Rising Stars of Gossip Blogs

For those looking for more ways to waste time during exams, NYT has an article about the new wave of gossip bloggers.

From left, Steve Krakauer, TV editor of Mediaite.com; Erin Carlson, editor of Crushable; Fred Mwangaguhunga, MediaTakeOut.com; Maureen O’Connor, Gawker weekend editor; Tommye Fitzpatrick, of Fashionologie; Lilit Marcus, editor of The Gloss; Sara Polsky, a writer for Curbed; and Foster Kamer of the Village Voice; Not shown: Bess Levin, editor of Dealbreaker.

Dream Business Suit

I was wasting time on net-a-porter.com after drinking too much rockstar while studying. Anyway, this suit is amazing. I love Stella.

Jimmy Fallon + The Hills

Hat tip to my brother, Adam, for finding this gem.

The Hills through the eyes of a guy. And, oh my gosh there are MANY EPISODES online. Ha! I love that Whitney agreed to do this!

Carrie Underwood

Wowza, I am loving this outfit. Blazer - check. Jeans - check. Bright T - check. Strappy wedge heels - online at Nordstom right now... Original Link. More photos here.

Carnivore?

#1 Pet Peeve: when people refer to humans as "carnivores." Most people are omnivores. If they were carnivores they'd get scurvy and die like old school sailors and pirates.

Macleans makes the error here. Along with some weak arguments about so-called "human nature."

Also, in the interests of full disclosure - I totally owned all these farm animal beanie babies at one point. Ha!

Lady Gaga Profile

Ny Mag has a Gaga-rrific profile on Lady Gaga. Very cool to see the transformation from regular person to pop icon.

Photo on left is Gaga at her prom!

How to be Popular at Work

Even if you are out of school, it still matters whether your peers perceive you as popular or not.

Recent academic research confirms that popularity in the workplace makes a big difference. Forbes offers some useful tips, here.

None of these qualify as rocket surgery, but probably still good reminders:
- Be interested in other people
- Shift attention away from yourself
- Eradicate self-consciousness
- Organize team-building activities
- Help whenever you can

Makeup

I'm loving Rhianna's makeup in the photo on the right. But the hair is less than awesome.

Juror in Stolen-Credit-Card Case Steals Fellow Juror's Credit Card

Prosecutors in the Bronx have charged 20-year-old Jennifer Mercado with credit card theft after a shopping spree in which she allegedly bought over $500 worth of stuff using someone else's credit card without authorization.

She may have gotten the idea from jury service, because she did this while she was sitting as a juror in the trial of an accused credit card thief, and in fact she allegedly stole the credit card from another juror on the case and then brought her loot back to the courtroom!

More here.

David Simon Part II

HBO has released an extended preview of 'Treme'

Many people - especially fans of the underwatched, profusely lauded show The Wire - are very excited about Treme.

The show, which debuts on HBO on April 11, follows the lives of people rebuilding in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Created by David Simon, who is alo responsible for theaforementioned The Wire, and Eric Overmyer, the show stars Wendell Pierce, Steve Zahn and John Goodman.

HBO has just released this 14 minute extended preview:

Jedi Freedom of Religion?

The Guardian reports that a Jedi Knight refused to dehood in the workplace, and earned an apology from his employer. But unsatisfied, he intends now to sue for discrimination. Seriously!

Oh, President Obama is not a follower of the Jedi religion, but I found this image online and it's hella funny.

30 Rock

Here is a sweet clip from 30 rock, mentioning my Ottawa Senators.

The Hills

It's time to say goodbye to our favourite celebrity idiots. MTV has announced this season will be the last season of The Hills. Weirdly, this news made the National Post.

Best quote from the article: "The Hills is 99% people staring at each other and chewing"

But The Hills isn’t done with us just yet — in the show’s final season, debuting April 27, much of the focus will be on Spencer and Heidi and the latter’s extensive plastic surgery.

Happiness

Turns out all those deep philosophical conversations you've been having may be key to your happiness. Link.

A recently published study in the journal of Psychological Science has found that people who are naturally happy engage in more substantive conversations than small talk. But according to one of the authors it’s not yet clear whether it is the substantive conversations that cause the happiness. “It could be that it’s just that it’s not fun to be around people who have less substantive or if you’re grumpy no one wants to be around you and you don’t get beyond small talk.”

Oh Snap!

Weirdest Micronations

HuffPost has a hilarious article, with hilarious photos, about the world's weirdest micronations (a state that is formally declared yet not internationally recognized). I especially love this guy from the Republic of Melossia.

Now that's a BFD

I love Vice PresidentJoe Biden. He's always good for some laughs. Recently, perhaps overcome with excitement during his speech congratulating President Obama on the passage of health care reform, dropped an F-bomb on live television when he turned to Obama and said, "This is a big fucking deal." I love it.

How to Dump Your Friends

The Wall Street Journal has an article on how to end friendships. I kinda wanted it to be a funny article, but it isn't really. Mostly just reasonable. Probably written by a lawyer.

Here are some tips:

• Take a deep breath. If you're mad, give yourself time to calm down. You want to be sure you really want to end the friendship.
• Try a temporary separation. You might find you miss each other and want to get back together. Hey, it has worked for married couples.
• Lie. Claim to be super busy—blame work or the kids. The experts are with me on this. They say the time to be up-front and honest with your friends is before a breakup.
• Go slowly, especially if it's a close relationship.
• Foist your unwanted friend on another friend. Friends of mine have used this strategy on me before. (They know who they are.)
• Become a Facebook pest. I have a gay friend who has had much success getting rid of bigoted high school friends by making his status updates as flamboyant and politically charged as possible.
• Issue an ultimatum—but be prepared to lose your friends.

Lady Gaga

Her next video with be for the song ‘Alejandro.’ Can't wait!
More here.

Sleepy Animals

13 Cutest Animals Falling Asleep

What is it about animals falling asleep that is so darn cute? Huffington Post compiled 13 precious videos of animals you just wish you could cuddle up with.

Here's one, more here.

Criminal Mistakes

Lowering the bar has a sweet post about mistakes criminals commonly make. Amazing.

• Make sure you have the proper tools [e.g., no bananas, snakes, or Star Trek props];
• Fight the urge to give away personal information [a very frequent mistake];
• Keep in mind that there is a time and a place for everything [do not check Facebook or make some fried chicken during the crime];
• Choose your targets wisely [trying to rob a karate school or police convention is a bad idea];
• Be wary of strangers offering you money/drugs [these are frequently police, or the person you stole that cell phone from]; and
• Cover your tracks [or do not make any by walking through deep snow].

How to Date a 1L

This is pretty funny.

Here’s an interesting Facebook group that’s popped up: How to Date a 1L: First Year Required Companion Class.

For anyone who has been there, this is pretty darn bang-on.

Example: "I may talk funny and disproportionately use the words burden, rational, substantial, reasonable….and injury. See attached Glossary of Terms in the Index. Please know what LRW stands for and that a Tort is not edible but that I can’t explain exactly what it means either."

Segway

JCPenney’s CEO rides a segway... Oh, and it looks like he'll make $11.4 million this year. Link.

You lose.

Shoes

In a perfect world, these would be appropriate work attire.
Le sigh.

That's why I bought these instead...
I love everything Stella McCartney touches!

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens

Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens hasn’t yet announced his retirement. But it seems the bettin’ money is that he will; and that it could be soon. Obama has said he'll move quickly to replace him.

Lego Lawyer?

New York corporate lawyer Nathan Sawaya, has given up his long days in the firm's office, for long days in his studio - creating Lego sculptures; selling his pieces for over $20,000.00 each. Sweet!

Were you into lego as a kid? I sure was, I remember being heartbroken having to dismantle my creations when I went off to university.

Tiger Woods

I don't buy it. I read the text messages. He's a sicko.
Jezebel agrees and has a hilarious post on his vague answers. Here.

Corner Office

The NYT runs a column called "Corner Office" where they interview top management people. In this article, Adam Bryant interviews Guy Kawasaki, co-founder of Alltop, a news aggregation site, and managing director of Garage Technology Ventures.

Kawasaki's biggest wish? That schools would teach students to be more concise.

Einstein's Theory of Relativity On Display

Albert Einstein personally rewrote the laws of physics in a sparsely furnished central Berlin apartment nearly a century ago and the resulting manuscript, profoundly human and surprisingly moving to examine, has been put on display here for the first time. Link.

I hope this comes to Toronto soon!

I read (most of) Walter Isaacson's biography on Einstein about a year ago. I confess to skipping the too sciency parts since I never even took grade 12 physics. Nonetheless, as a biography it's marvelous. Isaacson has an amazing ability to tell the life story of larger-than-life people.

David Simon

Coming off acclaim for “The Wire,” David Simon is taking his approach to post-Katrina New Orleans.

“Treme,” Simon’s new HBO drama — co-created by the seasoned television writer and producer Eric Overmyer will make its debut on April 11.

It looks like Bunk, or the actor who played Bunk, is back as Wendell Pierce plays Antoine Batiste in the new series.

Dominic West is not back, but I'm putting his photo up here anyway because he's damn good-looking.

Superhero Fight

Can't they just call Professor X to settle this?
There is an epic battle over the rights to superheros goin' on.


Yes, this is just an excuse to post a Wolverine photo.

Supreme Court Justice Bobblehead Dolls

NYT Story: The Yale law library, which has one of the best collections of rare law books in the world, is now the official repository of Supreme Court justice bobblehead dolls.
Fred R. Shapiro, an associate librarian, explained the latest acquisition: “A hundred years from now, if someone wants to study the bobbleheads, where will they go? There needs to be an archive.”

Osgoode must start this for Canadian Supreme Court justice bobblehead dolls. Wait, are there any?

How to be a Genius

The NYT has a book review called "How to Be Brilliant" that reviews ‘The Genius in All of Us’ by David Shenk.

The book argues two things: (1) that our real problem isn't “talent scarcity” but a “latent talent abundance.” Our problem “isn’t our inadequate genetic assets,” but “our inability, so far, to tap into what we already have.” Turns out there may be a feedback loop between heredity and our world. And, (2) although we’ve traditionally regarded superior talent as a rare and mysterious gift bequeathed to a lucky few, in fact, Shenk writes, science is revealing it to be the product of highly concentrated effort.

This makes a lot of sense to me - if you want to be truly great at something you must practice, practice, practice!

Role of Emotion in Politics

Seems to be a hot topic lately. This has fascinated me since I first discovered the Evil Genius that is Karl Rove.

Anyway, here are some links:

(1) The Globe and Mail has a piece Exploring the politics of emotion. Weirdly some Canadians seems to find PM Harper "macho" - that label doesn't seem to fit for me. More like "bookish" and "strategic."

(2) The Globe's piece picks up on the topic of the Walter Gordon Massey Symposium.


(3) And more from the Agenda here.

If the Internet was a Place

Slaw picked up an interesting article called "Infographic of the Day: Comparing the 100 Largest Sites on the Internet."

How can this be right? Do you remember the Dave Chappelle sketch called "If the Internet was a Real Place" - Dave imaginesd how sleazy it would be as he cruises around a 'physical' internet resembling a mall - visiting porn sites, grabbing free downloads, etc.

Nail Polish

Jezebel has a post on makeup basics that many woman can't conquer. Mainly nail polish and eye liner. I confess that I also cannot apply that stuff on myself. How to people learn anyway?

That being said, I LOVE getting my nails done. New colour I'm lusting over is grey. I've been trying to find the right grey, but it's not really working out for me. So far, I can only find a greyish purple ("Parlez-Vous OPI?") that I'm rocking right now.

Team Bullock

Just so everyone is clear, TEAM BULLOCK! This girl isn't even pretty and her tattoos are so so.

Link.


Weirdly, Macleans has seen fit to comment on this. Here.

Stevie Y

Eye Candy for your Saturday morning.

Cutest Canadian around: Agree or disagree?

I love Hugh Jackman!

Could Hugh Jackman be any more awesome? Answer: No.

Camel

Fashionista is loving that amount of camel coloured frocks coming our way. I'm not so much into that. I prefer my neutrals in black, navy, brown, white... camel kind of looks like someone left brown outside too long.

Capes?

I'm not usually a cape girl, but this image is speaking to me. I feel like I would totally rock this outfit... in Paris, France though... just like the woman in the photo. Not really appropriate for law school.
Link.

Intellectual Property Infringement

Grrrrrrrr, looks like Topshop is stealing ideas from the late Alexander McQueen. Why can't people just come up with their own stuff? Link here.

Alicia Silverstone

This NYT article on her vegan lifestyle is an interesting read. I always feel like people underappreciate the variety of delicious foods out there for vegans.

Best Toronto Vegan Eats:

Calico
Bloordale
Gourmet vegan food at totally reasonable prices.

Fresh by Juice for Life
Annex, Crawford & Queen
Delicious healthy vegetarian food - especially the bowls and wraps. Even my meat-loving brothers like this place.

Pulp Kitchen
Leslieville
Great place for brunch or juices/shakes.

Tina Fey

Could Tina Fey be anymore of a Goddess?

NY Mag discusses...

Earring-tastic!

Just picked up these sweet new earring today. I'm loving the vintage style. They're made by a fabulous Canadian company called Anzie.

Introduction

This blog is about all things style. I'll be posting frequent links to online articles, pictures of fashion goodies, and discussions about style questions in personal and professional life.

Speaking of professional life, I'm a law student so there will be some legal stuff posted here, too.

The blog was inspired by the amazing stuff at Corporette. I love that blog. Hopefully, I can grow into half the superstar Kat Griffin is. Also, inspiration comes from the NYT Fashion & Style section as well as The Cut by NY Mag.