Nichelle Newsletter

You Give Good Love

Instead of a slow news week, there's tragedy and sadness with the Tsumani and the deaths of Susan Sontag and Jerry Orbach.  You can't predict what each day will bring, so live well. To donate to the Tsunami go here.

Back in New York...On the flight back, I sat one row in front of Lindsay.  [We're just two Southern girls who escaped to NYC, but go home for the holidays.]  In the early evening, I stopped by Laren's local and had a couple of Belinis and some pie.  Laren and her dad came over for a drink before going to dinner. Then I went to see an Italian film, "Keys to the House". The story tugs gently at the heartstrings.

Here are two links worth clicking:

• Check out children's pop-up author Robert Sabuda's site.
• To organize your home office, peruse See Jane Work for organizing tips and products.

Give It Away

I am somewhere in suburbia, where the refrigerator is fully stocked, and the heat does not emit from a noisy radiator.  There are people here that I am vaguely familiar with (relatives?), and cable TV is almost every room.  I have OD'ed on "Real World/Road Rules" on MTV, Comedy Central and VH1.  I got some great gifts and have a few gems of family dysfunction that may make another good story. I love my family...and I am so ready to fly back to NYC tomorrow!

Giving You The Best That I Got

The perfect day off starts with a nice lunch with my new mentor and friend Karen, who has written over 25 books. [She's just started a blog, too]

Then I met up with Laren and Heidi for some culture; we spent the afternoon at the MoMA.

Later, I was a do-gooder because I volunteered at Love Your Tree at ABC Carpet and Home.  I was wo-manning the Red Tent, a sacred meditation space for women.  A few hours into my shift , a couple approached. The man was immediately familiar (not even slightly disguised) by the baseball cap.  It was actor Michael Richards who played Kramer on Seinfeld! 

When I told "Kramer" that only women could enter the Red Tent, he said:

"I have woman tendencies."

After I finished my shift, I went down to Happy Endings, listened to Bros. Friedman read, and grabbed some Vietnamese on Grand St. 

Only in New York, kiddies!

Give A Little Bit

According to Page Six, Paris Hilton wears a size 11 shoe.  Now I finally get it; she's a drag queen!

T-Muffle (Dead to many of us) resurrects like Lazarus to give his book picks.

Finally, the latest Lusty Lady column is up! Hot Stuff!

Take It Or Leave It

Do you ever go to Barnes & Noble only to check out books that you may buy elsewhere like at the Strand for 50% off?  Well, I do!   This afternoon I was busted by Jon while looking at the Hedonist Handbook. 

Other titles that I found interesting:

• Pornogami/Sugoi
• Serving Crazy with Curry/Malladi
• The Lay Guide/Clink

The Lay Guide looks like the antithesis of HJNTIY or Ian Kerner's She Come First.  This guy Tony Clink has a site (looks pretty primitive) and a yearly membership into the "Lay Guide Club" for only $29.95.  [I guess this is for guys who will need tips on how to get laid all year long.]

Take Me With You

Industrious is the word since I will be reading two Sundays in January.

First off, Cheryl B is letting me read at Atomic Reading Series at Lucky 13 Saloon in Park Slope on January 9 at 7PM.

The following week I will uptown near Columbia reading at the Sunday Salon at Soundz Lounge at 7PM.

Take It To The Limit

Chicks and Giggles: Funny, funky female comedy...Tuesday, January 4 at Raga (433 East 6th Street btwn 1st and Ave A) 8:30 PM

Line-up so far: Robin Fox, Jenny Rubin, Correne Kristensen, Katina, Jody Young.

No cover! Fun show... start the new year off with a bang and a laugh!

Take The A Train

A is for Amy Sohn who read excerpts last night from her hilarious novel, My Old Man.  She is also one of the brilliant writers who contributed to Sex and Sensibility , a collection of essays edited by Genevieve Field which will be released in February 2005.

A is for Andy Friedman who can  be best described as a honky-tonk performance artist and philosopher.   [He's Jewish and from Long Island, but it totally works!]

A is Adira Amram who was the musical guest Sunday night at Juvie Hall.  She is funny and adorable.  I may convince her to do a future Chicks and Giggles.

Taking Care Of Business

Sunday, it was about Christmas shopping, volunteer meeting for Collective Unconscious and checking out “Saturday Night Rewritten” at Juvie Hall.

My reviews:

• Shopping in Soho on a Sunday sucks, but getting free gift wrap is good.  B-
• Signing up to volunteer and meeting new people is good, but not having a formal meeting is a waste of time. C+
• Checking out “Saturday Night Rewritten” was big fun, losing yet another glove blows. A-

[Damn, it's so cold]

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

He's making a list and checking it twice.  He's gonna find out who's naughty or nice... Introducing Santa Earl!

End Of The Road

Top Twenty Moments in 2004

This is my avenue of appreciating all the wonderful and awesome things of 2004. Not necessarily in order except for the first and last one.

1. Going to Rome & Florence and rekindling the greatest romance ever.
2. Performing in “Ladies First” WYSIWYG where I met the lovely RKB, Girly, Delly, Sarah, Lindsay, Jayme and Jessica.
3. Creating Chicks and Giggles first show on May 11, 2004 (next show is January 4, 2005)
4. Moving Nichelle Newsletter to typepad (ever so googleable)
5. Seeing Jill Scott, the Roots and the Fugees Reunion with Ellen.
6. Doing the Gothamist Interviews
7. Having the Free Your P@55y in June (NFOE still is blushing from that one)
8. Taking the “How to Shimmy” class and having my burlesque recital witnessed by RKB, Claudia, Girly and Emily.
9. Any wing night this past summer at Croxley Ales.
10. Guest-hosting with RKB at the Reading Series at Barbes
11. Birthday party at Raga when I screamed in delight when I saw the “cubcakes” B-Muse made.
12. Judging the Ms. Demeanor New York pageant
13. Having my first online clipping on the prestigious Black Table.
14. Any summer rooftop party where blogalizing (socializing with bloggers) was de rigeur.
15. Meeting Judy Blume at Fez Reading Series and getting an autographed copy of “Iggy’s House”
16. Having the Party In My Panties vintage lingerie fashion show at Tainted Lady Lounge.
17. Moving into a nice apt in Harlem and loving my neighborhood
18. Going to many, many book parties and reading more books this year since I did the MS Read-A-Thon when I was a wee little girl.
19. Making crazy casseroles to bring to the all-girl blogger brunch.
20. Taking the test to get on Jeopardy! I failed; but so what.

Bedtime Story

Once upon a time there was a vintage lingerie fashion show and party.  Tonight it happens again @8PM at Tainted Lady Lounge (318 Grand St) near Havermeyer. This is a BYODC event.  [DC= digital camera]

Light My Fire

Send in your pictures of holiday lights, and I will post all next week. Thanks to Donald for sending in this picture.

Fake

If anyone doubts the recent cupcake trend, then a story in today's NY Post about counterfeit cupcakes offers further proof that cupcakes are the new "pink".

It seems as though Cremalita is now selling cupcakes that look very similar to the ones that they were previously buying from Crumbs Bake Shop.

Crumbs co-owner and cupcake creator, Mia Bauer, called it a "soup-to-nuts rip-off."

Is anything sacred? I am all for open-source, but “leveraging” off Ms. Bauer cupcake creativity is not so sweet.

Speaking of cupcakes, our very own RKB has started a cupcake blog.

Update: The New York Post made a correction to its piece about Crumbs/Crema Lita.

[From the same rag where Page Six erroneously spotted the deceased Jam Master Jay in a club, we get a quick correction about cupcakes!] Thanks Milovoo!

Fun, Fun, Fun

Brunch with some of my friends usually involves tasty dishes and terrific dishing.  Today was no different with people making chocolate chip cookies, hash brown casserole, liquor-infused chocolate candy and latkes, of course. RKB brought cupcakes, and we had a fun-filled and carb-full brunch. We forgot to pour a little Tropicana to the sisters who couldn't join us.  Next time, chicas!

Obsession

A few weeks ago, I heard about this variety comedy show called “Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You”,and I thought I would check it out. Anyway, I did. It was fantastic with sketch comedy, musical guest Kimya Dawson and celebrity guest Samantha Bee from” The Daily Show”!

Then later I went to a funky fun party at Coleman’s Bar & Grill at Crazy Legs Conti. Imagine this: a quartet of folks singing "Off the Wall" by Michael Jackson, and that was way before everyone got drunk. Crazy Legs was the perfect host making grilled cheese sandwiches and having beer (Schlitz) wine (Pinot Grigio) and vodka (Armadale).  I only had the wine and a wee bit of egg nog with SoCo. [ A little SoCo goes a long way] I rapped along with Eric "Badlands" Booker to "The Show". Eric handed out his CD, "Hungry and Focused" and he's in training for the next big competitive eating contest which is the "Wing Bowl" In Philadelphia.

My Way

They were filming the pre-quel to "Carlito's Way"  round my way in Harlem last night.

Slowly, Surely

This space is slowly but surely turning into a book blog...Last night I went to the book party for Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show  by Rachel Shteir.  Oxford University Press threw a nice party at the Slipper Room that included an open bar and burlesque. The only bad thing was that there no copies of the book around.

While there I met someone from Feminist Press who told me about the re-release of The G-String Murders. This is a mystery that was penned back in 1941 by the legendary Gypsy Rose Lee. It will be released in May 2005. Cool!

Update: I just received an email from the Museum of the City Of New York.  Rachel Schteir is doing an author talk this Sunday at 2PM.

Rachel Shteir, author of Striptease (Oxford University Press, 2004), takes you behind the scenes with profiles of an array of performers from Sally Rand, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Lili St. Cyr, to Blaze Starr, through a slide presentation of rare photographs and period illustrations, many from the Museum’s Theater Collection.  Veteran tap dancer Tina Pratt will also be on hand to share her experiences. She started her dance career at the end of burlesque as a striptease act, when, as she quotes, "it was all very tasteful."

Too Fast For Love

I know a lot of bloggers get free books, but there’s a sale at Powerhouse Books (68 Charlton) that you may want to check out. Powerhouse is well-regarded as being a notable photography/coffee table book publishers that has a diverse catalog.  Starting today until December 31^st, new titles are 20% off and older titles are 50% off. I already bought one book as a gift during the lunch break and I’m sure to buy more!

Some titles that are on sale include: Too fast For Love, Hip Hop Files and the wonderful New Yorkers: as seen by Magnum Photographers.

Hip Hop Hooray

And you don't stop...Read "Prophets of the Hood" the new book by Imani Perry.  This book examines the genre of hip hop and its relation today's society. The artists of hip hop are storytellers and their stories are often vivid depictions of street life, crime,  seks, racism and God (thanks to Kanye West) .

A Family Reunion

It's an extra special Chicks and Giggles, tonight!  We are doing a holiday show called "Holidays, Family, WTF?!" Enjoy a night of comedic storytelling by the fabulously funny.

Featuring: Jessica Delfino, Lynn Harris, Liz Maher, Margot Leitman, Giulia Rozzi, Lianne Stokes and Becky Yamamoto

When: Tuesday, December 7 at 8:30PM

Where: Raga (433 East 6^th Street)

Wow: No COVER, 2-drink minimum

Looking to turn this fabulous show and the women who perform in it into a documentary.  Any help on this would be appreciated.

Two Of Hearts

The Bust party was like an overstuffed bra on prom night.  Pianos' was packed. All I wanted was a goodie bag which always has some cool stuff. [I especially liked the Afro gum.] Comedians Todd Barry and Dave Gorman were there checking out the many indie chicks who were in attendance.  It was such a strange contrast to last Monday when I was doing investigative reporting at the Penthouse Executive Club.  The men who frequent there would not know what to do with the women who read Bust magazine. I mean these are women who have real boobs and wore Lisa Loeb glasses! And the Bust partiers probably don't like guys who have on more cologne and jewerly then they do. But who knows; sometimes opposites attract! 

Let Me Entertain You

I have said in the past, "I wish I had a niche like food, Brazilian music, or panties." So I am testing the waters with an entertaining/party blog.  Ta-Da! I am announcing the premiere of Entertaining The Idea.  Enjoy while it lasts, since it may go away after the holidaze. The neat thing is that I set up a basic web feed that I will post all the gigs, readings, shows,etc. that come into my inbox and you can add it to your bloglines, newgator, or whatever RSS aggregator you use.

Confessions

The 17^th Annual Independent & Small Press Book Fair has books for everyone.  Books that I so want to read:

• Hip Hop Files by Martha Cooper
• It’s Just A Plant ( a kid book about marijuana)
• The Green Apple: Coupons for Natural Living in New York City by Andreea Matei
• Confessions of A Serial Egg Donor (Author served eggnog) by Julia Derek
• The Real Lives Of Strong Black Women by Toby Thompkins

Also I ran into Jami, Joe and Mike.

Later I went to great party in Williamsburg, and I met a priest.  Anyway a friend came up with this great idea.  What if you could have an IM confessional?   Cool, huh?!

Somebody Told Me

F@#k Greg &Liz!  If you want tips on WHO you want to avoid "hooking up" with this holiday season then look to John from Manhattan Transfer and Stephanie from Greek Tragedy.

Choice Is Yours

Stopped by Housing Works tonight to see the book blogger panel discussion, "What the Blog?".  It was moderated by Dennis Loy Johnson.

Maud Newton, Ron from Beatrice, George from BookNinja, Laila from Moorish Girl and Michael from The Complete Review spoke about books, writing, and the relationship between blogs and traditional print media.

Maud's comment about why she started blogging is spot on:

I had to the desire to procastinate. There's no better way to waste time...

Afterwards, I tried to recruit some civilians (non-bloggers) to start blogs which is easy and takes about 5 minutes to do.

Then I headed up to Siberia which is appropriate given it's a cold night.  Paul Frankenstein, a fellow Sagittarius, was celebrating his birthday early. [I love how Sags will decide when and how long they will celebrate their birthday!]

While at the bar, I meet Fisherman who does burlesque at Otto's Shrunken Head and the This or That burlesque show which is now playing at the Belt Theatre on Friday nights.  [There's a chance that Candied Yams may come out of retirement.]

Oh, RKB gave me the book, New Burlesque by Katharina Bosse for my birthday. Plus there's a book event/party for Striptease: The Untold History of the Girlie Show, by Rachel Shteir. It will be at the Slipper Room on Wednesday, December 8 and will include performances by Dottie Lux of the Red Hots Burlesque and Jo Weldon of G-Strings Forever.

Our House

Last night I went to see a spectacular and fantastic performance at  P.S. 122.  It was the opening night of a new play called "Cul-de-Sac".  Canandian actor and playwright Dan MacIvor brings his amazing talent down south to new York. In this play, he deftly plays nine characters who all live in a suburban neighborhood.  This is the first time I have seen a one-man show, and I was impressed at how Dan volleys between the different characters thoughout the show. I highly recommend this show which is funny, manic and totally subversive! It is playing through December 19. 

Photograph

In case you don't read Black Table on a daily basis, check out my piece.

"All I got is a photograph...I wanna touch you" Def Leppard.

Update: The New York Post ran a peculiar piece called "NY Strip". They sent an intrepid reporter to review the food at strip clubs.

Wrong Way

An evening of entertainment in the Fashion District is yours at the Belt Theatre. "Wrong Way Up" is a musical written by Robert Whaley and Tony Grimaldi of the ultimate party band, The Niagaras.  I have been a fan of the band for at least 3 years, so I had to check it out.  The music is great, and actress/singer Rachel Stern is a standout.  She can blow!  Robert blows, too when he plays the coronet on a few songs.  The show has two more performances (December 8 and 15) before it closes.   

That's What Friends Are For

Don't ever forget what the red ribbons are for. December 1 is World Aids Day.

Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight and Stevie Wonder collaborated to do a song for AIDS research back in 1985.  Unfortunately, AIDS is still a growing problem.