A couple of weeks ago the LB POST published an article about Roller Derby in Long Beach, showcasing Shayna "Pigeon" Mikle, current owner of the roller skate shop on Retro Row, formerly and I think currently known as Moxi. The article attempted to coherently weave together the past and current state of roller derby in Long Beach, but, understandably, it was confusing as hell.
I would like to put something together about the past and present incarnations of roller derby in Long Beach. It's not an easy task.
To my knowledge, roller derby arrived on the scene in Long Beach with the league Long Beach Roller Derby. There were at one point, several teams, as well as a Jr. Roller Derby league. This league skated to the beat of its own drummer, that is, it did not skate according to current official flat or bank track rules. Hence, this league didn't play any other league's teams. LBRD was mostly the brainchild of Michelle "Estro Jen" Steinlin, and Lindsay "Diesel" Karnopp, who experienced both wild success as well as abysmal failure, as the League experienced smash hit status, and then a crash and burn death. Why? The consensus is mismanagement. And, some claim that funds went missing. There were a lot of hurt feelings as the league had lot of members and no real reason to end so suddenly. Many eager fingers point to Karnopp as the wrecking ball, but no one has evidence or proof. Just a lot of hearsay and hard feelings.
The second official incarnation of roller derby in Long Beach rose up in Long Beach All-Stars, a little group that formed to keep rolling the girls who cut teeth on LBRD and still wanted to skate. Headed by L.A. Derby Dolls veteran Natasha "Cannon Doll-X" Vineyard, this was a mash up fitness/derby group, sans teams, that practiced at Wardlow Park.
In the meantime, Pigeon formed Beach Cities Roller Derby, based in the South Bay. No association with Long Beach.
A year or so after LBRD dissolved, Steinlin and a team of her old skate-mates formed a new league, sans Karnopp, named Long Beach Derby Gals, hoping to revive the success and fame of the first incarnation. Partnered with Sean Ellis, owner of a production company who would provide the necessary sound and lighting needed to re-create the look and feel of LBRD, the new league promised all of the success of the former league, without all of the drama associated with Karnopp, which had by this point reached totally blown-out proportions. Teams were formed, with the majority of players skaters who had played for LBRD, along with a large group of new skaters beginning to learn the game. This time, the league would play by official WFTDA rules, hoping to play other teams as they gained recognition. But the plan was to kick out a season and make a ton of cash in order to get rolling. This didn't happen. Ticket sales were down, and costs were up. It appears that while Karnopp might have caused damage, she also was a crucial part of the first league's success. When it appeared that LBDG wasn't going to be the raging success that LBRD was, Stienlin and the rest of her team broke ties with Ellis, to whom they were in debt, and walked away from LBDG.
But LBDG didn't end there. Natalie "Buster Chassis" MacPherson, owner of Long Beach Skate, stepped up to continue Long Beach Derby Gals with Ellis, provided that league ownership be established on the basis of transparency and democracy. Ellis was interested in at least getting square on his original investment with LBDG. Practice continued, but now at the multi-use space Crafted in San Pedro, not Long Beach. Soon after, the practice space and grand schemes of LBDG became too expensive to fulfill for the fledgling league, and Long Beach Derby Gals cut ties with Ellis, and Crafted.
Out of the twice-burned remains of Long Beach Derby Gals arose Badfish, the current Long Beach roller derby league, based in Long Beach at MacPherson's shop, with scrimmages held at Bayshore Hockey Rink.
Recently, Beach Cities Roller Derby has added a team with Long Beach in the name, and Mikle acquired the skate shop previously solely owned by Stienlin. Still, Mikle doesn't operate a roller derby league associated with, or practicing in, or scrimmaging in, Long Beach.
There you have it. LBRD, then LBAS, then LBDG, and now Badfish, and never BCRD.
The main reason I wanted to set this straight is there are many, many ladies upon whose backs roller derby succeeds or fails. "Estro Jen" and "Diesel" had superstar quality as skaters and athletes, and charisma up the wazoo. But there are dozens of skaters who paid dues and then watched their hard work, dues, and derby dreams go down the drain as owners walked away, time and again.
When "Pigeon" was touted as a mother hen who was overcoming the bad blood amongst skaters in Long Beach, gathering them up like lost souls, I was offended, because other than taking the reins at the skate shop on 4th, she hasn't done anything to support roller derby in Long Beach, aside from occasionally supporting the Long Beach Junior Roller Derby league, the only roller derby league to survive out of them all. In fact, during one of the meetings held by Long Beach Derby Gals, discussing the future of the league, Mikle was asked if she would take on Long Beach Derby Gals as a division of Beach Cites. She replied quickly with a no, she was not interested. She did, however, use the final practice of Long Beach Derby Gals as recruitment night for BCRD. She benefited the most from the demise of Long Beach Derby Gals, and her recruitment of Long Beach skaters undermined the continuation of roller derby in Long Beach. It was only upon the action of MacPherson that adult Roller Derby has continued in Long Beach, period.
It is understandable that Mikle would not have wanted the debt attached to Long Beach Derby Gals, and Beach Cities has enjoyed the continued success and longevity that Long Beach has been unable to sustain. It is true that old hurts are disappearing, and Mikle seems to be the only leader left standing in Long Beach, however, her league operates outside of the city. If there is one thing that roller derby in Long Beach lacks, it's loyalty, to the skater, to the city, and to the fans.
If you are interested in roller derby in Long Beach, contact Natalie MacPherson aka Buster Chassis, and find Badfish on Facebook.
Showing posts with label Whimsy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Whimsy. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Smells Like My Heart Feels
Scents are magical. Due to the olfactory senses that we possess with our three-dimensional body, we attach scent to memory, emotion, and idea. I can recognize the scent of my best friend in her clothes, the scent of my grandmother's house in a tablecloth; indeed, a memory tied to a scent can almost paralyze me if caught arbitrarily.
But scent doesn't have to work with memory in a strict, directly experiential sense. I have two people in my life whose signature or favorite perfumes always represent them, even if I didn't often smell them on their skin, or in intimate situations. The association is still strong.
I have never been one to have a signature scent, although for several years I wore Theirry Mugeler's Angel perfume. I wore it out, I think. Over time I just couldn't smell it the way I wanted to anymore. Several people tell me that that scent reminds them of me, but I can't smell it anymore. I wonder if certain perfumes change their recipe, or can't get the same ingredients over time, or something else scientific I can't imagine. My tastes might have simply changed. It is a bit sweet for me nowadays.
For the past few years true commitment to a single scent has eluded me. I want to smell something so incredible that I pledge allegiance to it forever, but it is difficult to find that one fragrance. I would love it even more if that scent was already classic and respected, like Chanel No. 5 or Eau de Joy. But these perfumes are too strong for me, and they remind me that there might have been a time when bodies were not as bleached as they are today; you know, like perhaps there were more organic smells to compete with when the perfume was originally invented. I don't really know. I will smell something that I think I enjoy, then I wear it and get a headache, or get nauseous after a few minutes.
A perfumer that I have grown attached to is Jo Malone. Out of London, Jo Malone's line boasts several single-note fragrances that can be layered and interchanged to make new scents. While most perfumes must have bottom, heart, and top notes all in one bottle, Jo Malone's line lets you create these layers from a variety of notes. My problem is that I often only like lighter notes. I am in love with Nectarine Blossom, and Orange Blossom. Recently I have expanded to Mint and Jasmine Blossom, which I like because it smells almost exactly like a gin and tonic with lime. They also recently came out with a line that smelled of various teas, and I was smitten.
Aren't they lovely?
Recently I stocked up on my usual assortment of Jo Malone, and Neiman Marcus gave me a lovely little rose bag filled with samples of new perfumes, from all different lines and designers. Out of the ten or so sampled I really liked this one, ORIENS, by Van Cleef and Arpel
It's a bit spicy for me, but I think I might have found my grown up perfume. It smells like a romantic hug, or a hug with an open heart, ready to experience anything. It smells like the way my heart feels at the symphony, or the way my heart feels when I read something magical. I suppose it could just be enough to say that it smells like how my heart feels when it is open and vulnerable and filled with light.
And that kind of statement underscores the reason why I think scent is magical. Our bodies that are so marvelous, these vehicles that get us there, and house this energy and ether, need scent to explain other experiences. I hope my time with ORIENS is magical, as I take it with me today to the coffee house and read and write.
Afterward:
I failed to mention that in some cases the desire to smell a certain way is influenced by the whims of a lover. So, I will also be testing out L'ESSANCE Balenciaga Paris.
But scent doesn't have to work with memory in a strict, directly experiential sense. I have two people in my life whose signature or favorite perfumes always represent them, even if I didn't often smell them on their skin, or in intimate situations. The association is still strong.
I have never been one to have a signature scent, although for several years I wore Theirry Mugeler's Angel perfume. I wore it out, I think. Over time I just couldn't smell it the way I wanted to anymore. Several people tell me that that scent reminds them of me, but I can't smell it anymore. I wonder if certain perfumes change their recipe, or can't get the same ingredients over time, or something else scientific I can't imagine. My tastes might have simply changed. It is a bit sweet for me nowadays.
For the past few years true commitment to a single scent has eluded me. I want to smell something so incredible that I pledge allegiance to it forever, but it is difficult to find that one fragrance. I would love it even more if that scent was already classic and respected, like Chanel No. 5 or Eau de Joy. But these perfumes are too strong for me, and they remind me that there might have been a time when bodies were not as bleached as they are today; you know, like perhaps there were more organic smells to compete with when the perfume was originally invented. I don't really know. I will smell something that I think I enjoy, then I wear it and get a headache, or get nauseous after a few minutes.
A perfumer that I have grown attached to is Jo Malone. Out of London, Jo Malone's line boasts several single-note fragrances that can be layered and interchanged to make new scents. While most perfumes must have bottom, heart, and top notes all in one bottle, Jo Malone's line lets you create these layers from a variety of notes. My problem is that I often only like lighter notes. I am in love with Nectarine Blossom, and Orange Blossom. Recently I have expanded to Mint and Jasmine Blossom, which I like because it smells almost exactly like a gin and tonic with lime. They also recently came out with a line that smelled of various teas, and I was smitten.
Aren't they lovely?
Recently I stocked up on my usual assortment of Jo Malone, and Neiman Marcus gave me a lovely little rose bag filled with samples of new perfumes, from all different lines and designers. Out of the ten or so sampled I really liked this one, ORIENS, by Van Cleef and Arpel
It's a bit spicy for me, but I think I might have found my grown up perfume. It smells like a romantic hug, or a hug with an open heart, ready to experience anything. It smells like the way my heart feels at the symphony, or the way my heart feels when I read something magical. I suppose it could just be enough to say that it smells like how my heart feels when it is open and vulnerable and filled with light.
And that kind of statement underscores the reason why I think scent is magical. Our bodies that are so marvelous, these vehicles that get us there, and house this energy and ether, need scent to explain other experiences. I hope my time with ORIENS is magical, as I take it with me today to the coffee house and read and write.
Afterward:
I failed to mention that in some cases the desire to smell a certain way is influenced by the whims of a lover. So, I will also be testing out L'ESSANCE Balenciaga Paris.
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