America’s Next Top Model

Biracial Photo Shoot

This image does not represent Biracial American’s as a whole.

I want to know your opinions?

Ok, so total shock to me ! Tyra Banks photo shoot on America’s Next Top Model, had models painted in dark makeup to represent Biracial Americans. I am the first to vouch and say, that I have no skin pigment and i am Biracial. Everyone should know that Biracial Americans range from many skin tones. Some of us are dark skinned- all the way to- light-skinned. That is an irrelevant situation in all terms, for the simple reason that one model can not represent us all. We Biracial Americans come in all shades, and the Human Race is uniquely created.

This article really blew me out the water, but I am glad to know that Tyra Banks did apologize for the mishap on her talk show. Her Response: “I apologize because that was not my intent,” “It’s my number one passion in my life to stretch the definition of beauty. I listen to many heartbreaking stories of women who thought they would be happier if they looked different. I want every girl to appreciate the skin she’s in.”

I will link the article below, so you can read the full article. [=

http://www.stylelist.com/2009/11/18/tyra-banks-apologizes-over-bi-racial-episode-of-antm/ 

Kayla Ewell looks radiantly beautiful on the November cover of Beauty Entertainment Magazine. Inside BE!, you’ll see a bevy of hot new stars, celebs and salon people. To subscribe, visit http://www.saloncity.com or http://www.amazon.com. To view November’s digital edition of BE! click on: Kayla Ewell Stars on BE!’s November 2009 Cover!

Will Cycle 14 of America’s Next Top Model send the wannabe models to New Zealand?

The New Zealand Herald is reporting hush-hush Tyra activities on the island nation. Let’s hope this will be the “destination” for next season (er, cycle). This year they changed around a few things and kept the location domestic (Hawaii), which I thought ended up being kind of lame…especially how the “petite model” emphasis meant the girls couldn’t go to judging in heels. Come on, now, Ty-Ty. They’re not circus freaks.

In my opinion, Moscow would be the ideal next locale for the Top 5 to finish out a Cycle, given its international status as a burgeoning style capital. Maybe it’s because Eastern Europe has no shortage of beautiful women, although that didn’t stop Ty-Ty from taking the girls to Brazil in Cycle 12.

Tonight was the third annual CNN Heroes: An All Star Tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper.  While the winner was announced earlier in the week, this show is regularly a parade of amazing, ordinary people.  The focus is on Real Action Heroes – those people who have seen a need and taken action.

Larry King presented an introduction to the show with a series of questions delivered to various celebrities.  Matthew McConaughey presented family members as his heroes, as do many of the participants in the Hero Construction Company presentations.  He said fictional heroes are fine if you can pull something in from their character or story.  He thinks circumstances are key to heroism – they’re not born.

Tyra Banks suggested that we look at our hero’s path so we can copy it and make it our own.  She also reminded us that heroes are human – not perfect.

Shakira listed her heroes as Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth II, and educators in Third World countries.  She thinks education to every child should be our goal – it’s the perfect strategy to eradicate poverty.  She said a hero is someone who never gives up the fight, believes in something and defends it.  They must be brave and speak for those without a voice.  She thought each one of us has a hero inside – we just need to let it out so it can manifest itself.

George Lopez said a hero is someone who takes time for someone else – his was a teacher in high school.  He thinks heroes aren’t deliberately acting to be a hero.

Larry King inexplicably kept bringing up baseball players in his various interviews.  I hope he was using them as contrasts, rather than examples.

So I met this woman along Davie Street and decided that I want to be her friend. Trouble is I’ve only met her three times and we’ve yet to properly exchange words.

The first time I met her she was a customer when I was working at Starbucks and even though this interaction was brief, I had decided at the time that I liked her. The second time I saw her I was in Mac’s and she was chatting with the lady – whom I also love for her friendliness at every hour – that works there. Then just yesterday we passed eachother while I was waiting for the bank machine in Super Valu, and did the whole smile and nod thing, or to “Tyra Banks” it for you: we “smodded.”

I don’t know what it is about this woman but I feel that we could be very good friends. The problem is I don’t know how to approach this tricky social situation. I want to be her friend without coming off as creepy, ie. I don’t want her to think I want to date her or that I just randomly ask people on the street to be my friends. Bring honest, I’m not sure there is a way to achieve this. Ideally I’m hoping that I’ll end up meeting her through other friends and can pursue the friendship via more socially acceptable means.

We shall see.

Why do we trust the opinion of other people we have never met? It’s completely reasonable to trust your mother, a dear friend of even the friend of a friend. Why though, do we trust public figures and celebrities we have never even seen in person?  Oprah is retiring soon and it leaves us with a gap, for some reason, and for the millions of lonely housewives and boring people who have to turn to a middle-aged TV host for book reviews, they will have to find another person to trust. Will it be Tyra Banks? We can all pray together that it won’t. Will Conan O’Brien fulfil his promise and step up to the podium? No it’s just a comedy sketch. Or will NBC go on a hunt for another “Oprah”. I vote we do none of the above.

Everyone needs to start just using their brains a little bit more and stop following the rants of Oprah or any other celebrity that they consider worthy. It’s sad how many people watch daytime talk shows for honest advice and support. Television is supposed to be an entertainment avenue and not some individual’s stranglehold on the American public. Do I have anything personally against Oprah? Of course not. I just can’t believe the amount of power and the vast riches she has collected over the years by hosting a TV show.

Tyra Banks can’t fill her shoes because unlike Oprah, she has no soul. Have you ever taken a minute to listen to her talk? No I mean really listen? absolutely nothing of value comes out. She is a supermodel who has no right trying to become another voice to the masses. All she ever does is laugh at herself and tell us how she invented “smizing” which is smiling with the eyes. Tara, you didn’t invent the “sexy” eye look all you did is put a stupid name on something that has existed since the dawn of civilization. You deserve no credit and you should have your show taken away immediately before you brainwash another poor housewife into thinking you have any credentials. you sicken me and I hope you never do anything other than model again.

That seems to be ok though. We don’t seem to care about people’s qualifications anymore. Anyone can do anything if they put their mind to it right? That makes sense. The only problem is we’re letting people take steps out of the process and just doing things before they know what they’re doing. Micheal Strahan and Paris Hilton can apparently act, Girls from The Hills can apparently sing, Any celebrity you can imagine apparently can try out for a dance show, and politicians can hire prostitutes. Too soon?

We need to start setting up bigger boundaries so we can stop this trend of erasing the need for talent. Right now as long as you have the money you can make anything happen. you can sing, dance, act, buy whores, whatever. It doesn’t matter what your background says or even what your current track record says. We have enough special effects, auto-tune, advisors, and diet pills to make anyone believe anything. You know why everything around us is dying? Why so many movies bomb, so many cds sell nothing and so many TV shows don’t make it past their pilot? Because no one is original and no one has talent. Obviously I’m being slightly melodramatic and there is still talent out there but I don’t even think it’s the majority anymore. I think most or music acts and especially a majority of hip hop acts should  never be given the light of day. But if you can sell one single and push out one dance hit then there is a label willing to compromise their values one more time and continue to cannibalize their own industry.

I don’t want to turn on TNT and see another boring courtroom TV show where the main characters solve every crime in a twenty-five minute time span. I don’t need to watch more dramas about cops and their struggles to keep work and their personal life separate. No one needs another single mom show either. Music isn’t ant better. The vocal rock era needs to end. Shinedown has become the poster boy for a dead genre. Hip hop doesn’t need anymore catchy dance tunes for one hit wonders. They need more artists that develop into superstars. Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Pitbull who can release more than one good track a decade. Movies have been ruining great scripts too. The Island had so much potential until Michael Bay vomited out the production it became and G.I. Joe because a bunch of douchbags jumping around on green screens instead of the nice “heroes” they’re supposed to be. It’s a shame that so much gets ruined and so much crap gets a start at all.

The world is changing and at times it appears to be rotting too. We are doing nothing to make sure the best of the best succeed and instead we’re telling everyone to go do it. Folks, if you don’t have the talent then go do something else. Find what you’re good and thrive but don’t fool yourself into thinking you’re good at something your not. Don’t push too hard in one direction if you’re not making any headway. Sometimes it’s best to look around and weigh your options and focus on what your best at. Soujah Boy I’m talking to you too. Stop pretending your stupid dance moves and cheesy lyrics are worth anything and stop telling yourself that your  not the worst thing to happen to hip hop since Vanilla Ice. I’m sick of the lack of A grade talent and we all need to find a cure for mediocrity.

Você anda meio entediado com a relação sexual com a sua namorada, mulher e afins? Já tentou de tudo para dar uma variada na cama? Então você está precisando conhecer Lauren Williams.

A britânica, de 29 anos, revelou no programa de Tyra Banks o caso inusitado. Lauren declarou que tem duas vaginas, dois úteros e um ciclo menstrual com duração de 21 dias. Mas a vida sexual dela é normalíssima (???).

Relaxa, eu também imaginei a mesma coisa!

Not even 'Edward' should go around biting.

I think Twilight fans are a bit much. I’m not against them– I’ve read all the books and seen the movies. I do see why they like it, but I think the obsession can get a little extreme.

I thought they were creepy but never THIS creepy. A girl watching New Moon in Michigan was actually bitten this weekend while watching New Moon. It wasn’t a sexy nibble gone wrong or a hungry moviegoer who mistook her for a snack but a 45 year old pervert sitting in the seat behind her.

He didn’t break the skin, and he hasn’t been caught yet. I assume she’ll be too creeped out to go to the movies anytime soon. I’m sure I would be too (after being disinfected, sanitized and had my tetanus shot)

Though it might seem that most of the girls are into vampires with the Twilight, True Blood and Vampire Diaries craze I hope biting doesn’t become the new pick up line. Unless you’re Robert Pattison  and she has a Twilight tattoo, I’m pretty sure it won’t work.

via Perez

Même s’il a l’air super intéressant, pas besoin de voir le documentaire de Chris Rock pour s’apercevoir que désormais, les perruques fleurissent sur les têtes des filles comme des mauvaises herbes entre les dalles d’une terrasse à la campagne.

Qu’elles soient connues (ou non), belles (ou non), adeptes de la frange (ou… bref), les femmes modernes aiment se rajouter sur le crâne des cheveux en poils de cheval ou des mèches d’hindoue domestiquée, pour un résultat plus ou moins réussi (Emilie de Secret Story, si tu nous lis).

Alors au risque de briser vos illusions, mais dans un souci de vous éviter une mauvaise surprise la prochaine fois que vous passerez la main dans la crinière de votre future conquête, voici une sélection de perruques (baptisées “wig” aux Etats-Unis) et de vrais cheveux, mais qu’on aurait aimé voir recouverts d’extensions capillaires synthétiques pour le coup. A vous de reconnaître ce qui est vrai… ou non.

Alors, oui ou wig?

Beyoncé:

Serena Williams:

Somaya Reece (la nouvelle meuf de Joe Budden, qui se fait pas chier l’enfoiré):

Gabby:

Halle Berry et Tyra Banks:

Foxy Brown:

Diana Ross:

Snoop Dogg:

Andre Agassi:

Le cousin gay de T-Pain et Sébastien Folin:

La fille de Kelly Rowland:

by Ellen Brandt, Ph.D.

Under certain circumstances, a headline can be Purely Ridiculous and accomplish its goal. Otherwise, go for The Big Statement, Plausible-But-Somehow-Off, or What-the-Heck-Is-That-All-About?

Examples of all these kinds of click-attracting headlines were used in the Faux Tabloid Ten.

Before I discuss individual headlines, let me establish my tabloid credentials for those who don’t know me. In fact, if you have a moment, you might want to read the very recent interview with and about me that was published at Name of Site. (I subsequently moved this story from a blog aggregator’s site to EllenInteractive. Here’s a quick link: http://wp.me/pycK6-v )

In this interview, I talk about the period, early in my career, when I wrote for all the major supermarket tabloids on a heavy-volume basis. I got my first assignment in this specialized media niche via a women’s page column – remember the days when every newspaper had a women’s page? – which ran weekly in 40-plus California newspapers.

One of my stories featured a Sierra Nevada hotelier, Sue Clark, whose gold rush-era hotel boasted a resident ghost named George. One of the tabloids sought me out and asked if I could do a story for them on just the ghost! I did; they loved it; and I became a tabloid writer, with a rather strange specialty virtually nobody else shared – turning serious business articles into fodder for a tabloid audience.

So I learned to write the attention-grabbing headlines you’ll see at the checkout counter, spurring you on to put down that milk carton and learn why “Veterinarians Date Supermodels,” “Ferret Owners Have High I.Q.s,” or “Peanut Butter Plus Anchovies Burn Fat Quickly.”

As you can see, none of the above headlines is particularly funny, but they are all typically tabloid, which brings me to a certain kind of comment I got from a few of those who perused the pre-Blog-Off blog. These few – typically people in creative jobs – helpfully made suggestions about how a certain headline in the Faux Ten could be made more “riotously funny.” A novelist, for instance, outlined a few other possible male scents I could use in the “Peaches” headline that might provoke more chuckles, while an adman thought other kinds of candy would be funnier than truffles in the “Kinky Sex” title.

But unless a headline is patently absurd, the tabloids don’t want it to be too comedic. Slightly silly actually draws in more readers than stand-up-comedy hilarious. Do I know why this is so? Not really. But it probably has something to do with the typical reader of the National Enquirer or the Globe being different from the average reader of Mad Magazine. The latter wants to laugh out loud. The former wants to hear some gossip, read some service pieces, all the while being pleasurably titillated.

So let me first tell you which of my Faux Tabloid Headlines falls into the four categories of attention-grabbers I mentioned above, then move on in Part Three to reader comments which help explain why some titles got more page views than others.

An example of a Purely Ridiculous headline is easy to spot on the list: “Thailand Swallowed By Giant Clam.” Why ever use this kind of headline? Frankly, one should do so only sparingly and certainly not without a purpose. But I thought this headline was a perfect one to introduce this particular Faux Tabloid experiment. Besides, it’s so ME, reflecting my own personality and sense of humor, which is what a Purely Ridiculous title should do.

But make sure the humor is in some way related to the topic of your story. “Elephant Chosen Prom King” might be a ridiculous, catchy headline for a story about high school students who are avid Republicans. “Nonagenarian Gives Birth to Triplets” could head a piece on excesses in the field of in-vitro fertilization.

A Big Statement tabloid headline may be based on a perfectly true bit of news that is nonetheless shocking or intriguing to many people. “Transvestite Running For Mayor” is just this sort of headline, and I can imagine it appearing in virtually any issue of virtually any tabloid. Surely sometime, somewhere, somehow, Transvestites have run for the office of Mayor, and many people will be happy to read about it.

Another sort of Big Statement headline may precede an article detailing the results of a strange piece of research. “Women Want Men Who Smell Like Fresh Peaches” is a good example. I’ve been told that Dr. Hildegarde M. Von Smitzen of the University of Alpen-Wassen published exactly this kind of research finding last year. Or maybe not. But she could have. If she existed.

Articles based on real – and often extremely weird – research projects are a staple of tabloid reporting. If you ever run out of things to write about, go straight to the scientific journals!

Our Faux Tabloid Ten also included some prime examples from the Plausible-But-Somehow-Off category of headlines. These are titles that seem straightforward and true at first glance, but which have a glaring logical flaw when one looks a bit closer. “Swimming Pool Features Underwater Computer” is an obvious example. Your first take might be,”Wow! I’d like one of those.” Your second take: “But I guess I’d need scuba gear to use it.” And your third take: “Wouldn’t the mouse keep shorting out?”

Similarly, “Pet Hamsters May Spread Swine Flu” looks sensible when you read it quickly, as the faux-association “hamster-ham-swine” echoes through your brain. In truth, hamsters are probably no more likely to spread swine flu than pet cats or pet parakeets – unless they escape from their cute little wheels and run away to Latin American pig-breeding sites. Which I guess is possible.

Two of our Faux Tabloid Ten fit nicely into the What-the-Heck-Is-That-All-About? category. “Are You a Cheetah or a Crocodile?” is an exemplar of a subgroup of this category that’s a staple not only of the tabloids, but also of women’s, men’s, and many general interest magazines: the Idiotic Quiz. I do not use that term pejoratively, because I’m convinced the vast majority of human beings adore Idiotic Quizzes of all kinds . They are quite simply fun to participate in, and you don’t have to take the results seriously, as opposed to, say, bar exams or mammograms.

And one of the most popular of our Faux Ten Headlines, “Kinky Sex, Chocolate Truffles, Adorable Puppies,” might make the front page of any respectable tabloid, mostly because it could be about nearly anything at all: A scandal involving a Hollywood director? Goings-on at the ASPCA? Next week’s topics roster at the Tyra Banks Show? You’d have to read further to find out.

We’ll discuss which of our Faux Tabloid Headlines readers liked most – and least – in Part Three.

Click here for Part Three of the series, Thailand Swallowed by Giant Clam: http://wp.me/pycK6-2m

To return to “Corpses, Mollusks, and Kinky Sex-How I Won the Blog-Off,” go to: http://wp.me/pycK6-2s

The other day I Tweeted ” A bad hair day…even for me. No time for taming of the ‘do. This is when a wig comes in handy.” My Tweets go directly to Facebook and one of FB my buddies wrote “Don’t do it, Kel. Wear your hair like it is.” Of course it was a man.

So easy for him to say. I sometimes think men are absolutely clueless when it comes to a woman and her hair. Maybe he thought I was going to wear plop something outrageous, like an Elvira or Tina Turner wig, atop my head. Not hardly. My Beverly Johnson wig is short and, I think, so cute. It’s not wiggy (as you can see from the photo above) and even has natural bounce when I walk. How could I not wear it when my own hair was so out of control and would only be tamed by a shampoo and conditioner, which I didn’t have time to do because I was on my way to the radio studio? Most days I wear my hair natural so we’re talking at least three hours of air dry time before I even untwist it after shampooing because I try to control its wildness.

I subscribe to the Tyra Banks school of thought and am not ashamed to say I own a wig or two (okay, girlfriend probably has 100). When I wore a weave and folks complimented me on my coif, in a New York minute I’d respond, “You can have this hair too because it’s a weave.”  I remember being in Cap Cana in the Dominican Republic on a press trip. The humidity wreaked havoc on a hairdo, but not mine . By day two, the other female journalists (none of whom was Black) asked me which hair products I used because they wanted them. Please! It’s my Indian weave that is not affected by the humidity, I said.

Some women are embarrassed at the thought of such a confession. Get over it.  To me, hair is an extension of one’s style, which for me changes from day to day. Just like I stand in my closet and decide if I want to wear skinny leg jeans, bell bottoms, a wrap dress or a mini-skirt, I should be able to stand in the mirror and decide do I want to straighten my hair with a hot comb, use a relaxer, rock a natural style, wear a wig, add in pieces or have a weave sewn in, which is the best thing for a travel writer who is constantly on the go and can’t bog down luggage with hair products.

For most women, changing one’s hairstyle takes a bit more time than selecting an outfit to wear. And this is when a wig is most appreciated. I don’t imagine I’d wear a wig if I expected to get busy. I can just imagine being all good to go and saying, “Wait.” I slip off my wig to reveal a stocking cap covering my 12 twists. Talk about spoiling a mood. Maybe my male FB friend had this happen to him so now he’s against women and wigs. I have to ask him. One thing he should know is that more women wear wigs than he thinks. Check out Nia Long on the November cover of Essence. When promoting the movie Good Hair, Nia said this wasn’t her hair. Did any man have a problem with her in this photo?

Gleich zum Frühstück ereilt mich der ZWEITSCHWERSTE Schock meines Lebens. Ich lese, dass die amerikanische Medien-Kollegin Tyra Banks 30 Millionen Dollar im Jahr abzockt. Da kommt man sich auf einmal ganz schön armselig vor mit seiner abgehalfterten, vierstelligen Gehaltsabrechung.

Heirulf tröstet mich gekonnt wie stets durch seine abgefeimte Verblüffungstaktik: “Die Tyra Banks hat ja auch Silikon im Hintern”, sagt er, als wäre das ein ebenso verwerfliches wie kostspieliges Hobby. “Und was willst DU mit nem Silkon-Hintern? Das gluckst doch sicher immer beim Hinsetzen?”
Das tröstet natürlich ungeheuer.

Na, ich schreibe heute über Schulkinder, die gemeinsam mit Theaterschauspielern englisch lernen. Nettes Thema, aber das funzt natürlich nicht so wie Tyras Laufsteg-Dokusoap “America’s Next Topmodel”, das ich immer gemeinsam mit meiner Tochter sehe. In der Schule wird jedenfalls nicht so viel geheult wie unter angehenden Topmodels, stattdessen dürfen die Schulmädchen und -Jungen während des Unterrichts Theater gucken – und sogar mitmachen. Ich sag’s ja: Schule macht mehr Spass als das richtige Leben – u.a. weil die Kinder nicht wie diese armen Models auf wahnsinnig hochhackigen Pumps herumstöckeln müssen.

Wenn ich ehrlich sein darf, warte ich immer drauf, dass mal eine von diesen hochnäsigen Beauties einknickt und zu Boden geht wie ein Sack mit Heringen.

Apropos, Heringe: Heute hat Gunilla Gräfin von Bismarck runden Geburtstag, des Eisernen Kanzlers Urenkelin wird 60. Das muss man sich mal auf der Zunge zergehen lassen: Die ungekrönte Königin von Marbella kommt ins Früh-Rentenalter! Das Peinliche ist: Diese Society-Amöbe sieht immer noch aus wie 25, jedenfalls vom Weltraum aus betrachtet.Die Gunilla soll bloss aufpassen, dass sie nicht eines Tages von einem Ufo entführt wird. Die Marsmännchen stellen die blondierte Gräfin glatt in irgendeinem intergallaktischen Zoo aus: Als Erdling mit unbegrenzter Haltbarkeit.

Ach ja, und was war nun der SCHWERSTE Schock meines Lebens? Das war, als Harry Rowohlt, der Penner aus der Lindenstraße, mir mal nach einer Lesung die Hand drückte und grummelte: “Na, Du alter Tittenquäler!”
Ich glaube, er hatte mich im Suff mit Dieter Bohlen verwechselt. Dabei sehe ich erheblich jünger aus…

Businesswoman

Model (I would say former, but she stays showing people how to model H2T. PS I would <3 to see her in a VS show again in the future. Catwalk + Tyra = WOW)

Talk show host

CREATOR

Producer

Actress (check Fresh Prince – yip, that’s Ty-Ty)

Smize-r (there are 275 smiles…but check out the video below to learn 7)

]]> http://sidewalkhustle.com/2009/11/22/americas-next-top-model-finale/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 03:53:47 +0000 Hawley http://sidewalkhustle.com/2009/11/22/americas-next-top-model-finale/ http://sarahdanslenoir.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/back-to-ny/ Sun, 22 Nov 2009 15:56:37 +0000 sarahdanslenoir http://sarahdanslenoir.wordpress.com/2009/11/22/back-to-ny/

Today, I’m going back to NY for my second trip this year! Luckily, there’s always things to see and do there, touristy or not. My itinerary this year includes a showing of Wicked, a Tyra Banks show taping (haha), Brooklyn and Soho shopping  and lots and lots of yummy eats. Sadly, hamming it up Sasha and Freja-style in Times Square is not on the schedule!

Coincidentally, my latest earworm (though my love is fading a lil) is the appropriate “Empire State of Mind,” Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ anthem to NY. Be back Friday but will try to post daily and will report back on my trip (or the very least, my Tyra experience)! Take care y’all!

image: vmagazine

After 13 seasons of America’s Next Top Model, I think it’s about that time the plug gets pulled. 13 young women who were promised the opportunity to be what Tyra Banks was in her hay-day, a top model. 13 winners, 13 beautiful women, 13 dreams materialized, and not 1 top model:

I’m sure all the winners, runner-up’s, and contestants have achieved some level of success in their own right, but again: NOT ONE TOP MODEL. Which is the basis of the show. It’s not America’s Next Mediocre Model, America’s Next Book-At-Least-One-Job-Per-Fashion-Week Model, America’s Next Damn-I-Can’t-Even-Get-A-Spread-In-Teen-Vogue? Model, it’s AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL. Name one model, a winner, who has left the show to achieve prime fashion industry success. I’m talking about snatching up an ad campaign for Bottega Veneta, strutting in a Chanel show, at least being the new face of Movado watches! Baby Phat ad? Nothing? Not even a Rocawear endorsement? How about a perfume campaign? Damn it! Even Amber Rose has one of those (no shots fired)!

My thing is, if you can not do for these girls what you promised them to do, what they signed up to do, why bother? Tyra knows a thing or two about leaving the game on a high note, as she did with modeling. So instead of waiting until the show gets canceled due to a decline in viewership, just announce Season 14 as your last season, and develop a new fashion centered show. Where new opportunities are available, new promises are made, new standards are set. Instead of fueling this stigma of unrealistic perfection with a weight and height limit, why don’t you leave the physical requirements alone and base a fashion centered show on something a lot more substantial? Like a skill. No shots fired at you models who put work in to perfect your craft, props to y’all!

When I say a skill, I mean something substantial where there will be no physical limitations… like an editorial opportunity at a major fashion magazine. Or a chance to develop their own (online) magazine. A show centered around young designers (25 & under), and giving them the opportunity to apprentice with a major designer for like 6 months to learn the ropes. A competitive show for entrepreneurs trying to win money to start their own fashion business, the list and ideas and market potential goes on. The point I’m trying to make is, WE GET IT! The only person that doesn’t seem to get it is Tyra and the good ole’ folks over at the CW and Bankable Productions. Oh, and the models don’t get it either. The only thing they get is a short-run CoverGirl contract without the possibility of a renewal. Oh, and representation from a top agency that never books them jobs. Womp womp.

Tyra, if you’re reading this, understand that I’m only reiterating what I hear in coffee shops, book club meetings, round table discussions, chat room debates, and high school hallways. We’re sick of it. And if you really want to show young girls how it’s to be done, as far as being a model goes, show them something a little more realistic. ANTM’s challenges has become more irrelevant to the field of modeling than Diddy’s requirements from his aspiring Making The Band members. (I’m still trying to figure how walking to get cheesecake will transfer to record sales, wake me when we get there).

Tyra, I AM CHALLENGING YOU TO COME UP WITH SOMETHING FRESH, ORIGINAL, NEW, EXCITING, AND REALISTIC! I dare you to be great! Should you accept this challenge?

Sincerely,

Tara Decoda

It’s the type of thing you never thought would happen. As unbelievable and earth-shattering as the death of Michael Jackson; as mind-blowing and awesome as the election of Barack Obama. After 25 years, Oprah is going off the air next year.

I feel like the dreams of a million bloggers, including my own, just died. Who among us did not aspire to get an invitation from the O to have their blog featured? If Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz and Rachel Ray can make whole careers off of a few appearances, surely I, with my witty writing style and trendy language could get just enough to survive on by touching even a tidbit of that Harpo shine. But alas, it shall never be…

There is, however, one person who’s probably pretty excited about Oprah’s exit:

You guessed it, Tyra Banks. With the O out of the way, there’s nothing stopping her from completing her media takeover and inundating us with her imag…er, uh, talents.

And she’s already off to a great start. A recent taping of The Tyra Banks Show featured a tie-in with Black blogging powerhouse and friend of Me&EB Curly Nikki of CurlyNikki.com. Head over to her main site, or follow her on Twitter to find out the exact air date. Already Tyra is working to bring cutting edge talent on her show and fresh content for more youthful audiences. I can’t say whether or not Tyra’s got the potential to be the next Oprah, or whether Nikki could be the next Rachel Ray, but there both on the right track. And in a year, Oprah’s departure will leave a vacuum the size of Chicago in the media world – there’ll be more than enough space and opportunity for everyone.

Congratulations to CN.com on getting an chance for national exposure, good luck to Tyra as she continues to pursue market dominance, and best wishes, gratitude and reverence to Oprah as she moves on, hopefully to continue paving ways and pioneering for all of us.

Ontem aconteceu um dos maiores e mais aguardados desfile do mundo da moda, o Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show. O desfile é literalmente um show de fantasias, lingeries, corpos esculturais e músicas pop que embalam as passadas das modelos na passarela. Infelizmente ele só irá ao ar no dia 01 de dezembro, mas já conseguimos ter uma palinha do que vem pela frente.

Os temas deste ano foram: Star Trooper (Tropas Estelares), All Aboard (Todos a Bordo), Pink Planet (Planeta Rosa), Enchanted Forest (Floresta Encantada), e Romantic Journey (Jornada Romântica).
A estilista Charlotte Stockdale explica a idéia geral do desfile: “Nós trouxemos a idéia de uma garota que viaja pelo espaço e aterrisa em Paris. Ela pega um trem que a leva até Pinkland, onde está cheio de coisas de garotas rosas. Então ela entra em uma floresta de contos de fada e pequenas joaninhas e borboletas voam até ela, e cipós começam a crescer em suas roupas.  Depois chega a hora do ‘Tic-Tac’, as asas nessa sessão são baseadas em relógios – tem uma que é baseada em um relógio de bolso com penas metálicas. E finalmente ela termina sua jornada num reino encantado de princesinha, onde suas asas são de Swarovski e penas de pavão.” Charlotte, você fumou algum crack ou ingeriu LSD? huaha

Não assisti o desfile completo ainda, portanto não posso afirmar com muita convicção, mas pelo jeito a crise  o afetou totalmente, e me arrisco em dizer que foi um dos mais pobres de toda a história da marca. Bem na real, depois que a Tyra Banks se aposentou, as apresentações começaram a decair cada vez mais. Agora sem a Gisele Bündchen + Adriana Lima (por conta da gravidez das duas), parece que o desfile perdou toda a graça e majestosidade.
Apesar da Marisa Miller + Alessandra Ambrósio + Heidi Klum continuarem em seus cargos de angels, as roupas não seguraram todo esse brilho que o desfile costumava ter. Além de que a passarela em V foi um desastre, acho que as outras modelos recém-contratadas não deram conta do recado de mostrar a sensualidade de uma angel da Victoria’s Secret. Achei tudo meio “concurso de beleza“, elas só queriam ser bonitinhas e não provocar a fantasia das pessoas com sensualidade e corpos ‘curvilíneos’, como costumava ser antes. Salvo algumas peças de roupas, o restante foi um absurdo do ridículo. E até mesmo as famosas asas das angels foram “cortadas” de certa forma.

Por enquanto podemos ver alguns videos com a amostra pré-show, backstage, e alguns snippets aqui e aqui.

Star Trooper

All Aboard

Pink Planet

Enchanted Forest

Romantic Journey

É impressão minha ou a Marisa Miller é a nova queridinha da marca agora? Ela desfilou as melhores roupas, inclusive o Fantasy Bra - sutiã milionário incrustado de diamantes. Se for, é bem merecido.

Playboy’s Miss November 2002 was actress and model Serria Tawan, seen here in the centerfold posed as a voyeur.

Photographed by Arny Freytag and Stephen Wayda

Note how the light glinting off of the leg of the telescope in the foreground points up a strong diagonal beginning from the bottom left of the composition, that is then intersected by a cross diagonal from the upper left created by her posture and her hand holding one of her braids: together they make an arrow which draws the eye to the undressing couple in the window of the building across the street, who are positioned just above and to the right of the focal attention point of her breasts, making it even more difficult to miss them as the final critical element of the photograph. As your eye moves from left to right, reading the composition, it tells a story: there is a girl. There is a telescope. The girl is using the telescope to look at the couple.

The centerfold was a really good composition. The rest is all over the damned place. Any type of theme with set dressing, poses, or costuming is almost totally absent. Maybe the raincoat is to hint at her being a flasher to boot? Not sure. But it doesn’t get picked back up again even though it’s a fun little kicky erotic detail. Missed opportunity in my book.

From her data sheet

WHEN I GET OLDER:
I want a harem of guys like Hef has women. I want them all diverse. Variety is the spice of life for me.

Get it, girl! I like this lady’s style. If you’re looking to join that harem, you can contact her via her profile on the myspace. In several places on that page, Serria directs you to a website, http://askserria.com, but it is not up and running yet, as far as I can tell.

While the braids are lovely, I like her even better in the above pic, with a gently relaxed weave. She looks younger and very soft and romantic. Even without the bangs, I think this look works better for her than the long braids, and it seems she agrees, as she is apparently rocking it on the reg these days (see below). The only trouble is that it makes her look a lot like phony-evil-queen-witch “ANTM” Cycle 9 winner Saleisha Stowers, who my sister-in-law, husband, and I all unilaterally despise.

Left: Serria Tawan. Right: Saleisha Stowers.

That girl and a competitor, Bianca Golden, were unbelievably cruel to standout contestant Heather Kuzmich of Valpariso, Indiana, who had Asperger’s Syndrome for crissake and still mopped the floor with their jealous asses until Go-Sees, which she only blew because she was not being properly aided. Yes, I have every detail of every cycle of the Tyra Banks reality show “America’s Next Top Model” memorized, and may the good god strike me dead if I ever stop loving the parade of tears, catfights, and girl-girl showers that comprise that gory but gorgeous grand guginol.

Anyway, Saleisha and Bianca were rude, catty, and sneaky about Heather, not to mention super-jealous and totally ignorant of the qualities that made her outshine them week after week, and their insecurities drove them to taunt her and talk about her behind her back like they were twelve and not on national fucking television. Because of that I will forever despise their fake sticky-sweet smiles. Although I was on the Bergie’s website a while ago — just window-shopping; like I could possibly afford something from their store right now — and I know for a fact I recognized Heather modelling some of the dresses in the pictures, so in their snotty, sabotaging, difference-hating faces: time has told, success-wise.

Wow, I think I might need to write some more about Top Model another day. It would appear I have Things to Say.

In other news, Kristy Swanson was on the cover of this one. I have never even seen one episode of the television series, so to me it is she who will always be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even though vampires are lame, passe, and ridiculous as all hell, that movie is so great.

I had one hell of a dream last night. I was on a TV reality show. It was like a combination of top model, project runway, extreme makeover, and hell’s kitchen. And I don’t watch any of those shows except the bits that end up in The Soup with Joel McHale. The contestants had to paint walls, lay floor tiles, design dresses, cook meals, and look good doing it. I wasn’t actually a contestant; they were all women. I have no idea whether they were aspiring models, designers, chefs, construction workers or all of the above. They had a challenge where the contestants had to design / cook a specialty dessert and they were partnered with random local designers. I was one of the lucky (or unlucky) ones chosen. The show was hosted by Tyra Banks.

Things were going great at first. We were designing something with strawberries and cream around some kind of storefront sculpture. (Funny… I just remembered I had Strawberry Shortcake Rolls right before going to bed.) Anyway, we thought we had a good chance of winning this challenge until I messed things up. Our sculpture looked kind of dirty so I held it under the sink to rinse it off. This somehow washed all the paint away. The sculpture was ruined and we were starting to run out of time on the challenge.

Well, I felt just terrible for messing up my partner’s challenge like that. And then Tyra came out and starting talking about herself. I figured we had at least another 30 minutes before the judging began so I snuck out (can’t bring myself to use “sneaked”) and tried to find a replacement sculpture. I ran back to my hotel room and looked all over for something else to use but had no luck.

I realized I had taken way too much time hunting for a replacement sculpture, so I decided to return to the show. By the time I got there it was all over. I asked around and was able to find out that the contestant I was partnered with had actually won! I remember thinking to myself that I had been partnered with a contestant twice on this show and each time my contestant won, so I was rather pleased with myself after all. And then Tyra Banks showed up and demanded I leave. She was furious at me for not being there at the end and told me I was fired. When I asked her why she was firing me, she said God told her to.

I was actually very relieved to never have to appear on that show again because it was so stressful. And I was happy to be leaving with two wins and no losses. As I skipped happily back to my hotel room, I could hear Tyra in the background saying she changed her mind and wanted me to come back. I ignored her.

And that’s that. I’ve had some unusual dreams in the past, but I can’t recall ever having a dream as bizarre as this. What is most interesting to me is this “sculpture”. I can still see it in my mind and could probably draw of picture of it, but can’t for the life of me figure out how to describe it in words. It was a model of a storefront of some kind about 1 foot wide and 8 inches tall. I remember trying to figure out how to place the light posts and came up with the brilliant idea of attaching them to the wall of the structure pointing them down at the ground. Yeah really innovative isn’t it?

I guess all that matters is that I woke up happy, and God told Tyra Banks to fire me. That’s just priceless…