New Exhibit Galerie Glitzern und Schicksal

Imagine life as a citizen of a country whose entire national identity was obliterated in five years? Centuries of belief in Teutonic superiority, and common ideals like order, discipline, and heroism are wiped out because you are defeated in a war that you started. More than just buildings crumbled in Germany during WW1. The collective unconscious disintegrated along with everything else, and the centerpiece of the purge of the old Germany was the abdication of it's hereditary imperial figurehead, Kaiser Wilhelm II.

All was chaos, but out of the smoke emerged a new Weimar Republic intent on building something meaningful out of the rubble. Berlin was then the center of this great shift and artists like Christian Schad, George Grosz, Otto Dix, Jeanne Mammen, Karl Hubbuch, Rudolph Schlichter and many others used their skill and talent to express in paint, pen, pencil, ink, metal, wood and other materials what words could not possibly capture. Through the extraordinary works they left behind we can see through their eyes what life during this thrilling and turbulent period was really like, not just for the celebrities and the wealthy, but for the millions of war widows, orphans, disfigured and disabled veterans, and the millions of others struggling to make a living while trying to make sense of this new uncertain world.

ICH BIN EIN BERLINER: Verist Portraits of the Weimar Era

On view at Galerie Glitzern und Schicksal

1920s Berlin Project Sim, Second Life

NOTE: Painting Credit: Artist Christian Schad, Agosta the Winged Man and Rascha, the Black Dove, 1929

IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD

TRAVEL IF YOU CAN

There is nothing like venturing far from home. Whether you physically pack your bags and travel, or you travel virtually through books or in the game Second Life, it can clear the cobwebs that develop when your days and nights are filled with the same old, same old.

I've taken to spending Sundays focused on far away places. It gives me a fresh perspective on my own life.

Jazz Baby Productions had fun working with Gstone Turas on her latest edition of Berliner STYL Magazine. It's a Special Travel Edition and although fashion is the centerpiece, the creators and builders of the sims deserve much of the credit. Wanderlust is a German word that expresses precisely how a person can be overwhelmed by the desire to travel.

Who has not dreamt of living in the 1920s during the Golden Age of Travel, when the pace of getting from one place to another was much slower. I imagine that there was ample time for leisurely dining, and great conversation in a multitude of languages. I long for that time, but I do sometimes appreciate the speed of modern life - in the blink of an eye we can connect with the people and the places that we long for.

2nd Annual Miss Berlin Contest

Jazz Baby Productions
Sponsors
2nd Annual Miss Berlin
Beauty and Talent Contest

Second Life avatar Gstone Turas is producer for the event which will take place at the Odeon Theater on August 13th.

New stage sets have been created for the event. This year a talent show will be part of the competition.

Contestants will be judge in Swimsuit, Talent and Eveningwear categories.

Contact Gstone Turas inworld by notecard or IM for more details. Competition posters are on view in 1920s Berlin Project Sim landing area and at Del Sol Sun & Swim Shop in Las Lagunas Sim.

DEL SOL SUN & SWIM

Warm and sunny Las Islas on Las Lagunas Second Life Sim is the inspiration for this line of vintage ladies sun wear fashions and accessories.

Looking for stylish and tasteful swim and sun wear? The classic Del Sol silhouette is tailored to fit, and attractive on even the curviest gals! New swim and sun styles are introduced often.

For questions contact Gstone Turas by IM or notecard inworld.

ENJOY THE SUN!

The New Negro

The “New Negro,” is a term taken from the title of Alain Locke’s 1925 collection of poetry, prose, art and essays. It represents the undeniable excellence and influence of black culture during the Harlem Renaissance.

The revival was broader than just Harlem; it took place in St Louis with Jazz, in Chicago with the Blues, and other cities too.

Imagine the Jazz Baby as inspiration for this famous Langston Hughes poem:

DREAM VARIATIONS

To fling my arms wide

In some place of the sun,

To whirl and to dance

Till the white day is done.

Then rest at cool evening

Beneath a tall tree

While night comes on gently,

    Dark like me--

That is my dream!

To fling my arms wide

In the face of the sun,

Dance!  Whirl!  Whirl!

Till the quick day is done.

Rest at pale evening . . .

A tall, slim tree . . .

Night coming tenderly

    Black like me.

FLORENCE MILLS "LITTLE BLACKBIRD"

FLORENCE MILLS was born on January 25, 1895, in either Washington, D.C., or Virginia. The facts about her early life are uncertain. She was considered to be a child prodigy and was winning dance contests when she was virtually a toddler. At the age of 4 she was specially featured in "A Trip to Coontown." She made her first stage appearance at the age of eight in Williams and Walker's "Sons of Ham" in Washington, D.C. She was billed as "Baby Florence Mills" and sang "Miss Hannah from Savannah," a song she learned from Aida Overton Walker. Her family moved to New York where she and her two sisters worked in vaudeville as the Mills Trio. Florence played vaudeville until she was 25 years old, teaming up with people like Ada "Bricktop" Smith and Cora Green.

Sadly there are no existent audio or film recordings of Florence Mills, but from the numerous playbills, and sheet music portfolios it is clear that she was a sensational performer.

Ethel Waters : Jazz Baby Great

Ethel Waters was a major singing and acting star during the Harlem Renaissance period, and was the second African American to be nominated for an Academy Award. At a time when opportunities in entertainment were few for blacks, Ethel made the most of every opportunity she was offered. She performed regularly on Broadway beginning with the show "Hello 1919", and then in Hollywood films including "Rufus Jones for President", "Cotton Club", and Director Vincente Minelli's "Cabin in the Sky". Her classic phrasing as a singer on such songs as "Stormy Weather" and her best-known recording of the spiritual "His Eye is on the Sparrow" cemented her legacy, earning her a Grammy Hall of Fame Award.