SLEEPYNEGRESS

Okay...so I have to comment on this, because I'm semi-amused by it, given Hollywood history (so many yt actors in tanner, glued eyelids, braid and loc wigs, etc.) Just randomly googling The Witcher 2 cast, after sorta-binging and caught this bit (I fell asleep through some of the eps, so I'll probably catch it again, later).

But yeah...This above white elf, is played by a Jamaican-English actress, Mecia Simson in the only bit of white-passing movie work, that genuinely got by my "black-dar".

The funny thing is, after I noted it, I had to load up on popcorn and check the fan forums...because outside of make-up you can see, she's not quite yt-passing.

Though, she could easily choose to be.

...Old school fandom-heads remember Rachel Lutrell's natural kinky hair vs. that wig she wore in Stargate: Atlantis which she *did* talk about often, in interviews.

And of course the discourse around Mecia when casting was announced was decidedly racist, i.e. 'not believeable as the most beautiful woman in the world', inquiring about whether they'd change her hair (I honestly wish they hadn't), bad casting, etc... etc... all because of typical racism, even with that light-skinned/mixed-race privilege, all because she was her not-quite-yt-passing self on her social media.

It was Yennefer discourse, all over again...

Anyway, anything that ruffles and confounds bigots is my jam, but I honestly wish they'd had more balls to just showcase her natural features, no matter how amazing and hollywood-history ironic the passing make-up is here.

Digressing a bit, but I'm also happy for (Mimi Ndiweni) Fringella's hair upgrade and role expansion (so deserved, still the best line utterance that season was her gravelly "Recteress")... Honestly, that sad wig they put her in at the ball, in the first season I *swear* was the exact same one Okoye tossed as a weapon, in Black Panther.

“Anderson indulges in minor explosions as Louis, but he excels in implosion. Louis is a slightly more active part, mainly because of the interactions with mortals, which makes his inward retreats that much more pronounced. All of a sudden, it seems, there’s nobody home. When Anderson checks out, he leaves a completely abandoned space behind.” - Tony Sokol, Den of Geeks

So this is really awesome! These are Disney princesses reimagined as disabled and drawn with service dogs. The artist, Arien Smith, drew these in 2017, but they have become viral only recently. Arien features all types of dogs in his portrayals as a way to educate about disabilities and service animals. He also does other dog related art. Arien can be found on Facebook under Royal Service Dogs or the major barkana. Hopefully more artists, or, you know, actual major film/tv/book creators begin to incorporate disabilities and service animals rather than pretending like they don’t exist (but that’s a different rant for a different day, 🙃).

Black Girl Nerds will have a Meetup at Comic Con!

What’s New? Well, Linda Ronstadt Turns 80 Today

What’s new? Linda Ronstadt, who was blessed with arguably the greatest female singing voice of her generation, turns 80 today.

Born July 15, 1946, Ronstadt’s been retired from performing since 2009, when that singing voice was silenced by the effects of progressive supranuclear palsy.

“Literally my entire career flashed in front of my eyes,” she later recalled of her final concert. “I remembered every show I’d ever done. I was glad it was Mexican music.”

Though she’s best known for her country, pop and rock music, Ronstadt did do a lot of Mexican music, a move record executives said would be career suicide.

She cut standards, too. And was also warned of career suicide.

What the suits forgot was Ronstadt’s voice - a voice that can make people listen to music they might not otherwise listen to.

Not all of Ronstadt’s music for everyone but some of Ronstadt’s music is sure to appeal to everyone - not only because of how diverse her songbook is, but because of that voice.

It’s so good, it’s so good, it’s so good, baby, it’s so good.