Catch-Up

No, not that stuff silly!! This is where I fill all you Snobbers in on whats been going down since my last post.

• Word on the street is that Cakeman Raven has re-opened for business... Hope he hired a Public Relations rep (to lie properly on his behalf) and fired his cleaning lady (more like cleaning Aunty or nephew, they got serious staffing issues!). And Contrary to popular belief, (Rhonda), my post about Cakeman wasn't intended to be evil, just super critical. I mean thats what I do here. Rather than just bitch and moan to y'all in person, I've taken it to the net where everyone can hear my big bitchy mouth( of course under the guise of this blog I also get people more involved in the music, fine arts, culinary arts and culture as a whole. But most importantly I want you all to be more critical of the nonsense that people try to pass off to us. I want us all to be more critical ) okay...enough with the After School Special, back to dishing the hate!!

• In Local news, The former Williamsburgh Savings Bank of Fort Greene Brooklyn,

Has officially been regentrified/ reincarnated as The Amazing One Hanson Place.




On Wednesday January 16, the first tenant officially moved into the now Hi-Rise Condo and its famous clock tower resumed its time telling functions after being out of commission for roughly 17 months.

*** The Condo Will Kill Brooklyn!! Don't buy into this people! Fort Greene has like 1 Crackhead left. The Milks gone sour!! You saw how they turned out Williamsburgh, or "WillyB" as its now known. Granted the take over started a while ago, but not High Rise Condos!! Have you no decency people ?? ***

But check out this amazing picture that was featured in the Times (hey, its art).


Speaking of Crakheads: After having her photo taken...while SMOKING CRACK, Amy Winehouse actually went to rehab.




While I remember Amy's first album, you know when she actually sang, not slurrred her way thru performances and most importantly when she actually hid her drug use( I'm not that naive, she looks quite comfortable maneuvering that pipe).

I pray she gets it together for real for real and avoids the ominous fate of our beloved Gator

• In the Political world, Obama took South Carolina in the states Democratic primary this past weekend.

While I don't know much about politics (sad, but true), I am Black (good and true).

• And Last, but most definitely not least......I graduated from College on Thursday January 24, 2008 at 3pm

..So you know what means right?.... I've been officially armed and licensed to distribute my propaganda!! (all in the blessed name of Journalism)

Watch out Mofos!!! Here I Come.....

By the way those weren't chocolate chips....

Well it seems like their bad business practices have come home to roost and The Department of Health just wasn't havin' it!!



The Cake Man Raven "bakery" (we'll discuss that title bakery in a few...) of Fort Greene Brooklyn has been closed by the DOH. The "bakery" famous for long lines, bad service and sometimes Red Velvet Cakes, was closed last Wednesday due to, according to Cake Man aka Raven Patrick De'Sean Dennis III, "a mixup with permits" (ie: shady).
But according to a follow up that was conducted by New York Magazine, the DOH released this statement:

Cake Man Raven was closed following a routine inspection on Wednesday, January 9, 2008. The inspection revealed that Cake Man Raven was using an un-permitted commercial kitchen to prepare some of the food they were selling. In addition, fresh mice droppings were observed and cakes were not stored at the proper temperatures to prevent spoilage. In order to reopen, Cake Man Raven must rectify the violations and contact the Health Department to schedule a re-opening inspection.

Shady, trifling, just plain ole bad business!!
Unfortunately I'm not surprised that Cake Man got caught out there. He is not the greatest business man and I'm shocked that he has been open as long as he has.
Personally, I've had many run-ins with this alleged "bakery" and found them to be simply ridiculous and severely lacking in honesty and customer service (Don't tell people the cakes are being iced when ya damn well know there's no cake in the entire building!!)

For more of the testimonies of this "bakery" check out its customer review on Citysearch...all 23 of them

A Closer look at Culture Snobette

well Miss J2da9 didn't think i'd do it....so take that chump, in you face!
u should know i love a good challenge...

Two Names you go by:
1. Deej
2. Headaches


Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. My boyfriend's pink sweater
2. Pajama pants (borrowed as well)

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. God
2. Constant Moments of Clarity

Two of your favorite things to do:
1. Going out to a new restaurant.
2. writing for my blog (i never knew how amazing this could be)

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. To get better (currently fighting a cold/flu, thanks dave)
2. To go back to Paris

Two pets you had/have:
1. Busta
2. All the gold fish i killed growing up (who knew they eat cold medicine..)

Two people you think will fill this out:
1. Lynda, if she had a blog
2. not sure

Two things you did last night:
1. i rested soo much that i thought i slept thru the entire night (8pm is not 8am dummy)
2. one word: Theraflu

Two things you ate today:
1. Grapefruit
2. Buttered bagel

Two people you last talked to:
1. Mom
2. Jaime

Two things you're doing tomorrow:
1. more meds and more rest
2. Try and make it to Sabbath lunch without making anyone else sick :(

Two longest car rides:
1. New york to Huntsville, Alabama ( 18 hrs going, 24 coming back)
2. some mad road trip from brooklyn to Disneyland with all of my cousins in a white Pontiac (oh to be 3 again)

Two favorite holidays:
1. I like them all
2. see above

Favorite beverages:
1. Champagne
2. Pineapple juice

Person no longer alive who you'd like to talk to:
1. Aunty Wilma
2. Mamaud and Grandad

No Pants in 2K8 Son!!

I saw this today on the New York Magazine website and I had to share...



Improv Everywhere has sent out the invitation to all to join them on their annual (thanks stupid head Jaime) No Pants Extravaganza!!
Improv Everywhere has been organizing this event since 2002 where train riders, under strict guidelines and protocol, take off their pants on the 6 train and ride from Brooklyn Bridge to 125st and back.

This is another reason why i absolutely love my freakin' city, people think up of random shit like this, and in the name of art and culture.... people actually do it!! It's genius!



Check out Improv Everywhere's website to see their previous "missions" and how you can join their artsy shenanigans...
ahh I live for this stuff.

Incase You Need to Brush Up on Your Gayness...

I don't know if i'm more shocked that this even exists or the fact that the University of Michigan thinks they can sum up homosexuality in 2-3 credits...
But Nonetheless if you feel your gayness slipping enroll in this English 317 class at the University to reinforce your homo.
I personally couldn't believe it till i viewed the entire course description on their online catalogue.
This class, entitled How to Be Gay: Male Homosexuality and Initiation, will introduce you to the cultural tenets of homosexuality: "Hollywood movies, grand opera, Broadway musicals, and other works of classical and popular music, as well as camp, diva-worship, drag, muscle culture, taste, style, and political activism.".......ahh this is too much for me.

Honestly, if you have to learn how to be gay...then maybe you're not gay, (hey, i'm just saying...)

We must also take into consideration that this is an english course, so, more so than taking field trips tp the gym, tanning salons and cruising strips, they'll probably just observe the portrayal of homosexuality in literature.

Feel free to pass this on to your cousin, neighbor, or any friend that you feel is struggling in their drag get up and simply having a hard time owning their "gay".

Please Snobbers, Discuss I can't wait to hear what y'all have to say.

Gimme Some MO......MA

So i finally made it out to see the Seurat Drawings exhibit at MOMA yesterday...damn near a whole 2 months after I initially set out on my journey.
And while Seurat was an amazingly prolific artist; He created a shitload of these amazing pieces


And While he is a technical genius; Seurat did 'studies'(smaller detailed works) before all of his large canvas pieces. Most of them using the Conte Crayon and Michallet paper as the medium of choice.

Study


Large Canvas Piece

(Note the study figure is featured in the center of Bathers at Asniers.)

...Unfortunately I really wasn't able to sink my teeth into the works as I originally had hoped. For at the Museum yesterday there was an over abundance of this creature, so native to museums, exhibits, concerts and other cultural happenings....
Old White People.


No don't get me wrong, I am by no means racist, but Old White People have a tendency to move at an alarming slow rate and due to poor vision, get really close to the paintings taking all the good viewing space, therefore rendering you to the perimeter of any feasible viewing distance.

Now, While i realise that they probably contribute the majority of the funds that support museums...they don't have to hog all the good space like that!! Come on Son!!

...so Whatever. My Travel companions and I decided to mosey on down to Cafe 2 where we took a break (ie: 5 mins for art & 40 mins for Food) and sipped on delicious earl grey tea (hello free refils...get into it!) and nibbled on gourmet treats.
By far the star of the day was Danny Meyer the executive chef behind Cafe 2, Terrace 5 and The Modern, the trio of delicacies that are housed in the MOMA.

I ordered this lovely number
.. known as Affogato. Its an Italian dessert that combines Vanilla Gelato and Hot Espresso. I know what you're thinking, that just equals brown soupy/goo..
Quite the contrary, the consistency of the gelato holds up against the heat of the espresso yielding a softer gelato and a great dessert to add to your rotation.
It's super easy to make and a great way to impress dinner guests.

So next time you can't keep up with all of the hustle and bustle of museums, chill out take breather, and get something to eat.
PS: they also have wine and great imported beers...major plus!!

Fafi Hearts MAC... xoxo

Pictured here, busy at work in her studio, Fafi is cooking up some hotness for '08.
The Parisian Graffiti artist who is responsible for giving the world sugar sweet, yet uber sexy street art such as this ...



and that...



Is teaming up with MAC Cosmetics to create a make up line to preserve your sexy,(and yes i still that phrase, thanks Diddy).



The line will feature MAC staples such as LipGlass, EyeShadows, Nail Laquer that bear the Fafi signature or Fafinettes themselves. And while they will keep you shiny and pretty in this New Year, unfortunatley they won't give plump perfect breasts, bangin' proportions and green hair..(see above).

But nonetheless Make sure to check it out at a MAC near you....

Alice Smith on NPR

I called it months ago people....ALICE SMITH.



The genre bending chanteuse was recently interviewed on NPR (National Public Radio, get into it!!). On the Tell Me More segment, Smith discusses her musical influences, the re-release of her album For Lovers, Dreamers, and Me on a major record label and the ignorance behind creating music genres.


While the Interview tends to lag from time to time (I think i could've done a better job), its semi informative and hey, its great press.
Listen for yourselves and gimme some feedback...

PS: and how cute is it that she wanted to be a pediatrician and princess when she was a kid.

new year, same old BS

well hopefully not for me..
i'm whole heartedly want to get things on track this year.
i'm finally graduating from college this january.
and pending a vacation in paris, i'm sure i'll have some grand scheme for the world domination, (the world...ehhh, ok we'll start with flatbush).
either way stick with your girl and we'll see great things together... stay tuned baby, get rid of that hangover

and get into those new year resolutions

.....or maybe not.
but lets get it together my people and make the most out of this bitch '08.

Without Further Ado.... I Give you M.I.A.

So here it is in a nutshell: Atrice, Sam and Culture Snobette journeyed to a far away land, Philly, to witness the sounds and sights of the MIA, Santogold & Cool Kids Tour.





Santi was up first. I had the privilege of bumping into her on the streets of the east village a couple of weeks prior to the concert, and i truly like her. Santi's music is soo different than what most artists are pushing right now. And though there are many comparisons to her and MIA, upon further listening they become apples and oranges. Not to mention that she was one of the geniuses behind Res's Album
How I Do back in 2001.

Her live performance great, and towards the end of her set she brought on SpankRock and Amanda Blank to do Loose (aka She ain't nuthin but a hootchie mama).


SPANK RIZZLE

After Santi ripped, then came the Cool Kids. Who, unfortunately I just couldn't get with. They rapped about Bikes (black Mags or some nonsense like that), sneakers and other boy-stuff that just was not meant to be Snob-Approved....Simply not my cup of tea.


BOY #2 of The Cool Kids
Boy#1 wouldn't stand still long enough for a proper shot.


Next we had the Main Event, the Meat & potatoes, the center piece of this 3 ring circus, MIA.


MIA came out looking like a cross between George Clinton and DanceHall Queen 2025!!

She stood behind this sparkly podium thing and queued up her visual art for each song.



MIA had crazy energy during her performance, which included the ubiquitous stage dive, followed by a full lap around the crowd.




She closed her encore with Paper Planes, a song that brags of her abilities to produce visas, "I make 'em all day, ... I'll get one down in a second if you wait" are her words to be exact. But much to the contrary MIA mentioned during her encore that this was her last performance in the states and that she probably wouldn't be back for a while; she garbled something about having to wait till bush was out of office(1/20/09 in case you're wondering).

Well. we're glad we got our piece of MIA while we could.....

Oh and by the way, those 3 obnoxious girls bullying their way to the front, stepping on your shoes and laughing at your foreign clothes...yeah that was us

Great success!!!

Questionable Cover-age

Fact #245 about Culture Snobette: I am a Newsstand Addict!!
I absolutely adore magazines and publications in general and have been known to spend large amounts of Other People's Money on my voracious mag appetite.
So as apart of my self-imposed 12 Steps, I no longer have to buy each mag that I want/NEED. Thanks to steps 6 & 7, I can now simply peruse the covers, smell the pages and leave Universal News with my fix fully satisfied.

Anyway, while browsing the racks, I came across a few covers that were questionable to say the least, and others that were in clear Violation of The Culture Code of Ethics.

First up was Marie Claire


Christina, Whoring out your pregnancy for media coverage is a sad and dangerous game...We all saw what happened to Britney.... Now they only see mommy on saturdays and sundays between 12-4.

NOT SNOB-APPROVED!

Next up is KING


Now while I don't really expect much from this urban men's mag...I do expect more from it's cover girl Angel Melaku. Her parents are Ethiopian and Trinidadian and I hope they raised her better than this. Even if she is trying to parlay this videoHo thang (and yes, i did say thang!!) into an acting, singing, heck even book deal, she must know that know one is gonna take her seriously with such a huge ass. Point blank.
For further inspection


Hate to break it to ya...but you'll be doing bootie mags and BET Uncut till that thing starts to sag.
By the way Real or Fake????

NOT SNOB-APPROVED!

Last and definitely least is XXL



Lil Wayne. I'm over it. Period.

Coming from someone that grew up on AND with hip hop, someone who pressed their face to the window as The Notorious BIG's motorcade rolled pass that bleak day in Brooklyn, someone who has walked with the Greats (okay, maybe not all of that, but I was at an LL Cool J videoshoot and shook his hand).....Lil Wayne is neither great, nor good, muchless is his crap acceptable to anyone who has even heard of the word quality.

If you wanna listen to crappy hip hop while you're up in the club (Lil John & Ying Yang Twins), or even when you're taping your friends for YouTube (Chicken Noodle Soup & Soulja Boy), that's all well and good. But please people, Please I Implore you, don't exhalt these carbon copy "rappers" to the heights of Biggie, Tupac, Big L, Rakim.

And Most importantly "DON'T BELIVE THE HYPE" - Public Enemy



DEFINITELY NOT SNOB-APPROVED!

A-Train Girl Gang Attacks....

I recently came across this article and video on the website The Smoking Gun.
A gang of teenage girls attack a grown man on the A Train in Bedstuy section of Brooklyn.


Sounds crazy right... and whats even shadier is that the video was submitted to YouTube by one of the girls, who is an aspiring video director....

Smells fishy ehh?? ...Funny either way, to me at least

Check out the video, and tell me what you think...

By the Way, Meet My Homies Writer's Block

Hey Culture Snobbers out there, I wanna introduce you to my Spoken Word family Writer's Block.



This artist collective consist of a rotating cast of colorful and super-talented characters: Kesed Ragin, Soulful Jones, Falu, Jason Reynolds, Shanelle Gabrielle and last but definitely not least, the leader of the pack, RIP.



Each artist has reached heights of notoriety in their own right and under the suggestion of RIP have joined forces to destroy the existence of sucky poetry (no finger snapping please!!),and to knock the spoken word scene on its ass!!

Hmmm reminds me of another group......


I, Culture Snobbette, know all of them personally, and can attest to their lyrical capabilities, (ie: they are all FIERCE on the mic).

Therefore, it is soo very necessary to catch their debut performance at the Bowery Poetry Club on December 20 at The Black Power Poetry Party!!




Writer's Block is teaming up A.L.I.E.N. , the omniscient downtown extraterrestrials, to bring y'all this fly ass poetry set and super party.

Check Out their Trailer, and feel free to hit up their Myspace for more tracks and pics.

Diary of a Hustla!!

Yo, so i finally got my lazy ass out of bed and down to willamsburg to flip some barely worn clothes into COLD HARD CASH

The first stop was Buffalo Exchange on Driggs ave



I had heard many comparisons of Buffalo and Beacon's; some good some not so good.
Either way if they'd buy the shit i was slingin'...then they're fine by me.

Unfortunately: this place was a shithole: they're buying practices are lame. They only wanted items from current seasons, which is absolutely ridiculous. And they have no innate sense of style; which can severly thwart one's attempts to bump last season's mis-purchases and let-downs.

Let me put it to u this way...if i saw one more J Crew v-neck for $40, i was gonna storm out the door, holding back the vomit that their poor selection induced.

So from all my good shit they bought, a dress and a pair of Skiing gloves
SUB TOTAL: $17.55

Next I was on to that old stalwart of second and vintage shopping, Beacon's Closet



Now i've had good days and bad days at Beacon's and recently i was on the verge of ruling them out of my shopping rotation. but today they redeemed themselves.
At the selling counter i bumped into a stylist friend of mine, we started catching up and the associates over heard which Fly ASS Store i work for. I'm pretty sure that helped to sway their purchases from me...but shit, it ain't gonna hurt nobody!!

So Beacon's came thru and picked up most of my things for really good price (ex: the bought a dress for $25, and i paid $5 for it. NICE!)
I don't know what Buffalo was thinking, but they missed out on my Goodies!!!
SUB TOTAL: $39.75

GRAND TOTAL:$57.30

So i hopped back on the L train with an extra $57.30 in my pocket. And trust me, any smart working stiff knows that $57.30 can go a long way.