Next Time Models

Expensive but excellent pastry cakes
See:
http://www.britishmuseum.org/
Photo taken on Casio EXILIM Camera

Mr. Newton

10 Magazine's decade and Converse Party

Angie Kurdash with editor-in-chief, Sophia Neophitou-Apostolou

See:
http://10magazine.com/
http://www.converse.co.uk/
Thanks to The Communication Store, see:
http://www.tcs-uk.net/
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera

Indie Inspiration: QuellyRue Designs ... Hand Crochet And Artistic Fancies

Written By: MIM!—QuellyRue Designs is a collection of handmade crafts, art, and accessories that is full of bohemian flare, whimsical, yet refined and reminiscent of a love for Africa. Racquel Dwomoh (pronounced Ju-moh), the self-taught designer behind QuellyRue Designs, prides herself on her chic, quirky, imaginative, super cute accessories bursting with color, texture, print and intricate patterns. These reflect her colorful memories growing up as a child in the buzzing city of Accra, Ghana, and her Afro-Caribbean American roots.

See the latest from Milk at:
http://www.themilkzine.com/

All Walks Beyond The Catwalk-Website

Go to:
http://artwednesday.com/
Thanks to Caryn Franklin, Debra Bourne, Erin O'Connor, All at All Walks and my assistant Luke Freeman

Africa Online: Stuff Nigerian People Like

Written By: Nani Hapa—A team of Nigerian bloggers launched www.StuffNigerianPeopleLike.com to share their witty and hilarious cultural perspectives about what they describe as "some of the characteristics that shape Nigerian people and what they like." The blog, www.StuffNigerianPeopleLike.com, includes on its growing list of "stuff Nigerian people like": (1) other people's business, (2) projecting their voices, and (3) being late. Of course, whenever culture and humor collide, so does the debate about promoting stereotypes, but the website is written in good fun, and of course is an exaggeration of subtle cultural nuances that we can all relate to, with posts like these:

Pointing With Their Lips—People tend to point at things with their fingers, I mean, it only makes sense. However, Nigerians have created their own way of pointing. It is well known that many Nigerians have been blessed with full, plump lips. However, who would have thought that these pepper soup coolers could be used to POINT? If you are Nigerian, you have probably witnessed your parents, aunties, uncles, etc. use their lips to point to something. That “something”, which they may refer to as “dis tin‘” is probably within their arms reach, but that’s another story. A Nigerian father who wants a pen on the desk may turn his head towards the desk, say “get me dat dis tin,” and poke out his lips towards the pen. You think it would be simple enough to just say “get me the pen,” but Nigerians are efficient people. Why waste energy using your voice or silly fingers, when God has blessed our people with ample lips to do the job!

For more Nigerian cultural humor that will have you rolling on the floor laughing, visit www.StuffNigerianPeopleLike.com.

(Photo Credits: © Alloy Photography / Veer)

Anna Dello Russo

nn ll ss

Creative Flow: Africa Unsigned

Written By: MIM!—www.AfricaUnsigned.com is a joint initiative by producers, artists, music promoters and managers based in West, East and South Africa, who believe in the future of music from Africa and give unsigned artists a chance to record their music with the help of funding from fans. A selection of up and coming artists from several African countries including Kenya (such as MIMI favorite Just A Band), Senegal, Mali, Zimbabwe and South Africa were hand picked by a music panel consisting of music experts like Baaba Maal, Tony Allen, and Damon Albarn (Gorillaz, Blur) to be featured on www.AfricaUnsigned.com. Music fans from all over the world can listen to the selection of artists, pick their favorite(s) and chip in a minimum of $1 dollar to the recording of a professional EP. Proceeds from the music is then distributed to the fans who backed the artist and sold on all major online stores (including www.Amazon.com and iTunes). All the generated net income from music sales is shared equally between the artists and the music fans who supported the artist.

If you want to support your promising musical talent from Africa, visit www.AfricaUnsigned.com.

(Photo Credits: www.AfricaUnsigned.com Digital Press Kit)

Asa's New Album, Beautiful Imperfection, Is Out Today In Europe

ASA – Be my man from notjustok-TV on Vimeo.

(Photo Credits: CD Cover Art)

For sale: YSL Arty rings all sold

A while ago I bought a bunch of YSL arty rings in Italy. They came together as a necklace, so I had to buy them all. I kept a few, but also want to sell some because now I have some double ones. I got them all in one box, so I don't have a separate small ysl box with it. I bought them in person in the YSL store, so they are guaranteed authentic.

1: Arty Enamel ring turqoise,, size 7 (diameter 20 mm) price: 100 euro (retail 125 euro) (SOLD)

2: Arty Dots ring green, size 7 (diameter 19 mm) price: 100 euro (retail 125 euro) (SOLD)

3: Arty Oval ring Pink, (SOLD)

4: arty flowers ring, size 7 (diameter 20 mm) price: 80 euro (retail 125 euro)(SOLD)

5: arty flowers ring purple, no size readable (diameter 18 mm) price 80 euro (retail 125 euro)(SOLD)

I have thin fingers and these ring fit me best on my indexfinger (wijsvinger) people with thicker fingers will fit them on their middle/ring finger

Prices are without shipping costs. I can sent insured or non insured, but I am not resposible for non insured lost packages.

Payment via bank transfer only, I had some bad experiences with Paypal, I am sorry.

If you are interested or have questions please mail me angela_dbz@hotmail.com

Sex Sells, Even If The Subject Matter Is Serious Says Ghanaian Writer Director Leila Djansi

Written By: MIM!—Africa Academy-nominated writer/director Leila Djansi is pushing the envelope in her upcoming film Sinking Sands, which is slated to premier in Ghana on November 13, 2010 at the National Theater. The film staring Jimmy Jean-Louis and Ama K. Abebrese deals with the subject of abuse, but also contains nudity—an undoubtedly taboo issue in African film. Indeed, as Ghanian writers and directors continue to seek to distinguish their films from Nollywood films by including sex scenes in their movies, the frenzy around the polarizing subject of the portrayal of sex in African films only increases as noted in MIMI's Summer 2010 article, Cut! Censoring Sex In Ghanaian Movies. In anticipation of the premier of Sinking Sands, Leila released a press release sharing her views about how she handles sex in films. Read Leila's Q&A below.

. . .

Q. Nudity and sex are new to movies that are filmed and distributed in Ghana. Why do you think both are new to movies in Ghana? What has taken Ghanaian filmmakers so long to incorporate it in their films?

Leila Djansi. Just like Hollywood, it is a phase each industry has to pass through. Hollywood went through it with the Catholic Church and other elements driving them out of the East to what we now call Hollywood. Same way censorship boards in Ghana are getting drastic and same way it was in the early years of the American film industry, it is a phase ... a time to evolve. When I was growing up in my church, if you wear trousers you are a wayward girl. Today, female ministers preach in trousers. When I wrote the first script for GAMA, I was told the violence was too graphic; today you see movies with guns drawn in broad daylight in shopping malls. The only constant thing is change. That strong, strict Ghanaian culture is slowly growing lax with all the globalization.

Q. Nudity or sex in a film? Which would you prefer, and do you think they are both are the same?

Leila Djansi. Well either arouses sexual thoughts, desire and images; therefore, as an artist, in my opinion, they are same. It isn’t like your actors are really engaged in the act of copulation; they are selling the scene with the nudity and sexual gestures.

For more info go to:
http://www.maccosmetics.com/macpro/
Pictures by Lyndsay Evans on iPhone4

She Plays Drums at Christie's on King Street, Mayfair

For more info see:
http://www.theeventandexhibitingshow.co.uk/

From The Archives: Fabulous Style 24/7

Written By: MIM!—Truly fabulous women know that being fabulous is not about the designers you wear, the size of your clothes, the style of your hair, or even your age, it is about a state of mind. As the legendary Grace Jones put it, “One creates oneself. I believe whatever I dream. Whatever I dream, I want to do.” For more direct inspiration, how about these words of advice from the fabulous RuPaul who is quoted as having said, “With hair, heels and attitude, honey, I am through the roof!” Make a promise to yourself to:

1. Express your own style. Women with great style know how to create a unique look. Take Winnie Mandela as an example. She is known for wearing big thick-rimmed glasses and head wraps. Iman on the other hand is known for her chestnut colored hair. What these women have in common is that they’ve discovered what works for them and stylishly pulled it off in a way that only they can.

Read the rest of MIMI's tips on how to cultivate your Fabulous 24/7 in our fall 2010 issue, New Wave Noir.

(Photo Credits: © Image Source / PunchStock)

Refashioning The African Politic

Written By: Jamelia Mmari—For the many self-employed African tailors who dress men and women who cannot afford to purchase imported clothes at retail stores to the crafty African artisans who capture the imaginations of tourists with uniquely crafted jewelry, there is no question that the success of the African fashion industry has a direct correlation to their well-being and livelihood. And for those entrepreneurs looking to capitalize on the global (mis)appropriation of “African fashion,” all eyes are on the continent; indeed, anybody tuned into fashion knows that the “African aesthetic” is not only tipping into the mainstream, it is in vogue. Yet for some, African fashion is regarded as a passing fancy to preoccupy elite upper class African women, and not the stuff of intellectuals, economists, politicians, and social activists trying to solve the continent’s problems. It is precisely that misconception that fails to recognize the importance of African fashion’s place in the development of the continent as a vehicle to generate both serious revenue and cultural change.

Read the rest of this article, Refashioning The African Politic, in MIMI's fall 2010 issue, New Wave Noir.

(Photo Credits: © Image Source / PunchStock)

My Favorite Fictional Fly Girls: 5 African-American Actresses Who Shaped My Teen Years

Written By: Rebecca Naikada—Growing up as a black teenage girl in rural Canada, there were not too many people around who looked like me, much less teenage girls. But I am convinced I survived being the only black girl in my high school because of my fictional television role models who were some of the flyest black girls I had ever seen.

. . .

1. The Black American Princess (BAP): Lark Voorhies or Saved By The Bell’s Lisa Turtle: The beautiful actress Lark Voorhies played the prim high school student Lisa Turtle on the popular television sitcom, Saved By The Bell. The ever-stylish Lisa was smart, gorgeous, wealthy, and unapologetically confident among her peers. Armed with a keen sense of entitlement (remember her famous lines such as “am I a 10 or what?”) there’s no question that she was the first teenage card-carrying member of the BAP Club. Watching the fictional Lisa successfully navigate through Bayside High as the sole black girl in her school, I learned to strive for perfection in everything I do and do it all in style.

Find out which other actresses made the list in the article My Favorite Fictional Fly Girls: 5 African-American Actresses Who Shaped My Teen Years, available in MIMI's fall 2010 issue, New Wave Noir.

Gap SS11 preview evening

For more go to:
http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/
See http://www.gap.eu/
Photo's taken on Casio EXILIM Camera

Hannah Marshall's personal sales evening

Hannah with Harriet Charity Verney

See for more images:
http://www.wonderlandmagazine.com/
Also http://www.hannahmarshall.com/

Iman Co-Hosts The Fashion Show, The Ultimate Collection

Written By: MIM!—Starting on November 9, fashion icon Iman will co-host an all-new season of The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection with internationally acclaimed designer Isaac Mizrahi.

The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection will split 12 talented men and women into two fashion houses and each “house” must work together, not only to create a cohesive collection each week, but also to produce a live fashion show in every episode. From the set, to the music and lighting, these contestants will be pushed harder than ever before as they lay it all on the line for a chance to create the ultimate collection and to win $125,000 furnished by TRESemme Professional Hair Care.

The Fashion Show: Ultimate Collection premieres on Bravo on Tuesday, November 9, 2010 at 10 p.m. For more information, visit www.BravoTV.com.

Behold Yourself As Beautiful

Written By: Nana Bonsu—People often say that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” The most liberating thing about beauty is realizing that you are the beholder of your own beauty. But for so many of us, we follow trends that define a particular type of beauty as socially desirable. What we forget of course is that by definition, trends shift. And as African women, we know this all too well. A body that we embrace as perfectly curvy would have been considered freakish in a different culture (think of Saartjie Baartman or the “Hottentot Venus”).

But knowing that you are the beholder of your own beauty, do you behold yourself as beautiful? Read the rest in Behold Yourself As Beautiful in MIMI's fall 2010 issue, New Wave Noir.

"The Wrong Truth" By Indigo Williams

Written By: MIM!—In the circle of devastatingly cool and talented spoken word poets, Indigo Williams stands out as the embodiment of Soul.Substance.Style. Watch her disarm stereotypes as she poetically recites The Wrong Truth and in the process discover a true talent.

Writer's Block Presents: Spoken Unplugged - 'The Wrong Truth' by Indigo Williams from LoveWritersBlock on Vimeo.

Look out for more from the innovative series, Spoken Unplugged presented by Writer's Block at www.vimeo.com/lovewritersblock.

South Africa And Lesotho, Where Women Come First

Written By: MIM!—According to the 2010 Global Gender Gap Report, Lesotho and South Africa rank among the top 15 countries for women's equality, with Lesotho ranking at number 8 and South Africa 12. The Report measures both the number of women in administrative positions in 134 countries, as well as improvements in the wage gap between men and women. Nordic countries Iceland, Norway, Finland and Sweden continue to demonstrate the greatest equality between men and women, with all in the top 4, but rounding out the top 25 are Mozambique and Namibia at numbers 19 and 25 respectively.

To read the Report in its entirety, visit www.weforum.org or www.weforum.org/pdf/gendergap/report2010.pdf.