To a Bella Year

One of the most amazing things about 2007 was the re-discovery of AishaBella. (please subscribe on youtube!) She is quintessentially gifted; a writer, photographer, singer, comedienne, dancer, and beauty! And, Time is on her side, she's only 18.. I know that 2008 will be even Bella!

I remind her, being talented and gifted is not enough. Are you hungry? That is the question.
Check out aisha-bella's blog!

Goodbye My PinkFlamenco

Here is a link to my pal Miguel Perez website dcflamenco.com. He wrote a bloggy blog about the life and death of my artistic baby and dream the pink flamenco. Some day she will be resurrected. In the pic above, Miguelito plays the guitar while I hammer in the background to provide contra tiempo for dancer Ginette's ferocious footwork. Fyi, they used to call me Ms. Contratiempo -cuz I'll never miss a contra rhythm.

Pushing Buttons in the Studio with Keny G

I told AishaBella about my concept for a parody of the famous song by the Pussycat Dolls called, "Buttons." She laughs at my concept and the following day calls me on the phone to sing me the song parody she has written overnight. Aisha is in her last year of high school, but two weeks with her has taught me a thing or two. Her rendition is excellent, and it really needs no changes or editing, but we end up making changes together because the music video that is already in my head requires some explanations. A few days later, we are filming the music video, even before going into the studio to sing the song. She has memorized the words, I haven't, so of course she is the lead Pussycat. Click on image for viddy.


On Friday night, we went into Keny's studio. We filmed our singing, we took pix. Aisha even pushed some of the Pro Tool engineering buttons while Keny laid down a few vocal tracks. I can't wait to edit this mo fo.

My BadTV partner is a F'in genius

Seanie Blue doesn't think his new website is ready to link to Badtv.com, but I do. Hope he won't mind my linky link.

He can do everything and anything he sets his mind to: poetry, fiction, prose, cinema, editorials; writes contracts like a lawyer, reports on anything -- even coal mining regulation. He takes amazing photographs and turn them into works of art; made poetic films with million dollar reviews (sans the million bux budget); can draw like Picasso but design for 21st century technology, can write great songs when he has never studied music, and even sings with feeling. He has motivated and inspired more people to follow their dreams than anyone else I know. My life would not be what it is without him. He is my brother, my best friend, my creative partner . . . in every aspect of what helps me make my life full.

One charismatic motherfucka, too.

But check out this little letter written to a friend about the drag of needing to read and the pain of wanting to write: Butterfly Ballet. This is the sort of essay he throws away without thinking twice about it. It makes me crazy! (crazier than usual ;-)

Family Trouble: I have to do more Britney

This video is a re-post of the re-tooled parody music video. Britney's record label had the original pulled after over 115,000 views. I take it as a compliment.

Homage to Hot For Words

I love Marina, the babe behind hotforwords (please subscribe!), and this means I have to imitate, if not blatantly rip her off, which means a new vid exists and I'm pushing it on you. All you have to do is click HERE to get my take on the study of noise.

Grizzly Scene

We’re driving in the badTV RV, on a dirt road 30 miles away from any city, deep in the burned woods of Montana, when I yell to Seanie, "Look, there’s a Grizzly running right in front of the jeep ahead of us!” The jeep never slowed down, and thankfully misses the intrepid bear. Then, the grizzly stops because we stopped, and he or she looks directly at us for one brief moment, but a moment burned in my mind's eye. By the time I grabbed my cameras he was meandering away like predators normally do, nonchalantly, at a 45 degree angle, never spilling a pheromone of fear, and never showing his whole back -- until the bear is at a safe distance. Sean told me he wanted to get out of the truck "and go a few hundred yards" to get better pix of the bear. I don't think ultimatums should be part of one’s vocabulary, but in this instance I felt one was necessary: I told Sean that if he got out of the badmobile, and if he managed to get back in after chasing a 1,000+ pound Grizzly or visa versa, that I’d have him drive me to the nearest airport to get on the next plane home immediately. Sometimes too much testosterone needs to be smothered by a large dose of good old motherly oxytocin.

I-Rocky Plane Ride (Iraqi Plain Talking)

On the plane ride over to Missoula, Montana, Clark, a twenty-three-year-old Marine with killer dimples and flirting strategy is returning from his second tour of duty in Iraq and asks if he can sit next to me. Sure, I say. He is one charismatic dude. I am mesmerized by his infectious enthusiasm for life despite witnessing the horror of war. I ask him questions, but he would rather flirt. If anyone knows me, I am stubbornly persistent; my mother used to call me Mosca (translation, the Mosquito). So finally he surrenders and tells me amazing stories of courage and chance, including one in particular of how two bullets missed him because he was thirsty, and how he "blew the brains away" of that sharp shooter that would have killed him had he taken one more step while clearing that mine field. He tells me this story and afterwards has his usual dimpled smile which is balanced by a strong cleft chin. As he drinks his Heineken, I wonder how he can be so positive, and not have PTSD after such an experience. He notices the look in my eyes and reminds me, "I chose to be there." This breaks my shock and awe, and we joke around some more, and I even lose a bet -- I can't remember what it was -- so my "penalty" is to kiss him on the cheek. He then asks if he can kiss me after he asks, “how old are you, 25, 26?" I should have planted one on him right then and there, but I couldn't. (Shhh . . . I'm probably closer to his mom's age than his.) Because of all the turbulence, both literally and figuratively, I let him put his arm around me when he noticed I was pretty concerned about the prospect of landing on earth. I hate planes. Should have gotten a picture of him, but I got his number, so maybe he'll send me one of him in his uniform for my bloggy blog.

Captured by VideoChick at SouthTube

I got to watch myself. Because somebody may be watching me.

This video is by YouTube Monster VideoChick770 a real hero. Check her out, she's helping change the world. I plan on going to the 888 YouTube meetup she is throwing in Toronto!

In Defense of momma Britney

Usually, I get death threats and imprecations directed at me when my offbeat parodies go up online, but not this time. Britney's foibles have touched a nerve and it seems everyone is out for her blood. But one exception comes from a poster named richie867, an admirer of Hannah Montana, who writes BadTV to tell us we are simply jealous of Brit and that we should leave her alone and that I am a bitch. Of course BadTV attorney Mr. Orange responds directly to Richie, and leaves this candid message on his youtube channel:

"I'm glad you came to Britney's defense after we posted our video. She's one of the hardest workers in show business, and we admire the way she's used her talents to become such a force in entertainment. Of course we are jealous of her and wish we could have the opportunity to impact society in the same way, and this means we are likely to do small, petty things when we can to take advantage of her skills and connections. But make no mistake: she works harder than anyone in the business and we compare ourselves to her in this sense every day. How can we do more? How do we turn our days into 12 hours of dance and choreography and song-writings and recording? She inspires us to work harder and kick butt exactly the way any artist would inspire us."

Nice to have a lawyer who does what you tell him to do.

Monarch's Last Stand?

This is a monarch, dying in my hands. Or dead, already.

Sean called me from Mexico: can I fly down in 2 days to film the Monarch butterfly for a show about genetics for the Discovery Channel? Travelocity finds me a cheap last-minute deal and 48 hours later I am in Cuernavaca and then on the road to the monarch winter grounds four hours north of Mexico City, in the freezing dawn. Not a damn butterfly in sight. I'm in the North Face gear, wrapped for the icebox, and thinking maybe there is a wild goose somewhere, when all of a sudden matching the Sun's slow rise there are wings stretching and flitting. Seemed like we couldn't take a step without crushing one of these beautiful creatures. I tip-toed from shot to shot, marveling at the thousands (millions?) of orange, black and white butterflies around me. They are quickly disappearing due to habitat loss, and there is no phenomenon in nature quite like them -- how do they map their routes from North America to Mexico every year? There is no DNA code explaining their knowledge of latitude and longitude. How do they freaking know?

(click Mexico above to see article sent to me by my pal dancegypsy.)

Pix are stolen from BadTV partner Blue's new webbie.

Gettin' Down with TubeGranny

foto by Camille aka DanceGypsy on Utoob. Check out her channel for cool Flamenco posts, she is my Flamenco soul sister- more on her later!

I went to Marietta, Georgia, where I was born, for the SouthTube gathering (thanks badTV). It was a surreal experience because of all the cameras filming at once. So many eyes, so little time, so many new friends.

In the pik above, I get to shimmy with tubegranny and the shimmy is basically 24 hours with tubegranny, coming right at you from the Cobb County Jail. Granny crazy! I like her video about calling Wal-Mart to see why there is salman-ella in her jar of peanut butter. She is my new fav on Utoob.

No Fear and Loving in Las Vegas

I get a call from my best friend en route to a casino in the desert, can I show up in 24 hours with an Elvis outfit to be witness at a wedding?  I wonder if I should bring a shotgun.  Within 24 hours I was on a flight to Vegas.  They got married at the Little White Chapel.   My Elvis impersonation wasn't the  best,  but I always try my best!  

Can I have a Witness?

Now you didn't really think I would dress like Elvis during the wedding now did you?  Did it after!  Congratulations Tony and Karen!  I love you guys.

GEOGRAPHY ACCORDING TO BLACK

I put this video up yesterday on my channel, hoping to profit from the misfortunes of the ditz from Carolina who thinks South Africa and The Iraq are locate somewhere near Alaska. No death threats yet.

With Love from Iraq

Children often seem like old souls. This small movie from Iraq and Iran directed by Bahman Ghobadi taught me never to grow up in a War Zone;

Turtles Can Fly

This movie blew away the Berlin Film Festival. It will change the way you look at American war movies. Suddenly, "Saving Private Ryan" seems like nothing more than a grotesque study in rampant violence.

Singularity

I like what Blue told me the other day on an impromptu trip to Lake Eerie, "There is an importance of recording and cataloging a sense of awe and singularity of an experience, isolated from habitual schedule and routine. Experience should be like a rainbow -- you are never quite prepared for its beauty. Always a surprise. " Blue of course, was talking about cataloging experience in your mind's eye, not about videotaping or photographing all of your experiences. This leads me to the question, does shooting an event diminish your personal experience of it? I believe it can and often does. But I do it in order to share and say something.
foto by Blue

Impulse

On the way to Broomes Island I asks Blue, "Why am I so impulsive?"
Blue tells me, "Boredom and intelligence.. a very bad combination."
I don't know about the intelligence part, but boredom is my navigator.

foto by Blue

If the rain brought me to your door, would you open it?

Quantumly Engaged With Love at a Distance

My pal Beto gets married today to a babe he conjured up from cyberspace who turns out to be more beautiful in the flesh than onscreen, and they make these gorgeous rings for today's wedding. His ring is on top, but usually hers is ;-) Designed by the couple with Linda Hesh and Eric Margry, the rings were actually engraved by hand by Eric Margry, who is one of the top hand engravers left in America. But here's the really cool part: Alberto gets a mathematical formula called "Quantum entanglement," cut into the inside of the ring, designed by mathematical photographer, Justin Mullins. This is Mr. Mullin's picture of the formula:

. . . and the formula is explained for geniuses at this link to the photographer Justin Mullins.

But what do I think? It's my blog.

Quantum entanglement, like action at a distance in physics, is the process through which two bodies influence each other with no known conduit. It is love at a distance, and Beto's love was more than 3,000 miles away. How can two people be so intimately connected in spirit without being able to touch or see the object of their affections? The formula itself cannot explain one of the deepest mysteries of the universe, love.

Is it possible to love at a distance- even before the first meeting? I know so. ..

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ring designed by the betrothed duo, Eric Margry and Linda Hesh
engraving performed by Eric Margry
formula created by Justin Mullins

Meeting Edward C. Smith

The gentleman knows the world before him. In an hour, you see American life differently. Edward C. Smith is a treasure, one of those rare human beings who alter your orbit and destiny in only a few minutes of an encounter. I filmed him with history teacher Mike Corey, with whom i am creating a show called "The Future of History" for the MemeChannel.

Exer- I mean- Exorcising Addictions

Addiction- everyone has them. The question is, should they be exercised, or exorcized. We are always running toward or away from addictions when not immersed in them. My pilot crashes.

I never met heroin, but the video on addiction I am working on will be dedicated to Peter who overcame it, K1tten who is fighting it, and Jenne who died from it.

What the fuck does this duck want?

Imprinting is a way of being defined by nature, or is it nurture? Mother, Nature, brands us all -- Anew. But in this bird's case, nature could be simply a really hungry belly . . .

My Life in somebody else's Universe

If I ever get a million dollars, I will give part of it to Chris Doyle, who shot the mesmerizing "Last Life in the Universe." Director Pen-ek Ratanaruang says in the accompanying interview, that a location is every bit as important as the players and the script, and Doyle's camera brings you into the place, which then stays inside you for days after. I will be thinking about being in this hiding place of Pen-ek's and Doyle's for a long time, at least until next Wednesday, by which time my routine and route will have made me numb enough to consider watching something like Tom Cruise.

Last Life in the Universe