29 November 2010
words
The most selfish one-letter word - "I" Avoid it.
The most satisfying two-letter word - "We" Use it.
The most poisonous three-letter word - "Ego" Kill it.
The most used four-letter word - "Love" Value it.
The most pleasing five-letter word - "Smile" Keep it.
The fastest spreading six-letter word - "Rumour "Ignore it.
The hardest working seven-letter word - "Success" Achieve it.
The most enviable eight-letter word - "Jealousy" Distance it.
The most powerful nine-letter word - "Knowledge" Acquire it.
The most essential ten-letter word - "Confidence" Trust it.
I found this, while looking for something else. This was better than what I was looking for.
note to self
seen on twitter
From Fearless in Dubai- the sooner you realise that happiness is never tied to an individual, the sooner you can achieve it.
From Fearless in Dubai- the sooner you realise that happiness is never tied to an individual, the sooner you can achieve it.
on today, November 29,
in 1919, Pearl Primus was born.
She played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the needs to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. Primus’ work was a reaction to myths of savagery and the lack of knowledge about African people. It was an effort to guide the Western world to view African dance as an important and dignified statement about another way of life. Additionally, her work provided a knowledge and meaning for dances that had been plagued by distortion of movement and excessive hip shaking of the backside.
Primus was born in Trinidad in 1919 to Edward and Emily (Jackson) Primus. Among her relations were drummers and initiates into the Shango/Spiritual Baptist faith. Her maternal grandfather, in particular, was an Ashanti musician from Ghana. When Pearl Primus was two years old she, with her two brothers were brought to New York City where they were reared. Although her parents did not exhibit theatrical tendencies, Primus’ mother had learned the social dances of Trinidad from her grandfather. Primus also had a colorful aunt who sympathized with her decision to embrace dance. When that came, this aunt who dressed in unusually colorful clothing, exclaimed that she would have been shocked had Primus not become an entertainer.
Primus also choreographed a work to Langston Hughes’s long famous poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, which was performed at her Broadway debut on October 4, 1944 at the Bealson Theatre.
She then began to study more intensively at the New Dance Group and became one of their instructors. In the summer of 1944, Primus visited the Deep South to research the culture and dances of Southern blacks. She visited over seventy churches and picked cotton with the sharecroppers. In December 1943, Primus appeared as a guest artist in Asadata Dafora’s African Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall.
In December 1944, Primus, who was primarily a solo artist recruited other dancers and performed in concerts at the Roxy Theatre. African Ceremonial was rechoreographed for a group performance. At this time, Primus’ African choreography could be termed interpretive, based on research and her imagining of the way in which a piece of African sculpture would move.
In 1946, Primus was invited to appear in the revival of the Broadway production Showboat choreographed by Helen Tamiris. Then, she was asked to choreograph a Broadway production called Calypso whose title became Caribbean Carnival. She also appeared at the Chicago Theatre in the 1947 revival of the Emperor Jones in the ‘’’Witch Doctor’’’ role that Hemsley Winfield made famous.
Following this show and many subsequent recitals, Primus toured the nation with a company she formed. While on the university and college circuit, Primus performed at Fisk University in 1948, where Dr. Charles S. Johnson, a member of Rosenwald Foundation board, was president. He was so impressed with the power of her interpretive African dances that he asked her when she had last visited Africa. She replied that she had never done so. She then received the last and largest ($4000) of the major Rosenwald Fellowships for an eighteen month research and study tour of the Gold Coast, Angola, Cameroons, Liberia, Senegal and the Belgian Congo.
Primus was so well accepted in the communities in her study tour that she was told that the ancestral spirit of an African dancer had manifested in her. The Oni and people of Ife, Nigeria, felt that she was so much a part of their community that they initiated her into their commonwealth and affectionately conferred on her the title Omowale- the child who has returned home.[3]
--Courtesy wikipedia.org
She played an important role in the presentation of African dance to American audiences. Early in her career she saw the needs to promote African dance as an art form worthy of study and performance. Primus’ work was a reaction to myths of savagery and the lack of knowledge about African people. It was an effort to guide the Western world to view African dance as an important and dignified statement about another way of life. Additionally, her work provided a knowledge and meaning for dances that had been plagued by distortion of movement and excessive hip shaking of the backside.
Primus was born in Trinidad in 1919 to Edward and Emily (Jackson) Primus. Among her relations were drummers and initiates into the Shango/Spiritual Baptist faith. Her maternal grandfather, in particular, was an Ashanti musician from Ghana. When Pearl Primus was two years old she, with her two brothers were brought to New York City where they were reared. Although her parents did not exhibit theatrical tendencies, Primus’ mother had learned the social dances of Trinidad from her grandfather. Primus also had a colorful aunt who sympathized with her decision to embrace dance. When that came, this aunt who dressed in unusually colorful clothing, exclaimed that she would have been shocked had Primus not become an entertainer.
Primus also choreographed a work to Langston Hughes’s long famous poem, The Negro Speaks of Rivers, which was performed at her Broadway debut on October 4, 1944 at the Bealson Theatre.
She then began to study more intensively at the New Dance Group and became one of their instructors. In the summer of 1944, Primus visited the Deep South to research the culture and dances of Southern blacks. She visited over seventy churches and picked cotton with the sharecroppers. In December 1943, Primus appeared as a guest artist in Asadata Dafora’s African Dance Festival at Carnegie Hall.
In December 1944, Primus, who was primarily a solo artist recruited other dancers and performed in concerts at the Roxy Theatre. African Ceremonial was rechoreographed for a group performance. At this time, Primus’ African choreography could be termed interpretive, based on research and her imagining of the way in which a piece of African sculpture would move.
In 1946, Primus was invited to appear in the revival of the Broadway production Showboat choreographed by Helen Tamiris. Then, she was asked to choreograph a Broadway production called Calypso whose title became Caribbean Carnival. She also appeared at the Chicago Theatre in the 1947 revival of the Emperor Jones in the ‘’’Witch Doctor’’’ role that Hemsley Winfield made famous.
Following this show and many subsequent recitals, Primus toured the nation with a company she formed. While on the university and college circuit, Primus performed at Fisk University in 1948, where Dr. Charles S. Johnson, a member of Rosenwald Foundation board, was president. He was so impressed with the power of her interpretive African dances that he asked her when she had last visited Africa. She replied that she had never done so. She then received the last and largest ($4000) of the major Rosenwald Fellowships for an eighteen month research and study tour of the Gold Coast, Angola, Cameroons, Liberia, Senegal and the Belgian Congo.
Primus was so well accepted in the communities in her study tour that she was told that the ancestral spirit of an African dancer had manifested in her. The Oni and people of Ife, Nigeria, felt that she was so much a part of their community that they initiated her into their commonwealth and affectionately conferred on her the title Omowale- the child who has returned home.[3]
--Courtesy wikipedia.org
28 November 2010
27 November 2010
With
Imagine a soul without purpose.
Imagine a life without contentment.
Imagine a heart without
Love
Purpose
Contentment
Then imagine it with.
-- Ron Cooper
26 November 2010
it is love
It is love that asks, that seeks, that knocks, that finds, and that is faithful to what it finds.
--Aurelius Augustine
25 November 2010
yummy
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On being thankful
My life hasn't been perfect. It hasn't gone the way I have dreamed, but it could be worse-a whole lot worse, and I am grateful for what I have. I'm here. God has been so good to me. I have a lot: A great family. I have a God daughter who loves me and likes to draw pictures for me. I have a nephew whose face lights up when he sees me. I have a great mom who brags to every one she sees and knows, about how good I am to her. I have the bestest of best friends in my friend Steve. I have lots of close friends (lots of fairweather friends too, but I don't count them). I have a great job, and I'm even proud of the company I work for.It's so rare, these days to have both a job, and a job that you love. I'm grateful for my late grandfather. He was the man, my father image. He taught me how to treat women. I watched how he related to my mother. I watched how my mother related to him. Until he passed away about 10 years ago, I never once heard her disrespect him. I never even heard her speak up when he was wrong unless it was really important. She didn't just tell me to respect my elders, she was practicing what she preached. She still does. Perhaps I'm biased; you all know the story-my mom adopted me when I was 11 months old . She said that no one wanted me, but she did. For that I am grateful. Imagine, feeling worthless and knowing that someone loves you.
I digress.
Two nights ago my lemon of a car broke down, forcing me to walk about 10 blocks to the closest bus stop to go to work, and I complained to myself about having to walk, until I saw, across the street, a man in a wheel chair, wheeling himself to the same bus stop. I had to stop myself and thank God for my being to walk. I have so much to be grateful for.
What are you thankful for?
23 November 2010
The world is better backwards
-- Miercoles Rodrigo
But the world is better backwards. Up to a point.
--Alexgeorge
on twitter
@ alieux9000 -Having to walk to catch the train this morning because my car doors were all frozen. Priceless. And this isn't even Wisconsin!
H, as in hypocrite, and I, as in how ironic
Anti-Facebook Pastor Offers to Resign
New Jersey Pastor Who Asked Parishioners to Give Up Facebook Because it May Lead to Cheating Admits Having an Affair
(CBS/AP) Facebook leads to infidelity, a New Jersey pastor has claimed. To prove his sincere belief in Facebook's evils, the pastor has even offered to step down over revelations of a past affair that involved a four-way sexual relationship with his minister wife, a male church assistant and the assistant's wife.
Pastor Cedric Miller, 48, gave his I-will-step-down sermon just days after the Asbury Park Press reported on Miller's 2003 testimony that his wife had an extramarital affair with a male church assistant. Miller also said he was present at many of those meetings and sometimes the assistant's wife was there.
"We had crossed the line many times...between the four of us," the pastor testified at the time. "It was just, I mean there was touching, there was...it was crazy, it was as wrong as wrong could get. Yes."
Rev. Miller called the paper's printing of the testimony, "old news," but admitted that his behavior at the time was "foolish."
"For any pain that my past mistakes has caused you, I again ask for your forgiveness," the pastor said.
Miller, with his wife by his side, asked any church leaders who supported him to join them, and an estimated 100 parishioners walked on the stage.
He offered to step down as senior minister if church leaders found him unfit to serve. Miller said church elders will render a vote of "confidence" or "no confidence" in his ability to lead during a meeting Tuesday.
"Should the elders and leaders now deem me unfit for duty, I love the church enough to step down immediately," he said.
The pastor continued to call on church leaders to delete their Facebook accounts, claiming the social network site could lead to infidelity.
--courtesy of cbsnews.com
(CBS/AP) Facebook leads to infidelity, a New Jersey pastor has claimed. To prove his sincere belief in Facebook's evils, the pastor has even offered to step down over revelations of a past affair that involved a four-way sexual relationship with his minister wife, a male church assistant and the assistant's wife.
Pastor Cedric Miller, 48, gave his I-will-step-down sermon just days after the Asbury Park Press reported on Miller's 2003 testimony that his wife had an extramarital affair with a male church assistant. Miller also said he was present at many of those meetings and sometimes the assistant's wife was there.
"We had crossed the line many times...between the four of us," the pastor testified at the time. "It was just, I mean there was touching, there was...it was crazy, it was as wrong as wrong could get. Yes."
Rev. Miller called the paper's printing of the testimony, "old news," but admitted that his behavior at the time was "foolish."
"For any pain that my past mistakes has caused you, I again ask for your forgiveness," the pastor said.
Miller, with his wife by his side, asked any church leaders who supported him to join them, and an estimated 100 parishioners walked on the stage.
He offered to step down as senior minister if church leaders found him unfit to serve. Miller said church elders will render a vote of "confidence" or "no confidence" in his ability to lead during a meeting Tuesday.
"Should the elders and leaders now deem me unfit for duty, I love the church enough to step down immediately," he said.
The pastor continued to call on church leaders to delete their Facebook accounts, claiming the social network site could lead to infidelity.
--courtesy of cbsnews.com
My guess is, he was tired of hearing her complain about the men in her life.
22 November 2010
heard on the plan to San Francisco
As the plane was boarding, there is a woman in the row ahead of me, with a crying baby. It's been crying for 10 minutes non-stop. The passenger seated next me, to the woman in front of her: I won't be hearing your baby crying during this 90 minute flight.
The mother: Uh, maybe?
Passenger: I didn't ask a question. It was a statement, a fact, that didn't require a yes or no. Listen closely; I will not be hearing your baby cry during this 90 minute flight. Period.
The mother turns to the man seated next to her: Honey do something.
The man looks at the woman next to me, perhaps deciding not to confront her (for good reason) and decides to flag down the stewardess: Please, if there are available seats in the back of the plane, can we please move there?
Stewardess: Sorry this will be a full flight. Is there a problem?
The man looks at the woman next to me again, and again he opens his mouth to speak but changes his mind.
The mother looks at the woman next to me, but then looks at the stewardess: We'd we willing to switch seats with someone who might want to sit up front. We would like to sit way way back, perhaps the last row.
The baby is crying for about 3 very long minutes when the Stewardess returns with an elderly couple with whom they switched seats.
The plane was large enough that the sounds of the baby crying was almost faint enough to hardly be heard again.
The mother: Uh, maybe?
Passenger: I didn't ask a question. It was a statement, a fact, that didn't require a yes or no. Listen closely; I will not be hearing your baby cry during this 90 minute flight. Period.
The mother turns to the man seated next to her: Honey do something.
The man looks at the woman next to me, perhaps deciding not to confront her (for good reason) and decides to flag down the stewardess: Please, if there are available seats in the back of the plane, can we please move there?
Stewardess: Sorry this will be a full flight. Is there a problem?
The man looks at the woman next to me again, and again he opens his mouth to speak but changes his mind.
The mother looks at the woman next to me, but then looks at the stewardess: We'd we willing to switch seats with someone who might want to sit up front. We would like to sit way way back, perhaps the last row.
The baby is crying for about 3 very long minutes when the Stewardess returns with an elderly couple with whom they switched seats.
The plane was large enough that the sounds of the baby crying was almost faint enough to hardly be heard again.
18 November 2010
Seen on a friend's Facebook profile
True friends are like diamonds,
Precious and rare.
False friends are like leaves
Found everywhere.
(
Periodically I have to rake the leaves and put them in the trash
)
Precious and rare.
False friends are like leaves
Found everywhere.
(
Periodically I have to rake the leaves and put them in the trash
)
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17 November 2010
The latest artwork by Arianna
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note to self
Never underestimate the power of the people in your life who are always miserable.
--alexgeorge
--alexgeorge
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16 November 2010
i recognize
Sometimes people’s shortcomings (or failures) have forced me to recognize that I’ve made them more important than they really are.
-- me
15 November 2010
note to self
 |
| Ursula Burns, the first African American woman to run a Fortune 500 company, XEROX |
“Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired and discouraged men who kept on working.”
--author unknown
(and women too)
(and women too)
Wisconsin, look at you
kicking Indiana's butt like that!
The No. 7 Wisconsin Badgers demolished the Indiana Hoosiers 83-20 in their best performance in 95 years, without their top running back John Clay.
83-20!
Wisconsin scored 11 touchdowns against Indiana, the most in Wisconsin history and the second-most by a Big Ten team since World War II.
This was a 10-10 ball game until, Ben Chappell the Indiana quarterback, who completed 8-of-14 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown left with a hip injury. That injury would lead to Wisconsin scoring four quick touchdowns to enter halftime at 38-10.
Because of the BCS rankings, teams like Wisconsin, Boise St., TCU and anyone contending has to demolish their opponents to improve their ranking.
Is this fair or foul?
Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema was interviewed on ESPN radio after the game and he stated that it had nothing to do with the BCS ranking. He went on to say that there was a point in time where the fourth-string quarterback was in and scored a touchdown by rushing and Wisconsin was not even throwing the ball.
According to Bielema, Indiana head coach Bill Lynch was not upset about the score and complimented Wisconsin on a great team.
“I’ve always felt it was our job to stop the team and play the game,” Lynch said. “We didn’t do that very well.”
Is this just another example of the BCS’s unsportsmanlike way of determining a champion or yet another reason the BCS should be replaced by a playoff system?
--courtesy ESPN
 |
| Wisconsin's Lance Kendricks (84) catches a touchdown pass in front of Indiana's Jarrell Drane (30) during the second half of the game Saturday, Nov. 13, 2010, in Madison, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash) |
83-20!
Wisconsin scored 11 touchdowns against Indiana, the most in Wisconsin history and the second-most by a Big Ten team since World War II.
This was a 10-10 ball game until, Ben Chappell the Indiana quarterback, who completed 8-of-14 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown left with a hip injury. That injury would lead to Wisconsin scoring four quick touchdowns to enter halftime at 38-10.
Because of the BCS rankings, teams like Wisconsin, Boise St., TCU and anyone contending has to demolish their opponents to improve their ranking.
Is this fair or foul?
Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema was interviewed on ESPN radio after the game and he stated that it had nothing to do with the BCS ranking. He went on to say that there was a point in time where the fourth-string quarterback was in and scored a touchdown by rushing and Wisconsin was not even throwing the ball.
According to Bielema, Indiana head coach Bill Lynch was not upset about the score and complimented Wisconsin on a great team.
“I’ve always felt it was our job to stop the team and play the game,” Lynch said. “We didn’t do that very well.”
Is this just another example of the BCS’s unsportsmanlike way of determining a champion or yet another reason the BCS should be replaced by a playoff system?
--courtesy ESPN
Black Girls Rock !!!!
LOVED this performance of these Four Women-Marsha Ambrosius, Jill Scott, Ledisi, and Kelly Price
14 November 2010
13 November 2010
the best gift yet
So, for my fourty-eighth birthday I got myself something...but it took a whole year to give it. What I mean is, it couldn't fit in one day. Actually it took 365 days to give it.
On my fourty-eighth birthday I committed to my attitude: project joy, regardless of situation. And I wouldn't trade it for anything, ever. It's changed how I view and experience each day, God, friendships, everything. It's not perfect yet , but the before and after are pretty dramatic.
On my fourty-eighth birthday I committed to my attitude: project joy, regardless of situation. And I wouldn't trade it for anything, ever. It's changed how I view and experience each day, God, friendships, everything. It's not perfect yet , but the before and after are pretty dramatic.
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12 November 2010
Thanks!
 | |
| The front of my birthday card |
 |
| The inside of the card |
I always take it for granted that my family and friends will remember, especially since it shows up on their Facebook calendars, and since I always remember their birthdays and I always offer to take my local friends out to dinner or drinks, but after today I'll be saving some money. I have to give credit to my friend Scott who treated me to lunch a week ago because his family was going to be in Georgia this week, to my friend Rich who invited me to watch a funk band play last night ( up until then I had spent the entire day by myself), to Valerie, who I met at the gym a few days ago who invited me to lunch today and to Ahmad, who's wife cooked a great Moroccan meal earlier tonight. And to my best friend Steve, who's attending seminary school in Berkeley. I'm going to visit him next week. That, I'm excited about.
The wise man smiled and said, no ...... You put out the fire.
..........................
sometimes problem solving can be quite simple!!! LOL'
My friend Jeff received this in response to a quote he made on facebook. I liked it and I had to post it.
11 November 2010
WHAT?
Add Lil Jon to Rumored ‘Apprentice’ Cast
Dionne Warwick has also been reported as a confirmed cast member, joining previously announced participants Star Jones, LaToya Jackson and Mark McGrath. --courtesy eurweb.com
hmmmm The shows ratings have been sinking since the season after Omarosa. I wonder what demographic he's trying to reach now....I wonder....
I like one of the comments which went like this:
Lil Jon: WHAT!
Trump: You’re fired!
Lil Jon: WHAT!
Trump: YOU’RE FIRED!
Lil Jon: OKAAAY!
I was, I am
me-
the essence of
me /
He design-
ed me
He
placed me
in someone’s womb/
further shaping me
painting my dna brown.
(it’s only a guess
that she was of a similar hue)
He was preparing me for this world.
designating me for something
for someone
The reason is still a mystery.
& 48 years ago
I was born:
denied of my bloodline:
I became,
and in becoming,
unbeknownst to me
I became someone else;
my loyalty
unrelenting towards the fractured line of caseys.
I'm slowly evolving
after having become
(I’m told by my mother)
what a king’s supposed to be.
I wonder what will year 48 bring?
the mystery is still unfolding.
perhaps it's what I will make it bring?
--Alexgeorge, for The Xande
(in all Thy ways God, I will follow & acknowledge You. Please direct my path) Amen
10 November 2010
09 November 2010
One.
My pastor explained that life is more vibrant when we are tied closer with others, because we are in active movement of reuniting, that because the world started as one our deepest longing is to be one again.
i want to drive into the distance, moving closer. Sometimes I think that feeling like I'm not moving just feels like distancing, and I want to run in oneness, for the world to be whole again.
just a thought.
Happy Birthday
No this isn't Halle Berry.
One of the most accomplished actresses of her time, she set a high on screen standard for the African-American female film stars who followed and continue to follow her. She rose to the top of her profession with her first starring role and became the first African-American woman to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. But, just as fast as her success was achieved, so did it begin to fade. She had the drive and the talent to make it but the color of her skin held her back and her life soon began a downward spiral which in the end turned tragic. She is described as a kind and extremely giving individual who wanted to please everyone. Dorothy Jean Dandridge was born in Cleveland Ohio's City Hospital On November 9, 1922. Her mother Ruby was an aspiring actress who left her father Cyrus with Dorothy's older sister Vivian five month's before Dorothy's birth. Later, the two sisters learned to sing and moved with their mother to Nashville, Tennessee, where their mother formed and wrote material for an act called 'The Wonder Kids.' The girls toured the country, singing, dancing, and performing at social gatherings. In the early 1930s, the family settled in Los Angeles, California. With another girl, Etta Jones, they became the three Dandridge Sisters, and appeared briefly in several fims, including the Marx Brothers movie A Day at the Races (1937). The girls later performed at the famed Cotton Club in New York, often on the same bill with Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and W.C. Handy.
Shortly after working in the film "Irene" (1940), the trio split up. Early in her solo career, Dandridge appeared in more than a dozen short musical films, notably as dream girl of the Mills Brothers singing group in "Paper Doll" (1942). She also played bit parts in feature movies, such as "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941), "Drums of the Congo" (1942), "Lucky Jordan" (1942), and "Hit Parade" of 1943 (1943). In 1942, she married the dancer Harold Nicholas from the Nicholas Brothers. The marriage later ended in divorce and the couple's severely brain-damaged daughter Harolyn, was eventually put in a private institution. Dandridge had long aspired to be a film actress, and after her divorce devoted herself to fulfilling that dream. To support herself and to make contacts, she established herself as a nightclub singer, appearing at important clubs throughout the country. After appearing in a couple of low-budget films, her major breakthrough came when she was cast opposite Harry Belafonte in "Bright Road" (1953). Soon afterward, Dandridge won the coveted title role in Otto Preminger's "Carmen Jones" (1954), an all-black adaptation of George Bizet's opera "Carmen." Her performance in Carmen Jones won her an Academy Award nomination, the first for an African-American. She continued to work in nightclubs, but it was three years before she made another film. One of Dandridge's most important later roles was in "Porgy and Bess" (1959). That same year, she won the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a musical film for her role in the film. Also in that year, Dandridge married the white nightclub owner Jack Denison, who is reported to have been abusive to Dandridge. In 1962, the couple divorced and shortly thereafter Dandridge filed for bankruptcy. By 1965 her career was on the upswing again, but she also continued to drink heavily and would call various friends at night and talk for hours about everything that was going on in her life. During this time period, Dandridge was a very lonely woman and often sounded disoriented. She was given a prescription anti-depresent drug which seemed to lift her spirits. She did nightclub work again but many critics noticed her performances did not contain the magic that they once held. Also in 1965, Dandridge sprained her ankle which resulted in a fracture in her foot. On the morning of Sept. 8, 1965, she rescheduled an appointment she had for that morning to have a cast put on her foot for later that day. A friend of hers later went to Dandridge's Los Angeles apartment but could not get an answer. He later returned around 2pm that afternoon and finally forced his way in the apartment where he found Dandridge dead lying on the bathroom floor in the nude with a blue scarf around her head. Her death was first attributed to a blood clot caused by the fracture in her foot but an autopsy revealed that she had died of an overdose of Tofranil, the antidepressant that she was taking. Whether the overdose was accidental or intentional remains a mystery to this day. Dorothy Dandridge made historic contributions to her profession and her race despite being stereotyped and having only a small number of significant roles. She blazed a new path by showing that African-American women could handle starring roles in white-dominated films. By the end of her short life, Dorothy Dandridge had brought the black actress in films from behind the shadows and had emerged as Hollywood's first authentic movie goddess of color. --courtesy, The Biography of Dorothy Dandridge, a book I read from cover to cover a few years ago
 |
| Dorothy J. Dandridge |
Shortly after working in the film "Irene" (1940), the trio split up. Early in her solo career, Dandridge appeared in more than a dozen short musical films, notably as dream girl of the Mills Brothers singing group in "Paper Doll" (1942). She also played bit parts in feature movies, such as "Sun Valley Serenade" (1941), "Drums of the Congo" (1942), "Lucky Jordan" (1942), and "Hit Parade" of 1943 (1943). In 1942, she married the dancer Harold Nicholas from the Nicholas Brothers. The marriage later ended in divorce and the couple's severely brain-damaged daughter Harolyn, was eventually put in a private institution. Dandridge had long aspired to be a film actress, and after her divorce devoted herself to fulfilling that dream. To support herself and to make contacts, she established herself as a nightclub singer, appearing at important clubs throughout the country. After appearing in a couple of low-budget films, her major breakthrough came when she was cast opposite Harry Belafonte in "Bright Road" (1953). Soon afterward, Dandridge won the coveted title role in Otto Preminger's "Carmen Jones" (1954), an all-black adaptation of George Bizet's opera "Carmen." Her performance in Carmen Jones won her an Academy Award nomination, the first for an African-American. She continued to work in nightclubs, but it was three years before she made another film. One of Dandridge's most important later roles was in "Porgy and Bess" (1959). That same year, she won the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a musical film for her role in the film. Also in that year, Dandridge married the white nightclub owner Jack Denison, who is reported to have been abusive to Dandridge. In 1962, the couple divorced and shortly thereafter Dandridge filed for bankruptcy. By 1965 her career was on the upswing again, but she also continued to drink heavily and would call various friends at night and talk for hours about everything that was going on in her life. During this time period, Dandridge was a very lonely woman and often sounded disoriented. She was given a prescription anti-depresent drug which seemed to lift her spirits. She did nightclub work again but many critics noticed her performances did not contain the magic that they once held. Also in 1965, Dandridge sprained her ankle which resulted in a fracture in her foot. On the morning of Sept. 8, 1965, she rescheduled an appointment she had for that morning to have a cast put on her foot for later that day. A friend of hers later went to Dandridge's Los Angeles apartment but could not get an answer. He later returned around 2pm that afternoon and finally forced his way in the apartment where he found Dandridge dead lying on the bathroom floor in the nude with a blue scarf around her head. Her death was first attributed to a blood clot caused by the fracture in her foot but an autopsy revealed that she had died of an overdose of Tofranil, the antidepressant that she was taking. Whether the overdose was accidental or intentional remains a mystery to this day. Dorothy Dandridge made historic contributions to her profession and her race despite being stereotyped and having only a small number of significant roles. She blazed a new path by showing that African-American women could handle starring roles in white-dominated films. By the end of her short life, Dorothy Dandridge had brought the black actress in films from behind the shadows and had emerged as Hollywood's first authentic movie goddess of color. --courtesy, The Biography of Dorothy Dandridge, a book I read from cover to cover a few years ago
08 November 2010
not anymore
She’s not the ish any -more
but it’s cool. Not
that she ever was
but I did think she was
was deserving of the ring my grandmother had given me
to place on the
4th finger left hand-
That same finger she lifted
When she couldn’t slur the word
I didn’t think was in her vocabulary
when I asked her to marry me
instead of saying yes.
-- Rodrigo Miercoles for The Xande
07 November 2010
I saw it
I'll go so far as to say that I liked it so much that it was almost as if he had no creative input in the movie at all. If Kimberly Elise or Anika Noni Rose doesn't at least get Oscar nominations for their roles, then something is definitely wrong. But that's just my opinion. I think I was the only male in the packed theater that looked like he wasn't forced to go see it (who knew there were more than 5 black people in Oregon? They only come out of hiding to see a Tyler Perry movie or church on sundays), but I enjoyed it nevertheless. All the women stood up and applauded at the end.
time to fall back
I wish we could turn the clock back more than one hour tonight.my birthday is next week, and I am not ready to see 48 yet. There are so many goals left unattained. So many things to do before 49. A year from eleven eleven.
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06 November 2010
to whom it may concern
Your need to constantly denigrate the value of others comes from your own self-consciousness. Dig deep to find the source of pain/hurt in your life and do the repairs. When you arrive at a place where you don't feel the need to belittle everyone else in order to validate your own self-worth, you will have advanced the journey of self-healing. --Johnathan Fields
I saw this quote on the above site, and I knew exactly who it would be about if I had written it, but I didn't write it. A professional speaker named Jonathan Fields wrote it. I found it on this blog If my job wasn't so important to me, I would recite the above quote to this person, word for word. But I'll just recite the above quote to myself-for now.
05 November 2010
Thank God for small favors
A friend of mine got hijacked at gunpoint last week. It's one of those things that happens sometimes in Johannesburg, South Africa.
"We say
'At least you're ok' a lot here," She told me.
A couple years ago she told me there was a bank robbery and gunfire where she was working as a loan officer and instinctively she fell to the floor on her stomach and lied there next to her client who had just been shot along with a few other bank customers and employees. She was playing dead until they made their get away.
I still wanna go there someday.
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