Who's World Is This

Today in Hip Hop History:

Casa Palco, Algodões Beach, Maraú, Brazil,

Cecchi Millan Arquitetura,

Disney The Little Mermaid Ariel Doll

Mermaid Fashion Doll with Signature Outfit, Toys Inspired by Disney’s The Little Mermaid 

Get it  here

The Japanese Alps consist of the Northern, Central, and Southern Alps. We spent a few days in the Nagano Prefecture, where we visited Senjojiki Cirque (千畳敷カール) located in the Central Alps. Said to have been crafted over 20000 years by ice glaciers, the kanji for “Senjojiki” (千畳敷) means “1000 tatami mats” which expresses the vast area of the cirque.

The last time we visited here was nearly ten years ago during the Summer. I wasn’t sure what to expect at this time of year and came completely unprepared for the snow, slippery icy rocks, and biting cold ;-)

RIP Academy Award winner Samuel E. Wright   

“Wright died peacefully Monday night at his home in Walden, New York, after a three-year battle with prostate cancer, his daughter Dee told The Hollywood Reporter. “He was the brightest light,” she said.

Born in Camden, South Carolina in 1946, Wright was part of the original Broadway cast of Jesus Christ Superstar in 1971.

“You don’t know what people are going to judge you by. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cartoon, Dizzy Gillespie or Othello, I’m going to play it with the same fervor, just in case anybody’s watching.” - Samuel E. Wright  

He went on to replace Ben Vereen in the musical Pippin and received a Tony nomination in 1984 for the musical The Tap Dance Kid.

A second Tony nomination followed in 1998 for his role as King Mufasa in The Lion King, the stage version of Disney’s 1994 film.

But he was best known for voicing Sebastian, a role he reprised in a Little Mermaid TV series and other cartoon spin-offs.“  

京都　松尾大社　<皐月>

The African Lookbook: A Visual History of 100 Years of African Women (2021)

Most of us grew up with images of African women that were purely anthropological–bright displays of exotica where the deeper personhood seemed tucked away. Or they were chronicles of war and poverty–“poverty porn.” But now, curator Catherine E. McKinley draws on her extensive collection of historical and contemporary photos to present a visual history spanning a hundred-year arc (1870–1970) of what is among the earliest photography on the continent. These images tell a different story of African women: how deeply cosmopolitan and modern they are in their style; how they were able to reclaim the tools of the colonial oppression that threatened their selfhood and livelihoods.

Featuring works by celebrated African masters, African studios of local legend, and anonymous artists, The African Lookbook captures the dignity, playfulness, austerity, grandeur, and fantasy-making of African women across centuries. McKinley also features photos by Europeans–most starkly, striking nudes–revealing the relationships between white men and the Black female sitters where, at best, a grave power imbalance lies. It’s a bittersweet truth that when there is exploitation there can also be profound resistance expressed in unexpected ways–even if it’s only in gazing back. These photos tell the story of how the sewing machine and the camera became powerful tools for women’s self-expression, revealing a truly glorious display of everyday beauty.

by Catherine E. McKinley

Get it here

Catherine E. McKinley is a curator and writer whose books include the critically acclaimed Indigo, a journey along the ancient indigo trade routes in West Africa, and The Book of Sarahs, a memoir about growing up Black and Jewish in the 1960s–80s. She’s taught creative nonfiction writing at Sarah Lawrence College and Columbia University. The McKinley Collection, featured here, is a personal archive representing African photographies from 1870 to the present. She lives in New York City.

I’ve drawn some connecting cover variants for Marvel’s  ENTER THE PHOENIX! story. 

I’ll post a big version when the whole piece has been shown, but for now, this is what’s online.

Edit: All of these variants are now out there. This is all of them.