Father Christmas

Paul Robeson, the CIA and MKULTRA , Updated 2010-2011, New information on CIA contractors who "treated" Robeson.

Update: Since the 1999 publishing of Counterpunch Magazine's groundbreaking piece Did The CIA Drug Paul Robeson and with the continuing persistence of Paul Robeson, Jr. who has been fighting for access to his father's medical and intelligence records in Russia, England and the United States for over 30 years, new information has come to light. This is the one blog online where all the current relevant facts are assembled for researchers and fans alike to consider in one place. It is a work in progress and will be continually updated. All feedback is appreciated.

On March 27th, 2011, it will mark 50 years since Paul Robeson's shocking "suicide attempt" in Moscow. Those of us who are fans and scholars of Paul Robeson's life note with sadness that this effectively marked the end of his long and distinguished career as an artist and activist and where his severe health issues began. The controversy that surrounds his health has been beset with rumors, cover ups and misconceptions since the onset. Why were they so severe? Why was he confined to The Priory and given electro-shock for nearly TWO years? Why, after he managed to recover did he face near death AGAIN in 1965 in New York at the hands of doctors? Why was it never connected until recently that the doctors in NY and in London were CIA contractors, with two even training together at the same London hospital? Was James Thornwell a test subject by Army intelligence to see how Robeson reacted to the CIA drugging in Moscow? Did the US coordinate the drugging of the two men in Europe during 1961? What documents are still being withheld?

Before some of those questions can be asked and answered, here is the first comprehensive chronology of Paul Robeson health breakdown, CIA involvement and names and dates. With whatever can be said now, more information is due to come to light. The most imperative fact to me, is that Robeson survived, to not be assassinated and to live till he was nearly 78 years old passing away on January 24th, 1976 during the bicentennial year of the country he loved so much.

Robeson's health was fragile during his retirement and he told his son that he would "have checked out" earlier given his own choice but felt doing so would be undignified towards his family and fans. As someone who has followed other celebrities with depressive and controversial backgrounds, I feel holding on was his last triumph. He outlived J Edgar Hoover, Alan Dulles, Truman, Lyndon B. Johnson, John Foster Dulles and Eisenhower and many others who attempted to kill him. As his granddaughter Susan Robeson said, " he lived to see the world catch up to his visions and validate the very things he had been persecuted for ."

And he left questions both ambiguous and unanswered that we can consider today along with his unparalleled and magnificent life. Along with those questions and lessons learned and yet to be learned, fans and scholars must continue to go after and expose the individuals and the power structure that tried to destroy him. Many, perhaps all have now died but their names must be brought to the public. No country, no government that calls itself a "democracy" or "free" should be allowed to hound nearly to death, those who exercise their civil liberties and certain unalienable rights.

UP TO DATE CHRONOLOGY OF PAUL ROBESON'S HEALTH BREAKDOWN, CIA/FBI SURVEILLANCE AND MKULTRA

1935: British intelligence looks into at Robeson's activities and warns him on the set of Sanders of The River to tone it down.

1943: the Office of Strategic Services, World War II predecessor to the CIA, opens a file on him to accompany the FBI's file which is opened in the mid 30's.

In 1947: Robeson is nearly killed in a car crash. It later turned out that the left wheel of the car had been monkey-wrenched, As with John Lennon, who was under FBI surveillance at the time of his murder, Robeson was being watched by agents who either fixed the wheel or watched it happen and did nothing to stop it.

THE FBI: J. Edgar Hoover's hatred for Robeson reads like an obsessive, perverted expression of white supremacy. Robeson's frequent trips to the Soviet Union lead to him being investigated by the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover. Robeson was under surveillance by the FBI from 1941 to 1974, when the Bureau decided that "no further investigation [of Robeson] was warranted"^[11]but additional records obtained by Paul Robeson, Jr. show that he was under surveillance until his death by other sectors of the U.S. government including Military Intelligence

1950: Paul Robeson's passport is lifted under The McCarran Act. He cannot travel for what turns out to be the next eight years.

1950's: Because of the controversy surrounding him, Paul Robeson's recordings and films lose all mainstream distribution. It is increasingly difficult in the United States to hear Robeson sing on commercial radio, buy his music or to see any of his films, including Showboat. In the United States the majority of U.S. newsreel footage will be either destroyed or have the sound erased.^[141] Historian Martin Duberman wrote that Robeson becomes "an outcast, very nearly a nonperson

1955: After over seven years of heavy FBI surveillance and near universal blacklisting, at the age of fifty-eight, Robeson is hospitalized for a prostate operation.^[2] Prior to the operation he expresses to his son, Paul Robeson, Jr., fear of what might "be done" to him by the US Government while he is under anesthesia. Robeson's recovery is lengthy and coupled with depression. First becoming manic with energy, obsessing daily over the pentatonic scale and the connectedness of universal music theory and then lapsing eventually into a withdrawn depressive state where he saw virtually no one.^[2] Robeson's doctor feels there are deeper psychological issues brought on by the combined stress of his prostate surgery and government harassment.

Summer 1958: His passport returned and without bitterness or anger, Robeson makes a triumphant return to Europe including the USSR where he is mobbed everywhere he goes by admirers. On his second trip he is hospitalized for dizzy spells of undetermined origin in combination with a bronchial infection. He recovers and return to the UK for what will be his theatrical swan song at Stratford-Upon-Avon in Tony Richardson's Othello.

January 1961: Following the CIA/Belgian assassination of anti-colonialist leader Patrice Lumumba, Robeson starts to question his safety in London. Disagreeing vehemently with his wife Eslanda who wants to stay in London and deciding he is ready to return to the US and assume a role in the civil rights movement he helped build, Robeson makes plans for a trip to Africa, China and lastly Cuba on the personal invitation of Fidel Castro. The CIA finds out about it through an informant at the Moscow embassy though they are tracking him and opening his mail as well.

March 26, 1961: Robeson leaves unannounced for Moscow and. Robeson spends a few days singing and making personal appearances. All witnesses later say he is in great spirits including his interpreter, Irina who last sees him heading to his hotel to get an early night due to an early morning engagement.

March 27th 1961: Robeson is discovered in an incoherent state, with his wrists superficially cut on the floor of his hotel bathroom and hospitalized. He refuses to see anyone, including his wife for the next week until Paul Robeson, Jr. arrives

Early April 1961: Robeson, Jr. visits his father in a Moscow hospital following the suicide attempt. Robeson told his son that he felt extreme paranoia and thought that the walls of the room were moving. Paul Robeson, Jr. recounts: "My father manifested no depressive symptoms at the time, and when my mother and I spoke to him in the hospital soon after his “suicide” attempt, he was lucid and able to recount his experience clearly. The party in his suite had been imposed on him under false pretenses, by people he knew but without the knowledge of his official hosts. The party became so raucous that other guests in the hotel complained. By the time he realized this, his suite had been invaded by a variety of anti-Soviet people whose behavior had become so raucous that he locked himself in his bedroom." All the "guests" at the party were continually walking towards him, begging him for help immigrating and pleading for diplomatic help in leaving the USSR and " getting relatives out of Gulag."

Spring/Summer 1961:Robeson, Jr. questions Soviet officials to find out who had been present at the party, how near Robeson was to death and if the doctors had found any hallucinogenic drugs in his father's blood.^[4] He's told that his father is now safe and that the people at the party "were not Soviet people." Robeson, Jr. is also told not to persist with his questions as the Khrushchev leadership is under threat of a coup and the Soviet government (including the KGB) is in flux, thus most of his questions would never be answered and nearly two weeks later Robeson, Jr. finds himself also feeling similar hallucinatory and suicidal symptoms which never repeated themselves before or since, leading him to believe that he too was drugged.^[5] Robeson and his son recovered, with Robeson staying at the Barvikha Sanatorium for a prolonged period of rest. Upon his recovery and ensuing return to London, Eslanda Robeson asks the Soviet doctors "if Paul's depression would ever benefit from ECT" and the Soviet doctors sharply tell her "no."

Summer1961: James Robert Thornwell, is tortured by U.S. Army with mind control drugs, (EA 1729, LSD) to force him to "confess to stealing secret documents" while stationed in Orleans, France. Thorwell's entire life has many eerie similarities to Robeson's; humble background, star student, multi-linguist, top of his class, praise from others, strong sense of self and accomplishments that eclipse many white peers etc. The close dates of the drugging of Thornwell and Robeson's breakdown suggest possibly that Thornwell was a test subject to see how Robeson was reacting in Moscow. The Freedom of Information Act of the 70's and lawsuits will eventually reveal the shocking use of illegal drugs (LSD) combined with psychological and physical torture conducted by the United States Army against its very own troops on active duty overseas. This was part of Operation Third Chance. As a result, it leads Congress to award Thornwell $625,000 in damages nearly twenty years later. The real Thornwell, is permanently scarred by the events and is unable to hold a job or happy personal as a civilian. James Robert Thornwel dies in 1984 of a "epileptic fit in his swimming pool..."

September 1961- August 1963: Robeson leaves Moscow for London in early September 1961, where he again became rapidly depressed and suicidal.^[4] He was immediately sectioned under the British mental health act, signed into care by Eslanda and admitted to The Priory Hospital. Psychiatrists start him on a course of electroconvulsive therapy 36 hours after his arrival without consulting his previous physicians in the USSR and without offering any combined psychotherapy or antidepressant drug therapy. The electro-shock treatments would eventually reach 54 rounds, a number his son called "criminal by any standards then or now."^[5] Doctors at the time feel his condition is "too acute to risk waiting for treatment." According to The Priory doctors and close friends, the ECT treatments in combination with heavy barbiturates did help in the short term but yielded no positive cumulative effects to his mental health.

Fall of 1963: Disturbed over his ineffectual and dangerous treatment at The Priory, friends of Robeson have him transferred to The Buch Clinic in East Berlin. The physicians found him "completely without initiative" and they expressed "doubt and anger" about the "high level of barbiturates and ECT" that had been administered during his stay at The Priory. They also discover that he had heart and liver problems consistent with his age and medication, and stop the heavy doses of the sedatives prescribed at The Priory.^[22] Robeson rapidly improves ^[23] though his doctor stressed that "what little is left of Paul's health must be quietly conserved and that he must retire from private life"^[24] With the blessing of his doctors Paul Robeson eventually returns to the United States.

December 1963: Robeson returns to the United States. He is cheerful, coherent but has come home to "formally retire" due to the deteriorative disease arteriosclerosis and the cumulative effects mostly poor treatment at The Priory for depression. Robeson actually hopes to get his strength and energy back to return to public life. He is approached by James Farner of the Congress of Racial Equality, to take a part in the civil rights movement, provided he roudly denounce Communism and the USSR. He declines.

June 1965: Robeson attempts a small scale comeback tour and is hospitalized with exhaustion and depression when his energy gives out. Nathan S. Kline, one of Paul Robeson's New York doctors is not available so he sends in Ari Kiev. Dr Kline is later documented as having developed and conducted tests on psychoactive drugs and along with Robeson's primary physician at the Priory, Brian Ackner, is an expert on extreme behavioral modification.

August 1965: Due to the very heavy, over medicating at the hands of Dr. Ari Kiev, who combines Valium with Thorazine ( a known toxic and potentially deadly combination) and five other heavy drugs, Robeson is hospitalized near death for "toxic metabolic encephalopathy probably secondary due to combined drug therapy" which leaves him with "elements" of permanent brain damage. The first he is thought to sustain even after high levels of ECT. Only by moving him to a different hospital and away from Kiev is his life saved. Ari Kiev does not reappear.

Ari Kiev who became Robeson's temporary New York physician under Kline, has also recently returned from a year's residency at Maudesly, psychiatric teaching hospital in London where Brian Ackner, Robeson's main physician at The Priory had been one of the attendings.

Richard Helms's, MKULTRA Subproject 111, was headed by Professor Hans Jürgen Eysenck, the director of the psychology department of London's Maudsley during the early 1960s when Ackner was doing his residency. Kiev would go onto to serve from 1962 through 1964 as an Air Force captain and attached to Wilfrod Hall Hospital where psychologist Frank Barron was conducting research under MKULTRA. Paul Robeson, Jr, is eventually able to document that Ackner, Kiev and Kline had all been CIA contractors before or when they treated his father with Kiev, who's "treatment" nearly killed Robeson being attached to FIVE MKULTRA locations^[16]


January, 24th 1976:On January 23, 1976, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the age of 77, Paul Robeson died of a stroke following "complications from a 'severe cerebral vascular disorder.'"^[201] He lay in state for a viewing at Benta's Funeral Home in Harlem for two days. His granddaughter, Susan Robeson, recalled "...watching this parade of humanity who came to pay their respects...from the numbers runner on the corner to Gustaf VI Adolf, King of Sweden."^[202]


The early 1980's
Under the then less stringent limits of the Freedom of Information Act, biographer and historian Martin Duberman contacts the FBI requesting all the relevant documents that they have on Paul Robeson.

December 1984: As he nears completion of the draft for his biography, FOIA restrictions are tightening under President Reagan and Duberman is forced to sue the FBI in an attempt to get more than just inked out reports. His attorney Ed Greer, a specialist in FBI lawsuits, tells him that Paul Robeson's "Status of Health file" is unique as is the files internal index (a mark of Robeson's file being amongst the largest). Robeson's premier biographer, Duberman does not wholly discount the claims, but is not able to obtain enough evidence to either prove or disprove Paul Robeson Jr.'s MKULTRA theory. He will later write that "the issue must remain unresolved until the release of all pertinent government material. However, this may never be possible" as FBI lawyers tell Duberman's attorney (their tone purposefully mocking) that "some 56 volumes (out of a probable 103) in the Robeson file of the New York Field Office have "unaccountably disappeared."

Mid 1980's: Duberman is unsuccessful at getting the Priory Medical records.

1988: "Paul Robeson" By Martin Duberman is published to stellar reviews. An out, Gay white man of Jewish descent brings Paul Robeson, the straight black radical artist back to the public's attention via his beautiful narrative writing and staggeringly meticulous notes. The book will stand as the definitive work until nearly two decades later when it is joined by Paul Robeson, Jr.'s two volume "The Undiscovered Paul Robeson" series.

1998: The Paul Robeson centennial year sees a global resurgence for his history with hundreds of celebrations held around the world. Due to the PBS American Masters special, "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand, " Paul Robeson Jr is finally able to get copies of his father's medical records from the Priory.

1990's: President Bill Clinton apologizes for MKULTRA as more victims come forward including people who were mind depatterned at as young as FOUR years old.

1999: CIA spokesman Anya Guilsher issued a statement insisting that Robeson, Jr.'s, "allegation is completely without foundation."[21]


2000: Brian Ackner Insulin Coma Shock therapy: Through the medical records, Robeson, Jr. discovers that Ackner had put his father in an insulin shock therapy coma ^[17]during his time at The Priory four years after Ackner had co-written a definitive study discrediting the procedure as "dangerous, ineffective and potentially deadly."^[18][19]The notes of the procedure are recorded in his files at The Priory unacknowledged, along with seven other drugs, on Robeson's summary report aka "chart." ^[20]In referencing this data, Robeson, Jr. continues to argue that his father was "subjected to mind depatterning under MKULTRA." The process being an surreptitious dosing of LSD or BZ to confuse and destroy the victim's confidence and then ECT combined with high levels of barbiturates to obliterate whatever is left.

Intresting Hypocrisy

There was a great post recently by Tami Winfrey Harris which appeared on her blog "Tami Says" and cross posted on racialicious entitled:

Double standards: What’s the difference between Russell Brand and ‘Superhead’?"


In her fantastic piece she brings up the double standards that woman of colour face in dealing with sexuality from a societal and media perspective and how a former porn actress like Karrine Steffans is held to hypocritical and racist standards while a proud sleep around Brand sails onwards and upwards to multimillion dollar fame and feting. And yes, it is true; there would be a media frenzy and hate campaign if a couple of colour acted the way Brand and Perry do-unmarried or married.

Firstly, Katy Perry without equivocation, sells sex to children with her gumball, candycane clothing, Candyland softcore and walking around near naked at Kid’s and teen choice award shows. She has 13 year old Rebecca Black of Friday song viral fame in her latest video where she pretends she too is a tween. Solange Knowles slammed her for it and did not mince words yet all the press did was slam Solange for speaking in slang on Twitter. (Gotta protect that nice white Katy who can’t put on a shirt even for Sesame Street from that Ebonics tweeting meanie…) Lil Kim walks around near naked with Easter egg coloured wigs and she’s “ghetto” and “street,” Katy Perry does it and she’s “ah, quirky and about having fun, ah!” Perry can’t sing either but everyone knows that. She’s 26 and yet is associated with pre-teen demographic acts like Justin Beiber, Taylor Swift and Selena Gomez in a dual attempt to sell her to both children and college age kids. She claims she’s built like Pam Grier or Bettie Page but a closer look shows she’s not remotely packing the same bod and that’s so parents will not be put off. A true buxom/apple bottom mama like Pam, Sofia Vergara or Tocarro Jones in pvc playsuits with cupcakes and teddy bears on it singing those pre-fab apolitical teenybopper songs? It would not be allowed as it would threaten the hell out of white America.


As for Brand, his messiah complex ramblings of his “past hatred” for women and his treatment of Andrew Sachs was gross without being funny but because he’s white it falls into the “cute Brit comedy guy” free pass bin. If a black male comedian had called up say DickVan Dyke, Jerry Lewis or Ed Asner and left messages about having sex with his granddaughter on a publicly funded radio show, including references to her having her period, as Brand did? Well they’d never work in the US again outside of dive clubs. Even Eddie Murphy.


Brand did leave the UK afterwords and yes, Fawlty Towers is only an obscure cult show to many under 40 in the USA, so his ego-maniacal reputation was white washed there. No one knew who he was until the Sarah Marshall films. Suddenly finding “monogamy” with Perry sealed his new squeaky clean, reformed image. Though he seems to post pics of his wife with no makeup whilst talking incessantly (and merrily) about all the “birds he used to pull” and how he had it “down to a right science,” that he seems to have left “respect” out of relationship vows. Bizarrely enough, I read somewhere that he claims "Mtv producers warned him not to seduce Perry?" WTF? She's 26 years old, not 14! More of an attempt to paint this regressive adolescent image that she wallows in and that makes him look "decent."

Karrine Steffans is brave as hell as is any woman coming out of the porn industry-an industry I fully support when it is ethical. She's talked about how childhood abuse led her into a **** porn life and to more abuse. And while blond Traci Lords is now as apple pie to soccer mom’s as buying a rampant rabbit and talking about it over Starbucks, Steffans is on her own in this new world of women controlling and making sense of their own sexuality in the media. I feel her writing and honesty-no matter how uncomfortable it makes feminists AND non-feminists- should be supported. Steffans certainly has an authenticity that has more to say about where women (especially women of colour) and their sexuality stand in society and the media then Russell Brand EVER will.

In the Costwolds before the cold snap

Bourton-on-the-Water


My husband and I spent last week in Gloucestershire on a long awaited second honeymoon. We literally boarded our train back home to London as the snow started falling. I thought I knew what cold weather was but oh no! So now I do. Very beautiful and very magical. This cold snap hitting the UK is like a scary movie but I can't say I wasn't warned (kind of lovin it actually)!!



Costwold Lane


Sadie at our B&B in Great Rissington


Bell Inn aka The Prancing Pony (also known as the Inn of the Prancing Pony) was an inn where Frodo Baggins first met the Ranger Strider. Tolkien based much of Fellowship on this part of the Cotwold's which you directly access through a train from Paddington that stops off in Oxford along the way.


Quarwood, the Victorian estate built in 1856 and owned by John Entwistle for 27 years. The Ox was my inspiration for first visiting the Costwolds over a decade ago on my second trip to the UK. My husband is wondering, between Stow and Richmond, how many other Who member inspired journeys we will be making. I've told him "many more!"

Prayers and love for Lily Allen

You hear the lambs a-cryin'
Hear the lambs a-cryin'
Hear the lambs a-cryin'
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep.

My Savior spoke these words so sweet
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep
Sayin' "Peter if you love me, feed-a my sheep".
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep.

Lord I love Thee Thou dost know
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep
O give me grace to love Thee more.
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep

Wasn't that an awful shame?
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep
He hung three hours in mortal pain.
O Shepherd, feed-a my sheep

-Negro Spiritual

Each night I pray
that its not too late
that disappointment
wont be my fate
But I believe deep down
someday I'll stand
High On A Hilltop
way far away
High On A Hilltop
way far away

- Nick Lowe

PAUL ROBESON WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE INTRODUCTION

WIKIPEDIA "editors" have taken voluminous and meticulous research and good work that went into the Paul Robeson wikipedia article intro and replaced it with what can only be called an unreferenced collage of ho hum. Until further notice, I am NOT the wiki-user who helped create the introduction of the article as it currently looks.

Here is the REAL thing with references:

Paul LeRoy Bustill Robeson (April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an [[United States|American]] [[bass-baritone]] concert singer, recording artist and actor, who became noted for his wide-ranging [[social justice]] [[activism]] and [[political radicalism]]. A forerunner of the [[civil rights]] movement, Robeson was an [[All-American]] athlete, [[Phi Beta Kappa Society]] laureate and valedictorian during his years at [[Rutgers University]]. After graduating from [[Columbia Law School]] in 1923, Robeson discontinued his career as an attorney due to professional racism. Simultaneously he became a sought after stage actor and concert singer, eventually becoming an international film star and celebrity. Robeson was also a recipient of both the NAACP's [[Spingarn Medal]], the [[Stalin Peace Prize]] and of honorary memberships in over half a dozen trade unions for his prodigious labor activism. Robeson, Susan. ''Paul Robeson: The Whole World in His Hands, a Pictorial Biography'', 1980, pg 13, prologueBoyle, Shelia Tully. ''Paul Robeson: The Years of Promise and Achievement'', 2001, pg 11 notes on sourcesDuberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, prefaceSeton, Marie. ''Paul Robeson'', 1958, pg 57.Despite his being one of the most internationally famous cultural figures of his time, [[persecution]] by the [[US government]] and blacklisting by the [[US media|media]] over his radical politics, has kept Paul Robeson out of mainstream [[pop culture]] and many interpretations of [[US history]], including civil rights, sports and [[black history]].

Paul Robeson was the first major concert star to popularize the performance of [[Negro]] [[spirituals]] and was the first black actor of the 20th century to portray [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Othello]]'' on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. As of fall 2010, Robeson's run in the 1943–45 ''Othello'' production still holds the record for the longest running Shakespeare play on Broadway. In line with Robeson's open dissatisfaction with film industry [[stereotype]]s, his roles in both the [[Cinema of the United States|US]] and [[Cinema of the United Kingdom|British film industries]] were some of the first parts ever created that displayed dignity and respect for black film actors, paving the way for [[Sidney Poitier]] and [[Harry Belafonte]].Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, pg 90. Paul Robeson chose to become a political artist at the height of his career in the late 1930s, entertaining and raising money for both allied troops and the International Brigades in the fight against [[fascism]] during [[World War II]]. After numerous visits to the [[U.S.S.R]], where Robeson proclaimed he experienced no [[segregation]] and "walked in full human dignity for the first time", he also became a staunch supporter of socialism advocating for a strong post war friendship with Russia.

Robeson eventually became a prime target of the [[Red Scare]] during the late 1940s through to the mid-1960s. Post War, Robeson publicly stated that the United States government and many Western European powers, had failed, both [[people of color]] and the [[working class]] of all races in the struggle for basic [[human rights]]. Through his strong following in the Black community, Robeson urged U.S. blacks not to serve in the Unites States armed forces until the U.S. government abolished [[Jim Crow]] and passed strict anti-lynching laws. Concurrently, he maintained his outspoken adoration of Russian culture, peace with the [[Soviet Union]] and emerging Communist countries. Robeson's passport was then revoked from 1950 to 1958 under the [[McCarran Act]] effectively blacklisting him when he refused to sign an anti-Communist [[loyalty oath]]. Under surveillance for well over three decades, U.S. Congressional records and FBI files released under the [[Freedom of Information Act]], show the reasoning behind Robeson's persecution was not limited primarily to his affiliations with the Soviet Union. Other aspects of his life and politics including anti-imperialism, the [[racial integration]] of [[major league baseball]], the [[International Brigades]], the [[Council on African Affairs]] and [[progressive]] children's groups were also cause for concern by the [[United States Intelligence Community]]. As of fall 2010, there is no official evidence of Paul Robeson ever being a member of any domestic or international Communist group.

As the [[Cold War]] continued, Robeson was publicly condemned for his radical beliefs by both the [[United States Congress]] and mainstream black organizations including the [[National Association for the Advancement of Colored People]] (NAACP).Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, pg 400. To date, Paul Robeson's FBI file is one of the largest of any entertainer ever investigated by the [[United States Intelligence Community]], requiring its own internal index and unique "status of health file." Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, pg 563, notes on sources While on tour in Europe during the early 1960's following the return of his passport, Paul Robeson's health broke down severely under controversial circumstances. In 1965, he was forced to permanently retire. Despite limited activity in his later years, Paul Robeson remained throughout his life, unapologetic about his political views.Brown, Lloyd. ''The Young Paul Robeson 1997.pg 161 Present day advocates and historians of Paul Robeson's legacy have worked successfully to restore his name to numerous history books and sports records, while honoring his memory globally with posthumous awards and recognitions.Turner, Charlotte. ''Paul Robeson's Last Days in Philadelphia'', 1986, pg 150.Duberman, Martin. ''Paul Robeson'', 1989, pg 543.

Heat Seeking Missle Music

I never discuss private stuff like this online but lately, I've been thinking of how pleased I am that The Who, apart from some heavier live stuff, don't make bunk up tunes.

Seriously. Part of me really likes music sub text free so I can own it in my own mind and heart. I think The Who do that better than anyone. Minimal Rhodes (insta-70's) , minimal horns (The Ox kept it simple but dazzling) even some of the dated synth stuff on It's Hard that I worship ultimately starts to sound undated once you read the lyrics.

And yet another smaller part of me loves how music retains memories, creating an instantaneous atavachron between (and within) the ears. And, even a smaller part of me, thinks many of these memories should be erotic.

If you become a devoted wife and a working mum who nonetheless retains a loyal niche following on the internet for a being a You Tube friendly boob-centric entertainer you (hopefully) start to question what 'aspects' of your past shaped the dualities. Hopefully you leave the answers to ambiguity. I'm sure I've made a few males hear The Who and think of me...and hopefully at least a select few turn the station!

It works both ways and one disc of The Stones (Beggars Banquet) is now semi (no pun intended) and sadly mostly unlistenable for this reason yet another one or two still sound really good. Don't get me wrong, if I deigned to put on the Stones before, "good" was not going to an issue, it was a given. And it is not that it takes me "back" it just makes me amused as to why I chose certain background tunes. And I do mean "semi" because despite Banquet I can still listen to much of it; good music outlasts most romances. Nick Lowe definitely makes some sexy stuff as well but I'd be too busy laughing at how critically acerbic and ironic it all was to put in a good performance-even if the performance entailed falling asleep! Nick Lowe sings about the romance gone awry while he's still in love-sometimes about your OWN break up on the way. Yet Steely Dan is ironic as hell and seems playable while playing. Not sure why though.

The music of the UK certainly charges up the romance, especially in London on a Saturday night and Sunday early hours. Tired of all the cack on the US charts? Then come to the UK or download all the non-American artists save for the all-girl bands and X factor (sorry Tweedy...) Coming of age in the East End during the 90's, my husband Kev listened to Ian Dury, Chas and Dave, Ska, tu-tone, Cypress Hill, NWA and loads of Hardcore, drum and bass and House. We were married a year ago and while celebrating he shared with memories of when rave culture all but ameliorated football hooliganism and the single techno pulse started the MDA fuelled beat surrender. We listen to everything.


Anyway here are few of those songs, all by The Stones. All still good:

New Yacht Rock!!

IT MEANS REINVENT YOUR IMAGE AT A DESPERATE ATTEMPT AT RELEVANCY!

Every once and awhile really great things happen

Love these lyrics, love this song

....though I originally thought Adam Young was singing "home will always be here on sea..."

Umbrella Beach

Stands and gears, oh how the daisies bloom
When chandeliers light up the engine room
Can you feel the drops as it starts to rain
There's an underwater Ferris wheel where I found the missing link to this island chain

Home will always be here, unseen, outta sight
Where I disappear and hide
I think dreamy things as I'm waving goodbye
So I'll spread out my wings and fly

Home is a boxcar and it's so far out of reach
Hidden under umbrella beach

Home will always be here, unseen, outta sight
Where I disappear and hide
I think dreamy things as I'm waving goodbye
So I'll spread out my wings and fly

I'll spread my wings and fly

Home is a boxcar and it's so far out of reach
Hidden under umbrella beach

Silence Day Song (One in You-One in Me)

One in you, one in me
It's out of our hands you see
This is who we are, all we'll ever be
Don't get judgemental
Too temperamental
Just accept reality
Because there's one in you, one in me

We tear down the roads doin 95
Always sure we'll comeback alive
But now I don't have a choice you see
Is your God in a line?
Well it shouldnt be

We tear down the street doin 25
Always sure we'll comeback alive
Covered with roses, and cooled by ice
My God is in a screen
Well isn't that nice?

One in you, one in me
It's out of our hands you see
This is who we are, all were ever be
No need in getting sentimental
He's flickering subliminally
One in you, one in me

Spoken word bridge:

The sun was shiny brightly on the courts where tennis is played
I thought it would be a really swell time for all my cards to lay
His expression was calm, relaxed and serene
As he filled the air with sweat, booze and meth amphetamine
I gave him a hundred dollar bill and a deadman's pipe
Told him Happy birthday and truly, have a nice life
Last I heard he was living in a cleaner's van
Working as a narc and topping up his tan


We tear through the gross world barely alive
Always sure there'll be a place to hide
Know you're fraud, know that your done
Is your God in a pill?
Than give me one


One in you, one in me
It's out of our hands you see
This is who we are, all were ever be
Don't get judgemental too temperamental
Be as happy as you can be
cause one in you, one in me
I said one in you, one in me
Happy as can be (you better be)
one in you, one in me
Oh yeah, there better be
One in you, one in me

For Grace

In Loving Memory of Neil Emery- Rest in Peace

August 7, 1970 to when the last vinyl disc is pressed & the last Truffala tree falls


"I started life as an egg in a womb 36 years ago, as a child i was shorter than today and used to play pooh sticks on the bridge over troubled waters- i burned that bridge and many others since, my first job was on a fairground, it was a rollercoaster of a ride that lasted 2 years. im currently finding myself- i did see my self in ealing broadway once but couldnt find me in the crowd."

-Neil Emery


"STRAIGHT MAN GONE SOLO FIRST CLASS UNDER-ACHIEVER ARCHITECT OF MY OWN SPECTACULAR DESCENT OBSCURITY'S MOST FAMOUS SON STAR OF STAGE, SCREEN AND TRAMPOLINE, TWAT ''He was officially the last person in the uk to join facebook." -facebook admin dept

Life's rich travesty is that you're not here any more.

I'm so sad and completely shocked, Neil Emery aka NeilByMouth from the bloggers who all met during Pete Townshend' 2005-2206 serialization of "The Boy Who Heard Music" has suddenly died. Neil passed away on Friday, June 18th 2010.

Neil Emery would have been 40 years old on August 7th 2010.

By his side was another lovely fellow blogger, his partner and love, Gypsy Noir. He was and always will be the heart of all of TBWHM bloggers.

Neil, a few days ago I thought about making a comment about how "Good Morning" is my favourite song on Sgt.Peppers B-side the other day when you posted it on Facebook and I left it because nothing witty was coming to me and I now I realized that missed a HUGE chance I'll never get back again. You were so kind to give me all those stars on Itunes and always making me laugh ...You just would have told me not to worry. Thanks for telling me I could stay with you in 2006, thanks also for reminding that a daily commute to London from Northumberland would probably be just a tad tricky!

There you were like a member of The Bonzo Dog band or Viv Stanshall's Old Profanity Showboat with the best photoshops, videos, art work. A true creative who got down to it. Great writer, so much funnier, wiser and more focused than I and most others ever were or was. I may mock but you mocked up. Far more energy efficient and intelligent if you want to send up pop culture. Post modernism? You steamed rolled over it like Harry Hill crossed with Viv Stanshall meets Terry Gilliam on two pots of Nescafe and a package of McVites plain chocolate on a bender with Gazza through the Geordie back roads in Cliff's Summer Holiday Bus- all seamlessly photo shopped for posterity of course.

I'll be, we'll all be saying goodbye for a long time.




Just says it all. Really missing you...we all love you so much.

ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS

In echoed steps I walked across an empty dream
I looked across this world, there was no one to be seen
This empty feeling turned and quietly walked away
I saw no warmth in life - no love was in my eyes
I stared a century thinking this will never change
As I hesitated, time rushed onwards without me
Too scared to break the spell too small to take a fall
But the Absolute luck is - love is in our hearts!

I lost some hours thinking of it
I need the strength to go and get what I want
I lost a lifetime thinking of it
an' lost an era daydreaming like I do

I stared a century thinking this will never change
As I hesitated, time rushed onwards without me
Too scared to break the spell too small to take a fall
But the Absolute luck is - love is in our hearts!

In echoed steps you walk across an empty dream
But look around this world, there's millions to be seen
Come see the tyrants panic see their crumbling empires fall
Then tell 'em we don't fight for fools -
'cos love is in our hearts!

I lost some hours thinking of it
I need the strength to go and get what I want
I lost a lifetime thinking of it
an' lost an era daydreaming like I do

You can lose some hours thinking of it
You need the strength to go and get what you want
You can lose a lifetime thinking of it
And lose an era daydreaming like I do oooooooo

Great Lyrics: Ignore Land by R.E.M.

These bastards stole their power from the victims of the Us v. Them years,
Wrecking all things virtuous and true
The undermining social democratic downhill slide into abysmal
Lost lamb off the precipice into the trickle down runoff pool
They hypnotised the summer, 1979
Marched into the capital brooding duplicitous, wicked and able, media-ready,
Heartless, and labeled. Super US citizen, super achiever,
Mega ultra power doesn't relax.
Defense, defense, defense, defense. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah

The information nation took their clues from all the sound-bite gluttons
1980, 84, 88, 92 too, too
How to be what you can be, junk, damn junk in your energy
How to walk in dignity with throw up on your shoes
They amplified the autumn, 1979
Calculate the capital, offer the public my skinny ass
TV tells a million lies. The paper's terrified to report
Anything that isn't handed on a presidential spoon,
I'm just profoundly frustrated by all this. So, fuck you, man (fuck 'em)
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland
If they wasn't there we would have created them. Maybe, it's true,
But I'm resentful all the same. Someone's got to take the blame
I know that this is vitriol. No solution, spleen venting,
But I feel better having screamed. Don't you?
They desecrate the winter, 1979
Capital collateral. Brooding duplicitous, wicked and able, media-ready,
Heartless, and labeled. Super US citizen, super achiever,
Mega ultra power doesn't relax.
Defense, defense, defense, defense. Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland
Yeah, yeah, yeah, ignoreland. Yeah, yeah, yeah
I did not do the revolution
Thank you

I kicked a girl and I liked it.

PLEASE TAKE ACTION NOW (updated 16-6-2010)

As with entirety of my blog which is published on a US server, I believe the following to be true as covered and protected by constitutional rights as US born, US citizen.

Shayna Lynn Beevers is a former débutante and former VP of Alunimi Affairs for Tulane University in New Orleans. According to The Sun, Her father, Wiley J Beevers of Gretna, LA paid for her to go to South Africa to a private hunting reserve where African Lions bred in captivity are shot dead at point blank range for sport.

Rumour has it she's now claiming it was a "fair chase" hunt, whatever the hell that means. I personally would not trust the words of any First World person who would do such a disgustingly wasteful thing. Free or canned, faraway or close up, Shayna Beevers is the enemy and a destroyer of wildlife hiding beyond the gossamer veneer of an "ethical conservationist." Her vapid smile and her greasy hair pulled over to one side so neatly is an insult to the nobility of the Lion she so casually destroyed.

I could go on about how foul and without redeeming value Shayna Beevers is and how many big cats are simply raised and slaughtered for her ilk but why? When the above photo (and my post below) says it all? This is not hunting and eating what you kill nor is it hunting with a spear like the Kalahari do as a rite of passage (Kalahari Bushmen can only hunt alone, with a spear and only take healthy adult wild male lions), this is wasting a beautiful top predator. For what? The fact that such a grossly uneducated and devious example of human refuse like Shayna Beevers is now trying to cover her tracks just makes it even more reprehensible. At least the Lion died with dignity.

If this makes you as disgusted as I am take TWO MINUTES and send an email (ideally include the above photo) to: ctravie1@tulane.edu

ctravie1@tulane.edu


To Charlotte B. Travieso
Director, Office of Alumni Affairs and Executive Director, Tulane Alumni Association

I have recently seen the photo of former Vice President of the Tulane Student Alumni Ambassadors, Miss Shayna Lynn Beevers participating proudly in a cruel hunting of an African Lion. Sources, including the Sun have intimated that hunt she was on was likely a canned hunt and that possibly the hunting facility is affiliated with canned hunters. I am aware that Alumni Affairs associates are supposed to have demonstrated that they are empowering their community and will be changing the nation and planet for the better. It is apparent that Miss Beevers is demonstrating that she has a paucity of values and integrity. I also notice also that one of the events Miss Beevers was involved with was a day at your local Audubon zoo which is inappropriate to say the least.

As you know canned hunting and actually ANY hunting of exotic cats in any form is banned and/or strictly regulated in much of the First World especially the United States. Canned hunting operations, also referred to as "shooting preserves" or "game ranches," are private trophy hunting facilities that offer their customers the opportunity to kill exotic and native animals that are trapped within enclosures. Game preserves similar to the one that Miss Beevers patronized have Lions bred like cattle in extremely small enclosures who are shot dead after only four days upon release from captivity.

Regardless of Shayna's now very desperate and transparent attempts to clean her soiled reputation via rumoured claims that the lion that she killed was simply hunted "fairly", I'm asking that you demonstrate, without equivocation, that Tulane does not stand for destructive and cruel practices towards exotic animals (be they wild or captive) and that Miss Shayna Lynn Beevers aforementioned actions become public alumni record and any positive connection she has to Tulane University be negated by this information forthwith.

Sincerely
____________________


For your reference Beever Skank, since you were obviously not paying attention in High School.

Meet Miss Shayna Lynn Beevers ten lawyer and Lion killer, Lying Scum

I believe the following to be true. Repeat. I believe the following to be true as covered under the first memory of United States Constitution and I’m a proud American values of freedom of speech. I however do not value individuals who are destroying world heritage and exploiting African countries for their wildlife in partnership with corrupt African governments in Safari operators. TULANE Student Alumni Ambassadors Mission Statement:

Looking Beyond the Present to Link the Past to the Future
Linking the Past to the Future through Traditions


"Oh we are so adroit. Too bad we missed the casting call for Africa Addio Part Two..."

Now looky hereah at what daddy's money bought y'all!

Guess that white hood and burning cross thing is outta style for a graduation in 2010? This slack jawed scrubber looks like she could burn a cross if she had to. Her ugly and foul father, Wiley J Beevers of Gretna, LA paid for her to go to South Africa to a private hunting reserve where African Lions bred in captivity are shot dead at point blank range. I hope this human refuse called Shayna Lynn Beevers and her perverted father Wiley J Beevers are prey in a canned hunt, preferably created by members of ELF and their fresh remains fed to hungry Tigers. What good could they possibly be serving the world we live in? We have enough Civil War re-enactment nuts and animal poachers running around as it is. Shayna Beevers has contributed nothing to society and likely never will.


The majority of South Africa's hunted lions are bred like cattle in electrified wire pens, then released to be shot by rich European and US trophy hunters. Currently they can be shot legally in some provinces just FOUR DAYS after being released from captivity.
When animals are stalked in a confined area it is known as "canned" hunting. Glad to know that the Vice President of the Tulane Student Alumni Ambassadors (SAA) is doing so much with her life to empower women and change the nation and planet for the better! Is that her "Boo at The Zoo" that her association puts on each year? (It would not surprise me if daddy Wiley J. Beevers got more than a few happy endings from Shayna Lynn's fellow débutante's for the chance to be such a great white hunter....)

Shayna Lynn Beevers: Hopefully any prospective employers won't Google your name. The net is a jungle and a squeaky clean reputation like the one you once had, via the resplendent exercise of one's first amendment rights can get brutally savaged as if devoured by Lions. The majority of those in the world with values and class do not support the killings of large predators for sport. So Shayna, you ugly redneck, don't pretend you are part of wild life management. You are nothing but a useless example of the ugly American. Narcissistic, ugly, misguided and 100% not to be trusted with a firearm. After I saw the beautiful Lion on the video shot so ineptly with a cross bow and franticly try to take the arrow out of it's chest as it died in slow agony, roaring in pain and fear, I've just been sickened by the thought of you.


"Wiley Jay Coyote! He might be a Grand Dragon but he loves to know his wild n' loose little Beaver shot herself a real live Lion!"

No Idle threat

Otto, deleted character from Life of Brian

Rest in Peace Gary Coleman

Lots of great memories. It will be fun to go onto You Tube and remember you with millions of other people. Millions in the UK laughed at you too. Different Strokes to move the world indeed.

Fake Friends

Happy Birthday Pete Townshend!!!

Hope you have as a relaxing day as Sadie dog has! xoxox

Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood: An anti-racist postcard

Greetings from the UK and the East End which is a veritable heaven for anti-racist parenting. Books like ”I am a Sikh” and Arabic alphabet boards are the norm here. White people here usually talk to someone African or Asian if they need social services, legal aid and citizens advice; an interesting concept. I’m glad we are raising our son England as it is less racist and backwards than the US as a whole. It is the centre of the world afterall. He’s gone from having one African-American friend to Somalian children next door neighbours, Turkish cafe workers who adore him, a Bengali man who gave him a blessing when he passed us on the street last week, Georgian meals and our local laundrette staffed by lovely cockney women who love him to bits.

CBeebies, state run and which we pay for each year as part of the BBC (about 225 USD) offers so many amazing multi-cultural kids shows and is 100% inclusive with not one but THREE black male TV presenters who present concurrently, children and adults in head scarves and one Cerrie Burnell, who was born without a left forearm. DO check out the website if it is new to you and your children.


BEST OF ALL (apart from the NHS- I LOVE the NHS) though is the Bethnal Green Museum of Childhood where my son is learning to crawl and walk around in the huge baby section/play areas (flats and homes in London don't have the large spaces to crawl unless you have SERIOUS money for a stately home.) Nearly the entire museum is created from an inclusive and pro-diversity perspective and houses the largest collection of toys in the world. I thought this display called “Families: Three Generations” about local residents of E2 and the toys that various generations of family members have used would appeal to those interested in tolerance. Please check this out and ask why we don’t have more exhibits like this available over in the US for children.



Of course there are problems here like the BNP’s resurgence prior to the May 6th election up the road in Barking/Dagenham, areas which have seen a decline in white industrial employment and a rise in immigration. The BNP has now let in POC which is sad that some are actually joining. My husband is a white indigenous Brit (his own label) and I listen to his feelings of how in one generation where he grew up is no longer majority white and now nearly all Asian. He enjoys diversity but wants immigration radically scaled back because of the size of the island. He also want to see more white British people included in diversity education and centres. My hero Billy Bragg got in there on St George's day and gave the BNP what for pointing out that the patron saint of England had been Lebanese!


Romani children out of school harassing people for money, their parents oblivious to any societal code of conduct including touching my baby without permission to the point where I had to physically take one adult Romani woman’s hand off of him at the checkout line at Tescos and threaten violence is another big problem here. Women in full Burqas their eyes obscured which I don’t feel good about and which SHOULD be banned to protect innocent girls from such destructive subjugation. Head scarves, half burquas, or the burqas where the eyes are unobstructed are fine and lovely if that is the WOMAN’s choice but seeing a woman with her eyes covered is frighting to me as a feminist as well as an anti-racist. GOOD ON YA BELGIUM! Honour killings are still a big problem in the UK among immigrants and asylum seekers.

Finally white welfare culture with anti- social teens and adults flaunting dangerous dogs, drugs, drunkenness and having no respect for society at large is apparent, scary and heartbreaking because it feeds into racial hatred and class warfare.

(the Golliwog dolls and above puppet are not explained properly-actually at all-at the museum, my only complaint)

All in all though this is an amazing country and London is an incredibly diverse city. Paul Robeson could not study Africa in the US during the 30’s and 40’s (no US university had an African studies dept.) so he came here and said in England he “discovered he was African.” And fittingly our trans Atlantic move was blessed with a wonderful inflight movie (our son was amazingly asleep!) which is required viewing for all anti-racist parents and which was unfairly ignored at the box office last year (most likely because the leads comprised a Bi-racial couple) : Away We Go directed by Sam Mendez. A MUST SEE!

Hope all of you are well and wish you were here.

Straight outta Dartford: When Sir Jagger imitators go NRA

MARK FAST's FASHION FAIL at adding "voluptuous models" to his runway-BIG TIME FAILURE!

1. Mark Fast's idea of glamour for the healthy voluptuous woman: Flashdance meets Matalan-YUCK!


What terrible clothing to showcase a voluptuous woman in!

And no, I'm not going to be a good sub and say "Oh at least he's doing something for 'curvy' models, blah , blah..." Those clothes are for very thin women and the models, while really healthy, look uncomfortable and ridiculous. An A+ for effort but a very big D-minus (pun intended) for the ultimate result. It is sad that finally, when healthy trim models, neither over or underweight, hit the runway that they are modelling such formless and unglamorous clothing. With less healthy looking celebs walking around half naked or in clothing with zero mystery, perhaps Mark Fast forgets that a voluptuous women is already sensual and does not need to be exposed to be sexy, much less elegant.


For starters, the are no cups to support the breasts on the vest (aka tank top) that the above model (Hayley Morely) in the middle is wearing and her nipple line is being forced to Antarctica. It's like putting Kate Moss into a G cup bra and sending her out in public with no shirt over herself and only a tattered Burberry shrug for symmetry.

All of the above necklines, make it impossible to wear a bra and will smash down the boobs-not a good look. The model Crystal Renn, on the far right, looks virtually flat chested which is not what she's celebrated for and undergarments should not be cutting the clothing off at the natural waist! Designers don't seem to know where the natural waist is these days. They either place it below the bust or an above the pubic bone. Gone are the days when clothing nipped in at the true waist and women looked womanly, now the tube torso and six pack reigns. Mainly Fast failed in his designs because the models don't look hour-glassy and symmetrical, they look squashed, hawkish and squarish.

2.Diana Dors (built along the lines Crystal Renn) shows what curvy styling is really all about.
Mark Fast needs to take a very long look at some vintage photos of June Wilkinson, Anita Ekberg, Mansfield and Sophia Loren and copy what they wore or at least start understanding a healthy trim voluptuous figure and how it differs from that of an underweight model. This grunge waify-matchgirl-in tatters- look flatters no one ESPECIALLY voluptuous women with breasts and hips!

Here is what Mark Fast needs to study like a hawk to get with the programme:

3. Diana Dors (above) aka The British Marilyn Monroe, wears a well constructed dress for day or night that can be worn off the shoulder yet the neckline and torso of the dress allows her to wear a strapless bra. Like Monroe and Bettie Page, Dors was not larger busted like Loren or Ekberg nor did she have the constantly corseted tiny waist of Jayne Mansfield, she simply had a great, healthy figure much like a more petite, hourglassier version of Crystal Renn's. A healthy, trim, curvaceous figure needs well constructed garments not stretchy 80's styling out of a Human League video.

Sophia Loren (above) wearing a classic ballgown in a cut that she'd have translated into many of her day as well as evening dresses during he 1950's; nipped in at the waist, full or pencil skirted and supported and bust accentuated (yet never cartoonish like Mansfield). Today this style might be called a "prom dress" by some but rarely are the "prom dresses" of today hitting at the true waist and rarely are they constructed well. A pink/floral day dress similar to the one Loren is wearing above was used to great effect in a Hanes add featuring an hourglassy Jennifer Love Hewitt and message boards buzzed with where to buy "that dress" but alas designers don't make em like that any more and it was a one off.



The stunning at any weight, Anita Ekberg (above) in a square cut brocade sheath evening dress. Once again, a cut that works for a voluptuous trim woman, both day and night but which is not that easy to find off the rack any more. Hayley Morely is built on a scale similar to a younger svelte Ekberg yet Fast does not seem to bestow upon her the rich and opulent wardrobe and designs that Ekberg rocked in the 50's and early 60's.


Here is one of my spring looks, this simply denim day dress with a full (not A-line) skirt has bust seaming and great support and I pair it with a fitted calico blouse, tanned legs and blue suede slides. Simple, clean, still curvy but not trashy and no weird lumpy bits. The dress has been worn so much that it may fall apart soon but what can I do? They don't make em like that any more; obviously and obliviously.