t think the sweater was ugly, but I purchased the sweater because I felt bad for the Santas – they looked sad. I also had plans to add some flair of my own to the sweater. As I was shopping, I realized a very important piece of the Ugly Sweater party (thanks to the male shoppers at Ragstock) – guys look ridiculous in any Holiday sweater and I do believe that is where most of the laughter comes from at the party.
The Ugly Christmas Sweater Parties were on Friday, December 10th. We started out at the VFW in Uptown and then went to the Great Sun on Nicollet. An Ugly Christmas Sweater Party isn’t that different from other parties, however one big difference is the camaraderie you feel with the other ugly sweater party-goers.
My sad Santas with added present flair.
Some new friends in ugly sweaters.
Christmas and Cosby sweaters welcome.
Patrick, Jody and Me in our sweaters.
Week 49 – Part 1: Volunteering at WomenVenture
December 16, 2010
Part of my master plan on completing one new experience a week is to find some new hobbies or activities that I will continue on with after the year is over. My first new experience of the week will hopefully continue to be an activity I am involved with for years to come.
In this shaky economy, volunteering is a great way to keep your spirits up, network and possibly use your professional skills. WomenVenture will do all of these things for me. As some of you know I will soon be looking for work as my contract is up the end of January (anyone know of any open Marketing Communications Manager positions?). I have been volunteering with Bridging for the last year in the warehouse and I love it, however it doesn’t use my professional skills. I still plan on volunteering with Bridging, but WomenVenture will be fulfilling for me in a different way. I’ll be able to help small business owners succeed as well keeping some professional connections and satisfaction throughout unplanned job hiatus.
WomenVenture has been around since 1978 and has helped thousands throughout the years. Although called WomenVenture, the organization serves both men and women with tools and support for new businesses, finding a new job, starting a new career path, financial education and even loans to new businesses.
I attended the Best Place to Start free information class and the volunteer session on December 7th. Although there is plenty of information on their website, it’s always insightful to hear about an organization from people who have been affected by it. The session facilitators weren’t only volunteers, but had also received support from WomenVenture. I was surprised that WomenVenture could help individuals on so many different levels. We divided into two groups – one group for those starting a business or planning to start a new business. And the other group was for those looking for work or a new career path. I am looking for work so I went with the 2nd group. The profiles of the people varied in this group, some had no college education, some with doctorate degrees, but all had one item in common – laid off due to no fault of their own in the last two years; some had been with their companies for many years. As we told our stories and discussed what we thought we needed help with, the facilitators would tell us a class or tool or a coach that could help us. It was uplifting to hear all the resources available. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to learn more about the resources available to the new business group, but no doubt there were great offerings for that group as well.
The volunteering session was great, Ann Mays is the Director of Volunteering and she was wonderful. We discussed my skills, how to use them with WomenVenture and how others could benefit from my skills. The session left me excited and energized about volunteering with WomenVenture. I could be doing anything from helping a new business owner with a marketing plan, designing a flyer or brochure or teaching a class of new business owners on the importance of marketing and how to include it in their business plan.
If you want to learn more about WomenVenture, go to www.womenventure.org. If volunteering at WomenVenture doesn’t sound like your cup of tea, but would like to volunteer, check out www.VolunteerMatch.org.
Week 48 – Part 3: 1850′s Holiday Party
December 14, 2010
I was a little misled with my third new experience of the week – I think having “Party” in the title gave off the wrong impression. Although, not very party-like; touring the Ard Godfrey house was interesting and educational.
When reading about the 1850’s Holiday Party at the Ard Godfrey house, my thoughts turned of an energetic choir singing carols in bright red and green period garments in a grand hall with dark wood floors and built-ins decorated with garland and ornaments. Families looking around and enjoying iced Christmas cookies and drinking coffee and punch, maybe even that someone had spiked for the adults . . .
When I arrived and saw the outside of the house, I realized there would be no grand hall – completely different style of house and much more modest than I was imagining. A very nice woman greeted me at the door and told me a little about the house – it was built in 1849 and moved to its current location in 1909. The Woman’s Club of Minneapolis takes care of the house and does the guided tours.
When I walked in the house, the first thing I saw was a sign that says “No Pictures” and I immediately thought this isn’t good for the blog. A guide in realistic and drab 1850’s clothing brought me around the family room, dining room, master bedroom and parlor on the main floor, pointing out authentic fixtures and household items, such as the china and mirrors. One of the more interesting details I learned about was when the guide was telling me about the dinner service. She said the table was set for dessert because there was no table cloth. The table cloth was removed after dinner because it was used to wipe the mouths and hands of the diners as they didn’t have napkins. I’ll have to remember that if I’m ever without a napkin :)
The first floor tour wrapped up in the parlor, which had a beautiful Chickering rosewood piano. The guide then passed me on to the second floor where another guide showed me around the children’s bedrooms and a guest room. The tour ended back on the first floor in the kitchen. The brick oven was amazing; it has been very well cared for. Apparently, Harriet Godfrey was known for her outstanding baked beans and no doubt that oven had something to do with it. The kitchen also held the light refreshments of cookies and cider and the live musical entertainment. It wasn’t a choir, but a wonderful older woman on a harp playing Xmas songs.
The house seemed crowded with the volunteers and the few other people touring the house in their winter gear, so not really a party atmosphere for lingering around to enjoy the refreshments and music like I envisioned. So after leaving a donation in the box (the house is run by donations), I checked off another new adventure on my list – a little deceived, but more educated on Minnesota history.
To learn more about the Ard Godfrey house and family, go to: www.ardgodfreyhouse.org and to see the inside of the Ard Godfrey house, you’ll have go on a tour.
Ard Godfrey House
Week 48 – Part 2: North Star Roller Girls
December 11, 2010
I used to watch roller derby on TV when I was a little girl, it seemed to be on quite a bit on Saturday mid-mornings in the 80’s and this week I was able to see it live for the first time at the North Star Roller Girls bout.
I’ve known the Twin Cities housed a league for women’s roller derby (actually two – Minnesota RollerGirls and the North Star Roller Girls) for a couple years, however my interest level and memories of roller derby from when I was a girl were minimal. Rose brought up that we should go to a bout and check it out after we met a couple of the North Star Roller Girls at an event this summer. With still 11 new experiences to attain before 2011, I thought this was a good time to go.
We attended the Dec. 4th bout at the Minneapolis Convention Center. There were 4 teams competing: Violent Femmes, Delta Delta Di., Kilmore Girls Di and the Banger Sisters. A detail I really like about roller derby is the alter-egos each one of the skaters has, some of my favorite names of the night were: Tara Bichapart, Ida Kildher and Rainbow Bite and my favorite to watch was RazorCake on the Kilmore Girls – she was awesome.
When I sat down and began to watch, I had no idea what was happening. My memories of what roller derby were about was one girl catapulting another by grabbing her arm and thrusting her forward. Thankfully, the program listed the objective of the bout and what the different skater positions did. For anyone else going to a roller derby bout or just want to know more about it, I added some information on scoring and the positions below courtesy of Catherine Galioto from Suite 101.com.
For me the bout was more than just watching the derby – the crowd was pretty entertaining as well. As varied as they are dedicated, derby fans are great people watching. Everyone from older conservative couples to hipsters to high school athletes to a bachelor party to a young family – the crowd is diverse and seem to know who their favorite skaters are – plenty of t-shirts adorned with their skaters names and yelling of those same names throughout the bout.
It was fun watching a roller derby and the crowd – at $14 a ticket, we’ll see if I make it back. It was a little steep for me for an amateur sporting event ticket, especially when most of the roller girls skated as such with the few exceptions that made the bout exciting.
Roller Derby Objective and Scoring
Two teams of five players each are on the starting line of an oval track. One skater for each team — called jammers — are in the back, and start after the rest of her team skates off. Jammers must get through a pack of skaters and pass all her opponents. The goal is for the jammer to lap everyone and begin scoring points. For every opponent a jammer passes, she scores a point.
There are three positions — jammer, blocker and pivot. Roller derby skaters find themselves simultaneously playing offense and defense as they skate around the track.
The Pivot
At the starting line, the blocker with the striped helmet is the pivot. This position guides the speed of her blockers, paying attention to where her and the other team’s jammer is. The pivot might signal for her team to skate faster, so it is harder for the other team’s jammer to catch up to the pack and thus score before the clock runs out. The pivot might signal for her team to slow down if she sees her own jammer is trying to catch up to the pack.
To do this, the pivot needs to stay at the front of the pack. She is often the last person the jammer must pass, making her the last line of defense for her team.
The Jammer
Jammers wear the star helmet. As the whistle blows to start play, the jammers wait until the rest of the pack gets 20 feet ahead. Then the jammers race off, trying to be the first to get through. The jammer who does get through the pack first is the lead jammer. Only the lead jammer can call off the jam before the clocks ends. The advantage to being the lead jammer is obvious: you can call off play if you are tired, and calling off the jam prevents the other team from scoring. Of course, the lead jammer can strategically let the clock tick, skating around and racking up more points before the three minutes alloted for each jam elapses.
If the jammer manages to lap everyone, including the other team’s jammer, she has scored a grand slam and earned an extra point.
The Blockers
The players who are doing their best not to have the opposing jammer pass them are the blockers. They bash into the other team’s blockers, so their jammer can get through. And playing defense, they block the opposing jammer, preventing her from passing them and scoring. Blockers’ defensive moves can be direct physical contact of shoulders and hips, or building a wall so the other team’s jammer cannot get through.
Offensively, the blockers serve to help their jammer through the pack. They can push their own jammer forward, or be pushed by their jammer from behind, like a shopping cart that needs pushing. They can help their jammer build speed by whipping her around the track.
INFORMATION:
At the starting line
Skating fast
