Posts Tagged “
Jane
”In The Music Industry, Female "Geniuses" Are Hard To Find
Jane Czyzselska thinks that women in music are rarely referred to as geniuses. The Times of London writer claims that Rufus Wainwright gets plied with the "genius" accolade frequently, while similarly blessed female musicians like Kate Bush, Bjork and Goldfrapp are not given the genius label. Um, Jane? Goldfrapp? You're really arguing that Goldfrapp is a "genius?" Maybe the term genius is being tossed around entirely too frequently, regardless of gender. That made me doubt Czyzselska's original thesis, so I decided to google Jezebel fave "Liz Phair" and "genius" and found this incredible review of Phair's third album whitechocolatespaceegg by Laura Sinagra. I checked out the Billboard Hot 100, and as five of the top ten albums are by women, maybe we need to lament the lack of "genius" females in music writing, not music making. More »
girl crush
Daria Takes Aim At Jane Magazine
It sucks big time that Daria isn't available on DVD (only the two made-for-TV movies are). Apparently, it has something to do with music licensing problems. But there are some bootleg torrents available online, and we recently watched some episodes from the third season. One that totally escaped us at the time (we don't know how) is the episode based on Jane magazine, fictionalized as Val. Editor-in-chief Val visits Lawndale and goes undercover as a student to follow Daria around for the day for an expose she was working on about "cool, smart" teens. Jane Pratt must've rubbed some people at MTV the wrong way at some point because the thinly veiled portrayal—with constant references to Val's friend Drew—is kinda vicious. Clip above.Online Dating Expert Reveals Not-So-Secret "Secrets"
Jane Coloccia, now 45, spent eight years online dating. That's about 200 dates. Now she is an "expert" at online dating, which means she has a book, of course: Confessions of an Online Dating Addict: A True Account of Dating and Relating in the Internet Age. Coloccia says, "I would go on three or four dates a week. One Sunday I had three dates — brunch, lunch and dinner." It would be safe to say that she loved the attention. "It does get very seductive as it is nice to open up an email and someone to say you are beautiful and they want to meet you," she explains. Anyway, Coloccia says: "My impression before I did this was that the people online were weirdos, but that is just not the case." Wow, really? People online are like, normal? What a revelation! Plus — you're not going to believe this — sometimes married men will post profiles online! More »Kira Plastinia: The Last Pointless 15-Year-Old Rich Person I Ever Want To Read About
“I think teenagers are all the same everywhere,” says Kira Plastinia, a 15-year-old Russian, and "wrinkles her nose." Kira is apparently the Miley Cyrus meets Mary Kate Olsen of the former Soviet Republics; her dad, an orange juice mogul, bought her a a clothing line, and a signature shade of pink, and Paris Hilton's number, and a horse named Baloven — meaning "someone who is spoiled and treated too well" — and now a store in Manhattan, which has inspired a profile in New York Magazine. Wait, am I really burdening you with this information? Do we really have such a dearth of the great global wealth concentration's photogenic beneficiaries over here? Over the weekend I was dutifully forcing myself to read the NY Times' review of a book called Bringing Home The Birkin, which chronicles the quest of an eBay Power Seller to land one of the coveted Hermes bags. "What is a Birkin bag and why on earth should I care?" demands editor Sam Tanenhaus of the book's critic, T: The New York Times Style Magazine editor Christine Muhlke, on the Review's weekly podcast. More »'Jane Doe' Rape Kits Allow Evidence To Be Collected Anonymously
A new federal requirement that states fund 'Jane Doe' rape kits is now officially on the books. Statistics collected by the Justice Department in 2006 estimated that only 41% of sexual assaults are reported in the United States and the 'Jane Doe' kits, hospital-administered kits that are sealed and identified with a number, not a name, are meant to lessen the stigma many women feel about reporting sexual assaults to police. According to Carey Goryl, the executive director of the International Association of Forensic Nurses, "Sometimes the issue of actually having to make a report to police can be a barrier to victims, and this will allow that barrier to cease, to allow the victim to think about it before deciding whether to talk to police." More »Toby Young: Sex and the City Depicts An "Essentially Pre-Feminist Society"
One of the things that stuck in my craw about the Sarah Jessica Parker profile in New York Mag was when SJP claimed that Carrie didn't care about Big's money. "I really don't think that money was a criteria," Parker told writer Emily Nussbaum. "It never would have occurred to her to take money from a man." British writer and Candace Bushnell buddy argues that Carrie does indeed care about money. In fact, she and the other SatC heroines care so much about money that, Young writes, "once you remove the pixie dust of female camaraderie, contemporary New York emerges as an essentially pre-feminist society in which the courtship rituals are strikingly similar to those depicted in the novels of Jane Austen." More »Ellen Page To Star As One Of English Literature's Saddest Sacks
Another day, another round of casting announcements chock full of stereotypes. While older actresses like Susan Sarandon have their pick of saucy-yet-loving-powerful-woman roles, the younger actresses who have yet to convince everyone they're talented sometimes pick up a few victim roles along their march to Serious Actress territory. Maybe it's because they are still pretty "fresh faces", but these talented actresses still succumb to playing victimized lovers, even in supposedly intellectual and interesting films. In this edition of Hookers, Victims, and Doormats, Ellen Page pretends she is "plain" in Jane Eyre and Eva Mendes continues to mimic Angelina Jolie's action film career. All that and more after the jump! More »Stella McCartney Is Eager To Dress ScarJo In Virginal White
- Stella McCartney calls dibs on bride-to-be Scarlett Johansson: "I'm definitely doing her wedding dress. She doesn't know it yet." Awkward. [People]
- Says Marc Jacobs on the bride-to-be, "I'm really happy for her. She's a great girl. I just think Scarlett is great and I hope she is very, very happy. She's super funny. I love a smart, ballsy, New Yorker and that's what she is. I wish her the best." And by "the best" he clearly means, "Do why didn't that bitch ask me to design her wedding dress?" [Vogue UK]
- Chris "Mr. Big" Noth has some strong feelings about Victoria's Secret, "I'm not into Victoria's Secret so much. I find it over the top. I like subtlety and I like elegance. I think their things are gaudy and they are really trying too hard. If I could make a fashion statement, I think that Victoria's Secret looks to me like somebody who is putting on too much make-up. It's too gaudy, man. I mean, come on take it easy, you don't have to have a fuckin' bouquet of flowers on your underwear. Sorry Victoria's Secret; I hope they're not one of our sponsors!" [Oh No They Didn't]
- "You can get diamonds cheap," says Heidi Klum, which is why she's going to start sewing them into the pockets of her Jordache jeans line. Clearly, she has not seen Blood Diamond. [WWD, 9th item]









