The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, January 11, 2006, Page 7, Image 7
THF MTY
Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2006 —I— ■ _l u M ¥ —I u A m Page 7
Preaki vi
down the house
% With help from Web site, student guinea pig
you too can crab, pompo and worm like a star
Alexis flrnone
THE MIX EDITOR
There are lots of students
here at USC without any
rhythm. They can’t shake
their booties or swing their
hips. Heck, half of them can’t
even tap their feet to a steady
beat.
This “How To” is designed
to give some encouragement
and advice to these troubled
folks. Hopefully, with a little
help from the “Hip-hop
break dance: Learn break
dance moves” section on
the Web site rap.about.com
and from this week’s guinea
pig, a fourth-year sports and
entertainment management
student named Josh Cole,
students who lack the booty
shaldn’ magic will soon be
able to pull a smooth move
on the dance floor. You
might even see them dancing
BThursday night down in Five
Points.
Before we begin, a
disclaimer: Movies such
Alexis Amone / THE GAMECOCK
A headspin is a difficult
break dance move to mas
ter, and according to rap.
about.com, dancers should
condition themselves by
practicing a headstand and
working up neck muscles.
as “Honey” and “You Got
Served” make dancing look
easy. It’s not. Stretch a lot
before trying these moves,
and make sure you practice
on a surface that won’t be
too hard on you when you
fall down (hint: not cement
or tile). You are going to fall,
even with the easy steps.
According to rap.about.
com, the main break dancing
moves begin with your
palms and your feet on the
ground and your stomach
toward the sky. In P.E. back
in middle school, you called
this the crab. The frog,
halos, jackhammer and the
skyscraper are all break dance
moves that should only be
attempted by experts.
An easy beginner step that
begins in the crab position is
called the pompo. According
to the Web site, the second
step to the pompo is to
“crouch your right leg so it’s
in a 90-degree angle. Then
lean it to your left so that
the left (inner) side of your
right foot touches the floor.
It should NOT be FLAT
on the floor, just a little bit
leaning towards it.”
After getting into this
position, “you begin to move.
Lift your RIGHT arm up
and put your weight on your
LEFT foot as you lift your
RIGHT leg up and a little
bit to the left.”
For the final step of the
pompo, “straighten your
RIGHT leg and bend your
LEFT leg as you put your
weight on your RIGHT leg
and lift your left hand at the
same time you lift up your
left (bent) leg.”
Someone learning to break
dance must have patience.
According to the Web site,
mastering the pompo takes
about two weeks. After
getting it down, the site
promises, “you’ll really look
like a break dancer.”
Cole had a little trouble
with this dance move and
didn’t feel that he had gotten
it down.
“I like the basic crab move
best,” he said. “It’s pretty
easy and I think I’ve gotten it
down pretty well. The rest of
it, forget it.”
Cole attempted a few more
break dance moves, and
many titled “easy” he found
out were not very easy at all.
“I felt like the bottom
of a shoe. I was worn out,”
Cole said upon retiring his
dancing shoes.
Another move, the worm,
is slightly more common
but extremely hard. It starts
with a spin on both knees
and then a drop into the
pushup position. Next, “put
your right or left leg behind
the opposite leg ending with
your'legs in a ‘4’ shape. Hop
and land with the leg that
was bend behind on the
ground and the other leg
pointing straight out. Point
one hand in the air. Now
bounce on and off each foot
while turning in a circle.”
Sounds pretty complicated,
but according to rap.about.
com, “this move is pretty
easy and most people will be
able to do it.” Go ahead and
try it.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu
■■■■
Alexis Amone / THE GAMECOCK
One of the trickier “easy” moves is called the pompo, demonstrated here by Josh Cole.
This move is started in a crab position — belly up with hands and feet flat on the floor.
I
New song every day? No problem
They Might Be Giants
meets fake challenge;
keeps ''magic talisman
#) -
Tun Manus
STAFF WRITER
Picture this: A deranged
millionaire forcing a rock
band to write a new song
every day as they tour the
U.S., Canada and the UK.
This idea is not too out
of-the-ordinary for Dan
Miller, lead guitarist of
They Might Be Giants, a
band best known for its
accordion-powered sound
and the songs “Istanbul
(not Constantinople) and
“Particle Man,” which
^ were featured in the early
w 90s cartoon “Tiny Toons
Adventures.” The band also
provided the theme songs
for the TV shows “The
Daily Show” and “Malcolm
in Middle.”
During their 2004 tour,
the band’s members wrote
and performed a song for
each venue they played.
Often the songs are about
or mention the venue, but
other times they use the
meaning of the venue’s
name as a noun, rather
than simply a venue — as
seen in the song inspired by
the Dallas rock club Trees.
And in the song inspired by
Vancouver’s Richard’s on
Richards, they lyrics are not
related to the venue at all,
but the singers nonsensically
say its name at the end of
each verse.
Miller said the idea
of doing a new song for
each venue was great and
exciting.
“One of the problems
with touring is that it can
get kind of monotonous,”
Miller told The Gamecock
in a telephone interview.
“Learning a new tune every
evening kept everyone on
their toes.”
Miller described the
song-writing process as the
two singer/songwriters and
founding members of the
band, John Flansburgh and
John Linnell, writing the
songs, and then the whole
band getting together pretty
much wherever they could
(during sound check, in the
back of the bus, backstage)
to make the song take
shape.
“One of the things I
really liked about the whole
venue songs is that it was a
brand-new idea, at least to
me,” Miller said. “If I went
to see a band and they did
something like this, I’d
totally dig it.”
Miller said most of
the band had trouble
remembering the venue
songs while recording.
“There are around 45,”
he said. “Many of them we
only knew for a day. Try to
remember all the people
you’ve met for only one
day.”
In December 2004, They
Might Be Giants compiled
recordings of these songs
done in live performances
and sound checks into an
album titled “Venue Songs.”
Now, more than a year
Ginms • 8
Courtesy urunv. tm bg. com
They Might Be Giants wrote songs about or involving all
the venues they played for their 2004 tour. One song,
called “The Orange Peel” is about the performance
venue of the same name in Asheville, N.C.
Professional dog-trainers say training improves owner-pet relationship
Connie Bloom
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
^ ^ Buddy, the Shar-Pei
shepherd mix, doesn’t bark
at the other dogs anymore.
The recycled mutt has
transcended his bad luck
and become a good citizen
who fawns over his human
sidekick, Heather Bellinger,
42, who suffers from
seizures.
“Heather is my 42-year
old special daughter,” said
Norma Bellinger. “She is
mildly retarded and has
about four seizures a month.
When she has one, Buddy
goes right to her, licks her
face and stays with her.”
The pooch bunks with
her when she is sick.
But he wasn’t wearing his
halo when the Stow, Ohio,
family brought him home in
September, said Heather’s
mom. He didn’t know how
to walk on a leash, sit or
stay. If someone dropped a
bottle of pills, he would have
scarfed them up. His future
depended on learning some
life-saving commands, like
“leave it.”
So the whole family,
including dad, Ray, enrolled
in the inexpensive, ongoing
group classes at PetsMart in
Chapel Hill, N.C.
“It takes less time to work
with a dog than chase after
him,” said PetsMart trainer
Patty Vesalo. “The idea is
to integrate him into your
daily life. Just having a
support system is valuable
— everybody has problems
with the dog. It helps owners
to relax.”
Dogs need to know who’s
boss, she said. The dog is
happier when the owner
establishes him or herself as
the alpha, the leader of the
pack. Obedience training is
essential to the success of
the union.
“Most of the dogs you’ll
find in shelters are there
because they have a behavior
problem,” said Ken McCort,
animal behavior consultant.
“That’s the sad truth. They
go to the bathroom in the
house or whatever. People
give them up for adoption.
Training is really important.
It’s a form of communication,
teaching the animal how
to respond to specific cues,
which will teach them how
to live with you.”
People who don’t train
their pooches can’t talk to
them, he said. Their quest
for the perfect tail-wagger
goes unfulfilled.
“Everybody wants to
have a good house pet,” said
Linda Davis, an assistant
trainer and member of the
All-Breed Training Club of
Akron at Summit County
Fairgrounds. The club
was established in 1949 to
teach people how to teach
their dogs. The thinking
DOGS • 8
Hello,
my name is
Brian
Fierova
First-year
biology student
WHAT'S YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESO
LUTION, AND WHY?
“To pump some iron,
because I want to get stron
ger.
DO YOU THINK YOU WILL BE ABLE
TO KEEP IT?
“Yes, because I am work
ing out with friends.”
WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE CAMPUS
FOOD CHOICE, AND WHY?
“Taco Bell, because I’m
part Mexican.”
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE CLASS
LAST SEMESTER, AND WHY?
“Chemistry, because Dr.
Freeman is probably the
coolest professor around
here.”
DOGS OR CATS?
“Dogs, because my friend
has a really cool one.”
WHERE ARE YOU FROM AND
WHAT’S SOMETHING COOL ABOUT
IT?
“Spartanburg, S.C. We
have the world-famous
Beacon Drive-In.”
HCLLO • 9