Elektra Shimmies

Simone’s dark complexion and traditionally African features were central to her identity and concept of black beauty, so casting someone with Saldana’s more European appearance is galling, said Miriam J. Petty, an assistant professor in the radio-television-film department at Northwestern University.

“It’s disrespectful and demonstrates the depth of the ignorance of the person making the film of the very subject of the film,” she said.

The Simone estate tweeted Wednesday: “Hopefully people begin to understand this is painful. Gut-wrenching, heartbreaking, nauseating, soul-crushing.”

The estate is urging fans to hold listening parties on the film’s release date rather than watching “Nina.”

Petty, also a devoted Simone fan, also encourages fans to stay away.

“I think it’s important not to support this film financially, because the problem with biopics is they become the last word,” she said. “Whatever can be done to discredit this film as not the definitive one, by virtue of the philosophical problem, the very blatant philosophical problem of this casting.”

I really don’t know where this topic came from. I feel like it’s been on my mind for a while & the blog I reblogged from @FuckYeahFamousBlackGirls about Dorothy Dandridge really made me question: “Why do black girls idolize Marilyn Monroe but not Dorothy Dandridge?”

Simple answer: Media.

When you go to stores like Target, they have huge pictures of Marilyn Monroe, Aubrey Hepburn & other white women but never do see pictures of Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne or other black women who were prominent in the 1930’s, 1940’s & 1950’s. Forever21 recently had a screen shirt of Marilyn Monroe but never would they have one of a black woman.

Most black girls don’t even know who Dorothy Dandridge is. Why? Who knows? I feel like Black mothers should educate their daughters about women like Dandridge. In 1999, Halle Berry was in a HBO movie about Dorothy Dandridge’s life called Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. Berry won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award & a Screen Actors Guild Award for her portrayal of Dandridge. & even though that was over 10 years ago, I’m sure you can find it on DVD or HBO today.

Both Monroe & Dandridge have similar stories. They grew up without their fathers in their lives. Monroe was a foster child, Dandridge lived with her single mother. Monroe & Dandridge both had a hard time finding their way through Hollywood, both were singers, both were dropped by Fox Studios. Dandridge had the “star potential” but could never get the star role. Monroe struggled as well but with the help of an acting coach, became a “movie star”. Both were married more than twice & both died because of drug overdoses/probable suicides. And Dorothy Dandridge was the first Black woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe Award as a Leading Actress.

Dandridge struggled way more than Monroe, maybe that’s why black girls don’t want to idolize her. Why idolize somebody who struggled all of their live? Because it teaches you a lesson. Dorothy’s management had mishandled her money, leaving her to sing in nightclubs to pay off debts & household bills.

Monroe had more personal issues. She was crazy, a whore, sex addict and had a long experience with psychoanalysis. She had an affair with John Kennedy while he was president and when he broke it off with her, she started messing with his brother Robert Kennedy. A lot of her issues come from her childhood, her mother was sent to a mental institution, she was sexually assaulted and married at a very young age.

I respect both women greatly but being a black girl, I have a love & different respect for Dorothy Dandridge. She never could get her big break because of the color of her skin. She was absolutely beautiful. She is the reason why a lot of black actresses act today. They want to honor her, they want to make her proud. When Halle Berry won her Academy Award, she dedicated the moment to Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll & Dorothy Dandridge. 

I can & I’m sure all black girls can relate to Dandridge’s struggle. When we look at the media today, all we see are white women, blonde hair, blue eyes, stick figures. Black girls are never made to be good enough, Dorothy was never good enough but because of her now recognized contributions, things are slowly but surely changing.

P.S. Dorothy Dandridge had the best feathered wrap ever !

How to Escape a Hair Grab or a Neck Grab ? Look at them, carefully.

tai chi pants on http://www.icnbuys.com/tai-chi-pants give you surprise at the new year.

This simple story vividly shows what the police is all about.

Here’s Andrew Fleischman, writing at the excellent Fault Lines blog:

There aren’t many things that can get a police officer fired. A history of incompetence and the reckless killing of a 12 year-old boy, on video, didn’t do it. Choking a man to death in front of a crowd of onlookers, on video, didn’t do it.

But don’t lose hope. There are still some offenses so heinous and wanton that even a police officer can’t avoid consequences. Namely, insubordination.

But not your garden-variety insubordination …

Jay Park was a police officer who worked in Athens, Georgia, a college town built around the University of Georgia. Between prayer breakfasts and abstinence rallies, UGA students are known to occasionally imbibe small amounts of alcohol, presumably filched from communion cups at the local seminary.

Park was called to the scene of a minor suffering alcohol poisoning. His supervisor told him to arrest the student, but Park was aware of one of Georgia’s recent evidence-based laws.

See, since 2014, Georgia lawmakers have decided that it is more important to make sure that underage drinkers receive medical care than punishment. So, under the law, “[a]ny person who in good faith seeks medical assistance for someone who is experiencing an alcohol related overdose shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted.”

You also can’t arrest the person suffering the overdose …

So Park knew the law. His supervisor didn’t. But Park’s supervisor ordered him to make an illegal arrest. Park refused. You can probably guess who got fired.

I guess the lesson for Georgia police officers here is that you can shoot unarmed suspects in the back. You can gun down an innocent pastor. You cankill an innocent man in his own home during a botched drug raid. You canblow a hole in a baby’s chest during another botched drug raid. You canrepeatedly abuse inmates after strapping them into a restraint chair. You cango to the wrong house, then shoot an innocent man and kill his dog.

But never, ever embarrass your fellow police officers.

In October, Park settled with the department for $325,000. That settlement included a letter exonerating him of any wrongdoing, which will hopefully help him find another job. The money will come from Georgia taxpayers. Jimmy Williamson is still the chief of the University of Georgia Police Department. In a just world, Jay Park would have his job.

Time: 12 Minutes Equipment: Weights Work: 30 Seconds Rest: 10 Seconds Exercises: 6 Rounds: 3

Squats

Lunges

Reverse Lunges

Reverse Lunge with Kick (Left)

Reverse Lunge with Kick (Right)

Side Lunges

This is a Leg HIIT workout I did at the gym the other day. The original workout requires weights, but I did a modified version as well for those that might have trouble holding weights the entire time. 

Also, I started with small things (and I do every time I either feel depressed or just hate everything). I drink some water or tea, take a hot shower (or even a bubble bath), listen to some good music, eat a good snack or meal, paint my nails, do my hair, take a nap, whatever makes me feel happier about myself in the moment. Sometimes I clean my room or wash my sheets. Small little acts of kindness that you would do for someone else are the types of things you should try.