Writing books, throwing parties at the SAME. DAMN. TIME!!!

A year in a half or so ago, I wrote an entry talking about our plans to launch Very Smart Singles — a service created to help the thousands of single members of VSB nation connect with each other, date, (hopefully) copulate, and (maybe) spawn a race of big-headed VSB babies.

Unfortunately — well, fortunately for us, but unfortunately for Very Smart Singles — “Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm At Night” was released a month later, and that pretty much took up all of our attention and energy.

Anyway, we have quite a few things planned for the next couple of months, and the return — and follow through — of Very Smart Singles is one of them

Here are the details:

A person (male or female) submits a picture and a short (150-200 word) and witty (well, as witty as you can be) bio to our email address. Included in the bio should be their general location (i.e.: DMV, Greater Atlanta area, etc) and the name they prefer to have on their profile. (For instance, if your name is Kimberly Johnson, you’d be “Kim J”, “K.J.”, or “Kimmers”)

We’ll then post the pic and the bio on VSB as its own entry. (We’ll eventually have a Very Smart Singles permeneat sidebar, but for now this’ll do) People interested in possibly meeting the Very Smart Single will email us, and we’ll then contact the Very Smart Single, giving them the contact info of whoever expressed interest. From that point, they’re on their own.

We plan to launch this in a few weeks, but we’re currently accepting submissions so that we can hit the ground running. If you’re interested, email a hi-definition picture, a short bio, and your location to contact@verysmartbrothas.com, under the heading “Very Smart Singles.”

Also, if you already sent something in during the first go around, please resend if you’re still interested.

A couple more things…

After receiving over 500 emails, we ended up choosing three interns — Mylon M., a D.C. resident who actually was one of the baby-haired kids in the Just For Me ads that used to run on BET in the late 90′s, Natalie D., a Princeton student and former female pro wrestler, and “Stalls,” who won’t allow us to print her real name because she owes the IRS $19,000. These lovely ladies are needed additions to the VSB team, we’re glad to have them on board, and we apologize in advance for all the shit we’re going to put them through and all the Greyhound station Bible study classes Liz will drag them to.

A couple weekends ago, Panama drove up to the Burgh so that we could record an audio version of “Your Degrees…” at Ya Momz House, the recording studio owed by my man Emmai Alaquiva. All of the final engineering and production was completed this week, and we’ll have it available shortly (possibly by next week). Stay tuned and shit.

There’s something else really big in the works that I’m not allowed to talk about right now. Lets just say that you’re going to be seeing a lot more of “us” in the very near future.

It’s still not to late to cop a limited edition VSB sweatshirt from our partnership with Coliseum Apparel. Forget about the fact that it’s supposed to be like 90 degrees everywhere on the entire east coast this weekend. Cop it, and literally be the hottest dude (or chick) in the club.

Lastly, if you’re in the D.C. area this weekend, come through to #REMINISCEDC, the party dedicated to all 90s music at Liv Nightclub in DC!!! Straight hip-hop/r&b/dancehall brought to you by Very Smart Brothas x Shine On Me x Just Cause Events. Come party with us THIS Saturday, May 5, also know as Cinco De Mayo (rock your sombrero), FOR FREE! It’s FREE before 11pm with RSVP (reminiscedc.eventbrite.com) and $10 after, there’s an OPEN BAR from 930-1030PM (sponsored by Courvoisier) and NO DRESS CODE. It’s cheaper to come out and party!!!! After you down all the Coronos and Margaritas you can, come party with us! Plus, we’ll have $5 drink specials all night long. Really, you can’t beat it.

Anyway, VSB nation, does anyone have anything new and exciting (or old and mundane) that you want to get off of your chest? The carpet is yours.

—Damon Young (aka “The Champ”)

Liz here. We’re skipping our regular entry today because your very own Panama Jackson was featured in a web series talk show that debuts today on MadameNoire.com. The show is called Ask A Black Man, and it’s all about love, dating, sex and relationships from the male perspective. I happen to be the Executive Producer on the series, so you know if 2/3 of VSB is involved it’s gotta be halfway decent! Ha.

This episode is called “The Life of A SIngle Man” and Panama will also be featured in The Sex Episode premiering on April 11. Make sure you tune into Ask A Black Man every Wednesday for new episodes.

Anyway, press play below or head on over to Episode 1 and watch over there.

Tell us what you think about Panama’s Participation! Did he represent well for the 3s?

Welcome, VSB nation, to our final post of 2011 — a year that can be summarized in one word: Wow. 

It might take 5,000 words to list each memorable moment, so I’ll just settle for the highlights.

The release of a long-awaited book that garnered overwhelmingly positive reviews from many, including celebrities (well, celebrities to reading ninjas, at least) Helena Andrews…

 “Written by Damon “the Champ” Young and Panama Jackson, the two “very smart brothas” behind the blog of the same name, Your Degrees isn’t the latest literary money pit for pitiful women looking to “find, keep and understand a man.” Instead, the book, which reads more like a “best of” blog series (in a good way), is a case study in new-millennium mating for like-minded folk who live near a metro. The book is playful without being patronizing.”

…and The Artist Formerly Known As Sister Toldja

“The 250-page book has consistently remained on Amazon’s top-100 for both love/sex and humor titles since its release at the end of January…and for good reason! It’s a genuinely entertaining read. Though they’re both men, Panama and The Champ (the first Pittburgian…Pittsburger(?) that I ever knew outside of an August Wilson play) do a fantastic job at not throwing women under the bus, nor attempting to make too many excuses for guys when it comes to the behaviors that make the dating game a tough one to play.”

(Hint, Hint: “Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm At Night” would make for a great stocking stuffer. Humor, wisdom, and rachetness all in one cheap package. What more can you ask for?) 

The first annual National VSB Day — officially recognized now as February 10th of every year — an event where hundreds of fans of VSB gathered in various cites across the nation (Pittsburgh, D.C., Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York City, Oakland/Bay Area, Los Angeles, Dallas, and Miami/South Florida) to meet, greet, and celebrate VerySmartness.

“Three Deez” — The VSB Three Year Anniversary Party and Book Signing — an event that took place on April 2nd, drew over 500 folks (Including numerous VSB veterans. Don’t even want to bother naming who all showed up because I don’t want to forget anyone, but lets just be safe and say that every f*cking body was there) and was notable for three reasons.

1. It marked the first time that Panama and I met in person. (Also was the first and only time that all three of us — Panama, Liz, and I — have ever been at the same place at the same time)

2. It managed to get VSB and SBM together for a picture…

Panama appeared on The Ed Gordon show, and was a featured panelist at the Princeton University’s Hip-Hop: Arts & Life Symposium.

I had spots on the Michael Baisden Show and The Michael Eric Dyson Show, and was a featured panelist at Blogalicious 2011.

We were featured by The Washington Post, interviewed by The Root, named on The Root’s list of 30 Black Bloggers You Should Know, interviewed by Essence, profiled by Black Enterprise, and spotlighted by Edge Magazine. 

We won a record FIVE Black Weblog Awards — (Blog of The Year, Best Writing In a Blog, Best Humor Blog, Best Dating and Relationship Blog, and Best Blog Duo)

We were named on Ebony Magazine’s Annual Power 100 List

(Also, I haven’t seen it yet, but apparently we’re in this week’s Jet Magazine. Kelly Rowland should be on the cover.)

Panama, Liz, and I also continued to spread our wings to other parts of the internet. Editor gigs, writing contracts, featured columns, and Liz even managed to executive produce a series about women exactly like her.

Now, I can’t speak too much about our plans for 2012 yet, but I will say two things…

1. VSB will open the new year with a few, um, changes. I can’t tell you exactly what’s going to happen, but things will be very different around here. Don’t worry, though. These are good changes. (Well, we think they’re good changes, but that remains to be seen)

2.  You know how jaw-dropping it can be to see your favorite book on screen? Well, if “Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm At Night” is your favorite book, prepare to have your jaw-dropped in 2012.

None of this — the book, the awards, the recognition, our plans — would have been possible without VSB nation, and trust me when I say that we’re honored and humbled by your continued support. It’s completely amazing to think of how far we’ve come (and how much further we plan to go), and you’ve been there with us every step of the way. We are forever indebted to you, and we sincerely wish each of you a safe and happy holiday season.

See you in 2012

—The Champ

Thanks for always being logged on to VSB.

*taps mic*

Hey guys. Liz here.

Just wanted to give you the heads up that there is no new post today because the site has been on the fritz the past week, as I am sure many of you have noticed.

I wanted to take a minute to apologize for the downtime and the jankyness factor going on here at VSB lately. It’s been a rough week, rougher than usual, but I believe we have fixed most of the problems for now, and we have upgraded our server so the site runs faster.

Yes, that means less 404s, 503s and OPPs.

Sorry if you had problems accessing the site this week. Also, really really sorry for some of you throwback Internet Explorer users who were getting forwarded to a pr0n site when coming to VSB. (Some of you may have actually enjoyed that, I’m not really sure.)

I also wanted to take the time to remind you that you can always subscribe to our RSS feed via your RSS feed reader, or email. That way, you can read our published content in your RSS feed reader or in your email inbox even if the site is down or slow. Click here to subscribe via email or RSS.

If you ever have any technical problems with VSB please email us at contact@verysmartbrothas.com and we can help troubleshoot. And by “us” and “we” I mean “me.” Panama and the Champ can’t help you on tech problems. SMH.

Have a good weekend! Make sure you read P’s very important post from yesterday, since the site was down most of the day.

Thanks for your patience and support!

I spent the entire 4th of July grilling and mixing drinks for a crew of Mexican plankers and n*gger scientists, so I wasn’t able to write last night. And by “I spent the entire 4th of July grilling and mixing drinks for a crew of�Mexican plankers and n*gger scientists” I mean “I was drunk between 2:30 pm and (approximately) now.”

But, although we don’t have anything new for VSB today, Panama and I have been quite busy expanding our writing horizons, and I thought I’d take some time today to share a few of the moves we’ve made to help make this VSB takeover complete.

First, I wanted to let you all know that I’ll be writing for�The Good Men Project on a semi-regular basis.�My first article there,�“Eligible, Black, Male, and Hopelessly Single” — which shed light on the fact that there�are actually “eligible” black men out there who genuinely want to be in a relationship (with a black woman!) but have trouble finding the right match — was their most popular article�last week and was picked up by several publications, including NPR News and Clutch Magazine.

Panama has a new gig at The Stir, where he’s blogging about being a single dad, being black, dating, actually knowing his daughter’s favorite color, and being a black single dad who’s currently dating and actually knows his daughter’s favorite color.�It’s not a game with Panama and the blogging about being a single black male father (who’s not in prison) game.

A new edition of my “Ask A Very Smart Brotha” advice column at Madame Noire posts every Wednesday, and is guaranteed to provide insight, humor, ratchetness, anger, and conspiracy theory (and those are just the comments)

Panama is still holding it down at GuySpeak, a place where (I’ve heard) he’s much, much nicer than he is at VSB. Show the BFF some love.

Also, I’ve been named head editor of The Hill Review, a new literary magazine that’s set to launch in September. Founded and funded by The August Wilson Center, it will offer long-form essays, articles, critiques, fiction, excerpts, and even editorial cartoons.�Basically, think The New Yorker with a focus on all things African-American culture.�You’ll be hearing more about this in the coming weeks. And yes, we’re unofficially accepting submissions right now. (Btw, I have no idea what “unofficially accepting submissions” even means.)

Lastly, I know we’ve done this a trillion times before, but each of us — Panama, Liz, and I — greatly appreciate all of the support you all have given us. Yes, we’ve put in a ton of work ourselves, but the success we’ve had and the doors this success has opened is largely due to VSB nation, and we’re forever�indebted�to you all and shit.

Thank you.

Anyway, people of VSB.com, does anyone have any�announcements�to make? Any crazy 4th of July stories? Any planking pictures?

We’re all fam here and shit. Don’t be scared to share.

***1:25 am edit. Liz has a ton of awesomeness going on too, but she’s a bit less comfortable sharing in this space. Plus, she prefers to remain stealth. Easier for her to steal shit that way, I guess. Follow her at�@calinative for the full Liz 411.***

—The Champ

Here’s a little background for all those suckas that don’t know: One day, I was talking on the G-chat with Cheekie. She mentioned that a gaggle of ladies would be descending up on DC in early April for the Cherry Blossom Festival. A segment had been to Miami and decided to hang out again in our nation’s capital. She asked me if we could do some kind of VSB event. I’m sure I said, “sure” and surely, we began formulating the plan to create a happy hour style event that turned into the Three Deez VSB Three Year Anniversary Party and Book Signing (which was also accidentally named by Cheekie).

And it was also the event where The Champ and I met for the first time. Before I get into the random recaps (alcohol was present, dontchaknow), I feel like everybody else was WAY more excited about us finally meeting than we were. Not that it wasn’t due, but when you work with and deal with somebody for so long, the meeting is merely a formality. But yes it still had to happen. Were there jitters? No. Curiousity? No. Illiteracy? No. Racism? No. So, what did happen when we met? How did the first meeting between VSBs The Champ and Panama Jackson go????

Glad you asked.

Liz and I picked him up from his hotel. He got in my car. I noticed he didn’t have a coat and told him he was on his white boy Pittsburgh sh*t rolling around without a jacket in 50 degree weather. Then we talked about how gay the cake was (if you saw the cake, it was pretty gay). It was pretty much how two ninjas who’ve known each other for a very long time would interact. Easy breezy beautiful cover girl. And yes, the cake was gayer than that last sentence I just typed. No real pomp. No real circumstance. Just two real G’s doing real G things.

Going to a restaurant with a cake in hand and a bunch of books to sell. Fern. Gully.

And with that said, maaaaaaaaaaaaaaan was that a good time. There were drinks flying everywhere. Women all over. More men than I thought would show up. Books. Signed books. Old friends. New shoes. And I think Brick killed a guy. We met so many folks who frequent the site and met some new folks who hopefully will begin to do so. Here are some random observations from Three Deez knucka.

- Champ is a basketball head. We all know this. So what does he do for the first half hour that we’re there? Watch the VCU-Butler game? What do I do? Go holler at chicks and do banging re-interpolation of Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” complete with interpretive dance. What does that tell us? Put two ninjas in a room together and one is watching ball and the other is singing and dancing. That’s what it was like in 1811 and it’s like that in 2011. We got to do better.

- Champ is hilarious in person. Of course I didn’t know how much so until Saturday. We signed books for a very long time but we also had some hilarious moments signing those books. If you could read some of the things he signed in folks books? Here’s an example: To Shuuuuuuuga – two wrongs don’t make a right, but loving VSB (and me) means you make good decisions in life. Aw shuga no no no no. Champ?

To Shuuuuuuuuuuga – why did your mother name you that? I don’t know either. Champ.

- Le sigh, the DJ might have been the best terrible DJ in history. Let me explain. See, the upstairs part wasn’t a VSB function…back up. Because we were expecting such a big turnout, we worked out with the club a way to allow folks to go into the upstairs nightclub – which had a party going on – for free. Cool beans. Except it was “deep house” night. Which isn’t a bad thing its just that NOBODY who was up in the club actually wanted to hear that. But the DJ was a dope DJ, if that’s what you wanted to hear. Of course, his party, his rules, but I’m pretty sure a lot of the women wanted to drop it like it was hot but couldn’t find the beat to do so because the average BPM was 287. You’ll kill yourself trying to drop that in time. But it was free, and there was a bar…

- …which means that we took shots. Quite a few actually. At one point, at least 10 people lined up to take kamikaze shots with me. I can’t even remember everybody who participated. But it was dark, and hell is hot. Pretty sure nobody paid for it anyway so praise the lord and pass the panties.

- All of the out of town ladies came thru and represented HARD. Cheekie, Gem of the Ocean, Sane85, Max, Miss Patterson, Nick@Nite, Keisha Brown, LaLaBakir, Starita, and hometown heroes LiveLoveLibra and MsEsquire were the impetus for even doing the party (if I missed somebody, my bad). We all went out on Friday night and I’m pretty sure that I grabbed more derrierre than is recommended by the surgeon general. I can neither confirm nor deny if that last sentence is true.

- Pretty sure I gave SmartFoxGirl a table dance.

- The line for the book signing was insane. It also seemed like it would never end. Must be what the line to hell looks like. Thanks to everybody who bought a book and had us sign it. That felt great to know that anybody gives a sh*t about little ole us. Also, it gave us a great way to check out all of the ladies. Book signings are definitely where it’s at. Sadatay.

- Shoutouts to the SingleBlackMale.org family for falling through and hanging out. One of the most interesting parts of the night was when we all took a picture together and I’m pretty sure I was blinded by the 37 people taking pictures using the brightest flash possible…

…yet nobody seems to have a copy of that picture. Or any of the other ones taken for that matter. We had a photog and videographer there who will send me pictures soon and we’ll post them.

- The topic of what the difference between a Champ fan and a Panama fan came up quite frequently. It’s somewhat of a running joke between us. And no, we still never answered it to anybody who asked. At least not directly. Oh, and Classy6’5″ Diva is really that tall. Wow.

- Much like folks who’ve never seen us before, there’s an interesting feeling when you meet somebody who’s only lived in your life via word form and they look nothing like you thought they might. That sh*t can really throw you off your game. I ain’t saying that happened, but it happened. Not good or bad, I’m just saying I can’t be alone in my thoughts about that.

- I saw some superb fashion WTF moments. Hell, I was one of them. I had on a two Jesus pieces. Rapper game proper.

- We sold a boatload of books. Thank you. Buy some more. Thank you.

- To all the drunk motherf*ckers who were running around, ooooooh that’s a good look baby. Including Liz who at some point I’m pretty sure just went to go sit in a corner and play Angry Birds or something.

I’ll stop there (for now) and just add things over the course of the day. To everybody who came out (there are too many names that I do remember for me to even ATTEMPT to name them all) thank you very much. To all of the new friends we made and the old friends we saw. Oh, special shoutout to Circa1908 who Liz informed left the first comment on the blog of anybody who still comments today. It was really great meeting her and hanging. Pluse she tweeted some of the more outlandish things I said. And I’m pretty sure I said that after the New Testament is the Newer Testament, and the book right after Revelations is Realizations…and that Tupac has a chapter.

The moral? Stop drinking kids.

For those who weren’t there, fret not, we’re travelling soon. For those who were there, thanks…we appreciate the love and support and thank you for celebrating with us.

For those folks who came…what did you remember most? Speak on it. Share. Let’s make this a happy home. Carl Thomas is emotional. But we’re gangsta.

Special shoutouts to DC Tap & Parlour for hosting us with libations, food, and good service. We should all go back again.

Talk to me.

How was your Three Deez experience?

-VSB P aka THE ARSONIST aka TANGLE JIG P aka GIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRL HE A 3

2011: The Year of The Very Smart Takeover

In the 690 posts and 225,000 comments since the first VSB entry (�emotional� cheating. the ultimate oxymoron), we — Panama, Liz, and I — have been asked dozens upon dozens of questions; queries ranging from the silly (“Does The Champ decorate his deez for Halloween?“), the waaaaay too serious (“When are the VSB’s going to tackle the rampant rapes by American soldiers in Afghanistan?”), and the f*cking stupid (“Even though I’ve never actually left a comment on VSB, didn’t bother to attach any writing samples, and didn’t even make the effort to get your names right in this email, can I guest post on VSB next week?“)

But, one question seems to pop up more than any other; a question we never really gave much serious thought to…until now.

“There seems to be a great community of like-minded and intelligent people here. But, I need to know where and how can I find the Very Smart Brothas and Sistas in my city?”

Enter “Very Smart Singles”, the Verysmartbrothas’ answer to that question. Taking a cue from the popularity of My Single Peeps, Very Smart Singles will pull from the thousands of VerySmart and single fans of VSB, showcasing those who choose to participate.

Here’s how it will work. A person (male or female) submits a picture and a short (150-200 word) and witty (well, as witty as you can be) bio to our email address. Included in the bio should be their general location (i.e.: DMV, Greater Atlanta area, etc) and the name they prefer to have on their profile. (For instance, if your name is Kimberly Johnson, you’d be “Kim J”, “K.J.”, or “Kimmers”)

We’ll then post the pic and the bio on the Very Smart Singles page (which is currently under construction). People interested in possibly meeting the Very Smart Single will email us, and we’ll then contact the Very Smart Single, giving them the contact info of whoever expressed interest. From that point, they’re on their own.

Although the page itself is still under construction, we’re currently accepting submissions so that when the page is ready to go, we can hit the ground running. If you’re interested, email a hi-definition picture, a short bio, and your location to contact@verysmartbrothas.com, under the heading “Very Smart Singles”. You’ll hear more about this in the next few weeks, but we hope to have the page up and running in January.

***About “Your Degrees Won’t Keep You Warm at Night”***

After reading some of the comments here and on Twitter about this book, there’s something I felt the need to clear up. Although this looks, smells, and is titled like a relationship book, it’s not really a relationship book. Well, let me put it this way: it’s as much of a “dating and relationship” book as The 40 Year Old Virgin is a “dating and relationship” movie.

The book involves many of the same types of jokes, pop culture references, and asides regularly featured on Very Smart Brothas. And, to be quite honest, we’re just as concerned with people being entertained by and enjoying the book as we are with the relationship aspect of it.

For instance, the book –which is 250 pages long, and well be sold for $14.99 — contains (at least) 50 footnotes. Here’s two of them:

[5] Admittedly, if she�s from Cincinnati, Ohio, this is probably true. Seriously, I�ve been to 40 different states, 4 different countries and 2 different continents, but women from Cincinnati are easily the most sexually forward. Just thinking about the things I saw at Club Ritz and Annie�s a few years ago makes the Bible I keep on my dresser catch fire. Basically, it�s the most underrated place on Earth to have a bachelor party. �T. C.

[7] For those unaware of who is he, Ezekiel �Freekey Zekey� Jiles is the least talented member of the Dipset, the most ignant and least talented popular rap clique in New York City — a place which has been producing the least talented rappers in Hip-Hop for (at least) the last 10 years. He�s also business partners with second most untalented member of the Dipset, Jim Jones, a man who also happens to be my personal nemesis (even though he�s probably completely unaware of this fact) –T.C.

Not exactly what you’d find in your typical “relationship” book.

Anyway, between the book, the Very Smart Singles site, and the nationwide VSB day at satellite locations across the country (oops. I don’t think I was supposed to say anything about that yet), there’s going to be a lot going on here in the first part of 2011.� I’d ask you all to bear with us, but we wouldn’t be in the position to do the things we’re planning to do without your ongoing support, so you “bearing with us” is pretty much a given, and I probably would have insulted your collective intelligence if I even asked that question.

Instead, and on behalf of the VSB crew, I’m just going to wish everyone a safe and happy holiday weekend. Be fruitful and multiply and sh*t.

—The Champ

Details below. If you can make it, please come and rep for all the VSBs and VSSs who ask us where do we all hang out at. Panama Jackson (and Liz) will be there to meet and greet you all!

——–

The Usual Suspectz and Elevated Entertainment present
180 at SUTRA LOUNGE
�Net Work�� A Blogger Meet & Greet Event

We use it everyday. Some often question �What did we do without it?�.�Without a doubt�the internet, or �the �net� as commonly referred to, has changed our world�in a myriad of ways. Over the past few years, blogs have been at the forefront of exposing personal thoughts, disseminating information and keeping the masses entertained.�This Tuesday at Sutra Lounge, we gather a number of�your favorite�bloggers to � �Net Work�, exchange ideas and meet their loyal readers.

Hosted by:

Panama Jackson � http://verysmartbrothas.com
CaShawn Thompson � http://www.heyyouasked.net
Christine Doelling � http://www.lunchboxtheory.com
Darryl �Quartermaine� Francis � http://filthyspeakeraddict.com
Jasmine Henderson � http://thejasminebrand.wordpress.com
Kimesha Mason, Kimberly Smith, & Fawn Renee � http://mymoodismusic.com
Leon Scott � http://listentoleon.net
Lisa Bee � http://www.lisa-bee.com
Melissa Rich � http://www.vanityrich.com
Najeema Thompson � http://originalnajeema.blogspot.com
Stone � http://thecouchsessions.com

180� @ Sutra in Adams Morgan �A NEW Way of Looking at the PLEASURES in Life�

A NEW Tuesday Happy Hour for DC�s Movers and Shakers

PLEASURES defined: enjoyment or satisfaction derived from what is to one�s liking; gratification; delight.

Our Mantra: 180� @ Sutra has been orchestrated by The Usual Suspectz and Elevated Entertainment for the overachievers, trendsetters and tastemakers. It is sure to surpass your greatest expectations and give you an undeniable reason to LOVE 180� at Sutra Lounge.

Location: Sutra Lounge, 2406 18th Street Northwest
Time: 5:30pm � 10pm

Happy Hour Specials until 8:30pm:
Drinks � Imported & Domestic Beers � $4, Glass of Wine � $4, Mixed Cocktails � $5, Apple Martini � $5, Cosmopolitan -$5 Food- Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil � $4, Hot Chicken Wings � $4, Chicken Skewers with Mango Chutney Dip � $4.50, Calamari � $5, Spinach Artichoke Dip � $5, Appetizer Platter � $25, Jumbo Appetizer Platter � $50

About Sutra Lounge:

Sutra Lounge brings you stylish and entertaining blend of a lounge, high intensity club, wine bar, and restaurant. Enjoy a cocktail at one of the bars, a full-course meal of American Fare on the mezzanine, or cool out and mingle among the crowd as DJ Trav Bond provides the sounds for the evening.

The Parking Secret for Adams Morgan:

Parking is readily available at The Park in Adams Morgan, located at 1711 Florida Avenue. The walk from this garage to Sutra is about a block.

That’s right, folks. Today, March 31, 2010 is our Anniversary. The day that marketh the conclusion of the second year of VSB.com’s birth.

A few words from the VSB Leadership

Panama Jackson: I, Panama Dontavious Jackson, just want to thank you, heavenly father, for shining your light on me. You make me happy, so very ha…waitaminute. Oh. Right. VSB. We just want everybody to know how much we appreciate you all coming thru over the past 2 years. There have been ups and downs. Tears and fears. Sometimes we traded tears for fears but at the end of the day, the fact that I’m a 3 never railroaded me. And since no trains were run during the making of this accomplishment, today was a good day. It is definitely hard to say goodbye to yesterday, but tomorrow will bring, a better you, a better me. To all of you folks who come here everyday and read and comment, or just read, thanks for sleepwalking. We’ve got some bigger and better things on deck and hopefully you all will come along for the ride. We’re going from a 4.0 to a 4.6. And you know the difference between those two. And if you don’t, I’m sure somebody here will tell you. Peace to the Gods, the Earths, and the Seeds. Your friendly neighborhood 3. Thanks for real. For I am nothing, nothing, nothing…if I (we) don’t…haaaaaaaaaaaave yoooooooooooooooou…Word. Life.

The Champ: in the last two years we’ve seen a black president bring back light-skinned black male points, the dumbest thing out of alaska since the last season of “northern exposure”, the births of twitter, facebook lesbians, kanyes shag, and the overuse of the word “vet” as well as the deaths of the king of pop, hip-hop, autotune, gatorade, corey haim, john edwards’ career and kat stacks’ vag1na.

still, all of this pales in comparison to the rise of verysmartbrothas.com, the modern day continuance of riley and springers lonely shanty nights, a deadly culmination of panama jackson, liz burr, liz burr’s boobs, and an eggheaded cat from pittsburgh, and I graciously thank you for allowing us to be the most important thing any of you have ever had in your lives.

Liz: If I went by� our email inbox, half of ya’ll don’t know who I am or that I help keep VSB afloat, but that’s alright. I still love you anyway. Thanks for making these past two years freaking awesome, and for putting up with us PJ and the Champ. It’s been fun working on such a large site with such an awesome community. I have enjoyed seeing the site grow and blossom to some wonderful wonderfullness, and I hope you’ll like the cool stuff we have planned in the near future.

Now, for the BIRTHDAY PRESENTS

Some of you may remember for our Centennial post we gave out (virtual) Commenter Awards. To celebrate our Second Birthday, we wanted to give a special thanks to the 10 most commenting-est commenters on VSB for the last two years. That’s right, we’re GIVING AWAY FREE VSB T-SHIRTS to these special folks. And not just any shirt, we have some new shirts coming down the pipeline (designed by a real designer!), and these Chosen Few will be the first to receive our brand spanking new exclusive design. Without further adieu …*drumroll*

The Top 10 Most Commentingest VSB Commenters of ALL TIME!

1. miss t-lee
2. Me fail english?
3. Cheekie
4. Luvvie
5. blackberry molasses
6. shatani
7. WuDaMan
8. pgh muse
9. Gem of the Ocean
10. Deviant

These super VSBs and VSSs have comment counts into the several thousands. Impressive. We appreciate their time and dedication to never shutting the f*ck up moving conversation here on VSB and would like for everyone to give them a nice VSB soul clap and throw a lil VSB glitter in the air. (If your name is on this list, we will be e-mailing you shortly about t-shirt options and delivery.)

The Best of VSB

10 Most Viewed Posts

1. pants on fire: 7 things we (men) like much more than you think we do�even though we�ll never admit it
2. clutching the pearls: the 4 sexiest scenes in black movie history
3. can�t trust it: 9 women to avoid at all costs
4. School Daze: 4 Reasons Why HBCU�s are Better Than Wherever You Went (Unless You Went to an HBCU)
5. sadie�s suspect: four reasons why women shouldn�t pursue men
6. love. actually.
7. That�s What He Said!: 8 Great Quotes From Movies You Love (When The Rainbow Isn�t Enough).
8. all points bulletin
9. nevermind: five surefire ways to scare her away
10. Blackness 101: 10 Things All Black People Should (At Least) Be Aware Of�

10 Most Commented Posts

1. Hardest.Question.Ever.
2. better than the alternative
3. Obamanation
4. Thursday Amusement: If You Don�t Know Me By Now.
5. the black pass
6. link of the week: chelly o and the �angry� black chick conundrum
7. Judging Books By Their Covers: 13 Nouns I Just Can’t Trust
8. It�s Our Centennial, B*tches!
9. things that make you much more randy than they probably should
10. Muffin.

Time for a group hug

Thanks again for taking the time to visit VSB everyday. This is the part where all the lurkers take the time to de-lurk, and leave their first comment on VSB. Everybody else? You know what to do…

We have some exciting housecleaning announcements for you all:

1. Some of our readers asked us to get on Tumblr so they could keep tabs on us over there. Your wish is our command: Follow us here. For now it’s just an imported feed, but we might do some other things with it later.

2. A few of you were asking if you could subscribe to The VSB Files on iTunes. I’m happy to announce we’ve been added to the iTunes Podcast directory: Click here to subscribe. You can subscribe to the podcast’s regular feed over here. We’ll be back with new episodes shortly!

3. A new feature we’ve been trying out over the past week is AskChamp. The Champ really wanted a way to answer your dating questions via Twitter, but we thought adding a layer of anonymity (and more character space) would help people open up a little more, if you know what I mean. We hooked up a FormSpring account that feeds to our Twitter account. Our Twitter followers have been enjoying Champ’s answers, so be sure to follow us on Twitter and feel free to drop your questions in the AskChamp widget on our website’s sidebar. You can also enter your love questions directly on the AskChamp page.

4. If you can’t get enough of The Champ, you’re in luck because he is (finally) going on the road! I thought Champ had strict orders to never leave the State of Pennsylvania, but he’s coming to Washington DC for the Modern Day Matchmaker event, where he will be a featured panelist for the show! The event goes down Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 6:15 PM (ET) at Gala Theatre, 3333 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20010. Tickets are $20 for the show, and $10 for the after-party. FOR VSB READERS WE ARE OFFERING A $5.00 DISCOUNT ON TICKETS! Use the discount code VSB at checkout to receive your discount. The code applies only to the full access show & after-party ($25) and show-only ($20) tickets. We only have a limited amount of tickets to sell at the discount rate, so it’s first-come, first-served. Get your tickets now!

That’s it for now.

Feature requests, suggestions, complaints? You can keep them to yourself always e-mail us, we’re all ears.

~Liz