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Bella Donna: Nina Simone

BellaSugar — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 13:00:39 -0800

Nina Simone's first-remembered act of moral resistance occurred at one of her concerts when she was 12. Her proud parents, who were seated in the front row, were told to move to the back so that white attendees could have their seats. Nina, incensed, refused to continue playing until they were given back their rightful place. From then on, her career was marked by vocal, tenacious challenges to inequality.

Despite harm to her viability as a popular artist, she created some of the most memorable songs of the civil rights era, including "Mississippi Goddamn" and "To Be Young, Gifted, and Black." In addition, she took part in the Selma to Montgomery marches. She was also one of the first celebrities to embrace her natural hair texture, wearing everything from an afro to a modified hi-top fade. Although commercial success frequently eluded her, many of her songs are now standards of the jazz and soul canons, and she lived to see a resurgence in her popularity during the 1990's.

Her personal life was as tumultuous as her career, and she lived in Barbados, Liberia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland before settling in France, where she passed away after a protracted battle with breast cancer in 2003. We have Nina to thank not only for her music and her style, but for her unwavering sense of fairness and her compelling calls to action. She's an excellent example of someone who refused to be a bystander to injustice and persecution - something we could use a little more of these days.

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Buzz Gift Guide: Grandpa

BuzzSugar — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:00:02 -0800

I've already given you holiday gift ideas for dad, mom, grandma, and now it's time to round out the group with suggestions for grandpa. What to get a patriarch who loves watching the tube, going to the movies, and listening to music? I have a few ideas, coming from my own grandfather, who loves Frank Sinatra (and will therefore be so jazzed about this CD and DVD box set), The Godfather, and updated versions of film classics. Maybe you'll find an idea from these picks too!

Beardyman Beat Box Spectacular

GiggleSugar — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:00:00 -0700

This guy is such an amazing beat boxer that I'm not even going to make a joke about his name. When you drop beats like Beardyman, mutton chops and a corresponding moniker are your prerogative.

Sarah Palin, Improvisational Jazz Singer?

GiggleSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 10:00:00 -0700

You know how Ella Fitzgerald was awesome at scatting to syncopated rhythms? Some genius with a piano decided to add some jazz piano to Sarah Palin's speech. I'm mesmerized by this video, and I can't explain why . . .

P.L.O.W - Jazz Up Your Holiday and Dance

FitSugar — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 13:38:12 -0800

Just about everyone has come up with their own version of all the popular holiday songs and here are some of my faves. I love the older jazzy holiday tunes as well - they really get me moving. Turn on this playlist to get you pumped to clean before all the relatives come. Or play it for an after dinner dance party.

P.L.O.W Total Time: 36:48

Noteworthy Nibbles - April 28-May 5, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:00:51 -0700

From the Indie Wine Festival to the Oscars night of the food world, May has signaled a slew of new and exciting food events. I can assure that you'll have a great time at Chicago's Toast of the Town or any of the Taste of the Nation events. Got any other food events to add? Please feel free to comment below!

Chicago, IL: James Beard Foundation's Tru Celebration - April 29
Chicago, IL: Toast of the Town Chicago - April 30
New Orleans, LA: New Orleans Jazz Fest - Apr. 30-May 3
Newport Beach, CA: Taste of the Nation Orange County - May 1
Portland, OR: Portland Indie Wine Festival - May 1-2
Huntsville, AL: Whistle Stop Festival - May 1-2
Fort Lauderdale, FL: Las Olas Wine & Food Festival - May 1-2

To see the rest, read more.

Breaux Bridge, LA: Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival - May 1-3
Pensacola, FL: Pensacola Crawfish Festival - May 1-3
New York, NY: Continental International Restaurant Week - May 1-10
Scottsdale, AZ: Taste of the Nation Arizona - May 2
Maui, HI: Maui Onion Festival - May 2
Aberdeen, MD: Maryland Beer & Foodfest - May 2-3
Annapolis, MD: Great Grapes! Wine, Art, & Music Festival - May 2-3
San Diego, CA: Taste of the Nation San Diego - May 3
Houston, TX: Taste of the Nation Houston - May 3
New York, NY: 2009 James Beard Foundation Awards - May 3-4

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The New Cube Farm: I-Beam's Bubble Sound Barrier

GeekSugar — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 06:08:46 -0700

Here at Sugar HQ, we don't have the typical cube farm that you'd find in other office buildings, but we do get a lot of noise. Not only from the traffic in downtown San Francisco, but from the various street musicians that play outside. So these Bubble Sound Barriers from design firm I-Beam - which provide not only a barrier from outside noise, but keep your music inside your own parameter - would be really, really awesome. I can only take so many hours of bagpipes and jazz flutes in the afternoon.

Of course, the Bubble Sound Barrier may not be completely practical - they hang from the ceiling or attach to a wall with a movable arm - but they are totally retro-chic, and seem like they are straight from a designer in the late '50s trying to predict what offices would look like in the future. The only things missing are the robots.

Interview with Imagination Movers: Disney's Amazing Dad Band

LilSugar — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 08:00:27 -0800

Disney's hottest dad act, the Imagination Movers encourage friendship, creativity, and thinking while they get kids up off the couch. You may assume this is just another example of the Mouse's Midas touch, but it's more. The four friends (three of which are fathers to a combined nine children) have a back story beginning in New Orleans that will have parents pushing their tots in front of the television as the band's message is genuine. Rich Collins (Mover Rich) explained, "We weren't four guys that went and auditioned and got put on a show. There's history that makes us what we are." I had the opportunity to sit down with the foursome (Collins, Scott Durbin, Dave Poche, and Scott "Smitty" Smith) recently in San Francisco. To see how Hurricane Katrina altered their lives and led them to become male role models on the Disney channel, read more.

lilsugar: How did you guys go from being an architect, a firefighter, a teacher and a journalist to having a kid's band?
Dave: We wanted to make quality music for kids because we had children who were steeped in the whole world of entertainment and a lot of what we saw was cartoons and puppets. We brought it back to what we had grown up with - Mr. Rogers and Captain Kangaroo. Mr. Rogers had just passed away and we thought there was a void and decided to take a shot at doing something about it. So we got together - four goofy dads who had an idea and here we are years later and it's turned into something that is of value.
Scott: Actually, the initial idea was local in New Orleans and then low and behold what we created resonated with people and we were tenacious about its development and were fortunate that Disney came and saw us at Jazz Fest. We played our set and started talking about doing a show together and had this concept and that's how it was born.

lilsugar: Did you guys quit your day jobs as touring and doing a show must take up the majority of your time?
Dave: When we started it was a hobby. We'd put the kids to bed and meet. At first, it was in my built out attic room and we'd be there from like nine at night until 12 or one in the morning a few days a week and brainstorm and work. Then, the music took on a life of its own. We made three independent CDs and a DVD and started playing shows. The business needed attention so Rich was the first one to quit and make the full time leap. Then, three years ago Katrina came. Once that happened we lost three of our four homes and Smitty was a firefighter.
Smitty: I still am a New Orleans firefighter, I'm just on leave of absence.

lilsugar: When you lost your homes, did you go stay with family and then reconnect later?
Rich: So the flood came and the three of us lived in one neighborhood (Smitty lived in a drier part of town) so our houses got completely flooded and were under eight feet of water for weeks and our office, Mover stuff and instruments - it was all gone. So we were all in our cars with the kids and the cat and the computer and a few pieces of clothing and a couple of pictures you saved and we were literally refugees, but it's funny. It's not funny really, but there was a day or two after when we were all holed up in different cities and hotels and things and we started communicating via text because we had a show booked that next Saturday in Dallas. And, so I was like - can you get there? Can we do this show?
Dave: I was sitting on the steps of a hotel in Houston, my kids were in bed and I'm exhausted outside with my wife and we're texting because that's the only way you can communicate. I looked at my phone and it was Tuesday or Wednesday and he's like so are we still playing Dallas Saturday? Saturday, I was in Dallas. We realized what else are we gonna do? We will have a hotel room there. I don't know if I have a job, I don't know where anybody is, and there's a small fee out there and I've got an obligation. Not knowing where anything was or where money was gonna come from, we went. People loaned us instruments.
Rich: Scott bought some replacement suits - I was wearing my old glasses. We were like refugee performers - so a bad thing happened and that's kind of a symbol for what happened in the bigger picture. We were totally thrown off of our routines, but quickly realized that there was this huge community of Movers fans in New Orleans and around the south who reached out to us to ask if we were okay. And to let us know, "your music was in the car and kept our kids feeling safe and please keep doing what you're doing". It was this outpouring of support. Doing the Movers gave us this safe harbor and in a bigger sense, it is what allowed us to pull ourselves up out of the storm. This is maybe getting a little too grand, but we managed to get the deal with Disney and bring the production of the show to the city. It was the lifeline for us and for our families to get the show going, but we're now employing more than one hundred people for seven months at a time when we do the show. It's a huge boost for the local film community.

lilsugar: No matter what happens, you're staying in New Orleans?
Smitty: New Orleans is a small town, we grew this thing from nothing. People would tell us that this was their sense of normalcy and for us this became the thing we rallied around to lift ourselves up.
Scott: The one guy who didn't lose his home, Smitty, penned the lyrics to the song, We Got Each Other which was probably the first recorded song in New Orleans after Katrina and was on our Eight Feet album.
Dave: You might lose your tangible things, but you've still got your family and friends and support.
Smitty: I didn't lose my house and none of my family died or anything, but as a fireman, for two weeks straight we banded together and relied on one another for our lives. That was part of that song too. It was pretty tough, but I think out of all that, here comes this good thing.
Scott: Our lives turn on a dime. We were professionals working jobs and then we were standing in line for welfare or to get food stamps. It was just a real experience.

Courtesy of Disney

Class Act: Nia

FitSugar — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

As part of my New Year's resolutions, I vowed to try new things, so there I was - barefoot and in a room full of happy, chatty ladies, about to take a Nia class for the first time. I was excited because I had heard it integrated some of my favorite movements: dance, martial arts, and yoga. Once the music started, the instructor began demonstrating some simple movements to open the body. Tapping the toes, bending the knees, rocking the hips, waving the arms, wiggling the fingers, and rolling the neck were meant to activate "all 13 joints," meaning our entire bodies.

We continued to move through several short 10- to 15-minute dance segments, which were a fusion of these nine movement forms:

Martial arts: T’ai Chi, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido
Dance arts: jazz dance, modern dance, Duncan dance
Healing arts: yoga, Alexander Technique, the teachings of Moshe Feldenkrais

To hear more about Nia and see a video clip, read more.

The best way I can describe Nia is that it's a spiritual low-impact aerobics class. The instructor leads you through a simple choreographed move, like a jazz square, but you're encouraged to move your body in the unique and playful way your body wants to move. Nia is all about exploring your space and how your body moves in it. It's about sensory awareness, self expression, and finding joy. What I loved about the class is that it reminded me of yoga in that you're only concerned with your own body and not worried about what other people think. Although I was sweating a little, it wasn't a really intense workout, so if you're looking for a light workout to awaken your spirit and get those feel-good endorphins buzzing, give Nia a try.

If you want more information about this type of bodywork, check out the Nia website. They'll also help you find a class.

Noteworthy Nibbles - Mar. 3-9, 2009

YumSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:00:28 -0800

Springtime is coming, as illustrated by the fact that the country is buzzing with fun food events this week. Whether you want to watch a coffee competition in Portland, OR, or attend a gastronomic gala in Charleston, SC, there's likely to be a fabulous food event near you.

Know of any goings-on that you see left off this list? If so, chime in below. Will you be at any of this week's events?

Plant City, FL: Florida Strawberry Festival - Feb. 26-Mar. 8
Chicago, IL: Chicago Restaurant Week - Mar. 3-6
New York, NY: NYC Restaurant Week - Mar. 3-20
Garden Grove, CA: Japanese Food and Sake Festival - Mar. 5
Fulton, TX: Oysterfest - Mar. 5-8
Charleston, SC: Charleston Food and Wine Festival - Mar. 5-8
Dare County, NC: Taste of the Beach - Mar. 5-8
Portland, OR: United States Barista Championship - Mar. 5-8

To see the rest, read more.

Dallas, TX: Savor Dallas - Mar. 6-7
Philadelphia, PA: Philly Beer Week - Mar. 6-15
Calistoga, CA: Mustard, Mud, and Music: Calistoga Jazz Festival - Mar. 7-8
Tempe, AZ: Great Arizona Beer Festival - Mar. 7-8
Sonoma County, CA: Annual Barrel Tasting - Mar. 7-8
New Orleans, LA: World Cocktail Week in the Big Easy - Mar. 8
San Francisco, CA: Slow Food Nation Eat-In - Mar. 8
New York, NY: Taste Napa Valley - Mar. 9-12

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