ENTERTAINMENT Tri-State Defender, Thursday, August 9 - 15, 2012, Page 12
WHAT’S HAPPENING MYRON?
Get ready for a Classic weekend
Southern Heritage Classic Weekend is quickly approaching and it is gearing up to be another exciting year. Memphis will be the prime destination the weekend of Sept. 6-9. Each year two sets of Tigers battle Myron it out at the Liberty Mays Bowl Memorial Stadium, that’s Jackson State and Tennessee State. In addition to the game, there are many more events to take advantage of such as the Classic R&B Concert with the O’Jays at the Harrah’s Tunica Event Center and the Classic Comedy Jam with Rickey Smiley and Friends at the Orpheum. Then there’s the Greek Show, the Golf Tournament, the parade and more. There’s plenty to do! You can get your tickets at all Ticketmaster outlets, ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000. For a listing of all of the events surrounding the Classic, visit the website at www.southernheritageclassic.com. According to Forbes Magazine, Jay Z and Beyoncé make up the highest paid celebrity couple…in the world. And this notwithstanding that they took a little “baby” time as well. Combined, Jay Z and Beyoncé brought in about $78 million, beating out the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady and his wife, model Gisele Bundgen, by about $6 million. Also on the list is Will and Jada PinkettSmith, who rounded out the top five with $40 million.
Highest Paid Celebrity Couple
Actor Sherman Hemsley’s death certificate shows that he passed away due to lung cancer. The death certificate officially reads that he died from “superior vena cava syndrome,” a condition developed from a mass on the lung. Hemsley passed away last month in El Paso, Texas at the age of 74.
Sherman Hemsley update
The Hank Aaron Celebrity Sports Weekend kicks off at 7 p.m. on Aug. 24 with the News Channel 3 Celebrity 5K Run/Walk at The LeMoyne Owen College (LOC). The next morning at 8, the celebrity Sports Breakfast gets underway. The weekend’s wrap-up begins at 6 p.m. with the 42nd Annual United Negro College Fund Gala Reception at Minglewood Hall, featuring Harold Melvins Blue Notes. All proceeds benefit the UNCF and LOC. For more information, call 901-435-1527 or visit www.loc.edu.
Celebrity Sports Weekend
Xclusive Memphis and BG Magazine present Ladies Night, every Thursday at the newly remodeled Cocktails Lounge! Free admission from 6 until 8! Ladies free all night long. Happy Hour food and drink specials until 10 p.m. Hosted by Partikingz. To reserve your table, call 901-319-2774.
Ladies Night at Cocktails
My good friend Karen Brown is at it again! This time she presents “The Golden Time of Day” Another Sunday evening with Karen Brown Live! Hosted by Comedienne Mzzz. Kecia and Entertainer Mark Baker. You know how Karen does it right? This is an evening you don’t want to miss. It’s gonna happen at the Rumba Room located at 303 South Main. Tickets are $15 in advance. Call 901573-6092 to get yours today!
Karen Brown
Looking for a little something to do in the afternoon? E. Massey presents “The Happening” on Saturday (Aug. 11) at the newly remodeled Cocktails Restaurant and Lounge. The event kicks off at 3 p.m., yes 3 p.m.! Admission is free from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. but the party continues until you stop coming! Music provided by DJ Spyderman.
E Massey Presents
I’ll see you at the Evergreen Grill for the Book Club meeting this Saturday (Aug. 11) at 4 p.m. Until then, that’s what’s happening.
Parting shot
(Got an event you’d like for me to cover or attend, email me at Myron@ whatshappeningmyron.com.)
Danielle Colding: The ‘Design Star’ Interview Special to The New Tri-State Defender
by Kam Williams
At 36, Danielle Colding is an interior designer with her own residential and commercial design firm in New York City. A former professional modern dancer, she also has a bachelor’s degree in Anthropology from Stanford University as well as an associate’s degree in Interior Design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandise. As a self-described problem-solver, Danielle uses her open, friendly and quirky personality to connect with her clients. She characterizes her design style as global chic, classic modern and edited traditional. Here, she talks about participating as a contestant on the new season of “Design Star,” which airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Central on HGTV Kam Williams: Hi, Danielle, thanks for the interview. Danielle Colding: Hi, Kam. It’s my pleasure.
KW: What interested you in appearing on “Design Star?” DC: My friends convinced me to go, thinking I’d have a good chance. To tell you the truth, I wasn’t so sure. I went to the open call just to see what happened, and it just snowballed from there. The next step became the next step and I found myself on the show.
KW: How has the competition surprised you? DC: The competition surprised me in that it was truly a supportive environment. I was skeptical about doing a completion show because I’m not into that kind of drama. But this experience was the opposite, sure we had our moments but for the most part I made friends for life and we supported each other every step of the way. We felt like we were experiencing something very special together….
KW: You studied Anthropology at Stanford. So, why did you become a professional dancer after graduating? DC: I started dancing at the age of 6. So, it was something that was always there on the side. My mother pushed me to go an academic route but was cool about me studying something that I loved without the pressure of doing something that would land me a career. Cultural Anthropology and my minor in African and African-American studies were simply areas of study I was drawn to. Throughout college, I danced with a choreographer that I really loved and respected and who started a company using several dancers from Stanford. I would spend weekends in San Francisco and Oakland, rehearsing and performing. When I graduated he had a spot for me in his company, so I went for it. It was a dream come true and an incredible creative experience.
KW: How did you go from dancing to interior decorating? DC: My years as a dancer in San Francisco were extremely taxing. I held several jobs to live there as a dancer. I was a first grade teacher for two years, taught dance in public schools, waited tables, was a Pilates instructor and, of course, rehearsed and performed. By the end of four years I was spent. I knew I needed some other way to make a living and my passion for dance wasn’t carrying me through. So, I literally went on a trip with a friend and reflected on all the things I was naturally good at and all the things that I would love to get up in the morning to do…. And interior design came from that. It is truly my passion, and I am lucky to have been on a path where I’ve been able to do what I love. KW: What would you say characterizes your designing style? DC: I do not have one design style. I like so much of so many different styles that I hate to claim one. My design is very intuitive and client-driven, but also there’s an eclectic approach. I like homes to feel like they reflect the people who inhabit them… that every item fits and could tell a story. That being said, I value a certain level of elegance and sophistication in all the spaces I design. KW: Every reality series has to be edited. Do you think this one is portraying you fairly? DC: I do. I think I am coming off the way I am in person. The tough part is that so little of what happened can be shown in a onehour show. That is frustrating. There are so many factors that shape our decision-making that the viewers don’t get to see. They see us making crazy decisions but don’t know the full story and the amount of pressure we are under…. KW: Do you need to win the competition to consider your ap-
pearing on the show a success? DC: Not at all. I consider my participation in the show a success because it has given me a level of confidence in my abilities as a designer. It also showed me that I truly enjoy the process of making a show. Being on set and the fun of that experience was not something I was expecting. KW: What the biggest lesson you’ve learned doing “Design Star?” DC: The biggest lesson I learned was to trust my gut.
BOOK REVIEW
‘I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up’ ʻHow the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining Americaʼ
Special to The New Tri-State Defender
by Kam Williams
“The American Dream is in dire need of a wake-up call… If only Uncle Sam could see us now. He’d roll up his sleeves, ball his hands into fists, and knock some sense into this nation of ours… But he’s not around. So some other proud American has to tell this country what it needs – not wants – to hear… “As a stand-up, I’ve traveled this country for decades, seeing it at its best and at its worst. And what I’m seeing (now) is terrifying to me. When I see something that’s f#cked up, I can’t remain silent. I ask why… It may sound funny, but to me this s#it ain’t no joke.” – Excerpted from the inside cover/press release No stranger to controversy, D.L. Hughley has a knack for pushing people’s buttons while keeping his finger on the pulse of pop culture. For instance, a few years ago, the caustic comedian landed in hot wa-
ter when he came to the partial defense of Don Imus after the shock jock had insensitively referred to members of the Rutgers University’s women’s basketball team as “nappy-headed hos.” Hughley said Imus had it half-right in that the girls were indeed “nappy-headed.” Now, the irascible troublemaker is at it again, stirring the pot of political incorrectness by poking fun at everyone from President Obama (“big ears” and “a goofy smile”) to Tiger Woods (“a buck-toothed chigger playing a white man’s game”) to Bill Clinton (for being blacker than Obama) to Herman Cain (“He’s not bright. He’s not entertaining… Why do we need to see this clown dance?”) to Mitt Romney (“shallow… a man completely out of touch”) to Minister Farrakhan (“White people’s least favorite black person”). “I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America” is a metaphysical call to arms ostensibly designed as this election year’s answer to the 2008 presidential campaign’s “The Audacity of Hope,” as suggested by the book’s not so subtle subtitle. For, besides knocking icons off their lofty pedestals, D.L. raises a number of issues that he feels need to be addressed to preserve the union.
For example, as far as the disrespect shown the president, he believes not only that “the opposition to him is fueled by race” but that “the deference to him by his own people is also fueled by race.” Later, Hughley blames black females for the disintegration of the black family, saying, “Our sisters have forgotten how to land a man and how to keep him,” before he takes a page out of fellow Kings of Comedy Tour alumnus Steve Harvey’s love advice primer to teach the ladies the tricks of the dating and marrying trade. Not that D.L. lets brothers off the hook entirely. By his estimation, about 90 percent of African-American men have a “P#ssy-Now” philosophy, meaning they’re more than willing to play hooky from school or skip work for a shot at a sexual conquest. And there’s a heavy price to pay long-term for such reckless behavior. Meanwhile, Hughley has no problem with the “N-word,” since he fervently believes that “Racism is an attitude, not a vocabulary test.” In fact, his only regret about the slur is that nobody has come up with an epithet “that makes white people just as uncomfortable.” Overall, the talented Mr. Hughley proves himself a master at provoca-
“I Want You to Shut the F#ck Up: How the Audacity of Dopes Is Ruining America” by D.L. Hughley with Michael Malice Crown Archetype Hardcover, $25.00 288 pages
tion, even if his intriguing tome doesn’t really provide pat answers to America’s pressing problems.