Dancing with the Stars (And Shakin' in My Boots)

Tonight, Shelli and I went to a live taping of Dancing with the Stars, courtesy of her friend, Donna, who knows the executive producer.

We'd never seen the show before last week, when Donna invited us to come and see if we could make any connections to help us with One Wee World. We ended up going last Tuesday and had a great time, but unfortunately didn't get to speak with the person we had hoped to meet.

So, we were back again this week, in hopes of getting another chance to meet him, but, alas, we missed our elusive person yet again. However, we did get a couple of other great opportunities.

Down on the floor some of the celebrity guests tonight included George Lopez, Eva Longoria, and Oscar de la Hoya... can you imagine?

Shelli and I looked at them and then looked at each other.

I started fumbling with my purse to get the DVDs we'd brought just in case an opportunity exactly like this came up. But, I was still wasn't committed to doing it. I asked Shelli if she thought we should give them to them and, of course, she said, "Yes." (Thanks, Shelli, for not saying, "Duh!")

Then, I bought myself time by dithering about debating whether or not I should give the programs to them before or after the show.

At this point I felt an incapacitating wave of nervousness engulf me. Whenever I feel this certain feeling of nervousness, I know that I have to do whatever it is that has made me so nervous, if for no other reason than to conquer the fear I'm experiencing.

So, I rocketed off my seat ( I was glad I'd bought a pretty, new dress earlier that day... it helped that I felt cute) and barreled on down to their table.

As a quick aside, this has got to be an awkward position that celebrities must constantly face, a stranger in close proximity to them, obviously wanting their attention and the celebrities' having no earthly idea as to what's about to happen.

Once they were all warily looking at me, I explained, "I created a children's DVD about celebrating diversity, and I'd like you all to have one," while I pushed DVDs across the table to each of them.

Not wanting to be a bother, I bolted on back to my seat.

Shelli and I spent the next ten minutes craning our necks to see if they were actually looking at the DVDs or not. We thought we saw George Lopez looking his over and felt hopeful. Then we saw Eva checking it out and felt even better.

Then, we realized we should have included a note asking what we'd hoped they might do if they liked the DVD, like endorse us, or give us a testimonial, spread the word and talk about us on talk shows, or even introduce us to others who might be able to get our project off the ground.

Oh well, ever since starting this project the learning curves on a number of subjects has been precipitously steep.

The whole rest of the show I worried that they'd just leave the DVDs behind on the table, but when they got up and left, the table was clear. So... who knows? It'd be so great to hear something from them.

And they weren't the only ones we got to give our DVD to. We got to visit the green room where we saw Leeza Gibbons and gave her a copy, too.

I have to say, she was WAY cool! We were very gratified that she really listened, engaged us in a brief conversation, and complimented us on what we were trying to do. I was really impressed by her graciousness and sincerity.

And, a shout out to Connie, who we also met tonight. Connie worked on one of the segments on the show and she was a pleasure to talk with in line and later on in the green room.

Boy, I just want One Wee World to be everything I know it can be, a movement for peace and unity and a joyful celebration of diversity. And I'd love to see everyone be a part of it.

I am an optimist, so I shall fall asleep tonight hoping, hoping, hoping.

Raison D'Etre

I mean, honestly... HONESTLY!!! Could he be any more beautiful?

I just had to take a moment and post this... we took it when we went camping with Shelli and Aaron and some other friends a week and a half ago.

It was a such a great time and, not the least because of the nights. (My close friends know I bemoan the fact that Max is not the cuddliest guy in the world... sure, he'll pop on over for a quick, distracted kiss, and a tight, sincere hug, but then he'll tear off on one of his pressing toddler missions to destroy our house)

Anyways, at night, when we'd build the fire, Max would nestle cozily into my lap and stay there for hours!!! I was never more content in my life! Gazing from him to the stars to the fire, smelling the woodsmoke and the top of his sweet little head, I kept my arms in a tight embrace around him, giving extra-special squeezes to savor his sturdy little, healthy little body and let him know his mama loves him more than she could ever, ever express. Those were among the best moments of my life.

We need to go camping every night!

Rounding out the Wee Team

This post applauds the efforts of three artists who have left their own indelible marks on the birth and future of One Wee World.

First, Angela Roberson, an animator whose considerable beauty is equaled by her talent and enthusiasm. This year, Angela made history by being the first contestant of African-American descent to compete in the Miss Los Angeles Chinatown AND winning the Third Princess crown!

We met Angela by way of Bruce (good people know good people!) who suggested her as a possible artist to sketch out Ambassador Kiki for us. We'd put the call out to several people we knew who all submitted ideas to us. But as soon as we saw Angela's rendition, we knew she was the one to go with. Angela has been such a pleasure to work with. I couldn't imagine a better "mom" for Kiki!

And if Kiki's "mom" is Angela, then Kiki's "dad" would be Ben Bardens of Bark Animation. Ben is a friend and former neighbor of the Taylors who teaches animation here in Los Angeles and currently works for the L.A. Lakers doing graphics for their games at the Staples Center. So in addition to animating Kiki wonderfully for us, he's also responsible for creating our beautiful title and vocabulary slides. Ben's really been there for us throughout our journey, giving generously of his talent, support, and willingness to help. We really look forward to Ben's future with us, as soon as we can afford to snag him as an art director, HE'S OURS!!!

Last, but far, far from least, Lance Landiak of Ditty Base and the Decibel Collective. I spent a lot of time looking for the right partner to help us with our music. Days and days and days of listening to music production libraries and submissions from various sources. I was starting to get pretty worried because either I didn't like the music, or the sources were out of our budget.

All the research on the internet paid off though when I stumbled across the treasure that is Lance. From the very first conversation I had with him, Lance has been acommodating, supportive, and gracious. And the music they create ROCKS!!!

I just love what they've done for us. And what really tickles me is both that we've never met in person and also the truly global scale upon which we're working together. Lance lives in B.C. in Canada. The artist, Ged, who wrote the music to our theme song and sang it is an Irish man who lives in London. And the artist, Mo Shang, who has just written the Japanese version of our theme song lives in Singapore. How amazing is that?

We seriously could NOT have produced our first DVD to our exacting standards in so short a time without Lance's help. I am thrilled to think of all of the fantastic music we'll be working on together for our next programs.

Angela, Lance, and Ben, good times behind us, good times before us! We're so happy to be working with all of you!