The Colored Man is pissed!!!!! I am boiling like a pot of hot water, waiting to be poured into a cup with a teabag in it!!! The President and First Lady are just dumb. Plain ole' dumb. That's right, the Colored Man said it, D....U....M....B, DUMB!!!!! (wink-wink)
How dare President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama give a damn about the health and well-being of American citizens, in particular, its children?
See, the Colored Man knew that they were going to move up into the White House and start doing some crazy shit!!! I knew it!!! Just as soon as they saw the lay of the land - maids and butlers, chefs, fresh flowers, antiques, limousines, parties, travel, beautiful gowns - they would come out with the ignorant. We just can't take them anywhere. And to make matters even worse, Comrade Obama isn't even an American citizen!!! Damn the Hawaiian birth certificate!!! I am too smart to believe that official document!!! (wink-wink)
About a week ago, the President signed into law the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which is basically a continuation of the School Nutrition Act, which provides schools across the country with food and commodities to serve their school populations breakfast and lunch. What is different about this new act is that the food being offered is focused on being healthy, nutritious, and relies on non-fattening cooking methods, such as baking and broiling. It also will offer more fresh fruits and vegetables, nutritionally sound menus, low-fat condiments, and will provide incentives for schools that have gardening projects, and seek to purchase locally grown foods. This new act will also allow for the creation of better nutrition standards (remember Ronald Reagan and ketchup?), and training for cafeteria staff.
Most people are not aware that school cafeterias are run just like you would run a privately-owned restaurant. Your favorite restaurant is there to make a profit, such is the case with school cafeterias. Food service operations do not get money from tax levies or other local/state government financial support. They are self-supported entities within the school district. What they do get is food commodities from the federal government to supplement what they purchase from local vendors. The government plays a big role in school nutrition.
Over 31 million children receive meals through the school lunch program and many children receive most, if not all, of their meals at school. With over seventeen million children living in food insecure households and one out of every three children in America now considered overweight or obese, schools often are on the front lines of our national challenge to combat childhood obesity and improve children's overall health.
One out of every three chidren in America considered overweight or obese. Damn!!!!
This is powerful information, and the strategies to deal with it are best left to really smart, intellectual, "real" Americans, like Sarah "Caribou Barbie" Palin, Glenn "Theatrics" Beck, and Rush "I Love the Betty Ford Clinic" Limbaugh, who know how to feed American children: give them tea by the cupful. No sooner than the bill was signed by our no-knowing Mr. President (wink-wink), out comes the trio of smarty-pants nerds-ready to save the day, talking about food police, and the government regulating what parents should feed their little fat, chubby, cherubic, corpulent, oleaginous children.
Since the First Lady was the one who came up with this less-than-stellar idea (wink-wink), about exercise and nutrition, and talking about Let's Move!, and gardening, and other such nonsense, she has received the most attention from the trio and their fellow MENSA-member followers. One devotee who goes by the wanna-be hip moniker of Granny Jan, has made a video featuring the First Lady forcing a carrot down Sesame Street character Elmo's throat, and dragging a little chubby boy away from a cheeseburger, french fries, and soda, while dressed as a cop. The now removed video ends with a picture of another little fat boy, and a caption reading, "Please help me." In other words, The Obama Food Police are after me, but I am too big to run, so I need your assistance to get away. The Oscar-worthy cinematic tour-de-force by Granny J is designed to convince the other uninformed Rhodes Scholars that the school nutrition bill and Let's Move! both herald the Apocalypse for freedom of choice in food. Another government conspiracy theory that is due to the actions of Comrade Obama and Mata Hara.
I don't know about you, but the Colored Man is tired of these pretenders in the White House coming up with ideas that are fresh and original. (wink-wink) Who cares if our children don't eat healthy food and exercise. They can't be expected to learn and excel in school like their counterparts in other developed nations, AND be fit to lead the future. Who cares if our children have life-threatening diseases at an early age. Who cares the the First Lady is using her power and position to help America be all that it can be.
I want those really smart people to run things. The Palins, Limbaughs, and Becks. Oh...., and Granny Jan too. They have original thoughts and designs. They rely on scholarship and research to make decisions. They use their energy and trumped up celibritant-ness to build not destroy. They love diversity and inclusiveness. The have the best interests of our children in mind. They value education - after going to 4 different colleges, you would too (wink-wink). They believe that a healthy America equals a healthy economy. They respect President Obama and what he is attempting to accomplish. They listen and comprehend, even when a fellow tea-potter like Mike Huckabee tells them that the Let's Move! program is good for America, and that Mrs. Obama is right on target. They are the kind of people one would definitely want on their side, when things got a little rough. They really know how to bash a troublesome Alaskan fish across the head or how to give it some drugs to quiet down (wink-wink). They practice what they preach-at least after 9 months, they do. (wink-wink)
In fact, believe it or not, THEY LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE THE COLORED MAN!!!!! Sarah, Rush, and Glenn think that I am smart like they are. But I have to inform them that I have never been smart. I'm dumb too, and think that I will stick with my kind of people. (wink-wink)
Who's ready for a meatless dinner, made with locally grown vegetables, after a good brisk five-mile walk? It's time to move baby!!!!!!
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Redemption of the Pagans
Everyone is in the holiday spirit, and the Colored Man is no exception. Bells are ringing, children are singing, and the stores are packed with holiday shoppers. My culinary juices are starting to bubble and boil. But have you ever wondered how all of this Christmas stuff began? Exactly what are we celebrating? Just as I did for Thanksgiving, the Colored Man is going to give you a brief bit of information regarding this biggest of all holiday's, which has connections to paganism.
This particular history lesson was inspired by an article in The New York Times a few days ago. The article was about wealthy people hiring holiday house "fluffers". And no, these are not x-rated movie set fluffers. These are trained interior designers hired to specifically decorate a townhouse or country retreat for the holidays. They are hired to give the residents and residences a sense of a Hallmark Christmas. A very expensive sense of belonging and Victorian memories, all swags and boughs.
The origin of the word Christmas is from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes maesse. Cristes is from Greek Christos and maesse is from Latin missa, the holy mass. In Greek, the letter X (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. This explains the use of Xmas as an abbreviation for Christmas.
The date of December 25 as the birth of Christ is quite interesting, as this is also the celebration of the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which also has a relation with the Winter Solstice, a pagan celebration. Some scholars argue that church leaders based this choice of December 25 on the spring equinox, which would have occured around March 25, now known as Annunciation and as the anniversary of Mary's conception, which would have meant that Jesus was born nine months later on December 25. These theories do get complicated, so I encourage you to go out and do some research to learn more.
Throughout history, trees and flowers have been used for celebrations, and Christmas is lush with flora. The Romans brought greenery inside during their winter holidays, and greenery was also part of Jewish tradition. The heart-shaped leaves of ivy are said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, as well as, the clinging to tradition and belief. Holly represents protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries symbolic of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at the cruxcifixion and the blood he shed. The buds of the poinsettia, a native plant of Mexico, is said to represent the crown of the thorns, while its red leaves the blood.
We can thank the Germans for Christmas trees, which during pagan times were worshipped for all of the resources that they gave man - shelter, warmth, cool, food, beauty. However, Christmas trees in America and Britian did not become the household necessity that they are today, until Prince Albert, German-born royal consort of Queen Victoria, decided that the British royal family should have a tree in their castle. Once the picture of the family in front of a Christmas tree was printed in the newspapers around the world in the mid-1800's, the Christmas tree quickly became a household must-have on both shores. Christmas decorations can also be attributed to the Germans, inspired by paper chains made by children. The first ornaments in America were sold at F.W. Woolworth's, the store that would later play a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. These were German-made and to this day, German-made Christmas ornaments are considered to be the finest-made in the world. Check out Christopher Radko ornaments at http://www.christopherradko.com/.
The colors red and green also have symbolic meaning. The Paradise Play was presented in the 1300's to tell the story of Adam and Eve, who brought sin to the world. The birth of Jesus brought redemption. In order to show illiterate citizens the Tree of Life, presenters used a green pine tree and tied red apples to its branches. Additionally, red is symbolic of celebration, while green proclaims new life, new beginning, and eternal life. The use of purple denotes royalty, as in the birth of Jesus, King of the World.
Gift-giving began with God's gift of Jesus to the world. The Three Wise Men gave the baby Jesus gifts. And we are supposed to give gifts to show God's bounty and blessings. At some point the Catholic Church banned gift-giving due to its connection to pagan holidays, such as the Roman holiday, Saturnalia. However, they later reversed their decision due to the holiday's association with Saint Nicholas, a patron saint of children, and the gifts of the Magi to the baby Christ.
Wrapping paper, which you can get in any color of the rainbow that you desire is another Christmas tradition. Originally handmade gifts were not wrapped and placed at the foot of the decorated tree. Instead, gifts were placed inside the branches. It wasn't until the Civil War and the need for mass production that store-bought gifts came into vogue. During this time gifts were wrapped in twine, ribbon, tree bark or tissue paper. As the story goes, around World War II, a milliner ran out of white tissue paper to wrap gifts, so decided to use colored paper. Her boss saw what she was doing, and went on to create the Hallmark Company and decorative wrapping papers.
Gingerbread houses are also a staple of the holiday season, and lend themselves to contests, public displays, and even have a home in the public rooms of The White House. Ginger was highly popular in Asian countries, and in fact, was one of the most widely used spices in the world. Trade ships from around the world docked in Nuremburg, Germany, and in the 1500's local bakers began using ginger in their baked food items. This led to the creation of gingerbread houses.
Other foods include nuts, which mirrors life and having to crack it open to see what's inside. Apples represent freshness, and oranges denote the bright sunshine of a new day. Egg nog is a British creation, and just leads to getting drunk and a trip to your private throne room.
The first Christmas tree lights were developed by the Thomas Edison Company. The Colored Man thinks that this concept has it good and bad sides. Of course the electric lights got rid of the burning candles on the tree, but on the other hand it caused some people to not follow the old adage of "less is more" when it comes to decorating their house.
Of course nowadays, Christmas has become too commercial. Just after Halloween I began to see stores with holiday decorations already up and blazing. We can thank good old American commercialism and Lord & Taylor department store, which was the first store to devote space to holiday displays in 1938, for the Christmas season starting in July.
So with these bits of information, I hope that each of you enjoys a very merry holiday season, and that you will use the information that I have given you, to hold fascinting conversations at all of those fabulous holiday parties that you will be attending and hosting.
Some of my readers don't celebrate Christmas, so I wish you continued health and happiness.
Bye the bye, the Colored Man really likes the gift-giving part, and I am still in need of a good 35mm camera!!!!, or an all-expense paid vacation to someplace warm and exotic:). I have been a good boy all year!!!!
The Colored Man
coloredm@yahoo.com
thecoloredman@gmail.com
This particular history lesson was inspired by an article in The New York Times a few days ago. The article was about wealthy people hiring holiday house "fluffers". And no, these are not x-rated movie set fluffers. These are trained interior designers hired to specifically decorate a townhouse or country retreat for the holidays. They are hired to give the residents and residences a sense of a Hallmark Christmas. A very expensive sense of belonging and Victorian memories, all swags and boughs.
The origin of the word Christmas is from the Middle English Christemasse and Old English Cristes maesse. Cristes is from Greek Christos and maesse is from Latin missa, the holy mass. In Greek, the letter X (chi), is the first letter of Christ, and it, or the similar Roman letter X, has been used as an abbreviation for Christ since the mid-16th century. This explains the use of Xmas as an abbreviation for Christmas.
The date of December 25 as the birth of Christ is quite interesting, as this is also the celebration of the Roman solar holiday Dies Natalis Solis Invicti, which also has a relation with the Winter Solstice, a pagan celebration. Some scholars argue that church leaders based this choice of December 25 on the spring equinox, which would have occured around March 25, now known as Annunciation and as the anniversary of Mary's conception, which would have meant that Jesus was born nine months later on December 25. These theories do get complicated, so I encourage you to go out and do some research to learn more.
Throughout history, trees and flowers have been used for celebrations, and Christmas is lush with flora. The Romans brought greenery inside during their winter holidays, and greenery was also part of Jewish tradition. The heart-shaped leaves of ivy are said to symbolize the coming to earth of Jesus, as well as, the clinging to tradition and belief. Holly represents protection against pagans and witches, its thorns and red berries symbolic of the crown of thorns worn by Jesus at the cruxcifixion and the blood he shed. The buds of the poinsettia, a native plant of Mexico, is said to represent the crown of the thorns, while its red leaves the blood.
We can thank the Germans for Christmas trees, which during pagan times were worshipped for all of the resources that they gave man - shelter, warmth, cool, food, beauty. However, Christmas trees in America and Britian did not become the household necessity that they are today, until Prince Albert, German-born royal consort of Queen Victoria, decided that the British royal family should have a tree in their castle. Once the picture of the family in front of a Christmas tree was printed in the newspapers around the world in the mid-1800's, the Christmas tree quickly became a household must-have on both shores. Christmas decorations can also be attributed to the Germans, inspired by paper chains made by children. The first ornaments in America were sold at F.W. Woolworth's, the store that would later play a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's. These were German-made and to this day, German-made Christmas ornaments are considered to be the finest-made in the world. Check out Christopher Radko ornaments at http://www.christopherradko.com/.
The colors red and green also have symbolic meaning. The Paradise Play was presented in the 1300's to tell the story of Adam and Eve, who brought sin to the world. The birth of Jesus brought redemption. In order to show illiterate citizens the Tree of Life, presenters used a green pine tree and tied red apples to its branches. Additionally, red is symbolic of celebration, while green proclaims new life, new beginning, and eternal life. The use of purple denotes royalty, as in the birth of Jesus, King of the World.
Gift-giving began with God's gift of Jesus to the world. The Three Wise Men gave the baby Jesus gifts. And we are supposed to give gifts to show God's bounty and blessings. At some point the Catholic Church banned gift-giving due to its connection to pagan holidays, such as the Roman holiday, Saturnalia. However, they later reversed their decision due to the holiday's association with Saint Nicholas, a patron saint of children, and the gifts of the Magi to the baby Christ.
Wrapping paper, which you can get in any color of the rainbow that you desire is another Christmas tradition. Originally handmade gifts were not wrapped and placed at the foot of the decorated tree. Instead, gifts were placed inside the branches. It wasn't until the Civil War and the need for mass production that store-bought gifts came into vogue. During this time gifts were wrapped in twine, ribbon, tree bark or tissue paper. As the story goes, around World War II, a milliner ran out of white tissue paper to wrap gifts, so decided to use colored paper. Her boss saw what she was doing, and went on to create the Hallmark Company and decorative wrapping papers.
Gingerbread houses are also a staple of the holiday season, and lend themselves to contests, public displays, and even have a home in the public rooms of The White House. Ginger was highly popular in Asian countries, and in fact, was one of the most widely used spices in the world. Trade ships from around the world docked in Nuremburg, Germany, and in the 1500's local bakers began using ginger in their baked food items. This led to the creation of gingerbread houses.
Other foods include nuts, which mirrors life and having to crack it open to see what's inside. Apples represent freshness, and oranges denote the bright sunshine of a new day. Egg nog is a British creation, and just leads to getting drunk and a trip to your private throne room.
The first Christmas tree lights were developed by the Thomas Edison Company. The Colored Man thinks that this concept has it good and bad sides. Of course the electric lights got rid of the burning candles on the tree, but on the other hand it caused some people to not follow the old adage of "less is more" when it comes to decorating their house.
Of course nowadays, Christmas has become too commercial. Just after Halloween I began to see stores with holiday decorations already up and blazing. We can thank good old American commercialism and Lord & Taylor department store, which was the first store to devote space to holiday displays in 1938, for the Christmas season starting in July.
So with these bits of information, I hope that each of you enjoys a very merry holiday season, and that you will use the information that I have given you, to hold fascinting conversations at all of those fabulous holiday parties that you will be attending and hosting.
Some of my readers don't celebrate Christmas, so I wish you continued health and happiness.
Bye the bye, the Colored Man really likes the gift-giving part, and I am still in need of a good 35mm camera!!!!, or an all-expense paid vacation to someplace warm and exotic:). I have been a good boy all year!!!!
The Colored Man
coloredm@yahoo.com
thecoloredman@gmail.com
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Winter Blooms
The Colored Man loves winter and the coldness that it brings. However, I also love to garden. It would seem that the two loves would not go well together, but they really fit together like two peas in a pod.
For instance, look at the picture of this beautiful amaryllis, which is normally a plant that grows in tropical climes. It was a very welcomed gift from my girl, Ms. Loveheart, and it is sitting on my kitchen
table with about 4 blooms in full glory. How did this happen in 10 degree weather, you ask? Well, through a process called "forcing," you trick the bulb into thinking that it is 80 degrees and time for it to wake up and grow. Forcing can be done with pretty much any bulb plant-tulips, narcissus, hyacinth and so forth and so on. In order to force a bulb, you need to get yourself a decorative shallow bowl or planter, preferably clear in color, some pea stones or natural-colored rocks, and some bulbs of your choice.
Once you have the stones in the dish, place the bulbs into the dish, and then add more stones until the bulbs are covered about two-thirds up. Your bulbs should not be submerged in large amounts of water,as this will cause them to rot. You only want the root part to actually touch the water. Place the dish in a cool, dark location. Once you begin to see green sprouting from the bulb, relocate them to somewhere they will get lots of sunshine, and with a combination of heat and light from the sun and heat from your furnace, plus water, and you will have vibrant flowers in about 3-4 weeks. They will eventually die back, and when they do, continue to keep them feed with water and sun, and when it gets warm enough outside, take them out and plant them directly into the ground. Be warned: they may grow or they may not grow.
I guess that the Colored Man's love of plants and landscapes started when I was just a young lad. My great-grandmother had a gladiola garden in the backtard, and one day yours truly decided to go and play in it, breaking a few plants (well, maybe a little bit more than a few). Trust me, I learned to respect a person's garden after that incident, and thus I still have that feeling towards them some 20, oops 30, well actually 40+ years later. I must have some talent in the area, having won certificates and ribbons for my horticultural expertise, and at one point was a certified and active Master Gardener. So it's a good thing.
Any avid gardener will tell you that gardening is time consuming and year-round. But I have always loved getting up around 5:30am on a hot Saturday morning in August, and just spending time walking around the yard and looking at the plants, making mental notes to myself to divide this one, or to deadhead another plant. Or asking myself why did I buy this plant? Or this plant is not working here in this spot. Being in the garden is meditative for me, and there have been times that I have worked in the yard from 8 in the morning, to 3 or 4 o'clock in the early evening. It is my chance to escape and get away, and to be honest, I love when neighbors come by and admire your handiwork, or engage you in conversation regarding your vision. During the winter months i enjoy perusing plant catalogs, watching programs on television, and looking for unusual plants.
Of course, there have been some miscues, like the time that I purchased these outstanding topiary rose bushes, only to have them not come back the following year. I paid good money for those plants so I raised some hell and got a full refund. Then there is the time that I decided to compost, only to have the worms die out, because I hadn't taken the time to fully read about what I was doing. Only this time I did not get my money back. I was dealing with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and figured that I had better not fuck with them too much.
Gardening is also a way of honoring people, for instance, I love portulaca, which blooms in full sun, but closes up when the sun goes down. This is a plant that my mother grew. Another plant that she grew was verbena, which I have tried to grow, but it is susceptible to powdery mildew in my part of the country.
Visual beauty is also another great part of gardening, and I love visiting great gardens. I can't wait to go back to the Biltmore to witness the imagination of Frederick Law Olmstead. My favorite city for gardens is Chicago. It seems that in the Windy City, no expense is spared in their public garden spaces. Most cities usually only plant annuals, trees, and shrubs, but in Chicago, it's all of that plus roses, succulents, grasses, perennials, and vegetables. In Chicago, even the roof of City Hall is a garden. I have often wondered how much money do they spend on their gardens? and will things continue to grow when the city elects a new mayor? We shall see.
My ultimate gardening dream would be to have a space with about 10 acres, so that I could create cutting gardens, dozens of rose varieties, do some espaliered fruit trees, a few grape vines, specimen plantings, wide and deep plantings throughout the space, a pool surrounded by lush tropical plants, lots of potted plants, color galore, bee hives, a greenhouse, French vegetable knots.............................................
Wake up, Colored Man, WAKE UP!!!! Oh...I'm sorry, I feel asleep there for a moment. Excuse me.
So outside it may be frigid, but inside the Colored Man's mind it is as warm and sunshiny as a blazing summer day,when the garden is in full bodacious bloom. I'm going back to sleep, perchace to dream some more about dirt and shovels, and roots, and mulch, and color combinations, and retaining walls, and slugs, and.......
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
The Colored Man
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Moving Around
First, let me apologize for being late with my post this week, but it has been a whirwind past few days for The Colored Man. Where shall I start?
Well, most importantly, I moved into a brand-new living environment, one that has a spacious kitchen, large bathroom, hardwood floors, and 10ft. ceilings, gas stove, and did I mention that the new villa-ette has "welfare heat." For those of you who don't know, welfare heat is steam heat that has a tendency to overheat. It's 17 degrees outside as I write this, but I am sitting here in shorts and a tee-shirt with the window open. And best of all the heat is FREE! The neighborhood is in transition, and is becoming quite the artistic haven. About three blocks down the street, I have a 6-mile walk/run trail, so there are no excuses for not getting out and exercising.
I am already enjoying this new place, which is a good ways from my old stomping grounds, but offers me the opportunity to do what I want, when I want, how I want. Eventually, I will purchase another house, but for right now, this is the place to be and it's where I chose to call home, and I am lovin' it.
On Sunday, my good "judy" girlfriend, Ms. Loveheart, invited me to a grand opening party for Dhani Jones' new coffee shop, Bow Tie Cafe. Dhani Jones is a professional athlete who is also the star of Dhani Tackles the Globe on the Travel Channel, and is an all-around bon vivant and philanthropist. The reason that the coffee shop is called Bow Tie Cafe, is because he designs and sells bowties, with the profits assisting various charities, such as Juvenile Diabetes.
Ms. Loveheart was looking quite stunning in a purplish knit dress, which featured sculpted, draped shoulders and just enough cleavage to not be vulgar. Kim Kardashian ain't got nothing on Ms. Loveheart. She was in that dress, which highlighted her hour-glass figure. Her legs were covered in purplish-brown tights, and she strutted in suede 4-inch heels. Yours truly, the Colored Man wore a pair of jeans that had shrunk a few years ago (wink-wink), a black and white gingham shirt, black sweater-jacket with a faux fur collar, and grey suede wingtips. We were quite fashionable if I say so myself.
The party was quite a melange of people - business people, hanger-ons, black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, pro athletes, hoochie mommas, older, younger, straight, gay, half-way crooked, invited and party-crashers, Rolex, Timex, and Cartier watch wearers. The food offered was sushi, sliders -made with very good beef, assorted cheeses and charcuterie. Wine, beer and sodas washed the delicious lite fare down.
The highlight of the evening was a mini-concert by a pianist named Eric Lewis, or ELew as he calls himself. If you can imagine Yanni and John Tesh on steroids, than you have ELew. His styles range from New Age, Punk, Rock, jazz to the Delfonics' LaLaLaLaLa......Means I Love You. He is a fourth-generation musician, and grew up in a home in Camden, New Jersey that also served as a music school.
He makes the piano rumble like thunder, and does it all while crouch down in a runner's starting gate position. When I inquired why he played in that position versus sitting on a bench, he told me that he likes the "lines" that his body creates while he plays. I will be honest, his music is not for everyone's taste. Personally, the Colored Man tended to gravitate more towards his jazz and pop interpretations versus his rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Of course, Ms. Loveheart who is the Colored Man's junior by 20 years loved all of the rock and punk music renditions. All that I could do was ask her who the song was by, and reply, "I've never heard of them." There were rumours that Terrell Owens was giving a party on Monday night, but we were not able to get full details, or else we would have been there also, and I would have a full report for you. I guess his orbit is just a little bit more rarified than Dhani's. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening.
The party ended for me around 12 midnite. Of course the youngster Ms. Loveheart went to the "afterglow," and had plenty of stories to tell me the next afternoon.
So, as you can see, that between packing and unpacking, hanging out, and living life, it has been quite a busy week for the Colored Man. I am tired, and ready to sit back and enjoy a good book surrounded by welfare heat.
The Colored Man
I would like to just take a moment to say hello to my readers in Nepal, Singapore, and Vietnam. Thank you for reading my blog!!!!!
Well, most importantly, I moved into a brand-new living environment, one that has a spacious kitchen, large bathroom, hardwood floors, and 10ft. ceilings, gas stove, and did I mention that the new villa-ette has "welfare heat." For those of you who don't know, welfare heat is steam heat that has a tendency to overheat. It's 17 degrees outside as I write this, but I am sitting here in shorts and a tee-shirt with the window open. And best of all the heat is FREE! The neighborhood is in transition, and is becoming quite the artistic haven. About three blocks down the street, I have a 6-mile walk/run trail, so there are no excuses for not getting out and exercising.
I am already enjoying this new place, which is a good ways from my old stomping grounds, but offers me the opportunity to do what I want, when I want, how I want. Eventually, I will purchase another house, but for right now, this is the place to be and it's where I chose to call home, and I am lovin' it.
On Sunday, my good "judy" girlfriend, Ms. Loveheart, invited me to a grand opening party for Dhani Jones' new coffee shop, Bow Tie Cafe. Dhani Jones is a professional athlete who is also the star of Dhani Tackles the Globe on the Travel Channel, and is an all-around bon vivant and philanthropist. The reason that the coffee shop is called Bow Tie Cafe, is because he designs and sells bowties, with the profits assisting various charities, such as Juvenile Diabetes.
Ms. Loveheart was looking quite stunning in a purplish knit dress, which featured sculpted, draped shoulders and just enough cleavage to not be vulgar. Kim Kardashian ain't got nothing on Ms. Loveheart. She was in that dress, which highlighted her hour-glass figure. Her legs were covered in purplish-brown tights, and she strutted in suede 4-inch heels. Yours truly, the Colored Man wore a pair of jeans that had shrunk a few years ago (wink-wink), a black and white gingham shirt, black sweater-jacket with a faux fur collar, and grey suede wingtips. We were quite fashionable if I say so myself.
The party was quite a melange of people - business people, hanger-ons, black, white, Asian, Middle Eastern, pro athletes, hoochie mommas, older, younger, straight, gay, half-way crooked, invited and party-crashers, Rolex, Timex, and Cartier watch wearers. The food offered was sushi, sliders -made with very good beef, assorted cheeses and charcuterie. Wine, beer and sodas washed the delicious lite fare down.
The highlight of the evening was a mini-concert by a pianist named Eric Lewis, or ELew as he calls himself. If you can imagine Yanni and John Tesh on steroids, than you have ELew. His styles range from New Age, Punk, Rock, jazz to the Delfonics' LaLaLaLaLa......Means I Love You. He is a fourth-generation musician, and grew up in a home in Camden, New Jersey that also served as a music school.
He makes the piano rumble like thunder, and does it all while crouch down in a runner's starting gate position. When I inquired why he played in that position versus sitting on a bench, he told me that he likes the "lines" that his body creates while he plays. I will be honest, his music is not for everyone's taste. Personally, the Colored Man tended to gravitate more towards his jazz and pop interpretations versus his rendition of Smells Like Teen Spirit by Nirvana. Of course, Ms. Loveheart who is the Colored Man's junior by 20 years loved all of the rock and punk music renditions. All that I could do was ask her who the song was by, and reply, "I've never heard of them." There were rumours that Terrell Owens was giving a party on Monday night, but we were not able to get full details, or else we would have been there also, and I would have a full report for you. I guess his orbit is just a little bit more rarified than Dhani's. All in all it was a very enjoyable evening.
The party ended for me around 12 midnite. Of course the youngster Ms. Loveheart went to the "afterglow," and had plenty of stories to tell me the next afternoon.
So, as you can see, that between packing and unpacking, hanging out, and living life, it has been quite a busy week for the Colored Man. I am tired, and ready to sit back and enjoy a good book surrounded by welfare heat.
The Colored Man
I would like to just take a moment to say hello to my readers in Nepal, Singapore, and Vietnam. Thank you for reading my blog!!!!!
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