Bruce Lee Was Also A Champion Cha-Cha Dancer

Hey! Do any of you remember the dance called "The Cha-Cha?" I think it even predates Chubby Checker's Twist. It was probably a favorite of at least the early beatnik crowd. I know it has been revived lately by the Latino Community, but it was a hit back in the old days as well.

Enjoy this free lesson by two professional instructors:

Response to "Lori"

1 comments:

Lori said...

I am a teacher and want to recreate a beatnik coffee house. Any suggestions what I can do?

October 23, 2011 7:03 PM

OK. I'll give it a shot.

Start with a basement room. Put in a small stage or platform. On it, place a microphone stand and at least one large stool. Place studio lights on the ceiling, facing the stage. Get some fake brick wallcovering and put it up on at least three of the walls. Don't forget to put up some posters and graffiti too!

Fill the place with small round tables and chairs. Have a Greek Diner-style coffee maker in the back. Serve your coffee in demi-tasse sized cups and saucers (or smaller, if you can get them).

Extras: See if you can get hold of a set of bongos, a conga drum and someone who can play guitar.

Hope that helps!

Guest Posters Welcomed!

If you have any ideas for articles to showcase on this blog, please do not hesitate to contact me about them. I just received a kind letter from one of the followers here, and it inspired me to extend the invitation to you all.

I'm pretty much tapped for ideas lately, so your efforts will greatly help keep this blog going. Thanks in advance to all who decide to respond.

Contact me through my email:  beatnik@mail2cool.com.

GINSBERG AND GELEK

Allen Ginsberg became fast friends with a Tibetan Tulku named Gelek Rinpoche (Rim-po-shay). Tulku signifies that Gelek is a reincarnated holy man, the late abbot of an important monastery in Tibet. It was this man who tended to Allen as he lay dying of liver cancer. The extraordinary relationship between the two is best illustrated by this article excerpted from The Allen Ginsberg Project: An Allen Ginsberg Gallimaufry blog:

Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Gelek Rinpoche's Birthday! 

Gelek and Allen and Jewel Heart - Jon Kain in his piece for the Shambhala Sun, some years back, "Gelek Rinpoche's Remarkable Journey", notes "They [Gelek and Allen] met in the early 1990's, forming a fast friendship. Allen eventually became Gelek Rinpoche's student, with Rinpoche performing the ritual at Allen's death. "Allen never missed the opportunity to teach me about American culture and language, Rinpoche told me", (Kain recounts), "He pushed me all the time. He was really so kind. And then what little dharma I know I contributed to him".

Mutual respect. It was (always) sincere mutual respect, (notwithstanding the teacher-pupil relationship(s), notwithstanding Rinpoche's charming, disarming, modesty).

Here's Allen, from his 1996 Hot Wired interview with Steve Silberman:

"I've had a very good life, especially great luck with teachers particularly Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche and now Gelek Rinpoche. Both have great hearts. So there's a basic security to all that".

Continued:   http://ginsbergblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/gelek-rinpoches-birthday.html

Murray the K - In Memoriam

If you remember "Submarine Race Watching", you remember the DJ Murray Kaufman, other wise known as "Murray the K". Murray ruled the airwaves of New York City and the surrounding areas from 1958 to 1967. I remember being a regular listener of his WINS radio show "Murray the K and His Swingin' Soiree"  http://www.1960sailors.net/05b_Murray_the_K.htm  (scroll down the page for audio clips!).

and hearing The Submarine Race Watcher mantra at regular intervals.

I also remember him as the self-proclaimed "Fifth Beatle". It was some time after this Beatle phase that I gradually lost touch with him and his show. I totally agree with those that felt he was sucking up to the Fab Four way too much. If one of them stopped, Murray needed vitamin K to stop his nose from bleeding.

Here are two videos covering this topic:

                                                                                  

                            

                            

                               [That's British Slang for "Jerkoff"; wanking means beatin off!]

Like the singer Shirley Ellis in her song, The Name Game, Murray invented his own language. This entailed taking the first letter of a word and inserting "eee-azz" between it and the rest of the word. Baby for example became b "eee-azz" aby. His own name Murray wound up to sound like M "eee-azz" urray. That was real cool for that time period. When all was said and done, he kept hipster talk and its protoype "scat" alive beyond the 1940's and '50's. He was sort of an Uber-beatnik in many ways.

"Ah bey, whoa.

Ah bey, whoa.

Koomazowazowa!

Whoa!"

TROMA Productions: As The Beatniks Grew Older ...

"Troma Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company founded by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz in 1974.^[1]
The company produces low-budget independent movies that play on 1950s horror with elements of farce. Many Troma films contain social commentary."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troma_Entertainment

Here are two of their classic films:
                                                            SURF NAZIS MUST DIE!

                                                                   And  then there's...

                                                             THE TOXIC AVENGER

Remember "Long John Nebel" and His Overnight Radio Show?

Jackie Gleason was a fan of his and a frequent guest on his show.

Like so many others from The Beat Era, Long John's show was the pioneering prototype for future ones, such as Art Bell. Here are some samples of the original controversial call-in radio talk show. The first two
feature his fights with prank callers. The third is a sample of a typical Long John Nebel interview.