So I had the pleasure of experiencing Washington D.C. for the first time last weekend. I never had any desire to go until the inauguration, which I wasn't able to attend. After that, It really wasn't on my to do list until recently for work. We needed some "Sanity Rally" footage for a show we're working on. Turns out, I LOVE DC! I've always loved history and the mystery behind it all. I knew there was some in DC but the whole city looked European. Like a city in France. Paris maybe. Rich in culture. Every building had a story to tell and it's own charm unlike most places in the U.S. It was refreshing to see a city not so plastic with buildings built in 30 days. These magnificent brick and stone buildings and mesmerizing statues took years to build. I truly believe in a past life, I was around during those times because I absolutely love that era in which they were built. My favorite movies are period pieces.
I didn't really take pics of buildings or sculptures, mainly just rally stuff. Had a chance to check out Ben's for the chilli burgers and YES they live up to all the hype. Actor Lance Gross was there having a bite. I guess a lot of people were there for Howard's Homecoming. I was invited out to a few cool parties but I declined.
The Restore Sanity rally was AMAZING. Jon Stewart and Steve Colbert put on a great show for an awesome cause. Ann, Lisa and I had a blast! I'd say about 500,000 people showed up. Just a bunch of like-minded, beautiful individuals. The signs were incredible. It felt great to be a part of something so positive. My first of many more political expressions. We were able to get some nice footage for our show as well.
Obama's Favorite Burger Joint
Me and my good friend and business partner Ann Flagella in front of the White House....
Check out the video below: Here I am fooling around the night before the rally. They gave me a wig and asked me to act like a "stoner". Enjoy :) Also don't forget to get out and VOTE TODAY!!!!
So my BFF Karla comes over to my house for some adult time away from her kids and I cook and we drink wine (I'm on a alcohol fast now though) and celebrate life. Just catching up and she tells me about this Flower District in downtown LA?? Anyone who knows me really well knows I love Orchids and Sunflowers. So I couldn't wait to get down there.
When I arrived I couldn't believe it . It is right around the corner from the fashion district! I have been to "The Alley" a million times and this Flower District is walking distance from it???? With store after store filled with flowers at wholesale prices??? INSANE! So I enter one of the stores and I walk into what looks like the Holy Grail of Orchids.... I just stood there with my mouth open in awe like I was a kid in a candy store :O Needless to say I bought some :) I will be going back bi-weekly now for my plants and flowers. I have always loved them. I will get HUGE bouquets. But now I can get them for a fraction of the price my florist charges me!!! I think I get it from my mom who has always had a green thumb, with beautiful exotic plants everywhere. I am going to go back and take my time next time. I got there kind of late. It was noon and I think it closes at 2pm. Don't quote me but they were closing down while I was there. I kind of lost track of time. Make sure if you go, to go early so you can savor every smell and beautiful flower you can!!
Here are a few pics from my BlackBerry. I need a new camera now to really capture the beauty of it all. I will post pics of my bouquets. I just bought Orchids this time :)
If you are looking for something FLY to do besides the normal club scene, and love deep house and soul music, you don't want to miss this event. You will dance nonstop...well maybe in between bites of BBQ! My type of party =) For more info on click here. See you there!!!
I have been fascinated by Jean-Michel Basquiat every since I saw the fairly unknown (at the time) Jeffrey Wright portray him on film. I am a huge fan of both of them now.
With all that said, I can't wait to see the full documentary directed by Tamra Davis! This is just a couple snippets/trailers. Enjoy! Art's Immortal Rock Star!!! Shout out to my good friend Fab Five Freddie who is also in the documentary.
I've been on plenty of fly yachts in my life but this one is sick! End of story. For more info on the "WHY" series yachtclick here. By the way... it ONLY costs $160,000,000. Check the video below...
What can I say.... It was everything! For a whole week it was fun, exciting, relaxing, sexy, steaming hot with a hint of danger and very spiritual. I'll begin with the hotel...
We stayed in a HUGE suite at the Fasano :) It's a fairly new luxury hotel (maybe 2 years old) with every amenity imaginable. Beyonce and Alicia Keys had just left a couple days before we got there. They were there shooting a video together. Madonna, Lourdes, and Jesus (her boy toy lol) were staying there while we were there. Somehow people found out that Madonna was in the building and all hell broke loose. It was like TRL outside of the hotel with screaming fans right outside my damn balcony for 2 days! It was madness and Madonna had a huge bodyguard entourage every where she went. I just got a glimpse of her but I have met her once before already in LA so it wasn't a big deal to me. Well.. maybe just a little lol! But yes, the hotel was amazing, especially the infinity rooftop pool. We chilled up there a lot getting a head start on my tan for 2010. Nicole Scherzinger (pussy cat dolls) frequented the pool often as well. It felt so good to get some R&R far far away.
The Rio Carnival was way more than I anticipated. It was breath-taking! The day we arrived I was thinking people would be all over the streets dancing but I now know, that is the Trinidad Carnival. This carnival is held annually at the Sambodromo specifically built for this occasion. The parade goes on for HOURS each day. At least 9 hours. Unbelievable, right? It's different parades per school and each float tells a story. We were standing there and the parade ended after about an hour and a half. I was like wow, that was beautiful! I'm thinking it was over but no one was leaving. About a half hour later, a complete new parade with a total new theme started! So you'd better had a comfortable seat or some comfortable shoes because you could easily be there all day. One float with more wow factor than the last. It keep going and going like the energizer bunny lol. Needless to say we were wore out because we did two days for about 4-5 hours. But it was well worth it... to see all the work they put into this amazing affair. My favorite parade was the King and Queen, Royalty type theme, especially Cleopatra and her servants!!! I took so many pics I don't even know where to begin to add them...
It's like the whole city gets involved. If you are from Rio, 9 times out of 10 you have participated in the Carnival because it is such a prideful event with lots of heart! I felt so blessed to witness the BIGGEST Carnival in the world.
It also has it's religious connection... 40 days before Easter. It officially starts on Saturday and finishes on Fat Tuesday with the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday after which one is supposed to abstain from all bodily pleasures. Carnival with all its excesses, celebrated as a profane event, can be considered an act of farewell to the pleasures of the flesh. I'm not Catholic though so I won't be giving up anything :)
So after experiencing the spirit and soul of the city, we did some more relaxing by the pool, then spa pampering, then shopping, then sight-seeing. I'm realizing right now that we never made it to the beach. It was just steps away but the pool was too nice and it had waiters lol! Next time!
Our last day there, we were so in the moment. The beauty of God was everywhere! In the birds, the people, the sea, in us. We were high on life and thanking GOD for all his blessings!! The next step was to go see why they call this city, The City Of God.
My favorite part of the trip was seeing the "Christ The Redeemer" statue. It was so high in the sky! Think Empire State building high, but wayyyyyy higher! We took a trolley type train that was hanging from wires up the mountain. It was a lot of Asian tourists on there. Our ears were popping and it literally looked like we were on an airplane by the view with the clouds eye level to us. Up and up we go til we finally reached the top. My friend Ann couldn't breathe well because of the thinness of the air. It was so hot that morning, like 90 degrees at 10am. Plus we had not been to sleep the night before because we wanted to sleep on the airplane back home. (15 hour flight) It had been a very spiritual morning because we watched the sunrise and was leaving that night so we took it all in.
Christ The Redeemer is a MUST SEE. No pictures will ever do it any justice. It is by far one of those things that should be on your bucket list. It was built in the 1920's but I still can't figure out how they got it up there Or how they worked so high in the sky, especially back then. It took 9 years to build and it only cost them $250,000. Amazing! I wonder how much something like that would cost today... If you want to learn more about it click here.
We were deliriously happy and giggly. It was the best time I had had in a long while. With the everyday hustle of life you forget sometimes what's important. Paying attention to GOD's signs and living in the moment is the beginning of a spiritual rewarding life. All work and no play makes anyone dull. Take time to actually hear the waves crash and the birds sing! I was well overdue and it was just what the doctor ordered. I feel so refreshed and new. I feel like I am back on my spiritual path :) I can go on and on about this trip but that would be a book in itself. Bottom line it was AMAZING.
Here's a video of me doing the "Samba" on the trolley type train that was hanging on wires in the air on our way to see Christ The Redeemer at 9 AM... With the Samba, from which I learned from a Brazilian at Carnival, it really is about the fancy footwork but you can't see it in this video unfortunately. I heard drums and had to dance! I have other vids I recorded of the parade and other things but for some reason it won't let me download. I'll take it as a "sign" that it's not really significant at this point. Enjoy...
Why does this song get me so hyped!!!???? Especially when loud lol! Then the remix with Hov??? Certified club BANGER!!! Snooooooooooooooop Doooooooooogg! Snoooooooooooooooop Dooooooooooooooooogg! haha!
TV One Has a new TV show. Called Love That Girl, executive produced by my friends Bentley Evans and Martin Lawrence. My crazy friend Nile Evans is one of the writers on the show. It looks pretty good so far. Make sure ya'll support so we can get more shows on the air!!! They say reality shows killed the black sitcom... Let's prove them wrong :)
So I was invited to see a special screening of Inglourious Basterds, a movie I had been wanting to see for quite a while. I even tried to catch the matinée near my house and there were technical difficulties, so the movie was cancelled. Yes I know, weird. So when I got the invite a few days later I was so excited. Especially being moderated by the director, Quentin Tarantino himself. Someone I would give my pinky toe to work with! No but seriously he is one of the best writers and directors of our time and I was absolutely thrilled to get some game from him.
The movie itself was creatively genius, but what more do you expect from a Quentin Tarantino film? From start to finish it had the audience at the edge of their seats with laughter, disgust from the gore, amazing wit and incredible shots. The storyline was top notch. It's like, where the hell does he get these thoughts and plots from? He truly has to be semi-crazy lol, in a good way. I don't want to give away any of the story if you haven't seen it yet but I love love love the ending. Brad Pitt was amazing as usual and you could tell he had a lot of fun making this. Christoph Waltz probably will win an Oscar for his portrayal of Col. Hans Landa.
So after the movie ended, the whole cast joined the stage, including Brad Pitt :):):) Needless to say, I was a VERY happy camper!!!! lol! Whew that man is fine even with a long beard... They all answered questions from the audience filled with people in the business and shared some funny moments during the making of the film. Secrets were shared about certain moments to give us a better understanding of how it is to work with Quentin and how each person got casted. I am so inspired after that. Nothing like a great movie to get your creative juices and motivation flowing again. That moment put jumper cables on my dream. It was better than going to the premiere.
Bottom line if you have not seen this movie yet, run and see it asap!!!! Especially if you are bored with the same old non-risk taking film making.
Synopsis: Sandra Laing entered the world a beautiful baby but no one, not the hospital staff, her mother, father or neighbours would admit the obvious. Abraham and Sannie Laing were white yet their daughter was dark. By a biological quirk, the pigment of an unknown black ancestor had lain dormant for generations and manifested in Sandra. If there was ever a wrong place and wrong time for this phenomenon, it was apartheid South Africa in 1955! ‘Skin’ is a compelling and moving story about love, betrayal and reconciliation.
Born in Hilversum in the Netherlands in 1959, Erwin Olaf lives and works in Amsterdam since the early 80's. His current studio is situated in a former church hall.
Mixing photojournalism with studio photography, Olaf emerged in the international art scene in 1988 when his series 'Chessmen' was awarded the first prize in the Young European Photographer competition. This award was followed by an exhibition at the Ludwig Museum in Cologne, Germany. Since then Olaf has continued to explore issues of gender, sensuality, humor, despair and grace in each successive series.
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