Jeffrey Allen

Monday, July 4, 2011

When celebrity relatives upstage the bride

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FASHION DILEMMA

Which celebrity relatives are trying to upstage the bride?

It's been some weeks since the happy event, but FS has only just had the dubious pleasure of seeing a photograph of Sarah Allen, the happy bride's sister, at Lily Allen's wedding. Have a look. Was your response:

a) Wow
b) Ouch
c) She really doesn't like her sister, does she?
d) All of the above

Yes, us too. FS thinks it's entirely possible that sporting what we must charitably call a 'neckline' like that could lead to physiotherapy. But, wincing aside, it turned our minds to other embarrassing celebrity relatives and their cringe-inducing special occasion outfits. Time has yet to tell what young Lila Moss (or is she a Hack? A Hack-Moss? Sounds like a gardening implement ...) makes of her mother Kate's frequent tabloid appearances falling out of vintage frocks while flying in crates of rum in a helicopter to her hen night, but we can't escape a mental picture of nearby psychologists marking her 18th birthday and clearing their diaries for the occasion. [NB. FS loves the fact, nonchalantly dropped, that nightclub Mahiki has its own helicopter. Beat that, your Ritzys and Eclipses.]

Of course Ms Moss is herself getting hitched next month, a piece of news to which more column inches have been devoted than Greece's financial collapse, Libya's war or Chelsea's new manager. And yes, we do know we are now contributing to that total. Tsk, what do you want: FS's views on military withdrawal in Afghanistan?

According to a "pal" (how we love those anonymous friends who provide the celebrity magazines with all their bitchiest quotes) who chatted out of the goodness of their heart to Now magazine, "When Kate saw that a lot of attention was on bridesmaid Pippa instead of Kate Middleton at the Royal Wedding, it made her panic, thinking it wouldn't take much for the attention to not be on her." What can have been running through her mind? Sadie Frost arriving topless? Professional party-planner Fran Cutler clad only in balloons? The mind boggles.

But if the potential for upstaging the bride haunts even one of the world's highest paid supermodels (what do you mean, it was a totally made-up story? You're so cynical) - just think of the future. We can surely all recall, however dimly, that it's tough being a teenager. Admittedly almost everyone and everything they know is sufficient to provoke embarrassment in the average 14-year-old, but when you are related to an international musical icon and style legend, the stakes are upped. To the world, she's a legend. To Lourdes, she's a fifty-something mum and walking moment of shame in a see-through skirt, fishnet tights and visible pants. It might be a good few years down the line, but just imagine that particular mother-of-the-bride outfit ...

FASHIONISTA OF THE WEEK

Only this morning FS believed there was an actual law banning people from wearing tights in June, and was wondering what penalty it might incur from the Fashion Police to sport them anyway. But we were wrong, and we have a new poster girl to prove it. "I am a year-round tights girl. I will wear tights even if it's 100 degrees outside. Tights are my safety blanket," says Zooey Deschanel. Hooray, says FS, and gets out the opaques.

FASHION GRAVEYARD

Oh, Boris. Back in the dim, distant past, FS used to harbour quite a crush on you. And now look. Not content with shamelessly flogging Ralph Lauren at any given opportunity, your hair is now so vertical and so darn silly that your date is hiding under her hat in sheer embarrassment. And she's made of plastic. When even polymer-based girls say no to your suggestion of adjourning to the broom cupboard, you know you've lost it.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

All our secretaries loved it when they saw it and I thought: 'Yeah, you would.' I didn't want to point out that they're never going to meet a man because there's nothing around there.

Louise Wilson, course director of MA fashion at Central St Martins, on the college's move to Kings Cross. Presumably they are not moving on a truck so much as a time machine with a direct portal to the 1950s.

OUT AND ABOUT

Londoners, fancy a garden party in the city? Head to St Martin's Courtyard in Covent Garden on 2 July for a spot of British summer fun (don't forget the umbrella). There will be music from Sunday Girl, fairy cakes, face painting, magicians, buntings and balloons. And, of course, some fashion: a salon show will showcase the best of the boutiques in the courtyard, including a dress made entirely from flowers. For those tweeters amongst you, you can talk about it at #smcgardenparty and follow @smccoventgarden. There's also a Facebook page.
stmartinscourtyard.co.uk

Crafters in Edinburgh take note: the annual Friends of the Earth Summer Craft Fair will be taking place on Saturday 30 July. There will be beautiful handmade Scottish crafts on sale, and of course a cafe to kick back with a homemade cake or two. Entry is free.
10.30am-3.30pm, Eric Liddell Centre, Morningside Road, Edinburgh. foe-scotland.org.uk/craftfair

SHOPPING NEWS

Attention jeans addicts! We've got a new bar for you. The Raw Denim Bar may not have cocktails (not yet, anyway) but it does have a huge range of different styles and fits, from flares to skinnies via wides and high-waisted. FS particularly likes the wide-legged Melissa (above). The store specialises in premium American and Canadian brands new to the UK, many of them exclusive to the site. All the labels are produced and manufactured in the USA or Canada, too.
therawdenimbar.co.uk

Sale lovers and ethical fashionistas, head to Fashion-conscience.com. The site has kicked off its summer sale with up to 50% off lovely labels
including Komodo, Jackpot, Matt & Nat and Melissa/Vivienne Westwood shoes.
fashion-conscience.com

Good news for vintage lovers ? Peekaboo Vintage has opened its first standalone store. The boutique offers the best of the vintage finds, from Chanel-style quilted bags to Ossie Clark-inspired jumpsuits.
Peekaboo, 2 Ganton Street, W1, 020 7434 4142, peekaboovintage.com

Fancy a bit of monkey business? Kipling has launched a "monkey mash-up" inviting you to make your own bespoke Kipling icon. They've also got some one-off primates to auction, designed by bloggers, artists and illustrators. All proceeds go to the Teenage Cancer Trust, a charity devoted to improving the lives of young people with cancer.
kiplingmonkeymashup.co.uk

OFFCUTS

If straightening our hair causes cancer, what can we believe in, laments Hadley Freeman.

Helen Seamons chooses her favourite 10 moments from the Milan menswear shows.

Is Donatella Versace bidding for world domination, wonders Jess Cartner-Morley.

For all the latest fashion news, visit guardian.co.uk/fashion.

News to tell us? Email kate.carter@guardian.co.uk.

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Kate Carter

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/23/when-celebrity-relatives-upstage-bride

Georgianna Robertson Reese Witherspoon Jordana Brewster Laetitia Casta Claudette Ortiz

Documentary Touching on Effect Boston Busing Riots Had on Latinos

From Fox News Latino:

A documentary to be unveiled this week will revisit the tumultuous busing riots in Boston in the 1970s, with a rarely seen look at its effects on Latinos and Asian-American families. The toll the riots had on those communities had gone largely unnoticed by media and historians.

Documentary Touching on Effect Boston Busing Riots Had on Latinos

From Fox News Latino:

Lee Hall: 'I will fight this'

Billy Elliot writer Lee Hall has spent the past year working on an epic opera starring 300 schoolchildren. Now his backers have pulled out, in a bitter row over a character's sexuality

For the past year I have been working on the libretto for my next project, a community opera in Bridlington by composer Harvey Brough, commissioned by Opera North. The opera, which was due to premiere on 15 July, takes place over a day on the beach. All human life is there: kids on a school trip, grannies with sandwiches, dog lovers, holiday makers, even a landscape painter. It is Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring meets Death in Venice, drawn by Donald McGill.

The narrative revolves around a single father who, having been made redundant, is forced to take a holiday at home instead of in Ibiza. However, he is completely unable to have a quiet day beside the sea as he is assailed by schoolchildren on a biology field trip, local yobs ? and the entire Bridlington Amateur Dramatics Society, who are rehearsing the Bridlington Pageant. There is high drama: at one point, his son is swept out to sea. Essentially, though, it's a comedy about tolerance and inclusiveness.

Rehearsals have been under way for six months. Nearly 400 people of all ages are involved. I am a huge believer in drama's capacity to change lives, and this has been a rich, rewarding and exciting project for all involved.

However, two weeks ago I received the worrying news that the main primary school involved was threatening to pull nearly 300 children from the production. They had problems with the libretto, and requested a list of changes. "Pee-pee" and the use of "stupid" as an insult were objected to. The composer and I worked with the school and Opera North to reach a version that would work for everyone.

But by last week, we had reached an impasse. The opera's main character is a gay, retired painter, and in one scene he is the victim of taunting. At the school's request, I agreed to tone down the violence of the language in this scene, but not the character's straightforward defence of his sexuality. Word came back from Opera North that, unless I removed the lines "I'm queer" and "I prefer a lad to a lass", the whole project was in jeopardy. (It was by now far too late to replace 300 schoolchildren.)

The request seemed to come from an entirely different era. I thought there must be some mistake, and that Opera North would support me by finding a way around this completely outdated hysteria. I was amazed when they accepted the school's position. I was repeatedly asked to excise these references to the adult character being gay.

I have spent years working in theatres and schools, and had never come across such an extraordinary situation. It seemed the school believed this particular scene threw up issues that were age-inappropriate ? even though no children were involved in this part of the libretto: it was purely an exchange between adult performers. I urged Opera North to open a dialogue with the children's parents, being entirely open about all the issues. Having written Billy Elliot, which currently has productions all over the world featuring a gay, cross-dressing prepubescent, as well as scores of kids swearing and doing things they "shouldn't" on stage, I was convinced that any disquiet in the parent body could be easily remedied. Parents, particularly working-class ones, are very open and sensitive. And, to be quite honest, sexuality has never really been an issue that has caused much consternation. Opera North did not want to pursue a dialogue: either I cut these gay references or the project would collapse.

I then offered to pay for Stonewall's education department, who work with 180 local authorities, to give workshops to the kids and parents, so any issues raised in the opera could be given a proper context. This was rejected by the local authority. On Saturday, I was told by email that the school has withdrawn and that Opera North are no longer able to maintain the project.

Ironically, the opera was due to be performed the same weekend as this year's gala of the enormously successful Billy Elliot Youth Theatre Project. Last year, I persuaded Working Title films (who adapted Billy Elliot) to fund a nationwide project whereby youth theatres from all over the country put on productions of the musical. A gala was held in the Victoria Palace theatre in London, where the best of the regional performers came to share their work. It was overwhelming, with hundreds of kids singing passionately about politics, sexuality and the finer points of industrial conflict; Working Title immediately committed to doing it again.

A scandal in the making

That a commercial theatre producer is willing to support such work, when publicly funded bodies are trying to censor a community venture on the theme of tolerance, is deeply confusing to someone brought up in the heady atmosphere of 1970s theatre-in-education. For me, the whole point of this kind of theatre is to challenge expectations and to invite discussion about issues that are more often swept under the carpet. Theatre can be a brilliant, democratic tool for exploring issues in a way that everyone can understand. Most importantly, the very act of theatre, especially in a community play, is one where we are all included, whatever our abilities or differences; this is why I continue to be committed to this kind of work.

What I find bizarre is the insistence that no one ? not the school, not Opera North, not the local education authority ? is being homophobic. Instead, we have the strange position that, because the children are of primary-school age, these lines are too difficult and confusing for them. It feels to me that, because I was unwilling to remove these lines, the opera's chance of taking place has vanished. The whole project has cost well over �100,000, and has involved hundreds of people and thousands of hours of writing, composing and rehearsing. That a play about tolerance, community and civic values could founder over this seems unbelievable.

Strangely, Opera North's original brief to me was to think about the work of Britten, a lover of the British coast. Even the most cursory look at Britten's Peter Grimes, Death in Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream show us that gay characters are no stranger to British opera. But British culture has moved a long way from the repressive homophobia which we all took for granted. Kids, especially, now grow up in a culture where gay people are celebrated in a way that was unthinkable just a few decades ago.

I am fighting to keep the opera on. It will be a scandal if it is not performed ? not just because of the public money wasted, but because ignorance and timidity will have won the day. No one involved will countenance the idea that there could be homophobia at play. The argument is that everyone is just worried about other people's sensitivities. It amounts to the same thing. Effectively, I feel I am not being allowed to represent a gay person. The idea that being gay is something inappropriate for a child to witness is unsupportable ? as if gay people weren't fathers or mothers or sisters or brothers. That an opera company or a school could make this mistake seems extraordinary. I feel I have no option other than to try to open up the debate.

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2011/jul/03/lee-hall-opera-north

Christina DaRe Malin Akerman Melissa Joan Hart Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez

Sunday, July 3, 2011

DJ Pete Rock: NYPD Brutalized Concertgoers

Filed under: News

The accounts of what happened after the Peter Rock and Smif-n-Wessun show in New York City early on Wednesday morning couldn't be more different. But a few things are clear: dozens of police converged on the crowd outside of the venue, at least a few patrons were beaten and five police officers were injured.

The police said a fight between 25 to 30 people had erupted outside of the venue, Tammany Hall, on the Lower East Side. People were throwing beer bottles, "a sandwich board and anything else that they could get their hands on," the police said. Police said that "violent individuals" in the crowd turned on responding officers and that the officers then used "appropriate force" in suppressing the attacks.

But several witnesses, the artists themselves and video (see video below) from the scene paint a slightly different picture.

"It was a melee, it was crazy and absolutely unnecessary," said Pete Rock, the legendary DJ and music producer, who joined Smif-n-Wessun (all pictured below) at the show to celebrate the release of "Monumental," a collaboration between the trio. "It was an attack on us" by the police.

Pete Rock said that he first noticed something had gone awry toward the end of the show. As he stood on stage and the lights slowly came up, he said that he saw a handful of officers rushing into the venue. Then he said he watched them pounce on a friend, toss him against a wall and then proceed to pummel him with their clubs.

"They beat him like he was Rodney King," he said in a phone interview on Thursday. Then someone from the front yelled out to him that his wife and daughter were outside and possibly in danger. Pete Rock said that he dashed from the stage and out to the street where he found the two of them unhurt but on the ground. His daughter, Jade, 24, was protecting her mother's body with her own, as a sea of humanity rushed and clamored around them.

Others weren't so lucky, witnesses said. Men and women were pushed and struck in equal measure, they said.

"I was just thrown back because I always see this on the news and hear it talked about but never find myself in the middle of it," Pete Rock (pictured below) said, standing outside of Manhattan Criminal Court where family and friends of those arrested had gathered for a press conference.

Pete Rock's daughter was arrested during the melee and charged with assaulting an officer. She was released Thursday morning.

Other witnesses said the police, dozens of them, swooped down on the crowd like a blue wave, lashing out at party goers with profanity and in some cases batons. People capturing the scene with cell phones or cameras were targeted, witnesses said.

"It felt like an ambush," said Ness, of the hip-hop group the A-Alikes. "Everyone was feeling good, it was a good event and as soon as we stepped outside it was like whoa."

Until then, witnesses said that the night had gone off without a hitch, and that the scene inside the venue was positive, peaceful and familial.

But outside, the police said, trouble was brewing.

Paule J. Browne, the NYPD's top spokesman, said that just after midnight on Tuesday the police arrived at the scene in response to a call from private security at the club to assist with overcrowding inside.

When officers got there, he said in an email, a large fight was in progress.

"As the club security and police instructed individuals to leave the overcrowded venue, one of the patrons refused and began to resist arrest, yelling for others to help him fight with police," Browne said. "A large, unruly crowd formed, several of whom fought with police, egged on by the patron who was being placed under arrest. "

Browne said that five officers were hospitalized, suffering a range of injuries including one with a broken front tooth, another with a broken nose, a third with lacerations to the neck, cheek and elbow, a fourth with contusions to the head and face, and a fifth with multiple contusions to the head.

Five people were arrested, he said, slapped with charges that include assault, inciting to riot, disorderly conduct and obstructing governmental administration. One of those arrested received lacerations to the head, Browne said. He said the police acted well within bounds given the situation.

"Police used appropriate force in effecting arrests of violent individuals who fought with officers," he said.

Meanwhile, a lawyer, Kenneth Montgomery, has been hired to represent those claiming that the police abused them.

The police action was "unjustified, unprovoked, and simply barbaric considering there was no provocation," Montgomery said in a statement. He said that the altercation began outside of the club with someone denied access to the club and that a "minor argument ensued," that was eventually diffused by bouncers. But 20 minutes later officers from the 7th Precinct arrived and chaos ensued.

"Present at the event were artists, industry tastemakers, fans, photographers, and cameramen. Several people began filming and recording the unprovoked brutality, much to the dismay of the police," Montgomery said. "The officers then began to mace and assault anyone within arms length, including several women."

The violence left those in attendance that night rattled.

Steel, of the rap group Smif-n-Wessun, (pictured below) described the events as "insanity, pandemonium, the prequel to Armageddon."

"It happened so fast the facts are so blurry," said Steel, who walked off stage and five minute later found himself in "pure hell."

"We were having such a good time but it went from hot to cold in minutes," he said. Rumor has it that the ruckus began outside at the entrance when someone was denied access to the club. But nobody said they knew for sure, since they were inside until the very end of the show.

"Hip-Hop gets a lot of bad play, but this particular venue, it was like a family event," said Steel. "You could feel the energy in the room. And then to go out to have this event end this way... there was no warning."

Interview video credit: newsone.com

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Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/06/30/dj-pete-rock-nypd-brutalized-concertgoers/

Leonor Varela Joanne Montanez Michelle Obama Kerry Suseck FSU Cowgirls

Alice Gold: Seven Rainbows ? review

(Fiction)

Alice Gold's debut, recorded over three weeks and produced by Dan Carey (Franz Ferdinand, Hot Chip) is a pleasing mixed bag. Opener "Seasons Change" has a semi-psychedelic feel and crystal-clear vocals and the travelogue "Runaway Love" a Lily Allen lilt; single "Cry Cry Cry" features off-kilter urban beats and a strangely familiar hook in the chorus that will stick in the brain. Elsewhere, there are darker textures to be savoured, and the record gets better as it goes along ? I really like the bluesy, wayward "Conversations of Love". Press-release comparisons to Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin are misplaced ? Lenny Kravitz, maybe ? but it's this is still a good album.

Rating: 4/5

Molloy Woodcraft

guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2011 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jul/03/alice-gold-seven-rainbows-review

Eva Green Lauren Conrad Arielle Kebbel Jessica Paré Leelee Sobieski

Obama's Still on the Fence on Same-Sex Marriage

From the Los Angeles Times:

Last month President Obama, addressing a fundraising dinner in New York, said: "I believe that gay couples deserve the same human rights as every other couple in this country." The natural interpretation of those words is that Obama was endorsing same-sex marriage.

Read more here.

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Source: http://www.bvblackspin.com/2011/07/01/obamas-still-on-the-fence-on-same-sex-marriage/

Giuliana DePandi Pamela Anderson Amber Arbucci Christina Aguilera Kate Hudson