Scapegoat Jackets 

At www.scapegoatband.com you can get your last minute jacket since, if you are traveling up North (north of Orlando that is) you might want to consider getting a well constructed fashionable parka jacket.  The exterior has a 3 Layer Bone-Dry Barrier which is a Japanese waterproof breathable membrane with a 100% lightweight spun polyester while the interior has 100% Polyester Micro Polar Fleece that has a brushed face and anti-pill finish.  Finally, the insulation is a Welded Micro Fleece panels that are at body contact points.  Basically, you’ll be dry and warm. 

Fashion Contest

Are you a Costume Designer?  Well, get all your supplies ready and talents sharpened because right now, you can submit your design sketches for Neil Goldbert’s Cirque Dreams and literally design a costume, at costumes@cirqueproductions.com.  Their theme of the latest show is Jungle Fantasy and the Ultimate Costume Design will be the Toast of the Town with not only your design being highlighted everytime the show is in town, but have Opening Night Tickets for the West Palm Beach Kravis Center arrival on January 8^th, as well as a $500 Bloomingdales Gift Certificate.   

The winning sketch will be interpreted then manufactured by the Costume Design Team and will be integrated into the show.  To see ideas of the current show, go to Bloomingdales of Palm Beach Gardens or Boca Raton until January 1^st. 

The Broward Cultural Division and Nova Southeastern University invites artists and the cultural community to a half-day workshop, Applying for Project Grant Funding for the Artist to assist individual artists on preparing grant applications for project funding. The workshop will be held on Saturday, January 19, 2008 from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. at Nova Southeastern University’s Alvin Sherman Library, Room 4009, Research and Information Technology Center, 3100 Ray Ferrero Jr. Blvd. in Davie.  The workshop will be a unique training session to assist individual artists, working in all disciplines, with preparing effective proposals for “project-based” grant funding.  Participants will learn how to: develop an artist’s biography and artist’s statement; prepare an audience profile (identify the qualities and characteristics of audiences attracted by one’s art work and utilize the profile in the proposal process); create a proposal description based on the project’s vision; develop a project/proposal budget (with a case study to explore the budget development process); and prepare work samples. 

Applying for Project Grant Funding for the Artist has a workshop fee of $25, which includes resource materials.  Hourly parking is available at $1 per hour, next to the Alvin Sherman Library (go to www.nova.edu/library/about/mapdir.html).  RSVP for this workshop at www.broward.org/arts, and click on “Workshops.”  For more information, call Adriane Clarke, Grants Specialist, 954-357-7530, or email aclarke@broward.org. 

November 

Currently, the latest play to take off on Broadway is David Mamet’s November.  This now stars Nathan Lane-fresh off The Producers as The President Charles Smith and Rosane’s Laurie Metcalf as Presidential Aide Clarice Bernstein as well as Dylan Baker.  This is set just days before a Presidential election, it involves civil marriages, gambling casinos, Lesbians, American Indians, Presidential Libraries, questionable Pardons and campaign contributions.  This all takes place at the Barrymore Theatre at 243 West 47^th Street and for more information go to http://www.telecharge.com/BehindTheCurtain.aspx?prodid=5979 or call them at 212-239-6262.   

American Dance Theatre, Through December 31^st 

Now, at The American Dance Theater they are proud to host Alvin Ailey.  This will be Directed by Judith Jamison and will be available online at www.alvinailey.org, www.nycitycenter.org, or by phone at 212-581-1212. 

Picasso Here, Shift Change…Now Picasso Gone 

In Sao Paulo, Brazil this week, two very rare paintings were stolen at daybreak from Brazil’s premier modern art museum, The Sao Paulo Museum of Art.  Armed with nothing more than a crowbar and a car jack, thieves made away with a Picasso and a Portinari in under three minutes in two different rooms.  The attack happened during dawn, precisely during Guard Shift Change, and is assumed that it is a professional job because only two specific paintings were taken.  The paintings, Picasso’s Portrail of Suzanne Bloch is worth an estimated $50M while the Candido Portinari’s Lavrador de Café is worth and estimated $5-6M and is a living legend and major Brazilian artist.  Theorists also believe that it was a not-so-professional job since they had to go past other valuable paintings such as a: Renoir, Raphael, Rembrandt, and Degas and that they targeted the Picasso because it was small.  Stay tuned for more details!

Bob Lappin & The Palm Beach Pops, January, 4, 5, 7, & 8^th

Kicking off on Friday, January 4^th, The Palm Beach Pops will take the stage at the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts in West Palm Beach and the Carole & Barry Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium at FAU in Boca Raton.  They will be performing The Genius of Cole Porter.  And for those who did not know Cole Porter’s musical interest include the musical comedies Kiss Me Kate, Fifty Million Frenchman, and Anything Goes.  He was noted for his sophisticated and sometimes ribald lyrics, clever rhymes, and complex forms.  Also, he might be the single most prolific contributor to the Great American Songbook.  Tickets are $25-$85 and can be purchased at www.palmbeachpops.org or by phone at 561-832-7677. 

Becoming A Man in 127 Easy Steps, January 25^th & 26^th  

The Carnival Center and Tigertail Productions are proud to produce Scott Turner Schofeild in Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps.  In this turnabout show, transgender perfomer Scott Turner will fill the evening with comedy, contradictions, aerial acrobatics, and multimedia storytelling.  Named Young Trans Hero of 2006 by The Advocate, he will give us a performance that is not only biographical but teaches us about the assumptions about gender, sex, and identity.  This performance is part of his weeklong Tigertail SpeakOut residency in Miami for GLBT youth.  For tickets or more information go www.carnivalcenter.org. 

Do You Wanna be “Popular?”, Opening March 12^th 

On Wednesday, March 12^th will be the opening of the now infamous Wicked:  The Untold Story of the Witches of Oz.  With songs like Popular, Defying Gravity, and Meet the Wizard you will be singing, crying, and be Green.  It will be at The Broward Center for the Performing Arts and tickets are available online at www.browardcenter.org or by phone at 954-523-3309. 

Miami City Ballet presents Program II, January 11^th through 13^th

The Miami City Ballet is proud to announce their latest show titled Program II which will feature La Valse, Nine Sinatra Songs, and Aurora’s Wedding.  The best part of is the spectactular finale of the classic Sleeping Beauty which has never before been seen in Miami.  Come see the beautiful Princess Aurora and her handsome Prince Desire during their lavish wedding-day celebration.  This all takes place at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts Ziff Ballet Opera House and tickets can be purchased at www.carnivalcenter.org. 

Matchbox Twenty, Friday, January 25^th 

On Friday, January 25^th the legendary Matchbox Twenty will take the Hard Rock Live stage as part of their Exile in America Tour with Special Guests Alanis Morisette and Mutemath.  Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 954-52-3309.

Kathy Griffin, Wednesday, January 16^th

On Wednesday, January 16^th, the one and only Red Head Celebrity Death Wish—Kathy Griffin will be part of the South Beach Comedy Festival and will be at The Fillmore at the Jackie Gleason Theatre.  For tickets, continuous updates, and info go to www.southbeachcomdyfestival.com. 

Also on the 16^th, the amazing Foo Fighters will be at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise.  Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com, www.livenation.com, or www.foofighters.com or by phone at 954-523-3309.  Arriving on April 18^th is Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band will also be at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise as well.  

Gold Coast Opera’s Tosca 

The Gold Coast Opera will be performing Puccini’s Tosca on January 22^nd at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts and January 24^th at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts.  Tosca is one of Puccini’s sizzling dramas of love, death defying loyalty, and villainous deceit that also have spectacular melodies and beautiful and impassioned arias.  For more information go to www.sunsetet.com. 

Are you a Fanilow? 

Coming to town on the 23^rd and 24^th of February is the legendary Barry Manilow.  He will be singing not only songs from his last album Greatest Songs of the Sixties but Greatest Hits of the Seventies and trust me, it is definitely one of those albums you cannot be in a bad mood while it’s on!  Also, all concert attendees have a chance to win a weekend in Las Vegas to see Manilow:  Music and Passion at the Las Vegas Hilton!  He will be at the Bank Atlantic Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 23^rd and The American Airlines Arena on Sunday, February 24^th.  For tickets or more information, go to www.manilow.com, www.livenation.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.FrontRowManilow.com to get Front Row tickets.  You can also call 561-966-3309, 954-523-3309, or 305-358-5885.  . 

Get Better Jack 

This week, on Bravo’s hit series Project Runway we had to say goodbye to my Husband, Jack M. who unfortunately developed a staff infection in his face.  Now, with his HIV Positive status, that makes it critical and life threatening and had to leave the show abruptly.  I love you Jack! 

Well, over the past two weeks, we discovered what the contestants have inside their head and how creative they can be.  Last week their challenge, The Trend Setter, a group project, was to take fashion flops of the past and reinvent them and make them modern and revolutionary.  With such trends as The Shoulder Pad of the 80’s, Fringe, and Graphic Prints, all three members of each team had to compile a collection that merged or matched the others into a statement of fashion.  Unfortunately, loveable lug Chris was sent home for his Shoulder Pad jacket—because it looked too costumey. 

This week, What’s the Skinny?, again messed with the contestants and not used their models and substituted them with ladies that have all lost drastic amounts of weight and needed a new look.  The challenge however, is they had to use model’s favorite clothing at their heaviest, and reinvent a new, fresh, and innovative outfit for their new lives.  Christian, my Pocket Les-Boy-ian, made this fierce outfit, after overcoming challenges of:  I don’t wear dresses, I don’t wear skirts, I like jeans, I like black, I don’t like stripes.  Well, his outfit looked like it came straight out of Dolce & Gabanna or Diesel and she rocked it!  Sadly, Steve, the one that was given the Wedding Dress model, opted to go with a black dress, mocked, told that she looked like a French Maid, and was asked to leave.  However, on the bright side, since Jack voluntarily left, they asked Chris to come back and finish the outfit that Jack was assigned.  After working all night he created another costumey dress but looked cute and fun in a French Hooker sort of way.  The model liked it so who cares if Michael Coors didn’t?  Is he going to wear it?  Didn’t think so!  Look for new episodes beginning in January 2008!

The Borderline is Now 

Did you know that every year a panel of 600 industry figures selects only five acts every year to be inducted into The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame?  What’s the catch?—you have to wait 25 years!  Well, the Material Girl herself Madonna, along with John Melancamp, The Ventures, Leonard Cohen, and the Dave Clark Five will all be inducted this week. 

This past week I have discovered heaven on Earth.  No lie!  Out West on 595 you can’t miss the mass structure that we have come to call Ikea.  Having never been in one and actually been made fun of for not knowing how great it was and losing a bet that cost me $70, I have seen the light as far as inexpensive home decorating and her name is Ikea. 

Now let me tell you, this is a store like no other around and the philosophies incorporated into the sales aspects are beyond unique and revolutionary.  First off, on your first trip you cannot go with anything more than $20—otherwise you will blow your entire paycheck getting the wardrobe closet!  As you ascend the escalator at the entrance, you will not get it and especially if going for the first time, you won’t get it until the end.  You will encounter mach rooms after rooms and you will start to get the idea of the simple basics that every room needs, no matter the decorating style you currently have.  This will start clicking in your head and the further you walk, the more your imagination will explode.  I NEED THIS!!!—you will catch yourself saying over and over again.  Everything is on display and everything has a price—just not as big as you thought it would be.   

As you stroll around, quietly freaking out over what you could do, you come across a room called, Life at 1,000 square feet.  Within this literal 1,000 feet, you will see what you can do within the allotted space and how to accomplish actually living.  As you continue, you will come across Life at 750 square feet, 500 feet, and finally 250 square feet.  Yes, 250!  Their decorating philosophy is basic, get things off the floor, use unusable space on walls, and make them cool yet functional.  There are house, apartment, dorm, and loft scenarios for you to check out, and you can see what is possible.  

After walking around upstairs and seeing all these tickets all over everything, with alpha-numeric codes, you come to The Market.  At The Market, you will come across everything to fill your space:  pots, pans, silverware, rugs, linens, stemware, picture frames—everything.  Just when you think you cannot handle anything else, you come to The Warehouse!  In The Warehouse, the tickets you might have grabbed have the codes which symbolize the aisle and section your furniture will be in.  A23 means Row A/Section 23.  Oh, did I forget to tell you that all the furniture is Assembly Required?  Yes, all of the furniture comes in flat boxes.  Don’t worry, they have flatbeds to help you get to the checkout—with no attendants.  Yes, I said no attendants.  I would imagine they have cameras everywhere, but no one to tackle you or check your purchases.  They trust you.  So, basically, you need about three hours to completely get the Ikea experience, and, if you want, call me and I’ll go with you!