Water-n-Oxygen

Hola!

A few weeks ago I mentioned I was reading Bitch Is The New Black by Helena Andrews. I didn't do an actual review on it, but here is the review I left on Amazon if you are interested:

3 out of 5 Stars

Tried to love it... ended up thinking "eh, its ok", January 19, 2011

By Call Me Karrie

This review is from: Bitch Is the New Black: A Memoir (Hardcover)
I was somewhat familiar w/the author and had high hopes for this book. Her demographic being very similar to my own, I thought it would be like reading a transcript from a convo w/a friend. It definitely had its likable, funny and relatable moments but its randomness made it difficult for me to stay interested. I am a fan of stream of consciousness writing but I'm not even sure if that is what this is. The best way I can describe it is "patchy".

Overall, I think Andrews is a very interesting person w/a great story to tell but I think the way this book was written left a little to be desired (and I believe she is capable of better given her professional accomplishments as a journalist). As a reader, I do not need a book to have a pretty, definitive ending wrapped in a bow but I do like to feel that I have some sense of who the main character is and what the future may hold for her/him.

I would still recommend this to someone who is interested in the genre but would not recommend it for a book club.

Hey WNO fam! I'm reading a cool new book and wanted to share it with you. It's called Bitch is the New Black and is by a young, black and fabulous journalist named Helena Andrews (who is quickly replacing Necole Bitchie as my imaginary BFF).

Being the urban wanna-be Carrie Bradshaw that I am, I had heard of Helena and her book before it went on sale this past summer but initially had some reservations about diving head first into it. With mainstream media shoving the single, black, professional female meme down our throats, I was afraid that Helena, and the intelligent & credible sister that she is, may be jumping on the bandwagon & negatively cosigning. Although I liked what I had seen of her in interviews, I was afraid that her book may position her as the Michael Steele of single, black, professional females, lol. The book sat in my Amazon shopping cart for months and I finally purchased it with one of my fabulous Amazon giftcards I received for Christmas. I'm glad to report that I am half way done reading the book and that my initial fears are unfounded.

**CallMeKarrie Time-Out: That paragraph was full of fellatio imagery juxtaposed with socio-political commentary. See what I just did. I talk dirty but my mouth clean. Take that, take that... Now back to my regularly scheduled program**

I'm not on Helena's payroll, so I will end my praise here for now. Not sure if I'll do a formal "book review" but I will def refer to it in my posts. Its a cool book, check it out and tell me what you think.

In closing, I'll leave you with my favorite line from Chapter 1 that got me hooked:

Only Jesus knows how badly I want to f*ck him right now.

Hilarious!

There's probably never been a better time to be a music fan, especially of hip-hop. Music blogs have made it easier than ever to share tracks, remix songs, and discover a world of new artists that might otherwise have stayed anonymous. These 25 blogs are by no means the end-all and be-all of hip-hop writing — if anything, they're just scratching the surface — but they're a good place to start for seasoned hip-hop fans looking for good writing or newcomers to the genre looking to find new artists. Bookmark them, download the music, and pass them along.

Words: Maurice Pendarvis

Photos: Jorge Peniche

What got you interested in photography?

My interest in photography…well in all honestly, was nothing I planned on doing. It was not something I planned on as a profession. I’ve always been fascinated by the power of photography, not to the extent that I am today, but, it was always something that interested me. Anything that deals with imagery and visuals is something that I’ve always been interested in.

What is it about Los Angeles that inspires you as a photographer?

LA is an amazing place, for better or for worse. The majority of the people that live here, I’ve come to find out, through the last couple of years, they’re not from here. This is the land of hustle and bustle, and fake it ‘till you make it, and smoke and mirrors. But what inspires me or causes curiosity about LA, is everything. I mean, this is the land that gave birth to gang culture, hate it or love it; it was something that was born here in Los Angeles. LA has so many things, you have Hollywood, which some people think is very glamorous but when you actually go to Hollywood Blvd, its not so glamorous. You have people living out of their suitcase, trying to figure out what it is they’re trying to do, why they’re here, when they’re going back. LA, is just the Mecca of opportunities and the Mecca of missed opportunities.

Read the rest of The Chronicles article Here.

Dear WNO, I come to you today with a heavy heart. I would almost rather not write about SATC2 at all than tell you how I really feel about it (lol, I’m so dramatic sometimes).

I read somewhere that Michael Patrick King wanted to make SATC2 feel like the series. I will be the first to admit that he achieved this BUT it translated to a colossal #epicfail on the big screen. SATC2 was like one long, dry, anti-climatic, overly-clichéd imitation episode of the dynamic series.

I went to see SATC2 on its nationwide release date, May 27th, with three of my friends after work (which was a coincidence, not like we were trying to be some corny imitation of the cast). I had already read numerous critic reviews that were less than favorable, some very harsh. I turned to blogs and Twitter to gauge how everyday movie goers felt and the best review I saw was “it was just ok.” Well damn! (in my Gucci voice)

At the beginning of the movie, Carrie gives a brief account of when she first came to NYC and how she met Charlotte, Miranda, and Samantha. Shortly thereafter, we see the girls in the quintessential SATC scene – talking over brunch in a café. Samantha invites the girls on her all expenses paid business trip to Abu Dhabi (shout out to Karah for making me think of Garfield and Odie every time I say Abu Dhabi, lol). Although much of the movie takes place in Abu Dhabi, before the girls leave we see Carrie & Big discuss spending time apart; Charlotte have a mommy breakdown; Miranda quit her job; and Samantha get reacquainted w/Smith as she battles menopause. Stanford and Anthony also get married in beginning and their reception proves to be one of the highlights of the film.

While in Abu Dhabi, Carrie bumps into Aiden; Charlotte confesses that she is not happy in her life as wife and mom for which she prayed and shed many tears; Miranda is freakishly happy and plays the role of Miss Congeniality for the group; and Samantha upsets the locals with her overt sexuality.

While all of these situations set up good potential drama, none of it actually materialized. This is where it achieved having its series-like quality, but unlike a series, the audience won’t get the climax (Ha! You would think this wouldn’t be the first time I’ve said climax in a post about SATC, smh.) or punch line in the next episode. Some of the plot twists my friends and I believed would have added a cinematic climax to the film are Carrie actually cheating on Big w/Aiden; Charlotte’s husband Harry cheating w/the sexy nanny to whom he is obviously attracted; an explanation for Miranda’s new cheery, carefree attitude (drinking/drug problem perhaps?); and Samantha’s menopause trouble someway linked to her cancer (which was a big deal at the end of the series but totally left out of the movies).

Aside being just boring, there was one rather annoying theme that was painfully apparent throughout the movie. There was wayyyy too much modern-day feminism/pseudo girl power going on for my liking. Here are a few examples I would like to offer as evidence:

1. Liza Minnelli old a$$ performing Beyonce's Single Ladies
2. Miranda quitting her job because of the oppressive male boss
3. All of the references to the women in the veils & the Arabic men’s attempt to silence their voices
4. Samantha's sexual liberation w/the condoms in the street of the Arab market
5. The Arabic women shedding their robes & wearing sexy designer gear
6. The girls singing "I Am Women" at karaoke w/it looking like the all female United Nations in the club singing “We Are The World”

All this “feminism” is actually ironic considering real feminist detest everything that SATC stands for. **kanyeshrug**

In conclusion, I will give my final summation of SATC2 as I believe each of the characters would (lol):

Charlotte – it was like being in the perfect marriage with someone you don’t love
Miranda – it was like a disappointing one-night stand after a dry spell
Samantha – it was like sex without an orgasm… long, boring with no climax
And
Carrie – it was like a great shoe sale at Neiman’s but there is nothing left in your size

SATC2 had great potential, but many fans are left unsatisfied.

**I purposely chose not to mention the fashion in SATC2... BUT if you want my two cents, here it is... While some of the looks were questionable (pumps in the desert), overall, Patricia Fields did a great job!**

Ok, so it doesn't take a brain surgeon to realize that my pen name and style of writing is inspired by none other than pop culture icon Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City. As much as I adore Carrie and the whole SATC empire, I am not one of those delusional fanatics who doesn't realize that Carrie is just a CHARACTER!!! (**gasps!**)

The real life writer who wrote the SATC book that inspired the series and the movie is Candace Bushnell (she also wrote the book Lipstick Jungle that inspired the series of the same name). Although SJP brings Carrie Bradshaw to life, Candace gave Carrie Bradshaw life (thanks Candace!!!).

I read the actual SATC book a several years ago and was excited when I received my copy of "The Carrie Diaries" a few days ago. I've spent the last two nites w/my book and a bottle of Reisling getting to know the young Ms. Bradshaw. I won't give a premature book review (although you most def get my full review when I'm done) but her are my thoughts a third of the way thru (this may be a spoiler alert if you plan to read the book):

- Who knew Carrie had sisters!?!? She definitely strikes me as an only child or a girl in a house full of men, but Carrie has two sisters, Missy & Dorrit (I believe Carrie is the middle child), who appear to be equally as quirky.

- Carrie lost her mom at a young age. I can't remember if this was explicitly revealed in the series but I'm sure I already knew this.

- Carrie was on the swim team in high school and formerly a gymnast. This was a shocker because the Carrie we've grown to love on the big and small screen seems very clumsy and uninterested in anything that makes her sweat (well, except for sex of course).

As far as Candace, I love her witty, humorous, narrative style. My one complaint so far is that I feel the book jumps head first into Carrie's romantic life and assigns her a Big-like object of affection too early on.

Overall, I am still pretty excited about the book and hope to finish it by the end of the weekend.

In other CallMeKarrie/SATC news...

I'm going to see SATC2 today!!! Whoop whoop!!! I'm excited but not ecstatic. For one, there were several debacles this past week that caused me to miss not one but THREE pre-screenings (ugh, i get angry just thinking about it). Also, it hasn't gotten the best reviews (O_o). **kanyeshrug** As a true SATC fan, I'm sure I'll still enjoy it even if its not as good as the first.

Ok WNO, I will keep you posted on my book and movie review and please please PLEASE send me your reviews as well!!! You can comment directly to this post or email waternoxygen@gmail.com.

I know this is a little late but hey it happens, anyways we always feel its important to share good things when we experience them. With that being said last weekend was a good look for the W-N-O team. We made our way to the Nations capital to kick back and enjoy what the city had to offer. Last Thursday evening we attended a very sexy event called "The @ttic" at Station 9.



Now don't get me wrong I love checking out different genre's of entertainment, and I've attended my share of poetry events, but this was definitely one of my more memorable experiences. As soon as we hit the door the place was packed from one wall to the other with some of the sexiest people that DC, Maryland and VA had to offer. By this time I made a full scan of the room to check out the type of clientele this event had drawn in, and I was very impressed. Fellas' I've just gotta say the ladies looked great(good ratio), and ladies of course the men stepped out looking our best to match our counterparts. The one thing I love was the diversity of the crowd and the laid back atmosphere. Its rare that you can step out and it doesn't have to be a big production about dress code, V.I.P lines, or tell such and such I'm in the line... This was a great place to come as you are right off of the street or a great place to hit while on a date(Fella's I definitely recommend)!


However as the night progressed a number of artist took to the stage. Brook Yung gave a good performance with one of his fan favorites "History", then music duo Fly Gypsy did a soft preview for their upcoming show scheduled for the following night. This led to a great set up for the show's featured performer Sunni Patterson. She kept the crowd entertained with her poetry as well as her dialog in between poems. I have to say that this is the definition of a hard working women! She delivered poem after poem with her young son draped in her arms as she performed. To sum it all up Beny-Blaq Entertainment put on a good event for the those of you who are looking for an alternative to the bar or club scene. W-N-O definitely looks forward to the next show and other BBE events.