Kuma2.net Blog

NYC Open Casting Call – Monday, March 3rd in Harlem:
INVISIBLE LIFE, the Musical (Plz fwd accordingly)
INVISIBLE LIFE The Musical Based on the NY Times Best selling novel by E. Lynn Harris

AEA Showcase-approval pending
Rehearsal dates: April
Show dates: May
Venue: TBD

AUDITION DATE: Monday, March 3rd
TIME: 11:30am – 4:00pm
SIGN UP BEGINS: 11 am
LOCATION: Nubian Heritage, 2037 5th Avenue, Harlem, NYC (between 125 and 126th Street)

Executive Producer/Producer: Proteus SpannCo-
Producer: Sidra SmithGeneral Manager: Martian Entertainment

Book: Proteus Spann & Stanley Bennett Clay
Music: Valerie Simpson & Nickolas Ashford
Lyrics: Valerie Simpson, Nickolas Ashford & Stanley Bennett Clay

Director/Choreographer: George Faison
Casting Director: Rosen & Wojcik Casting

INVISIBLE LIFE: is an explosive story inspired by E. Lynn Harris’ novel of the same title, showcasing the impact of family, love, friendship, sexual desire, religion and AIDS in the African-American community.
Please Note: Singing is required. High quality voices that sing in aR&B/pop style of Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway and Whitney Houston.
Please bring a photo and resume and sheet music to sing. Accompanist provided.

Seeking:

Raymond Jr: 20’s African-American Male Lead. TENOR. Masculine. Extremely handsome and athletic. An attorney from Alabama. He is a mixture of Southern charm, layered with an acquired NY edge. He’s a true ladies’ man, until a series of events causes him to deal with a latent desire. He experiences an emotional roller coaster when he discovers that life is not perfect. STRONG ACTOR/MUST SING

Nicole: 20’s African-American Female. Lead. Jazz sounding SOPRANO. A former Miss America runner-up, aspiring Broadway actress, singer and Raymond’s love interest. She’s sweet, vulnerable, vibrant and a breathof fresh air. MUST SING/DANCE. A triple threat.

Kelvin: 20’s African-American Male. Lead. BARITONE/BASS. A dashing, arrogant football player who uses his good looks and charm to get whoever he wants, whenever he wants. Kelvin is a ladies’ man living a life on the “down low”. He is in love with and engaged to Candance, but he also loves Raymond. Must have a great body and killer looks. Must Sing or Rap.

African lesbians demand greater rights

Tue 26 Feb 2008, 15:46 GMT

 By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Feb 26 (Reuters) – An African lesbian group on Tuesday called on governments in the largely conservative continent to stop treating homosexuals like criminals.

Read the article here:
http://africa.reuters.com/wire/news/usnL26421661.html

Kuma has ditched it old adult store affiliate for a new, woman friendly vender – babeland.com.

Rather than being strictly an adult store, we’ve included articles and how to guides about women’s sexuality. (For example, How to Find Your G-Spot.) Yes, you can still buy products, but with the help of the shopping guides–you’ll find exactly what you need to hit all the right spots. 🙂

Because the topics addressed in the Adult Education Center can be explicit, you must be 21 to enter.

Thursday, February 28, 2008. 5:00-7:00 PM
UC San Diego Cross Cultural Center.
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093
858.534.9689.

Join authors Frederick Smith and Fiona Zedde for a reading and discussion of their latest novels. Frederick Smith is the author of best-selling book, Down for Whatever, a tale of same sex in the hot city of Los Angeles. His latest novel, Right Side of the Wrong Bed, takes it a step farther, exploring themes of love, lust, and loss in two very different parts of LA. Lambda Literary Award nominated Fiona Zedde has written three novels, including the latest Every Dark Desire, a vampire’s tale set in Jamaica and Alaska. The two authors will read from their novels, discuss aspects of the writing life, as well as the importance of having role models in the art and business of writing.

Spirited: Affirming the Soul and Black Gay/Lesbian
Identity.

Date: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2008
Time: 5 p.m.
Where: Spiral Dance Womyn’s Center and Bookstore, 2505 E. Oliver St., Baltimore, MD 21215

For full details, visit Redbone Press.

A new magazine for Studs, Butches, FTMs, and Bois . . .
From the into:
In this day of bio male driven “femme lesbian only” acceptance, Aggressive Magazine is here to show everyone not only who we are, but to also dispel some of the myths about who and what we are not.

The debut issue is online in pdf format. Visit www.aggressivemagazine.com to download a copy for yourself.

IN THE FLESH EROTIC READING SERIES
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21st at 8 PM
AT HAPPY ENDING LOUNGE, 302 BROOME STREET, NYC (B/D to Grand, J/M/Z to
Bowery, F to Delancey, http://www.happyendinglounge.com)
Admission: Free
Happy Ending Lounge: 212-334-9676

A superstar erotica evening celebrating the release of two hot new anthologies. Featuring Stephen Elliott, editor of Sex for America: Politically Inspired Erotica, along with contributor Nick Flynn (Another Bullshit Night in Suck City) and New York Times bestselling author Zane (Addicted, The Heat Seekers) celebrating the release of Succulent: Chocolate Flava II, along with Succulent contributors Michelle Robinson and In The Flesh host/curator Rachel Kramer Bussel (Best Sex Writing 2008, He’s on Top, She’s on Top). Books will be available for sale from Mobile Libris. Free candy and cupcakes will be served.

In the Flesh is a monthly reading series hosted at the appropriately named Happy Ending Lounge, and features the city’s best erotic writers sharing stories to get you hot and bothered, hosted and curated by acclaimed erotic writer and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel. From erotic poetry to down and dirty smut, these authors get naked on the page and will make you lust after them and their words.

Rachel Kramer Bussel is Senior Editor at Penthouse Variations, conducts interviews for Gothamist.com and Mediabistro.com, and wrote the popular Lusty Lady column for The Village Voice. Her erotic stories have been published in over 100 anthologies, including Best American Erotica 2004 and 2006, and she’s edited numerous anthologies, most recently Best Sex Writing 2008, Hide and Seek, Crossdressing, He’s on Top and She’s on Top. Rachel has also written for AVN, Bust, Cosmo UK, Gothamist, Mediabistro, Metro, New York Post, Punk Planet, San Francisco Chronicle, Time Out New York and Velvetpark.
lustylady.blogspot.com

Stephen Elliott is the author of the political memoir Looking Forward To It, the novel Happy Baby, and the story collection My Girlfriend Comes to the City and Beats Me Up. He lives in San Francisco.
www.stephenelliott.com

Nick Flynn‘s book Another Bullshit Night in Suck City (Norton, 2004) won the PEN/Martha Albrand Award for First Nonfiction, was shortlisted for France’s Prix Femina, and has been translated into thirteen languages. He is also the author of two books of poetry, Some Ether (Graywolf, 2000) and Blind Huber (Graywolf, 2002), for which he received fellowships from, among other organizations, the Guggenheim Foundation and the Library of Congress. Some of the venues his poems, essays, and nonfiction have appeared in include The New Yorker, The Paris Review, National Public Radio’s This American Life, and the New York Times Book Review. His film credits include “field poet” and artistic collaborator on the film Darwin’s Nightmare, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2006. One semester a year he teaches at the University of Houston, and he then spends the rest of the year elsewhere.
www.nickflynn.org

Michelle Robinson is the mother of 12-year old identical twin boys and resides in New York City. She studied Journalism at New York University and is planning to attend film school in 2008. Her erotic short story “Mi Destino” is included in the New York Times bestseller Caramel Flava. In addition to Caramel Flava, Michelle is also a contributing author to the anthology collections Chocolate Flava II with the story “The Quiet Room, Asian Spice with the story “The Flow of Qi” and Missionary No More: Purple Panties 2 with the story “Hailey’s Orgasmic Splendor.” She has recently completed work on four novels, Color Me Grey, Pleasure Principle, Serial Typical and You Created a Monster, and is currently working on the screenplay adaptation of “Mi Destino.” Michelle can be reached at robinson_201 at hotmail.com.
www.myspace.com/justef

New York Times bestseller Zane is the author of Addicted, The Sex Chronicles, Getting’ Buck Wild, The Heat Seekers, The Sisters of APF, Shame on It All, Nervous, Skyscraper, Afterburn, Love is Never Painless and Dear G-Spot. She is the editor of Chocolate Flava and Caramel Flava. She is the publisher of Strebor Books, an imprint of Atria Books/Simon & Schuster, and lives in the Washington, D.C., area with her family.
www.eroticanoir.com

It is with devilish, delicious pleasure that we invite you
to join Michael Cooper, Lana Turner & Tom Wirth
in celebrating the publication of

GENTLEMAN JIGGER
BY RICHARD BRUCE NUGENT

Edited by Tom Wirth, with a forword by Arnold Rampersad,
this vivid roman a clef of the Harlem Renaissance,
written by an eyewitness, is being posthumously
published by Da Capo Press more than 70 years
after it was written.

Join us in honoring Nugent and witnessing
the emergence of a new dimension
of Harlem Renaissance history

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2008
3 PM TO 6 PM

710 Saint Nicholas Avenue
(at 146th Street)
Harlem, NY 10031

Just in case you haven’t notice, the other Kuma blogs–Skyeview and SpiritSpace–have been updated recently.

Our friend Skye has been sending dispatches from India. Did you know the’ve got a little political unrest going on? There’s also a recent write up about her trip to Mexico.

Over in SpiritSpace, there’s a piece from the Rev. Irene Monroe. On the 15th of each month, SpiritSpace will feature an article from her archive. Also, check out the clarified call for submissions.

I got this bit of news from Queercents, a blog about lgbt and $$.

If you visit Oprah’s website before 8pm tonight, you can download a free copy of Suze Orman’s Women & Money. (Scroll down a little and the book is available in English and Spanish.)

There is a catch–you have until 8pm today (2/14) to get the book.

Happy Valentine’s Day