Nichelle Newsletter

Step Into My Office, Baby

A beautiful elevation, originally uploaded by Badison.

Random things that make me love this city!

Last week, I did a free initial consultation for a person who will may my bookkeeping services (fingers crossed), and they gave me some CDs as a token of gratitude, which included  Belle and Sebastian's "Dear Catastrophe Waitress". I never had any Belle and Sebastian, but "Step Into My Office, Baby" is one of my Pandora stations.

Also, I stopped by Jonathan Schorr's gallery in Soho and talked about art and everything aesthetically pleasing.  Just so happens a photographer walked by and the picture above is from his Flickr stream.

The Latest Fashion

Style:  This past weekend I met Monif of  Monif C.  Plus Size  Fashions.   She's having a midsummer sale!

Secret:  New York & Company is the best store because nobody in Manhattan shops there. [Snobs!]

Play:  Remember Fashion Plates?!  I may be dating myself, but I loved that toy. Well, FashMatch is the Web 2.0 version.

In My Life

Reading:  Tales of The City by Armistead Maupin. It's perfect summer reading, and even "Grey Gardens" gets a shout out.

TV: I don't have cable but if I did I would watch "The Killpoint" on Spike.  Michael Hogan, former bartender at Mo Pitkins, is  on the show with John Leguizamo and Donnie "Newkid" Wahlberg.  Also,  I would also be watching Meghan Cleary's show, "Shoe Therapy" on Home Shopping Network.  It premieres Monday August 20.

Congrats:  Jenny & Jasper on their nuptials.  They are proof that you can find love at work!

The Sweetest Thing

Yesterday evening I walking around Midtown doubting myself.  I was wondering if I will ever really be successful dabbling into so many things.  Then I windowshopped, sat outside on a bench, and tried to figured it out.  Thinking can like that make you hungry, so I walked down 9th Avenue for a cheap place for dinner.  When I walked into this diner, a man waved at me to motioned for me down at the table next to him. I waved back since I recognized immediately that it was Melvin Van Peebles!  He introduced himself and his friend and chatted with me a bit.  I told him that I have seen Sweet Sweetback Baadasssss' Song, BAADASSSSS,  and the documentary "How To Eat Watermelon in White Company and Enjoy It" at the Film Forum.  Then near the end of his meal, he asked me if I wanted dessert since he was buying me dinner. So I ordered banana chocolate moouse which was the sweetest thing I ever had.

Melvin is an actor, artist, director, screenwriter, playwright and composer. It was perfect timing to meet this man who is the epitome of a someone who does lots of things successfully.  He's an inspiration and I am so lucky to have met him! Only in New York, kids...

You Don't Send Me Flowers

Shop:  My friend Anita's Ebay Store.  I used Feed Raider to make it look spiffy!

Watch: Your money. Geezeo.

Send: Real flowers to virtual/real friends using Social Flowers. There's a Facebook Application.

My Secret

photo by Matthew David Powell, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

photo by Matthew David Powell

This post will be the closest thing I come to fulfilling the tag request from Cheryl B.

Yesterday I was riding the subway into Manhattan and I looked up and an ad for Mitchum  deodorant. The ad was clearly marketed to men, which is a shame since I have been using Mitchum for about twenty years.  Forget Secret,  which is supposedly "strong enough for a man but made for a woman". I started using Mitchum because my Dad used it, and since he's a sweaty guy, I figured it would be perfect for me.  Living in the South, you sweat so much it's like a part-time job, so I was really self-conscious during adolescence. Over the years, I have tried Lady Mitchum, but I drifted back to the original Mitchum because Lady Mitchum was not always available in drugstores or it would cost more that the "Men's Mitchum".

Last night I was talking about this deodorant thing at a cocktail party to a girl who I just met about the subway ad and she told me about Secret's Clinical Strength antiperspirant. It's really strong. It is probably strong enough for a man, a woman and their bulldog! I found a press release about it on Proctor and Gamble's website and  Dr. Dee Anna Glaser, professor of Dermatology at Saint Louis University School of Medicine said,

"I recommend Secret Clinical Strength because it provides women with prescription strength wetness protection without the prescription, ensuring they have that extra sense of confidence to make them feel comfortable in their own skin,".

A ringing endorsement by a doctor may make me switch, but I wonder if I could ever change.  Summer may not be the best time to test it out.:)

Transformation

Nona Hendryx!, originally uploaded by Afrofuturist.

Yesterday, I went to the inaugural BoldAsLive event at Brooklyn which was conceived by Rob Fields who I met through Likemind.

Nona Hendryx was interviewed by Nick Charles and then she performed three songs with her band. She was phenomenal! Her many creative projects have inspired me. She will be performing in October at Joe's Pub. In the audience was Toshi Reagon and members of The Family Stand.

Self Destruction

Back in the day, hip hop used to be about something.  KRS One,  MC Lyte, D-Nice, Doug E Fresh and Public Enemy are some the people who performed on this song which called for an end to violence.

Linger

originally uploaded by girlynyc.

Drink: I loaned a friend a copy of Selfish and Perverse and it looks like the book had a mojito.

Blast from the past:  Chris Ritke interviewed me on his podcast, 49Media back in August 2005.

Read:  Sherman Alexie's novel, Flight.  It is great!

Starter marriage club: First Wives World

Beauty Magazine:  Amber Magazine

The Glamorous Life

Attended:  Glam party in Soho and chatted with Kathryn, Tia, Meghan and the Other Nichelle :)

Launched:  Another damn blog, Fashion Swap and Meet.  It's for my clothing swaps. The next one will be September 16 after Fashion Week.

Watched:  VH1's "The World Series of Pop Culture". I love it and Pat Kiernan is my hero.

Knock On Wood

Sweet: Honey Mag is back online.  The fabulous Najwa Moses is blogging on the site.

Drink: Unthirsty = MyOpenBar + Google Maps

Home: In Style's Martha McCully blogs about her being a judge on Design Star.

Me: Just in case you missed it back in May, here's that small business article of me in the New York Times.

Starfish And Coffee

its having the time to fill it all in, originally uploaded by arlene textaqueen.

Last Saturday, I met the wonderfully talented artist, Arlene Textaqueen.  She was doing a portrait of a friend of mine and now that I have seen some of her work, I am a big fan!

By the way, the latest issue of the LVHRD MGZN is out and ready for download.  The cover art was created by Paul Pope.

Piece Of My Heart

JHeart, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

Two weeks ago, I met street artist JesOne and she gave me of her posters. If you live in Queens, you may have seen them.

Check out her Flickr set of the "Jheart Line".

Take Me With U

Overheard at dinner Monday night: "You are white bread. Like Wonder..." [It was not about me]

Thought:  I keep getting Jessica Alba and Vanessa Minnillo mixed up. I know the former is an actress, but the latter apparently enjoys sex with Nick Lachey.  [Who is the better performer?!]

Comedy: Chicks and Giggles' "Anything But Stand-Up Show" is tonight, Tuesday July 17. It's variety with a capital V!

Geek Out:  TwitterCal! It's a free service that connects your Twitter account to your Google Calendar.

All Star

DSC_6538.JPG, originally uploaded by ohyoucrazy.

Mate:  This weekend, I watched several episodes of "Confessions of a MatchMaker" and I love Patti Novak and her Buffalo accent.

Blog: Are you reading City Room yet? You should be.

Pawn: A new niche online community for chess players, Chess Park.

Just Got Lucky

Deflowered: Saw the last 30 minutes of The 40 Year Old Virgin today and loved it!  Hair is one my favorite musicals.

Pulp: Comic Artist Paul Pope's new art book, Pulphope: The Art of Paul Pope.  I met Paul recently and he told me about  his work, and I flipped through his book.Cool stuff!

Comics: My friend Douglas Wolk has a new book, Reading Comics: How Graphic Novels Work and What They Mean.

Swap: The clothing swap is listed on Metromix and will be covered by Village Voice online.

Walking On Sunshine

Walking On Sunshine, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

One of the pictures that Bill Wadman took of me at Sunset Park. The sun was intense last Friday, so it was hard to get a good shot. 

Chicks and Giggles tonight!

Stay cool.

Marathon Shirt

cupcake silk screening, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

Pictured above is a "cupcake monster"  silk screening created by Diana.

Swap: My next "Fashion Swap Meet" is Sunday, July 15.

Plan:  Some Kiwis have developed a web 2.0 application called Plan HQ for helping you build a business plan online.

Rock:  Mark you calendars on July 22 for BoldasLIVE , a new live event platform for Black rock. It is described as "Behind The Actor's Studio" meets "MTV's Unplugged".  Nona Hendryx will be there for the first one at the Brooklyn Lyceum.

She's Crafty

Crafty folks!, originally uploaded by Fort Cloudy.

Yesterday's Cupcakes Take The Cake Arts and Crafts Day at Etsy Labs was so much fun!  I made a button, decorated a tote bag, and had some t-shirts silk screened. There were people of all ages who came to get crafty and eat cupcakes. A million thanks to Anda, Mary and Michelle of Etsy Labs. Thanks to Jason of Crumbs Bakeshop. Thanks to Diana  and Heather for doing the silk screening.

We had a blast!

Warsaw

DSC_8092, originally uploaded by brianvan.

Kielbasa is King!

Discover: If you have yet to go to Governor's Island, go this Sunday for Figment.

Picture: Tonight, my picture will be up on 365portraits. Bill took some great pictures of me in Sunset Park this afternoon.

Karaoke: July 15  show is going to be rescheduled for another date.  [things fall apart]

Realization: I will never  be "normal" and I guess I am OK with it, but I crave more normal than crazy right now.

WKRP In Cincinnati

DSC_8082, originally uploaded by brianvan.

At party one of the three 4th of July rooftop and/or deck parties I attended on Wednesday,  I met this guy named Nate who has on this great T-shirt which was of Cincinnati Transit Map. For all my friends who live in "The Nati" , they would love it since there is no subway system in Cincinnati even though there are tunnels  for it. By the way, "The Nati" is a terrible nickname for a city that is named after a Roman dictator.

I also want to read, Are We Rome by  Cullen Murphy.

Human Nature

Nada:  There is NO Chicks and Giggles tonight, but will return on July 10.

Read:  Wishing Thinking, a blog for coaching creative professionals.  I heard about this blog via Antonio Gould who did a talk last night on microbranding at Etsy Labs.

Pounce:  Pownce is the newest project by Digg founder Kevin Rose. I am waiting for my invite.

Send: Paper cards may be nice but sending an ecards are green and cheap,  Spreading The Love.

New word: Indignant + Ignorance = Indignance

Indignance: Why does Scooter Libby gets away with a commutation while even Paris Hilton does time?

Indignance 2.0: This post by Emily smacks in the face of everything I thought Gawker loved to ridicule. The commenters are like sheep (ew! ewe!) and even Stephanie Klein wrote it better and first.  Read her book. :)

Off The Hook

baked, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

 

Saturday, I had dinner at Nelson Blue and spotted actress Wendy Moniz there.  I went up to her before I left and said hello.  She's very nice.

Later I partied with the Yummicoco at Mehanata Bar and drank plenty of Boru Vodka. Then I stopped by the Heather Fink's party until wind and rain ended the party abruptly.

Went to Baked in Red Hook on Sunday. Their sweet and salty cupcake is the best.