While the African continent is vast and its peoples diverse, certain standards of beauty and correctness in artistic expression and physical appearance are held in common among various African societies.
Taken collectively, these values and standards have been characterised as comprising a generally accepted African aesthetic.
In African Art in Motion, African art scholar and Yale professor Robert Farris Thompson turns his attention to cool in both the African and African-American contexts:
Cool & Dre are a team of American record producers and songwriters from North Miami, a suburb of Miami, Florida, consisting of Marcello "Cool" Valenzano and Andre "Dre" Christopher Lyon.
The duo started their own record label, Epidemic Records. They signed a contract with Jive Records in 2003 concerning the distribution of their first artist, Dirtbag.
In August 2010, the duo officially partnered with Cash Money Records. In April 2011, the duo signed a deal with Interscope Records through Cash Money (the first time Cash Money is under another Universal label), also to distribute their label Epidemic Records.
"Cool" is a song by The Time, released as the second single from their eponymous debut album. Like most of the album, the song was recorded in Prince's home studio in April 1981, and was produced, arranged, and performed by Prince with Morris Day later adding his lead vocals. The song was co-written with Revolution guitarist Dez Dickerson and contains background vocals by keyboardist Lisa Coleman, however both were uncredited.
The funk-pop relies heavily on synthesizers to provide both the bass and melody for the upbeat song. A guitar solo is present and a relatively simple drumbeat drives the song along. "Cool" sets up the persona created for Day as a wealthy playboy, one who is also popular, and of course, "cool". Day built a career around the persona. Prince's backing vocals are very apparent in the song, especially in the chorus.
The classic video for the song is directed by Chuck Statler, who is best known for directing the early Devo videos.
"Cool" was only issued as a 7" single with an edit of the song and a continuation as the B-side. The full version was only released on the album and on a promo release. One of The Time's more popular numbers, "Cool" is a staple in concert and a live version of the song recorded at the House of Blues in 1998 was included on Morris Day's 2004 album, It's About Time.
Lobster is a magazine that is interested primarily in the influence of intelligence and security services on politics and world trade, what it calls deep politics or parapolitics. It combines the examination of conspiracy theories and contemporary history.Lobster is edited and published in the United Kingdom and has appeared twice a year for 32 years, at first in 16-page A5 format, then as an A4 magazine. Operating on a shoestring, its distinguished contributors include academics and others. Since 2009 it is distributed as a free downloadable PDF document.
According to the Hull Daily Mail, Lobster 'investigates government conspiracies, state espionage and the secret service.' In 1986 the magazine scooped mainstream media by uncovering the secret Clockwork Orange operation, implicated in trying to destabilise the British government. Colin Wallace, a former Northern Ireland army intelligence officer described how he had been instructed to smear leading UK politicians. Questions were asked in the House of Commons and an extended scandal ensued.
Lobster is a novella written by Guillaume Lecasble, translated by Poly McLean and published in the UK by Dedalus Books in 2005.
The novel received positive reviews in the press. Nicholas Lezard, in The Guardian, enjoyed Lobster, concluding "There was a Lobster-shaped hole in world literature which has now been neatly filled by this remarkable work.".
In The Daily Telegraph, Sam Leith recommended it in a list of 'Mad Stuff'.
In Kirkus Reviews, the novel received a positive review which recommended it as a "brief, bizarre, boiling broth of surrealism, romantic fatalism and slapstick."
Publisher's Weekly also enjoyed the novel, calling it "both tender and appalling".
Song, LLC was a low-cost air service within an airline brand owned and operated by Delta Air Lines from 2003 to 2006.
Song's main focus was on leisure traffic between the northeastern United States and Florida, a market where it competed with JetBlue Airways. It also operated flights between Florida and the West Coast, and from the Northeast to the west coast.
Song's aircraft were fitted with leather seats and free personal entertainment systems at every seat, with audio MP3 programmable selections, trivia games that could be played against other passengers, a flight tracker, and satellite television (provided by the DISH Network). Song offered free beverages, but charged for meals and liquor. Both brand-name snack boxes and healthy organic meals were offered. The flight safety instructions were sung or otherwise artistically interpreted, depending on the cabin crew. In addition to crew uniforms designed by Kate Spade, customized cocktails created by nightlife impresario Rande Gerber and an in-flight exercise program designed by New York City fitness guru David Barton, the airline created its own distinct mark in the industry. The Song brand was placed on more than 200 flights a day which carried over ten million passengers.
Song is the third and final album of Lullaby for the Working Class. It was released October 19, 1999 on Bar/None Records.