Watch This — The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl

It almost hurts to admit it: I watch "Single Ladies."

There. Ripped that Band-Aid right on off. I feel liberated...but no less dirty.

Now, I don't watch it to the point where I know all the characters' names by heart, nor do I even have the programming info memorized. But if it's on (and it's, seemingly, always on), I'll watch it.

I'm shamefaced about this because — for those of you who can honestly say they've never seen it — it is horrendous. It's like a black "Sex and the City" set in some R&B music video fantasy depiction of Atlanta. There is zero acting ability involved, with emphasis placed, instead, on a.) how well (outgoing) star Stacey Dash is preserving herself and, b.) how short and tight a dress can possibly be before it's considered a tank top.

And, sadly, "Single Ladies" is one of the few predominately black ensemble cast shows on scripted TV anymore. It makes me long for "A Different World," or even "Moesha."

I'm not saying it's "set the race back" bad, but it certainly isn't charting any new, or needed territory. All the same, it's proving to be ratings gold for VH1. Meanwhile, innovator Issa Rae has to resort to Kickstarter pan-handling to fund her series of webisodes, "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl."

Full disclosure: It took me a few episodes to get into "ABG," but by the end of Ep 4, I was all in. I'm even anxiously awaiting the latest installment (promised for next Thursday, Sept. 8). I could explain it all, but it's best to just watch the series for yourself. Here's the first episode...

Wantables, The Birthday Edition — Yoóbu Bags

Parasol tote by outofafrika, $90.

Around this time of year, I start crafting birthday wish lists (much like when I was 16). Who's going to use them to advise their purchases? No one (much like when I was 16).

Wishful thinking, or no, these handcrafted Yoóbu bags by outofafrika (found via Fly) are certainly on this year's list.

Mustard wristlet, $48.

The wristlets seem like perfect pop-of-color accessories to add to otherwise basic outfits. But my "carry nothing beside ID, ATM card, keys and lip gloss" days are long behind me. As such, the big shoulder bags and totes speak to my pack mule/Mom reality.

Kaleidoscope bag, $105.

The Denise Huxtable in me thoroughly approves!

So, if any of you readers want to pool your resources and get on my VERY good side, y'all now know what's up!

Crowded Teeth, Pt. 2

As promised, here are pics from last weekend's Crowded Teeth show at the seriously-why-didn't-anyone-tell-me-how-cute (?!!?) Leanna Lin's Wonderland.

Of course, there were the requisite cake pops. Kinda over cake pops, guys. Right there tied with cupcakes for triteness. All the same, I'm totally jackin' this presentation for our next birthday party.

We took gratuitous amounts of free snapshots in the mobile photo booth, met the artist — who was lovely and gracious — and even made a new friend, the very cool creator of Spicy Brown tees.

The swag bag was a Chinese take-out box filled with cuteness, including cupcake lipgloss, a Baggu bag, a charming mini box of dinner-time questions by The Box Girls and a sweet little charm locket (which my kid has already lost).

We picked up a set of Crowded Teeth earrings for the little one's tiny pierced ears. True to form, I hesitated and the art piece I wanted was swiped from underneath my nose. Maybe I'll hit up the next Crowded Teeth show at Munky King on Aug. 20...

Art I Heart — Crowded Teeth

What am I doing with my Saturday night (besides veggie-bargaining, dish-washing and bedtime-administering)?

We're planning to keep it local, visiting Leanna Lin's Wonderland in Eagle Rock for the store's 1st Birthday party, which coincides with the opening of their Crowded Teeth + Friends exhibit party. Crowded Teeth is Michelle Romo, an area artist/designer who clearly is as committed to cuteness as I am.

There will be the now-standard L.A. event stuff: fusion-y food trucks, photo booths, artisinal ice cream, felt stuff with owls on it. You know.

Oh, and my personal favorite, Deth P. Sun has some pieces in the show, too.

The event's going down in conjunction with something called, "The Northeast Los Angeles 2nd Saturday Gallery Night." I don't know about all that, but...bring on the cuteness!

I'll post party pics later.

Song of the Day

Hmm...I was all set to post this song because I can't stop listening to it lately.

But then, I went on the Toro Y Moi blog and learned that the track ("Still Sound") was just included on an episode of "Entourage." Ugh.

Regardless! It's still solid. And I can't fault Chaz Bundick for getting his paper.

So...

BTW, Toro Y Moi's playing at the El Rey the day before my birthday...if you were wondering what to get me as a gift.

Dinner Party Download armed me with banter...now where are my invitations?

The wittiest guys in the room; Brendan Francis Newnam (L),

Rico Gagliano (R).

You're washing dishes, folding laundry, returning Ikea rejects, or doing any number of mundane tasks that could use a bit of spicing up.

Enter The Dinner Party Download.

These podcasts brief you on current events, a bit of history trivia (which, then, serves as the leitmotif for an accompanying cocktail recipe), an interview with a pop culture figure, a head's up on a new and/or interesting foodie trend, plus, a lesser-known musical gem to end the show. And they manage to cram all this into less than 15 minutes. Even better, the hosts — Rico Gagliano and Brendan Francis Newnam — come across as clever, charming and much cooler than your average public radio hosts. (Maybe you caught the duo recently on "Rocco's Dinner Party," where they were woefully underused.)

I first learned about DPD last month, thanks to Racked LA, and I've been playing catch-up ever since.

Their guest roster is impressively diverse and compelling. There's Serena Williams exposing her inner-nerd, Ishmael Butler of Shabazz Palaces explaining "swag," Carrie Brownstein, Das Racist, Paul Giamatti, Richard Ayoade, Robert Wagner (?) and on and on for more than 100 episodes.

Most recently, they spoke with my beloved Don Cheadle, then discussed the elusive speculoos. Check it out:

And just because I had the maddest crush on Ishmael Butler back when he was better known as "Butterfly" from the Digable Planets, here's the segment where he's featured:

Art I Heart — Os Gemeos

Yesterday, we finally made it to the last day of the Art in the Streets exhibit at MOCA, after having dragged our feet about it during its entire run. It was amazing, if not a bit overwhelming and uncomfortably over-crowded.

Yeah, there was a cluster of Banksy pieces. Yes, the Rammellzee black-lit lair was fun, in a post-apocalyptic kind of way. And the city-within-a-gallery "Street" installation was incredibly detailed and packed with clever touches.

But, by far, Os Gemeos swept the show for me. I was aware of the Brazilian twin brothers, but had never been face to face with their work. It was colorful, playful and engaging — a nice balance to some of the rougher, more street-tough representations of graffiti. (Who knows? Maybe I was seeing it all through Mommy-vision.)

Admittedly, this is a pretty lousy photo. On the left was a wall filled with doors and two shacks suspended from the ceiling. It had a definite a favela vibe. On the other side were dozens of speaker heads all playing music from reverberating mouths. And somewhere behind that crush of people was a set of musical instruments featuring more painted faces.

You can see some of their actual (comparatively grittier) street graffiti here.