While college girls are spending up to $100 for skimpy halloween costumes at Fairvilla Adult Megastore, Orlandosentinel.com has ideas for homemade costumes that are witty albeit a little embarrassing.
When I was a kid, my mom dressed me up as the sky one year. I wore a blue sweatshirt with felt clouds glued on it and green pants. The crowning touch was blue face paint and a gold headband. I'm not going to lie; I looked awful. But I thought I was the bee's knees that year, even if I was kind of nerdy and tall and thin. I guess I can forgive myself for that fashion moment.
Looking back, my parents were struggling financially at the time. My dad had just lost his job and, like so many parents today, couldn't afford the latest Transformers costume complete with light up buttons. I remember thinking how cool my mom was for coming up with this unique idea and never realizing that we were going through tough times. To be honest, I didn't realize we were alright financially until I left for college and had to input their income onto the FAFSA application.
With the economy in the state that it is, I think it's great that the Sentinel is helping parents out with this image gallery of unique Halloween costumes on a budget. Hopefully, their kids won't even realize that their parents are struggling and can look back on their "Static Cling" costume fondly (no matter how silly it may look). I hope when I have kids I can teach them to appreciate the small things and that you don't need tons of money to have fun.
Source: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment/halloween/sfl-cheap-costumes-0917,0,897154.photogallery
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
A [really] new society
In a culture where religion and antiquated propriety have long ruled the roost, Dubai is quickly becoming the beacon of the modern world. The New York Times did a story package investigating how Dubai's yuppies are faring in a city where modern temptations are clashing with religious identity. NYT sums it up in this paragraph:
"It is a land of rules: no smoking, no littering, no speeding, no drinking and driving. But it also dares everyone to defy limitations."
In an interview with NYT, Abu Zanad, who moved to Dubai to work in real estate, said, "“It is very disorienting. I felt lost. There are fancy cars, but don’t speed. You can have prostitutes, but don’t get caught with a woman."
This package is complete with a slide show that really puts a face on the young, vibrant society that's growing in Dubai. It really moved me because it reminds me of my own struggle with religion and real life. They are late 20-somethings who seem so lost in this glittering society being built around them.
When I was in New York this summer, I felt a little like some of the people interviewed in this article. Everyone has an agenda. You don't talk, you network. And leave your hometown behind, because you're in New York now. However, on the weekends, you would see people secretly flocking to their churches, the nearest library, or even lying in Central Park alone. Because in a city of staggering masses and blinding opportunity, you realize that you are very alone.
But New York has always been fast and shameless. The difference with Dubai is that they are becoming modern at the speed of light, leaving behind whoever can't keep up.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/22/world/20080922DUBAI_index.html
"It is a land of rules: no smoking, no littering, no speeding, no drinking and driving. But it also dares everyone to defy limitations."
In an interview with NYT, Abu Zanad, who moved to Dubai to work in real estate, said, "“It is very disorienting. I felt lost. There are fancy cars, but don’t speed. You can have prostitutes, but don’t get caught with a woman."
This package is complete with a slide show that really puts a face on the young, vibrant society that's growing in Dubai. It really moved me because it reminds me of my own struggle with religion and real life. They are late 20-somethings who seem so lost in this glittering society being built around them.
When I was in New York this summer, I felt a little like some of the people interviewed in this article. Everyone has an agenda. You don't talk, you network. And leave your hometown behind, because you're in New York now. However, on the weekends, you would see people secretly flocking to their churches, the nearest library, or even lying in Central Park alone. Because in a city of staggering masses and blinding opportunity, you realize that you are very alone.
But New York has always been fast and shameless. The difference with Dubai is that they are becoming modern at the speed of light, leaving behind whoever can't keep up.
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2008/09/22/world/20080922DUBAI_index.html
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
100 Ways...
TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People list has been out for some time now. The list has been a subject of controversy (when Tony Blair pouted about not being included), which clearly only sells more copies. What I really love is the treatment used to display the list on TIME's website. In print, I feel like, although lists are effective alternative story formats, they can get stale. On the web, it is far to lengthy and hard to read if all the names were to be placed in a list on one page.
The design is so simple and clean that there is no doubt TIME's demographic (Baby Boomer Internet newbies) can easily navigate the extensive list. Each mini-article frames the image of the person deemed influential enough to be on this list. The articles are short and have options to e-mail, post it on Facebook or Digg and a variety of other ways to share your favorite person with the rest of the web. I also find it fascinating that each writer's voice is preserved perfectly in their articles. You really feel each one's personality since you tend to read the stories back-to-back.
I get pretty starstruck when I interview "celebrities." I interviewed Mayor Buddy Dyer and Daddy Yankee and I always find myself extremely nervous. What I love most about TIME's Most Influential People articles is that some journalist (or, you know, Madeleine Albright) gets to speak to the Dalai Lama or George Clooney or just plain gets published in freakin' TIME magazine. I can only imagine what that must feel like.
However, some silly copy editor forgot to capitalize NATO in Ms. Albright's piece on Vladimir Putin. Tsk, tsk TIME magazine... :)
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1733748,00.html
The design is so simple and clean that there is no doubt TIME's demographic (Baby Boomer Internet newbies) can easily navigate the extensive list. Each mini-article frames the image of the person deemed influential enough to be on this list. The articles are short and have options to e-mail, post it on Facebook or Digg and a variety of other ways to share your favorite person with the rest of the web. I also find it fascinating that each writer's voice is preserved perfectly in their articles. You really feel each one's personality since you tend to read the stories back-to-back.
I get pretty starstruck when I interview "celebrities." I interviewed Mayor Buddy Dyer and Daddy Yankee and I always find myself extremely nervous. What I love most about TIME's Most Influential People articles is that some journalist (or, you know, Madeleine Albright) gets to speak to the Dalai Lama or George Clooney or just plain gets published in freakin' TIME magazine. I can only imagine what that must feel like.
However, some silly copy editor forgot to capitalize NATO in Ms. Albright's piece on Vladimir Putin. Tsk, tsk TIME magazine... :)
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/0,28757,1733748,00.html
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Style.com Re-design
Style.com is the online home of Vogue and W magazines. For those interested in fashion news, it is the most comprehensive compilation of archived images from Fashion Week collections. They also offer highly edited trend reports and special interest story packages designed for the web. They recently underwent a massive redesign, streamlining their menus and departments. It looks a little messier at first glance, but I think its meant to give a "I just cut this out of my favorite magazine and put it up on my bulletin board" kind of look.
They put together an interactive slide show for their shopping guide that I found pretty inspired. It is a different approach to the average slide show because you click on the images of classic style icons to reach the actually image gallery.
The use of teal really stood out on style.com's (new) black and white background. The only complaint I have is that the images on the title page are cropped very haphazardly. It's distracting because the images seem distorted and oddly sized. It looks like they tried to have them "standing" but it just looks funny. However, I like how you when you scroll over each woman, you can see her name and select her slide show that way, but there is also the option to select from a list of their names.
The slide show looks very sleek and crisp; the pictures are free-floating and the page doesn't reload completely every time you click on something, which I think is so important for Web-based design.
I think style.com really achieved a feel that your just flipping through a picture album rather than clicking through a virtual slide show. The use of classic icons to represent new trends is always fun to see, although I would have loved the images of said icons to be better prepared for the web.
http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/shoppingguide/081308/
They put together an interactive slide show for their shopping guide that I found pretty inspired. It is a different approach to the average slide show because you click on the images of classic style icons to reach the actually image gallery.
The use of teal really stood out on style.com's (new) black and white background. The only complaint I have is that the images on the title page are cropped very haphazardly. It's distracting because the images seem distorted and oddly sized. It looks like they tried to have them "standing" but it just looks funny. However, I like how you when you scroll over each woman, you can see her name and select her slide show that way, but there is also the option to select from a list of their names.
The slide show looks very sleek and crisp; the pictures are free-floating and the page doesn't reload completely every time you click on something, which I think is so important for Web-based design.
I think style.com really achieved a feel that your just flipping through a picture album rather than clicking through a virtual slide show. The use of classic icons to represent new trends is always fun to see, although I would have loved the images of said icons to be better prepared for the web.
http://www.style.com/trendsshopping/shoppingguide/081308/
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