So evidently, I am waist deep in “the kool aid” and have unknowingly joined the Oprah cult. I am only half-joking. I’m walking around town toting the bright, orange covered book “A New Earth” by Eckhart Tolle — excited that I finally found the time to read an Oprah book club selection. And lo and behold…just google “oprah” and “cult” and you’ll see what I mean. Christians are attacking the “new age” philosophies from the book. I’m not going to get all religious up in here (ok, I know that was a bit urban…lol), but come to your own conclusions.
I maintain that I have a strong mind and that I am secure with my beliefs, so this book isn’t going to change that. I’ll finish the final two chapters and then I can judge fairly. There are bits and pieces that I agree may be helpful — for instance, understanding more about the ego, materialism, and the roles that we play in society. But, don’t listen to me…judge for yourself!
The “Is Oprah Starting Her Own Cult?” article is what really got me thinking…oh wait, according to the book “thought” is for suckers (lol). Okay, it doesn’t really say that. All I’m saying is, if you know me and you see me walking around town with a shaved head like Rerun from What’s Happening when he joined the cult…I welcome an intervention!
After 15 years, Karibu Books is closing. Wow…first of all I can’t believe it’s been 15 years! I remember their days back at Landover Mall. I remember being excited when they opened at Prince George’s Plaza. My hope is that the concept of Karibu can be salvaged to carry on the store’s core mission for African American authors, readers, etc. See below text from an e-mail I recevied (an evidently also posted on the Karibu Books Web site) sharing the unfortunate news of the store’s closing. The Washington Post has a detailed article about the reasons for closing, citing differences in the direction of the Blck-owned book stores.
After 15 years of service within the Washington, DC metropolitan area, Karibu Books, a Black bookstore chain will be closing its doors. We sincerely thank each and every one of you for your patronage and support. We are optimistic that our mission to empower and educate through a comprehensive selection of books by and about people of African descent will continue to resonate within the communities we proudly served.
Since 1993, we have been blessed to help thousands of local, regional and national authors share their incredible stories of faith, hope, love, peace, politics and race. We can’t begin to express our gratitude for the countless authors who have graced our six stores and enriched our customers’ lives.
We will be closing our Security Square (Baltimore, MD) and Forestville locations on Sunday, January 27. The remaining locations, Bowie Town Center, The Mall at Prince Georges and Iverson Mall will close on Sunday, February 10. Our Pentagon City store is already closed.
Effective immediately, all inventory at all locations will be 50% off. All fixtures will also be available for purchase on February 10. See individual store managers for more information.
Again, we respectfully thank you for your loyalty, laughter and love.
I had the opportunity to borrow this cookbook recently and I was impressed! There are too many recipes to count that remind me of my mother’s Southern cooking—there is even a recipe for grits and also cheesy scrambled eggs. I made the Braised Oxtail and Pound Cake last weekend and I was in heaven.
I really like that the book includes basic dishes (beyond the Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006) like fried chicken, smothered chicken, potato salad, etc. It think the books is a good Christmas present for someone who loves to cook or for someone that needs help with the basics and can work up to more elaborate delicious dishes.
Of course I must mention the Oprah connection to Delilah Winder. Oprah picked Delilah’s Macaroni and Cheese as one her “best of the best” items back in 2003.
Last Saturday (10/6) was a pleasant day for the 3rd Annual Capital Bookfest at The Blvd at the Capital Centre in Largo, MD. The Capital Bookfest which is sponsored by The Washington Post features local and national authors.
The local authors tent behind Borders book store showcased plenty of talent. Among them was local motivational speaker Matthew C. Horne, author of “Your Best Life Possible Awaits You”. I also sat in on a panel titled “Real Men, Real Raw, Real Romance” with authors William Frederick Cooper, Alex Hairston, and Ammanuel Moore. It was informative to hear about how writers deal with Black male stereotypes in their novels.
Overall, the Capital Bookfest was an enjoyable outing. Prince George’s County is lucky to have a cultural event like this.
I caught up on Tivo a little bit and watched the Monday (10/1) airing of presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama on the Tyra Banks show. (Yes, I watch Tyra…I have mentioned previously that her show is my guilty pleasure.) Anyway, the Obama interview was very interesting. I learned a few new factoids about Obama that I didn’t know before. He talked about the loss of his mother from ovarian cancer when he was 34. It was inspiring to hear about his reasons, from a personal experience, behind his push for improved healthcare coverage in the U.S.
If you’re interested in the non-political highlights, he talked about his nine year old daughter not tolerating Paris Hilton (good for her!) and he shot a couple of baskets one-on-one with Tyra in her six inch heels. (Completely unrelated- I have trouble walking in three inch heels, but six inch heels?! Is that just me? lol) Anyway, below is a short clip of the interview…
Of course, many of the presidential hopefuls have been on talk shows like Letterman, Ellen, etc. But, you never know, Obama’s Tyra appearance may be this generation’s Clinton on Arsenio…remember the saxophone?
“Kindred” (a public access book discussion show) will be discussing the novel The Machiavelli Covenant by Allan Folsom on this month’s show. The book for next month is The Darkest Child by Delores Phillips. The show airs Monday at 7:30pm, Thursday at 7pm, and Friday at 10:30am. The CTV 76 programming schedule can be found at http://www.ctv76.com/76prog.html.
Local African American writer, William Powell, Jr. , has recently published a science fiction novel called Valkyrie. It is a wonderful tale that recounts the adventures of fictional, super-powered secret agent Myla Henderson.
” and the sequel “
.
) like fried chicken, smothered chicken, potato salad, etc. It think the books is a good Christmas present for someone who loves to cook or for someone that needs help with the basics and can work up to more elaborate delicious dishes.
. Also, I had the opportunity to see Washington Post columnist Michael Fletcher, co-author of both 
and 
. It was enthralling to listen to Mr. Fletcher contrast his book on Clarence Thomas with the just released Thomas book 
. During the Q&A session, I was amazed that 16 years after the confirmation hearings there are still strong opinions concerning Justice Thomas.
is on my books-to-read (or rather listen to on the iPod).
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