LUAM'S PERFORMANCE!

I've finally seen it

"It's just, a bit of sex occasionally never hurt anybody" says Russell Brand before millions, in a flippant apology to Jordin Sparks and the Jonas Brothers over the purity ring thing. It's true, I'm a bit latet. I mean, I've heard about it yeah, but I guess it was down played, it didn't seem noteworthy for a blog. And then last night, when I watched the VMA Celeb Remix, I was unpleasantly surprised by the comments that the foul mouthed brit made. I'm not sure if he knows it, and maybe it's different in Brittain, but "a bit of sex" has hurt many!

I mean, take one of the most popular Presidents of our time, Mr. Bill Clinton himself. I'm not sure if you remember the Lewinsky scandal, but if you don't, take a sec to refresh your memory. It does involve, "a bit of sex!" Let's see, I'm not sure if he's ever heard about far fetched thigns such as hmm, I dunno STD's, and HIV, which both, coincidentally can be gotten from "a bit of sex!" He probably doesn't know this but 19% of American adults have herpes. That's about 1 out of every 5. But I don't know, maybe you know herpes, and impeachment don't hurt people.

STARTING NOW...

... I prolly won't be editing my blogs much any more for the simple fact that, I am supposed to be starting OD and focusing on geAK. When I do have time I'll edit as much as I can and I may put some of the OD stuff on here... I don't know right now..

The difference

So, this isn't like most of my posts, where it's a reveiw of a video or a book or something, it's kind of like that rant on Marc Hill though. This post was inspired by a scene at my orthodontist:

"Mom! I LIKE upside down pictures" The boy is holding the bright red digital camera upside down. The Asian woman laughs, and says something in her native language to her small son holding the camera upside down,
"I LIKE it this way!" he continues in english. She finally relents,
"Okay," she says in english and the boy goes along taking pictures. He takes two of his m om, one of me, one of a fake plant, and one of the man staric curiously at him at the desk. All of the others in the waiting room only watch on, there faces reading disgust.

The scene went on, the mother even taking a few pictures upside down of her son, and then her son jumping up into one of the big straight backed chairs and her taking a picture. Then a few things began to tug at me. Why was everyone looking at them that way? When my mom came out of the back, and gave the child her look, her eyebrow up, and then she cast em a bemused look. I interpreted this look to not one of laughing with the child, but at him. I thought of what she would've done if that child would've been me:

First of all, we probably wouldn't have been in the predicament. I'm not sure I would've been allowed to be as loud, as the child was being, or to roam around, taking pictures of random things. I also definately didn't think that my mom would continue to allow me to take the pictures upside down. She would've corrected me, and continued to correct me until I took them right side up, which I would've.

I thought about the creativeness that this could possibly unfold into. The child had taken authentic photos upsided down, by flipping the camera over, and then he'd simulated ones by having his mom taking pictures of him, upside down in the chair. Something my mother would've never done if we'd have gotten that far. He was very adamant that the simulated ones weren't the same. Thinking this out a few years, and this child could turn into some kind of artist. IF his mom allows him to explore things like this on a constant basis, and this just wasn't a once in a lifetime thing then this child could continue to do funky things with these pictures, with sculptures, thinking about life from a different prospective and he could come out an artist. I actually shook my head as I thought this out.

How many artist have we lost because of this simple difference?

About to Come Home

Ok, so I'm about to come home, I'm done with camps so my posts won't be frequent.  As you guys know I don't have a computer at home, so I'll post whenever I can, but it will be limited... although I am happy I'm coming home, finally, I'm kind of dissapointed about this thing.. Oh, and I'm on facebook ya lozas so add me!

Queen of the Video

So, I was talking with a friend on the net right. And this particular friend is a music mogul, among other things, and she keeps me up to date on most things music, and kind of fuels the fire that is my dance. So, she tells me of this new video by Rihanna that's supposed to coming out soon called Disturbia and I immediately think of the movie, which I've never seen because it's scary, and I just don't do scary.
Anywayz, so after about 10 minutes of searching I've heard the song once, and seen a couple of different routines for it, and that's when the music guru finds it, the video is out, in it's entirety. So, I rush over, overjoyed because of the awesome routine by X-Faction(I'm going to have to reveiw them one day) intent on seeing dancing choreography in one of Rihanna's videos, an area in which she has been lacking.
I was confronted with a blond wig and white eyes, and immediately fell in love! As the video progressed I saw multiple shots where choreography could slip in, and they kept me on edge. So, then there was the cameo of those stunner heels, that will most likely be flying off the shelves as soon as the vid airs on tv, but never was there any solid choreo. Only teasers.
The cinematography was great though. I really did like the video as a whole. It actually reminded me of Aaliyah in Queen of the D***ed. When Rihanna turned around in the headdress, it only confirmed the comparison. I'm not sure if Anthony Mandler did this on purpose, or maybe I just look to far into things... but that's why you read right? But, yeah, now comes the msot anticipated... and sometimes dreaded time. I've actually been heavily considering the rating for this video. I thought of a 5 because everything worked together to procure this one mood. I even got a chill down my spine, which can mean 1 of three things, I loved it to death, I was actually afraid, and I hated it. Oh, yeah and it also could mean that when the thermostat here at Washington and Lee says 78 and I can see my breath, it's broken.
But yeah, then I knocked it down to a 3 because of no choreography. Then I thought about it, that's so biased. She should get underscored because of that but not 2 whole points. So, after careful reveiw, and I beleve this has been 21 minutes of deliberation, I've come to the conclusion that Disturbia by Rihanna gets a 4.5. Oh, and by the way she's not scored the same as Lil' Mama because Lil' Mama came out the gate dancing, Rihanna didn't.

Humor Me

I've found our current President humerous every since I saw a comedian do a set on him likening him to Yosemitie Sam. Now, I don't rememebr who the comedian was or what exactly was said, but I do remember laughing, and now everytime I see him I think of him with his fingers in the universal pistol sign going, "Pow! Take that Iran!"
Well as I've matuted in politics, and studied, and taken classes, this view of our President in a humorous light actually became stronger. Not, weaker as it should have, but stronger… and what he’s just recently done with our oil legislation has added to this.
If I’m not mistaken, and you smart “adults” out there correct me when I’m wrong, President Bush introduced legislation or mandates, or policy( I don’t remember which it’s called but I’m thinking policy) to move our country away from our dependence on oil. He wants to “ween” us off of this limited and negative externality laden fossil fuel. What I don’t understand, which is also what I’m thinking some economists don’t understand, is why in the world would you increase the supply of something you’re trying to stop using? Maybe I’m not understanding Mr. Casey right, but if you increase the supply of oil, that will cause the price to go down, which will in turn allow more people to obtain it(i.e. quantity demanded goes up) which will cause more dependence on it…hmmph…didn’t we want to get away from that?
But maybe, that train of thought is over my head… you know, to advanced for my meager 17 year old mind. So.. humor me.
All of you readers out there in blogger land…humor me for a second while I try out an idea, which undoubtedly has been mentioned before somewhere.
Why don’t we allow gas to go up? Woah! Bad idea right? But you’re just listening so I can get it out of my system… I’m only 17 remember, I don’t know how the world works. So, let’s say the price goes up. What if, dare I say it, the government puts a higher tax on gas instead of that tax holiday(which I HATE! BTW). Wait, I heard that gasp. Remember what we said, 17 year old at work here… not some accredited economist who studies this.
But, price goes up to..some say $8 right? What happens? Along with the $5 lattes you stop drinking, you stop driving your car. You demand better! So you know what happens while you’re walking, getting your workout and looking like a super model and not the guy from Super Size me? Some person comes along(like me hopefully!) or T.Boone Pickens, or some smart 87 year old, who says, “Hey, I can help you use your car again! You don’t even need that $8 gas. What about this biodiesel from algae, or these cars that run from electricity, or hydrogen, or something like that”. And what do you do with your Olympic-like body(you’re still humoring me right?) you run over to this dealer, and while all the salespeople are salivating, pick up this new technology and go back to looking like a happy overweight American, but with cleaner air. Oh, and side bar, clean air is better for the kids’ intelligence, but that’s another thought.
Now, I know that’s all hard to fathom but lets think, economically about why you want $8 gas. If gas is pushed to $8, the quantity demanded drops significantly! Who can afford it? If that goes down then demand for close toed shoes will go up since we’ll be walking. Think of how nice your clothes will fit. So people are going to demand alternatively fueled modes of transportation. When entrepreneurs see there is a demand for a product, they will supply it. Hmmm… how are we going to get them to take the dive into the sea of capitalism? One thought is we could fund their research with money garnered from taxing gas …but I’m going off on a tangent.
So we have the new vehicle and you say, walk all day, or drive! Even though you do love your killer bod, you’re a couch potato at heart so you get that vehicle. Where did the gas guzzling polluters go? To those rich un-cool people, who don’t need smart children!

http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/07/14/obama.naacp/?iref=mpstoryview

"Teaching our daughters to never allow images on television to tell them what they are worth; teaching our sons to treat women with respect, and to realize responsibility does not end at conception; that what makes them a man is not the ability to have a child but to raise one," he said. "That's a message we need to send."

Technorati

To increase traffic I'm using Technorati.Technorati Profile

New Blog

So, if you are a regular reader, and you're looking for some particular posts, that you are just dying to show your friends and can't find it, you might want to check the New Blog.  My New Blog is called pointethemout and it's at www.pointethemout.blogspot.com. If you are a reader of The Writer(Markese91) then you might remember this as a post title because it was.  It's no longer a post title because, That post has now been put on the new blog.  Most things dance, excluding dance reels done in the way of a movie, or music video, will be on Pointe Them Out from now on.  I know, alot of blogs, but this makes it more organized.. Well to me it does.

A'Drey

A'Drey, AKA Grapeov is also a choreographer that posts on YouTube. I found his vids, off of Luam's, and saw he had an actual reel that went along some line. I absolutely love it and that's why it's below. Fun, which actually comes at the end of the reel, is kinda funny, but you can still see the quality of the choreography is really good! I think I've seen all of the videos by A'Drey and none of them are below good. Some of them are not as good as others in my opinion, but they're all good. I'm sorry to everyone who's come out and gotten rated before, but I'm giving A'Drey the first 5 pied rating.

Miguel Antonio

Miguel Antonio Jr. is a choreographer that I found on YouTube. I really do love his work and that's why he's up here. Below ar etwo of his videos... ones that I found suitible for this actual blog. I don't like putting meaningless clips on here which is why these clips have length. Basically, the first is what Miguel calls his choreography reel. I was hoping for more of a story line but it didn't really have one, but it's still good because it combines alot of his choreography clips into the same vid for a culmination of his work.

The next video actually is kind of like a video to Danity Kane's Strip tease. I actually love this one, and wished that he would've kept going. If you want to see outtakes those are on You Tube, in his profile, just search his name or go to www.youtube.com/miguelantoniojr hmm... anything else... oh yeah, your rating. I give Miguel a rating of 4 pieds. You're beating Lil Mama at the moment, but come out with a reel, that's either a complete video of one song, or choreography that is meant to go to gether like a story, and I'll probably bump you up to a five..

Dish!

You dissappointed me Lil Mama, I'm not going to lie. I saw the title, Strike a Pose, and then saw the other title, I'm What it Is, and they struck two different chords in me. One said, crazy dance choreo! I mean, you just come off of America's Best Dance Crew, you've just seen all these dance crews do what you do best, so I mean, you'll undoubtedly have one of them in the video. Strike a Pose... sounds like Fish and Chicks to me... or maybe Kaba Modern. No, I just got Kaba Modern on the brain.

But anyway, then when I saw the second name, I'm What it is I was sure you were going to have Jabawockees come out there and tear it up, seeing as they just won the competition. They're 'what it is'. I was sure that they were going to like jump out of that crowd at any moment, or start dancing on those infamous steps you always tape on.

And then the beat started to actually permeate my thoughts, and get through my expectations. My eyes opened and I saw some throwback gear, a glimpse of a mohawk, spandex, and T-Pain. I think in total I saw 9 seconds of dancing.... oh, yeah, plus the posing. I'm sorry little momma but on the UKUW you get 3 pieds. 1 because of the way it was shot, great colors and themes, very professional, another because I kind of liked the mood and the actual words, and the last only because I had expectations in the first place. because you received a rating of 3 pieds... I'll be waiting for the next big thing from you... don't dissapoint.

Alexander McQueen

A procession of models in all back, followed by a newly renovated royal family feel describes Alexander McQueen's 2008 Fall RTW runway show to a T. Starting the show off with Amanda Laine in a shoulder baring halter top, asymmetrical skirt, leggings, and boots all in black, the mood is immediately set. The models are done up in dark hair, a pale coat over their entire body, and a heavy brow, up until look 24 where our palette is revitalized with golds and fresh fabric. By look 29 we complete our transition into the royal family and we are presented with deep, rich colors, in thick fabric. Consisting mostly of tulle, the skirts are very full, yet short

The first image is Amanda Laine, in the first look of the show. The mood that McQueen has created for the show is severe and effective. Amanda seems to be evoking the tone with her prominent, and clenched jaw, and angry demeanor. Amanda is from Women Model Managagement. The second picture is Guinevere Van Seenus, the 18th look. I really do like this fitted knitted cashemere dress. I absolutely love the hood, but that's probably because i am a hood person. The loose color, huge pocket, and skirt beneath to make the look have volume, and movement, only takes the already good design, and put it right on the edge of being over the top, making it a great look! Guinevere is from IMG Modeling. Siri Tollerød is the 29th look of the show. She is the beginning of the actual full fledged royal family feel. Head aloof, she doesn't strike the same nerve as Amanda did, but commands the same attention. The dress is magnificent, just the right length, with just the right amount of movement. McQueen has taken old corpses, and brought them back to life. Vlada Roslyakova, also from Women Model Management, was the 32 look of the show. In this look, McQueen takes a not so simple dress, with a tulle skirt, and adds a royal blue jacket. Coupled with indian diamonds, and a model who's nose is high enough that the front row can see her brain, McQueen makes sure to continue in his royal family theme. The last look of the show was, Alyona Osmanova, from Women Model Management. At first glance I am transported back to the movie, The Golden Age. It's not the same color, but Alyona enovokes the same feeling, the same attitude. The vibrant red commands power, while the bejewled headdress commands attention. McQueen has surely surpassed all of his own, and other shows for this season.

Private

 So the Legacy's come our, I think in February or something, and I've completed all the current books of Private.  Although I don't own any of them, through borrowing some friends and going to the library, I got ahold of each and every one.  Legacy though, I read while siting at Barnes and Nobles all Friday.

They are undoubtedly some really great books.  Not necessarily books that will be classic, unless classics are redefined, but they definitely are the books of the time, products of pop culture.  From the Vera Bradleys, to the Balenciaga shoes, Kate Brian the time era into 2008. Brian takes the old school method of plcing someone in a environment they don't belong in and lets "Glass-Licker" thrive.  From a house with a druggie mother, to a school money is not an issue, Glass-Licker is transplanted and must adapt quickly, and adapt she does.  Each year, her world is rocked by death and betrayal.  After one book, her entire world is turned upside down when her Inner Circle is taken away and she is faced with a changing Billings House.  A new leader immediately steps up and Glass Licker plans and executes a well needed coup d'etat.

Although it ends in tragedy, the coup d'etat is successful, and in the newly released book our Billings home is in search of a leader.  The Dorm has been through turmoil for a while and needs someone who's not just a smart mouth (and we find our just why they seem so omniscient).  Billings needs someone who will uphold tradition and will commit to the house's livelihood.  The new president, does exactly that.  Glass-licker doesn't seem so feeble after her last feat.

The Problem

Marc Lamont Hills is crazy!  Who in their right mind would look at Vogue cover and see LeBron James, as King Kong and Gisele Bundchen as the lady on King Kong!  Marc Hills is a fool!  How do you compare a rap video with the cover of Vogue?  He's talking a whole bunch of bullcrap.  He went and got a doctored and he's talking straight crap!  He says it;s representation.  It's not representation because LeBron James is representing himself and at most he is representing basketball since in the picture he is supposed to be the King of Basketball!  In videos, they have women, many women, on a regular basis, so that it generalizes black, and Hispanic women, and if I go to the highest extent all women in a sexual manner.  It's derogatory!  Using the B-word and saying hoes in reference with women in general is not the same as this cover!  Instead of being overjoyed because there is an African American male on the cover of Vogue, he's going out and spreading these seeds of disunion, of destruction, and of regress!  This, this is the problem with my community:  the black community!

I've seen this for a long time but I just haven't had the right motivation and here it is!  Our community is acting like crabs.  It's just one problem of many, but we're acting like crabs.  Instead of bringing one another up, and helping one another get to the next level, we try to grab onto anyone leaving.  We try to force our way along, and in the process we weigh one another down and bring everyone back to square one!

What Hills is doing is not what he should be doing.  As one who's studied Urban Studies or whatever he studied, he should be working to help us.  It should not be his prerogative to take a cover like that, which was bad only to one interpretation, and cause an issue over it.  In my opinion he should've had more education, more poise, and more class.  He should have pointed out that it was progress, albeit progress that he may not have agreed with.  He should've asked someone working with Vogue about it and he should've brought it up in an inquisitive manner, not an accusatory one!  He seemed like a very smart guy to me, until he opened his mouth and spouted all of that crap.

Woops

Soo, I definately apologize for not posting, but I've been really busy and I don't have computer access out of school, so I can't really edit this. I did write a reveiw of Miss Aquila, but it's been so long and my email acted stupid and didn't send it to here so, I'm just going to forget about it.
What I will talk about though, is Balenciaga and the fall 2008 RTW line.
Starting with a couple of black numbers that gives a new look to the little black dress, Balenciaga takes us on a trip throughout the different uses of fabric, and the different prints.
Introducing crazily draped tops that encompassed blue and white over black, Balenciaga attempts to take a step away from the pack and back into what made Balenciaga themselves.

The look beside this article is a personal favorite of mine. Althought it doesn't show the boots that were bulky and came up to about the bottom of the knee, that I liked, it does show the use of layers and textures to give the looks an awkward yet appeasing veiw. The no nonsense slicked back hair was complemented by the cropped jacket and the white peaking out from beneath the two black layers was set off by the white that was seemingly cut into the pants.

With simple silver jewelry(necklace, bracelets, and a single anklet) a heavy eye, and a naked lip, Balenciaga creates both a look and a feel. The small spices of yellow set off the look, in the shoe and on model, Kim Noorda's, fingers.