Karen Grigsby Bates

Dumbfoundead: A Rising Star In A Genre In Transition

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 20:26:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZFRlV9G9eg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xmk4a76CXTw

'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:26:00 +0000

It's a visual no parent wants to picture: a child describing what it's like to live in a house with no power for lights, heat or cooking. For many middle-class American parents, it's hard to imagine their family ever facing a situation like that.

1963 Emancipation Proclamation Party Lacked A Key Guest

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 12 Feb 2013 23:27:00 +0000

Fifty years ago, the White House was the site of an unusual party.

It was a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation's centennial, held on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and many of the guests were descendants of the people Lincoln's historic document freed.

But noticeably absent was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Bloomingdale's Lays Out Welcome Mat To Chinese Shoppers

Karen Grigsby Bates — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 11:36:00 +0000

A number of luxury retailers are rolling out tactics this year to mark the beginning of the Lunar New Year. For Bloomingdale's in New York City, though, reaching out to Asian shoppers during the cultural celebration is a decades-long tradition.

The upscale department store's marketing strategy traces back to 1971, the year President Nixon lifted the U.S. trade embargo with the People's Republic of China.

Aretha Franklin Was Already Famous, But Her Hat-Maker Wasn't

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 08:22:00 +0000

After the first Obama inauguration, everybody talked about three things: the historic moment, the Arctic weather — and Aretha Franklin's hat.

If it is possible for a piece of millinery to steal the thunder of one of the most-watched moments in recent memory, the Queen of Soul's hat managed to do it. Her gray felt cloche was topped with a giant, matching bow, outlined in rhinestones that flashed in the chill sunlight as she sang "My Country 'Tis of Thee."

She took the crowd to church in more ways than one.

'Living' In Color, Long Before 'Girls'

Karen Grigsby Bates — Fri, 11 Jan 2013 08:19:00 +0000

The second season of HBO's critically acclaimed series Girls begins Sunday night, but the show about 20-something girls navigating their social and work lives in New York has itself been criticized for not being diverse enough.

By now, most of you have heard the buzz about Girls: It's written by 26-year-old Lena Dunham, and stars a quartet of young women whose plans sometimes crash face-first into life's nasty realities.

The show's smart dialogue attracted writer Allison Samuels, a cultural critic for Newsweek/The Daily Beast.

"I love the writing," she says.

New Policy For Young Immigrants Creates Paperwork Deluge

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 12 Dec 2012 22:25:00 +0000

In the six months since a new law opened a path to temporary legal status for some young immigrants in the U.S., more than 300,000 people have applied — and have rushed to request qualifying documents from their schools.

The law, Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, offers legal status, renewable every two years, to people ages 30 and younger who were brought to the country as children. Applicants must prove they were in the U.S.

Susan Straight: One Home Town, Many Voices

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 07:21:00 +0000

Think of all the great writers who have made their hometowns literary history — William Faulkner, Zora Neale Hurston, Thomas Wolfe, to name a few. Now, Susan Straight is getting the same praise for her portrayal of Riverside, Calif. It's a small town at the foot of the San Bernardino Mountains, an hour east of Los Angeles.

Read any of Straight's 10 books, and you hear tales of a tight-knight black community in a working-class neighborhood, with voices that sound lively and real. Then you meet Straight, and do a double take: she is petite and blond.

Comedians Parody Two Sides Of President Obama

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 21:48:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have an avid following for their weekly show, "Key and Peele" on Comedy Central. They've parodied everything from the names of black athletes to white people with dreadlocks.

Controversial Casting For A Nina Simone Biopic

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 08:26:00 +0000

The rumors that had been around for a couple of years have finally been confirmed: At long last, there's a film in the works about the turbulent life of Nina Simone, otherwise known as the "High Priestess of Soul."

Simone was famous from the 1950s through the '70s for her music and her civil rights activism. And although she died in 2003, her voice remains popular on TV, movie soundtracks and commercials.

Originally, hip-hop diva Mary J. Blige was slated to star in the film, called Nina, but she dropped out last year after shooting was delayed.

A Mohawk Hero In The Not-So-Diverse Gaming World

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 20:33:00 +0000

The Assassin's Creed video game series has become a megahit for gaming enthusiasts.

Beverly Hills' Refuge For The Stars Turns 100

Karen Grigsby Bates — Sun, 16 Sep 2012 10:22:00 +0000

The Beverly Hills Hotel, a place fondly known as the Pink Palace, has preserved guests' privacy and indulged their every whim for 100 years, and the entire year will be filled with celebrations of its centennial.

There have been parties for the neighbors, parties for the staff, and a celebration this week as the hotel becomes the first historic landmark in the city of Beverly Hills, Calif.

The hotel counts, among many others, Cary Grant, a young JFK, Tom Cruise, Marilyn Monroe, Michael Caine, P. Diddy, Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida as past guests.

Robert Crais: LA Is A 'Natural Canvas' For Nightmare

Karen Grigsby Bates — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 07:26:00 +0000

It's been a few decades, and many published books, but Robert Crais can tell you exactly when mystery writing first caught his attention: He was a bright 15-year-old living in Baton Rouge, La., when he read Raymond Chandler's The Little Sister, which depicted the shady side of sunny Los Angeles through the eyes of private investigator Philip Marlowe.

Since then, Crais has found huge success with his own crime novels, also set in LA.

A Rainbow Of Happy Endings In Ethnic Romances

Karen Grigsby Bates — Wed, 15 Aug 2012 07:37:00 +0000

Romance fiction is the Rodney Dangerfield of the publishing world: It don't get no respect.

This, despite the fact that romance is the most consistently profitable genre in an unsettlingly shaky business. Last year, romance alone contributed more than $1 billion to publishing's diminished coffers.

At Bravo, A Pop-Culture Kingpin Works Day And Night

Karen Grigsby Bates — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 08:10:00 +0000

Andy Cohen has been yakking for most of his 44 years. He has a book titled Most Talkative — a title he earned in high school.

"My mouth has been my greatest asset and also my biggest Achilles' heel," he says.

Most days, it's an asset.

You may not know who Cohen is, but if you've ever seen Top Chef or any of the Real Housewives series, you've seen his work.