Sep 9, 2013

Looking for that perfect fashion piece: Style Czar

copied from thestar.com.......fashion and style.......by chloe louise.........


Life / Fashion & Style

Looking for that perfect fashion piece: Style Czar

Real style comes from searching for pieces in unlikely places and even absurdly out of season for just the right thing.

Text size:IncreaseDecreaseReset
Report an Error
Save to Mystar
Strappy sandals, while not "important" in any way, turned out to be absolutely perfect for Style czar Karen von Hahn.
Strappy sandals, while not "important" in any way, turned out to be absolutely perfect for Style czar Karen von Hahn.
EXPLORE THIS STORY
1PHOTO
2COMMENTS
Save to Mystar
Christmas comes in July in the media world, a weird calendar I’ve never gotten used to. Smack dab in the middle of summer, all the retailers and PR concerns trot out their holiday wares so that the magazine editors working on gift guides can meet their impossibly early deadlines (a schedule so last century, it is no wonder magazines now read like coffee table books, but that’s another story).
It was at one of these gatherings that I bumped into my dry-as-a-martini colleague, the esteemed fashion writer and editor David Livingstone. Both of us had rushed over in the city heat to the holiday preview, as it is called, in summer-weight attire. I recall David in a striped T-shirt, and I think I was wearing a crisp white blouse over a grey knee-length skirt, and we were admiring a collection of Pendleton blankets, when David remarked on my strappy leather sandals.
More Video
  • Fashion Goes to the Dogs
    Fashion Goes to the Dogs
  • Feast-Cold Corn Soup
    Feast-Cold Corn Soup
Just to fill you in, when fashion people remark on an item of clothing you might be wearing, what they really want to know, like the reporters from the red carpet, is its provenance: where did you get it, and who is it by?
Which is why I had to confess that they weren’t “important” in any way, I had just found them in the kind of nondescript street boutique in New York where they display the shoes they have for sale on a stack of the boxes they came in, but that I had been wearing them all summer because they had turned out to be perfect.
Then it occurred to me that this was the best definition I have ever come up with for what I am always searching for, and will guide me as I make my few seasonal purchases this fall: things that aren’t important, but are nonetheless perfect.
By “important,” I mean both costly, and bearing the stamp of a big-name designer label — qualities to my mind that have more to do with the kind of flash that is best avoided and less to do with an expression of personal style.
Beyond the typically inflated price tag, given that labels are no longer any guarantee of quality, the problem with “designer” clothing is that it is both too easy, and too often easily recognizable. Too easy, in the sense that all you have to do to look au courant is to wander sheeplike into the gilded flagship of some global brand and buy up everything for the season. You don’t have to demonstrate any particular taste or discernment in such a purchase, just shell out the cash.
What’s more, the usual result, with some exceptions for truly brilliant statement pieces like a well-cut coat or a terrific handbag that will smarten up the rest of your H&M and Zara wardrobe for seasons to come, is that designer clothing doesn’t really wear well beyond its season, as it is too readily identified as a piece from so-and-so’s “biker” or “rich-hippie” period. This is because fashion designers have been encouraged to create a coherent and media-accessible runway statement each and every season, as opposed to just creating good clothes.
I found this out the hard way with a chartreuse Prada coat from Miuccia’s ugly-chic collection that was way too much of its time to wear for years after I bought it (and of course I have now scrapped because it was taking up valuable closet space).
Which is not to say that all readily identifiable designer brand clothing is necessarily to be avoided. Logos may largely be a no go, but some timeless house pieces such as Gucci loafers and Hermès scarves manage to maintain their fashionability season after season. The trick, which can be acquired if one cares to hone it, is to be able to see into the designer offerings with some level of appreciation and connoisseurship. To have the confidence in one’s judgment and independence of taste without the designer brand guarantee is where actual style, rather than mere fashion, comes in.
Perhaps what I’m suggesting is that while the ad campaigns of major global brands may suggest otherwise, there is no easy route to style. Happily, for those of us who enjoy the true thrill of the hunt and the adventure of discovery, it still requires searching in unlikely places — maybe even absurdly out of season — for that unimportant, yet perfect, thing.
Karen von Hahn is a Toronto-based writer, trend observer and style commentator. Contact her at kvh@karenvonhahn.com .

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight sur ​​CNN : Cooper et le secret de Morgan dirait guerre et de complot pour le garder hors de l'air

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight sur ​​CNN : Cooper et le secret de Morgan dirait guerre et de complot pour le garder hors de l'air
CNN va jouer Strombo soir .....

CNN va jouer Strombo ce soir , il est répertorié dans ma TV Guide , ou va- AC et PM poursuivre leur quête pour bannir Strombo du réseau et ne diffuser leurs spectacles sans cesse ?

Maintenant , voici le problème ..... nous avons un " rapport spécial " de Anderson Cooper cotée à 19 heures , juste avant Strombo .

Au lieu de regarder juste un nouveau spectacle de Strombo , nous avons rediffusions interminables AC360 ..... rapports spéciaux de Anderson Cooper , Pier Morgan sera montré au moins 2 fois ...

Il s'agit évidemment d' un complot de la part des garçons whitey - blancs , les gens venus d'autres planètes (ou britanniques ) d'interdire à personne, mignon, un bon enquêteur , et le pire crime de tous, ayant un bronzage , depuis les ondes américaines .

C'est ainsi que tous les complots travail ... il n'ya aucune raison pour elle , ce n'est pas comme s'il n'y avait pas de place sur une chaîne 24/7 pour avoir juste un nouveau spectacle ..... non, AC et PM veulent tout!

Ils ne se soucient pas de la qualité du spectacle est - si c'est un vrai bon intervieweur - ils sont tout simplement pas l'avoir ! Piers et Anderson ont été vus quittant le bureau de Jeff Zucker rire et donnant mutuellement un high five et Piers a été rapporté pour avoir dit " Bang -on . " L'observateur est restant annonymous par crainte pour leur emploi ..... tout est sur ​​le fond en ce moment.

Non, c'est triste ......

Triste pour le spectateur d'avoir des choix limités .

Les questions demeurent ..........

Est- AC360 stand pour un spectacle, modèle " cobot » ou le modèle du vaisseau spatial il conduit ?

Est-il vrai que même si AC et Piers Morgan seraient en une amère fued pour contrôler le réseau, ils ont tous deux accepté d'interdire George Stroumbouloupolous uniquement sur sa capacité à obtenir un bronzage , de son propre chef , naturellement ?

Qu'est-ce que tout cela a à voir avec la terre - mère , Cher ?

Combien de Cher sont là .... nous avons tous vu les images .... droite ?

Qui sont les vrais parents d'Anderson et quel est son véritable lieu d'origine ?

A suivre ............

N'hésitez pas à commenter si vous avez des informations sur ce sujet s'il vous plaît - votre vie privée sera protégée .


translated on google translate by cl............

des suggestions ou des corrections sont les bienvenus et appréciés ....... cl

Sep 8, 2013

I'm Mad At CNN And I'm Trying To Watch Al Jazeera.......

Good Luck Trying to Watch Al Jazeera America

Much excitement and fanfare heralded the debut of Al Jazeera America, but you may want to pause before you celebrate the arrival of this new journalistic venture.
See, the launch of the channel is one thing. Actually being able to view it is another. And this story illustrates exactly what’s broken in our nation’s video market.
On Monday, just hours before the new 24-hour news network was set to go live, AT&T announced that its U-verse pay-TV service had dropped the channel from its lineup. So that’s 5 million subscribers who couldn’t tune in.
Time Warner Cable dumped the channel last year when Al Jazeera announced it was buying Current TV. So count out another 12 million subscribers right there.
And Al Jazeera America may be impossible to watch even for those consumers whose cable operators do carry the channel. That’s because some companies are putting Al Jazeera in cable tiers that could add hundreds of dollars to your bill.
But it’s not just cable subscribers who are cut off from the new channel. As part of its deal to get cable and satellite companies to carry the channel, Al Jazeera had to kill its livestream of its Al Jazeera English channel.
Instead of the livestream, we now have a message that reads “The Al Jazeera English livestream is no longer available in the U.S.” Brian Stelter reports in the New York Times that the channel even started to “geo-block the news reports it posts on YouTube.”
Al Jazeera America’s launch and the ongoing bickering between CBS and Time Warner Cableillustrate how mega-media companies wield their power over the content we want to watch. Al Jazeera America is encountering the same reality dozens of independent programmers have faced: If you want to grow your cable audience, you have to forfeit your digital streaming rights.
The Illusion of Choice
This is an era where the illusion of choice has won us over. Sure, there are hundreds of channels at our disposal in a basic cable package, but most people watch only about a dozen of them. And cable TV is a monopolistic business. Most people do not have more than one cable/broadband provider where they live. And those of us using alternatives like Hulu or Netflix are still beholden to those exact same companies for our Internet access.
Meanwhile, ISPs continue to embrace data caps on streaming while looking for ways to ensure that their own content doesn’t count against those limits. The message? Watch to your heart’s content, but watch our stuff. That’s a convenient stance for a company like Comcast, which just so happens to own NBC.
Breaking Bad
It’s time to rein in the cable companies and reclaim our right to access the news and information we need. That’s the goal of the Television Consumer Freedom Act, which was introduced by Sen. John McCain and co-sponsored by Sen. Richard Blumenthal. The bill ensures consumers are offered an a la carte option alongside more flexible bundled-channel packages, allowing us to pay for only the channels we actually want to watch.
If Congress adopts this legislation, it won’t just benefit cable customers looking for some rate relief — it’ll also help online distributors and their cord-cutting customers by breaking up the cozy cable programmer-distributor cabal. Once programmers and cable companies realize their old ways of fleecing the public won’t work anymore, they’ll be more willing to embrace progress in the form of online video competition.
Our Media Choices Should Be Actual Choices
Al Jazeera America is trying to pioneer a new kind of nonprofit, public service-oriented journalism. “With a staff of 900, including 400 newsroom employees,” Brian Stelter writes, “it is one of the most significant investments in television journalism in modern times.”
This makes it all the more troubling that gatekeepers are making decisions about who can access the channel’s content — decisions that could undermine the whole venture. You’d think cable execs would want to see Al Jazeera America succeed, but many of the cable companies have controlling interests in other 24-hour news channels that this new entrant will be competing with.
If we’re going to support and foster independent voices in journalism, we need to push back against broken policies that put up roadblock after roadblock for people trying to access real alternatives. Online, on cable and over the air, we have a long way to go to make space for more diverse media.
Original illustration by Flickr user Mike Licht


copied from freepress.net..............

Sep 6, 2013

George Stroumboulopoulos on CNN Tonight: Cooper and Morgan's Secret Looks War and Conspiracy to Keep Him Off the Air

Will CNN Play Strombo Tonight.....

Will CNN play Strombo tonight, it is listed in my TV Guide, or will AC and PM continue their quest to bannish Strombo from the network and only broadcast their shows endlessly?

Now, here is the problem.....we have a "special report" of anderson cooper listed at 7PM, right before Strombo.

Instead of watching just one new show of Strombo, we have endless reruns of AC360.....special reports of anderson cooper,  Pier Morgan will be shown at least 2 times...

This is obviously a conspiracy on the part of the whitey-white boys, people from other planets (or brits) to ban anyone, cute, a good-interviewer, and the worst offense of all, having a tan, from the American airwaves.

That's how all of the conspiracies work...there is no reason to it, it's not like there is not room on a 24/7 channel to just have one new show.....no, AC and PM want it all!

They don't care how good the show is--if he's a real good interviewer--they're simply not having it!  Piers and Anderson were seen exiting the office of Jeff Zucker giggling and giving each other a high five and Piers was reported to have said "Bang-on."  The observer is remaining annonymous out of fear for their job.....everything is on background right now.

No, it's sad......

Sad for the viewer to have such limited choices.

The questions remain..........

Does ac360 stand for a show, "cobot" model or the model of the spaceship he drives?

Is it true that even though AC and Piers Morgan are reportedly in a bitter fued to control the network they have both agreed to ban George Stroumbouloupolous solely on his ability to get a tan, on his own, naturally?

What does all of this have to do with the earth-mother, Cher?

How many Cher's are there....we've all seen the pictures....right?

Who are Anderson's real parents and what is his real place of origin?

To be continued............

Please feel free to comment if you have information on the subject--your privacy will be protected.




Hey, Anthony Weiner: Good Job--That Guy Was Out Of Line

Anthony Weiner challenges man who rebuked him for being 'married to an Arab'

By Greg Botelho and Laura Ly, CNN
updated 12:12 PM EDT, Thu September 5, 2013

Anthony Wiener fires back at heckler

STORY HIGHLIGHTS
  • NEW: Weiner says hecklers should expect he'll go at them if they say "vile things"
  • New York mayoral candidate gets into a heated exchange in a Brooklyn bakery
  • A man calls out Weiner, who is Jewish, for being "married to an Arab"
  • Man calls Weiner "disgusting;" the ex-congressman calls man a "jackass"
(CNN) -- Beleaguered New York mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner got into a war of words Wednesday with a man who lashed out at him for being "married to an Arab," in addition to chastising the former congressman about his well-documented sexting scandal.
The incident began inside a bakery in Brooklyn's Borough Park neighborhood, where the man yelled out to Weiner, who had just bought cookies and an iced coffee, "You're a real scumbag."
Weiner offered a quick retort, then said to no one in particular, "Very nice, that's a charming guy right there." It's then that the man, later identified as Saul Kessler, responded: "Married to an Arab."
The comment is an apparent reference to Weiner's wife, Huma Abedin, who works for Hillary Clinton. Abedin's late father was an Islamic scholar from India and her mother, a sociologist, is from Pakistan. Weiner is Jewish, as were most of those inside the Brooklyn bakery.
Politicians with their foot in their mouthPoliticians with their foot in their mouth
Anthony Weiner-themed food truck hits NY
New York City mayoral debate gets ugly
Weiner: 'What I've done has hurt' Abedin
Weiner sexter: I'm proud of myself
The Democratic candidate responded with, "Very nice, in front of children... That is charming." Kessler didn't stop talking, even as Weiner was leaving the bakery, saying, "You are disgusting, disgusting."
"It takes one to know one, jackass," Weiner replied.
The two then went face-to-face, with Kessler accusing Weiner -- who resigned in disgrace after 12 years in Congress representing part of New York City after admitting to sending sexually suggestive images and carrying on inappropriate relationships with women over the Internet -- of doing "disgusting things, and you have the nerve to even walk around in public."
A visibly agitated Weiner responded,"And you're a perfect person? You're my judge? What rabbi taught you that?"
At one point, Kessler implored Weiner to "think about your wife, how could you take the person you're most closest to ... and betray her?"
The mayoral hopeful then accused Kessler of acting like he is superior, even though he doesn't "have the moral authority to judge me."
The back-and-forth went on for about a minute longer before Weiner left the bakery. He seemed to quickly brush off the confrontation, saying, "He has every right to (challenge me). It's America."
The Weiner campaign released a video of Wednesday's exchange, a version of which also was captured by blogger Jacob Kornbluh. Talking with reporters later in the day, Weiner described what happened as "just some enthusiastic exchange with a voter."
"Look, you're allowed to say stuff to me," said Weiner, who, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Tuesday, trails three other Democratic candidates ahead of next week's primary. "But if you're going to say vile things about me and my family, you should expect that I'm going to go back at you.
"Hecklers don't get a chance to necessarily get the last word if they cross the line."
Reached by CNN later in the day, Kessler admitted calling out Weiner for being "married to an Arab."
"It's just a certain feeling I have as a Jew," said the 51-year-old real estate manager, explaining his remark. "And my attitude is that -- not all Arabs -- but, in general, ... they want to kill every Jew."
Kessler said of a Jewish person marrying into such a family: "It's like a betrayal."
Kessler also said Weiner has bothered him for some time. Kessler called him a "phony." But Kessler said he should have acted differently.
"(Given that I felt) a little bit of anger, I probably shouldn't have said it," Kessler said about the Arab comment. "I shouldn't have called him a scumbag."
"But it was in the heat of the moment."

copied from CNN Politics..........