How Facebook promotes mysogyny = FACEBOOK PERSECUTES WOMEN

Facebook is TOXIC. Men use Facebook in evil ways to harrass women, and ZUCKERMAN says it is not his fault. Nothing is ever Suckerman's fault. He sucks up the money, and allows the cesspool to flourish. The WASHINGTON POST has published an excellent account of how Facebook allows nasty stuff to flourish about Kamala Harris: naturally it is not about her ideas or her intelligence, but about sex. Read the excellent investigative journalism by Post reporters Karen Tumulty, Kate Woodsome, Sergio Peçanha Then draw your own conclusions about the need for the GAFAM cabals to be broken up because they are too big, too powerful and uncontrolled. Monopolies are always bad. We need robust anti-trust legislation to break the overweening power of Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft. Zuckerman is the poster child of too much power in the hands of one unelected man. Democracy? We now have Government of the 1% for the 1% and by the 1%. That is a swamp that needs draining!  

Remembering my lovely sister Alana

 My Sister Alana - sweet memories 

In 1989 we had a family holiday in Scotland - in the Highlands with my brother Rory and sister Alana, posing here with Catherine Leila and baby Timothy. We camped, we explored the midges of Skye, we climbed Ben Nevis, we helped our Hanlon friends with a flood in Paisley, we had a wonderful time .... such as I have had with my wee sister Alana since she was born in 1948. She became a nurse, a midwife, a matron, a health visitor and a community leader in Wiltshire, the beautiful county where she lived in a medieval village near Salisbury Cathedral. Alana was a lay pastoral assistant in the Anglican diocese, everybody's favourite aunt and an all-around good Christian person who was loved by everybody. Leukemia got the better of her and she died on October 1st. We shall miss her a lot.

Alana wanted donations to be given to Cancer Research.  

This lovely, warm picture of contentment shows Alana - who was a wonderful cook - celebrating her birthday on 2010 with her dearest friend Louisa, and some "fine cuisine" in elegant surroundings. We pray that her surroundings today are celestial, affording her infinite peace.

The Lawnmower Reel - a dance for confinement and for Carol Warner

This was the week that we were supposed to be organizing the annual Scots Bonnet bilingual St Quay Perros in Brittany. Instead of which, I am mowing my lawn. So I devised a Scottish dance that everyone can manage at home, dancing by yourself if needs be. I wrote it for Carol Warner's birthday, celebrating 30 years of her loyal service as treasurer of the Richmond Scottish Country Dancers.
Try it in  on the lawn in your own garden!

The Lawn Mower Reel March-June 2020   

written for Carol Warner's birthday June 24th  2020: "Happy Birthday CAROL" 

Devisor: Robin Edward Poulton of RSCDS-Breton Branch, also Richmond VA and Scots Bonnet St Quay

Reel   8 x 40 bars   2 Couple Repeat  4 Couple Set  Longwise Set  OR FOR ONE PERSON CONFINED

            Since dancing stopped, my physical activity has reduced to dancing with my lawn mower.

Music: Kingussie Flower (Book 21) works very well. Most 40-bar reels will do fine.

  1-8   1s cast down the outside and back again (mowing the edges of your lawn); 

  9-16 1s down the middle and back (mowing the centre of your lawn) 

17-24 1s down the middle for 4 bars and turn right hand  (mowing around a flower bed)

            2s step up on 23-24

25-32 1s dance back up to 2^nd place and turn left hand (another flower bed) remaining in the middle for

33-40  Poussette. 1s finish in 1^st place to begin again, since there are probably no 2s or 3s or 4s

            The Poussette is putting the lawn mower back in the garage to go off for a well-earned drink

This dance is part of the “Robern”  collection of satirical dances (Bern & Robin) that are huge fun but that no one will ever actually dance.

So France has begun a cautious deconfinement, while UK and USA blunder their way forward into more death and infection. But what I wanna know is WHEN can we DANCE again???? Here is an inspired vision by artist Janet McCrorie of "Pink Mist" (this is the Scottish concept of "Mist" and not the German meaning) where I can envision myself as the man in the kilt .... probably a Scottish waltz on an American dance floor with twirling and swirling. And who would be my partner?

Still dancing .... but now I dance in my head

 Gil, Elisabeth, Don and Bern are all great dance friends - despite his choice of tie, Bern is a good guy and a great dancer and you can see him and me dance The Shepherd's Crook on YouTube :

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5zYM44uwjM

and this was me last year visiting Coates Crescent in Edinburgh, the HQ of the RSCDS. If coronavirus confinement limits our physical dancing, it does not reduce our passion for dancing, nor our dreams of dancing with beautiful women in a great strathspey set. What is a "beautiful woman"? She is a great dancer. Dancing makes a woman beautiful. And a man?

The kilt makes a man beautiful.

I danced with Paris RSCDS at their 35th anniversary Ball. I had a good time, with some great dancing to music played by Parisians led by The Black Bear duet from Brisbane. What a great evening! Merci à nos amis de Paris. I met Antoine Rousseau for the first time, and he is a wonderful dancer! Even when I was young, I do not believe I danced as elegantly as Antoine. Antoine dancing the poussette with Emma was a dream come true! I must definitely return to Paris - where I used to dance in the 1970s with the parents of Patrick Chamoin, both of whom were rigorous RSCDS dance teachers..

Demo-level dancing on a Tuesday night: what a treat !

We had such a GREAT dance evening in Richmond this Tuesday at The Dance Space with its beautiful wood floor - we produced a set of demonstration level dances with wonderful women dancers : Moira and Tina are two of the best dancers I have ever had the joy of seeing, as well as Julie, Susan, Rochelle, Elisabeth, Carol….. and there were five demo-level men dancing: Scott Morrison, John Thoburn, Malcolm Shealey, Bern Runk and the author of that now-famous dancing memoir I DANCE THEREFORE I AM.

Which we proved to be true this evening.  

Janet McCrorie's painting called CLASP illustrates perfectly the fun we had tonight.  

Buy Janet's greetings cards! They benefit the RSCDS and they are fine cards.

We danced some fun and tricky dances including Mrs MacPherson of Inveran; The Clumsy Lover (he was not present on the dance floor this evening, but he obviously liked to set-and-link); Jean Martin of Aberdeen (a lovely Strathspey for a lovely lady); Napier’s Index with its fun reels and 4-bar turns; and others.

The RSCDS Richmond Christmas dance program looks enticing..….. especially when you think who will be dancing there. Plan to be in Richmond VA on December 7th this year !  

Another beautiful dance painting BEFORE YOUR EYES by Janet McCrorie, whose art I am privileged to show you. Like my amusing book I DANCE THEREFORE I AM, sales of Janet McCrorie's paintings and elegant greetings cards benefit the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society of which we are proud members - in my own case, a Life Member since 1967 when I was still a student at St Andrews University dancing every week with the university's Celtic Society. I still send occasional donations to the Celtic Society, to encourage the art and practice and joy of DANCING among young people! I have a lifetime of pleasure on the dance floor.  My own children Catherine Leila and Edward can be seen dancing on the cover of my book: the perfect gift for a dance friend.

I am going to a family wedding tomorrow. Mentally I am getting ready for church, long country walks (to reach the church), and lots of wine (to toast Pandora and her Max).  This witty picture that I found on the internet, perfectly represents the Three Ages of Robin attending weddings. And DANCING of course: I Dance, Therefore I Am.

Fit & Healthy Scottish Dancing on ICE !!!

Have you admired the Kerr siblings John and Sinead dancing on ice at the 2008 World Championships in Sweden?  If not, don't miss the opportunity - and this is the place to see them Scottish dancing to the music of Auld Lang Syne:

https://www.sunnyskyz.com/happy-videos/7055/Scottish-Siblings-Original-Ice-Dance-Has-Everyone-Cheering-During-The-Routine

Dancing with beautiful women

English country dancers from Sussex came to dance in Brittany - and naturally we danced with them. Do you prefer the elegance of her Lewes dress or the style of my Maclean kilt?

Thistle School has begun July 2019

Friends of mine are dancing in North Carolina at the famous Thistle School, now in its 39th and final year of existence. The great Mo Rutherford and Neil Copland (wonderful musicians celebrated in the Perth chapter of my book "I Dance Therefore I Am") are providing the music. Thistle School is world famous.  Let us salute Duard and Betty Lee for their dedication to dancing and for their many years of success in promoting "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" through Scottish dance. This banner hangs outside the dormitory building at Thistle School:

Dancing is so much safer .... and healthier ....

Three deaths in an hour - they would all have been alive if they had been dancing

Saint Peter is seeing all of the new arrivals trying to go through the pearly gates in Heaven. The first applicant of the day explains that his last day was not a good one.

"I came home early and found my wife lying in bed with no clothes on. She claimed she had just gotten out of the shower. Well, her hair was dry and I checked the shower and it was completely dry too. I knew she was into some hanky-panky and I began to look for her lover. I went onto the balcony of our 9th-floor apartment and found the guy clinging to the rail by his fingertips.

I was so angry that I began bashing his fingers with a flower pot. He let go and fell, but his fall was broken by some awnings and bushes. On seeing he was still alive I found super human strength to drag our antique cedar chest to the balcony and throw it over. It hit the man and killed him. At this point the stress got to me and I suffered a massive heart attack and died." Saint Peter thanked him and sent him on to the waiting room.

The second applicant said that his last day was his worst..."I was on the roof of an apartment building working on the AC equipment and I stumbled over my tools and toppled off the building. I managed to grab onto the balcony rail of a 9th-floor apartment but some idiot came rushing out on the balcony and bashed my hands with a flower pot.

I fell but hit some awnings and bushes and survived, but as I looked up I saw a huge chest falling toward me. I tried to crawl out of the way but failed and was hit and killed by the chest."

Saint Peter couldn't help but chuckle as he directs the man to the waiting room. Saint Peter is still giggling when his third customer of the day enters.

He apologizes and says "I doubt that your last day was as interesting as the two fellows that arrived here just before you."

I don't know" replies the man. "Picture this, I'm naked, hiding in this cedar chest.....

Larks&Ravens - some comments I have received about this contra-dance nomenclature:

from Penny: "Absolutely nonsensical!  Ever since my school days (all girls, of course) whenever I dance with a woman I ask if she wants to be man or woman: no problem. So if men want to dance with each other, fine. Ask the same question. 

End of argument."

from Mal: "I feel so strongly about this that I will give up dancing rather than submit to this bullying.  As you know, I do dance calling so regardless of what the rest of the world does, we will always use the terminology "men" and "women" (or gents and ladies, guys and gals, etc.)  

Have a great day."

 

William in Edinburgh just wrote a wonderful review of my book

I am glad you enjoyed it, Will - and it was also a great idea to order a second copy from Amazon for your girlfriend.

My wife sat down next to me as I was zapping through the channels.
She asked, "What's on TV?"
I said, "Dust."
That’s when the fight started. One week later, I am still not able to talk properly.

FEET. The most beautiful part of a woman is her feet (if she is a dancer) and after her feet, I look at her eyes. If both feet and both eyes are beautiful, I WANT TO DANCE with her !!!!   The rest of her body simply joins her eyes to her feet. That is what my book is mostly about: beautiful women with elegant feet and bewitching eyes. Men can also have good dancing feet - like me!

Beautiful dancing women

Argyle 2018: Maria and Ellen and Margaret are three of the best dancers on the East Coast of America and I was lucky enough to dance with all of them.

 NO I DID NOT say they are THE best dancers, all you other jealous women like Moira and Tina and Peg and Jana and Eva and Lou and Pam and Elisabeth and Stephanie and Melissa and Grace and Paola and Riejke and Natasha and Jean and Emma and so many other beautiful women and such wonderful dancers.... No, I am only saying that these three beautiful people are wonderful partners to dance with. And no, this is not a photo of their dancing feet. Nice feet in nice ghillies though.

Scottish fiddler Nicola Benedetti honoured

This New Year 2019 let us salute Ayrshire violinist Nicola Benedetti CBE, who is as good on the Scottish fiddle as she is on the classical violin. Nicola makes classical music modern and fun.

The New Year Honours List is a part of British tradition. It is probably harmless, possibly meaningless: if you know someone, they can recommend you. If not, nothing. Chance and favouritism are the two main motors for honours. Talent too, of course. While it rewards political hacks and wheeler-dealers, the New Year Honours List also allows lowly-but-worthy national servants of the police force, nursing, post office and many other professions to find recognition, as well as stars of music and dance, cricketers, footballers and television stars who regularly feature.

When someone as talented and as interesting as Nicola Benedetti becomes a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (which is higher than MBE or OBE, but not as high as a Dame DBE), it seems to make the honours system worthwhile.

Not only Celts have reverence for the Winter Solstice

 Dancers are naturally attracted to the Solstice. Celtic dancers are drawn to the Solstice even more strongly.

IN PRAISE OF THE WINTER SOLSTICE  by William Rivers Pitt

The kindergarten teachers I know each tell the same story: Roundabout the middle of December, all the kids who celebrate Christmas transform into voracious little three-foot monsters bereft of morality or self-control. All the behaviors parents worked so diligently to instill in them collapse under the long duress of waiting for Santa.

Alas, my own daughter fell victim to the phenomenon this year. It was a jarring revelation to watch my sweet, caring, sharing, loving little girl decompensate into this ruthless feral capitalist, a frothing cauldron of I want who sees herself as the only being in all of existence. Matters did not improve at school; as it turned out, putting 15 feral capitalists in a room where they could spend all day rubbing their I want woes together exacerbated the situation dramatically. My wife and I eventually got her past this crisis of materialism, but it was remarkable nonetheless. It was as if a virus got passed from kid to kid to kid until they were all infected with an insatiable lust for more stuff.

Neither of us blamed our daughter for her behavior. In retrospect, it was thoroughly unsurprising: Here is this wee child, possessed of a moral code still in formation, gripping the live wire of Maximum Capitalism that was engineered specifically for people in her age group.

The Roman Emperor Constantine co-opted a wide variety of ancient pagan holidays in the name of Christianity in order to cement his rule, and the winter solstice celebration was foremost among them.

Today is Christmas and the solstice has passed, but amid the consumerist Christmas that corporations are pushing upon us, we can still step back and reach for the spiritual renewal at the center of the ancient solstice holiday. The wonder of the turning Earth and the life-giving sun is still with us today. Christmas consumerism may have paved it over and smothered it in advertisements, but the solstice is still there, bright green and gold, waiting to be bathed in the coming dawn.

 *********************************

THIS BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN PIECE is extracted (with permission) from a longer article by Truthout senior editor William Rivers Pitt, called BEFORE CHRISTMAS THERE WAS THE SOLSTICE AND HOPE, published on Christmas Day 2018.  If you enjoyed his eloquent writing, please read more at https://truthout.org/articles/before-there-was-christmas-there-was-the-solstice-and-hope/

And please contribute to this source of independent, skeptical journalism.