kanye west

history was made at the 2009 VMA's.

upon the acceptance of  taylor swifts vma for best female video (notably her first vma ever), kanye jumped up on stage, hi-jacked her microphone, and proceeded to shout, "i'm sorry but beyonce had one of the best videos of all time!", stunning swift, the audience, and beyonce herself.

after a lot of controversy, kanye tried to redeem himself on the first episode of jay leno's new 10:00 pm comedy show. in my opinion, kanye west is not only classless, but also racist. his behavior at the vma's was way too outrageous to be excused a night later. maybe he should put down the microphone and start up an acting career?

kardashian sisters

ok so i'm a huge fan of the kardashian girls;

kourtney, kim, and khloe seen here shopping on robertson blvd.

i find it troubling that i haven't seen at least one of them on any magazine covers besides the usual trash mags, life&style, or complex. (or in kims case, playboy) i want to see all three of them in elle, glamour, or cosmopolitan- extensive interviews and all.

the three of them are all accomplished women, and seem to be pretty grounded with good morals.

of course i don't know them personally; i only catch about a 35 minute glimpse of their lives on their shows keeping up with the kardashians, and khloe and kourtney take miami.

here's what i do know:

kim is a successful model, actress, and businesswoman. she has (with the help of her 'momager' kris kardashian) brought herself from controversial lawyers daughter to a super star. some people mistakenly tie her celeb status to her appearance in a sex tape with r&b singer ray j... however if no one knew who she was, why would they care about her being in the video? it would just be ray j and 'some girl'. kim has been photographed hundreds of times (she's also a model for travis barkers line) and has made a relatively innocent appearance in playboy. she appeared in two tv series 'beyond the break' and 'how i met your mother' and starred alongside carmen electra and vanessa minnillo in disaster movie. she has been involved in a plethora of charity events, dealt with much of the maketing end of the girls dash stores, and released a series of exercise dvds, ('fit into your jeans by friday') and a fragrance.

kourtney has a bachelors degree in theatre arts with a minor in spanish. she attended southern methodist university and the university of arizona. she has done modeling and co-owns dash stores in california and florida with her sisters kim and khloe as well as smooch (a childrens store) with her mom kris.

khloe is a partner of dash with her sisters. she has stapled her name to numerous charity invents including the brent shapiro foundation for alcohol and drug awareness, and PETA's 'i'd rather go naked than wear fur' campaign for which she modeled and was plastered on billboards. she was a contestant on the second series of donald trumps 'celebrity apprentice' and stars on a radio show on y100 fm miami alongside co-star terrence j.

all of the girls appear in family reality shows keeping up with the kardashians and khloe and kourtney take miami; in which i do believe they give us reality.

not only are all three of them beautiful, but also

smart? successful? grounded?

i think so.

twin towers

i can still remember where i was on this day eight years ago.
sitting in a third period, junior high school social studies class.
i can still remember the look on my teachers face when she recieved a call on her classroom intercom;
stating that the school was entering a state of lockdown meaning students and staff members would have to remain in the room they were currently in (doors and windows locked) until further notice.
i can remember the giddy, nervous chatter of the other students in the room as they each began to tell their own version of what may have been going on...
another bomb threat made to the school? a fire?
i remember a girl leaving the classroom crying because she recieved a call on her cell phone that her uncle had just been involved in a fatal plane crash.
our teacher finally disclosed to us that two planes had allegedly been hi-jacked but nonetheless crashed into the 'twin towers' in nyc, the world trade center.
my mother left her government job early to come home,
and my father picked my younger sister and i up from school
...he was told the school was in lockdown state and as a result he would have to wait on
a long line full of frantic parents and guardians going through security before being
able to retrieve their children.
as he opened up his wallet to take out his license before taking place in line,
the security guard spied his pba card and police pin (given to him by a close relative) and
let him enter the main wing of the school immediately.
it wasn't until later on that evening that i fully understood what was happening to america,
to new york. and virginia.
the next month in school consisted of writing papers on our thoughts about terrorism,
our feelings toward what had happened, and making collages of patriotic symbols in art class.
i even remember what the assignments looked like.
        all of it is unforgettable.
september 11th, 2001.

taxi

with regine basha's new 'taxi clutch' (one of the many metallic suede and embossed leather light-up purses in her new 2enlight10 collection) new york gals' (and guys? never know.) are almost guaranteed immediate taxi service for $225. it's definitley a conversation piece, and a statement staple on a great trendy outfit. (i wouldn't mind pairing it with those louboutins^ and a dark pair of skinnies) it works as an everyday clutch when you're about; but when you want out and you need to hail a cab you can force the 'TAXI' light to turn on via a small button on the interior. gently hover it over the edge of a sidewalk and wait a few seconds until you hear that familiar screeching halt. i could easily picture rihanna rocking one of these, can't you? it's a bit of old world glamour meets 2009 edge. these little season-musts will be making their first appearance around the city tonight for 'fashion night out' but are said to not be available until next thursday online. that said, keep your credit card close by and get ready to click that mouse. one of these babies is definitley on my want list.

barbara padilla

it is 8:25 pm on wednesday, september 9th. if "president" obama stops talking, i will be watching tonights 9 o clock semi-final elimination episode of america's got talent on nbc. fingers crossed for recycled percussion (especially the two with the hair and abs) and most importantly- barbara padilla. i don't know about all of you, but barbara's voice gives me the chills and goosebumps at the same time. i was nearly in tears when i heard her sing bocelli's 'por ti volare'. she's a beautiful women with an absolutely gifted voice. to take it much further than that, she is also an inspiration for everyone who is suffering with any kind of illness or medical shortcoming (not just women, and not just cancer) to keep on pushing because there IS a light at the end of the tunnel. she is what it means to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and continue reaching for your dreams. her humbleness, grace, beauty, elegance, tradition, and persistance are all unmeasurably admirable. i will be rooting for barbara padilla until the end!

and, speaking of another beautiful individual beating cancer, i encourage anyone and everyone to sign up for the strides against breast cancer walk/run on october 18th at jones beach. i'll be there in my nikes!