Archives for August 2011

Wow, I can’t believe how quickly time flies by! It’s already August,  and the summer is almost over! This class is over tomorrow and I’m going to miss it. I learned so much about journalism in my time here, and I am bringing a home a lot of new skills that I didn’t have before. I am going to miss my new friends and I’m going to miss coming here everyday. Even though my heart is set on anthropology, this class has made me think that maybe I can write on the side. Who knows, maybe I will.

A step inside the “Sporting Life” exhibit at The Fashion Institute of Technology Museum will give people a glimpse of what people, professional and non- professional wore while being active during the last 150 years.

Separated into three small sections with more than 100 pieces of clothing and accessories, this exhibit represents very well from the clothing and explanations explaining how, the material and style changed over time. 

The baseball uniforms resembled what a fireman uniform looked like back in the late 1800s. It was comfortable to wear and had a basic style of striped shirts and tan pants. When compared the baseball uniforms to today’s style, nothing much had changed but adding color and having longer pants.

A stand out change of style that is shown in the exhibit is the football uniforms and bathing suits.

Today, football players wear numbered jerseys and pants, which this exhibit explains, used to be wool and now are stretched polyester material. Another interesting fact is that football players wore a jumpsuit that did not have any padded materials.

Not only football players wore one piece, woman wore one piece suits to the beach.

Bathing suits were made out of natural materials such as cotton and heavy wool. There were only a few bathing suits that had long sleeves, but the rest were short sleeves.

This exhibit did a great job by lining up the bathing suits from long sleeves wool, which must have been out in the sun, in the 1925s to two pieces made out of usually spandex with patterns from the years of 1963 than jumping to 1980s.

The “Sporting Life” exhibit also lets people imagine wearing one of the certain outfits since the viewing of the outfits is very close. For example, female tennis players wore long dresses with sleeves and a hat in the early 1900s. It wasn’t until 1926 that ladies began to wear short dresses.

When people exercised today, they might wear the tight clothing. But in the past people were able to exercise in comfortable puffy pants and a loose top usually long sleeve.

If the “Sporting Life” exhibit is showing exercise outfits, they could have shown more dancing outfits and surfing because those sports would have fit in well with the sporting life. It wasn’t necessary to have a hunting section since they only shown three pieces of the same clothing. Since they did not give enough clothing, it’s hard to give an imagination of hunting in the particular outfits.

Jennifer Farley and Colleen Hill who are both fashion designers focusing more on the active wear organized the sporting life exhibit. This exhibit closes November 5, 2011. It is free and located on 7 avenue at 27^th street, New York City.

Sam Ash is a place that holds a lot of instruments, and different necessities for that instrument. I didn’t find out about this place until a year ago, when my friend took me there. He plays the guitar and we went to go buy him strings. The place amazed me. There are different buildings, different floors and different rooms dedicated to all of these instruments.

There are many Pros in Sam Ash. The workers there have to know what they’re talking about, not anybody can just work there. They have to know how to answer every question you have. For example, you don’t have to be a professional at the guitar, but you do need to know how to play. You need to know what strings a certain guitar needs, the different types of guitars there are and etc. What’s great about Sam Ash is that their workers know what they’re talking about. Also, there are so many instruments there, so you can just sit down and play for a while. They have keyboards, guitars, ukuleles and more. There is something there for everyone.

There are also some cons in Sam Ash. If you are in your teens or younger, the workers don’t necessarily like you sitting down and playing the instruments. You are allowed to, but you will get looks and the workers may even ask you if you’re going to buy anything. But, if you are very careful, the workers won’t give you a hard time.

The workers are scared to let younger kids play the instrument, because of the prices of all the instruments. Many times you just want to sit down and play something, but the prices there are into the thousands. So, if anything happens to those instruments, it’s coming out of your pocket. Therefore, you should be a little hesitant to bother playing with an instrument.

Overall, whether you’re a beginner or a professional at any instrument, you will enjoy yourself in Sam Ash. You will get the help you need, your questions will be answered and you’ll have a lot of fun as long as you’re careful.

“Friends With Benefits” is a romantic comedy that once you hear the title you already picture the pattern sequence in your head (“No Strings Attached,” “The Ugly Truth”). Although it involves two single people looking for a physical connection, the movie gives a fresh new set of characters and a new meaning of having a friend.

Jaime (Mila Kunis) is an executive recruiter who persuades Dylan (Justin Timberlake) to take a job at GQ magazine as an art director and move from Los Angeles to New York.  From there they become friends and soon enough friends with benefits.

“Friends With Benefits” is filled with not only big stars but also big laughs. Kunis, who starred in “That 70s Show” and “Black Swan,” brings Jaime alive with a colorful personality that connects with Timberlake’s character perfectly. Jaime is a strong, independent woman who wants Dylan more as a friend to talk to rather than someone for pleasure only. Jaime doesn’t become the person who is desperately in need of Dylan, but more of a person just learning about herself.

Timberlake came a long way from rising on the music charts — his last album “FutureSex/LoveSounds” sold 10 million copies. He is also currently starring in “Bad Teacher” with Cameron Diaz. Dylan is a comedic, straightforward friend that battles the thought of losing his best friend more than the person he may love.

The movie centers around Jaime and Dylan giving up on love. They were inspired to move to the “with benefits” stage of their friendship after watching a romantic comedy, they promised not to develop emotions for each other by swearing on a bible iPad app. 

There was nothing but laughs as the characters made demands throughout the time they spent together physically and treated this as an act of two friends just having fun.

Director Will Gluck, who also directed “Easy A,” wanted to make this movie stand out from the way the characters engage in each other’s lives beyond sex. â€œFriends With Benefits” has a bigger meaning than having sex with a friend, but of a way of understanding someone far beyond the bedroom. For one thing, both Jaime and Dylan have parent issues with Jaime dealing with a carefree mother while Dylan’s dad suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Jaime and Dylan helped each other in getting over a breakup but also being a person to depend on when times got rough.

Making $18.6 million in its opening week, the film brings a new romantic side to becoming friends with benefits. Kunis and Timberlake display perfect chemistry on screen and by gaining someone’s heart simply by starting a flash mob in the busiest city in the world.

This movie has strong language and adult situations, so watch it with someone you’re comfortable seeing this with. Watching it with your dad who suggests you start dating until you’re 30 wouldn’t be a wise suggestion.

Racing around the deserts in Morocco, riding wild camels and skydiving are just some of the tasks the competitors must complete in ABC’s TV game show, “Expedition Impossible.” Hosted by Dave Salmoni, 13 three-person teams must compete in 10 intense adventures and episodes in Morocco covering 2,000 miles in order to walk away with $150,000 and three new Ford Explorers.

Mark Burnett, creator of “The Amazing Race” and “The Apprentice” produces “Expedition Impossible.” Like the other shows Burnett produced, “Expedition Impossible” is well made with extraordinary views of mountain peaks and raging waters as well as having one-on-one interviews with contestants.

This show appeals to everyone by having all kinds of competitors including cops, firefighters, football players, fishermen and military veterans. The competitors provide comedy by having humorous personalities and are constantly cracking jokes. There is occasionally a little drama within the teams. AJ and Ally, siblings on the team “Fab Three,” often bicker during the competitions. The drama between them is relatable to everyone with a sibling. However their drama is quickly resolved and the main focus is on the adventure, a characteristic few shows share.

The dynamics of the show are simple. Whoever finishes the adventure last will be evacuated on an airplane back to their home. The adventures contain many components including challenges such as skydiving to find a symbol that corresponds with one on the contestants’ map to indicate where they are going. There are around six challenges every episode. This is a very fast paced show and the contestants are usually jogging for many miles in order to finish the challenges.

Going into the first episode one would be shocked to find out that on the team “No Limits” one of the competitors, Eric, is blind. However, his credentials such as climbing Mount Everest and going on other intense adventures without sight might lead one to root for his team. The adventures are intense and the competitors never give up, especially Eric, who kayaks through rapids with sharp rocks. Even though he falls into the rapids many times, he is able to navigate the waters well and his team usually finishes in the top three.

Another team on the show, “Team Kansas,” often struggled with the adventures. In one episode one teammate Lindsey falls off a wild camel and gets trampled on.

Lindsey stated during an aired interview “this expedition is dangerous.”

The adventure show is considered to be “an epic Indiana Jones-style experience,” according to Burnett.

The show is completely thrilling to watch and the daring challenges adds to the suspense. The challenges test the abilities of the competitors to an extreme with new challenges each week. The competitors are amusing and delightful with their sense of charm and wit.

Last Thursday’s season four premiere of “Jersey Shore” didn’t launch with a powerful blast. 

The show opened with Snookie posing in unusual positions for her passport picture and it gave viewers a good chuckle — maybe even a laugh — at something sane people would not attempt.

As many of the show’s viewers are aware, this season was filmed in Florence, Italy, making this the most anticipated season compared to the first three. 

Unlike previous season premieres, about 15 minutes was wasted on showing how the cast members arrived to their home in Florence.

The house that they stayed in is by far the most extravagant compared to the other two. Snookie’s reaction to the view of the house, “Wow! It’s like a castle,” is definitely an understatement.

Once everyone was together, the crew made an attempt to go out onto the streets to find somewhere to eat. The confusion on their faces while trying to read directions in Italian was priceless alongside watching Pauly D and Snookie driving stick shift cars.

Drama was kept at a low-key during the premier. The cast spent their first night sightseeing close to home. Even at night the area looked so pure and natural to the point where one would wonder how the show got permits to contaminate the place with its presence. 

Of course it wouldn’t be “Jersey Shore” without some fist pumping. 

Watching the show was like visually diverging into a different world, especially when the cast checked out their first Italian club later that night. Unlike the clubs promoted in previous seasons, there were blinking lights, fire tables and dancers everywhere. Inside the club felt so live that it was probably the only thing viewers envied the cast for.  

While watching the show without wanting to change the channel, viewers had an opportunity to notice some different aspects about the cast.

The first thing Ron and Sammie talked about was their readiness to be single and not be miserable for their time at the house, compared to crying over each other in every other episode last season.

Snookie looks more tan and a bit slimmer, something that The Situation picked up right away. Also, there was something different about Jwoww, like she had work done.

By the end of the show and sneak peeks of the season, a scene was set up for expected drama to come later on. Rifts and heated arguments occur among the cast along with unexpected hook ups.

Most likely the premiere didn’t match the vision viewers had for it due to the regulations the Italian government established specifically for the filming of the show. For example, the cast wasn’t allowed to be filmed while drinking in clubs.

However it felt good to see the excitement the cast had being in their native country, even though Snookie doesn’t know where Italy is on a map.

Regardless, the premiere focused more on the surroundings of the cast rather than the cast members themselves, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The scenery of the show has to be the most awaited aspect of the whole season in addition to witnessing the cast trying to adapt to their temporary home.

What can’t be left unnoticed is the irony behind the pride the cast members have for their country, yet only one of them can speak Italian.  

It all started out with a dream last Wednesday night. I was standing in the Great Hall with Hogwarts students and Professor McGonagal. She asked me to perform a spell on an imitation of a Death Eater. I was a little intimidated at first, because no one else had to say a spell. I remember saying to myself “Cedric Digory didn’t have to say a spell so why do I?” But, without complaining out loud, I successfully performed the ‘Expelliarmus’ spell on the imitation, and watched my classmates cheer for me. I also seen the satisfaction on McGonagal’s face. “All this to get in,” was the last thing to come to mind after that.

“Project Runway” began its ninth season on July 28. The Lifetime show, which airs on Thursdays at 9 p.m., originally premiered six years ago.

 â€œProject Runway” follows chosen designers from across the country as they compete in various weekly challenges.

On this journey they are accompanied by their mentor Tim Gunn and judged by supermodel Heidi Klum. She is not only a judge on the show, but also the host and the executive producer. Klum is also joined by Nina Garcia, Michael Kors and a weekly celebrity guest judge to critique the designers’ works.

The show, which is a spinoff of the Emmy-nominated series “Project Greenlight,” gives designers an opportunity to show their collection at New York Fashion Week.

Each week they are given a new assignment. The time when they are in the workroom gives a sense of how difficult the competition really is. It also gives insight to how each specific designer works.

Once the designers complete their looks for that week’s challenge, they have a runway show where each design is shown and then judged. This part is great because this is the first time you see their whole outfits put together, so most of the time the finished product is a surprise to viewers.

After the runway show, it’s time for judging. The judges are always very honest with their opinions, and tell it how it is with their expertise. They really do a good job on showing how they truly feel on a contestant’s piece, no matter how harsh the critique is.

Anya Ayoung-Chee is one of the most interesting contestants on the show because she only learned how to sew four months before she entered the competition. Even with her lack of experience, she has been at the top for the past two episodes and shows a lot of promise.

The show has always been entertaining. Starting with the first season, the way the show is filmed created a competitive yet fun atmosphere.

Sometimes the challenges may get boring. Most of the challenges are repeated, with slight alterations. The challenges that get a lot of play are the ones where they design an outfit for a specific sport or celebrity, and the muse challenge where they go around Manhattan looking for inspiration.

On the other hand, when the challenges are interesting and unusual, the show is fun to watch. That, in a sense, is the best part because it shows the real creativity in design.

“Project Runway” is definitely a fun show to watch, especially if you are interested in designing. However, after nine seasons it is time to put this show to rest. Even though it fits well with Lifetime programming, in reality offers nothing that other shows do not already. The show is becoming too cyclic and rarely gives viewers something new and exciting to watch.

Mat Kearney’s new album “Young Love,” which was released earlier this month, is already doing well. The album reached number one on the top albums in the iTunes store the same day it came out, causing Kearney to tweet, “Oh Lord…I can’t breathe…” Two days later, he tweeted again and said, “Still shocked.”

Kearney has been successful in the past as well. The single “Nothing Left To Lose”, which he released in 2006 sold more than 500,000 copies that year, and the album “Nothing Left To Lose” sold more than 450,000 records. Following all that success came the album “City of Black and White,” which reached number 13 on the Billboard Top 200. Now Kearney didn’t seem to experiment too much with his new album. His guitar strumming compliments the lyrics nicely in most of his pervious work, and he did the same for “Young Love.” Although he stayed the same, he did add some new sounds to his album. 

The first song from the album  is called “Hey Mama” and starts with hands clapping and is very upbeat. His song “Ships In The Lights” also has clapping going on, but this has a more serious mood to it. The clapping gives an interesting sound to songs and can even inspire one to dance while listening to it.

“Hey Mama” is a love song along with a few other songs on the album. The album title, “Young Love,” makes sense because a lot of the songs are about the emotions and situations that come with being in love. The love songs can relate to any of his fans, but especially to the younger generation since he focuses on what it’s like to make mistakes, meet the person of your dreams, and just fall head over heels for them.

The guitar strumming and the drums in this album stand out the most because even though they are simple to play, they bring the songs to life. Even with the most serious songs, the music makes it possible to sway along and clap your hands.

Kearney is a Christian and his song “Closer To Love” from his album “The City of Black and White” was played a lot on Christian radio stations, and drew in his spiritual fans. Kearney’s song “Down” on “Young Love” goes back to his religious beliefs. Although, “Down” talks about screaming at the “top of our lungs, ‘hallelujah,’” it’s possible to miss that it’s a Christian song by its upbeat, head-bopping mood.

The album “Young Love” smoothly transitions from songs about love, to songs about God, to even a song about his dad (“Rochester”), and he does this with catchy beats and relatable lyrics that will attract many fans.

Anyone who is acquainted with Glenn Ficarra and John Requa writers of “Bad Santa” (2003) may be astonished by the couple’s ability to harvest the over-romantic film “Crazy, Stupid, Love.”

In this amusing, wisely directed romantic comedy, Cal Weaver (Steve Carell) and Emily Weaver (Julianne Moore) are a married couple getting a divorce due to his wife’s infidelity. Going through withdrawal after being separated from his wife, Cal accepts Jacob Palmer’s (Ryan Gosling) help to recreate Cal as a man. After following his buddy and becoming a womanizer, Jacob then takes a different path and meets Hannah (Emma Stone) and falls in love for the first time — which is where the movie started.

Gosling and Carell’s friendship began with Gosling’s interest in saving Carell’s miserable life caused by Carell’s failed marriage and cheating wife. Gosling said that Carell reminds him of someone, who the revelation of brings the audience closer to Gosling’s character.

Another plot line to this story is that Cal’s son Robby (Jonah Bobo) is in love with his teenager babysitter, Jessica (Analeigh Tipton), who’s in love with Cal, leaving a interesting but also disturbing twist to this already complicated plot.

This film has a lot of hilarious moments, most of which include Gosling who surprised the audience by stealing the the humor spotlight from Carell. His character’s story of the hot guy does not have it all was portrayed very well and at one point or another during the film, you felt sorry for every character. 

This entertaining film has outstanding cinematography. When Jessica asks a peer for advice on how to sleep with older men, the girl pulls her to the side and gives her the help she needs. Jessica then has a light shining on her face almost so bright that her face isn’t visible anymore to show that she was enlightened. Although this may sound cheesy, it wasn’t because Jessica didn’t have a creepy grin, giving her a sense of maturity. 

Another attention-grabbing choice was the rainfall after Cal and Emily has an argument outside of their son’s middle school parent teacher conference. Cal responds to the rain with, “What a cliché.” Of course this is what everyone in the audience is thinking and then he blurts it out, making the rainfall easier to accept.

One expects this film to be a romantic comedy instead it’s a depressing film with funny moments. It allowed the audience to truly accept the character’s struggles and strife, but then lightheartedly laugh about it. This gives the movie depth unlike most romantic-comedies that seemingly drastic scenarios are always sugarcoated leaving the audience no choice but to dismiss the intensity of the story.

The actors in “Crazy, Stupid, Love” did an outstanding job, all in which completely embodied the role that they played. Carell seemed to shed his “Office” persona, as did Gosling with his film “The Notebook.”

Writer Dan Fogelman focused on the idea of having a soul mate and although it may not work out that will be the only person you will ever love. This film is a must see for anyone who enjoys a good film that both slaughters and restores your hope for love.