The Urbane Urbanite

Reggie Levine, a self-proclaimed tech geek, was one of the many talented bloggers who attended the Blogging While Brown (BWB) Conference in Washington, DC., in June. But I didn't get the opportunity to meet him there. It was the day after the conference while us bloggers were basking in the afterglow of the awesomeness that was BWB, that I stumbled upon his blog. ReggieLevine.net is a treasure trove of priceless information about how to make the most out of your gadgets, reviews on new accesories and great deals on technology. I learned how to look up words on my MacBook Pro without opening the dictionary application and how to create folders on my iPhone 3GS all from watching the videos on his blog. While this is an exciting time for gadget lovers like myself, we're inundated with many alternatives. To help make sense of some of the more popular gizmos on the market today, I asked the Atlanta based personal technology and social media expert to talk Kindle versus No...

When it's hot out and I can't rock shorts and a tee shirt, I turn to my sheer, lightweight cotton shirts and light, khaki-colored slacks to beat the summer heat - and maintain a quasi business casual look. Add to that my favorite fedora (I've decided that I want to be buried in that thing) and my suede chucks - and I'm good to go!

Ever since I was a little boy, I've always wanted to be an actor. It just took me a while to figure it out. I would lay out on the living room floor with a binder full of college ruled paper and write characters names with words next to them and then read the words out loud. I had no idea I was writing a script and acting it out. You see, growing up and going to school in the inner-city, I had no real outlet for the arts, especially acting. It was all about how fast you could run, how many baskets you could make or how many touchdowns you could score. No one was checking for the little bookworm who had a flair for the arts.

It feels like it was just yesterday that I decided to start a blog. I had no idea what I would write about but I did know that no matter what I chose to publish on the internets, I would follow the number one rule of writing: Write What You Know . And if there was something I didn't know, I'd interview the person who did. Over the last few months I've...

To conclude the fitness segment on The Urbane Urbanite, I ask fitness guru and trainer Damian Bailey to talk about how to pick the best trainer. He also suggests some exercises you can do at home to enhance your next workout.

Yesterday, I introduced you to Damian Bailey, fitness model and personal trainer extraordinaire. QUICK SIDEBAR Yes, I blogged about chicken shacks last week but because The Urbane Urbanite is a random inconsistent well-rounded blog, I've decided that this week will be Fitness Week. And that's that! Having worked in a gym for three years himself, Bailey talks about what to keep in mind before signing a gym contract and the highs and lows of working out at some of the more popular gyms in the country.

Meet Damian Bailey: This. Dude. Is. A. Beast. I'm not sure how Bailey and I connected on Facebook but he always catches my attention with his status updates about wearing out his personal training clients at the gym and his rants about building a better body and working out on the beach. Of course I read all this while lying on the couch, eating light-skinned Oreos and hating on his killer body. The 33-year-old New Yorker isn't just a personal trainer, fitness model and CEO of DAMIAN BAILEY FITNESS. He's also a filmmaker, producer and CEO of Glory 2 God Productions. URBANE.URBANITE. : How did you get into health, fitness and body building? DAMIAN BAILEY : I went along with my parents one day to workout at their gym and I was so fascinated with how the "pump" looked on my body that I was bitten and haven't stopped since. I was about 21-years-old. UU : What jobs have you held in the fitness industry? DB : I was a Personal Trainer at Equniox (T...

Ask anybody who knows me and they'll tell you I love to eat. Many of my favorite restaurants have pricey menus and upscale layouts. But every now and then, when I'm having a fat boy moment, hung over from the night before or when I'm just in the mood for something good and greasy, I head over to Nicos, my favorite hole-in-the-wall chicken shack in Newark, NJ. What's a Chicken Shack?

Aliya S. King is a mess right now. A few weeks ago, Original Gangster , the memoir King wrote for legendary Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas hit stands and she didn't so much as blink an eye. It's not that she doesn't care. She simply doesn't have the time. "I'm going nuts" says the wife and mother of two who is juggling multiple national magazine projects and book proposals all while promoting her debut novel, Platinum , an up close and personal page-turner that chronicles the lives of four women involved with men in the hip-hop industry. The novel hits stores nationwide on July 6. "I've never been under so much pressure in my life." She's right. I've known King in numerous capacities over the last 15 years: Teacher Friend Confidant Advisor Mentor Boss And I've never seen her this busy or stressed out. She wasn't this stressed out when she was living under her desk at Billboard magazine. She wasn'...