By Sean Martin, Contributing Writer
One of this summer's freshest competition series, Platinum Hit -- which unfortunately did not become a hit for the network -- comes to an end tonight at 8pm on Bravo. The three remaining singer-songwriters are incredibly talented and extremely unique. The finalists are Sonyae Elise, the R&B/Hip Hop writer from Newark, NJ, Scotty Granger, the Pop/R&B song writer from New Orleans and Jes Hudak, the Pop/Soul song writer from upstate New York.
Scotty Granger, Sonyae Elise and Jes Hudak
When Bravo announced Platinum Hit earlier in the year, I had my doubts. What would make me want to watch song writers write songs? How is that going to hold my attention? Luckily, the concept for the series turned out to be a good one. And the casting didn’t hurt either. The group assembled for season one was diverse, with a bunch of big personalities (a necessity for reality TV). More importantly, the group was talented and the viewing audience this summer was treated to some really fantastic songs and performances.
Before I jump into my favorite songs of the summer, I want to put it out there that I know absolutely nothing about song writing. Several times, my favorite song was the one the judges liked the least -- usually Kara DioGaurdi, who I felt was particularly nasty. I prefer how a song sounds -- not necessarily the thought behind the lyrics. I’m your average music listener, which I think is important for a show like Platinum Hit. Although, I guess that’s why Ellen Degeneres was brought on board for American Idol and we all know how that worked out.
So, with the show's finale dropping tonight I thought I'd share my six favorite songs from Platinum Hit -- in no particular order:
By Carolyn Jordan Clark, Contributing Writer
This week marks the end of the NBC/DirecTV series Friday Night Lights and though this may seem dramatic…Friday nights will never be the same. Full disclosure: I am from the South, I loved our high school football quarterback, I was a cheerleader in middle school, I still know all of my high school football chants, so I was locked in to Friday Night Lights from the first scene.
I will venture to say that FNL joins the ranks of My So Called Life as one of the best shows ever on television that was vastly under watched and extremely under appreciated. Each week I found myself folded into the story line as the acting expressed real life situations in the most believable ways. I felt like I was watching real people, in real situations. I think that is an extremely hard feat in the TV of today (obviously not including reality television). The style of filming and seemingly impromptu nature of the dialogues molded this show and completely captivated me. The characters are rich and diverse. The situations were relatable and honest.
There was not an episode where I didn’t want to be the daughter of Coach and Tami Taylor. Not a day when I didn’t want be caught in a love triangle with Street and Riggins. Not a minute that I wasn’t jealous of the utter beauty of Lila and Tyra. Not a second that I didn’t want Julie Taylor and Matt Saracen to end up together. Even Buddy Garrity holds a special place in my heart.
This is a series that I will watch with my children, that I will beg my family and friends to watch, a series that has actually provided solid relationship/marriage advice. It is sad to see this incredible series come to an end but I will never forget the feeling that I get every time I hear coach and the team cheer "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can’t Lose."
Carolyn Jordan Clark is an Internet goddess with a blog (Serendipity & Spark), a vlog (with Pat Sandora on A Blog About Things), a job in Web (GO, YAHOO!) and a daily habit of obsessing on Pinterest. She is a southern girl with a New York city spirit. Catch her digital ramblings on Twitter @clarkcj.
By Justin Luke, Contributing Writer
Back in May I published my debut gay novel, Gulliver Travels, the story of a Los Angelino who flees his family, friends, and ex-boyfriend to start his life over (or at least try to do so) in New York City. Already it has become the #2 highest rated book in the Gay and Lesbian Kindle store on Amazon, while being named the 4th hottest entertainment item of the week by The Advocate. But Gulliver had a more interesting Genesis story than most novel protagonists. In fact, before he was a character in my book, Gully was a real live human being. Or, at least the Internet thought he was.
Earlier this year, I took the first draft of a novel I had written during National Novel Writing Month, and began to post it, chapter-by-chapter, on a Tumblr. I imagined this would help me stay interested in the piece long enough to edit and revise it for publication. This ended up being true. However, once I picked my Tumblr theme, I saw I needed a large photo to occupy the left side. I Googled "Hot Blonde Gay Guy" and found just what I was looking for, and added it to the left side. (FYI: the guy there now is a model who has approved my use of his photo, pictured above.)
From there I realized: there should be more to this than a Tumblr. So I created a Twitter, a Facebook profile, a Facebook fan page, and a Formspring for my darling creation. All of them, in tune with the source material, were written in first person. I blew up an announcement on all my social media channels that I had created a character and would be posting his story, day-by-day, for people who were interested.
I quickly learned that one announcement wasn’t enough. Facebook and Twitter are such rapid streams of information that people most likely missed my initial statement. But the Tumblr, fan page, and twitter account spread like wildfire in less than seven days. And everyone thought Gulliver was real.
By Sheila O'Malley, Contributing Writer
New York is obviously so full of things to see that even if you live here, it would take a lifetime to see it all. I definitely take it for granted sometimes, but then I'll have these moments where I suddenly realize, for example, "Holy crap, that is the Chrysler Building AND IT IS SO BEAUTIFUL."
The Disneyfication of New York City in the last 15 years has taken away a lot of the flavor of the place, especially Times Square, which I remember from my childhood visits here as being a scary fascinating place of smut shops, XXX movie halls, and peep shows featuring "live girls working their way through college". This is the main neighborhood of New York City, and that was its welcome mat for decades.
I enjoy going to museums and reading commemorative plaques as much as the next person, but I also like getting a glimpse of something weird/notable/bizarre, and going to investigate it further. The giant Charmin toilet paper "installation" is a perfect example, as well as the freaky place on 42nd Street called Pop Tart World. And there's a weird spot on Broadway on the north side of Times Square that is called the Times Square Visitor Center (1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th Street), which may seem like nothing that would hold any interest for me whatsoever, a place where tourists can get a map of the city, or buy T-shirts, keychains, get maps, and other crap to bring home from their visit. I went there only once before, when I was looking for Pop Tart World and needed directions. The atmosphere inside that Visitor Center was so bizarre that I knew I had to go back to check it out.
The entranceway is unassuming, a dark hallway announced by pink neon walls blaring: TIMES SQUARE VISITOR CENTER, and RIGHT THIS WAY on either side. It doesn't look like your regular tourist joint. It looks like the entrance to a seedy vaudevillian theatre featuring burlesque dancers who do erotic fan dances as bored men wearing fedoras and chomping on cigars look on.
By Eric Puglisi, Contributing Writer
My boyfriend and I will be going to be taking a trip to Europe in the near future. We will be flying (first class, mind you) to Paris and either Barcelona or Rome. In Paris we will be staying two nights at one of the best hotels in the city, with the highest amenities. Did I mention that this will be free? It might sound too good to be true, but it's not.
Welcome to the game of frequent flyer miles and points. A game, if played right, that can lead to upgrades and free trips. It takes some research but can be very fun along the way.
About eight months ago, I took a look at our finances and realized that we were using our debit card all the time and getting nothing for it. With no credit card debt, we decided to look into getting a credit card that could finally give us some rewards. So I took a hard look at what kind of cards and reward programs were offered for airlines. Little did I know what I would find.
We both signed up for a CitiCard American Airlines credit card that was offering a 75,000 mile bonus to apply by only spending $1500 in 3 months. By using my credit card for every purchase -- and I mean every purchase -- I was able to easily reach this limit. And then poof! I instantly had enough miles for three free round trip tickets to anywhere in the US, and was well on my way to a free overseas flight. It's a great strategy, but if you're going to try it make sure that you are able to pay off the entire balance each month so you don’t earn interest. My Hyatt Card gave me two free nights at any Hyatt in the world and instant platinum status.
Did you know that you can get miles and hotel points for almost anything? I do all of my online shopping through my favorite airline or hotel’s shopping site. I cancelled and resigned up for Netflix to get a 4000 mile bonus. My boyfriend and I even will pick restaurants that offer five miles per dollar spent through a special dining site. The possibilities are endless!
By Kara Klenk, Contributing Writer
Twitter is certainly a busy bee these days. It’s a celebrity publicist, it’s aided national revolutions, and it's helped link victims of natural disasters to the outside world. It’s also a pretty sh#*ty website. OK, put the iPhone down. I’m sorry if I’m offending the Tweeters out there, but before you begin composing a 140-character bitch slap, hear me out.
Twitter Is Over Capacity
No one can tell me you haven’t seen this little guy once or twenty:
It’s the Twitter Fail Whale! When is he getting a Nick Jr. show? Fail Whale is bailed out once again by his flying friends after a perfume launch proves more than he can handle! Tune in to Episode 1: The Kardashian Konundrum, Mondays @ 5am! I’ve got plenty more preschool show pitches, but let’s stay on track.
For a while, I was a rare tweeter. 2 or 3 times a month I’d log on to the site and blast an inane thought or joke into the abyss, but it wasn’t really having a profound effect on my life or how I communicate, like say Facebook or Menupages. Still, even my infrequent usage was fraught with appearances by this G-D whale! Really? Over capacity? YouTube has 48 hours of video uploaded every minute and 3 billion hits a day. Meanwhile, a few million people exchange simple text blurts and Twitter sh#*s the bed?
No Tweet Results for Kara Klenk
(Chandler Bing cadence) Could Twitter’s search function be any lazier? I am the only Kara Klenk (if Google is to be trusted) in the world and if someone searches me, even if that person follows me or we have a ton of followers in common, if they misspell one letter of my name, Twitter does not return correct, or sometimes any, search results.
Formatting + Retweets = Twitterversal Harmony
Twitter does not allow even basic formatting so text cannot be even bolded or italicized. Which could be useful for communication, but also could solve another problem: Cryptic retweets. Sometimes they look like the wall scribbling from A Beautiful Mind, ie: RT @lilsuckface456 OMG no U didn’t! @maggieluvsbieber der wuz a thing 2day @tubetopinchurch WTF its going down.
What in Jersey Shore’s name is happening here? Who said what originally and who is responding? It’s something a little formatting could easily clear up. (BTW I hope I invented these handles but if any of them are real #FF ASAP.)
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's post comes from Pierce V. who gives a simple tutorial on how-to jailbreak your iPhone and the best to download.
Last year I compared smart phones keyboards and their general usability for big tasks. I thought I’d continue with the tech theme and show you jailbreaking and the iPhone.
As many of you with iPhones know, the new iOS 4 brings a wealth of new features: backgrounds (purty!), "multi"-tasking (finally!-ish), folders (Hallelujah!), mail app update (*cough* Google *cough*), etc. But even with the wealth of new features, Apple is ultra-restrictive with personalization. Here's where the magic of jailbreaking comes in.
What exactly is jailbreaking? Well, without going into the technical details (which I know none of), jailbreaking allows you add apps, functionality and customize the look and feel of your iPhone with themes that Apple would otherwise restrict.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's post comes from comedian and writer Chris Vespoli who shares with us the warning signs that someone you love may be a friend of Snooki.
To millions of Americans, MTV's Jersey Shore is a spray-tanned, greasy orgasm of drama and violence, but to me, it's something far more important. It's an educational tool -- a cautionary tale of misguided youth. You see, no one is born a Guido; Guidos are genuinely good kids who just got swept up in a turbulent sea of Ed Hardy t-shirts and LA Looks Mega Hold hair gel.
Side note: Please realize I use the term "Guido" not as a racial slur towards Italian-Americans, but as a general term for the hard-partying Jersey Shore cast and other tri-state twenty-somethings like them. After all, Ronnie is only half Italian and Snooki is actually Chilean, so to label the word an epithet is pretty misguided in this situation (no pun intended). Also, I can use the word because I myself am Italian-American, so there.
So, in order to make sure this doesn't happen to one of your friends, it's important to recognize the seven warning signs below.
Your Friend Makes Constant, Non-Ironic Use of the Word "Bro"
If someone who is not your brother starts calling you and everyone else he knows "bro," that's usually one of the first signs that something is up. Whereas normal dudes might bust out a "bro" only during a heart-to-heart talk, Guidos use it in nearly every form of social interaction. Be cautious: Use of the word is often accompanied by an increase in aggression on boardwalks, as in Ronnie's "come at me, bro!" + face punch combination in Season 1.
He Treats G-T-L as if it were a Buddhist Mantra
As popularized by Pauly D and The Situation, going to the gym, getting an artificial tan and doing your laundry is the daily routine by which every Guido maintains his "freshness." You'll know it's time for an intervention when your friend starts spending more time and money on his appearance than he does on paying back his student loans... Oh, and his skin will be a bright shade of orange.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from nightlife promoter, social media addict and wannabe web entrepreneur Justin B, who gives us a glimpse of the seedy, scary underbelly of Twitter’s millions of users.
A Tweet is worth a million words. Okay, maybe it’s only worth 140 characters, which isn’t that many words at all. But you’d be astounded at just how much can come through these little textual blurbs that zip across the Internet at the hyperspeed of a monkey on rocket-backed roller skates.
In my newest Web project, Dearest Twitter I curate from Twitter only the funniest and strangest tweets written in traditional letter format (aka, those that start with the word “Dear”). Looking at my site, you might assume that everyone on Twitter is either witty or intelligent. But that’s because you don’t see the cutting room floor. And on that floor, there are millions of interesting folks writing letters that no one may ever read.
Most people may consider these stray tweets junk. I see them as the rich soil from which we can pull life truths and statements on the human condition. Teaching moments, all. Allow me to share with you a few universal lessons that the Twitter letter pile has taught me:
Everyone Is Stuck Behind an Asshole in Traffic
It happens in every state, every highway and byway, and at any sign or corner you could think of. Maybe right on your corner, right now! Yes, these “Dear Driver” tweets tend to pop up mostly right before work time, or right after. Sometimes said driver is speeding. Sometimes they are going far too slow. Sometimes they are picking their nose, pulling their armpit hair, flipping the bird, running lights, cutting off the elderly or lip-syncing to Justin Bieber. So furious tweeters take to the stream to voice their horror and anguish. Then again, maybe everyone is driving so terribly because they are too busy tweeting about each other.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from new dog owner Jacob Y. who gives us a glimpse of what it's like to own a small dog in the big city.
I’ve always loved small dogs ever since I was a kid and remember how much I loved to chase after my shih tzu, Sony (named after my childhood bedroom TV.) After living alone for the first two months in my new place in NYC I realized I could really use some doggie company. I started looking in pet stores on the upper east side where puppies average about $3000. After picking my jaw up off the floor I began checking Petfinder.com for rescued pups. After about a week of searching I found my perfect doggie and Zipcar’d to New Jersey to adopt him. In keeping with my tradition, I named the new little rascal Samsung, aftter my current TV.
Here's a picture of Sammy and a video of me and him on the day I adopted him.
Here are a few things I’ve learned in the past two weeks about being a dog owner in NYC:
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from the lovely and talented Brooke Forry of ClaremontRoad.com who shares her personalized journey into the world self-employment.
Just about six months ago, I had a moment of temporary insanity. "Hey, I'm going to quit my job and start my own business!" I thought to myself. "This will be fun!" And then I did just that.
Actually, that's not how it happened at all. In reality, my decision to quit my job and start a business may have been an absolutely crazy leap of faith, but it is one that I thought about and wrestled with for a long time. It was one of the most difficult decisions I have ever made -- to leave a stable 9-6 job as a graphic designer for complete unpredictability and financial instability -- but half a year later, I can proudly say it is the best decision I have ever made in my career.
To make a long story short, in early 2010, I partnered with four other amazing designers and friends to form Curious & Company, a full service design firm specializing in print and interactive design. While we're still getting our business established, we are fortunate enough to each be able to work from our individual homes, which, for me, means I spend the majority of my time here:
You can find me sitting at my little desk click-clacking away and designing up a storm pretty much all the time. Sometimes wearing my pajamas. Okay, usually wearing my pajamas. With no makeup on. And my knotty (unwashed) hair pulled back into a ponytail.
In all seriousness, I do bathe (sometimes,) and I love working from home. While I work probably twice the hours that I did at any previous job, having the flexibility to make my own schedule gives me the opportunity to take time to myself when I need it, make plans with friends and family without feeling limited to hour-long lunch breaks, spend time with my husband even when I'm working and have control over how efficiently my projects run. If you've ever thought about working for yourself or working from home (or both), here are my best personal pointers.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's post comes very a brave Sean M. who muses on the lessons he learned while going from his 20s to his 30s last week.
I turned 30 last week. Lots of people gave me their two cents, which is funny because I didn't really ask anyone for advice. But boy, did it come pouring in. I received phone calls, birthday cards, text message, tweets... but by far the most popular form of birthday advice giving came by way of my very public Facebook page. Let's take a peek at some of my favorites and the lessons I learned from them.
And it was. I went to Arriba Arriba, my favorite restaurant in the whole world, for dinner and drinks. I go to Arriba at least once a week and have been since I was in my early 20s. This isn't about to change any time soon. Turning 30 helped me to understand that this wasn't like a death. This wasn't an instantaneous change; the loss of a job or a loved one. It's a slow change that really does start way before you hit the big 3-0.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's post comes from everyone's favorite music master Ru B. who shares an intro on all things Bollywood.
India has one of the largest film industries in the world, producing over 1,000 films a year. Bollywood (As the Hindi Film Industry is affectionately called) produces about 200 films a year. Over the past decade Americans have seen Bollywood influence many aspects of pop culture including our soap operas, music, Broadway and even our reality programming. However these are mere glimpses of what Bollywood has to offer.
The Bollywood audience reaches far and wide, from Mumbai to Moscow to Michigan and every rural village and city in between. Going to the movie theater is a family event. Therefore almost every Bollywood film has something for everyone: the romantic storyline is usually the main story, but action is provided for the boys, cultural "festive" events for the older generations, as well as comedy for the children. Naturally, to include all of that in one film and the musical numbers, the average running time of a Bollywood movie is over 2.5 hrs! This can easily test the patience of your average American viewer but my hope is after reading this intro you'll be excited to dive right in and experience it for yourself. (Note: Slumdog Millionaire is not a Bollywood movie.)
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from Brennen F. who shares some cheap and simple ways to rejuvenate your living space.
I live in one of the smallest and oldest apartments in Manhattan’s East Village. Over the past few years I’ve been experimenting with idea after idea to give my little shoe box a bit of character. After many trials and errors, I have come up with a few ideas that work for me and I’ve decided to share them here.
Tip #1: Cheap is great, free is better
While out shopping, and rummaging through the clearance section at Urban Outfitters, I found a print of a water gun for $9. It wasn’t anything that I would have gravitated toward had it been full price, but I knew that I could do something with it to work it into my room. I had the print for a month or two and never got that excited about it. One day my roommate, came home with an antique frame that he had found on the street. After the two of us looked at the frame for a bit, we decided it was exactly what our "water gun" needed to make it unique, eclectic, and fit in the room.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from a fellow television-obsessed fan like me, Matt A. who takes on an imagined look into the future of some beloved TV characters.
After Sex and The City 2 left me feeling violated, I began to wonder the fates of other beloved characters from television shows long since gone. Where exactly are they now? I mean, when Sex and the City went off the air in 2004, I instantly thought, "Abu Dhabi! Clearly what is next for these women is to have comic hijinks in Abu Dhabi!" As burkas were the most logical progression for the girls of SATC, I thought it would be interesting to imagine where life took some other television icons from dearly departed shows.
Saved by the Bell
After getting married, Zach convinced Kelly that they should become swingers. They’re into threesomes and swapping partners… unless they're named Jeff and they're the manager of The Max. Slater became morbidly obese and is now the spokesperson for Alli and the jheri curl. Jessie never got into Stanford because she became addicted to caffeine pills and failed her math test. She currently lives in Las Vegas under the pseudonym "Nomi Malone." Lisa stars in Bravo's The Real Housewives of Bayside. Her new single, "The Sprain (Injury Is Learned)" hits iTunes next week. Screech never left town. Yeah, he's that sad pathetic guy who stayed in town in order to live out his glory days, which sadly for Screech, involved stealing Betty Crocker’s spaghetti sauce recipe. He can be seen at the local bar, humming "Friends Forever" under his breath and drinking alone. Tori became a lesbian and I dunno… changed her name to Kara Dioguardi so she could ruin some other show.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry is republished with permission from Matthew F. of To Be That Guy, because I thought it was so funny when I read it that I had to share it with everyone.
Have you ever had a bad date? I don't just mean a date that made you think, "ehh, this isn't going anywhere." I mean a date that made you want to punch yourself, made you wish that you hadn't washed your hair and dirtied a clean shirt, made you wish you had stayed at home and cried, or maybe pulled out all your eyelashes. Tonight I had one of the worst dates. To clarify, I don't mean just one of the worst I've had; I mean one of the worst dates to have ever occurred, right up there with one of Joran van der Sloot's dates.
When the guy -- who we'll call "Squealer," for reasons that will soon become clear -- called me this afternoon to figure out the details, I got my first warning sign. He made some crazy statement -- I can't even remember what it was because it was so nonsensical -- to which my response was, "um... I don't know what that means." and then came the scary part, his response: "Well, get ready because that's just the first of many quips I've got planned for you tonight [insert squealing laughter]."
When Squealer caught my eye and walked toward me, my heart sank. Please don't be him. Please don't be him, I thought as a hipster walked toward me in the skinniest of circulation-cutting-off-est jeans I've ever seen on a purported male of the species. Worse, this thing was wearing a beret - a beret!!!!!!! - and a flannel shirt that looked like something my grandma wore (yes, it was definitely a woman's. No doubt.) In the '70's. Even disregarding the woman's shirt, it was 100 degrees and humid out. Who is this person? And -- oh god -- why is he walking like a fashion model? Oh god, why hast thou forsaken me?!
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from comedienne Kara Klenk, who analyzes America's hottest new drinking game.
Summer is barely here, and mine has already been chock-full of weddings (read: open bar), dining al fresco (read: boozing), and trying to soak up as much sunshiny park time as possible (read: flasks). Hold off on the intervention, I’m just stating the simple fact that summer encourages more drinking than the other seasons.
For those of you who’d like to add a competitive edge to your summer nights (or days, go ahead, I’m not judging) there is a new phenomenon that has burst through the frat house doors and is infecting the mainstream like Beiber Fever. It’s call "Icing", and if you haven’t heard of it, let me ‘splain it to you. Basically, one person "ices" another when he/she finds a creative way to present another person with a Smirnoff Ice. The rules are below:
The game was popularized by the web site, which has sadly been shut down, but previously cataloged user-submitted evidence of great "ices" in history. It’s the fun of devising a plan to catch someone off guard with a Smirnoff Ice Raspberry Burst that makes this game kind of hilarious. Before the site went down I saw a couple photos of someone getting iced at his wedding and another of someone's toiletry drawer with a Smirnoff Ice resting inside next to an inhaler with a note that read, "Puff on this, bitch! You just got iced!"
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring guest bloggers as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from Kyle G. who is pumped up for the start of the 2010 World Cup.
Having played competitive soccer for the majority of my life, I admit I have some bias (fine a lot of bias), but today marks the beginning of the most amazing month of every four years. I asked a friend of mine what his World Cup plans were. He responded, "the only thing athletic I do is ride my bike." I was somewhat confused by his response, but realized that his, was most likely a common sentiment.
Every four years the World -- outside of America -- shuts down for a month to observe the single most unifying, if only temporarily, event the world has ever known (seriously, this thing has stopped civil wars!) Sort of contradictory calling a competition unifying, but the overall tone and tenor of the World Cup is joy and camaraderie. I think this contradiction is why Americans have had such a problem grasping the importance of it.
The U.S. Men's National Soccer Team with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, and President Bill Clinton. Photo by John Todd/isiphotos.com
So, why have we missed the boat? American sporting mentality (or mentality, period!) is one of superiority. I’ll leave it there, so as not to too greatly satisfy my hippy, anti-establishment parents. This position, needless to say, doesn’t easily ally with the proud-to-participate attitude, and ultimately leaves us out of the excitement.
In the States, the World Cup has frequently and laughably been referred to as the Super Bowl of soccer. This comparison is mostly drawn due to the incredible television viewership, but the Cup is so much more. The World Cup is one of those times where Nationalism isn’t a dirty word. The tournament gives everyone the opportunity to proudly and playfully support his or her country.
If rooting for the good old RW&B doesn’t get your blood flowing, at the very least the World Cup should be viewed as an important cultural and historical event. This year the World Cup will be held in South Africa, where Nelson Mandela himself is set to attend the opening ceremonies.
If nothing else, this year’s tournament is a testament to how far Africa has come. Further, it is an opportunity to show where it can go (see recent article in ESPN magazine.) After an exciting African Nation’s Cup, many believe that several of the African teams have an opportunity to show very well, and draw more attention and funding to educational and infrastructural investments.
So whether you’re a die-hard member of Uncle Sam’s Army, an un-enthused American football fan, interested in seeing Africa in a new light or just want a great atmosphere to get hammered this years World Cup is for you...
...if not, at least ESPN has tapped U2 for the official soundtrack of the tournament’s broadcast, so you can see Bono in his super cute sunglasses.
I recently attended my very first football match on my trip to London in Feb. 2010 and I have to admit that I'm kind of excited to watch the World Cup this year. Click here to read all of the Summer Friday entries.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring "guest bloggers" as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This week's entry comes from Eric P. who gives us a funny Cliffs Notes catchup on the phenomenon of the Gosselin family.
It seems like only yesterday that I was writing an entry for this very blog, a Summer Friday back in 2008 about how much I loved an innocent show called Jon & Kate Plus 8. A nice simple show that followed two small town Pennsylvanian parents raising 8 adorable kids. I would sit in front of the TV and watch as the family traveled to the crayon factory (lucky kids!), went to visit Oprah, or even something as mundane as play in the backyard.
Then... um... something happened.
I can safely assume that almost everyone in America knows who Jon and Kate Gosselin are now. But in case there is somebody reading this, I will give you the quick rundown. Jon cheated on Kate or something like that and the couple became the tabloids number one target. He partied with college kids and went to dinner with some woman in his tacky silver sports car. He became a walking cliche for a mid-life crisis.
Jon and Kate then separated and Jon began to date some horrible person named Hailey Glassman who turned out to be the daughter of Kate’s plastic surgeon who gave her a tummy tuck in season 2. Effed up, right? Then Jon became the biggest douche in the world. Ed Hardy from head to toe along with two diamond "I hate my lot in life" earrings. Somewhere along the way he became good friends with Michael Lohan, too. You cannot make this stuff up. Look below. These two were made for each other.
Then they broke up and she trashed his apartment with a knife or something. I know, it’s hard to keep up.
Every Friday between Memorial Day and Labor Day I'm going to be featuring "guest bloggers" as a part of my "Summer Fridays" series. This summer's first entry could not be more appropriate. As the weather starts to get warm, put your sock-less feet up and check out this entry from Billy Nastyn.
It just looks hip to not have socks on in the spring and summer. Who doesn't like to appear to be comfortable and fashionable while spending time outside? The problem is that nobody wants to deal with stinky feet, so unless you want to end up having your own personal Lindsay Lohan Talcum powder incident, you shouldn't go unprepared.
There are some great products out there and even some quick fix antidotes that can slip right in and save your soles. Whether you are a frequent sans socks aficionado, or new to the movement, it’s worth exploring your options. Here are some suggestions:
Terry Cloth Insoles
Terry cloth is the stuff of puppies, kittens, and newborn babies (joy!). This is what you want meeting your feet. ALDO sells an amazing insole insert that is not only easy to throw on for the day, but easy to pull out and toss in with your wash. Topped with the attractive terry cloth and a nice gripped rubber bottom, this padding not only creates comfort, but absorbs what you don’t want lingering on you or your shoe.
