One of those listless days with nothing much done and even less on my mind.
So I decided to take a slow stroll through some of my favorite places of yore, stopping off first at Ladies United for the Preservation of Endangered Cocktails.
The sad news is they seem to have left the building for the last two years. I trust they shall reappear, as, in a lovely coincidence, one of their last projects was presenting an exhibition on the ladies of the burlesque. I might have known.
Said synchronicity has convinced me that I’m on the proper path. This is clearly the requisite divertissement for keeping my head in the sand. At least for the bank holiday weekend.
Oh, and for those minds which enquire, Dita is no longer with Mr. Manson [and I must say I concur: while I'm not much of a believer in any sort of fashion rules, I really don't think the boys should be wearing eyeliner after the age of 23], and she has been signed to play Mata Hari in a new film.
6 comments:
If you follow a bit more deeply some of the links in the expanded description of the Vintage Dancers video, you can download some really early burlesque performers. One tiny video shows an ostensibly blind man who catches a glimpse of leg when a woman pulls up her skirt to adjust her stocking. This was enough, apparently in those days, to send a man into ecstasy.
Another film shows a very delicate striptease. The final disrobing is done behind a screen, then the beauty emerges from behind the screen and a man enters the room (oh, my!).
There seems to be renewed interest in burlesque and vaudeville, which I am very glad to see. Mata Hari was one of the most exotic of the dancers and apparently an actual spy, although some say her information was outdated and not terribly useful.
I am getting fairly fed up with spooks these days, the story of recent Terror Arrests of student and Ceasefire Magazine editor Hich Yezza (Nottingham University) and the now-proposed deportation by the Home Office (that very same august caesarian body labelled by its ex-administrator as 'unfit for purpose') of the gentleman involved (to Algeria) has sadly brought their haunting presence into a number of previously innocent lives.
Let's keep on dancing, disrobing, and organising ourselves with tears, and smiles, of love and defiance in our eyes..
Wearily Yours
M
PS Worth a look at Hich's mag, Ceasefire April 2008 edition at Free Hicham Yezza
PPS Sorry for seriousness. Am I suppose to make everything by way of sideways reference ? Let me know if I have breached the rules of the game. And back to frivolity soon, inshalla I promise.
Xx
Just be yourself, Mark. You're everything we need, just the way you are.
A video clip with pictures of the exotic Mata Hari herself:
Mata Hari
I second "v's" words, Mark. When I say 'I'm swearing off politics,' what that really means is 'I need some counterpoint.'
The occasional diversion to keep my head from imploding.
I'm not surprised by the Home Office's despicable actions. I've often thought they have been lending the CIA guidance in how to handle such matters.
The Mata Hari clip was marvelous! In addition to all else, I want that skirt - the draped one in pastels. And, given that an ankle was such an aphrodisiac at the time, I can only imagine that a flash of thigh might cause a gentleman to swoon.
And her beautiful, rounded belly (normal in belly dancers who learn to isolate every muscle in the abdomen)...
Even today a naked belly is not allowed in Egypt in belly dancers. She must wear a covering, even if it is only a sheer piece of fabric. Imagine what it was back in Mata Hari's day to see an entire naked female torso. Absolutely unheard of!
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