Corey @ I'll Keep You Posted

FORBIDDEN FRUIT

That apple is not all that's forbidden!  This is my cousin Mark! 

 "The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. Resist it, and your soul grows sick with longing for the things it has forbidden to itself."  - Oscar Wilde.

With each amazing photograph, Mark Hill continues to raise the bar for himself.  Although he is already a success, Mark has decided to leave the Greater Cincinnati area to further pursue his goals.  He is moving to California.  When I pressed him on his decision, he took umbrage.  "Don't worry, Corey ... I've GOT THIS!" he reassured me.

 He's got it, indeed!  And I guess we'll just have to EAT IT!

LENA HORNE'S MOTHERS DAY HAT-TITUDE!

Every woman needs a little hat-titude!  Some have a little more than others!  This Sunday, mothers everywhere will welcome Mother's Day to bask in all of their glory - whether they ever step foot in a church that day or not.  But for those who attend church regularly, wearing a crown is business as usual!  African American women in particular know straight-up that a woman's hat can speak long before she ever decides to utter a word.  If she's as glorious as Lena Horne, she doesn't have to say (or sing) anything at all.  Anyplace she hangs her hat is home!  In this photo, circa 1960, Miss Horne wears a crisp Spring straw hat in yellow with a glistening black patent leather crown by Brookfield.

Mama Lena admitted that she wasn't a particular fan of hats and wore them only when necessary.  But no one could disagree that she  WORKED THEM as well as any of her sisters who found them more favorable.   African American women have a long tradition, and love affair with hats and head coverings.   African queens wore headdresses & turbans as decoration.  Slave women wore bandanas and headwraps in the field.  And they all did it with flair and with a little something extra like shells, beads, flowers, ribbons, feathers, buttons and bows.  No doubt there were some who felt La Horne took "extra" to new heights in 1960 with this classic orange maline picture hat by Chesterfield.  The uneven width and flowing lines are dangerous!

And they damn well should be.  Any sistah with hat-titude is dangerous, especially if she's Lena Horne!

Have a wonderful Mother's Day!  Don't hurt nobody!  And don't forget your gloves!

 

 

 

 

QUINCY'S THIGH HIGH

They're gettin' warmer, but just wait till they get hot. Rub them till you feel the friction ... feel that Body Heat!  (Quincy Jones' thighs, circa 1976).

 

What You Want 'Wid Me, BROCK PETERS?

If Dorothy don't want that big fine black man - somebody else sho' do!

What you want wid Bess?
She's gettin' ole now;
Take a fine young gal OR A MIDDLE-AGED BLACK GAY BLOGGER IN CINCINNATI
For to satisfy Crown.
Look at this chest
An' look at these arms you got.

For awhile, it seemed that Brock Peters was the go-to guy whenever they wanted someone to terrorize Dorothy Dandridge in the movies (also see Carmen Jones).  He did it so well!  And he was so seriously sexy when he did it! 

His portrayal of Crown in 1959's Porgy and Bess is the blueprint for the dangerous thug lover that could make your panties moist or put a bunch in your jockstrap.

Sidney Poitier didn't want to do Porgy and Bess because he felt it was insulting - but he didn't have a choice after they tricked him into it.  Harry Belafonte had a choice and chose to turn it down because he thought it was too demeaning.  Poor Dorothy Dandridge needed a job AND the money and wasn't in the position to turn down anything.   But it would appear that Brock Peters loved playing the villian.  Maybe he didn't have a choice either. 

Brock Peters was more rugged, more rough, more black and ... more ugly!  He didn't have that non-threatening matinee idol handsomeness and crossover star quality that Sidney Poitier had.  He wasn't as pretty as Harry Belafonte who was almost as pretty as Dorothy Dandridge, but lord help me, what he did have totally solidifies my standing as a same-gender identified man. 

When Brock Peters (Crown) stomps through the bushes all hot, black ... and funky and kidnaps Bess at the picnic, she fights him off.  But then she gets overcome by the vapors and gives in.  That's when he slings her over his shoulder and bags it up.  And that's when I know I don't have a heterosexual bone in my body because I would have given it up in a heartbeat, too!  I keep confusing Brock with Crown but right now it really doesn't matter because when he bursts through the door to claim Bess during the hurricane with his shirt ripped, his chest ripped, and drenched & soaked in those tight-assed pants and boots, Porgy would have to do more than sing YOU IS MY WOMAN, NOW!

Don't let him take me
Don't let him handle me
With his hot hands

Like I said, if she don't want them hot ... hands, I know WHO DO!

THE SUPREMES BREAK UP TO MAKEUP!

Ah Ah Ah, now Mary!  NO PEEKING!  You're going to look absolutely beautiful when I'm done but you have to promise to do Florence ........

"Florence, gurrll, Diane just made me promise to do your hair and makeup after she did mine.  But we're not allowed to peek until I get finished with you.  You know, she's really nice after all.  She just went down the hall to help Martha Reeves and her girls with their gowns."

I owe the very obvious inspiration for this post to the brilliant TJB over at Stirred Straight Up With A Twist (http://stirredstraightup.blogspot.com/2011/04/girlfriends.html)

MY SOUL LOOKS BACK IN WONDER!

It's Hump Day and right now, you may feel as if it's just TOO MUCH to BARE!  That it's just so high that you can't get over it, so low that you can't go under it and so wide that you can't get around it.  Cheer up!  The mountain won't move - all you need is the strength to climb!  And in just a few days, your soul ... or something will look back and wonder HOW YOU MADE IT OVER!?!

On the other hand, some people like a challenge!

ROCK STEADY, BABY!

Dance Legend, Cholly Atkins coaches a 19 year-old Aretha Franklin for an appearance at the Apollo Theater, circa 1960.

"Sometimes, before you move, you have to tell yourself the intention for your movements and then tell your body to support the journey.  COMPLAIN, CONSTRAIN OR CHOREOGRAPH!  You decide but you've got to MOVE!   - Kevin E. Taylor, pastor of Unity Fellowship Church, New Brunswick.

 It's a funky and low down feelin'
(What it is)
In my hips from left to right
(What it is)
What it is - is I might be doin'
(What it is)
This funky dance all night - Aretha Franklin