good advice
Monday, May 30, 2011
Family Values
Oh how I would love to see this in real life. I love that little teeny tiny unicycle.
via reddit.
Saying Hello
I used to think about doing this all the time when I first moved to D.C. and literally did not know a soul in the state. It's strange how easy it is to live in a bubble after getting to know a few folks. Being out of state I keep thinking 'hmm what would it be like if I chatted with all the other strangers here? Who would I meet?"
It's bizarre how easy it was to become closed off to new people once I had a few connections.It's never a conscious decision not to meet people - I simply don't put in the effort to do so. This evening the folks I am staying with and I went out to one of those Hibachi grills where they sit you at a table with another party - and it struck me how much I took for granted that, though we were sitting directly adjacent to them, we weren't going to talk or meet. Is this a good or a bad thing? I don't know - maybe neither. Certainly nothing personal was met on either end.
It just made me think of how open I was to every experience and person when I didn't have go-to folks to call upon. I wonder how different my life would be if I lived a little more like that again?
photo via terrysdiary
Friday, May 27, 2011
Daily Happy: How'd You Get Hurt?
Now, really we just need to make a 'hooping' addition to this and it would be complete.
On Your Toes
The movement, the socks, the weird bike shorts?
I can't pinpoint what it is that I love about this, but I know I love it
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Expectations = Exceeded
When I saw that Britney Spear's had a hooper as part of her Circus tour I thought that it would be a really high quality performance (Britney can afford the best), but not my style. Normally, 'circus style' isn't the type of hooping I am drawn to becuase it seems to be all technique and no heart. I didn't expect a mass produced tour to be any different.
Welp, another coin in the "Kym was wrong" bucket. Clink.
What an epic show this hooper put on! She totally brought it and worked her butt off to engage the audience. I was super impressed. When a video of such poor self-shot quality still keeps me glued to the screen, somebody did something right.
Travel (Hoop) Pt. 1
- Hello California.-
Travel hoop - safely secured but then...
the airline attendant asked if anyone would check their carry on's
because ya know, now that they charge $25-$50 per checked bag
people try and bring their whole lives on board and they
were going to run out of room.
I checked my bag, but kept my hoop. And I was happy
to discover a travel hoop fits perfectly under an airplane seat.
layover = margaritas
This is what 2pm should always look like
Airport hooping - fueled by liquid courage.
Honestly though, hooping in the airport was no big deal. This could definitely have been because it was a Wednesday afternoon and it was pretty much dead everywhere, but, I think that people could tell I was just boppin' around not really looking to put on a show. I set up in an empty corner, continued talking to William while I hooped and generally gave off vibes that said, "yo dudes - I am just killing time." Then we played cards.
Twas a very good, very long , long day that ended in a much needed trip to a heated pool and hot tub. Awww yeaaah living the life.
Now... where can I find some coffee?
Don't Let It Sink In
Dissolve negativity by blinking! Come on, it's fun.
But really - I love this. It can be so difficult in the moment to say to myself, 'hey, whatever is going on with them is personal only to them so I'm just going to keep on a-living," but once the choice is made it is like a weight has lifted. A big, annoying weight. Accept, learn and move on - wonderful advice.
How Doth the Lovely Butterflop...
This seems like one of those moves that looks deceptively simple...
But it is really pretty! Yeah, I am going to have to learn this one. I love little innovations like this - where there's just that something extra to make a performance pop.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Nick Guzzardo - Using Time Wisely
This video was shot when no one showed up to Nick's class. After I read that - and watched the video - I kept thinking: no one showed up to HIS class? How? WHY? There are about 50 things I want to learn after watching the first minute of this! Though... I only have it to watch because everyone was busy that night.
Thanks guys!
So fluid. So smooooth. All kinds of YES.
Movement Paths
The Colors Duke! The Colors!
If you are a fire or LED hoop lover you should DEFINITELY check out Notley's photostream on Flickr - it is a total treasure trove of amazing shots. If you are a photography lover in general his website is full of riches as well.
I love being reminded of how beautiful our world really is and seeing movement captured in still time.
When A Graphic Designer Becomes a Fashion Designer...
...the result is completely amazing. It's no secret that I am love with leggings and tights of all kinds, which is why it was spectacular when my lovely friend over at Moons and Monsters sent me the link for Qoo Qoo's Etsy shop.
A graphic designer in Latvia takes tights to a whole new level by hand making the fabric as well as the design for each piece (and they are a bit cheaper than my loves over at BlackMilk - though I will <3 BlackMilk forever.)
Do want:
I have never seen anything like these! I mean, an anonymous Smokey the Bear covering my knees? What?
I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. The weirder the better as far as I am concerned - and these are the weirdest and most wonderful leggings I have yet to see.
Check out the site for the full whack-o-riffic collection.
Tired or Not, Spiral Rocks.
The description for this video says that Spiral apologized for being tired before beginning her set. Uhm, she looks epic! The hoop - it gives new life. (I really do feel energized after hooping even if I am dead tired before having to do a class or show. Though, on my best day I'm nowhere near Spiral 'tired.' Aww yeah! Work it out!)
Baby Seals Will Be Involved.
I'm off to California today, hoop in tow! Posts will be slower, but, seeing as I post almost non-stop that pretty much means posts will be at a slightly faster than a normal blog pace. It's an addiction. I'm cool with it.
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Anyway, I cannot wait to hoop on the beach in my bathing suit, hopefully after too many margarita's. Oh yes, please let that happen. Good, good times ahead!
My trusty sidekick - that is, my camera - will be along for the ride as well. Can't wait to fill up my computer's memory for the fourth time with thousands of pictures and videos. I don't know what it is, I just feel like I have to capture as many moments as I can or I will forget something important. And what could possibly be more important than getting to go see some baby seals along the coast? Nothing.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Describe Your Hooping in 3 Words
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| Fierce |
Or should I say - your ideal hooping in three descriptive words.
First, let me backtrack a second.
As I am prone to do, I was scanning the Hooposophy archives the other day when I found Lara's article, What Kind of Hooper Do You Want to Be? In it she talks about the very real challenge of defining a practice and style that is uniquely your own. As hooping grows, and more extremely badass hooper's pop up everyday, it can be a completely overwhelming task to define a style. As she puts it:
"How do you go about locating, exploring, and founding your hoopdance on what is uniquely you? ... For many, on any given day of the week, it’s hard enough to lay aside our own expectations long enough to hoop for half an hour. As help, I offer a simple exercise totally borrowed from an article in an Oprah magazine that my mother-in-law left at my house last week.
When thinking about the kind of hooper you want to be, try thinking in adjectives, not nouns and verbs. So, instead of saying to yourself, ‘I want to be a ‘badass,’ or ‘I want to hoop like so-and-so,’ or ‘I just want to master breaks,’ or ‘keep it up’ you would opt for focusing on words that describe how you want, or would like to, feel in the hoop. Trade in the visions of what you want to accomplish, or how you want to look while hooping, for words that will help you understand and orient yourself toward what you want to exude, express, and free inside your hoop. Choose three phenomenal adjectives, perfect for you."
Finally! This makes sense. Instead of defining my style by becoming a really, really, really, really good hooper (not the most encouraging nor realistic approach) I can simply think about what I want my hooping to embody and then try and express those things with the skills I already have. I'll continue to learn new moves and skills, but I will have a core from which I define my practice.
Hmmm. So what are my words? In a totally ideal world - all embarrassment and inhibition aside - what do I want my hooping to embody? What do I want to exude?
Fierce, Peculiar, Exploratory.
I want my strangeness to shine through. I decided to do a google image search of my words just for kicks. What do you think - can I express these three things in my practice?
Hmm...quite the combo. Can you guess which is which? Haha
What would your words be?
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