America's Best Dance Crew (Season 3) – MTV Shows I don't watch network or cable TV. What with Netflix (DVDs and streaming), Hulu, iTunes, YouTube, etc., I don't feel like I am missing out much. That said, I really wish I had cable so I could watch "America's Best Dance Crew" in its full, non.jpgxelated…
Category: Dancing / Music
Iranian hip-hop artist Yas performing at Islam & Virtual World event (video)
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the event "Understanding Islam through Virtual Worlds" at the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs with about 50 other people. The gathering featured Rita King and Joshua Fouts discussing their project to research how Muslims have been using virtual worlds, particularly Second Life, as a medium to…
Dancing alone, dancing in community
Several people at Quaker Meeting today wanted me to share this message I spoke at Meeting for Worship this morning. So here’s the gist of it: Last night I attended two dances. I ended the evening at a soul party in Fort Greene. There was a certain kind of joy in the room, with a …
The Mighty Hannibal at the Five Spot in Brooklyn tonight (video)
I just got home from "Dig Deeper", a monthly soul jam at the Five Spot in Fort Greene. Tonight the featured performer was the Mighty Hannibal, a 69-year old soul artist from Atlanta, backed by the Sweet Divines. Hannibal is still a powerful performer, despite losing his eyesight a few years ago. I love…
Legendary lindy hopper Norma Miller on TODAY show talking about Obama and swing as a unifying force
Here's a neat clip of pioneering lindy hopper Ms. Norma Miller on the TODAY show on NBC from a couple of days ago. Norma talks about how historic Barack Obama's presidency is and how swing has always brought people of different races together in harmony. Norma at 90 years young continues to perform and appear…
“Continuing the Dream of Dr. King” with spoken word, drum, and hip-hop violin
I have gotten around to uploading some more video from the past couple of days in DC for the presidential inauguration festivities. One of the coolest events I attended was a multi-arts celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King at the National Cathedral called "Continuing the Dream." About 1,000 people gathered for a series of spirited…
$6 Inaugural swing ball at DC’s Jam Cellar on Tuesday!
Here's another tip for those of you headed to Washington DC for the Presidential Inauguration this Tuesday: The evening of January 20 is full of pricey inaugural balls starting at $150 and up. Well if you have forgotten to pack your ball gown or your wallet is feeling a bit light, you might want to…
Swinging into the Metaverse: the “Slindy Hop” dance animation
From my friends at SLCN.tv: SLindy Hop is a Second Life couples' dance animation by Maar Auer. It was released July 2008 in SLCN.TV's Live Tonight Show by Paisley Beebe. You can watch the entire episode here. This is just a cut from that show, showing only the SLindy Hop. Dancer's outfits were generously sponsored…
“Soul of Shaolin”: cheesy plot mars stellar martial arts and acrobatics
Tonight I got to see the "Soul of Shaolin" show at the Marquis Theater on Broadway. It's an amazing spectacle of shaolin-style kung fu and acrobatics, with twenty-some martial artists displaying near superhuman feats. It's inspiring just seeing what the human body is capable of with discipline and years of training. I particularly enjoyed the…
Microsoft Songsmith: so wonderfully bad it hurts
You know when you something goes bad in the fridge and you just HAVE to have someone else smell it? Oh this is terrible, get a whiff. It's in that same spirit that I am compelled, I tell you, compelled to share with you this wonderfully craptastic advertisement for the Microsoft Songsmith. Now it is…