Nichelle Newsletter

Can't You Hear Me Knocking

Don't Eat the Scenery!, originally uploaded by carpe icthus.

OMGBecky: Pictured above is  Yamamoto and  Stokes chewing up the scenery.

Brown: Brown Bloggers brunched at Dinosaur BBQ yesterday, but I got there late after getting lost and playing Boggle badly.

Curly:  Girls with curly hair are funny! check out the C & G this Tuesday when Adira Amram,  Brandy Barber, Michelle Buteau, Erin And Her Cello and  Molly Reisner perform. [Save the blowout for next week and come support the curls!]

Literary:  I am reading Joe Miller's Cross-X and he will be reading at Hue-Man Bookstore this Wednesday.

Arty:  Travis  Lundquist will be showing his work at the McCaig-Welles Gallery.  (129 Roebling St) Opening Reception is Friday the 13th.

Sunshowers

chicks and gigs 005
Originally uploaded by candiedyams.

When I took this picture of lovely and funny comics Vicky and Nikki last week at Chicks and Giggles, it didn't occur to me about their ethnicity, because I was just taking pictures before the show starts.

Later I remembered how I met Anna from Sepia Mutiny last week at BlogHer, and I hope that we can plan a meetup this fall with Southeast Asian, Latino and African American bloggers. [basically anyone blessed with melanin]

By the way,unless you have been living under a rock or totally been on vacation during your entire presidency, then you have heard about the British/Southeast Asian sensation, M.I.A. She performed for yearning masses yesterday afternoon at Central Park's Summerstage, and Sepia Mutiny covered it.

Lift Every Voice and Sing

My friend Christabel is working on a piece about Black and Latino Bloggers and she asked me to posed this question to you guys:

"Why don't we see more African American and Latino bloggers getting the amount of press in MSM as the melanin-challenged (White) bloggers?"

Prometheus' take.

Please email me or reply in the comments section.  I want your feedback so that the article will have more than one voice and/or opinion on this topic.

The next brown bloggers meetup is May 15! More details to come.

Oh What A Night

Collecting my thoughts on tonight's event....

I am so honored that bloggers flew in from the West Coast (All ABout George) and the South (EJ Flavors)for our inaugural Brown Blog event. Plus, Harlem and Brooklyn was well-represented. For the first hour, we mingled and invited people to register online at Brown Bloggers. Liza has created an aggregator so that you can go Brown Bloggers to see feeds from member's blog.  [The site is still in ultra-beta, but check it out.] It was so nice meeting all the people that I have been emailing and reading their blogs. Here's a  shout out some of the people who came last night:

Jose who is getting married in less than month.
Rachel and Allison (my cupcake sisters)
Yummicoco, Aeki and Vans-wearing Lex
Mary Ann and Andrew
Ronn Taylor
Lynne Johnson
Donald
Angela
Hashim

Update: You can see George's pictures from Sunday night!
There's a podcast of the talk, but I'm afraid that I don't have enough bandwith so, it will either uploaded on Brown Bloggers or on Culture Kitchen. Brown BloggerCast brownbloggers.mp3[Note: It's an hour long]

Favorite Quote of The Evening:

"Now if I could just get an IV injected into my arm for my Bloglines..." EJ Flavors

There's a bigger family of bloggers who share similar interests and passions.   We have voices.  Can you hear us now?

Promise Of A New Day

It's tomorrow! Avenue C is a mecca for international food and drinks  For those looking for a place to eat on Avenue C, check out Esperanto.  Yesterday, I had fantastic tuna ceviche and delicious empanadas. It's at 145 Avenue C at 9th St.  There's also Sunburnt Cow (Australia) and Zum Schneider (German).

Also, if you bring your laptop, Lava Gina has wi-fi through Boingo. It's $9.95 for a day pass.

Invite your friends who are curious about blogging to come. See you tomorrow!

Yah Mo B There

This Sunday is the inaugural event for the Brown Blog Series.  Blogging is where it's at.  Come over to the dark side (no pun intended).  Keith Ferrazi's Never Eat Alone praises bloggers.  He also has a blog. On page 100, he says:

The power of shared passion in bringing people together can be see today in the rising trend of blogs.

Ferrazi goes on to say:

When we are truly passionate about something, it's contagious. Our passion draws other people to who we are and what we care about.

I invite everyone who wants to share their passion to come this Sunday.  It's gonna be a stone cold party!

Pride

“I remember April 4^th… a shot rings out in a Memphis sky” –Bono

I remember hearing “Pride” by U2 and thinking that they were a cool Irish band.

Let us not forget that Martin Luther King died almost 40 years ago with his dream unfulfilled.  The title of the Brown Blog event was inspired by MLK.

not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character...

On a lighter note, It was a treat to read this hilarious story, Please Don't Pet The Negro by Kimberly Clark in this month's Fresh Yarn. She writes about her personal battle with nappy hair.

Approximately 10 years of my childhood were lost to spending marathon hours in a beauty shop under hooded dryers that temporarily made me deaf and forced me to read the lips of gossiping women. Although my hair was ever changing, the curiosities of white people have always remained a constant. No matter what my hair was doing, I could always count on someone asking me the ill-fated question, "Do you mind if I touch?"

Higher Ground

Dear MSM (Mainstream Media),

In case you were looking for DI-VERS-ITY in blogging, you can look here or check out the Brown Blog Series Inaugural Event. There are African American bloggers, Latino bloggers, female bloggers all over the blogoisie.  I prefer blogoisie over blogosphere mainly because the class is one of the barriers to entry, but the gap in the digital divide can change as we start to educate EVERYONE that blogging is an excellent to project and promote your voice and your opinions to the world.  It is also an excellent way to connect people.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Liza Sabater of Culture Kitchen and Nichelle Stephens of Nichelle Newsletter
PRESENT:
The inaugural event of the Brown Blog Series
Color or Content: Does Race Matter When you Blog?
(New York, NY—March 14, 2005)

This is an event for African Americans and Latinos who have blogs,
read blogs or wonder what the fuss is all about.  Hosts Liza and
Nichelle will talk about blogging and how does the race affect a
bloggers perspective.  We will discuss the opportunities to
market your blog or how to get started blogging.  We want to close the
gap  on the "digital divide" And we love to meet new people.

About Us:
Liza Sabater is a blogger, mother, lapsed professor, arts and culture
connector.  You can read her blog at http://culturekitchen.com

Nichelle Stephens is a blogger, management consultant, stand-up comedy
producer, and  part-time party planner.  You can read her blog at
http://nichellenewsletter.typepad.com

Event Information:
"Color or Content: Does Race Matter When you Blog?"
Sunday, April 10, 2005
7pm – 10pm
Lava Gina Lounge
116 Avenue C, New York, NY
SUBWAY: 6 to St.Marks Place and Walk East to Avenue C.  It's between
7th and 8th Streets
CAR: directions via http:// www.mapquest.com

RSVP to us via the Meetup: http://blog.meetup.com/317/

Press Contact: Liza Sabater blogdiva@culturekitchen.com and Nichelle
Stephens nichelle@gmail.com
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