Waits Dazzles With Glitter

Do a quick internet search and there are more than 600 references of "Tom Waits" and the term "huckster" together. Snake oil, parodist, sly salesman, etc., a vocabulary of carnival-esque trickery have followed the man; as critic Robert Christgau quipped in the 1970's, "Waits is so full of shit…" (as he ripped the Pomona, Calif., native apart).

But whatever Tom Waits is selling, his diverse and unifyingly strange fanbase is buying. The whole Glitter & Doom tour is sold out, with many dates since opening day. With Waits' latest release almost two years behind him -- and a rarities and leftovers triple-disc collection "Orphans" at that --the songwriter wasn't on any agenda to promote new efforts, having any number of suitcases from which to pull his wares at the Fox Theatre in St. Louis.

The scene was already set for poetry, play and parody. This gorgeous, longstanding venue has lasted more than 70 years, ornate as though it were brand new.

Sheathed in gold paint and dollops of ruby, rich blues, Moorish design and accent lights, Fox Theatre is a treasure to house treasures. Suspended above the stage in topsy-turvy fashion and perched on a series of metal bars in the back, the heads of megaphones and bullhorns were suspended, pulled from their bodies like the beheaded victims of Waits' pagan rituals.

Starting out with a literal bang, the 58-year-old singer stepped to the mic and stomped his foot onto his soapbox, causing baby powder or whatever fine magical dust he had up there rise up like smoke and he tore into "Lucinda." He wagged a warning finger and threw his arms across his body like a drunken evangelist, his face taut in revealing the Good Word.

"Way Down in the Hole" was quickly stolen by Vincent Henry, who played on double sax. The song title, too, was an apt description for the sound mix. Though Waits' astonishingly tight and emotional band had the mix down, his grumbling vocals seemed to fall on either side of one's ear, but never quite in it. The nuanced performance lost some luster, on and off, as his lyrics were muddied.

Solitary and sultry, Waits sang "Falling Down" in front of a red haze and built tension where previously there was none on "Black Market Baby." As the crowd shouted their I -ove-yous to Waits in between tracks, he volleyed back "I love you too, babe," flashing the inside flap of his red satin-lined suit jacket.

Omar Torrez, who kept his utterly delightful nastiness buried previously, started "All the World is Green" with a dextrous Spanish guitar intro. Waits' son Casey on percussion kicked off the sample-based "Heigh Ho (The Dwarfs Marching Song)," playing along on an intense wood block board -- think less "Snow White" and more "Alice in Wonderland." Waits finally gathered up a working bullhorn (which had yet to be dismembered) and otherwise cupped his hand about his mouth on this impressive vocal performance.

Samples were also used later for the claps on "Get Behind the Mule," a track that went a little too long to be comfortable. It's hard to shake, but there's something a little disappointing about listening to a quality ensemble that still uses tracking and pre-recorded snippets, no matter how essential those sounds are.

Waits picked up his junior guitar, blowing off the "smoke": "I miss you so much / I can't wait to see you / the day after tomorrow," he sang on touching "The Day After Tomorrow," barely accompanied. The ballad was replaced by creepy and hilarious "Rain Dogs" track "Cemetery Polka," "inspired by relatives who came too early and left too late." The sextet was ensconced in a sick green light, and Waits finished with the punchline: "That's family for you."
Sticking with the "Rain Dogs" theme, he crept to the piano for "Hand Down Your Head" and, later, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," "Singapore" and the klezmer/Weimar influenced title track.

He slid over to organ for "Lost in the Harbor" and returned to the full band format on "I Make It Rain," during which, naturally, he was rained upon by glitter at the signal of his whistle. The gold confetti stuck to his face and filled the brim of his bowler, dumped off later and revealing his aging, downy hair. "This is about a girl who lied to me. And I told her to continue to do so," Waits recalled before starting the rockabilly "Lie to Me" from the Brawlers "Orphan" disc. Sad waltz "On the Other Side of the World" precluded sea-lovin' "Singapore," Waits' idiosyncratic hrm-chah leading it off like the engine of whatever vessel (or planet) he's on.

The band lost it a little on long-running "Dirt in the Ground" but then a single, precariously blinking lightbulb descended from the ceiling to inspire the spoken word "What's He Building"… before Waits accidentally killed the bulb. The group raced toward the end, Waits introducing all the band -- including keyboardist/pianist Patrick Warren and upright bassist Seth Ford-Young. "16 Shells" preceded a chill-inducing "Rain Dogs."

The group shined off with "Goin' Out West," "Anywhere I Lay My Head" and piano-led "You Are Innocent When You Dream" for the encore. Waits invited the theater to join him on the latter, one of the few times the songwriter encouraged such participation. For a huckster, Waits certainly is generous.
Source

See Also:
The Cure Brings Darkness and Light to NYC

The Cure Brings Darkness and Light to NYC

As any fan will tell you, there are two faces of the Cure. One is that of a quirky, iconic pop band whose skill at composing endearingly offbeat radio hits made them the crossover darlings of the pre-grunge alt-rock scene. The other is that of a brooding post-punk archetype, whose downbeat songs of angst, sorrow and all-around misery have allowed frontman Robert Smith to reign as the unchallenged King of Goth for almost 30 years.

But one thing the Cure doesn't have is an identity crisis. Smith and co. know that their bread is sufficiently buttered on both sides, so it's no surprise that equal helpings of darkness and light were brought to New York City on June 20 and 21 for the final two dates of the band’s Cure 4 tour.

At the first show – a sold-out appearance at Madison Square Garden -- the group proved its prowess as the arena-rocking monster it became during the mid-80s. The band treated the packed house to a marathon, 35-song set of classic hits and new tunes from their forthcoming 13th studio album (due in September).

Most great frontmen – Bono, for example – are effective due to rock-god bravado and good old-fashioned showmanship. Comparatively, the mop-topped Smith seems more like alt-rock's court jester than one of its kings. During the show, he flopped around the stage (when not standing motionless behind the mic), often forgot the lyrics to his biggest hits and mumbled incoherently between songs. But these factors only seemed to increase Smith's anti-hero cachet. The more awkward he appeared onstage, the more favorably the crowd responded. And for almost three hours at the Garden, Smith had the 17,000-strong audience eating out of his eccentric hands.

After a typically moody opening, the band quickly leapt into its lighter fair, nestling the upbeat melodies of like crowd favorites like "Friday I'm in Love," and "Just Like Heaven" with jangly new singles like "The Only One." While the group occasionally dipped into darker material – the ominous "Prayers for Rain" was an early highlight – the band mostly played to a crowd that was clearly in the mood for a party.

But the group had a different game plan for its final show, at the more intimate Radio City Music Hall. While the MSG set was designed to woo even the most casual Cure listeners, much of the Radio City show seemed geared to thrill superfans. After lulling the audience with the strains of Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings," the band wandered through a somber, deliberately paced set that shied away from singles and relied largely on obscure album cuts and B-sides.

Though band intended to add an air of tension to the performance, some stress was derived from elements other than the music. Guitarist Porl Thompson – who drives much of the bands melodies now that the Cure performs without a keyboardist – was plagued with sound problems, a fact that clearly aggravated and distracted Smith at times.

But where there had been a brooding king of pain during the opening 24-song set, Smith emerged as his more jovial self for the band's first encore. After launching into the new single "Freakshow," Smith danced clumsily with bassist Simon Gallup before – in an uncharacteristically rock-star move -- climbing the famous Radio City steps up to the balcony where he serenaded fans in the "cheap" seats.

The festive mood continued with upbeat gems like "Close to Me" and "Why Can't I Be You," and a second encore that consisted of early, punky classics like "10:15 Saturday Night" and "Killing An Arab," which displayed the band's newfound power as a four-piece.

The band came full circle and concluded the three-hour concert with a sinister version of "A Forest" and the unreleased rarity "Forever," leaving the crowd on a delightfully down note. Though each of the band’s New York performances had its merits, it was simply a case of once not being enough. At the end of the day, the complete Cure experience could only be attained by attending both shows – something the band's most devoted fans intended to do all along.
Source

See Also:
Aerosmith Unveils 'Guitar Hero' In New York

Exclusive: Miley Cyrus Grows Up On 'Breakout'

Miley Cyrus

June 27, 2008 , 11:00 AM ET

Cortney Harding, N.Y.

Miley Cyrus is a superstar to millions of teens around the world as Hannah Montana, but it's a more grown-up Cyrus that emerges on her new album, "Breakout." The set is due July 22 via Hollywood; first single "7 Thing" rockets 70-10 this week on the Billboard Hot 100.

"It's grown-up," Cyrus tells Billboard in an exclusive interview. "I wrote all the songs except two. My last one, 'Meet Miley Cyrus,' was more just meeting me, finding out who I am, and here it's more getting in depth of what's been going on in my life in the past year."

Cyrus pushed to write the songs herself this time around, saying that, "No matter how long what I'm doing here lasts, I want to be a songwriter for the rest of my life. I love it and it's my escape. I just hope this record showcases that -- more than anything -- I'm a writer."

The artist found herself in a media firestorm earlier this year when a photo of her bare shoulder, entwined in a bed sheet, appeared in Vanity Fair.

"I was embarrassed," she says in her rapid, self-assured clip, "but also it's like, every career thing that I do can't be perfect, and sometimes my decisions are wrong. I think that just makes me even more relatable. I don't think people will look at me any differently because they're like, 'You know what, I'm going to do stupid stuff too, and I'm going to make mistakes, and that's fine.' It still hurts when I think about it -- but you know what, it doesn't mean that you can't move on."

Cyrus is in the midst of filming the third season of her hit Disney show "Hannah Montana," as well as a "Hannah" movie in Tennessee. Her team is also plotting a successor to her runaway smash 2007 concert tour, which drew nearly 1 million fans.

"We're weighing the pros and cons of having her do multiple nights in one big city versus her doing one-night shows in a number of smaller markets," says Chip McLean, senior VP of Buena Vista Concerts for Disney Music Group. "Since she is someone who appeals to families, we can't just have her play the top 15 markets. Families won't be able to afford to make the trip, buy the tickets and pay for the hotel if we did that."
Source

See also:
Rapper Jal, living to tell about it

Rapper Jal, living to tell about it

TARZANA, Calif. — While kids his age elsewhere in the world engaged in skirmishes on baseball fields and Game Boy screens, Emmanuel Jal was wielding an AK-47 as a child soldier in Sudan's civil war.

"My childhood was destructive," says Jal, 28. "It stresses me when I share my story, but it's a responsibility now. A lot of Sudanese have the same story, and they are quiet. If I testify, I might prevent another kid from losing his childhood."

Jal is testifying on three fronts. His major-label debut, WARchild, chronicles Jal's journey in a blunt rap diary. He's the focus of the upcoming War Child documentary, winner of the Cadillac Award at New York's Tribeca Film Festival. And an autobiography, Warchild: A Boy Soldier's Story, is due in early 2009 from St. Martin's Press.

Soaking up the sun in the backyard of his publicist's hilltop home, the lanky, dreadlocked Jal could be any rising rapper, except that his vivid tales of brutality are all too real. The title track and Forced to Sin offer harrowing details of his war-torn youth, including his temptation "to eat the rotten flesh of my comrade" when fellow child soldiers resorted to cannibalism after escaping the rebel army.

"I don't take modern hip-hop as real," says Jal, whose tune 50 Cent appeals to the rap icon for a ceasefire on violent lyrics that glamorize thug life. "It's entertaining, it's fake, like James Bond. If you really kill, you don't want to talk about it."

Jal's ordeal began at age 7, when his father sent him, along with thousands of children, to the Ethiopian bush to train with the Sudan People's Liberation Army, in combat with government forces since 1983. Jal did not resist.

"A seed was planted in me," he says. "I lived in war. Our village got burned, and I thought the world was ending with these loud bombs and houses burning and people screaming. My grandmother and uncle were beaten almost to death. When I saw my mom beaten and my auntie raped, a feeling of hatred was developing inside me."

On the treacherous walk to the training ground, several children fell prey to wild animals or drowned crossing rivers. Boot-camp conditions weren't much better.

"I was beaten until I was dizzy," Jal says. "I remember thinking, 'If I finish this training, I'm going to kill the trainer.' We were made hard. But I was happy to join. My desire was to kill as many Arabs as possible."

After a year of training and five years of fighting, an exhausted Jal and about 400 "lost boys" deserted the army, fleeing across Sudan's parched landscape with a meager supply of maize.

"When the food got finished, we depended on snails, snakes and rats," he says. "Soldiers too weak to hunt were forced to eat bodies."

Most succumbed to enemy attacks, disease, starvation and suicide. Only 16 survived.

Jal was spotted dragging a machine gun through the dirt at a refugee camp by British aid worker Emma McCune, who found the 13-year-old's tale heartrending and smuggled him to Nairobi.

"I thought, 'OK, this is an opportunity to be a better soldier. I'll learn to fly, steal a plane from the air force in this white woman's country, come back and kill these Arabs,' " Jal says. "That's being a kid. Luckily, things changed."

Jal's attitude shifted as a normal routine reduced flashbacks of his life in the killing fields. When he drew graphic scenes of dismembered villagers, McCune introduced him to cartoons, "so I started drawing hippos."

McCune's death in a car crash six months after rescuing Jal was a devastating setback.

"My life was crushed," says Jal, who was aided by McCune's friends. "So I started going to church and singing in the choir. Love let me heal. Letting go of my hatred for Muslims helped the most. And music was therapy."

Jal began dabbling in rap, and one of his home demo tapes got regional airplay, leading to a record deal. In 2005, single Gua ("peace" in his native Nuer) won global attention and an invitation for Jal to perform at the Live 8 benefits. "That was the beginning of the end of poverty in my life," says Jal, who relocated to London to pursue music full time. "I started supporting myself."

He began performing widely, and his music appeared on benefit albums War Child: Help! A Day in the Life and Instant Karma, as well as in the film Blood Diamond and TV's ER.

A spokesman for Make Poverty History, Jal hopes someday to build a school in McCune's name to rehabilitate child soldiers. He sees little hope for ending the genocide in Darfur until multiple nations pressure Sudan's leaders.

"Wars are made by rich people to kill poor people," he says. "The wealthiest Sudanese don't know what war is. Their children are safe in school." He grins. "But I don't want the wealthy to hate me, because I'm going to join them soon."

Jal cracks jokes to cope. He has never seen a psychiatrist and still struggles with nightmares.

"The killing and stealing I did in war, I can justify with what happened in my home," he says. "I don't feel guilty, but I'm haunted. I used to say, 'Why didn't I die?' Now I know I'm here to tell my story."

Source

See also:

California Chooses Sterile Insects to Fight Moth Invasion

Lifestyle brand Juicy Couture appoints Mr Edgar as President

Tapping a respected executive with two decades of experience and a stellar reputation as a brand builder, Juicy Couture announced the appointment of Edgar O. Huber as president of the company.

Huber, who will work in partnership with the company's co-founders and creative directors, Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy, will guide the overall management of the global lifestyle brand, ensuring its integrity during a period of significant global expansion.

Huber segues to Juicy Couture from L'Oreal SA where, as managing director of Major Markets he oversaw a portfolio of brands including Ralph Lauren Fragrances, Giorgio Armani Beauty, Diesel Fragrances, Lancome, Shu Uemura, and Kiehl's Since 1851.

In this role he was directly responsible for leading the luxury products group in more than 30 of L'Oreal's most important markets including the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia and Eastern Europe.

Huber, who in his 15 years with L'Oreal previously served as president of luxury products, L'Oreal USA, began his career 20 years ago as a brand manager.

Commenting on the announcement, Nash-Taylor and Skaist-Levy stated, "We fell in love with Edgar and his innate understanding of building luxury brands, as well as his knowledge of both the retail and wholesale markets.

We have been searching for the perfect executive partner to manage our astronomical growth and ensure that the Juicy brand is never compromised in realizing its world-dominating potential. His accomplishments speak for themselves, and we are thrilled to have him."

William L. McComb, chief executive officer of Liz Claiborne Inc, the parent company of Juicy Couture, said, "Edgar is a great fit for both Juicy Couture and the corporation at-large. We are particularly impressed with his leadership of Kiehl's, spanning both wholesale and retail, growing a small business into a very large global one. His talents and experience beautifully complement those of the Juicy team. He has focused on building brands during his entire career, and we are confident that he is the best person to help the Juicy brand reach its full potential." The search was conducted by Spencer Stuart.

Juicy Couture

Source

See also:

Jennifer Lopez names newborn twins Emme and Max

Jennifer Lopez names newborn twins Emme and Max

Enlarge Photo Singer Jennifer Lopez is seen performing on ABC's "Good Morning America" television show in New...

Sat, Mar 1 07:50 AM

Movie and recording star Jennifer Lopez and her husband, salsa singer Marc Anthony, have named their newborn twins Max and Emme, her manager told People magazine's Web site on Friday.

The brother and sister -- the first children born to the 38-year-old actress -- were delivered about 10 minutes apart last Friday at a Long Island hospital.

Emme, weighing (2.6 kg), arrived first at about 12 minutes past midnight, and Max was born at 12:23 a.m., tipping the scales at 2.7 kg even, Lopez's manager, Simon Fields, confirmed to People.com.

Lopez and Anthony, who has a daughter and two sons from two previous relationships, married in 2004. It is her third marriage. The couple starred together last year in "El Cantante," a film about salsa legend Hector Lavoe.

See also:

Drew Barrymore donates $1 mln to feed Kenyan kids

Drew Barrymore donates $1 mln to feed Kenyan kids

Enlarge Photo Actress Drew Barrymore listens during a news conference where she was named Ambassador against Hunger...

Tue, Mar 4 03:44 AM

U.S. actress Drew Barrymore donated $1 million of her own money on Monday to the World Food Programme (WFP) that the U.N. agency said would be used to feed thousands of schoolchildren in Kenya.

Barrymore, 33, a WFP ambassador against hunger, announced her pledge on The Oprah Winfrey Show to kick off the agency's $3 billion "Fill the Cup" campaign that aims to feed 59 million hungry school children in developing countries for a year.

WFP hopes the United States will be able to donate enough money to feed 10 million of those children.

"I have seen with my own eyes what a difference a simple cup of nutritious porridge can make in a child's life," said the "Charlie's Angels" star, who has traveled to Kenya twice in the past two years for WFP.

"It helps them learn, stay healthy and sets them on track for a bright future. I urge everyone -- everywhere -- to help WFP 'Fill the Cup' for hungry children, and make hunger history," she said in a statement released by the agency.

Barrymore, who gained fame as a child star in the film "ET: The Extra-Terrestrial," is the eighth-highest-paid actress in Hollywood, according to The Hollywood Reporter, earning more than $10 million a movie.

Josette Sheeran, WFP's executive director, said $50 "fills a child's cup for a year" and called on people to donate through the Web site www.wfp.org.

The organization said last year it provided more than 20 million school children with a daily cup of porridge, rice or beans and also gave many girls a monthly ration to take home to their families. It said up to 70 percent of its food used for school meals is bought from farmers in developing cpountries.

Source

See also:

World Chefs - Love urbanizes U.S. western cuisine

World Chefs - Love urbanizes U.S. western cuisine

Tue, Mar 4 04:47 PM

Texas-based Tim Love is known for his sophisticated interpretations of U.S. western cuisine while preserving its bold flavors and multi-cultural origins.

Meat and wild game, the focal point of Love's cooking, are often paired with global touches such as Swedish lingonberries and Spanish Manchego cheese.

In 2003, the self-taught chef and a crew traveled in a trail drive from Fort Worth to New York City after the James Beard House invited him to cook a celebration dinner in honor of the late chef and food writer's 100th birthday. During the trip Love, bought ingredients from local markets, which he used for the dinner.

Love, who often sports a cowboy hat, owns three restaurants in Fort Worth including his flagship, The Lonesome Dove Western Bistro.

Love, 36, spoke to Reuters about his cooking and why Australians like Texans.

Q: What makes your cuisine "urban Western"?

A: "I was born and raised in Denton, Texas, so in Texas you are around a lot of different cultures all the time. There is a lot of hunting capabilities in Texas so that style of cooking encompasses a lot of wild animals and cultures that make up the West. You have the Germans, Italians, French traders and Chinese railroad workers and all these influences using native ingredients. I've taken all those cultures and urbanized it."

Q: What part of the world inspires you now?

A: "Now I use things from Australia and New Zealand because to me, when I visited there, it had the same thing Texas had going for it back to in the days of wide open spaces. I consider it's the New West. I have visited there a few times. I have a friend in Perth. I visited the wine areas. They really embrace Texans. They are really proud of where they are from, just like Texans."

Q: Any tips for cooking games?

A: "Game meats in themselves are not that gamey if it's prepared correctly. The thing that makes it gamier is the fat content. Game meat tends to be leaner so you add fat to the meat by like using lardon and other pork products. You need the fat in there to flavor the meat. You also want to use really bold flavors and really pungent herbs like garlic, chilies, rosemary and thyme."

Q: What is your favorite game to work with?

A: "Rabbit is the best white meat in the world. When prepared properly and you put it next to chicken, there is no comparison. It has a creamy quality to it. It's a little less lean than chicken. As far as bird goes, I love working with pheasants. As far as four-legged animal, I love working with red deer. As far as wild fish, I love barramundi."

Q: What do you cook for yourself?

A: "I like to cook whole anything but I end up feeding like a million people when I do it. You get so many different flavors and textures when you finished with just out one cooking process."

RECIPE

SPICY LAMB CHILI (Serves 6)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 lb. lean ground American lamb

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

4 tablespoons chili powder

1 bay leaf

1 (14-1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with juice

3 cups canned kidney beans

Salt and pepper

Dry Jack cheese, for garnish

Chopped onion, for garnish

1. In a large heavy-bottom stock pot, heat olive oil and cook onions and ground lamb over medium heat.

2. When onions are soft and meat browned, add garlic and season with red pepper flakes, oregano, cumin, allspice, cinnamon, chili powder and bay leaf, and salt and pepper to taste. Saute for 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Add tomatoes and beans and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes.

4. To serve: Ladle into bowls and garnish with toppings.

Source

See also:

Anna Nicole Smith daughter Dannielynn named heir

Anna Nicole Smith daughter Dannielynn named heir

Enlarge Photo Anna Nicole Smith walks into the media tent during an appearance backstage in this file...

Wed, Mar 5 04:16 AM

A judge on Tuesday ruled that the baby daughter of deceased model Anna Nicole Smith is the sole heir to her estate, meaning 18-month-old Dannielynn could inherit a multimillion-dollar fortune.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell L. Beckloff's ruling also established a trust for Dannielynn that would be administered by Smith's companion, Howard K. Stern, and Dannielynn's father, Larry Birkhead.

Smith, a former Playboy model and television actress, died in February last year of an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, roughly five months after Dannielynn was born. Smith's son, Daniel, died only three days after Dannielynn's birth. He was 20.

Daniel had been Anna Nicole Smith's heir according to a will that was written well before his death, but the actress/model never changed the will. Stern, who is executor of Smith's estate, had petitioned the Los Angeles court in October to name Dannielynn as the sole heir.

"We and Mr. Stern always believed that Anna Nicole never intended to disinherit her daughter," Stern's lawyer, Bruce Ross, said after the hearing. "I'm pleased to say this chapter in the saga is closed."

At the time of her death, Smith was embroiled in a legal battle over the will of billionaire oil tycoon Howard Marshall.

She married Marshall when she was 26 years old and he was 89. He died 14 months later with a fortune estimated at $1.6 billion, triggering a battle between Smith and Marshall's family over his estate that still has not been resolved.

If that dispute is settled and Anna Nicole Smith's estate receives a large payout, the money would belong to Dannielynn.

The birth of Dannielynn and deaths of Daniel and Anna Nicole Smith were the subjects of a huge media frenzy last year due to the actress/model's celebrity.

Source

See also:

Should these stars hold on to their hats?

Should these stars hold on to their hats?

From '40s fedoras to '80s headbands, stars are crowning their outfits these days. USA TODAY's Olivia Barker asked Brooke Magnaghi, accessories and jewelry director at W magazine, to dissect the trend.

Hats are "a great way to show individuality," but they're hard to wear, Magnaghi says. "People are intimidated (by them). When someone wears one, they're making a statement" — sometimes quietly, sometimes loudly.

By Ed Jones, AFP/Getty Images

Fetching fedoras

The fedora has edged out the newsboy cap as today’s menswear- inspired hat of choice. “It’s the ultimate boyfriend accessory,” says Magnaghi — or ex-boyfriend. The brimmed toppers started popping up a year or two ago among the indie crowd (think of Pete Doherty and his former paramour, Kate Moss). The narrower-brimmed trilby, as modeled by Sienna Miller at the Edinburgh premiere of The Edge of Love, is particularly popular. “It’s really flattering,” says Magnaghi. Pairing one with a cocktail dress for a formal event, à la Miller, “plays on the whole masculine- feminine look.” Take a shift, “slap on a fedora, and it automatically adds a cool factor to the outfit.” And in the case of hit-and-miss fashion maverick Miller, “it looks casual. She makes it look easy and effortless. It doesn’t look like she’s trying too hard.”

Source

See also:

Trim the grocery bill, not nutrition

Trim the grocery bill, not nutrition

TORONTO, (Reuters) -- Food prices, fuel costs and economic fears are growing, but that doesn't mean you can't eat healthfully while on a recession diet.

Feeding yourself and your family on a budget can still include nutritious lean protein, fruits and vegetables in your diet every day, said Holly Scherer, a registered dietician at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor. It just requires an open mind and a bit of extra time.

"With a little bit of planning, you can watch how much you're spending and still eat a healthy diet," Scherer said.

The food inflation rate is currently double the overall rate at 4.2 percent annually, according to the Department of Labor, and the USDA estimates the rate will be between 3 and 4 percent this year, the highest since the early 1990s. Labor Department figures show milk, dried beans, peas and lentils up 17 percent, cheese up 15 percent, rice and pasta up 13 percent, bread up 12 percent, and eggs up 25 percent, all over the last year. And rising prices at the pump mean that transportation costs are eating a larger chunk out of people's incomes. Many families are now looking for ways to make their food budgets go further, or to increase it by cutting spending somewhere else.

All of that may leave some people worried that they will have to begin relying on fast food and less-healthy options for their meals, but there are a lot of ways to cut a grocery budget without giving up fresh foods, Scherer said.

Eating in season is one key way to cut your food bill. Farmer's markets can offer savings on produce because you're buying locally and directly from the farmer. But watch prices there, Scherer said. The savings can be significant, but some items, such as organic produce, may actually cost more. "You may pay more if you're not careful about what you're choosing," she said.

Local co-operatives where you trade money or labour in order to reap the benefits of a larger community garden or local farm are another option for fresh fruits and vegetables, Scherer said. And if you're so inclined, you can save money by planting your own produce and herbs. A plant that costs just a few dollars can provide a large amount of produce, she said.

When fresh options are too expensive or unavailable, consider frozen and canned fruits and vegetables. Look for frozen and canned vegetables without added ingredients like sauces and salt, and fruits that are not frozen or canned in sugar -- check for sugar or high fructose corn syrup in the ingredients, and avoid them, Scherer said. Some fruits will be canned in a light syrup, which is their own juices and is a better choice. Also, produce to be frozen and canned is selected at the peak of its freshness. "They can be just as nutritious if you follow those guidelines, and very economical," she said.

Protein is another area where grocery costs can become quite high -- and therefore, where cuts can be made. For a lot of people, protein means meat, and plenty of it. The United States Department of Agriculture recommends four ounces of meat per person per day, but per capita meat consumption is consistently a half-pound daily. So one option is to simply eat less meat with our meals. "A lot of us do eat more meat than we really need, with large portions," Scherer said. Though the price of eggs has increased, they are still a cheaper source of protein than meat. Beans are another option for adding protein to meals at a low cost.

But eating more economically doesn't have to mean eliminating meat, it just means making smarter choices, Scherer said. Less expensive cuts are often less tender, which makes them good choices for meals like stews and casseroles. Watching for sales allows you to purchase preferred cuts at a discount and freeze them for later use.

Buying chicken breasts with the bone and skin on and filleting and skinning them yourself will also save money because the price per pound is lower. The National Institutes of Health recommends buying whole chickens and cutting them up yourself; the carcass can then be used to make soup stock. Avoiding pre-cooked or pre-seasoned meat can also mean consuming fewer preservatives, additives and sodium, Scherer added.

This is true across the board of convenience items, she pointed out -- though time is also valuable, any time some of the work has been done for you, the cost will be higher.

"Any time the item is more prepared for you, whether it's in meats, fruits and vegetables, non-perishable items -- you're going to pay more for that," Scherer said. "In actuality, it's only a few minutes of your time that's added to food preparation in order to do that yourself."

Source

See also:

Californian drivers told to drop their cells

Californian drivers told to drop their cells

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Next week California will try to wrest cell phones from the hands of drivers, telling everyone from movie starlets and dot-com millionaires to surfers and soccer moms that conversations behind the wheel must be on a headset.

Several U.S. states and some two dozen countries around the world already have restrictions on mobile phones while driving but now such a law has come to California -- where the car is king and much of life is spent on the famously snarled freeways.

Californians interviewed by Reuters mostly supported the law requiring hands-free phones in cars and outlawing cell phones entirely for drivers under 18, which takes effect on Tuesday -- though they were puzzled by a loophole that allows seemingly more dangerous text messaging.

Others cast a jaundiced eye on lawmakers, who they blame for failing to build more freeways or public transportation in the face of increasingly gridlocked roads in the nation's most populous state and say hands-free conversations are no safer.

"I can't believe that (Californians) will put up with all these nanny, nit-picking laws," KFI-AM radio talk-show host John Kobylt told Reuters.

"It's stupid because we've gone over about seven different studies and each one of them says it's the conversation that distracts you, not holding the phone," he said.

TEXT MESSAGING OK?

Besides, he said, many Californians are forced to use their cars as offices while stuck on the freeway.

State Sen. Joe Simitian, who authored the bill, disputes those studies and says keeping both hands on the wheel is always safer. He expects his law to save hundreds of lives.

"There are more and more people out there on the highway and the CHP (California Highway Patrol) has collected data every year showing that cell phones are the number one cause of distracted drivers," Simitian said.

Fines for a first offense are $20 plus fees and $50 plus fees for subsequent convictions.

The Democratic lawmaker is working on a follow-up bill to outlaw text messaging in the car, which he says wasn't an issue when he began working on the first one in 2001.

Connecticut, New Jersey and New York already prohibit drivers from talking on hand-held cell phones, along with some two dozen countries around the world. In New Jersey, police have issued 35,000 tickets for using a hand-held phone or texting while driving since the law went into effect March 1.

But the random sampling of Californians interviewed by Reuters expressed ambivalence.

"On the one hand I don't want people crashing into each other, but I'm not going to go get an ear thing," 38-year-old bank employee Jason Fischer said in Los Angeles. "I'll give it up and then one day I'll make a call and get a ticket. I don't want a headset. I'm too lazy to get a headset."

Rachel Kucsulain, 36, said she rides her bike to her job as an administrative assistant in Los Angeles and wants cell phones taken out of the hands of drivers.

"I've almost been hit multiple times. I think it's totally a threat," Kucsulain said. "Two blocks from here someone (on a cell phone) turned on me as I was crossing a crosswalk. They were only inches away from me. It's just distracting."

Source

See also:

Free-agent history mixed, but these will draw lots of attention