BLOND PARTY at T.R.A.C.S

June 1st 1926, is the birthday of Norma Jeane Mortenson, better know as Marilyn Monroe.

And Saturday, June 1st 2013, T.R.A.C.S has a BLOND PARTY

Starting Noon SLT (9pm CET), with our blond DJ Rik

T.R.A.C.S at TIMOTHY PLAZA on RIVER ISLAND

http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

BLOND chapter VI

Marilyn Monroe

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962) was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s.

After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox. Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention. By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic film noir that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl (1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring Clark Gable with screenplay by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.

The final years of Monroe's life were marked by illness, personal problems, and a reputation for unreliability and being difficult to work with. The circumstances of her death, from an overdose of barbiturates, have been the subject of conjecture. Though officially classified as a "probable suicide", the possibility of an accidental overdose, as well as of homicide, have not been ruled out. In 1999, Monroe was ranked as the sixth-greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. In the decades following her death, she has often been cited as both a pop and a cultural icon as well as the quintessential American sex symbol. In 2009, TV Guide Network named her No. 1 in Film's Sexiest Women of All Time.

Biography

The life of Marilyn Monroe knows many variations. Her official website, marilynmonroe.com, seems to hold the most flourishing version, here is no mention of the possible incest or neglect by her alcoholic mother. On other websites such as wikipedia.com, and in some biographies, this is called forward. There are many different versions about why Marilyn married her childhood sweetheart, and there are numerous theories surrounding her death. Even her name seems to be ambiguous, on one website they called Norma Jeane Baker, on the other Norma Jean Mortensen. It is said that Monroe was Marilyn's middle name, others say it was the name of her grandmother, or mother. This shows that a clear biographical story about Marilyn Monroe writing is more difficult than it seems. The following biography is based on the following two books: Movie Icons: Marilyn Monroe Duncan in 2006 and Marilyn: Life of a Legend Evans in 2004.

That biographies do not always agree apparent when you compare the two books together. In Duncans Movie Icons: Marilyn Monroe in 2006 called Marilyn's mother Gladys Monroe example, in Evans Marilyn: Life of a legend  from 2004 called her mother Gladys Baker. In Evans (2004) also reported that Marilyn lived here in 1933 with her ​​mother while she lived. Before that time in foster care Around 1935 Marilyn than a few years living with a friend of her mother, before she marries shortly after obtaining her high school diploma with her ​​neighbor. Duncan (2006), however, regarded the years 1926 to 1942 as a period in which Marilyn staying in foster care, a period in which they escaped by marrying her. Neighbor James Dougherty Marilyn was just 16 years old. Exist only for the first 16 years of the life of Marilyn Monroe as seen many different stories. Both on the Internet and in books is therefore not entirely clear how her life really has expired. Therefore, the main features described in this biography mainly of her life the things that both books agree on.

The young Norma Jeane Baker

In Los Angeles, California, is 1926 Norma Jean (e) Mortenson was born on June 1. Since the identity of her father is unknown, the girl later renamed Norma Jeane Baker, her mother, Gladys Baker. Gladys Baker was shortly after the birth of her daughter admitted to an asylum because of problems with her mental health. This she also lost her job. Norma Jean (e) brought this as well as her entire childhood in foster homes, until they just graduated from high school on June 19, 1942, and only 16 years, marries her neighbor, James Dougherty. Around 1944 works Norma Jean (e) a time on the assembly line for the Radio Plane Company in Burbank, before starting to work as a model. In June 1946 Norma Jean (e) requires the separation of Dougerty to. Shortly after following her first screen test with the film company 20th Century Fox (Fox). If they sign a contract with this company, they do so under the name 'Marilyn Monroe'. In both 2006 and Duncan Evans 2004 there is no agreement the origin of its new name, it was a family name, or the name was coined by a movie agent?

Marilyn Monroe

First Marilyn Monroe appears in the film Scudda-Hoo! Scudda-Hay! in 1947. Because Fox does not renew her contract, Marilyn signed in 1948 with the film company Columbia Pictures, but this contract is not extended. In the same year met Marilyn movie agent Johnny Hyde, who accompanies her in 1950 from then until his death, and that Monroe put on the map as a movie star. In 1949 Marilyn posed nude for a calendar of Tom Kelly, an image that will be world famous. Later Her breakthrough film follows the same year, The Asphalt Jungle , a film by MGM. After her role in All About Eve draws Marilyn, just before Hyde died in 1950, again a movie contract with Fox. Marilyn Monroe is becoming better known and more popular, partly because magazines articles are devoted to her and she reaches an Oscar at the Academy Awards.

In the year 1952 Marilyn married again, this time with the world-famous baseball player Joe Dimaggio. In the same year it creates a scandal surrounding her previous nude calendar, and Marilyn plays the lead role in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes . Her career is starting to get off the ground and although they suspended in 1954 by her film company 20th Century Fox, she holds a series of concerts in Korea for American soldiers. In 1954 Marilyn plays in the film that perhaps has the most famous image of the movie star, the scene of billowing white dress in the film The Seven Year Itch. Two years after her second marriage, the separation of Monroe and Dimaggio consummated. In 1955 Marilyn then starts an acting training, and she founded her own production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions. And again it is suspended by Fox film company. However, there is again concluded a contract between Fox and Marilyn Monroe in 1956. She also married in this year for the third time, this time with Arthur Miller, a famous playwright. In the same year Marilyn gets her first miscarriage. In 1957, according to Evans (2004) a pregnancy aborted and the story circulating on the Internet than twelve times Marilyn has had an abortion. Duncan (2006) report that only Marilyn in a period of three years ('56-'58) three times miscarried. The following year, in 1959, the film Some Like It Hot came out.

In 1960, Marilyn has a nervous breakdown while she is shooting for her new film The Misfits. The following year, following the separation of Arthur Miller. Where Evans (2004) mentions her admission to a psychiatric clinic, beats Duncan (2006) over this period. Marilyn Monroe met Robert Kennedy in 1961, and President JF Kennedy. In 1962 she sang at Madison Square Garden the song 'Happy Birthday' to President JF Kennedy, official recordings of this are still to be found on YouTube. Again this year there are problems with film company Fox, Marilyn is dismissed for breach of contract, but a few weeks later rehired at a higher salary. The filming of the movie (with the significant title) Something's Gotta Give resumes. Four August 1962 is the last day that Marilyn Monroe is seen alive. Surrounding her death is much speculation, so she would be commissioned by the Kennedys, given the suspected affair that Marilyn had with both President JF Kennedy and Robert Kennedy killed.

Marilyn Monroe died at the age of 36 from an overdose.

On August 5, 1962 is known that Marilyn Monroe died, and that it is assumed that they are committed by an overdose to take medications. Suicide It is never entirely clear whether Marilyn really committed suicide or that she overdosed on pills has swallowed accidentally. Marlilyn Monroe is buried in Westwood Memorial Park Cemetery three days later.

BLOND chapter III

In contemporary popular culture, it is often stereotyped that men find blond women more attractive than women with other hair colors. For example, Anita Loos popularized this idea in her 1925 novel Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. Blondes are often assumed to have more fun; for example, in a Clairol commercial for hair colorant, they use the phrase "Is it true blondes have more fun?" Some women have reported they feel other people expect them to be more fun-loving after having lightened their hair. The "blonde stereotype" is also associated with being less serious or less intelligent. This can be seen in blonde jokes. It is believed the originator of the "dumb blonde" was an 18th century blonde French prostitute named Rosalie Duthé whose reputation of being beautiful but dumb inspired a play about her called Les Curiosites de la Foire (Paris 1775). Blonde actresses have contributed to this perception; some of them include Marilyn Monroe, Judy Holliday, Jayne Mansfield, and Goldie Hawn during her time at Laugh-In.

Alfred Hitchcock preferred to cast blonde women for major roles in his films as he believed that the audience would suspect them the least, comparing them to "virgin snow that shows up the bloody footprints", hence the term "Hitchcock blonde". This stereotype has become so ingrained it has spawned counter-narratives, such as in the 2001 film Legally Blonde in which Reese Witherspoon succeeds at Harvard despite biases against her beauty and blonde hair, and terms developed such as cookie cutter blond (CCB), implying standardized blond looks and standard perceived social and intelligence characteristics of a blond. Many actors and actresses in Latin America and Hispanic United States seem to have Nordic features—blond hair, blue eyes, and pale skin.

Reese Witherspoon

In colloquial French, "ma blonde" means "my girlfriend", regardless of the color of the specific woman's hair. Such is for example the reference in the name of the still-current 17th century chanson "Auprès de ma blonde".

Blonde stereotype

The blonde stereotype, the stereotypical perception of blond-haired women, has two aspects. On one hand, over history, blonde hair in women has been considered attractive and desirable. On the other hand, a blonde woman is often perceived as making little use of intelligence and as a "woman who relied on her looks rather than on intelligence." The latter stereotype of "dumb blonde" is exploited in blonde jokes.

Background and typology

Blonde hair has been considered attractive for long periods of time in various European cultures, particularly when coupled with blue eyes. This perception is exploited in culture and advertising.

Grace Kelly

Annette Kuhn divides blonde stereotypes in cinema into three categories in The Women's Companion to International Film:

 The ice-cold blonde: Kuhn defined it as "a blonde who hides a fire beneath an exterior of coldness". She provided Grace Kelly, Veronica Lake, Kim Novak, Mae Murray, and Eva Marie Saint as examples.

 The blonde bombshell: Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with explosive sexuality and is available to men at a price". She provided Brigitte Bardot, Lana Turner, Jean Harlow, Joan Blondell, Mae West, Barbara Eden, Marilyn Monroe, and Diana Dors as examples.

 The dumb blonde: Kuhn defined it as "a blonde with an overt and natural sexuality and a profound manifestation of ignorance". She provided Jayne Mansfield, Marion Davies, Alice White, Marie Wilson, and Mamie Van Doren as examples.

Marilyn Monroe

Research  

According to psychological research, hair color is a relevant trait in the perception of an individual’s intelligence and overall ability. In a study by Kyle and Mahler (1996), the researchers asked subjects to evaluate photographs of the same woman with brown, red, and blonde hair in the context of a job application. After making sure that the hair color in all three conditions was rated as looking “natural” (not dyed) in a pilot study, participants in Kyle and Mahler’s study, both males and females, were asked to rate the applicant’s capability based on the photograph for an accounting position.

The researchers found that the blonde-haired applicant was rated as significantly less capable than her brunette doppelganger. In addition, participants designated the female applicant’s starting salary as significantly lower when she was depicted as a blonde than when she was shown with brown hair.

Mamie Van Doren

Although associated with females, the application of the dumb blonde stereotype can be applied to men as well. A study that looked at the CEOs of the London Financial Times Stock Exchange’s (FTSE) top 500 companies investigated how hair color could be a potential barrier to professional success. Because it has been shown that blonde hair is associated with incompetency, it was hypothesized that there would be fewer blonde CEOs among this group – a group of individuals that is viewed as extremely competent – than was representative of the general population. According to the CIA Fact Book at the time of the study, the distribution of individuals who have naturally blonde hair in the UK is approximately 25%, while the study found that only 25 (5%) of the 500 CEOs were blonde. Furthermore, only two (0.4%) of these CEOs were women, neither of whom happened to have blonde hair.

The question that remains, then, is why is it that blondes are generally rated as less competent than those who have other hair colors? One theory focuses on the feminization of blonde hair, which can be seen by the overwhelming association of the dumb blonde persona with females. This idea draws on the stereotype that females have a lower psychometric intelligence than males.

Blonde jokes

There is a category of jokes called "blonde jokes" that employs the dumb blonde stereotype. It overlaps at times with the jokes that generally portray the subject of the joke as promiscuous and/or stupid.

In fact, dumb blonde jokes are overwhelmingly female-specific: according to an extensive search in various publications and on the Internet, about 63% of dumb blonde jokes are directed exclusively at females (compared to less than 5% that directly referenced dumb blonde men). Consequently, blonde-haired individuals – regardless of if they are male or female – may be viewed as less capable because they are regarded as more feminine and thus less intelligent.

Blonde jokes have been criticized as sexist by several authors, as most blondes in these jokes are female, although male variations also exist. Research indicates that because of this, men report being amused by blonde jokes significantly more than women do.

 Blonde jokes nearly always take the format of the blond(e) placing himself or herself in an unusual situation, performing a silly act because he or she misconstrued the meaning of how an activity is supposed to play out, or making a comment that serves to highlight his or her supposed lack of intelligence, lack of common sense, or cluelessness, or promiscuity.

Dumb Male Blonde Jokes

Three business men were sitting in a bar, drinking

and discussing how stupid their wives were.

The first says, "I tell you, my wife is so stupid. Last

week she went to the supermarket and bought $300 worth

of meat because it was on sale, and we don't even have

a fridge big enough to keep it in!"

The second agrees that she sounds pretty thick, but

says his wife is thicker." Just last week, she went out

and spent $17000 on a new car" he laments, "and she

doesn't even know how to drive!"

The third, a blond male, nods sagely and agrees that

these two women sound like they both walked through

the stupid forest and got hit by every

branch. However, he still thinks his wife is dumber." I

have to laugh every time I think about it," he

chuckles. "Last week my wife left on a vacation to Greece.

I watched her packing her bags and she must

have taken at least 5 boxes of condoms with her.

She doesn't even have a penis!"

By Dimitri S

An Irishman, a Mexican and a blonde guy were doing construction work on scaffolding on the 20th floor of a building. They were eating lunch and the Irishman said, "Corned beef and cabbage! If I get corned beef and cabbage one more time for lunch I'm going to jump off this building." The Mexican opened his lunch box and exclaimed, "Burritos again! If I get burritos one more time I'm going to jump off, too." The blond opened his lunch and said, "Bologna again. If I get a bologna sandwich one more time, I'm jumping too."

 The next day the Irishman opened his lunch box, saw corned beef and cabbage and jumped to his death. The Mexican opened his lunch, saw a burrito and jumped too. The blonde guy opened his lunch, saw the bologna and jumped to his death as well.

At the funeral the Irishman's wife was weeping. She said, "If I'd known how really tired he was of corned beef and cabbage, I never would have given it to him again!" The Mexican's wife also wept and said, "I could have given him tacos or enchiladas! I didn't realize he hated burritos so much." Everyone turned and stared at the blonde's wife. "Hey, don't look at me," she said, "He makes his own lunch."

Source: unknown

Fail Compilation April 2013 || TNL

Monthly Fail Compilation

byTwisterNederland

WEBSITE: http://www.twisternederland.com

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BLOND chapter II

Evolution of blond hair

Natural lighter hair colors occur most often in Europe and less frequently in other areas. In Northern European populations, the occurrence of blond hair is very frequent. The hair color gene MC1R has at least seven variants in Europe giving the continent a wide range of hair and eye shades. Based on recent genetic research carried out at three Japanese universities, the date of the genetic mutation that resulted in blond hair in Europe has been isolated to about 11,000 years ago during the last ice age.

A typical explanation found in the scientific literature for the evolution of light hair is related to the requirement for vitamin D synthesis and northern Europe's seasonal deficiency of sunlight. Lighter skin is due to a low concentration in pigmentation, thus allowing more sunlight to trigger the production of vitamin D. In this way, high frequencies of light hair in northern latitudes are a result of the light skin adaptation to lower levels of sunlight, which reduces the prevalence of rickets caused by vitamin D deficiency. The darker pigmentation at higher latitudes in certain ethnic groups such as the Inuit is explained by a greater proportion of seafood in their diet. As seafood is high in vitamin D, vitamin D deficiency would not create a selective pressure for lighter pigmentation in that population.

An alternative hypothesis was presented by Canadian anthropologist Peter Frost, who claims blond hair evolved very quickly in a specific area at the end of the last ice age by means of sexual selection. According to Frost, the appearance of blond hair and blue eyes in some northern European women made them stand out from their rivals at a time of fierce competition for scarce males.

A theory propounded in The History and Geography of Human Genes (1994), says blond hair became predominant in Northern Europe beginning about 3,000 BC, in the area now known as Lithuania, among the recently arrived Proto-Indo-European settlers (according to the Kurgan hypothesis), and the trait spread quickly through sexual selection into Scandinavia. As above, the theory assumes that men found women with blond hair more attractive.

It is now hypothesized by researchers that blond hair evolved more than once. Published in May 2012 in Science, a study of people from the Solomon Islands in Melanesia found that an amino acid change in TYRP1 produced blonde hair.

(Tyrosinase-related protein 1, also known as TYRP1, is an enzyme which in humans is encoded by the TYRP1 gene)

SKIRT PARTY in SWEETGRASS

Last Sunday: A cool breeze will make you feel like heaven down there gives you the touch of freedom. 

But only if you are wearing

a skirt to our party at the pool Sunday !

You'll have the chance to win L$ 1000 !

So come over and get that feeling at  the Sweetgrass Pool

DJ JennaRose will entertain us with her great tunes.

More pictures of the party at:

http://sweetgrassparties.weebly.com/index.html 

BLOND chapter I

Blond or blonde, or fair hair, is a hair color characterized by low levels of the dark pigment eumelanin. The resultant visible hue depends on various factors, but always has some sort of yellowish color. The color can be from the very pale blond (caused by a patchy, scarce distribution of pigment) to reddish "strawberry" blond colors or golden-brownish ("sandy") blond colors (the latter with more eumelanin). On the Fischer–Saller scale blond color ranges from A to J (blond brown), the RGB color value is typically #FAF0BE (250,240,190).

Blond or Blonde

Etymology, spelling, and grammar

The word "blond" is first attested in English in 1481 and derives from Old French blund, blont meaning "a colour midway between golden and light chestnut". It gradually eclipsed the native term "fair", of same meaning, from Old English fæġer, to become the general term for "light complexioned". The French (and thus also the English) word "blond" has two possible origins. Some linguists say it comes from Medieval Latin blundus, meaning "yellow", from Old Frankish blund which would relate it to Old English blonden-feax meaning "grey-haired", from blondan/blandan meaning "to mix" (Cf. blend). Also, Old English beblonden meant "dyed" as ancient Germanic warriors were noted for dying their hair. However, linguists who favor a Latin origin for the word say that Medieval Latin blundus was a vulgar pronunciation of Latin flavus, also meaning yellow. Most authorities, especially French, attest the Frankish origin. The word was reintroduced into English in the 17th century from French, and was for some time considered French; in French, "blonde" is a feminine adjective; it describes a woman with blond hair.

Brad Pitt Cannes 2012

British actor Daniel Craig
named as the first blond Bond

"Blond", with its continued gender-varied usage, is one of few adjectives in written English to retain separate masculine and feminine grammatical genders. Each of the two forms, however, is pronounced identically. American Heritage's Book of English Usage propounds that, insofar as "a blonde" can be used to describe a woman but not a man who is merely said to possess blond(e) hair, the term is an example of a "sexist stereotype [whereby] women are primarily defined by their physical characteristics." The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) records that the phrase "big blond beast" was used in the 20th century to refer specifically to men "of the Nordic type" (that is to say, blond-haired). Particularly this had associations with Friedrich Nietzsche's Übermensch. The OED also records that blond as an adjective is especially used with reference to women, in which case it is likely to be spelt "blonde", citing three Victorian usages of the term. The masculine version is used to describe a plural, in "blonds of the European race", in a citation from 1833 Penny cyclopedia, which distinguishes genuine blondness as a Caucasian feature distinct from albinism. By the early 1990s, "blonde moment" or being a "dumb blonde" had come into common parlance to mean "an instance of a person, esp. a woman... being foolish or scatter-brained." Another hair color word of French origin, brunet(te) (from the same Germanic root that gave "brown"), also functions in the same way in orthodox English. The OED gives "brunet" as meaning "dark-complexioned" or a "dark-complexioned person", citing a comparative usage of brunet and blond to Thomas Henry Huxley in saying, "The present contrast of blonds and brunets existed among them". "Brunette" can be used, however, like "blonde", to describe a mixed-gender populace. The OED quotes Grant Allen, "The nation which resulted... being sometimes blonde, sometimes brunette."

"Blond" and "blonde" are also occasionally used to refer to objects that have a color reminiscent of fair hair. Examples include pale wood and lager beer. For example, the OED records its use in 19th century poetic diction to describe flowers, "a variety of clay ironstone of the coal measures", "the colour of raw silk", and a breed of ray.

Blonde song

Hello My Name Is... is the debut studio album by American actress, musician, and singer-songwriter Bridgit Mendler (born December 18, 1992) released on October 22, 2012, through Hollywood Records. The first single of the album, "Ready or Not", was released on August 7, 2012. It premiered on August 3, 2012, and was released as a digital download on August 7, 2012. The song was written by Mendler herself, Emanuel "Eman" Kiriakou and Evan "Kidd" Bogart. The song debuted at number 98 and peaked at number 49 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was later certified Gold in Canada and Platinum in New Zealand. She has used three more songs to promote her album: "Hurricane"; which is the official second single off of the album, "Forgot to Laugh" and "Top of the World".

The album has received generally positive reviews from music critics.

The song "Blonde" is a little clichéd but ends up as a convincing argument that hair color isn't a gauge of brains.

Blonde lyrics

Hey, I think you got my number

 When I was out with my brother

 You said 'hi' and I think I liked you

 Oh we talked about maybe getting together

 A raincheck on the weather

 Cloudy skies and I had to get home

 Oh those eyes

 I thought you were a really nice guy

 I thought you were just my type

 But I forgot your name

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Hey I'm not a college grad yet

 There are some books I haven't read yet

 But I could quote

 A little bit of shakespeare in my sleep

 But there have been those times

 When I've clearly forgotten

 How to spell words like R-E-E-D-I-N-G

 Me, me and myself

 And I try really hard to get by

 With simple little things

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh 'cause I'm a blonde

 Maybe if I cared enough to dye my hair

 Then you'd take me serious

 Maybe I could try to change up their minds

 So they take me serious

 Oohh so they know

 Everybody knows that I'm not dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

I'm a blonde so excuse me

 I'm a blonde I get crazy

 And everybody knows

 We're a little more than fun

 I like to play it up like I'm dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 D-dumb, dumb, dumb

 'Cause I'm a blonde

Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

 Oh oh oohh (I-I'm a blonde)

Lighten Up Party at T.R.A.C.S

Saturday we had a wonderful party at T.R.A.C.S. DJ Infa had made a great mix of tunes and everybody could notice that he had a lot of fun.

▲ It made me smile that our guests had fun 

▲ The balloons, cake and champagne for a special guest........

▲▼ ........ our birthday kid Gandalle

▲ DJ Infa

▲ Norbie

▲▼ Przemko and Coco

▲▼ Alvei and Caasper

▲ Racker

▲ Draco

▲▼ DJ Infa, Ellbee and Guy

Lighten Up Party at T.R.A.C.S

Thursday May 23 2013, is recorded as the coldest May 23 ever in the Netherlands. It was not warmer than 10.3 degrees Celsius. The old record was about 10.4 degrees, in 1975. The lowest temperature measured was Thursday in South Limburg. There it was locally not warmer than 8.4 degrees. 
On average the temperature around this time in May is 18 degrees.

After this weekend the Netherlands slowly move to temperatures with normal values.

Gladly we have DJ Infa, this Saturday, to cheer us up.

Saturday it is also 135 years a go that the American stage and screen dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (5/25/1878 - 11/25/1949) was born. So come to T.R.A.C.S, dance and get warm.

T.R.A.C.S at Timothy Plaza on River Island

Land Mark: http://slurl.com/secondlife/River%20Island/221/249/22

Lighten Up part II

Mr. Bojangles

So, the inspiration for the song, Mr. Bojangles, was not the famous stage and movie dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson.

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949) was an American tap dancer and actor of stage and film. Audiences enjoyed his understated style, which eschewed the frenetic manner of the jitterbug in favor of cool and reserve; rarely did he use his upper body, relying instead on busy, inventive feet, and an expressive face.

A figure in both the black and white entertainment worlds of his era, he is best known today for his dancing with Shirley Temple in a series of films during the 1930s, and for starring in the 1943 musical Stormy Weather, loosely based on Robinson's own life.

The name Bojangles

Bill Robinson lost both parents when he was a young boy, and by the time he was six Robinson was dancing in beer gardens and on neighborhood street corners. All his life he carried the nickname “Bojangles,” but he could never be quite sure why. One story was that some of his friends had stolen a hat from a Broad Street haberdasher named Boujasson. He inherited the hat, along with the name youthfully mispronounced “Bojangles.”

Another story is that he, as young man, earned the nickname "Bojangles" for his contentious tendencies.

"African-American writer Donald Bogle called him “the quintessential Tom” because of his cheerful and shameless subservience to whites in film. But in real life, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, was the sort of man who, when refused service at an all-white luncheonette, would lay his pearl-handled revolver on the counter and demand to be served.

Bojangles life and dead

Bill Robinson began dancing in local saloons at the age of six. He soon dropped out of school to pursue dancing as a career. He became a popular fixture on the vaudeville circuit just two years after that. His first professional gig was the part of a “pickaninny” role in the show “The South Before the War” which toured the northeast. By 1900, he had made his way to New York and Robinson rapidly rose to become one of America’s best loved nightclub and musical comedy performers.

In 1908, Robinson met Marty Forkins, who became his manager. Forkins urged Robinson to develop his solo act in nightclubs. Robinson took a break from performance to serve as a rifleman in World War I. Along with fighting in the trenches, Robinson was also a drum major who led the regimental band up Fifth Avenue upon the regiment's return from Europe.

In 1928, he starred on Broadway in the hugely successful musical revue Blackbirds of 1928, which featured his famous "stair dance." Blackbirds was a revue starring African-American performers, intended for white audiences. The show was a breakthrough for Robinson. He became well known as "Bojangles," which connoted a cheerful and happy-go-lucky demeanor for his white fans, despite the nearly polar-opposite meaning of the nickname in the black community. His catchphrase, "Everything's copasetic," reinforced Robinson's sunny disposition. Although he worked regularly as an actor, Robinson was best known for his tap-dance routines. He pioneered a new form of tap, shifting from a flat-footed style to a light, swinging style that focused on elegant footwork.

Robinson’s was not the conventional shuffling flat-footed style, but instead he danced with a light, swaying style on the balls of his feet. He refined the “stair dance” in the 1928 Broadway review Blackbirds and then with Shirley Temple in the 1935 movie The Little Colonel.

Rarely did he depart from the stereotype imposed by Hollywood writers. In a small vignette in Hooray for Love he played a mayor of Harlem modeled after his own ceremonial honor; in One Mile from Heaven, he played a romantic lead opposite African-American actress Fredi Washington after Hollywood had relaxed its taboo against such roles for blacks. He only appeared in one film intended for black audiences, Harlem is Heaven, a financial failure that turned him away from independent production.

In 1939, he returned to the stage in The Hot Mikado, a jazz version of the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta produced at the 1939 New York World's Fair, which was one of the greatest hits of the fair. His next performance, in All in Fun (1940), failed to attract audiences. His last theatrical project was to have been Two Gentlemen from the South, with James Barton, in which the black and white roles reverse and eventually come together as equals, but the show did not open. Thereafter, he confined himself to occasional performances, but he could still dance well in his late sixties, to the continual astonishment of his admirers. He explained this extraordinary versatility—he once danced for more than an hour before a dancing class without repeating a step—by insisting that his feet responded directly to the music without his head having nothing to do with it

Robinson continued to dance into his 60s; however, due to a penchant for gambling and a generous spirit, he died penniless in New York in 1949 at the age of seventy-one. He was mourned by many fans, tens of thousands of whom attended his funeral which was said to be one of New York’s largest up to that time.