What do you guys use to see who links to your blog? I'm not talking blogrolls here, I'm talking about knowing who links to a particular post of yours, or to your blog in general.
I was using Technorati's watchlist thingy, but they've changed it and I have no idea how to find what I need anymore.
What do you recommend that's easy to use? This may come as a surprise to you, but I'm not exactly tech savvy.
Dec 31, 2007
Dec 29, 2007
Make It Stop: ?uestlove's reaction to "2 Girls, 1 Cup"
If you know anyone in college right now, I'm sure they've made you watch that nasty-ass flick, "2 Girls, 1 Cup." I'm not linking to that madness. You can YouTube that ish.
That video has spawned oodles of videos that highlight people's reactions to the video itself. This video, showing ?uestlove's reaction, is my FAAAAAAAVORITE. Courtesy of Nigga Know.
One love.
(If you can't see the video, click here instead.)
That video has spawned oodles of videos that highlight people's reactions to the video itself. This video, showing ?uestlove's reaction, is my FAAAAAAAVORITE. Courtesy of Nigga Know.
One love.
(If you can't see the video, click here instead.)
Dec 28, 2007
Wii, Wii, Wii
My cousin and her husband scored a Nintendo Wii for Xmas this year, and we spent most of Xmas eve playing tennis on the Wii. She and I were both on the tennis team in high school, which made for some pretty interesting rallies.
That being said, I think I can take on this kid - his backhand sucks:
That being said, I think I can take on this kid - his backhand sucks:
Hello Kitty. For the Menz.
The good folks at Sanrio have announced that they're launching a Hello Kitty line of clothing and accessories tailored to an often-neglected segment of their demographic: Men.
Yeah. Good luck with that one. It's bad enough that, in Thailand, wearing Hello Kitty armbands is considered a form of punshment.
Yeah. Good luck with that one. It's bad enough that, in Thailand, wearing Hello Kitty armbands is considered a form of punshment.
Dec 27, 2007
I believe the children are our future
If I ever have a kid, I'm going to teach him/her to bust out one hell of a side eye. On cue. Like this baby:
(Props to Crunk & Disorderly for the link.)
(Props to Crunk & Disorderly for the link.)
Dec 25, 2007
Dec 24, 2007
R.I.P. Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake
Theresa Duncan and Jeremy Blake In July of this year, Artist Jeremy Blake, 35, took off his clothes and walked into the ocean seven days after his partner of 12 years, Screenwriter/Writer/Blogger Theresa Duncan, 40, washed down a handful of Tylenol PMs with a glass of bourbon.
The January 2008 issue of Vanity Fair has a great article, "The Golden Suicides," on this young, artistic, glamorous, and deeply troubled pair, which I read last week.
I don't follow the art community, but something about their story intrigues me. Could it be their glamorous existence? Their strong, artistic promise snuffed out so early? The squandering of Jah-given gifts? The fact that Theresa set up two blog posts to show up posthumously? That they thought Scientologists were trying to bring them down?
There are so many layers, I can't help but be drawn to their story. Part of it is some kind of macabre curiousity, sure. But also, whenever a young life (in this case, two), so filled with promise leaves this earth so unexpectedly, we are all affected by it in some way. I can't even fathom the logic that caused them to make the decision to end their lives, but I can only hope that these two souls found the answers to the questions they were seeking.
And that those they left behind begin to heal.
Happy Holidays
To the two or three people who still come to this blog on the regular, and to the numbers of you still coming to this site to watch the brazilian bikini wax video or to read my Project Runway recaps, I want to wish you all the best this holiday season.
My gift to you: Some Santa kid torture pics. Don't tell me I'm not a giver. Enjoy!
My gift to you: Some Santa kid torture pics. Don't tell me I'm not a giver. Enjoy!
I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the movie "Bad Santa" was inspired by this guy.
This one is my favorite. At least the mom took the time to pose and look at the camera while hauling away her crying kid.
Classic.
You can almost hear this one.
This one is just funny.Dec 22, 2007
Tonight is the night
I'm turning (gulp) 35 this year. Thirty. Fucking. Five.
In three days.
I'm a little freaked out. It's kind of a big deal.
So to start things off on the right foot, my friend and I are celebrating our birthdays tonight at a double super-secret location in Oakland.
It's gonna be fierce; please believe it. Be afraid, Oaktown. Be very afraid.
Dec 20, 2007
Now you know how it feels.
Some people find empathy in shared experiences; some find it after rubbing colloidal silver on their skin:
(Photo credit: FNC)
[Paul] Karason, who recently moved from Oregon to Madera, Calif., said it hasn't been easy living with blue skin.Yeah, yeah. I linked to FOX News. They had the best picture.
"I do tend to avoid public places as much as I can," he said.
Karason made the move in hopes of fitting in a little better.
"I hope that they just accept me," he said, "And I think that will happen here. Where I was, I rather doubt it would have. This is different kind of community here."
(Photo credit: FNC)
Dec 16, 2007
Where the magic happens
In honor of Show Your Blog Space Day, here's mine. My couch. My laptop. The TV.
Who's on the TV, you ask? Rachel Ray, at the moment. I can't stand the woman, but watching Sunday morning cooking shows is part of my routine. Don't judge.
No, I'm not trying to re-enact "The Ring" here. My digital camera is totally fucked. Whatever. You get the idea.
This is totally embarassing, this picture. I hate my camera right now.
Who's on the TV, you ask? Rachel Ray, at the moment. I can't stand the woman, but watching Sunday morning cooking shows is part of my routine. Don't judge.
No, I'm not trying to re-enact "The Ring" here. My digital camera is totally fucked. Whatever. You get the idea.
This is totally embarassing, this picture. I hate my camera right now.
Dec 12, 2007
Project Runway After Party - Season 4
Episode 5: "What's the Skinny?"
(Or alternatively, "In Which Jillian Reveals to Us That She is a Robot")
Everyone’s bummed that Chris got kicked out on the last episode.
Jack tells us that he’s had several staph infections before, and that what he thought was a zit on his face might not be as inocuous as that at all.
Heidi comes out on the runway, spreads her legs and tells the designers that they’re going to meet their models. Except that they’re women wearing clothes that are several sizes too big. Turns out that each of these women have recently lost a “significant” amount of weight, and the clothes they’re wearing were their favorite outfits. Each woman introduces herself and how much weight they’ve lost. One woman lost 160 pounds. Holy. Mother. Of. Jah.
Of course, I’m jealous of them already.
Christian looks at the models and tells us that he’s going to die. Again.
Each model gets assigned a model, and they’re all hoping they don’t get the woman who’s wearing the super sized wedding dress, and I don’t quite understand why. I think I missed that tidbit while I was picking up my jaw off the ground after hearing how much weight these women lost.
The designers go back to the workroom to get more details from Tim, who tells them that they have until midnight to complete the challenge. But first, he reads aloud a note that Chris left behind while everyone cries.
The models come into the workroom and the designers consult with them on potential designs. Christian freaks out because his model doesn’t wear dresses, doesn’t like to show her arms, doesn’t like to wear prints and only wears pumps during lunar eclipses. Or something.
Steven begins to catalog all of the atrocious elements on the wedding dress. Acetate lace. Copious amounts of buttons. Lots of satin. He dry heaves at Mood.
At Mood, we notice that Jillian is, quite possibly, a robot. A soft-spoken robot.
Steven decides to f*ck effort and gets black stretchy fabric and to only use the wedding dress elements as trims. Uh oh.
Back to the workroom!
Jack’s face is starting to swell up, and he calls his doctor. He reminds us that he's been HIV-positive for 17 years. His viral load, I’m sure, is pretty low, and that staph infections could happen to anyone. His doctor tells him that he needs to pursue a more aggressive treatment tactic.
Tim comes in, as if by magic, and asks him how he’s doing. They come back and he calls a Gather Round. Jack tells them that he has to leave the show to get medical treatment. Everyone is upset and crying. They all say goodbye.
Not so much of the shocker I was expecting. Maybe because I was scooped last week. (You know who you are!)
We all know that Jack comes out of things well, since we’ve heard he started dating that guy from Top Chef!
Back in the workroom, Ricky’s trying on his model’s jeans to see how they look with pumps.
Sorry babe, you’re not getting on my good side, even with this cross-dressing tactic.
So, to fill the void left behind by Chris’ and Jack’s departures, they bring back … Chris! He gets Jack’s model and has the option of staying the night in the workroom to get his garment done.
He better cry and cut!
(P.S., I am going to try to work in that Zulema catch phrase in every recap.)
Chris tells us that he can particularly relate to this challenge since he’s been on every diet known to man and has probably lost about 1500 pounds. I hear you, sister!
Christian’s outfit – a fitted jacket – is looking quite awesome, actually. He seems to agree:
“It’s very fierce, Tim. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Tim warns Elisa that her look doesn’t reflect her client’s style.
Steven tells Tim that he doesn’t “do” white polyester satin.” Tim tells him he’s “very courageous” in his decision not to include the garment.
Tim advises Chris to avoid the costumey factor, and that some of the worst decisions Tim’s made have been at 3 a.m., which cracks everyone up.
Tim’s freaky deaky. Who knew?
Everyone goes home for the night, except Chris, who elects to stay and work through the night. That would totally suck if he got asked to come back to the show, only to get the boot again!
The next morning, the designers come back to the workroom and Chris is snoring on the couch. We also see Jillian walking into the workroom, expressionless. The woman is a robot. I’m convinced.
Hair and makeup. Yadda yadda.
Ricky cries while his model tells him that she hopes he does well.
The clock is ticking and Christian is freaking out. I have to say though, that his freaking out is pretty graceful, seeing as how he’s just flitting about the room. He finishes his garment with glue.
Y’all know what that means.
On to the runway!
This week’s guest judge is Patrick Robinson, head designer for GAP. I wonder how long he’s designed for GAP, as I haven’t bought anything from there since high school!
Christian, Elisa, Steven Jillian, Chris, and Kevin make it to critique.
Jillian, as Kors says, made a beautiful dress, but it didn’t incorporate a lot of fabric.
Elisa’s dress – sorry, “day trousseau” – was very … Elisa. I was a little bored by it. As a non-skinny person, the last thing I want to do is wear layers and layers of fabric. But, because the crunchy-granola-hippie-chick-space-cadet we all love to hate wanted layers, that’s what she got. The coolest part about the outfit is that her model gave us the Sign O’ the Beast before walking off.
She’s so hardcore!
Heidi notices that Jillian’s dress isn’t made out of the original garment; she just used the original garment for piping. But, overall, the judges loved the dress.
Kevin’s tube top was totally sexy and looked great on his model. His model absolutely loved it too. Kors hated the leggings. I did too.
Chris, the comeback kid” was very costumey, but he makes it to the next round. Kors likens it to Paris 1957 and warns him about falling into the cliché trap. All she needs is a beret, a baguette and one of those long-stemmed cigarette holder things.
Steven’s dress was “French maid at a funeral,” Kors says. He really didn’t take the opportunity to make something new out of that horrendous wedding dress.
Sidebar: Steven, why have this kind of snobbery about the fabric? The phrase “it’s a competition” has somewhat become clichéd nowadays, but it’s so true. Steven had a golden opportunity to showcase his skills as a designer here, but he got caught up in how much he hated the fabric, so much so that it stifled his creativity. You know the fabric is shit. The judges know the fabric was shit. If you had only went for it, the fabric would have been taken into consideration, I’m sure. But whatever.
Anyway. Back to the recap.
Christian wins the challenge. Christian’s garment, I thought, was one of the best. His jacket (I smell a theme here) was constructed beautifully, and the pleating along the whatchamacallit looked incredibly finished. Deconstructionist at the core. I totally want that jacket. He managed to keep his designer aesthetic while making a design that looked like something his model would actually buy.
Steven gets a well-deserved Auf. Jillian does the robot walk off of the runway.
See you next week!
(Or alternatively, "In Which Jillian Reveals to Us That She is a Robot")
Everyone’s bummed that Chris got kicked out on the last episode.
Jack tells us that he’s had several staph infections before, and that what he thought was a zit on his face might not be as inocuous as that at all.
Heidi comes out on the runway, spreads her legs and tells the designers that they’re going to meet their models. Except that they’re women wearing clothes that are several sizes too big. Turns out that each of these women have recently lost a “significant” amount of weight, and the clothes they’re wearing were their favorite outfits. Each woman introduces herself and how much weight they’ve lost. One woman lost 160 pounds. Holy. Mother. Of. Jah.
Of course, I’m jealous of them already.
Christian looks at the models and tells us that he’s going to die. Again.
Each model gets assigned a model, and they’re all hoping they don’t get the woman who’s wearing the super sized wedding dress, and I don’t quite understand why. I think I missed that tidbit while I was picking up my jaw off the ground after hearing how much weight these women lost.
The designers go back to the workroom to get more details from Tim, who tells them that they have until midnight to complete the challenge. But first, he reads aloud a note that Chris left behind while everyone cries.
The models come into the workroom and the designers consult with them on potential designs. Christian freaks out because his model doesn’t wear dresses, doesn’t like to show her arms, doesn’t like to wear prints and only wears pumps during lunar eclipses. Or something.
Steven begins to catalog all of the atrocious elements on the wedding dress. Acetate lace. Copious amounts of buttons. Lots of satin. He dry heaves at Mood.
At Mood, we notice that Jillian is, quite possibly, a robot. A soft-spoken robot.
Steven decides to f*ck effort and gets black stretchy fabric and to only use the wedding dress elements as trims. Uh oh.
Back to the workroom!
Jack’s face is starting to swell up, and he calls his doctor. He reminds us that he's been HIV-positive for 17 years. His viral load, I’m sure, is pretty low, and that staph infections could happen to anyone. His doctor tells him that he needs to pursue a more aggressive treatment tactic.
Tim comes in, as if by magic, and asks him how he’s doing. They come back and he calls a Gather Round. Jack tells them that he has to leave the show to get medical treatment. Everyone is upset and crying. They all say goodbye.
Not so much of the shocker I was expecting. Maybe because I was scooped last week. (You know who you are!)
We all know that Jack comes out of things well, since we’ve heard he started dating that guy from Top Chef!
Back in the workroom, Ricky’s trying on his model’s jeans to see how they look with pumps.
Sorry babe, you’re not getting on my good side, even with this cross-dressing tactic.
So, to fill the void left behind by Chris’ and Jack’s departures, they bring back … Chris! He gets Jack’s model and has the option of staying the night in the workroom to get his garment done.
He better cry and cut!
(P.S., I am going to try to work in that Zulema catch phrase in every recap.)
Chris tells us that he can particularly relate to this challenge since he’s been on every diet known to man and has probably lost about 1500 pounds. I hear you, sister!
Christian’s outfit – a fitted jacket – is looking quite awesome, actually. He seems to agree:
“It’s very fierce, Tim. It’s kind of a big deal.”
Tim warns Elisa that her look doesn’t reflect her client’s style.
Steven tells Tim that he doesn’t “do” white polyester satin.” Tim tells him he’s “very courageous” in his decision not to include the garment.
Tim advises Chris to avoid the costumey factor, and that some of the worst decisions Tim’s made have been at 3 a.m., which cracks everyone up.
Tim’s freaky deaky. Who knew?
Everyone goes home for the night, except Chris, who elects to stay and work through the night. That would totally suck if he got asked to come back to the show, only to get the boot again!
The next morning, the designers come back to the workroom and Chris is snoring on the couch. We also see Jillian walking into the workroom, expressionless. The woman is a robot. I’m convinced.
Hair and makeup. Yadda yadda.
Ricky cries while his model tells him that she hopes he does well.
The clock is ticking and Christian is freaking out. I have to say though, that his freaking out is pretty graceful, seeing as how he’s just flitting about the room. He finishes his garment with glue.
Y’all know what that means.
On to the runway!
This week’s guest judge is Patrick Robinson, head designer for GAP. I wonder how long he’s designed for GAP, as I haven’t bought anything from there since high school!
Christian, Elisa, Steven Jillian, Chris, and Kevin make it to critique.
Jillian, as Kors says, made a beautiful dress, but it didn’t incorporate a lot of fabric.
Elisa’s dress – sorry, “day trousseau” – was very … Elisa. I was a little bored by it. As a non-skinny person, the last thing I want to do is wear layers and layers of fabric. But, because the crunchy-granola-hippie-chick-space-cadet we all love to hate wanted layers, that’s what she got. The coolest part about the outfit is that her model gave us the Sign O’ the Beast before walking off.
She’s so hardcore!
Heidi notices that Jillian’s dress isn’t made out of the original garment; she just used the original garment for piping. But, overall, the judges loved the dress.
Kevin’s tube top was totally sexy and looked great on his model. His model absolutely loved it too. Kors hated the leggings. I did too.
Chris, the comeback kid” was very costumey, but he makes it to the next round. Kors likens it to Paris 1957 and warns him about falling into the cliché trap. All she needs is a beret, a baguette and one of those long-stemmed cigarette holder things.
Steven’s dress was “French maid at a funeral,” Kors says. He really didn’t take the opportunity to make something new out of that horrendous wedding dress.
Sidebar: Steven, why have this kind of snobbery about the fabric? The phrase “it’s a competition” has somewhat become clichéd nowadays, but it’s so true. Steven had a golden opportunity to showcase his skills as a designer here, but he got caught up in how much he hated the fabric, so much so that it stifled his creativity. You know the fabric is shit. The judges know the fabric was shit. If you had only went for it, the fabric would have been taken into consideration, I’m sure. But whatever.
Anyway. Back to the recap.
Christian wins the challenge. Christian’s garment, I thought, was one of the best. His jacket (I smell a theme here) was constructed beautifully, and the pleating along the whatchamacallit looked incredibly finished. Deconstructionist at the core. I totally want that jacket. He managed to keep his designer aesthetic while making a design that looked like something his model would actually buy.
Steven gets a well-deserved Auf. Jillian does the robot walk off of the runway.
See you next week!
Dec 5, 2007
Project Runway After Party - Season 4
Episode 4: “Trendsetter”
(aka “A Trip Down Fashion Memory Lane” or, alternatively, “I’m Totally Over Ricky Already”)
Because last week’s episode didn’t use any of the female models, there were four models that were up for dismissal. Since Jack won the challenge, he had the option to either stay with the same one or switch it up. So, Jack takes Ricky’s model, and Ricky, of course, takes it personally.
Wasn’t Ricky the one who was just reminding us in the last episode that it was a competition?
Heidi tells the designers that Tim’s in the workroom with a special guest to give them their challenge. When the designers arrive, they find Tim and NINAGARCIA there, standing next to 12 mounted photographs of “really hideous fashion trends,” says Chris.
NINAGARCIA tells them that throughout the decades, Elle has photographed the evolution of trends for decades. (Sidebar: The photo with Elle Macpherson in the cutout dress was one my first Elle issue that I bought.) These trends are out. Jillian’s feeling all molded because she’s wearing overalls, and that’s one of the fashion “don’ts” displayed there.
Everyone picks one of the outdated trends.
The challenge: Work in teams of three to create an updated and cohesive three-look collection that incorporates all three outdated trends.
The budget: $225
Timing: Two days
The teams (and the outdated trend they each picked) are:
Strategy wise, some teams choose to incorporate all three outdated trends into each garment; some chose to tie everything together through use of fabrics and color.
Christian calls his team “Team Star,” because they’re all stars, and they’re fun, and stars are fierce or something. I totally want to be on Team Star, because they’re “hot. Like, celebrity.”
Fierce.
Meanwhile, on other teams:
Ricky explains to Elisa how to make clothes, using the same kind of hippy, dreamy, ephemeral language she understands, because he used to be a dancer. He’s the team interpreter. I found it kind of odd how Ricky and Victorya assigned themselves roles – like, Victorya was going to be the mediator and Ricky was going to be a whiny bitch. What?
Jillian’s freaking out because Kevin isn’t making his pattern correctly.
Chris’ team is working way, flying under the radar, with Steven doing a poor Tim Gunn impression. Sorry my dear, you're no Santino!
On day 2, everyone’s all smiles walking into the workroom, but the day has just started!
Victorya tells us she doesn’t like to be a “bossy cow,” but that’s what she ends up being, anyway. What makes it worse is that she delivers her opinions with a really calm voice. She tries to give feedback to Ricky’s garment, but Ricky ignores her.
Tim does everyone a favor and brings in the models for an initial fitting, and Sweet P stresses out because she thinks Steven’s garment doesn’t work well with the other clothes.
Jillian’s freaking out because their overalls ended up being too big.
Victorya says that the clothes looked so harlequiney, and so she assures her model that the black and fuchsia color-blocked bustier would be totally different tomorrow. Ricky retaliates by giving Victorya some feedback on her garment, and gets pissed at her for doing exactly what he did to her the day before.
Rami and Jillian are still freaking out because Kevin isn’t anywhere near finished with his garment.
Team Star meets with Tim, who says their collection is very modern.
When he goes to Sweet P’s team, he says he doesn’t see the cohesion, and it’s Steven’s garment that isn’t working out. Tim says that all the garments all look like Jillian. Tim Ricky is stressed out, and Tim tells them it’s not looking refined and well finished. Victorya tells Tim that she would have tweaked the silhouettes a little. Ricky chimes in, but Victorya hits her with a “can I finish?”
It’s on.
The two of them chat, and she asks him, in a honey voice that belies the bossy cow underneath, “I want to ask you, why you wanted to be team leader.”
No she didn't!
Ricky calls her passive aggressive. I kind of agree, and it’s that kind of passivity/aggressivity that just sneaks up on you behind your back, and next thing you know, you’re filled with rage! If Victorya was going to act this way, she should have just stepped up and been the team lead for this challenge.
Ricky still bugs me though. I think he has some massive, crazy-ass negative energy around him – it’s messing with my aura!
Jillian and Rami are still worrying over Kevin’s shorts, and Rami and she agree to disagree on how to fix it. Meanwhile, Ricky and Victorya have a therapy session in the hallway.
Elisa is concerned because she’s feeling the disturbances in Ricky and Victorya’s auras. Ricky and Elisa are done with their garments. Victorya is still working on her garment because she changed it at the last moment.
Ricky feels like he needs to pull a rabbit out of his ass to make it work. Awesome! That’s what this show is all about!
Models come back for a final fitting.
Ricky tells Victorya that she needs to make some adjustments to her bodice, “coz right now, you’re flattening her bust.”
“I like that,” coos Victorya.
Um, WHAT? Hello, dude’s made a living making lingerie. Why would you want your girls all flattened out?
So he re-pinned the bodice, Victorya marinated over it a bit, and decided she liked it. Oy. I've decided that the both of them are killing me softly with their egos.
Speaking of egos, can I just say that I love Christian more now? He abbreviates words, just like I do. For example, when he saw the final looks, he said it was “feroshhhh.”
Christian, you’re fierce. I’m Asian; I’m fierce. Let’s be fierce together!
On to the runway!
Heidi announces that Team Jillian wins the challenge, and I agree; it was the most cohesive look. I liked how they incorporated the denim in each garment. The overalls didn't even look half bad.
Team Passive/Aggressive and Team Chris had the lowest scores.
During critique, Donna Karan, this week’s guest judge, says that there is no movement or liquidity, but she loves Sweet P’s dress. Sweet P starts crying. The judges say that Chris’ outfit still looks dated. It’s like “beauty pageant in camel,” says Kors. NINAGARCIA says that his dress doesn’t look relevant for today. “How can you be a leader, if you can’t even lead yourself?” she asks Chris.
Team Passive/Aggressive’s flaw was problems with construction. About Victorya’s dress Donna Karan said it was fitted well, and she gives props to Ricky for that last-minute advice; however, his garment itself sucked in terms of construction Ricky says that it was because of him helping his teammates. Elisa tries to stick up for him, but Ricky’s choice of having the duchess satin was his flaw. Victorya breaks it down for Kors about their working relationship, and Kors says it shows.
Heidi asks the teammates again that eternal question “Who should go,” and everyone answers. Elisa, ever the ambassador of free love, says that she herself should go, and that’s her standard default position on any and all such matters.
While the judges deliberate, I deliberate on how much work Donna Karan had done to her face. My god! She’s five procedures away from being Jocelyn Wildenstein!
Chris is out. Boo. I’m so over Ricky and his hats.
Is next week going to be the week where we get the big Jack revelation?
See you next time!
(aka “A Trip Down Fashion Memory Lane” or, alternatively, “I’m Totally Over Ricky Already”)
Because last week’s episode didn’t use any of the female models, there were four models that were up for dismissal. Since Jack won the challenge, he had the option to either stay with the same one or switch it up. So, Jack takes Ricky’s model, and Ricky, of course, takes it personally.
Wasn’t Ricky the one who was just reminding us in the last episode that it was a competition?
Heidi tells the designers that Tim’s in the workroom with a special guest to give them their challenge. When the designers arrive, they find Tim and NINAGARCIA there, standing next to 12 mounted photographs of “really hideous fashion trends,” says Chris.
NINAGARCIA tells them that throughout the decades, Elle has photographed the evolution of trends for decades. (Sidebar: The photo with Elle Macpherson in the cutout dress was one my first Elle issue that I bought.) These trends are out. Jillian’s feeling all molded because she’s wearing overalls, and that’s one of the fashion “don’ts” displayed there.
Everyone picks one of the outdated trends.
The challenge: Work in teams of three to create an updated and cohesive three-look collection that incorporates all three outdated trends.
The budget: $225
Timing: Two days
The teams (and the outdated trend they each picked) are:
- Rami (poodle skirt), Jillian (overalls), Kevin (70’s flare)
- Kit (fringe), Christian (zoot suit), Jack (pleather)
- Victorya (underwear as outwear), Ricky (neon), Elisa (cut outs)
- Sweet P (baggy sweater), Steven (dancewear), Chris (shoulder pads)
Strategy wise, some teams choose to incorporate all three outdated trends into each garment; some chose to tie everything together through use of fabrics and color.
Christian calls his team “Team Star,” because they’re all stars, and they’re fun, and stars are fierce or something. I totally want to be on Team Star, because they’re “hot. Like, celebrity.”
Fierce.
Meanwhile, on other teams:
Ricky explains to Elisa how to make clothes, using the same kind of hippy, dreamy, ephemeral language she understands, because he used to be a dancer. He’s the team interpreter. I found it kind of odd how Ricky and Victorya assigned themselves roles – like, Victorya was going to be the mediator and Ricky was going to be a whiny bitch. What?
Jillian’s freaking out because Kevin isn’t making his pattern correctly.
Chris’ team is working way, flying under the radar, with Steven doing a poor Tim Gunn impression. Sorry my dear, you're no Santino!
On day 2, everyone’s all smiles walking into the workroom, but the day has just started!
Victorya tells us she doesn’t like to be a “bossy cow,” but that’s what she ends up being, anyway. What makes it worse is that she delivers her opinions with a really calm voice. She tries to give feedback to Ricky’s garment, but Ricky ignores her.
Tim does everyone a favor and brings in the models for an initial fitting, and Sweet P stresses out because she thinks Steven’s garment doesn’t work well with the other clothes.
Jillian’s freaking out because their overalls ended up being too big.
Victorya says that the clothes looked so harlequiney, and so she assures her model that the black and fuchsia color-blocked bustier would be totally different tomorrow. Ricky retaliates by giving Victorya some feedback on her garment, and gets pissed at her for doing exactly what he did to her the day before.
Rami and Jillian are still freaking out because Kevin isn’t anywhere near finished with his garment.
Team Star meets with Tim, who says their collection is very modern.
When he goes to Sweet P’s team, he says he doesn’t see the cohesion, and it’s Steven’s garment that isn’t working out. Tim says that all the garments all look like Jillian. Tim Ricky is stressed out, and Tim tells them it’s not looking refined and well finished. Victorya tells Tim that she would have tweaked the silhouettes a little. Ricky chimes in, but Victorya hits her with a “can I finish?”
It’s on.
The two of them chat, and she asks him, in a honey voice that belies the bossy cow underneath, “I want to ask you, why you wanted to be team leader.”
No she didn't!
Ricky calls her passive aggressive. I kind of agree, and it’s that kind of passivity/aggressivity that just sneaks up on you behind your back, and next thing you know, you’re filled with rage! If Victorya was going to act this way, she should have just stepped up and been the team lead for this challenge.
Ricky still bugs me though. I think he has some massive, crazy-ass negative energy around him – it’s messing with my aura!
Jillian and Rami are still worrying over Kevin’s shorts, and Rami and she agree to disagree on how to fix it. Meanwhile, Ricky and Victorya have a therapy session in the hallway.
Elisa is concerned because she’s feeling the disturbances in Ricky and Victorya’s auras. Ricky and Elisa are done with their garments. Victorya is still working on her garment because she changed it at the last moment.
Ricky feels like he needs to pull a rabbit out of his ass to make it work. Awesome! That’s what this show is all about!
Models come back for a final fitting.
Ricky tells Victorya that she needs to make some adjustments to her bodice, “coz right now, you’re flattening her bust.”
“I like that,” coos Victorya.
Um, WHAT? Hello, dude’s made a living making lingerie. Why would you want your girls all flattened out?
So he re-pinned the bodice, Victorya marinated over it a bit, and decided she liked it. Oy. I've decided that the both of them are killing me softly with their egos.
Speaking of egos, can I just say that I love Christian more now? He abbreviates words, just like I do. For example, when he saw the final looks, he said it was “feroshhhh.”
Christian, you’re fierce. I’m Asian; I’m fierce. Let’s be fierce together!
On to the runway!
Heidi announces that Team Jillian wins the challenge, and I agree; it was the most cohesive look. I liked how they incorporated the denim in each garment. The overalls didn't even look half bad.
Team Passive/Aggressive and Team Chris had the lowest scores.
During critique, Donna Karan, this week’s guest judge, says that there is no movement or liquidity, but she loves Sweet P’s dress. Sweet P starts crying. The judges say that Chris’ outfit still looks dated. It’s like “beauty pageant in camel,” says Kors. NINAGARCIA says that his dress doesn’t look relevant for today. “How can you be a leader, if you can’t even lead yourself?” she asks Chris.
Team Passive/Aggressive’s flaw was problems with construction. About Victorya’s dress Donna Karan said it was fitted well, and she gives props to Ricky for that last-minute advice; however, his garment itself sucked in terms of construction Ricky says that it was because of him helping his teammates. Elisa tries to stick up for him, but Ricky’s choice of having the duchess satin was his flaw. Victorya breaks it down for Kors about their working relationship, and Kors says it shows.
Heidi asks the teammates again that eternal question “Who should go,” and everyone answers. Elisa, ever the ambassador of free love, says that she herself should go, and that’s her standard default position on any and all such matters.
While the judges deliberate, I deliberate on how much work Donna Karan had done to her face. My god! She’s five procedures away from being Jocelyn Wildenstein!
Chris is out. Boo. I’m so over Ricky and his hats.
Is next week going to be the week where we get the big Jack revelation?
See you next time!
Dec 3, 2007
Bad kissers don't get to second base
At least, that's what this article claims:
Okay, I am. A little.
(Props to Ceci for the link.)
In a study published recently in the scientific journal "Evolutionary Psychology," 59 percent of men and 66 percent of women said they've been in the position of being attracted to someone -- until they kissed the person.Good thing my technique is totally on point. Not that I'm bragging or anything.
"At the moment of the kiss, there's a very complicated exchange of information ... that may tap into underlying evolved mechanisms" cluing us in on whether we're genetically compatible, explains Gordon Gallup, co-author of the study and professor of psychology at the State University of New York at Albany. "A kiss can be a deal-breaker in terms of whether a relationship will flower or flounder, so to speak."
Okay, I am. A little.
(Props to Ceci for the link.)
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