Morphological Confetti

In five to ten years from now, someone reading this post may meet a little boy named "Django."  Now, please don't assume that this future boy's mother got this name from the current film by Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained .  The choice for this name may be for various other reasons, which has nothing to do with film [Yeah, right]. Side-note : Something inside prevents me from seeing  Django Unchained , but I'll probably end up seeing the film. For example, the name, Django , is a Romany term meaning, I awake . It is best known as the nickname of Belgian jazz guitarist, Jean Baptiste "Django" Reinhardt, whose fame has led to its use throughout music. Django is also the name of a web development framework. So, you see, the mother may be a fan of the famed guitarist, Django Reinhardt [Yeah, right].  Or, maybe she is a fan of Sean Penn, who portrayed a musician that admired Django Reinhardt in the Woody Allen film, Sweet and Lowdown [Yeah, ...

Happy Birthday to the late Academy Award winning actress, Hattie McDaniel, born June 10, 1898 in Wichita, Kansas , to former slaves; she was the youngest of 13 children.  Although Ms. McDaniel has starred in many films, she is best known for her role as a Mammy in Gone with the Wind (1939). Ms. McDaniel won the prestigious Academy Award for her role as best supporting actress; in fact, she was the first African American to win the Academy Award. Despite the menial roles given to African American actors and actresses at the time, Ms. McDaniel made the best of these roles and gave them a uniqueness and meaning that positioned her as a trailblazer for those to come. Ms. McDaniel was also a professional singer-songwriter, comedian, stage actress, radio performer, and television star. She was definitely a woman of many talents. Ms. Hattie died October 26, 1952 from breast cancer. She was 57. In 2010, African American comedienne and actress and Academy Award winner, Mo'Nique of th...

Comedic actor, Stepin Fetchit, was born Lincoln Theodore Monroe Andrew Perry on May 30, 1902 (maybe as early as 1892). There is little know about Mr. Perry’s early life, but he was born near Key West, Florida to immigrant parents. Personally, this surprised me; the man who would personify the southern jive-talkin’ “coon” was the son of a Jamaican father and Bahamian mother. Until I looked up his info, I had him growing up with Ma Rainey (see: redhotjazz.com/rainey) in Alabama or Mississippi somewhere. Mr. Perry was better known for his stereotypical, foot shuffling, slow talkin’ – yassa bossin’ character that became synonymous with uneducated blacks in the Southern United States. It appalled and offended many African Americans, while entertaining much of white America. In fact, it entertained white America so much that Mr. Perry became the first actor in history to become a millionaire. Interestingly, despite all the criticism and accusations for setting black folks back ...

Oprah recently honored a weekend of legends. Where was Lena Horne? I know that she is now in her 80's, but I wonder how she's doing? Update 5/11/10:   Lena Horne passed away at the age of 92 on Sunday, May 9, 2010. Now, everyone is honoring her life.  Photo source:   freewebs.com