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What's an Anovelista?


  • Pronunciation: a'näv-a-lista. Function: noun. A writer of novels, non-fiction and screenplays; entrepreneur; beauty junkie; history buff; foodie; fashionista; un-fashionista; bookworm; Christian; Lt. Uhura namesake; Oprah-holic; Coffee Fiend; Hopemonger; Black Forest Berry Honest Tea Lover; Newark-born, South Jersey-raised New Yorker; Copyright 2005-2008 Nichelle Gainer.

Fluff Pays The Rent

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My Little Brown Eye...

My Little Brown Eye... Happy Birthday Dorothy Dandridge and Beyonce as Wonder Woman?


In non-Barack Obama news, Dorothy Dandridge was born 86 years ago today. She is one of my all time favorites and I tend to write about her around her birthday.

Beyonce.Linda.Carter

Beyonce wants to play Wonder Woman: "A black Wonder Woman would be a powerful thing. It's time for that, right?" Yes, indeed... but I would much rather see another black Wonder Woman if we're going to have black one.  No offense Mrs. Carter!

Oprah.OWN

Will Oprah Winfrey move her show to her own cable channel, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN), by 2011? She hasn't made any decisions yet, but how much better can you get than your OWN show on your OWN network

Speaking of Beyonce and Oprah, if you know someone who is truly Beyonce's biggest fan, Oprah wants to hear from them for an upcoming show.

Barack.Michelle.Chicago.goingtodinner  

Barack and Michelle Obama: A night out on the town: Our new First Couple enjoyed dinner at their favorite Italian restaurant in Chicago, Spiaggia, the same restaurant where they celebrated their 16th wedding anniversary last month.  Love the boots Michelle!

My Little Brown Eye... The Soul Train Has Left the Station!

Soultrainjacksons_2

Finally!

MadVision Entertainment has bought the Soul Train franchise from Don Cornelius and they plan to open the archives for long-time fans who have been waiting forever to see the old episodes outside of bad YouTube pirate videos.  And yes, there will be DVDs!
[New York Times]

Hillharperltrsyoungsister2 I knew that Hill Harper went to Harvard Law School with Barack Obama and I knew that he released a new book, Letters to a Young Sister.  But I did not know that he was on Senator Obama's National Finance Committe.  [Tavis Smiley]

My same-name blog bud Nichelle Stephens, along with MaryBeth O'Hara, has co-founded MYM: Make Yourself "Mortgageable, a free event in New York City on July 15th that will "start you on your journey to financial prowess" over sangria, margaritas and light appetizers at La Palapa in the East Village.  I'm in! [Keeping Nickels]

Statement of Black Men Against the Exploitation of Black Women [Ta-Neshisi Coates]  I looove this.  So far, 560 men have signed this online petition.

Today is Juneteenth by the way.  And it is well worth celebrating it along with the Civil Rights Act of 1964 [Stereohyped]

Naomivogueitalia

The much talked about all-black issue of Italian Vogue (or, excuse me Vogue Italia) will be on newsstands in Italy next Thursday and in the United States soon after. [New York Times]

Did you know that you could plass virtual chess with Wu Tang Clan? Well, you can! [WuChess]

Did you really think that I would end this without an Obama mention of some sort? Haha..  Here is Lola Ogunnaike's commentary: Michelle Obama finds tabloid love [CNN]

My Little Brown Eye...

Anikanonirosecat_8 Maryjmay2notgoncry_3 Secondmondaysmichelmarriottkathry_2 Nichelleallisonrachel5808_2

I started this My Little Brown Eye column at my beauty and fashion blog 55 Secret Street, but I think it will be a better fit here at Anovelista.com.

Although I haven't been able to blog here in ages because of pressing offline responsibilities,
I have found the time to update my Facebook page and the pictures above are from my updated Flickr page.  Also, I am always on Twitter (essentially microblogging and it can be done by web or text) so, if you are so inclined, feel free to follow my Twitter activity in the right column of this site.   Just in case you're thinking, I still don't know what the heck you're talking about Nichelle -  Here is a good, quick tutorial on Twitter by Tony Hseih, the CEO of Zappos.com.  I do not know him, but he is one of the many interesting, always entertaining people that I "follow" on Twitter.  I also keep up with my blogging buddies like TheMakeupGirl, The Budget Fashionista, We Love Beauty and my cupcake blogging pals Nichelle and Rachel.

I had some other topics in mind for the first column here, but I'll have to save them for next time.  Check this out:

Lolas_4

Is Soul Food Too Black For SoHo? Sean Sweeney of the SoHo Alliance thinks so.  From the Village Voice:

Lola, a soul-food restaurant that featured live rhythm-and-blues acts, attracts a largely black clientele, and also went by the name Lola Is Soul, decided in 2004, for business reasons, to move from Chelsea to Soho. But once they got there, the owners—a biracial couple—ran into surprisingly stiff opposition from the Soho Alliance, a community group that has opposed Lola's liquor license and its legal petition to have live entertainment at its new location.

Cries of racism have, not surprisingly, been leveled by Lola's supporters. But Don Clark MacPherson, a longtime resident of the neighborhood and a member of the Soho Alliance—as well as the publisher of the Soho Journal—says that the accusations of racism are unfounded. Lola, he tells the Voice, just moved to Soho at a bad time: Frustrated by the large number of nightclubs already in the area, the alliance saw in Lola simply one liquor license too many. "Race in this issue is a red herring," he says. "I don't think that the type of music had anything to do with it. The objection started before anyone heard about the type of music Lola played."

That may be true. But MacPherson might want to compare notes with Soho Alliance director Sean Sweeney about his reasons for opposing the restaurant. Lola is a place that appeals to a professional African-American set, and besides dishes like "shrimp & grits" and catfish salad, also offers "fluke en papillote," pineapple pork belly, and pecan-crusted rack of lamb. But Sweeney apparently hasn't looked at the menu very closely.

"I don't think you need a martini to go with chitlins and collard greens. What wine goes with jambalaya? I can't think of one," he says, ridiculing Lola's need for a license. "There is a place right next to them that sells empañadas, and they don't serve liquor. You don't really need liquor if you are a good restaurant to stay in business. Liquor is like cream."

It's hard to imagine an upscale restaurant trying to appeal to the well-dressed set and getting by on water alone, but Sweeney's swipe at traditional African-American fare appears to lend credence to accusations by Lola's supporters that what has motivated some in the Soho Alliance to oppose the restaurant is the combination of black music and black customers in the deluxe shopping district.

Lolastomgaylepatrickodeen_3 Now, anyone that has been within ten feet of Lola's, even when they were in Chelsea, knows that they have always attracted "grown" folks.  These people aren't exactly the type to go around "cussin' and fightin'" in the streets, if you know what I mean.  But that hasn't stopped mysterious flyers from appearing around Soho warning that Lola's would bring "unruly crowds" and "more crime" to the neighborhood.  According to the Village Voice article, the owners Tom and Gayle Patrick-Odeen (left), an interracial couple, feel the attacks on their establishment are racist, but Sweeney denies it even as he spouts off gems like this to the Village Voice reporter Chloe A. Hilliard: 

"I am not racist. [Gayle Patrick-Odeen] is from Barbados. She's a British subject; she's not African-American. She didn't suffer Jim Crow, Reconstruction, lynching. . . . For her to exploit the true sufferings of African-Americans is disgraceful," says Sweeney.

Did you get that? Sean "I don't think you need a martini to go with chitlins and collard greens" Sweeney is concerned that a "British subject" from Barbados is "exploiting the true sufferings of African-Americans".  After all, Black people did not suffer specifically under Jim Crow, Reconstruction or lynching, so what would they know about suffering or racism?  It's a good thing that Sean Sweeney is around to save us po' suffering Negroes from those dangerous Barbadians!

Incidentally, this is not the first time Sweeney has accused Patrick-Odeen of "playing the race card".  No surprise there..

See also:

Digging Deep: Chitlins and Martini: No thanks by Keith Josef Adkins at The Root

Message to Soho Alliance: Let the Music Play at Lola's by Daniel Saynt at Fashion Indie.

Lola Loses Live Music Appeal (Updated) by Chris Shott at The New York Observer.

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