Hair

I have been thinking a lot about hair lately. It's really cold outside, and the hair on my head does little to keep me warm and I think I started thinking about hair today after I saw a content, furry dog, who did not seem to mind the cold. However, there are other reasons that make me think of hair, namely the fifth grade.
In the fifth grade I usually wore my hair in braids or twists. I don't have many pictures from this time but my mom often combed my hair in plaits or box braids. Occasionally, I also had cornrows which were uber-cool and usually done in intricate patterns. Sundays for me was the worst day of the week. On that day my mom would put my sister and I in the bathtub and wash our hair. Afterward, I would always call my sister Chaka Khan, because her hair always looked huge and poofy and crazy; then, without fail I would have my hair combed out first. I would shut my eyes and try to imagine playing Donkey Kong.
Sundays like the one described happened like clock-work during my childhood. In the fifth grade, things changed. I went to Junior High School and encountered girls who rolled up their uniform skirts to show more leg and had shiny, silky hair and shiny sweet smelling lip gloss. There was a girl in my Spanish class, Zima, who fit this profile and the boys were always talking to her. I failed that class because I was usually staring at Zima who sat in front of me and because I was sort of a slacker in the 5th grade. The boys in the class usually made fun of me and occasionally Zima would come to my defense but otherwise she rarely acknowledged me. I was so envious and enamored. I wanted boys to talk to me too and make jokes with me instead of about me. One boy in the class said I was halfway decent but insisted that I needed a relaxer. My hair looked to childish and the boy assured me that it was better to have a perm. "My mom has one," he said confidently. I knew he was right and followed his advice. I didn't want to look like such a kid. After all, I was in junior high.
I had these dreams about having straight hair and wearing red lipstick. I would always wake up disappointed to find my braids (even though I was only 10 and it was an appropriate look). I finally asked my mom for a perm and after some perseverance and persuasion she gave in. I went to school with my new straight hair. My art teacher Mr. Haggerty made a comment that went something like: "Who is that new beautiful girl?" And the other students noticed my long, silky hair, which was past my shoulders and stunning. Before the perm, my hair never lay flat, it just stuck up or out. The new me was a vast improvement or so I thought...
Being "beautiful" came with its consequences. One was an awful smelling garlic deep conditioner that my sister and my brother's girlfriend insisted was great for relaxed hair. I hated the way it made me tingle and I wanted to puke when I smelled it. Going to the Dominican hair salon once was also a bad experience. I had to sit on a phone book at the shampoo sink because I was so small and all I could remember was the discomfort my neck was in leaning my head back into the sink, while trying to keep my body upright to reach the sink. Then there was also the hot blow dryers, the rollers and the flat irons. Bottom line, this was not a fun way to spend a day for a kid. My hair became troublesome and I was too lazy to keep up with it. Also, one day I switched the brand of relaxer that I used, which is not advised. It turns out that my hair got too damaged and I had to cut most of it off. This also meant that I had to grow my hair out and for awhile the bottom near the roots was thick, while the ends were raggedy and straight-ish. My dreams were shattered after I went through a time consuming chemical process that got me nowhere. Boys still continued to pick on me and girls continued to make me envious. On top of that I was on probation in that grade, which meant I had enough failures to have something like detention during my lunch periods. I guess my head was in the wrong place but as an adult I realize now how much it doesn't matter. But, imprinted in the minds of many people is the belief that cascading, long and flowing hair is feminine and attractive but as a woman of predominately African descent I wasn't built that way and people should be OK with how I am. It is something so trivial and yet so controversial and strange to talk about. But my question sincerely is: why do black girls put themselves through so much to fit into an ideal of beauty that excludes them. Why want to be included into that category anyway? Don't get me wrong, hair is cool and people have a right to make their own choices but I can't help wondering why this practice is so widespread and why so many people aren't good enough the way they were made.

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Greetings Family and Friends!

What is Hare's Eye?

Hare's Eye is a short story by a Russian writer, Dmitry Bakin. Currently, a group of Brooklyn College undergraduates and graduate students are adapting the short story into a short film.

Hare's Eye takes place in the military, but it does not have to do with war. It deals more with the internal thoughts or psyches of soldiers. The themes pertain to how they dream or feel about the world and military life.

We have already shot two days worth of footage! Our set was wonderful and built by a classmate, Hugh. I, Affea T. Henriques, was the casting director and I am the script supervisor. You'll notice my classmates in the pictures moving props, operating sound and video equipment. Usually classes do not produce large films, but we are very ambitious and we love learning about the different jobs in the film industry. Being casting director was really awesome! I looked through photo submissions and resumes until I found the right guys! They are really amazing actors and one performer, Andrew Ash, graduated from Yale with an M.A. in Drama. Our director, Flemming Laursen, is a talented MFA student who has experience in the Danish military. He cares passionately for this movie because currently many of his friends are in Afghanistan.

You may be wondering why we are asking for money. The reason is that we want to make our film as professional as possible. We are not your typical college students and we don't intend to make a "low-budget" movie with o.k. props. We rented actual military uniforms and did a lot of research about military life. We spoke to soldiers about their experiences. We built a realistic set with the finest materials.

Bottom line--we want to make a fantastic, kick-butt movie! Help us! Depending on your donation amount, you can get a free copy of our movie or be invited to our release party. If you give us enough you will be listed in the credits as executive producer. Please donate at our kickstarter page:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1069727883/hares-eye

Thanks for reading and considering this investment!

Sincerely,
Affea T. Henriques

Adaptation of Morning Breakfast

I really love directing movies and I had so much fun with this! It is based on the poem "Morning Breakfast" by Jacques Prevert. It was an awesome experience and a fun day! I would definitely like to make a movie again. For some reason I only have ideas for horrors and suspense. You'll notice that my movie is quite morbid! You can also watch a movie that I was in, directed by Youssef Lehnin. He adapted the same poem. All films and the poem can be found below:

"Unfortunate" from Head Make Book on Vimeo.

Below is the poem it is based on:

Breakfast

He poured the coffee
Into the cup
He poured the milk
Into the cup of coffee
He added the sugar
To the coffee and milk
He stirred it
With a teaspoon
He drank the coffee
And put back the cup
Without speaking to me
He lit a cigarette
He blew some rings
With the smoke
He flicked the ashes
Into the ashtray
Without speaking to me
Without looking at me
He got up
He put his hat
On his head
He put on
His raincoat
Because it was raining
He went out
Into the rain
Without a word
Without looking at me
And I
I took my head
In my hands
And I wept

Enjoy and please comment!

More Pics!

I went to Toledo and Escorial, two cities not far from Madrid. There are these amazing structures that were built centuries ago. Imagine the wealth the dead kings must have had! It was built in the 1500s.

There were a lot of ghosts! In El Monasterio del Escorial there are rooms full of coffins. El Monasterio del Escorial is a huge palace-like structure where Felipe II spent his winters. Complete with galleries, offices, bedrooms, salons, and a Basílica. It was creepy because the people were still rotting away inside a castle (you can smell the funk of 4000 years-seriously). The royal family was incestuous and pretty wicked. They were pretty strange people. (Obviously, they are all together inside their winter home and it has been centuries since they died.)

I wish I could show the coffins but they prohibit photos inside and a security guard was already pissed at me for crawling into a fireplace.



part of the monasterio




Me in Escorial


Toledo was cool, but it rained all day. Here are some photos....

City walls


A really old mosque that was converted into a church.


View of Toledo


This church took 200 years to build


Inside of the church

There was this weird hypnotic video about the priest who decided this church needed to be built...

The castle in segovia

Disney stole this idea! There is a picture of the coronation of Queen Isabella inside the castle and she has no pupils. It´s so creepy. The artist drew her without eyes because the day she was coronated happened to coincide with the day that St. Lucy is celebrated. She is the patrion saint of the blind. The painting was so creepy that I didn´t take a picture of it.

a closer look of some photos

Me in Segovia










Segovia has an aqueduct that is 2000 years old










Driving from Segovia

a closer look of some photos