danajohnhill.org | Hard Times Come Again No More

I am notoriously fond of free time.  I enjoy having things to look forward to, but am far less enthusiastic about having such limited down time, as is my current condition.

Nevertheless, I must take a moment to congratulate the Gainesville Roller Rebels on an important milestone.  Yesterday, before a crowd of several hundred, GRR held their first intra-league bout in the sweltering heat of the Alachua County Fairgrounds.  The amount of planning and preparation for this event–the first ever roller derby exhibition in Gainesville–was phenomenal.  Let’s just say it rivaled the 2008 Olympics.  It’s not true, but let’s say it.

The team was split between “Sinners” and “Saints”, and they faced off against each other for three 20 minute periods, augmented by a few Jacksonville Roller Girls to make up for the GRR girls on the disabled list.  The costumes were adorable, the makeup fantastic, the energy was infectious, and the crowd was enormous.  It must be considered an unqualified success, even if the score was rather lopsided in the Sinners’ favor.

I took hundreds of photographs, of course, but those will have to wait until my many papers and reading assignments are behind me.  In the meantime, check out the Gainesville Sun’s article on the exhibition.  They had reporters and photographers there, as did TV-20, whose report aired on the 11 o’clock news last night.  I wouldn’t be surprised if the Alligator had an article tomorrow.

This is a great time for GRR.  I just wish I had more of a chance to enjoy it.

Filed under: Gainesville, School, Sports on July 14th, 2008 | No Comments »

Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer, and I look forward to it every year because we generally do something fun, like travel.  This year, however, we were home for the holiday, and I went to work. 

In the evening, however, Kathleen picked me up and we went up to the Alachua County Fairgrounds, where the Gainesville Roller Rebels now have practice space.  It is just about ideal.  The building is enormous–many, many thousands of square feet–with a smooth, polished concrete floor.  The lighting is excellent, since there’s a garage door the size of a house on one end, and a wall of windows on two sides.  At the other end are bathrooms described as adequate.  Really, the only thing missing (and it’s kind of a big thing) is air conditioning.  The openness seems to keep it from being a furnace, but I wasn’t on skates.  The girls who were, obviously, were drenched.  We may have to get one of those big fans that have wheels.

Following the abbreviated practice, run by Ms. Rebel, GRR held a meet and greet, and a bunch of girls came out to watch the practice and sit in on the information session.  They asked good questions, and seemed genuinely interested, which I suppose was already obvious from their coming in on a holiday.  Some of them were acquainted with GRR players, but some were randoms, i.e., girls who had just seen a poster at Big Lou’s, for example.  Even if a quarter of them turn out to make the team, that’d still be good.  Patsy Clotheslineshowed me the article about her that was just published in a glossy magazine, complete with a photo of her I tookduring GRR’s bout with Jacksonville in April.

Some of the derby widows (the husbands and boyfriends of the players) had set up a barbecue out back, and there was chicken and hotdogs and hamburgers and assorted chips and soft-drinks and beer.  When everything was finished we went outside and chowed down, and it was awesome.  I declare hotdogs to be the ideal barbecue food, and here’s why: you can make underwhelming chicken, and you can botch hamburgers, but unless you burn them, hotdogs are always good. 

So, my Memorial Day came to the same conclusion as millions of other Americans’, with food and friends.

Filed under: Gainesville, Photography, Special Occasions, Sports on May 28th, 2008 | No Comments »

The roller derby season is really beginning heat up, as demonstrated by a frenzy of activity lately.  A couple weeks ago were assorted fund-raising events in conjunction with Pop Mayhem.  Last Saturday night was a band benefit at The Atlantic.  Essentially it was a rock show where the GRR girls got to keep the door money and merchandise revenue.  It turned out to be fairly substantial, and that’s good, because there are a couple bouts coming up, and they’ll need money to pay for the venue and related expenses.  Tonight there will be a “movie night” at Common Grounds, where the girls will serve popcorn and show Kansas City Bomber.  There’s another carwash in the works, and maybe a bake sale.  You can learn more at www.gainesvillerollerrebels.com.

Last night I traveled with the team to Lake City, where they have been practicing lately on a beautiful wood floor in a building they have all to themselves on Wednesdays.  It is ideal in every respect but one: it’s 40 miles away.  But the drive goes by faster when you carpool, and it was fun taking pictures, and I even got to hold a stopwatch.

Filed under: Gainesville, Sports on May 22nd, 2008 | No Comments »

Gainesville is in the grips of Pop Mayhem this week, and in spite of my general avoidance of all things social/nocturnal, I actually got out twice to see shows and old friends. My oldest friend Steve (file photo) had quite a bit of success in a band called Brittle Stars with mutual friends Josh and Dan and a singer named Estelle. I attended their very first show in the summer of 1998, but moved away soon thereafter, missing every other performance until their last, on New Year’s Eve 2000 (i.e., going into 2001) at The Wayward Council on University Avenue. So, I sadly missed the heyday of the Brittle Stars, and to this day have never even heard their album (released on the Shelflife label). So, what nice news to hear that the Brittle Stars would reunite for two shows in Gainesville, going so far as to fly Estelle in from her current home in Tel-Aviv.

On Wednesday evening Brittle Stars played at The Wayward Council (photo gallery), and in spite of that store’s tiny size and poor climate control, it’s really a pleasant place to see music, because there is no separation between the band and the audience. In spite of several years’ hiatus, they sounded much like I remember them, and the show, though only a half hour in length, was charming. In fact, that’s the best word I can think of to describe Brittle Stars. They aren’t a band of sophisticated musicians (though Steve is undoubtedly the most naturally talented guitarist I know), but the music doesn’t demand virtuosity. In fact, on the contrary, it demands subtlety and a kind of endearing simplicity. As though to emphasize the notion that you’re listening to the songs and the feelings they evoke, and not hollow showmanship or pompous affectations, the songs are almost all under three minutes. They start, give you a pretty melody and finish quickly, barely giving you enough time to absorb what you’ve heard before another tune begins. It’s a refreshing contrast to the haughtily ostentatious bands that offer all manner of pomp and pageantry, but little reward, and certainly nothing approaching a genuine song. The Avant-garde is all well in good for a momentary diversion, but in the end I think it demonstrates a certain contempt for the audience.

The Brittle Stars’ second show this week was on Thursday night at Common Grounds, and it was very well attended, even at a vulgar $11 per ticket. The audience was affectionate and the band sounded well. There was even a massive rock-out at the end with the band augmented by a tambourine and Josh’s lovely wife Tanya played bass so Dan could get his guitar on. We saw lots of friends new and old, which was confusing for me, since I recognized faces, but found it hard to recall the context of my memories. Jeff and Sandi deserve credit for driving an unreasonable 12 hours round trip to watch Thursday’s show. I headed home earlier than Miriam, but she stayed and had a marvelous time, which I think boosted her spirits.

Alas, on Monday it’s all back to normal.

Filed under: Friends, Gainesville, General, Nostalgia, Popular Music on May 10th, 2008 | No Comments »

I have been taking a lot of portraits lately, and am enjoying doing so. 

I don’t want to be presumptuous and call myself the “official photographer” of the Gainesville Roller Rebels, but I have taken pictures at many of their practices and promotional events, and this month began a series of individual player portraits.  It began with Evey Slammond, then last week was the extremely photogenic Patsy Clothesline, and last night I photographed Ms. Rebel herself.

Kathleen–aka Snow White–was on hand to do Ms. Rebel’s makeup, and the shoot was fun.  I still have to organize and edit last night’s pictures before I post them, but I am really loving the way each derby girl is bringing her personality to the fore in the photographs.  There are many ideas still to be explored, and I will post more about upcoming sessions in the future.

Filed under: Gainesville, Photography, Sports on March 26th, 2008 | No Comments »