Versace. Is The Late Night Show Format Kaput? What Song? Be Careful Orlando. This Is Not Tap Dancing.
- Quote of the Week: “You have to break a barrier every day. Fashion, to me, is born and dies every day.” – Gianni Versace
There is no doubt that Gianni Versace shaped the fashion landscape with ever-changing and provocative designs. I am sure he challenged himself as well as his associates and peers to “break a barrier every day…” One example of Versace breaking a barrier was his successful effort to merge fashion with pop culture. He broke a barrier by making his design and fashion feel glamourous. He ignited the age of the supermodel with Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Christy Turlington, and others, never wanting to sit on his laurels and always challenging the relationship between fashion, glamour, and celebrity.
Versace felt that fashion was ever changing and lived by the rule of breaking the barrier. Here is a great example of Versace using supermodels with his innovative designs, using four supermodels and George Michael in his 1991 Versace Fall Show. Versace did things differently and never let barriers get in his way.
- Is it the late night format, or is it politics? CBS, owned by Paramount Global, announced last week that they were cancelling “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” I do not watch the show but the late night talk show, specifically “The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson”, was part of my early childhood ‘education.’ My Aunt Kay never missed Johnny Carson and with or without her, I started watching the show at an early age.
Hopefully, the cancellation of Stephen Colbert’s show was due to shrinking audiences and increasing production costs, not the politically turbulent climate for free speech and Colbert and President Trump’s disdain for each other.
Note: Paramount’s proposed merger with Skydance Media is being reviewed by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), led by President Trump’s nominee Brendan Carr. CBS canceled Colbert’s show just three days after Colbert called out CBS parent company Paramount for its $16M settlement with President Trump. The New York Times has reported that the show was losing millions at the time of last week’s announcement.
Question of the Week: Thank you for your answers to last week’s Question of the Week asking What song would make the best theme music for you?
- The song Free from Seals & Crofts.
- Unstoppable by Sia.
- Hello Gary, I hope all is well with you and I did a lot of soul searching on this and while there are many songs considered my fall back continues to be Lennons…In My Life
- The song Right Now by Van Halen.
- Celebration by Kool and The Gang!
- Being a complex individual and unable to limit by song themes while dealing with such unbound diversity (croaked yet?), I did manage to whittle the catalog down to four, in this order: “I Love Rock and Roll” (Joan Jett and the Blackhearts), “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love, Baby” (Barry White), “Lawyers, Guns, and Money” (Warren Zevon), and finally, “Amazing Grace.”
Here is this week’s Question of the Week: What is your favorite board game?
- I moved to Orlando eight years ago. The area is basically a tale of two cities, one being the theme park and convention center area, which is southwest of the city center. This area is obviously bustling with tourists, convention goers, and traffic that is mind-boggling. The areas north and east of downtown are made up of small towns that are very livable, full of restaurants, lakes, and parks. The unfortunate dynamic of Orlando is similar to many other cities around the United States, especially southern cities like Tampa, Charlotte, and Atlanta. There was, and still is, a big miss with urban planning in many cities, including Orlando. I experienced this living in Atlanta and again am dealing with the lack of foresight and planning in Orlando. Orlando’s rapid growth has led to challenges with urban sprawl, traffic congestion, and to a degree, inadequate infrastructure.
The population growth in Orlando is driven not only by large employers like Disney and Universal, but by the technology sector fueled by no state income tax, companies establishing offices in support of the Space Coast, good school systems, and a bearable cost of living. Like Atlanta, the public transportation system is lacking with the SunRail commuter rail having limited service hours and routes. Aging water and sewer systems and road maintenance continue to warrant the need to upgrade and modernize while new theme parks continue to drive a massive influx of tourists. Note: Some Orlando peeps may disagree with my assessment, but remember that I am comparing Orlando to Atlanta, where I lived the majority of my life.
I like areas of Orlando including Thornton Park, Maitland, College Park, and Winter Park. Good and diverse people made up of some Orlando natives and many who have relocated here to enjoy a better quality of life. I do like Orlando but let’s be clear: I will never learn to like anything to do with alligators. 🙂
- Pure Talent. I have always enjoyed watching tap dancers, cloggers, and Irish step dancers (a.k.a. Riverdance). Their foot speed, coordination, and flair is amazing. With all due respect to tap dancers including Fred Astaire and Gregory Hines, look at this professional Flamenco dancer’s ability to match his dancing with the music in this performance. Joaquin Cortes is Pure Talent.