"Who Am I Anyway?"

This is what I go through and how I feel each and everyday (at work, school, personal life, etc.)...



...Life is really one long audition for me...and I keep getting cut...yet I keep coming back to the line.

If I give up, what else can I do? Life goes on whether I participate or not...so for me...there is no other alternative but to keep getting back to that line...LIFE...here goes!

Rio2016: A view from the favella

So I am super excited because I have decided to embark on a new research project today. Over the next several days, months and maybe even years I would like to look at how the preparations for the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro impacts the poor people (particularly youth) of Brazil. Back in 2004 or 2005, I wrote a piece on the Juvenile Justice System in Brazil. I am now wondering how the Brazilian authorities urgent need to clean-up the crime ridden streets of Rio before the games might effect the poor youth of Brazil. My project will also focus on other related topics such as: the meaning behind the Olympic sponsor village as a global village and the opening ceremony performance as a cultural artifact. In looking at these and other themes, I am wondering what it means for Brazilians to have the whole world watching them more closely as a result of these games coming there for the first time. What will this new view of the world from their window mean for the local people of Rio?

There's already tons of controversy surrounding the crime issues in the city. Check out this article and pay special attention to the title. The media loves this stuff...let the games begin!

Woman of Interest: Paula Kelly

Hey y'all...I know it has been a minute since I've shared a "Woman of Interest" with you. So without further adieu, it is my esteemed pleasure to introduce the incomparable: Paula Kelly.

She is a singer, dancer and actress...a black beauty...and another woman I want to be when I grow up. I could go on and on about this immense talent...but I can show you better than I can tell you. Check her out in action with another fierce lady: Chita Rivera (love her!) in "Sweet Charity":



For more information on Paula Kelly, click here.

Can I have a moment?

Life feels so arbitrary yet blah today...it is becoming more and more clear that nothing is as it seems. BUT I am not going to carry on in this direction as it will only make me sound like one of those bratty and ungrateful cosmopolitan elites...soo..

I just have a word of advice for my fellow academic enthusiasts...the more you use your brain the more you will ponder randomness ad nasueam...tis not a great thing if you have other stuff to do like work, music and...well...living life, in general. The kind of inquiry that I am engaged in at present must be for young folks or perhaps the independently wealthy...I am trying to keep the lights on and the Frigidaire full! How do I do that while at the same time wrestle with ideas promulgated by a bunch of fellows who have not been with us in centuries (and would likely have me working the fields)!?!?!?!?!

ONE DAY IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE...for now I will just do my best MARGO CHANNING and act like it does! ;-)

NOBODY TOLD ME THE ROAD WOULD BE EASY...

BALANCE...MY FAVORITE WORD THAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT...

I have been struggling to balance my day job, music career, academic work and personal life for the past several weeks. I am afraid that if I don't give up something, I will be horrible at everything...or at the very least mediocre which is such a bad word! I've already seen how it has affected my music. I need to find a way to devote much more time to it. But how?

These are the days when I understand people's desire to hit the MEGA MILLIONS. I am sure that it would cause more trouble than its worth but for me it is an attractive alternative right now!

I am running out of VERBS...I am doing so much.

That's all...just sharing.

I SHOULD BE READING...

The biggest problem I have now that I am back in Grad School is that no matter what I am doing I feel like I should be reading something instead. I can be on the train, eating dinner, sitting in a church...doesn't matter. The first thought that comes into my mind is, "I should really be somewhere reading." What's worse is that once I start reading I always think that I should have picked a better location at which to do the reading...for better concentration, ya know? This obsession comes with the fact that between two seminars at two hours a pop each week, I am responsible for reading and responding critically to well over 500-600 pages of dense theory every week. And kids...my brain is old and not as malleable as it once was. The ironic thing is that when it was fresh and new, I could care less about academics. Ugh...so here I am...a self-proclaimed professional student...once again new to this thing...trying to figure out a way to get it right. Any ideas? Let me know...Gotta go...I should probably be reading now...

Back to School Time...

Why do I feel like a 2nd grader eagerly anticipating the coming of a new school year? Only my 2nd 1st day of school but exciting nonetheless...new pens, new paper, new biscuit Thom McCann (sp?) shoes...can't get enough of em! Except now I am 33 not 7 and have already been to many different schools and have a couple of degrees, to boot.

Why now? Why this time is it such an exciting proposition for me?

This is a time like no other in the world, in the US, in NYC, in my life personally. Obama is president, the economy is down, people are bugging, and I am excited to put on my Wonder Woman costume and get to work. I WANT TO START REALLY LIVING AND THRIVING...Sure I have already had a pretty full life: moving to NY at 17, going to NYU, working in the music business, touring with my favorite musical, traveling to Europe and Japan, releasing an album, getting my Master's degree...I aint complaining over here. BUT I am convinced that I have not done enough and I have to get my tail moving on my real purpose in life...which I must confess is not 100% clear yet. I do know that it will involve empowering women and girls, through scholarship, activism, and the arts. Pretty broad I know...so I've go to remember that if this is a life long journey I've got to prepare myself for the long haul...it's not just about what's in front of me. What's more...it aint about me!

God has given me multiple gifts to cultivate and allow to grow so that I can use them to uplift his people. Funny thing is...I am going into a field and studying with a bunch of people who mostly deny the existence of God. What a challenge I have before me! I am sooooooooo up for it though.

Next tuesday is my first day...I wonder what I should expect...I think I will buy some new black flats for the occasion. Pray my strength! ;-)