Black Art History: Robert Johnson

Robert Leroy Johnson (May 8, 1911 – August 16, 1938) is considered to be the "Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll". He was among the most famous of Delta blues musicians. Only two photographs are known to exist of Johnson and he only recorded twenty-nine songs from 1936 to 1937. His vocal phrasing, original songs, and guitar style have influenced a wide range of musicians including; Muddy Waters, Led Zeppelin, Bob Dylan, The Rolling Stones, Jeff Beck, Johnny Winter and Eric Clapton. He is ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Johnson is also an inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Fresh kicks

Qlock Two

Typographic time format. Click here to throw it in the bag.

Blackwater

Xe Services LLC is a private military company founded as Blackwater USA in 1997 by Erik Prince and Al Clark. In October 2007, the company was renamed Blackwater Worldwide and was colloquially referred to as "Blackwater". Based in North Carolina, Xe operates a tactical training facility which the company claims is the world's largest. The company trains more than 40,000 people a year. Blackwater employees are mostly from U.S. or foreign military services. The training consists of military offensive and defensive operations, as well as smaller scale personal security. Blackwater has a wide array of business divisions, subsidiaries, and spin-off corporations but the organization as a whole has attracted much controversy. The company announced on February 13, 2009, that it would operate under the new name Xe to "reflect the change in company focus away from the business of providing private security." In December 2008, federal prosecutors charged five Blackwater employees with manslaughter for killing 17 Iraqi civilians in 2007. A sixth employee has already pleaded guilty. According to a report by MSNBC and based on alleged sworn statements by two Blackwater employees in federal court, the firm used child prostitutes at its compound in Baghdad's fortified Green Zone. The declarations added Iraqi minors got involved in sexual acts with Blackwater members in exchange for one dollar and Erik Prince "failed to stop the ongoing use of prostitutes, including child prostitutes, by his men." Based on other statements, the firm was involved in another sex scandal; "Prince's North Carolina operations had an ongoing wife-swapping and sex ring, which was participated in by many of Mr. Prince's top executives." The two employees also alleged that Prince "views himself as a Christian crusader tasked with eliminating Muslims and the Islamic faith from the globe". Erik Prince announced his resignation as CEO of Xe on March 2, 2009. Joseph Yorio was named as the new president, replacing Gary Jackson. Danielle Esposito was named the new chief operating officer and VP.

Dana Gould reports on U.S. health care

Latest movie: District 9

I saw this Sunday. It was great to see an original
movie with no reconizable actors that did way more
than hold its own. Peter Jackson produced but did
not direct this one. The word is that it (only) took
$30 million to make this movie. You have to pay that
to one A-list actor these days. Don't want to tell you
anything else about the movie, just check it out.

Usain Bolt sets new 100m record

Latest movie: Tropic Thunder

Didn't think this one would be good at all. I was wrong. Ben Stiller wrangled a bunch of A-list actors
together and spoofed Hollywood. Robert Downey Jr. does a funny job of playing a black man. Jack Black
does his thing and when Tom Cruise shows up, watch out.

1 million evacuated in China

A typhoon pummeled China's eastern coast Sunday, flooding villages and forcing nearly a million people to flee to safety. Officials rode bicycles to distribute food to residents trapped by rising waters.Typhoon Morakot struck after triggering the worst flooding in Taiwan in 50 years. Dozens are missing and feared dead. The typhoon was so strong it toppled a six-story hotel. It earlier lashed the Philippines, killing at least 21 people. Morakot hit Taiwan late Friday and crossed the island Saturday. The Disaster Relief Center reported Sunday that flash floods washed away a home in southern Kaohsiung, leaving 16 people missing. Three were swept away in southeastern Taitung county, including two policemen helping to evacuate villagers.

Confirmed

Sonia Sotomayor will become the 111th U.S. Supreme Court
justice and only the third woman to serve. She will be the
nation's first Hispanic Supreme Court justice. Chief Justice
John Roberts will conduct the ceremonial oaths on Saturday.

Black Art History: Naomi Sims

Naomi Sims is considered to be the first black supermodel. She achieved worldwide recognition from the late 1960s into the early 1970s, appearing on the covers of popular magazines. In 1969, Sims appeared on the cover of Life magazine.

By 1972 Hollywood took an interest in her as a potential actress and offered her the title role in the movie Cleopatra Jones. When Sims read the script she was appalled by the racist portrayal of blacks in the movie and turned it down. Sims decided to go into the beauty business for herself.

In 1973, Ms. Sims decided to start her own business. As a model, she often did her own hair and makeup, since many studio assistants were unfamiliar with working with darker skin. She noticed that most commercially available wigs were designed for caucasian hair, so she began experimenting with her own designs. Sims baked synthetic hairs in her oven at home to create the right texture to look like straightened black hair. Within five years, her designs, produced by the Metropa Company, had annual sales of $5 million.

Sims also launched a career as an author. Her first book, All About Health and Beauty for the Black Woman, was published in 1976. The book included information on nutrition, disease prevention, common health problems, fashion, and etiquette. In 1979, Sims published her second book, How to Be a Top Model. Three years later, she published two more books: All About Hair Care for the Black Woman, and All About Success for the Black Woman.
Beginning in the early 1980s, Sims gradually expanded her business interests to include perfume, skin care products, and cosmetics for black women. Her signature fragrance, Naomi, was launched in 1981. Four years later, she founded her own company, Naomi Sims Beauty Products Ltd. In 1987, the company introduced a line of skin-care products, with Sims as the spokesmodel.
Naomi Sims appeared with other notable black women at Oprah's Legends Ball in 2006. Sims died of cancer Saturday. She was 61.

July bloodiest month in Afghanistan

July was the deadliest month for Americans and their foreign allies since the war (Operation Enduring Freedom) began in 2001. Seventy-two foreigners, 43 of them American, died in July. This was mostly due to roadside bombs. Twenty-two British soldiers also died, marking the highest death toll for the nation's troops since the Falklands War in 1980. The high number of deaths is the result of the recent American offensive,
and the growing U.S. troop build-up, which will reach 68,000 by the end of the year. The bloodiest month
had previously been July 2008, in which only 28 U.S. soldiers died.
The last time Afghanistan was fully conquered was by the Kushan Empire. The infamous Genghis Khan tried when he went through the Khyber Pass. He failed. The Russians invaded in December 1979 (Cold War). They failed. But I guess the U.S. government knows something I do not. This quagmire reminds me of Vietnam.