Fashion Sensei Says…

 

Land’s End Fantasy Island

Lands End, the go-to retailer for the over 30 swimwear set, wants  to help you relax while shopping for your summer suit by whisking you off to your own private island to shop. 

I took a little trip over to Land’s End.com to see what they were up to.  The sound of  gentle rolling waves had me feeling relaxed immediately.  I thought to myself; “This is good”.  No whining 4 year old complaining; “Maahm I waaant to go hooome!” 

So if you want a little private time to surf for some new suits, head over to Lands End.  They don’t have a virtual dressing room to escape looking at those last 10lbs you want to lose, but they do have a few swimsuits that may make you look 10 lbs thinner.

 

 

Do Men Wear Thongs?

Ok, I have been out of the dating scene for some time now—11 years—so I don’t have much of a reference point for today’s dating scene, but I read an article in today’s WSJ highlighting men’s choices in underwear.  The article is entitled High Anxiety in the Underwear Department.  I mean—are men really anxious about their underwear choices?  Come on single readers, what is going on out there?  Are men wearing thongs?  Really? 

BTW, I was going to use a  picture of a man wearing the thong, but even the online catalogue picture seemed a little obscene. 😉

I’m taking a poll ladies, leave me your thoughts.

 

 

Move Somethin’!

I’m not usually one to follow celebrities too closely—let alone subscribing to their blog or website.  So I surprised myself when I subscribed to Gwyneth Paltrow’s blog, GOOP.   It covers things to  MAKE, DO, BE, SEE, GET and GO.  In today’s newsletter, she has asked famous folks from the music industry, DJ AM, Samantha Ronson (LiLo’s girlfriend) and others to share their favorite party tunes.

It was a welcome list being that I haven’t updated my MP3 player in some time.  Here are a few of my favorite dancin’ tunes.  Feel free to share yours.

“Oh What A Night”  Franki Valli version

“Call Me” Blondie

“Jump Around” House of Pain

“Boom Boom Pow”  Black Eyed Peas

“Paralyzer” Finger Eleven

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Agyness Deyn A Rocker?

Not satisfied entirely with the modeling world, Agyness Deyn & FIVE O’CLOCK HEREOS have teamed up in “Who”.  It has a real 80’s sort of feel.  After listening to it a few times, I really kinda like it.

Deyn is no stranger to the music world.  Josh Hubbard of The Paddingtons has been Deyn’s beau since 2004.  She also posed with the band in 2007 for Vogue (sorry I can’t find the pic from that issue.)

Photo Source

In other Agyness news, it seems she is now a dummy; a fashion dummy that is.  The 50 year old  British mannequin company Adel has immortalized the supermodel in mannequin form and will be holding a party for the figure on May 20th in Chelsea, NY.

Source: The Fashion Spot/ avant-garb.net

 

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Madonna- 4 Minutes

I intended to post this over the weekend when I write about Pop Culture and the like, but I was just too busy.

Madonna is releasing her newest CD tomorrow and I wanted to share with you her latest video 4 Minutes.

 

I thought it was pretty cool and the song is definitely ipod worthy.  Did you notice the treadmill routine?  Not as cool as the original, but interesting none the less.

What do you think?

 

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Dr. Pepper Free Soda Publicity Stunt

I have been waiting since Wednesday to write about this shameless attempt at publicity.  It seems that Dr. Pepper will offer everyone in America a free soda if Axl Rose will release Chinese Democracy in 2008.

For those of you too young to remember, Axl Rose was in a band called Guns N’ Roses and is credited for songs like “Welcome to the Jungle” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine”.  Here’s a video…

Good Lord, the hair!

I digress, back to Chinese Democracy.  The album has been in the works for some 17 years now and has cost an estimated $13 million dollars thus far.  It seems that he has made numerous announcements that the work is being released and he will be going on tour only to recant.  Maybe he was too busy getting into fights with the likes of Tommy Hilfiger.  Remember that story? 

Dr. Pepper goes on to say that everyone sans GNR members Slash and Buckethead are eligible for the free soda.

“It took a little patience to perfect Dr Pepper’s special mix of 23 ingredients, which our fans have come to know and love,” said Jaxie Alt, director of marketing for Dr Pepper. “So we completely understand and empathize with Axl’s quest for perfection — for something more than the average album. We know once it’s released, people will refer to it as “Dr Pepper for the ears” because it will be such a refreshing blend of rich, bold sounds — an instant classic.”

Yes, well I haven’t ever though of anything as “Dr. Pepper for the ears” before.  If that isn’t enough, Dr. Pepper has created its own blog to express your support and adoration of Axl and his endeavor at: www.chinesedemocracywhen.blogspot.com 

I wonder how much Dr. Pepper spent on this ad campaign and who thought it was a good idea. 

 *UPDATE*

11/21/08  It looks like it’s time for Dr. Pepper to pay up!  Chinese Democracy is set to hit stores on Sunday.  According to news reports, Dr. Pepper will be giving out coupons on their website, but for only 24 hours.

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More Flight of The Conchords

While researching an article in Maxim for today, now tomorrow’s post, my eyes were immediately drawn to this photo.

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am a big fan of the breakout HBO series Flight of the Conchords and their “folk-parody”. 

Jermaine Clement (34) the hunk of burnin’ love to the left and his fellow Kiwi band mate Bret McKenzie (31) met at Victoria University where they later dropped out of school.  Prior to their breakout success, Clement who studied theater and film, was the voice of Outback Steakhouse.  McKenzie a former music and engineering student, won followers as an extra in the Lord of the Rings series.

Now, they have become stars and in the most recent issue of Maxim, the magazine explores the unlikely sex symbols success and the pressures that ensue with fame. 

I doubt whether this issue weighs on the guys minds presently, considering they are slated for a second season of their HBO hit series and will be releasing a new CD on May 12 (according to NME.com).  Their first full length album is set to include 14 songs including the two songs I featured in my last post; ‘Business Time’ and ‘Hiphoppotamus vs Rhymenoceros’.

Check out this behind the scenes video from their Maxim photo shoot and their silly “mustachioed guitar faces”.

 

 

Click here to read the entertaining article in its entirety.

 

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Open your mind to a different language

Hi guys, I typically post really light hearted things on this blog; especially on the weekend.  But this weekend I wanted to post something that I found truly inspirational, fantastic and very close to my heart.

I urge all of you who consider yourself to be an open minded person to watch this video of Amanda Baggs from start to finish.  It will be very strange to some of you, but I promise that by the end, you will have something very interesting to think about.

Have you ever felt like you are misunderstood or don’t exactly fit in?  I think we all have.  Now consider Amanda Baggs who communicates via a computer.  She is living with autism, and has a powerful message about who she is and the world she shares with us.

You may gain a better understanding behind her unusual behavior and what an amazing mind she has.

I also urge you to read some of the comments posted on You Tube from people who have watched this video.

Here is an excerpt from Wired magazine in reaction to Amanda.

This movement is being fueled by a small but growing cadre of neuropsychological researchers who are taking a fresh look at the nature of autism itself. The condition, they say, shouldn’t be thought of as a disease to be eradicated. It may be that the autistic brain is not defective but simply different — an example of the variety of human development. These researchers assert that the focus on finding a cure for autism — the disease model — has kept science from asking fundamental questions about how autistic brains function. A cornerstone of this new approach — call it the difference model — is that past research about autistic intelligence is flawed, perhaps catastrophically so, because the instruments used to measure intelligence are bogus. “If Amanda Baggs had walked into my clinic five years ago,” says Massachusetts General Hospital neuroscientist Thomas Zeffiro, one of the leading proponents of the difference model, “I would have said she was a low-functioning autistic with significant cognitive impairment. And I would have been totally wrong.” (wired)

To read more about Amanda click herefor a link to her blog.

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Whose Your Grammy?

Tonight, the Grammys will celebrate it’s 50th year of honoring the best in music.  But before I get to the music, last night, In Style magazine teamed with the Grammys to celebrate “Grammy Salute to Fashion”. 

This 10 min fashion show, showcased collections by Beyonce, Jennifer Lopez, Sean Combs, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Simpson.

It’s hard to judge the show based on the photos available by the AP, but here are a couple of shots from the Jessica Simpson swimsuit collection.

While looking through the shots provided by In Style.com, it was hard for me to take the whole thing seriously when they featured Miley Cyrus.  Look, I have nothing against Ms. Cyrus, but when I think of high fashion or fashion at all, she is not anyone who would come to mind.  But I digress.

Lets get to the music end of this post as promised.  I will warn you in advance that I am a big Amy Winehouse fan.  Unfortunately, Winehouse has enough scandal and trouble to give Brittney a run for money. Tonight because her visa approval came too late, she will be preforming via satellite.

In the lineup tonight, expect to see performances of some truely eclectic duos.  First on my list is Rihanna who will be backed up by the fabulous 80’s group the Time.  Does anyone remember them?  I rocked my Ice Cream Castles tape back in the day! 

Some other notable performances will be Beyonce/Tina Turner, and the casts of Cirque du Soleil and the film “Across the Universe” will collaborate on a medley of Beatles music.  There will be more, but do you really care about Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli?  They are incredible talented, but just not my genre.

Other things to look forward to, will Kanye finally win or will he throw a tantrum like he did at the MTV awards? And what fashion disasters can we expect? Plenty I’m sure.

I was going to list several categories and the artists, but it would make this post massively long.  Instead here are just a couple of the categories.  I have put in bold my choices.  For a full list, click here, but I would love to hear what you think.  Who do you want to win? 

RECORD OF THE YEAR

* Irreplaceable
Beyonce

* The Pretender
Foo Fighters

*Umbrella
Rihanna Featuring Jay-Z

* What Goes Around…Comes Around
Justin Timberlake

* Rehab
Amy Winehouse

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

* Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace
Foo Fighters

* These Days
Vince Gill

* River: The Joni Letters
Herbie Hancock

* Graduation
Kanye West

* Back To Black
Amy Winehouse

BEST NEW ARTIST

* Feist  (If you haven’t checked her out yet you should. Click here.)

* Ledisi

* Paramore

* Taylor Swift

* Amy Winehouse

POP Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
(For a solo vocal performance. Singles or Tracks only.)

* Candyman
Christina Aguilera

* 1234
Feist

* Big Girls Don’t Cry
Fergie

* Say It Right
Nelly Furtado

* Rehab
Amy Winehouse


 
Photo and Material Sources: AP, LA Times, Wikipedia, Detroit Free Press, AOL Music

**UPDATE**

Sorry I couldn’t help myself.  Here’s a photo of last night’s performance.

Source: People.com

Best Ringtones for a Lover or an Ex

Get out and Vote takes on a new meaning with Virgin Mobile’s new poll on the most popular ringtones for a lover or ex.  (It’s a clever Valentine’s marketing idea.)

According to a Feb. 8 press release from PRNewswire, Virgin Mobile USA conducted a  “survey of Americans ages 18-49, asking them to rate their top ringtones and ringback tones for the current or “ex” loves of their lives.”

 Here are the results:

Significant Other

“No One” by Alicia Keys

“My Girl” by The Temptations

“Wish You Were Here” by Pink Floyd

“She’s Everything” by Brad Paisley

“Make Me Feel Better” by Fabulous

Ex

 “I Hate Everything About You”

“Irreplaceable”by Beyonce

“Since You’ve Been Gone”by Kelly Clarkston

“Over You”by Chris Daughtry

 “Ex-Girlfriend”

To see other categories like Worst Song for Valentine’s Day, Best Song about Cheating, Best Hook-Up Song and Song to Lose Virginity To check out Virgin Mobile USA for all the results.

What about you?  What are your favorite ringtones?