Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Etiam id libero non erat fermentum varius eget at elit. Suspendisse vel mattis diam. Ut sed dui in lectus hendrerit interdum nec ac neque. Praesent a metus eget augue lacinia accumsan ullamcorper sit amet tellus. Duis cursus egestas hendrerit. Fusce luctus risus id elit malesuada ac sagittis magna tempus. Sed egestas fringilla turpis at ullamcorper. Pellentesque adipiscing ornare cursus.
Latest Products
15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels
Imagine being the guy who once played the most important villain in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe before he was important. Or turning your
back on being Batman's love interest just before you would have got a
juicy chance to die. Or suffering the sting of being the only one
unceremoniously booted out of a film and watching your former colleagues
get back together for sequels without you.
That ignominy is a surprisingly regular thing for actors who have
taken on a comic book movie role. In rare cases, they're sacked
spectacularly for being rubbish, while in others they turn down the
chance to return (because they're idiots who want to star in a Queen
Latifah movie). And some simply stop getting calls from their former
employers.
In every case we're supposed to go about our business without
acknowledging the change, as if a character once played by a 6'4"
African American man could suddenly turn into the very white, very not
6'4" Peter Dinklage. Those are the kind of bumps we have to endure when
studios decide they just want someone different/better...
15. Billy Dee Williams (Harvey Dent)
The Replacement: Tommy Lee Jones
You would be forgiven for thinking that Tim Burton's departure from
the Batman series (albeit sideways into a producer role after his vision
was deemed too dark) meant what followed was an entirely different
continuity. But that's simply not the case: despite Warner Bros' desire
to distance themselves from Burton's weirdness that wasn't selling toys,
there was no hard or soft reset between Batman Returns and Batman
Forever.
So the fact that Harvey Dent, who had been played by Billy Dee
Williams in Batman, was replaced by someone decidedly more caucasian is
cause for confusion.
Williams was actually screwed out of playing Two Face twice:
originally he was supposed to turn into the monster at the end of Batman
Returns, only to see his role written out in favour of Max Schreck, and
then when Joel Schumacher decided to bring in the split personality
element, he simply chose to forget about Williams:
"I always wanted Tommy Lee Jones. I didn't consider
Billy Dee Williams for the role, because I think that he is a hero. I
always see him like Clark Gable. I had just finished working with Tommy
Lee Jones on The Client, and I thought he would be a great Harvey
Dent\Two-Face."
The hero thing of course is actually the point, but whatever.
Imagine being the guy who once played the most important villain in
the Marvel Cinematic Universe before he was important. Or turning your
back on being Batman's love interest just before you would have got a
juicy chance to die. Or suffering the sting of being the only one
unceremoniously booted out of a film and watching your former colleagues
get back together for sequels without you.
That ignominy is a surprisingly regular thing for actors who have
taken on a comic book movie role. In rare cases, they're sacked
spectacularly for being rubbish, while in others they turn down the
chance to return (because they're idiots who want to star in a Queen
Latifah movie). And some simply stop getting calls from their former
employers.
In every case we're supposed to go about our business without
acknowledging the change, as if a character once played by a 6'4"
African American man could suddenly turn into the very white, very not
6'4" Peter Dinklage. Those are the kind of bumps we have to endure when
studios decide they just want someone different/better...
15. Billy Dee Williams (Harvey Dent)
The Replacement: Tommy Lee Jones
You would be forgiven for thinking that Tim Burton's departure from
the Batman series (albeit sideways into a producer role after his vision
was deemed too dark) meant what followed was an entirely different
continuity. But that's simply not the case: despite Warner Bros' desire
to distance themselves from Burton's weirdness that wasn't selling toys,
there was no hard or soft reset between Batman Returns and Batman
Forever.
So the fact that Harvey Dent, who had been played by Billy Dee
Williams in Batman, was replaced by someone decidedly more caucasian is
cause for confusion.
Williams was actually screwed out of playing Two Face twice:
originally he was supposed to turn into the monster at the end of Batman
Returns, only to see his role written out in favour of Max Schreck, and
then when Joel Schumacher decided to bring in the split personality
element, he simply chose to forget about Williams:
"I always wanted Tommy Lee Jones. I didn't consider
Billy Dee Williams for the role, because I think that he is a hero. I
always see him like Clark Gable. I had just finished working with Tommy
Lee Jones on The Client, and I thought he would be a great Harvey
Dent\Two-Face."
The hero thing of course is actually the point, but whatever.
15 Comic Book Movie Actors Who Were Replaced In The Sequels
Scenes
in movies are deleted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they don’t
fit structurally, sometimes the movie’s runtime is already too long, but
normally these cuts are small and don’t have an overwhelming effect on
the plot. Occasionally, however, large, expensive chunks of a movie are
gutted entirely and not only alter the movie, but wholly change the
storyline.
The deleted scenes listed here fit into the latter
category. Not only do the sections removed do away with entire plots,
subplots, and actors, but they cost a boat-ton of money, resulting in
millions and millions of dollars being virtually thrown away. Often,
these lost treasures are relegated to the bonus-features section of a
DVD, but on occasion they are lost to the ages with the creators
unwilling to acknowledge their existence.
Here are The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed.
301shares
Scenes
in movies are deleted for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they don’t
fit structurally, sometimes the movie’s runtime is already too long, but
normally these cuts are small and don’t have an overwhelming effect on
the plot. Occasionally, however, large, expensive chunks of a movie are
gutted entirely and not only alter the movie, but wholly change the
storyline.
The deleted scenes listed here fit into the latter
category. Not only do the sections removed do away with entire plots,
subplots, and actors, but they cost a boat-ton of money, resulting in
millions and millions of dollars being virtually thrown away. Often,
these lost treasures are relegated to the bonus-features section of a
DVD, but on occasion they are lost to the ages with the creators
unwilling to acknowledge their existence.
Here are The 11 Most Expensive Deleted Scenes Ever Filmed.
If box office numbers are anything to go by, pretty much everybody loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Many fans saw it more than once. James Cameron saw it at least once,
and was apparently mostly unimpressed. The man responsible for Avatar, and maybe some sequels one day, did not find The Force Awakens to be as visually original as the George Lucas films, though he's looking forward to seeing where they go.
If there was one major criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens,
it was that the film played things pretty safe when it came to the
plot, telling a story that was remarkably close to the one told in the
original Star Wars. In a new interview, while being careful to praise both George Lucas and J.J. Abrams,
James Cameron does say that he had this same issue with the film as
many other fans, though it isn't actually his first complaint.
I have to say that I felt that George's group of six films had more
innovative visual imagination. This film was more of a retrenchment to
things you had seen before and characters you had seen before and it
took a few baby steps forward with new characters.
Ultimately, we have to admit that James Cameron isn't wrong here. Making a movie that reminded people of the original Star Wars
seemed to be intentional. For many fans, this was ok, as no movie had
necessarily done that in several decades. For Cameron, however, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
didn't do enough new stuff. It's clear that whatever George Lucas had
in mind for potential new films would have been something very different
than what we got. Cameron's compliments of Lucas make it obvious that
the two have very similar thought processes when it comes to making
movies. With that in mind, his criticism is at the very least
understandable, regardless of whether or not you agree with it.
It's far from shocking that the man responsible for Avatar
was interested in the film's "visual imagination" first and foremost.
Cameron is always looking for the next new and exciting way to make a
movie. One assumes that the reason the Avatar sequels are in a state of perpetual delay
is because of Cameron's desire to take them to the next level in some
way. Of course, if we wanted to be snarky, we could point out that while
George Lucas' Star Wars movies were certainly visually
imaginative, some might argue that some of them were little else. Check
out Cameron's full comments below.
If box office numbers are anything to go by, pretty much everybody loved Star Wars: The Force Awakens.
Many fans saw it more than once. James Cameron saw it at least once,
and was apparently mostly unimpressed. The man responsible for Avatar, and maybe some sequels one day, did not find The Force Awakens to be as visually original as the George Lucas films, though he's looking forward to seeing where they go.
If there was one major criticism of Star Wars: The Force Awakens,
it was that the film played things pretty safe when it came to the
plot, telling a story that was remarkably close to the one told in the
original Star Wars. In a new interview, while being careful to praise both George Lucas and J.J. Abrams,
James Cameron does say that he had this same issue with the film as
many other fans, though it isn't actually his first complaint.
I have to say that I felt that George's group of six films had more
innovative visual imagination. This film was more of a retrenchment to
things you had seen before and characters you had seen before and it
took a few baby steps forward with new characters.
Ultimately, we have to admit that James Cameron isn't wrong here. Making a movie that reminded people of the original Star Wars
seemed to be intentional. For many fans, this was ok, as no movie had
necessarily done that in several decades. For Cameron, however, Star Wars: The Force Awakens
didn't do enough new stuff. It's clear that whatever George Lucas had
in mind for potential new films would have been something very different
than what we got. Cameron's compliments of Lucas make it obvious that
the two have very similar thought processes when it comes to making
movies. With that in mind, his criticism is at the very least
understandable, regardless of whether or not you agree with it.
It's far from shocking that the man responsible for Avatar
was interested in the film's "visual imagination" first and foremost.
Cameron is always looking for the next new and exciting way to make a
movie. One assumes that the reason the Avatar sequels are in a state of perpetual delay
is because of Cameron's desire to take them to the next level in some
way. Of course, if we wanted to be snarky, we could point out that while
George Lucas' Star Wars movies were certainly visually
imaginative, some might argue that some of them were little else. Check
out Cameron's full comments below.
James Cameron Wasn’t Impressed With Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Here’s Why
The
phrase "fun for the whole family" is bandied about so much when it
comes to any sort of family movie, that it seems almost mandatory to
included it in the marketing, at some point. Of course, it's a
super-broad generalization that still not only assumes modern families
are still of the Norman Rockwell variety, but also that parents will
love what their kids love, which used to not always be the case. Over
the past decade or so, studios have gotten much better at crafting
movies that literally cater to this oft-uttered mantra of "fun for the
whole family," with wholesome jokes for the kiddies and a few subtle
jokes for the parents thrown in as well. With that being said, I was
somewhat surprised that director Steven Spilelberg's The BFG is so emotionally one-note, (and one-sided), despite being visually remarkable.
I was hoping that Walt Disney Pictures' The BFG
would mark a return to the true Amblin brand of the 80s, a big, fun,
gigantic adventure like E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially
since he reunited with E.T. writer Melissa Mathison
on this adaptation, before the writer sadly passed away in November.
Admittedly, I have not read Roald Dahl's book, so I was going into the
screening rather blind, except for the trailers I had seen, but The BFG
is just not quite what I expected. Then again, in hindsight, I had no
idea what to expect in the first place. While it certainly can be fun
and whimsical in certain places, it plays much more heavily towards kids
than I originally thought.
Sure, Roald Dahl's original novel The BFG
was most certainly a children's story. I was certainly expecting these
elements in the friendship that grows between young orphan Sophie
(newcomer Ruby Barnhill) and this big friendly giant (Mark Rylance). Sophie's early interactions with The BFG,
and his desire to protect her from the other, more vicious giants is
all quite charming and lovely, and the performances by Ruby Barnhill and
Mark Rylance are simply wonderful throughout. From what I understand,
the story is rather faithful to the original book, aside from aspects of
the ending. Still, even with all of that being said, it may even have
been "too faithful" an adaptation.
While the movie isn't
excessively bloated at 117 minutes, a good chunk could have been lopped
off by cutting a scene that seemingly only exists to get the children to
laugh. Penelope Wilton plays the Queen of England, who, through some
strange circumstances, ends up meeting young Sophie and The BFG,
and treats them to a hearty breakfast at Buckingham Palace. This scene
does exist in the book, sure, but in the movie, it's a good 10 or 15
minutes long, and does absolutely nothing to advance the story. Yes,
there are some funny bits within this elaborate sequence, but once it's
all over, it's immediately clear that it just wasn't integral to the
story. Maybe I'm being too hard on this sequence, but I honestly thought
I'd never see Steven Spielberg directing what ends up being an
elaborate, 10-minute fart joke.
Despite some of the strange
choices made in this movie, including numerous plot holes that just get
left unresolved, Steven Spielberg still proves he has a deft eye for
discovering unknown talent, and the visuals are simply gorgeous. With
only a few episodes of a British TV show entitled 4 O'Clock High under
her belt, Ruby Barnhill
makes a wonderful feature film debut as the precocious and
strong-willed Sophie. Fresh off his Oscar win for Spielberg's Bridge of
Spies, Mark Rylance delivers another powerful performance, this time
through motion capture, as the giant, who is actually the smallest of
all the other behemoths in Giant Country,
earning him the nickname "Runt." While there are nine other giants, the
two most prominent are Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater
(Jemaine Clement), who all look amazing on the big screen. It's rather
amazing watching the young human Sophie navigate through Giant Country,
only to see that the rest of the giants actually dwarf BFG as much as he
dwarfs her.
I'm still not quite sure how The BFG will fare
at the box office. Based on the screening I went to last night, the
young children in attendance seemed to be having a great time, so that
could certainly bode well for this movie. Young Ruby Barnhill and Mark
Rylance are certainly a pleasure to watch, and director Steven
Spielberg's visual aesthetic for this gigantic world is certainly
remarkable. Still, like most of his recent movies, there's just
something intangible that seems to be lacking. I haven't the foggiest
idea of what it may be, and while I still think that there is enough
here to warrant seeing The BFG on the big screen, since it can be a lot of fun in certain places, but it just isn't terribly engaging overall.
Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic The BFG is at times unwieldy, but still has a lot of heart.
The
phrase "fun for the whole family" is bandied about so much when it
comes to any sort of family movie, that it seems almost mandatory to
included it in the marketing, at some point. Of course, it's a
super-broad generalization that still not only assumes modern families
are still of the Norman Rockwell variety, but also that parents will
love what their kids love, which used to not always be the case. Over
the past decade or so, studios have gotten much better at crafting
movies that literally cater to this oft-uttered mantra of "fun for the
whole family," with wholesome jokes for the kiddies and a few subtle
jokes for the parents thrown in as well. With that being said, I was
somewhat surprised that director Steven Spilelberg's The BFG is so emotionally one-note, (and one-sided), despite being visually remarkable.
I was hoping that Walt Disney Pictures' The BFG
would mark a return to the true Amblin brand of the 80s, a big, fun,
gigantic adventure like E.T. or Raiders of the Lost Ark, especially
since he reunited with E.T. writer Melissa Mathison
on this adaptation, before the writer sadly passed away in November.
Admittedly, I have not read Roald Dahl's book, so I was going into the
screening rather blind, except for the trailers I had seen, but The BFG
is just not quite what I expected. Then again, in hindsight, I had no
idea what to expect in the first place. While it certainly can be fun
and whimsical in certain places, it plays much more heavily towards kids
than I originally thought.
Sure, Roald Dahl's original novel The BFG
was most certainly a children's story. I was certainly expecting these
elements in the friendship that grows between young orphan Sophie
(newcomer Ruby Barnhill) and this big friendly giant (Mark Rylance). Sophie's early interactions with The BFG,
and his desire to protect her from the other, more vicious giants is
all quite charming and lovely, and the performances by Ruby Barnhill and
Mark Rylance are simply wonderful throughout. From what I understand,
the story is rather faithful to the original book, aside from aspects of
the ending. Still, even with all of that being said, it may even have
been "too faithful" an adaptation.
While the movie isn't
excessively bloated at 117 minutes, a good chunk could have been lopped
off by cutting a scene that seemingly only exists to get the children to
laugh. Penelope Wilton plays the Queen of England, who, through some
strange circumstances, ends up meeting young Sophie and The BFG,
and treats them to a hearty breakfast at Buckingham Palace. This scene
does exist in the book, sure, but in the movie, it's a good 10 or 15
minutes long, and does absolutely nothing to advance the story. Yes,
there are some funny bits within this elaborate sequence, but once it's
all over, it's immediately clear that it just wasn't integral to the
story. Maybe I'm being too hard on this sequence, but I honestly thought
I'd never see Steven Spielberg directing what ends up being an
elaborate, 10-minute fart joke.
Despite some of the strange
choices made in this movie, including numerous plot holes that just get
left unresolved, Steven Spielberg still proves he has a deft eye for
discovering unknown talent, and the visuals are simply gorgeous. With
only a few episodes of a British TV show entitled 4 O'Clock High under
her belt, Ruby Barnhill
makes a wonderful feature film debut as the precocious and
strong-willed Sophie. Fresh off his Oscar win for Spielberg's Bridge of
Spies, Mark Rylance delivers another powerful performance, this time
through motion capture, as the giant, who is actually the smallest of
all the other behemoths in Giant Country,
earning him the nickname "Runt." While there are nine other giants, the
two most prominent are Bloodbottler (Bill Hader) and Fleshlumpeater
(Jemaine Clement), who all look amazing on the big screen. It's rather
amazing watching the young human Sophie navigate through Giant Country,
only to see that the rest of the giants actually dwarf BFG as much as he
dwarfs her.
I'm still not quite sure how The BFG will fare
at the box office. Based on the screening I went to last night, the
young children in attendance seemed to be having a great time, so that
could certainly bode well for this movie. Young Ruby Barnhill and Mark
Rylance are certainly a pleasure to watch, and director Steven
Spielberg's visual aesthetic for this gigantic world is certainly
remarkable. Still, like most of his recent movies, there's just
something intangible that seems to be lacking. I haven't the foggiest
idea of what it may be, and while I still think that there is enough
here to warrant seeing The BFG on the big screen, since it can be a lot of fun in certain places, but it just isn't terribly engaging overall.
The BFG Review: Spielberg Delivers Fart Jokes & Fairy Tale Fun
Actor Jaeden Lieberher has landed a big role in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's It.
There is no shortage of Stephen King
adaptations heading to both the big and small screen over the next
couple of years, but a fan favorite is finally getting done. The IT
remake has been in development hell for quite some time, but now with a
director firmly in place and even a release date locked down, the
project is moving forward and has started the casting process. Jaeden
Lieberher has been tapped to play one of the members of The Losers Club.
Lieberher
had a couple of breakout roles in St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray and
earlier this year in the indie sci-fi flick Midnight Special. He will
be playing Bill Denbrough, the leader of the young friend group known as
The Losers Club.
The role was originally played by Jonathan Brandis in the TV mini
series that up until now has been the only live action adaptation of the
beloved novel.
This news comes on the heels of another huge announcement that Hemlock Grove star Bill Skarsgard will be taking on the role of Pennywise the clown,
who the main characters in It have to fight as kids and later as
adults. The Pennywise casting may come as a bit of surprise because not
all that long ago We're The Millers star Will Poulter was announced to
be taking on the role of the famous scary clown. That clearly didn't pan
out, as the current creative team seems to have a bit of a different
take on the material.
Prior to the iteration of the project that
is currently gearing up for production, True Detective creator Cary
Fukunaga was tapped to direct the film, but he dropped out and Mama
helmer Andres Muschietti
stepped in. Muschietti then conducted a rewrite of the script and it is
very possible that this change in direction is what resulted is Poulter
exiting the role.
New Line has said that they plan to make It a two-part movie,
which makes total sense given the story. The first film will focus on
the younger cast of actors that Lieberher will be a part of and the
second film will focus on the same group of people who are all grown up
and have to team back up to fight Pennywise. Barbara Muschietti, Roy
Lee, Dan Lin, David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are on board to
produce the film as well.
Though many people are familiar with It
from the original TV mini-series from the 90s, which featured Tim Curry
as Pennywise, this new film will actually be the first big screen
adaptation of King's book. As of right now there is no word on who else
will be part of The Losers Club alongside Lieberher or who will be
taking on the roles of the older versions of the characters, but we will
surely find out soon since the film is heading into production. It is
currently slated for a September 8, 2017 release.
Actor Jaeden Lieberher has landed a big role in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's It.
There is no shortage of Stephen King
adaptations heading to both the big and small screen over the next
couple of years, but a fan favorite is finally getting done. The IT
remake has been in development hell for quite some time, but now with a
director firmly in place and even a release date locked down, the
project is moving forward and has started the casting process. Jaeden
Lieberher has been tapped to play one of the members of The Losers Club.
Lieberher
had a couple of breakout roles in St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray and
earlier this year in the indie sci-fi flick Midnight Special. He will
be playing Bill Denbrough, the leader of the young friend group known as
The Losers Club.
The role was originally played by Jonathan Brandis in the TV mini
series that up until now has been the only live action adaptation of the
beloved novel.
This news comes on the heels of another huge announcement that Hemlock Grove star Bill Skarsgard will be taking on the role of Pennywise the clown,
who the main characters in It have to fight as kids and later as
adults. The Pennywise casting may come as a bit of surprise because not
all that long ago We're The Millers star Will Poulter was announced to
be taking on the role of the famous scary clown. That clearly didn't pan
out, as the current creative team seems to have a bit of a different
take on the material.
Prior to the iteration of the project that
is currently gearing up for production, True Detective creator Cary
Fukunaga was tapped to direct the film, but he dropped out and Mama
helmer Andres Muschietti
stepped in. Muschietti then conducted a rewrite of the script and it is
very possible that this change in direction is what resulted is Poulter
exiting the role.
New Line has said that they plan to make It a two-part movie,
which makes total sense given the story. The first film will focus on
the younger cast of actors that Lieberher will be a part of and the
second film will focus on the same group of people who are all grown up
and have to team back up to fight Pennywise. Barbara Muschietti, Roy
Lee, Dan Lin, David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith are on board to
produce the film as well.
Though many people are familiar with It
from the original TV mini-series from the 90s, which featured Tim Curry
as Pennywise, this new film will actually be the first big screen
adaptation of King's book. As of right now there is no word on who else
will be part of The Losers Club alongside Lieberher or who will be
taking on the roles of the older versions of the characters, but we will
surely find out soon since the film is heading into production. It is
currently slated for a September 8, 2017 release.
Stephen King's IT Finds First Member of the Loser's Club
A lack of access to pools and the money to pay for lessons drives a
racial divide in swimming ability. But after getting married, I had no
choice but to dive in
Swimming: why risk it?
Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
“If
you just relax, you’ll float. Everyone floats,” Monica, the instructor,
says calmly while I’m flapping my extremities in sheer terror. I’m in
the deep end of a Los Angeles swimming pool in May, and I’m here to
learn how to swim. Swimming
is not something I do, nor am I particularly fond of being in the water
unless I’m in a bubble bath. Why? Drowning. Choking. Sinking to the
bottom. I just can’t figure out why anyone would willfully put
themselves in a situation where they could die so easily. Why risk it? I
also feel this way about skydiving, rock climbing, and unprotected
sexual relations with a stranger in a truck stop bathroom. But here I am
today, decidedly taking this step – or splash, if you will afford me
the rhetorical indulgence.
Throughout my life, curious folks have often asked about my aversion to swimming, and the conversation has inevitably turned to race.
My wife’s aunt came up to me at a family event and said that she heard
“black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as
easily”. I’m not one to stir up trouble in a social situation. I hate
squabbles, especially when relatives are involved, and there’s no way to
win an argument like that. What was I supposed to do – weigh my own
skin to prove her wrong? All I could do was shrug my shoulders and say,
“Maybe.”
Pinterest
At the pool. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
In truth, black people not swimming is something of a public health problem. A study
by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10
people die every day from drowning. Black and Hispanic youths are far
more likely to drown than white kids. Seventy percent of black children
cannot swim, while only 42% of white children reported a lack of
swimming ability.
The reason for this has nothing to do with physical differences and
everything to do with lack of access. In America, swimming is not a
skill we’re required to learn. It’s a privilege afforded to the
fortunate souls who live near a pool or accessible natural body of
water, and who can afford to pay for lessons. This excludes inner city
African Americans who lack one or both of those opportunities.
I was fortunate to live in a small town in rural central California,
in a middle-class military family that could afford swimming lessons.
Still, I was about as unconventional as one could be in a very
conservative part of the state. My Caucasian father was in the air force
and my African American mother stayed at home to take care of the kids.
In an effort to get me out of the house and away from the Star Trek
reruns that consumed most of my time, she tried to expose me to all
manner of extracurricular activities: tap dancing, racquetball,
jazzercise, and, eventually, swimming. I rejected every single hobby,
but especially swimming. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t like the
water, and as a result I was a dodgy swimmer. I preferred spending my
time on something I had a preternatural knack for: staying indoors.
As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural
narrative: the black guy who can’t float. The stereotype became
something of a crutch that propped me up, but also made me dependent.
Then I married into a southern California family. They all swim and
most of them surf, which is so far beyond my ability to comprehend that
they might as well tell me they can bend spoons with their minds or
communicate with dolphins. When we went on our honeymoon in Hawaii, my
wife was concerned I’d have nothing to do; her childhood vacations
consisted of bouncing from one body of water to another.
In freshly purchased trunks. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
I knew from the day we married that I was going to have to learn, at
least so I could understand why my in-laws felt compelled to spend so
much of their free time in the ocean. In the process, I thought I might
better grasp what it is that keeps so many people like myself from
acquiring this skill. So, on a swelteringly hot day, I drove up to the
San Fernando Valley for my first swimming lesson.
There’s no shortage of swimming teachers in Los Angeles. It’s a bit
like working as a nanny, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, or an agent
– you’re a gatekeeper for an important aspect of living in this place.
Aqua Buddies refers to itself as “LA’s primer [sic] mobile swimming
school” and provides “Parent & Me, Toddler Water Safety, and swim
techniques for all the swim strokes”. They’ll drive to your home
swimming pool, like a Postmates or Instacart for vital life skills, I guess.
As one might expect, most of these classes are for children under the
age of 15, so finding a course of study that wouldn’t include me
wearing floaties or singing songs about water safety was difficult. The
Los Angeles YMCA offered adult classes, but I was worried about being
intimidated in a large public gymnasium.
An encounter with a pool noodle. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
Finally, I found Emily Cohen, an instructor who operates a school called the Water Whisperer
out of a pool in Sherman Oaks, an affluent community in the San
Fernando Valley. The name alone sounded comforting, presumably because
it reminded me of the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, which
always seems to put me to sleep whenever it’s on cable. The Water
Whisperer website claimed a 95% success rate and explicitly mentioned
their ability to train adults to overcome their aquatic phobia. Plus, it
was about 20 minutes from my house. •••
The morning of my first lesson, I meet Cohen at her pool. She’s open
and non-threatening like a kindergarten teacher, but also possesses the
kind of stern, paternal qualities that make you not want to disappoint
her. She describes her method as “developmental. It’s layered, and it’s
structured. Little kids feel safe when they know what’s coming next.
There’s also original songs, puppets”. The only thing more frightening
than drowning is puppets, but I was assured there would be none during
my lesson.
She asks me why I don’t swim. I mention my fear, and that because so
many black people don’t swim, it’s made it easier for me to avoid
learning. She’s not surprised. In fact, she says the majority of adults
who come to her are African American. “They say they had a bad
experience or the family didn’t have money. If they came from urban
areas like New York City, it just wasn’t a big thing or their parents
couldn’t afford lessons.”
On the edge. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
After stripping down to my freshly purchased trunks, I carefully walk
around the pool slowly, so as not to fall and sink. I begin my
exercises with Emily’s assistant, Monica, to get me comfortable with
breathing techniques. “When you go down, try to keep your eyes open as
long as you can. Go in slowly, and remember, I’m right here if you need
me,” she says reassuringly. I suck in as much air as I can and submerge
my head. I get a solid five seconds in and bolt back up before I run out
of oxygen, having felt the cold specter of death nipping at my heels.
Periodically during the breathing exercises, Monica puts a hand on my
shoulder and offers words of encouragement. “You’re doing great,” she
says. “You’re a natural.” Here I am, a 31-year-old breathing prodigy.
Who knew I had this talent inside of me?
Cohen describes the three steps of overcoming fear of water as
“giving a high five, being brave and doing it anyway”. The fourth should
be “receiving appeals to one’s vanity”, because that always works on
me. “You are literally the best swimmer I have ever seen,” they should
say. “Is that Dave Schilling in the pool or Kevin Costner from
Waterworld?” I’d never stop swimming.
The floating exercises rock my confidence. Monica can’t seem to get
me to flatten out my body enough to practice kicking. “It looks like I’m
not flat because of how big my butt is,” I say. Fortunately, they laugh
rather than asking me nicely to get out of the pool and walk home. That
should be another urban myth about why black people don’t swim. Their
asses are just too big. I have an ass for boxing people out in
basketball, not for swimming.
I’m assured that it’s not my ass that’s keeping me from floating.
It’s my fear. I’m too tense and not allowing the physics to sort
themselves out. I’m sinking because I expect to sink or something like
that. It’s my bloody death wish that’s keeping me from floating!
A 31-year-old prodigy. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
Then, the stern-parent thing with Emily kicks in and I decide I don’t
want to let her down. On my next attempt, I breathe more slowly. I calm
down enough to prevent my fear of the water swallowing me up from
taking over, and it occurs to me that I’ve probably been overthinking
this my entire life. I’ve been so worried about how I look without a
shirt on, whether or not my skin is too black or too thick, and what
other people think of me, that I couldn’t just engage with the task at
hand. Swimming is not an intellectual exercise. It’s visceral, and
bringing heavy thoughts into the pool with me isn’t helping.
Finally, I float. Not for long, but I get there. I earn a few
high-fives, which I relish. Our last exercise is swimming to the wall.
Monica will hold my hands while I kick my way to salvation, then I’ll do
it by myself, but with her hand on my back so that I know someone’s
around to save me if I get overwhelmed.
witterPinterest
I swam, sort of. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
We move on to swimming the length of the pool. I get to be about 6ft
away from the wall before I run out of breath and swallow a big gulp of
pool water. I’d practiced breathing out of my mouth and my nose while
underwater, but I had tried to do both at the same time and foolishly
opened my mouth a bit too much. I don’t panic. I don’t wail or cry or
moan. I just go back to it. I know that there’s someone there to help me
through it.
I’m winded, but I successfully complete the unassisted laps, though
you can hardly call what I did a proper lap. I swam, sort of – just
enough to retain my dignity. Emily and Monica tell me how great I did.
Only nine more classes to go.
I ask how much a further course of study would cost, and it’s not
cheap. But if I ever want to feel fully a part of my new extended
family, I’m going to have to do it.
Success. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
For many children in nearby neighborhoods like Watts or Compton, the
idea of paying for swimming lessons is something akin to a fantasy – a
rite of passage for other people, not you. You’ll be told that it’s your
fault, your body’s fault for being too black to float. It’s not your
hair or your bones. It’s something far more insidious. It’s a system to
make you feel inferior – economically and emotionally.
After my lesson, I realized that I never learned to swim because I
didn’t think I deserved to. The fear of not being good enough
overpowered my fear of drowning. What’s the point of moping about for
the rest of my life as though I can’t do something? I should be grateful
that I have the time and the resources to even do this, when so many
people don’t. When I came home, my wife asked me if I learned how to
swim. “Not yet,” I told her. “But at least I’m trying,” which is a good
start.
A lack of access to pools and the money to pay for lessons drives a
racial divide in swimming ability. But after getting married, I had no
choice but to dive in
Swimming: why risk it?
Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
“If
you just relax, you’ll float. Everyone floats,” Monica, the instructor,
says calmly while I’m flapping my extremities in sheer terror. I’m in
the deep end of a Los Angeles swimming pool in May, and I’m here to
learn how to swim. Swimming
is not something I do, nor am I particularly fond of being in the water
unless I’m in a bubble bath. Why? Drowning. Choking. Sinking to the
bottom. I just can’t figure out why anyone would willfully put
themselves in a situation where they could die so easily. Why risk it? I
also feel this way about skydiving, rock climbing, and unprotected
sexual relations with a stranger in a truck stop bathroom. But here I am
today, decidedly taking this step – or splash, if you will afford me
the rhetorical indulgence.
Throughout my life, curious folks have often asked about my aversion to swimming, and the conversation has inevitably turned to race.
My wife’s aunt came up to me at a family event and said that she heard
“black people’s skin was heavier, therefore they couldn’t float as
easily”. I’m not one to stir up trouble in a social situation. I hate
squabbles, especially when relatives are involved, and there’s no way to
win an argument like that. What was I supposed to do – weigh my own
skin to prove her wrong? All I could do was shrug my shoulders and say,
“Maybe.”
Pinterest
At the pool. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
In truth, black people not swimming is something of a public health problem. A study
by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 10
people die every day from drowning. Black and Hispanic youths are far
more likely to drown than white kids. Seventy percent of black children
cannot swim, while only 42% of white children reported a lack of
swimming ability.
The reason for this has nothing to do with physical differences and
everything to do with lack of access. In America, swimming is not a
skill we’re required to learn. It’s a privilege afforded to the
fortunate souls who live near a pool or accessible natural body of
water, and who can afford to pay for lessons. This excludes inner city
African Americans who lack one or both of those opportunities.
I was fortunate to live in a small town in rural central California,
in a middle-class military family that could afford swimming lessons.
Still, I was about as unconventional as one could be in a very
conservative part of the state. My Caucasian father was in the air force
and my African American mother stayed at home to take care of the kids.
In an effort to get me out of the house and away from the Star Trek
reruns that consumed most of my time, she tried to expose me to all
manner of extracurricular activities: tap dancing, racquetball,
jazzercise, and, eventually, swimming. I rejected every single hobby,
but especially swimming. I didn’t see the point. I didn’t like the
water, and as a result I was a dodgy swimmer. I preferred spending my
time on something I had a preternatural knack for: staying indoors.
As I got older, not swimming fit into a comfortable cultural
narrative: the black guy who can’t float. The stereotype became
something of a crutch that propped me up, but also made me dependent.
Then I married into a southern California family. They all swim and
most of them surf, which is so far beyond my ability to comprehend that
they might as well tell me they can bend spoons with their minds or
communicate with dolphins. When we went on our honeymoon in Hawaii, my
wife was concerned I’d have nothing to do; her childhood vacations
consisted of bouncing from one body of water to another.
In freshly purchased trunks. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
I knew from the day we married that I was going to have to learn, at
least so I could understand why my in-laws felt compelled to spend so
much of their free time in the ocean. In the process, I thought I might
better grasp what it is that keeps so many people like myself from
acquiring this skill. So, on a swelteringly hot day, I drove up to the
San Fernando Valley for my first swimming lesson.
There’s no shortage of swimming teachers in Los Angeles. It’s a bit
like working as a nanny, a personal trainer, a nutritionist, or an agent
– you’re a gatekeeper for an important aspect of living in this place.
Aqua Buddies refers to itself as “LA’s primer [sic] mobile swimming
school” and provides “Parent & Me, Toddler Water Safety, and swim
techniques for all the swim strokes”. They’ll drive to your home
swimming pool, like a Postmates or Instacart for vital life skills, I guess.
As one might expect, most of these classes are for children under the
age of 15, so finding a course of study that wouldn’t include me
wearing floaties or singing songs about water safety was difficult. The
Los Angeles YMCA offered adult classes, but I was worried about being
intimidated in a large public gymnasium.
An encounter with a pool noodle. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
Finally, I found Emily Cohen, an instructor who operates a school called the Water Whisperer
out of a pool in Sherman Oaks, an affluent community in the San
Fernando Valley. The name alone sounded comforting, presumably because
it reminded me of the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, which
always seems to put me to sleep whenever it’s on cable. The Water
Whisperer website claimed a 95% success rate and explicitly mentioned
their ability to train adults to overcome their aquatic phobia. Plus, it
was about 20 minutes from my house. •••
The morning of my first lesson, I meet Cohen at her pool. She’s open
and non-threatening like a kindergarten teacher, but also possesses the
kind of stern, paternal qualities that make you not want to disappoint
her. She describes her method as “developmental. It’s layered, and it’s
structured. Little kids feel safe when they know what’s coming next.
There’s also original songs, puppets”. The only thing more frightening
than drowning is puppets, but I was assured there would be none during
my lesson.
She asks me why I don’t swim. I mention my fear, and that because so
many black people don’t swim, it’s made it easier for me to avoid
learning. She’s not surprised. In fact, she says the majority of adults
who come to her are African American. “They say they had a bad
experience or the family didn’t have money. If they came from urban
areas like New York City, it just wasn’t a big thing or their parents
couldn’t afford lessons.”
On the edge. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
After stripping down to my freshly purchased trunks, I carefully walk
around the pool slowly, so as not to fall and sink. I begin my
exercises with Emily’s assistant, Monica, to get me comfortable with
breathing techniques. “When you go down, try to keep your eyes open as
long as you can. Go in slowly, and remember, I’m right here if you need
me,” she says reassuringly. I suck in as much air as I can and submerge
my head. I get a solid five seconds in and bolt back up before I run out
of oxygen, having felt the cold specter of death nipping at my heels.
Periodically during the breathing exercises, Monica puts a hand on my
shoulder and offers words of encouragement. “You’re doing great,” she
says. “You’re a natural.” Here I am, a 31-year-old breathing prodigy.
Who knew I had this talent inside of me?
Cohen describes the three steps of overcoming fear of water as
“giving a high five, being brave and doing it anyway”. The fourth should
be “receiving appeals to one’s vanity”, because that always works on
me. “You are literally the best swimmer I have ever seen,” they should
say. “Is that Dave Schilling in the pool or Kevin Costner from
Waterworld?” I’d never stop swimming.
The floating exercises rock my confidence. Monica can’t seem to get
me to flatten out my body enough to practice kicking. “It looks like I’m
not flat because of how big my butt is,” I say. Fortunately, they laugh
rather than asking me nicely to get out of the pool and walk home. That
should be another urban myth about why black people don’t swim. Their
asses are just too big. I have an ass for boxing people out in
basketball, not for swimming.
I’m assured that it’s not my ass that’s keeping me from floating.
It’s my fear. I’m too tense and not allowing the physics to sort
themselves out. I’m sinking because I expect to sink or something like
that. It’s my bloody death wish that’s keeping me from floating!
A 31-year-old prodigy. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
Then, the stern-parent thing with Emily kicks in and I decide I don’t
want to let her down. On my next attempt, I breathe more slowly. I calm
down enough to prevent my fear of the water swallowing me up from
taking over, and it occurs to me that I’ve probably been overthinking
this my entire life. I’ve been so worried about how I look without a
shirt on, whether or not my skin is too black or too thick, and what
other people think of me, that I couldn’t just engage with the task at
hand. Swimming is not an intellectual exercise. It’s visceral, and
bringing heavy thoughts into the pool with me isn’t helping.
Finally, I float. Not for long, but I get there. I earn a few
high-fives, which I relish. Our last exercise is swimming to the wall.
Monica will hold my hands while I kick my way to salvation, then I’ll do
it by myself, but with her hand on my back so that I know someone’s
around to save me if I get overwhelmed.
witterPinterest
I swam, sort of. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
We move on to swimming the length of the pool. I get to be about 6ft
away from the wall before I run out of breath and swallow a big gulp of
pool water. I’d practiced breathing out of my mouth and my nose while
underwater, but I had tried to do both at the same time and foolishly
opened my mouth a bit too much. I don’t panic. I don’t wail or cry or
moan. I just go back to it. I know that there’s someone there to help me
through it.
I’m winded, but I successfully complete the unassisted laps, though
you can hardly call what I did a proper lap. I swam, sort of – just
enough to retain my dignity. Emily and Monica tell me how great I did.
Only nine more classes to go.
I ask how much a further course of study would cost, and it’s not
cheap. But if I ever want to feel fully a part of my new extended
family, I’m going to have to do it.
Success. Photograph: Maggie West for the Guardian
For many children in nearby neighborhoods like Watts or Compton, the
idea of paying for swimming lessons is something akin to a fantasy – a
rite of passage for other people, not you. You’ll be told that it’s your
fault, your body’s fault for being too black to float. It’s not your
hair or your bones. It’s something far more insidious. It’s a system to
make you feel inferior – economically and emotionally.
After my lesson, I realized that I never learned to swim because I
didn’t think I deserved to. The fear of not being good enough
overpowered my fear of drowning. What’s the point of moping about for
the rest of my life as though I can’t do something? I should be grateful
that I have the time and the resources to even do this, when so many
people don’t. When I came home, my wife asked me if I learned how to
swim. “Not yet,” I told her. “But at least I’m trying,” which is a good
start.
The black guy who can't float: why I finally (almost) learned to swi
Nike’s Wimbledon ‘nightie’ – the most impractical sportswear ever?
Players have criticised the £75 dress for being too revealing, and
getting in the way of their shots. It’s not the first time style has
trumped practicality at the All-England Club
Katie Swan struggles with Nike’s Premier Slam dress on her Wimbledon debut.
Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Phoebe Luckhurst
Underwear scandals are common in SW19. Last year, it was the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard’s black bra strap; in 2014, retired men’s champion Pat Cash denounced pre-match underwear checks. And this year, it is Czech player Lucie Šafářová’s Nike tennis dress, which ballooned all game to expose her knickers.
Few things unite Wimbledon
crowds (sorry, Andy) like a perceived slight against the tournament’s
strictures. But, more to the point: why did Nike design such an
impractical dress for the female players it sponsors?
This was, in fact, the second iteration of the £75 Premier Slam dress: Nike asked players to return it for alterations last week.
Serena Williams and Sabine Lisicki have both reportedly refused to wear
it. “I tried it on but didn’t feel comfortable showing that much,”
Lisicki said. Poor 17-year old Katie Swan struggled with the dress
during her defeat to Tímea Babos yesterday afternoon. Midway through,
she tucked it into her shorts.
“Nike probably has departments devoted to wearer trials,” says Sally
Dixon, the founder of activewear brand Every Second Counts. “I’m very
surprised.” She is sympathetic to Swan’s frustrated mid-match
alteration. “Players don’t expect to have to redesign kit to make it fit
for purpose.”
Notoriously, Wimbledon’s code is the most difficult on the grand slam
circuit. Intimidating guidelines demand competitors “be dressed in
suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white” as soon as they
“enter the court surround”. They are reminded that “white does not
include off-white or cream”. In 2013, Roger Federer was scolded because
his shoes had orange soles. Moreover, women must negotiate the dynamic
between style, propriety and functionality: brands, keen to appeal to
female consumers chasing the athleisure trend, are most interested in
the first. And it is virtually mandated that women playing at the elite
level wear (very) small skirts – although at least they permit movement.
In the 1920s, the French champion Suzanne Lenglen wore a ballooning
midiskirt to play at Wimbledon. Admittedly, she also drank Cognac on
court.
The obsession with outfits is surely a backhanded sexualisation of the women’s game. From Athena’s Tennis Girl poster
to celebrated but undecorated pin-up Anna Kournikova, girls in tennis
whites are fetishised, their bellowing grunts the subject of flip
sexism. When commentators clocked Simona Halep’s breast reduction
surgery, the British player Laura Robson was furious. ”You see what she
can do with the ball,” she said at the time. “I don’t see how you can bring in boobs to the conversation.”
Anyway, Nike’s “nightie” clearly won’t do. What should tennis kit
look like? “Fitted, for an increased range of movement,” suggests Dixon.
“It should be second skin. What you wear should be the last thing on
your mind.” Never so at Wimbledon.
Abuja High Court sacks
Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman
Oluwatobi Bolashodun 1 hour ago 31655
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send email
– An Abuja High court has sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP’s national
chairman
– The court nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which
Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman
– Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting the party’s
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election
The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Ali Modu Sheriff has been removed by an Abuja high court on Wednesday,
June 29.
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
nazari
Ali Modu Sheriff
The court presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi (court 29), sacked the
party’s chairman from office by nullifying the 2014 PDP constitution
amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman.
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting a
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election.
READ ALSO: Modu Sheriff arrives Edo for fresh PDP guber primaries
Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, was appointed as PDP’s
national chairman in the interim by the party’s stakeholders after
former deputy national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus from the South-East
was removed from the position of acting chairman based on the zoning
arrangement.
The 2014 amendment had purportedly zoned the office of the party
chairman to the North-East zone.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/876283-breaking-fct-high-court-sacks-senator-ali-modu-sheriff-pdp-chairman.html
Abuja High Court sacks
Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman
Oluwatobi Bolashodun 1 hour ago 31655
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send email
– An Abuja High court has sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP’s national
chairman
– The court nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which
Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman
– Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting the party’s
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election
The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Ali Modu Sheriff has been removed by an Abuja high court on Wednesday,
June 29.
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
nazari
Ali Modu Sheriff
The court presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi (court 29), sacked the
party’s chairman from office by nullifying the 2014 PDP constitution
amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman.
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting a
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election.
READ ALSO: Modu Sheriff arrives Edo for fresh PDP guber primaries
Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, was appointed as PDP’s
national chairman in the interim by the party’s stakeholders after
former deputy national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus from the South-East
was removed from the position of acting chairman based on the zoning
arrangement.
The 2014 amendment had purportedly zoned the office of the party
chairman to the North-East zone.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/876283-breaking-fct-high-court-sacks-senator-ali-modu-sheriff-pdp-chairman.html
Nike’s Wimbledon ‘nightie’ – the most impractical sportswear ever?
Players have criticised the £75 dress for being too revealing, and
getting in the way of their shots. It’s not the first time style has
trumped practicality at the All-England Club
Katie Swan struggles with Nike’s Premier Slam dress on her Wimbledon debut.
Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Phoebe Luckhurst
Underwear scandals are common in SW19. Last year, it was the Canadian Eugenie Bouchard’s black bra strap; in 2014, retired men’s champion Pat Cash denounced pre-match underwear checks. And this year, it is Czech player Lucie Šafářová’s Nike tennis dress, which ballooned all game to expose her knickers.
Few things unite Wimbledon
crowds (sorry, Andy) like a perceived slight against the tournament’s
strictures. But, more to the point: why did Nike design such an
impractical dress for the female players it sponsors?
This was, in fact, the second iteration of the £75 Premier Slam dress: Nike asked players to return it for alterations last week.
Serena Williams and Sabine Lisicki have both reportedly refused to wear
it. “I tried it on but didn’t feel comfortable showing that much,”
Lisicki said. Poor 17-year old Katie Swan struggled with the dress
during her defeat to Tímea Babos yesterday afternoon. Midway through,
she tucked it into her shorts.
“Nike probably has departments devoted to wearer trials,” says Sally
Dixon, the founder of activewear brand Every Second Counts. “I’m very
surprised.” She is sympathetic to Swan’s frustrated mid-match
alteration. “Players don’t expect to have to redesign kit to make it fit
for purpose.”
Notoriously, Wimbledon’s code is the most difficult on the grand slam
circuit. Intimidating guidelines demand competitors “be dressed in
suitable tennis attire that is almost entirely white” as soon as they
“enter the court surround”. They are reminded that “white does not
include off-white or cream”. In 2013, Roger Federer was scolded because
his shoes had orange soles. Moreover, women must negotiate the dynamic
between style, propriety and functionality: brands, keen to appeal to
female consumers chasing the athleisure trend, are most interested in
the first. And it is virtually mandated that women playing at the elite
level wear (very) small skirts – although at least they permit movement.
In the 1920s, the French champion Suzanne Lenglen wore a ballooning
midiskirt to play at Wimbledon. Admittedly, she also drank Cognac on
court.
The obsession with outfits is surely a backhanded sexualisation of the women’s game. From Athena’s Tennis Girl poster
to celebrated but undecorated pin-up Anna Kournikova, girls in tennis
whites are fetishised, their bellowing grunts the subject of flip
sexism. When commentators clocked Simona Halep’s breast reduction
surgery, the British player Laura Robson was furious. ”You see what she
can do with the ball,” she said at the time. “I don’t see how you can bring in boobs to the conversation.”
Anyway, Nike’s “nightie” clearly won’t do. What should tennis kit
look like? “Fitted, for an increased range of movement,” suggests Dixon.
“It should be second skin. What you wear should be the last thing on
your mind.” Never so at Wimbledon.
Abuja High Court sacks
Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman
Oluwatobi Bolashodun 1 hour ago 31655
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send email
– An Abuja High court has sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP’s national
chairman
– The court nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which
Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman
– Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting the party’s
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election
The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Ali Modu Sheriff has been removed by an Abuja high court on Wednesday,
June 29.
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
nazari
Ali Modu Sheriff
The court presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi (court 29), sacked the
party’s chairman from office by nullifying the 2014 PDP constitution
amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman.
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting a
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election.
READ ALSO: Modu Sheriff arrives Edo for fresh PDP guber primaries
Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, was appointed as PDP’s
national chairman in the interim by the party’s stakeholders after
former deputy national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus from the South-East
was removed from the position of acting chairman based on the zoning
arrangement.
The 2014 amendment had purportedly zoned the office of the party
chairman to the North-East zone.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/876283-breaking-fct-high-court-sacks-senator-ali-modu-sheriff-pdp-chairman.html
Abuja High Court sacks
Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP chairman
Oluwatobi Bolashodun 1 hour ago 31655
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
Send email
– An Abuja High court has sacked Ali Modu Sheriff as PDP’s national
chairman
– The court nullified the 2014 PDP constitution amendment upon which
Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman
– Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting the party’s
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election
The embattled national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP),
Ali Modu Sheriff has been removed by an Abuja high court on Wednesday,
June 29.
Share on Facebook
Share on Twitter
nazari
Ali Modu Sheriff
The court presided over by Justice Valentine Ashi (court 29), sacked the
party’s chairman from office by nullifying the 2014 PDP constitution
amendment upon which Sheriff was appointed as the PDP chairman.
Senator Ali Modu Sheriff-led faction is presently conducting a
governorship primaries in Benin City for the Edo state governorship
election.
READ ALSO: Modu Sheriff arrives Edo for fresh PDP guber primaries
Sheriff, a former governor of Borno state, was appointed as PDP’s
national chairman in the interim by the party’s stakeholders after
former deputy national chairman, Chief Uche Secondus from the South-East
was removed from the position of acting chairman based on the zoning
arrangement.
The 2014 amendment had purportedly zoned the office of the party
chairman to the North-East zone.
Read more: https://www.naij.com/876283-breaking-fct-high-court-sacks-senator-ali-modu-sheriff-pdp-chairman.html
Nike’s Wimbledon ‘nightie’ – the most impractical sportswear ever?
