Monthly archives:May 2015

  • Wearable Art: Here's 3 On Fleek RuPaul's Drag Race Fashion Moments

  • 9 years ago
  • Known as the Super Bowl of Drag, RuPaul's Drag Race, now in its 7th season, will announce this year's winner tonight on LOGO-TV! I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! Image Credit: Mathu Andersen/LOGO Full disclosure: It's one of my all-time favorite program, and I totally believe it is one of the best shows on TV. And what's wonderful is that I'm not the only one. RuPaul's Drag Race's fans span all social backgrounds and sexual orientations! Sure this year's edition hasn't been the most outstanding season, with mostly lackluster "Lip Syncs For Your Life." it's still great to see the evolution of all of queens, especially the finalists Ginger Minj, Pearl and Violet Chachki. Getty Images for LOGO Here are three fabulous fashion moments as shared to me by Blog Founder, Social Media Strategist Nichelle Stephens, and fellow fan. Like me, she's not quite sure who she's rooting for: "I can't decide but I think I am #TeamViolet," she says. Ginger Minj After last season's Ben de La Creme and Darienne Lake, Ginger Minj seemed like a weak mash-up of the two.  However as the season progressed, you can see that Ginger has Southern charm with campy sensibilities and style. Jason Kempin, Getty Images for Logo TV The best look for her was runway look on the penultimate episode.  The white gown was gorgeous; her makeup was glamorous with being too much and her wig was teased up into a perfect crown.  LOGO-TV Violet Chachki Violet Chachki is waist traini[...]

  • AFP Music: Summer Concerts (pt 1)

  • 9 years ago
  • 1. Governor's Ball June 5-7, 2015 Randall’s Island Park The sunburn of Warped Tour meets the popular appeal of Coachella at this NYC concert series. The Governors Ball Music Festival began in 2011 as a one-day affair on Governor’s Island featuring among others Girl Talk, Reptar, Big Boi and a DJ set by Passion Pit. After a healthily-attended inaugural year, Gov Ball has grown to be the concert series to wear your snapback to each summer. This year the festival will bring dozens of bands to Randall’s Island for the weekend, but there are definite stand out that you should make a point of seeing each day: Friday: My Morning Jacket, Ratatat, The Decemberists, St. Vincent, Twin Shadow will take the stage along with Drake, Florence + the Machine Saturday: Future Islands, Marina and the Diamonds, Conor Oberst, Ryan Adams, Deadmau5, Bjork Sunday: Lana Del Rey, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The War on Drugs, The Black Keys, Hot Chip, Echosmith,"Weird Al" Yankovic. Be sure to arrive early to secure a good spot. Buses and ferries beginning shuttling concert-goers to the island at 11:00AM. Gates open at 11:45 and the music starts at 12:15 (and doesn't stop until 11:00PM!) Don’t forget/lose/damage your wristband. Gov Ball, like many of the bigger music events, distributes wristbands to ticket holders via the mail (or via the box office for late purchases.) They are your ticket in and are what allow you to re-enter the festival each day. Mind you can only re-enter o[...]

  • Female Desire on Film: Quirky American and Comedic French

  • 9 years ago
  • This week: two very different movies from female directors, who are (sadly) still an extreme minority, even in independent film. I Believe in Unicorns and Gemma Bovery both open on Friday, May 29th. Leah Meyerhoff’s first feature, which she both wrote and directed, is the semi-autobiographical I Believe in Unicorns, a simple yet visually inventive film about a sensitive teen’s first love (and sex) affair. Davina (played by the wonderfully soulful Natalia Dyer) lives with and cares for her disabled mom (played by Meyerhoff’s actual mother, Toni), whose husband abandoned her many years before. We all know -- or were -- girls like Davina: creative, whimsical, deep-thinking types who live largely in their imaginations. Davina collects unicorn toys, dresses inventively and takes searching self-portraits with a Polaroid camera. One day she spots Sterling (Peter Vack) skateboarding with his pals and becomes smitten with the sexy, slightly older teen, who is clearly a Bad Boy. (Though the moody, kinetic Sterling might seem a bit goofy to us, he is devastating bait to a 16-year-old.) He becomes equally charmed by her and they soon become a couple, but not without some glitches; after their first sexual encounter backstage at a punk club, he becomes distant much to her distress, but she pursues him almost aggressively.  It's unusual and somewhat refreshing to see a teenage girl's desires portrayed so matter of factly and Dyer is great at showing how the inexperienced Davina i[...]

  • For “The Boulevard Trial” Author Stephanie Laterza, A Red Sweater Helps To Ignite Her Creative Passions

  • 9 years ago
  • "Juggling a full-time job with parenting and writing is no joke. It’s exhausting," shares writer and attorney Stephanie Laterza. “Some mornings, it’s heartbreaking to try to explain to my toddler son why my husband and I have to go to work and why he has to go to daycare, and why we can’t all just stay home, or go to the park like we do on the weekends.” Laterza’s son was the inspiration behind her short story, The Clown Nose, published through Akashic Books’ Terrible Twosdays series last year, which she feels captures an aspect of this hectic lifestyle. Other works like short stories In Triage and Niagara, and her recently released first novel, The Boulevard Trial, draw from moments in her life and career, serving as a huge influence in her storytelling. And as challenging as the balance between lawyering, parenting and writing tends to be, Laterza credits her husband and mother for their unwavering support: “As I say in my blog, I send much peace and inspiration to all families making it work one way or the other.“ Find out what three favorite personal possessions Stephanie can’t live without! Then to learn more about this gifted author, visit StephanieLaterzaAuthor.wordpress.com   Red Sweater My red sweater from H&M, which I bought about ten years ago. I put it on every time I write and it kept me warm on many mornings in my drafty den this past winter. Red is, and has always been, my favorite color. Of course, red signifies passion, love and fire[...]

  • We Deliver presents "Summer Fever"

  • 9 years ago
  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UkrX_ikRUY Sunday, May 24th at The Bowery Electric Memorial Day Weekend we're kicking off the season properly with an incredible line-up of some of NYC's best bands, performers and DJ's on two levels. ROCK, FUNK, HIP HOP, ELECTRONICA, AMERICANA DOWNSTAIRS: Live Music: $9 Advance Tickets, $10 at the door XNY, Soul Khan, Blythe Sword, Bad Faces, Digital Diaspora, Statik Vision UPSTAIRS:  Live Music until 10pm, DJ's til late:  NO COVER MAP ROOM:  Graham Norwood and Amy Miles DJ's: Sameer & Gatto - 10pm til late Hosted by Art for Progress,  Doors: 7pm,  Music: 7:30pm

  • A True Noble Woman

  • 9 years ago
  • Right from the start, it’s clear that Stephen Bradley’s Noble is not a small nor subtle depiction of Christina Noble, the Irishwoman who has devoted her life to helping orphaned and abandoned children in Southeast Asia. The score’s swelling strings and the characters’ obvious intentions create an old-fashioned TV-movie vibe. Yet, this film version of Noble’s (literally) incredible story packs a significant punch anyway, due to strong acting, beautiful cinematography and the palpable spirit of its indomitable subject. Early in the film, we see Christina as a child (played by the wonderfully sharp Gloria Cramer Curtis) singing in a pub in 1955 Dublin; her Dickensian childhood is marked by a charming but drunkenly abusive father and gravely sick mother, along with a brood of equally destitute siblings. Christina prays fervently in church for things to get better, to no avail; a theme that will recur many times throughout the movie. Next we see grownup Christina (Deirdre O’Kane) arriving in Ho Chi Minh City in 1989, walking around and taking in the sights, which include many impoverished street children whose plight she relates to and resolves to alleviate. She has an easy way with people, singing for government officials and joking around with a sourpuss hotel receptionist who we know will become an ally by the end of the film. Soon she begins caring for local street urchins, obtains a temporary work visa, and struggles to raise money for a social and medical center for thes[...]

  • AFP Live Review: Music Saves the Planet

  • 9 years ago
  • This year in honor of Earth Day, Art For Progress put on the "Music Saves the Planet” show at The Bowery Electric. With the tag line "Creative Culture Accelerating Social Change”, the event was meant to "celebrate Earth Day and to raise awareness.” Ticket proceeds went towards the NYC non profit's arts programs. Door prizes from the event ranged from a Gibson guitar to tickets to The American Museum of Natural History. The evening began with Blythe Gruda. The singer was accompanied by guitarist Graham Norwood and violinist Claudia Chopek. Together the trio started the evening off with that can only be described as genuine, awe-inspiring talent. The opening slot isn’t an easy place to play. The audience is still filing in and/or hasn’t really arrived yet, but you’re still expected to put on a show as if it were a packed house. Gruda seemed utterly unphased and absolutely appreciative of the healthy showing that welcomed her warmly to the stage. Idgy Dean (Lindsay Sanwald) took the stage second at 9:00. She carried her floor tom on stage with no rock star airs. In a pair of black over alls, she seemed more roadie than rock band. Where was the rest of the band?  She IS the band. In fact Dean performs as a one-woman psychedelic rock band. She employs tUnE-yArDs-esque loops and drum beats to create multilayered garage rock that without her trusty pedal board would take a good half-dozen band members to recreate. Throughout her set Dean swapped her drumsticks for her [...]

  • Paleo Chef and Mother Carmela Cirilli Mattson Loves Fermented Foods, And Her Denim Vest Too

  • 9 years ago
  • My cousin, Carmela Cirilli Mattson, is a real food chef, teaching probiotic workshops, near her home in New York's Hudson Valley  selling cultures for kefir, kombucha and more, and creating delicious Paleo meals for delivery. Lacto-Fermentation Workshop Carmela loves the magic that happens with fermented foods---watching raw ingredients transform into amazing, flavorful food is adventurous and fun for her.   Sourdough Starter But, as she stands committed to reviving "the lost cultured food traditions," sharing her "knowledge to help build a strong real food community," she's also doing it nine months pregnant, simultaneously minding a three-year-old daughter. Yikes!   Ladybug Apple Snack "Juggling work while parenting hasn't been easy," she shares, including her daughter in her kitchen adventures, teaching her healthy eating habits. "It's been tough working with ferments during pregnancy because I had terrible nausea for the first two trimesters;" Carmela admits. "I had to put my ferments on hold because I couldn't tolerate the smell and taste." Some "Kombucha" Humor  Luckily, she won't have long to wait before jumping back into fermented foods. Kefir Milk and Kombucha In the meantime, she and her filmmaker husband, Tim, are busy preparing for a new addition in their household. While on prescribed bed rest, Carmela took some time out to share her three favorite maternity items. Jacqueline Colette Prosper, @yummicoco Deni[...]