Happy Holidays!

I can't decide which card to send out this season...

Office Humor

Overheard in my office:



"It's not porn, it's research..."

Said in an office, by my friend:


"Yes, today is my last day - you can go back to being the best looking homo in the office..."

I like your Louis Mr. Gorbachev...

Yes, this is the former president of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev starring in the latest Louis Vuitton campaign. Odd? Yes. Do I like it? Yes. Does it undermine the importance of government office? Absolutely, but who doesn't these days?

You may ask, what in the world is Mr. Gorbachev doing in a Louis Vuitton ad, in which we usually see Scarlett Johannson, J-Lo or Uma Thurman? Keep in mind this ad hit all of the September books- in fashion land, the September book is the Fashion issue and typically the thickest and most ad heavy book of the year. Remember how obnoxious Sept. 07 American Vogue was? I think it was close to 800 pages (90% ads).

That said, what is a viewer to make of this Louis Vuitton ad? According to the NYT article on this very subject, the ad was created to convey and emphasize the company's heritage in luggage and travel accessories. Gorbachev was enlisted to portray the core values of Louis Vuitton by sitting uncomfortably in the back seat of a car with the Berlin Wall in the background. The LV bag is propped on the seat next to him and you kind of think it may contain dynamite by the look on his face!

The campaign also included ads with Andre Agassi and Stefi Graff and a beautiful image of Catherine Deneuve sprawled on a LV trunk. Clearly, the master minds at LV wanted to steer clear of their past ads (J-Lo) and heighten the sophistication a bit. Annie Liebowitz shot this campaign, which will take any company to the next level with her darkly lit portrait style shooting.

Funny, the Times also mentioned, that a decade ago, Mr. Gorbachev's appeared in a Pizza Hut commercial which was generally regarded as a low point in his career. I think it is hilarious that Mr. Gorbachev goes from Pizza Hut to modeling for Louis Vuitton. I kind of have a feeling that he won't be signing a beauty contract in the near future.

The Curse of the Celebrity Kid Name

It has to be hard enough to be born to famous parents. All of the spotlight, constant attention and instability raising the poor child's anxiety level to a ridiculous point and then on top of all of that you named them WHAT?!?!?! Yes, these poor kids are doomed. Can someone please send a memo to these narcissistic ("an all pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration") celebs who feel the need to make public spectacles of their innocent kids. I mean, these celebrity parents give their kids the best of (most) everything when it comes to money, education, cars, etc. but they really are tough giving up the good names. Britney didn't even screw her names up! These kids don't asked to be born into a paparazzi circus. I think that the weirder the name, the more screwed the kid will be and the more desperate the parent is. Here is a list of OK names, pretty bad and awful names of celebrity kids. Keep them in your prayers.

OK:
(see awful)

Pretty Bad:

(see awful)

Awful:
-Audio Science, son of Shannyn Sossamon and Dallas Clayton

-Moon Unit, Ahmet Emuukha Rodan, Dweezil, and Diva, children of Frank Zappa

-Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom, and Pixie, daughters of the late Paula Yates (Tiger Lily's dad is the late Michael Hutchence; Bob Geldof is father to the other three)

-Zowie (son of David Bowie -- he later changed his name (redeemed himself) to Joe before settling on Duncan)

-Romeo and Brooklyn (sons of Victoria and David Beckham)

-Jermajesty (son of Jermaine Jackson) (LOFL!)

-Rumer Glenn, Tallulah Belle and Scout LaRue, daughters of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore

-Prince Michael, Prince Michael II (AKA Blanket), and Paris Michael, children of Michael Jackson

-Speck Wildhorse and Hud, sons of John Mellencamp and Elaine Irwin

-Apple Martin, daughter of Gwyneth & Chris, sister of Moses

-Pilot Inspektor, son of Jason Lee

-Tu Morrow, daughter of Rob Morrow (seriously?!?!)

Oops, they missed it again!

Recently there was an email circling about Academy Award winning actor, Denzel Washington and his family visiting army troops in San Antonio, Texas. The base he visited is where soldiers who have been evacuated from Germany come to be hospitalized. The Fisher House may be familiar to some of you. It is a hotel where the families of the injured soldiers can stay for little or no charge while their soldier is recovering on the base. As wonderful a concept as this is, the Fisher Houses are usually full (imagine ALL of the injured soldiers). After touring a house, Denzel asked how much it would cost to have one built. He then, immediately took out his checkbook and wrote a check for the full amount.

The funny, or NOT so funny thing about this is that media completely missed it or did not miss it, but chose not to report on it. What they did report on though, was how Nicole Richie may or may not be endangering her unborn baby by sitting in a hot tub and how Britney is constantly eating fast food.

Apparently, the soldiers were so touched by Denzel's gesture, that they are asking people to spread this story virally. Something else that is outstanding is Denzel's humbled approach to it all. It was nice not to see a statement or release from his publicist on this.

Three Must See Companies!

Here are three must see companies that you will be thrilled you took the time to check out. Lucky for me, these girls are great friends of mine and all have insane talent that translate through their work. These three companies are startups, on the way to being much, much more. You will see from the sophisticated, creative intelligence that each of these companies capture, the success of their futures. A high end T-shirt, a work of art photo of your child, friends, pets or family and a service to organize your “hive”, you will not be sorry becoming a consumer of these three up and coming names.


Nicole’s Pearl Tees- Nicole named her company after her Grandmother Pearl, how sweet is that? Nicole’s fashionista lifestyle comes through in these well made tanks. They are long waisted, which is a dream for tops these days! Btw, I have three.



Claudine’s Collection- Claudine shadowed Houston’s top photographer as one of her first jobs, her talent took her in the direction of her own business…and looks like she hasn’t stopped yet. Check out the image on the homepage- the 2 boys are her own little ones!



Kimberly (Queen Bee) - After receiving her Master’s in Design and heading out to LA with her rock star husband, Kimberly put her talent to work as a designer and artist. My favorite part is how she stayed so true to her own life in her company’s inspirations. Tupelo Honey was the song she and her dad danced to at her wedding. Queen Bee is one of her husband’s most popular songs and my favorite!

A Day in the Life of Girls

I was recently assigned an interesting project for work. The assignment was to assess and analyze the lives of teenage girls (13-17) vs. college girls (18-21). The results of my research were incredibly interesting to me. First of all, I was NOTHING like any of these girls when I was in either of these age groups. Girls these days are much more sure of themselves and a lot more independent. One of my team members was stuck on the idea of bringing in themes of feminism and empowerment, and although important to the girls we were studying, this issue was not central to their lives because, they already live it and know it. Unlike myself and my team member, we had to learn it. Interesting…

Below are REAL life days written by real girls, it is a realistic, humorous tour of their lives.

A Day in the Life of a High School Girl:
Friday: Getting ready for the weekend
3pm: Come home & immediately check Facebook &see what’s going on that night
4pm: I usually send out a mass text letting everyone know what’s going on & where I’ll be.
5pm: 2 or 3 of my best girlfriends come over, we eat stuff, watch TV, mainly TiVo-ed shows like Gossip Girls, The Hills, Desperate Housewives
6pm: we decide what we’re going to wear out and start taking showers & do each others hair & make up
7pm: go hang out at the football game- kinda watch it
9pm:Then after, we see what the boys are doing & try to find a fun party.
1am: get home around and usually some of my friends sleepover & we stay up & text people or if we’re bored, we upload pics from the night on Facebook.
Saturday: Starting the day
12- 2pm: hang out, eat, call people & maybe go shopping to find something cute for that night
7pm: go to someone’s house to start getting ready
8pm: Saturday nights are usually more fun than Fridays, especially if we have a dance or its someone’s B-day, but we usually just drive around listening to music and looking for something cool to do
1am: go home

A Day in the Life of A College Girl:
Girl 1-Weekday
8am: Get up, check Facebook & the weather
8:30am: Go to school café & get a coffee & bagel with some girls from my morning class
9am: Go to boring class
12pm: We go get lunch somewhere on campus
1pm: Go back to my room for a while to nap, chill, check email, hang out, go online- usually just Facebook, my iTunes & Youtube.
3pm: Go to my afternoon class.
4pm: Go back to my room or my suite mate’s room & we either talk, nap or watch a movie. Sometimes I go hang out in this guys room. I don’t know- it’s weird. He’s cute though & super nice.
6pm: We go to dinner
8pm: make plans for that night, it is usually pretty mellow if it’s a week night.
11pm: Its fun to go to the 24 hr coffee house to do HW
2-3am: Usually go to bed around 2 or 3am
“I am so over boys…I’m on the verge of becoming a feminist.”

Girl 2-Weekend
2pm: Wake up, eat food because of the intense hangover. “Usually it’s Burger King- I know, gross! But I am too lazy to go anywhere else & it’s perfect for being hung.”
3pm: Take a shower,
4pm: Try to do some HW, try to clean my room, eat again,
5pm:sit in Starbucks for too long gossiping.
6pm: convince upperclassmen guys to buy us alcohol. It usually works if you flirt a lot!
7-9pm: We pregame while we get ready, maybe do some laundry too,
9-10pm: Then go to some parties,
1-4am: Hoping to end the night with my girls & a late night dance party…
“Totally agree about boys…they suck!”

Conclusion: Young girls want to be viewed as women, but still have that “baby tendency”, need to be babied. There actually is not much different between 13-19 year old girls in that regard, unlike, the differences in their everyday lives. Think American Beauty.