A Day In "The Life Of Riley"

WELCOME to "The Life of Riley" which will include periodic chronicles of pop culture and possibilities that flow out of Patrick L. Riley's day. That's me!!! Through blogging (and soon some other technological features on which I'll keep you posted as they launch), I will pull experiences from my busy life to entertain and inspire all of you. Through this site, I will share my observations and insights.

Some features to look forward to:

1.) "PATRICK'S POP UP(DATES)" will feature stories from pop culture, music, theater, fashion, and the entertainment industry at large.

2.) "The Life of Riley" will also introduce a "take-a-look-at-your-life" section (READ: sort of an advice column), where I will help readers come up with their own questions and answers around what "ways of being" are working (or not working) to have them acheive their respective goals and live their best lives. This section is called "WHO YOU BE?".

3.) Additonally, there will be a free-flowing, organic section called "TESTIFY" from which I will pull from my own life's journey to share and hopefully inspire. Some of the fare may be new musings and experiences. Other times, I may pull from my journals and past sharings to shed light on some uncomfortable truths that I've experienced and that may perhaps play a role in healing someone else's wounds as the real-life experience did for me. From my experience of covering 9/11 as a freelance journalist to courageously coming out (as gay) to my family, "TESTIFY" promises to move those who choose to read it.

4.) And a section titled "PR" (like my initials, but also like "public relations") will include press clips from any coverage I get.

5.) And anytime pictures or video can support an entry (in the blog, and perhaps in the subsequent podcasts, my space, and website), those visuals will keep things aesthetically enrolling. That section will be called "MY TUBE".

PLAYING TO THE POP IN POSSIBILITIES!

Patrick L. Riley

Entries in Ledisi (1)

“Undercover: Performing and Transforming Black Female Identities” @ Spelman College Museum of Fine Art

Spelman College & Patrick L. Riley ask: "Who's Your Alter Ego?"

Spelman College Museum of Fine Art has partnered with my blog "A Day in the Life of Riley: Pop Culture & Possibilities" in the promotion of “Undercover: Performing and Transforming Black Female Identities,” an original exhibition on view through December 5, 2009. As a Morehouse Man, I consider this collaboration with my 'sister alma mater' a total honor.

The exhibit 'Undercover' (detailed in the attached documents) examines the social implications of race, gender, and disguise. And the Museum emphasizes works by and about women of the African Diaspora (and well-known, mid-career, and emerging artists are a part of this exhibit - detailed in the attached documents).

But to put some POP in the effort, the marketing team sought me out to ask some CELEBRITIES and FRIENDS in my social network (and representatives of CELEBRITIES and FRIENDS in my social network) some questions re: ALTER EGOs. The questions and responses follow:

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO????:

CELEBRITIES WE KNOW & IN THEIR OWN RIGHT:

1. Mara Schiavocampo

30 and proud!

NBC News Digital Correspondent

New York, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

Don't have one :(

WHY?

Good question. I'll have to work on that.

2. Ledisi

AGE: NEVER

Grammy-nominated singer

NEW CD “Turn Me Loose” and projects that empower women to love themselves. I am currently speaking to different Historic Black Universities and Colleges for UNCF (United Negro College Fund) being apart of an empowerment series to encourage students to be their best.

Los Angeles, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

I don't think I have one but if I did she would be an older woman in her 70's that's kinda like a preacher/evangelist with red high heels and loves hanging out at a juke joint in the 1930's. LOL!

WHY? Why I do not have one would be the question? The answer is because I want to stay as honest and as close to me on stage that is comfortable. That's why people like me. In my personal life I will say I am not as forward as the Ledisi I am on stage. I am very shy and nerdy. But all of who I am on stage is who I am off stage to some degree. LOL!

3. Mother Love

AGE: Middle Earlies

Diabetes Awareness Tour

Pasadena, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

Hannah the House Frau

WHY?

When I am not traveling, I am a homebody, I enjoy entertaining my family and friends. I am dangerously good with a glue gun, I make most of my own decorations and all my floral arrangements

4. Sheryl Lee Ralph

Actress/Singer; “Original Deena” in Dreamgirls; “Moesha”

My DIVA (DIVINELY INSPIRED VICTORIOUSLY ANOINTED) PROJECT is getting ready to make its way back to Africa and I am creating a few reality shows with a touch of real to them.

W. Hollywood, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

My alter ego is the DIVA. People often confuse her with Sheryl Lee but they are two very different women.

WHY?

Because she is bold, fearless, and will and can say all of the things Sheryl Lee would never think to say or do. She empowers me.

5. Bridget Bland

SPELMAN SISTER

Reality star: “Harlem Heights”

3^RD year Law Student at Rutgers Law Newark; entertainment columnist for BV Newswire; launching a brand-engagement firm called What’Snext

New York, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

My alter ego is comparable to a mix between Naomi Campbell and Wendy

Williams.

WHY?

She is loud, hilarious, accomplished, in your face, she

sees through the bull and isn't afraid to tell you. She is poised,

fashion forward and has little tact., but endearing in a sister girl way.

6. Tamala Jones

Actress

Los Angeles, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

My alter ego is Tay Tay Lasha.

WHY?

Tay Tay Lashay is all show business. She is both new & old Hollywood rolled into one. Smart & sassy. She’s able to walk in & shut a room down. Everybody loves Ms. Lashay because she is filled with fun, laughter, and she’s a whole lot of woman.

7. Judge Glenda Hatchett

Current Projects: Parent Power Now!, which will officially begin January 1, 2010 and will be the premiere global social networking site for parents ( parentpowernow.com); In advance of the 2010 launch, I will roll out the One Million Dreams Campaign to encourage 1 million parents to post their children's dreams. "We are going to be in the business of posting our children's dreams and not their bail!" . The campaign is currently posted on Parentpowernow.com. I have established a production company , Great Day Productions, and am currently developing television, movie and stage projects.

Atlanta, GA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

A combination of my mother and my maternal grandmother.

WHY?

My mother who well into her 80's drives a convertible sports car, is sassy, feisty, takes tai chi classes, travels extensively throughout the world, loves to play the slot machines and still supports many charitable causes including the AIDS ministry that she founded in our church and my maternal grandmother who was self educated, as tough a woman as you will find, took no mess, a mother of nine children and a hard nose businesswoman!

8. Shaun Robinson

Spelman sister

"Access Hollywood" anchor/reporter; Author, "Exactly As I Am"

Los Angeles, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? PATTI LABELLE

WHY? Because when I'm in the shower and I belt out "CREOLE LADY MARMALAAAAAAAADE!!!!!", I sound just like her! Truth be told, I couldn't carry a note if I had a bucket to put it in, so singing is a talent I have often wished I possessed. But, Patti LaBelle is the entire package - a beautiful, supreme diva with a God-given gift and a glorious, kind soul that surrounds it. I adore her so much and was blessed that she lent her "voice" to my book, "Exactly As I Am" on girls and self-esteem.

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO????:

PATRICK’S SPELMAN SISTERS AND OTHER DIVAS FRIENDS

1. Jacqualine Simone Williams

40, but not over the hill (yet)

Mass media/feature documentary

West Allis, WI

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? Sheryl Lee Ralph. I have also been known to transform into Cicely Tyson; Chaka Khan (the earlier version); Ruby Dee; Eartha Kitt; Miriam Makeba; and Nina Simone (for whom I am named).

WHY? Sheryl Lee Ralph because, I am a 'Dreamgirl'. She is a triple-threat, a strong and determined woman. I love her style, attitude and talent. Like all the women I've mentioned above, Ralph has the courage of her convictions and she fights vehemently for what she believes in. I've always strived to be that sort of woman--who can use her talent and influence to make the world a better place.

2. Joicleyn Dingle

senior editor at celebrity web mag; writer/director of short film (in rehearsal phase); working on book of African American Men

Brooklyn, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? Ginger Nova.

WHY?

She's a spicy force of nature.

She's a double Scorpio.

She's enamored by the night.

She really digs Patron.

3. Michaela angela Davis

40something

Creative Consultant BET, The Shine Society mentoring group, Style TV Show (in development)

Brooklyn NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

Harriett Tubman

WHY?

Because I would really like to live a life that is completely committed to service and the freeing of oppressed people without the distractions and trappings of red bottom stilletoes, the perfect hair products, a fly crib, the freshest sushi, peer approval - all these and so many surface things are so important to me.

4. Sharmell Sullivan Huffman

Spelman sister

Actress on television in the world of Professional Wrestling

Houston, TX

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

Debbie Allen

WHY?

Dance is my first love and I grew up watching her break the barriers for African American women in dance.

5. Lorielle M. N. Broussard,

Spelman sister

Stylist/designer (for Ciara)/Costume Designer/Producer (Purple Stuff TV)

Losa Angeles, CA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

My alter ego is Elle.

WHY?

Elle is the person I am most of the time. The one that you see working like crazy to be the best and on top. Mostly everybody sees Elle all of the time or if they don't know her (Lorielle) very well. She exudes fun and positive energy at all times and is never a bore.

Elle is fearless, that's her word. Her motto is to always have Faith over Fear! This is how she appears to always have it together.

6. Syreta J. Oglesby

Spelman sister

Publicist/Author

Newark, NJ

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

My alter ego is Jazzy.

WHY?

Jazzy is my alter ego that is super talented, outgoing, and glamorous. As I have always been the understated and down to earth, round the way girl, I have always had a side of me that has been wanting to burst out.

7. Karen Mauldin Ceesay

Spelman sister

Actress/Producer

I shot "Drop Dead Diva" & "One Tree Hill" this summer - currently producing a sitcom I wrote for the internet, "loosely" based on the First Family & current administration.

Atlanta, GA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO?

Don't have a specific name, but I definitely change my image whenever I go to LA. I really watch what I eat and workout intensely before I head out so I can wear outfits I would never wear here in Atlanta. And I forget I'm somebody's Mama - just kidding, kinda. I call myself a drag queen sometimes. I love wearing the wigs/weaves & the short, short, dresses or tight pants, but it's a bit much for all the time. I love my low-key jogging pants or jeans & sneakers look for day-to-day, but LOVE going full glam whenever I can. The funny thing is when I run into people from my gym out in the "real world", they barely recognize me, but the gym me is the real me - no make-up, natural hair (scarf optional), old sweat pants and probably stinky.

WHY?

Even though Atlanta is very image-conscious, LA is completely different. Since I am an actress, how I look is very important, but not so important that I think it is what makes me - it's just a shell, something to draw people in. I'm normally very confident, but I love the attention I get when I'm in full-glam mode. And I love the fact that people enjoy talking to someone who's funny & personable, who they may have thought was just another pretty face.

8. Kelly Mitchell

Spelman Sister

Manager, Business Development at GlobalHue

New York, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? Veterinarian

WHY? My alter ego is a veterinarian because I love animals and tend to be my most compassionate when I am around them. The peace and comfort I feel when I am interacting with an animal is unlike anything I feel with human interaction. I put my pretty, prissiness aside only in those moments. I am a dog owner and animal lover.

9. Karen Chilton

Author, “HAZEL SCOTT: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from Café Society to Hollywood to HUAC” (University of Michigan Press)

New York, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? Jazz vocalist SARAH VAUGHAN

WHY? Music is my first artistic love. I studied classical piano as a child and fell in love with jazz growing up on the Southside of Chicago, while listening to the ‘Daddy O’Daly radio show’ with my parents on Sunday afternoons. Although there are dozens of jazz vocalists whom I adore, the lush vocals of Sarah Vaughan have always had, in my estimation, transformative power. She is (not was) the quintessential jazz vocalist, having the ability to transport listeners in a way that carries you inside of the song by virtue of her full-bodied interpretations of every note, every lyric. You’ve not heard “September Song” until you’ve heard Sarah sing it. “The Man I Love” is absolute magnificence pouring from her lips; “My Funny Valentine” and “Misty”—forget it! She used her musical gift to do what Art should do—move an audience to its feet, to inspire and uplift. And even with all my musical training, when asked to sing, I typically decline. In utter devotion to Sarah’s sound and style, I thought, if I can’t sing like Sarah, what’s the point? Sarah Vaughan’s legacy of true artistry, vocal grace and beauty endures. If I could fly back in time, I’d land on some smoky stage in a Parisian hideaway, blowing all night til my dress is soaked and my skin glistening with sweat, singing nostalgic tunes to an appreciative crowd, with a slamming trio at my back.

10. Aquilla Mcintosh

SPELMAN SISTER

Working with retail establishment – assisting them in revamping their fashion line to attract a broader audience. She and her husband have a non-profit transition home assisting ex-felons in their re-entry into society.

Atlanta, GA

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? "Being a parent."

WHY? Having a stepson has allowed the "Mother/Parenting" in me (which was inherently inactive due to having no biological children and being an only child) to come forth and now has become my second person.

11. Marcia Cole

Founder and CEO, Ivy Communications, Inc. Currently operates a beauty and fashion website; pitching beauty; and fashion-based programming.

New York, NY

WHO IS YOUR ALTER EGO? Oprah… Serena Williams… and Grace Jones.

WHY? Oprah because of her business acumen; Serena Williams because of her athletic ability and her business smarts; Grace Jones because she is FAB at 60 and I want to look like her when I am that age!

WHICH AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE THE BEST (OR MOST COMPELLING) ALTER EGOS?

CELEBRITIES WE KNOW & IN THEIR OWN RIGHT:

1. Mara Schiavocampo

30 and proud!

NBC News Digital Correspondent

New York, NY

Beyonce!!! I Love Sasha Fierce.

2. Ledisi

Los Angeles, CA

I don't know (which African American women have the most compelling alter egos) because everyone I loved has always been themselves. I will say it was amazing watching clips of how shy Ella Fitzgerald was in her personal life. When she sang she was on fire. It reminded me of me. I love that part of her.

3. Mother Love

AGE: Middle Earlies

Diabetes Awareness Tour

Pasadena, CA

I think business women, writers, actors and entertainers all have to have an alter ego because we have to do so much role playing and hat wearing to do daily. We need these alter egos to be able to do what we have to do.

4. Sheryl Lee Ralph

Actress/Singer; “Original Deena” in Dreamgirls; “Moesha”

My DIVA (DIVINELY INSPIRED VICTORIOUSLY ANOINTED) PROJECT is getting ready to make its way back to Africa and I am creating a few reality shows with a touch of real to them.

W. Hollywood, CA

Grace Jones. Her “male” alter ego was so strong, people believe she has a twin brother. Does she? (EDITOR’S NOTE: He does. But he is a bishop. Not a cross-dresser – further underscoring how compelling Grace’s masculine persona showed up.)
Tina Turner. She created and became her alter ego in order to save herself. And it worked. Who’s Anna Mae?

5. Bridget Bland

SPELMAN SISTER

Reality star: “Harlem Heights”

3^RD year Law Student at Rutgers Law Newark; entertainment columnist for BV Newswire; launching a brand-engagement firm called What’Snext

New York, NY

Beyonce and Sasha Fierce
Wendy Williams
Naomi Campbell
Diana Ross

6. Tamala Jones

Actress

Los Angeles, CA

I think Beyonce has the best alter ego, Sasha Fierce. When Sasha hits the stage, you’re in for a major treat . Sasha makes you wish you could sing & move like her & I love her Divatude. When Beyonce leaves Sasha on the stage & is out just being Beyonce, you get a gentle, warm & inviting woman who you have to give praise to for working so hard.

7. Judge Glenda Hatchett

Atlanta, GA

Drawing a blank.

8. Shaun Robinson

Spelman sister

"Access Hollywood" anchor/reporter; Author, "Exactly As I Am"

Los Angeles, CA

* Beyonce

WHICH AFRICAN AMERICAN WOMEN HAVE THE BEST (OR MOST COMPELLING) ALTER EGOS?

PATRICK’S SPELMAN SISTERS & OTHER DIVA FRIENDS

1. Jacqualine Simone Williams

40, but not over the hill (yet)

Mass media/feature documentary

West Allis, WI

Whoopi Goldberg to me has several alter-egos living inside. She has a way to make her point clear.
Maya Angelou has many sides of her that she rarely reveals (she is deep).

2. Joicleyn Dingle

senior editor at celebrity web mag; writer/director of short film (in rehearsal phase); working on book of African American Men

Brooklyn, NY

Diana Ross
Beyonce
Taraji P Henson

3. Michaela angela Davis

40something

Creative Consultant BET, The Shine Society mentoring group, Style TV Show (in development)

Brooklyn NY

Of course I love Beyonce's Sasha Fierce - a brilliant way to protect her privacy
I don't know what Michelle Obama's alter ego is BUT I bet it is pretty fierce too.

4. Sharmell Sullivan Huffman

Spelman sister

Actress on television in the world of Professional Wrestling

Houston, TX

Beyonce has a very compelling alter ego.

5. Lorielle M. N. Broussard,

Spelman sister

Stylist/designer (for Ciara)/Costume Designer/Producer (Purple Stuff TV)

Los Angeles, CA

* Oprah, Michelle Obama, Janet Jackson and Beyonce. To me these women have the best alter egos because they show you what they want to show you and it's not deceiving. They are doing what they do best without giving and sharing all of themselves, you've got to leave some things left unsaid and leave for the ones closest to you.

6. Syreta J. Oglesby

Spelman sister

Publicist/Author

Newark, NJ

In my opinion, I think the African American women who have the best alter egos would have to be: Janelle Monae, Beyonce Knowles, Grace Jones, and actress Kerry Washington.

7. Karen Mauldin Ceesay

Spelman sister

Actress/Producer

I shot "Drop Dead Diva" & "One Tree Hill" this summer - currently producing a sitcom I wrote for the internet, "loosely" based on the First Family & current administration.

Atlanta, GA

I really don't know. Of course, I'll think of something brilliant in two weeks.

8. Kelly Mitchell

Spelman Sister

Manager, Business Development at GlobalHue

New York, NY

Beyonce and Sasha Fierce. Beyonce has mastered having two sides and is alter ego. Period. She has mastered it because her fans love when she’s wind-milling her head on stage and giving the performance of a lifetime but we also appreciate the quiet, humble, Southern girl that’s Jay-Z’s wife.

9. Karen Chilton

Author, “HAZEL SCOTT: The Pioneering Journey of a Jazz Pianist from Café Society to Hollywood to HUAC” (University of Michigan Press)

New York, NY

There are truly too many to name. We could all begin with our mothers and grandmothers, the fierce freedom fighters who held families and communities together with a smile, a touch, a selfless deed. Any Black woman, known and lesser known, who has been bold enough to express herself freely in spite of societal limitations, false perceptions, and stereotypes. This definition stretches far beyond the confines of entertainment, but includes women in every field of endeavor, from the performing arts to politics, education to medicine, the ministry to the military. It is through their (our) courageous example of unyielding fortitude that has helped shape and define Black womanhood for the world.

10. Aquilla Mcintosh

SPELMAN SISTER

Atlanta, GA

Michelle Obama
Donna Brazile
Iman

11. Marcia Cole

Founder and CEO, Ivy Communications, Inc. Currently operates a beauty and fashion website; pitching beauty; and fashion-based programming.

New York, NY

It would be Beyonce since she is the only one who has stated she has an alter ego that I really recall.

PATRICK’S ALTER EGO LIST

Beyonce – Sasha Fierce

I mean, what can you say? She’s managed to craft something so obvious and cliché into a phenomena. And she’s just disciplined enough to make us believe she’s the sweet, humble, and demure girl from Texas with the boldness, fierceness, and DIVA-tude to generate SPARKS whenever she hits the stage inside her Sasha Fierce alter-ego. YOU GO, GIRL!

Janet Jackson

So much of our identification with Janet stems from her being Michael and boys’ baby sister. Even as she worked her way through adolescence, she was the “good girl” or “the girl next door”. But then, when she found her CONTROL, she morphed into MISS JACKSON (IF YOU’RE NASTY) and we were sold… and have continued to buy her re-invented policy each time she goes darker, fiercer, and nastier…

Grace Jones

When Grace Jones sang “My Jamaican Guy”, I remember thinking that maybe she was the guy. My pre-pubescent self couldn’t reconcile what I was seeing and if it was a man or a woman. But I knew it was compelling. Over time, I figured she was a woman. But her masculinity purred through so fiercely that I could only bow at her feet and exclaim: STRANGER!!!!!!!

Kim Coles

So easy to get it twisted that my girlfriend Kim Coles is very much like her character Sinclaire who she played to convincing effect on Fox sitcom LIVING SINGLE. But hear me now, Ms. Kim Coles is nowhere getting her micro-braids stuck in the fax machine like her alter ego Sinclaire (one of many that the comic-timing expert has perfected over the years). Instead, she is truly a KIMPIRE – a woman that knows her worth and her brand. And has the bookings to prove it – including a run as the first African American game show host on BET’s “Pay It Off”.

Nina Simone

To hear her sing “FOUR WOMEN” or “MISSISSIPPI GODDAMN”, you might think you’re listening to Fred Sanford as the raspy, husky, baritone coughs those notes out. But to see her behind the piano or the microphone with a crown of tresses stretching up to the sky, you’re clear that Nina Simone is an African Queen from another time and place. And she is FIERCE! No wonder she had to run away to Europe to maintain a following that understood her or didn’t mind being confused by her.

Patti LaBelle

Patti’s real name is Patricia. And the first time that big voice was heard was in the church. But the world needed to hear her. And from Philly or wherever she is – with or without a mic, we hear her and we love her. But since she’s so shy, the woman we usually experience when she is in concert – at least those big shows in the ‘80s (fans growing out of her scalp and all), she was Priscilla – perhaps Sasha Fierce’s grandmother. And baby! Watch out! She might be flinging a lash and her four-inch heels.

Vanessa Williams

We know Vanessa Williams has the right stuff. But for all of her multi-hyphenated splendor over these many years, how hot is it that in her 40s, she’s managed to convince us of yet another ‘alter ego’ in her person: Wilhelmina Slater on ABC’s “Ugly Betty”. If I didn’t personally know how sweet she was, I’d believe her Evillene-in-Prada bit.

Kandi & the “Real Housewives of Atlanta”

So Atlanta-based photographer Derek Blanks has been doing alter ego photo shoots with all the Atlanta elite for years now. But on BRAVO’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta”, NeNe organized a shoot for all the ladies… and become the project’s director. They were to do what she said as their pose and their alter ego pose. Kandi decided to take the concept into her hands. She spoke of how she had to postpone her engagement party because a drunken driver hit one of her now-dead fiance's relatives. She used that as motivation to do something positive with the photo shoot, posing as both the drunk and the victim. NeNe decided that Lisa would pose as a good girl and as a bad girl. Lisa played along, and looked great. Kim refused NeNe's idea for her to pose as a black person, and instead posed as a Stepford wife and as a mistress. Sheree posed as herself, and as a sexy robber who wants "seven figures" -- a jab at her divorce. NeNe posed as a conservative woman at a strip club, and as a stripper.

Mariah Carey

Mariah’s alter-egos – from Mimi to MC2 to “Imperfect Angel” to Butterfly to Charm bracelet to Rainbow --- all seem to spell Mariah. This, until her most recent “Obsessed” video when she showed up as her nemesis Eminem. Convincing though ill-advised. We just love you as Mariah! Keep singing pretty, girl!

Diana Ross

When Miss Ross hits the stage, it’s narcissistic nirvana. She’s in that round or center stage. She’s in beautiful drag – from head to toe. There’s a spotlight. And all others are in the shadows of her glory. Who would know the degree to which she is – quite simply – mom with five successful examples to boot? But it’s true. Snatch off that wig and those lashes, throw you on some Uggs and a fanny pack, and drop by Ralphs and see what the most successful female singer in the history of pop is most proud of: Motherhood. 20 #1 songs notwithstanding and a bunch of other drama. For her, it’s BABY LOVE! And now, she must shed all that diva-ness --- one layer further --- as she steps into ‘grandmotherhood’ through oldest daughter Rhonda who just gave birth to her first child (and the first grandchild from any of Diana’s troop).