Category: Historical

So we all know the story about Joan of Arc riding her fearless horse into the heart of battle and later being burned at the stake for being a witch right?   Well, it’s  a pretty good story, but it’s not reaallllly what happened.  It seems like most of our history, this story has been brandished and gilded just a scosche.

http://www.history.com/news/7-things-you-didnt-know-about-joan-of-arc

Now some of these things challenge the very nature of her sanity, though not necessarily her bravery.  We could get into the gender aspects, the religious aspects, the political or socio-economic aspects of the REAL Joan, aka, Jehanne d’Arc, Jehanne Tarc, Jehanne Romée or possibly Jehanne de Vouthon,  but I won’t.  Here we’re going to focus on her hair.   Yep.   It seems that in 1909 Polish-born Monsieur Antoine, whose real name was Antek Cierplikowski invented the bob haircut and claimed Joan as his inspiration. I found this tidbit all over the internet –

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/beauty/news-features/TMG4206376/Bob-haircut-celebrates-100th-birthday.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoine_de_Paris

Thankfully, this revolutionary hairstyle ended a centuries long taboo against women who cut their hair, leading the way for the popular 1920’s style that is associated with liberated women and flappers. This once daring cut is still very much in demand today and in France is known as the Coupe à la Jeanne d’Arc.

Today would have been the 91st birthday of James Baldwin. On one hand, he’s on a U.S. postage stamp; on the other hand, a lot of young people have not have heard of him, and that’s a tragedy.

One reason (and if you know James Baldwin you know there are a hundred gazillion reasons) but one reason that he continues to inspire us was he thought and attempted to express through poetry and art those universal truths that everyone knows and understands yet occasionally get lost in the fog on the horizon. He lifted that fog through his words. Whether it was speaking to the French as an American or speaking to White people as African American or speaking to straight people as a gay man, somehow he forced through poetry and brazen conviction everyone to see the truth that was in front of them even if they didn’t want to look at it for long. He brought truths into view. We need more James Baldwin’s. Great people who help keep us looking and thinking beyond the horizon.