REFLECTION & REASON

I've been playing piano since I was 3 years old, and my parents enrolled me in lessons. I didn't know better...I practiced, I played, and I fell in love with the instrument. It is what I know, and what I like ...from before I even knew what I knew and liked! I have been teaching piano for over 15 years, and I have an innate passion for the instrument. I think it's beautiful. It sounds beautiful, it looks beautiful, and there is no instrument in the world that can move me like the piano can . And the only thing I love more than playing the piano myself...is hearing someone else play ! The rare occasion when I can catch a live pianist, I'm in paradise. I pay big bucks to hear the likes of a pianist on a grand stage with fabulous acoutics and a fancy brand of piano. As much as I enjoy classical music and what it represents in the world of piano playing... I ADORE R&B and pop music on a piano. Combined with a strong voice, fabulous lyrics, and lots of heart...there is ...

Ok, so in February of this year I may or may not have written an extensive blog about BBM culture and why it’s taken over the world, and should be a potential subject for collegiate study. I think it’s safe to say that I wasn’t the only one caught up heavily in the essence of BBM-ness. Funny pictures. “Inside joke” statuses. Oh, what wonderfulness and joy BBM once brought to the masses. Oh, the good old days. But I am 110% over it . While mere months ago I swore by BlackBerry and this fantastic method of staying in touch and fass-ing in other people’s business around the clock… I am officially not interested in BBM anymore . Here’s why. 1) The damn BlackBerry itself is such a nuisance. OK, so it has buttons. I like the fact that it has buttons, but other than that, this dyam phone is faulty , freezy, and if I have to pull out that battery one more time on the road just to be able to free up some bandwidth, I swear… 2) BBM is borderline intrusive at times. People can see when you wak...

Ooh boy, that Rihanna interview on Oprah’s Next Chapter was entertainment gold ! A good night of television, to say the least! So interesting on so many levels. I can’t lie: I like Rihanna. I like her music, I’ve seen her live and I think she’s a great performer. I have a couple of her albums. I think her videos are always appealing. Her career has been on a constant incline, and her image, her style, and her persona are the prototypes of pop perfection. She’s beautiful. I like her voice. Rihanna is undoubtedly, a star. Sooooooo to see her get up close and personal with Oprah last night was fascinating, only because I think it’s the first time she’s been this raw…and maybe even this natural. While I would consider myself a “fan” of hers, I’m not on the super “Navy” fan level where I like, read her articles and watch her interviews. If I catch it I catch it, but I don’t know much more about her than the average listener/viewer. That being said, I knew that come Sunday, August 19, I woul...