On Tuesday I got back from one of the best trips to New York City ever. There’s a lot to recap, so here we go: Skating All Over NYC I was honestly most looking forward to finally getting to skate in NYC. Twenty years ago, I visited often the skate circle in Central Park and…
Category: Dancing / Music
What the In-person ILHC 2022 Was Like
Last Friday, Manu and I walked into an elegant, empty ballroom in Times Square, NYC. “You know where we are, right?” Manu asks me. “The Edison Ballroom?” I reply. “Naw, dude. This is the Supper Club.” I stop in my tracks as it hits me where I’m standing. We’re in the $%^&ing Supper Club! For…
My Hobbies Plotted against Depth of Relationships and Time Pursued
Rollerskating is an outlier, since I just started. But I feel like the depth of connections I’ve made in a short amount of time is pretty remarkable.
It’s Okay to Be Mediocre
On the way to work the phrase “embrace mediocrity” would not leave my brain. I sometimes get stuck wishing that I was better at <insert hobby or pursuit> and thinking I would enjoy it more if I could just do it with more expertise. Which is dumb and self-defeating thinking.
Filipino Swing Dancing from the 50s!
I don’t know anything about this clip other than it’s from a 1957 Filipino movie called Kalyehera. There’s a lot to unpack in this scene: The music feels very Elvis Presley inspired A lot of the dancing is “groove around then throw an airstep” which I suppose was probably what people were expecting to see…
Arthur Duncan Was My First Exposure to Black Dance
I like to say that “Beat Street” was my first exposure to Black vernacular dance. But if I’m honest it was Arthur Duncan on the Lawrence Welk Show. I wanted to be him so bad as a youngster! I would watch Duncan on our refrigerator sized color TV, entranced, and then try and mimic his…
Lizzo on Being that Bad Bitch
This has become kind of a mantra of mine. Whoever told you that you ain’t that bad bitch, you need to tell that person to shut the &$%# up… even if that person is yourself. Lizzo
The Three Purposes of Community
Someone said that true communities served 3 basic needs: to welcome and appreciate you, to help when you are sick or in need, and to remember you when you are gone. It came to me today at Quaker Meeting that these are also things that drive us to seek a life partner. (“In sickness and…
Incredible Time at 2-Raw Spring Skate Jam
Last Saturday, I participated in the “2-Raw Spring Skate Jam,” my first weekend-long rhythm skate party. It was held at the Sunrise Rollerland rink in north Sacramento. It was an amazing event and I’m so glad I got to be there. It’s been a little under two years since I started quad skating, so I…
My “Skate Influencer” Video from Venice Beach
It’s been nearly two years since I started quad skating, so I was past due for shooting a Instagrammer style skate video. I was in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago and managed to convince my friend Stanley to help me shoot this vid on a Sunday at Venice Beach. It was a sunny…