Latest news with #BlackBeauty
BBC News
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Black Beauty fenced in as Great Yarmouth sculpture starts to lean
A sculpture of a horse has been fenced off for safety reasons after it began to lean less than three months after it was Yarmouth Borough Council (GYBC) invested £330,000 in creating a sculpture trail around the town, featuring a dozen works by local, national and international fibre-glass model of Black Beauty was created by Lois Cordelia and inspired by author Anna Sewell and her famous 19th Century novel. Ms Cordelia said she was "relieved" the subsidence did not appear to be a result of vandalism. The sculpture stands opposite the birthplace of Sewell in Church Plain, near the town's minster, and was unveiled in a ceremony on 13 Cordelia, who painted the model in public view at Great Yarmouth Market Place during the summer of 2024, said: "I am extremely relieved to hear it is not a case of vandalism."It has been utterly heart-warming to hear so many appreciative comments since the piece was installed."Everyone told me how popular it has been. I very much appreciate the council working hard to resolve the issue swiftly and hope that Black Beauty will be back on full view very soon." A GYBC notice on fencing around the sculpture stated: "We are sorry this play area is currently out of action awaiting repair and maintenance."For your own safety please keep out of the area. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."The council has been approached for further details. Follow Norfolk news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Maverick
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Maverick
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne is still the master of the metalheads
For a split second, those of us who surfed backyard rebellion on a wave of Black Sabbath in the 1970s might have thought lead singer Ozzy Osbourne was looking rather well in a video clip that went viral. This came after a 10-hour, sold-out 'big farewell concert' that was held in Birmingham, England, last week. Back in the 1970s, just the name of the band sent shivers down establishment spines, as did the skulls and the occult imagery. For a generation of white working-class kids in the UK, it was the noise of it all that drowned out other noise. In conservative South Africa, Black Sabbath was regarded as being as threatening as the children's book Black Beauty (mistakenly banned by a censor with an overactive imagination) and the black majority in general. Seen as the progenitors of early heavy metal, Black Sabbath brought with it also the anarchist behaviour of the genre's unruly stars hellbent on trashing their bodies and brains in the process. It is remarkable – considering the quantities of alcohol and drugs, tobacco and food laced with preservatives and sugar that some of these old metalheads and rockers consumed – that they are still alive. No doubt preserved in their own juices, like Mick Jagger. Ozzy is 76 going on eternity at present. It turns out the video was an avatar of him generated by artificial intelligence. AI breathed more life into the geriatric, delinquent rocker-turned-celebrity and family man role model than Ozzy himself might have done. That's why he looked so good. His daughter Kelly, whom we all came to know in one of the first celebrity reality TV shows, The Osbournes, shared on Instagram: 'So, there's this video going around on social media, and it's supposed to be my dad, but it's AI. He's not dying. Yes, he has Parkinson's, and yes, his mobility is completely different than it used to be, but he's not dying. What is wrong with you?' Summer of Sabbath At the concert on 5 July, seated in a black leather armchair adorned with a looming bat, Ozzy was joined on stage by Bill Ward on drums, Geezer Butler on bass and Tony Iommi on guitar. With dyed hair and pale as a tapeworm, dressed-in-black Ozzy drank it all in. The four members of The Sabbath have been granted the freedom of Birmingham, and the city has been doing a 'Summer of Sabbath' campaign, lasting throughout the tourism season. Several other metal bands, such as Alice in Chains, Rival Sons, Anthrax and Mastodon, played to the capacity 40,000, whiter-shade-of-Ozzy crowd, who reportedly queued up all day for the beer. Naturally. Michael Hann, describing the event in The Guardian, noted that 'after Slayer – which is like listening to road works, take that as a compliment or not – Guns N' Roses patrol the stage as if they own it, opening with Sabbath's Never Say Die, with Axl Rose on surprisingly good voice'. Then came the king Ozzy has insisted that this would be the final concert 'on stage', although he is not dying, you understand, only sitting down for a while. Behind the king was the queen and business brain, Sharon Osbourne, with her Ozempic mask, plumped up by plastic surgery, teeth like tombstones and as white as the cliffs of Dover, still by his side, interpreting the slur. The 'beyond 27' club If you make it past the age of 27 as a famous singer or musician, then chances are you'll live as long as Ozzy and be as happy. The Osbournes gave us a glimpse into their home life in their mansion back in 2002, where the dogs crapped on the carpets and the kids had free rein of the fame and fortune. They paved the way for the Kardashians, and the Western world has never been the same since. At a dinner party years ago, as two women adopting children, my partner and I were asked which celebrity heterosexual couple we thought were contemporary role models. You know, like Bill and Hillary Clinton, Jacob Zuma and his wives, Steve Hofmeyer and… Without hesitation we chorused: 'The Osbournes.' DM This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.
CBC
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Dartmouth event celebrates Black beauty on Viola Desmond's birthday
A celebration Sunday in Dartmouth to observe the birthday of civil rights icon Viola Desmond also highlighted her contributions to the Black business community in Nova Scotia. A crowd of around 200 people gathered for the event on what would have been Desmond's 111th birthday. It was dubbed Being Black and Beautiful in Downtown Dartmouth and was hosted by the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission in collaboration with the Black Beauty Culture Association. "We're together celebrating being our own kind of beautiful," said Samantha Dixon Slawter, co-founder of the association. Desmond rose to national prominence for challenging racial segregation after being arrested for refusing to leave a "whites-only" area at a New Glasgow movie theatre in 1946. The theatre was segregated at that time, with Black patrons relegated to the balcony while floor seating was reserved for whites. But she was also a trained beautician who started her practice specifically to address the absence of hair and skincare products for Black women. She was in New Glasgow because she was on a business trip for her successful hair cosmetics company. Slawter said Desmond's legacy as a businesswoman is just as important as her activism. "Black people, we had to actually in some cases we had to do without a beautician. We had to do our own hair. And Viola came up with teaching beauty culture, especially to Black women and for Black women," she said. "She actually changed culture for us." Through the Black Beauty Culture Association, an organization with the stated goal of encouraging equality and equity in the beauty industry, Slawter said she is honouring an under-explored aspect of Desmond's legacy. Mary Lukindo, an apprentice under the Black Beauty Culture Hair Innovator program, said that prior to working for the Black Beauty Culture Association and learning from Slawter, she learned in school about Desmond's activism, but was unaware of her work as a beautician. That aspect of Desmond's life made her more identifiable in Lukindo's eyes, she said. "She really represents what most Black people are," Lukindo said. "We are multifaceted, we are passionate, we are talented." Tim Rissesco is the CEO of the Downtown Dartmouth Business Commission, which helped organize Sunday's event. "With working with the Black community, we can encourage other Black entrepreneurs to come to downtown Dartmouth as a place to do business, and we also want to make sure that everybody feels welcome in downtown," Rissesco said. After Desmond's arrest, the Halifax businesswoman was left in jail for 12 hours before being fined $26 for tax evasion. The fine, based on the one-cent difference in tax paid for floor and balcony tickets, was the only way local authorities could legally justify her jailing. Desmond, who died in 1965, was given a posthumous apology and pardon for her arrest by the province in April 2010. She was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame in 2017 and a $10 bill bearing her likeness was issued in November 2018.
Daily Record
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Iconic Scottish museum named among the world's top-rated dinosaur museums
As Jurassic World Rebirth hits cinemas, a new study has revealed the top dinosaur museums for fossil fans worldwide With Jurassic World: Rebirth roaring into cinemas this July, travel insurance specialist InsureandGo has unveiled the world's top-rated dinosaur museums, perfect for fossil enthusiasts eager to explore prehistoric wonders. Edinburgh's National Museum of Scotland claimed an impressive seventh place, outshining London's Natural History Museum and New York's American Museum of Natural History. While it may offer fewer dinosaur exhibits than some global giants, the museum's vast collection spans from dinosaurs to space exploration, including Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell. Visitors can also enjoy panoramic views of Edinburgh from its rooftop terrace, along with dinosaur-themed workshops and trails that engage younger visitors. Reviewers praise its wide-ranging displays, noting it has 'everything from dinosaurs to the moon landings.' Jurassic World: Rebirth, widely tipped as the summer's most anticipated movie, marks the seventh chapter in the Jurassic Park franchise. Starring Scarlett Johansson and Jonathan Bailey, and filmed across Thailand, Malta, and the UK, the film has already sparked excitement among fans worldwide. Topping the list is Canada's Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, based in Drumheller, Alberta, which boasts a staggering 97.3% of reviews awarding it four or five stars. Home to over 130,000 fossils, the museum features the famous 'Black Beauty' T. rex skeleton and the most complete tyrannosaurid ever found, a predator predating T. rex by around 10 million years. The site also gained fame as a filming location for Ghostbusters: Afterlife. Visitors recommend setting aside a couple of days to fully explore the museum and hike the scenic Badlands nearby. New Zealand punches above its weight with two museums in the global top ten. The Tūhura Otago Museum in Dunedin, now renamed in 2022 to reflect its Māori roots meaning 'to discover, investigate and explore,' is home to New Zealand's largest fossil plesiosaur and one of the finest moa remains collections, moa being a giant flightless bird that went extinct roughly 600 years ago. The museum also features an immersive tropical rainforest butterfly house. The UK's highest-rated natural history museum is found at Oxford University, outscoring London's iconic counterpart. The Oxford University Museum of Natural History houses the only soft tissue remains of the extinct dodo and is architecturally designed to showcase geological diversity, with columns crafted from different British rocks. Join the Daily Record WhatsApp community! Get the latest news sent straight to your messages by joining our WhatsApp community today. You'll receive daily updates on breaking news as well as the top headlines across Scotland. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Daily Record team. All you have to do is click here if you're on mobile, select 'Join Community' and you're in! If you're on a desktop, simply scan the QR code above with your phone and click 'Join Community'. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. Letitia Smith, Communications Manager at InsureandGo, said: 'We all travel for different reasons, whether it's sampling new dishes, swimming in turquoise waters, or exploring fascinating cultures. For many people, that includes visiting a fascinating destination, like a dinosaur museum. 'With the new Jurassic Park movie on the way, we wanted to highlight the museums that truly capture the awe of natural history, based on real visitor reviews. If your summer plans take you near these top-rated museums, it's the perfect chance to experience some of the world's most top-rated prehistory. 'Thankfully, dinosaurs are no longer a threat, but travel can still be unpredictable. So, protect yourself with comprehensive travel insurance, and keep your adrenaline fix within the museum!'
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Inside the Challenges Befalling Black-owned Brands in 2025 — and How They're Facing Them
Black beauty brand founders are facing waning support. Founders and executives told WWD that the galvanization they saw in the wake of George Floyd's murder has decelerated, largely in terms of retail support and investment, though not in terms of consumer sentiment. More from WWD It's Bigger Than Resale: How a Los Angeles Sneaker Store Is Building Its Business - and Community Golden Goose Brings Its 'Forward' Concept Store to Dallas Big 5 Sporting Goods Goes Private in $112.7 Million Deal 'Every year since 2020, we've seen a rollback of the support and investment into Black and BIPOC-owned brands,' said Ron Robinson, founder and chief executive officer of BeautyStat. 'I think it's only gotten more significant under this new presidential administration.' 'Eight out of 10 BIPOC-owned businesses fail within the first 18 months of launch,' said Piyush Jain, chief executive officer of Maesa, which introduced the Maesa Magic Incubator to provide grants and mentorship to underrepresented founders. That program is now in its third year. 'One cause is lack of mentorship, the other is lack of role models, and the third is funding.' The situation has become even more acute under the current presidential administration, which has actively rolled back DEI policies at a federal level, and taken legal action to do the same at universities across the country. More localized to beauty, part of the issue is the number of retailers, in particular, and the wider business landscape that have rolled back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives against the fast-changing political backdrop. During its first-quarter earnings call in May, Target Corp. cited a broader shift away from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives at the top of the year as a key contributor to single-digit sales dips, in addition to on-again, off-again tariffs. More specifically, Target ended its Racial Equity Action and Change initiatives, and changed the moniker of its 'Supplier Diversity' team to 'Supplier Engagement.' Elsewhere in the mass market, Walmart stopped participating in the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Index, and agreed to drop the phrase diversity, equity and inclusion as well as products marketed to transgender children. On the prestige beauty side, the news is more positive. Both Sephora and Ulta Beauty have signed the Fifteen Percent Pledge, an Aurora James-founded initiative to dedicate 15 percent of shelf space to Black-owned brands and seem committed to attaining that goal. Founders also report investors pulling back in some cases. As WWD reported in 2024, Black-owned brands were among the first to feel the drought of a waning M&A market. For some, the picture is still grim. Crunchbase data, additionally, indicates that funding for Black-founded startups in the U.S. fell from $4.9 billion in 2021 to $700 million in 2024. 'We haven't had the growth scale that typical VC firms want. It's difficult to expect that from founders that are Black-owned because we're already at a disadvantage, we don't have the same resources and we don't have the same capital,' said Denis Asamoah, Forvr Mood, which he cofounded with Jackie Aina. He acknowledged that the brand was on track to meet its sales targets for 2025. 'It just seems like there's always a moving of the goalposts with Black founders, and what we've been able to build and create has been nothing short of incredible,' Aina said. 'It raises questions of what's required of non-Black founders versus Black founders.' 'It's hard right now in general — you can't ignore the macroeconomic pressures and general uncertainty. For small brands that's even more challenging,' said Alisa Carmichael, partner at VMG Partners, who oversees VMG's Parity Collective in partnership with James, an investment initiative that specializes in BIPOC brands. 'Also, the rollback from a DE&I perspective have made people in the ecosystem a bit more nervous.' Melissa Butler, founder and chief executive officer of The Lip Bar, characterized the landscape overall as generally tough. 'Investors are afraid to deploy capital,' she said. 'M&A hasn't been very active. That's true for every founder, and then you have to add on what I call the 'Black tax' on top of it.' Part of that, Butler said, was the persistent misconception that Black-owned brands are designed solely for Black consumers. 'Oftentimes, a Black founder will centralize a Black person in their advertising because your community deserves to be seen and it's an underserved community,' Butler said. 'The unfortunate truth is that can oftentimes lead to you only attracting Black customers. With the Lip Bar, for instance, there's no difference between my lips and a white woman's lips or an Asian woman's lips.' That phenomenon has also impacted the financial community. 'Everyone was so focused on investing in Black-owned brands with COVID and the murder of George Floyd,' said one investor who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'Now, we're in this phase where saying you're Black-owned can be a disadvantage because shoppers wonder if the product is for them, if they should be buying it, or if it's cultural appropriation.' Conversely, brands that keep their appeal broad are reaping the benefits. 'Yes, I'm a Black female founder and this is a Black-founded brand, but the ethos of the brand has always been that it's about everybody,' said Danessa Myricks, who founded Danessa Myricks Beauty. 'Our whole perspective is that everybody is able to participate and feel they're in a safe space.' Added Robinson, 'I'm front-facing on TikTok, and a lot of people didn't even necessarily know that I was the founder until I started to do more on social. We have all these clinicals, all these patents, and that brings people into the brand. On the consumer side, I'm not seeing people pulling back from support.' Other brands agreed that it's not an issue of consumer perception. 'The challenge is that the strategy should always be inclusive,' said Butler. 'I think consumers are already in tune with that, but it's the retailers, investors, strategics and private equity groups that are a little behind in terms of how consumers are looking at beauty today. 'I don't think it's consumers that are shifting,' Butler continued. 'Especially when you look at the population, Gen Z and Gen Alpha are the most diverse and the most open to diversity. I think it's an old guard saying they followed the rules in 2020, and now, they're onto the next.' Best of WWD Which Celebrity Brands Are Next for a Major Deal? Lady Gaga, Beyonce and More Possible Contenders for the Next Corporate Prize The Best Makeup Looks in Golden Globes History A Look Back at Golden Globes Best Makeup on the Red Carpet, From Megan Fox to Sophia Loren [PHOTOS]
