And The Winners Are for the Fela! Tix

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

I'm posting bright and early this Thursday morning to announce the winners of the free tickets to see Fela! on Broadway, next Tuesday night at 8 pm. So without further ado, the winners are:

1. Jackikay
2. Ms. "Unknown" Commenter #2 on Monday's post.
3. Hadiyyah
4. The Golden Papaya
5. Sharontina

Congratulations to you all! I hope you love the show. Now, here's what you have to do to get your two free tickets. Send me an email at myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com with your real name and an email address where your tickets can be sent. You will be able to print out your tickets and take them to the show for entry on Tuesday. But you must send me your emails by end of day today or else I will pass the tickets on to someone else. And people, if you know you can't make it to Tuesday's show, please let me know so I can give those tickets to another reader. Thank you all and congrats again.

Peace!

Fela! on Broadway: Vibrant and Thrilling

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

I know you're dying to know. How was Fela! on Broadway? People, it was AMAZING. I laughed. I cried. I danced. I fell in love with the music.

Even if you don't win a free pair of tickets from me, I encourage everyone to go see Fela! on Broadway before it closes on August 4, 2012.

The reviewers haven't lied. The show is vibrant and thrilling. At one point, before the second act even, the entire audience was on their feet, dancing and singing with the actors on stage. If you love world music, a good story, and fabulous dancing, Fela! will satisfy.

But here's why I LOVED the show so much. Fela Kuti has a truly fascinating and important life story. His contribution to music, politics, civil rights and the Black aesthetic is so huge, I can't believe more people, myself included, don't include him in the same conversations with Malcolm X, Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr. He used his art as protest. But make no mistake, he was an innovative and groundbreaking musician first. Clearly the show on Broadway didn't get into all of the controversy of Fela Kuti's life, after all, it's about entertainment first, but nonetheless, they give you enough information to make you want to know more. To come home and find out for yourself who the man behind the music really was.

The other reason I loved the show was that there were just so many beautiful Black people on the stage.  The African aesthetic was on full display, from the brilliant costumes, to the set design, to the AWESOME hairstyles. Afros, dreds, braids, oh my! It made my heart sing.

So, dear readers, you have until midnight tonight to leave a comment on Monday's post to be entered in the drawing. Five lucky readers will win a pair of tickets for next Tuesday's show.

Good Luck!

Peace!

FELA! Back on Broadway: Free Tickets for Meltingpot Readers!

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Today is your lucky day and mine. First, let's get it straight that Ms. Meltingpot loves a good Broadway show. After all, she named babygirl after her favorite character from the great White Way and though I've never really talked about it here, briefly entertained  the idea of a career as a great stage performer. Musical comedy was going to be my thing. But, alas, Ms. Meltingpot cannot sing worth a lick.

So, instead, I just enjoy as many shows as I can...and pray one of my children will have a voice that can take him all the way to Broadway. I'm kidding. Sort of.  But I'm getting so far away from the point. And the point is, tonight I'm going to see FELA! on Broadway! Yes, I mean the 2010 Tony-award winning show about the Nigerian musical genius and political activist, Fela Kuti. Yes, the one produced by Jay-Z, Will and Jada Pinket-Smith, and Ahmir 'Questlove' Thompson from the Roots. Yes, the one that is back on Broadway for only six-weeks. Yours truly is going tonight.

And here's the thing. While I can enjoy most any good song and dance, coupled with an overly dramatic story line, I obviously have a soft spot for a show with a Meltingpot sensibility. Check out the following description of Fela! from Down Beat magazine and tell me this doesn't have Meltingpot written all over it.

" In addition to being visually and musically explosive, “Fela!” elucidates Kuti's politics and run-ins with the law. It contextualizes his convictions in relation to U.S. civil rights activism and illuminates African religion and culture. It also demonstrates how African rhythms, calypso, James Brown, John Coltrane, Chano Pozo and Martin Luther King Jr. all informed both his music and political stance."


I am so excited. And the thrill isn't only mine. I have five pairs of tickets for the 8pm evening show on July 17 to give away to you, my dear readers! If you want to see Fela! on Broadway for free, all you have to do is leave a comment here and tell me why you want to see the show. I will randomly draw five names on Wednesday (July 11) night at midnight. Winners will be posted on Thursday (July 12) morning. So check back on Thursday to see if you won and to collect your tix.


Here's a preview of Fela!



Be inspired.


Peace!

Amish Fiction, A Big Announcement and a Giveaway too!

Meltingpot Readers,

Anybody out there a fan of Amish fiction? Or like me, up until this very moment were you completely unaware that the Amish fiction genre even existed? Don't be ashamed to admit that you were in the dark about these "bonnet-ripper romances." I have nothing to say about Amish fiction except that I think it's a fascinating sub-category of fiction and apparently it's a hot genre too. Here's a great Time Magazine article about the growing popularity of Amish fiction. Go figure. Let me know what you think about that.

And in other news...

I have a big announcement that I'm going to save for Wednesday. I thought I'd turn it into a guessing game though for you my faithful readers. The hint is this: My life will soon imitate my art. If you want to guess what my announcement is, leave a comment. Any correct answers left by 10am Wednesday morning will be put in a drawing to receive a copy of either Substitute Me or Kinky Gazpacho.

Let the guessing begin.

I'm listening.

Peace!

Summer Learning And a Giveaway Too!

Hi Meltingpot Readers,

Does your kid know where Kosovo is? Mine don't. They also get confused with the difference between a city and a state. On the other hand, my five-year old can name all five oceans and the seven continents. In other words, they're pretty much where they should be. But I think they could learn more about the world around them. And I don't want their brains to get mushy over the summer.

As a frustrated elementary school teacher (you know I have a degree in education) I look forward to summer because I get to "homeschool" my kids. Now for me homeschool in the summer means looking for exciting, educational things to do in our hometown. And of course, if the activities are free, even better. So we're going to the zoo (we have a membership), the Art Museum (on Free Sundays) and the library a lot. And my biggest coup? My older son is going to Arabic language and culture camp. He won a full scholarship for this awesome three-week camp. I can't believe our good luck and fortune.

What are you doing this summer with your kids or for yourself? Do you look to summer as a chance to learn something new or try a new class or something? My own summer project is to learn how to compost. I'm so excited. Yesterday I bought my composting bin and today I get started before the next heat wave hits. My kids want me to use worms, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm doing barebones composting.

Maybe you just want to read a new book over the summer? About a topic that's new for you? To get you started, I'm giving away a hardcover copy of Katherine Patterson's latest, The Day of the Pelican. The book is a YA novel about an Albanian family living in Kosovo right before war breaks out in the '90s. It's a great book for older tweens and young teens. A great book to read aloud as a family and discuss. I enjoyed it a lot and learned so much about an ethnic conflict I never understood before.

Leave a comment about your summer 'educational' plans before midnight on Friday to be entered in the drawing for a copy of the book.

Here's to learning something new!

Peace!

Food for Thought -- And a Giveaway Too!

Last night I made tandori chicken and collard greens for dinner. Does that sound strange? Well, it made sense to me for a hot second and it didn't turn out half bad. To complement the chicken and greens, I sent el esposo to the Indian take-out restaurant around the corner for samosas and chana masala (chick peas). That's the way I keep our meals exciting around here in our Kinky Gazpacho household.

To be honest, the tandori chicken was tasty and perfectly cooked, but it tasted like regular old baked chicken. It was about as tandori as my left toe. (sigh). But I'm still proud of myself. I bought an enormous Indian cook book (another Borders going-out-of business sale item) and decided one of my New Year's resolutions should be to learn how to cook Indian food...without the aid of Trader Joe's simmer sauces.

I love Indian food and now that I've started living a wheat-free lifestyle, I find Indian food quite satisfying, as they use a lot of chickpea, rice and tapioca flours. So instead of giving my life savings to the owners of the Indian restaurant in my neighborhood, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Now, I'm not going to go all Julie and Julia and swear to make an Indian recipe every day of the year, but I am going to make a real effort to plow through this recipe book and master the art of Indian cooking. Wish me luck. I mean we all need a challenge right. If anyone has any suggestions or recipe ideas, feel free to send them my way. I'll keep you posted on my progress. My biggest challenge is going to be sticking to the exact recipe (I have a problem following directions.) and not getting intimated by the long ingredient list for almost every recipe.

Now, speaking of New Year's Resolutions. I'm curious if you all have made your list. Somehow, the older I get, the less inclined I am to make that "list." But I do always look forward to the new year as an opportunity to re-evaluate my life. See what I'm doing right and give myself the chance to "do-over" what I"m not too happy about. I firmly believe January 1st presents a perfect opportunity to start fresh in whatever we want to change. That's why I'm so excited about my friend Eileen Flanagan's new book, The Wisdom to Know the Difference. The book's subtitle is "When to Make a Change--and When to Let Go," and it is the perfect primer for looking at your life and deciding what needs adjustment.

In the book, Eileen talks to dozens of people who have made extraordinary decisions in their lives when faced with serious challenges, ranging from the death of a loved one to surviving hurricane Katrina. In a way it's a spiritual, how-to book, but without the preachy how-to dogma (For the record, Eileen is a Quaker). The book has been so well received, even the Dalai Lama is a fan! He actually wrote a blurb for the book. His words, "The Wisdom to Know the Difference is about being able to change. What is important is that we can make a change and transform ourselves into better, happier people."

And now one of you lucky readers can have an autographed copy of Eileen's book and start making your own life, better and happier. You have until Sunday night, January 16th to post a comment and be entered in the drawing. You must tell me one of your own "resolutions" or tell us why you don't write resolutions. I'm happy either way.

Happy weekend.

Peace!

And the Winner is...

Hello Meltingpot Readers,

Sorry for falling off the face of the blogosphere. Between Thanksgiving preparations and working on the final edits of my novel (which is due in two weeks) the Meltingpot got left behind. I apologize profusely. But let's not dwell on the past. Instead, let's talk about the winner of my Kinky Gazpacho Giveaway.

Ms. E. You won! So please send us an email at myamericanmeltingpot@gmail.com with a mailing address and we will send you a copy of Kinky Gazpacho, the book and the t-shirt from ?RU.

And speaking of giveaways...I'm in a giving mood this season and have some wonderful books to give away that would make wonderful gifts. We're talking memoirs, how-tos and spirituality focused tomes. Books that are guaranteed to make you feel good after reading.

So please stay-tuned to the Meltingpot. Thanks!

Peace!

And the Winner Is...

Melissa!!!! (The last poster)

You won the autographed copy of Carleen Brice's new novel, Children of the Waters!

Please send Carleen an email with your mailing address to Carleen@CarleenBrice.com. Mention the Meltingpot and she'll send you your copy right away.

For the rest of you, thanks for posting your comments, and I should be (fingers crossed) back online tomorrow.

Thank you for your patience.

Peace!