Dinner for Eight

Last Sunday evening the Colored Man hosted a little get-together for a few friends at his new "villa-ette."  It had been awhile since I had entertained, so I was really excited tht everything go wll.  Of course, to me the most important aspectsof entertaining is the right mix of people and the food.  Both of them were in perfect order.  The food was especially different and quite international; Jewish tomato and cabbage soup, a last-minute Asian-inspired soup with good old Ramen noodles, fresh American ham and turkey sandwiches on artisanal bread, and salad.  Desserts were global as well, featuring English trifle, German Black Forest cake, Belgian chocolates, and a delicious blueberry coffee-cake type confection.

There were lots of laughs, and everyone really enjoyed the showing of Cabin in The Sky, the great Vincente Minelli directed movie featuring Ethel Waters, Lena Horne, and Eddie Rochester, with Louis Armstrong as one of the devil's minions, and Duke Ellington and his band.  After the movie, the conversation turned to New Age religions, angels, and people who can communicate with the spirits, which I really do believe in, even though some people would say that it is part of the devil's world.

Overall, the evening was a great success, and plans are being made for the next soiree at someone else's house.  Many years ago Donna Summer, the disco queen sang that she wanted to have dinner with Gershwin.  That got the Colored Man to thinking, who would he want to have dinner with?  Someone who changed history, been inspirational, a leader, or someone with some type of notoriety-good or bad?  Planning for this event is right down the Colored Man's alley; I do love a great and grand celebration!!!

I'm thinking that I wouldn't want to have this dinner indoors, but rather outside in a field, perhaps at a beautiful country estate, surrounded by all types of fauna and flora.  Fresh flowes and lots of candles would adorn the table, along with fresh bowls of seasonal fruit.  Dinner would have to be prepared by chefs who have an appreciation for sustainable agriculture and be well-versed in farm-to-table culinary practices.  Maybe Tabari Campbell, sous chef at the White House for the savory foods, and Gale Gund, co-owner of Tru in Chicago, as pastry chef.  The menu would be multi-coursed, and would definitely have to focus on American regional foods.  And I think that a full bar is in order as well, with wines paired with each course.  (As a side note, did you know that until Bill and Hilary Clinton entered the White House, French cuisine was served at State dinners?  With all of the American culinary traditions, you would think that that would not have been the case, but it was.)

Entertainment would consist of someone tinkling the ivories, and a small combo for after dinner, in case someone wanted to "cut the rug".

Now comes the really hard part.....trying to figure out 8 people to invite to this dinner.  Some names just pop up like rockets.....Barack Obama, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. - imagine their conversations over a good cigarette, while others really cause me to think about who would be someone that I would just love to meet.  Josephine Baker - international star, who at one point received over 10,000 fan letters a day, Toni Morrison, Duke Ellington, Lena Horne, August Wilson, and George Gershwin.  There are several names on the list that could be removed, but there are three that are a must-keep. 

Any good party must have the right mix of people, who may not have anything in common, but at a minimum, common interest in intelligent conversation and good times.  Of course with this hallowed imaginery group, one must think about things such as who will sit to the host's right, and left, and all of that minutaea which can really bog one down.

Just as last Sunday brought a diverse group of people together who are leaders within their own right, this imaginary dinner will bring together people who I feel have also changed history.  But everytime people get together it changes history, blossoms new friendships, new understandings, and new memories.  It's not really about the food, the flowers, or any of those mundane things.  It's all about the people, conversations, hearty laughs, building relationships, and just enjoying life.

Cheers!

The Colored Man

Dandy, Dandified, Dandification



Nick Cannon, a modern-day dandy.  Notice the three-piece suit.



Matt Lauer, a daily fashion must-see.  Light-blue shirt, and very simple, understated cufflinks.


The Colored Man loves fashion and stylish people.  My father gave me a great example to follow, and to this day, he always turns out very nicely dressed.  In the 50+ years that I have known him, I have never seen him wear jeans, shorts, sweatpants or athletic-type pants, sneakers, baseball caps, or anything else that might not be considered stylish.  My father comes from a time period when men dressed in the manner that they wanted to be perceived in.  His generation of colored men dressed elegantly in an effort to shield themselves from the wolves that they had to face when they went out into the world.  They viewed dressing as a way of representing the greater African-American race, and perhaps it's a mind-set that we need to revisit.

Clothes truly do make the man, or at the least, announce the man to the world.  The past few weeks I have been searching for a pair of brown dress shoes.  It seems impossible to find them.  Brown is not a big color in men's suiting, and went out of style when some presidental candidate made the comment "beware of the man in the brown suit," about 70 years ago.  Ronald Reagan brought the brown suit back into vogue during his reign in the White House.  Much to every fashion follower's disappointment, Barack Obama has not proven to be a fashion-setter like his wife, but he has brought flip-flops to the attention of people.  But please be aware, flip-flops are a podiatrists' nightmare, or maybe I should say dream, because if you wear them often, eventually you will end up in their office with foot or bone damage.   The President looks good in his clothes, but imagine what a little tailoring, and a different suit cut could do for someone with his height and leanness?

I did find some brown Ferragamo's, but as with alot of men's fashion, they are made with a European slant; men with long, narrow feet.  The Colored Man has low-arches, so the Ferragamo's look good on my foot when I am sitting down, but the minute that I stand up, the spread out around the ankles like butter on hot bread.  Of course, I have found a few pair of brown shoes, but the price point is a little bit out of my range, but I have been known to suffer for the sake of fashion, and purchasing them will put the Colored Man on a whole nutha' level of fashion.

Recently, I attended an event with some friends.  I wore a grey flannel suit with side-vents, a purple checked shirt which I had shipped overnight(and believe me getting that shirt is a story unto itself), brown suede shoes, and a pocket square that picked up the purple, grey and brown.  I thought that I was looking sharp, but it's always good to hear it from someone else's lips.  This particular suit must be a winner, because the first time that I wore it, a male business colleague told me that I looked sexy!!!  The whole scene was interesting, and the Colored Man never turns down a compliment, but it would have been better if it came from someone that I would've wanted that particular compliment to come from.

I love mixing colors and patterns, and putting stuff together simply because I think that it looks good.  I am a gender-bender, and have purchased ladies socks because I liked the pattern, and it is extremely hard to find exciting men's socks.  Sometimes a pop of color at the foot, just gives an outfit that added bump.  I get excited thinking about my outfit before an event, and will lay everything out on the bed to make sure it's worthy of the Colored Man.  Shoes have to be polished, and top hat ready to go.

Now, there are rules that I follow when dressing, and advise others to follow.  Here we go.....

1.  T-shirts underneath shirts during the summer.  Especially dress shirts-nothing looks worse than a shirt plastered to someone's sweaty back.
2.  No socks with sandals.
3.  Use an iron - you should not step out of your house with clothes that are wrinkled.  There is no excuse for this faux pas.  It looks down-right tacky and "bamaly".
4.  Buy quality.  Don't be afraid to purchase items at high-end stores and boutiques.  Particularly when they have a sale.  Mix price-points.
5.  Set the trend.  Don't follow the trend.
6.  Wear all black occasionally.
7.  Black, brown, navy blue, red, orange shirts do not look good with suits, however, white, lite blue, pale pink look great, and preferably with French cuffs.
8.  Sweaters - cashmere, cashmere, cashmere!!!!!!!
9.  Get rid of stuff - if it is not couture and possibly vintage and collectible, it is not worth anything, so take it to Goodwill and free up space in your closet for new items.
10.  Read men's fashion magazines and blogs for information and inspiration.  Use the internet to shop.
11.  Know what looks good on you and what doesn't.  The same idea goes for colors-know which ones work, and which ones don't.
12.  Shop with a keen eye at discount stores.  There is a reason that they exist and the buyer has to always be aware.
13. Have at least one dark suit in your closet, and one summer fabric suit in your closet.
14.  Wear evening shoes with a tuxedo.

Before I end, I feel that it is my duty to give you a heads up on the trends for Men Spring 2011.  Look for flared jeans-no more of those skinny jeans where you need an ass about as wide as a pencil to wear, and another trend to be on the lookout for is motorcycle jackets crafted in very lightweight, buttery leather.  Now, while you are looking out for these trends, I will continue to search for a pair of brown dress shoes, and we will meet somewhere in the aisle of a good men's clothing store.

The Colored Man
Thecoloredman@gmail.com
coloredm@yahoo.com

Dave Patania, Start Counting!!!!

The Colored Man came to a realization the other day.  Well, actually not a realization, just cold hard facts.  I am morbidly obese.  This is something that I have known for quite some time, but it really hits hard when it's staring you in the face in black and white print.  Being morbidly obese means that I face diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and host of other maladies that a healthier person might not face.  To compound the issue, I also have the fact that I am the Colored Man, which puts me at a higher risk than other groups, and some of these health issues run in my family.

As I stated earlier, this is not new to me.  I have had an unhealthy relationship with food for quite some time.  It's gotten worse in the past few years.  And the time has come to kick this relationship to the curb.  With that in mind, I hooked up with an old friend by the name of Dave Pataniahttp://www.davepatania.wordpress.com/.  I had met Dave a number of years ago, when I got on the fitness bandwagon and saw great results working with him and his trusty assistant, Ms. Amy.  Dave is a noted fitness/health expert who has a personality that can be loud and abrasive at times, and quiet and encouraging the next when he is training you.  He is a little bit of Jillian and Bob from The Biggest Loser.

Dave and I starting meeting at the gym once-a-week to work out.  Of course, it had been some time since the Colored Man had worked out and after our first session I was quite sore, but ready to keep going.  I remember the first day that we got together.  Dave had been talking stuff all week, "I'm going to have you crying," "I can't wait to kill you," and other pieces of trash.  He even started purposely mispronouncing my name, giving it an extra long e sound - typical jock boy stuff.  One of his funniest bon mots was when he told me, "I am not going to be your cabana boy and count reps for you."  Those of you who know me really well, know that I have a penchant for nicknames, so that little speech earned him a nickname.

Dave also gave me a meal plan which consisted of five meals per day, starting with oatmeal and egg whites in the morning, and ending with chicken or fish, a small salad, and baked white or sweet potato for dinner.  I also had to focus and give up sodas, and hamburgers, and other fattening, unhealthy foods.  The Colored Man must be honest, and tell you that I did not do the egg whites for breakfast, as I just didn't have time in the morning for all that.  I also found that for me to stay on pointe, I needed to prepare as much food at one time as I possibly could, because if it was not readily available, then all hell would break loose, and I would begin to resort back to old habits.

Working out with Dave was always fun.  It was something that I looked forward to every Saturday or Sunday.  I knew that he was really helping me out, when he didn't have to.  I wanted to make sure that he saw how serious I was about reaching my goals.  We talked about different things and shared private stuff with each other, and of course, he talked "smack" and I gave it back to him, word for word.  He always found it interesting that when I got to about the tenth or so rep, I would always want to stop, particularly with upper-body exercises. Shit, my damn arms would be burning.  Eventually, I kinda learned how to embrace the burn and keep going.  And occasionally I would surprise him, like the time I did 30 minutes straight on the StairMaster.  I love the StairMaster!!!!  Dave continued to have this fantasy that he was going to make me cry, and I had my fantasy that he was going to count reps for me.

But all good things come to an end.

Dave got offered a job in the Northwest and decided to move.  At first, I was really pissed, and thought what am I going to do?  One day Dave wrote something on his blog and it really hit home.  I realized that I had been using him as a crutch, and that the power was really within me to reach my fitness goals.  But even still, it's been somewhat hard to stay focused when you don't have someone encouraging and pushing you.  I say that I can stay focused, but on the other hand I know that I need somebody behind me with a stick to get my ass moving.  It just won't be Dave Patania with the stick!, and all his mouth,  but I still can get inspiration from him through his blog at http://www.davepatania.wordpress.com/.

Be warned, that he is NOT going to count reps for you, but he will give you some good information, like "it's about the work, not the talk."

By the way, the Colored Man has lost 20 pounds, and looking forward to the next 20.

The Colored Man
Thecoloredman@gmail.com
Coloredm@yahoo.com