Before I launch into my review of the movie, I should probably state my bias. I have been looking forward to the release of this movie all summer, as it contains two of the five men on my “Gimme List”, T.I. and the impossibly hot Idris Elba. That said, I would have been standing in line on opening weekend even if the pre-release buzz had been wack. But, I’m happy to report that TAKERS provided me with an afternoon of solid entertainment, well worth the price of admission.

Don’t get me wrong, TAKERS is definitely a sausage-fest (in fact, there was only one female character in the ENTIRE movie if I’m not mistaken). Luckily for me, I like sausage. TAKERS covers all the classic testosterone-driven themes–greed, arrogance, revenge, etc. with lots of shootouts and spectacular explosions. The action was non-stop, the ensemble cast was solid (nice to see Matt Dillon still getting work, lol), and everybody did their job beautifully, (even Chris Brown, who I must say was perfectly cast). Chris had a very stunt-intensive role, which he really pulled off, and for those of us who haven’t quite forgiven him for beating on poor Rihanna, I must say it was very satisfying to see him getting beat up, banged up, and hit by cars (not once, but twice!).

T.I. was COLD as the movie’s villian, and he did the damn thing. However, I had to agree with James’ post-flick comment that it would have been awesome to see Tupac play the role of Ghost. Pac would have killed it.

Granted, there are some things I would have done differently. I found the violin music during the closing gun battle incredibly cheesy, and I felt the treatment of that sole female character to be disturbingly misogynistic (guess she didn’t have his back, right?). However, the stunts were great, the eye-candy was top notch, and hello, Idris Elba in silk boxers?! Ladies, really, isn’t that all the incentive you need right there?

All and all, while not quite on the level of Scorsese’s The Departed, in my opinion it was definitely better than the Ocean’s Eleven films. (It reminded me a lot of Armageddon, actually). A really fun film, which I plan to see again. Please do your part to support black film/actors/producers at the box office — demonstrating demand for films like this will help ensure more of them get made

One of the best parts of this summer (in addition to being on the road, which I absolutely LOVE), was getting to visit with members of James’ family. It started with the Garrard-Register Family Reunion in Thomasville, GA, where fambam came from far and wide for the biannual reunion, to catch up and reconnect. This was the second Garrard-Register reunion I’ve attended with James, and I enjoyed visiting with Fam I met last time, along with meeting new folks. They also showed TPC lots of love by picking up copies of James’ book, which is always wonderful. And the food! There is nothing, NOTHING like a family reunion-sized cookout — best BBQ I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming, hands down.

Some serious BBQ at the Garrard-Register Family Reunion

On our return trip to Atlanta, we were hosted by Imani’s mother, Cousin Ernestine, who made us feel SUPER welcome. Our visit to her place in Stone Mountain, GA was wonderful. In addition to getting more acquainted with this branch of the family tree, we were treated to some amazing home cooking and good ole southern hospitality. It was actually pretty hilarious–during dinner, several of the neighbors “dropped by” to help themselves to some of Ernestine’s stew. It was a beautiful thing, to see that kind of community, where folks not only know their neighbors, but have a true open-door policy, where folks are always welcome. We definitely don’t do that back in Cali. But it was neat to see, and Ernestine made enough food to feed an army, so there was plenty to go around. We also got to bond more with Cousin Bronya and my precious new nieces Rachel and Gabby. I have a huge and sincere fondness for all of these lovely ladies, and I’m not gonna lie, I got a little choked up when it was time to leave… though I know I’ll be back. Yay for having FamBam in the ATL!

We rounded out the whirlwind trip with a visit to Maryland to see James’ mother Phyllis, aka Mama. I love this woman. She refers to me as her daughter-in-law whenever she introduces me to someone (soon mama, soon , and we have so much in common it kinda freaks James out, lol. It was my first visit to Mom’s house in Maryland, and also my first time meeting James’ younger brother Quen. While we were there, I also got to meet a bunch of aunts and uncles who cycled through during our visit. We arrived in the midst of a family crisis, but if there’s one good thing about crisis, its that it tends to draw people closer together. Though I wish we could have all met under different circumstances, I am grateful that James and I were able to make the trip and be there with everyone. As my brother Bill is fond of saying: “Family… we all we got.”

As we headed to the airport (after a quick visit with my lovely Aunt Mae and Cousin Gwen), I had an epiphany of sorts. Now that James and I have merged, I have essentially doubled the size of my family. I don’t think of Quen as James’ brother, or Mama as James’ mom. I claim them as my own, my kin. My cousins, aunts, and nieces. It’s pretty cool. So this is for you, my Garrard-Register-Lewis-Boykin-Wilson-Davis fam, for welcoming me into your hearts, homes, and family. I love you all…

Most of you would probably agree that these have been a crazy past couple of weeks. Have you experienced sudden and unexpected change(s)? Have you seen the end of a life stage, and beginning of a new one? Have you been arguing with loved ones, or struck by a series of obstacles or frustrations that make you feel like the Universe is conspiring against you? If you answered yes to any of these questions, I can assure you that you are not alone. We have ALL been going “through it.” And the culprit, if you choose to believe in such things, is some really funky astrology going on in the skies.

First up, we had two Eclipses in Cancer and Capricorn on June 26th and July 11th. Eclipses tend to bring unexpected events and force confrontations – the goal being to “unstick” you if you are stuck or stagnating. The harder you cling to an inappropriate pattern/person/activity, the more powerful the Eclipses punch to get you moving on to a better place.

I highly recommend reading what Susan Miller has to say about Eclipses. You may find it rather illuminating. I attribute most of the recent craziness to these eclipses, especially if your are a Cancer or Capricorn.

To compound the Eclipse energy, we’ve also had to deal with a Cardinal Cross on August 6-7. A Cardinal Cross is basically when the planets in the sky face off in a series of squares and oppositions. According to Susan Miller:

“What is happening on August 6 and 7 is something we have never seen in our lifetimes and will probably not see happen again…
 Usually we need four squares and two oppositions to create any kind of cross pattern, but this time we will have ten squares (planets at 90 degrees) and seven oppositions (planets at 180 degrees).”

“When planets are in a cross, they are “square” each other, as well as opposed to each other, and this creates enormous tension in order to create necessary change. The cardinal cross will ferret out weak links – anything strong will not be affected.”

On my end, I certainly got slammed with various levels of crisis when the Cardinal Cross hit.  I saw my friends and family struggle with similar tensions.  But it should be pointed out that these “unexpected events” are not necessarily bad.  You could receive some surprisingly good news (which I did, as well .  The point is, any confrontation has the sole purpose of moving you to a better place.  If you are already on the right path, or if you are flexible enough to roll with the proverbial punches, you may not experience tough astrological transits as “challenging”.  But if you do, know that this too shall pass.

The fun doesn’t stop after we pass through early August though. Soon after we get away from the erratic energy of the cardinal cross, we have a Mercury Retrograde period (Aug 12-Sept 20) to contend with. Oy! Looks like we’re all going to need to practice our deep breathing through the month of August. Slow down, be patient, and try not to take things personally. Did I mention that this too shall pass?

For more information on what the month has in store, I highly recommend reading your monthly horoscope at Astrology Zone. For the most accurate reading, be sure to read the forecast for your Sun sign AND your Rising Sign. If you don’t know what your Rising Sign is, just send me your birth date, birth time, and birth place, and I’d be happy to run your chart for you

Hang in there my peoples, and good luck getting through this extraordinary month!

Well after months of hustlin’, grindin’ and sleep deprivation, I have finally carved out some space to rest. And boy does it feel amazing. I’m on day two of ultra self-indulgence mode, and I already feel like a brand new woman.

After leaving Atlanta last Friday, James and I headed down to Thomasville, Georgia to attend his biannual family reunion. While this was a great time, with some AMAZING food (I swear I’m going to gain 20 lbs before this trip through the South is done, lol), it wasn’t exactly what I’d consider downtime. But after we bid goodbye to the fam on Sunday and headed down to Florida, I could feel my excitement growing. Atlanta had been a James/TPC mission. Thomasville had been a James mission. But Florida, well Florida was going to be all about ME. I couldn’t wait.

We arrived in Jacksonville, Florida Sunday night, for our 4-day visit with James’ cousin Imani, who was gracious enough to host us. When she greeted us with homemade Fried Chicken and greens and I just knew this was going to be an awesome time.

Imani has a beautiful, spacious home and James and I had the whole west wing to ourselves. The most stressful decision I had to ponder was whether or not I wanted to lay out by her pool or hop in the car for a 10 minute ride to the beach. As inviting as her pool is, the beach won every time.

My kind of vacation...

Thank you Florida, for all you’ve done to take my mind off the craziness that is life. I will be back.

Well, I am in the midst of a travel-rich summer, but believe me, I’m not complaining Those who know me know that I am part-gypsy, and just LOVE to travel and be on the road. Most of my travels this summer are for “work”, as TPC promotes the release of our debut novel, SELLOUT by my better half, James W. Lewis. It’s not quite a “vacation”, since we’re hustlin’, sellin’, and schmoozing everywhere we go. But I’ve also managed to schedule in some off days in between events that I’m really looking forward to.

My meditation of late has been how to achieve more balance between my work commitments and my need for R & R. Starting my own business, while working a full-time job, doesn’t leave much time left for leisure. Shoot, I can barely find time to sleep these days. But what I’ve realized is that I’m no good to anyone if I’m burnt out and cranky. So I try to make sure I put the hustle on pause from time to time to take care of ME. This week we’re working the Black Pearls Chocolate Social and the Atlanta Black Book Expo, but in between we’re also going to attend a family reunion in Thomasville, GA, and spend some downtime visiting family in Jacksonville and Baltimore. It was so cold and gloomy when I left Santa Cruz, that I’m really looking forward to sunshine, white sand beaches, and some quality time with the ocean. Work hard, play hard! What a busy, but blessed, life I lead.

Hello everyone, and welcome to the newly-redesigned stephaniecasher.com! My life has been INSANE since last I wrote. Large amounts of change in a short period of time (I blame the Eclipses). Thankfully this time around, the changes have been mostly good, and the most significant amount of growth has been a result of my new publishing company, The Pantheon Collective (TPC).

It has been barely six months since James, Omar, and myself decided to go into business together. But today I write to you as co-owner of a publishing company with official LLC status that has just successfully published its first book (SELLOUT, by James W. Lewis). Things have been moving so fast, its barely sunk in, but everyone I talk to about it seems really impressed, so I must be doing something right.

The TPC3 just returned from the Black Writers Reunion and Conference in Atlanta, where we debuted SELLOUT to the masses. It was a great trip overall — not only did we work hard, but we played hard as well celebrating Omar’s 33rd birthday. Yes, much to celebrate indeed. With birthday dinner at Chops Lobster Bar followed by dancing and bottle service at Opera, good times were definitely had by all. I’m just thankful for the footage from our 5am Waffle House mission (which I have no recollection of filming, lol) to fill in some of those blanks.
Saturday morning (hungover on four hours of sleep!) I attended a workshop by Michelle Chester of EBM Professional Services on “How to Start You Own Editing Firm,” which was incredibly informative and inspiring. Watch out now–I’m about to have a day job, a hustle, AND a side hustle, LOL. Too much ambition for one gig, I guess.

So yes, my career in writing and publishing has taken off in unexpected ways, and when I’m not overwhelmed and exhausted, I am overcome with pride. I’ve always wanted to own my own business, be my own boss. The independence is every bit as satisfying and empowering as I imagined it would be…

For more on the trials and tribulations of the TPC3, please check us out at http://www.pantheoncollective.com.

For those of you who have been following the story unfolding at the TPC website, you’ll know that I’ve been working my pretty little tail off. Day and Night, Night and Day. Burnout does not even BEGIN to describe what I was feeling towards the end of March. It didn’t surprise me at all when my body called a ‘time-out’ and said, enough!

Thankfully, I had two great getaways lined up for early-April. The first getaway brought me out to VEGAS for Jordana’s Bachelorette. I would post pics, but they are way way too raunchy for the internet, LOL. But after I spent the weekend getting my party on with a group of awesomely fun girls (HI Jordi, Bree, Etana and Lilibeth!), I headed out to Sedona (aka my happy place), for some spiritual healing.

Oh Sedona… Man, if I learned one thing this past weekend, its that there is no problem in my life that Sedona can’t cure. I don’t exactly have a rational explanation for WHY this place affects me so powerfully, but it does. Sedona never fails to put life back into perspective, grounding the parts of me that feel out of control, balancing everything that is out of balance. For the first time in months I was able to truly relax, mind free from any and all worries. I connected with the stillness; bathed in the quiet. And emerged fully rested, energized, and ready to jump back into the craziness that is my life.

“How much we sell of it, completely irrelevant
This is for the love and the battle of the elements“

~Luv What We Do, The CounterParts Crew

All my life, I’ve gravitated towards artists–musicians, photographers, writers, you name it. For me, the biggest draw, turn on, has always been creativity. Creators. People who create. The act of creation is a powerful thing, and I’ve always found it most unfortunate how underappreciated true creativity is in our society. Artists put so much of their heart and soul into their craft. Expressing, unearthing, uplifting. They are committed to living fully and passionately, and inspiring others to do the same. We often struggle, and we often starve, but we are the dreamers and creators and the world needs us!

Well, as most of my art folk can attest, it doesn’t necessarily pay to live outside the box. Along with being underappreciated, we are often undercompensated. But any true artist will also attest that, we don’t do this for the money. We do this because we have to. We were given a gift that was meant to be shared, and I give the utmost props to folks out there doin’ the damn thing.

As I said before, my life is littered with artists, and over time I’ve collected quite a crew, a community if you will. Since I’m a firm believer in Artists Supporting Other Artists, I want to take this opportunity to show some Indie Love to those I know, love, and admire who are doing their damndest to live the dream I appreciate all you do and all you are.

To support my old skool slug homies Tino and Braelen, I recently downloaded the debut CD from their group The CounterParts Crew. If you love hip-hop, especially stuff coming out of the Cali, you MUST pick-up this CD!!! It is EXCELLENT. I mean, really, really excellent. Intelligent, honest, and powerful stuff. Their song “Luv What We Do” has become the unofficial TPC theme song-they captured the essence of the hustle perfectly…

The Crew also does their part to give back, and one of their songs is on a compilation “Got Kidney” (Available on Bandcamp) in support of Organ Donor Awareness. That’s what I’m talking about–making the world a better place, one song at a time

Speaking of making the world a better place, that brings me to my dear friend Hyim. I’ve been a fan since his humble beginnings waaaaay back in the day, and have watched him evolve to a truly accomplished musician, songwriter, producer, and composer.

Hyim’s music is all about positivity, consciousness, and spiritual upliftment. A remarkable songrwiter, Hyim’s style “swings between sunny mento rhythms, spiraling Cuban son, urgent hip-hop manifestos, and pensive balladry.” Hyim is on his third (!) album now, and his latest release, “Sex in the Morning” is just as hot and provocative as the title implies. (Check out the video for his song “Elation” for a sample). It’s definitely my “driving up the coast with the wind in my hair” CD. I always find his live shows immensely enjoyable, and I’ve been to a grip of them!

I also have to give a shout-out to Mr. Free, another dope, dope artist that is pumping lots of positivity back into the world. Mr. Free is now on his second release, “Writes of Passage” which is also available on ITunes. I own both his CD and I love them–once again, it’s nice to see conscious hip hop making a comeback

(All of them are on facebook, so if you are too, check’em out and become a fan - CounterParts Crew, Hyim, Mr. Free )

Last but not least, I gotta shout out my brother from another mother, DC. Immensely talented, with music in his blood, his star is on the rise. Definitely check out “Feelin’ Lovely” on his myspace page. (that’s my jam!) DC’s fittin’ to put FC on the map, don’t sleep!!!

Next time you’re in the market for some new music, consider showin’ some Indie Love. There is a ton of great stuff out there that isn’t necessarily being played on the radio or MTV (though it should be!) One Love Fam!

As I mentioned in my previous post, I recently started my own publishing company (with partners James Lewis and Omar Luqmann-Harris, The Pantheon Collective (TPC). Our company is new, and we are totally making this up as we go along (lol), so we take every opportunity we can to learn more about this business, and the most efficient ways to navigate through it. Our first opportunity was at the Self-Publishing Symposium in New York.

First off, I LOVE New York. I could never live there, but I love visiting. The energy there is so different than my lazy coastal town of Santa Cruz. NYC is so alive. A very, very special place. A place that is totally conducive to hustling

The last time I was in NYC, was also for a book-related networking function (BEA in 2007), and like last time, my trip to NYC was a blast. A whirlwind, but a blast. We landed Saturday afternoon, and had dinner with James’ former agent, a very powerful and well-connected woman in the publishing industry, who I shall refer to as the Diva Agent. James did a great job describing dinner here, but needless to say, we had a great time. Over drinks and some seriously delicious food, we talked about the state of the industry, our respective creative projects, and got our bond on. So much fun. Totally worth the hangover I had the next day, lol.

Sunday was a full day of networking and information-gathering at the Self-Publishing Symposium, an annual event hosted by Renee Daniel Flagler of Aspicomm Media. I’ve attended several conferences since I began my Journey to the Published Land, but in five years, this was by far the best use of my time and money. By far. Renee assembled a collection of publishing experts and self-published authors, who shared all kinds of useful information about marketing, promotion, branding, the business of publishing, the state of the industry, and the e-book revolution. I learned so much, and am so steeped in gratitude for everyone who took the time to share their knowledge and experiences with us. TPC came out of the day with a bag full of ideas, leads, and contacts. Not only can we do this, but we are well on our way and doing all the right things! So validating, so timely, so inspirational. I never take moments of affirmation like this for granted. Knowing you’re on the right path can reenergize a person in unimaginable ways.

We capped off the day with our Third Power Summit, where we plotted the next few months worth of action items for TPC. If you’re not already following our journey at the TPC website, I recommend doing so. We’re blogging in real-time about this whole crazy process, and so far its been quite a ride.

Well, our successful weekend generated a to-do list about a mile long, so I better get to it. This ’starting your own business’ thing is no joke, but I don’t regret for a second that I set off on this path. It’s hard, nonstop grindin’, but I just know that we are sowing the seeds of something great. Can’t wait to taste the fruit

Well, I’ve certainly started 2010 off with a bang. On Monday, my business partners and I went LIVE with a venture we’ve been plotting, planning, and nurturing for the past three months — the launch of our publishing company The Pantheon Collective.

As most of you know, I’ve been trying for years to get my book published. But the reality is, taking the traditional route takes a looong time. Too long. It also requires a lot of compromise, and sometimes you have to surrender complete creative control. At the end of the day, I always knew it would be difficult giving up ownership of my creation. After all, my novels are like children. After giving them life, how could I just turn them over to some stranger, and trust they’d be raised right?

To be honest, I’d dreamed of starting my own publishing company from day one. I’m a natural-born control freak, and was born to be the boss. James actually calls me Boss Lady, lol. I’m much more comfortable at the top of the food chain. But when I imagined doing this, I always figured I’d be doing it solo. The quintessential independent woman, that’s just my way. The surprising thing for me is not that I did it, but that I’ve stumbled into the most synergistic of partnerships to make it all happen.

My partners in The Pantheon Collective are James Lewis and Omar Luqmaan-Harris, kindred souls, and quite frankly, two of my favorite people on the planet. Because of the mutual admiration society we’ve got going on, everything we doing takes on a whole other dimension of enjoyment… They always say that things are better when you get to share them with someone. This is no different. TPC is the most special of any endeavor I’ve undertaken, and I feel blessed to have these boys to roll down the road with.

Anyhoo, we launched on Monday, February 8th. Our goal is to publish James’ book SELLOUT in July 2010, and my debut novel, WHEN LOVE ISN’T ENOUGH in the fall. We’re aiming to drop a book every three months, and between the three of us, we’ve got six novels ready to go. That should get us well into 2011. From there, who knows? Sky’s the limit, really.

So that’s the latest update on my writing life. We’re technically still in the process of starting our company, and have decided to blog about the whole ad(venture) on theTPC website, in real time. If you have a few spare moments in your day, check us out