Daily affirmations of a word mercenary
Glowsticks Category
I attended my first rave in April of 1996, and some of the most intense learning experiences of my early- and mid-20s took place in front of speaker stacks. Raving is directly responsible for my writing career, my relationship with my loving partner, and the deterioration of my short term memory. Thank you, American Rave Culture!
Last night I went to a dance party. It’s been really muggy and hot in Seattle all weekend, and so predictably the venue was a bit swampy.
In walks an adorable raver. She’s wearing a tshirt, skirt, tights (!), fur-topped boots (!!), and a knit hat (!!!). The hat was adorable — it looked like a little panda bear. But seriously: how was this girl not passed out from heat stroke? I mean, cute hat. But it was way, WAY too fucking hot in there to be wearing (let alone dancing in!) a warm hat.
When she danced by me, I leaned over and shouted over the wobbly bass, “Aren’t you so hot in that cute hat?”
She looked at me and smiled.
“Aww, THANK YOU!” she shouted back.
- 5 Comments
- Tags: dancing, fashion, ravers
Somehow I managed to go see Step Up 2 The Streets twice this weekend, once in Seattle and once in New York. That equates to about 10% of my weekend spent whooping at movie screens and mentally stealing moves for next week’s dance class.
If you’re a fan of middling plot street dancing flicks about the triumph of the human spirit, you should totally go see it. I loved the hell out of it despite the fact that I was twice as old as anyone in the theater — I been dancing since you kids were in diapers! *creak creak*. Also, I would bet money that the male lead spent some years in Florida dancing to cheezy-ass breaks in the mid-90s. I recognize the regional style. Aging ravers, reprazent!
Trivia: The lead in the flick is played by the real-life daughter of Joey from My Two Dads.
Gettin’ down with the doppelgangers
23
Dec
2007
In: Glowsticks
Saturday night I went to a party that was so odd, and packed with so many diverse and hilarious freaks that at several times during the course of the night I looked around and just started laughing out loud. There were bikers in leather chaps who tried to eat my scarf. Burners in faux fur vests. Psytrancers in dayglo fractal pants. High school kids. Ravers in white gloves. Fetish Lite folks in fishnet bodystockings. Amateur feathers and leathers. Aging alcoholics. Attorneys. Arch nemeses.
And the largest number of late-’90s doppelgangers I’ve ever seen in one place.
It wasn’t like I would look at someone and think “Is that Cameron?!” Because Cameron is now nearing 40, and the doppelganger I saw was Cameron in his late 20s. See, the party was filled with younger duplicates of the freaks I knew 10 years ago. The shaven-headed girl in the big pants! The curvy girl with the dreads! The sketchy dudes in the track jackets! The pudgy guy who’s embarrassingly high for the first time! The party was filled with ghosts and phantom duplicates of party days gone by, and it was a deeply odd experience. It makes me feel like the parties just keep happening, and while the faces may change, the roles that get played remain the same, decade after decade, generation after generation.
- 2 Comments
- Tags: parties, ravers, scenes
Technoviking says “Beat It!”
20
Oct
2007
In: Glowsticks
This is extra awesome within the context Fuckparade in Berlin, where it was filmed.
One of my Lotus Magazine colleagues has started an awesome electronic music blog. GO READ! Bonus: he’s posted mp3s of mid-’90s Moontribe mixtapes.
Beyond the cuddle dome
6
Aug
2007
In: Glowsticks
I’m afraid that these days you can’t expect much more in these parts than a quick update. And so, here you go:
Thursday night we signed the final papers on our new condo. It’s official! Our closing date is 8/31.
Friday morning, we received a phone call from our mortgage broker informing us that as of 5pm that day, the mortgage company she worked for would cease to exist. Our house was set to go on the market in 2 hours. We were packing up the car to head out to Sacred Groves for Meadowfabulous. Time stood still for a second. My father would later comment that it was pretty much the perfect storm of real estate anxiety.
At our agent’s suggestion, we bucked up and got the hell out of town. Leaving our house all pretty for the realtors and open house folks, we headed out to Sacred Groves anyway, mortgage/housing freakouts be-damned. And I’m glad we did. I had an anxiety riddled Friday night, waking up once an hour freaking out and having someone’s thoughts (were they mine? so negative! so awful!) running through my mind at helium-speeds.
By Saturday around noon, I’d calmed down a bit and the weekend unfolded into a luscious time, possibly our best anniversary campout yet. 48 hours of a mellow, low-key, sober-yet-psychedelic meadow filled with freaks. Oh and I finally got to see what Dre’s been doing in circus class for all those months as he did an aerial performance. The phrase “gayvman” was tossed around. There was a lot of soaking in a wood-fired tub made out of a horse trough. Many of us were made more fabulous by what became known as The Amy Leblanc Box. There was lots of extreme lounging and happy dogs and you’re probably just best off looking at the pictures.
Quote of the weekend: “Is it ok if I get the fuzzy blankets and put them in the cuddle dome?” Yes. Yes, that’s definitely ok.
God bless the web
26
Apr
2007
In: Glowsticks
So I was reading this article about underground perfumeries, and then I clicked over to this article about piperazines, and what do I find half-way down the page? A picture of myself.
It’s extra funny because the picture was taken when I was mockingly dressed up for a candyraver-themed costume party. And now the picture is being used as an authentic illustration of a raverhood. Oh, meta-media. You make a fool of us all!
(Also, I forgot how ugly photo galleries were before Flickr. Poor sad old photo galleries!)
Last night I went to a dance party. It’s been really muggy and hot in Seattle all weekend, and so predictably the venue was a bit swampy.
In walks an adorable raver. She’s wearing a tshirt, skirt, tights (!), fur-topped boots (!!), and a knit hat (!!!). The hat was adorable — it looked like a little panda bear. But seriously: how was this girl not passed out from heat stroke? I mean, cute hat. But it was way, WAY too fucking hot in there to be wearing (let alone dancing in!) a warm hat.
When she danced by me, I leaned over and shouted over the wobbly bass, “Aren’t you so hot in that cute hat?”
She looked at me and smiled.
“Aww, THANK YOU!” she shouted back.
- 5 Comments
- Tags: dancing, fashion, ravers
Somehow I managed to go see Step Up 2 The Streets twice this weekend, once in Seattle and once in New York. That equates to about 10% of my weekend spent whooping at movie screens and mentally stealing moves for next week’s dance class.
If you’re a fan of middling plot street dancing flicks about the triumph of the human spirit, you should totally go see it. I loved the hell out of it despite the fact that I was twice as old as anyone in the theater — I been dancing since you kids were in diapers! *creak creak*. Also, I would bet money that the male lead spent some years in Florida dancing to cheezy-ass breaks in the mid-90s. I recognize the regional style. Aging ravers, reprazent!
Trivia: The lead in the flick is played by the real-life daughter of Joey from My Two Dads.
Gettin’ down with the doppelgangers
23 Dec 2007 In: GlowsticksSaturday night I went to a party that was so odd, and packed with so many diverse and hilarious freaks that at several times during the course of the night I looked around and just started laughing out loud. There were bikers in leather chaps who tried to eat my scarf. Burners in faux fur vests. Psytrancers in dayglo fractal pants. High school kids. Ravers in white gloves. Fetish Lite folks in fishnet bodystockings. Amateur feathers and leathers. Aging alcoholics. Attorneys. Arch nemeses.
And the largest number of late-’90s doppelgangers I’ve ever seen in one place.
It wasn’t like I would look at someone and think “Is that Cameron?!” Because Cameron is now nearing 40, and the doppelganger I saw was Cameron in his late 20s. See, the party was filled with younger duplicates of the freaks I knew 10 years ago. The shaven-headed girl in the big pants! The curvy girl with the dreads! The sketchy dudes in the track jackets! The pudgy guy who’s embarrassingly high for the first time! The party was filled with ghosts and phantom duplicates of party days gone by, and it was a deeply odd experience. It makes me feel like the parties just keep happening, and while the faces may change, the roles that get played remain the same, decade after decade, generation after generation.
- 2 Comments
- Tags: parties, ravers, scenes
Technoviking says “Beat It!”
20 Oct 2007 In: GlowsticksThis is extra awesome within the context Fuckparade in Berlin, where it was filmed.
One of my Lotus Magazine colleagues has started an awesome electronic music blog. GO READ! Bonus: he’s posted mp3s of mid-’90s Moontribe mixtapes.
Beyond the cuddle dome
6 Aug 2007 In: GlowsticksI’m afraid that these days you can’t expect much more in these parts than a quick update. And so, here you go:
Thursday night we signed the final papers on our new condo. It’s official! Our closing date is 8/31.
Friday morning, we received a phone call from our mortgage broker informing us that as of 5pm that day, the mortgage company she worked for would cease to exist. Our house was set to go on the market in 2 hours. We were packing up the car to head out to Sacred Groves for Meadowfabulous. Time stood still for a second. My father would later comment that it was pretty much the perfect storm of real estate anxiety.
At our agent’s suggestion, we bucked up and got the hell out of town. Leaving our house all pretty for the realtors and open house folks, we headed out to Sacred Groves anyway, mortgage/housing freakouts be-damned. And I’m glad we did. I had an anxiety riddled Friday night, waking up once an hour freaking out and having someone’s thoughts (were they mine? so negative! so awful!) running through my mind at helium-speeds.
By Saturday around noon, I’d calmed down a bit and the weekend unfolded into a luscious time, possibly our best anniversary campout yet. 48 hours of a mellow, low-key, sober-yet-psychedelic meadow filled with freaks. Oh and I finally got to see what Dre’s been doing in circus class for all those months as he did an aerial performance. The phrase “gayvman” was tossed around. There was a lot of soaking in a wood-fired tub made out of a horse trough. Many of us were made more fabulous by what became known as The Amy Leblanc Box. There was lots of extreme lounging and happy dogs and you’re probably just best off looking at the pictures.
Quote of the weekend: “Is it ok if I get the fuzzy blankets and put them in the cuddle dome?” Yes. Yes, that’s definitely ok.
God bless the web
26 Apr 2007 In: GlowsticksSo I was reading this article about underground perfumeries, and then I clicked over to this article about piperazines, and what do I find half-way down the page? A picture of myself.
It’s extra funny because the picture was taken when I was mockingly dressed up for a candyraver-themed costume party. And now the picture is being used as an authentic illustration of a raverhood. Oh, meta-media. You make a fool of us all!
(Also, I forgot how ugly photo galleries were before Flickr. Poor sad old photo galleries!)
Hey there. I'm Ariel Meadow Stallings, a native Seattleite who's written my way up and down the Left Coast. Electrolicious is where I post daily randomata, but I also write for a living. My first book, Offbeat Bride, was published last year.
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