By Brandon Meginley

Jackie Collins comes with a tagline: “She’ll keep you up all night.” Given the titillating nature of the bestselling author’s work, readers may find themselves opening the blinds to sunlight after sitting down to read her 27^th novel, Poor Little Bitch Girl. It’s classic Collins characters at their most licentious. It opens with courtesan Annabelle Maestro primping in preparation for a gig with the 15-year-old son of a wealthy oil man. What could go wrong?

Collins has sold 400 million books internationally since the late 1970s. This places her somewhere between fellow Brits JK Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien in all-time sales. It puts her at an advantage over Michael Crichton, Anne Rice, and James Patterson combined. Poor Little Bitch Girl will be sixth on the New York Times Best Seller list this Sunday. She signs books at Masquerade at Harrah’s New Orleans Casino at 2 p.m. to 4 p.m Saturday.

Collins talked to Gambit about the book, her impressions of New Orleans, and her writing process.

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By Brandon Meginley

In 23 years as a White House chef, Ronnie Seaton prepared meals for five presidents and many distinguished guests. A certified master chef from New Orleans, Seaton has been in kitchens all of his life, and he knows that no matter who the diner is, kitchen work helps many people feed their own families.

“If you’re going to work hard, you should be paid for what you do,” Seaton said.

Seaton was the keynote speaker Tuesday at a panel discussion following the release of a study by the Restaurant Opportunities Center of New Orleans (ROC-NOLA), a policy and worker advocacy group. The study is based on 530 worker surveys plus focus groups and extended interviews with workers and employers. The study concludes that the local restaurant industry is overwhelmingly comprised of low-wage jobs offering few benefits and offered recommendations to improve wages, job security and help employers create better working environments.

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Gambit walks the red carpet at the Blind Side premier.

The Prytania Theater
Thursday, November 19 
A few celeb snap shots from last night’s event.

“Up until about two or three years ago I didn’t show my photographs to anyone,” says Jessica Lange, revealing something of the reticence that is an essential if unlikely aspect of her persona. Poised and sleek at 60, she seems almost shy surrounded by her pictures at A Gallery for Fine Photography (241 Chartres St., 568-1313; www.agallery.com), as if still adjusting to her new role as an exhibited and published photographer. In some ways it harks to her early days as a fledgling documentary filmmaker in New York, where she did modeling jobs to pay the bills until she was discovered by veteran producer Dino de Laurentiis, who cast her as the female lead in his remake of King Kong (1976). Several decades and many acting credits and awards later, she seems a little disconcerted, as if it is she who is revealed in her moody, understated and often nocturnal images, and not simply her subjects. In fact, it is this unusually subtle, almost vulnerable quality that imbues her work with its poetic aura. How it all came about is a uniquely personal story that began in 1992 with a gift from her longtime partner, the noted playwright, actor and author, Sam Shepard. — D. Eric Bookhardt

Interview after the jump.

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Sequined glove, high-water slacks, and penny loafers, oh my! In the 1980s, Michael Jackson crafted his signature look. Throughout his career, the King of Pop has donned many character looks — from a zombie to a gangster to an ancient Egyptian magi — but there’s one character that not all fans may remember: the friendly, loveable scarecrow without a brain.

In the 1978 film adaptation of The Wiz from the Broadway musical of the same name, Diana Ross played Dorothy, a young school teacher anxious to get back home to Harlem, Richard Pryor played The Wiz, the magician who could grant her wish to do so, and Mabel King played Evillene, the wicked witch who stood in her way. Jackson played the scarecrow in a film that has quietly joined the list of cult classics.

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In the wake of disastrous 2008 election results, several GOP pollsters and campaign staffers took a hard look at polling data and realized that the party hadn’t just had a bad fall, the future was looking bleak as well. By substantial margins, young voters were identifying with the Democratic Party. In looking at rebuilding (not just its self-esteem, but the possibility of attracting 50.1 percent of the vote in future elections), a few advocated changing a few stances. Steve Schmidt, a Karl Rove protégé and senior strategist for John McCain’s presidential campaign, recommended moderating views on opposing gay rights. Conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks had previously been candid (from the safe haven of public television) that changing attitudes about gay rights reflected generational changes. He said that roughly two thirds of older voters opposed gay marriage, but roughly two thirds of younger voters supported it.

In a recent interview with Gambit, filmmaker Kirby Dick predicted that within the next two decades, the United States will have an openly gay candidate for president. His film Outrage looks at the current climate for gay politicians. It’s driven by the circumstance that some of the harshest opponents to gay rights happen to be gay themselves. Vehement opposition seems to provide cover for those watching out for their own careers. While the hypocrisy of a few makes headlines, the truth is that there is a large gay contingent on Capitol Hill, including politicians, staffers, lobbyists, etc. In recent decades, two major changes have shaken up the community. Beginning in the early 1980s, the AIDS crisis forced the issue of whether politicians could or would ignore a health epidemic for fear of being viewed as sympathetic to gay rights. And the rise of the Christian right in the GOP turned opposition to gay marriage and rights into an ongoing organizing issue. Change certainly doesn’t come quickly or easily. The Obama administration recently backed off its promise to do away with the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy that has made it very difficult for gays and lesbians serving in the military. The film offers great insight into the politics and psychology of the closet at a time when gay rights issues are still polarizing for many. The New Orleans Film Society and the CAC present a screening of Outrage on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at the CAC. — Will Coviello

In a colorful Baronne Street studio, YA/YA students work on projects for the organization’s summer fundraiser. Painted table and chair sets, clocks and jackets lie scattered around the room. One student sands a chair while sitting on a white couch decked out in colorful graffiti art. Ronnie Dents, an entry level artist in the program, is almost done painting the lips of a Mardi Gras mask on a chair. He looks around the large room and smiles, shaking his head at two other students by the window.

The students, New Orleans Center for Science and Math junior Avery Matthews and sophomore Jourdan Barnes are both laughing as Barnes picks Matthews up and squeezes her, his wet paintbrush just centimeters away from her clothes. Barnes’ last artwork for the fundraiser, a painted patio umbrella, is a few feet away from all the kicking and poking. Other students laugh at them. A student turns on a radio, and Lil’ Wayne blasts through the speakers.

“It’s a cool place to come and just chill. It’s kind of a family. Music is always playing…but at the same time you have to be able to come in and put in work,” Dents says.

For aspiring artists in area schools, Young Aspirations/Young Artists (YA/YA) offers skill development and guidance from art professionals as well as essential business training for careers in arts fields. Since its founding in 1988, the program has helped young artists learn the ropes of the arts business through projects within the community, nationally and even internationally. YA/YA also helps its artists gain commissions for original work, showing youth that the “starving artist” stereotype doesn’t have to be a reality for them.

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Dizzy. Satchmo. Duke. The world knows these icons as great music makers and jazz innovators, but they were also official cultural ambassadors. A photography exhibit opening Friday at the Old U.S. Mint captures the global mission of America’s top jazz musicians during the Cold War.

The Louisiana State Museum presents, Jam Session: America’s Jazz Ambassadors Embrace the World, a photography exhibition that follows the international tours of great jazz musicians on their quest to represent the United States for the State Department by sharing their music and culture with the world. The exhibit features more than 90 photographs of jazz legends including Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman and others in more than 35 countries and across four continents from the mid 1950s to early 1970s. The exhibit runs through September 25.

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The empowerment seminar portion of the Essence Music Festival offers more than the usual array of political, social and religious leaders. Attendees can get free goodies, free health screenings and autographs from David and Tamela Mann, stars of Tyler Perry’s “Meet the Browns,”  at a mini-festival at the convention center.

“Shades of Our Community,” is a touring mini-festival making a stop at the Essence Music Festival. It features music, kids’ activities and celebrity appearances, with visits from film stars David and Tamela Mann, CNN correspondents Roland S. Martin and Soledad O’Brien, and Joint Task Force Katrina commander Lt. Gen. Russel Honore. Medical professionals will also be on site to give free blood pressure and glucose screenings. Programming hours are 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday-Sunday.

Shades is sponsored Turner Network Sales, the owner of TBS, in conjunction with CNN, TNT, Cartoon Network and cable provider Cox Communications. The touring event will make stops in 10 cities, and is designed both to provide free services to attendees and promote the four networks upcoming programming, including TNT’s nurse show “HawthoRNe” and CNN’s “Black in America 2,” the sequel to the network’s 2008 documentary “Black in America.”

“It’s promotional for the shows, but it’s also to give back,” spokeswoman Mary Anderson-Harris says.

During the event, Cox Communications will donate $1000 to Cox Charities of New Orleans, the company’s charity that donates to non-profit organizations with education and development programs.— Jessica Williams

Austin-based singer/songwriter Ted Hadji performs at the Circle Bar tonight. But will his biggest fan, his “wife,” be in attendance?

In May, Hadji self-released his debut album The Particles Don’t Care, full of raw sounds and lyrics. Samples are posted on his MySpace page. But there also is a link to an “official” site that is operated by a 15-year-old girl who claims to be married to Hadji.

The girl, “Britney” or “Brittany” as it is sometimes written, claims not only to be Hadji’s number one fan, but also his girlfriend and wife — simultaneously. She boasts that the two fell in love while Hadji was sitting in front of a bar and said to her, back when she was 13: “Don’t be a musician kid. Whatever you do, don’t be a musician. I love you too much for that.”

This was confirmation to “Britney” that, of course, she and Hadji had forged an undeniable connection. But to her mother, Hadji was nothing more than a crazy man on a stoop. To this, “Britney” describes her mother as “a cold, shriveled woman who is ugly!” and later says her “womb is a toxic wasteland drenched in puke!” After a few more profanities and insults, “Britney” goes on to talk about how much she loves Hadji’s music and provides tips on the best ways to stalk him. She even boasts that while Hadji only printed 1,000 packaged CDs, she bought them all. That’s right, every single one of them, and she wants you to buy them from her if you’re a true fan. Get them while they’re hot; she’s selling them for a mere $11.99 a pop.

If this is an elaborate prank on Hadji’s side, kudos to him for keeping the world guessing. No doubt if he has this much creativity for a fake fansite, his music and his stage show should be interesting.

Or, maybe there really is some girl out there named “Britney” or “Brittany” who just keeps forgetting how to spell her name and who likes mini horses, Hot Topic and absolutely adores Hadji. - Briana Prevost