Thursday, August 18, 2011
Destination Inspiration: {El Cartligto, Spain}
* Promotion text taken from here, discovered via An Indian Summer.
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Wednesday, August 17, 2011
London overtakes New York as top fashion capital
According to a new survey by internet tracking company, the Global Language Monitor, the British capital takes the reign thanks to fashion's most prominent pairing in years: Princess Kate and Alexander McQueen.Based on a ranking that tracks mentions on the internet, New York had ruled supreme in past years, but 2011 seems to be the end of the "Sex and the City" era, making room for the Duchess of Cambridge's royal style, which first came to the world's attention thanks to her McQueen wedding dress.
"We are seeing what the impact of two genuine media stars, Princess Kate and Alexander McQueen can have upon a global ranking. Our numbers show that it was their presence that tipped the victory to London over New York," said Bekka Payack, the Manhattan-based fashion correspondent of the Global Language Monitor. "
London and New York are followed by Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. Barcelona, Singapore, Tokyo and Berlin are also featured in the top ten.
Jennifer Lopez returning to 'Idol'
If there was ever any doubt, it's gone now. Jennifer Lopez will be back at the judge's panel for the 11th season of "American Idol."The Fox network has made Lopez's return official, along with her fellow judges, Aerosmith rocker Steven Tyler and record producer Randy Jackson. In addition, Fox said Wednesday that Ryan Seacrest will be back as host.
Singer-actress Lopez debuted as a judge this past season. But in recent weeks, she had publicly been coy about whether she would stay with the hit musical competition.
Any lingering skepticism was dispelled last week by "Idol" executive producer Nigel Lythgoe. He declared, unofficially, that Lopez would be back while interviewed on Seacrest's radio program.
"American Idol" begins its new season Jan. 22.
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Fringe musical mocks Julie Taymor and 'Spider-Man'
To see how far Julie Taymor has fallen over the past year, look no further than the New York International Fringe Festival.That's where the visionary director and choreographer behind the stunning "The Lion King" has become an object of sniggering and outright goofing during a lively musical that rips her and everyone associated with the Broadway spectacle "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."
"The Legend of Julie Taymor, or the Musical That Killed Everybody!" — with book and lyrics by Travis Ferguson and music and lyrics by Dave Ogrin — is a spirited behind-the-scenes fictional look at the messy birth of Broadway's most expensive show. It is wicked and rollicking.
Julie Taymor — sorry, make that "Julie Paymore" — is portrayed as a crazed, ego-driven maniac who vows to save Broadway with a show about "Spider-Dude" that blends Greek myth with wind machines and 16 golden confetti cannons. She's so driven that she sleeps with the theater owner to keep the show open and at one point kills a man with her bare hands. She also may or may not have burned down the theater on opening night.
"For the scene where Spider-Dude is battling the Gods on Mount Olympus, I need the clouds to come down around the audience with hail and lightning, and I want an actual tornado to form in the middle of the house. Got that!?" Paymore, played by Jennifer Barnhart, asks her minions.
Paymore isn't the only one lambasted by this show. U2's Bono — one half of the "Spider-Man" songwriters — is transformed into a guy named Bruno (Clint Carter), complete with leather jacket, sunglasses and an Irish accent; The New York Post's Michael Riedel becomes Lionel Weasel, determined to destroy the musical; and Johnie Moore plays producer Michael Cohl as an aging hippie with a bong.
The show is one of 194 productions at the festival, which also includes the hot "Yeast Nation," a new musical by the Tony Award-winning team behind the Broadway hit "Urinetown"; "Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin' Rock Opera"; "Facebook Me"; and "Bella and the Pool Boy."
The nine-member cast of "The Legend of Julie Taymor," under the direction and choreography of Joe Barros, is funny and energetic, making up for unevenness in vocal ability. The songs are far better than you might expect, with the best being "Broadway's Burning," ''Boy Falls From The Rafters" — a play on the actual Broadway musical's "The Boy Falls From the Sky" — and "Tweet, Tweet, Tweet!" as the ensemble leaks that the Broadway musical is terrible.
There's a word for this kind of show: impudent. And another one: delicious. A bunch of twentysomethings in jeans and T-shirts are mocking Taymor, Bono and the hubris of "Spider-Man," but they're also asking where art goes when spectacle is all that anyone wants to see.
In that way, the jokey musical is more interesting than the one it's mocking.
Carradine's widow settles wrongful death suit
Court records show David Carradine's widow has reached a settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit filed against a French company handling the actor's final film.An attorney for Anne Carradine filed a notice Monday in Los Angeles indicating the parties had reached a conditional settlement. Exact terms were not disclosed.
The 72-year-old "Kung Fu" star was found dead in a Bangkok hotel room in 2009 while working on a film called "Stretch."
Anne Carradine sued MK2 S.A. in June 2010, claiming the company promised to provide David Carradine with an assistant to help him navigate Bangkok but the assistant left him behind for dinner on the night before the actor was found dead.
MK2 denied wrongdoing in court filings.
