January | 2025 | tomorrow started

soundtrack to a coup d’etat: best documentary feature film 97th academy awards

also see this great new film “soundtrack to a coup d’etat”

soundtrack to a coup d’etat premiered at the sundance film festival on 22 january 2024.

it won the andré cavens award for best film from the belgian film critics association. it has been nominated for best documentary feature film at the 97th academy awards.

soundtrack to a coup d’etat is a documentary film directed by johan grimonprez about the cold war episode that led american musicians abbey lincoln and max roach to crash the un security council in protest against the murder of congolese leader patrice lumumba. one february morning in 1961, singer abbey lincoln and drummer max roach crash the un security council to protest the murder of prime minister patrice lumumba of the newly independent congo. sixty yelling protesters throw punches, slam their stilettos and provoke a skirmish with unprepared guards as diplomats look on in shock.

six months earlier, sixteen newly independent african countries are admitted to the united nations, shifting the majority vote away from the old colonial powers. soviet leader nikita khrushchev speaks in opposition to the neo-colonial power grab unfolding in the republic of the congo (léopoldville) (modern dr congo). denouncing america’s color bar and un complicity in the overthrow of lumumba, he demands immediate decolonization worldwide.

to retain control over the riches of what used to be the belgian congo, king baudouin of belgium finds an ally in the eisenhower administration, which fears losing access to one of the world’s biggest known reserves of uranium, a metal vital for the creation of atomic bombs. congo-léopoldville takes center stage to both the cold war and the scheme for control of the un. the US state department swings into action: jazz ambassador louis armstrong is dispatched to win the hearts and minds of africa. unwittingly, armstrong becomes a smokescreen to divert attention from africa’s first post-colonial coup, leading to the assassination of congo’s first democratically elected leader. malcolm x stands up in open support of lumumba and his efforts to create a united states of africa while also reframing the freedom struggle of african americans as one not for civil rights but for human rights, aiming to bring his case before the UN.

as black jazz ambassadors are performing unaware amidst covert cia operatives, the likes of armstrong, nina simone, duke ellington, dizzy gillespie and melba liston face a painful dilemma: how to represent a country where segregation is still the law of the land.

jazz and decolonization are entwined in this forgotten episode of the cold war, where the greatest musicians stepped onto the political stage, and downtrodden politicians lent their voices as inadvertent lead singers. this story of the undermining of african self-determination is told from the perspective of central african republic women’s rights activist and politician andrée blouin, irish diplomat and enfant terrible conor cruise o’brien, belgian-congolese writer in koli jean bofane, and nikita khrushchev himself. by dd

CATEGORIES: history, must see docus

lumumba : la mort du prophete a french film by raoul-peck on the life of patrice lumumba

lumumba : death of a profit

stills from the film starring, agreat performance by, eriq ebouaney as patrice lumumba

watch for free on youtube – if link is broken try : here

lumumba is a 2000 biographical film directed by raoul peck. a co-production of france, germany, belgium, and haiti. filmed in french, the film depicts the rise and fall of patrice lumumba, and is set in the months before and after congo-léopoldville achieved independence from belgium in june 1960. war in the democratic republic of the congo at the time of filming caused the film to be shot in zimbabwe and beira, mozambique.

CONTROVERSY : the film generated some controversy in 2002, when frank carlucci, a former american government official and protege of donald rumsfeld, persuaded HBO to delete a reference to him during the airing of the film. the scene in question involves a group of belgian and congolese officials deciding whether to kill lumumba. carlucci is asked for input, and he mumbles that the US government does not involve itself in the internal affairs of other countries. at the time, carlucci was the second secretary of the US embassy in congo. he denies playing any role in the death of llumumba: “the scene is tendentious, false, libelous; it never happened and it is a cheap shot.” the scene remains on the DVD version of the film. by dd

CATEGORIES: history, must be considered films

was sheena really a punk rocker? we know she just couldn’t stay, she had to break away…

from bkbunnyland

sheena ringo

sigma wearing gas mask

thanks to bkbunnyland for this little tokyo gem: “i stumbled upon sheena ringo hearing her first album being played in a trendy taipei record shop in the late 90s and became an instant fan. back then she was known as the queen of grunge and her first two LPs really drove that home. after her pop success she expanded to psychedelic jazz with a fabulous vibe of 1960s seedy burlesque clubs and 1930s gin joints. hands down japan’s most high concept pop star, she never does a show or tv appearance without pulling out every stop and putting on a mixed media barrage of classy retro homage to the past century of japanese music. her latest work in 2024 is a series of collaborations with younger pop divas which honor and respect both artists but with the expected and extravagant ringo flair and polish” to see more of ringo and other rarities visit bkbunnyland. by bb

CATEGORIES: clips, music

did you ever wondered what paper the studious boys used to light up a spliff?

photo credit roger mayne post war street photography

here’s how to roll a joint : now we don’t smoke no more “cuz we wizzzed-up and shit”, but… if we were to light up a joint one one day, we’d be sure to grab our composition notebook to roll that spliff. noy suggesting smoking vus smoking kills – and yah a joint here, a joint there is cool, but just know that no matter how bad ass you are now, it’ll creep up on you. hear that from the mother-load of bad asses. by cc

CATEGORIES: design, fashion blokes: men of style, naughty stuff, perfect gift

on the topic of jeans: how levi’s slept while every other brand ate their lunch and how they are trying to break back in

the marker loose jean by levis – blue tab

could it be? nice low pockets on the tail – looks like a proper fit finally!

this is what happens when the marketing team at your company is fast asleep and clueless to the pulse on the street. every time i drop $300 on a pair of APCs, or worse $200 on a pair of levi’s E by END 568 i curse old levi’s for dropping the ball on the game. all this talk of japanese denim is really old original american denim before levi’s opted for shit mills to make that thin garbage denim. how was it that in the UK levi’s engineered jeans could produce awesome cuts and style and the US just cruised through mediocrity? how is it that a collab item with levi’s is a better denim than levi’s itself? like undercover knows more about denim than fuckin levis!!!

high snobiety, as usual hyping up whomever advertises with them, had this to say “ it’s no secret that levi’s knows denim. after all, you don’t get a beyoncé co-sign by being average. but levi’s blue tab collection extends beyond your classic pair of blue jeans. levi’s is entering a new era with blue tab, a new collection that transforms the brand’s specialty — denim basics — into dressed-up statement pieces (canadian tuxedo). if levi’s orange tab line is for a younger, more experimental crowd, blue tab is its sophisticated, older sibling. but it’s not just the sophisticated silhouettes that set this collection apart — it’s the textiles, too. levi’s blue tab experiments with selvage denim adding another degree of elegance to the collection.”

now i don’t know about “stylish” and “tuxedo” its a pair of fucking jeans. its just not cut to fit dorks anymore. also who gives a shit about a “beyoncé co-sign” – i mean that’s one sure way to show u are completely out of touch with cool. finally the quality and fit are still to be judged. its not like they cant do it, because they invented it… the question is do they really want to do it right or do they still wanna hit every marketing marker? i’m hopeful and looking forward to seeing the blue tab levi’s out and checking out its “actual value”. by nwa

CATEGORIES: fashion blokes: men of style, fashion mens, perfect gift

daria is the girl of the golden field

model daria werbowy

by photographers inez & vinoodh

for vogue nippon – japan december 2009

sometimes you got to let the sunshine in… by wn

CATEGORIES: fashion birds: women of style, naughty stuff

age of the ego

crazy p – never lets me down. by ar

CATEGORIES: album covers

out here, in our corner of the civilized world: with the upcoming black history month, we explain why the US government murdered Fred Hampton

just learned about fred, thanks to amy goodman… heres what i found:

“as a youth, fred hampton was gifted both in the classroom and athletically, and hoped to play center field for the yankees…

at 10 years old, he started hosting weekend breakfasts for other children from the neighborhood, cooking the meals himself in what could be described as a precursor to the panthers’ free breakfast program.

vox: “why the US government murdered fred hampton”

in 1968, hampton was accused of assaulting an ice cream truck driver, stealing $71 worth of ice cream bars, and giving them to kids in the street. he was convicted in may 1969 and served time in prison.

democracy now: “the assassination of fred hampton: new documents reveal involvement of FBI director j. edgar hoover”

we know this is how russia is run, and uganda under amin, and iran, but does this shit happen in france? or in canada? or in norway?

“hampton rose quickly in the BPP based on his organizing skills, and charisma… in 1969, hampton, now deputy chairman of the black panthers party illinois chapter, conducted a meeting condemning sexism. the fbi believed that hampton’s leadership and talent for communication made him a major threat… FBI director j edgar hoover was determined to prevent the formation of a cohesive black movement in the united states. the FBI opened a file on hampton in 1967…

in late 1968, the FBI’s chicago field office recruited william o’neal to work with it; he had recently been arrested twice for interstate car theft and impersonating a federal officer. in exchange for having his felony charges dropped and receiving a monthly stipend, o’neal agreed to infiltrate the BPP as a counterintelligence operative. with oneals help fred hampton was shot in bed, in the head, while drugged and incapacitated from the night before by the imposter, william o’neal, the FBI informant.” i mean wholly shit. they drugged him, and then they shot him in the head, i mean what cowards, what bastards…. assuming all this is true. by xy

CATEGORIES: earth related, history, read

norwegian crafted / waterproof vibram sole / these kastel winter boots are finally available in the US

the aptly named water proof chelsea boot (sola 2.0)… if you plan on going swimming in the new york sewers this is the boot you’ll need…

you know, some smart shit comes out of norway here and there… there was the incredible magnus carlsen…

we’ll assign the brown water resistant kastel x vibram lyngen slip-fit boot to

the “tall wolf” or otherwise “finish the job” erling haaland from the norwegian national team and later premier league manchester city

we’ll assign the coal black version with vibram sole technology to

and finally the gorgeous SIRI, the one your iphone was named after (google it), yes SIGRID siri tollerod the fashion queen…

whom we’ll assign the white water resistant kastel lyngen slip-fit boot to.

happy hunting for that right boot this winter, which you can call your own. what we love about these guys is that they say “sustainability is complex. just like saying 30% less sugar isn’t sugar-free, we don’t just claim to be sustainable.our approach involves bold experiments in materials, design… viable ideas become pilot products, and successful pilots set new standards of innovation…” sustainability is not just a phrase but rather “forever ongoing”… cheers to that… by ts

CATEGORIES: earth related, perfect gift, take care

a visual collective outlet of inspiration

this blog is a visual notebook of inspirations for a group of bandit bloggers.
we post things we see and like. our lives don’t revolve around singular topics and neither does our blog.
sorry! nothing is in-or-out of context here. enjoy xx

Month: January 2025