So You Think You Can Dance?

Attention: Atlanta Area Dancers! Atlanta's Resource for Entertainment and the Arts (AREA) is presenting a workshop of Master Classes on Saturday, October 30, 2010. This workshop will be facilitated by some of the most phenomenal choreographers and performance enthusiasts in the city.

Details for enrollment and registration are on the flyer. You can also visit www.myareaatlanta.com to get acquainted with the studio and programming. I highly recommend participating, as I have seen all of them in action.

Do yourself a favor and DANCE!

Halloween 2010 Countdown: Cocktails

We are approximately 96 hours away from the scariest night of the year and Halloween enthusiasts worldwide are preparing to put in the ritz! For the younger sect, the holiday is all about dressing up and trolling for sweet treats. For those like, it's all about dressing up and being stylishly social!

So, for the next four days, Social Science will help you pull your Halloween plans together with a little flair. Today's lesson is on COCKTAILS!

Enjoy these five, easy recipes that your guests will not be able to live without. Serve them and send pics!

The Melon Eye-Tini

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 parts Midori Melon liqueur
• 3/4 parts SKYY Infusions Citrus Vodka
• 1/2 part Finest Call Agave Syrup
• 2 parts of Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale
• 2 parts Finest Call Sweet & Sour Mix
• 3 Orange Wedges
• 2 Fresh Ripped Basil Leaves
• Strawberry Sundae Syrup
• Red seedless grapes for garnish
• Spanked basil for garnish

Preparation:

1. In a shaker glass combine Midori Melon liqueur, SKYY infusions Citrus, Finest Call Agave Syrup, 3 Orange Wedges and 2 Fresh Ripped Basil Leaves.
2. Muddle ingredients together.
3. Add ice and Finest Call Sweet & Sour Mix.
4. Shake for 10 seconds.
5. Add Canada Dry Green Tea Ginger Ale and roll drink back and forth between your mixing tin and shaker glass.
6. Strain into a chilled martini glass drizzled with Strawberry Sundae Syrup to give an effect of a bloodshot eye.

Garnish: Chilled red seedless grape at bottom of glass (To look like an eyeball) and spanked Basil leaf floated on top of cocktail for aroma.

The Green Ghoul

Ingredients:

• 1 part Midori Melon Liqueur
• 1/2 part Strega Liqueur or Yellow Chartreuse
• 1/2 part Canton Ginger liqueur
• Ginger Beer or Ginger Ale

Preparation:

1. Add first 3 ingredients into a shaker glass, add ice.
2. Shake well.
3. Strain over ice in a collins glass.
4. Line the inside of a wine glass with strands of black licorice.
5. Pour in contents of the collins glass and fill with ginger beer or ginger ale

Bloody Rum Punch

Ingredients:

• 1 750ml bottle of DonQ Cristal rum
• 1/2 bottle red wine
• 6 oz. fresh lime juice
• 6 oz. triple sec liqueur
• 6 oz. simple syrup
• 2 limes sliced in thin wheels
• 2 red oranges sliced in thin wheels

Preparation:

1. Add all ingredients into a large punch bowl and place in the refrigerator for at least two hours before serving.
2. Serve over ice in a punch glass.

Dracula's Kiss

Ingredients:

• 1 oz black cherry vodka
• 1/2 oz grenadine
• cola
• maraschino cherries for garnish

Preparation:

1. Coat the bottom of a highball glass with grenadine.
2. Add ice and vodka.
3. Fill with cola.
4. Garnish with cherries.

Candy Corn

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz. Kettle Corn-infused Bombay Sapphire Gin(recipe below)
• 1/2 oz. Moscato wine (sweet dessert wine)
• 3/4 oz. home-made citrus peel grenadine syrup (recipe below)
• 3 candy corns for garnish
• --
• Additional ingredients needed:
• kettle corn
• sugar
• orange and lemon skins

Preparation:

1. Add all ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice.
2. Shake very well.
3. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
4. Garnish with 3 candy corns.

Kettle Corn-infused Bombay Sapphire

1. For every 750ml bottle of Bombay Sapphire, add in 1 cup kettle corn.
2. Allow to infuse in an airtight container for approx. 24 hrs.
3. Fine strain kettle corn and re-bottle.
4. Store in fridge.

Citrus Peel Grenadine Syrup

1. For every 1 cup of POM wonderful pomegranate juice, dissolve 1 cup granulated sugar over stove top.
2. Once dissolved, add in the skins of 1 orange and 1 lemon and simmer for 10 mins.
3. Remove skins and chill syrup.

Are You Ready, To Be ENTERTAINED!

Hot off the press, the "Queen B" is preparing to release the highly anticipated "I AM" World Tour DVD. The DVD will take viewers inside Beyonce's third concert tour, that supported the "I Am. . Sasha Fierce" album and visited the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.

In 2009, the tour was nominated for "Eventful Fans' Choice Award" at the 6th Annual Billboard Touring Awards. The tour is estimated to have grossed over $103 million based on 97 concerts reported to Billboard.

I experienced the show, live, and cannot possibly say how AWESOME it was! From uncontrollable pyrotechnics to Beyonce walking on air, the show was FIERCE! There's no way you don't believe me, but in case you need proof, grab the DVD, in stores NOVEMBER 29!

"For Colored Girls" New York Premiere, Cont.

"For Colored Girls" New York Premiere

Tyler Perry premiered his upcoming film, For Colored Girls, earlier this week at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City. In attendance were all the cast members, Ntozake Shange, and some of our favorite celebrities and socialites. The The film opens on November 5, worldwide. We can't wait!

Is "GLEE" still Rated PG?

If you're a self-proclaimed "GLEEK", like me, you can't get enough of the biggest television show in America - GLEE. Each week, the show provides 60-minutes that will guarantee a little bit of typical high-school drama with a drop of sex and rock & roll!

The November issue of GQ Magazine just raised the stakes and took gleeksters Lea Michele, Diana Agron, and Cory Monteith from PG to ummmmmm ...... something sexy!

Check out shots from the spread and tune in to GLEE to see the full experience.

Ciao!

Sweet Repeat: Just Like Candy!

In a time where "playing a game", to most kids, means plugging something into the television and exercising some serious finger routines, classic board games are almost non-existent in children's entertainment repertoire. So, for those of us that do still get a nostalgic feeling from assembling in the living room and opening the board game box, prepare for a new twist on an old classic!

Remember Candy Land? Hasbro has launched a new, redesigned Candy Land for an even sweeter gaming experience! What’s new? In addition to an eye-popping 3D board design, Candy Land now has new worlds, including Cupcake Commons, Ice Cream Slopes, Gummy Hills and Chocolate Mountain. Gamers can create delicious treats at the Cupcake Commons, compete in a snowboard race down the Ice Cream Slopes and climb to the top of Chocolate Mountain. And of course, King Kandy and the gang are still around to guide players through their adventure.

Gather the crew for a game night and add this to the list. Hey, don't be ashamed! They'll forever be a little bit of "kid" in all of us!

You're Invited . . .

Somewhere Over The Rainbow

Critics have gone back and forth about Tyler Perry's bringing his version of Ntozake Shange's seminal work For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf to the big screen. Perry, whose films have broad appeal but are often critiqued for having flat characters and story lines and low production values, is taking a stab at a play that is considered high art. Executive produced by Perry and Nzingha Stewart, For Colored Girls will be out in theaters on November 5. The movie features Whoopi Goldberg, Kerry Washington, Loretta Devine, Anika Noni Rose, Thandie Newton, Kimberly Elise and Phylicia Rashad. Janet Jackson and Macy Gray round out the cast.

Perry released a letter to his fans and critics alike yesterday.

We are only a little more than 3 weeks out from FOR COLORED GIRLS, which
opens on November 5th. Wow, time is flying! I wanted to talk to you for
just a second about this film. There has been a lot of Internet chatter
about me doing this film. I've heard everything from, "I'm glad he's doing
it!", to "How dare he touch this!". Believe me, I know that this is
sensitive material and I handled it that way. If you don't believe me see
for yourself on November 5th.

If you know anything about the book or play, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE
CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF, which is what my film is
based on, then you know that it is one of the most powerful literary works
of this century. But, if you know it, you are also thinking like I was,
"How can I make this into a movie?"

After reading the play a thousand times and listening to these poems a
million times, it hit me. There was only one way to approach it. So what
I did was, I put these characters in the situations around the poems, so
that they could speak the dialogue of the book without it sounding like a
poem. And I have to tell you, I wasn't sure that it could be done. But,
after listening to Phylicia Rashad, Thandie Newton, Kerry Washington, Macy
Gray, Kimberly Elise, Tessa Thompson, Whoopi Goldberg, Loretta Devine,
Anika Noni Rose and Janet Jackson say these words it was awesomely
seemless.

The stories are about eight women who live in NYC and we follow them
through their lives; follow them through loving, losing, giving too much
of themselves, being hurt and betrayed, but most of all, we follow each of
these women as they find love for themselves.

This movie is powerful. It is incredible. The performances in it are
astonishing, but most of all this film will leave you lifted.

I don't know if you know this either, but never in the history of a
feature film has there been an ensemble of this many black women. That
alone is worth celebrating. I hope you are planning to see it on November
5th.

By the way, you don't have to be a colored girl to be able to relate to
and enjoy this movie.

"For Colored Girls . . ." happens to be one of the most amazing literary pieces that i've ever read and seen performed live. As many times as I can catch it on stage, I see it. I am beyond excited about the movie and I have faith that Tyler and his team have produced a phenomenal project.

Check back for news on a moderated discussion, led by me, on FCG and tickets to the Atlanta sneak peek.

Ciao!

Cover to Cover, The Celebration Continues!

Five new tribute covers of EBONY Magazine's 65th Anniversary Issue have been released. The covers feature singer Mary J. Blige as Diana Ross, actress Taraji P. Henson as Diahann Carroll, musician John Legend as Duke Ellington, actor Blair Underwood as Sidney Poitier and actor Lamman Rucker as Richard Roundtree.

From the covers alone, I know the issue, on stands in two weeks, will be phenomenal and indeed a keepsake.

Enjoy!