Entertainment Archive (198)
Special Half Price Offer for OKLAHOMA!
at Arena Stage
It's E. Faye Butler's final week in Oklahoma!
Don't miss your last chance to see the amazing E. Faye Butler in Arena Stage's acclaimed remount of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!
And to make sure everyone gets one chance to see Ms. Butler one last time in her Helen Hayes nominated performance, Arena Stage is making this very special offer:
Use Promo Code: INFORMOK to get half price tickets for any performance now through August 7, 2011. Offer expires August 3, 2011.
Call the Sales Office at 202-488-3300 or order online at www.arenastage.org .
Photo of E. Faye Butler and Anton Harrison LaMon in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! by Suzanne Blue Star Boy.
Muhammad Ali/Courtesy photo
Muhammad Ali expressed his sadness about the bombing and massacre in Norway, saying he is heartbroken by the senseless deaths and the reasoning of the man behind them.
In a letter to the people of Norway written under his name, the boxing great says his "heart goes out to each of you as you deal with the unimaginable grief of your loss."
Ali wrote that the richness of diversity is something that makes the world a better place and that no one should fear multiculturalism. People, he said, have the same ideals no matter what religion or race they are.
"I see the same wishes for our children to have happy, healthy lives; I see the same concerns for others less fortunate than ourselves; I see the same desire for peace and dignity," Ali said.
The man who confessed to carrying out the massacre, Anders Behring Breivik, has said the attacks were part of a plan to start a cultural revolution and purge Europe of Muslims while also punishing politicians who have embraced multiculturalism.
Combine the expectation of divorce for new couples hovering around 50 percent with a variety of studies that suggest money is the most divisive topic for couples, and you get a formula for disaster. But one expert thinks it doesn't have to be that way.
Jane Honeck, CPA and author of The Problem With Money? It's Not About the Money! ( www.theproblemwithmoney.com ) , believes that while a SmartMoney Magazine survey revealed that 70 percent of all couples talk about money at least once a week, the communication isn't very effective. Honeck has some good advice that can help couples make arguments about money a thing of the past.
"Focusing on an overall vision and money plan will keep both of you moving in the same direction," Honeck says. "Once you have done that, the small everyday decisions about what to spend your money on take care of themselves with little or no effort. When we have clear communication and know why we do something, the 'what to do' with our money is easy."
New art exhibits that highlight the talent of D.C.'s multifaceted Southeast community are set to open concurrently on Aug. 5 in historic Anacostia.
While local artists will explore and react to the cultural, social, and historical heritage of the neighborhood, the exhibits will also encompass the voices of a range of emerging to established artists and creative minds.
For the fifth year running, artists rooted in wards 7 and 8 will be featured in Honfleur Gallery's juried East of the River exhibit that includes photography and illustrations. Its opening reception takes place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Friday (Aug. 5).
Among the artists are Jonathan Edwards, who uses cartoon style illustrations to explore serious themes of contemporary urban African-American experience, Jon Malis, whose large-scale prints are based on his research in the medical archives of St. Elizabeth's Hospital, as well as Lark Catoe-Emerson and Deborah Terry whose abstract explorations in photography range from the intimacy of human skin to the landscape of the urban environment.
In addition, Marlon Norman, who first learned photography at Ward 8's ARCH Training Center, engages the natural world on a macro level, and poet and photographer Danielle Scruggs' studies of self-image in text and image round out the collection.
Each of the artists were selected by an esteemed panel of judges including Renee Stout (renowned D.C. artist),Stephen Bennett Phillips (Federal Reserve) and Susanna Raab (Smithsonian's Anacostia Community Museum).
East of the River runs through Sept. 9.
Also, (Un)Lock It: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket, a collection of photographs taken in D.C. by poet and photographer Thomas Sayers Ellis (author of The Maverick Room and Skin, Inc.), opens at The Gallery at Vivid Solutions on Aug. 5, with a reception from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Ellis, a D.C. native, began taking his camera to area Go-Go's while he was a percussionist in the Petworth Band in the 1980s. He portrays the lives of local legends like Chuck Brown and Little Benny with intimate respect and fascination.
(Un)lock it: the Percussive People in the Go-Go Pocket will be open to the public through Oct. 7. Gallery hours are 12 p.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 11a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays.
The exhibits which are funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the DC Commission for the Arts and Humanities, are free to the public.
The closest metro is Anacostia (green line). For more information, visit: www.honfleurgallery.com and www.vividsolutionsdc.com
Chef Oji Jaja / Courtesy photoWhen Oji Jaja first came to Washington for the 2010 Caribbean American Heritage Awards, he was impressed by what he saw in four days. At that time, he was catering the event paying tribute to Caribbean legends such as Rita Marley. But he was not the only person forming impressions. Busboys & Poet's founder Anas "Andy" Shallal had also decided to attend the event and was eager to meet the creator of the food for the evening. Labeling himself a "culinary artist," rather than a chef, Oji Jaja was also observing the way things worked in Washington's vibrant dining scene, having come to town for the awards ceremony from Jamaica where he was headquartered (with another outpost of his firm, Ashebre, located in South Florida). His company, which takes its name from his West African middle name, specializes in food styling and consulting and includes several celebrity clients. But somehow, what he saw in D.C. was different and appealing.
At the end of the awards, Oji Jaja and Andy Shallal connected and put plans into the works for this year's Caribbean Heritage Month and a very special "Food and Folklore" dinner at Shallal's Southern-styled eatery, Eatonville.
Chef Bobby Simms hands customer Olethia McBride a bottle of mumbo sauce at the Sweet Mango Cafe, located on Georgia Ave. NW, Monday, August 1. / Photo by Victor HoltSome like it hot, others fancy sweet and zesty. Mumbo sauce, a popular condiment, orange to red in hue, has become a subject of debate in Washington lately much like the debt ceiling. The origins and ingredients of this regional sauce are much bandied about subjects. One thing is certain, Mumbo, sometimes called "Mambo" sauce, is helping to generate revenue for local carry-outs.
"I think Mumbo sauce is such a big draw at Asian restaurants because of its taste." said Li Lee, a University of Maryland graduate who works at her family's Capital Szecheuan restaurant, on East Capitol Street in Southeast.
"Mumbo is in high demand and very popular in the community. But contrary to what some people think, it is actually not made in Asian countries."
According to Lee, there are many different recipes for Mumbo.
Men don't get it.
They think that when you get together with your girlfriends, you all spend time talking about recipes, gossip, and children. Like there's nothing more on your minds.
They're kind of right. That is what you talk about... at first.
And then you talk about men. How they're so great. How they're so irritating. How you just don't "get" them. But if you read "A Belle in Brooklyn" by Demetria L. Lucas, you'll get a little guidance.
Ever since she was a girl growing up in Maryland, Demetria Lucas wanted to be Nola Darling. Nola, a character in Spike Lee's first film, was young and single with a "harem of men vying for her affections." Lucas could see herself in that role, and she knew where she wanted to do it: in Manhattan, where she also longed to be a magazine editor.
Seven months after grad school, she moved to Brooklyn after having landed a beginner job in which the "pay sucked." But the parties were free and open to a newbie in the industry, and that's where the cuties were.
Lavell Crawford / Courtesy photoThe phrase "larger than life" usually describes an entertainer's persona on stage, and not his physical appearance. For Lavell Crawford, it's the other way around.
Physically, Crawford is a tremendously large man - large enough that I don't have to describe how large he is. But his voice is calm, reserved - almost small. It's an incredible experience to sit with someone who could clearly project if he wanted to, but instead keeps fairly quiet and lets his career do the talking.
With an hour-long Comedy Central special airing on August 12th, coupled with sales of his CD/DVD everywhere from iTunes to Wal-Mart, Crawford's career has now gotten bigger than the man himself.
"Can a Brother Get Some Love" is Crawford's first full length album. The title is appropriate, as Crawford has spent the better part of the last two decades pursuing that from his fans.
Film maker Spike Lee was awarded about $1.4 million after company failed to properly distribute "Miracle at St. Anna."/ Courtesy PhotoA Paris court has ordered a French TV station to pay Spike Lee 1 million euros (about $1.4 million) for failing to distribute his World War II-era film, Miracle at St. Anna. The award was part of a total judgment of more than 30 million euros against TV station TF1.
The court said TF1 Droits Audiovisuels, a subsidiary of the broadcaster, failed to honor its agreement to distribute "Miracle at St. Anna" in markets across the world, excluding the United States, Canada and Italy.
The company signed an agreement in 2007 with On My Own production company to bring the film, about the overlooked contribution of African-American soldiers in World War II, to global markets.
The film hit U.S. cinema screens in the United States in 2008 but it was never released internationally because TF1 said the version of the film it received did not conform to what it had been promised.
TF1 refused to give On My Own the 11-million-euro advance it had agreed to pay, prompting Spike Lee and the production company to take the French firm to court.
In a judgment delivered June 21, the court agreed with them that TF1 was at fault and that its failure to honor its contract had proved "disastrous" for the film.
Some of the all stars included Maiesha Rashad (left), Donnell “D-Floyd” Floyd (center) and “Sugar Bear” Elliot/ Photos by Melanie Henderson The Anacostia Gallery in conjunction with Kip Lornell and Charles Stephenson, authors of The Beat! Go-Go Music from Washington, D.C., hosted a benefit concert, "Go Go Under The Stars," in support of the "Teach the Beat" initiative which will introduce a Go-Go curriculum to District of Columbia Public Schools in SY 2011-2012.
One of the first of its kind, this event featured a medley of well-known members from various Go-Go bands, including Maiesha & the Hip Huggers' Maiesha Rashad (vocalist), affectionately dubbed "Our Chaka Khan" by D.J. Rico, Sweet Cherie (Keyboard) of the all-female Go-Go band Be'la Dona, and Donnell "D-Floyd" Floyd (Saxophonists and Lead Talker) and Darryl "Blue-Eye" Arrington (Drums) of Rare Essence among several other Go-Go notables.
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