Happy Mother's Day

Champagne brunch with the best mom ever.

My Dream Home!

 

Low impact, natural living. This is perfect.

I Am Afropolitan.

An old essay has helped me finally feel closer to a "definition" of my cultural identity.  Taiye Tuakli-Wosornu's "What Is Afropolitan?"nailed it. People have always asked me where I'm from and I've learned to know they're really asking me to explain my looks, after all the fastest way to categorize someone is by appearance - and humans do love to categorize. But my ethnic look doesn't necessarily the story of my upbringing so it's not my personal answer to my identity. And the nationality on my passport doesn't cover it all either. 

I've started saying that "I'm from everywhere" or that "I'm just an Earthling" because those answers are shorter than the truth and usually stop the questioning. I look West African (or Haitian...I get that a lot, too) and indeed I am half, Togolese, but I wasn't raised in that culture and don't know that side of my family. The culture that I did grow up in was a mixture of American and European because of where I grew up (Italy, Germany, France). The other half of my family is Black American from the northeast, but because I grew up so far away from them, I'm not incredibly close to them either.  So the "family" I grew up with is a multi-national collection of friends of my mother's and mine from all the places we lived throughout the years.  So while most people can explain their identity through their family, that's complicated for me, too.

What makes the whole thing more ironic is that the culture I look the most like is foreign to me, while the culture I look the least like feels most like home yet it rejects me because I don't look native...  It's weird.  So what am I, culturally? Am I an African? A European? An American? I won't stutter anymore replying to that question because for the first time in my life, there's an answer that hits the mark 100%: AFROPOLITAN. 

"[We] are Afropolitans – the newest generation of African emigrants, coming soon or collected already at a law firm/chem lab/jazz lounge near you. You’ll know us by our funny blend of London fashion, New York jargon, African ethics, and academic successes. Some of us are ethnic mixes, e.g. Ghanaian and Canadian, Nigerian and Swiss; others merely cultural mutts: American accent, European affect, African ethos. Most of us are multilingual: in addition to English and a Romantic or two, we understand some indigenous tongue and speak a few urban vernaculars. There is at least one place on The African Continent to which we tie our sense of self: be it a nation-state (Ethiopia), a city (Ibadan), or an auntie’s kitchen. Then there’s the G8 city or two (or three) that we know like the backs of our hands, and the various institutions that know us for our famed focus. We are Afropolitans: not citizens, but Africans of the world."

Is it too late?

Since my birthday last month, I've been in and out of a funk about age.  I am too old for all my dreams?  Inside, I still feel wide-eyed and excited about all the incredible things I can achieve.  But you're not a starlet after 22, are you?  Am I foolish to believe I'm still going to "make it"?  I know there's no expiration on ambition, I guess I'm just feeling embarrassed that I'm not where I thought I'd be...

Gig Alert: Rev Billy & The Stop Shopping Choir

We're singing songs of rebellion and justice Monday night, April 30th, 7pm, at Theatre For The New City.  FREE show! 155 1st Ave between 9th and 10th Streets.

Solution to my living room!

Ikea's Uppleva

In my tiny apartment all-in-one anything is always better. This one hits the spot! In one single piece you get a tv, dvd player, tv stand/cabinet, cord organizer... and it looks good! I'll be grabbing one of these bad boys soon as they hit the US market (spring 2013).

Back to School

I swear it's going to take me 6 years to complete the 2 years of college I skipped out on originally. (Kids, stay in school!!! It's so much harder to finish up later in life!) Just registered for summer semester, only taking one class because that's all I can handle for now. But I'm not worried - slow and steady wins the race.  I started this journey 3 years ago - summer 2009 - as a "sophomore", now I'm finally in my senior year.  Close, but still a long (hard) ways away from the enchilada.
It's weird, my life or career won't change when I finish this degree so I don't actually need it, but I'm doing this because psychologically I feel stronger and smarter with it. Maybe it's also the challenge of working towards a tough goal. Either way, I'm in for a rough summer of writing papers, but then I'll have "just" 9 classes left before graduation. Feels like "Yay" and "Ugh" and the same time...

Voiceovers - Nice Work If You Can Get It!

Heading to my first voiceover gig now! I'm narrating an audio play for the Cheer Foundation.  I've always wanted to do this kind of work.  Show up at the studio, not worry about whether I'm having a fat day or a bad hair day, do what I love - which is to play characters, work with talented technicians/cast/crew then go home without a full face of makeup to scrape off.  Wish me luck!

One Union.

SAG - AFTRA

(live stream of the merger announcement)

i'm still giddy about this!

"Smallest Coolest Apartment" time!!!

It’s Small Cool time at ApartmentTherapy.com again!  This is my favorite time of year on that site.  I never agree with the winning apartment, but I get great design inspiration from all the contestants.  Small space living can be elegant and sexy (and extremely functional).  

Entries can be submitted through April 17th.  Winners announced May 2nd.

ROBERTA FLACK @ The Red Rooster

Just below the hipster spot Red Rooster in Harlem is a sexy little lounge called Ginny's Supper Club.  It was there last night that I witnessed greatness: the legendary Roberta Flack played a concert there! She's more beautiful than ever and her voice is still silk. She kicked things right off with "Killing Me Softly", then did great covers of old and new soul/pop/rock (even a song by The Police!) and closed with an ethereal rendition of "The First Time". Unforgettable night. Beautiful people, seductive venue (w/ celebrity chef/owner Marcus Samuelsson himself greeting and chatting w/ everyone in the room!) and unbeatable price (standing room at the bar - which is a prime location for watching and dancing - only $20!)

Venus in Fur

This play is everything a Broadway show should be: starts off with a bang (literally), moves at a fast pace, has plenty of plot/character twists to keep you guessing,is  so sexy it’ll turn you on (that’s literal, too), is only 90mins long, has no intermission, and it ends in the same explosive style that it starts with.  A must see.  Run, before Tony nominations shoot ticket prices up!

NY Times "The Freedom, and Perils, of Living Alone"

I kind of love this article in the NY Times on what really happens when you live alone.  It hits on all the little things you get used to doing because no one else is there:
-  not closing the door when you use the bathroom
-  talking to yourself or to your pet
-  eating in various states of undress
-  wearing the same clothes over and over
-  doing daytime activities in the middle of the night
-  not eating/preparing “meals”

I would include:
-  dressing and primping (hair/makeup) anywhere but the bathroom – kitchen, living room
-  walking around naked any time of day or night
-  randomly perform loudly to music (again, usually not fully clothed)
-  doing everything in/on your bed (eating, working, talking on the phone, playing instruments, rehearsing monologues...)

Gig Alert: "The Jessica Project" web series

The Jessica Project Episode One: A Documentary Series from Behind the Rabbit Productions on Vimeo.

this is episode #1 of the web series my friend, filmaker Jason Godbey, has cast me in. my character appears in the next season, but you can get a taste of the concept of the series from this pilot. very talented cast and crew!

Tape Art - Max Zorn

entirely made from packing tape! street art, next level.  duct tape finally gets some artistic competition...  :-)
beyond being awed by the artist's creativity, the film noir effect of these sepia tones feels really good.

thank you, Max Zorn!

Vegan for Lent

http://veganfoodpyramid.com/

i'm not Catholic, but it felt right to try a little discipline for this season. so no food made from animals or animal by-products for me for the next 40 days. 1 day down, 39 to go. thank goodness for tasty vegan Indian, Mediterranean and Thai take-out in my 'hood because i cannot subsist on tofu and fake eggs/cheese.

Promo for Cuffin' - The Web Series

The ladies of our web series got together with dating coach, Mr. Locario, for a promo interview at the W Hotel in Times Square. Check it out.

Love

one day.

p.s. i argued w/ a cynic yesterday who said he never gave his wife anything for Valentine's Day because it's a phony holiday invented to sell greeting cards.  i told him that if he proposed to his wife with a diamond ring, he'd already fallen for the biggest scam out there (a double scam in that diamonds aren't as valuable as they are marketed to be and that the idea that they represent love is a total marketing/advertising invention) so he shouldn't be indignant about buying a $5 card & a bouquet of roses that will make his wife happy...

She gave everything.

thank you so much. rest in eternal peace and joy.

another bar bites the dust & my bull

just learned that mason dixon, a bar on the lower east side where i had my one and only bull ride, is closed down.  sad the place is gone. glad to have this video for the memories.

p.s. i kinda miss that haircut...

J. Dilla - Donuts Are Forever

my knowledge of hip hop is so slight that i only learned about this legendary music producer last year.  a friend took me to the annual Dilla party, Donuts Are Forever, and i danced in ecstasy all night long.  had no idea that one man was responsible for the sounds that i considered to be the glory days of hip hop. great music, great party. so i'll def be at this year's! next sunday at brooklyn bowl. 

the "Where I've Been" app

i'm diggin this new facebook app! proud of my wanderlust. :)

red = where i've lived

blue = where i've been

green = where i want to go

Acting Technique - Just be

“If there’s an actor on the stage with a cat, who are you going to watch, the actor or the cat? You’re going to watch the cat because the cat’s just being a cat”   

--David Mamet

"Chico & Rita"

Trailer Chico & Rita from estudiomariscal on Vimeo.

i MUST see this film. it's already making me reminisce about Cuba.  oh.....Habana!

Chico & Rita

"Dinner in NY"

what i really like about Miho Aikawa's photo series, Dinner in NY, is that it shows an honest view of a life i know well in this city. eating in bed, eating on couches over small coffee tables, huddled at small dining tables with friends. lots of eating alone, lots of tv (or laptop use), the zoned out look that happens sometimes when you're alone, the different ways we eat together at work and at home. from the outside in (and maybe a little on the inside), it seems lonely or melancholic at first, but it's not...

Taming of the Shrew (set in the 1930s - cast pic)

...this motley crew of a cast...! good times.  it was a limited run, but i had lots of fun.

What I did on Super Bowl Sunday

...went to a Broadway show!  Stick Fly.  

R.I.P. Don Cornelius

to this day, go to any black function where there's music and inevitably, at some point, a bunch of folks will create a Soul Train line! and you'd better show your stuff when you dance down the line! (i still get a little nervous that my skills won't be up to par when it's my turn...)
thank you for your living legacy of pride and celebration, Mr. Cornelius.
"Love, Peace and Sooooooooooooooooooooooul!"

Sweet words

A love poem from an old friend.  Pamela Joyce Design, who I've known since we were in 8th grade together back in Berlin, sent me this beautiful piece from her nostalgic Americana collection of painted wood signs. It makes me smile every time I look at it.  I'm hanging it in my bedroom so that every morning, when I wake up, that's the message I see.  Thanks, Pam!

They call him the new Fela: Blitz the Ambassor (& my dance workout)

spent Friday night dancing around my living room to Blitz the Ambassador's albums. couldn't stop for hours - it was just so good (excellent workout - i'm still sore!).  to me, THIS is the future of hip hop - not Drake, Lil Wayne, et al, but these international voices with something bigger to talk about than consumerism and machismo.  shout out to my friend, Lisa, for introducing me to this music last summer. i can't get enough! check out all his stuff. this particular video, "Best I Can" from his Native Sun album takes me back to my days vagabonding around Ghana and Togo.  those streets, those faces, those markets, my people....  memories.

(it kinda kills me that i lost ALL my east and west Africa pics when my laptop died.  ugh)

Pariah

everyone's talking about Red Tails (which I'll see as soon as I can and def want to support!), but please don't forget the little indie film, Pariah.  An alternative NY story that everyone should see.

The mind of the man

just when i was wondering about understanding the male psyche in the modern, urban dating scene (NYC), i ran across this video.  it's in absolutely vulgar street language, but that doesn't change the truth this guy lays down.  tough love / insight (ghetto-style...)

What I'm reading: The Art of Fielding

took me a while to finally go get this book, but better late than never.  thought the baseball angle would turn me off, but this story is way bigger than that.  you know a book is good when you'll carry this fat hardback on the NYC subway, standing up during commuter rush hour every day.

One legacy of the Civil Rights Movement is that we can laugh WITH each other, no?

today is the day we celebrate the great accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It's a day about equality and justice and racial understanding.  And, therefore, totally inappropriate for these two videos I'm about to post - but I can't resist.  Franchesca Ramsey is a new You Tube star with her contributions to the "Sh*t ____ (people) say..." video trend.

Here they are!  Shit White Girls Say to Black Girls (parts 1 and 2).

Gig Alert: Taming of the Shrew

"for 'tis the mind that makes the body rich"

- Petruchio in Act IV Scene 3 of Taming of the Shrew

My friend, director Michael Hagins, called me last minute yesterday asking me to help him out by playing a small role in his new production of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew.  I said, "What role?"  (Like every other actor, "small role" is not something I want to hear...)  But he said, "The role is Pedant. You'd get to be drunk in 3 scenes and you'd carry a gun".  I said, "I'm in!"
C.A.G.E. Theatre Company
Jan. 25, 27, 28 & 29
More details soon!

Dressing up my Dressform

got an idea for that dress form i found on the street a while back!  thanks to a post on the blog of my old high school friend, Pamela Joyce Designs, my new project will be to turn my dressform....

FROM THIS

  (the way I found it on the street)

TO THIS!

(photo from French By Design and Pamela Joyce Designs)

A Dating Coach?

Today, I met a real life "Hitch" (remember that movie with Will Smith?)!  This man is a professional dating/get-girls coach for men.  For real.  He's a hired wingman.  How did I happen meet him?  He auditioned for a role in the web series I'm in, "Cuffin'", a comedy about.... dating!  Crazy.  Not sure I can endorse his methods, but he seemed like a nice enough guy at the audition... Either way, I think it's a cute hustle for a NYC business!   www.mrlocario.com

Champagne on tap

saw this pic on Apartment Therapy today and it made me smile.  if only life could be like this.  Oh, wait - it can!  ....when you live in lap of luxury...

Starting 2012 the right way!

Why the hell did I sign up to be anywhere at 9:30am on New Year's Day - what was I thinking?!  That's what I said (groaned) when my alarm went off at 7:30 this morning.  But I couldn't back out of this one.  I had committed to delivering meals to working with City Meals on Wheels.  I'd wanted to kick off this year with service.  So I got up and made my way uptown to the Goddard Riverside Community Center (on time, too - another resolution for the new year).  So glad I did!  What a meaningful experience.  Here's why...


TOP 5 REASONS TO VOLUNTEER ON NEW YEAR'S DAY:


5. Exercise! Many of the homebound seniors on my route lived in fifth floor walk ups... Great thigh and butt workout!

4. Starts your year off on a good note after all the gluttony of Christmas and NYE.

3. Community service feels good.

2. Gives a well deserved break to the good people who do this work EVERY DAY. 

1. Because we should ALL do more to help each other.

Year in Review

MY 2011 IN MONTH TO MONTH HIGHLIGHTS:

JANUARY:  the end of the rock star fantasy  

 a last fun moment with him when i still thought we were something...

FEBRUARY:  most humiliating night of my life

i went to his Valentine's Day dinner concert here, only to find out he was dumping me for his ex - who was there, too.  humiliating doesn't even begin to describe how that felt. 

photo: myrtleavenue.org

MARCH:  my first birthday party!

first time i've ever thrown my own bday party...a gang of friends, ace hotel, lots of booze, good times...

APRIL:  the dating game

 

                            

for the first time in my life, i actually dated like a normal person; just going out casually on fun dates with NICE guys - rather than intensely crushing on one poor soul for ages, expecting love & marriage then crumbling over the inevitable let-down.  so nice to finally just enjoy the playful side of attraction.  (there were a few more than these pics and, in particular, a certain independent music producer who made a big impression on me...but i can't find more pics!)  another beautiful dating discovery in 2011: THE BLACK MAN!  (not sure how that didn't happen before - blame it on growing up in Europe?...whatever.  good times....

MAY:  becoming a member of the Earth-allujah family

joining this activist group led by Rev. Billy gave a home.  Earth-allujah!  

JUNE:  back to the bard

 

it's not really summer if i'm not costumed up, doing Shakespeare in a park somewhere.

this summer it was A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Photos by Ray Schwartz (all rights reserved).

JULY:  high school reunion - first time in Vegas

 Berlin American High School all-graduating-year reunion.  My first time in Vegas (I guess we couldn't arrange to meet back in Berlin).  I didn't know anyone there, but I still had a blast!


AUGUST:  the bridge is over

i stupidly fell back into believing the fantasy that the rock star was my guy.  we'd made a pact to meet on the brooklyn bridge 6 months after the nastiness (see February).  corny?  sure, but it sounded so romantic...  of course, he no-showed and i felt like a nincompoop - but it finally knocked some sense into me.   Fantasy shattered - reality check!  Live in the present with what you've got, not in the fantasy of what may come.  Photo credit: Frank Winters

SEPTEMBER:  two weddings and a Revolution

 

 

busy, world changing month...

OCTOBER:  the journey within
therapy can be a beautiful thing...  decided to see a male shrink to understand my man-troubles.  ...still working on it...

NOVEMBER:  CUBA!!!

 

 

trip of a lifetime!

DECEMBER:  the good spirit

usually, i feel this way about holiday decorations... but, this year, was different.  i put up garlands, a tree and stuffing stockings with gifts.  really felt good.  i'm growing up.  Photo c/o NBC Chicago