Archive for September 16, 2011

Simply Fabulous: Erickatoure “My Pumps”

So earlier tonight I spent hours watching great television. Of course the 7th season premiere of Always Sunny in Philly totally had my mom and I cracking up, but then we decided to follow the nonstop laughter with something a little more serious; Dance Moms. I’m not even really into dance like all that, but I do enjoy watching the dance moms and seeing all that drama. Abby Lee is this heavyset dance teacher who never dances! She yells at the little girls and puts so much pressure on them, yet I’ve yet to see her actually dance.

Judging by her size and lack of movement, I doubt she actually uses dance as cardio. Instead she bosses little girls around and yells at their parents, but I love it! I can’t help to just watch it and shake my head at the nonsense. Every episode always ends up with some little girl crying and their mother getting mad at Abby for not giving her daughter a precious solo. This episode that aired this week had the usual drama and battle of the dance ego, but there was something that stood out this episode; the drag queen and the simply fabulous dance routine at the end.

Abby decided to bring in a vogue expert and had him teach the girls who to be fierce. It was awesome! The routine they did was so cute and the song was even better. I had to immediately track down the lyrics and find out who on earth was singing a song about pumps. Well, my job wasn’t too hard. I ended up doing a Google search and found a drag queen by the name of Erickatoure. He (or should I call him a she?) was the person who wrote the song “My Pumps,” and the girls on Dance Moms did a good job dancing to it.

I may not own a lot of pumps right now, but Erickatoure Aviance’s song “My Pumps” will make any girl or drag queen want to go out and buy a pair; it’s just that fabulous! I love anything that has a catchy dance beat and I’m all for people expressing themselves to the fullest. If a guy wants to dress up in drag and flaunt his heels, then go for it! You won’t get any weird stares from me, I’ve seen quite a bit in my days. Seriously, the house music community was originally started by gay Black men who loved the disco era. So to be a true lover of house music, you can’t hate anyone no matter what race, sexual orientation, size, or general beliefs.

I’m all for being friendly to those in the LGBT community and those who are proud to dress in drag. I love it when someone can be themselves and not have to worry about someone being uber judgemental. In my life I’ve had a lot of friends from different lifestyles and ways of life, but that is the beauty of humanity. We have this option to travel the world and meet a wide collection of unique people. Life would be boring if everyone dressed the same and didn’t express their abstract thoughts.

You’ve just got to be yourself in life and not apologize for it. I’m sure there are those people out there who get annoyed or creeped out by drag queens with flamboyant personalities, but I think it’s a work of art. It’s a form of expression and sometimes it can be a pass or a major fail. Some folks in drag can pull it off and others need some lessons from Rupaul. The main key is to be fierce. Erickatoure Aviance is one fierce diva and knows how to work it honey!! He is doing what he wants and his song “My Pumps” is simply fabulous. Love it or hate, I don’t care; I love it! SO FABULOUS HONEY!!!

©Jasmine McGee.ThinkSoul25. http://thinksoul25.com

New Zealand: Four Seasons in One Day

Attention to all my regular readers: This post and the next few posts in the few weeks regarding New Zealand are for my Intro to Physical Geography class. I know it seems random, but hey, that is what being an urban nomad is all about. Taking in lots of information and sharing it with the world. So enjoy!

New Zealand: Four Seasons in One Day

Jasmine McGee

New Zealand is one of the most beautiful locations in the world. You’ve got beaches, rainforests, mountains, and a varying climate. It’s located between the Tropic of Cancer and the Artic Circle, which explains why the weather in the North tends to be warmer than the South. Typically, NZ has a mild climate year round, with amounts of high rainfall, sunshine, and a hint of the occasional freezing temperatures in the inland Alps of the Southern region.

NZ receives a lot of sunshine, almost 2000 hours of sunshine a year. The varying climate is a cause of its latitude and longitude. The Northern part of the country is more of a subtropical climate due to its proximity towards the equator and the Southern region of the country is known for arctic blasts.

The relation between the climate of New Zealand and the equator is the reason why the winter days are usually longer and the nights are shorter. It’s a perfect destination for those seeking fun in the sun, a winter escape in the Southern region, and high rainfalls all in the same day. It’s the main reason why New Zealand is known for “four seasons in one day.”

Resources

http://www.mapsofworld.com/lat_long/newzealand-lat-long.html

http://www.newzealand.com/int/article/new-zealand-climate-and-weather/

http://www.newzealandspringwater.com/climate.html

http://www.fourcorners.co.nz/new-zealand/seasons-climate/

http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/temperature/future_geographies_gw_temp.html

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