What's so incredible? Why is she so awesome? How does she do it?

On my plate: Belgian waffle, decaf coffee, and a fruit salad of rockmelon, bilberry, strawberry, and honeydew

Planet B-Boy

2007, USA

Directed by Benson Lee

Spoiler level - low (speculation and allusions only)

I’m always a sucker for a good documentary, and I have long since been duly obsessed with the modern reincarnation of b-boying and how the world of breakdancing has evolved from a pop-and-lock, America-central pastime to a power-move-gymnastics, Asia-dominated sport. So when the 2007 documentary Planet B-Boy was finally released in the US I jumped at the chance to witness the latest Battle of the Year vicariously. I was expecting the usual childlike wonder I usually feel at jobs that involve a decent amount of insanity (The Great Happiness Space, Yamikaze and District B13, and good old Man on Wire) but I was not expecting to be as enthralled as I was start to finish. Of course it doesn’t hurt that I have such an affinity for the topic, but my fondness almost never builds bridges over potholes or blinds me from terrible character development.

The film revolves around an event in Germany called Battle of the Year, the sort of Olympics of breakdancing, where one team from each of 22 countries is selected to participate in the battle for title of the world’s greatest dance crew. Think America’s Best Dance Crew on crack. Now for those of you who don’t follow this sport like it’s a major league world series, winning Battle of the Year has never been about the winnings, it’s about the prestige, the bragging rights, the proof that you are one of the illest breakdancing machines on the face of the earth. Even just getting an invitation to Battle of the Year carries significant weight. So it’s no surprise you start to get yourself keyed up from mere excitement to frenzy by the time the battle actually rolls around.

Where It Excels
Planet B-Boy does a really good job of giving an accurate sense of scope for Battle of the Year. To our dance crews, it’s this humongous, life-defining, job-changing event, and one of the largest breakdancing gatherings in the world, but at the same time it’s also a big fish swimming in a tiny subculture. When they finally get to Battle of the Year, they’re staying at a school, practicing in a gym, and all sleeping in the same room. It’s got the glamour, but then again, it really doesn’t too. In fact, throughout the entire film I thought Lee did a phenomenal job of capturing those meaningful little moments; the Japanese and Korean crews puzzling over the German pudding they are served, the competitors shooting one another dirty looks, our youngest French B-Boy correcting his mother, and a million other personal moments that give an appropriate amount of realism to an otherwise overblown story. These are the best guys in the world at what they do, but it’s not all photo shoots and commercials. The whole feel is pretty aligned with the message too; it’s not just graffiti graphics and ’90s style tropes, but a more modern and cleaner version of the typical urban graphics, using a subway map of the world as a transitional device, and team t-shirts to do the job of weighty text or lower thirds.

Where It Fails
The tone it begins with is great, but at first you’re not sure whether the film is a lesson in B-Boy history or a primer in Battle of the Year. The structure is sound, but a little too predictable as well, and I would have liked to mix it up a little. While Planet B-Boy does a thorough job of delving into the five main contender’s worlds, it merely hints at the score of other dance crews also present putting their name on the line and their skills to the test. Sure America, France, Japan, and Korea are by far the most famous countries for the sport (Koreans taking the trophy seemingly more than everyone else lately), but the whole point of Battle of the Year is to give credence to the international, global appeal of breakdancing. I wanted less glossing over how widespread it is and more references to the competition. Still, I know you can only do so much in two hours.

All in All
Entertaining for sure, Planet B-Boy isn’t a work of genius in and of itself, but considering how few and far between decent movies on the subject are, Planet B-Boy was a totally welcome piece. It’s one of the few works on the subject that are high quality, true to the spirit of the contemporary movement, and do a good job dealing with the cultural incarnations of what the modern-day B-Boy is all about, rather than lamenting the loss of the traditional breaksta or demanding payment for the pastime’s period of exploitation. B-Boy culture has moved on, and its high time the films around it have too. All in all, it’s hard not to be excited by Planet B-Boy.

At least to me it seems like I haven’t taken a trip in ages, even though my last jaunt to Philadelphia was less than a month ago. The good news is I’ll be taking a short hiatus for a few days to a place I’ve never been: Las Vegas. So look forward to lots of pictures and maybe even a short video snippet or two in the coming days after my return!

On my plate: home-baked cinnamon rolls with icing

On my plate: Special K protein plus with fresh raspberries and blackberries

Not sure if you want to take that first jump across the puddle? Positive you couldn’t be an international playboy or playgirl? Unwilling to commit to one and just one company’s rewards programme? Forget it all and jump into the new era of travel by unleashing your inner frequent flier. For the how and why, read on.

Travel is synergistic.
You really can have it all. You can dodge blackout dates and airline restrictions, travel to your preferred destinations, and do it for cheap without having to promise your firstborn to anyone. You can do this because travel is synergistic: the more you do travel, the more you can travel. That’s only half of the snowball effect. Any long-term traveller with half a brain will tell you that the more you travel, the more you want to travel too. You can certainly plan your first big excursion, thinking “and then I’ll come home and that’ll be it,” but, pardon me for laughing in your face, we all know that’s a lie. Extensive travel changes you in ways non-travellers can’t seem to fully comprehend, and it’s only natural that once you’re a traveller, you become more of a traveller by nature of the game. You start to crave it. You sign up for things you’d never had interest until you stretched your travel legs, and get angry at yourself for not even considering a visit to remote backwater X before. It’s not all up to your destination dreams though, because travelling extensively actually makes travelling easier. You get more offers, coupons, and deals, you meet new people with available couches to crash on, you get a feel for the patterns of what the trends are and when the bad times occur. More opportunities to travel personally and professionally arise, and your tolerance for sweaty bus rides and for two-hour train delays becomes impressive. If you travel, and I mean really travel, it starts to fund itself, even if you aren’t paid to do it.

You don’t have to deny your preferences.
I am of course talking about frequent flier programmes. I have trouble understanding why they get such a bad rap, though I wholeheartedly understand that people get fairly intense about their air travel experiences, and I absolutely think American aviation is dicking us around instead of leveling with the customer. But why all the debate? If you don’t travel all that much, don’t even bother enrolling, but if you spend any significant percentage of time scrunched into an aeroplane seat, it is you that these programmes were made for, and you undoubtedly have strong opinions about your aviation experiences already. I know I do; I’m loyal to my preferred carriers to a fault, I refuse to fly anything smaller than a Boeing 737, and I think the absense of a personal entertainment player on a transatlantic flight is the first horseman of the apocalypse. Am I a high maintenance traveller? By no means, but I have spent an inordinate amount of time with my butt in 7A, or 16D, or 38F, enough to turn down a flight if only middle seats are available. Trust me, the longer the flight, the more willing I am to pay for extra legroom, a more convenient commute to my gate, and separate lines at security. Strangely, every traveller’s least favourite part of travelling is always the part that gets you there in the first (well, that and the intestinal perils involved with living somewhere foreign since even a reputable, first-world, western country can target your duodenum). And if booking the flight is half the battle, why would you willingly raise your white flag and surrender the war before you even get there?

Your hassle will eventually become habit.
My best guess as to why we let airlines treat us like redheaded stepchildren is because our tolerance for sorting through the thousands of flights out there is already incredibly low; we’re just happy to be going somewhere. Let’s face it, planning a trip, large or small, is kind of an ordeal. There are plans to be made, large numbers to massage around to an acceptably smaller figure, and a boatload of concerns that pop up with anywhere new. I’ve done it so much I’m now unphased. I couldn’t pack in anything larger than a carryon if I tried, and I guarantee that wanting fewer souvenirs and getting free upgrades comes simultaneously with bitching about the guy who didn’t know he needed to take his shoes off. There’s a synergistic secret hidden in all this. The more you do it, it becomes less of a hassle and more of a habit, until you don’t think twice about shelling out for nonstop, you no longer get to the gate 3 hours early, and you think any flight under 10 hours in duration is short.

The world is smaller.
You should absolutely get to this point. It’s a globally interconnected world out there. I consider myself a citizen of the world since I now average about two trips a month, two extended international jaunts a year, and few weekend escapes here and there on a penny. But travelling so much doesn’t mean I’m running off to hide under a rock or in a nightclub or behind a business conference. I stay connected with the contacts I need to via skype, I have a reachable voicemail via Google Voice (formerly Grand Central), and I can submit work to clients from across the country just as easily as I can from across the ocean. Nor does my exhaustive travel schedule mean I’m throwing fiscal caution to the wind or selling parts of my kidneys on craigslist. Not all. I travel smart when I can, keep a weather eye on ticket prices, and know what my lines to cross are from the start. I take lots of weekend trips, bum lots of rides, and sleep on lots of floors. But I am young and spry and to see the world for myself is more important than to stay in a four-star hotel. Of course when the opportunity to stay at the Bellagio in Las Vegas for a fraction of the usual price knocks, of course I’ll answer the door. Which is how I get to go to Las Vegas next weekend.

You deserve premiere service.
For people so willing (and so oft pursuing) travel, I find myself slightly peeved at how I’m being treated a as a customer. It’s one thing to book a JetBlue, Sun Country, or AirTran flight and get more than you were expecting. These are, after all, budget airlines that never offered amenities; it’s the Southwest model, where you buy old planes, offer no service, and fly places that are almost, but not actually the airports people want to go to. It’s another thing entirely to pay more or less top dollar for a large-name carrier and get shafted of a meal, have to pay extra for your one piece of under 50kg luggage, and get hot coffee spilled on you while you’re trying to watch something on your iPod. Essentially the travel industry should be treating us better, which was why I decided almost exactly one year ago that it was high time I became an elite member of some programme or another. Then of course, comes the vicious debate over which one: Star Alliance or OneWorld? Domestic or international? Who do I hate the least? Who has the best rewards programme? While internet forums seem to be riddled with people running their keyboards off about either, all the heavy travellers I know (and even some I don’t) had little to no problem deciding, enrolling, and reaping the benefits of fresh fruit, discount massages, and free wifi at their frequent flier’s airport lounges.

There are fewer choices to make.
In fact, for me it was easier to just pick one and be loyal than it was to keep touting whichever carrier offers the cheapest deal of the moment. So years ago, before I was the jetsetter I am today, I had a Continental OnePass account. I use it more than anything else now, in fact I just booked a trip to Boston using my OnePass miles and haven’t once been disappointed by their customer service. For those of you in the know this will come as no surprise, since Continental’s customer loyalty has historically been unusually strong, and the company has won at least 10 Freddie Awards for Programme of the Year. Their Frequent Flier programme has been around for over twenty years, and best of all the carrier is (soon to be was, much to my chagrin) part of the SkyTeam allaince, a third contender in the world of airline alliances that offers codeshares with, eligible miles for, and global perks on flights of other SkyTeam carriers I already like, such as Korean Air, Air France, KLM Royal Dutch, Virgin Atlantic (though not strictly a SkyTeam member) and even Delta airlines. This includes three out of my top five airlines (KLM, Virgin, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa in no particular order) on top of already being my favourite domestic carrier.

Airlines are bigger.
Thus it’s understandable that with all those miles accrued and all that history with a carrier and an alliance I wholeheartedly like, I feel some sense of loss at the company’s choice to leave SkyTeam and instead join the Star Alliance. Sure Star Alliance has more airlines in its association, including my all-time favourite Sinagpore Airlines (and apparently the rest of the world’s, they’ve been voted number 1 several years running) and dealing with United and US Airways domestically sure beats OneWorld’s American Airlines, but the international options are nowhere near my top choices (Air Canada and bmi is really the best you can do?) and I can no longer rely on access to the superb Air France lounge in Charles DeGualle when I’m there in October. There’s a bigger lesson in all of this. The alliances, some of which are barely going on a decade, offer travellers a level of connectivity that was previously unavailable. You don’t have to fly Southwest and only Southwest to make those frequent flier miles work for you anymore or charge insane amounts to amass enough miles you could use on something besides a magazine subscription. With such cooperations expanding every year, travel is getting easier and more accessible, a trend I hope continues onward.

Travel means something different now.
We’re working against some longstanding cultural myths as well, that although founded thoroughly in fact are nonetheless highly outdated. Maybe travel was a luxury reserved for the supremely wealthy back in the day, but travel means something entirely different in today’s day and age. More and more students are taking gap years or travelling abroad (it was 25% at my university), more Americans than ever hold an active passport, and the new generation of youth are expected to cope with a global world well before they’ve even come of age let alone dabbled in the workforce. I’m mildly surprised that since travel is so “affordable” now all the air companies are and have been tanking since before the recession, and though there are exceptions, Continental among them, we’re getting even more corners cut — no more complimentary checked bags, no more meals, only one beverage service, only one bathroom still — and are expected to pay on average $150 more for the same 2 hour layover at JFK. Noooooooo thank you. Why is this so appalling? Because travel means something more than it did half a century ago. Like the internet is fast becoming, travel is no longer a luxury but a necessary service for business and commerce, for cultural progress, and for some of us, our own mental health and life purpose. Think about it, without aviation the world would fall apart.

So go ahead and let yourself become a frequent flier and a traveller, because it doesn’t matter if you’re constantly commuting or taking an extended vacation, if you frequent the Indian subcontinent or your family a few hours away, we all have our reasons to travel. It’s changed out there, so make your own travel habits work for you and unleash your inner frequent flier.

RIYL: Kero One, Uyama Hiroto, Fat Jon, DJ Mitsu the Beats

I know I’ve spoken before about how underrated the Japanese hip hop scene is, and with artists like Nujabes attracting people like Apani B Fly, it comes as no surprise that the synergy has to snowball into something more.

Ladies and gentlemen, that synergy may not have coined the jazz/classical fusion the Japanese underground scene is so well known for, but it has undeniably brought previously well-hidden gems like Shin-Ski into the global eye, and while Planetarium is certainly solid enough to warrant the 54 Washingtons you’d be shelling out just to give it a spin, the best perk of the artist’s newfound reach is that you don’t have to. In fact, open up iTunes immediately, type in those eight little characters and give this guy a listen.

I don’t know that I’d call Shin-Ski a visionary, but his extensive work is undoubtedly worthy of being a standby. It’s instrumental hip hop fusion at some of its craftiest; Shin-Ski slips into quite a few other genres and dips into the library of electronica styles to bring his own touch to an already developed genre. Planetarium is a satisfying 17 tracks, with a surprising variety of song types and styles. The piano and guitar hooks backed by a sweeping synth or two means you’ll find tons of jazz in the album, but the beats and varied structures break up songs that would otherwise start to sound alike. While any instrumental beat album inevitably runs the risk of falling into redundant territory, Planetarium manages to land just shy of repetitive, but consistent enough to still feel decidedly Shin-Ski, if you’re familiar with his other work.

And he has had other work, other equally good collaborations. Much like the glory of Lightheaded — a successful trio in their own right, with the even more astounding success of members Ohmega Watts, Braille, and Othello’s solo careers — one of my favourite nujazz hip hop trifectas The Shinsight Trio now gives us Shin-Ski to enjoy in a whole new dimension. If your tastes are anything like mine, you should definitely consider picking up a copy of Shin-Ski’s 2009 release, Planetarium to see for yourself.

Recommended Tracks:

“Polaris,” “Altair,” and “Mirfak”

I go home, I open up my mailbox, and I pull out a stack of fairly boring-looking envelopes — bills, junk mail, catalogues, you know the kind of what not I mean — and then out comes this humongous parcel post mass of magazines I hadn’t even thought to notice I was missing. When they come all at once like that, it’s often more of a hassle than a joy, but I was nonetheless thoroughly excited to see a bonus sheet of artist paper stuck somewhere between the Burger special of Saveur and the newest issue of Giant Robot. I was instantly reminded of paper dolls from the fifties, an old-school toy my grandmother used to buy for us as children, and though I had a laundry list of things to do around the house I nevertheless proceeded to drop everything and cut, fold, and glue this little guy together. He now sits on my desk, guarding my alarm clock with a valiant ferocity I would not have expected from a miniature paper knight.

It may have only taken me ten minutes to build, but it gave me an entire evening of joy.

On my plate: Afghan nan, vegetable curry, stewed spinach, fried eggplant, pumpkin, rice, and various kebobs. I know it may look drab in the picture, but it was surprisingly vibrant looking in real life, though I’d have liked it to have more of a kick. Still, no complaints, this was a very successful first brush with Afghani food

On my plate: Jamie Oliver’s spaghetti fritters with fresh basil and olive