My Dad and Janice Dickinson

Long ago ( well..not soooo long ago depending on your age I guess) in the '80's my father was once a model with the Grace Del Marco agency. My parents were separated when I was a newborn. He died shortly after and I have no memories of him, just lots of lovely photos. I've also been a fan of America's Next Top Model for a while so those two things probably initaly sparked my interest in the modeling/fashion world. Photography is my favorite hobby and I even flirted with pursuing a degree in it ,but for now it just remains my favorite past time . I honestly wasnt a real fan of Janice Dickinson as a judge on Top Model ( she was so mean ! ) , BUT after recently hearing her longtime claim of being the world's first 'supermodel', I became a little more intrigued . Im currently halfway though her book ' No Lifeguard on Duty: The Acciental Life of the world's first Supermodel' and I have to say that while reading her memoir, I have been throughly edutained.

A few weeks ago I found out that she had written a book and read up a little on her at wikipedia.com. I also have recently been learning about other models of her time , like Gia Carangi ( the drug addicted lesbian who was one of the first American Women to die of the AIDS virus) , and had already decided that I wanted to purchase Gia's biography. After reading the short bio on Janice at wikipedia I decided that I wanted to purchase Janice's autobiography as well. I now have a new name to add to my list of favorite models...Tyra,Christy,Gia and ...Janice!
I now know why she calls herself the First supermodel. She actualy coined the term! She was a thinker and spoke out when it was still unpopular and even frowned upon to do so . I totaly believe her little joke to a collegue about ' not being 'superwoman' but a 'supermodel'. That quote sounds like quintessential Janice.

Lastly, It was so sad to read about all the unfortunate pain and heatbreak she had to endure at such a young age. Im going to try not to spoil too much here with exerpts from her book or anything but she did survive living with a physicaly and sexualy abusive monster of a 'father' durign her teen years and that is something she has publicly spoken out on many times .What courage and self confidence one must have to overcome such an ordeal..and on a continual basis.But its wonderful to see that she overcame the obstacles and is still here. Unlike a few other modeils,Gia Carangi for instance, Janice overcame the numerous obstacles in her life before,during and after her rise to the top of the fashion world.Looking at pictures from the height of her modeling career I can now see why she was so succesful. She was absolutly stunning ....her look was simultaneously modern and classic. And she also posesed an unflinching natural beauty. She knew how to model from the crown of her head to the tip of her toes.The pics of her with little or no makeup look just as beautiful to me , if not more, than the ones with all the excessivly outrageous 70's, and '80's 'glam'.

http://home.comcast.net/~jandix/gallery.html

Some of the things she says and does continue to raise eyebrows and spark controversy, but i'm more a fan of her as a person, and thankful that she has been graciously honest and raw about having a less than perfect upbringing. Espeicaly in aan industry where many people feel its esier to put up a facade and attempt to fake perfection. She embraces her flaws, espeicaly now that she has overcome the bulk of them, and knows they made her the person she is today..the good and the bad.Her motto is that life experiences that dont kill you make you stronger and that you should use them, and not let them use you. And I hafta say I'm in total agreement with her philosophy there. She knows that her story can help inspire and heal others who have gone though similar. She constantly heard from her father that she would never amount to anything and boy did she ever prove him wrong.

I was pleased to see that the majority of the reveiws , from readers and critics alike , for her book on amazon.com were positive . She shares opinions not only about her personal career but offers well researched in depth insight on issues such a the so called ' model -wars', back stabbing and back biting in the earlier days of the current big-wigs of fashion and modeling agencies, and the lavish lush ( and at times dirty and grimey) clubs and nightlife of that era . She also decided that she enjoyed the photogrpahy aspect of her career so much, that she wanted to get out there and learn the photogtaphy aspect as well. This earned her huge amounts of respect from those she worked with, though it didnt always fare with with who she may have been datign at the time ( liek say, oh a photographer perhaps dealign with issies of insecuirty he himself needs to come to grips with) Though she had a few good freinds and phogographjy mentors, a lot of her skills were self taught. And her shoots, well they speak for themselvs.But no more, i'm already giving away too much !

Im really psyched to finish reading her book and think it will make an excellent companion to Gia's autobiography. I would also advise any young girls considering a career in the fashion, modeling, photography or entertainment field to read both of their stories as well .

ciao

xoxo

Objection to interracial love

When I was living in Fl , I had a friend who was very against interracial dating and marriage.


She said she couldn't understand how a black woman could ever marry a white man and vice versa.


She even once stated that if every person chose to marry and procreate with another race..never mind, I'm done attempting to paraphrase and reiterate her ignorance.

But I vividly remember asking her one day : 'preference is one thing.
but sometimes you just really cant help who you fall in love with right ?'

Even though she is a lesbian she still refused to acknowledge any correlation between the two.


Anywho


I haven't spoken to her in a while.

Not since i moved back to Pa i think....

Out of sheer curiosity I just glanced at her myspace page

Because I remember that I used to enjoy reading the poetry in her blogs.

And it looks like she now considers herself to be a die hard Barack supporter.



Maybe she didn't get that memo ?





I wonder if she did...
...not enough to ask though...



*Googles films about interracial love*


PS
Happy Thanksgiving.But everyday should be thanksgiving ! Don't neglect to tell your friends , family and loved ones near and far how much you appreciate them. And even more important, don't forget to show them.God Bless !

Music Producers

So,
stemming from my current intrigue with the new Britney album ( which is growing on me more each day i might add.)My intrigue and admiration for music producers has grown as well. I've always had a thing for them since I can remember. Even at age 10 I remember reading CD liner notes and wanting to know everyone that had anything to do with the songs I loved . I realized that though the artists I loved were exceptional people , they also had help making the exceptional albums that helped define and solidify their exceptional talent.

In recent years I found myself immediately seeking knowledge about the producers to just about each and every song I loved. A time consuming and daunting task ?, maybe, but one well worth it. I said 'loved' though. Not 'liked' there's a big difference! The first mainstream song that really stood out to me was ' Are You That Somebody' By Aaliyah. In case you don't know or have forgotten. That song featured a baby cry in the chorus. What Imagination! I attempted to find out everything there was to know about the person/people that helped Aaliyah make that track.And thus began my admiration for Timbaland ( who till this day is on my personal list of top 10 favorite producers. ) It was one of the most unique things my friends and I had ever heard in a song. The song was a huge success for Aaliyah and the video reminds me of what a great career she had.Others on that list include ( and please forgive my incorrect spelling) Trevor Horn , Linda Perry, The Neptunes, Wyclef Jean , Rodney Jerkins and the newest addition Nate ' Danja' Hills.

Danja is currently the go-to -guy for good beats. I found out a slew of information about him on Wikipedia.com and a few other sites as well. The Internet has definitely aided me in my quest for knowledge about music producers. Though I generally prefer a mix of live instrumentation AND beats ( a la, Outkast's 'Aquemini', The Roots' ' Game Theory', Ashlee Simpson's 'Bittersweet World', Justin Timberlake's 'Justified', The Gorillaz's ' Demon Days' and Pink's 'Mizzundaztood') he is almost entirely a beat guy. I prefer a mix because to me its like having the best of both worlds. Paving the way towards the future of mainstream pop and r &b with music that sounds simultaneously innovative and familiar. While also paying homage to where all music came from in the first place; instruments . ( Well you know, just a few thousand years after our ancestors were beating on stones with rocks and sticks and other miscellaneous objects ). Plus it just goes down so nicely. Like pure ear candy. But Danja is more about the beats .

His style is very funky, futuristic, energetic and sultry . I might even add adventurous somewhere in that list of adjectives depending on the artist he's working with. And I love it. He reminds me that Synthesizers and 808's can be just as much a driving force behind a song as a guitar or piano. I read in his bio over at Wikipedia.com that he commands anywhere from 50,000- 100,000 $ for a song. Now let's just think about that for a second . Not even an album, but a song !I'm definitely one that feels that he is genuinely gifted and possesses heaps of raw and unique talent.

The past few years he has risen up from being a virtual unknown, to becoming Timbaland's sidekick, to a legitimate force to be reckoned with in the music business.I'm sure many of the artists that he has collaborated with feel that he is worth his weight in gold. I guess one would have to ! Even if he is though, I was still shocked when I found out the price for a decent song. I guess music really is priceless to some people. Nice to know that being a music producer means one could be set for life so to speak . Though they are usualy no where near as famous, I bet a lot of producers are more wealthy than the artists they are working for.

If I were a producer I would work with each artist on a personal and professional level. And not just seek to bring the best out of them musically,but in every aspect, as much as I possibly could. I would charge the beginner/novice/struggling artists considerably less than the well known established ones. And if any of the wealthier artists I collaborated with had a problem with it I would kindly tell them where to go , how to get there and to not set foot back in my studio again .The thought of someone paying a producer 100,000$ for a song utterly behooves me. I guess the folks that said it really pays off for an artist to produce their own music weren't just speaking figuratively .

100,000$ could by 100,000 Hershey bars. It's approximately what the US president is paid on an annual basis. 100,000 $ could purchase a house...a NICE one. Just think about that. For the cost of ONE song, someone could live.... in a house.... for YEARS...and so could their children..and their children's children ! BUT having said that, I must acknowledge that a song is forever...a song cannot burn down, be swept away or swallowed into the ground. That's probably not the best analogy but then again it is coming from a self professed music junkie .

I can barely imagine living life without music. Why would anybody want to really. The most horrible punishments of my teen years inloved the suspension not of the phone or television, but music.Music is my life's soundtrack. Some people are far more into it than others, and I am certainly one of those people.But i'll save more about that for another blog.For now off I go to continue listening to B.S's 'Circus' and cleaning my ( non 100,000$) house :)

My First blog and I dedicate it to Britney , awww

SO im over at imeem. com (close second at being my most potent online addiction,but i'm a self proclaimed music junkie so im not complaining..back to the subject at hand tho .........where was I ....oh yes) im over at imeem and the big deal today is Britney's new album.Though I was so in awe of her previous album I dedicated an entire myspace blog to it, can't say im as instantly impressed with this one ( though here I am blogging about it as well, hmm...) I'm not necessarily dismissing it . It just didn't go down as easily upon 1st listen as Blackout .Thats not necessarily a bad thing though. A lot of songs that become favorites of mine I grow to love over time versus right away .Thats why for me it pays to be musically open minded .

I'm undecided on how I feel as a whole, but there are defianlty a few songs that I really enjoy. It may be due to a catchy beat, clever lyric or crazy vocal ( and I do mean CRAZY, .... the producers of Mannequin laid down some vocals that were just straight up B-A-N-A-N-A-S) B. Spears to my knowledge hasn't written any of the tracks, so right there Hilary Duff and Ashlee Simpson have her beat ( but does anyone even really expect her to ?). What she does have is the ability to afford the BEST producers in mainstream music .And they certainly pulled out all the tricks .What an amazing opportunity it must be to work with one of the most famous entertainers of all time . You know hands down that your work will be heard by millions of people the world over ...even if the album is a so called ' flop' .Becasue as we know even if Britney's album goes Plat. , it will still be considered a commerical flop if it doesn't stay in the top 10 for longer than a month. This is due largely in part to the ridiculous success of her first two albums which will be both a blessing and a curse to the rest of her career.

Though Britney is not necessarily known worldwide for her vocal abilities, I must say that I think she does a good job interpreting the music produced for her .And while lyrics aren't usually a strong point for her either, I have to add that 'intoxicate me i'm a lush' from 'Radar' is one of my favorite song lyrics ever.( For those who don't know a 'lush' is a nickname for a drunk.Its a rather old school term. It can also mean luxurious, succulent and opulent.)Having been a one time English major you can see why I like the comparability going on in that lyrical analogy.

Laslty i'd just like to say I am genuinely pulling for her. Though I think its uber slutty/pathetic/ repulsive/psychotic to flash ur lady cat to the paparazzi/entire world on a continual basis, I also believe that those actions were a sincere plea for help and I forgive her if she proves that shes over that phase . Though I'll never be able to remove the image of the balled, bloated, breakdown having baby-mama-drama Britney banging an umbrella like a psycho against the window of an SUV from my mind , ( the fact that the image is all over the internet doesnt help either )I think she has redeemed herself musicaly and proved without a shout of a doubt that she can still bang out a good album.Tour? ,thats another story..... a story with the ending yet to be determined.I hope shes finally getting the help she so desperately needs. I want her story to have a happy ending.Maybe one day she'll even write a book ... naw thats probably pushing it .I STILL cant believe she shaved all her effing hair off ! Even an entire year later...or has it been 2 ?!?!? Man time flies * glances at clock*

*yawn*

for all those interested :

http://www.imeem.com/britneyspears/playlist/XT-b3ZKs/britney_spears_circus_music_playlist/

enjoy :)

wow its way past my bed time!

nite!