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…
Adventures in Baking: Red Velvet Tres Leches with Ube Frosting
So we had another work social event involving baking a week ago, and I brought something I’m pretty proud of: a Red Velvet Tres Leches cake with Ube Frosting. The occasion was something called “NPR Cake Week” where stations around the country all make cakes around certain themes. I was a bit fuzzy on the…
Why I Intermittent Fast: Overall Health, Weight Management, Longevity, Easy
I was talking to friends about intermittent fasting the other day and I realized I’ve been doing it for so long I had started to forget the reasons why I was doing it in the first place. On the one hand, it’s good that I have so incorporated this diet into my life that I…
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…
How to Make Halo-Halo Pie (recipe)
For Pi Day this year, I wanted to come up with something silly, personal and not too hard. I remembered one of my favorite desserts of all time is Filipino halo-halo. Halo-halo (literally “mix mix”) is a a colorful conflagration of crushed ice, condensed milk, various candied fruits and beans, ice cream, and flan. It’s…
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…