RIP Tamara Dobson aka Cleopatra Jones

From the AP:

BALTIMORE -— Tamara Dobson, the stunning Amazonian model-turned-actress who portrayed a strong female role as Cleopatra Jones in two so-called blaxploitation films, has died.

Dobson, 59, died Monday of complications from pneumonia and multiple sclerosis at the Keswick Multi-Care Center, where she had lived for the past two years, her publicist said.

Dobson was born in Baltimore and graduated from Western High School. She began her modeling career in fashion shows at the Maryland Institute College of Art and then moved to New York. She appeared in many magazines, including Vogue and Essence, and television commercials for Faberge, Chanel and Revlon.

As a huge fan of the 70s blaxploitation films, "Cleopatra Jones" was one of my favorite flicks, having first hearing about her when Ladybug from Digable Planets shouted her out on the group's hit single "Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat)". And while she suffered in the limelight that was Pam Grier (as Foxy Brown) at the time, Dobson still represented back in the day with her tall figure, hella' sexy looks, style and fashion acumen (as proven by the fact that she was one of the first Black supermodels).

As Cleopatra Jones, Dobson played a street-smart, special agent on a quest to wipe drugs and drug dealers off the face of the planet. Simply put, Cleopatra Jones had it goin' on: an intelligent Black woman who was loyal to her man, could make any man turn his head and kick your ass at the same time if you ever disrespected her. Her main nemesis was a drug kingpin played by Shelley Winters (yeah, that Shelley Winters) who messes with Cleo's man as well as her rehab house. This was a really cool film from the Blaxploitation genre and the fact that it had a higher budget than most films from that era, made it much easier to watch than the other well-known flicks (including the legendary "Shaft"). Word has it that Beyonce's character "Foxy Cleopatra" in Austin Powers "Goldmember", was based on Cleopatra Jones.

RIP Tamara Dobson

Bob Dylan Quote Of The Week

“Well, for me there is no Right and there is no Left. There’s truth and there’s untruth, y’know? There’s honesty, and there’s hypocrisy. Look in the Bible, you don’t see nothing about Right or Left. Other people might have other ideas about things, but I don’t, because I’m not that smart. I hate to keep beating people over the head with the Bible, but that’s the only instrument I know, the only thing that stays true.”

- Bob Dylan, in 1986, when asked to confront rumors that he is a conservative

[Source]

Politiks As Usual: 10/3/06

Katie Couric back in 3rd Place where she belongs

Bill Clinton still at it: hits on a married woman

When It Comes To Sex Scandals, Democrats Are Hypocrites

Joe Lieberman Holds 10-point lead in Connecticut Senate Race

Anna Nicole Smith Exploits Son's Death to the tune of over $500,000

New Study Says That Kids Shouldn't Watch TV on a School Night

Chris Matthews Disses President Bush on Jay Leno

Hip-Hop Pioneer Kurtis Blow Starts Gospel Record Label with Hip-Hop Music

911 Caller Quote Of The Week

"He told me that he had a loaded gun on him and he'd have no problem shooting me."

- 911 caller, who was allegedly threatened by a fellow shopper scrambling to get the new TMX Elmo doll.

GOP Should've Outed Mark Foley Last Year

This scandal could've and should've just been about that disgusting creep Mark Foley, but it sounds like instead of reporting him to the proper authorities immediately upon finding out that he was a pedophile, the GOP was more concerned about protecting one of their own. And if that's the case they deserve all the heat just waiting to fall on them.

(AP) Rep. Thomas Reynolds, head of the House Republican election effort, said Saturday he told Speaker Dennis Hastert months ago about concerns that a fellow GOP lawmaker had sent inappropriate messages to a teenage boy. Hastert's office said aides referred the matter to the proper authorities last fall but they were only told the messages were "over-friendly."

Reynolds, R-N.Y., was told about e-mails sent by Rep. Mark Foley and is now defending himself from Democratic accusations that he did too little. Foley, R-Fla., resigned Friday after ABC News questioned him about the e-mails to a former congressional page and about sexually suggestive instant messages to other pages.

"The improper communications between Congressman Mark Foley and former House Congressional pages is unacceptable and abhorrent. It is an obscene breach of trust," Hastert, R-Ill., Majority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., said in a written statement Saturday evening. "His immediate resignation must now be followed by the full weight of the criminal justice system."

The House leaders said it is their duty to ensure House pages are safe. They said they are creating a toll-free hot line for pages and their families to call to confidentially report any incidents, and will consider adopting new rules on communications between lawmakers and pages.

Of course, if you believe in karma like I do (and it find it ironic that this brouhaha involves a senator from Florida), somehow, someway you hope that Katherine Harris (whom the GOP has recently sold out) can benefit from all of this.