Gabrielle Union celebrates her 40th birthday, promotes president: ‘You’ve got to vote for Barack Obama’

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Gabrielle Union on the Courvoisier Gold white carpet. (Photo: Courvoisier Gold)

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Gabrielle Union stepped onto the white carpet at her 40th birthday party on Monday sponsored by Courvoisier Gold with glowing skin, a fresh smile and the friendly demeanor we have come to expect from the actress after many years in the industry.

Totally unlike her famously crabby character in Deliver Us From Eva, Union was full of self-deprecating humor about reaching the big 4-0. “It’s either going to be armageddon, or serendipity,” she told reporters gathered for the fete. “I’m not sure which. My a** falls, my boobs start to droop. I don’t know. I’ve been looking at my friends who’ve made it, and look practically intact, and younger than ever. I’m hoping… It’ll be my luck that it all goes south and my a** drops to my ankles,” Union stated with a sparkling wit that charmed typically jaded journalists.

RELATED: Gabrielle Union and Planned Parenthood launch breast cancer initiative

From the looks of the gorgeous actress that night, the possibility that age will bring Union anything but more opportunities seems unlikely. Wearing a 5th & Mercer jumpsuit from the new clothing line by her gal pal La La Anthony, the Think Like a Man star noted that she had accessorized with her “favorite earrings.” Yet, what really drew attention were the new bangs.

“I ran out of weaves, so I said, ‘Let me try a bang.’ Literally, I just ran out of weaves,” Union explained about switching up her look. Borrowing the idea from fellow movie star Taraji P. Henson, Gabrielle admitted, “I just bit her whole style. I can’t promise what it will look like next week. I may have found a new muse and I will have stolen their look.”

In addition to the fresh cut, Gabrielle credited her pretty locks to a specific product. “It’s a 10 is everything. It’s a leave in conditioner. Now they have a whole line of shampoos, but I got hooked on the leave-in. It’s everything for every hair type.” She praised the detangler for its protection even against intense heat. And the secret to that glowing skin?

Water. Just water.

“I drink a gallon a day. I’m still using my regular Neutrogena, but I haven’t moved into the anti-aging products. I basically use my pink grapefruit scrubs and cleansers, but I drink a crapload of water.” Union’s skin, hair, and nails all benefit from extreme hydration as her main beauty secret, she told People magazine‘s correspondent.

While lovely on the outside, Union is far from focused on the superficial. As she easily responded to numerous press outlets with intelligent aplomb, Union also demonstrated her substance. For instance, she is reading The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson, “a piece of history that we don’t shed enough of a light on, to explain how we’ve ended up all over the country, as opposed to just nestled in the south,” Union related about this black history masterpiece.

As her professional life continues to build, Union’s personal life is blossoming. She beamed when discussing her boyfriend Dwayne Wade — but has no plans to rush into motherhood anytime soon. As she turns 40 on Monday, Gabrielle looks forward to “more time with friends” and “more time with my family,” in addition to cherishing greater simplicity. “I don’t have the time for drama and chaos in my life. I have just eliminated crazy people, crazy situations, unnecessary situations that can be avoided. I just don’t have that urge anymore to be in the madness.”

TheGrio spoke to Gabrielle Union in further depth about how to maintain a youthful spirit at any age, her feelings about the election and campaigning for Obama — and her take on the controversial casting of Zoe Saldana as Nina Simone.

RELATED: Gabrielle Union ‘pissed’ about GOP candidate’s ‘legitimate rape’ remark

The Grio: So tell us, how does it feel to turn 40?

Gabrielle Union: I don’t know, because I feel twelve! Physically, other than my lower back pain, I physically don’t feel any different. Emotionally and mentally, I’m in a good place. I’m entirely happy. I have a great life. I’m actually at a place to appreciate it, and recognize it.

How do you stay fashionable and fabulous at any age?

Oh gosh, with a team of people who help me! (Laughs.) I look at trends, but I’m not a slave to them. I like to spend some money, but I’m not going to go broke. I just try to be reasonable with it and I ask for advice. I stay with my head buried in a magazine. I travel, I try to be inspired by people. And I hang out with a lot of young people, you know? I just don’t date them. (Laughs.) I look at them for fashion advice.

You recently held a campaign event for President Obama.

Yes, in Tallahassee.

RELATED: Where are the sisters’ issues in the 2012 presidential race?

What is the message that you want to convey to voters?

I should just say, “Vote, make your voice heard.” But I have to be more specific, as there is so much on the line with this election, especially with young people. If you’re happy that Osama Bin Laden is dead, and the auto industry is alive — if you’ve ever needed a Pell grant, or have ever heard of one, or would like to know that they are going to continue to exist, you have to vote for Barack Obama.

If you want to keep your student loan interest rates down, you’ve got to vote for Barack Obama. If you’d like to make your own decisions about what happens in your vagina, you kind of have to vote for Barack Obama. If you believe in health care for everyone, and that it’s a right and not a privilege, and if you believe that 100 percent of Americans deserve equal protection under the law, including gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people, you’ve got to vote for Barack Obama. Basically, if you don’t want to send our country backwards, you’ve got to vote for Barack Obama.

now in so many places. Show up. Understand that this election is about you. You will be affected. Your vote does count.

What’s your opinion on the Zoe Saldana casting as Nina Simone? 

Wow, this was a while ago. I remember the big brouhaha. I’ve been a fan of Nina Simone, and I kind of look to her daughter for her opinion.

RELATED: Nina Simone’s daughter speaks out on casting of Zoe Saldana in mother’s biopic

But I’ve also known Zoe for a long time. Zoe as an actress — she’s amazing. I understand that it’s important image-wise to physically capture what Nina Simone looked like really, because that so informs her story. Like when they cast Renee Zellweger as a slave in Cold Mountain – that was a stretch. It impacts the story, and it changes the story into something else. I can understand people being upset.

But we can have that conversation civilly and without destroying Zoe, who is a dope, fantastic Morena, who represents in such a huge way for darker-skinned Latinas, but I do understand the need for Nina Simone to be Nina Simone and not re-imagined.

What’s next for you?

We start Being Mary Jane in January on BET, and then we shoot the sequel for Think Like a Man.

Follow Alexis Garrett Stodghill on Twitter at @lexisb.

Hispanic Heritage Month: 10 Latin Art Events To Catch This Fall

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As Hispanic Heritage month comes to a close this year, we would like to remind art admirers in the US that the celebration of Latin American art does not end in October. In fact, exhibits across the country from Los Angeles to New York City are paying tribute to Hispanic art and artists well into the new year. Mexican jazz music in New York, kinetic art in Houston and Latin American photography in Phoenix… there’s still much so see before the season ends.

So if you haven’t yet had a chance to check out some of the country’s recent homages to art in Latin America, check out the slideshow below for 10 of the best exhibits that are going on this fall. Let us know how you have celebrated Hispanic Heritage month in the comments section.

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Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account: NEA Announces Plan To Measure Economic Contribution Of Art

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Nobody puts the Arts sector in a corner. That’s pretty much what the National Endowment of Arts said when they announced their partnership with the Bureau of Economic Analysis this week. According to a statement released by the NEA, the two agencies are teaming up to initiate the first-ever effort to measure the contribution of the creative sector to Gross Domestic Product, putting Arts on par with sectors like the manufacturing and construction industries.

The program will be called “Arts and Cultural Production Satellite Account,” and will provide precise data on employment, wages and the overall contribution of the Arts to the American economy. It’s part of the NEA’s new research agenda, which emphasizes “impact analysis”; in other words, the affect of the arts on various sectors such as science, technology, education and the economy.

As a part of the ACPSA, the NEA has outlined plans to identify and measure the specific industries and commodities that spark creative engagement and bring cultural goods and services to the public. The expected data will shed light on the number of people employed by museums and theaters, the revenues of architectural firms, worker compensation in the music industry and the value of the book publishing industry, among other things.

In the past, the BEA has collected economic data for select arts domains such as performing arts, but the reports were sporadic and the estimates were generally broad, often combined with data for other sectors such as sports and recreation. But the new NEA-BEA partnership will now provide precise measurements for subgroups like dance, music, and theater.

The NEA has been on the receiving end of some jabs as a result of Mitt Romney’s intentions of slashing public arts funding. As Eric Morath at Nasdaq.com notes, the ACPSA’s new, more precise, data collecting strategy could prove influential as the government moves toward tightening federal spending.

The first NEA-BEA estimates will be available next year in BEA’s Survey of Current Business, with annual updates to follow. Let us know what you think of the new partnership in the comments section.

Marco Brambilla’s ‘Creation (Megaplex)’ Finishes Off Spectacular Triptych Of Cinema Overload

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The Huffington Post  |
By Posted: 10/26/2012 6:13 pm EDT Updated: 10/26/2012 6:13 pm EDT

If you thought Hieronymus Bosch‘s works were image overdoses, imagine the film adaptation. That’s pretty much the impression we get of Marco Brambilla‘s trilogy of 3D video collages; it’s a delicious sensory overload revealing the entire story of our creation, existence and destruction…on a loop. Brambilla is best known for his work on Kanye West’s video, “Power,” which he said was “kind of apocalyptic, in a very personal way.” However, we think the Megaplex series gives “Power” a run for its money.

Four years ago, Brambilla takes the world on a Wonka-esque elevator ride from hell up to heaven and back down again with “Civilization (Megaplex).” Two years later, “Evolution (Megaplex)” showed us the civilization of mankind, beginning with brutal cavemen and ending with post-apocalyptic space folk. Both “Civilization” and “Evolution” act as fluid, moving tableaux, incorporating over 400 films from throughout cinematic history.

For the final chapter of his epic visual triumph, Brambilla finishes with the most technically complex work of the trio, dubbed “Creation (Megaplex).” The piece incorporates hundreds of clips from Hollywood and international films, folding them into the fabric of his ever-repeating narrative. In the slideshow alone we spotted cameos by Tom Cruise, Julie Andrews and Jim Carrey… and we probably missed about 100 more. The cinematic head rush starts at the big bang, continues through embryonic inception, idyllic paradise onto annihilation and back and the big bang once again, all within the form of a giant DNA double-helix. And remember, this is all coming to you in 3D.

Brambilla spoke to the Huffington Post Arts on his cultural lexicon in an earlier interview: “[The works] represent the collective consciousness of their era, a kind of pop version of subliminal film memory. I looked through a lot of foreign cinema for some of the more provocative imagery and everything, virtually every genre you can think of is pretty well represented.”

“Creation (Megaplex)” will show at Christopher Grimes Gallery in Los Angeles from November 3 until December 22, 2012. See stills from the work below and watch “Civilization” to get your mind blown.

A Preview of Kanye West’s ‘Power’: ‘Apocalyptic in a Very Personal Way’

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Kanye West in a scene from the video for “Power.”

When you’ve had the kind of 2009 that Kanye West endured, only to return the following year to promote your new album, how do you organize your charm offensive to tell your audience you’re not the same person you used to be?

If you’re Mr. West, you start by making appearances at the offices of Facebook and Twitter to perform a cappella raps and pose for photographs. Then you open a Twitter account, post messages complaining about the size of your private jet, and amass more than 200,000 followers in a day.

And then you release a music video teeming with debauchery, degradation and the ominous specter of death.

In a coming video for his single “Power” that was created by the artist Marco Brambilla, Mr. West is seen standing imposingly with a heavy chain around his neck. As Mr. West raps, the camera slowly zooms out in one continuous, unedited take to reveal him in a classical structure, surrounded by female attendants who are partly or entirely nude; some kneel before him on all fours, others wear devil horns and still others are suspended upside down from the ceiling. The sword of Damocles hangs precariously over Mr. West’s head, and behind him an unseen executioner is preparing to strike him with a blade. (ArtsBeat was allowed to watch a portion of this video but was not permitted to post it.)

In a telephone interview, Mr. Brambilla explained that he was drawn to the project because, he said, “it’s kind of apocalyptic, in a very personal way.”

Speaking of Mr. West’s track “Power,” which includes refrains like “No one man should have all that power” and “This would be a beautiful death,” Mr. Brambilla said: “It had this very dark, personal conflict within it. Because of his own concept of celebrity and his own notoriety, he’s keenly self-aware of all these things. And it all came out in the music.”

Mr. Brambilla, a video artist and film director (“Demolition Man”), caught Mr. West’s eye with an installation called “Civilization,” which hangs in the elevators of the New York hotel the Standard in the meatpacking district and mixes hundreds of video clips to create a continuously scrolling depiction of heaven and hell.

Mr. Brambilla said that he generally avoids collaborations, but that when Mr. West contacted him through his gallery he could see how they might find common ground. “Because my work’s always been about alienation and seduction and the way contemporary cultures desensitize people,” Mr. Brambilla said.

With a sardonic chuckle, he said of Mr. West, “And he’s experienced it firsthand.”

(A press representative for Mr. West did not reply to a request to comment.)

Mr. Brambilla said the project — which he preferred to describe as a “video work that’s been commissioned by Kanye to accompany the music” rather than a music video — was his and Mr. West’s attempt to answer the question, “How do you visually paint a portrait of power?”

“It’s a moment of transition for him,” Mr. Brambilla said. “It’s like the end of an empire. It’s him becoming mortal again.”

Among the visual influences that Mr. Brambilla said he discussed with Mr. West were Philippe Halsman’s portrait “Dalí Atomicus,” which depicts a suspended midair Dalí, splashing water and leaping cats; and Michelangelo’s frescoes in the Sistine Chapel.

(Not that Mr. West is supposed to be either Adam or God, Mr. Brambilla explained. “It’s not exactly the content, but it is the interpretation of the style,” he said. “He’s like a fallen icon.”)

The video is planned to be posted on Mr. West’s Web site sometime next week, Mr. Brambilla said, and will be provided to MTV and other music channels (though its content will probably make it difficult for some of the channels to show it).

Mr. Brambilla said he hoped viewers of his “Power” video would see the humor in it.

“It’s a very exaggerated, hyper-sensational version of what the song is saying,” he said.

“But at the same time,” he added, “it has this fallibility to it. Because built into the story is that there is an ultimate fallibility, in bringing someone back down to earth at the end of the piece. That kind of contradiction, hopefully, will create the tension within it.”

And if it kicks up more controversy, as Mr. West’s artistic efforts often do, Mr. Brambilla was comfortable with that.

“I like controversy,” Mr. Brambilla said. “The more controversial it gets, the more interesting it is.”

 

By DAVE ITZKOFF

Famous Black Activists Thurgood Marshall (Video)

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Quick Facts

  • PLACE OF BIRTH: Baltimore, Maryland
  • PLACE OF DEATH: Bethesda, Maryland

Best Known For

Civil rights attorney Thurgood Marshall was instrumental in ending legal segregation and became the first African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

Chicago man was part of influential black artists group

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Artist Howard Mallory seen in early 2010 with his outdoor, communal gallery "Freedom Train." Rich Hein~Sun-Times

BY MAUREEN O’DONNELL Staff Reporter modonnell@suntimes.com October 19, 2012 6:18PM

Back when “Power to the people” and “Right on” were part of a new lexicon that made the “squares” uncomfortable, the art of Howard Mallory communicated a sentiment he declared with absolute conviction: “I’m black, and I’m proud.”

Mr. Mallory, a longtime Gresham resident who died Oct. 12, exhibited his sculpture and ceramics with the influential Chicago-born artists’ collective known as AfriCOBRA, or the African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists.

By “bad,” of course, they meant the opposite.

That Mr. Mallory did this while also holding down a job in shipping with International Harvester made him stand out, said David Lusenhop, owner of Lusenhop Fine Art in Detroit.

Even more remarkable, Mr. Mallory continued to create art after glaucoma rendered him legally blind, Lusenhop said.

“He would carry these six-feet-high big staffs he carved, these walking sticks, and, with his milky eyes, he looked like the ghost of an African king,” said Lusenhop.

Mr. Mallory died of prostate cancer while in hospice care at Holy Cross Hospital, according to his wife, Lessie Mallory. He was 82.

Lusenhop owns a stoneware piece by Mr. Mallory titled “We Must Go Home With Something to Build a Nation.”

“It reflects his belief African-Americans need to be able to support themselves,” Lusenhop said. “He talked about going to Africa. He said, ‘We must go home with scientists, educators, teachers.’ He believed in the empowerment of his community.”

Mr. Mallory went to Tilden Technical High School, then studied at the Illinois Institute of Technology and the School of the Art Institute, his wife said.

His parents, focused on security, “really wanted him to be an electrician, like his father,” she said.

But art “was a passion for him,” Lessie Mallory said. “He’d do it at night; in the evenings, when he’d come home from work.”

He painted in his coach house, and he built a backyard kiln to fire his ceramics.

The kiln “was huge; it was like an igloo,” said his daughter, Merchelle Reese.

Black pride and nationalism and the civil rights movement gave birth to the Black Arts Movement in the 1960s. AfriCOBRA began in 1968, when its members pledged to develop art that reflected the African-American diaspora and experience.

“The thing that attracted me to the group more than anything else was that they were dedicated to delivering a message to the African-American people that was positive,” Mr. Mallory told a reporter for a Chicago Sun-Times story in 2010.

In 1967, an early version of the group painted images of African-American leaders on a building at 43rd and Langley dubbed the “Wall of Respect.” Considered a forerunner of the public mural movement, it featured Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Charlie Parker, Sidney Poitier, Stokely Carmichael, Cicely Tyson, W.E.B Du Bois, Nina Simone, LeRoi Jones, Thelonious Monk, Gwendolyn Brooks, Wilt Chamberlain, Ornette Coleman and James Baldwin.

AfriCOBRA was “about producing work that reflected black folk; that reflected the beauty of black folk in a way that had not been recognized before but that still had a very strong message of uplift,” Tracy L. Vaughn, the 2009-2010 director of Northwestern University’s Center for the Study of African American History, said in a video about an AfriCOBRA exhibit she curated for the school.

“Howard did not go on to teach in higher education, like the majority of his colleagues in AfriCOBRA,” Lusenhop said. “He remained on the South Side of Chicago his entire life. He believed in the community and its future.”

Mr. Mallory exhibited his masks, pots and sculptures with AfriCOBRA in the early 1970s at the Studio Museum in Harlem, Howard University and the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

He sold his work at galleries and exhibited at art fairs, including the 55th Street Art Gallery, the South Side Community Art Center and the McKinley Park Library, his wife said. He did commissioned sculptures for the Cornerstone Presbyterian Church and the Emerald Avenue Presbyterian Church. He also taught ceramics to children at the Parkway Community Center.

 

Mr. Mallory loved what he called “real jazz,” the kind performed by Cannonball Adderley, John Coltrane, Miles Davis and Charlie Parker, according to his wife. He also liked to take his family camping all over the Midwest in his trusty red station wagon.

He is also survived by another daughter, Jarnette Dill; a son, Katara Mallory, and two grandsons. A memorial is planned for 11 a.m. Saturday at Seventh Presbyterian Church, 8623 S. Sangamon.

Prince: Legendary Singer, 54, Rocks ‘Jimmy Kimmel’ (VIDEO)

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Sounding great and bursting with energy, Prince didn’t disappoint this week as he brought down the house with a performance of the classic “Dance Electric” on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

Wearing a metallic animal-print jacket and yellow pants, it was a rare late-night television appearance for His Purple Majesty who, at 54, looks pretty much the same as he always has, still sporting his trademark eclectic sense of fashion.

Prince also performed an ode to rock music called “Rock N Roll Love Affair” before closing out the show with “Dance Electric,” a track originally written for his former bassist André Cymone.

Check out the Minnesota native as he wows the audience, backed by a fantastic 10-piece band, in the video above.

76 Unbelievable Street And Wall Art Illusions

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Public graffiti and destructive doodling is one of the most costly art forms. Some people apparently think it is creative, and I can agree with that to one extent. However, there is a difference between art graffiti or these art illusions and just tagging away with an alco-pen leaving messages like “I Was Here” written in some elaborate spiral designed way. I have touched on this subject before here on Bit Rebels, and there isn’t much more to say about it other than it is destructive and costs a lot of people a lot of money. Well, as I said before, you can always use “Fat Tag” together with a projector to do your non-destructive tagging if you feel the urge to do it. These street and wall art illusions are a whole different thing though.

There are some street artists who use their creativity to do the same amount of graffiti art illusions without being destructive or costing anyone a lot of money, well, that is not more than the money they spend on chalk and spray paint. It’s always inspiring to see someone take street art to the next level, and this post is entirely dedicated to art illusions that do just that. This is all about the creativeness of people that actually want to show people their art, for free.

That’s right, not many things are cheap in the world anymore, and these inspiring art illusions come across as some of the better ones. The fact that an artist spends hundreds of dollars just to please the public, is to me, a sign that the world isn’t such a bad place after all. The most mind blowing part of it all is the quality. I can’t imagine the extent of talent and time it must have taken to put these pieces together. On top of that, they let people use these art illusions for props while they take photos, which is another huge creativity boost for me.

Some of these art illusions are so realistically created that it’s sometimes hard to see where reality starts and fiction ends. What we should all remember is that it’s all done with pure imagination and some color. The perspective is just mind boggling and the depth is beyond unbelievable.

Mind Blowing Street & Wall Art Illusions

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Oh, and as a little bonus for you. Try to figure this one out…

Street-and-Wall-Art-Illusions

Open by ~aarontyree

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Impromptu portrait taken in the back yard while bbq-ing. Plastic roll down background from good will, $5. Lighting is natural, and an emergency blanket spread out between to stakes as a reflector.
Vignette added in post. Devon Jade, the subject of the portrait, who shines from the inside out with beauty, is priceless…

Leland Bobbé’s Half-Drag Photos Show New York’s Drag Queens In And Out Of Makeup

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The Huffington Post  |
By Posted: 08/07/2012 9:21 am Updated: 08/07/2012 6:30 pm

In his Half-Drag series, New York photographer Leland Bobbé captures the two sides of the city’s drag queens — the extravagantly made-up drag divas and the organic men that lie beneath.

Bobbé tells Huffington Post Gay Voices, “Through the power of hair and makeup these men are able to completely transform themselves and find their female side while simultaneously showing their male side.” Shockingly, the identities are composed in camera and are not separate images joined during editing.

Bobbé posted the first portrait of the Half-Drag series on his blog last March, writing, “I got great feedback on the image so I decided to reach out to other drag queens using Facebook as my main means of communication… I’ve now shot four people with many more on the way. We’ll see where this takes me…”

Five months later, the project has taken the award-winning photographer far: It has been featured in Italian Vogue, fashion site Refinery 29, as well as in other websites and blogs from around the world. Bobbé reflects, “This is what the term ‘gone viral’ is all about.”

Visit Leland Bobbé’s website and blog to see updates on the ongoing series and to view his other work.

Why I Surround Myself With Art

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I surround myself with art because I get overwhelmed by other people. More than you could possibly know; more than you could possibly imagine.

The artists who make the work I love have already spoken. I’ve invited them in. I’ve seen what they wanted me to see and felt what they wanted me to feel, and I loved it. So I brought them to me. I’ve placed them around me. I’ve asked for the dialog I have every time I look at one of those magnificent works. They’re not near me there because they want something. Their statements aren’t intended to manipulate me into feeling something. I’m not being asked to give my time, my attention, my money or my love in return for something promised or something owed. I’m not being asked for anything.

Instead, I get to do the asking. And every time, I’m rewarded. I ask that these beautiful works inspire me, and every time, they do. I ask that the artists who make them understand me, and every time I see their message, they do. I ask that they not hurt me. They don’t; they uplift me. They don’t overwhelm me. They don’t request things. They don’t lie. They don’t cheat. They don’t use their statements to place themselves above me. They don’t look down at me.

They are just there. They are just beautiful. They are. And in the moments I look at them with awe and admiration, I am; for I see the potential we all have in us to inspire, to create and to endeavor. And that makes me aware of my own life and my own time. It makes me understand the nature of undertaking tasks simply to achieve them, nothing more.

When I am lied to; when I am bullied and manipulated and ignored and cast away, I look to art. Because art, among all the pain and suffering and the darkest aspects of our human experience, brings a light that shines on the beauty and majesty of the best of our nature.

I love art, because someone else loved an idea enough to bring it to life. I love that we can do that. And so naturally, I love the manifestations of that process. I love that the art speaks to me. I love that it never stops speaking to me. I love that what it says is always something I need and want to hear.

I surround myself with art because, when I feel most ugly, art makes me realize I am beautiful. When the world feels most dirty, art reminds me that it is capable of fantastic and wonderful messages. When I feel the chaos of the world I live in, art brings order and sanity. When I feel locked down and in a rut, art speaks to the wild and free aspects of me which break me out of it.

Art never makes me feel ugly. Art never makes me feel useless. Art never ignores me, even when I go weeks or months not paying attention to it.

Art is the voice that sings within us all; whenever we choose to listen to it.

(Painting by Lenoid Afremov)

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‘Skyfall’ Star, Naomie Harris Talks New Role And Idris Elba Becoming The First Black Bond

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Having the opportunity to co-star beside a suave British intelligence agent such as James Bond, requires a lot of skill and technique. According to 36-year-old actress Naomie Harris, prepping for her starring role in, Skyfall, proved to be more strenuous than she originally expected.

While promoting the franchise’s 23rd installment of Bond, Harris took time out to speak with the Huffington Post about her new role as 007’s sidekick, in addition to her thoughts on Idris Elba possibly becoming the first black James Bond.

How would you describe your character, Eve, as the latest Bond Girl?

She’s very independent, very playful. And what’s really exciting for me about the role is that you see her going toe to toe with Bond. She’s out in the field as a field agent, sees herself just as capable as him firing sniper rifles, Walther MPKs, and just having a blast at the beginning of the movie. Things go a bit wrong and she begins to question whether or not she’s right for the field work.

I could imagine handling such heavy artillery comes with a good amount of skill. How did you train for the film?

For two months, before we started filming, I had a personal trainer and she took me out five days a week for two hours a day. And she really kind of kicked my butt and got me into shape with lots of yoga, running, and circuit training. And then I was at the gun range three times a week learning how to fire machine guns, Walther MPKs, and sniper rifles. And then I was doing stunt driving twice a week. So for two months I was very, very busy even though we hadn’t started filming, just prepping for the role.

Do you have a favorite Bond film?

Mine would be “Casino Royale,” because it was the first time that I saw more of a vulnerable Bond. And I loved that, because it made me more attached to the character. I was more on the edge of my seat, because I really genuinely didn’t know what was going to happen to him. Whereas before, they were kind of like cartoon characters. You knew no matter what that they dodged a bullet, wouldn’t get hurt, or they never fall for the girl. This movie added the whole element of danger which I loved.

While reading the script, did you find yourself going back to take any notes from previous Bond girls?

No, in fact I really tried to do the opposite. I really felt like I didn’t want to be straight jacketed by knowing too much about what was done in the past. I didn’t want to try and make my character similar to someone in the past. I was specifically asked by the producers and director to come in and add a modern character. And that was really important to me to make her original.

In recent years there’s been talks of the possibility of fans seeing a black James Bond at some point. Do you have any personal favorites that you would consider for the role?

I didn’t realize that there was this talk and then I did a film with Idris [Elba] and he said that he met Barbara Broccoli [James Bond producer] and that it does seem like there is a possibility in the future that there could very well be a black James Bond. And I would have to vote for Idris because I just finished working with him and he’s a great guy. [Laughs]

He’s also a fellow London native, as well.

That’s right. I didn’t even realize that until I started to work with him. I thought he was an American based on his role on “The Wire.” [Laughs]

Speaking of filming, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, with Idris. What can fans expect from your role as Winnie Mandela?

Well, it’ll be completely different from my role in Bond. [Laughs] It’ll be very raw, very emotional, and it’s the most challenging role that I ever played. It’s a role that I’m most proud of.

Are there any other projects that you’re currently working on aside from promoting Skyfall and Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom?

No, not at the moment. I did Bond which was nine months long, then I took a two day break and went off to South Africa to film my part as Winnie Mandela. I finished that just over a month ago. And now I’m doing a worldwide tour promoting Bond. So after this is finished my only thoughts are about taking a break and going on a nice holiday.

Breast Cancer PSA Focuses On Boobs, Not Women (VIDEO)

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The Huffington Post  |  Posted: 10/25/2012 5:08 pm EDT Updated: 10/25/2012 5:08 pm EDT

Boobs in low-cut shirts, boobs in sports bras, boobs in showers and boobs in a baby’s mouth. It’s these sorts of images that make up the latest overtly sexy breast cancer public service announcement.

The ad, created by Chilean agency Lowe Porta, Santiago, places the focus on the chests of the women featured, rather than on the women themselves. In fact, you see a whole lot of boobs in this advertisement, but not one face. After a montage of breast close-ups, the PSA displays its tagline: “Si tanto nos gustan, deberiamos cuidarlas. Incentiva a mujer a hacerse un examen de mamas.” Translation? “If we like them so much, we should take care of them. Make a woman get a breast exam.”

But not everyone is convinced that this PSA will actually accomplish its stated goal. BuzzFeed’s Copyranter writes: “So, the spot is targeting men. Fine. What do you think the number of male viewers who jerk off to the ad will be compared to the number of male viewers who actually ask a woman to get a breast exam?”

This ad follows other decidedly sexed-up breast cancer awareness campaigns that have been released in recent years. The Keep A Breast Foundation’s “I Heart Boobies” campaign plasters its tagline onto T-shirts and bracelets, and a 2009 ad from Rethink Breast Cancer proclaimed “Save the Boobs” and featured a lithe young woman strutting near a pool in a white bikini.

According to the National Cancer Institute, 226,870 women were diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States in 2012 alone, and 39,510 American women died of breast cancer in the last year. But does focusing on “boobies” mean saving these women’s lives? Some women (and men) remain skeptical.

“The tragic reality of breast cancer has brought thousands of women together to advocate for their health and for the government to fairly allocate funds into breast cancer research … Unfortunately, the commercial sector saw a window of opportunity to capitalize and ‘sexify’ breast cancer,” wrote postdoctoral fellow Jessica S. Holmes in a blog for The Huffington Post. “And women everywhere endure a month focused on our ta-tas.”