Cabeceo (a 'nod of the head')

Argentinian tango has an amazingly complicated process of negotiating and beginning a dance with a new partner.  The point of this negotiation is to give dance partners the opportunity to meet and engage new people subtly, while offering both the leader (typically male) and follower (typically female) the opportunity to gently decline, without embarrassing the "asker."

The literal translation of cabeceo is 'nod of the head'.  To initiate an invitation to dance, the man looks at the woman and indicates with a movement of his head that he would like to dance.  If she accepts the cabeceo, she will move towards him and they will tango; if she refuses she will look away.

A great example is shown on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=gDbtXiB_b6s

The key to the usefulness of the cabeceo is its subtlety; It prevents an awkward situation and unpleasantness by using small and subtle gestures.  If the invitation is declined, the embarrassment is kept private between the invitor and invitee.  Pretty rad.

Stratos is a thing

Stratos is a thing.

http://www.stratos.com/

Learn to Tango in Seattle!

Seattle's most interesting (to me, at least) style of tango is "the 8th style" founded by a man named Igor Polk, of the Bay Area. He was a prolific tango blogger and passionate researcher of tango history, particularly of the different styles throughout the decades. After witnessing a particularly exceptional performance at one of the Portland festivals a few years ago, Igor asked the performer what he called his way of dancing. The lead (male dancer) said something to the effect of “Uh, uh… I don’t know… uh, it’s just tango, I guess.” This less-than-satisfactory response lead Igor to post that dancer -- named Jaimes Friedgen of Seattle -- as the eighth on a list of several styles

Thus, the "8th style" really doesn't mean much of anything, other than it is a fun way to dance the tango! You can take classes (and even get a living social deal) at the Ballet Studio or the Yoga Den.

The Ballet Studio
4556 University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105

The Yoga Den
514 12th Ave Suite B
Seattle, WA 98122

You can find out more at the website:
http://www.the8thstyle.com

No need to sign up with a partner, and both men and women can lead or follow!

Insurance battles in the state of Washington!

Today, I learned that Washington is really quite helpful when dealing with insurance problems.  Have a claim that wasn't accepted but should have been?  Having problems getting your ID cards?  Just not getting what you paid for?  Talk to the Washington State Office of the Insurance Commissioner!

http://www.insurance.wa.gov/

Apparently, the state Insurance Commissioner's office has a reputation of being a serious bulldog fighting for insurance consumer rights!

Woot!

Shopping sprees in Portland

Today, I learned that Portland, Oregon has no sales tax.  None.  Zip.  Nada.  This means that it is always worth the gas to drive to Portland for shopping sprees, major electronics purchases, buying furniture, and even liquor runs.

If I were to purchase $1000 worth of stuff in Seattle, $30 would go to the city, and another $65 would go to the state.  I typically spend about $45 on a tank of gas to drive to and from Portland (from Roy Street Coffee on Capitol Hill in Seattle.)  Even if I consider that a round trip to Portland for a shopping spree is at least 350 miles of driving, and even if I use the government mileage rate of $0.235 per mile (the $0.56 is only for business purposes, not general travel) then I would only need to spend about $866 to save the $82.25 that I would spend on gas and wear & tear on the car.  Of course, if I took the $30-$40 bolt bus, it would pay off even more quickly!

Woot!

Of course, the state of Washington spoils the fun by insisting that anything purchased in this sort of a situation is covered by a "use tax."  Here is a link describing everything that you need to know (and ignore):

http://dor.wa.gov/content/getaformorpublication/publicationbysubject/taxtopics/usetax.aspx

But, Oregon does not report any of these purchases to Washington, so they have no way of knowing, so have fun with your shopping sprees in Portland!