Painting: Hall Groat II

My mom always tells me not to fall in love by myself. “La peor cosa del mundo es enamorarse sola (The worst thing in the world is to fall in love by yourself)”. She would repeat this time and time again while I was in college. The first time, when I fell in love with a boy who so obviously liked other boys that everyone wondered why I was so obsessed. My infatuation wouldn’t let me see the clear signs. Like when I went to visit him in college while his roommate was away and he never once tried anything other than holding hands. At 18 with racing hormones the last thing most teenage boys with an empty apartment want to do is hold hands. At the time I called him a gentleman while I daydreamed that one day we’d live happily ever after. The reality was that he struggled with his identity and dragged me and my heart along for the ride.

One afternoon, I invited him out to lunch determined to let him know my feelings. I nervously felt my right leg bounced up and down as I poured my heart out to him:

Me: (while looking down at my sandwich) So like, is this going anywhere? Because I like you a lot, like… a whole lot.

Him: Yeah? No. I like Tommy.

Me: oh really? Ok then (goes back to eating sandwich)

I was in shock. We had been “dating” for 6 months and now he tells me he’s attracted to men? Was it me? I wanted to sit there and yell and cry but all I could come up with was eating my sandwich in silence. Instead of telling him how he shouldn’t play around with other people and their feelings, I finished my meal and went home. My heart was so heavy I couldn’t even make it to my bedroom. I curled up on the wood floor in my mother’s living room and cried. Every morning, I would walk out of my bedroom and go back to that same spot to lie down, tears flowing and wishing “Mr. I like boys thank you very much” would love me back. After 3 days of having to sweep around me my mother said “Get it together. What have I told you about falling in love alone? Besides, I can’t continue to sweep around you.”

It wasn’t until a few years later that I learned to stop trying to wish my way into love and ask for what I want. No, I wasn’t going around trying to bully men into relationships. But I did learn to look for signs that someone cared about me the way I cared about them. I stopped saying to my girlfriends “I wish he would just stop giving me mixed signals!” and started saying “I’m sorry, I’m confused because you’re sending me mixed signals.”

This wishing thing to happen did not only apply to my relationships. When I deserved a raise at work I was hoping that it would magically appear on my paycheck. This method is much easier than actually facing my boss. I worked hard, efficiently and most importantly went above and beyond my duties. I’d complain to my friends, my mom, boyfriend and anyone who would listen to me: “I wish they would just give me a raise already.” One day I sat down and made a list of all the reasons why I deserved one. Things were not going to change unless I did something about it. I came to work, wrote an email and asked for a meeting with my boss. I walked in her office terrified. My voice was shaky, I had forgotten how to breathe but somehow I got through my list. She looked at me and without hesitation agreed.

Sometimes it’s easier to wish for things to turn out the way we want them to rather than asking for what we want. The problem is that it never works out that way. If you’re not proactively changing what you don’t like then you’re doomed to a life of complacency. That relationship that’s not working, what can make it better? Ask for that. A friend taking you for granted? Let them know. Things not going your way at work? Figure out what can make it better and work towards that. I say drop that wish bone and get a backbone. After all, aren’t you worth what you want?

Also, check out more awesomeness from Larissa Vasquez below.

The Female Paradox

The Language Barrier

To Cook or Not To Cook

It’s That Time of Year Again….

Females: The Crazier Sex?

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

On the heels of a major Producers Guild Award for the documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest – Harlem Stage, in conjunction with Revive Music, will celebrate the impact, importance and influence of the pioneering crew with A Tribe Called Quest: Innovation and Legacies – A Movement in Four Parts March 1-3 at Harlem Stage. This four part series features live performances, dance events and a free humanities event headlined by a panel of hip-hop scholars, journalists and artists.

“A Tribe Called Quest is one of the most important groups in the history of hip-hop, with a legacy that continues to impact generations of artists, musicians and audiences.” says Simone Eccleston, Harlem Stage’s Assistant Director of Programming, who curated the tribute. “With their signature sound, they created timeless gems, and this series seeks to celebrate their cultural significance, their musicianship and their roles as composers and producers. It is our goal to provide audiences with a multidimensional experience that highlights ATCQ’s music, the historical context, and their influence on artists that have come after them.”

In the span of three years, starting in 1990, A Tribe Called Quest – made up of rappers Q-Tip, Phife Dawg and Jarobi White, and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad – released three albums – People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm, The Low End Theory and Midnight Marauders – widely acknowledged by hip-hop fans to be some of the best recordings ever. The crew became part of a larger community of artists making redemptive, transcendent music: groups like the Black Sheep, De La Soul, Jungle Brothers, and Leaders of the New School; solo performers Monie Love and Queen Latifah; and others who formed the collective Native Tongues. They made songs together and often referred to each other in recordings.

Tickets for A Tribe Called Quest: Innovation and Legacies – A Movement in Four Parts, range from free to $25 and are available by phone at (212) 281-9240, ext 19 or 20, and online at www.harlemstage.org.

Free programs require RSVP at boxoffice@harlemstage.org. Details of each event are below.

Thu, March 1

Movement 1 – Footprints: The Innovation and Impact of A Tribe Called Quest

7:30p at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (@ W. 135^th St)

Tickets: Free

Artists, scholars, and journalists discuss ATCQ’s musical and cultural legacy.

Moderator:

Harry Allen, Hip-Hop Activist & Media Assassin

Panelists:

Alvin Aqua Blanco, Deputy Editor of HipHopWired.com, Freelance Writer & Editor and Author of The Wu-Tang Clan and RZA: A Trip through the 36 Chambers of Hip Hop.

Raydar Ellis, Producer, DJ, Emcee, Instructor at Berklee College of Music and Founder of the J. Dilla Ensemble

Fab 5 Freddy, Hip Hop Pioneer and Cultural Icon

Dr. Joseph G. Schloss, Author of Making Beats: The Art of Sample-Based Hip-Hop and Foundation: B-Boys, B-Girls and Hip-Hop Culture in New York; Adjunct Assistant Professor of Black and Latino Studies at Baruch College, City University of New York and Visiting Scholar in the Department of Music at New York University.

Akiba Solomon, NABJ-Award winning writer, freelance journalist, editor and essayist

Igmar Thomas, Trumpeter, Composer, Arranger, Bandleader and Musical Director of the Revive Da Live Big Band

Fri, March 2

Movement 2 – Excursions: A Tribe Called Quest Tribute, featuring the Revive Da Live Big Band with special guests

7:30p at Aaron Davis Hall, 138 Convent Avenue (opposite the Gatehouse);

Tickets: $25 (package price available with SPIT after-party – details below)

Igmar Thomas leads the Revive Da Live Big Band as they highlight and reimagine works from A Tribe Called Quest’s influential discography: People’s Instinctive Travels and the Paths of Rhythm; The Low End Theory; Midnight Marauders; Beats, Rhymes and Life; and The Love Movement. Part of Harlem Stage’s Uptown Nights series, presented in collaboration with Revive Music Group.

Fri, March 2

Movement 3 – SPIT (SPEAKIN’ IN TONGUES): Music of, and Inspired by, Native Tongues

9:30p at the Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (@ W. 135^th St)

Tickets: $10/ $5 with Excursions ticket

DJ Cosi headlines the SPIT (Speakin’ In Tongues) tribute after-party, celebrating music created by the legendary Native Tongues collective, which comprised the artists De La Soul, The Jungle Brothers, A Tribe Called Quest, Leaders of the New School, Black Sheep, Monie Love, Queen Latifah and others, while also revolutionizing hip-hop and defining its golden age. Part of Harlem Stage’s Uptown Nights series.

Sat, March 3

Movement 4 – Beats, Rhymes and Beyond: The J. Dilla Ensemble

7:30p at Harlem Stage Gatehouse, 150 Convent Avenue (@ W. 135^th St)

Tickets: $15

A Tribe Called Quest revolutionized hip-hop production and paved the way for a new generation of producers, one of whom was James Dewitt Yancey, better known as J. Dilla. Dilla’s innovative studio technique put him among most influential producers of all time, with credits that include tracks on ATCQ’s Beats, Rhymes and Life and The Love Movement, compositions for Q-Tip, Erykah Badu, Common, the Pharcyde, De La Soul, as well as his own group Slum Village and countless others. Dilla created groundbreaking music that drew inspiration from jazz, rock, soul and everything between, before passing away in 2006. Berklee College of Music’s acclaimed J. Dilla Ensemble pays tribute to his musical legacy. Part of Harlem Stage’s Uptown Nights series; presented in collaboration with Revive Music Group.

ABOUT HARLEM STAGE

For nearly 30 years Harlem Stage has been one of the nation’s leading arts organizations, having achieved particular distinction through commissioning and presenting innovative works by artists of color and facilitating a productive engagement with the communities it serves through the performing arts. Harlem Stage has a long-standing tradition of supporting artists and organizations around the corner and across the globe, including legendary artists such as Harry Belafonte, Max Roach, Sekou Sundiata, Abbey Lincoln, Sonia Sanchez, Eddie Palmieri, and Tito Puente and contemporary artists such as Bill T. Jones, Vijay Iyer, Mike Ladd, Tania Léon, Carl Hancock Rux and Jason Moran.  Its education programs each year provide 10,000 New York City children with access to a world of diverse cultures through the performing arts. In 2006, Harlem Stage opened its new home ­ the landmarked, award-winning Gatehouse – once the source of fresh water flowing to New York City, now a vital source of creativity, ideas and culture. For more information, please visit www.harlemstage.org.

ABOUT REVIVE MUSIC:
Revive Music (also known as Revive da Live) launched in 2006 as a boutique live music agency that specializes in producing genre-bending live music shows with the goal of educating and inspiring audiences about artistic and authentic forms of music. To further provide an advocacy platform for musicians and their music, in 2010 Revive launched its online hub The Revivalist, which is part of Okayplayer.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: William Vazquez

Across the United States, in all fields of endeavor, Latinos are working to uphold their place in American society. Fox News Latino is proud to present “Our American Dream” – a series of snapshots and profiles of Latino success stories.

When Mino Lora came to the United States 12 years ago from the Dominican Republic, her sights were set on lighting up Broadway.

But all this changed when Lora saw the opportunity to make an impact on her community through her passion for theater.

Born and raised in Santo Domingo, Lora was five years old when she started doing plays with the National Theater.

While she continued to act on and off throughout the years, Lora “actually never thought there was such a thing as a full time artist” because they were almost nonexistent in the Dominican Republic.

It was not until the first international theater festival in 1998 that Lora was able to meet artists from other parts of the world and see a future in acting.

It was these dreams that brought the actress to the states when she was just 19-years-old.

Read more: Our American Dream: Mino Lora Brings Theater To The Masses | Fox News Latino.

Check out:

Uptown 2011 Movers & Shakers: Mino Lora and Bob Braswell

People’s Theatre Project Wins Prestigous Union Sqaure Award

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Meet Nostalgia, my long time friend.

He finds me at the most inopportune moments, when all I want to do is move on with my life and finally be a grownup.

But lo and behold, here he comes to remind me of – you got it – the past. So as I happened to come down the block on 184th toward Broadway, just trying to be grown and get to my destination, there is Nostalgia, standing across the street, in front of Hobby Land.

Dammit! I try dipping to the left, hoping he didnʼt see me. Too late! He yells out my name through the invisible air, and I have to stop and turn around. There he stands: waving, calling me over to the store. I try to fight the urge, I mumble to myself, ʻYou ainʼt no kid!

What the hell you doing going in there? Itʼs not like you buyinʼ something for your nephew…wasting time. Uhuh, keep it up man. Youʼre just repeating the same vicious cycle…ʼ Ok, I had to shut myself up and do something before I cuss myself out in public, near the 34th police precinct. No bueno!

So I crossed the street and went into Hobby Land. The place had changed a bit since I last went in…maybe 20 years ago. For starters, since Iʼm taller, my viewʼs definitely changed: I can see and touch the more expensive toys they keep on the top shelves. And the guy behind the counter is not Asian. Heʼs South Asian (Indian to be exact). Hmm. I start looking for signs of anything I may remember, or at least look busy like Iʼm there buying toys for my nephew or my fictional kids.

Suddenly, I hear a faint whisper in my right ear. I could barely hear him, but either way Nostalgia gets my attention: the stationary section. Oddly, one of my first loves. This is where I looked for construction paper, mechanical pencils and black and white composition books.

Nostalgia whispers in my left ear, pulling my focus away and around to the next aisle. Here I find my second kid love, Legos. I walk to the varied theme boxes: Star Wars, Bionicle, Pirates of the Caribbean. I was wide-eyed and a bit slack jawed, the feeling of awe coming over me.

A breathy ʻwowʼ escapes, but it wasnʼt mine. Next to me, a foot and a inch down, was a kid, with the same look as me. His chubby fingers reaching out and touching the plastic window where you can see the Lego Luke Skywalker inspiring your inner Jedi to use the force. In the kidʼs case, that would be to “persuade mom to buy it for me.” A man on the opposite end stood looking at both of us. The kid noticed, turned and slightly dropped his head, walking away with a little reality-check for his day dreaming. The man looked at me and asked,

“Need help?”

“Nah, just looking. Thanks…You know, I used to come here as a kid. Iʼm surprised that itʼs still here.”

“Yeah. I used to work here years ago, then I came back. The owners used to be Korean. But they sold the store to the Indian guys about fifteen years ago.”

He went about his security rounds, and I turned and went about my walk down memory lane. This last aisle I entered without the help of my friend Nostalgia. This was my main squeeze: models. Here, I felt like the kid grew up and the adult found their toy. For me, this was the essence of the hobby. I perused the shelves like a craftsman looking for the right model that would become my next project.

I was back in my element. As a kid, I found lots of joy and solace in building and painting models. You name it: cars, planes, ships etc etc…. I wanted to do the most difficult level of building and I wanted it to have the professional touch. I had my tools, my paints (Testor was my go-to colors). All I needed was a corner in my room and I was Michelangelo sculpting David.

This memory awoke in me like a flash of lightening. I was there again, the kid at his dreamland. I couldʼve stayed there for eternity, or at least another hour. But the call of adulthood rang out like the screeching siren of a fire truck. I came back to reality and released a kidʼs sigh.

ʻPsst.ʼ

I turned and noticed Nostalgia grinning at me. (You know, he looked alot like me when I was a kid…) I thanked him with a smile, took in a deep calming Lifeʼs Not That Bad breath, and walked out the doors. Itʼs good to know thereʼs still a place like Hobby Land in Washington Heights, just in case a barrio kid needs to daydream, no matter how old they are.

Check out: A View From The Heights: The Old Philosophers of McDonald’s

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Dyckman Bar (221 Dyckman Street) cordially invites you to their next installment of #Sip&Shop happening tonight 7-10pm. This Months featured brand is Parker & Blake.

Click here for pics of the last Sip & Shop.

Check out www.Buzygurl.blogspot.com for a sneak peak of the merchandise.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

If you missed the last time the Captain and Glow in the Drum rocked out at NegroClaro (3805 10^th Ave), then this Thursday is your chance to see them again. Live and in the flesh – believe me folks, these guys get down.

Check out: The Captain & Glow in the Drum @NegroClaro Lounge In Pictures

Check out: http://glowinthedrum.com/

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Today is the 47^th anniversary of the assassination of the late great Malcolm X in our very own Audubon Ballroom. The Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center (3940 Broadway) will host two events to commemorate his life and legacy.

2pm: The Legacy of Malcolm X: Live streamed debate from London between Professor Tariq Ramadan of Oxford University and Professor Paul Gilroy of the LSE.

7pm: From the Audubon to Africa and Beyond: The International dimensions of Malcolm X: A discussion with Professor Nikhil Singh of NYU.

Malcolm’s message of speaking truth to power lives on to this very day. The Shabazz Center invites you to come out today to remember his life and his enduring legacy as a champion of Human Rights and Social Justice. Those in attendance may also view Freedom’s Sisters, an exhibit celebrating 20 African-American women who fought for freedom and changed the course of history.

Minimum suggested contribution for each event, $10

Check out:

Freedom’s Sisters – The Untold Story

Uptown Gem – The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center

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The Shopping Confidential section of Racked NY shouted out our very own Probus NYC (714 West 181^st Street). As it turns out, beauty expert, Edward Cruz came upon the shop while working on the set of a Ludacris video a few years back. Well, taken by the extensive selection and the excellent customer service, Mr. Cruz has been going back ever since.

Check out: Where This Makeup Artist Finds Y3 in Washington Heights | Racked NY

http://www.probusnyc.com/

http://www.edwardcruz.com/

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Okay folks, since we are experiencing this awesome but freaky weather for February, check out some greats things to do this weekend Uptown and beyond.

First of all, the utterly incredible weekly Word Up Books Open Mic goes down every Friday from 6 to 7pm. Check it out for yourself.

Check out: The Friday Night Open Mic @ Word Up Books In Pictures

From there, it is a must to watch Jeremy Lin and the NY Knicks take on the Hornets at one of the many local bars. Seriously folks pick one; Buddha Beer Bar, Inwood Local, Dyckman Bar or any of the other excellent options. Linsanity is taking over NYC and Uptown is no exception.

Saturday, February is jam packed with things to do. Check them out below in no particular order.

On Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. the Morris Jumel Mansion (65 Jumel Terrace) is having a George Washington birthday extravaganza for families.

For more: http://morrisjumel.org

It is Super Sabado at El Museo del Barrio (1230 5^th Ave) tomorrow. Check out elmuseo.org for more info. One of the highlights is a tribute to the late great Piri Thomas by Junot Diaz and many others.

By the way, our good friends at Fresthetic (552 Grand Street – Brooklyn) are throwing a little art/music shindig in honor of the late great Hip-Hop producer J Dilla. My man Mario “Elijah” Pena is one of the featured artists.

Check out: http://fresthetic.com/  & http://elijahartsunltd.com/

Lastly, I am going to end my weekend at NegroClaro Lounge (3805^th 10^th Ave) for Audubon’s Project 90 event rocking out to only the best of 90’s Hip-Hop. See you there and remember, “Spread love it’s the Uptown way.”

By the way, if you have an event that you want to see on our list for next weekend, hit us up @ UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

StreetPic of the Day - 'Smoke & shadows' by Sion Fullana, NYC #streetphotography #photography #streetogs http://t.co/rE7MwBr5

February 11, 2012 5:15 pm via webReplyRetweetFavorite

@IanBrumpton

Ian Brumpton

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

INWOOD from @ArtForStrangers on Vimeo.

Check out:

Letters to Uptown: Art By Dj Boy

Letters to Uptown: Jonathan Ullman

Letters to Uptown: Dominican Pie

An Open Letter To #WHIN: Michael Diaz

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

1-3 pm

Apt 78

4447 Broadway

The second installment of the Led Black Book Club featuring the author of Steal Me For Your Stories, Robb Todd is going down on Saturday, February 25^th at Apt 78. The book is absolutely incredible, plus Robb is a really cool dude. Come out and meet Robb and participate in a reading of the book followed by a discussion. There will be a limited amount of books for sale at the event. The event is free but please RSVP.

RSVP:

http://www.facebook.com/LedBlackBookClubFtRobbTodd

uptowncollective@gmail.com

Click here to purchase.

Excerpt: Steal Me For Your Stories

Also, any other information anyone wants about the book can be found here: stealmeforyourstories.com

Click here to read our Q&A with Robb Todd or here for our Uptown Artist column on him.

Check out: The Led Black Book Club Ft Jon Michaud – The Recap

Book trailer from Robb Todd on Vimeo.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The Word Up Books Open Mic goes down every Friday from 6 to 7pm. Come by to show off your talents and meet fellow Northern Manhattan authors and artists.

Word Up
a community bookshop in Northern Manhattan
4157 Broadway @ 176 Street
June 17 – July 14, 2011
www.wordupbooks.com
Word Up on New York Times | Manhattan Times | Uptown Collective | Fbook

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Walking Off the Big Apple

Award-winning travel blogger Teri Tynes of Walking Off the Big Apple took a stroll recently through our very own Inwood Hill and Fort Tryon Park. The post is chock full of great info and awesome pictures.

Click here for more.

Also, check out: A Trek Through the Timeless Treasure that is Inwood Hill Park

Photo: Walking Off the Big Apple

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Didn’t get invited to the Governor’s Ball in L.A.?  Got thrown out of Elton John’s party last year?  Don’t worry, we gotcha covered.  Join hosts Jon and Pie for the official Uptown Oscar Viewing Party at Buddha Beer Bar on Sunday, February 26th at 8:00pm (doors open at 7).  $25/person gets you appetizers and a selection of Beer, Wine and Sangria throughout the night.  For another $20, enter the winner-takes-all Oscar Pool.

RSVP to UptownOscars2012@gmail.com

Check out: Open For Business: Buddha Beer Bar

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: QPHOTONYC

With a powerful mix of prayer and politics, a rally held this past Fri., Feb. 10th at the United Palace Cathedral in Washington Heights, gathered over a hundred community residents, civic leaders, and local elected officials to push for the state to draw a majority-Latino Congressional district.

Just before commencing with what was billed a “community rally,” local Washington Heights District Leader Maria Luna asked for a moment of silence from those assembled in the church’s lobby and steps, many holding placards and posters.

“To make things right, and just to make sure that our voices are heard, we are going to start with a prayer,” said Luna, who headed the rally and press conference.

Those in attendance said that the time had long ago come for the state to address the need for a majority-Latino Congressional district, one that might well include some of northern Manhattan, the West Bronx, and also parts of Queens such as Corona and Jackson Heights, to correspond to the state’s burgeoning Latino electorate.

The issue is of particular concern to community leaders and activists now that the state, in accordance with the 2010 U.S. Census, is involved in addressing redistricting.

Read more: Prayer, history and politics: a call for a Latino – and local – Congressional district | Manhattan Times

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Oakland-via-Panama’s Los Rakas dropped their Love-Themed 9-song EP, ‘Raka Love’ yesterday for free. The video for the first single, ”’Copita De Champaña’ premiered on MTV Tr3s recently. Los Rakas have been putting down some next-level Spanish language Hip-Hop for some time now and this EP is another awesome example of their musical prowess.

Get it here: http://www.losrakas.com

Check out: Los Rakas, Maluca Mala, Zuzuka Poderosa @ The Spot

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The big homie, Audubon, will have his big Project 90 event at NegroClaro Lounge (3805 10th Ave) this Sunday, February 19th. You don’t want to miss this strictly 90’s Hip-Hop, nothing but classics, bash.

Click here to RSVP.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Launching and Reception

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012, 7 – 9  pm

Word Up Books (4157 Broadway)

inQbator is a monthly reading, spoken word, and performance art program series focusing on LGBT literature and culture. Created by artist, Hector Canonge, director of the recognized film program CINEMAROSA, inQbator supports emerging local and national Queer writers and artists by featuring their work and publications. Starting in February 2012, the program is hosted at Word Up: Community Bookshop in northern Manhattan, and is curated by guest poets and writers.

inQbator invites Queer writers, poets and spoken word artists to submit work for the first reading program of 2012. Participating writers are invited to bring their poems, short stories, essays or selected narratives for a public reading in one of the most dynamic community bookshops in Upper Manhattan.

To submit, email: inqbator2012@gmail.com

Word Up
a community bookshop in Northern Manhattan
4157 Broadway @ 176 Street
June 17 – July 14, 2011
www.wordupbooks.com
Word Up on New York Times | Manhattan Times | Uptown Collective | Fbook

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photography by Paul Lomax (@PaulLomaxPhoto)

I had the distinct pleasure to be in attendance at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater in midtown last week for the unveiling of Emilio Sosa’s newest collection, Urban Geisha, sponsored by Ford Motor Company. The new line is a sophisticated mélange of New York City urban sensibilities with subtle references to the Japan of yesteryear that was inspired by the novel, Memoir of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden.

Emilio, who grew up in the Bronx and now lives in Washington Heights, is as down to earth and humble as they come. Even though he is an award winning Broadway costume designer and a “Project Runway” finalist, Emilio remains a man of the people and showed genuine love to everyone who was in the room that night.

Emilio recently told Pattern Rebellion this about the new collection, “My aesthetic is an urban girl who works and parties but has a demanding career that requires her to look powerful and confident. The ESOSA woman loves fashion but is not a slave to it, follows trends but understands how they fit in her wardrobe, and dresses for success without sacrificing her femininity.”

You can also see Emilio’s handiwork in the current Broadway show Porgy and Bess.

Site: http://esosadesign.com/

Twitter: @estarstyle

FB: http://www.facebook.com/ESOSAdesign

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Inwood’s theatre community – in response to the fire that destroyed nine businesses at 207 Street – presented HAVE ANOTHER – The Bar Plays Benefit, at Irish Eyes, 5008 Broadway this past Saturday, February 11, 2012.

HAVE ANOTHER – The Bar Plays Benefit includes short works by Inwood playwrights Joshua Allen (The Last Pair of Earlies), James Bosley (All The Best Ingredients), Clare Drobot (“In The Wood”), J. Holtham (“In The Wood”), Judith Leora (The Cookie Fight), and Chris Van Strander (You Are Here) and directed by Inwood residents Rik Walker (Up Theater Company), James Bosley (Up Theater Company), Mino Lora (People’s Theatre Project) and Ted Minos (Moose Hall Theatre Company/Inwood Shakespeare Festival).

In addition to accepting donations at the door, a raffle was held for prizes including dinner for two at Sweet Praise, tickets to Up Theater Company, bike rental from Tread Bike Shop, classes at Bread and Yoga and tickets to the Broadway musical Memphis.

A fund has been set up to help those who have lost their businesses and jobs in the fire of January 3, 2012, to help them as they rebuild, relocate, or find work. Checks may be sent to INWOOD COMMUNITY SERVICES INC, 651 Academy Street, NY, NY 10034. Put FIRE RELIEF DRIVE in the memo line.

Click here for more info.

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55′s Deep in the Heights returns to NegroClaro Lounge (3805 10^th Ave) this Thursday, February 16^th. If you haven’t been to a 55 event, you are missing out a next-level music/art experience. 55 brings House Music back to Washington Heights and Inwood.

Check out:

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

55 Presents DEEP IN THE HEIGHTS: Bringing House Parties Uptown

For more info: http://welcometo55.com/

Twitter: @5ifty_5ive

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Photo: Gregg Armstrong | Armory Track

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Thousands of track and field fans trekked uptown over the weekend to celebrate and honor the sport’s best athletes and welcome the 105th annual Millrose Games to its new home.

The sold-out crowd attended the event at the packed New Balance Armory Track Center on Fort Washington Avenue and West 168th Street in the heart of Washington Heights, making it the largest sporting event to be held north of 125th Street in Manhattan in 55 years.

The games had historically been held at Madison Square Garden beginning in 1914 until last year when they were moved. Throughout the weekend, the Empire State Building was lit blue and white 134 blocks south of the Armory to mark the 105th annual event.

Read more: Historic Millrose Games Takes Victory Lap in New Washington Heights Home – DNAinfo.com.

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Photography by Art By Dj Boy (@ArtByDjBoy)

When you think of the struggle for civil rights in America, great men such as MLK, Malcolm X, Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, Frederick Douglas, and W.E.B DuBois, immediately and rightfully, come to mind.

What is left out of the equation, in terms of the history of the movement, is the crucial role of African-American women in helping to create, sustain, nurture and be actual catalysts for deep and profound change in America. While it was the men that you saw giving the speeches, it was the women who were the backbone of the fight for equality for all Americans.

Freedom’s Sisters is an interactive, insightful and innovative exhibit that brings that history to life by highlighting 20 African-American women who played a major part in helping to push America forward and closer to the ideals the founding fathers preached about. It is, I feel, quite fitting, that the beloved Malcolm X and Betty Shabazz Center (3940 Broadway) in Washington Heights, NYC is the final stop of this traveling exhibition. After all, Betty Shabazz is one of the twenty women memorialized in the exhibit.

Such African-American female giants as Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Coretta Scott King, Kathleen Cleaver and Ida B. Wells, among others, are honored in this stirring and though-provoking tour de force. It is moving beyond words to see a replica of the inside of the bus that Rosa Parks refused to sit in the back of in 1955. As you peer into the front of the bus, you can see Rosa sitting there dignified and defiant. That very act helped to spark the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

The life size statue of a police dog, complete with chill-inducing growls, used on peaceful protestors throughout the segregated south, viscerally brings home the danger that these women on the frontlines purposely put themselves in to create a better country for all Americans.

This is history that you can feel in your bones. As the father of 3 young girls, it is ultimately humbling to contemplate that the liberties, safety and freedoms my daughters currently enjoy are the direct results of that glorious struggle. To quote, Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the Freedom Sisters, these women were “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and decided to change the world. The rest is history or should I say herstory!

Freedom’s Sisters was created by the Cincinnati Museum Center (www.cincymuseum.org) and organized for travel by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (www.sites.si.edu) and will be at the Shabazz Cener (3940 Broadway) until April 22^nd.

 The national tour is made possible by the Ford Motor Company Fund.

For more:

http://freedomssisters.com

http://shabazzcenter.net

Also, check out: Uptown Gem – The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center

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“I always thought good photos were like good jokes. If you have to explain it, it just isn’t that good.”– Anonymous

The camera is one of the true ingenuities of mankind, its right up there with the printing press. The camera and its operator, the photographer, have allowed generations of people to see themselves and the world in a completely new way. After its inception photography quickly captured the hearts and imagination of all those who came across it. In today’s day and age who doesn’t own a camera? Whether a small digital camera or the one that comes built in to cell phones. A large number of people today have the ability to capture important moments or just something that catches their eye right at their fingertips. And with the popularity of programs like Photoshop and mobile applications like Instagram it seems that the general population has an ever-growing interest in photography.

So it may be hard to believe that at one point in time there were those who thought that the camera was an evil invention. There were those who believed that when a camera took someone’s picture it stole their soul. Photographers were shunned, sent away, and rejected by many. This is of course no longer the case as most people are photographed on a regular basis from the moment that they are born. A photographer is an essential part of any important event or milestone. Photographers document the human condition, experience, and the world around them. If a picture speaks a thousand words then Ben Ferrari, a photographer from NYC, tells the tell tale of the city’s people, places, and spaces.

Ben Ferrari grew up in Ossining, New York (most notably known as the home of the infamous Sing Sing Correctional facility). He currently has a column in GQ Magazine that focuses on the fashion and style of the men in NYC; as well as frequently covering fashion shows and events. He specializes in portraits of people and photographs of spaces, places, and objects.

Besides being a photographer Ben loves to exercise, he thinks that’s really important, and he likes to socialize. It would be an injustice not to point out his most endearing quality—his sense of humor. After viewing one of his photos I said, “wow you have a really good eye.” Without skipping a beat he simply replied, “actually I have two eyes and they’re both good.” Oh, and then there’s the fact that he doesn’t like to be photographed, so don’t google any pictures of him, you won’t find them.

I had the opportunity to interview Ben about the work that he does. This is what he had to say:

Q. What is it about photography that attracted you to it?

A. I think what first attracted me to photography was the immediacy of the medium, the energy of orchestrating a variety of elements in a moment to create something unique and beautiful. As a child, I used to use my fingers as frame lines and pretend to take pictures of my mom while she cooked, or out the window of a car. I never ever considered doing anything other than photography growing up.

Q. How long have you been a photographer?

A. I feel like I have always been a photographer. Professionally, I started when I was 17 as a photography assistant to a still life photographer on Broadway in the Photo District in NYC. At that time we shot 4×5 film of all sorts of things, had big catered lunches, shot in a huge studio, and it was all just so awesome to be a part of.

Q. You are currently a photographer for GQ magazine and have a column on their website, what is your column about?

A. My column is a street style feature that runs every two weeks on GQ.com. It shows stylish and interesting men in NYC. I love the way fashion is interpreted in a variety of ways by so many people as a vehicle for self-expression. I see it as a language and a conduit to exploring people’s larger personalities. I have made so many friends and met so many interesting and kind people shooting street style.

Q. Your column has focused on the men of downtown and Brooklyn correct? Would you consider doing a feature on the stylish men from Washington Heights?

A. I primarily shoot in downtown Manhattan because that’s where I live. I’d totally be open to shooting Washington Heights street style. I love the Heights.

Q. Have you spent anytime in the Heights? If so, what do you think of it?

A. I’ve spent a lot of time in the Heights. I have several friends from the Heights. I love the energy and the neighborhood aspect. The small coffee shops and Dominican food spots. I learned Spanish just so I could learn how to order my food properly from the restaurants. You get taken care of when you order your Dominican food in Spanish Uptown.

Q. What advice would you give young photographers what want to become professional photographers like you?

A. I would say to start charging money. When you elevate yourself without needing anyone else to place you there, you take control of your destiny. I would also tell them to take lots of pictures. Photography is a great medium to commit yourself to because you are rewarded for all your time spent with it even if you don’t know what you’re doing. You can totally teach yourself everything you need to know technically, but your time spent physically and mentally involving yourself with the medium will yield great results. Keep plodding forward and your commitment will be rewarded, also set goals and don’t stop until you reach them.

Q. Would you ever consider doing film?

A. I’m open to any other media, but right now I’m focused on stills.

To view more samples of Ben Ferrari’s work or for more information please visit www.benferrari.com or go to  www.gq.com/contributors/ben-ferrari

For more information on Dominican Pie please visit her on facebook.com/dominicanpie or follow her on twitter.com/dominicanpie

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Our very own Art By Dj Boy is not only of one of Uptown’s most prolific photographers but also a DJ. Hence the name. Anyway, stream or download the mix. Remember the motto, “Spread love it’s the Uptown way.”

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Photo: Librado Romero | The New York Times

As permanent collections go, El Museo del Barrio’s is on the modest side. The museum’s Web site puts the tally of objects it owns at just 6,500, a far cry from the Met’s nearly two million.

But El Museo del Barrio has something few other New York museums can touch: some 10 percent of its collection is concentrated on works by self-taught artists and artisans from New York, Puerto Rico, the Caribbean and Latin America. At the moment they are being featured more prominently than they have been in nearly two decades, in “Testimonios: 100 Years of Popular Expression,” a kaleidoscopic display of more than 300 works drawn almost entirely from El Barrio’s collection.

This frequently moving, almost always riveting exhibition suggests that these holdings amount to a kind of cultural gold that can make the melting-pot nature of the city shine in a new way. They highlight the museum’s deep roots in the visual cultures of some of the most vibrant immigrant groups in New York, and in what might be called their “feeder” cultures. They also point to a kind of creative fluidity that is especially endemic among the rich ethnic mix of Hispanic cultures in the Americas, where the lines dividing high and low, art and handicraft can be inspiringly blurry.

And so this show sets art and life and craft, form and religion and politics, New York and the world aswirl, achieving an intoxicating, if sometimes bittersweet, vitality.

Read more:  ‘Testimonios,’ Popular Arts at El Museo del Barrio – NYTimes.com.

Photo: Collection El Museo Del Barrio

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The skies proclaim the work of his hands. Good Shepherd Catholic Church, Inwood, NYC http://t.co/0kjSUkEc

February 7, 2012 6:16 pm via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@nwinstead

Nathan Winstead

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You can email inwoodflea@gmail.com with any questions.

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Corner of 175th and Broadway (United Palace Theater)

Latino community leaders will hold a rally on Friday, February 10, at Noon, to call for fair representation in the redistricting process, including a Congressional district that captures communities of common interest in Northern Manhattan, the West Bronx, and Corona and Jackson Heights, Queens.

Leaders will highlight the fact that Congressional representation has not kept up with the sharp increase in New York’s Latino population. Despite sharing businesses, resources, common language, important institutions, Latino communities in the area have been carved up and denied fair representation, as required by law.

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Karina Aybar-Jacobs is director of the Nuevo Amanecer program at the Dominican Women's Development Center (DWDC)

$4.50 may be just enough to buy a quick meal, or a large cup of coffee, but at the Dominican Women’s Development Center (DWDC), $4.50 saves and changes lives.

The DWDC is in dire need of funding in order to continue to serve as a lifeline for women and families from northern Manhattan and the Bronx suffering from domestic violence and other abuse.

The $4.50 represents the subway or bus fare many of the women need to travel to and from the many support and counseling services offered at DWDC, which offers assistance to women, men and children.

“We are losing more funding even though we are providing [more of] the services that are required,” said Karina Aybar-Jacobs, Director of DWDC’s Nuevo Amanecer [New Awakening] program, which specifically cares for women and families suffering from domestic abuse.

DWDC has suffered the loss of funding as a result of state budget cuts in the last fiscal year, and is currently in critical need of support to close the shortfall.

Read more: In need of spare change to transform lives | The Manhattan Times.

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We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

This past Tuesday night, Dj Boy, Jay Franco, Jonathan Ullman and I had the privilege of watching a screening of the incredibly insightful documentary Brooklyn Boheme at OpenHouse Gallery. Stay tuned for a full review of this must-watch film.

Also, the Pop-Up Park will be around until February 15th, so get there before it is gone.

OpenHouse Gallery is located at 201 Mulberry Street.

For more info: http://openhousegallery.org/

Check out: http://filmbuffondemand.com/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Check out:

55 + NegroClaro = The Cure For What Ails You

55 Presents DEEP IN THE HEIGHTS: Bringing House Parties Uptown

For more info: http://welcometo55.com/

Twitter: @5ifty_5ive

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Robert Caplin | NY Times

An event called the Millrose Games is being held in a 5,000-seat armory in Upper Manhattan on Saturday.

Does that mean it is really the Millrose Games?

“At first, I was thinking, ‘This is a joke,’ ” Eamonn Coghlan said in his Irish lilt. “But after I talked to people, I realized you have to keep the tradition going.”

The Millrose Games were once the center of indoor track and field, and Coghlan was the most gloried name.

He won the Wanamaker Mile — even that name comes tumbling out fast and euphonically — seven times, earning himself the nickname the Chairman of the Boards, for the steeped wooden oval track that circled cacophonous Madison Square Garden, where officials in tuxedos clicked their stopwatches.

No tuxedos will be worn in Washington Heights on Saturday, but Coghlan will be there, honoring the current generation that runs around ovals in the middle of the winter.

The Armory, west of Broadway at 168th Street, has become the shelter, the haven, for American indoor track, for the high school kids who take the subway, for the college kids who come by van. And it is kosher: while the track at the Garden is 11 laps to the mile, turning runners into hamsters on a wheel, the banked track at the Armory is eight laps to the mile, making it possible for world-level athletes to turn in times that reflect their ability. Plenty of them will be at the Armory on Saturday night.

Read more: Millrose Games Move Into New Era – NYTimes.com.

Photo: Robert Caplin | NY Times

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Photography by Briana E. Heard (@beheardphoto)

I’ve always felt a deep admiration for the elderly. Growing up, I lived in the same apartment building on 181^st and Bennett as my grandmother and great-grandmother. We were on the 3^rd floor and they were on the 6^th. Together, they’d pick me up from school and I’d head straight to their apartment until my mom forced me to come downstairs when she arrived from work. My grandfather who passed away last year was my good friend and my hero.

Recently, I was having a conversation with my teacher Dr. Annemarie Colbin, leader in the field of natural health and someone I deeply admire, about an author who said the only way to prevent illness is to not smoke. I’m sure this statement was either taken out of context or made to get a reaction. I was upset and expressed my feelings to her and she calmly responded “Honey, if you want to know secret to a long life, why not ask someone who has actually lived one.” The answer was so obvious.

Soon after, I overheard my co-worker Jassmin talk about her grandmother Pilar who was in her 90’s. One week later, I was in Pilar’s quaint apartment. She had no idea we were coming but much to our surprise, she was happy to talk and tell us a little about herself. I expected to see a frail old lady and what I found was a vibrant woman with little grays, soft skin, no glasses or hearing aids. With her was her neighbor Antonia, who spends most of the day with her ensuring that her needs are met.

Pilar De Jesus Gonzalez was born in Azua, Dominican Republic on April 8, 1920. When I asked her if she went to school, she redirected the question to me and said “Well, wouldn’t I know how to read?” I took that to mean she didn’t. I asked her “Did you ever smoke or drink?” she said “No, that’s disgusting. Why would I do that?” I asked her a question. She responded with a question…

Abuelita Pilar did not remember exactly when she got to the United States but did say she liked the cold. She said the Dominican Republic was too hot for her. When she came to New York, she worked in a factory, washing and ironing because “Well, what else was I supposed to do if I wanted to eat and keep a roof over my son and five daughter’s head?” When her marriage dissolved, she vowed to never be with another man and she has kept true to her word.

Nowadays her life is a series of rituals. She goes to sleep daily around 11pm as her neighbor Antonia watches and then proceeds to sneak out of the apartment. She doesn’t particularly enjoy sweets and has a thing about not eating anything white including sugar and potatoes. When I asked why she said, “That’s not good for you. I think it gives you anemia.” She makes a remedy for any ailment made of beets and honey and even brought me to the refrigerator to see the concoction. As she was talking she kept checking to make sure all her cups were facing upwards. When I asked why, she responded. “Well, facing up to heaven symbolizes life and downward is death. I would never do that!”

She enjoys the company of her family but gets a kick out of her parakeets. She often lets them loose but worries about one of the birds who is blind and crashes into everything. She has a battery-operated parakeet that works when you clap. She lit up as she showed us how it works. When she was done I asked her if she ever gets stressed and she responded, “Why, I don’t have any problems.”

If the weather is nice she’ll go for walks with the assistance of her home attendant, which includes the four flights of steps to get to and from her apartment in a building with no elevator. If it’s too cold, she opts for walks around the apartment. She used to go to church on Sundays but now watches service on the television instead. Her favorite activity, however, is dancing to bachata music. Right next to her favorite chair is the radio. When we put the music on, she jumped out of her chair and began to dance alone then invited her granddaughter to join her. She laughed loudly and went around and around with ease.

I ended our conversation by asking her if there was any advice that she was willing to share. She quickly turned to her granddaughter and said, “Study hard so you can rule and not be ruled”. To everyone else she said, “Dios es que manda” (“God is in charge”).

“The oldest trees often bear the sweetest fruit” ~ German Proverb

If you would like to nominate your grandparent for the series, please let us know at uptowncollective@gmail.com.

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Click here for pictures of the video release party at Altus Cafe.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Saturday, February 25

1-3 pm

Apt 78

4447 Broadway

That’s right people; the second installment of the Led Black Book Club featuring the author of Steal Me For Your Stories, Robb Todd, will take place on Saturday, February 25^th at Apt 78. I cannot recommend the book highly enough. Stay tuned for the full review. Come out and meet Robb and participate in a reading of the book followed by a discussion. There will be a limited amount of books for sale at the event. The event is free but please RSVP.

RSVP: uptowncollective@gmail.com

Click here to purchase.

Excerpt: Steal Me For Your Stories

Also, any other information anyone wants about the book can be found here: stealmeforyourstories.com

Click here to read our Q&A with Robb Todd or here for our Uptown Artist column on him.

Book trailer from Robb Todd on Vimeo.

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Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: ChickPeaAndOlive.com

INWOOD — Brooklyn Flea, watch out: Inwood is about to get its own local flea market.

Started by a local couple as a way to raise funds for the Inwood businesses ruined during a massive fire last month, the market is making a trial run with two dates in February and hopes to become a local fixture.

“It would be nice to have something up here that would bring tourism and attention to the local businesses,” co-founder Daniel Strong said.

The market idea was hatched by Inwood couple and business partners Strong, 27, and Danielle Ricciardi, 30, who run Chickpea and Olive, a local vegan food maker and delivery service. The two met while working at a restaurant downtown and started their business after they began dating.

After Strong and Ricciardi participated in Bread and Yoga studio’s holiday market in December 2011, the duo decided that they wanted to bring a flea market to Inwood.

“We met the kindest and best people there…Inwood folks, everybody was just so talented and we became a family in those three weekends,” Ricciardi, who is originally from Westchester, said. “We just turned to each other and said, ‘We should organize something like the Brooklyn Flea or Dekalb [Market].”

Read more: Inwood Couple Looks to Start Local Flea Market – DNAinfo.com.

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Click here for more pictures of the performance.

Check out: http://glowinthedrum.com/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photography by Art By Dj Boy (@ArtByDjBoy)

That’s right people Buddha Beer Bar (4476 Broadway) is now officially open. I went there last week with Mike Diaz aka Juan Bago, Dj Boy and Jon Ullman for the soft opening and we all had a blast. The beer selection is impressive and my steak tacos were delicious. The place itself is absolutely gorgeous. Stop by and let them know the UC sent you. Stay tuned for a full review from the super awesome Gloria Pazmiño.

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Beauty in art, entertaining people, and being true to his Latino heritage have always been Danny Hastings’ artistic motivators. THE LOVE POTION, Hastings’ first feature film and a romantic comedy, is the most recent example of his truths. But even more than that, it’s Hastings opportunity to go beyond the Latino, urban audience that has followed him as a celebrated photographer and music video director. This time, he is bringing his expression to the mainstream, THE LOVE POTION will be broadcast on MTV Tr3s starting Feb. 10  for Valentines Day weekend.

THE LOVE POTION breaks down the five elements of Love: Lust, Intimacy, Commitment, Passion and Attachment. Each element is depicted with humor and explored from the perspective of Latino life in New York. The movie showcases four couples that range from street to sophisticated characters, who all intertwine and at some points interact with each other.

“My mission is to portray the American Latino experience with the true beauty and humanity that it deserves, while celebrating the comedy that is part of all of our lives. THE LOVE POTION is character and comedy driven, and is fueled by the talented Latino actors who perform in it,” said Danny Hastings. “I am flattered that the film will be a part of such a respected institution, and I am encouraged that Latino humor is getting a platform of expression in such a public way.”

Hastings wrote, directed and produced the film, and even plays two characters, alongside actors Stephanie Ortiz, Pablo Gonzalez, Michael Diaz, Jesus Gonzalez (aka Malverde), Quanzilla and Caridad de la Luz (aka La Bruja). In 2006, Hastings got his comedy start when he created and directed THE COMEDY JUMP OFF DVDs: a comedy compilation distributed by Image Entertainment.

THE LOVE POTION has been accepted by several film festivals before its National broadcast, including the prestigious New York International Latino Film Festival presented by HBO, The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival and the San Antonio Cine Festival amongst others.

For more information on the film, visit http://thelovepotionmovie.com/

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Lin-Manuel Miranda somehow manages to squeeze out more stuff in his day than other mere mortals.

You name it, the Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist of Broadway’s “In the Heights” is probably doing it. A rap album about Alexander Hamilton? OK. A musical about cheerleaders? Oh, yes. Taking his sketch comedy group onto TV? Indeed.

So it seems perfectly natural for the 32-year-old to find himself this month in a Stephen Sondheim musical. Miranda is starring in a revival of “Merrily We Roll Along” at the New York City Center from Feb. 8-19 as part of its popular Encores! musical theater series.

The musical, which runs backward in time from 1976 to 1955, examines the lives of three people whose friendship is tested. It features some of Sondheim’s best songs, including “Not a Day Goes By,” “Old Friends,” “Our Time” and “Opening Doors.”

But, naturally, that’s not all that’s on Miranda’s plate. The night before he sat down for a recent interview, Miranda was up late writing a song for a TV pilot based on his freestyle hip-hop comedy crew Freestyle Love Supreme that’s slated to land on Cartoon Network’s “Adult Swim.”

Miranda is also working on a full-length recording of “The Hamilton Mixtape,” a 12-song hip-hop retelling of the life and death of the Founding Father, which he premiered in front of the first family at the White House in 2009.

And then there’s the score to “Bring It On: The Musical,” which he’s co-writing with Amanda Green and Tom Kitt. That musical, based on the popular cheerleading movies, is touring the U.S. and Canada, and Miranda is making tweaks as it goes.

He is getting some top-notch help along the way – from Sondheim. They are friends, having worked together on the Spanish translations for the 2009 Broadway revival of “West Side Story.” Miranda, a born-and-bred New Yorker from the rough-and-tumble Washington Heights neighborhood, now sends demos of “The Hamilton Mixtape” to the legend himself.

Read more: Lin-Manuel Miranda: An Interview On Sondheim, ‘In The Heights,’ And ‘The Hamilton Mixtape’.

Click here for our recap of The Hamilton Mixtape performance at Lincoln Center.

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Check out: http://glowinthedrum.com/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Brooklyn Boheme – TRailer from Diane Paragas on Vimeo.

BROOKLYN BOHEME: Tuesday February 7 at 7:30 pm
Fort Greene exploded in the 80s and 90s with Chris Rock, Spike Lee, Ol’ Dirty Bastard, Digable Planets, Erykah Badu, Branford Marsalis, Wesley Snipes, Rosie Perez, Talib Kweli, Saul Williams and other musicians, actors and writers. Director Nelson George tells the story of the cultural revival that influenced the entire nation. Special guests will be in appearance for a movie that’s not to be missed. Get your tickets here.

PressPausePlay from House of Radon on Vimeo.

PRESSPAUSEPLAY; Tuesday February 8 at 9:30 pm
Take Fort Greene and multiply it by, oh, a hundred million iPhones, digital cameras, laptops, universal WiFi and get a global creative revolution. Directors David Dworsky and Victor Kohler present PressPausePlay, a documentary that explores the rapid, beautiful evolution featuring interviews with today’s most influential artists including Moby, Lykke Li, Seth Godin, Sean Parker, Robyn, Lena Dunham and more. Purchase tickets before they are sold out. 

Click here for more info.

OpenHouse Gallery is located at 201 Mulberry Street.

For more info: http://openhousegallery.org/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to RSVP.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Carla Zanoni | DNAinfo

When PS 187 Hudson Cliff Principal Cynthia Chory is asked how many children she has had, her answer is surprising.

“I have three I go home to at night and 800 in the building during the day,” she said.

Chory prides herself on a personal connection with the children who attend her school and makes a concerted effort to foster that connection each day.

“It means not sitting in my office all day,” she said.

“It’s being in the classrooms. It’s being in the lunchroom. It’s talking to them, being outside in the morning…and asking them about their weekend,” she said.

“All of a sudden they come alive, it’s not just about reading and writing, the kids are thinking, ‘Oh, she wants to talk about my weekend.’”

Chory grew up in Washington Heights and attended PS 187 as a child. She started out teaching at neighboring school PS 218 before becoming an assistant principal and later coming to lead PS 187.

“That’s the kind of community we have at this school,” she said. “We have them from kindergarden to 8th grade. We know them and they know us.”

Read more: PS 187 Principal Cynthia Chory Believes in the Positive Power of Community – DNAinfo.com.

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Sunrise over Inwood @ Inwood NYC http://t.co/e7sUdXxI

January 31, 2012 9:00 am via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@nwinstead

Nathan Winstead

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The good folks at Up Theater staged this subway wedding to protest the looming loss of token booths throughout the city.

Check out: www.uptheater.org/

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Site: http://www.barstarzz.com/

FB: http://www.facebook.com/Barstarzz

Twitter http://twitter.com/barstarzz

Tumblr http://barstarzz.tumblr.com

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My trip to the high reaches of Washington Heights began with a really tip-top dinner at Le Chéile NYC, a relatively new Irish eatery at 839 West 181st Street.

Co-owner Dave Hollander invited me and a friend for scrumptious salads, steak, caramelized brussels sprouts, “mushy peas” (exactly what they sound like), and bananas Foster.

Every bite was a sensation, and the whole experience, in fact, was a revelation.

The two-floor hangout boasts great food, large portions, friendly service, good prices, Irish posters, and a piano.

Read more: Washington Heights Restaurant Hits The Heights – New York News – La Daily Musto.

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Q. What are some of the things you love about living Uptown?

A. I love the mix of people who live Uptown. The majority of residents that live Uptown are of Dominican decent or were born in Dominican Republic. I was born and raised in NYC and only visited DR a few times so living Uptown has taught me about our culture and where we come from.

Q. What do you like about shooting Uptown?

A. The shooting opportunities Uptown are endless. One can find various subjects to shoot whether it’s street photography or an urban landscape. That’s what I love about shooting Uptown, I can just grab my camera walk around and find great things to shoot.

Q. How would you describe yourself as an artist?

A. My photography is art. Every time I frame a shot and click that shutter I envision that image hanging some where in a gallery, home, office, etc. When I go out to shoot I’m thinking about bringing some life into that empty wall space.

Q. Is there anything else you would like our audience to know about you or your work?

I also have a passion for photographing people and families. I love Capturing those moments that we can look at years from now and bring a smile to us because that image takes you back to when you were pregnant or when the baby was barely one year old.  I want my photography to serve as visual memory of these great times in our lives.

Check Leo Silverio out at the url’s listed below:

www.society6.com/LeoSilverio
www.LeonardoSilverio.com
www.flickr.com/photos/leosilverio/

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Photography by Jay Franco (@_jayfranco)

Video by Amanda Hiciano (@_IamNYC)

Malcolm X changed my life. The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Alex Haley literally put the Black in Led Black. The book which has sold untold millions of copies and influenced everyone from Huey P. Newton, to Spike Lee, to Public Enemy, among many others, seemed to materialize out of nowhere at a crucial point in my development as a person and as a thinker. It was during my years in the Bronx High School of Science that the book found its way into my life and thank god that it did.

Coming from P.S. 143 in Washington Heights, I didn’t know I was poor until I attended Bronx Science. Being that I was the only one from my junior high that year to make it to the prestigious public high school, I virtually had no choice but to make the trek everyday from the hood to Bronx Science. All of sudden I was attending school with kids whose backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses were vastly different from mine. Culture shock was an understatement, which resulted in some existential angst and serious soul searching on my part. I felt adrift and ensnared in a downward spiral of resentment and alienation.

And then it happened. A fellow Bronx Science student, Harlemite Ben Talton, gave me his dog-eared copy of the Autobiography. I read it transfixed. I could not put it down. Malcolm’s singular fixation with history spurred my own and gave me the impetus to read, learn and grow with reckless abandon. The lessons I learned from studying the trajectory of his life gave me the wherewithal to decide, right then and there, that I and I alone, would determine my destiny. That excellence was a choice that was mine to make, that I could not and would not let my circumstances define or defeat me. After all these years, the spark that Malcolm ignited still continues to burn.

And that is where this story comes full circle. While it took me traveling to the Bronx to discover Malcolm, it just so happens that the legacy of Malcolm is very much alive and well in the neighborhood that I grew up in, the neighborhood that was once an integral part of the life and times of the late, great Malcolm X. Malcolm was slain in the very building that now leads the charge to keep his memory and life’s work relevant to millions of folks worldwide but also in the community that it is grounded in.

The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational is a living, breathing testament to the vision, depth and scope of man whose intelligence, determination and drive made him a giant among men. His outsized and larger than life presence can still be felt in the former Audubon Ballroom. When you enter this sacred space you can almost hear Malcolm telling it like it is, speaking truth to power resolutely and unapologetically, with the audience enraptured responding back, “make it plain Malcolm, make it plain.” Malcolm X lives!

The Malcolm X & Betty Shabazz Center from ART BY A NYC on Vimeo.

For more info: http://theshabazzcenter.net/

The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Center – 3940 Broadway

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Chris Hierro & DeX! Present: Los Gambinos
Official video release celebration of their single “Mafioso”
Featuring up and coming comedian/actor:  Juan Bago

Join us this Tuesday, February 7th for what will be a Red Carpet Networking & Media event @ Altus Cafe (4325 Broadway)
Red Carpet from 8:30 – 9:30 PM

RSVP Only
Music by DJ Xpress
Sponsored By:
SkywalkerZ Music
Phwesh
Rotten Apple Tattoos
DemBoyz Ent
RSVP: losgambinos@gmail.com

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Steve Mandl, the suspended baseball coach at George Washington High School. Photo: Robert Caplin | The New York Times

One more time, at the end of another high school championship baseball game, Steve Mandl was floating around a ballpark, perched on the shoulders of whooping players last June.

He had taken this victory ride before: In 27 years, Mr. Mandl, the coach of the George Washington High School baseball team in Washington Heights, had led his squads to 26 city championships.

But last season, the players had to climb into the stands and pull him out.

Mr. Mandl was not on the field because he had been suspended by the Public School Athletic League on the complaint of a rival coach who charged that Mr. Mandl had tried to recruit a young star, a violation of a rule that says a coach may not “induce any student” to transfer schools for sports.

“Never happened,” Mr. Mandl said this week. “I had nothing to do with it.”

The young ballplayer, Fernelys Sanchez, has also said that Mr. Mandl was not involved in his request to transfer to George Washington from Lehman High School in the Bronx. His family had moved to Inwood, a few minutes from George Washington, and Lehman was nearly an hour-and-a-half commute.

Read more: Baseball Coach Steve Mandl Suspended Before a Hearing Is Held – NYTimes.com.

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My father thought I’d be pregnant by the time I reached my fifteenth birthday. I know this because my mother repeated the last words he told her before they separated over and over during my adolescence. It was easy for him to say that. After all, he moved back to the Dominican Republic and left my two sisters and I to be raised by a single mother who barely spoke English and worked minimum wage jobs to make ends meet. He thought we’d end up raising ourselves, end up in some older boys bed, drug addicted, with an infant as our prize. My mother, however, would not let that happen, reminding us of this every time she thought we were straying off the path.

Once, my high school sent home a postcard stating that I had not been attending my math class.  “Have you been cutting school, Larissa?” she asked me while shaking the postcard at me. “ No! I think that was a mistake. They do that all the time.” I told her. She looked into my eyes, accepted my answer and walked away. The next day, during math class, my teacher received a note asking me to go to the main office. I walked into the main office and found my mother staring at me with the postcard she had been shaking at me the day before. “Muy bien,” she smiled “just making sure you are where you’re supposed to be.”

That was my mother.

The type of mother who would make sure her daughter was in school during her lunch break. The type who wouldn’t let my sisters and I hang out in front of our building out of fear we’d fall in with the wrong crowd. If we wanted to play outside, she’d take us to the park. If we were bored, she’d work overtime to pay for cable and all the video games we could want. She never brought boyfriends to our apartment. She’d repeat that my sisters and I were the light in her eyes. She would give us the world if she could.

She was so strong. When I was heartbroken over my first love she told me to love myself more, put myself first. She’d tell me to work hard to buy all the things I wanted for myself because the moment I let men do that for me “they’ll want something else in return.” It took me a long time to figure out she meant sex. I grew up trying to emulate her. I took care of myself, boyfriends were expendable, and I didn’t need anyone but myself.

For some reason, I thought that’s what it meant to be an independent woman. I didn’t want to admit that there was a part of me that wanted stereotypical woman things. A boyfriend who loved me, a family that was made up of a husband and wife, someone who would be next to me and doesn’t expect me to carry it all on my own. That would be weak. It was an internal battle to be one or the other. If I were weak I wouldn’t be respected but if I were too strong then I’d be labeled and called names. It wasn’t until a few years ago that I discovered I could be a little of both. It happened the day my mother told me she used to get lonely. Before she found the love of her life after her daughters were grown up. I realized it’s hard to mix the hard with the soft but life is a balancing act.

These days I think about my mother differently. Yes, she was strong but she was also scared my father’s warning would come true. She had no choice but to be hard considering the cards life dealt her but she made me a woman who has the choices she didn’t and I’m just now learning to take advantage of them.

Also, check out more awesomeness from Larissa Vasquez below.

The Language Barrier

To Cook or Not To Cook

It’s That Time of Year Again….

Females: The Crazier Sex?

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Click here to see the entire Picture of the Week series.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Chuck Attix

For Broadway babies who’ve always dreamed of going “way up to Washington Heights,” you should do so and make sure to stop by No Parking, the ambient gay bar at 4168 Broadway (on 177th Street).

Come on, park your butt somewhere other than the usual twinks-in-retail vodka palace.

Last night, the place’s circular bar was topped by half-clad dancers and surrounded by a multi-ethnic mix of fun people as the bartender unexpectedly barked into the mic, “We like pussy….cats.”

Speaking of which, why did the dancers happen to be women? (Fine with me, mind you. I was just curious since it wasn’t lesbian night.)

Some of the attendees are on the down low, a patron suggested, and if they stick a dollar down a female crotch, it makes them feel less like they went to a gay place.

Read more: Take The A Train To No Parking Bar! NSFW – New York News – La Daily Musto.

Click here for our story on No Parking.

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Photo: Stefan Ruiz | Jalouse Magazine

Happy Birthday and much love goes out to the one and only Maluca La Mala. Maluca spent some of her formative years in the Heights and has been putting down some serious, next-generation music for some time now. Part Merengue, Part Drum & Bass, Part Punk; her music is a magnificent mélange of badassness.

Click here to see Maluca’s trek through the Heights courtesy of Scion.

Click here to see more of our pics of Maluca & wish her a Happy Birthday on her FB page.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

The first flea will be held Saturday, February 11^th, 2012 in the auditorium of the Church of Jesus Christ of LDS (1815 Riverside Drive), with space for (17) vendors. The subsequent market will be held February 18, 2012 in the auditorium of Good Shepherd School (620 Isham Street). Starting March 24^th, the Inwood flea will move outdoors to 212^th Street and Broadway.

You can email inwoodflea@gmail.com with any questions.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

When the Coliseum Theater opened in Washington Heights in the 1920s, it was the third largest theater in the country, hosting stars like the Marx Brothers and Bob Hope before it was later converted into a movie house, but now it’s closed, leaving community members wondering about what’s next for the space. NY1’s Rebecca Spitz filed the following report.

An old movie poster on display makes it pretty clear that Coliseum Cinemas is closed, maybe for good.

The historic theater on 181st Street and Broadway ended its storied run last fall.

“I was kind of surprised and shocked when I walked by in early November and saw that it was closed because it had kind of become a fixture in the neighborhood,” said resident Melissa Moschitto.

BLDG Management, which owns the building, won’t let anyone but construction workers in.

But some pictures show hints of the theatre’s former glory, and residents like Moschitto hope something can be done to keep them from disappearing.

Read more: Future Uncertain For Historic Coliseum Theater – NY1.com.

By the way, check out the video at NY1, our very own Dj Boy makes an appearance.

Click here for the Save the Coliseum FB page.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photography by Art By Dj Boy (@ArtByDjBoy)

The Bago Bunch Back to Business Brunch held at Pick and Eat (4179 Broadway) yesterday was a rousing success. The Bago brunches and mixers have become premiere networking events and this last function was no exception. I not only enjoyed the free-flowing mimosas (the chinola one was my fave) and delectable treats provided by Pick and Eat but more importantly, I also made some concrete connections for collaborative Uptown Collective projects that you will see manifested in the near future. Stay tuned for more on those. The Uptown Renaissance is in full effect and that energy was down right palpable at Pick and Eat yesterday. Shout out to my family at the Bago Bunch for putting together another remarkable event. Can’t wait for the next one.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Healthy Kids in the Heights is on its way to reaching 100% of its funding goal on the crowdfunding platform RocketHub.com. They’re at 78% with 3 days left in the campaign. Healthy Kids in the Heights is a non-profit program based in Washington Heights, New York. According to a research study, 47% of children are overweight or obese in this neighborhood.

The grassroots fundraising campaign has galvanized supporters on Facebook and Twitter since launching in December. Executive Director Catarina Rivera says, “Crowdfunding on RocketHub has required intense promotion and reaching out to others. But we’ve been amazed by the response. People have been supporting us, sharing the campaign, and contributing generously. We’re eager to see our project 100% fueled.”

For more information on the online fundraiser, visit: http://rkthb.co/4505

The online fundraiser is for a program called Healthy Parents Fellowship. The Healthy Parents Fellowship empowers parents to become leaders in creating healthier communities. Parents improve their own health and the health of others in their community.

Parents will receive health coaching and entrepreneurship training. Sessions will include meditation, self-reflection, nutrition, cooking, and fitness. Parents will work on reaching their individual health goals and family health goals.

Each parent will design and implement a community action project. Projects must focus on improving the health of their family, friends, and neighbors. This six-month program aims to serve about 10-15 committed parents directly but will indirectly affect at least 100 more through the community action projects.

The program successfully launched on January 21, 2012 at Church of the Intercession.

Partners include Church of the Intercession, Choosing Healthy & Active Lifestyles for Kids (CHALK), Pick and Eat restaurant, Make & Love, Revolutionary Fitness NYC, and United Latino Professionals.

For more information about Healthy Kids in the Heights, visit them on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/HealthyKidsintheHeights

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Hiten Samtani | SchoolBook

In Principal’s Office, a regular feature of SchoolBook, a city school principal is interviewed for insights into school management and the life of a school leader. What do you think makes a good principal? Join the conversation below.

Washington Heights Expeditionary Learning School opened in 2006 with only grades 6 and 7. It now has 600 students, grades 6 through 12, and is about to graduate its first class. The school, which received an A on its last progress report, is part of a network of Outward Bound’s Expeditionary Learning schools. Known as WHEELS, the school brings the rigor of a private or charter school to its small school setting, and requires that every student apply to college. Its founder and principal, Brett Kimmel, 37, was an assistant principal at Intermediate School 143 Eleanor Roosevelt, with which WHEELS now shares a building on West 182nd Street. Mr. Kimmel’s salary is $140,000 a year. This interview was edited and condensed.

Q. You’re about to graduate your first group of seniors. Does that say your school has been a success?

A. When our graduates come back four years later with their college diplomas, then I know we’re successful. So in some ways the hard work is still ahead of us. Opening up a new school and growing it is no easy task. But we’ve done that, and I think we’ve done that very well. I think now raising the bar academically and in terms of academic rigor, that’s the key for us.

Q. You’re a zoned school, so you essentially have to take in every sixth grader who applies, if you have room after siblings, isn’t that right?

A. Yes. I have kids who just end up here because they live in the neighborhood and I have all the stereotypical things you might find in urban areas. We have kids living in homeless shelters, we have a number of kids living in non-traditional families, so their parents are not their primary caretakers. We have kids who don’t know their parents. We have kids who have gone through a lot of tough and trying circumstances to get to where they are.

That said, our families are tremendous. They’re supportive.

Read more: Brett Kimmel: Create a ‘To-Die-For’ Place – SchoolBook.

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First snow, Washington Heights http://t.co/GAnE5fn8

January 21, 2012 10:18 am via InstagramReplyRetweetFavorite

@ginadee

Gina DePalma

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Pulitzer-Prize winning author and friend to the UC will be taking part in the festivities at Gregorio Luperon High School (501 W. 165th St.) today from 5 to 7 p.m. Reception follows from 7:30 to 10 p.m., at 809 Lounge (112 Dyckman St.).  Free books will be given to all the children in attendance. Sponsored by Barnes and Nobles and Word Up Books.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Enter to win a free lunch on Pick and Eat and the Bago Bunch by joining the conversation using #speakandeat on Twitter. Winner will be chosen randomly at the brunch on Sunday, January 29th.

Click here for our review of the awesome Pick & Eat.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

On Saturday afternoons, the ping of xylophones and a steady merengue beat emanate from the fourth floor of the St. Spyridon Greek Orthodox Church in Washington Heights.

Feel free to stand at attention: the members of the New York Stars Twirling and Marching Band are rehearsing for their upcoming performances.

Kim Morel Betances, the 1986 Queen of the New York Puerto Rican Day Parade, and her brother Dean Morel have created the new musical enterprise for the young men and women of northern Manhattan and the Bronx.

They themselves never forgot the fun and excitement of marching in bands like the Bronx-based Golden Charms.

Their father, Manolin Morel Campos, was a musician and started The Shining Stars Twirling and Marching Band. They loved parades, marching to the beat of drums and strains of brass instruments as their friends and neighbors cheered.

Read more: Twirling to their own beat | The Manhattan Times.

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Site: http://awakeinmydreams.com/

Twitter: @frankiep325

Click here for our Q&A with the incredibly talented Frankie P.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photography by Paul Lomax (@PaulLomaxPhoto)

Did you know that your friendly neighborhood superhero Peter Parker was killed last year? And no I am not trying to make a cheap joke about the Broadway play. No, the web-slinger that has been around since 1962 is no longer with us. Well, sort of. The Peter Parker of the “Ultimate” series of Marvel comics, which exists in a parallel universe and made it’s debut in the year 2000, met his demise after a heroic face-off with the Green Goblin.

Not too worry though, soon after a phoenix rose from the ashes named Miles Morales. The half-black, half-latino new Spidey is very similar to his predecessor; he is a super smart teenager bit by a radioactive spider trying to come to grips with his newfound powers. This is classic Marvel updated for a new generation. While Miles Morales has been widely accepted, some in the far right have been screaming bloody murder. The pathetic provocateur, Glenn Beck, even had the temerity to insinuate that Michelle Obama was behind the changing of the guard.

Recently, Marvel’s Editor-in-Chief, Axel Alonso, sat down with us and talked about comics, change and the first lady.

Q: So the question I have is….how did that call with Michelle Obama go?

A: (Laughs) I wish I were on Michelle Obama’s speed dial. Contrary to what Glenn Beck reported, I have never had a conversation with anybody in the White House.

Q: So none of her people called you and made you do this?

A: No but my number is, if she wants to call me… No but we’re really sort of above politics at the end of the day. We’re not in the business of selling politics, we’re in the business of selling entertainment and at the end of the day, Marvel always functions best when a character reflects the world and its diversity. Yes this was a risk but it was a risk to find an audience, a larger audience and a new audience. That’s why we did it.

Q: So now you’re a few months in, how do you feel now as opposed to when Miles Morales was first introduced?

A: Well, I feel a sense of relief no doubt because you know what we have here is an audience that has embraced it so we haven’t watched sales taper off. It’s very heartening for me for instance to see a number of the fans of Peter Parker who said that they weren’t down with this and are in fact down with this and get it and like it and are there to watch his journey and that of course is the credit of the writer and artist who hits home runs issue after issue.

Q: Earlier you mentioned envisioning Jaden Smith playing Miles Morales. Is that a possibility?

A: I was just goofing. It’s one of those things that I can see happening but I have no knowledge of anything of that nature. For me it’s just natural that somewhere down the road you’re going to see this guy on the silver screen. It just seems right. It’s inevitable.

Q: Were you a huge comic book fan growing up?

A: Yes, well my story is different. I grew up addicted to comic books and then I discovered girls and basketball and I quit them. I didn’t want to be a nerd, although I was a nerd. I didn’t want to be noticed as one and I rediscovered them in college. And when I was in college it had to be the time when a lot of people were bringing very bold ideas to comics and making them a more sophisticated read. What pretty much happened with me was that I rediscovered them at that age and I’ve been with them ever since. I had a dream of working in comics. I loved working with comics. It was a dream. I worked in journalism, I worked in magazines editing and writing. I saw an ad in the Times and I interviewed and the rest is history.

Q: So how does it feel to have that love for it and now be the Editor-In-Chief of Marvel?

A: Well it’s great because you know it was 11 years ago when I got the call from Marvel’s president who at the time was Bill Jemas and he said, “How would you like to work for Marvel?” And my response was “Well, I’m really not that interested. I haven’t read Spiderman since I was 11”. And he said, “read up, young man”. He sent me some comics and I read them. Bill’s philosophy was that he wanted editors that would come in and think about the characters as characters who had appeal beyond the deep continuity that the fans had come to expect. Marvel was a very different company at the time. It was very vulnerable. I went not even sure that I’d have a job for a long time but obviously Marvel is healthier than ever. We’re party of the Disney family and we’re moving into the digital age now and I think that comics are as vital and exciting as they’ve ever been.

Q: What are your duties as the EIC at Marvel Comics?

A: Well basically I preside over a talented editorial staff. I am much more involved in the backroom planning. I’m at the big meetings like in the meetings where we decide on something like Miles Morales. I’m really at this point not involved in the minutia, individual stories and I actually miss doing that as a former line editor. So frequently I’m involved in decisions on how we’ll bolster a line, change that may come for instance in the X-Men line and what could we do to invigorate the title. What kind of story can we tell that links them all together? What characters are more deserving of more recognition and how can we do that? It’s really like looking at our catalog of characters, what you call our intellectual properties, and figuring out a way to maximize on it and make it as exciting to people as possible.

Q: Last question, who is your favorite all time favorite Marvel superhero?

A: It’s a tough call. I like a lot of characters. It’s almost impossible to answer but if I’m forced to pick a character, I might have to go with Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu because he is Bruce Lee and he doesn’t have any super power. He just beats you up with his hands and feet. I also like the Black Panther. I like Lou Cage. I like the Incredible Hulk. Of course I like Spiderman but I always responded maybe a little bit more to the idiosyncratic characters, the ones rooted in genre. Lou Cage is rooted in blaxploitation films, Shang-Chi in Kung-Fu films. I tend to like the outsiders a little bit more.

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If Socrates were alive today, and lived in Washington Heights, you’d find him at the McDonald’s on Broadway and Dyckman.

I found myself there this morning amongst a gathering of these older Dominican men, sipping on coffee and waxing poetic. I came to affectionately call them Los Viejos Filòsofos (The Old Philosophers).

One by one, they gathered; the meeting time dictated by their own internal clock. The first viejo sits in what seems like their usual gathering place, with a small cup of coffee, awaiting his fellow filòsofos. Sitting across from him, there’s a group of high-school age students who should be in school, but that is a story for another time.

He sits and surveys the restaurant, noticing the human traffic as they cross his sightline, occasionally locking on to a young female headed to the counter. A second viejo shows up. He is welcomed with an exuberant “Oye!” from the first. He joins his fellow filòsofo with his own cup of coffee.

Immediately, they begin sharing the latest news stories, both local and international, adding their strong commentary throughout the whole reporting. Not too long after, two other viejos enter the McDonald’s, repeating the pattern of coffee and greetings. Now gathered, the council of Viejos Filòsofos, create a symphony of outbursts, grumbles and barely audible agreements.

The mantle of Socrates moves from viejo to viejo, each having their moment of Socratic reasoning, each being supported by the individual outbursts of agreement and disputes. During the discourse, a viejo passerby stopped for a quick “chiming in,” adding his ʻThe Way I see it…ʼ to the roundtable. He eventually trailed out the door dropping a few expletives on whatever politico got his blood sugar up.

As the outsider looking in, I felt privy to a time-honored practice in human civilization, pulled straight out of a Humanities text book, with a contemporary makeover, urbanized and culturized (my word), here in the Heights. So the next time you’re looking for an institution where thought, politics, art, culture and music are discussed, just come grab a cup of coffee, take a seat, and wait for the viejo filòsofos to arrive.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer. Photo: Andrew Savulich | NY Daily News

Uptown Councilman Robert Jackson has run three city marathons, walked to Albany and climbed Africa’s highest mountain.

Now, he’s ready for his biggest race yet – an uphill battle to become Manhattan Borough President.

“In this race for borough president, I’m in it for the long haul,” he told the Daily News. “I’m ready to go the distance…I will be there at the starting line and at the finish line.”

If elected, Jackson would be the sixth African American to hold the post.

The only thing that would stop Jackson from running is if incumbent Scott Stringer runs for re-election instead of becoming a mayoral contender.

“I would not run against Scott Stringer…I would look at my other options,” said Jackson, adding he would consider running for public advocate.

Jackson has represented the city’s 7th District – which includes Harlem, Washington Heights and Inwood – since he was elected in 2001. Term limits bar him from seeking a fourth term in 2013.

Read more: Jackson ready to climb to the top as Manhattan Borough President  – NY Daily News.

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Q. What are some of the things you love about living Uptown?

A. I lived in other neighborhoods in Brooklyn, Manhattan and the Bronx and definitely dig Harlem the best. What I like about Uptown and where I live is that its the city, but it’s not terribly crowded like downtown and it’s still close enough to the refuge of parks like St. Nick and CP, Riverbank and the entire West Side. This allows me both the cultural diversity I seek and the spatial diversity I need.

A. I am my own Hero is a creed that I live life by. I’ve always thought that as I mature, one of the hardest things to do would be to hold onto the integrity of my true self as life’s challenges confronted me. It’s a struggle, and I think one of the best ways to remain steadfast is to live life with passion and to be true to your inner voice. I am my own hero means being someone you can respect and feel proud of no matter what happens. The series draws on the inner strength of its subjects. Many of the subjects are inspirational people who I believe represent the very essence of I am my own Hero, such as Malcolm X, Thurgood Marshall, Billie Jean King or Steven Hawking; and these people I call Superheroes.

A. I write, fiction, screenplays, short comedy and video journalism. Right now I’m writing an action/adventure martial arts film. The last screenplay was a dark comedy about a man whose fiancé begins to slowly transform into an aardvark. I’m also producing a documentary film about Islam in the African American community, and doing a lot of independent comedy production in the tradition of SNL.

A. Since my mediums of art range from literary to video to canvas, it can be hard to recognize my work immediately, however, there is always an energy in my work that is either bursting or confined and often both. Freedom and entrapment are interlocking threads found in all of my work. I often have the blues, so I paint in bright colors, but one day I will switch back to dark colors. I love to laugh, but I’m also very serious and passionate about politics and human rights. I like to confront challenges; make art from chaos. I need to be reminded I’m alive so that I don’t slip into complacency and forget my inner self and lose respect for myself. This is why I do everything I do. My life is art.

Q. Is there anything else you would like our audience to know about you or your work? 

A. An ability to draw is my first and most natural talent. There was a long period in my youth and further, that I thought maybe I wasn’t creative enough to be in the arts. I used to have to create a gap between my painting and writing so that my brain didn’t freeze and give me writers block. But, creativity feeds creativity and the deeper I tunnel toward my inner strengths, the easier it is for me to switch between writing and painting. A tremendous amount of effort goes into my script and film work. Painting relaxes me and I often find myself using it to express a muse. Lol. But truly, I’m married to my MAC.

Site: http://ljsola.com

FB: https://www.facebook.com/LaylajSola

Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/ljsola

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/LJSola

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

4th Annual Chocolate day: The Mystery of Chocolate

Saturday, February 11th from 3pm – 5pm

Morris-Jumel Mansion | 65 Jumel Terrace

Chocolate has always had a connection to the ritual of courtship. Celebrate the romance and mystery of “the food of the gods,” in our masquerade ball where history will come to life as you encounter the ladies of the house who will tell you about their intriguing lives. Tickets are $25 per person and $20 for members. Pre-paid advanced registration is required. Call 212 923 8008

Click here for pics from the 2011 Morris-Jumel Mansion Culture & Arts Festival.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Send her a message on Twitter or via e-mail.

Or shoot her a text, and faster than Batman swooping in after spotting the signal in the sky, she’ll be there.

Amilka Vega is Washington Heights’ own traveling “Nail Lady.”

Vega, of Dominican descent, will quickly board the nearest train, bus or livery cab upon receiving word from a client. She travels already equipped with different nail polish flavors, a variety of brushes and, of course, the tools of the trade.

“A cuticle clipper, nail file, and acetone, those are the basics,” explains Vega. “I don’t care, I’ll travel anywhere. I’ve gone as far as Sheepshead Bay for a customer. She knows I’m dedicated.”

Vega has always had a fixation with nails, nail art and nail polish.

Now it’s turned into her career.

Read more: Art at your fingertips, and on speed-dial | The Manhattan Times

Check out: http://elsalonsito.com/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Freedom’s Sisters PSA from Juan Bago on Vimeo.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

“Diversity is the spice of life”, while its been said quite often, for me it has always rang true. It’s what I love about New York City is that people from all walks of life, from all the corners of the earth, are constantly descending and renewing these five boroughs. Each neighborhood has its own unique make-up, it’s own unique style and look.

Washington Heights and Inwood are no different. Both neighborhoods (along with all of Northern Manhattan) have been going through a lot of changes this past decade. These two neighborhoods, which were predominantly Dominican in the eighties and nineties, are becoming more and more culturally mixed with each passing day.

Change isn’t always bad, among the sea of new faces floating around the neighborhood there are many friendly ones. There’s nothing better than making a new friend and finding that you both have something in common, like a love for fashion. The first time I saw Jean was at Apartment 78, in her now infamous short-shorts, tank top, with an oversized sweater, with a pair of boots to match.

We quickly bonded over fashion and once we began talking I found out that Jean is a personal shopper. Now, I’ve heard of personal shoppers in the past, and have met some along the way but have always thought that it was something relegated to the rich and famous. She quickly set me straight on the matter. Here is what she had to say:

Q: If you could describe what you do in four words or less what would it be?

A: I make happiness contagious.

Q: Are there any designers or brands that you are drawn to?

A: Well, I currently work for Free People, so I must say that brand is my first inspiration, simply due to the amount of exposure I have to it in comparison to any other brand. But I do love to look at various online fashion blogs, small boutiques, independent lines of fashion, jewelry and art and people in NYC. Various styles I see at different party scenes, different neighborhoods are really inspiring. I also like to look at retro looks, such as pictures and footage from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s.

Q: What do you love about fashion?

A: Fashion is all about utility and creativity. I am a very creative person, but often do not have time to actively participate in any type of artistic activity. But getting dressed everyday is something that I have to do in life. By tying the two purposes into one, I can be creative through a small routine everyday. It is very therapeutic to feel right in your own skin.

Q: What are the benefits of having a personal shopper?

A: The type of shopping that I want to do is not really the type that is related to the rich and the famous. People often do not know that there are different types of personal shopping. I do not plan on dealing with high fashion or drastic price ranges. Something overly expensive is most likely going to serve the same amount of utility as something with a moderate price range. My shopping is for two motives: young professionals who do not have time to shop for themselves but have the money to invest in someone like me, or the client who feels stuck in his/her style and would like some help expressing his/herself through me. The first motive, clients will mostly likely come back to me every seasonal change or for different events they have to attend. But for the second client, their appointments with me should slowly decrease after they find out how to equip themselves with the right items to fully express themselves. After a couple shopping dates with me, they should be able to find the skills to style themselves, without my help. Through this, they can benefit from the therapeutic and creative release that I feel when I get dressed every day.

Q: Tim Gunn moment: what’s the one piece of advice that you would give a woman who wants to switch up her “look” but doesn’t have a huge budget?

A: Do your research. There is nothing wrong with spending time on you, especially when it comes to pampering. Either through a hobby, or through a massage, or a shopping date, it is important to do research before you dive in. Check out the top trends, look through blogs and boutiques. Figure out where you belong or how you wish to define yourself. Once you have done the research on what you feel appropriately expresses you, then you can move to individual pieces and your body type. That way, you can shop without feeling scattered and the tendency to buy something that you will never wear will decrease. The research should help you find certain stores that you can maximize from as well, such as price range, consistency of styles, fabrics, colors, etc.

Q: Where are you from? Where did you grow up? Where do you reside now?

A: Before NYC, I lived in Philadelphia, PA, where I did my undergrad and post-baccalaureate studies. My childhood was spent in a town outside of Pittsburgh, PA but I was born in Columbus, OH.  My whole family moved to Seoul, Korea when I was in fourth grade and then came back for college. Now I live in Washington Heights!

Q: What brought you to the Heights? How did you discover this neighborhood? Do you plan to be a lifelong Washington Heights resident?

I moved here because I needed a place nearby my school when I moved for my masters program. My program is at the 168th Street campus, thus, I wanted something affordable and nice and close to school. I am the 4th generation Columbia grad student who is living in my current studio and I love it. I guess I didn’t know what neighborhood I was moving to; I simply landed here by chance. Now, I am most comfortable here and know a lot of people already, thanks to working at Apt. 78. The community and the people are quite beautiful. It is the part of Manhattan that has so many hidden gems. I may have to leave (who knows what might happen to me) but regardless, this place will always be my home.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Photo: Paul Lomax | DNAinfo

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS — Read on, uptown.

Washington Heights’ pop-up bookstore has signed a lease for its Broadway location through May.

After months of operating rent-free, community bookstore Word Up entered into a contract with landlord Vantage Properties Monday for its space at 4157 Broadway, according to organizer Veronica Liu.

Volunteer and uptown artist Emmanuel Abreu, who goes by the performer name DJ Boy, said he was thrilled by the news.

“Even though some people were skeptical about a bookstore making it past a month, the community’s force was stronger than any negative thoughts towards the beautiful place,” he wrote in an email. “We are here for the long run.”

Officials declined to specify the bookstore’s rent, but they said it was less than $3,000 a month. If so, that’s significantly less than the going rate of approximately $9,000 a month for retail space in the immediate area.

A spokesman for Vantage Properties said, “We are pleased to support Word Up bookstore, which has had tremendous success and a positive impact on the Washington Heights community.”

Read more:  Word Up Bookstore Signs Lease to Rent Broadway Space Through May – DNAinfo.com.

Word Up
a community bookshop in Northern Manhattan
4157 Broadway @ 176 Street
June 17 – July 14, 2011
www.wordupbooks.com
Word Up on New York Times | Manhattan Times | Uptown Collective | Fbook

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Hallway Music

02 Hallway Music by HazyNightsInTheHeights

Dyckman Street 4:01AM

10 Dyckman Street – 4 01AM by HazyNightsInTheHeights

Site: http://awakeinmydreams.com/

Twitter: @frankiep325

Click here for our Q&A with the incredibly talented Frankie P.

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Tuesday Jan. 24                        Afternoon Tea at Park

Tea by Tiffany founder Tiffany Denise has been hosting tea parties across city. She started as a holistic and wellness instructor and wants to infuse tea into a coffee-driven culture. Tuesday, Denise is hosting afternoon tea from 1-5 pm. She’ll have graceful service as well as a selection of organic teas, sandwiches, petite fours, biscuits, scones and chilled drinks.

For more info                                    To purchase tickets $25

Saturday Jan. 28                        Bird Watching with The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is the world’s largest land, river and animal saver. Saturday morning, they’re hosting a bird watching session with artist Grace Markman. Kids 18 months and older will get a reading of Feathers for Lunch and engage in a chat about the birds they can see around the city. Plus, they’ll learn how to make binoculars out of recycled materials. The session is from 10:30-11:30 am. Tickets are $5 at the door.

For more info                   Tickets are $5 at the door.

Saturday Jan. 28                        Architect in Residence

Andrew Haner, principal at sun|tect: architecture, sets up a 5-cent Lucy Peanuts-style booth at the park for the day. Architecture can be intimidating, and Haner will chat with park visitors about projects they’d consider for their own lives. All loose change will be donated to NYC Habitat for Humanity.

Thursday Feb. 2                         Nerd Nite Trivia Night

Nerd Nite has been hosting trivia out of Galapagos Art Space in DUMBO for years. We met them at the CNET Gotham pop up and invited them to host trivia night at the park. Entry is $10 per person and you can sign up teams with up to six players. There are two seatings – one at 7 pm and one at 9 pm. Hosted by Nerd Nite founder Matt Wasowski who can be reached at matt@nerdnite.com. Winning team gets Fatboy, Built NY and Apple gear.

For more info                                    To purchase tickets (7 pm) $10

To purchase tickets (9 pm) $10

Friday Feb. 10                        CreativeMornings with Charles Renfro

CreativeMornings is a monthly breakfast lecture series for creative types like Maria Popova and Justin Gage. On Friday Feb. 10, CreativeMornings comes to the pop-up park and hosts Charles Renfro, a principal at Diller, Scofidio and Renfro, the architectural firm that built The High Line, Lincoln Center, Boston Contemporary Art Museum and dozens of classic buildings. Renfro will talk about The High Line starting at 8:30 am.

Free

Food Vendors

January 20                                    Filled With Sweets

January 21                                    Nolita Mart & Espresso Bar, The Jam Stand

January 22                                    The Jam Stand

January 26                                    Filled With Sweets

January 28                                    The Jam Stand, Nolita Mart & Espresso Bar, Intoxicating                                                                                     Confections, Lizzmonade

January 29                                    The Jam Stand

February 2                                    Lizzmonade

February 4                                    The Jam Stand, Nolita Mart & Espresso Bar

February 5                                    The Jam Stand, Nolita Mart & Espresso Bar

February 11                                    Lizzmonade

OpenHouse Gallery is located at 201 Mulberry Street.

For more info: http://openhousegallery.org/

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.

Word Up
a community bookshop in Northern Manhattan
4157 Broadway @ 176 Street
June 17 – July 14, 2011
www.wordupbooks.com
Word Up on New York Times | Manhattan Times | Uptown Collective | Fbook

We invite you to like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter, or e-mail us at UptownCollective@gmail.com.