Nichelle Newsletter

Artichoke

So the last couple of days have been filled with activity starting with Sunday afternoon.  Thanks to Eric, I got free tickets to the wonderfully funny and dragalicious musical, Jack of Tarts.   Starring Lance Cruce,  it was an adult fairy tale set in the kingdom of Tartannia where all the residents were  hooked on tarts. The  music was great, the costumes were campy and Julie Atlas Muz danced like an angel. I even spotted Murray Hill checking out the show as well. Unfortunately, the show's run ended on Sunday, but I am sure will be back again soon.

Sunday night, I scored a free ticket to Bridget Everett's Sexercise Live at Joe's Pub. She and Kenny Mellman sang Millie Jackson's tunes, and there was a video starring Neal Medlyn which was ridiculous and sublime.

Yesterday, I went to a taping of the Martha Stewart show with Allison and her mom.    (You may spot me in the audience on this Friday's show.)   It was an all cooking show with the Italian chefs, Chris Bianco, Anthony Carmellini and Efisio Farris.  I enjoyed it, but I really wished we got to sample the food.  The best is that we all got a copy of Chef Efisio Farris' cookbook, Sweet Myrtle and Bitter Honey and a package of Fregula, which is kinda like a cross between couscous and risotto. The funniest thing was after the show when Martha apologized for not having time to do Q and A.   She said, "We bought Emeril today".   She had to rush over to Neil Cavuto on Fox Business to talk about it. Martha rules!

Home Sweet Home

Pretty:  Sunset Park's version of Red Velvet cake.  The frosting is bright pink with neither buttercream or cream cheese frosting and I didn't taste much cocoa.  Despite all that, it was a tasty experiment.

Scary/Cute:  Monsterhoodies!

Funny/Quaint:  A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keiller is coming to New York City in April. Tickets go on sale next week.

Danceable: Brit Estelle's disco-inspired tune with Kanye, "American Boy".

Two Occasions

Photo by DB of Food Candy. 

Monday night I attended the Time Out New York Eat Out '07 event, and saw the lovely Laren. I nibbled on spicy watermelon salad,  mini salmon croquette burgers, yellowtail "pastrami", red beet and goat cheese gnocchi. 

Tuesday afternoon I stopped by  the OMMA conference and got a free T-shirt from Snap Snots. 

It's Not Over

Last night, fashion and technology converged at the HP event, Your Life Is The Show.   I attended as press for AllBusiness.com.  It was a fun event where there a laptop skin fashion show, and appearances by snowboarder Shaun White, model Petra Nemcova and tennis star Serena Williams.  There was plenty of booze and party appetizers.  I especially likes the fig and sausage skewers. One of the party attendees was former congressman Harold Ford Jr.  He told me that he is now teaching public policy at Vanderbilt  University. 

Then I caught the end of the Fashion Tribes  Fashion Week Party at Tecasan.  Later, I stopped into Toad Hall and ran into Jose of The Fame Game.   He told me that he was in the neighborhood at Deitch Projects after attending the book party for The Warhol Economy.

When Pigs Fly

Blue Pig, originally uploaded by dirtystylus.

Yesterday, I stopped by the Blue Pig ice cream shop in east midtown on 43rd Street and had a generous scoop of black raspberry ice cream. It was super yummy, and there's also a Blue Pig in Brooklyn Heights.

On Saturday, September  8, there will be a fun event for charity, The Ice Cream Run.  It's a scavenger hunt and ice tasting. Proceeds will go to Children For Children which helps underprivileged kids in New York.

Participating sponsors include  Labratorio del Gelato, L'arte Del Gelato and Blue Pig.

Also, I am walking (I stubbed my toe) Sunday at the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 5K. Please donate! I am trying to raise $250. It is tax deductible.

Chips Ahoy!

Social sandwich eaters, originally uploaded by Giulia1.

Yesterday's Delicious Sandwich Social and Cupcake Picnic was a blast! The weather was absolutely amazing, and there were about 50 people who came to swap sandwiches, be social and eat cupcakes at Prospect  Park. 

I made three sandwiches.  Two were with ham, smoked maple gouda, red onion and honey mustard on a roll.  I also made a veggie sandwich with portabello mushroom, smoked maple gouda, red onion, green peppers and honey mustard on roll.

There were a lot of  Chicks and Giggles comedians in attendance including Katina Corrao, Catie Lazarus, Molly Reisner, Giulia Rozzi, Sara Schaefer and Livia Scott.

Thanks to Jon Friedman for coming up with a great idea, my cupcake co-bloggers Allison and Rachel, and the wonderful Peg and Deb from Sugar Sweet Sunshine.

Give Me The Night

Gut., originally uploaded by das kine.

Gut:  Last night I attended Karen Salmansohn's GUT Seminar at the Soho House.  Buy her book, Gut, which is kinda like Gladwell's Blink but funny.

Guide:  I created two cool lists on This Next: Nichelle's Picks and Cupcakes Take The Cake Shopping Guide.

Gather: Having an event?  Use EventBrite! This site facilitates pre-paid events and reservations.

Go:  The Ultimate Guide To Never Staying At Home.

Supermodel

_DSC6001, originally uploaded by brianvan.

Shapiro: Me and Actor/Comic Rick Shapiro from HBO's Lucky Louie at last week's Halloween party. [We are not dating!]

Sigh: Happy about the Dems, but sad about Harold Ford, Jr.

Style: Next Thursday, I will be a model for a fun fashion/style event called "Style Me Chic".   I will modeling the latest “Day to Chic” Kathlin Argiro dresses and stylist Amy Salinger will coordinate with accessories and stuff.  The event is produced by Social Diva.

Save The Date:  BlogHer Business is March 22-23, 2007.

Shout: new website, inChicks.com. It is like a Digg for Chicks.

Headed South

Spiegeltent, originally uploaded by Ania_*.

I am happy to announce that Chicks and Giggles will be a part of Spiegeltent at South Street Seaport at Pier 17.  Spiegeltent will be in New York from August 3 through October 1.

Say What?!

Spiegeltent! Spiegeltent! Spiegeltent!

Spiegeltent is a huge, elaborately decorated tent made of mirrors, cut glass, velvet and brocade, and is essentially a transportable 320-seat concert hall. Ross Mollison, who produced “Slava’s Snowshow” off Broadway, and Vallejo Gantner, the artistic director of Performance Space 122, are bringing one of the tents to New York. This tent, built in Belgium in 1926, is one of the original Spiegeltents.--New York Times

Chicks and Giggles' show will be Monday, August 14 at 10PM. I am so excited! Plus great musicians The Ditty Bops and Las Rubias del Norte will also be performing  in August.  Gothamist's moveable feast of new bands, "Moveable Hype" will also be there in September.

The Line-Up:

Stand-Up From:

Michelle Buteau (Comedy Central's Premium Blend)

Rachel Feinstein (Comedy Central's Premium Blend)

Jess Wood (HBO's Def Comedy Jam)

 

Music From:

Adira Amram

College Humor's Mindy Raf

Free to Be Friends ( 2006 NYC Fringe Festival)

Hosted by: Carolyn Castiglia

Related:

The Spiegeltent Is Coming to Fulton Fish Market (Brooklyn Vegan)

Fashion

Good news is contagious.  I love to tell people about the good stuff, and today I had a wonderful time at the lovely and informative Bloggers Who Brunch event that was organized by Lesley of Fashion Tribes and Pamela of Bag Trends. Sponsored by the Glam Network, the brunch started with mouth-watering  watermelon cocktails appropriately called "The Fashion Blogger".  Then me and the brunch attendees feasted on delicious vegetarian food at Counter (East Village Restaurant). My good friend Liza from Culture Kitchen was there and I was introduced to a group of really fun people including the following:

Danielle from Celebrity Babies and her lovely daughter, Anya.

Clare from Sense of Soot. She gave me great information about doing book reviews for  Sci-Fi and Mystery books.

Linda and Marlen from Girlawhirl.

Tia from The Quest For It.

Elke from The Beauty Newsletter.

Vera from I'm Not Obsessed.  She does a lot of contests! Click to win!

The speakers were great. Kathryn from the Budget Fashionista, Meghan from Miss Meghan and the fabulous Najwa Moses from Styleaholics whose fashion sense and personality explodes.  Forget the skinny blondes from Rocketboom, Najwa's video podcast, "The N List", is the bomb!

A Little Word In Your Ear

PVC: Poetry Vs Comedy, originally uploaded by candiedyams.

It's a crazy coincidence that the New York Times recently did an interesting piece about Quickmuse, a website where writers are given 15 minutes each to compose a poem. 

That is exactly what happens at the monthly Poetry Vs Comedy show where the stanzas meet the stand-ups. Come see the show this Thursday!

Cheryl B presents PVC
GALAPAGOS
70 N. 6th St.
JUNE 1, 8PM
FREE

Hosted by Carolyn Castiglia

STARRING:
Comedians
Jen Dziura
Laura Mannino
Allen Warnock

Poets
Brother Earl
Tsaurah Litzky
Lisa Haas

MUSICAL GUEST:
Mindy Raf

Ants Marching

Already looking forward to March...

Bari Koral, who has performed at Chicks and Giggles as our musical guest will rock out with a full band at Mo Pitkins on March 16.

Chicks will be hitting the road, going to Roanoke College on March 17. ERIN GO BRA-LESS.

My favorite neighbor, radio personality and drunk brunch-enabler, Derek Hartley will be reading at the next WYSIWYG on March 21st. The theme is STARF@CKERS!

Atomic Dog

A few things to look forward to:

Chinese New Year begins this Sunday, and it  is the Year of the Dog.

Overheard In New York, the book, is coming out January 31.

A new website dedicated to drinking, NYC On Tap. A launch party will happen on February 14. Stop by after Chicks!

Cheryl B's PVC (Poetry Vs Comedy), where the stanzas and the stand-ups collide, takes place at Galapagos, February 23.

D-I-V-O-R-C-E

I will debating next Wednesday (February 1)at Lolita (Broome and Allen) as part of the monthly Jinx Anthenaeum debate series. Next week's topic is really interesting:

"Should the Law Make It Harder to Divorce?"

John Crouch will debate the "yes" position and I will debate the "no" position, and Michel Evanchik will be our moderator. Considering that the new year is when many spouses decide to dissolve their marriage, this topic is very divisive. [no pun intended]

BTW, New York is not a no-fault divorce state.  I swear that accounts for all the crazy spousal homocides out on Long Island.

Don't Tangle With The Freak Show

Jenny Vaudeville is this Wednesday, and my old friend Zero Boy is performing.

Also on Wednesday , Playgirl Magazine is having a party at Happy Ending (302 Broome St). Below are the details:

Open bar courtesy of Pravda vodka 8-10pm
Featuring work by photographers Ellen Jong (PowerHouse books' Pees on Earth), exhibiting Russian photographer Slava Mogutin, Natasha Papadopoulou (Nerve.com), and Tony Ward ( 6x6.com's Best of Erotica). Plus, goodie bags of "naughtiness" filled with randy delights from Doc Johnson, Lifestyles, Cocktails by Jenn and Liptini, and a special
surprise giveaway to one of our guests.

 

Intellectual

Start January off with a serious debate! John Carney and Ken Silber will debate the question "Do Public School Boards Have the Right to Mandate the Teaching of Intelligent Design as Science?" (with Michel "The Brain" Evanchik moderating and Todd Seavey hosting) at the next Jinx Athenaeum, Wednesday, Jan. 4 at 8PM, downstairs at Lolita bar (free admission, cash bar) on the corner of Broome and Allen.
If debates make you hungry, you can get a hot dog at Broome Doggs on 250 Broome St.

I will be debating divorce laws on February 1.

Garden Of Earthly Delights

There are so many cultural events going on this week that I have got to mention to you.

• Go see Sarah Schulman's "Manic Flight Reaction" at the Playwrights Horizon Theatre. I went to see it with Cheryl B on Saturday and I really enjoyed the play.  It's funny and it makes you think.
• Happy Ending Reading Series with Amanda Stern on Wednesday November 9 with Lisa Loeb as musical guest. Yay!
• Artist Carolyn Weltman's exhibition of her paintings, "Fresh Girls" will have an opening reception at Art at Large on November 10, from 6-9PM. (630 9th Avenue @44/45th St.)
• Ethan Lipton will be performing November 11 at Barbes in  Brooklyn with Mike Strumm
• The Fuse GAllery at Lit Lounge will play host to Bauhaus art opening with bands Gym Class and Lions and Tigers playing the after party, also on Friday November 11.

Update:  I got an email today (11/11) saying that Gym Class has broken up. Damn! I was just starting to dig their EP. I wish Dylan and the guys the best.

Wanna Be Startin' Something

First off, I want a new job that offers flexibility for blogging, writing, comedy co-producing, and attending one-day media and business conferences.  I want it ASAP. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

On October 5, I will be at the We Media Conference where I get to rub shoulders with Craig, Jessica and many others. Plus, I just got notice that Al Gore, chairman of Current TV and former Vice President of the United States, will deliver the keynote speech.

Plus, I will be participating on a panel discussion at the Ladies Who Launch event on October 20. This is a fantastic one-day conference for women who wanna start new businesses, change careers and get more attention to their products.  It's an all-star line-up of designers, entrepreneurs, founders, writers, and just plain groovy ladies.

Spellbound

I won my school spelling bee when I was in the eighth grade, so apparently I had already peaked. I say this because I had a dismal showing last night at the Williamsburg Spelling Bee at Pete's Candy Show. I spelled "cubit" right but misspelled my next two words in the second round.  [They were way hard, though]  The spelling bee was fun; hosts Jen and Bobby's banter made it entertaining. Plus wearing a paper plate with a number on it around your neck is tres chic.

My favorite song with spelling in it is "Respect" (Otis Redding):

R-E-S-P-E-C-T, find out what it what it means to me

Deja Vu

I usually don’t watch TV in the morning because it tends to slow me down, but something told me to turn it on before heading down to the hotel lobby to meet my colleague. Then the worst feeling of déjà vu swept over me this morning as I watched CNN in my hotel room and saw reports the terror attacks in London. Four years ago, I was in hotel room in Las Vegas for work, and my mother called me at 6AM PST.  She told me to turn me on the TV because there was an airplane crash near place World Trade Center. There I witnessed the second plane hit and almost collapsed on the bed. No need to rehash the rest of the story, but I wanted to express the weird feeling of today. My prayers are for all my British friends who are in New York and London, and I hope all is well.

Get Ready

Friday night was spent painting, planning and pulling together stuff for the Mermaid Parade.  A big thanks to R&J for organizing our group.  Look for the Mermaids di Venezia this afternoon. Yay!

Three The Hard Way

To be a struggling actor in New York means you have to pay your dues by going on countless auditions, reading Backstage religiously and waiting tables.  For talent agents, it’s difficult to find that diamond in the rough actor who may be the ONE for the role.  For New Yorker audiences, there are so many plays, poetry readings and stand-up comedy shows that it’s tough to decide what to see.  The Galinsky Brothers, Robert and Philip have an entertaining solution with their monthly Manhattan Monologue Slam. On the first Tuesday of every month at the Bowery Poetry Club, the slam happens. The Manhattan Monologue Slam is a competition where undiscovered actors have a chance to perform in front of talent scouts. Ten actors have only 3 minutes each to show their acting skills, and they do it by performing a monologue of their choosing.  Then the judges give the scores and the audience cheers on their favorite performer. This competition is not like Amateur Night at the Apollo Theatre, nor is like the cloying “American Idol”.   The packed crowd was energetic and supportive and actors are talented. 

All of the performances were fantastic, and the winner gets $100 and a giant trophy. The winner for May competition was the engaging Shawn Williams.  He performed a piece Charles Smith’s play Knock Me A Kiss. 

The second half of the show is the open mic lightning round. Actors can sign-up before the show to get 30 seconds to perform a very short monologue.  Thirty seconds is all a thespian needs to make an impression on the crowd and the judges.  Seeing how quickly an actor can grab the audience’s attention is amazing. The winner of the open mic receives $30 which works out to be a dollar per second.  If only everyone could get reward with that rate!

Funny co-hosts Philip and Robert Galinsky keep the pace of the Manhattan Monologue Slam fast, and they entertain as well with their comedic characters that pop up throughout the show. The Galinsky Brothers are facilitating talent and fostering fun for actors who are seriously going for their dreams.  Plus, it’s a thrill that an audience may be the first the witness the next Meryl Streep or Denzel Washington. The next Manhattan Monologue Slam is Tuesday June 7, 2005. The website is http://manhattanmonologueslam.com

Jody's Got Your Girl and Gone

[Anyone vaguely familiar with Johnnie Taylor will recognize the song title of this post.]
A few months ago, I suggested to my friend Jodi: "Why don't you create your own cabaret show?" and she did. Yay! It's June 9...That's 6/9 for you perverts.

"I Couldn't Decide on a Title"
Starring Jodi Brinkman
Thursday, June 9 at 9:15 PM

Featuring Carolyn Castiglia, vocals, and Daryl Kojak, piano

Danny's
Restaurant, Piano Bar, & Skylight Room Cabaret
346 West 46 Street
New York City
$10 cover/$12 food and drink minimum
Reservations: 212/265-8133

Take The A Train

The Lenox Lounge is the place that I passed by on my way home from the subway station.Tonight,  I went to  Jinx Magazine's debate. The topic of the debate was " Does the Whole World Need western-Style Democracy?"  Alex Jacobson took the affirmative position and John Carney debated the negative position.  The moderator was Richard Ryan. The crowd was attentive and asked great questions.  John Carney won the debate.  It was a verbal smackdown.  My friend Chris who is a producer for the Laura Flanders show on Air America was impressed.

Time To Get Ill

Spring is here!  Time to get out and show your pasty and ashy body to the world. :) For those who only read from their Bloglines or Kinja digest, I just added a new RSS Calendar listing events and you can add the RSS feed, and you can import the event into your Outlook calendar or Palm. If  you have an event that you would like to be included in the Nichelle Newletter Calendar, then just email me. Cool!  [Thanks to the folks over at DailyHeights.]