I want to thank everyone for the outpouring of love and support during the recent Olympic Games. The 2010 Olympics will be a memory that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I feel that I skated two of the best performances of my career, making my coaches, my family and, above all, myself very proud. But I would not have been able to skate the way I did without the encouragement of my fans worldwide.
And while I am still embracing my Olympic memories and have the momentum to move forward, I have decided that it is not advantageous at this time for me to partake in the World Championships in Torino, Italy. After my sixth place finish in Vancouver, I believe that I must take time to reassess my strategies and goals. While I understand the importance of competition, I feel that a short break at this time would be personally beneficial to me. I know all may not share my stance, but I can assure everyone that I will be re-energized after I’ve had time to rework my technique. I want to be a better competitor and win medals for my country and I hope everyone can respect my decision to take this time off.
Once again, I want to thank everyone who supported me this season. Specifically, I would like to thank my coaches Galina Zmievskaya, Viktor Petrenko, Nina Petrenko, Priscilla Hill and David Wilson for helping me make my Olympic dreams a reality. I would also like to thank my family and friends for their never-ending support. Finally, I want my fans to know that I love them and I work every day to make them proud. I will continue to work hard and I hope my work for next season will be the most exciting of my career.
Joan and Melissa Rivers (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
Post Oscar hangovers are never fun… Trust. I’ve been covering them for 10 years! But this year was different. Not so bad. Even though – let’s be honest, seven days into a nine day journey, you are ready to run for the hill. And by hills, I mean Appalachian, Eastern Hills. Except for the fact that I came back from Rainy LA to monsoon-y New York. I mean… Okay, okay. I got two good days of beautiful Spring weather before my boots were soaked and once again I had to forsake fashion for Tretorn rain galoshes.
As its name suggests, Letterheady is a website devoted to collecting and sharing the blank correspondence letters of various notables. I suppose the letterhead belonging to Theodore Geisel aka Dr Seuss isn’t to most imaginative, however seeing it reminded me of my favorite “fact” regarding this genius children’s book author and illustrator. He was voted “least likely to succeed” by his (totally encouraging and supportive) fellow members of an honor society at Dartmouth. Also, his first book was rejected by twenty-seven different publishers before it was accepted.
A new study out from the CDC shows that herpes is twice as common in women than men, and three times as common in blacks than whites. A massive 48% of black women are infected. We called on Dr. Vanessa Cullins, an obstetrician/gynecologist and vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood, to get the story behind these depressing statistics.
Em & Lo: Can you briefly explain the difference between HSV-1 and HSV-2, and how they are related to oral vs genital herpes?
Dr. Cullins: Herpes is a very common infection caused by two different but closely related viruses — herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2). Both are easy to catch. They remain in the body for life, and can produce symptoms that come and go. Both forms of herpes can infect the oral area, the genital area, or both. When the infection is on or near the mouth, it is called oral herpes. Oral herpes is caused most often by HSV-1. When herpes infection is on or near the sex organs, it is called genital herpes. Genital herpes is caused most often by HSV-2.
I caught up with the shows at the MOMA last weekend, including the William Kentridge exhibit. A show that grapples with heavy subjects like apartheid and colonialism, Kentridge’s animated charcoal drawings get smudged, erased, and redrawn to tell stories about characters that are often heavy, egotistical and morally adrift. Kentridge said, “I am interested in a political art, that is to say an art of ambiguity, contradiction, uncompleted gestures and uncertain endings. An art in which optimism is kept in check and nihilism at bay.” My favorite part of the exhibit however was where the weighty politics of the stories disappeared and Kentridge does seem to let loose with a cinematic fun that is both surprising and welcome…
Recycling does create energy savings overall, but if you watch those big trucks rolling through your neighborhood on pick-up day, you probably realize that there may be even more efficient ways to handle the collection of these materials. A couple in Northampton, Massachusetts, has found one: pick up those recyclables by bike.
If you’re wondering why this picture above, an untitled photograph from Shirin Neshat’s “Women of Allah” series is the only picture you’ve been seeing to advertise the upcoming BAM Silent Art Auction, it’s probably because she’s the event’s Honorary Artist Chair, but it may also very well be because this year’s auction is slim pickin’s. Even with over 160 artists on the roster, there are only a handful worth bidding on. Before getting to the bad, allow me to first mention some of the better pieces up for auction. Aside from Neshat, there are some good photos up for grabs by Ian Baguskas, Chuck Close, Sally Gall and Christoph Draeger. Lawrence Weiner and Marcel Dzama are offering some nice prints and I have my eye the red desk lamp by David Weeks. Notice that I haven’t (unfortunately) mentioned any of the paintings.
Marina Abramovic’s astonishing retrospective and mesmerizing performance at the MoMA (reviewed here by Perrin and Patrick) has earned a lot of buzz, and I highly encourage you to visit, however while visiting be sure to also check out two interactive installations that will bring a smile and sense of wonderment. The first is Yin Xiuzhen’s extended van sculpture “Collective Subconscious” which the public can enter and “find a cozy refuge complete with low stools and soft pop music—a space that invites visitors to break the silence of the hushed gallery, reinventing it as a place for conversation and discussion.” The second piece is Ernesto Neto’s “Navedenga” where “visitors are invited inside its hollow chamber to engage their visual, tactile, and olfactory senses.” I went this past Saturday and the sensations felt at both installations must be experienced in person. After the jump are some photos.
In an attempt to answer the question, “What if Twitter came to life?” various people submitted their filmed reenactments of other people’s tweets which were then compiled into this single video of hilarity. This is an example of when the combined collective creativity, talent, and humor of The Internet scores a win.
Since 2005, the tiny town of Reynolds, Indiana, has been hard at work developing itself into Biotown USA. This designation awarded by the state government meant that Reynolds would become a hub for energy experimentation… particularly in using agricultural wastes and byproducts to power the community.
On the heels of the news recently of Japanese Airlines declaring bankruptcy in January, I came across this story about the lucrative black market online for the grey uniforms worn by the flight attendants and ticketing agents of this airline. Apparently these grey outfits originally designed by Hanae Mori are desired among people with uniform fetishes who are willing to pay thousands of dollars for them. Relatedly, one MeFite shared this link to someone who has collected 896 different flight attendant uniforms from 374 airlines. I guess, whatever floats your boat or flies your plane?
The generations that grew up with the old school Nintendo gaming experience will particularly enjoy this interactive zoomable map of New York City created by Brett Camper that mimics the look and feel of the 8-bit video games from that era. Camper explains:
8-bit NYC is an attempt to make the city feel foreign yet familiar, smashing together two culturally common models of space: the lo-fi overhead world maps of 1980s role-playing and adventure games, and the geographically accurate data that drives today’s web maps and GPS navigation. I hope to evoke the same urge for exploration, abstract sense of scale, and perhaps most importantly excitement that many of us remember experiening on the Nintendo Entertainment System, the Commodore 64, or any other number of 8-bit microcomputers.
He’s absolutely right. Looking and playing with the map makes me want to grab a sword and shield and collect the pieces of the Triforce before Link can get to them.
Joan and Melissa Rivers (Photo by Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic)
