Karen's Krazy Christmas Music

I wanted to write a holiday blog, but I'm just not that in to it. Instead I asked my best buddy Karen 'KC' Culp for permission to post her ultimate awesome Christmas music playlist. What sums up the season better than the music,anyway? I dare you to compile all of the songs (I know I'm gonna!) and play them in succession. It's guaranteed to be pure holiday enjoyment, like... egg Nog, life-sized Nativity scenes, and blue decorative lights. Dig in you holiday-loving heathens!!

Here's Karen's list (thank you KC!!) with some pretty hilarious commentary included:

All I want for Christmas is You, Mariah Carey
Please Come Home for Christmas, the Eagles
Santa Baby, Eartha Kitt ("and fill my stocking with a duplex ... and checks ...")
All I want for Christmas is You (a different song from the MC one) by Vince Vance & the Valiants
Christmas Wrapping, the Waitresses
Christmas in Hollis, Run DMC ("it's Christmastime in Hollis, Queens; Mom's cookin' chicken and collard greens")
Step into Christmas, Elton John
Blue Christmas, Elvis (of course)
Santa Claus is Comin' to Town, the Jackson Five
Last Christmas, Wham
Baby it's Cold Outside, Ann Margaret and Brian Setzer (sexiest version of this song EVER and not just because of my ongoing girl crush on Ann Margaret)
Santa Claus goes straight to the Ghetto, Charles Garris
Merry Christmas, Baby, The Four Tops (though the Lou Rawls version is good, too)
What Christmas means to Me, Stevie Wonder
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, the Temptations (don't settle for any white-folk version of this classic!)
White Christmas, Elvis
Go Tell it on the Mountain, the Joyous Voices (a black gospel choir I like)
Honky Tonk Christmas, Alan Jackson
I Only Want You for Christmas, Alan Jackson
Merry Christmas Strait to You, George Strait
When it's Christmastime in Texas, George Strait
What a Merry Christmas this Would Be, George Strait
Christmas Blues, Canned Heat
Christmas in Dixie, Kenny Chesney w/ that dude from Alabama (I don't like Alabama — it's BS country — but I like this song)
Pretty Paper, Willie Nelson w/ Asleep at the Wheel
Merry Christmas from the Family, Robert Earl Keen (Fred and Rita drove from Harlingen; I can't remember how I'm kin to them; But when they tried to plug their motor home in; They blew our Christmas lights)
Santa Claus and his Old Lady, Cheech and Chong
The McKenzie Bros Christmas song, The McKenzie Brothers

SF hip hop dance fest 2009

I was totally resisting going. C-Dizzle and I made plans to go, but by the end of the week I was so tired that all I wanted to do was sleep alllllll day. EDT had a pizza and family guy marathon on Saturday, so it would have been easy to sleep in. I'm so, so glad I went, and I need to thank Chelsea for dragging my ass there.
From the second I stepped into the theatre, my eyes were glued to the stage, and I'm sure my faced was fixed in some perpetual expression of awe, enjoyment, satisfaction and surprise. New Style Motherload was on stage when I walked in, and they were WORKING IT! There were guys jumping up in the air and kicking, flipping, and bouncing in unison. All the while there were some fabulous male dancers vogueing and waaking in the background. The entire dance company came out for the finale and hit it so hard. The sheer energy of the performance was enough to move me to tears. I felt something inside of me shift, like everything was moving over for a new kind of love in my life. I don't think I stopped crying throughout the entire show.
There was one performance, though, that touched me the most. It was done by a group called Ill Abilities, and it is 3 guys: One who is deaf, on who as an amputated leg, and one with a rare muscular disorder in his legs that prevents him from standing upright. I don't want to dwell to much on these challenges because they should in no way define this group. Their performance was OUT OF THIS WORLD! The music was mixed in with clips of their monologues, their life stories, saying things like "I loved to dance so much, but I didn't want anyone to know...I couldn't hear the music" then the dancer would bust out with these crazy ass moves. It was so inspirational, and made me even more motivated to get off my ass and work and stay positive, because there are bigger battles to overcome than the ones inside of our head.
There were groups from all over the world, Norway, Korea, Ireland, UK, and many crews from the US. I could say so much more about this performance, but it would take like 3 blogs to fully express my love for what I saw on Sunday. These dancers, putting all of themselves out there, pushing their physical and our mental limits, THIS is what dancing is all about. I feel like on Sunday, I bore witness to the meaning of dance, the meaning of filling your artistic well, and the definition of hard work, group energy, and creativity. I just need to thank SFHHDF for that and all of the crews that performed, and once again, Chelsea for dragging my ass there. Who knows, maybe EDT will be on that stage one day? We can only work harder, keep plowing forward and hope for the best.
Until Next Time!!!
x0x0x0x0x ~B~

Currently in the Works: WhatchaSay

Dancers: Me, Chelsea, Jackie (filming) = EDT

Song: Whatcha Say by Jason DeRulo 

Key Points to an Amazing Friday (or any day)!

1) Stand up for yourself, mean it, and get exactly what you want. 

2) Use any amount of time, even as little as 30 minutes, to devote to your creative self. 

3) Take care of mundane business, and see what magical happening comes out of it. 

4) Treat yourself to, or let someone treat you, to a whimsical, fantastic treat of some kind

5) Meditate. Do it outside, breathe in the air, look at the colors, and feel how amazing it is to just BE. Let the fabulousness of your day sink in. Drink it like a cool tall glass of sweet tea. 

6) Be very, very grateful. 

Fallllllll

Fall is always the time of year when change is set in motion for me. I get restless around September, then by October things are haywire. I make big decisions very quickly this time of year, it just feels like the time to do it. The big news is we are living on a boat right now! It is so quiet and peaceful, and I feel like my creative brain really has a lot of room to play. Of course, the ideas I come up with now require dance studio space rental to come to life, but I enjoy the idea of a weekly choreography 'ritual'. Every Friday betch, get in the studio and WORK! I am currently writing a book, and making big plans for the Spring. Expansion Dance (EDT) has done a couple of performances in October that we are really, really proud of. I feel like something is brewing! Working with Chelsea and Jackie is a great experience. It's not always easy to be friends and creative partners, but this group has chemistry ('Magic' like Amy Sigil says), and I am really grateful for the work ethic and fun we all bring to the table. It is often hard to work in a group, but when you spend less tim squabbling over leadership, etc, and more time dancing, the magic seems to make itself. Oh well, that's all for now. As I said, things are in motion, and B's brain is BUSY!!!!!!!! I love you :) 

Bon Qui Qui's SuperDiva L1/L2 Workshop Playlist to Strut your Stuff to....

Here it is!!! All of the music we played throughout this last week. 

At The Club- The Pack

Get ur Freak On- Missy Elliott

Hypnotize- The Notorious BIG

In the Ayer (feat. Will.I.am)- Flo Rida

It's Me Bitches (Instrumental)- Swizz Beatz

Light Your Ass on Fire (f/Pharrell)- Busta Rhymes

Mommy- Missy Elliott

Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)- Billy Joel

Ms. New Booty- Bubba Sparxxx

Billie Jean- Michael Jackson

Blame it on the Boogie- Michael Jackson

Crazy- Gnarls Barkley

F**k Me Pumps- Amy Winehouse

Lip Gloss- Lil Mama

Make it Hot- Lil Mama

Philadelphia Freedom- Elton John

Poker Face- Lady GaGa

Rehab- Amy Winehouse

Saturday Night's Alright- Elton John

She's a Bad Mama Jama- Carl Carlton

Soul Survivor- Young Jeezy & Akon

Stayin' Alive- Bee Gees

This is Why I'm Hot- Mims

Vans- The Pack

Whatever you Like- T.I. 

Addictive (f/ Rakim)- Truth Hurts

Don't Go Breaking My Heart- Elton John & Kiki Dee

Hit 'Em Up Style- Blu Cantrell

Pass That Dutch- Missy Elliott 

As If We Existed- Solillaquists of Sound

P.Y.T (pretty Young Thing)- Michael Jackson

Shake it to the Ground- DJ Blaqstarr Rye Rye

Master Blaster (Jammin')- Stevie Wonder

Squeeze Me- Kraak & Smaak 

Wildcat- Ratatat

Took the Night- Chelley

Pro Nails Remix- Supr Hight Shine (feat. Kanye West)

Milkshake- Kelies

I Wish- Skee-Lo

Rock Steady- Aretha Franklin

Don't Stop 'Til you Get Enough- Michael Jackson

Vienna- Billy Joel 

The Seed 2.0- The Roots & Cody Chestnutt

Goodby Yellow Brick Road- Elton John

Tiny Dancer-Elton John

Don't Let the Sun Go Down On Me- Elton John feat. George Michael

This is My Jam- Something Terrible 

Fire- The Ohio Players 

Mama Said Knock You Out- LL Cool J

Love Rollercoaster- The Ohio Players 

Superfly- Curtis Mayfield

Lady Marmalade- Labelle

Slide- Missy Elliott 

You Sexy Thing- Hot Chocolate

Tell me Something Good- Rufus 

Superstitious- Stevie Wonder 

Enjoy!! Let me know if there are any additions/corrections! 

NJ

So I just got back from going to New Jersey with Suhaila. We taught 13 hours a day, Level 1 in the morning, Level 2 in the evening, and it was intense. It was SO MUCH FUN though!!!!! It was so cool to be dancing all day in place of my desk job. It's amazing how your mentality shifts to a much happier space when you're 'feeding the fire'. I have to recommend that anyone who can take a week to live their 'ideal life' (see last exercise in the artist's way) take some vacation time and do it. It's great to see, hear, smell, and feel what it's like to have a part of your dream realized. To be in the classroom both imparting and receiving wisdom for what would usually be a normal work day was truly a gift.  I was grateful to be TAing with Angie and Abby under Suhaila's wing, and to be able to watch each individuals certification process and (almost) weeklong progression. Other things that happened: Got in touch with my inner Drag Queen, discovered Bon Qui Qui (I will cuuutttt you), and made a host of new friends. Kim was an amazing sponsor and took really great care of us, and as usual I learned way more than I bargained for while in the classroom with ThE Suhaila.  I'm so happy to be home now, I got to snuggle with my Maaannnn and go to a rehearsal at shoebox after a short nap. Overall I feel dancetastic and totally motivated! I'm ready for more creating, transitioning, and progression in the coming weeks/months, and excited for a quick visit home next week! Can't wait to build forts with Marleigh.... **twinkle**