one of the best.

if i have to back-it-up (no pun intended) and watch it again, then it's a dance that has really caught my attention. there were several from season 6 of sytycd that did just that, but here's one that really made my jaw drop during the finale. when jakob does that double-fist punch to the ground, i kinda' lose it.

party like it's 2100.

i fell in love with travis wall in season 2 of sytycd.
and i've been so happy to see him as a choreographer now.
so.happy.
i love his non-verbal response to ellen's costuming comments.
classic.
and i love the dance too. the song really drives it.
mia's right; travis does have it going on.

ruby blue

my favorite dance from this week's show (way to go wade robson!)
also. brandon and janette are true performers.
they commit to their characters all.the.way.
and. i like this roisin murphy song too. it's a good one.
another and. i love wade and amanda robson.
one of the cutest couples ever. ever.

i'm missing mj too.

with all of the memorable mj tributes that i could post (where to begin?!), i am thankful for this fellow stevie fan who recorded stevie just being himself at one of his concerts last week. mourning but also celebrating the brilliance that is michael jackson. this is the total essence of stevie live but taking a break to remember a friend.

on stevie's left is his daughter aisha (as in "isn't she lovely" -- love her!) and then my faaaaav stevie back-up singer is on his right: keith. he's rocking, as usual, the silver music note earring that i kept trying to convince cody to also rawk last year. but to no avail.

like the rest of the world (quite literally) i'm missing mj too.

you can dance if you want to

So my mom just sent me the link to this video, and I immediately knew it was worthy of posting on here. We've all seen the group-choreographed vids' on youtube, but this one has found a special place in my heart. It's especially pertinent because:

1. I'm becoming more and more convinced that my one constant these days is a train station. I live in them. I even stopped at the very station that this video takes place in while passing through Belgium last summer. Euro train stations are always a-buzz, always a-flutter, and this video does the atmosphere, my seemingly one true constant, justice.

2. I'd say the number-one reason why people knock musicals is because they argue that "it's just not realistic to have people spontaneously breaking-out in song and dance". Oh contraire. After watching this video, you'll see why the ol' "realistic" argument is just rubbish. Rubbish, I tell you. It's obvious that song and dance, whether choreographed or spontaneous, is simply a normal part of life. I know it is for me.

3. Um, hello -- this is the Sound of Music! Do.rey.mi.fa.so.la.tee.do in Europa! And to top it all off I'm going to Austria this weekend! I'll be in Vienna and then Salzburg... I'll be standing (and of course dancing) in the very places that made this song so beloved, so treasured. Life-long dream being fulfilled here... after having the line about 'my birthday being on Tuesday and wanting a pink paracel' and all that jazz quoted to me too many times to count, it's about time I explored Salzburg first-hand.

Here I come!

talking heads

I am posting this Talking Heads video simply because I just realized how insanely cool it is.

"This Must Be The Place". I love this song. You could say I dig it. Big time.

And is it not way ahead of its time? Or maybe we are now just living in the throw-back of this era... I mean just look at the background video and the clothes -- especially on the three ladies... hello 2009 -- except this was 1984. Much of today's art is just echoing this video. We're trying to emulate this look, this vibe. Look closely and tell me I'm right? Or, you have groups like The Arcade Fire and MGMT trying to cover this song -- and they're stylistically good, real good, but there's still nothing like the original.

Go ahead and pull out your best lamp dance moves for this one (David Byrne's the man here). Or just rock-it-real-cool-like, just as the background singers do. This, my friends, is what we call a jam.

gotta have that funk

These kids have got some moves. Seriously folks - I want to be one of them. This commercial says it all... 

"being with people who understand you: priceless."

Isn't that the truth?

You simply have to watch this commercial more than once to fully 

appreciate it. In fact, I watch it about once a week.

i feel it all; i feel it all...

One of my favorite San Diego treasures has got to be going to concerts on the water outside of Humphrey's.  

1: It's free.

2: You get to float on a raft/kayak instead of being confined to a folding chair inside the venue.

3: You get much more camaraderie with both friends and strangers simply by tying your rafts together.

4: The overall atmosphere is killer... I mean, floating under the stars with sweet jams surrounding you.  Nothing better.  [The only drawback is that it's a bit more difficult to dance from your raft or kayak, but somehow I always seem to manage...]

5: The performers on stage always, always, give shout-outs to the folks floating on the bay.  So be sure to holla' back.

Last night, we paddled out from the bay that is closest to the intersection of Talbot and Scott, brought along sushi and See's candy to eat on our laps for dinner, and saw Feist in concert!!  Such a good night!  The girl can rock it and yet also produce such chill ballads - her band does a fine job of accompanying her and adding a lot of the sweet sing-a-long parts.  There were easily 100 other people out on the water with us - one big floating party.  Past nights that I have enjoyed on this bay have included the likes of two of my all-time favs: India.Arie one week and Mr. Stevie Wonder the next - boy was I living the life last August!  And now Feist is a great addition to my summer celebrations on the water outside Humphrey's.

Below, I included her video for "I Feel It All".  Definitely one of my fav music videos.  Doesn't it just make you want to dance?  This was one of our apartment's main go-to jams last school year, and whenever it was played, it always resulted in a lot of jumping up and down and twirling about... kinda' like how she dances towards the end of this video.  Enjoy.