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Haze (Euro Gang) Proves That SAS Isn't Banned From Harlem?

djenemy — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 17:18:42 +0000

Precious will make you cry

harlemgal — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 16:56:53 +0000

By HarlemGal

I finally went to go see the movie Precious over the holiday weekend and all I can say is “go see it.” I thought the entire film was excellent from start to finish. However, I under estimated the power of the subject matter and how it would affect me. I read all the reviews in the newspaper and online, but I had no idea this film would send me to a place of endless tears. I cried, cried and cried. As a matter of fact, the movie theater I was at had everyone bawling, like children. It’s that good and emotional of a film!

All of the actors were excellent in the film, especially Gabourey Sidibe. After seeing Sidibe’s performance, I hope she receives a ton of acting award nominations for Precious. If I was a member of the Oscar Academy, I would vote for her! If no Oscar nod happens, the next best thing would be for the entertainment industry to reward her with endless acting opportunities. Go see the film for yourself and tell us what you think. Precious is showing at the Magic Johnson Theater at 125th and Frederick Douglass Blvd.

Sugar Ray’s Harlem, Back in the Day

narmer — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 13:02:25 +0000

Sugar Ray’s Harlem, Back in the Day

By COREY KILGANNON

When Sugar Ray Robinson ruled the ring as a champion welterweight and middleweight in the 1940s and ’50s, the most important member of his team of corner men was neither his trainer nor his cut man.

It was, perhaps, Roger, his personal barber, to whom responsibility fell for Sugar’s highly maintained coiffure: flattened, straightened, greased and with a stylish wave.

“He never went into the ring without making sure his barber, Roger, put every strand in place after every round,” explained the Rev. Robert Royal, 80, a well-known Harlem minister and Robinson family friend. “Wherever you saw Ray, you saw Roger.”

Sam Falk/The New York Times

Sugar Ray Robinson, friends said, insisted on keeping his hair straightened, greased and waved.

And the place one would most likely see Robinson was in Harlem, where he strode over the vibrant night life like a colossus. Mr. Royal and other senior statesmen of Harlem gathered Tuesday night to turn the clock back half a century, when Sugar was Harlem’s darling.

There he was, cruising in his custom flamingo-pink Cadillac, or jumping behind the bar to mix drinks for the luminaries in his nightclub, Sugar Ray’s, which became a staple of New York’s social scene.

The occasion on Tuesday was a book reading at the Hue-Man Bookstore, at Frederick Douglass Boulevard, near 124th Street, a block from the old nightclub, long closed now.

As Wil Haygood read from his new book, “Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson” (Knopf), some of the gray-haired guests murmured in agreement; they hung around afterward to share their memories of Robinson, providing a listening tour of a Harlem popping with excitement.

There was 940 St. Nicholas Avenue, where Robinson rented his mother a spacious apartment after he won his first big purse, $6,000, in 1941. There was the basement of the Salem Methodist Church, where Robinson learned to box after moving to Harlem from Detroit at age 11. And there was the string of buildings Robinson bought at Seventh Avenue and 124th Street where he opened Sugar Ray’s, which attracted celebrities like Frank Sinatra, Jackie Gleason, Nat King Cole and Elizabeth Taylor.

“Anything you want to know about his bar, ask me,” said Representative Charles B. Rangel, the Democrat from Harlem, who showed up at the reading to introduce Mr. Haygood. Mr. Rangel recalled his days as a desk clerk at the Hotel Theresa, near the club. He said that his job included escorting female guests to Sugar Ray’s, where, “I was the unofficial host.”

In his book, Mr. Haygood, a writer for The Washington Post, paints a romantic portrait of Robinson cutting a stylish figure in Harlem, whether chatting with Langston Hughes, escorting Lena Horne or giving boxing lessons to Miles Davis.

Robinson was always dapper, and Mr. Haygood, dressed in a pink shirt and tie, said he wore it in honor of Robinson’s Cadillac, which the boxer modestly called “the Hope diamond of Harlem.”

“He turned his life into a waltz,” he said after the reading, “a waltz through the times in which he lived.”

Mr. Royal, who once managed the renowned Palm Café on 125th Street, and who spoke at Robinson’s funeral in 1989, said, “He was a solid family man who invested in his community.”

Robinson was a fluid boxer who possessed a quick jab and knockout power in both hands. He fought 202 bouts over a quarter of a century and defeated men like Jake LaMotta, Carmen Basilio, Rocky Graziano and Kid Gavilan.

Pound for pound, the best boxer ever: that is how Robinson is often labeled by the purists. And the verdict in the room Tuesday night seemed unanimous that he ranked just as high in the realm of Harlem night life.

Robinson wore suits tailored by Sy Martin, who made garments for people like Duke Ellington. Robinson took his entourage — a prototype for what is now commonplace among celebrity athletes — on his travels abroad. It included his trainer, golf pro, nutritionist, manicurist, driver, and, of course, Roger the barber (whose last name has been lost).

Robinson was one of the first black celebrity athletes who was also a businessman, and one of the first high-profile black figures to invest in property in Harlem and to start his own business, setting an example for other black residents there, said Arthur Barnes, who was born and raised in Harlem and is now chairman of the board of the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

Robinson used a mix of street savvy and business acumen to steer clear of mob fixers and vulture promoters, Mr. Barnes said, and insisted on representing himself when negotiating purses and television paydays, “because he was the one taking the blows.”

Several guests at the reading told stories about Robinson’s relationship with the jazzman Davis. Robinson agreed to train him at Harry Wiley’s Gym at Broadway and 136th Street.

“I trained at Harry Wiley’s as a kid, and one day I said, ‘Who’s that guy so sharp over there hitting the bag?’ ” recalled Paul Johnson, 55, of Harlem. “They said, ‘Oh, that’s Miles Davis.’ Sugar Ray agreed to train him.”

“He hurt a few musicians who didn’t want to listen,” Mr. Johnson said of Davis. “He knew how to use his hands. Sugar Ray taught him.”

The Rev. Dino Woodard, a former sparring partner for Robinson, said that he helped train Davis and that he was a respectable boxer who always wore protective headgear to protect his trumpet-playing lips.

“Sugar Ray invited Miles to come up, and he come up every day when he was in town,” said Mr. Woodard. He told the story of Davis slugging his drummer for arriving late to a gig and later explaining, “I had to Sugar Ray” his behind, using a less printable version of “behind.”

In the 1960s, when Harlem was in decline as a jazz and cultural mecca, Robinson moved to Los Angeles. He died, having burned through his glory and his millions, at age 67 after suffering from Alzheimer’s disease.

Mr. Johnson said he remembered a handler of Robinson’s who advised the boxer to invest his money.

Robinson would say, “Oh, just get my clothes out of the cleaners,” Mr. Johnson recalled. “Sugar Ray later realized, ‘I should have listened to him.’ ”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/26/nyregion/26sugar.html

Happy Thanksgiving and Visit Harlem for the Holidays 11/27-1/3

HarlemGuy — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 12:46:51 +0000

By HarlemGuy

HarlemCondoLife would like to take a moment to give thanks and express gratitude on this wonderful holiday.

Thanksgiving is traditionally the start of the holiday season. And Harlem is no exception.

This Thanksgiving kicks-0ff another one of many opportunities to explore the old and new in Harlem, a place with a rich cultural history, diverse restaurants, great entertainment, shopping and culture.

Click here for more details.

Come visit Harlem for the Holidays.

A Harlem small business strategizes to survive

narmer — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 02:53:27 +0000

via nycgo

Princess Jenkins is the owner of the Brownstone, a New York City clothing and accessories boutique. Last fall, Ms. Jenkins surveyed the market and realized how difficult the next season could be. She met with her five top designers and urged them to produce the boldest fashions they were capable of — designs she knew would appeal to her customers’ flamboyant tastes. “I told them, it’s going to get really tight next year,” she said, “and I need the best you have to offer.”

They also mapped out a bigger marketing plan focused on three major events. In February, Ms. Jenkins rented a ballroom next door and staged her first fashion show, to which she invited 200 top clients. Sales from the event, she said, were “incredible.” Six months later, using decorations, curtains and designs from the show, Ms. Jenkins set up four booths — she usually books just one — during a small-business fair held as part of “Harlem week.” And, in early November, during the marathon, using three of those booths, she held another fashion show, this one with a D.J.

“The next time people come to 125th Street, they’ll remember there was something big going on there,” she said. “It’s all about building a lasting impression.” According to Ms. Jenkins, the moves have paid off with year-to-year sales up about 10 percent. She expects them to total about $350,000 for 2009.

Read the whole article: www.nytimes.com

SXSW Announces First Wave of 2010 Artists

theradiocure — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:03:22 +0000

The 2010 SXSW Festival down in Jon’s home base of Austin, TX will take place March 17-21 at various locales throughout the city. Yesterday, the festival announced it’s initial line up of bands. Highlights of the list include Frightened Rabbit, Japandroids, Robyn Hitchcock, Miles Benjamin Anthony Robinson, Harlem, Deer Tick, Jookabox, Miniature Tigers, Fanfarlo, and We Are Scientists. For the full list, go here.

Thanksgiving

harlemworldblog — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:52:43 +0000

Have a great Thanksgiving. HW

Warm It Up - 40 Cal

Reviresco — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:21:38 +0000

New joint from Dipset survivor 40 Cal Warm It Up produced by araabMuzik.

Warm It Up – 40 Cal

Below new Dipset producer araabMuzik demolishes his MPC

A taste of victory at last

Maldito — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 02:46:00 +0000

Its been a fkin week for me. Sobrang busy sa schedules, sa practice at paghahanap ng extra work. I h

On The Network Where You Can't Say 'Orgasm,' Joan Rivers Directs QVC Viewers To A Web Site With Bare-Breasted Women, Dreamgirls.com

homeshoppingista — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:09:19 +0000

Joan Rivers Got Her URLs wrong

Life is full of irony, and so is QVC.

The home shopping network recently banned host Lisa Robertson from saying the word ‘Orgasm,’ which is the name of a shade of blush from high-end cosmetics line NARS.

Then just over a week later, comedian and jewelry maven Joan Rivers is on the air telling viewers to go to a Web site where we found half-naked women. Here’s what happened Monday.

Rivers is not shy about promoting the jewelry she does for QVC, even wearing it to red-carpet events.

Rivers, who has been a QVC vendor for almost 20 years, was on the network talking about an enormous fabric flower pin that’s part of her jewelry line. As we have said, our motto is go big or go home, so we loved it. It was $29.50.

Rivers said she wore the huge flower on Sunday when she attended the star-studded premiere of the musical “Dreamgirls” in Harlem.

“Last night I went to this huge opening,” Rivers said on QVC. “That’s (the flower pin) what I’m wearing.”

Rivers told viewers to go to a Web site, “Look it up, Dreamgirls dot something,” to see photos of her at the opening. Well, we went to Dreamgirls.com, and there were no shots of Rivers.

Instead, we saw five very attractive bare-breasted women beckoning those over 18 to enter the site. We take it that Joan gave us the wrong URL.

But we did find several Web sites that had shots of Rivers at “Dreamgirls,” and she was in fact sporting her flower, in silver.

On “The Celebrity Apprentice,” Rivers often wore her QVC jewelry. Maybe that gave her the edge that helped her win.

Sanat için sanat mı? Hip hop için sanat mı?

oyunhilem — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 14:03:18 +0000

Kehinde Wiley’ın sergiyi hazırlama süreci de oldukça ilginç. Modellerini hip hop kültürüyle yaşayan ve genellikle Harlem’de oturan gençler arasından bulmuş. Hepsini tek tek atölyesine getirerek onlara sanat tarihi kitaplarını vererek hangi resimde olmak istediklerini sormuş. Modeller, kendi seçtikleri rönesans dönemi resimlerindeki gibi resmedilmiş.

Kehinde Wiley, siyahi genç erkekler ve hip hop kültürünü kullanarak böyle bir sergiyi neden hazırladığı konusunu ise şöyle açıklıyor: “Hangi müzeye gidersem gideyim, resimdekiler bana benzemiyordu.”

On The Network Where You Can't Say 'Orgasm,' Joan Rivers Directs QVC Viewers To A Web Site With Bare-Breasted Women, Dreamgirls.com

homeshoppingista — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 02:44:14 +0000