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...

Kim and Kanye are in love. Tom and Katie broke up. Will and Jada are pretending to still be in love. Brad and Angelina are finally engaged and getting married any day now. Who cares? Yes, unfortunately I do. I care because I love to see unity . Whether real or perceived. I like to see it. I can’t lie. I love to see couples. As they say, “bird cyan fly with one wing” so when I see a couple go public and work together to increase their visibility, net worth, or their business power, I can’t help but love it. Even when it ends in divorce… I can still appreciate the essence of what it represented at its pinnacle. I realize that the ideal “celebrity couple” can be an illusion of flashing teeth, public appearances, and staged dates. With their matching clothes, flawless skin, and picture-perfect poses and outings, I understand that said illusion is manufactured particularly for fools like me who fall in love with the fantasy and romanticize the power of the union. On the other hand, I d...

The other day I was driving home from work, listening to G98.7fm and heard a mix from Jason Chambers. He was going hard! Reggae, old school, R&B, everything all mixed into one, and I thought to myself (and Tweeted , of course) that no one in the world has mastered cross-genre mixing like Toronto DJs. Starting From Scratch. Chief. Jester. And then I thought about Spex, DJ Jay, Soca Sweetness, Riyad, King Turbo, Lindo P, and all of the other DJs I essentially "grew up" on from house parties in Ajax, out to the University of Windsor, and now back to Toronto. These are the DJs that have supplied the soundtrack to our lives. It's wicked to be able to turn on the radio now, at any given time of day, and have access to these individuals and countless others (shout out to Chris Dubbs !) to see the longevity of careers, the resurrection of careers, and the emergence of new sounds and specialists. I love that Toronto has it's own sound when it comes to DJs and music...a...

I wanted to love this movie. I really did. I love Tyler Perry : I think he's a fabulous writer and brilliant businessman. I love Gabrielle Union : I think she's a classy lady and amazing actress. I love Thandie Newton : she's gorgeous, and can act her ass off! I love Phylicia Rashad (who doesn't), and I love to see a majority-black cast in movies (it's still rare, what can I say?) But THIS particular movie...I didn't love it. I had to see it on opening day for a few reasons: 1) To support the box-office cause ( and yes, I still purchase CDs in the store too ). 2) To avoid being tainted by the reviews and feedback of others...kinda like I'm doing to you right now. 3) Because Tyler Perry has the ability to inspire, and tell a hell of a story...usually. And I was ready for it! But when the movie ended and the credits began to roll...I did the 1-minute-look-at-the-screen-with-a-blank-stare like..." oooooook ?" Now what. Unfulfilled. I was expectin...

I am a writer and communicator at heart, and am always seeking to see what is written about a particular event, individual, or phenomenon, how it is communicated, and then I essentially base my experience on the delivery and execution of the surrounding media. I see almost everything through a journalist lens, by default. I enjoy basketball. I admittedly haven't always been a hardcore fan, but this year I am closer than I've ever been. It all started with the NBA lockout in the summer, discovering that I had NBA TV, and then listening to updates from Derek Fisher and David Stern and the subsequent reporting of the breaking news as it unfolded. From NBA TV, I was drawn to TSN, and SportsNet, and to the web, and to the blogs, and to the Fan 590, and then I realized that I had officially become interested in what would happen next! It was a daily curiosity. I became fascinated by the side story of the players, the negotiations, the speculation, the union, the press conferences, a...