Fashion, or Something Like It

Recently, New York City held the Council of Fashion Designers of America awards- a huge huge deal for the fashion industry.

*photo courtesy of jared.buzznet.com

Anyway, I caught sight of Hilary Duff's sparkling Michael Kors dress and it proves again how much I love her recent fashion choices. Seriously, I know when people see the name Hilary Duff they think, "yeah yeah, perky blonde teen Disney star, what else is new?" But do you see her getting DUI's, stealing, stumbling out of clubs drunk, or being admitted to rehab? Absolutely not!

Her style has definitely become her own too.

*photos courtesy of hilarystyle.org and people.com

Fashion Blues

I don't want this to turn into any sort of gossip writing , but thought this was definitely important.

Very, very famous and iconic designer Yves Saint Laurent passed away today at 71. He is an icon in the fashion world.

When Heath Ledger passed away earlier this year, there was a lot of controversy on why his death was so highlighted when so, so many people die every day. Of course it's sad when ANYONE dies, but the reason celebrities' passings are made so public are because they're just that-celebrities, aka in the spotlight. They are recognized and followed by many for a great talent of theirs, and it's tragic when they pass and they can no longer share and improve on their talent for the world to see.

Some of his talented designs below (from the YSL site):

MTV

Wow wow wow! The only highlight of the Music Television's MTV MOVIE awards, which was pretty much a huge advertisement for Mike Meyers and his new movie "The Love Guru," was Seth Rogan and his co-presenter smoking, as they were commenting on exactly what they were doing as they were doing it, at the award platform on stage!!

I'm pretty sure they actually did, as I could tell by the camera's shots of the reaction from the shockes audience members.

The whole time this went on on the stage, the only shot of the presenters was from the furthest away camera, probably from the balcony, where you could barely make out who they were. It was pretty funny!!

Web

Cool site: IBeatYou.com

Users create various competitions- by video- that other users can enter in.

No more explaining needed, you just have to go to it for yourself! I looked around, but the video that drew me into the site was a piece made by a marine and his dedicated girlfriend.

Needs to be Fixed

The subject of teen car crashes seems to me like it's been on the rise in the media. Is the media just featuring more of this topic, or are there actually more incidents of car crashes involving teeangers? The article, distributed by PRnewswire.com, emphasizes the important role of parents in all this.

When I was at home, especially since I can remember starting in 2005 at my first year in college, I remember hearing about a ton of crashes involving teens in my area and surrounding areas. The causes including drunk driving, speeding, risky behavior behind the wheel, and accidents.

I think that parents should definitely be monitering their kids closely, especially when driving at young ages. The article also suggests having talks with your kids- which may sound cheesy, unnecessary, or uncomfortable. But it doesn't have to be long AND can make a huge difference.

The things parents say to their kids mold and shape them, and since this topic proves fatal, it's really important that this is paid attention to and addressed.

Why Don't You Do Something

Being lazy on a Saturday.. but summer school is over in 2 weeks and then it's back to Illinois!

Speaking of Florida..

The Boston Globe is reporting on considered plans for what to do about the Florida and Michigan votes.

The primaries for both states were, against rules, moved to later dates than scheduled this Jaunuary. Both remained on the Florida ballot, while Obama took his name off of the Michigan ballot.

Clinton is calling for full votes, while Senator Obama is calling for "half" votes. What?! What's a half vote- what's the point? Clinton just wants the full numbers to prove the polls wrong.

*photo courtesy of nytimes.com

I don't understand why they wouldn't just count ALL the votes, not "half-votes."



Recount: Part 2, is already in production..

Great Great Great Music

THE HOODIES! Really good pop/indie/punk music. (can indie and punk go together..?)

Oh well, these guys are good and have great, catchy songs.
Their song "Elegy" reeled me in right away!!

Hey Chicago what do ya say..

This is awesome! A compilation of spirited tunes supporting the Cubs is released for purchase. As a Chicago Cubs baseball fan, this is something that it seems only huge enough fans would purchase. Good to see the support of the Chicago Cubs team though.

But I kind of think a portion of the proceeds should go to one of the organizations the Chicago Cubs has donated to.

Just my opinion for someone who made a CD about the Cubs with track titles such as "Everywhere I go, go Cubs," and "Let Your Cubs Flag Fly."

SATC

No, I didn't see Sex and the City yet. But I saw a clip on VH1 where SATC'S Kim Catrall said there is a surprise ending, and a bunch of characters (from Jason lewis to Sarah Jessica Parker) pretty much hinted toward that same idea.

I just thought it was going to be a 2 hour episode of Sex and the City- which isn't a bad thing! But now that I know that there's a "surprise ending," I'm even more excited to see it.

Now I'm just scared that there will be spoilers all over tv, the Internet, and with people talking that I can not hear!!

Texas Polygamy Ranch...

Ok so I addressed the news about the Texas Polygamist ranch child custody case a couple days ago. I came across this article in the NY Times. There's a ton of information about the case and individual instances in this lengthy article.

There just seems to be more and more evidence that illegal acts are more possible than ever to have occured on the ranch with underage kids. But I just can't help thinking it's still very very sad how these YOUNG kids were whisked away from their families how they were.

I understand that it was for safety reasons of course for the kids, but the fact that the court overturned this ruling based on no evidence just proves for controversy in this case.

That's definitely not to say court rulings are always just and valid. But, these children will be affected for the rest of their lives because of this, not to mention their exposure from the huge media spotlight.

Late Night

I'm a huge huge Conan O'Brien fan, and one of the shows originally aired awhile ago was aired this week..

*photo courtesy of huffingtonpost.com

I couldn't go without posting the very funny video clip from one of my favorite segments of his!!

Go green

Besides turning the water off while brushing my teeth (most of the time) I'm trying again to help the environment. I'm not buying water bottles anymore (which is pretty much the only thing I drink every day) and bought a Pur filter for the sink.

I also bought one of those Starbucks mugs that keeps cold liquids cold and hot liquids hot (I never drink coffee and needed to make use of my Starbucks giftcard sometime!), to carry around clean, filtered water in.

Totally doing my part!

Gas and Music

Article from thedailychorus.com



"My Thoughts....
After reading a recent Chicago Tribune article on how gas prices are affecting touring bands, it made me want to re-emphasize the importance of online sales (and community) to a band's success.



There are several bands on our Top Unsigned list selling over 5,000 songs (a couple over 10,000) on iTunes a month and about half are selling about 1,000 a month.Until producers costs come down, the costs of recording an album will be the same. But singles are what people want now.



People want to pay for good songs, not an album of fillers. Incorporating exclusive merchandise with new singles is a way to create income.



There is a lot of money to be made by unsigned bands. It is an unsigned market.Find forward-thinking management. That is key. Research and find licensing deals with merch and distribution.



Many companies are shifting their business models to take on unsigned bands. Don't let the rising gas prices and falling CD sales scare you. It should only shift your bands business model to a more profitable future, that's less dependent on labels.



Posted by tim.towner on May 29, 2008"



*photo courtesy of http://www.bized.co.uk

This is so so well-said! It's exactly to the point about the position of the music industry NOW. This is definitely something that should be addressed, as the music industry is changing with the rise of popularity of unsigned bands and independent labels. i.e.: artists/managers/etc supporting themselves!!!



These artists are reprenting a bigger piece of the industry now. I definitely agree with what Towner has to say about how business models should adjust accordingly in these new times for music.



That said, it's important for the band to work hard for this as well. It's unlikely that the band itself can do this without the help of promoters, managers, and/or agents.



I learned from the CEO of a social media marketing firm here in Orlando that the bands should create and perform the music and instead of trying to juggle promotions, websites,and materials, to hand it over to professionals, which is a great business decision.



It's not necessarily about the money for marketing companies, but about GREAT promoting of the entire package. Not just flyers. Not just websites. Not just fan interaction. But all of that and more must be paid attention to in order for a band to become a success. Plus, the band has to be able to deliver and attract crowds in a unique way- the most important aspect in my opinion. Producing new ways, especially with technology and the internet, are great starts to gaining some sort of incoming dollars for the band.



According to a recent panel of music industry execs and musicians themselves at the Florida Music Festival, a lot of people in the music business are solely in it for the money. But, again as an optimist, I think that there are a lot of people on the business side of music who begin with a passion for music- at least I would hope so! Such a shame if that's not the majority of cases..


Still don't know a ton about how this business works, but just some thoughts.

Rock Star Syndrome

*photo courtesy of allposters.com

According to the Associated Press, Steven Tyler entered rehab for peace and quiet to recover from physical therapy.

The article ended with this sentence, "The 60-year-old was known for heavy drug and alcohol abuse in the 1970s and early 1980s, but completed rehabilitation in 1986, after which Aerosmith enjoyed a successful revival."

Let him be! If Tyler's going for addiction problems, he should be commended for trying to get better.

Needs to Stop

I'm a huge believer in equality- between EVERYONE. One shouldn't judge anyone based on anything- that says it all. There have been a high number of student crimes in Chicago, which is so so terrible.

These kids are just that- kids, and they're passing way way before their time due to violence, gangs, and overall differences.

It's hard to say what needs to be done to stop this, and I know it's not just in Chicago and needs to stop. There's no reason for this kind of violence to be going on; the reasoning comes down to differences between people.

Why judge other people? Why resort to VIOLENCE and crimes? The effort for after school programs , activities, and such to keep kids "off the streets" has potential but obviously it needs a lot more work.

Maybe the schools need to be more involved with their students, maybe not. It's hard to say, there are factors to consider for both sides.

Should the teachers with their already full days be reponsible for students after school hours? Is it the school's responsibility, in teaching a well-rounded curriculum and giving a good education to kids, to enforce programs or should that be led by outside organizations? Is it poor education in itself leading to children getting into trouble out of school hours?

It's not necessarily about the school itself, but it has got to be someone's responsibility to better the lives of kids and keep them out of trouble.

A cool example of some programs in Chicago.

Speaking of Florida..

Watching "Recount" on HBO.

Especially is interesting in how they don't show the faces of actors playing Bush and Gore.

*Update: It's a documentary with real footage of the news from the election day until the Supreme Court ruling to reject the recount.

It was actually really good, I'd watch it again; it's a pretty fast-paced piece. The acting was really good and like the reviews said, the film went into a lot of detail about events during those weeks that maybe the average person hadn't known.

Oh, and Kevin Spacey, who always chooses interesting roles, is also good.

Tech Tech Tech

*photo courtesy of cnet.com

attention alien lovers? Check out this new laptop, called the Alienware Area 51 m15x (from boutique manufacturer Alienware).

This picture shows the colors on the keyboard- one cool feature of this is that you can customize your color.

It's going for 5,000$$$. Cool to look at though.

for the children..

*photo courtesy of cnn.com

In The Texas Polygamy child custody case, a court ruling has been issued and the 400 kids taken away from their parents will be returned.

Upon discovering the polygamist ranch, the children were taken away based on reports of "abuse."

So sad for those kids to be taken away from their families quickly, but critics say there was no evidence to whisk them away from their families.

This is such a controversial case, but hopefully the truth will be found out. I'm an optimist and hope that as mothers, these women wouldn't let anything bad happen to their own children. It looks like it will be a drawn out case to get to the bottom.

TV Land

Love my daily O.C at 4pm, thanks Soapnet!

The Difference Between Want and Need

Love this dress above from Urban Outfitters.

Isn't it perfect for like a date night? I just need to find the date part.

Math Rules!

15 more minutes til stats test, and that's 15 minutes I have to start and finish studying

White House Rendezvous

The White House is defending President Bush and the Administration against commentary in Scott McClellan's new piece, "What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception."

(photo courtesy of amazon.com)

"If he had these moral qualms," former Chief of Staff Karl Rove says, "he should have spoken up about them."

In the book, McClellan addresses the Administration's response to Hurricane Katrina, Iraq, as well as various figures in the White House.

Oh well, let freedom of speech be.

I mean, I understand their need to defend against what they may see are false claims or altered ideas and events and their questioning of credibility and why he only chose to speak up now.

It's hard what to believe anymore, it's kind of like O.J. Simpson's former (agent?) speaking out about how O.J. confessed to him and his new published book- which was widely questioned on why this man published his book years after the verdict.

Anyway, like said I'm all for freedom of speech. What is this gonna do anyway, bring the polls down.. more?

Sex And The City

The day before the big opening, Sex and the City reviews are mostly all in. With words like "half-hearted," none of the reviews are looking good!!! Also, apparently boom mics were seen in some of the scenes- where's the editing on this high-budget movie?

Won't stop anyone from seeing it though. As a pop culture phenomenon, it probably doesn't matter if the movie was the worst in the world, the money is still gonna be brought in.

Taking over the world one young person at a time

Yeaaah for young people!

HOME

A friend told me I might be sad coming from warm Orlando weather home to cold weather in IL. Ahhhh.

YouTube is still taking over..

Does anyone else love watching covers on YouTube? Once I get started, it's hard to stop.

From the network that gave us The Hills, Next, and Undressed..

Just like the show "Celebrity Rehab" on VH1 glamourized addiction, rapper T.I., convicted of possession of firearms along with other crimes is set to star in a documentary about his community service. Oh, and the conclusion will be when he starts his jail sentence.



*photo courtesy of tvguide.com

Jail, felon, firearms- just because it's a celebrity at hand, does that make it right to glamourize his or her wrongdoings by creating a documentary on very popular tv networks geared toward younger viewers?

MTV already pushes buttons, with its lack of music on a music television network (recently called out by artists Justin Timberlake and Pete Wentz) or its change to not tape Total Request Live.. well, live.

Celebrities of ANY kind should not receive compensation of any kind, let alone "hit" TV shows, for breaking the law! MTV knows it attracts younger viewers; this sends out a very poor and irresponsible message to them.

Why should this convict literally receive star treatment and star in his own show for committing a crime? Doesn't make any sense.

Think of Twitter as a 24/7 Facebook status.

Whoa, Twitter. Still a little young to get the real use out of Twitter, it's pretty interesting to see how important and, *cough* "busy" business people make use of their day. Just kidding..

But really, it sort of puts everyone on the same level which is cool. Also an efficient stalking method where the "stalkee" will never know you are doing so. It'll be cool once I have good stuff to "Twit" about.