What's Happening  by Todd Mangatal

todd@ariousentertainment.com

 Greetings my on-line family:

ISABEL came through our area yesterday with winds up to 70 miles per hour and shot the Government down, along with our Metro system, and many businesses.  Luckily it was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm by the time it reached our area, so that helped alleviate some of the damages, plus the preparations were helpful, because it doesn't seem like many people were hurt except for the major flooding in many of our coastal areas, and hundreds of "down" trees.  The down trees was the culprit for the major power outages that has affected over 500,000 people here in Washington, and it was reported millions of families/homes are out of power from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.  We were among them, however ours were restored after a few hours.  As for Baltimore and Annapolis, the flooding and high waters are unbelievable. They say it's the worst storm to hit the area since the 1930's, but due to the preparations I think everything will be back on track by next week, accept for the many losses due to flooding of homes, vehicles, and boats. 

What I find unbelievable is how people don't use common sense and are playing and swimming in the flood waters in the streets.  You would think they would realize that this water is not clean and could contain sewage, broken glass, nails, or other contaminates.  Walking could be dangerous because "man hole" covers could be loose and they could be hurt by falling into the hole creating more safety problems for the people who have to rescue them.  For those who are suffering from the devastation you have our sympathy and prayers,  Hang in there, it will be alright soon...Things happen for reasons!

On behalf of the organizers of the Original Baltimore Caribbean Carnival Extravaganza we would like to announce the cancellation of their Caribbean Carnival.  Unfortunately, due to hurricane ISABEL their event/carnival that was planned to take place this weekend (Sept. 19, 20 & 21) had to be canceled.  I know the organizers have worked extremely hard to make this possible and is very disappointed about having to cancel the festivities.  Look out for the Original  Carnival Extravaganza next year in September 2004.  For more information check out their site www.baltimorecarnival.com. 

Last week the sudden death of John Ritter was a bit disturbing, because we had the privilege to be a part of the production of John Ritter's film Problem Child II.  Problem Child II was filmed in Orlando Fl., where we operated a business called Dry Clean Express and it was one of our larger  movie contracts.  We did all the dry-cleaning of the wardrobe (clothing and costumes) for this movie.  What we remember most about this experience, was chilling on the set many days and nights waiting for the scenes to be filmed, so we could take the clothing/costumes back to my plant to have my team clean and prepare them for delivered first thing the following morning.  From my recollection, the set was a very happy one.  It was just a thrill landing a contract with such a major star.  One of our fund memories about this particular movie was the scene where the son Junior had a birthday party and got sick, therefore he threw up all over the host of the party (Gilbert Godfrey).   We had to stick around for most of the filming of this scene in order to rush the clothes over to my store, have them cleaned, pressed and ready to deliver immediately since the scene had to be shot a few times. Even though the time constraint was a major pressure, it was fun working with the crew and many of the cast members of that movie including Mr. Ritter.  

My wife and I traveled to New York to have dinner in Greenwich Village at a beautiful restaurant we discovered called "Caliente Cab Company" (Mexican restaurant/bar, if you've been there let us know how it is), but we were a bit delayed and arrived in New York later than we expected, so we decided to have dinner in Manhattan instead.  We choose a small restaurant/diner on Broadway very close to the Ed Sullivan Theatre called "Applejacks", which was a very nice experience because when you think of a small informal restaurant in New York this is exactly the type of place that comes to mind.  The food was great, the service was fast and friendly, and the place was decorated with autographed pictures of stars who must have visited the restaurant.  What was so ironic about this experience was after we placed our order I looked up on the wall directly above our table, and who was it?  John Ritter's autographed photo.  This was September 12, the day his death was Announced (he actually died on the 11th), that was really strange.  We don't know what that meant, was it a sign or just coincidence?  What do you think?  Anyway, our condolences goes out to the family and friends of a very funny guy who clearly was loved by many and touched our life in a small but memorable way.  John Ritter you will be missed!  After dinner we explored Time Square at night, it was a little chilly and windy, but it was still very nice.  We found a nice club I believe it was called "Show" and from our brief views it seemed like a nice "hot spot".  It reminded me of the AOL commercial with Carson Daly (MTV host), and the Ford Focus commercial that featured the great sound of the Focus's stereo system.  This truly looked like what you would think a night club in New York would be  We noticed "hot chicks" swinging from the ceiling on swings, and lots of energy and action.  The line was quite long, and it seemed you had to be picked by the security to enter.  From our investigations the cover was $25.00 which was amazing because here in DC we complain about a $10 or $15 cover charge.  What a difference a few miles makes.   Since we were short on time, we didn't go in, but it was very tempting.  Definitely the next time we visit New York we will fully check out this spot.  Any hook-ups for this club, just holla...we would love to pass through.

Saturday, we dragged ourselves out of the house early in order to miss all the hustle and bustle regarding parking over at the Crossroads, and to our surprise we discovered the Sizzla Show was canceled.  How disappointing, we were looking forward to vibing to his music.  Instead of returning home, we stock around and drank some Heinekens, Martinis and Energy Shots, so of course the night turned out great.  Management of the Crossroads have not given us any details on why the show was canceled, or what the refund policy is.  I know they stated the show would be postponed to a later date (November some time), but that has not been confirmed.  I'm sure if you have purchased tickets, it will be honored at the rescheduled show.  As soon as we get some details about the rescheduled date, we will let you know.  

We'd like to thank all of you who commented/replied to last weeks article. We even got a few reply's from some of the management of the artist that appeared on the 2k3 Reggae fest. They expressed that none of the artist on the show had a problem with the taking of photos of themselves, only video taping was a problem, which is understandable because a video of the show could be sold without permission or benefit to the artists. So, therefore the restriction of photo taking  must have been an unnecessary policy of the club. They even expressed the fact that they had a problem with the security at the club to the point that the police escorted two of there guest from the backstage area. This seem totally uncalled for since this is the purpose of the backstage area. The venue has no idea how important a guest of an artist might be.  Oh well, that's life in the entertainment business!  Big Respect is reaching out to Luciano, Dean Fraser, Bares Hammond, Marcia Griffiths, Buju, and the Wailing Souls...Keep spreading the vibes, one day our day will come when the music gets the respect that it deserves.  Thanks to the management of the artists that responded to my e-mail.  It's great to have your support and to know that you are out there and is among our on-line family.  

This Saturday Evening I hope to see many of you at the TransAfrica Poetry Fest at Mango's Fusion Cuisine located on 14th and U Streets, in DC, directly across from the Reeves Building.  This should be something different .  The admission is very small ($5.00), and it's an early evening event - from 5pm - 7pm.  Come out early and support this event and all the poets!  Scroll down for more details on this Poetry Fest.

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"Peace Out" to all of you!