Neonu's InSite

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

ANGELA'S iPOD

ESPERANZA SPALDING: HEADS UP (2008) 4 Stars

There has been a lot of buzz around the young bassist and vocalist Spalding. I was curious; so I picked up her album to see if she was as good as I had heard she is. This is her second album and with this album she successfully melds jazz, decent singing, Latin music, soul and R&B. While she is joined by a rotating cast of musicians on this album, it is she who dominates. She plays terrific bass and sings in a sweet manner. You will find textures of Latin-flavored jazz compositions, combinations of tantalizing acoustic bass play, and sultry jazzy sounds. She sings in three languages - English, Spanish, and Portuguese. She plays bass, does the arranging, and acts as her own producer. And, she is only twenty-three years old. Now you may be surprised by the skill, precision & composure of this young artist, but don‘t be. She is clearly a prodigy...

This album is a tasty gem from the minute you press "play." “Ponta De Areia" is a breezy, infectious Spanish gem that blends her voice with a piano grooveline. “I Know You Know” is a real treat. It combines sultry, soulful sounds with some scatting, classic jazz, and the soft touch of a Caribbean beat. She writes and sings a straight ballad on “Fall In.” Her voice and the piano are all you hear, but it is gorgeous and melodic. And with “I Adore You”, she scats to the backdrop of a rich Brazilian Rhumba. To quote one review, “Spalding's bass part here is anything but basic, it's startling in its rhythmic and lyric invention as it adds another harmonic counterpart to the piano and percussive textures."

“She Got To You“ is a provocative number with a delightful saxophone, a quick tempo and driving percussion. “Precious” is a blend of soul and jazz (with an emphasis on soul) done beautifully. It should be on the radio. “Love In Time" showcases her voice over rich jazz tones, while “Mela” is a pure jazz session with a dazzling trumpet and piano solo and a terrific opening bass solo by Spalding.

Ms. Spalding’s latest album is indeed a fascinating display of special skill and talent. I encourage you to check out this album and enjoy this young, musically endowed, jazz artist. If you do so, you will not only find much to delight in, but plenty to be amazed by as well.

Check her out at http://esperanzaspalding.com/

Monday, September 29, 2008

GOLF NEWBIES

Links Life Vol. 5

By Jeff Louis

So you still want to play golf? Once again, your personal mentor is here to guide you through.

Let’s discuss some of the points of golf reservations.

I hope you’ve all been practicing. It’s almost time to take you out on the course. Before we do that, however, you’ll need to know a few more things...

Tee time: This is your reserved appointment to play golf at a particular course. Sometimes these times are held with a credit card number because most courses have a cancellation policy. If you or a member of your group does not show up or cancel in time, then the credit card may be charged.

Pairings: This is the number of people you have promised will be there. The tee time can be made for up to 4 people, in a time slot. If you have more, then you have to work that out directly with the course.

Outings: Usually, if you need to book tee times for more than 8 people (2 foursomes) this is considered an outing. You should inquire about getting a discount if you have a large number in attendance.

Walk up: A walk up is an individual that comes to the course to play, but doesn’t have a designated (reserved) tee time. Usually, single players can not reserve a tee time.

Sign Up List: The name of a walk up goes on this list. You will be called to play according to your position on the list, or, need. If 2 players come together as walk ups and a group has 3 players and needs one more to fill out the slot, you have 2 choices. You and your friend can break up or you can let the next single walk up go next and wait for a time slot with 2 places available.

Starter: This is the individual usually positioned near the 1st tee. He or she takes your tickets and keeps tee offs running in a smooth and orderly fashion.

Ranger: This is the law & order keeper of the course. The ranger can help find your ball or give you advice on how to play a particular hole. The ranger can also ask you to play faster if your group is playing so slow that you hold up the rest of the course. One more piece of information, the ranger can also escort you off the course if he or she deems you are causing damage to the course on purpose - a/k/a vandalism.

This Week’s Golf Term:
“Playing Through": If your group is playing efficiently, or faster than the group ahead of you, and the group that is ahead of you is not in sight, then you can ask to “play through.” This means that the faster group of players is allowed to pass the slower group on the course. It is an acceptable, well mannered practice. There is, however, a caveat. The slower group does not have to let you play through, as they may feel that this is a personal affront to their skill sets. Size up the risk. You have more choices. You can call the ranger for an assist or decide to skip that hole to avoid confrontation. Do not cause a commotion and manhandle (figuratively speaking of course) the slow group. Allow them to finish the current hole and tee off 1st on the next hole.

Saturday, September 27, 2008

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - loving yourself

.18 Self love
by Angela Skeete Davis

Okay, so for the past few weeks I have been working on a piece and looking forward to putting it up. But the other day, I woke up in a totally different place and started to write. This whole thing is about my journey to a better me and I have hit a cornerstone, I think...

Let me tell you how it started. I got an ear infection. No big deal, right. I used to get them all the time. When I did they immobilized me. They were painful, uncomfortable, gave me headaches, affected my equilibrium, sent me to bed. So, to say the least, I was not happy to get another ear infection.

The other thing that was different …. I was alone. In the past, my daughter was with me. She would do reflexology on my feet, rub my back and bring me tea and toast. This time I had no one to do that for me. Now that is not to say that I have no one in my life who cares about me. I have friends and family who checked on me ….once I told them I was sick. No, what I am talking about is a partner (you know, someone I want to share my life with). It occurred to me that I had no one I could call and tell I was sick, no one who would actually make the effort to come over and check on me, no one who would call to see if I was okay.

At first, I was disappointed with this realization. I mean, now that my daughter is away at college, I should have a man in my life, right. Or at least the possibility. I don’t. Moreover, I am, now, in the minority, since most of my friends have a relationship going.

But the point of this is not to lament my lack of a man. Instead, it is to say this…. I woke up this morning, two and a half weeks later, still dealing with ear issues, but totally happy. I noticed that I have been waking up happy. Specifically, I got through the worst of my infection all by myself and I was/am okay. I took care of me. I made sure I was okay. I loved me. I looked after me. I learned that I can be sick and be by myself and be okay. If I never find the one I want to share my life with, I will be okay. I have me and we will do just fine together.

So, this week, spend time with you, appreciate you, be good to you. You are the only person you can never get away from. Make friends with you, learn to love you. Take yourself out to lunch and say thank you to you.

“You can explore the universe looking for somebody who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and you will not find that person anywhere.”

Author Unknown

Thursday, September 25, 2008

2008 6th Annual Hoodie Awards Hosted by Steve Harvey: 5 Stars

Neonu's InSite was live in Las Vegas, Nevada at the Orleans Arena on the Ford Blue Carpet at the 2008 6th Annual Hoodie Awards hosted by Steve Harvey.

(Left: Shirley Strawberry)

Right: Steve & Marjorie Harvey with Patti LaBelle

Left: "Showroom Shine"
Hoodie Award Best Detail Shop
(St. Louis)

Right: Kirk & Tammy Franklin

Noel Gourdin

Left: Dwele

Right: Terrence J & Rocsi with Hoodie Award Winner "Fade Shop",
Best Barber Shop

Left: Stephen A. Smith

Right: Joe with Jamie Hall (Representing Ford)

Left: Wendy Raquel Robinson & Husband Marco Perkins

Right: Regina King

Left: From Celebrity Fit Club Dr. Ian Smith (5o Million LB Challenge) & Sommore

Right: Cassi & LaVan Davis

Photography by Carmen Allen; Editing by Neonu Jewell

DW's Loop

“How can you stay in the Loop, if you aren’t in the Loop?”
September 26 – 28, 2008

Friday

Bon V Fridays
1100 W. Randolph St
Level Vodka cocktails from 9pm -10:30pm
Password :"VibeIsRight" for free admission to the private cocktail reception.
www.bonvchicago.com

Saturday
Savin' Tabs for Things We Grabs: A Fundraiser Event for Tabs for Ta-Tas
Lumen
839 W. Fulton Market
Cover: $20
Proceeds donated to the American Cancer Society
Complimentary TaTatini's provided by belvedere with RSVP only.
RSVP @ info@lumen-chicago.com
www.lumen-chicago.com

Sunday
AKIRA Garden of Eden fashion show
Galleria Marchetti
825 W. Erie
4:30pm
Cover: Advance $15 / Door $20
Cocktail reception begins at 4:30 p.m
Fashion Show begins at 6:30 pm featuring Ford Models
Proceeds benefit Imerman Angels
Get tickets at www.ImermanAngels.org
www.akirachicago.com

Cocktail for the Week – Welcome to Metropolis
Ingredients:
5 oz Vodka
2 oz De Kuyper Blue Curacao
1 oz De Kuyper Razzmatazz
1/2 oz Cranberry infused vodka
Instructions:
In a shaker, combine Vodka and blue curacao. Chill until cloudy.
Pour into martini glass. Tilt glass and pour in raspberry schnapps.
Float cranberry vodka on top

Bonus of the Week – Next/Fest
WIRED NextFest
Millennium Park, Chicago
September 27 - October 12, 2008
Premier showcase of the global innovations transforming our world.
FREE and Open to the Public.
Tuesday - Wednesday 11am – 7pm
Thursday 12pm -8pm
Friday - Sunday 11am-7pm
www.wirednextfest.com

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

UNIVERSAL/MOTOWN ARTIST LONDON BREEZES THROUGH THE QC

Thursday, October 2 - Saturday, October 4
Charlotte Reel Film Festival
Host: Black Film Appreciation Society
Click Here for more info. and schedule.

Wednesday, September 24

Location: Allure, Corner of S. Mint & Summit
Time: 9:30pm - 12:30am
Host: CAROLINA CONCERT CONNECTION- BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE BLOSSOM GROUP

What the Hosts have to say:

If you haven't heard of LONDON yet, its only a matter of time before he's all over the radio. His new joint was produced by Rodney "DarkChild" Jerkins (music royalty/Grammy winner etc.)...so you know dude is on point. If you're already onto him...Congrats, and welcome to the cool side. It feels good to be in the know huh? :)Reporters from Honeysoul, Scheme and Clutch Magazines will be in the building, along with ASCAP reps and Charlotte's social elite to welcome "the majors" to the QC...make sure you're there too!

Official Congressional Black Caucus Guide

Parties:

Layla Lounge, 501 Morse St. NE (corner of 5th & Florida)

Ozio Cigar & Martini Lounge, 1813 M St. NW

FAMU/TSU Annual Atlanta Classic

Thursday, September 25

THE ATLANTA CLASSIC JUMPOFF IS GOING DOWN THURSDAY SEPT. 25TH @ THE LOFT AT CASTLEBERRY HILL

LOCATED AT 170 NORTHSIDE DRIVE (BLOCKS FROM THE GEORGIA DOME)
POWERED BY FAMU GRADS/F&AM/KAPPA ALPHA PSI BRIAN "BT" THOMAS & ERNEST "SKEETER" WILSON(MARCHING 100)
HOSTED BY FAMU GRAD/ALPHA PHI ALPHA/RAINFOREST FILMS WILL "WILLPOWER" PACKER AND A HOST OF HIS CELEBRITY FRIENDS - ONE OF THE FORCES BEHIND THE MULTIMILLION DOLLAR BOX OFFICE HITS "STOMP THE YARD", "THIS CHRISTMAS", & "THE GOSPEL" JUST TO NAME A FEW.
SOUNDS BY FAMUS #1 PARTY ROCKERS DJ SAXWELL AND DJ NEAUX (NORRIS SUMRAL)
ALSO FEATURING A SPECIAL LIVE PERFORMANCE BY FAMU GRAD/MARCHING 100/DELTA SIGMA THETA KIMBERLY HOLLOWAY & FAMU GRAD/MARCHING 100 AL "LONDON" ARRINGTON.
ALSO PERFORMING IS INTERNATIONAL RECORDING ARTIST KAMERON CORVET
SHARP TWO LEVELS TO PARTY, BOTTLE SERVICE, VALET PARKING, & LATE NIGHT MENU WILL BE AVAILABLE.

DOORS OPEN @ 9:30 & SHOW STARTS @ 11PM

FOR MORE INFO CALL 404-550-4034 OR 407-575-7903

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

PLAY IT AS IT LIES

SKYVIEW GOLF COURSE 3.5 stars

By Jeff Louis

“Shhhhhh. Don’t turn around. It’s just me!” I just wanted to sneak up on my readers as we head into the fall season with a tasty nugget of real estate. Are you coming in to visit from out of town? Would you like to see the change in seasons as they affect the color of the leaves on the trees? Is your significant other out shopping and you’re hoping to sneak in a round of golf? Grab your clubs and come with me to Sparta, New Jersey. We’re going to play Skyview Golf Course...

Skyview was designed by Robert McNeil and I can tell you this about the layout - yes this is considered a mountain course, but it plays different. Skyview is more like a serene, parkland-style course, that has attention deficit disorder. It starts out easy enough, with a straight away par 4. The only trouble present, comes into play if you hit a wayward drive into the street which lines the entire right side of the hole. However, the tone of the course is set on hole number two. This is the aptly named “Skyward.” How about a 547 yard par 5 that plays 100% uphill? Carts are not allowed on this hole, making it play even longer.

Oh, and it’s not over my friend. Prepare yourself for putting greens slicker than chicken grease on plate glass. Indiana Jones will have to help you play the next par 5. It’s called “The Edge.” (My goodness how the designers had fun naming these holes.) “The Edge” is a Par 5, 552 yards, and is the #3 Handicap hole - rated "Most Intimidating" by NJ Golfer Magazine. Okay, let’s examine this closer. Is the #3 hole the most intimidating? You bet it is!! Your tee shot had better be straighter than a William Tell arrow trying to hit an apple. You have no shot if your ball goes left, and, if it goes right, you’ll be up a hill, in a rock cropping that is filled with all snakes. That’s not even the scary part. Once you get to the end of the fairway, there is a blind 80 foot drop to the green. Oh don’t worry, Ashton Kutcher won’t be there to “Punk” you.

This type of psychotic, Jekyll & Hyde golf is exactly what makes this a lot of fun. Now, before some of you scream this is a ‘tricked out’ course, it’s not. This course is extremely fair. As long as you hit that ball straight or like to work your shots left or, right. Another part of the fun factor of Skyview lies in the angles which the holes play. Pictured above is the 7th hole, “Rock Pile.” You can see at the end of the fairway, there is a left tilt that leads into a right turn. Much of the same awaits you on the back 9 holes. Although, they play downhill, you can’t take them for granted. The number 14 hole, “Falling Rock” has a boulder precariously perched to the left of the tee box. This is not a marker. This is a reminder of the danger. McNeil has this hole squeezed tighter than a grizzly bear in a thong. (Extreme visualization, indeed). Once you get downhill, the hole is 90 degrees to the right. The drawing card is the extra large green. So inviting, so deadly. Come closer, closer. Pssst, Bagger Vance couldn’t read this green, no matter how many times he took his shoes off.

Now, I don’t want to scare you away from this course. On the contrary. You should line up to play it, regularly. Grab some apple cider and put your name on the list. I’ll be right there. Oh, and play it as it lies!

Recommendation: 3.5 stars
Current Price: Week $60; Weekend $85
Par 72, Slope n/a, Rating n/a, Yardage n/a
Address: 226 Lafayette Road, Sparta, NJ 07871
Website: http://www.skyviewgolf.com/golf/proto/skyviewgolf/

Photo courtesy of SkyView GC http://www.skyviewgolf.com/golf/proto/skyviewgolf/coursetour07/coursetour07.htm

Friday, September 19, 2008

SPIRITUAL JOURNEY - can you be with joy

.17 CAN YOU BE WITH JOY?More on The Invitation
By Angela Skeete Davis

I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.

Can I be with joy, dance with wildness and let the ecstasy of the moment fill me to the tips of my fingers and toes without cautioning myself or others? Yes, I can and I have. I have experienced joy so amazing I could not sit still; joy so moving that I reveled in it and then had to share it. On my wedding day I was joyful. I was emotionally full. I could not eat and I could not sit still. I talked to everyone, smiled constantly, danced every chance I could and laughed a lot. That day was so joyful for me I could not contain my feelings. And after the day was done, I wanted to do it all over again so that I could experience that feeling all over again...

I have also felt joy when in the throes of saying thank you. A quiet joy that has lifted my heart and made my soul and my situation feel lighter. A joy that has made the aches that I experienced almost nonexistent. A joy so freeing that tears of release cleansed me.

I have felt joy when taking the time to think of others and not myself. I can remember working in a soup kitchen, helping a victim of abuse, getting charges dropped against an immigrant who was wrongfully accused of a crime. The thank you from the people I helped was so special I have never forgotten it. I guess, even then I was mindful of the moment. I can still remember how those encounters left me feeling - joyful and blessed.

And I have danced and laughed and played with total abandon many times. While most of those moments have come when I was with my daughter, I believe they were the times when I was most willing to allow the moment to seize me. Those times when I was most willing to give in to impulse, when it was almost impossible not to give in to the feeling of being a living, vibrant being. But I don’t think you can plan to act with total abandon. I think it happens when you are so caught up in the moment, so mindful of the moment that you allow it to, at least in a sense, consume you such that the only way to proceed any further is to release the feelings through acts of total abandonment.

So, I have cavorted through sandy beaches, cried with abandon, basked luxuriantly in the sun, laughed until I cried, embarrassed myself in the streets with foolishness and danced in the rain. I have sung out loud to no one and shouted my joy to whosoever was present to hear. I have let the ecstasy of the moment fill me to the tips of my fingers and toes. And, I am open, eager and ready to do so again. I do believe there is joy that lasts. You just must be open to the moment.

This week, let joy catch you unawares and give in to it. This week, live with abandon, seize the moment, rejoice, find your ecstasy, laugh, love - in essence, be the fully alive, vibrant being you were created to be. Than look back and say thank you.

“Live with intention. Walk to the edge. Listen hard. Practice wellness. Play with abandon. Laugh. Choose with no regret. Appreciate your friends. Continue to learn. Do what you love. Live as if this is all there is.”

Mary Anne Radmacher

Thursday, September 18, 2008

On My Way to Vegas

I am on my way to Vegas for the 2008 Hoodie Awards. Not everything will stay in Vegas...I will provide reviews and more upon my return...

Neonu