I remember being in high school and falling in love with the art of television. What youth doesn't feel the same way? My grandmother, highly educated person that she was, decided to research local cable access for me. After a lot of research we found there were stations that geared toward teaching people video production. They intrigued me. Think about having a “movie night” at home. As you flip through the channels you come across your city’s cable access show. The show actually catches your attention and there you are now watching your local independent access shows.  All this is possible. …

I have been apartment hunting recently and I can honestly say it has not been a delightful experience. I am looking to move into the City of Hyattsville. There is a need for more artist housing; I could go on for days about this subject. As I traveled from complex to complex, landlord to landlord, I realized that I needed to take a moment to collect my thoughts and really decide where I want to live. I needed to take a brief hiatus. Too much was going on. I lost my grandmother, I had to relocate from my childhood home, family drama, wills, deceit—there was just way too much going on in my …

Sometimes when I need to clear my head, I take a walk around the developing arts district. As I walked down Route 1, I noticed two women walking in my direction. I heard one of them say, “Oh no, all these new developments are going to attract tourists.” She looked like she would not be happy about the burst of new visitors to Hyattsville. I know that “change” can be a bit difficult when residents are comfortable the way things are. There may be some people who believe there is no need for new development. Then there are residents like myself who are excited about the change and improvement …

I grew up listening to the Russ Parr Morning show on WKYS and so always have known the importance of a “voice jockey.” But it wasn't until meeting Tina “Live Wire” Turner that I realized the importance of having one right here in my own backyard.  For now, I will refer to Tina by her nickname—“Spice.” As her name belies, this lively voice jockey sprinkles herself onto the local music industry, consistently pushing the boundaries. She is bold, loud and daring, but with a heart of gold. Spice lives on the Hyattsville border with Chillum. She is no stranger to the local music scene, having been …

On my way back from the post office in Hyattsville, I decided to stop at Elevation Burger. I remember the day that Elevation Burger opened. I saw my Twitter timeline light up with the key words “free food.” Of course just as any starving artist I made my way over to the new burger joint only to be faced with a locked door. I was not the only one longing for some burgers. Outside stood five other people disappointed they would not be able to enter because the restaurant ran out of food. Today neither my pockets nor my diet could afford a run to Elevation Burger. Still I made I it my business …

My former marching band mate, Masaley Kargbo, asked me to speak at career day at Nicholas Orem Middle School this past spring. To my surprise she now is a teacher there. It was a funny thought to me that we would be in a classroom setting after having been in a band room setting in college. (I know it may seem bizarre but I was a clarinet player in a college marching band. My grandmother always told to live life to the fullest so it was no surprise that I kept up the skill of playing the clarinet. Years later I not only graduated from undergrad but I also graduated from grad school in England…

My neighbor attends Northwestern High School and she recently attended her prom. As I watched the limo pulling up to her home, the look on her face was priceless. I remember that look—the look of anxiousness and invisibility. My prom date attended Northwestern and since my friend was dating his friend it made it easy to travel as a group. Those were the times when I felt invincible. I had no real bills, no real worries. One day I sat inside my grandmother’s home looking through old photos. I ran across a photo of me and my prom date. The day of my prom, my grandmother visited me at my mother’…

This week has been a sad week. I must say it is one of the hardest weeks I have ever been faced with. I find myself typing this column wondering, “How I am even able to speak about this subject matter?” I know I have written about her briefly before but at this time my grandmother is no longer with me. I feel like I’m in a surreal place, as if at any minute I will wake up and say, “That was a weird dream.” The reality is the person that brought me back to this place I call home is gone. She was a pillar of strength, what an independent woman should be. She took care of her responsibilities …

It’s about that time. It’s getting hot and my sweet tooth is back in full effect. I was in the midst of making plans to visit Cottons Gourmet. Later in the week, I got word that Cotton’s Gourmet relocated. For me this was completely odd, since I just stopped in there for a column about the business not too long ago. “What happened to Cotton’s Gourmet?” I reached out to Cotton in hopes that I could speak with her immediately. I understand that with business things do happen but for someone like Cotton, who had been through so much to keep her bakery running, there had to be more to the story. …

Here's a video Patch columnist Tanecia Britt thought you might enjoy. A friend of hers visited recently and documented Hyattsville (and the nearby areas) through her eyes. There's a cool track to this video, but parents may want to proceed with caution as the lyric is a bit controversial.

I never would have imagined myself writing anything other than screenplays. I guess things just happen by chance. It’s funny how I came about writing for Patch. There I was sitting in Starbucks speaking with Avril Speaks, a fellow filmmaker and Hyattsville resident. We were talking about filmmaking in the area. While in the midst of the conversation, Sarah Nemeth, editor of the Hyattsville Patch over heard our conversation (I’m a loud speaker). She introduced herself and the rest was history. The reason for me bringing up how I became a contributor is because that situation was by “chance.” I…

I always have something good to say about Hyattsville, even though every city has its downfall. I’m always inviting people to come though the city and just take some time here to enjoy the amenities. My city was put to the test recently. I am very happy to say that I got to show a Georgia native what Hyattsville is really made of. A good filmmaker friend came to visit me; her name is Crystle “Clear” Roberson (http://www.crystleclear.com). I was determined to show her what Hyattsville has to offer especially when it comes to filming here. I gave her a tour through the developing arts district …

Recently, I got the chance to do something that I don't usually do. I come to realize that becoming more involved in my community is important. With the growth of the arts district, I can see Hyattsville really becoming a brand. So I decided to take myself to the one place where I could see who “runs” Hyattsville. I attended a City Council candidates’ debate with optimism that Hyattsville would be able to show me something new. I decided that I wasn’t going to get dressed up in my professional wear but I would rather come as I was. Of course, I did not look like I was ready to speak any …

I have always been a fan of city lights. I have found through my travels that every city has a skyline. At night what makes them different is how each city glows. As I drive south down Route One, I have to drive through EYA’s Arts District Hyattsville. The only thing wrong with this area is that I do not see any artists around to make it shine. Of course there are artists that live in the area but when I think about the living community in the arts district, I know for a fact that your average starving artists would never be able to afford to live there. If you can afford to live in the arts …

I woke up with a “sweet tooth.” I decided to take myself to Cotton's Gourmet Gifts & Creations in Mount Rainier. I had the yearning for some cupcakes. For some reason me being in post production for my second feature has had me in the mood for constant chocolate. I made the call to “Cotton” and told her “I’m on the way.” You might be wondering why I had to call in and say that I was on the way. Well, Cotton’s Gourmet is no ordinary bakery. Due to high volume she only takes appointments. Her calendar is so booked that due to my short notice visit I was only able to get one cupcake. I made that…

Today seemed like its just going to be one of “those” days. It started with the pitch. I woke up in a “blah” mood with a bitter attitude. *Shrug* For me the idea of working for myself is stressful, period. So some mornings I wake up already with a lot on my brain. Every morning I get up with the stress of making sure all bases are loaded and my calendar is booked up. As I sat down to finally concentrate on some work, I wound up for a fastball but instead got a curve. I noticed that my puppy was awfully quiet. I turned around and there she was, chewing on my brand new Blackberry. Strike one …

I got a chance to meet up with a fellow filmmaker in Hyattsville. After speaking to her I decided that I should dedicate this column to the “Jerks” or that’s what people say that are. Maybe they are fed up individuals, maybe not.  Let’s have a toast to the jerks! Let’s toast to those filmmakers, or better yet, artists who you should not cross. You may ask yourself, “OK, why are we toasting them?” You toast them because they were not born that way (well most of them). You toast them because in their travels of hard work they ran into situations that have better altered their perception of …

Sex is limitless. Ok, I know that was a bit blunt but this column can only be but so long, so I will get straight to the point. We live in a sexual society and though things are masked and overlooked, most of us can agree that at times physical attention is needed in life. Unless your have dedicated your life to religion or to yourself, sex is irreplaceable. The place we live in and reside helps to narrow this assessment.   I was in the process of remodeling my West Hyattsville home when I received a phone call from a neighbor who lives in the community of Lewisdale and also attended …

Today was one of those, “No time off” scenes. I had little sleep and was buried under video editorial work. I took it upon myself last weekend to take a weekend trip to clear my mind. And now here I am again, back in Hyattsville. Until I am off of my deadline for these videos I have to edit, I am confined to the city limits. Sounds like a nightmare? For me it really isn’t. I love Hyattsville. I’m rather enjoying the time to myself to focus on upcoming projects. While in the midst of my editorial crunch I decided to take a ride to one of my favorite places to get seafood in the Hyattsville …