Best Thing Since…

It’s hardly surprising that a wave of nostalgia has overtaken me these last few days of August. Stuffy, sunny afternoons with no rain in sight take me back to my days in Albany, schlepping printers and mattress pads up flights of stairs into poorly circulated cramped quarters. Being someone who is heavily influenced by seasons, I am trying to say in a circuitous, roundabout way that I slightly long for the excitement of ‘going back to school.’ Instead of spending those few precious, balmy evenings before classes begin recounting tales of summer internships, travels and short-lived romantic trysts, I am beginning real life.

On a Wednesday around 6:15pm, the time where I would undoubtedly be riding a bike to a friend’s, or already having drinks outside somewhere, a former room-mate summarized everything I’m missing in one single g-chat message.

Alex Ross: nothing says fall semester like the 11 bus, WTs, and the pitter patter of sorostitutes heels on madison avenue.

For those of you who are currently on your way to Key 2, Pine Hills or Lark Street, please revel in your final days of glory. And make sure to eat some wings, too.

Tschüß

Xtina

Dance is the highest form of artistic expression.

Brought to you by: SARZ

“Don’t ju e-ber do dis! BANG BANG BOOM!…HEEL…to the balls!”

“If someone tell me that about my wife, “I’m sorry sir, but I am going to break your leg.”

“Don’t do that to ‘El Guapo’”

To learn more about Bas Rutten and to view more of his self-defense tutorials, I have been so kind to provide you with the following links. Please exercise discretion when trying to re-enact these moves at home.

• Bas Rutten Self Defense Crash Course–’Mixed Martial Arts Asshole’

• Bas Rutten–Wikipedia

• Buy a Bas Rutten Track Suit

One thing that continues to pleasantly surprise me during my frequent travels to Europe would be the idea of a shared cultural knowledge. American culture is heavily exported throughout the world. Certain phrases, gestures and pop culture references have transcended political borders. While teaching English in Europe last summer, some ESL campers and I watched a few episode of “The O.C”. Soon after this, I was asked if all Americans drink out of “those large red cups when they make party.”This past summer, I discovered how useful my Britney Spears discography would be in bridging age and cultural gaps between me and a group of 12 year old European girls when I was asked to organize “Girls Night” as an evening camp activity in Germany. When a Portuguese camper asked how I managed two grapefruit sized bruises on my thigh (a rugby game with a bunch of 12 year old Spanish boys), I responded “Chris Brown.” This garnered a chuckle from little Henrique.

More interesting, though, is that the inverse is not always true. There is a litany of European pop culture references, that for one reason or another, remain completely unknown to the vast majority of us Amurikins. This is no surprise. American pop culture remains to this day, one of the most dynamic in the world. We also happen to be a nation that exports a lot more than we import (in terms of culture). While this irks me from time to time, it makes the idea of discovering ‘the other’ that much more fun. Especially when this new cultural discovery comes in the form of a semi-biographical account of a Russian mystic.

Just today, one of my best friends from France unleashed this gem on me. Attached to an e-mail titled: “the disco music that never reached the USA” was “Rasputin”(1978) by Boney M, a black German disco group. Loosely based on Grigori Rasputin, this track is dripping with corniness and lacquered with synthesized violins. Lastly, let us not overlook that this gem features a male vocalist who seems oh-so-desperate to properly enunciate his consonants in English. Upon bumpin this one, I’m immediately transported to a happier place; a multi-story superclub somewhere in Central Europe (could be Hungary, my mothaland, could be the Czech Republic, it’s a bit unclear), surrounded by throngs of imperfect, yet impossibly sexy-looking young men sporting monys, (a mony would be the term i’ve coined to describe a man pony tail, athankyou) swiftly gyrating to this 4/4 beat. This would be the cover of Boney M’s LP.

Here’s hopin’ ya’ll find a place in your life for some transatlantic pop culture exchange, as well as lesser-known bangers like this one.

Tschüß!

Xtina

Improve my Photoshop skills 10-fold.

Got a car.

Learn more about how to build a website so that I will no longer have to rely on default templates and settings.

Save more of my money.

Go to South America.

Have an idea of where I will be and what I will be doing this time next year.

Work on being not so aggressive.

Try to listen more than I’ve been talking.