Thursday, April 24, 2008

TAG! 6 Things about the Quiet Storm



I've been tagged so I get to play. I guess that means I am an official blogger now ;-) In case you have not seen this before, I have been tagged by Verbal Vixon, who has great stories and art on her site.

The rules:

1. Link the person who tagged you.
2. Mention the rules in your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.

Here is the list of things unknown to my fellow bloggers...

1. I have a major pet peeve about people being inconsiderate. Especially when you want me to be considerate of you. That goes for all of the gum popping, cutting-me-off-in-traffic driving, smokers in the hallway, answering your cell phone in the movie, playing your music loud in the middle of the night people. Yeah, YOU!

2. I know the words to most of the songs in the Animated Disney Classics. My favorite being Bear Necessities in the The Jungle Book.

3. I wanted to be a performer like Janet Jackson when I grew up. She was killin' Control at the time. (Don't hate, don't hate)

4. Thanks to a person I dated, I now like all forms of music. If you ride with me you could hear everything from Daughtry, Creed, Carrie Underwood, Sweet Honey in the Rock, MeShell, Goo Goo Dolls, TuPac and Miles Davis. Interesting list, huh?

5. I know how to crochet and knit. My Grandmother taught my mother and my mother taught me. Someday, I hope to have a daughter to teach her. Gotta keep the tradition going.

6. My father's name is Adolph. Yes, just like Hitler. Oh yeah, get this...he is a junior. So there are TWO men in my family blessed with that name. Try living with that as a black girl growing up in the South!

BONUS- Since #6 is not really about me, here is another one. I am a certified Pet Stylist. Which means I am basically a certified barber for dogs and can do things like take this face:


And make it look like this:



So there you have it.

EXTRA CREDIT*** I HATE chain letters, so although this was fun and I appreciate being loved by the blog tag. I did not tag anyone.

But hit me up if you decide to participate.

Peace and Blessings,
KayC, The Quiet Storm

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

"Big" ...Big Boi and the Ballet

In my effort to broaden my cultural experiences I attended the collaboration of the Ballet and Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. With dance lessons coming more frequently for an upcoming show in July, I thought the meeting of two opposites (rap/hip-hop and ballet) would be a great experience.

I was wrong.

First, let me say that I have always wanted to attend the ballet, but have found it difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. I have also never attended a Outkast or Big Boi concert.

Our seats were fantastic for a show that may have gained a few more followers for Big Boi and/or the ballet, but probably succeeded in losing more. I was expecting a compilation of greats. Great music accompanied by great dance delivered by even greater dancers. What I got was a great concert with flashy backdrops and dancers who looked more like deer caught in headlights than dancers. Three separate entities (concert, dancers, backdrops) on stage that never quite meshed together.

I attended the closing show thinking they would "go all out" as most performers do at their last show. The choreography seemed to just miss something and never really interpret or showcase the songs. In fact, the dancers were dancing a slow ballet to Bombs Over Baghdad.

There is nothing slow or delicate about that song.

Let me not forget the singer (can't remember her name) who decided that coming out in a tutu and dancing with the very talented prima ballerina was a good idea. When she broke into the robot I thought she was joking. I remember being really confused when Big Boi shouted "Throw you hands up" to the audience. The audience was kind of taken by surprise on that one and I heard someone ask "Do we throw our hands up at the ballet?" Could not stop the laughter at that one.

At the end of the night it was like everything else in the world. Some people raved about it and huddled in groups talking about how wonderful the meeting of the two opposites were.

Others of us wondered how this great idea of merging two opposites just seemed to not quite meet in the middle.