OMG, Gossip Girl was FANTASTIC last night. And if you missed the wrap-up, here it is via a guy-gal pair in NYC somewhere. XOXO [NYMag]

Remember that movie Traffic, well a-la that drug-trafficking-from-South America (and Mexico)-to-the-US plotline, 14 real life Columbian drug lords are being shipped to the US to face charges for, what else, drugs. [BBC]

As my boy said, rapper Remy Ma gets eight years for shooting her ex-babysitter and Sean Bell’s killer trio are planning for the Fourth of July. SMH… [VillageVoice]

So, today, instead of Zimbabwe, it’s Malawi. Four opposition officials were arrested for attempting to overthrow President Bingu wa Mutharika. Speaking of, Mugabe’s been a little quiet lately. Hm… [BBC]

Steely D here, hit me at dsteel@parlourmagazine.com. Sorry your Tea’s late…it’s been a LONG day.

So I did do the Mother’s Day (weekend) menu that I put up in my last post with the exception of the ribs. A time crunch and an attack of laziness steered me toward fried catfish instead of the three-hour-prep-time ribs I was contemplating. The final menu was collard greens, potato salad, fried catfish and bread pudding.
On the way home from the train station my mother reminded me that her favorite dessert is bread pudding so in the interest of making the weekend all about her, I made an impromptu pudding from the loaf of challah bread I’d intended for French toast. Again, my calculus was which would she like better? Bread pudding won hands down. I’m not going to give you guys the recipe here because honestly, it was a little dry. I’ll work on it and get back to you guys. (more…)

Clearly, we stan for these four…but I really like their album’s title track, “Viva La Vida.” Listen here. What do you think ladies?

-Steely D

Props to Kanye’s blog

ps. am I the only one who likes Joy Division? What other music would you like us to cover here at Parlour?

image via James Dimmock for Gannett News Service

If you’re like me, you’ve been penny pinching like crazy lately– carpooling with strangers to visit fam down south, splitting entrees at restaurants, sprucing up last summers sandals instead of buying new ones. And, with the exception of my Revive Moisturizing Renewal Cream, I’ve had to find ways to cut back on my beauty budget, too. Thanks to these cheapies-but-goodies, recession-readying my beauty loot has been a piece of cake. (more…)

So I went to Howard University for undergrad (Go Bison!). Most cats think of homecoming when they think of my alma mater, but there’s so much more to it: an amazing education, an extraordinarily international population (with students from more than 50 countries)… and mansharing.
Yup. With two to three women for every man, this practice runs rampant on the campus of the real HU (I second that–JBaker). It seems that when faced with the prospect of having no man at all or dating a dude from “the area,” splitting one with the chick on the third floor of the dorm next door really isn’t that bad a deal. We’ve already talked about the idea that a disproportionate number of the eligible men of color in this country are, shall we say, inaccessible. Could it be that polygamy is the solution? (more…)

The Sex And The City crew debuted their movie yesterday in London. For some reason…is it me, or is the thrill gone? Or maybe I just hate their outfits. {Telegraph}

Sadly, more natural disasters are troubling the globe. Yesterday in China, a massive earthquake rocked the mountainous region in the Sichuan province. {BBC}

In Nigeria, former president Olusegun Obasanjo is denying any involvement in the coruption of the country’s power industry. An African official denying corruption? Yawn (sadly). When it came time for him to face the music, he sent a letter to the House of Representatives as he was “slightly indisposed”. I’m going to send that same letter to my job tomorrow. {DailyTrust}

Yong Sun Harvill is a prisoner awaiting deportation and victim of cancer. Why is she being deported? She bought stolen jewelry…10 years ago. Ok, now that we’ve established that absurdity, why isn’t she receiving any (humane) medical treatment? {WashPo}

For 12-year olds doing the latest dance, go to YouTube, for porn go to RedTube, for Jesus–holla at GodTube. {IHT}

Give Bloomberg a break! While trying to console the NYC Chinese community, Mr. Mayor decided to flip it in Chinese…but he kinda/sorta used the wrong phrase. Next time you are getting Schezuan Chicken, try ordering it in perfect dialect. {NYT}

-JBaker

Meet 93 year-old Claire Oesch, one of our new patron saints, whose profile was published in today’s New York Times. Other than being one of the city’s oldest barflys, she is also full of charm, elegance and wit:

“As for why she never married Mr. Sterlini, she said: “He was already married — to his Italian mama. I said no. I’m too independent.”

A native of Switzerland, Ms. Oesch is a testament to independence and style at any age. Personally, I love sitting at a cozy bar with a pint of beer or a glass of my favorite whiskey and a good newspaper and watching life happen, so if this is my future–bring it on! If you ever get up to Café des Artistes one of these evenings, send a glass of red wine her way and tell her that I sent you.

Once a Hostess, Now a Bar’s Grande Dame {NYTimes}

Since we gave up on the Ebony Fashion Fair a long time ago (F’real? You guys are expensive.), we created The Minority Report to be used so when you actually see a minority on the runway, you know their name! For vol.4 we will span the globe from Sudan, to Korea and off to Nigeria (besos to my Naija gals!). (more…)

OOOOOOH, a new blackberry. **foaming at the mouth** [Star]

Wanna try to overthrow the government and get pardoned? Move to the Philippines. [BBC]

PICTURES PICTURES PICTURES. New York does fall fashion. I’m excited about the white shirt and goth resurgence. What would you actually wear? [NYMag]

The McCartney’s are finally REALLY divorced. I really don’t like the ex wife. Who gets multiple millions in a settlement and complains?!?! [BBC]

NYPD tried to rough up their highest uniformed black officer (f*&*in’ idiots), while in Inglewood, CA, police thought they saw a gun so they killed a one person and wounded another. Of course, no guns were found. I want to believe the police like me, but it’s REALLY getting hard. [AP] [LAT]

And because we love her, model Chanel Iman, gets her very own feature. Go brown models!!! [NYMag]

Umm, Jbakes and I don’t really what to call this…maybe Strokers mixed with a lil’ Sixteen Candles? [D-listed]

Steely D here, hit me at dsteel@parlourmagazine.com. Remember when I said I wanted to “watch Ironman?” Well, I did and while it was cool, I don’t think it was the best flick I’ve ever seen. Bring on The Dark Knight! Toodles!

Bundy threw me these first two songs, “This Ain’t Sex” and “Play Me,” this morning. I’m not really feeling either to be honest, but I’ll throw in “Trading Places” for giggles…and because that’s the only one that I actually like.

Listen to “This Ain’t Sex” here, “Play Me” here and “Trading Places” here**.

What do you think, ladies? Oh yeah, and don’t forget to read his exclusive Parlour interview here. Happy Monday!

-Steely D

PS. I should be listening to Here I Stand in it’s entirety this week, I’ll keep you posted…Please God, I want to like it.

props to TGJ, HIF, PB