In case you haven’t noticed, I have stopped contributing to this blog because I’ve started a brand new project. It’s not dedicated to afros but I will be writing more regularly about media, culture, fashion, music and my favorite afros. Check it out at www.mitzifigueroa.com.

Thank you all for your support, readership and comments. It has been a rewarding experience tracking my journey and love of afros with you all and I hope you join me on my next project.

Sincerely,

Mitzi Figueroa

Check it out!

Via: GQ March Issue

Mhark: “Who am I?”

Me: confused….

Mhark: “Coco Rocha!”

Still confused? Go here.

Ciao!

After having seen the film, I can say that all the acclaim the film has received so far is warranted. All the actors, especially comedy darling Mo’Nique who plays opposite Sidibe as her relentlessly abusive mother Mary Jones, make this a a moving film that resonated in my consciousness for days afterwards. Watching Mo’Nique in her role gave me chills and many are calling her performance Oscar worthy.

Another impressive force is non other than pop diva slash actress, Mariah Carey. It’s hard to believe Carey’s second film since her easily forgettable debut in Glitter, is generating acting buzz but it’s true. In fact, the Palm Springs International Film Festival is awarding Carey with the Break Through Performance Award, an award whose past honorees include Oscar recipients Jennifer Hudson, Marion Cotillard and Freida Pinto.And she can’t seem to stop buzzing herself. At the film’s press conference for the Toronto International Film Festival, Carey wouldn’t stop talking about how difficult it was to see herself as an “ugly” character.

“They totally changed me. I didn’t want to look in the mirror. It was beyond dressing down because Lee Daniels loved to torture me. He really wanted me to not just look plain, he wanted me to look homely. That was his goal. He wanted a mustache and an under-the-eye thing and the bad hair.” Via: Us Weekly

To see Carey without makeup is yes, shocking but in no way does that make her eligible for an Academy Award. To see Carey flex real emotion (and shocker of all shockers, real tears) was, I’ll admit, moving. And ok, she may have carried the pivotal emotional crescendo of the film in the final scene when the protagonist (played by Sidibe) sits down with her mother for the first time since she fist-fought her way out of an abusive home and I applaud her efforts. But with all the complaining she’s been doing about looking the part of dowdy inner-city social worker Ms. Weiss, it makes me want to ditch her efforts out the window altogether.

Finally, no one can stop talking about the film’s darling, twenty-six year-old psychology major turned (*ahem Award wining) actress, Gabby Sidibe. The actress is making waves for not only her stirring performance but she’s also causing a stir among Hollywood industry insiders as an incoming talent with an un-hollywood body. As if she hasn’t already impressed you, Sidibe’s real life valley-girl-esque personality is almost polar opposite to the character she plays in Precious. Finally, Hollywood, a land that was once reserved for the beautiful, tanned and skinny, is making room for talents like Sidibe.

“I just hope that people can get past what I look like, and what other — you know, what other people look like. And see the heart and the soul of the person.” Via: CBS

Those involved within the news media have been in a mad scramble to creatively muster up a new business strategy that would somehow keep the printed newspaper alive. But with so many ideas floating around, I haven’t heard of someone who has actually considered adjusting the physical layout of the basic printed newspaper itself to make it more comfortable to hold and read in public. Maybe it won’t solve the new media crisis and maybe it won’t end up saving the printed newspaper, but at least someone is thinking outside the box. Because let’s face it the guy’s got a point, folding out the paper out horizontally is extremely inconvenient and awkward when you’re sitting an inch away from the stranger next to you.

Although she hasn’t quite knocked off the Devil in Prada tag, Wintour has seemingly redeemed herself to the public thanks to many insider exposés including the 60 Minute special and the unforgettable documentary by RJ Cutler. It seems that the public has generally forgiven her seemingly bitchy  antics now that they know that the behavior in question comes hand in hand with a decisive and assertive vision for excellence. Thanks to the September Issue.

Events of this year has almost made Wintour a household name and you can bet that the Vogue team has a lot more in store for Wintour fans, haters and fashionistas alike.

In other Wintour news, looks like Anna’s daughter Bee has turned down the opportunity to take over the fashion dynasty laid at her lap, to be an assistant to Ricky Van Veen, editor in chief of College Humor. In the words of Stanley Tucci, “this place [Vogue], where so many people would die to work [Bee] only deigns to work.”