Friday, August 29, 2008

More Than 38 Million Make History Watching 'History In The Making'




Barack Obama accepted the Democratic nomination for president last night before 80,000 people at Invesco Field in Denver, and an estimated 38 million t.v. viewers, setting a new record for convention viewership, according to Nielsen. Final figures are expected to top 40 million people.

Talk about rising to the occasion. Rising and shining.

Saturday, August 02, 2008

Limited Edition Sweetness: U.S. Postage and 'All-Black' Vogue

Vintage Black Cinema Postage, Josephine Baker
(Josephine Baker's Princess Tam Tam gets immortalized in postage)

Classic Black movie fans can now stick their own bold, new signature stamp on things with the recently released 'Vintage Black Cinema' Movie Poster postage from the U.S. Postal Service.

The series of 5 stamps include: 1921's The Sport of The Gods; Duke Ellington's 1929 film debut, Black and Tan; the short Caldonia; the Josephine Baker-helmed cult-classic, Princess Tam Tam and King Vidor's 1929 academy award-nominated Hallelujah.

Get them while their still hot (and if you don't see them, ask! The post office we visited didn't even have these colorful beauties on display. Tsk. Tsk.)

======

Italian Vogue's All Black Issue

(l to r: Legendary models: Gail O'Neill, Karen Alexander, Alek Wek, Iman and newcomer, Arlenis Sosa.)

Another limited edition item to get while it's still on shelves is Vogue Italia's 'All Black Issue,' available on newstands everywhere. Though the price may run you just about $20 here in the United States, $20 is a very small price to pay for equality, and green seems to be the only color any industry responds to these days. And with the amount of Italian Vogues flying off of newstands, the buying public is making itself very clear: DIVERSITY SALES.

According to the Guardian, UK, the magazine is one of the most in-demand yet:

It's nearly August, the retail fashion industry is in an uneasy slump, and summer issues of women's magazines are gaunt for want of advertising. Yet in the past four weeks, the 'black issue' of Italian Vogue has caused such a phenomenal demand at news-stands in Britain and the United States that Condé Nast, the publisher, has rushed to reprint and distribute 40,000 more copies.


You don't have to be an avid magazine buyer to appreciate this monumental issue; besides the cultural significance, the mag will enhance even the most drab of coffee tables and you may pick up an italian word or two...

Ciao!