The Daily Tea: Let it Flow

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.”
-Washington Irving

There is strength in vulnerability. Don't be afraid to let it all out sometimes. Cleanse yourself of everything that is weighing on you. Tears convey many things, not just sadness. Cry in joy. Cry out of love. Resist the urge to bottle things up.
Sometimes when we are hurt, we don't want to give people the satisfaction of seeing the resulting emotions. Crying for or in front of someone doesn't give them power. Letting emotions build inside and fester is what gives them the power. Let it go so that you can move on.

The Colbert Report

Model Isaiah Colbert
Photography: Tarrice Love
[source]

***
Photography: Hassan Beyah

Beyoncé - Acoustic "Sweet Dreams"

It's no secret that I love Beyoncé. She is beyond a shadow of a doubt the greatest female entertainer out there right now. She appeals to the masses across age and color lines.
What I love most is the versatility. She's of course known for high energy stage performance with big hair, big lights, and big spectacles. Performances like this acoustic version of Sweet Dreams show me that she possesses more than hip shaking. The is emotional depth underneath.

[DOWNLOAD Beyoncé Sweet Dreams - Live Acoustic Version]

Rihanna Goes Hard

Rihanna's promo for this album is getting more and more provocative. Each photo seems to have fewer articles of clothing than the previous one. Maybe she is baring all both emotionally and physically this time around. The pictures border along the lines of lewd but her image lately has been about being in your face. I can't knock the hustle. She has a smokin' hot body so I guess she deserves to flaunt it.

Here is the tracklisting for her album Rated R as well as a preview below. It contains snippets from each song. Enjoy it while you can. You know how youtube yanks things away quickly.

1. Mad House
2. Wait Your Turn
3. Hard featuring Jeezy
4. Stupid In Love
5. ROCKSTAR 101 featuring Slash
6. Russian Roulette
7. Fire Bomb
8. Rude Boy
9. Photographs featuring will.i.am
10. G4L
11. Te Amo
12. Cold Case Love
13. The Last Song

[By the way, the song Hard is hot to me. I haven't enjoyed the other music from her lately but I have had that song on repeat. Despite the annoying intro]

My Icons: The Legend of Fosse

Icon: Bob Fosse, Dancer/Director/Choreographer

“Life is just a bowl of cherries, dont take it serious, its mysterious. Life is just a bowl of cherries, so live and laugh and laugh at love, love a laugh, laugh and love.”
-Bob Fosse

Robert Louis Fosse went to Hollywood in hopes of becoming the next Fred Astaire. His dancing skills which he honed during touring shows with the military helped to establish him as one of the most beloved and studied choreographers ever.
The Academy Award winning director is the man behind Sweet Charity, Chicago, Cabaret, and many other musical classics. He was often associated with his wife Gwen Verdon, also a dancer. She served as his muse on several occasions and famously dance the Mexican Breakfast dance which became a viral youtube video years later after being set to the music of Walk it Out. The dance also served as the inspiration for Beyoncé's equally iconic video for Single Ladies.

Bob Fosse
with dancer Tony Rall
performing his own choreography in a scene from the film
My Sister Eileen (1955)

“The time to sing is when your emotional level is too high to just speak anymore, and the time to dance is when your emotions are just too strong to only sing about how you feel."
-Bob Fosse

The Rich Man's Frug
from Sweet Charity
starring Shirley MacLaine
Choreographed and Directed by Fosse



Fosse earned many awards, including the Tony Award for Pippin and Sweet Charity, the Academy Award for Cabaret and the Emmy Award for Liza with a "Z". He was the first person to win all three awards in the same year when he snatched them up in 1973. He is also the only person to have won all three awards in the category of "Best Director.

And all that jazz...

In the Buff

Solve Sundsbo
for Numero Magazine

Chanel Iman for Deutsch

Model Chanel Iman
for Deutsch Magazine
Photography: David Roemer
Styling: Kasia Pysiak
Hair: Fernando Torrent
Makeup: Fredrik Stambro
Manicure: Tatyana Molot
[source]

Under the Sea

Models Jennifer, Laura, and Nicole
of America's Next Top Model

For Cycle 13 of ANTM, Tyra has taken the top girls to Hawaii for their high fashion destination. This season has been set aside for petite models. All of the girls are 5'7" and under. These were my favorite pics from the last shoot. I love the concept and the artistry in these under water photos.

Bad Romance Video Premiere

Lagy Gaga
Bad Romance [Video Premiere]



***
Here is a small snippet of an interview in which Gaga gave some background for some concepts in the video.

MTV Shows

I can't explain how much I love this video. With her record breaking number one singles, her high fashion trends, and mass appeal, Lady Gaga is shaping up to be much more than the flash-in-the-pan type of pop star that people pegged her as when she burst onto the scene. This chick is in it to stay.
Every video Gaga has released has been slick, imaginative, and very cinematic. Heavy on stunning imagery, they manage to tell stories while stick being glossy and hip. I love the bath house/sex traffic themes in the Bad Romance video.
Anyway, I'm glad that we have someone in music that isn't afraid to go the distance with shock value instead of relying on alter-egos and concept albums. Gaga doesn't do halfway.

"That tough female spirit is something that I want to project," -Lady Gaga

Something New: Red's Joe Choi

Model Joe Choi
Photography: Hassan Beyah
[source]

In the world of fashion, things are so black and white. Mostly white. The top ranked models in the industry are not of color (not because of lack of talent among models of color) and editorial pages are not known for being sprinkled with that many black models. What's even harder to find are models of Asian descent, or anyone that isn't black or white for that matter.
It would be nice to see more diversity.

Compose Yourself: Gaga Knocks Em Dead

Lady Gaga attended the ACE Awards in New York City wearing a now infamous black veiled vamp look.
Shortly after she hit the red carpet, celebrity photographer A.J. Sokalner fell dead.

He was pronounced dead at Bellevue Hospital shortly after, and the owner of ACE Pictures, who Sokalner worked for, says emergency workers said he had suffered a heart attack. He was in his late 50s.

Fellow photographer Brian Lamb says he was just feet away from Sokalner when he fell ill.
"By the time I saw him, he was already blue and people were starting to give him CPR," according to Lamb. Other photographers on the scene say Sokalner hit his head when he collapsed.
[source]

I guess Gaga's looks have been a bit too shocking...
It was purely coincidental I'm sure. Then again...
This outfit could do some damage to anyone.
God rest his soul...

Compose Yourself: Not Your Daddy's Dr. Ruth

Public hearing on
''The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009''



Dr Ruth Jacobs of Rockville, MD testifies at public hearing on gay marriage. Her claim is that gay men, and specifically black men, have higher rates of HIV infection, and gay marriage will spread AIDS. She also claims that, after same-sex marriage is legalized, anal sex and gay marriage will be forced on school-aged children.

***
I am not going to go into much detail about my response. I'm sure you can imagine how irate I became after watching this.
She's not a resident of the district. It's clear that she has a lack of understanding of the true problems with HIV and the black community as well. She also is criminally generalizing the connections between HIV transmission and gay marriage, which would actually promote monogamy.
Dr. Jacobs failed to take into account heterosexual couples that engage in anal sex. Should we return to the days when sodomy was illegal in general? If so, that would incriminate many straight couples as well. Her logic is flawed. I have less of a problem with people who cite religious reasons for opposing gay marriage than I do with her.
She doesn't know the facts. She doesn't even know what the law that she is opposing entails.
I'm happy that David Catania put her in her place.

My favorite part:
"May I respond?"
"No, that's not a question."

Shut. Her. Down.

Fashion Saved her Life

Singer Lady Gaga
for Flare Magazine
Styling by: Anna Trevelyn
Photography: Max Abadian
[source]

***
A preview of Lady Gaga's video for Bad Romance also premiered on the German television program Wetten Dass. I can't wait!!