Tainted Eagles

I was always hoping I would be the reason AU was making headlines at Jezebel. "Hollywood's hottest seductress heads back as a graduation speaker: get the tater tots ready" just sounded SO right and ready for snark.

Sadly the attention has come in a far more negative light and the AU fame game continues today on Jezebel:

American U. Student Responds to Rape Apology Charges

Not enjoying this representation of AU at all.

-Jac

Project Runway: How To Win

In case you wanted a step by step guide on how to win a Project Runway challenge:

You are challenged to create an original textile.

Step One: Steal inspiration from a print that has been highly successful for a luxury brand such as... Stephen Sprouse's Graffitti prints for Louis Vuitton

Step Two: Instead of opting to take advantage of the hi-tech software at hand, (HP touchsmarts) design something that could have been made on Microsoft Paint

*bonus points if it's not clear what it's supposed to say

 
C) Design a dress that has a great cut and fit but completely ruin it with your tacky-effortless textile

Congratulations! You just won the challenge 

p.s. your name is Emilio

Insta-Star

Last week NY Mag's Vulture blog, (I'm giving them a lot of love today) called this their "Uplifting Story of the Day." Today, I'm sharing the link with you and calling it my "Uplifting Story of The Week":

"Who is the legendary 'Fesh'?" 

You must read it and get the details on how a NYC comedian invited Ohio's Mitchell Stephen Fesh to a weekend of celebration. The reason for celebrating? Fesh himself.


Very cool because a) It's always awesome to connect with and inspire youth  b) It makes me proud to be part of a community that would step forward to be a positive influence on just one person's life c) I support anything that involves chanting in a convivial atmosphere

Living for Tuesdays and Richard Alpert

How did I miss this "Love Song for Richard Alpert"? An interview with Nestor Carbonell posted today on New York Mag's Vulture Blog introduced the catchy jam to me:




Can't believe we're halfway done... looking forward to some Jin and Sun tonight and secretly hoping that a Desmond episode airs on my birthday. Yes my birthday is on a Tuesday, 2 weeks from today, not only do I get an episode of LOST but I also get the return of GLEE. A night with Sue Sylvester and Desmond? I'd be more excited than Hurley in a swimming pool filled with Apollo bars.

-Jac

AU: the bad and the good

Carly pointed out to me that our alma matter was a headline on Jezebel.com, the article brings attention to a newspaper article written by an AU sophomore. In the article he claims that girls ask for date rape. No I don't want AU's campus to be known for that...

My scope of campus was much sweeter last week when the Cafeteria Missed Connection was being spread around, cleanse your palette of that horrible depiction of an AU student by reading this sweet letter of adoration from afar.

the old razzle dazzle

On today's edition of "If $100,000 was like $100 to me..."

9-5 and beyond

Commuting from L.I. into the city has gotten me into the habit of carrying almost everything I own in my bag. Some days I am here from 9am- 11pm, without an apartment to drop into between work and improv or meeting friends. The recent notion of fashionable backpacks has me thinking they could really improve the daily grind especially because I've always been a fan of convenience:

More J. P. Ourse & Cie....

Love I Need To See Me Through

The Florence and Machine cover of You've Got The Love often drifts from my sister Kaitlin's bedroom into mine, I absolutely love it:


You've Got The Love has been covered many times, I originally know it from the final scene in the series finale of Sex and The City. It's a song with a great message- about hope and the support that comes from having love in your life. A song that reminds us to be grateful for those who are our own source of strength, I think it's pretty powerful.

-Jac

If on Thursday

Today's Shareday (which I forgot about last week) is questions from "The If Book" pages 40 & 41. I'm being lazy. Yes. Let's do this...

If you could have been the first person to discover any part of the world, what place would you want to have found?
 The wishing well/magical treasure world that the Goonies found. "Down here it's OUR time, it's our time down here."


If you could have any music group alive today play at your birthday party, which group would you hire?
Easy- The Avett Brothers.

If you could have any music group that no longer exists at play at your birthday party, who would you want?
Easy- NSYNC.

No really, The Beatles.


If you could have a secret hideaway to escape with a lover where would it be?
 A shelter on the beach like in LOST but without all the crazy sci fi stuff. Desmond CAN visit from time to time. He can even be the lover.



If you were to cast the two romantic leads in a new film with any actors alive, who would you pick?
 This is very difficult- maybe Penelope Cruz and DiCaprio. Something sultry.



If you could foresee a single day of your future in its entirety, what date would you select?
Probably a random day in my 80's, just to make sure I'm draped in luxurious furs and drinking scotch.


If you had to have fought in any war in history, which would you have fought in?
The Civil War, working to unify our country and being a leader at the beginning of civil rights.

little difference

One of my own signature fashion accessories is a large pair of earrings, they immediately make any outfit that I'm wearing. The only time I don't wear them is when an occasion calls for my diamond studs or pearls. This all may change though because I recently purchased two pairs of fun, kitschy, post earrings. I love the pop of fun they add to an ensemble and yet the traditional "stud" appearance keeps them from being over the top costume. I think my next pair will be the ladybugs, spring and summer fashion is always a bit more playful- pair this style earring with an easy sundress and cheery sandals.

Check out the lady bugs and some other styles below:

More Aldo...

frugal find

Got this a month ago at Old Navy, great fit, wear it while its still a little chilly with leggings and then sport it as a dress come warmer weather:

The navy stripe is currently $15 but other prints (solids and stripes) are going for $10 and $7

bbbbbbbbad

Spring trends include both acid washed/light denim and motorcycle jackets. What happens when the two come together in one fashion forward piece? 

Rubbish, Nordstroms


Gap


American Eagle

I'll admit, I tried the Nordstrom's one on this weekend and felt very 'take a walk on the wild side.' But then I started to wonder if that walk should be on my way to an 80's costume party...

What do you think of this trend? If you like it, how would you style it?

hooded piano playing fame

Ben Folds honors "Merton" The Famous Chat Roulette Piano Improviser- many people thought Merton was Folds and I suppose flattery led to this public display of copy-cat.

Very cool.

Kinda not cool? YouTube says the original video is against laws and took it off the site .

L(X)D

The standard little black dress is often encouraged as your must have item, particularly easy in summer when you could throw on a cardigan/blazer/jacket for daytime and easily take it off to transition for caliente nights.

I'd like to promote the Little(InsertColorOtherThanBlack)Dress, perfect to adorn with accessories, bright handbags, and stand out sandals. I particularly love shades of navy and sand as a very basic background. The sheath is a universally flattering dress that can easily be layered, belted and worn with a variety of shoes. Friends and Family runs at Gap/Banana/Old Navy this weekend, so I might entitle myself to the Banana Republic sheath I've pictured in the layout below (center top row, rustic khaki). Take a look at all of them and see which one you like best:

More Asos...

Paradise Found

My boy Drew introduced me to this Alicia Keys and Alejandro Sanz duet, so catchy and beautiful:

Looking For Paradise


It's Drew's 23rd birthday today- the energy and vibe of this song are so him- wish I could celebrate with him in D.C. but for now listening to this song will do.

best banana I know

 Many of you are aware that I am extremely bitter about Alex Lambert's early goodbye from Idol this season. I am still in the intense healing process- since downloading his version of  John Legend's Everybody Knows, it is the only thing I have listened to on my iPhone. Repeat 1 song option=obsession style.

Ellen had him on her show yesterday and he performed an excellent rendition of Mario's Let Me Love You, watch here:
 
I really want him, Katelyn and Lilly to achieve the success they deserve. Hopefully down the line we'll see it happen...

ox no sox

Oxfords update: Yesterday I tried on the Tuxxedo at Steve Madden in Herald Square. Things somehow got complicated because when I asked for an 8 1/2, the salesman aka my new best friend Darcy, bought me a nine. "They run small so these might be better," he explained. Even the 9 was super tight- so then I ask for a 9 1/2. Darcy comes back with a 10. The 10 were a wee bit too big. "Oh well..." I said, ready to give up on my pressing need for oxfords, right here, right now! Then Darcy says, "well let me try the shoe from a different vendor- these were made in Spain, the ones made in China might fit you correctly." He quickly runs to the stock room- Darcy, why wouldn't you have given me the correctly sized ones in the first place?

I try the 9 on from the Chinese vendor and they make my feet look huge. I am not wearing the oxford if it makes me look like I'm a little girl playing cross dress in her father's closet. "Do you have them in an 8 1/2?" Sadly- they didn't have the color I wanted in an 8 1/2- but I tried them on in a different shade and the fit was perfect. I almost convinced myself to buy them in the grey hue they had in store but then I realized I should just be patient and get the cognac, the color I originally wanted. So I ordered them, they arrive in 5-7 days, and we will live happily ever after.

Or will we?

On the last entry, my friends Amanda and Brookes both asked "what type of socks" do you wear with oxfords? My immediate inclination was to answer "none" because that's what I had in mind. To be safe though, I did some research to see what is suggested,

First we have the J.Crew catalog

 These first two images, particularly the first one that evokes a grandma whose too large hoisery fell down to her ankles, really frightened me. Luckily, my faith was restored...

Then I visited the Anthropologie catalog- another big pusher of the shoe this season,

 

 They seem to promote a socks free oxford experience

My next stop was some street style blogs and fashion bloggers

When styled  for every day wear, it seems that most either pair them with tights or go sans socks as well

Last but not least, what is Hollywood doing?

Verdict? As my post's title implies- no socks is the way to go! Time to start baby powdering your insoles friends...it's going to be a stinky/sticky spring.

I'll let you know how my first wear goes...

and if I'm brave enough to face your criticism, I'll post a photo or two!

-Jac

think again

Cool website found via a Jezebel post:

Sociological Images: a website that encourages sociological thinking by examining pop culture, advertising, entertainment and the rest of the produced world around us or as they say, "Sociological Images encourages people to exercise and develop their sociological imaginations with discussions of compelling visuals that span the breadth of sociological inquiry"



Definitely some thought provoking stuff on there,

-Jaci

you ever been on the internet before?

The latest installment of Between Two Ferns, Zach Galifianakis' re-occuring Funny or Die "talk show":

Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis: Ben Stiller from Between Two Ferns

I am more me

Today, for most, is one that will be marked with tons of beer, green, and rowdiness. Today, for me, is one that will be marked as the day I started level three of improvisational comedy class at the Upright Citizen's Brigade theater.

I was inspired to write this post because I came across a blog on the UCB message boards where a UCB performer challenged himself to write about improv every day this month. Since March 1st, his posts have chronicled his experiences performing, taking class, seeing shows and living in the world of comedy.  If this sounds interesting to you, take a look here- I really enjoyed reading it.

It got my wheels turning about my own experiences with improv thus far. Recently, Cara and I were at a happy hour and I started talking to some dude about improv. Cara was engaged in a different conversation- but looked over and could tell by the look in my eyes that whatever I was talking about was near and dear to my heart. "Ohh god she's getting intense," she interjected. It's true, I do get overly excited when I talk about improv... and I become a bit too theoretical. I think some of the greatest 'rules' of improv could be applied to society on a grander scale: listen to others, play at the top of your intelligence, gift those you are sharing the stage with, be physically in tune with your surroundings and examine your element to find what is 'working' and then hone in on it.  and all this time you thought your therapist was going to tell you how to correctly live your life...

The first time I saw an improv show was actually my Sweet 16 party. I opted out of the traditional Cinderella moment and decided to see a show at Chicago City Limits. To keep my Long Island Princess ego in check, my Mother surprised me with a limousine; then she, my sister Kaitlin, my Godmother and 7 of my bestest gal pals headed into big bad Manhattan for a night at the theater (said with snobbish exaggeration). My brother's girlfriend at the time was the one who recommended I see the show, "it's just so you, you'll love it."  She was right, I did love it.

The show became particularly special when my mother was picked as an audience member and the latter half of the show was an improvised musical based on the story of the time my father vacuumed up our pet bird. (Sonny Bird R.I.P.) Maybe my Mom can guest blog one day and share the story with you... or it can be a vlog in the near future.Anyways, I longingly stared at the performers, envious of the fun they were having- suppressing my own dreams of performing that had been relegated to acceptance speeches in foggy bathroom mirrors and production of living room Broadway Reviews starring my younger sisters and me. (All video taped and ready to one day be released to E! True Hollywood Story. See photo below for a teaser)

 (Left: me, Right: my younger sister Kaitlin)

While watching the show a quiet thought inside my head said, "I think I could do that." But the dominating voices telling me to continue with my school spirit agenda, Editor-In-Chief, extra-curricular superstar, were louder. So I strayed from the theater for a bit more until I took an acting class my senior year of High School.

"Why haven't you been in the plays all this time?" my teacher, Ms.Keyishian, wrote in my yearbook at the end of senior year. Along with that statement of support, my greatest memories of that class were: performing "Who's on First", reading a comedic monologue I wrote in the voice of my cell phone and an important, life changing day- the one when we learned improv games. The premise was simple: two class members engaged in dialogue and at any given point a 3rd party yells out "freeze" and enters the scene, replacing one scene member, and then starts the scene with the last spoken line of the person they are replacing. Playing, felt natural and the laughter from my classmates was encouraging. The voice that had once thought, "I could do that," changed it's tune and started to sing "I should do that." (Insert appropriate Barbara Streisand movie title: Funny Girl, A Star is Born, or The Way We Were) *(The Way We Were is not applicable but any opportunity to mention that movie must be taken)

A  few weeks into my Freshmen year at American University, I saw a flier posted by the entryway to the dorms. It was hand written and sketchy looking, but the words "improv" and "audition" spoke to me. I marked the date and time of the audition in my university provided planner and kept my plan as a secret to myself. One of the worst things you can ever do is tell people you do improv. "Oh yea- say something funny," they reply. When you tell me you're in accounting do I whip out my W2 and ask you to do my taxes? No. Consider that the next time you ask someone in comedy to "say something funny."  I didn't need people I had just met pressuring me to be hilarious; more importantly at such a vulnerable time in my life I didn't need to publicly admit to 'not making the team' if I didn't get onto the troupe.

So I secretly left the dorms one evening and headed to the student center where auditions took place. There I saw some famous campus faces- three of the troupe members were stars of "Rip-Off" a popular show on the campus TV station. Within three weeks of  being at AU I knew who they were- and being in their mere presence was enough to make my foot nervously shake at 95mph. I remember whipping out "Birdie" one of my favorite characters that had been created at an 8th grade sleepover, everything else about the audition is blurry. I was called back later that night, all of this having a frightening "The Skulls" secret society vibe to it. The troupe members seemed remarkably close, giggling at inside jokes and encouraging funny moments with each other. As a new college student, I couldn't help but admire their relationships and think to myself, "will I ever be that close with anyone here?" Shortly after the audition, I was given my own invitation to join their world. And so, my time on Mission Improv-Able begun.

If this were a movie, now would be the moment for a montage. It would open with an excerpt from my first practice, and you'd see me quickly quip at my troupe mate Rebecca, "I'm from New York bitch" during a warm up game. Pan to: her own face of fear, "Who is this monster we've invited on our troupe?" (Lesson Learned: sarcasm and humorous sass can easily be misunderstood during a first impression)  It would then lead into various scenes of people laughing, hugging, partying, arguing, debating, partying, laughing, partying, laughing, arguing, laughing, laughing oh and partying. Throw in one or two "we're on a field trip" type shots and you have the five years I spent with Mission Improv-Able. No, I wasn't in college for 5 years, I stayed on board an extra year as the "alumni adviser"/"person who can't let go of her college years." 


There is an insane closeness that I share with the people I spent majority of the time on my troupe with. We know each others personalities through a scope that few others see and experience. We spent every Wednesday night together for 9 months out of the year, constructing and criticizing our attempts at being funny. Our bond lies in these practices where we ultimately bared ourselves to better understand the people we were sharing the stage with. Spending time together outside of practice proved to be just as significant to our strength- the more we knew each other off the stage, the easier it was to connect on it. My loyalty to them may be what makes me say they are to this day the funniest people I have met but I more so attribute it to the incredible memories I have of laughing and learning with them.

To explain the transition from my comfortable AU improv troupe to my immediate experiences at UCB would best be summed up with the big fish/little pond-little fish/big pond metaphor. I'm back at the bottom. In a community of actors, actresses, entertainment professionals, aspiring SNL cast members, Funny or Die video creators, viral "Improv Everywhere" types- I am again starting from the ground up. My teachers and people I recognize from house teams are the "Rip-Off" stars of my college years. I aspire to know them, to work with them- but for now, I relish the fact that I get to learn from them. In class and on my practice group, I've met a bunch of incredible people who I love to do improv with. They reciprocate my energy and enthusiasm for improv. People who may want to make it big- but who more so want to continually be tickled by the joy of performing and practicing.

Like many people I take classes and practice with, I dream of being an SNL cast member. If you like to make people laugh- you certainly want to make a career out of doing so. But more importantly, I am committed to always doing improv. It's my outlet, my creative combustion, my place for release and engineer of thought. I never want to lose that feeling. And wherever the journey takes me, I"ll be grateful- but ultimately I'm just enjoying the ride.

So the next stop on this trip is Improv 301- I begin today, March 17th 2010. Tomorrow, when I wake up I will not have a hangover like most of you celebrating St.Patty's instead I'll wake up  feeling richer than I did today. The fortune of doing what you love is greater than any pot'o'gold. It's not always about what's hanging out at the finish line- sometimes, even when you're not eating Skittles, you just gotta taste the rainbow.

BOOM

POW

OWWWW

Love ya.
-Jac

a retrospective:

Freshmen Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

Year Five (Alumni Advising)

UCB101 Class at our final performance show

 UCB 201 Class at our final performance show

oxfords revisited

When I saw my fashion forward friend Amelia wearing oxfords yesterday, I asked her "how would you recommend wearing them?" She said "As long as you don't have cankles, you're good to go." Something to consider for sure- a risk taken with any shoe that cuts your leg off visually.

Then this morning, I saw Dana posted about a pair of oxfords on The Art of Accessories. She asked for input and I immediately weighed in. You see, I have been considering oxfords since January and recently I came across an affordable pair that tickle my fancy. The Steve Madden Tuxxedo style is my current object of affection and if I do take the plunge to buy a pair oxfords these will be the ones I go for.







After sharing my own thoughts on styling the shoe with Dana, I decided I needed a more visual grasp on what I would do- and thus, I introduce my Tuxxedo Lookbooks:

More Rebecca Minkoff...

The pairing of a whimsical skirt with the straight laced (no pun intended) shoe is kindly transitioned with a current blazer. Spice tones are all the rage for this season and I think this bag adds a perfect punch of livelihood

More American Apparel...

This is a great weekend look, it's Gwen Stefani sporty chic- the perfect ponytail is a must

More Lucky Brand...

Romantic juxtaposition is my immediate inclination for styling the oxford shoe- I love the pinks and nudes in this outfit, go glam for hair and makeup or else you will tread into Granny zone

More Steve Madden...

 Preppy and oxford, as Dana pointed out in her post, go hand in hand. I love the burst of yellow on a canvas of classic shades

More Badgley Mischka...

The look is very Camelot Kennedy- the jacket channels Jackie while the shoe is JFK. 

As you can tell I tended to gravitate towards yellows to bring sunshine to such a serious show- as well as graphic shapes and classic pieces. Definitely throw in items for contrast but understand that a happy medium must be found. Trying to achieve what I had envisioned was a little challenging but in the end I think I am fully encouraged to go out and get the shoe.

How are you feeling about oxfords at this point in the game? I'd love your input before I fully commit...

-Jac