Fashion Forward Friday: Project Runway Recap

On the Runway 

Joining the judges’ panel this week is the president of Lord & Taylor, Bonnie Brooks. After the usual round of introductions and challenge details, pink-disco-ball-clad Heidi starts the show.

Here’s what I thought of this week’s looks:

Fabio: (I would wear it)

 I like the asymmetrical hem and the detail of the stretch tulle overlay as well as the reverse halter detail of the back, but the exposed zipper cheapens the look for me. Still, this is a modern, wearable dress with lots of styling potential.

Melissa: (I would wear it)

Despite her concerns, the dress came together nicely. I really liked this dress. There was a richness in the fabric and the neckline was an interesting, powerful detail. The hem was a little strange, but overall it was a dramatic, well-styled look. 

Gunnar: (I would wear it)

 I loved this dress, very femanine and pretty, but with just enough edge.

Elena: (I might wear it)

This dress was unexpected and edgy. It’s a feminine silhouette but the harness detail gives it toughness. It is not my style but I like the uniqueness of it.

Christopher: (I would wear it)

I love this look.  It is very feminine and romantic, it has good proportions and choosing a gown distinguished him from the other designers.

Alicia: (I wouldn't wear it)

I really didn't like this look. I don’t know where her woman is going in this dress -- maybe a funeral for a tennis player?  Not a fan of the placement of the pleats on the skirt either.  

Sanjia: (I might wear it)

This dress was ok. It fit well and I liked the styling, but it was nothing special for me. The peplum flattered her model, but I am not sure it would look great on an average body. 

Ven: (I would wear it)

 I love this folded floral frock. I  like the tone on tone mixture of textures he achieved with his different black materials.

Dmitri: (I would wear it)

Even though this silhouette is starting to get repetitive from Dmitri, I thought the draping details in the dress were pretty. He was smart about his fabric choice and constructed his garment impeccably. Not crazy about those earrings, however

In the end, Christopher was named the winner and no one was bid auf wiedersehen. Heidi claimed that since everybody met the bar of this challenge, the judges felt like no one deserved to go home. Everybody gets a pony! In reality, we all know that because of Andrea’s escape and Kooan’s decision to make more LOVE, the show needed to skip an elimination to keep the season on pace.

 

50 Shades of Grey

So, I’m guessing that you’ve heard of a little book called Fifty Shades of Grey that’s rocketed its way to the top of both the US and UK fiction charts?  Nowadays of course, it’s infamous and there are even talks of a movie deal with rumors floating around about who will play the lead. The book was originally posted online as “Master of the Universe” and thank God they changed the title!

The premise of the book is simple. Young woman meets powerful young man and there is an instant attraction or interest between them from the beginning. He ‘runs into her’ again in the next day or two, and insists that they see each other again after that. She resists, figuring he’s too rich and intense for her but he persists. Eventually they have a proper date and he confesses his…intentions for their relationship. Turns out, he’s into a bit of the kink and hands over a contract that would see all her sexual needs met, and possibly exceeded. All she has to do is hand over total and complete control of her mind and life to him. Of course, she can’t help but come back to him time and again, like a moth to a flame. The main character, Anastasia Steele, is a bumbling, inept, shy young woman, incapable of realizing how sexy and beautiful she is. The man, Christian Grey, is a complicated, rich, powerful and incredibly handsome alpha male

I had no idea what I’d let myself in for and there wasn’t even any naughtiness for the first 80 pages or so.  Could it be that there was an actual STORY there?  Well dear reader, yes there is.  Besides all the hype about the erotica, there is a story, there is romance and there is character development.  There’s even a little humor thrown in for good measure with the flirty e mail exchanges (very Brigit Jones like) and I really didn’t mind the inclusion of Ana’s Inner Goddess who acts out every now and then.  I’m not going to say the book was perfect – there were some overused words and I got a bit sick of seeing “oh my” all the time.

At first, I was embarrassed to tell people that I’d read the book as it was my own little guilty pleasure but now everyone’s reading it so what does it matter?  I’m not ashamed to say that I really liked it. I heard one blogger call the book tame and quite frankly, I’m not going to question what goes on in her bedroom but I think it’s a very sexy read.  I loved the book.

See who is in the running to play El James' lead characters, Christian Grey and Anastasia, in "Fifty Shades of Grey." 

Rooney Mara and Ryan Gosling

Kristen Stewart and Matt Bomer

Amanda Seyfried and Chris Hemsworth

Mila Kunis and Alex Skarsgard

Keira Knightley and Leonardo DiCaprio

Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder

Leighton Meester and Bradley Cooper

Anne Hathaway and Hugh Jackman

Those are the rumors floating around Hollywood but now for my choice:

Sarah Hyland and Chance Crawford

Lucy Hale  and  Chris Helmsworth

 Have you read the book? What did you think? Who should play Anastasia and who should play Christian Grey? 

Wildlife Wednesday: Lemurs

Frisky, bright-eyed lemurs rule the treetops of the tropical rainforest. Wild lemurs live only on Madagascar, a large island off the east coast of Africa, and on the nearby Comoros Islands. Lemurs vary greatly in size and appearance. The pygmy mouse lemur, for example, looks like a mouse and weighs about as much as a slice of bread, 30 g. It is the smallest species of lemur. The largest lemur, the indri, is about the size and weight of a large house cat, 7 kg. It looks like a skinny black-and-white giant panda bear.

Indris are one of the largest living lemurs. Their diet includes seeds, fruit, young leaves, and flowers and they can weight up to 13kg (29lbs).
But lemurs are not related to mice or pandas. They are primates. Lemurs are the most primitive type of primate, prosimians. Compared to other primates, lemurs have smaller brains and rely more on their sense of smell than their sense of sight. Also, their hands and feet are not as well adapted for grasping as those of other primates.
Madagascar is home to 60 different kinds of lemurs ranging from the world’s largest lemur to the smallest primate. The forests have provided shelter and food for lemurs since they have lived there which may have been more than 60 million years ago.
Scientists believe that millions of years ago the ancestors of today’s lemurs did a strange and unexpected thing. Those that lived in Africa hopped on logs and seaweed “rafts” and drifted across the Indian Ocean to Madagascar. During an evolution that lasted millions of years, different species developed. Lemurs’ behaviors and adaptations evolved differently from the primates in other parts of the world.
About 2,000 years ago, another species of primate settled on Madagascar: Homo sapiens, or human beings. Their arrival spelled trouble for the lemurs. Humans hunted lemurs for food and took over parts of their habitat. By the 1600s, humans had driven about 16 lemur species to extinction.
Scientists are not sure of the number of lemur species living today. But some of the best known include the brown lemurs, ring-tailed lemurs, sifakas, indris, and ruffed lemurs. These species are diurnal, or active during the day. Dwarf lemurs, mouse lemurs, and aye-ayes are some species that are nocturnal. New species are still being discovered. In 2005, scientists discovered two new mouse lemur species. One is about the size of a squirrel. The other is about the size of a hamster.   

Hop, skip, jump! That’s how sifaka lemurs travel across the ground. Their legs and arms are long compared to their bodies – so bounding across open areas, which they don’t like to do, is the quickest way to get from one safe tree to the next!

Lemurs are forest creatures. Many species live in Madagascar’s tropical rainforests, but some live in dry deciduous forests. The lemurs’ strong hands and fingers help them to climb trees easily. Their muscular legs are adapted for jumping. When they need a change of scenery, they hop to another branch.
Brown lemurs and ring-tailed lemurs scamper along the forest floor on all fours. But other lemur species find traveling on the ground to be a challenge. Their bodies just aren’t built for walking. Sifakas solve the problem by hopping sideways on their back legs, as if they were on a pogo stick.
Many lemurs are herbivores. They will eat almost everything the forest’s trees and plants have to offer. Ring-tailed lemurs, for example, eat fruits, flowers, buds, bark, sap, seeds, and leaves. Some species, such as the mouse lemurs, are omnivores. They eat insects, eggs, frogs, and lizards as well as plants.
This aye-aye has successfully found a grub and is enjoying its meal. Their third or middle finger is very helpful for finding and grabbing insects. The middle finger can be up to three times longer than its other fingers!

The aye-aye eats insect larvae. It has several adaptations that help it find larvae. Like bats and dolphins, it uses echolocation to find food. The aye-aye moves along a branch, tapping it with its middle finger. Its huge ears listen carefully for an echo that signals that larvae are inside the branch. Then the aye-aye rips away the bark with its teeth. It scoops out the larvae with its hook-like third finger.
Some lemur species, such as the dwarf and mouse lemurs, have litters of two or more young. Others, such as the sifakas and ring-tailed lemurs, give birth to one baby at a time.
After a few months, young lemurs are ready to find their own food. This lemur is ready to explore its surrounding environment and forage for food.
After a baby lemur is born, it latches on to its mother’s belly, where it stays hidden and safe from predators. Like all mammals, it feeds on its mother’s milk. When it is a few weeks old, the baby starts riding piggyback. After about three months, mom lets the baby know it’s time to get off her back. She sends it off to find its own food! Lemurs reach adulthood at about age three. They may live to be 20 to 25 years old.
Lemurs are social creatures and most of them live in troops. They benefit from living in groups by getting protection, food and mating opportunities.

Lemurs stick together. Ring-tailed lemurs form groups called troops with as many as 25 members. Sifakas and brown lemurs live in smaller groups of 3 to 12. Why do they do it? There’s safety in numbers. Hawks and other predators are less likely to attack a group than a lone lemur. It’s also easier for lemurs to defend territory as a group.
One way lemurs communicate with each other is with smells. Lemurs have scent glands at their wrists, chests, and the base of their tails. Lemurs rub these glands against twigs or branches to mark the borders of their group’s territory and feeding areas. When rival groups of lemurs get a whiff of these markings they either stay away or get ready for a fight.
Usually, older female lemurs are in charge of a group or a troop. When conflicts between groups happen, it’s the females who fight. First, they try to scare the other group away with loud battle cries. If that doesn’t work, they start biting and swiping at the rival females. Lead females also get the best food and the comfiest places to sleep. If a male attempts to challenge one of these ferocious females, she just might smack him!
Male ring-tailed lemurs have an unusual way of fighting with each other. The fight starts when one male grabs his tail and slathers it with stinky stuff from his scent glands. Then he waves his tail at a rival male. The rival may back off to get away from the bad smell. Or he may get his own tail in on the action and try to stink out the other male. Stink fights sometimes last as long as an hour! 
When danger is near, lemurs make a ruckus. After one lemur gives a piercing warning call, others may join in. The sound of a dozen or so lemurs crying out all at once—a behavior called mobbing—can be frightening. When European explorers first heard mobbing lemurs, they thought they were hearing the sounds of restless ghosts. In fact, the name “lemur” comes from the Latin word for ghost.

Each species has its own set of calls that may include groans, snorts, yaps, squawks, and screams. Certain calls warn others in the group of predators. Other calls help lemurs stay in touch with members of their groups. For example, if a sifaka is unsure of where the others have gone, it makes a call that sounds like “sheef-auk.” This is how the sifakas got their name.
Madagascar has one of the highest levels of biodiversity in the world, with plants and animals that are found nowhere else on Earth. But many of these plants and animals are endangered species. Today, all species of lemur are in some danger of becoming extinct. In fact, scientists rank lemurs as among the most endangered of all primates.
The local people of Madagascar sell materials from the forests such as charcoal and plants. Humans cut down the forests of Madagascar for farming, shelter, materials and industry. Habitat destruction threatens the survival of lemurs.
One reason lemurs are endangered is that people are burning and cutting down Madagascar’s tropical rainforests to clear the land for farming and to get wood for fuel. The loss of forests leaves lemurs with fewer places to live and find food.
Hunting is another major threat to lemurs. Lemurs are a traditional food for some peoples of Madagascar. Although it is against the law to hunt Madagascar’s lemurs, some people do it anyway. Aye-ayes face a special danger. A traditional belief, or fady, of the Betsimasaraka people calls for them to kill any aye-ayes they see. Aye-ayes are thought to be bad luck. There are other fadys, however, against killing other species of lemurs. These fadys may give some protection to sifakas and indris but they are bad news for aye-ayes.
Scientists have singled out Madagascar as one of the world’s top priorities for conservation. The government of Madagascar has set up dozens of reserves to protect lemurs and their habitat. Scientists have also started captive-breeding programs that give the most endangered species a better chance of surviving.
Ecotourism in Madagascar gives people a chance to see lemurs in their natural habitat and learn about the creatures. Some lemurs are as curious as tourists so people are able to get a close-up experience with them.
International groups have teamed up with the Madagascar government to work on conservation. They are looking for ways for people to make a living that do not add to habitat loss. Ecotourism may be part of the answer. Ecotourism can provide jobs that offer a sustainable way of making a living and protect species and their habitat. Ecotourism also gives visitors from around the globe the chance to see lemurs in their natural habitat and understand the importance of saving them from extinction.